Dambai (O/R) Jan 30, GNA- The youth of Oti Region have thrown their weight behind Mr. Nicholas Kwame Fato, a farmer and politician, endorsing him for the Council of State position
This show of solidarity is seen as a significant boost to Mr Fato’s candidacy, given the youth constitute a vital demography in the region.
Mr Israel Asiedu, a resident from Tapa- Amanya, community under Biakoye District told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that, Mr Fato’s role would be instrumental in advocating for the region’s interests and contributing to the national development.
Mr Rockson Kojo Abressey, a resident of Ayeremu, a farming community under Krachi East Municipality has expressed his support for Mr Fato, stating that he is well-positioned to make a meaningful contribution to Ghana and champion the needs of the Oti Region.
In Krachi West Municipality, Mr Aziz Ansari Abubakar, resident of Brewanease, has expressed his confidence in Mr Fato’s ability to drive development in the Oti Region.
According to him, Mr Fato possesses the vision and expertise necessary to effectively represent the region’s interests at the national level.
Madam Joyce Aku Nawumbine, a resident of Nkwanta North who shared her thoughts with GNA, said her support for Mr Fato candidacy for council of state member, demonstrates her confidence in his ability to perform well when elected.
Interaction with some residents in the Oti Region, they said council of state members play important role in promoting the development of their respective regions, they emphasised that these members serve as a link between the government and the people, ensuring that the needs and concerns of the region are addressed.
The residents also highlighted the importance of council of state members being representative of their regions, they stressed that members should be familiar with the local culture, customs, and challenges, enabling them to provide informed advice to the president.
Kumasi, Feb. 7, GNA – Less than two weeks after being sworn in as the Ashanti Regional Minister by the President, Dr. Frank Amoakohene is warming himself into the hearts of many in the region.
The Minister, who is seen as one of the youngest Ministers appointed under the current administration, has hit the ground running with series of strategic engagements aimed at accelerating the development of the region.
The stakeholder engagements also seek to find solutions to the teething problems negatively impacting the lives of people in the region, a development which is earning him applause for a good job done so far.
Among the initial steps taken by the Regional Minister to address challenges in the region is the commissioning of a team to review the management of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC).
The team has also been tasked to develop a comprehensive plan for the redevelopment of the Presidential and Regional Minister’s Residences, which have deteriorated over the years.
Dr. Amoakohene has also put together a team at the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly to tackle unapproved charges by commercial drivers in the metropolis, especially during rush hours when people are in dire need of transportation back home.
This follows a growing concern about how these drivers are fleecing the public with exorbitant fares by deliberately charging passengers two or three times on the same route.
The newly appointed Regional Minister has also instructed all Coordinators of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to submit detailed reports on all stalled government projects within their jurisdictions.
His swift intervention on speculations that market tolls had been increased from GHC 2.00 to GHC 5.00 has restored calm in markets across the metropolis.
Even more heartwarming is his directive for illegal miners to evacuate all their equipment from forest reserves within two weeks or face the wrath of the law enforcement agencies.
At an engagement with the media on Thursday, Dr. Amoakohene issued a stern warning to illegal miners found in forest reserves that they would ruthlessly be dealt with after the two-week ultimatum.
He told the media that President John Dramani Mahama was committed to protecting forests reserves and water bodies from activities of illegal miners and that he would not allow the menace to continue under his watch.
He also announced plans to work closely with other Regional Ministers in the fight against mining in river bodies to ensure sustainable restoration of rivers to their natural state.
With these initiatives spearheaded by the Regional Minister in the last two weeks, he seems to be enjoying the goodwill of the people in the local media
Most callers into radio programmes have been praising him for showing signs of a leader determined to work in the interest of the people but are quick to advise him to continue that trajectory to justify the confidence reposed in him by the President.
Mr Anthony K. Sarpong, the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, has urged African tax administrators to share ideas on best practices to improve revenue mobilisation.
Mr Sarpong gave the advice in Accra at the opening of a three-day workshop to validate the 2024 African Tax Outlook (ATO).
The workshop organised by the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) is on the theme: “Timely publication of the ATO and its impact on tax administrations.”
The objectives of the workshop, among others, are to ensure that the ATO dashboards have been updated and the preliminary analysis of the 2024 ATO edition is presented.
The Commissioner-General said the workshop presented an opportunity for participating tax administrations to share experiences while expanding their network with other countries on tax-related issues.
“As we meet every year to receive input and ideas on the ATO, it shapes the publication and makes it one of the best in the world.
“The ATO publication is extremely important because it provides reliable tax-related information for international financial institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and stakeholders in the tax administration system,” he said.
The Commissioner-General said it was the expectation of GRA that the ATO be published in a timely manner to achieve its objectives better.
“It will serve as a platform to compare tax indicators of the various participating countries, such as tax rates, tax bases, tax structure, revenue performance, tax administration, taxpayer service, and compliance,” he said.
He said the indicators were crucial to African Revenue Authorities in implementing reforms and policies to broaden the tax base, narrow tax gaps, and simplify and improve fairness in tax systems.
Mr Sarpong advised the participants to use the workshop to learn more about the data collection processes and the ATAF data collection portal to improve the quality of the data.
Mr Frank Mbuyamba, ATAF Manager, underscored the importance of harnessing and analysing data for informed decision-making and effective policy making.
The workshop, he stated, would serve as a critical resource providing comprehensive data and insight into the taxation landscape across the continent.
“The ATO investigates the revenue performance, the efficiency of the tax system, as well as the assessment of key administrative functions of our tax administration.
“In line with the objective of this project, we shall provide evidence-based recommendations for reforms in tax administration and policy,” he said.
Both state and non-state actors have been urged to reflect on history and condemn actions that threaten the dignity and safety of vulnerable populations worldwide.
At a commemorative event in Accra on Tuesday to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day, Mr. Charles Abbani, the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator, described the Holocaust as “a dark chapter in our history, we should never forget.”
Stressing the need of respecting the rights of all individuals, he noted that despite the end of the Holocaust 80 years ago, lessons from the past were relevant in educating future generations on the need to combat such “evil.”
“The Holocaust serves as a haunting reminder of the dangers of unchecked hatred, intolerance, discrimination, and the need for unwavering vigilance against prejudice and hate speech.
“…[It] reminds us that when human rights; whether based on race, religion, ethnicity, or other differences, are violated, the dignity of all humanity is at risk,” Mr Abbani stated.
Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed annually to honour the memory of the six million Jews and other minorities who were tragically murdered across Europe by the Nazis and their collaborators.
This year’s edition on the theme: “Holocust Remembrance for Dignity & Human Rights” was held by the German and Israeli Embassies and the United Nations in Ghana.
Stressing respect for international laws that protect human rights, Mr Abbani expressed concern about disinformation and misinformation which sought to “distort” the facts of the Holocaust.
“When we allow such distortion to persist, we risk undermining the very foundation of human rights and enabling the resurgence of discrimination in all forms as well as desecrating the memory of the victims.
“We need to safeguard the facts; we need to safeguard history in order to honour of the victims of the Holocaust,” he noted.
The UN Resident Coordinator praised the “resilience and courage” of the survivors of the Holocaust, and reiterated resistance to the rise of “antisemitism, racism, and xenophobia,” and other violent traits and injustice.
He also conveyed the UN Secretary General’s message for the Day and announced the UN “Action Plan to Enhance Monitoring and Response to Antisemitism,” focusing on awareness, education, commemorative actions, and strengthening civic action.
January 27, 2025, marked the 80th anniversary since the end of the Holocaust in 1945.
Mr Roey Gilad, Ambassador of Israel to Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, compared the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel to the Holocaust, saying that Israel would remain “stronger” despite the “nightmare.”
He expressed optimism about the safe release of the remaining 90 hostages captured by Hamas fighters during the attack.
Mr Daniel Krull, German Ambassador to Ghana, highlighted the importance of applying lessons from the Holocaust in current social and political dispensation.
“We need to remember if we want to build a better place. We need to learn our lessons from our history, to take well-informed decisions, and to know where we have to be vigilant,” he stated.
Government has been asked to invest in the building and expansion of modern and high technology storage facilities, to help improve the storage and shelf lifespan of food crops.
Mrs Faustina Okyere, a Food Technologist at the Crops Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Industrial Research (CSIR), who made the call, said the limited number of food storage facilities, which were mostly sited in urban centres, made it impossible for common smallholder farmers to access and store their produce.
She said some of the existing storage facilities were not technologically advanced and poorly maintained and at times, left in unfavourable condition and infested with pests and diseases.
Other challenges were the smaller sizes of the storage facilities which were often unable to store higher tonnages of produce during a season.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview at Fumesua in the Ejisu Municipality, Mrs Okyere stressed the need for the state to partner with relevant stakeholders to construct modern warehouses and silos to help address post-harvest losses and storage deficits in Ghana.
She indicated that crop storage facilities should be closed and easily accessible to farmers.
They should also serve as packing points, where buyers would not have to travel to the farms to buy the crops.
Turning attention to fruits and vegetables, she pointed out that cold vans should be made available to pick the commodities from the farms to the cold storage house close to markets.
“The available facilities like the ones at Ejura, should be expanded and we introduce the cold storage system to increase the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables that are highly perishable.
We need to promote the use of hermetic bags for storing cereals and grains for over
two years,” she appealed.
The Assistant Research Scientist said Ghana, having a huge agrarian population, needed to train more farmers in simple post-harvest technologies to help them prolong the lifespan of their produce.
Harvested commodities were not to be mixed in terms of storage, she noted, explaining that “every commodity and its behaviour for instance, one cannot mix tomatoes which are highly perishable with beans or cowpea to cause cross contamination, and the farmer may end up losing everything”.
Mrs Okyere called for equal attention to be given to all crops, indicating that cocoa and other cereals and grains had preference in terms of storage than fruits and vegetables.
She said some farmers had adopted traditional ways of storage including storage in sacks, gallons, coating in cassava, and barns among others, but could be easily invaded by pests and diseases.
All 18 games will be played at the same time – at 20:00 GMT on Wednesday, with 16 matches having something on the line.
Manchester City are in major danger of elimination after last week’s 4-2 defeat at Paris St-Germain, while Liverpool are through, Arsenal are almost there and Aston Villa and Celtic – who meet – are somewhere in between.
The ‘as it stands’ table will be constantly updating with teams’ hopes potentially relying on other results.
It marks the first season of the new format, a change from the old four-team groups with two going through from each – where sometimes there was nothing to play for by the end.
“It’s been brilliant, instead of the borefest we’ve had for years on the last matchday,” wrote ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher on social media.
Highlights of all the games will be on the BBC Sport website for UK users from 22:00 GMT, with a Match of the Day: Champions League highlights show on BBC One and iPlayer from 22:40 GMT.
From 19:00 GMT, there will also be build-up and live BBC Radio 5 live commentary on Manchester City v Club Brugge, with full Aston Villa v Celtic commentary on Radio 5 Sports Extra.
You can also follow all the build-up, team news and match action via live text commentary on the BBC Sport website from 18:00.
First, here’s a reminder of what the 36 league-phase teams are aiming for.
Those finishing in the top eight automatically progress to the last 16, where they will be seeded.
They will await the winners of eight two-legged knockout play-off ties featuring the clubs ranked from ninth to 24th.
Those finishing between ninth and 16th will be seeded and face a team placed 17th to 24th, with the advantage of playing the second leg at home.
The clubs 25th or lower are eliminated and do not gain entry to the Europa League.
The play-off ties take place in mid-February, with the last-16 matches in the first two weeks of March.
Top-eight guaranteed are Liverpool, Barcelona.
Top-24 guaranteed (at least)are Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Aston Villa, Monaco, Feyenoord, Lille, Brest, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus, Celtic
Uncertain of progression are PSV, Club Brugge, Benfica, PSG, Sporting, Stuttgart, Manchester City, Dinamo Zagreb, Shakhtar Donetsk
Eliminated are Bologna, Sparta Prague, Leipzig, Girona, Red Star Belgrade, Sturm Graz, Salzburg, Slovan Bratislava, Young Boys
Manchester City have a very simple permutation.
If they beat Club Brugge at home they will go into the play-off round.
If they fail to win, they will be eliminated.
They cannot reach the last 16 automatically.
Aston Villa are guaranteed at least a play-off place.
A win at home to Celtic would give them a good chance of finishing in the top eight, though they would need one of five teams above them to slip up.
But even if they win, Villa could be overtaken by a big victory for any of the four sides currently below them on goal difference.
Celtic are only one point behind Villa so could conceivably finish in the top eight, but they would need to win and for a lot of things to happen above them.
Arsenal – away at Girona – are all but in the last 16 as they sit three points clear of the play-offs with a much better goal difference than any team on 13 points.
Liverpool are one of two teams, along with Barcelona, who know they are in the last 16 already, and will be guaranteed a top-two place.
Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are among the giants in the positions between ninth and 24th hoping for things to go their way to end up in the top eight.
Where a team finishes in the league table determines which opponents they face and when they can face them in the knockout stage.
Take Liverpool, for example.
The Reds are now guaranteed a top-two finish, which gives them a seeded route through to the last 16.
That means the Reds will face a team who finished 15th, 16th, 17th or 18th in the last 16.
The identity of the team will not be known until after the play-offs, but the pre-determined draw means it will be the winner of the ties involving teams that finish in those four places.
Liverpool cannot face the team who finishes second in the league phase – or whoever finishes top if they are overtaken on the final matchday – until the final.
By contrast, a team who finish seventh or eighth could face a side that had finished just below them in the league phase – in ninth or 10th.
For more on who faces who in the play-offs, keep reading…
Teams that finish between ninth and 16th will be seeded in the knockout phase play-off draw.
It means they will face a team that finishes between 17th to 24th.
Who the seeded teams will face will be determined by a draw but clubs will only have two possible opponents.
For example, the teams who finish 11th and 12th are paired together and will play a team that finishes 21st or 22nd.
Another bracket will pair the teams who finish ninth and 10th in the table, playing either the team that was 23rd or 24th.
The two pairs of fixtures will be drawn into opposite halves of the overall draw and the seeded teams will play the second leg of the play-off at home as a reward for finishing higher than their opponent in the league phase.
Unlike in previous years, teams eliminated from the Champions League – either in the group phase or via losing a play-off – will not drop into the Europa League.
The draw for the play-off round is on Friday at 11:00 GMT.
Opta has given its predictions for who will reach the play-offs and the last 16.
It uses computer modelling software to look at form, opponents and potential seedings to come up with percentage chances.
The table makes interesting reading. Celtic, for example, are regarded as 100% likely to finish in the play-offs – the Opta computer ruling they will not beat Aston Villa by the required goal difference to finish higher.
Real Madrid are given a lower likelihood of finishing in the play-offs than Celtic – as Opta believes they could still force their way into the top eight.
One of Uefa’s reasons for changing to this format was so “every game counts”.
It said the format “will ensure that any result has the potential to dramatically change a team’s position, right up to and including the very last matchday”.
And so it has panned out with only two dead rubbers (Sturm Graz v Leipzig and Young Boys v Red Star Belgrade) and 16 games with something on the line.
There are several games where both clubs are battling for the same goal, like Manchester City v Club Brugge, Stuttgart v PSG, Brest v Real Madrid and Inter Milan v Monaco.
It could lead to enjoyable mayhem for fans with some teams potentially being affected by more than 10 other games.
Aston Villa, for example, could overtake six teams or be overtaken by 15 teams (albeit not all 15) – including opponents Celtic.
Uefa also wanted more matches between the top teams in the initial stages of the tournament.
This year, Real Madrid have played Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool in repeats of three recent finals, Barcelona have taken on Bayern Munich, while Paris St-Germain have faced Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
Failing to qualify for the next round means taking a financial hit.
Every club in the league phase gets 18.62m euros (£15.6m) for participating, with performance bonuses of 2.1m euros (£1.8m) per win and 700,000 euros (£587,000) per draw.
Each position in the table is worth 275,000 euros (£231,000) too. So the team that finishes 36th earns that much, 35th claims 550,000 euros (£461,000), and so on through to 9.9m euros (£8.3m) for the table-toppers.
Teams finishing first to eighth also earn a 2m euro (£1.7m) bonus, with teams finishing ninth to 16th getting 1m euros (£840,000).
The prize money for reaching each knockout round is shown below.
Uefa has also introduced a “value pillar” that splits the broadcast revenue. This again increases depending on your finishing position in the league phase.
That is before matchday revenue and other factors are taken into account.
In other words, it is fairly costly to be eliminated early.
Mr Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, on Tuesday warned Members of Parliament (MPs) that any involvement in illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey, will face severe repercussions.
“…. Honourable members, galamsey must be confronted head on.
If any of you happen to be involved in galamsey, please advise yourself.
You must be prepared as a house to bite the bullet.
We must lead and show the way,” Mr Bagbin said.
He stressed the gravity of the situation and the need for MPs to take personal responsibility and dissociate themselves from galamsey operations.
The Speaker’s comments come at a critical time when galamsey continued to devastate Ghana’s environment, particularly its water bodies and forests.
Despite successive governments’ efforts to curb the menace, galamsey remained rampant, with several reports allegedly implicating politicians and government officials in illegal mining activities.
Mr Bagbin’s warning served as a stern reminder to MPs of their duty to uphold the law and set a positive example for the nation.
As he aptly put it, “… And please, if I get any information that any of you is involved in galamsey, we will start taking the necessary action from the House.”
The Ministry of Defence will work collaboratively with the Health Ministry to deal with the post-traumatic stress disorders of solders and veterans.
The welfare of soldiers and modernisation of the military would be on the front-burner to strengthen the Ghana Armed Forces, upon my approval, Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, the Minister-designate for Defence, said.
He gave the assurance when he appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament in Accra on Tuesday and pledged to support the provision of befitting accommodation for the solders to give of their best.
Asked about measures to protect the country’s cyberspace, the nominee said the Ministry would collaborate with other state agencies to detect and prevent cyber attacks on the internet infrastructure.
“We’ll find an innovative way to procure new equipment for the Ghana Armed Forces to operate efficiently and protect the sovereignty of the nation,” he said.
Responding to alleged unfair treatment of some regions during recruitment of people into the military, the nominee underscored the need to observe all the principles of equity in recruiting people into the Military to ensure regional balance.
Judge gavel and scale in court. Library with lot of books in background
An Accra High Court has remanded into lawful custody two South Africans and a Nigerian accused of possessing over 16 kg of methamphetamine, a narcotic drug.
This follows their arrest at the Kotoka International Airport on January 20, 2025, by officials of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC).
The accused persons (names withheld) are alleged to have concealed the drugs in two suitcases.
The Court presided over by Justice Mrs Kizita Koowa Quarshie remanded the accused, all females, to reappear on February 11, 2025.
It, however, did not take their pleas as the fact and charges were also not read out.
Additionally, the trial judge asked the accused persons to secure lawyers to defend them in court.
However, a Senior State Attorney, Mr Watkins Adamah, prayed the Court to remand the accused persons into lawful custody.
“This morning, our prayer humbly is to cause the remand of first, second and third accused persons into the custody of the NACOC pending investigations.”
Mr Adamah held that the first and second accused persons were South Africans who travelled through Rwanda to Ghana and “they were found in possession of identical suitcases which had over 16 kg methamphetamine, a narcotic drug, concealed in their suitcases.
He said, “control delivery involving the first and second accused led to the arrest of the third accused person, a Nigerian who had travelled from Nigeria to Ghana and she met first and second accused persons with similar suitcases to swap them for the narcotic drugs.”
The State Attorney said other people had been mentioned and NACOC had an interest in the matter and that further investigation was needed.
According to him, the State would also want the Ghana Standards Authority to confirm the nature of narcotic substances retrieved from the accused persons.
The Court therefore remanded the accused for two weeks.
Mr Maxwell Bunu, the National President of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association (CETAG), has announced the suspension of its three-week strike across the country.
He said new students had started registration on Monday, January 27, 2025, to pave the way for academic lessons to start.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday, Mr Bunu said the decision was arrived at during a virtual Council meeting on Friday, January 24, 2025.
The motive to suspend the strike, he stated, was due to the goodwill demonstrated by the employer in migrating staff in the Colleges of Education onto the University Salary Structure, in partial fulfilment of the National Labour Commission’s Arbitration Awards given to CETAG.
He urged the authorities to address the outstanding issues from the arbitration awards and the migration process to ensure lasting industrial peace within the Colleges of Education.
The issues include the payment of all year-round work compensation for additional work done in the year 2022 to the 42 remaining colleges and the payment of arrears of the 2023/2024 Book and Research Allowance.
The National President commended the commitment and hard work of the National Conference of Principals of Colleges of Education and other stakeholders during the final stage of the migration process.
The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, in a statement on Monday, January 27, announced that the government had migrated the staff of the Colleges of Education onto the university grade structure.
The statement said the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department had paid beneficiaries during the January 2025 payment window.
The statement announced that the research allowance top-up had been paid to all Colleges of Education, except for the Akrokerri College of Education, which was being processed.
The statement expressed the government’s commitment to taking the necessary steps to resolve any post-migration issue.
