Ronaldinho believes Kylian Mbappe can “win the Ballon d’Or for any team,” as the Paris Saint-Germain attacker remains linked with Real Madrid.
WHAT HAPPENED?
The World Cup-winning France international is considered to occupy a talent pool that is ready to make a serious splash on the global stage. With Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo approaching the end of their respective careers, another generation of superstars is poised to compete for the title of best player on the planet.
Mbappe is expected to land a Golden Ball at some stage, given all that he has already achieved at the age of 24, and former PSG playmaker Ronaldinho believes the talismanic frontman can win that prize in his current surroundings. The Brazil and Barcelona legend, who collected the Ballon d’Or back in 2005, has told AFP: “A great player like him can have the chance to win the Ballon d’Or for any team, but as I love PSG, I want him to do it with PSG.”
Mbappe finished third in the 2023 Ballon d’Or vote behind Argentine idol Messi and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland. He helped to guide France to within touching distance of World Cup glory in 2022 – netting a hat-trick in a thrilling final showdown – and is also PSG’s all-time leading goalscorer with 230 efforts for the Ligue 1 giants to his name.
WHAT NEXT FOR MBAPPE?
That bar may not be raised much higher, with Mbappe running down his contract in Paris. He has opted against triggering an extension clause, meaning that he is due to hit free agency in the summer of 2024 – with Real Madrid and Liverpool considered to sit on an ever-growing list of suitors.
Ex-Chelsea and United midfielder Matic, who left English football in 2022, has told YU Planet of his former team-mates that were forever late for training: “At Chelsea, players acted professionally, they were punctual and were never late for training but at United it happened almost every day. Among the players who would always be late were Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho and couple of other players.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Matic and the rest of those towing the line at Old Trafford got so annoyed with Sancho and Co that they put a penalty system in place. Serbian star Matic added on how much money was made from the handing out of fines: “The rest of us who were always on time were angry so we decided to form a kind of an internal disciplinary committee with me serving as its president. I put a sheet of paper up on the wall where I documented the names of individuals arriving late. During one particular season we collected around £75,000 in fines. We had planned to use the money to throw a party in London but we didn’t due to the Covid outbreak.”
WHAT NEXT FOR SANCHO?
Sancho is under contract until the summer of 2026, but there appears to be little chance of him seeing that deal out. Having joined United from Borussia Dortmund in 2021, he has registered just 12 goals for the Red Devils through 82 appearances.
A community durbar on skin-neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) has been held at Diare in the Savelugu Municipality of the Northern Region to create awareness to enhance acceptance, care and support for people affected by skin-NTDs.
About 400 community members including traditional authorities, opinion leaders, persons with skin-NTDs and their caregivers, students amongst other stakeholders were sensitised by staff of the Ghana Health Service during the community durbar.
It was organised by BasicNeeds-Ghana, an NGO, as part of its “Building civil society coalition to advocate for an integrated approach to control skin-NTDs and enhance the quality of life of vulnerable and affected people in Ghana” a project, which is being implemented with funding support from Anesvad Foundation.
Mr Kingsley Kumbelim, Programme Officer, BasicNeeds-Ghana, speaking during the sensitisation, said the project sought to support in addressing issues of skin-NTDs across 11 districts in the Northern, Savannah, North East, Upper East, Upper West and Bono Regions.
Mr Kumbelim explained that skin-NTDs were neglected diseases, and persons with skin-NTD did not get the needed care and support compared to other health issues hence the project to create awareness to enhance acceptance, care, and support for them in the country.
He appealed to Chiefs in the country to make pronouncements supportive of skin-NTDs in their various jurisdictions.
Naa Abukari Abdulai, Chief of Diare entreated community members to support efforts at addressing issues of skin-NTDs, saying people with skin-NTDs required the support of all devoid of stigma and discrimination.
Some persons with skin-NTDs, who were among the participants, appealed to members of the public to support them by showing love and care for their situation, instead of stigmatising and discriminating against them and appealed for support in accessing treatment.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has declined assenting to the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which seeks to proscribe witchcraft accusation, the Criminal Offences Amendment Number Two Bill, 2023 and the Armed Forces Amendment Bill.
He explained that the contents of these Bills had his support, but they needed to be enacted in line with constitutional and legislative processes.
The three Bills were introduced to Parliament as Private Member’s Bills.
The President, in a letter dated 28th November, addressed to the Speaker of Parliament, explained that he was unable to assent to these Bills because of concerns regarding Article 106 of the 1992 Constitution, particularly, by their nature.
These Bills were introduced into Parliament as Private Member’s Bill, rather than by the President or on his behalf.
He noted that the concerns raised were significant and had profound implications for the constitutional integrity of these legislative actions.
He reiterated that any legislation the House passed must be in complete alignment with the Constitution.
“I intend to have these Bills reintroduced in Parliament on my behalf in due course,” the President stated.
The President extended his appreciation to the Speaker for his contributions during their meeting at the President’s Office held on November 28, to consider the outstanding Bills passed by the House.
Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, after reading the content of the President’s letter to the House, recalled that on Monday, the 27th of November, he directed the Table Office to strike out item number 10 in the Order Paper, which called on the House to rescind its decision on the 27th day of July, 2023, to approve and pass into law the Bill on the Criminal Offences Amendment Bill, 2022, after the third reading of the Bill.
“At the time I gave the directive, I had evidence that the Bill, together with other Bills passed by the House during the Second Meeting had been authenticated by the Clerk to Parliament and forwarded to His Excellency the President for assent,” he said.
“The Clerk had presented to His Excellency for assent the Criminal Offences Amendment No. 2 Bill, 2023, on the 3rd of August, 2023, and the Armed Forces Amendment Bill 2023, for assent.”
The Speaker said he personally followed up with a request for an update on the status of the Armed Forces Amendment Bill 2023, which was submitted to the President for assent by a letter, dated 10th November, 2023.
Speaker Bagbin said in the communication from the President, which he read to the House, the President signified, pursuant to Article 106(7) that he was unable to assent to the Criminal Offences Amendment No. 2 Bill 2023, because upon review of the Bill, he noted some constitutional matters relating to its passage.
The Speaker said he would convey the House’s eagerness to read from the President these constitutional matters he mentioned in the letter.
“In the meantime, I want to implore members to exercise restraint and patience, and await for the response from the President, and then we take it from there. I thank you for your understanding.” the Speaker said.
Meanwhile, the President in a second letter to the Speaker, also dated November 28, 2023, urged the House to reconsider various portions of the Wildlife Resources Management Bill, 2023, to ensure that the Bill, when enacted would be in line with constitutional and legislative processes.
The Upper West Regional office of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has sensitised the people in the region to the “MyNHIS APP” as part of activities to climax the 20th-anniversary celebration of the Authority.
As part of the sensitisation, staff of the NHIA held a float along the principal streets of Wa as well as mounted a registration desk at the Wa main lorry station to educate and assist people to download and install the Application.
Some staff members of the NHIA were seen engaging in person-to-person education on the “MyNHIS APP”, how to download and install the APP on their smartmobile phones, how to operate the APP and its benefits to the user.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Wa during the sensitisation, Mr Abdul-Rahaman Alhassan, the Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at the Upper West Regional Office of the NHIA, indicated that it was convenient to use the “MyNHIS APP”.
He explained that irrespective of one’s location, he or she could register for a new Electronic National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) card (E-Card), renew a card, access the NHIS benefit package and the NHIS drug list, and communicate with the NHIA staff through the APP.
“We have so many options, you can go to the office and register your card, and you can use the short code,*929# to also register or link your Ghana Card but this APP contains more than all these services.
We think it’s even the better option when it comes to health insurance renewal or registration because you can do it at your convenience once you have the APP on your phone”, Mr Alhassan said.
He indicated that the “MyNHIS APP” was more enhanced and enabled users to perform any NHIS activity with ease, including providing the opportunity for users to renew many NHIS cards at a go thus making it easier to renew cards for members of a family.
“The good thing about the APP is that you can also renew cards for groups like your family. You can create your family in a group and always renew them at once.
Because of the numbers you put in there it will be able to calculate the total amount you need to pay, you just pay the money and all the cards are renewed at once”, he explained.
Mr Alhassan, however, said it was illegal for a person to charge a fee to renew or register another person’s card using the APP aside from the normal registration fee of GH₵26.00 and renewal fee of GH₵23.00 charged on the APP.
He encouraged the public to report persons who charged extra fees for providing NHIS services using the “MyNHIS APP” to the police or NHIA for the necessary action to be taken against them.
Mr Alex Bamile Zaga, who had used the “MyNHIS APP” to register for an E-Card, acknowledged that the APP was very convenient and easy to use.
He encouraged the public to download and use it to save time and cost as well as the risk associated with traveling to the NHIA office to register.
Seven central banks in Africa, Europe and the Americas face same circumstances of financial losses, according to research by Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference (GITFiC).
The banks are Swiss Central Bank, Central Bank of the Czech Republic, the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve of the United States, Central Bank of England, the Central Bank of Zambia, and Ghana.
The research, spearheaded by Mr Selasi Koffi Ackom, Chief Executive Officer and Gerald Woode, Lead Research Fellow of GITfiC spanned from 2020 to 2022 titled: “Unravelling the Global Central Banks’ Losses.”
The study was to contribute to a better understanding of the intricate links between geopolitical events, health problems, and financial stability and to draw comparative insights into the variances in financial vulnerabilities and recovery tactics implemented by central banks in response to shared circumstances.
It was necessitated due to some public outcries by some section of citizens across the African continent and the world at large, which the research believed were the result of misinformation, a lack of information and proper sensitization and, to a large extent, political expediencies.
The survey said the global economy of Switzerland experienced a slowdown in their economy, which the central bank’s assets of CHF 1,057 billion in 2021 were reduced to CHF 881 billion.
The GDP growth rate of the Swiss economy was around 2.11 per cent in 2022, lower than the 3.9 per cent rate in 2021 and the central bank posted its biggest loss ever, reporting a loss of 132 billion Swiss Francs ($143 billion) in the 2022 financial year against the 26 francs billion profit it made in 2021.
These losses occurred in bond and stock portfolios due to a large market downturn.
The IMF recommendation to the country stated the authorities should implement agile, data-dependent measures to address near-term challenges and take action to tackle longer-term structural issues.
The research said according to Czech Central Bank’s 2022 annual report, the economy of the Republic was greatly affected by the Russia-Ukraine war and that the country experienced a shallow economic recession in the second half of 2022, mainly due to its energy crisis and market deterioration.
The national bank of the Czech Republic recorded 411.1 billion crown ($18.4 billion) loss on their balance sheets in 2022, according to Reuters and other research agencies and the main cause of the losses were increases in imported raw materials, especially fuel prices, production problems that affected exporters due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey stated that the European Central Bank in 2022 faced a financial set back that stemmed from resurgence of inflation and elevated interest rates and this led to the bank taking specific actions in response to the changing economic landscape.
The bank took one significant step by writing down the value of certain bonds and the devaluation was strategic move to align the values of these bonds with the evolving market conditions, reflecting the shift in interest rates, according to research agencies.
The bank further allocated substantial amounts of euros to address balances that had accumulated over the course of a decade marked by monetary expansion.
The accumulation of balances was attributed to the practice of “money printing,” where central banks create new money to stimulate economic growth and manage various economic challenges.
The study stated that most of the losses were revealed to have come from write-downs in the European Central Bank’s relatively small owned funds and US dollar portfolio and from the interest it paid to the central banks of Eurozone member countries.
It said the world’s largest bond market, the US bond market recorded its worst market in 2022.
The research stated that in its bid to solve the constant rise in inflation, the US Federal Reserve hiked its policy rate by four per cent causing the US Treasury market to record losses, adding; “The bond market declined by 12.5 per cent in 2022, which is the worst in history.”
It said according to the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, the unusual losses of the reserve were mainly due to sharp rises in interest rates and just like the rest of the world, the USA was also greatly impact by COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war.
The United Kingdom taxpayers also took their first-ever loss on their bond stockpile from the Bank of England in September 2022 with a loss of GBP156 million ($174 million) due to rising borrowing costs, according to Bloomberg and other research agencies.
The bank’s borrowing cost increased in September 2022, indicating that interest rates in the economy were rising.
The survey said the Zambia Kwacha faced a massive depreciation of about 49 per cent in 2020 and attributed it to a disruption in international trade and low economic growth due to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Kwacha recovered strongly in 2021 after an allocation of 937.6 million SDR (Special Drawing Rights) by the International Monetary Fund in August 2021, according to the Bank of Zambia’s 2021 report.
“The IMF intervention resulted in a balance of payments surplus of US$1.5 billion (8.2 per cent of GDP) in 2021 compared to the deficit of $0.4 billion that was recorded in 2020,” it stated.
The research said similarly, the central bank of Ghana also recorded losses of GHS 60.81, which was in contrast with the GHS1.23 billion profit recorded in 2021 and that the financing of Ghana’s fiscal debt was the major contributor to the bank’s high expenses and overruns.
It said: “This started before the launch of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme. Partly also attributed the loss to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, which resulted in persistent and broadening inflation pressures among others.”
The study recommended that as inflation and interest rates rise, central banks must deal with the economic and financial consequences of their policies, and problems concerning cost distribution and potential long-term sustainability.
A sign is seen at the arrivals passport control area of Terminal 5, at Heathrow Airport, London, Britain, March 23, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/files
Britain is set to make changes to its legal migration system on Monday, following a record number of arrivals in 2022 that put pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to act ahead of an anticipated election for the following year.
Sunak has pledged to impose more control after lawmakers in his Conservative Party criticized his record; he is also attempting to send those who arrive illegally to live in Rwanda. Sunak’s spokesperson stated that he believes net migration needs to be reduced “significantly.”
This could result in new conflicts with business owners who have had difficulty hiring workers in recent years due to Britain’s consistently tight labor market and the end of free movement from the European Union following Britain’s departure from the bloc.
Interior minister James Cleverly will give a statement to parliament later on Monday detailing more measures to reduce legal migration and to “stop abuse of the system,” the spokesperson said.
Annual net migration to the United Kingdom hit a record of 745,000 last year and has stayed at high levels since, data showed last month.
“We think the numbers are too high, they do need to reduce significantly and in the short term,” Sunak’s spokesperson said.
“The evidence we have is that some of the people coming across, particularly dependents, aren’t actively contributing to the workforce in any substantive way.”
The comments are likely to alarm business owners who have had to adapt to Brexit.
In October the government’s independent migration advisor recommended abolishing one of the main routes for businesses to hire migrant workers in sectors where there are severe staff shortages.
As well as changes to that so-called Shortage Occupation List (SOL system), local media also reported the government would raise the minimum salary threshold for foreign skilled workers from its current level of 26,200 pounds ($33,190).
Britain’s severe shortage of candidates to fill vacancies remains a problem for many bosses, although there are signs that that has started to ease in the face of higher interest rates.
The Bank of England said last month that businesses were finding it a bit easier to hire but persistent skills shortages remained in some sectors.
A public spending watchdog warned on Monday that Britain’s armed forces would not have enough money for equipment over the next ten years, a concern that will undoubtedly worry defense chiefs at a time when geopolitical risks are at an all-time high.
The National Audit Office (NAO) estimated that the budget for new weapons and equipment would be 305.5 billion pounds for 2023–2033—a 16.9 billion pounds over budget—the largest deficit since the organization’s initial report in 2012. It attributed the deficit to rising costs in nuclear and naval programs, as well as high inflation.
This had resulted in a “marked deterioration” in the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) financial position.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has highlighted the need for extra military spending across Europe, with Britain an important ally and provider of military equipment to Kyiv. It has also been investing in improving its own equipment readiness and expanding munitions facilities.
Defence Minister Grant Shapps said in response to the watchdog’s report that while the government was forecasting budgetary pressure, “the department is confident it can live within its equipment budget”.
There were also scenarios in which the MOD would have a surplus over 10 years, he said.
The government raised spending on defence by an extra 5 billion pounds earlier this year, increasing it to about 2.25% of gross domestic product this year and next. It had been about 2%.
Shapps said that the NAO’s report did not take into account the government’s aspiration to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP when economic conditions allowed.
“The Ministry of Defence acknowledges that its Equipment Plan for 2023–2033 is unaffordable,” NAO head Gareth Davies said in a statement.
NAO said decisions over scrapping or scaling back projects likely to be deemed “unaffordable” should not be deferred as this would risk “poor value for money”.
The budget deficit could be even higher, the NAO said, because the equipment plan it studied does not include things such as the cost of developing new capabilities or extending the life of some equipment including combat vehicles such as the Warrior and Challenger 2.
The 2023 Volta Trade and Investment Fair has recorded an increase in number of food vendors as compared to the 2021 event.
The increase, however, is not negatively affecting sales despite slow purchases on some days.
The Ghana News Agency’s (GNA) checks showed that pork sellers and fufu joints were in a comfortable lead.
Mr Boniface Agolma of Elvic Khebab City said they were located nationwide and participated in Fairs.
He said the rainfall during the occasion affected their activity leading to low sales, adding that they could barely sell 10 pounds of meat, compared to the previous year’s event where 40 pounds of meat could be sold in a day.
Mr Agolma said another challenge was the untimely set up of the venue.
Madam Doris Akafia of the Evergreen Gardens, another food joint in Ho said sales had been a bit slow but was hopeful things would pick up.
She said she would have to make accounts at the end of the Fair to determine a loss or gain, which will inform her decision to register for the next Fair.
The story of Madam Felicia Ankrah of Baby’s Chops Pork and Gizzard was not different from that of the others and said sales had been on and off coupled with the rains.
Madam Ankrah said she thought the increase in the number of food vendors could be due to more people beginning to understand the concept of business.
“Daouda Diallo was abducted by at least four unidentified men on Friday, December 1, 2023 at around 3:00 pm, in front of the passport department in Ouagadougou, where he had gone to renew his travel documents,” according to a statement released by the Coalition citoyenne pour le Sahel, a significant coalition of West African NGOs, on Sunday.
The coalition further demanded the “immediate release” of Diallo, the human rights defender from Burkina Faso, who was kidnapped by men in plain clothes on Friday. Since then, there has been “no news” about Diallo or “any information on the reasons for the abduction.”
The organization “demands the immediate and unconditional release of Dr Daouda Diallo, as well as guarantees of his physical and psychological integrity”.
“The abduction of a leading activist in broad daylight outside the premises of a public service calls for an immediate response from the government”, the coalition continues.
On Friday evening, the Collectif contre l’impunité et la stigmatisation des communautés (CISC), of which Mr. Diallo is Secretary General, had “strongly condemned” an “umpteenth arbitrary kidnapping” and demanded his “immediate and unconditional release”.
Winner of the 2022 Martin Ennals Award – also known as the Nobel Prize for Human Rights Defenders – Daouda Diallo was one of a number of voices critical of Burkina Faso’s ruling regime who had recently been “requisitioned” to take part in the fight against jihadism, according to Human Rights Watch.
Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who came to power in a coup in September 2022, signed a one-year “general mobilization” decree in April, allowing “young people aged 18 and over” to be requisitioned if necessary to fight the jihadists whose attacks regularly plunge the country into mourning.
On Sunday, the Coalition citoyenne pour le Sahel said the decree “must not be used as a pretext to arbitrarily target and silence independent voices”.
