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E-levy regressive; national dialogue needed on Ghana’s return to IMF – Bokpin

  Economist and Finance Lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), Prof. Godfred Bokpin, wants the government to tread cautiously in its pursuit to raise revenue to salvage the economy. He says ongoing discussions on the imposition of the Electronic Transaction Levy and the country’s possible return to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should be well-thought through. Speaking on   Eyewitness News , Prof. Godfred Bokpin, who is strongly in opposition to the E-levy advocated for home-grown solutions, also called for a national consultative dialogue on whether Ghana should fall back to the IMF in these crucial moments. “I don’t support E-levy because it is not the way to go. It’s regressive and even if it’s passed, it’s not Ghana’s solution. But for going back to IMF, let’s have a national conversation around it. Let’s have a home-grown way with clear benchmark indicators and requirements. That cannot support this large government and wasteful expenditures. This is th

Mahama recounts where and how he received the news about Prof Mills’ passing

  Former President John Dramani Mahama, has for the first time, disclosed where he was and how he received news about the death of his boss, the late Professor John Evans Fiifi Atta-Mills. He was speaking at the launch of the Atta-Mills Memorial Heritage on Tuesday. The event, which was held at the Cedi Center, University of Ghana, Legon, brought together scores of party supporters and other dignitaries. According to him, on the day Professor Mills died, he was informed by Sir James Beebako-Mensah, (Professor Mills’ secretary) that, he, John Mahama, would be acting as the President of Ghana on that faithful day, July 24. This was because, the President was likely to travel to Nigeria. Based on the scheduled travel, Professor Mills made a specific request for Mahama to stand in for him at the official launch of the ‘Brand Ghana Project’ at the Accra International Conference Center. John Mahama said he attended the function in the company of the Chief of Staff, Mr. John Henry Martey Newm

Supreme Court directs Registrar to serve NDC MP James Quayson as an individual, not MP.

The Supreme Court has asked its Registrar to serve notice of a suit before it to NDC MP, James Gyekye Quayson as an individual and not a Member of Parliament. The order was issued on Tuesday, February 1 2022, when the case involving the governing NPP and Mr. Quayson was heard. This became necessary because attempts by the bailiff to serve the suit on Mr. Qauyson, through Parliament has proved futile. Mr. Quayson, according to  JoyNews ’ Joseph Ackah Blay, has not been served with the process. Speaker Alban Bagbin has also not received the process as he is out of the country. The NPP claims that Mr. Quayson cannot continue performing Parliamentary duties because he was not qualified when he applied to contest on the ticket of the NDC in the Assin North Constituency. The Director of Elections of the NPP, Evans Nimako said in court that the judicial process will be used to stop the MP from attending Parliament “We’re in the Supreme Court to seek interpretation of article 94(2a) in additio

My Father Was A Chronic Womanizer Who Had 4 Wives And Many Side Chicks – Mzbel Reveals In New Video

  Ghanaian musician turned media personality,   Mzbel   has made public some well kept secrets about her late father that has shocked many. Mzbel, born Belinda Nana Ekua Amoah received news of that death of her father Mr. Amoah few days ago while hosting her relationship radio show. She stopped the show half way and stormed out of the studio saying she needed to see the mortal remains of her father before he was buried as Muslim customs demand. Mzbel has disclosed in a new video circulating online that her father was a womanizer who had affair with numerous slay queens despite having 4 wives. She said in a Facebook live that her father was very polygamous and believed in having many wives so he married four women but that was not enough to stop him from having more.

Government’s spin on E-levy disrespectful – Kofi Bentil

  Senior Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, says the inconsistencies in government’s communication over the Electronic Transaction Levy Bill (E-levy) amounts to a disrespect of people’s intelligence.  He said government has not been objective in its consultations over E-levy as certain groups are deliberately left out, creating room for some selected persons to rain praises on the policy. The private legal practitioner described the tax policy as “unpopular” when he was hosted by Joy News’ Samson Lardy Anyenini on Newsfile on Saturday. He added that the position of government officials and how they communicate about the proposed levy is what gives the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) the room to oppose it. “Sometimes, it’s very interesting how people come and spin and expect that we believe it, assuming that we don’t know what is going on. They’ve gone back to do the so-called consultations and in doing that, they are creating these crowds of selected people and

AFCON 2021: Burkina Faso book semi-final spot after Tunisia victory

  Teenager Dango Ouattara scored the only goal and was sent off as Burkina Faso surprised Tunisia to reach the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals. Ouattara, 19, ran onto Blati Toure’s through ball, held off two defenders and cut inside before firing in. But he was then sent off in the 82nd minute for an elbow on Ali Maaloul. The Stallions, who have never won the tournament, will meet the winner of Sunday’s BBC Two game between Senegal and Equatorial Guinea (19:00 GMT). But they will be without Ouattara, now suspended after his late dismissal. It came after referee Joshua Bondo’s second trip to the monitor for a video assistant referee check in quick succession. Ouattara, 19, ran onto Blati Toure’s through ball, held off two defenders and cut inside before firing in. But he was then sent off in the 82nd minute for an elbow on Ali Maaloul. The Stallions, who have never won the tournament, will meet the winner of Sunday’s BBC Two game between Senegal and Equatorial Guinea (19:00 GMT). But

Couple of coups may happen in West Africa between now and June 2023 – Prof. Aning

  The Director of the Faculty of Academic Affairs and Research at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Prof. Kwesi Aning, is predicting a couple of coup d’etats in the West African Region. He said if the regional bloc, ECOWAS and the African Union (AU) does not urgently resolve the insecurity threats in the region. This, he said, is a result of the trajectory of extreme violence and the toxicity in politics such as excessive corruption, unemployment, poor educational system and other underlying factors of political instability present in most West African countries. Speaking to host Samson Lardy Anyenini on the Burkina Faso crisis on  Newsfile,   Saturday, Prof. Aning said the region is likely to experience two more of such political instability between now and June 2023. “This would not be the end of it. Between now and June 2023, we would see similar things happen. Probably two more. If we don’t stem the tides between now and 2023 then we get two more,

Commercial transport operators to decide on fare increment on Feb. 2

  The Coalition of Private Transport Operators and the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) says engagements on the increment of fares will be concluded on February 2. According to the commercial drivers, they were torn between increasing transport fares and asking for a reduction in petroleum prices, but they hope to conclude next week after their deliberations. Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Concerned Drivers Association, David Agboado, said they will push for government to reduce taxes on petroleum products. He added that they will also consider increasing the fares. “As for the lorry fares, I hope that we will increase it and that we will still fight for the scrapping of taxes on petroleum products. We will communicate the conclusion on Wednesday because we must write to Parliament and do other necessary follow-ups.” “For the percentage on the transport fares, I can’t give it out now because everything must be agreed upon, and we are coming up with a reasonable percen

Implement strategies to sustain increased consumer preference for digital payments – Bawumia

  Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has asked African countries to introduce innovative ways and strategies to sustain the increased consumer preference for digital payments. According to him, this will ensure the smooth and effective implementation of the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) as well as an increase in intra-African trade.  Speaking at the commercial launch of the Payment System in Accra, Dr. Bawumia also called for strict enforcement of the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, and the regulatory framework for financial services to alleviate some of the challenges of regulatory divergence. “We have also witnessed the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economies across the globe, and more especially on the African economies. The pandemic continues to reverse some of the economic gains we have achieved and also brought to the fore sustainability of some of these interventions. Trade has also been impacted through disruption to supply

Government allocates GH¢44 million to contain Bird Flu outbreak

  Government has released GH¢44 million to contain the spread of bird flu across the country.  This was disclosed by the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Akoto Afriyie.  This comes on the back of reported cases of bird flu across the country. According to the Agric Ministry, the outbreak, which occurred in seven out of the sixteen regions affected over 700,000 birds. The Minister for Food and Agriculture, at a press briefing in Accra, announced some major interventions, including the allocation of money to curb the spread of bird flu. “It will be recalled that government granted approval for the immediate recruitment and deployment of an initial 550 veterinary professionals out of a total 1,100 professionals throughout the country. The intervention also includes approval for the release of an emergency budget support of approximately GH¢44 million to the ministry. This is for the implementation of an action plan involving some key activities for combating the bird flu. Thes

Too many tax policy inconsistencies worrying – Tax Analyst

  Tax Analyst, Francis Timore Boi has bemoaned the trend of tax policy inconsistencies from the government. According to him, the regular announcement of tax policies followed by a withdrawal of same isn’t good for the government. Since 2017 till date the government has made major U-turns in connection with some key policy proposals, including the mandatory towing levy, the luxury vehicle levy, the benchmark values discount policy, among others. Currently, government is embarking on a sensitization campaign on the controversial E-Levy after major pushback from different quarters. In an interview with   Citi Business News  on the best way forward, Francis Timore Boi charged government to do comprehensive engagement with all relevant stakeholders on future policies. “The problem I have is the policy inconsistencies. For example, we have the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement and the Headquarters being in Ghana. Our aim is to produce and export under the program. If we thought

1.75% E-Levy is lowest tax in Ghana – Ursula

  Communications and Digitalization Minister, Ursula Owusu Ekuful believes the 1.75 percent tax on electronic financial transactions, also known as the E-Levy when compared to other taxes introduced in Ghana, is the lowest so far. She made this claim during the maiden edition of government’s town hall meeting on E-Levy held on Thursday, January 27th at Koforidua in the Eastern Region. The townhall meeting, according to government is part of measures to engage the public and bring them to speed on the need to implement the policy, ahead of the relaying of the controversial 1.75 percent Electronic Transfer Levy in Parliament. Speaking at the government’s town hall meeting in Koforidua, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful also charged Ghanaians to embrace the E-levy as it holds the key to solving the country’s unemployment and infrastructural problems. “In 2008 the government of president Kufour introduced the communications services tax in August of that year. And it became another source of income for

One dead, others injured in crash on Hohoe-Kadjebi road

  A man believed to be in his 40s lost his life on the Hohoe-Kadjebi road, while others have sustained various degree of injuries after being involved in an accident. The accident which occurred on Saturday afternoon between Bowuri and Akpafu, according to sources, was as a result of the car developing a flat tyre leading to the driver losing control of the urvan bus which was transporting passengers including students from the Bueman Senior High School in the Oti Region. Citi News  sources indicated that the vehicle somersaulted several times and landed upside down, killing the man on the spot. Some injured persons are currently on admission at the Hohoe Municipal Hospital, while others have been treated and discharged.The 30-kilometre stretch of the Eastern Corridor road project from Hohoe to Jasikan is progressing steadily but has become prone to vehicular accidents.

E-Levy may lead to 24% drop in MoMo transactions – John Kumah

The government is expecting Mobile Money transactions to drop by about 24 percent after the introduction of the Electronic Transfer Levy, a deputy Finance Minister, John Kumah, has said. Speaking on  The Big Issue , Mr. Kumah said the government also had a plan to boost education on the controversial e-levy. “The research we did also told us that there will be about 24 percent attrition rate in the three months to six months that we will introduce it.” “The research same told us what should be done to bring back these people after a while, and we have all these things in place,” Mr. Kumah said. “It is a matter of engagement and letting people understand that, don’t avoid it. It is your pride of place as a Ghanaian to know that your contribution is helping to build your country.” Mr. Kumah also said the government is “more than confident” that the level of attrition rate “will not lead to job losses.” The government has proposed a new 1.5 percent rate for the levy, which was earlier peg

University of Ghana student drowns in swimming pool

A student of the University of Ghana has reportedly drowned following an unsuccessful attempt to swim in the university’s swimming pool. According to  Radio Univers , the university’s radio station, the incident occurred on Saturday, January 29, 2022. Radio Univers reported that the deceased was a male student at level 100 whose name is yet to be established. “The student, whose name is yet to be disclosed, drowned after he attempted to swim at a depth of 21 feet in the pool this afternoon,” Radio Univers reported on its website. An eyewitness who spoke to the campus radio said: “…the guy went to the 21ft and was asked to go back the first time…not knowing, he went there again and the next thing they heard was that he had drowned”. In a video making rounds on social media, some persons, believed to be students of the university, were seen trying to retrieve the body of the supposed drowned student from the pool. Meanwhile, management of the University of Ghana is yet to comment on the