Month: December 2021

President of the Confederations of Africa Football [CAF], Patrice Motsepe has insisted that the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations [Afcon] will be a success.

The 33rd edition of the continent’s most prestigious tournament was left in the balance after European Club Association [ECA] together with World League Forum [WLF] wrote to CAF and FIFA they will not release their African players for the tournament.

However, after several deliberations, players will join their respective countries on January 3 for the tournament which start on January 9 to February 6.

With all the stars set to assemble in Cameroon for the tournament, Motsepe is confident the tournament will be a success.

“We are going to host with the people of Cameroon an exceptional tournament. It will be the most successful AFCON (Cup of Nations),” he said.

“The world will witness the best of African football and hospitality. We can host a football tournament as good as any in Europe,” he added.

Source: Modern Ghana

Accra, Dec. 31, GNA – Ghanaian Afro pop, dancehall and reggae musician, Stonebwoy has urged African musicians especially Ghanaians and Nigerians to support each other in order to dominate the world music market.

Stonebwoy made this assertion on his official Twitter page after a banter on social media involving his fellow dancehall musician, Shatta Wale.

Shatta Wale while hosting a joint concert with rapper Medikal at the Accra Sports Stadium on December 25, said he does not need the help of Nigerian artistes to sell his show which aroused a social media backlash among Ghanaian and Nigerian music fans.

Stonebwoy in a Twitter post, advised Nigerians to allow other African musicians to flourish on their platforms to help foster unity and also to promote African music.

“Our Nigerian brothers must consider that their great power comes with the responsibility of helping to forge a united African front by deliberately allowing music from other African countries to pollinate Nigerian platforms on local and international levels”.

“This approach would enable the African sound to dominate the world as one big family and a global force,” he wrote on Twitter.

According to him, there was an iota of truth in what Shatta Wale said but went further to critique his approach of addressing the issue.

“My brother Shatta Wale’s approach may be wrong but the topic of our brother nation Nigeria not reciprocating the love and support it receives particularly from Ghana is valid and deserves critical attention,” Stonebwoy said.

He urged both Ghanaians home and abroad to emulate the Nigerian approach of patronizing an agenda to invest and support Ghanaian talent.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Kumasi, Dec. 31, GNA – The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) says efforts to pass the Tax Exemption Bill, 2021 is a good step towards sanitizing the tax exemptions regime from wanton abuse.

The Authority has, therefore, welcomed the Bill and looking forward to its passage to curtail exploitations and improve revenue mobilization for national development.

Mr Michael Acheampong, Office Manager of Asokwa Taxpayer Service Centre who made the observation, said the Bill when passed into law would enhance their work as implementers of tax laws in the country.

He was speaking at a Regional Tax Dialogue on Ghana’s Exemptions Bill, 2021 in Kumasi attended by participants drawn from the Northern, Upper East, North East, Ahafo, Bono, Bono East, and Ashanti Regions.

The participants were made up of representatives from the private sector, the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), entrepreneurs, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the media.

The dialogue was put together by the Tax Justice Coalition, Ghana (TJCG) in collaboration with Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) with funding from the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) under the Ghana Revenue Programme.

It sought to build a civil society alliance for consultations and inputs on the Exemption Bill and other domestic revenue mobilization strategies in Ghana.

Mr Acheampong said the perspective of the GRA about the exemptions regime was aptly captured in the Bill which sought to coordinate various laws in that environment for efficient administration.

“We understand that the Government is always looking for avenues to optimize revenue but we also understand the critical role of exemptions in every aspect of our lives,” he pointed out.

He said much as the government needed adequate revenue to prosecute its development agenda, certain vulnerable groups needed to be protected through threshold relieves and concessions due to their low level income.

Some businesses in certain parts of the country also require tax incentives to stimulate their growth, he noted.

“I must also admit that these incentives and exemptions are also needed to support the economic agenda of the government. So there are a lot of socio-economic and political reasons for giving tax exemptions,” Mr Acheampong indicated.

The other adverse effect of the exemptions, he said, was that it eroded the tax base of the economy as a result of low level of taxes.

He said exemptions also distorted fair competition among businesses in the same industry where private projects were granted exemptions which were not available to other players of the same industry.

Mr Louis Acheampong, Coordinator of TJCG said the Coalition was part of the global advocacy network committed to ensuring that taxes and domestic revenues mobilised were appropriately utilised to enhance the development of the country.

He said Ghana had a lot of tax incentives granted by Parliament, Ministries and other authorities at different levels hence the introduction of the Exemptions Bill to bring them together to ensure proper coordination.

He noted that there were numerous exemptions granted to multinational and local companies with the aim of attracting foreign direct investments and also promoting local industries.

The dialogue, according to him, was to collate inputs of various stakeholders across the country and present to Parliament for consideration ahead of the passage of the Bill into law.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Cape Coast, Dec. 31, GNA— The Central Regional Police Command has cautioned holiday revelers to celebrate the New Year in moderation to avoid the excesses associated with it.

It said: “revelers are encouraged to ensure law and order at all times. The Police will deal ruthlessly with all manner of persons found to have contravened the laws without fear or favour.”

“Our men are on guard at various public places, entertainment centres, pubs, and beaches to maintain public peace and human safety, it added.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), Kwadwo Antwi Tabi, gave the caution at a media briefing on security preparations in the region at Cape Coast on Friday.

He also cautioned residents and the general public not to take their personal security for granted during the festive season as criminals will take advantage with the least opportunity.

“This is the period theft and burglary tend to rise, so people must secure their homes, vehicles, and shops and desist from revealing sensitive personal information such as their home address, financial information, phone number, and travel details to strangers,” he stressed.

The Central Regional Police Commander said the Police would be on the roads to ensure road traffic regulations were obeyed, while patrolling to forestall any highway robberies.

He cautioned vehicle owners, drivers, and other road users to be vigilant when using the road to avoid collisions due to the nature of some of the roads.

He also urged vehicle owners and pedestrians to be very vigilant when using the road for their day-to-day activities so that there will be no cause for accidents on the roads, adding that vigilance would reduce road crashes considerably.

On the COVID-19 pandemic, he called on the people to observe the protocols to avert the spread of the virus, saying, the Police will ensure strict enforcement to safeguard public health.

He asked residents to refrain from flouting laws on social distancing, wearing of nose masks, private funerals, and church services duration.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Koforidua,— Traffic lights on nearly all major roads in the Eastern Regional capital, Koforidua, have not been functioning for months, raising concerns of road accidents and knockdowns among motorists and pedestrians.

Many of the traffic lights found on the major routes in the city are faulty and the signals have not been working for months, causing heavy gridlocks during rush hours and market days.

Ghana News Agency (GNA) investigations showed that some traffic lights at the principal intersections were not functioning at all despite electricity supply.

The lights were either all yellow in the day or did not display any signal at all.

In some areas, it was either showing red or yellow or green without changing.

The GNA further discovered that most of the traffic lights were old-fashioned, use electricity to function, as none appeared to be using solar energy.

However, officials of the Department of Urban Roads (DUR) under the Ministry of Roads and Highways in the Eastern Region, said the Department began rolling out a solar system to power traffic lights in 2014.

The initiative was expected to serve as a buffer to power outages and ensure the continuous functioning of the lights to control road traffic jams and accidents in the city.

Speaking to the GNA, Mr Ebenezer Kam, Maintenance Engineer, Department of Urban Roads, said there were 12 traffic lights in Koforidua out of which 10 were functioning and two broken-down.

He explained that one of the non-functioning traffic lights, Ada Rd/Hospital Rd/Nana Kweku Boateng 1, has not been functioning for years now.

He attributed the broken down traffic lights to persistent theft of poles and cables and breakages due to the digging of manholes as well as a faulty controller.

Mr Kam said approval had been given to a contractor to upgrade the signalized intersection.

He said the Kassadjan Rd/Aburi Rd (Poly Junction) defects were due to power supply failure and had since 4th December 2021 been reported to the contractor in charge for maintenance.

He added that other areas which were malfunctioning have been fixed and also subjected to upgrading.

These include Nana Asafo Adjei Rd/Nana Osei Hwedie Rd (B Foster) and Nana Asafo Adjei Rd/Old Estate Rd (Bula spot).

He urged motorists and pedestrians to exercise restraints while the situation was fixed.

The traffic lights, which were found not working, included Kassadjan/Aburi (Poly Junction), Shell Filling Station heading towards Effiduase, Regional Hospital and B Foster as well as Regional Hospital one that connects to All Nations University and Poly Clinic.

The Kassadjan/Aburi traffic light routes serve many pedestrians such as students crossing the road to and fro Koforidua Technical University, New Juaben SHS, basic schools and JHS, hostels and houses.

Some students, who spoke with the GNA, said several people use the traffic signal to cross the road but because it was faulty, pedestrians, especially students, find it difficult to cross.

They, therefore, appealed to authorities to fix the situation to help save lives.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Reverend Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, Executive Director, Africa Alliance for Christian Advocacy (AACA), has rallied Church leaders and religious stakeholders to support the efforts of the Police to respond to religious excesses.

He said it was only prudent to support the police, who have initiated measures to forestall the unpleasant, misleading theologies and religious abuses in the name of prophecies, which had created panic and fear in the public.

Such prophecies have also frustrated the Christian public testimony and threatened religious harmony.

“Over the years, in the name of religion, some Human rights have been abused and we have found instances where specific names of key personalities had been mentioned to die within the year and, therefore, we must as key stakeholders in the religious domain support this novel effort of the Ghana Police Service without any doubt,” he said.

He said the Constitution, which provided liberties for the church to operate freely without any hindrance or interference, also guarantees the right to privacy to every Ghanaian irrespective of creed or status and that must not be lost on religious leaders as they make preparations to usher in the new year with religious and spiritual activities.

Speaking in an interview with the GNA on a recent statement by the Police on careless 31st Night Prophesies, Reverend Opuni-Frimpong, a former General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, described the call by the Police as apt.

He said it was a subtle reminder of the constitutional right within the existing framework of the laws of the country and nothing new and, therefore, imperative for all stakeholders to give their maximum support.

Some pastors and prophets have become notorious for wild prophecies, including those that bordered on the rights and security of persons and which political party was ordained by God to win during elections.

On the concerns of others on why the Police had waited until now or not invited previous offenders, he stressed, “why we have waited till now is a legitimate question, but what is wrong yesterday is certainly not right today and it’s only prudent to implement measures to address it at a point.”

Source: Ghana News Agency