Day: March 19, 2023

In show of massive support for Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, over 80 lawmakers, government appointees and some stakeholders who matter within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) accompanied him to Akwasidae at Manhyia Palace in Kumasi.

The move according to political pundits is a strong signal to those who have consistently been peddling falsehood that the second gentleman of the land has no support base within the party.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia who has over the period won for himself the support of the party continues to attract party grassroots.

Others accompanying the Vice President include; Ashanti Region Constituency Executives of the party, some party elders, some Ministers of State and their Deputies, some Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and other appointees of government.

Father and son relationship between Otumfuo and Bawumia

The father and son relationship between Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is not hidden.

It was manifested in 2021 though it had existed when Dr. Bawumia visited the King to appreciate the support extended to him during the funeral of his mother, Hajia Mariama Bawumia.

According to him, the Asantehene’s support for him was a clear evidence that indeed Otumfuo is the father for all, so it is in the right direction for him to take Otumfuo as his father.

The Vice President stated that he and his siblings would hurriedly respond to every call of the Asante Monarch, who is their father, adding that he respect and cherish Otumfuo.

“Otumfuo you are my everything now; you are my father and whenever you call me, whether morning, afternoon, evening or midnight, I will quickly make myself available,” he said.

Otumfuo recently at the commissioning of the newly refurbished ultra-modern Kumasi Central Mosque openly accepted him as a son revealing to the gathering how he nurtured him.

Source: Ghana Web

Constituency Chairmen of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Greater Accra Region have presented a cheque of GH¢ 405,000 to former president and flagbearer candidate of the NDC, John Dramani Mahama.

Builsa South Member of Parliament, Dr. Clement Apaak who announced this on Facebook said that the move was to show their support and endorsement of John Mahama as the next flagbearer of the party.

“Greater Accra constituency chairmen presented a cheque of 405,000ghc to JM on 17/3/23 as part of their commitment as pledged. Well done chairmen! The train towards victory 2024 is moving . Together we CAN BUILD THE GHANA WE WANT!” he said.

Briefly after the party announced the details and modalities governing the presidential and parliamentary primaries of the NDC on February 22, 2023, the chairmen paid a courtesy visit to the former president John Dramani Mahama and pleaded with him to lead the NDC against the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the coming 2024 general elections.

To give roots to their support and endorsement, the Greater Accra Chairmen caucus led by Isaac Lamptey, the Constituency Chairman of Dome Kwabenya pledged to raise and pay the filling fee of GH¢500,000 for Mr. Mahama to contest the primaries.

These Chairmen also called on all party faithful to work assiduously towards a united NDC and work collectively to ensure the party wins victory in December 2024.

Four persons have so far picked up nomination forms to contest in the National Democratic Congress’ flagbearership race slated for May 13, 2023.

The party on Friday, February 24, 2023, closed the window for presidential hopefuls to pick up nomination forms.

The four persons who have so far picked up the forms include former President John Dramani Mahama, former Finance Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, former Mayor of Kumasi, Kojo Bonsu and businessman, Ernest Kwaku Krobea.

Source: Ghana Web

Paul Okoye of the P-Square duo has lamented the high incompetence of security agencies in the country.

According to him, security personnel, like the police are one of Nigeria’s many problems as they do not work effectively.

Reacting to how the elections have been conducted so far, Paul took to Twitter on March 18, 2023, and wrote, “Until we realize our major problem in Nigeria is the security agencies … someone is threatening some certain tribes in Lagos, and the police came out to say he was just joking.”

He added: “Now look at what is happening in Lagos today!! Oga Police was he really joking? Sha*eless people.”

Source: Ghana Web

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) will, on Monday, March 20, 2023, deliver ‘the true state of the nation address”.

The event will take place at the University of professional studies (UPSA) and will be delivered by the chairman of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah.

The event will focus on the economy and the factors that have made the country seek for a financial bailout from the IMF.

The event is also expected to counter the State of the nation address delivered by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament says Ghana will not be able to secure the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) board approval at the end of March 2023, contrary to claims by the government.

The opposition group explained that the government has not been able to satisfy the financing assurances regarding the bailout which includes the board documents.

“Mr Speaker, our President said on authority that Ghana would get an IMF Board approval by the end of this month, I don’t know who is briefing our President, but Ghana will not be able to get an IMF Board approval by the end of this month because even the board documents are prepared,” he said.

Minority leader, Cassiel Ato Forson further said, Ghana has to seek for financial aid from China.

“We need to get China to give Ghana financing assurance and that they are ready to take a haircut and China has not agreed,” he noted.

Source: Ghana Web

Gospel singer, Piesie Esther has, for the first time, been nominated by the Ghana Music Awards under the ‘Artiste of the Year’ category where she will be battling it out with the likes of Sarkodie, Stonebwoy, King Promise and four others.

Young rapper, Black Sherif who has recorded huge success in the industry and graced all the big stages is also aiming for the highest title in Ghana’s music industry.

Camidoh, Ghana’s finest singer and ‘Sugarcane’ hitmaker is among the first-timers under this category.

The eight nominees for the 24th VGMA Artiste of the Year are Black Sherif, Stonebwoy, Sarkodie, King Promise, Camidoh, KiDi, Piesie Esther and Joe Mettle.

The reigning VGMA Artiste of the Year, KiDi, from Lynx Entertainment is looking forward to retaining his title, however, he will face stiff competition.

The 24th Vodafone Ghana Music Awards comes off on May 13, 2023.

Source: Ghana Web

A Senior Lecturer at the Marketing Department of the Kumasi Technical University KsTU, Dr. Collins Kankam Kwarteng has called for the immediate arrest of managers of the Kejetia new market in the Kumasi Metropolis of the Ashanti.

His call follows revelation that, fire certificate and insurance on the facility had expired for over a year now without renewal.

Speaking to newsmen in Kumasi after visiting the scene on Thursday March 16, 2023 , the Ashanti Regional Fire Commander, ACFO1 Henry Giwah, explained, “so far as I’m concerned they don’t have a fire certificate, but our men are there making sure that things are working. We identified some lapses, we informed management of the market, they promised to fix it for which reason we have not even renewed their certificate. We were going to make sure those things are rectified first. They promised to fix the defects when we wrote to them, that is where we were and the fire occurred”.

He further said, “they actually applied for renewal, and we told them exactly what we want them to do before we can renew. There are minimum qualifications they needed to meet before it could be granted”.

Asked if the GNFS failed managers of the new Kejetia market by watching the illegalities, he said, “maybe you can also say that, but not that our men have been watching unconcerned. They have been doing what they are supposed to do, they have been recommending every now and then. I had the opportunity of bringing this as far as to the Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC)”.

Traders at the Kejetia Market on Wednesday witnessed a devastating fire outbreak destroying some 54 shops and wares worth millions of cedis. It later came out that insurance policy and fire certificate on the facility were not active as it had expired long time ago.

Source: Ghana Web

Nsoatreman FC humbled Accra Lions with a 3-0 victory at Nana Kromansah Park on Sunday afternoon in match week 22 of the 2022/23 Ghana Premier League.

The hosts scored twice in the first period of game before adding a third in the second to see out Ibrahim Tanko’s side.

The win takes Nsoatreman from the 13th position to 10th (30 points) while Accra Lions are still second with 37 points.

The home side took the lead against the capital-based outfit through a Nana Kwame Junior strike after 31 minutes.

With three minutes to the end of the first half, Mark Agyekum doubled the lead for the Ghana Premier League newcomers to send them into break two goals up.

Hearts of Oak loanee Abu Mohammed Ushau put the game beyond the reach of Accra Lions by scoring the third 10 minutes into the second half for Nsoatreman.

There were no further goals as the game ended with the three goals.

Nsoatreman FC will play as guests to Dreams FC on Sunday, March 26 in week 23 of the 2022/23 Ghana Premier League while Accra Lions host Bechem United at Accra Sports Stadium a day earlier.

Source: Ghana Web

With a track record of successful ventures under his belt, Jesse Ghansah, a Ghanaian serial entrepreneur, has emerged as a leading disruptor in the fintech space, introducing innovative solutions that are transforming the African financial industry.

Ghansah’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2014 when he co-founded three startups, which unfortunately discontinued after two years.

However, in 2016, he gained global recognition for his media company, OMG Digital, which was accepted into the prestigious Y Combinator startup accelerator program. OMG Digital, which owned OMGVoice and Bitnode, became known as the “BuzzFeed of Africa.”

Jesse Ghansah launched Float in 2020 to address African SMEs’ financing and cashflow issues.

After departing from OMG Digital, Ghansah shifted his focus to fintech, recognizing that financing cash flow problems presented a substantial hurdle for African small and medium-sized enterprises.

His unwavering commitment to solving these cash flow issues drove him to co-found Float (previously known as Swipe), a San Francisco-based fintech startup that provides flexible credit lines to cover cash flow gaps for SMEs in Africa, in January 2020.

Float’s innovative solutions have transformed the way businesses in various industries, including fintech, retail, manufacturing, e-commerce, media, and health, operate.

With a 26-fold increase in payment transactions, the startup has enabled hundreds of businesses to access more than $10 million in credit spending and cash advances.

With $17 million in funding secured from investors, Float is set for expansion in the fintech space

In recent times, Float has garnered the attention of institutional investors, leading to a successful seed funding round of $17 million in 2022.

The funding included a $7-million equity investment and a $10-million debt financing, with Cauris Finance leading the debt financing and JAM Fund and Tiger Global co-leading the equity financing.

Thus far, the funding round’s proceeds have been directed towards bolstering its cash management systems and launching new credit solutions tailored to specific industries.

Additionally, the company is utilizing the funds to expand its operations in Ghana and Nigeria, as well as introduce its services in Kenya and South Africa.

Ghansah’s entrepreneurial journey is a remarkable illustration of perseverance and determination in the face of adversity. Despite experiencing setbacks with three previous startups, he persisted and successfully established a thriving media company.

By bridging the financing gap for SMEs and supplying much-needed liquidity to millions of businesses across the continent, Ghansah and his team are paving the way for a more robust and sustainable African economy.

With his focus now on Float’s expansion plans, he is poised to make a significant impact on Africa’s financial technology industry.

Source: Ghana Web