Author: hammad

Ashaiman,- Some toll collectors and hawkers at the Ashaiman Tema Motorway tollbooth end have expressed disappointment and worry over the nationwide cessation of road and bridge toll collection.

According to them, the policy by the government would worsen the country’s unemployment situation and make life unbearable.

Mr Rashad Mohammed Rahmat, toll collector at the Ashaiman Tema Motorway tollbooth in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said the cessation of toll collection on public roads was frustrating and must be looked at.

Mr Rahmat who is also a member of Ghana Society for the Physically Challenged, said the policy would cause a lot of problems including unemployment and persons with disability would be most affected.

He said the decision by the government to indulge the disabled in toll collection had helped better their lives hence ceasing the work without any proper arrangement would cause more harm to the ordinary disabled toll collector hence the need to get the directive to be reviewed.

Although the government indicated that, all toll collectors would be reassigned, Mr Rahmat insisted that there was an ambiguity in the statement therefore the need for clarity on the directive.

He pleaded with government to revisit its decision and directive.

Mrs Bernice Amakie also a toll collector reiterated the need for the government to focus on reducing unemployment rather than increasing it and requested for more education on the directive.

Some hawkers who works around the two tollbooth stations at the Ashaiman Motorway told the GNA-Tema that they were not expecting the sudden move by the government.

They said hawking around such areas was the only job available to them as it aids them to get food on the table for their families.

They therefore called on the government to reconsider its decision in other not to deny them their livelihood.

Mr Ken Ofori Atta, the Minister for Finance in his delivery of the 2022 budget and policy speech in Parliament on Wednesday November 17, 2021 on the theme: “Building a Sustainable Entrepreneurial Nation: Fiscal Consolidation And Job Creation” stated the abolition of the tollbooth levy.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Tamale,- Some youth groups in the Northern Region have commended the government over the ‘Youstart’ initiative in its 2022 budget and economic policy statement for the country.

The initiative which seeks to create about one million jobs will serve as an alternative for supporting young entrepreneurs to gain access to capital and technical support to launch and grow their own businesses.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tamale, some youth leaders expressed optimism over the initiative and its ability to address the rising unemployment situation amongst the youth.

Ms Issah Rahama, Executive Director of Youth Alive Global (YAG), a youth empowerment organization said the YouStart initiative by the government in its 2022 budget was a laudable initiative because youth unemployment was gradually becoming a threat to National security and stability.

“As a youth advocate, my greatest fulfillment is to see the youth being engaged in productive ventures that will enrich them and make them more responsible to their families and the country”

She called on the government and other stakeholders to ensure that they worked towards the fulfilment of the budget statement to win the trust and confidence of the youth.

Mr Bawa Sheriff, immediate past President of the National Service Personnel Association (NASPA) in the Tamale Metropolis commended the government for the initiative, saying it would help cushion the unemployment situation in the country by engaging the youth in businesses that would provide incomes to protect livelihoods.

He called on the youth to position themselves to take advantage of the initiative geared towards minimizing youth unemployment.

“Most of the incidences of crime in our country could be traced to unemployment, this initiative in a way will complement other efforts of government in ensuring that crime and other deviant activities are reduced to minimum”.

Mr Issah Baba, Assembly Member for the Sagnarigu Electoral Area in the Sagnarigu Municipality in the Northern Region urged the government to stay true to its policies and programmes for the people, “I have no double about the relevance of this initiative, especially to the teeming unemployed youth, but my concern has to do with implementation and sustainability”

He called on the government to ensure the full implementation of the initiative to provide jobs and businesses for the youth to minimize rural-urban migration in the country.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ho,- Togbe Tepre Hodo IV, President of the Volta Region House of Chiefs has reminded Africa’s traditional leaders of their role in ensuring the development of the Continent.

He said collaboration had become necessary towards effective resource utilisation, especially as the chieftaincy institution was advancing with individuals of diverse backgrounds and expertise.

Togbe Tepe Hodo, also President of the Anfoega Traditional Council, made the call when Ambassadors and High Commissioners from nine countries called on the leadership of the House, and said it was time the chieftaincy institution repositioned to affect continental integration and development.

“I know in your countries also you have similar institutions, and so maybe what we should be looking at is some measures of collaboration to see how best we can tap into those resources which would be of benefit towards our goal of Africanization.

“I think that we all owe it as a duty to ourselves particularly, as Africans, to do what we can to assist each other to move this continent forward,” he said.

Among the entourage were ambassadors from Togo, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, India, and Kenya, who had attended the opening ceremony of the Fifth Volta Trade and Investment Fair.

Mr. Eliaphas Barine, Kenyan High Commissioner, extolled Ghana’s cultural heritage, saying the nation “has done so well. Not many of the countries have been able to retain, maintain, and sustain the culture like it has been entrenched so deeply here.

He added that the nation’s chieftaincy institution was also being observed with “great admiration” for among others, the caliber of individuals leading it, and that the visit was to reiterate commitment to sustaining multinational relationships, pledging also that the diplomatic call would help explore areas of collaboration for development.

The High Commissioner noted that with challenging youth employment, agribusiness, ICT and tourism should be the focus of the leadership of the Continent.

The 2021 Volta Trade Fair is a two-week event on the theme “Promoting Sustainable Trade and Investment”, with some 300 exhibitors and thousands of visitors.

It was initiated to expose the Region’s industrial and investment potentials, and is under the auspices of the Volta regional Coordinating Council, the Ministry of Trade, the Association of Ghana Industries and the Ghana Tourism Authority.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The recent tidal waves that hit the Anlo district, Keta, and Ketu South municipalities brought untold hardship and suffering to the affected areas.

Videos and still images from the region showed misery and grief in the aftermath of destruction left by the tidal waves. The spectacle of devastation touched many hearts. Therefore, it was no surprise that Rosemary Amegashie and Reuben Hadzide, indigenes from the area, now residing in Chicago, Illinois, USA, decided to donate their widows might in support of the people affected.

They donated bags of rice and cooking oil through the Caring Sisters of Anlo Traditional Area, who are currently coordinating other relief items to the affected districts.

Matilda Dzomeku, a friend of the Hadzide family, donated the items on their behalf. Receiving the items in the absence of the President of Caring sisters, Ms. Sese Gadzekpo, a member of the board of directors, noted that over three thousand families are displaced, schools destroyed or closed down, and citizens in the area have lost their income. She used the occasion to thank all those who have donated through the Caring Sisters NGO.

So far, Caring Sisters, whose members are all indigenes of the area, have joined with the Association of Bankers and Corporate Ghana and have donated relief items worth about one million Ghana cedis to affected victims.

The Caring Sisters NGO is highly recommended to individuals, groups, corporate entities, and NGOs. You can reach them by calling the President, Sese Gadzekpo, at 0244 342 070or Nicole at 0246 569 575. Their Momo account link is 0559 284 986.

Source: Ghana Web

Member of Parliament for Madina, Mr Francis-Xavier Sosu, has described government’s 1.75 per cent tax on mobile money transactions as a deterrent to establishing new businesses.

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta announced the MoMo tax when he presented the 2022 budget to parliament on Wednesday, 17 November 2021.

In a tweet on Thursday, 18 November 2021, the opposition MP said: “As an MP who is concerned about youth unemployment, the government’s entrepreneurship agenda sounded great.”

However, Mr Sosu noted, the E-Levy wears down the government’s commitment to providing support to new businesses.

He said the government’s commitment to this agenda is “eroded by the 1.75 per cent tax on e-transactions including MoMo”.

“The tax is a disincentive rather than a boost for startups,” the Madina MP said.

All users of electronic banking across the country will be charged a rate of 1.75 per cent on transactions under the “Electronic Transaction Levy or E-Levy,” once the budget is passed.

According to the Finance Minister, the levy on all electronic transactions across the country is to enable the government to widen the tax net.

He said: “Electronic transactions covering mobile money payments, bank transfers, merchant payments and inward remittances will be charged at an applicable rate of 1.75%, which shall be borne by the sender except for inward remittances, which will be borne by the recipient.”

He added: “This new policy comes into effect from 1 February 2022″.

“The government will work with all industry partners to ensure that their systems and payment platforms are configured to implement the policy.”

Source: Modern Ghana

Sunyani,– The Ultimate Women’s Foundation has applauded Hasaacas Ladies FC for qualifying for the final of the TotalEnergy’s Confederation of African Football (CAF) Women Championship League.

The Ghanaian club booked a slot in the epic final showdown, to be staged at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo, Egypt on Friday, November 19 after beating the Moroccan side, AS FAR in a 2-1 win on Monday.

“With the scintillating performance demonstrated so far, we believe Hasaacas Ladies FC would lift the trophy and make Ghana proud”, the Foundation said in a press statement issued and made available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani.

The statement signed by Dr. Freda Prempeh, the founder of the Foundation which works to motivate women to aspire higher in life stressed “Ghanaians are really proud of you and we salute you as women”, and asked the club to eschew complacency, but instead prepare and train harder to win the ultimate.

“As a football fan, Founder of Women’s Supporters Union and Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee, AFCON women’s championship, I am extremely happy for the club and its management and technical team”, the statement said.

“Women can indeed excel in all forms if given the opportunity, required recognition and support as well”, it added and advised Ghanaians to support and motivate the club to make Ghana proud.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Tema,— Scores of drivers in the Tema Metropolis and Ashaiman municipality have expressed mixed feelings towards the directive by the government to abolish toll collection on all public roads and called for wider education on the directive.

In an interaction with the Ghana News Agency on Thursday in Tema, Mr William Nartey, a commercial driver commended the government.

He said with over 20 years’ experience in driving; “I can say without a shadow of doubt that monies collected as toll were not used to achieve the set goal hence the need for it abolition”.

He said although he did not see positive impacts of tolls on roads, he witnessed several bad fortunes of tolls including; gory accidents.

Mr Abdulai Amadu, a heavy duty driver who specialized in the transportation of goods in containers from the Harbour to all parts of the country also said the elimination of tolls was in right direction.

He added the directive would help the government’s fight against road crashes and reduce road traffic on highways in the country, adding that, “it will save time, energy and other resources”.

Mr Dennis Tetteh Aflo, a commercial driver who loads from Ashaiman to Accra and to Aflao described the directive as needless and an avenue to exploit drivers in yet another unexpected area.

He said government should have rather stopped the collection of tolls in areas that were faced with constant traffic or strategically rebuild toll booths at vantage points, but not to abolish it.

Mr Aflo said “if the payment of tolls were used towards construction of roads over the years and major roads were still dilapidated then the directive by the Finance Minister would worsen the situation”.

Mr Charles Tetteh Agbove, a driver with Kristodia Logistics And Trading Limited said the payment of toll by drivers was not a pressing issue at hand that needs to be eliminated, but the upsurge of fuel prices at an alarming rates rather deserves government intervention.

According to him, he was disappointed as he did not hear anything about reduction of fuel prices, but rather a swift focus on toll payment.

“Toll issue doesn’t cause anything to me, my plea is the price of fuel. As a driver fuel is everything, everywhere you go you must use fuel and something must be done towards the prices of fuel,” he lamented.

He added that, the hikes in the prices of goods and services was affecting Ghanaians especially the youth and government should look at it again.

Mr Agbove called on all stakeholders to be concerned and help improve the living conditions of the ordinary Ghanaian through proactive policy formulations and implementations.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The 12th African Private Sector Forum has acknowledged that COVID-19 has dramatically changed the macroeconomic settings in which the private sector operates in Africa and the world at large.

“It has highly affected the levels of public and private debt, reduced financial stability and increased credit and investment risk and uncertainty, among other challenges,” delegates at the 12th African Private Sector Forum in Cairo, Egypt, stated at the end of the three-day forum.

In a recommendation, which forms part of the deliberations arrived at obtained by the Ghana News Agency at Tema, the forum made considerations on avenues for policymakers to reassess the macroeconomic conditions affecting Private Sector development.

The forum also called on governments to focus on reforms required for a conducive business environment and a supportive entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem that promotes productivity and better working conditions for business growth and sustainability.

The forum also noted that to set Africa firmly on the path towards economic and social transformation, private sector engagement is crucial.

The 12th African Private Sector Forum provided a platform for information exchange, business networking and adopting policy recommendations on Africa’s development priorities.

It also focused on strengthening African private sector’s capacity to respond to disrupted markets and ensure economic resilience in the face of COVID-19 Pandemic.

The Forum was strategic to establish and expand partnerships with the private sector through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) engagements, particularly underpinned on Africa’s response to the effects of the COVID-19 crisis and to build resilience and help recovery of businesses and economies.

Among the recommendations, is the need to strengthen the capacity of the African Private Sector to have a “Made in Africa” Products that are competitive, Value added, standardized and of high quality, and the promotion of the “Made in Africa” products to increase Intra-Africa Trade and particularly following the start of trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The African Private Sector Forum is an annual gathering of stakeholders in the public and private sector convened by the African Union, to promote the work of the AU in the area of economic integration and private sector development and engagement.

The Forum also acts as a vehicle for empowering the African Private Sector through advocacy, Networking, sharing of business and market information and skills.

Source: Modern Ghana