News

The governments of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire are close to securing a $1.2 billion loan from the African Development Bank to undertake programmes and interventions that will make the cocoa industry attractive to the youth.

Six million dollars of the amount will go into the rehabilitation of the industry while the rest will be used to promote value addition to domestic processing of cocoa beans.

Pope Francis has changed the teachings of the Catholic faith to officially oppose the death penalty in all circumstances, the Vatican has said.

The Catechism of the Church, a codified doctrine which sums up teachings, had previously stated that the death penalty could be used in some cases.

It now says it is "inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person".

Pope Francis has spoken out against executions in the past.

The Founder and Executive Chairman of the African Development Policy Initiative (ADPOI), Professor Kwesi Botchwey, has called on the government to broaden the process of consultation over critical matters that affect the public good.

He said there was a need for the government to make the right decisions rather than hasty and expedient ones by creating an atmosphere of inclusiveness, respect and courtesy in national discourse and debates and be tolerant of other people’s views rather than angrily dismissing them.

The Minority in Parliament has called on the government to, as a matter of national interest, suspend the renegotiated Ameri Power and Karpower deals, saying they are riddled with scandalous content and are a rip-off.

Presenting the position of the Minority on the deals at a press conference in Accra yesterday, Mr John Jinapor, the Member of Parliament for Yapei/Kusawgu and former Deputy Power Minister, said the government should rather make the details available for broader public scrutiny before going ahead with the deals.

A flag bearer aspirant of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, has observed that the success of the NDC in the 2020 election will depend largely on how the party's elected communicators will market the party's messages and Presidential candidate.

He has stressed the need for NDC communicators to develop more interest in research to sharpen their communication skills.

Four people, including the former Director General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Mr Ernest Thompson have been indicted by the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) for causing financial loss to the state.

The others are Mrs Juliet Hasana Krama, CEO of Perfect Business System (PBS), John Hagan Mensah, former OBS Project Manager at SSNIT and Caleb Afaglo who was General Manager of Management Information Systems (MIS) at SSNIT.

Issues of Power supply and cost, finance and labour continue to impede the growth of indigenous businesses and companies in Ghana despite government interventions in promoting industrialization and job creation.

The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) says, even though the Akufo-Addo government has abolished some nuisance taxes for industry, reduced tariffs and utility cost, industries still struggle to produce at full capacity.

The second batch of ex-government appointees suspected to have taken double salaries have taken their turn at the Police Criminal and Investigative Department, Wednesday to prove their innocence.

Dr Rashid Pelpuo, MP for Wa Central, Acquinas Tawiah Quansah, MP for Mfantseman and Fifi Kwetey MP for Ketu South were present at the police CID in the company of their lawyers to explain to investigators how they ended receiving double salaries as MPs and ministers while serving under ex-president John Mahama.

A UN human rights expert has commended Ghana as a champion of African democracy and a country which has achieved some important development milestones.

But says unless growing inequality and continuing high poverty rates are addressed the country will fall far short of meeting the key UN Sustainable Development Goals, including the eradication of extreme poverty by 2030.