News

Sunyani, Aug. 24, GNA - Regional Ministers have been tasked to highlight government’s achievements by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) as the country approaches the 2016 general election.

Mr Ato Sarpong, the Deputy Minister of Communication, said this is the surest way to push the electorate to make informed choices and vote to retain the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government in the December 7 polls.

Accra, Aug. 25, GNA - Government has secured funding from the World Bank to construct a bituminous double surface dressing road from Tatale to Zabzugu to Yendi in the Northern Region, President Mahama has said.

He said proposals had been approved and now going through the tendering process for work to begin on the 80-kilometre road up to Natchamba which shared boundary with the Republic of Togo.

President Mahama said this when he addressed party supporters at Tatale in the Tatale-Sangule District as part of his four-day campaign tour of the Northern Region.

The Electoral Commission (EC) has said Ghana is not ready for an electronic voting system despite technological advancement in the 21st Century.

The Chairperson of the commission, Charlotte Osei, said they arrived at the conclusion based on recommendations from the Special Reform Committee tasked to investigate the possibility of the system.

Ghana has since 1992 improved on its electoral processes. In 2012, the EC for the first time adopted biometric registration and verification in capturing voters’ information to enhance the processes.

Accra, Aug. 23, GNA – Mr Seth Tekper, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, said the government has since 2015 taken proactive policy actions to address the various emerging risks in the economy.

He said world-class technical partners are fixing the technical issues that disrupted oil production at the Jubilee Field, which has resulted in two field production, storage and off-loading vessels (FPSOs) and two oil production fields are in place in 2016 as against only one in 2015.

Starting this year, anyone desiring to serve the Electoral Commission (EC) in the capacity of an electoral officer must have a higher educational background.

EC Chairman, Charlotte Osei, says this measure is aimed at safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process which has been a subject of debate in the country.

According to her, such persons would be made to take an oath before a magistrate so that in the event they foul the law, they would be punished.

Accra, Aug. 23, GNA – Trade volume between Ghana and China by the end of May 2016, has hit $2.4 billion, Mr Emmanuel Habuka Bombande, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has stated.

He said in 2015 the trade volume between the two countries reached $6.6 billion.

Although the general trade by 18 per cent in 2015 due to global price decline, Ghana was ranked 6th in Africa in terms of trade volume with China.

President John Mahama says government may place a cap on interest rate if plans to secure a single digit inflation next year fails.

Ghana last recorded single digit inflation in January 2013, recording 8.8 percent. Inflation for July 2016 was 16.7 percent.

The President who gave the hint at the 15th edition of the Ghana Club 100 said a further decline in inflation will prevent government from placing a cap on the rising interest rate.

“Inflation has begun to fall and it is our expectation that we will end the year at about 14% and achieve single digit next year.

President John Mahama has taken a swipe at the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), describing it as a party that lacks visionary leadership.

Mahama said just as the NPP’s tradition undermined Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, their present leadership is working hard to mislead the public into thinking that the massive investments in infrastructure is a misplaced priority.

Mr Mahama was addressing hundreds of supporters at Kokompe near Takoradi as part of his campaign in the Western region.

Takoradi, Aug. 19, GNA - President John Dramani Mahama has said indigenous small-scale businesses have received one billion dollars worth of contracts from petroleum companies since the commencement of commercial production of crude oil in the country.

He said the award of contracts to local enterprises was in compliance with the country’s Local Content and Participation Policy which had created over 7,000 jobs aimed at ensuring that the hydrocarbon resources benefited Ghanaians.