Posts in category: Other News

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) says the number of people who have not been wearing face masks as a preventive measure in the spread of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has increased.

According to the GHS, the figure has increased to 82 percent in the last one month.

The Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma Aboagye made this known at a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday morning [November 25, 2020].

He said in six major markets across the Greater Accra Region, over 90 percent of people do not wear face masks.

“The increasing cases early in October [was] because the protocol of application of masks was quite reduced. In terms of all the protocols, workplace issues were challenging and so we have actually had to intervene to ensure things are done.”

“We’ve done some survey last week [and] just a marginal increase, those who are not wearing is still very high about 82 percent of people are still not wearing masks, 7 percent are wearing, the rest 11 percent are wearing but not wearing them accurately. And so that is a far cry from the 44 percent that we had a couple of months ago.”

In terms of category of people who are not wearing masks, Dr Kuma Aboagye said head porters who were “doing very well in the last survey a few months ago, now 96 percent of our head porters are not wearing masks.”

For buyers, “only 66 percent are not wearing masks”, this, he said was an improvement over the last survey’s figure which showed that sellers were doing better than buyers.

He said they were currently doing another study to look at workplace arrangements to see if there has been some improvements because a lot of outbreaks in the last month has come from workplaces.

He said a lot of interventions have taken place with the deployment of 25 vehicles to assist in contract tracing, with 15 in Greater Accra and the rest going to other regions.

Additional testing centres are also being opened, one at Ridge. He said the Ga East testing centre should be ready in a few days time.

“We’ve also started some assessment of infirmaries in the school health system in anticipation of the reopening of schools in January 2021. That is something ongoing, as we prepare, how do we educate the children, how do we educate the primary school, how do we educate kindergartens on how to wear masks and how to adhere to protocols. These are all areas that we are looking at to ensure that we get ready before school reopens.”

Currently, the last one we are doing is we are conducting some lab quality assurance exercise to ensure that, we now have about 23 labs, we want to ensure that the standards are maintained and that, if they say you are negative, you are negative and if the lab say you are positive, you are positive.

Case count

Currently, Ghana has recorded a total of 51,225 cases since the outbreak of the disease in the country in March 2020.

A total of 50,127 have since been discharged.

The total number of active cases is now 775 with 323 deaths

The total number of tests is 583,545 as of now. The test per a million population is 19,451/million

Source: Graphic.com.gh

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday inaugurated the first phase of the Obetsebi-Lamptey Interchange in Accra, 11 months after he had cut the sod for work to begin.

The project, which was completed five months ahead of schedule, involved the construction of two (5 x 2 metre) 550-metre viaduct and ramps between the Graphic Road and the Dr Busia Highway (Kaneshie-Mallam Road).

There are also a box culvert across the Graphic Road and a storm drain up to the Ring Road West carriageway.

The storm drain, which will help address the flooding challenges experienced at the previous Obetsebi-Lamptey Circle, will be continued up to the Mpamprom Junction under Phase II of the project.

The project was executed by QGMI Construcciones E. Infraestructuras Globales S.L.U., with FAS Consult Ltd as the engineer’s representative, while the Department of Urban Roads (DUR) is the agency under the Ministry of Roads and Highways responsible for the project.

Phase two

Under Phase Two, which begins immediately, the third tier of the interchange, which will be on the Ring Road West (Awudome to the Central Mosque at Abbosey Okai), will be constructed.

Additional works to be undertaken include the widening of the Ring Road West (from Awudome Junction to the interchange) into a 2 x 3 dual carriageway and the improvement of the Awudome Road and the Nii Teiko Din Street.

Completion

President Akufo-Addo, who inaugurated the project as part of his two-day campaign tour of the Greater Accra Region, said the completion of the first phase would allow the contractor to commence work on Phase Two immediately.

He explained that the completion of Phase One was an indication of the seriousness the government attached to addressing the problem of congestion on the roads.

More projects

The President said currently, five interchange projects were ongoing in the country.

He named them as the Pokuase Interchange — the first four-tier interchange in West Africa — which is 85 per cent complete, sections of which would be opened to traffic this week; the Tamale Interchange — the first interchange in the northern part of the country — which is 54 per cent complete; the Takoradi PTC Roundabout Interchange — the first in the western part of the country; the Nungua Interchange and Phase One of the Tema Interchange — which is completed and being used, with work yet to start on the second phase.

“This is the first time in our nation’s history that more than five interchanges are being constructed within the first term of any government, so if there are any reasons to give Nana four more years to do more for, this is one of them,” President Akufo-Addo added.

He said the government had also undertaken critical road projects to improve urban mobility.

These, he said, included the completion of 1,000 asphalt overlay works throughout the country, the LEKMA road, which is 90 per cent complete, and the construction of the Tema Steel Works road, the first concrete road constructed by the government after the Accra-Tema Motorway, which was now about 90 per cent complete.

He explained that Kumasi roads and drainage extension projects, including the dualisation of the Lake Road and the lining of the Seaside road in Kumasi, were in progress.

The President said the Ministry of Roads and Highways, through the DUR, was reviewing proposals to address the challenges on the Kaneshie-Mallam Road.

“This is necessary to reduce the discomfort commuters go through at the Kaneshie Market area, the First Light Intersection and the Sakaman-Mallam section of the road,” he said.

Removing bottlenecks

The Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Kwesi Amoako-Atta, said the construction of the interchange became necessary to eliminate one of the major bottlenecks on the Ring Road in Accra — congestion — and improve traffic flow at the intersection in four major roads, made up of the Graphic Road, the Kaneshie-Mallam Road, Ring Road West towards the Nkrumah Interchange and Ring Road West Extension towards Abbosey Okai.

He said all road works started from last year would come with covered drainage systems.

He added that there would also be the erection of an appropriate monument in memory of Emmanuel Odarkwei Obetsebi-Lamptey, one of the Big Six of Ghana’s independence struggle, after whom the interchange is named.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

The Electoral Commission (EC) has tasked Presiding Officers to make the necessary arrangements to ensure that vulnerable voters – the sick, aged, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and Persons With Disabilities do not join long queues at Polling Stations.

“All vulnerable voters must be given preferential treatment at the polling station, they should not be allowed to join long queues and voters with unidentifiable disabilities such as the deaf may be in the company of others who will prompt the Presiding Officer for priority to be given to them as well,” the EC stated.

The EC in its, “Election 2020 Manual – Guide to Voter,” available to the Ghana News Agency identified others for preferential treatment as persons with visual impairment; physically disabled; persons with hearing impairment, persons living with albinism, low syndrome and any other categories of disabilities that will be noticed at the center.

Mr Kwame Amoah, EC Greater Accra Regional Director in an interview with the GNA, explained that all polling stations would be located at places that are easily accessible to all voters.

He said Presiding Officers are under instructions to locate all polling stations at low-level areas in order to make voting easier for the vulnerable such as the sick, pregnant, aged, lactating mothers and Persons With Disabilities (PWD’s especially wheelchair users to access.”

“All polling stations must be located at low-level areas, existing polling stations that are on verandas, across gutters, or anywhere that will prevent free movement of voters must be relocated to a more accessible area,” he explained.

To ensure that people with visual impairment vote independently, Mr Amoah said the EC has made provision for tactile ballot jackets. “A tactile jacket is a cardboard folder with raised dots arranged numerically to represent the positions of candidates on the ballot paper.

“Besides each numerical arrangement is a corresponding window, which is big enough to accommodate the thumb for voting.”

The EC Greater Accra Regional Director explained that the tactile jacket is designed to easily identify the top with a notch. Users are also guided with the perforated edge of the ballot paper to identify the top as well.

Users independently slot the ballot paper into the tactile folder and with the help of the numerically arranged raised dots, select their preferred candidates and consequently vote in the window provided.

Two tactile jackets have been produced per polling station; one for the Presidential and the other for Parliamentary elections.

Source: GNA

He was appointed to lead the fight against corruption for seven years, but nearly three years after he had been sworn into office, the Special Prosecutor (SP), Mr Martin Alamisi Burns Kaiser Amidu, has resigned.

Mr Amidu cited what he described as “political interference in the independence of his office” as the main reason for his decision to resign.

Additionally, he said, his office was given inadequate staff who were mostly on secondment, a situation that made it nearly impossible for his outfit to effectively carry out its functions.

In a letter dated yesterday and addressed to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Mr Amidu said his position had become ‘untenable’, especially with regard to the corruption risk assessment he conducted on the Gold Royalties Monetisation Transaction arrangement, popularly referred to as the Agyapa Deal.

He alleged that the reaction he got from the Presidency on the corruption risk assessment was the final push that led to his resignation.

Alleged political interference

Mr Amidu accused President Akufo-Addo of trying to direct him on how to proceed with the corruption risk assessment the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) had conducted on the Agyapa Deal.

According to him, President Akufo-Addo had allegedly tried to convince him to take the response of the Finance Minister to the corruption risk assessment, which he refused, saying “that would have compromised my independence as the SP.”

Again, Mr Amidu said he refused to shelve the report after the President had allegedly told him to do so to enable him (the President) to “handle the matter.”

“It thus became abundantly clear to me that I cannot continue under your government as the SP in the performance of the functions of my office in preventing and fighting corruption and corruption-related offences.

“The 64-page analysis of corruption and anti-corruption assessment report disclosed several corruption and corruption-related offences in respect of which I intended to open full investigations as the SP. I cannot do that now after your political interference in the performance of the functions of the office for two weeks, from October 20 to November 1, this year,” the letter alleged.

Inadequate staff

Mr Amidu further stated in the letter that his resignation was also premised on the limited number of staff sent to his outfit.

“The compulsion to use a limited number of seconded staff in a three-bedroom and boys’ quarters accommodation undermined the achievement of the objects of the office and my undertaking on oath before Parliament.

“One cannot seriously continue to prevent and fight corruption by depending on seconded staff of a two-year duration who are looking forward to and/or over their shoulders to returning to their main employers, who consequently may have more influence over them than the SP under whom they are supposed to work,” it added.

Was it expected?

Mr Amidu was sworn into office by President Akufo-Addo on February 23, 2018, after he had been duly vetted and approved by Parliament.

That followed the passage of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) Act, 2017 (Act 959), which gave the OSP investigative and prosecutorial powers to fight, prevent and prosecute acts of corruption and corruption-related offences.

Per Act 959, the SP is supposed to hold office for a seven-year non-renewable term.

Amidu’s appointment was heralded as a major boost in the fight against corruption.

The setting up of the OSP was one of the key campaign promises made by then candidate Akufo-Addo ahead of his electoral victory in 2016 and it is aimed at tackling corruption much more vigorously.

After all, it was Mr Amidu, popularly known as ‘Citizen Vigilante’, who had risked his political career with his seemingly anti-corruption stance.

It was also the same Mr Amidu who, singlehandedly, fought all the way to the Supreme Court to have the state get back the GH¢51.2 million judgement debt that was unconstitutionally paid to the businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome.

After he had assumed office as the SP, he went into the background, ostensibly doing his work to fight corruption.

He soon faded from the public scene, with many complaining that they could not feel his presence, while others even accused him of not doing enough to fight corruption.

Mr Amidu resorted to issuing statements, complaining about the lack of tools and staff to effectively discharge his duties.

He went into oblivion but resurfaced in November this year with a bang with the release of his corruption risk assessment on the Agyapa Deal.

Signs of his resignation were clearly on the wall as he continued to barrage the deal with frequent responses to statements released by the government about the deal after his assessment was made public.

Brouhaha over his appointment

Mr Amidu’s appointment had not been smooth sailing but fraught with controversies.

A notable one was the legal action at the Supreme Court challenging his eligibility to be the SP on the basis of his age.

The suit was filed by Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, a former Deputy Attorney-General and National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Bolgatanga East, who argued that Mr Amidu was 66 years at the time he was appointed and, therefore, constitutionally barred from holding any public office, such as the SP.

However, in May this year, the Supreme Court, in a 5-2 majority decision, dismissed the suit.

The apex court held that Mr Amidu was eligible to be the SP because his office could not be equated to the Public Service, which is caught by the retirement age of 60, as prescribed under articles 190, 195 and 199 of the 1992 Constitution.

More About Martin Amidu

Mr Amidu was the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice from January 2011 to January 2012 under the late President John Evans Atta Mills.

A member of the NDC, he had also served as the Deputy Attorney-General for about the last four years of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) government.

After civilian rule was established in the Fourth Republic in January 1993, he continued to serve in the government of Jerry John Rawlings as Deputy Attorney-General. That he did for both terms, lasting eight years, until January 2001.

In the December 2000 presidential election, he partnered Prof. Mills as running mate, losing to Mr John Agyekum Kufuor that year.

In January 2010, following a Cabinet reshuffle, President Mills replaced Mr Cletus Avoka with Mr  Amidu as the Minister for the Interior.

Following the second major Cabinet reshuffle, Mr Amidu became the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.

He was, however, relieved of his post on Thursday, January 19, 2012 by President Mills under circumstances described by Presidential aides as “his misconduct” at a meeting chaired by the President at the Osu Castle on January 18, 2012.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

Drugmaker Pfizer said Monday an early look at data from its coronavirus vaccine shows it is more than 90% effective — a much better than expected efficacy if the trend continues.

The so-called interim analysis looked at the first 94 confirmed cases of Covid-19 among the more than 43,000 volunteers who got either two doses of the vaccine or a placebo. It found that fewer than 10% of infections were in participants who had been given the vaccine. More than 90% of the cases were in people who had been given a placebo.

Pfizer said that the vaccine provided protection seven days after the second dose and 28 days after the initial dose of the vaccine.

The final goal of the trial is to reach 164 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection.

In a news release, the pharmaceutical giant said it plans to seek emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration soon after volunteers have been monitored for two months after getting their second dose of vaccine, as requested by the FDA.

Pfizer said it anticipated reaching that marker by the third week of November.

The Phase 3 trial of the Pfizer vaccine, made with German partner BioNTech, has enrolled 43,538 participants since July 27.

As of Sunday, 38,955 of the volunteers have received a second dose of the vaccine. The company says 42% of international trial sites and 30% of US trial sites involve volunteers of racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds.

“With today’s news, we are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement. “We look forward to sharing additional efficacy and safety data generated from thousands of participants in the coming weeks.”

Pfizer says it has added a secondary endpoint to its study. It will evaluate whether the vaccines protect people against severe Covid-19 disease and whether the vaccine can provide long-term protection against Covid-19 disease, even in patients who have been infected before.

The FDA has said it would expect at least 50% efficacy from any coronavirus vaccine.

Source: CNN

Work on the four-tier Pokuase interchange at the ACP Junction in the Ga West Municipality, scheduled for completion in October this year, will now be completed in March 2021.

The $84-million project, which was initially three-tier, was upgraded and work done on its present status is 87 per cent complete.

It is being jointly financed by the African Development Bank and the Government of Ghana.

In an interview, Mr Kwabena Bempong, Associate Vice President of Associated Consultants Limited, a consulting company for the Pokuase Interchange and Local Roads, explained that a myriad of challenges hampered the progress of work on the project.

“The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic affected the shipment of critical components for the project into the country and also some experts in China who were to come and supervise some aspects of the construction could not travel to the country,” he said.

In addition, he said the additional work awarded by the government such as the construction of a 5-kilometre storm drain to reduce flooding at Pokuase, Ayawaso and Holy Hills, affected the schedule for the completion of the project.

Mr Bempong indicated that the delay in the payment of compensation to the people affected by the project and heavy vehicular traffic on the Accra-Kumasi road undermined the scheduled completion of the project.

“In view of this, we have written to the African Development Bank through the Ministry of Roads and Highways, for a six-month extension for the project,” he said, stressing that the “extension will not affect the cost of the project”.

Currently, he said, the project was 87-per cent complete and work on the ten kilometres of local town roads was 99-per cent complete.

Mr Bempong said the concrete overhead bridge for the Awoshie-Accra section had been completed, and the overhead bridge for the Kumasi-Kwabenya section was 98 per cent done, while the Awoshie-Kumasi section was 50-per cent complete.

He said the Kumasi-Accra section had been completed and opened to ease traffic on that stretch, especially during the Yuletide.

The Resident Engineer said the Pokuase Interchange was the second biggest in Africa after the EB Cloete Interchange in South Africa and the biggest in West Africa.

Mr Bempong expressed concern about speeding by some drivers on the Awoshie-Ablekuma road.

He alleged that a woman was recently killed on that stretch and the traffic lights and road signs had been knocked down.

Mr Bempong also disclosed that diesel poured on the Awoshie-Ablekuma road by some drivers who repaired their broken down vehicles on it was destroying the newly-constructed road.

The Resident Engineer disclosed that the Ofankor to Nsawam dual carriageway had been awarded to Maripoma, a Ghanaian construction company, to construct it.

Prior to the construction, he said, the company would do an overlay on the deplorable sections of the road to facilitate vehicular movement to address the heavy vehicular traffic on that stretch.

Work on the Pokuase Interchange is being undertaken by Messrs China Zhongmei Engineering Company Limited and the interchange forms part of the Accra Urban Transport Project, aimed at promoting sustainable economic growth for the people in the area.

The sod-cutting ceremony for work to start was performed in July, 2018.

The interchange hosts an important international road, the Accra-Kumasi road, which links Accra to the Northern part of the country and Ghana to Sahelian countries such as Mali and Niger.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

The printing of the final biometric voters register for the December 7 polls will begin on Wednesday, November 4.

Ahead of that, the Electoral Commission (EC) will make soft copies of the register available to all registered political parties and any other persons that the EC considers necessary.

The Deputy Chairperson of the EC in charge of Operations, Mr. Samuel Tettey, told the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday that although the calendar of activities slated the printing of the voters register for November 8, “we are set to start printing way ahead of this date.”

He said the printing and the distribution of the hard copies of the register to the regions would be done simultaneously, explaining that as “we finish the printing per region, we will distribute.”

Mr. Tettey said the EC cut down the printing of the provisional voters register from three weeks to seven days because it acquired two additional Xerox printers, adding that would help quicken the pace of printing the final register.

He gave an assurance that with the improved planning and execution of schedules, the hard copies of the final register should be available for the regions within 10 days from the start of printing, stressing that the parties would have the soft copies ahead of the printing on Wednesday.

Regulations

Per Section 27 (1) of Constitutional Instrument 91 (Public Elections – registration of voters – Regulations 2016: “The commission shall certify the register after the determination of claims or objections” by the District Registration Review Committee Officers (DRRCOs).”

Section 27 (3) provides: “After the register has been certified, it shall be published in the manner determined by the commission and shall replace any existing voters register.”

Section 27 (4) also provides: “The commission shall make available a copy of the register to the political parties and any other person that the commission considers necessary not later than 21 days after the register has been certified.”

Context

The EC conducted a 38-day voters registration exercise in clusters from June 30 to August 6, 2020.

It subsequently conducted a provisional voters registration exercise from September 18 to 25, this year.

The register paves the way for Ghanaians to cast their ballots on December 7 to elect a President and 275 Members of Parliament (MPs) to steer the affairs of the country from January 7, next year to January 6, 2024.

Certified register

Mr. Tettey explained that a certified register was one that had the master list of registered voters, after all corrections, inclusions and objection issues had been addressed.

Asked about what would happen to the names the Tamale High Court ordered should be included in the final register, he said the commission would abide by the ruling.

He explained that those names were part of the exception list, and that the EC only needed to restore them to the main register.

Mr. Tettey said the EC had 14,000 names on the exception list, while 16,000 names were on the multiple registration database.

The Deputy EC Chairperson explained that the exception list was for those whose registration had been disqualified by the DRRCOs, while the multiple registration list was for those individuals who registered more than once at different polling stations.

Those on the exception and the multiple registration lists, he said, would not be able to vote on Election Day because they did not object to their names being on those lists.

Special voting

To avoid the challenges associated with the 2016 special voting, Mr. Tettey said the list would be sent to institutions such as the security agencies, media organisations and election officials for them to know where they would vote on December 1, 2020.

He said the list would also be posted on the EC’s website for easy reference by those who submitted their names for the special voting.

In addition, he said, the EC had decided to print separate ballot papers for those who would vote on Special Voting Day.

In 2016, those doing special voting used ballots from the stock meant for the general election.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday presented 100 buses to the Intercity STC Coaches Limited to boost its operations and expand its services to other West African routes.

The presentation of the buses was the largest supply of buses to the company since its establishment in 1965.

At the presentation ceremony in Accra, President Akufo-Addo stated that the presentation of the buses demonstrated the government’s commitment to revamping its operations and positioning it to play its role as the most preferred transport company in the country.

The company, in 2016, took delivery of 50 buses, however, towards meeting its aspiration of expanding its services to other West African countries, the Akufo-Addo-led government took steps to assist the company to acquire additional 100 new buses on its own balance sheet.

Expressing his delight over the success story of the company, President Akufo-Addo applauded Nana Akomea, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of STC, for ensuring that the state-owned company was standing on its own feet and making meaningful contributions, rather than being dependent on the public exchequer.

He lauded the CEO and the Management of STC for the yeoman’s job and making a difference towards its sustainability.

With COVID-19 adversely affecting the company’s revenue stream, especially as 50 per cent of its operations was ‘ECOWAS-based’, President Akufo-Addo stated that his Government decided to step in to provide a support to the STC.

“I’m very happy to hear that, after December, when the support runs out, they will be in a good position to stand on their own two feet and proceed from there. We have to salute their determination,” the President said.

“We know how important transport is to the economy of our country, and the work of the STC to the economic development of our country,” he added.

President Akufo-Addo was of the conviction that, the enormous benefits that would be accrued to the state transport company would have rippling effects on the national economy, and thus, urged it to provide even better services to its patrons, especially those along the new routes to be developed.

Towards improving the country’s transportation sector, government also procured 100 buses for the Metro Mass Transit Limited.

Funds are also being sought for the supply of 400 buses from Korea and Belgium to augment the existing fleet.

These buses are expected to be in Ghana by the second quarter of 2021.

President Akufo-Addo urged the Management of STC to continue inculcating serious maintenance regime into its operations to enable the citizenry to derive value for money and prevent any revenue leakages.

Source: GNA

Bharti Airtel’s board has cleared the sale of its Ghana joint venture – Airtel Tigo – to the Ghana government.

It is taking an impairment charge of about $25million for the transaction.

The plan for Bharti Airtel’s exit has been in the pipeline for sometime now.

“The parties are in advance stages of discussions for conclusion of the commercial agreement for the transfer of AirtelTigo on a going concern basis to the government of Ghana,” Airtel said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange in India on Tuesday evening [October 27, 2020].

The proposed deal would result in the government of Ghana acquiring 100% shares of Airtel Ghana Limited, also known as AirtelTigo, along with all its customers, assets and agreed liabilities.

“Accordingly, Airtel is voluntarily taking an impairment charge of Rs 1,841 million (Rs 184 crore),” the statement added.

AirtelTigo is a joint venture between ‘Airtel’ and ‘Millicom’ wherein Airtel holds a non-controlling 49.95% share in AirtelTigo.

Airtel had merged its Ghana operations with Millicom in 2017, resulting in the second largest mobile carrier in Ghana.

The merger was approved by the regulator subject to the condition that the Ghana government will have the option to pick up a stake in the new entity in future.

But the joint venture has fallen behind MTN and Vodafone in Ghana.

Airtel has previously said that it will look at consolidation opportunities, including exit, in markets where it is not among the top two players.

According to the quarterly results ending September 30, Airtel said its Ghana operations had a customer base of 5.1 million.

The company has successively been posting losses for the past four quarters and the Ebidta for the quarter fell to Rs 8.8 crore from Rs 9.9 crore in the previous quarter ending June 30.

Total revenue remained stagnant at Rs 118 crore during the quarter and data customers as a percentage of the total customer base also saw a dip to 56.2% during the period from 59.4% in the June quarter.

Bharti Airtel’s Africa operations clocked in a net profit of $88 million for the second quarter this fiscal, down 8.3% on-year, hurt by higher net finance costs.

But consolidated revenue stood at $965 million, increasing 14.3% from corresponding quarter last year.

Significant Market Power (SMP) in Ghana

In the telecoms sector in Ghana the National Communications Authority (NCA) recently declared Scancom Ghana Limited (MTN) as a Significant Market Power (SMP).

This was in line with the mandate of the NCA under Section 4.3 of the National Telecommunications Policy, 2005, which states that in the absence of an NCA determination of different standard in a specific case, SMP will be determined to exist for an organisation providing telecommunications services that controls at least 40% of a relevant market segment.

The NCA said its latest statistics received from the industry as of Friday, June 5, 2020, showed a worrying trend amongst Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in Ghana which demanded immediate action to correct the growing market imbalance and creation of a near monopoly in the telecoms sector.

The imbalance, the NCA said exposed Ghana to the dictates of the dominant operator, militates against effective competition, and impacts negatively upon investment in the sector.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

The leading political parties in Ghana have given different interpretations into their positions on the ballot paper for the 2020 Presidential Elections scheduled for December 7.

The flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and that of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), former President John Dramani Mahama, on Tuesday picked up the first and the second spots, respectively, on the ballot paper.

While the NDC have described their spot on the ballot as “the second coming” of Mr Mahama, the NPP says the number one spot was perfect for the party.

Permutations

A few minutes after the balloting was conducted, supporters of the various political parties took to social media with interpretations on the positions of their flag bearers on the ballot paper.

Almost every party claimed its position had a special connotation to its performance at the polls.

One of the NPP’s 2012 campaign songs: ‘Nana Addo Wo soro ho’, composed by highlife singer, Kwabena Kwabena, instantly started making waves on social media.

While some NPP supporters also claimed that the number one position meant that their flag bearer would win the election, supporters of the NDC were out with art works having the two fingers (two sure) sign, describing the number two position of their flag bearer on the ballot paper to signify the second coming of former President Mahama.

Spots on ballot paper

Nine other candidates of political parties who have qualified to contest the presidential election also booked their spots on the ballot paper after participating in the balloting.

At the end of the process, which lasted about two hours, the flag bearer of the Ghana Union Movement (GUM), Mr Christian Kwabena Andrews, picked up the third spot, while Mr Ivor Kobina Greenstreet of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Madam Akua Donkor of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), Mr Henry Herbert Lartey of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) and Mr Hassan Ayariga of the All People’s Congress (APC) picked the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh spots, respectively.

The flag bearer of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), Mr Kofi Apaloo; Mr David Apasera of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Ms Brigitte Dzogbenuku of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) and Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings of the National Democratic Party (NDP) secured the eighth, ninth, 10th and 11th spots, respectively, on the ballot paper.

An independent candidate, Mr Asiedu Walker, was not allowed to participate in the process, although he was present with his running mate, Mr Jacob Osei Yeboah.

The EC handed him the 12th spot on the ballot paper.

Important process

The balloting process is one of the last procedures initiated by the EC as part of the consensus building and transparency processes towards the conduct of polls.

According to a Deputy Chairman of the EC in charge of Operations, Mr Samuel Tettey, who supervised the balloting, the process was adopted by the EC as a mechanism to bring openness and fairness to the electoral process, although it was not stipulated in the electoral laws of the country.

“The placement of candidates on the ballot was done on a first-come, first-served basis and the struggle for positions on the ballot paper by candidates led the commission to adopt the balloting system,” he explained.

The balloting was conducted in two stages, with the first round determining the order in which the parties could pick the secret ballots.

Independent candidate reacts

Speaking with the Daily Graphic in an interview after the balloting, Mr Walker said it was unfair for the commission to ignore an independent candidate in any aspect of the electoral process.

He said although his team was not perturbed by the default position rendered him, restricting balloting to candidates sponsored by political parties alone should not be repeated in the future.

“We all paid the same GH¢100,000 and must go through the same process. But our position is rather great because if you put the NPP’s number 1 spot and the number 2 of the NDC together, you will get 12 and that is the winning position,” he said.

Source: Graphic.com.gh