Senegal qualified for next year’s World Cup in Russia with a 2-0 away win over South Africa on Friday that gave them an unassailable lead at the top of Group D. Senegal will compete at the World Cup for the second time after reaching the quarter-finals in Japan and South Korea in 2002.
Egypt, IMF reach agreement on $2 bln loan instalment – IMF statement
Egypt has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund for an instalment of about $2 billion more from a three-year, $12 billion loan programme, the IMF said in a statement on Friday.
The payment, which is still subject to IMF executive board approval, will bring total disbursements under the program to about $6 billion. Egypt is pushing through an ambitious economic reform package as part of the loan deal.
Mcottley Capital improves sanitation for Nkawkaw Methodist Primary School
McOttley Capital, best growing investment bank, through its charity arm, McOttley Empowerment Foundation, has constructed a three-seater modern biofill toilet facility for the pupils of the Nkawkaw Methodist Primary ‘B’ School which seeks to improve sanitation in the area.
The school which has been in existence since 1973 had no toilet facility for the over 200 pupils. The GH¢18,000 modern facility forms part of McOttley Capital’s corporate social responsibility initiatives to meet the needs of members of the society.
Happy Forson, Managing Director of McOttley Capital said: “McOttley Capital, as part of our corporate social responsibilities, supports causes like these because we believe in empowering our children too and we would want them to have access to these basic facilities which will enable them to stay in school during learning periods.”
She said: “We at McOttley believe that the best way to contribute to our society and the country is to support projects in such communities though we don’t have offices in such locations” She urged the school and community to keep the facility clean in order to promote good hygiene.
Mrs. Ahadzi, Headmistress of the school expressed her profound gratitude on behalf of the school and encouraged the children to practice good sanitation habits.
McOttley Capital has supported several projects such as donations to the June 3rd Flood victims, full surgery of four year old hole-in-heart Abdul, Dzorwulu Special School and recently supported the Joy FM Next-to-Die documentary.
UKGCC donates towards 2017 British High Commission Remembrance Day
The UK Ghana Chamber of Commerce (UKGCC) has donated a cash amount of US$2,000 towards the 2017 British High Commission’s Remembrance Day celebrations in Accra.
The event, organized annually in honour of Ghanaian Veterans is to acknowledge Ghanaian Veteran Soldiers who devoted their time and sacrificed their lives for their nation. The event is expected to be held on Saturday 11th November, 2017 at the British High Commissioner’s Residencein Accra.
The CEO of the Chamber, Tony Burkson says: “UKGCC is happy to be part of this program. We acknowledge the great works of our Veteran Soldiers and we deem it important to celebrate them. By this, we pay due homage to them for their hard work”.
He further said: “UKGCC will continue to support courses that seek to promote the interest of its members and the entire country”.
Darren Nichols who received the donation on behalf of the Defence Section of the British High Commission expressed appreciation to the UKGCC saying “We are grateful for the support you provide to the British High Commission, particularly the Defence Section. We look forward to continue working with you for a successful event this year and beyond”.
Parliament summons Interior Min. on Police killings in Kumasi
First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu has directed the Interior Minister to appear before the house on or before 22nd November, 2017 to brief members on circumstances leading to the untimely death of two suspects in Police custody at Kumasi.
The directive follows a concern raised by the Member of Parliament for Asawase, Mohammed Muntaka in whose constituency the incidence happened.
Two suspects, Awudu Osman and one other who the MP reported were assisting Police investigations relating to an armed robbery case in the area were reportedly shot and killed by the Police for trying to abscond.
Mr Muntaka who is the Minority Chief Whip who sounded very dumbfounded does not understand why suspects should die in police custody, described the situation as unacceptable.
The MP who expressed distrust in the Police to thoroughly investigate death case urged Parliament to take up the issue to avoid upheavals from the youth in the area.
He urged aggrieved youth in the constituency to remain calm as the law enforcement agency and Parliament works to ensure justice.
The Majority leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu subscribed to the invitation of the Interior Minister to brief the Legislature on the development.
Finance Minister to present 2018 Budget on Nov. 15
The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta will be presenting the 2018 budget statement and economic policy of government on November 15,2017 which is expected to focus on Industrialization; Agriculture and consolidation gains made after almost a year in office.
This was communicated to Members of Parliament during the presentation of the Business Statement by the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu on the floor of the house on Friday.
He read: “The Minister for Finance is expected to appear before the House on Wednesday, 15 November 2017, to present the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government for the year ending 31st December 2018. The Business Committee therefore urges Members to avail themselves on the said date” the statement noted.
This would this administration’s second budget after the 2017 statement and economic policy, which was christened “sowing the seed for growth and jobs”.
Prior to the presentation of the budget, chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament, Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah hinted that there would not be any new tax introductions to the budget.
There are strong indications that government may push ahead with some fiscal reforms that could lead to further cuts in tax rates as well as social intervention
British Council announces November 16 ‘Social Thursday’ event
As part of the 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Week, the British Council, Ghana is hosting its second Social Thursday seminar for the year on Thursday, 16 November, 2017 from 6pm – 8pm on the theme “Teching” Social Enterprises in a Digital Age.
The goal of the seminar is to expose social enterprise leaders to transformational digital ideas and skills which will help them to develop a more entrepreneurial and agile approach to make their businesses more visible and fit for purpose in the digital age, generating more income and strengthening relationships with key partners and stakeholders.
Pre-seminar activities include social enterprise exhibitions and tech demos from 9am – 5pm on the same day. There will also be opportunities to participate in digital marketing training workshops coupled with mentoring sessions from business experts..
Attendance is free. Visit the British Council Ghana website: http://www.britishcouncil.org.gh/ to learn more or follow us on twitter @ghBritish via the hashtag #SocialThursday, and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BritishCouncilGhana/
The British Council Ghana is the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. As a registered charity, the British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and builds trust between them worldwide.
IHRM swears-in new governing council members
The Institute of Human Resource Management has sworn-in new members of the national governing council to oversee the institute’s operations.
The eight-member council, comprise; Dr. Edward Kwapong as President, Leo Quarcopome as Vice President, and Ebenezer O. Agbettor as Executive Director.
Other Executive members are; Nana Yaa Twum, Kwame Apedzi, Susana Manu, Isaac Sackey, and Seth Dzordzorme.
The induction ceremony came off at the institute’s annual general meeting held in Accra, Friday, under the theme: ‘Talent Management: A necessity for Competitive Advantage’.
The purpose for the meeting, among other things, was to take inventory of happenings of the in past year, to give fresh mandate to newly elected officers, and also to strengthen networking among members of the institute.
UG engages stakeholders on cloud computing
A research team from the University of Ghana, led by Professor Richard Boateng, Head of Department of Management Information Systems at the university’s business school, has held a roundtable discussion aimed at assessing the use of cloud computing in Ghana’s public sector.
Held under the theme: ‘Infrastructure and policy environment for the uptake of Cloud Computing’, the meeting engaged professionals from the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), the National Communications Authority, and other ICT consultants, among other.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Boateng noted that the discussion was necessitated by the lack of sufficient literature that highlight challenges faced in the process of establishing these technologies.
“The University of Ghana is conducting an academic study on cloud computing in the public sector in Ghana. Hence, this roundtable discussion seeks to map out Ghana’s experiences in deploying cloud computing infrastructure and services in the public sector.”
Speaking at the event, ICT Applications Specialist at NITA, Veronica Boateng, indicated that a major challenge her outfit faces in deploying e-systems in the country, is the difficulty in getting everybody to use the systems.
“The challenge we have had is also to implement electronic or digital options and to demand that everybody moves towards it. What we see is that, though some of these systems are made available, the people are still very much adopted and used to the manual ways of doing some of these programmes,” she said.
She added that NITA will establish policies following the establishment of its regulation by next year, to deal with compliance issues, to ensure that citizens use these digital systems that have been put in place.
Inflation drops to 4-year low
Inflation for last month dropped to 11.6 percent, the lowest in over four years, after prices in non-food items such as transportation among others saw some significant downward movement.
October’s inflation was a 0.6 percentage points improvement on the 12.2 percent recorded in September – meaning general prices of goods and services have remained relatively stable within the period.
The last time inflation figures were this low was June 2013, when inflation recorded was 11.6 percent. The price index since then has seen erratic movement, reaching its highest point of 19.2 percent in March, 2016.
Acting Government Statistician, Baah Wadieh, attributed the drop to some non-food items; notably transportation and furnishings, among others.
“We attribute the fall in rate of inflation to the fall in rates for transportation, furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance. In addition, there was a fall in inflation rate for alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics groups, as well as miscellaneous goods and services.
“But these are all non-food items, so the fall results from a reduction in the rate of inflation for non-food groups,” he said.
Details of the release shows that the non-food items recorded a year-on-year inflation rate of 13.2 percent in October 2017, compared to the 14.1 percent recorded for September 2017. Five subgroups recorded year-on-year inflation rates higher than the group’s average rate of 13.2 percent.
Transport recorded the highest inflation rate of 18.5 percent, followed by clothing and footwear with 17.1 percent; recreation and culture with 16.8 percent; miscellaneous goods and services with 14.5 percent; and furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance at 14.4 percent. Inflation was lowest in the Health subgroup, with 4.8 percent.
The food and non-alcoholic beverages group recorded a year-on-year inflation rate of 8.2 percent, a 0.1 percentage point higher than the rate recorded in September 2017.
One subgroup of the food and non-alcoholic beverages group recorded an inflation rate higher than the group’s average rate of 8.2 percent.
The rate for imported items was 12.2 percent compared with 13.5 percent recorded in September; and the inflation rate for locally-produced items was 11.4 percent, compared with 11.4 percent recorded in September.
This means that inflation rate for imported items in October 2017 was 0.8 percentage points higher than that of locally produced items.
At the regional level, the year-on-year inflation rate ranged from 9.1 percent in Upper East Region to 12.3 percent in the Greater Accra and Western Regions.
Five regions – Greater Accra, Western, Brong Ahafo, Ashanti and Eastern – recorded inflation rates above the national average, and Upper West and Central Regions recorded the same inflation rate as the national average – 11.6 percent.
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