Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta says the Akufo-Addo administration has made significant progress in restoring economic and financial sustainability in the country. According to him, a proactive stance to restore economic and fiscal sustainability has been adopted. He said "Government has made significant progress in restoring economic and financial sustainability" Explaining further, he noted that President Akufo-Addo announced initiation of talks with the IMF on a support package in July. He also stated that between September 26 to December 1, 2022, a 2nd and 3rd IMF Staff Missions arrived in Accra to hold talks adding that it paved way for the launch of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) on December 5. "On February 14, there was a completion of DDEP for Government of Ghana (GoG) notes and bonds, ESLA and Daakye bonds" "In April, spring meetings on the continuation of technical meetings with the IMF were held likewise preliminary and technical discussions with Bondholders Committee Advisors and Bilateral Creditors Secretariat and Technical Teams were also held this year" The Finance Minister also noted that Ghana and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a Staff-Level Agreement in December 2022. He explained that the programme duration intends to look at a three years span beginning 2023 and ending in 2026. Ken Ofori-Atta noted that $3Billion USD is the amount aimed at being granted with an extended credit facility being its facility type. Ken Ofori-Atta stressed that following the Staff-Level Agreement, gov't seeks to undertake ambitious growth-friendly and lasting fiscal adjustments and also restore public debt sustainability. "We will protect the vulnerable, preserve the external buffers, bolster the efficiency of monetary policy, preserve financial stability, improve the governance and transparency of the public sector" "We will foster entrepreneurship and growth and also enhance external competitivity and attractivity" He revealed that the Authorities are committed to a bold reform agenda supported by the IMF. He hinted that the government is engaged in wide-ranging policies reforms, structured under the Post-Covid Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG). On the fiscal and debt sustainability, Ken Ofori-Atta explained that it intends to undertake fiscal adjustment with revenue and expenditure measures to improve debt sustainability and restore macroeconomic stability. "We seek to address structural bottlenecks including SOE contingent liabilities, commitment controls, arrears accumulation and domestic revenue mobilisation. On the monetary and financial sector reforms, he stressed that it will rebuild reserve buffers, mobilise external concessional financing from multilateral and bilateral partners and suspend external debt service payments. On social protection and structural reforms he said "there will be the safeguarding of social protection programmes and ensuring the burden of adjustments is fairly distributed. He, however, mentioned that the Authorities have already taken decisive steps to restore macroeconomic stability and kickstart growth. The Sector Minister noted that in February 2023, Ghana successfully completed the first pillar of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) "The Government of Ghana requested an effort of an unprecedented magnitude from its local bondholders in the form of voluntary exchange and reached a very high level of participation" Touching on the outcome of the DDEP, he cited 19.1% coupon with an average maturity of 3.8 years as old bonds while 9.1%, of which only 5% paid in cash between 2023-2024 with average maturity of 8.3 years as new bonds. He stated that there was an 85% participation adding that perimeters looked at Treasury Bonds, ESLA Bonds, Daakye Bonds excluding holdings by Pension Funds. It is emerging that the February 2023 DDEP will produce debt service savings of GHc34Billion over 2023. It is emerging that the restructuring of the external debt is necessary to restore debt sustainability and ensure the full financing of the programme. Thinknewsonline.com is learning that an external debt treatment is required to restore debt sustainability and ensure the full financing of the programme. The Finance Minister stressed that the external debt treatment should be consistent with reaching IMF/WB LIC DSF thresholds by 2028 and ensure a return to adequate levels of international reserves. The Debt Treatment is expected to generate sufficient external cashflow relief to ensure the full financing of the IMF programme. The Minister says he is confident that two-thirds of the $30.5Billion USD external debt are expected to be included in the External Debt Restructuring Perimeter. He noted that the external debt restructuring exercise will aim at reaching the IMF/WB LIC DSF targets. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The National Coordinator for the Ghana Boundary Commission, Major General Emmanuel Kotia has raised concerns over the removal of international boundary pillars along the Ghana-Cote D'Ivoire borders, including the teak plantation planted by both countries. The illegal mining activities in the area were the major cause of these removals, according to him. To address this issue, the Ghanaian Boundary Commission has collaborated with the Minerals Commission, Forestry Commission, and Geological Survey Authority to investigate and devise a plan of action. Major General Kotia added that there have been talks with their Ivorian counterparts to jointly inspect and reaffirm the international boundary line and construct boundary pillars. In May this year, the Ghanaian Boundary Commission and its Ivorian counterpart will meet to discuss the framework of how to undertake the project, which will involve seeking funds as the construction of international boundary pillars will serve both countries. He disclosed that his outfit has facilitated the construction of a feeder road along the international boundary line to Dollar Power to aid regular inspections of the international boundary line and aid the security agencies and other agencies in their activities. The Deputy CEO of the Minerals, Mr. Samuel Tika Commission noted that illegal mining activities were affecting the livelihoods of people in the area, and the commission was ready to engage them on how to regularize their activities, emphasizing the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor's call for responsible mining. Mr. Sulemana Nyadia, The Forestry Commission's Deputy CEO, who represented the Deputy Minister responsible for Lands and Forestry, Hon. Benito Owusu-Bio stated that the activities of the miners were affecting the Mole National Park, and the agency would take action to address the issue. The Dollar Power enclave was being actively mined illegally and had attracted a large number of people, including foreigners, to that part of the park. The Ghana Geological Survey Authority was urged to conduct detailed investigations to determine the extent of mineralization and delineate zones in the areas to be blocked out for community mining. The Dollar Power Community, located in the northern part of Ghana, also called on the government to provide them with essential security and water supply. Speaking on behalf of the Chief, Mr. Mahammah Tayiru noted that the community has been in existence for a long time but lost its inhabitants through the invasion of the warlord, Samoro. Since then, the land was left untended and was later occupied by Ivorian farmers and herdsmen. The community was rejuvenated in 2013 by Mohammed Seidu, popularly known as Dollar Power, and his team after discovering that Ivorians were illegally mining gold on the land. The miners would move from Tagadi, a town in Cote D'Ivoire, and mine on the lands of Sindi before returning to reside at Tagadi. Dollar Power and his team stopped the rebels at Cote D'Ivoire from coming to mine on the land, though it was not an easy feat since they made a fortune from it. Ultimately, they succeeded in driving the rebels out of the land. He disclosed that as a result of their efforts, the illegal miners now refer to the area as Dollar Power Community. However, the community faces significant security challenges, as they have no security presence from the government despite being at the boundary line with no security. He made a rallying cry that the community is appealing to the government to provide police posts, immigration, military, and other relevant security presence to protect them from the invasion of armed groups. He highlighted water as also a significant challenge in the community, with the only source being a dugout borehole by Chairman Mohammed Dollar Power. However, he was quick to add that it was destroyed and vandalized by Ivorian soldiers stationed at the border. On behalf of the Chief, he indicated that the community has been forced to seek water from their counterparts in Cote D'Ivoire, sometimes with little success due to misunderstandings. Mr. Tayiru in his remarks appealed on behalf of the community, urging the government to enroll them in the government flagship programs, including the community mining scheme, to curb the galamsey menace and improve their living conditions as law-abiding citizens. He emphasized that they are Ghanaians and deserve fundamental rights such as security and access to clean water. Story by: Nadia Aidoo

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has granted the approval of a new R21 Malaria Vaccine in Ghana. According to the FDA, the approval was granted following an extensive series of reviews and thorough peer-reviews of the non-clinical and clinical quality part of the vaccine product development dossier. Addressing Journalists in Accra on Thursday, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Delese Mimi Darko said "On the 28th March 2023, the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) granted approval to the R21 Malaria vaccine which was developed by the Oxford University in the United Kingdom and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd, submitted through the local agent DEK. " "The approval was granted following an extensive series of reviews and thorough peer-reviews of the non-clinical and clinical quality parts of the vaccine product development dossier" Dr. Darko added that the R21 malaria vaccine has been approved for use for the immunization of children aged 5 months to 36 months against Malaria caused by Plasmodium Falciparum. She stressed that the vaccine is a clear, colourless to mildly turbid solution for injection, which is stored between 2 and 8 °C (refrigerator) and has a shelf-life of 24 months. The CEO also mentioned that the evaluation and approval process considered the safety, immunogenicity and efficacy data generated from five main clinical trials conducted in the United Kingdom, Kenya, Mali, Burkina Faso and Tanzania. Dr. Delese Mimi Darko hinted that thus, the approval of the vaccine was based on a satisfactory evaluation outcome of the quality, safety and efficacy data submitted to the FDA. "The evaluation of the submission concluded that the benefit of the vaccine significantly outweighs the risk associated with the use of the vaccine. Again, the vaccine has a potential to reduce children under 5 years mortality caused by malaria in Africa" The CEO further explained that the manufacture of the vaccine, Serum Institute, chose Ghana FDA to subject its application for formal marketing authorization. FDA is a Maturity Level 3 National Regulatory Authority for medicines and vaccines regulatory oversight and has extensive competencies in evaluating quality, nonclinical, and clinical parts of the product. "FDA is a Regional Centre of Regulatory Excellence (RCORE) in Clinical Trial Oversight, Marketing Authorization and Safety Monitoring since 2014" "The Authority has built the capacity of 150 participants and over 23 countries in Africa" "The Authority has an in-house expert that has provided advice on a similar vaccine under EMA Article 58" The CEO added that the FDA granted EUA to COVID-19 vaccines concurrently with WHO Emergency Use Listing to most of the COVID-19 vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Within the sub region, Dr. Darko stated that the Authority leads the regional collaborating efforts on vaccines and biological products and chair the Experts Committee. "FDA chairs the Steering Committee of the Africa Vaccine Regulatory Forum. The FDA Quality Control laboratory is ISO 17025 accredited, the biggest testing scope under one roof in Africa and WHO prequalified" Dr. Delese Mimi Darko however revealed that the status of the FDA Lab creates a great advantage for the local agent who hopefully will be manufacturing the malaria vaccine in Ghana in the near future. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Women's wing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have replied the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), saying it has had enough of its threats on the democracy of the country. The call comes following some utterances made by the current Minister for Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong few days ago. Leading some angry someangry female NDC supporters, National Women’s Organizer, Dr. Hanna Louisa Bisiw said "We are out here this afternoon to tell Akufo Addo and his NPP that we’ve had enough of their threats on our democracy! we don’t have just the men but we have the WOMEN too" She added that the mandate of the peopple which was stolen in 2020 by the NPP with the help of Electoral Commission’s manipulation of figures shall never repeat itself in 2024. "To continue the culture of rigging, you have packed the Electoral Commission with NPP party faithfuls" "We are a product of revolution and we shall face you head on. In the breakout of war, Women and children suffer the most. It’s been days these words of war were declared by the NPP" "IGP Akufo Dampare and the Ghana Police Service, did you suddenly lose the swiftness and proactiveness to arrest like you did at Suame in the case of our constituency youth organiser? National Security, National Intelligence Bureau rise up to your responsibilities" She hit hard on the Peace Council and Christian Council asking where is their voice to speak truth to power and uphold the peace of Ghana's democracy. "Ghanaians are tired of the reckless borrowing! Ghanaians are tired of cronyism and nepotism! Ghanaians are tired of living like slaves in our motherland!Ghanaians are tired of the mismanagement and deceit!" "To the ordinary Ghanaian like myself, do not be afraid by losing interest in your ballot come 2024. We shall never relent in our efforts to rescue and build the Ghana we all want with President John Dramani Mahama" "The message is simple and clear, we the women of the National Democratic Congress are infuriated by the reckless and covetous statements by the “Corporal Cook” Bryan Acheampong. In his attempt to terrorize Ghanaians at a recent health walk said, “The NPP shall never hand over power to the NDC. Whatever it takes to retain power in 2024, we shall do it” Describing the utterances by Bryan Acheampong as treasonable, she noted that those words can shake the foundation of Ghana's democracy. "In 2021 at a delegates conference in Kumasi, President Akufo Addo re-iterated his plans to hand over power in 2025 to his party’s flag bearer. In a similar occasion in 2022, Lord Commey who is the director of operations at the Presidency said the power I have, I will not hand it over today or tomorrow.” "This is a clear indication of the evil intent of the NPP to manipulate the outcome of election 2024 as they know, the ordinary Ghanaian is fed up with their failed government. To cover up for the numerous scandalous deals and misappropriation of state funds, they are desperate to hold on to power" "We, the women of Ghana unreservedly condemn “Corporal Cook” Bryan Acheampong’s irresponsible, senseless, uncouth, vitriolic attack on our country’s democracy, and the attempted “rape” of the constitutional right of the people of Ghana to elect leaders of their choice" Accordingly, the women’s wing further called on the Security Agencies to immediately arrest Bryan Acheampong and slap him with charges for inciting a treasonous act. "If the Security Agencies fail to arrest Bryan Acheampong as they did others, we will call for a nation-wide Women’s Revolution to, with immediate, effect a citizens’ arrest of “Nation Wrecker” Bryan Acheampong" "Has Bryan Acheampong seriously considered the possible conflagration that will occur in Ghana if anyone is maimed or killed as a result of his recklessness in the near future?" "Has Bryan Acheampong thought about the probability of Accra, and for that matter, other parts of this country being a “no-go” areas for him and his cohorts if any politically motivated unfortunate incidents happen AGAIN? It is already noteworthy that Bryan Acheampong cannot step foot in Bawku" “Coporal Cook Bryan Acheampong and his gangs of hoodlums and dunderheads must know that battle-tested and defiant Ghanaians will not accept a repeat of the senseless massacres during the December 2020 elections and the bloodshed at Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election." "Ayawaso West-Wuogon will not happen again" Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Former Deputy Communications Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu says it is the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and not the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that needs counsel on the urgency to ensure peace in Ghana. He said the opposition party has shown no tendency to undermine the peace and security in the country. “The [National] Peace Council should stop behaving this way,” he retorted on Midday News on 3 92.7FM on Wednesday, April 12. “They should simply call out the NPP and condemn them. That is all that they need to do. We in the NDC had said nothing.” He further added: “We have done nothing that indicates that we are going to undermine the peace and security of this country. We are also not in government. It is the NPP that is in government that has shown signs that they are prepared to kill during elections.” The Council had given indications of inviting the two major political parties to a roundtable meeting following the trading of accusations of the use of “treasonable” comments ahead of the 2024 elections. Over the weekend, Minister of Food and Agriculture Bryan Acheampong was accused of treason for saying that the ruling government will never hand over to the NDC even if the latter wins next year’s elections. The NDC has since lodged a petition at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to look into this. The NPP through its National Organiser, Henry Nana Boakye, also submitted a petition to the CID to arrest NDC’s three-time flagbearer John Dramani Mahama and National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia for similar comments. But Mr Kwakye Ofosu, who stood as NDC’s 2020 Parliamentary Candidate in Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese Constituency in the Central Region, said the Peace Council should rather concentrate on the NPP and Bryan Acheampong. “So, if Bryan Acheampong has made reckless comments, let the Peace Council go ahead and call him out and condemn him. “If they have any advice, let them give it to him. They should not rope in the NDC and pretend that there is some exchange between the two parties when that is not the case.” Credit: 3news.com

Mayor of Accra, Elizabeth Kwatsoe Sackey has urged parents, educators and stakeholders in the creative arts industry to patronise books written by Ghanaian authors and indigenes to empower and educate children as well as the youth about their identity and cultural heritage. "The children, we are seeking to empower must be taught our identity through books. I am therefore calling on parents and educators to patronise books written by Ghanaian authors," she said. The first female Mayor of Accra said this on Tuesday at a press briefing  ahead of the official launch of the Accra World Book Capital slated for April 24, under the theme: “Reading to connect minds for social transformation.” The yearlong programme with the slogan: Akwaaba, let’s read which is expected to end on 22nd April 2024, entails a series of activities such as marathon reading sessions, spelling bees, quizzes, reading and creative-writing competitions, capacity-building workshops, and many more. The City of Accra was named the World Book Capital 2023, following evaluation by the World Book Capital Advisory Committee from UNESCO, at its 215th session in Paris, France, on September 22, 2021. Mayor Sackey said the event would ignite the spirit of reading and positively impact the Ghanaian society to achieve the national goal of Ghana becoming a learning nation hence the need to inculcate Ghana's oral culture into written literature to help eradicate illiteracy and foster development. The AMA boss expressed the Assembly's commitment to supporting UNESCO’s agenda to ensure that all segments of society enjoy and express their cultural rights. She used the opportunity to commend key stakeholders: the Ministry of Education, UNESCO, agencies and committees responsible for achieving the title of this prestigious programme. Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education, speaking at a press conference said the decision demonstrated the organization’s recognition of ongoing reforms in the creative arts industry in Ghana and the rest of Africa. He said the Government of Ghana believes in this vision and recognizes the need to address barriers to equity and inclusivity in all aspects of societal life stressing that the Government, had put in place interventions, including, making secondary education free, providing more schools and STEM Centres, developing adapted curricula at all levels, and improving the quality of teachers to improve learning outcomes. “The Government of Ghana believes in this vision and also recognizes the need to address barriers to equity and inclusivity in all aspects. In education, through making secondary education free, provision of more schools, STEM centres across the country, development of Adaptech curricula at all levels and improving the quality of teachers and the teaching profession and all efforts by the government to guarantee a just and sustainable society,” he said. He noted that in the area of culture, the national cultural festival had made strides in literacy development through drama, poetry recitals, drum language, dance, and choral music adding that this was key to the goals of Accra World Book Capital and presented the opportunities for students to use diverse representations for effective communications. He encouraged all stakeholders in the book and the creative arts industry to support the fight against illiteracy to imbibe the culture of reading and writing among children and the youth as well as improve the bridge gap in the industry while producing literate passionate about literature. Mr Abdourahamane Diallo, the Representative of UNESCO to Ghana, pledged to mobilise all partners to support the event to promote reading stressing that the yearlong program was an opportunity to forge alliances with other big cities where they have book fairs. Credit: Accra Metropolitan Assembly

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has cautioned the general public to disregard all sponsored content and materials that promote unhealthy competition which favours those brands in the country. According to the FDA, the sponsored content and materials also creates fear and panic among consumers. In a statement sighted by Thinknewsonline.com, it said " The Authority advises the general public to promptly report such videos to the Authority" "The Authority advises the general public to only buy packaged and bottled water registered by the FDA" The FDA reminded the general public to check registration dates of products they patronise. "The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has noted with concern videos which has resurfaced via YouTube on the pH levels of some brands of bottled water" "The video suggests that some brands have pH values which are out of the allowable pH rang, are impure and not suitable for drinking. Below are copies of the press release: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Government of Ghana days it will be holding a presentation on to update interested stakeholders on the country’s latest macroeconomic development. It added that via the presentation, it will also outline guiding principles for the upcoming public debt restructuring. In a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, it said "The Government of Ghana announced today that it will give a presentation via webcast on Thursday, 13th April 2023 at 9:30 am EDT (1:30 pm GMT) to update interested stakeholders on the latest macroeconomic developments and the government’s guiding principles for the upcoming public debt restructuring." The presentation is slated for Thursday 13th April 2023. Below is a copy of the release: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MOCD) has commenced the Training of Trainers (ToT) component of Girls in ICT (GIICT) flagship project for 100 Teachers in the Savannah Region. The ToT is a critical activity that contributes to the sustainance of the knowledge acquired and availability of the knowledge in all schools that the teachers belong. The training which began today, 11th and scheduled to end on 15th April 2023, is to equip the teachers with digital skills to enable them to train 1000 selected Girls from 7 (Seven ) districts. Training will be held in 50 Centers across the region The programme is being organised by the Ministry and its implementing agencies such as Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT ( KACE), Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), as well as other partners including GIZ, ATC and MTN. The Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful in a speech read on her behalf by the Head of Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PPME), Mr. Emmanuel Ofori, said though the ICT was part of schools curriculum, it was important to include new skills that will be acquired in the days ahead since it would further enhance the teaching ability of the teachers for the benefit of the 1000 Girls to be trained and its ripple effect on other girls who could not be selected. The Minister said the initiative was established with the goal of addressing the challenge faced by the girl child because statistics available has shown that the ICT sector has been heavily dominated by males for decades. She observed that it was for that reason that the Ministry introduced the programme to bridge the digital gender divide and help achieve goal 4 (Quality Education) and 5 (Gender Quality) of the United Nations Sustainable Goals (SDG) and also to whip the interest of the girls to take studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) which is perceived to be the reserve of their male counterpart. Touching on the purpose of the theme selected for this year, “Digital Skills for Life”, she said it is apt because the 4th Industrial Revolution was currently ongoing and any nation that decides not to participate will be left behind. She indicated that Ghana intends to be at the forefront of this phase of human history and most critical resource in this age was trainable and well-trained people to be able to compete in the digital world. "Everyone will be impacted especially our girls and therefore we are taking steps to address the gaps. As it is often said ' Little drops of water makes a mighty ocean'. We might not have the resources at once to impact everyone but with the pace we are going and the regional rotation, we are sure most girls will have the opportunity to be impacted by the Girls-In-ICT initiative" She said that the success of the initiative was the fulcrum of the collaboration between the Ministry and the Regional Coordinating Council, and that "We are a team in the implementation of this project in the Savannah Region. The Girls-In-ICT train has always left a big impact in every Region it passes and we are more than convinced that we will leave our mark here". Mrs Owusu-Ekuful noted, that, Ghana was gradually migrating from the informal economy to a digital one and as such the Ministry was currently putting together a digital economy policy with a key policy pillar of Digital Skills. "This will ensure that the required environment is created to promote participation of the citizenry. To this end, it has even become more crucial to train more girls with digitals skills to equip them to be capable of fully participating in the fast-growing digital economy", he added. The Regional Minister for Savannah Regional, Hon. Saeed Muhazu Jibril in his welcome address, extended his compliments to the Ministry and it's partners for bringing the Girls in ICT iniative to his region since it would help bridge the gender digital devide. According to him, the Savannah Region was far behind in many ways and especially in areas of technology and digital literacy, hence, the programme had come at right time, added that, he together with colleagues Members of Parliament were to provide all the needed support to make the project sustainable. He urged the teachers to take the training with seriousness and impact their knowledge in order to help them transfer the skills learned to the girls, this he said would make the region proud when it comes to using digital services and among others. In his remarks, the Deputy Regional Education Director for the Savannah Region, Mr. Iddisah Seidu noted that the objective of the project was in line with the Ministry of Education and as such it was important the to work collaboratively to achieve the goal of gender inclusion in education. Mr. Seidu added, as everyone was moving towards technology, it was important that teachers build their capacities in digital skills. Story by: Thinknewsonline.com

A Sixty-four (64) year old woman was burnt to death on Tuesday morning after fire gutted her room at Mataheko, a community in the Greater Accra Region. The name of the deceased was given as Auntie Selina Saman. Thinknewsonline.com has gathered that the deceased was boiling water with a water-heater at the earlier hours of Tuesday dawn of which caused fire to gut her room. It is emerging that the room which got gutted by the fire was a boys quarters of popular hotel, Kaneshie Modern Hotel. The Ghana National Fire Service who rushed to the scene, managed to quench the fire to avoid spreading to other rooms at the hotel. The remains of Late Selina Saman has since been deposited at the Police Morgue in Accra. Below are some pictures and a video: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Veteran gospel group, Daughters of Glorious Jesus have encouraged Christians to listen to gospel music and other genres that can impact them positively. The trio of songbirds comprising Cynthia Appiadu, Edna Sarpong, and Monica Owusu Ansah made the remarks when they appeared as guests on United Showbiz with MzGee. These comments come on the back of Rev Moses Ok‘s comments on Onua TV cautioning Christians to avoid listening to secular music. According to the Reverend Minister, the lyrics of the songs we listen to are inspired by spirits hence the need for people to listen to songs that have the spirit of God, which is Gospel music. “You can’t listen to any song as a believer, emphasizes good Christians. I’m not talking about those who just call themselves Christians, I’m talking about those who have the spirit of God in them,” he revealed. However, taking a different standpoint from the ‘Ene me nko’ singer, the award-winning music group said people were allowed to listen to different genres of music as long as it was beneficial and compelled them to do good. “It is God who gives talent. As a Christian, you can listen to secular songs; even their lyrics can touch you and compel you to do the right thing. The gift is from God,” Edna a member of the group asserted" “I like Amakye Dede’s songs, and I like him. This doesn’t make me a non-believer. You don’t judge people’s outlooks and determine whether the person is a Christian or not. That I am playing Amakye Dede in my car doesn’t mean I am not a Christian.” Monica Owusu Ansah who is also the wife of Bishop Dr Yaw Owusu Ansah agreed with the submission adding that she and her husband were fans of Kojo Antwi. “Some of Kojo Antwi’s songs give good counsel. He sings love songs. If you are married and listen to some of those songs with your husband, isn’t it a good feeling? Because Kojo Antwi also goes to church,” Mrs Owusu Ansah pointed out. Credit: 1GhanaTv

Ghana has joined the rest of the world to mark World Health Day in Accra. Special to the 2023 World Health Day is the 75th anniversary of the World Health Organisation (WHO), a global Health Institution. The anniversary was being commemorated under the theme of 75 years of improving public health. "75 years ago, this global Institute in health was founded to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable so everyone, everywhere can attain the highest level of health and well-being" "This day gives us an opportunity to look back at public health successes that have improved quality of life during the last seven decades" "Today we have an opportunity to tackle the health challenges of today and tomorrow" Health is still a fundamental basic human right. "Everyone must have access to the healthcare services they need, when and where they need them without financial hardship" "We can only achieve this fundamental right through Universal Health Coverage which will offer financial protection and access to quality essential services, lift people out of poverty, promoted the well-being of families and communities" "Again, the need for resilient health systems powered by a Primary Health Care approach is the most effective and cost-effective way to bring services to the doors of our people" "We in Ghana will continue to engage and emphasise individuals, families, and communities for increased social participation and enhanced care in health" "Our people will be the centre of health decisions and outcomes. For our health system, we will strengthen integrated national health system using a Primary Health Care(PHC) approach to deliver essential quality services with financial protection, equity-oriented, gender sensitive and rights-based approach" Together with the World Health Organization, Ghana we will commemorate this day on Friday 14th April 2023" Below is a copy of the release: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith