Head Coach of tye Senior National Team, Black Stars, Otto Addo says he sees Ghana's last group game against Uruguay as a normal match and not a revenge. According to him, although the 2010 incident by Uruguayan Striker, Suarez broke the hearts of many Ghanaians, he is not looking at paying them back. In an interview monitored by Thinknewsonline.com, he said "I’m not thinking too much about revenge because for me it’s just a normal game. Surely I was really sad when I watched the scene in 2010." He added that he is only looking at winning adding that he will ensure, the Black Stars progresses to the next stage. "...at the end if it’s a draw it is also good for us but we want to win this game.” Ghana will be clashing with Uruguay on Friday. Many Ghanaians are confident that Ghana will not only win but also pay Uruguay back for the harm they caused in 2010.. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) has recovered GH¢27.55 million being proceeds of crime as of the of end September 2022, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta revealed at last Thursday’s 2023 Budget hearing. The recovered amount which covers a period of ten months is almost double of what was recovered between 2019 and 2021.According to official figures available, EOCO in 2019 recovered only GH¢4,301,262.79, GH¢4,365,129.69 for 2020, and GH¢6,142,984.01 for 2021. Speaking to the development on the floor of parliament last Thursday, the Finance Minister said “ Mr. Speaker, the Office, through the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), recovered an amount of GH¢27.55 million (being GH¢11.14 million direct recovery into the Consolidated Fund and GH¢16.41 million indirect recovery to other institutions) from the proceeds of crime as at end September, 2022” According to him, the office also investigated 490 cases out of which 19 are being prosecuted. “Mr. Speaker, EOCO investigated 490 cases out of which 19 are being prosecuted at various courts" The Office secured one court conviction, and five cases were dismissed. In addition, the Office carried out 55 sensitisation programmes on cybercrimes, 55 on gaming, three outreach programmes on human trafficking and irregular migration. In 2023, EOCO anticipates investigating 450 cases, out of which over 50 cases will be prosecuted. The Office plans to carry out 60 sensitisation programmes on cybercrimes, 55 on gaming, and five outreach” Source: mynewsgh

Ghana and Germany have maintained longstanding and cordial relations which have been reinforced through collaboration, in support of Ghana’s development agenda, on a wide range of bilateral and multilateral issues bordering on security, diplomacy, economic cooperation, trade, investment, technology transfer, cultural engagements, human resource development, and capacity buiilding, among others. As a testament to the strategic partnership that our two countries enjoy, the Deputy Minister of the Federal Foreign Office of the Republic of Germany, H.E. Ms. Katja Keul, represented her Government to participate effectively in the Heads of State Summit of the Accra Initiative, held on 23rd November, 2022. During the Summit, Ms. Keul, while expressing Germany’s admiration for the efforts and commitment of the Accra initiative and its west African partners to counter threats, emphasised her country’s readiness to support the Accra initiative. She stressed that prevention and early warning were still possible to curb terrorism and violent extremism which would make a great difference to avoid the threats that confronted the Sahel and coastal regions of Africa. It is worth noting Germany’s tangible assistance for the Accra Initiative in diverse ways. In Ghana, Germany is supporting an Accra initiative Centre by working with the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) in the most vulnerable areas in the provision of relevant equipment and the construction of required facilities. This move by Germany has added impetus to the objectives of the Accra initiative to exchange intelligence, build capacity, and provide logistics to augment our own actions against terrorist forces in the Sahel that threaten the Sahelian region and coastal west Africa. During a bilateral meeting with the Minister for Foreign and Regional Integration of Ghana, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, in the margins of the Accra Initiative summit, the pair reechoed the earlier statement, made during the Accra Initiative Summit, by the President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, which emphasised that under the Accra Initiative, troops were not required from countries as had been done under MINUSMA. The Accra Initiative Member States possessed the human resource based on experience garnered from other conflict missions, which had enabled the member states to pledge, at the Summit, to contribute soldiers into a pool to commence counter terrorist attacks, but not peacekeeping operations, aimed at preventing the terrorists from gaining access to the coastal areas. The Accra Initiative (AI) is a cooperative and collaborative security mechanism, launched in 2017 under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa AKUFO-ADDO with his colleagues from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and Togo. The current membership of the Initiative are Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Mali and Niger. The Initiative aims to prevent a spillover of terrorism from the Sahel and to address transnational organized crime within the common border areas of member states. The Accra Initiative is an African-led, African-executed initiative which would depend solely on the armed forces of its member states. Apart from the collaboration in the security space, relations have also been encouraging on the political and economic fronts. Ghana’s membership of the G20 “Compact with Africa” (CwA) made the country one of the first African countries to have signed the Compact, which was launched under the German G20 Presidency in 2017. The engagement under the Compact is important as Ghana advocates for an Africa beyond aid to foster sustainable growth in Africa. This partnership under the CwA, led to an initiative for Fairafric to set up a subsidiary in Ghana to advance sustainable chocolate production capacity in the Central Region of Ghana. Fairafric, is a Ghanaian-German Social Business which produces premium quality chocolate. Again “DO THE RIGHT THING” (DTRT) Apparel expanded its textiles production by creating 1,500 additional jobs in Greater Accra. The G20 Compact with Africa (CwA) was initiated under the German G20 Presidency to promote private investment in Africa, including in infrastructure. The CwA’s primary objective is to increase attractiveness of private investment through substantial improvements of the macro, business and financing frameworks. It brings together reform-minded African countries, international organizations and bilateral partners from G20 and beyond to coordinate country-specific reform agendas, support respective policy measures and advertise investment opportunities to private investors. Regarding Trade and investment, Ghana is one of Germany’s most important trading partners in sub-Saharan Africa.  In that regard, Germany chose to host in February 2019, the “German Africa Business Summit” with more than 600 participants, in Accra which was the first time it was held in West Africa. Ghana's main exports to Germany include aluminum, timber and wood products, cocoa beans and cocoa products, jewelry, precious and semi-precious stones, gold, vegetable oils and fats, fresh tropical fruits and handicrafts.  Germany on the other hand exports motor vehicles, machines and chemical products to Ghana. According to the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), a total number of 197 German investment projects were registered within the period September 1994 to 2022. Also, FDI amounted to US$86.18M. It is estimated that German investors in Ghana would create employment for over 6,930 Ghanaians. Economic activities have expanded between Ghana and Germany over the years. Volkswagen (VW), in August 2020, set up a car assembly facility in Ghana. Siemens, in January 2020, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCO) to upgrade and extend Ghana’s transmission, infrastructure, improve grid capacity and stability, enable and expand a stable power export to neighbouring countries within the West African Power Pool. Siemens intends to educate and train young Ghanaians in various engineering disciplines and on Siemens equipment for STEM and TVET education, thus, adding credence to our fruitful collaboration with Germany in support of education, training and Sustainable Growth through initiatives such as Ghana Beyond Aid and attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to provide jobs, through industrialisation. In 2020, Knauff, a leading German building materials company, established its office in Accra, while, a German-Ghanaian Joint Economic Commission was launched in Berlin in 2019. "We also have an Institutional Partnerships on the Promotion of Anti-Dumping, Anti-Subsidy and Safeguard Rules and improving the Standards of Public Test Laboratories in the Field of Construction Materials and Chemicals, respectively. Ghana will continue its strategic cooperation with Germany on other projects such as the ‘Digital Ghana Agenda’, which involves the digitisation of services and processes in the country to optimize efficiency and effectiveness" Cooperation in the field of E-waste management is also worth highlighting. In the area of health, the German Government supported Ghana at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic with Germany’s supply of 25 million euros worth of COVID-19 relief support from Germany and financial assistance in boosting the infectious diseases management capacity of the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR) and the Takoradi Regional Hospital. Further collaboration in the health sector was established when the Governments of Ghana, Rwanda and Senegal entered a joint partnership with German Biotechnology Company, BioNTech SE, to manufacture, fill, finish and package BioNTech mRNA vaccines for Covid-19, Malaria and Tuberculosis. This partnership will position Ghana to meet its vaccine needs and those of Africa at large. On the multilateral front, Ghana’s membership of the UN Security Council provides further opportunity to promote international peace and security from the perspective of our common aspirations, especially as they relate to any action by any State that breaches the United Nations Charter and threatens the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a country. "We will, therefore, enhance our partnership through burden-sharing with Germany, especially, in the areas of intelligence sharing, logistics, capabilities and training of relevant security personnel" Credit: Melvin Tarlue

The Ashanti Regional Director of the National Service Secretariat (NSS), Alex Opoku-Mensah has rendered an unqualified apology for verbally abusing a nurse at the Manhyia Hospital. The Nurse corrected his daughter’s wrongful prescription for a two-year-old convulsion patient.In a Facebook post, Mr Opoku-Mensah said the modus operandi he employed in handling the friction between his daughter who is a doctor and the nurse “has never been my style.” According to him, he sought to mediate the issue between the duo because he considered the nurse involved as his daughter as well.He was therefore remorseful of his behaviour. "I do apologise for any mishap and assure all, there shall not be a repetition of such,” he promised. On Monday morning, Mr Opoku Mensah was reported to have barged into the surgical ward of the hospital, where his daughter is currently serving as a house officer, to verbally abuse and threaten the nurse. According to eyewitnesses, the medical officer prescribed the wrong dosage for a two-year-old convulsion patient. The nurse upon noticing the medical blunder called on the young doctor to rectify the wrongful medication. However, sources say the house officer took offence and reported the issue to her father who later visited the health facility to angrily insult the nurse.m eanwhile, the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has since issued a statement calling for the immediate removal of the Mr Opoku-Mensah from office for the misbehaviour. "The Public Services Commission and Government for that matter should sack the said Regional Director immediately because he is not fit for the director position he holds in public service.“ "He had absolutely no right to enter Manhyia hospital and verbally abuse and threaten the nurse in question who was on duty at the time,” the statement read. The nurses threatened that they will call upon their members at the facility to boycott their duties if Mr. Opoku-Mensah is not sacked within the next 72 hours. Source: Myjoyonline.com

The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has called for the dismissal of the Ashanti Regional Director for the National Service Scheme (NSS), Mr. Alex Opoku Mensah for verbally assaulting a nurse at the Manhyia District Hospital. In an audio recording emanating from the hospital, a male voice is heard raining insults on a nurse. The male voice has been identified as the regional director of NSS, Mr. Alex Poku Mensah who also happens to be the father of the House Officer who had a misunderstanding with the nurse. The nurse is said to have called the House Officer to come to the hospital and log into the E-health system and update the patient's prescription order so that the patient is not billed for unissued drugs but this did not go down well with the house officer and her father. Reacting to develop, GRNMA said “the public service commission and government for that matter should sack the said regional director immediately because he is not fit for the Director position he holds in the Public Service”The association said Mr. Mensah had no right to enter Manhyia Direct Hospital, verbally abuse and threaten the nurse in question who was on duty at the time. The association has therefore given the government 72 hours momentum to sack Mr. Mensah, “or all nurses and midwives at the Manhyia house hospital will lay down their tools to be followed by the whole of Ashanti, and then it will be escalated to the whole nation”, it threatened. It also advised the management of the hospital to school the said House Officer on her role in the medical team, adding that the association will continue to advocate for their patients and clients even if it makes another member of the team uncomfortable. GRNMA urged all nurses and midwives at the hospital to remain calm and go about their normal duties effectively. It also asked the Ashanti regional branch of the association to report the incident to the police immediately and report the same to GRNMA Headquarters. Below is the full statement: Credit: Graphiconline.com

The Ashanti Regional Director of the National Service Secretariat (NSS), Alex Opoku-Mensah has attacked a nurse at post at the Manhyia Government Hospital in Kumasi. The attack was reportedly in response to the alleged intimidation of his daughter who is undergoing her medical housemanship by the said nurse. Hos daughter who happened to be in the same hospital had reported to him about the nurse who she accused of intimidating her at the health facility. In an audio recording, the angry NSS director is heard raining insults on the nurse describing the nurse who questioned his daughter as an unqualified nurse who gained admission into nursing training school through sexual favours. Meanwhile, the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has called for the dismissal of the NSS Director with immediate effect insisting he has no business holding any position in public service. "Public Services Commission and Government for that matter should sack the said Regional Director immediately because he is not fit for the Director position he holds in the Public Service. He had absolutely NO RIGHT to enter Manhyia District Hospital and verbally abuse and threaten the nurse in question who was on duty at the time.“ As a Director, he should have known that Manhyia District Hospital had a Medical Superintendent and a Nurse Manager under whom the nurse works and if indeed he had any complaint to make, they were the people he should have engaged and not to go to the hospital and fight the nurse on behalf of his daughter. "We wish to state categorically that if the government does not relieve Mr. Alex Poku Mensah of his duty as Ashanti Regional Director of the National Service Scheme within 72 hours, nurses and midwives of Manhyia Hospital will be called upon to lay down their tools, followed by the whole of Ashanti Region and then it will be escalated to the whole nation.” Source: Starrfm.com.gh

Government through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has on Tuesday engaged news editors of some media houses on the various interventions it has employed to regularise the small scale mining industry. In an all-encompassing presentation, the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources responsible for Mines established the fact that the small-scale mining sector contributes an average of up to 40% of the total gold produce in-country and employs over 1 million Ghanaians among many other benefits, which makes the sector a key contributor to the country’s economic sector. He noted that aside the myriad of benefits the small-scale mining industry contributes to the country, Ghana’s small-scale mining sector is considered one of the best in Africa with an enviable regulatory structure which has propelled many countries to visit the country, learn and implement it in their respective nations. "Zambia and Sundan have come to emulate from us and currently, the South African High Commissioner is at the Ministry with the same purpose, to understudy Ghana’s small-scale mining sector" He added. Hon. George Mireku Duker in his presentation also touted the gamut of measures government has put in place to regularize the sector and curb the illegal mining menace, which among other things include Operation Halt II, Community Mining Scheme (CMS), Training of River guards, procurement of speed boats and the Gold processing machine know as the "Gold Katcha". On the procurement of speed boats and training of river guards, Hon. Duker stressed that government is not only talking about the issues but also actionalizing what they say "we are not just doing a talk shop here, we are on the grounds and the whole mentality is to get our river bodies cleaned" Responding to a question from one of the editors on the confiscated excavators, Hon. Duker disclosed that the excavators have been handed over to the Ghana Police Service, adding that details about the seized excavators will be made available to the media practitioners. He made it clear that the fight is a herculean one but government is making all the necessary efforts to win and will welcome inputs and expert views from the media on how to effectively communicate the strides made by the government in this regard. He used the opportunity to debunk all allegations levelled against him as being neck-deep in the galamsey menace stressing that " I have never been a miner and I will never be, I have only studied and have a good knowledge of the subject matter and that should be on record" Shortly after his presentation, the Deputy Minister led the news editors to the Mineral's Commission's situational room where modern technological gadgets and software for the tracking of all earth moving equipments and explosive machines will be commissioned in December this year. Below are some pictures: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

News coming in indicates that some Ghanaians have been arrested arrested by Qatar police for reselling match tickets at hicked up prices. According to sources, those arrested resold match tickets as high as $300USD. Ghana's Sports Minister, Mustapha Ussif who confirmed the incident noted that the unspecified number of Ghanaian citizens arrested have already been processed for court. Thinknewsonline.com will update its readers on new developments. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Information reaching Thinknewsonline.com indicates that a Nigerian has been arrested by the Ghana Police Service for allegedly beheading girlfriend at Spintex, a community in the Greater Accra Region. According to sources, the young Nigerian (Name withheld) was arrested by the Police Service earlier today upon tip off. It is however unclear what triggered the young man to commit such crime. The remains of the young lady who is yet to be identified has been picked up by the police. The unfortunate incident has left fear among residents in Spintex and its environment. Watch the videos below: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The 7th International Trade Show & Conference on Agriculture, Food & Beverage Technology on West Africa agrofood and plastprintpack has opened in Accra, Ghana with a call on West African countries to seize opportunities at the fair to increase self-sufficiency in the agriculture value chain. The three-day conference (from Tuesday, November 29,--Thursday, December 1, 2022), christened: "7th agrofood & plastprintpack West Africa 2022," is organised by fairtrade Messe in collaboration with its local partners, Geovision. It is aimed at helping countries in the West African Sub-region to increase self-sufficiency and also improve supply in the agricultural value chain. Six countries will be mounting pavilions at this year's exhibition. These are Germany, Italy, Iran, The Netherlands, South Africa and Sri Lanka. In total, over 90 exhibitors from 20 countries will showcase products, technologies and solutions specifically tailored for the West African market. Welcoming exhibitors to the fair, the Managing Director (MD) of fairtrade Messe, Paul Maerz, disclosed that the exhibitors come from countries including Belgium, Burkina Faso, Egypt, France, Ghana, Spain, Hungary, Sri Lanka Turkey and United Arab Emirates. The rest, he mentioned, are Ivory Coast, Italy, Morocco, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa and USA. According to him, the West African market for agricultural technology has become very key. He said this against the backdrop that West Africa imports of agricultural machinery has reached around 200 million Euros annually. "West Africa's food & beverages technology imports increased by 5.8% annually from 496 million Euros to 694 million Euros in 2021 (VDMA)," he revealed. Further, Mr. Maerz said West African imports of plastics technology accounted for 217 million Euros in 2020, having increased from 219 million Euros in 2018 to 263 million Euros in 2019. He, therefore, seized the chance to express gratitude to their Ghanaian partners including the Ministries of Food and Agriculture, Trade and Industry, Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, the Association of Ghana Industries, Food and Beverage Association of Ghana among others. The Director, Plants Protection Services at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) Mr. Eric Bentsil Quaye, said agriculture is the mainstay of Ghana's economy and still continues to contribute heavily to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). "It also creates employment and generates income through export," he added. According to him, farmers in the West African Sub-region and other places were facing loads of challenges. He attributed the problems confronting farmers in West Africa in particular to global activities such as the Covid, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and climate change. These negative developments, Mr. Bentsil Quaye said, have brought about food security challenge in the region. However, he was happy to assert that the Government of Ghana's (GoG) flagship programme of Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) has largely helped sustain the country's food economy. He said Ghana 's agriculture strategy synthesises government's policy framework and action plans for attaining self-sustained growth in all the agriculture sub-sectors. Again, Mr. Bentsil Quaye indicated that MoFA was reducing the importation of inorganic fertilisers by encouraging the private sector to invest in organic compost. "We have also built adequate warehouses to address post-harvest losses often associated with harvest," he said. All these measures, he pointed out, are geared towards boosting food production in Ghana. He described the trade conference as "timely," and commended the organisers. In a brief remark, the Italian Ambassador to Ghana and Togo, H.E. Ms. Daniela d'Orlandi, said Italy and Ghana have a strong bilateral relations which has worked well for the mutual benefit of the two countries. She said the trade fair will further bolster the relations between Italy and Ghana, adding that it will afford Ghanaian companies the opportunity to network and connect with Italian companies. The Deputy Head of Mission, Federal Republic of Germany, Ms. Suvine Jansen, who was very impressed with the number of exhibitors at the event, revealed that eleven German companies will be exhibiting their products. Below are some pictures: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Shops at the Kantamanto market in Accra have been ravaged by fire, destroying goods and property and running into thousands of cedis. The inferno, which occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, November 29, 2022, destroyed several structures in the market. Reports stated that firefighters were seen battling the fire despite exhausting several tanks of water to salvage the situation. Affected traders were captured carrying headpans of water in effort to douse the fire themselves because the firefighters had run out of water. The cause of the fire incident is unknown. Below are some pictures: Credit: Pulse GH

Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin has joined Ghanaians across the world to celebrate the victory of the Senior National Team, Black Stars over South Korea in the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar. T0⁰he Speaker took to the dance floor after Black Stars player, Mohammed Kudos slotted home the third goal. The Black Stars on Monday had a real test of time as the South Korean team matched the boot for boot. The Senior National Team who went two up in the first half of the game saw the South Korean team equalising both goals the first quarter of the second half. While hopes were lost, play-maker, Kudos weaved his way through and found the back of the net for Ghana. The goal revived the spirits of Ghanaians. The gallant men defended with their all till final whistle was blown. Watch the video below: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith