Former President, John Dramani Mahama turns Sixty-Four (64) years today. Born on November 29, 1958, in Damango, the Former President was gifted to a politically active family. His father, Emmanuel Adama Mahama, served as a member of Parliament as well as a regional commissioner in the government of Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah. John Mahama attended primary school at the Achimota School in Accra and attended the Ghana Secondary School in Tamale. He received a bachelor’s degree in history in 1981 from the University of Ghana, Legon, where he also completed postgraduate studies in communication in 1986. Mahama taught high-school history for a few years before pursuing a postgraduate degree in social psychology from the Institute of Social Sciences in Moscow, which was awarded in 1988. After Mahama returned to Ghana, he worked in Accra as the Information, Culture, and Research Officer at the embassy of Japan until 1995. He then worked at the Ghana office of Plan International, a humanitarian and development organization, as the international relations, sponsorship, communication, and grants manager. In 1996 he was elected to Parliament under the banner of the National Democratic Congress (NDC); he was reelected in 2000 and 2004. While in Parliament he held several posts, including Minister of Communications (1998–2001), before being chosen as the vice presidential candidate on the NDC ticket in 2008 with John Evans Atta Mills. Mills won the December 2008 presidential election, and he and Mahama were inaugurated on January 7, 2009. After the unexpected death of Mills on July 24, 2012, Mahama was elevated to the presidency, just months before the end of Mills’s term. The NDC selected Mahama to be their candidate in the December 7, 2012, election, in which he competed against seven other candidates. He was announced the winner, with 50.7 percent of the vote; by taking more than 50 percent, Mahama narrowly avoided a runoff election with his nearest challenger, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who had won 47.74 percent. Akufo-Addo and the NPP, however, alleged that electoral fraud had taken place and filed a petition with the Supreme Court, challenging the results. In August 2013 the Court dismissed the NPP’s petition and upheld Mahama’s victory. Meanwhile, Mahama continued serving as president, having been inaugurated on January 7, 2013, and faced a worsening economic situation in the country. Falling global prices on Ghana’s primary exports as well as increasing public wage costs negatively impacted Ghana’s economy, as did increasing debt. Also affecting the economy were power shortages, which had become an unfortunate hallmark of his administration and led to a nickname for the president that Mahama himself joked about: Mr. Dumsor, dum-sor meaning “off-on” in the local Twi language and describing the regularly occurring incidents of the power cutting off and then turning back on. The economic woes and power shortages, as well as anger over corruption scandals, frustrated voters as the 2016 elections approached. Mahama, however, was able to counter some of the frustration by pointing to his accomplishments and highlighting infrastructure projects completed under his administration, such as those in the transportation, health, and education sectors. He was again the NDC’s presidential candidate in the election that was held on December 7, 2016, in which he faced Akufo-Addo for a second time and five other candidates. Mahama was defeated by Akufo-Addo, who won almost 54 percent of the vote. Mahama, who placed second with about 44 percent of the vote, conceded and stepped down at the end of his term in January 2017. Mahama remained active in politics. In 2019 he was selected as the NDC’s presidential candidate for the 2020 election. Mahama, one of 11 candidates challenging the incumbent Akufo-Addo in the December 7 election, came in second with some 47 percent of the vote; Akufo-Addo was declared the winner with slightly more than 51 percent of votes cast. Mahama, however, challenged the results at the Supreme Court, alleging that irregularities affected the outcome of the election and requesting that it be rerun. In March 2021 the court rejected his petition, citing a lack of evidence to support his claims, and upheld the results of the election. Credit: Amy McKenna

Black Stars Coach, Otto Addo, says he is having a difficult time selecting his starting 11 to face South Korea in the second group match in the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The Black Stars are currently bottom in Group H after the defeat and must beat Korea to have any chance of progressing to the Round of 16. Speaking at the pre-match conference ahead of the game, Coach Addo indicated the players are poised for action and due to their performance in training; there is a big selection headache ahead of the game. “Training is good making it difficult for me to make decisions and it really looks good,” he said. Coach Addo also indicated that Ghanaians should expect a passionate Black Stars team hungry for success against the Koreans today. “We will see a passionate team, the same passion which they showed in the other game. This am 100 per cent sure because this is the world stage and everybody is hungry to play.“It’s an equal group and anything can happen, there might be some surprises but at the moment, it looks like Portugal is ahead of the group”, he added. The Black Stars of Ghana will face Group H counterparts, South Korea in a must-win match when they travel to the Education City Stadium on Monday, to grab their first win in the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Doha, Qatar. The Stars after failing to pick a point against Portugal, following a 3-2 defeat would take up their chances of grabbing all three points against the Asian side to brighten their chances in the final group game. Korea began their World Cup campaign on an impressive note after holding Uruguay to a goalless draw game to sit in second place, ahead of Uruguay and Ghana. Both sides have met on four previous occasions in friendly matches, with Ghana emerging victors three times which makes them the favourites going into the clash. The last meeting in 2014 saw Ghana hammer Korea 4-0, an emphatic win that would boost the confidence of Coach Addo’s charges. Ghana succumbed to a 3-2 defeat to 2016 European champions Portugal in the opening Group H match, whiles South Korea laboured to a goalless draw game with Uruguay last Thursday. This put Portugal ahead of the group with three points, with Korea and Uruguay on one point apiece – while Ghana, Africa hopes – dangle at the bottom with no point – making the group an open one with equal chances for any team to progress to the round of 16. Ghana’s best performance at the Mundial is a quarter-final berth and the Stars seek to better the feat – hence qualifying from the group stage. Credit: Newscenta.com

Poised to give customers access to cellular service via a virtual SIM, network operator AirtelTigo introduces Embedded SIM (eSIM) service in Ghana. This means that users with eSIM compatible phones will no longer require physical SIM cards, allowing them to use different providers on the same phone. This makes AirtelTigo the first network operator in Ghana to offer this service. The eSIM technology has become a part of the digital revolution sweeping through the telecoms and smartphones space. Throwing more light on this new release, Leo Skarlatos, Chief Executive Officer AirtelTigo, said, “With the introduction of eSIM, AirtelTigo continues to stay ahead of the curve where innovation is concerned by giving its customers the much-desired flexibility to use the most advanced devices available globally and stay abreast with current technological trends. We constantly strive to deliver on our promise, Making Life Simple for all our customers through innovative products and service" The AirtelTigo eSIM upgrade is free for existing AirtelTigo customers. "We encourage customers with eSIM enabled handsets to visit any AirtelTigo shop from Monday the 28th of November, to get themselves an eSIM and be a part of this industry first.” Atul Narain Singh, Chief Marketing Officer AirtelTigo also added, “eSIM provides added flexibility to eSIM compatible devices by transforming them from single SIM to dual SIM devices. AirtelTigo eSIM will also make Life Simple for customers who are frequent international travelers and must manually switch between SIMs whenever they cross borders" Smartphone users can dial *#06# to check whether their devices support eSIM or not; phones supporting eSIM will show a barcode with 'EID' at the beginning of the code on the screen. We are very confident that our existing and new customers will quickly move to our eSIM for what it delivers.” Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister for Communication and Digitalization applauded AirtelTigo for their commitment to digitalization and the launch of this latest eSIM technology in Ghana. AirtelTigo is a Ghanaian owned telecommunication company that provides a wide range of dynamic and innovative telecommunications services including mobile voice, data, mobile financial services, and business connectivity solutions. With the credo of customer first, AirtelTigo constantly innovates to make life simple for its customers. Credit: Ghanaweb

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta has disclosed that their will be a freeze in government employment from next year. According to him there will be an embargo placed into recruiting for the civil and public services from January, 2023.This, he said, at the ongoing budget presentation at Parliament House in Accra. "[There'll be] a hiring freeze for civil and public servants [from January 2023]. A reduction of expenditure on appointments, including salary freezes, together with suspension of certain allowances like housing, utilities & clothing.” Additionally, the Minister announced that VAT will be increased by 2.5%. The standard VAT rate is 12.5%, except for supplies of a wholesaler or retailer of goods, which are taxed at a total flat rate of 3%. Meanwhile, Mr Ofori-Atta has revealed that the government will reduce the controversial and burdensome Electronic Transactions Levy (E-Levy) from the current 1.5% to 1% and also reduce the threshold from GHC 100 per transaction. According to him, the move is one of the various initiatives the government intends to roll out to turn the economy around and lessen the severe economic hardship that Ghanaians are currently going through. At least GH₵6.9 billion was expected to be raised from the tax that many analysts have described as regressive, but the figure had to be revised to about GH₵4.9 billion following the delay in the passage of the e-levy bill. Having missed the GH₵1.46 billion target for the first half of the year, the government had to revise the tax measure downwards, again, to GH₵611 million. Also, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has disclosed that three hundred and twenty-eight million cedis (GH¢328m) have been realized so far from the e-levy. Credit: Pulse GH

The National Insurance Commission (NIC) from 22nd - 24th November, 2022, organised a training programme on Insurance Fraud for eighty-six (86) officers of the Economic and Organised Crime Office. Speaking at the Opening ceremony, the Deputy Commissioner of the NIC, Mr. Michael Kofi Andoh noted that knowledge in Insurance Fraud has become very necessary because of emerging crime trends in the area. He mentioned Claims Fraud, Operation of illegal insurance companies and siphoning as some of the challenges that the insurance industry has to deal with. He added that Insurance fraud affects the financial sector through loss of funds and worsens the economic situation of individuals and consequently, the country. Madam Jacqueline Aba Opoku, Deputy Executive Director for Intelligence and Monitoring, EOCO, mentioned that insurance is one avenue that people use to generate money to fund other criminal activities. "This is why EOCO is collaborating with the NIC to equip officers with the requisite knowledge to detect and apprehend fraudsters who engage in insurance fraud" She reiterated the fact that when crimes go unpunished, criminals became emboldened to continue their trade and enjoy the proceeds of the crime. It is therefore important that participants take the training seriously in order to gain the ability to be ahead of the criminals and also to be able to investigate and prosecute such crimes. In a brief closing ceremony on 24th November, 2022, Executive Director, COP Maame Yaa Tiwaah Addo-Danquah, said she was very grateful to the NIC for collaborating with EOCO to make the training a reality. She again said investigating insurance fraud requires officers to be open minded, not assume anything and always look out for red flags. Participants were privileged to be exposed to Fraud Scenarios in the Insurance Sector (worldwide), NIC Corporate Governance Guidelines, the Regulatory Framework for Prevention of Insurance Fraud, Risk Management Systems and Processes, the Role of Internal Operating Procedures, Intelligence and Investigation Tools and Techniques in Insurance Fraud and the Anti- Fraud Policy among others. Below are some pictures: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has assured the Ghana Police Service that government will continue to resource the institution in its quest to become a world class service. According to him, the Police will continue to receive the needed infrastructure, resources and motivation necessary to effectively maintain law and order. Spraking as the guest of honour at the 51st Cadet Officers’ Graduation of the Ghana Police Academy in Accra on Friday 25, the Vice President said "Government will continue to resource the Police Service in its quest to become a world class Police institution" "Thus, the Police will continue to receive the needed infrastructure, resources and motivation necessary to effectively maintain law and order in line with its constitutional mandate" At the ceremony, Three Hundred and Eight (308) Officers were commissioned into the ranks of Deputy Superintendent of Police and Assistant Superintendents of Police. The 308 were taken through the revamped training model, based on a significant practical outlook with limited theoretical content. Changes in the Cadet Training Programme The Vice President who expressed satisfaction hinted that he was happy about the paradigm shift in the training regime of Cadet Officers. "The training programme, I am told now has a more significant practical outlook with limited theoretical content making it the first of its kind in the history of the Police Service." "The programme now has a blend of theory and practical training modules including a four (4) week High Risk Training and six (6) weeks Practical Field Attachment with the view to producing a more confident and practically oriented Officers to strengthen leadership at the District and Unit levels across the country" Strides made by the Ghana Police Service He said "The innovative approaches in policing our communities through enhanced community and stakeholder engagements, improved police visibility, intensive patrols as well as special anti-robbery task force deployment, just to mention a few, have greatly increased the sense of safety and security across the country" "The celebrated initiative dubbed Operation PAARI; that is, Police Action Against Rider Indiscipline along side other road safety interventions have led to a significant reduction in deaths and injuries involving motorbikes" "I am confident that if the momentum is sustained, the Ghana Police Service would become the most respected Police institution in the subregion and the reference point for the rest of the world" A call for digitization "At this juncture, I would like to call on the Police Administration to maximize opportunities under the ongoing government digitization and digitalization agenda to strengthen the Police Transformation Project to meet contemporary policing priorities and improve law enforcement service delivery and transnational collaborations for full benefits of the residents of Ghana and our neighbouring countries" "With each passing day, the frontiers of crime witness shifts, especially in the nature and complexity of crime with cybercrime and related attacks rapidly becoming a global concern. Therefore, no Police organization can fully meet its vision without the empowering tools of digitization" The role of the public in community safety "I would like to emphasize the collective roles we all have to play towards building safer communities. As the government does its part and the police also do their part, I would like to entreat every well-meaning Ghanaian to come on board so that together, we can sustain the gains made in ensuring a safe, peaceful and a secure Ghana" The Vice President also urged the public to collaborate with the Police in combating crimes in the country. To the other security agencies, he charged them to ensure national security, emphasising the collective roles the country have to play towards building safer communities. Well-deserving officers were rewarded. Below are some pictures: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Debutant for the Senior National Team, Black Stars, Osman Bulgaria has taken to his Teitter handle to explain his CR7 goal celebration. According to the striker, he was overcome by emotions after scoring his debut goal for the Senior National Team, Black Stars. In his tweet, he said "I have noticed my celebration today has generated comments claiming I was disrespectful towards Ronaldo. This is incorrect. I was overcome by the emotion of the momentof scoringfor my countryon my WorldCupdebut leading to my celebration" He added that his upbringing does not permit him to disrespect his elders. See screenshot below: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Scores of social media users have expressed disappointment in the officiating officials who handled the just-ended Ghana vs Portugal Group H opening game at the Stadium 974 in Qatar. According to the various tweets sighted by Thinknewsonline.com many describe the game as abysmal adding that Ghana was robbed off a penalty and an offside goal. In series of tweets, Wiz Sahad tweeted "Portugal stealing from Africans once again. Clear robbery. This penalty want a penalty. Raphael Leao was offside. It is sad how Africans are treated. Fuck @FIFAcom bunch of thieves. Michael Akomeah also tweeted "One wasn't given... the other was given.....thieves @FIFWorldCup @FIFAcom... shame on you." Joe Thomlinson also added "Never, ever, ever a penalty 😂😂😂" Darren Bent also tweeted "Never a pen" It will be recalled that the Portugal National Team beat Ghana three (3) - two (2) in the opening Group H fixture. Ghana will play Korea and later crown it with Uruguay. Most Ghanaians are praying the Senior National Team, wins the last two matches to secure some points to the next game. Below are some tweets: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Krachi West Municipal Director of Health Service, Mr. Victor Ahiaba, has noted that access to medical commodities within the Oti region, particularly the riverine communities of the Krachi West municipality has tremendously improved since the start of Zipline's operations. Mr. Ahiaba was speaking during a courtesy call to him by a group of journalists to assess the impact of Zipline Krachi's interventions in healthcare delivery, a year on since the commencement of operations in the municipality and beyond. According to the Municipal Director of Health Service, 30% of the over 62,000 people within the municipality are resident in the “island” communities, making it difficult for people and healthcare facilities to access critical medical products, blood and vaccines. He said since Zipline established an operational hub in Krachi, considerable time has been saved in the delivery of medical supplies to these communities. “Our geographical situation in Krachi is such that we have about 30% of people living on island communities. This is a major challenge for timely emergency healthcare delivery as medical logistics take longer hours to reach health facilities using traditional modes of transport. Since Zipline began deliveries in the region, island communities like Aglakope, Tokpo, Bassare, Chantai and many more which take an average of about 3 hours on canoe to reach, are today receiving medical products and vaccines within minutes of request. This has not only saved time, but also reduced cost in the distribution and increased accountability of medical supplies to health facilities in those areas”, said Mr. Ahiaba. The Municipal director revealed that there was an emergency case in the maternity ward where a pregnant woman came in with an ectopic pregnancy for which the doctors needed more blood supplies for the patient. The facility had only one unit of blood available and so had to call Zipline for more units. Within ten minutes, the facility received three drone deliveries of blood, which helped in saving the life of the woman. Benjamin Tagoe, the Fulfillment Lead of Zipline Krachi highlighted Zipline's commitment to expand their coverage to more island communities in Oti Region and beyond, while ensuring provision of high quality medications, vaccines, blood and consumables to meet the primary health care needs of the people. The Oti Region has had challenges with the management of endemic diseases like malaria, typhoid fever, tuberculosis and cholera . The prevalence of these diseases means that health facilities require instant access to the medical commodities needed to manage these situations as and when they come up - a long standing challenge Zipline’s presence has helped eliminate within the area. Furthermore, Zipline’s advanced cold chain storage systems coupled with their ability to transport these products to health facilities, while maintaining the integrity of these products, means facilities without cold chain equipment can also have access to these products on demand. Nurses in the community say in the past, patients had to be referred to the district hospitals for treatment whenever the community health outposts were saddled with shortage or unavailability of health commodities. This, they recount, has affected their work delivery as healthcare providers. A community health nurse at the Adonten Cement CHPS in Krachi West, Abigail Kwao, said many of the residents in the community have reverted to traditional modes of healthcare treatment as the facility may not have all the medications at every given time of request due to shortages. She highlighted that through Zipline’s intervention, medical supplies to the health facility are more frequent and faster. “It was always frustrating whenever we had to refer critically ill-patients to the district hospitals for healthcare delivery for lack of medication. Patients commuting to a secondary health facility seems to bring undue financial burden on their already overstretched medical budgets. Our facility is one of those on-boarded to receive deliveries from Zipline, and close to a year now, Zipline has supported our work, supplying different types of medications within minutes of request”, said Kwao. Similarly, community folks could not hide their joy in expressing the impact of Zipline in their respective communities. According to an opinion leader from the Chantai community, Zipline made a timely delivery of an anti-snake venom to their Health facility which was used to save the life of a family member. "It was around midnight when my brother was bitten by a snake and was rushed to our facility. We were told by the nurse that there was no anti-snake available at the time but she assured us that they would call Zipline. Within a couple of minutes, Zipline delivered the anti-snake that was used to save my brother. We were extremely happy by this and wish to thank Zipline." Michael Nukpui, the Community Lead of Zipline in Krachi highlighted how Zipline as a company is committed to their mission of providing every human on earth with instant access to medical supplies. He applauded the endearing partnership between Zipline and the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service. He said “Zipline is focused on increasing the coverage of its operations to reach more far-flung communities and make the interventions widespread”. This, it hopes to do by continuously collaborating with both the municipal and regional health directorates in supporting health programmes and policies for remote communities and improving access to healthcare. Below are some pictures: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Minister in charge of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta has announced a decision by the government to reduce the charge of the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) from 1.5% to 1%. The Finance Minister said this when he visited Parliament on Thursday, November 24, to present the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy statement of the government. In a long presentation, Ken Ofori-Atta stressed that the new budget for the year ending 2023 will focus on actions, initiatives, and interventions anchored on seven-point agenda. One of the agendas is to aggressively enhance domestic revenue mobilisation. Through this, the Finance Minister said the government has decided to increase Value Added Tax by 2.5% while decreasing the E-Levy charge to 1%. Meanwhile, the daily threshold which came with no charge for the first GHS100 transaction has been scrapped. “To aggressively mobilize domestic revenue, we will among others: Increase the VAT rate by 2.5 percent to directly support our roads and digitalization agenda; Fast-track the implementation of the Unified Property Rate Platform programme in 2023; and Review the E-Levy Act and more specifically, reduce the headline rate from 1.5% to one percent (1%) of the transaction value as well as the removal of the daily threshold,” Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta announced in parliament today. In the 2023 Budget, the government will among other things focus on cutting down the cost of running the government as it pushes to significantly enhance local production, invest more to protect the poor and vulnerable, provide access to good roads, technology, education and health to every Ghanaian. Credit: Modern Ghana

Government officials are no longer allowed to move around in town in V8s/V6s vehicles or its equivalent except for cross-country travel. The Minister in charge of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta has announced.The Minister said this when he went to Parliament today, Thursday, November 24, to present the 2023 Budget and Economic Policy Statement of the ruling government to the house. “A ban on the use of V8s/V6s or its equivalent except for cross-country travel. All government vehicles would be registered with GV green number plates from January 2023,” the Finance Minister said. According to him, this is one of the first steps being taken toward expenditure rationalisation. He said the government is also limiting budgetary allocation for the purchase of vehicles, adding that the purchase of new vehicles shall be restricted to locally assembled vehicles. Other steps taken include a directive to all MDAs, MMDAs, and SOEs to reduce fuel allocations to political appointees and heads of MDAs, MMDAs, and SOEs by 50%. This directive applies to all methods of fuel allocation including coupons, electronic cards, chit systems and fuel depots. Accordingly, 50% of the previous year's (2022) budget allocation for fuel shall be earmarked for official business pertaining to MDAs, MMDAs, and SOEs. Credit: Modern Ghana

Ghanaian Veteran Actor, Fred Amugi has sealed a deal with Caveman watches, a Ghanaian watch company as its new Brand Ambassador. The deal comes after the Veteran Actor on his birthday made a wish to corporate Ghana to be signed as an Ambassador and also placed on billboards. The Actor's wish was soon granted by Caveman watches. Further details of the deals are yet to be disclosed. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith