The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Trashy beauties, a company that converts trash to useful products, Mrs Rebecca Otuo Serebour, has advised Ghanaians to refrain from the practice of throwing waste anyhow but instead value them. According to her, trash means a lot more, adding that “they are treasures.” “I am pleading with Ghanaians to pay more attention to the trash/waste we generate in our homes and environment—they are not trash but treasures and we must therefore, keep and value them,” she appealed. Mrs Otuo Serebour gave the advice on Friday, November 26, 2021, when her company unveiled some finished products made from waste. Some of the products included wall clocks, mirrors, centre tables, flower pots, vases, cupboards, dining tables, sofas, and trash bins. An environmentalist, Madam Emma Osei Appiah Adwoa Duah, who was present at the event, heaped loads of praise on the CEO of Trashy beauties. She said the operations of companies like Trashy beauties will go a long to reduce the volume of waste that are sent to the dumpsites. “…you know, land is increasingly becoming scare, so as we are able to put some of the waste to another use, we are reducing the volume of waste, and it will help us to manage our waste properly,” she said. While recommending the business to the creative arts industry, she encouraged Ghanaians to patronise products of Trashy beauties, adding that “we should not only look at the value but also the intent and energy that has gone into the production.” “…and you are buying her products with the mind that you are saving the earth, you are saving the environment, you are helping reduce waste so that we all together help make Accra a clean city,” she averred. Furthermore, Madam Duah stressed the need for Ghanaians to improve their attitude towards the environment, adding that “we shouldn’t just consume and trash, we should add value to the waste by taking, for instance, our empty water bottles to her shop to buy,” she said. According to her, there are “three Rs” in the management of sanitation, stating that these are reduce, reuse and recycle. She said the work of Trashy beauties fits the reuse and recycle chains of waste management. Mr Isaac Sarpong from the African Environmental Sanitation Consult said artefacts made from waste by Trashy beauties help divert waste which otherwise would have landed at the landfills. He added that when the operations of Trashy beauties become national, more waste would be converted into very useful products. He, therefore, encouraged players in the creative arts space to come on board and lend their support, insisting that environmental sanitation is the business of every Ghanaian. Trash beauties is a private company that uses waste products or trash like used plastic bottles ,cotton bud, cardboards, old car tyres, and old newspapers to create useable products. Below are some pictures: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Fast rising Ghanaian Musician, Gambo has hit hard on fellow Artists to stop blaming bloggers for their mistakes since there is nothing like bad publicity. According to him, although bloggers seek to gain lots of traffic on their sites, he doubts they will just cook up stories to tarnish images or reputations. Speaking at the launch of his latest banger, 'Boys Aye Wild', he said "Stop blaming bloggers, there is nothing like bad publicity" "For me, I was doing music for some time but I came into the industry very hard last year February and people didn't notice. I had a scandal and that blew me up" He added that most music lovers thought he (Gambo) would quit music, however he rode on the scandal and is still in the business. He charged other Artiste to shy away from trouble adding that will prevent bloggers from riding on that to not only generate traffic and revenue but also bad publicity. Touching on his new release, Gambo explained that the 'Boys Ay3 Wild' banger iis to motivate young guys to hustle and make money to avoid losing their partners to others. He said "Boys ay3 wild. If you don't hustle and take care of your woman, someone else will take her" "The Christmas is almost here and there are lots of guys coming to the country from Europe. They went to hustle there and have decided to come home and chill. If you lose guard, you might lose your girl to any of them" he added. The young energetic Artiste also revealed that he spent GHc50,000 to shoot the 'Boys Ay3 Wild' music video. " For the video, it wasn't as much as 'Drip'. I would say GHc50K. As an Artiste, if you want the best, you have to spend. If you don't spend to get the best, how can you brag about your work" Gambo told Journalists that he has a good relationship with SM Boss, Shattawale. He hinted that, he is working on a project with the SM King of which fans willl be updated soon. Young Gambo told Thinknewsonline.com that he has no competitor in the industry stressing that no one can copy his style. He thanked his management, media and fans for the love and support showed him. Watch the videos below: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Prempeh College has emerged as winners of the 2021 National Science and Maths Quiz held in Kumasi on Friday. Prempeh won with 53 points as against 49 by the Presbyterian Boys’ Senior High School (PRESEC.) while Keta Senior High and Technical School (KETASCO) came third with 30 points Facts About Prempeh College’s win in the 2021 NSMQ Competition This win marks the 5th time Prempeh College has won the NSMQ competition. Prempeh College was the first school in Ghana to win the NSMQ competition. They won the first NSMQ contest in 1996. Prempeh College, part of their winning streak, won the NSMQ the first time when it was moved to Accra. Interestingly enough, NSMQ 2021 happens to be the first time the competition has been held in Kumasi. Prempeh College NSMQ 2021 Host & Win This year's competition took place in Kumasi at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, KNUST. Although KNUST SHS couldn’t go by their words in their quest for Host & win, the agenda was completed by Prempeh College. About the National Science & Maths Quiz (NSMQ) Competition The National Science & Maths Quiz (NSMQ) Competition is one of the most popular & Ghana’s most cherished quiz competition. It is a competition for Senior High School students and where the students battle out for glory in a Science and Mathematics quiz. Even though this competition is a competition for SHS students, it is cherished and watched by all. It is watched by the SHS students and past students (old boys and girls). . Below is a list of NSMQ Champions Over The Years; Prempeh College, Kumasi 1994 Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School, Legon 1995 Prempeh College, Kumasi 1996 Opoku Ware School, Kumasi 1997 Achimota School, Accra 1998 Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast 1999 St. Peter’s Secondary School, Nkwatia 2000 Pope John Secondary School, Koforidua 2001 Opoku Ware School, Kumasi 2002 Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School, Legon 2003 Achimota School, Accra 2004 St. Peter’s Secondary School, Nkwatia 2005 Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School, Legon 2006 St. Augustine’s College, Cape Coast 2007 Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School, Legon 2008 Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School, Legon 2009 Ghana Secondary Technical School, Takoradi 2012 St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School, Accra 2013 Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast 2014 Prempeh College, Kumasi 2015 Adisadel College 2016 Prempeh College 2017 St. Peter’s Senior High School, Nkwatia 2018 St. Augustine’s College, Cape Coast2019 Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School, Legon – 2020 Prempeh College – 2021 Below are some pictures: Story by: News Desk Report

Former President of the National House of Chiefs, Togbe Afede XIV is calling for an internal check and balance in the top hierarchy of the Bank of Ghana (BoG). He said BoG has lost focus and at the time competing with banks for profit instead of contributing to the macro-economic objectives of stability, growth, and employment creation. "Bank of Ghana has lost focus, competing with the banks for profits, instead contributing to the macro-economic objectives of stability, growth and employment creation," he stated. In an address to the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin and some Members of Parliament during a courtesy call, Togbe Afede XIV said although the independence of BoG is good, there must be mechanisms in place to separate powers. “Yes, Bank of Ghana’s independence is desirable. We all accept that it should be so. This independence is the more reason why we need in-built “internal check and balance” and improved transparency, through the separation of the positions of Chairman and Governor of Bank of Ghana,” the business mogul said. Togbe Afede XIV continued, “I want the best for my country. I think it’s about time we look at the Bank of Ghana Act and go for a separation between chairmanship and governorship. “It’s important that we seek improvement in everything that we do and remove lapses wherever we find them, at least for the sake of the future. Our people are suffering, and our youth are suffering from joblessness. These are threats to our security and our future.” He further bemoans the high-interest rates offered by banks on loans to Ghanaians businesses. "Now, how do the high interest rates help in managing the economy when the high interest the banks charge is not even shared with depositors? "At Ecobank, interest expense was only 12% of interest income in January to September of this year. This meant that out of every GHS100 Ecobank made in interest income, it paid out only GHS12 to depositors. At Standard Chartered Bank, the interest expense to interest income ratio was 20%. At GCB, it was 20% and at SGSSB, it was 21%. "So the banks are making incredible amount of money from the high interest rate environment at the expense of the people, industry, the private sector, the government, and at the expense of our growth. Why do we have to set interest rates so high?" he posited. Lamenting how it affects the economic growth of the country, Togbe Afede XIV wants those in power including Parliament to work together to ensure the practice changes. Below are excerpts of the address by Togbe Afede XIV: COURTESY CALL BY SPEAKER RT. HON. ALBAN BAGBIN AND MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT. Excerpts from Address by Togbe Afede XIV, November 20, 2021 The Rt. Hon. Speaker and Members of Parliament, As I’ve always said, poverty is not God’s desire for man. That is why the pursuit of happiness is an inalienable human right. Our people deserve to be happy, and it behoves on you and I, as leaders, to work together to ensure that the happiness that our people deserve, can come to be part of their lives. But it would require certain actions, and I would like to share my thoughts on a few. The most important, of course, is to ensure better planning and management of our economy, and this, coincidentally, is what has brought you here. For now, I want to focus on our monetary policy. That is one segment of policy that has received the least scrutiny. Not since 2003 when I complained about monetary policy in this country has there been any open debate about how monetary policy has been conducted. We have always been in a high inflation and high interest rate environment. Mr. Speaker, you spoke quite rightly about the need for the private sector to lead the development of this country. But how can the private sector do it, if it has to borrow at very atrocious rates, even in a pandemic environment, of between 25 and 30%. The COVID pandemic led to a fall in demand and incomes across board, and many countries relaxed monetary policy in order to stimulate their economies. In Ghana, we appeared to have done the opposite. Private entrepreneurs or enterprises don’t have stacks of money that they just go and dip into to fund their businesses. They have to depend on the banking system. So no amount of your hard work would bring the development that we need when borrowing rates are so high. We want the youth to go into private business, but with what kind of capital? Expensive, highly priced 25% or 30%? Those cannot do it, and we have been victims of this over the years. The scapegoat has always been Government borrowing, the high indebtedness of Government. But I don’t think that is where all the problem is. I will give a few statistics to show that there is something wrong with our interest rates. The UK’s debt to GDP ratio is about 104%. Ghana’s is 81%. Relatively, we are better. The per capita indebtedness of the UK is $42,000, ours is $1,400. Compared to income per capita, we are much better. Our income per capita is $2,300, that of the UK is $40,000. So UK’s debt per capita, $42,000, is higher than income per capita, $40,000. Our debt per capita $1,400, is much less than our income per capita, $2,300. So relatively, the UK is more indebted than Ghana, yet the rate at which the Bank of England lends to banks currently is 0.1%, while Bank of Ghana lends to our banks at 13.5%. That is a whopping one hundred and thirty-five times the Bank of England rate! Astonishing!! The UK GDP, which reflects the size of the economy, is $2.7trillion, almost 40 times the size of our economy, which is $72billion (GDP). But guess what? Bank of England made a profit of £57million ($76million) in 2020/21, down from £72million ($96million) in 2019/20. Bank of Ghana, on the other hand, made a profit of GHS1.57billion ($270million) in 2020, down from GHS1.8billion ($310million) in 2019. The question is, doing what?! Yes, that is the benefit from their 13.5% lending rate. Mr. Speaker, this is where the problem has been, but we don’t seem to know. Bank of Ghana has lost focus, competing with the banks for profits, instead contributing to the macro-economic objectives of stability, growth and employment creation. Now let’s look at our commercial banks. Ecobank in the first nine months of this year, January to September, made a net profit of GHS468million. In a pandemic environment, GHS468million net profit! The equivalent figure for Standard Chartered Bank was GHS385million. These are big increases from the corresponding figures of the previous year. If the economic environment is so difficult, and their costs are high, as they often claimed, how did they make so much profit? Now, how do the high interest rates help in managing the economy when the high interest the banks charge is not even shared with depositors? At Ecobank, interest expense was only 12% of interest income in January to September of this year. This meant that out of every GHS100 Ecobank made in interest income, it paid out only GHS12 to depositors. At Standard Chartered Bank, the interest expense to interest income ratio was 20%. At GCB, it was 20% and at SGSSB, it was 21%. So the banks are making incredible amount of money from the high interest rate environment at the expense of the people, industry, the private sector, the government, and at the expense of our growth. Why do we have to set interest rates so high? The arguments that I made in 2003, which led President Kufuor to appoint me to the Board of Bank of Ghana, are still relevant: Our current inflation rate, measured by the year on year change in prices (Consumer Price Index) as at October 31, 2021 (that is, October 31, 2021 vs October 31, 2020) is 11%. Bank of Ghana’s prime rate is 13.5%! The insistence on keeping the prime rate above inflation, defined as above, is wrong. This inflation, in reality, is historical or past inflation, that is, the change in prices (Consumer Price Index) over the past one year. Interest rate, on the other hand, is a forward-looking concept, and is the cost of borrowing over the next one year. So keeping Bank of Ghana’s prime rate at 13.5%, above the 11% (past) inflation, is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and it inadvertently imports the high inflation of the past, into the future. This is why we are trapped in this vicious circle of high inflation - high interest rates - high inflation! Those in charge of our monetary policy will try to deny this, and claim many other factors are taken into account. But the evidence abounds in past data. They always try to keep the Bank of Ghana rate above past inflation. We cannot be “targeting” inflation by making past inflation the basis for fixing the bank rate. It should be a question of what expectation you have about the inflation, which essentially is the “target”. Mr. Speaker, is it not odd that Bank of England’s the prime rate is 0.1%, and Bank of Ghana’s rate is 135 times that, that is 13.5%? How do you borrow, and produce and compete with somebody producing from China or from England borrowing at much lower rates? It’s not possible. Hence ours has always been a high inflation and high interest rate environment. If our bank rate is not the reason, what could the reason be? This wrong bank rate, and the consequential high interest rates, is itself a key factor in our inflation and in our exchange depreciation. Parity laws easily explain this: You keep money in Government bills, and it grows by say, 20%, without any corresponding increase in production. That’s inflationary! That puts pressure on our currency! So, Mr. Speaker, in your deliberations, I think you have to look very closely at the inflationary monetary policy that has been our bane in this country. We need fresh thinking. Over the past nearly 20 years, the prime rate has ranged between 12.5 and 27.5%! Price and exchange rate instability cannot all be blamed solely on government borrowing. There is something wrong, and I’ve demonstrated it within the context of the relativities, looking at England and Ghana in terms of their respective debt to GDP ratios and their respective debt per capita relative to income per capita. I don’t think that we have to live in this kind of atrocious environment that stifles everything and everybody - stifles government, stifles private sector, stifles industry and stifles initiative. And there is one other related important thing that we have to take a serious look at. Yes, Bank of Ghana’s independence is desirable. We all accept that it should be so. This independence is the more reason why we need in-built “internal check and balance” and improved transparency, through the separation of the positions of Chairman and Governor of Bank of Ghana. I want the best for my country. I think it’s about time we look at the Bank of Ghana Act and go for a separation between chairmanship and governorship. It’s important that we seek improvement in everything that we do and remove lapses wherever we find them, at least for the sake of the future. Our people are suffering, and our youth are suffering from joblessness. These are threats to our security and our future. Story by: Eric Nana Yaw Kwafo

The Parliament of Ghana says in consonance with the 1992 Constitution and the Standing Orders, it is going through the processes that govern the presentation of the budget and economic policy of the government for the year 2022, as provided for in Chapter 13 of the Constitution. According to Parliament, as is common in all Parliaments, these processes are sometimes characterised by disagreements but usually, the House is able to come to some agreement. In a statement signed by the Public Affairs Directorate, it said "The events that have characterised the scrutiny of this particular budget is no exception" The statement added that the Rt. Hon. Speaker, being fully aware of the national nature of the budget and the need to do what is best for the entire citizenry, is committed to ensuring that Parliament conducts its business with this in mind. Parliament says it will like to assure citizens that allegations of bias are unfounded and should not be entertained. Below is a copy of the release Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Information reaching Thinknewsonline.com indicates that Ghana’s Parliament has rejected the 2022 budget presented by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta. It will be recalled that the 2022 budget was delivered by the Finance Minister last Wednesday on the floor of Parliament. It is emerging that the rejection comes after all 137 Minority Memners of Parliament voted against a motion put across by the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon Alban Bagbin. Thinknewsonline.com is following and will update its readers soon. Watch the video below: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

An Italian gynaecologist, known by many as ‘Dr Magic Flute’, has resigned after he was caught half-naked with a patient who he told having sex will “cure” her. An undercover investigation caught Dr Giovanni Miniello, 60, in a hotel room with a woman patient who he was about to “cure” Journalists from the Italian TV show ‘Le Iene’ targeted him after a woman victim alleged he was offering a “sex cure” to patients. The woman had gone to him about her fertility issues, and he allegedly suggested that she had indications of human papillomavirus (HPV), which is a sexually-transmitted DNA virus that can cause cancer, despite a negative result after a smear test. He reportedly said: “I have saved many women from cancer. All those I have had contact with were negative afterwards.” The doctor practised at a surgery in the southern Italian city of Bari and 15 other women have come forward with similar allegations since the undercover investigation was aired. The 33-year-old, who sparked the undercover investigation, was identified as Anna Maria, and she said she consulted the gynaecologist after failing to get pregnant, and he advised her to have a cervical screening for HPV. She told La Repubblica that right from the beginning the doctor had been unprofessional and said he touched her breasts without any explanation and reportedly told her he liked women with small breasts. When she contacted him for the test results she was horrified when he allegedly said she could be cured by having sex with him and then offered an appointment. The woman, who had already sought legal advice because she was suspicious of the doctor, recorded the conversation and took it to the investigative news programme. Le Iene hired an actress to see the doctor, who quickly repeated the same strategy as before and also offered the same treatment of having sex with him. He also further claimed that having sex with somebody like him who had been vaccinated would give her immunity, and he offered to see if he could immunise her by having sex with her. In the hotel room, the doctor undresses while teller her that she would be free from the virus afterwards. When the undercover actress asks about protection he claims it was pointless because she would not then get the benefit of the antibodies if he had latex on. Before anything else happened, a journalist came into the room and surprised the half-naked doctor who protested: “I’m doing this for my studies, and for the other people that I have saved.” Anna Maria said she decided to tackle him despite all the stress and the embarrassment it would involve because his next target might be a young girl or a woman with cancer and was desperate for a cure. Through his lawyer, Miniello said: “I, who have successfully treated hundreds of women for over 40 years… only proposed an alternative treatment that has yielded results”. He also added that he had never coerced the women to have sex with him and always gave them “absolute freedom of choice”. Marika Massara, the coordinator for the Anti-Violence Centre in Bari, said: “We have received several reports in the last few days, dozens. Women who have come together and gone through a similar situation. Some consider reporting it, others are afraid, also because the level of secondary victimisation we are witnessing is very high.” The public prosecutor in Bari has meanwhile opened an investigation, which is currently in a preliminary phase to establish the facts. Credit: adomfmonline.com

The Head of Public Relations Unit of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr. Abraham Otabil has been adjudged the overall best Public Relations Officer at the just ended Second Public Relations Officer's Review Meeting and Awards Ceremony, held at the Ministry of Health conference room on Friday, 26th November, 2021. Out of a total of 6 nominees who were selected from the Ministries of Health, Communication and Digitisation, Trade and Industry, Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Lands and Natural Resources and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Mr. Otabil emerged as the winner of the Kojo Oppong Nkrumah (KON) Public Relations Excellence Awards 2021. Mr. Otabil took home this award for his hardwork and dedication to duty as the PRO of the Lands Ministry during the year under review and also having the highest number of entries of reports on the Bonsu platform, a digitised report entry platform for government PROs. This year's edition of the KON PR Excellence Awards also had a category for the Best Assistant Public Relations Officer of which Mr. Otabil's abled assistant, Madam Michelle Fafa Agbenortor was a nominee. In his remarks of appreciation, Mr. Abraham Otabil extended his profound gratitude to the organisers of the programme, the Information Services Department and the Ministry of Information, particularly to the Minister for Information, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah for single handedly funding such an award. He expressed his outmost appreciation to his Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor and the entire Ministry for creating the opportunity to bring his talents and professionalism to bear. He also thanked the Head of Public Relations Coordinating Division ( PRCD), Mrs. Ethel Cudjoe Amissah and her staff for all the efforts to make the government PR machinery a better one. The programme which was organised by the Information Services Department under the auspices of the Ministry of Information, was to assess the work of PROs in the various Ministries, Department and Agencies ( MDAs) of government and also to take stock of the year 2021. The review meeting which was in three sessions saw presentations from the Deputy Minister for Information, Hon. Fatimatu Abubakar, The Chief Director of the Information Ministry, Mrs. Mamle Andrews, The Chief Director of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Mr. Yaw Patrick Nimoh, The Acting Director of the ISD, Mr. David Owusu Amoah, The Head of PRCD, Mrs. Ethel Codjoe Amissah and The Head of Rights to Information, Mrs. Winnifred Nafisa Mahama. Below are some pictures: Story by: News Desk Report

On-Air Personality, Gloria Akpene Nyarku known in showbiz as MzGee has narrated a horrible experience she had from a doctor at the 37 Military Hospital at the peak of her late mother's ill state in 2003. According to MzGee, the said doctor who had no compassion capitalized on her distressed state and harassed her. Speaking on 'Just Being Us', a lifestyle tv show on Think Tv, MzGee said "When we brought my mother to the 37 military hospital in 2003, there was no bed but before she was attended to, some doctor held my breast”. She further explained that the doctor kept on harassing her of which left her in a state of shock. "While fondling my breast, he asked "What is your name? she recalled. MzGee described the incident as unfortunate adding that she won't be surprised if many women have in one way or the other experienced the same abuse. Watch the video below: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Two executives of Zoomlion Ghana Limited were honoured at this year’s Women’s Choice Awards Africa 2021. They were the Managing Director of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Mrs Gloria Opoku Anti, who was awarded the Shero in Environmental Safety and Sanitation, and the Group Financial Controller of Zoomlion, Mrs Adokarley Okpoti-Paulo, who was also emerged as the Institutional Finance Personality of the year. The awards was the third edition of the prestigious Women’s Choice Awards Africa, which celebrates women who are championing nobel causes and setting remarkable paces across this continent. Organised by Global Ovations, the Women Choice Awards reward excellence in a range of fields. The awards use rigorous methodology to compile and shortlist, and a combination of public and board-voting to select a winner. The event was themed: The Progressive Portrayal of Women – its Impact on National and Organisational Development. The Event Director, Gideon Raji of Women’s Choice Awards Africa, in a speech said the awards is a c-level high-impact, women empowerment and leadership awards designed by Global Ovations Ltd. He said at Women’s Choice Awards Africa, they translate the collective voice of women into a highly objective and consistent methodology. He continued that the awards also allows women to choose with confidence, knowing that other women and men across Africa would highly recommend it to their family and friends. With the women of Africa at heart and Africa’s future in mind, Global Ovations Limited decided to come up with this award to honour women and men who passionately advocate the empowerment of girls and women and others who get inspired from the works and services provided to empower women in their decision making to be a catalyst for creative solutions that foster ongoing success in life, career and in business, he added. The Managing Director of Zoomlion, Gloria Anti, with awarded with the Shero in Environmental Safety and Sanitation award. Mrs Anti is a highly motivated and an ambitious business executive with twenty-one (21) years working experience in administration, human resource management & development, corporate governance and business management. Prior to her current position, which is by dint of hard work and due diligence, Mrs Anti was the Deputy Managing Director which she rose from the position of Director of Human Resource and Administration in the same company. She joined Zoomlion Ghana Limited in 2010 as the Human Resource Manager with oversight responsibilities over the company’s human resources and other subsidiaries within the Jospong Group of Companies. Preceding this, she was the Human Resource Manager at J.A. Plant Pool Ghana Limited, also a subsidiary of the Jospong Group. Mrs. Anti has developed enormous working experience in human capital management & development through her academic training and working relationship with Adecco Recruitment Solutions, Cardiff-UK, Promasidor Ghana Limited and more importantly, the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) which cannot be overemphasised. Her expertise is but not limited to strategic decision making, strategic human resource management and planning and indeed she is a self-assured team player. Over the years, Mrs. Anti has played such roles as setting policy direction of Zoomlion and formulating and executing corporate strategies to attain exceptional shareholder values, been responsible for revenue generation as well as the executive control and management of the company. The Group Financial Controller of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Mrs. Adokarley Okpoti-Paulo, was also awarded with the Institutional Finance Personality of the Year award. She is a top level career executive with over 30 years hands-on experience and blessed with a record of accomplishments in managing company finances. Mrs. Okpoti-Paulo had her education at the University of Professional Studies (formally IPS), Central University College and the University of Ghana Business School where she studied Bachelor of Science in Administration (Accounting) and Executive Masters of Business Administration (Finance) respectively. A Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana, Mrs. Okpoti-Paulo cut her professional notch with Pricewater Coopers and Deloitte & Touché where she served as Audit Personnel in both places. She has also worked in key finance positions in companies such as Boskalis International BV, Masai Developers Limited (1992-1999), EA Group Limited (2000-2004), Mechanical Lloyd Company Limited, Accra Service Branch (2005- 2013). Mrs. Okpoti-Paulo joined Subah Infosolutions as General Manager Finance in February 2013, and rose to become the Finance Director of Subah Holding Company Limited, which has six (6) local subsidiaries with two international businesses. In August 2018 she was transferred to Zoomlion as the Finance Director to double up as the Group Financial Controller of the Environment and Sanitation Group, overseeing the finances of over 32 companies. Aside from serving on a number of boards, she is an executive member of the Association of Women Accountants for several years, and an immediate past member of the Admissions Committee Board of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICA) Ghana. She has excellent human relations and the capacity to adjust quickly to new developments and environments. Mrs. Okpoti-Paulo has a high sense of responsibility and trustworthiness. She is married to a Reverend Minister of the Restoration Community Chapel at Ogbojo and has four boys. Adokarley loves the Lord dearly, likes singing, cooking, working smart, leading in the ministry of helping and counselling. Adokarley enjoys mentoring, impacting and improving on peoples’ lives. Other awardees at the event were; Helene Wessie-Guiness Ghana MD, Patricia Obo-Nai-Vodafone Ghana CEO, Rosy Fynn-Mastercard Foundation Country Head, Oheneyere Gifty Anti, Professor Elsie Kaufmann and others Zoomlion Ghana Limited is a wholly Ghanaian-owned company that focuses on delivering total waste management solutions. The company provides integrated waste management solutions from waste collection, through haulage, transfer, and sorting to recycling and disposal. It is a member of the Environmental Services Providers Association (ESPA) of Ghana and a silver member of the International Solid Waste Management Association (ISWMA, USA). Zoomlion was established as a waste management business in Ghana in April 2006, under the Companies Act 1963, Act 179. Its key mandate is to help deal with the country’s waste menace by providing highly skilled persons across the country to manage this waste. The company started with few workers but has grown over the past 15 years. It is part of 45 companies of the Jospong Group but has 23 sister companies that work together with her to build synergies to provide total waste management solutions. Below are some pictures: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Ghanaian Musician, Peter Famiyeh Bozah known by many as Fameye has told MzGee on live Tv that he used to be a garbage collector when he was growing up. According to him, he did that in order to get some money and take care of himself. Speaking on 'Just Being Us', a lifestyle tv show said "Because there was no money coming in and all that I had to do extra-work for other people for my neighbors. I always wake up at 4 am, grab my wheelbarrow, then collect garbage from people’s home to the dumpsite so that I could raise some money” He further explained that his grandmother took care of him and ensured he did not only get a quality education but also good life. Fameye stressed that due to the hardship he was facing, it left some neighbors wondering why he lived with a family that was comfortable yet he was always seen 'soo wretched'. Watch the video below:

Policy think tank, Danquah Institute (DI) has urged the government to pull the breaks on the implementation of the proposed Electronic Transaction Levy (E-levy), which is expected to take effect in January, 2022. Addressing the press on Thursday, the Institute said even though the rationale for the E-levy is laudable, there’s the need for government to deepen stakeholder conversations to generate wider public acceptance of the policy. “We recommend that the government hold broad-based consultations with the myraid of stakeholders to make the levy acceptable to the populace,” Director of the Institute, Dr. Antoinette Tsiboe-Darko advised. According to Dr. Tsiboe-Darko, when similar policies were piloted in other African countries, the outcomes were rather devastating; leading to a decline in the patronage of mobile money transactions. Citing Tanzania as a case study, Dr. Tsiboe-Darko said the policy led to a massive decline in revenue generation, a situation that adversely impacted the economy. She also intimated that per her research, the policy dealt a big blow to Kenya when they also attempted it. Based on her findings and the current public outcry, Dr. Tsiboe-Darko wants the government to suspend the 1.75% E-levy, until extensive consultations with relevant stakeholders have been done. During the presentation of the 2022 Budget on November 17, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta disclosed that government desires to impose a 1.75% levy on all electronic transactions, starting from 2022. According to him, this will help in swelling the government’s resource envelope to support road infrastructure and other developmental initiatives. However, the proposition from the government has been met with angst and stiff opposition from a section of the populace, who believe that the levy is ‘draconian’ and ‘insensitive’. The Minority in Parliament have also berated the levy, and threatened to vote against it accordingly. Source: Myjoyonline.com