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The list of 24 Ministerial and Deputy Ministerial Nominees of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo approved by Parliament include eight sector Ministers, two Regional Ministers and 14 Deputy Ministers. The eight Ministers-Designate include Mrs Abena Osei-Asare, Minister of State Designate for the Ministry of Finance, Mr Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, Minister Designate for Tourism, Art and Culture; Madam Lydia Seyram Alhassan, Minister Designate for Sanitation and Water Resources; and Mr Martin Kwaku Adjei-Mensah Korsah, Minister Designate for Local Government, Rural Development and Decentralisation. The rest are Madam Ophelia Mensah Hayford, Minister Designate for Environmental, Science Technology and Innovation; Madam Darkoa Newman, Minister Designate for Gender, Children and Social Protection; Dr Bernard Okoe-Boye, Minister Designate for Health; and Madam Fatimatu Abubakar, Minister Designate for Information. The Regional Ministers-Designate are Mr Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus Glover, Greater Accra Regional Mi nister; and Mr Daniel Machator, Minister Designate for Oti Region. The 14 Deputy Ministers-Designate include Dr Benjamin Sekyere Yeboah, Deputy Minister Designate for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Mr Sylvester Tetteh, Deputy Minister Designate for Information; Mr Charles Acheampong, Deputy Minister Designate for Communications and Digitisation; and Madam Adelaide Ntim, a Deputy Minister Designate for Health. The rest are Mr Alexander Akwasi Acquah, also a Deputy Minister Designate for Health; Mr Vincent Ekow Assafuah, Deputy Minister Designate for Local Government, Rural Development and Decentralisation; and Mr John Kobina Abbam Aboah Sanie, a Deputy Minister Designate for Energy. Others are Mr Collins Adomako Mensah, also a Deputy Minister Designate for Energy; Dr Prince Hamidu Armah, Deputy Minister Designate for Works and Housing; Professor Kingsley Nyarko, a Deputy Minister Designate for Education; and Dr Festus Awuah Kwofie, Deputy Minister Designate for Employment, Labour Relations and Pens ions. Also included are Mr Akwasi Konadu, Deputy Minister Designate for Lands and Natural Resources; Mr Musah Abdul Aziz Ayaba, Deputy Minister Designate for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and Dr Alexander Ampaabeng, a Deputy Minister Designate for Finance. The National Democratic Congress NDC Parliamentary Minority Caucus stage a walkout during the approval of the Ministerial Nominees, which they attributed to the large size of the Government. Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, who congratulated the Ministers Designate on their approval by the House, reminded them that they were accountable to both the President and Parliament. Source: Ghana News Agency

Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice President, is expected to commission the Zoomlion Ghana's waste recycling plant at Kperisi, a community in the Wa Municipality on Monday, May 20, 2024 as part of his visit to the Upper West Region. The commissioning of the facility would pave the way for the operationalization of the plant to help improve solid waste management in the region, particularly Wa, which is being engulfed by solid waste. The facility is a public-private partnership (PPP) between the government and the Jospong Group, and is expected to receive, sort, and process waste in the municipality and its environs. The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, cut sod for the construction of the solid waste treatment plant at Kperisi, which is envisaged to create over 200 direct and indirect jobs when completed. Dr. Bawumia, who is also the presidential candidate of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), is also expected to pay a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief of the Wala Traditional Area and me et with the Muslim clergy in Wa and later meet with a section of party members on Sunday, May 19, 2024. The Vice President and NPP flag-bearer would also hold meetings with the Christian clergy, the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs and the youth on Monday, May 20, 2024. Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, Minister of Finance, has disclosed exclusively to the Ghana News Agency that the country is waiting to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its official bilateral creditors next week.? He said the country had agreed to all that was needed for the second review to go to the IMF Board in June, adding 'we're waiting for the draft next week to sign.' He said this on the margins of the launch of the 2025 Africa Prosperity Dialogues in Accra.? The signing of the MoU is critical for Ghana to get its third tranche US$360 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), having reached a Staff Level Agreement with the Fund's Mission Team in April this year. It forms part of efforts by the government to restructure some US$13 billion external debt to meet debt sustainability parameters under the ongoing Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme. The IMF Executive Board is expected to meet next month (June) to consider the second review and approve the country's third tranche, pavin g way for the disbursement of US$360m to the country. Signing the MoU, together with the disbursement of the US$360m, would be critical in stabilising the Cedi against its major trading currencies, particularly, the Dollar. At the time of reaching the agreement of the second review of the programme, Dr Ernest Addison, Governor, Bank of Ghana (BoG), expressed confidence that the US$360m would help shore up the country's foreign currency reserves. According to the World Economic Forum, foreign currency reserves, comprising cash and other assets are important in maintaining stability of domestic currencies and providing liquidity during economic crisis. Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin, an Economist with the University of Ghana, has stated that the development would go a long way to help in stabilising the Cedi, which has been experiencing some depreciation in recent times. He noted that a vacuum has been created because the country had not signed an MoU with its bilateral creditors, though it reached an agr eement in principle in January 2024. However, the finance professor said a positive news with the IMF Board approval of the US$360m would engineer some confidence in the economy as people would trade their Dollars, which would lead to some relative stability. Meanwhile, speaking at the second quarter CEOs Breakfast Meeting earlier this week, Dr Stephen Amoah, a Deputy Finance Minister, advocated high patronage of domestic tourism and hospitality centres. The tourism and hospitality is among Ghana's top four sector contributors of foreign exchange inflows, as such, he said a high patronage would help in keeping money in the country to contain the depreciation of the Cedi. He, therefore, encouraged Ghanaians to patronise domestic tourism, saying, 'let's begin to show that high level of patronage and keep the money here… if you stay here, [and] the dollar people come, they will demand our currency.' Source: Ghana News Agency

The Electoral Commission (EC) has stated that it is in no position to rig the 2024 General Election in favour of any political party. The Commission said elections are won or lost at the polling station and 'not at the EC's headquarters.' Addressing a press conference in Accra on Friday, Mr Samuel Tettey Deputy EC Chair in charge of Operations, said the transparent nature of the electoral processes from registration to collation and declaration of results makes it impossible for the Commission to determine the outcome of elections. The Commission was responding to allegations by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at a press conference in Accra on Thursday. Mr Tettey said there was no loophole in the electoral process that could enable the Commission to rig the elections in favour of any party or candidate. He said political parties had the will to put in systems to collate their figures from across the over 38,000 polling stations and match it with the figures of the Commission at the close of polls. '…if a political party has participated in all the above processes and has been able to collate results from all the 38,622 polling stations, their results should match the final results that the Electoral Commission would eventually declare,' Mr Tettey said. 'Elections are won or lost at the polling station, and not at the Head Office of the Electoral Commission. Parties should train their Agents well to observe the process and not blame the EC for the outcome of the elections,' he added. Responding to concerns about the recruitment of Returning and Deputy Returning Officers for the ongoing voters' registration exercise, the Commission said the process was open, fair, and transparent. Mr Tettey said following the advertisement of the positions in the dailies, some 20,561 persons applied, adding that an in-house committee shortlisted the applicants. '…all successful applicants at the interview have no less than 8 years working experience with the Commission as Temporary Election Officials,' he said. Mr T etteh said that all political parties received the list of registration officials during Regional IPAC (RIPAC) and District IPAC (DIPAC) meetings 'several days before the commencement of the registration exercise.' The EC acknowledged the challenges experienced in the first two days of the registration exercise and said that the challenges had been resolved since the third day. The Commission said as of the ninth day of the registration exercise, a total of 391, 111 new voters had been added to the electoral roll. Responding to other issues, Mr Tettey said the EC played no role in disenfranchising the people of Santrokofi, Apkafu, Lolobi, and Lipke (SALL) /Guan District in taking part in the 2020 Parliamentary elections. 'Given that the Legislative Instrument that created the Guan District came into force on 9th November 2020, the same day Parliament went on recess, and with Parliament only returning from recess on 14th December 2020 after the general elections, the Constitutional Instrument creating the Guan Constituency could not be laid before Parliament, and in time for it to mature into law before the parliamentary election on 7th December 2020,' the Commission explained. Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Minority Leader and National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam, has explained why his side of the House decided to stage a walkout during the approval of the 24 Ministerial Nominees of the President. Speaking on the floor of Parliament prior to the Minority's boycott of the approval of the President's Nominees for Ministerial and Deputy Ministerial positions, Dr Forson informed the House that the Committee's report was a majority decision and that this was because they could not approve the Nominees by consensus. 'All Members of the Minority Group voted en bloc against the Nominees,' he stated. He reiterated that the Minority voted against the Nominees not because they held anything against them; saying 'No, we hold nothing against the Nominees. In fact, a good number of them are our colleagues and friends. But (the) decision to vote against them was motivated by Ghana first.' Dr Forson said the Minority voted against the Nominees because the country had gone through (and continues to go through) very difficult periods, including crippling economic crisis, food insecurity, debt overhang as a result of excessive borrowing, and wasteful and reckless expenditure. 'Ordinary Ghanaians continue to bite the bullet and businesses are struggling under high tax regime to contribute to the development of country. What is expected on the part of (the) Government would have been prudent management of these contributions from the people of Ghana,' Dr Forson said. 'But hardly a day passes without one reckless and wasteful expenditure or the other by this government being uncovered. 'Mr Speaker, while (we) are happy for the Nominees because we know that it is just a matter of time and colleagues from our side will begin appearing before the Appointments Committee, we cannot pretend that things are still the same. Indeed, we cannot do things the same old way.' He underscored that Ghana's present unfortunate situation occasioned by the Government di d not only call for new, creative and radical ways of confronting challenges but also modesty and sacrifice by the political class. He said in times like this, the Government side, especially, must signal to the people of Ghana and the investor community that they were ready and willing to walk the talk to restore the needed confidence in the economy. He said the Government, in times like this, must show its real commitment and determination to improve the quality of life of Ghanaians. He reiterated that it could not be the case that while the Government asked the people to tighten their belt, those in Government would have no belt at all. Dr Forson said it also could not be right that while the Government urged the people to bite the bullet, those in Government and their family and friends chew chocolate. 'Our side is deeply convinced that at this point in time, this Government must seize the opportunity to be creative, dynamic and think out of the box,' he said. 'Merely piling on numbers by way of app ointment of ministers and deputy ministers does not signal to the people of Ghana that the President understands the seriousness of the mess that his government has created.' The Minority Leader said the least that President Akufo-Addo could do was to down-size the Government. He said adding more ministerial appointments, which only balloons the expenditure of the executive, does not sound like a very bright idea at a time when the Government had clearly lost a grip on the economy, and unemployment, hardships and shrinkflation had become the order of the day. 'Mr Speaker, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo must down-size his Government to signal to the people of Ghana that, at the very least, he is in tune with feedback and the challenges triggered by his government as a result of their bad economic policies.' At the very least, the two top political parties, the NDC and the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), agree that down-sizing (or right-sizing) the Government was the way to go. Source: Ghana News Agency