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[Opinion] Why Ghana’s first Lithium Agreement shouldn’t be ratified as is

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Mining in Ghana: A long & twisted tale of disappointment

Civil Society advocates active in the natural resources policy space in Ghana have been left disappointed by the failure of imagination among politicians and senior civil servants negotiating Ghana’s first lithium mining lease.

It is safe to say that almost no Ghanaian is happy about the historical and contemporary reality of mining’s contribution to the country. For a country that has a 500-year reputation for being a haven of gold (with large-scale commercial gold mining dating from at least 1897), was once the 5th largest producer of the metal, and currently the largest in Africa, many Ghanaians look around them and frown when they don’t see the glamour of Johannesburg’s Sandton.

The Manic Past of Lithium

News that Ghana had signed a mining lease with an Australian junior miner to produce lithium from 2025 therefore raised hackles. Coming just weeks before the COP28 Summit in Dubai, with all the razzmatazz around green energy and the “climate transition“, the question on every Ghanaian’s lips was: “would lithium be the gamechanger when oil and gold appear to have disappointed”?

Answering that question, especially in relation to the agreement Ghana has just signed, requires a bit of a detour to explore why such hype has been building around lithium in the first place.

Highly reactive and inflammable, lithium, the lightest metal on Earth, now affectionately referred to as “white gold”, was first detected as a trace element in 1817 and isolated in 1855. For decades thereafter, its renown was gained by its use by some physicians in the management of mania, depression and bipolar disorders more generally. Hardly surprising then that it is inducing such frenzied mania today.

The Lithium Rush

As the 20th century proceeded, lithium began to find more applications across areas such as ceramics, glassware, polymers, castings, medicines (of course), and others. A few years ago, however, one use of lithium has far exceeded all others: batteries to power the electric vehicle (EV) boom. Today, more than 85% of all lithium demand is for use in lithium-ion batteries.

Some analysts believe that by 2050, lithium would have seen the fastest growth among all the minerals usually associated with the green transition.

Lithium chemistry can confuse you

Because lithium is such a reactive element, unlike, say, gold and aluminum, which are considered “inert” (relatively so in the case of the latter), its economic importance is often expressed through a bewildering array of intermediate and end-state compounds, such as lithium hydrochloride, lithium carbonate, and, to a much lesser extent, lithium bromide.

Therefore, when discussing lithium economics, one should always be very clear about which chemistries, chemical pathways, and compounds and salts are involved. Much depends on how lithium combines with other substances, either naturally or during processing, to arrive at a particular economic use case.

For example, during the recent bull era, when lithium prices exploded, the margin on refining the concentrates of spodumene, the most common rock ore of lithium, into lithium hydroxide, one of the compounds that in its most refined state goes into batteries, was about 35%.

Depending on the relative inventory levels of spodumene concentrate and lithium hydroxide in dominant markets like China, that margin can fluctuate much more crazily than is the case in some value chains we are more familiar with like cocoa, gold and bauxite. Again, this calls for smart economic contracts that are somewhat flexible enough to ride the storms.

The Economics of Ghana’s lithium deal draws scrutiny

Given this context, civil society analysts in Ghana have been painstakingly poring over the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) submitted in the disclosures of Atlantic Lithium, the company recently granted Ghana’s first lithium mining lease (subject to parliamentary ratification), to the alternative submarket of the London Stock Exchange (and concurrently to the Australian Securities Exchange, where it is also listed). The reader may find the highlights below.

The easiest observation to make from the DFS is that the proposed lithium operations are juicily profitable. For the company. With a post-tax margin of roughly 23%, and relatively low capex (revised a number of times to about $195 million), investors look to be sitting pretty. Due to Atlantic Lithium’s relatively conservative posture in the DFS at the height of the lithium boom, its numbers are only looking a bit off (the projected price of its highest grade concentrate – SC6 – for instance has had to be revised downwards from $1695 to $1410 per tonne according to recent statements by Ghana’s mineral authorities).

What civil society observers are asking is whether the Ghanaian people, by law the ultimate owners of the resource, would be just as comfortable over the 12-year course of mining of these deposits in the Ewoyaa region of the country’s central coast. We will come to that shortly.

Putting Ewoyaa in context

Zimbabwe is Africa’s largest producer of lithium. It is believed to hold the world’s fifth or sixth largest reserves of the metal. Yet, the country is on course to make just about $250 million from the mineral this year, out of total mineral earnings of about $5.67 billion (2022).

Bear in mind that Ghana, in a good year, can generate more than $6.6 billion from gold exports (how much of that actually stays within the economy is a different matter). Despite all the hubbub about Africa’s lithium, the continent currently holds only about 5% of the world’s known reserves. All this to say that the lithium game is just beginning. Any premature excitement is likely to be, well, premature.

Lithium does deserve special attention

The above notwithstanding, there are interesting aspects of the lithium value chain that requires that countries not take a business as usual approach. Compared to, say, cocoa, where the cocoa beans often struggle to capture even 3% of the value of marketed outputs, things can be different in the case of lithium.

Provided one refines lithium into the form, such as lithium carbonate or hydroxide, that can be used in battery components like the cathode, one can capture 30% of the value of the battery. Compare that to, say, cocoa powder, where there have been years in which margins have been actually negative (i.e. producing cocoa powder makes less money than leaving the cocoa in beans form).

These value chain margin analytics are further compounded, as hinted earlier, by the fact that valuable lithium end-products like batteries often require other green minerals to make, interlinking the economics of lithium with that of various strategic complements. Below, the reader may scan a number of battery technologies and notice two things: the involvement of other green minerals besides lithium and the tendency of major buyers of lithium end-products like batteries to make a strategic commitment to one combination/configuration of green minerals or the other.

With that highly condensed crash course out of the way, we can begin a discussion about Ghana’s contract with Atlantic Lithium and start to shed light on why some in Ghanaian civil society believe that government Ministers and the officials advising them are being too self-congratulatory.

How Unprecedentedly beneficial was the lithium deal?

First, the money (see key terms in the snapshots below). The government’s big case is that it has secured concessions from Atlantic Lithium that no government has been able to obtain in the country’s history. If this is based purely on how the gains from the resource are to be shared between the government and the investor, in ownership and monetary terms, then that fact is simply incorrect.

It is common knowledge in Ghanaian natural resource settings that the share to the state of resource gains was heftier in the 1970s and the early 1980s, and even after reforms came in the late 1980s, those terms were generally more favourable than what ensued in the subsequent decades.

In the 1970s, the Ghanaian government introduced policy to set a floor of 55% under the ownership stake of the state in producing mining concessions. In recent comments, the Chief Executive of the Minerals Commission has sought to imply that this history does not count because it encompasses a period of wholesale nationalisation. Fact is, that is simply incorrect.

While one effect of the Mining Operations (Government Participation) Decree of 1972 was the complete nationalisation of some mines, such as the African Manganese Company, some of the privately controlled mines were not nationalised per se. The policy simply led to a government majority of the equity stake in previously privately-held mining firms. However, in virtually all cases, the state’s equity participation went up to 55%, except for those mines it outrightly owned.

As eminent Ghanaian jurists, S.K.B Asante and S.K. Date-Bah have carefully chronicled in their work on joint ventures in the Ghanaian mining industry, the Ghanaian government negotiated an equity stake of 20% in Ashanti Gold Corporation in 1969. How can a negotiated outcome be considered “nationalisation”? After the negotiated joint venture between the government of Ghana and Lornho, the parties went further to negotiate an option for the state to acquire a further 20% in the future if it chose to do so. The government was also given the right to appoint four board members. Even this agreement was highly criticised by experts at the time due to the insufficient care paid to all the tax implications.

It is important to bear in mind that the action of the succeeding Acheampong government to ensure government majority in the mining companies was based on a policy paper published in December 1972. The prescriptions of this paper were to be translated into action by an interdisciplinary committee of experts, drawn from across the different professional strands of society. It was chaired by Dr. S.K.B. Asante. This team went to London to negotiate with Ashanti Gold in respect of the government’s desire to increase its stake. The passing of the decree was part of the negotiating tactics adopted by the government to strengthen the hands of the committee. Below, the principal terms of the final agreement are reproduced by the two aforementioned jurists.

In substance, therefore, if we are to limit ourselves purely to the split of gains between the government and the private investor, then both the purely negotiated 1969 Ghana – Ashanti Gold agreement and the, decree-backed, 1972 agreements between the same parties were better than the recent lithium deal by having offered the State 20% and 55% (compared to the 13% in the lithium deal), respectively, of the total equity in the concession.

Likewise, the various joint ventures that the government continued to enter into following the reforms of the late 1980s saw government take up large equity positions, as was the case in the Konongo Gold Project, where Southern Cross Mining held 70% and the state, 30%.

On the issue of royalties, comparison with historic episodes is fraught with confusion because in the past Ghana had a variable rate margin that could take the due royalty entitlement to more than 10%. The 1987 regulations passed during the reform era when Ghana sought to increase private participation in mining again constitute one clear example in this regard.

Confining ourselves to the narrow dimension the government of Ghana itself has selected, we can boldly assert that the claim that the terms of the recent lithium deal are the “best” in Ghana’s history is factually inaccurate. It is important that senior civil servants of such high stature strive for objectivity in their public communications.

Another argument canvassed by the Chief Executive of the Minerals Commission is that despite the existence of the variable royalty structures in various contracts historically, and despite his acknowledgement that this could lead to the royalty rate exceeding 10% in these contracts, those terms were in the end meaningless because no mining investor ever paid a royalty rate above 3% (until the Finance Minister in the Mills government initiated a change in royalty rate to 5%). Once again, this claim is contentious, considering the span of mining history in Ghana and the very patent record of joint ventures paying the variable rate based on operating margin. Even in more recent years, we have had companies pay above the royalty treshold, as was the case of the operators of the Chirano mine in 2017.

At any rate, as the AfDB has noted, the failure of the variable tax regime to hit the higher threshold levels is primarily due to the exploitation of loopholes. If duty-bearers and office-holders continue to underperform in their functions, then the history of failure we have witnessed will be due less to the absolute terms found in the various agreements and more to their implementation and enforcement.

To sum up this section, taking the country’s full span of history into account, the lithium deal is not exceptional.

Paperwork is not enough

The heart of the matter though is that nice fiscal terms on paper, however “generous” to Ghana, however “resource nationalistic”, would not mean much if overall management of the sector and/or the investment climate is bad. Contracts and leases should thus be designed in such a manner that they will prove resilient even in the face of weak regulatory performance.

That is why the period when Ghana saw the most nationalistic contracts in the 1970s and 1980s was also the period when it lost its leadership in the African mining sector. Over the course of that era, Ghana’s active gold mines declined from about 34 to just 4. Mismanagement, weak technical capacity, poor investment policies, and a host of factors conspired to prevent the intent of higher social returns to mining from materialising.

Hence why fiscal regimes are hard to compare across countries

Whilst the effort at benchmarking should be highly commended, the government’s selective use of comparative data across African countries to elevate the success of the lithium deal is not as compelling as it could be because it strips some of the numbers of context, uses outdated data, and fails to include instances that are not as favourable for the goals of the comparisons.

For example, it rightly mentions Namibia as a country where the government is not entitled to a free, mandatory, equity stake in mining concessions it gives out. But it does not mention the higher income tax bracket for mining. The infographic above issued by the government states the wrong upper bound for Chile’s royalty structure, which is 40% instead of 26%. There is no acknowledgement of the radical public-private partnership arrangements now in place in both Chile and Mexico, and which effectively make lithium an extension of national security policy. Zimbabwe’s fiscal terms are described without regard for the fact that it also has concessions where state actors are directly involved in the actual mining. Mali is mentioned as limiting itself to a 10% free/carried interest without regard to recent announcements that the state will now be able to increase overall participation (both free and fair-market acquisitions) to 30%.

Instead, the Chief Executive of the Minerals Commission spent time quibbling with this author whether Zimbabwe’s new law restricting unbeneficiated exports cover concentrates, even when the definition in the law explicitly mentions concentrates, tailings, slag, slime etc. And when that point was totally irrelevant to the central point about differentiated strategies across countries requiring a more in-depth analysis than just posting headline figures, including incorrect figures.

Sophistication is required

All the aforementioned complexities make it clear that much sophistication is required in the design of the legal technologies used in contracts in the emerging lithium era.

For example, Ghana’s royalty rate is tied to the sales price achieved through the concessionaire’s own arrangements alone.

Unlike India’s regime where an independent price benchmark is used (LME). In a situation where more than half of the lithium mine’s output is destined to be sold to related parties in potentially non arms-length transactions, one worries whether the government should not have explored a pricing index in the agreement.

Real Options are a must for fast-changing markets like lithium

Atlantic Lithium’s offtake agreements and customer-financing strategies reflect the fast changing dynamics in the green economy as companies and governments jostle to position themselves ambidextrously lest they be outmaneuvered by trends.

“Real options” is a field of finance designed specifically to handle such situations. The concept represents an array of “strategic choices” the government of Ghana could have reserved in the contract with Atlantic Lithium without overencumbering itself with obligations.

One of the uncertainties in the lithium market that strongly advise the use of real options include the fast changing terrain of new battery technologies. It is not far-fetched at all to envisage a future, not too far away, in which lithium-ion batteries become obsolete and are replaced by some liquid-free selenium derivative or another non-lithium option in the table below.

Another technological trend to watch closely is the pace at which lithium battery recycling is maturing. A time may come when demand for primary-mined lithium goes down significantly because so much is being produced from recycling old batteries.

Besides technological shifts is the ongoing price volatility that has seen prices of lithium compounds tumble of late. At the peak of the bull run, in November 2022, lithium hydroxide prices hit a high of $81,000 per tonne only to plunge to $16,500. A fate that did not befall some competing and complementary green metals.

Yet more reasons for tighter structuring and creative options

On top of all the above is the obvious fact that Ghana’s lithium prospects have been placed in the hands of a small junior miner with very limited experience. Some of our oil field woes have been blamed on a similar tango with junior producers.

Atlantic Lithium, the only lithium lease-holder in Ghana, is so small that to raise $13.2 million on the stock market in mid-2022, it had to make up mining rights it didn’t then have.

Its complicated structure and multiple leases (for its size and scale) in Ghana also makes it quite difficult for the independent analyst to fully understand the valuation structures at play.

Ghana’s Sovereign Fund goes gaga with joy

Which all makes it curious to see how Ghana’s Sovereign Wealth Fund has been celebrating its “wins” following the agreement to buy into the Ewoyaa project and the Atlantic Lithium holding structure itself.

So enthusiastic was MIIF that it does not even seem, from all the information it has put out, to have negotiated any anti-dilution provisions, knowing very well that given its very early stage of operations, the likelihood of serious dilution of its stake is very possible.

MIIF has in the last couple of weeks put out various statements celebrating “capital gains” that it says it has already made from its planned investment in Atlantic Lithium.

The claimed “capital gains” appear to have been computed from a short trading run without regard to the volatility of the stock. MIIF bought at 26 US cents a share and plans to buy more in the future at 36 US cents. But Atlantic Lithium’s share price yesterday closed at just a little above 27 US cents, and could fall further if lithium prices continue their downward slide. Everyone, including the cleaner at MIIF, knows full well that it is much too early to announce capital gains on an asset that is even yet to reach financial close.

Even more curiously, MIIF has given two distinct valuations for the Ewoyaa project in a short interval using two very different methodologies, seemly unmindful of how the massive discrepancy will raise eyebrows. In one statement, it claims the Ewoyaa asset is worth $1.4 billion, and in another that is more like $691 million. Did the asset lose more than $700 million of its value already?

At any rate, Piedmont, which has been the primary financier of the Ewoyaa exploratory work that has led to the declaration of commerciality has provided some numbers that seem to place valuation at $360 million thereabouts, considerably lower than the MIIF estimates.

Back to the agreement itself. A careful reading of the text reveals a range of contingencies with no timelines or specific performance bounds.

When exactly should the scoping study for the chemical refinery (not the “side minerals” like kaolin and feldspar that the Chief Executive of the Minerals Commission has been talking about) be completed? The agreement doesn’t say. Yet, the provision is clear that unless the scoping study is satisfactory, Atlantic Lithium would have no obligation to build the refinery.

What does “outcome” in the above text mean? An after-tax IRR of 27.5%? 125%? 12.5%? There is simply nothing in the agreement to explain what exactly is the benchmark for feasibility in the proposed scoping study.

The same concern goes for the actual chemical refinement benchmarks. Nothing in the agreement confirms what particular chemistry end-states will be acceptable to the Republic of Ghana. Will refining 5.5% spodumene concentrate into 6% concentrate pass the test? What about producing lithium chlorides or sulphates, as intermediates for a desired end-state like carbonate or hydrochloride? What purity would satisfy Ghana? Must it be battery-grade? Clearly, some basic supplemental technical annexes would have helped in a situation like this? And even some scenario and sensitivity analysis?

Geopolitics & the Regional Dimension

The lack of a green mining law means that many references in the agreement to “legislation” refer to the same provisions in the general natural resources law that the government felt needed updating hence the dedicated green mining policy and the efforts to ensure that the lithium agreement is not business as usual.

The fact also that the Green Mining Policy on which the agreement was supposedly based was not subject to wide consultation in Ghana means that everyone is left guessing as to even the most rudimentary strategic considerations currently guiding Ghana’s goal of emerging as a lithium value addition hub.

Everyone knows that the Atlantic Lithium mining lease was framed in terms of a victory of the US against China since this is the first time an American company has secured access to a significant source of lithium from Africa to feed an American refinery (the Piedmont facility in Tennessee). Chinese investors, on the other hand, have won quite a number of these hits. Could Ghana have leveraged these geopolitical stakes to secure more involvement by American suppliers of complementary inputs and resources to make the path to value addition much clearer?

The fact that strategic complements and substitutes in the green energy value chain shapes the geopolitics of commodities like lithium is now very well appreciated. In an elaborate study by a group of Chinese academics at Tsinghua University, these strategic interplays were condensed into an index to simplify analysis of when cooperation works, and when competition dominates.

Within the context of AfCFTA and Ghana’s subregion, one way to look at the strategic complements dimension is to settle on a particular battery technology whose pursuit would catalyse regional and national value chains integration.

For example, making a strategic bet on lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) would mean greater complementarity between the country’s stalled iron ore mining and nascent lithium mining ambitions, whilst creating room for greater engagement with Togo on phosphate trading since this West African neighbour currently limits its value addition strategy, where phosphate is concerned, to fertiliser.

The fact that LFP batteries are also increasingly winning on more dimensions against close competitor, Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt (NMC) batteries make such a gambit very interesting.

Of course, the presence of nickel and cobalt in other regions of Africa could mean that some NMC bets may work but the large distances on the continent counsel some conservatism in supporting a Ghanaian-Togolese integration.

A Chance to improve the actual licensing regime?

Lastly, the issue of whether Ghana could have done better if it had used more competitive methods to allocate lithium mining concessions has come up.

Officialdom have tried to dismiss this concern by claiming that tenders or auctions would not have been viable as Ghana does not have any geological data and therefore owes it to Atlantic Lithium’s data collection efforts to reward it with the mining lease. Such a lens is quite poor.

It presupposes that auctions cannot happen at prospecting level, before companies have spent money collecting investment-determining data. Ghanaian geologists have known, since at least 1916, about the presence of rock formations in the Cape Coast area featuring the kinds of pegmatites and lepidolites typically associated with lithium deposits. That is precisely why the likes of Atlantic Lithium and its previous incarnates knew where to concentrate their prospecting resources. In such circumstances, there is no reason why Ghana could not, and going forward cannot, use the auction method to attract more capable firms and begin to get a sense of which of them are most predisposed to providing favourable terms if prospecting is successful.

If this lithium situation has thought us anything at all, it is clearly that “good” may sometimes not be good enough. The government is to be commended for having the presence of mind to understand the citizenry’s demands for “better than usual”. It must now show readiness to deliver that “better” in this and upcoming mineral rights issues.

We call on the government to support Parliament in scrutinising the signed agreement with a fine comb and to stand ready to make the necessary amendments to the agreement terms to satisfy a country that has grown more alert, more impatient for “better”, and more sophisticated than politicians give it credit for.

 

Source: Bright Simons

News, Politics, Topstory

2nd leg of #BuildingGhanaTour takes Mahama to Western North, Western and Central regions tomorrow

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2024 Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama will tomorrow, 13th December 2023 begin the second-leg of his Building Ghana Tour which will take him to Western North, Western and Central regions beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, 13th December 2023.

The former president is expected to spend two days in the Western North region where he will have various engagements including town hall meetings with party members and various groups such as market women, artisans, mechanics, and miners.

Mr Mahama will also pay courtesy calls on traditional leaders, during which he will address some critical national issues and explain some of his policy proposals including the 24-hour economy.

On Wednesday, December 13, 2023, the former President, will first meet with party party executives, Members of Parliament from the region, Parliamentary candidates, former party executives and the Council of Elders at Sefwi Wiaswo.

The meeting scheduled to take place at the Rockey’s Conference Hall in the morning will discuss pertinent issues affecting the NDC’s campaign machinery in the region to strategize ahead of the 2024 elections.

On day-one of his visit, he will pay a courtesy call on the Omanhene of the Sefwi Wiawso Traditional area, Katakyie Kwasi Bumangama II before an engagement with students at the Sefwi Wiawso College of Education, dubbed ‘Campus Connect’.

According to his itinerary, Mr Mahama, who shall be accompanied by former Chief of Staff Julius Debrah and some national executives of the party, will also tour the Akontombra, Bodi and Bia constituencies.

His entourage will cross over to the Western region where he will spend two days 16th and 17th December and wrap up the second leg of his visit, which will also solicit complaints to inform NDC’s manifesto in the Central region.

He is expected back in Accra by December 22, 2023.

Last month, he toured the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions and it will be recalled that during one of such courtesy calls on traditional leaders, the Goasomanhene, Nana Akwasi Bosompra, could not but weep in open public when he shared concerns about neglect by the central government in terms of basic development.

His emotional plea, called for the construction of abandoned road projects since 2017.

 

Source: Myxyzonline.com

Busines, News

ISSER calls for dialogue over MoMo compensation impasse

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The Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) has expressed worry that if the impasse between electronic money, popularly known as mobile money (MoMo) operators and their agents, is not resolved it will adversely affect financial inclusion significantly.

The policy research institution of the University of Ghana maintained that MoMo agents had become one of the most important drivers of financial inclusion in the country and the disagreement over compensation and threats to restrict withdrawals had the potential to derail the gains made so far.

ISSER, therefore, called for stakeholder dialogue to address the challenges leading to the impasse between the parties, stressing that evidence-based discussion would help find a fair and sustainable compensation model for MoMo agents without jeopardising financial inclusion.

The research institution also called on the regulator to intervene as a referee to bring the two parties to the negotiating table, given the scale and extensive potential of the operation of agents on the livelihoods and welfare of consumers, ISSER said in a statement issued in Accra.

“We encourage all parties to be guided and informed by evidence in negotiations to ensure equity and fairness in the structuring of compensation and value sharing between MoMo providers and their agents.

“Negotiated outcomes should aim to keep agents in business without jeopardising gains made in financial inclusion,” ISSER through its new research initiative, Retail Finance Distribution (ReFinD) research, said.

The context

The Mobile Money Agents Association of Ghana in a release on November 30, announced a decision to restrict withdrawals to a maximum of GH¢1,000 per transaction for a month.

It noted that there was possibility for further action if no favourable adjustment was made to their compensation by the telecommunication companies.

The release by ISSER also indicated that the parties should take into consideration the cost of operation for agents, the pricing mechanisms of the providers and agents, and the profitability and security of agents among others.

“Stakeholders could also consider the compensation structure across peer markets within Africa and Asia to serve as benchmarks.

To this end, ISSER, through its Retail Finance Distribution (ReFinD) research initiative, is committed to serve as a research partner to support the process.”

The release stated that mobile money had become the lead driver of financial inclusion in the country – accounting for about two-thirds of Ghana’s remarkable achievement of 95 per cent financial inclusion rate, according to the Ghana Financial Sector 2021 Demand Side Survey.

The mobile money agents have remained the wheels for extending the reach of MoMo across the country.

It highlights that MoMo agents represent the closest formal financial service provider to consumers across the country, with 92 per cent and 76 per cent of adults reaching a MoMo agent in less than 30 minutes in the urban and rural areas, respectively.

Hence, MoMo agents have become integral to the financial inclusion architecture of the country.

Therefore, any change to their operations will impact the country’s financial inclusion progress.

Demand

ISSER understands that the recent industrial action hinges on a demand for fair compensation for a sustainable business case by the agents.

Under the current compensation structure, a flat fee of GH¢10 is deducted from transactions of GH¢1,000 and above.

The GH¢10 is then shared between the agent (40 per cent) and the MoMo provider (60 per cent).

Thus, a transaction of GH¢5,000 will earn the MoMo agent a commission of GH¢4 under the old model.

With this new action by the agents, a withdrawal of GH¢5,000 will earn the agents GH¢20 since the customer has to make five withdrawals of GH¢1,000 each to receive the desired GH¢5,000.

However, this will cost the customer GH¢50, an increase of GH¢40 from the old rates.

ISSER is of the view that a unilateral action has the potential to derail the gains made in financial inclusion and the development of a cash-lite economy.

Impact

ISSER in the release acknowledged the concern of MoMo agents for an improvement in compensation.

It cautioned that the current unilateral action could be detrimental to gains made in financial inclusion and the transition to a cash-lite economy.

In the medium to long term, the sharp increase in the cost of withdrawal will drive customers away and inadvertently reduce the profitability of agents.

“We call on all stakeholders to resort to evidence-based dialogue for a fair compensation model that will not jeopardise gains made in financial inclusion,” it said.

 

Source: Graphic

News

Atta Issah bags Leadership Personality Award

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The NDC Parliamentary Candidate for Sagnarigu, Mr Atta Issah, has been awarded at the maiden Northern Ghana Business Awards.

The politician and business personality was adjudged the ‘Leadership Personality’ of the year 2023.

The awards scheme organised by KIP Events and partnered by the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly and the National Communication Authority saw many young achievers decorated with citations and plaques for their contribution to the development of the northern sector of the country.

Mr Atta Issah, a young politician and an entrepreneur in the northern region, was nominated for his leadership qualities and support he offers to young people who need mentoring and direction.

Mr Issah, who was excited for the recognition alongside some big names in the region, expressed appreciation to the organisers and the people for supporting him.

He urged the organisers to continue to unearth talents and recognize their contributions to the region.

Appealing to the organisers to hold the second edition in an open space to allow greater participation, he advised the youth to put the region first and contribute their quota appropriately to help develop the region that seems quite neglected.

To him, the northern part of the country has a lot of resources that can be harnessed to aid the development of the area.

He also called on the private sector for partnership with the people to create more jobs that will help alleviate poverty in the region.

 

Source: Myxyzonline.com

News, Politics

Bawumia launches Business and Employment Assistance programme

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Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has launched the Government’s latest business and youth intervention, the Business and Employment Assistance Programme.

He launched the initiative in Sunyani on Monday, December 11.
The initiative, driven by the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) aims at nurturing young entrepre¬neurs, empower them to generate employment opportunities for the large pool of unemployed youths in the country.

The primary objective is to revive micro to small-scale enterprises affected by the global pandemic, enabling them to rehire laid-off em¬ployees, employ new workers, and provide essential skills for enhanced productivity.

It seeks to support 10,000 businesses owned by young Ghanaians, to employ 20,000 youth, whose salaries will be paid by the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), he said in tweet.

The jobs expected to be created under the initiative will add to the 2.1 million jobs already created, he said.


This, he added, will help to sustain and grow these businesses, as well as provide job opportunities.
“The Business and Employment Assistance Programme and other youth interventions under the YEA and under agencies, underline our government’s commitment to creating more jobs and opportunities to the youth, in addition to the 2.1m jobs created by the government in the past seven years in the public and private sectors respectively,” the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) said.

Speaking at the launch, Vice President, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia noted that the business sector has been particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandem¬ic some of which were forced to close down during the partial and total lockdown resulting in job losses.

He said “the Ghana Business Tracker Survey conducted between May and June 2020 by the Ghana Statistical Service in collaboration with the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme, indicated that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, 46.1 per cent of Ghanaian businesses had to reduce wages whereas 4.1 per cent of businesses laid off workers.”

 

 

 

 

 

By: Afia Owusu/myxyzonline.com /Ghana

News, Politics

TV broadcasters to lose signal in 2024 if usage fees are not settled – Ursula warns

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The Minister Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has served notice that television signals to homes and offices could face shutdown next year if broadcasters fail to pay for the usage of the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) platform.

Addressing the Parliament floor on Monday, 11th December, 2023, the Minister emphasized that the government, which has hitherto covered the operating costs of the platform, is no longer willing to shoulder the financial burden.

“Despite multiple notifications, some media houses have been reluctant to meet their payment obligations’. – she noted.

“As I speak, none of the broadcasters on the DTT platform pay for using it, and this situation cannot continue given our current economic state,” she declared.

Responding to concerns raised by the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), Owusu-Ekuful clarified, – “GIBA is not a broadcaster hosted on this platform. So I don’t know in which capacity they would be acting. They have constituent members who are broadcasters on the DTT platform, but none of them have paid a pesewa to date for being hosted on the platform, so it is not correct any member being hosted on the platform has paid for it”.

The Communications Minister went on to warn that failure to settle the fees could result in the shutdown of the platform, leading to a potential disruption in TV broadcast signals.

“Government says it cannot continue to pay for it, so if they do not pay for it, unfortunately, we may find ourselves in a situation where we cannot receive TV broadcast signals because the platform will be shut down for non-payment of the operational expenses that it is incurring,” she stated.

Digital Terrestrial Television is a technology for terrestrial television where television stations broadcast television content in a digital format.

 

 

 

Source: Ghanaweb

News, Politics, Topstory

Mahama will win any free, fair, credible election — Haruna Iddrisu

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Member of Parliament (MP) for the Tamale South Constituency, Haruna Iddrisu, has expressed optimism that John Dramani Mahama, Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress, will win the 2024 general election.

According to him, if Ghanaians were to vote based on their current economic conditions and the state of the country, as a result of bad governance and widespread impunity, the NDC is convinced the former President, will win hands down if the process is genuinely free and fair.

Mr Iddrisu, a former Minority Leader in Parliament, was speaking at the inauguration of the Upper East Regional Women’s Wing Working Committee on the theme: “Effective mobilization of the women’s front.

“2024 offers the NDC the best opportunity to recapture political power, and we all must endeavour to work to support John Dramani Mahama” – he noted.

The outspoken MP, however urged party foot soldiers not to be complacent but work and ensure that all 15 seats in the Region were captured for the NDC to form a majority in Parliament.

This he said will offer John Mahama, the needed support to implement proactive policies like the 24-hr economy proposal, to reverse the economic downturn through massive infrastructure development and job creation.

Mr Iddrisu said the credibility and sustainability of their message was important and called on all members of the NDC, especially its Communicators to trumpet the good messages and development projects undertaken by the Party in government over the years.

He emphasized that Mr Mahama, a former Vice President and President, is more experienced in governance, has good track record and would be the right Candidate to make Ghana a better place for the citizenry.

He called on the media to play its watchdog role, saying “You held NDC, John Mahama accountable, hold Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr Bawumia accountable to their duties, pledges and failures.
The MP for Pusiga, Madam Laadi Ayii Ayamba, who chaired the inaugural ceremony, said lessons learnt from the current hung Parliament calls for more work by the NDC to secure more seats come 2024.
“I want to plead with you. Do not let us get equal numbers again. Let us fight to get better numbers in Parliament. The current numbers are giving us a lot of issues.” – she said.

National Women’s Organizer of the NDC, Dr Hanna Louisa Bissiw, called for hard work, unity of purpose, vigilance, and an uncompromising attitude devoid of any form of intimation.

According to her, the NPP government usually adopted all forms of unfair ways and means to rig elections, “Now we will stop them. They should not think that we are joking, they have taken us for a ride for far too long.”

Dr Bissiw urged all Women Organizers of the Party and their Deputies across the country to campaign in every nook and cranny of all the Constituencies to propagate the message of the NDC, especially the ‘24-hour economy’ policy of the Party.

News, Uncategorized

Being gay is neither sin nor crime’ – Ghanaian Catholics at par with Christian community?

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The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has officially declared the position of the Church in support of those against the punishment of gays and lesbians.

In the opinion of the bishops, the clause in the bill, criminalizing homosexuals for being homosexuals is totally wrong.

The communique on the signed by signed by Most Rev. Mathew Kwasi Gyamfi, Catholic Bishop of Sunyani and President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ is raising eyebrows over what appears to be a sharp division within the Ghanaian Christiaan community on the ‘Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values 2021’, currently at its consideration stage in Parliament.
“while the church does not condemn homosexuals for being homosexuals, it condemns the homosexual acts that they perform” – the communique dated Monday, 11 December 2023, explained.

It added, “For the Church also, although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered towards an intrinsic moral evil, and, thus, the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder”.

The Bishops, quoting verses in the Bible, said the “long-held teaching” of the Roman Catholic Church has been that “while homosexual people are to be loved and respected and not be discriminated against, homosexual acts are intrinsically immoral and must be condemned”, adding: “It is for this reason that the Church does not approve of ‘unions between people of the same sex’”.

Thus, homosexuals should not be criminalised just for being homosexuals. Neither should they be maltreated nor attacked for being homosexuals. It is neither a sin nor a crime to be a homosexual. It is the acts that they perform that are sinful and should be condemned”.

It continued …. “However, following the example of Jesus himself, who came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance (cf. Luke 5:32 [NRSV]), the Church, in its pastoral care, is solicitous about the salvation of all God’s children and endeavours to show them God’s love and mercy”.

The bishops, however, pointed out that “while it is not right to criminalize homosexuals just for being homosexuals, the State is within its right to criminalize the acts of homosexuals in the interest of the nation”.

GENESIS OF CONTROVERSY

It will be recalled that few days ago, Cardinal Appiah Turkson, the first-ever Ghanaian Cardinal appointed by Pope John Paul II in 2003, who is now Chancellor of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences publicly declared same stance, during an interview with the BBC.

Cardinal Turkson, who has at times been regarded as a future candidate to become pope, told the BBC’s HARDtalk programme that “LGBT people may not be criminalised because they’ve committed no crime”.

Cardinal Peter Turkson’s comments triggered widespread criticism amidst calls on the Catholic Bishops’ Council to officially declare the local Church’s position.

Last month, Pope Francis suggested he would be open to having the Catholic Church bless same-sex couples.

Find below full statement
COMMUNIQUE ISSUED BY THE GHANA CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE ON “THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE STATE ON HOMOSEXUALITY”
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen” (Galatians 1:3-5 NRSV)
We, the members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, in the light of recent discussions among many Ghanaians on homosexuality and on whether or not it should be criminalised, have seen the need to address the theme: “The Catholic Church and the State on Homosexuality”.
Homosexuality may be defined as sexual interest in and attraction to members of one’s own sex. We will begin by stating what the position of the Catholic Church is on homosexuality.
Biblical Teaching on Homosexuality
The Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexuality is based primarily on what the Bible says on this matter. The Bible, which is foundational to Christian beliefs and practices, condemns the practice of homosexuality. In the Old Testament, this practice was seen as a perversion and a pagan abomination.
In Lev 18:22 we read, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination”. Similarly, in Lev 20:13 we read, “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them”.
Another passage relevant in this discussion is Gen 19:1-28. While admittedly the text of Gen 19:1-28 does not deal with homosexual people, it does not deny the fact that what the men of Sodom intended to do with the two male guests of Lot constituted homosexual acts (cf. Gen 19:5: the Hebrew verb “yada’” is a biblical euphemism for sexual relations).
Lot’s offer to give his two virgin daughters in place of the two male guests shows that he perceived the desire of the men of Sodom as perverted lust.
While the idea of intolerance and hostility towards the stranger is present in the text, it is certainly sexual perversion, i.e., their desire to engage in homosexual acts, which is at the root of the crimes of the men of Sodom.
Most of the references to homosexuality in the New Testament occur in the letters of Paul. The clearest is Romans 1:26-27. In the context, Paul is portraying the moral disorder that accompanies the rejection of the knowledge of God in the pagan world.
He says, “For this reason God gave them up to dishonourable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error” (Rom. 1:26-27).
Rom 1:26 thus addresses the particular issue of homosexual behaviour between consenting females. Rom. 1:27 is the clearest statement in the New Testament regarding the issue of homosexual behaviour between consenting adult males.
Some interpreters suggest that Paul has in mind here sexual relations between men and boys in particular; however, Paul’s indictment seems to include all kinds of homosexual practice, female as well as male, and was not directed against one kind of homosexual practice in distinction from another.
In 1 Cor. 6:9; 1 Tim. 1:10 Paul speaks of homosexuality. These two verses may be discussed together. In 1 Cor. 6:9 Paul says, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts”.
In 1 Tim. 1:10 he speaks of “immoral persons, sodomites, kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine”. The terms “sexual perverts” and “sodomites” in the two passages translate the same Greek word (arsenokoitai) which denotes practitioners of homosexuality.
However, it needs to be added that Paul does not single out samesex intercourse as specially perverted or monstrous. He lists it alongside theft, drunkenness and perjury, as well as adultery and murder. It is nevertheless a safe conclusion that, whatever might be said about individual orientations or dispositions, Paul could only have regarded all homosexual erotic and genital behaviour as contrary to the creator’s plan for human life, to be abandoned on conversion (cf. 1 Cor 6:11).
Homosexuality is also incompatible with the creation stories about man and woman in Genesis. In the opening chapters of Genesis, the creation of the sexes by God is presented as having a twofold purpose: men and women are meant to come together in a one-flesh unity of life (Gen 2:24) and to beget children (Gen 1:28).
Since sexual activity was seen to be ordered to procreation and the continuance of the human race, any form of sexual activity other than heterosexual intercourse is against nature and is a clear violation of right reason
For the Church, to choose someone of the same sex for one’s sexual activity or for marriage is to annul the rich symbolism and meaning, not to mention the goals, of God’s sexual design.
Homosexual activity is not a complementary union, able to transmit life, and so it thwarts the call to a life of that form of self-giving which the Gospel says is the essence of Christian living. The Teaching of the Catholic Church on Homosexuality In addition to the biblical material cited above that condemns homosexuality, the Catholic Church makes a distinction between “the homosexual condition or tendency” and “individual homosexual actions”.
The Church, thus, makes a distinction between the homosexual as a person and the acts that he may carry out as a homosexual person. With regard to the former, the Church does not condemn people for being homosexuals or for having the homosexual tendency.
Homosexuals must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. The Church teaches that the intrinsic dignity of each person must always be respected in word, in action and in law. According to Pope Francis, the homosexual person needs to be “respected in his or her dignity and treated with consideration, and ‘every sign of unjust discrimination’ is to be carefully avoided, particularly any form of aggression or violence” (Amoris Laetitia 250).
For this reason, it is not right to inflict physical or other types of violence on homosexuals just because they are homosexuals. Their being homosexuals does not mean that they should be treated like criminals. The Church insists that homosexuals, also created in the image of God, must enjoy the fundamental human rights that all human beings enjoy.
By fundamental human rights, we mean the universal, inviolable and inalienable rights that are due to the human person as a rational being possessing a free will. Human rights protect, or are intended to protect, the dignity of the human person against State and Society.
Specific human rights include the right to life, personal liberty and due process of law; to freedom of thought, expression, religion, organization, and movement; to freedom from discrimination on the basis of race, religion, age, language, and sex; to basic education; to employment; and to property.
Nevertheless, according to the Church’s understanding of human rights, the rights of homosexuals as persons do not include the right of a man to marry a man or of a woman to marry a woman. For the Church, this is morally wrong and goes against God’s purpose for marriage.
With regard to “individual homosexual actions”, however, the Church says that they are “intrinsically disordered” and are “in no case to be approved of”.
Thus, while the church does not condemn homosexuals for being homosexuals, it condemns the homosexual acts that they perform. For the Church also, although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered towards an intrinsic moral evil, and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder.
The long-held teaching of the Roman Catholic Church has been that while homosexual people are to be loved and respected and not be discriminated against, homosexual acts are intrinsically immoral and must be condemned. It is for this reason that the Church does not approve of “unions between people of the same sex”.
However, following the example of Jesus himself who came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance (cf. Luke 5:32 [NRSV]), the Church in its pastoral care is solicitous about the salvation of all God’s children and endeavours to show them God’s love and mercy.
Thus, homosexuals should not be criminalised just for being homosexuals. Neither should they be maltreated nor attacked for being homosexuals. It is neither a sin nor a crime to be a homosexual. It is the acts that they perform that are sinful and should be condemned.
The State on Homosexuality
The Church recognises that the State has a duty to carry out in this matter of homosexuality. With regard to homosexual acts, while the Church speaks of them as sins, the State does not use such language. For the State, whose duty it is to enact laws to govern the citizenry, the language used is that of crime.
What then is a crime? “Crime” may be defined as an action or omission, which constitutes an offence and is usually deemed socially harmful or dangerous and is punishable by law. In the light of this definition, homosexual acts from the point of view of the State may be criminal in nature.
For example, if a homosexual man rapes a teenage boy, that would be deemed a criminal offence, just as the same act carried out by a heterosexual man on a teenage girl would be deemed a criminal offence.
In other words, these acts are not in the interest of the nation and, indeed, harm the nation. For this reason, there must be punitive measures to deal with such situations.
Again, the law makers may decide that a man marrying a man or a woman marrying a woman is not in the interest of the nation since, in the long term, it will have an effect on the size of the population of our country if many people do this. In such a case, the law makers will be within their rights to enact laws against that.
In such cases, it will be right for the law makers to criminalise such homosexual actions by punitive measures.
Thus, we can say that while it is not right to criminalise homosexuals just for being homosexuals, the State is within its right to criminalise the acts of homosexuals in the interest of the nation.
In this connection, we can state that the draft bill on “Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values 2021” currently in Parliament is in the right direction, as it seeks to enact laws against criminal homosexual acts.
The bill aims to provide for proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values, proscribe LGBTQ+ and related activities, and provide for the protection of children, persons who are victims or accused of LGBTTQQIAAP+ and related activities, and other persons.
We commend our law makers for the effort and time spent on this bill. It is our hope that, when passed into law, it will indeed promote proper human sexual rights and authentic Ghanaian family values which are under threat from homosexual acts.
It is also the hope of the Church that the bill will impose punitive measures that are commensurate with the crimes committed.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you” (2 Corinthians 13:13 NRSV).
Signed
MOST REV. MATTHEW KWASI GYAMFI CATHOLIC BISHOP OF SUNYANI & PRESIDENT, GHANA CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE

News, Showbiz

A naked woman crossed his path – Edem’s management speaks on fatal accident, says rapper is fine

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The management of Edem has given its account of how the rapper was involved in a road accident, an incident which according to reports, has resulted in the death of a woman.

A statement issued by George Wiredu Duah, Head of Brands, Public Relations, and Corporate for VRMG, indicated that Edem escaped death when an unidentified woman unexpectedly crossed his path.

“On Sunday, 10th of December, the musician after his appearance on United Television had an accident on the George Walker Bush Highway, where a ‘naked’ woman crossed his path out of nowhere,” the statement read.

“Edem’s car turned upside down after the impact but the artiste is very fine. Edem is currently complying with the police service for due process as the case is still under investigation,” it added.

The statement further mentioned that Edem had guaranteed his readiness to aid in investigations whenever necessary.

“Edem has assured his availability to assist investigations when need be,” it said.

Edem in court

Earlier, Graphic.com.gh reported that Edem appeared before the Kaneshie District Court, on Monday, December 11, 2023, on charges related to an accident leading to the death of an identified woman.

According to the report, Edem was driving an unregistered Honda Touring vehicle at the time of the incident.

Edem was charged with two counts: careless and inconsiderate driving, and negligently causing harm.

During the court proceedings presided over by Nana Abena Asor Owusu Amenyo, the rapper did not enter a plea.

However, he was granted bail in the amount of GH¢50,000 with two sureties.

The court has scheduled his next appearance for February 15, 2024.

Source: Ghanaweb

News, Politics

NDC Group of Experts meet Ghana Federation of Labour

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Tema, Dec. 11, GNA – The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Group of Experts, known as the LAB, has engaged the leadership of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) on the modalities of the party’s proposed 24-hour economy, tagged as a “National Game Changer.”

Led by Professor Danso Boafo, they discussed the “24-hour economy, focus on reindustrialization, and job creation,” sought to share the NDC’s policy transformation agenda with players in the industrial sector, and offered stakeholders the opportunity to make an input into the party’s national development agenda.

The group also included Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, NDC Election 2020 Vice Presidential Candidate; Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, former Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection and some leading members of the NDC.

The two groups also discussed challenges facing workers, industry, and the general socio-economic crisis in which Ghana finds itself, while the NDC Expert Group used the opportunity to seek GFL’s views and inputs into the next NDC government’s proposed policies to transform the country.

The meeting deliberated on issues such as the current economic hardships occasioned by economic mismanagement, the effect of high taxes and utility bills on industries, and the consequential collapse of some companies and layoffs of workers.

The GFL applauded former President John Dramani Mahama, who is also the NDC flagbearer for Elections 2024, and the NDC’s proposed 24-hour economy policy.

The GFL also made proposals on how the policy can be implemented effectively to enhance productivity and create jobs for the benefit of Ghanaians.

The leadership of GFL emphasised the need to support distressed and collapsed industries under the 24-hour Economy Policy for job creation.

Both parties agreed to collaborate in exploring solutions to current socioeconomic challenges affecting workers and Ghanaians in general.

According to the GFL, the Ghanaian economy had ground to a halt, causing massive job losses because of systemic failures of economic policies.

”Extinction of trade unions is imminent if the current trend of reckless management of the fragile economy is not reversed and the manufacturing industries across all sectors of the economy (formal and informal, including business in byproducts) employ not less than 60 percent of the labour force in the country,” GFL stated.

During a presentation, Mr. Abraham Koomson, GFL Secretary General, noted that the 24-hour economy would boost the manufacturing industry through direct growth in the export economy, a reduction in the demand for foreign currency, and a stronger cedi forex relationship.

Mr. Koomson noted that it would also lead to an increase in employment and provide an attractive investment environment for foreign direct investment.

Speaking on policies for “Economic Transformation, Job Creation, and Workers’ Welfare,” the GFL Secretary General noted that the Agro industry apart from food production, served as a source of raw materials for the manufacturing industry.

Mr. Koomson noted that, looking at the state of the deteriorated economy, the revival of these industries could not happen overnight.

However, “with the commitment of the NDC as announced by former President Mahama, appropriate measures and interventions as suggested by the Federation should be considered.

“We will hasten the revival of industries across the country to create jobs to enhance the growth of the economy. Governments worldwide give a premium to the manufacturing industry because that is the growth cycle for the development agenda.

“The manufacturing industry can only grow and produce the expected added value if investors have the assurance of investment protection, growth, and uninterrupted continuity,” Mr. Koomson noted.

Mr. Koomson said “investments in land, plant, machinery, and related equipment for the comprehensive package of the manufacturing business required that the investment needed not less than an assured continuous operational period of 15 to 20 years to recoup, all other things being constant.

“The current piecemeal granting of zero VAT for locally manufactured textile products is as good as the uncertainty that characterises the investment in the industry.

“The government ought to promote investment assurance in the industry, which will also make the industry competitive. An uninterrupted relief period carries with it the assurance that every investor desires.

“The imposition of unhealthy and treacherous indirect taxes creates an unfavourable investment climate.”

He said the imposition of outrageous indirect taxes like excise and levies resulted in soaring prices of goods and services because such excise levies inflated the taxable base of goods. Even those consumed by the school going pre-teen and teen ages were not proofs of GDP growth but a destruction to the parental financial strength.

Mr. Koomson stressed that the recent expanded inclusion of certain products in the excise duty regime by the government was noticed to be killing productivity, resulting in the laying off workers and the closing down of factories because of extremely low sales in the face of higher production costs, amongst others.

source:  GNA

News, Politics

Anti-gay bill: Committee Chairman goes ‘AWOL’ as House begins consideration

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Chairman of the Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, who has been on the radar was conspicuously absent on Friday, December 8, 2023, during the consideration stage of the “Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values 2021” popularly known as the anti-gay bill.

His absence has fueled suspicions about possible complicity with opponents of the bill especially because the Chairman of the Constitutional Legal and Parliamen¬tary Affairs Committee, Kwame was earlier present in the Chamber.

This promoted the Ranking Member, Bernard Ahiafor, to take charge and lead the House in taking the bill through its amendment stage.

Mr Ahiafor had earlier joined one of the sponsors of the bill, Sam George, MP for Ningo Prampram in a ‘protest’ press conference against the decision of the sit in Speaker to defer the laying of the bill because of the Chairman’s absence.

The bill, which was initially scheduled for consideration on Wednesday, faced a setback when the First Deputy Speaker, Joe Osei-Owusu and the Majority leadership raised concerns about proceeding without the Committee Chairman. This decision led to frustration among the sponsors of the bill, who accused the Majority leadership of hindering its progress.

This compelled Samuel Nartey George, MP for Ningo Prampram, to raise suspicion, amidst threats to expose the NPP MPs allegedly influenced by LGBTQ+ advocates.

The development also triggered attacks on the Speaker of Parliament, Alban S.K. Bagbin who had vowed to supervise the passage for what, critics described as surprise feet dragging, amidst questions about his absence when he places much emphasis on his wish.

However, the Speaker re-assured the House on Thursday that the bill will be enacted before the Christmas recess.

On Friday, despite the Committee Chairman’s conspicuous absence, the Speaker announced the consideration stage, raising eyebrows given the prior advertising in the Order of Paper.
Speaker Bagbin maintained that the House could proceed with the bill’s consideration despite the Committee Chairman’s absence, and indeed, it did. The bill contains 17 proposed amendments, and the House addressed Clause 1, encompassing five amendments during the session.
The object of the Bill as contained in the memorandum accompanying the Bill, is to provide for proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values; proscribe LGBTQ+ and related activities; proscribe propaganda of, advocacy for or promotion of LGBTTQQIAAP+ and related activities; provide for the protection of and ensure the protection and support of individuals, especially children, associated with LGBTQ+ matters.

Busines, News

New restriction on MOMO transaction could derail digitization of Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises- ISSER

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The Institute of Statistics, Social, and Economic Research has indicated that the new restriction on mobile money (MOMO) transactions could derail the digitization of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises and progress in the cash-lite economy.

In a press statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, the Institute acknowledged that the proposed rate would have a minimal impact on small-value transactions.

However, ISSER noted that the move would adversely impact micro, small, and medium enterprises that rely on MoMo for their financial transactions.

“Worthy of attention is the potential impact on micro and small enterprises, especially traders and farmers within the agricultural value chains concentrated in rural areas. For these segments, especially traders and transporters of foodstuffs who rely on MoMo to address security concerns with carrying cash across the country, an increase in cost is likely to be transferred to consumers,” the statement said.

This move, the institute said, could be a trigger for both food and non-food inflation.
The institute raised concern that beyond the move to restrict MoMo transactions, the developing social media-driven e-commerce ecosystem, which relies on MoMo for payment, would also see the transfer of the revised charges to consumers.

“As service providers on the various e-commerce platforms will pass on the charges to consumers in the form of increased prices of goods and services,” the statement said.

In a joint statement copied to the media, MOMO agents around Ghana said they would implement a temporary measure that limits cash withdrawals to GHS 1,000 per transaction from December 1.
ISSER said that the potential impact of the restrictions might be significant, particularly for neglected and last-mile populations.

“On average, 76 percent of mobile money agents are within 30 minutes of consumers in rural areas. On the other hand, it takes 2 hours for over 50 percent of rural dwellers to reach an ATM, with only about 40 percent being able to reach a bank or microfinance in two hours,” the statement said.
This situation ISSER said that many MoMo users in rural areas, where ATMs, banks, and microfinance institutions were not an option, would be confronted with the option of either enduring the high transaction costs or resorting to cash.

 

 

 

Source: GNA