President Akufo-Addo’s call for the strengthening of the existing collaboration between the state and the church to accelerate the development and progress of the country is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called for the strengthening of the existing collaboration between the state and the church to accelerate the development and progress of the country.
He said the country, over the years, had relied on the church in informing the congregants on nation-building and also embrace the importance of the social implication of the Gospel as it relates to national cohesion and the relationship between spirituality and work ethics.
Speaking at the 28th National and 16th Biennial Congress of the National Union of Ghana Catholic Diocesan Priests Association yesterday, the President reiterated his strong belief in the “positive relationship between Church and State”.
“In the course of my presidency, I have relied on your support in seeking your intercession to address the myriad of challenges that we have gone through together as a nation, prominent among which was the management of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
He recalled when in March 2022, he hosted a breakfast meeting for all religious leaders at the presidency and called for all to join together and pray to the Almighty God to protect the nation, heal the land and save the country from this pandemic, which God heard and answered.
President Akufo-Addo urged the Church to continue with the prayers for the country to surmount the current socioeconomic challenges.
He reiterated his determination to see to a prosperous Ghana where justice and peace were embraced, where the common good was safeguarded and promoted.
“It is important that all of us, priests and laymen, continue to uphold the democratic values whose application has produced this healthy result, and which provide us with the most effective means of resolving our contemporary difficulties and thereby preserving the freedom, progress, stability and unity of our nation,” he added.
The newspaper says that the Bank of Ghana has authorised nine institutions to serve as Foreign Exchange (FX) Brokers.
They are Black Star brokerage, CSI, Capital, Fenics MD, ICAP African brokers limited, Obsidian Acherner, Regulus, Sarpong Capital, Savvy Securities and Terika financial services limited.
The authorisation takes effect from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023, a statement signed by Mrs Sandra Thompson, the Secretary, Bank of Ghana said.
The Bank of Ghana shall publish a list of approved local and international FX Brokers on its website”.
The Graphic also reports that MTN Mobile Money Limited, a subsidiary of MTN Ghana, has effectively implemented the new Bank of Ghana (BoG) daily and monthly limits on mobile money transactions.
It is part of measures to facilitate more efficient payments and encourage a seamless transition to a cash-lite society.
A press release issued in Accra by MTN MoMo last Wednesday (Jan 4, 2023) said the wallet transaction limit increase would facilitate efficient payments, encourage greater seamless transition into a cash-lite society and promote more digital payments.
“Customers with daily transaction limits of GH¢1,000, GH¢5,000 and GH¢10,000 have had their limits increased to GH¢2,000, GH¢10,000 and GH¢15,000 respectively.
“Additionally, account balance limits of GH¢2,000, GH¢15,000 and GH¢ 30,000 have been increased to GH¢3,000, GH¢30,000 and GH¢50,000 respectively.
Further to these increases, monthly transaction limits for customers with Medium and Enhanced KYC are limitless while customers with Minimum KYC have a limit of GH¢6,000,” the release said.
The acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mobile Money Limited, Shaibu Haruna, in the release said MTN MoMo was delighted over the upward reviews approved by BoG.
This, he said, followed engagements to assess the possibilities of reviews to enhance digital payments and ultimately drive the cash -lite agenda.
The Ghanaian Times says that the National Security has stated that the foreigners at the centre of the “blame game” between the Ghana Police Service (GPS) and Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) are not missing, but have been repatriated to their respective countries since September, last year.
It clarified that they were 47 African nationals who were arrested for allegedly engaging in illegal Network Marketing (QNET) in the Ashanti Region and not “48 alleged terrorists” as reported yesterday.
This was contained in a GIS report on the matter made available to the Ghanaian Times yesterday by the National Security to clarify a report on the issue on Thursday.
Dated January 5, 2023, the document said the 47 expatriates included 33 Cameroonians, six Burkinabes, five Senegalese, two Chadians and one person from Central African Republic.
The National Security noted that 27 of them were arrested at Ekyem and Akokoamong, near Ejisu, by the Ejisu Municipal Immigration Command on September 25, 2022, for the alleged QNET, referred to the Ashanti Regional Command and subsequently repatriated to their various home countries on September 26 and 27, 2022.
The remaining 20 were arrested at Achiase, near Ejisu, by the Formed Police Unit (FPU) of the Ashanti Regional Police Command and were referred to the Ashanti Regional Command, following which they were repatriated to their various home countries on September, 29, 2022.
The report said the African nationals were repatriated through Hamile in the Upper West Region, and Aflao in the Volta Region.
The Ghanaian Times on Wednesday reported that confusion had erupted over the whereabouts of 48 foreigners who were arrested in connection with alleged terrorism and other fraudulent acts in September, last year.
While the police claimed the suspects were handed over to the GIS in the Ejisu Municipality to deal with them, the GIS insisted the police handled the matter.
A police source at the Ejisu Divisional Police Command told the Ghanaian Times in a follow-up exercise that the operation to arrest the suspects was carried out by the GIS.
However, the Ejisu Commander of the GIS, Deputy Superintendent of Immigration (DSI) Alfred Nii Boye Lartey, when contacted on phone, claimed the suspects were dealt with by the police.
InDrive, a global mobility and urban services platform, has started operating in Ghana.
The company currently operates in over 700 cities in 47 countries, including Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, and Namibia.
A statement issued by inDrive on its launch and operations in Ghana and copied to the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday said a distinctive feature of inDrive was its peer-to-peer pricing model, where the passenger and the driver agree on the fare and other details of the ride directly.
It said, “Agreements are final and do not change depending on distance, whether conditions or traffic congestion”.
“The inDrive app has been downloaded over 150 million times, making it the second most downloaded mobility app in the world. Unlike other ride hailing companies, inDrive does not use pricing algorithms and does not increase trip fares during rush hours,” the statement said.
It said drivers could select the requests they accept by passenger rating and user reviews, adding that drivers always saw the destination prior to accepting the ride request.
The statement said inDrive’s fair approach to pricing stems from the company’s mission of challenging injustices.
“inDrive will not charge a service fee during the first stage of the launch in Accra. This means drivers who join the platform will be able to earn even more,” the statement, said.
