Inside SEPTEMBER 7, 2020 edited

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Inside SEPTEMBER 7, 2020.qxp_Layout 1 06/09/2020 21:57 Page 86THSEPTEMBER2020MONDAYCURRENCY PARIS CODE BUYING SELLINGUS Dollar USDGHS 5.6646 5.6702RATES Pound Sterling GBPGHS6.99917.0084EuroGBPGHS6.35776.364910DAILY HERITAGE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2020WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GHVisa, StanChart launch ‘Safe isSmart’ campaignBY SENANU DAMILOLA WEMAKORVISA AND Standard CharteredBank last Friday, launched a nationwidecampaign to educate and promotethe adoption of e-commercein Ghana through secure and seamlesspayment solutions offered bythe Bank.The ‘Safe is Smart’ campaignseeks to sensitize and encourage thepublic and clients of Standard Chartered(SC) to adopt e-commercewith their Visa debit or credit cardsand the SC Mobile App, solutionsthat are not only safe but enjoyableto use.In the wake of the Covid-19pandemic, e-commerce demand hasrisen exponentially and the ‘Safe isSmart’ campaign demonstrates thecommitment of the two companiesto provide greater convenience tobusinesses and individuals duringand after the pandemic.Bossman Kwapong, Head, Productsand Segments, Retail Banking at• To promote adoption of e-commerce in GhanaStandard Chartered Bank, saidthat the Bank is always lookingfor ways to live up to its brandpromise ‘Here for Good’ andwill continue to trailblaze digitalrevolution in the banking industryby providing the best digitallifestyle for its clients.He noted that “To the Bank,payments represent the life forceof Ghana’s economy and wehave collaborated with Visa, theworld’s leader in digital payments,to continue delivering increasinglyconvenient andseamless payment capabilitiesthrough our fully digital bank onmobile – SC Mobile App. Thiscampaign is timely because ourclients will get to know the safeand smart ways of transactingthrough Standard Charteredduring and beyond COVID-19”.Commenting on the partnership,Adoma Peprah, the CountryManager for Visa, indicatedthat “Visa remains committed todelivering safe, secure and reliablepayment solutionsthat meet the needs ofmerchants and theircustomers. We hopethat this campaign willhelp the public learnhow to fully harnessthe potential of e-commerce.”Through this partnership,customers anywhereanytime willbenefit from the abilityto use their StandardChartered Visa cards orthe SC Mobile App tomake online purchaseand payment for theire-learning subscriptionsto keep the childrenactive at home,daily essentials, groceryshopping, weekenddate nights, specialtreats and any other essentialpayment.“In addition to thesafe and secure onlinepayments, our customers can simplystart earning points on every paymentmade using the card by registeringon the 360 rewards portal onthe SC Mobile App”, added Mr.Kwapong.According to a new “GlobalShopping Index” report publishedby Salesforce, the number of uniquedigital shoppers rose 40% year-onyear.Digital shoppers drove 20%revenue growth compared to 12% in2019. A 2018 Global Payments Reportby McKinsey & Company, e-payment volumes exceeded $3trillion in 2017 and will more thandouble by 2022.“We recognize that the impact ofCOVID-19 continues to reshapemuch of our daily lives so we’reworking with our partners to ensurethat our capabilities are made widelyavailable and updated specifically tohelp meet today’s challenges. We willdo this not only during the challengingperiod but more so as our worldgets moving again”, noted Adoma.Council urges government to end activities of industrial pair trawlersTHE GHANA National CanoeFishermen Council has called onPresident Nana Addo DankwaAkufo-Addo to direct all industrialpair trawlers to land their catches atthe two designated ports of Temaand Takoradi as was done in 2018.The move, the Council noted,would help the Ministry of Fisheriesand Acqua Culture Developmentand the Fisheries Commission officersto assess the landings of thetrawlers and to identify vessels withjuveniles or small pelagics.The Council said the presence ofobservers on the vessels, the CCTVcameras onboard and the VesselMonitoring Systems (VMS) of theMonitoring and Control SurveillanceDevice (MCSD) would ensure thatthe trawlers did not dump theircatch on the high seas.This was contained in a press releaseissued by Western RegionalChairman of the GNCFC, NanaEmmanuel Odwire and RegionalSecretary, Mr Mike Abakah-Eduafter a meeting at Axim.The statement said if such measureswere taken by the President "itwill compel the trawlers to catchwhat they have been licensed tocatch" and put to rest the illegaltranshipment at sea otherwiseknown as "Saiko".The Council noted that Saikowas one of the most damagingforms of illegal fishing, which deprivedthousands of fishers and thedependents of their livelihoods andthereby threatening Ghana's foodsecurity.The Council, therefore, extendedits appreciation to President NanaAkufo-Addo for his confirmationduring his recent tour to the CentralRegion that "Saiko is illegal and hisgovernment is committed to endingit to save the livelihoods of the over2.7 million Ghanaians who depend•The leadership of the Ghana National Canoe FishermenCouncil addressing the mediaon fishing".The GNCFC also commendedPresident Nana Akufo-Addo on thekey steps his government had takento strengthen the enforcement unitsto improve their efficiency in enforcingthe laws."The Council is ready to providefurther eyes on the sea as we undertakeour fishing expeditions and willreport suspected cases of illegaltranshipment to the marine police tomaximize the use of their limited resources."The statement said the appeal tothe President to end Saiko was informedby the poor catch of fishermenacross all the four coastalregions.The Council called for the enforcementof the existing laws asSaiko is prohibited under the Fisherieslaws of Ghana, the 2002 FisheriesAct 625 and the 2010 FisheriesRegulations LI 1968 which specificallyprohibits the transhipment offish from a Ghanaian industrial vesselto a canoe.It said the implementation of the2020 budget statement on Saiko is"more than adequate to address themother of all illegalities."The Council called on politicalparties to formulate policies thatwould address the issues of illegalfishing in the Fisheries sector. GNA
spread_ SEPTEMBER 7, 2020.qxp_SHOWBIZ TEMP 06/09/2020 21:49 Page 1NewsDAILYCSOs more activethan opposition– GyampoA SENIOR Lecturer at the University ofGhana, Political Science Department,Professor Ransford Gyampo has calledon the opposition NDC to sit-up and bemore active in keeping the governmenton its toes.According to Prof. Gyampo, CivilSociety Organisations (CSOs) haverecently been more vibrant inscrutinising the government than theopposition which he described asworrying.Prof. Gyampo who made this knownon Starr FM’s Analyses programme onSaturday also slammed governmentofficials who he says are suddenlyirritated by the work of the CSOs butwere comfortable with when they werein opposition.“I think that the CSOs are taking onregimes and I think that the CSO aredoing more than the opposition and theopposition must sit up,” Prof. Gyamposaid.He added “I commend on whatCSOs are doing and I call ongovernment to allow them to do whatthey are doing and once a upon a timethey were in opposition and used theplatform by CSOs and all of a suddenthey are in power and find faults withthem…I will say it is political hypocrisy.”His comments come after formerJournalist and a member of the NewPatriotic Party government, MadamElizabeth Ohene, in an article took aswipe at some CSO’s in the countrydescribing them as all-knowing neutrals.Her criticisms followed the uproar onthe Agyapa Royalties deal that thegovernment is seeking to implement.The Government last Friday deniedsuspending the Agyapa Royaltiestransaction.The Ministry of Finance whichissued the denial in a statement, said apublication claiming the suspension ofthe transaction after a meeting with CivilSociety Organizations (CSOs) is untrue.While acknowledging meeting withCSOs on September 2, 2020, as part ofefforts to broaden consultations andensure the buy-in of all Ghanaians forthe deal, the Ministry said no suchdecision was arrived at to suspend it.About the Agyapa dealParliament August 14th approved thecontroversial Agyapa Mineral RoyaltyLimited agreement with the governmentof Ghana despite a walkout by theMinority.Two years ago, the House passed theMinerals Income Investment Fund Act2018 which establishes the Fund tomanage the equity interests of Ghana inmining companies, and receive royaltieson behalf of government.The fund is supposed to manage andinvest these royalties and revenue fromequities for higher returns for thebenefit of the country.The law allows the fund to establishSpecial Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to usefor the appropriate investments. Lastmonth, government introduced anamendment to the act to ensure that theSPVs have unfettered independence.The approval will enable the countryto use a special purpose vehicle, AgyapaRoyalties Limited to secure about $1billion to finance large infrastructuralprojects.In line with that, Agyapa, which willoperate as an independent private sectorentity, will be able to raise funds fromthe capital market, both locally andinternationally, as an alternative to theconventional debt capital markettransactions.The funds, which are expected to beraised from the Ghana Stock Exchange(GSE) and the London Stock Exchange(LSE), will be a long-term capital,without a corresponding increase inGhana’s total debt stock and hencewithout a public debt repaymentobligation.•Professor Ransford Gyampo, a Senior Lecturer at the Political ScienceDepartment of University of GhanaTHE AYAWASO NorthPrivate SchoolAssociation (ANPSA)has urged all final yearBasic EducationCertificate Examination(BECE) candidates to make time fortheir books as they sit for the finalexamination this month.The exercise dubbed ‘Forum andCareer Guidance for BECECandidates’ was to motivate the finalyear students which attracted about 600final year students from 20 differentschools within the Ayawaso NorthMunicipality.Mr Daniel Nsiah, the monitoringand supervising director at theMunicipal Education Directorate saidthe forum was aimed at thedevelopment of the children.According to him, the 21st Centurystudents do not have time to studytheir books but spend most of theirtime playing with their mobile phones.“We are here to prepare thembefore they sit to write their finalexams”, he told the DAILYHERITAGE,Parent’s rolesMr Nsiah said some parents do nothave time for their children’sdevelopment, always pushing them toschool without making the time tocheck on them to find out how theyare performing.“Even though the money isimportant, if after getting the money,you realised that the child has goneastray, you will spend the money tostraighten the child,” he stated.“You cannot say I am fed-up withthe child and cannot cater for himagain,” Mr Nsiah said.He said if children know theimportance of education, they wouldnot joke with it, or say they will not goto school. Parents should identify thetalents of their children and not forcethem to do courses they don’t haveinterest in.Life after schoolMr Nsiah urged all the final yearHERITAGE, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2020 WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GHHave time for your books• ANPSA tells BECE candidatesBY PRINCE ESSIENstudents not to involve themselves insocial vices after school.“Our community is popularlyknown in social vices and we care somuch for their future so they shouldavoid bad friends which may lead theminto such acts”, he added.The BECE candidates were takenthrough some topics such asimportance of education, Examinationrules and regulation, marking, careerguidance, life after school andencouragement from some selectedrole models within the community.Some final year students whoattended the forum in an interviewwithDAILYHERITAGEthanked theAyawaso North Privateschools association for organizing suchforum.“We say a big thank you to all ourspeakers today for taking us throughsuch an important topics and forum.”C/R: Boy, 18, defiles andimpregnates girl,12Agyapa Royalties deal not suspended – Finance MinistryBY JONATHAN ADJEITHE MINISTRY of Finance hasdismissed claims that the controversialAgyapa deal has been suspended.The Technical Manager at PublicInterest and Accountability Committee(PIAC), Mr. Mark Agyemang had saidthat government would surely put onhold the controversial Agyapa Royaltiesdeal for further consultations to takeplace.This, according to him, came up inan adhoc meeting on Wednesday,September 2, 2020 between the CSOsand the Finance Minister.Confirming the decision bygovernment in an interview on Ghana• A cross section of the BECE candidates at forumKasa on Kasapa/Agoo T.V, MrAgyemang said he’s much convincedthat government will carry on with thetransaction, albeit rather cautiously as aresult of the controversy greeted withthe deal.“The Minister has agreed to put onhold the deal and start a consultativeprocess to digest the deal with therelevant stakeholders. We understandfrom the standpoint of the governmentthat the deal will come on by all means,however, they’ve reasoned with theCSOs and Ghanaians at large to pull thebrakes for now on the deal and do anextensive consultation,” he told hostBonohene Baffuor Awuah.But the Ministry in a statement,however, denied this claim insisting thesaid meeting never tabled for discussion•Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance• Mr Daniel Nsiah,Monitoring and SupervisingDirector at the MunicipalEducation Directoratesuspension of the deal.“The Ministry wishes to state that,the Agyapa Royalties transaction has notbeen suspended as is being reported onthe Ghanaweb portal. We wish to alsostate that Mr. Mark Agyemang,Technical Manager of the PublicInterest and Accountability Committee,who is purported to have said this in aninterview with Starr FM, was not in thismeeting,” the Ministry’s statement said.The Ministry explained that thegovernment and the Civil SocietyOrganisations (CSOs) only deliberatedon issues relating to transparency andengagement over the deal at the saidmeeting.“The meeting with the CSOs wasone such consultation and the Ministryagreed with them to further broaden theAN 18-YAR-OLD man known asOkai has allegedly defiled andimpregnated a 12-year-old girl at AssinHomaho-Domeabra in the Assin SouthDistrict of the Central Region.According to the girl, the youngman slept with her for about fiveconsecutive times in a classroom.Okai, has since gone into hidingafter it emerged that the girl has takenseed and his alleged nefarious deedshave been exposed.Information gathered byKASAPA FM suggest thatOkai is fond of defilingyoung girls in thecommunity andusually goes intohiding wheneverhe does that.He onlycomes backwhen the casehas beendeclared‘foolish’ by thepolice.The family ofthe victimexplained that thecase has been reportedto Domestic Violenceand Victim Support Unit ofthe Ghana Police Service, but theabsence of Okai has caused the case tobe put on hold.They are however calling on thePolice Service and the general public tohelp find Okai and bring him to book.Meanwhile, the Assin South policehave begun an investigation into thematter.consultations and to solicit further inputfrom them and other Ghanaianconstituencies going forward,” thestatement added.Meanwhile, the Minority hasthreatened to take the fight against thecontroversial Agyapa Royalties deal tothe London Stock Exchange.According to the minority, theAgyapa deal is clouded with lack oftransparency.“We will today [last Tuesday] put theLondon Stock Exchange and theFinancial Conduct Authority on noticethat this agreement does not meet theminimum requirement of diligence andtransparency and minimumrequirements of our constitution,” Mr.Iddrisu stated.C/R: Boy, 18,defiles andimpregnatesgirl,12AN 18-YAR-OLD manknown as Okai hasallegedly defiled andimpregnated a 12-year-oldgirl at Assin Homaho-Domeabra in the AssinSouth District of theCentral Region.According to the girl,the young man slept withher for about fiveconsecutive times in aclassroom.Okai, has since goneinto hiding after itemerged that the girl hastaken seed and his allegednefarious deeds havebeen exposed.Information gatheredby KASAPA FM suggestthat Okai is fond ofdefiling young girls in thecommunity and usuallygoes into hidingwhenever he does that.He only comes backwhen the case has beendeclared ‘foolish’ by thepolice.The family of thevictim explained that thecase has been reported toDomestic Violence andVictim Support Unit ofthe Ghana Police Service,but the absence of Okaihas caused the case to be•File Photoput on hold.They are howevercalling on the PoliceService and the generalpublic to help find Okaiand bring him to book.Meanwhile, the AssinSouth police have begunan investigation into thematter.The family ofthe victimexplained thatthe case hasbeen reportedto DomesticViolence andVictim SupportUnit of theGhana PoliceService, but theabsence of Okaihas caused thecase to be puton hold.
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