General News of Monday, 9 August 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.com• Koku Anyidoho's spat with his former boss continues• He claims the General Secretary must be charged for anti-party conduct• The charge relates to Assin North primaries where an 'ineligible' candidate was cleared to run on the party's ticketKoku Anyidoho has alleged that a General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress, NDC, must be blamed for allowing a "stranger" to contest a parliamentary primary. The former presidential spokesperson did not mention which General Secretary he was referring to - be it the national, regional or constituency level scribe. "What is more anti-party conduct than a General Secretary unilaterally throwing away a petition in relation to dual citizenship & allowing a "stranger" to win primaries only for the Party to be on the brink of losing a Seat in Parliament?" The embattled MP has since filed an appeal to the ruling and continues to attend to Parliamentary duties pending the hearing of his appeal. Anyidoho's reference to anti-party conduct is relative to a terminology that the NDC has used in the last few months to expel three popular members - himself, Allotey Jacobs and Stephen Atubiga.

General News of Monday, 9 August 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.com• Ghana had a poor outing in the just ended Olympic Games• Out of five sporting disciplines, only boxing earned Ghana a bronze medal• Journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni believes witchcraft as a sport will earn Ghana gold in Paris 2024 OlympicsGhana had a poor outing at the hust ended 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan; winning one medal out of five disciplines the country participated in. The heroics of Samuel Takyi in boxing was the route that earned Ghana a bronze medal, our first medal in 22 years i.e. Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has however shared an idea of a sport that can win Ghana gold medals - "pulling people down" and witchcraft. "If the IOC introduces “abro” and “bayie” in the next Olympics, Ghana will win Gold medals," he posted on Twitter on Sunday, August 8. Ghana sent athletes for boxing, judo, swimming, athletics and weightlifting but it was only Takyi's boxing feat that secured the country a place on the podium.

This is the view advanced by a researcher in the area of harmful traditional practices, Professor John Azumah, the Executive Director of the Sanneh Institute. According to him legislation with achieve two ends of deterring potential accusers whiles providing a legal framework for prosecuting offenders and seeking justice for victims. In February 2021 during her vetting in Parliament, Gender Minister, Sarah Adwoa Safo said she will work to rebrand witch camps and empower inhabitants with government interventions. “If I am given the nod, what I will first do is to engage and visit some of the camps and engage these alleged witches. I will further engage the traditional authorities and opinion leaders in these areas to get a very clear picture of what indeed ought to be done.

General News of Monday, 9 August 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.comA former Central Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress, Bernard Allotey Jacobs has confessed to engaging in blackmail when he trumpted corruption allegations against former president John Agyekum Kufuor years ago. A newspaper at the time edited by Ambassador Victor Smith alleged that President Kufuor had collected a bribe of $5 million dollars from a Kuwaiti oil magnate. Years on, Allotey Jacobs has also admitted that trumpeting the allegations of Smith had nothing to do with facts but blackmail. Aside Smith and Allotey Jacobs, Kokrokoo host, Kwami Sefa-Kayi, noted that current Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin was also among those who propagated the untrue allegation. On the front of current politics, Allotey Jacobs – who has been expelled from the NDC – said his interest was to trumpet the good works of the current government because he wanted to see Ghana progress.

Sports News of Monday, 9 August 2021Source: ghanasoccernet.comAccra Hearts of Oak defeated Ashanti Gold in a nervy penalty shootout in the final of the 2021 2020/21 MTN Ghana FA Cup. Hearts of Oak captain, Fatawu Mohammed scored the first kick as Ashgold’s Richard Addai’s kick was saved by goalkeeper Richard Attah. However, Caleb Amankwa missed his penalty despite sending the keeper the wrong way, David Abagina also squandered his shortly after. In the sudden death, both teams scored 4 brilliant goals till Hearts of Oak’s Benjamin Afutu’s kick was saved by the Ashgold goalkeeper. Hearts of Oak have now won a double this season after winning the Ghana Premier League and now the MTN FA Cup.

This means that Ghanaian passport holders seeking to travel to Dubai will be permitted free entry into the UAE per the visa waiver agreement. According to details as contained in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Ghana and the UAE, the agreement comes with a mutual exemption of entry visa requirements with respect to diplomatic, service/special, and ordinary passport holders. Bryan Acheampong, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, presenting the report before parliament, explained that both Ghana and the UAE showed commitment to further foster bilateral relations. Acheampong revealed that the visa-free waiver agreement between the two countries does not come with obligations imposing Ghana-UAE to admit persons of questionable character into their terrains. Bryan Acheampong, however, clarified that the visa waiver agreement which will facilitate the travel of government officials and diplomats is common, except this new arrangement allows for ordinary passport holders to also benefit.

"You're managing the economy in a way to look at its impact on these variables; exchange rate, interest rate, inflation, and growth rate. That was NDC economic management." VerdictIndeed Dr. Bawumia is right with what he describes as prudent management of debt levels, and its positive impact on economic levels, or indicators. The average depreciation rate of 7.52% in the first term of the Akufo-Addo administration between 2017 and 2020, is the best depreciation rate for any first-term government in the 4th Republic, and it is second only to the best of 6.77% depreciation rate, which was recorded in the 2nd term of the Kufuor administration between 2005 and 2008. According to global economic analysts, Ghana's economic growth in 2021, is projected to increase to about 4%.

Owuahene Yiadom added that the said corruptible actions were detrimental to the history and chances of the Akufo-Addo and Ofori-Atta family in Ghana's political space going into the future. In his 14-minute-long outburst and expression of being betrayed by the current New Patriotic Party government, Angel Ofori-Atta singled out Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko claiming that the President's nephew, despite contributing little to the party's quest for power, has overly grown his influence thereby reaping overreaching benefits. However, in what seems to be a cryptic response, Gabby Otchere Darko in Facebook post has labeled Angel as an enemy within their family. In his rather short response to the myriad of allegations, Gabby wrote "famnemies. He is worried that the trend could have generational consequences to the extent that no member of the Ofori-Atta or Akufo-Addo family could rise to national political importance after the sitting president.

General News of Sunday, 8 August 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.com• Captain Smart offered libation to invoke the spirit of Kwame Nkrumah during the #FixTheCountry demonstration• A-Plus says he cannot make heads or tails out of the action• He insists that the demonstration was a mere health walkPolitical activist, Kwame Asare Obeng (A-Plus) has pooh-poohed Captain Smart’s libation pouring exercise during the #FixTheCountry demonstration. Captain Smart, clad in a white t-shirt with inscriptions, a red cap, and a Ghana flag around his neck, pleaded with Nkrumah to unleash wisdom on national leaders. Making a submission on UTV’s United Showbiz, Saturday, A-Plus who was conspicuously missing from the demonstration indicated that Captain Smart’s action was pointless. “Someone is pouring libation and invoking the spirit of Kwame Nkrumah. What is the plan of people to go and take assemblyman position so that they control the assembly?” A-Plus added.

A-Plus, convenor of The People's Project (TPP), without mincing words, labeled the exercise as “jogging” insisting that it had no focus. What is the plan of the youth knowing the assemblymen and district committee are the parliamentarians for the district assembly? What is the plan of people to go and take assemblyman position so that they control the assembly?” A-Plus added. Analyzing A-Plus’s submission, Halifax could not fathom why A-Plus refused to partake but asked his “boys” to join the protesters if indeed the exercise was needless. This resulted in an altercation with A-Plus resorting to the use of unprintable words.

Even before the incident, the suspect, Ehwea Ahonea, had been complaining about the man's change of attitude towards her. She said her late brother met the suspect in late 2019 and had been dating until the unfortunate incident. "She complained to me about the issue so I called my late brother for a solution to be reached. I told my late brother to see me so that we could resolve the issue but unfortunately, I couldn't meet him before his sudden demise. The Ellembelle District Police Command is appealing to the general public to assist them with any vital information to arrest the suspect who is at large.

General News of Sunday, 8 August 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.comOver the last few days, the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, has been taking on a lot of heat from persons of influence, as well as ordinary individuals, to do the honorable thing and resign. The nine-member bi-partisan parliamentary ad hoc Committee established, among other things, that Kwaku Agyeman-Manu lied under oath. Felix Kwakye Ofosu, former deputy ministerFormer deputy communication minister, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has charged the Akufo-Addo government to prosecute the health minister over the overpriced Sputnik V vaccine deal. Kwame Asiemoah Junior, Volta NDCA Deputy Regional Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress called for the resignation of the health minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu. He believed that Kwaku Agyeman-Manu must no longer be at post after he side-stepped due process in the botched procurement of Sputnik V vaccines.

Regional News of Sunday, 8 August 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.comCorrespondence from Ashanti regionResidents of Apre were thrown into a state of shock and mourning after finding the lifeless body of a man in an uncompleted building on Wednesday. After being absent for a while, residents of the area assumed he had been engaged for work elsewhere since he was a mason. A further investigation by GhanaWeb revealed that Kwaku Agyei had been divorced by his wife due to his frequent drunkenness. The nearby residents who were not at peace due to the stench from the decayed body, said the body was left in the uncompleted building until Friday where it was carried away. My brother just imagine a dead body that's believed to had started rotten from Monday up to Friday," he said.

Business News of Sunday, 8 August 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.com• Government is seeking avenues to introduce flat taxes for specific income earners• Finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta said the move forms part of government's revenue generation efforts• The GRA has recorded a shortfall in revenue mobilization for the first half of 2021Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has indicated that government is looking at avenues to introduce flat taxes meant for specific income earners in Ghana. Flat taxes come in the form of a single rate tax placed on a taxable amount after accounting for any deductions or exemptions from an initial tax base. “We are also contemplating maybe some issues of flat taxes for some categories of incomes so that everybody participates," the finance minister said. Already, the Ghana Revenue Authority has recorded a shortfall in its revenue mobilization efforts for the first six months of 2021. The revenue arm of government has collected GH¢25.89 billion in tax revenue as against GH¢26.1 billion targeted for the period, resulting in a GH¢212 million shortfall.

Soccer News of Sunday, 8 August 2021Source: goal.comLionel Messi was in floods of tears at his final press conference as a Barcelona player as he confirmed that a move to Paris Saint-Germain "is a possibility". "A lot of things have been said about me, but on my behalf we did everything I could because I wanted to stay. The Argentine was also asked if reports of Paris Saint-Germain being his most likely next destination are true, to which he responded: “Paris Saint-Germain is a possibility, yes. "At the moment nothing is confirmed, I received a lot of calls after the Barcelona statement. Messi departs Barcelona as their all-time top-scorer with 672 goals to his name from 778 appearances across all competitions.