President of the Association, Samson Awingobit, said while the minister did not introduce any new taxes, they felt disappointed that the budget failed to drop the 2% special levy on imports. He explained that the government had promised to drop the 2% levy after collecting it for some time. The 5% special levy for banks to pay before tax on their profits introduced in the main budget was also not the best since it would have implications for businesses, and we wanted it to be dropped too. The Special Import Levy Act, 2013 (Act 861) (‘SILA’), which was introduced in 2013 to impose a 1% to 2% levy on the importation of specified goods, was meant to raise funds to stabilize the economy up to 2015. The Special Import Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2017 amended the Special Import Levy, Act, 2013 (Act 861) to remove the levy payable on specific imported goods.

Though I lost with over 2,000 votes in the 2020 election, I am hopeful that I will win with over 50 votes regardless of any candidate they bring on board. Even if they bring Joe Gyaakye Quayson or Asiedu Nketia, I will still win because I am the people’s choice,” she boasted, reports myjoyonline.com. She has also stated that this time around, she will not disappoint the NPP. Abena Durowaa Mensah added that while some people in the party, including the chairman and his cohorts, worked against her in 2020, she is more than determined to prove them wrong. She welcomed the ruling of the court and expressed hope towards the by-election, which is yet to be decided on.

minister, Apostle John Prah has revealed that he is no longer on social media because an individual promised to boost his Facebook page but ended up sharing pornographic content on his page. Narrating the incident on Akoma FM, Apostle Prah said he appointed a new social media manager with the intent of sharing gospel messages but was disappointed to find out that his Facebook was flooded with pornographic images. “There was this guy who was coming to my house to record some of my messages with the intention of putting them on Facebook. And even apart from this scenario, others too were using fake accounts to dupe people in my name and all those have discouraged me from being active on any of the social media platforms,” he disclosed. When asked about which measures he has taken to curb the situation, the actor said he has done everything possible but to no avail.

General News of Saturday, 31 July 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.comProfessor Peter Quartey, Head, Economics Division, Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, University of Ghana, says it is not strange that government did not ask for more money to spend. He said based on prevailing economic conditions, government could ask for more money to spend or stay put. Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance, presenting the budget to Parliament said, “I am not here today to ask for more money. I have not come to ask for more taxes. Prof Quartey called on Ghanaians to perform more participatory roles and pay their taxes to ensure that revenue came in for spending.

General News of Friday, 30 July 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.com• Kissi Agyebeng is to officially become the next Special Prosecutor• This is after Parliament approved him, following his vetting at the Appointments Committee of Parliament• He becomes the second Special Prosecutor, only after Martin Amidu, who resigned in November 2020Parliament has approved Kissi Agyebeng as Special Prosecutor. This was announced by the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, after he announced on the floor of the House that the "motion is adopted." By this, the nomination of Kissi Agyebeng as Special Prosecutor - the second in the history of the country, has been approved. The Appointments Committee of Parliament, after a grueling vetting of the nominee on Thursday, 22 July 2021, unanimously recommended the approval of Kissi Agyebeng for the position. Kissi Agyebeng has announced that he intends to guard his independence jealously in carrying out his mandate in terms of investigating, preventing, and prosecuting corruption cases, as well as managing seized, frozen, or confiscated properties, the report added.

General News of Friday, 30 July 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.com• The NDC running-mate wants to give Oswald an iPad• Oswald went viral for his ‘Our-day’ letter• A number of companies have reached out to the 9-year-old boyThe 2020 running-mate of the National Democratic Congress, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has promised to gift Oswald the popular 'Our-day boy' an iPad. 9-year-old Oswald’s letter to his mother requesting items for his 'Our-day’ went viral after a family friend posted a picture of the letter on Twitter. In an interesting development, the latest to add up to the number of items being donated to Oswald, is the former Education Minister, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang. The NDC running-mate for the 2020 General elections has promised to gift Oswald an iPad to help him in his studies. Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang made this known in a tweet.

General News of Friday, 30 July 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.comA youth-led advocacy group, Youth Bridge Foundation has called on the government to ensure that the National Development Planning Committee (NDPC) plays a vital role in youth development. The group in a statement issued in response to the finance minister’s 2021 mid-year budget presentation explained this was necessary for driving youth-centred economic and social development policies aligned with a national development agenda. “We applaud the government for taking the needed steps to deepen its engagement with the youth across the country. ““We also note with commendation the specific initiatives were undertaken to advance youth development but observe with regret how successive governments’ announcement of such special youth initiatives has not been sustained with a character of ad hoc or knee jerk responses to youth expectations,” the group noted. This is to promote growth in SMEs, support new ventures, and stimulate innovation and start-ups,” Ofori-Atta revealed.

He explained that the fact that the government has stated that it is not seeking approval from Parliament for more money to spend gives him the very reason to be concerned. “This is actually a gimmick of the century. He just started off by getting us excited unnecessarily because all the things he’s talking about are not going to happen. You have enough money to do that with the current climate we’re in?” he quizzed. Ken Ofori-Atta was in Parliament on Thursday, July 29, 2021, to read the 2021 Mid-Year Budget Review as part of his mandate, during which he said that they will not be seeking extra money to be spent in the year.

Salma was alleged to have secretly recorded and leaked a conversation she had with Moesha’s P.A in which he revealed damning secrets about her. A section of the public is of the view that Salma deliberately leaked the conversation to embarrass and spite the actress. But in a response, Salma has tearfully apologized for recording her conversation with Moesha’s P.A. Salma said she recorded the conversation because she had a strong conviction that Moesha’s personal assistant was up to something mischievous. It can be recalled that all efforts to reconcile Salma with her former best friend, Moesha proved futile.

George Opare Addo, the National Youth Organiser of the party, has offered to give the young boy a party card to join them. “Oswald is such a bright boy. His party card is ready, @NDCYouthWing is willing to pay his dues till he turns 18. With focus and time, he will not disappoint in managing our currency and be a better economist than @MBawumia,” he wrote. So far, the young boy has attracted juicy offers from big names in manufacturing and the private sector after the letter he wrote went viral.

Entertainment of Friday, 30 July 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.com• Portia Asare Boateng's first marriage ended three years ago• The actress said there was a divorce because she was not happy• She was exhilarated by her divorce from her first husbandActress Portia Asare Boateng, whose marriage journey with Rev John Wilberforce Aidoo ended three years ago, has disclosed that she was highly fulfilled when she finally exited the union. According to her, she was very unhappy while married to Rev Aidoo and was left with no choice but to make a “tough decision”. It was a personal journey. Portia who, according to reports, has remarried, further mentioned that the feeling after the divorce was indescribable though she pointed out that she celebrated the outcome. But this is something that I did that I’d say I even celebrated in my own quiet time.

Explaining that the government deserves no pat on the back for making a case that it does not want more money, he added that they missed an opportunity to win the people closer to it, reports citinewsroom.com. “Tell me one single relief that the Minister mentioned in this budget? He has already introduced nine taxes this year in the main budget, to the extent that they are even taxing LPG. During his address in Parliament yesterday, Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance minister, stated that “I am not here to ask for more money. I have not come to ask for more taxes.

Sports News of Friday, 30 July 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.comGhana’s only female swimmer at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, Unilez Takyi has been eliminated from the Women's 50m Freestyle. Unilez who took part in the Heat 5 race came last in the swimming event after finishing with a time of 27.85 seconds. Cameroon swimmer, Milanesi Ne topped the Heat 5 race with a time of 26.41. The female swimmer who raced in lane two was ranked 57 out of 81 swimmers who participated in the Round of 32 event. Unilez is the latest Ghanaian athlete to have exited the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

General News of Friday, 30 July 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.comCorrespondence from Upper West Region"The deviant sexual activities of lesbians, gays, transgender, queers, e.t.c. are banned in the Waala traditional area with immediate effect, " Overlord of the Waala Traditional Area, Naa Fuseini Pelpuo IV, has declared. The situation may sink beyond salvaging by the time our august House takes a stand on it," the Wa Naa explained. He said the press conference became necessary due to the increasing activities of the LGBTQI+ in the traditional area that was fast gaining grounds and therefore needed to take action to protect his subjects. The Wa Naa posited that apart from being forbidden by all the major religions, homosexuality is also frowned upon and forbidden by the culture and traditions of the people.

Business News of Friday, 30 July 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.comGovernment through the Ministry of Tourism is seeking to provide capacity training and support for some 10,000 Small Medium Enterprises in the tourism industry. The move, according to the sector minister, Dr Awal Mohammed would be realised through the allocation of investment worth GH¢120 million. Speaking at the 3rd African Youth in Tourism Innovation Summit and Challenge in Accra, Dr Awal Mohammed said the seed capital will also go towards the expansion and growth of jobs in the sector. He added that government has targeted 30,000 SMEs for this initiative in the long term with an immediate plan to start with 10,000 of these enterprises. Meanwhile about 70 percent of Ghana’s SMEs contribute to the overall GDP growth of the economy.