“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1-5).

Dear brethren, a very warm welcome to the month of December. Yes! It is that time of the year where the spirit of Christmas hovers all over us.  Oh, what excitement awaits us in the next few days! Have you noticed how this season is filled with so much love? Lovers jumping over themselves to get the best gift for the love of their lives, parents generously gifting their children, children showering gifts on their parents, and so the list goes on… It is in doubt a season where a lot of LOVE goes round.

This week, we will take a look at a much greater LOVE for which we truly celebrate Christmas. It is a love story that beats any human imagination. A love so pure, so divine and so precious.

Globally on December 25, Christians will be celebrating the birth of the Messiah. While there is no contest about the fact that the birth of Christ is a significant and miraculous event (born of a virgin), that is NOT the primary focus.  The central truth of the Christmas story is simply this: it is all about God’s redemptive plan for mankind.

The Christmas story is not about Jesus’ infancy; it is all about His Deity. The Child’s lowly birth was never intended to shroud the reality that God was descending from heaven above into our world on earth below. Sadly, contemporary versions have made it exactly so. Thus, Christmas has no legitimate meaning at all. No wonder humanity and some Christians alike tend to see Christmas as a festive season for merrymaking, shopping sprees and other trivial celebrations such as focusing on Santa Claus and Father Christmas.

Can you offer any explanation what it means for God – the Creator of the Universe and Owner of all therein, to be born in a manger filled with hay?

The good news is:  God did. He descended from heaven above into our world, took on a penalty that was rightfully ours to receive and reconcile us back to Himself.

In Genesis 1 & 2, we see an account of the creation of our world and God’s purpose for man. Man was created in God’s image and was to take dominion over all of God’s creation. They were to reproduce, be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. Every plant and tree was provided for their food. However, in Genesis 2: 16-17, God commanded man saying “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.  The fruit of all but one tree was provided for Adam and Eve to eat. The “tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” though pleasing to look at and good for food, was not good for man. Eating its fruit would give the partaker a knowledge of good and evil, but it would also certainly produce his or her death.

As events unfold later, the serpent deceived Adam and his wife Eve into eating the fruit that God had clearly commanded them not to eat.   By this singular act of disobedience, man was separated from and cursed by God. The curses of Genesis 3:14-19 included not only Adam, Eve, and the serpent but also their offspring. It did not take long to see the consequences of these curses in the life of Adam and Eve, as well as in their offspring. The first murder of the world is recorded in the Bible with the killing of Abel by his brother Cain. (The first two sons of Adam and Eve). Things went from bad to worse and has trickled down to this present generation.

God after seeing great wickedness on the earth, decided to wipe mankind from the face of the earth. However, because his love for his own creation made in his own image and likeness was so strong, he put in motion a redemptive plan. He began his plan of redemption through one righteous man Noah. With very specific instructions, God told Noah to build an ark for himself and his family in preparation for a catastrophic flood that would destroy every living thing on earth. However, Noah and his family will be saved. One might expect that the situation would improve after the flood. It did not. Noah became drunk, resulting in the curse he pronounced on Canaan, his grandson (Genesis 9:25-27). By Genesis 11, men join together to disobey the divine command to Noah and his descendants to disperse and populate the earth (9:1). Things went from bad to worse and has trickled down to this present age. God nevertheless, had the ultimate redemptive plan.

Clearly, the fall of Adam and Eve caused a separation between man and God, but with the birth of Jesus Christ who is the last Adam, God reconciles us to Himself. The Apostle Paul tells us in his first letter to the church in Corinth, “The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:45-49).

Prophecy about the birth of Christ

Scripture is ripe with prophecies foretelling the coming of this Last Adam or if you wish to, The Messiah who will later become a perfect sin offering in our stead. “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).  Descendants of King David were told by the Prophet Isaiah that a virgin will be pregnant and give birth to a child. The Child he said, will be called “Immanuel” which means, “God with us”. Thus, in saying that “the Lord Himself will give you a sign” Isaiah in this context meant that it was a sign from God Himself. This promised birth supposed the preservation of that city, and nation and tribe, in and of which the Messiah was to be born; and therefore, there was no cause to fear that ruin which their enemies now threatened.

The Prophet Micah also sometime between 750 -686 BC prophesied that Bethlehem would be the birthplace of the Messiah. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting (Micah 5:2)

The book of Genesis also foretells that the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah. Jacob told his son Judah that his descendants would be rulers and that one of his descendants will be an ultimate ruler. “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people (Genesis 49:10)

Prophecy Fulfilled

Fast forward to the New Testament where Matthew and Luke give a vivid account of the birth of Jesus, who was born about 700 years after Isaiah’s prophecy. (Isaiah between the periods 701 – 681 BC addressed the house of David).  Matthew records the genealogy of Jesus Christ proving that the Messiah did come from David’s lineage as foretold by Isaiah “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham … ^So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations (Matt. 1: 1:25).  In fulfillment of the prophecy, a virgin named Mary after the visitation by Angel Gabriel, gave birth to a child and named him Immanuel who is the Son of God. What this means is that because he is the Son of God, literally, Jesus can be referred to as “God with us”.

Again, in the New Testament, Matthew and Luke record the town of Bethlehem as the birthplace of Jesus. “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King… (Matthew 2:1-6).

The prophecy of Jacob while blessing his twelve (12) sons is fulfilled 2000 years after his death.  Christians acknowledge the prophecy of Jacob as a reference to Jesus Christ, whose kingdom will have no end. Jesus was born about 2000 years after Jacob died. Jesus’ ancestry is traced back to Jacob’s son, Judah, in Luke 3:23-34 and in Matthew 1:1-16.

We shall continue next week, with the Christmas story.

Until then

Be Blessed!

The over one hundred Ghanaian migrants who were rescued from Libya have appealed to the government to assist them with viable jobs that can sustain them. 

Over 160 of them detained in Libya were expected back home after government facilitated their release from the Libyan authorities.

Some of the returnees who spoke to journalists at the Kotoka International Airport where some 127 of them touched down Wednesday night, recounted some of their worst nightmares.

One of them said the trip was deadly as Libyan children even robbed immigrants at gunpoint and some of the travellers were killed on the desert.

For many of them, it was a story of a failed journey to Europe in which they could only count their losses.

Ansah, 28, was on his way to Italy through the Mediterranean Sea when he was arrested and subjected to months of torture.

“When they caught me on the sea, they took me to an uncompleted building where I stayed for six months. They only gave us one meal a day at 2:00 p.m., and the water they gave us was salty water,” he told the reporter.

The terribly disgruntled gentleman said there were17 of them in detention but seven people died.

Another victim said some of us were sold for $3000 or less where your owner would brutalise you and not pay you for the work you do for him/her.
Some were even shot in the leg.

In a move to help the returnees to settle and reintegrate into society, the Country Director of International Organisation for Migration (IOM), said they will help them to reach their homes in a dignified manner.
Silvia Lopez said “we will do what we can to help them integrate into society.”

One of the returnees who said he used to make and sell tomato boxes patronised by tomato sellers who travel to Burkina Faso to buy the vegetables, said he will need some capital to set up on a large scale.

“The GH¢440 given to us is inadequate and these clothes I am wearing now, I am ashamed to take it home,” the returnee said.

Story: Franklin ASARE DONKOH

Writer’s email: franklin.asaredonkor@todaygh.com

Ministry of Education is in talks with the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to ensure that from 2018, the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) will be written in May.

This is to ensure that the full nine terms of teaching and learning are fully exhausted by students as required by the syllabus.

Speaking at the Meet-The-Press series yesterday, Minister of Education, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, said the change was expected to improve results of final year students since they would have adequate time to prepare.

“The SHS syllabus is for nine terms, three terms in a year, so we envisage that by the time the child has finished the nine terms, he or she would be ready to take the West African Senior School Certification Examination. The West African Senior School Certification Examination starts in February, which is the second term, and finishes just the first week in the third term, so it means that the whole of the second term they lost teaching and learning to exams and they never had any teaching and learning for the third term. Meaning that three terms out of the nine wasted, so it was six terms they were using for a syllabus that said nine terms. No wonder the results were poor,” he said.

The minister noted that his outfit had met WAEC over the issue, adding that “we’ve agreed with the West African Examination Council that we don’t want to start the exams in February…so this year we hope that the WAEC will start the exams sometime in May…so that we would have covered the nine terms before the students start exams.”

Successive governments toyed with the duration of Senior High School in Ghana.

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor’s government changed the three year SHS duration system in 2007 to four years, due to similar concerns being raised by Opoku Prempeh.

But the National Democratic Congress (NDC) reversed it to three years, claiming the four-year duration brought undue hardships to parents.

It appears the Akufo-Addo government is seriously considering extending the length to four years again.

The Minister of Planning, Professor Gyan Baffour, in September 2017 revealed that, government was monitoring the three-year SHS system to inform a possible review back to four years.

“The time lost, we have to make it up. That is the first thing that we are trying to do now, and based on that, we can now use the analysis that they do after that time, to see what the public thinks and to decide on whether we move for three years or four years,” he added.

Story: News Desk

Four new award categories have been added to the existing farmers’ awards categories for this year, Public Relations Officer of the Ashanti regional Coordinating Council, Mr Gabriel Amoah, has revealed.

The four are Best Male Farmer, Best Disabled Farmer, Best National Youth Farmer and Best Aqua Culture Farmer.

The new categories, according to Mr Amoah, have been added as a result of government’s introduction of the Farming for Food and Jobs.

He said it was aimed at enticing more youth into the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative which has already received tremendous response from youth of various parts of the country.

For the first time in the history of the National Farmers’ Day celebrations in the country, there is not going to be ceremonies in the various regions as it has been done in years past.

According to Mr Amoah, each region will present five farmers for various awards in Kumasi where the national celebration is going to be held today.

This would be in addition to 17 other farmers to be recognised and awarded at the national level, bringing the total number of farmers to be awarded to 67.

Also for the first time in the history of the celebration, there was a week-long activity to herald the national awards and celebration.

The ceremony, which was launched last week Friday by the Vice President, H.E. Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has continued from then till today.

Two regions were given the opportunity each day to showcase their agricultural potential and some of their traditional foods that both regions are associated with.

There was also an exhibition by several agro-based companies to showcase their agro- chemicals, heavy farm equipment, organic farm produce among others.

Exciting cultural displays from the two regions for the day was always the icing on the cake for patrons.

Organisers for this year’s celebration have also announced that there was going to be a float through some principal streets of Kumasi early in the morning before the main even at the Heroes Park, near Baba Yara Stadium.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and a high-powered delegation from the Manhyia Palace are among several dignitaries expected to grace the occasion.

Story: From James Appiakorang Jnr., Kumasi, Ashanti Region

Writer’s email: nananie555@gmail.com

Broadband Communications Chamber (BBCC) has held its maiden Broadband Ghana Forum (BBG) yesterday at the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel in Accra.

The one-day event, on the theme: “Broadband: The Catalyst for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development,” sought to initiate a public dialogue on how to revamp Ghana’s five-year-old broadband policy.  It was organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications and supported by the BBCC, an industry advocacy and lobbying group, for the development and expansion of the broadband industry in Ghana.

In his welcome address, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BBCC, Mr Elorm Gustav Tamakloe, said that the forum will address key issues such as factors hindering digitisation in Ghana, the onset of new technologies, hindrances to innovation, and many others.

He noted that the event was to initiate a public dialogue on how to review and revise Ghana’s five-year old broadband policy to complement the digital Ghana Agenda. “This, according to Mr Tamakloe, is to support the development and expansion of the broad-band industry in line with United Nation (UN) Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development and Government of Ghana’s strategy of rapid broadband penetration and development.

“In today’s world, brandband is a critical part of any national development agenda that will drive economic growth, productivity and job creation.

It is is absolutely essential for Ghana’s economic future, longterm productivity growth and global economic competitiveness. “With broadband infrastructure, delivery of voice, video and data at ultra-high-speed yield numerous benefits including productivity improvement, better health and education services and efficient government services.” he averred.

The forum featured series of presentations by key personalities and organisations, under the sub-theme: ‘True Broadband and the possibilities it brings.” Some of these key personalities and organisations included Dr Thomas Mensah, renowned Ghanaian inventor of fiber optic technologies, Nokia, Huawei and CSquared, Google’s African Broadband infrastructure company.

The forum also aimed at recommending guidelines and modalities for the complete review and update of the existing policy, taking into consideration new entrants and technologies in the Broadband industry. 

Story: Freeman KORYEKPOR AWLESU 

Writer’s email freeman.koryekpor@today.gh.com

President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kwesi Nyantakyi, has said his outfit will stop the payment of bonuses in the future to players of the nation’s male U-17 national team, Black Starlets.

The recent crop of Black Starlets players who took part in the African U-17 Championships and the World Cup in India were given USD 8,000 as rewards for their exertions in the two tournaments.

Ghana finished second in the African tournament and made it to the quarterfinals of the world cup before being dumped out by Mali.

The finances handed out to the players led to a lot of public debate and Nyantakyi has revealed that the move will not be repeated in future.

“We agree that we need to focus on the necessary things of life and for the young players, these things are food, clothing, shelter and education.

“We should move away from the practice of giving young players thousands of dollars. These boys tend to misuse the amounts of money given to them.

A new crop of U-17 players is set to be put together for the qualifiers for the 2019 African U-17 tournament which will be played in Tanzania.

A host for the 2019 U-17 World Cup is expected to be determined by FIFA by the close of 2017 or early 2018.

Source: Citifmonline

Loyalty Insurance Company is partnering the National Blood Service to ensure the constant supply of blood in the country.

An agreement to that effect was signed between Loyalty Insurance and the National Blood Service at a ceremony in Accra where a cheque of 10,000 Ghana Cedis was offered as seed money.

Signing on behalf of Loyalty Insurance, Executive Director, Mr Oppong Ababio, said establishing a fund to support blood donation was the most sustainable way to support the service.

He urged motorists and other potential clients to patronise the policies of Loyalty Insurance for it to support the Ghana Blood Service.

Managing Director, Loyalty Insurance, Mr Frank Yeboah, said the blood donation was one of the core values of the company which had beat a social responsibility path premised on compassion and human dignity among others.

‘We are excited to see the start of the first of many ways in which we can give back to society. We have had the privilege to have an accord with the National Blood Service of Ghana. And today we are here to affirm our partnership and support their core mandate of ensuring constant supply of blood in the country,’ he said.

According to him, ‘As part of our support to a number of blood donation exercises, Loyalty Insurance has declared the month of November as ‘Red November’ in which our major blood donation exercises for each year would be carried out.’

Mr Yeboah announced that Loyalty Insurance in partnership with FRIMPs Oil was running a promotion in which clients who buy Comprehensive Motor insurance policies were rewarded with five gallons of fuel and those who purchased Third Party motor insurance policies were given three gallons of fuel.

Managing Director, Ghana Blood Service, Dr Justina Ansah, who signed for her outfit, said the Service was shifting from the paradigm of family blood replacement to voluntary blood donation to ensure the constant supply of blood by 2020.

Insurance

…with Kofi Owusu Tawiah

Manchester United (Man U) ruthlessly punished defensive errors to become the first side to win a league game at Arsenal since January in one of the games of the season so far.

Jose Mourinho’s side were reduced to 10-men late on when Paul Pogba was sent off for a dangerous tackle and they were aided by a stunning goalkeeping display by David De Gea throughout.

But they did telling damage early on when Antonio Valencia pounced on a loose Laurent Koscielny pass to drill the opener, before Jesse Lingard side-footed a second after robbing Shkodran Mustafi to link smartly with Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial.

The strikes meant United had scored as many goals in 11 minutes as they had in eight away fixtures against the Premier League’s so-called ‘big six’ clubs.

But an end-to-end first-half, which delivered 20 shots on goal, saw Arsenal hit the woodwork through Alexandre Lacazette and Granit Xhaka during a frenetic goalmouth scramble before De Gea denied Hector Bellerin, Sead Koasinac, and spectacularly prevented a Lukaku own goal.

The Spaniard could do nothing about Lacazette’s simple finish on 48 minutes but after Lingard had hit the post in a breathless start to the second half, De Gea produced an unbelievable double save from Lacazette and Alexis Sanchez.

His heroics maintained the advantage during an opening 15 minutes to the second half which saw United have just 26% of possession, but Lingard was on hand to tap in a third on 63 minutes after good work by Pogba.

Pogba’s dismissal arrived when he mistimed a tackle to effectively stamp on the back of Bellerin’s leg, and the Frenchman will now miss the Manchester derby next Sunday.

But his moment of woe felt merely a footnote in a riveting encounter which moved second-placed United to within five points of their city rivals.

Today Sports

…with Gottlieb Baako

This article is a real experience of the reason why sometimes people molest children and also how to get the molesters admit to their guilt through confession. For example, if a complaint comes in to your agency alleging that a popular school teacher, a youth pastor, a Little League coach, or a previously convicted predator has been molesting children in your community, are you confident that your investigators have the training and skills necessary to interview that suspect and get a full confession?

These can be intense, high-profile cases. The suspect might be a prominent citizen, a pillar of the community. The reality is that in most child sexual abuse cases, the offender is someone who is known and trusted not only by the victim but also by the victim’s family.

Child sexual abuse exists in every community and at all levels of society, but allegations of molestation can sometimes be divisive for a community. Some people refuse to believe that the accused is capable of such a crime. It is not unheard of for parents, friends, and coworkers to rally in support of the suspect, proclaim his innocence and even post his bond.

These can be extremely difficult cases to investigate. Often there is little or no physical evidence and no witnesses, only a child’s allegation that molestation has occurred. With these cases, the suspect interview can be the most critical stage of the investigation. The outcome of the interview can mean the difference between a successful prosecution and the release of the suspect to continue molesting other innocent children. There is nothing that solidifies a case and quiets the dissenters more than a detailed written or videotaped confession from the sexual abuser.

The ramifications of the release of a child molester are sobering. A pedophile, over the course of his lifetime, can molest hundreds, even thousands of children.

An example of this is the case of an Australian man named Clarence Osborne, who recorded in great detail sexual contacts that he had with more than 2,500 teenage boys. Osborne was a court recorder who worked with juvenile offenders. He was caught in a child pornography investigation and in 1979, at the age of 61, committed suicide.

Only after his death did police discover the magnitude of Osborne’s criminal activity. In his house they found names, photographs, tape recordings, and written descriptions of his sexual encounters with boys that had occurred over a 20-year period. His victims came from all parts of the community; in fact, many were from wealthy, prominent families. The amazing thing is that with all of these documented victims, many of them later confirmed, the police had never received any complaints on Osborne.

Early 2005 in San Jose, California, Dean Arthur Schwartzmiller, a 63-year-old convicted child molester, was arrested and charged once again with sex offenses involving children. During a search of his residence, police recovered logs kept by Schwartzmiller that suggested that he had molested thousands of children throughout the United States, Mexico, and Brazil over a 30-year period. The more than 1,300 pages of documents contained names and descriptions of children as well as codes indicating the sex acts that were committed.

Many police agencies have a tendency to view a child molestation case as an isolated incident. They focus on the known victim and investigate accordingly. The reality is that most true pedophiles have been molesting children for years, dating all the way back to their own childhood. Few pedophiles are caught the first time they molest a child.

When investigating a case involving a suspected child molester, the stakes are high and a full confession is critical. But the ability to interview and relate to this type of offender is something that doesn’t come naturally for most police officers. Many officers find the subject matter, as well as the offender, repulsive. They cannot have an amiable conversation with a person who they believe has molested a child. They are not able to mask their feelings, and they allow contempt, disgust, and hatred to surface during the interview, greatly reducing the likelihood that the offender will open up and share his deepest secrets.

Today Gender

…with Thelma Asantewaa

Ghana has participated in the 38th African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) conference which ended in Morocco with a call on African countries to achieve structural transformation to preserve the development capacities it has subscribed to over the past years.

The conference was organised by AAPAM in partnership with government of the Kingdom of Morocco, United Cities and Local Governments of Africa and African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development.

The conference, which was held on the theme: “A Transformed Leadership: Managing National Resources to achieve the objectives of Africa Union Agenda 2063 within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” brought together delegates from 32 African countries and Ghana presented the highest delegation of 65.
It created an opportunity for delegates to share experiences and opinions on efficient and sustainable management of human resources in line with Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The conference saw presentations of papers from experts in the academia, public service practitioners, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and politicians from some African countries.
Participated deliberated on an assessment of Africa’s worth and a reflection on the contradiction of poverty, inequality and underdevelopment and an exposition of the nexus between a transformed leadership and effective management of national resources.
Other topics included: ‘Going the extra mile, ‘how to ensure that women, people with disabilities and the youth are involved in the management of national resources,’ elaborating on the capacity needs for a transformed leadership that manages national resources towards achieving the objectives of Africa Agenda 2063 in the context of the SDGs and Countries Case Studies.
Some African countries including Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa were awarded in the categories of gold and glass, silver and bronze respectively for innovative management, and countries were encouraged to emulate the award winners and also present papers in the next AAPAM conference.
Africa plays a distinguished role in the world economy as a result of its human, natural, agricultural and mining resources, but the developmental challenges of Africa obstructs its effort at meeting the needs of its people despite the abundance of resources.
The call on African countries to achieve structural transformation and sustainability is louder than ever for Africa to invest in its human resources to guarantee the prudent exploration of its resources for development.
Capacity building for public officials is therefore, imperative and a central pillar for the implementation of development programmes.
Africans leaders were encouraged to adopt good and open governance approaches and principles to maximise benefits from their resources, educational institutions were also called upon to structure their programmes such that graduates will be of relevance to African societies and support the efforts of continental development.
The 39th AAPAM Conference 2018 will be held in Botswana with the possibility of Ghana hosting the 40th AAPAM Conference.

Story: Kwamena Ananse

Ghanaian gospel musician, Siisi Baidoo, will on Monday, December 4, 2017 release his debut single titled: ‘You Reign.’
‘You Reign’ is a classic worship anthem that celebrates and acknowledges God for His greatness and mercies upon the lives of His children.

Siisi Baidoo, the newest prince of contemporary gospel music, believes the song will usher listeners into deep worship that draws them closer to God.

Being a key member of Denzel and Heartbeat music team, Siisi has served in the music ministry for more than 10 years.

He has shared big stages with gospel heavyweights like Joe Mettle, the late Danny Nettey, Pastor Joe Beechem, Rev Denzel Prempeh, Pastor Isaiah Fosu Kwakye Jnr., Pastor Emmit Konadu, Akesse Brempong, William Mcdowell, Mahalia Buchanan, Uncle Ato, Eugene Zuta and many others.

Siisi Baidoo is a worshipper, preacher, praise and worship leader, songwriter and counsellor.

He is the founder and executive director of Crafted Nation; a non-denominational music and outreach ministry. The team organises worship crusades and musical outreaches in communities and schools.

When he is not doing music, Siisi works as a Relationship Marketing Professional.

Siisi Baidoo worships with Destiny Chapel as the Music Pastor and Praise & worship Leader.

Entertainment Desk 

Basic schools within the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) and the Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly have been closed down today, Monday, December 4, 2017.

The closure is due to activities lined up for the final funeral rites of the late Asantehemaa, Nana Afia Serwaa Kobi Ampem 11.

In a statement signed by the Ashanti Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Cassandra Twum-Ampofo, the GES ordered all schools in the two areas to close by 12 noon to enable students reach home on time.

Day students in senior high schools (SHSs) in these areas are also to stay home within the two days.

It will be recalled that due to the final funeral rites of the late Asantehemaa, the Kumasi Traditional Council at a press conference last week announced what was expected of the citizenry as the palace paid its last respect to the late queen mother.

Among the list were traders vacating their usual sale points in the central business district (CBD) to designated points in the city to give way for the entourage of the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II while they perform certain rites in those areas.

Also, due to the rites that would be performed, people would have to stay indoors at some parts of Kumasi between 9:00 p.m., and 4:00 a.m., on some of the days, hence the closure of the schools on Monday and early closing on Friday would help the students reach their various homes before the curfew time.

Story: From James APPIAKORANG JNR., Kumasi, Ashanti Region

The Management of Inter Allies FC have reached an agreement with Kenichi Yatsuhashi for the Japanese trainer to take over as Head Coach of the club and its youth development side – Cedar Stars Academy, Ghana.

‪The Former Hearts of Oak coach is set to arrive in time for the club’s pre-season ahead of the 2017/18 campaign.

The President of Inter Allies FC, Rabeh EL- Eter, said after the confirmation that, “we are glad to have Kenichi as our Head Coach for the coming season.”

Kenichi Yatsuhasi has huge knowledge of the terrain having coached in the Ghana Premier League with Hearts of Oak, where he was known for his exciting brand of football.

‪He also worked with Nigerian Premier League side FC Ifeanyi Ubah in 2016 and Cambodian C-League club Tiger FC in 2017.

Source: Citifmonline

Progressive People’s Party (PPP) parliamentary candidate for Offinso South in the 2016 election, Kwadwo Amoateng, is in critical condition battling for his life after he was shot by unknown assailants.

Confirming the incident to the media, PPP Communications Director, Paa Kow Ackon, said on Saturday, December 2, 2017 Mr Amoateng was shot in the arm and chest “but currently in stable condition.”

He said the incident occurred around 9:00 p.m., on Thursday, November 30, 2017 when the victim was entering his house. Aside from his teaching profession, Mr Amoateng runs a mobile money transfer business.

Mr Ackon said: “On Thursday night he was returning from his money transfer business office and when he got shot just few metres away from his main gate. He had alighted from his car to open the gate to his house when a group of five young men believed to be in their early 20s appeared and demanded for his bag and shot him at his right chest seven times.”

He said the neighbours initially thought it was kids playing with fire-crackers because of the approaching Christmas festivities but he was later found bleeding and was rushed to the Offinso St. Patrick Hospital.

Seven pellets were removed from his body and the doctors recommended a transfer to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital because they believed there were “over 20 pellets in his body that needed to be removed.”

Mr Ackon indicated that the development was unfortunate as Mr Amoateng has one young child and his wife was heavily pregnant and expected to deliver this week.

The police have since visited the scene and investigations have commenced but no one has been identified or arrested yet.

Story: Political Desk

FIRST Friday of December in every calendar year is marked in Ghana as National Farmers’ Day. It is a day set aside and backed by law to celebrate our hard working farmers and fishers who continue to contribute hugely to the growth and development of the economy.

THUS, this past Friday, [December 01, 2017] was celebrated by the country as such.

IT is therefore in the light of the above that Today want to use this medium to salute and laud the efforts of Ghanaian farmers and fishers. The fact still remains that agriculture is the mainstay of Ghana’s economy. Agriculture employs a large number of the Ghanaian population.

AND though the sector plays an enormous role in Ghana’s economic growth, the fact is also that it has not realised its full potential.  There are still loads of Ghanaian farmers and fishers who still resort to the use of simple farm implements—like axes, adzes, mattocks etc.—to produce to feed the Ghanaian population and export the excess.

WHILST it is good to recognise and appreciate our gallant farmers and fishers, it is important that we also begin to tackle their needs to enable them deliver efficiently. There is no gainsay the fact that farmers and fishers in this country have challenges, yet nothing seems to be done by the powers-that-be about these problems.

TODAY many of our farmers and fishers still do not have storage facilities to store excess produce in times of bumper harvest.  This oftentimes results in farm produce going waste.

WHAT is worrying the more is that many of our farmers continue to depend on the rain. That is to say that in the event the rains fail to come down then there will be a big problem.  There is also the problem of bad and deplorable roads which situation makes it difficult for farm produce to be transported to the market centres.

WE on Today, therefore, state that it is about time we started to proactively assist our farmers and fisher-folks to ensure that they deliver optimally.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reiterated that the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy, launched this year, on 12th September, will be sustained and is here to stay.

According to President Akufo-Addo, “I know, and I am sure I am not the only one who has heard, the people who are mounting political platforms, speaking on television and radio, and putting up posts on social media, hoping and praying for this policy to collapse.”

He continued, “We know those who have a record for scrapping pro-poor policies – nursing and teacher trainees will bear testimony. I wish to assure them that Free SHS will be sustained, that Free SHS is here to stay. The overwhelming majority of Ghanaians support the choice that I have made in implementing Free SHS.”

President Akufo-Addo made this known last Saturday when he delivered a speech at the 60th Anniversary Celebrations of the Kumasi Academy, in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

The president stressed that there was no part of Ghana that does not recognise the importance of education, adding that “we have all accepted that education is the best route to moving out of poverty.”

It is for this reason that on 12th September, 2017 he launched the free SHS policy, to ensure that one of the biggest obstacles that stood in the way of access to secondary education, and that is cost, is removed.

“This has already led to an increase of over 90,000 children, who have entered secondary school this academic year, who would, otherwise, have dropped out at this stage. Free SHS has lifted the financial burden off parents, and the heart-rending anxiety that accompanies the beginning of every school term,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo was, thus, surprised that because of political expediency; some would wish and pray for this policy to fail.

Nonetheless, the president reiterated that “my government believes that we have a sacred duty to our children, and the generations beyond in ensuring that, irrespective of their circumstances, whether of birth, status, class, ethnic or religious affiliations, their right to an education is preserved.”

On the teething challenges confronting the free SHS policy, the president acknowledged that “there would be with any new, bold initiative.”

He told the gathering that he was inspired by the famous Chinese adage which says: “a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step,” explaining that “we have taken that first step in Ghana, and we shall deal with the challenges.”

In dealing with the teething challenges, President Akufo-Addo stated that “Government has ordered thousands of mono-desks and bunk beds, as well as furniture for dining halls, staff rooms, computer labs and markers for classroom.”

In commemoration of Kumasi Academy’s 60th Anniversary, the president announced that, through the Ministry of Education, the construction of a vocational centre, and the completion of the Library and ICT Centre, will be done.

Story: Kofi OWUSU TAWIAH

Writer’s email: kofi.tawiah@todaygh.com

Zimbabwe’s new President Emmerson Mnangagwa has replaced two ministers, two days after announcing his cabinet.

Critics said the original line-up showed Mr Mnangagwa had no plans to bring real change to the country despite hailing a “new democracy”.

The education and labour ministers have now been replaced, ostensibly to comply with a constitutional provision.

But military chiefs remain in charge of the foreign affairs and land portfolios.

Ten days ago Mr Mnangagwa returned from exile following the military coup against Robert Mugabe, promising to serve all citizens equally.

There was uproar when instead of creating a cabinet that included opposition figures, he appeared to reward the military for its role in bringing him to power.

On Saturday, the government announced that two positions were being replaced to “ensure compliance with the constitution and considerations of gender, demography and special needs”.

Reports suggest the initial list did not comply with a constitutional provision which limits the number of ministers who are not members of parliament.

Some opposition supporters celebrated the most high profile decision – the removal of the education minister Lazarus Dokora – arguing that he was responsible for the decline in educational standards over the last few years.

He is being replaced by his own deputy, Paul Mavima.

Meanwhile Zanu-PF deputy Petronella Kagonye becomes labour and social welfare minister in place of Clever Nyathi, who becomes a special adviser to the president on national peace and reconciliation.

Following the news, Zimbabwean media mogul and commentator Trevor Ncube tweeted that the quick change meant the president was either “listening to the public” or “he rushed through this important task”.

Less than 48 hours after Cabinet announcement these changes have been made. Either President Mnangagwa is listening to the public or he rushed through this important task. Is this a positive move or cause for concern? What do you think? #Zimbabwe pic.twitter.com/vkzWPKKHYb

— Trevor Ncube (@TrevorNcube) December 2, 2017

Mr Mnangagwa’s most controversial appointments on Friday included Sibusiso Moyo, the general who played a prominent role in the recent military takeover. He was given the role of foreign minister.

The head of Zimbabwe’s air force, Perence Shiri, was named minister of agriculture and land affairs despite his notoriety in having led a military operation against opponents of Robert Mugabe in the early 1980s.

Opposition leader Tendai Biti said that until then, Zimbabweans had “given the putsch the benefit of the doubt.

“We did so in the genuine, perhaps naive view that the country could actually move forward,” he tweeted.

“We craved change, peace & stability in our country. How wrong we were”.

Source: BBC

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and renowned Securities Lawyer, Kojo Graham, were honoured at the Ghana Securities Industry Association (GSIA) awards dinner for founder members at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel, Accra, over the weekend.

The event, organised by the Ghana Securities Industry Association, in partnership with Premier Networking Club, was used as a platform to acknowledge personalities who have contributed to the growth of the securities industry in the country.

The two personalities—Ken Ofori-Atta, Lawyer Graham—blazed the trail in securities in the early nineties (90s).

The finance minister established the Databank, which became the leading investment house at the time until Lawyer Graham came on board with his company, NTHC Limited, which came from bottom to be the leading investment house.

The two have mutual respect for each other in spite of their “fierce rivalry” in the industry in the early nineties.

Mr Graham’s role in influencing the securities industry over the years was duly highlighted by a letter from GSIA inviting him to the awards dinner.

“We do recognise the critical roles you played, collectively and severally in founding the association and for ensuring that structures were put in place for the industry to build upon,” a letter from GSIA stated.

Lawyer Graham, now a social entrepreneur and human rights advocate, is a respected criminal lawyer in addition to his investment banking profession, which he practices with utmost perfection.

He was the first Ghanaian to be appointed lead counsel at the United Nations International Criminal Court from 2005 to 2008

Lawyer Graham is also member of the immediate past board of the National Lottery Authority (NLA).

His vast knowledge in financial and investment matters helped transformed the NLA into a profitable state organisation.

Story: News Desk

Adorable singer, eShun, after receiving massive airplay both on radio and television with her new song- ‘Someone Loves Me-‘ featuring rapper, FlowKing Stone, produced by WillisBeatz, ‘ has just been replied by 2017 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards Highlife Artiste of the Year, Kofi Kinaata, with his latest song- ‘Single and Free-‘ also produced by WillisBeatz.
eShun’s ‘Someone Loves Me’  talks about finding a life partner  after being heart-broken by a loved one.

The song, which can cause a severe emotional pain to people who want their exes back while others in love will feel special listening and dancing to it, has been directly responded to by Kofi Kinaata’s song ‘Single and Free’ after his love left him.

Listening to the two songs carefully, one does not need to be told what is going on between these two artistes.

Both songs are lovely highlife tunes that will be loved by all.

Story: Entertainment Desk

The future of banks that are majority owned by domestic private interest in Ghana can be challenged in the not distant future due to the strict application of the Basel II and III standards.  A research on local ownership of banks as against foreign ownership across Africa showed Cote D’Ivoire, Nigeria and South Africa as the only countries whose banks are owned by majority domestic investors. Côte d’Ivoire had 100% local ownership, 80% by Nigerians and 76% locals owned assets of banks in South Africa. In Ethiopia state owned banks predominate and in Mozambique, Republic of Congo foreign owned subsidiaries hold the most assets.

Between 1992 and 2006, the local ownership of Banks in Ghana averaged 61% but that figure has fallen to an average of 48% between 2007 and 2016.  In 2003 the local ownership was about 60% to 40% foreign ownership. This fell to 54% local ownership to 46% foreign ownership by 2006 and further to 44% local ownership to 56% foreign ownership by 2011. It however averaged 46% for local ownership and 54% foreign ownership in the past six years. This figure has dropped to 21% local ownership in Ghanaian banks for 2017 as published by the Africa Report No. 93 edition.

Though the deregulation of the financial sector resulted in increase in the number of foreign banks, it can also be seen that generally, the increase in the minimum capital requirement for banks has guaranteed the survival of the foreign banks than local ones.

The Bank of Ghana on September 10 introduced the Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (ICAAP) under the Basel II framework. The ICAAP will require banks to more than treble their minimum capital to GH¢400 by December 31, 2018.

This is the fourth time in about 15 years the BoG has increased the minimum capital requirement for banks, with the current increase being the second highest. Early is 2003, BoG directed all banks to increase the minimum capital to GH¢7 million by the end of 2006. In 2008 the bank lifted the minimum capital requirement from GH¢7million to GHS60m giving foreign banks two years and local banks five years to comply with the rule. In 2012 it again raised to GH¢120 million, mostly on the reason on the expansion of the economy.

The Bank of Ghana announced that all banks must increase their minimum capital to GH¢400 million by December 2018. This is to increase the capital base of the banks as it is important for ensuring financial sector stability. It will also make it possible for banks to reduce cost through economies of scale leading to reduced borrowing cost.  Also, banks with large capital can easily diversify their investments to avoid being vulnerable, should some sectors of the economy take a turn for the worse. Aside this, large banks can easily be supervised by the regulator than many small banks.

On the other hand, the possibility that some banks, especially the local ones are unlikely to meet the new capital requirement, presents the potential for increased concentration and decreased competition. This can erode the expected gains from the implementation of the new policy.

Strong indigenous financial institutions are integral to the development of very economy. It is believed that local banks have their survival tied closely to the growth of the local economy, hence a stronger commitment to help the country grow unlike the foreign ones who make profits and often repatriate them to their mother companies and in many cases putting pressure on the local currency.

Additionally, local banks are prone to turn deposits into loans especially for small scale enterprises compared to big foreign banks that are likely to prefer to take minimum risk. This can be deduced from the Bank of Ghana’s latest statistics on interest rates. Analysis of the figures showed that the first five highest base rate in the banking industry are offered by local banks while the first five lowest are offered by foreign banks. This partly reflects the risks associated with their advances. Therefore, the private sector, which is dominated by small scale industries will be the worst affected should the local banks fail to meet the new minimum capital requirement leading to licenses withdrawals.

Most of the 17 local banks are likely to struggle to achieve the new minimum requirement because of their current financial position. GCB Bank, CAL Bank, Fidelity Bank and ADB Bank with significant income surplus are however likely to meet the deadline because their stated capital exceed the GH¢120 million according to their half year financial statement for 2017. Seven of them are new entrants with GH¢ 120million but their income surplus position cannot support them adequately hence they could lose their licenses.

This could further reduce the proportion of banks owned locally and their market share. The locally owned banks control less than 21% of the banking industry’s assets. In other African countries such as Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, South Africa and Senegal however, majority of the locally owned banks control 100%, 80%, 76% and 63% of the industry’s total assets respectively.

In the United Kingdom (UK) for instance, the National Westminster (NatWest) Bank and Lloyds Bank which are all local banks are considered to be those driving growth while the Deutche Bank and Commerzbank AG are doing same in Germany. Last year, NatWest launched a £1billion small business fund to help entrepreneurs start up. Also, as part of assisting Britain Prosper Plan, the  Lloyds Bank committed to offer £4 billion in funding support to the manufacturing sector in four years to December 2017.

Which local bank is in the position to do these in Ghana? Which one is being groomed to be like the likes of Lloyds Bank? Why should BoG treat all banks in same manner knowing fully that with exception of the banks mentioned above, all the other local banks are likely to miss the deadline?

In 2007 for example, local banks were treated differently from the foreign banks in terms of the deadline for meeting the requirement. Majority of the foreign owned banks had two years while majority of the locally owned ones had five years to meet the deadline. The result was that all the banks were able to meet the deadline. When all the banks were treated in the same manner in 2012, some banks especially the local ones were still not able to meet the GH¢120 million requirement.

This is why the central bank together with government need to do more for the local banks to ensure that they meet the requirement in other to continue to provide the financial services needed to achieve the economic and socio – political goals of the country. Is no secret that the financial position of the local banks is poor and needs assistance from both government and the Bank of Ghana if they are to survive. Therefore government should have a program, well-structured and aimed at bailing out the local banks.

This has been done in many countries. Using the UK again as an example, in 2008, the government injected about £37billion in three UK banks, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Lloyds TSB and HBOS to save them from collapse. In 2016, the Italian government pumped around €6.5 billion into Monte Paschi, the country’s third biggest lender to rescue it. Today the economies of these countries are benefiting immensely from these banks.

The Bank of Ghana on its part should not treat local banks and foreign banks equally in this matter with the view that they are all operating in the same market. It should recognize that the survival of the local banks depends on its support and regulations while the survival of the foreign ones depends on it and others in other countries.  Therefore universal treatment for the sector is unfair to the local banks. Like 2007, the BoG needs to give different timelines to the local banks to afford them more time and opportunity to raise the money needed to meet the requirement. It should also be firm on the management of these banks to submit their plans towards recapitalisation and ensure that the plans are followed strictly.

Finally, the banks themselves should improve on management efficiency to enhance profitability. Those that are listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange should consider floating more shares if prudent to increase their equity capital. They should also consider suspending payment of dividend to shareholders and review their investments to avoid losses.

Best Regards,

Samuel Kofi Ampah

Business Address:

Groupe Nduom Head Office,

C625/3 Fourth Crescent,

Asylum Down, Accra.   

By GN Research

Email Address: gnresearch@gnghana.com