Author: Krobea

The Bank of Ghana kept its Policy Rate unchanged at 16.0 percent for the sixth meeting in a row as the Monetary Policy Committee takes a cautious outlook to growth and inflation. Dr Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, said the decision was taken to maintain the rate despite a fairly resilient and robust economic performance with regard to output growth and a strong trade and payments position. The economy is positioned firmly on the path of stability with inflation forecasted to stay within the medium-term target band of 8±2 percent, barring any unanticipated shocks, he said.…

Messaging service WhatsApp will no longer work on millions of smartphones from 1 February. Android and iPhone devices which only support outdated operating systems will no longer be able to run the Facebook-owned app. WhatsApp said the move was necessary in order to protect the security of its users. Smartphones using Android 2.3.7 and older, and iPhone iOS 8 or older, are those affected by the update. The operating systems that WhatsApp is dropping support for are legacy operating systems, which are no longer updated or installed on new devices. Most users will simply be able to update their operating…

The Eminent Advisory Committee (EAC) of the Electoral Commission, Ghana (EC) has been urged to state its position on the move by the election-management body to procure new gadgets for the 2020 elections. Senior Lecturer at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) Dr Ahmed Jinapor believes by stating its position, the EAC will chart a course for the seemingly feuding parties – the EC and the Inter-Party Resistance Against the New Voter Register (IPRNA). There has been tension between the two parties as regards the move by the EC to procure the gadgets, which will be used in the compilation…

Executive Director of the African Research Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Dr John Amuasi says Ghana records an average of 9,600 snakebites every year. There is the need for concerted effort by stakeholders to eliminate the number bites and of death caused by snakes every year, Dr Amuasi recommends. Although it is not known how many of these bites resulted in deaths, persons between the ages 20 and 34 years suffer the most bites. The average number of bites per year show that the Upper West Region had the highest of 1,425 bites followed by Ashanti Region with 1,161…

The Inter-Party Resistance Against the New Voter Register (IPRNA) has expressed disappointment in the Electoral Commission, Ghana (EC) for the manner in which it handled communications after the stakeholders’ dialogue on Thursday. According to the coalition of political parties against the new voters’ register, a communique was agreed to be issued by the Eminent Advisory Committee (EAC), at whose instance the dialogue was held. “It therefore came to us as a shock when we read the public statement from the Commission capriciously purporting to cast a verdict on the discussions in favour of the EC,” IPRNA said in a statement…

The UK has officially left the European Union after 47 years of membership – and more than three years after it voted to do so in a referendum. The historic moment, which happened at 23:00 GMT, was marked by both celebrations and anti-Brexit protests. Candlelit vigils were held in Scotland, which voted to stay in the EU, while Brexiteers partied in London’s Parliament Square. Boris Johnson has vowed to bring the country together and “take us forward”. In a message released on social media an hour before the UK’s departure, the prime minister said: “For many people this is an…

The US has announced it is expanding its curbs on immigration to include six more countries, including Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation. Citizens from Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan, Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar will now be blocked from obtaining certain types of visas. People from those countries will still be able to visit the US as tourists. In 2018 the US issued twice as many immigration visas to Nigeria than to the other five nations combined. An official said the new measures were the result of failures by the six countries to meet US security and information-sharing standards. “These countries, for the…

Eighteen teams will be gunning for a win when they face each other on Week 7 of the Ghana Premier League. Second placed Aduana Stars will host third-placed Medeama at the Agyeman Badu Stadium. Medeama coach Samuel Boadu will have a lot of work to do since statistics does not favour his team in away games this season. They have played three games away and won just one and they come up against Aduana who have won all their home games. Since 2010, the two clubs seem to be fuelling their rivalry as they have clashed 17 times with Medeama…

Former Black Stars coach James Akwasi Appiah has recalled a hilarious moment durung his playing days as a footballer with Kumasi Asante Kotoko. The former Black Stars skipper was recently replaced by CK Akunnor as head coach of the senior national soccer team. Speaking on TV3’s New Day show, ahead of his book launch ‘Leaders Don’t Have To Yell’ on January 31, 2020, the former Black Stars coach recalled a game between Asante Kotoko and Real Tamale United at the Kaladan Park, where he tried to pull a stunt by faking an injury but got busted and thrown off the…

Two people from the same family have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK, the chief medical officer for England has announced. It is understood the patients were staying in a hotel in Yorkshire, before being taken overnight to a specialist centre in Newcastle. At least 213 people in China have died from the virus, with almost 10,000 cases nationally. There have been 98 cases in another 18 countries. Prof Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England said the NHS was “extremely well-prepared for managing infections” and it was quickly trying to identify any contacts the patients had to prevent…