Author: newsfilegh

Transport operators in the country are scheduled to meet on Friday, August 2 to deliberate on whether to increase transport fares following the announced increment in the Energy Sector Levy effective today. Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta while presenting the 2019 mid-year budget review to parliament on Monday announced increment in the levy with the view to raising the needed revenue to pay off the energy sector debt. “Government proposes to increase the Energy Sector Levies by 20 pesewas per litre for petrol and diesel and 8 pesewas per kg of LPG, so as to increase the inflows to enable government…

Transport operators in the country are scheduled to meet on Friday, August 2 to deliberate on whether to increase transport fares following the announced increment in the Energy Sector Levy effective today. Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta while presenting the 2019 mid-year budget review to parliament on Monday announced increment in the levy with the view to raising the needed revenue to pay off the energy sector debt. “Government proposes to increase the Energy Sector Levies by 20 pesewas per litre for petrol and diesel and 8 pesewas per kg of LPG, so as to increase the inflows to enable government…

Apple posted a small gain in sales for the third quarter of the year. While iPhone sales dipped, the company made up the difference in higher revenues in services such as its software store and music service. Sales rose 1% to $53.8bn (£44.3bn), while net profit dropped 13% to $10bn. The company stemmed some of its drop in sales to China. The results beat Wall Street estimates and shares gained 3.5% to $216.10 in after-hours trading. For first time since 2012, iPhone sales represent less than half of company’s overall sales. Sales of the device are down by $741m on…

Hamza Bin Laden, the son of al-Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden, died in an air strike, US media outlets reported citing intelligence officials. The place or date of death were unclear. The Pentagon did not comment. Bin Laden, thought to be aged about 30, had released audio and video messages calling for attacks on the US and other countries. As recently as February, the US government offered $1m (£825,000) for information leading to his capture. His death was widely reported by US media outlets including NBC News, the New York Times and CNN, citing unnamed US intelligence officials. There was no…

A coalition of three women’s rights and gender equality groups in Ghana have condemned  comments by leader and founder of Glorious Wave Church, Prophet Emmanuel Badu Kobi, which they deem to be tribalistic and misogynistic. The prophet who was preaching at a Sunday church service a week ago was heard suggesting Asante women ‘were greedy’ while Fante women ‘were foolish’, a statement that has since been widely condemned. A joint-statement by the women’s groups – Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT), Women’s Manifesto Coalition (WMC) and Domestic Violence Coalition (DVC) – bemoaned the increasing  incidents of “misogyny, ethnic sentiments,…

The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) is calling for the immediate interdiction of the leadership of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) for its involvement in the concession agreement which saw the management of power distribution handed over to the Power Distribution Services(PDS). MiDA awarded the concession to PDS after inaugurating a Stakeholder Committee as part of the Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact, and this Committee was responsible for ensuring due diligence was done in awarding the concession. But ACEP made the call for interdiction of Midas executives at a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday following the suspension of the…

The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) is calling for the immediate interdiction of the leadership of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) for its involvement in the concession agreement which saw the management of power distribution handed over to the Power Distribution Services(PDS). MiDA awarded the concession to PDS after inaugurating a Stakeholder Committee as part of the Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact, and this Committee was responsible for ensuring due diligence was done in awarding the concession. But ACEP made the call for interdiction of Midas executives at a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday following the suspension of the…

Energy expert Kojo Opoku says the blame for the failure of due diligence to be done over the concession agreement between government and Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana Limited must be laid at the doorstep of the Minister of Finance and not any other. He says it took a Qatari company to alert government of the fraudulent documents tendered in by PDS to win the bid. No due diligence was done, he stressed on 3FM’s Hot Edition on Wednesday. Government in a statement on Tuesday suspended the whole agreement after it said further due diligence was conducted. Fundamental and material…

Broadway director and producer Hal Prince has died at the age of 91, his publicist has confirmed. Prince made a significant contribution to Broadway musicals in the US and won 21 Tony Awards in his lifetime. His family said there would be no funeral, but rather a ceremony celebrating his life this autumn. Prince, who died in Reykjavik, Iceland, directed productions of Cabaret, Sweeney Todd, Evita and The Phantom of the Opera. He started his career as a co-producer on several musicals, including West Side Story in 1957, before he began to produce on his own. His solo credits as…