Author: newsfilegh

More than 40 men have been arrested in Nigeria over the weekend for performing homosexual acts, police say. They are due to appear in court later. Nigerian newspaper Punch reports that the police raided a hotel in Lagos State on Saturday afternoon and says the hotel was cordoned off while the investigation was carried out. Homosexual acts are punishable by up to 14 years in jail in Nigeria, while gay marriage and displays of same-sex affection are also banned. The event that was raided was to raise awareness about HIV testing in the gay community in Lagos, activist for gay rights…

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture says it is working on a support package for farmers whose farms have been destroyed by armyworms across the country. A statement issued by the Ministry said plans are advanced on the support package but did not give details as to the kind of support and how the affected farmers will be identified or selected to receive the support. “Plans are also far advanced to support farmers whose farms were devastated by the armyworms,” the statement said. It said agreement has been signed with the University of Ghana to train personnel of the Plant…

INTRODUCTION 2017 Mid-year Review Fiscal Policy Review is the first to be done under Section 28 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016  (Act 921) In fulfilment of the President’s promise, Government has: abolished the 1 percent Special Import Levy which was imposed mainly on imported raw materials and machinery; abolished the 17.5 percent VAT/NHIL on financial services; abolished the 17.5 percent VAT/NHIL imposed on airline tickets; abolished the excise duty on petroleum to reduce the excess burden on final consumers; reduced the special petroleum tax rate from 17.5 percent to 15 percent to mitigate the excess burden on final…

Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Ken Ofori-Atta has announced that the economy is about to witness the take-off of some major policies by government. According to him, the first six months of the Akufo-Addo-led government was virtually used to lay the foundation of the take-off of the policies, promised during the 2016 electioneering period. He said there was a marginal growth in the gross domestic product (GDP) within the first two quarters of the year, a good basis for the planned implementation of the New Patriotic Party’s programmes. Mr Ofori-Atta made this known on Monday, when he delivered the…

Parliament would be presented with a bill this week to abolish the 17.5 percent VAT/NHIL on selected imported medicines, Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta has announced. The tax on imported medicine was one of the many taxes the New Patriotic Party government captured in the 2017 budgetary statement presented to Parliament in March, which the Finance Minister promised would be abolished. Presenting the 2017 Mid-Year Budget Review to Parliament Monday, the Finance Minister disclosed: “We will be coming back to Parliament this week to lay the Regulations to abolish the 17.5 percent VAT/NHIL on selected imported medicines, which are currently…

An Accra High court has quashed an order by the Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery to deport an Indian businessman Ashoq Kumar Sivaram describing the action of the minister as a serious breach of natural justice. The court on Monday, July 31, said the minister exceeded his jurisdiction for signing the deportation of the Indian and that the act falls into services error for not giving the applicant the opportunity to  fair hearing. The case was brought against Ambrose Dery and the Controller General of Ghana Immigration Service, Kwame Sekyi by an Indian national, Ashoq Kumar Sivaram who is challenging his…

MTN Chief Technical Officer Mohammed Lawal Rufai has been adjudged the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Year at the 2017 Ghana Information Technology & Telecom Awards (GITTA). The CTO of the Year award recognises Mr. Rufai’s immense contribution towards the development of Ghana’s telecommunications network and acknowledges him as the most outstanding Chief Technical Officer for the entire telecoms industry. The validity of the award is borne out by Mr Rufai’s wealth of experience and successes achieved in his position at the helm of network strategy, planning, implementation and maintenance at MTN. On receipt of the award, Mr. Rufai…

The man in charge of Kenya’s computerised voting system has been found dead just days before the 8 August elections. Chris Msando, an ICT manager with the IEBC, had gone missing on Friday. Kenyan newspaper The Star reports that Mr Msando’s body was found with one arm missing. Tension is high as the presidential election is expected to be a close race between incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta and long-time opponent Raila Odinga. Police said on Monday that his body and that of an unidentified woman had been found in the Kikuyu area on the outskirts of Nairobi and taken to the…

Experts have argued that love, affection, and care if accorded mentally challenged persons could increase the recovery rate rapidly but how far can you go with a mentally ill relative, friend, or neighbour owing to their hostility sometimes. In this report, TV3’s Northern Regional Correspondent Zubaida Ismail spends time with some mentally ill persons at the Shekinah Hospital in Tamale in the Northern Region. Known as the mad hospital, the Shekinah hospital located in Gurugu a suburb of Tamale for the past years serve as the safe haven for some mentally challenged persons within the region. The health facility, is…

Ghanaian rapper D-Black has revealed that popular Nigerian musician Davido wasn’t allowed to leave Tamale because a promoter claimed he owed him and had to refund his money. Controversial artiste Wanlov in 2016 made headlines in a lyrical battle with D-Black in which he claimed D-Black had duped Davido during a concert in Tamale. Clarifying the issue on Pulse.com.gh live Facebook chat, D-Black denied duping the ‘If’ hitmaker by giving a background on what really transpired on the night. “It was a weekend show but Davido had left Nigeria to London and said he was going to come to Ghana…