Thursday 27 November 2014

Ghana’s Malaise............


Title: Ghana tarnishes ‘Africa rising’ story
Dated: August 2014

An old-fashioned crisis shows that the continent’s economic miracle needs nurturing
The world has become used to the idea of Africa being on the march. In the past decade, after two decades of stagnation, the continent’s economy has nearly doubled in size on a per-capita basis, thanks to a virtuous circle of strong economic growth – helped by high commodities prices and Chinese-funded infrastructure investments – as well as better governance.

And few countries typify the “Africa rising” story better than Ghana, the west African nation famous for its gold and cocoa, and most recently oil.
 
Some of the gilt came off the Ghanaian miracle last weekend. The government announced that it was seeking talks with the International Monetary Fund about an assistance programme.


Ghana’s malaise has an old-fashioned feel. The government anticipated too much revenue from its recently found oil reserves and overspent. The money was used not on infrastructure and education that would lift long-term potential growth. It was frittered away paying higher salaries to civil servants.

It is a classic example of mismanagement, and one that demonstrates that while progress has been real, strong and widespread in Africa, there remain plenty of traditional fragilities. Investors need a cautious approach to the “rising” mantra.

Public-sector pay accounted last year for nearly 65 per cent of Ghana’s total tax revenue after the public wage bill jumped roughly 75 per cent over two and a half years. Revenues have not kept pace, jacking up the fiscal deficit, which last year it hit more than 10 per cent of gross domestic product.

Interest rates have soared and the currency, the cedi, has plunged nearly 40 per cent this year, making it the world’s worst-performing currency ahead even of the Ukrainian hryvnia and the Syrian pound.

Ghana is the second country in Africa to seek talks with the IMF for emergency support. It is unlikely to be the last. After a rosy decade, the continent is having to adapt to lower Chinese growth and hence weaker commodity prices. Africa is still home to some of the fastest-growing economies in the world. For example, Ethiopia has transformed in 20 years from a famine-ravaged nation into a destination for savvy and well-known private equity groups such as KKR.

But a combination of lower commodity prices, strikes, reform fatigue and conflict in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, have put a brake on the expansion. The IMF forecast that sub-Saharan Africa will grow this year by 5.8 per cent is a quick rate by any standard but not the magic annual 7 per cent that guarantees doubling the size of the economy every decade.

It is not all bad news. Ghana’s response to its setback is encouraging. The country has implemented many politically difficult measures to rein in spending, including a freeze of public sector salaries and hiring, an increase in value added tax rates and subsidy cuts. A full-blown IMF bailout should not be necessary. That is a far cry from the sort of crises African countries experienced in the 1980s and 1990s.

For African leaders, the lessons of Ghana and Zambia are clear: the miracle needs nurturing. Even after years of strong growth, Africa should be cautious about taking on debt, and careful about expenditure. African governments – and particularly Nigeria – need to broaden their tiny tax bases and improve collection rather than raising rates.

For investors, the lessons are no less striking. The African story may be strong but they need to be selective. Economies will overheat occasionally and suffer growing pains. Flare-ups are inevitable in a continent of 54 states. But just as the 1997 crisis did not derail Asia’s rise, neither Ghana’s crisis nor the one in Zambia can stop the continent’s steady advance.

Credit/Source: FT / http://www.ft.com/



Paulina says:


 

Wednesday 26 November 2014

“I am the only person who can authorize a diplomatic passport. If any of my staff issue a Diplomatic passport from the passport office without my prior authorization, that essentially means that they have attempted to commit an unlawful act,” Hannah Tetteh


Ruby Adu Gyamfi aka Ruby Appiah aka Nayele Ametefe becomes 'Africa’s Narcotic Cleopatra'...



Title: London’s Heathrow Grabs Africa’s Narcotic Cleopatra
Dated: 24-11-2014


It was a fairytale life for the 32 year old. A high flying life with deep political connections across a sub-region of over 260 million people – frequent flights in not only the first class sections of some of the World’s leading airlines, but  Bombadier Private Jets reportedly belonging to one of West Africa’s richest men and the brother of the current Ghanaian President and Chairman of the Regional Political Union. Sleeping in the choicest hotels around the world came only as an aside.

But this life at 15,000ft, for someone born and bred in a country with per capita just over a $1,000, came crushing down on the Morning of November 10 when Border Security at London’s Heathrow crashed the operation of the lady who has been described and nicknamed by some within the Intelligence Community as “Africa’s drug Cleopatra”, having used her extensive political and social networks to courier an estimated $75 million of cocaine directly in just the past three years.

It all ended for the modern “cleopatra”, originally born Ruby Adu-Gyamfi when a trip planned to be like the many she has undertaken to over 28 countries in 5 continents turned out to be the opposite as a result of collaborative work between intelligence agencies in four continents but interestingly without the knowledge of any of her native Ghana or Africa’s security units due to a strong suspicion of complicity at the highest level of Ghana’s political system.

With the world’s best intelligence and security agencies behind her track, it was supposed to only be a matter of small time before this drug baroness was nailed. However, numerous aliases, dozens of passports bearing different names and pictures – including those from Austria, Canada, Brazil and Belarus and several Ghanaian and Nigerian passports – including a Ghanaian diplomatic passport, allowed her rare privileges both within the country and outside. As though this was not enough, cosmetic surgeries, aided by plastic surgeons, and the sheer brazenness of her operations plus the well documented help of officialdom in her native Ghana had succeeded in aiding her to escape arrest for over 24 months.

When security officials finally closed in on her, not even the power of the Ghanaian Presidency or the brandishing of a diplomatic passport could save her. In her possession was as much as 12 kilograms of cocaine valued conservatively at $5 million. So unbothered was her operation that unlike many others who conceal their consignment in several ingenious ways, ‘Cleopatra’ carried her full consignment in her hand luggage, having used the VVIP Presidential lounge at Ghana’s Kotoka International Airport, according to local reports and signals picked from Scotland Yard, one of the agencies that worked on her capture.

Intelligence officers indicate that Ruby managed to get her consignment safely into the first class section of the particular British Airways flight using her connections in the Ghanaian establishment, who managed to even get a security official to safely courier her consignment into the plane. Sources close to the operation that nailed her say that Ruby was spotted by other first class passengers trying to fit 2kg of her consignment into her hand bag. These passengers alerted the British Airways staff while the plane was approaching London with the staff in turn radioing Heathrow to be on alert.

On arrival at Heathrow, border security officials, who had ordered only the first class passengers to disembark, quickly asked her to step aside to be searched. This request is said to have infuriated Ruby, who questioned the security officials, pulling out her Ghanaian diplomatic passport in the process. This diplomatic passport with the name Ruby Mahama did little to convince Border Security who proceeded to carry out the search.

So excited were the global intelligence agency when she was finally captured that three top officials of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of the United States quickly jetted off to London, within 4 hours of her arrest, to interrogate her on various matters of concern to American officials in their unending war on narcotics.

Norman Shanks, an Aviation Security expert who spoke to Airport International was puzzled that the major achievement chalked by Heathrow in capturing this long sought after Drug Empress did not make it into headlines of the mainstream British and International Press, but was also of the view that it did not make it into the major headlines because the top international agencies that worked on it wanted to keep a lid on her arrest for various reasons.

“This for me seems to be the biggest victory in many months for the global drug war. Arresting this lady was important to stop a large part of the volumes of narcotics we have seen pouring into Europe and North America in the past few years. Again, this was one of the most difficult operations in recent years because with her very close connections and helpers in the Ghana government, it was almost impossible to expect any local help to close in on her. All the work therefore was completely done by agents of foreign agencies and mostly from foreign bases and in such a situation, you can only depend on luck”, Shanks said, from his Coventry base.

Before her arrest, Ruby, who also goes by the name “Angel” had been spotted, according to intelligence sources in Nigeria, during the inauguration of a multimillion dollar Stadium in a country where over 70% of the population still to find, let alone live on a dollar a day. Her mission there, according to the reports, was to help entertain the top political elite across West Africa, including the Presidents of the three big West African Nations – Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’ivoire,  who descended on Akwa Ibom, one of the many states in Nigeria whose Governor put up the Stadium as a legacy project.

For now, Ruby Angel or Cleopatra as she was appropriately christened will no longer be travelling with Presidents or entertaining them. She will not also enjoy the luxury of her villas in Accra’s most expensive suburbs including her main mansion at Trassaco Valley, which is the city’s Beverley Hills with multi-million mansions belonging to Ghana’s political class and business elite as well as some of Nigeria’s richest. Her properties in Cantonments and East Legon, which are also extremely expensive suburbs in Ghana’s capital with land going for as much as a million dollars, will certainly also miss her.
 
By Tom Allett
Airports International
Credit/Source: http://3gmediaonline.com/?p=12018


Paulina says: Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Monday 24 November 2014

Hip-Life artiste Emmanuel Botchway aka Kwaw Kese is arrested for allegedly smoking cannabis....


Title: Kwaw Kese denied bail; faces up to 10 years imprisonment -Dated: 24 November 2014


The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) Circuit Court has remanded Hiplife artiste, Emmanuel Botchway, popularly known as Kwaw Kese, into prison custody for allegedly smoking cannabis in public.

Kwaw Kese was arrested Saturday at a wine shop close to Plus Two pub at Nhyiaseo, a suburb of Kumasi.He was denied bail upon arrest, and was remanded in police custody until he appeared in court on Monday.

However, the court, presided over by Judge William Boampong remanded him to reappear on December 8 after persecutors argued that they were still investigating the matter.

The self-styled King of the Streets was put before court and formally charged with using narcotic drug without lawful authorityA somber-looking Kwaw Kese was escorted into a police van and sent to the Kumasi Central Prison which will serve as his new home for two weeks until he returns to court.According to ASP Charles Appiah, Head of Drug Law Enforcement Unit, a police patrol team saw Kwaw smoking the cannabis on Saturday and arrested him.Kwaw Kese's lawyer, Kwasi Baoitey, argued that the substance had not been confirmed to be cannabis and there was no justification to continue holding him.

He told the court that cigarettes can be mistaken for cannabis and until the substance was confirmed by a laboratory, the musician ought to be presumed to be innocent and therefore granted bail.

ASP Appiah however says "We all know cannabis and he will not deny, he hasn't denied," the policeman said.

Kwaw's lawyer further argued that there was no justification to continue to detain him because he cannot interfere with any police investigations.ASP Mohammed Tanko, Ashanti Regional Police PRO speaking on Dwaso Nsem on Adom FM earlier, said Kwaw Kese could face a minimum of 10 years' imprisonment if found guilty.

Source: www.viasat1.com.gh via: http://www.viasat1.com.gh/vone/news/entertainmentmain.php?postId=289


Paulina says: What's going on in Ghana, somebody needs to enlighten me!!! What demonic happenings are taking place in our sweet homeland Ghana???? I'm wondering....is this why the gods-that-be ...dot, dot, dot......prefer Ghana to be in darkness?

How on earth can they [the powers that be] let preaching -one touch -child molesters walk free and jail weed smokers???

Beasts-of-no-nation!!!! Priorities ooOooo!!! A failing economy, Victorian diseases (cholera anyone), bulls**t governance ---et al. They better release Hip-Life artiste, Emmanuel Botchway aka Kwaw Kese -NOW!!!!!!! We are slowly but surly becoming a joke -no? When will the bullsh*t stop?

Was Kwaw Kese set up? **All I know is that Kwaw Kese can never be found guilty!!!!! How?

Humans of Ghana better stand up and demand better than this....

I keep wondering ---are we paying some sort price!!! Are the self promoting gods-that-be eating new born babies? Have they sacrifice Ghana for maame water sika? Are we paying for some sort of curse --for something that's been done in darkness!!!!

I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say ---Brand Ghana is unrecognisable from the late President Mills era 'beacon of light' -oil rich -hope-of-Africa verve -no?????

Friday 14 November 2014

Blast From The Past: Africa's Presidential Bank Accounts



Abdoulaye Wade, the former president of Senegal, whose son is accused of illicit enrichment.
 
 

Title: Senegal ex-president's son paid £127m into Monaco bank accounts

Monaco authorities co-operating with Senegalese prosecution of Karim Wade for alleged illicit enrichment ---Dated:Friday 13 September 2013  By: Afua Hirsch
 
 
The son of Senegal's former president deposited more than £127m at a bank in Monaco while his father was in office, it has emerged.

Authorities in Monaco said Karim Wade placed the money in accounts at the Julius Baer bank between 2002 and 2013. They are co-operating with Senegalese officials who are prosecuting Wade on charges of illicit enrichment following a months-long investigation into how he amassed a fortune of more than $1.3bn during the period when his father, Abdoulaye Wade, was president.

Funds held in at least 24 active bank accounts have been linked to 50 companies that Wade is alleged to have used to siphon off state funds. This summer Wade's accounts at the French bank Société Générale were frozen at the request of Senegal's current president, Macky Sall, who vowed to clamp down on corruption after being elected last year.

A widely despised figure during his father's presidency, Wade held powerful ministerial positions including being in charge of major infrastructure and energy projects. At one point he controlled up to a third of the national budget, leading to him being dubbed "the minister of the earth and the sky".
Wade, 44, denies the charges, and this week several dozen supporters staged a demonstration as he appeared in court. The former ruling Senegalese Democratic party (PDS) has accused Sall's regime of conducting a witch-hunt against the PDS hierarchy.

Bachirou Diawara, Wade's former chief of staff, said: "The Senegalese are witnesses that [the prosecutors] are unable to provide evidence of the guilt of our brother Karim Wade. It is stubbornness, nothing more, nothing less." He called for human rights organisations to "restore justice and the rule of law in the country".

Credit: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/13/senegal-ex-president-son-monaco-accounts



Paulina says: Only westerners wonder why Africa is poor... most Africans already know!!!!


"The wicked vomit up the wealth they stole. God takes it back even out of their stomachs." Job 20:15

 

Friday 7 November 2014

The Legatum Prosperity Index: How did Ghana fare?



"Ghana Ranked 98th out of 145" Prosperity Index
 
*79.4% BELIEVE BUSINESS/GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION IS WIDESPREAD
*1:32 TEACHER TO PUPIL RATIO
*68.0% SAY THEY CAN RELY ON OTHERS IN TIMES OF NEED
*79.4% BELIEVE BUSINESS/GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION IS WIDESPREAD
*61.1% BELIEVE IT’S A GOOD PLACE TO LIVE FOR IMMIGRANTS
 

Paulina says: Its that time of the year again when the 'Prosperity Index' ranks all nations -and Ghana as expected did well in safety & Security, it came in at number 60 but fared poorly [as expected] in Economy -coming in at number 116...  Ghana's GDP (per capita) was $2,047.19 USD and our Average Life Satisfaction came in at: 5.1 out of 10....  There are more ranking facts and what have-you-sss about our sweet homeland Ghana via: http://www.prosperity.com/#!/country/GHA  -
http://www.prosperity.com


More Info:
Is a nation’s prosperity defined solely by its GDP? Prosperity is more than just the accumulation of material wealth, it is also the joy of everyday life and the prospect of an even better life in the future. This is true for individuals as well as nations. The Prosperity Index is the only global measurement of prosperity based on both income and wellbeing. It is the most comprehensive tool of its kind and is the definitive measure of global progress.

The Legatum Prosperity Index™ offers a unique insight into how prosperity is forming and changing across the world. http://www.prosperity.com


Other African Nations

Botswana - 75th

Botsawa ranks 75th globally in the 2014 Prosperity Index, having fallen three places since last year.
Botsawa's best performance is in the Governance sub-index, where it ranks 28th in 2104.
Botsawa's lowest rank is in the Health sub-index, where it ranks 111th in 2014.
 
 

Nigeria - 125th

Nigeria ranks 125th globally in the 2014 Prosperity Index, having fallen two places since last year.
Nigeria's best performance is in the Economy sub-index, where it ranks 97th in 2014.
Nigeria's lowest rank is in the Safety & Security sub-index, where it ranks 137th in 2014.
 
 

Central African Republic - 142nd

Central African Republic ranks 142nd globally in the 2014 Prosperity Index, having fallen by one place since last year.
Central African Republic's best performance is in the Personal Freedom sub-index, where it ranks 94th in 2014.
Central African Republic's lowest rank is in the Entrepreneurship & Opportunity sub-index, where it ranks 142nd in 2014.

"It's better to lose the things you have/love than to lose your character and values." Dee Maat