- 9/19/2023
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Good afternoon, welcome to join you today. We're coming to you live from our studios in Kokomlemle.
00:04 We're on DTT because we're free to on DSTV channel 421 and GO TV channel 125.
00:11 We are your home of independent, fearless and credible journalism. Coming up this afternoon,
00:17 Nana Pia Mensah, also known as Nam One, in court this afternoon. We have updates for you on what
00:24 transpired in court.
00:29 Also this afternoon, special prosecutor on air suspicious transactions in bank accounts belonging to Cecilia Dapa as he discovers the former sanitation minister's accounts continue to receive funds from her dead brother's account.
00:45 We have exclusive details of the special prosecutor's latest efforts to freeze suspected tainted properties of Cecilia Dapa,
00:53 revealing the former minister was making millions through companies belonging to her but registered with aliases more as the special prosecutor insists.
01:04 Madame Cecilia Dapa has not been able to prove the source of her wealth.
01:15 Last EC boss, Jane Mensah says commission's decision to increase registration centres in Tamale demonstrates its commitment to register all eligible voters.
01:26 We immediately increased the number of registration stations from two to three and in some cases four.
01:36 We have heard of allegations from various quarters that the commission is disenfranchising eligible voters.
01:44 This is false. It is important to note that this will not be the only registration exercise before the 2024 election.
01:56 We plan to institute continuous registration in all our district offices nationwide in 2020 for a considerable length of time.
02:07 We have more as Jane Mensah chides parliament for contributing to the current chaos by its failure to let the commission's proposed CI pass.
02:17 We'll be telling you more about whether parliament will allow the CI to pass when it resumes in October.
02:27 My name is Aisha Ibrahim. We're also live on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter at Join News on TV.
02:34 My personal handle is @DenanaAisha. Please stay for details.
02:56 An Akwar High Court has been hearing a case involving the embattled CEO of gold dealership firm Men's Gold, the AG slapped Nana Pia Mensah,
03:05 popularly known as Nam One, with 36 counts of offences including money laundering, abetment, defrauding by false pretence,
03:14 carrying on deposit taking without the requisite licence, unlawful deposit taking among other charges.
03:21 This is a reduction from the initial 61 charges brought against him.
03:26 The Attorney General commenced investigations against Nam One in 2019 where he was accused of defrauding thousands of customers
03:35 through his gold dealership firm over millions of Ghana cedis.
03:40 The case has witnessed adjournments until fresh charges were filed on August 30, 2023.
03:46 The new charges come after Mr Pia Mensah announced plans to unlock up funds to Men's Gold customers after a payment of roughly 650 Ghana cedis for verification.
03:59 Subsequently, he reversed the decision to require former clients to purchase a verification access card in order to verify transactions
04:08 and validate claims of strong backlash from customers and the public.
04:13 I've been joined by my colleague Kojo Nyakwu who's been monitoring events for us in court.
04:19 Kojo, tell us what transpired in court today.
04:22 We lost Kojo Nyakwu there. He's a man monitoring the proceedings in court involving Nam One.
04:36 We will try and get him back for some updates on the Nam One case.
04:43 But as we wait for him, let's talk about Professor of Finance at the University of Ghana,
04:49 Professor Godfrey Bokwin, who slashed out at government over its reluctance to cut down on expenditure,
04:55 even in the face of severe economic crisis.
04:58 The conversation has come up again after the Finance Ministry extended an invitation to bondholders who did not partake in the previous domestic debt exchange program
05:09 to submit their bonds by Friday for another round of restructuring.
05:13 Government is targeting a total of 12.9 billion cedis in this restructuring window.
05:19 Speaking on PM Express last night, Professor Bokwin expressed concern over the government's bloated expenditure.
05:26 You know, government is still spending as though there is no debt crisis.
05:33 Government is still living a lifestyle that suggests that it's harvest time.
05:39 If you look at our approach towards our elections and all of that, it tells you that really,
05:45 you know, this approach of royals versus subjects, subjects being creditors, can be treated in a way,
05:54 in all of that, I think it's not good for nation building.
05:57 It's not good for building your own financial markets.
06:01 And because, see, if you look at the approach government is adopting, I mean, clearly,
06:06 I mean, there's very less value actually placed on consultation and recognizing creditors as important stakeholders in all of this.
06:18 And therefore, it didn't matter much if government didn't even consult those people before even coming out of this reopening
06:29 and all of that, when they had been exempted and all of that.
06:32 One would have thought that after such a painful process, we would be moving quite quickly to bring a closure to this whole
06:40 domestic debt exchange so that the country can build forward better and inclusively, right?
06:46 Because you need to generate trust in your financial system.
06:50 And so it's a bit concerning the way we are going.
06:56 Professor Bokpin also noted that the lack of consolidated funds by the various bondholder groups to undertake a comprehensive negotiation
07:04 is the reason the bondholders are unable to reach better terms with government.
07:10 So, you see that even with the configuration, Evans, you realize that we have to use Bank of Ghana's balance sheet as a balancing item
07:20 so that we can make much progress towards the goal.
07:24 Because at the end of the day, all of this thing is yet towards a certain end game, right?
07:29 At 2028, bring your debt to a more sustainable level.
07:32 So, the fiscal sustainability pathway had to be very clear.
07:36 All right.
07:37 So, put all this thing together.
07:38 You see, Evans, that the motive for the domestic debt exchange also was to introduce a new yield curve of below 15%.
07:49 Under normal circumstances, that is only possible when certain conditions are present.
07:55 Inflation was very high, right?
07:58 And then the currency wasn't stable.
08:01 So, you realize that the new yield curve government was trying to introduce, which would have moderated our interest code
08:07 because the yield curve failed.
08:10 So, we practically abandoned that.
08:12 So, you see that right after the first round of the domestic debt exchange, government tries to force down the treasury bill rate.
08:20 It was essentially dragging it down to align it with the new yield curve.
08:25 But because of where inflation was and also because of the fiscal gap, that didn't work.
08:31 So, now you see that the savings that government had made with whatever risk that we had done,
08:38 when you do the analysis, you see that, Evans, the rise in treasury bill costs is almost upsetting that.
08:44 We are almost getting to the point of zero-sum game, right?
08:48 So, if you put all these things together, it tells you that even though government made some progress,
08:54 government didn't get exactly what they wanted.
08:56 Now, so if there's any opportunity, right?
08:59 If there's an opportunity to administrative reopening for government to see if they could rope in those who didn't tender,
09:05 government will grab that with both hands.
09:07 But, Evans, let me come here before I end my first submission.
09:11 We are in this situation also because domestic bondholders build themselves.
09:18 Why am I saying so?
09:20 If everybody would have been better, and we have said this much earlier, form a domestic creditor committee.
09:26 Then you are able to look at all these things holistically, both from the fiscal side, from structural adjustment,
09:32 structural reform, what savings can be made, and then also from debt restructuring.
09:36 So, in the case of Ghana, everybody went in solely to protect themselves and to see what they could get.
09:42 And at the end, through divide and rule and all of that, this is what has brought us.
09:49 Chief Executive of the Ghana Association of Banks, John Ewa explains why.
09:54 I can tell you efforts were made in that direction.
09:58 The unfortunate thing is that for a creditor forum to be successful, you must align interest.
10:05 Interest must be aligned.
10:07 We had an unfortunate situation where as banks, we knew what was at stake,
10:12 particularly at that time when the negotiations started and the discussions that we had had,
10:20 and the kind of gap that had been opened up to us, information that we did not know before.
10:26 And therefore, we decided that in order to help in the solution side of things,
10:34 we would rather work with government to have a deal that perhaps is not too good for us,
10:40 but that saves the country as well.
10:42 So, it was a problem of alignment of objectives.
10:45 We had a group that said we want to be completely exempt.
10:48 And then we had a group that said, okay, we know there's a problem.
10:52 And we are a significant holder.
10:56 If we also say we want to be exempt, we know that clearly we want to work with government
11:01 to have a solution that in our words works for the country.
11:07 It was difficult coming together when our interests were a bit divergent at some point.
11:13 Of course, nobody takes delight in taking a cut of interest from 27% to 8% on average.
11:21 But these were critical moments, and there were a lot of moving parts.
11:25 That is why we had that semblance of groupings instead of a main creditor forum
11:31 to address the issue that we had at hand.
11:34 [SILENCE]
11:38 So, why does our debt restructuring seem never-ending?
11:42 Isaac Kofi Eje is with our research desk.
11:46 He joins me with more Kofi.
11:48 Tell me how many of these restructurings we've done so far.
11:52 Well, Aisha, the finance ministry calls this current debt restructuring DDEP reopening.
11:57 But per our checks and what we know, this will be the third exchange program.
12:01 We know the first one ended February this year.
12:05 The second one was the one that invited individual bondholders, IPPs--
12:10 in fact, that's what I was supposed to say--
12:12 IPPs and then those who are the pension funds to come to the negotiation table for fresh stocks.
12:18 This very one, which is the third, according to our analysis,
12:22 will involve those who are holding GOG bonds, ESLA, DACHE.
12:29 And government is hoping to restructure about 12.9 billion Ghana cities--
12:35 Out of this?
12:36 --13 billion Ghana cities.
12:38 But what we know is that the reason why government is at this point
12:42 is because of the decision they took when they did the first domestic debt restructuring,
12:47 where they had to revise the initial target from that 137 billion Ghana cities
12:52 to 97.7 billion cities.
12:55 And as a result of doing that, if you can put this on the screen,
12:59 they ended up losing about 40 billion Ghana cities
13:02 because they allowed people to convert their bonds to, how do you call it, T-bills.
13:07 Some of them were also given some sort of exemption.
13:10 But the IMF, they have a very interesting position on this DDEP.
13:16 And according to the IMF, if you are conducting DDEP, there are steps that you must follow.
13:22 They say it is like performing a surgery. You only do it when it is necessary.
13:27 But if you don't need it and you feel after doing it you will not get the benefit thereof,
13:31 then it's better you don't do it as well.
13:33 But how is Ghana faring in terms of these laid-down procedures
13:37 as far as all the restructurings we've taken is concerned?
13:41 It is obvious that our case is different from the template that we are all following,
13:45 the template of Jamaica, where they did more or less more engagement.
13:51 Their whole decision was not unilateral.
13:54 But in our case, you see unilateral decision.
13:57 People were allowed to convert their bonds to T-bills.
14:00 And IMF is saying if you are doing it for the first time, you need to do it well.
14:04 Else, if you don't do it well, you end up doing it over and over again.
14:08 You need to cast the net wide to include almost everybody in the debt restructuring.
14:13 Engage people and let them know the kind of haircuts they will be,
14:17 with the magnitude of haircut you are going to give to everybody.
14:20 If you don't do it well, then you end up doing this,
14:22 inviting people to come for fresh talks,
14:24 just like the way we are seeing in the statement that was issued by the finance.
14:28 This is something that has just started,
14:30 because you heard bondholders and all the other groups saying that they are not interested
14:35 and they will not avail themselves for this.
14:37 I mean, it will be interesting in the coming days to see how government intends to do this.
14:43 Meanwhile, Professor Bokpin is hopeful that despite the challenges,
14:46 Ghana will qualify for the next $600 million tranche from the IMF.
14:52 Let's now go back to court and speak with our correspondent, Kodjo Nyakon,
14:58 who is following the trial of Nam One for us this morning.
15:03 Kodjo Nyakon, bring us up to speed as to what happened in court today.
15:08 So, Nam One was present in court as well as his lawyer, Kwame Nkuku.
15:13 He is the attorney general led the prosecution, supported by the director of public prosecution and four others.
15:19 So, Nam One was just throughout the trial because he was told he had some health conditions.
15:25 So, all the 39 counts of various sentences, ranging from defrauding by false pretenses
15:31 to taking deposits without the requisite licenses, were read to him.
15:36 And one after the other, he pleaded not guilty to all counts.
15:39 His lawyer made an argument why his clients should be given bail,
15:43 and made a further argument as to why there is deficiencies in the prosecution's argument.
15:50 In fact, I have with me the chairman of the Agrib Men's Gold Trust Summit to speak with.
15:58 Hello, good afternoon.
15:59 Good afternoon, sir.
16:00 So, you were in court. You listened to the ruling.
16:02 You've been granted those to the sum of $500 million without justification.
16:07 How do you people see all of this?
16:09 Well, we believe in the court proceedings, the entire case, the granted bail, which we are okay with.
16:17 And we also like the way the proceedings are structured with the way the attorney general has presented the case.
16:25 And we are most grateful to the attorney general for his intent that he make known to the court
16:31 that he is applying for a daily prosecution of the case.
16:34 That for us is a very good move from the attorney general.
16:38 And we are in support of that.
16:40 Do you sincerely believe that you would get something out of this prosecution that has started?
16:46 Sure. From the way things are going, we are very reassured that by the end of the prosecution,
16:54 we'll have justice granted to us and we'll have our money paid to us.
16:59 The only challenge we face with the prosecution document that was presented was the disparities that were in the figures of the various individuals that were mentioned
17:10 and the amount that Nawa'a owns to them.
17:13 We want to use this opportunity to also invite our customers with their documents this coming Sunday
17:21 so that we'll get the various documents and the amount and use the very amendments that are required at the attorney general's office.
17:31 And then the next time, we might have a very good document to present to the court.
17:37 So Aisa, that was the chairman of the Agile Men's Gold customers.
17:41 In fact, the lawyer for Namwan says that it was the DOG that inspected their premises
17:49 and advised them to update how they have gone about their duties.
17:53 And the fact that it was checked, that slowed them down.
17:57 But if you look at the offences and the charges, there were no offences or charges related to the check.
18:02 And so that has been the issue the lawyer for Men's Gold has been raising.
18:08 Kojo Nyanko is our man in court and this afternoon he's been bringing us updates as to what happened in court concerning Namwan.
18:18 The Namwan trial.
18:20 Now also this afternoon, there are fresh damning allegations by the special prosecutor against former sanitation minister Cecilia Dapa
18:29 as the OSP goes on the offensive in the latest attempt to confirm the seizure of suspected tinted properties belonging to Madam Dapa.
18:38 Listeners may recall the OSP seized millions of cash from the former minister and ordered the freezing of some bank accounts which had transactions of over 40 million citizens in total.
18:51 And a Crown High Court refused to confirm the seizures and freezing ordering directed the OSP to return the amounts to Cecilia Dapa.
18:59 The special prosecutor complained and complied but it's back in court seeking to get the seizure confirmed.
19:08 Exclusive copies of documents filed in court by the OSP reveal the former minister allegedly has millions of cities which the OSP says she could not prove the source
19:20 including fresh allegations that an account belonging to the dead brother of the former minister was still sending money to Cecilia Dapa's account.
19:30 Kwakuwa Sante of our legal affairs desk joins me via Zoom with more as we learn more of this latest efforts of the special prosecutor.
19:41 Mr Kwakuwa, tell us about this alarming claim that the dead brother of Cecilia Dapa was still sending money to her.
19:50 So Aisha, according to analysis of the statement in Cecilia Dapa's bank account for the Top Ghanian Bank which for some editorial reasons I'm unable to reveal,
19:58 there was highly suspicious transactions involving the name of Cecilia Dapa's deceased brother, Nanakwese Esan.
20:05 They said Nanakwese Esan died in January 2022 and there is no record domiciled at the financial institutions of COVID or letters of the administration granted to personal refs.
20:17 Strangely, there are active transfers from the deceased person's bank account to that of Cecilia Dapa's bank account in Ghana.
20:24 In fact, as recently as 19 September 2022 and 23 May 2023, amounts of 10,450 CDs and 11,280,000 CDs respectively were transferred supposedly by the deceased brother to the first respondent.
20:42 The OST made the allegation that despite the fact that Cecilia Dapa's brother has passed on, there are some suspicious activities including the transfer of money from his account to that of Cecilia Dapa.
20:55 So the special prosecutor also alleges in his filings that Cecilia Dapa claimed to have businesses making her all those monies but the businesses were not registered in her name.
21:08 Yes, Cecilia Dapa had claimed that she owned an undisclosed and unidentifiable part of 2,860,000 CDs retrieved from her residence in Abilengki.
21:20 She claimed that some of the money was received as certain allowances and revenue from a cosmetic business which is registered under the name Demacare Cosmetics as a sole proprietor.
21:31 However, the OST's investigation revealed that the first respondent is not the registered legal owner of the said business enterprise.
21:39 The official records of the registrar of companies reveals that the proprietor of Demacare Cosmetics is one Marian Iwa.
21:46 Further investigation by the OST revealed the existence of another business entity with the name Demacare Enterprise registered with the postal address of Cecilia Dapa.
21:56 However, the legal ownership rests in one Victoria Doig and not Cecilia Dapa.
22:02 The OST says it's continuing investigation into the matter to get to the actual beneficial owners of this business.
22:09 Cecilia Dapa had also claimed in part that the discovered cash in CDs discovered by the OST in her residence was proceeds from the sale of a Demacare Cosmetics business in 2003 and that she kept the proceeds of that sale in her room.
22:24 But the cash found had date on it which was 1st July 2007.
22:29 The OST makes the case that how do you sell a business in 2003 and purport to have kept the money in your room but the date found on the money is 2007.
22:39 These are some of the questions the OST is asking in this latest filing before the court.
22:43 What about the suspicious transactions of the former minister where she sells properties in another name but signs of using her regular signature?
22:53 Yes, Aisha, the OST alleges that Cecilia Dapa sold a snake boteman estate flat under the name Nana Ya Ode.
23:02 Indeed, Cecilia Dapa appended her own signature on all relevant correspondence with the buyer under the name Nana Ya Ode.
23:10 Concerning this payment, Cecilia Dapa through her agent gave the buyer her bank account number.
23:15 It was only at the point of payment that the agent realized that Cecilia Dapa revealed this identity to the true buyer of the house.
23:24 And in fact, this amount was paid into Cecilia Dapa's account.
23:28 Cecilia Dapa used the name Nana Ya Ode to sell this property but signed her regular signature in all those documentation.
23:47 But the former minister also had claimed that part of the money was made through setting allowances.
23:54 Is the OST satisfied with this explanation?
23:57 Not at all, Aisha. In fact, Cecilia Dapa claimed that the various amounts stashed in 32 different envelopes discovered through the adverse search by the OST amounting to 32,000 CDs, 132,070 CDs were her setting allowances.
24:15 A record of the various sums sealed in the said envelopes ranged from 400 CDs to 38,160 CDs, most of which far exceeded the approved sums recommended for payment of public officials' assessing allowances, raising suspicion as to the legitimacy of the source of this amount of money.
24:37 Kwekwa Sante is with our Legal Affairs Desk bringing us details of the statement issued by the OSP in the fresh accusation of former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Dapa.
24:49 Let's get on to other stories.
24:51 Pressure group Fix the Country Movement has announced plans to picket the Jubilee House on convener for the Fix the Country Movement, Oliver Bakavoma,
25:01 who is actually calling on Ghanaians to join in the upcoming Jolobee demonstration and picketing at the Jubilee House starting this Thursday.
25:10 In a press conference this morning, Mr. Bakavoma said the deteriorating conditions in the country and the unresponsiveness of the government to previous concerns have made it necessary to organize this demonstration.
25:24 He also emphasized that it was necessary for Ghanaians of all tribes to mobilize collectively in order to bring about change and demonstrate that it was possible to use constitutional means to hold the government accountable for its actions.
25:44 All right, so we've been joined by Eche Sika who is there for us.
25:50 Let's hear a little bit about the report from this press conference. Eche.
25:54 Thank you very much. They've been speaking on a number of issues. They've talked about why they need to do this demonstration again.
26:01 It's about a tenth one they are doing. They've enumerated a number of reasons, at least in cost of living, the increasing instances in corruption.
26:09 They've talked about the debt situation and they also believe that there is a rise in the situation of public funds.
26:15 These are the core reasons, but they've also tried to emphasize the reason why they are using the Jubilee House.
26:21 They've mentioned that there's some symbolic significance, the visibility that it draws, and that they do want to increase the pressure on the government to be able to address the concerns that we've shown over time.
26:34 This is what they are speaking on.
26:36 One of the things that they've been very clear in saying is that they do want a lot of Ghanaians to join in this demonstration.
26:41 They believe in the transformative power of the collective ability of Ghanaians to be able to bring about change.
26:49 If you look at it within the context of what is happening within the sub-region, they've said that this would show that Ghana's democracy is striving,
26:58 that it is possible to organize a very peaceful resistance to the government in order to bring about constitutional change.
27:05 All right, so that's H.S. Ika Unkwut with some more details from their press conference by the Fix the Country being addressed by the convener, Oliver Bakavoma,
27:16 where he says they will be embarking on a demonstration, Julo-Bi demonstration.
27:22 He's asking Ghanaians to join this cause at the Jubilee House.
27:27 Let's get on to electoral commission matters because chairperson of the commission, Jean Mensah, says the outfit's decision to increase registration outlets in Tamale
27:39 demonstrate the commission's commitment to ensure all eligible voters are captured on the national roll.
27:46 The EC has come under intense criticism over its refusal to decentralize the registration process from its district offices.
27:54 In particular, the Tamale Metro office of the EC had been fraught with faulty kits, long queues culminating into a very slow process.
28:04 Addressing journalists, however, Jean Mensah explained that following discussions with Tamale North MP Harunai Driso,
28:12 the commission increased the registration centers in Tamale and will continue to do so in other places when the need arises.
28:21 We immediately increased the number of registration stations from two to three and in some cases four.
28:30 Faulty kits were also swiftly replaced with spares that were available in the region.
28:37 And so for instance, in the Tamale Metro office we experienced issues with the kits sent there resulting in a registration figure of four voters only on day one.
28:51 We quickly stepped in and replaced the faulty kits and the registration is going on there seamlessly.
29:00 Additionally, to do with the long queues in the Tamale Metro office, we have increased the registration stations from two to four.
29:11 And I'm happy to note that on Saturday, they recorded a high of 269 registrations and 410 on Sunday, the 17th of September.
29:25 I share these examples to demonstrate that as a commission, we are on the ground and working around the clock to ensure that every eligible voter who is desiring to register as a voter does so with ease.
29:46 We have heard of allegations from various quarters that the commission is disenfranchising eligible voters.
29:54 This is false.
29:57 Speaking on the ETHI's proposed CEI, the commission says Parliament is partly to blame for the commission's struggle to decentralize the registration process as the failure of the House to pass its new CEI has left the commission in a very difficult position.
30:15 As you are all aware, the commission prepared a draft CEI for continuous registration in all district offices nationwide.
30:26 This initiative started last year and the registration we were envisaging under the draft CEI was for a sustained, long-term basis.
30:38 Indeed, had the CEI passed, we would have had some six months this year to register voters at any time of their choice.
30:49 And I'd like to repeat it, that had the CEI passed, we would have had some six months to register voters at any time of their choice.
31:01 Parliament is expected to consider the EC's proposed CEI when it resumes from break this October.
31:08 But ranking member on Parliament's Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Bernard Ahinafo, says Parliament will not pass the EC's CEI if it does not accommodate their request of adding the guarantor system.
31:25 The percentage of Ghanaians have Ghana cards, let alone those who turn 18 and those who have not been registered as voters.
31:39 So we realize that the new CEI will be causing more harm to Ghanaians than good.
31:47 There is nothing useful in the new CEI. The only thing being introduced by the new CEI, I maintain, is the amendment of Regulation 1 to limit the sub-documents, which were three, in line with the Supreme Court decision in the case of Abu Ramadan.
32:10 He has the constitutional right, as the discussion to determine the number of days, number of weeks, number of months, that the continuous registration exercise is supposed to be conducted.
32:24 So her inability to do it for a longer period cannot be attributed to the non-passage of the new CEI.
32:34 That, I maintain, is an intellectual defiance.
32:39 Secondly, we parliamentarians do not prepare budgets for the EC, but we approve budgets for the EC.
32:48 If the EC were to retain that it has prepared budgets to conduct limited registration in an electoral area basis, the Parliament has not given an approval that it has a point.
33:03 But without saying so, then I do not think Parliament of the Republic of Ghana stands to be blamed for the inability of Madame Jane Hunter, the chairperson of the EC, to conduct limited registration based on electoral areas.
33:23 I warn Parliament will not let it pass. So long as it limits the sub-documents to only Ghana cards, Parliament must not let this CEI pass.
33:34 That's a live on Joy News today. We'll take a break. When we return, we'll bring you all you need to know in the world of business.
33:49 Hi, good afternoon. Welcome to the business segment on Joy News today with me, Pius Kodjoe-Bakaa.
33:53 Economist Dr Ishmael Yamsin has criticised the government for ignoring all the signs showing that the economy was collapsing in 2022.
34:01 According to him, government was aware of the dire consequences that over-borrowing could have on the economy.
34:07 He advised government must take prudent steps to bring the economy to full recovery.
34:12 He was speaking at a public lecture to mark the fifth anniversary of Academic City University College.
34:18 Academic City University College, as part of its fifth anniversary, held a public lecture on empowering youth towards a safe and secure future.
34:27 According to some speakers, Ghana's economic situation is as a result of a blatant disregard for ethical leadership.
34:34 In an interview with Joy Business, economist Dr Ishmael Yamsin said government must accept its mistakes and steer the economy back onto the right path.
34:43 Since the issues were known, and I don't think anybody can ever say that they were not aware of the issues facing the country and the likely consequences.
34:58 So what the government has done is simply understand the implications of those issues, clearly and with honesty determine what they can do to change the course of what they were doing.
35:18 I think the biggest risk was that they refused to accept that things were not going in the right direction, even when the signs were all over the place.
35:33 So that is what I think that we should do differently going forward.
35:39 You must be honest enough to accept, because we are human beings. We can make mistakes, things can go wrong.
35:48 The important thing is when you make a mistake, you accept it, you change it and you move on.
35:55 The danger is when you refuse even to accept that there is a risk. Then you will refuse to do something about it.
36:06 And the consequences can be dire, whether you are an individual, a country or an institution.
36:12 President at Academic City University College, Professor Fred McBagunlurie on this part indicated that,
36:18 "A sound faith is committed to nurturing leaders that would help solve complex societal issues."
36:24 Academic City has taken the lead in transforming tertiary education in Ghana and beyond by embracing a STEM-focused curriculum, cultivating an entrepreneurial spirit among its students.
36:35 The institution is engaging and equipping the next generation with tools they need to address the complex challenges and to drive innovation across various sectors.
36:47 The topic for this public lecture could not be more appropriate, "Empowering the Youth for the Future."
36:54 The role of education in preparing our youth to navigate the complexities of the future cannot be exaggerated in a world characterized by rapid change and unprecedented challenges.
37:08 In these difficult and challenging economic times and uncertainties in our sub-region, the need for a redirection cannot be overemphasized.
37:18 Dr Ishmael Yamsin received an Honorary Leadership Award for fostering collaboration between the public and private sector to contribute to economic growth.
37:26 Jesse Eriya, Macbeth Ghost Report, for Joy Business.
37:29 Some operators in the car rental business are bemoaning lack of regulatory framework within the industry.
37:37 Players explain that the sector lacks adequate data to drive effective policies.
37:42 Founder of Wupeka Ghana, Yusuf Seidu, called on the association to implement policies capable of driving positive growth.
37:50 The global car rental market is expected to register a compound annual growth rate of 7.5% during the forecast period from 2019 to 2024.
38:02 But in Ghana, there are a lot of issues confronting the sector ranging from increased operational costs which have hindered the growth of the market,
38:11 as consumers deter from the option of choosing luxury cars and end up for more economic and cost-effective cars.
38:19 I think one of the biggest concerns in the industry is the lack of data.
38:24 The lack of data about the industry, there isn't enough data available to actually understand the amount of opportunity in Ghana.
38:35 And that is one of the gaps that Wupeka is actually looking to bridge.
38:40 In addition to that, the lack of an online presence for a lot of the small to medium-scale car rental businesses that you see when you're driving on the streets.
38:51 You always see their cars parked along the streets.
38:54 They have no way of getting any type of reach to potential customers through online platforms.
39:02 A boost in the tourism sector is one key market trend that may contribute to the growth of this sector.
39:08 These players are expecting a positive outlook for the subsequent years.
39:12 For Joy Business, James Eshen.
39:15 And that's it for business. I am Pius, Kujubaka Sports is next.
39:20 [Music]
39:25 Let's do sports now. I want to join you today with me, Mufti Abdullahi.
39:30 And George Friere has asked his lawyers to file an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the decision of the Ghana Football Association Appeals Committee to reject his appeal against the disqualification that was sent out to him by the Elections Committee of the Ghana Football Association on September 11th.
39:49 On September 7th, according to Mr. George Friere, the decision of the Appeals Committee is alien to Ghana football.
39:59 The story which came to the attention of Joy Sports just a couple of minutes ago says that Mr. Friere was dismissed by the Appeals Committee on the grounds that he did not meet the requirements to contest the position of President of the Football Government.
40:18 But it noted that the invalidity of any document cannot be cured by reference to Article 83 of the GFA Elections Regulations.
40:27 And indeed, if Mr. George Kwesi Afriyeh had submitted an invalid tax clearance certificate or invalid police clearance certificate, it would have made his nomination invalid.
40:38 And this was in reference to Mr. Afriyeh's appeal, which claimed that the Elections Committee misdirected itself on the law of requirements to contest for the GFA presidency and also misapplied Article 83 of the GFA Regulations on Elections and Article 132(j) of the GFA Statutes 2019, describing his disqualification as erroneous.
41:02 What Joy Sports has also picked up is that there is a possibility that Mr. Afriyeh and his team would be heading to Anakra High Court to secure an injunction on the GFA elections.
41:13 Until such a time, the case is fully heard from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
41:19 Now let's hear from Mr. George Afriyeh who says that Ghana football in the next four years under the leadership of Kurt Okreku will collapse.
41:28 I think that our league needs credibility. I think that we deserve a better sponsorship than what we are getting today.
41:37 I think that there must be fair competition. I think that nobody can sit in Anakra and decide which match should be won by which team.
41:47 I think that it's important that nobody decides who goes on relegation. These things I hear from club owners.
41:55 I think that when a player is qualified and called into the national team, one team must not go behind and say they are selling them to us or else the player will be dropped from the national team.
42:06 These are the things that are happening in our football and these are not my words.
42:11 You are just labelling allegations.
42:13 It is not an allegation. We have just refused. When Yabu Atinjan spoke on air, you said you didn't hear.
42:19 So why are you saying it's an allegation? Am I the one who is saying it?
42:23 You have heard the things that club owners continuously have come to say on air.
42:31 And you say you don't care?
42:34 How have you gone behind the scenes to investigate, to find out yourself?
42:40 These are very important.
42:43 If we continue like this, I can assure you and I can bet you, there will not be growth.
42:49 There will not be growth. Four years down the line, what we are saying today, cut and keep the videos.
42:56 Four years, you and I will come and meet here and we will be talking about the same thing.
43:00 So if Ketokriku is re-elected, you think Ghana football will crumble? Is that what you are saying?
43:05 We are in debt. Debt.
43:08 If our football continues under Ketokriku and this, trust me. Trust me.
43:17 And that's your sports for now.
43:19 We do have more sports stories on myjoyonline.com.
43:22 And also at 2pm, one of my colleagues, Natana Atokamsoe, will be speaking to the lawyer of Mr. George Efreia
43:28 as they prepare documents to go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport
43:32 and also at the Accra High Court to put an injunction on the GFA elections.
43:36 Up next is World News.
43:43 While you're still on, join us today and this is the showbiz segment.
43:48 And there's still controversy surrounding Nigerian musician Mubas Demite and a lot of stories have popped up.
43:55 But yesterday, the police together with the parents met the media at a press conference
44:00 and announced that they're going to launch an investigation into the death of the musician
44:06 to see exactly what happened to him and if any perpetrators are found, they will be brought to book.
44:12 This is what happened at the press conference.
44:15 All facts, including videos, including personalities that have been mentioned, including those not even mentioned
44:24 that we do know from our homicide investigation experience, will be vital for that investigation.
44:33 So I don't want to reduce you to a specific name at this moment.
44:38 Let's proceed with the investigation.
44:41 Because we have needs to identify individuals which could be wider.
44:49 We will pick on whoever we believe from the investigation is linked
44:56 and we'll call in such a person or bring such a person to this indicted subject below.
45:06 And from Nigeria, let's focus our attention on the foreign front, Antipayne,
45:11 who came to the limelight with his song "Buy Me a Drink" that made him a global phenom.
45:17 In an interview, he said that he is not making any money from the track or from the record "Buy Me a Drink"
45:23 because lyrical content he used in the song, he is now paying royalties for the monies that are coming in for that track.
45:31 Well, this is what he said.
45:33 I looked up the publishing on "Buy Me a Drink".
45:36 It is crazy.
45:37 Bro, like publishing wise, I probably get like no money from "Buy Me a Drink".
45:40 So all those things that I said in "Buy Me a Drink" that was from other songs,
45:46 when "Buy Me a Drink" like blew up, blew up, all them people and writers from them other songs said they were owed from my song because I said...
45:54 You're like...
45:55 And I was like, what the...
45:57 I was like paying homage and...
46:01 So like "Money in the Bank", I got "Money in the Bank" and Scrappy and his writers came for that.
46:07 Oh, "Snap Your Fingers", "Do Your Step", Lil Jon and E-40 and everybody on that song came for me.
46:13 "Walk It Out".
46:14 Mente has a credit too, yeah.
46:16 Yeah, "Walk It Out", Monte got a credit on that.
46:18 I was like, god damn, what's going on?
46:21 It's our money in the bank.
46:22 And that is all for us showbiz.
46:24 The name is Ibrahim Bin Bako, Aisha.
46:26 And my name is Aisha Ibrahim.
46:28 That's my father right there.
46:30 And that's a wrap on the bulletin.
46:32 This afternoon log on to majionline.com for more of the news and updates of all the developing stories.
46:39 Do enjoy the rest of our programs.
46:43 [Music]
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