Kofi Ahovi

On Thursday, February 24, 2022, many students were denied access to Delta State Polytechnic’s campus after they were discovered to be dressed indecently. Security officials conducted their own checks at the college gate, and students, notably ladies, who were not wearing trousers or brassiere were allegedly turned away. The Polytechnic’s management has defended the harsh move, claiming that it is the best way to maintain discipline at the school. ‘No bra, no entry, no pants, no entry,’ Delta State Polytechnic has declared war on indecent dressing on its campus. According to sources seen, the school authorities are concerned that indecent attire has become commonplace on school grounds. The school apparently organized a meeting to address the matter and adopted the ‘No bra, no admittance, no pants, no entry’ policy for female pupils.

  Kicking, hitting and screaming. It's what happens at my house from the moment my kids wake up to the moment they go to sleep. My sons, ages 2 and 4, fight with each other over everything. Whether it's sharing toys, the color of their dinner plates or even who has the bigger sippy cup -- everything is a competition, and my husband and I are the referees. The fighting is constant, and I wonder every day if it's normal. I grew up with a brother 18 months younger than me, and we bickered. But my parents and I don't remember it being as volatile as what I'm experiencing with my two kids (although I realize we adults tend to block out some of the bad times). My mom friends say their children throw tantrums, but no one seems to relate to my situation. I did some digging, and it turns out I'm not crazy. Sibling rivalry, especially when it comes to kids of the same sex, is common -- and even more so when they are less than two years apart, according to  Nationwide Chil...

Toyota will shut down all 14 of its factories in Japan on Tuesday after a possible cyber-attack. News site Nikkei , which first reported the shutdown, said supplier Kojima Industries Corporation suspected it had been hit by a cyber-attack, causing a halt in production. Japanese factories account for about a third of Toyota's production. It  told the Wall Street Journal  it did not know whether the factories would remain closed beyond Tuesday. 'System failure' Read also: Toyota, VW entry to disrupt used cars market Toyota is the world's best selling carmaker. Its production target for this year is 8.5 million vehicles. And the closure will reportedly set this back by about 13,000 cars. Due to a system failure at a supplier in Japan, we have decided to suspend the operation of 28 lines at all 14 domestic plants", Toyota told news agency AFP. Like other manufacturers, Toyota's production has been hit by the global semi-conductor shortage. The shutdown included som...

Prices of petroleum products may go up by about 6%, beginning March 1st, 2022, if government fails to intervene in the rising price of crude oil. According to the Institute for Energy Security, the impending price increases have been largely influenced by the sharp depreciation of the cedi against the US dollar. Other factors include the 3.33% increase in the price of Brent crude, the 2.71% rise in Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) price, the 3.58% increase in the price of petrol, and the 4.50% jump in diesel price; all on the international oil and fuel markets”, it added. Crude oil prices rose on Thursday, 24 th  February 2022 when markets became aware of a military operation sanctioned by the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. The so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine organised under the hand of the President fueled market anxiety over the potential impact for oil and gas supply from the region and the escalating tensions of a potential World War III. Read also: Bank of Ghan...

The Ghana cedi has been classified as the worst of African currencies with the “Worst Spot Returns” by Bloomberg. Bloomberg pegs the depreciation of the cedi to the dollar at 8.86% between January 1, 2022 and February 25, 2022. It is followed by the Zambian kwacha with a depreciation of 6.02%. Ghana and the Zambian economies have been battling with fiscal slippages, whilst their rising debts have created fears among investors regarding their economic outlook. Whereas, Zambia agreed to an International Monetary Fund bailout of $1.4 billion December 2021 for a crucial three year programme to restructure its debt, Ghana is adamant in returning to the Bretton Wood institution for a similar programme to build investor credibility. Read also:  Cedi ends with 4.1% depreciation rate to the dollar in 2021 Crude oil has been selling above $100 per barrel, but the foreign inflows from the commodity have done little to help stabilise the cedi. However, the five-year $4.5 billion Country Partne...

About 1.5 million beneficiaries of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme have not been paid their grants for the past four months. The payment of amounts ranging from GH¢64 to GH¢106, depending on the number of qualified people in a beneficiary household, which is done every two months, has been in arrears from November last year. The situation has resulted in a disruption in the income of the recipients, identified as the poorest and most vulnerable segment of the population, who are now unable to meet their basic household needs such as food and nutritional needs, health care and education. Currently, 344,023 households, made up of 1.5 million people, benefit from the LEAP programme. This was revealed by three civil society groups at a press conference in Accra last Thursday. The Social Accountability Forum, the Civil Society Platform for Social Protection and the Civil Society Platform on the Sustainable Development Goal 10 jointly organised the event to prevai...

The Minister for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has opened a three-day work retreat at the Aqua Safari Resort in Ada for CEOs and Board Chairpersons of the energy sector agencies, as well as other stakeholders. In his opening remarks, Dr. Prempeh, who is also the MP for Manhyia South, stated that the retreat was a valuable opportunity to openly and frankly discuss issues that concern all in the sector, take stock and strategize for 2022 and the years ahead. Setting out the energy sector medium-term objectives, Dr. Prempeh charged the gathering to ensure loyalty to this mandate. We must at all times endeavour to keep our eye on the ball by focusing on these objectives as the centrepiece of all the work that we do. I do not need to remind us of the important role of our sector in the economic development of this country and most importantly ensuring comfortable lives for the citizenry in the pursuit of their livelihoods”, he declared. He noted further that the past year has seen a nu...

  The World Bank has injected GH¢28 million grants into the operations of 400 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to support their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) disbursed the grants between November last year and January this year as part of the Ghana Economic Transformation Project (GETP). They were disbursed to businesses in the agro-processing, food and beverage, health care and manufacturing industries. The Country Director of the World Bank, Pierre Laporte, made this known in a speech read on his behalf by the bank’s Lead Country Economist at the 7th IFEJ-Flamingo Awards for Business and Financial Journalism in Accra last Friday. For instance, we have been working closely with the Ghana Enterprises Agency as part of the Ghana Economic Transformation Project. Read also: GEA disburses grant to 120 small businesses Additional World Bank financing will also be available for technical assistance and grants to SMEs with high growth potential...

The MTN Ghana Foundation has launched the sixth edition of its flagship MTN Heroes of Change  programme  at a brief event at the MTN House in Accra. The sixth edition, which is dubbed “Special 25 th  Anniversary Edition” is set to reward individuals and institutions who have made significant impact in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the country  in the three focus areas of the MTN Ghana Foundation which are Health, Education and Economic Empowerment.   From  23 rd  February to 7 th  April 2022 members of the general public  are invited  to   nominate  COVID-19 heroes from their communities.  The nominations will then be  pruned to 10 and the stories of these 10 will be filmed and featured in a 13-week television show.  A total of 200,000 has been set aside to reward  the final 10  heores   which means that a ll ten (10) finalists will receive a cash prize of GHS 20,000, a certificat...

 Dredge Masters Ghana Limited, a subsidary of the Jospong Group of Companies donated items worth thousands of Ghana Cedis to the general Children's ward, Emergency ward and the Daycare center of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for the upkeep of children at the centres. Speaking at a short ceremony, Deputy Managing Director of Dredge Masters, Samuel Borquaye said it was important for the company to spend the day of love with the children at the hospital since these children have become children of Dredge Masters. On this day of love, Dredge Masters again donated toiletries, chocolates and school stationaries to the children admitted at the children’s ward of the Hospital” he said. Read also: Handling of medical waste By Zoomlion has boosted our morale- Goaso Medical Superintendent The gesture, set in commemoration of Valentine's Day, forms part of the company's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). On the 25th of August, 2021, Dredge Masters handed over a fully renovated chi...

  MTN Group today unveiled its  evolved visual identity , articulating the context behind the logo many have seen since 16 February 2022. It is just the second brand overhaul since the Group was founded in 1994. Back in 2004, the changes made to the brand resulted in MTN taking ownership of the colour yellow that is now synonymous with MTN. Importantly, it also helped to elevate the brand to where it is today, recognised as the most valuable in Africa.  The brand is an extension and visual representation of the Group’s refreshed strategy, dubbed Ambition 2025 and premised on  Leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress. Through the delivery of this strategy, MTN aims to accelerate growth by building the largest and most valuable platform businesses and driving its industry leading connectivity operations. Ralph Tendai Mupita, President and CEO, MTN Group Africa is a continent with enormous opportunity and energy and we want to play our part in harnessing her pote...

I am of utmost certainty that everyone would love to be financially independent. A resounding ‘yes’ is the answer I would get if I were to go round asking “who wants to be independent financially?” Such is the burning desire!  Financial Independence simply means one would have gotten to the point where he or she would not have to work to sustain their living expenses. Financial independence does not mean an individual will necessarily stop working.  A financially independent person may decide to work or not. The decision to work is usually because they WANT to and not because they MUST. Big difference. Financial independence is achieved if a person has accumulated enough wealth to generate enough passive income to take care of all living expenses. For instance, if one’s living expenses sums up to GHS 10,000, an investment of GHS750,000 by that person at an interest rate of 16% per annum will be able to fund the living expenses.  That is because the investment would b...