Somalia: Al-Shabab kills 15 in a hotel in Mogadishu

Al-Shabab Islamist militants have attacked a hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, killing at least 15 people.

Buhari Ministers Declares They Are Ready To Work For Free

After President Muhammadu Buhari said last Friday that Nigeria is broke and he might not be able to pay ministers, some minister-designates have said they are ready to work for free

APC - There Is No Chance PDP Will Survive, With Olisa Metuh

Continuing the series of political jabs at each other, the APC issued a statement criticising their opponent, the PDP’s, spokesperson, Olisa Metuh’s personal attacks on his APC counterpart.

Olisa Metuh (PDP, left) and Lai Mohammed (APC)                                                               

Bice Osei Kuffuor A.K.A. "Obour" Re-Elected MUSIGA President

President of the Musicians Union of Ghana, (MUSIGA), Bice Osei Kufuor, popularly known as Obuor, has been re-elected President of the union.

NPP top official's meeting on EC’s ‘crucial’ letter to the party

Veteran Journalist Abdul Malik Kweku Baako             

Veteran Journalist Abdul Malik Kweku Baako has revealed that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Director of Finance and Administration, received a crucial letter from the Electoral Commission (EC) requesting the party to make certain documents including the Togo register available to it for investigation, but failed to notify other party executives about it.

According to him, his checks at the EC indicate that the said letter which was dated 19th October was received same day by the NPP official, but he claims because his life was being threatened he had to leave the party’s headquarters without informing his colleagues about the letter.

PHOTOS: Panic As Oro Cult Members Walk Around Ikeja Lagos, Shop Owners Flee For Safety

Oro Cultists Walking Around Ikeja Lagos Force Shop Owners To Flee.Panic As Oro Cult Members Walk Around Ikeja Lagos, Shop Owners Flee For Safety

Pandemonium broke out in Ikeja earlier today when some Oro cultists took to the streets to carry out some rituals.
The cult members wearing white were seen parading several streets in the residential and commercial area of Ikeja today.
Their suspicious move forced traders in Ikeja to abandon their shops.

Boko Haram Militants From Chad Arrested At Oke Agbe Akoko, Ondo State

 
Residents of four local government areas in Akoko, Ondo State, are living in fear, following what has been described as the influx of suspected Boko Haram insurgents. 

Ghana FA Former Co member ''Winfred Osei'' defends Congress acclamation for 'trustworthy' president Kwesi Nyantakyi

Winfred Osei

Executive Committee member Winfred Osei has disclosed that the re-election Kwesi Nyantakyi as Ghana FA president demonstrates the confidence the football family in him.

Notorious armed robber, Johnson Kombian, sentenced to death by hanging

File Photo: Rope

Notorious armed robber, Johnson Kombian has been sentenced to death by hanging by a jury.

He was charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder in October 2010.

Kombian ambushed and killed two police officers and left another injured in the Nakpanduri area in the Northern region.

Two injured after armed robbers storm Promise Land

Two persons have sustained gunshot wounds after armed robbers stormed Promise Land near Adjei Kojo, a suburb of Accra Tuesday dawn.

One of the victims was shot when the robbers entered his home.

The other injured person was amongst a group of youth who stepped out to confront the criminals, but were forced to flee when the suspected robbers shot at them.

The residents say they are terrified by the situation.

Ghana receives 300 million dollars from Global Fund grant

Accra, Aug. 18, GNA - Government on Tuesday signed an agreement with the Global Fund for a grant of $300 million to fight Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV and AIDs.

Ugandan journalist ''Nancy Kacungira'' wins BBC World News Komla Dumor Award

Nancy Kacungira

A Ugandan journalist with a background as an entrepreneur, radio and TV reporter and presenter has won the first BBC World News Komla Dumor Award.

President Buhari - ‘FEARLESS’ judges to try looters

President Muhammadu Buhari has commenced the process of identifying a few fearless and courageous judges who will be saddled with the responsibility of prosecuting persons who have been found to have stolen national resources. Buhari had while granting audience to members of the National Peace Committee led by Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar in the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday disclosed that the prosecution of the indicted persons would commence in a matter of weeks. 

|PHOTO| Girl bleeds to death after alighting from unidentified car in Lagos

A girl bled to death in Ikorodu Area of Lagos after alighting from a car eyewitnesses were unable to identify. The incident happened around 4:00 p.m. at Benson bus stop opposite Total filling station, on Thursday, reports say. 

The Very First Underwater Hotel can be found in Africa

The Underwater Room at the Manta Resort is Africa's first underwater hotel space.

Jesper Anhede/themantaresort.com

Divers, snorklers and Steve Zissou-types can immerse themselves in the unspoiled waters of a remote African island in an entirely new way, thanks to a Swedish design team.

Off the coast of Tanzania, The Manta Resort on Pemba Island has unveiled a new private accommodation with a bedroom four meters below the surface. So now travelers can sleep surrounded by sea creatures.

The brainchild of Genberg Underwater Hotels, which has placed previous aquatic accommodations in the center of a Swedish lake, the Manta Resort's floating island is three stories. The top deck is designed for stargazing and sunbathing, while lounging and dining take place inside the water deck. Down below, the bedroom's windows forgo curtains in favor of unobstructed views of marine life, such as squid and octopus, which are illuminated by evening spotlights.

The cost to reserve the room ranges from $900-$1,500 per night, depending upon single or double occupancy.

Caught for trying to Sell soap as phone for a passerby

This guy tried to sell a washing bar soap with a case for someone as a phone at Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra but was caught. He was asked to make a call with it, if only it goes thru then he is free to leave. He is still dialing as i speak.

Bristow Helicopter’s Black Box Found

The Accident Investigation Bureau has announced that it recovered the Black Box of the Bristow helicopter that crashed into the Lagos lagoon on August 12, Wedneday.

Premium Times reports that the black box contains the cockpit voice and the flight data recorders.

Boko Haram And Military Battle Near Maiduguri

Explosions and shooting were heard in Borno state on Tuesday, August 11. This time in Kayamula village of the Jere local government area, near capital Maiduguri.
 

Ghana Gov’t to refund GH¢250m to mining companies

Minister of Finance, Seth Terpker

Government is establishing a framework to repay more than GH¢ 250 million in VAT refund owed mining companies who are worried about the lock up of their with government.

Finance Minister, Mr Seth Terpker told the Graphic Business on the sidelines of a media briefing in Accra that the government is instituting the necessary measures for a refund of the VAT surplus to mining companies.

“ It is true that we owe the mining companies so much, but we have begun instituting the necessary framework to refund those monies to them and we are also in discussions with the mining firms in that regard”, Mr Terkper said.

Chief Executive of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Mr Sulemana Koney is worried that the delay in the refund to mining companies VAT surplus estimated at GH¢250 million is affecting the cash flow position of the companies.

“The government was benefiting from mining companies by way of inordinate delays in the refund of surplus VAT, which was estimated at about GHC250 million as of June 2014”, Mr Koney said at a day’s workshop on mining organised by the Journalists for Business Advocacy (JBA) in Accra.

Mr Koney shares the view that one motivating factor that seems to encourage such excessive taxing is the ‘Cash Cow Syndrome’ cautioning that the mining industry should not be seen as a cash or fat cow but rather as catalysts for national development.

“Our concern is that production is going down,” Mr Koney stressed, and added that the high cost of production is a key factor that must be considered in addressing the production deficits.

He cites the very distinct electricity tariff regime for mining companies as well as special petroleum tax. On the petroleum tax he said; “we already pay a premium and there is 17.5 per cent being slapped on that. If costs are too high, our competitiveness will be eroded”.
According to him, on a monthly basis, the mining sector cross subsidised the consumption of social fuel such as premix by about US$5 million.

Excessive taxes

Mining companies in Ghana face the brunt of a business unfriendly tax regime, some analysts say. And yet, there have been calls for more taxes with suggestions for the replication of a controversial Zambian model that the Zambians themselves have abandoned.

The Zambian government in response to popular concerns for more mining revenue for the State increased royalty to be paid by mining companies to a whopping 20 per cent. That spelt doom for the mining industry; ultimately, the government realised that the mining industry was not so fat a cow. “That killed a lot of the companies and the new regime has renegotiated the fiscal regime,” Mr Koney stated.

One pressing challenge Ghana faces is how to sustain the gains that have been made partly as a result of the investment in the past. Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso, two of the country’s neighbours have turned on an aggressive pursuit for mining investment.

Their strength, unlike Ghana, is that they do not charge taxes on exploration. Mining companies in Ghana are worried that that may give them some edge and ultimately impact on the ability of the mining industry in Ghana to attract more FDIs.

Because of the risks involved in exploration, some analysts believe that charging exploration taxes is inimical to the growth of the industry in Ghana. Mr Koney enforces this view and argues that any discussion on the mining industry should be placed within the context that it is a risky business.

Indeed, mining exploration is believed to have a success rate of just about 20 per cent and it is an area many governments, including the Ghanaian government, have kept their investments from.

Nine per cent of royalties paid by mining companies is expected to be used to develop the mining communities. The utilisation of these monies after it they are paid to the State is as opaque as an eclipsed moon.

When it comes to the utilisation of mining royalties, there are serious transparency issues; “There is no transparency in mining revenue use. The only transparency is in the payment of royalties,” CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Mr Sulemana Koney, recently noted at a day’s workshop on mining organised by the Journalists for Business Advocacy (JBA) in Accra.

The royalties paid to mining communities may not be getting optimised utilization, one may easily discern.

Mr Koney fears the priorities have been lost; “for instance, between 2011 and 2013, US$854,407,800 was ploughed back into seven mining districts but was there a manifestation of commensurate development?” he questions.

He explained further that 30 per cent of the nine per cent of royalty paid to the district assemblies was used in the management of waste and queried whether it was a judicious way of exploiting revenue from a finite resource.

“This is a finite resource. It will finish one day. What plans are we putting in place to ensure that we have balanced development?” he asks.

While waste management is an important area, the absence of easily measurable outputs as against the financial inputs made, makes it easy alibi for wasteful dissipation of resources.

At the heart of the challenge is the absence of Mineral Management Revenue Act, which mining companies argue will also make government more responsible in the utilisation of mining revenue.

Spio-Garbrah: Only irrational persons will contest Mahama

It is folly and irrational for anyone to try to contest President Mahama, considering the unprecedented social and infrastructural transformations that are ongoing in the country, Alhaji Mohammed Naziru, Special Assistant to Dr. Ekwow Spio-Grabrah, Trade and Industry Minister, has said.

Alhaji Naziru stated this in reaction to a press statement posted on social media and other online media platforms to the effect that Friends of Spio-Garbrah are disappointed in the proposed dates for both Presidential and parliamentary primaries of the NDC.