The programme was attended by the Chairman of the Ghana Hajj Board Sheikh I.C Quaye, the Chief Imam Sheikh Dr. Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu as the Guest of Honour, together with the ten regional chief Imams and other Imams from across the country.

As part of the programme, recitations from the Quran were done coherently by all the ten regional Imams present, followed by an address read on behalf of the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who thanked all who contributed to the success of the 2017 Hajj.

The Vice president also commended the Hajj Board for their efforts.

This was followed by a welcome address by Sheikh I.C Quaye who thanked and lauded President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuf0 Addo and Dr. Bawumia for their support to the Hajj Board and the 2017 pilgrims in general.

He said “Mr. President, your support led to a 2017 Hajj that could be described as the most caring and successful in the history of Hajj operations in Ghana. A number of reasons that attest to this fact include but not limited to the following. For the first time ever, your government cleared a debt of gh¢31,000,000 incurred by the previous board to pave the way for Ghana’s participation in the hajj. As history would have it, as many as 452 left over would-be pilgrims in 2016 were airlifted through your intervention on compassionate grounds with the cooperation of your able vice president Dr. Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia and the minister of finance.”

Sheikh I.C Quaye went on to exhibit to the audience the three awards he received from Mecca during the Hajj, with one of them from the Chief Imam at the mosque in Mecca.

Solidarity messages were also read out by some of the Imams present.

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By: Michael Ogbodu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Former footballer George Weah was initially set to face Vice-President Joseph Boakai on Tuesday to determine who will replace Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. A successful vote would be Liberia’s first democratic transfer of power in over 70 years.

But preparations for the second round were halted last week when the Supreme Court announced it was examining a complaint by the Liberty Party of third-placed candidate Charles Brumskine.

The Supreme Court’s order for a full investigation into the allegations could push back the run-off date by weeks or even result in a re-run of the first round.

“The NEC (National Elections Commission) is stopped and prohibited from conducting the run off election until the complaint filed by the petitioners is investigated by the NEC,” the Supreme Court ruling said.

Addressing the Supreme Court last week, Brumskine cited “gross irregularities” in the first round and accused NEC officials of fraud.

The NEC has denied wrongdoing and said the election was largely fair. International observers say they saw no major problems with the vote.

But a growing chorus of parties have expressed doubt about the vote, including Boakai’s ruling Unity Party, which last week accused Johnson Sirleaf, one of its own members, of trying to influence the vote. She rejected the allegation.

“The course we pursue is not about Charles Walker Brumskine. It is not about the Liberty Party. It is greater than all of us. It is about our country,” Brumskine said following the Supreme Court ruling.
Janga Kowo, Secretary General of Weah’s CDC party, called upon supporters to remain calm and allow the legal process to run its course. The Unity Party had no immediate comment on Monday’s ruling.

Expectations of a poll delay have increased tensions in Liberia, where many are eager for change after 12 years of Johnson Sirleaf’s rule. Her tenure cemented peace after a long civil war, but many Liberians say she did little to alleviate widespread poverty despite vast iron ore reserves.

It is now unclear when the run-off will take place.

The NEC has until mid-November to rule on the Liberty Party’s complaint. If it is rejected, Brumskine could still take the case back before the Supreme Court with an appeal, potentially pushing the date of the second round into December.

The court also has the option of calling a new first round vote to be held within 60 days.
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By: Reuters

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If the prediction by the Institute of Energy Security (IES) is anything to by, then prices will go up by at least 7 percent for the second pricing window in September.

Citi Business News’ checks indicate that, the prices of petroleum products have been increasing marginally from August till now.

This has been triggered by the marginal depreciation of the cedi, as well as increased global crude oil prices due to the recent floods in the US which affected production at major oil companies.

The Principal Research Analyst at the Institute of Energy Security, Richmond Rockson, in explaining the phenomenon, said “We are expecting prices to rise between seven and ten percent, and this will have an impact on consumers. This probably will be the most significant. The cedi also keeps depreciating. After the storm Harvey, refineries were affected so prices will definitely go up”.

Petroleum prices increase by 3 percent on the average

An analysis of the first seven months of 2017, shows that the prices of petroleum products have gone up five times out of the fourteen pricing windows in the period.

The year started with perhaps the highest percentage rise in prices of petroleum products. The prices of petrol and diesel went up by as much as 7.73% and 6.68% respectively.

This continued until March 15^th, when the prices started to drop marginally.

Although the year begun with a litre of petrol and diesel selling at 4 cedis 4 pesewas, and 3 cedis 99 pesewas respectively, as at the middle of March, the price for the same quantity each of petrol and diesel had gone up to 4 cedis 30 pesewas, and 4 cedis 25 pesewas respectively.

In all, the first four months of 2017 witnessed an average increase in prices of 3 percent.

At the time, industry watchers attributed the development to the decision by oil producing countries to hold back production in January in order to recoup some of their recent losses.

In addition was the cedi’s depreciation against the dollar coupled with drop in combined stock of Gasoline and Gasoil from about 130 to 120 thousand metric tonnes.

Declining petroleum price margins for 2017

Meanwhile, the prices of petroleum products began declining from the second pricing window in March, which spanned 16^th to 31^st March 2017.

Of the nine times that petroleum prices have been declining, the highest rate of decline in petroleum prices has been in the second pricing window in March where prices dropped by almost 4 percent .

But prices of diesel recorded the highest decline of about 3 percent in the subsequent pricing window spanning 1^st to 15^th April, 2017.

In each of these cases, the drop in the global oil prices due to a rise in U.S. shale production as well as the relative stability of the cedi accounted for the drop.

On the average, prices have dropped by 1.46 percent between January and July 2017.

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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

The post Fuel prices increase by 3% average in 2017 appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Mr. Amidu, an anti-corruption campaigner and a former Attorney-General, in a 25-page paper critiquing aspects of the Bill which deals with the provision establishing the Office of the Special Prosecutor itself and the administrative provisions, questioned why there’s a clause that seeks to limit the Special Prosecutor to specific crimes.

“The attempt to distinguish types of corruption offences that may be investigated and prosecuted by the Special Prosecutor sends the clear message to Ghanaians that the President and his Government now accept that certain types of corruption offences are not serious for prosecution or at least to be prosecuted by the Special Prosecutor. Fourth, the question may be asked, who will be responsible for investigating and prosecuting categories of corruption offences by the same public officers and politically exposed persons not meeting the standards in Clause 3 (4), or are they then immune from prosecution for such corruption offences?”

The man, nicknamed Citizen Vigilante, wants President Akufo-Addo, to ensure that such questionable clauses are corrected if the office is to be useful to his fight against corruption.

“Will somebody call the President’s attention to read Clause 3 of the Bill before Parliament and confirm whether or not he endorsed the exception in sub-clause 4 for submission to Parliament? The retention of sub-clause 4 of Clause 3 of the Bill will make it unnecessary to enact any Office of the Special Prosecutor Bill into law.”

“I have no doubt that the insertion of Clause 3 (4) that negates the whole Bill before Parliament was done by a strong and powerful cabal which wishes to harvest its share of the proceeds of corruption that comes with public officers who find their way into public office through the deception of the appointing authority of rendering service with integrity to the Republic. The insertion of Clause 3 (4) in the Bill is therefore a wake-up call for the President to watch his so-called incorruptible appointees because as the saying goes, it is not all that glitters which is gold.”

“I am fortified in the belief that the attempt to pull a fast one on Ghanaians by the insertion of Clause 3 (4) of the Bill to negate the fight against corruption is the work of a strong and powerful cabal within the government because they succeeded in ensuring that the Memorandum to the Bill was silent on this important matter so that it will not catch the eye of the casual Ghanaian reading public.”

Mr. Amidu is generally unhappy with the consultative processes leading up to the laying of the Bill among other things.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor Bill, 2017, was laid in Parliament on 18th July 2017, but was later withdrawn and laid again for the second time on 2nd August 2017, before Parliament went on recess.

Mr. Amidu says although the setting up of the office is not in breach of the constitution due to the existence of AG’s office, a lot more is needed to fight corruption than merely creating other offices which may also eventually be challenged in their quest to deliver on their mandate.

He says the success of the office would be largely dependent on the integrity of the President to ensure the office works without any interference and gets the necessary resources to deliver on its mandate without fear or favour.

“My personal belief in the feasibility of establishing a permanent Office of the Special Prosecutor to deal specifically with corruption and related offences by law is premised on the exemplary moral compass and integrity of the Executive Authority personified by the elected President and his determination to give law enforcement authorities, including the Attorney General, the expected constitutional support to operate strictly in accordance with their oaths of office to be fair, transparent and impartial in the execution of their duties without fear or favour, affection or ill will. Absent such a President and public officers, no number of enactments can achieve the objective of fighting systemic corruption in Ghana” he said.

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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Martin Amidu punches holes into Special Prosecutor Bill 2017 appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The theme for the service is “Locate my Family oh God.”

Staff of the station will be joined by many of its cherished listeners at the service to dedicate themselves and their families to God.

According to Citi FM’s Resident Pastor, Reverend Dr. Stephen Wengham, the service will focus largely on prayer.

“This year, we want to spend about 95 percent of the time praying, and we are going to touch on very nagging and very key areas of our family life…  we are poised, the pastors are ready and we can’t wait for it,” he said.

Other activities lined up for the Family month of May include three Family Breakfast Table events on family finance, first time parenting and a men’s only event.

There will also be a mother’s day event dubbed Mama’s Day of Honour and the family day out.

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By: Minna Dablu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Citi FM’s Family Month begins with Family Consecration Service today appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

They urged the Member of Parliament to restrain his supporters from fomenting troubles ahead of the 2017 peaceful Aboakyir Festival.

Addressing a news conference at the Otuano Royal House at Winneba, the Head of the Family, Neenyi Bondzie Essiedu, appealed to the lawmaker and his assigns to stop introducing politics into a traditional festival, and respect the existing Aboakyir road map that has helped maintain peace for the past five years.

“The Member of Parliament for Effutu Hon. Alex Afenyo-Markin cannot be left out of the people who want to destroy the peaceful celebration with party colours. He is determined to do away with the roadmap which had been in existence for the past five years and had ensured virtually a peaceful Aboakyir. But if we hear utterances like ‘our party is in power, my party is in power and my government is power. Wait a minute, is our MP who is also a legal brain drifting away from the constitution?” he quizzed.

He said “for the past five years, the MP has not been part of festival, but I cannot phantom why he is going round this time inviting people on television to this year’s Aboakyir. He should be up and doing as a Member of Parliament for Effutuman.”

He entreated those who love Effutuman to join them with joy and open heart to peacefully celebrate the 2017 Aboakyir in style.

He assured the public that this year’s Aboakyir festival would be celebrated with the existing road map.

“Having met with the leadership of the two Asafo companies; Tuafo No 1 and Dentsifo No. 2, we have both unanimously resolved to peacefully celebrate this year’s Aboakyir festival using the existing road map which has helped maintained peace and sanity needed for the past five years” he added.

2017 Aboakyir Festival will be peaceful – Paramount Chief assures

In a related development, the Paramount Chief of the Effutu Traditional Area, Neenyi Ghartey VII, has assured the public that the impending 2017 Aboakyir Festival would be peaceful.

The festival in the past years has been largely marred by violence as a result of a lingering chieftaincy dispute in the area. But the Chief explained that such things are a thing of the past, since for the first time in twenty (20) years, all the Asafo companies have agreed to participate in the celebration of the deer hunting.
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By: Akwesi Koranteng/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Don’t politicize Aboakyir festival – King Makers warn Afenyo-Markin appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The 2017 trip, which has Vodafone Cash, HFC Susu Plus Account and Top Oil as sponsors, has been packaged to give patrons an experience of a lifetime.

The moments on the buses will be characterized by storytelling, live music and partying  with drinks sponsored by Hunters.

The trip begins from the Greater Accra Region, through the Eastern Region, to the Ashanti Region, through the Brong Ahafo Region to the Northern Region, and then make a stop in the Upper East Region.

From the Upper East Region, the bus will return to the Northern Region, from where it will make its longest journey to the Western Region. From the Western Region, the Heritage Caravan will head to the Central Region and then return to Accra.

Activities lined up for the 2017 #HeritageCaravan include a Kenkey Party and a tour of Ga Mashie on day one, before departure for Kumasi on Sunday March 5.

In Kumasi, the team will have a night of music and Karaoke and tour the Komfo Anokye Sword Site and the Kumasi Fort/Military Museum on day two.

Day three will focus on Northern Ghana.

The Heritage Caravan will make its first stop in Paga, in the Upper East region. Participants will visit the Paga Crocodile pond, a short foray across the Ghana/Burkina Faso border, and a visit to the slave village.

The Heritage Caravan will also travel through towns like Walewale, Savelugu, Bolgatanga and Navrongo on day three.

One of the highlights of the Heritage Caravan will be the cultural night and mini durbar in the Tamale Chief’s Palace.

Naa Dakpema and his palace are expected to treat the team to good music, dance, food and rich Northern culture on the third night. The cultural night was touted as one of the most exciting components of the Heritage Caravan in 2016, and it promises to get even better.

The adventures in the north continue on day four in the Mole National Park. The Mole trip will take the Heritage Caravan through Damongo to Larabanga, where participants will see the Larabanga Mosque – one of Ghana’s architectural masterpiece.

At Mole, participants will go on an early morning safari and see the best of nature. The Mole National Park is home to lots of wild animals and indigenous trees.

The team will depart the Northern Region after lunch on day four, and head to the Brong Ahafo region via the Fulfulso-Sawla road, through Bole, Banda Nkwanta, cross the Black Volta at Bamboi, drive through Wenchi, Chiraa and arrive in Sunyani, the capital of the Brong Ahafo region.

Eusbett Hotel will host the team, and has prepared a comprehensive entertainment package for the fourth night in Sunyani.

The team departs Sunyani on Day Five for Takoradi, and will make a stop at the Assin Manso Slave River. The team will also drive through Obuasi for a quick tour en route to the Western Region.

There will be a live band session on the first night in the Western Region at the plush Busua Beach Resort.

On day six, the Heritage Caravan will visit the village on stilts, Nzulezu. The day will be climaxed with a Heritage Caravan Masked Party at the Busua Beach Resort.

Finally, the Heritage Caravan will visit the Elmina Castle and drive through Cape Coast, Mfantsiman, Winneba and Kasoa en route to Accra.

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By: Kojo Agyeman/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Citi FM’s Heritage Caravan sets off [Photos] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This is compared with the 2016 GDP, based on the provisional out-turn for the first three quarters of the period, which is estimated at 3.6 percent, with the non-oil real GDP estimated at 4.6 percent.

Presenting the budget in parliament today [Thursday], Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, stated that government will work at achieving its macroeconomic targets to improve the lives of Ghanaians.

He announced that, government has projected an end-of-year inflation of 11.2 percent, while overall fiscal deficit is pegged at 6.5 percent of GDP.

“We believe strongly that, our medium-term policies, anchored on fiscal discipline, a broadened tax base, elimination of wasteful expenditures, prudent debt management strategies, complementary monetary policy, and sustainable external balance, will ensure even better macroeconomic outcomes in the medium-term,” he said.

Touching on total expenditure for the year 2017, (including provision made for the clearance of arrears and outstanding commitments), Mr. Ofori-Atta announced that, government estimates  GH¢56.5 billion, equivalent to 27.8 percent of GDP.

“The estimated expenditure for the year represents a 21.0 percent increase over the provisional outturn for 2016. Of this amount, GH¢3.7 billion, equivalent to 1.8 percent of GDP and 6.6 percent of total expenditure will be used for the clearance of arrears and outstanding commitments”.

On debt, he disclosed that, the total public debt stock as at end 2016, stood at 73.3 percent of GDP up from 71.63 percent in 2015.

“This was due to the larger than expected fiscal deficit and financing requirement in 2016. Domestic and external debt stood at 32.02 percent of GDP and 41.29 percent, respectively,” he said.

In nominal terms, Mr. Ofori-Atta stated that, the public debt stock as at end 2016 stood at GH₵122.3 billion (US$29.2 billion), with domestic and external debt of GH₵53.4 billion (US$12.8 billion) and GH₵68.9 billion (US$16.5 billion), respectively.

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By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

The post Economy projected to grow by 6.3% in 2017 appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Key among these projects, is the completion of the railway lines along the Sekondi to Takoradi via the Kojokrom section.

This according to government, “will help improve the operational performance and revenue of Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL) and enable the Company wean itself from Government support.”

“In addition, it will enhance the performance and competitiveness of the manganese mine located on the corridor.”

The Minister also revealed that “work will commence on the Western Line which starts from Takoradi and terminates at Kumasi, having two branch lines namely; Dunkwa to Awaso and Kojokrom to Sekondi, covering a distance of 340km.”

He said the “corridor when completed, will facilitate the haulage of manganese, bauxite, cocoa and other bulk commodities.”

According to him, government has initiated “discussion to secure funding for other major projects, such as, the Central Spine which stretches from Kumasi to Paga covering a distance of 700km.”

The sections are Kumasi to Buipe and Buipe to Paga.

Eastern Railway Line

The Minister revealed that, the Eastern Railway line will “cover a distance of 330km and starts from Accra to Kumasi with a branch line from Achimota to Tema.”

According to him, “when the line becomes operational, it will decongest the port and facilitate the movement of cargo and passengers to Kumasi and its environs. In 2017, the feasibility studies will be finalised and invite proposals from the private sector.”

Central Railway Line

The Central Railway Line on the other hand will according to the Minister, “cover a distance of 200km and spans from Kotoku on the Eastern Line to Huni Valley on the Western Line. It will have a branch line from Achiase to Kade and we plan to undertake feasibility study on the line and extend it to Kibi.”

Railway is a catalyst for growth 

The Minister explained that government’s plans for the railway sector is hinged on the belief that “rail will be a major catalyst to drive the growth that we envisage in the coming years.”

“Rail transportation provides safer, cheaper and faster way of moving goods and people to facilitate trade and support economic activity. Our vision is to open up the country and provide new opportunities to our people to do business and trade among themselves. “

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

The post Kumasi-Paga rail line, others captured in 2017 budget appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.