NBC said: “On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behaviour in the workplace by Matt Lauer.

“As a result, we’ve decided to terminate his employment.”

Lauer co-hosts The Today Show. NBC said it had “reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident”.

NBC News chairman Andy Lack said while it was the first complaint about Lauer’s behaviour in his time there, more than 20 years, it represented a “clear violation of our company’s standards”.

Last year, Lauer signed a new contract with the network worth a reported $20m (£15m) per year.

As well as fronting the morning show, he was chosen to moderate an election debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016.

And he has conducted high-profile interviews, such as the one in which Charlie Sheen confirmed he is living with HIV in 2015.

Co-hosts ‘heartbroken’

In an emotional video, Today co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb said they were “heartbroken”.

“As I’m sure you can imagine we are devastated and are still processing all of this,” Guthrie said.

“I’m heartbroken for Matt – he is my dear, dear friend and my partner and he has been loved by many people here.

“And I’m heartbroken for the brave colleague who came forward to tell her story and any other women who have their own stories to tell.”

–

Source: BBC

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According to the think tank, although the mode of financing the programme has not yet been put out, the GHc600 million set aside to pay wages of graduates who would be captured under the NBC is too much and a “waste of money.”

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, whilst presenting the 2018 budget statement in Parliament last Wednesday, announced the policy, projecting that the initiative will give jobs to 100,000 graduates by the close of 2018.

[contextly_sidebar id=”P8GgtHk85iB9MjuodFoI4ZBoCxUBbKsd”]But President of IMANI Ghana, Franklin Cudjoe, in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, said the amount can be pumped into the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan (NIEP) or better still the agricultural sector.

“We are yet to see the details of the financing arrangement, but what we’ve seen so far unfortunately may be going to a lot of sectors that have been in existence long ago. It means that if people are going to employed to be taking care of our healthcare institutions, I don’t know if they will be doing extensive services in education because that has also been mentioned and revenue generation which have all not been clearly defined. It appears to us that these are not necessarily different from what the national service really does.”

“So in a way, we were thinking that to spend a hefty sum of almost GHc600 million to create jobs that are transient jobs basically, and not necessarily adding to the productive capabilities of the country, looks as if it is a waste of money,” Mr. Cudjoe added.

IMANI’s President also explained that, his team believes the NBC budgetary allocation could have been used to support the NEIP, saying “we think that is about the most truly entrepreneurial entity, I mean let’s do something and get money and get out of the way.”

“We would have thought that the GHc60 million that went to NEIP could have seen some complementarity with this nation builders corps. Truly if it were to be entrepreneurial, it also means it has to be competitive. Unfortunately, these funds that will be used as payment for graduates who will be employed in these sectors are not going to be competitively sought for, and we feel that is not truly entrepreneurial,” he added.

Policy incoherence

IMANI Ghana had in its assessment of the 2018 budget statement described the NBC as a “reflection of policy incoherence, and a myopic approach to solving the graduate unemployment challenge.”

“The focus of the 2018 budget is to revamp agriculture for food sustainability and feeding the numerous factories to be established under the 1-district-1-factory policy.  Interestingly, the amount allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture, which is annually inadequate, was cut by 21 percent. The decrease is likely to affect productivity outcomes in the sector. However, the elephant in the room is the ageing cocoa and food crop farmers and the low interest of the youth to venture into agriculture. One would have thought a policy to engage graduates across the country would centre on finding innovative solutions to encourage graduates into agriculture,” the think tank said in its report.

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, while presenting the 2018 Budget and Policy statement on Wednesday, indicated that about 100,000 tertiary graduates will be employed under the initiative called the Nation Builders Corps (NBC).

[contextly_sidebar id=”ZDjTuE3xAL9EdLIUEYkf86Dv0V1JWc6R”]The TUC, in a statement signed by its General Secretary , Dr. Yaw Baah, described the move as a “bold initiative” adding that it is “perhaps the most ambitious jobs programme designed to address what has become the most critical economic challenge of the country.”

“Providing jobs for 100,000 graduates in the sectors outlined in the budget will significantly improve public service delivery. It will also signal to young people who have invested so much time and money in their education that education pays. The benefits will far exceed the cost of the programme,” he added.

Transition

Mr. Baah also reminded government to at some point “transit” these graduates into the mainstream labour market after they have “acquired further skills and experience so that others can also benefit from the programme.

This he believes will also strengthen the “domestic private sector to absorb the beneficiaries of the programme”

NBC to support other government targets.

Like the Youth Employment Agency [YEA], which targets non-tertiary graduates, the NBC has a number of subsets which are connected to other major government targets and initiatives.

On the back of the National Sanitation Campaign launch and the anticipated Sanitation Brigade, the Finance Minister noted that, the NBC has made provision for sanitation inspectors under a “Clean Ghana” Programme.

These inspectors will focus on enforcing sanitation laws.

Trained nurses and other healthcare workers will provide healthcare to deprived and rural communities under a “Heal Ghana” module.

The 2018 Budget Statement made known government’s intent to ensure tax compliance, and NBC will be contributing to these aims with its “Revenue Ghana” programme.

–

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

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He took aim at NBC, which made him a star on The Apprentice, after it reported he wanted to boost America’s nuclear arsenal almost tenfold.

Mr Trump labelled the report “fake news” and “pure fiction”.

NBC also angered the White House last week when it said the secretary of state had called Mr Trump “a moron”.

Mr Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning: “With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!”

Welcoming Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Washington later in the day, the US president denied the NBC story.

“It is frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write, and people should look into it,” he said at the White House.

When asked if he wanted to increase the country’s arsenal, Mr Trump said he only ever discussed keeping it in “perfect condition”.

“No, I want to have absolutely perfectly maintained – which we are in the process of doing – nuclear force.

“But when they said I want 10 times what we have right now, it’s totally unnecessary, believe me.”

He added: “I want modernisation and I want total rehabilitation. It’s got to be in tip-top shape.”

Defence Secretary Jim Mattis also disputed NBC’s story.

“Recent reports that the President called for an increase in the US nuclear arsenal are absolutely false,” he said in a statement.

“This kind of erroneous reporting is irresponsible.”

The president’s tweet about US broadcast networks provoked a free-speech uproar.

Walter Shaub, who led the US Office of Government Ethics under President Barack Obama, said it could lead to “the point when we cease to be a democracy”.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said the US president’s comment was a poor example for other world leaders.

According to NBC News, Mr Trump told a top-level meeting at the Pentagon in July that he wanted to dramatically boost the American stockpile of atomic missiles.

He reportedly made the request after seeing a downward-sloping curve on a briefing slide charting the gradual decrease in US nuclear weapons since the 1960s.

Attributing its report to three officials in the room, NBC said Mr Trump’s request surprised those present, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The network reported that Mr Trump had also called for additional US troops and military equipment.

The US has 7,100 nuclear weapons and Russia has 7,300, according to the US non-partisan Arms Control Association.

Media commentators say the president would struggle to remove broadcasters’ licences if he wished to do so.

The Federal Communications Commission, which regulates US broadcasters, issues licences not to networks as a whole, but to local stations.

NBC owns nearly 30 local stations.

It would be difficult to challenge a licence on the basis that coverage is unfair, say pundits.

–

Source: BBC

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According naijaloaded.com.ng, the Federal Government of Nigeria through the National Broadcasting Corporation has banned Davido’s two hit songs, Olamide’s ‘Wo’ and ‘Wavy Level,’ and ‘Living Things’ by 9ice.

This comes a few days after Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health openly aired it displeasure about visuals to ‘Wo.’

In its own opinion, the video portrays a bad message that encourages second-hand smoking.

Taking to its Twitter account, the ministry revealed that ‘Wo’ which featured a line where Olamide mentions cigarettes, contravenes Nigeria’s laws on Tobacco advertising, promotion & sponsorship. The risks from this include cancers, respiratory & cardiovascular diseases.

“The public is informed of the dangerous public health content & violation of Tobacco Ctrl Act 2015 in “Wo” by @olamide YBNL #ClearTheAir,” they tweeted.

They followed up with these tweets:

The general public who were not pleased with the ministry’s decision also expressed their dissatisfaction through these tweets:

It would be recalled that Falz had earlier called out music acts who entertain lavish lifestyles and also fraud. In view of Falz comment, 9ice’s ‘Living Things,’ was the major talking point.

It is not clear what about Davido’s songs may have called for their ban by the National Broadcasting Corporation but this gesture shows the NBC’s resolve to sanitise the lyrical content and visuals of Nigerian music.

Watch Davido’s ‘Fall’ in the link below:

–

By: Kwame Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The PNC’s constitution mandates that the party’s elections be held a year before the  national elections.

The Chairman of the party, Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan, says the issues to be discussed at the meeting on Saturday, include“the venue, the precise date and funding” for the elections.

Alhaji Ramadan admitted that funding would be the major topic at the meeting but insisted that the elections would take place as stipulated by the party’s constitution.

He told Citi News that “until we are sure that we can raise that funding, we will stick to our constitutional arrangement where we do the congress once to elect the executives and the flag bearer at the same time.”

The PNC becomes the latest party to announce plans for the election of their presidential candidate for the elections in 2016.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) will hold a Super Delegates’ Congress on Sunday, to whittle down to five, the number of aspirants for the party’s presidential candidacy.

However the congress hangs in the balance after a lawsuit was filed, seeking to prevent it from taking place.

The National Democratic Congress also announced in June that it would hold its National Delegates’ Congress on October 24.

By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The parties are the  People’s National Convention(PNC), Ghana Consolidated People’s Party (GCPP), Convention People’s Party (CPP) and Progressive People’s Party (PPP).

The PNC was led by Mr Hassan Ayariga, the GCPP by Dr Henry Lartey,  CPP by Dr Abu Sakara and PPP by Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom.

They contested election 2012 as presidential candidates of their parties.

The General Secretary of PNC,  Mr Bernard Mornah announced this at a meeting with Brong-Ahafo Regional and Constituency Executives of the party in Sunyani when he led a three-man delegation to attend the final funeral rites of Philip Nsor Asena Akanzinge, who died in a road accident on the Sunyani-Techiman road on July 5.

Other members of the delegation were Mr Ebenezer Abbah Quartey, Mr Ahmed Kato and Mr Kurby Kandora.

Mr Mornah said in view of the proposed merger, PNC would hold a national executive meeting in Accra on August 23 to collate views from members and advised constituency officers in the region to solicit views of their members for the meeting.

He said he was optimistic the merger would make a formidable political party to contest Election 2016 because most Ghanaians were anxiously waiting for an equally strong and competitive political party to contest the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to save the country from bad governance.

Mr Mornah urged members of the party in the region to redouble their efforts by registering more people into their fold in the constituencies to enhance the image of the PNC especially in Parliament.

“The ordinary Ghanaian is fighting in vain to live a better life, but the bad management of the national economy and failure to insist that the people abide by the laws of the land are some of the serious challenges facing the ruling government, “he added.

Mr Mornah said leaderships of the four parties would soon meet to discuss the merger, particularly pertaining to the symbol, name, and other relevant information to satisfy all and sundry.

Paying tribute to the late Mr Akanzinge, a staff of Ghana Health Service (GHS), Mr Mornah said he was the brain behind the institution of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) during the People’s National Party (PNP) rule under the late President Dr Hilla Limann but could not be implemented until 2008 when former President John Agyekum Kufuor’ administration implemented it.

Source: GNA

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Speaking to Citi News, Mr. Monah advised government to “look at other sources of raising money to be able to cover the kind of developmental projects that the 3 billion CDB loan was meant for.”

Government on Tuesday announced its decision to halve the $3 billion loan facility to $1.5 billion.

The Finance Minister, Mr. Seth Terkper on Tuesday explained that unrealistic demands by the CDB compelled government to take the decision.

While others believe it is a step in the right direction, some have argued government could have saved the country millions of dollars from the payment of interest on the loan.

Speaking to Citi News, Mr. Monah further described the decision as a prudent one.

“If our legal persons did not look at the agreement and they signed the contract before we even got the loan then I think it is prudent that they have reduced it from 3 billion to 1. 5 million,” Mr. Monah explained.

Meanwhile a member of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) Finance Committee, Ekow Duncan opined that government should have carefully evaluated its options before going for the loan in the first place.

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

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A press statement signed by the National Youth Organizer of the PNC, Abu Ramadan said the “youth wing demands a suspension of the voter registration exercise pending an audit of the 2012 voter register.”

The PNC said EC should not begin another exercise until the EC audits the 2012 voter register.

The group is also asking for an immediate  Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting with the EC.

The party said it will go to court to secure an injunction against the exercise if their demands are not met.

“We are giving the EC a two week ultimatum to respond to our demands as major stakeholders in the process. Failure to heed will resort to all legal means at our disposal. We will not sit and allow the Electoral Commission to plunge this nation into chaos,”it said.

The party further stated that “the use of sub standard biometric devices which caused a lot of difficulties and challenges for the voter and election officials must not be entertained.”

“The EC should abrogate the contract with STL and re-open tender to allow stakeholders to be part of the selection process in the interest of Ghana,” it further asked.

Below is the full statement issued by the party

EC SHOULD HAULT THE IMPENDING NATIONAL REGISTRATION EXERCISE

Good morning ladies and gentlemen of the media. The Youth wing of the People’s National Convention have invited you here today to add our voice to the misdoings of the Electoral Commission of Ghana. Not too long ago they published notice notifying all Ghanaians that a voter registration exercise will take off in June 2014 for those who  will be 18 years by June this year as part of the Commissions preparation towards the District level elections.

At least, from afar, a cursory analysis of the situation will give an ample grounds of the penciled registration exercise based on its timing and justification. But as it’s always said, the “devil is almost always details.”

The youth of the PNC per this medium, states unequivocally, our stance on the impending Registration exercise slated for next month. “Is it not intriguing that the Electoral Commission, regardless of the huge Electoral mishap and the novelty of a Supreme Court case has decided in their wisdom to throw caution to the wind by coming up with a registration announcement”?  Again if the Supreme Court and the recommendation of His Lordship Justice Dotse’s recommended reforms in his ruling is be taken into account, then there is an obvious billowing smoke of catastrophe in our line-up to the general elections.

Firstly, how can the NHIS card be a basis for legibility of an individual to own valid voters ID card? The NHIS card is issued to any person regardless of nationality. To a get a credible voter register devoid of foreign nationals we demand that this provision should be scraped from the requirement to get registered.

Secondly, a comprehensive detail of the STL contract with the electoral commission should be made public. It will be recalled that in 2012 this nation was at the brink of going onto its knees due to the inefficiency of STL. The nicodemus manner in which STL was awarded the contract and the subsequent renewal is questionable to many of us.

Ladies and gentlemen of the press, with regards to the agreement between EC and STL, how can one believe in an institution with this track record of providing ineffective devices which had to be restarted every four hours during voting? The use of sub standard biometric devices which caused a lot of difficulties and challenges for the voter and election officials must not be entertained. The EC should abrogate the contract with STL and re-open tender to allow stakeholders to be part of the selection process in the interest of Ghana.

Last but not the least, we call for the presence of political party and independent representatives at the EC offices, particularly in the room where the biometric voter registry is being compiled (Central Work station where adjudication is done). These representatives must be provided with daily updates of

i) Electronic list of de-duplicated persons,

ii) Audit trail report of additions, duplicates and removals/deletions of duplicates.

In conclusion the Youth wing demand a suspension of the voter registration exercise e pending an audit of the 2012 voter register and an immediate IPAC meeting be called by the Electoral Commission to enable party’s raise their concerns pertaining to the voter registration. The interest of mother Ghana is paramount to all

We are giving the EC a two week ultimatum to respond to our demands as major stakeholders in the process. Failure to heed will resort to all legal means at our disposal. We will not sit and allow the Electoral Commission to plunge this nation into chaos.

Thank you and God bless you

Signed

National  Youth Organizer

0244570006/0243048465/0248274646

By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @EfeAnsah

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He said the practice only serves to weaken Parliament as an institution.

“On the average, the longer a person stays in Parliament, the better he is for the institution of Parliament and for the advancement of good democratic governance,” he noted.

The Suame MP argued that individuals with experience and competence are needed in the legislature to make useful contributions towards the passing of laws and proper oversight over the Executive arm of government.

In an interview with Citi News, Mr. Mensah Bonsu said Parliament should devise ways of keeping experienced ones.

He described as unfortunate, the practice where political parties encourage “a free for all primaries and so many of the members are peeled off at the end of every four years.

The Minority leaders therefore called on the various political parties to find ways of maintaining competent and experienced MPs in the House.

Legislators in Ghana are voted into power by the constituents to serve a four-year term.

Based on one’s competence and performance, the constituents may either renew his or her mandate or elect a new Legislator to represent them in Parliament.

Gradually however, there is a seeming rise in the monetization of politics in Ghana which ensures that the person who has more money is elected into office.

This is believed to be the one of the causes for the decline in the quality of MPs being voted into power.

In recent times, there have been criticism about the quality of debate and contributions some MPs make on the floor of Parliament which some say results in the passage of weak laws.

In March this year, a former Majority leader and MP for Nadowli/Kaleo, Alban Bagbin accused some of his colleague MPs for taking bribes from individuals and organizations to articulate their views in Parliament.

A committee was subsequently set up to investigate his allegations.

By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @osamidan

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