It is for this reason that Mr. Adom-Otchere views the controversial attempted merger between uniBank and adb as unfortunate.

[contextly_sidebar id=”R1wLsTAnMwtUf9a2nMKfZ6A0vCcJsqNx”]Commenting on the uniBank-adb saga on his Good Evening Ghana show on Metro TV, he said backing the merger would have been the first step in perhaps establishing a strong indigenous bank.

Only indigenous banks will ultimately have the interests of the Ghanaian economy at heart, he stressed.

“Indigenous companies must be created… somehow, let’s find a way to build the capacity of indigenous companies. That is the only way that the economy is going to survive.”

He noted that the current Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, headed an indigenous company in Databank and bought out Enterprise Insurance, which is also an indigenous company.

“…So we understand that the philosophy of the Finance Minister, the philosophy of the President and what is indeed good for our country’s economy is that indigenous companies be built and indigenous companies be supported.”

Though there may be growing pains for these local companies, Mr. Adom-Otchere said they must be allowed to make and learn from their mistakes.

“They may not be correct all the time but you can correct all the errors… only they will keep their money in Ghana. Only they will employ Ghanaians. Only they are interested in Ghana. Foreign companies come to do business. They take their money and they go away.”

“So all over the world, countries have been built by indigenous companies… it is important that we focus on our Ghana Beyond Aid and create power for indigenous companies.”

In his view, the attempted merger of adb and uniBank should excite Ghanaians, especially since it appears the Chairman of Belstar Capital Limited, Kofi Ampim, was providing a monetary foundation for the move.

“This event of having such Ghanaians who are able to raise such humongous amounts of money should excite us; that Kofi Ampim can go out there and raise this kind of money, it should excite us. We should be happy that we have a Kofi Ampim within our economy who is willing to strengthen an indigenous bank and make it big.”

“We must be able to create a huge indigenous bank private sector led,” the  Good Evening Ghana host concluded.

Background to unibank, adb saga

Last week, a major change within the banking sector was anticipated when reports emerged that uniBank had taken over adb after four shareholders of the development bank; comprising Belstar Capital, Starmount Development company, EDC and SIC Financial Services Limited, pledged their shares, proceeds, entitlements and voting rights to uniBank.

Per the move, uniBank would have assumed a controlling interest in adb as the total shares of the consortium would have amounted to some 51%.

The Chief Executive Officer of uniBank, Dr. Kwabena Duffour Jr., later told Citi News that uniBank had control over adb and that the move was in the best interest of the banking industry.

This was however followed by a u-turn from uniBank, after adb was suspended by the Ghana Stock Exchange and the Bank of Ghana announced that it had not approved a purported takeover.

adb also came out to deny media reports that uniBank had taken over its operations.

Citi Business News later reported that SIC Financial Services Limited (SIC-FSL) had not pledged its shares in adb to uniBank in fulfillment of an earlier financial commitment.

adb in a statement admitted to receiving letters from Belstar Capital Limited, Starmount Investment Limited and EDC Limited for pledging their various shares in the bank to uniBank, but it did not mention receiving same from SIC-FSL.

In the midst of the back and forth, many have questioned government’s plans as announced in the 2018 budget, to merge adb and the National Investment Bank, NIB.

–

By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post adb-uniBank merger would be in Ghana’s interest – Adom-Otchere appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Commenting on the lawsuit, Mr. Adom Otchere remarked that “the courts, historically, will not rule to affect the higher expectations of society. Typically they may not do that.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”tqsVCo4swTZQTm0fVujwcKWLhjZ4Fm6N”]Dr. Ayine, in his lawsuit, argues that Mr. Amidu, aged 66 years, has exceeded the age for such public office holders, per Article 199 of the constitution.

He is thus seeking a declaration from the Supreme Court that Mr. Amidu is not qualified or eligible to be nominated as the Special Prosecutor.

He said it would be unconstitutional for Parliament to approve the nominee.

This notwithstanding, the idea of a Special Prosecutor has gathered substantial momentum to possibly cushion it from this lawsuit, according to Mr. Adom Otchere.

“If you look at the Office of the Special Prosecutor Bill and the political journey that it has traveled, you will find that at every stage of this journey, the Special Prosecutor Bill gets more endorsement from the Ghanaian people… the big masterstroke was the announcement of Martin Amidu to be the first occupier of that office. That was very popular,” he said.

Parliament’s Appointments Committee went ahead to vet Mr. Amidu on Tuesday despite the lawsuit, and Mr. Adom Otchere said the popularity of the Special Prosecutor Office was basically set in stone where “it has been completely accepted and the personality of Martin Amidu has been overwhelmingly endorsed not just by Parliament, but everyone who saw it on television.”

Speaking on the decision by Parliament to go ahead with the vetting, Adom Otchere expressed surprise that Dr. Ayine did not stop the committee from proceeding with the vetting, considering that there was precedent to that effect.

“There is precedent for that in the J.H. Mensah and the Attorney General; an old case at the Supreme Court where the Minority in Parliament wanted to prevent Mr. Kwame Peprah, then Finance Minister from reading the budget because they felt that he had not been properly approved by Parliament. Now they served the writ to the Speaker in the morning of the budget and the Speaker withheld the budget and so there is precedent for that.”

Paul Adom Otchere believes that the lawsuit will be good for posterity because the matter bordering the age of appointees who are not already public servants, had been a long-standing issue.

“It is a very important matter because that matter has never been really settled at the court level in terms of the people presidents appoint who are not ministers or deputy ministers, what kind of age are permissible and what kind of age is not permissible. So yes… I commend Ayine for attempting to regulate this issue once and for all,” he added.

–

By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Amidu’s popularity could affect Supreme Court case – Adom Otchere appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him the matter, bordering the age of appointees who are not already public servants, had been a long-standing issue and that the attempt by Dr. Ayine to have it resolved once and for all is commendable.

Dr. Dominic Ayine on Monday February 12 2018, filed a suit at the Supreme Court to challenge the nomination of Martin Amidu for the position of Special Prosecutor.

[contextly_sidebar id=”RqqxkwYElBF5923WpTzyHjV2i8Prq7Dj”]In his suit, Dr. Ayine argued that Mr. Amidu, being 66 years of age, is too old to hold public office per what the constitution permits.

He is thus seeking a declaration from the Supreme Court that Mr. Amidu, “is not qualified or eligible to be nominated as the Special Prosecutor under Section 13(3) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2018 (Act 959).”

Despite the suit, Parliament’s Appointments Committee went ahead to vet Mr. Amidu on Tuesday, February 13, 2018, with the Chairman of the Committee, Joseph Osei Owusu, claiming that the House had not been served with any writ.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, Mr. Adom Otchere said he was surprised Dr. Ayine did not stop the committee from proceeding with the vetting, saying there is a precedent to that effect.

The broadcast journalist said he wondered why Dr. Ayine did not push for such a move “because he could have done that.”

“There is precedent for that in the J.H. Mensah and the Attorney General [case], an old case at the Supreme Court where the Minority in Parliament wanted to prevent Mr. Kwame Preprah the Finance Minister [then] from reading the budget because they felt that he had not been properly approved by Parliament. Now they served the writ to the Speaker in the morning of the budget and the Speaker withheld the budget.”

“It is a very important matter because that matter has never been really settled at the court level in terms of the people presidents appoint who are not ministers or deputy ministers, what kind of age are permissible and what kind of age is not permissible. So yes… I commend Ayine for attempting to regulate this issue once and for all,” he added.

Amidu’s performance

On Amidu’s performance at the Appointments Committee, Paul Adom Otchere said he performed creditably well saying “I get the sense that the people of Ghana are very happy with Martin Amidu.”

He also commended the Appointments Committee for asking research inclined questions on Amidu during the vetting on Tuesday.

“I think it was good, excellent. Many people are commending the parliamentarians, indicating that they had done some research especially by reading some of his epistles as he called them then, or articles. So that was commendable,” he added.

Suit against Amidu’s SP nomination not out of fear – Ayine

Dr. Dominic Ayine has said his lawsuit is not influenced by fear of prosecution as suggested.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, Dr. Ayine, an appointee in the Mahama government, said such insinuations were without basis because prosecutorial powers were not limited to just the Special Prosecutor.

“…The reason is simply that it is not only Martin Amidu who can prosecute us. There are countless human beings that his excellency Nana Akufo Addo can appoint to prosecute us… The fact that he is a member of the party does not make him a repository of information about the dealings of our ministers and appointees. So it is pointless for anybody to start to think that we are afraid of him because he is coming from inside,” Dr. Ayine explained.

Aside from this, Dr. Ayine said the idea of Mr. Amidu as the Special Prosecutor was just over-hyped unnecessarily.

“…so why should we be afraid of Martin Amidu or any other person coming to be Special Prosecutor. This whole thing is over-hyped and that this whole thing about the fear of Amidu is not something we should be dwelling on.”

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

The post Suit against Amidu’s age good for posterity – Adom Otchere appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

At the height of the program, the MC invited him over, amidst thunderous applause, as he stepped down in his all-white slim-fit suit, with white tie on his blue inner, all complementing his bold silver watch, well trimmed low-cut dark hair, with a bold black designer spectacle to match his gentle black shoes, a young corporate management trainee who had earned for himself a large following, as evidenced at the wedding, young and old, family members, staff of the company, church members, old students, a good gathering of former girlfriends, all rising in readiness for a dance, to the groom’s Ankwanobi rendition.

He took the microphone, and in accordance, the band rolled with the Ankwanobi tune, starting with its usual fast-paced beats, with the lead guitar sounding its signature mid-tempo G line, while the bassist toned the rhythm along, with a keyboard blend of the two string artists, as the drums grooved itself into the beats.

Step-by-step, the groom moved into the tune, in waiting for his first vocal entry.

Everyone roared as he gave his first line pitch of the song, Ankwanobi eei, ahomatea mefr3 odo a woamba oo…. And as expected, the crowd enveloped him with their gifts of dance and excitement.

After the first line, Ankwanobi eei, the drum rolled its beat signaling the commencement of the body of the song, but the groom missed that second vocal entry, and rather appeared to be slowing down his voice, a worrying indication that he might have forgotten his lines.

The guitarist restarted his mid-tempo G line tune, for a repeat of the first line, Ankwanobi eeei, that gave the groom a moment to redeem the song, by starting all over again. This happened for the second, third, and the fourth time.

Now the crowd began to disperse to their seats; they had had enough of Ankwanobi eeei repeating itself over and over again, without offering the main lyrics for them to dance along. And as the crowd returned to their positions, they left the groom alone in his impeccable dress, drenched in shame.

The band did a few more repeats of the second half of the song, but the man stood crestfallen, as the crowd attempted to clap for him, in search of a redemption for the shame he had suffered.

Last week the Ghana Journalists Association’s President, Roland Affail Monney, issued a statement cautioning investigative Journalists against destroying Ghanaian businesses, in an obvious response to the investigative reports carried out by Manasseh Azure Awuni of Joy Fm.

Several civil society groups such as the Media Foundation for West Africa, the Media Center for Social Justice, and Professor Audrey Gadgakpo, have condemned the GJA’s statement, with a number of people calling for Affail Monney to resign his position.

On Tuesday Paul Adom Otchere of Metro TV held, what I call, a press conference, on his Good Evening Ghana show.

His subject was Manasseh Azure Awuni. Paul was obviously in support of the press statement issued by Mr. Roland Affail Monney, the GJA President, and so sought to condemn the investigative report that Manesseh had done.

I am not sure who is the biggest problem at the moment, Paul Adom Otchere, or Roland Affail Monney? A GJA President who attacks Journalists in defense of those who loots the nation, a GJA President who fails to defend Journalists whose tools of work have been seized and destroyed, is that GJA President the problem?

Or is Paul the problem? A colleague journalist who portrayed himself as superior to someone who has made so much more impact, a journalist whose claim to fame is in the interviewing of ex President Rawlings, and the reading of Aristotle and Plato, is he the problem?

At this moment I am not interested, so much, in the outcome of the work Manesseh has done. My interest is in the way the GJA has inspired Paul Adom Otchere to attack his own colleague, and how the statement seeks to discourage anti-corruption journalism in Ghana. How do you expect a young Journalist to be fired up for ground breaking investigation when the very people who are supposed to be defending him are those who are crucifying him?

We are all happy to promote local businesses. I am a businessman, and I will love to see my businesses grow. Media houses depend largely on product advertising to exist. So we all need the private sector to grow, and to thrive.

But that does not mean we should watch as some greedy entrepreneurs carry their dance to the gods as they reap off of our collective slumber, that we should allow them to spill their filth into us as we celebrate their black market wealth? No way!

There are too many examples, in the past, of bad public private partnership deals that have deprived the nation of resources. There are too many examples of naked extortions in the name of entrepreneurship; inflation of contracts, contracts which are paid for, but the work either half done, or never done, too many examples of paying millions of cedis for guinea fowls which flew into our neighboring countries. These were all done by entrepreneurs who have found themselves in bed with every single elected government in this country, and are taking advantage of irresponsible corrupt public officials to rape the coffers of our nation, and you are there defending them, against those who are exposing them?

I saw two things in common, in the statement issued by GJA, and, the, so called, editorial held by Paul Adom Otchere; they both failed to mention the name, Manasseh Azuri Awuni, although it was clearly targeted at him, and they both appeared to have been pushed by unseen hands to do a certain corrupt bidding.

The statement from the GJA was unwarranted, needless, and a defeat of Journalism in Ghana. The editorial held by you, Paul, was shameful, and like the groom who sung the Ankwanobi song, that so called editorial was a lonely act of self-destruction, it might have been a pain in your chest, something that should never have come from, a so called, an experienced intellectual Journalist.

Is Manasseh Azuri Awuni not the same person who investigated the infamous GYEEDA Scandal which culminated in the retrieval of millions of cedis from the AGAMS Group? Shouldn’t such efforts give us the hope that there are still genuine Journalists and media entities out there who are desirous of ensuring incidence of corruption and corruption perceptions are fought? How else are you expecting such a Journalist to do his work, other than exposing such evil acts, and shouldn’t the GJA rather defend him?

Paul, I know you, we were Political Science course mates at the University of Ghana, and we both completed the same year, and I know you love quality. But this time round, you made a poor demonstration, and presented yourself as though you were an exuberant immature child Journalist who lacked content; I’m sorry, my brother, I wish I could find an alternative description for what you did.

As I watched you dismantle yourself, I remembered the wedding groom’s sole disgrace. In my view, you were either so unprepared for that editorial or you were forced to present something against your conscience; your chest might have been really heavy. I saw a battle within yourself, I saw a person, not a Journalist, who was forcing to be coherent, and who was faced with the evil of repeating himself, because he saw nothing more to say, or he had forgotten his lines; my brother it was so obvious the fake in your eyes; never should anything influence such a lonely rendition of Ankwanobi eeei in our Journalism.

Unfortunately some people erroneously equate Journalism with low income, except those who get their wheels oiled by powerful influences, there are those who are reported to get paid to create stories, to blackmail personalities, to defend the indefensible, and to destroy, such are those who forgets their Ankwanobi lines; we should all flee from such acts of dishonest renditions.

I am not a poor person, but I know I’m getting poorer. I am not bothered, that I have found myself on a declining income, because I have chosen a path that celebrates truth, which finds itself in the minority. I wish I had not, but for the sake of the grace of the children I am bringing forth, that they may gain the worst of luxury, with the best of pride, it is for their sake I toil, and it is for them I shall remain rich, even as I stay poor.

–

By James Kofi Annan
Writers email: [email protected]

The post In the chest of Paul Adom Otchere [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to Mr. Adom Otchere, Manasseh Azure’s approach in making public his findings from an investigative work on contracts between Jospong Group and the government was in bad taste and do not conform to standard practices in journalism.

He said Manasseh was unfairly setting up the owner of Jospong Group, Joseph Siaw Agyepong for public attacks.

In a 41-minute long live TV session on his show Tuesday night, Paul Adom-Otchere said Manasseh’s actions were counterproductive, and warned that it was a dangerous path for him as a journalist.

Manasseh Azure Awuni last week published series of reports he said were evidence of corruption against the Jospong Group in which the company allegedly bloated its 1,000,000 waste bin supply contract with the previous government by some $31 million.

The aftermath of the publication has been criticisms from some individuals and the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Affail Monney, who in a statement cautioned practitioners against “using the media to wage a smear campaign against individuals, especially local businesses and personalities who have made substantial contribution to the growth of the economy.”

Many said the GJA’s statement undermined the work and efforts of investigative journalists in the country who unearth deep-seated corruption issues.

Manasseh Azure Awuni in a Facebook post subsequently questioned Paul Adom Otchere’s affiliation with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), alleging that Mr. Adom-Otchere was distributing the GJA statement which many journalists found offensive.

Mr. Adom-Otchere in countering the claims by Manasseh on his show, advised him to revise his notes and also take a cue from Plato and Aristotle to avoid exposing his ‘cerebral weakness’ in his reportage.

Dubbed, the “Editorial in defence of the GJA Press Statement on corruption” he criticized civil society groups who challenged the GJA’s statement saying he was “disappointed” in their posture in the matter.

According to Paul Adom Otchere, the Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Joseph Siaw Agyepong, was an asset to Ghana and must be supported.

Laying a rather unusual attack on Manasseh, he described him as “Opana”, urging him to learn from Ghanaians practicing proper journalism.

The incident has attracted a lot of comments from Facebook and Twitter, with many condemning Paul Adom-Otchere for his response to Manasseh’s post, and the approach he used in getting his message across.

Watch the video below:

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Adom-Otchere ‘fights’ Manasseh Azure, questions his journalism style appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This longstanding debate was brought to the fore earlier in 2017 when President Nana Akufo-Addo’s speech delivered at Ghana’s 60th independence anniversary parade came under attack over what some said was a skewed account of Ghana’s history to suit his father, Edward Akufo-Addo and uncle, J.B. Danquah who were critical players in Ghana pre-independence.

[contextly_sidebar id=”RutGmCBC3E7ykCWAP3xtnD83dgvM3jUl”]This is criticism Kwesi Pratt would be likely to get behind given he is of the firm view Kwame Nkrumah should be regarded as the Founder of Ghana and celebrated as is done on his birth date, September 21.

Paul Adom-Otchere, on the other hand, believes Ghana’s history is incomplete without due regard given to the likes of the leadership of the UGCC, amongst others.

There can be more than one founder

Drawing from the American example, he reminded that John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington “are christened as founders of the United states because they sat down together on a particular date to decide on how the federation works,” despite Washington being that country’s first president.

However, in Ghana, a few things went amiss over the decades, Paul Adom-Otchere said, starting with the work of the Aborigines’ Rights Protection Society to oppose the Lands Bill of 1897 which threatened land tenure and another layer of the indigenous sovereignty.

“This was a monumental act of John Mensah Sarbah and the aborigines and Sarbah formed the Aborigines’ Rights Protection Society on the 4th of August 1897 at Saltpond and this was the single most successful achievements of the Aborigines which helped the Gold Coast progress the way it did, and then to the West African National Congress of Casely-Hayford and others.”

In 1947, over 100 years of the Bond of 1844, J.B. Danquah, George Alfred “Paa” Grant and others put in motion moves to kick start the independence drive with the formation of the UGCC.

But on why some believe these persons have been relegated to a foot note in Ghana’s history, Paul Adom-Otchere noted two significant actions of leadership in this regard; the 1948 riots leading to the arrest of the Big Six and then the Watson Commission and Coussey Committee that determined the independence constitutions for Ghana in 1950 leading to elections in 1951, of which the Kwame Nkrumah’s Convention People’s Party, an offshoot of the UGCC, won.

“Because Nkrumah won the election of 1951, the processes that had been prescribed the constitution of the Coussey Committee fell on him to implement those processes towards independence and one of those processes occurred on a fateful day on July 1953 in Parliament where the leader of government business, as he [Nkrumah] became, was to put a motion in Parliament and it was christened by the evening news paper as the motion of destiny – a motion asking the British government to give us self-government.”

In that motion,Nkrumah outlined the history of Ghana, starting from the period of Okomfo Anokye, to the Aborigines Protection Society, but upon reaching the UGCC, he seemingly downplayed its impact by omitting the names of Paa Grant, J.B. Danquah, and others.

“This is a very important aspect where the confusion and the unnerving situation may have begun, where Dr. Nkrumah so eloquently traces the History of Ghana… and there is a clear omission of the names of the Grant, Danquah, Awonoor-Williams, Akufo-Addo, Obetsebi-Lamptey – the leadership of the UGCC that brought him here.”

August 4 not Ghana’s independence

Kwesi Pratt’s response to this was that the significance August 4, 1947 had not been downplayed, but explained that Nkrumah is recognized as the founder of the modern republic of Ghana “for good reason and there are those who are opposed to that.”

“You have to remember that at a certain point in history, certain political forces made the holding of Nkrumah’s effigy and photographs a criminal offense… they burnt books written by Nkrumah, they told lies about our History all in an effort to obliterate Nkrumah’s name.”

He further stressed that August 4, 1947, was not the day Ghana obtained independence but the day on which “a lame political party came into existence.”

“The UGCC, until Nkrumah’s arrival [when he returned to Ghana (Gold Coast) on December 10, 1947, upon invitation from J.B. Danquah to become the UGCC’s General Secretary] was a very lame political organization. It did not have any credible women’s wing. It did not have a youth wing. It was not integrated into the struggles of the working people of Ghana and so on.”

Aside from that, Kwesi Pratt said the people of Ghana “chose their own heroes in properly conducted free and fair elections [in 1951]. Danquah never won an election… if he is such a great politician, a national liberator and so on, how come his people didn’t recognize that? So I am not the one saying it. His own people did not recognize him as such in his days.”

Aware and skeptical of the fact the governing New Patriotic Party toes the line of the Danquah tradition, Kwesi Pratt said he “wouldn’t be surprised if it [September 21] isn’t acknowledged as a holiday.”

He described the UGCC as a club of elitists and asserted that Nkrumah owed no debt to the UGCC for bringing him to Ghana and slammed such “arguments as infantile and uninformed,” adding that opposing Nkrumah’s legacy was as futile as “kicking against a rock with bare feet.”

Paul Adom-Otchere, whilst acknowledging Nkrumah’s mammoth legacy, maintained that Nkrumah as early as 1953, was already showing signs of relegating the other key people in the history of Ghana.

“Nobody can actually obliterate Nkrumah from history. We are making the point that Nkrumah began something in his address of the motion of destiny to exclude people who were key.”

This exclusion is believed to have evolved into the  CPP’s Nkrumah’s Preventive Detention Act (1958), which provided for detention without trial for up to 5 years (later extended to 10 years). On July 1, 1960, a new constitution was adopted, changing Ghana from a parliamentary system with a prime minister to a republican headed by a powerful president. In 1964, a constitutional referendum eventually changed the Ghana into a one-party state.

Nkrumah’s role in the UGCC

About Nkrumah being brought into the fold of the UGCC, Paul Adom-Otchere noted that the leadership of the party needed somebody to the work as a full timer because they were also occupied in the human rights work.

“There is no doubt about the fact that Nkrumah was a better orator that a lot of the UGCC people and that he was a better mass mobiliser given his history with the American civil rights movement.”

Kwesi Pratt viewed this point from Paul Adom-Otchere as self-indicting because it was ostensibly an admission that the UGCC leadership “considered other things more important than building the political party which was the main agitator for independence,”

In his view, the reason for the debate is because people are unhappy with the declaration of Nkrumah as the founder of the republic and he feels there is a desire to substitute Nkrumah with the Big Six.

As the debate concluded, Kwesi Pratt further argued that the legitimacy of the Big Six was compromised because, despite the Big Six being renowned for their arrests following the 1948 riots, the other five “denied involvement in the agitations that led to the rioting… it was only Nkrumah.”

This notwithstanding, for people with Paul Adom-Otchere’s sentiment, this debate “is a big issue because it has to do with the spirit of the country because we want to make the history of the country complete.”

Listen to the full debate below:

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Adom-Otchere clashes with Pratt over Ghana’s founding history appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo responded to a number of questions posed by journalists at the Flagstaff House on a wide range of issues including corruption, the economy and galamsey.

[contextly_sidebar id=”onoeIMOs9WQ97vop1ht54OTBdHsckrTs”]However, he directed a few questions to other members of his government, including a question from Citi Breakfast Show Host, Bernard Avle, which the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia responded to.

According to Mr. Adom-Otchere, this move by a President in an interaction with the media was a welcoming initiative and gave a reason for those officials to be present at these encounters in the first place.

“We’ve always wondered since Kufuor’s time with Ministers of State at the conference whether they should be there or not and should the President be speaking directly to the people? Often they come and say they don’t have anything to say at all,” he said on Eyewitness News on Tuesday.

“Today was different when he invited the Vice President [to answer questions] on two occasions. He also invited the Attorney General to deal with the controversial issues about State Attorneys and qualification to the Ghana Law School. That was a significant difference from what we’ve seen in the past”

He also dismissed assertions by some sections of the public who believe that the President delegated the questions because he did not have a full grasp of the situation in his government.

According to him the President demonstrated respect for the media and the general Ghanaian public by getting the responsible Ministers to provide up to date information on specific sectors.

“I don’t think it’s because he doesn’t have a full grasp of what’s happening, he’s the leader of the team. I’m calling his invitation for others to participate as positive. These Ministers come to these press conferences from Kufuor’s time and they leave after. If they are not there to help the journalists and public get specific and direct answers to certain questions, why do they come? This was different because President Akufo-Addo gave us a reason why they showed up.

“The President of the Republic of Ghana, will not have the specific answers to everything. Some of the questions invited direct answers, others were macro questions discussing general policies and some were political which he could answer. But questions are asked about figures and direct mathematical things to the point like Bernard Avle’s question – and you recall that when Dr. Bawumia was answering the question, he said the calculation of the GDP was actually one figure. Those are not things you expect the President to know because it changes on a month to month and quarter to quarter basis. When the questions are direct like the question about the one district, one factory, the President delegated it to the Trade Minister. With the specific questions, it was exciting to see him invite the people who were responsible to give the accurate, up-to-date report and that shows a lot of respect to the Ghanaian people and a lot of respect for the media,” he added

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post President’s delegation of questions ‘positive’ – Adom-Otchere appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He, together with eight others were sworn-in on Thursday by the Minister of Communication, Ursula Owusu who inaugurated the board.

[contextly_sidebar id=”JGHlaSu8skf2k0YJSr92fINJl7QDMIWU”]The NCA board is chaired by communications expert, Kwaku Sakyi Addo and has other members including: Joe Anokye, Kwabena Adu-Boahene, Bernard Aidoo-Forson, Philip Asare Kwame Ayesu, David Gyewu, and Susan-Barbara Adjorkor Boye Kumapley.

NCA to sanction over 100 radio stations if…

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Ursula said over 100 radio stations risk being sanctioned for various infractions of the frequency regulation.

The affected radio stations, she said, would suffer penalties ranging from suspensions to revocations of their frequencies depending on the gravity of the offence.

“…Sanctions will be applied to those who flouted the license condition, they are over a hundred and sanctions range from suspension to revocation of the authorization and some would have fines imposed upon them. They range from either expiry of the authorization, incomplete application for extension or renewal, nonpayment of fees, transfer of licenses to other agencies without prior approval of the NCA and a range of other issues.”

She explained that the NCA is taking such measures to sanitize the radio space.

“We need to have some sanity in this space and so those are the measures we are putting in place to ensure that everybody who signed up to operate a radio station and this country will abide by their own license conditions that they’ve signed up to.”

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

The post Paul Adom Otchere appointed NCA board member appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This he said will be achieved if good content is produced for television programming, since viewers will have an array of television channels to choose from.

This means that the best content attracts more attention; and will generate revenue through pay per view arrangements.

[contextly_sidebar id=”DN92rtJc8dM3Fm7IBoL5uEH64a6BAsk9″]According to Mr. Adom-Otchere, the key characteristics of digital TV are that, all TV stations can be seen nationwide, all TV picture and sound quality will be high and the same for every station, and TV pictures will mostly be seen via a box or a decoder.

Mr. Adom-Otchere, Host of Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana, who has appreciable understanding and knowledge of the analogue to digital switch, says the digital regime will benefit TV owners, content developers, advertisers and the government immensely; whiles giving the viewer a unique viewing experience.

In an article analyzing the pros and cons of the impending switch, Mr. Paul Adom-Otchere said: “Digital television has been used to create huge industry and wealth for nations such as the US, Europe and Asia. We now have a wonderful opportunity to stop applying taxpayer’s money to pay our Sports men, as we can generate money from monetizing their content both in Ghana and abroad whenever they play as in the case of our footballers.”

“Content monetization must be the key driver of digital migration” he noted.

What kind of content will be on the other channels?

What has happened in other countries is that, the existing channels as we know them have created new platforms and migrated their most popular programs onto the other pay channels.

So for instance, TV3 could create TV3 plus; and migrate their best programs to those channels. That means, a non-paying subscriber will be limited to see only the first 20 channels, which will include TV3 regular, but may not see “Ghana’s most beautiful” if that has been shifted to TV3 PLUS.

Same as if VIASAT decides to migrate a program like, “at home with Joselyn Dumas” to VIASAT EXTRA on the pay side of the box, a subscriber who is non-paying; will not see that show live.

The TV channels may decide to show the premium content the next day on the free channels as well. So that “Ghana most beautiful” will show live on Sunday night on TV3 PLUS; but will show the next day on Monday evening on TV3 regular etc.

The other kind of content that could be made available on the pay side; is the SPECIAL EVENTS channel that will broadcast special events such as sports events (Black Stars games or Mayweather fights) movie premiere and reality shows etc.

These will also be aired at high premium so that even if a subscriber is already paying, she may have to pay extra fee to see that premium content whilst non-paying subscribers will pay a bit just to see the special event content only. So that one may be a non-paying subscriber; and therefore sees only the regular 20 channels; but on a particular day, he wants to see the Black Stars game against England, he is happy to pay for that only; and return to his non-paying status, the system and decoder should allow one to see that.

We’ll extend deadline for digital migration if … – Ursula Ekuful

Meanwhile Ghana’s inability to complete the sale of the second 4G spectrum may compel it to extend the September 2017 deadline for the complete migration from analogue to digital platform.

This is the indication from the Minister for Communications, Ursula Owusu Ekuful. According to her, the development may put a strain on government’s funding to support the infrastructure needed to facilitate the smooth take off for the digital migration.

Ghana has already missed the June 2016 deadline for the migration from analogue to digital television platform.

Deadline for switch

The global timeline for all countries to migrate unto the digital platform is 2020.Failure to meet this time period will lead to a complete cut off of defaulting countries.

Ghana signed on to the Geneva 2006 (GE-06) Agreement of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) establishing the Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting Frequency Plan in the radio frequency bands 174–230 MHz (VHF Band III) and 470–862 MHz (UHF Bands IV&V).

The Agreement provided for a transition period during which the analogue television services and digital services will co-exist before the analogue services are switched off.

The transition periods were set to end on 17th June 2015 for the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Band and 17th June 2020 for the Very High Frequency (VHF) Band. But Ghana has decided that the transition period for both the UHF and VHF bands should be on 21st September, 2017.

Consequently, the Government of Ghana has established a nationwide Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) network that would provide coverage to at least 95% of the population and to carry at least forty (40) standard definition (SD) television programme channels in digital format.

The Ministry of Communications has since engaged stakeholders to develop the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) Broadcasting Policy, 2016, which is currently awaiting Cabinet approval.
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Digital TV regime gold mine for content developers – Adom-Otchere appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Analogue TV and digital TV

The difference is similar to the analogue mobile phones, where phone calls to a handset, did not indicate the name or number of the caller, and when phones could not send text messages across to other phones. So, just as the GSM network allowed the phones to offer information and quality of voice by showing the name of caller during a phone call and being able to send text, picture and video messages, so will digital TV offer more detail and quality of the content we will be watching.

Key characteristics of digital TV

*All TV stations can be seen nationwide

*All TV picture and sound quality will be high and the same for every station

*TV pictures will mostly be seen via a box or a decoder.

How will the occurrence of digital TV appear in homes?

So the system (analogue) by which we watch general free-to-air TV Chanel’s such as GTV, TV3, METRO TV and VIASAT or UTV, will be switched off as according to ITU directions. That means, we can only continue to watch TV by obtaining the decoders or boxes that will be provided in the market.

This box will have at least 40 channels. The first 20 channels will have all the 20 TV stations that we are used to watching for free. So we can now see our favourite TV stations on those 20 channels with standardized good picture and sound quality and also across the nation.

The next set of 20 or more channels may be designed as pay TV channels so that people must pay per month, or in the case of special events pay per view to see those channels.

What kind of content will be on the other channels?

What has happened in other countries is that, the existing channels as we know them have created new platforms and migrated their most popular programs onto the other pay channels.

So for instance, TV3 could create TV3 plus; and migrate their best programs to those channels. That means, a non-paying subscriber will be limited to see only the first 20 channels, which will include TV3 regular, but may not see “Ghana’s most beautiful” if that has been shifted to TV3 PLUS.Same as if VIASAT decides to migrate a program like, “at home with Joselyn Dumas” to VIASAT EXTRA on the pay side of the box, a subscriber who is non-paying; will not see that show live.

The TV channels may decide to show the premium content the next day on the free channels as well. So that “Ghana most beautiful” will show live on Sunday night on TV3 PLUS; but will show the next day on Monday evening on TV3 regular etc.

The other kind of content that could be made available on the pay side; is the SPECIAL EVENTS channel that will broadcast special events such as sports events (Black Stars games or Mayweather fights) movie premiere and reality shows etc.

These will also be aired at high premium so that even if a subscriber is already paying, she may have to pay extra fee to see that premium content whilst non-paying subscribers will pay a bit just to see the special event content only. So that one may be a non-paying subscriber; and therefore sees only the regular 20 channels; but on a particular day, he wants to see the Black Stars game against England, he is happy to pay for that only; and return to his non-paying status, the system and decoder should allow one to see that.

How close are we to full migration?

Currently, the NCA appears to have completed the roll out of transmission capacity almost across the entire country, and should complete the process later in 2017, to meet the new deadline so that migration should begin with key regions in Ghana from last quarter of 2017
What is the policy to get out the decoders/boxes to the general public?

Research has indicated that in Ghana, there could be about 8 million households with TV sets watching TV in the current analogue system. That means, at the outset, we will need 8 million decoders for our people to acquire. The NDC government’s published decision was to secure 1 million decoders to distribute to identifiable people who may not be able to afford to pay for boxes.

The other citizens were to acquire the boxes from vendors licensed by the NCA, and who will sell different capacities of boxes from the basic to the more sophisticated, and able to conduct different application of transmission, such as recording live programs, catch up with old programs, video on demand etc.

What is encryption?

Encryption is understood as the system that creates a conditional access to the content from the decoder. That means some of the content is blocked until a subscriber has paid to open up access.

So that is the system that will be used for the second set of twenty channels. Most likely, mobile phones will become the platform on which we will pay to get access to the encrypted content for the encrypted content.
Concerns over the use of encryption

The NCA seems to have adopted and expressed a policy where the encryption of the boxes will not be compulsory especially for the first 1 million boxes or the basic standard. They have defended the view that encrypting those boxes will make it expensive for government to purchase for our people (that is granting that the new NCA/Ministry adopts that policy).

Why must all boxes be encrypted by a common standard set by the NCA?

The boxes must be encrypted so that the subscriber can decide to pay for more content or to keep to the free content available on the box. If for instance a non-paying subscriber wants to pay to watch just a special event say a Black Stars game, he must be able to do so and return to his non-paying status until the next event that he wants to pay to see. If the first million are not encrypted, that subscriber may have to get another decoder that may have encryption into his home to see a special event or a program that he likes, that means two boxes in his home.

Why must the NCA determine a common encryption standard for all boxes?

The NCA must be guided by best practices, to establish a common encryption standard for all boxes within Ghana.
If content providers and TV stations are allowed to engage their own encryption, this is what will happen, a subscriber will find out that his favorite program, say Ghana’s most beautiful, is on a decoder B which is encrypted, then another favorite program is on decoder C encrypted differently, then the special events is on another decoder with a separate encryption system, so the subscriber needs about 4 or 5 decoders in his home, that’s unhelpful.

When we have a standardized encryption system, the subscriber can watch free to air channels, can switch to become a pay subscriber and switch back to non-paying the next month, and can also watch special events all on the same single decoder in his home.

How will government generate revenue?

The idea is that, government will set up a digital migration company that will manage the channels. That company will take a commission for all content encrypted. So that the more content and the more subscribers that pay for content, the more revenue at hand for government.

For instance in a particular month, 10 million Ghanaians have each paid 2 cedis for content ranging from people who watched Ghana’s most beautiful on TV3 PLUS, those who viewed entertainment programs, news programs and special event programs, the government receives commissions and fees for being the spectrum operator, those monies can be used to run the system to reduce burden on tax money.

How will employment be created?

Because content can be monetized, more people will get into providing good quality content, as the system will birth a new and profitable industry around TV and video content.

Many more music videos will be done of good quality, news type content and films will be produced and monetized for profit. This industry will spur on other connected industries like garment, food, transport, etc.

Once people like the content and are happy to pay minimum fees of say 1 cedi and 2 cedis for it, the industry will be kept alive and can employ many more people. That’s how the American TV industry became great, that’s how Oprah Winfrey was created, that’s how news media in America became sustainable to facilitate good governance and democracy, that’s how reality shows produced wealthy outcomes to spur the growth of wealth in the industry

How will the advertising market benefit?

The advertising system will now be able to obtain objective numbers on the ratings of programs because under digital TV, the system can produce the exact number of eyeballs that watched a TV show and the social and economic demographics to which they belong.

That way, the advertiser can decide clearly where to place his adverts depending on the type of audience that he targets. It will signify the end of subjective guesswork on program ratings.

Conclusions

Digital television has been used to create huge industry and wealth for nations such as the US, Europe and Asia. We now have a wonderful opportunity to stop applying taxpayer’s money to pay our Sports men, as we can generate money from monetizing their content both in Ghana and abroad whenever they play as in the case of our footballers.

Content monetization must be the key driver of digital migration, so, will Joe Anokye’s Anchor hold, Congratulations Sir and welcome aboard.

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By: Paul Adom-Otchere/Ghana

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