The visit by the Ivorian President comes barely a month after Ghana emerged victorious in a maritime dispute with Ivory Coast at the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Germany.

[contextly_sidebar id=”M782jtHco1vrbJIoqymsFKhi3O4KPzis”]The two countries have already accepted the decision of ITLOS, and have agreed to work towards implementing the judgement.

The two leaders will address a joint press conference after their meeting and sign bilateral agreements as well as inaugurate a joint commission for the implementation of the delimitation of the maritime boundaries of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.

The two leaders are also scheduled to discuss issues related to illegal mining popularly called Galamsey.

Police to close specific roads for Ivorian President’s visit

Meanwhile the Accra Regional Command of the Ghana Police Service, will be closing some roads temporarily in Accra, in anticipation of Mr. Ouattara’s visit.

The roads to be affected by the closures are the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue towards the Central Business District, Liberation Road towards Central Business District, and the Atta Mills Highway from James Town towards Osu.

The roads will be closed from 11: 00 am and reopened after a scheduled ceremonial procession.

The police will be assisting motorists on alternative routes.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to a statement from the Danish Embassy, the visit follows an invitation from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to the country’s Head of State.

[contextly_sidebar id=”BmBbERMbPB0Kzxwc6wQ3HE25JdJ10NZd”]The statement added that “the state visit will emphasize and consolidate the long-standing and well-established relationship between Ghana and Denmark, while at the same time marking the gradual transition from aid to trade.”

Ghana and Denmark have enjoyed strong commercial ties over the years, and this visit by the Queen, who will be joined by representatives of Danish companies and business organisations, is expected to strengthen those bonds.

“During many years, Denmark through the Danida Development Cooperation has played an important role in developing key sectors and institutions in Ghana.

With Ghana’s graduation to a middle-income country and the prospects of sustainable economic growth, Denmark is gradually transitioning from development cooperation to trade cooperation in line with the visions by the Government of Ghana,” the Embassy said.

The visit will also include seminars and meetings under the theme “Ghana – an Emerging Market within Reach” which will focus on food and agriculture, sustainability, and maritime, infrastructure and railways.

The Danish Queen is expected to attend the opening of the conference and pay visits to several local business and cultural institutions.

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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A statement from British High Commission in Ghana said the visit which is Princess Royal’s third to Ghana, will “celebrate the unique friendship between the UK and Ghana, as it commemorates its 60^th Anniversary of independence.”

The statement added that “it will also reinforce the strength and depth of our bilateral relations. Ghana is marking its 60th Anniversary with themes of reflection, celebration, challenge and togetherness. Its partnership with the UK embodies just that – built on deep social and cultural ties and a shared future.

The Princess Royal is expected to meet a number of dignitaries including the Asantehene, Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II at the Royal Palace in Kumasi and former President Kufuor.

The Princess Royal will also undertake a wide-ranging programme that builds on her previous visits in 1998 and 2011, which according to the statement focuses on empowering women who act as role models for others, exploring the importance of support for girls, female education and entrepreneurs in delivering Ghana’s future.

She will also meet with a number of UK volunteers including the alumni of UK sponsored scholarship programmes, Chevening, Commonwealth and the Queens Young Leaders

The Princess Royal visit follows similar ones paid by former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair and Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The former UK Premier is in Ghana on the invitation of the Institute of Economic Affairs, IEA, where he will deliver a lecture on democracy.

He will have lunch with the President and speak to the media.

Meanwhile the President will swear in the 10 Deputy Regional Ministers who were approved by Parliament last week.
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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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President Akufo-Addo posted a photo of himself and the two-time African Footballer of the Year at the Flagstaff House on Facebook on Friday evening, but did not explain what the purpose of the visit was.

Nana Addo, who speaks very fluent french, is believed to have held private discussions with the football legend.

Drogba was capped 104 times Ivory Coast between 2002 and 2014, scoring 65 goals, and is the nation’s all-time top goalscorer with 65 goals.

Much like the Black Stars in 2016, he led the Ivory Coast to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, their first appearance in the tournament.

He was part of the Ivory Coast teams that reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2006 and 2012, only to beaten on penalties on both occasions.

In Europe, Drogba scored 157 goals in 341 appearances for Chelsea in his first spell at the club, winning the UEFA Champions League with the London club in 2012.

He returned to the club for a year in 2014 and scored seven goals in 40 games.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Tema Port is a major backbone of the country’s revenue collection efforts, generating a significant percentage of annual domestic revenue.

The Tema Collection Point of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) however missed its 2016 target, mobilizing GHȼ7,334,174,613.10 against a target of GHȼ7,690.380.000.00. The shortfall was 4.63 percent.

Jacob Kwabla Adorkor, Director of Ports, and officials of the Customs Division including sector commander, Confidence Nyadzi conducted Dr. Bawumia round to observe the operations of the Nick TC Scan, Meridian Port Services (MPS), Golden Jubilee Car park, State Warehouse, and Atlas Copco, among others.

The Vice President also interacted with Clearing Agents, workers at the Port, security and other officers, and ordinary Ghanaians anxious to clear their goods on time.

He inspected seized goods stored in the State warehouse, including mattresses, fridges and other materials barred from importation.

In brief comments after the tour, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia indicated that, the Akufo-Addo government would take steps to consolidate some of the functions at the port that interface with the public in order to reduce the frustrations of agents and port users, while plugging any revenue leakages.

Bawumia pays unexpected visit to Registrar-General’s Department 

This is the second time Vice President Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has paid an unannounced visit to a key government facility since assuming office.

On January 18, 2017, Dr. Bawumia visited the Registrar General’s Department to identify the bottlenecks bedevilling the State outfit and also interacted with owners of businesses and Ghanaians who had gone to the Department to register their businesses.
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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Dr. Bawumia interacted with owners of businesses and Ghanaians who were at the Department to register their businesses.

He met a lot of people at the registry who also expressed their frustrations with the “bureaucratic processes” in registering their establishments.

According to Dr. Bawumia, the vision of the NPP administration is to make Ghana a “business friendly country” and that dream must begin with the Registrar-General’s Department.

Rwanda is currently ranked the most business-friendly country in Africa.

Speaking later with the acting Registrar General Mrs. Jemima Oware, who was visibly surprised about the visit, Dr. Bawumia noted that, the Akufo-Addo-led administration is hoping to use the East African country’s feat as a “benchmark.”

He thus urged authorities of the department to learn lessons from Rwanda, and implement same.

“It was a fulfilled visit and there will be follow-up discussions,” Dr. Bawumia told the media after being briefed about the business registration process.

He served notice there will be more of such surprise visits to other state institutions to make sure “things work in Ghana.”

Dr. Bawumia appealed to officials at the Department to speed up the processes and to do their best to position Ghana as a business-friendly environment.

Mrs. Oware complained about the three-month-old state attorneys strike which she said is taking a toll on the process because state lawyers are needed to review people’s applications.
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/ citifmonline.com/Ghana

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A statement from the presidency singed by acting Director of Communications, Eugene Arhin, said the visit is aimed at deepening the existing, cordial relations between Ghana and Morocco.

The statement further said the visit will also present the two countries an opportunity to define new areas of co-operation that would serve the mutual interests of the two countries.

“On Friday, January 20, President Akufo-Addo will hold bilateral talks with King Mohammed VI, before hosting him to an official lunch at the Presidency,” the statement added.

King Mohammed VI will thereafter depart for Morocco.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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GhIPSS; a Bank of Ghana subsidiary, said such efforts would result in a significant reduction in cash payments.

The Chief Executive Officer of GhIPSS, Archie Hesse was responding to the introduction of the Remote Cheque Capturing service by Guaranty Trust Bank (GT Bank).

The service enables corporate customers, in particular, who handle lots of cheques, to be able to scan the cheques for processing, from the comfort of their offices, without going to the banking halls.

This service brings a lot of convenience to customers and save them time, cost and stress of moving to banking halls just to pay in cheques.

Mr. Hesse described the service as exciting, noting that it would encourage many companies to prefer cheques as a mode of payment to cash.

According to him, the development fit into the goal of migrating Ghana onto an electronic payment community and reducing dependence on cash for transactions.

He urged banks to continue their promotion of the various electronic payment forms, emphasizing that the future of banking lay in electronic payment.

The CEO of GhIPSS also used the opportunity to encourage banks to educate their corporate customers on the use of Direct Credit to pay salaries as it is a very secured and fast way of paying salaries.

Direct Credit is one of the electronic payment options under the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system.

Mr Hesse said while the banks and allied institutions were doing well in promoting electronic payment products for corporate customers, it was equally necessary to drive their retail or individual customers to also use their ATM cards to shop on Point of Sales (POS) terminals.

He said with the rollout of the hybrid POSes which accepts both local ATM and e-zwich cards, customers should be encouraged to rather use their ATM cards for transactions instead of withdrawing cash in order to shop.

Mr Hesse, therefore, urged banks to also promote the use of cards to shop as that has become possible in Ghana now.

He added that the use of ATM cards to pay for transactions at the shop would reduce the pressure on ATM outlets, a situation which would inure to the benefit of the banks as well as create convenience for customers.

Source: GNA

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