The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will this year launch a transit scheme for trucks moving along the Abidjan-Lagos corridor to deposit a guarantee bond to enable them to cross over to other countries. The initiative, according to the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, is to reduce costs to the private sector. He said even when the trucks moved from the ECOWAS region to another region, they would be subject to only one cost for transit guarantee. Mene announced this last Saturday in an address on the final day of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) 2025. Background…
Author: qwezink
The Parliamentary Network Africa has praised the speaker of parliament for setting up an Ad Hoc Committee to investigate the violent clash during last Thursday’s parliamentary vetting session. They have called the move a step in the right direction, emphasising that it would boost the credibility of the process. The committee, formed by Speaker Bagbin, has been tasked with probing the altercation between the Majority and Minority caucuses, which led to the destruction of tables and microphones in the vetting room. The committee is urging anyone who witnessed or recorded the incident, including MPs, media personnel, and guests, to come…
The star-studded ceremony, the Grammy, hosted by Trevor Noah, took place on Sunday night at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Music’s biggest stars gathered in hopes of taking home a coveted gramophone trophy. Beyoncé topped this year’s nominations with an impressive 11 nods, followed by Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, and Post Malone, each earning seven nominations. Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, and Taylor Swift each secured six nominations, while Jack Antonoff and Shaboozey rounded out the list with five nominations apiece. Reflecting on the nominations, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. shared in a November press release, “It…
The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) is pressing the Ghanaian government for swift intervention to address the ongoing rise in fuel prices, which has now reached its third consecutive increase this year. Consumers are facing significant price hikes, with the first pricing window of February following a similar trend seen in January. Shell has raised its petrol price from GH₵15.59 per litre to GH₵16.23, while diesel has increased from GH₵15.79 to GH₵16.20. Star Oil, while keeping petrol at GH₵14.99, has raised diesel prices from GH₵14.99 to GH₵15.37. These price hikes reflect the volatile global crude oil market and the depreciation…
Manchester City signed midfielder Nico Gonzalez from Porto in the biggest move from Premier League clubs on Monday’s transfer deadline day, while Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel headed to Tottenham on loan. City’s midfield frailties without Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who is out for the season due to a serious knee injury, were exposed in a 5-1 thrashing at Arsenal on Sunday, dropping the reigning Premier League champions 15 points behind leaders Liverpool. Former Barcelona midfielder Gonzalez, 23, arrives for a reported fee of 50 million pounds ($62m). “This is the perfect opportunity for me at this stage of my career,”…
He referenced the infamous Accra Sports Stadium tragedy of 2001, which claimed over 120 lives, and emphasised that such incidents should not be repeated. Speaking on Point Blank, a segment on Eyewitness News, on Monday, February 3, 2025, Adams outlined the government’s plans to address the gaps in stadium security and emergency preparedness. “No one should expect that this should continue especially for Ghana which experienced this about 24 years ago which resulted in the loss of many lives at the Accra Sports stadium. We didn’t expect that things like this would happen 24 years on. So, we don’t expect it to…
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has announced that health workers participating in a vaccination exercise in cholera-affected areas of the Central Region will be vaccinated before commencing their duties. According to the Acting Director-General of GHS, Dr. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, this measure aims to protect frontline workers and curb the further spread of the disease. The Central Region has recorded a cumulative death toll of 14, raising serious public health concerns. Dr. Akoriyea also emphasized the importance of contact tracing, noting that authorities have already identified families with close ties to affected patients. Speaking to Citi News after visiting cholera…
Ghanaian households are feeling the strain of rising food prices, despite a slight ease in the overall inflation rate for January. The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) reveals a troubling trend, with several staple food items experiencing price hikes exceeding 50%, further tightening household budgets. At the forefront of this surge is ginger, which has seen an eye-popping 114.4% price increase, making it the most inflated food item in the country. The sharp rise reflects the broader pressures on food prices, with beans, a vital protein source for many, also experiencing a significant 84.6%…
Uganda has kicked off a clinical trial of a vaccine against Ebola that killed one person in the outbreak declared last week. Health workers and other people exposed to the strain are being targeted in the trial which began four days after Uganda announced the death of a nurse in the capital, Kampala. Two more cases were confirmed on Monday in relatives of the first victim. It is the sixth time Uganda has been hit by an outbreak of the Sudan strain of the virus, for which there is no approved vaccine. Of the five other Ebola species, just one…
Stakeholders in the agriculture sector are pointing to inefficiencies in the rollout of the Planting for Food and Jobs Phase 2 (PFJ 2.0) as a significant driver of the recent surge in food inflation. Food prices rose by 28.3% in January 2025, a slight increase from 27.8% in December, even as overall inflation eased to 23.5%. The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) has criticised the delayed impact of the PFJ 2.0 program, calling it a key factor in the rising food prices. In an interview with Citi Business News, PFAG President Wepia Adugwula expressed concerns over the inefficiencies in the…