The suffering is too much, it appears NDC government stopped thinking a long time ago – Pratt

Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr., has cautioned the ruling National Democratic Congress government to start kissing power goodbye if it intends to pursue its fuel price deregulation policy into elections 2012.

He said the masses are reeling under harsh living conditions and can no longer bear any petroleum price increases, however it appears to him that the government stopped thinking about the consequences of their actions a long time ago and has thus become insensitive to the plight of its people.

Describing as dishonest, claims that the government, or any before it, had been subsidizing fuel prizes in the country and therefore saving consumers some cost, Pratt said there can be no truth whatsoever in the claims because they are all lies.

“Now beyond this fact of real prices of crude and how the price is calculated and so on, we are also told that look, the government is subsidizing crude oil, subsidizing petrol, and that the economy is in such bad straits that indeed if the government continues to subsidize, it will not have money to cater for other needs of our citizens and so on.

“I insist on this platform, I insist, and I'm ready to argue with anybody in this room, that there is no subsidy whatsoever on any petroleum product. You can only arrive at a subsidy if you use an accounting trick, and we know the trick…”

Pratt, who was speaking as a panelist at a public lecture organized by the Committee for Joint Action and the Socialist Forum on the recent petroleum price increases on Tuesday, which also featured the CEO of the National Petroleum Authority, Alex Mould, said the government had heaped huge taxes and levies on petroleum products and was actually making profits.

It was therefore dishonest for the government or its appointees to suggest that the government was shouldering any subsidy.

“At some point, I think when petrol was selling for ¢12,500 (GH¢1.25), together with Mr. Ato Ahwoi and all of them, we sat down and did the calculation. When we did the calculation, the actual price that the consumer needed to pay, i.e. cost of refinery and margins and so on, it came to just a little over ¢6,000. So at that time if you went to the pump to go and buy fuel, 50 percent of the price you were paying was taxes and levies…, but the point I am making is that, if you sell a product and you make even 20 per cent profit, how can you be subsidizing that product? Because the taxes and levies are profits, they are additions that are added in order to increase government revenue, so if government is making so much revenue, how can the same government now turn round and argue that it is subsidizing the product? It doesn't make sense. It simply doesn't make sense at all, and I want somebody to explain that.”

Pratt said the only way to arrive at a subsidy is to discount the taxes and levies, and while it is agreeable that the government needs revenues through taxes and levies to build infrastructure and needed facilities, such provisions will have no value if they come when the people for whom they are intended are dead, saying the hardship on the masses is unbearable.

“We agree, that the taxes will make us build more motorways, the taxes will make us do wonderful things, build new hospitals and so on, but the people of Ghana must live to enjoy those facilities. The rate at which petroleum prices are moving, the recklessness with which the prices of all goods and services are rising, Ghanaians will die before that paradise that our taxes will create comes into being, and that is why it is important for our leaders and governments to rise up to the occasion and to deal with the most important things now and the most important things are food for the people, shelter for the people, clothing for the people – these are the most important things now.”

According to Kwesi Pratt, he was shocked beyond measure that any government in tune with the sufferings of its people would announce petroleum price increases as early in the year as January 4, wondering why the government appears to be in so much hurry to court public anger.

“…I could not believe that anybody, any government, which knows the conditions of the people in Ghana, would announce a 30 per cent increase in the price of petroleum products on 4th of January. What is wrong with these people? It is like they are in a hurry to court public anger. 4th of January when people have just come out of Christmas with all the wahala… even if you have to announce it, do you announce it on the 4th of January?.... Incredible, it is like they stopped thinking a long time ago. They are no longer sensitive, they don't care about us… They don't think about the social and political consequences of their actions.”

“I stand here and make one prediction, I do not speak as a prophet of doom, I speak as somebody who has lived all of my life in agitation on the streets and know the problems of the people. If this reckless policy is not abandoned, the NDC must begin to say goodbye to power because if they increase the prices of petrol again and again before 2012, that would be the end of the NDC in power. That is the fact, whether you like it or not, that is the fact… The people of Ghana are not ready to take any more reckless increases in the prices of petrol, and it does not matter what calculations you do, the simple fact is that we can no longer bear the hardship.”

But Pratt also cautioned the public to guard against being hoodwinked to join any politician's selfish agitations because they only appear to think properly when out of power.
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Inkoom joins Ukrainian club Dnipro

BASEL, Switzerland — Ghana international Samuel Inkoom has joined Ukrainian club Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk on a four-year deal from Swiss champion Basel. Basel says on its website it allowed Inkoom to leave despite having him under contract for two more seasons.

Swiss media reports say Basel will receive around 7 million Swiss francs ($7.4 million; €5.4 million) for the 21-year-old defender.

Inkoom played on Ghana's under-20 World Cup-winning team in 2009 and the senior side which reached the World Cup quarterfinals last year. Basel immediately signed a replacement, getting 25-year-old Markus Steinhoefer from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Steinhoefer, a former Germany under-21 international, has signed a 2-1/2-year contract.

Sulley Muntari’s Sunderland Switch

Sunderland’s chances of signing Sulley Muntari from Inter have taken a knock after it emerged the player’s wife could well prefer a move to London should her husband leave the Serie A giants.

Muntari is available for transfer at the Nerazzurri this January, but only if a deal arises with which all parties can be happy. Sunderland boss Steve Bruce believes that the Ghana star, who has Premier League experience with Portsmouth from the 2007/08 campaign, would be a superb addition to his squad and was counting on the presence of international team-mates John Mensah and Asamoah Gyan to help persuade Muntari to join the Black Cats.
However, reports in Italy suggest that Muntari’s wife, a well known model, has expressed concerns about heading to the north east and would prefer to live in London should her husband have to leave Milan.

Kofi Wayo - MPs don't deserve Gh¢ 7,000 salary -

Maverick politician ‘Chucks’ Kofi Wayo has described the plea by Members of Parliament for a monthly salary of 7,000 ghana cedis as a “complete waste of tax payers money”.

Information available to Citi News indicates Members of Parliament are set to recommend that their salaries be pegged at Gh¢7,000 per month.

Citi News sources within Parliament say members of a committee set up by the House to review the salaries and conditions of service of the nation’s law makers, for which the services of a consultant has been engaged, initially considered a salary band of between Gh¢ 5,000 and Gh¢8,000, but settled on the compromise figure of Gh¢7,000.

The MPs currently receive a salary of about Gh¢2,500 a month. They last had a pay rise in October 2010, when their salaries were increased by 17%.

However, speaking on the issue on the Citi Eyewitness News on Friday January 21, the founder and leader of the United Renaissance Party (URP) said the amount of work done by Parliamentarians does not merit a monthly salary of GHc7, 000.

According to Kofi Wayo such monies should be channelled into the development of the nation rather than wasting it on parliamentarians who do not deserve it.

"The question is this, what do the MPs do anyway, what about the workers of Ghana, have you thought about their raise, the workers of Ghana who pay the taxes, the market women, the farmers, the taxi driver who pays over 16 taxes a day...for the kind of work they (MPs) do I would not support a pay rise for them...they don’t deserve it in anyway".

Appietus fumes over stolen 5Five song

Sampling is a common practice among producers/beat makers/sound engineers. But where is the line between sampling and stealing?

Appietus has come forward to say that the beat of DJ Cyndo’s song, 'Amerido' is strikingly similar to the beat he did for 5Five's 'Move Back' song on his compilation but added his own instrumentations to it to make it more richer and did not steal it like its been speculated.

Ghana Music.com spoke with Appietus earlier this afternoon to open up about the beat theft. “Am I the first person to take a beat and sample it? Am I the first engineer in the world to use the samples of other musicians? If so then Gyptian will arrest thousands of musicians in Ghana alone”, he continued.

Appietus, who's worked with the likes of Samini, Amandzeba Nat Brew, 5Fve, 4x4, went onto air out his grievances. “When we do things like this we killing our own industry and these things must stop” he said .

Many are questions have come up since 'Move Back' gained firm popularity from last year about who owns the originality of the song.

Appietus is not bothered about this and will still be producing hit songs from Creative Studios.

$48,000 gift controversy continues unabated

The controversies surrounding the $48,000 Backes and Strauss watch reportedly given to American First Lady, Michelle Obama by her Ghanaian counterpart, Naadu Mills is set to deepen as government intensifies its clarification of the matter.

A US website reported that Ghana's First Lady gave the watch to Michelle Obama when the US first couple paid a visit to Ghana in 2009.

The watch is said to be second most expensive gift the Obamas have received since Barack was voted into power.

But Communications Director at the presidency, Mr Koku Anyidoho has denied the watch was donated by Ghana's first lady. He followed a government statement – issued late Thursday - denying the report, with a press conference Friday at which he read a letter purportedly sent to the Ghana government by the UK watch-maker, Backes and Strauss, on the company’s decision to donate the watch to the government to be presented to the Obamas.

The undated letter which is also not addressed to any particular person or institution, partly reads; “In recognition of this unique occasion, Africawatch Trading Company is pleased to offer the Black Star of Ghana Model free of charge to be presented as a gift from the people of Ghana to Mrs Michelle Obama.”

Mr Anyidoho said, “No where in this thing is it stated that it was given by Mrs Naadu Mills to be presented to Mrs Obama or for that matter Mrs Naadu Mills requested for it. The company did it in the name of the people of Ghana to be presented to Mrs Obama.”

He said the watch cost a whooping $48,000 “because the company thought that, on behalf of the people of Ghana, something of value should be given to the Obamas because that watch is not going to be worn by Mrs Obama, it is going to end up in a museum and so for generations to come when people visit the museum of presidents in America, they will recognize that when the Obamas visited Ghana, Ghanaians, Ghanaians, gave them a gift of value.”

To seek clarity on the matter, Joy News’ Sammy Darko, called the Head of Public Affairs at the US Embassy, Mr Ben East who said, “we can confirm that the gift in question, the watch that is being discussed was not a gift from the First Lady of Ghana to the First Lady of the United States, nor was it a gift from the government of Ghana to the First Lady of the United States.”

Asked who presented the watch to the US First Lady, Mr East said he didn’t know but explained the White House had been contacted to clarify the clerical error that led to the Federal Registrar capturing the watch as having been presented to Mrs Michelle Obama by Ghana’s First Lady.

“To me, what I’m saying is that this gift was not presented by the government of Ghana nor the First Lady of Ghana which implies and in fact states that they therefore did not buy [because] if they bought it they would have presented it,” East emphasised.

But the official website of the UK firm which produced the watch has a contradictory information.

Backes and Strauss, on its September 16 2009 post, titled ‘Michelle Obama is presented with The Star of Ghana,’ stated that “Backes & Strauss were commissioned to craft this unique piece from our Regent collection for presentation to The First Lady of the United States from The Republic of Ghana during the Obama family's visit there this summer.”

“On Saturday 11th July Mrs Ernestina Mills The First Lady of Ghana presented The First Lady of The United States Michelle Obama with The Star of Ghana to commemorate and celebrate the first visit to The Republic of Ghana by The President of The United States of America, President Barack Obama and The First Lady” the company added.

Backes & Strauss London, in association with The Africa Watch Trading Co Ltd and on behalf of The Republic of Ghana proudly present The Star of Ghana, a unique and one off piece from their Regent Collection. As Masters of diamonds since 1789, Backes & Strauss the world’s oldest diamond company craft and create exclusive watches, combining art and science, light and time.

The flag of The Republic of Ghana sits proudly on the dial, being the first to adopt Pan African colours. The Star is known as the Lone Star of African freedom, reflecting Ghana’s principles of freedom and justice, equity and free education for all. There is the “Grande Date” at 12 O’Clock with a Moon Phase Mechanism at 4 O’Clock included in the flag of The Republic of Ghana.

Individuals Sponsored Naadu Mill's $48,000 Gift To Michelle Obama

Sources within government have denied international media reports the First Lady, Ernestina Naadu Mills gave US First Lady, Michelle Obama, a gold watch valued at $48,000.

Government sources told Joy News the watch came from the Africa Watch Trading Company, country representatives of Backes and Straus. They say the watch was part of assorted gifts collected from willing Ghanaians who had something for the Obamas when they paid an historic visit to Ghana in July 2009.

The Government is expected to issue an official statement on the matter shortly. An AFP report culled by Yahoo News said the watch was a Backes and Strauss "Black Star of Ghana" watch, "crafted in 18 karat gold with diamonds and leather."

The information about the gifts was published in the White House Federal Register, the publication claimed. In his first year as US President, Barack Obama, his family and members of his administration were showered with more than 300,000 dollars in gifts from Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz.

According to the report, the Federal Register reported Tuesday that King Abdullah gave some 34,500 dollars worth of presents to Obama, some 146,200 dollars worth to First Lady Michelle Obama and 7,275 dollars worth to their children Malia and Sasha.

The monarch offered a total of 108,245 dollars worth of gifts to White House staff, presents valued at 23,400 dollars to a senior US diplomatic interpreter and gifts estimated at 12,000 dollars to the US charge d'affaires in Riyadh.

Among the gifts Obama received from Abdullah were a "large desert scene on a green veined marble base featuring figurines of gold palm trees and camels" and a large brass and glass clock by Jaeger-LeCoultre, according to the register.

The Saudi king gave the First Lady a ruby and diamond jewelry set worth 132,000 dollars as well as a pearl necklace with a value of 14,200 dollars, according to the register.

Their children also received jewelry worth thousands of dollars in addition to books and DVDs. Chinese President Hu Jintao gave Obama "a framed and matted fine silk embroidery depicting a portrait study of the First Family" that was valued at 20,000 dollars, according to the register.

Miyuki Hatoyama, wife of then prime minister Yukio Hatoyama of Japan, gave Michelle Obama a pearl necklace valued at 9,700 dollars. Obama got a bronze statue of a girl releasing a flock of doves valued at 8,000 dollars from Israeli President Shimon Peres. All the presents go to the National Archives as US law bars any US government official from receiving a present from a foreign government.

Obama and others accepted the gifts because "non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and US government," according to the register.

Africa Leaders Scorecard - Mills Gets "A"

John Atta Mills is one of five African leaders ranked "A" by the EastAfrican Magazine.

The A-listers, which includes Navinchandra Ramgoolam (Mauritius), Pedro Verona Rodriques Pires(Cape Verde), Ian Khama(Botswana), Hifikepunye Pohamba (Namibia)- respect democratic process, stimulate business growth, undertake effective development programmes to lift their populations out of poverty and refrain from provocative or warlike actions. These outstanding few tend to be brilliantly educated, have the sterling credentials one would expect of world leaders, and can use diplomatic charm to secure bigger foreign aid donations:<

Below is ranking of African leaders

1 Sir Anerood Jugnauth Mauritus 83.54 A+
2 Pedro Pires Cape Verde 78.91 A
3 Ian Khama Botswana 78.7 A
4 John Atta Mills Ghana 72.56 A
5 Hifikepunye Pohamba Namibia 71.07 A-

6 Jacob Zuma South Africa 69.93 B+
7 James Michel Seychelles 66.4 B
8 Amadou Toumani Touré Mali 64.4 B
9 Ernest Bai Koroma Sierra Leone 61.89 B
10 Jakaya Kikwete Tanzania 60.39 B-
11 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Liberia 60.32 B-

12 Rupiah Banda Zambia 59.59 C+
13 King Mohammed VI Morocco 54.84 C
14 Bethuel Mosisili Lesotho 54.5 C
15 Thomas Yayi Boni Benin 53.91 C
16 Mwai Kibaki Kenya 53.43 C
17 Bingu wa Mutharika Malawi 53.04 C
18 Abdoulaye Wade Senegal 51.68 C-
19 Paul Kagame Rwanda 51.31 C-

20 Yoweri Museveni Uganda 49.91 D+
21 Alassane Ouatara Cote D’ivoire49.69 D+
22 Armando Guebuza Mozambique 49.35 D+
23 Ben Ali Tunisia 49.01 D
24 Salou Djibo Niger 48.55 D
25 Goodluck Jonathan Nigeria 46.06 D-
26 Pierre Nkurunziza Burundi 45.2 D-

27 Omar Ghaddafi Libya 44.64 F+
28 Abdelaziz Bouteflika Algeria 43.42 F
29 Alpha Conde Guinea 41.94 F
30 Hosni Mubarak Egypt 40.74 F-
31 King Mswa???? III Swaziland 40.05 F-

32 Ahmed Sambi Comoros 36.97 ICU
33 Mohamed Abdelaziz Mauritania 36.29 ICU
34 Blaise Compaore Burkina Faso 35.7 ICU
35 Ali Ben Ondimba Gabon 34.28 ICU
36 Denis Sassou Nguesso Congo 33.43 ICU
37 Faure Gnassingbe Togo 33.38 ICU
38 Malam Bacai Sanha Guinea Bissau 32.84 ICU
39 Meles Zenawi Asres Ethiopia 32.68 ICU
40 Yahya Jammeh Gambia 32.48 ICU
41 Ismail Omar Guelleh Djibou???? 31.53 ICU
42 Joseph Kabila Drc 30.18 ICU
43 Eduardo dos Santos Angola 30.17 ICU

44 Paul Biya Cameroon 29.52 Morgue
45 Andry Rajoelina Madagascar 29.31 Morgue
46 FrançoisYangouvonda CAR 28.22 Morgue
47 Robert Mugabe Zimbabwe 22.62 Morgue
48 Sheikh Sharif Ahmed Somalia 22.41 Morgue
49 Idriss Déby Itno Chad 20.81 Morgue
50 Teodoro Mbasogo Eq. Guinea 20.72 Morgue
51 Omar al-Bashir Sudan 15.67 Morgue
52 Isaias Afwerki Eritrea 12.14 Morgue

Muntari For Sunderland....?

Sunderland have made an approache to sign Sulley Muntari on loan.

Black Cats boss Steve Bruce is looking to bolster his midfield and has now targeted Ghana international Muntari and Benin ace Sessegnon.

Muntari is currently at Inter Milan and was a regular under Jose Mourinho during his first season, but following his departure he has been limited to just eight appearances.

Now Bruce is hoping he can land the former Portsmouth star, although there is also understood to be interest from elsewhere in the Premier League.

But it is hoped that fellow Ghana internationals John Mensah and Asamoah

Gyan, currently at Sunderland, will help persuade Muntari to move to the North East.

Likewise there is known to be a number of clubs looking at Sessegnon, who is available from Paris St Germain after he had a public falling out with coach Antoine Kombouare.

Sevilla Push Ahead with Annan Swoop

Sevilla are expected to move quickly to tie up the signing of Ghana midfielder Anthony Annan from Norwegian giants Rosenborg this month. The Spanish side have already had an offer of €2M rejected by Rosenborg, with the Trondheim-based club believed to want at least €4M for the player.

However, Sevilla are keen to sign Annan, who has been compared to Michael Essien in his style of play, although the 24-year-old has been criticised for his failure to score enough goals, having failed to hit the back of the net in the Norwegian league for the past four years.

Sevilla will still face competition from Ligue 1 champions Marseille for Annan’s signature, though La Liga is thought to appeal to the Ghana man and the Spaniards themselves are confident of completing the deal.

Petroleum prices up 25/30 percent

The price of petrol and diesel in Ghana will rise 30 percent on Tuesday to account for rising oil prices and help pay off debt owed by the West African country's oil refinery, authorities said on Monday.

A price hike had been expected after it was flagged in Ghana's 2011 budget, approved late last year.

Diesel will rise to 1.53 ($1.03) cedis per litre while petrol will also rise 30 percent to 1.52 cedis per litre, said National Petroleum Authority chief Alex Mould said in a speech, a copy of which was posted on the website of local redio station Joy FM.

"These changes to the ex-pump price are inevitable due to the constant rise of crude oil on the world market," he said, adding that the rise would be implemented from 0600 GMT on Tuesday.

Oil prices rose to a 27-month peak over $92 per barrel on Monday as upbeat European and U.S. manufacturing data and forecasts for cold weather reinforced optimism about economic and energy demand growth.

Mould said that fuel prices in Ghana had remained unchanged since October 2009, during which time the price of oil had risen some 23 percent. The prices of kerosene and premix fuel remain unchanged, he added.

Problems at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) are also behind the price hike, Mould said.

"One of these factors is the TOR debt recovery levy which Parliament approved before Christmas. The objective will be to retire debts owed by the country's only refinery," he said.

This year's budget saw levies on fuel ear-marked for repaying Tema's debt rise to up to 0.08 cedis per litre from 0.02 cedis.

The refinery, Ghana's sole fuel producer, was shut for much of 2009 and parts of 2010 due to problems acquiring credit to purchase crude oil.


Ghana last month joined Africa's club of oil-producing nations with the start-up of its offshore Jubilee field with reserves estimated up to 1.5 billion barrels.

There are high hopes the nation will avoid the resource curse that has struck other African oil-rich countries and oil is expected to lead to economic growth doubling to 12.3 percent this year.

But the country has started pumping out without a legal framework defining how much of the proceeds can be spent and some, including the IMF, have scaled back their projections of the potential boom oil will have on the economy.