Nkaros updates Ghana

Government to use IMF loan to pay for Covid-19 electricity subsidy

Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee Dr Mark Assibey Yeboah has disclosed part of a US$ 1 billion loan government has secured from the IMF will be used to pay for the Covid-19 electricity subsidy for Ghanaians announced by President Akufo-Addo.

Parliament on Friday night approved the US$1 billion (5.5 billion Ghana cedis) International Monetary Fund (IMF) Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) to mitigate the impact of the Covid – 19 pandemic.
Dr. Assibey Yeboah who delivered to the house a report of the Finance Committee of Parliament recommending approval of the loan, said 1 billion Ghana Cedis of the amount will be used to pay for the electricity subsidy.

President Akufo-Addo on 9th April 2020 announced the free electricity and subsidy for some electricity consumers. Energy Minister Peter Amewu told a media briefing on Friday the support will cost 1 billion Ghana cedis.

“Out of the total facility, approximately 1 billion Ghana Cedis will be used to finance electricity subsidy announced by the president whilst the remained is employed towards expenditure outlined in the 2020 budget.

In a memo to parliament, the Minister for Finance Ken Ofori Atta said the loan is part of an amount of US$50 billion the IMF is offering to help address Coronavirus impact on low income countries.
Ghana had originally sought to apply for an amount of US$500 to US$600 million, but successfully engaged the fund to increase the request to US$1 billion.

The IMF executive board approved the amount on 13th April and “the disbursement of the RCF proceeds to Ghana is expected to take place in a single tranche on Friday, 17th April, 2020,” the report of the Finance Committee said.

The Rapid Credit Facility provides low access, rapid and concessional financial assistance to Low Income Countries facing urgent balance payments need. In the case of Ghana, given the enormous fiscal challenge posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the RCF has been negotiated to be used for budget support. The assistance will help preserve critical expenditures, including social protection programmes outlined in the 2020 budget.

The proceeds from the facility will also be used to help close the financing gap that has been created by the Covid-19 pandemic through shortfalls in revenue and additional expenditures in the fight against the pandemic.
The loan carries a zero interest rate, has a grace period of 5 and half years, and a final maturity of 10 years.

The Finance Committee’s report said Ghana becomes the first country to receive a 100% quota under the Covid-19 RCF from the IMF.
The report also said the loan is a facility and does not mean Ghana is entering another IMF program.

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Source : Joseph Opoku Gakpo

JUST IN:- One more death, 193 NEW cases as Ghana’s coronavirus cases increase to 834

Ghana’s Coronavirus case count has increased to 834.
This comes after 193 new cases were recorded from various parts of the country. This is the highest jump in the recording of new cases by the Ghana Health Service.

In its routine updates, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) said the new development was mainly due to the enhanced contact-tracing and testing process which is ongoing.

The exercise has resulted in some 57,000 samples taken and undergoing testing. From that number, there was a backlog about 12,000 samples.
The various testing centres reported 193 new positive cases from the first batch of the backlog.

“The Ghana Health Service is supervising the completion of a backlog of laboratory samples which have been picked for testing as part of the COVID-19 testing exercise. This is after some 57,000 samples have already been successfully tested as at April 15th, 2020. In the first batch of this backlog, an additional 198 have been found to be positive.

This will bring Ghana’s total case count to 834 at the moment. The general public is however advised that this does not represent new infections that are occurring. It represents results from tests of a backlog of samples,” the Ghana Health Service indicated.

KNUST debunks assertion many Ghanaians will die from coronavirus outbreak

The School of Public Health at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, has debunked assertion Ghana will record mass death in the event of coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Head of Department of Global Health, Prof. Sam Newton, says the country’s youthful population structure makes high disease mortality unlikely.
“Even in a place like China, with 3 to 4 per cent mortality, they have issues there,” he pointed out. “People live to very old age, a lot of people smoke, and they have bad air pollution. In a country like ours, life expectancy is about 63 so the mortality will be like 2 percent or less,” he explained.

Prof. Newton is worried about what he says is panic reaction which will cause many people to take irrational decisions.

“Once you’re paralyzed by fear, then you do irrational things. People take alcohol or this chemical to prevent the disease,” he observed.
“Not that we want people to be complacent, but the truth is majority of the people will survive, ‘’ he clarified.

According to the World Health Organization, coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a new strain that was discovered in 2019 and has not been previously identified in humans.

The viruses are transmitted between animals and people, and common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulty.
In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.

Government has instituted measures to curb the spread of the disease following confirmation of six cases.

Epidemiologist, Dr. John Amuasi says public health professionals are working tirelessly to reduce the number of infections and mortality.
“What we seek to do is to reduce the number of infections and the number of people who die. So as Public Health people, we’re trying to flatten the curve, that is, to reduce rate of spread and number of people who die. What it means is that the pandemic may last a bit longer so what will happen is that a lot of people will die and the disease will die off, but even if we should do nothing, the disease will die off by itself, ” he summed up.
The identification of four new cases has prompted the need to undertake contact tracing.

Recently, an infectious disease specialist, Dr. Bertha Serwaa Aryee, has suggested, “Our next strategy is to immediately try to make sure that we have an excellent contact tracing to locate everybody who could possibly have come into contact with the two patients. ”

The Health Ministry has begun contact tracing in the case of the Anglogold Ashanti worker who exhibited signs of the disease.
Those who came into contact with the employee have been asked to undergo self-isolation and been closely monitored by healthcare professionals.
Dean of the School of Public Health, Prof. Ellis Owusu-Dabo, however, argues before any measure is instituted to slow the spread of the disease “one has to be clear on the rate or degree of infectivity. In other words, if one person gets the disease how many people do they infect over time in Ghana? We don’t have the answer to that question!”

Standard recommendations by the W.H.O. to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering the mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs before eating.

“In Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, I saw these Ebola treatment centers with my eyes. What did the trick was basic sanitation rules, hand washing, sanitizers and the disease went by itself,” Dr. Amuasi recounted.

Avoiding close contact with people showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing is recommended.

“We should maintain social distance, it’s very important; we know the distance is about one meter or two meters, said Public Health Physician at KNUST Hospital, Dr. Arti Singh.

“If you have been to an exposed area, we want you to stay indoors,” Prof. Owusu-Dabo endorses President Nana Addo’s directives.
“Don’t interact with anybody for two weeks. If you brought a parcel for anybody, keep it with you till the two weeks is over,” he emphasized.

Source : MyJoyOnline.com | Emmanuel Kwasi Debrah, Luv FM, Kumasi

Watch Bawumia pick calls at 311 Covid-19 Call Centre

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has commended the hardworking staff of the Covid-19 Call Centre for their contributions to the national fight against the virus..

Speaking during a visit to the Centre on Thursday he emphasised that the gathering and availability of data has played a significant role in Ghana’s battle against COVID-19 so far.

Government’s reliance on data anchors Ghana’s approach to the fight, which is based on testing, tracing contacts of confirmed cases and treating them, and the work of the Covid 19 Centre is a major source of such primary data, the Vice President indicated.

“As you know, government runs on information, and information produces data. We can then analyse the data and take decisions based on that.

“The setting up of this centre is very important because government needs to hear the people on the issues that concern them.
“The information being gathered here is key to government’s decisions on the approach to dealing with the Covid-19 crisis. I am very impressed by what I’m seeing here today,” he said during his visit.
He picked some calls during his visit.

Sarkodie’s Sub Zero Diss Song Was Useless – Akoo Nana

Ghanaian musician, Akoo Nana has reacted to Sarkodie’s latest song ‘Sub Zero’.
Speaking in an interview with Zion Felix on ‘Me Car Mu FM’, Akoo Nana said releasing the song at this moment was not necessary.

He disclosed his readiness to communicate with Sarkodie about the ‘Sub Zero’ song which is purported to be a diss song targeted at other musicians in the country.

Akoo Nana stated that Sarkodie is like a god in the Ghanaian music industry, and Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy are also big artistes but it is important for all musicians to unite and work towards one goal by putting Ghana on the world map with their crafts.
He reminisced how he was regarded as one of the top artistes in the country and the turn out of events now.

The ‘Amponsah’ composer put emphasis on how respect for each other will help the industry.
Akoo Nana also lamented Ghanaian songs not enjoying massive airplay outside the country but most musicians claim supremacy.

Following the release of ‘Sub Zero’, Shatta Wale stated in an interview with TV3 that the timing for the release of the song was wrong as the world and Ghana are trying so hard to fight against the Coronavirus which has claimed many lives.

GCB Bank Speaks On Death Of Client In Banking Hall

GCB Bank Limited has reacted to allegations that a client died in their Banking hall due to the negligence of some staff at the Boundary Road Branch.

There was a post by one Raymond Andre Paadoshkash alleging that the negligence of staff at the Boundary Road Branch led to the untimely death of their mother.

But responding to the allegations, GCB in a statement said, “The Branch of GCB Bank Ltd in question is the Boundary Road Branch and not Adabraka as erroneously published.
Approximately around 11.15 am on that fateful day, 26th March 2020, Madam Patience Esther Kuma, a customer of our Boundary Road Branch, entered the Branch accompanied by a lady, who was subsequently identified as her daughter.

The door was duly opened for the duo to enter the Banking Hall. Madam Patience was assisted by her daughter to sit in the Security womans chair inside the Banking hall. Hardly had she sat in the chair than she slumped to her left in the chair and remained motionless. The daughter started shaking her frantically in an attempt to resuscitate her. Two customers and two GCB staff, who were in the banking hall at the time and saw what was happening, were the first to rush to the aid of Madam Patience. The GCB staff were actively involved in fetching water in cups to use for the resuscitation whilst the deceaseds daughter went out to call the taxi driver, who brought them to the Branch, to take the distressed woman to the hospital.

Whilst a GCB staff asked that the deceased be taken to the Bob Freeman clinic, which was very close to the Boundary Road Branch, the deceased`s daughter insisted that the deceased be taken to the Ridge Hospital to see her regular Medical Doctor

GCB Bank Limited has reacted to allegations that a client died in their Banking hall due to the negligence of some staff at the Boundary Road Branch.

There was a post by one Raymond Andre Paadoshkash alleging that the negligence of staff at the Boundary Road Branch led to the untimely death of their mother.
But responding to the allegations, GCB in a statement said, “The Branch of GCB Bank Ltd in question is the Boundary Road Branch and not Adabraka as erroneously published.

Approximately around 11.15 am on that fateful day, 26th March 2020, Madam Patience Esther Kuma, a customer of our Boundary Road Branch, entered the Branch accompanied by a lady, who was subsequently identified as her daughter.

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https://m.facebook.com/gcbbanklimited/posts/2812525422177020

ALLEGATION OF NEGLIGENCE LEADING TO DEATH OF MADAM PATIENCE ESTHER KUMA AT OUR BRANCH
Our attention has been drawn to a rather terse but potentially damaging message on Facebook by one Raymond Andre Paadoshkash. In that Facebook post, Raymond disclosed that the Mum had passed and insinuated that the negligence of GCB Bank Limited

Source : Peacefmonline

Black Stars Midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah Donates $20,000 To KATH To Fight COVID-19

Former Black Stars midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah has donated $20,000 to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

Asamoah’s donation is to help aid the fight against the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
The Inter Milan wingback, 31, is a native of Ashanti Region where the hospital is located.

Kwadwo is currently stuck in Italy, which for a while was the global epicentre of the virus. His father presented a cheque of $20,000 to the Hospital in his son’s name.

Asamoah, a veteran of the Stars’ team, joins Dede Ayew, Asamoah Gyan and others as footballers who have publicly donated to the fight against this pandemic.

‘If You Have Ten Years To Play Football, Sex Can Reduce It To Seven’- Karim Zito Warns Footballers

Dreams FC coach Abdul Karim Zito has warned footballers over excessive sex, insisting it reduces a player’s career span.

According to Zito, sex takes a lot of energy which is not easy to recover in two or three days.
“Sex reduces the energy and the strength, even see how you pant when kissing too much. You can run for about one mile before sweating but check about how you sweat within two to three minutes when having sex,” he told Tru FM . .

“It takes about three days with a nourishing food and custard to replace or regain that energy after sex. How many current players knows costarred? They don’t know.

“Custard is a yellowish bottled meal which is prepared with egg like porridge. It boosts the energy but off late it is out of production and I don’t see it again. It helps to regain your energy after three days.

“The moment you sex a woman your blood also works fast. If you have ten years to play a football, sex can reduce it to eight to seven years.”

Successive Governments Have Failed To Fulfill Promises — Actress Grace Nortey

Veteran actress Grace Nortey has expressed her disappointment at how successive governments have failed to fulfill promises of creating better conditions for veteran entertainers over the years.
According to the respected actress, she expected aged entertainers to be treated well considering their contribution and sacrifices to the nation but, unfortunately, that has not been the case.

The mother of five expressed her views to a team that comprised the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi; President of Creative Arts Council, Mark Okraku Mantey; Director of Creative Arts at the National Commission on Culture (NCC), Socrate Safo, and Executive Secretary of the National Film Authority, Juliet Asante, and some members of the Creative Arts Council.

The team donated some food items to her last Thursday and that was when she said she was always hurt by empty promises.

“We always hear the big promises for this industry, including plans for the aged like myself but we never get to see them. Truthfully, my colleagues and I are hurt by these empty promises. “It makes you feel like all the years of sacrifice and dedication are not appreciated and that is not motivating. I acted for over 40 years and my contribution to the industry cannot be ignored. However, it feels our leaders don’t have our interest at heart.

“It should not just be about words but the leadership must take action as well because the empty promises are many and this is the time we need help most,” she said.
Her disappointment was acknowledged by the sector minister who assured that her administration was ready to listen to the diverse concerns of industry persons and offer the needed support in those areas.

She mentioned that the current government had deep interest in the arts and the plans for the creative sector would not be empty promises as measures were being put in place to support stakeholders in the industry.

Mrs Oteng-Gyasi expressed her satisfaction at the contribution of the veterans to the industry and gave an assurance that the ministry would work in their interest.

“We know the challenges and concerns of people in the industry but we can assure you that we are working to create better conditions for the sector and the welfare of veterans is very important to us,” she stated.

Grace Nortey is recognised as a good actress especially for her roles that characterise a dramatic and difficult persona.
The mother of five, who has featured in many movies including Lost Hope, Expectations, Jewels, Escape of Love, Beast of No Nation, Sinking Sands, Ties That Bind, similarly has many awards to her credit.

She won the Best Actress in a cameo role for her character in Shirley Frimpong Manso’s Adams Apple at the 2011 Ghana Movie Awards.
She also received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Black Star International Film Festival (BSIFF) Awards in 2018.

Other Countries Lying About Number of Coronavirus Deaths – President Trump

President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused other countries of lying about the number of coronavirus deaths after the United States became the country with the most coronavirus deaths in the world.https://nkaros.data.blog

‘To think you’re getting honest numbers from some of these countries,’ the president said in response to a question from DailyMail.com.

‘Does anybody really believe the numbers of some of these countries,’ he said during his press briefing in the White House Rose Garden.

The United States contains 20 percent of all global coronavirus deaths despite being only four per cent of the world’s population.