THE PARROTS

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr John Alexander Ackon, has reminded Christians to renew their responsibility of praying for the peace of the nation and its leaders as the country prepares for elections this year. “There is no doubt that the peace we enjoy as a nation is due to the grace of God and the unceasing intercession of the saints of God,” he said. Mr Ackon  expressed optimism that Ghana would survive and come out victorious in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, but added:“ Let us remember that the battle for peace is not yet over and it will take our prayers to ensure free and fair elections on December 7,” he added. Tarry Camp Mr Ackon was addressing the National Prophetic Conference Tarry Camp organised by the Christ Apostolic Church International (CACI) in Kumasi on the theme: “The overcoming Power of the last days.” The conference is one of the major prayer festivals on the church’s calendar aimed at thanking God for His faithfuln...

In a recent sit-down with MzGee of Joy News, popular film and television actress Yvonne Nelson discussed the influence that growing up in a single-parent household has had on her approach to marriage and starting a family. “I was raised by my mum alone,” she said. Opening up about her childhood, the 'Heels & Sneakers' star admitted that her fatherless development is something that scares her in making moves towards marriage.  “As a kid growing up, it disturbed me not having a father figure around. I don’t want my child to go through the same thing,” she said. Leading up to her 30th birthday, Ms Nelson revealed that she had difficulty moving beyond pressures of marriage and motherhood. As it turns out, she had the same expectations for herself that she grew to feel intimidated by. The former Miss Ghana contestant had expected to have a baby by the time she celebrated three decades of life. Looking back on her life so far, she wonders, “How did I get here?” De...

President John Mahama has finally succumbed to pressure from the officers and men of the Ghana Armed Forces over their peacekeeping allowance, increasing it from $31 to $35. Earlier last month, the president announced an increase on the per diem of soldiers on peacekeeping mission from $30 to $31 when he had a durbar with the soldiers at the Burma Camp where he was spotted in a military uni­form. According to information available to Daily Guide, the $31 allowance paid to Ghanaian soldiers participating in the United Nations peace keeping operations did not go down well with soldiers. The angry soldiers believed that the $1 top-up announced by President Mahama was too meagre, looking at the amount paid to the Ghana government by the UN. Some retired senior military officers had therefore called on the government to further adjust the daily allowance upward to stem the tension in the bar­racks. With each soldier to be paid $31 per day from the previous $30, th...

Customers of DKM Diamond Microfinance Limited are expected to receive their locked up investments by the end of September. The payment of the locked up investments by the aggrieved clients of the microfinance company will be done by the Registrar-General’s Department, the official liquidator of DKM. Over 70,000 customers, according to reports, have been validated to receive their locked up cash and that two local banks have been contracted to make the payments from September ending. The Registrar-General’s Department had revealed in a statement earlier that it had as at July, 2016 collated approximately 63,000 depositor claims. Customers of DKM had their cash locked up following the Bank of Ghana’s move in 2015 to stop the company from operating over concerns that it was violating the microfinance regulations. The balance sheet of DKM as at May 11, 2015 showed its net liability stood at negative 21 million Ghana Cedis. Hundreds of customers of DKM have over the ...

A  22-year-old man was been arrested at the Kpando lorry station for illegally possessing a locally manufactured pistol. Afeamekor Yohannes was also in possession of two rounds of live BB ammunition concealed in a school bag. He was seen sitting directly behind the driver of a Metro Mass bus en route to Accra when an informant upon suspicion reported to the police which led to his immediate arrest. Upon interrogation, the suspect, Mr Afeameko said the gun was sold to him at a fee of GH¢50.00 by a herdsman in Kwamekrom and later contradicted his statement saying the school bag was given to him to deliver to an unknown person in Accra. He further pleaded that he intended to use the gun for fishing and has no intention of engaging in any criminal activities. However, the Hohoe Divisional Crime Officer, Mr. Gowdin Enim-Ansah, who lead a police team to effect the arrest explained that the suspect might be a member of highway robbery gang since his sitting pos...

People living with Albinism in Ghana have called on Ghanaians to desist from calling them ‘Ofiri Djato’, a local name for albinos in many Ghanaian societies. According to the chairman of people living with albinism, Jonathan York, the name is demeaning and makes mockery of their status. Speaking in an interview, York said Ghanaians must learn to treat people of his kind with respect and the dignity deserving of every human being. “The name ‘Ofiri’ we don’t like it because we don’t know which tribe uses that name in Ghana. We don’t want people to be addressing us by that name. We feel very bad when people call us by that. “When you see a blind man, you don’t call him blind man so why do you call us ‘Ofiri’? “Again perceptions that we don’t die and that we are used for rituals is not true and people must stop believing all those fabrications about us,” a worried York said. He also expressed concerns over the fact that some Ghanaians refuse to sit by them in public...

Government has made the first tranche of payment to clear part of the debts owed by Volta River Authority (VRA) to the commercial banks. The finance Minister Seth Teckpe disclosed this on Wednesday at a news conference to give an update on the payment of the debts. The GH¢250 million payment was said to have been made into a separate account at the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Wednesday. The payment is part of a GH¢4.4 billion of VRA's debt which will be paid over a five-year period. According to government, the arraignment with the banks has been done in a way that will also see that the interest to be paid on the Ghana component of the debts is reduced to 22 percent from 30 percent while the interest of the dollar component has also been reduced to 11 percent to 8.50 percent. Payments will also be funded from a debt service account which will receive a cash flows from an energy debt recovery  levy and a ...

It is not surprising that a man who is madly in love with his wife would want to let the whole world know and so is the first gentleman of the land, President John Dramani Mahama. The president in a number of Instagram post has expressed his undying love for his wife, Lordina Mahama. His gesture goes to show the romantic side of the NDC presidential flag bearer. Check some of the pictures and it captions .

Ghanaian international Albert Adomah has completed his move from Middlesbrough FC to Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee, according to the Championship club’s owner. The 28-year-old underwent a medical at the club’s Bodymoor Heath training ground this morning and was unveiled as a Villa player at lunchtime. Adomah, who joined Boro in August 2013, has agreed a three-year contract and is set to make his debut against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, September 11. The move suggests Boro’s bid to sign Villa winger Adama Traore is close to completion. Adomah was signed by Tony Mowbray three years ago for a £1m fee. His first season proved to be a success in terms of goals and he finished top scorer with 12. But Aitor Karanka, who replaced Mowbray in November 2013, wanted Adomah to improve his all-round game and up his workrate when Boro were out of possession. The change resulted in a 50% reduction in goals in 2014/15 but the head coach was pleased with the wideman’s overall ...

Italian striker Mario Balotelli has completed a permanent move from English Premier League (EPL) side Liverpool to Nice, confirmed the French Ligue 1 football club. It is done. Balotelli is officially a player of Nice,” the club confirmed in a statement on Wednesday, reports Xinhua. “Mario Balotelli will train with us on Thursday and be officially presented to the press on Friday,” it added. “We are very pleased to welcome Mario. We hope that Nice, in a family atmosphere, he will find the pleasure of the game,” said Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere. “We know, for him and us, that nothing will be easy but with the desire and, hopefully, the support of all our fans, we will allow him to flourish and bring his talent to the service of the team,” he added. No financial details were disclosed by the French club, but according to British media, Barotelli had moved on a free transfer as Liverpool was trying to avoid paying off his contract. Considered a troubled fi...

The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) recorded  more than five per cent reduction in maternal mortality between 2013 and 2016.  From 1,222 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2013, the hospital now records 791 deaths per 100,000 live births. According to the hospital, the significant drop in the rate was as a result of its commitment to the MDG’s Accelerated Framework (MAF) programme instituted by the Ministry of Health. The Chief Executive Officer of KATH, Dr Joseph Akpaloo, announced this at this year’s mid-year performance review meeting in Kumasi. Outreach He said the feat was achieved partly because of the outreach programmes carried out by the hospital to peripheral health facilities in the region and beyond by senior specialists and consultants from the Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the Child Health directorates. The Ministry of Health donated a new Toyota Land Cruiser vehicle to facilitate the outreach programme to the various district hospitals ...

The operators of the Agordeke-Kpando Torkor water bus, the MV Akpini Princess, on the Afram River in the Eastern Region are impressing on the Ghana Maritime Authority to charter the river to make navigation safe on the water body. The Ghana Maritime Authority is the body mandated to charter water bodies. Chartering of a water body is the process of creating a route on the water from one end to another. The Captain of the water bus, Mr Charles Yaw Asante, who made the request, explained that currently movement on the water body was not coordinated but was done on instinct. Stumps Speaking in an interview on board the Princess, Mr Asante said sometimes, he had to consult the fisherfolk to determine where the tree stumps were in order to avoid hitting them. “Currently, the whole Volta Lake has not been chartered and that is why the engine boats have been getting damaged. They are distroyed by the tree stumps. “If the Lake had been chartered, the stumps would have been...

Cabinet will, today, consider details of the Obetsebi-Lamptey Interchange project which is expected to ease traffic that continues to build up at the Obetsebi-Lamptey Roundabout in Accra following the near completion of the Kwame Nkrumah Circle Interchange project. The Cabinet meeting — the 42nd in the Mahama administration — will be chaired by President John Dramani Mahama. A source close to the Flagstaff House told radioxyzonline yesterday that  the meeting would also consider and approve a number of key construction agreements, policies and conventions. It said other issues to be considered centred on job creation through diversification of the economy, infrastructure development for job creation and governance issues such as the rights of the visually impaired, as captured by the Marrakesh Convention, and the rights of workers, as contained in the Draft National Occupational Safety and Health Policy. “There will be a detailed briefing on the status of the Obetse...