Category: General

Muslims across the world have commenced this year’s fast in the holy month of Ramadan after the crescent of the moon was sighted in Saudi Arabia, Mecca, yesterday.

The Holy month, which is the ninth month on the Islamic lunar calendar, commences and ends at the sighting of the new moon, and it is the period, where Muslims are to forgo food and drink, abstain from sex during the day and all social vices.

It is the month in which fasting is obligatory for every Muslim, except those whose age, health conditions and other challenges would not permit them to fast from dawn to sunset as espoused in the teachings of the Holy Quran, Chapter 2 verse 183, which states ‘O you who believe, Siyam (fasting) is prescribed onto you as it was prescribed for those before you so that you may have piety (fear of Allah).’

The 29 or 30-day fast, is also one of the five pillars of Islam and serves as a means of drawing closer to Allah and nurturing self-control, gratitude and compassion for the less fortunate.

Muslims welcome t
he month as an opportunity for self-reflection, and spiritual improvement, and to grow in moral excellence.

It is also a highly social time as Muslims invite each other to break their fast together and meet for prayers at the mosque.

‘For Muslims, it is a time to train themselves both physically and spiritually by avoiding any negative acts such as gossiping, backbiting, lying, or arguing. It is also an opportunity for self-reflection, spiritual improvement and also to grow in moral excellence,’ an Imam said.

After the 29 to 30 days fast, the Festival of Eid Al-Fitr, or the Festival of Fast-breaking, is celebrated to mark the end of Ramadan.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Godfred Nti Anewu, the Assin Central New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate (PC), has presented 15 bags of sugar to the Muslim community in the area to commence the holy Ramadan month of fasting.

The bags of sugar were presented on behalf of the PC by Alhaji Hamda Mumin, Nasara Co-ordinator of the Party in the constituency.

According to Alhaji Mumin said the gesture was in support of the Muslim community as they embarked on a spiritual cleansing in the holy month of Ramadan.

He pleaded with them to also pray for the constituency, the country and leadership at all levels so that they could give off their best for the people.

Iman Iddrisu of the Assin Fosu Central Mosque, who received the items, expressed his gratitude for the donation and said it would be distributed accordingly.

Areas to benefit include the Assin Fosu Zongo community and Muslims in Assin Central.

The donation, he indicated, would go a long way to help Muslims in this month of Ramadan.

Ramadan is the ninth month on the I
slamic calendar and observed with fasting and prayers by all Muslim faithful around the world to commemorate Prophet Mohammed first receiving the Holy Quran.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has announced power outages between 1900 and 2300 hours across its operational zones, indicating that rising demand had forced around 630 distribution transformers to operate at full capacity.

Although the electrical distribution company did not specify the duration of the outages, it stated that the decision was made to prevent fuses from blowing and broken conductors, particularly during peak demand hours.

‘We wish to assure our customers that transformer upgrading and new projects are ongoing to relieve these transformers to ensure a more reliable power supply,’ ECG said in its public notice.

The company asked for consumer support and advised them to be patient while it took steps to improve its electricity distribution system.

Calls have increased for ECG to announce a schedule for outages so that people could plan their lives accordingly, while also addressing sector concerns through a national consensus.

‘It’s proper to let people know that you’ll be taken lig
ht so that they can plan their lives and be aware that today when you’re go home, you’re not going to have light,’ Mr Ben Boakye, Executive Director, Africa Centre for Energy Centre said.

He stated in an interview with TV3, which was monitored by the Ghana News Agency, that without a timeline, ECG would be ‘subjecting people to an unexpected mental process, where you suddenly get home and there’s no light.’

Nana Amoasi VII, Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Security (IES), told the GNA that the power sector’s fundamentals remained weak and that outages could be lengthy.

He warned that power plants would shut down due to a lack of maintenance, insufficient fuel supply, and nonpayment of invoices and cited failures in transmission and distribution networks due to a lack of or deferred upgrades, as the causes of the outages.

Last week, the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) decried the nation’s high incidence of power outages and the politicization of the problem, urging a national consensus
to address issues in the sector.

‘Energy is like air, and so important for houses and industry, and we cannot mess with it,’ Mr Kwame Jantuah, Chairman, Oil and Gas sector, AGI said in an interview with GNA.

‘Where power is concerned, it shouldn’t be a political situation but a national discussion where political leaders sit and come to an agreement,’ Mr Jantuah said.

He urged ECG to take drastic measures to ‘block wastages in the system, collect the cash waterfall, and spread it among the lot,’ claiming that this would help reduce the frequent power outages.

In November 2023, total energy consumption reached 21,440 GWh, with the Energy Commission projecting a year-end figure of 23,617 GWh and an estimated consumption of 24,997 GWh in 2024, representing a 5.8 per cent increase.

Source: Ghana News Agency

MTN Group and Huawei have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a Joint Innovation Technology Lab aimed to deepen cooperation in technological innovation.

The strategic partnership will see the creation of an Innovation Technology Lab at MTN Group’s headquarters in South Africa.

A statement issued in Accra said the signing ceremony, which was held at MWC Barcelona, Spain was attended by senior delegations from MTN and Huawei.

The lab will serve as a neutral platform for collaboration within Africa’s digital ecosystem, accelerating the development, deployment and adoption of innovative digital solutions driven across the continent.

It said together, the two companies would leverage this initiative to focus their research and development efforts on key areas such as 5G and beyond, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data analytics, cloud computing, and digital financial services.

The partnership aims to accelerate the time-to-market of MTN’s products and services while addressing the unique challenges fa
ced in Africa, including improving network coverage in rural areas and enhancing energy efficiency, and affordability.

The statement said additionally, MTN’s operational teams would actively participate in the innovation process, ensuring the solutions developed directly address real-world challenges and drive meaningful digital transformation and sustainable development in Africa.

Mr Mazen Mroué, Group Chief Technology and Information Officer, MTN said, ‘The Joint Innovation Technology Lab is more than a partnership between two companies; it’s an investment in the growth of Africa’s digital ecosystem.’

He said the collaboration was essential for developing solutions that truly meet the continent’s needs, and the Lab would pave the way for a more inclusive, sustainable, and prosperous future for Africa.

Mr Li Peng, Huawei’s Corporate Senior Vice President and President of ICT Sales and Services, said, ‘Huawei will continue innovating with MTN to ensure they have the products and solutions required to be
st serve Africa’s unique market.’

He said they would not only give MTN a competitive edge in terms of network quality, user experience, and rapid deployment but also help MTN achieve their business objectives.

‘We believe that this newly established lab will help supercharge both MTN’s Research and Development as well as Africa’s digital economy, bringing more prosperity to the African continent,’ he added.

He said the partnership further demonstrated MTN and Huawei’s shared commitment to shaping Africa’s digital landscape, opening new pathways for innovation digital inclusion, and economic growth.

MWC Barcelona 2024 was held from February 26 to February 29, 2024, in Barcelona, Spain.

During the event, Huawei showcased its latest products and solutions at stand 1H50 in Fira Gran Via Hall 1.

With the 2024 commercial launch of 5.5G, Huawei is collaborating with operators and partners around the world to pursue exciting innovations in networks, cloud, and intelligence.

Together, we will drive 5G business
and foster a thriving industry ecosystem, creating a new era for intelligent digital transformation.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has cautioned that fuel prices will continue to surge in the coming weeks if the depreciation of the Cedi against the Dollar is not addressed.

The Chamber blamed the recent marginal increments in fuel prices on the depreciation of the local currency and predicted that fuel prices were likely to go up again at the pumps by the end of the week.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary, COPEC, called for urgent action to halt a further depreciation of the Cedi to stabilise prices at the pumps.

‘If the Cedi is still not showing strength and still depreciating, there is a greater tendency that you will pay more for fuel at the pumps…it is likely prices will go up again,’ Mr Amoah said.

After months of stabilised prices at the pumps, prices of petro, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) went up marginally for two consecutive pricing windows, from February 1, 2024.

In the February 2024 Second Pricing Window, fuel price went u
p at an average of GHS0.45 per litre for petrol and GHS0.30 per litre for diesel. LPG increased by GHS0.65 per kilogram.

Prices went up again in the March 2024 First Pricing Window. Currently, petrol is selling at an average GHS 13.49 per litre and GHS14.49 for diesel.

The Institute of Energy Security (IES) attributed the increment in prices to the depreciation of the Cedi against the Dollar.

In its evaluation of the February 2024 Second Pricing Window, the IES Economic Desk found that the Ghana Cedi depreciated by 1.44 per cent to a U.S. Dollar, trading at GHS 12.60 to the dollar.

‘Barring any intervention, in the coming days, consumers should expect further marginal increases in the price of Gasoil, Gasoline and LPG, this is largely due to the worsened Ghana Cedi,’ the IES said.

COPEC said the Government’s gold for oil programme was not sustainable intervention to address the forex factor that contributed to increment in fuel prices.

Mr Amoah said the policy only covered about 20 per cent of total con
sumption and that meant that larger percentage of the market relied on dollars to import petroleum products into the country.

He said using the country’s gold reserves to cushion the Cedi from depreciating would have been a more sustainable option than exchanging the gold with petroleum products on the international market.

The Government announced the Gold for Oil Policy in November 2022 as an innovative measure to exchange gold for petroleum products instead of US Dollars.

The Government said the move was intended to reduce the demand for dollars for the importation of petroleum products and by extension reduce the rate of depreciation of the Cedi.

It is estimated that the country required about $400m to import petroleum products monthly – out of which the Bank of Ghana is able to supply only $120m to petroleum importers.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ashanti Regional Police has arrested five persons who attacked and assaulted personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) during a fire outbreak at the Race Course Market in Kumasi.

The officers, responding to a distress call on the fire in the market, early Monday, were seriously assaulted by some youth in the area.

The youth claimed that the officers had delayed in responding to the call to quench the fire and started pelting them with stones and clubs.

One of the officers who got injured during the attack was rushed to hospital for emergency medical attention.

The attack and assault delayed the putting-off of the fire, and in the end, about 180 shops were razed down by the fire.

The fire, which was said to have started at about 1 am on Monday, swept through a section where corn milling, fruit and vegetable sellers, foodstuff, ingredients and others operated.

Mr Simon Ben Boadu, Commander of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Fire Station, who led the firefighting operations, attributed the
spread of the fire to the attack on the fire officers who were dispatched to the scene.

He said investigations were ongoing to identify the cause of the fire outbreak at the market.

Source: Ghana News Agency