The plan by Chinese gold firm, Chifeng Jilong Gold, to acquire majority stake in Ghanaian focused gold mining company, Golden Star Resources (GSR) is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Chinese gold firm, Chifeng Jilong Gold, has agreed to acquire majority stake in Ghanaian focused gold mining company Golden Star Resources (GSR).
The acquisition by Chifeng Jilong Gold, according to a statement issued by Golden Star Resources in Accra yesterday, involved an all-cash offer of $470 million for GSR.
“Golden Star Resources and Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining are pleased to announce that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Chifeng has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Golden Star by way of a statutory plan of arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act,” the statement said.
According to the statement, shareholders of GSR pursuant to the transaction would receive total consideration, payable in cash of $3.91 per Golden Star Share which equates to approximately $470 million on a fully-diluted, in-the-money basis.
“The consideration represents a 24.1 per cent premium over the closing price of the Golden Star Shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as at October 29, 2021, a 37.2 per cent premium based on the volume-weighted average price of the Golden Star Shares on the NYSE over the 20 trading days ending October 29, 2021 and a 51.5 per cent premium based on the volume-weighted average price of the Golden Star Shares on the NYSE over the 60 trading days ending October 29, 2021,” the statement.
The sale of GSR to Chifeng Jilong Gold, the statement said, had been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of Golden Star adding that it was important that Golden Star shareholders unanimously vote in favour of the acquisition of the company.
The newspaper says that the government’s effort at retooling the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) will greatly enhance its operational and logistical capabilities, the chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Vice Admiral Seth Amoama, has said.
According to him, aside the normal budgetary allocation, government had also made available $250 million for the purchase of modern armoured vehicles and troops carrying vehicles to adequately prepare GAF to protect the territorial integrity of the country.
The CDS made this remark at this year’s Land Combat Fire Power Demonstration at Bundase in the Greater Accra Region on Friday.
The annual exercise which involved the excellent display of a command post, fire power of various weapons at a battle ground scenario, using operational framework of deep, close and rear operations displayed the operational readiness of GAF.
It also sought to afford students of the Senior Division of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) to appreciate the utilisation of fire assets available to a battle group as part of joint force and how they are employed.
This year’s exercise which was supported by elements of 6 Artillery Regiment, the 153 Armoured Regiment, the 48 Engineer Regiment, and the 64 Infantry of the Army Special Operations, was witnessed by senior military officers and students of GAFCSC.
Vice Admiral Amoama stated that procurement process has also began for the purchase of parachutes for the 69 Airborne Force and the Special Forces Brigade as well as new off shore patrol boats for the Ghana Navy.
The CDS said Six L39 fighter jets with ammunitions would also be procured for the Ghana Air Force, adding that “money has also being made available for the Third phase of the 37 Military Hospital projects”.
The Ghanaian Times also reports that some commercial drivers and passengers have called on the government to expedite work on the legislative processes to enable the removal of the Price Stabilisation and Recovery Levies (PSRL) on petrol, diesel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for a period of two months.
The National Petroleum Authority (NPA), last month announced the scrapping of the PSRL to mitigate the impact of rising prices of petroleum products on the world market on consumers with effect from November 1, 2021.
The purpose of the PSRL is to stabilise prices for consumers and pay for the subsidies on Premix Fuel and Residual Fuel Oil (RFO).
The removal means that PSRL which is currently 16 pesewas per liter (GHp16/Lt) on petrol, 14 pesewas per litre (GHp14/Lt) on diesel, and 14 pesewas per kilogram (GHp14/Kg) on LPG would not be applied for the period, thereby reducing the price of the aforementioned products to cushion consumers.
Despite the announcement, the removal is yet to be operationalised because Parliament has not passed the legislation.
Kwaku Aidoo, a commercial bus driver, said although the levy was insignificant, it was the first step in ensuring that prices of petroleum products were reduced.
“I heard the component of levy taken off is very minimal. But it is the first step toward making sure fuel prices are affordable for all of us,” he added.
Another driver, Emmanuel Gyasi urged government to consider removing other levies, which were all together responsible for high fuel prices.
He noted that the current prevailing economic conditions were harsh on the citizenry and it was imperative the government took the hard approach to cushion Ghanaians.
The newspaper also says that at least 17 people have been killed and 16 others injured in a fatal accident at Offinso-Abofour in the Offinso South District of the Ashanti Region.
The tragic accident, which happened yesterday around 5:00am, involved 33 people including children.
Superintendent AduBoahen, Ashanti Regional Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTU) confirmed the incident to the Ghanaian Times.
He said the deceased involved 10 children and seven adults, while the injured also involved 12 children and four adults, lamenting that “most unfortunate is the involvement of the children”.
According to the Commander, one driver was among the deceased and the other driver among the injured.
He appealed to the public to help with information to identify the victims, noting the accident happened at the outskirt of the Abofour community.
According to him, a sprinter bus with registration number GS 4339-17 that loaded from Kumasi, heading towards Techiman collided with an articulated truck from the Northern Region, which was heading towards Kumasi.
GIK/APA