Ghana: Press zooms in on Ghana’s condemnation of Hamas attacks on Israel, others

APA – Accra (Ghana)
The condemnation of the attack of Israel by Hamas by the Government of Ghana and the call on Hamas to immediately cease the attacks and withdraw its militants from southern Israel dominates the headlines of Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that the Government of Ghana has strongly condemned the ongoing Hamas attacks on Israel, calling on Hamas to immediately cease the attacks and withdraw its militants from southern Israel.
In a press release issued on October 8, 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration also called on the Israeli government to exercise restraint in its response to the attacks.
The Ministry said that Ghana unequivocally condemns the attacks and affirms its support for Israel’s right to exist and defend itself. However, it also called on the two sides to the Israel-Palestinian conflict to return to the negotiation table.
The press release comes amid a renewed escalation of violence in the region, with Hamas militants launching rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip and Israeli forces responding with airstrikes.
The violence has killed several people on both sides and caused widespread damage.
Ghana’s condemnation of the Hamas attacks is in line with the position of the international community, which has largely condemned the attacks and urged Hamas to stop.
However, some human rights groups have also criticized Israel’s response to the attacks, saying that it has been disproportionate and has killed innocent civilians.
The Israeli government has defended its actions, saying that it is necessary to protect its citizens from Hamas attacks.
The newspaper says that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has given thumbs up to the country’s recovery, saying growth this year has proved more resilient than initially anticipated.
“Although all the challenges are not going to be solved overnight, and there is still a lot of work ahead, what makes us very optimistic is that these actions are already generating positive results,” the IMF Ghana Mission Chief, Stéphane Roudet, said.
He was speaking at a press briefing last Friday after the IMF successfully conducted its first review of how the country was performing to targets under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme.
Mr Roudet said Ghana’s economy was beginning to see a turnaround characterised by declining inflation, relative currency stability, improvement of fiscal space and an improvement in gross international reserves.
He said the turnaround signalled that the macroeconomic stability was emerging again, saying, “Growth in 2023 has proven more resilient than we were initially anticipating”.
The ECF programme with the IMF forecasted year end growth of 1.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
The economy has been battling with severe challenges in the last two years, with inflation hitting a 22-year high of 54.1 per cent in December 2022 and an unsustainable public debt above 93 per cent of the country’s productivity, measured by GDP.
The Ghanaian Times reports that Telecel Group, the majority shareholder of Vodafone Ghana, has announced the successful expansion of Vodafone Ghana’s network infrastructure by adding 300 new 4G sites, most of which have been activated across various regions in Ghana.
A statement issued by the company in Accra yesterday said, “This achievement has been accomplished in record time and stands as a direct testament to Telecel’s unwavering commitment to providing enhanced connectivity and outstanding services to Ghanaians.
“Telecel Group would like to express its sincere appreciation to the Ministry of Communications and the National Communications Authority (NCA) for their invaluable support to the industry. Their dedication and assistance were essential in making such advancements possible, furthering our collective vision of a digitally connected Ghana,” the statement said.
This significant advancement follows Telecel’s acquisition of Vodafone Ghana and underscores the expansion strategy put in place following its entry to the Ghanaian market. Telecel is fully committed not only to maintaining, but also to substantially improving the quality of the network it has acquired.
This accomplishment is not a one-off event but rather a pivotal part of Telecel’s broader strategic plan for sustained expansion across the nation. We have exceeded expectations inthe rapid development of these sites, and this is only the beginning of our journey.
“Our commitment remains unwavering as we continue to pinpoint opportunities for network expansion, ensuring that we extend world-class mobile connectivity to an ever-growingnumber of Ghanaians. Additionally, we are thrilled to introduce 4G+ to our customers, offeringthem even faster speeds,” Malek Atrissi, Group COO, said.
“We have set a new standard for rapid network development in Ghana. But this is just the beginning. Our combined vision is to continuously seek and seize opportunities that enrich the digital experience for Ghanaians. The future holds even greater promise,” Patricia Obo-Nai, CEO of Vodafone Ghana, said.
The newspaper says that pressure group, OccupyGhana, has raised concerns about vote buying and tribalism during elections in the country.
It has therefore called on Parliament and the Attorney-General to extend current election laws and introduce a bill in Parliament to punish election offences committed during intra-party elections.
In a letter dated October 9, 2023, addressed to the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, the Minority Leader, Dr Ato Forson and the Attorney-General, Godfred Odame, OccupyGhana said “we write to invite you to co-sponsor and introduce a bill in Parliament that will specifically extend the current laws that provide and punish for public election offences, to cover party primaries and intra-party elections. We believe that this will be the first step to stemming the now rampant vote-buying, intimidation, violence that have become associated with such elections.”
“OccupyGhana has been very concerned about the phenomena where persons use money and gifts to bribe voters and/or use intimidation, violence, personation, insults, tribalism, falsehoods, against opponents in all elections. These have grown to shockingly brazen levels, especially in party primaries to elect presidential and parliamentary candidates and intra-party elections to elect party officials.”
The bill OccupyGhana believes when passed, will “breathe new anti-corruption life into our body-politic.”
It warned that refusal by the parliamentary leadership and the AG to initiate such a bill will provide a basis for suspicion that the government and the two leading parties are complicit in perpetrating this conduct.
“Gentlemen, your refusal, failure, or neglect to take this step will finally provide basis for the suspicion that the government and the two leading parties actively support, or are complicit in perpetrating, this wrongful conduct.”
There have been counter-accusations of vote buying and intimidation by the two main political parties, NPP and NDC during general elections. There have also been reported cases of intimidation during intra-party elections.
GIK/APA