Press spotlights President’s demand for retraction, apology from Al Jazeera for airing of “Gold Mafia”, others

APA – Accra (Ghana)
The report that President Akufo-Addo is demanding a retraction and an apology from Al Jazeera for the airing of the documentary – “Gold Mafia”, which the Presidency describes as “inaccurate” and “unfair” in relation to how President Akufo-Addo is linked to the documentary is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is demanding a retraction and an apology from Al Jazeera for the airing of the documentary – “Gold Mafia”, which the Presidency describes as “inaccurate” and “unfair” in relation to how President Akufo-Addo is linked to the documentary.
A four-part investigation by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) was recently released.
It revealed a series of gold smuggling gangs in Southern Africa that helped suspected criminals launder hundreds of millions of dollars, getting rich themselves while plundering their nations.
From the 11th minute of the 1 hour:13 minutes in the 4th Episode of the investigative documentary, Alistair Mathias, a gold trader said to be a designer of money laundering schemes for African leaders is introduced in the documentary.
“There’s no head of state or president that either of us [Mathias and his team] can’t get to on this continent. Next door in Swaziland, the king is a close friend of mine. Zambia’s president is a close friend of my friend. DRC Congo, the president has invited me several times to come and build a refinery,” he said.
Unknowing to him [Alistair Mathias], a Canadian man, also described as a financial architect in the documentary, thinking he was meeting with Chinese businessmen seeking to launder money from Africa, was rather meeting with undercover reporters from Al Jazeera, who had posed as the Chinese businessmen.
It was during that meeting that he boasted and alleged he had a relationship with many African leaders and mentioned the President of Ghana [Akufo-Addo] as well.
Alistair Mathias said that his work has given him access to every president or head of state on the African continent.
Speaking in the final of four episodes of the undercover investigations of gold smuggling in Africa by the Investigative Unit of Al Jazeera, Alistair Mathias, who is one of the main characters in the video, boasted about his relationship with African leaders.
“Ghana’s president is a good friend of mine. In fact, he was my lawyer. Cyril Ramaphosa here; I know him. I know his kids,” Mathias bragged at the meeting with the undercover reporters posing as Chinese businessmen.
The newspaper says that the New York Square, LLC, a private enterprise created to develop partnerships in the fields of sports and entertainment as a means of advancing socio-economic growth in Africa, has announced a partnership with the Ghana Basketball Federation (GBBA) to develop and promote basketball in Ghana.
The partnership is to provide the infrastructure and technical support necessary to create a fully integrated national program.
The project will begin this spring with the construction of 10 courts in selected regions, starting with the first court in the Northern regional capital of Tamale.
The courts will be manufactured by Connor Sport Court International, the market leader in portable and permanent hardwood sports, athletic, and dance flooring systems.
In addition to each of these regional community courts, boreholes will be drilled to provide a fresh water supply for the adjacent communities.
New York Square’s mission is to use sports to provide the structure, support, guidance, and mentorship necessary for Africa’s youth to reach their full potential and achieve their dreams. The company has assembled an executive team consisting of highly accomplished individuals with decades of sports, entertainment, and business experience both in Africa and the United States to accomplish this mission.
The partnership between New York Square and the GBBA will expand to include tennis, baseball, and golf, with the vision of providing the same opportunities for millions of young girls and boys across Africa as New York Square expands its presence on the continent.
Dan Isaacs, New York Square’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, said: “To execute our vision is a dream come true and in the making for almost a decade. It is our mission to use sports to provide the structure, support, guidance, and mentorship necessary for Africa’s youth to reach their full potential and achieve their dreams.”
The GBBA President, Ato Van-Ess, also added that they are focused on developing solutions that benefit Ghana by targeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, 5, 8, and 10.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Digital Economy Policy (DEP) to regulate the Information Communication Technology sector has been completed and submitted to Cabinet for approval, the Director of Technical Services of the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), Solomon Kofi Richardson, has said.
Mr Richardson, who disclosed this at the MTN Business Chief Technology Information Officer Roundtable Africa ‘23’ conference held in Accra on Tuesday, said the DEP, which would replace the ICT for Accelerated Development Policy, has become necessary in view of the growing and constant change in digital technology.
On the theme “Building Back Better, the role of CTIOs in a digital first world,” it was attended by information officers from both public and private institutions, including banks and information communication technology companies.
Speaking on the topic “Harnessing digital transformation and emerging technology in the post-pandemic world,” Mr Richardson said a Framework on Emerging Technology (FOET) was also being developed.
The newspaper says that the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is proposing a strict oversight by Parliament over borrowing and debt accumulation as per Article 181 of the Constitution.
The move, it believes, will significantly reduce the country’s unsustainable debt.
The economic and policy think tank is also recommending the imposition of a debt ceiling of 60 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at any time, which is generally regarded to be a sustainable threshold.
In a paper on “Institutionalising Fiscal Discipline and Macroeconomic Stability for Sustained Growth in Ghana: The Constitutional Pathway”, according to myjoyonline.com, it said only in times of emergency or crises should Parliament approve borrowing that would breach the debt ceiling, adding, “even in that circumstance, Parliament should indicate a time frame to return to the ceiling. This will be akin to what pertains in the US”.
According to the IEA, if this rule is strictly followed, the perennial debt crises would be prevented.
Again, the rule will also force fiscal discipline on the economic managers as a necessity to operate within the borrowing and debt ceilings, stressing, the borrowing and debt ceilings can be incorporated into the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
The IEA has researched extensively in the area of debt sustainability and its evidence was that constant borrowing to finance the country’s budget deficits has historically fuelled the debt for long periods to unsustainable levels.
The country’s debt that had reached over 100 per cent of GDP prior to 2004 dropped to 26 per cent in 2006, after receiving the Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiation relief. However, the debt has ballooned yet again to over 100 per cent presently due to persistent fiscal profligacy.
This, the IEA pointed out, has taken Ghana back to the International Monetary Fund and prompted restructuring of the debt.
Due to Covid-19 pandemic, the fiscal rule established by the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), 2018 (Act 982) was suspended
GIK/APA