The report that Ghana’s National Identity Card, the Ghana Card can now be used as an e-passport in 44,000 airports globally is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Thursday.
The Graphic reports that the Ghana’s National Identity Card, the Ghana Card can now be used as an e-passport in 44,000 airports globally.
It follows the recognition of the Ghana Card globally as an electronic passport that can be read and verified in all International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) compliant borders.
At a ceremony, held at the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal in Canada on Wednesday [February 9, 2022], Ghana was officially presented with the certificate to make the Ghana Card an e-passport to be accepted at 44,000 airports across the globe.
Ghana’s High Commissioner to Canada, Ransford Sowah, received the ‘key’ to symbolically indicate Ghana’s entry into the ICAO family.
This means the Ghana Card, which is a unique biometric identification card, will be accepted as an e-passport in 197 borders globally and 44,000 airports in the world.
Holders of the Ghana Card will be allowed to board any flight to Ghana by just showing the card.
Ghana was officially accepted on October 13, 2021, as the 79th member of the ICAO’s Public Key Directory (PKD) community.
The ICAO Public Key Directory (PKD) is a central repository for exchanging the information required to authenticate e-passports.
The newspaper says that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for January 2022 in Ghana was 13.9 percent, which represents 1.3 percentage points higher than the 12.6 percent recorded in December 2021.
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) issued the figures at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, February 9, 2022.
The GSS explained that the month-on-month inflation between December 2021 and January 2022 was 2.1 percent.
The Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, said Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, other Fuels and Transport recorded inflation rates above the national average of 13.9 percent with Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other Fuels, (28.7 percent) recording the highest inflation.
He said at the regional level, the overall year-on-year inflation ranged from 6.9 percent in the Eastern Region to 18.4 percent in the Greater Accra Region.
He noted that the Greater Accra Region recorded the highest month-on-month inflation (5.0 percent) with the Upper West region recording a negative month-on-month inflation rate in January 2022 (-1.0 percent).
The GSS explained that the month-on-month inflation between December 2021 and January 2022 was 2.1 percent.
The Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, said Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, other Fuels and Transport recorded inflation rates above the national average of 13.9 percent with Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other Fuels, (28.7 percent) recording the highest inflation.
He said at the regional level, the overall year-on-year inflation ranged from 6.9 percent in the Eastern Region to 18.4 percent in the Greater Accra Region.
He noted that the Greater Accra Region recorded the highest month-on-month inflation (5.0 percent) with the Upper West region recording a negative month-on-month inflation rate in January 2022 (-1.0 percent).
The Graphic also reports that the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has appointed Otto Addo as head of the newly-constituted technical team of the Black Stars for next month’s 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying playoff against Nigeria.
Addo, who was an assistant coach during the short reign of Milovan Rajevac, will team up with compatriots Mas-Ud Didi Dramani and George Boateng as assistants.
The appointment of the assistant coach of Borussia Dortmund was made by the GFA’s Executive Council at its meeting Wednesday (Feb 9, 2022).
It also named former Newcastle United and Brighton and Hove Albion manager, Chris Hughton, as Technical Advisor to the three-man team for the playoff.
Hughton, 63, born in London to Irish and Ghanaian parents, had been strongly linked to the vacant coaching job following the sacking last month of Rajevac following Ghana’s abysmal performance at the just-ended Africa Cup of nations tournament in Cameroun where the Black Stars exited at the group phase with Ghana’s worst ever AFCON record.
Last week, a three-man delegation, led by GFA President, Mr Kurt Okraku met with officials of Dortmund to seek the release of Addo for the upcoming fixture with Nigeria, as well as other areas of technical cooperation between the FA and the German Bundesliga club.
Addo, 46, was the FA’s preferred choice to lead the team against Nigeria because of his knowledge with the team’s players and the dressing room as one of Rajevac’s backroom staff during the 2022 World Cup qualifying competition.
He also played the role as chief scout for Ghana at the 2014 FIFA world Cup in Brazil and at the 2015 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea.
He holds a UEFA Pro Licence in coaching and has 13 years experience in coaching dating back to 2009 when he took up his first job as an assistant coach of the Under-19 team of German side, Hamburger SV, and later as an assistant coach of the senior team.
The Ghanaian Times says that total market capitalisation of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) at the end of January this year rose to GHC64.5 million.
This represents an increase of 16.56 per cent of the GHC55.3 million recorded in the same period last year.
The summary of the January 2020 market activities issued by the GSE and copied to the Ghanaian Times said the market witnessed a surge in the number of transactions.
It said the market recorded 1,489 transactions which was 75.59 per cent more than the 848 transactions recorded in the same period last year.
“The month closed with 34.58 million shares valued at GHC38.28 million changing hands, the figures recorded represents a 64.98 per cent and 45.09 per cent decrease in volume and value traded respectively over the same period last year,” the GSE said.
GIK/APA