Author: Amnewsworld

The government is targeting an external debt relief of $10.5 billion between this year and 2026 as it engages its external creditors for debt restructuring, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reported. The external creditors include bilateral and commercial creditors. The government announced a suspension of debt service on external commercial obligations on December 19, last year and has since been engaging with them on a debt restructuring. The government is seeking to restructure external commercial debts of $14 billion, out of which $13 billion are in bonds. Following the formation of the Creditor Committee of the Paris Club backed by…

What do artificial nails, crypto currencies, spaghetti and social media influencers have in common? They are all being targeted by Kenya’s taxman in a raft of new proposals aimed at filling the coffers of President William Ruto’s cash-strapped government. Ruto is seeking to repair a heavily-indebted economy inherited from his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta, who ramped up borrowing to fund a splurge on costly infrastructure projects. Despite pledging to improve the lot of impoverished Kenyans during last year’s election campaign, Ruto is now taking the politically unpopular step of raising taxes. Ruto’s government has drawn up a 3.6-trillion shilling ($26.2 billion)…

G7 leaders convene in Japan to tackle urgent global concerns including the Ukraine invasion, climate change, and food insecurity. Simultaneously, African nations prioritize economic recovery from the pandemic and debt risks, with the digital economy emerging as a pivotal driver of employment and growth, projected to dominate the global workforce by 2100. A recent report by the World Bank titled “Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs” highlights Sub-Saharan Africa’s significant gap between digital infrastructure availability and actual usage. Bridging this gap would unlock enormous potential for job creation and economic recovery in a highly digitalized world. The fintech industry in…

South Africa has a prison population of over one hundred fifty thousand. Some of those held behind bars await to be released and reintegrated in their communities. However, one of the major challenges ex-convicts face in South Africa is unemployment. Criminologist and Researcher, Africa Monyai explains that the country’s law stipulates that an ex-offender can apply for the expungement of their criminal record ten years from the date of conviction provided they have not been convicted of any other offense during the ten-year period. “According to our engagement with ex-offenders, the challenge find is is that ex offenders normally obtain…

For the first time, the Venice Biennale of Architecture is curated by an African, featuring a preponderance of work by Africans and the African diaspora. Scottish-Ghanaian architect Lesley Lokko is giving a platform to voices that have long been silenced. The 18th architectural Biennale titled “The Laboratory of the Future,” explores decolonization and decarbonization, topics about which Africans have much to say, Lokko says: “The Black body was Europe’s first unit of energy. We have had a relationship to resources since time immemorial. We operate at a place where resources are not stable. They are also often fragile. They’re often…

Ghana’s largest opposition party has chosen the country’s former president, John Dramani Mahama, as its flagbearer for the 2024 presidential election. Delegates of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) voted in primaries over the weekend to choose a candidate for both the presidential and parliamentary polls. Mahama was declared the overwhelming winner after polling 98.9 per cent of the votes while his challenger, former Kumasi mayor Kojo Bonsu, scored 1.1 per cent. The former president was tipped by most political analysts to win the primary based on his experience and influence in the opposition party. “He has been tried and tested…

Gospel singer Kofi Owusu Peprah was part of the Gospel All Stars who performed Piesie Esther’s W’aye Me Yie song as the opening act at this year’s Vodadone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs) held at the Grand Arena of the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) on Saturday, May 6. And the Matwen hitmaker has disclosed that it was a good feeling to have performed on such a huge platform that have birthed many Ghanaian international acts. “It was quite awe-inspiring not just for me but my team to be on such a huge platform. Let’s not pretend about it, VGMA is a huge…

The Ghana Police Service has arrested eight individuals across four constituencies in the country for various election-related offences during the Presidential and Parliamentary Primaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) held on Saturday, May 13, 2023. According to a statement released by the Police, Yaro Burdove was arrested at the Ningo Prampram Constituency for taking a photograph of his ballot paper in the polling booth and attempting to take photographs of the ballot of other voters. Harrison Martey and Imoro Ibrahim were also arrested for engaging in an unlawful fight at a voting centre in the same constituency. Similarly, suspects…

French rappers, singers, songwriters and personalities from various fields gathered Thursday (May 11) for a historic evening. They attended the first edition of the French Urban Music Awards known as ‘Les Flammes’ ceremony. The Paris event was dedicated to celebrating rap, R&B and afro Caribbean music among other popular genres. Guests in attendance welcomed a long overdue ceremony. “It’s a victory. There have been lots of projects similar to this one, the French Urban Music Awards. The fact that this ceremony is taking places here, at the Chatelet theatre, on a beautiful stage, a red carpet, this is good. So…

Ghana joined forces with China and France on Friday to form a committee which will help pave the way for a $3 billion dollar International Monetary Fund loan. In December Ghana agreed to a three-year credit program with the IMF to strengthen the country’s finances and restore confidence as the country faced its worst economic crisis in decades. Since then, talks had focused on assurances from a committee of Ghana’s creditors over whether a proposed debt exchange program would be enough to secure the IMF agreement. The government has earmarked about $5.4 billion of debt to official creditors as well…