News
Military intervention in Niger won’t solve coup problem – Ablakwa reiterates
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has reiterated calls for plans to reinstate Niger’s ousted president using the military to be aborted.
ECOWAS leaders met in Accra on August 17 and reiterated their commitment to act if diplomatic dialogue fails.
The ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, described appeals to revoke its decision as unwarranted.
During an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, Mr. Ablakwa said, “I will renew the call that we have always made that war, violence, and military intervention is not going to help us in this situation”.
“The position of the NDC caucus in Parliament has not changed…we don’t endorse coups, we want democracy to be entrenched.
We must be looking at what is causing these coups, there are issues that ought to be addressed – bad governance, state capture, massive unemployment, and neocolonial entanglement.
These matters have to be confronted head-on. If they are not confronted, it thus appears we shall return to the era of coups”. He raised concerns about the decision taken by ECOWAS suggesting constructive diplomatic dialogue as the key solution to solving the political tension.
“Listening to the ECOWAS chief of defence staff, you are right that the communication is somewhat confusing. Sometimes you get the impression they are ready, they are going all out, they’re descending into Niger. Other times, like after today’s meeting, they’re putting together their logistics”.
He stressed, “It is our view that the heads of state should have deepened the diplomacy dialogue, but they seem to have rushed. Everybody is saying that don’t use military intervention, it’s not a simple matter. The real solution lies in diplomacy and constructive dialogue.
We will urge ECOWAS to stop all these confusing signals. We insist that instead of sending our soldiers to a slaughterhouse, where there will be a massacre as all the pundits have predicted, let us go for what our constitution enjoins us by perceiving a peaceful resolution”.
Source:Citinewroom
News
We have built enough buffers to pay all DDEP obligations – Finance Minister Ato Forson
Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has assured banks that the government has built sufficient financial buffers to meet all Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) obligations this year.
Speaking at a high-level meeting with over 22 Managing Directors of banks, he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to fiscal responsibility and restoring confidence in the financial sector.
“We do not intend to default,” Dr. Forson declared.
“All outstanding holdouts have been paid, and we have put in place the necessary buffers to ensure that every single DDEP obligation for this year will be met.”
The Minister explained that these buffers were created through fiscal discipline, strategic investment cuts, and prudent resource allocation.
As part of this approach, the government has reset goods and services expenditure to 2023 levels and is working to achieve a primary surplus of 1.5% to sustain economic stability.
He also announced plans to submit a fiscal responsibility rule to Parliament, which will set a debt ceiling that the Ministry of Finance cannot exceed.
This measure aims to prevent excessive borrowing and reinforce financial discipline.
Beyond ensuring timely DDEP payments, Dr Forson revealed that the government is taking deliberate steps to reduce reliance on the Treasury bill market.
By improving coordination between fiscal and monetary policies, the government aims to stabilize interest rates and ease liquidity pressures on the banking sector.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
News
NSA commences President Mahama’s ‘Nkoko Nkitikiti’ vision
President Mahama’s Vision in Progress as the National Service Authority has received 10,000 “Nkoko Nkitikiti” (Day Old Chicks ) earlier this morning.
Their ongoing 100,000 Poultry infrastructure will be receiving 10,000 Day Old Chicks every few weeks until they hit their 100,000 mark for Broilers at a site in NSA Demonstration farm in Accra.
NSA is working assiduously nationwide with partners to put the infrastructure in place for hundreds of thousands of Poultry Capacity for Broilers in clusters.
Egg production is also top of their agenda in separate projects. NSA is currently putting in place the infrastructure that will receive thousands of layers in President Mahama’s quest to bring down the cost of eggs.
They expect to expand their poultry capacity base in furtherance of President Mahama’s vision to reduce the importation of poultry products and create employment
