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00:00 Thank you for staying. Let's hit the ground running. Time now for us to get into the newspapers.

00:06 We have a few of them here with us this morning. I don't know, sometimes I feel the weather

00:11 affects the number of papers we get. But the segment before I introduce my guest is always

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01:06 the end to chronic disease. But just the start of the lots of matters that we have to discuss

01:13 with you this morning. Joining me, Suleyman Abraima. He's Executive Director, Media Foundation

01:19 for West Africa. Mr. Abraima, good morning. Good morning, Ben. Thank you for having me

01:25 as usual. Thank you. Today, our time is slightly limited. I want us to make the most of the

01:32 time, all the way till around 7.10. So let's cut incisively first off into the Cecilia

01:39 Dapa situation. I just want your quick take on that before we get into other matters that

01:47 have become topical as far as that conversation is concerned. So we've spoken about dollars

01:57 being hoarded by certain people. We've spoken about where the economy has found itself.

02:03 And now she's a politically exposed person, a PEP, with a million dollars, 300,000 euros,

02:12 and millions of CDs, as we've been told, somewhere in her rooms or somewhere in her vault. What

02:18 do you make, Suleyman, of that situation? And should her resignation be enough? Some

02:24 are saying the special prosecutor should get into it and all that. What's your thinking

02:28 on the matter? Well, thank you very much. Well, it's a matter

02:38 that is quite astonishing. But at the same time, people who watch our political space

02:47 will tell you, well, this is something that is to be expected in terms of the quantum

02:54 of looting that is happening within our system. And there are a lot of people who tell you

02:59 that, look, this is not unique. Almost every person in similar positions, it wouldn't be

03:10 surprising that they have similar amounts of monies at home. Because these are monies

03:16 that sometimes the way they acquire them makes it difficult for them to put them in the banks.

03:24 And therefore, where else would they put it? But in their bedrooms and so on.

03:28 So this development has perhaps given us an evidence of what a lot of people have always

03:33 said, that people are keeping, ministers and other appointees are keeping monies that they've

03:38 looted at home and so on and so forth. Certainly, it is a matter that would demand investigations.

03:46 And I do expect, I will be surprised and very shocked if in the course of this week, we

03:51 don't hear anything from the special prosecutor in terms of steps that are being taken to

03:56 investigate this matter. Because certainly, this is a matter that borders on matters relating

04:02 to corruption and the special prosecutor's mandate specifically relate to things like

04:09 this. So obviously, resignation, who cares about

04:13 resignation? Indeed, in this country, you begin to wonder whether people are serving

04:20 themselves or they are serving the nation. And therefore, who really cares about her

04:24 resignation? What for me is important is the investigations that must be conducted

04:28 into circumstances surrounding how this huge monies that we are talking about got stuck

04:38 in her house. And for me, what is also quite even more shocking is the statement from the

04:44 president in terms of his acceptance of the resignation, where the president says that

04:51 he is accepting the resignation with regrets and concludes by saying that eventually, her

04:59 integrity will be fully established. And then when we say that the president is a clearing

05:05 agent, he says he's not a clearing agent. Even before investigations are conducted,

05:09 the president has already concluded that the minister is not guilty of anything.

05:14 But mind you, the minister would have had to reach out to Mr. President in discussing

05:20 the tendering of her resignation. And maybe the story she told him is what he's bought

05:26 into, for which reason he is convinced that she is innocent.

05:30 Well, but I mean, in our dispensation anyway, even if the matter goes to court or the special

05:34 prosecutor gets into it, it is innocent until proven guilty.

05:39 Of course, but it is not for the president to say that.

05:42 Right. You know, for the president to say that,

05:44 look, in the end, your integrity will be established and so on. These are the things that make

05:48 us all conclude that the president has become a clearing agent. And he demonstrates, he

05:53 continuously demonstrates that. But as far as his appointees are concerned, look, they

05:59 are almost like saints. Nobody commits a crime.

06:02 And that is, that Suleymana is in stark contrast to what happened, for example, with the Vicky

06:09 Hama situation. She merely said she was anticipating getting a million dollars and you saw the

06:15 consequences. They were swift. In this instance, she had to resign. She wasn't even sacked.

06:21 She had to resign. And, but in terms of the consequences, so let me, let me just add this

06:26 and in a minute we can wrap on this situation. Some have said Suleymana that her husband

06:31 is an architect of longstanding. He's been there doing this work for decades, that maybe

06:36 that could be the source of the money. Some have suggested it could be gifts, but if they

06:40 are gifts, of course they could have gone, they should have gone through the proper systems

06:45 for taxation to take place. Some have also said that, look, uh, you know, if you deposit

06:53 your dollars, for example, foreign currency in the bank, there are severe limitations

06:57 on how much you can withdraw. I think up to maybe 50,000 or, or thereabouts. And maybe

07:02 someone wants to do something and they may need large sums of money and you have to now

07:06 go to the bank and give me this, or I can't give you this today. You have to go and come

07:11 back. These are some of the circumstances that have come up. Don't you think they are

07:16 valid, valid points to be made in terms of the source of this wealth? By the way, I heard

07:23 that a certain minister who lives somewhere in Accra, East Lagoon to be specific, also

07:28 had his dollars burnt at some point, but that one never came out anyway. And as for, as

07:33 for what's, what's, what is happening out there and, and, and I have some, but you,

07:39 let's, let's leave it there. What would be your reaction then for those positing these

07:44 situations? Well, I think, I think a lot of, I've also had a lot of those, uh, um, claims

07:52 and propaganda and attempts to whitewash the situation, including the, the, the point that

07:59 somebody says, Oh, it could be donations. It could be funeral donations. She's lost

08:03 two relatives and the cause of the last one year or so. And so those funds would have

08:08 been said as a result of the funeral, uh, celebrations that were held. I mean, matters

08:15 like this, yes, you, you would expect those who would want to always, um, showcase the

08:21 fact that they think Indians cannot think, you know, but in the end it turns out that,

08:27 uh, perhaps it is they who really cannot think. Look, there are people who may have hundreds

08:33 of millions of dollars who may be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. We know about business

08:38 people who we are told are fabulously rich. I don't think that those people keep those

08:43 dollars in their, in their homes to keep a million dollars, 300,000, um, CDs, 300,000

08:50 euros. And, uh, as we are told, uh, millions of Ghana cities at home, it's something that

08:57 is really cannot be explained by the gimmicks that are, you know, going on. I think, as

09:04 I said, I will be extremely shocked if I don't hear anything from the special prosecutor

09:08 right now, some that, uh, investigations have commenced into circumstances under which the

09:15 monies were acquired, whether from salaries or from the job of an architect, husband,

09:22 or whatever it is we need to know. And what is important is that investigations must be

09:27 conducted into this. Some have questioned the temerity to even take the matter to court,

09:32 especially when this is the situation, but let's get into the papers. And in the next,

09:36 uh, 14 minutes, thereabouts, uh, wrap newborns to receive Ghana card, NIA births and deaths,

09:43 DHS that has the Ghana health service integrate database. I'm talking about the daily graphic

09:48 newspaper, Gala. I'm seeing on black Volta minister, wands of crackdown on culprits.

09:53 Why don't you just crack down and stop all the warnings? We all know of the effect of

09:58 Gala. I'm saying we are now warning national service allowance goes up. That's a positive.

10:04 And on the back of where we find ourselves, economically speaking, NLA procures for modern

10:08 machines, modern machines, and graphic doesn't enjoy government subvention director of finance

10:13 tells pack. So all I said for the issuance of national identification numbers, better

10:19 known as Ghana card numbers to newborn babies. The vice president, dr. Mohammed Obama has

10:24 stated this follows the successful integration of the databases of the births and deaths

10:28 registry, the national identification authority and the Ghana health service. The vice president

10:32 said the first baby was issued with a national identification card last Friday as part of

10:38 a system test run. You remember that was the promise made in terms of this. And now we're

10:45 seeing some fruition. Dr. Bamiya said the government's ongoing digitalization agenda

10:50 was ample testimony to its appreciation of artificial intelligence and a commitment to

10:56 ensure the country was not left behind in the fourth industrial revolution. But when

11:00 we talk about industrial revolutions, though, where exactly do we find ourselves first,

11:06 second, third, are we in the fourth, some would even say fifth. But then let's turn

11:10 quickly to page 13, 16, and then I'll come to you. So the graphic communications group

11:19 limited the biggest state owned media outlet operates without any government subvention.

11:24 The company's director of finance and administration Samuel Essel has told the public accounts

11:28 committee of parliament, he said, although the government had 100% ownership of the 73

11:34 year old company established in 1950, the company generated its own revenue to finance

11:39 its operations, quoting him, he says, honorable chairman, no, we don't enjoy any government

11:46 subvention as we run everything from our own funds that we generate from operations. Now,

11:51 that is a bit of an interesting, a curious development because some have always felt

11:56 that they were getting some subventions as a state entity, but it appears that is not

12:02 the case. So two issues, let me add this, Suleyman, and then you can wrap with them

12:07 together. The minister of lands and natural resources, Samuel Abujayinapur, has assured

12:12 Ghanaians that the government will go to any length to flush out illegal miners from the

12:16 Black Volta and other rivers across the country to protect them from pollution. Consequently,

12:21 he has urged the 6th Infantry Battalion of the Ghana Armed Forces and the Savannah Regional

12:26 Security Council to deal ruthlessly with all persons engaged in illegal mining in the Black

12:33 Volta. Now, there have been reports of escalating gallant activities along the Black Volta River,

12:38 particularly in areas such as Jama, Jukboi, Carpinter, and Bamboi in the Savannah region.

12:44 Here we are again, lands minister, as usual, we will deal with the situation, threats and

12:50 all of that, yet the things still go on for day. And again, we're using the military.

12:56 It's not worked in the past. I don't know why we keep going there. Suleymana, three

12:59 is used for your consideration.

13:01 Well, first of all, the Ghana card for new bones, Ghana card numbers for new bones, I

13:09 think it's a positive development, but it is not a matter that should be hyped as if

13:14 it is a major accomplishment as is being hyped. I can understand if that is political capital

13:21 for someone, but as far as I'm concerned, as a nation, these are matters that should

13:27 be taken as things that are normal. I mean, to say that we are issuing Ghana card numbers

13:32 to new bones, and that is what a major achievement, I don't think so. We tend to celebrate as

13:38 they say mediocrity. It's a positive development, as I said, but this is not to be celebrated

13:44 as a major accomplishment by an entity or by government or by an individual. And that

13:49 is what I would say to that, because why? We started this birth and death registry maybe

13:55 decades and decades ago. If we are turning that into basically giving Ghana card numbers,

14:01 and of course, people, if you were born and you were registered, you were registered with

14:07 a number. And so I don't think that it is anything that one should want to hype as a

14:12 major accomplishment as perhaps others would want to do. The other thing about the illegal

14:19 mining and the attempts to control it, especially on the Black Volta. Again, as you said, we

14:27 are hearing about the announcement, the promises, deployment of the military, which hasn't worked

14:33 in the past, and one wonders how it's going to work this time around. The most important

14:39 thing for me, Ben, is for us to acknowledge that fighting GALAMSE is not an easy thing.

14:44 And it is not easy because we are in a country where the youth don't have jobs to do. Look,

14:50 if you, in almost every single family in Ghana, you may have an extended family person who

14:57 is involved in GALAMSE, and not maybe as an actor, as the operator, but basically as a

15:04 way of engaging himself or herself in order to survive. So if we have a government that

15:11 is really serious about dealing with GALAMSE, it's about the conscious effort of creating

15:16 jobs for the youth so that there are opportunities for them to engage themselves in that. I don't

15:22 think that it is because they just want to go into this dangerous business, sometimes

15:28 because of mind-picks and resulting in debts and the use of very toxic chemicals and all

15:34 of that. A lot of people are doing this because there are no alternatives for them. And so

15:40 it is not about just simply saying I'm going to drive them away. You are driving them away

15:44 to where? To the streets. To do what? And then you have, you know, appointees keeping

15:50 millions of dollars in their homes and so on. So that is what I would advise the government,

15:56 and that is what I would say to my brother, the minister, that it is not as a matter of

16:01 simply saying we are driving them away with the military. They fear the military. The

16:06 military will shoot. The military will scare them. Scare them for them to go where? What

16:10 must they do to survive? That is the fundamental question. If over the last three years we

16:15 had said, look, we are serious about creating jobs, building factories, and so on, so that

16:21 thousands of youth can get jobs to do, we would see a lot of people moving away from

16:26 the Galamsey sites. But until we do that, people may be getting to the point where they

16:31 say, look, the military can kill us. They can shoot us. Because after all, if we live

16:35 here, we are going home to starve and die. So as Nanado would say, all die, be die. I'm

16:40 not by this justifying Galamsey, but I'm saying that we need to take appropriate steps to

16:45 deal with the matter rather than, you know, always using this, you know, military scare

16:51 tactics and so on and so forth. It is not going to work today. It's not going to work

16:54 tomorrow until the job opportunities are created. Graphic not on subvention, I think it's understandable.

17:03 And I didn't expect that, or I didn't have any inclination that graphic was under government

17:10 subvention. But the difference is also there. There are a lot of things that, as we know,

17:16 they say, oh, advertise must be published in a widely circulated newspaper, and da,

17:20 da, da, da, and the default newspaper is daily graphic. There are a lot of government advertising

17:26 that must necessarily go to daily graphic and daily graphic is paid. So there are a

17:31 number of media houses that if they were to get similar opportunities, may even be able

17:35 to be paying something to government rather than perhaps thinking about being on government

17:40 subvention. Right. Let's get into the Finder newspaper and the daily guide very quickly.

17:45 The Finder says, and I'll just gloss over the stories we've already looked at. Judd

17:50 removes First Atlantic Bank from side chick lawsuit. I'm sure you followed. So First Atlantic

17:56 Bank has been, you know, asked to step aside, so to speak, legally speaking, and it's going

18:02 to be a straight issue between the side chick and her sugar daddy. Akufo-Ada meets Pope

18:07 Francis to strengthen ties with Vatican. There's also NLA plans sustained crackdown on 350

18:12 million Ghana city illegal lottery business. Ghana needs new business model to diversify

18:18 agriculture. That's according to Dr. Ifri-Akuto. And then Ghana Houston, a firm alliance to

18:23 boost tourism inflows and business linkages. Let's look at those stories very, very quickly.

18:28 So what is Dr. Ifri-Akuto saying? He is saying that the new model should be driven by government

18:34 structure, supply chain, logistics, and market access, support big data and technology for

18:39 evidence-based decision-making, research and development, develop and strengthen both input

18:44 and output market systems, and human development. My only concern, Dr. Akuto, while you were

18:49 in power, are you saying you couldn't have done this? Then let's go to page nine. And

19:00 there it is. Akufo-Ada meets Pope Francis to strengthen ties with Vatican. And the president

19:05 has paid a curtsy call on Pope Francis in Rome. The visit aimed at strengthening diplomatic

19:10 relations between Ghana and the Vatican. The call on the Holy See formed part of the president's

19:15 four-day official visit to Italy as the West African nation renews the bonds of friendship

19:19 between the two countries. And those are the two stories there. Let me add this one. So

19:28 in the Daily Guide newspaper, I can defeat Mahama. That's according to Vice President

19:34 Baumea. The Cecilia Dapas story is there. And this one, important, we have to celebrate

19:40 it. I remember those days, National Service and how much we were earning. Government increases

19:45 National Service alawa to 715 CDs and 57 Pesos. That is from 559 CDs and 4 Pesos to 715 CDs

19:56 and 57 Pesos. A little shy of 200, about 160 Ghana CDs. But I'm sure it will do a lot,

20:05 especially considering the economic times we are facing. Shariaity passes on as well.

20:10 So the topical stories for you to reflect on, Dr. Akutu and what he's saying about agriculture.

20:16 There's also the Pope meeting Akufo-Ada, our president, and the alawa issue, NSS. Quick

20:24 thoughts. Well, I think the most critical point there is the Afriya Akutu claims that

20:31 he's made. Look, this is somebody who was in charge of our agri-sector for the last

20:40 six to six and a half years. And it is one of the sectors that I would say was well resourced.

20:50 And yet, as we speak today, our stocks are empty. And yet, this man would want us to

20:58 believe that he did a good job as our agri-minister and now pontificating around with policies

21:05 that can help improve our agricultural sector. He was there for six years. Why didn't he

21:12 implement some of these things that he's talking about with all the resources that were allocated

21:18 to the agri-ministry? We had planting for food and jobs with all manner of noise. At

21:23 some point, he claimed that a bunch of plantain was five cities and so on and so forth. Today,

21:28 as I said, the stocks are empty. And I don't think that it is because the new minister

21:34 hasn't done A or B. It is because he's a pretendant over a sector that was not performing. And

21:41 yet, he wanted us to believe that it's a sector that really did well under him. I think it

21:50 is better that we take all these things with a pinch of salt rather than believe that this

21:57 is somebody with some great ideas for our agri-sector because he's been tried, tested,

22:02 and he failed. And that is what I would say.

22:05 Visit to Vatican. Well, it's always OK to maintain and strengthen diplomatic relations

22:11 with other countries. As we know, the Vatican is an entity by itself in terms of foreign

22:19 relations. It's not part of the, let's say, the Italian government machinery per se. So

22:28 it's not bad. But I say, what does it really bring? National service. I think that we are

22:37 at a point where, indeed, what is happening is national service. Previously, people were

22:42 doing national service, but the allowances that were paid somehow was enough to cushion

22:49 them. And I'm talking about those days, not the 500 and 600 and so on. And now that it

22:54 is 700, we are being told, oh, it's been increased. The reality is that if you have a national

22:59 service person-- sometimes we take national service people at our workplace. If you have

23:03 a national service person, let's say, who stays at Abilene Bay or stays at Jolo-- let

23:11 me just use even a relatively shorter distance-- and has to commute to the office in East Ligon,

23:17 how much is the person's cost in terms of transport?

23:21 >> Right. >> In their cost. Then the person would take

23:25 breakfast. How much would be breakfast? The person would have to take lunch. How much

23:28 is lunch? The person would have to go back home. How much is that? And then the person

23:32 would have to take dinner. How much would that be?

23:34 >> So like you're saying, it is clear it is service to the nation. Service at your own

23:37 cost to the nation. Because even now that it has been increased, I mean, it's just a

23:43 drop in a bucket in terms of the reality. That sum could easily be absorbed into transportation

23:48 alone. >> Exactly. So that's around 25 cities a

23:52 day. I mean, with the new increase, 700 and something, it translates to about 25 cities

23:59 a day. And we know that people are spending as much as 20 cities on transport alone in

24:05 a day. So how do we expect these people to really survive? And that is why I'm saying

24:11 those who are able to do it are really doing national service. And perhaps the best place

24:17 to do this national service this time around is maybe to have people posted to the rural

24:23 communities where maybe they can walk to their work. And I mean, cost of living in terms

24:28 of food is quite low and all of that. And that's really where we also need persons who

24:34 are qualified to do the national service. And maybe this could give us some reflections

24:39 in terms of reforms that may be needed. >> Okay.

24:41 >> Where we deploy these people. >> Suleiman, I will not have time to reflect

24:45 on this story, but I'll just read the headline. And thank you for joining the conversation.

24:49 The publisher, the Ghanaian publisher says, "Rich hospital sheltering convict." I just

24:55 had to bring you some details on that. The Greater Accra Regional Hospital and Ghana

24:58 Prison Service are under pressure to investigate an unusual circumstance in which a convict

25:04 has been receiving treatment at the rich hospital for almost two months, despite being sentenced

25:08 to 15 years at the Nsawam Maximum Prison. Managing director of Renaissance Oil Limited

25:14 and unlicensed oil marketing company, David Aseyete, was found guilty on 23 counts of

25:20 defrauding Missile Energy Company Limited of more than $6 million through deceptive

25:25 means in 2018. He was handed a 15-year sentence by Anakra High Court, but strangely, it is

25:31 said that he's been sheltering at the rich hospital for the past two months. What exactly

25:38 is going on? I guess with time, we'll find out. Suleiman Abraima, thank you so much for

25:42 joining us this morning. All right, I think you are muted for the last bit. But as we

25:48 go, a quick reminder that this segment brought to you by Endpoint Homeopathic Clinic. They're

25:52 offering free prostate screening, free fertility screening for women. If you're interested,

25:57 and you should be, just reach out to them at any of their branches here in Accra at

26:00 Spintex opposite the Shell signboard, Kumase Kronumwabwe here behind the Angel Educational

26:05 Complex. There's Takwa De Anaji State Tema Community 22, Techiman Hanswe and Esiamansuma.

26:09 Their call lines 0244-867-068, 0274-234-321. Endpoint Homeopathic Clinic, the end to chronic

26:19 disease. But there's a lot to talk about in sports, especially with the photoshopping

26:23 and the fake videos that some people have been putting out about Messi's first game. Yes,

26:28 he scored the free kick, but a whole lot of pictures about the goat supposedly taking

26:34 photos of him and all of that. Well, details in sports up next.

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