Tiwa Savage Reveals Industry-Driven Image Transformation

News Ghana
-
0
Tiwa Savage Reveals Industry-Driven Image Transformation

Nigerian artist Tiwa Savage has detailed external pressures to alter her appearance early in her music career.

Speaking on the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast, Savage stated she underwent significant changes under former label head Tunji “TJ” Balogun’s direction.

“Naturally, I’m a tomboy,” she told host Joey Akan. “TJ saw a market gap. He said: ‘You’ve to lose weight, go to the gym, wax eyebrows, wear wigs.’ He literally changed my whole appearance.”

Savage confirmed her current glamorous persona contrasts with her original identity: “I was not like that in L.A. when he met me.” She addressed her 2014 “Wanted” video, noting: “That wasn’t the aim—to just try to be sexy.” According to Savage, the visual reinvention responded to industry concerns about marketability following her marriage.

This account surfaces amid ongoing discussions about artistic autonomy in Afrobeats, where female artists frequently navigate commercial expectations versus personal expression within the continent’s fast-growing music industry.

Asantehene’s Son Addresses DPS International Graduating Class

News Ghana
-
0
Asantehene’s Son Addresses DPS International Graduating Class

Oheneba Kwame Kyeretwie, son of Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, delivered the graduation address for DPS International School’s Class of 2025.

Speaking before attendees including former President John Kufuor and foreign ambassadors, the Head Prefect framed his remarks around “where we’ve been and where we’re going.”

The royal descendant acknowledged challenges faced by his cohort: “I’ve overcome many obstacles, from adjusting to a new curriculum after COVID lockdowns to final exam pressures.” He specifically recognized his parents’ role, stating: “I thank my mother and father – my first support system. They’ve contributed to who I am since my first day here.”

Oheneba described his parents as guiding influences: “Their words and actions echo daily. They’re my reference examples and confidence source.” He concluded his appreciation by noting: “I’m thankful to have had you as my guidance throughout this journey.”

The ceremony marked the culmination of secondary education for graduates who navigated significant academic transitions during the pandemic period, highlighting educational resilience within Ghana’s evolving school systems.

Nigerian Woman Advocates Polygamy Over Divorce in Viral Post

News Ghana
-
0
Nigerian Woman Advocates Polygamy Over Divorce in Viral Post

A Nigerian social media user has sparked online debate after advising men in difficult marriages to consider polygamy instead of divorce or domestic violence.

In a viral post, the anonymous woman stated: “If your wife is not giving you peace, you don’t need to divorce her… Do not lose your patience and your cool.”

She argued that while “divorce is the most hated by God,” polygamy remains religiously permissible. Her proposed solution: “What you need is a second wife… Let the competition be between the two women as they both strive to please you.” She claimed this approach would allow men to “live the most peaceful life ever” without resorting to violence.

The post has generated polarized reactions across social media platforms. Some users endorsed the perspective as culturally pragmatic, while others condemned it for potentially fostering rivalry and compromising women’s emotional wellbeing. No verifiable sources or religious authorities were cited to support the theological claims.

This recommendation emerges amid ongoing societal debates about marriage norms in Nigeria, where traditional practices sometimes intersect with modern relationship expectations and where domestic violence remains a significant concern despite legal prohibitions.

Bawumia Urges NPP Unity Amid Religious Sentiment Concerns

News Ghana
-
0
Bawumia Urges NPP Unity Amid Religious Sentiment Concerns

Former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has cautioned New Patriotic Party members against divisive religious and tribal narratives during the party’s Constituency Chairmen Caucus Conference in Ashanti Region.

Addressing attendees on June 21, Bawumia emphasized party cohesion ahead of 2026 primaries and 2028 elections.

“It is very important we don’t allow unfactual explanations that divide our party,” he stated. “We are united, encompassing all ethnic groups and religions.” The former presidential candidate dismissed claims that his Muslim background primarily influenced his political rise, citing his 2024 electoral performance as evidence of broad-based support.

“My 4.7 million votes, was it only Muslims who voted for me? It’s not possible. They were all different voters,” Bawumia asserted. He further declared commitment to party interests over personal ambition: “If my candidacy jeopardizes our 2028 chances, I would step aside. I value the party too much to risk defeat.”

Bawumia’s remarks underscore ongoing efforts to maintain unity within Ghana’s ruling party as it navigates succession planning amid the country’s multi-religious political landscape, where balancing diverse voter interests remains crucial for electoral success.

Ghana Records Fourth Consecutive Treasury Bills Funding Shortfall

News Ghana
-
0
Ghana Records Fourth Consecutive Treasury Bills Funding Shortfall

Ghana faces heightened budget financing risks after failing to meet its Treasury bills target for the fourth consecutive week.

Between May 30 and June 20, 2025, the government sought GH₵22.9 billion through short-term debt auctions but secured only GH₵19.6 billion in bids, reflecting a 14.4% shortfall according to Bank of Ghana auction data. Actual accepted amounts were lower still after bid rejections, compounding fiscal pressures.

This sustained undersubscription threatens a critical funding source while Ghana’s domestic bond market remains effectively closed following the 2023 Domestic Debt Exchange Programme. With T-bills as the primary domestic financing tool, the trend raises concerns about meeting salary obligations, statutory transfers, and operational costs without external support or fiscal adjustments.

Market analysts note declining interest rates may be reducing investor appetite. Yields on 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day bills have eased significantly from early-2025 peaks above 30%, diminishing returns amid persistent inflation. This has prompted institutional and retail investors to hold cash or seek higher-yielding alternatives.

The consistent shortfalls signal systemic funding constraints that could impair government programs and macroeconomic stability. With limited bond market access and external budget support, authorities face difficult choices between potential rate adjustments to attract investors, accelerated fiscal consolidation, or renewed international financing engagement.

Ghana’s funding challenges emerge as debt sustainability efforts continue, with T-bills becoming an increasingly critical yet strained component of deficit financing amid constrained market options.

MTN Backs Pan-African Public Sector Governance Training

News Ghana
-
0
MTN Backs Pan-African Public Sector Governance Training

MTN Group supported the 2025 Economic Governance School training senior public officials from Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya in Accra last week.

The initiative, a collaboration between South Africa’s National School of Government, Kenya School of Government, and Ghana’s GIMPA, aimed to strengthen public sector leadership and promote inclusive economic governance across Africa.

Legislators, politicians, and senior officials engaged in peer learning and policy dialogue, including a visit to the AfCFTA Secretariat.

“As a pan-African business, we understand Africa’s growth depends on investment in people and institutions,” stated MTN Group Chief Sustainability Officer Nompilo Morafo. The training coincided with MTN’s 21 Days of Y’ello Care initiative, during which delegates visited the MTN-supported Opportunities Industrialisation Centre Ghana vocational training facility.

Morafo emphasized MTN’s perspective: “Education and strong institutions form the foundation for progress. When civil servants receive quality training, their decisions shape a more equitable future.” MTN executives including Ghana CEO Stephen Blewett and CIO Bernard Acquah participated in sessions on telecommunications, digital transformation, AI, and infrastructure financing.

South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Public Service Pinky Kekana described the program as “a unique platform for public leaders to engage in critical analysis of governance challenges.” GIMPA Director Professor Samuel Kwadwo Bonsu acknowledged the cross-sector collaboration underpinning the initiative.

The sponsorship reflects MTN’s institutional capacity-building focus across Africa, occurring as telecommunications increasingly enable public service delivery while private sector partnerships address governance skill gaps in emerging economies.

Volatility Of The Ghana Stock Exchange Market 

Baron Dr. Kwame Nyampong
-
0
Volatility Of The Ghana Stock Exchange Market 

The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) is a key indicator of economic performance, offering insights into investor sentiment, corporate health, and broader economic trends.

However, as an emerging market, the GSE exhibits high volatility. This paper is to analyse the volatility nature of the GSE by considering the characteristics, influencing factors, volatility periods, modeling and forecasting and its implication for investors and policy decision makers.

 

Volatility Characteristics

Using the Hurst Exponent, it was found that past trends influence future movements, indicating that the GSE Composite Index (GSE-CI) follows structured patterns rather than random fluctuations. This is what experts referred to as the Long-Term Memory. Its Hurst exponent values range from 0.69 to 0.98, suggesting a long-term memory of 0.69 to 0.98, which means that the market movement has a certain degree of persistence and the future movement can be inferred to some extent based on past trends.

Analysis of daily market returns from 2011 to 2022 revealed frequent sharp increases and declines, highlighting higher risk exposure for investors. In “Heavy-Tailed Market Returns” the GSE-CI return series shows a heavy-tailed distribution, with kurtosis reaching 34.06, indicating that extreme price swings are relatively common.

High-volatility periods tend to be followed by more volatility, a phenomenon known as “Volatility Clustering”. This suggests that investors and policymakers should anticipate prolonged instability rather than isolated fluctuations. The study found that the GSE-CI return series exhibits volatility clustering, with its Ljung-Box Q-statistic for autocorrelation at lag 10 being 192.3, which is statistically significant at the 1% level, indicating significant autocorrelation in the squared returns.

 

Volatility Influencing Factors

Macroeconomic factors are the main causes of volatility in the GSE market.  Economic policy shifts, such as changes in interest rates, inflation, and fiscal policies, can affect investor confidence and thereby influence market volatility. For instance, high inflation may lead investors to adjust their investment portfolios, causing stock prices to fluctuate. Additionally, exchange rate fluctuations, commodity price swings, and foreign investment patterns can create external shocks to the market. The depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi, for example, may impact the profitability of listed companies and, in turn, affect stock prices.

 

Volatility in GSE may also be influenced by Market Liquidity Factors. Compared to developed markets, the GSE has lower liquidity, with limited trading activity. This can result in more dramatic price swings and higher volatility. When market liquidity is insufficient, even small trades may cause significant price changes, amplifying market volatility.

One of the less emphasised characteristics on the high volatility nature of the GSE activities is the “Investor Sentiment and Behavior”. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the study found that overconfident market participants in Ghana engaged in excessive trading, significantly contributing to the weekly volatility observed during the pandemic period. The research also showed that the GSE exhibits leverage effects, meaning that negative shocks have a greater impact on volatility than positive shocks of the same magnitude. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, positive shocks had a relatively larger impact on GSE returns than negative shocks of the same intensity.

Political factors are also key acts that influence the volatility of GSE. Political instability or changes in government policies can negatively affect investor confidence and lead to increased market volatility. For example, elections or policy adjustments may trigger uncertainties about the future economic outlook, prompting investors to adopt a wait-and-see approach or adjust their investment strategies, thereby causing stock prices to fluctuate.

 

Volatility During Specific Periods

A study by Prempeh et al. found that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (Pre COVID Period), adverse shocks had a greater impact on the volatility of the GSE than positive shocks of the same intensity. The EGARCH model revealed that negative shocks positively influenced return volatility by 38.15%, while positive shocks had a positive effect of 16.17%. The volatility persistence was approximately 21 days.

 

During the COVID-19 pandemic (COVID Period), the volatility of the GSE increased significantly, but the volatility persistence was relatively short-lived. Positive shocks had a more pronounced impact on return volatility than negative shocks of the same magnitude. Specifically, positive shocks positively influenced return volatility by 39.69%, while negative shocks had a positive effect of 26.09%. The volatility persistence was about 3.90 days. The leverage effect was still present during this period.

 

Market Volatility Modeling and Forecasting

Many studies have used GARCH (1,1) and GJR-GARCH (1,1) models to analyze the volatility of the GSE. For example, the study by Forson et al. found that the GSE is mean-reverting and takes approximately 35 days for the market to stabilize over time. The research by Prempeh et al. applied the exponential GARCH model and discovered leverage effects in all observed periods. This is referred to as the GARCH Class Models.

Mogital Analytics applied four variations of Bayesian Stochastic Volatility (SV) models to analyze and predict the movements of the GSE-CI over a 12-year period (2011–2022). Among them, the SV model with Student’s t Errors produced the lowest Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), making it the most effective in predicting market movements. This model is adept at capturing heavy-tailed distributions and extreme price swings common in the Ghanaian stock market.

 

Implications for Investors and Policymakers

Investors should recognize that the Ghanaian stock market follows patterns rather than random fluctuations. Given the frequent extreme swings, investment strategies should diversify to mitigate risks. Additionally, the volatility clustering phenomenon suggests that short-term fluctuations may persist for several months, so investors should adopt a long-term perspective and avoid being swayed by short-term market noise.

Regulatory frameworks, by policymakers, should be adjusted to account for prolonged volatility periods. Measures to enhance market liquidity should be strengthened, as a well-liquid market can help absorb shocks and stabilize returns. Providing reliable market data and ensuring transparency can boost investor confidence and attract foreign investments.

 

In summary, the GSE exhibits high volatility, influenced by a variety of factors. Investors and policymakers need to gain a deep understanding of its volatility characteristics and influencing factors to develop appropriate investment strategies and policy measures, thereby achieving better investment returns and promoting the stable development of the stock market.

Ghana Journalists to Receive First ID Cards in Decade

News Ghana
-
0
Ghana Journalists to Receive First ID Cards in Decade

Margins Group will begin printing identity cards for Ghana Journalists Association members this week following finalized negotiations with sponsorship from KGL Group.

The initiative ends a 10-year stall in ID issuance due to past technical and financial challenges. Members must submit passport-sized photographs with white backgrounds to [email protected], accompanied by full names, organizations, regions, and contact details.

Processing will follow submission order, prioritizing members in good standing as recently published in national dailies. GJA President Albert Kwabena Dwumfour confirmed the development, fulfilling an administrative promise made three years ago. “I am very excited to see this day come finally,” Dwumfour stated. “Members have been concerned about their ID cards. We thank Margins Group and KGL Group for helping us redeem this promise.”

The ID cards will feature secure identity solutions from Margins Group, which specializes in card manufacturing and digitalization services. Submissions require high-quality studio photographs, with selfies explicitly prohibited to ensure professional standards. Distribution logistics will commence immediately after printing completion.

This milestone addresses longstanding professional identification needs for Ghana’s media practitioners while demonstrating private sector support for journalist accreditation systems previously hampered by operational constraints.

Ghana Journalists Association, Margins ID Group, KGL Group, journalist accreditation, Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, media association Ghana, identity solutions Ghana, press credentials, GJA membership, card manufacturing

MAHAMA 2.0; The Good, Bad and Ugly 

Fiifi Ofori
-
0
MAHAMA 2.0; The Good, Bad and Ugly 

If the first 6 months of H.E Mahama’s second coming is graded Over 4.0, a Grade Point Average (GPA), of 3.75 would be merited; Magna Cum Laude in academic terms. 

GOOD: The Ghanaian Cedi and Economic Confidence (4.0 GPA) 

The Ghanaian Cedi has appreciated significantly against most of the world’s currencies since President Mahama’s inauguration boosting confidence in the economy. The strength of the currency has also made commerce and cost of living   relatively cheaper and much more affordable. 

The country’s currency is trading at an average of 1USD to 10.30GHS today (June 23, 2025). The currency on the day of President Mahama’s inauguration, traded at an average rate of 1USD to 14.70GHS, a percentage decrease of 30% (rounded to nearest whole number). 

 

BAD: None So Far (Ungraded) 

For a relatively new administration, albeit with an experienced core of personnel both in government and outside, this writer finds nothing so far to be considered as bad. 

UGLY: Removal of Chief Justice (3.5 GPA) 

The removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo is one of the ugliest episodes of the administration so far and a very dangerous precedent. As dangerous as the unwise decision by the previous NPP government to blatantly pack the Apex Court and strategically filling most of the lower courts with others who had been minted at the Chambers of then President Akufo-Addo. 

 The act is probably supported by a plurality of citizens if not majority primarily because the Ghanaian Government just like most governments worldwide is historically corrupt and out of touch. All 3 branches (Executive, Legislature and Judiciary are perceived as guilty. 

Many citizens feel distant from the government with most social amenities out of reach to them. Notoriously, ours is a government primarily based on ‘Whom You Know;’ the more connected a person is determines their chances of accessing even the most basic services.

However, the executive and legislature undergo change. Citizens can choose to retain or dismiss the members at the ballot box. The Judiciary, though, is not subject to elections. An appointment to the bench is until retirement. A constitutional right with both merits and demerits.

The Suspension of the Chief Justice may have a silver lining. Already there are calls to strengthen the process of dismissal for future Chief Justices beginning with the Political and Ceremonial Council of State which rubber-stamps every decision by the president; And to correct certain anomalies within the judiciary and General Legal Council, the main regulatory body for conduct and administration of legal education and profession in Ghana. 

Ghana Central Bank Warns Cyber Threats Jeopardize Financial Inclusion

News Ghana
-
0
Ghana Central Bank Warns Cyber Threats Jeopardize Financial Inclusion

Cyber threats are rapidly undermining financial inclusion progress in Ghana, the central bank has warned, as digital fraud incidents surge and systemic vulnerabilities persist.

First Deputy Governor Dr. Zakaria Mumuni revealed financial losses from cyber fraud reached GH₵4.4 million in Q1 2025, nearly double the GH₵2.4 million recorded during the same period in 2024.

Speaking at the Africa Inclusion Policy Initiative roundtable in Accra on behalf of Governor Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, Mumuni stated over 21,000 cyber fraud attempts targeted Ghana’s financial sector in 2022 alone.

“Cybercrime is not a distant risk—it is a present danger,” Mumuni asserted. “Financial inclusion without system integrity is unsustainable.” He emphasized cybersecurity must transition from an IT concern to a strategic governance imperative, particularly as Ghana’s mobile money accounts exceed 70 million. Interpol estimates cybercrime costs Africa over US$4 billion annually.

The Bank of Ghana has implemented multiple countermeasures, including its 2018 cybersecurity directive for financial institutions. Over 40 institutions now connect to the Financial Industry Security Operations Center for real-time threat detection. However, annual assessments using NIST and COBIT 5 frameworks reveal persistent gaps. “In 2024, over 40 percent of assessed entities showed critical vulnerabilities—especially in access controls and incident response,” Mumuni noted.

The central bank is collaborating with Ghana’s Cybersecurity Authority, World Bank, Interpol, and Africa Cyber Security Resource Center on targeted interventions. It is also strengthening consumer protections through enhanced disclosure standards, expanded complaint systems, and financial literacy programs focusing on women, youth, and underserved communities. Civil society groups and religious organizations are enlisted for grassroots digital safety awareness.

Alliance for Financial Inclusion CEO Dr. Alfred Hannig echoed these concerns, noting a 150 percent increase in African cybercrime over the past year. “Cyber threats are escalating to systemic levels,” Hannig warned. “They’re targeting core financial infrastructure and threatening to undo years of progress.” AFI now integrates cybersecurity as a central pillar of its AfPI regional work plan, advocating cross-border intelligence sharing and regulatory harmonization.

Mumuni called for global cooperation through standard-setting bodies: “Let us embed cybersecurity into our inclusion strategies—not as an afterthought, but as a foundation. Resilience in one country protects us all.” This warning comes as Ghana advances gender-inclusive finance through initiatives like the African Development Bank’s AFAWA program and a newly launched Women’s Development Bank with GH¢51 million seed funding, while escalating cyber risks threaten to erode public trust in digital financial systems essential for inclusion.

1...2,8072,8082,809...49,612Page 2,808 of 49,612