Ghanaian gospel musician Bernard Amankwah has a clear message for his colleagues in the gospel music industry, especially new entrants: the fraternity should not be regarded as the road to financial gain, instead, see it as a means to glorify God.

This is because, he has noticed a growing trend of artistes approaching gospel music with financial motives, which he strongly believes can dilute the integrity of the space. 

In a recent chat with the Daily Graphic, he expressed concern about the commercialisation of gospel music which was steering artistes away from the true essence of worship and devotion and encouraged fellow musicians to focus on the impact their music can have on their listeners' souls rather than on their(gospel acts) bank accounts. 

As Ghana approaches the general election on December 7, the qualities of the two main presidential candidates, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and Mr John Dramani Mahama, are in the spotlight.

Who do Ghanaians want to lead the country through the next four, potentially turbulent, years, a period when multiple problems – internationally, a volatile world, with expanding conflicts and the climate emergency – dovetail with Ghana’s domestic concerns: potentially calamitous climate change, galamsey, corruption, democratic backsliding and a highly uncertain economic future?

The United Kingdom (UK) has reaffirmed its commitment to Ghana’s democratic stability by pledging support for a peaceful and transparent electoral process in the upcoming 2024 election.

The British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson, underscored UK’s neutral stance in the election but emphasised its dedication to seeing Ghana remain the most stable and successful democracy in the region.

She said the British High Commission, in collaboration with other diplomatic missions, would deploy observers across the country to witness the democratic process firsthand. 

The 66th Annual General Conference of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) is underway at Sokode-Lokoe in the Volta Region.

A two-day fish fair has been held at the Adisadel Park in Cape Coast, aimed at promoting safe fish certification and connecting fish processors to consumers.

About 40 exhibitors, including fish processors with training on fish certification from across the Central Region, participated in the fair.

The fair was organised by the Central and Western Fishmongers Improvement Association (CEWEFIA), the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) and Hen Mpoano, with funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) under the Sustainable Oceans Project.

At the 56th session of the graduation ceremony of the School of Graduate Studies of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) in 2024, a member of the Guidance and Counselling Association of Ghana (GCAG), Dr Ben Bishop Nyanihorba Ayamba, graduated with a PhD degree in Guidance and Counselling.

Dr Ayamba is the first visually impaired student to have graduated with a PhD degree.

The Chancellor of the university, Sir Sam Esson Jonah, was impressed by his academic achievement and promised to offer him a prestigious cash award of $2,000. 

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has granted executive approval to elevate 15 Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) into municipal and metropolitan status.

It is pursuant to Section 3(1) of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) and based on a request from the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGDRD).

Donald Trump has alluded to wanting three terms as president. But is he really likely to try it, and is it even possible?

Donald Trump will be one of only two presidents to serve two non-consecutive terms after his US election win this week, second only to Grover Cleveland, who did it in the 1800s.

It's already a historic victory - but Mr Trump has made comments in the past hinting at a third term in office.

The US government has brought charges against an Iranian man in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate Donald Trump before he was elected as the next president.

The Department of Justice on Friday unsealed an indictment against Farhad Shakeri, 51, alleging he was tasked with “providing a plan” to kill Trump.

The US government said Mr Shakeri has not been arrested and is believed to be in Iran.

Nana Owusu Achiaw from the Sekyere Central District in Ashanti Region is the 2024 National Best Farmer.

For his prize, he receives a cash price of GH¢1million sponsored by the Agricultural Development Bank.

The first runner up is Nassam Fuseini from the Yendi Municipality in the Northern Region.

For his prize, he receives a tractor, trailer, Disc Plough and a Boom Sprayer sponsored by Exim Bank.

The Industrial and Labour Division of the Accra High Court has placed an injunction on the nationwide strike declared by the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG).

In an order for interim injunction, the court, presided over by Justice Frank Abodwe Rockson, on Friday (November 8, 2024) ordered CLOGSAG to call off the strike for 10 days and return to the negotiation table, as directed by the National Labour Commission.

The order by the court followed an ex parte application by the NLC.

After the expiration of the 10 days, the NLC has the option of applying for a further injunction from the court, but it could only do so by serving notice to CLOGSAG.

Canada on Wednesday ordered Chinese-owned TikTok's business in the country to be dissolved, citing national-security risks, but added the government was not blocking Canadians' access to the short-video app or their ability to create content.

"The government is taking action to address the specific national security risks related to ByteDance Ltd's operations in Canada through the establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc," Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a statement.

Champagne said it is important for Canadians to adopt good cybersecurity practices, including protecting their personal information.

Billionaire Elon Musk has reacted to his transdaughter's latest statement.

The government, through the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod), is converting the Cocobod Scholarships Scheme, which operated at the senior high school level, into scholarships at the tertiary level.

The decision comes in the wake of the successful implementation of the Free Senior High School programme, which caters for the
tuition, feeding, accommodation, books and uniforms - some of which were covered by the scholarship.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has formally received the credentials of Khalid bin Jabr Al Musallam, who assumes his role as Qatar’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Ghana. The ceremony took place today at the Jubilee House in Accra.

During the event, Ambassador Al Musallam extended greetings from the Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, conveying His Highness’s well wishes for President Akufo-Addo’s health and happiness, as well as the prosperity of Ghana’s government and its people.

President Akufo-Addo reciprocated by expressing his own greetings to the Amir, wishing him good health and continued progress for Qatar. 

Former Stanbic Bank CEO, Alhassan Andani, has voiced strong criticism of Ghana’s tax administration, describing the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) as operating like a “terrorist organisation” in its interactions with the private sector.

Speaking at the recent Ghana CEO-Presidential Gala Dinner, Mr Andani argued that the current tax regime stifles business growth, hinders cash flow, and inadvertently promotes corruption within the private sector. 

The Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama says the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has pushed many Ghanaians into poverty through “reckless” borrowing and economic mismanagement. 

Speaking at a rally at Kasoa in the Awutu Senya East Constituency of the Central Region on Friday, Mr Mahama said a recent complaint by the CEO of Mikado, Dr Michael Agyekum Addo [KAMA] who said he was struggling financially due to the government's debt exchange programme and his eventual death last week was one of the examples that the government has pushed many into debt.

Mr Mahama emphasised that the debt exchange programme, necessitated by the government's $11.5 billion overborrowing, had devastating effects on many citizens, including the CEO of Mikado, who lost his life savings and eventually passed away. 

Guinness World Records (GWR) has rejected an attempt by popular Ghanaian TikToker Clementina Nkrumah, known as Afua Nash, to break the record for the longest eating marathon. 

Afua Nash had planned to launch into a continuous four-day, seven-hour, and 20-minute eating challenge starting Monday, November 11, 2024.

In response to a social media post promoting her intended record attempt, GWR clarified that it no longer recognises records based on extended eating duration.

The recruitment process for the Ghana Immigration Service in 2024 has reached the body selection, document assessment and medical screening stage.

Successful applicants who responded to the recruitment exercise advertised on August 7, 2024 have therefore been advised to report for the next stage of the exercise.

In a statement issued by the Head of Public Affairs, Assistant Commissioner of Immigration, Michael Amoako-Atta, it was announced that the recruitment process has now moved to the next stage, which includes body selection, document assessment, and medical screening.

Before putting pen to paper, I checked on the Bank of Ghana’s website to ascertain approved digital lending applications and I could count only one: Fido Micro Credit Limited. However, a little foray into Google Playstore and one could count several unlicensed loan applications. Indeed, in June 2023, the Bank of Ghana issued warning to the public and published names of about 97 lending applications operating illegally.

The rise of these unlicensed loan applications in Ghana has become a concerning trend, posing significant risks to both the financial system and the individuals who patronize these services. These apps, often operating outside the legal framework and sometimes outside the boundaries of Ghana, offer quick and easy access to loans but come with hidden dangers that can lead to financial ruin, data theft, and even money laundering. 

Ghana and Ivory Coast have reached an agreement to conduct a regular joint inspection along the two countries' international maritime boundaries in compliance with the ruling of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

The move is aimed to ensure that firms exploring oil on the high seas from the two countries are kept at bay and also to prevent future territorial disputes and safeguard their respective marine resources and economic interests.

Consequently, a joint naval operation from both countries would be conducted along the respective territories from next year to protect their sovereign rights and jurisdiction over maritime areas.

Ghana has made a significant entrance into the top 10 most common countries of birth for non-UK-born mothers in England and Wales, as reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for 2023.

This marks Ghana’s first appearance on the list, taking ninth place, while Germany, a fixture in the top 10 since ONS began recording this measure in 2003, has dropped out.

The report shows that nearly a third of live births in England and Wales last year (31.8 percent) were to mothers born outside the UK, up slightly from 30.3 percent in 2022.

The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has called on the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, to demonstrate true statesmanship and respect the rule of law.

He said the Speaker must refrain from putting up non-reconciliatory postures and stop supervising the chaos and lawlessness that was currently unfolding in Parliament.

The failure of the Speaker to direct the Minority members to go back to their seat on his left side during proceedings yesterday amounted to supervising chaos and bringing the image of democracy into disrepute.

The Electoral Commission (EC) has reiterated that the final voters register for the December 7 polls it presented to the various political parties and independent presidential candidates last Wednesday remains the true certified copy of the register.

It has therefore dismissed an assertion by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that "the fact that there's no summary or detailed statistics of the voters register makes it not certified."

The Deputy Director of Elections and Information Technology (IT) of the NDC, Dr Rashid Tanko Computer, last Wednesday night returned the party's soft copy of the register to the commission, saying the NDC would not take it back until it received the summaries or detailed statistics of the register.

The 16-year-old boy who rammed into another car at East Legon, killing two people as a result, has once more been remanded.