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Chale News
October 23, 2024

Chaaaaaleee, happy Wednesday, happy humpday, happy mid-week!

Hope your day is going good. Here are a bunch of stories to make it great.

  • Business: Fishermen in Sege are ranting about delayed premix fuel, wild black market prices, and high-cost fishing gear.

  • National: Supreme Court moves be like, “Whose side you on?!” – Tony Aidoo spills the tea.

  • Economic: The BECE results are coming… just maybe not as fast as we all hoped, but WAEC’s got you!

  • Economic: Ghana’s economy might be taking baby steps now, but hey, we could be sprinting soon according to the IMF.

  • Politics: Is the Presidency up for sale? Hassan Ayariga is speaking

  • Fact of the Day: 174 years ago today, something happened. But what?

  • Politics: Hassan Ayariga takes aim at Alan Kyerematen and Cheddar, claims they offer nothing new.

  • Politics: Ayariga proposes a 50% refund of visa fees for denied applicants and demands embassies provide written explanations.

  • Politics: NPP MPs get the side-eye from Ayariga for delaying parliament business!

QUICK BYTE

  • Fishermen in Sege are straight-up fed up! Imagine waiting six months for premix fuel, only to be left with no choice but to cough up GH¢400 per gallon on the black market. And that’s not all—outboard motors have jumped from GH¢10,000 to a jaw-dropping GH¢50,000! Yhup, things are that wild out there. As the December elections creep up, these folks are ready to cast their votes for whoever can sort out this mess and bring the costs down. Want the deets in full? Check out the Deep Dive section.

  • Ghana’s growth is looking like that friend who always shows up late to the party but makes a grand entrance anyway. The IMF just dropped their 2024 growth projection for us at a modest 3%. That’s not too far off from the government’s own 3.1% estimate, but there’s a little twist—IMF’s hinting it might revise the number before the year wraps up. And the World Bank’s already throwing in some optimism with a 4% guess-timate. Either way, there’s a vibe that we’re about to pick up the pace. Get the 411 in the Deep Dive section below

  • According to Hassan Ayariga, the presidency isn’t the respected gig it used to be. He believes politics has become a “money game,” and leaders care more about stacking paper than actually serving the people. Basically, it’s like voting for who’s got the flashiest bank account, not the biggest brain. Scary part? He says if we keep this up, foreign interests might just run the country. Read more in the Deep Dive Section.

  • Tony Aidoo is not feeling the Supreme Court’s latest vibes. Feels like you’re at a party, and the DJ (aka the Supreme Court) switches up the playlist (aka rules that four parliamentary seats are vacant), only to rewind the track when a few party-goers (some NPP MPs) complain. Now, the Supreme Court says those MPs can keep dancing (stay in Parliament) until the final tune drops. Aidoo's all like, “Yo, you didn’t even check with the host (Parliament) before changing the vibe!” Dr. Aidoo's warning the Court not to become that friend who takes sides in group drama. Read more

  • If you're biting your nails waiting for those BECE results, WAEC says, "Chill, we got this." While some results are still on hold because of a few "oops moments" (ahem, exam malpractices), the rest are under the magnifying glass. With 33 school and 3 private candidates’ results still withheld for some good ol' detective work, WAEC promises they’re working around the clock to release them soon.

    Parents, no need to panic— results are coming; just give it a minute. Read more

FACT OF THE DAY

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On this day in 1850, Worcester was lit! The first Women’s Rights Convention dropped there on October 23. Majority of the attendees were men.

  • Hassan Ayariga isn’t holding back on his critiques, and this time, Alan Kyerematen and Nana Kwame Bediako (Cheddar) are in the hot seat. Ayariga claims Alan’s campaign is all talk and no solutions, especially since Alan was part of a government that, according to Ayariga, fumbled the economy. He even compared Alan’s Movement for Change with the NPP, saying it’s just a repackaging of the same old story. And about Cheddar? Ayariga says he doesn’t see any real game-changing ideas coming from the New Force candidate. Read more

  • If you’re planning a UK trip, there’s good news! VFS Global is now officially handling UK visa applications in Ghana, and it’s all about convenience. They’ve set up a snazzy new Visa Application Centre in Accra, where you can book appointments, get help uploading documents, and even opt for VIP services like submitting your application outside regular hours. Too busy to leave your crib? No worries, they’ll let you submit your app from home with their On Demand Mobile Visa service. The best part? You can even keep your passport while you wait for your visa decision! Read more

  • If Hassan Ayariga wins the 2024 election, Ghanaians could get 50% of their visa fees refunded if their applications are denied. He also plans to hold embassies accountable by requiring written reasons for visa denials, ensuring transparency in the process. Ayariga argues that visa fees should be tailored to an applicant's income and should be quoted in cedis, not foreign currency. According to him, embassies must provide detailed, written explanations for visa denials rather than simply issuing a generic refusal without context. Read more

  • So, the tea is that Parliament was supposed to handle business as usual, but guess who ghosted? The NPP MPs, led by Afenyo-Markin! Ayariga is seriously shading them for messing with government business and wasting time. According to him, the NDC squad was ready to get things done, but Afenyo-Markin seemed more concerned about holding onto his title than handling business. Read more

DEEP DIVE

Sege Fisherfolk Rant About Premix Drama

The premix fuel wahala has got the fishermen in Sege straight-up stressing. Emmanuel Oman from Akplabanya gave us the tea on The Constituency show—apparently, the fuel that powers their boats shows up like a guest who only comes to weddings and funerals, once every six months! And guess what? They’re forced to hit the black market where it costs a whooping GH¢400 per gallon. To make a trip, they need at least 6 gallons, so if the fish don’t show up that day, it’s basically an expensive sea cruise. Ouch!

Kojo Odartey also dropped another bomb: it’s not just fuel—sometimes, the sea pulls a fast one and floods their homes like it’s auditioning for a disaster movie. And then there’s Samuel Alimbo, whose wallet is crying louder than his boat motor. Apparently, the price of an outboard motor went from GH¢10,000 to GH¢50,000. That’s a level-up nobody asked for!

Now with the elections around the corner, these fishermen are ready to vote for someone who'll actually fix things. Samuel hinted he might throw his vote behind Mahama, hoping for a better deal. His logic? If the price of an outboard motor stays this crazy, fishing in Sege might just become a thing of the past. Read more

Slow Burn

Ghana’s economy in 2024 is like waiting for your jollof rice to cook on low heat—it’s moving, but sloooow. The IMF says our growth rate is gonna hit 3%, which is basically like showing up to the group chat with half your homework done. But there’s hope! The government’s forecast was just 0.1% higher, and both numbers suggest we’re creeping along steadily, like that last-minute dash before the deadline.

IMF officials have hinted that this growth number could get a glow-up before the year’s out. They’re watching recent economic moves closely, and if all goes well, they might bump up the figures. It’s like going from a solid C in class to a sneaky B+. The World Bank’s already feeling the vibes, forecasting a possible 4% growth thanks to a surge in economic activity in the last couple of quarters. So, while we’re currently crawling, we could be cruising soon.

But now, inflation… ooof. Yeah, that’s still playing hard to get, with the IMF pegging it at 19.5% for 2024—higher than our BoG’s dream target. But hey, by 2025, they think we could finally break up with the projected 2024 IMF 19.5% and slide into 11.5%. So, we’re not saying goodbye to high inflation just yet, but we’re definitely waving from a distance. Read more

"Is the Presidency Up for Sale?”

The presidency used to be the ultimate gig for making a difference, but now it's like a low-budget reality show where the winner is whoever’s got the most cash. That’s exactly how Hassan Ayariga sees things, and he’s sounding the alarm.

He’s been in the game for over 12 years, so he knows the vibes. According to him, the whole point of running for president has gone from making Ghana better to just getting rich. And what’s worse? The very office of the presidency—once seen as the last stronghold of leadership—is being reduced to a side hustle. It's like the folks running for president are more interested in personal gain than national progress, and that’s messing up the political system.

Ayariga didn’t stop there. He’s worried that the increasing influence of foreign powers over Ghana’s resources and land might soon extend to politics. If money continues to rule, we could end up with a foreign-backed leader who isn’t even about that Ghanaian life. Talk about losing control of our own house. It’s a major red flag that Ayariga says we should all be waving.

So what’s the move? Ayariga’s dropping a challenge to Ghanaians: start voting with your brains, not your wallets. Find leaders who are actually about the people, not those looking for a big payday. Read more

NEWS SOURCES

Today’s stories are curated from: