Nana Akufo-Addo - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Faye sworn in as Senegal president, cites ‘profound desire for change’

SENEGAL'S once jailed opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye was sworn in as the West African nation's fifth and youngest president ever, promising to restore stability and bring economic progress. The 44-year-old former tax inspector defeated Amadou Ba, the candidate of outgoing President Macky Sall's ruling coalition, by a landslide in the first round of voting, reflecting high hopes for change in the country of around 18 million. "The results of the election showed a profound desire for change," Faye said after taking the oath of office at a ceremony he attended with his two wives. Over a dozen heads of state and regional representatives…

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

Ghana parliament speaker criticises president for delaying anti-LGBTQ bill

NEWS

GHANA'S speaker of parliament has said President Nana Akufo-Addo's refusal to act on an anti-LGBTQ bill for the time being was unconstitutional and that parliament would stop approving new ministerial appointments. One of Africa's harshest anti-LGBTQ laws, unanimously passed by Ghana's parliament last month, has been on hold since the president's office said it would wait for the outcome of two legal challenges before the law goes to Akufo-Addo for assent. The decision to wait came after a finance ministry warning that the bill could jeopardise $3.8 million in World Bank financing and derail a $3-billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan package. But it has sparked…

Mar

2024

By PELUMI SALAKO

Could Ghana’s tough anti-LGBTQ+ bill be blocked over economic fears?

NEWS

PARLIAMENT'S approval of a bill cracking down on LGBTQ+ people in Ghana has raised fears in the government that the country could lose international aid vital to help its economy recover from a deep crisis. If President Nana Akufo-Addo ignores Finance Ministry advice and signs the bill into law, penalties for gay sex would be toughened and new offences introduced. Akufo-Addo has said he will wait for the outcome of a Supreme Court challenge over the constitutionality of the bill, which the Finance Ministry has warned could jeopardise nearly $4 billion in World Bank financing. Here's what you need to know.…

Mar

2024

By RACHEL SAVAGE

Ghana’s president says anti-LGBTQ bill has not reached his desk

NEWS

AN anti-LGBTQ bill passed by Ghana's parliament last week, which could derail international aid for the West African country if it becomes law according to an internal government memo, has not yet reached the desk of President Nana Akufo-Addo, he said on Monday. In his first comments on the bill's passage, he said Ghana would not backslide on its human rights record and added that the bill had been challenged in the Supreme Court. "I have learnt that today, a challenge has been mounted at the Supreme Court," Akufo-Addo said in a statement. "In the circumstances, it would be as well…

Feb

2024

By MAXWELL AKALAARE ADOMBILA

Ghana’s new finance minister pledges to keep IMF programme on track

BUSINESS

GHANA'S new finance minister, Mohammed Amin Adam, pledged to keep its $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme on track as it aims to finish restructuring its overseas debt before an election in December. President Nana Akufo-Addo replaced Ken Ofori-Atta with Adam, a petroleum economist who was minister of state at the finance ministry, in a cabinet reshuffle after criticism of the ex-banker's leadership during the West African country's worst economic crisis in a generation. Ofori-Atta negotiated the IMF bailout loan to address the crisis, which saw inflation and debt servicing costs spiral upwards in 2022. He was, alongside Adam, seeking relief…

Feb

2024

By CHRISTIAN AKORLIE and MAXWELL AKALAARE ADOMBILA

Ghana president replaces finance minister in reshuffle

NEWS

GHANA'S president has replaced finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta in a cabinet reshuffle after criticism of the ex-banker's leadership during the West African country's worst economic crisis in a generation. The office of President Nana Akufo-Addo said that Ofori-Atta would be replaced by Mohammed Amin Adam, currently the minister of state at the finance ministry and previously deputy energy minister responsible for the petroleum sector. It did not give a reason for the change. Ofori-Atta has been overseeing Ghana's debt restructuring efforts after the West African gold, oil and cocoa producer defaulted on most of its external debt in December 2022.…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Africa seeks action plan on slavery reparations at Ghana conference

NEWS

FINANCIAL reparations are long overdue to Africans and the diaspora as compensation for the enslavement of people of African descent, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo said on the first day of a conference on how to address such historical injustices. Advocates have long called for paying reparations or making other amends for slavery, but the movement has recently gained momentum worldwide amid growing from African and Caribbean countries. "No amount of money can restore the damage caused by the transatlantic slave trade ... But surely, this is a matter that the world must confront and can no longer ignore," Akufo-Addo said, launching the…

Oct

2021

By The African Mirror

Ghana president calls for tolerance as parliament considers anti-LGBT+ law

LGBT+

GHANAIAN President Nana Akufo-Addo on Thursday emphasised the need for civil debate and tolerance as parliament works towards a vote on a controversial bill that would make it a crime to be gay, bisexual or transgender. The so-called family values bill has dismayed the local LGBT+ community and prompted U.N. human rights experts to warn it could establish a system of state-sponsored discrimination and violence. Gay sex is already punishable with up to three years in jail in Ghana, where homophobic persecution is widespread, but the draft law would criminalise being LGBT+ or advocating for LGBT+ rights, and impose longer…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Defiant junta rejects pressure to let Conde leave Guinea

NEWS

SALIOU SAMB GUINEA’S military junta has refused to bow to regional pressure and allow President Alpha Conde, detained since his overthrow on September 5, to leave the country. On Friday Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara and Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo paid a one-day visit to Conakry to ask coup leader Mamady Doumbouya, a special forces commander and former French Legionnaire, for Conde's release. Ouattara had been hoping to leave Guinea with Conde, a senior regional government official told Reuters. "The former president is and remains in Guinea. We will not yield to any pressure," the junta said in a statement…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Ghana opposition supporters march

NEWS

CHRISTIAN AKORLIE HUNDREDS of opposition supporters have marched through the streets of Ghana's capital Accra, demonstrating against what they described as rising insecurity and lawlessness since President Nana Akufo-Addo came to power in 2017. Wearing mostly red or black, the youth wing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) danced through the streets with signs such as "You tweeted for George Floyd... Ghanaians have died, speak up!". Accompanied by the honking of motorcycles and music blasting from pick-up trucks, the group delivered a petition to the offices of the president and the speaker of parliament. The marchers pointed to a string…