ARIWO !

Benin sacks minister in swindle probe

 

Reuters/Cotonou

Benin’s President Boni Yayi has sacked his interior minister, the government said yesterday, accusing him of involvement in a financial scheme that may have swindled thousands of people out of 100bn CFA francs ($192.1mn).

At least 100,000 people took to the streets this week to demand the government of the West African country help them reclaim money from ICC Services.

The government said in a statement the interior minister, Armand Zinzindohoue, is “blamed for his direct involvement” in the affair.

Clients deposited money with ICC Services on promises they would profit by putting their money into accounts bearing interest rates of up to 50%, 20 times more than other banks. They later found they could not withdraw it again.

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GHANA: Cell phones cut maternal deaths

 

Photo: Evans Mensah/IRIN

Internet and cell phone access has cut maternal deaths say officials

BONSAASO, 1 December 2009 (IRIN) - Cell phones have cut dramatically the number of women dying during childbirth in Amensie village in south-central Ghana, according to local health officials.
Health and aid workers say while other improvements in primary healthcare in Amensie - as part of the Millennium Villages project - have contributed to the drop, the availability of cell phones has been pivotal.
“When we did not have mobile telecommunication, women were dying,” district nurse Madam Lydia Owusu told IRIN. “It was horrifying to be pregnant here before this project came along…Mothers used to bleed to death while waiting in their homes, hoping a health worker would come to help them.”
“We have not recorded a single maternal death in Amensie village since 2006 when this project started,” she said.
Before cell phone and internet technology were introduced to Amensie, some 20 women died in childbirth each year, according to Owusu. In 2008 none did.
On average 560 women die during childbirth or from pregnancy complications per 100,000 live births in Ghana, according to the UN. 
Amensie resident Juliet Asante, 35, cradled her two-week-old son as she told IRIN: “My first child died during delivery. It was painful because I now know she had to die so that I can live.”
Asante’s mother supervised the delivery of the first child at home because the family could not reach the ambulance or the district’s only midwife, Asante said.

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Ghana, China Celebrate 50 Years Of Diplomatic Relations

 

Symbolizing the People's Republic of China's eagerness to win new friends in Africa, Mao Tse-Tung (right) extends the hand of friendship to Ghana's President Kwame Nkrumah at a July 28, 1962 meeting in Hangchow, China.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos

Ghana, China Celebrate 50 Years Of Diplomatic Relations
Date: 05-Jul-2010
Monday, July 5, marked exactly 50 years when Ghana and China
established diplomatic relations.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional
Integration said in furtherance of their commitment to strengthening
and deepening relations, the two countries released congratulatory
messages for and on behalf of their Presidents and Foreign Ministers
simultaneously in each other's capital

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Gladys Knight unveils jewelry line at Essence fest

By Antracia Merrill-Moorings

Gladys’ Jewels: Grammy-winning R&B icon Gladys Knight unveiled her new jewelry line in New Orleans during the Essence Music Festival on Independence Day Weekend. “I am so grateful for this opportunity to continue to express my love to my fans. My jewelry is an extension of my music, which is an extension of my heart and soul,” said Knight. “To have this opportunity to employ workers in Ghana and create jewelry that is environmentally friendly, while at the same time affordable, is a dream come true!” The singer, who was also one of the headliners at the Essence Music Festival, has partnered with the LaRoda Group and Robert Rose Jewelry on the bauble line, which is a collection of earrings, necklaces and bracelets. Many of the pieces are crafted from recycled materials and include handcrafted beads produced by West African artisans and cooperatives, as well as semiprecious elements…

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The oil boost is timely for Ghana

 By Daniel Maalo | Published: 06 July, 2010

 

Fuelling prosperity: the Tema oil refinery near Ghana's capital, Accra

Ghana's entry into the club of African oil producers has placed its economy in the spotlight, with revenues from its up-and-coming oil industry expected to address the country's fiscal deficit. Writer Daniel Maalo

With production expected to start later this year, Ghana's oil fields are expected to provide a much needed boon to an economy that has shown signs of a slowdown in recent times. Ghana's economic growth slowed to 4.7% last year, its lowest rate since 2002, after reaching a high of 7.3% in 2008. This development was compounded by the fact that the country's economy had averaged a 6% growth rate over the previous five years.

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Nigeria reverses ban and team to disband

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's president on Monday lifted a ban on its soccer team playing in international competitions after the football federation (NFF) said it would disband and rebuild the side.

"(The NFF) assured the president of their commitment to evolving an enduring football development program, and grow a new senior national team that will bring glory rather than consistent embarrassment to Nigeria on the world stage," the presidency said in a statement…

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