Ghana lost a whopping $4.9 billion through illicit financial flows from 1970 to 2008 in the extractive sector.

President John Dramani Mahama and the Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Mr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, yesterday went to the residence of Mrs Theodosia Okoh at Kanda in Accra to personally apologise to her for the botched renaming of the National Hockey Pitch after the late President John Evans Atta Mills.

Lawyers for President John Dramani Mahama, have called on the Supreme Court to dismiss the case of the petitioners in the ongoing presidential election petition because they have failed to prove their allegations.

VIVO Energy, the company formed by Vitol, Helios Investment Partners and Shell to distribute and market Shell- branded fuels and lubricants across Africa, has acquired majority shareholding in Shell Ghana Limited.

The petitioners in the 2012 presidential election challenge say that they have succeeded in producing a “mountain” of evidence sufficient enough to discharge the burden of proof placed on them and to obtain a favourable decision from the Supreme Court.

A magistrate court at Bibiani in the Western Region has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of a 45-year-old district manager of a cocoa purchasing company for absconding with GH¢212,000 meant for the purchase of cocoa beans.

Eight suspected robbers went on a robbery spree at Asonkore, a suburb of Obuasi, yesterday and raided five houses at gunpoint, including the Lin’s Guest House.

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has arrived in Kampala, Uganda, to address the 90th anniversary celebration of Makerere University on the theme: “Oil Resource Management and its Utilisation for Economic Transformation: The Case of Ghana.”

Three Christian groups have called on their members to fast and intensify their prayers to ensure the sustenance of peace and tranquillity in the country, especially after the Supreme Court delivers its verdict on the election petition.

All-Time Capital, a mutual fund established three years ago, has launched a bond fund that targets corporate and individual investors who are conscious of the various risks associated with investments in the country.

An oil revenue management report has recommended the introduction of a Public Investment Management Plan (PIMP) to guide the efficient management of oil and gas revenues.

Controversy is raging about the arrest of a suspect in last Tuesday’s armed robbery at the Fumesua branch of the Juaben Rural Bank, following the insistence of the Ashanti Regional chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), that the suspect did not take part in the violent attack.

A national stakeholders forum to review the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) has been slated for August 6 and 7, 2013.

The Juaben Rural Bank in the Ashanti Region last year supported the agricultural sector to improve  production, as well as the  income of farmers.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, has reminded personnel of the Ghana Police Service never to shoot to kill or to brutalise people as they prepare for the aftermath of the Supreme Court verdict.

Welding works on the 111-kilometre onshore gas distribution pipelines that will transport gas from the Processing Plant at Atuabo to the Aboadze Thermal Plant have been completed.

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku has said cordial relations with the media, cooperation and collaboration in churning out what is mostly good for national unity and progress is the way  forward. He has, therefore, called for mutual respect and recognition of the role of the media in society as not a passive mirror, but rather, “a mirror with eyes , ears and above all a voice especially for the voiceless guaranteed by the national constitution.” At a press soiree for the Ashanti Regional Branch of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) at his official residency in Kumasi on Tuesday, the Regional Minister  stressed the need for public officials and the media personnel to work to sustain the crusade against indiscipline, insanitary conditions, self-helplessness and over dependence on government and yet refuse to be tax-compliant. As Ghanaians await the outcome of the 2012 Election petition, Mr Opoku challenged media personnel to market the country as a stable, united and peace loving society. He also asked the media to consider the possibility of a cease-fire" by way of suspending panel discussions on the election petition trial at the Supreme Court as soon as the parties conclude their addresses.” He also charged the public and questioned on  how  individuals and public officials pursue the public interest with dedication and patriotism and the recognition that the best public relations (PR) was to do the right thing at the right time and at the right place but not to be reckless. and when taken on, turn round to blame the press. The press soiree which was attended by heads of department, metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCE's) afforded all who had gathered the opportunity to socialise as partners and leaders of the region to discuss issues bordering on the development of the region and the country as a whole.  The President of the Ashanti Chapter of the GJA, Mr Listowell Yesu Bukarson on behalf of the members of the GJA, commended the Regional Minister for the interaction. He pledged that the GJA would work in close collaboration with the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) to enhance effective and efficient administration .  By Nana Yaw Barimah/Daily Graphic/Ghana

The Founder of the International Foundation for Africa Innovation, Professor Kwaku Atuahene-Gima, has called for the establishment of a national leadership centre to groom leaders to transform the economic fortunes of the continent.

“Too little, too late” was the response of university lecturers to the government’s announcement of the payment of GH¢25 million to members of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG).

A 28-year-old police constable,  Agyei Perry, met his untimely death in the early hours of yesterday when an articulated truck ran over him at a barrier near the Oduom railway crossing in Kumasi.