Pope Francis offers hope to divorced Catholics, says no to gay marriage...

He called for divorced and remarried Catholics to participate more fully in church life. But he closed the door on gay marriage. He quotes Jorge Luis Borges and Jesus Christ. There is an entire chapter on Love.
But more than anything, Pope Francis’s long awaited document on family life, released Friday by the Vatican, amounts to an exultation of traditional marriage while recognizing that life, in his own words, isn’t always “perfect.” Yet rather than judging, he commanded, the church should be a pillar of support.

Mills’ ghost haunting NDC executives - Ken Agyapong

The ghost of Ghana’s former President, John Evans Atta Mills is said to be haunting some top gurus of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). 

According to New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, the ghost of the late leader, whose cause of death is yet to be made public, has been preventing many of top NDC gurus from having a good night sleep. 

“Mills’ ghost is working a lot oo, you have no idea…some people now can’t sleep, they wake up at mid-night and start screaming ‘woreba oo, woreba oo’ [to wit: he is coming after me]….,” he alleged on Oman FM on Tuesday. 

Prof Mills died suddenly on July 24, 2012 when he was preparing to seek a second term in office but the circumstances surrounding his death have still not been made public.

Four years down the line, the NPP legislator claims he has information to the effect that the ghost of the late law professor has been going after some top members of the NDC. 

The situation, he claimed, had made many of them turn to drinking heavily before going to bed as a panacea to avoiding seeing the apparition. 

“As early as 3:00pm, some of them start drinking…then in the middle of the night they wake up and start screaming, calling for help…their wives have no option apart from calling friends to tell them of their predicaments…”, he said. 

Ken Agyapong could not however tell the source of his information.

Five injured In fight with cutlass over missing cow

Five persons at Buipe in the Northern region are in critical condition at the Yazuri Hospital, following injuries they sustained during a bloody machete clash over a stolen cow Saturday afternoon, local police have said. 

The victims include three Fulani herdsmen and two local farmers, an eyewitness said. 

According to the Central Gonja district deputy Police commander, ASP Kwame Boadi the victims hacked themselves with cutlasses in a disagreement over a cow. 

ASP Boadi narrated to Starr News that the Fulani herdsmen were searching for their lost cow when they found the two locals in a bush at a community called Lito butchering an animal.

The herdsmen upon suspicion confronted the farmers and according to ASP Boadi, a confusion ensued and the five violently attacked themselves with cutlasses and inflicted wounds to very sensitive parts of their bodies. 

"The Fulanis own the cattle and the two locals; one Gonja and one Dagomba stole their cow, so when they were looking for the cow, they saw these two men who had started cutting the meat of the animal, they confronted them and a fight ensued between five of them and they hacked themselves," ASP Kwame Boadi. 

The five are currently being treated for first degree wounds at the hospital. 

The Police said they will face investigations after they recuperate.

I did not ask my wife to sleep around

Former Ghanaian international, Nii Odartey Lamptey has rubbished rumors that, he asked his former wife to sleep with other men to get pregnant because he was impotent. 

Speaking for the first time since his marriage to his former wife collapsed due to infidelity in 2013, the former Anderlecht Star said he never asked his wife to sleep around. 

“Never, never…which man in his right senses would say that,” Odartey Lamptey told Starr FM in an interview. 

The 41-year-old after sensing marriage infidelity on the part of his wife proceeded to conduct a DNA test only to realize that, all the three children were not his biological children. 

And according to Lamptey, the case is still in court and is hoping that a ruling is delivered soon. 

“I don’t think if you are married to a woman and you leave for even two years it is not justified for the woman to cheat…I have always been with her in all the countries I played football so there is no justification,” he said.

Asked how he managed to find out about his former wife’s infidelity, the former U-17 World Cup winner answered,”I am more than Anas.” 

During his career he played as a striker from 1990 until 2008 notably for Aston Villa, PSV Eindhoven, Coventry City and the Ghana national football team. 

He is known foremost for his erratic career, in which he became a superstar as a teenager and then suffered a long string of failures which burnt him out well before his time. 

Lamptey has been used as a byword for a cautionary tale of putting too much pressure on young players to be successful. 

He also played for Anderlecht, Venezia, Unión Santa Fe, Ankaragücü, União Leiria, Greuther Fürth, Shandong Luneng, Al-Nassr, Asante Kotoko and Jomo Cosmos.

Fitch predicts fiscal slippage ahead of 2016 elections

Credit ratings agency Fitch is unconvinced about government’s commitment to stay within its budget estimates ahead of November’s elections, predicting that fiscal overruns will rise to 6.3 percent -- above government’s target of 5.3 percent. 

“Fiscal slippage ahead of the November elections would increase inflationary and financing pressures. A further decline in commodity prices would negatively impact growth and exacerbate Ghana's twin deficits. 

“The 2016 budget calls for a further narrowing of the deficit to 5.3% of GDP. However, Fitch believes that the narrowing will be smaller and forecasts a 2016 fiscal deficit of 6.3 percent,” the agency said. 

Despite predicting fiscal slippage ahead of the elections, the ratings agency affirmed Ghana’s long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at 'B' with a Negative Outlook. 

A statement issued by the ratings agency last week stated that Ghana’s fiscal and external deficits leave the country vulnerable to domestic and external shocks, including low oil prices and tight financing conditions. 

“The result has been lower growth (4.1 percent in 2015) and a public debt to GDP ratio of 72 percent, well above the 'B' median of 47 percent. Fitch forecasts that economic growth will increase to 5.4% in 2016 and that public debt will peak this year. However, downside risks remain,” Fitch said. 

The agency however lauded the country’s progress on fiscal consolidation in 2015 when the fiscal deficit was narrowed to an estimated 7.2% of GDP from 10.2% in 2014, largely on account of the US$918mn Extended Credit Facility arrangement with the IMF. 

The Fund programme is credited with helping government keep expenditures in line with a revised 2015 budget, while earning revenues in excess of what was forecasted in the budget.

The 2016 growth outlook, Fitch said, is dependent on a combination of domestic and external factors. Domestically, oil and gas production will increase as the Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme oil fields come online in August and add 23,000 barrels per day in oil production; and associated gas exploitation will bring an approximated 50 percent increase in gas production. 

In Fitch's view, the local currency will experience greater stability in 2016 and lower levels of depreciation. The agency expects the cedi to trade at an average exchange rate of 4.1/US$; this would be a depreciation of about 8% from the 2015 average compared with the 22% depreciation that the cedi experienced in the previous year. 

Policy rate, inflation et al 

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana chose to keep the monetary policy rate at 26 percent, after five rate hikes in 2015. The MPC noted that exchange rate stability had contributed to February monthly inflation dropping slightly, to 18.5% from 19% in January. 

Nevertheless, Fitch said inflation expectations remain high and the current level is still well above the target band of 8+/- 2%. The agency expects that the central bank will maintain a relatively tight monetary policy in 2016, which will be supportive of greater price and exchange rate stability. 

“The depreciating exchange rate has led to a deterioration in the asset quality of the Ghanaian banking sector. The ratio of non-performing loans (NPL) to total loans increased from 11% in June 2015 to 14% by October. Increasing NPLs are a risk, but overall the Ghanaian banking sector remains liquid and well-capitalised. 

“The rating is constrained by low GDP per capita, which at US$1,313 is less than half the 'B' median. However, the 7.2% annual growth rate that Ghana experienced in 2005-14 substantially increased the country's performance on human development indicators,” the ratings agency said.

INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE FOR THE DAY

Love is perfect, yes perfect! Just like God, it never failed. On board the bus of love, do not withhold any percentage of love to fall on in times of accidents (disappointments) when God is in the driver's seat.  

                                                            

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18. Keep loving

Reasons why Ghana is the best place to be on earth

Ghana, the acclaimed gateway to Africa, is my beloved motherland. I am proud to be a native Ghanaian. "I am not Ghanaian because I was born in Ghana, but because Ghana was born in me" - drawing inspiration from a famous quote by Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, our pre-eminent founding father. For if I had the chance to be reincarnated after my death, I would still want to be a Ghanaian. 

I recently read online that some 38 foreign nationals, including Americans, British, Spanish etc. have naturalised as Ghanaians. This evidences my profound assertion that Ghana is probably the best place to be in the world. 

Paradoxically, many Ghanaian folks migrate to Western countries in dire need of wealth while Ghana remains the country of limitless opportunities. Yes, our nation may have its shortcomings yet it is arguably the best place to be on planet earth. Here are the 7 salient reasons to validate my remarkable pronouncement: 

(1) Hospitability is our prime hallmark. 

You have obviously heard that, "Ghanaians are hospitable." Ghanaians are hospitable, at least towards foreigners. We are mostly friendly and welcoming to visitors or guests because that is a part of our cultural make-up. In fact, we are warm-hearted, neighbourly, accommodating and open-handed. Any average foreigner can attest to this attitude of ours. 

(2) Ghanaians are rarely satirical. 

The Ghanaian citizenry possess an atypical sense of satire in everyday life. Satire is in our blood and we sometimes play it carefully. We literally mock our wayward politicians on a daily basis, with the aim of demonising them and exposing their evil deeds. 

On social media especially, we often resort to biting satire of our unjust, wicked and corrupt system. And virtually no guilty person or institution can escape our sociopolitical satire. For satire enlightens the masses in unusual ways. 

(3) Ghana is the land of real peace. 

Okay, Ghana is the most peaceful country in Africa and beyond. Ghanaians abhor mass bloodshed. Look! Religion may have separated us, ethnicity may have disconnected us, politics may have divided us, and wealth may have classified us; however, we still coexist with one another in peace and togetherness.

(4) We have a stable democracy. 

Thank God Ghana has never experienced any civil war unlike most African countries. Though we have had several military interventions in the past after our independence; we now enjoy a stable democracy, where the people are sovereign under the rule of law in a free and open society with constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms. 

(5) Economic opportunities abound in our economy. 

Ghana may be the small West African country with insignificant presence in the world economy. Yet economic opportunities in various sectors of our resilient economy really abound. Why migrate to the Western world to seek greener pastures when you can make much money here like Sarkodie, Bola Ray, Despite, Nduom, and the like? 

People may claim that the Ghanaian economy is in the doldrums due to acutely unfavourable economic conditions. But with priceless passion, efficiency, hard work, smartness and innovation; one can make a rare fortune in the course of time. Need I say more?

(6) Ghana is a modern secular society. 

Should I say religious and cultural pluralism exist in Ghana? Well, Christianity, Islam, idolatry and the others are all guaranteed by Ghana's 1992 Constitution. In Ghana, everyone can practise his faith without fear since Ghana is neither a Christian country nor an Islamic nation. We are a modern secular society or a pluralist state. 

(7) We have a prestigious cultural heritage. 

Ghana boasts of a variety of prestigious cultures. The Ashanti Kingdom in particular, has gained worldwide recognition for its lasting, dynamic and especial nature. Indeed, a chunk of the Ghanaian people are true bearers of high Ghanaian culture which is inseparable from our national spirit. 

God bless mother Ghana...