On Saturday, former President John Dramani Mahama won the African Advancement Award for Exemplary Leadership at the 2024 African Heritage Awards Ceremony in Lagos, Nigeria.

The prize recognised economic policies executed during his term, as well as significant infrastructural projects to benefit livelihoods, such as attempts to alleviate power shortages and increase employment creation through agricultural growth.

The Heritage Times of Nigeria organised the award system to recognise notable African inventors, entrepreneurs, and groups.

Former Botswana President Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama presided over the 2024 ceremony, which was the second event.

Mr Mahama took to Facebook to thank the staff that diligently supported him throughout his presidency, as well as the organisers, for the honour.

“This honour motivates me to become an even greater leader. Thank you to HERITAGE TIMES for this acknowledgment. It will take pride of place in my office if I am re-elected president. Thank you for your continuing support. “Together, we can accomplish great things for Ghana,” he wrote.

Some Ghanaian students studying in Serbia claim they are experiencing substantial hardship as a result of delayed stipends from the Scholarship Secretariat.

These stipends, intended to assist academic activities, have been static for almost a year, hurting their education and mental health as they negotiate life in a strange nation.

Citi News’ interviews with some students indicated that their livelihoods are mainly reliant on debt or low-wage employment.

Abdul Salam Mohammed, a Ghanaian student in Serbia, stated, “We arrived in May [2023] and haven’t gotten our stipends since last year, so it’s been over 11 months. Despite our continual contact with the Secretariat, nothing has been done to address the issue, which has been a difficulty for us. Many of us are adjusting by taking on various menial occupations, which is having an impact on our academic performance.

Another student, who requested anonymity, remarked, “I arrived in Serbia last year, and the primary issue here is money. We struggle to meet many of our demands here, which has an impact on our studies, which is the primary reason we are in this nation. We borrow money from our countrymen and those from other African nations to feed themselves. Even getting to the main campus for lectures requires taking the bus, and if we don’t have the money, how will we learn?”

These discussions about scholarships have heated up following an investigative report by The Fourth Estate, which revealed instances of influential individuals and associates of powerful figures receiving scholarships, deviating from the Scholarship Secretariat’s intended purpose of assisting academically gifted but financially needy students, both locally and globally.

This discovery has sparked widespread indignation, particularly since some international students continue to suffer from delayed stipends, impeding their academic efforts.

Ghanaian students in Hungary have the same thoughts.

Meanwhile, Dr. Peter Anti Partey, Executive Secretary of the Institute for Education Studies, has termed the situation as ‘unfortunate’ and urged for a Presidential intervention to remedy the problem.

“It is a bit strange because while these huge sums of money are being given to people, others are out there complaining that monies supposed to be paid them haven’t been received. It’s a messy situation, and that’s why we think that it shouldn’t be limited to the Office of the Special Prosecutor but also the President must make an intervention, and set up a commission of enquiry and at the end of the day we can have far-reaching recommendations that would reform the scholarship secretariat.”

Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, Ghana’s Finance Minister, has promised Ghanaians that the government will not burden them with more taxes.

Rather, the government would ’employ the hard method’ to collect income from individuals who have not been paying the required taxes, as well as those who have evaded taxes in the country.

Dr Amin Adam stated this at a press briefing on Saturday, April 13, after Ghana secured a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the country’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement.

The Minister stated that the suspension of the 15% Value Added Tax (VAT) on electricity use and the GHS100 yearly fee on owners of petrol and diesel cars had resulted in a GHS1.8 billion revenue deficit.

He stated that there was an urgent need to generate income by the implementation of the US$3 billion loan-support plan, but the government was also mindful not to burden Ghana’s few taxpayers.

As a result, the government would be steadfast in ensuring the successful execution of income-generating measures stated in both the 2023 and 2024 budgets but not effectively implemented.

“We are determined to collect taxes from those who have not paid or evaded taxes.” To generate the desired revenue to fill the gap created by the tax suspension,” he stated.

Dr. Amin Adam also noted that the government was pursuing tax administration changes to guarantee that accurate assessments were performed and that people were required to pay the necessary taxes to the state in the simplest and quickest manner feasible.

The Minister was keen to point out that aggressive income collection alone would not be optimal for the country, thus there would also be a focus on spending rationalisation.

In response to a query from the Ghana News Agency on realistic expenditure management methods, he noted that the government was executing an arrears-clearing plan to resolve outstanding payments.

It was also adding additional agencies to the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) to prevent state institutions from exceeding their budgets or incurring unauthorised expenditures.

Dr Amin Adam stated that the government understood the difficulties that Ghanaians, both people and enterprises, had to face as a result of the execution of reforms under the continuing IMF loan-support programme.

While praising Ghanaians for their efforts since the programme’s start in May 2023, he asked them to be patient and sacrificial.

“Some of the reforms that we’re implementing are biting, but I know that we’ll persevere and lead together, and ensure that the benefits of the fiscal consolidation will bring significant relief to the people of Ghana so that we can be counted once again as one of the fastest growing in the world,” he told reporters.

Ms Julie Essiam, the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), offered more information on the alternative revenue mobilisation initiatives to close the GHS1.8 billion revenue deficit caused by the suspension of two tax handles.

She stated that the Commission has increased efforts to guarantee the efficient application of compliance procedures governing resident Ghanaians’ foreign income in the nation.

GRA and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have gone through credible and sustainable institutions to guarantee that the power and waste pollution levy achieves the GHS1.8 billion income that was expected.

Dr Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring that state institutions worked to shift the narrative of election spending impeding economic growth in the country.

“In Ghana’s recent history, we have not been able to successfully implement an IMF-supported programme in an election year without derailment,” the head of the Central Bank of Ghana remarked.

“The government and central bank are working to change the narrative…”And we will remain committed to ensuring that programme implementation remains firm,” he added.

Meanwhile, the IMF Board is set to accept Ghana’s GHS$360 million third tranche in June this year, after a staff-level agreement agreed between Ghanaian authorities and the IMF Mission team.

This would increase the entire payout for Ghana’s ECF arrangement, backed by the country’s Post-COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG), to US$1.56 billion.

The government has already received US$1.2 billion from the first two tranches since the beginning of the US$3 billion three-year IMF loan-support programme.

The initiative aims to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, strengthen resilience, and set the groundwork for greater and more equitable growth.