A new survey conducted by Global Info Analytics, a polling company in Ghana, has revealed that 71% of citizens are of the view that, Ghana is headed in the wrong direction.
The poll also revealed that 60% of New Patriotic Party (NPP) affiliates disapprove of the path the country is headed while 81% of affiliates of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) also say the party is on the wrong path.
On the question of whether the NPP can “break the eight”, 24% of voters believe the party can “break-the-eight” whilst 59% said they can’t and 17% had no opinion.
The poll shows the president’s job approval rating has made a significant recovery from 26% in October, leaping to 32% in January 2023, whilst his disapproval declined sharply from 69% in October to 59% in January 2023.
The vice president enjoys 32% approval and 58% disapproval. In the case of Alan Kyerematen, 35% of voters approved of his performance as Trade and Industry minister whilst 45% disapprove of his performance.
The poll used a sample size of 5,844. The sample size was allocated to all the regions based on the total number of voters in each of the regions as per the Electoral Commission’s 2020 register.
A random selection of 30% of constituencies from each region was then selected and allocated the regional quota based on the total voters in each of those constituencies.
Respondents were selected randomly in the streets, homes and workplaces.
In the race to lead the NPP for the 2024 elections, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and Mr Kyerematen are tied with no clear favourite.
The poll conducted between 31st December 2022 and 15th January 2023, shows the race to lead the NPP is a dead heat among NPP voters as Dr Bawumia has lost the slender lead he enjoyed in October 2022 over Mr Kyeremanten.
The poll now shows Dr Bawumia and Mr Kyerematen are level at 40% apiece among NPP voters.
However, among general voters, Mr Kyerematen’s lead over Dr Bawumia has been cut from 41% to 32% compared to 44% to 31% in October 2022. New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, is in third place with 14% of the votes.
The NPP is yet to set a date for its presidential primaries to elect a flagbearer for the 2024 elections.
Mr Kyerematen who resigned from his post is likely to face off with the former Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto and former Railways Minister Joe Ghartey who has also declared his intention to contest for the slot.
The prices of petroleum products are expected to fall between 2% and 4% for petrol, diesel, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas, beginning tomorrow August 1, 2024.
This follows the slowdown in the depreciation of the Ghana cedi during the second half of July 2024 and the favourable international market dynamics.
According to the Institute for Energy Security (IES), the price of petrol and deisel fell by 2.99% and 4.59% respectively and LPG by 1.10% in the second half of July 2024.
“Precisely, the price of gasoline [petrol] fell by 2.99%, gasoil [diesel] by 4.59%, and LPG by 1.10% in the second half of July 2024. The Ghana cedi also recorded slowed depreciation (0.52%), the lowest since February 2024.
“Following the positive realised on the foreign fuel market coupled with the slowed depreciation of Ghana Cedi recorded on the domestic forex market, the Institute for Energy Security (IES) projects a fall in fuel prices in the coming days”.
World Oil Market
The second pricing window for July 2024 for the first time since the post-OPEC+ meeting saw Brent crude futures dropping below $80 per barrel.
This was driven lower by disappointing global demand as Chinese imports in July 2024 hit the lowest level in two years.
Brent Crude traded at $78.70 per barrel compared to $83.03 per barrel at the start of the pricing window.
Local Fuel Market Performance
The second pricing window for July 2024 saw the price of liquid fuels jump at the pumps on the local fuels market.
Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) increased the price per litre of petrol by GH¢0.30 and Gasoil by GH¢.20 respectively.
The IES computation of the national average price for the three refined petroleum products for the first pricing window for July 2024 showed petrol and diesel selling at GH¢14.23 and GH¢14.70 per litre respectively, whereas (LPG) went for GH¢15.22 per kilogramme.
The Graduate Unemployed Nurse and Midwives Association has welcomed the latest decision by the government to recruit over 15,000 new health professionals.
In a statement released on Friday, July 26, 2024, the Ministry of Health (MoH) announced the recruitment of 15, 200 nurses and midwives, effective Monday, August 5, 2024.
The MoH confirmed that the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has granted the necessary financial clearance for the recruitment process.
Interested and qualified candidates are expected to apply through the MoH’s online application portal, where they can select their preferred agency under the Ministry. The application period will close on Friday, August 23, 2024.
This comes on the back of numerous protests and demonstrations by several health professionals over the government’s inability to clear the backlog of 2020, 2021 and 2022.
National President of The Graduate Unemployed Nurse and Midwives Association Ibrahim Haruna has been reacting to the latest development.
“We’re very grateful in the first place to the Ministry of Health. It’s not bad news, but it’s not completely what we’re expecting.
“That is what we have got for now, so we will take it… Last week Friday, we received a call from the Ministry that they have got clearance for us around 15,000, so we were expecting an official communication and it came in from the ministry, so it’s welcome news,” the National President of the Graduate Unemployed Nurse and Midwives Association said.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Northern Region has set an ambitious goal to win 14 parliamentary seats in the 2024 general elections.
Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Northern Regional Secretary of the NDC, stated that the party is determined and prepared to secure victory in the upcoming polls.
On Saturday, July 27, the NDC launched its campaign in Tamale, the capital of the Northern Region, with the aim of increasing their parliamentary seats in the area.
Abdul-Salam expressed confidence that the party would reclaim some of its previously held seats from the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He also mentioned that the NDC has established adequate structures to ensure the achievement of this target in the forthcoming election.
“We should be able to win 14 seats, and that is clearly doable, but our target is to win all the 18 seats because they are all winnable, we have mopped out strategies to get out there on the field, our men are on the ground every day.”
“That is why if you have observed, every genuine survey that is done regarding the election 2024 in all the regions, put the NDC way ahead of the NPP,” he stated.