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African Union seeks $100bn of IMF’s Special Drawing Rights in major shift
The African Union proposed that the International Monetary Fund consider issuing $650 billion in special drawing rights to combat the climate crisis.
The 55-member group also demanded that at least $100 billion in existing SDRs be channelled to Africa through institutions such as the African Development Bank, with a group of donors to be established by the time the COP28 climate summit starts on Nov. 30.
Multilateral development banks should be recapitalized to provide at least $500 billion in concessional finance a year, it said.
The list of demands in an updated declaration from the continent’s first climate summit are considerably stronger than an initial announcement on Sept. 7 in Nairobi, Kenya, which focused on debt relief and climate finance to fund renewable energy.
Government delegations argued late into the night earlier this week on the wording of the statement that will serve as their unified position at COP28 in Dubai.
“We call for collective global action to mobilize the necessary capital for both development and climate action,” the African Union said in the statement released on Friday.
Africa, the world’s least developed continent, has barely contributed to the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change, but its nations are among the hardest hit by cyclones, drought and floods. That, coupled with a debt burden exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, is hindering economic growth.
Fifteen African heads of state attended this week’s summit in Nairobi, according to information from the organizers. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, were also present.
Other changes from the earlier declaration include:
Mobilizing $30 billion to invest in water projects by 2030
Drawing attention to the “inordinate borrowing costs” levied on poor nations that are a “root cause of recurring debt crises”
A revaluation of the gross domestic product of Africa to reflect its natural capital such as carbon sinks in its forests.
source: Bloomberg
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Focus on more pressing issues like Galamsey, not hate speech – Ellen Ama Daaku to Mahama
An aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,Ellen Ama Daaku has advised President John Dramani Mahama to shift his attention from social media hate speech to more urgent national issues such as illegal mining.
Speaking in an interview, she noted that the President’s recent comments about tracking the IP addresses of people who spread hate speech were unnecessary.
According to her, President Mahama must first define what he considers to be hate speech before seeking to punish people for it.
Ms. Daaku argued that the President himself had benefitted from hate speech and social media attacks in the past when he was in opposition.
She said even during his time in government, he described his opponents and their tribesmen in unpalatable terms, which later drew complaints from former President Nana Akufo-Addo to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
She stressed that harsh criticism of leaders on social media should not automatically be considered hate speech, adding that former leaders, including former President Nana Akufo-Addo had all been subjected to it.
“He is only feeling what Nana Akufo-Addo went through for eight years,” she remarked.
While acknowledging the need to regulate misconduct online, Ms. Daaku insisted that going after social media activists should not be a priority.
She noted that many political activists, including herself, had been insulted and attacked online but never called for arrests.
She concluded that President Mahama should focus his energy on solving pressing problems such as galamsey and the economy instead of concentrating on critics on social media.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
