GAPNEWS

GAPNEWS If You Want to Retire in 10 Years, Do These 5 Things Now The decade before retirement is a critical time. Here's how to make sure you're on the right path. After 30-plus years of working and socking away savings, you can finally see retirement on the horizon. But it’s not time to coast just yet. The actions you take in the final decade before you quit working are crucial to getting the next phase off to a smooth start. Here are 5 things you must do now. 1. See if you’re saving enough. If you haven’t recently, take stock of where you are and where you need to be. For example, to replace 70% of your earnings by age 65, you’ll need to accumulate 12 times your pay at 65. But even if you’re playing catch-up, you can still make it to the finish line with what you need. Your choice: Seriously power-save, or work a bit longer while saving less. Say you have five times your income; you could sock away 33% a year for the next 10 years, or delay retirement 24 mon

GAPNEWS High Corperate tax is affecting rural Bank in GHana. Rural and Community Banks in the country are calling for a review of the corporate tax which stands at 25%. The corporate tax on the annual income of therural and community banks was increased from 8% to 25% after the introduction of the new income tax Act 2015, Act 896 in September 2015. Managing Director of ARB Apex Bank Limited, Kojo Mattah said the increment is making the operations of the banks very difficult. “Corporate tax for rural and community banks was increased from 8% to 25% and the rural banks have been talking about it appealing to government to take a second look at it. “The reason being that it is affecting their operations especially in the difficult terrain that the banks operate,” he added. Kojo Mattah called on the government to reduce the corporate tax to allow the rural banks to use the difference to help their communities as part of their corporate social responsibility. The rural and commun

GAPNEWS 7 EASY MONEY SAVING EVERY ONE CAN USE. As most people can testify, saving money is not as easy as it sounds. It takes a lot of discipline and a sound plan actualized daily. For some people, other than the usual monthly spending, they have debts to repay as well. The lucky ones might have taken loans from a licensed money lender in Singapore, where they are more understanding and responsible. The unlucky ones might be deep in debt with unethical and illegal money lenders who charged exorbitant interest and fees. In order to improve one’s financial situation, they must put in place a plan that is realistic if they are to achieve their savings goals however small or large they may be. Here are some tips that can help one get started and maintain a habit of saving money: 1. Expense tracking. Most people complain that even though they make enough money to meet their daily expenses and to save, they have no idea where their money goes to. Others complain that the money t

GAPNEWS Mobile Money Interoperability ends 2018 with 2.2 million transactions . mobile money transfers were done about 2.2 million times between May and December last year, according to figures released by the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS). This shows a continuous increase in the patronage of the service. Before the introduction of mobile money interoperability in May last year, such cross-network transfers were done through the ‘token’ system. The monthly average transactions using the ‘token’ system was about 93,000. However, the average transaction per month with the introduction of mobile money interoperability for last year is pegged at about 280, 000 transactions, a difference of over 200 per cent. In its first month of introduction, less than 100,000 transactions took place but this has risen steadily to over 400,000 transactions in the month of December 2018 alone. With the mobile money interoperability, customers are now able

GAPNEWS  MAHAMA GOVERNMENT BLEW OIL MONEY ON 2016 ELECTION. A propaganda campaign by the National Democratic Congress Minority in Parliament to try to convince Ghanaians that there has not been any new oil discovery in the country as announced recently by Aker Energy has been exposed. Indeed, facts made available to the Daily Statesman show that the NDC under John Mahama blocked the work of oil exploration companies and bled Ghana interests in joint oil ventures near dry. The cash Mahama and his lieutenants raised from sucking the blood of the oil companies is what they then tried to use to buy the 2016 elections. Documents sighted by the Daily Statesman show how huge unallocated sums were spent on inflated road contracts, including non-existent cocoa feeder roads. Most of these contracts were sole-sourced to NDC cronies ‒ diverting resources that should have been used to develop Ghana’s young oil industry. Aker Energy ASA, a Norwegian company, announced last week tha

GAPNEWS Ghana’s oil resources to increase by 500 million barrels. Ghana’s oil resources will increase by more than 500 million barrels of oil with the successful appraisal of wells, a release has said. In a release issued on Thursday, partners in Ghana’s budding Deepwater Tano/Cape Three Points(DWT/CTP) Pecan field announced the well results, which they said had confirmed their understanding of the area, as well as the resource base and upside potential in the block offshore Ghana’s western coast. “Based on existing subsurface data from seismic, wells drilled and an analysis of the Pecan-4A well result, the existing discoveries are estimated to contain gross contingent resources of 450-550 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe),” the release from the Norwegian exploration firm Aker Energy (Aker) stated. The release said Aker would optimize the Plan of Development for the Pecan field with a lot more work needing attention. “Our most important priority going for

GAPNEWS Creating a Strategic Plan to Set Your Business Up for Success As a business owner, you’re investing a lot in your business to help it grow and succeed. But is the direction you’re taking your business the right move? Have you thought about what you want your business to accomplish in the short and long term? Do you go through  strategic planning  on a regular basis If you haven’t, you’re not alone. A 2018 survey by  Constant Contact  found 63% of the 1,005 small business owners surveyed in the U.S. only plan strategically for a year or less. A strategic plan is a tool that can help you make informed decisions and determine where you want your business to be in the future. The strategic planning process involves time and communication. Here’s how you can get started with creating a strategic plan for your business. Step 1: Form a Strategic Planning Committee Before you create the actual strategic plan document, you’ll have to form a committee. If you have employees

GAPNEWS TOP 7 MONEY SAVING TIPS FOR FINANCIAL SUCCESS IN 2019 With the excesses of festive season spending behind you, the new year represents the perfect opportunity to whip your finances back into shape, beginning by implementing these seven simple money-saving tips.   1. Set your financial goals As humans it’s common to want to wipe the slate clean in January, and look for ways to do better than we did the year before – especially with a debt hangover from December spending still lingering.  January is thus the perfect time to reflect on your accomplishments during 2018, and set new financial goals for the year ahead. These may include paying off debts, saving towards a deposit on a home, or even revving up your retirement savings. Having a clear and detailed set of goals to measure your progress against will help you to focus your efforts on saving, instead of falling back into bad financial habits and unnecessary spending.  2.  Reassess your budget Many people di

GAPNEWS Banking crisis: Complicit BoG staff 'to be punished soon' The Head of Banking Supervision at the Central Bank has hinted that management will soon punish staff cited for their role in the liquidation of some banks. Osei Gyasi has called for calm, assuring the public that firm steps have been taken to resolve internal issues at the central bank. “I think the work of the Ethics Department...is ongoing [and] is almost completed; and very soon, the final report will be issued to management,” he told  Newsfile   host Kojo Yankson, Saturday.     According  to Mr Gyasi, Bank of Ghana staff specifically those with the Banking Supervision Division (BSD) and those who used to be there when some of the issues occurred were questioned. Mr Gyasi, who has served in his position since 2017, admitted to Joy News last year that there were errors in bank oversight, causing the collapse of five banks last year, but he cautioned that under the current management, “i

WHY GN BANK OPTED TO BE SAVING AND LOAN COMPANY? Management of defunct GN Bank has explained that its decision to operate as a savings and loans company was because it still wants to operate as a Ghanaian institution aimed at promoting financial inclusion and serving the needs of ordinary Ghanaians. The Bank of Ghana (BoG) on Friday announced that the bank had opted to operate as a savings and loans company after it failed to meet the minimum capital of GH₵400 million by December 31, 2018. Following that, a statement signed by the Head of GN Corporate Affairs, Frank Owusu-Ofori, explained that the decision of the bank stemmed from conditions laid down by foreign investors at the time that they were searching for additional capital to meet the GH₵400 million capital requirement. “It is necessary for us point out that in the process of looking for additional capital, we made a conscious decision not to sell our bank to mostly foreign interests. These investors wanted the retai