Justice Retired Seth Aduadem Alafa, a Senior Cadre of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has called on the rank and file of the Party to protect Mr Sammy Gyamfi, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod).

He said though the Mahama-led-government was delivering on its promises to improve the lives of Ghanaians, others were scouting for scandals to distract the government.

“Unfortunately, Sammy Gyamfi has been targeted, even though he is doing very well for this country. So, we should all sit up and protect him because he is doing well,” he said.

The retired Court Judge said this when he delivered a lecture on the history of the Revolution of the NDC in the Builsa land at the 44th Anniversary celebration of the 31st December Revolution held in Sandema.

It was on the theme: “Consolidating the Reset Agenda: Reflections on the gains of the 31st December Revolution.”

The programme attracted both senior and junior cadres of the Party from across the Region including Mr James Agalga, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Builsa North Constituency, Madam Anne Musah, the District Chief Executive for Builsa South, Regional and Constituency Executives, among others.

The Senior Cadre’s call follows criticisms of the GoldBod, by the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Minority in Parliament after a reported $214 million loss under the Gold-for-Reserves programme.

Justice Retired Alafa noted that the actions of the NPP and the Minority were intended to intimidate and distract Mr Gyamfi from delivering on his mandate as CEO saying, “That is what we do not want, and so if they are coming from that angle, let us also sit up and protect him.”

He acknowledged and commended all pioneers of the Party in the area including Mr Ankisiba Alafisa, the first Chairman in the area, Mr Akinkang Anyanga, Mr Daniel Awonwie Syme, Major Regent Achaab among others who sacrificed for the success of the NDC in the Builsa land.

The Senior Cadre prayed for the peaceful rest of the souls of the late Mr and Mrs Rawlings and urged Party members not to allow their toil and vision go in vain.

Mr Anthony Ayende Akanbontoga, a Senior Cadre who addressed participants on the role of the cadre in contemporary politics of Ghana, emphasized the need for cadres in modern day politics to be able to guide and keep the spirit of the Party alive.

“This time, we need democratic cadres who have the capacity to cope with themselves and develop that tendency to be able to work with their neighbours and advance the philosophy of the NDC: Probity and Accountability,” he said.

Mr Daniel Adoliba Akologo, the Upper East Regional Chairman of the United Cadres Front (UCF), said the 31st December Revolution was founded on the enduring principles of Probity, Accountability, Freedom, and Justice.

“These were not abstract concepts, but the very essence of the moral high ground the movement sought to reclaim,” he said.

According to him, “44 years ago, under the decisive leadership of Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, the people of Ghana, driven by a desire for change, decided to take their destiny into their own hands to confront pervasive corruption, economic mismanagement, and deep-seated social injustices.

“The Revolution was a clarion call for nothing less than a Revolution to transform the social and economic order of the country, and to ensure that the power of decision-making resides with the ordinary people: the farmers, the workers, the soldiers, and the guardians of our nation,” he said.

Mr Akologo said many laid down their lives to give birth to the movement and defended its ideals during a difficult time in the country’s history noting that, “The perpetual flame we light and the wreaths we lay are to show reverence to all who made that ultimate sacrifice.”

1.No one in Ghana deserved to boogie more at the end of year parties this season than Finance Ministry staff and their sidekicks in the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

2. They have earned the right to be triumphant: some analysts say that the Cedi enjoyed its best performance in over 30 years.

3. Readers of this site know that some of us believe that the Cedi became overvalued due to over-interference by the BoG, but that is an entirely separate debate.

4. For now, the issue is that the Cedi’s managers promised to hold it down and they found the resources and will to do it. Full stop.

5. For me that is a political outcome. Political leaders stepping up to “political accountability”. In the katanomics framework that I swear by though, that’s not everything. There is also POLICY ACCOUNTABILITY.

6. In this context, policy accountability means ensuring that exchange rate policy actually supports economic development and social welfare, while obsessing as much over how stability is sustained as over which rate is desirable.

7. Let me illustrate this in the context of industrialisation. There is a whole lot of research that shows that most of the countries that succeeded in industrialisation (especially in Asia) did so by attracting multinational manufacturers who brought capital, technology, knowledge, and discipline.

8. Ghana, like some other African countries, also attracted multinational manufacturers after independence. Some of them had been around during colonial times but mostly in trading. They shifted focus to manufacturing when post-independence leaders emphasised industrial transformation.

We should dance to the Cedi’s beat but remember Unilever

1.
No one in Ghana deserved to boogie more at the end of year parties this season than Finance Ministry staff and their sidekicks in the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

2. They have earned the right to be triumphant: some analysts say that the Cedi enjoyed its best performance in over 30 years.

3. Readers of this site know that some of us believe that the Cedi became overvalued due to over-interference by the BoG, but that is an entirely separate debate.

4. For now, the issue is that the Cedi’s managers promised to hold it down and they found the resources and will to do it. Full stop.

5. For me that is a political outcome. Political leaders stepping up to “political accountability”. In the katanomics framework that I swear by though, that’s not everything. There is also POLICY ACCOUNTABILITY.

6. In this context, policy accountability means ensuring that exchange rate policy actually supports economic development and social welfare, while obsessing as much over how stability is sustained as over which rate is desirable.

7. Let me illustrate this in the context of industrialisation. There is a whole lot of research that shows that most of the countries that succeeded in industrialisation (especially in Asia) did so by attracting multinational manufacturers who brought capital, technology, knowledge, and discipline.

8. Ghana, like some other African countries, also attracted multinational manufacturers after independence. Some of them had been around during colonial times but mostly in trading. They shifted focus to manufacturing when post-independence leaders emphasised industrial transformation.

9. They include the likes of Unilever, Nestle, Cadbury, Guinness, PZ, etc. Even some automotive and electronics companies came in. Philips, Sanyo, Volkswagen, Siemens, Leyland, Fiat, IIT, and Tata.

10. If Ghana (like Nigeria) can be said to have failed whereas Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand succeeded in boosting the presence of multinationals, then learning the ropes themselves, and finally building up local champions to take over, a big part of the picture is summed up in the behaviour of the exchange rate.

11. To probe further, I gathered and analysed 30 years of financial and some operational data on Unilever’s business in Ghana. I can’t deny that my choice of period wasn’t influenced by the timeline of the Cedi’s success being celebrated today.

12. I got interested in this question when I saw that Unilever Ghana now imports Rexona deodorant from other Group affiliates in Italy and then re-export them all over the region. Its numbers are looking good again after a massive plunge during the COVID years but performance now seems to be driven by trade instead of manufacturing.

13. In 2014, Unilever Ghana doubled down on expanding manufacturing plants to make more personal care and beauty products.

The company has been shifting in that direction for years, moving slowly away from its historic focus on food.

14. Per its corporate vision of that time, Ghana ought by now to have become a regional hub making the likes of Rexona deodorant for regional sales. That didn’t happen. Even good old “Omo” is now being imported from all over the place by traders.

15. So, I decided to treat Unilever as a lagging bellwether for industrialisation in Ghana to the extent that it is a “loyal multinational” that kept faith with Ghana through thick and thin.

16. The central issue, however, is: did Unilever succeed in growing and compounding value (for all its stakeholders) over its 60 years of manufacturing history?

17. The headline answer is that it saw negative hard-currency growth over 30 years.

18. Unilever’s revenue in 1994 was $111 million. During the oil boom era of 2010 to 2013, it hovered in $180 million territory (proving that divestments of group entities isn’t the primary issue.) In 2024, it barely crossed $65 million.

19. The revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is MINUS 1.74% over 30 years.

20. A part of the story is explained by the company being forced to abandon more complex industrial operations in textiles, timber processing, heavy machinery etc. over time. But a good deal of it is just pure capital erosion.

21. Shareholder equity in 1998 was $54.2 million. It peaked at $64.3 million and then sank to a mere $6.3 million in 2022. Today, it is around $15.9 million.

22. But it wasn’t due to underinvestment, either. The company’s returns actually crashed during macro-stress periods following considerable reinvestment.

2018 shows extraordinary capital expansion (likely retooling / plant upgrade cycle). Yet profitability collapsed after the expansion push. By 2020, Capex falls below depreciation, indicating:

defensive retrenchment
cash preservation mode

Then dividends go to zero in 2020, to reinforce the distress response. This is a company being punished for good behaviour. Any surprise then that despite Africa’s surging demographics, Unilever no longer lists a single African region amongst its top 24 strategic markets where it intends to drive growth and performance through its beauty, personal care, and wellness segments?

23. Meanwhile, average net margin over the 30-year period sat around 5.5%. In 2020, it went all the way down to MINUS 11% (ROE: minus 139%).

If you think the 2020 number is just a super-rare one-off due to the COVID-19 black swan, think again. Such periods of extreme stress in the Unilever Ghana business actually tends to recur. In 2003 – 2004, for instance, operating profit crashed by nearly 55%.

24. Consider that the Unilever Group has had an underlying operating margin for the last decade of more than 16%. Peer benchmark long-term margins for global manufacturers that compounded value in the successful Asian economies were typically in the 12% to 15%. In tech, it even exceeds 45%.

25. The capital market verdict has been equally sobering. Unilver’s market cap grew from $19 million in 2000 to over $700 million in 2008 then began a long descent to less than $120 million today.

26. The key insight in all of this is the use of the dollar to gauge returns. That is why it is an exchange rate phenomenon. For example, in Ghana Cedis, Unilever’s market cap has actually grown by over 50% since 2008. The tragicomic situation is that an overvalued exchange rate actually hurts Unilever’s steadily growing trade and re-export business. All they crave for is currency STABILITY.

29. The exchange rate makes Ghana a bad bet for global multinationals. Which is why their commitment has been so lukewarm over the years. Yet, the historical reality is that multinationals like Unilever have tended to treat workers much better and offered upskilling opportunities that the rest of the private sector rarely offer.

30. And therein lies the real policy challenge: sustaining a long-run STABLE exchange rate.

As faith-based travel continues to evolve beyond traditional sightseeing, Bridge Tours, in partnership with the KRIF Foundation, is preparing to offer what it calls a deeper spiritual encounter with the Holy Land. Dubbed “A Covenant With Israel,” the eight-day journey is scheduled for March 20-28, 2026, and is designed to move participants beyond observation into lived biblical experience.

In an exclusive interview ahead of the trip, Victor Satuh, chief executive officer of Bridge Tours, described the pilgrimage as a deliberate return to the spiritual roots of Christianity, centered on covenant rather than tourism.

“A covenant with Israel is simply a way of renewing your covenant with the land that gave rise to Jesus Christ,” Satuh said. “Christ came from Israel. He was born in Nazareth. So having a covenant in Israel is about rejoining your spiritual faith to the faith of Christ in the very land where it began.”

Unlike a conventional Holy Land tour, which often focuses on visiting historic landmarks, Satuh said this journey is structured as a “holy sealing of activities,” emphasizing spiritual renewal through prayer, Scripture and reenactment of biblical events.

The trip itinerary reflects that intent. Participants will be baptized or renew their baptism in the Jordan River, walk portions of the Via Dolorosa — the path Christ took to the cross — pray near the site of Solomon’s Temple, float at a Dead Sea health spa, and ride a Jesus-era wooden boat on the Sea of Galilee. Couples will also have the opportunity to renew marriage vows at Cana, traditionally believed to be the site of Jesus’ first miracle.

“For us, it’s not just symbolism,” Satuh said. “We actually take pilgrims to the original locations, or the closest historically accepted sites, where these events occurred. That physical presence matters.”

At Cana, he explained, vow renewals are conducted not merely in a church setting but in the grottos beneath the ancient site believed to have hosted the wedding feast described in the Gospel of John.

“That first miracle happened at a marriage ceremony, and I don’t think that was coincidental,” Satuh said. “It was Christ emphasizing the sacred covenant of marriage. When couples renew their vows there, it becomes a heartfelt dedication and a reenactment of that moment, not just a ritual.”

The same approach applies to baptism in the Jordan River. Bridge Tours uses the site of Qasr al-Yahud, widely regarded as the closest location to where John the Baptist baptized Jesus.
“For those who have never been baptized, it can be their first baptism,” Satuh said. “For those already baptized, it’s a renewal of their baptismal covenant. Either way, it is about recommitting one’s faith in a very intentional way.”

The pilgrimage is open to individuals, couples and church groups, with a particular emphasis on members of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International and its women’s fellowship. Satuh said the experience is designed to retrace the life of Christ from birth to death, combining prayer, Bible readings and historical context at each site.

“We don’t just visit places,” he said. “We experience them. That gives each participant the opportunity to connect personally, and that connection transforms faith, deepens understanding and brings the Bible to life.”

Comfort, safety and quality are also central to the planning, according to Satuh. The package includes round-trip economy or business class airfare on Ethiopian Airlines, group visas, Mediterranean meals throughout the stay, luxury Wi-Fi–enabled bus transportation and curated souvenirs.

Bridge Tours’ collaboration with the KRIF Foundation, he said, brings together decades of experience. On the ground in Israel, the group partners with Israel Holy Land Tours, led by Rafael Bengul, a former director at Israel’s Ministry of Tourism.

“If you want to know Israel, know Israel with Israelis,” Satuh said. “We’ve worked with Rafael for over 13 years. We’ve handled pilgrim groups of more than 120 people at a time, and people keep coming back because we create an experience, not just a trip.”

Asked to share a moment that captures why the pilgrimage can be life-changing, Satuh recalled traveling with an elderly woman who had dreamed her entire life of seeing Israel. When she landed in Tel Aviv, she was confused and overwhelmed by the modern cityscape, struggling to reconcile it with her mental image of biblical Israel.

“She froze and kept asking when we would get to Israel,” he said. “She was expecting caves and ancient dwellings everywhere. I had to explain that the Bible was written over 2,000 years ago, and Israel has grown and transformed.”

That moment, he said, became a powerful lesson for the entire group.
“It’s not always what we expect to see,” Satuh said. “It’s the experience of where we are and what it represents that truly matters.”

Beyond sites directly tied to the life of Jesus, the pilgrimage also includes Mount Carmel, associated with the prophet Elijah, and the Valley of Megiddo, often linked to Armageddon in biblical texts.

“A pilgrimage is not a pillar of the Christian faith,” Satuh said. “But it is an expression of belief. It’s a way of touching where Jesus touched, walking where he walked, and seeing that these places we read about — Jerusalem, Nazareth, Cana, Jericho — actually exist.”

While Bridge Tours has multiple sessions planned in 2026, the March 20-28 trip is being highlighted as a flagship experience. For Satuh, the goal is clear.

“It enhances spiritual understanding, enriches belief, and brings Scripture into real life,” he said. “That is the covenant we are inviting people into.”

By Kingsley Asiedu