The Golden Tulip Hotels in Accra and Kumasi will be rebranded after the Ghanaian government sold its stake in the facility to some Lebanese investors.

The four-star hotels are owned by a joint venture between the governments of Ghana and Libya (GLAHCO), with Ghana owning 60% and Libya owning 40%.

According to media reports, Ghana has completely sold its franchise to a company called Lancaster.

This means that the renowned hotels in Ghana’s capital and the Ashanti Regional capital will be known as Lancaster Accra City Hotel and Lancaster Kumasi City Hotel as of July 1st, 2022.

A letter from the General Manager with the heads of departments in copy read: “Achour Holding Limited operating as Lancaster Hotels will be the new lessee and would take effect from 1st July, 2022, with same conditions as previously communicated”.

“We urge you to support the new company to ensure a successful takeoff,” the statement added.

Another letter from the Rooms Division Manager of Golden Tulip Hotel, Lucy Ahedor said “we wish to inform you that from 1st of July, 2022, the name of the hotel will now change to Lancaster Hotel. We would also like to inform you to rest assured as this change will not affect normal operations of the hotel”.

“We are happy to also announce that the hotel under this new name will be going through refurbishment by enhancing most of the facilities,” she added.

Some hotel employees confirmed the sale and name change to Joy News, while sources say the move was spearheaded by government officials.

The Golden Tulip Hospitality Group is a hotel franchise and management company with locations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, and the Americas.

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has denied social media reports that the tax collection agency will begin charging E-Levy on merchant SIM cards on July 1, 2022.

The false reports also claim that Cash-Ins or deposits made through a merchant or vendor will be subject to E-Levy. According to GRA, this is not the case.

In a press statement, the GRA stressed that “the Levy does not apply to Specified Merchant Payments. It added that Specified Merchant Payments are payments made to merchants through a payment service to a person registered with the GRA for the purposes of Income Tax or Value Added Tax (VAT). Customers making payments to such specified merchants will NOT be charged the E-Levy”.

According to the GRA, the E-Levy does not apply to cash withdrawals and cash deposits either at the bank or at a mobile money agent or vendor point.

It explained that Cash-Ins or deposits do not attract E-Levy hence customers are NOT to pay any amount as E-Levy.

“The general public should note that E-Levy is NOT charged on merchant SIMs, as is being purported. The E-Levy is only charged on a transfer from a customer to a Specified Merchant if the merchant is NOT registered with GRA for Income Tax or VAT purposes,” a statement said.

Russian citizens will need a visa to enter Ukraine beginning Friday, July 1, after Kyiv ended a decade-long visa-free regime that facilitated cross-border travel for citizens of both countries.

Following a petition from a Ukrainian citizen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the decision to end the visa-free regime.

Following Russia’s invasion, Zelensky stated that he supported the implementation of stricter controls for the entry of Russian citizens.

According to Zelensky, the country has decided to end visa-free travel for Russian citizens due to “unprecedented threats to Ukraine’s national security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.”

Previously, Russian citizens did not require visas to enter Ukraine and could stay for up to 90 days within a 180-day period.