Review feeding grant for prisoners - Prisons Service(Online, Thursday, March 28, 2024)

The Ghana Prisons Service has reiterated an upward adjustment in the feeding fee from GH¢1.80 pesewas a day per prisoner to enable the Service to give inmates balanced and nutritious meals.

 The Service indicated that given the current economic situation in the country, which had led to escalating food prices, the GH¢1.80 per prisoner per day was inadequate.
 
The Assistant Director of Prison in charge of the Akuse Local Prisons, ADP Ousmane Tasembedo made the appeal when the Customs Ladies Club, a club of the female employees of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) at the Tema Collection donated some food and non items to the Akuse Local Prison in the Eastern Region as part of the Easter celebrations on Wednesday, March 27, 2024.
 
The Customs Ladies Club, with support from the Tema Sector Commander, Assistant Commissioner Christiana Odi Adjei presented 20 cartons of fish, three bags of 50kg flour, six bags of  50 kg sugar, 24 bags of  25 kg rice, six bags of gari, a bag each of corn, groundnut, beans and pepper.
 
The rest were 10 boxes of sanitary pads, four boxes of soap, six bags of washing powder, six bags of washing powder, five sets of toilet seats, ten bags of toilet rolls, and cartons of beverages 
 
ADP Tasembedo said the Akuse Local prison, aside inadequate feeding, the facility was confronted with congestion 
 
He said the Akuse Local Prison was designed to accommodate 60 male inmates but currently house 250 inmates in the male section and 16 inmates in the female section, adding that the facility was congested and would require an expansion so the inmates can have some respite.
 
ADP Tasembedo however believes the government cannot do it alone, hence there was a need for individuals, organisations, religious groups, among others, to help with any support.
 
“But for such gestures like what you have done today, the situation would have been very precarious in the prisons’” he said while receiving the items from the President of the Customs Ladies Club, Rachael Jacintha Pyne.
 
ADP Tasembedo said to supplement the feeding of the inmates, the Prison authority in Akuse have taken advantage of the agriculture potential of the area and have embarked on rice and vegetable farming.
 
He said inmates of the Akuse prisons were able to harvest between 300 and 400 bags of rice from a 12 hectares farm adding that some of the produce from their farm was sent to Prison Headquarters for redistribution to about 15 other prison facilities throughout the country.
Gratitude 
 
The Assistant Director of Prison in charge of the Female section of the Female Prison at Akuse, ADP Joyce Annor-Owusu also added her voice to the feeding challenges, stressing that with the current skyrocketing of food prices, authorities were unable to buy food products at contract prices.
 
She was particularly grateful to Tema Customs Ladies of the Customs Division of the GRA adding that such gestures from philanthropic individuals and organisations went a long way to fill the gaps.
 
She said through the support of some philanthropic individuals and organisation the facility offers skills training in bakery, farming, tailoring among others which have gone a long way to empower the inmates to leave a meaningful life after they have been released 
 
ADP Annor-Owusu appealed for support to secure submersible pumps to be fitted on an existing borehole at the facility to improve supply for the inmates.
 
The President of the Customs Ladies Club, Rachael Jacintha Pyne said the donation was to make the inmates enjoy the Easter festivities adding that the love for Christ affects all humankind and donating to the prisoners was to show love to them. 
 
She urged the inmates not to lose hope but take advantage of the skills programmes being offered to enable them to integrate into society after their release

 

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/review-feeding-grant-for-prisoners-prisons-service.html

ECG points to GRIDCo for power outages in parts of Tema, Eastern Region(Daily Graphic, Thurdsay, March 28, 2024. Online)

 

The Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) has reduced its power supply to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), impacting electricity supply to consumers in parts of Tema, Kpone, Kpong and some areas in the Eastern Region.The amount of megawatts and the reasons for the reduction are, however, unclear. The ECG in two separate statements issued on Thursday, March 28, 2024, said a reduction in power supply to the Smelter 2 Bulk Supply Point and the Kpong Bulk Supply Point by GRIDCo,  have resulted in outages in a number of communities and industries served by the two bulk supply point.

The statement mentioned the affected facilities as Ghana Steel, Palace Mall, Furniture City, Lovely Transport, Kpone Barrier, Kingdom Transport, GPHA Terminal at Kpone, Sethi Realty, Adodakpi Farms, Bediako, Golf City and its environs.

The rest were Yilo Krobo, Lower Manya Krobo, Adukrom Booster Station, Asutsuare Township, Volivo, Golden Exotics, Akorley Pumping Station, Teye Kwame, Glamour Farms, PW Quarries, Eastern Quarries, Twin Quarries, Juapong, Akwamufie, Frankadua, Anum, Nudu, Boso, Dodi Asantekrom, Kisiful and its environs.

 

The statement, however, fell short of providing a specific time for the restoration.

"ECG wishes to assure affected customers that once GRIDCo turns on supply, power will be restored."

https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ecg-points-to-gridco-for-power-outages-in-parts-of-tema-eastern-region.html

Power outage hits NICU at Tema General Hospital, management to investigate (GraphicOnline, Wednesday, March 27, 2024 )

The Tema General Hospital experienced a power outage on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, affecting several key departments. Among the affected areas was the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), which experienced the outage from approximately 8 pm to 12:45 am. 

Videos circulating online showcased the impact of the outage on operations within the NICU. Upon investigation by Graphic Online on Wednesday morning, it was discovered that although the hospital had standby generators, they failed to function due to technical issues.

Dr. Samuel Obeng-Mensah, in charge of Administration and Support Services at Tema General Hospital, addressed the media on Thursday regarding the incident.

While management was still verifying the authenticity of the viral video (above), Dr. Obeng-Mensah assured that the hospital had contingency measures in place to manage power outages.

He explained that the hospital operates with five different generators powering various units during outages, given the facility's dispersed layout lacking a centralized generator for the entire premises. Management is actively working to acquire a larger capacity generator to meet their needs during such occurrences.

Dr. Obeng-Mensah acknowledged that the hospital faces challenges due to its age and size, particularly with wiring issues. He welcomed support from companies and individuals to address these challenges and ensure uninterrupted healthcare services.

 

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/power-outage-hits-nicu-at-tema-general-hospital-management-to-investigate.html

Cabinet approves pathway to complete Saglemi Project (Daily Graphic, Wednesday, March 27, 2024 Page 50)

 

The Minister of Works and Housing, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has stated that Cabinet has approved a pathway to complete the Saglemi Housing Project started by the previous administration.  

The Saglemi Housing Project commenced in 2016 but has since been abandoned due to litigation. The project, which was at various stages of completion, had had some fittings, including burglar proof material, plumbing works, metal coverings on culverts, among others, at the site either vandalised or stolen.

During a working visit to Saglemi yesterday, Mr Oppong Nkrumah said following the approval by Cabinet, the Ministry had established a technical committee to expedite action towards completing the project.

He said the technical working committee had been instructed to, within five weeks, issue an international expression of interest to attract private funds to complete and utilise the project.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the government was focused on ensuring the buildings at Saglemi were put to good use and was optimistic that based on the output of the committee, private partners would be brought on board to complete the project. 

He indicated that based on the last estimate from the Ghana Institute of Surveyors, an over $100 million would be required to complete the project.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah noted that the amount involved was huge and that within the current fiscal constraints, the Exchequer did not have that resource, hence the decision to explore other ways of funding from the private sector to partner government to ensure the completion of the project and put it to good use. 

"This project is a very large and important project and we cannot leave it to waste," he said. He was optimistic that within five weeks, the technical group would issue the international expression of interest after which the government would work with transaction advisors to select a partner or group of partners to jointly operate or dispose of the housing units.

Responding to issues of security at the site, Mr Oppong Nkrumah said some security was mounted to check theft, but unfortunately those security arrangements had gaps. He indicated that the ministry had taken steps to beef up security to ensure that there was no further deterioration of equipment at the site. 

Tour

The tour also took the minister to Kpone and Michel Camp where the TDC Development Company Limited had put up over 2,000 affordable housing units. He commended TDC for contributing towards addressing the housing deficit facing the country which stood at about 1.8 million units.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah said as part of its strategy, the ministry would support master developers such as TDC to undertake bigger projects such as 5,000 to 10,000 units to fast track efforts at bridging the housing deficit gaps.

He said the ministry would continue to work with TDC to explore ways to bring down the cost of construction in order to reduce the impact on the final cost of the building. He commended TDC for its role in the housing sector and said the ministry would extend an invitation to them to participate in the National Affordable Housing Project at Pokuase based on their track record.

On the issue of cost and affordability, Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the ministry would put in place a market mechanism to ensure that affordable housing truly goes to those they are meant for. 

https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-cabinet-approves-pathway-to-complete-saglemi-project.html

Finance Minister charges GRA Customs to reduce leakages (Daily Graphic, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Page 13)

The Minister of Finance, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, has charged the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to put in more efforts to reduce revenue leakages at the entry points. 

He stated that notwithstanding the successes chalked up by the Customs Division, with the Tema Collection alone mobilising 95.03 per cent of its targeted revenue for last year, there was more the GRA and its Customs Division, in particular, could do to further enhance the level of efficiency at the ports.

Dr Adam was speaking at a meeting with the staff of the GRA, Customs Division, at the Tema Port yesterday during a working visit to the port.

He was accompanied by the Minister of State designate at the Ministry of Finance, Abena Osei-Asare, the Commissioner-General of the GRA, Rev. Dr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, and other Directors of the ministry.  

Dr Adam, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Karaga, said accelerated national development rested on adequate domestic revenue mobilisation and urged personnel of Customs to continue to help the ministry to realise that ambition by the end of this year.

The Finance Minister said the government had a duty to implement programmes and projects, and also compensate public sector workers, adding that to be able to do so the state must generate enough revenue aside from servicing debts.

Dr Adam said all those components of the budget would not be realised if the state was not able to generate enough revenue, hence domestic revenue mobilisation was his number one priority.

He said given that customs officials were the foot soldiers of the country when it came to revenue mobilisation, a lot would be expected from them in support of national development.

While commending the revenue agencies for their efforts, Dr Adam stated that in spite of the good works they were doing, there were still issues related to smuggling, undervaluation and collusion and urged them to increase efficiency.
 

Reforms

The minister charged the management of GRA to introduce reforms across many fronts relating to ex-warehousing for export, re-export and transit goods to tackle issues of leakages in order to have Suspense Regime, a scheme under which goods are allowed free of duties and taxes, usually for a limited period of time and subject to certain conditions beyond abuse.

Dr Adam said the Ministry of Finance, as part of an extra measure to curb the abuse of the Suspense Regime, had proposed that goods could only leave the warehouse after they secured the approval of the Commissioner of Customs Division and not just the Commanders in charge of the warehouses.

It also required using an efficient technology to check delays and abuse and ensure accountability in the Suspense Regime.

The Finance Minister, whose public life started from the local assembly, bemoaned the loss of revenue to the economy due to smuggling of goods, particularly along the Eastern corridor of the country, and urged the efficient policing of that corridor.

That, he stated, could be done through the collaborative effort of all the security agencies and the border patrol unit of the Customs Division.

Dr Adam said as part of efforts to weed out the bad lots from the service, an enhanced Intelligence Unit would be established to fish them out and redeem the image of the Customs Division.
 

Revenue collection 

For his part, Rev. Dr Owusu-Amoah said for the first quarter of 2024, the Customs Division had grown its revenue collection by 74 per cent over the previous year due to the identification and sealing of leakages in the system.

The Commissioner-General of GRA said that notwithstanding, the authority had intensified its efforts across all units within the GRA to boost revenue mobilisation. 

Challenges

The Commissioner of Customs, Iddrisu Iddisah Seidu, pointed to the inadequate staffing, stressing that the situation had undermined effective and efficient collection and protection of revenue for the country.

He, therefore, appealed for support to address the dwindling staff situation to handle the rising challenge to raise more revenue domestically. 

Commitment

The Tema Sector Commander of Customs, Assistant Commissioner (ACC) Christiana Odi Adjei, said last year the Tema Collection mobilised GH¢24.4 billion out of a target of GH¢25.67 billion, representing 95.03 per cent of the Customs Division’s target for that year.

She said the division was doing its best in spite of its constraints.  

ACC Adjei, however, pledged the unwavering commitment of the Command to excellence in the implementation of robust policies and fostering a culture of transparency and accountability to meet the demands of the modern global trading environment of facilitating trade, as well as mobilising revenue for the state.

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-finance-minister-charges-gra-customs-to-reduce-leakages.html

Commemoration of World Water Day: Conserve water! - GWL urges citizens (Daily Graphic, Tuesday, March 26, 2024 Page 16 )

 

The Ghana Water Limited (GWL) has urged citizens to protect and conserve water as the nation joins the rest of the world to commemorate this year’s World Water Day.  

As part of activities to celebrate the UN event, the Tema Regional office of the company held a durbar last Friday on the theme: ‘Leveraging water for peace.”

In attendance were some consumers, members of the Tema Manhean Water Sellers Association, and selected pupils from first cycle schools in the area.
 

Access

The Tema Regional Chief Manager of the GWL, Amidu Musah, said water could spark and intensify conflict when access was denied and usage was unfairly distributed.

He added that since water was key to life, its scarcity was likely to provoke conflict and, therefore, the need for communities and countries to cooperate to preserve fresh water sources.

Mr Musah said climate change and rapid population growth had put additional pressure on the limited water resources available for treatment and distribution.

He, therefore, advised consumers to adopt measures to save water, adding that his outfit had resorted to water demand management to communities such as Tema Manhean, to ensure its fair distribution.

Mr Musah urged consumers against watering their lawns, and other activities that tend to waste water.

He also encouraged consumers to report all burst pipes and leakages to local GWL district offices, customer service centres and problem offices for the needed repairs to be carried out.
 

Illegal mining

Mr Musah further expressed worry about activities of illegal mining and sand mining operations, which he said had a negative impact on freshwater resources for treatment.

He said the wanton activities of the miners, especially near freshwater sources, had forced the company to invest more in the purchase of chemicals for treatment of water.

“The cost of chemicals for treating water has gone up because the company has to use more expensive and potent chemicals like polymer instead of alum to treat the raw water,” he said

 

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-commemoration-of-world-water-day-conserve-water-gwl-urges-citizens.html

Rains wash away Forqzy Beatz's 'Rec-A-Thon' attempt (Showbiz, Friday, March 22, 2024)

 

A steady downpour at dawn on Friday, March 22, 2024, washed away an attempt by a Tema based music producer, Manasseh T. Nartey to break and set a Guinness World Record(GWR)for the longest recording marathon dubbed Rec-A-Thon. 

Organisers said the rain simply made conditions too dangerous to continue with the Rec-A-Thon after about 10 hours of recording 23 artistes.

Manasseh T. Nartey , a professional music producer and sound engineer based in Tema Community 1 who goes by the stage name Forqzy Beatz set off an attempt on Thursday, March 21, 2024 for the five-day Rec-A-Thon sanctioned by GWR aimed at recording at least 200 artistes in 100 hours.

However, a downpour at dawn on Friday, saw the rains leaking through the roof of the booth set up for the attempt disrupting the exercise.

Coordinator for the attempt, Daniel Adjetey Annang in an interview with Graphic Showbiz said they did not anticipate the rains.

He said they had to suspend the exercise as the rains seeped through the roof onto the gadgets for the recording and became too dangerous to continue with the exercise.

Annang said the team would review the logistic challenges and give Rec-A-Thon another attempt at a later date.

Forqzy Beatz was seeking to beat the existing record of 30 artistes recorded in 40 hours held by Blaqk Stereo and Near Protocol of Nigeria since 2022. 

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/entertainment/showbiz-news/rains-washes-away-music-producers-rec-a-thon-attempt.html

Forqzy Beatz attempts GWR longest recording marathon with multiple artistes(Showbiz, Thursday, March 21, 2024. )

 

Weeks after Afua Asantewaa and Chef Faila failed in their attempts at breaking the sing-a-thon and cook-a-thon World records respectively, another Ghanaian has entered the fray with the hope of attempting a different record attempt. 

Manasseh T. Nartey , a professional music producer and sound engineer Based in Tema Community 1 who goes by the stage name Forqzy Beatz is attempting a five day Guinness World Records Rec-A-Thon for 100 hours.

Forqzy Beatz attempt is scheduled to started 12:00pm today, March 21 at the forecourt of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) and he would be seeking to beat the existing record held by a Nigerian since 2022.

When the Graphic Showbiz visited the venue, preparations were underway by the team who were spotted doing sound checks and other technical formalities.

Coordinator for the attempt, Daniel Adjetey Annang in an interview said the official attempt intended to record at least 200 artistes in 100 hours adding that the attempt had been sanctioned by GWR. 

He was optimistic the organisers would stick to the approved guidelines by GWR to ensure success at the end of the attempt.

He said apart from hoping to have some A list artists passing through, the attempt would also offer an opportunity to record a number of underground musicians as a means of promoting their craft.

The record for the longest recording marathon with multiple artists is 40 hours with 30 artistes and was achieved by Blaqk stereo and Near Protocol of Nigeria between 25 June 2022 and 27 June 2022.

 

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/entertainment/showbiz-news/forqzy-beatz-attempts-gwr-longest-recording-marathon-with-multiple-artistes.html

PNC holds national executives elections, presidential primary in April ( Daily Graphic, Friday, March 15, 2024. Page 18)

The People's National Convention (PNC) will hold its National Executive elections and presidential primary in April this year. 

The PNC had initially set March 24, 2024, to hold it polls but due to series of conflicts that characterised the polling station elections, the National Executives decided to reschedule the elections for April this year.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic last Monday, the General Secretary of the PNC, Janet Nabla, indicated that although the party had written to the Electoral Commission (EC) to conduct the internal elections, the party had to hold on due to the inability of the EC to align its activities with the PNC’s elections.

Engagement

She said the party engaged the EC to conduct the election since it was a neutral party, however, the EC wrote back to them and demanded that the party amend its dates.

“We came out with our calendar and gave a copy to the EC.

However, the EC wrote back requesting for more collaboration to arrive at a suitable timeline that would not conflict with its programme of activities.

The EC wrote back to us that we should contact their Electoral Department for the modalities” she said.

Ms Nabla said the party had subsequently written to the Electoral Services Directorate of the EC for modalities towards the conduct of the polls and were waiting for a response on the way forward for the internal elections in the PNC.

She said the letter was submitted to the EC last Friday, March 8, 2024, and added that they were expecting a meeting with the EC to determine the way forward.

Timetable

The PNC in January this year announced the timelines for its internal elections with its regional and national executive polls scheduled for January 15 to 31 and March 2, 2024, respectively.

This would have been followed by the presidential primary on March 24, 2024 to elect a flag bearer for the party for the December 7, general election.

via  https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/politics/ghana-news-pnc-holds-national-executive-elections-presidential-primary-in-april.html

 

Mahama promises to revamp maritime sector ( Daily Graphic, Thursday, March 14, 2024 Page 18)

 The leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama, has pledged to revamp the Tema and Takoradi ports to make them competitive.

That, he explained, would make the ports attract more traffic of vessels and increase revenue for the country.

Habour forum

Speaking at a meeting with stakeholders in the maritime industry in Tema last Tuesday as part of his “Building Ghana Tour”, Mr Mahama stated that the next NDC government would work with all stakeholders in the maritime sector to revive the industry.  

The forum, attended by representatives of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, the Customs Brokers Association-Ghana (CUBAG), the National Fisheries Association of Ghana,(NAFAG) and other stakeholders such as Port Workers’ Union from the MPS Terminal 3 in Tema was aimed at soliciting their inputs on matters that affected port operations and trade facilitation with the view of improving the sector when the NDC wins power.

During an open forum, it was revealed by the stakeholders they were confronted with numerous challenges such as the abolishment of taxes on transit goods, removal of shipping line charges, reduction of charges and levies at the ports, port workers welfare issues, inadequate premix fuel, multiple state agencies' procedures and processes involved in port examinations leading to delay, high costs at the port among other challenges.

Mr Mahama noted that for many importers, the issue of clearing goods at the ports seems overbearing, hence some non-banking-financial players would be licensed under his administration to assist importers with the needed funds to clear their goods in a regulated space to ease the burden of clearing goods.

Responding to concerns of the stakeholders such as the GIFF, the CUBAG, the GNAF, Port Workers, Exporters and Importers Association, Mr Mahama pledged to work with freight forwarders to promulgate a Legislative Instrument to regulate the freight forwarding sector as the existing Customs Act was not enough to guide the operations of freight forwarders.

He also promised to work with stakeholders to address challenges with the vexed issue of shipping line charges.

Clergy

The NDC flag bearer early on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, as part of his tour in the Greater Accra Region, interacted with the clergy at the Assemblies of God Auditorium in Tema Community Four, where he reiterated the NDC plan not to abandon projects initiated by the NPP administration if the NDC was voted into power in 2024.

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/politics/ghana-news-mahama-promises-to-revamp-maritime-sector.html

VALCO gets new boiler to enhance operations ( Daily Graphic, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Page 29)

The Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) has inaugurated a new steam boiler which is expected to assist in the power generation activities of the factory.

Estimated at $300,000, the new equipment is expected to help increase the production of carbon anodes, a major input for the primary aluminium manufacturing process.

A steam boiler is used primarily in the production of green anodes, an integral part of the aluminium smelting process.

It is equipped with an economiser to improve fuel efficiency and also has a dual fuel burner for Residual Fuel Oil (RFO) and natural gas which will facilitate the transition to natural gas usage.

The Chief Executive Officer of VALCO, Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus Glover, speaking at a brief ceremony in Tema last Friday, (March 8) said the installation of the new steam boiler, which had been named after the former CEO of the company, Daniel Acheampong, would boost efficiency and reliability of the processing plant.

“With the new boiler, VALCO is now positioned to increase carbon anode production capacity in preparation for the ramp-up of our operating cells this year,” he said.

He explained that with the new boiler coming on board, VALCO had now increased its mixers from five to eight adding that management had put in place mechanisms to retrofit the extra two mixers to bring to 10 the original number of mixers for use in the aluminium smelting processes at the plant.

Mr Titus Glover said it had become necessary to get a new steam boiler because what was being used had outlived its efficiency as of February 2023, the tubes of the only functioning boiler got damaged leaving the smelter with no operating boiler.

He explained that when he assumed office as CEO of VALCO in August 2023, his predecessor, Mr Acheampong and the board had already granted approval and made a 30 per cent payment for a new steam boiler.

He said the boiler arrived at VALCO in December 2023 and installation was completed by January 31, 2024, and “so far, the facility has been running efficiently,” he stated and further said having installed the equipment, plans had also been put in place to retrofit and modernise the plant to increase production from the current 50,000 to 300,000 tonnes of aluminium per annum.

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-valco-gets-new-boiler-to-enhance-operations.html

 

2024 Elections: PPP to contest 10 parliamentary seats (Daily Graphic, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Page 19)

The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) will contest in not more than 10 constituencies in the parliamentary election of the upcoming 2024 general election.

It said, unlike the previous elections where the party presented candidates across the country, the party would this year target 10 constituencies where its candidates could make the most impact in their quest to annex the seat.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic last Monday, the General Secretary of the PPP, Remy Paa Kow Edmundson, indicated that in the 2020 elections, the PPP presented candidates in 19 constituencies but for the 2024 general election, the PPP was looking at presenting parliamentary candidates in not more than 10 constituencies where they believe they had the best of chance of annexing those seats.

He did not, however, disclose the constituencies and regions the party had targeted to contest, adding that that would be disclosed after the party opens nominations in April this year.

“In the past, we spent a lot of resources trying to contest parliamentary elections in almost all the constituencies across the country but as a party, we have realised that it is not feasible and we rather would like to focus on a few targeted constituencies where we are hopeful of making an impact,” he said.

Background

In the 2012 general elections, the PPP fielded 206 parliamentary candidates but was unable to secure a single seat in Parliament.

In the 2016 elections, the PPP fielded 154 parliamentary candidates yet again the party was unable to win any of the seats in the legislature.

Mr Edmundson said the PPP was wrapping up its constituency and regional elections which started in December last year, adding that in April, the party would announce the opening of nominations for flag bearer nominations.

He said the nominations process would be completed by the end of April after which the PPP would start full-scale campaigning towards the 2024 general election.

Mr Edmundson mentioned Brigitte Akosua Dzogbenuku, the 2020 Presidential Candidate and 2016 running mate of the party as having declared her interest in contesting the flagbearership slot, stressing that others would be known when the party opens nomination later this year.

via : https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/politics/ghana-news-2024-elections-ppp-to-contest-10-parliamentary-seats.html

We’re proactive to mandate - Peace Council assures stakeholders ( Daily Graphic, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Page 18)

The Chairman of the National Peace Council (NPC), Rev. Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi has described the council as proactive and alive to its mandate in facilitating and developing mechanisms for conflict prevention, management, resolution and building sustainable peace in the country. 

Contrary to claims by some stakeholders that the NPC was reactionary, he said the council always facilitated the development of mechanisms for cooperation among all relevant stakeholders in peacebuilding as required by the statutes setting it up.

“When people get frustrated in this country, the next thing is to find out who they can blame and the NPC comes in handy,” he said.

Rev. Dr Adu-Gyamf spoke to journalists last Monday on the sidelines of a National Peace Council trust-building programme and inter and Intraparty mechanism for addressing conflict at Miosto in the Greater Accra Region.

It formed part of a series of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) workshops for political parties throughout the country.  

He urged the public to understand the mandate of the council as stipulated by the law instead of blaming the council for not being proactive.

“Our objective, as the foremost peace-building institution in Ghana, has been to have political parties that have the capacity to address their internal party differences any time such differences arise with well-established internal party mechanisms.”

Representatives of political parties at the workshop welcomed the intervention by the NPC, describing it as timely as such dialogues at the incipient stages would enhance the knowledge and skills of political parties in addressing inter and intra-party conflicts.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) was represented by its Director for Conflict Resolution, Abraham Amaliba; the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Deputy Communications Director, Asiedu Kokuro; the General Secretary of the Peoples’ National Convention, Janet Nabla; the General Secretary of the Progressive Peoples’ Party, Remy Paa Kow Edmundson, and the General Secretary of the Great Consolidated Popular Party, Citizen Ato Dadzie. 
 

Cape Coast

At a similar workshop in Cape Coast, Shirley Asiedu-Addo reports that the Chairman of the Central Regional Peace Council, Rt Rev. Richardson Aboagye Andam stated that it would be detrimental if political actors became complacent towards promoting peace.

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/politics/ghana-news-were-proactive-to-mandate-peace-council-assures-stakeholders.html

 

Nii Annang Ajo Circuit tops quiz in Ga( Junior Graphic, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Page 4)

 

Ashaiman military brutality victims demand compensation (Daily Graphic, Tuesday, March 12, 2024 Page 27)

 

KOPIA Ghana hands over 300 metric tonnes of rice seed to increase local rice production(Daily Graphic, Saturday, March 9, 2024 Page 21)

The Korea Partnership for Innovation of Agriculture (KOPIA) has handed over 300 metric tonnes of rice seeds to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture for distribution to farmers across the country to produce rice.

The rice seeds produced at the Dawhenya Irrigation project site under a KOPIA- Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)partnership were aimed at scaling up Ghana's self-sufficiency in rice.

The four high-yield rice varieties, namely Crop Research Institute (CRI) Amankwatia, CRI Agyapa, CRI Agra and CRI Korea Mo were developed by CSIR with support from KOPIA and have been certified by the Ghana Seed Inspection Division of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. 

The new varieties, according to the researchers, possess all the good traits of quality rice  including all-year-round viability, early maturity, good milling quality, long grain and aromatic appeal to consumers on the market.

At the handover ceremony of the rice seeds at the Dawhenya Irrigation project site on March 5, 2024, the Director of KOPIA-Ghana, Dr Kim-Choong Hoe said Ghana currently imported 50 per cent of its rice requirements, stressing that it was  not good for the country.

Dr Hoe said Ghana had a huge potential to bridge the gap between demand and supply of rice adding that with effective agricultural mechanisation, Ghana could improve rice production and further reduce the quality of rice imported to about 30 per cent.

Collaboration

He indicated that under a five-year project spearheaded by the Rural Development Administration (RDA) in South Korea, in collaboration with the CSRI, which commenced last year, KOPIA Ghana Centre was committed to producing 5,000 metric tonnes six varieties of rice seeds to enhance local rice production which would help Ghana conserve foreign exchange.

A Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in charge of crops, Yaw Frimpong Addo, who received the rice seeds, expressed his excitement about the project stressing it would help improve and strengthen the rice seed system in the country. 

He gave an assurance that MOFA would ensure timely availability of quality seeds in the market to enable farmers to have access and to cultivate large acreages of land which would contribute to improving the quantity and quality of rice produced.
 
Rice revolution 

The Korean Ambassador to Ghana, Park Kyongsig, said Ghana had favourable conditions for greater output in rice production such as vast arable lands, source of water, diligent and hardworking farmers, good climatic conditions, and natural valleys for the cultivation of the cereal.

 via : https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-kopia-ghana-hands-over-300-metric-tonnes-of-rice-seed-to-increase-local-rice-production.html

Church should partner state to address youth unemployment — John Mahama(Daily Graphic, March 5, 2024 Page 19)

 Former President John Dramani Mahama has urged the Church to support the state to create employment opportunities for the youth. 

He bemoaned the increasing youth unemployment rate in the country, and said churches could intervene by creating job opportunities to contain the rising levels of unemployment.

Mr Mahama made the call last Wednesday during the Greater Accra East Region of the Assemblies of God’s sixth council meeting at Shai Hills in the Greater Accra Region.

The five-day conference on the theme: “Send the light for growth and expansion” was to fellowship, reflect on the past and plan for the ensuing year, as well as pray for the Church as a body and the country at large.

Mr Mahama, who was the special guest of honour, expressed concern about the grim outlook of youth unemployment in the country, stressing that this needed to be urgently resolved.

“In 2016, the unemployment rate in Ghana was 8.5 per cent. Today, one of the sad things to have happened over the last seven to eight years was that unemployment has grown from 8.5 per cent to 14.7 per cent, which is a worrying concern,” he said.

Mr Mahama, who is also the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), said there was the need for the country to find a way of involving the Church in opening employment opportunities for young people, stressing that he would provide support to encourage churches and institutions to go into job creation through the Ghana EXIM Bank facility when given the nod to lead the country in 2025.

"The Church can get involved by investing in areas such as livestock rearing, farming, agro processing, pharmaceuticals, information technology, financial services, among others, so that we can create more opportunities for our young people to get employed," he said, emphasising that it would require a joint effort between government and the private sector to create sustainable jobs for the youth.
 

Ghana will rise again

Mr Mahama said although Ghana might be going through a form of economic crisis, all was not lost as the country had the capacity to come out of the current challenges.

While commending the Church for the positive and meaningful role it had played in assisting the spiritual development of Ghanaians, he urged the citizenry to also do their part to make sure that Ghana bounced back again.

He said the Church was in a position to help the state to ensure free and fair elections, and urged churches to deploy non-partisan observers to carry out parallel vote tabulation as a tool for monitoring the conduct of elections alongside what the political parties and other election observers would do to ensure credible and peaceful elections.

Mr Mahama said since credible and peaceful elections remained a major issue for churches in Ghana, it was important that the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC), the Christian Council of Ghana and other faith organisations came together to put in a system to independently tally the outcome of elections.
 

Church growth 

The General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Ghana, Rev. Stephen Yenusom Wengam, said as part of the “Send the light Agenda”, every local Assemblies of God Church was mandated to plant at least one church, adding that every family, individual, department and agency within the Assemblies of God Church should also set a target of planting a church to spread the gospel and growth of the church throughout the country.

 

via : https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/politics/church-should-partner-state-to-address-youth-unemployment-john-mahama.html

1st Lady commends SOS Ghana for being beacon of hope (Daily Graphic, Monday, March 4, 2024. Page 38)

The First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has commended SOS Children’s Villages in Ghana for serving as a beacon of hope, compassion and transformation in the lives of countless children in need of care and protection.

Mrs Akufo-Addo noted that over the past five decades, SOS Children’s Villages in Ghana, built on the principles of love and respect in a secure and loving family environment for children in need, had left an indelible footprint on the landscape of child welfare as it worked to ensure no child grew up alone.

She was speaking during the official launch of the 50th anniversary celebration of SOS Children’s Villages in Ghana and the unveiling of the anniversary logo in Tema last Friday.

The theme for the anniversary is: "SOS Children's Villages, celebrating 50 years of transforming lives in Ghana."

SOS Ghana @ 50

The anniversary is aimed at celebrating and communicating the achievements of SOS Villages Ghana over the past 50 years.

The occasion will also be used to engage stakeholders and community members in programme locations, as well as nurture relationships with potential donors, while telling the SOS story to gain the necessary support in sustaining the quality of care given to beneficiary children.

Other activities earmarked for the 50th anniversary are a float through the principal streets across all four programme locations, namely Tema, Asiakwa, Kumasi and Tamale, an open day, a sports competition among all four villages, a launch of a 50th anniversary book, coding competition for children in all four SOS – Hermann Gmeiner schools, a national conference on alternative care in Ghana, as well as an award and dinner night.

 Positive change

Mrs Akufo-Addo, who is also a patron of SOS Children’s Villages in Ghana, noted that the organisation had not only been a sanctuary for children without parental care but also been a catalyst for positive change in local communities.

She applauded SOS Children’s Villages in Ghana for their flagship community intervention programmes geared towards strengthening families to better care and support the holistic development of children.

She said SOS Children’s Villages in Ghana had demonstrated an increased commitment towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Impact

A Brand Ambassador of SOS Children’s Villages in Ghana, Nathan Kwabena Anokye Adisi, popularly known as Bola Ray, noted the impact made by the organisation in the past 50 years in the lives of the many children who had benefited from the programme and urged corporate Ghana and individuals to support the institution.

The National Director of SOS Children’s Villages in Ghana, Alexander Mar Kekula, noted that SOS Villages Ghana remained committed to its mission of building families for children in need, helping them shape their future and sharing in the development of their communities.

He said these ideas had been encapsulated in their Golden Jubilee logo that reflected the essence of SOS Children’s Villages Ghana as a protector and supporter of the nation’s children for 50 years, showcasing a legacy of transformation and care.

The Member of Parliament for Tema Central, Yves Hanson-Nortey, who is also a former student of SOS – the Hermann Gmeiner School, said over the past 50 years, SOS had not only provided a loving home for children who had lost or risked losing parental care but had also trained young people to cultivate community leadership skills, as well as the need to uphold integrity in all they do

 via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-1st-lady-commends-sos-ghana-for-being-beacon-of-hope.html