A Chinese couple who abandoned their daughter when she was only a toddler, suddenly reappeared in her life decades later when they learned she was well off, to ask her for a home for her brother.
Zhang was only 2 years old when her parents decided they couldn’t raise her anymore and placed her in the care of her brother’s sister. They had little to no other interaction with her ever since, and the now 29-year-old woman always considered her aunt’s family her biological one. It was for this reason that she recently used part of her savings to help her cousin, who she considers her brother, buy an apartment. However, she never anticipated that her generosity would suddenly make her biological parents come knocking, asking her to buy an apartment for her biological brother as well.
The Shandong Business Daily reported that Zhang’s biological parents, who also live in Guangzhou, demanded that she take care of their son, whom they had kept, despite their financial difficulties. When the young woman refused, they filed a lawsuit with a local court asking for 500,000 yuan ($72,000) in “parental maintenance.”
The Chinese court recently issued a controversial verdict that sparked outrage on Chinese social media. It ruled that, while Zhang had no obligation to gift property to her adult biological brother or otherwise help him financially, she was legally required to support her parents.
Filial piety is a big deal in China, and the law clearly states that all adult children have a legal obligation to offer support to their biological parents, regardless of whether they fulfilled their duties as parents. Basically, if they gave you life, you need to support them when you grow up if their income does not cover the needs of daily life. In this particular case, the court ruled that Zhang needed to negotiate with her biological parents and settle on an amount to pay as maintenance.
The verdict sparked outrage online, with the vast majority of comments being critical to Zhang’s parents.
“Are they vampires? The father sucked up the blood of his sister, and now he and his wife want to drain the blood from their daughter,” one person wrote.
“It’s so lucky that Zhang didn’t grow up in her family of origin. Horrible!” someone else commented.
Member of Parliament for Akrofuom constituency, Alex Blankson together with the District Chief Executive Mr. Maurice Jonas Woode has commissioned a three-unit classroom block at the Akrofoum D/A School in the Ashanti Region.
Speaking at the commisioning of the project, the DCE stated that the school which serves as the only source of education for students in the community is forced to run a shift system in order to accomadate every shool child in the community.
The worrying situation informed leadership of the community to come togther and put up a structure for these students.
Mr Woode stated that subsequently, the assembly had to step in to put up a three (3) unit classroom block with Headteacher’s office, staff common room and furniture for both teachers and pupils, in an emergency move, to lessen their burden.
He added that about GH¢240,000 from the Stool Lands revenue was used to put up the structure to accommodate 800 pupils.
He was quick to add that, the Assembly has lined up additional classroom blocks and again fenced the school to ward off encroaches.
He encouraged parents to show interest in children’s education.
He said “We all know efforts Government is making in investing in education to take away the cash burden off parents, but parents must also do their best by showing interest in their children’s academic performance and general wellbeing in school.”
MP to roll out ‘Super Mock’ exams
The Member of Parliament for Akrofuom Constituency reiterated his commitment to improving teaching and learning by announcing the introduction of mock examinations for BECE candidates, known as ‘super mock’.
He said the mock exams will prepare the BECE candidates adequately for the main exams.
He praised the District Education Directorate and the District Chief Executive for their efforts in facilitating quality education in the district.
The District Director of Education, George Sarfo Kantanka lauded the DCE and MP for uniting to lobby for development in the area.
He added that it was only unity that will enhance development at Akrofuom.
While citing the plethora of challenges facing the education sector in the District including lack of staff bungalow and other infrastructure, Mr. Sarfo Kantanka called on other stakeholders, institutions and individuals to come in, and complement the efforts of the Assembly and the MP.
Ana di Pištonja, also known as Baba Anujka or the Banat Witch, was an accomplished amateur chemist who used her skills to kill as many as 150 people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Baba Anujka’s origins are shrouded in mystery. Some sources claim that she was born in 1838, in the Banat region of modern-day Romania, but her life was tied to the Yugoslavian village of Vladimirovac, in the Voievodina Province of present-day Serbia. As the daughter of a rich cattleman, she is said to have had a comfortable childhood and good education, but became a misanthropist in her early 20s, after being seduced by an Austrian officer who eventually left her with a broken heart and a syphilis infection. She found refuge in the field of chemistry and became known as a local healer and witch who could make anyone “disappear’ for the right price.
After isolating herself from the world for a few years, Ana di Pištonja allegedly married a landowner with whom she had five children. Unfortunately, only one of them reached adulthood. Her husband, who was reportedly much older than her, died 20 years into their marriage, and it was after his death that she became the Banat Witch.
Following her husband’s death, Anujka turned one wing of their home in Vladimirovac into a chemistry laboratory where she started experimenting with various mixes. She soon became known as a healer and herbalist among the people of Banat, but she also dabbled in more controversial potions. She would help soldiers get out of military service by giving them poison to make them ill, and wives rid themselves of their husbands with so-called “magic water.”
According to a surprisingly detailed Wikipedia entry on the Yugoslavian amateur chemist, “when told about a marriage problem, Anujka would ask her client, ‘How heavy is that problem?’, which meant, ‘What is the body mass of the victim?’. She would then calculate the dose of arsenic necessary to make “the problem” pass away without anyone realizing that they had been poisoned.
Baba Anujka would give the “magic water” to her clients, who were mostly women, and instructed them to give it to their husbands, who would usually die after about eight days. The old woman is believed to have been responsible for the deaths of at least 50, and up to 150 people.
By the 1920s, the magic water business of the Banat Witch had become so lucrative that she was able to hire a “sales agent” whose sole job was to find potential clients and bring them to the chemist. Of course, few understood the scientific process behind her product, so most of her clients reportedly believed that she had some kind of supernatural power that helped her magically kill people.
All this notoriety made Baba Anujka a lot of money, but inevitably drew more attention to her deadly business. In 1924, one of her regular clients, Stana Momirov, used magic mater to kill her husband Lazar Ludoški, and when an uncle of her second husband died in similar circumstances, authorities started asking questions. In December of 1926, Ana di Pištonja sold magic water to Sima Momirov and his wife Sofija, who intended to kill Sima’s 70-year-old father, Nikola. They succeeded, but their deed became part of the “Momirov Trials”, in which Baba Anujka was accused of being an accomplice in the murders of Lazar Ludoški and Nikola Momirov.
A spell binding performance by a South African musician has got the attention of R&B singer John Legend after he challenged musicians to record a verse for his latest song.
Mthandazo Gatya added “an African touch” as he called it, to Legend’s Nervous hit.
The American singer had posted a video of himself on TikTok singing a verse from his hit song and cueing others to join in.
Gatya, according to many fans, created the magic that Legend was looking for. Watch below:
“Thank you all for making sure John Legend sees my duet, great news is that he loved it and replied,” Gatya tweeted.
His verse, sang in his native Zulu, quickly became the fans’ favourite attracting more than one million views. Others urged Legend to end the challenge because there was a clear winner.
Gatya, a well known Amapiano artist, gained fame for a song widely shared online during South Africa’s lockdown to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Government has identified 100 exporters that we are nurturing, building their capacities, assisting them with funds to be able to take advantage of the market that we have. Ghana with 5 other countries; Rwanda, Egypt, Kenya, Liberia, we have what is called Trade Guided Initiative. These 6 countries have come together to be able to get the network to export products from one country to the other within AfCFTA,” he said.
“Government is also introducing Industrial parks development and special initiatives. These are plans that government has to be able to acquire litigation-free lands whereby SMEs could establish their manufacturing products within these parks so that they can export and take advantage of economic upscale,” he stated.
He noted that government is focused on SME capacity development in the area of profiling, match-making and linkage to the supply chain of large enterprises.
Govt to acquire litigation-free lands for SMEs – Dr Hawkins
Black Stars striker Inaki Williams was overjoyed after Athletic Club’s hard-fought win over Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish La Liga on Saturday.
Bilbao won the match 3-2, with the Ghana international and his younger brother Nico Williams, who has received a Spain call-up, scoring.
“Everything went well. Saturday, at nine o’clock at night, we have scored the two brothers and three points. The fans and we are happy for the break. We are on the wave and we have to continue fighting for what we want, which is to be in Europe”, summed up the oldest of the Williams to the microphones of ‘DAZN’ an almost magical night at the Cathedral.
“Marcelino left us a very solid base, a very reliable team at the back, very organized and this year we are making the most of our chances. Those of us at the top are having that bit of luck and efficiency, taking advantage of transitions very well and we are a very tough team,” Williams said.
“My parents are very proud, my family, friends, my girlfriend, everyone has joined”, he also congratulated himself for being the first match since they both scored. “Yes, my parents will be happy, it’s a pride we are very happy to be together and to be able to give nights like these to the fans”, Iñaki insisted.
A 40-year-old man has been dubbed ‘South Africa’s dumbest criminal’ after walking into a police station to get a job there despite being on a wanted criminal list.
Thomas Ngcobo had been on the run for the last seven years, after stealing hardware products worth more than $1,200 while working as a delivery man in 2015.
He reportedly diverted deliveries to other addresses without the owner’s consent or knowledge, and went on the run as soon as his manager realized that some invoices were missing and several products had been delivered to the wrong addresses.
Ngcobo’s name was added to the police’s wanted criminal list as soon as his employer filed a complaint against him, but he managed to avoid capture for seven years. And then he walked right into a police station like he didn’t even have a criminal record.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, told reporters that his colleagues at the local police station were baffled by Thomas Ngcobo’s visit. On August 15, the 40-year-old man reportedly walked into the station to complain that he hadn’t received a reply to his application for a job at the station and ask what the hold-up was.
“The suspect was unexpectedly nabbed on Monday, August 15, 2022, after he visited the Bethal SAPS to make enquiries about his application for a police recruitment drive,” Mohlala said.
According to South African news sources, the provincial law enforcement has been promoting Ngcobo’s arrest as an example of its tireless pursuit of justice, conveniently forgetting to mention that the suspect literally walked into a police station.
“We are working tirelessly day and night, sticking to our mandate of creating a safe environment for all citizens,” Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela said. “We cannot achieve that stage while other suspects are still roaming the streets and terrorising communities. It is just a matter of time before we bring them to justice.”
Ever since news of his arrest went viral online, Thomas Ngcobo has been dubbed ‘South Africa’s dumbest criminal.’
You’ve surely heard the expression about one bad apple spoiling the whole bunch. While it’s a metaphor for someone whose behavior makes a whole group look bad, it might also literally refer to the actual fruits and vegetables in your fridge. When you find one rotten grape in a pack or moldy bell pepper in your crisper drawer, is the produce touching these items still safe to eat? Or should you throw everything away?
“While one rotten apple can spoil the bunch, it takes time to do so,” said Matt Regusci, director of growth and public relations at ASI, a company that provides food safety inspections, certifications and consulting. “There’s no need to dump the whole vegetable drawer because of one rotten piece of fruit or veggie—just throw out the produce touching the rotten item.”
It’s also likely safe to eat produce that has touched a moldy item, as long as you wash it first and eat it quickly, he added. But there are many factors to consider. Here’s what you should know about how spoiled produce can affect nearby items and how to decide whether it’s still OK to eat.
Can rotten or moldy produce contaminate other items?
There are hundreds of thousands of species of molds, which are microscopic fungi that live on plant and animal matter, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Mold commonly spreads by releasing spores into the air, said Vanessa Coffman, director of the Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness. It can also spread via water or insects.
So, mold can easily migrate from one piece of fruit or vegetable to another that’s touching it, said Tamika Sims, senior director of food technology communications at the International Food Information Council.
“It’s best to first throw away the moldy produce and inspect the produce touching it for mold,” she said. “If you see mold, feel mushy skin or see discoloration, this produce must also be discarded.”
And, “clean out and wipe down your fridge regularly,” especially if you’ve had moldy items, Coffman added.
Some molds are OK to eat, like in blue cheeses, Coffman said. Others can cause severe disease. A few molds can produce mycotoxins, which are toxins that make you sick, but most U.S. consumers aren’t usually exposed to these kinds of molds, she added.
Moldy foods may also have bacterial growth. It’s this bacteria, not the mold itself, that usually causes foodborne illness, Coffman said.
Should you throw away fruits and vegetables that have touched a rotten item?
Food waste is a huge problem in the U.S. The average household wastes 32% of the food it purchases, costing consumers $240 billion a year, according to research published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.
So, it’s not always necessary to throw away everything in your crisper or an entire package of strawberries just because you spot one moldy piece of produce, Coffman said.
It can take a few days to a couple of weeks for fruits and vegetables to grow mold in the refrigerator or pantry, according to the Ultimate Mold Guide.
Rok Stritof / EyeEm via Getty Images. These moldy strawberries may be beyond saving.
But if you do see a moldy item, inspect neighboring fruits and vegetables for signs of mold (green or white fuzz) or spoilage (mushy texture or discoloration), Sims said.
“Evolution has given humans amazing instincts to tell if food is safe to eat,” using sight, touch and smell, Regusci said. “First, does it look good? No mold or cracks. Does it smell good? Not funky, unless you have purposely fermented or pickled it. Does it feel right? Not super mushy. Then it should taste right.”
Is it safe to eat produce that’s had a moldy neighbor?
Don’t see mold growing on a fruit or vegetable that’s been hanging out with a moldy item? You can usually wash the produce and eat it later. The USDA recommends washing produce under running tap water and avoiding using soap or detergent.
“The likelihood of getting ill from one of the fresh items that have been touching a rotten one in the U.S. is low, especially if you are a person without underlying health conditions,” Coffman said. People with mold allergies or compromised immune systems could be at risk for illness, though.
The USDA mostly recommends throwing away foods that display mold but suggests that some foods can still be eaten if you remove the mold. For example, on firm fruits and vegetables with low moisture content, like cabbage, bell peppers and carrots, you can cut off at least an inch around and below a small mold spot. Just avoid touching the moldy spot with your knife so you don’t cross-contaminate the produce.
However, soft produce with high moisture content, like tomatoes, peaches and cucumbers, should be thrown away if they show mold.
Coffman said mold on the surface can mean the “mold has also rooted deeply below.” If the food is contaminated with a mycotoxin-producing mold, the toxins spread throughout the item.
Never sniff moldy items, as you could inhale the mold spores, which could cause respiratory illness. People can also get sick from skin contact with moldy foods, Coffman said.
Keep in mind, too, that just because the food looks OK or you’ve removed the moldy bits, it could be unsafe to eat. Pathogens, like e.coli, listeria and salmonella, aren’t visible to the naked eye.
“There isn’t much you can do when inspecting produce at the grocery store to tell if it’s harboring something that might make you sick,” Coffman said. “What you can do is wash your produce, cook it when possible and keep an eye out for recalls and public health notices.”
She also suggested keeping raw meats and other foods from cooked foods, washing your hands frequently while cooking and handling food, and placing a kitchen thermometer in the refrigerator to ensure it’s set at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit to keep molds and bacteria from growing.
“If you do end up accidentally eating something moldy and have an allergic reaction, seek medical help,” Coffman said. “Symptoms can include a sudden onset of shortness of breath, nausea, fever or diarrhea.”
Former Deputy Minister of Communication Felix Kwakye Ofosu believes the Black Stars will not be star-struck when they face Brazil’s star-studded side in a friendly on Friday, September 23rd 2022.
With days to the match, some football fans in the country have predicted that Ghana will concede a lot of goals against Brazil due to the quality their opponent possesses.
However, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has disclosed that there’s no way ‘Brazil will bury’ Black Stars in the friendly match since Ghana’s players meet Brazil’s star players regularly at the club level.
According to him, Ghana’s players like Kudus, Salisu, Tariq Lamptey and Amartey are not aliens to Brazil’s Antony, Fred, Fabinho and Allison, who also play in Europe.
“So those who say Brazil will bury us, is it Neymar, Casemiro, Vinicius and Militao that Partey and Inaki Williams have not seen or played against before, or it is Antony, Fred, Fabinho and Allison that Kudus, Salisu, Tariq Lamptey and Amartey have not seen and played against before?” Felix Kwakye Ofosu tweeted.
The Black Stars have not won a game against Brazil in history. Ghana lost to the Selecao by 3-0 at the 2006 World Cup and lost by a lone goal in two other friendly matches.
The match between Ghana and Brazil forms part of preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
A fitting shop close to the Ghana Revenue Authority office has caught fire, destroying six stores and a few vehicles in Asafo, within the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly of the Ashanti Region.
Reports state that the incident originated when some petroleum products spilt over, spread to some vehicles being worked on, and sparked a fire.
The incident according to eyewitnesses started around 11: 30am on Tuesday morning.
Eyewitnesses say six shops, three ford buses and one Opel salon car, including other valuables, have been burnt as a result of the incident.
The Ghanaian Alumni Chapter of the University of Portsmouth, UK, has indicated its preparedness to support Ghanaian youth across the country to climb the educational ladder, get into good and profitable jobs to assist in economic development.
Professor Humphrey Danso, AG. Dean of the Faculty of Technical Education at the Akenten Appiah-Menkah University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, made the remark during the 30 years alumni celebration of the Ghanaian chapter of university of Portsmouth over the weekend at Legon in Accra.
It was to highlights on the achievements and impact of the university on the lives of young Ghanaian entrepreneurs, and professionals dotted around the country and put across a strong front for the Ghanaian alumni.
Similarly it is also to portray, expose and exhibit the Ghanaian culture at the global scene to endear the Ghanaian brand to the University, create more opportunities for Young Ghanaians who would want to study in the University to do so, knowing that they have a strong presence and support base from the alumni.
“We are an attractive group undoubtedly since University of Portsmouth is by far the largest university in the UK and we are leveraging on the youthful nature of the university to reach more young people for the greater good,” he opined.
Mr Abraham Antwi-Danso, president of the Ghanaian Chapter of the Alumni expressed desire to attract the youth and be supportive in their career progression, using modern trends and technology to network very well.
According to him, projecting a strong alumnus would help harness their personal development and the Nation at large.
He outlined a number of developments projects for the youth, cutting across the green economy, orange economy and leverage their experience, exposure and expertise from the UK to assist the Ghanaian Youth.
The alumni aside networking, engaged in fun games and puzzles to refresh themselves as well as create a hospitable environment for an enhanced networking and job hunts.
Wendy Shay, a singer, recently devoted a song to her friend, whom she claimed had stolen her lover.
The RuffTown Records artist said the song “Warning” was personal to her and difficult for hard-working women to find live in a post on social media.
Working women have a difficult time finding true love. My so-called best friend was pursuing my man while I was traveling and following my passion, and now the two of them are dating.
It’s hard for Hardworking women to get genuine love.
Whiles I was on the road chasing my Passion my so called bestfriend was also chasing my man
and now they are together
So ShayGang excuse me for my language,
this song is very personal.#WARNINGpic.twitter.com/6eBxo9jYuR
The Cancer Support Network Ghana (CSNGH), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) has donated GHC 8, 000.00 towards the surgery of a 12-year-old cancer patient.
The boy, Bright Acheampong Obour, underwent 10 cycles of chemotherapy to treat spindle cell sarcoma.
Spindle cell sarcoma is a rare cancerous tumour, which can develop in the bone or soft tissue and can also arise in any part of the body but is most common in the limbs.
Obour, who has been out of school for two terms due to his ailment need the amount for excision and skin grafting.
His parents spent huge sums of money for chemotherapy on the boy and were finding difficulty in raising the GHC 8, 000.00.
Mr Richard Mumuni, Media Relations Officer of the CSNGH, presented the cheque to GHC 8,000 to the parents of Obour at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), in Accra.
Mr Mumuni stated that CSBGH’s attention was drawn to the predicament of the boy and decided to assist him.
He said the cost of cancer treatment was high and called on individuals and corporate institutions to assist cancer patients.
Mr Mumuni assured that the NGO would continue to support cancer patients in the country, adding “sometimes people are unable to survive cancer because of financial constraints so let us all come on board and support patients by paying their bills.”
Receiving the cheque, Bright’s father, Mr Joseph KwabenaObour, expressed gratitude to CSNGH for the support.
He said “We have really spent a lot on his treatment so getting GHC 8,000.00 for this excision and skin grafting would have been very hard for us but luckily CSNGH came to our rescue and we are here today, happy and looking forward to the day he will be booked for the procedure. We are elated and grateful.”
The founder and leader of the All People’s Congress (APC) party, Dr Hassan Ayariga is peeved over what he describes as an alarming rate of negligence at the Kole-Bu Teaching Hospital(KBTH).
In an interview with Joy Prime on Tuesday, Dr Ayarigastated that the hospital has become a death trap for Ghanaians.
Recounting his near-death experience at the hospital, he mentioned that he was abandoned at night to battle for his life.
He stated that“The doctors left the place by 11:30 pm. Patients were crying because their oxygen had finished. Mine got finished around 2 am, and no doctor or nurse came there until 5:30 am in the morning. So we were on our own from 11:30 pm to 5:30 am,” he said.
In addition, he said, “After three and a half days, Korle-Bu was now taking me to go and check my lungs when I was to be transferred to IMAH Hospital. My saturation was reduced from 85 to 65. I tell you Korle-Bu is a death trap.”
Dr Hassan Ayariga believes the rate of negligence at the hospital is the major reason lives are lost every day.
According to the founder of the APC, Korle-Bu has the worst medical facility in all of Africa as a result of government incompetence.
He claims that despite taking out loans from foreigners to fund the country’s development, institutions are poorly run.
“All institutions in our nation lack management and oversight, and as a result, they are unable to pay their employees. The government must borrow money. The explanation for why we have borrowed 341 billion yet have nothing to show for it, “he said.
Meanwhile, if elected President, he promised to rebuild and restructure the hospital’s management.
“I’ll refurbish and change the management of Korle-Bu. I’ll make sure that nurses and doctors there have to go for extra training because when you go there, people don’t really care because they see death every day,” he said.
In order to create a single national household register from which social security programs will choose their beneficiaries, the Ghana National Household Registry (GNHR) has started a nationwide data collection effort.
Among others, the Registry seeks to streamline and make more efficient the targeting system in Ghana by using the same Proxy Mean Test indicators (Common Targeting Mechanism) in the identification of potential beneficiaries for social protection interventions.
The exercise would commence Monday, October 3, and end Tuesday, December 20 in the Central Region, which had been divided into two zones with Mfantseman, Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa, Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam, Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem, Abura-Asiebu-Kwamankese, Gomoa West and Cape Coast Metropolis making Zone one.
The Zone two involves; Agona East District, Awutu Senya West, Awutu Senya East Municipal, Agona West Municipal, Gomoa East and Central and Effutu Municipal Assemblies.
Addressing participants at the opening of a two-day workshop for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Information Service officers (ISD) in Cape Coast on Monday, Dr Richard Adjetey, the Head of GNHR, said the exercise would involve the use of an electronic data collection to safeguard the integrity of the information gathered for rapid processing of data.
The forum, organized by the GNHR was geared towards empowering the personnel to upscale public education to get the backing of the political, administrative, traditional and religious leaders as well as the public.
Underlining the essence of the exercise, Dr Adjetey said the GNHR, would support inter-institutional coordination to improve the impact of social spending and the elimination of duplication.
That, he said would allow the development of accurate socio-economic analyses on poverty to support drawing of plans, designs and development of specific programmes targeted at the vulnerable and low-income sectors with a reliable and modern system of social information.
“The data will support activities of institutions including Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) & LEAP 1,000, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Free School Uniforms/Free Exercise Books, Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP), and the Labour-Intensive Public Works Programme (LIPW).
“Others are; Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies engaged in any other social development works that requires the targeting of the poor and vulnerable, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, research institutions and non-governmental organizations,” he said.
Furthermore, Dr Adjetey said review meetings were ongoing with the national Identification Authority, National Health Insurance Authority and LEAP on data sharing systems integration as a sharing portal was being finalized to share requested data.
Mr David Ofori Amoah, Chief Information Officer, said the capacity-building exercise had been tailor-made to equip them with relevant skills to ensure effective government communications.
With the emergence of technology and new media, he said, there was the need for the officers to equip themselves to add value to their work.
He emphasized the importance of increasing the research prowess and capabilities of officers to add value to their task of raising public knowledge about government policies, providing public relations for the various local assemblies and accurately offering feedback to the Government.
Ghana target Callum Hudson-Odoi is enjoying his No.10 role at Bayer Leverkusen, having joined them on a season-long loan from Chelsea in the recent summer window.
The 21-year-old has been deployed in the position by coach Gerardo Seoane behind center-forward Patrik Schick with Moussa Diaby and Jeremie Frimpong on either side.
Hudson-Odoi has made five appearances for the Bundesliga side this season and provided one assist.
“I’m definitely excited. I think it’s a new experience for me – I haven’t been anywhere else but Chelsea,” the highly-rated forward told Bayer’s website.
“So coming here, I’m delighted to be here and I can’t wait to get started with the boys, get going and hopefully do well.
“The project [is attractive]. I said to the family that I want to go out there and make sure that I’m playing football and get the opportunity to play in front of great fans. It’s massive for me to come here.”
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) is leading extensive beach and river clean-ups across the African continent this month as part of the International Coastal Clean-up initiative to remove plastic waste from the environment and raise awareness of the need to recycle.
Teams of volunteers supported by CCBA have rallied across Ghana, South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia to collect plastic waste.
Every year, on the third Saturday of September, volunteers around the world take part in the world’s biggest coastal clean-up, International Coastal Cleanup Day.
“Food and beverage packaging is an important part of our modern lives, yet the world has a packaging problem, which we as CCBA, together with the Coca-Cola Company, have a responsibility to help solve,” said Tshidi Ramogase, CCBA Chief Public Affairs, Communication and Sustainability Officer.
“To encourage more people to recycle more often, we’re investing to help people understand what to recycle, how to recycle, and where to recycle. As part of International Coastal Cleanup Day, we are working with local communities and NGOs across Africa to highlight this critical issue.
“These clean-ups help shift attitudes towards littering and recycling, encourage environmentally responsible waste-management habits and motivate communities across the continent to recycle,” Ramogase said.
In Namibia, Coastal Cleanup Day coincides with a national clean-up day so the whole country is involved, as well as the Ministry for the Environment. CCBA will be doing clean-ups over September in Windhoek, Otjiwarongo, Keetmanshoop, Walvis Bay and Oshakati.
In South Africa, there are clean-ups in Enseleni, Richards Bay, Durban, Gqeberha, East London and Port Shepstone.
In Ghana, CCBA subsidiary, Voltic partnered with the University of Ghana Plastic Recycling Project and Miniplast Limited to clean up Laboma Beach.
In Zambia, CCBA partnered with the Siavonga City Council to conduct a clean-up exercise at Lake Kariba.
In Ethiopia, CCBA joined forces with a youth-led organisation called Green Rotaract Concept and cleaned up the Little Akaki River in Addis Ababa.
The team in Mozambique not only held a volunteer clean-up but also had an educational workshop with well-known environmentalist, Carlos Serra, to help increase awareness of the need to develop good recycling habits.
Ramogase added: “While increasing recycling rates and using more recycled content in packaging is key, it is equally important to dramatically increase the collection of post-consumer waste and prevent it from ending up in rivers and oceans.
“This requires a mass awareness campaign to shift consumer behavior. We’re bringing people together through programmes like beach and river cleanups and other ongoing local activities.”
CCBA aims to help make the world’s packaging problem a thing of the past, working in partnership with Coca-Cola Company which launched a sustainable packaging initiative called World Without Waste in 2018.
CCBA aims to help collect a bottle or can for everyone it sells by 2030, to make all its packaging recyclable and have 50% recycled content in its packaging by 2030, and make 25% of its packaging reusable by 2030.
The current rate of inflation for the month of August is 33.9%.
A statement by the IEA on September 19, 2022, said: “Countries around the world, including major economies, where inflation tends to be mostly demand-driven, and where demand-management approaches, such as IT, may be more appropriate tools, have resorted to interventions directed to the supply factors attendant to Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war. The US has passed the Inflation Reduction Act.
“The new UK Prime Minister has imposed caps on energy prices for two years. France has capped fuel prices and limited electricity tariff increases to 4%. If these countries are taking these unorthodox and innovative measures to cushion their citizens, who are far richer than us, why can’t our policymakers be equally proactive?” he queried.
The IEA also noted that the Bank of Ghana’s IT framework for dealing with inflation has not been able to properly deal with the situation.
“We have repeatedly pointed out the inadequacy of the IT framework in dealing with these supply and cost drivers of inflation, especially at the primary level, although, we acknowledge its potential role in stemming second-round effects of these factors. The supply and cost factors should be directly targeted with appropriate policy interventions,” it mentioned.
A mobile application, fish farm tracker App, has been launched in Accra on Monday, September 19, 2022.
The app will enhance fish farming management and boost fish marketing in the country.
It would provide digital solution for general fish farm records keeping, data collection, production management, basic fish health and water quality monitoring, business and economic management.
Additionally, the app will also serve as a real-time online fish market, give extension support to farmers and provide a platform for fish farmers to communicate with their colleagues, clients and experts.
A consortium of international and local research institutes, led by International Food Policy Research Institute (FPRI), and the Water Research Institute, (WRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) implemented the project titled “Accelerating aquaculture development in Ghana through sustainable Nile Tilapia seed production and dissemination (TiSeed).”
Launched in February 2019, it was aimed to address issues in the tilapia seed and extension system to improve productivity and profitability of tilapia cage and pond farming in Ghana, with particular focus on women and youth small-scale fish farmers.
The Director of Research, Statistics and Information management at the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Mr Ishmael Adjei Brown, who launched the App on behalf of the sector minister, said the App and knowledge gained from the project would boost the sector.
He urged the Fisheries Commission to support the implementer to scale up their work, and advised beneficiaries to share the knowledge and skills acquired with others.
In a presentation, Project lead, Dr Catherine Ragasa, said the project was implemented in seven regions; Volta, Eastern, Ashanti, Bono, Bono East, Ahafo and Greater Accra, with $1.4 million from the Netherlands and other sponsors.
She said 378 fish farmers, zonal officers and youth were trained, with 36 hatchery and nursery operators supported to improve their operations with research papers and other documents to aid knowledge acquisition.
She said the TiSeed project contributed significantly to increasing fish farming production in the country by 2,500 tonnes from 2020 to 2021, especially among pond farmers.
“More than half of the trained farmers experienced lower fish mortality, faster growth and heavier fish and also improved their records keeping, water management and biosafety practices.
“The training has led to an increase of 0.48 more kilogramme of fish harvested per square metre, or $627 additional income per trainee per year on average,” Dr Ragasa said.
The CSIR-WRI Director, Prof. Mike Atweneboana, in a speech read on his behalf, said when the project started, the tilapia seed system had been compromised, resulting in loss of poor quality seeds, jobs losses and food insecurity.
Lauding implementers for surmounting the COVID-19 challenges to achieve their aim, he called on stakeholders to adopt best practices from the project to contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.
A Senior Manager at the FC, Ms Jennifer Viglo, said the fisheries sector was a source of employment for many people in the country, hence the need for all efforts to be made to sustain it.
The Trade and Industry Ministry has mandated that enterprises, notably Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), go digital as a result of the development of technology.
This would assist these small and medium-sized businesses maintain their competitiveness while they conduct business with clients from other sub-regional nations, according to him.
He noted that government has put in measures to support the sector grow as most of the country’s export earnings come from this sector.
Speaking at the West Africa Connect programme in Accra on Tuesday, September 20, 2022, he said, “We also encourage them to go online with their products and we are having capacity-building training programmes for them so that we can network not only for the domestic market and for AfCFTA.”
“For AfCFTA as a whole, the government has put in place a measure to identify 100 MSMEs that are being supported both capacity building, and financially for them to be able to move across the borders of Ghana to trade with their partners in West Africa as a whole,” the Technical Advisor to the Minister of Trade, Dr John Asiedu Hawkins stated.
AfCFTA was introduced in 2018 and aims at creating a single market for Africa, as well as, ensuring the free movement of goods and services on the continent.
This free movement of goods and services will help expand Intra-African trade.
This implies that goods will be sold at a relatively cheaper price because of the increase in production which will in turn create both direct and indirect jobs for the teeming unemployed youth.
Another dead body has been found in the Upper Westregional capital, Wa.
This brings to two the number of bodies discovered so far in the spate of unexplained murders.
The most recent episode ensued last Friday, September 16, when the Police retrieved the body of the 58-year-old security man.
Residents there have been living in fear following the murder of nine people in the last five months.
It is unclear the motive for the killings as the police deploy more personnel to bring the situation under control.
Regarding Monday night’s discovery, the deceased had some body parts removed.
According to Upper West Regional Correspondent, Rafiq Salam, the body was found with kidneys, heart and private parts missing.
Interior Minister, the Inspector-General of Police in the company of the Regional Security Council met the traditional authority and residents to assure them of their safety on Monday.
More bodies could be found
That same day, the leader of the youth group leading the search team feared there could be more buried dead bodies in the bush where one body was retrieved on Sunday.
Suphan Iddrisu on Sunday led a search team that discovered the mutilated body of one of the murdered private security men.
Speaking on Top Story, Monday, he noted that during their search in the bushes, they found some other body parts which they suspect could be the body parts of another person.
“The body parts that we found, we asked the police to check whether those parts were intact or otherwise but our checks prove that those human parts that we saw were intact in the person that we saw yesterday so we are thinking that that was another person that has been buried there or taken away.
“Yesterday’s incident started the same way, we went inside the bush and we were able to find traces that end up leading us to where they buried one of the men.
Meanwhile, the Police have already arrested one person believed to be the prime suspect behind the Wa murder case.
Suspect Kankani Adongo was arrested on September 19, at Bamahu, a suburb of Wa after extensive collaboration between the Police and community search parties.
The suspect is in custody and will be arraigned before the court to face justice.
“We got to a point and identified some items we suspected to be human parts. We moved on to an uncompleted building, and we also found some strange materials there too,” a member of the local search team said.
The Ghana Police Service has announced a reward of ¢100,000 for persons who can volunteer credible information that will lead to the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators behind the recent killings.
Ghana and Finland have signed a framework agreement for a trade and investment mission on Monday, September 19, in Helsinki, Finland.
The projects will be funded under Finland’s Public Sector Investment Facility (PIF) Scheme in conjunction with a trade and investment mission to Finland by a business delegation from Ghana.
Using Finnish technology and knowledge, Finland’s Public Sector Investment Facility (PIF) Scheme is a financing tool created to encourage public sector investments in developing countries that are in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The purpose of the PIF Scheme is to provide additional financing for projects acceptable to Finland in accordance with the OECD Arrangement on Guidelines for Officially Supported Export Credits.
As stated earlier, the ceremony took place on the margins of an ongoing trade and investment mission to Finland and to two other Scandinavian countries namely Denmark and Sweden by a business delegation.
The Mission was organised by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and Ghana Investment Promotion Centre in collaboration with the Embassies of Ghana in Oslo and Denmark, to showcase Ghana’s vast business potential and pursue bilateral trade and investment opportunities in the areas of ICT, education, energy and circular economy – waste management, bio-economy and clean technology.
Ghana is also seeking to explore potential investment opportunities and help create a network of buyers,
agents, suppliers and key government contacts.
The sixty-six-member business delegation comprising the public and private sectors is led by the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Kwaku Ampratwum Sarpong.
Other high-level government officials include the Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Herbert Krapa; the Deputy Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ama Pomaa Boateng; the CEO of EXIM Bank of Ghana, Lawrence Agyinsam; the CEO of Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Dr Afua Asabea Asare; the CEO of Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication, Prince Sefah; the Deputy CEO of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Yaw Amoateng Afriyie; the Ag. Director-General of Cyber
Security Authority, Dr Albert Antwi-Boasiako, and the Ambassador of Ghana to Finland, Jennifer Lartey.
While in Finland, the high-level government officials have held Government-to-Government bilateral meetings with Ministers, CEOs and Officials of selected Finnish institutions including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Business Finland, SITRA and FINNERVA, whose focus areas include investment, trade, digitalization, green energy transformation, smart inclusive cities, sustainable mining, and circular economy among others.
The meetings have afforded the officials the opportunity to learn from their Finnish counterparts including the possibility of attracting Finnish companies operating in these sectors to invest in Ghana. The
engagements have also served as a springboard to further deepen the already existing cordial bilateral relations between Ghana and Finland.
The Ghana-Finland Business Forum, which is taking place on Tuesday, September 20, 2022, will also provide the platform for Ghana to be showcased as the most attractive investment destination in West Africa and to also urge Finnish companies to partner with their Ghanaian counterparts.
The Forum will be followed by business-to-business and business-to-government meetings that will provide an opportunity for the various private sector institutions from Ghana and Finland to engage with each other for possible collaboration in their sectors of operations.
Mr. Boateng was addressing the media in advance of the 2nd International Coconut Festival’s official launch, which will take place at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) from September 20 to 23, 2022.
He said Ghana’s problem of unemployment can be a thing of the past if the coconut sector is well-harnessed as there is a ready market for the country’s coconut products both locally and internationally.
“Coconut is a game changer; and our main aim as organizers of the Coconut Festival is to promote investment in the sector and make it more attractive for Ghanaians to venture into the various businesses associated with it from production, manufacturing to export.”
“The coconut industry alone can employ up to a million Ghanaians because it has good structures under the Coconut Federation, which is made up of five wings; nursery operators, producers (farmers), vendors, processors, and exporters.”
Themed, “Repositioning Ghana’s Coconut Sector for Accelerated Industrialization”, the event is a partnership between the African Coconut Group and the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA).
Activities for this year’s edition include seminars, mentorship for young people, and sessions with women in coconut.
In 2019, GEPA, partnered with ACG to hold the first ever International Coconut Festival in Ghana, which brought together exhibitors as well as major players to promote the coconut business.
The government of Ghana added coconut to the National Tree Crop Development Authority (NTCDA), which was established in 2019 and mandated to develop and regulate the production, processing, marketing, and export of coconut and other selected tree crops.
According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database for the year 2017, Ghana ranked 14th on the list of the world’s top coconut producers with 383,960 metric tonnes produced in 2017 alone.
The country’s export of desiccated coconut alone amounted to 21.9 million dollars in 2021 from 6.3 million dollars in 2020 and 3.8 million dollars in 2019, making Ghana 9th in global export of desiccated coconut.
In order to allow retirees to choose not to participate in the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) pension plan, the Civil and Local Government Staff Association (CLOGSAG) has given notice that it would forward a proposal to Parliament to change the Pensions Act, 766.
According to CLOGSAG, this enables retirees who have completed their required 180 months of employment to get a higher pension.
According to the group, this appeal is necessary to ensure that pensioners do not fare worse under the SSNIT pension plan.
Ashimeru started and lasted the entire duration as Anderlecht thumped Kortrijk 4-1 in the Belgian Pro League on Sunday.
The 24-year-old scored the sides’ second goal as they cruised to a resounding victory.
After the game, Ashimeru said he and his teammates were ready to die on the pitch in the bid to win the game.
“My headed goal? It’s nice, it’s my second with Anderlecht. I hope it continues,”
“It was very important for us to win before this 10-day break, we will be able to recharge the batteries”.
“We wanted to show what Anderlecht is capable of. We had to show something to the supporters, who have been supporting us for a long time. We were ready to die on the pitch”,
“Now we have to continue like this. The staff and the players all feel that we can do better and we will.”
Ashimeru has featured five times for Anderlecht this season, scoring two goals and providing one assist.
Premier League leaders, Arsenal have sent the Ghana Football Association [GFA] a detailed report of how Thomas Partey should be used against Brazil and Nicaragua in the international friendlies.
The 29-year-old made an injury return in the Gunners’ 3-0 win against Brentford last weekend.
Partey played 72 minutes of the game.
The Ghana deputy captain has struggled with similar muscle problems in the past and the English club want to make sure their priced asset returns from the break fit.
Arsenal contacted the Ghana Football Association before releasing the midfielder for the international assignment.
The ex-Atletico Madrid star is expected to feature for the Black Stars in the friendly against Brazil on Friday.
Partey will also play a role in the match against Nicaragua three days later in Spain.
The Arsenal star scored the goal that sent Ghana to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
He is expected to play a major role in Ghana’s squad at the 2022 Mundial scheduled to kick off on November 20.
Anderlecht midfielder, Majeed Ashimeru has shared highlights of his impressive outings for the club in the ongoing season.
The midfielder posted the video compilations of his goals, skills, passes, and assists for the club.
The video comes after the in-form midfielder was left out of Ghana’s squad for the friendly matches against Brazil and Nicaragua.
Majeed Ashimeru has been impressive for Ashimeru this season and scored a goal for them in their win over Kortrijk in the Belgian league.
The Black Stars, meanwhile are preparing feverishly for the game against Brazil on Friday, September 3, 2022.
In the first training session held on Monday, twenty-four players turned with coach Otto Addo leading the charge.
Since then, two others have joined and Ghana now has 26 players in camp with Mohammed Salisu and Daniel Amartey the only two left.
The players will participate in their second training session on Tuesday, September 20, 2022, with coach Otto Addo, expected to imbibe his style and tactics into the players ahead of the World Cup.
In the 2022 World Cup, Ghana will play Portugal, Uruguay, and South Korea in Group H.
Anger and criticism over China’s unrelenting zero-Covid policy has erupted after a bus transporting resident to a coronavirus quarantine facility crashed on Sunday, killing 27 people.
According to authorities, the bus was carrying 47 people from Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province, to a remote county 155 miles (249 kilometers) away, when it overturned on a mountainous stretch of highway and rolled into a ditch at around 2:40 a.m.
It is unclear why a quarantine bus would take people on winding mountain roads after midnight. China’s transport regulation prohibits long-distance coaches from operating between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.
A photo widely circulated on social media shows the bus driving at night, with the driver wearing a full hazmat suit that left only his eyes uncovered. Other photos and videos show the bus being towed by a truck, its top crushed, and a hazmat suited worker spraying disinfectant on it. While CNN cannot independently verify the photos and videos, the bus license plate in the images matches the plate number reported by authorities.
Survivors of the crash are now receiving treatment in hospital, according to authorities.
News about the deaths sparked a huge outcry on Chinese social media, with many questioning the increasingly over-the-top implementation of China’s zero-Covid policy, which relies on snap lockdowns, mass testing and extensive quarantining measures to curb outbreaks.
Stringent and prolonged lockdowns have recently sparked outcries in cities ranging from Guiyang, Chengdu to Jinan, as well as the regions of Xinjiang and Tibet.
“What makes you think that you won’t be on that late-night bus one day?” read a viral comment, which garnered more than 250,000 likes before it was censored.
“We’re all on the bus. We just haven’t crashed yet,” another comment said.
Chinese censors rushed to cover the outrage. Many state media postings about the accident have closed the comment section, and search results appeared to be filtered. A related hashtag attracted more than 450 million views as of Sunday evening, but only posts from official government and media accounts were shown.
A Guizhou resident who said her friend was killed on the bus took to Weibo to demand the Guiyang government to be held accountable. Her posts were widely shared, drawing an outpouring of anger and sympathy. The user declined CNN’s interview requests and later hid her posts.
Guizhou officials are under huge pressure to contain even small-scale Covid outbreaks in the lead up to the 20th Party Congress, where Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to secure a norm-breaking third term in power.
Guizhou reported 712 infections for Saturday, accounting for 70% of new cases nationwide. Nine local officials in Guiyang have already been suspended this month for failing to implement Covid policies properly.
On Saturday, Guiyang officials vowed to “fight a decisive battle” to eliminate community transmission. In zero-Covid China, a solution commonly used by local authorities is to bus entire buildings or communities of residents out of the city to quarantine elsewhere.
In Guiyang, which was placed under a lockdown earlier this month, authorities prepared 20 buses and 40 drivers to transport close contacts of Covid cases to other cities, the state-run Guiyang Evening Paper reported. As of Saturday, more than 7,000 people had been transferred, and nearly 3,000 were waiting to be bused out.
According to government data, only two people have died of Covid in Guizhou, a province of 38 million people, since the beginning of the pandemic.
The Alhaji Aliu Mahama Stadium in Tamale is fast deteriorating due to the poor maintenance of the only accredited Ghana Premier League match venue in Northern Ghana.
The multipurpose stadium facility since its construction in 2008 has seen little renovation, leading to its deterioration.
The 12-year-old facility looks good from the outside and in the stands, as the relatively good-looking pitch hides the stinking and deteriorating details of the facility.
The roof at the VVIP and Popular stands leaks terribly when it rains, wetting fans more than on-field players during wet match days.
On Sunday 18th September 2022 during the GPL match between New entrants, Tamale City FC and Legon Cities, a heavy downpour exposed the worse state of the roof as home fans watching the game from the two stands were well and heavily beaten by the rain before the Accra based side also beat their team.
The Aliu Mahama Stadium which is also home to the Ghana Premier League side, Real Tamale United, and several Division One League sides has its toilet facilities in terrible condition with heaps of rubbish and excrements littered inside the toilet.
Some disappointed football fans who spoke to GhanaWeb blamed the management of the Ghana Sports Authority for doing little to maintain the facility, despite charging football clubs, entertainment, and event organizers huge monies to access their facilities.
“The state of the facility is appalling, especially when you enter the washroom, You’ll see rubbers everywhere, faeces in the water closets, and the stink in there is terrible. We come to watch football but we can’t be watching the game in this filth,” one fan said
Another fan called on the government to renovate the facility to at least meet international standards.
“It is not surprising that CAF and FIFA have been rejecting this facility for international matches, it’s a shame. The government should be fixing this now,” he said.
Shaibu Terry, a Sports Journalist with Tamale-based Bishara FM put the blame squarely on the Northern Regional Director of Sports at the NSA, Salamatu Adam, calling for her immediate removal.
“Some few years ago, I was one of the few Journalists who stood behind madam Salamatu when some cabal wanted to remove her for their personal gains, however with the current state of the Alhaji Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium, I honestly think Madam Sala is incompetent to manage the affairs of the stadium and must be removed for a competent person to manage the place,” Mr. Terry told said
“I am not surprised that Tamale is no longer getting the national attention when it comes to national teams’ assignments, just look at the toilets, the roof, and even the weeds at the car park have overgrown,” he added.
The Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium which hosted some matches during the 2008 African Cup of Nations has a capacity of about 21,000.
The stadium has also hosted other international matches including AFCON and World Cup qualifiers.
However, it has in recent times been rejected by CAF Club Licensing Officials for international matches due to its poor state.
Black Stars captain, Andre Ayew has disclosed how his teammates confidence in him has helped him weather the storm whenever the situation arises.
According to the Al Sadd attacker, the national team has gone through a lot of difficult times including a change of coaches among others.
However, the responsibility of having to work with different players has led to the team chalking a few successes including the World Cup qualification.
“I’m very lucky to be with players who give me that leadership role, who have confidence me, who give me a lot of responsibilities and I think I have senior players around me to help.
“You can’t do it alone; you always need those around and I think we are doing a good job. It wasn’t easy since I became a captain, there have been a lot of changes, a lot of coaches but globally it’s not bad.
“We need to keep pushing and we will be rewarded by God’s grace,” Andre Ayew told Radio Gold Talk Sport.
The Black Stars have been placed in Group H with Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Due to the widespread affects and legends surrounding Ghana’s first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, his stories may as well be legendary.
Even in the distant past, Tanzania, an East African nation, honored the contributions and achievements of the pan-Africanist by naming a structure after him and including it on their currency.
The structure, which is at the University of Dar Es Salaam, houses the works of people who continue to assist the economic and sociocultural growth of the nation, according to information given by Ghana Facts & History on Twitter.
It is through this, and the distinct impression that the Nkrumah Hall has had on the university community and the country as a whole, that the building once appeared on the Tanzanian 500 shillings note.
The Nkrumah Hall is now a UNESCO National Heritage Building and has become an iconic symbol of academic enquiry, liberty, and development.
While researching further, GhanaWeb chanced on another information on how the Nkrumah Hall building got to be featured on the country’s currency.
According to a user on Twitter, Awakey (@kofiawapo), the symbolism of having Kwame Nkrumah’s name on the building, and then featured on the 500 shillings note, was out of gratitude to the Ghanaian president.
“… the origin of the 500 shillings note, apparently was given to Nkrumah as a gift by a Head of State. He pledged to give a scholarship to a Tanzanian citizen to study in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology,” he tweeted.
Ghana celebrates the birthday of Kwame Nkrumah on September 21.
While the country has not marked the day as a national holiday in the last few years, because of the new Public Holidays Act, 2018, which was passed by Parliament in 2018 to amend the Public Holidays Act, 2001, a new information from the Minister of the Interior days ago said this year’s would be marked otherwise.
The new Act replaced three public holidays, including September 21, and introduced two new holidays, January 7 and August 4.
However, in the statement issued by the minister on Friday, September 17, 2022, it said Wednesday, September 21, 2021, has been declared a statutory holiday.
Therefore, the Association is doubting the government’s dedication to their wellbeing.
The insurance plan that the government guaranteed to all nurses and midwives who get the virus is the main problem.
But as of right now, we haven’t heard anything encouraging from our members.
Speaking to JoyNews, the Association’s General Secretary David Tenkorang said such disappointments are a major push factor for the high attrition.
“The motivation is low and now people are leaving and they continue to leave because there is no motivation to stay in Ghana. Whatever you are promised is not paid.
“Most of our people had to take care of their own medical bills when they tested positive for Covid -19. And this is unacceptable,” he stated.
A brother of the victim also, in an attempt to rescue his brother, was also slashed with the machete.
The report further noted that the owner of the area where the mentally challenged man seems to have erected a structure to reside in denied granting permission to same.
He, however, explained that he had reported the issue to the police, but the police have since said it was not their duty to vacate the mentally challenged man from where he resides.
Black Stars skipper, Andre Dede Ayew has said that the old members of the squad will do everything possible to ensure that the new players enjoy a comfortable transition into the team.
Otto Addo’s squad for the friendlies against Brazil and Nicaragua has five players who are yet to make an appearance for Ghana.
Mohammed, Salisu, Stephan Ambrosius, Ransford Yeboah, Tariq Lamptey, and Inaki Williams are all expected to make their debut for the Black Stars in the games scheduled for Friday and Tuesday.
With issues of adaptation being one of the concerns raised after the nationality switches of the players were confirmed, skipper Andre Ayew says he will try his possible best to ensure that the players enjoy their stay in camp.
He believes that with their decision to play for Ghana, the players have demonstrated some love for the country and are impressed by their decisions.
Andre Ayew however, wants them to devoted and committed to the course of the Black Stars in the World Cup and beyond.
“First of all, the fact that they considered themselves as Ghanaians and are ready to play for Ghana means they are welcome. We’ll open the door for anybody that can help us to achieve something and for the long term is welcome. They should come with the right heart and the right idea and everyone will welcome them into the team,” he added.
Andre and his teammates are currently camping in Paris for the match against Brazil on Friday, September 23, 2022.
So far, 26 players have arrived in camp with England-based Mohammed Salisu and Daniel Amartey the only players left.
The players will participate in their second training session with coach Otto Addo expected to imbibe his style and tactics into the players ahead of the World Cup.
In the 2022 World Cup, Ghana will play Portugal, Uruguay, and South Korea in Group H.
On day two of the Ghana Canadian Diaspora Investment Summit in Toronto, Canada, which was organized by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) to strategically engage the Ghanaian Diaspora in order to attract their long-term investments and partnerships for Ghana’s development, she gave the keynote address.
“Grow in Ghana, grow with Ghana” was the summit’s slogan.
Since June 2018, the Bank of Ghana has published a circular outlining the legal status of cryptocurrencies in Ghana, warning all financial institutions from engaging in cryptocurrency transactions and advising the general people to steer clear of any crypto platforms.
Meanwhile, the BoG is currently piloting its own central bank digital currency (CDBC) called the eCedi which, unlike cryptocurrency that is not backed by any currency or central bank, is backed by Ghana’s cedi and BoG, and can be trusted to be more stable.
But Ursula Owusu-Ekuful noted that whereas it is good for the Bank of Ghana to be piloting the eCedi, which is backed by the Ghanaian cedi, it is also important to acknowledge that cryptocurrency, which is deemed illegal in Ghana and many other countries, is happening and fast gaining legitimacy, so “we can no longer sit on the fence”.
The minister compared crypto today to VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) like WhatsApp call, Facebook call, Telegram call and others in the past, saying that VoIP used to be illegal, and several steps were taken to clamp down on operators that allowed it then, but today it is the norm.
“In the same vein, cryptocurrencies that are now illegal may very well become the norm many years down the line,” she said.
The minister’s call is no different from what the Chairman of Ghana.com, Professor Nii Narku Quaynor, said not long ago that Ghanaian regulators are dragging their feet on cryptocurrency like they did when he (Dr. Quaynor) first brought the internet to Ghana.
According to him, he virtually had to beg regulators to set out regulations for the internet so that Ghana could be the internet access hub for the whole of Africa, but they sat by and allowed foreigners to take over the space and spread across Africa before they finally designed regulations for him.
Dr. Quaynor, who is currently championing blockchain technology in Ghana, therefore called on the Bank of Ghana to stop restricting financial sector operators from transacting in crypto, and rather use regulatory innovation to position Ghana to benefit fully from the global blockchain revolution and its attendant technologies like crypto, DeFi (decentralised finance), NFTs (non-fungible token) and others.
It is worth noting that BoG has recently started Regulatory and Innovation Sandbox, which allows innovations around blockchain to be tested within that controlled environment.
Fintech
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, however, lauded the central bank for creating the enabling environment through legislation for Ghana to now have one of the most dynamic financial technology (Fintech) industries on the continent, with 71 licensed players creating loads of jobs and also driving financial inclusion through innovation.
She noted that the Fintech industry has made payments at all levels very convenient, safe, transparent, and brought accountability to simple stuff like religious (church offerings) and social (funeral) contribution because funds given for such purposes could easily be tracked.
Continental payment cards
According to her, the talent and innovations in the Fintech industry clearly shows that there is no reason why Africans should keep using international payment cards like Visa and Mastercard and keep paying steep fees of up to 3.5 percent of the amount transacted, which end in foreign banks.
“Why can’t we develop our own local and continental cards and reduce the fees for our people and also keep all of that money within the continent to finance our development,” she asked.
“We have done it with mobile money, and I believe we can do it with payment and credit cards,” she said.
The minister believes even that need presents huge investment opportunities for Ghanaians in the diaspora to collaborate with the players in the Ghanaian Fintech industry to create such solutions for the continent.
COVID-19
According to her, COVID-19 gave rise to the adoption of digital technology in Ghana, and that became the silver lining for the country in the midst of the devastating impact of the pandemic.
She noted that Ghanaians were able to transition to digital platforms much easier and quicker because government had, since 2017, started implementing its digital transformation agenda which came in handy when COVID hit hard.
Ursula Owusu mentioned the paperless port system, digital address system, Ghana Card, mobile money interoperability, Ghana.gov, GhanPay, GHQR, e-procurement portal, e-justice system, smart workplace, drones for medical delivery and many others, all geared toward making government run more efficiently with less human intervention, reduced corruption and improved revenue collection.
She said government has since rolled out several digital technology interventions in education, health, agriculture and other areas to sustain the high digital adoption level among citizens and its attendant exponential growth in Internet usage.
According to her, government also gave out free spectrum to Vodafone and MTN to expand their capacities and effectively cater for the congestion that resulted from the boost in data consumption, adding that operators with 2G licenses were also allowed to deploy 3G technologies in unserved and underserved area without any additional licensing fees to allow easy access to high-speed data connectivity across the country.
Ghana Cares
She touched on the Ghana Cares Obatampa programme, saying it was designed to stabilise, revitalise and to create jobs and prosperity for Ghanaians over a three-year period in the post pandemic era.
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful told summit participants that the Ghana Cares programme is in two phases – a stabilisation phase that ran to the end of July 2020, and a revitalisation phase which is runs from 2021 to 2023.
“The first phase focused on stabilization of the economy, including food security, supporting buisnesses and workers, strengthen the health system, and passage of legislation to facilitate quick economic recovery.
“The second phase will focus on supporting commercial farming, and attracting educated youth into agriculture, building Ghana’s night manufacturing sector, developing engineering machine tools and ICT digital economy, developing Ghana’s housing and construction companies, and renewing and optimising the implementation of government flagships and key programmes…” she stated.
She said government is confident that the phase two programmes will move Ghana into the industrialisation and manufacturing phase, which then presents lots of investment opportunities for Ghanaians in the diaspora to form partnerships with both foreign and local businesses and take advantage of them.
The minister particularly laid out some investment opportunities in the technology sector that she believes Ghanaians in the diaspora can collaborate with locals and take advantage of.
AfCFTA Hub
In reference to the AfCFTA Hub, she said Ghanaians in the diaspora can create business hubs and connect with the recently launched AfCFTA Hub in Ghana so they could have easy access to SME producers and suppliers, as well as financiers and regulators in a one-stop shop situation.
According to her, such businesses can gain access to even more opportunities through the hub to the rest of Africa, and even make and receive payments in all currencies on the hub.
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful was also quick to diffuse the notion that the Ghanaian Government favours Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE when it comes to investment in the tech sector, saying that the Chinese usually offer cost-effective solution, but there are still numerous opportunities that remain untapped in the sectors.
Canadian exports to Ghana have grown by 8.97 percent annual from US$23.8million in 1995 to US$372million currently, while Ghana is doing around US$100million worth of exports to Canada, and the minister said this provides the opportunity for Ghanaians at home and in the diaspora to partner and do more to bridge that gap.
The continuing depreciation of the cedi against major trade currencies and the high cost of fuel are hurting players in the aviation business, which is increasing the price of travel.
Of an interview with B&FT conducted during the first flight of Passion Plane to Sunyani, the airline’s corporate affairs manager, Samuel Takyi, stated these two causes are leading to the increase in air tickets because the industry cannot bear the burden’s immensity alone.
“We are confronted with two very strong headwinds which have to do with depreciation of the cedi and increasing aviation fuel prices. Over 98 percent of our transactions are in foreign exchange but our tickets are sold in cedis. So, once you covert the cedi to dollars you take a hit right there.
“With the aviation fuel, for example in May we purchased fuel to the tune of US$350,000 for our operations. In June it shot up to US$750,000. From beginning of the year to now, we have had an increase of 112 percent in aviation fuel. These are external factors beyond our control, so we will just respond to the market as and when things change,” he said.
However, just when activities seem to start bouncing back, the sector has been confronted with the two aforementioned strong challenges. Players in the industry are therefore calling on government to address these challenges in order to protect the aviation sector.
Speaking at the event, Minister for Transport, Kweku Ofori Asiamah, assured the sector that government is doing its best to ensure the currency is stable enough to help drive down costs for the industry.
Passion Air begins Accra-Sunyani route
Speaking in Sunyani at a brief ceremony to launch Passion Air’s inaugural flight to the city, Managing Director of the airline, Samuel Ato Hagan, expressed delight with the fact his outfit is first to operate in the region after the airport’s inauguration some few weeks ago.
He assured passengers of the airline’s resolve to offer the best of service to them and ensure their safety. Further, he urged hospitality and tourism companies in the region to take advantage of the airline’s operations in the area to promote their business.
The transport minister further commended Passion Air for taking the bold step to ply the Accra-Sunyani route, especially when the airport was only recently inaugurated and there is no empirical data to assure the company of high passenger traffic.
He asserts that despite the Vice President’s stated intention to address the nation’s problems, he is actually doing the reverse by causing more of them.
Professor Hanke’s statement is in response to the Ghana Cedi’s decline in value versus major trading currencies, particularly the US dollar.
Professor Hanke who has taken a keen interest in the economic issues of Ghana in a separate tweet said Ghana’s economy was tanking – an expression which means the economy is down and there are fears of a recession.
He has in the past blamed the Akufo-Addo-led administration for putting the economy in a dire situation.
“Ghana is in 8th place in this week’s inflation table. On Sep 8, I measured Ghana’s #inflation at a stunning 81%/yr–over 2x the official inflation rate of 34%/yr. #Ghana’s economy is TANKING. To rein in inflation, GHA must install a currency board,” he tweeted on September 19.
“Today, I measure #Ghana’s inflation at 81%/yr. As a result, Ghanaians don’t know the price of anything anymore. When Ghanaians see their grocery bills soar, they can thank Pres. Akufo-Addo,” Prof Hanke further teased.
Ghana’s economy has been hard hit according to the government by the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and banking sector clean-up.
The rippling effect has been an increase in the cost of living, record high inflation rates and downgrades of the economy by rating agencies such as S&P and Fitch – a situation which has dealt a heavy blow to government’s ability to access the international capital market.
The Cedi has also been on a free fall compelling the Bank of Ghana to resort to hiking its monetary policy rate to deal with the situation.
The worsening economic situation compelled the government in July to initiate contact with International Monetary Fund for an economic support programme.
Ghana is said to be targeting an amount of US$3 billion over three years from the International Monetary Fund once an agreement on a programme is reached. The new amount requested as a loan was double the government’s initial target of $1.5 billion.
Government hopes to complete negotiations by end of the year in order to receive the funds in the first quarter of next year.
Pure water and bottled water buyers and sellers have reacted to the National Association of Sachet and Packaged Water Producers’ declaration that, starting on September 19, 2022, pure water must be sold for 50 pesewas while bottled water costs start at Gh2 and above.
Sellers who spoke with Ernestina Serwaa Asante of GhanaWeb stated that selling sachet water for 50 pesewas was costly, particularly in light of the current financial crisis.
They claim that the sellers agreed to offer pure water for 40 pesewas as opposed to the intended price of 50 pesewas.
“Our customers have kicked against the 50pesewas increment so we are selling it at 40 pesewas…the wholesalers have to sell it to us for GH¢7 else, we will stop selling the water because we can’t sell to others at 40 pesewas. The prices have to be reviewed downwards because it is very expensive,” one of the traders told GhanaWeb’s Ernestina Serwaa Asante.
“We are even struggling now though we are selling the pure water for 40 pesewas so if we try selling it at 50 pesewas, we will suffer more. We buy the water at GH¢6 wholesale price whiles from retailers, GH¢8. The profit margin is very minimal but manageable,” another seller told GhanaWeb.
One of the customers while sharing her views on the increment said, “We can’t buy pure water at 50 pesewas because we are suffering. The 30 pesewas price needs to be retained. The increment is unnecessary because everyone drinks water.”
Meanwhile, the prices of bottled water have also been reviewed upwards.
The small-sized bottle now sells at GH¢2.50 whiles the medium goes for GH¢2.50 pesewas from the initial GH¢1.50pesewas.
It would be recalled that the National Association of Sachet and Packaged Water Producers attributed the price increment to the rising cost of inputs such as fuel and packaging materials which are mainly imported.
The association also said the increment in electricity and water tariffs from September 1, 2022, was a contributing factor to the price hike.
It added that the suggested adjustment is to help producers cover their production costs.
However, there would be slight variations across regions due to haulage to remote and distant areas.
The significant portion of debt accumulation—roughly GH12.30 billion as of September 2020—comes from short-term cocoa loans, which make up GH8.49 billion or 69.02 percent of all debts.
Mr. Aidoo stated at the University of Professional Studies’ Public Lecture & Media Launch for the 2022 National Cocoa Day celebration that the considerable impact COVID-19 had on the cocoa trade caused a large decline in cocoa demand, which ultimately had the effect of lowering profits.
“Unfortunately, the ramifications of COVID-19 continue to cause more economic meltdown; thereby leading to plummeting demand for our cocoa. This has adversely affected the global cocoa trade, as projected revenue dropped abysmally and led to great financial shocks on Ghana’s cocoa regulator,” the CEO said.
Mr. Aidoo assured that management has decided to significantly cut debt levels in light of the fact that precipitating causes were wholly beyond COCOBOD’s control.
“In view of the fact that the precipitating factors were absolutely beyond our control, the Board and Management have resolved to reduce debt levels drastically.
“Consequently, in the short- to medium-term, stringent internal reforms have been advanced to control expenditures and cut costs while efforts are underway to finance existing debts,” he said.
The pricey short-term cocoa payments are anticipated to be refinanced by using relatively affordable long-term debt.
To prevent debt from building up, COCOBOD is instituting tighter financial controls by making savings to pay-off all of the debts shown on its books.
Other debts accumulated include the 10-year BoG loan that has a balance of approximately GH¢1.39billion and is being serviced in accordance with the repayment schedule established with the Bank of Ghana.
The moratorium on principal repayment terminated in January 2022, although COCOBOD anticipates paying off the debt in full by November 2023.
Cocoa Farmers Welfare
The Chief Executive noted that the Cote d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative’s much-lauded ‘Living Income Differential’ farmer-income development programme remains the most effective way to control cocoa prices and protect farmers from price volatility.
Accordingly, in the 2020/21 crop year COCOBOD increased the producer price per tonne of cocoa by 29 percent to as high as GH¢10,560.
“Making the cocoa industry more vibrant requires that our farmers are properly remunerated. It is in this regard that in the 2020/21 crop year government through COCOBOD increased the producer price per tonne of cocoa from GH¢8,240 to as high as GH¢10,560 – representing a 29 percent increase amid the ravages imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses globally,” the CEO said.
“In addition, there is a build-up in our concept of boosting domestic value addition and consumption of cocoa in an effort to reduce gluts of our produce on the world market to secure good prices,” he added.
Cocoa Day Celebration
The Board’s 75th Anniversary celebration, which will be held on the theme COCOBOD @ 75: Sustaining Our Environment, Wealth and Health with a series of activities from September 28 to October 1 in 2022 at the Suhum Presbyterian Senior High School Park, Suhum in the Eastern Region, has been timed to coincide with this year’s Cocoa Day celebration.
The annual Cocoa Day celebration is held to honour the contributions of our dedicated cocoa farmers, raise public knowledge of the nutritional and health benefits of cocoa, and inspire people to incorporate cocoa consumption into their daily life.
In addition to other measures, the yearly celebration that was started in 2005 aims to gradually increase Ghana’s per capita cocoa consumption – even if we still have a long way to go before we catch up with consumers in Europe, America and other affluent nations.
The Deputy Energy Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, encouraged investors in Philadelphia to invest in the energy sector on Friday in an effort by the Ministry of Energy to maintain Ghana’s energy industry’s favorable positioning in the eyes of investors for cooperative projects and economic progress.
At the US-Ghana EXPO Roundtable B2B Matchmaking, which was sponsored by the US-Ghana Chamber of Commerce and supported by the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Ghana, he made this call on behalf of sector minister Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh.
“In Ghana, Exploration and Production (E&P) licenses are awarded through open, transparent and competitive public tender processes. However, E&P licenses may be awarded through direct negotiations without public tender if direct negotiations represent the most efficient manner to achieve optimal exploration, development and production of petroleum resources in a defined area. Either way, prospective contractors must have the requisite technical and financial abilities to undertake petroleum activities,” he said.
The Karaga Member of Parliament also said Ghana aspires to become a hub for refined petroleum products in the West African sub-region and beyond, culminating in the establishment of the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation (PHDC).
He said the hub will host infrastructure such as refineries, port terminal facilities, storage facilities, petrochemical plants as well as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals with a network of pipelines. He asked investors to capitalize on the opportunity this presents.
In the power sector, the Deputy Minister highlighted the plethora of opportunities in the renewable and nuclear spaces.
“The most important thing we want to do as a Ministry is to ensure the lights are for economic growth and, therefore, we ask that you partner us strategically in the power value chain to ensure this,” he added.
Agribusinesses were highlighted during an expo in the Eastern Region organized by TIAST Group in partnership with the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council (ERCC) to encourage investors, farmers, and other stakeholders to add value to their agricultural output.
Over 90 agribusinesses from across the agribusiness value chain attended the two-day event, which was hosted at the Centre for National Culture in Koforidua on September 14 and 15, 2022, with the goal of industrializing the agricultural sector and enhancing products for export.
Speaking under the theme “Achieving Agricultural Industrialization through Eastern Commodity Satellite Market: Financial and Technical Support of TIAST”, the Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Acheampong, highlighted the need for the region to do more processing in order to secure the country’s food system and help the country achieve economic growth.
“It is therefore not surprising at all that a reputable institution such as TIAST has decided to partner with us in organizing this wonderful conference and exhibition,” the Minister added.
According to him, the initiative by TIAST Group to provide financial, technical and offtake support to farmers, investors and interested parties is a laudable one taking into consideration the opportunities it will present to the Eastern region in terms of employment opportunities, advanced mode of farming, economic growth and development.
This, he said, is best achievable with the agricultural industrialization drive set by TIAST Group to help the Eastern Region.
Stressing the importance of agricultural industrialization, Hon. Seth Acheampong disclosed, “It is my wish that in less than a year, we will hear of multi-million dollar cassava processing companies and other commodity processing interventions being established in our prestigious Eastern region.”
He urged all investors present at the conference to interact, connect and purchase products advertised and exhibited by the small-medium enterprises in the agribusiness value chain.
Also speaking at the conference, the Chairperson of TIAST Group, Madam Lisa Hao, said the main purpose of TIAST Group in the Eastern Region was to push the concept of agricultural industrialization to the locals and help the region industrialize the agricultural sector.
“We are bringing to light the good wealth in the agricultural sector. We have partnered with Stanbic Bank, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Ministry of Trade and Industry to set up fully-automated processing factories for our partners.
“We are focused on processing crops like cassava, sisal, potato, rice and rubber. Our partnership with Banks afford our partners with financial leasing for setting up a full-automated processing factory.
“The financial support covers up to 70 to 80 percent of the total cost of the processing factory,” she highlighted.
Speaking extensively on the modules of TIAST Group, the Director of the Ghana Business Development Team, Madam Priscilla Fiati, explained that TIAST Group had already secured a ready market on the international market for its partners when a processing factory is established for them.
Placing emphasis on the effects of post-harvest losses in the country, she explained that TIAST Group was keen on adding value to crops, especially cassava into starch.
In addition, she highlighted that TIAST Group exports all processed commodities to the international market weekly due to its connection to the international market, coupled with the high demand for cassava starch which is used in pharmaceuticals, food, cosmetics, paints, and other industries.
Official negotiations for a package of economic assistance for Ghana are scheduled to start soon between the Ghanaian government and the International Monetary Fund.
Upon reaching an agreement on a program, Ghana is reportedly looking to receive $3 billion from the Fund over the course of three years.
The latest loan request was for $2.5 billion, which was double the previous $1.5 billion goal set by the administration.
The talks between IMF representatives and Ghanaian authorities will begin on Monday, September 26, 2022, according to a Joy Business article.
The COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were recently blamed by the IMF’s managing director, Kristalina Georgina, for the current economic circumstances in Ghana.
According to her, these two factors have significantly impacted other economies hence Ghana’s economic challenges cannot be blamed on bad policies implemented by the Ghanaian government.
“Like everybody on this planet, Ghana has been hurt by exogenous shocks, first the pandemic, then Russia’s war in Ukraine, and we need to realize that Ghana’s challenge is not because of bad policies, but the combination of external shocks,” she indicated.
The IMF boss also speaking on Ghana’s possible programme said her outfit is determined to reach an agreement with the Government of Ghana by the end of this year.
She added that constructive discussions have so far been held with Ghanaian authorities for a possible economic support programme.
On July 1, 2022, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ordered Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to present an economic rescue programme to the IMF following the current economic conditions in the country.
Subsequently, a team from the Fund led by Carlo Sdralevich visited Ghana between July 6 – 13, to gather relevant data and met with relevant stakeholders.
After three years, the Tilapia Seed Project (TiSeed) is coming to an end imparting long-lasting impacts for inclusive and sustainable aquaculture in Ghana.
But much of this growth is from large-scale commercial cage farming while small-scale fish production has been lagging severely with poor management, water and biosecurity practices, lack of access to quality fingerlings, and low productivity.
The industry also suffered from fish mortality issues in 2018-2019 and further slowed down by the COVID-19 crisis, although it is showing signs of recovery.
The TiSeed project started in February 2019 with the objective of addressing some of these challenges and facilitate a speedy recovery. The TiSeed project aimed to improve hatchery operations and enable access to quality fingerlings among small-scale women, men, and youth fish farmers in 7 major-producing regions.
The project has significantly contributed to these development goals and has set a strong foundation for the Aquaculture for Food and Jobs (AFJ) programme, and other ongoing and future projects to continue.
“The project was timely and has complemented significantly the AFJ programme of the government. It has set a very good foundation in terms of strengthening the hatcheries, which are central for good and healthy seeds for the sector. It has provided much-needed technical knowledge, trainings, field visits to model farmers, training manuals, extension flyers, and WhatsApp platform, to farmers, especially the youth, who are at the center of the AFJ programme,” Mr. Mathew Oyih, Director of Aquaculture, Fisheries Commission (FC) said.
“I was on the verge of stopping fish farming, but this training has urged me to go into it again,” said a farmer in Sunyani. “We are grateful for this capacity building opportunity and would be pleased to have more of these training conducted periodically to help us have fresh ideas to improve our practices and productivity,” said a farmer in Dormaa.
“The project has successfully introduced the nursery model, which are critical for more remote communities to have access to quality fingerlings. Especially in Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions where there are limited hatcheries, farmers had to travel long distances to get their fingerlings. With the nurseries set up, farmers now have suppliers of quality fingerlings that are closer to them.
Farmers who operate these nurseries were strategically and carefully selected from the grow-out farmers who have expressed interest, have the capacity, and have been vetted and trusted by the community to have good operations and performance in fish farming.
Furthermore, the nurseries are mapped (via Goggle Earth) to ensure they are not located close to any hatchery and are within a cluster of more than 20 farms as potential buyers of the fingerlings. We are seeing a lot of interest to expand these nurseries,” Dr. Seth Koranteng Agyakwah, TiSeed National Project Coordinator at CSIR-Water Research Institute (WRI).
“One of the major achievements of the project is supporting the development, review, and validation of the National Aquaculture Farm Certification Protocol. Fisheries Commission had been working on this for several years now and the TiSeed project had facilitated the process. The technical inputs, the field work that pilot-tested the protocol, the revisions, and the nationwide validation workshops were tremendously helpful to the Fisheries Commission and the sector,” Mrs. Mary Nkansa, Acting Head of the Fish Health Unit, FC said.
The project was a unique and successful partnership with a national research institution (CSIR-WRI), supported by global technical research leaders [International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), WorldFish, and Royal Tropical Institute (KIT)-Netherlands], FC for the direct link between research and implementation, two private hatcheries (Crystal Lake Ltd and SHOINT) initially, and several more hatchery operators joining in.
“A major impact of the TiSeed project is providing quality broodstock and reviving the hatcheries, especially in the Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo regions.
Revived hatcheries and new broodstock are giving the farmers in the region confidence on the fingerlings they buy and encouraging them to continue and expand their operations. It is boosting fish farming in our regions,” Mr. Hanson Dzamefe Jr., FC Regional Director, Bono Region. And, “it is not only benefiting Brong Ahafo regions; it is also benefiting the northern regions because farmers there get fingerlings from Brong Ahafo regions. It is also helping boost production in the northern regions,” Dr. Emmanuel Tetted-Doku Mensah, Officer-in-charge of CSIR-WRI, Northern region.
As a research program, TiSeed project has generated four seed quality assessment studies, three field experiments, one randomized controlled trial and social experiment, and seven socioeconomic studies.
It has also generated 5 published discussion papers and technical reports, which have been downloaded more than 3,000 times to date. The TiSeed project has also generated 5 research papers published in top scientific journals on aquaculture and agricultural policy and economics, with 13 citations to date.
“One of the major impacts of the project was on the capacity and skills development of 9 MS students; most of them are staff key institutions, such as the CSIR-WRI and FC, and are now applying their skills and continuing to contribute toward the sector development.” Dr. Ruby Asmah, Principal Research Scientist, CSIR-WRI.
Dr. Catherine Ragasa, project leader and senior research fellow at the IFPRI on her part said, “When we started the project, there were major data gaps and poor recordkeeping among farmers. Many farmers could not estimate production, inputs, and costs because they did not record and did not pay close attention to the business side of fish farming. The project worked hard to improve recordkeeping among farmers.
The project worked very hard to impart knowledge on marketing and economics and how to think more of fish farming as a profitable business. With the project, we have generated credible database on production, profitability, and socioeconomics of fish farmers in 7 regions with 3 rounds of household/farm survey (2019, 2020, 2022).”
Mr. Sena Amewu, Senior Research Officer, IFPRI-Ghana, said, “We have generated new knowledge and research findings from our series of surveys, field experiments, and assessments. These were significant data and evidence gaps that the project filled in. And, we can confidently say from our survey results and rigorous impact evaluation that many farmers have improved their record keeping, management practices, and production.”
The COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were recently blamed by the Fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, for the current economic circumstances in Ghana.
She argues that because these two issues have had a big impact on other economies, Ghana’s economic difficulties cannot be attributed to the country’s government’s misguided policies.
However, Isaac Adongo’s response to the crisis suggested that the Bretton Woods institution sent the wrong message when it blamed these two outside sources for the economic catastrophe.
The Bolgatanga Central lawmaker further accused the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration of colluding with the IMF to paint a false narrative of Ghana’s true economic situation.
“It is dishonesty for people who have profited from propaganda; people who have come to power on the back of the deception of the Ghanaian people that going to IMF defines incompetence, to now be turning around to say that we should not have that debate. Didn’t Dr. Bawumia describe John Mahama with unprintable words for taking Ghana to the IMF?.”
The NPP should hang its head in shame for putting us here, I want to say.
They want to now engage in double-talk by collaborating with the IMF through PR.
The IMF has a dossier from 2019 that indicates the country was headed in the wrong way, therefore the truth is that they have mismanaged the economy, he emphasized.
Upon reaching an agreement on a program, Ghana is reportedly looking to receive $3 billion from the Fund over the course of three years.
The latest loan request was for $2.5 billion, which was double the previous $1.5 billion goal set by the administration.
The accused were engaged in repairing damaged cylinders and reselling them when they were apprehended after receiving a tip.
During the operation on September 16, 2022, three-cylinder trucks weighing between 5 and 14.5 kg, wielding tools, cutting and grinding equipment, paints, and accessories were all seized from the suspects.
Director of Gas at NPA, Mrs. Akua Ntiwaa Kwakye speaking with journalists explained that “upon the Authority’s investigations, we found out that the suspects were operating at this yard without permit and certification from the appropriate authorities.”
“It is obvious they are compromising on quality for their parochial interest at the detriment of the unsuspecting consumers of gas,” she added.
Mrs. Kwakye further added that these refurbished cylinders form part of the major causes of fire outbreaks that take place in various marketplaces, workplaces, and households.
She pointed out that the high number of household fires that had lost lives and property had made the NPA’s action crucial, and she said that it was essential for everyone to denounce these bad deeds.
The Northern Regional Secretariat of the National Youth Authority (NYA) is to begin a five-year strategic youth empowerment programme to enhance patriotism amongst them.
Over 45,000 kids from a few chosen junior and senior high schools in the Northern, North East, and Savannah Regions will be the target audience for the initiative, which is called “Citizen Youth for Positive Change, Think Ghana First Project.”
It will emphasize how important it is for young people to adopt new attitudes toward the nation’s development.
In order to help young people prioritize national interests, it will also serve as a platform for mentorship and coaching programs.
Mr Mumuni Sulemana, Northern Regional Director of the NYA, who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency in Tamale, said the project would be implemented from now to September 2027, in partnership with the Ghana Education Service and the National Commission for Civic Education.
He expressed the need for the youth to develop the spirit of possibilities and endurance to pave way for their inclusion in major decision-making processes in the country.
He said, “The country needs to groom young people, who are selfless, and dedicated to the national development agenda.”
Mr Sulemana said the project would help the youth to embrace the necessary norms and values that would empower them to take up leadership initiatives for national transformation.
He called on them to develop a culture of service and volunteerism to enhance their skills and expertise.
The late Queen Elizabeth IIwas put to rest at the King George VI Memorial Chapel at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on September 19, and Ghanaian musician Wiyaala joined millions of others around the world in saying goodbye.
The well-known musician posted a photo of the late British monarch, who passed away at the age of 96, along with a statement of sympathy for the royal family on Facebook.
The message, which GhanaWeb saw on Monday, stated: “HRH Queen Elizabeth II, may you rest in peace.
We are thinking of you, The Royal Family of the UK in Ghana.”
Given that the British occupied Ghana in the early 20th century, Wiyaala’s humanitarian act infuriated several Facebook users who called her out for honoring her “slave master.”
Reacting to this, a Facebook user, Areal Hustlers Family punched holes into the singer’s post. His comment read: “Wishing your slave master rest in peace? Ayooo.”
In response, the singer who recently joined the GRAMMY’s 2022 membership class explained that she doesn’t regard herself as a slave to the British adding that the past doesn’t define her.
“Areal Hustlers Family our?…Well, as for me, it’s all history now. I am not a slave …..I was not born a slave….I will never be slave to anyone…..the past will never define who I am. We are moving on. What about you?” she quizzed the internet troll.
Another, Sena Brown had this to tell the singer on the same post about the late Queen Elizabeth II: “Wiyaala wishing your slave masters well? Maybe you knew not much about how these wicked people did to your ancestors….sorry.”
Through the Ministry of the Interior, the government has sent its condolences to the bereaved families of those killed in Wa and reaffirmed its commitment to putting an end to the threat through the security agencies’ unrelenting efforts.
The Interior Minister,Mr. Ambrose Dery, has said, “I want to convey my condolences to those families who have lost their loved ones and that our thoughts are with them on behalf of the President and the people of Ghana.
The Minister stated that the police were in charge of the issue and that investigations into the incidents were ongoing. The Minister further stated that the offenders would be found and brought before the law.
Mr Dery, who said this when he called on the Paramount Chief of the Wala Traditional Area, Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV, on Monday during his visit to the region said, “I am assuring the Wa Naa and his people that the security agencies are so far up to the task.”
While commending the people of Wa for their support to the police service in the municipality, the minister admonished them not to usurp the role of the police by meting out instant justice to suspects saying, “Let no one take the law into his own hands, let the rule of law reign.”
He appealed to the people in the municipality to surrender vital information to the appropriate security agencies towards fighting the menace of serial killings and missing of people in Wa.
Mr Dery also gave the assurance that his outfit, and for that matter the government, was committed to strengthening the human resource and logistical capacity of the security agencies to help improve the security situation in the region, especially the Wa Municipality.
Naa Pelpuo IV acknowledged the assurances by the minister and expressed hope that the assurance would not be a mere rhetoric.
“What we will ask for is that the assurance will really happen. It will not be one of the cases, where we will term it as just Ghanaians being noted for giving strong wordings and statements when issues of this nature arise,” he said.
“Over the past few weeks, the people of Wa have not known peace and it is really unfortunate that the people will be going through such,” the chief indicated, and prayed that the minister’s visit and interventions would yield positive results.
Naa Pelpuo observed that the expectations of the people in the traditional area were that the police would apprehend the perpetrators of this heinous crime against innocent lives and made to face the full rigours of the law.
Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) is also in Wa to assess the situation and to see how best they would come together to solve the mystery killings.
The Black Stars of Ghana held their first training session ahead of their friendly matches against Brazil and Nicaragua in Paris on Monday, September 19, 2022.
Coach Otto Addo and the technical team led the players in a training session that featured some of the new players
Black Stars‘ new players Inaki Williams, Tariq Lamptey, Stephan Ambrosius, Ransford Yeboah among others took part in the training session that was held on Monday.
Also present were key players like Thomas Partey, Andre Ayew, Jordan Ayew, Alexander Djiku, Baba Iddrisu, and Baba Rahman among others.
Ghana’s in-form attacking midfielder, Mohammed Kudus, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Antoine Semenyo, Fatawu Issahaku, and Elisha Owusu were also present during the training session.
The Black Stars will hold another training session on Tuesday, September 20th as they prepare for their tough match against Brazil.
The match forms part of preparations for the Black Stars ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
British-Jamaican rap star Stefflon Don has claimed that since her relationship with Nigerian musician Burna Boy ended, she hasn’t moved on to another partner.
She admitted, “We dated for around two and a half years.”
She continued, “Everyone thinks [they enjoyed us together], but we had to go on,” without elaborating on the reasons for the split.
She also addressed claims that she is the subject of Burna Boy’s recent international hit, “Last Last,” which features a sample of Toni Braxton’s “He Wasn’t Man Enough.”
“How did it make me feel when I heard it?
The singer of “Hurting Me” reflected and continued, “He mentioned something in there that I was like, boy that’s a lie but whatever,” without quoting the precise line.
According to the 30-year-old, “people don’t know that we’ve actually broken up for a year now. People don’t know that because they still thought we were together when we weren’t.”
“I haven’t dated since, like, no one. I haven’t even been out on a date. I’ve never been,” she stressed.
Earlier when the host of the New York-based Hot 97 radio show had narrated going to a restaurant nestled atop the Eiffel Tower in France with her husband, Stefflon Don reacted with “hopefully one day I can do that with somebody.”
