Kofi Ahovi

Waste management company, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, which has been leading in the disinfection against Covid-19 on Friday undertook a clean-up and disinfection exercise at the Abossey Okai Central Mosque, Abossey Okai, Accra. The exercise—which formed part of the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR)—came on the back of an appeal by the National Chief Imam, Dr Usuman Nuhu Sharabutu, to government to help in disinfecting all Islamic facilities in the county. The exercise began at exactly 7:20 a.m., with Zoomlion personnel sweeping the entire compound and the mosque and collecting the refuse into a skip truck for disposal. The clean-up exercise at the Central Mosque paved way for the disinfection exercise which lasted for about four hours. Facilities which were disinfected included the mosque, its compound, various offices, ablution bay among others. Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the exercise, the Spokesperson of the National Chief Imam, Imam Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu,...

The CEO of MTN, Selorm Adadevoh, has observed that, covid-19 has leapfrogged the acceptance of digitalization across the globe. “We all said the future is digital but now COVID-19 has accelerated the process and today, we can say both the present and future are all digital. We live to see what the “distant” future will bring us,” he stated. Speaking at the 28 th  MTN Business World Executive Breakfast Meeting on Thursday, Adadevoh said “Who would have thought that there will be a time when almost everything in this world will be done digitally?  Today we are Working from home, our children are all learning and doing “home school” online, Doctors are doing diagnosis online as the first line of choice and entertainment is being done solely through the power of the internet.  This indeed is a new world order and Technology remains a critical driver in this discussion”. According to him, the theme; “ The Future of Work is here– Preparing the Work Place for New Talents Needs’ ...

Unilever Ghana Limited (UNIL) has announced the appointment of Priyadharshana Ekanayake as the Finance Director of the company effective June 1, 2020. Priyadharshana has worked for Unilever in Sri Lanka, Singapore and India.  During his 25 years at Unilever, his professional experience spans all finance functions - in regional, global and local roles.  

Struggling French carmaker Renault is said to be planning 15,000 job cuts around the world as it tries to contain losses amid the pandemic. The move comes as the virus deepens the challenges facing the firm, which saw its first annual loss in a decade last year. The company, which has pledged to cut costs by €2bn (£1.8bn), is expected to discuss the plan on Friday. Almost one third of the reductions are expected to occur in France. Speaking on French television, a French labour leader briefed on the plans said many of the cuts in France would come through voluntary layoffs or retirement. Renault, which claims more than 4% of the global market, employs more than 179,000 people in 39 countries. Even before the pandemic, the firm was in trouble, with sales down 3% last year. It said last month the number of vehicles sold dropped by 25% in the first three months of the year and plunged even more dramatically in April. The firm is currently in talks with the French government, which holds a...

British car manufacturing came to a screeching halt in April, down 99.7% against the same month last year. It was the lowest output since the Second World War, according to the industry body, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Just 197 premium and luxury sports vehicles rolled off factory lines, with 45 of those sent to UK customers. Instead, some plants refocused to make 711,495 items of personal protective equipment for health workers. “With the UK’s car plants mothballed in April, these figures aren’t surprising but they do highlight the tremendous challenge the industry faces, with revenues effectively slashed to zero last month,” said SMMT chief executive, Mike Hawes. The loss of 400,000 cars that would normally have been made is expected to cost the British car industry up to £12.5bn in revenues. In April there were 830 new car engines made at UK plants, 781 of which were exported. This level was down 99.5% on the year before. Mr Hawes said ramping up the industry...

The Bank of Ghana has released an amount of ¢5.5 billion as first tranche of the ¢10 billion of the Covid-19 Relief Bond, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta announced in Parliament in Accra on Thursday. In a memo to the House, the Minister said, the programme, launched earlier by the Government of Ghana is to trigger the emergency financing provision as result of challenges brought on by COVID-19 pandemic. “Given the exceptional circumstances and the challenges, the Minister of Finance, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana and the Controller and Accountant General as required under Section 30 of the Bank of Ghana (Act 612) as amended have agreed to trigger the emergency financing provision under the law, which permits increasing the limit on the purchase of Government securities by Bank of Ghana in the event of any emergency, to help finance the residual expenditures,” the Minister said. The GH¢ 5.5 billion first installment of the bond was released on May 15, 2020. With high hopes of Ghana’...

Some groups in the Ashanti Region are threatening to stop the mining of bauxite in the Nyinahin Forest Reserve over what they call lack of transparency by the Ghana Integrated Aluminum Development Corporation (GIADEC) in its dealings with the host communities. The groups are also calling for the immediate dissolution of the GIADEC Board due to the absence of leaders of the host communities on the recently constituted board. In January this year, traditional authorities within the Tano-Offin Forest Reserve enclave in a statement accused the corporation of not being transparent as far as plans to mine bauxite in the area were concerned. Speaking at a news conference in Kumasi, Nana Oti Awere, Spokesperson for a group known as the Asante Kotoko Society, asked GIADEC to be open in its dealings with the people. “The GIADEC Board is following old fashioned principles to come and destroy our area. We are not going to allow that, so we call on the government to ask GIADEC to withdraw the ten...

The World Bank Group today announced its emergency operations to fight COVID-19 (coronavirus) have reached 100 developing countries - home to 70% of the world's population. Since March, the Bank Group has rapidly delivered record levels of support in order to help countries protect the poor and vulnerable, reinforce health systems, maintain the private sector, and bolster economic recovery. This assistance, the largest and fastest crisis response in the Bank Group's history, marks a milestone in implementing the Bank Group's pledge to make available $160 billion in grants and financial support over a 15-month period to help developing countries respond to the health, social and economic impacts of COVID-19 and the economic shutdown in advanced countries. "The pandemic and shutdown of advanced economies could push as many as 60 million people into extreme poverty - erasing much of the recent progress made in poverty alleviation," said World Bank Group Pre...

A majority of Ghanaians say the country’s media is “somewhat free” or “completely free” of government censorship and interference, the most recent Afrobarometer survey shows. Comparing preliminary 2019 data from eight African countries, Ghana records the second highest perceived supply of media freedom. Key findings Seven in 10 Ghanaians (72%) say the media is “somewhat free” or “completely free” to report or comment on news without government censorship or interference. Only two in 10 (19%) think the media is “not very free” or “not at all free” to do so, the second-lowest perception of media censorship or interference among eight countries surveyed in 2019. The seven other African countries where the survey was also conducted include Namibia, Kenya, Botswana, Malawi, guinea, Uganda and Cote d’Ivoire. In Namibia, 80% of the respondents said the media is somewhat free or completely free with only 13% who were of the opinion that the media is not free. 72% of the respondents...