Kofi Ahovi

The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie-Akoto, the Central Regional Minister, Justina Marigold Assan, Omanhene of Oguaa Traditional Area, Osabarima Kwesi Atta II and many other dignitaries visited the stands of the Ghana National Egg Campaign Secretariat (GNECS) at the ongoing 37th National Farmers Day and Exhibition being held in the Central Regional capital, Cape Coast. Over 1000 individuals,  including curious visitors, students, researchers and tourists, who also visited GNECS stands were served with various kinds of egg dish on day one of the exhibition. Many more people are expected to benefit from this free gesture throughout the exhibition. The week-long exhibition will be climaxed on Friday December 3 with a grand durbar to honour Ghanaian farmers and animal rearers who distinguished themselves during the farming season and whose contribution helped the country to avert hunger or food shortage. GNECS is among over 100 firms made up of commercial farms, agr...

Ghana’s leading messaging, payments and eCommerce provider, Hubtel, has extended its operations to the residents of the twin cities of Takoradi and Sekondi.  This follows the company’s successful launch in the Ashanti Regional capital of Kumasi in June 2021, and brings the number of cities it operates in to 4; Accra, Tema, Kumasi and now Takoradi. In an interview, Hubtel’s Head of Commercial and New Markets, Eric Akoto, revealed that “Sekondi-Takoradi was a very obvious choice for us. The city here has been growing very well in the past years. The city has a good vibe with a growing urban population and increasing number of retail businesses.”  Hubtel operates with the approval and regulatory supervision of the Bank of Ghana as an Enhanced Payment Service Provider and was recommended for a national award for its role in the digitization of Government of Ghana payment services through the Ghana.GOV payment platform.  Hubtel’s mobile app has become a very useful companion f...

Eaton, Ghana has launched its Power Advantage Partner Program which seeks to help partners grow and maximize benefits from selling power quality products in Ghana. The objective of program is to create mutually beneficial relationships between distributors, resellers and Eaton, wherein business development opportunities are realized. It is also to ensure that comprehensive marketing and sales support is provided to all business partners. The program is designed to help partners grow their business by harnessing Eaton’s power management technology and expertise. Eaton launched the program during a discussion with some its local IT channel partners in Accra. The discussions focused on educating the IT partners and other stakeholders on ways to expand their businesses and gain tangible benefits. Read also: TC’s Energy’s sea power project to be on stream 2022 The company also used the opportunity to provide some advanced products and programs aimed at facilitating the growth and ease of th...

The African Development Bank Group has announced the indefinite postponement of its upcoming Africa Investment Forum, originally scheduled for December 1-3, 2021, in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. The postponement follows "consultations with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire and the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group," and occasioned by the "rising global travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 Omicron variant, and heightened concerns for health and safety..." President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina who announced the postponement, described The Africa Investment Forum as the premier investment marketplace for Africa, with several billion dollars of investment projects scheduled for investment boardrooms and with project sponsors and investors expected at this edition of the Africa Investment Forum. Below is the full statement announcing the postponement. Abidjan, November 29, 2021  - Following consultations with the Gov...

Professor Akwasi Osei, a member of the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values, has stated that homosexuality is an abnormal behaviour, mostly learned. He said homosexuality is not biologically determined. Prof Osei, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Mental Health Authority, said the argument that “homosexuality is normal” was, therefore, not tenable. Prof Osei stated this in his presentation to the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament public hearing on the “Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values 2021 Bill”, in Accra. Just about one to three per cent of any society in the world are homosexuals, the vast majority are straight, so 97 to 99 per cent are straight,” he stated. Read also: Free zone firms export US$1.096bn goods So, if you have only one to three per cent (being homosexuals), how do you say it is so common that you want to consider it as normal?” The presentation of the Coal...

Paris St-Germain and Argentina forward Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or - awarded to the best footballer of the year - for a record seventh time. Messi, 34, helped his country win the Copa America, his first international honour, and has scored 40 goals in 2021 - 28 for Barcelona, four for Paris St-Germain and eight for Argentina. Bayern Munich and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski came second, Chelsea and Italy midfielder Jorginho was third and Real Madrid's French striker Karim Benzema finished fourth. The Ballon d'Or is voted for by 180 journalists from around the world, although there was no award in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Either Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo (five wins) collected the award every year from 2008 to 2019, apart from in 2018 when Croatia midfielder Luka Modric won it. Messi had already won the trophy more times than any other player and his seventh success comes after wins in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019. It's incredible to be ...

  Firms operating under the free zones enclave in the country exported goods valued at US$1.096 billion in the first half of this year. Capital investments made by free zone enterprises amounted to US$173.84 million and a total of 30,189 jobs were created, mainly in the manufacturing sector. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Free Zones Authority (GFZA), Mr Michael Oquaye Jnr, who made this known at the sixth annual meeting of the Africa Economic Zones Organisation (AEZO) in Accra on November 25, observed that the development was an indication of the contributions by the free zone companies to the country’s economy. It is refreshing to report that the Ghana Free Zones Authority remains the anchor for the Government of Ghana’s Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and continues to achieve positive results. Read also: GES, partners Zoomlion to step up sanitation education in SHSs For the first half of the year 2021, the Free Zones enterprises generated total e...

The majority caucus in Parliament says the pronouncement by the Speaker of Parliament that the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government has been rejected by Parliament is “null, void and of no effect.” According to the caucus, 137 members of Parliament have no power to take a decision for Parliament. They have therefore asked the public to disregard the decision by the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, that 137 members of Parliament have the power to take a decision for Parliament and have consequently rejected the 2022 Budget. Read also:  In a press statement dated Friday, November 26, the Majority caucus argued that Article 104 of the 1992 Constitution and Order 109 of the Standing Orders of Parliament are very clear. The two provisions, read together, require that at least 138 MPs needed to have been present in the Chamber at the time of the purported vote. Read also: MTN fights MoMo fraud with $2.5m investment in AI   Therefore, the claim that the bu...

Ghanaian Telecoms Consultant and Expert at Smart Africa Alliance, Osman Issah has said that the Interconnect Clearinghouse (ICH) can cure the alleged remote signing on of telecom subscribers to value-added services (VAS) and the subsequent vanishing of their airtime via same.  He was speaking with TechGH24 about the recent rampant vanishing on airtime on people’s phones, which was traced to several VAS subscriptions on people’s phones without their consent. A case in point is one 78-year-old lady, Emelia Botchwey who lost over GHS40 to a VAS subscription called VUCLIP GAMES on MTN, for which she was charged GHS2.02 a day on her blind side, until her son discovered it and deactivated the service. One Richard Bentle Junior also reported finding 12 unsolicited subscriptions on his phone recently, while yours truly also found an unsolicited paid-for Weather Service on his MTN TurboNet SIM, even though the TurboNet SIM was in the TurboNet and has never been put in any mobile phone. One ...

Ecobank Ghana has donated four Dehusker shellers to Yedent Agro Bulk processing aggregators in Sunyani as part of the bank’s efforts at strengthening and supporting the agribusiness value chain in Ghana. Presenting the machines to the aggregators, the Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, Dan Sackey, said “As a bank, we remain committed to positively impacting the communities we operate in, and we have chosen to support the agribusiness value chain as one of the ways to achieve this objective.” He said it was in line with that objective that Ecobank donated the four dehusker shellers to the aggregators to support a total of 6,000 out-growers and smallholder farmers, 60% of whom are women from eighty-three communities within the Bono Region. It is expected that this donation will spur on our hardworking farmers to cultivate more acreages with the assurance that come harvesting time, these dehuskers will be available to assist them to efficiently process their maize for market consumption,...

Bank of Ghana has been awarded for outstanding leadership in the Corporate Governance landscape and regulatory excellence in the financial services sector in Ghana. The award follows the Bank’s significant role in promoting the culture of good corporate governance in Ghana and its impressive achievement in reforming the banking and financial services sector in Ghana. The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, was awarded for providing transformational leadership in sanitizing the financial services sector, which has led to a vibrant and resilient banking sector. Read  also: BoG urges FIs to uphold corporate governance practices The First and Second Deputy Governors of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari and Elsie Addo Awadzi, respectively, were also presented with Special Recognition Awards. The Bank’s Secretary, Sandra Thompson, who represented the Bank at the ceremony received the awards on behalf of the Bank, the Governor and the Deputy Governors. The 4th IoD-...

PC Archives in collaboration with the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), has launched a Political Communication Archives and a post electoral analysis of the 2020 general elections. Political Communication Archives is a free website for followers of Ghanaian politics and political communication, in whatever form. It provides an up-to-date list of all political communication materials including posters, banners, flyers, audio visuals among others from all the political parties in the country. This project begins from the 2020 general election with a mission of Collating campaign materials throughout the electoral cycle of Ghanaian political history. Dr. Kobby Mensah, a political communication lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism and the brain behind PC Archives, explained that during one of his lectures on political communication, there was limited material to fall on and that was when he conceived the idea to create a hub where all political communication material...

The United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Ghana Ministry of Industry has held the Ghana Agribusiness Investment Summit  on November 16-18, 2021. The virtual summit, brought together over 400 stakeholders in the agribusiness sector, transaction advisors, financial institutions, and investors, along with representatives of the United States and Ghana governments, non-governmental organizations, development agencies, and the donor community. The theme for the summit is “Building a Resilient and Sustainable Ecosystem for Agricultural Financing.” USAID Ghana Mission Director Sharon Cromer joined the Honorable Deputy Minister of Industry, Michael Okyere Baafi to open the summit, which is part of the USAID-supported Feed the Future Ghana Mobilizing Finance in Agriculture (MFA) initiative. A more developed Ghana is a stronger trade partner for the United States. We look forward to continuing to support Ghana as it continues along its journ...

The Bank of Ghana has reaffirmed that the banking sector remains sound, and well-capitalised with strong growth in total assets, investments and deposits. Total assets of the universal banks, in the first 10 months of the year, has increased by 16.1 percent to GH¢173.8 billion, reflecting strong growth in investments in government securities by 25.5 percent to GH¢83.4 billion. In its Monetary Policy Committee report released yesterday, the BoG said the gradual growth in gross advances has continued, with 8.9 percent growth as at end October 2021 compared to the end-June position of 5.2 percent growth. Deposits grew by 17.2 percent year-on-year to GH¢117.4 billion on the back of strong liquidity flows. The industry’s Capital Adequacy Ratio of 19.8 percent as at end-October 2021 was well above the current regulatory minimum threshold of 11.5 percent,” the report noted. Read also: Credit to private sector contracts in 2nd quarter 2021-BoG Core liquid assets to short-term liabilities was 2...

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament in Hungary, István Jakab, has underscored the need for Hungary and Ghana to work closely to ensure that more compost and recycling plants are built to help in achieving the government’s vision of a clean Ghana. According to him, Hungary’s relationship with Ghana dates back to some sixty years (60) ago, adding that when the two countries form more partnerships they will bring about transfer of technology, knowledge and expertise in the waste management sector. The deputy Speaker of Hungary’s Parliament made the observation when he visited the Kumasi waste water treatment plant in the Bosomtwe District in the Ashanti Region on Monday, November 22, 2021. He was conducted around the facility by the Executive Chairman of Jospong Group of Companies (JGC), Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, and some of his top management members. Read also: Jospong Group participates in Waste Expo Brazil 2021 The Kumasi waste water treatment plant is a collaboration between the JGC and...

  A new study from  Juniper Research  has found that the global volume of EV charging sessions, where an EV’s battery is charged using a charging point, will exceed 1.5 billion per annum in 2026, from just 200 million in 2021. This remarkable growth rate of more than 665% over the next five years will be driven by greater government incentives for electric vehicles, as well as more widespread charging service availability. The research,  EV Charging: Key Opportunities, Challenges & Market Forecasts 2021-2026 , identified incentives for EV ownership as having significantly increased take-up in Europe, with coordinated incentives packages needed in North America to stimulate growth. To support greater electrification, Juniper Research recommends that EV charging vendors work with governments and other stakeholders, including fuel retailers, to plan coordinated public charging network roll‑outs, or the mass electrification of mobility will stall. Home Charging Still...

  Ecobank Ghana has donated 100 laptops to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to assist less privileged students in their learning and research on campus. The donation is the first batch of 300 scheduled laptops and is in fulfillment of the bank’s commitment to support the Vice Chancellor’s vision of providing laptops to less privileged students in the university. Presenting the laptops on behalf of the bank, the Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, Dan Sackey, said, “As a country, as a people and as a business, we have all had to evolve to face the challenges of COVID-19. Ecobank has embraced technology over the years and took a deliberate step earlier to invest in technology prior to COVID, and this has stood us in good stead enabling us to serve our customers well in the wake of a pandemic. He said the donation therefore fully aligns with Ecobank’s objectives, and the bank is extremely delighted at this opportunity to provide less privileged students w...

About 20 beneficiaries of the MTN Bright Scholarship scheme have graduated from various universities with first and second class honors. Fifteen of the Bright Scholar graduated from the University of Development Studies in Tamale with degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; three graduated from the University of Professional Studies in Accra with degrees in Actuarial Science and Accounting and Finance and one graduated from Ghana Communications Technology University with first class honors and also emerged as the best student, BSc. Accounting with Computing. The beneficiaries received scholarships from MTN Ghana Foundation, which covered the cost of tuition, accommodation, and a stipend for books and other relevant reading materials. Commenting on the outstanding performance of MTN Bright Scholars, the Chief Corporate Services Officer of MTN Ghana, Samuel Koranteng said “The MTN Ghana Foundation is excited to see beneficiaries of the MTN Bright Scholarship excel in...

The Eastern Region has emerged as the region with the most economic freedom for entrepreneurs to strive according to the maiden edition of the Regional Entrepreneurship Freedom (REF) Index report. The region recorded an overall scored of 6.36, out of a score of 10, and is considered as the ‘moderately free'. This means that the private sector in the region enjoys some level of freedom across most indicators, however, each indicator is not fully enjoyed. The report relies on 10 indicators for the entrepreneurship freedom ranking. These are trade, freedom from corruption, freedom from government, fiscal, monetary, investment, labour, property rights, regulation and financial freedom. Ashanti region was ranked second with a score of 5.50, followed by North East 5.25 and Upper West 5.24. The three regions were considered as ‘mostly unfree’ meaning that the ecosystem has some level of freedom but there is much government intervention preventing it from enjoying it fully. Read also: Govt...

The Central Bank has increased the policy rate, the rate at which it lends to commercial banks, to 14.5% after maintaining it for three consecutive times at 13.5%. It explained in its Monetary Policy Committee report which was released today that recent price developments show elevated pressures on headline inflation in the second half of 2021. The two readings since the last MPC meeting pointed to a sharp increase in headline inflation from 9.7 percent in August 2021 to 10.6 percent in September and further up to 11.0 percent in October. This indicates that currently inflation is out of the medium-term target band of 8±2 percent by 1 percent.” The report stated. Read also: BoG buys first gold in 60 years: Plans to purchase 540kg with GH¢200m in 2021 The rise in inflation for October 2021 was largely driven by non-food prices, which increased from 9.9 percent in September to 11.0 percent in October 2021, while food inflation dipped from 11.5 percent in September to 11.0 percent in ...

Enterprise Life has as part of its 20 th Anniversary held a stakeholder appreciation event to reward clients who have been loyal to the company at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra. The company also used the occasion to launch its Annuity Prime product, which takes care of pensioners, a sector that has not been catered for by any other insurance company. The company also revamped two of its existing products to suit the growing needs of its customers. Speaking about the Annuity Prime Product, General Manager of Operations, Solace Odamtten-Sowah, said “Annuity Prime, a first of its kind in the county takes care of pensioners. This policy is a financial agreement between Enterprise Life and the Annuitant where a single premium is paid y the Annuitant is converted into a guaranteed monthly income stream over the life of the annuitant.” Odamtten-Sowah also used the occasion to share two revamped products, Bloom by Enterprise Life, formally Lady Care, which is an all-female product from wome...