Day: August 3, 2021

Kumasi, Aug.3, GNA – The Alliance of Drivers-Ghana (ADG), formerly Drivers for Change, an organisation seeking the welfare of drivers, has suspended, indefinitely, its National Organizer, Mr Ismail Osman Mohammed.

Mr Mohammed is accused of acts of gross insubordination, embezzlement and theft.

The National Executive Committee of the organisation took the decision unanimously on June 1, 2021, during a meeting.

Mr George Baffour Owusu Afriyie, the National Secretary, signed a letter to that effect and sent Mr Mohammed.

Mr Emmanuel Asante, the Administrative Secretary, speaking on behalf of the organisation, told the Ghana News Agency in Kumasi that Mr Mohammed, amongst his offences, was accused of stealing two motor bikes belonging to the organisation.

He was also found liable for embezzling an amount of GHc3,000.00 belonging to the organisation.

Additionally, he had written letters to certain organisations, including the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), as well as the Hajj Board, for some vehicles in the name of the organisation without proper approval by the Executive.

“All attempts to make him render a good account to the National Executive concerning his conduct had proved futile, compelling the leadership to suspend him,” Mr Owusu Afriyie told the GNA.

Alhaji Salia Abbas, the National Vice-Chairman of the ADG, said the Executive had exhausted every available option to get him to explain all the offences committed, but he had refused to respond to those invitations.

The ADG had, therefore, stripped him of his membership and position, he said.

Efforts to get Mr Mohammed for his side of the story proved futile.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ghana’s building and construction market are ripe with tremendous opportunities. This growth has been spurred by an increase in demand for both residential and industrial properties.

Unmet needs lead to growth opportunities in the areas of construction and real estate development and management.

The property market is dominated by residential and commercial developments. The residential market is the most active, registering an estimated 85,000 transactions per annum over the past decade, according to Ghana Investment Promotion Company (GIPC).

Commercial property is the second-largest segment in the market and includes office accommodation and retail space.

The industrial segment is significantly smaller in size than the commercial market, while recreational and civic or cultural property development is virtually non-existent.

Despite the spike in the sector, experts predict that the housing deficit in Ghana is in excess of one million homes. And to address this deficit, there is a need to deliver approximately 150,000 housing units per annum for the next 20 years.

According to Samuel Amegayibor, the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Real Estates Developers Association (GREDA), the total housing shortage in the country will hit 5.7 million units by the year 2020. And more than 50% of Ghana’s population live in substandard houses.

That means this industry will keep growing regardless of market shocks and economic uncertainties.

Enters Tika Mall, the builders market and home for all things construction and building materials TIKA Mall Ltd sees the stated housing challenge as a market opportunity to build Ghana’s first full-service mall that provides a full range of products and services in construction and building from foundation laying to property management.

After extensive market research, the team realized the need for a platform and company in Ghana that offers a comprehensive, end-to-end service in construction and building materials.

And by creating this building material and construction equipment mall, they hope to ease the pain and hurdle people go through while building their homes or securing properties in Ghana and beyond.

TIKA Mall Ltd aims to strategically position itself as a one-stop shop by offering consumers the best possible advice, top-of-the-line products, and world-class services at the intersection of cutting-edge technologies, processes, and procedures in the building and construction sector.

According to the team, TIKA Mall Ltd will be concentrating on only one market segment at this initial stage of the company’s growth milestone. The target market for the business will primarily be composed of residential property development and management and sales of construction equipment and building materials.

That is based on their understanding of the entity’s capacity as well as instrumental factors such as profitability, industry growth, the company’s growth potential, and business risk factors.

What does Tika Mall Ltd offer its clients?

With over 300 product lines so far, TIKA Mall Ltd will reach a broader market by targeting both the residential and commercial market segments in the near future.

As an online and offline market, TIKA Mall Ltd offers clients unmatched end-to-end real estate solutions through a full range of products in Building Materials, Construction Equipment, Construction Chemicals, Pipes and Fittings, Walls & Flooring, Home Automation, Sanitary Installments, Electricals & Furniture, Purchase, Rent, and Managing of Properties, Interior & Exterior Decor, Architectural Services, House Painting, and much more.

Visit their head office at Tema Community 25 for a fabulous shopping experience! For more information about their work, kindly contact the team at 020 677 2216.

Source: Ghana Web

Accra, – The Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) says the Tema-Accra bound stretch of the motorway will experience disruption to traffic flow from August 1 to 22.

A statement signed by Mr A.B.K Nuhu, the acting Chief Executive, GHA, copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the disruption was to enable works to be undertaken on the damaged beam of the Ashaiman overpass bridge.

It advised motorists to follow the traffic diversion signs to be placed at designated sections of the motorway to facilitate free movement of traffic through the construction area.

The statement urged the public to contact the Public Affairs Division of the Authority for further clarification.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, Aug.2, GNA – Alhaji Collins Dauda, a former Minister of Works and Housing, together with four others have been charged for wilfully causing financial loss to the State in the $200 million Saglemi Housing Project.

Alhaji Dauda is additionally charged for intentionally misapplying public property.

He, Dauda, together with Kwaku Agyeman-Mensah, Alhaji Ziblim Yakubu, Andrew Clocanas and Nouvi Tetteh Angelo, are also facing the charge of issuing a false certificate.

Clocanas and Tetteh have been additionally and jointly charged for dishonestly causing financial loss to the State.

All the five accused persons are expected to appear before the High Court to answer the various charges.

The facts of the case are that, Alhaji Dauda, a Member of Parliament, was a Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing (MWRWH) from February 2013 to March 2015, whilst Agyeman-Mensah was also a Minister of the MWRWH from April 2015 to January 2017.

Alhaji Yakubu was the Chief Director of MWRWH from July 2009 to April 2017, with Clocanas being the Executive Chairman of Construtora OAS Ghana Limited and Tetteh, a director and majority shareholder of Ridge Management Solutions DWC-LLC as well as director of VHM Ghana Limited.

In August 2012, former President John Dramani Mahama, granted executive approval to the Ministry for the construction of 5,000 affordable housing units (the Saglemi Affordable Housing Project) for sale to workers through mortgage arrangements provided by Ghana Home Loans to be implemented by Construtora OAS Limited.

The project was to be funded by a Buyer’s Credit of US$200million provided by Messrs Credit Suisse International (Credit Suisse).

On 31st October 2012, Parliament granted approval for the government to secure a facility of $200million from Credit Suisse for the project, following a joint memorandum to Parliament by the then Minister for MWRWH, Mr Enoch Teye Mensah and the then Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Kwabena Duffour.

On January 4, 2013, a Facility Agreement was signed between the Ministry of Finance, as borrower, and Credit Suisse, as creditor, for a facility of $200million for the project and same day, MWRWH through the then Minister, Mr E.T Mensah, signed an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Agreement with Construtora OAS Ghana Ltd represented by 4th accused for the construction of affordable housing units at Saglemi in the Greater-Accra Region.

The project, which was to be executed in four phases on 2,172 acres of land was at a contract price of US$200million, including consultancy services, an Escrow Management Agreement, a condition precedent to the release of the facility to the borrower, was also signed pursuant to the Facility Agreement and the EPC Agreement, between the Ministry of Finance (Borrower), the MWRWH(Account holder), the Bank of Ghana(Account holding bank) and Construtora OAS (Contractor)].

The purpose of the agreement was to ensure that the $200million facility would be properly applied towards the development of the 5,000 housing units.

The agreement, therefore, required payments under the contract to be effected only when specific works had been duly executed, verified and certified by the consultants of the project, the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL).

The EPC Agreement provided for an advance payment of 40 per cent of the contract price to the contractor within five working days of the receipt of the facility in the Escrow Account, where the advance payment was to be applied towards specific works set out in the contract.

The remaining amount of the contract price was to be paid to the contractor based on the fulfilment of specific project milestones and the contractor was required under the agreement to set out the details of the achieved project milestones, which had to be verified and certified by the consultants before payment is done.

On January 9, 2013, Credit Suisse disbursed an amount of $198,450,000, representing the $200million less fees and transaction expenses into the Escrow Account and on February 27, 2013, an amount of $80million representing 40 per cent of the contract sum was transferred to Construtora OAS as advanced payment.

However, the contractor allegedly failed to apply the amount towards the purpose for, which the payment was made, thus, on February 27, 2014, Alhaji Dauda who had assumed office as the new Minister, without any parliamentary approval, allegedly reviewed the original EPC and signed the first and restated agreement with Construtora

OAS, represented by its Executive Chairman, the 4th accused, and in the process, changed the scope of works and the application of the $200million approved by Parliament for the construction of 5000 housing units.

The new agreement required the contractor to execute the project in three phases over a site of 1,272 acres whilst the $200million was now to be applied towards the execution of only the first phase of the project comprising just about 1,502 housing units, contrary to the executive and parliamentary approvals as well as the Facility and Escrow Management Agreements.

As a result, on April 15, 2013, the AESL signed a contract with Vito Hugo-CoordenacaGestao De Projectos (VHM) subcontracting its consultancy services under the EPC agreement to the company for $500,000,000 over a period of 24months.

This was the amount provided under the EPC Agreement for consultancy services for the 5000 housing units.

Under the agreement between AESL and VHM, a maximum amount of $2,000,000 was to be paid to AESL as not more than $2,987,750 was to be paid to VHM for their services.

This contract also provided for 40 per cent advanced payment.

In April 2015, when AESL and the VHM were still providing consultancy services under the contract, the MWRWH, allegedly entered into another contract for consultancy services with Ridge Management Solutions DWC-LLC (RMS), represented by its director and majority shareholder, Tettey, for three months at a contract sum of $5.6million.

This was at a time RMS allegedly was not registered in Ghana as a company.

Once again, the MWRWH was required to make an advance payment of 40 per cent of the contract sum.

This contract was said to be completely outside the EPC Agreement.

Investigations revealed that Tettey, who is the majority shareholder of RMS is also a Director of VHM Ghana Limited, allegedly.

In August 2016, the 2nd accused entered into yet another consultancy agreement with RMS, this time, for what was referred to as “marketing implementation services” for a sum of $2,502,198.00 and again, the Ministry was required to make an advanced payment of 40 per cent of the contract sum, when all that while, AESL and VHM were purportedly performing the same consultancy services for the project, their consultancy agreements having been extended at various times by Mensah and Alhaji Yakubu.

On December 21, 2016, Alhaji Yakubu without recourse to Parliament allegedly reviewed the First and Restated Agreement and signed the Second and Restated Agreement, which led to a further reduction in the scope of works to 1,412 housing units at a revised contract price of US$ 181,018,000.00 and extended the completion period of the contract to July 31, 2017 without any basis.

Between March 2014 and January 2015, an amount of $46,131,153.41 was paid to the contractor, Construtora OAS, whilst a total of $3,386,916.08 was paid to AESL and VHM when no works had been duly executed by the contractor, with the payments allegedly authorised and approved by Alhaji Dauda and Alhaji Yakubu without any evidence of specific project milestones achieved by the contractor as required under the EPC Agreement.

It is also argued that there was no justification for the advanced payment of $80 million earlier made, but

between June 2015 and January 2017, a further amount of $54,066,768.16 was paid to the contractor of the project when no works had been duly executed.

Again, though there were no milestone reports supporting the payments, Mensah and Alhaji Yakubu allegedly ordered for further payments to be made to the three consultants; AESL, VHM and RMS, far in excess of the $5,000,000 stated as consultancy fees in the original EPC Agreement without any evidence of work they had done.

There were no verification and certification of actual work done by the contractor as required under the EPC Agreement though a total amount of $196,428,891.66 has been spent on the Saglemi Affordable Housing Project, with the contractor having been paid $179,904,757.78, allegedly.

Investigations revealed that the cost of works executed on the site, including consultancy services, is about $64,982,900.77.

Only 651.75 acres of land out of the 2,172 acres of land made available by the MWRWH to the contractor for the project has been developed.

Investigations further revealed that only 668 housing units were completed by the contractor.

The houses are, however, not habitable so not a single house under the project has been sold and the facility remains unpaid, resulting in huge financial loss to the Republic of Ghana.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, – Mr Kwasi Amoako-Attah, Minister of Roads and Highways, has given a strong indication of working with stakeholders to clump-down on overloading cargo vehicles.

He said overloading did not only pose a threat to other road users but was a major contributor to the deterioration of roads and bridges.

“Per our studies at the ministry, we have identified overloading as a major factor that caused roads to deteriorate because it exerted excessive pressure on roads,” he said.

Mr Amoako-Attah made these remarks when officials of Unilever Ghana PLC led by Mr George Owusu-Ansah, Managing Director, paid a courtesy call on him in Accra on Monday.

He said the government was dualising all major roads in the country to prevent avoidable road accidents.

Mr Amoako-Attah explained that the dualisation process had started in earnest, saying, “The dualisation agenda is on course. Currently, Tema Roundabout to Akomsobo is being dualised. Accra to Tema is being worked on, as well as Accra to Cape Coast and to Kumasi,” he added.

The Minister commended the leadership of Unilever Ghana PLC for their exemplary leadership, which had led to the organisation’s continuous growth in the country.

Mr Amoako-Attah, a former employee of Unilever, mentioned that the skills and competencies acquired at the multinational consumer goods company had helped him in the execution of his public service duties.

Mr Owusu-Ansah said they were proud of the Minister for his dedication to his work and congratulated him on his reappointment to head the ministry.

He pledged the company’s readiness to partner with the Ministry to build and maintain roads in the country.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, – Management of M Plaza Hotel says the Hotel is not in collusion with Ghana Health Service and the Kotoka International Airport COVID-19 Testing Centre to scam visitors.

“We take umbrage at sinister attempts to tarnish and destroy our hard-earned image and reputation by some aggrieved and frustrated travellers who find it difficult to accept the COVID-19 protocols at the airport and have rather decided to vent their spleen on the hotel,” it said.

“The attention of the Management of M Plaza Hotel has been drawn to negative videos, pictures and commentaries seeking to portray the hotel as a rundown facility that is in cahoots with officials of the Ghana Health Service and the KIA COVID-19 testing Centre to dupe travellers.

A statement issued by Mrs Leticia Sackey-Addoo, the Public Relations Manager of the Hotel, said while they acknowledged and quickly worked to resolve the occasional operational challenges, “let us also recognize that we are not in normal times but we are poised to work together with all stakeholders to navigate the storm.”

It said the facility took exception to this brazen attempt to tarnish the hard-earned image and reputation of the hotel built over decades of hard work and sacrifices showcasing the success of indigenous Ghanaian enterprise.

The statement said indeed the Hotel has carved a niche for itself and could boast of a tall enviable list of Presidents and dignitaries that it hosted.

“M Plaza hotel has nothing to do with COVID-19 testing facility at Kotoka International Airport,” it said.

It said since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Ghana in March 2020, the Hotel was one of the few that offered its services and facilities at a significant discount and the reputational risk to become a quarantine facility.

The statement said if upon all this sacrifice for the national good, the Hotel had come under a deluge of attacks then, “we can only surmise that we have become an avenue for disgruntled travellers to get at Ghana Health Service oblivious that every country has its COVID-19 testing protocols.”

The Management wished to state that the day to day management of the facility and adherence to health and safety was done in strict compliance with protocols set out by the Ghana Health Service and the national COVID-19 task force.

“Occasionally Management’s attention has been drawn to some service lapses which have on all occasions been quickly resolved to the satisfaction of all,” it said.

It said the check out rooms and bedding were always thoroughly fumigated and allowed to stay idle for three days before they were cleaned.

The statement said it was one of such rooms that the Ace musician Mr Ben Brako was inadvertently checked into without their attention being drawn to this lapse.

“This was an oversight and we offer our apology,” it added.

Meanwhile, a guest of the Hotel has, after the negative statements, alleging the substandard services offered, come back to apologize for the comments.

The statement said, “We also want to state that pillows that get stained as a result of frequent fumigation are replaced.”

It is, therefore, unfortunate for a guest to take a snapshot of a stained pillow and put it out there on social media without complaining first to the hotel. This is sinister and a blow below the belt.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, – The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MoTAC), in collaboration with Global Signature GH, on Tuesday, held a Stakeholder briefing on the essence and relevance of Inter Tourism Expo 2021 in Accra.

The briefing sought to outline and deliberate on how Inter Tourism Expo would impact positively tourism and enhance the Ghanaian economy.

Mr Emmanuel Treku, Chief Executive Officer and Convener of Inter Tourism Expo Accra said the annual event was scheduled for September 28 to 30, 2021 at the Accra International Conference Centre.

He said the event would promote the culture, brands, destinations, products and services in Ghana, as the centre of the world with exhibitors, buyers, trade and visitors from the African Continent and travel professionals all over the world.

Mr Treku stated that the Expo was the 3rd edition and would take the form of a tourism and trade exhibition with conferences, focusing on topical tourism, sustainability, conservation and other market-related issues.

He said the plan was to attract more than 150 International and Local exhibitors, 200 hosted buyers, 500 trade visitors and the media.

He said the three-day exhibition and conference would bring reputable international speakers, security, workshop on product packaging, participant trade show, making sure there would be total adherence to the Covid-19 protocols and end with a regional familiarization trip to celebrate the world tourism day.

Representatives from the School of Creative Arts, University of Education Winneba, Zeepay, PMMC and Wendy L’artisane in their solidarity statements said tourism was one of the ways that boost a country’s economy and, therefore, were honoured to be part of the Expo and pledged their support to make the event memorable and a huge success.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, – Research findings by Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) Ghana, a non-profit organisation, has revealed that the COVID–19 pandemic reduced access to sexual reproductive services to women and girls.

The research, which was conducted in 2020 in partnership with Crossroads International, showed that the reduction in access to sexual reproductive services to women and girls in the country caused an increase in the rate of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies.

Madam Bernice Sam, a lawyer, said this in a presentation at a seminar held by WiLDAF to build the capacity of key stakeholders, including the Department of Social Welfare, Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), on the impact of COVID–19 on women and girls.

The survey was carried out to address the gender dimensions of COVID-19 effects and responses effectively and sustainably and how policy responses to the pandemic could be designed such that inequalities would not be worsened

She said there were 109,000 pregnant girls, and some of the girls had refused to go back to school while the boys were working to cater for the girls.

Lawyer Sam said there were disruptions in sexual reproductive services for women and girls hence the rise in self-medication and the visit to pharmacies.

According to the findings, the girls and women did not access antenatal care, therefore, there were maternal and neo-natal problems and there had been anxiety, fear and emotional changes in children.

The findings showed that between May and June last year, 35.7 per cent of businesses had been shut down, which made women in vulnerable jobs suffer and there was a reduction in income of women in the informal sector, resulting in financial burden for women to cater for their children.

The research findings indicated that wives and mothers struggled to supplement the family income, there was reduced income yet increasing food prices and poor nutrition for rural women, adolescents and school children.

According to the research, there had been an increase in child marriages due to poverty, pregnancy and stigma; increased commercial sex work and more head porters (Kayayei), domestic workers and human trafficking.

The findings attributed the increase in domestic violence and abuse, resulting in death during the pandemic to tensions and stress.

The report said women and girls could not report acts of sexual violence and abuse to the Department of Social Welfare, CHRAJ, and DOVVSU due to the covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

It was recommended that Government must financially invest in building more health facilities towards the end of this year to its agenda 111 as read in the 2021 mid-year budget review by the Minister of Finance.

WiLDAF Ghana is a women’s rights-based NGO aimed at increasing community access to justice and increasing women’s participation in democratic governance.

WiLDAF Ghana works across the 16 regions of Ghana and seeks to protect and empower girls and women by employing a right-based approach that utilises the power of law to contribute to gender equality and sustainable development.

Source: Ghana News Agency