Day: May 4, 2022

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) says it will conduct its internal elections after completing the issuance of electronic identification cards to its members as part of measures to digitise the Party’s membership records.

The Party has directed its members to replace their old ID cards by May 15, 2022 to pave way for the registration of new members ahead of the internal elections.

The Party will on Monday, May 9, 2022, hold a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to discuss the way forward.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Peter Boamah Otukunor, Deputy General Secretary, NDC, said the Party would hold its Branch elections “very soon,” adding that the records of 4.5 million members had so far been digitised.

He said the old ID cards were obsolete, and explained that the new cards would be the only recognised identification card for the Party’s internal elections.

He said the digitisation process would help the Party to track and strengthen its management systems at all levels and help to strategise for future elections.

“Previously we had manual registers that were kept only at the branches and do not interconnect and communicate with other areas, which make it very difficult in preparing strategies because when you need information you have to struggle.

“With the current system that we have developed, it is very convenient. You can know what is happening in every polling station, constituency at the same time and that makes the work more efficient,” he said.

Mr Otukonor said the Party was confident that by fixing its management systems and the problems identified in the 2020 elections, it had a better chance of securing victory in the 2024 Presidential election.

He said the Party would announce the date for the registration of new members after the replacement of ID cards for old members had been completed.

He urged members of the Party to visit their respective Branches to replace their old ID cards to ensure a smooth electoral process.

“The old ID is obsolete now, so all members should make the effort to get the new cards and that will be the formal proper identification for them as members of the NDC,” he said.

Source: Modern Ghana

Tema, May 4, GNA – The Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) has urged the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) to educate the public on the importance of the neutrality allowance to its members.

The CLOGSAG on April 21, 2022, declared an indefinite strike to press home their demand for the government to pay the neutrality allowance as agreed in January this year.

Some persons and labour unions have criticised the action by the CLOGSAG and the justification for asking to be paid neutrality allowance for their inability to partake in partisan politics as civil and local government staff.

Mr Abraham Koomson, Secretary-General of the GFL, however, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Tema that the CLOGSAG must sensitise the public on why its members deserved to receive the allowance and its importance to the successful running of government.

Mr Koomson said: “The CLOGSAG must let the public understand that the controversial neutrality allowance has nothing to do with the political affiliation of any civil servant. Because by the terms of employment, civil servants are debarred from showing political biases on the job.”

According to him, the tag of the allowance to neutrality was a wrong description adopted by the government to provoke public condemnation of it.

He also called on other labour unions, especially those with membership from public institutions to throw their support behind the demand of the CLOSAG as they also stood to benefit when implemented.

He said raising issues against the neutrality allowance by the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC), and Public Service Workers Union (PSWU) was wrong, as that would affect negotiations between CLOGSAG and the government on the issue.

“It was not proper for workers’ organizations like TUC and PSWU to publicly complain about benefits to be enjoyed by counterparts to undermine the ongoing negotiations between CLOGSAG and government,” he stated.

The GFL Secretary-General indicated that strategically, the best approach was for the TUC, and PSWU to have waited for the implementation of the allowance for CLOGSAG members, and then other public sector workers could legitimately demand an extension of the allowance to cover their departments and sectors.

Meanwhile, Nana Kwasi Agyekum Dwamena, the Head of Civil Service, has affirmed that CLOGSAG members and other public servants have contributed immensely to the development of the country and must, therefore, be given what they deserved.

He indicated that the neutrality allowance has been a matter of discussion since 2019, adding that out of 48 proposed allowances tabled by CLOGSAG, only eight were accepted by the government and consolidated into what has come to be known as the neutrality allowance.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Kumasi, May 04, GNA – Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, has advised the youth in the country to live moderate lifestyles and invest more for the future.

According to him, financial investment was an asset as the money invested would grow to cushion the investor in the future.

Mr Agyapong was speaking at a youth forum, organized by him at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi.

The programme, which targeted the youth, under the theme, “The youth – Our future hope,” was aimed at inspiring them to work hard to become successful people in the society.

According to the MP, government alone could not address all national problems, hence, the need for the youth to be innovative, think outside the box and come up with new ideas to help address the challenges.

The MP disclosed that, some of the youth invested in non-sustainable products such as expensive cars, and other items, which could be channelled into other lucrative ventures through investment.

Mr Agyapong advised the youth to be honest, hardworking, respectful, save the little they earn and invest more to help them become successful people in the society, adding that, if they listened to his advice, one day they would be somebody.

“In order to be successful in life, there are some five things you need to follow, which include being honest, hardworking, respectful, savings and invest more.

As a youth, savings and investment must be something you must pay attention to save any little money you earn, sacrifice today’s entertainment for a better tomorrow,” he advised.

Reverend Ransford Obeng, the General Overseer of Calvary Charismatic Centre (CCC) at Ayigya, encouraged the youth to keep on believing in their abilities and potentials and never give up in life.

“I want to use this opportunity to advise all the youth in Ghana to save the little they earn, and keep on believing in their abilities and potentials, never give up in life,” he advised.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Deduako (Ash), May 04, GNA – Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister of Education, has said the government is mobilising the requisite resources to equip Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-based schools for effective academic work.

The agenda is to make sure that those schools functioned as expected to build the skills and expertise of the students in those disciplines for productive lives.

According to the Minister, not only does STEM provide a new way of thinking and learning to students, but it also builds their creative and innovative acumen toward national development.

Dr Adutwum was addressing students of the Bosomtwe Girls’ STEM Senior High School (SHS), at Deduako near Kuntenase in the Ashanti Region, after the officials of Huawei Technologies (Ghana) S.A. Limited, donated some educational materials to the school.

The items included 20 laptops, one projector and notebooks, and were meant to aid academic work.

The Education Minister said one of the greatest educational initiatives to be embarked on by the Nana Akufo-Addo-led Administration was the construction of STEM schools at the basic and second-cycle levels across the country.

Thís was being done purposely to churn out a new breed of self-motivated youth with the requisite knowledge in the sciences for accelerated growth.

Dr Adutwum advised beneficiary students of the STEM schools to study hard to realise their academic goals.

They should avoid behaviours and practices that had the tendency to jeopardise their future since a lot of resources had gone into their education, the Minister observed.

Ms Jennie Zhou, Director of Public Relations, Huawei Technologies (Ghana) S.A. Limited, said the company was happy to be associated with Ghana’s efforts to transform its human resource base through technical and vocational education and training.

The company, she said, had resolved to provide computers and other educational materials to help the STEM schools achieve their goals.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, May 04, GNA – The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) has launched a new Commonwealth Parliamentarian of the Year Award.

The award is part of the Association’s mission to strengthen parliamentary democracy through the promotion of good governance and sharing best practices

A statement issued by the Public Affairs Department of the Office of Parliament said the awards would be opened to nominees who were current parliamentarians across the Commonwealth with a main Commonwealth Parliamentarian of the Year Award.

There will also be awards for Parliamentary Equality and Diversity Award; New Parliamentarian Award; and Parliamentarian Lifetime Achievement Award.

The statement said the awards would aim to recognise and highlight inspirational and active Parliamentarians for excelling in their field and the CPA would share these case studies from amongst its membership with a wider audience.

It noted that the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s unique membership includes national, state, provincial and territorial Legislatures and the awards will be opened to Members of the CPA’s over 180 Parliaments.

Mr Stephen Twigg, the CPA Secretary-General, said: “The new Commonwealth Parliamentarian of the Year Awards aligns with our strategic objective of promoting the values of the Commonwealth, parliamentary democracy and sustainable development to a wide audience.”

“Through these annual awards, the CPA will recognise and highlight the invaluable contributions that Parliamentarians are making to their local communities and both nationally and internationally within the Commonwealth.”

The statement said the awards were open to anyone to nominate a Member of Parliament and full entry criteria and nomination forms could be found at www.cpahq.org.

It said the closing date for the 2022 awards would be 23 June 2022.

It said the first award recipients would be announced at the forthcoming 65th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Halifax, Canada in August 2022.

“Nominees should be sitting Members of Parliament in a Commonwealth Legislature or have been a sitting Member of Parliament in a Commonwealth Legislature in the award period.”

The statement said the award could be made posthumously.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, May 4, GNA- The Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) has been adjudged the overall best Agency under the Ministry of Education for the 2021 performance year and presented with a citation.

The award follows outstanding achievement as the best performed Agency in the implementation of roadmap in line with the 2021 performance agreement.

A statement from the Ministry copied to the Ghana News Agency said the: “Commission beats 12 other Agencies under the Education Ministry in an annual evaluation exercise conducted by a team of consultants led by Professor Jophus Anamoah Mensah, an astute educationist.”

The National Teaching Council and Student Loans Trust placed second and third respectively and were also presented with citations.

Speaking at the annual performance contract signing meeting in Accra, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, commended the award winners for their dedication and hard work leading to the feat.

He urged agencies that did not win to put in more efforts towards the attainment of laurels in subsequent evaluation exercises.

Dr Adutwum urged the staff, management and board members of the various agencies to be innovative in all their activities to come out with new ideas to improve their performances.

Dr Fred Yamoah Kyei, the Director-General of CTVET, thanked the Minister for the award and pledged the readiness of the Commission to do more.

He said the Commission had put in place measures to ensure that there was a deep relationship between the TVET institutes and industry so that students could be allowed to embark on scheduled industrial attachment to enhance their training.

Dr Kyei said with the regularisation of industrial attachment, students would be able to acquire a first-hand experience required by industry before they completed their training to cut high cost of money involved in retraining by employers.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Chief Executive Officer of The Makers Electronics, Stephen Essoun, has been named the ‘Young Achiever of the Year’, 2022, at the maiden edition of the Ghana CEO Vision and Awards.

The Makers Electronics is one of the fastest-growing retail brands in electronic products in Ghana.

In barely one year and six months of its operations, The Makers Electronics has 5 branches, three within the Greater Accra Region, and two in Kumasi and Takoradi respectively. The company is still working on extending its branch network to make its services readily available in many parts of the country.

Speaking after picking up his award, the CEO of The Makers Electronics, Stephen Essoun, whose company in 2021, also received the ‘Promising Company of the Year’ award at the Ghana Business Awards, said, “I draw my inspiration from the famous biblical quote: Matthew 5:14, which says, You are the light of the world, a city built on a hill cannot be hidden.

The good works will definitely come out one day without a single sweat. My journey as a CEO has never been easy, and I was not expecting it to be easy either. I thank God almighty, the organizers, and my beautiful wife Mrs. Akua Saah Essoun for this award, and I will urge the youth to follow suit and push a healthy agenda for future generations.”

Mr. Essoun, who is also the CEO of Hi-Lynks Communications, an organization he’s run for nearly a decade, added that “As a Young Achiever of the year 2022′, I will urge the youth to seek grace, and not a race, by allowing others to take the lead, and not rushing into achieving certain things that may cost them their lives at a youthful stage. We can only compete with ourselves, not others.”

The awards event, organized by Globe Productions at the plush Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel in Accra on Friday, April 29, 2022, also honored Ibrahim Mahama, CEO of Engineers and Planners, who was decorated as the CEO Vision Entrepreneur of the year.

Vodafone CEO, Patricia Obo-Nai, was named CEO of the year – private sector category, whereas the Chief Executive of Zoomlion, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, picked the CEO of CEOs Award.

Other awardees on the night included Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

In all, about forty individuals were awarded. The nominees were shortlisted out of the 113 individuals that had been considered for the awards.

The project involved a documentary film on top CEOs, magazine features, and awards.

It seeks to recognize and reward leadership excellence across all industry and business sectors in Ghana while celebrating achievement, innovation, and leadership brilliance within the business environment of Ghana.

It is also aimed at providing the biggest and covets pitching platforms for CEOs who have used the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives, and ultimately, the country.

Project Lead at the Ghana CEO Vision and Awards Project, Mr. Latif Abubakar said the project also seeks to provide a thriving platform for CEOs to stay connected, stay relevant, stay ahead of the game, and be celebrated while creating opportunities and celebrating visionaries.

The Makers Electronics wins two prestigious awards at the 2021 RBLE Awards.

On the same day, Friday, April 29, 2022, The Makers Electronics also picked up two separate awards at the Responsible Business and Leadership Excellence Awards, 2021, held at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra.

The Makers Electronics picked up the Responsible Electronics Retail Company of the year for 2021, and the Responsible Emerging Electronics Brand of the year 2021.

The RBLEA, which covers the areas of banking, aviation, information technology, telecommunication, manufacturing, and retail sectors, mainly recognizes companies and individuals for their performance in the previous year.

ION Africa Business, organizers of the Awards, say it is aimed at championing the implementation of sound business governance and systems and also preventing practices that hinder social development.

The awards were picked on behalf of the CEO of the company, Mr. Stephen Essoun, by ambassadors of The Makers Electronic brand, namely, Comedian O.B. Amponsah, IBK, musician Fameye, actor Papa Nii, also known as Osophagus, Fidel Nana Kwabena Essoun (First son of the CEO) , and the Chief Operating Officer, Mrs. Akua Saah Essoun.

Source: Ghana Web

Renowned Ghanaian Reggae artiste Abubakar Ahmed, popularly known as Blakk Rasta in showbiz circles has revealed that some events organizers offer him marijuana popularly called ‘wee’ after performing at events.

Speaking in an interview on CITI TV, the singer stated that he is always disappointed when he takes his full band for events and gets paid with weed after full performances.

“I come with a full band to rock the people with full energy, two hours I’m on stage like a mad lion then I finish, and you say all Rastaman need is weed.

“They give you raw weed and transport and tell you to go after the show. People have taken Rasta for granted for far too long,” he said.

The singer cum media personality called out an artist whom he described as a “bald head” is paid huge sums of money but he (Blakk Rasta) is always disrespected.

“They will call a certain bald head and pay this person 500k to come and mime. Look, I make some of the best songs in the world, but wickedness and greed will let people gravitate towards you,” he added.

Source: Modern Ghana