Category: Business

Ahead of the commencement of the Revenue Mobilization exercise dubbed “20-20”, Mr Samuel Dubik Mahama, Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), has urged his staff to be very firm but polite in collecting locked up revenues.

The exercise, slated to begin on March 20 to April 20, 2023, is using the all-hands-on-deck approach and will see all top officials of ECG physically on the ground, collecting monies from customers who have been billed by the company from September 2022 to February 2023, including State Owned Enterprises and companies on Special Load Tariff (SLT).

Visiting the Tema, Accra East and Accra West, Volta, Ashanti, Western, Central, Projects and Eastern Regional offices, Mr Mahama said, “We have no business sitting behind our desks when we have revenues locked up out there. When you go out, please be extremely polite to our customers, introduce yourselves properly with your ID cards, and insist on payments.”

The Managing Director said he was aiming at collecting 100% of the locked up revenues, totalling over GHS5 billion.

“You can imagine what this amount of money will mean for ECG and the economy in these trying times. Let us make this work. Everyone must bring home some money and whiles you are out there, look out for illegal connections, and report accordingly,” he added.

Mr. Mahama asked staff not to take cash from customers but rather direct them to use the ECG Power App or dial short code *226# to make payment.

Staff were also told that they can assist customers who want to pay with cheques to generate payment advice numbers from the app, which will be presented together with cheques at the bank.

Also, customers can go to a Momo agent with their meter and account numbers on the same *226#.

Source: Ghana Web

Fire prevention is a shared responsibility, and if indeed market fires are to be prevented then a big responsibility lies on the shoulders of the custodians of the markets – the Assemblies. They must complement the efforts of the Fire Service to end or reduce market fires in the country. The first major market fire gutted and caused extensive damage to Makola Market where wares running into millions of Ghana cedis were destroyed in 1992. The Fire Service thereafter constituted Market Fire Prevention Teams, which were responsible for fire safety education in the markets, conducting risk assessment and market patrols in all markets. These annual risk assessment reports are submitted to the local Assemblies to implement the recommendations, but the reports only gather dust on their shelves. Until 2013 after a series of preventable fire outbreaks in markets across the country, the Government engaged the services of experts from the United States of America to investigate the ritual fire outbreaks. Expectations were very high that the work of the forensic investigators was going to do the magic to serve as the blue print to deal with fire related issues in the markets. But, it is one thing prescribing the medicine, and another administering it. The Assemblies have again refused to implement recommendations from the forensic experts, which were replicates of the recommendations submitted yearly to the Assemblies by the local Fire Teams. It is clear that until the Custodians of the markets whose interests are not in the maintenance but revenue collection do reorganisation of the markets into well-defined structures, the infernos would continue to ravage our markets, like what happened at the Dubai section of the new Kejetia Market in Kumasi yesterday. State of markets in developing economies Unfortunately, markets in the developing economies do not have well-planned and proper layouts, so they are congested. Anytime fire breaks out in the markets, it spreads very rapidly and becomes very difficult for fire tenders to get access and maneuver for firefighting. In Ghana, the only market designed and built with safety, protection of lives and property in mind is the Makola Market near the City Fire Station Accra. Kudos to the Architects who did perfect work in designing the Makola Market. The Market is divided into four equal parts with alleys, which are to serve as access routes for vehicles to discharge goods. The routes are also to be used for emergency purposes without hindrance or obstruction to other users. Unfortunately, over the years, the alleys have been either located to traders or encroached upon by traders. Recommendations that the Assemblies failed to implement It was recommended that the Assemblies provided and strengthened security at the markets and ensured that securitymen patrolled the markets at all times. The securitymen were to be provided with basic equipment (communication gadgets, fire fighting equipment, etc.) to enhance their work. Securitymen and traders in the markets were to be trained on how to use basic fire fighting equipment and educated on the causes and prevention of fires. The Assemblies were also to submit fire plans and protection reports to the Fire Service to be reviewed to ensure that adequate means of escape were available, satisfactory fire detection and warning systems and the relevant fire fighting equipment were provided. They were also to engage the services of Safety Officers for every market and train some of the securitymen and the traders as fire wardens. The Assemblies were also asked to discourage mobile fufu vendors from operating in the markets because they carried embers, which may be blown onto combustible materials and ignite them. Cooking and setting of fires in the markets were also to be discouraged with a designated place made for cooking. Market authorities were to ensure that overaged electrical circuits were replaced and amateur electricians discouraged from tampering with the electrical circuits. Heaters, LPG and other similar gadgets which have the potential of causing fires were to be used carefully. The use of carbide to hasten the ripening of plantain, banana and other foodstuffs was also to be discouraged. The Assemblies were also to ensure segregation of occupancy ie. similar items should be sold at designated areas and every market having a built in Fire Post manned by Fire personnel at all times. Fire safety audit reports on markets From the study of the fire audit reports on markets, the following observations were made. Most of the markets were found not to have any form of fire protection and have safety lapses, including the following: Obstruction of access routes to the markets, non-availability of adequate sources of water for fire fighting, non segregation of high rated combustible items from low rated ones, and reckless use of sources of ignition (electricity and naked fire). The rest are poor communication facilities, lack of commitment of market management authorities to ensure fire safety in the markets and poor security arrangement in the markets. Other relevant issues The committee in the course of its deliberations, identified some weaknesses and recommended that adequate and appropriate logistics be made available to Fire officers at the Fire Post to carry out effective fire education and other activities. It also asked that regular simulation exercises on fire fighting, and evacuation be conducted in conjunction with stakeholders and that early childhood development centres in the markets be sited close to exits to facilitate evacuation and rescue in times of emergency. If all the above are given the needed attention and all relevant stakeholders perform their respective roles effectively, the rate at which fires break out in the markets will drastically be reduced and the extent of damage minimised.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr. Frank Aidoo, the Akuapim South Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), has advised citizens to help promote education, innovation and entrepreneurship for economic growth and job creation in the country. They must also be empowered to actively participate in the development of the country by encouraging a culture of creativity and excellence. Mr. Aidoo was speaking at the recently independence anniversary celebration noted that the theme for the anniversary sought to remind citizens of the importance of teamwork to achieve a common goal. ‘We must remember that it is only through our collective efforts that we can build a stronger and more prosperous Ghana despite the challenges we face’, he said. Notwithstanding the country’s achievements made in terms of peace, democracy and governance, Mr. Aidoo, said, ‘we face challenges such as poverty, unemployment, climate change among others’. As a result, he called on all citizens across the country to embrace the spirit of patriotism and unity. ‘Let us patronize the interests of our nation above individual interests and work together to achieve our shared aspirations’, he noted.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Samuel Atuahene Antwi, a Nutritionist at the Tema Metropolitan Health Directive, has cautioned pregnant women against alcohol intake, saying it could endanger the lives of their unborn babies. He said babies of mothers who consumed liquor risked developing alcohol syndrome, which could affect their central nervous system, growth, and cognitive abilities, leading to physical and mental disabilities. Samuel Antwi was speaking at the weekly programme dubbed; ‘Your Health! Our Concern!’ a public health advocacy initiative by Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office, to promote communication on health-related issues. The initiative explores the parameters of the four approaches to health communication: informative, educating, persuasive, and prompting. Samuel Antwi stated that alcoholic mothers had their babies scoring very low on the APGAR scores which was a quick test performed on babies minutes after their birth to check their healthiness, adding that some of them were delivered with symptoms of drowsiness. He explained that such babies were also prone to being malnourished, as the alcohol inhibits their body’s ability to absorb nutrients from the food they receive. Samuel Antwi further cautioned against alcoholism during breastfeeding as it had the same effect on babies just like in the womb because it could easily be transmitted through breastmilk. He advised mothers to ensure good nutrition for their children right from pregnancy to breastfeeding saying, ‘there is the need to start right, and feed right.’ The nutritionist said mothers must be prepared well nutritionally for the sake of their babies, stressing that eating non-nutritious substances would end up in the stomachs and bloodstreams of the babies.

Source: Ghana Web

The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) is calling for active citizen participation in ensuring that the nation’s extractive resources are properly managed for the benefit of all.

Mr Kodzo Yaotse, Policy Lead for Petroleum and Conventional Energy at the Organisation speaking at a campus engagement at the Ho Technical University, said the appetite of citizens for accountability continued to diminish, leaving the fight to only a few.

The engagement was on the theme; “Strengthening Accountability for Resource Governance through Active Citizenship.”

Mr Yaotse said through such forums, “the organisation is building a constituency of active citizens,” urging the students as citizens, to follow state happenings as they get themselves updated on the issues.

“We need a critical mass of people who are interested or vested in the things happening in the sector. We need citizenship that masses up for accountability. We should show that we can push them to the wall,” the policy lead stated.

He noted that the nation’s petroleum receipts totaled over USD 8 billion from when the well first broke in 2011, while the mining sector had contributed about 48 percent to the exports, and said these were “huge monies” that could transform the country, and that an unconcerned citizenry should take part of the blame for the paradox of plenty.

“Corruption would only fester if citizens are not active. Institutions would grow weaker if citizens are not active. The expenditure of resources would only be inefficient if citizens are not active.” 

“So, we are part of the problem, and we have to find a way of bridging the missing link between the resources that we have and the development that we envisage,” Mr. Yaotse added.

Helping the students expand knowledge on the nation’s petroleum sector and the structure of revenue management, he indicated that informing citizens on the happenings in the extractive sector would help safeguard and ensure that disbursements were within the constitutional frameworks and met their intended uses.

He said citizen vigilance was needed to protect public funds such as the Annual budget Funding Amount (ABFA), and that several key sectors for investment including water, health, and transportation would require citizen push to be realised, adding, “So, much money has been invested in such sectors yet there is little improvement.”

He added that currently, there was a trend where allocations and disbursements from the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) replaced traditional funding sources for most State social interventions, which limited the impact of the utilisation of these revenues, hence, the need to place duty bearers on their toes.

The campus engagement by ACEP is part of a nationwide initiative, and the Ho edition was in collaboration with the Ho Technical University’s Department of Management Science and was Chaired by Madam Eli Atatsi, Head of the Department.

 Students from some Senior High Schools in the area including Ola Girls Senior High School, Mawuli School, St Prosper’s College, and Mawuko Girls Senior High School, participated in the engagement. 

Source: Ghana Web

Assin Central Member of Parliament Kennedy Agyapong has declared ‘war’ on the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

The outspoken lawmaker has alleged that the GRA is witch-hunting him with respect to two of his major businesses. A steel plant project he is building and his cold store business.

He said during an interview on Sompa FM in Kumasi that: “Ghana Revenue Authority can never collapse my business because I will fight. I will fight for the youth because that steel plant alone will take 1000 workers.

“And you are going there because Kwame Agyapong is loudmouthed, because he wants to contest so you will destroy my business,” he stressed.

He said earlier that the GRA wanted to put a personnel at his cold chain stores to police how much fish he sells daily before warning: “Let me say this, I have gone past intimidation.

“They cannot use the system to intimidate me. It so ad I have to say this, I have opened businesses across the last five presidents, I never went through any of this harassment.”

Source: Ghana Web

Ride-hailing services provider, Yango, has marked this year’s International Women’s Day with a reception for partners female drivers and workers of the company.? It was an interactive and empowering session with inspiring talks from top women celebrities and influencers on how they overcame biases and challenges to become successful in their respective professions. Ms. Sophia Silvey, Partner Success Manager for Yango Ghana, told journalists in an interview that the gesture was to appreciate and honour its cherished women drivers on the app for their dedication and hard work.? On the occasion of this year’s International Women’s Day on the theme ‘Embrace Equity’, she added that the session was also to highlight the company’s commitment to gender equity and an inclusive work culture. She further shared her personal experience as a woman working with Yango, which she described as wonderful and inspiring. ‘I joined Yango from a male-dominated industry where it was difficult to find women taking decisions and so I was excited to see women in leadership positions here. We have a country manager in Zambia and Senegal who are women. It is inspiring to know that Yango embraces equity and that as a brand it is open to inclusivity and women empowerment,’ she indicated. Ms. Victoria Addison, a participant also narrated how she entered the ride-hailing scene as a driver. ‘I became a driver after convincing a man who had a fleet of car and needed drivers to give me a car on work and pay basis. Initially, he was hesitant because I’m a woman but he later agreed. Out of the five cars he had under same arrangements, I was one of the three persons who were able to finish paying for the car on time,’ she said. According to her, the decision to drive with Yango has been very rewarding as she now has a reliable source of income and livelihood. She added: ‘It’s been a wonderful experience working as a Yango partner driver and I’m enjoying it. I now have a reliable source of livelihood and the bonuses are very good.’ Broadcast journalist and influencer, Anita Akuffo, encouraged the women drivers on the Yango app to strive to achieve greatness in their chosen profession. ‘You’re better off and doing way better because you’re helping people all through the journey. I encourage you to take it a day at a time, be the best of yourselves and enjoy every bit of what you do,’ she advised.

Source: Ghana News Agency

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says Government’s decision to prioritise tourism as a key policy for economic diversification, job creation and growth, is paying off.? He said both domestic and international tourism were rebounding significantly from the severely disruptive impact of COVID-19 on the travel and tour industry with international arrivals hitting three times the figures in 2020. The President said this during the State of the Nation Address (SONA), on the floor of Parliament, Wednesday, March 8. He said: ‘International arrivals nearly trebled last year, from a low of three hundred and fifty-five thousand, one hundred and eight (355,108) in 2020, to over nine hundred and fifteen thousand (915,000).’? President Akufo-Addo said domestic visits to tourist sites had also gone up by over 55.7 per cent during the same period, attributing such progress to the deliberate marketing initiatives and upgrades of tourist infrastructure by the Tourism Ministry and the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) ‘World Economic Forum Report 2021 Travel Index, ranks Ghana as the number one tourism destination in West Africa. The potential contribution of tourism and the arts to GDP is, therefore, one that we must nurture and emphasise,’ he said.? The President said the ‘Beyond The Return’ initiative he launched in 2019 as a sequel to the ‘Year of Return’, had reignited excitement about Ghana as the ‘hub and a Mecca for the Global pan-African’.? ‘A home every person of African descent must visit at least once in their lifetime,’ he said.? President Akufo-Addo said a Ghanaian citizenship was conferred on Madam Viola Fletcher (108 years) and her brother Uncle Red (102 years) a few days ago at a historic ceremony in Washington DC.? The new Ghanaian citizens are the two of the only three living survivors of the Tulsa Massacre of 1921. The President said he would be chairing a tourism stakeholder Retreat on ‘Rethinking Tourism for National Development and Job Creation,’ and had tasked the Ministry and GTA to work on the modalities to bring together all the stakeholders.? ‘Over the next couple of years, my government will deepen even further our efforts to make tourism a strong primary source of growth for the economy,’ he said.?

Source: Ghana News Agency