Category: Business

Tamale, May 24, GNA – The Wunzoya Association of Farmers at the Koduzeigu Community in the Savelugu Municipality of the Northern Region has appealed for support in irrigation, farm tools and machinery to help improve yield.

Mr Alhassan Mohammed, the Vice Chairman of the Association, called for ready market for farm produce of the members, comprising 50 large scale and smallholder farmers, who need help to scale up production.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Savelugu, he also appealed for a dam in the Koduzeigu Community to enable them to store more water for use during the dry seasons.

Mr Salifu Musah, a member of the Association, said inadequate access to farm machinery, seedlings and fertilizers had affected production over the years, and called for support to boost their capacity.

Miss Damata Safiano, another member, said she was mainly into vegetable production and faced irrigation challenges during the dry season, which usually resulted in low yields.

She said she had difficulty getting ready market for the vegetables during the rainy season and appealed to government and non-governmental organisations to help sell their produce.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Kingsley Nyarko, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwadaso, has urged Ghanaians to have confidence in the NPP Government as it worked hard to adopt the necessary measures to turn around the current economic crisis.

He expressed optimism that with sound economic policies and programmes, the Ghanaian economy would bounce back stronger and better.

Dr Nyarko was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the side-lines of a fresher’s orientation, handing over and general meeting of the Akenten Appiah Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED) branch of TESCON at Tanoso in the Kwadaso Municipality.

He admitted that the current economic hardship was real but gave the assurance that the government was working hard to bring the economy back on track.

“We can all testify that the country is facing an economic crisis, but I want to assure all Ghanaians that this economy will bounce back stronger.

“Let’s continue to have faith in the government,” he assured Ghanaians.

Fuel prices have been soaring since the beginning of the year with prices of petrol and diesel hitting nearly GHC11per litre, affecting transport fares and worsening prices of general goods and services.

But describing the difficulties as a global phenomenon, Dr Nyarko indicated that Ghana was not the only country facing a dramatic rise in fuel prices, and strong inflation repression among others.

Dr Nyarko said the economic challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent Russia-Ukraine war, had not only been a Ghanaian problem but also for other countries.

“Ghana is not the only country facing economic challenges, it is a global challenge every country is facing now. Before 2020 the Ghanaian economy was very strong and solid, this shows that what we are going through is not the fault of the government,” he stated.

“Since the economy is in the hands of the NPP-led administration, I want to assure you that the economy will bounce back stronger and better,” he assured Ghanaians.

Dr Nyarko said with all the difficulties the country was facing, the Nana Akufo-Addo administration had been able to establish about 107 factories in the country, adding that it had never happened in the history of the country.

He called on Ghanaians to work hand in hand with the government, as it put in place pragmatic measures for the economic transformation of the country.

Source: Modern Ghana

Accra, The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group after extensive stakeholder consultations has approved a $1.

5 billion facility to help African countries avert a looming food crisis.

This is after ministers of finance on the continent had agreed to implement reforms to address  systemic hurdles that prevent modern input markets from performing effectively.

The Emergency Food Production Facility is an intervention designed to benefit some 20 million African smallholder farmers, who will receive certified seeds and technology to produce about 38 million tonnes of food.

 In addition, it has a short, medium, and long-term measures to address both the urgent food crisis and the long-term sustainability and resilience of Africa’s food systems.

It is to yield 11 million tonnes of wheat; 18 million tonnes of maize; six million tonnes of rice; and 2.5 million tonnes of soybeans.

“It will increase access to agricultural fertilizers and enable them to rapidly produce 38 million tonnes of food. This is a $12 billion increase in food production in just two years,” the AFDB said in a statement.

It noted that the price of wheat had soared in Africa by over 45 per cent since the war in Ukraine began.

Fertilizer prices have gone up by 300 per cent, and the continent faces a fertilizer shortage of two million metric tonnes.

“Many African countries have already seen price hikes in bread and other food items. If this deficit is not made up, food production in Africa will decline by at least 20 per cent and the continent could lose over $11 billion in food production value” the Bank stated.

The facility is known to have a structure for working with multilateral development partners to ensure rapid alignment and implementation, enhanced reach, and effective impact.

The African Development Bank also said it would provide fertilizer to smallholder farmers across Africa over the next four farming seasons, using its convening influence with major fertilizer manufacturers, loan guarantees, and other financial instruments.

“The facility will also create a platform to advocate for critical policy reforms to solve the structural issues that impede farmers from receiving modern inputs. This includes strengthening national institutions overseeing input markets,” it said.

  According to food experts, Africa now faces a shortage of at least 30 million metric tonnes of food, especially wheat, maize, and soybeans imported from both countries due to disruption of food supplies arising from the Russia-Ukraine war.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The 53rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Shareholders of GOIL Company Limited has been fixed for Wednesday, June 15th, 2022 at 11:00 hours.

It will be held at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel, Accra, and streamed live on the internet.

A document signed by Nana Ama Kusi-Appouh, company secretary, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Tema outlined the agenda for the meeting as an avenue to receive and consider reports of the Directors, Auditors, and Financial Statements of the Company and, declare a dividend for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Directors retiring by rotation would be elected and authorized to fix the remuneration of Auditors and Directors.

The document said attendance by all members or proxies would be strictly virtual adding that a proxy appointed to attend and vote should not be a member of the Company.

She explained the appointment of a proxy should not prevent a member from subsequently attending and voting at the meeting (online participation) however, where a member attended the meeting in person (participated online), the proxy appointment should be deemed to be revoked.

She cautioned shareholders who do not submit proxy forms to the Registrar of the Company before the meeting that they might vote electronically during the Virtual AGM using the unique token number allocated to them.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Tema, May 19, GNA – Staff who suffer injuries at workplaces need compensation, whether or not the employer is to blame, Mr Faris Attrickie, the Manager in Charge of Technical Operations, SIC Insurance Company PLS, has said.

He said the Workmen’s Compensation Act made it compulsory for employers to set aside funds to compensate any worker who may sustain an injury at the workplace.

“Every employer with employees of more than 15 must have employers’ liability cover. Insofar as the employee is in the purview of work and suffers injury or death, he or she must be appropriately compensated,” he said.

Speaking at the Ghana News Agency Industrial News Hub Dialogue at Tema, where state and non-state actors get the opportunity to address national issues, Mr Attrickie said the Public Liability Insurance compliance level in the country was low.

Given the weak compliance level by some public entities, who did not have insurance for their workers, he advocated strict compliance to the Workmen’s Compensation Insurance or Employers Liability, which was non-negotiable, to ensure the safety of workers.

Mr Attrickie said it was compulsory for employers with 15 or more employees to insure their liability, which indemnified an employer against legal liability for injuries to employees resulting from accidents occurring in the course of their employment, the cost of which were mostly severe.

He said the National Insurance Commission, which is the regulator of insurance practice in Ghana, in collaboration with the Ghana National Fire Service and the Ghana Police Service, was mandated as the task force to ensure the enforcement of the Act.

“Unfortunately, their work has not been far reaching even though some taskforce had visited a few premises without insurance and caused their closure for non-compliance, but with the coming into force of the new Act, the taskforce will be reconstituted to strictly enforce the law,” Mr Attrickie said.

He said the definition of a worker under the Act has been expanded to include “any person who receives salary or wages except an outworker, a tributary, and a family member of the employer living with the latter or where the Law prohibits as a worker.”

Besides compensation for bodily injury, there was a provision for payment of medical expenses as a result of the injury.

Any employer may also choose to insure his liability under the Act and in addition, can extend his liability to cover claims under Common Law.

Source: Ghana News Agency