Category: General

Old Mutual Ghana, a subsidiary of pan-African investment, savings, insurance, and banking group, Old Mutual, has said it plans within the next five years is to expand its footprint across the industry and Ghana.

According to Helen Amerley Amarquaye, Board Chair of Old Mutual Ghana, this forms part of the organization’s effort to improve financial inclusion as well as contribute to the growth and development of the insurance industry.

Speaking after the company paid a courtesy call on the leadership of the National Insurance Commission (NIC), the industry’s regulator, Ms. Amarquaye said:

“Our focus is to get scaled and expand across the country. We are a company focused on financial inclusion and we have a whole lot of expertise. We have also been in the Ghanaian market for 10 years and for us it is making sure that we use our expertise to create more scale and bring more people on board,” she said.

She also stated that the organization is constantly keeping up with current trends in order to be competitive in emerging markets.

“The insurance sector is constantly evolving so we have had bancassurance and also the influx of insure-tech which means the use of technology to make insurance more accessible to a wider audience and that is what we are we want to make sure that we are part of it,” she added.

Commissioner for the National Insurance Commission, Dr. Justice Ofori praised Old Mutual Ghana for its consistency in providing the most innovative insurance products to its customers, while also contributing to the development of the insurance market.

Dr. Ofori also commended Old Mutual for being a compliant business and meeting the new minimum capital requirement for insurance businesses. He stated that plans are in the works to train industry participants on how to properly comply with the new Insurance Act of 2021. The New Act, which replaces the Insurance Act, 2006 (724), serves as the legal instrument for the regulation and supervision of the insurance market.

He stated that the new Act is rich in content, thus the need to educate industry players on its implementation and ultimately protect policy and ensure that they get the right products and derive value for money.

“We also want to work on the new Act. We are going to take the industry through the Act and let them know what is new and what should be expected from the Act so that they can be guided accordingly. They have copies but normally people won’t get time to read so we are going to have some training for them so that they can appreciate it and also abide by what it says,” he said.

Albert Oko Dagadu, Head of Technical at Old Mutual Ghana, reiterated that Old Mutual’s goal is aligned with the commission’s goal of providing clients with the right product at the right price.

“It was interesting to hear the commissioner mention that the top of their priority is protecting policy holders and ensuring that they get the right products and derive value for money. And at Old Mutual, one key metric is ensuring that our policyholders get value for money and since I have been with Old Mutual, the value for money is very apparent,” he said.

He stated that Old Mutual’s goal is to introduce new products, and as a strategic drive, push annuity sales.

“The objective is to ensure that annuitants and retirees especially have a guaranteed income for life and do not have to worry about their future income when they retire and that’s one main objective of Old Mutual life to ensure our policyholders get the value they require on our products,” Mr. Dagadu explained.

Source: Ghana Web

Accra, July 5, GNA – McHammah Engineering has donated a disability tricycle to Esther Ofori, a 10-year-old physically challenged girl from Dzatokrom in the Western North Region.

Mr Ebenezer Hammah (second right) and Esther Ofori (seated in the tricycle) 2. Mr Ebenezer Hammah and Esther Ofori (seated in the tricycle)

Mr Ebenezer Hammah (second right) and Esther Ofori (seated in the tricycle) 2. Mr Ebenezer Hammah and Esther Ofori (seated in the tricycle)

The disability tricycle, which is to support her movement to and from school, is a product of McHammah Engineering, a Ghanaian-owned electromechanical engineering company.

Mr Ebenezer Hammah, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of McHammah Engineering, who disclosed this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the donation took place in Takoradi on the sidelines of an annual Gold in the Soil Awards, which runs alongside the Women in Food and Agricultural Leadership Training Forum (WOFAGRIC).

The WOFAGRIC is an initiative of Agrihouse Foundation geared toward empowering and recognizing the effort and contributions of women in the agriculture sector.

Mr Hammah said Esther’s situation could be described as worrying as she crawls on her legs to perform her school activities.

He said before the awards “her plight was sighted by me and we quickly reached out to Agrihouse Foundation to design a mechanism to help Esther in her daily activities”.

He said considering the urgency of Esther’s plight, he used a week to design the special tricycle to help in her daily movement.

Mr Hammah encouraged the parents of the child, who are both farmers and nominees for the awards, to give their daughter special attention, especially in her education.

He also called on other philanthropists and organizations to come to the aid of Esther.

The CEO reaffirmed the company’s commitment to creating an enabling environment to help hardworking and innovative young people to make life better.

Esther Ofori expressed gratitude to McHammah Engineering for the kind gesture and added that this would bring relief to her daily activities.

Among dignitaries at the annual Gold in the Soil Awards were Mr Yaw Frimpong Addo, Deputy Minister for Agriculture; Madam Candace Holt, Agriculture Sector Lead at the High Commission of Canada; and Mr Danquah Addo-Yobo, Yara International’s West Africa Regional Director.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, July 5, GNA – A 27-year-old farmer who stole Toyota Vits Taxi valued GHS30,000.00, an Infinix Hot 10 mobile phone and a cash sum of GHS450.

00 has been convicted by an Accra Circuit Court.

Stephen Akakpo, charged with conspiracy to commit crime and robbery, pleaded guilty to the charges.

He was convicted on his own plea and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in hard labour.

Chief Inspector Benson Benneh, prosecuting, told the court presided over by Mrs Evelyn Asamoah that the complainant was a taxi driver and a resident of Adjei Kojo.

He said the convict was a farmer and resided at Adidome Klanomadi near Dzodze in the Volta Region whilst his accomplices namely Michelle, Joshua, and Moses a.k.a ‘Mozaa’ now at large, were residents of Ashaiman, Klagon and Dzodze in the Volta Region, respectively.

Chief Inspector Benneh said on June 29, 2022, at about 2100 hours, the complainant was working with an ash and yellow Toyota Vitz taxi at Ashaiman lorry station when Akakpo, now convict, and two of his accomplices signaled him to stop and they asked him to take them to Emef Junction, Lashibi.

The prosecution said the convict sat at the front seat, while Michelle sat at the back seat behind the driver and Joshua sat behind the convict.

Chief Inspector Benneh said on reaching Emef Junction, the convict, and his accomplices, attacked the complainant whilst the car was in motion.

The prosecution said in the ensuing melee, Michelle who was armed with an electrical cable, tied the complainant’s neck against the headrest of the driver’s seat whilst the convict smeared substance suspected to be containing chloroform in the face of the complainant.

Chief Inspector Benneh said the complainant suddenly became unconscious, and the car came to a halt.

He said the three pulled the complainant from the car containing his Infinix Hot 10 mobile phone value GHc 850.00 and an amont of GHc 45000 and dumped him in a bush at the roadside around Emef Junction and drove off.

Chief Inspector Benneh said the next day, at about 0330 hours, the complainant became conscious but felt very dizzy and could not stand on his feet, hence, sat at the roadside helpless.

The prosecution told the court that a passerby saw the complainant and assisted him to report the case at the Klagon Police Station.

Chief Inspector Benneh said the complainant who appeared very weak with swollen rope mark on his neck was rushed to the Ashaiman Polyclinic where he was admitted for treatment and later discharged.

The prosecution said the tracking device installed in the taxi was activated and the car traced to Dekpor, a village near Dzodze and the engine seized.

He said the convict and his accomplices started pushing the car through the village.

The prosecution said the police proceeded and on seeing the police approaching, they fled the scene, but the convict left his jacket and slippers in the car.

Chief Inspector Benneh said residents who saw the convict and his accomplices pushing the car, assisted the police and he was arrested in his house, but his accomplices managed to escape.

The prosecution said the convict together with the stolen car was brought to Klagon Police Station, where he admitted the offence in his caution statement, and mentioned Michelle, Joshua, and Moses and his accomplices.

The Court ordered that the vehicle be released to the owner and adjourned the case to July 28 for the accomplices to be brought before it.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, July 5, GNA – Members of the Toll Workers Association of Ghana have petitioned Parliament after a protest to demand the reinstatement of the toll booths and the payment of their six-month salary arrears from the government.

The group said about 800 toll workers, who were disengaged following a directive by the government to halt the collection of tolls on roads and bridges across the country, had become impoverished.

Madam Lydia Seyram Alhassan, the Deputy Majority Whip, together with Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, Deputy Minority Whip, received the petition on behalf of Speaker Alban Bagbin and the Leadership of the House.

Madam Alhassan commended the group for following due process by bringing their petition to Parliament to be addressed.

She assured the association of sending the request to the Speaker, saying their concerns were genuine and that the House would do whatever it takes to ensure they were addressed.

“You are Ghanaians, your livelihood matter to us…so as Parliament and leaders of Parliament, whatever it takes we would ensure that your issues are addressed for you to be happy,” she added.

Mr Edward Duncan, the Secretary of the Toll Workers Association of Ghana, who led the group to petition Parliament, stated that despite assurance by the government to reassign them and pay their salary arrears, the toll workers were yet to receive their salaries since January this year.

He said the reason that the toll booths were creating traffic and as such the toll collection needed to be suspended was not true.

He said even after the suspension of the toll booths, there was even massive traffic on the same toll collection points, which were cited as causing the traffic.

Source: Ghana News Agency

…The solar-powered, digitized water systems will provide access to clean water to over 100,000 people in underserved rural Ghana

Following the success of its innovative smart tech clean water pilot in Abomosu, Grundfos Ghana Water Initiative (GWI) announced that it is developing 12 additional sites in collaboration with the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) to give over 100,000 people across rural Ghana access to clean water by the end of 2023.

The Ghana Water Initiative (GWI), a project by SafeWater, a strategic business unit within Grundfos, aims to reach one million people in underserved communities in Ghana with clean water by 2026, providing drinking water that is both safe and easily accessible, from a reliable source that is sustainable and efficiently runs.

In 2019, GWI installed seven centrally located, solar-powered, digital AQTaps (water ATMs) to serve the first pilot community in Abomosu village, located in Atiwa West District, Eastern region of Ghana, in partnership with the Community Water and Sanitation Agency and the Atiwa West District Assembly.

The innovative, ‘smart water’ ATMs by Grundfos allow the user to manage their usage, and access treated, potable water using a pre-paid card, topped up via mobile money, from a source that is reliable and accessible 24/7, all year round.

Today, safe running water is available throughout the community, pumped from a 90m borehole 1.5km from the village to a 120m³ water tank. Over 8,000 local residents now have reliable access to clean water for the first time, including 262 smart household water connections going directly into residents’ homes.

Anise Sacranie, SafeWater’s Senior Partnership Development Manager commented: “We have demonstrated that this model is successful, so working closely with the CWSA, the next step is to take the model to scale, encouraging private sector engagement and entrepreneurship to establish financially sustainable, high-quality water services to underserved communities across Ghana. We are about to finalize our next project (in Otoase) which is a completely new build and are on track to have a total of 13 projects running by the end of next year, including Abomosu, giving over 100,000 people access to clean drinking water within the next 18 months.”

Xorlali Yao-Kuma Kpodo, Grundfos Ghana Water Initiative’s Engagement Manager said, “Over 8 million people in Ghana still do not have access to safe, drinkable water because the current water supply in many areas is inefficient and untreated and therefore unsafe to drink when it flows. Since the start of the Abomosu pilot initiative 2 years ago, the feedback from local residents has been overwhelmingly positive so we are excited to be moving to the next phase, providing clean water to more underserved rural areas.”

GWI’s approach to improving water access is to refurbish existing CWSA systems or establish new infrastructure where no system exists, providing water to both households, public standpipes, and refillable water dispensers.

The Abomosu project involved upgrading an existing system that had fallen into disrepair, requiring two new boreholes, piping, and treatment system, as well as the Grundfos AQ Taps (water ATMs). GWI staff work with local teams to maintain the new system and are developing a vocational curriculum for water system operations and maintenance to ensure skills are transferred to local staff for ongoing maintenance of the project in the future.

About SafeWater

SafeWater is a strategic business unit in Grundfos (a global water technology company committed to pioneering solutions to the world’s water and climate challenges and improving the quality of life for people). SafeWater creates a lasting impact by transforming underserved communities through commercially viable and sustainable smart water solutions.

SafeWater is working towards Grundfos’ ambition of reaching 300 million people in 2030 with access to drinking water. It collaborates closely with some of the world’s leading humanitarian and development aid organizations, as well as private water service providers, and partners with local distributors, private water service providers, service partners, industries, energy service providers, banks and financing institutions, investors, and governments. SafeWater predominately operates in East and West Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East – and often in remote locations.

About Grundfos Ghana Water Initiative (GWI)

Ghana Water Initiative (GWI) kicked off in March 2019 as a local initiative to test commercially viable business models for delivering clean water access to underserved communities in Ghana and to establish the framework to take the final model to scale.

GWI is being managed by a local project team working out of the Grundfos Ghana offices in Accra. GWI aims to provide sustainable clean water that is accessible, reliable, and efficient to one million Ghanaians by 2026 by rolling out successfully tested business models across Ghana.

Source: Ghana Web

Katariga (N/R), July 05, GNA – Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) has launched Child Marriage-Free Community Alert Campaign (CM-FCAC) to mobilise support to end forced and early child marriages in the Northern Region.

The campaign, being implemented with funding support from the UNFPA, also seeks to create awareness about the consequences of child marriage and how communities could join forces to end the practice.

Mr Adam Azabre Abugbila, PPAG Projects Coordinator, Northern Zone, who gave details of the campaign during its launch at Katariga in the Sagnarigu Municipality, said child marriage was gradually becoming a major obstacle to sustainable development due to its impact on young girls and communities.

He noted that “This obstacle does not only negatively make their lives difficult but also continue to perpetuate cycles of poverty, low social status, illiteracy and poor adult lives.”

He noted that “To address child marriage and its multifaceted causes such as poverty, gender inequality and discrimination, unhealthy social norms and cultural practices amongst others in communities, a multi-sectoral action is required, and we are contributing to this through the CM – FCAC.”

Mr Maxwell Ayamba, the Project Field Officer, UNFPA Tamale, said child marriage was fast becoming a common practice in most communities, adding that it was a human rights abuse, and must be stopped.

He said, “These young girls need to be educated to make life choices. They need to be taught lifesaving skills and career development paths to contribute meaningfully to the development of their families, our communities and to nation building.”

Tindan Paga Memunatu Issah, the Queen mother of Katariga, pledged her commitment to ensure that girls were not given out in marriage in her community.

She urged traditional authorities to collaborate with other stakeholders to institute measures to stop child and forced marriages in their communities.

Mr Mutawakilu Fuseini, the Health Information Officer, Tamale Metropolitan Health Directorate, advised parents to invest in the education of young girls to stop the practice.

Similar campaigns were held at Kulnyavila and Tuunayili communities in the Sagnarigu Municipality.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, July 5, GNA – A lady Pastor and a trader have been put before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly defrauding two hairstylists of GHC 33,000.

Vivian Norman, the Pastor and Isaac Asare, a trader, are alleged to have collected the money to aid them obtain Albanian visas for the two hairstylists so they could travel to any of the European Countries for greener pastures but failed.

Asare has been charged with two counts of defrauding by false pretenses.

Vivian is facing a charge of abetment of crime.

They have pleaded not guilty to the charges and are on GHC30,000 bail with two sureties to be justified.

They are expected to reappear on August 2 before the court presided over by Mrs Afia Owusua Appiah.

Narrating the facts of the case, Inspector Wisdom Alorwu, said the complainant Sedro Esinam Venessa and Celestine Kpetsigo were hairstylists residing at Abelemkpe, Accra.

The prosecution said Asare resided at Ablekuma and Vivian lived at Oyarifa.

It said in June 2021, the complainants wanted to travel to any of the European countries in search of greener pastures.

The prosecution said the complainants approached Vivian who was their pastor and she informed them that she knew Asare as someone who assisted prospective travelers to travel abroad.

It said Vivian then introduced Asare to the complainants and he assured them of securing Albanian visas at a cost of GHC50,000 per applicant.

The prosecution said the accused persons convinced the complainants to make payment for processing of their visas, which would be ready in a month.

It said Asare collected GHC22,800 and GHC10,200 from Esinam and Celestine respectively.

It said Asare, after collecting the money failed to secure the visa and went into hiding.

On December 16, 2021, the accused persons met the complainants at the church premises and the two accused persons had a written undertaking that their visas would be ready in a month.

But the accused persons could not fulfil their promise and on February 7, this year, a report was made at the Regional Criminal Investigations, Accra.

The prosecution said Asare was involved in a similar matter and was remanded at the Accra Central Police Station where he was identified by the complainants.

When Asare was nabbed, he mentioned one Isaac Asante as his accomplice.

Vivian was lured and nabbed by the Police.

The prosecution said efforts were being made to arrest the said Asante.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, July 05, GNA – Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, has stressed the need for a fair, honest and efficient justice system in the country.

He said a justice system that guaranteed all elements of the rule of law and assured a speedy and efficient resolution of disputes would produce a business operating environment characterised by transparency, certainty and fairness.

Mr Dame said this at the launch of the National Baseline Assessment Report on business and human rights, on Monday in Accra.

The report was compiled by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in collaboration with the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), with funding support from the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR).

He said the relationship between business and human rights was of utmost importance in the increasingly globalised economy.

He noted that on the African continent, for many years, business had been linked to gross violations of human rights, and as such, the importance of a national baseline assessment report on the interaction between business and human rights could not be overemphasised.

“Human rights are basic rights and freedoms that protect all. They are based on dignity, fairness, equality and respect. Businesses have a significant impact on the way we live our lives and enjoy these human rights, whether as an employee or a customer or simply living alongside companies that share our cities and towns.”

Mr Dame said the development of the baseline assessment report had constitutional grounding in Article 36 of the Constitution of Ghana on the economic objectives of the country.

“Clauses 2, 4, 6, 7 and 10 of article 36, in particular, lay down firm imperatives for the State in the building of an economic order, which guarantees ample opportunity for individual initiative and provides a fair, realistic remuneration as an incentive for continued production and higher productivity.”

He said the ownership and possession of property as well as the encouragement of foreign investment within the constraints of regulations enacted by the State are primary concerns of articles 36, 18 and 20 of the Constitution.

He said the promotion and observance of human rights of the business community was a collective role of both public and private sector, hence businesses must endeavour to do the right thing by respecting human rights.

Mr Joseph Whittal, Commissioner, CHRAJ, said during the third Cycle Review of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the Human Rights Council in 2017, Ghana accepted the recommendation to “integrate and apply the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to all its relevant policies, including licensing extractive business.”

He said for that to be achieved, there was the need to undertake a national baseline assessment of business and human rights situation in Ghana to identify gaps in the application of the Guiding Principles and subsequently develop a National Action Plan that would propose specific interventions or policies to deal with the gaps and the adverse human rights impacts by business enterprises.

Mr Whittal said as part of measures to ensure that Ghana achieved the recommendation that it supported on business and human rights during the UPR, the Commission conducted the assessment to evaluate the implementation of the UNGPs in Ghana.

The Commissioner said the assessment focused on four critical sectors of the economy: Petroleum, Finance, Telecommunication, and Mining.

“Overall, it was found that although some government policies, laws, treaties, and institutions meet the standards set by the UNGPs, there remains some gaps that require urgent attention to enhance the State and businesses’ protection of and respect for human rights, and remedy to human right violations in Ghana. The gaps as identified are discussed in the report across the three pillars of ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ framework.”

He said the Commission was committed to the process and would take all necessary steps to support the Government in achieving its target and called on stakeholders to support the process by way of both technical and funding support.

The Minister later inaugurated an 18-member steering committee to develop a national action plan on business and human rights.

Source: Ghana News Agency