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Stakeholders in tourism urged to embrace innovations, modern technologies  

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Mr Wisdom Ahadzi, the Upper East Regional Director of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), has called on stakeholders in the tourism industry to adopt modern technologies and innovations that meet international best practices, to enhance growth and sustainability. 

He said the revolution of the world in technology had made it essential for them to embrace new ideas, adopt cutting-edge technologies and foster sustainable practices for tourist attractions. 

“However, innovation alone is not enough; excellence must be our guiding principle. It is the dedication to quality service, the pursuit of customer satisfaction, and the passion for showcasing the best of the Upper East that would set our tourism apart, he added. 

The Director made the call when he addressed stakeholders at this year’s Upper East GTA Awards held in Bolgatanga, the regional capital. 

It was held on the theme “Celebrating Innovation and Recognising Excellence in Ghana’s Tourism Sector,” to celebrate institutions and individuals who embodied their values, pushed boundaries, and set new standards within the tourism space. 

It had support from GANASS Hotel, Golden Horse Hotel, Atula Hotel, Tap Hotel, Rock Gardens and Eco Resort, among other hosts of donors and partners. 

Mr/ Akwasi Agyeman, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), GTA, in a speech read on his behalf, noted that the theme reflected a call to action and a reminder that the industry’s growth and success depended on stakeholders’ ability to innovate, adopt new ideas, and strive for excellence. 

He urged the stakeholders to improve their services for economic growth by providing unique experiences that captivate the hearts and minds of travelers. 

Pe Ditundini Adiali Ayagitam III, the Paramount Chief of the Chiana Traditional Area and President of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs, reiterated the need for an airport for the region. 

He said the construction of an airport would ease the travelling difficulties of tourists into the region and significantly promote its tourism credentials. 

It would also create more economic opportunities for the youth that would enable them to resist economic influence by violent extremists, he added. 

Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper East Regional Minister, said the private sector was the engine for development, and the government was committed to creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. 

 He called on investors to tap into the growing potential tourist sites in the region. 

Mr. Boniface Gambila, Ghana’s Ambassador to Burkina Faso, noted that it was about time Ghana and its neighbouring countries like Burkina Faso, Togo among others created a platform for cross border cultural and tourism display to showcase the potentials of each country. 

This, he said, would help promote the local tourism industry, increase the number of visitors and help boost the local economy for sustainable socioeconomic development. 

MTN Ghana Foundation awards scholarships to 20 Persons with disabilities undergraduate students.

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Twenty exceptional but needy undergraduate persons with disabilities have received support from the MTN Ghana Bright Scholarships to enter the tertiary level for the 2024/2025 academic year.

The MTN Bright Scholarship Programme seeks to ease the financial burden on students by catering for the cost of tuition, accommodation, and stipend for books and other study materials including new HP laptops throughout the beneficiaries’ academic journey.

This year MTN Ghana Foundation awarded scholarships to 200 deserving tertiary students across the country with 20 differently-abled.

Mr Stephen Blewett, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Ghana Foundation, speaking at the awards ceremony in Accra congratulated all the scholarship beneficiaries for being selected for the scholarship scheme.

He said, “I am personally excited to celebrate you for the exceptional potential that you have been blessed with and it is our objective as MTN to support in bringing this potential to fruition through the scholarship scheme.”

Mr Blewettstated that the awards to the 20 students reflected MTN’s commitment to diversity and inclusion adding that every child had the right to education.

“MTN Ghana Foundation is thrilled to award scholarships to 200 young men and women including differently-abled who aspire to change their fortunes through higher education,” he added.

He noted that MTN was committed to empowering students from all 16 regions of Ghana.

Mr Blewett acknowledged the critical role education played in breaking cycles of poverty and promoting national development.

“Education opens doors to opportunities, fosters innovation, and enables individuals to contribute meaningfully to society.

This scholarship programme is not just about financial assistance but rather we are investing in dreams, potential, and the promise of a better tomorrow,” he said.

He stated that the Bright Scholarship, initially aimed at awarding 100 scholarships annually, had seen an increase in beneficiaries over the years.

Mr Blewett therefore encouraged the beneficiaries to embrace this opportunity with passion and determination, saying their selection was a testament to their hard work and potential.

“The only difficulty you should face is the challenge of studying. Congratulations to all of you, and may you continue to strive for excellence,” he added.

Mr Robert K. KwuamKuzoe, Senior Manager, Sustainability and Social Impact, MTN Ghana, highlighted the programme’s objective of providing students with peace of mind by providing tuition and accommodation. 

“Our aim is to ensure that these students can focus entirely on their studies without worrying about financial constraints,” he said.

Throwing more light on the selection process, he noted that the Foundation received over 2,000 applications adding that to ensure fairness and transparency, the Foundation enlisted with the help of independent panellists, unaffiliated with MTN Ghana, to assess and screen the applicants. 

“The panellists were able to narrow it down to the 200 students who were most deserving and in genuine need of the scholarship,” he added.

Since its inception, the MTN Bright Scholarship programme has awarded 520 students, supporting bright students from deprived communities and ensuring that they focused on their education without financial worries.

Erling Haaland failed to break Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal record in a quiet Champions League night for the Manchester City striker against Inter.

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Pep Guardiola has justified Erling Haaland’s quiet Champions League game against Inter, when the Manchester City star failed to beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s record.

The Norwegian striker has been in prolific form again at the start of the 2024-25 season, scoring nine goals in four outings, including hat-tricks against Ipswich and West Ham. He did, however, go blank in a European battle against Serie A giants at the Etihad Stadium.

City opened their quest for continental glory with a goalless stalemate at home to Inter, with Italian rivals making life difficult for Guardiola’s side. Haaland was restricted to just 14 touches, seven completed passes and one shot across his 90 minutes on the field.

Guardiola told reporters of why his superstar No.9 found the going so tough: “There were six players around him. Six. Three behind, three in front. That’s how they kept him out of the game. That makes it difficult for any player. [Francesco] Acerbi, [Alessandro] Basotni were five metres away from him, [Hakan] Calhanoglou, [Piotr] Zielinski in front of him. That’s tough. We tried to use the spaces, that’s why [Ilkay] Gundogan had a couple of chances but Inter were stronger than us physically. We needed to get more players up alongside Erling and that’s what we did. I knew that Inter would defend like that.”

Haaland’s failure to find the target means that he can no longer beat Ronaldo to the record of quickest player to reach 100 goals for a club. CR7 achieved that feat in 105 games for Real Madrid, and City’s talismanic frontman will match that return if he scores in City’s eagerly-anticipated Premier League meeting with Arsenal on Sunday.

TEWU joins SSAUoG to embark on indefinite industrial action.

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Members of the Teachers and Educational Workers Union of Trade Union Congress, Ghana, have joined the Senior Staff Association-Universities of Ghana and the Federation of Senior Staff Association of Ghana to begin an indefinite industrial action.  


The indefinite industrial action will start on Friday, September 20, 2024.  


The industrial action was due to non-implementation on the part of the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) to implement the negotiated and approved Vehicle Maintenance and Off-Campus allowances to the rank and file.  


TEWU said even though an approval letter for implementation of such was issued by the Ministry of Finance to CAGD on August 2, 2024, no action had been taken.  


This was in a statement jointly signed by Madam Salamatu Mahamah Braimah, National Chairperson Secretary, and Mr Charles Kofi Osei, Deputy General Secretary, issued to the Ghana News Agency in Accra.  
The statement expressed the unfulfilled promise by the government to recalculate and pay members Tier Two interest accrued from the delayed payment of the Tier Two deductions to its scheme from January 2010-2016.  


It said the government had failed to regularly remit the Tier Two deductions to the scheme for the fund managers to effectively manage and guarantee enhanced pensions.   


“Currently, the government is owing our Tier Two deductions from January 2024 to date even though such deductions were made from our hard-earned salaries,” he said.  

UN officials highlight the unequal development in digital transformation worldwide.

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UN authorities have cautioned that as the digital world evolves, underdeveloped areas risk falling behind. Despite hailing advancements in digital government improvements, Navid Hanif, UN Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development, stated that regional discrepancies persist.

“The growth of digital governance has shown a substantial increasing tendency. That’s wonderful news, and it’s happening all across the world, with all areas using technology to better government services and increase public involvement,” Hanif added. However, he continued, ”still, 1.37 billion people remain on the wrong side of the digital divide, with no access.”

UN officials also showed data on the world’s top digital performers, with Denmark topping the list. Vincenzo Aquaro, Chief of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Digital Government Branch, said that also among the 18 leading countries are Germany, Spain and Saudi Arabia.

The UN is calling for more support to developing nations, especially in Africa, to reduce digital inequalities.

Blinken in Cairo in an effort to arrange a cease-fire agreement between Hamas and Israel

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On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Cairo.

It was Blinken’s tenth journey to the Middle East since the Gaza conflict began nearly a year before.

The meetings in Egypt were supposed to focus on revising a proposal to Israel and Hamas for a cease-fire and hostage release.

Unlike previous mediation efforts, America’s top diplomat did not travel with the Biden administration’s rosy forecasts of a settlement in the problematic discussions.

Also unlike the earlier missions, Blinken has no public plans to go to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on this trip.

The Israeli leader’s fiery public statements — like his declaration that Israel would accept only “total victory” when Blinken was in the region in June — and some other unbudgeable demands have complicated earlier diplomacy.

Fifty-eight factories constructed under 1D1F in Ashanti Region-K. T Hammond

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The government, through the One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative, supported the establishment of 58 new manufacturing and industrial companies in the Ashanti region.

Out of this, 31 have been completed and they are in full operation.

Some of the companies are Spring and Bolt Company Limited in Kumasi, Boris ‘B’ farms in the Atwima Nwabiagya North District, Miros Farms in the Sekyere-Kumawu district, Skylines Steel Company Limited at Ejisu and Anok Jess Farms at Sekyere South District.

Mr Kobina Tahir Hammond, Minister for Trade, and Industry, who made this known, said the government was committed to support the private sector to grow and expand to create more jobs for the youth and boost the national economy.

 He was speaking at the commissioning of a Business Resource Centre (BRS) at Adansi-Asokwa in the Ashanti region.

The BRC, which was financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), aimed at providing full range of business development services, investment facilitation and information services for potential and existing entrepreneurs as well as business enterprises in the district.

It will also provide business training, capacity building, facilitate access to the market and provide business counselling.

Mr. Hammond, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Adansi-Asokwa, said Ghana was positioning itself as the manufacturing hub, hence the establishment of factories in 142 districts under the government’s 1D1F policy.

He said, steps had been taken to realign Rural Enterprises Programme with active involvement of Ghana Enterprise Foundation (GEF), to ensure the efficient operation of the BRCs.

Mrs. Kosi Yankey Ayeh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GEF, said Ghana had invested so much in the youth to provide them with sustainable employable skills.

“No government has invested so much in the youth, more than the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government,” she stated and pointed out that, the facility would serve as a one -stop shop for business development.

Mr. Andrew Adu Boahene, District Chief Executive for Adansi-Asokwa, said the BDC would serve other neighbouring communities in the Adansi enclave.

It would harness the potential of craftsmen and artisans and produce more business minded people from the area.

He urged the youth in the community to tap into this opportunity and build a future for themselves.

National plan on soya will streamline the sector- Soya association

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Mr Yaw Afrifa, Executive Secretary, Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana (SVCAG), says the establishment of a National Development Plan for Soya will streamline, guide, and regulate the sector to maximise its benefits.

The plan is expected to set up a pricing regime and put in place an effective structure for the value chain, especially for the smallholder farmers in the country.

Mr Afrifa, who said this at a press briefing on the Export Restriction Committee on soybeans expressed satisfaction about the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the Mastercard Foundation, and other partners to fund the development of the plan.

“These organisations have engaged a consultant to do a valuation analysis for us. So, let’s pray that in the next month or two, we can hear the Minister of Agriculture saying they have started developing the national strategy plan for us,” he said.

Research has revealed that the USA is now using soya oil as fuel, a potential crop to revolutionise the country’s development.

The sector, he stressed, could contribute better than Cocoa in terms of revenue if harnessed effectively and efficiently.

He said the Association was intensifying its advocacy efforts to push for the restructuring and improved efficiency of the Export Restriction Committee, which was responsible for granting permits for the exportation of soya beans and other grains.

At the heart of the Association’s advocacy are the Restrictions on Exportation of Soya Bean Regulation 2020 (L.I. 2432) and the Export and Import—Restrictions on Exportation of Grains Regulation 2022 (L.I. 2432), passed on September 1, 2023. 

He said while the law included grains such as maize and paddy rice, it had not adequately addressed the concerns of soya farmers and industry players as SVCAG lacked representation on the Export Restriction Committee.

Mr Afrifa appealed to authorities to include the Association on the Export Restriction Committee with voting rights to ensure that the interests of the soya value chain were represented. 

The GIZ-implemented Sustainable Employment through Agribusiness project is supporting SVCAG in their advocacy efforts, which highlights the significant role of soya in Ghana’s economy and drives meaningful reforms to benefit the sector.

Mr Randy Haile Selase Snr, Chairman, North West Soya Value Chain Association, said the restrictions on exportation of soya would reduce farmers income and discourage production and called for urgent attention.

He called for a comprehensive analysis and effective consultation within the value chain to address challenges in the sector.

Mr Isaac Papanko, Chairman, Northern Regional Chairman of Soya Value Chain Association, said women dominated the sector as the biggest producer of soya, helping to improve their livelihoods.

Soyabean was introduced into Ghana in 1901. Statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture in 2019 revealed that during the past decade, production has increased steadily from 74,800 Mt in 2008 to 176,670 Mt in 2018.

Election 2024: Local government staff reminded of neutrality 

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Alhaji Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper East Regional Minister, has reminded local government staff across the 15 Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) in the Region to remain neutral and impartial. 

“This is particularly crucial in this electioneering period. It is imperative that you remain politically neutral in your roles not to fall foul of the law. 

“We will crack the whip on any staff who openly or secretly involves in partisanship. No matter what the political party is,” he cautioned. 

Alhaji Dr Salih said this when he addressed management and staff of the Builsa North Municipal Assembly in Sandema on the first day of his scheduled working visit to the 15 MDAs to interact with staff and encourage them to remain professional and diligent.  

The Minister earlier visited the Builsa South District Assembly, where he interacted with staff and ended the day’s visit at the Kassena-Nankana Municipal Assembly. He is expected to proceed to the remaining MDAs in subsequent weeks for similar engagements. 

Alhaji Dr Salih stressed the need for Local Government Service officials to maintain their professional boundaries as they were barred from partisan politics. 

He said decision-making processes of staff should be devoid of biases, and must be fair to all manner of persons, as their code of conduct enjoined them to be neutral and to support the government of the day in the implementation of its policies and programmes. 

“As staff of the Local Government Service, you are required to adhere to values of neutrality and impartiality in your decision-making processes to avoid biases, and to guarantee fair treatment to all manner of persons,” he said. 

Alhaji Dr Salih noted that regular attendance and punctuality at work and programmes were fundamental and a hallmark of any serious officer. 

He reminded staff that official work started at 0800hours and ended at 1700hours and noted that their presence and timeliness to work were vital for the effective administration of the Assembly, as he expressed concern that some staff reported to work at 0900hours and closed before 1700hours. 

“I have also observed that some of you work for only three days in a week,” Alhaji Dr Salih added, and urged the staff to desist from such unprofessional acts. 

Madam Vida Akantagriwen Anaab, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the Builsa North Assembly, said the Minister’s visit created the opportunity for staff of the Assembly to discuss key significant issues of development to promote the well-being of residents. 

The MCE, who is the Chairperson of the Municipal Security Council (MUSEC), said the Municipality was peaceful and residents went about their daily activities peacefully without any security issues. 

She said the establishment of the 12-Mechanized Military Base had improved the peace in the Builsa Traditional area, even though the extension of electricity to the Military Barracks was a challenge and called for the Minister’s intervention in that regard.  

Madam Anaab acknowledged receipt of the Assembly’s share of the earth-moving equipment under the District Road Improvement Project (DRIP), and commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the initiative, and the Regional Minister for ensuring that all MDAs received their share. 

Agona East NPP PC urges electorates to vote for change  

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The New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s Parliamentary Aspirant for Agona East Constituency, Mrs Hannah Asamoah, has entreated the electorate to vote for change of Member of Parliament for rapid transformation of infrastructural and human development. 

She said the Agona East had retrogressed over a decade because of bad representation in Parliament and it was time for drastic change in voting patterns to ensure prosperity for the area. 

Mrs Asamoah made the call when she addressed the media after the inauguration of ‘’Friends of Hannah Asamoah club’’ at Nsaba in the Agona East constituency of the Central region. 

 The aims and objective of ‘’ Friends of Hannah Asamoah club’’   was to enable supporters to preach good policies and programmes of Dr Bawumia and Hannah Asamoah to the electorate, especially floating voters to cast their ballots for them. 

She said for any candidate to win elections, it needed hard work, coupled with fantastic team that would translate numbers into votes to win on December 7. 

The Aspirant disclosed that she had received support from both NPP and NDC, indicating massive unity and mutual understanding among members of the party in the Agona East. 

This she stated would propel them to clinch victory, adding that the 2024 Parliamentary election was like ‘David and Goliath’ and that Goliath would be defeated. 

Mrs Asamoah said grounds were more fertile as compared to 2020 Parliamentary elections because the electorates had understood something clearly at last and there was no way they would repeat that mistake again. 

She called on all the youth who had benefited from free SHS to reciprocate by voting massively for Dr Bawumia and her candidature to enable their brothers and sisters also to enjoy the audacious educational policy. 

The Aspirant said the NDC MP and her Presidential Candidate had nothing to offer the people again and urged the electorates in the Agona East to cast their ballots for NPP to continue good policies and programmes to transform their lives. 

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