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Trade information relevant in conducting successful business -AfCFTA 

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Mr Divine Kutortse, Programme Officer at the National Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Coordination Office, has emphasised the significance of trade information in conducting successful business. 

He said to give prospective investors and entrepreneurs the necessary and sufficient information to help them make decisions, AfCFTA had created a site called Ghana Trade Information Repository portal. 

Mr Kutortse, speaking at the Second Volta Young Entrepreneurs Summit, urged the youth to position themselves well to increase their competitiveness in the business world. 

He added that to investigate market prospects in other regions of the continent, such as Northern, Southern, and Eastern Africa, AfCFTA also instituted a project called Market Entry Expedition. 

Mr Kutortse exhorted the young people to start their own businesses, utilise the AfCFTA, and register with them to advertise their products and expand their consumer base. 

The Programme Officer encouraged the young people to invest more in whatever they did, saying that they were prepared to offer financial support to businesses they were working with. 

Mama Bobi III, Queen of Ho-Bake, emphasised that creating a strong entrepreneurship ecosystem was crucial to getting more people to utilise the AfCFTA. 

She advised the youth to focus a large portion of their time on productive endeavours, modify their ideals, and establish global connections because the world had become more competitive. 

Mama Bobi emphasised that to encourage more young people to start their own businesses, financial resources must be made available to them. 

She exhorted the youth to be prepared to grab pertinent business opportunities to improve their lots and implement backup plans to safeguard their businesses since no company was safe from outside threats. 

Mr Dele Momodu, Owner of Ovation Magazine in Nigeria, urged the attendees to work hard and cultivate goodwill wherever they find themselves as these were paramount in creating opportunities and opening doors for them. 

Gender focused CSOs garner stakeholder support for Affirmative Action Bill 

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Some leading gender focused Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have engaged stakeholders in Northern Ghana to court their support and seek inputs as part of intensified advocacy for the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill into law. 

The CSOs do not only want the Bill to be passed into law without further delays but that the bill was well crafted and coordinated to significantly address challenges facing the progress of women and girls to bridge the gender gap, inequality and inequity and biases against women and increase women participation in policy decision making spheres. 

The consultative forum was organised by the Widows and Orphans Movement (WOM), Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT), Women in Development and Affirmative Action Coalition with support from Plan International and Global Affairs Canada. 

The forum sought among other things to share the proposed provisions in the Bill with stakeholders to seek their support, identify the gaps in the Bill and make recommendations into the Bill in order for it to address the various challenges facing women and the marginalised. 

Hajia Lamnatu Adam, Focal Person for the Affirmative Action Coalition, said more than half of Ghana’s population were women who had the potentials to contribute significantly to the socioeconomic development of the nation, however, they continued to face widening gender inequality in various sectors, including education, politics and socioeconomic spheres. 

“If you look at our Parliament today, we have women representation of about 14.5 percent, that is out of the 275 parliamentarians, women are only 40 and when you come to the local level, the story is so sad,” she said.  

Hajia Lamnatu, who is also the Executive Director of Songataba, a women empowerment organisation, indicated that apart from being a Constitutional demand, the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill would help enhance women’s rights and increase women’s participation in governance. 

“As a country, we have also signed onto some international treaties and declarations that we think is binding, and the Sustainable Development Goals especially goal five talks about achieving gender parity by 2030, so we think it is justifiable enough for the Bill to be passed,” she added. 

Ms Fati Abigail Abdulai, the Executive Director of WOM, noted that the passage of the Bill was long overdue after 12 years and there was the need for all stakeholders to intensify advocacy to compel Parliament to expedite actions on the passage of the Bill. 

“Some African countries such as Rwanda, Sierra Leone and South Africa have affirmative action law and they are having increasing economic growth, so in Ghana if we want to address the current economic crisis, this is the time to pass the Affirmative Action Bill,” she added. 

Ms Mercy Dakogri, Programmes Coordinator, Community Development Alliance Ghana, called for intensified advocacy to ensure people had more information on the Bill. 

She advised that the Bill should address inequalities in employment and earnings between men and women in the private sector. 

Mr Maxwell Banu, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, TEERE, noted that women provided home-based solutions to the challenges facing the country and called for expedited action for the Bill to be passed. 

The Affirmative Action Bill is seeking among other things to increase women participation in decision making positions by proposing at least 40 percent of public offices to be reserved for women. 

The Bill, which is currently before the Parliamentary Select Committee, had been in Parliament for about three times since 2011, and seeks to remove discrimination and improve rights of marginalised groups who have been historically disadvantaged. 

CAMFED Association of Ghana extends support to flood victims in North Tongu 

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The CAMFED Association (CAMA) Ghana, a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO), has donated relief items to displaced persons in Agbetikpo, one of the camps in the North Tongu District. 

The NGO, which supports education and extend aid to the needy in Ghana and some European countries, donated sanitary towels, detergents, exercise books, and other essentials worth GHC 30,000. 

Mrs Karima Mohamed, the Chairperson of the Association led the delegation and stated that their donation was to empathise with the flood victims in the area. 

She said that though the flood had receded, the victims, especially the school children, needed more support to cushion them from their plight and foster new livelihood. 

Mrs Mohamed assured the people that her Association would continue to offer the necessary support to the victims until the situation was over. 

She also called on other organisations to emulate the gesture. 

The Chairperson assured the victims that as part of their corporate social responsibilities, her Association would also mobilise efforts to support the livelihood restoration agenda. 

Mamaga Asieku V of Battor, received the items and expressed her gratitude to the Association for being instrumental in ensuring that the relief items got to the most affected communities.  

She said the items would be fairly distributed among the displaced persons and called for more support from corporate Ghana.  

Global challenges require effective collaboration, diplomacy — Speaker Bagbin  

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Mr Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, says countries must continue to collaborate to find long-term solutions to the world’s socio-economic, environmental, and cultural challenges. 

He argued that problems like poverty, inequality, terrorism, and climate change could all be resolved through collaboration and “effective diplomacy.” 

Mr Bagbin, speaking at the launch of the International Relations and Diplomacy Network, Ghana (IRDN), underlined the importance of dialogue in resolving challenges and fostering an environment conducive to progress. 

He said conflicts and simmering tensions on the global political landscape required expertise, “meaningful conversations” and the establishment of “solid” diplomatic ties. 

Mr Bagbin cited the conflicts in Ukraine, the Sahel region, and Gaza, stating that the humanitarian needs of people in the affected areas must be met. 

“The worsening situations in Ukraine, Sahel, and Gaza provide into the insight of war on global geo-political dynamics. The significant loss of lives, displacement of people and strained relationship affects, and continue to be a matter of concern to all nations and people in the world. 

“Addressing the humanitarian needs and finding practical solutions are crucial priorities to mitigate the suffering of the affected populations,” he stated. 

The Speaker envisaged “a world where everyone has an equal chance to prosper and make a positive contribution to society,” as the universe moved toward “inclusive global governance.” 

“Together let us end poverty, empower women, close the digital divide and guarantee everyone success to high quality healthcare and education,” he said. 

He described IRDN as a “bold initiative to leverage global cooperation for sustainable and inclusive development.”  

The International Relations and Diplomacy Network was launched on the theme: “Towards A Better Equitable World.”  

It brings together professionals, practitioners, and students of international relations and diplomacy who will use their expertise to influence global policies, initiatives and developments. 

Mr Alban Bagbin, who was presented with a citation at the launch, urged the Network to support the government and key stakeholders to resolve conflict in parts of the country. 

As the current President of the Conference of Speakers and Heads of Parliaments in Africa, he asked IRDN to contribute to the work of Parliament and support the mission of the Conference of Speakers. 

Ambassador Dr Kodzo Akaba, Rector of the SALT institute, said IRDN will serve as a platform for positive change, share knowledge and foster partnerships that will help “shape the future.” 

Prof Lord Mawuko-Yevugah, Convener and Patron, IRDN, said the community of scholars and practitioners will whip up public interest in matters of international relations. 

“We are a democracy and there should be participation of the people in every aspect of government policy, so we need to create that space for people who understand international relations to engage government on what it does on our behalf on the international stage,” he said.  

Other distinguished members of the Network were recognised for diverse contributions towards the establishment of the association, as well as the activities of the International Relations and Diplomacy faculty at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration. 

President commends NPP for successful parliamentary primaries 

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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has congratulated the leadership and entire members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the successful conduct of the party’s parliamentary primaries in orphan constituencies on Saturday. 

“I extend warm congratulations to the National, Regional, Constituency, Electoral Area and Polling Station Officers, and, indeed, the entire membership of the New Patriotic Party for the conduct of free, fair, transparent, and credible parliamentary primaries in “orphan” constituencies during the weekend of Saturday, 2nd December 2023,” he said in a statement on Sunday. 

“This completes the penultimate stage of the Party’s preparations for the all-important contest of 7th December 2024, and we have, once again, expressed our deep attachment and commitment to the democratic values, which have been hallmarks of our Party’s great tradition,” he said. 

The President said despite the challenges confronting the nation, the party had demonstrated, with its record in office, that “we are the Party that can bring progress and prosperity to all parts of our country. 
 
 

 “So, I urge all winners to be magnanimous in their celebrations and work hard to bring onboard those who were not successful. 

“Through this, we shall create the united, formidable front that, under the leadership of our new, worthy presidential candidate, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, will enable us to go into the difficult 2024 elections with quiet confidence, and, with the help of Almighty God, Break the Eight, which is the fervent wish of all NPP members, and, indeed, of all well-meaning Ghanaians,” he stated. 

The party on Saturday went to the polls to elect parliamentary candidates for the 2024 general election in constituencies where the party has no members of parliament, also referred to as orphan constituencies. 

The elections took place in 111 constituencies across the 16 regions with a total of 321 aspirants vying for the single slot in the constituencies where the elections were held. 

Mosquito nets not for fishing, fencing gardens – Parliament’s Health Committee warns

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The Parliamentary Select Committee on Health has cautioned the public against the use of the insecticide treated nets (mosquito nets) distributed by government, for fishing, fencing gardens, covering refuse and other unapproved uses.

It said the nets were not meant for any other use beyond warding off mosquitoes to prevent malaria.

Dr Patrick Boakye-Yiadom, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Obuasi East and Vice Chair of the Committee, warned that such unhealthy practices exposed communities and households to mosquitoes and impeded the country’s fight against malaria.

He issued the caution when the Committee and the leadership of the Central Regional Health Directorate paid a working visit to some selected schools in the Central Region to monitor and supervise the ongoing distribution of insecticide treated nets in basic schools.

The net distribution, targeting pupils from class two to six, is a major intervention of the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), seeking to eradicate the disease in Ghana.

The officials first visited the Kanaan International School and the Wawase D/A Basic School in the Twifo Hemang Lower Denkyira District and ended their tour at the Philip Quaque Girls School in the Cape Coast Metropolis.

The team, led by Dr Boakye-Yiadom, included Dr Adomako Kissi, MP for Anyaa Sowutuom; Mr Alexander Roosevelt Hottordze, MP for Central Tongu; and Madam Betty Krosbi Mensah, the Afram Plains North MP.

Dr Marion Okoh-Owusu, the Central Regional Health Director, some senior members from NMEP and other members of GHS also made up the health officials for the tour.

Dr Boakye-Yiadom indicated that the Committee, in collaboration with the GHS and the Ghana Education Service (GES), would closely monitor public activities, to ensure the nets were used appropriately to serve their purpose.

He encouraged the pupils to religiously sleep under the net to collectively help prevent malaria and ensure the continuity of their education.

He intimated that malaria was a burden on the economy, education and other sectors of development and it was prudent to strengthen efforts to eliminate it as soon as practicable.

The MP observed that Ghana had made significant strides in the fight against malaria and its burden had reduced drastically, but more needed to be done.

Dr Boakye-Yiadom said Government was spending so much to further help reduce the disease burden, especially on children and pregnant women.

He expressed the Health Committee’s resolve to support the Programme to achieve the zero-malaria vision in Ghana.

Dr Paul Boateng, the Case Management Focal Person, NMEP, observed that the distribution of nets over the years had proved very useful as it had contributed significantly to the reduction of malaria and its attendant mortalities.

He said the burden of malaria had reduced consistently, with last year’s rate being around 8.6 per cent as against around 14 per cent some four years ago, due to the various interventions and efforts made by GHS and NMEP.

“Last year, Ghana recorded a little over five million confirmed cases of malaria and 151 malaria-related deaths, but that has been an improvement on the situation over the years,” he said.

Dr Boateng said starting from next year, they would intensify actions towards eliminating malaria from Ghana by 2028 and that they should be able to eliminate malaria in at least 21 districts mainly in the Greater Accra Region.

Engineer seeks election as Assembly member for Gbi Bla

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An aspiring Assembly Member for the Gbi Bla Electoral Area in the Hohoe Municipality, Mr Jonas-Kwofi Worlanyo, has promised to partner with institutions to establish an Entrepreneurship Academy for the community for entrepreneurial skills development.

Mr Worlanyo, who is a professional Engineer, said if given the mandate, he would in consultation with the leadership of the Area introduce an annual street art and painting festival and Home Coming events to unearth talents in the Area.

He would also create a development fund, build an art and counseling  centre and establish an educational and scholarship fund.

He pledged to maintain close contact with the electoral area by consulting the community members on issues to be discussed in the District Assembly.

Mr Wolanyo, who was interacting with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), disclosed that when elected, he would also collate views of community members, their opinions and proposals on development and growth of the Area and present them to the Assembly and lobby for other projects for the community.

He said he would also meet the electorate and Unit Committees before each meeting of the District Assembly and report to them the general decision of the Assembly.

Mr Jonas-Kwofi said he would also report actions that he had taken to solve problems raised by residents in the electoral area.

He appealed to the electorate to massively vote for him on December 19 for development of the electoral area.

Greater Accra NDC Ga Dangme Caucus elect officers

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The Greater Accra Ga Dangme Caucus of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has elected a five-member executive committee to steer the affairs of the party for the next four years.

They are Mr Andrew Nii Okaikoi, a Lawyer, Chairman, Mr Sam Attukwei Quaye, former Municipal Chief Executive for Ga West, Secretary, Madam Patience Ankama Addo, Financial Secretary, Nii Amasah Namoale, former Member of Parliament, Spokesperson, and Mr Julius Neequaye Kotey, Organiser.

Mr Nii Okaikoi, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after the election, said the objective of the formation of the Caucus was to promote the social, political and economic advancement of the Ga Dangme people while maintaining their culture and language.

“It is time to bring all Ga Dangme together to fraternize and promote our culture and tradition and help the NDC in the grassroot to mobilize and organise for victory in the 2024 general election,” he stated.

All the elected officers pledged to carry out their duties with diligence and selflessness towards building the strongest union in the NDC fraternity in the Greater Accra Region.

Mr Danny Annan, the former Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the NDC, who swore in the newly elected officers admonished them to always put the interest of the people first.

“The good of NDC Ga Dangme Caucus depends on every little contribution from everyone, you are the leaders, but we need all hands-on board to be able to lead well,” he said.

Mr Sam Quaye, the Secretary of the group, expressed gratitude to the delegates for the confidence reposed in them and assured them that they would operate an open-door policy throughout their period in office.

Kumawu MP gets closer to constituents

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The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Kumawu constituency, Mr Ernest Yaw Anim, has opened his office at Oyoko in the Sekyere Kumawu District of the Ashanti region.

 
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, he said the move was to ensure the effective administration of the constituency, accountability of his stewardship as well as accelerate development of the area.

 
Mr Anim indicated that the MP’s office would serve as an extension of the NPP constituency office at Kumawu, the District capital, and would save people from traveling longer distances to seek redress at the party office.

 
He said communities like Bomeng, Akrofonso, Dadiease, Drobonso, Asokore and others which were closer to Oyoko would no longer travel to Kumawu to consult with constituency party leadership.

 
In a related development, the MP presented a cheque for GHS50,000 to 36 selected students from the constituency, who had gained admission into various nursing training institutions across the country.

 
Mr Anim also donated reading materials to 42 basic schools in the district, as well as 150 dual desks to 13 selected basic schools, all in a bid to support education in the area.

 
He later presented four spraying machines and accessories to Mr Samuel Addai Agyekum, the District Chief Executive for Sekyere Kumawu in support of this year’s Farmers Day celebration.


Mr Agyekum, receiving the items, expressed happiness, saying the gesture would motivate and boost the morale of farmers, to work harder to feed the people of Kumawu and the country at large.


He thanked the MP and commended him for his relentless efforts at bringing unity, progress and development to the Kumawu constituency, which could go a long way to ensure national transformation.

The DCE further urged all and sundry to lend their prayer, support and cooperation to the MP, to enable him to achieve his vision for Kumawu and Ghana as a whole.

Simplify Next-of-Kin concept on bank accounts-BoG told 

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Bank of Ghana (BoG) has been asked to simplify the concept of Next-of-Kin for account holders for beneficiaries to easily access benefits. 

Mr Francis Xavier Sosu, Member of Parliament for Madina, said BoG should not leave issues of Next-of-Kin to the banks to decide on which forms they have to use for beneficiaries. 

“We would have to develop a standardised approach across for all beneficiaries. This would require the support of the Office of the Attorney General and the BoG. 

 We need to make amendments to our banking laws or the Special Depositors Act or set up a new legislative regime that deals with matters like this. 

I believe our discussions or deliberations here would bring about a major policy shift when it comes to the Next of Kin regime in Ghana so we can build a better regime in the country.” 

The Madina MP was speaking at a High-level Policy Dialogue on reducing family poverty via the use of Next-of-Kin in Accra. 

The dialogue was held by Pali Centre for Transformative Society, Atlas Network, Voxtua Legal Services the Madina MP and others.  

The dialogue seeks to address research findings on issues relating to Next-of-Kin in reducing family poverty and seek innovations relating to account opening forms by banks when it comes to Next of Kin and addressing the red-tapes and bureaucratic forms of accessing the benefits when relations are passed on. 

The research was conducted eight months ago by ILAP and partners.  

Mr Sosu said Parliament was currently reviewing PNDC Law 111 and issues raised when it comes to Next-of-Kin were being addressed. 

The MP, who is also a lawyer, said access to justice had become a problem especially in the area of the administration of estates, adding the same was also expensive because of the tax component in terms of the property involved. 

According to him, sometimes, people who come for such services did not have the means although he would like to offer support to them. 

He called for the removal of administrative barriers on Next-of-Kin issues to beneficiaries when filling out bank forms by illiterate people. 

People should be made to understand the effects of filling in these forms (bank and pension forms) when they must nominate people who would have to be Next of Kin. 

The MP called for the digitization of administrative processes on Next of Kin to reduce the bottlenecks associated with it. 

Mr Peter Bismark Kwofie, Executive Director, ILAPI noted that many people were dying intestate through road accidents, floods, fire and rare circumstances. 

Mr Kwofie said most of these people who died intestate, leave behind funds in their bank accounts, pension and insurance schemes. 

“In many cases when funds of the deceased, including those who died intestate were kept by BoG, insurance and pension firms, worsening the plight of dependents. 

The government since the 1970s has capriciously imposed its will on property ownership and transfer of inheritance through burdensome regulations and rightly taken over funds through BoG.” 

Mr Kwofie said in the case of financial institutions, pension and insurance firms kept the funds forever. 

He said it is incumbent on banks, insurance and pension firms to find out whether account holders or clients were deceased or missing in case an account became dormant. 

“They should get in touch with people serving as Next-of-Kin to continue or claim benefits to cater for dependents.” 

The BoG’s policy through the Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, Act 930, 2016 denotes that the banks must contact the next-of-kin of the account holder to find out the whereabouts of Account holders when the account is dormant for three years, but they hardly do. 

He noted that the banks before doing that must issue in three months dormant accounts of all account holders. 

Mr Kwofie said after five years when the accounts were still dormant, the funds that could liberate families were transferred from banks to the government chest for it to be kept forever. 

In the case of insurance and pension schemes, he said they were not required to transfer funds to the National Insurance Commission or any other regulatory authority. 

This means that they keep the money to themselves if no one takes legal steps for the claims. 

He recounted that accessing benefits or funds also took years, adding that some next-of-kin died while chasing benefits. 

Mr Kwofie said it was imperative for stakeholders to address administrative barriers and red-tapeism in assessing benefits. 

Mr John Kojo Boateng, General Manager in charge of Benefits, said SNIT paid benefits to survivors within an average of 14 days after death is reported. 

According to him, people do not need legal assistance to apply for benefits and SSNIT did not keep the money of members. 

He said SSNIT had so far paid GHC488.3 million to dependents of deceased members this year. 

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has over 1.9 million active contributors. 

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