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About 37 teams battle fiercely in Kosmos’ South-West Agritech pitch challenge

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Thirty-seven teams of young entrepreneurs into agriculture technology from the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and the Takoradi Technical University (TTU) are battling it out in a fierce pitch competition for the ultimate prize of $50,000.

The competition is an initiative of the Kosmos Innovation Centre to train and support young people to build businesses in innovative agricultural solutions to enhance Ghana’s agriculture sector.

The seven-month grooming programme, funded by the Masterclass Foundation, is being implemented by the Design Thinking and Innovation Hub of UCC and nine other universities across the country.

The two-day South-West Zonal KIC Challenge Classic happening at UCC will see some of the team’s graduate to the “Pro level” of the competition after successfully convincing a panel of diverse professionals with their ideas.

In all, 15 successful teams from the 10 participating universities will join 15 other setups at the “Pro level” to fight for the ultimate prize.

The teams from the two schools were impressive with their pitches on the first day with innovations tackling issues such as environmental pollution, poor diet, low production, recycling, soil fertility, and post-harvest losses.

Mr Ato Ulzen-Appiah, Entrepreneurship Development Specialist at KIC, explained that at the end of the “Classic level”, each of the 15 teams would get $2,000 dollars to support their businesses.

“And at the end of the “Pro” which is a five-month accelerated programme, we will adjudge the winners of the Agritech challenge competition, and we will give up to 50,000 dollars in funding,” he added.

Mr Ulzen-Appiah indicated that the success of the young participating setups would largely depend on how they applied themselves even after the competition.

“Because we are training them to be entrepreneurs, we expect that they will leverage the learning to be able to improve as entrepreneurs and improve as people,” he stated.

He explained that they would engage the teams which got eliminated from the competition and help them in their entrepreneurial journey, even though priority would be given to those in the competition.

He assured that the teams would be closely monitored to ensure that they used the funding judiciously to sustain their businesses and to engender the necessary outcomes.

Dr Keren Arthur, Director of the Design Thinking and Innovation Hub, UCC noted that the competition was an opportunity for the university to further its vision of becoming a global entrepreneurial university.

“We believe that this partnership allows us to tread the same course and to support entrepreneurship and career development among the youth to create more jobs,” she stressed.

She recalled that last year, UCC took 10 teams to the national competition and out of six made it to the “Pro level” and with two teams getting the ultimate prize.

Dr Arthur expressed admiration for the innovative ideas spanning the entire agric value chain pitched by the young entrepreneurs and was hopeful for a better agric sector with the right support systems.

Touching on some successes of the challenge, she said some participating businesses from UCC, evicted from the competition, were thriving.

UMB appoints Sakyi-Hyde as Acting CEO

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The Board of the Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) has appointed Samuel Sakyi-Hyde as the Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bank.

He is expected to continue to drive the growth strategy of the Bank, as the process of executive succession is secured, within regulatory and statutory guidelines.

A statement issued in Accra and copied to GNA by Kofi Sarfo Akyea, Representative of the Corporate Communications Department,  said Mr Sakyi-Hyde is a leading Ghanaian banker with almost three decades of experience.

His career track includes periods at UniCredit Ghana Limited where he served as the Chief Executive Officer.

He has since 2019 served as General Manager, Consumer Banking at UMB, where he is recognized and acclaimed for bringing the Consumer Banking Division of the Bank into the black for the first time in a decade.

Mr. George Smith Graham, the Board Chairman at UMB, said: “Sakyi-Hyde comes to the role as part of the succession protocol being deployed, as Nana Dwemoh Benneh proceeds to retire from the Bank. It is a testament to the robust governance framework we have in place and it is anticipated that the growth strategy and trajectory we have in place will continue seamlessly.”

Mr Sakyi-Hyde said: “I am humbled by the appointment and look forward to contributing to the Bank’s 50-year heritage of positive impact in this market. Our brand is strong and the fundamentals of our business are healthy.”

He pledged to continue to vigorously pursue the Bank’s growth strategy of achieving dominance in SME and prioritise a digital-led offering.

“Overall, I am glad to lead a team that has been committed to delivering a uniquely Ghanaian perspective to world-class banking, since 1972,” he added.

Accra MCE inspects some development projects in the metropolis

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Mrs Elizabeth Kwatsoe Sackey, the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, has inspected some development projects, including school infrastructure, in the metropolis to assess the progress of work.

The inspection took her to Banana Inn at New Mamprobi and the Nii Kojo Ababio Cluster of Schools at Mamprobi Sempe, all in the Ablekuma South District, as well as Bubiashie and Kaneshie in the Okaikwei South District.

Mrs Sackey told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the inspection was to give her firsthand information to determine which projects needed support in terms of resources to ensure their completion.

She said she would ensure that all unfinished projects were completed.

She expressed worry over the stalled Okaikwei South Sub-Metro office project near the Kaneshie Market and gave the assurance that the AMA would look for a strategic investor to complete it.

The MCE also expressed her displeasure of the way some of the traders had illegally taken over the footbridge and ordered the seizure of their wares.

Low patronage I`n voter exhibition could affect District elections – NCCE 

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The Western Regional Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has expressed worry over the low turn-out during the just ended nationwide voter register exhibition exercise by the Electoral Commission. 

Mr Justice Yaw Ennin, the Western Regional NCCE Director, who raised concern about people’s lack of enthusiasm about the exercise in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Takoradi, said citizens’ lack of interest resulting in the low turnout could affect voters’ participation in the upcoming District Level Elections (DLEs). 

He said DLEs had generally been characterised by low voter turn-out over the years, and that the 2023 elections could suffer the same fate. 

Mr Ennin said, “The DLEs are the bedrock of our democracy, so if the citizens are disinterested, then that is a cause for worry.” 

He attributed the situation to low publicity on the part of stakeholders and said more needed to be done to whip up public interest in the upcoming DLEs. 

Aside publicity, there was the need for stakeholders to revisit the call for a referendum to seek the inputs from Ghanaians to amend Article 55 (3) of the 1992 Constitution to allow the participation of political parties in district level elections. 

The NCCE Director said involving political parties in DLEs would help resolve the issue of less citizens’ participation, since those parties had more resources to convince and mobilise their supporters for such an exercise. 

He stressed the need for the citizenry to be interested in making decisions that would enhance the country’s decentralisation system and drive transformation in their communities. 

On ensuring inclusivity in local governance, Mr Ennin said: “Marginalised groups like youth, women and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) must be encouraged to participate in local governance to value their inputs and bridge the developmental gaps in their various areas.” 

He appealed to the authorities to ensure institutions responsible for public education like the NCCE were adequately resourced to help them carry out their mandates successfully. 

SMEs benefit from training on branding and sales techniques 

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The SNV Ghana project on supporting GrEEn Businesses, has trained 23 Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in the areas of branding and sales strategies in the Western Region. 

The training came after six months of intensive incubation processes of the businesses, mentorship sessions as well as Business to Business trips, to build strong marketing linkages that will last the test of time. 

Mr Erasmus Mensah Ackon, the Executive Director of the Duapa Werkspace, an Enterprise Development Centre and organisers of the training, said the overall goal was to promote more market penetration methodologies, ensure access to diverse market and build the wealth base of the SMEs. 

Mr Ackon said, “already, some of these SMEs have received funding to improve their businesses and looking at them being connected to other industries to promote their business, we thought it wise to give them this sales and branding training.” 

He said producing products and ensuring they did well on the market were different activities all together, saying “If you can’t sell, you can’t survive, so we’ve connected them to industries and it’s time for them to learn more about branding and sales, to be able to sell more of their products and be able to reach out to more customers.” 

Ms Lydia Owusu Diko, a facilitator from EK Brand Consult, said Africa had competitive markets and the training was to give them guidelines on how to sell whatever they produced. 

She entreated the beneficiaries to use feedback to build solid brands to grow their businesses. 

Ms Millicent Lambog, the Chief Executive Officer of Eggs and More, one of the participating SMEs, noted how beneficial the course had been to her in terms of providing quality customer service. 

The class later pitched sales ideas in a role play, to show their level of understanding and absorption of the three-day workshop. 

Apple and the US reach a $25 million settlement over Apple’s hiring of foreign workers.

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The U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday that Apple Inc. (AAPL.O) has agreed to pay $25 million to resolve allegations that the corporation had improperly given preference to foreign workers for certain occupations over U.S. citizens and holders of green cards.

According to a statement by the Justice Department, Apple violated a federal statute that forbids discrimination based on citizenship by not hiring U.S. citizens or permanent residents for positions that qualified for a government programme that allows firms to sponsor foreign workers for green cards.

The settlement is the largest ever for the Justice Department involving claims of discrimination based on citizenship, the agency said. It requires Apple to pay $6.75 million in civil penalties and $18.25 million to an unspecified number of affected workers.

Apple in a statement said it had “unintentionally not been following the DOJ standard.”

“We have implemented a robust remediation plan to comply with the requirements of various government agencies as we continue to hire American workers and grow in the U.S.,” the company said.

According to the Justice Department, Apple did not advertise job openings that were eligible for the program, known as the permanent labor certification or PERM program, on its website as it routinely does for other positions. And the company required applicants for those jobs to mail paper applications even though it usually permits electronic applications, the department said.

“These less effective recruitment procedures nearly always resulted in few or no applications to PERM positions from applicants whose permission to work does not expire,” the department said.

The Justice Department did not specify which Apple jobs were affected by the recruitment procedures or how Apple may have benefited from them.

Foreign labor can often be cheaper than hiring U.S. workers, and immigrants who rely on their employers for green card sponsorship are seen as less likely to leave for a different job.

Along with the payout, Apple agreed to align its recruiting for PERM jobs with its normal practices. The company will be required to conduct more expansive recruitment and train employees on anti-discrimination laws, according to the settlement.

Democratic US Senator Joe Manchin has decided not to run for office again in 2024.

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The maverick Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, who has frequently defied party leadership over the past two years, said on Thursday that he will not run for reelection, which will make it more difficult for Democrats to hold onto their slim Senate majority in the 2024 election.

“I will not be running for re-election to the United States Senate, but what I will be doing is travelling the country and speaking out to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilise the middle and bring Americans together,” Manchin stated in a press release.

The move by the 76-year-old lawmaker will make it very difficult for Democrats to defend his West Virginia seat. Republicans hold the governor’s office and the rest of the congressional delegation in a state that Republican Donald Trump won by a wide 69-30% margin over Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

“We like our odds in West Virginia,” Senator Steve Daines, the head of Republican senators’ campaign arm, said in a statement.

Manchin earlier this year flirted publicly with leaving the Democratic Party, and appeared in July at an event with the “No Labels” group, where he discussed the possibility of having a third-party candidate run for president in 2024.

Polling shows dissatisfaction with the current leading White House candidates, incumbent Biden and Republican frontrunner Trump. A Reuters/Ipsos poll in August found 8% of respondents said they would vote for Manchin if he ran for president as an independent against Biden and Trump.

“We will make a decision by early 2024 about whether we will nominate a Unity presidential ticket and who will be on it,” No Labels said in a statement.

Manchin’s departure will also raise the stakes for Democrats of several other Senate races including in Republican-leaning Montana and Ohio and highly competitive Pennsylvania and Arizona as they defend a 51-49 majority.

Democrats currently hold more of the seats that are up for election than do Republicans. Three seats held by Democrats are in states won by Trump in the 2020 election, while no Republican seats up for the election are in states where voters chose Biden.

David Bergstein, a spokesperson for the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, said the party was confident in its chances of strengthening its majority.

Matt Bennett, co-founder of Third Way, a centrist Democratic consultancy, said he thought Manchin would talk to people around the country about why the country needs moderation.

“I think he feels with justification that he’s got a voice that is unique and a message that resonates and so my hope is that he puts that to work behind the president,” Bennett said.

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) during a Senate Appropriations committee hearing

JUSTICE EYES SEAT

West Virginia’s Republican Governor, Jim Justice, has already launched a campaign for his party’s nomination for Senate. Justice was a Democrat when he was first elected governor in 2016, but a year into office he switched parties and went on to cruise to re-election, winning 65% of the vote in 2020. Trump has endorsed Justice.

Manchin, who took office in 2010, has been a key vote on every major piece of legislation of President Biden’s tenure, as a moderate representing an increasingly conservative state. His support was critical to passage of Biden’s sweeping $1 trillion infrastructure law, one of the president’s key domestic accomplishments.

Together with Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who switched her registration to independent from Democratic in December, Manchin has secured major concessions and scaling back of his party’s legislative goals, winning him applause from conservatives and condemnations from many fellow Democrats.

The two stood together in protecting the Senate’s filibuster rule, which require 60 of the chamber’s 100 members to agree on most legislation, in the face of intense opposition from their own party.

Manchin’s defense of the filibuster helped block Democrats’ hopes of passing bills to protect abortion rights after the Supreme Court last year overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had established the nationwide right.

“What I’ve seen during my time in Washington is that every party in power will always want to exercise absolute power, absolutely,” Manchin wrote in an opinion column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail, a West Virginia newspaper, in 2021.

The Senate has “evolved over time to make absolute power difficult while still delivering solutions to the issues facing our country and I believe that’s the Senate’s best quality,” he added.

Republican senators praised Manchin’s commitment to bipartisanship.

“I will miss this American patriot in the Senate. But our friendship and our commitment to American values will not end,” Republican Senator Mitt Romney, who is also not seeking re-election, wrote in a post on X.

Manchin won his last election with just 49.6% of the vote, 0.3 percentage points ahead of his Republican rival, in 2018, a year that opposition to Trump’s presidency allowed Democrats to make major gains in Congress.

Manchin has insisted that his only motivation is the coal-producing state of West Virginia and an eye on fiscal responsibility.

“I know our country isn’t as divided as Washington wants us to believe,” he said in Thursday’s statement. “We share common values of family, freedom, democracy, dignity and a belief that together we can overcome any challenge. We need to take back America and not let this divisive hatred further pull us apart.”

Former Manchester United custodian discussing a January transfer with a La Liga team

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David de Gea is still free to join with any team five months after leaving Manchester United, and a return to Spain is now very much a possibility.

After spending nearly 13 years in England, De Gea is reportedly keen to return to Spain. Real Betis and De Gea have reportedly started first talks, with both sides willing to cooperate to make a trade happen, according to Spanish publication ED. Since they only have 40-year-old Claudio Bravo as a backup and their current top player, Rui Silva, is rumoured to be leaving the team this winter, Los Verdiblancos are eager to seal the signing.

The Spanish newspaper mentions the club will use the “Isco formula” on De Gea, which is a short-term agreement on reduced terms intended to be advantageous to both sides. However, the 33-year-old goalie, who was formerly the highest-paid player at United, will only be brought in if sufficient funds are raised by the Seville-based club. Betis CEO Ramon Alarcon has acknowledged that the team are over their pay cap, with Silva likely to make way in that case.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

David de Gea Manchester United 2022-23Getty ImagesClaudio Bravo BetisGetty

Rui Silva Real BetisGetty

WHAT NEXT? Real Betis will next be in action when they take on Sevilla in the Derbi Sevillano on Sunday, November 12.

Zinedine Zidane and Lionel Messi together on the same team? The French great says, “It’s unfortunate” that he never got to play alongside Inter Miami’s star.

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Lionel Messi was informed by Zinedine Zidane, the legend of Real Madrid and France, that he wishes he had played alongside the legendary player from Barcelona at some time in his career.

Zidane only faced Messi once in his incredible playing career, in 2005, and that was when he saw the qualities that would make him the 2022 World Cup champion. The Argentine earned an assist on the day as Madrid lost 3-0 to Barcelona in La Liga, with the great Frenchman on the losing side. But the two great players never really played together; they were more frequently competitors.

Zidane has acknowledged that he would have liked to play alongside the Inter Miami sensation on the pitch. He said in the chat facilitated by adidas: “It’s a pity that we couldn’t play together. This is the moment for me to pass you the ball. Today is a very important day for me because I can tell him how much I admire him… I think he is magic, pure magic.”

At that point, Messi returned the praise, saying: “I have always admired him and liked him a lot. I followed him a lot in Madrid. And he made me suffer a lot too because I was from Barcelona!”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: The two struck up an interesting discussion covering a wide range of subjects. They talked about the feeling of scoring a goal for their nation in the World Cup final. They also touched upon the kind of respect the Argentine has for the late great Diego Maradona, as well as the lack of number tens in world football at the moment.

IN TWO PHOTOS:Lionel Messi Ballon d'Or 2023Getty ImagesZidane-France-2006Getty

WHAT NEXT? Messi will be involved with Inter Miami on Friday when Inter Miami play New York City in the Noche d’Or friendly, a celebration of Messi’s eighth Ballon d’Or win.

MCE breaks ground for SOCO projects in Builsa North

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Madam Vida Akantagriwen Anaab, the Builsa North Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) in the Upper East Region, has broken the ground for the construction of an ultra-modern Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compound at Zaring, a community in the Municipality.

The CHPS compound, which would be constructed under the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) project, would serve the Zaring, Bulba and Mwanlorinsa communities, where residents relied on a teacher’s quarters, which was converted into a health facility for services.

The SOCO project is a multi-country US$450 million credit facility from the World Bank implemented in Ghana, Cote d’ Ivoire, Togo and Benin.

The Government was allocated US$ 150 million out of the total amount for projects in 48 districts across the Upper East, Northern, Savannah, North East, Upper West and Oti regions.

The Builsa North Municipal Assembly received GH¢4,600.000.00 out of the US$ 150 million for various projects including renovation and expansion works, roads, schools, market stores and borehole construction among others across the Municipality.

Apart from the Zaring CHPS compound project, Madam Anaab, accompanied by Mr Thomas Kofi Alonsi, the New Patriotic Party’s 2024 Parliamentary Candidate for the area, also handed over two sites at Kadema and Yemonsa to Contractors for the construction of same ultra-modern CHPS compound each in the communities.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after three separate ceremonies to handover the sites for work to commence, the MCE said; “We are not just going to construct CHPS compounds, these are ultra-modern facilities with accommodation for health staff.”

Madam Anaab said there would be fully furnished delivery, waiting and consulting rooms, Out-Patient Departments, lavatories and mechanised boreholes with 10,000 litre-capacity tanks for constant water supply.

She said the contractors would work simultaneously at the three sites to ensure the CHPS compounds were completed within six-months.

“I expect the contractors to execute good quality jobs. We are giving them six months, and I trust that they will deliver on time.”

The MCE, a retired midwife, said the SOCO project beneficiary communities were expected to donate litigation-free lands for the projects, and noted that unskilled labourers, who would each receive GH¢50.00 per day, would be selected from the area to serve.

Madam Anaab expressed gratitude to President Akufo-Addo and Mr Daniel Kwaku Botwe, the Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development for the initiative.

The Assembly’s share of the money was in its Bank account, “So there will not be any excuses or reasons to delay the project. We will not tolerate any delays,” she said.

Alhaji Danladi Salifu, the Upper East Zonal SOCO Project Engineer, told the Ghana News Agency that the cost of the three CHPS compounds was about GH¢1,503,712.00, and said 11 sub-projects would be implemented in the Builsa North Municipality.

He gave the assurance that the Zonal Office, through the leadership of Mr Samuel Larbi Agyarko, the Upper East and North East Zonal Coordinator of the SOCO project, would ensure quality work was done and on time.

Madam Harriette Yeribu, the Builsa North Municipal Director of the Ghana Health Service, in an address delivered on her behalf, said the facilities would not only serve as cornerstones of healthcare infrastructure, but as symbols of their collective dedication to improve the lives of residents.

When completed, they would be well equipped and staffed with dedicated healthcare professionals, who were passionate about their work, to ensure high quality care.  

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