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We are working to turn things around for Journalists — GJA President assures

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Mr Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), says his administration is committed to turning the fortunes of the association and members for the better. 

“Mr. Chairman, I need to inform you that we inherited debts and liabilities. There was absolutely nothing in the coffers when we assumed office, but as determined as we are to the course and in fulfilling our pledge to members, who voted to entrust the leadership of the Association to us, we have started turning things around for the better.  

“We know by the grace of God we will succeed and leave a legacy,” he said.  

Speaking at a forum with some veteran and senior journalists in Accra, on Tuesday, Mr Dwumfour said making the life of members of the association better and leaving a legacy remained a priority for his administration. 

Mr Dwumfour said since the new leadership assumed office, it had done a lot and intended to do more leave a legacy at the end of their tenure. 

One such policy was to introduce a GJA Journalists Support Fund to support members in retirement.  

The Fund, expected to be launched on November 2, 2022, would address issues of assaults on journalists, he said, adding that the Retirees Support Fund would also support seniors and retirees. 

“We believe that the GJA Retiree Support Fund when launched and becomes operational, would help assuage the suffering of some of our Retirees and put smiles on their faces,” Mr Dwumfour added.  

He also added that the leadership was in the process of auditing its books, with the assistance of the Auditor General to keep proper accounts, assuring that his administration would be transparent, accountable, and inclusive. 

The engagement, which formed part of efforts by the current administration to chart a new path brought together retired members of the Association such as past executives of the GJA and senior editors of selected media houses within Accra. 

He said engaging retired members was critical for the new path the current administration was charting. “Most of you have played and continue to play vital roles in the media and we will need to tap into your experience and support,” he said. 

Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafo, Chairman, National Media Commission, charged the new executive to put in place measures to curb the misunderstanding of future elections of the Association.“I do not understand why GJA elections should be confused with national elections,” he said. 

He commended the new executive for the various initiatives introduced to better the life of the members. 

Mr Edmund Arthur, President of the Private Newspaper and Online Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), assured support for the GJA to realise their goals. 

Mr Kwesi Pratt, Managing Editor, the Insight Newspaper, urged journalists not to allow their political preferences to affect the development of the country and professional solidarity. 

Prof Karikari urges journalists to uphold high professional standards

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Professor Kwame Karikari, Board Member, Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), has urged journalists and media professionals to strive to uphold high standards. 

He also encouraged them to fight against the cheap but unattractive path of unprofessional conduct. 

“That is the only way self-respecting journalists and responsible media organisations can and will earn back the people’s trust and confidence,” Prof Karikari stated in his remarks in Accra at the opening of a two-day Regional Conference on Media and Democracy in West Africa. 

The conference, which is being organized by MFWA in collaboration with the West Africa Civil Society Democracy Solidarity Network (WADEMOS) and the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) is on the theme: “The Media, Press Freedom and the Democratic Recession in West Africa.” 

It is being attended by over 100 participants from across the West Africa subregion. 

It seeks to deliberate on the debilitating impact the recent democratic rollback in the West Africa region is having on the media, press freedom and civic participation.    

Prof Karikari noted that the difficult and often frightening as it was independent media organisations should continue to report issues of human rights abuses and support social justice cause. 

He said to sustain their collective survival and freedom, the media must strive to forge partnership and alliances, in-country and across borders, to share publications and programmes designed to expose incidents of ‘democracy capture’ and to promote democracy causes.  

He urged individual journalists with democratic persuasions to play active roles in their professional associations, so as to prevent the hijack of their organisations by mercenary agents of the enablers of democracy capture. 

“There appears to be a decline in the commitment to fight to protect and defend press freedom across the Continent,” he said. 

“This spirit must be rekindled by media professional associations and human rights advocacy organisations.” 

Prof Karikari said independent media must find ways, in countries where there was still room to operate openly without violent reprisals, to initiate campaigns to promote and defend the values and principles of democracy through rigorous publications and critical broadcasting programmes. 

He urged independent media to consider it a mission to provoke the public interest in and active engagement in democracy issues and questions of rights and good governance. 

“Independent media organisations should engage democracy and human rights advocacy civil society groups and NGOs in partnership and coalitions in promoting democracy issues and campaigns.” 

He said there seemed to be a decline in international support for advocacy work in democracy causes and Media freedom; adding that there was the need for strengthening support to enhance civil society capacity to wage campaigns to defend democracy causes. 

Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, Executive Director, Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) said the media as an important institution needed to be protected to consolidate democracy. 

Mr Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director, MFWA, said ECOWAS Member States needed the media in their ongoing efforts to rebuild and strengthen democracies. 

Dr Eyesan Okorodudu, Head Democracy and Good Governance, ECOWAS Commission, said they were considering establishing a new unit under his department to manage the affairs of digital media as a tool for promoting peace and security in the subregion. 

Mr Baba Gana Wakil, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Ghana, said the ECOWAS Commission always recognized the critical role of the media and other civil society organisations in the sociopolitical space of the subregion in the sustenance of its fragile democracy. 

‘My critics will be put to shame’ – President Nana Akufo-Addo

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The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has taken a swipe at his critics in respect of development projects in the Ashanti Region.

According to him, the criticisms that “his Administration has done nothing in the Region was baseless, unfounded and lacked merit.”

“My critics will be put to shame, because, they have lost touch with the realities on the ground,” he noted.

President Nana Akufo-Addo, who was addressing a durbar of the chiefs and people of Suame, an event coinciding with the sod-cutting ceremony for work to commence on the Suame Interchange Project, said a lot had been done by the government in the last five years.

The Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) said 32 hospital projects, more than 300 school infrastructure, 295 asphalted roads and 100 kilometers of inner roads, among others, have been undertaken under the Nana Akufo-Addo Administration.

Per the specifications of the Suame Interchange and Complementary Roads Project, the job will be undertaken under two components – comprising the construction of a four-tier interchange at Suame, two overpasses at Abrepo Junction and Krofrom Junction.

The second component will see to the construction of three overpasses at Anomangye Junction, Magazine New Road Junction and Abusuakruwa Junction, as well as widening of the Offinso road into a dual carriage way, 15 kilometers local roads and improvement of selected intersections.

Component one of the project will be executed by Messrs. Rango Construction Company Limited in joint venture with Dizmar of Spain, while component two is constructed solely by the former.

Messrs. Associated Consultants Limited will be the supervising consultant on the project, with the Department of Urban Roads as the implementing agency under the Ministry of Roads and Highways.

President Nana Akufo-Addo said when completed, the project would help improve capacity to support the continued traffic growth.

It will also complement other completed and planned road projects to form a resilient network and better meet travel demands, he stated.

Mr. Kwasi Amoako-Attah, Minister of Roads and Highways, tasked the contractors to work diligently in completing the project as scheduled.

He said the project was expected to be completed in 30 months.

Asiedu Nketia and Ofosu Ampofo’s contest won’t destabilise NDC –Afriyie Ankrah

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The decision by Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to contest the Party’s current National Chairman, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, will not affect the Party.

Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, the Director of Elections, NDC, said the Party was being governed by a democratic system and thus any officer could contest any position once they were eligible.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Ankrah, a General Secretary hopeful of the NDC, urged the Party to ensure a free, fair, and transparent electoral process to avert any friction.

“I don’t think there will be any friction. Our Party is a democratic Party and so people are free to contest, and whoever wins we move on…People held various positions in the past and people contested and won. So no position is sacrosanct,” Mr Ankrah said.

He added: “If the processes are fair and transparent, and the structure and systems put in place are such that everybody can see that there was a level playing field, it makes it easier for people to deal with the aftermath.”

The NDC will hold its constituency elections between October 22 and 23, 2022, while the regional elections would be held between November 12 and 13, 2022.

The National Congress will be held on December 17, 2022.

Mr Nketia, who had served as Chief Scribe of the NDC since 2005, has publicly announced his intension to run for the National Chairmanship position – a position currently occupied by Mr Ofosu Ampofo.

Although Mr Ampofo is yet to publicly announce whether or not he would seek re-election, sources close to him indicate that he would contest the position when the Party opens nominations.

Mr Ankrah, a former Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, declared his intention to run for the General Secretary position last month.

He said he had contributed to the successes of the NDC over the years having served the Party in various leadership positions for about two decades.

He said he had built strong relationship with the Party base, the youth, religious community, traditional authority, and all relevant stakeholders; making him qualified to assist the NDC to win the next presidential election.

Mr Ankrah, who was the Campaign Coordinator for former President John Dramani Mahama in 2012, urged the NDC to prepare early for election 2024.

He said the NDC must also be “vigilant, aggressive and strong,” indicating that the next election, “is not negotiable.”

 

Ghana Cocoa Awards: Niche Cocoa crowned best processing company.

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Niche Cocoa Industry Limited, an independent cocoa processing company, has been crowned the best processing company of the year at the fourth edition of the Ghana cocoa awards.

The awards are to recognize the contributions of various players within Ghana’s cocoa value chain.

Niche cocoa industry was shortlisted among other cocoa processing companies and came out as the best processing company in Ghana.

The processing company also won Hall of Fame Award for winning three consecutive awards over the previous years.

The award was received by Mr. Edmund Poku, the founder of Niche Cocoa processing company.

Niche Cocoa industry as part of its good works has established a subsidiary cocoa processing company in the United States of America.

The company is the largest food beverage investment by an African-based company in the history of the United States and the largest Ghana foreign direct investment in the United States.

The company is set to generate income for the country as investors from the United States troop their investments for  cocoa products, it also sells semi-processed products to companies in Europe and Asia.

The awards has 33 categories as Niche Cocoa Industry Limited grabbed two awards.

Some of the award winners included, Nana Kwadwo Amoako – National best cocoa farmer of the year 2021, Bia West cocoa co-operative – Farmer  Cooperative of the year, Tropenbos Ghana – Change Agent of the year, FairAfric chocolate – Chocolate brand of the year (Conventional), Golden Pod – Brand of the year, Niche Cocoa industry limited – Processing cocoa of the year, Woman of excellence award – Patricia Poku Diaby, Outstanding Achievement of the year – Kwame Owusu-Ansah, Niche Processing Industry limited – Hall of Fame: Chocolate Brand Award and Golden Pod Chocolate Drink Powder – Beverage of the year.

Ghana Cocoa Dinner Awards is designed to highlight outstanding contributions by industry players, while motivating innovation and excellence.

Ghana Cocoa Dinner presents a great opportunity for synergy by offering an unequaled networking and B2B interactions where organisations and C-Level executives converge to celebrate individual and collective successes.

As the industry’s established benchmark for excellence, it serves as a platform of unparalleled value for highlighting the profile of top brands, leading achievers and policymakers in the cocoa industry value chain.

Tottenham told why unthinkable player sale would be ‘good deal’ amid stark contract warning

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A former Tottenham player has told the club why selling Harry Kane could actually be ‘good business’, as fears over his new contract rise.

Kane has enjoyed a top start to the season, finding the net 10 times in 14 outings so far. That includes an impressive nine strikes in just 10 Premier League matches.

However, the striker’s exploits have gone slightly under the radar amid the form of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland. He is already 10 goals ahead of Kane in all competitions, and six ahead in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot.

Kane will be desperate to continue his fine form heading into the World Cup. He will captain England at the tournament, barring injury, and will be hoping to finally lead the Three Lions to glory.

However, there is a problem looming over Kane’s future. His Tottenham contract runs out at the end of next season and rumours are growing that he could leave north London.

Spurs recently tried to begin contract renewal talks with the 29-year-old and his entourage. His new deal is one of their top priorities as they look to prevent an exit.

However, according to Monday’s Transfer Gossip, Kane has put those negotiations on hold. He wants manager Antonio Conte to agree a new contract before he pledges his long-term future to Spurs.

Conte’s terms run out at the end of the current campaign. A positive outcome in the Conte talks will likely see Kane extend his contract at Spurs.

Pundit talks Harry Kane Tottenham exit

Former Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson has been discussing Kane’s future during an interview with Football Insider.

He thinks them selling the bagsman to Bayern Munich for £88million – a fee the Germans are reportedly willing to pay – would be ‘a pretty good deal’.

Robinson also urged Spurs to hurry up and sort a new contract for Kane as things like this shouldn’t be left ‘to the last minute’.

“I think £88million for a player with 12 months left on his contract would be good business,” the pundit said.

“Regardless of who you are, that is a big transfer fee considering you are into the final year of your contract. That would be a pretty good deal for Spurs.

“Do not get me wrong though, Spurs have to exhaust every opportunity to tie him down to a new deal. He is invaluable and in many ways irreplaceable.

“There are few players in the world on his level. To replace him is almost impossible. They have to do everything they can to get him to sign a new deal.

Spurs urged to ‘protect their assets’

“If he doesn’t sign one, £88m would be a great deal. Clubs allow players to leave on a free far too often. It really frustrates me when clubs don’t protect their assets.

“Knowing Spurs, I’m sure talks are already going on behind the scenes about Kane’s future. You do not leave something like that to the last minute.”

Bayern are known to admire Kane and could make a move for him to become Robert Lewandowski’s replacement up front. The Bavarians did sign Sadio Mane in the summer, though Kane is closer to Lewandowski’s profile than the former Liverpool man.

Bayern would be able to offer Kane the chance to play for big trophies such as the Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB-Pokal. Despite this, it is hard to see the England skipper leaving Spurs.

He has a great relationship with their fans and wants to take the club to some form of silverware. Kane also has one eye on Alan Shearer’s Premier League scoring record. He will not be able to beat the 260-goal feat if he leaves for Germany.

Meanwhile, Spurs have been tipped to sell a player next year, despite his recent turnaround in form.

Employers charged to invest in EAP to accelerate productivity – experts

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Employers in Ghana have been charged to invest in Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) in order to rethink employee well-being strategies and boost business growth and profitability.

The majority of Ghanaian workers struggle psychologically to some degree, which prevents them from giving their best.

Labour Consultant Austin Gamey stressed the importance of including an EAP in an organisation’s structure if it wants to grow – adding that every organisation should invest in the physical and mental health of its employees, as EAP is a critical and vital component of any business success.

He was speaking at the EAP Africa Summit 2022 under the theme ‘Redefining Employee Mental Well-Being Strategy to Accelerate Business Growth and Increase Bottom Line’.

“Any employer who wants to see growth and see work and happiness develop in their organisations in the absence of EAP on the front-burner of all their HR programmes must forget that they are in business. It should not be seen as a cost at the inception stage, but should be seen as profitable at the end of the day. In the absence of that, I guarantee you nothing works,” he said.

He further urged the general public to actively look out for those in their immediate vicinity, because doing so has a significant positive impact on lives and fosters relationships.

“A very straightforward but effective action is asking people how they are doing. When it comes to employees, they then tend to wonder why they shouldn’t work for you. It might look very small but has a great impact. It elevates the people to a certain level to know that they are being cared for, and that also goes a long way in deepening trust and the relationship,” he added.

Managing Director of Supreme Healthcare Management Services, Patience Osekre, said most businesses within the sub-region are struggling to stay afloat because of employers’ inability to invest in the mental well-being of their employees.

“We look at productivity from that base-line and try and provide those services. We will see how that translates into productivity,” she said.

She indicated that when the country is productive it goes into wealth-creation, and citizens become prosperous.

“We are missing it in the whole of Africa. EAP is not prevalent in just the southern belt of Africa. EAP, has been in existence since the 1940s,” she said.

The World Health Organisation Representative to Ghana, Dr. Francis Chisaka Kasolo, said he is committed to championing the cause of promoting good and sound mental health for employees.

BOST to tap into US$970m oil re-export market

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The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) is positioning itself to take advantage of a GH¢970million oil re-export market in landlocked nations within the sub-region.

BOST, which recorded its first profit for 10 years in 2021 – a return of GH¢161million, said it can fully take advantage of the huge oil re-export market in Burkina Faso and Mali if non-tariff barriers are removed.

These landlocked countries import petroleum products through Ghana, but BOST’s Managing Director, Edwin Provencal, said non-tariff barriers continue to frustrate efforts to fully capitalise the over-US$970million market.

“Our focus for next year is re-exporting, which I’m very passionate about. Our absorption capacity for Ghana is small, but then, there is a US$970million opportunity in Burkina Faso and Mali. We want to tap into that,” Mr. Provencal said at a press briefing hosted by the Ministry of Information in Accra.

To achieve this, however, the company is taking a multi-sectorial approach led by the Ministry of Energy and other partners. Critical to the plan is ensuring that non-tariff barriers which reduce trade are effectively dealt with.

“The benefits of this will be huge; imagine we are getting US$450million out of this export. This is money we do not need the Bank of Ghana or Ministry of Finance to erode our reserves to give to BOST. This is money that will come to BOST as cash that we use to bring in the products.

“So, in the next few years we are going to be heavily-focused on this; and we hope that obstacles in the re-export business will be dealt with,” he said.

BOST has been exporting petroleum products to the two landlocked nations using its Bolgatanga depot in the Upper East Region, close to Burkina Faso; but now wants to go about it in a more deliberate manner under its aggressive export and expansion drive, he narrated.

Cote d’Ivoire remains the country’s main competitor in the sub-region for oil re-export; however, Mr. Provencal said quality products and proximity give Ghana an upper hand.

“Our quality is the best in the sub-region, and a lot of the countries would in the absence of any non-tariff barriers prefer Ghana to pick their products than Cote d’Ivoire.

“The second competitive advantage is Bolgatanga; it is so close to the border. Today, a lot of them [buyers] travel about 900 kilometres to Accra and pick their fuel from the private depots; but if through the National Petroleum Authority we put the right regulations in place, it will limit their travel to Bolgatanga,” he said.

He explained the oil re-export business is one with huge potential to deliver far greater value to the state-owned firm and the economy if deliberately implemented, just as in the case of Singapore.

Even though Singapore is not surrounded by landlocked countries, he said, it has deliberately positioned itself for re-export. In 2021, Singapore’s oil re-export was equivalent to US$40billion.

“Singapore’s total trade is US$1.2trillion out of which US$40billion comes from oil re-export.

“In our case, we are so fortunate that we have a lot of countries which depend on Ghana because we are close to the sea. So, we have to be intentional about our re-export strategy because it can put us on a certain lever.

“The critical thing is to remove the non-tariff barriers so that we can trade effectively, especially within the AfCFTA framework,” he said.

The state-owned company imports, stores and transports petroleum under both social and commercial mandates.

Boys Brigade Ghana Honour Vice President Bawumia

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The Boys Brigade Ghana has conferred an honorary award on the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, for his service in leadership.

At its 70th Anniversary celebration in Accra on Saturday October 15, 2022 the Boys Brigade lauded Dr. Bawumia for his “leadership, commitment and dedicated service, which has earned you this most esteemed office in Ghana.”

The Vice President was a member of the Boys Brigade during his formative years at Sakasaka Primary School, Tamale, and the Brigade, which is a platform for grooming boys to uphold good behaviour, expressed pride in the Vice President for reflecting their credo all of these years.

Delivering his keynote address, Dr. Bawumia, who expressed gratitude for the honour, recalled with fondness, his membership of the Boys Brigade in primary school.

He commended the Boys Brigade Ghana, especially its founders, for the positive impact the group continues to make.

“I have been informed that, currently, the Boys’ Brigade has over 700 Companies and over 38,000 Boys. Together with the Girls’ Brigade, you are over 100,000 in seven Christian denominations of the Country, namely: the Methodist Church, Ghana, the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, the Anglican Church of Ghana, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Ghana, Evangelical Presby Church, Jesus Generation Ministries and the Perez International Church with plans of getting to the other Christian groups and schools,” Dr. Bawumia noted.

“At this point I will like to pay glowing tribute to the officers and boys of the 1st Accra Company for their efforts at grooming boys to become Christian men for Church and Society. I am reliably informed that, a number of persons have passed through the Company to be notable men of church and Society.”

The Vice President also urged the Boys Brigade to continue to uphold its principles in order to continue the nurturing of many future leaders.

“The principle of nurturing and equipping are very fundamental to the survival of every household, group, organisation and nation at large,” Dr. Bawumia said.

“It is our collective responsibility to nurture and train the next generation to be in a position to inherit the things we will leave behind since they are heirs to these things.”

The first Company of the Boys Brigade Ghana was formed 70 years ago in August 1952.

President Akufo-Addo Begins 4-Day Tour Of Ashanti Region

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The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will commence a four-day tour of the Ashanti Region from Sunday 16th October, 2022 to Wednesday, 19th October, 2022, where he will commission projects and inspect ongoing ones and confer with traditional leaders of the area.

Beginning on Sunday, 16th October, President Akufo-Addo will worship at the St. Cyprian Anglican Church in the Subin Constituency. He will proceed to the Manhyia Palace to interact with the Asantehene and Asantehemaa. He will also inspect the Boankra Inland Port Project and proceed to commission the Konongo Municipal Hospital in the Asante Akyem Central Constituency. President Akufo-Addo will then inspect the Agenda 111 Hospital Project at Kokoben and commission the 30kv Kumasi-Bolgatanga Transmission line.  

Day 2 of the tour will begin with a radio interview on Otec FM and the commissioning of a residential complex for Appeals Court Judges at Nhyiaeso. He will depart to inspect Kejetia/Central Market Phase II Project, the Maternal and Children’s Block Project at KATH and the commissioning of the ECG KATH 33/11kv Primary Sub-station all in the Subin constituency. He will attend a durbar of Chiefs at Toase where he will join them to commission the Toase Magistrate Court in the Atwima Nwabiagya South Constituency.

President Akufo-Addo will begin Day 3 of the tour with a meeting with REGSEC and Security Officers at the Headquarters of the Central Command (IDRIS Barracks), followed by a sod cut for the commencement of work on the Suame Interchange. He will proceed to the Nsuta-Kwamang-Beposo constituency to commission a 1D1F Maize Processing Factory and inspect an Agenda 111 project at Nsuta. The President will later attend the Launch and Roll-Out of the New NPP Membership Cards at the Prempeh Assembly Hall in Kumasi.

The final day of the tour will begin with an inspection of the Santasi-Apire road, an Agenda 111 factory at Trede in the Atwima Kwanwoma constituency, the Anwiankwanta-Obuasi Road Project and the Trauma and Accident Hospital at Obuasi. He will attend the final passage rites of Nana Nyarko Aboraa II, Manso Nkwantahemaa, to end the four-day tour of the region.

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