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Gold Fields: We’ll Not Cede Our Concession For Mining

By
KWESI ALFRED ADAMS
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Gold Fields

The Management of Gold Fields Ghana Limited (GFGL), Tarkwa mine, has made it clear that it would not cede or give part of its concession in support of the government’s flagship programme, Community Mining.

According to the company, it was responsible and answerable for its actions as a company, and there is no way it would cede part of its concession in support of small-scale mining.

Mrs. Catherine Kuupol Kuutor, Tarkwa Mine Manager, in answer to this reporter at a media interaction in Tarkwa, on Wednesday, made it explicitly clear that “As a company, we will not lease or give part of our concession for small-scale mining.”

The position of the mine on the subject, however, settles the growing calls by residents of Brahabobome, one of the host communities of the Tarkwa Mine, to give way for an abandoned pit located in the area to be turned into community mining.

The Tarkwa Mine Manager, also made it clear that Gold Fields has given out 85% of the mine on contract with the company, executing only 15% owner mining.

Hailing the decision to go into contract mining, Catherine Kuupol Kuutor, who was recently elevated to the position as first woman Mine Manager, said the decision was in the best interest of the company.

This is because it has saved the mine capital what it would hitherto have invested in the mine. These investments, she said, have been channelled into other profitable ventures.

The media interaction saw journalists tour the mine site, particularly the company’s tailings dam site.

Nathaniel Asifu Mensah, Tailings Unit Manager, tutored journalists on Tailings Management and Responsibilities.

Chris Debrah, Senior Manager on Environment and Laboratories gave an insight into the mine Environmental Management.

Abdel-Razak Yakubu, Executive Secretary of the Gold Fields Foundation, also took journalists through the company’s CSI and shared value.

Intron Health Raises $1.6M in Pre-seed Funding to Build AI for Global Health  

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admin
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Inton Health

Intron Health, a pioneering health tech company that provides clinical speech recognition for over 200 accents spoken in developing countries, starting in Africa, has raised $1.6M in a pre-seed funding round. The round was led by Microtraction, with participation from Plug and Play Ventures, Jaza Rift Ventures, Octopus Ventures, Africa Health Ventures, OpenseedVC, Pi Campus, Alumni Angel, and Baker Bridge Capital. The investment also saw contributions from angel investors from global companies, including Google, CLEAR Global, NYU, and Optum.

With this funding, Intron Health will deepen its research efforts, strengthen cloud-native and on-prem capabilities, and expand distribution. The company will also bolster its team by recruiting tech talent to support product development and market expansion, driving continued progress and breaking further technological barriers.

Voice technology has advanced rapidly globally and now plays a pivotal role in various industries– automating call centre operations, generating social media content, biometric verification, voice bots for mental health and patient education, and eliminating several hours of clinical documentation through ambient listening. Productivity tools such as clinical automatic speech recognition (ASR) are ubiquitous in developed markets. However, with over 3,000 of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages and dialects in Africa, many African and minority languages and accents remain excluded from global speech advancements. Intron Health’s advanced speech recognition platform is bridging this gap by supporting a diverse range of African languages, accents, recognising local names and accurately transcribing medical terminologies online and offline.

Launched in 2020 to digitise healthcare, Intron Founder, Tobi Olatunji, quickly recognised data entry was a massive bottleneck to electronic medical record adoption. Heavy patient traffic meant thousands of keystrokes per day, increasing documentation time and patient wait time, with doctors  sometimes spending over six hours a day on paperwork. The significant additional workload made digitization impractical for already overworked clinicians. To combat these inefficiencies, Intron developed Africa’s first clinical speech recognition platform, which boasts up to 92% accuracy rate on medical terminology with heavy accents. This platform helps doctors across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and most recently Uganda complete documentation seven times faster, significantly accelerating the adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHR) and reducing the administrative burden.

Speaking on the round, Tobi Olatunji, Founder and CEO of Intron Health stated, ‘Having worked as a doctor in Nigeria, I have experienced first-hand the pain points with trying to deliver quality healthcare amidst increasing patient numbers. We are excited about the adoption and growth we’ve seen over the past year, which shows we are addressing a significant need and providing a well overdue solution to a critical problem in the global south. We are not only improving efficiency but also enhancing health outcomes and positively impacting hospital finances. With the backing of prominent global investors who bring deep knowledge and expertise, we are looking forward to our next phase of growth.’

At West Africa’s largest Hospital, the University of College Hospital, Ibadan, the company significantly alleviated the workload of healthcare practitioners, reducing radiology reporting turnaround time from 48 hours to just 20 minutes. Speaking on the impact on operational efficiency and patient care,  the Chief Resident at the Radiology Department, Dr Oluwatosin Fatade, commended the technology’s ability to reduce back-and-forth from multiple report reviews, ultimately cutting patient wait time. “We confirmed it was much better for us than voice-to-text available on Android and iPhones. It is refreshing to finally see great technology that helps doctors amidst several challenges facing healthcare in Nigeria”.  Intron Health now serves over 30 public and private hospitals including Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) Kano, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Hospital (ABATH) Lagos, Babcock Teaching Hospital Ogun, and Meridian Health Group Nairobi, providing care to more than 56,000 patients.

Dayo Koleowo, Partner at Microtraction, shared, “We value companies and entrepreneurs who push boundaries with innovative solutions. Intron Health exemplifies this spirit. Tobi and Olakunle have effectively combined their domain expertise, unique insights, and proven execution skills to achieve impressive traction. We are excited to support Intron Health further and confident in their ability to deliver significant value to the healthcare sector and its stakeholders.”

To solve the massive problem with various accents and languages, Intron Health created Africa’s largest clinical speech dataset, a proprietary warchest of over 3.5 million audio clips across multiple specialties and domains, covering 288 accents from over 18,000 contributors from 29 countries. This vast dataset has enabled the company to train its algorithms for deployment in any hospital with minimal additional model fine-tuning. Accessible via any device through a browser, Intron Health’s speech-to-text real-time AI transcription converts spoken information into text allowing healthcare providers to easily enter data into electronic medical records, saving time and improving productivity.

Leveraging its humongous African data contributor base, Intron Health recently partnered with Google Research, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Digital Square at PATH on the largest study on LLMs in Global health evaluating 20+ LLMS (like OpenAI’s GPT-4o, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude) on 32 medical specialties across 15 countries. The project, tagged AfriMed-QA, creates a pan-African multispecialty benchmark dataset of 20,000 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), Short Answer Questions (SAQs) and Consumer Questions for Medical Question-Answering (QA). Contributed by over 1,000 clinicians across 15 countries, this initiative will identify strengths, weaknesses, and risks of bias or harm in LLMs, and fine-tune culturally attuned models for use in African clinics. The company has also partnered with industry leaders such as NVIDIA and Huggingface to enhance its technology. As a member of the Commonwealth Artificial Intelligence Consortium (CAIC)initiated by the Commonwealth Secretary General, Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, Intron will help extend cutting-edge AI technologies to Commonwealth Small States.

Intron Health’s speech recognition solution is proving transformative even beyond healthcare and the company is keen to explore potential use cases and opportunities for the transformative power of localised voice technology in and beyond Africa.

Bertha Cudjoe donates to school girls on her birthday

By
MAXWELL OFORI
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Bertha Blessing Cudjoe (left) presenting the items to authorities of the school

A choral music enthusiast, Bertha Blessing Cudjoe, has donated sanitary pads to some schoolgirls in the Zakarikorpe Seventh Day Adventist Basic School, in Kasoa.

The donation, which was to celebrate her birthday, benefited over 200 young girls in the school, Basic A and B, who have attained their puberty ages.

On Tuesday, July 16, 2024 the founder of Pad Train, Bertha Blessing Cudjoe, with the support of some friends, visited the Zakarikorpe SDA Basic School located in Kasoa, Oklu Nkwanta, to put smiles on the faces of the young girls with her donation.

MOTIVATION

Speaking to this reporter on what motivated her, Bertha, who has done the birthday donation two times in a roll, said the first in 2023 was a personal donation but she was moved by the outcome and decided to continue.

“It was a personal donation on my birthday [in 2023], but upon getting there, I decided to take it up as a project,” she told The Chronicle.

The Pad Train team in group picture with the beneficiaries who are beaming with smiles

She explained that she realised that the young girls in remote areas, even in the capital, Accra, need help, not to talk of other parts of the country, as the media space is awash with reports on such issues.

According to her, though the teachers of the first school she visited to do her donation were helpful, that was not enough.

In view of that, she thought “an extra hand would not be bad and I was with a pad company at that time, so I took advantage of it.”

SUPPORT

Bertha hopes to continue with the philanthropic work on a larger scale but does not have the financial backing. “I just pray I get a sponsor so I can reach out to more of them [young girls],” she added.

Bertha said she observed during the donation that some of the young girls who are in Junior High School are naive about the stage of their life. She said some had not used the sanitary towel before.

“These are JHS students. So you can imagine the number of years they have been menstruating without pads, not to talk of the health issues that come with it,” she remarked.

She continued that, “People don’t believe it when I tell them some kids are using ‘rags’ for their period.”

She expressed gratitude to her friends for contributing to make the donation possible.

She plans to donate again next year and welcomes support from individuals and corporate organisations.

HOT ISSUES with Africanus Owusu Ansah: NAPO’S MEA CULPA

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admin
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Africanus Owusu Ansah

“The first to apologize is the bravest. The first to forgive is the strongest. The first to forget is the happiest”. – Unknown

In our sojourn to “Agege” some forty years ago, during the heady days of the so-called Rawlings’s Revolution the headmaster at a Grammar School in Ondo State fixed a day for a staff meeting, and he failed to report to the school. When next he fixed a date and he attended the meeting, there was a salvo of questions: First Teacher: Why did you not attend the meeting you fixed for 17.06.83?” Headmaster: “I am sorry” 2nd Teacher: “We can’t understand why you arranged for the meeting on 17.06.83 and you failed to attend? “Headmaster” I’m sorry. Third Teacher: “Why didn’t you attend the last meeting on 17.06.83? Headmaster: Oh that’s why I say I am sorry; after sorrow, what again? No more questions on the headmaster’s absence at the first meeting, and the meeting proceeded.

Etymologically, ‘’sorry’’ and ’sorrow’ are unrelated. ‘Sorry ‘ comes from old English ‘sarig’ and it relates to ‘sore’ (physical) or from proto-Germanic  Sehr’ and Dutch ‘zeer’  “Sorrow” comes from Old English sorh or sorg What is in a state of being ill or sick (mental). This is so far as the comparison of the words ‘sorry’ and ‘sorrow’ goes. But the drift is on Napo’s outburst of ‘your Nkrumah’ when comparing the achievements of Nana Addo with those of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, which has swayed the political pendulum and shifted the focus on to the camp of the Nkrumaists –Napo appeared before Otumfuo at Manhyia Palace that episodic Tuesday The Chronicle of Wednesday, July 10, 2024 reported Otumfuo’s advice to Napo thus; “I have spoken to Napo, my son, behind closed doors and counseled him well. But let me tell you (Napo) in public that don’t let Dr. Bawumia regret his decision in choosing you… Go and serve him (Dr. Bawumia) with humility, loyalty and dedication. Listen to his directives and obey him at all times… Be humble and serve Dr. Bawumia well…” Solomonic words! We heard the King say in Twi: “Me ba yi nkurcfoc bi se w’ani nso adie … Metetee wo no manhunu no saa. Me die mesan wo ti s3 wo nte saa, na mmom k) na emma no nye h)…” The closest translation of “w’ani ns) adie is “you don’t respect “or” you are arrogant”.

Then an hour later at the Jubilee Park Napo, said: “…Since independence no President, Not even your Kwame Nkrumah (err: chuckle) developed Ghana like Akufo-Addo”. Extempore Speech.

The following day he was in the Western North Region before Tetrete Okuamoah Sekyim II, Omanhene of Wassa Amenfi Traditional Area at Wassa Akropong and repeated his claim of Akufo-Addo’s works and added “The nature of Ghanaian politics is that those who speak the truth are labeled disrespectful those who lie are heaped with praises”. He repeated; “When it comes to development not even Nkrumah comes near Akufo Addo. Was it “gbeshi:?

Fiifi Boafo (Spokesperson) insists that “Napo’s statement was his subjective opinion. And one Edwards simply says: “Napo spoke Twi, not Russian. (Spasiba : Russian Thank you: English) Controversial and Unconventional Captain Smart stated on  Oman FM, accusing Napo of “arrogance and disrespect. I now realize I voted for (an “a-word”) in the past elections. Napo is a (a”c-word”) for the NPP. I’m glad J. A. Kufuor  did not attend the embarrassing event”.

The CPP called on His Excellency President Nana Addo to withdraw Napo as Minister of Energy and Bawumia to withdraw him as his Vice – President candidate “for the sake of the country’s image and its long term political and economic fortunes”.

Dr. Arthur Kennedy on Joy News thought. “In his quiet moment (Napo) would have wished he hadn’t said certain things”. Threat to lead a demonstration (of which people) against the Finance Minister putting a vote in the Budget for the victims of the Keta flood… the retort to people calling for the “dumsor” time – table to prepare their own time-table… those who go to College of Education are people with low IQ… Eisssh!

And our brother Kennedy Agyapong said on KSM: ‘I believe in Nkrumah (born as Francis Kofi Nwiah) even though I am an NPP man. He built Akosombo Textiles…” (Akosombo Dam, many estates, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Tema Motorway – voted BBC’s “Man of the Millennium” with statues all over Africa; Tanzania, Uganda, Mali, Guinea, Ethiopia.

And Miracles Aboagye would attempt an “equalization” saying Mahama was in Tanzania and played down the strikes there being incomparable to the strikes in Ghana which had hardened him to call himself “odwan funu – a dead goat). And Yamin’s claim that Mahama was the greatest of all Heads of State Ghana had ever had.

There were threats from various personalities and groups calling on Napo to “apologise” And he did apologise… On July 12, an unsigned statement was issued on his letterhead… “I DIDN’T MEAN TO DENIGRATE FORMER PRESIDENT, DR. KWAME NKRUMAH OR ANY OTHER PRESIDENT”. He stated “My statement last Tuesday, 9th July, in Kumasi on the performance of President Akufo Addo has elicited varied reactions.. The statement reflects my personal opinion about President Akufo Addo’s impact relative to other Presidents we have had. I wish to emphasize that I never meant to disrespect our former President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, or any of our former Heads of State, including my own grand – uncle and mentor Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor. I note the concerns raised after my statement. I apologise sincerely and regret the discomfort caused”.

“A nation that does not honour its heroes will not long endure” so says Abraham Lincoln. Winston Churchill puts it this way: “A nation that fails to honour its heroes, soon will have no heroes to honour”.

So, we would naturally expect those “hit” by Napo’s unsavoury comment to accept the apology, but no… Kwesi Pratt who wouldn’t have selected Napo as running mate in the first place, asks: “Is this Ghana” ? And Kevin Taylor compares the “decency” at the NDC’s showing of Naana Opoku Agyemang.

As Catholics, we are used to the “Confiteor” (Confession) said during the Penitential Act at the beginning of Mass. “Confiteor Deo omnopotenti, et vobis fratres (et sorores) quia peccaris nimis cogitatione, verbo, opere et omission: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa…” (I confess to Almighty God and to you, my brothers (and sisters) that I have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault…” Political commentators should assess the “political impact” of what their mentors say or do even the minutest action is not missed by members of the other party. Are we interested in the “floating voters”? (those whose votes “swing” from one party to another)?

Having lived in Half Assini and Elubo, we can confidently say that Nzemas are naturally slow to anger. They have internalized the dictum in John 1:11 “He came unto his own and his own received him not”.

What every NPP member must know is that we are in the political propaganda stretch and whoever goofs will be providing fodder to the opposition parties to feed on. It may be too late to do damage control.

africanusoa@gmail.com

Amangoase-Adumasa community assists Forest Officers to arrest 13 illegal miners

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admin
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Abraham Essel, Atwima Nwabiagya District Forest Service Division Manager

The people of the Adumasa community of the Atwima-Mponua District, in collaboration with the Forest Service Division of the Ghana Forestry Commission, in the Atwima-Nwabiagya District, have arrested 13 suspected illegal miners in the Jimira Forest Reserve.

The suspects, Daniel Bafaabu, Kofi Dagarti, Mohammed Iliasu, Stephen Arthur, Alhassan Moro, Solomon Adoba, Emmanuel Vorsah, Gideon Jamaa, Fuseini Miro, Simon Tetteh, Appiah Kubi, Iddrisu Osman and Kwabena Adosu were apprehended excavating the forest reserve, an extension of the Forest Service Division at Adumasa.

They were arrested while engaging in illegal mining with pickaxes, shovels and a handy gold-searching machine in the Jimira Forest Reserve, which is currently under afforestation management by 2IIs Company Limited (a private management) through a public-private partnership (PPP).

The suspects have since been remanded into police custody by the Nkawie Circuit Court, presided over by His Lordship Robert Addo and would reappear in court on August 6, 2024.

Mr. Abraham Essel, District Manager of the Forest Service Division, Atwima-Nwabiagya District, told The Chronicle that for some time now illegal miners have been operating in a part of the reserve that has been allocated to a private plantation developer, hence the collaboration between the community, the division and the private developer to put measures in place to stop their activities.

Mr. Essel said the suspects, who are not natives of the community, were arrested on July 18, 2024 with the assistance of the Adumasa community members.

Explaining further, Mr. Essel indicated that the suspects, numbering about 40, usually come into the forest reserve via unapproved routes at night, armed with weapons.

He commended the people of Adumasa for their involvement and assistance in arresting the suspects and also protecting the forest reserve, adding that they are worthy of emulation by other communities dwelling on the fringes of forest reserves in the country.

The forest manager assured that forestry personnel would not relent in their efforts to protect the forests from activities of illegal miners in the communities.

Mr. Essel expressed the appreciation of the Chief Executive of the Ghana Forestry Commission, Mr. John Allotey, to Amangoase-Adumasa for their commitment, involvement and support of the Adumasa community in protecting the forest reserve.

He announced that a delegation from the Forestry Commission will be sent to make a presentation to the community on Friday, August 26, 2024.

Meanwhile, Mr. Benjamin Gyedu, Concession Manager of 2IIs Company Limited, has also recounted the menace of the operations of the illegal miners whose activities endangered the growth of the trees.

Mr. Gyedu bemoaned that their activities were detrimental to the growth of the trees and needed to be restrained else investment in the plantation projects would come to naught.

From Oswald Pius Freiku, Nkawie

Response from Moringa to Former CEO’s Allegations

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admin
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The factory

Moringa SCA SICAR/Moringa Mauritius Africa (‘Moringa’) is deeply concerned by the numerous publications in print and online media of allegations made by Issa Ouedraogo (‘Issa’) against it. The allegations deliberately misrepresent both Moringa’s business practices and legal proceedings that have unfolded between Moringa as investors, and Issa. Issa has maliciously designed these publications to cast aspersions on Moringa’s integrity in the business marketplace and sadly, on the ethical conduct of Moringa’s legal representatives, Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah (‘BELA’). Moringa therefore wishes to address Issa’s allegations and to correct the inaccuracies and misrepresentations made to the public.

Presentation
Moringa is an investment fund launched in 2013 that aims to finance agroforestry projects in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America to support the development of sustainable agricultural value chains and reduce poverty in often isolated rural zones. In Africa, Moringa has invested in agribusinesses to reinforce their financial structure, supply chain and modernize their plant. In Ghana, B-Bovid buys fresh fruits bunches from smallholders and processes them into red crude palm oil for the local market.

Investment
In 2018, Moringa invested over ₡24,000,000 (the equivalent of $5,000,000 at the time) in B-Bovid Limited (‘B-Bovid’), a palm oil processing company that Issa founded. At the time, B-Bovid owed money a bank, and both B-Bovid and Issa’s properties, which had been used to secure the debt, were to be sold to pay the debt. Moringa and Issa Ouedraogo therefore entered into an Investment Agreement and a Shareholder’s Agreement, for Moringa to invest in B-Bovid and become a large majority shareholder.

BELA’S First Instruction
Moringa’s Paris-based lawyers engaged BELA to provide legal advice on the investment to ensure compliance with Ghanaian law. BELA’s role was confined to conducting due diligence on B-Bovid, reviewing transaction documents, and amending B-Bovid’s constitution to reflect the terms of the agreements between Moringa and Issa. BELA did not negotiate the commercial terms of the transaction or the investment documents between Moringa and Issa Ouedraogo.

Issa’s Mismanagement
Moringa invested in B-Bovid on the basis of a business plan set out in the Investment Agreement and Shareholders’ Agreement, under which B-Bovid was to meet specified financial and operational targets under Issa’s leadership as CEO. However, after Moringa’s investment, B-Bovid (under Issa’s leadership), consistently failed to meet the agreed operational and financial targets, which was the purpose of the investment.

Issa failed to properly manage B-Bovid and placed the company on the verge of insolvency. Moringa then discovered that Issa’s mismanagement had started well before Moringa’s investment, so that the representations made by Issa, and on which Moringa had based their investment, were inaccurate. Nevertheless, in an effort to ensure the sustainability of B-Bovid, Moringa was compelled to extend a loan to B- Bovid, in addition to the investment already made into the company.

Further Investment
In 2019, Moringa engaged BELA to advise on a debt investment in B-Bovid, a EUR 1,200,000 Convertible Loan Agreement with B-Bovid to enable the company make up for shortfalls in the 2019 financial year, provide an opportunity for growth in its operations in the 2020 financial year and also, to finance the company’s needs as budgeted in the business plan. Moringa simultaneously entered into a Share Charge Agreement with Issa and B-Bovid, under which Issa charged all his present and future shares in B-Bovid as security for the loan.

Issa’s Removal as CEO
Despite the fresh capital injection, B-Bovid, under Issa’s leadership, again failed to meet all the key operational and financial targets required under the business plan. This was wholly attributable to Issa’s underperformance and mismanagement of B- Bovid. Indeed, it soon became clear to Moringa that Issa Ouedraogo simply lacked the requisite skills to run B-Bovid as a profitable business. This led to discussions about appointing a new and better qualified CEO, so that Issa would take on the role of President of B-Bovid but on the same salary he enjoyed as CEO, and also maintain his role as director and Chairman of B-Bovid’s board. Issa however refused to resign as CEO, and eventually, was duly removed by B-Bovid’s board. Issa’s removal was lawful and was in B-Bovid’s best interest. B-Bovid’s board also subsequently removed Issa Ouedraogo as an authorised signatory to the company’s bank accounts because he had announced that he would use any means, including illegitimate actions, to challenge the board’s decision.

Issa’s Misbehaviour
Following Issa’s removal as CEO, he refused to vacate his office and stationed armed security personnel at B-Bovid’s premises with instructions to prevent the new CEO and Moringa’s representatives from accessing premises. He forbade B-Bovid’s management personnel from communicating with Moringa’s appointed directors and effectively engaged in a forcible takeover of the company’s operations, managing/operating B-Bovid to the total exclusion of Moringa, its majority shareholder. He directed B-Bovid’s customers to pay proceeds from the company’s sales into his personal bank accounts and took a number of unilateral decisions without consulting or involving Moringa. Eventually, Issa unilaterally shut down the Company and purported to place the company’s workers on redundancy, with no compensation. Moringa has always tried to ensure continuity of operations and to support B-Bovid’s employees. Moringa continued to pay workers’ salaries for a year while operations were halted by Issa.

Arbitral proceedings
1. On 16 June 2021, Moringa instructed BELA to institute arbitration proceedings against Issa, pursuant to the provisions of the Shareholders’ Agreement and the Investment Agreement. This was after Moringa had extensively attempted amicable settlement with Issa, who refused to cooperate. The reliefs sought by Moringa include a declaration that Issa was validly removed as CEO and a perpetual injunction restraining him from holding himself out or acting as the CEO of the Company. Moringa also filed an injunction application to prevent Issa from interfering in B-Bovid’s management during the arbitration proceedings. The High Court granted the injunction, restraining both Issa and the new CEO from interfering in the administration and management of B-Bovid until arbitration proceedings had concluded. Subsequently, the Court appointed a Receiver/Manager as interim CEO until the arbitration had been determined. Despite the injunction and the appointment of a Receiver/Manager, Issa continued to refuse to allow Moringa’s appointed directors access to the Company’s premises. The High Court appointed Receiver took over a factory where some of the critical machines, equipment and vehicles had been burnt into ashes. The Receiver was therefore compelled to establish a permanent security detail at B-Bovid’s factory premises to ensure safety and security, because lssa continues to threaten workers and farmers of B-Bovid.
Enforcement of Share Charge Agreement
2. In April 2021, Moringa instructed BELA to assist with enforcing the Share Charge Agreement because B-Bovid had breached the loan agreement. BELA, acting on those instructions, enforced the Share Charge Agreement and facilitated the transfer of Issa’s shares to Moringa, in accordance with the Borrowers and Lenders Act, 2020 (Act 1052). This is because under article 14 of the Shareholders’ Agreement, that Agreement became automatically terminated and extinguished Issa’s right to serve on the company’s board of directors. The shareholders of B-Bovid therefore held an Extraordinary General Meeting in 2022 to approve a new constitution, which removed all references to the Shareholders Agreement, since it no longer existed.
Unfounded Allegations Against BELA
3. Similarly, the accusations of unethical behaviour and conflicts of interest against BELA are without merit. BELA has filed a full response to Issa’s allegations with the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council, which shows that Issa’s allegations are unfounded and that BELA has strictly complied with legal and professional ethical obligations. What Issa is trying to do, is to give himself the power to dictate who our lawyers should be and how they should comply with our instructions. That cannot be allowed.

Moringa’s Commitment
4. Moringa reaffirms its commitment to ethical business practices and the pursuit of justice. We entreat the discerning public to ignore Issa Ouedraogo’s smear campaign against Moringa and trust in the legal process to unveil the truth. Moringa remains dedicated to resolving the ongoing disputes constructively, in accordance with legal standards, and in the best interest of B-Bovid and all involved parties.
5. After the arbitration, Moringa will continue developing B-Bovid’s activities in Ghana as part of its poverty reduction strategy, which is Moringa’s priority.

NPP MPs on December Elections: Mahama must debate Bawumia!

By
MAXWELL OFORI
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Mahama and Bawumia

The Majority Caucus in Parliament is calling for a debate between the two leading presidential candidates, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and John Dramani Mahama.

According to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament, the two candidates engaging in a presidential debate will enable the electorate to make informed decisions in the December 7 elections.

The call was made by the Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, in an interview with the press in Parliament.

The Effutu MP, who is the leader of government business in the House, is confident of the achievements of the Akufo-Addo government, arguing that the debate will reveal the party that is ready to serve.

Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin said, “For Ghanaians to really know who is who, who is ready to address the challenges in the economy, he (John Mahama) should join in debate.”

“Let the two of them debate on the issues; nobody should run away from the debate and it is only through a debate that we will know who is truly ready to run the economy of this country.”

The Majority Leader continued that “We, the Majority Caucus, are by this calling on President John Dramani Mahama, former President of Ghana and Flagbearer of the NDC, not to run away from the debate. Not to stay away from debating Dr. Bawumia.

“We are not afraid of the facts and the figures, we are not afraid of our track record, we know that we have not achieved a hundred percent success, we concede that there are challenges, but we are far better in terms of governance,” he added.

ISSUE BASED

The position of the NPP MPs is that their candidate is well fortified to tell the story of the government and the party, based on facts and figures.

He said that the NPP’s campaign machinery does not believe in politics of insults and name-calling, but on comparing track records.

He stated that, “We don’t believe in politics of name-calling, politics of insults, politics of insinuations and all. We believe that the facts can speak for themselves. And the only way to give Ghanaians the opportunity to compare and to look at which of the two parties really have them at heart is for us to have a debate.

“So, the NDC should not run away from any debate, there should be no excuses for debate. Debate is the only means of determining who is best suited to run the country from 2025,” Mr Afenyo-Markin said.

NO DEBATE

The call for a presidential debate between the two leading candidates surfaced just after the Biden and Trump encounter in the CNN presidential debate.

The flag bearer of the ruling NPP has openly challenged his main contender, John Dramani Mahama to a debate, but it has been shot down by assigns of the latter.

The Spokesperson of the former president, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, sees no point in her boss debating the NPP presidential candidate.

She is not alone on the call, as some MPs on the Minority Caucus have shared the same positions, especially following the call from the Majority Leader.

For the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the presidential candidate of the NPP, Dr. Bawumia, is only fit to debate the minority spokespersons on the finance and economy, Isaac Adongo, Kweku Ricketts-Hagan and Thomas Nyarko Ampem.

ATTEMPTS

Last week, news broke that the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) was planning a presidential debate. But the office of former president Mahama rubbished the move, stating that the NDC was not aware of the plans and that it would not take part in any debate.

Also, a policy think tank, IMANI Africa, announced plans to hold a presidential debate. It said that invitations had been sent to the offices of the two candidates.

Though the office of Dr. Bawumia is yet to respond, that of Mr. Mahama had responded, but IMANI Africa did not reveal the content.

$60m UHAS phase II project ready after Akufo-Addo cut sod in 2021

By
MAXWELL OFORI
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The UHAS phase II project

Three years since the groundbreaking ceremony to commence the construction of Phase II of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) in Ho, the facility is ready for commissioning.

The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Friday, September 10, 2021 broke ground for work to start on the $60 million project.

Phase II is designed to house the Central Administration of the University and the School of Nursing and Midwifery (SONAM).

The project also includes classroom blocks, a library, laboratories, an auditorium, a student activity centre and a cafeteria.

These additions are expected to enhance the university’s capability to deliver top-tier education and foster an environment conducive to learning and innovation.

The design and planning phases saw extensive collaboration between the China Urban Construction Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. (CUCD) and the technical staff of UHAS, ensuring that the project met the highest standards.

The government says the project symbolises not only an expansion in infrastructure but also a commitment to advancing healthcare education and services in the region.

The UHAS phase II project

FUNDING

The commencement of work on the second phase of the UHAS project followed the signing of the exchange of notes on January 11, 2019, between then Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, and the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana to secure $60 million for the construction.

The signing of the financial agreement marked the beginning of the journey for the university, setting the stage for a transformative project that would elevate the university’s stature and impact.

President Akufo-Addo’s administration provided GH¢6.2 million in counterpart funding for essential preliminary works.

These works included extending electricity, municipal water supply, and constructing necessary infrastructure, underscoring the government’s dedication to supporting educational development and infrastructure.

Also, the first phase of the University Project was funded by the Chinese Government through its development agency, China AID, at a cost of 104,850,000 RMB (Chinese Yuan), equivalent to approximately $16 million.

The facilities present at the time included an administration block, classrooms, a library, laboratories, an auditorium, a student activity centre, and a cafeteria for the School of Basic and Biomedical Sciences.

HONORARY DEGREE

In a related development, the university is set to honour President Akufo-Addo with an Honorary Doctor of Science degree (honoris causa).

According to a statement from the University of Health and Allied Sciences, in Ho, the honour is in recognition of President Akufo-Addo’s significant contributions to science education in Ghana.

The special congregation ceremony is scheduled to take place on July 29 at the university’s Cedi Auditorium, Main Campus, Sokode-Lokoe.

In a press release signed by Mrs. Maria Gwira, Director of Public Affairs, UHAS announced that the University Council approved the decision to honour President Akufo-Addo for his exemplary leadership in making science education more accessible to Ghanaian families.

The statement also noted the establishment of several STEM-focused senior High Schools across the country as part of the president’s educational initiatives as the reason for the recognition, as well as the completion of the UHAS China-aided Phase 2 expansion project.

1,000 homes built for security agencies since 2017 -KON

By
MAXWELL OFORI
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The Minister for Works and Housing speaking at the commissioning ceremony

The Minister for Works and Housing, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has indicated that the Akufo-Addo government, since 2017, has delivered a total of 1,000 homes to the security services in the country.

According to the minister, the 320 new homes for the police brought the number to 1000. He said this on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, at the commissioning of the new housing units for the Ghana Police Service at the training school in Tesano, Accra.

The 320-housing unit for the police is the third phase of the security services housing project initiated by the government.

The Minister for Works and Housing said that, “this third phase of the security services housing project, the commissioning of which we are witnessing today, entails the construction of 320 homes for the Ghana Police Service.

“Mr. President, it brings to a total of 1,000 homes for the security services alone, since 2017, and we’re grateful to you, Sir, for this intervention. 1,000 homes for the security services alone since 2017.”

OTHERS

The Minister explained that those 1,000 homes are exclusive of the 1,700 affordable homes constructed by the Tema Development Corporation at Kpone, being occupied by health workers, doctors, nurses and other public servants.

He said they are also exclusive of the 405 homes by the National Home Ownership in Community 22, and are also exclusive of the 822 homes that the State Housing Company has put up in various locations since 2017.

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah further said that the 1,000 new homes are also separate from the nearly 600 homes for civil servants currently under redevelopment through the Bungalow Redevelopment Programme in Accra, led by the Ministry of Works and Housing.

They are also different from the 8,000 homes that work has commenced on in the Pokuase enclave and the 200 extra homes that the State Housing Company is constructing in Amrahia.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Concluding his remarks, the minister highlighted the other developments the government was undertaking in the housing sector.

He remarked that the government was pursuing tasks at his ministry, including securing funding to complete stalled projects, including the Koforidua affordable housing project, the Saglemi project and the Adentan SHC project.

The second task is that the ministry is fast tracking work on ongoing projects, citing that currently, infrastructure works on drainage and road works have advanced and work on some of the foundations and blocks has commenced in Pokuase.

He mentioned that work on the 150 new homes by the National Home Ownership Fund has already exceeded 50 percent completion in less than four months since commencement.

He said they have also completed some of the redeveloped bungalows and will soon commission them for use by public servants.

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah also mentioned that phase two of the Kwabenya project is currently under development.

He continued that a new framework to provide the housing market with some equilibrium through incentives for the private sector is being worked on between the Ministries of Finance and Housing and awaiting the approval of the President for work to commence on its implementation.

“Finally, Mr. President, the reorganization of the National Home Ownership Fund to stimulate cheaper construction finance and mortgages for the future is also underway,” he noted.

IMPACT

In his address at the commissioning ceremony, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the project will have a positive impact on the police community.

He said it will serve as a model for other security services and illustrate dedication to delivering high-quality housing solutions that meet current standards of comfort, sustainability, and safety.

“The benefits of this ambitious project extend beyond providing shelter. It also improves the quality of life for our police officers and their families, creating a sense of security and stability that I am confident will be reciprocated in their wholehearted enthusiasm for duty,” he remarked.

LEGACIES

The Inspector General of Police, George Akuffo Dampare, in a welcome address highlighted what he described as some legacies of President Akufo-Addo in the police service.

He mentioned that the Akufo-Addo government has provided volume of logistics, including “over 4000 motorbikes spread across the length and breadth of this country.”

He also said that the police have been able to establish 181 regional formed police units made up of an average of 35 police officers with vehicles and motorcycles across the country.

“We can say that Ghana is at peace with itself when it comes to security, Mr. President, all because of you.”

Mining Sector contributes over GH¢34b to GDP in last three years 

By
JENNIFER AMBOLLEY
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Digniatries and participants at the launch in a group photo

The mining sector has contributed GH¢34.579 billion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 2020 to 2022.

The sector declined from GH¢11.449 billion in 2020 to GH¢10.105 billion in 2021, representing a decrease of 11.7 percent and increased to GH¢13.025 billion in 2022, representing a 28.9 percent climb.

This was contained in the Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (GHEITI) report for mining, oil and gas, launched on Wednesday, July 24, 2024 in Accra.

The publication brings to 29, the total number of reports published since Ghana acceded to the initiative, made up of 18 mining and 11 oil and gas reports.

The report also revealed that in 2021, the country’s gold production shrunk by 91.7 percent, mainly due to the introduction of a 3 percent withholding tax on small-scale production of unprocessed precious minerals.

The government’s decision to half the rate of the impost, from 3 percent to 1.5 percent, spurred a recovery reflected in the 569-percentage increase in official records on the small-scale sector’s output in 2022.

Relative to the other sectors, the mining sector was the fifth largest economic activity by value in 2021 and the third in 2022.

Mineral export proceeds in 2021 and 2022 represent 36 percent and 39 percent of total merchandise exports respectively, which were more than the contributions of the other major forex earners, such as cocoa and crude oil.

Oil and Gas

On oil and gas, the upstream oil and gas sector contributed 4.89 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Ghana, 6.91 percent of total government revenue and 7.03 percent of domestic revenues in 2021.

The report also indicated that a total of 11,615,029 bbls of crude oil was exported by GNPC in respect of CAPI and royalties for an amount of US$496,286, 197.87.

Moreover, the other partners exported 55,843,177 bbls of crude in 2022. Thus, the total crude oil exports for 2022 as reported by the Bank of Ghana was 67,458,206 bbls valued at US$2,910.6 million. This translates into 31.19 percent of total merchandise exports in 2022.

In 2021, the total value of crude oil export was US$3,947.73million which accounted for 26.81 percent of gross merchandise exports

Recommendations

The report also recommended transparency in the operations of Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF).

Per the report, as a sovereign wealth fund, MIlF has the potential to catalyse national development through investments in the mining sector, with emphasis on forward and backward linkages.

Similarly, MIlF’s investments in gold mining, lithium and solar salt production could lead to greater value retention for the country.

However, the criteria for identifying or selecting a private sector partner is not publicly available, and the selection process is not open to public scrutiny.

To avoid the risk of state capture and cronyism, GHEITI urges MIlF to open up its processes for identifying or selecting partners in whose businesses it invests its resources.

As much as possible the processes must be open and competitive, and where support for small-scale operators is concerned, the over-riding consideration should be, those whose operations are formalised, meet all statutory obligations, and upholding the highest sustainability standards. That way, the Fund will be helping to raise role models for others to emulate.

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