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Five ordered to vacate Nkwatia Palace today

By
BERNICE BESSEY
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Court

Nana Kissi Boadu Toasakyi, Nana Osei Antwi Boasiako, Samuel Boamah Danso, Nana Osafo Kantanka II and Nana Osei Tutu Ababio have been ordered by a Koforidua High Court to vacate the Nkwatia Palace today.

The court, presided over by Justice Gifty Dekyem, gave the five, who were Respondents in a contempt application, three days to vacate the Nkwatia Palace.

Per the court’s order, the three days would end at midnight of today, June 5, 2023.The court further awarded cost GH¢20,000.00 against the Respondents.

The order follows a contempt application filed against them in gross disrespect of ruling of the Judicial Committee of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs.

The instant application was initiated by Nana Agyekum Benefo II, Nana Akuamoah Dwamena II, Nana Obuor Gyan II, Nana Kissi Boadu II, Nana BaahOware II, Nana OpuniDanso and Nana Yaw Asante.

According to the Applicants, the Respondents installed Nkosuohene, which was followed by a press conference at Nkwatia, in defiance of the Judicial Committee’s orders.

Meanwhile, the court held that the Respondents were aware of the terms of the order restraining them from having anything to do with the Palace, pending the determination of an appeal.

Hitherto, the court noted that there was no evidence suggesting the determination of the appeal against the Committee’s order on March 24, 2021.

The court said even if the appeal was determined, there was no evidence to suggest that the order of March 24, 2021 had been set aside or declared invalid when the respondents held an installation ceremony and a press conference on 30th October, 2021 at the Palace, contrary to the terms of the order.

In respect of the above, the court added that the Respondents’ actions were not made in good faith, adding “They simply turned a blind eye to the order and did what they were restrained from doing. This can only be a wilful disobedience of the order.”

According to the court, it is satisfied that the applicants have adduced evidence to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Thus, they have demonstrated that there was an order, which the Respondents knew what they were restrained from doing, and that they (respondents) failed to comply with the terms of the order and that the disobedience was wilful.

It said although the Respondents put up a defence that their conduct was consistent with the 3rd Respondent’s (Samuel Boamah Danso) function as a chief that could not prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The court also dismissed the respondents’ claims that the court has no jurisdiction over the instant case, as well as the Applicants lacking capacity to institute the suit.

However, the court did not grant the Applicants prayer to commit the Respondents to prison for wilful defiance and disobedience of the ruling of Judicial Committee.

Nevertheless, the court held that the Applicants succeeded in this action, adding the Respondents are liable for contempt.

“Respondents undertake to purge themselves by vacating the Nkwatia Palace. Respondents are hereby ordered to vacate the Nkwatia Palace within 3 days, ending midnight on Monday June 5, 2023. Costs of GH¢20, 000.00 is awarded against Respondents,” it stated.

NPA seizes 181,000 litres of crude oil from smugglers on high seas

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admin
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Mrs. Sandra Aidoo

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has confiscated 73,000 litres of crude oil and 108,000 litres of diesel from smugglers on the high seas in the Western Region.

The separate operations were led by the Navy and Marine Police between January and April 2023.The Western Regional Manager of NPA, Mrs. Sandra Aidoo made this known at a media engagement in Takoradi on Thursday.

“We initially confiscated 108,000 litres of diesel on the high seas in January. The smugglers were arrested and are currently standing trial at the law court. The other was in April when 73,000 litres of crude oil was confiscated, “she said.

Mrs Aidoo in a group photograph with the journalists

Mrs. Aidoo said the suspected smugglers of the diesel were being prosecuted in court and indicated that the NPA would determine what happens to the product after the final determination of the case.

“We still have the product at our disposal, and we shall determine what happens to it after the final determination of the case in court. For the crude oil, the smugglers bolted, so we have transported the product to Accra, and the public will know what happens to it,” she added.

Mrs. Aidoo stated that the activities of the smugglers were affecting the quality of fuel distributed at the pumps since some filling station owners purchase the products at cheap prices at the blind side of the Authority.

“These cases are very rampant in the Western Region, and it is affecting our operations. These products are not taxed and the smugglers sell them directly to the stations. The quality of such products cannot be guaranteed as well, so we should not allow them into the market,” she said.

The media engagement organized by the Communications Department was to highlight NPA’s activities in the petroleum downstream industry and respond to industry-related questions from the media.

Mrs. Aidoo said the NPA had also, in collaboration with security agencies, closed down and revoked the licenses of four filling stations in the region for failing to meet the Authority’s operational requirements.

“As part of our monitoring exercises, four retail outlets that did not meet our score were closed down. They are not operating as I speak because they do not meet our requirements,” she said.

In her presentation, the Legal Manager at the Legal Directorate of NPA, Ms. Farida Ali-Musah, said the Authority had been granted prosecutorial powers by the Attorney General to prosecute crimes in the oil supply chain in the country.

She said the Executive Instrument (EI) 378, which the Authority obtained in 2020, was to enable the NPA to ensure successful prosecution of cases in the petroleum downstream industry and stem the tide of crime in the sector.

Ms. Ali-Musah mentioned that engaging in an activity in the downstream petroleum industry without NPA certified licensed, misapplication of the prescribed petroleum pricing formula and tampering with Bulk Road Vehicle (BRV) tracking and volume monitoring are some of the crimes that would be prosecuted.

Others are false statements and withholding of material information, obstruction, or interference with investigation and selling unmarked fuel.

Taking his turn, the Head of Planning of NPA, Mr Dominic Aboagye, said  80 per cent of the country’s fuel consumption was dependent on importation while 20 per cent was produced locally.

He said the government and the private sector were making efforts, including the construction of a refinery by a private entity to improve local production of fuel products.

Welcoming the media on behalf of the Board and Management of NPA, the Corporate Affairs Director, Mrs. Maria Edith Oquaye said last year’s media engagements across the country focused on pricing and quality of petroleum products and indicated that this year’s sensitisation was on the processes in the supply of petroleum products and the requirements for siting filling stations.

For his part, a member of the Governing Board of NPA and Chairman of the Consumer Services sub-committee, Mr Kwami Sefa Kayi, lauded the NPA for the sensitisation drive and stressed that the media engagement was to get journalists well informed about the operations of NPA and communicate same to the public.

NPP primary is not a two-horse race –Nuworsu

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KEN-WUUD Nuworsu presenting the presidential primary nomination forms to Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto at his Campaign office on Monday, May 29, 2023.

A former Volta Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and now joint Campaign Manager of the Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto Campaign Team, KEN-WUUD Nuworsu, says the former Food and Agriculture Minister must win the upcoming NPP Presidential Primary slated for November 4, 2023.

He believes Dr Akoto is well-positioned to galvanise the grassroots base of the party, bring everybody on board, and present a formidable team to win the 2024 elections.

He noted that the UP tradition cannot go into the 2024 general elections with a limping leg and expect to break the 8-year governance cycle the country has been experiencing in the Fourth Republic.

He has, therefore, cautioned those who believe the upcoming Presidential primary is a two-horse race between Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen to start revising their notes, because Dr Akoto will cause an upset.

Interacting with Paul Adom Otchere on the Good Evening Ghana show on Metro TV on Thursday, June 1, 2023, KEN-WUUD, who is also a former Deputy Minister of Manpower and Employment during the Kufuor Administration, stressed that as a true patriot of the NPP, Dr. Akoto has the wherewithal to lead the party to victory.

Besides his track record, he has proven that he is the best candidate among the lot to lead the NPP and Ghana.

“It is not a two-horse race at all. We have been on the ground. It is one thing being on the ground and another being out there making noise. You remember Kufuor’s strategy during the 2000 election.

“He was underrated because he was not in the full glare of the media. He had gone underground and emerged the winner. That is the same strategy Dr. Afriyie Akoto is also employing”, he noted.

He added “he has done his groundwork; we have assessed his work and in this game, you have to assess yourself, your strength against your other opponents before you can strike your chest and say I want to go into this contest. And we are in the contest to win”.

Given his background as the son of the legendary Baffour Akoto, one of the Founding Fathers of the UP tradition, Dr. Akoto understands grassroots mobilization. He has, in the process, toured the length and breadth of the country on countless occasions listening to the concerns of the grassroots to enable him to devise a mechanism to address those concerns.

One major challenge he came across during those tours is the lack of employment opportunities for the teeming youth.

Having successfully executed the government’s flagship Planting for Food and Jobs Program, KEN-WUUD, also a Spokesperson for the campaign, strongly believes that Dr. Akoto is the ideal candidate who truly connected with the party and government to address the myriads of challenges confronting the grassroots party faithful.

He argued strongly that a vote for Dr. Akoto is a victory for Ghana since he is the only candidate who could turn the fortunes of the country around using agriculture as the fulcrum to generate more revenue to develop the other sectors of the economy.

China to construct 9 projects for GAF

By
BERNICE BESSEY
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The Chinese Ambassador, Nitiwul inspecting drawings for the project

The Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul and the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency (HE) Lu Kun have cut sod for construction of nine building projects across four different locations for the Ghana Armed Forces.

His Excellency (HE) Lu Kun delivering his address

The projects are being sponsored by the Chinese government, as part of military aid to improve the infrastructure of the Ghana Armed Forces.

The projects, which will be built by the China Railway No.5 Engineering Group Company Limited (CR5), will be sited at the Army Recruit Training School at Shai Hills, the Naval Training Command at Nutekpor-Sogakope, Air Force Training School at Takoradi and the Battle Training Camp, Bundase.

The projects will provide critical assets to enhance training levels, improve accommodation conditions and meet the operational needs of GAF personnel.

The Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, speaking at the ceremony stated that the China Military Aid Gratis Project has come at a better time to help GAF in solving its infrastructure needs since GAF will need additional accommodation for 12,000 troops within the next five years.

The official sod-cutting ceremony

The Minister for Defence commended H.E Lu Kun, the Chinese Military and all stakeholders for ensuring the commencement of the projects.

The Chinese Ambassador, in his address, expressed gratitude to all Ghanaians and Chinese officialswho facilitated the implementation of the projects.

He congratulated the Army Peace Operations Training School (APOTS) as the first Training School in West Africa to receive United Nations (UN) Certification to train personnel for Peace Support Operations.

H.E Lu Kun stated that Ghana was the second country in the Sub-Saharan whose diplomatic relations with China has been continuously consolidated and cooperative in various fields.

He revealed that through various means such as Port calls, joint exercises and training, China has provided strong support to African countries in strengthening National Defence and launched an assistance programme to help train African Military personnel in the area of Law and Order, UN Peacekeeping missions, Anti-Piracy and Counter-terrorism.

He further commended Ghana for being ranked in the top ten (10) Troop Contributing Countries to UN Missions and expanding its military to defend the nation against internal and external threats.

Adomako Buoho landlords& residents petition President,Otumfuo…over siting of a quarry in community 

By
SEBASTIAN R. FREIKU
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Collins Asamoah raising concerns at a press conference

Landlords and Residents of Adomako Buoho, constituting themselves as Krobo New Site Landlords Association, have petitioned the President, Nana Akufo-Addo and the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to stop the proposed siting of a Quarry by one Mr. Adu Tutu, within the community of over 3,000 residents.

Messrs Kwame Boakye, Henry Dapaah and Miss Mabel Sarpong, Chairman, Vice chairman and Secretary respectively of the Landlords Association, claimed the operation of the proposed quarry would cause havoc to buildings of the fast growing community due to the blasting of dynamite.

Women joined in the demonstration against the siting of the quarry

The Petitioners accused the District Chief Executive for Afigya Kwabre South of encouraging the siting of the quarry by one Mr. Adu Tutu Gyamfi of Adu2 Quarry and threatened to resist it, and the exploitation of the people at the expense of their livelihood.

Last Wednesday, the residents, led by one Collins Asamoah, staged a demonstration in the community in support of the position of the landlords.

Mr. Asamoah said they would not allow the siting and operation of the intended quarry because it would be hazardous to their health.

According to Mr Asamoah, Mr. Adu Tutu Gyamfi, who happens to be the chairman of the Quarry Association in the district, has no right to operate a quarry in the fast developing community.

Reacting to the allegations, the DCE, Christian Adu Poku explained that the area is an Industrial Zone for which MMDAs have been directed to move encroachers and squatters away.

He said the Quarry Act provides that people stay 500 metres away from the buffer zone.

According to him, Quarry companies operating in the area have Quarry licences from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources through the Lands Commission.

He said the Afigya Kwabre South district Assembly has instituted a Quarry Development fund into which quarry companies in the district contribute funds as their corporate social responsibilities to champion community development for the benefit of the people in the district.

The DCE said the Quarry companies are ready to assist in the relocation of the residents.

When reached on phone, Mr. Adu Tutu Gyamfi declined to comment on the proposed Quarry at Adomako Buoho, claiming the issue could not be discussed on phone.

He, however, proposed a meeting in his office the following day to respond to enquiries, including documentation, licence, permission, rights and claims of ownership of the said quarry concession.

But he has not found it necessary to call last Friday as promised to direct the paper to his office for his reactions, including documentary evidence against claims by residents that he has no concession at the place.

Kropo benefits from GH¢12m modern market with GSCSPP funding

By
SEBASTIAN R. FREIKU
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The stalls under construction at Kropo market

The Suame Municipal Assembly is constructing a modern market with GH¢12 million funding under the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Program Project at Kropo, near Bohyen, in the Kumasi metropolis.

Another view of the construction

The three phase project will comprise a Clinic, Fire station, police post, Ambulance bay, toilet facilities and access roads.

The Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Maxwell Ofosu-Boakye, said the Suame Assembly, which is part of 35 Municipal Assemblies selected for the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Program Project, has also benefited from a further GH¢15 million funding for the Suame Market, which will also enjoy a Fire service station and access roads.

The development objective of the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Programme Project for Ghana is to improve urban management and basic urban services in participating Municipal Assemblies (MAs), for which the World Bank has approved an additional financing of US$145 million International Development Association (IDA) credit for the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Programme.

A different view of the market project

MCE Ofosu-Boakye disclosed that, the Suame Municipality has benefitted from the 100 kilometre Inner City roads by the government at Islamic, near Abrepo Junction, Kropo-Bohyen, Anomangye, Abotanso and Breman areas.

He also mentioned that the Municipality has had its fair share of development from the Agenda 111 project, as well as the Sinohydro project at Breman West and AgyeiPeprah electoral areas.

The Municipal Chief Executive also mentioned that the Municipality has 12 mechanised boreholes and institutional toilets by the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GMKA) project, under the Ministry of Sanitation.

Editorial: Justice delayed is indeed justice denied

By
THE CHRONICLE
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Editorial

In October 2020, nine Civil Society Organisations sued the government for what they considered unconstitutional directive by the President to the then-Auditor-General Daniel Yaw Domelevo to proceed on his accumulated leave.

The suit followed persistent exchange of letters between the Presidency and the Auditor-General, who sought to draw the attention of the appointing authority to the fact that the procedure taken was unconstitutional and to the disadvantage of the office of the Auditor-General.

The last straw that broke the camel’s back was the appointment of Mr. Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu as acting Auditor-General.

The CSOs urged the Supreme Court to declare the two acts unconstitutional and also put a perpetual injunction in place to restrain the President from directing Mr. Domelevo to proceed on leave, and also to appoint an acting Auditor-General.

The key issues for our Editorial are the date the writ was filed, the reliefs sought and when it was finally decided upon—from 2020 to 2023.

The Supreme Court last week, with a seven-member panel unanimously held that President Akufo-Addo breached the 1992 Constitution when he directed former Auditor-General Daniel Yaw Domelevo to proceed on leave in 2020, exactly the position of the plaintiff.

According to a Graphiconline report, the apex court also declared that it was unconstitutional for the President to appoint an acting Auditor-General.

However, the Court did not issue any consequential orders or put an injunction on the directive of the President, as sought by the plaintiffs. It was the considered view of the court that, at the time of the ruling, Mr. Domelevo had retired and, therefore, such reliefs by the plaintiffs were moot. That is the crux of this Editorial.

Relatedly, the Supreme Court in the same week struck out the Legislation of the Imposition of the Restriction Act, the law that allowed President Akufo-Addo to impose restrictions as part of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, citinewsroom reported.

Law Professor and Human Rights advocate Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, along with eight others, dragged the government to the Supreme Court, claiming that directives pursuant to the Act, such as the closure of schools and restriction of movements were unconstitutional.

They claimed that it unlawfully empowered the President to unilaterally suspend fundamental human rights and freedoms in the whole or part of Ghana. The apex court, in delivering its ruling, described the action as null and void.

Meanwhile, the ruling of the court came after the restrictions had been lifted by the President over a year ago, and in his final COVID-19 address before the ruling, he affirmed that the nation should move to the status quo before COVID-19 struck, as the disease was no longer a pandemic.

We observed that these two separate suits sought reliefs within a time frame and their outcomes, if they had come earlier, may have placed the judicial system of the country and our democracy on a higher pedestal. However, we believe it is better late than never.

For instance, the Auditor-General’s bold faceoff with the President that his directive was unconstitutional, with the CSOs going to court because they held the same view as Mr. Domelevo, and convinced that the subsequent appointment of a replacement was also illegal.

The controversy that characterised this case cannot be overemphasised, not to mention the negative media publicity against the government.

It is our wish that the judiciary takes a cue from these cases and sees how best such suits could be expedited in the interest of justice, fairness and the democracy we have sworn to practice.

We also acknowledge the unforeseen delays, sometimes intentional or not, in the adjudication of cases in the courts.

The Chief Justice nominee, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo, during her recent vetting mentioned that the delay by prosecutions in regularly following up on their cases is one of the challenges the judiciary faces.

It is our hope that she initiates measures to address the problem, such that controversial cases, especially politically sensitive ones, do not drag in the court for long, by which time some reliefs sought may be moot, as witnessed in the cases referenced in this Editorial.

It is in the interest of the judicial arm of government to ensure that citizens have confidence in their dealings and judgments have to be delivered within a reasonable time.

BAC trains youth on You start Ghana Jobs and Skills Project

By
FRANCIS OWUSU-ANSAH
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Participants with officials after the training session

The Wenchi Business Advisory Centre (BAC) Office of the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) has held a skills development training programme for applicants under the YouStart Ghana Jobs and Skills Project.

The 5-day workshop was organised for the first batch of shortlisted applicants for the project.The next batch is expected to follow in the coming days.

The project introduced by the government, seeks to equip the youth with the requisite employable skills and establish the successful trainees in business with some funding.

The project is a mechanism through, which the government intends to provide funding and technical support to the youth in entrepreneurship to assist them start, develop and grow their own businesses.

This is aimed at making them business owners and employers instead of employees and unemployed.

In an address delivered on his behalf by the Municipal Information Officer, Stanick Sofel Amuzu Kpodo, to open the Training Workshop, the Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Alexander Obour Kwadwo Damoah, charged the participants not to only depend on white-collar jobs, but take advantage of the numerous government youth centered policy initiatives as an impetus to develop themselves to reduce unemployment.

The MCE again asked them to see the project as a golden opportunity and excel in all the stages of the training programme to enable them acquire the needed funding support to start or grow their own businesses.

He used the opportunity to enumerate some Local Economic Development (LED) programmes initiated by the assembly to boost business operations in the municipality.

On her part, the Wenchi BAC Head, Evelyn Yangnuu, explained that the training programme is in three levels; Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. Participants would have to go through all the levels.

Successful participants would be selected from one stage to another based on performance until the last stage where business start-up grants will be made available for those who successfully completed the program.

According to her the start-up funds will be given to entrepreneurs with high potential to succeed in business and operate in any of the non-resource-based sectors.

Thirty-nine participants selected from the municipality have been trained in the first batch.The participants were taken through basic training components such as financial management, business idea generation, entrepreneurship, amongst others.

ECG to distribute 40k prepaid meters in W/R

By
KWESI ALFRED ADAMS
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0
Engineer Emmanuel Ofori (middle) and Board Member Nana Nsafoa Sarpong (left) addressing the media

The Management of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has revealed plans to distribute about 40,000 prepaid meters to customers in the Western Region, to take care of the backlog of request for new services.

The Regional General Manager, Emmanuel Justice Ofori,who disclosed this at a media engagement in Takoradi, last Friday, added that management had entered into an agreement with MBH and that it would take delivery of the prepaid meters in the second week of this month (June).

“Management has signed a contract with MBH and their delivery starts from now until the end of the year. In about two weeks’ time, we expect to take delivery of the materials and ensure that we start installing them for all those who have requested for new services,” he said.

After the distribution, ECG, according to the General Manager, would then take steps to replace all faulty meters and also replace postpaid meters with prepaid meters, depending on the areas that will be selected.

“In two weeks time we expect the meters to arrive. We are going to do a lot of replacements and it is going to be a thing of the past.”

The staff have also been trained for the intended exercise,he added.
On network challenges, Mr Ofori said vendors have been hooked onto MMS and were now vending on smart meters for customer meters. As a result, anytime a customer encounters network challenges, he or she could go to the vendor to buy credit.

On revenue mobilisation, the ECG team assured that it was going to be on monthly basis. “So the second phase is aimed at going to the various houses for customers who are on credit meters, we are going to their various houses in the various communities to mobilise those revenues.

“Today our purpose for visiting is to take you through our app, the mobile app, so that being our partner, who interfaces with our customers, we can collectively educate our customers on the use of the app. You can have your account any time you make your payments, you have the alert, it will come to you directly”.
On the delivery of the prepaid meters, Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Quarcoo mentioned that distribution would be done on first come first served basis, before other requests, and asked customers to exercise patience with management.

The General Manager was accompanied by a Board Member of ECG, Nana Nsafoah Sarpong, the Regional Public Relations Officer, Ben Quarcoo and other management of the company to the press engagement, where they educated the media on the use of the ECG app.

WACCI advocates operationalisation of national research fund

By
MAXWELL OFORI
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Group photograph with dignitaries and alumni of WACCI

The West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) has celebrated its 16th anniversary with an alumni homecoming, which recognised and honoured the exceptional contributions of the Centre’s alumni to food and nutrition security in 20 African countries.

The three-day alumni homecoming and anniversary celebration presented a unique opportunity for stakeholders and partners to converge, network, and strengthen partnerships.

At the Cedi Conference Centre, University of Ghana, Legon, on Thursday, WACCI held its 16th anniversary celebration, which told the story of the Centre from its inception to its vision for the future.

The Founding Director of WACCI, Professor Eric Yirenkyi Danquah made a presentation about the journey of the Centre. He stated that the strategic plan for the Centre from 2024–2028 was almost ready.

He mentioned the already launched endowment fund, which is seeking to solicit some US$50 million to support Ph.D. students at the Centre.He also stated that the Centre would work to have a sustainable funding model, mainly for research-intensive public-private partnerships.

Some participants at the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement Conference at the University of Ghana

The Centre further seeks to mobilise resources, adopt some communication strategies and also make a compelling case to African governments and development partners for investment.

Encouraging alumni of the Centre, the Founding Director stated that the “WACCI story must be told.”

The event saw students drawn from some of the Senior High schools in Accra, including Accra Academy and Presbyterian Boys, Legon.

In his presentation, Prof. Eric Danquah encouraged the students to pursue courses in agriculture, as the area holds many prospects for their future.

WACCI STORY

The Founding Director mentioned that the Centre has so far invested some $40 million, enrolled 160 PhDs from 20 African countries and graduated 105 PhDs from 15 African countries.

He said the Centre, through its alumni, has attracted some $62 million in grants and released some 279 varieties of improved crops that are now on farmers’ fields.

The Centre, Prof. Danquah said, trains farmers in their fields “so that farmers farm better to increase productivity in their fields.

The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, commended the Centre for its contribution to crop development in Ghana while assuring them of the support of the government and his ministry.

SUPPORT

In a speech read on his behalf by the Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, Yaw Frimpong,he called for the strengthening of the strategic partnership that had contributed to the success story of the Centre.

He mentioned that “farmers in our regions are in need of resilient, nutritious, and robust varieties of crop from research fields to farmers’ fields and eventually to our tables.”

He emphasised that his ministry would leverage technology and the expertise of WACCI to improve agriculture in the country.

He promised to create an enabling environment as minister by fostering stronger collaborations with existing and potential partners that are making contributions globally.

FUND BILL

The Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, in a speech delivered on his behalf by Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, Deputy Minister for Education, said the government was putting measures in place to enrich education in Ghana.

He indicated that work was being done to operationalize the national research and education fund bill, and that very soon scientists and other scholars would benefit from it.

He highlighted the credentials of WACCI and commended them for their achievement, but urged them not to rest on their laurels.

DOMESTIC FUNDING

In her closing remarks as the Chairperson of the occasion, the Vice-Chancellor, UG, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo stated that “the WACCI story is indeed a good one.”

She said the WACCI story was a demonstration of the quality of scientists and scholars in Ghana, but urged Africa to emulate Britain, which hugely funds its researchers.

Prof. Appiah Amfo believes it is time for Africa to fund its agriculture institutions, like WACCI, and depart from solely relying on external funding.

She urged the government to quicken the steps to operationalize the national research funds, adding that research was key to driving development in the country.

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