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Wenchi MCE inspects projects

By
FRANCIS OWUSU-ANSAH
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The MCE(m) being taken around projects sites
A project nearing completion

The Wenchi Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Alexander Obour Damoah, has inspected some selected projects being undertaken in the Wenchi Municipality.

The project inspection tour formed part of the periodic monitoring activities of the Chief Executive to assess the progress of infrastructural development projects being executed in the Municipality to improve the socio-economic life of the people.

The team inspected construction works on projects bordering on health (female and male and children’s ward at Buoku), reshaping of the Buoku-Ahwene-Asuofiri feeder road, Tromeso- Nyanpongnase feeder road, a six-unit classroom block with ancillary facilities completed at Amoakrom, and ongoing lockable market stores at the old station.

A completed school block

The rest are Melcom Shopping Mall under construction opposite the main old station, water closets toilet and urinal facilities completed at the old market, 12-seater water closets toilet completed at Aswaq Cluster of Schools, mechanised borehole and 5,000-litre capacity water tank with concrete stand completed at the new market, and sports field under construction.

The MCE was impressed with progress of work on the projects, and expressed his optimism, while assuring the people that the ongoing projects would soon be completed.

He further challenged contractors yet to complete their projects to speed up work and hand over for commissioning and subsequent use.

He reiterated that the projects were part of the priorities of the Assembly to enhance the living standards of the people.

The Municipal Coordinating Director, Douglas N.K. Annoful, heads of departments, assembly members of the beneficiary communities, the Traditional Council and other stakeholders joined the MCE’s visit.

Manna Foundation mobilises youth for free apprenticeship training

By
FRANCIS OWUSU-ANSAH
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Beneficiaries take their training kits

The first batch, comprising hundreds of youth, to be trained under a free apprenticeship programme have been presented with the requisite tools, valued at over GH¢60,000 for them to start the training in hairdressing, sewing, electrical installation and other vocations based on a beneficiary’s interest.

A non-profit-making organisation, Manna Education and Development Foundation, founded by Dr. Janet Baah, a U.K-based Ghanaian, which initiated the training programme, has fully paid the apprenticeship fees for the initial 30 beneficiaries, while currently mobilising all interested underprivileged youth within the Sunyani Municipality for training.

Addressing the beneficiaries at the presentation ceremony at Kotokrom near Sunyani, an official of the Foundation, Madam Mary Alhassan, advised the trainees to attach maximum seriousness to the programme to enable them successfully pass out, and lead decent and independent lives.

She said the Foundation would monitor their progress and could withdraw its support to any apprentice found to be uncommitted to the training.

She underscored the Foundation’s resolve to improve the wellbeing of people, especially the youth, as the government alone could not shoulder all the responsibility.

She disclosed that the Foundation had secured a large parcel of land in Sunyani for the construction of a skills training centre to provide free vocational training to the general public.

The Assembly Member for Kotokrom, Mr. Dramani Mahama, expressed his appreciation to the Foundation for the support, and added his voice to the call on the beneficiaries to attach maximum seriousness to the training.

He called for more of such support from other organisations to augment the government’s efforts at creating skills-based jobs for the people.

Swiss Embassy trains women farmers in alternative livelihood enhancement at Daadom

By
FRANCIS OWUSU-ANSAH
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Beneficiaries of the training programme

The Embassy of Switzerland in Ghana has funded forty-five women at Daadom, a farming community near Sunyani, for a weeklong capacity building and skills training programme to improve their livelihoods.

Beneficiaries of the training would be given financial literacy, business management and sustainability training, including training manuals, as part of the eight-day project.

A non-governmental organisation, Kavinang Foundation, which is into community development and women’s economic empowerment, is facilitating the project.

The training, which covers preparation of liquid soap and other detergents in commercial quantities, is the second project since its inception in September 2022, where 60 women at Kurosua No. 2 and its surrounding communities were trained.

It is an alternative livelihoods improvement venture to help women in smaller communities to sustain their lives in place of their seasonal farming activities.

The Project Coordinator, Mr. Seth Cudjoe, told the media during the session that at the end of the training program, the beneficiaries would be registered as cooperatives and given start-up kits to start their own micro-business.

He commended the Swiss Embassy for providing funding for the training and hoped that the project would achieve its desired results.

Diamond Appiah in police custody after being granted bail

By
BERNICE BESSEY
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Diamond Appiah making phone call in front of the court after her bail bond
Information gathered by The Chronicle Entertainment Desk indicates that movie icon cum businesswoman, Diamond Appiah, 36, is in police custody after being granted bail by an Accra Circuit Court yesterday.
The court, presided over by Evelyn Asamoah, granted bail to Diamond Appiah in the sum of GH¢300,000.00 with three sureties, two of whom should be public servants.
Although the bail was granted by the court at 10:00am on Tuesday, The Chronicle is highly informed that as at  11:30am today,which is  over 24 hours, the accused was at the custody of the Cantonments Police Station.
It is not clear whether the accused had not been able to execute her bail bond, for which reason  she is being kept in the police custody.
The sccused was put before the court on a single charge, fraudulent transaction of land, which she has pleaded not guilty.
Background
The prosecution Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Evans Kesse, informed the court, presided over by Her Honour Evelyn Asamoah yesterday that the complainant is Ayisha Modi, a Businesswoman and lives at Adjiringanor in Accra.
He added that the accused, Diamond Appiah, is also a businesswoman and stays at East Legon.
According to him, in the year 2020, the Complainant needed a plot of land to buy for a building project and discussed it with one Johnson, a Witness in this case.
He told the court that the accused, who overheard the conversation, jumped in that she has a plot of land  at East Legon Hills and was willing to sell it to the complainant at a cheaper price.
DSP Kesse indicated that the accused demanded and collected cash in the sum of US$30,000.00 from the Complainant under the pretext of selling the said land to her.
 Diamond then took the Complainant to a land at East Legon Hills, but when Ayisha later visited the land, she met one Gustav, who also claimed ownership of the same land.
Unfortunately, several attempts made by the complainant to retrieve her money from the accused person prove futile.
The complainant therefore made a report to the police and accused was arrested and during investigation, it was established that the accused did not have any land at that location.
In her investigation caution statement, she admitted to the offence and she was charged with the offence and brought before the Court.

Black Stars will get a coach before March -Minister tells Parliament

By
AGNES ANSAH
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Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Mustapha Ussif

Due to the impending Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers in March, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Mustapha Ussif, has told Parliament that there will be a Coach for the Black Starts before March 2023.

“…I know that we have an assignment in March and we need to have a head coach in place so that he can start preparing to get the team in place for the AFCON qualifiers, which is going to take place in March. So indeed, the country should be assured that the FA is working to ensure that we get a replacement,” the Minister said.

He made this known to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament yesterday when he appeared before them to respond to audit queries involving his ministry.

He made the disclosure when by way of public interest question, a member of the Committee, chaired by Mr James Klutse Avedzi, asked him the steps Ghana is taking to get a new coach for the national team because many countries have found coaches for their national teams few weeks after the World Cup.

He indicated that the Ghana Football Association (GFA), the organization in charge of ensuring that the national team has a coach, had already commenced the process.

He said the GFA will submit its report within this week or the ensuing week for a decision to be made.

PAC commenced public hearing on the report of the Report of the Auditor-General (AG) on the Public Accounts of Ghana – Ministries, Departments and Other Agencies for the year 2020 on Monday July 16.

At its first sitting, representatives from the Ministry of Finance, together with a team from the Controller and Accountant-General Department took their turn to respond to some infractions cited by the AG followed by the Bank of Ghana.

As at the time this report was being filed, the Ministry of Finance, together with the Ghana Revenue Authority, the Controller and Accountant-General Department had already responded to their infractions and the Ministry of Youth and Sports had also done same.

The Ministry of Education and Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture are expected to also appear before the Committee to respond to some infractions cited in their reports.

PAC to go after retired officials over embezzled funds 

By
AGNES ANSAH
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0
Chairman of Public Accounts Committee, James Klutse-Avedzi. Picture by Parliament of Ghana

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has sworn to go after public servants who embezzle funds and refuse to pay after they have retired. According to PAC, crime has no time limit and so whether one is on retirement or not, the state will pursue the offender and recover the embezzled funds.

“There are a lot of people in this country who think that if they embezzle funds and steal monies, which obviously constitute criminality and they go on retirement that should be the end of it. That is not true; crime is not time bound. Crime has no time limitation. Even if you are on retirement, you could still be pursued to answer for your actions.

“So even if they are on retirement, please pursue them to return the monies into government chest. The fact that they are on retirement is immaterial”, Mr Kwasi Amoako-Atta, Minister of Roads and Highways and a member of PAC said.

The Minister made the comments when the Fisheries Commission, an agency under the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development could not provide accounts for imprest it gave to some of its officers for foreign travels and the organisation of various activities when it appeared before the PAC in Parliament yesterday.

The Commission was first of all asked to provide accounts for a sum of $20,900.00 which was given to some officers for foreign travels and had not being accounted for at the time of audit.

The other infraction had to do with the payment of GH¢30,220 to some officers to undertake various programs, which monies had not been accounted for.

Auditors had recommended that the officers provide receipts for the monies and should they fail to do so, the monies should be treated as advances to them and should be recovered from their emoluments. Mr Amoako-Atta sought to know whether the monies had been recovered and paid into government coffers.

But responding to it, the Finance Officer at the Commission pointed out the difficulty in getting either the receipts or monies from the officers involved because most of them have gone on retirement. The Finance Officer also said some of these former staff members have even become visually impaired, while others are dead and so recovering the money has been a herculean task.

But Mr Amoako-Atta and other members of the Committee pointed out to the Commission that its responses to the Committee is an indication of how lackadaisical it has acted in recovering the monies from these retired officers because there are so many ways the monies can be recovered.

The Committee members suggested that the Commission could have deducted the monies from the retirement benefits of these officers  but it chose not to do so.

They advised the Commission to use every means they can to recover the monies from these former staff or their families.

PAC commenced public hearing on the Report of the Auditor-General (AG) on the Public Accounts of Ghana -Ministries, Departments and Agencies for the year 2020 on Monday July 16.

At its first sitting, representatives from the Ministry of Finance together with a team from the Controller and Accountant-General Department took their turn to respond to some infractions cited by the AG followed by the Bank of Ghana.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Finance together with the Ghana Revenue Authority, the Controller and Accountant-General Department and the Ministry of Youth and Sports also appeared before the committee to respond to audit infractions.

The Ministry of Education was expected to also appear before the Committee to respond to some infractions but they could not make it. Today, the Ministry of Health is expected to appear before the committee to respond to the audit infractions involving its agencies and departments.

 

 

 

Mr James Klutse Avedzi, Chairman, PAC 

The Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Mr Moses Anim (second left) and other officers swearing an oath before PAC 

Don’t vote APC or greenhorn as president – Atiku

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admin
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Atiku Abubakar

Barely 40 days to next year’s presidential election, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar has said it would be dangerous to vote an inexperienced leader or the All Progressives Congress party.

Atiku’s warning is contained in a statement on his verified Twitter handle posted on Monday.

He also cautioned that the APC not be voted to power, saying the party was responsible for bringing the country to a sorry situation.

“It will be dangerous for Nigeria to relinquish their future to a greenhorn or the national leader of the same party that brought us to this very sorry situation,” Atiku said.

The former Vice President might be allegedly referring to the candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi, when he said don’t vote for a greenhorn.

The PDP’s presidential candidate has continued to describe Obi as an inexperienced candidate.

Credit: dailypost.ng

I’m committed to one Nigeria –Peter Obi

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admin
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Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi has restated his commitment to a united and one Nigeria.

Obi made this commitment at a special broadcast to mark the 2023 Armed Forces Remembrance before heading to the United Kingdom for his engagement at Chatham House.

He said he is offering himself to be the team leader of a new Nigeria where nobody regardless of their tribe or tongue will be estranged, marginalized or excluded.

The Labour Party candidate drew notes from the lessons of keeping Nigeria one post-civil war 52 years ago on Sunday, January 15.

He pledged his commitment to engendering a country where equity, justice and fairness rules, should he win the election.

“I Mr Peter Obi, a proud Nigerian of Igbo extraction, I am truthfully and wholly committed to the stand of One Nigeria.

“It is worth calling a spade a spade, there are youths all over Nigeria who are frustrated because of injustice, poverty, lack of opportunities, employment, and apparent exclusion.

“Such youths will seize any opportunity and use any tool to express their frustration and anger; I believe that some of those who are agitating are doing so partly due to failures of creating an inclusive and progressive Nigeria.

“A working Nigeria, with equity, justice and fairness will effectively checkmate extreme groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP,” he said.

Credit: vanguardngr.com

2023 elections: Group takes peace campaign to violence flashpoints in Bayelsa

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admin
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2023 general elections peace group

Ahead of the 2023 general elections, a group known as Fostering Achievement of Community Empowerment (FACE) Initiative, has said it has begun the “Vote Not Fight, Election No Be War” campaign in some areas identified as violence flashpoints in Bayelsa State.

Briefing newsmen on Tuesday, at the NUJ Press Centre in Yenagoa, Executive Director, Inatimi Peter Odio, stated there was a need to address the issues of violent conflicts, hate speeches, vote buying and other vices that have characterised the political and electoral processes since Nigeria returned to democracy.

He said the sensitisation will be taken to areas prone to electoral violence in the state such as Oporoma community headquarters of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Nembe LGA, Ekeremor LGA and Brass LGA.

His words “The citizens particularly youth and women need to be awake to their responsibility of nation building through active participation in the electoral process. This group of citizens have remained at the fence for a long time because of voter apathy”

All non-governmental organizations, community and faith-based organizations, traditional institutions, youths and women groups should deepen engagement with relevant government agencies in demanding professionalism in the conduct of elections and also intensify sensitization of their constituents on the need to embrace peaceful elections.

Credit: dailypost.ng

Buhari celebrates Emeka Anyaoku at 90

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admin
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Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday felicitated with former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, as he turns 90 on January 18, 2023.

In a letter Buhari personally signed, the President states: “It gives me great joy and delight to warmly rejoice with a seasoned diplomat and administrator, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, on his 90th birthday, January 18, 2023.

“I acknowledge the worthy contributions you have made to the development of the country, starting out as a young Foreign Service Officer, and reaching the pinnacle of your career as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, through vision and diligence, and consistently projecting Nigeria as a great nation.

“Thank you for your statesmanship, and for using your extensive network of international friends to support the country’s efforts in deepening good governance, democracy and sustainable development.

“As you hit the milestone of 90, we give glory to God for the grace of longevity, in good health and sound mind, and rejoice with you, your family and loved ones. Happy birthday.”

This was disclosed in a statement by Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity.

Source: premiumtimesng.com

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