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We won’t accept GH¢1.4b Contingency Vault -Minority

By
JENNIFER AMBOLLEY
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Haruna Iddrisu, Minority Leader

Following the presentation of the 2023 budget and financial update by Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, the minority caucus in parliament has declared that they will not accept the GH¢1.4 billion allocation as a contingency vault, that is included on page 209 of the 2023 Budget statement.

Their reason, according to the minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, is that this allocation is an additional GH¢ 400 million, compared with last year’s allocation of GH¢993million, which cannot be happening in a period of austerity.

“We are also opposed to an allocation of GH¢10 million, for what has been strangely described as Defense Advisory Services. We also strongly denounce plans to increase the staff strength at the Office of Government Machinery by a staggering 1,570 at Page 230 of the 2023 Budget,” he said.

The Minority further stated that they do not see significant improvement in the attitude of the Majority side and if the sector Ministers do not turn up to lead the Budget process on their sectors, they will withdraw from the Budget process.

Mr. Haruna Iddrisu said the severely ailing economy has been characterised by unsustainable debt, very high inflation, unprecedented and disastrous depreciation of the cedi, high budget deficits and unprecedented credit rating downgrades.

The 2023 Budget, he reinstated, continues on the same spending trajectory that has led to the country’s collective economic doom.
Thus, he noted that instead of cutting down on non-essential expenditure, they have rather seen an increase with additional spending of up to GH¢82 billion.

Speaking on the National Cathedral, the minority leader said despite huge public outcry and in defiance of prudence, another GH¢80 million has been earmarked for the National Cathedral, which does not constitute a spending priority at this time.

“This will bring the total amount spent on the project to about GH¢420 million, the total amount of taxpayer funds so far spent. The estimated total cost of the project is around 400 million dollars. Is this project a national priority?” he quizzed.

On the e-levy, he emphasised that the position of the minority remains unchanged. To them, it is a setback to this cashless economy. “We are also astonished to learn in the Budget that the GH¢100 threshold for e-levy deductions has been abolished. You recall my suggestion of a 1% levy at a threshold of 500, which was out-rightly rejected by the Government at the negotiations.”

On inflation, Haruna Iddrisu mentioned that it has ballooned from 13% in January to over 40% in October, which has diminished the value of GH¢100 and, therefore, the exemption threshold for e-levy should be increased to GH¢200 and not removed.

The NDC, Mr. Iddrisu disclosed, has already stated their intention to abolish the e-levy when they come to power, but before then, they wish to serve notice that they will fiercely resist the removal of the GH¢100 threshold.

The majority leader also indicated that Inflation has also wreaked havoc on personal income taxpayers and, therefore, remove any justification for the introduction of the additional band of 35% as announced in the 2023 budget.

The majority leader concluded by stating emphatically that the NDC Minority Caucus in Parliament will vigorously oppose and refuse to entertain both the budget estimates and any bill on debt restructuring, until the following conditions are met;

The conditions are; “(a) The resignation of the entire Economic Management Team and in particular Alhaji Bawumia from his position as Chair of that obviously moribund body.

b) The immediate resignation or dismissal of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta
c) Immediate reduction in the number of Ministers and political appointees at the Office of the President by half.
d) Removal of all non-essential expenditure in the 2023 budget including the GHS 80 million allocated to the National Cathedral
e) Reinstatement of the GH¢100 exemption threshold for e-levy payment”.

Editorial: Farming is good, but not at the expense of children’s education

By
THE CHRONICLE
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Editorial

When the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) military government, led by the late Jerry John Rawlings instituted the National Farmers’ Day in 1985 with the first winner taking home a cutlass, Wellington boots and other agriculture items at a rally held at Osino, in the Eastern Region, many people did not see the importance of it.

A cutlass and wellington boots as a prize would have been considered an insult today, but the winner was proud of it. The negative comments that followed the first award did not also discourage the Jerry Rawlings’ military junta from shelving the idea.

They pursued it and as a matter of fact, improved upon the awards every year to encourage our gallant farmers to continuously produce to feed the nation.

Indeed, when the John Agyekum Kufuor government took over the reins of power in January 2001, after so many years under Rawlings’ rule, he did not abandon the celebration of Farmers’ Day because he saw wisdom in it. He also improved upon it, a development which compelled many elites living in our towns and cities to venture into farming.

Following almost two years of drought, there was serious famine in 1983 in Ghana. But the country, even though practices rain fed farming, has not experienced that kind of hunger, ever since farmers’ day was instituted two years later.

This means the policy has served the country well and must be applauded. However, it does not mean we should loose-guard by limiting the promotion of the idea of working hard to feed ourselves.

We need to encourage people, especially the youth, to go into farming on commercial scale to produce more to feed the nation and even get surplus for export, to earn the badly needed foreign exchange for the country.

This must, however, not be done at the expense of their education. Parents must, therefore, not force their children to go into farming and win awards during farmers’ day at the expense of their education.

The Chronicle, therefore, supports the call by the Member of Parliament for Bosomtwe and the Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, to farmers not to prevent their children from going to school and that, there was the need for all children to benefit from education at all cost so they could gain the needed skills and knowledge to help them perform well, where ever they find themselves.

Speaking at a Farmers’ Day rally at Oyoko, in Ashanti Region, the minister also appealed to all parents to take keen interest in the education of their children by visiting their schools to interact with the teachers, as well as motivate them to do more for their children and the nation as a whole.

Education is important in the future development of every child. Therefore, forcing children to go into farming instead of school is not an ideal situation that must be encouraged.

The Chronicle therefore calls on all parents and guardians to listen to the sound advice from the minister by getting their wards enrolled in school for formal education.

Parents will be jeopardising the future of their children if they are forced to go into farming. The right to go into farming should be taken by the child after he or she has formally been educated and grown into adulthood.

Most of the farmers we see in the advanced countries are highly educated and this is what we must also replicate here in Ghana.

80 farmers acquire knowledge on Climate Change Resilience, Mitigation to safeguard Lake Bosomtwe 

By
RICHARD OWUSU-AKYAW
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Participants of the Programme with the facilitators and the authorities of Bosomtwe District in a group photograph
Prof.Moses Bradford Mochiah, Director of CSIR-CRI , addressing the farmers

As part of measures to safeguard Lake Bosomtwe from the negative environmental impacts, eighty farmers in the Ashanti Region have been schooled on Climate Change Resilience and Mitigation technologies.

Twenty people have also been trained as Trainers in Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA), Conservation Agriculture (CA), Agroecology (AE), Agroforestry (AF), and carbon storage practices to train the eighty farmers on techniques.

Farmers in the Lake Bosomtwe area are building the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation (CCAM) capacities of their farms by making their own evidence-based farm decisions and implementing ecological CCAM practices.

Furthermore, the project aims to support farmers in the Lake Bosomtwe area to become self-reliant in securing Climate Change Resilience and Mitigation.

The farmers were drawn from four communities in Bosomtwe and Bosome Freho.  These eight communities are Adwafo, Abaase, Detieso, Esaase, Duase, Amakom, Adjaman and Atafram.

The District Chief Executive of Bosomtwe , Mr. Joseph Kwesi Asuming ,speaking at the event.

The eighty farmers underwent training for twenty months in a project which is dubbed “Securing Climate Change Resilience and Mitigation by building Self-reliant Smallholder Farmers within the Lake Bosomtwe Landscape.”

The farmers were taken through CCAM technologies such as plantain intervention, Rapid macro-propagation of plantain, Biochar intervention, Neem and other plant-based bio-pesticide and fertiliser formulation, Composting, Agroforestry intervention, Maize Cropping intervention, Leguminous intervention, Cocoyam Multiplication Technique, Cassava Farm Management and Production , Adaptive Yam Minisett Technique (AYMT) and Ware Yam Demonstration .

The project was funded by European Union (EU) through Expertise France and Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA), and partnered by A Rocha Ghana and Council for Scientific Institute Research-Crop Research Institute (CSIR-CRI).

Speaking at the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) National Learning Workshop, which was held at Kuntenase, which marked the closure of the programme, Prof Moses Brandford Mochiah, Director at the CSIR-CRI), disclosed that the farmers were taught a number of lessons, including how to turn around the soil to get nutrients, a technology he indicated used to be practiced by Ghanaian farmers.

According to him, the climate had changed so much so that lately the first season which used to record significant rains does not do so, but the second season was now experiencing rainfall, adding that the temperature had gone up, prompting farmers that the climate had changed.

In view of the above, Prof Mochiah noted that since the climate had changed, farmers would also have to change their style of farming.

This development, he noted, led the CSIR-CRI to share research with farmers to appreciate why they had to change their practices to produce more food. He hailed the farmers for their cooperation for the project.

On her part, Mrs. Abena Dufie Wiredu Bremang, Principal Officer and Head of Pra Basin of the Water Resource Commission (WRC), noted that one of the elements affecting climate change was water.

This prevailing condition, according to Mrs. Wiredu Bremang, signalled Climate Change was the cause of the erratic rainfall pattern, hence, the need to take good care of water bodies, which helped in the formation of rains.

She disclosed that all tributaries to Lake Bosomtwe had dried up, “so if it does not rain, there will not any water in the Lake, and as the sun keeps shining, the Lake will evaporate.” She, therefore, urged all the farmers to be good ambassadors to sustain the Lake.

On the buffer zone reservation for Lake Bosomtwe, Mrs. Wiredu Bremang noted that it had been earmarked for protecting.

Touching on the goal of the project, she told the farmers that the project came into being because of Lake Bosomtwe, and subsequently urged the farmers to heed the lessons they had learnt from the project.

Mrs. Mary Otiwaa Asante, a Scientist at the CSIR-CRI, in a post-interview, stated that Ghana was experiencing climate change, and they had to build self-resilient farmers to enable them adapt to situations and occurrences in the environment.

According to her, without food security, there would be chaos in the homes and community, so the aim of the training was to give the farmers improved climate smart technologies.

She noted they targeted eighty trainers of training farmers and set up eight demonstration fields in eight communities, so the contact was with eighty farmers, and they were to replicate what they had been taught to the entire community.

Quizzed about the potency of plant-based chemicals on crops, Mrs. Asante explained that the plant-based agro chemicals were all chemicals, but some were synthetic and when the synthetic was sprayed they caused soil acidity, because it killed soil microorganism, which were beneficial through replenishing the soil organic matter, which the plants needed, so the continued use of synthetic agro chemicals or synthetic chemicals would also affect the soil.

When it also runs into the lake which people drink and fish from, it would also have a negative impact on the lake.

Mrs. Asante stated: “Those are the ways where we thought them to control the pest in order not to have the ripple negative effect.”

The Ashanti Regional Meteorological Director, Mr. Sampson Adu Tieku, told the farmers that the climate was changing, and that the months of June and July, which were known as rainy season, were changing to the months of August, September and October, and, therefore, urged the farmers to be climate smart about where and how to plant.

On seasonal forecast, Adu Tieko advised the farmers to acquire knowledge on how the rain sets in, adding that if farmers wanted to plant crops, then they had to start earlier.

He, therefore, urged them to plant crops which had short harvesting periods.

Mr. Prosper Kwame Antwi, a representative from A Rocha Ghana, stated that the GCCA took off twenty months ago, where farmers were selected from communities.

According to Kwame Antwi, the farmers had been taught a lot to help them go about their activities in the midst of climate change and other environmental issues.

He appealed to the farmers to share the knowledge they had acquired with their colleagues.

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Bosomtwe, Mr. Joseph Kwesi Asuming, lauded the organisers and facilitators of the programme, and urged the farmers to take whatever they had learned seriously, since knowledge was power.

Mr. Asuming told the farmers that a buffer zone had been reserved for the protection of the lake, hence, they should adhere to the directive.

Kumasi residents sensitised on €2.5m Integrated Waste Management project

By
SEBASTIAN R. FREIKU
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Asafohene Boaye Agyemang-Bonsu flanked by Mayor Pyne (left) and MANRA President Palazon
Delegations to the Kumasi forum in a pose

A public forum has been held in Kumasi by local Secretariat of the Holistic Reinforcement for Sustainable Development (HORESD) project to educate residents on an integrated waste management system.

The forum, organised on the theme: “Localisation of Sustainable Development Goals – Fostering Community Ownership and Engendering Local Leadership in the Achievement of SDGs indicators,” was meant to localise efforts at sustaining development.

The forum follows the inauguration of Territorial management group and the Technical Working group, as the critical component for the implementation of the €2.5 million European Union HORESD in Kumasi recently.

The two  groups would kick start the project  to be implemented over 30 months to strengthen efforts of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly(KMA) to cause a paradigm shift to keep Kumasi clean and green.

The composition of the 25-member Technical Working  group comprises persons from all spectrum of  departments, including Planning, Waste management, Environmental health,  Physical  planning, Urban roads, Finance administration, Procurement  education, Urban transport and Social Welfare and Community Development, and the media, as well as NGOs and Civil Society Organisations.

The Territorial Management Group comprises 21 members and entities, including representatives from Manhyia Palace, academia from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the Kumasi Technical University (KsTU), the Ghana Police Service and Ghana Armed Forces.

Others include Environmental Protection Agency, Christian Council of Churches, Shop Owners Association, Adum Hawkers Association, GPRTU, Judicial Services and the business community, who have the political influence and financial capacity to carry out measures towards effective implementation of the project.

The project aims at improving public service delivery through the capacitating of local authorities and participatory capacities of the citizens in the planning and execution of strategies towards achieving efficient services delivery.

The Local Project Coordinator, Mr. Joshua Nii Noye Tetteh-Nortey, who is also the Project officer of KMA, said about 30 entrepreneurs will be selected to the Sustainable Entrepreneurship School (SES), from which five would be selected to receive a seed capital of €3,000.

He said the project will also train and build the capacity of 10 existing companies currently operating in the waste sector in the circular economy.

Mr. Tetteh-Nortey, said the European Union had provided various interventions for the effective implementation of the project and mentioned some of these as the donation of seven compact trucks to manage waste under the project, as well as 800 containers for house-to-house waste collection and 1,000 litter bins for collection of dry and wet waste, which takes off on pilot basis at the Adum Central Business District.

Participants at the forum included; the International Co-ordinator of the project, Dr. Helder B.C. J. Moreira; a delegation from the European Union, the sponsors of the €2.5 million project, Mancomunitat dela Ribera Alta (MANRA) in Spain, Cape Verde, Civil Society Organisations, religious organisations, market women and assembly members.

River wardens orientated to begin galamsey fight

By
admin
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Mr Mireku Duker handing over the operational vehicle to the Wardens

The Deputy Minister for Lands Natural Resources, George Mireku Duker, has charged the first batch of River Wardens to execute their work without fear or favour.

Speaking at a day’s orientation exercise held on Thursday, December 1, 2022 for the Wardens on the arduous, yet nationalistic task ahead of them, Mr Mireku Duker enlightened the Wardens that they have the trust and confidence of the entire country to provide adequate security and protection at the various river bodies, where illegal mining activities are believed to be taking place.

The Deputy Minister stated that the decision by government to recruit the Wardens is due to a gap it identified in the security regime, as far as the anti-galamsey fight is concerned.

According to him, the Ministry, after conducting a review of the battle, came to the realisation that most illegal miners return to site in the night, after the Operation Halt II taskforce has patrolled the area during the day.

Upon this realisation, Mr Duker said government decided to recruit the Wardens, train and equip them with the needed resources and accoutrements to fill the identified gap. He explained that the Wardens have been exposed to rigorous training needed for the task ahead.

He said government through the Ministry will continue to motivate the Wardens to execute their mandate. He added that bodycams will be installed on the River Wardens to be monitored by the Officials at the situation room of the Minerals Commission and that, there will be a performance review of all the Wardens.

“The idea behind the River Wardens is to train and deploy men and women to monitor the various river bodies and report on illegal activities polluting the river bodies. Whenever Operation Halt II undertakes any operation, since they are not permanently stationed, illegal miners return to the water bodies to perpetuate their criminal activities”, he stated.

“Hence, we are of the firm believe that if these River Wardens, who are going to monitor these activities work as expected, we believe it will go a long way to help protect our water bodies. The river wardens will be working closely with the Riverine Command of the Navy and Operation Halt II Contingent from time to time, he said.

He explained that the introduction of the Wardens into the galamsey fight forms part of government’s determination to give the small-scale mining sector a new face.

Mr Mireku Duker noted that the Wardens will supplement other measures compliment other measures like Community Mining Scheme, Operation Halt II and Small-Scale Miners Awards, among others.

“Government is determination to weed out the challenges in the small-scale mining sector due to its contribution to job creation and the economy”.

Kwabena Okyere Darko, the Western Regional minister was excited that the Wardens have been engaged to fill the gap in the fight against the menace. He urged them to work diligently and work within the scope of the task which they have been assigned.

The Deputy CEO of the Minerals Commission said gold and other natural resources have contributed significantly to the growth of the country and that government is committed to purging the sector of all challenges.

The event was crowned with the presentation of appointment letters, a vehicle and motorbikes to the Wardens, to aid their work.

In all, government is expected to recruit 300 river wardens for the exercise. So far, 87 have undergone training at the Eastern Naval Command with the second batch currently underway.

Opoku Ware SHS marks 70th anniversary …President promises new administrative block

By
SEBASTIAN R. FREIKU
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President Akufo-Addo and Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister of Education

Opoku Ware Senior High School, one of the best Senior High Schools in Ghana, has marked the 70th Anniversary of its establishment. The event was themed: “Seven Decades of Leadership through Self-Discipline”.

The school, often referred to as OWASS, was named after the great warrior King of Asante, Okatakyie Opoku Ware I, who succeeded and consolidated the gains of his uncle, Opemsuo Osei Tutu I.

Opoku Ware School is a state-run, Catholic Senior High school for boys, located at Santasi, a suburb of Kumasi.

Prominent products of OWASS include; Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, a former

deputy minister of state in the National Democratic Congress government of John Dramani Mahama; Kwamena Ahwoi, the former NDC minister of state; Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the current Minister of Food and Agriculture; Stephen Amoah, the MP for Nhyiaeso and James Kwesi Appiah, the former head coach of the Ghana Black Stars.

Rev. Fr. Stephen Owusu Sekyere, Headmaster of Opoku Ware School

Other notable alumni are George Boakye, the late Chief of Air Staff; Stephen Alan Brobbey, a retired jurist and former Chief Justice of Gambia and justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana; the development economist, former director of the National Development Planning Commission and

erstwhile MP for Wenchi, George Gyan-Baffour; Dr. John Kumah, a deputy minister of finance; Nana Otuo Siriboe, the chairman of the Council of State and Omanhene of the Juaben Traditional Area and Eugene Boakye Antwi, Member of Parliament for Subin.

Among the many dignitaries who graced the grand durbar at the weekend were the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Chairman of the Council of State, Nana Otuo Serebour, some Ministers of State, a retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice Stephen Alan Brobbey, the Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum and a host of others.

Addressing the durbar at the school to climax the anniversary last Saturday, President Nana Akufo-Addo reiterated that no Ghanaian child should be denied second-cycle education, as it is a period in the life of every young person in Ghana, when they begin their journey into adulthood and make lifelong choices and friends.

President Akufo-Addo explained that secondary education is an experience to which no child of school-going age should be denied access.

The President also affirmed that the Free Senior High School concept is working and making a great impact on the nation’s education.

Some staff help in cutting of the Anniversary cake at the event

He explained that the systematic and consistent improvement in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results in the country over the past six years, attest to the impact being made by the FSHS initiative in the nation’s education.

“The policy has indeed been facing some challenges but that does not mean that the gains made by the policy should be pushed under the carpet”, adding that “beneficiaries of the policy has increased from 800,000 in 2017 to 1.3 million students to date, is another landmark

associated with the policy”, he said.

The President assured that despite the economic challenges confronting the nation, everything possible would be done to find lasting solutions and to enable many Ghanaian children to get the opportunity to benefit from the policy.

President Akufo-Addo also indicated that the 2022 results of the WASSCE were the best results ever for the past eight years and pledged to donate more funding to the policy for many Ghanaian children to attain the FSHS initiative.

“Surely, there can no longer be any controversy about the validity of the Policy if the consequential measure, it is working and working well,” the President said.

In response to a request by the headmaster and the School Prefect of Opoku Ware SHS, President Akufo-Addo pledged that his government will give a befitting 70th birthday present to the school and hinted that a new administrative block would be appropriate.

“The Office of the President will also help to give an appropriate birthday gift. I think a new administration block will be such a gift,” Nana Akufo-Addo said.

The Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum praised President Akufo-Addo for his commitment towards revamping the nation’s education system.

He pledged to work extra hard towards sustaining the gains made in the education sector towards transforming the nation’s economy through education.

Dr. Adutwum appealed to all stakeholders in the nation’s education to continue working hard to ensure that the country attains the best education for its development.

Rev. Fr. Stephen Owusu Sekyere, Headmaster of Opoku Ware School, commended the government for providing infrastructure and other forms of support to the school.

He also lauded the efforts of the Old students, staff and management of the school for their roles in uplifting the image and gains made by the school and also promised to redouble his effort towards chalking more laurels.

I want to make A/R NDC’s stronghold in NPP’s backyard -Nana Kwesi

By
SEBASTIAN R. FREIKU
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Augustus Nana Akwesi Andrews, Ashanti Regional NDC Chairman

Mr. Augustus Nana Akwesi Andrews, the Ashanti Regional chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), says his pre-occupation in his second term of office is to work and add to the electoral fortunes of the party in the region.

The party chairman stated that the mandate to lead the party for the second time would spur him on to make Ashanti region NDC’s stronghold in NPP’s backyard.

He intends to do this by improving upon the votes from 26.1% in 2020to 30% plus in the 2024 election as he targets about a million votes for the party.

Nana Kwesi has also urged the electorate to ensure that the party secures more parliamentary seats in the National Assembly

(Parliament).According to him, the NDC has enjoyed so much patronage in the Region,

considered to be the ruling party’s stronghold, for which reason his administration and team of executives would ensure that the Region gets its fair share of development under an NDC government.

The party chairman assured that voters in the region to expect much more developments by the next NDC government.

He said the next NDC government would add to the existing

infrastructure including the Kumasi Kejetia ultra-modern market and the Tafo, Asawase and Atonsu markets as well as Kumasi Shoe Factory, Kumasi Airport Expansion project, Kumawu and Konongo Water supply, under the 3Kwater project, among others.

Nana Kwesi also mentioned Sewua hospital, 37 Military Hospital, Fomena hospital, Kumawu hospital, Tepa and Bekwai hospitals, as well as an Eye Care Centre inside Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) as some of the health facilities the NDC provided.

He assured that more would be added when the NDC comes back to power in 2024.

He said an NDC government would see to improve the road sector and build schools to complement the existing ones built by the NDC at Parkoso Community Day School, Agric Nzema Community Day School, Banka Community Day School, Adobewura Community Day School, Adogyama Community Day School, Droboso Community Day School, Bosomtwe Oyoko Community Day School, Kwabena Kwakrom Community Day School, Asuoso-Offinso Community Day School, Adanse Apagya Community Day School, Adanse Fumso Community Day School, Tepa Manfo Community Day School and Adwira Community Day School.

Don’t prevent your children from going to school -Adutwum advises farmers

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admin
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Dr Adutwum handing over the Keys of the tricycle at Oyoko

The Member of Parliament for Bosomtwe, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has cautioned farmers not to prevent their children from going to school, adding that, there was the need for all children to benefit from education at all costs so they could gain the needed skills and knowledge to help them perform well whatever they find themselves doing after school.

He also appealed to all parents to take a keen interest in the education of their children by visiting their schools to interact with the teachers as well as motivate them to do more for their children and the nation as a whole.

Dr Adutwum gave the caution last Friday at Oyoko, in the Bosomtwe District of the Ashanti region, during National Farmer’s Day.

Recognition and appreciation 

The day was used to appreciate all Ghanaian farmers and also present awards to ten deserving farmers, and agricultural extension officers among others.

The event saw a 42-year-old native of Goru, in the Upper East region and a resident of Jachie, Mohammed Seidu, being adjudged the 2022 overall best farmers for the Bosomtwe district.

For his prize, he took home a certificate, a tricycle, 5 Cutlasses, Wellington boots, four bags of Compost Organic fertilizer, a knapsack sprayer, Insecticides and weedicides among others.

The occasion was used to present awards to nine other farmers, extension officers and institutions among others, for their role in the development of agriculture in the district and the country as a whole.

They were presented with prizes like wheelbarrows, cutlasses, fertilizers, knapsack sprayers, wellington booths and other packages.

Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum praised farmers in the country for their role in the provision of food and other agricultural products towards feeding the populace, supplying raw materials to industries as well as for export.

Embrace govt interventions 

Dr Adutwum, who doubles as the Minister for Education, appealed to farmers in the country to embrace various government intervention projects which have been put together to help revamp the nation’s agricultural sector.

The Bosomtwe District Director of Agriculture, Mr Eric Fofie, recounted the various government interventions being implemented in the district as he assured all farmers in the district that his office was ready to continue supporting them.

He appealed to farmers to engage the services of Agricultural Extension Officers in their areas to help enhance their productivity and income for their gains as well as the national kitty.

The District Chief Executive for Bosomtwe, Mr Joseph K. Asumin, pledged to continue providing the needed inputs and other resources to boost the development of agriculture in the district and the nation as a whole.

He cautioned farmers against bad farming practices which does not only affect productivity in their farms but also affected the environment and in the end impact negatively on the lives of the citizens.

The occasion was used to sensitize the populace on the issue of HIV/Aids by a team of personnel from the Kuntanase Government hospital in collaboration with the Bosomtwe District assembly.

The sensitization at the farmer’s day was in line with the commemoration of the World Aids celebration in the district as the personnel insisted on the need for people to voluntarily go to any health facility for testing to know one’s status so the situation can be managed if found positive.

From Felix Baidoo, Oyoko

Jospong Begins 2022 Thanksgiving Service

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admin
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Dr Siaw Agyapong, CEO of Jospong Group praising God at the service
Some of the workers who attended the service

The Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) and Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL) on Monday, December 5, 2022 began this year’s (2022) Service of Thanksgiving.

The Thanksgiving service is a yearly celebration by JGC and ZGL to commemorate the awesomeness of God throughout the year, despite challenges along the way.

Themed “Celebrating The Goodness of The Lord”, the five-day event (Monday, December 5 to Friday, December 9, 2022) which kicked-off at the Adjirigarnor headquarters of Zoomlion in Accra, is also being replicated at the regional offices of the company across the country.

Addressing a gathering of staff members of JGC and ZGL, and other invited guests, the Executive Chairman, JGC, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong reiterated that the essence of the annual event is to give glory and thanks to Almighty God, for all His goodness in sustaining the JGC and Zoomlion.

He added that for the protection of lives and properties, the Lord Almighty deserved loads of praises. Lamenting the number of lives lost to road carnages, floods and fire outbreaks and yet they have been sustained, he underpinned the need for them to be thankful to the Lord.

Dr. Siaw Agyepong was equally elated that God has granted journey mercies to staff members of his group as well as himself and family.

With a joyful heart, he led the gathering to sing sweet melodies to praise God, stressing that the “Lord deserves more for His mercies on us.”

Delivering a sermon on the opening day, the Area Head of Church of Pentecost, Teshie-Nungua – Apostle Welberforce Nkrumah Agyemang espoused situations that should warrant thanksgiving to God.

According to him, when God delivers one from a severe situation, that person must offer thanks to Him.

However, he pointed out that thanksgiving should not only be done in good times but in all situations (good and bad).

Quoting from the book of Psalm 107:7; which says “Oh see that the Lord is good and His mercies endure forever,” he intimated that one ought to give thanksgiving when he/she is healed from an acute illness.

“You thank God when you have been delivered from financial hardships; you need to offer God thanks,” he stressed.

Apostle Nkrumah Agyemang urged the gathering to also remember the goodness of God when a new door of opportunity opens.

He said one should be grateful and offer thanksgiving when God opens their eyes to new frontiers and enables them to take advantage of them.

“We should learn to propagate the goodness of God to repose hope in another,” he advised.

He recounted the story of a man who fell ill and was discharged following a few days of hospitalisation. According to the man of God, this man broke down into uncontrollable tears upon spotting his bills.

He narrated that the healed sick man’s bill was eventually paid by his children yet this man never stopped the tears and when asked, he said “for this short period I came to lie yet for all what God has been doing for me, I have held His praise.”He used the analogy to emphasise the need for human beings to be thankful to God.

Dolly Parton Joins TikTok

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Dolly Parton

“Better late than never,” Dolly Parton tweeted with a wink Sunday in announcing that she had joined TikTok

The 11-time Grammy winner debuted her TikTok profile, @DollyParton, and released “Berry Pie,” a Holiday baking ditty drawing from traditional bluegrass styles, exclusively on TikTok as a sound for fans to use in their own videos. Her first TikTok, backed with her hit “9 to 5,” was captioned, “I have arrived!”

Parton is already hugely popular on TikTok, according to the ByteDance-owned app: To date, videos with the hashtags #DollyParton and #DollyTok have 6.4 billion video views. Per TikTok, #DollyTok is a subcommunity whose daily postings celebrate her music, movies and larger-than-life personality. Top Parton tracks on TikTok include “9 to 5,” “Jolene” and “Islands In the Stream,” her chart-topping duet with the late Kenny Rogers.

Parton is the most honored female country singer-songwriter of all time. She has achieved 25 RIAA-certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum awards and has had 26 songs reach No. 1 on the Billboard country charts — a record for a female artist. She has 47 career top 10 country albums, a record for any artist, and 110 charted singles over the past 50-plus years.

Last month, Parton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Credit: yahoo.com

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The Ghanaian Chronicle