Day: January 3, 2024

Reverend Father Stephen Asante Bekoe, the Parish Priest of the St Anthony Catholic Church at Ejisu, has asked politicians not to see the 2024 general elections as ‘a do-or-die affair.’

He said the elections should not overshadow everything in the country, adding that it should be seen as a periodic event needed to usher in fresh ideas and policies that would strengthen democracy and speed up the transformation and development aspirations of the people.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency at Ejisu, he said, elections were processes which involved two things – either you lose or win.

‘And if you lose, that will not be the end of your political career,’ he told Ghanaian politicians.

He advised against politics of insults, lies and intimidation, saying Ghanaians should be able to identify specific policies and programmes from political parties to enable them to make informed choices.

Rev. Fr. Bekoe urged politicians to respect the views of others as they embarked on their political campaigns.

He entreated Ch
ristians in politics to let their political life resemble the life of their Lord Jesus Christ.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Robert Arkoh, a New Patriotic Party (NPP) aspiring parliamentary candidate for Upper Denkyira East, has promised to unite the party to enhance its fortunes in the 2024 general elections.

Speaking to the media after his vetting on Wednesday, he observed that the party was fragmented in the constituency, describing himself as the unifier the party needed to secure victory.

‘The fortunes of the party have since 2016, been significantly dwindling.

‘All is not well in the constituency and the people are calling for a new person in the name of Dr Robert Arkoh because of my contributions to the development of the constituency,’ he stated.

Dr Arkoh, a medical doctor, is the sole contender of the incumbent MP, Mr Festus Awuah Kwofie.

Dr Arkoh described the vetting process as successful and was hopeful of a good outcome from the vetting committee and national executives of the party.

In all, the party is vetting 27 aspirants from 10 constituencies in the Region where it has sitting MPs.

The constituencies ar
e Upper Denkyira East, Assin Central, Agona West, Hemang-Lower- Denkyira, Assin South, Awutu- Senya East, Mfantseman, Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese, Effutu and Gomoa Central.

The committee will be looking out for commitment and loyalty of the aspirants to the party, criminal records, among other criteria based on which it would pass or disqualify the aspirants.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Netizens in Accra have expressed shock at the passing of popular ‘Waakye’ (rice and beans) vendor, Auntie Muni, whose food is well-patronised by residents within Labone and beyond.

The family of the 72-year-old said she passed away on Wednesday, January 3, 2024, at the University of Ghana Medical Centre?(UGMC) after a short illness.

The family was making preparations to give her a befitting burial Thursday morning when the Ghana News Agency visited.

There was no activity at her food joint at Labone when this reporter made a stopover.

A host of worshippers gathered at the Cantonments Police Mosque in the morning to pay their last respects amid necessary Islamic rites before the body was sent to Tamale for burial.

Some patrons were optimistic about the future of the business, which has been viable for many decades.

Radio and Television personality, Israel Laryea, expressing condolences, said: ‘Aunti Muni Waakye will survive long after she is gone.’

‘I first had her waakye some 30 years ago when I lived
in Osu and my friends and I would drive to her joint at Labone. It’s sad she’s no more, but I’m convinced her business will survive,’ Mr Laryea wrote on his X ( Twitter) page with a picture of himself and the businesswoman.

Some others have described Auntie Muni as a ‘legend’ and an ‘institution’ in her business.

Some Ghanaian musicians, including ‘Kasiebo’ crooner Obrafour, have used her name in some of their melodies.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Thomas Kofi Alonsi, the Parliamentary Candidate (PC) for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Builsa North Constituency of the Upper East Region, says the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Mr James Agalga, does not deserve to be re-elected.

‘We have an MP who has been in office for almost 12 years, that translates into almost three terms and is seeking re-election for a fourth term, constituents should examine critically, for the past 12 years, whether there are any significant milestones that the MP has left that warrants constituents giving him a fourth term’.

‘As far as I am concerned, I don’t think so,’ Mr Alonsi, who is the Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after a Health Walk in Sandema, dubbed ‘It is time’.

The Health Walk, organized by the ‘Alonsi Ladies Wing’, brought together NPP lady supporters from across the Constituency, cladded in branded T-shirts with Party paraphernalia, as they danced and walked through major
streets in the Sandema township.

The Walk was part of campaign strategies by the wing to canvass support and votes for Mr Alonsi in this year’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

According to the PC, Mr Agalga took the votes of constituents for granted as he considered the constituency as stronghold of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), saying ‘He believes that he will always be retained, and therefore, does very little for the people.

‘The time to change is here and now. There is a need for a certain freshness in terms of leadership; somebody who understands the challenges of our community,’ Mr Alonsi said.

He urged constituents to rise above the politics of NPP, NDC and the other political parties, insisting that ‘What we need now is a leader who understands the several challenges that confront us, as a people, and who, together with the people, would address those challenges’.

The PC said he and his team would not relent on their efforts to capture the seat but would continue to work tirel
essly to ensure that the NPP captured the seat from the NDC in this year’s Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

‘It is our prayer that the good Lord Himself would bless us with that victory we are clamoring for. So that is our attitude towards this whole campaign,’ Mr Alonsi said.

Commenting on the Chuchuliga-Sandema-Wiesi road, which was one of the major campaign issues in the Constituency, Mr Alonsi said the contract was awarded by the NPP government, and noted that ‘Some work has been done, but we must say that the work done, doesn’t meet our expectations at all.

‘We need a leader who will push, who will make it impossible for the Roads Minister, the Finance Minister to rest, until together, they find a solution to this challenge. I think that there is much a leader can do to find solutions to the problems that confront us, as a people,’ he said.

Mr Alonsi added that the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) project, implemented by the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralizatio
n and Rural Development in the Constituency, posed a threat to the MP.

He said there were several projects ongoing in the area in different sectors of the economy, including agriculture, education, health among other sectors, ‘And these pose a very big challenge to him. That is why he is seeking to water down the impact of these projects on the communities.

‘Seeking to make it look like it is not a government initiative, but I think the people are very discerning and they know what is happening,’ the PC who was endorsed by popular acclamation by Party delegates in the Constituency, said.

He appealed to constituents to vote massively for him and the Flagbearer of the NPP, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to enable them to continue the progress and development of the country.

Some ‘Alonsi Ladies’ who spoke to the GNA during the Walk, expressed confidence that Mr Alonsi would win the seat, ‘We need change, we are fed up. As for this election, Alonsi will win. There are no two ways about it,’ a panting jubilant par
ticipant told the GNA and danced away.

Source: Ghana News Agency

As part of measures to curtail accidents at sea among artisanal fishers, the Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CAFGOAG) and the Ghana Meteorological Agency have organised a day’s training for community information centre operators.

The operators, drawn from fishing communities in the Volta and Greater Accra Regions, received training on the dissemination of weather and ocean state information to fishers.

Mr. Joseph Tetteh Purtophy, the Deputy Director, Synoptic Meteorology and Forecasting at the Ghana Meteorological Agency, who led the training, took the participants through the various aspects of the weather information.

Mr. Purtophy advised information centre operators to understand every bit of information issued by the marine unit of the Ghana Meteorological Agency.

He stressed that failure to understand the information would lead to them churning out misinformed parameters, which could be dangerous to the fishermen who would depend on it to go to sea.

Nana Kweigyah, the President
of CAFGOAG, said the purpose of the training was to improve the availability, accessibility, and usability of weather and ocean state information, among members of fishing communities as part of an effort to promote safety at sea in Ghana’s artisanal fisheries sector.

He said that with the training, Community Information Centre operators would be better prepared to interpret and announce weather forecasts and weather warnings, as well as ocean state information, without sensationalising the messages.

He indicated that the association had been engaging canoe owners in the past and realising the challenges with the flow of information to the fishing crews, it decided to extend the engagement to the communities to reach more local stakeholders through the community information centres.

‘It is expected that not only fishing crews will have access to weather and ocean state information with this intervention, but their families, including their wives and children, and in some cases, their parents and other comm
unity members who can influence the decision to go to sea or not,’ he added.

In 2023, some accidents were recorded among artisanal fishermen and canoe operators at sea and on major water bodies, especially the Volta Lake, which led to deaths and damage to canoes.

Such accidents were mostly linked to bad weather conditions such as storms and strong waves.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The 6th Ghana Hotels Association (GHA) Awards, slated to take place at the Labadi Beach Hotel on January 27, 2024, has taken a new dimension to select awardees of members of the association in good standing.

In line with the digitalization agenda of the Ghana Hotels Association (GHA), the management has created an online portal for all members in good standing to do the nomination.

Dr Edward Ackah-Nyamike Jnr., President of the Ghana Hotels Association, speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the idea of creating an online portal for the nomination was to encourage members to adhere to digitalization as it was a way to grow the hotel industry in the country.

Dr Ackah-Nyamike also noted that participation in the nomination was not as massive as was expected, believing it was part of digitalization phobia.

He added even though they were yet to investigate the reason behind the low nomination, it could also stem from the hectic nature of the online nomination.

‘I want to believe that it i
s all part of this digitalization phobia, the fear of doing online things because the online nomination was quite hectic; it involves gathering data, downloading pictures and other documents,’ he opined.

‘I would find out after the awards why some of the members did not apply and to give a better understanding because I know that a lot of the hotels have gone digital one way or the other and it was very surprising that they didn’t take the opportunity to nominate themselves online’

He, however, said members who could not do the online nominations probably were not ready for the 6th GHA Awards because the nomination process was simple and user-friendly.

He reiterated that the digital approach helped the hotels do the right thing as the assessment process made them gather their scattered information in a presentable manner, providing rich information.

He was somewhat convinced that the low nomination had to do with the issue of the adoption process ‘where a few people attempt and when it sits well, others w
ill also come on board.’

‘We cannot reverse this whole digitalization process; that is the way to grow, that is the future and we need to encourage everybody to embrace it,’ he noted.

He was of the view that the online nomination was no excuse for the complexity of the system as some hotels were able to do it as expected.

‘It wasn’t a complex process. It meant that it was for those who were prepared in a way, it was for those who understood their work and knew that there is information that is available in the system and they could provide it,’ he said.

Going into categories for the 6th GHA Awards, Dr Ackah-Nyamike said the opportunity was given to members in good standing to assess themselves in line with the awards categories and nominate themselves if they believe they deserve to win the chosen categories.

He further said that the difference in the 6th GHA Awards was that eight awards categories called the Departmentalised Award Categories had been created with the help of an Assessment Committee, com
prising a consultant and a colleague to assess the nominations to see if they meet the criteria of the categories chosen and shortlisted.

He added that another Awards Selection Committee was established to crosscheck and ensure that the right and deserving hotels were awarded.

The Departmentalised Awards Categories include; Conference and Banqueting Team of the Year, Front of House Team of the Year, Green Hotel of the Year and Hotel Restaurant of the Year.

Others are House-Keeping Team of the Year, Most Customer-Oriented Hotel of the Year, Most Digitalised Hotel of the Year and Most Secure Hotel of the Year.

Apart from the Departmentalised Awards, Dr Ackah-Nyamike also disclosed the General Awards, which would crown the Budget Hotel of the Year, One-Star Hotel of the Year, Two-Star Hotel of the Year, Three-Star Hotel of the Year, Four-Star Hotel of the Year and the Five-Star Hotel of the Year.

He said the General Awards would be given to the best from the Departmentalised Awards and then crown a hotel of
the year.

‘With the General Awards, we didn’t ask the hotels to nominate themselves for that. What we did was to pick the best out of the Departmentalised Awards and then crown a hotel of the year,’ he explained.

He also mentioned the Specialised Awards for individuals who are managers, directors and owners of hotels and have contributed to the progress of the industry as well as the Regional Branches Awards.

To make the awards credible and people-centred, Dr Ackah-Nyamike said the 10 Regional Branches were asked to nominate one hotelier in each region with reasons the nominees deserve to be crowned the hotelier of the year; thus, seven hoteliers were nominated from seven regions after a careful assessment of their profiles.

He added that this category of the awards was through public voting, constituting 50 per cent and profile assessment also 50 per cent to prevent monetization from overshadowing that category.

‘…the one who garners more votes scores 50 per cent, the 2nd person no matter the number of
votes scores 45 per cent and the 3rd gets 40 per cent and so to the last person. The assessment of the profiles is as important just as the public voting; so that the public voting is not weaponised against the profile,’ he underscored.

He, therefore, mentioned that the 6th GHA Awards would recognise people who have significantly contributed to the hotel industry and a lifetime achievement award, acknowledging Ghana Tourism Authority, Ashfoam Ghana Limited, Multichoice Ghana (DSTV), World Business Support, Nedict Hospitality Suppliers, Tour Mother Land, Animal Welfare League, BEL-ACQUA, Sahara Solace, Daisy Hotel Amenities, SIC and SIBL for sponsoring the 6th GHA Awards.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, the King of the Ga State, has awarded a GHS100,000 worth of scholarships to school children in the Ga community.

The scholarships covered tuition fees and stationary expenses for hundred school children, forming part of the effort aimed at promoting education in the Ga community.

Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, Ga Mantse, addressing the crowd urged sub-chiefs to join efforts to promote quality education for all in the Ga State.

He said clan heads and community elders should be the first point of contact for matters confronting the educational sector in Ga State.

He said this at the 7th edition of the ‘Kinka ‘Blonya” celebration and scholarship ceremony, which was held at Bukom Park in Jamestown, Accra.

The king reiterated that the support of the sub-chiefs could be realised through the provision of educational materials and scholarships for needy but brilliant students.

The support, he emphasised, would accelerate the effort to promote education in the Ga community.

He further u
rged students to prioritise their educational pursuits above other interests in view of becoming the hallmark of excellence for the Ga State in the near future.

The King also entreated parents to prioritise their children’s education by providing them with the needed support and guidance to excel in school.

The celebration also featured other activities including a gift-sharing session, games, musical chess, bouncy castles, and trampolines.

Hundreds of children and adults in the Ga community joined the Ga Mantse to commemorate New Year’s Day.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Joseph, 8, could not hide his excitement when he made his first remote control car using simple tools such as screwdrivers, batteries, cupboards, transmitters, and controllers.

He had come to the Peniel Presby Salem Square at Teshie to dine and make merry but got attracted by the work of a team of Ghanaians in the diaspora, christened ‘Distant Relatives’, who had returned to their home countries to give back to their community during the festive season.

Joseph, a class-four pupil, dreams of becoming a mechanical engineer in future, but lacks the opportunity to nurture his inherent skills as his school does not have the requisite tools and resources to equip pupils with special interests.

‘I want to be an engineer. I like playing with toys and sometimes I get beaten for dismantling gadgets at home,’ he told the Ghana News Agency, whiles testing his car with smiles and excitement.

‘If I get my own tools, I will make more of these cars and teach my other friends at school,’ Joseph added.

Pattron, an Inform
ation Technology service company, in collaboration with Distant Relatives, organised Tech Clinic to equip children above eight years old with basic skills in hardware engineering, virtual reality, and 3D printing.

Ms Ama Asamoah, Chief Operating Officer, Pattron, said the training was intended to expose the children to the fundamentals of hardware engineering.

‘We want the children to know that you do not need fancy equipment in order to be in tech…if you have a screwdriver, you can work in tech and that is something we want to impart the kids with,’ she said.

The event, dubbed: ‘Feeding our Relatives’ is an annual community outreach initiative that aims to develop adults, youth and children in underserved communities by creating opportunities and access to resources.

On the day, hundreds of children who visited the event centre were showered with gifts, food, clothing, books, and other items.

There were also free health screening services and haircuts amid games, music performances, and fanfare.

Mr Wil
liam Kwaku Asiedu, Founder of Distant Relatives Project, said the programme aimed to empower the community and foster a sense of self-sustainability.

‘The idea is to alleviate the burden on some of the families here and give them the assistance they need. The main goal is to empower them,’ he said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Michael Tetteh, the Head of the Tema General Hospital’s Herbal Unit, has given the assurance to the public that herbal practitioners operating at public health institutions across the country, have undergone the requisite training as professionals.

He said to be posted to a public health institution to practice as a herbal physician, one must undergo training in herbal medicine at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), which is the only recognised university for training herbal medicine practitioners.

Dr Tetteh disclosed this during the Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office’s weekly advocacy programme on ‘Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility!’

He said that as part of the first four years of training, the physicians study all the basic medical sciences, including anatomy, biochemistry, pathology, microbiology, immunology, pharmacology, herbal medicine, and research, and herbal business.

He explained that their training was not only based on health care but also on other
aspects of herbal medicine, such as research, products, and cultivation.

Dr Tetteh indicated that after the initial training, they, just like other orthodox practitioners, also embarked on clinical practice skills in hospital wards, after which they received additional two years of training under the Traditional Medicine Practice Council to learn more on the herbal aspect of application.

This training, he said, had two parts of a year each at a hospital facility using herbal medicine to treat illnesses, and the other part at the Centre for Plant Research.

Dr Tetteh stated that the final phase of the training was done at the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital, where the students perfect their clinical skills in herbal medication, after which they write professional exams, regulated by the Traditional Medicine Council, to obtain a practicing licence to operate in medical facilities.

He said that with such in-depth theoretical and practical training, the professional herbal practitioners were in a better posi
tion to consult and treat sicknesses using herbal medicine and urged the public to visit the herbal units for their needs instead of patronising quack ones.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Reverend Augustine Acheampong, Head Pastor of the Goodnews Assemblies of God Church at Ejisu, has called on churches to prioritize the spiritual and physical well-being of the poor and underprivileged in society.

He said there was a need for churches to create a congenial environment for such people to feel loved and support them to live an independent and good life.

Reverend Acheampong made the call after members of the church held a party with the children of the King Jesus Charity Home at Boadi, in the Ejisu Municipality.

The church also donated items worth GHS15,000.00 to support the running of the Home.

The items included assorted drinks, rice, biscuits, used clothes and an undisclosed amount of money.

Rev Acheampong pointed out that prayers and support from churches could give hope and opportunities to several disadvantaged children in society, who have been calling on God to help them out of their present state of difficulties.

On the rationale behind the donation, he said, the church, recognizi
ng the need to put smiles on the faces of vulnerable children, had decided to annually support children’s homes, especially during the festive period.

‘We do this as an annual event to show love to these children.

We understand that at such periods, they will need people to come around to also support and encourage them.

The scriptures in James 1:27 say that the Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.’

He called for the collaboration of all to come together and work to make a change in the lives of these orphans and vulnerable children.

Reverend Kofi Owusu Afriyie, Director of the Orphanage, thanked members of the church for the kind gesture.

He called on other organisations, NGOs and individuals to support the orphanage in both cash and kind to keep the facility running.

The Goodnews Assemblies of God recently donated items worth Gh 25,000.00 to the Kumasi children’s hom
e.

Source: Ghana News Agency