Day: December 1, 2023

Nana Amanano Mensah II, the Adontenhene of Dodi Traditional Area in the Kadjebi District, has called on the government to increase Cocoa purchasing price to stop farmers from smuggling the commodity to the Republic of Togo and other neighbouring countries.

He said the price for the product now at GHS1,300 was low, hence encouraging smuggling.

Nana Amanano Mensah made this known at the 39th National Farmers’ Day celebration at Dodi-Papase, a farming community in the Kadjebi District.

He said Dodi Traditional Area was a leading producer of Cocoa in the Kadjebi District in the late 1960’s and still in the lead.

Nana Amanano Mensah, who is also the Chief of Dodi-Poase-Cement, a farming community in the district, however, applauded the government for the introduction of Planting for Food and Job flagship programme.

He called on the government to subsidise agro-chemicals and inputs to enable farmers purchase them for use.

Nana Amanano Mensah, who chaired the function, congratulated the 2023 award winners.

T
he district has awarded 16 Farmers at the 39th Farmers’ Day celebration.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The 1999 year group of Aggrey Memorial Zion Senior High School in Cape Coast will on Saturday 2nd December perform a ground breaking ceremony for a project dubbed Legacy project.

The Legacy project will have the members of the year group contributing towards building an ultra modern entrance and gate for the school.

The group is hoping to hand over the ultra modern entrance and gate to the school in March 2024 when they celebrate their 25th anniversary since they left school

The Aggrey Memorial Old Students Association (AMOSA) 99 year group is performing the ground breaking ceremony as part of this year’s old students home coming programme.

Mr Theophilus Tei- Ayanou, Board Chairman of the 25th Anniversary Commemoration told the Ghana News Agency that about GHS 550, 000 was needed for the entire programme

He therefore called on all AMOSA 99 members wherever they are in the world to get in touch and make contributions towards the project.

‘The Legacy project is not for a selected group of people, it is f
or everyone who completed Aggrey Memorial Senior High School in the year 1999, so nobody should sit on the fence, it is time for us to come together and give back to our Alma mater,’ He said.

Mr Ayanou also called on philanthropist and corporate organisations to support the AMOSA 99 year group to give back and do something beautiful for their Alma mater.

Source: Ghana News Agency

An autobiography titled: ‘A Life of Vicissitudes’ by Prof Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh, has been launched in Accra.

The 411-page publication is a reflection on major life events and experiences of the author, who endured a rugged life to become a writer, academic, activist, politician, educationist, and traditional leader.

It explores themes, including culture, tradition, activism, public service, education and many others, as the author highlights aspects of his over 60 years life journey.

Prof Ansu-Kyeremeh was an Associate Professor and a former Director of the School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana, Legon.

He is currently the Chief of Atwima Apemanin, a town in the Atwima Kwanwoma District in the Ashanti Region. He was enstooled in 2006 as Nana Fobi Kropa III.

Speaking to GNA after the launch, Prof Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh said he started compiling the inspiring publication in 1992 while in Canada.

He said the book taught values such as humility and perseverance and served as ‘a good way to reflect
and make necessary adjustments’.

‘A Life of Vicissitudes’ is described as a comprehensive narrative as each of the 25 chapters provides an insight about the author.

Prof Abeeku Blankson, President, Africa University College of Communications (AUCC), in his review, commended the ‘scholarly and non-academic’ style of the write-up, adding that the lessons in the book ‘are priceless and powerful’.

‘Every chapter is deep. The writer uses indigenous Akan languages, names, phrases and sentences and even proverbs to tell his story,’ he stated among other compliments.

‘Although an autobiography, this book also serves as a socio-cultural and political history of post-colonial Ghana as it rekindles the memories of people born in the 1950s and 80s,’ he added.

Prof Margaret Gyan, Member, Council of State and a Former Ghana High Commissioner to Canada, also praised Prof Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh for the novel, tagging it as ‘a unique collection of the author’s experiences both home and abroad.’

In addition to other engagem
ents, Prof Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh, was a former member of the National Media Commission.

He served as the first Court of Governors of the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre for Excellence in ICT.

He was also Board Chair of the Governing Council of the Ghana Institute of Journalism from September 2017 to May 2021.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The 39th Farmers’ Day, when the Ministry of Food and Agriculture honours deserving farmers and fishers with special awards based on their practices and output, is underway in Tarkwa, Western Region.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) on Friday called on Ghanaians to revisit the ‘Operation Feed Yourself’ programme, as the nation marks the 39th Farmer Day celebration.

Operation Feed Yourself was an agricultural programme administered in the country under military general and head-of-state Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.

This policy was initiated in February 1972 and remained until the end of Acheampong’s regime in 1978 and it inspired and motivated the citizenry to grow what they eat.

Mr Patrick Dela Newman, the Sunyani Municipal Director of MoFA, who made the call, said the Ministry was poised to assist interested households to engage in backyard gardening to produce crops and vegetables themselves.

This would not only improve nutrition, but also increase household food productivity, he stated, when addressing a durbar of farmers to mark the Sunyani Municipal celebration of the 39th Farmers Day, held at Antwikrom in the municipality.

In all, 12 deserving farmers were honoured and received prizes
ranging from refrigerators, wax print, tricycles, bicycles, polytank, wellington boots, spraying machines, key bar soap, roofing sheets and some agro-chemicals.

Mr Newman expressed worry about the misapplications and uncontrolled use of agro-chemicals on food crops, which remained hazardous to human health, saying ‘if are able to plant what we eat we can avoid all these harms as well’.

In that regard, he explained the Municipal Directorate of Agriculture would soon identify, collaborate with, and assist some Senior High Schools (SHSs) in the municipality which had boarding facilities to venture into farming and to produce food crops to feed the students.

Mr John Ansu Kumi, the Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive, commended the gallant farmers for their hard work and assured the Assembly’s readiness to support them to expand their farm work in helping to increase national food security.

As one of the food baskets of the nation, he urged farmers in the municipality to capitalize on the Phase two of the Planti
ng for Food and Jobs programme, register and access the many opportunities under the programme and engage in commercial farming activities.

Mr Kumi advised the farmers to seek assistance from the Agric Extension Officers and to ensure right and proper use of agro-chemicals on their farms.

Farming, Mr Kumi said, remained a lucrative enterprise, saying it was untrue it was a reserve for the poor and the academic dull people.

The Divisional Officer Grade Three (DOIII) Agyemang Duah, the Sunyani Municipal Fire Commander, said the ban on bush burning and hunting remained in force.

Inaugurating 60-member fire volunteers as part of the celebration, he said it was an offence for farmers to handle naked fires on the farm.

He advised farmers who intended to burn their farms to seek assistance from the fire volunteers who would be deployed to the local communities to control bushfires.

DOIII Duah said the municipality recorded 46 fire outbreaks in 2022 causing extensive destruction to properties valued at more tha
n GHC524,000.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Controller and Accountant-General’s Employees Co-operative Credit Union (CAGECCU) has launched two flagship digital platforms to facilitate easy savings and access to members’ accounts at any location.

The platforms, which seek to offer comfort and convenience to members when depositing monies into their accounts remotely have another element of allowing them to check their balance with ease.

‘After downloading the App on the Google Play Store, members need to type the USSD Code *966*3*700# with any of the telecommunication networks to follow the process of depositing money.

‘This will link them to a Zenith Bank platform where their account numbers will be required. The APP is facilitated by Zenith Bank,’ Mr Reubben Kwadey, the Manager of CAGECCU, said at the 23rd Hybrid Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Union.

It was on the theme: ‘Financial Technology, a Catalyst for Credit Union Growth.’

Launching the platforms in Accra, he mentioned Shares, Savings, Loan Repayment, Kiddie Savings and Pension P
lans as the products the platform came with.

The second APP gives members access to check their balance by providing their account numbers and mobile phone numbers for verification.

Mr Kwadey, therefore, encouraged members to update their records to be abreast of the new services for a comfortable transactional business.

He urged those having challenges in accessing the new digital platforms to call 0547275880; 0576122026 and 0531819914 for assistance.

‘As technology is evolving, we are going to resort to it for our component operations, so I encourage CAGECCU members to get involved, this AGM is helping us to gather more knowledge in the technology space,’ he said.

Mr Cephas Narh Dosoo, the Vice Chair of CAGECCU, presenting the year under review report, said the Union’s assets value had grown significantly despite the economic challenges from GHS27,697,557.04 in 2021 to GHS30,538,354.90 in 2022.

This indicates an increment of GHS2,840.797.86, representing 10.26 per cent rise in assets.

On savings, he
said 2022 showed an increase of 7.65 per cent as compared to the previous year.

‘…The 2021 savings stood at GHS 24,572,474.29 whereas the 2022 savings recorded GHS26,452,012.16.’

‘However, the net surplus saw a reduction in 2022 from GHS157,413.57 in 2021 to, GHS144394.67 due to non-payment of interest on the Union’s locked-up investments with the defunct financial houses…’

‘…And some administrative charges coupled with provisions for loan losses made for the year 2022.’

Mr Dosoo said the CAGECCU Board, through deploying strategic management of resources and the implementation of prudent policies, had been able to manage the business of the Union to drive it from a negative to positive net surplus in 2021 and 2022.

The locked-up funds and the untimely monthly remittances from the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department were huge challenges, he said.

He advised members to increase their savings periodically and take loans to build their prospects as they prepared for retirement.

Mr Kwabena Apraku
Yeboah, the Acting Registrar of Cooperative Societies, lauded the CAGECCU for embracing technology and said financial technology facilitated day-to-day living, which helped families and businesses to plan for long-term goals towards unexpected emergencies.

Financial inclusion had one big advantage over banks with the ability to create more personal relationships with members, he said.

‘And the good news is that technology can bring those relationships into the digital age without losing what makes Cooperatives so appealing to their members.’

Mr Yeboah noted that the Government would be interested in working with Cooperative financial institutions to expand financial services to the unbanked population.

Mr Christian Osei-Yaw, the Chairman of CAGECCU, said the theme emphasised that access to responsible financial products was a basic right to improve standards of living.

Mr Cyprian Basing, the General Manager of Ghana Cooperatives Credit Union Association, said the Cooperative philosophy had evolved all ov
er the world, becoming the basis of people’s day-to-day life.

It was an effective and successful way of members’ participation in the country’s development processes, he added.

‘Cooperatives are therefore considered a successful model that could fulfill hopes and aspirations for a better quality of life.’

The CAGECCU is a financial Cooperative institution with the vision of becoming the leading Credit Union in the region and create viable products and services to build resilient members and dedicated staff.

It has the mission of mobilising deposits and offering competitive financial services to its members and community to improve their standard of living.

Source: Ghana News Agency