Day: January 9, 2024

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Customs Division, Tema Collection Sector, collected a total of GHS24.4 billion in total revenue for the state in 2023.

Alhaji Iddrisu Seidu Iddisah, the Acting Commissioner of the Customs Division of the GRA, disclosed this during the Customs Tema Collection’s annual awards parade for the year ending 2023.

Alhaji Iddisah commended the sector for meeting its revenue target of GHs24 billion for the year 2023 despite global economic challenges.

‘We all know that this year, for those of us in international trade, was a very challenging year.

‘We had all the targeted volumes of imports of goods not met, and the volumes of goods that came to Tema were less than what was expected,’ he stated.

He added, however, that because of the enforcement measures the Customs Division carried out, they were able to get in Tema for GHs24.4 billion.

He disclosed that, generally, the GRA was able to achieve the national target of GHS109 billion.

Assistant Commissioner Christiana Odi Adjei,
Tema Collection Sector Commander, expressed gratitude to officers for their sacrifices, which pushed the sector to achieve its target.

Madam Adjei said that though last year was challenging as far as revenue mobilisation was concerned, ‘we have made a significant milestone, we have worked hard sometimes, and we have to go overboard to stay behind to ensure that we were able to mop up the revenue that we were so much to collect for the year.’

Meanwhile, a total of 18 officers and five contract staff were awarded in various categories, while the top three tax-paying companies for the year 2023 were also recognised.

The three companies are British American Tobacco Ghana Limited, Wilmar Africa Limited, and Scan Com PLC.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A manageress, aged 46, was on Monday enstooled as the new queen of Abesim, near Sunyani and Kyidomhemaa of the Dormaa Traditional Area of the Bono Region under the stool name Nana Biyaa Konama II.

Known in private life as Mrs. Evon Konama Damoah Ayisi, the Manageress of the Accra-based Agricultural Materials Limited, the new Kyidomhemaa (queen in-charge of crowd) occupied the stool left vacant by her late grandmother, Nana Yaa Pomaa.

The late Nana Pomaa, who ascended the Abesim queen’s stool in 1978, reigned for 43 years and died in 2021, after a short illness. She was 66 years old.

Royal gates and the kingmakers of Abesim selected, and Osagyefo Osaedeeyo Agyemang Badu II, the Paramount Chief and Odeneho Akosua Fima Dwaben, the Paramount Queen of Dormaa Traditional Area approved the candidacy of the new queen.

The Abesim town was greeted with joy and ecstasy as they carried the new queen shoulder-high and held a procession through the principal street of the town amidst dancing and singing of traditional
melodious songs of joy.

Though the town was calm and peaceful, there were some few Police personnel to maintain law and order.

Earlier, Barima Minta Afari II, the Chief of Chiraa in the Sunyani West Municipality, and the Benkumhene (chief of the left-wing division) of the Dormaa Traditional Area, who represented Osagyefo Agyemang Badu II took Nana Konama II through some customs and traditions to seal her enstoolment.

Barima Afari II entreated the new queen to help tackle the rising teenage pregnancy and school dropout menace among girls in the area and also advised the people to support her to succeed in her endeavours

He reminded the chiefs and people of the area that Osagyefo Agyemang Badu II had prioritised proper sanitation and hygiene practices and entreated them to keep their surroundings clean to conform to environmental best practices.

Barima Kumi Acheaw III, the Chief of Abesim and Kyidomhene (chief in-charge of crowd) of the Dormaa Traditional Area, expressed appreciation to the Traditional Cou
ncil and the entire Dormaa people for the successful installation of the new queen.

As the embodiment of the people, the Abesim chief promised to mobilise the people to push the holistic development of not only the Abesim town, but the traditional area as well.

Nana Konama II also expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the chiefs and people of traditional area and promised to strengthen the unity among the people for the purposes of development.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Executives and members of Peace and Love Borborbor Group from Abor on Sunday marked the New Year with a beach party at Keta.

The beach party, which was held at the Emancipation Cultural Beach at Keta Central, had members visiting the resort to have fun and dinner while dancing to their borborbor music.

Mr Eliot Kiti, Founder of the group in an interaction with the Ghana News Agency, said they hoped to increase their membership.

‘We planned to procure more equipment like drums and for smooth performances and we know this is all achievable,’ he said.

Francisca Selawoka, the group’s Treasurer on her part, indicated that their focus would be on giving more and better entertainment to their audience.

‘Peace and Love group will be one of the vibrant borborbor groups this year.’

The 40-member social group is located at Abor in the Keta Municipality of the Volta Region and has members from across towns and villages around Abor.

Their main activity is aimed at entertaining their audience with good borborbo
r music and dance.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr John Ansu Kumi, the Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive, has stated that the construction of an urban development park, under the implementation of the phase three of the Secondary City Support Project in the Sunyani Municipality has not slowed down.

Instead, the contractors executing the project were worried about the practice of open defecation (OD) by some residents around the work site, Mr Kumi told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Sunyani in reaction to an earlier publication headlined that the project’s implementation had slowed down.

Under the project, an ‘ancient’ heap of refuse dump at the Sunyani Area Two had been evacuated, but the contractors working on the project said they were unhappy some residents around had turned the project site into a place of convenience.

Hitherto, criminal activities were common around the refuse dump site area as the enclave served as a den for criminals, mostly engaged in drug abuse and peddling.

The implementation of the World Bank’s International
Development Association (IDA) credit project, which started in 2019 spanning a period of five years is part of the government’s broader urban development and decentralisation projects in Ghana.

It would help to strengthen local systems and provide the necessary support to the Municipal Assembly for effective urban management and service delivery.

Under the third phase, Sunyani is benefiting from a three-acre landfill reclamation urban park development, a 500-meter storm drain and a 1.4-kilometre access road.

However, during an inspection visit to the project site at the Sunyani Area Two, the contractors appealed to the Sunyani city authorities to help end the OD practice around the area to enable them to speed up.

Mr Kumi and other stakeholders visited the site to assess the level of work and inspired the contractors to accelerate for the project to be completed and handed-over for use.

Nonetheless, they promised to deliver quality work, complete and hand-over in August 2024, as scheduled.

Excavation wo
rks, including clearing and construction of a huge steel bridge, were ongoing on the 1.4-kilometre access road linking Petra Hotel and Sunyani Estate to the Sunyani Jubilee Park area.

Mr Kumi said he was satisfied with the progress of work and commended the contractors for quality work and assured the Municipal Assembly would introduce stringent measures to control the OD practice at the site.

He further warned residents against the bad and insanitary practice, saying ‘we are all going to benefit, and we must all unite to end the Open Defecation practice for our own good’.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Dede Oforiwaa Memorial Foundation (DOMFO Helper) has donated some relief items to the less privileged children of El-roi Good News Club, a non-governmental organisation at the Tema Community Three.

The items, worth over GH?10,000.00 included biscuits, soft drinks, candies, bags of rice, sugar, toiletries, cooking oil, drinking water, among others.

Founded in 2010 by Mrs Karena Crankson, Dede Oforiwaa Memorial Foundation is an organization based in California.

Dede Oforiwaa Memorial Foundation describes the ideology behind this organization, as a helping hand to guide children to the path of knowledge and success.

The organization strives to help impoverished youth to escape their dire circumstances and get the best shot at life by providing financial and academic support and aims to provide them with a fair chance of succeeding in life.

Mrs Karena Grace Krancson, Director of DOMFO Helper said the gesture was to put smiles on the faces of the less privileged in society. ‘The foundation in the spirit
of Christmas felt the need to celebrate with the less privileged children in society,’ she added.

She said the organization’s aim was to offer support and empower the youth and under-privileged children economically and promote a better standard of living for the community.

Mrs Krancson noted that the visit was also to make the less privileged feel loved and cared for in society and urged the public to support these children and youth in society and make life better for them.

Receiving the items, Mrs Deborah Asempa Antwi, Founder of El-roi Good New Club said the items would go a long way in catering for the needs of the children at the Club.

She said, ‘the Club was established in 2020 with only three children but now we are taking care of over 500 children.’

According to her, the Club needed financial support to complete a building, adding that it would help the children under the care of the Club to get a place to put their head.

Mrs Antwi said most of the children were malnourished, appealing to other
benevolent organisations to come to their aid to support them to give a better life to the children.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, has called on Ghanaians to work towards recapturing its epithet as the ‘Black Star of Africa and a shining star globally.’

The Right Rev. Dr Lt. Col, Bliss Divine Agbeko (RTD), said this could be done through good governance, sports, mining, agriculture, the judicial system, security services, trade and industry, academia and research.

He made call in his New Year message in a released in Ho and copied to the Ghana News Agency.

‘As state actors and stakeholders, let us submit to the tenets and virtues of our religious faith and uphold high standards of ethical and moral values of integrity, loyalty and dedication in the discharge of our stewardship responsibilities in order to regain this enviable feat,’ he stated.

The Moderator entreated the Executive, Legislative and Judicial arms of government to seek the interest of the country and its citizens as a matter of premium and priority when dealing with crucial and sensiti
ve issues such as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender and related family issues.

‘We cannot afford to live in captivity of immorality and unethical values against God’s creation and natural practices,’ he noted.

On the Elections 2024, the Moderator entreated all actors of the Electoral process, to ensure that the elections were fair, transparent and peaceful.

He urged the Electoral Commission and the security services to uphold their reputation and standards of neutrality, trust and confidence.

He also asked them to create a fair and equal level ground for all political parties devoid of prejudice.

Rev. Dr Agbeko appealed to all religious bodies to rise to their stewardship responsibilities of promoting reconciliation, peace and stability of the country through prayers and mediation activities in the New Year.

‘As Patriotic citizens let us preserve the values of bond of unity in diversity as one nation, one people with a common destiny to make our country greater and stronger,’ he urged.

The Mo
derator called on Ghanaians to remain committed to the growth and development of the nation through everlasting faith in God and entreated Christians to remain the salt and light of the world.

He said many Ghanaians, especially the vulnerable were largely affected by the harsh economic crisis experienced globally last year.

He mentioned some of the crisis as covid-19, the Russian and Ukraine War, the Israel and Hamas War, communal conflicts in the northern parts of the country and the spillage of the Akosombo dam.

‘Our survival and sustenance during these periods in 2023 are a clear manifestation of God’s faithfulness, unwavering love and grace for the nation.

Rev. Dr. Agbeko asked for God’s protection for the country in the new year and urged all to live in peace with each other.

Source: Ghana News Agency