Day: June 11, 2024

Some ‘unscrupulous’ individuals have disconnected the Western Regional Coordinating Council (WRCC) and other state offices from the national electricity grid at Sekondi.

The Incident affected power supply to institutions like the Passport Office, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), West African Examination Council (WAEC), National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and the St. Paul’s Anglican Church at Sekondi.

It had also left some residents across the sub-metro without power, affecting essential services like hospitals, schools, and offices among others.

Checks by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) revealed that the incident was believed to have been carried out by highly skilled cybercriminals, who stole key transmitter switches from critical infrastructure sites and drained the oil from the two transformer switches.

Mr Awal Boye, Western Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), confirming the incident to the GNA said the unidentifie
d persons vandalised a 200kVA ground-mounted transformer which served the area.

He said the individuals drained the oil from the two transformer switches resulting in the power outage at the WRCC.

He noted that: ‘The incident might be motivated by financial gain, as the theft of critical infrastructure equipment could be sold on the black market, but we have reported to the police and investigations are being carried out.’

Mr Boye advised the public to be vigilant and report any suspected unusual activity around ECG installations to the police or the ECG to avoid such occurrences.

Meanwhile, he urged the residents to remain calm while they worked tirelessly to restore power to the affected areas.

A resident who spoke with the GNA said, ‘This is a major breach of security, and we are taking this matter very seriously. The ECG must work with agencies and cybersecurity experts to investigate the attack and restore power to the affected areas as quickly as possible.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

Fidelity Bank Ghana, the largest privately-owned Ghanaian bank, received two prestigious awards at the 13th Ghana Information Technology and TelcomAwards (GITTA).

Mr Julian Opuni, Managing Director, Fidelity Bank, was recognised as the Financial Inclusion Leader, while the Bank’s innovative WhatsApp Banking Assistant, Kukua, secured the Digital Chatbot Platform of the Year award.

The award for Financial Inclusion Leadership recognises Mr Opuni’s dedication to bringing banking services to the unbanked population in Ghana, a press release issued to the Ghana News Agency, Tuesday, said

Commenting on the award, the Managing Director highlighted Fidelity Bank’s numerous initiatives aimed at expanding financial inclusion.

‘This award is a testament to our relentless pursuit of bringing banking to the unbanked in Ghana,’ he said, and pointed to the Bank’s pioneering Smart Account, launched in 2013.

It requires minimal documentation and facilitates a five-minute account opening process.

He also emphasised the s
uccess of Fidelity Bank’s industry-leading agency banking network, the largest in the country with more than 6,000 active agents.

Mr Opuni again highlighted the Bank’s Interactive Voice Response (IVR) digital platform, which had reached over 500,000 individuals, and its digital reactivation programme that empowers remote-area customers to reactivate dormant accounts.

He announced the upcoming launch of a self-service digital loan product designed for the mass market, which further solidifies Fidelity Bank’s commitment to financial inclusion.

The recognition for Fidelity’s innovative WhatsApp Banking Assistant, Kukua, underscored the transformative power of chatbots in enhancing customer service within the financial services industry.

‘We’re delighted to receive this award for Kukua. Since launching in 2020, we have witnessed a dramatic shift in how our customers interact with the bank,’ Mr Opuni stated.

‘Over 200,000 users rely on Kukua as their trusted 24/7 customer care agent, offering them unparallele
d convenience and accessibility.

‘Kukua simplifies everyday banking tasks, allowing customers to open accounts instantly, pay bills, transfer funds between Fidelity accounts, and check current exchange rates, all through the familiar platform of WhatsApp…

‘We are constantly working to expand Kukua’s capabilities, ensuring it remains a valuable and trusted resource for our customers.’

Fidelity Bank’s impressive performance at the GITTA awards on Friday, June 7, adds to their leadership in both financial inclusion and customer service innovation.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Heaven Investment Chapel International (HIC) has held an outreach programme to reach out to the lost souls within the Akatsi South Municipality of the Volta Region.

The week-long event saw activities such as ‘Good-Works Camp’ that was aimed to prepare the missionaries for the task ahead in the various villages, Salvation Walk within the principal streets of Akatsi, free eye screening for the aged, and others.

Senior Servant Prosper Jomens Matsi, the Founder and Leader of the Church, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the event was targeted at bringing the lost souls to Christ for eternal life.

He said the activities which recorded over thousand souls, were characterised by Awarding some individuals for their hard work and excellence, and teaching of some vocational skills such as making soap, liquid soap, and washing powder.

Touching on the word of God to climax all activities at Wlitey-Matsikope, Senior Servant Jomens, urged participants to embrace Jesus in all their dealings.

‘Jesus came to rescue s
inners but not the righteous. Let’s remember that a sinful person must not be condemned because they are that Jesus loves most so they could repent from their sinful ways.’

He charged believers to desist from discriminating among themselves since there was no righteous person on earth.

Senior Servant Matsi also urged all new converts to have faith in their savior Jesus Christ.

Togbe Matsi V, the Chief of Wlitey-Matsikope who witnessed the occasion, commended HIC for the initiative and appealed to individuals and organisations to assist the Akatsi Branch of the Church in completing the ongoing mega chapel building project.

Togbe Matsi also pledged his support in diverse ways to ensure the growth of the Church.

There was a ‘Love Boutique’ for participants who were allowed to pick free items such as clothes, shoes, bags, and others.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A project aimed at promoting good nutrition and hygiene practices among households in rural communities has begun in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region.

Dubbed, ‘WASH-Nutrition for Health Project’, the initiative is leveraging on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) infrastructure and programme in Healthcare Facilities to empower rural communities to have improved access to nutrition for improved health.

It is aimed at providing universal access to WASH services and empowering rural communities to engage in vegetable production to improve nutrition especially for pregnant women, lactating mothers, adolescent girls and children under five years among other vulnerable groups.

The one-year project is being implemented by WaterAid Ghana, a WASH focused organisation with funding support from the Latter-day Saints Charities.

It is being rolled at Adaboya and Atampintin, two farming communities in the Bongo District and it is supporting five women groups in each community.

Ing. Joshua Taiwo Adefila, Pr
oject Lead for the WASH-Nutrition for Health Project, said the project aimed to bridge the nutrition gap among rural communities particular for the vulnerable through strategic inclusive and climate resilient WASH related interventions.

According to Ing. Adefila who is also a Project Officer at WaterAid Ghana, two gardens under the sub-district dubbed, ‘Harvest her Garden’ had been established at the Community based Health Planning Services (CHPS) of the two beneficiary communities.

The aim is to support the vulnerable communities to engage in all year-round vegetable production as part of efforts to improve nutritional security at the household level and serve as a model for future scale up.

He said already, WaterAid had provided a limited solar mechanized water system with storage capacity of 10,000 litres for the Adaboya CHPS which would provide sustainable water for all year gardening.

He added that construction of another limited solar mechanized water system with storage capacity of 10,000 litres fo
r the CHPS and another 10,000 litres for the community was ongoing at the Atampintin community.

Apart from that, he said, the project was also constructing gender and disability friendly water-closet toilet facilities at the Atampintin CHPS to help improve sanitation and hygiene practices at the healthcare facility level.

He added that the project is working with the Bongo District Assembly, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Bongo District and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to ensure sustainability, continuity, and maximum impact.

‘We have also trained the beneficiary communities on agriculture best practices, GHS Nutrition manual and linkages with WASH, Infection Prevention and Control, Hygiene Behavioral Changes, Facility Improvement Tools, as well as support the women groups in creating ready markets for excess produce from the garden.’ he said.

Mr Nicholas Atubiga, Bongo District Crop Officer, who sensitised the women groups on best farming practices as part of the project, said the project was
complementing the efforts of the government in ensuring food and nutritional security.

He charged the beneficiaries to embrace the project to improve their livelihoods and encouraged households to adopt backyard gardening to improve nutrition.

The beneficiaries thanked WaterAid Ghana and its partners for the project and noted that it would not only help to improve nutrition at the household level but would help them engage in income generating activities through the garden project.

Source: Ghana News Agency

WENSAH International Foundation, a Sunyani-based Non-Governmental Orgainsation has adopted two visually impaired siblings in the area, pledging to cater for their educational and social needs.

Touched by their predicament, following a Ghana News Agency (GNA) report on the vulnerable children, the Foundation, that commits to promoting sustainable development, fosters culture of compassion, promised to do everything possible for the children to live meaningful lives.

The parents of Gloria Pomaa Peprah, 18 years, and her younger brother Ransford Acheampong Yeboah, eight years, confirmed that their children were not born blind, but lost their sight while growing up.

They said the two had gained admission at the Blind Unit of the Bechem School for the Deaf.

Their elder sister, Sandra Aniniwaa, 25 years, also a visually impaired had completed and pursued vocational training at the Akropong School for the Blind, however, she remained indoors, because of lack of seed capital to start her business.

Mr Isaac Osei
Amponsah, the Chief Executive Officer, WENSAH International Foundation, made the promise when he donated some items and educational materials to the children at their residence at GreenField, near Abesim in the Sunyani Municipality.

The items covered the prospectus of the children and comprised of two student mattresses, tins of milo, detergent, medicated soaps, boxes of milk, sugar, washing powders, sponges and towels, pomades, toothpaste and brushes, buckets, chop boxes, toiletries, books, and pens, among others.

‘Life is extremely unfair if you look at the predicaments of this family. Putting smiles on the faces of vulnerable children like these is what we stand for people.

‘Acheampong told me he wants to be a lawyer and we are determined to ensure that his dreams become a reality,’ Mr Amponsah stated.

Ms Naomi Pomaa, the mother of the three siblings thanked the foundation for the gesture and appealed for more support towards the proper upbringing and development of the children.

‘We have visited seve
ral hospitals and eye clinics; however, their condition keeps worsening,’ she stated. Mrs Pomaa, a petty trader, also appealed to the government and other NGOs, philanthropic individuals, and organisations to come to their aid.

Aniniwaa, the elder sister, also appealed for support, saying she required a ‘container’ shop to begin her business and to assist in the upkeep of the family.

She told the GNA with a start-up capital, she would be able to produce and sell local soap, washing powder, as well as pastries and sachet water.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Entrepreneurs in the country have been urged to collaborate with research institutions to develop groundbreaking innovations for the growth of the business industry.

They have also been advised to leverage technology to scale up their business ventures.

Mr Kwamena Quaison, Director, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) gave the advice at the opening of the Matchmaking and Information Sharing Workshop in Koforidua.

The workshop forms part of a special initiative of the Ghana Jobs and Skills Project with the aim of providing a platform for Research Institutions and Entrepreneurs to cocreate new industries or scale existing ones.

Speaking on behalf of Madam Ophelia Mensah Hayford, Minister of MESTI, he said Technology Transfer and commercialisation of Research had been a major policy concern for the government of Ghana.

He said successive Ministers for the Innovation Ministry had placed Technology Transfer at the top of their agenda because
of its connection to other ministries like Trade and Industry, Communication and Digitalisation, Food and Agriculture, Health and most importantly entrepreneurs.

Mr Quaison said the sector Minister had tasked the Science, Technology and Innovation Directorate of the Ministry to find an innovative solution to the weak research – industry collaboration and ensure that research outputs from research institutions were made available to entrepreneurs to create the needed jobs to support economic growth.

He acknowledged the significant roles played by universities and research institutes all over the world in the creation of new businesses, adding that the Ministry wanted to accelerate that culture in Ghana.

Mr Quaison lauded the research collaborations between the Kasapreko and the Centre for Plant Medicine and that of Despite Group of Companies’ with the Food Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

‘Today, the alomo bitters of Kasapreko and Neat fufu of Despite have created l
ots of jobs and supported economic growth of the Ghanaian economy. It is our hope that more Kasaprekos and Despites will emerge from this matchmaking,’ he said.

He said the session was the beginning of a road map to an ‘Innovation Voucher Programme’ where government would provide Innovation Vouchers to Entrepreneurs to access technologies at universities and research institutions.

The Director said the matchmaking would be followed by disbursements of grants to any Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises or Start-up that identified any technology or extension services to the tune or equivalent of USD5000.00 or more depending on the market viability analysis of the Project.

He thanked the World Bank, the Ministry of Finance and the CTVET for making the project possible.

‘I believe you will all make us proud by creating the jobs that the Ghana Jobs and Skills Project seeks to create. I urge you to all participate and contribute to improving our technology and innovation success stories in Ghana,’ he added.

Sou
rce: Ghana News Agency