He disclosed that the region was currently bedevilled with 50 chieftaincy disputes, 47 of which are petitions with three other appeals pending before the judicial committee of the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs (BARHCs).

[contextly_sidebar id=”c8bqTHVAKzo92qoHYa15qzT1SQxARagw”]The Minister, therefore, called for a holistic approach by the Brong Ahafo Regional Coordinating Council (BARCC), the House of Chiefs and other stakeholders to bring the number of disputes that have plagued the region, down to the bare minimum.

“Of particular concern to the BARCC and the BARHCs is the chieftaincy dispute at Portor near Kintampo where two lives were recently lost due to a dispute between two rival factions who pay allegiance differently to the Gonja Stool and Nkoranza Stool. Peace has been restored by the security agencies and the police are investigating to identify and bring the perpetrators to book,” he stated.

The Minister made this known in an address to members of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), Heads of Department/Agencies (HODs), Municipal/District Chief Executives (MDCEs) and Traditional Authorities. The meeting was aimed at sharing ideas and experiences to help in the implementation of the region’s developmental agenda.

Environmental degradation

He also noted that illegal mining was wreaking havoc on most productive farmlands in the region and said REGSEC, in collaboration with the MDCEs, were monitoring all galamsey-prone areas and will soon nip the menace in the bud.

On illegal lumbering, he disclosed the 13-member Police Taskforce established by REGSEC has so far impounded over 50 trucks.

He also appealed for collaboration between residents and the various security councils in their areas to share information for the effective and coordinated arrest of perpetrators.

He appealed to residents and petitioners in the region to fully cooperate with the Presidential Commission on the creation of new regions to discharge its duties in the interest of all and warned against using the siting of the capitals to forment trouble.

He highlighted governments flagship programmes and interventions and encouraged residents to take advantage of the initiatives to improve their standard of living.

The Minister said with relentless efforts from Donor Agencies, Heads of Department/Agencies, MDCEs, Private sector and Traditional Authorities in partnering the BARCC, the vision of the President to develop the country will soon be realized.

–

By: Mashoud Kombat/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post B/A: Chieftaincy, land disputes hampering development – Minister appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the establishment of particularly the Northern Development Authority out of the remnants of SADA should not operate in a way that puts Northern Ghana at a disadvantage because the electoral fortunes of the NPP is not the best in that part of the country.

[contextly_sidebar id=”RVxYEhJFh03RYM3POMllT0RIgnXVolN9″]His comments follow the expected laying of the bills for the Northern, Middle Belt and Coastal Development Authorities in Parliament next week.

Speaking to Citi News’ Duke Mensah Opoku on Friday, Rashid Pelpuo said government must come clean on why it added other areas apart from the northern belt which has peculiar challenges.

“It’s a normal thing for any government that wants to undertake a development agenda to develop a policy that will translate it into a legal frame. So that’s why I see government couching their policy on the development sectors – the northern, middle belt and the coast belt, couching it on a bill which will appear before parliament soon. We are looking forward to examine the details of how that policy initiative if translated into law will come out. We want to see how that development bill will correspond to the peculiar needs of the various areas and why government decided to separate them into three development areas.”

He explained that during the NDC’s regime, they limited the areas to places that have challenges in development.

“So it is important to pull the north along so that we can have a good average for the country. But now if you are adding other places, there must be a reason to add those other places. Maybe they too have those kinds of challenges but that would depend on some feasibility study,” he added.

Nana Addo approves Act establishing 3 dev’t authorities

President Akufo Addo has approved an act establishing the three development authorities to be laid before Parliament on Wednesday.

The Coastal, Middle and Northern Belt Development Authorities according to the government, will be key in the administration of the one million dollars for every constituency each year.

Also, the Bill establishing the Zongo Development Fund will be laid before the House on Wednesday.

Dr. Muntaka Alolo, a Technical Economic Adviser at the Office of the Vice President, told Citi News that government is ready to fulfill those promises to Ghanaians.

“On Wednesday, the draft Bill will be made in Parliament for the establishment of the three development authorities but once it is made , the necessary parliamentary processes will take off so the bills are packed and the authorities will be established…” Dr. Alolo said.

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Pelpuo cautions gov’t over 3 new development authorities appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The greater satisfaction, however, comes from the quota you will contribute to fund a social project in Greater Accra.

Accra SOUP is a micro-granting dinner to fund, celebrate and support creative social projects in Accra. It is Accra’s response to the global SOUP movement which started in Detroit.

After successfully organising five events; the sixth crowdfunding dinner is set to be bigger and a lot more exciting. Accra SOUP has grown in popularity since its maiden edition in August 2015 and has become a must-attend for young people and grown-ups alike, who want to make a difference in their communities.

If you are wondering what Accra SOUP is all about; it is a really simple concept. People turn up to the dinner, make a minimum donation of 10 cedis at the door (those who can, are encouraged to donate more) and that entitles them to a bowl of soup plus a vote! Yes, a VOTE!

But what are they voting for?

Accra SOUP is a great place to meet like-minded young people

Attendees listen to four people pitch an idea each to improve any problem they have identified in Accra. Pitchers may use PowerPoint and have a maximum of four minutes to share the idea.

The audience are then allowed to ask the pitchers questions about their problem-solving ideas.

The ideas that are presented range from art, urban agriculture, social justice, social work, education, technology and many more. It can be about any brilliant idea that can solve a problem or enhance life in Accra.

After the presentations and questions, delicious soup (light soup) is served; Ghana style. The audience is encouraged to come along with their own foods as well to add to it and share with others. But this is optional. Attendees get to network and ask the pitchers some more questions over a bowl of SOUP.

Then the audience cast ballots for the idea they liked the most. The votes and the money collected at the door are counted. The idea with the most votes gets to take home all the donations taken at the door and use it to fund their plan, with a public pledge to come back in three months (at the next dinner) to give a report on how they used the money.

So, do well to stop by on Saturday, 8th July, at Impact Hub Accra, Labone (behind Arko Adjei Park) at 5:00pm just to have some soup, meet new people, network with community-minded individuals and remember, soup can indeed bring change.

Accra SOUP: Developing Accra, one bowl of SOUP at a time!

–

Source: Accra Soup

The post 6th Accra Soup crowdfunding dinner comes off today appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The greater satisfaction, however, comes from the quota you will contribute to fund a social project in Greater Accra.

Accra SOUP is a micro-granting dinner to fund, celebrate and support creative social projects in Accra. It is Accra’s response to the global SOUP movement which started in Detroit.

After successfully organising five events; the sixth crowdfunding dinner is set to be bigger and a lot more exciting. Accra SOUP has grown in popularity since its maiden edition in August 2015 and has become a must-attend for young people and grown-ups alike, who want to make a difference in their communities.

If you are wondering what Accra SOUP is all about; it is a really simple concept. People turn up to the dinner, make a minimum donation of 10 cedis at the door (those who can, are encouraged to donate more) and that entitles them to a bowl of soup plus a vote! Yes, a VOTE!

But what are they voting for?

Accra SOUP is a great place to meet like-minded young people

Attendees listen to four people pitch an idea each to improve any problem they have identified in Accra. Pitchers may use PowerPoint and have a maximum of four minutes to share the idea.

The audience are then allowed to ask the pitchers questions about their problem-solving ideas.

The ideas that are presented range from art, urban agriculture, social justice, social work, education, technology and many more. It can be about any brilliant idea that can solve a problem or enhance life in Accra.

After the presentations and questions, delicious soup (light soup) is served; Ghana style. The audience is encouraged to come along with their own foods as well to add to it and share with others. But this is optional. Attendees get to network and ask the pitchers some more questions over a bowl of SOUP.

Then the audience cast ballots for the idea they liked the most. The votes and the money collected at the door are counted. The idea with the most votes gets to take home all the donations taken at the door and use it to fund their plan, with a public pledge to come back in three months (at the next dinner) to give a report on how they used the money.

So, do well to stop by on Saturday, 8th July, at Impact Hub Accra, Labone (behind Arko Adjei Park) at 5:00pm just to have some soup, meet new people, network with community-minded individuals and remember, soup can indeed bring change.

Accra SOUP: Developing Accra, one bowl of SOUP at a time!

–

Source: Accra Soup

The post 6th Accra Soup crowdfunding dinner set for July 8 appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

However, he said, if such resources are not efficiently managed it could possibly erode democratic accountability as well as serve as a basis for conflict and social strife.

Dr Manteaw said this at a dissemination workshop organized by World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI) at Daboase in the Western Region.

He said countries like Angola, Sudan, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo were a few examples where poor resource management has resulted in social strife.

Dr Manteaw said many natural resource rich developing countries score poorly on good governance and are found in the bottom third of the World Bank’s composite governance indicator rankings and also the bottom third of Transparency International’s annual ranking of countries by perceptions of corruption.

He said GHEITI originated from the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) with the main aim of resolving problems in the extractive sector, adding that the initiative was grounded in a shared belief that the prudent exploitation of natural resource wealth would provide the basis for sustainable economic growth and contribute to sustainable development.

Madam Rachel Fosuwa Sarpong, the District Coordinating Director for Wassa East, said the dissemination workshop was timely to inform key stakeholders on the effects and benefits of natural resources.

She said the workshop would also promote popular participation which is a very important tool in ensuring transparency and accountability in the management of revenue from mining resources.

Madam Sarpong said in the past revenue accrued from extractive resources were used for recurrent instead of capital expenditure which resulted in poor development outcomes.

She said GHEITI is around to promote the prudent exploitation of natural resource wealth, ensure that citizens benefited from the natural resource extraction and also provide citizens the opportunity for public debate on how revenue from extractive resource should be used.

Mr Kwaku Boamponsem, an official of Boas and Associates, said GHEITI’s objectives could only be met through enhanced transparency of funds in relation to payments, receipts disbursements and utilization.

He said payments and receipts considered under the 2014 reports included Mineral Right Licenses, Ground rent, property rates and Mineral royalties as well as corporate taxes, dividends and environmental permitting fees.

Mr Boamponsem said the 2014 GHEITI reconciliation report indicates an amount of GH¢ 972,092,848.00 as government receipts whiles company payments was at GH¢972, 787,529.00.

He said corporate tax was the largest of the mining revenue streams received by the government in 2014 whiles Grounds Rent receipts were significant for the first time in the reconciliation process.

Madam Abena Acheampong, the country Director for World University Service of Canada (WUSC), said WUSC is a leading Canadian international development organization dedicated to improving education, employment and empowerment opportunities for youth, women, refugees, and other marginalized people around the world.

She said WUSC was currently working in partnership with West African Governance and Economic Sustainability (WAGES) to identify business opportunities for communities and strengthen local and national businesses.

Madam Acheampong WUSC and WAGES were jointly implementing initiatives in Guinea, Burkina Faso and Ghana where they are currently working in Bogoso and Wassa East.

The Country Director said one of the objectives of WUSC and WAGES was to give people in mining areas alternative livelihood so that life could be meaningful to the people after mining activities have concluded in the area.

–

Source: GNA

The post Our natural resources should propel development – Dr Manteaw appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He posited that, many Ghanaians have benefited from the region, hence it was time to give back to the region.

In an interview with Citi News, Kwamina Duncan called on all residents to help him change the status of the region which is known as the citadel of education.

“As the coordinator for development in the region, I would wish to have everybody to come on board whether in terms of strength, resources or anything that can be of help to develop our region. Especially those who are outside the country and have been able to make something from wherever they are, it’s important that they come back to support the region to move on,” he stated.

He also entreated policy makers who have benefited from the region to put the development of the region first when making policies and laws for the country.

“Go to the ministries, and you will know that even the minister that the president has appointed and the chief directors, one way or the other have something to do with the central region. They may have come to school here or are natives of this region so I am also saying that policies which are formulated must be the one that can also assist the central region to grow and come up. It is not just that the central is a place where you find the good schools and bring your kids for education and then that’s the end of the matter.” he lamented.

Kwamina Duncan, who until his appointment was a senior house master at Mfantsepim School, said he would ensure that basic school pupils in the Central Region get the opportunity to attend the top schools in the region by encouraging pupils to learn hard   .

“It is unfortunate to know that central region is having all the big schools in the nation; but our children find it difficult to enter these schools. I would establish an awards scheme in all the twenty districts to motivate the children to get the best grades for the big schools. I want to see the kids in this region learning hard and pass, while we also work to give them the thirty percent quota of enrollment in the big schools,” he emphasized.

The Regional Minister, who took office over a week ago, promised to reduce child marriage and teenage pregnancy in the region through advocacy, and by assisting the girl child to be educated.

He assured the region of his commitment to remove the tag of been called the fourth poorest region in Ghana. This he said can be achieved by creating industrial jobs in the farming communities to improve the lot of the people.

“The Central Region has many natural resources that if they are well-managed, it can change the poor tag that has been on us for a very long time. We are going  to attract investors to build factories to buy the produce from the farmers and encourage the fishermen with fishing processing factories and cold-stores that add value to the fish in bumper seasons. When these are achieved; we would get the jobs for the young people and we would not be called a poor region again,” he averred.

He also appealed to the chiefs in the region to release lands for the one district one factory project, which he said would soon commence in the Central Region.

–

By: Akwesi Koranteng/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Minister rallies support for Central Region’s development appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The group said this in a congratulatory message to the President-elect on his electoral victory, and consequent mandate to form and lead the government over the next four years.

“We are optimistic that the incoming President will oversee changes in the operating environment for businesses that will make it more private enterprise friendly, and will implement macro-economic policies that will make Ghana more attractive for both local and foreign investment, while significantly improving the living standards of the general populace. We also congratulate all the winners of Parliamentary seats and look forward to their enlightened, committed, efforts to devise and pass legislation that will benefit Ghana and its citizens.”

“We hold the view that the expansionary, supply-side driven economic policies mooted by the incoming government are in the right direction and our members are committed to supporting the efforts of the State in actualizing them for the benefit of all Ghanaians.”

The group is however demanding that the incoming government goes beyond the policies proposed in its election manifesto, to introduce further policies that have the potential to radically transform Ghana’s development paradigm.

“To this end, we advocate that the incoming government adopt the following specific policies in furtherance of its agenda for accelerated economic growth and restructuring of the economy for sustainable development over the long term.”

•The one district, one industry policy should be a minimum, rather than an ultimate target. The fact is that the one district, one industry policy is needed in that it would ensure a minimum level of industrialization, and consequent value addition, wealth creation and employment generation in every district, thus ensuring the spread of industrial activity and its benefits nationwide.

However, not all districts are equally endowed with inputs for industrial production; indeed some districts have the potential to host several economically viable projects, and such districts should not be deprived of the opportunity to fully fulfill their potentials. Rather government should deliberately encourage and indeed facilitate as many industries as are viable in each district.

•Churches should be encouraged and facilitated to own businesses, especially in the hinterlands, where they are potentially the most capable institutional investors available. They possess the requisite capital, have access to capable human resources and importantly, are more likely to apply ethical conduct to their operations.
Besides this holds the potential to resolve the long-debated issue of taxation of churches. If they are actively involved in business, they can be taxed on their business profits rather than on their collections.

•Deliberate efforts need to be made to enhance the readiness of the Civil Service to perform its roles. In particular, we insist that the incoming government establishes the Advisory Board for each ministry as demanded by the Civil Service Law of 1993. The law calls for every Ministry to have an Advisory Board which consists, among others of the sector Minister, Deputy Minister and representatives of the three private sector organizations that have the most interaction with the Ministry. The purpose of the Advisory Boards is to facilitate optimal interface between each Ministry and the private sector which it is mandated to both support and regulate.

We assert that the Advisory Boards would be crucial in improving the quality of service provided the private sector by government. Crucially, they are required by law and the failure of successive governments in Ghana to constitute them has made them fall foul of the law and indeed exposes government to corrective legal action.

•There is the need for reforms in the tertiary sector in order to make its graduates more relevant and useful when they begin their working careers. To this end there is the need to move from paper-based education to virtual modes of education, using modern technology. This will allow for the immediate addition of new things into the curricula where relevant.

•Related to this is the need to establish an educational sector alliance between the tertiary institutions and industry, under which industry can develop curricula for tertiary institutions based on the skills and knowledge they actually need for their practical operations. Students who go through such industry-driven courses could then go on to do internships/industrial attachments with organizations that need those skills in order to learn precisely how to deploy them.

•Finally, we strongly recommend that the National Service Scheme be redesigned as a private sector driven scheme, rather than the government driven scheme which it is currently. This would require private sector organizations to be given the chance to take on NSS members ahead of the public sector. Since NSS members are paid below market rates, government stands to make revenues from charging beneficiary private enterprises a fee for letting them use Scheme members on the cheap.

This the group says would also improve the chances of fresh tertiary graduates being employed, because of their exposure to potential private sector employers and the practical skills and competencies they would learn during their national service year

“ADI will continue to come up with well thought out policy recommendations and suggestions into the future, based on the practical needs and experiences of the corporate sector. Importantly, our policy concepts are based on the modern economy which has best international practices and the optimal use of technology as its pillars. We welcome new membership from new generation entrepreneurs and industrialists who wish to contribute to Ghana’s accelerated growth and development through advocacy for a better environment for responsible and beneficial economic activity to flourish,” the group said in a statement.
–
By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post ADI urges new development policies beyond manifesto promises appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Former Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanten, who made this known at the party’s manifesto launch at the Accra International Trade Fair Centre in Accra, said, “the NPP will pursue aggressive industrialization based on value addition; provide tax and related incentives for manufacturing businesses; investing in skills training and apprenticeship, as well as providing resources for small businesses and start-ups to emerge and flourish.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”vQtOiNZJ10c4rCkZwr0pkg83o5EscfJ9″]“To respond to the challenge of raining long-term finance, the NPP government will first establish an industrial development fund, to support critical private sector industrial initiatives. The Fund will be ceded from government multilateral and private institutional investors. We will also recapitalize and restructure the National Investment Bank (NIB), to provide medium to long-term financing for industries. We will mandate the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre to attract financing and investment into selected strategic industries. We will eliminate the current system of political patronage, and restructure the existing MASCLOC scheme to provide credit for SMEs.”

We’II reduce port charges and others

Mr. Kwadwo Kyeremanten also promised that an NPP government will reduce charges at the country’s ports, and other taxes, as part of moves to lessen the burden on businesses.

“To tackle the high cost of doing business, the NPP will reduce the tax burden on businesses by either completely abolishing same taxes or reducing them. By far, one of the biggest challenges industries have faced for more than five years, is inadequate supply of power. In fact, ‘dumsor’ has led to thousands of Ghanaians losing their jobs not to mention the number of families that have been affected by these considerable job losses. The NPP will implement a broad range of reforms in the energy sector to arrest the problem.”

“Ghanaian businesses face significant challenges in exporting or importing goods at the ports. To address these challenges, the NPP will significantly reduce fees and charges at the Ports. We will also introduce reforms in Port clearing systems and benchmark our ports against some of the best in the world such as Dubai and Singapore, and make our ports some of the most efficient in Africa to support import and export.

Establishment of industrial zones

Mr. Kyeremanten announced the creation of industrial zones across the country.

“Industrial activity in Ghana has also been constrained by poor industrial development planning including limited access to land for the development of industrial zones. To address this challenge, the NPP will facilitate access to dedicated land spaces in every region for the establishment of multi-purpose industrial parks. We will also develop vibrant commercial zones in border towns in Ghana, and work jointly with our neighbouring countries on developing industrial activities, which will create jobs and promote efforts towards stronger economic integration in the ECOWAS region.”

‘A new golden age for small businesses’

According to Mr. Kyeremanten, in order “To promote entrepreneurship, the NPP will usher in a new golden age for small businesses by launching a comprehensive national plan for entrepreneurship and innovation that will invest in supporting existing small businesses and high growth potential as well as start-ups particularly those initiated by young persons.”

Apprenticeship and skills development centres

The former Trade and Industry Minister also mentioned that an NPP government will set up an apprenticeship and skills development centres to train skilled labour force for specific industrial sectors.

“Skills shortage for industrial development is one of the critical areas that the NPP will urgently address. In this regard, we will establish an apprenticeship and skills development centres to train skilled labour force for specific industrial sectors. Secondly, we will develop in collaboration with Trade Unions a database for trained apprentices and artisans, and establish a national apprentice recruitment agency. In partnership with the private sector, we will transform the existing apprenticeship training module from a supply driven approach, to a market driven model based on the German apprenticeship model.”
–
By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AfanyiDadzie

The post NPP to set up an Industrial Development Fund – Alan appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.