Referencing Ghana’s long history with Denmark, dating as far back as the 17th century, the President said “we are looking forward to developing those relations, and we hope your visit will help cement a new relationship between our two countries.”

President Akufo-Addo made these comments as he held bilateral talks with Queen Margrethe II at the Flagstaff House as part of the Danish monarch’s three-day visit to the country.

Queen Margrethe II is the first Danish Monarch to visit Ghana, and she was accompanied by a large business delegation from Denmark.

President Akufo-Addo reiterated his Ghana beyond aid pledge, saying developing good trade and investment relations with Ghana’s partners was a step in the right direction.

“Increasingly, the focus of Ghanaian policy is to accentuate economic partnership between our partners, to ensure that businessmen  and women can get together and invest in our country, and Ghanaian business people, if they can, also invest in [countries like] Denmark,” the President said.

“Denmark has been a solid ally, friend and partner of Ghana. There are so many areas of our national life which have been affected by the generosity of the Danish people, and the co-operation development area encompasses many areas.”

The support from Denmark “is a support we treasure and value”, President Akufo-Addo said as he assured Queen Margrethe II that the support “has been put to good use.”

Danish Queen Margrethe II, visits Osu Mantse, Osu castle

The queen of Denmark, Her Majesty Margrethe II today [Thursday], November 23, 2017, paid a courtesy call on the Osu Mantse, Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI, at his palace, as part of activities marking day one of a three-day historic state visit to Ghana.

She made her second stop at the Osu castle, where she met with members of the national and regional house of chiefs, and also witnessed a book launch by celebrated archaeologist, Professor Henry Wellington.

The Osu Castle was noted as the base for Danish power in West Africa, and the centre for slave trade to the Danish West Indies. The queen’s last stop was at the Arts and Design Centre where she met award-winning sculptor, Constance Elizabeth Swaniker.

Ghana and Denmark relations

Ghana and Denmark have enjoyed strong diplomatic and commercial ties over the years, and this visit by the Queen, who will be joined by representatives of Danish companies and business organizations, is further aimed at strengthening same.

With Ghana’s graduation to a middle-income country and the prospects of sustainable economic growth, Denmark is gradually transitioning from development aid to trade cooperation, in line with the vision of the Government of Ghana.

Facts about Ghana and Danish exports:

•Ghana has 28 million inhabitants.

•Ghana was Denmark’s 84th largest export market in 2016, corresponding to DKK 272.7 million (around EUR 37 million) or 0.04% of total Danish exports.

•In the first seven months of 2017, Danish exports to Ghana rose to almost DKK 1 billion (EUR 134 million).

•The Danish International Development Assistance (Danida) has been active in Ghana since 1989, but the Danish development aid will now be phased out and cease entirely in 2020, as Ghana became a middle income country in 2011.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Dr. Manteaw reminded that, there are as yet undisclosed conditions that are tied to the money, making the overall deal hard to assess at the moment.

“Whether or not we will be able to access what has been said will be dependent on our ability to meet the conditions or the triggers for the release of these funds… we may need to have the full benefit of what the conditions are to be able to assess,” he said on the Citi Breakfast Show.

[contextly_sidebar id=”JMHFKqY5W7ksERvUUkhAz632TwtCurbB”]After a four-day working trip to China, the Vice President announced that, China had committed $15 billion worth of investment to Ghana, anchored on a new financing model designed by Ghana’s Economic Management Team.

The deals will leverage heavily on Ghana’s untapped natural resources such as bauxite and iron ore, according to Dr. Bawumia.

But Dr. Manteaw explained that, this basically meant the government was going to collateralize national resources and use them “as a guarantee for profiteering.”

The issue with this, he said, is that the Chinese will essentially be bypassing laws that govern the exploration of some of these natural resources.

“It kind of substitutes the current arrangement for allocating exploitation rights of the natural resource sector so that if the law says you have to go through a competitive bidding process or you have to go through a laid down procedure to be assigned exploitation rights for natural resources, all those arrangements are set aside because contracts with the Chinese then take precedence.”

“For me, that is not a very efficient way of resource allocation because you are able to overlook some of the due diligence processes that will be normally undertaken under the guidance of the regulator,” Dr. Manteaw said.

‘China presents useful openings’

Also commenting on the developments with China, the Head of the Legon Centre for Asian Studies, Dr Lloyd Amoah, said Ghana would be fine as long as the government does its homework well.

He said Ghana needed overcome the scepticism and open up “to the realisation that China presents useful openings for the national transformational agenda.”

He however noted that, “When you deal with the Chinese, you must do your homework well and state what your plans are, who your personnel are. We have to analyse in detail, and specifically, why it is that we didn’t pull it off [deals with China] under Mills the way we wanted in terms of optimality and why we didn’t pull it off under Mahama. If you look at what happened in those two administrations, there were clear reasons why.”

These reasons had to do with questions of personnel, infrastructure, review mechanics which have to be taken into account, Dr. Amoah said.

“That is a measure of your strategic infrastructure in place. It is a measure of how the policy infrastructure at the highest level in Ghana is sunk into the whole of the processes.”

The questions borne out of skepticism in deals with China are evident in the $3 billion China Development Bank (CDB) loan from 2011, of which the Chinese held back $2 billion because it felt certain aspects of their agreement fell short of expectations.

Ghana was to supply as collateral security, 13,000 barrels per day of crude oil up to 2027 to service the CDB facility, but the Chinese considered this deal insufficient because of the slump in oil prices.

But in addition to the news of the $15 billion dollar boost, Dr. Bawumia, also revealed that the Chinese government will release the remainder of the $3 billion loan after negotiations.

“We were able to successfully discuss and address some of the concerns and they have agreed to discuss and address some of the concerns and they have agreed to technically unfreeze that amount,” Dr. Bawumia disclosed.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Hasha, was convicted for smashing the head of a colleague with a tea kettle when he demanded his money from her.

The court presided over by Mrs Marian Affoh further ordered the convict to pay GHȼ 2,000.00 as compensation to the complainant, and sign a bond to be of good behaviour for 24 months, or in default serve another six-month jail term.

The court asked the police to allow harmed victims to take shots of the wounds in the initial stage of injuries, so as to assist the court  to ascertain the degree of injuries.

According to the court, without such evidence, it becomes difficult for the court to assess the extent of harm meted out to victims.

Prosecuting Inspector E.O. Adjei, said the complainant, Agya Baah, a trader resides at Russia, near Dansoman.

He said around February last year, the complainant gave out cash in the sum of GHȼ24,000.00 to the convict for safe keeping.

Inspector Adjei said five months later, the complainant went to Hasha and collected GHȼ 18,000.00 out of the amount, leaving a balance of GHȼ6,000.00.

According to prosecution, somewhere in November last year, Agya Baah went to demand the rest of his money, but Hasha pleaded with him to give her some time since she had used the balance to cure her ailing mother.

This prosecution said this did not go down well with Agya Baah, and a quarrel ensued between him and the accused.

On January 3, this year, the husband of the accused called the complainant on phone and asked him to come for his money.

The prosecution said, the following day, the complainant went for his money from the convict’s husband, however while Agya Baah was counting the money, Hasha without any provocation emerged and smashed the complainant’s forehead with a tea kettle.

The complainant sustained injuries on his forehead, and reported the matter to the Police where Hasha was arrested.

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Source: GNA

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He however pleaded guilty to stealing and was fined GHC 500 or in default serve six months imprisonment.

In addition, the court ordered him to refund the GHC 3,000 being the value of the yams to the complainant.

[contextly_sidebar id=”yQZYEE7BfF5lWTJFTMAD5ADMqexVi56S”]Police Chief Inspector John Amponsah told the court presided over by Mr Godwin Kpogli that the complainant, Madam Esther Adoma is a farmer at Dadease near Asante Mampong and the suspect is a taxi driver at Mampong.

The complainant has a large acreage of yam farm at Dadease which has reached maturity and detected that somebody was uprooting some of the yams so she informed the farmers around the area to look out for the thief.

The prosecution said on July 18, a witness in the case saw the convict loading some yams in a cab and when she confronted him to know the source of the yams, the suspect said the load belongs to a certain woman at Mampong.

Chief Inspector Amponsah said the witness accompanied the driver to the alleged woman who denied ownership of the yams and in the process, the taxi driver attempted to run away but he was arrested by the people who were attracted to the scene and was handed over to the police.

The owner of the yams was informed and during police investigation, the convict admitted that he stole the yams and led the police to the farm where he said he has been farm on four occasions.

Chief Inspector Amponsah said the convict said he uprooted the yams on market days and sold them.

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Source: GNA

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The acting Public Relations Officer of the GES, Reverend Jonathan Bettey told Citi News that the headmistress is still at post.

“We have not started any investigation so I can’t tell the public as to when the woman is going to be investigated but she is still at post. Nobody has sat on her issue,” he stated.

[contextly_sidebar id=”wfnwdiDC4r8ryFklsYWtfZhFeniIkXN2″]The wife of the Vice President, Matilda Amissah-Arthur was heavily criticized for publicly rebuking the headmistress when she requested for boxes of chalk and other educational materials.

The Second Lady however apologized but various groups, individuals and even the New Patriotic Party (NPP) subsequently donated large quantities of chalk to the school.

The GES later announced that it is impossible for the school to lack chalk because early on, 42 boxes of chalk had been delivered to the school.

The Service later announced that it will carry out an investigation into the matter to ascertain the factors which informed the headmistress’ decision to ask for chalk from the Second Lady who had visited her school to donate 5 computers and about 500 books.

Reports have since emerged that the GES had sanctioned the headmistress but Rev. Bettey insists these reports are untrue.

“There is no message from the Ghana Education Service on the transfer of the headmistress. This morning at a seminar with the District Director Kukurantumi, there wasn’t any statement from the Regional Director or from any quarters of the Ghana Education Service,” he recounted.

He nonetheless was unable to tell if the woman will be sanctioned saying, “I cannot say that she is to be suspended but or any punishment will be meted out to her until GES has finally settled this issue and the issue is not a court issue; it’s not any big deal.”

“We are just sitting down to see how best we can address the public on this issue of the woman.”

By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @osamidan

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He explained that, if the idea is implemented, the country risks returning “home  one day to find a missing generation of middle level skillful technicians, who had been replaced by a set of theoretical skills.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”LoxHEglyqjiRxYMkoi93UbAkADQrz75N”]Professor Yankah was delivering the keynote address at the formal opening of the Eighth Annual International Applied Research Conference of the Koforidua Polytechnic at Koforidua.

The conference is under the theme “Applied Research, Essential for National Development” and it is being organized in collaboration with the Methodist University, with the participation of many research scientists and students from the Koforidua Polytechnic.

He said though the founders of the country saw the need for a strong scientific research base for the development of the country, which saw the establishment of the Ghana Academic of Arts and Sciences and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, one would have expected Ghana to have a strong research output.

Professor Yankah called for a strong relationship between tertiary institutions and industry and also advocated for the intensification of relationship between the industrial hub of Tema, North Kaneshie Industrial Area, Suame Magazine, Kokompe and the communication hub with the tertiary and research institutions in the country.

He urged tertiary institutions to formulate internship programmes that would ensure trainees are immersed in the world of work and develop the passion for the work of industry.

He advised tertiary institutions to institutionalize tracer studies to enable them to follow-up on the progress of their graduates in the employment world, to determine the adequacy and relevance of their training to help them improve their curriculum.

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Source: GNA

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This was contained in the final report of the NIB on the state of schools in the country from 2013 to the beginning of the 2014/2015 academic year, which was disclosed at a dissemination meeting in Koforidua in the Eastern Region.

The report was based on a study conducted in 1,465 schools in 165 districts across the 10 regions of Ghana.

[contextly_sidebar id=”4Dw2FVa3Hu5NGH1WP0OICDTxAgeMZT7f”]Dr Augustine Tawiah, the Acting Chief Inspector of Schools, said the report revealed that, most teachers participated in workshop activities on school days, leaving the classrooms empty.

He said the inability of the head teachers to sanction or discipline habitual absenteeism or lateness to school, also contributed to the poor teaching and learning in schools.

Dr Tawiah said some of the reasons why teachers absent themselves were that of ill-health, long maternity leave and enrolling in sandwich programmes in universities to upgrade themselves.

The NIB, as part of its recommendations, urged the GES to review the conditions and modalities for granting permission to embark on distance education programmes.

He said there is the need to strengthen school supervision undertaken by head teachers and circuit supervisors.

According to him, teacher development should be seen as a continuous process involving regular short courses, seminars and work for both teachers and head teachers to sharpen their pedagogical skills and management respectively.

Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere, the Eastern Regional Minister, called on stakeholders in education to put all hands on deck and contribute towards a common goal, adding that, education needs the continuous support and co-operation from government.

He said government is still committed to providing equal and easy access to quality basic education, saying there are still some challenges but government would not relent in its efforts.

Source: GNA

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By her appointment, Prof Dzisi becomes the first woman Rector of a Polytechnic in the country.

Before her appointment, she was the Dean of Graduate Studies of the Polytechnic and she is expected to assume office on August 1, 2015.

[contextly_sidebar id=”OCVDZQpyhtUIQfUGNqAKgWKkv75YAlGY”]The chairperson of the Governing Council of the Polytechnic, Prof Esther Sakyi-Dawson, announced this at the 11th Congregation of the Polytechnic in Koforidua.

She said for the 18 years of the existence of the Koforidua Polytechnic, it had witnessed a lot of improvement in the quality and number of staff, student enrolment, and infrastructural development.

Prof Sakyi-Dawson, however, appealed to the government, to consider the polytechnic as one of the new institutions in the country to be given special funding from the GETFund, to accelerate its infrastructural development.

She said the funding would further assist the polytechnic to attain its objective as a tertiary institution offering Bachelor in Technology, Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes and Postgraduate Technology programmes.

She appealed to students and staff of the Polytechnic, to use dialogue to resolve any differences, cautioning that the Governing Council will be swift and decisive in dealing with any person or group of persons who would use unacceptable ways to disturb the peace of the Polytechnic.

The Eastern Regional Minister, Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere, challenged the graduating students to use the training they have received at the polytechnic to establish their own companies, to help create employment for others.

The former Rector of the Polytechnic, Prof Raynolds Okai, advised students who graduated at the HND level, to apply for degree programmes at the polytechnic and continue to the doctorate level.

He described the situation of going to the university to start a degree programme at level 100 as a waste of time and resources of the individual and the nation at large.

In all, 53 Bachelor of Technology students and as many as 1,711 HND students graduated,   with the over-all best HND student award going to Godwin Uzoma Chikwere, with  Emmanuel Odoom receiving the over-all best award for the Bachelor of Technology programme.

Source: GNA

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The Agenda 50/50 is a campaign by the Eastern Regional Executives to split the votes of the electorates in the region equally with the main opposition, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2016 elections.

[contextly_sidebar id=”mde1bU0yGYKQXV6kCmjLNBn3MSnBWElw”]Presently, the Ashanti and Eastern Regions are considered the strongholds of the NPP and the NDC is determined to split the votes in the 2016 general elections.

Already, the NDC has launched a campaign in the Ashanti Region called ‘Operation one million votes for Mahama’ which is aimed at securing one million votes for President John Mahama in 2016.

The former Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, the NDC Deputy General Secretary, Koku Anyidoho and National Organizer, Kofi Adams are present in Suhum for the launch.

Also, all the seven NDC Members of Parliament (MPs) are in attendance.

They are MP for Akwatia, Ahmed Mohammed Baba Jamal, Afram Plains South MP, Joseph Appiah Boateng, Lower Manya MP, Ebenezer Terlabi, Upper Manya MP, Jeff Kavianu and Yilo Krobo MP, Magnus Kofi Amoatey.

The party’s Eastern Regional executives were also present .

By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The head pastor of Miraculous Jesus Ministry in Koforidua, Prophet Nyame Akwadaa, who was found to have illegally connected power to his church premises, has been given seven days to pay his bill or face prosecution.

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Source: Graphic Online

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