Day: May 12, 2023

The Kumasi Traditional Council says it is organizing a special welcome ceremony to honour the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, from his trip to the United Kingdom.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who was a special guest at the coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey in London, is expected home on the late afternoon of May 13.

Baffuor Owusu Amankwaria VI, Bantamahene and acting President of the Kumasi Traditional Council, who announced this, said as part of activities to welcome him back, Otumfuo Osei Tutu, would be paraded through some principal streets in Kumasi to create opportunity for the people to honour and praise the king for raising the image of Asanteman and Ghana high on the global map.

Addressing a news conference at the Manhyia palace to announce the elaborate programme, Baffuor Amankwatia said, although it had been a norm to welcome the King home from any trip outside Ghana, this one would be quite distinct due to the honour and higher integrity the Asantehene had positioned Ghana and the rest of Africa.

'We are so proud of the King's achievements, and we need to recognize him in a unique way from his trip back from London.

He is revered by many leaders across the globe, hence the invite from King Charles III, King of Great Britain, and Northern Ireland to attend his coronation,' he stated at the press conference.

The Bantamahene explained that the Asantehene who is booked to arrive in Kumasi late afternoon of May 13, would be marched from the Kumasi International Airport, through the principal streets of Dichemso, to Suame and Abrepo Junction.

It will continue to the Bantama High Street to Adum through to Kejetia and Dr Mensah High Streets and end at the Palace at Manhyia.

He said there was no need for the masses to troop in at the Airport to meet the King, adding that, the marching through the ceremonial routes would afford everyone within these major areas the opportunity to wave miniature flags to welcome and honour the Asantehene.

According to Baffour Amankwatia, the Kumasi Traditional Council had already met with the leadership of Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEG), who had assured of maximum security before, during and after the route march.

He indicated that these activities normally required a close security presence, to ensure the safety of all those who might want to wave and greet the king on the streets.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Reverend Dr Bright Adonai, the Chief Executive of Adonai Estate Limited, has appealed to the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and other media practitioners to help shape the future of rent laws in the country.

'I am hopeful that the media, through its freedom of expression, can help shape the future of our rent laws in Ghana by partnering with the Volta Regional Association of Real Estate Developers (VRARED) to promulgate compliance to the Rent Law, which allows property owners to only demand six-months' rent advance from tenants,' he said.

Dr Adonai made the call in Ho in an interview with Ghana News Agency (GNA).

The Real Estate Association would establish the Volta Housing Development Fund to spearhead the clarion call.

The Fund would establish affordable houses to bridge the housing deficit in the region.

'The Association knows that influencing the current one-year and two years rent advance collection from tenants will not be an easy task. Nonetheless, with the unwavering support of the media, we believe this can be achieved,' he added.

'The relevance of our media cannot be gainsaid as the media has brought us closure and proper perspective of relevant issues that meaningfully alter our lives, influence our choices, businesses and global perspective.'

Dr Adonai commended the media for achieving some gains in ensuring freedom of expression.

However, he said there was still more room for improvement to ensure a brighter future for the country.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Kofi Amo-Kodieh, the Bono Regional Director of the Ghana Health Services (GHS), has advised the public to regularly visit the hospitals for voluntary medical check-ups, at least three times a year.

That, he said, was necessary for early detection, prevention and treatment of chronic illnesses.

Dr Amo-Kodieh gave the advice at the inauguration of SYO Advanced Medical Diagnostic Centre, a privately-owned laboratory facility at Fiapre in the Sunyani West Municipality.

The Centre would provide high quotient and standard diagnostic care services, backed by well-trained and dedicated staff, to render CT scans, conventional X-Ray, ultrasound, ECG and Endoscopy services.

He said hospitals were not meant for the sick alone but healthy persons may also visit for thorough investigations into the body system to identify and treat any hidden disease, which might become chronic and lead to death.

Dr Amo-Kodieh said aside from Accra and Kumasi there was a huge gap in the diagnostic services industry, which had a negative impact on the healthcare service delivery of the country.

He said the problem was identified during the COVID-19 pandemic, when all the specimens from Sunyani had to be taken to Kumasi and Accra for examination, adding that to date some of the results had not been received.

The SYO Advanced Medical Diagnostic Centre would, therefore, create competition, improve service delivery, and lower the cost of laboratory and x-ray services in the region.

He urged the management of the Centre to adopt a plan of preventive maintenance to keep the equipment in good condition always to provide quality and reliable diagnostic services to people in the region and beyond.

Dr Samuel Yaw Opoku (SYO), the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre, said it was established in partnership with the ECHO Tech of Turkey, in collaboration with the Sysmex Company Limited and Advert International Limited.

This forms part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) to provide a comprehensive diagnostic service to the population.

He said the Government alone could not provide all the health needs of the people, hence individuals contributing to help the nation achieve universal health coverage by 2030 were highly recommended.

The Centre would collaborate with the health authorities in the region to prevent the upsurge of non-communicable diseases through free health screening exercises as part of its CSR.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The German Development Cooperation, in collaboration with the Don Bosco Technical Institute and the European Union, has organised its third annual job fair to promote youth skills development.

The fair, which had the theme 'Connecting to Future Prospects: Skilling the Youth,' was organised to coincide with the European Year of Skills.

The fair, saw young men and women trained in skills such as solar lighting, catering, cosmology, and forklift operation display their skills and be given the opportunity to interact with captains of industries for possible placement and employment opportunities.

Ms. Romana Simon, the Deputy Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy in Ghana, said in an address that the fair, which was an annual event, was aimed at bridging the industry-academia skills gap in Ghana.

Ms. Simon noted that the networking and matchmaking event provided the graduating students with the platform to demonstrate their skills and technical knowledge acquired in their field of training.

She said the fair was the climax of the successful cooperation between Don Bosco Technical Institute and the German Development Cooperation in equipping the Ghanaian youth with market-oriented technical and vocational skills in the fields of automobile, electrical and electronics, hospitality, and logistics and warehousing.

'This partnership project falls within the framework of Invest for Jobs, the brand of the Special Initiative 'Decent Work for a Just Transition,' an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Investment for Jobs is implemented, among others, by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH,' she said.

Madam Regina Bauerochse Barbosa, the Country Director of GIZ Ghana, indicated for her part that in the last two years, the German Development Cooperation has helped train about 80,000 individuals (about the seating capacity of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum) in various short-term courses through the GIZ and other partners.

Madam Barbosa noted that promoting industry-specific skills was a must to enable the unemployed and underemployed youth to access jobs and fair employment conditions, adding that so far, about 1,200 young people had been trained in numerous vocational and technical disciplines since 2020 when the partnership project commenced.

She said with a financial commitment of one million euros through the German Federal Government into the project, their objective was to train 2,000 young people and establish 70 percent of them in local industries by the end of 2023.

Irchad Razaaly, the Ambassador of the European Union of Ghana, stated that one of the EU's main priorities was to support and include youth to contribute to prosperity and economic growth, adding that in Ghana, they were supporting over 100,000 talented young people to achieve their professional ambitions and make valuable contributions to their communities.

He added that it was important to focus on the youth because a young, dynamic, and skilled workforce reduced unemployment and boosted sustainable and inclusive growth.

He said two new collaborations had started in partnership with the Italian NGO VIS and several other European institutions in the framework of Erasmus+, the EU flagship initiative for education, aimed at enhancing the dialogue between the private sector and training institutions and promoting entrepreneurship.

Rev. Fr. Mark Eshun, Principal of Don Bosco Technical Institute, Ghana, reminded stakeholders in a welcome speech that the success of Ghana's industrial transformation quest, among other factors, was hinged on a well-equipped and skilled workforce that met the changing demands of the industry.

Rev. Fr. Eshun said, 'There is a need to empower our young women and men with both soft and technical skills that are in demand by industry to enable them to access various career opportunities while reducing the youth unemployment rate in Ghana, and this is a high priority for Don Bosco Technical Institute.'

Madam Kate Quartey-Papafio, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Reroy Cables, in a motivational message, encouraged the youth to sharpen their skills, add value to themselves, and aspire to create their own jobs.

Source: Ghana News Agency