Day: May 17, 2023

Vice President Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has stated that the successful completion of the Multi-purpose Youth Resource Centre (YRC) in Wa is a promise that the New Patriotic Party government has delivered to the people of the Upper West Region. He said the facility would help improve the development of sporting activities and to unearth the sports talents in the region and the country at large saying, 'This one is a promise delivered and we thank God for it. 'It's a multi-purpose facility for different sports, so it is good to enhance sports in this country, in this region and in Wa in particular', Alhaji Dr. Bawumia observed. Vice President Bawumia said this in Wa on Wednesday when he inspected the progress of work at the Wa YRC as part of his visit to the Upper West Region. He earlier on called on the overlord of the Wala Traditional Area, Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV to announce his presence in the region and the purpose of his visit. The facility in Wa was one of the 10 YRCs being constructed across the country. Phase one of the project had been fully completed while phase two was about 98 per cent complete and projected to be fully completed in about two months. The Vice President commended the contractor in charge of the project for the quality of work done. 'I am very impressed with what I have seen. This is fantastic and I must congratulate you and your team. I must congratulate the Contractor for an excellent work done, and I believe that it will be put to good use', Vice President Bawumia said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) is seeking a strategic and effective system for greater engagement with the government at all levels in order to generate long-term economic growth.

NCCI president Bisey Uirab stated this during the recently held national corporate forum in Windhoek under the subject ‘Harnessing the power of business to advocate for local economic growth’.

The National Corporate Forum is a networking meeting of the chamber’s corporate executive members who frequently share ideas, information, opinions and solutions from other successful CEOs on current industry and business concerns.

According to him, the forum sessions allow industry leaders to seek guidance from their peers on addressing various corporate and enterprise concerns, as well as discuss ideas for increasing enterprises and a sustainably thriving enterprise community.

“We are all aware that the responsibility to lead the revival of our economy following years of a recession and global pandemic has been placed on the shoulders of the private sector. Rightly so because job creation, wealth creation, economic empowerment and nation building are all led by the business community,” Uirab said.

Reviving the economy requires us to act quickly to enable the NCCI to build a resilient economy that can sustain jobs, create domestic wealth and healthy communities, and every Namibian must support local enterprises, from procurement opportunities to market access for Namibia’s local goods and services, he added.

“Given our small domestic market, global connectivity is equally essential for the growth of our businesses. Hence, we need to proactively strengthen our regional economic integration by undertaking comprehensive reviews of existing trade agreements, improving trade facilitation, building strategies for digital commerce and looking at ways of building collective strategies to promote regional commodities. Innovation is key for business survival,” he noted.

Uirab further said the Namibian government has provided critical support to entrepreneurs in the last two years. Economic growth is however uneven across multiple sectors, and the government should continue to provide targeted support.

“The recent discovery of oil reserves, and the various green hydrogen projects that are about to take root in our country are developments that we, as local business cannot and should not ignore. It is crucial that we participate in these discussions and ensure that we as Business Namibia are around the table and become active players therein,” he said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

The Police have nabbed a 17-year-old minor suspected of being part of a gang engaged in street robberies at Adenta and its environs. The minor, a pupil in a school at Adenta, was nabbed after he and one Odame Boakye, aka OD, now at large, allegedly robbed a Theatre Assistant of her handbag containing an iPhone 7 plus valued at GHC2,800 and cash of GHC 2,000 at Adenta. Charged with conspiracy and robbery, the court did not take the plea of the minor and remanded him into lawful custody. Boakye, who has been jointly charged together with the minor is said to be at large. Meanwhile, Boakye's mother has given out the iPhone 7 Plus to the Police, saying she found it in his son's room. The court presided over by Mrs Sedinam Awo Balokah has ordered the Police to ascertain the age of the minor through a medical examination. The matter has been adjourned to June 5, 2023. The prosecution led by Chief Inspector Maxwell Lanyo said the complainant Flora Aidoo was a Theatre Assistant at Adenta, while the accused was a pupil at Adenta. It said the accused persons were members of a notorious armed robbery gang at Adenta and its environs and that the members used unregistered motorbikes to attack unsuspecting victims at knife points and robbed them of their phones, money, and other valuables on the street. The prosecution said the minor and his accomplice on an unregistered motorbike from the Adenta Washing Bay direction, on May 5th, 2023, snatched the complainant's handbag valued at GHC40.00 which contained her iPhone 7 plus valued at GHC 2,800 and cash of GHc2,000 all totalling GHC4,840. It said on May 6, 2023, a case was formally reported by the complainant at a Police Station and during investigations, the complainant and three others arrested the minor and brought him to the Police Station. The prosecution said the complainant and her fiancé, with some others, confronted Boakye and he took to his heels leaving behind his motorbike. It said the complainant's fiancé decided to bring the motorbike to the Police Station and while he was pushing it, Boakye took a jackknife and pursued him without his knowledge. It said a good Samaritan, one Aziz Salifu, who spotted Boakye with a jack knife, ran to stop Boakye and unfortunately for him, Boakye stabbed him in his left arm. The prosecution said an attempt was made to apprehend him again, but he managed to run away. The prosecution said during investigations, Boakye's mother brought an iPhone 7 plus to the Police Station saying he found it in her son's room. It said a photograph of the phone was taken by the Police and the same, was handed over to the complainant for identification. The prosecution said efforts were underway to apprehend the minor's accomplice.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr. Robert Kwesi Boame, Oti Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) says no individual or stakeholder can take credit for the success of the Fourth Republic. He explained that even though the Constitution in its current form may not be the best, abrogating it was not an option. Mr Boame made these comments when the Oti Regional Office of the NCCE engaged the Officers of the Customs and Exercise Preventive Service as part of activities marking the 2023 Constitution Week celebration at Dambai in the Oti Region. The engagement was held under the theme: 'Thirty Years of Consolidating Constitutional Democracy: Building National Cohesion through Civic Education and Local Government Participation; the Role of the Security Agencies.' The Regional Commander, Assistant Commissioner, Charles Agbeke on his part called on the Commission to educate citizens about the work of the Service and encouraged citizens to volunteer information to help them discharge their duties. The Constitution Week Celebration is one of the flagship programmes of the NCCE which was instituted in 2001 to commemorate the country's return to constitutional democratic role. Significantly, April 28, 1992, was the day Ghanaian electorate voted to favourably in a referendum that adopted the draft Fourth Republican Constitution which subsequently came into full force on 7th January 1993. Since 2001, the 28th of April to the 4th of May has been observed as the Annual Constitution week.

Source: Ghana News Agency

An Accra High Court has given convicted William Ato Essien up to July 4, 2023, to pay outstanding money owed to the State as per the agreement with the Republic. Justice Eric Kyei Baffour, a Court of Appeal Judge, sitting as an additional High Court Judge said, 'I will hasten slowly and adjourn the application to July 4, 2023.' He said: 'If indeed you need your freedom, you should honour the agreement before July 4.' The founder of the defunct Capital Bank was on December 13, last year, convicted and ordered to pay GH?60 million to the State after entering into an agreement with the State under Section 35 of the Court's Act 1993, Act 459. Having failed to fulfil the orders of the Court to pay the first instalment of GH?20 million by the April 28 deadline, the State filed a motion for the Court to impose a custodial sentence on him. The judge said, he had taken notice that the convict had taken steps to liquidate some assets in Essien's Swiss international holdings for, which he was the Sole Shareholder and was expecting huge sums of monies as he had indicated in the affidavit in opposition, which he had deposed to. He said if indeed the depositions in the affidavit had been made bonafide, time would vindicate that. Justice Kyei Baffour said he wanted to give the convict a lifeline and expressed the hope that he would do his best and recover the money for the State.

Source: Ghana News Agency