Day: April 10, 2024

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has wished Muslims in Germany a happy and blessed end to the fasting month of Ramadan. 'Ramadan and breaking the fast are part of the diverse life of faith in Germany,' he wrote in a message in Berlin on Tuesday. 'The fact that today, at the end of the month of fasting, Muslim communities throughout the country are inviting their fellow human beings of other faiths is an important sign of tolerance and respect, and of the willingness to live together and exchange ideas,' he added. The Islamic fasting month of Ramadan ends with the exuberant festival of Eid al-Fitr, also known as Eid. It is an important Muslim holiday. During the month of fasting, devout Muslims do not eat or drink anything from sunrise to sunset. Source: Ghana News Agency

Krachi East Muslims have performed Eid al-Fitr prayers at Dambai Lapaz park to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a period of fasting where Muslims are required to abstain from food and water, from sunrise to sunset. It is a spiritual exercise that helps Muslims to get rid of undesirable habits, while imbibing their fortitude and patience. The month long fast also enable Muslims to empathize with the least fortunate members in society who suffer from hunger due to poverty and keep Satan and his promptings away. Alhaji Ahmed Djibiriel Isaah of the Ahlussuna Wal-Jama'Ah, prayer leader prayed for the improvement in the conditions of Ghanaians and other citizens across the world. Delivering his sermon, Alhaji Isaah underscored the need for Muslims to have strong belief in Allah. He further stated that those who relied solely on Allah and trusted him only do not get shaken by unpleasant circumstances but rather have the strong conviction that their future is secured. Mr Nelson Kofi Dj abab, the parliamentary candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) thanked the Muslims community for their fasting and prayers to the nation. He asked the leadership of Imams to remember all NDC parliamentary candidates and their presidential candidate, Mr John Dramani Mahama in prayers ahead of December polls. Mr Sadiq Abubakar, former Regional Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), in the Oti Region addressed the Muslims on behalf of the parliamentary candidate, Mr Michael Yaw Gyato. He expressed gratitude to all Muslims for bringing Ramadan which is the Holy month in Quran to an end. Mr Gyato said, appealed to the Muslims to work hard and get more votes for Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, flagbeare of the party in the upcoming general elections. He expressed confidence in Dr Bawumia's ability to drive economic development and growth in the country. He emphasised the importance of embracing forward thinking ideas, citing the success of digitalization in the various sectors. Source: Ghana News Ag ency

Development Bank Ghana (DBG), a development financial institution, has donated some assorted items to inmates of Nsawam Prison and juveniles at the Senior Corrections Centre to mark the Eid-ul-Fitr festival celebration. The donation by DBG forms part of the institution's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to assist the authorities at the Prisons to cater for the needs of the inmates, and also to put smiles on their faces during the Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations. The items included 30 bags of rice, 14 25-litre gallons of oil, 12 sacks of sugar, 30 tin tomatoes, 20 packs toiletries, 10 gallons of liquid soaps, 10 gallons of stain removers, 20 boxes of sanitary pads, 10 cartons of milk, 20 boxes of bathing soaps, 40 buckets, 20 cartons of assorted drinks, and 40 pales. Mrs Barbara Anawonu Wricketts, Acting Head of CSR, DBG, in an interview with the media, said the donation was in conformity with the Eid-ul-Fitr festival, which was meant for alms giving She said DBG deemed it an important step to help put smil es on the faces of inmates in Nsawam Prison and the Senior Corrections Centre. She said the gesture was to remind inmates, especially juveniles in the Senior Corrections Centre, that they were not alone and loved by the public. She said the items would help cater for the needs of the inmates, lessening the burden on the Ghana Prison Service. Mrs Wricketts said being in the prison was just to attain some sort of self-recognition and transformation to be a better person to society. 'The society is ready to accept them into the world', she added. Receiving the items on behalf of the inmates, Mr Mohammed Mukhtar Adam, Imam and Assistant Director of Prisons, expressed profound gratitude to management of DBG for their kind gesture towards the inmates and prayed for God's blessings upon them. He said this should not be the end, but DBG to continue to support the prisoners. He commended DBG for taking up developmental roles such as these to ensure economic stability in the country. Mr Adam said the donation w as timely since the Eid-up-fitr festival is tomorrow, and that would help put smiles on their faces. He urged other stakeholders to emulate such efforts to help improve the Ghana Prison Service and to show the inmates that they are still loved despite their offences. He warned other offenders, who were still in society, to desist from such acts, because they could also be arrested and jailed. Source: Ghana News Agency

The Government on Wednesday unveiled a performance tracker that captured the various infrastructure projects executed under the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government since 2017. It is aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability of all government projects implemented so far. The performance tracker is an upgraded version of the delivery tracker launched in 2020 by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia. The public can access the tracker on this website: www.performancetracker.gov.gh or download the app on the playstore or app store. At the launch of the performance tracker at GIMPA in Accra, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister of Works and Housing, said the tracker was a database of government projects scattered across the 261 metropolitan, municipal and districts. It captured more than 13,000 projects executed by the Government as of June 2023 with their geolocations and photographs for easy validation and analysis by individuals and corporate entities. Mr Nkrumah, who unveiled the tracker on be half of the Vice President, said the performance tracker continuously updated itself and had been organised into five major parts for easy navigation and comparison. It had also been broken down into 22 thematic areas, 105 categories of all the infrastructure projects being executed and ongoing across the 28 Ministries and Office of the Government Machinery as well as in the 16 regions and 261 districts. He mentioned some of the categories as roads and transport, education, health, extractives, job creation, sectoral reports, and regional and district reports with the necessary matrix for easy identification, analysis, comparison and validation by individuals and corporate entities. Mr Nkrumah said the tracker was a tool for empowering the taxpayers to check, validate and be informed on how the government had utilised their resources and promote transparency and accountability from duty bearers. The Minister mentioned that as of June 2023, government had created two million and eighty-seven thousand jobs since 2017, with 5.7 million beneficiaries under Free SHS and Free TVET, 17.7 million people enrolled onto the National Health Insurance Scheme and 1,448 rural telephony sites constructed across the country to enhance communication in the underserved communities. The Minister lauded the collaborative works of the metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives, regional coordinators, chief directors, ministers, and head of the Civil Service for providing relevant information ensuing the overall success of the initiative. He also commended the staff of the Information Services Department for providing photographs of the various projects and a special team that worked tirelessly to tag the addresses and locations of the listed projects. The Minister believed that the tracker would inform the citizens on how the Government had been utilising the public funds and minimise the misinformation and negativity on many social media platforms about alleged misappropriation of state resources. Madam Fatimatu Ab ubakar, the Information Minister Designate, in her welcome remarks, said the tracker would ensure transparency and accountability of infrastructure projects executed by the government. The platform, she said, would also help to address the long-standing concerns about the accuracy and reliability of project implementation, as well as serving as a reliable mechanism for showcasing the progress and impact of infrastructure projects nationwide. Professor Kwaku Appiah-Adu, Head of the Delivery Unit, Office of the Vice President, took the audiences through the various templates of the tracker, noting that the President assembled a team to put the data structures of the tracker in the last quarter of 2022. He said the team worked collaboratively with the chief directors, ministers of State, MMDCEs, Ghana Statistical Service and Head of the Civil Service for cross-checking and validation of facts and inputs to ensure accuracy of all the projects listed on the tracker. Source: Ghana News Agency

The Board and Management of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) have assured the public of its commitment and determination, in collaboration with stakeholders to ensure that operations at the airport are safe and secure. It has also reiterated its warning to staff regarding facilitation of passengers at the airport, failing which punitive measures not limited to but including summary dismissals and prosecution by the State would be effected in line with existing protocols. A statement issued in Accra by Management of GACL said the attention of the Board and Management of GACL had been drawn to a newspaper publication dated Wednesday, April 1, 2024, with the headline of cocaine smuggling at KIA. It said Management noted that investigations by relevant authorities into the alleged smuggling of 8.5 kilograms of substance suspected to be cocaine through KIA on March 23, 2024 were ongoing. The Board and Management, in line with GACL's internal administrative processes has taken swift measures to interd ict all GACL staff relevant to the investigation. Source: Ghana News Agency