Category: General

The Volta River Authority (VRA) is set to begin the Lower Volta dredging project at Dadome in the North Tongu District on Wednesday, January 24, 2024. A stakeholder meeting will also be held ahead of the project. Mr Samuel Fletcher, the VRA Community Relations Manager, disclosed this during a courtesy call on the Volta Regional Minister. He explained that the meeting was aimed at sensitising residents along the river on the need to dredge for easy flow and prevention of future flooding. Mr John Mbele, the Finance Manager, said the dredging would remove overgrown aquatic weeds and sandbars which were hampering the free flow of the river. He said it would also improve the water quality and prevent some water-borne diseases such as bilharzia among residents living along the riverbank. Mr Mbele said the dredging would prevent future flooding and restore the ecosystem of the river. Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, the Volta Regional Minister commended VRA for initiating the project and assured them of his support. H e assured them of the involvement of the targeted communities along the riverbank in the engagement and the dredging exercise. Source: Ghana News Agency

Nana Kwaku Ennin II, Chief of Bokaso in the Western North Region, has appealed to the government and the Trade Ministry to ensure the operations of the Akontombra rice processing factory which was commissioned some two years ago. The 6.7 million cedis factory situated at Bokaso is yet to be operationalized, after its commissioning by the President in September 2021. The factory, established under the One -district One Factory initiative, has the capacity to process between 1.5 and 2.8 tonnes of rice per hour. The factory, which would be operated under the Common User Facility (CUF), an agro industry factory established by the Rural Enterprise Programme under the Ministry of Trade and Industry would create jobs for more than 118 people. At the commissioning of the factory, it was made known that it would directly employ about 118 people, including management, professionals, and factory floor workers and that more than 600 farmers from the area would also be directly engaged to supply paddy rice for proces sing. Nana Kwaku Ennin II expressed worry about the factory's inability to operate over two years after its commissioning, noting that the facility would have helped create employment opportunities for farmers and the teaming youth in the area. 'I accepted this project wholeheartedly thinking it would help create employment in the area, but the outcome is not the best.' A visit to the factory by the Ghana News Agency revealed that the main entrance to the factory was locked with two tractor machines packed on the compound with overgrown weeds all over the facility. Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Yaw Owusu Adisi, a Tailor at Kadjebi in the Oti Region, has been arrested by the Kadjebi Police for forcefully shaving the private parts of Mr Bright Abusah, 19-year-old Electrical apprentice. Narrating his ordeal to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Abusah, said the accused at around 2000hours on Sunday, January 21, invited him to his workshop at Kadjebi Cocoa Market, a suburb of the area, locked him up and asked whether he had a girlfriend, and started showing him pornographic films on his mobile phone. He said the accused ordered him to remove his trousers and underpants, which he obliged because he threatened to harm him if he resisted. Abusah said the accused then picked his scissors and disposable razor blade and started shaving his genitals and after shaving, he then tried to arouse him by smearing ointment around his penis, which he declined. He was able to escape from his ordeal when the accused excused himself to undertake some move, allowing Abusah to run away to Menuso, a farming community in t he district to report the incident to his grandfather, Mr Simon Tetteh Abusah. He said his grandfather then took him to the Kadjebi Police station to lodge a formal complaint on Monday, January 22 leading to the arrest of the accused. The accused later told the Ghana News Agency that, 'in life, certain things must happen to a man for him to learn some lessons.' Source: Ghana News Agency

Ms Gloria Agyemang, a 23-year-old taxi driver at Tema Community 25, says she finds fulfilment in working as a taxi driver rather than being unemployed and waiting for non-existent jobs. Dressed in a t-shirt over a pair of jeans and a scarf on her braids, the young-lady cabbie, meets her passengers with a beautiful smile on her face, ready to chauffeur them from the Tema Community 25 Mall Taxi Station to their destinations as she strives to make a living. Speaking with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, she urged the youth not to sit down in wait for jobs, but rather look for other decent avenues to make a living for themselves. 'There are no jobs available for us now, and those that are available are strictly based on whom you know and have links with; without them, you won't get any job of your choice,' she said. She indicated that after searching for jobs for a while without any satisfactory results, she decided to use her driving skills to make money by applying to join the taxi station. 'E ven though I initially faced some resistance from my male colleagues, the president of the taxi drivers' association ensured that I was given the nod to operate from here,' Ms Agyemang said. She indicated that since she commenced, it had been rewarding, saying she was able to make enough money to fulfil her weekly sales of GHS450 to her former car owner and was now operating a 'work and pay' car. Ms Agyemang, who is yet to be married or have children, said that, as the only woman among several male drivers, she sometimes faced intimidation from some passengers who wanted to pay less for her services. She explained that some of the passengers also treated her rudely, but because of her resolve to work, she ignored them. 'I concentrate on my driving, and that makes more passengers opt for my services whenever I'm at the station,' she said. She said prior to venturing into taxi driving, she worked at KFC, the Tema Harbour, and as a project supervisor and cashier at a construction site. 'I've also been trai ned in dump truck operating,' she said. Source: Ghana News Agency

Nejib Majaat (157 votes, or 35.12%) and Achref Yassine Barnat (122 votes, or 27.29%), the two candidates in the run-off for the Mahboubine locality (Medenine governorate), are actively campaigning for a seat on the next Midoun local council. The 36-year-old candidate, Nejib Majaat, promised to move the abattoir out of the town, to extend the public lighting network, to solve the problem of feed supply and to solve the problem of rainwater accumulation at the town's main roundabout. He stressed his determination to set up a municipal company specialising in the recycling of agricultural waste. On the other hand, 33-year-old candidate Achref Yassine Barnat has prioritised the improvement of health services in Mahboubine, as well as the promotion of the post office, the development of road infrastructure, pavements, public lighting and the creation of leisure centres for children and young people. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse