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Mr Emmanuel Kofi Agyemang, Dormaa East DIstrict Chief Executive in the Bono Region, has distributed 20,000 hybrid coconut seedlings to some farmers at Nsesresu in the district under the government's Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) programme. Already, the assembly had supported the nursing of 12,000 coconut seedlings at the Nsesresu nursing site and an additional 8,000 seedlings at the Merefrewuo nursery site in the district. Making the presentation at a short ceremony, Mr Agyemang advised the beneficiary farmers not to sell the seedlings, but them to plant them. He said the assembly and by extension the government was spending much on the PERD programme and entreated the farmers to help make value of the coconut seedlings, indicating that between 2018 and 2021 the assembly had distributed more than one million cashew seedlings to farmers in the area. The PERD programme, Mr Agyemang explained, was an initiative being implemented by the government to alleviate poverty and improve the socio- economic livelihoods of the farmers and commended them for embracing the programme. He said the cashew sector value chain had seen tremendous growth and development over the years, stressing cashew buyers in the area had increased from 20 in 2017 to more than 120 buyers in 2024, and thereby creating employment and stimulating economic growth. Touching on the construction of a dam and canopy walk-way in the Nsesresu community, Mr Agyemang said work on the project was progressing, saying the contractor had assured to complete and handover within two weeks. 'The contractor is now waiting for the pillars to dry so that concrete works to erect the canopy would also begin', he explained. Barimah Effiriti Sampon-Siaw, the Mawarehene of the Dormaa Traditional Area, appealed to the farmers to consider the process of adding value to their produce, instead of focusing only on producing raw materials. He urged the unemployed people in the area to take advantage of the PERD programme and engage in cashew and coconut production to better their lot. Mr Gordon Tuah, the Dormaa East District Director of Agriculture, took the farmers through the proper method of planting and urged them to seek the services of the Extension Officers to improve their farm work. Source: Ghana News Agency

The German Cooperation in collaboration with Ghana TVET Service (GTVETS), Wednesday outdoored a 'Female Talents in Construction Project (FTC)'- an initiative to equip young graduates, particularly females, with industry-required skills for employment in the construction sector.? The FTC project is an initiative of Invest for Jobs of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and GTVETS, Greater Accra Region. The project seeks to upgrade the skills of 250 graduates from the university and pre-tertiary TVET institutions, with a focus on women, and place at least 150 of them in new decent jobs. The project will run a three-month intensive training - one month of theory and two months of practical skills to deepen the hands-on experience of young graduates in construction as well as in business development skills training, and other soft skills training. They would at the end of the training b e offered licensing under the Ghana Institution of Engineering and a German C-Certification to enable them gain access to a wider job market, both in Ghana and abroad. Mr John Duti, Team Leader of Invest for Jobs, GIZ, said, per data available, women accounted for only three per cent of workers employed in the construction sector in Ghana. He said there was, therefore, the need to empower and equip women, especially the up-and-coming graduates, in the construction sector to catch up in the often male-dominated area. Mr Duti said the project was a significant step towards addressing the skills gap in the construction sector and creating an inclusive society where women had equal opportunities to improve their economic lives.? He said, as a pilot, the project would be implemented in Accra and would be upscaled upon successful completion to other regions. Madam Juliana Nkrumah, Greater Accra Regional Director of Ghana TVET Service, said skills development and its related employability had become integral pa rts of Ghana's industrial transformation agenda, saying, TVET initiatives, such as the FTC, provided the catalyst for the realisation of that agenda.? She said TVET had become a government priority and with the cooperation of industry stakeholders, many opportunities could be created for the youth of Ghana and private sector companies to drive growth and sustainable development. Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr David O. Sogbodjor, former Finance Manager of the defunct Beige Bank has told the High Court trying the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) that the receiver during the collapse of the Bank did not engage the Institution's financial team. He said although the finance team of the defunct bank, including the CFO worked briefly with the receiver, he failed to consult them on a lot of information concerning the Bank's financial affairs before presenting the reports he had compiled in respect of the affairs of the Bank, which reports were now before the court. 'If the receiver had engaged us on these matters, we would have provided the necessary information to enable him to rectify the information he provided in exhibits 1 and A.' Mr Sogbodjor, the second defense's witness, was giving his evidence-in-chief. He said when the Bank was placed under receivership, he worked with the team represented by Mr Julius Ayivor, main prosecution's witness in 2018, at the time when Consolidated Bank, Ghana, had taken ove r the business about three months ago. Mr Sogbodjor said between 2009 and 2012, the Bank, before it was upgraded to Savings and Loans from Beige Capital, grew from a branch to almost 30 branches from Accra to Ashanti and Central regions. He said part of the exhibits in the receiver's report before the Court provided information to the BoG and the Attorney-General on the financial and accounting position of the Bank at the time of receivership. Mr Thaddeus Sory, the accused person's lawyer, informed me that Mr Ayivor started testifying in court sometime in February 2023. By this time, it was almost five years after the Bank was placed under the auspices of the receiver. 'Exhibits 1 and A were prepared based on information available to the receiver on the Bank's accounting system, such information, however, does not reflect the true and final financial and accounting position of the Bank. 'The reason is that such information is not accepted in accounting as the final and true statement of an institution's financial and accounting position,' he said. 'Business institutions are continuously in business, in their businesses, transactions are initiated, and some of the transactions are either completed immediately or subsequently. 'Transactions completed immediately would usually be recorded but depending on the nature of such transactions their exact financial effect may not be immediately reflected in the financial and accounting records of the institution until later when other events relating to these transactions have occurred.' He continued that 'In financial accounting, it is common practice for institutions to be allowed a period of between thirty (30) to ninety [90] days after the end of an accounting year to prepare the financial reports of that specific year.' He said that was to allow for the reports to take account of all adjusting items that may exist as of the balance sheet date and for the financial reports to reflect the true and exact situation of the reporting entity as of that balance shee t date. 'With regard to exhibits 1 and A, however, I observed after reading them that the receiver retained and maintained the same information given to him from the team when he took over the Bank as a receiver and up until almost five years later when Mr Ayivor started testifying, saying the reports omitted a lot of information he provided to the receiver. 'This is wrong, I, therefore, say that exhibits 1 and A are not accurate and do not reflect the true accounting position of the Bank. The receiver appears to appreciate the fact that exhibits 1 and A cannot be final when he admits on page 17 of exhibit 1 that: there were significant number of assets physically present at the various branches that had records.' Mr Sogbodjor said, 'There is also another statement made by the receiver that he had obtained two asset schedules, one from the finance department and another from the administrative departments and that these two asset schedules were not in agreement. 'It is important to add that the receiver d id not say that he took account of them in exhibit 1 although these assets were not recorded in the asset register.' On the Bank's asset register, the witness said the compilation of the Bank's assets register was the responsibility of the Bank's finance department. 'The process starts with the extraction of the costs of the assets and their locations as have been posted in their respective ledger codes in the general ledger. This is then updated into a file named the asset register.' He explained that the general ledger and the exact register were, therefore, two different, separate and distinct accounting records of the Bank as was the case with many other institutions. He said the asset register was normally generated in Microsoft Excel but took its source from data in the general ledger. He said the report also did not cover all the Bank's assets, adding that in August 2018, there were several assets [furniture and fittings, computers, power generators, etc) that had been acquired by the Bank, distri buted to various offices. Disbursements, he said, made by the Bank in respect of those acquisitions were all recorded in a ledger called prepayment project works, but the finance office was yet to pass journals that would re-allocate the costs of the items so received into their appropriate general ledger codes. ' Michael Nyinaku, former CEO of the defunct Beige Bank is facing theft and money laundering charges, which he has denied. Source: Ghana News Agency

Wilmar Africa, a leading brand in the food production industry, has donated some items to the Boameman Ghana Foundation as part of its project to empower the less-privileged in deprived communities. Founded by the National Peace Ambassador Mr Clemence Gyato, the foundation aimed to address pressing issues facing remote communities and marginalised groups by bridging social gaps and creating a brighter and more sustainable future for them. Wilmar Africa has become the latest company to support the foundation with some items, including bags of fortune rice, detergents, and cartons of cooking oil. Presenting the items to the foundation, Maame Adwoa Markin, the Brands Manager at Wilmar Africa, said the gesture was based upon their commitment to give back to the community as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility. She was hopeful that lives would be significantly impacted by the items donated, especially among orphans, widows, and disabled people. Mr Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey Santana, the Executive Secreta ry of the Boameman Ghana Foundation who received the items, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Wilmar Africa for their invaluable contribution to supporting the needy in society. He said the items donated significantly improve the quality of life and provide some necessities to the less fortunate in society. Mr Aggrey added that they looked forward to more partnerships with Wilmar Africa for positive developmental projects across the deprived communities in Ghana. Already, the Boameman Ghana Foundation had impacted the lives of orphans around nationwide by making donations to the Osu Children's Home, New Life Orphanage Home, Assurance of Hope for the Needy, the Ghana National Association of the Deaf, Teshie Children's Home, and many others. Some distinguished personalities leading the Boameman Foundation included the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr Lawrence Tetteh, the National Chief Imam Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, his spokesperson Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu, Professor Kuma, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Mines at Tarkwa and boxing legend Azumah Nelson. Source: Ghana News Agency

Teachers, caregivers and education officers in special schools have received training on the use of brail materials to educate children with special needs on menstrual health and hygiene. The three-day intensive training was put together by the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and the Ghana Education Service. It falls under the Ministry's Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) Sanitation and Water Project (SWP) which is being funded by the World Bank. Mrs. Charlotte Adjei Marfo, Programme Manager, Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, at the opening of the training at Fumesua near Ejisu, said girls with special needs normally stayed out of school because of inadequate access to infrastructure, outdated educational materials and stigmatization during their menstrual periods. These girls, according to her, mattered a lot and if supported to menstruate hygienically and privately could boost their confidence to stay in school and learn. It was against this background, she noted, that Water, S anitation and Hygiene (WASH) activities being undertaken by the Ministry over the years in 'normal' schools had been extended to these special schools. Mrs. Adjei Marfo mentioned that through the World Bank funded project, stakeholders had prepared brail materials on menstrual hygiene education for all the 10 visually impaired schools in Ghana. There were also others on flip charts and audio-visuals for those with hearing and speech difficulties. She was of the view that since the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlighted equity and inclusion, all special kids should not be left behind, adding that it was time intentional efforts were made to prioritize their needs. She called on benevolent organizations and individuals to help menstrual hygiene interventions, especially to special schools, since most of the materials (pull-ups, tampons) during the periods were quite expensive. Mrs. Theresah Oppong-Mensah, Director in-charge of School Health Education Programme at the Ghana Education Service, note d that girls faced a lot of challenges during their menstrual periods, and it was important conducive environment was created for them to have sound and safe periods. Talking about menstrual stigma, she said deliberate efforts were being made to expose both boys and girls to accept each other as they were. This, she noted, had become important to boost the confidence of the girls to attend school during that time of the month. Source: Ghana News Agency