By Abdul-Kudus Fuseini, Tamale BUSAC Fund II has supported over 22,816 women groups and associations with grants to undertake business advocacy in the SADA operational area. The grant will enable the women call for attention to laws and regulations as well as infrastructure, procedures and processes that impede efficient operation and management of their businesses -- the women received an average of GH¢51,384.55. The women are also expected to advocate for an improvement in the business environment in Ghana, thereby facilitating private sector development and growth. “Currently, many of the women business associations are advocating for access to improved market infrastructure; adequate warehousing/storage facilities to mitigate post-harvest losses and enhance food security; connection to the national electricity grid to increase production or undertake agro-processing; access to potable water for agro-processing; access to quality seeds for improved crop-yield; rehabilitation of irrigation facilities to increase crop production, especially in the long dry-season that is characteristic of northern Ghana; and constraining laws, policies and administrative bottlenecks,†Tamale Office Chief, Dennis Puridemme, told B&FT He stressed that the grant provided enables the women to go through a (4) four-day advocacy training in order to acquire the necessary skills and tactics to successfully implement their advocacy projects -- the advocacy training has empowered women associations up north to speak up and put pressure on duty-bearers to create an enabling business environment for the growth of businesses in the north and private sector development in general. The associations are able to implement the advocacy projects themselves with the support of a hired Business Service Provider. “It is important to know that selected members of all the women business associations in the SADA operation that are beneficiaries of the BUSAC Fund II project are currently going through a financial management and recordkeeping to complement their ability to implement advocacy projects. This training is important for the women to manage the finances of their associations as well as their individual businesses,†he added. Similarly, the BUSAC Fund project phase II has held an information session for 250 business associations at Walewale in the West Mamprusi District of the Northern Region. The information session was attended by representatives of various business associations such as the farmer-based organisations (FBOs), trade unions, and special business groups including Business Associations of women and persons with disability. The essence of the information session was to offer business associations first-hand information about BUSAC Fund operations and activities in the operational area of the SADA -- especially the three regions of the north. The information session was facilitated by the satellite office in Tamale: the satellite office in Tamale serves the Northern, Upper East, and Upper West Regions as well as the northern parts of the Volta and Brong Ahafo Regions. The Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund phase II has already disbursed GH¢2.5million to 58 Private Sector Organisations in the three regions of the north to do business advocacy. The BUSAC Fund supports the Ghanaian private sector to advocate to local, regional and national authorities for changes to the legal and regulatory frameworks and infrastructure gaps that hinder private sector activities, thus reducing revenue generation and economic growth. The second phase of the project is being sponsored by three (3) Development Partners –- DANIDA, USAID and the EC.
By Kwame Mensah The River Pra, with its tributaries of about 240km and a major source of livelihood for around 7 million people in Ashanti, Eastern through Western Region, is on the verge of destruction. Its tributaries -- Offin, Birim and Oda -- are equally highly threatened with pollution and human activities in and along their banks. As a result of this the river and its tributaries have lost a significant volume of water over the years, and their quality is also compromised in all aspects. Ghana Water Company (GWCL) has to use more chemicals for its treatment, which also has adverse implications for human health. The President of an environmental Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Friends of Rivers and Water Bodies, Nana Dwomoh Sarpong has revealed to journalists in Accra. According to him, he is saddened to see a vital natural resource that is the basis for survival of human beings destroyed with impunity through the activities of galamsey operations; deliberate farming along the banks of these rivers; and dumping of pollutants into them. He said the District Assemblies have failed in their duty to protect the rivers and urged all and sundry to come on board to protect them for our future generations. Nana Sarpong whose NGO collaborates with the Water Resource Commission (WRC) made available the latest Water Quality Index for the Pra River Basin between 2005 and 2011 produced by WRC. The data above illustrates an apparent slide in quality of the Pra River and its tributaries from 2005 to 2011, which is a source of concern to government and civil society. Nana Sarpong explained that as soon as the quality of a river is threatened, it has a corresponding effect on its volume. He also said his NGO won an award in the 2003 Kyoto (Japan) World Water Forum as a result of his persistent concern in protecting rivers and water-bodies by planting thousands of coconut seedlings and other tree species along several rivers in the country.
CEDINOMICS has organised the fourth edition of one of its flagship leadership training programmes, titled Essentials of Leadership. This is the fourth time the open enrollment version of the Essentials of Leadership Training Programme has been organised in the past six months. The Essentials of Leadership Training programme was attended by managers and heads of units from diverse institutions such as CAL Bank, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, HFC Investments, Eaton Towers, Unibank, AD Logistics, Oxford & Beaumont, among others. Several in-house sessions of the Essentials of Leadership Programme have also been organised for leading companies in Ghana and South Africa. The Essentials of Leadership Programme is a journey of self-discovery and change that grows participants’ leadership capacity and enables them to inspire change within their organisations. During the workshop, participants were taken through various skills building exercises designed to assist them appreciate and develop critical leadership skills required to succeed in the 21st century. Other leadership topics discussed include team-building, communicating organisational aspirations, and how leaders think strategically about their business environment, company and units. Speaking about the Essentials of Leadership Programme, Robert M. Benni -- a Chartered Financial Analyst who is a Senior Advisor at CEDINOMICS -- had this to say: “Organisations are beginning to appreciate that they cannot accelerate the pace of change if they are not committed to developing leaders at all levels of the organisation. CEDINOMICS is committed to accelerating enterprise transformation on the African continent through the design and delivery of world-class leadership development programmes which prepare leaders at all levels to effectively respond to the challenges associated with building sustainable enterprises in fast-developing emerging markets.†Many participants were of the view that the training programme has given them a new perspective on leadership, and praised the excellent organisation of the training programme. One participant had this to say: "The training programme is thought-provoking, inspiring; it has opened me up to look at my current leadership style, skills and the necessary improvements and adjustments I have to make." Another participant is quoted as saying: "The programme is very good; methods and materials used were appropriate as they directly impacted on me. Trainee engagements and discussions made me move along with facilitator throughout.†The last open enrollment session for the Essentials of Leadership Programme for 2012 will be run from November 14-15th. CEDINOMICS is a research-based training and advisory firm that is focused on assisting organisations to understand their markets, develop competitive strategies, and increase employee engagement.
The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) has been targetting the heads of operations and business development managers of banks to prepare them for the emerging payment systems in the country. Ghana’s payment system is quickly moving toward the era of a shorter clearing cycle and a lot of flexible and convenient payment options for customers. This means that banks will have to transact their businesses along the lines of these emerging trends and find innovative ways of retaining customers’ deposits and other funds for a period long enough to do business. The Chief Executive of GhIPSS, Archie Hesse, said it will not be business as usual for banks as more and more electronic enhanced payment systems are implemented. He explained that banks will need to work around the emerging trend and generate new business propositions to take advantage of the new order and avoid becoming stale. GhIPSS has been engaging Heads of Operations and Business Development Managers of banks, not only to inform them of the new payment systems but also to urge them to begin considering the development of business models that will succeed under the emerging payment systems. Various payments reforms have been taking place which are ensuring that bank customers have quicker access to their funds. This has occurred through the electronic clearing of cheques which has reduced the clearing period for cheques issued outside Accra from one week to two days, and between three to four days for cheques issued in Accra. This clearing time will be reduced further as GhIPSS seeks to introduce emergency clearing shortly. Another major reform is the introduction of both direct debit and direct credit of Automated Clearing House system, which also ensures that bulk-sums of money are transferred at the interbank level in real-time. Volumes of funds are also transferred with a click of mouse through the e-zwich payment distribution system. The latest major feat is the gh-link platform, which has enabled customers of banks to use their local ATM cards in outlets other than those of their own banks. This latest development, which continues to be rolled-out until all the 27 banks are roped in, means that bank customers will not need to move long distances to access their accounts. These developments will encourage the public to save their monies at the banks since they will have easier access to them as and when they desire, but it also poses a challenge to the banks. While banks have in the past had longer access to customers’ funds because of longer clearing processes, this situation is giving way to a situation where interbank transactions will even take place within a day. Other players are also introducing mobile banking products that will enable people to access bank accounts with their mobile phones. These exciting developments, Mr. Hesse explained, challenges the banks to keep pace with the times. He said they also present countless opportunities, adding that GhIPSS will continue to work with banks to encourage them to exploit the opportunities inherent in these reforms.
The Lumina Foundation, the Lagos-based leading literary organisation and administrators of The Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa, has chosen Accra as the venue for the next awards ceremony in 2014. Toward this end, the Pan African Writers’ Association (PAWA) has been invited by the Foundation as a partner in the event, and to assist in enhancing awareness of the Prize throughout the continent. The Prize, which is intended to recognize and encourage literary excellence, has a monetary value of US$20,000 for the winner. This was disclosed when the CEO of the Foundation, Dr. Ogochukwu Promise, and the Foundation’s Advisory Chairman, Ivor Agyeman-Duah, called on the Secretary-General of PAWA, Prof. Atukwei Okai, in Accra. The award ceremony in Accra, Dr. Promise revealed, will be part of a global celebration of the works of nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, who will be 80 years old in 2014. It will include a week of Theatre Arts in Accra, institutional colloquiums in Europe and America, a congregation of world leaders and Nobel Laureates, as well as the publication of an anthology of tributes. Dr. Promise said since the institution of the Award in 2005, the Foundation has seen entries jump from 87 to 415 in 2010 from 26 African countries. The 2012 Awards Ceremony, which took place in Lagos, had as its guest speaker former Ghanaian President John Agyekum Kufuor, supported by over a 1,000 dignitaries within and outside of Nigeria. A South African journalist, Sifiso Mzobe, won this year’s award with his book Young Blood. PAWA Secretary-General, Prof. Atukwei Okai on his par, congratulated the Foundation for its work, especially in the rural mobile library sector which has increased access to reading and great collaboration between the Foundation and educational institutions in Nigeria -- adding that the Pan African Writers’ Association (PAWA) will work to ensure the success of this worthy event.
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