President John Dramani Mahama says he is optimistic that the National Economic Forum (NEF) scheduled for Tuesday at Akosombo will help Ghana achieve a consensus on a national economic strategy. The NEF, according to the Government, aims at developing a comprehensive blueprint to accelerate the nation’s economic growth, and will be held on the theme, “Changing the narrative: building a national consensus for economic and social transformation.”  Posting Monday on Facebook, President

Participants in a two-day workshop on mechanisms and application of social accountability for public sector service delivery have identified that the accountability relationship between local authorities and organisations is weak and needs to be addressed. The workshop was organised by the Land Services and Citizenship Project of the Institute of Local Government Studies. The participants were drawn from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, metropolitan and municipal assemblies

A past student of the Accra Academy Senior High School based in the United Kingdom (UK), Mr Douglas Dodoo, has reiterated the appeal to the public to support a current student of the school to enable him to undergo a kidney transplant. The patient, 17-year-old final-year student, Master Richard Kusi Yeboah, was initially scheduled for the transplant in May but it had to be rescheduled to June due to unavailability of funds and other factors.  The mother of Master Yeboah is the donor of the kidney.  Mr

The Japanese government has expressed its preparedness to partner Ghana to deal with challenges confronting its fisheries sector. The support, which is expected to come in the form of equipment delivery and technical support, would empower Ghana to address the issue of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in its waters. The Japanese Ambassador, Mr Naoto Nikai, made this known when he paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mr Nayon Bilijo, in Accra. The rationale

Two out of six suspected highway robbers who mounted a roadblock at Tsopoli on the Accra-Ada highway to attack passengers were killed in a shoot-out with the police at dawn last Saturday while the others escaped arrest. The robbers, suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, were armed with pump action guns and a pistol. The Tema Regional Police have intensified their search for the four suspects who escaped with gunshot wounds and have thus called on the public to assist in arresting the suspects.   Briefing According

The Konor of Manya Krobo, Nene Sakite II, has inspected work on the Odumase-Krobo-Oborpah road and the Kpong-Trom Junction road currently being rehabilitated in the Manya Krobo area. The rehabilitation of the two roads, which were in a very deplorable state, was in response to an urgent appeal made by the Konor to President John Dramani Mahama during the Ngmayem Festival of the chiefs and people of the area last October.    Quick response  In a quick response to the appeal, the two roads were

One person died on the spot, while several others sustained varying degrees of injuries when a Nissan pickup collided with a Toyota Hiace minibus at a spot near Apam Junction on the Accra-Cape Coast highway last Friday. The Nissan pickup, with registration number GT3316-11, was heading from Cape Coast towards Accra while the minibus, with registration number CR 701-13, was from Accra to Cape Coast - when the accident occurred. The body of the deceased, a male who was on board the Toyota Hiace, has

The Forestry Commission (FC) has lost $16 million in the past 10 years as a result of the non-adjustment of the stumpage fees paid by loggers. In line with the forestry law, stumpage fee, which is a tax paid by individuals and organisations for felling trees, is suppose to be adjusted every quarter of the year. However, a civil society organisation is also attributing the loss of revenue to the Commission to a weakness in the law which did not make provision for adjustment in times of inflation. It

Three out of the four survivors in the helicopter crash at the West Cape Three Points in the Western Region last Thursday have been discharged from the hospital. The Director of Air-traffic Services of the Ghana Aviation Authority (GCAA), Mr Albert Taylor, told the Ghana News Agency last Saturday that one of the survivors, who was in a critical condition and flown to the 37 Military Hospital in Accra, was responding to treatment. The missing person out of the eight involved in the plane crash has

The Ghana National Gas Company (Ghana Gas) has been nominated for the “Best Enterprise 2014” prestigious international award in quality and management.  In addition, the name of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, Dr. George Sipa-Adjah Yankey, has been put up in the “Manager of the Year” category.  A letter to the CEO of Ghana Gas from Ms Mary Winger, Events Manager of the EBA Conferences, organisers of the award, said “your company was chosen when ranked against the following

The Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT) has called on the Government of Nigeria to leave no stone unturned in finding the over 200 girls abducted on Monday, April 14, 2014 from their school. According to the group, Nigeria’s peace and security, national cohesion and the government’s reputation hanged in the balance as long as over 200 girls were lost and there was no clarity about who took them and why. The statement  In a statement issued in Accra and signed by its convenor, Ms

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, has inaugurated a nine-member board for the Ghana Trade Fair Company with a charge to protect the assets of the centre. According to him, there have been complaints of abuses of public resources and public funds at the trade fair, which needs attention. He, therefore, urged the board to clean up all financial malfeasance at the centre. The minister also revealed that some equipment bought before 2009 had vanished although the centre was paying

Five hundred and twenty people died in road crashes in 3,512 accidents nationwide in the first quarter of 2014. In addition, 3,301 people sustained various degrees of injures in the process. According to statistics from the National Road Safety Commission, the Greater Accra Region recorded the highest number of accidents with 1,336, while the Upper East Region recorded the lowest with 35 cases. At a ceremony to commemorate this year’s West African Road Safety Organisation (WARSO) Day, which falls

The charging of mobile phones in the country consumes 150 megawatts of electricity, which is equivalent to the capacity of the Bui Dam, Mr Sam Kwesi Fletcher, the Head of Corporate Communications at the Volta River Authority (VRA), has said. He said charging a phone’s battery consumed 10 watts of electricity and while it normally took only two hours to charge a phones battery, many phone owners charged their phones throughout the night, bringing the energy consumption of the estimated 15 million

The Pusiga District Assembly is working hard to put in place its first four-year medium-term development plan, which will help attract the needed funding to improve on the socio-economic development of the people in the newly created district. Development partners, heads of department and assembly members have all been encouraged to support the process to succeed. The plan, which spans from 2014-2017, is also expected to spell out the potentials and opportunities available for investment in the

The Prayer Director of the Action Chapel International, Bishop Joseph Nyarko Antwi, has commended the Ghana National Scholarship Beneficiaries Association (GNASBA) and Fan Milk Limited for their support towards the upkeep of orphanages and charity homes countrywide. He said more funds and logistics were needed to support the management of orphanages and charity homes in the country. Bishop Antwi made the call when GNASBA and Fan Milk presented litter bins, Fan Milk-branded footballs ,T-shirts and

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has called on residents in the Accra Metropolis to observe this year’s ban on drumming and noise-making from today, May 12 to June 12, 2014. In the interest of peace, harmony and national security, the AMA said “the usual form of worship should be confined to the premises of churches or mosques and noise levels be minimised to the barest limits possible.” This was contained in a release signed by the Metro Coordinating Director, Mr Sam Ayeh-Datey, on behalf

For the second time this year, parts of the Central Market in Kumasi have been gutted by fire, causing damage worth thousands of cedis. Close to 50 shops were destroyed by the fire which was said to have started around 11:45 p.m.  on Saturday night. The affected areas include Adehye and Tweapea lines. But for the timely intervention of the firemen from the Manhyia Fire Service station, a different story would have been told. It took the fire service about one- and-a-half hours to put out the fire.

The Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCO) have sponsored 40 employees to offer a Master’s degree programme in Public Administration at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) .The programme is intended to enhance the capacities of the employees in public administration. The students, 20 each from VRA and GRIDCO would be studyng at the School of Governance and Public Service of GIMPA. GRIDCO Addressing the employees the Chief Executive Officer

An electrifying atmosphere dominated by rich culture characterised the celebration of the Akwasidae Kese to climax the 15th anniversary of the enstoolment of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II as the Asantehene. Scores of tourists and international journalists were at the celebration, as the event provided an opportunity for them to taste the rich culture of Asante and catch a glimpse of the Golden Stool, also known as Sika Dwa Kofi, which embodies the spirit and tradition of the Asantes. More than 5,000 security