Author: newsfilegh

Member of Parliament for Juaboso in the Western Region, Kwabena Mintah-Akandoh, has questioned the integrity of some think-tanks in the country, describing them as ‘hypocritical’. According to him, these think-tanks are inconsistent with their advocacies, noting that their actions and inaction clearly demonstrate they have been influenced by their political affiliation, hence their objectivity cannot be measured in their analysis. Speaking on Takoradi-based Connect 97.1 FM in the Western Region Monday on the political talk show Asem Yi Dzi Ka, Mr Mintah-Akando observed some of the think-tanks who spoke against John Mahama and his NDC government have now gone mute…

The production of sweet potato in Ghana is less than 20 percent of targeted production levels, mainly hindered by perception that the crop is food for poor people. But the role of sweet potato is becoming more important and substantial in fostering household food and nutrition diversification. The orange-fleshed sweet potato varieties, for instance, can contribute to combating Vitamin A deficiency and can also serve as wheat flour substitute in processed products. Interest groups in food and agriculture want sweet potato to be seen as the next crop the country should be projecting, due to the potentials in food security…

Dear President Akufo Addo, I listened to your Energy Minister speak at the National Policy Summit which was held this month. It reminds me of an American Jester’s oxymoronic quotation: “My mind is made up, and facts confuse me”. It also re-echoes a similar quotation in a novel, Alice in wonderland, which says, “Sentence him and find the evidence”. That is what the Minister did that day: finding faults already without evidence. Earlier this year, we received assurances, in your maiden State of the Nation’s Address. You spoke well of government’s will to undertake a possible review of the compact…

Some Agric officers are conniving with fertilizer agents under the government’s fertilizer subsidy programme to smuggle large quantities of the chemicals outside the country, Deputy Upper West Regional Minister Amidu Chinia Ishahaku has revealed. The practice, which he said the Ministry of Agriculture is complicit in, has deprived the poor beneficiary farmers access to fertilizers. “…These people are not doing it alone, it’s not only a problem of the agents, the ministry of agriculture is complicit in this particular issue” the deputy minister claimed. He cited an instance where one of the fertilizer companies supplied 4,700 bags of subsidized fertilizer…

A further attack may be imminent in the UK, the Prime Minister Theresa May says, as the fourth victim of the Manchester bombing is named The UK terror threat level has consequently been raised to its highest level of “critical”, Theresa May said Military personnel will now be deployed to protect key sites under the new threat level. Meanwhile the mother of Olivia Campbell has named her daughter as the fourth victim of Monday night’s Manchester bombing which killed 22 and injured 59. Writing on Facebook, she paid tribute to her “precious” daughter, aged 15. Olivia’s mother, Charlotte Campbell, had issued…

The Western Regional Meteorological Department is warning residents in the region to expect torrential rains as the rainy season sets in with the region likely to record 90 percent magnitude. Coastal areas in the Western region on Tuesday dawn experienced six hours continuous downpour, which started about 3: 35am to 9:20am with a magnitude of 110.7mm, the department reported. Commenting on the long hours of rain on Connect News, the regional director of Meteorological Department, Mr. Chris Ayi Ayittey predicted more rains this week and therefore advised the public to put things in order to avoid unforeseen circumstances. In an…

Government has finally given financial clearance to about 495 members of the Coalition of Unposted Allied Health professionals. The group had spent Monday night at the Health Ministry sleeping on bare floor and benches as they accused the government of showing bad faith in addressing their concerns. According to the group, the Ministry of Health has continuously failed to recruit them after the completion of their national service in August 2016. All assurances by government represented by deputy Health Minister, Tina Mensah on Monday that their issues would be addressed as soon as possible fell on deaf ears. The group…

The central bank is putting on hold its move to announce a further increase in the minimum capital requirement for commercial banks in the country, 3FM Business can confirm. The Bank of Ghana had indicated that it was increasing the minimum capital requirement as part of efforts to sanitize the banking sector and to also make the industry viable. It was expected that the current 120 million will be raised to 400 million or even more, an announcement which was greeted with mixed reactions among bankers and industry players. But governor of the central bank Dr. Ernest Addison says his…

The Millennium Development Authority (MIDA) has assured Ghanaians that it will select a financially viable concessionaire for the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). This was made known at the first bidders’ conference held in Accra to take bidders through the processes and requirements involved in the concession of the ECG. The ECG has been riddled with lot of challenges including financial and managerial, and the concession programme forms part of measures to review the company. Per the agreement, government will have a 51 percent stake, while the concessionaire takes 49 percent. About 140 companies tendered in their bids to manage…