In relating his life experiences, Dr Bawumia often narrates events in his student days, including stories of how he had to do low skilled jobs like cleaning, to supplement his funding
Hon. Adongo, NDC MP for Bolgatanga has taken issue with this, and accused Bawumia of commentary that sought to denigrate his (Bawumia’s) father, Alhaji Mumumi Bawumia.
Dr.Mahamidu Bawumia
Indeed, Dr. Bawumia has done no such thing. At every opportunity Dr Bawumia has had to talk about his father, he had extolled his father’s virtues, and thanked his late father profusely for the loving upbringing for him and his siblings, the latest occasion being last Saturday, November 4, 2023, at the Accra Sports Stadium when Bawumia assumed the flag bearership of the NPP. All of us heard the tribute he paid to his father.
Many of us who had opportunity to study abroad had one time or the other engaged in casual, temporary jobs like cleaning, restaurant , or supermarket checkout work to supplement our personal housekeeping expenses.
Nana Akomea
That does not mean our fathers back home were uncaring. Indeed, these undertaking were usually done at the blind side of our fathers, and only satisfied our desires to increase our incomes by our own efforts.
It is also a mark of the man, that he was humble enough, despite his family circumstances, to engage in casual, temporary work opportunities to supplement his scholarship funds, etc.
Indeed, it is those life experiences that have grounded Bawumia as a humble, down to earth person, despite the high positions he has occupied in his adult life.
MTN Ghana Foundation has presented relief items worth GHS300,000 to flood victims in the Keta District of Volta region.
The relief items included the following:
200 (25kg) bags of rice (1000 kg bags)
85 gallons of cooking oil
85 boxes of tomato paste
60 boxes of canned mackerel
50 boxes of washing powder
100 mattresses
50 blankets
80 buckets
The items were presented to residents of Anyako-Konu, Galensuta, Blekusu and other affected communities under the Keta district of the Volta region.
Speaking at the event, the Education Portfolio Advisor of MTN Ghana Foundation, George Frimpong, said, “This donation is coming to ease the burden on some of the affected communities and to encourage them in these challenging times”.
Mr. Frimpong took the opportunity to solicit for more support for the affected communities in the Eastern and Volta regions.
Receiving the items at Anyako-Konu, Togbe Dukli Attipoe, expressed his gratitude to MTN Ghana and said “we are happy that a big brand like MTN Ghana has come to our aid in time of need. This support underpins the company’s mantra everywhere you go. We are really grateful”.
MTN Ghana Foundation remains committed to improving the lives of communities in which it operates.
KIC has announced a call for applications for the 2024 AgriTech Challenge Pro program. Nominations are open till November 24th 2023.
The AgriTech Challenge Pro program is supported by the Mastercard Foundation, through the KIC and the Mastercard Foundation partnership launched to train the next generation of young leaders and entrepreneurs in Ghana’s agricultural sector.
The KIC Agritech Challenge Pro is a five- month accelerator program aiming to support young entrepreneurs to launch and grow commercially viable, scalable solutions to key problems in the agricultural sector.
The program aims to drive technology and innovation as a catalyst to enhancing productivity, improving yields, and creating more jobs within Ghana’s agricultural sector. Participants are drawn from the AgriTech Challenge Classic program and from a pool of existing start-ups who are ready to nurture their business for investor-readiness. At the end of the training, KIC and its partners award some selected businesses with up to USD50,000 seed funding.
Past winners from the competition share their valuable experience gained through the capacity building and coaching received from the training. Speaking about impact of joining the KIC program, Caroline Amanor, co-founder and CEO of Maku Foods, a KIC supported business, mentioned that KIC’s AgriTech Challenge Pro had led to the growth of her business, citing the insights from the trainings, coaching and skills acquired by being part of the programme.
“We started very small. We were introduced to the KIC program, and since we joined we have learnt a lot. We were part of the winners for the 2022 AgriTech Challenge Pro competition and through the seed funding we received, we have been able to invest in building the business and purchasing more equipment for processing our ingredients into ready- to cook condiments and spices.
KIC helped position our business for growth and investor readiness,” she said.
Kosmos Innovation Center (KIC) is committed to empowering young people to find innovative and entrepreneurship opportunities within the agricultural value chain. For the 2023 AgriTech Pro, KIC awarded $350000 worth of seed funding to 11 startups.
Ends
About Kosmos Innovation Center: The Kosmos Innovation Center (KIC) invests in young entrepreneurs and small businesses who have big ideas and want to see their country grow. The KIC was established in Ghana in 2016 with programs focused on inspiring and empowering young entrepreneurs to drive change in their own country. Since its inception, the KIC has focused on innovation in agriculture – the country’s most important sector and largest employer.
More than 1300 aspiring entrepreneurs have participated in KIC Ghana programs, resulting in the creation of promising startups that have gone on to secure seed funding, additional business training, and capital investment.
About Mastercard Foundation: The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and in Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work.
It is one of the largest private foundations in the world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world. It was established in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company.
The Foundation is an independent organization, and its policies, operations, and program decisions are determined by its own Board of Directors and senior leadership team. It is a registered Canadian charity with offices in Toronto, Kigali,
Accra, Nairobi, Kampala, Lagos, Dakar, and Addis Ababa. For more information on the Foundation, please visit: www.mastercardfdn.org.
About Mastercard Foundation and KIC Partnership: Mastercard Foundation and KIC announced the launch of a multi-year partnership to train the next generation of young leaders and entrepreneurs in Ghana’s agriculture sector in May 2022.
Other key aspects of the partnership include the AgriTech Challenge Classic, AgriTech Challenge Pro, the KIC Incubation, Business Booster, and the Blue Skies Foundation School Farm Competition.
About AgriTech Challenge Pro: The KIC AgriTech Challenge Pro is an acceleration program aimed at equipping existing early-stage teams or AgriTech startups with the right tools, funding, and support to bring their business ideas or products to market and prepare them to scale.
The program was developed to create opportunities for teams that are already formed and looking to take their business to the next stage. KIC AgriTech Challenge Pro takes an inclusive approach, offering its services to all agricultural business teams in accordance with KIC’s goal of developing talent and advancing innovation in Ghana.
Media contacts:
mediarelations@kicghana.org
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The Deputy Minister for Education in-charge of General Education, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, has announced that the play-based pedagogies for teaching and learning at the Kindergarten schools are making a great impact in the nation’s education sector.
He explained that the play-based pedagogy which creates the opportunity for the children to learn through a set of well-planned play activities ensures that the children are excited during their learning activities, they are able to ask questions, overcome fears, get curious, and communicate properly without any hindrance.
Rev. Ntim Fordjour announced this when he led a delegation from the Education Ministry to visit the Obosomase Methodist KG and Mamfe Presbyterian KG all in the Akwapim North Municipality in the Eastern region on Tuesday.
The visit was aimed at ascertaining the current state of the play-based pedagogies and training being piloted in the schools.
The Deputy Minister commended Sabre Education and other institutions helping with the piloting of the play-based pedagogies in some selected schools in the country.
Rev. Ntim Fordjour stated that the Education Ministry was keen on foundational learning especially early child learning, adding that the first two pre-primary education was very critical in the life of every child as it gives the children the enthusiasm for life-long learning opportunity.
The Deputy Minister indicated that after a few years of testing in some selected KG’s in some Municipalities, Metropolis and District Assemblies across the country, the results have been very instrumental hence plans to roll out across all schools in the country.
Mr Tony Dogbe, Executive Director of Sabre Education assured the Deputy Minister that all the development partners were ready to cooperate with them to roll out the Play based curriculum in all schools across the country.
He explained that there is a need for all the stakeholders to contribute their quota towards getting the best learning outcomes for the nation
Background
After years of testing, piloting and replicating, plans are being developed for Sabre Education, Right To Play and Innovations for Poverty Action to support the Ministry of Education and its agencies (GES, NTC, NaCCA etc) to roll out play-based kindergarten training nationwide so that every child can receive a quality early years education.
Sabre Education (a Non-Governmental Organization) provides kindergarten children in Ghana with the best possible Early Childhood Education (ECE) by partnering with the government to implement play-based learning at scale.
As of now, 67 KGs in the Akwapim North Municipality are part of the piloting of the Play-based learning project in the Eastern region of Ghana.
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana and the newly elected leader and flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP), has been congratulated by Mr. John Kwame Duodu, popularly known as Sir John, the First Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Atwima Nwabiagya South Constituency.
Mr. Duodu stated that the incontestable victory of Dr. Bawumia at the just ended National Conference will go down in the annals of the NPP’s historical records.
“It was your first contest and you garnered overwhelming support from both the Party hierarchy and grassroots thereby making it possible for the NPP to elect its first ever candidate from the North, a feat we can never forget as a Party. Many congratulations, Sir! You succeeded and also made history,” he told Daily Searchlight Newspaper and MyGhanaMedia.com.
Sir John. Dr.Bawumia
Sir John who doubles as the Ashanti Regional TESCON Patron indicated that Dr. Bawumia’s victory has showed how strong his personality is, given that this is his first time he was contesting such an election.
The Tertiary Education Students’ Confederacy (TESCON) patron in the Ashanti Region also boasted that Dr. Bawumia’s victory has wiped off an impression created by the opposition party that NPP is an Akan Party.
‘The party can no longer be negatively tagged as an “Akan” Party after this sweet victory of our greatest Vice President ever in the history of the New Patriotic Party and the country at large.
THE NPP’S PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES:
The New Patriotic Party on Saturday, November 4, elected the sitting Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, as its new leader and flagbearer for the 2024 general elections.
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia emerged victorious with 61.47% in the keenly contested NPP primaries securing the Party’s nomination in the race to the Flagbearership.
The certified results announced by the Deputy Commissioner of the Electoral Commission, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe, disclosed that Dr. Bawumia polled 118,210 votes, representing 61.47%, while his closest contender, Hon. Kennedy Agyapong, polled 71,996 votes, representing 37.41%.
Dr. Afriyie Akoto, who placed a distant third, polled 1,459 votes, representing 0.76%, while Addai-Nimoh managed only 731 votes, representing 0.41%.
According to Sir John, the outcome of the just concluded presidential primary demonstrated that the Party is democratic and remains compliant with the rule of law.
He stated that despite the fierce rivalry, there was no electoral violence across country and as a result, all of the candidates accepted the results.
He commended the three other contenders, the delegates, and the entire Party members for the way they conducted themselves during the polls.
For steering such a successful process, Sir John also expressed gratitude to the National Executives, the Elections Committee, the Electoral Commission, and the security personnel for the excellent job executed on Saturday.
VICTORY FOR THE NPP IN 2024 IS A MUST:
The indefatigable First Vice Chairman and staunch TESCON Patron also emphasized that there is neither winner nor loser as far as the Party’s just ended Presidential Primary was concerned.
According to him, the ultimate winner is the great New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Sir John stated that the Party has selected its presidential candidate to lead the party to victory in the 2024 general elections. It is therefore imperative for the supporters of the unsuccessful flagbearer candidates to accept the outcome of the primaries in good faith ‘so that together we can fortify the Party’s unity and preparedness towards the main task of breaking the eight come December 7, 2024.’
He also entreated all the aspirants and Party members to work together in unity to defeat the opposition National Democratic Party yet again in 2024.
When asked how significant it has been for the NPP to elect Dr. Bawumia as their flagbearer, Sir John responded, “It is extremely significant because the largest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) does not stand the chance of snatching power from the NPP in the 2024 elections with Dr. Bawumia as the Flagbearer’.
In his view, the overwhelming support Dr. Bawumia received from the base of the party across the country is a demonstration of the massive confidence people have in the NPP government.
He said Ghana cannot afford the return of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to power, especially under the leadership of John Dramani Mahama and that victory for the NPP in 2024 is a must.
“The NDC’s flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, has been tried and tested and he has nothing new to offer Ghanaians. Dr. Bawumia has the integrity, the intellect, the experience, and the vision to lead the NPP to victory in 2024 and to break the eight,” he added.
National Organizer for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Henry Nana Boakye has proposed that the party’s choice of running mate should be of Ashanti descent.
To him, though the selection of a running mate is the sole prerogative of the vice president (now flagbearer-elect), he would advise that the party settles on some body who is from the Ashanti region.
Speaking on Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abia programme, he explained that choosing a running mate from the Ashanti Region will further consolidate the gains of the ruling party in the region.
“We have duly elected a unifier flagbearer for the party and it is about time we honour those in the Ashanti region for their continuous, selfless and commitment to the party and I believe that giving them a vice president slot in the party will go a long way to cement the party’s base in the region,” he added.
“However, I will leave that to the judgement of the elected flagbearer of the party who I believe and trust his sense of judgement that he will do the right thing,” Nana B stated.
The Seven (7) names trending for the running mate
Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, over the weekend was elected as the flagbearer of the New Pariotic Party, securing 61.43 percent of the valid votes in the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) internal contest for the 2024 general elections.
Dr. Bawumia secured a clear victory with 118,210 votes out of 193,339 cast, as officially announced by the Director of Electoral Services at the Electoral Commission, the Dr Serebour Quaicoe, at the Ohene Gyan Sports Stadium in Accra.
The election took place across 277 polling stations and 17 regional centers, including the NPP national headquarters.
The contest, widely referred to as the ‘showdown elections,’ pitted Dr. Bawumia against formidable opponents, including Assin Central Member of Parliament, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, former Minister of Food and Agriculture Dr. Owusu Afriyie-Akoto, and former Mampong Member of Parliament, Francis Source:peacefmonline.com
The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has intensified its stakeholders’ engagement with a one-day media sensitisation workshop held in Kumasi at Golden Bean Hotel on Monday, 6th November 2023.
The engagement was to arm the media with enough information about their operations and a new prosecutorial power to enable the media to support NPA in its awareness creation.
According to the Head of Legal Department, Farida Ali -Musah, NPA was established pursuant to the NPA Act, 2005 (Act 691), with the statutory mandate to regulate, monitor and oversee the petroleum downstream industry.
She said following the passage of this piece of legislation, NPA is yet to operationalise the E.I.378, although by its nature it is taking an immediate effect.
Farida Ali- Musah announced that the Authority was going to prosecute matters on its own. “We won’t have mercy on the cripple. Let’s help create the necessary awareness to all Ghanaians ahead of next February when the prosecution is expected to start. That’s the more reason why NPA has decided to first engage you (media) out of the media stakeholders to be engaged so as to create awareness” she added.
The head of NPA legal department mentioned some offences they would prosecute offenders for, such as engagement in the activities in the downstream industry without a licence (section 11), misappropriation of prescribed petroleum pricing formula (section:58), false statements, including obstruction of officers and employees of the Authority.
She explained further that Regulation 20 of LI:2251(NPA(BRV) Tracking & Volume Monitoring) regulation,2016, Regulation:12 of LI:2187 (Petroleum Product Marking) regulation, 2022) all spelled out their action.
“We’re not going to use human face in the prosecution. Even though the law says ignorance of the law is not an excuse, the leadership of NPA has decided to embark on necessary awareness creation before the prosecution officially starts,” she added.
On his part, the Head of Planning at NPA, Mr. Dominic Aboagye, said there are two sources of supply of petroleum products that are imported – local source (20%) and the majority of the supply (80%).
He disclosed some of the risks to petroleum products supply which include geopolitics/conflicts (e g. Russian-Ukraine war), climate action policies, forex liquidity risk as well as inclement weather.
According to him, to ensure security of supply, NPA is embarking on rigorous monitoring of the laycum programmes, creation of forex auctions by the Bank of Ghana, introduction of Gold for Oil (G40), special international oil trading licence and enforcement of exclusion zone of offshore discharge.
Earlier, the Ashanti Regional Manager of NPA, Betty Adwoa Ofori, revealed that her outfit had so far identified 80 table-top sellers of fuel in the region.
She said common violations identified in the Ashanti Region were non-adherence to outlet ethics and warnings, not switching off engine and mobile phones before refuelling, shaking car to accommodate more fuel, poor communication among stakeholders, unqualified pump attendants, among others.
On challenges faced in the region, Betty Adwoa Ofori highlighted inadequate training for pump attendants, poor communication among stakeholders, consumers who doubt pump delivery, etc.
The common violations identified in the Ashanti Region according to the NPA regional manager included diversion of smuggling fuel mostly via bulk road vehicles (BRVs), non-adherence to outlet ethics and warnings and third party operators (table-top fuel dealers).Source:Isaac Amoah
Tragedy struck at Ada Senior High School (SHS) in the Greater Accra region as two students drowned in the morning of Monday, November 6, 2023.
The identities of the students, believed to be between 16 and 18 years old, have not yet been disclosed.
According to a Citi News’ report, the deceased left the school premises without proper authorisation and went swimming in the Volta River near the institution.
Residents, upon noticing them in distress, rushed to their aid. However, their efforts were in vain as they were unable to rescue the students in time.
The bodies of the deceased have been transferred to the government district hospital.
