Category: General

Fidelity Bank Ghana, the nation’s largest privately owned bank, has hosted a delegation of 35 students and faculty from Columbia Business School, a world-renowned institution for business education.

The visit underlines the Bank’s commitment to knowledge sharing and industry collaboration, a press release issued to the Ghana News Agency, said in Accra Wednesday.

The engagement, held at Fidelity Bank’s head office at Ridge Towers in Accra, served as a valuable platform for knowledge exchange and exploration of potential collaborations in driving financial inclusion.

It was also for fostering innovation and implementing effective growth strategies within the African market, specifically focusing on Ghana.

The students engaged in discussions with Fidelity Bank executives, gaining first-hand insights into the Bank’s operations, strategic vision, and steadfast commitment to financial inclusion and sustainability in Ghana.

Leaders from the Bank shared their experiences, including emerging trends and challenges
in the financial landscape and the strides Fidelity Bank was making.

Managing Director Julian Opuni recounted the Bank’s transformation from a discount house in 1998 to a leading universal bank today.

He emphasised strategic expansion, including an international office in Malaysia, and its focus on digital banking for broader financial accessibility.

He inspired the students by urging them to embrace calculated risks.

He shared a personal anecdote about his own career shift to join a young, five-year-old Fidelity Bank in Ghana from the United Kingdom, highlighting the potential rewards of taking bold steps.

Nana Yaa Afriyie Ofori-Koree, Head of Partnerships, Sustainability, and CSR outlined Fidelity Bank’s comprehensive approach to sustainable development.

She addressed the social and environmental challenges and highlighted the Bank’s three-pillar strategy: Sustainable Finance, Sustainable Operations, and CSR.

The examples included the Fidelity Young Entrepreneur program and the Orange Impact initiati
ve, which support education through financial and non-financial support.

Director of Retail, Thomas Ishmael Adjei, showcased Fidelity Bank’s innovative approach to financial inclusion.

He shared the success of the Smart Account, featuring simplified account opening and know-your-customer requirements, and the extensive agency network exceeding 9,000 agents.

This was making financial services readily accessible in remote areas.

Professor Stephan Meier, Chair of the Management Division, and James P. Gorman, Professor of Business at Columbia Business School, expressed their appreciation for Fidelity Bank’s ongoing commitment to providing students with first-hand knowledge of the Ghanaian financial sector.

This marks the third such visit, offering valuable insights into the unique realities of the Ghanaian market.

Professor Meier emphasised the importance of exposing students to diverse perspectives within the field of finance.

The delegation toured the various departments in the Bank, gaining a comprehens
ive understanding of Fidelity Bank’s operations and its steadfast commitment to financial inclusion.

The experience provided students with valuable insights into the unique realities of the Ghanaian market and equipped them with practical knowledge that can be applied in their future endeavours.

‘The visit signifies a crucial step in fostering collaboration between academia and the financial industry,’ the release said.

‘This knowledge exchange equips future business leaders with valuable insights and paves the way for potential partnerships that can contribute to financial inclusion, innovation, and sustainable development in Ghana and beyond,’ it said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Professor Ivan Addae-Mensah, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, has apologised to Mr William Edem Fugar, a legal practitioner, for relying on a Daily Graphic report to write his autobiography, with portions said to be inaccurate and defamatory.

After the publication of Prof Addae-Mensah’s (defendant) autobiography titled: ‘My Life: A Historical Narrative’, Mr Fugar (plaintiff) in a demand notice dated December 21, 2023, accused the former Vice-Chancellor of defaming him, a claim the former Vice-Chancellor vehemently denied.

Per the court document available to the Ghana News Agency, after the settlement, Prof Addae-Mensah would delete the offending words from the next print/edition of the autobiography.

The former Vice-Chancellor rendered the apology after the parties reached an agreement to settle the matter amicably, which was adopted by the High Court presided over by Justice John Bosco Nabarase.

He said while conducting research prior to writing his biography of Hilla Limann, he came
across information in the Daily Graphic of April 12, 1979, with reference to the court case of Pennie and Datsomor versus Egala and Limann.

He said the headline of the story indicated that the Counsel for the plaintiff, Mr Fugar had ‘abandoned’ his clients during trial.

‘I was misled by that statement and, therefore, relied upon it in the Limann book, which l published in 2016.’

He said in writing his autobiography in 2023 titled: ‘ My Life, A Historical Narrative’, he again relied on the same statement, though Mr Fugar had continued to represent his clients until the successful determination of the substantive matter.

‘ l am able, therefore, without any hesitation to say that had l been aware that the headline in the Daily Graphic in 1979 was not an accurate reflection of what had transpired in court, l will not have repeated it in 2016 and again 2023,’ he said.

Prof Addae-Mensah said he acknowledged the integrity of Mr Fugar, and aware that he was a luminary in the practice of law, who had been respect
ed in his field by his clients, his peers and generally for more than 50 years and continued to this day to be so respected.

Per the settlement the defendant will publish a quarter page advertisement of the apology in the Daily Graphic within 10 days.

In consideration of the defendant’s compliance with the terms of the settlement, the plaintiff will release the defendant from the claims in the suit and waive any cause of action from the statements published by the defendant in his book.

Madam Marietta Agyeiwaa Brew, one of the Counsels for Mr Fugar, said they did not ask for cost during the period because the focus was on protecting the reputation of their client.

The plaintiff initially sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from further publicising the offending passage and an order of mandatory injunction requiring defendant to cause to be withdrawn from circulation the copies of the book containing the offending passages.

They also sought damages for libel, including aggrav
ated damages.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister of Communications and Digitisation, says government is building the pillars to make Ghana the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Hub for West Africa.

‘We have implemented some fundamental digital initiatives to serve as the building blocks on which to propel sustainable growth in the digital economy we are building.’

‘Initiatives such as the Mobile Money Interoperability platform, the Paperless Port system, National Identity Register, and Digital Property Addressing system have brought relief to our citizens and have propel the country’s digital agenda,’ she said.

The Minister made these remarks during the opening of the 12th Information and Communications Technology for Development (ICT4D) event in Accra.

The global event organised by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and being hosted in Ghana for the second time, brought together over 600 experts in the ICT space to deliberate on ways to harness digitisation and technology for development.

Mrs Owusu-Ekufu
l said Ghana had joined the 4th Industrial Revolution to ensure that the country took advantage of the opportunities it offered to transform the economy and provide a firm foundation for growth.

She stressed that digitisation was necessary for development in the 21st century, saying, there cannot be development without the pursuit of digitisation in these times.

‘We commenced our digital journey in 2017 with the Digital Ghana Agenda, a vision to leverage technology to deliver public services, promote transparency, efficiency, and easy access to all citizens irrespective of location,’ she said.

Mr Daniel Mumuni, Country Representative of the CRS, commended the Government for its digitisation agenda to improve accessibility and productivity.

He said the Conference would explore how ICT and data innovations were making a measurable difference in millions of peoples’ lives and increasing the impact of humanitarian relief, development, and conservation programmes.

‘We hope to also advance global knowledge exc
hange and build capacity on digital development to drive more impactful use of technology for good.’

‘We are excited to be hosting this conference in Accra where over 700 people have gathered from different countries to the country,’ he added.

Founded in 2010, the ICT4D Conference has grown each year to become an internationally recognized high-profile platform for NGOs, community-based organizations, private sector companies, governmental and multi-lateral agencies, investors, donors, academic and research institutions to exchange experiences in using digital technologies and learn from each other.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Richmond Atta-Ankomah, Economic Researcher, Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER), has urged government to leverage the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for economic growth.

He said the SDR was a less costly financing regime which offered lower interest rates than commercial loans for countries like Ghana.

‘The current SDR interest rate is about 4 per cent, which was substantially cheaper than 7 to 11 per cent charged on Ghana’s Eurobond, ‘he added.

He said the SDR by the IMF is characterised by quotas, which members shared in a general allocation.

He encouraged government to appeal to the IMF to take into account the need for more funds to help Ghana channel liquidity and investment financing into well structured, sustainable, and inclusive developmental projects.

He said the unused funds by developed countries like the G20 could be channeled to African countries which were in dire need of funds for economic recovery.

He said SDRs allocate
d to developed countries supplemented their trillions of reserves.

Considering the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, Russia’s war in Ukraine and other huge threats facing Africa at the moment, it was important to recycle a portion of the SDRs from developed countries to vulnerable countries like Ghana.

Dr Atta-Ankomah asked the IMF to consider and integrate region-specific shocks to allocate more funds to countries predisposed to certain climate shocks and lack resilience capacity.

He said Ghana could not afford to go to the commercial credit markets even if it was still opened due to its unsustainable high debt level.

‘The precarious conditions and limited financing options in the global south, particularly in Sub Saharan African countries makes the SDR a valuable option to explore, ‘he added.

Mr Atta-Ankomah said a higher allocation of SDRs to Africa offered a unique opportunity to put the continent on track to meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and build th
e Africa ‘we want.’

He said:’the money would not be a free money and would be paid back, therefore we must generate enough revenue from it to quantify our income.’

Speaking on domestic reforms, he said digitizing the economy and tax administration would be efficient to reduce the costs associated with tax collection.

This, he said, would create transparency and accountability in the tax system at all levels to help minimize or eliminate corrupt activities from officials.

He said government must implement prudent expenditure measures by cutting the size of ministries to between 40 to 50, adding that, there must be the need for continuous audit of payroll.

SDRs are not a currency but an international reserve asset created by the IMF expected to have reserve assets features, including immediate availability to address financial needs.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr. Daniel Kabu Narteh, a veteran Ga language teacher, has advised people of Ga-Dangme descent to keep their unique naming patterns for their children to protect their identity.

Mr. Narteh, who has been teaching Ga for over 40 years, speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, said adopting fashionable and trendy names over traditional names has become a norm that needs to be looked at.

The interview, which sought to find out how the adoption trendy names is affecting the identity of Ghanaians was a step of the Tema Office of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) as Ghana celebrates Ghana Heritage Month 2024.

Heritage month takes place in the month of March, which happens to be Ghana’s independence month. It is filled with tours, events and activities highlighting Ghana’s rich heritage. The period is also sometimes referred to as Ghana Month.

The Month is designated to celebrate and portray Ghana’s rich cultural heritage, diversity and all the cords that unit the citizens as a nation.

Mr Narteh said h
aving names such as dromo (grace), dzormor/jormor (blessing), and yijiemor (praise), among others, sounds trendy, but it was not enough and did not depict the traditions and origins of the children.

He stated that after choosing these names and religious ones, parents must add the original name the baby was born into to their names, as that makes them true Ga-Dangmes.

He explained that the naming patterns that were put in place many centuries ago by the forebears make it easy to identify the town, quarter, and family a person hails from the moment the name is mentioned.

Mr Narteh said that no matter where the child finds himself, he could always trace his ancestry by using his or her given name.

He explained that irrespective of the day a child is born among the Ga-Dangmes, they already carry their name with them, as before they were born, the elders already knew the name they would bear, be it a girl or a boy, as the pattern is well structured with every family and quarter having their own unique names f
or their children based on their order of birth.

He said another worrying trend was naming children several weeks after birth, explaining that under the Ga culture, babies are named exactly eight days after their birth on the day they were born.

He expressed worry that due to the cosmopolitan nature of the Greater Accra Region now and the proliferation of churches whose leadership is often non-indigenous, Ga-Dangme children are now being named months after their birth and on Saturdays and Sundays, even though they might have been born on other days.

Mr Narteh said even though the traditions of the people of the Greater Accra region allow for the postponement of naming if the baby is sick, the current trend is unacceptable and therefore calls on parents and churches not to see the traditions of their host as fetish.

He stated, for instance, that during a traditional naming ceremony, people of prominence are invited to pray good omens for the baby to grow up into a respectable adult, adding that the special
prayers are also said for the parents while the community is encouraged to help shape the character of the child as they grow.

The veteran Ga-Dangme language teacher further said that the traditional naming ceremony also allows the elders to speak into the babies’ minds that hardwork is what they have to do and that they must not engage in lies, as well as be observant and speak only when it matters.

He, therefore, advised Ga-Dangme descendants to name their children traditionally on the eighth day and then go for the church baptism when the churches were ready, as there was the need to preserve their identity irrespective of the religion they belong.

‘People are born into families before joining religious organisations,’ Mr Narteh emphasised.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Increasing ‘false’ prophesies by some religious leaders is significantly threatening the peace and security of the Yunyoo-Nasuan District in the North East Region, a situation stakeholders say must be addressed to prevent conflicts.

In recent times, some religious leaders of believers in Christianity, Islam, and traditional religion, in their prophesies, have associated some problems, especially youth unemployment in communities within the district, with witches holding their meetings on some economic trees, particularly mango trees.

The situation has led to rampant felling of those economic trees believed to be the cause of the misfortunes of the people in those communities, thereby, creating tension and threatening the peace and security of the area.

This was revealed at an engagement on early warning signs of conflict, organised for district level stakeholders at Yunyoo-Nasuan by the Good Governance, Justice and Peace Directorate of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocesan Development Organisation (NAB
OCADO), a faith-based organisation.

The engagement formed part of the Integrated Peacebuilding for Improved Food and Nutrition Support project, with funding support from the MISEREOR, aimed at contributing to building peace structures within the Diocese.

Dr Joseph Bangu, the Director, NABOCADO, explained that apart from the false prophesies leading to increasing witchcraft accusations, many vulnerable people were being subjected to discrimination and abuse.

He said the situation needed to be addressed to prevent an escalation.

‘There are a number of witchcraft accusations and the main people fueling this are the prophets because the prophets have attributed the unemployment issues in the communities to witches meeting on those economic trees,’ Dr Bongu said.

‘So, people will mobilise to go and cut down those trees to fulfill the prophesies and this brings conflict because if you go into an area that is already under contestation to cut down trees in the name of prophesies, there will be rebellion.’

He m
entioned issues such as increasing ethnic tensions, armed robbery, spread of the Bawku conflict to the area and competition for natural resources as emerging threats to peace in the area.

Those issues, he said, were early warning signs of conflict and employed the stakeholders to work together to address them.

Mr Konlan Bitian, the District Chief Executive for Yunyoo-Nasuan, said the District Security Council had held several meetings aimed at addressing the prophecy issues and called for support from all stakeholders.

He, however, identified chieftaincy disputes as major factors threatening the peace and stability of the district and called for intensified education to ensure all stakeholders involved in chieftaincy understood the need for peace for sustainable development.

Ms Cynthia Lamisi Ali, the Assembly member for Jimbale Electoral Area, commended NABOCADO and its partners for the intervention on peace building, which would contribute to preventing conflicts.

Reverend Father Yosef Giday, the Catho
lic Parish Priest for St. Simon Peter Parish, Nakpanduri, said peace was necessary for development and advocated more engagements to sensitise the people, especially the chiefs and youth, to embrace peaceful approaches to addressing their differences.

Source: Ghana News Agency