Category: National

Ms Sena Dake, President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (ICAG), has urged Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to engage the services of professional accountants, either full-time or part-time, to sustain their businesses.

‘SMEs should not see the services of professional accountants as only for the big businesses. They equally need accountants to help them in the preparation of proper book of records to enable them save and invest back in their businesses to sustain them,’ she said.

Ms Dake said this during the launch of a book on the history of professional accountability in Ghana titled: ‘The Evolution of Professional Accountancy from the Gold Coast to Ghana’.

The book authored by Professor Edward Dua Agyeman, Board Chairman of the Ghana Audit Service, gives an insight into the history of the growth and evolution of professional accountancy from 1890 to 2024.

Ms Dake said the work of professional accountants could not be underestimated in business operations, saying they were the ones th
at would guide the SMEs to the right financial decisions to make.

‘It is the work of accountants that saves the nation’s purse and economies as well as save businesses from risks and offers them opportunities to make the right decisions,’ she added.

Ms Dake said the phase of the profession was evolving from assurance reporting to digital services, which relied on big data, climate change adaptation and cybersecurity.

She urged members of the profession to acquaint themselves with the current digital changing phase of services to stay relevant in the 21st century.

Professor Edward Dua Agyeman said he was inspired to write the book as a giveback to the profession due to his long professional experience and no detailed book had been written on the history of the profession in the country.

‘I reflected on my professional achievements as an accountant and felt it was right to give back through this book,’ he reiterated.

The eight-chapter and 371-page book was launched by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
, who also wrote the foreword for the book.

Professor Edward Dua Agyeman is the current Board Chairman of the Ghana Audit Service and a former Auditor-General, having been appointed to the office of Auditor-General in 2001.

He is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, Ghana.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Continuous quality improvement in healthcare delivery services is key in any strategy to rebrand the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH).

Professor Ellis Owusu Dabo, the Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), said the new KATH agenda would require the implementation of strategic policies to achieve the desired results.

He said the strategies must include research, innovation and creativity among staff, continuous training with cutting-edged technology, quality and excellence client service delivery, and improvement in ethical values of workers at the facility.

He was speaking at the 2023 annual performance review meeting of the hospital on the theme: ‘The new KATH agenda-recalibrating efforts for enhanced health service outcomes: the role of stakeholders’.

Prof. Dabo said KATH needed strong partnerships and collaboration with all key stakeholders in the recalibrating efforts to improve health outcomes at the facility.

He said the success of a teaching hos
pital requires concerted efforts of diverse stakeholders from industry, researchers, policy makers, healthcare professionals among others, to achieve the desired goals.

The Pro-Vice Chancellor praised the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, for leading the initiative to mobilise financial resources to undertake comprehensive rehabilitation of the hospital and called on all Ghanaians to support the efforts by contributing to the fund, to ensure the successful completion of the project.

Prof. Dabo said KNUST would continue to partner KATH to train health care professionals, undertake research and promote community services for the benefit of the Ghanaian people.

Professor Otchere Addai-Mensah, the Chief Executive of KATH, said management with the support of the board and other stakeholders, launched several initiatives in 2023 to improve the infrastructure base, operational systems, governance structures, services, staff morale, supervision and discipline at the hospital.

These interventions were part of the
new agenda to enhance service outcomes through improved productivity, accountability, staff capacity and welfare, patients’ satisfaction, resource mobilisation, cost reduction, retooling and research capacity, he said.

He said the net effect of these interventions was the general decline in the number of death cases at the hospital, and increase in the number of admissions, surgeries, OPD attendance, patients experience and revenue.

Prof. Addai-Mensah said the introduction of payment of patients’ bills via mobile money transfers had enabled these clients and their benefactors to honour payment of invoices from everywhere in the world.

Again, the hospital, in collaboration with the Ghana Post, had introduce home delivery of medicines to chronic but stable patients.

This would save such clients time, inconvenience and the drudgery of commuting to the hospital just to refill their medicines, with all the attendant transportation risks.

Additionally, centralised intravenous additive services had been introdu
ced by the pharmacy unit of the Child Health Directorate to make life saving but expensive medications readily, affordably and safely available to needy patients.

He said this new service had drastically helped in reducing the cost of medications and infections and maximised therapeutic outcomes, by ensuring the delivery of appropriate doses, while preventing misidentifications and overdoses to save lives.

Prof. Addai-Mensah said in 2024, management with the support from the board would continue to invest in the adoption of innovations and conduct operational research as part of the overall strategy to optimise the delivery of tertiary healthcare services at the hospital.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Two of the five victims of the Sunday accident involving Funny Face, an actor and comedian, who were initially unconscious are said to have regained consciousness and receiving treatment at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in stable condition.

The two, a woman and the eldest of her two grandchildren, aged five, were knocked down by the Comedian together with two men on a motorbike who are also in stable condition at the same hospital in Accra.

The accident occurred around 1930hours at Kakraba Junction, a suburb of Kasoa in the Central Region, when Funny Face, alleged to be drunk driving, knocked them down.

The youngest among the five victims, the one-year-old grandson of the woman, had been treated and discharged at the Perucare Hospital at Kakraba.

According to one Ebenezer, a son of the woman involved in the accident, his mother and five-year old girl, suffered severe injuries to their legs, body and heads and were sent unconscious to the hospital.

The two other victims riding on the motorbike also suffe
red injuries on their legs and had cuts on their bodies.

The actor was heading from the Kasoa Township to the Millenium City area in a black saloon car when the accident occurred.

But for the timely intervention of some good Samaritans at the accident scene and the Kasoa Police, Funny Face would have been lynched by the irate mob.

The comedian, known to be battling mental health issues, had publicly criticised his baby mama for not allowing him access to his children.

This is the second time within four months that an accident of this nature involving a showbiz person had happened on that stretch.

The first one was caused by Stephen Atanga, known as Don Little, who knocked and killed a motor rider at Kasoa.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The OpenLabs Tema campus has emerged winners of the second edition of the OpenLabs Ghana’s inter-campus Information Technology (I.T) Quiz held in Accra.

OpenLabs Ghana (formerly NIIT), an I.T. institution, staged the quiz to whip up I.T. literacy among its students and contribute to making I.T. attractive to young people.

Contestants from OpenLab’s three campuses – Tema, Accra, and Kumasi – faced off in a heated contest that was characterised by a mixture of excitement, anxiety, and demonstration of academic prowess in computer hardware, software, engineering, coding, artificial intelligence, among other areas.

The team from Tema clinched narrow victory after securing 47 points, followed by Accra, 46, and Kumasi, 37.

The winners were represented by Cecil Bortey, Gerald Danquah Asusa, Stephen Anaba Taiwiah, Christian Zigah, and Buertey Ezekiel Boatey.

Students from the Foster Junior High School and the Labone Senior High School in Accra were present at the event.

Madam Nimmy Mathew, Campus Head, OpenLabs
Accra, said the purpose of the quiz was to foster healthy competition among the students.

She said the programme was part of ongoing efforts to engage students and promote academic excellence.

‘This initiative does not only test their knowledge, but also promotes teamwork and communication skills. It also helps students to showcase their understanding of IT concepts and learn to adapt and think critically under pressure,’ she said.

Madam Mathew said OpenLabs was exposing its students to new programmes, including Certificate in DevOps and Product Management, and Advanced Certificate in Data Analytics.

Mr Asadullah, Regional Sales Head, OpenLabs Ghana, said the institution appreciated the responsibility of empowering its students with employable skills and contribute to building Ghana’s human resource capacity.

‘As an institution promoting digital literacy and IT education in Ghana, it is our duty to make sure our students have the right skills and are job ready as such, organising such programmes is our w
ay of providing our students with the right information and resources to excel in their respective career aspirations,’ he said.

Mr Cecil Bortey, a software engineering student, attributed the team’s victory to adequate preparedness and called for more of such competitive programmes.

He appealed to the Ghana Education Service to intensify ICT education at the secondary level and make it more practical to prepare students for emerging opportunities.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Justin Kodua Frimpong, the General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has inaugurated the Western North Regional campaign and working committees for the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

He charged the committee members to work closely with all stakeholders to ensure victory for the NPP in December.

He said the rank and file of the party must be united and work towards achieving the party’s aim of ‘breaking the eight’.

Dr Kwaku Afriyie, the Member of Parliament for Wiawso Constituency, noted that the internal competition was over and asked members to bury their differences and remain focused on the party’s ideologies to retain power.

Mr Salam Mustapha, the NPP National Youth Organiser, asked party supporters to adopt good campaign strategies to persuade the electorate to vote massively for the NPP come December 7, 2024.

Mr Benjamin Armah, the NPP Western North Regional Chairman, also the chairperson for the regional campaign team, called for unity among members and asked the team
to take the upcoming limited voters registration exercise seriously and encourage the youth to register.

The General Secretary was accompanied by Alhaji Masawudu Osman, Third National Vice Chairman among others.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Network of Women Mediators in Ghana (WoMNet-GH) has been launched in Accra.

The Network is an affiliate of the Women Mediators Across the Commonwealth and the Global Alliance of Women Mediators Network, seeks to seeks to?increase the participation of women mediators in all spaces of mediation.?

It is also a subsidiary of the Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA), a regional civil society organisation.

The Global Affairs Canada sponsored the launch of WOMNET-GH, in partnership with FOSDA, Peace Legacy Africa, the National Peace Council, Women, Youth Peace and Security Institute (WYPSI) of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre (KAIPTC), the UN Women and African Women Leaders Network (AWLN).

Madam Diana Asonaba Dapaah, a Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, who was the special guest of honour noted that comments and contributions on the Affirmative Action Bill had been incorporated into the original Bill and then resubmitted to Parliament.

She underscored that
one of the marks they could leave behind was to endure the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill.

She said countries, which look up to Ghana as a forerunner had passed the Affirmative Action Bill, hence there was the need for Ghana to do the same.

She reiterated that the Office of Attorney-General was ever ready and very supportive for the passage of the Bill; saying, ‘we are going to be your pressure check to ensure that we don’t lose steam.’

She lauded FOSDA’s contributions to the promotion of peace and security in Ghana and in the West Africa subregion.

Mrs Theodora Williams-Anti, a Member of WoMNet-GH and Executive Director of FOSDA, said the journey towards the establishment of the Women Mediators Network started in October 2022, when FOSDA and Peace Legacy Africa with funding support from the Canadian Funds for Local Initiative organised a training on Conflict Mediation for women in the peace and security space in Ghana.

She noted that at the time, their only objective was to contribute as a CSO t
o the implementation of the Ghana National Plan on the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, also known as Ghana National Action Plan (GHANAP 2).

The Resolution reaffirms the significant role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction and stresses the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security.

Mrs Williams-Anti expressed the hope that if GHANAP 2 was well implemented, the women, peace and security agenda would be advanced.

‘We reached out to the Peace Council and worked with the women council members across 10 regions at the time since the Councils in the six new regions had not been established,’ she said.

She said the Network also worked with experienced women experts and activists in the peace and security space and queen mothers.

Mrs Williams-Anti said in recognition of the n
eed to stay together, to amplify the voices and expertise of women in the peace and security space we have decided to stay as a group and to launch this network; stating that ‘once again our friends the Canadians, this time through Global affairs have come to our aid.’

Mrs Janet Adama Mohamed, an international mediator, who formally launched the WoMNet-GH hailed Mrs Williams-Anti’s contributions towards peacebuilding in Ghana and the West Africa subregion.

Hajia Hamdatu Ibrahim Hussain, a former Chairperson of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and a Member of the Working Group on Women, Youth, Peace, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel (WGWYPS-WAS), said attitude towards the investing in women empowerment was also evident in the current status of the Affirmative Action Bill.

‘Effort to pass the affirmative action Bill has proven futile over the last 10 years. It is the one giant step towards ‘Inspiring Inclusion’, and we wish to call on the Government to Pass the Affirmative Action Bill this year t
o ensure inclusion,’ she said.

Madam Patience Agyare-Ashie, Director of the Women, Youth Peace and Security Insititute (WYPSI) of the Kofi Annan Intenational Peacekeeping Centre (KAIPTC) said ensuring equal access to justice for women, including accountability for perpetrators of gender-based violence and addressing barriers to justice faced by women in conflict-affected areas were among efforts at sustainable peace building.

She said integrating gender perspectives into broader peacebuilding efforts to build more sustainable and inclusive peace processes and outcomes is part of the roles expected from WOMNET-GH, which WYPSI so much shares and supports.

Source: Ghana News Agency