Ashanti Today

Operations of the Micro and Small Loans Centre, MASLOC, has now been decentralized to all the 43 administrative districts of the Ashanti region with the recruitment of 129 beneficiaries of the Nation Builders Corps to man the district offices.  The decentralization is meant to engender ownership of the MASLOC and enhance its visibility while improving its accessibility, especially to micro and small business operators who require the support of the Centre to grow their enterprises.  Speaking on Garden City Radio’s Super Morning Flight in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional Director of MASLOC, Hajia Zaanabu Sallow, noted that, opening of offices at the district level would also enable the Centre identify the real needs of prospective loan seekers and their locations so as to maximize recovery.  Hajia Sallow disclosed that, government is presently considering a plea by loan seekers to cut down the interest rate from the current '24 per cent to 15 per cent to encoura...

The need for a bigger and modern healthcare facility at Kumawu in the Sekyere Kumawu district in the Ashanti region has never been that urgent than now considering the fact that, apart from population growth, the district has also been split into two administrative districts with the communities located far apart from each especially remotely within the Afram Plains portion.  Incidentally, it is only the 22-bed Polyclinic at Kumawu that is improvising as the referral facility for both the Sekyere Kumawu and Sekyere Afram Plains districts with the Sekyere Kumawu district alone inhabited by over 67 thousand people. This came to light when Ashanti Today paid a visited the area to report on the dire healthcare situation. The Sekyere Kumawu district was in 2012 split into two administrative districts with the Sekyere Afram Plains becoming the new district. Sekyere Kumawu district alone has about 67 thousand inhabitants. The two districts have communities that are located far a...

The National Health Insurance Authority, NHIA will on the 19 th of next month officially launch its Mobile Membership Renewal Service towards easing difficulties existing subscribers go through in renewing their membership.  The innovation is also part of strategies adopted by the NHIA towards achieving its target of roping in the Health Insurance Scheme every Ghanaian citizen or legal resident by 2020 to propel Ghana towards meeting the United Nations Universal Health Coverage by all member states by the year 2030.  A Deputy Director of Corporate Affairs of the NHIA, Oswald Essuah-Mensah, made this known in Kumasi at a day’s engagement of journalists, staff of the Information Services Department, representatives of the Ghana Trades Union and the National Commission for Civic Education to brief them on the Mobile Membership Renewal service and other digital initiatives to strengthen the National Health Insurance Scheme.  The NHIA Deputy Director of Corporat...

Government has urged geoscientists in Ghana to assert their influence on pragmatic measures being adopted towards aligning the country’s development policies towards attainment of the targets set out in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.  According to government, geoscientists, as professionals whose expertise relate to investigations of the physical composition, structure and processes of the earth, can significantly help in environmental assessment, locate water, mineral and energy resources, while predicting geological disasters to affect national development projects.  The Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources in charge of Mining, Mrs. Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, made the call in the Ashanti region at the opening of the 1 st Annual National Conference of the Ghana Institution of Geoscientists.  The three-day conference, which is on the theme: “The Role of Geoscience in Sustainable National Development” is being attended by geoscientists from Ghana...

It is emerging that the gas filling station at New Tafo that caught fire last Tuesday had  no fire safety permit to operate, contrary to the laws of Ghana. Additionally, there are speculations that the station did not have the Environmental Permit from the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA.  An impeccable source close to the Fire Service gave these hints to Ashanti Today but would not be identified. Should these pieces of information be confirmed, it would mean that the owner, said to be a woman, was operating an illegal business and could therefore be liable for the appropriate legal consequences, should the authorities take up the matter for prosecution.  The Ghana National Fire Service is yet to make public its findings of investigation to unravel the cause of last Tuesday’s explosion at the gas filling station but rumours are rife that the inferno was caused by a spark at the point of repairs on one of the gas tankers at the station that had developed ...

Officials at the Kumasi Central Prisons are yet to come to terms with how a remand inmate of the Prisons escaped from custody on the 3 rd of this month without any trace of the escape route.  Up till now, the Prisons staff are still in shock even though they consider the incident, said to be the first since the construction of the facility, as a mystery considering the fact that, despite several checks after the escape, both colleague inmates and Wardens cannot fathom how the unfortunate incident took place, especially, when the Cubicle in which the fugitive and about 50 other remand prisoners were being held remains very intact, while all the other occupants are still around.  Speaking in an interview with Ashanti Today in Kumasi,  the Public Relations Officer for the Kumasi Central Prisons, DSP Richard Bukari, described the escape of the man who was on a two-week remand from a court, as mind-boggling, considering the fact that, the room-mates of the escapee ...

The Police administration is re-strategizing its operations to become more child-friendly in its pursuit of issues directly affecting minors by creating the needed environment for such members of the society to interact with police personnel.  To this end, series of training workshops are being organized to re-orient police officers to better appreciate the legalities in handling issues involving children. Two hundred and 50 police personnel in Ashanti region have undergone six-day capacity enhancing training course at the regional Police training school where they were taken through carefully selected topics to enable them to tactfully handle cases in which children who come into conflict with the law or serving as witnesses in criminal cases appear before them.  The participants went through topics such as the Standard Procedure for Handling Children, privacy and confidentiality of the child, detention of the child as the last resort, the use of diversion as a prin...

The Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, The Most Reverend Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo, has inducted five Diocesan Lay Chairmen into Office at the Calvary Methodist Church, in Kumasi.  They are Emmanuel Bedai, Tarkwa Diocese, Moses Yirenkyi Otchere, Wenchi Diocese, Ruben Atsu Kugblenu, Somanya Diocese, Edwin Sarpong-Boakye Goaso Diocese, and Samuel Ebenezer Kotcha-Brew, Fosu Diocese.  All the five Chairmen were elected in fulfilment of the constitution of the church. They are to serve for three years. Most Rev. Dr. Boafo reminded them that they have taken a great but delicate responsibility and therefore must see it as a privilege and an opportunity which must be used in fulfilment of the will of God.  He explained that the rationale behind the Lay Movement Council within the Methodist Church is to facilitate partnership and collaboration between the laity and the clergy to advance the kin...

Some interested parties in the killing of seven men in the Amansie West district of the Ashanti region in July this year have expressed satisfaction with the outcome of investigations into circumstances of the incident particularly by exonerating all the victims of involving themselves in criminal activities contrary to claims by the Ashanti regional Police Command.  Yesterday, Monday Nov. 19,  a government’s statement said after a careful study of the Committee’s Report,  the seven victims of the shooting incident were not armed robbers, neither did they engage the police in an exchange of fire.  Speaking to the Ashanti Today in Kumasi in reaction to the report, the Asokore Mampong Municipal Chief Executive, Alidu Seidu commended government for the steps it has taken so far that have culminated in the exoneration of the victims, saying that, 'the clearance itself is enough satisfaction and a big relief to the bereaved families and the youth in the Asawase...

Three out of the 10 persons who sustained injuries at the gas explosion at Krofrom in the newly created Tafo Municipality of the Ashanti region today, Tuesday Nov. 20, are still in critical condition and on admission at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital receiving emergency medical care. Two others in a relatively stable condition are also on admission at the Tafo Government Hospital. Five others have however been treated and discharged from the hospital.  The Ashanti Regional Commander of the Fire Service, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Joshua Nguah disclosed this in an interview with Ashanti Today in Kumasi. The Regional Fire Commander disclosed also, that a total of 26 vehicles aside from many other properties were destroyed by the wildfire. 'We dispatched five fire engines and when we got there, the infirno was good', the Regional Fire Commander noted. ACFO Nguah urged people to be very careful when handling gas in view of the high risk involved. 'Gas is fri...

Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu has called for the support of Britain in Ghana’s quest to prevail against poverty, illiteracy and diseases. Additionally, Britain could take advantage of its plans to exit the European Union in what is commonly known as Brexit to increase its investment and bilateral cooperation with Ghana.  Otumfuo Osei Tutu made the call at a durbar in honour of the visiting Prince of Wales and his wife, Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla. The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, who is now the Head of the Commonwealth and an heir apparent to the British throne, was at the Manhyia Palace as part of the Royal’s four day official visit to Ghana.  Accompanied by his wife, Camila, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles first held a closed door meeting with the Asantehene at the Manhyia Palace to discuss matters of mutual and bilateral interest to the Ashanti region in particular, and the British Monarchy towards strengthening the long standing relationship existing...

Contractors executing the new Kejetia Terminal Complex say the facility is   97 per cent complete and currently at the testing stage. Traders and transport unions are expected to occupy the terminal very soon.  These came to light when the   Prince of Wales, Prince Charles visited the facility. Construction the new Kejetia  terminal complex began in November 2015 with an original completion date of 18   months. However, completion has delayed as a result of the refusal by the original  occupants of the old facility to relocate for fear that management of the edifice would  give out to the spaces based on favouritism  while owners of  private properties located within the project area  dragged the issue at the law courts until  early this year.  The complex is phase one of a comprehensive Central Market  redevelopment and has a bigger trading capacity than the earlier terminal. The new  terminal is b...

Members of the KNUST,   branch of the teachers and educational workers UNION, TEWU has begun and indefinite sit down strikes over the breakdown of the talks for the re-composition of a new governing Council for the university . The Strike, which started this morning, Monday Nov. 5, involves what the union leadership describes as  a 'daily continuous meeting' on the campus without the members attending to their respective duties.  Speaking to Ashanti Today in Kumasi, the Chairman , Charles Arthur said, until the government appreciates the position of the   constituent bodies in the composition of the new Council, TEWU will not back down.  According to Mr Arthur, a list of purported government nominees for the   C ouncil only circulating on social media cannot be authenticated considering the fact that it has not been officially   communicated   to the Union. He assured that TEWU is ever ready to resume work and join the other bodies ...

The much anticipated re-composition and inauguration of a governing Council for the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, KNUST, could not take place in Kumasi despite the readiness of representatives all the constituent groups save those by the government. The other nominees went to the Manhyia Palace where they waited for hours hoping for the government’s nominees to be announced to complete the list for the eventual outdooring, but had to return to campus much disappointed. Ashanti Today had earlier picked information from reliable sources that the government had rejected representatives of the University Teachers Association, UTAG, the Students Representatives, SRC and the Teachers and Education Workers Union, TEWU for reasons yet to be established. However, those groups insisted that their reps, selected through established mechanisms including election in some instances, have fixed terms to be on the University Council which was unlawfully truncated by the...

The Ejura Agric College is undergoing an infrastructural facelift from a 15 million Dollar project. The project is to improve on the capacity of the College to produce well equipped Agricultural Extension Officers towards modernized and increased agric production in the country.  The Ejura Agricultural College, established in the 1964, is one of many of its kind under the Ministry of Food and Agric for the training of Extension Officers. Agric Extension Officers are staff of the Ministry who come into direct contact with farmers with education on modern and best agricultural practices in the areas like cropping, animal husbandry or both.  The College, which runs two-year General Agric, presently has about 260 students and more than 12 teaching staff. However, for many years now, the College has not seen any significant infrastructural improvement and replacement of the equipment and tools for training thereby negatively affecting the quality of the training and als...