Month: April 2023

Professor Joshua Danso Owusu-Sekyere, the outgoing Vice-Chancellor of Cape Coast Technical University (CCTU) has applauded the university’s commitment to academic excellence that had culminated in its recent giant academic strides.

Regardless of the institution’s enormous challenges, he said it had chalked enormous successes in academic innovation, technology, human resource, and infrastructure development.

Others are renewed partnerships, collaborations, and health improvements that had set the institution apart among its co-equals in Ghana and West Africa.

Prof. Owusu-Sekyere disclosed this at the 19th Congregation of the university, which saw a total of 1,280 students graduate with various Degrees and Diplomas.

Of the total, 336 students comprising 26.25 per cent graduated with Bachelor of Technology degrees as 525 students representing 41.02 per cent were also honoured with Higher National Diploma whilst 419 students making 32.73 per cent received Professional Diploma certificates.

Highlighting the gains, Prof. Owusu-Sekyere said the Department of Agribusiness and Entrepreneurship had developed an innovative and interdisciplinary curriculum aimed at enhancing practical knowledge and employable skills in the field of entrepreneurship and agribusiness.

It involved the establishment of a Business Incubation Centre, which provides students with the opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge in a practical setting through support, planning, and tools to succeed.

Through that, he said the Department of Construction Technology and Management had won a GHS1.3 million grant from the Ghana Skills Development Fund to aid their activities.

Relatedly, he said the Engineering Design and Innovation Centre had also commenced its novel ECORIDE Project, which seeks to offer CCTU students and staff an environmentally friendly and commercially viable transportation system.

It seeks to provide an alternative means of transportation while serving as a source of internally generated funds to the University.

In addition, work had began on the ECOBUS project-a mobile classroom for experiential learning with a conference room on wheels and a standby generator.

It is equipped with solar panels and a battery bank system to supply energy to the bus for the lighting and powering of all electrical or electronic systems on the bus, and a charging centre for the solar trikes during power outages.

For agricultural innovation, Prof. Owusu-Sekyere said CCTU had started designing and fabricating equipment suitable for mechanizing the production and processing of commercial crops.

They include cowpea, soybeans, sugarcane, maize, carrot, and cabbage.

Furthermore, it had designed its first seed planter which he said was undergoing testing and evaluation to improve its functionalities to be unveiled this year.

Prof. Owusu-Sekyere said CCTU had embarked on an initiative to upgrade at least one innovative student project with commercial viability each year.

For that matter, CCTU has selected an automatic drink bottling machine designed and fabricated by Mechanical engineering students to be upgraded and powered by solar.

The equipment scheduled to be unveiled this year, will be useful to local drink makers in both urban and rural areas where electricity remained a challenge.

For the Department of Tourism Management, he said CCTU has also won a grant of GHS200.044.00 for the training of the staff and the purchase of various equipment for teaching support.

Prof Owusu-Sekyere said the institution had increased its programme offerings from 30 in 2019, to 70 and were duly accredited by the Ghana Education Commission (GTEC).

They include; two M-Tech, 22 four-year B-Tech, 14 B-Tech topup, 14 Higher National Diploma and 20 Diploma programmes.

For human resource development, he said 35 staff were persuing doctoral studies, six on MPhil programmes, 11 pursuing bachelor’s degrees and nine staff pursuing HND, among others.

For his part, Prof Harold Amonoo-Kuofi Council Chairman, advised the students to put their skills to good use and support their alma mater.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Bright K. Lenwah, the Municipal Chief Executive of Nkwanta South in the Oti Region has paid a familiarization visit to some communities in the Bonakye North Electoral area.

The communities visited were- Bugna, Jumbu Cheri and Alege-Akura.

His visit was to ascertain the challenges of the chiefs and people of these areas and find immediate solutions to them.

Mr David Yatima, the Assemblyman for Bonakye North Electoral Area, highlighted challenges confronting the communities, which included bad road networks, poor school facilities, lack of potable drinking water, lack of telecommunication network, lack of electricity and poor health facilities.

He commended the MCE for the initiative and hoped that measures would be put in place to address them.

Mr Lenwah, responded to the various issues raised by the communities, and promised to deal with the issues, especially those directly under his jurisdiction and refer those that were not under his immediate control to the appropriate quarters for redress.

He called for continuous support to government policies and interventions regardless of their political affiliation and to live in peace and harmony with one another as the only way to derive development.

The people in the communities visited expressed their appreciation and gratitude to the MCE for his visit saying that, this is the first of its kind a face-to-face meeting was held to ascertain their challenges, which had boosted their hope and confidence in him and his government.

They encouraged him to continue his good works for the people of Nkwanta South and assured him of their support whenever he called on them.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Reverend Dr Komi Hiagbe, Rector of the Global Theological Seminary (GTS), Centre for Capacity Building and Continuing Education (CCB and CE) has called on Christian leaders and church workers to remain committed to their calling.

He said it was important to remind ourselves of the call to serve God fully in all situations.

Dr Hiagbe made the call when he addressed GTS Akatsi Campus students at their maiden graduation ceremony held at Akatsi in the Volta Region.

He called for the commitment in doing God’s work regardless of any challenging moment that may occur along the line.

‘Under whatever condition, let us not be found wanting in doing God’s work. Know that you are serving God,’ he said.

Dr Hiagbe who was also the guest speaker during the short graduation ceremony which saw 20 graduands, commended them on their resolve to enhance their knowledge in doing God’s work.

He urged the graduands to move to higher heights after attaining their initial excellence in Christian Ministry courses.

Reverend Forestone Tsagli, the Akatsi Presbytery Chairman, disclosed that the school was recommended for Catechists, Church Elders, Deacons, Administrtors, and other church workers who desire to be equipped for effective ministry.

The ceremony, which was held at the GEC’s Shalom Chapel auditorium, under the theme, ‘Christian Ministry as Service to Christ and His Kingdom,’ was part of the climax of this year’s Presbytery Representative Conference of the Church, Akatsi Presbytery.

Certificates were presented to all graduands who took part in the mandatory nine-month Ministry Course.

The ceremony brought together some governing council and management members of the school such as, Professor Sampson Agbozo, Council Chairman, Reverend Dr Michael Alloteh Iiamofig, Vice Rector, Dr Hayford BK Kwashie, Registrar, Reverend Forestone FK Tsagli, Presbytery Chairman, Akatsi, Rev. SK Agbeyome, as well as Pastors and Church workers.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Chartered Institute of Supply Chain Management (CISCM) has held an induction ceremony for 96 members as part of efforts to develop and grow the supply chain industry.

The event, which was a climax of the celebration of the World Supply Chain week, appreciated the efforts of these individuals for their continuous support to the industry.

Speaking at the ceremony, Professor Kofi Osei Frimpong, a Fellow at the Chartered Institute of Supply Chain Management, said there was the need to prioritize the supply chain industry due to its contribution to national development.

He said businesses in Ghana would have collapsed if authorities had no idea on supply chain management and its benefits.

According to him, the country’s inability to understand the supply chain had led to the borrowing of huge sums of money from the International Monetary Fund.

Professor Frimpong again explained that importation of goods to the country had caused more harm than good and encouraged that there should be more exports which would yield profits for Ghana.

‘I urge you all to be up to date and broaden your scope in the supply chain industry in order to understand certain things that are happening in the business side,’ he noted.

He urged the various companies to produce local content to help boost Ghana’s economy in these difficult times.

Mr Awuku Sam, Vice President of CISCM, also congratulated all 96 inducted members of the institute and urged them to give their best to see the growth of the Supply Chain Industry.

He lauded the commitment of the Chartered Institute of Supply Chain management in contributing to the growth of Ghana’s economy.

Some notable names among the inductees were Mr Seth Kwame Acheampong, Eastern Regional Minister, Professor De-Graft Owusu-Manu, and Professor Aaron Lawson.

The weeklong celebration saw engagements with Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling Company Limited, Tullow Ghana and other companies.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Federal Government has explained that the sum of 1.2 million dollars allegedly spent in hiring buses for the evacuation of Nigerian students in Sudan was due to the dire need of the war situation.

This is contained in a statement signed by the spokesperson of the ministry of Humanitarian Affairs Mrs Rhoda Iliya.

It was also signed by officials of the ministry of foreign affairs Ambassador Janet Olisa and Dr Sani Gwarzo of Humanitarian affairs ministry in Abuja on Saturday.

“The outcry over the negotiated sum of 1.2 million dollars for the buses hired for the exercise, is uncalled for.

“The amount in question was negotiated in a condition of war and where there are competing demands for same bus services by other countries also trying to evacuate their citizens.

“The general public is hereby advised to discountenance the unverified information being circulated on the social media as some of them are either due to ignorance or sheer mischief,” it said.

The statement also appealed for cooperation and understanding of all Nigerians in the ongoing efforts to ensure all Nigerians stranded in Sudan are returned home safely.

“The first batch of 13 buses conveying six hundred and thirty seven (637) evacuees had arrived the identified safe borders at Aswan, Egypt.

“The evacuees are undergoing necessary documentation and clearance before admission into the Egyptian territory for their eventual evacuation to Nigeria in the coming hours by the Nigerian Air Force and Air Peace airline, who have been on standby for the operations.

“However, the movement of the second batch of 29 buses will commence on April 29 and the evacuees are advised to be at the designated locations with only one luggage.”

It advised Nigerian students awaiting evacuation from Khartoum to cooperate with embassy officials for proper documentation while embarking on the buses to the designated locations.

“This will go a long way in speeding up the process and avoiding unnecessary delays with documentation and clearance upon arrival at the Aswan, Egypt.”

The government expressed commitment towards successful evacuation of all Nigerians stranded in Sudan before the expiration of the extended 72 hours ceasefire agreement.

“We want to use this opportunity to extend our appreciation to friendly countries who have in one way or the other assisted in bringing succour to Nigerians fleeing the war in Sudan.

“Particularly, Nigeria acknowledges the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for graciously assisting with the evacuation of eight Nigerians from Sudan to safety in its territory, from where they would be airlifted back to Nigeria,” the statement added.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Mr Jide Awe, the Chief Exexcutive Officer, Jidaw Systems Ltd., says the new feature in WhatsApp can make users vulnerable to hacking or phishing attacks by cybercriminals.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the new WhatsApp feature enables users to operate their account on four different devices.

Awe told NAN in an interview in Lagos on Saturday that having multiple devices linked to a single account gives hackers more opportunities to access personal data or take over the account.

He, however, noted that WhatsApp had implemented several security measures to protect against such threats, including end-to-end encryption and remote device management.

Speaking on its advantages, he said the new feature would increase flexibility and convenience by providing users with more ways to access their WhatsApp accounts.

“The ability to use up to four different devices simultaneously makes it easier for users to stay connected with their contacts.

“This feature will enable users to manage their devices and log out of them remotely. This can give them greater control over their accounts, “he said.

On users opinions, Awe said individual preferences would come into play, noting that it might be convenient for some to use it on different devices while others could stick to using WhatsApp on one device.

He said that Mark Zuckerberg’s aim for adding the new feature could be an attempt to make WhatsApp more user-friendly and convenient with a view to attracting more users to the platform.

Awe said it could also be an attempt to keep up with other competitors like Telegram and Signal, both of which already offered multi-device support.

He added that the impact or success of the new feature would depend on whether users embraced it or if it would have any unforseen consequences.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria