Somalia News Gazette

The Ghana Shippers Authority has intensified its collaborative work towards achieving a ‘zero demurrage’ payment by government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) at the ports.

The Authority, on Tuesday, April 22, held an inter-governmental forum with various stakeholders in the ports system to embolden, particularly, MDAs involved in port activities to ensure the elimination of demurrage payment.

This development comes on the back of recent lock up of some 182 containers of medical shipments from the Global Fund for Ghana at the Tema ports, of which 14 have since been cleared.

Demurrage is a charge imposed by shipping lines for delay in clearing a cargo, ranging between US$22 to US$48 per a 20-foot container each day, and US$44 to US$96 per a 40-foot container, after a mandatory seven-day period.

In a speech read on his behalf, Mr Kwesi Baffour Sarpong, Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Shippers Authority, charged officers in various MDAs to urgently take actions to stop incurring penalties for del
ays in clearing of goods.

He noted that though there had been a reduction in demurrage payment between 2017 and 2022, it was observed that MDAs paid most of thoses penalties, despite not often being the cause of the delays.

‘The goal of the Authority is thus to champion a demurrage free port in the interest of shippers and the national economy in the shortest possible time,’ said Mr Sarpong.

He stated that a study conducted by the Research Department of the Authority showed a reduction in demurrage by importers in Ghana from US$76 million to US$24 million.

He attributed the downward trend to government interventions like the paperless port project, and pre-arrival declaration in the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS.

Mr Sarpong also included improvement in some infrastructure at the ports, as well as demurrage sensitisation campaigns championed by the Authority since 2018 as part of the measures that had led to the demurrage reduction.

‘The Authority reiterates its appeal to Chief Directors, C
EOs, Managing Directors and other relevant officers of MDAs/State-Owned Enterprises, to take urgent action to ensure that their consignments are expeditiously cleared from the ports to mitigate the use of State resources for such avoidable costs,’ he said.

He said the Authority would soon sign a service level agreement with shipping service providers to engender accountability in line with the implementation of sector regulations.

Mrs Monica Josiah, Head, Shippers Services and Trade Facilitation Department, Ghana Shippers Authority, during a presentation, called for a holistic approach, involving MDAs, shippers, haulers, and policymakers, to tackle the challenges.

‘Government cargoes are often cited for staying at the port over 100-days, and there are huge financial cost involved,’ she said, and encouraged officers in various MDAs to double up efforts in reducing demurrage payments.

Mr Paul Kobina Mensah, Logistics and Transportation Sector Head, Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, GNCCI, in
an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said it was important for sensitisation to be done periodically among shippers in MDAs.

‘Before they import, they have to find all the regulatory measures and documentation around the transaction they want to enter into, and engage a qualified freight forwarder to work on all the processes before the goods arrive.

‘If that’s done, by the time the goods arrive, every document that are needed will be in place, then you can get the goods out of the port as early as possible,’ Mr Mensah said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Governments in Africa have been urged to combat women abuses and bullying in the cyber space proactively, as they advance in digital technology.

That, they can achieve if the Heads of States in the continent understand the dynamics and intricacies, accept the magnitude of cybercrime and thereby review and make existing laws punitive enough.

Participants, attending the 11th Digital Rights and Inclusive Forum 2024 (DRIF24), gave the advice during group sessions, and insisted on the need for governments on the continent to prioritise and help combat online violence against women.

Hundreds of delegates, civil society actors and organisations as well as NGOs and academia, drawn from 61 countries across the world are attending the three-day forum on the theme’ fostering rights and inclusion in the digital age’.

Paradigm Initiative (PIN), a Pan African organisation and its partners in Ghana, including E-Governance and Internet Governance Foundation for Africa (EGIGFA), University of Media, Arts and Communication
are organising the forum.

The other partners are the Media Foundation for West Africa, Inclusive Tech Group, Internet Society (ISOC) Ghana Chapter, and Human Security Research Centre (HSRC).

Wikimedia, African Digital Rights Network, Ford Foundation, Luminate, Google, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mott Foundation, Open Technology Fund (OTF), Internews and Small Media are the event sponsors.

Ndeye Fatuo Diouf, Digital Content Manager, Senegal-based Afric Tivistes, a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) regretted that though cybercrimes, especially women abuse, and bullying remained serious offences, some governments in Africa had not shown any political will to arrest the situation.

Women victims of digital abuses and bullying go through serious emotional and psychological trauma and that remain inimical to their growth and development, she said.

According to Ebere Ifendu, the President and Founder, Nigerian-based Women in Politics Forum (WIPF), urged young women in politics to also remain active on social medi
a.

That would enable them to identify and help enact realistic laws and policy frameworks that would guide or govern the use and thereby bring sanity to the internet space.

Ifendu noted that general effects of online violence on remained enormous and urged governments in Africa to prioritise sanctions and help bring the situation under the barest minimum.

However, Rokhaya Tine, Responsible for Communications, Patef Senegal, another CSO said women could do more for themselves in fighting the crime if platforms were provided for them to share their stories and learn lessons.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ms Paulina Rozycka, the Head of Infrastructure and Sustainable Development, European Union (EU) in Ghana, says sustainable production and economic growth of the cashew sector is of high priority to the Union.

Thus, the EU would provide the needed support towards the development and implementation of transformative policies in partner countries to ensure economic growth.

Ms Rozycka, who was speaking at the sixth Council of Ministers’ Conference of the Consultative International Cashew Council (CICC), said the EU recognised the economic and environmental potential on the cashew value chain.

The conference was under the theme: ‘Projecting the Cashew Sector through local Consumption, Value Addition and Job Creation’.

It brought together ministers, experts, researchers and stakeholders from eleven African countries to share experiences, identify gaps and marshal efforts in promoting the cashew industry.

‘The EU is very interested to see a thriving processing hub in Africa, closely linked to European Markets a
nd guided by inclusiveness and sustainability principles, maximising revenues and jobs for African Nations’ – Ms Rozycka said.

‘Beyond, Cashew has the potential to spearhead and set an example for an agro-industry based on agroecological principles. This is the spirit of the EU Cashew Initiative which is in the making.’

She noted that the EU was set to frame the European Interventions in the sector in a Team Europe Spirit and closely aligned it to partner countries’ interests.

‘We don’t start from zero. The EU is the main donor of the GIZ implemented Move-ComCashew Programme. We salute its 15 years of engagement and its key contribution to the dynamic sector that Cashew is today in Africa,’ she said.

Ms Rozycka noted that the ComCashew was embedded in the larger AgroBusiness Facility for Resilient Value Chains, Co-Funded by the EU (43.8 million EUR) and the German Ministry of Cooperation (12.2 million EUR).

One year on under the programme, she said the editions 16 and 17 of the GIZ-ACA (African Cashew Al
liance) Master Training Programme were training dozens of experts in Ghana from 20 African countries.

Ms Rozycka noted that 30 private sector partners, among them, cooperatives, processors and distributors, had been selected to receive a Matching Grant Fund in 11 different countries, four from Ghana.

She said the grant was mobilising around 6.5 million EUR to address the ‘missing middle’ actors to reach formal finance or to develop some inclusive or sustainable aspects of the value chain.

She commended Ghana and welcomed the recent approval of the Tree Crops Regulation, which aims at enhancing competitiveness, productivity, profitability, and sustainability of tree crop sectors, notably Cashew.

The CICC members are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo.

Established on the 18th November, 2016 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, the CICC aims to create a consultation framework and synergies between member states for a sustainable cashew sector.

A
frica’s cashew industry has come up strongly in recent years as one with great potential and one that can significantly contribute to the economic growth of the continent.

About 60 per cent of the world’s global raw cashew nuts are produced in Africa, with Cote d’Ivoire being the world’s leading producer, producing nearly one million tons in 2021.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The first cohort of 106 students have graduated under the Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Amalitech collaboration, which seeks to give employable skills in Cloud Computing to over 5000 Ghanaian Youths.

The course structure based on the AWS re/Start programme, a free cohort-based workforce development training programme that helped individuals build cloud computing skills-cloud operations, infrastructure support, programming, security, database fundamentals, and security techniques and commercial support functions, connecting participants with employment opportunities.

The International Finance Corporation had said more than 230 million jobs would require digital skills by 2030 in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Ghana alone, over nine million jobs would need digital skills by the same period, which made it prudent to invest in the future of young Africans.

Ruba Borno, the Vice President of Worldwide Channels and Alliances at AWS said during the graduation ceremony that partnering with AmaliTech had been a great e
xample of empowering people with the cloud computing skills necessary to take charge of their careers and lauded the investment made by the AWS Partner Network (APN), a global community that leverages AWS technologies, Programmes, expertise, and tools to build solutions and services for customers.

More than five million Euros was being injected into the project in Ghana to expand the supply of qualified professionals in cloud computing and increase diversity.

The investment would be allocated over the next three years to AmaliTech, a company that provided employment pathways in the technology sector to people in sub-Saharan Africa, connecting them to the global demand for technology talents.

Mr. Salami Suleiman, Head of Training at AmaliTech said the company’s approach combined training with employment and continuous learning by focusing on skilled technology service.

AmaliTech expects to train over 5,000 people, certify 4,000 AWS practitioners, and secure employment opportunities for more than 2,000 indi
viduals at the end of 2026, he added.

He described the joint project, launched in November 2023 as the largest cooperation by the company history and certainly a huge milestone…’ I am very excited about this collaboration and really looking forward to seeing the first wave of trainees complete this excellent course, which will be a life changing experience for many of them.’

The Ghanaian students completing this training programme are the diverse, talented cloud workforce of the future, equipping organizations across West Africa and globally to accelerate innovation through the AWS Cloud.

Tejas Vashi, Global Lead, AWS re/Start said industry demand for cloud adoption continued to outpace the number of cloud-savvy workers, leaving organizations struggling to find and hire the talent needed to implement cloud services.

He noted that together with AmaliTech, the two hoped to remove all such barriers so individuals from all backgrounds could gain skills to launch successful careers in cloud adding that they we
re committed to helping AWS customers and partners hire with confidence from a trusted pipeline of early-career talent.

Madam Ruth Otasowie, a student from the November 2023 cohort expressed her joy at the opportunity offered her by the companies to have a life changing career in the tech space…’ We had dedicated instructors who cared deeply about us learners, plentiful and detailed resources, and exciting material-driven events to break up the monotony, ensuring the execution of a highly recommendable programme as a starting point for cloud computing enthusiasts.’

Since its foundation in 2020, AmaliTech programmes have already provided more than 1,000 people in Ghana and Rwanda with much-needed digital skills for today’s job market and training a further 5,000 people in cloud computing, marked another major step forward for Ghana’s economy, the livelihoods of Ghana’s growing workforce, and building a sustainable technology ecosystem in West Africa.

AmaliTech placed a strong focus on upskilling and trainin
g programmes, an integral part of the social impact business.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Emmanuel Kofi Agyemang, Dormaa East DIstrict Chief Executive in the Bono Region, has distributed 20,000 hybrid coconut seedlings to some farmers at Nsesresu in the district under the government’s Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) programme.

Already, the assembly had supported the nursing of 12,000 coconut seedlings at the Nsesresu nursing site and an additional 8,000 seedlings at the Merefrewuo nursery site in the district.

Making the presentation at a short ceremony, Mr Agyemang advised the beneficiary farmers not to sell the seedlings, but them to plant them.

He said the assembly and by extension the government was spending much on the PERD programme and entreated the farmers to help make value of the coconut seedlings, indicating that between 2018 and 2021 the assembly had distributed more than one million cashew seedlings to farmers in the area.

The PERD programme, Mr Agyemang explained, was an initiative being implemented by the government to alleviate poverty and improve the socio-
economic livelihoods of the farmers and commended them for embracing the programme.

He said the cashew sector value chain had seen tremendous growth and development over the years, stressing cashew buyers in the area had increased from 20 in 2017 to more than 120 buyers in 2024, and thereby creating employment and stimulating economic growth.

Touching on the construction of a dam and canopy walk-way in the Nsesresu community, Mr Agyemang said work on the project was progressing, saying the contractor had assured to complete and handover within two weeks.

‘The contractor is now waiting for the pillars to dry so that concrete works to erect the canopy would also begin’, he explained.

Barimah Effiriti Sampon-Siaw, the Mawarehene of the Dormaa Traditional Area, appealed to the farmers to consider the process of adding value to their produce, instead of focusing only on producing raw materials. He urged the unemployed people in the area to take advantage of the PERD programme and

engage in cashew and coconut
production to better their lot. Mr Gordon Tuah, the Dormaa East District Director of Agriculture, took the farmers through the proper method of planting and urged them to seek the services of the Extension Officers to improve their farm work.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), in collaboration with the Society of Women in Taxation, has intensified education for Mallam Atta market women on the need to promptly file their monthly tax returns for accountability.

The Authority also used the platform to sensitise them about its new online portal for tax payment and good governance practices.

Ms Julie Essiam, Commissioner-General, GRA, underscored the importance of filing ones tax returns promptly to avoid sanctions.

She said the month of April was set aside by the Authority to create awareness among organisations and individuals on the importance of filing their returns, paying taxes, and complying with the law.

The Income Tax Act 2015 (Act 895) and the Revenue Administration Act 2016 ( Act 915) enjoined taxpayers to file their tax returns with the Commissioner-General, GRA, not later than four months into the next year.

She educated the women on the benefits of paying their taxes, including infrastructure development, the construction of schools,
health facilities, and other interventions undertaken by the government.

‘We are not only here to encourage you to pay tax but to also outline the benefits derived from paying taxes,’ she said.

She encouraged the women to be united and explain to each other tax-related issues for smooth compliance and peaceful coexistence.

The Commissioner-General prayed for the success of the women’s businesses so they would be able to pay their taxes for developmental projects.

Mr Edward Apenteng Gyamera, Commissioner-General in charge of Domestic Tax Revenue, GRA, said the Authority had made transactions with their clients convenient and easy with the introduction of the online portal.

The Authority, he said, had secured a tax management tool that enabled taxpayers to file their returns, initiate payments, apply for refunds, undertake cashless policies, and perform other transactions without walking to their offices.

Madam Esi Sam, President of the Society of Women in Taxation, said data from the population census re
vealed that the informal sector constituted 69.7 per cent population, of which women were in the majority.

That, she stressed, necessitated the collaboration to encourage the women to pay their taxes to develop the country.

The staff interacted with the market women on the need to pay their taxes and comply with the law governing tax payments.

Some of the market women expressed satisfaction with the initiative for enlightening them on tax issues but urged the government to use the revenue for its intended purposes.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr David O. Sogbodjor, former Finance Manager of the defunct Beige Bank has told the High Court trying the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) that the receiver during the collapse of the Bank did not engage the Institution’s financial team.

He said although the finance team of the defunct bank, including the CFO worked briefly with the receiver, he failed to consult them on a lot of information concerning the Bank’s financial affairs before presenting the reports he had compiled in respect of the affairs of the Bank, which reports were now before the court.

‘If the receiver had engaged us on these matters, we would have provided the necessary information to enable him to rectify the information he provided in exhibits 1 and A.’

Mr Sogbodjor, the second defense’s witness, was giving his evidence-in-chief.

He said when the Bank was placed under receivership, he worked with the team represented by Mr Julius Ayivor, main prosecution’s witness in 2018, at the time when Consolidated Bank, Ghana, had taken ove
r the business about three months ago.

Mr Sogbodjor said between 2009 and 2012, the Bank, before it was upgraded to Savings and Loans from Beige Capital, grew from a branch to almost 30 branches from Accra to Ashanti and Central regions.

He said part of the exhibits in the receiver’s report before the Court provided information to the BoG and the Attorney-General on the financial and accounting position of the Bank at the time of receivership.

Mr Thaddeus Sory, the accused person’s lawyer, informed me that Mr Ayivor started testifying in court sometime in February 2023.

By this time, it was almost five years after the Bank was placed under the auspices of the receiver.

‘Exhibits 1 and A were prepared based on information available to the receiver on the Bank’s accounting system, such information, however, does not reflect the true and final financial and accounting position of the Bank.

‘The reason is that such information is not accepted in accounting as the final and true statement of an institution’s
financial and accounting position,’ he said.

‘Business institutions are continuously in business, in their businesses, transactions are initiated, and some of the transactions are either completed immediately or subsequently.

‘Transactions completed immediately would usually be recorded but depending on the nature of such transactions their exact financial effect may not be

immediately reflected in the financial and accounting records of the institution until later when other events relating to these transactions have occurred.’

He continued that ‘In financial accounting, it is common practice for institutions to be allowed a period of between thirty (30) to ninety [90] days after the end of an accounting year to prepare the financial reports of that specific year.’

He said that was to allow for the reports to take account of all adjusting items that may exist as of the balance sheet date and for the financial reports to reflect the true and exact situation of the reporting entity as of that balance shee
t date.

‘With regard to exhibits 1 and A, however, I observed after reading them that the receiver retained and maintained the same information given to him from the team when he took over the Bank as a receiver and up until almost five years later when Mr Ayivor started testifying, saying the reports omitted a lot of information he provided to the receiver.

‘This is wrong, I, therefore, say that exhibits 1 and A are not accurate and do not reflect the true accounting position of the Bank. The receiver appears to appreciate the fact that exhibits 1 and A cannot be final when he admits on page 17 of exhibit 1 that: there were significant number of assets physically present at the various branches that had records.’

Mr Sogbodjor said, ‘There is also another statement made by the receiver that he had obtained two asset schedules, one from the finance department and another from the administrative departments and that these two asset schedules were not in agreement.

‘It is important to add that the receiver d
id not say that he took account of them in exhibit 1 although these assets were not recorded in the asset register.’

On the Bank’s asset register, the witness said the compilation of the Bank’s assets register was the responsibility of the Bank’s finance department.

‘The process starts with the extraction of the costs of the assets and their locations as have been posted in their respective ledger codes in the general ledger. This is then updated into a file named the asset register.’

He explained that the general ledger and the exact register were, therefore, two different, separate and distinct accounting records of the Bank as was the case with many other institutions.

He said the asset register was normally generated in Microsoft Excel but took its source from data in the general ledger.

He said the report also did not cover all the Bank’s assets, adding that in August 2018, there were several assets [furniture and fittings, computers, power generators, etc) that had been acquired by the Bank, distri
buted to various offices.

Disbursements, he said, made by the Bank in respect of those acquisitions were all recorded in a ledger called prepayment project works, but the finance office was yet to pass journals that would re-allocate the costs of the items so received into their appropriate general ledger codes. ‘

Michael Nyinaku, former CEO of the defunct Beige Bank is facing theft and money laundering charges, which he has denied.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Zipline, the leading force in drone logistics delivery has vowed to partner top brands and institutions to transform the future of logistics using autonomous drones.

A news statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra said, Mr Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), of Zipline assured government of the company’s commitment to key markets such as healthcare, quick commerce, and food delivery, envisioning a future where Zipline achieved one million deliveries per day.

He said this would help deliver crucial supplies such as vaccines, medical products, units of blood products, animal health products and prescribed medications for citizens who cannot access health products especially in rural areas.

He said Zipline’s collaboration with the government and health ministry has been pivotal, completing over 540,000 drone delivery flights across Ghana.

These deliveries have directly impacted the lives of over 17 million Ghanaians across 13 regions, saving 6,014 lives through emergency deliver
ies, including blood products and snake anti-venom since 2019.

The CEO said, the company has facilitated the delivery of 12.2 million vaccine doses, including 2.8 million Covid-19 vaccines, leading to a 21 per cent increase in vaccination coverage and a 44 per cent reduction in missed opportunities to vaccinate in Ghana.

These efforts have potentially saved 727 lives due to increased vaccination coverage, adding that, Zipline’s infrastructure expansion in Ghana, with six distribution centres strategically located across the country has enabled swift and efficient on-demand drone delivery services.

‘The three areas where the incentive really makes the most sense today are health care, quick commerce, and food’, he said.

The statement said the company’s adaptive approach and tailored delivery services reflect its commitment to meeting the diverse needs of populations and sectors.

It said with support from notable supporters like Sequoia Capital, a16z, and Google Ventures, Zipline has firmly established its
elf as a disruptive leader in the industry.

The statement said Zipline’s zero-emission technology has garnered acclaim, covering over 70 million commercial miles across four continents.

It said the company has reached a monumental achievement with its one-millionth delivery to customers, signifying a leap forward in the logistics delivery sector.

‘This historic milestone is marked by the delivery of two bags of IV fluid from a Zipline distribution center in Ghana to a local health facility’, it added.

The achievement of the one millionth delivery milestone underscores Zipline’s dedication to enhancing healthcare outcomes and addressing societal needs across Africa.

‘As Zipline continues to innovate and expand its reach, it is poised to shape the future of healthcare delivery on the continent and beyond’, the statement said.

Source: Ghana News Agency