SARPONG'S BLOG

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has introduced new breeds of goats and sheep to boost livestock production in the Birim Central Municipal. The project is aimed at increasing the population of small ruminants like sheep and goats and to promote higher protein intake in the Municipality, as well as enhance the economic standard of farmers. This was disclosed by the Municipal Director of Agriculture; Mr. Anthony K. Prah said Media Auditing and Tracking of Development Project Team recently at Akim Oda. He explained that, the programme is under the West Africa Productivity two (WAAP2) programme of MoFA. Mr. Francis Yaw Amedzrator, the Municipal Agricultural Officer in-charge of livestock said, WAAP2 was introduced last year in the Eastern Region. Mr. Amedzrator explained that, under the project, four females and a male sheep or goats are given to farmers who have the interest and also meet the requirement in terms of shelter and accessibility to water and feed. He...

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong (Daily Express) The Chief Executive Officer of Nestle, Paul Bulcke has announced that his outfit is planning to buy back CHF8 billion shares in a programme, which will start this year and continue into 2015. According to Mr. Bulcke, this is to provide additional competitive returns for their shareholders. He stated that the performance in the first half of this year, allows them to confirm their outlook for the full year. Mr. Bulcke announced this in the company’s financial statement for the first half 2014. He added that “We delivered solid, broad-based organic growth, driven by real internal growth and pricing in what is still a very volatile trading environment. We continued to drive the growth momentum with innovation, increased support behind our brands, and a focus on efficiencies.” He said the creation of Nestlé Skin Health with the Galderma business expanded their nutrition, health and wellness strategy, reinforcing their long-term stra...

A total of 963 persons lost their lives in road crashes in the first half of 2014 countrywide. This represents a reduction of 7 per cent of the 1,032 persons who were killed within the same period in 2013. Mrs. Dzifa Ativor, Minister of Transport disclosed at a mid-year review of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) in Ho. She said though the number of crashes increased from 6,839 in 2013 to 6,984 in 2014, for the same period; the Commission did well in bringing down the number of fatalities and injuries, which were reduced to 6.69 and 2.26 per cent respectively. Mrs. Ativor commended the Commission and tasked it to sustain the trend in the reductions. The review is on the theme, “Strategizing towards achieving our 2014 road safety targets,” she stated. Mrs. Ativor asked the Commission to go beyond the creation of road safety awareness and collaborate with other stakeholders to ensure the enforcement of road safety rules and regulations. She said ...

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong (Daily Express) United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, one of the largest financial institutions in Africa, has announced the financial results for the first six months of the year, showing positive growth in financial indices. According to the bank, the financial results released to the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) revealed that UBA recorded a gross earnings of N138 billion (GH¢2.60 billion) for the period ending June, 2014. This represents an increase of 8.66% over the N127 billion (GH¢2.40 billion) recorded in the same period in 2013. The growth in gross earnings was boosted by an 11% increase in interest income to N98.5 billion (GH¢1.8billion) in the first half of 2014, from N88.6 billion (GH¢1.6 billion) in the same period of 2013. The bank’s net interest income was up by 3.4% to record N55.2 billion (GH¢1.04billion). Non-interest income on the bank went up by 3.1% to record N39.8 billion (GH¢752 million); while operating income was up ...

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong (Daily Express) Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited has been selected as the ‘Best Consumer Internet Bank’ in Ghana by the Global Finance Magazine. The Bank’s strength of strategy for attracting and servicing online customers, success in getting clients to use web offerings, growth of online customers, evidence of tangible benefits gained from internet initiatives, web designs and functionality were cited by Global Finance as key factors in the selection criteria. Standard Chartered Bank Ghana continues to demonstrate an excellent ability to combine a deep knowledge of the local environment, having been in Ghana since 1896, with a well coordinated global expertise in enhancing its client relationship experience. Over the years, Standard Chartered has made a conscious effort to extend its customers’ digital lifestyle into banking. Recognising that digitisation in the banking sector will transform Ghana’s entire economy, the Bank has introd...