SARPONG'S BLOG

The Hyundai Grand i10 Sedan was officially outdoored in Ghana through a road show that displayed the well-crafted beautiful exterior of the Hyundai Grand i10 organised by Hyundai Motors. The road show started from the Tetteh Quashie Interchange through the Airport Junction to the 37th Military Hospital, Ako-Adjei Interchange, Osu Oxford street, Danquah Circle, Accra Sports Stadium then through the Ministries, National Theatre, Adabraka, the Graphic Road to Darkuman Junction, and back to Obetsebi Lamptey. Mr. Karthik Nayak, Sales and Marketing Manager of Hyundai Motors, told reporters after the road show that the new sleek Hyundai Grand i10 was different from the old model, which was introduced to the market in 2010. He said the Hyundai Grand I10 is a fusion of beauty and practicality, explaining, “It’s longer, lower and sleeker and it’s got an interior you can never forget.” Mr Nayak said: “The interior shows a premium design with exceptional use of space and materials, wit...

An officer of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has appealed to religious bodies to use the pulpits to sensitize their congregation on the need to actively get involved in the upcoming local level elections. The Upper East Regional Director of the NCCE , Mr Pontius   P Apaabey    Baba,   who said this at the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church at Fumbisi, said it was important for religious people   to bring their values to bear on local governance. He said participation in governance was both a legal and moral responsibility of citizens. He said it was wrong to discriminate against women and persons with disabilities during elections. “This is a violation of the fundamental human rights of such people and must not be allowed in this democratic era”, Mr Baba said. He reminded the congregation of the need to sensitize their communities and associates on the importance of elections at the local level such as the District Assembly and...

The University of Education, Winneba, has inaugurated two bodies to help raise funds for the University Endowment Trust Fund and Campaign. The bodies will operate under the theme “Positioning UEW for Enhanced Resource Mobilization to Support Education for Service”. Inaugurating the bodies at the North Campus of the University, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Akwasi Asabere-Ameyaw, said funding from government alone could not support all the needs of the University. According to the Vice-Chancellor, it is in this regard that the UEW had established the Endowed Fund and the inauguration of the bodies. He said the University was expected to raise 26,880,000.00 Ghana cedis in five years to the Fund to support its programmes and activities. The VC pledged to contribute 10,000 Ghana Cedis and deans, senior staff and lecturers promised 500.00 to 10,000 Ghana Cedis. Total pledges amounted to a total of 80,000 Ghana Cedis. The pledges are to be fulfilled within 12 months Rev. F...

The annual Celebrity Golf Lady Captain’s Prize Championship tee-off at the Celebrity Golf Course at Sakumono, on Saturday, November 29. Frank Akwasi Opoku, Captain of the Celebrity Golf Club who announced this at Tema on Tuesday, said about 100 amateur golfers are expected to participate in the one-day competition. He said the 18-Hole event being sponsored by Pamela Yeboah, Lady Captain of the club, would be played in accordance with the local rules of the club. The Captain named some of the golfers expected to participate in the competition as Ama Morgan, Jessica Tei, Nana Bema Tackie, Mona Myles-Lamptey, Adelaide Owuau-Adjepong and Esther Antwi. The Men’s Section also have Raymond Zigah, Abdul Aziz-Amankwah, Joe Ampofo, Joe Ohemeng, Emile Short, Ole Arosen and Samuel Adjepong. There would be prizes for ‘’Nearest to the Pin’’, ‘’Longest Drive ‘’ and ‘’Closest to the Pin’’ on Hole 18. Credit: GNA

The Ghana Health Service, with the National Malaria Control Programme, has started the distribution of about 1.5 million treated insecticides mosquito nets throughout the Eastern Region. The exercise, which is running concurrently with another in the Volta Region, where the same quantity is being distributed, would end by the weekend. Addressing the media as part of a sensitisation programme at Koforidua, Mr Kwame Gakpe, Coordinator for the National Malaria Control Programme, said the exercise was expected to cover over 95 per cent of households in the two regions. He expressed worry that malaria cases recorded at the hospitals nationwide covered about 45 per cent of Out Patient Department (OPD) cases, saying, Ghanaians should be more committed to the cause of reducing the rate drastically. Mr Gapke said the exercise was to replace the expired insecticide nets distributed in 2011, under the Universal Hung-Up Project since “the lifespan of every insecticide net is three years ...

Selfies or self-portraits have been with us at least since the invention of the pinhole camera. You can take that as an exaggeration, but the truth is the selfie craze is not a new phenomenon, dating back to 1839 when Roberto Cornelius, a pioneer photographer took the earliest known selfie. At that time, you probably need to place a giant camera the equivalent of a regular size cement block on your shoulder and stand in front of an equally giant mirror to be to capture your selfie. What’s more tedious than the anxious wait for your photograph to be developed in the dark room? I am sure the latter generations especially those belonging to the 90s know next to nothing about the era of the dark room blah blahblah. For them, it has always been the instant digital printouts of their pictures…that’s the trend now, not much we can do about it. So if selfies have been with us since the first “cheeeese” was uttered, why the sudden craze. My answer is very simple. Selfies have b...

he Finance Ministry says it is using some $1 billion proceeds from a Eurobond sale in September judiciously, contrary to allegations the money has been used to pay debts incurred by the central bank. The Finance Ministry's decision to make public how the over-subscribed Eurobond fund has been expended is in response to Dr Mahamoud Bawumia's assertions that the Finance Ministry has been cushioning the weak cedi artificially. The man who will be vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2016 had said the reason the $1 billion Eurobond was not mentioned in the 2015 Budget statement was because it had not been used for the intended purposes, challenging the ministry to publish a full list of projects executed with the money. Speaking in the UK, Dr. Bawumia, who is a former Governor of the Bank of Ghana, claimed the money had been signficantly wasted in shoring up the cedi that has fallen against major international currencies...

Vivo Energy Ghana, the company that distributes and markets Shell-branded fuels and lubricants, has appointed Mr. Ebenezer Faulkner as Managing Director with effect from 21st November 2014. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Ebenezer Faulkner was the Head of Supply & Distribution for the Vivo Energy Group. He has over 20 years of experience in the oil industry with a specialty in supply and distribution. He first worked with ExxonMobil where he has over 14 years of experience in various senior positions including West Africa Operations Manager and General Manager in Gabon, Chad and Liberia.   Mr. Faulkner joined Shell in 2005 as Cluster Distribution Manager Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso.   He then became Cluster Distribution Manager for Senegal, Guinea, Mali and Gambia.   In 2008, he was appointed Managing Director for Shell Senegal, a role he held for five years until he became Head of Distribution Vivo Energy in April 2013.   In...

President John Dramani Mahama will tomorrow hold talks with the President of the Republic of Togo, H.E. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, who is on a 3-day state visit to Ghana. The ​ bilateral discussions between the two leaders at the Flagstaff House  will focus on a joint water project that will serve Ghana and Togo, Energy, Security and Health. The visit which commenced today is expected to further develop, enhance and consolidate the friendly and brotherly relations existing between Ghana and Togo, its people and the two leaders. President Mahama and his guest will jointly inaugurate the West Hills Mall in the afternoon of tomorrow Tuesday and visit the DanAdams Pharmaceutical Company. The two leaders will also be the guests of honour at the inauguration of the Atta Mills Centre for Law and Governance at GIMPA. President Gnassingbé, who will be accompanied by a number of ministers of state and political leaders from Togo, will also visit the Kwame Nkrumah Memo...

                                      Armah- Kofi Buah, Ghana's Energy and Petroleum Minister   The China International Water and Electric Corporation with support from the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum is to construct a 60 megawatts of hydroelectric power plant at Sekyere Himang in the Wassa East District of the Western Region. The project which is expected to be completed within three years is valued at US$3 million. This was disclosed during a public hearing at the Wassa East District Capital Daboase. Representatives from the Energy Ministry, Ghana Water Company, Environmental Protection Agency and traditional authorities from the various communities met with residents who will be beneficiaries of the project. This took place on Thursday November 20, 2014 to discuss the effects and benefits of the project. About 1,500 hectors of land have been acqui...