SARPONG'S BLOG

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong (Daily Express) The MTN CEO’s invitational golf tournament has been organized at the Damang Goldfields Golf course in the Prestea Huni Valley district of the Western Region, where 83 golfers from various golf clubs participated in the 18 hole tournament. Mr. Foster Korang of the Damang Golf Club recorded the longest drive and emerged ultimate winner. Mr. Serame Taukobong, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, in his address noted that the invitational golf tournament was instituted to enable MTN get closer to its corporate clients, interact with them in an informal setting and get a better understanding of their telecommunications needs and preferences. He shared highlights of activities being undertaken by MTN to achieve its vision of leading the delivery of a bold new digital world. Mr. Taukobong also expressed his appreciation to all the golfers for their massive turn up which is indicative of the commitment to further strengt...

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong (Daily Express) LG Electronics (LG) has introduced into the Ghanaian market its eagerly anticipated G3 smartphone, latest to well-received LG G2. The new device has already received Red Dot “Best of the Best” Awards for smart keyboard, knock code and the graphic user interface (GUI). Developed under the simple new smart concept, LG G3 is a culmination of consumer research based on LG’s product development philosophy, “Learning from You.” The LG G3 is empowered with the best of what current technology has to offer, providing consumers with a user experience more ambitious than anything offered before by LG. “This is the best innovation in a fast evolving smartphone market,” said Mr. Cheolhong Park, Branch Manager, LG Electronics West Africa operations, adding that LG G3 “is creating harmony between advanced technology and a simplified user experience which is the result of our effort to actualize that idea into a tangible product, and we are...

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong (Daily Express) Over 21 financial journalists have undergone a three-day workshop on effective skills in news reporting, interviewing and analysis in Koforidua in the Eastern Region. The journalists were drawn from media houses across the country, who is the members of Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ). The workshop organised by the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ) was facilitated by a team from the DeutscheWelleAkademie in Berlin Germany and was sponsored by GIZ and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO. The workshop was aimed at enhancing journalists knowledge and skills on interviewing, getting the best out of interviews, how to use simple language in writing stories, storytelling, using other search tools apart from Google and effective ways of using the camera. In opening remarks, a Senior Advisor at GIZ, Mr Alan Lassey said the training was very crucial because it will enable the p...

Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) has hinted that it will soon award contracts to collect data from cocoa farmers to be used for a pension scheme. The cocoa farmers’ pension scheme will cater for aged cocoa farmers whose sweat and hard work contributed to the cocoa industry which has been the backbone of the country’s economy. The cocoa farmer’s pension scheme has been on the drawing board for some time, but had to be suspended due to lack of a database to determine the right persons who qualified to benefit from the scheme. Dr. Francis Baah, Eastern Regional Manager of Cocobod ,said this when he addressed participants at the first Regional Ghana Cocoa Platform Plenary workshop at Koforidua, which was supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Ghana Cocoa Platform (GCP) is designed to engage all stakeholders in the cocoa industry on the same platform to deliberate on issues and problems affecting cocoa farmers and collectively make inputs to guide...

The banking industry boosted its assets by 39.7% to GH¢44.2billion as at July this year despite challenges in the economy which have seen inflation reach a four-year record high and the cedi plummeting the fastest in a decade, Bank of Ghana data has shown According to the report of the 61st Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana, the industry continued to experience “steady growth in both nominal and real terms, evidenced by trends in total assets as well as branch expansion across the industry”. The local currency has for the first eight months of the year depreciated by 29.8 percent against the dollar on the interbank market, compared to 3.9 percent in the same period last year. Inflation, which began the year at 13.5 percent, has climbed steadily to reach a four-year record of 15.9 percent as at August. Impressive growth The report further stated that “non-performing loans (NPL) ratio adjusted for fully provisioned loans, increased marginally fro...

Barely two weeks from now, the September deadline given by President John Dramani Mahama to all Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDA’s) to name streets and number properties would expire. A visit to some MMDA’s in the Volta Region by Ghana News Agency indicates a smooth, progressive and time bound activities going on to meet the deadline. The exercise is intended to help improve and increase revenue generation of the assemblies to limit their dependency on government subventions for developmental projects. It would also shape infrastructural planning to help prevent unnecessary flooding and protect lives and property. Mrs Fafa Afua Adinyira, Ho Municipal Chief Executive told GNA that the major challenge faced by the assembly was the names that are coming up for the exercise. She said there are many objections by the Asogli Traditional Council to the names suggested by many of the communities. Mrs Adinyira said the exercise is not just putting in place s...

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Ghana, has urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to abolish its ‘strong room’ system, where representatives of the contesting political parties meet to verify election results. Dr. Ransford Gyampo, a Research Fellow of the Governance Unit of the IEA, as part of the IEA’s Electoral Reform Project, said the idea of a ‘strong room’ with very huge security presence conjured negative and derogatory images that undermined transparency and electoral peace. He said, some people perceived the ‘strong room’ as a place where election results from the regions were cooked or manipulated in favour of a political party and such perception undermined the credibility of the Election Management Body. Over the years, the EC has designated a section in its headquarters as the “strong room” for the collation of votes. It also serves as the operations room of the EC where provisional results are collated and certified to indicate who has won an election. ...