Published on various media platforms. Date: 29th April 2017- 10th May, 2017 COVENTRY UNIVERSITY HOLDS MASTERCLASS ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND EMPLOYABILITY Accra- Coventry University, a public research university based in England in partnership with the Ghana Telecom University College (GTUC) and African Institute for Transformational Entrepreneurship (AITE), organized an entrepreneurship and employability masterclass to equip the youth mostly students on becoming successful entrepreneurs in future. The masterclass provided participants a platform to interact and share ideas with alumni of Coventry University. Held in Accra on Saturday 29th April, 2017, two insightful sessions were held with speakers from Coventry University and the British Council, Ghana. The first session led by Mr. Simon Hill, Lecturer in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at Coventry University, presented insights into innovation, knowledge transfer, entrepreneurship, leadership, socio-economic development, and policy formulation, all which are courses that are provided by the African Institute for Transformational Entrepreneurship, (AITE). Mr. Gideon Brefo, a representative from the British Council Ghana, led the second session and offered insights on topics based on the recent report Universities, Employment and Inclusive Development: Repositioning Higher Education in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. This masterclass presentation took a valuable look at the qualities employers’ value in graduates including knowledge in field of study, ethics and integrity, problem solving, critical thinking, ability to work in a culturally diverse environment and work experience. Being a successful entrepreneur, Gideon also shared his entrepreneurship experience with participants. Further to the training, participants took part in a personal branding exercise after which a selected few were given the opportunity to present an elevator pitch that could be used at interviews or networking events. More, a graduate of Coventry’s International Terrorism masters course and the Executive Director of West Africa Centre for Counter- Extremism (WACCE), Mutaru Mumuni Muqthar during a press briefing after the masterclass, shared his experience on how he stopped a young man joining ISIS with just hours to spare, and of his ongoing commitment to fighting terrorism. “Last year I saved a young man’s life. He had been radicalised online and was on his way to join the terrorist group ISIS after he spent time online looking for meaning in his life. “Just a day before leaving to join the group he watched my TV outreach programme on counter-radicalization – that was what changed everything and he changed his mind. “West Africa is one of the deadliest regions for terrorism. My plans are to expand my counter terrorism work to include the entire West Africa region, helping to dissuade vulnerable groups and individuals from engaging in violent extremism and falling into the void of terrorist recruitment“. Dr. Osei Kofi Darkwa, President of GTUC & a Senior Member of Staff at Coventry University said that the two institutions have been in a collaborative partnership since 2010 offering high standard Master’s programmes. He added that “our collaboration has given a number of students the advantage of international opportunities, while based in Ghana. Students have the option to graduate at GTUC or Coventry University at the end of their studies, and several also choose to join CU Summer Schools in Coventry during their degree”. Madam Jane Debra, President for Coventry University Alumni, Ghana Chapter, encouraged participants to cultivate the habit of seeking advice during challenges. The masterclass ended with a networking ceremony which brought together business experts like and executives from Coventry University.

GLOBAL MEDIA ALLIANCE WINS PR CONSULTANCY OF THE YEAR AWARD

Published in the Daily Graphic, Today Newspaper, Daily Guide, B&FT. Also on modernghana.com, GNA, myjoyonline.com, citifmonline.com, ghanaweb.com, peacefmonline.com,newsghana.com.journalisteafrique.com Date: Between 7th & 12th November, 2016. Global Media Alliance, one of Ghana’s top Public Relations and Media consultancies, has been awarded PR Consultancy of the Year 2015, at the recent Institute of Public Relations (IPR) awards and dinner dance held in Accra. This is the second time Global Media Alliance has won this award in the last four (4) years. The institute’s 5th excellence awards and 9th presidential dinner dance was to celebrate excellence in Public Relations practice in Ghana. It was under the theme “PR and Peaceful Elections: Your Role, My Role”. The Chief Executive Officer of Global Media Alliance, Mr. Ernest Boateng, in receiving the award on behalf of the company expressed his excitement saying “we won this award in 2013 and here we are again. This is evidence that Global Media Alliance is living true to its mission; to seek to positively impact and effect change within our community and also create value for our clients and shareholders. We are grateful to IPR and our clients for recognizing our culture of excellence”. Mr. Boateng dedicated the award to his hardworking staff and clients adding that “Global Media Alliance couldn’t have come this far without you”. He further stressed that “GMA will continue to work hard to satisfy the needs of its clients; to project and improve their image in the eyes of all stakeholders, and towards national development”. Global Media Alliance is an integrated media and entertainment company and has one of the leading PR consultancies in the country with over eighteen years of experience in the diverse segments of the PR industry. It is affiliated to Weber Shandwick and Fleishman Hillard, both top 5 PR firms in the world.

GLOBAL MEDIA ALLIANCE WINS PR CONSULTANCY OF THE YEAR AWARD

Published in the Daily Graphic, Today Newspaper, Daily Guide, B&FT. Also on modernghana.com, GNA, myjoyonline.com, citifmonline.com, ghanaweb.com, peacefmonline.com,newsghana.com.journalisteafrique.com Date: Between 7th & 12th November, 2016. Global Media Alliance, one of Ghana’s top Public Relations and Media consultancies, has been awarded PR Consultancy of the Year 2015, at the recent Institute of Public Relations (IPR) awards and dinner dance held in Accra. This is the second time Global Media Alliance has won this award in the last four (4) years. The institute’s 5th excellence awards and 9th presidential dinner dance was to celebrate excellence in Public Relations practice in Ghana. It was under the theme “PR and Peaceful Elections: Your Role, My Role”. The Chief Executive Officer of Global Media Alliance, Mr. Ernest Boateng, in receiving the award on behalf of the company expressed his excitement saying “we won this award in 2013 and here we are again. This is evidence that Global Media Alliance is living true to its mission; to seek to positively impact and effect change within our community and also create value for our clients and shareholders. We are grateful to IPR and our clients for recognizing our culture of excellence”. Mr. Boateng dedicated the award to his hardworking staff and clients adding that “Global Media Alliance couldn’t have come this far without you”. He further stressed that “GMA will continue to work hard to satisfy the needs of its clients; to project and improve their image in the eyes of all stakeholders, and towards national development”. Global Media Alliance is an integrated media and entertainment company and has one of the leading PR consultancies in the country with over eighteen years of experience in the diverse segments of the PR industry. It is affiliated to Weber Shandwick and Fleishman Hillard, both top 5 PR firms in the world.

ACCESS BANK SUPPORTS CFOs IN GHANA

Published on modernghana.com, viasat.com.gh, thebftonline.com, businessghana.com,GNA. Also in B&FT Newspaper, Today Newspaper and the Ghanaian Times Newspaper. Date:Between 17th & 19th October, 2016. Access Bank Ghana Limited has demonstrated its support to the development of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) in the country as a way of contributing to national growth. The company recently sponsored the maiden edition of the Regulus CFO Forum aimed at highlighting opportunities for partnerships, strategic insights and business networking among top finance executives in Ghana. The Head of Corporate Banking at Access Bank Ghana Limited, Mr. Anthony Mensah, said “CFOs play key roles in our organizations hence, the need to offer them the necessary support to enhance their performance in delivering”. He further explained that “CFOs are the backbones of their organizations, and their hard work support these organizations to pay taxes among other contributions towards national development. And Access Bank Ghana is proud to support such a course”. According to him, “Access Bank is an African Bank committed to embrace and support projects that seek to promote national development. At Access Bank, our values play a vital role in our decision making processes. They are the bedrock of our culture and they form the keystone for all we do and accomplish”. The Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Madam Mona Quartey, who was the Special Guest at the launch, expressed her delight in the idea of CFOs in Ghana engaging themselves to improve their work performance, which also impacts national development. “Regulus CFO Forum is the first of its kind as a function focused business professional group in Ghana whose great value cannot be overstated”, she added. She further encouraged other professional groups to emulate the example of Regulus CFO Forum, and challenged participants and members of the forum to continue to stay focused in their activities for the benefit of their various businesses and Ghana. The President and Founder of the group, Mr. Hitesh Makhija, (a Chief Financial Controller at Olam Ghana Limited), said “the forum aims to be the best CFO networking platform in Ghana with a membership of at least 20percent of Ghana’s GDP contributing companies across all sectors of the economy. Regulus CFO Forum is a new series of CFO fora that seek to provide immense value to CFOs in the country through training on business strategies; create mentorship opportunities for new members; create a platform to share best practices; give CFOs advance information on valuable economic trends and activities; and provide high-value, in touch events for its members. The maiden session was based on the theme: "The CFO’s Role in Today’s Digital Economy”, and participating members included CFOs and Financial Directors (FDs) from PZ Cussons Ghana, Allterrain Services, SBC Beverages (Pepsi Bottlers), Stallion Group and Beiersdorf Ghana Limited. The rest were Mohinani Group, Japan Motors, Vodafone, Access Bank, Interplast Limited, Expro International Group, Focos Orthopedic Hospital, Right Holdings Limited, Predictive Excellence and Invest Corporation.

Top CFOs in Ghana Launch New Exclusive Forum

Published in the Ghanaian Times Newspaper, Today Newspaper, B & FT. Also on modernghana.com, ghanaweb.com, yfmgh.com, viasat.com.gh, affriquejournaliste.com, radioxyzonline.com, businessghana.com, between 4th & 7th October, 2016. A new group with a focus on enhancing the financial performance of businesses which will impact the economic growth of Ghana has been launched in Accra. The group, ‘Regulus CFO Forum’, comprises of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), Financial Controllers (FCs) and Financial Directors (FDs) of companies with businesses in the various sectors of development. The Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Honorable Mona Quartey who officially launched the group as the guest speaker, expressed that the ‘Regulus CFO Forum is the first of its kind as a function focused business professional group in Ghana whose great value cannot be overstated”. She further stated the need for professional groups to emulate the example of Regulus CFO Forum, as well as encouraged participants and members of the forum to continue to stay focused in their activities for the benefit of their various businesses and Ghana. In a welcome address, the President and Founder of group, Mr. Hitesh Makhija said “Finance officers are important leaders in making sure that businesses run successfully, and the thought of creating this forum first occurred to me when I realized the absence of a common platform wherein CFOs can discuss challenges, opportunities and strategies”. According to him, Regulus CFO Forum is aimed at managing an interactive financial executive networking group that will empower its members in Ghana and beyond. “This forum will enhance the performance of CFOs through meetings, ground breaking discussions and conferences, as well as also provide immense value to its members through multiple trainings and create mentorship opportunities for new members”, he added. Mr. Makhija, who is also the current Cluster Finance Controller- Ghana &MBTN (WAF3) at Olam Ghana, explained that the theme for the maiden session: "The CFO’s Role in Today’s Digital Economy”, was preferred due to the fact that the gap between the digital economy and the financial space was narrowing, hence, the need for finance officers to embrace the digital age to maximize their performance and results. The forum which was mainly sponsored by Access Bank Ghana had two (2) sessions with interactive discussions on the topics: ‘Managing Financial Risks in Today’s Digital Economy’ and ‘Measuring and Monitoring Key Value Drivers in Today’s Digital Economy’. Participants included CFOs and FDs from PZ Cussons Ghana, Allterrain Services, SBC Beverages (Pepsi Bottlers), Stallion Group, Beiersdorf Ghana Limited, Mohinani Group, Japan Motors, Vodafone. The remaining are Access Bank, Interplast Limited, Expro International Group, Focos Orthopedic Hospital, Right Holdings Limited, Predictive Excellence and Invest Corporation.

Asylum Down drain under repairs

Published in the Daily Graphic on 2/08/2010, pg 38

Story: Matilda Attram

THE Asylum Down drain in Accra is receiving attention from the city authorities based on the complaints made by residents in the area.
During a visit to the site of the drain by the Daily Graphic last week-end, it was observed that reconstruction work on the drain had started, following complaints by residents.
On June 17 this year, the Daily Graphic reported of the worries of residents of the Asylum Down locality on the poor state of the main drainage system in the area.
Most residents and users of the area complained about the bad state of the drain and how it could affect the area during rainfall.
They also complained of the bad stench from the drain due to the negative attitudes of others who used the it as their refuse dumps.
The drain, which serves as the main drainage system in the area, is said to be a hydraulic structure constructed to take and discharge a volume of water and other liquid waste.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra, the Head of Drainage for the Hydrological Services Department, under the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Wise AMETEK, explained that the drain was originally constructed in the 1960’s in a trapezoidal shape with a nominal re-inforcement designed not to take loads.
He said the drain was in a bad state and collapsing on account of the large amount of pressure it received from residents who had built structures very close to it.
“People building very close to the drain transfer a lot of pressure onto it and that makes it fail to function,” he said.
He further stated that the structure also got weaker as a result of the bad manner through which liquid waste were discharged into it.
He added that the volume of liquid waste that flowed in through the structure had increased, making it difficult for the structure to perform its functions.
Mr Ametefe pointed out that plans were initiated to expand the structure to reduce the volume of pressure on the drains to enable it carry more flow but could not be done because of the encroachment of the banks of the structure by residents.
“Contractors even find it difficult to work on the drain because there are no spaces between the houses and the structure to allow easy passage during the re-construction of some parts,” he stated.
Due to this, he said, the authorities had been compelled to change the triangular shape of the structure to a rectangular one that would help increase its carriage capacity.
He described work on the structure as an emergency one, mentioning the lack of income as the cause of the delay in the restructuring process of the structure.
“The stretch of work to be done on it is very big but cannot be consistent due to the little money available to us now. In view of that, a request has been filed to government to provide funds for the work,” he added.
Mr Ametefe, therefore, advised residents to properly channel liquid waste into drains, observe space between their homes and the drain, as well as avoid throwing solid waste into the drain.

WITH PIX :
Pix showing the present state of the Asylum Down Drain under reconstruction.

Economic stability not a fluke, says veep

Published in the Daily Graphic on 11/08/2010, Front pg

Story:Timothy Gobah & Matilda Attram
THE Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, yesterday assured the business community that the macro-economic stability being witnessed in the country is a reality which has come to stay and not a fluke.
He, therefore, urged banks that were pursuing a wait-and-see attitude to wake up to the reality and take a cue from the positive economic performance to reduce their interest rates.
Mr Mahama gave the assurance when he launched 490 Yutong buses on the theme, “An efficient transport system for a better Ghana”, in Accra yesterday.
In 2010, the need to ensure an efficient transport system and augment the stock of buses that were imported arose.
Consequently, the 490 buses were imported in bits to operate as intercity buses to ferry workers and other travellers in the country.
J.A. Plant Pool Ghana Limited has been a major stakeholder in importing fresh buses to beef up the stock of commercial long-distance vehicles in the country.
The Vice-President said the unrestrained over expenditure of the 2006 to 2008 era had largely been contained, with the “runaway inflation, rising interest rates and sharply eroding currency that characterised the economy when we took power brought under control”.
He said the cedi had enjoyed the most stable 12-month period since foreign exchange deregulation was introduced in the country, stressing that that created a predictable environment for business planning.
Mr Mahama said inflation had dropped to a single digit and expressed strong optimism that it would reach the eight per cent mark by the end of December.
“Let me thank the banking sector for taking a cue from the positive economic performance to reduce interest rates. It is not possible to accelerate the growth of the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector in an environment of high credit costs,” he said.
The Vice-President said agricultural growth had been robust, attaining 6.1 per cent last year, and expected to exceed seven per cent growth this year.
He said that had stabilised food prices, particularly in the crop sub-sector, and gave positive indications for achieving food security for Ghana in the near future.
He said an important stabilising factor for the economy had been the increase in the country’s foreign reserves from $1.8 billion to $3.5 billion.
Mr Mahama said preliminary data from the Bank of Ghana indicated a half-year GDP growth rate of 7.2 per cent and an increase in government spending of almost 30 per cent above 2009 and noted that the government anticipated GDP growth above eight per cent and 10 per cent for 2011 and 2012, respectively.
He said the transport sub-sector was a crucial part of the SME sector and one that the government considered very strategic to the growth of the economy.
“This is why the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government promised in its manifesto to work with the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and others, including the financial institutions, to build an adequate and affordable road transport sector,” he said.
The Vice-President announced that the government had received an offer for the supply of buses following his recent visit to Brazil early this year, saying that the offer would provide additional modern and comfortable buses for Intercity STC and other transport organisations.
He further said Yutong was working to establish its West African spare parts centre and assembling workshop in the country and gave the assurance that the government would provide the necessary support to enable the company to achieve its objective.
In a message, the Managing Director of Stanbic Bank, Mr Alhassan Andani, said the bank was proud to be part of the success story of bringing the buses into the country.
He said as a subsidiary of the largest bank in Africa, Stanbic Bank Ghana had made it a priority to engage in business that would ultimately better the lives of Ghanaians.
The Deputy Minister of Transport, Mrs Dzifa Aku Ativor, commended the Yutong Company for the initiative, saying it would enhance the road transport sector.