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Tag: Akropong

  • Trade minister launches business resource centres at Akropong and Dodowa

    Trade minister launches business resource centres at Akropong and Dodowa

    The Minister of Trade and Industry, Kobina Tahir Hammond, has officially inaugurated two cutting-edge Business Resource Centres (BRCs) in Akropong and Dodowa, located in the Eastern and Greater Accra regions, respectively.

    These newly commissioned facilities are poised to invigorate economic activities in their respective regions by enhancing the capabilities of micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs).

    Additionally, they aim to streamline access to financial services and credit while facilitating market accessibility for businesses.

    These BRCs will play a crucial role in supporting ‘One district, One factory’ (1D1F) initiatives at the district level, underlining their significance in sustaining and enhancing the competitiveness of both 1D1F projects and other MSMEs.

    Speaking at the ceremony in Akropong, Mr. Hammond emphasized the strategic role of the BRCs in positioning Ghana as a manufacturing hub in the sub-region.

    With 142 districts hosting factories as part of the government’s flagship 1D1F program, these centres will provide comprehensive business development services, investment facilitation, and information services to entrepreneurs and enterprises at the district level.

    The establishment of these BRCs falls under the Rural Enterprises Programme, a collaborative initiative between the Government of Ghana, the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

    In Dodowa, the Minister highlighted that the Dodowa centre is part of the second batch of 30 newly constructed BRCs across the country. This brings the total number of BRCs in the Greater Accra region to three, with existing centres in Ada and Weija.

    Mr. Hammond underscored the collaborative nature of the BRCs, emphasizing their interaction with various business regulatory and financial institutions such as the Registrar Generals’ Department, Ghana Standards Authority, Ghana Revenue Authority, Environmental Protection Agency, and Food and Drugs Authority.

    The Minister urged a maintenance culture and called upon traditional leaders and local authorities to collaborate with the centres’ management to ensure the maximum benefit for the community.

    In her remarks, Kosi Yankeh-Ayeh, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA), urged leaders not to perceive the BRCs merely as buildings but as transformative avenues that will positively impact the lives of residents.

  • Bokankyi residents protest over bad roads

    Bokankyi residents protest over bad roads

    Residents in Bokankye, Akropong, and Esaso of the Atwima Nwabiagya North District in the Ashanti region have expressed their dissatisfaction regarding the terrible state of roads in the area.

    The communities argue that the road, which serves as an alternative access route to northern regions, has been neglected for an extended period.

    Speaking to the media the residents described their daily commute as frightening and dangerous due to the poor road conditions.

    The inadequate road network is adversely affecting their daily activities, health, and local economy. They hold Member of Parliament, Benito Owusu-Bio responsible for the road’s disrepair, as he has served in parliament for two decades without resolving the issue.

    The Assemblyman for Bokankye, Malik Osei Kwame, assures the residents that the Bokanye-Esaso road has been contracted out, urging them to be patient.

    However, residents remain skeptical, as previous contractors have failed to initiate construction. District Chief Executive Rebecca Yeboah reassures the residents that the contractor is now on-site and committed to fixing the road promptly.

  • Galamsey takes over rice farms in Upper Denkyira East

    The Upper Denkyira East Municipality has lost its huge acres of arable and swampy lands reserved for extensive rice and vegetable production, to widespread illegal mining activities also called ‘galamsey’.

    Mr. Obeng Nimoh, the Municipal Director of Agriculture told the Ghana News Agency, “Every evening, before nightfall, young miners trekked in single file, holding up pickaxes, head pans, hammers, and shovels to their sites to mine.

    “They cut trees, excavate the ground, overturn rocks, and shove the rubble into the rivers. This has clogged the near stagnant water bodies around with mud thereby affecting irrigation.”

    The Municipal Director of Agriculture expressed worry about the onslaught by the illegal miners on agricultural lands without regard to the dire consequences of their activities on the environment and national food security.

    He underscored that the national fight against the menace remained an unsurmountable national disaster in waiting, if not tackled holistically with a bottom-up urgency approach.

    Mr. Nimoh described the situation as dire in communities such as Opponso, Buabenso, Fawomanye, Denkyira-Fosu, Asmah-Camp, Kyekyewere, Akropong, Adwumam, Pokukrom, and Mmeredane.

    In the farming communities, he narrated the vast devastation of acres of the marshlands where many had subsisted for years.

    “You can see the way illegal miners have devastated not just the rice farms and vegetables but other crops as well. This is a sad situation that had destroyed the backbone of the country’s economy,” he lamented.

    To him, illegal mining had not only degraded agricultural lands but decreased lands for agricultural production, resulting in the shortening of the traditional fallow period.

    In principle, the Municipal Director of Agriculture explained that mining and agriculture were both pathways out of unemployment and poverty.

    However, a disequilibrium can result in collateral damage for any economy; a situation where one sector grows abnormally or is mismanaged diminishes the progress of the other.

    Mr. Nimoh noted that many smallholder farmers were regrettably wallowing in abject poverty and guilt after selling their farmlands to either illegal miners or multinational mining companies and misusing their proceeds from the sale.

    He suggested that the mining sector management transition the degraded landscapes by planning trees, focus on poverty eradication and optimize the ecosystem for better livelihoods and more sustainable economic returns.

    He asked farmers to stop selling arable lands to illegal miners saying, “the unsustainable practices could jeopardize the future of the young generation.”

    “I suggest the traditional authorities, government, and the security agencies collaborate to effectively end the menace” he added.

    Source:myjoyonline.com