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BoG unhappy with low credit extension to agriculture and SMEs

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Dr Ernest Kwamina Yedu Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), has bemoaned the low credit facility extended to small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) and the agricultural sector by banks and urged financial institutions to develop innovative products for the two sectors.

He said as at September this year, the agriculture sector attracted a paltry 3.7 per cent of the GHȼ38.70 billion credit advanced in the industry, adding that, the SMEs and the agricultural sector were seriously underserved, considering their relative importance to job creation and economic growth.

He said notwithstanding the high risk in these sectors, banks should be innovative by developing credit products that were suitable from them.

Dr Addison made this known at the 21st National Banking Conference of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Accra, on Tuesday, on the theme: ‘‘Building a Robust and Sustainable Banking System in Ghana’’.

The event afforded stakeholders in the banking industry the opportunity to discuss the changing reforms in the local and international economy in order to make them resilient and robust in undertaking transactions as well as being responsive to the needs of their clients.

It brought together the top echelon of the financial institutions in the country who shared their experiences and ideas aimed at making them competitive and relevant in the changing banking sector.

The Governor of the BoG said for the sustenance of the financial market, the Central Bank and government were playing varied roles to ensure stable macroeconomic environment, saying; ‘‘the stability of the financial system is in the public interest’’.

Dr Addison said banking was a risky business and required appropriate regulatory environment and financial infrastructure to curtail risk inherent in the sector.

He said key factors fundamental to the regulation of the banking industry includes risk management, corporate governance, internal regulations and compliance.

He said the recent quality assets review undertaken by the BoG indicated that some banks assets management were deteriorating behind credit consideration in the energy sector

These banks, he said, were asked to submit capital restoration plan to ensure that they meet minimum capital requirement to safeguard the interest of shareholders.

Dr Addison said the Central Bank was taking adequate measures to ensure that banks remained in business, and, therefore, asked universal banks to increase their minimum capital requirement from GHȼ120 million to GHȼ400 million to enable them to undertake high value transactions.

He said complying with the regulatory framework would sustain the banking sector.

On market discipline, he said, the credit appraisal of the banking industry enabled proper disclosure requirement so that market participants would secure relevant financial information to make informed decisions.

He said, the BoG had issued a guide for financial publication in line with the international financial reporting standards and some regulatory specific disclosures.

Dr Addison said universal banks were supposed to publish both audited and unaudited financial statements annually and quarterly respectively, while disclosing NPL ratios, capital adequacy ratios and even breach and liquidity reserves.

Dr Addison said to ensure stronger banks, there was need to establish robust financial infrastructure to minimise credit losses in the banking sector and assured that, the Central Bank had instituted the credit referencing and collateral registry to help profile creditors and closing regulatory gaps in the financial sector.

Increase incentives in agric to attract youth ….Gov’t told

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A traditional ruler, Daniel Nii Arde Tagoe, has urged government to introduce more innovation into the agriculture sector in a bid to attract the youth and curb the rising unemployment in the country.

Even though he lauded government’s efforts and initiatives regarding agriculture in the 2018 Budget Statement, he also reckon sustaining it and making more incentives available remain the way to go.

According to figures in the 2018 Budget Statement, agriculture declined in the 2017 sector growth by 4.3% as compared to Industry and Services which recorded a growth of 17.7% and 4.7% respectively.

“It is when government makes agriculture very attractive and packages it well, introducing more incentives will certainly attract more youth, which will also reduce the unemployment rate.

He also added that currently agriculture is still regarded by some as job for the older folks, with many youth shying away from it.

Agriculture, nonetheless remains a major driver in the economy; he explained that, “Agriculture provides wide range of employment, whiles some are farming others are harvesting, processing and transporting, so when government channels more resources into these sector, we will be home and dry” he told B&FT in an interview.

 Mr Arde Tagoe, who is the chief of NII Arde mkpa family, government’s drive to support the production sector comprising agriculture is one of the surest ways to grow the economy.

The 2018 Budget has unveiled the much-anticipated ‘Marshall Plan for Agriculture (MPA)’, aimed at revamping the country’s abysmally performing agriculture sector to make it the true backbone of the economy.

Some of the initiatives under the plan include registering a total of 500,000 farmers under government’s flagship Planting for Food and Jobs programme, and also recruiting 2,700 extension agents to support it.

Again, government will distribute 200 tractors and matching implements, and 1,000 power-tillers and walking tractors to enhance agric mechanisation.

To address the challenges of irrigation, government will, in 2018, continue to facilitate and promote double-cropping by constructing 50 small dams and dugouts – making available an additional 147ha of irrigable land for crop production.

To also improve livelihoods of livestock farmers in all ten regions and increase meat production, 2,000 livestock farmers will be supported with 70,000 small ruminants (sheep and goats).

Startup Right with Harmony: A letter to the startup: to the struggles and the realities (I)

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Let’s start with a short story. Success is a very, very lonely road. Very few people are willing to endure the pain and sacrifices to be successful. It is an uphill battle, and along that road you are not going to see many friends; you’re going to see your shadow most often.

A client once told me entrepreneurship is his passion, it is what he has always wanted to do. Then I asked: “What will it take for you to make it happen?” He replied “Anything”. Unsatisfyingly, it wasn’t the response I had expected to hear.

Quite a number of the startups I’ve encountered have claimed entrepreneurship as their purpose on earth. It is something they claim they are destined or called to do. I do not doubt their driven purpose, but their will.

This entrepreneurial journey is uncertain – abysmal. Some folks question why certain schools of thought describe entrepreneurship as an impossible mountain to move. But, no matter how complex and challenging the art is reported or portrayed to be, the truth still remains that as long as human needs remain highly unsatisfied, unpredictable, and intricate, the process to solve them will surety not be a cheap task.

As the year’s curtains draw down in few weeks, I thought I would share some of the things that have shaped me into a better entrepreneur – through the failures, some debts, depression and its beauties. Following the long year of dealing with some hardcore startup issues and know-how, let’s now get more practical and dare to discuss the abhorrence many entrepreneurs lack courage to talk about.

 

Like most businesses and their owners, we draw up new or update our strategies for every new year from the previous year’s activities and reviews. My team and I were hopeful. The year ticked on a profitable note.

Knowing the unpredictability associated with running a growing business, our risks were mostly planned and SMART – (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely). Nobody said entrepreneurs are all knowing and this is not defensive.We’re no fortune tellers; we are simply ordinary beings with a sixth sense.

Circumstances unfolded in unexpected events. As pressure begins to weigh in on productivities and growth became stunted, life and business turn to run intrinsically stirring up emotions and limiting output.

My struggles: our struggles

“Being an entrepreneur is sexy for those who haven’t done it. In reality it’s gritty, tough work where you will be filled with self doubts. Entrepreneurs are survivors.” – Mark Suster, Entrepreneur, Angel investor and investment partner at Upfront Ventures.

The struggles are real. I must honestly tell you. Whether or not you are a startup, a medium scale or large company, the struggles are what they are. 2017 has seemed to be a more difficult business year especially in Ghana and for many SMEs. My team and I worked more and earned less. Measuring up to consistent creativity and competition got the best of our synergies – we were broke and broken.

Around mid year of 2017, the struggles became more welcoming. I, gradually, as the lead adjusted to them. I was overwhelmed. Team motivation was thrown out of the window; I was a hurricane warning a possible destruction.

Funding of upcoming projects were on hold due to the break in our regular cashflow. A cashflow is what sustains businesses to keep operating in difficult times. Cashflow sustains productivity, demands and operations. Eventually my business was running out of cash.

Sexual temptations and harassments added to my loads of luggage. Balancing my personal stress and comforts with work, unstable economic challenges, and adapting to routines and habits just became an act. Experiencing this heap of challenges are normal encounters of most entrepreneurs, successful ones and struggling ones as well.

Not to deter you, these challenges, these struggles were nothing new: they are hurdles my team and I had faced during our inception. What was different with the current upheavals was me. I lost the will to get it together from the word go. Something changed and I was no longer in control. It did not stop me from functioning, but it did from identifying the problem until I hit the rock. That is the true state of many startup businesses and owners.

The realities

“Dear pessimist, optimist, and realist, While you guys argued whether the glass is full or empty, I have sold the glass.” – anonymous.

This is the realities of running a business. While you’re at ‘A’, your competitors are are at ‘D’ beating you to the game. The reality is that action must be consistent, leaving no room for emotional assumptions. The big contracts won’t just drop as manna from the heavens. Businesses have no miracles. Businesses turnarounds are work input, hard work, and team commitment.

You do not suddenly become the world’s most successful entrepreneur with an enviable net worth. The reality checks are many years of consistent hard work, sacrifices, bankruptcy, excessive burnouts, and depressions. Hold on for a moment, the reality check can, out of the blue, be sudden good fortune boom.

Wake up startup! It is all hard work meets potential and preparedness.

Shared depression

Nobody wants to say these words; I am going through depression. For some moment, I wanted to reassure myself, it was absolutely amazing to share my experience, then again, I’m concerned about who could take it out of context.

So I took some time off work to have a self moment and introspection. Medically, I had not been diagnosed with depression. I just knew I needed a luxury of time for my mental and physical well being.

My life was not pathetic on the outside. It appeared beautifully and perfect to those that admired it but, within I knew I was carrying unwanted excesses. Being a not so outgoing person, the introvert I am, I enjoyed my comfort zone giving out brilliant excuses to avoid the company of others.

I didn’t have to wait to be told; how brave you are Harmony! To realize I had been enduring mixed and piled up pressure from work and trying to be socially perfect. I told myself how brave I was to admit that I needed to take a deep breath.

I may not have vividly expressed what my situation was, but I know many startups are faced with worst state of mental distress and worn out from the daily work load coupled with personal lives. You may not be self conscious and controlling to manage your burnout and depression like I did. Don’t be silent, you can talk to some trusted friends or a doctor for adequate precautions and assistance.

The core truth

It is important for startup owners and rising entrepreneurs to be adequately self aware to know what they do not know. Being an entrepreneur is neither a part or full time job, it’s a lifestyle.

The hard truth is every business have its time of big profits and losses. Business owners are allowed to grieve over those losses and groom themselves into successful entrepreneurs. Experienced entrepreneurs and the great teams have had these moments and it is not shameful to admit it can be difficult and awesomely rewarding.

My share of the business war does not mean I must keep going to battle unprepared. Knowing there is a war ahead is half the battle. Hard work and preparing for the challenges ahead doesn’t guarantee you success, but no work guarantees you no success. It can be compared to knowing the pill would be bitter to swallow, but failing to take it will be no cure for the illness.

The core truth: you can spend years building a business and fail in a day. Startups slave away for these hard moments, days, months and years on ideas only to gain little or no traction. If you can’t somehow clearly state and identify the problem, you probably will not be successful.

But, here is the bigger truth; just grow, learn, inspire and earn!

Customer Satisfaction versus Customer Loyalty

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It has been so nice to see people happy with their Black Friday- shopping carrying their purchases with a smile.

But, is a happy & satisfied customer really what any merchant should be after?

You are happy with what you bought. No question about it. What will you buy gain the same thing (if it is a consumable) – same brand/ same service from the same merchant or vendor? Or, will you even go back to the same store/ vendor to buy something else?

You see, a happy, delighted and satisfied customer is not ‘automatically’ a Loyal Customer.

And, it is a lot cheaper and more profitable to ‘create’ Loyal Customers than to keep acquiring and delighting all those 1-time buying Satisfied Customers.

.
Client Satisfaction versus Client Loyalty.

On an average day Kwame goes to his local Waakye seller around the corner. He purchases the usual amount that he buys. His purchase includes; Waakye, noodles, an egg and a piece of fish. Today’s serving of the meal was not the best he had tasted. The Waakye seemed overcooked and the fish tasted a bit odd. But Kwame has been buying this particular brand of Waakye consistently for about a year now. He doesn’t complain because he knows tomorrow will be better.

A careful analysis of this anecdote shared above tells you a few things about Kwame

  • Kwame has been patronising the waakye for some time now hence his ability to compare its current taste to previous purchases
  • Kwame is a loyal Client of the waakye seller hence his decision that the waakye will be better next time
  • It can also be deduced that Kwame was not satisfiedwith his purchase but has decided to remain loyal to the waakye brand he purchases.

This brings us to the topic of client satisfaction and loyalty.

What is Client Satisfaction?

Client satisfaction pertains to delivering on the promise a seller of a product or service has made. Any product or service we purchase be it a phone, clothes or tickets to a concert has a level of utility to it.

For example, a mobile phone is expected to have certain basic functions such as the ability to make phone calls, store contacts and support basis sms (text messaging. In the case of a smartphone we expect it to support applications (apps) and have large storage spaces. Hence if as a consumer you purchase a smart phone and it is not able to make phone calls. The product has defaulted on one of its core functionalities therefore you won’t be satisfied with the product.

Likewise, any billed performance (e.g. a music concert) where the headline artist does not show up will leave patronisers unsatisfied.

The first step in the client satisfaction process is to deliver the exact specs that a product or service is billed to deliver. After that has been achieved, other factors such as Client service, brand affiliation and after-sales services can then influence client satisfaction

Client satisfaction is a great way for producers of goods, marketers and business owners to measure whether their product performing up to expectation.

What about Client Loyalty?

Client loyalty exists when a client continues to purchase a particular brand of a product or service when there are other alternatives of the products. Client loyalty for a brand can be said to be exceptionally strong when there are cheaper and/or better quality versions of the same product available. Client loyalty allows entrepreneurs and business owners to calculate important metrics such as Net Promoter Score and Client Lifetime Value. In the story provided above Kwame can be described as a loyal Client of the waakye seller because he shows clear characteristics of being loyal to the Waakye seller’s brand. Although he did not like the taste of the food he purchased, he decided that the next day’s purchase might be better

When clients are loyal to a brand, they tend to be the core marketers of that brand. As the mantra goes “It is easier to maintain old clients than acquire new clients”. Therefore building brand loyalty must be at the heart of every goods and service provider.

What is the difference?

The difference between these 2 key concepts is not very vast hence the reason why most people use it interchangeably. But simply put, client satisfaction is a necessary condition for client loyalty. Entrepreneurs and business owners must work had to increase client satisfaction which can be achieved by delivering on brand promise and going the extra mile. Only after that has been achieved will the brand have loyal fans.

Can they be measured?

Yes, both Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty are measurable. Surely you are aware of all those customer surveys, questionnaires, etc measuring Customer Satisfaction.

Customer Loyalty is usually measured by NPS, the Net Promoter Score – a loyalty metric developed by Fred Reichheld from Bain, the same man that came up with Customer Satisfaction measurement as an idea, an idea that he has long ‘rejected’. Basically, the NPS tracks how your customers represent your organization to their families, friends, neighbours and even professional connections / associates.

Customer Loyalty Measurements have long been evolved since the introduction of the NPS; but that’s the topic of another article.

The Client Satisfaction Trap.

A lot of time, we hear people or even business themselves boosting that they have achieved 95%, 96% or even 99% Customer Satisfaction.

What is really so great about this? Absolutely nothing! If you have achieved 96% Customer Satisfaction, what that really means is that in every 100 Customers, 4 of them will badmouth your business -from now to eternity- to all their family, friends, neighbours and even colleagues at work.

So, you will have permanent damage from these 4 customers. The other 96? Well, they bough something, they are happy and be sure that next time most likely they will go to a competitor. Let’s ‘rephrase’ it: don’t you ever go to new restaurants or not ever return to one tat you had a nice meal?

But again, nothing stops you to turn those 96 Satisfied Customers into 96 Loyal Customers- that’s what Customer Loyalty is all about!

All that aside, all data -including Customer Satisfaction Measurements- can be manipulated and interpreted the way someone wants them to ‘look like’.

In Conclusion

Every time you make a sale, yes there is a revenue associated with it, but there is also always an acquisition cost. And there are so many studies showing that it is cheaper and more profitable to turn an existing Satisfied Customer into a Loyal Customer instead of going on with the acquisition of new Satisfied Customers.

Also, the opportunity to cross- & upsell to a Loyal Customer is a lot higher (some people claim 4 times higher) than cross- & upselling to a Satisfied Customer.

A Loyal Customer is a long- term relationship that generates a constant stream of income over the years.

So, would you really want 1000 Satisfied Customers? Or 1000 Loyal Customers?

Good Luck + Thank you,
Spiros and Kwaku

 

About the authors: Both Kwaku Abedi and Spiros Tsaltas are associated with a unique Customer Loyalty Startup :  HireLoyalty (www.HireLoyalty.com)- based in Accra, which is coming out of stealth mode in the next few weeks offering both Consulting and Training in anything relating to Customer Loyalty.

They welcome all your comments/ remarks/ feedback /suggestions at Press [at] HireLoyalty.com. HireLoyalty can be reached at +233 20 741 3060 or +233 26 835 2026

As a NED (Non-Executive Director), Spiros is also associated with HIREghana ( www.HIREgh.com ) and  he can be hired via them (+233 50 228 5155)

© 2017 Kweku Abedi & Spiros Tsaltas and © 2017 HireLoyalty

 

Japan Motors donates Yamaha Products worth GH¢91,000 toward Farmers’ Day celebration

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Japan Motors Trading Company Limited (JMTC) has supported the celebration of this year’s National Farmer’s Day (NFD) with a Yamaha All Terrain vehicle (ATV), Yamaha motorbike, Yamaha outboard Motor Engine and Four Yamaha Generators all valued at GH¢91,000.

The 33rd NFD celebration will be celebrated on Friday December 1, 2017 on the theme ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’.

Mr. Abdul-Somad Alhassan Musah, Assistant MD of Japan Motors, accompanied by JMTC’s Marketing Manager Mrs. Hilda Peasah, made the first stop at the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and handed over a Yamaha Outboard Motor Engine and four Yamaha Generators to the National Farmers Day Organising Committee.

The next stop was at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) where the Japan Motors delegation were also present to hand over a Yamaha All Terrain vehicle (ATV) and Yamaha Motorbike, which were received on behalf of the ministry and the National Farmers Day Organising Committee by the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Sagre Bambangi.

Handing over the donation, Mr. Abdul-Somad Alhassan Musah observed the theme for the celebration is timely, reiterating that Planting for food and Jobs will provide employment opportunities to drive economic growth.

“As corporate citizens, we will sustain this benevolence as a responsibility to support the National cause and motivate our dear farmers to produce more.”

Dr. Sagre Bambangi, on behalf of MoFA, thanked Japan Motors and other individuals and corporate organisations who have already donated for their gesture, and urged them to maintain such commitment to supporting the national cause.

Maiden edition of Business Excellence Awards comes off this weekend

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Executives of the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce (UKGCC), an organization working as the voice for British businesses looking to access and engage with the Ghanaian market, is ready for its maiden edition of an award ceremony, ‘Business Excellence Awards and Dinner Gala’.

The event, expected to come off on Saturday, 2nd December 2017 at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra, is aimed at acknowledging excellence in business amongst companies operating here in Ghana.

It will also create a platformfor interactions between members of the chamber, top government officials of Ghana, as well as​ ​ other key players in ​ ​Ghana’s corporate community.

CEO of the UKGCC, Tony Burkson, said: “We are all set for the first Business Excellence Award ceremony. With 16 categories of awards, this gala will celebrate not ​ just ​ Ghana, ​ ​ but ​ ​ our ​ ​ members ​ ​ and ​ ​ their ​ ​ businesses. We have members wining the Employer​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Year, ​​Exporter​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Year, SME of the​Year, Best​ ​CSR​ ​Project and ​​Best​ ​Logistics​ ​Company.

The rest are Best​ ​Brand​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Year, ​​Most​ ​Successful​ ​Company​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Year, Best​ ​Local​ ​Partner, ​​Best​ ​Social​ ​Impact​ ​Project, Best​ ​Think-Tank, Best​ ​Engine​ ​Graduate, Best​ ​in​ ​Innovation and British​ ​Entrepreneur​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Year”.

Mr. Burkson revealed that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Yofi Grant will be recognized by the chamber for driving trade between Ghana and the UK. “Mr. Yofi Grant was instrumental in getting the green light for the Aqua Africa project as well as leading trade missions from Ghana to meet with UK trade delegations, and he has consistently lobbied for our members,” he added.

He also emphasized that the chamberprovides assistance to Ghanaian companies investing in the UK. “We will continue with our mission which is to push the trade agenda between Ghana and the UK,” he stated.

Meeting and Events Director of Movenpick Ambassador Hotel, OanaRugina congratulated UKGCC for the active work in Ghana as she expressed her company’s excitement about the event. “We are happy to be a partner in this wonderful event that seeks to grow the Ghanaian economy,” she added.

Top personalities expected to grace the ceremony include the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo-DankwaAkuffo Addo, and the British HighCommissioner to Ghana, Iain Walker among others.

Four KNUST students win 2017 Odebrecht Engineering awards

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Odebrecht Engineering and Construction International has awarded four outstanding Civil Engineering students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in their first, second, third and final years. The Odebrecht Ghana Engineering Awards was instituted at the College of Engineering in 2014 by the company.

The Odebrecht Engineering Awards scheme is one of the Corporate Social Responsibility activities of the company and one of the ways the company is helping build a quality and professional workforce through educational support interventions.

According to Vanessa Ashun, the HR Responsible at Odebrecht Ghana: “The Odebrecht Ghana Engineering Awards is focused on recognizing, encouraging and motivating university students from KNUST to learn and overcome challenges, and to pursue careers in the engineering field, and is part of the Cooperation Agreement between the two entities, signed in 2014.

The Awards is aimed at encouraging excellence and rewarding students with the highest Cumulative Weighted Average (CWA) in the Civil Engineering Department.”

The winners of the Odebrecht Ghana Engineering Awards for 2017 are: Daniel Mutahwa Katusele, first year; Cornelius Otchere, year two; Constance Efio-Akolly, year three; and BasitIssah Alhassan, year four.

Cornelius Otchere, a 200-level student who won, recounted: “When I heard about the Awards Scheme, it propelled me to work harder at my studies. Now, that I have won, I will work even harder to keep winning for the next two years. I am very grateful to Odebrecht. The financial grant will also go a long way to help me realize my academic pursuit.”

The Provost of the College of Engineering of KNUST, Prof. Mark Adom-Asamoah thanked Odebrecht for the support and called on students to be more studious and take advantage of opportunities offered by industrial partners such as Odebrecht, to advance their academic pursuit and even career.

Last month, at the Ghana CSR Excellence Awards, GHACEA, Odebrecht Ghana was awarded the Engineering Company of the Year for the second time, for its CSR interventions and projects in education, enhancement of national skilled labour in engineering and construction, and internal CSR (health & safety programmes for staff).

The GHACEA is modeled after the European CSR Awards Scheme and organised by the Centre for CSR, West Africa with support from the Association of Ghana Industries, AGI.

Odebrecht has presence in 21 countries, including Ghana. The company has diversified business activities and a decentralized structure and does business in the fields of engineering and construction, industry, and in the development and operation of infrastructure and energy projects, creating integrated and innovative solutions that serve both its clients and communities where it operates.

AWA increases flights to Kumasi, Tamale as demand soars

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Indigenous airline, Africa World Airlines (AWA), the only airline currently providing domestic air services in the country, has increased its flight frequency between Accra and Kumasi, and Accra-Tamale, to help meet the increased demand.

This follows the suspension of operations of Starbow–the second domestic airline operator.

AWA has increased its Accra-Kumasi-Accra service from 5x per day to 6x per day. The airline has also increased its Accra-Tamale-Accra service from 4x per day to 5x per day.

Richard Kyereh, Dy. Head of Commercial, AWA told AviationGhana that: we have increased our frequency to help with the demand since the suspension of flight by Starbow. Accra-Kumasi-Accra has been increased from 5x per day to 6x per day. Accra-Tamale-Accra has also been increased from 4x per day to 5x per day.

 

Suspension of Starbow’s service 

Starbow has suspended its operations with immediate effect following an incident involving one of its Accra-Kumasi bound flight, Flight S9 104, on November 25, 2017 at 12:45, local time.

The Accra-based airline, has also made alternative arrangements for all guests with future arrangements to contact a dedicated line-024 500 0000  for immediate assistance.

A statement issued by the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on Saturday November 25, 2017 said: “The aircraft skidded off the runway during its take-off run. The aircraft was carrying 63 passengers and 5 crew. One passenger sustained minor injuries and is currently under observation at the clinic.”

“Emergency procedures have since been activated at the airport and investigations to establish the cause of the incident has begun. Meanwhile, operations at the airport are continuing normally,” the statement added.

“All of us at Starbow at this time remain dedicated to our guests, our crew and their families. Their safety and wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do, and we will cooperate fully with the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, and other agencies, to determine the cause of this incident. We hope to be able to provide further information in due course,” the airline’s CEO, Eric Antwi, said in the statement copied to the B&FT.

The Aviation Ministry, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), and other agencies are investigating the cause of the incident.

ACEPA builds the capacity of CSOs in governance and decision making

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African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA) held a two-day intensive capacity building workshop for some CSOs from the three regions of the North in Tamale to engender effective participation and representation of citizens in governance and decision-making processes through enhanced civil society –parliament engagement.
The training was to ensure building professional competence of CSOs for a constructive engagement with the Parliament of Ghana.

It was also to help the participants to take advantage of the workshop to network and form synergies with the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and individual Legislators to leverage Parliament for decision making to bring about development in the country.
The training with funding from the French Embassy was also to help enhance the capacity of CSOs to coordinate effectively and engage their local constituency in order to appropriately capture and articulate their voices at the national level.

Some of the beneficial CSOs were the Centre for Active Leaning and Development (CALID), Songtaba, Urbanet, NORSAAC, Grameen-Ghana, Partnership for Rural Development (PRUDA), TradeAID, NORPRA and CODAC.

A senior Governance Advisor Mr Issifu Lampo noted that the Parliamentarians are in parliament to help address the needs of the people they represent and therefore the need to be held accountable by citizens.

He noted that the Parliament of Ghana is a major national stakeholder that is critical to the public policy advocacy of CSOs in making the voices of CSOs heard in decision-making processes.

He stressed the need for the parliamentarians to attend to the needs of their constituency in order to help know their grievances for redress.
“The ability to engage duty bearers in decision making will influence change in society and the nation at large” he stated.

The Executive Director of ACEPA Dr Rasheed Draman stated that“Parliament is a very conservative institution, and we don’t want civil society groups to just get up and go and start making noise and in the process the messages are lost, and so we wanted to ensure that there is a constructive way of engagement.”

“We wanted to ensure that there are proper mechanisms of engagement so that these groups when they get up and they want to engage, at least they know what to say and they know how to focus on the issues that are important and they know how to engage the members of Parliament” he added.

He emphasised the need for the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to constructively engage Civil Society Organizations across the country at all levels of the decision-making processes.

He said the training was to build the capacity of CSOs to effectively engage parliament through their input into drafting laws and budget deliberations.

According to him it will also encourage the CSOs to engage the Parliamentarians for more effective oversight legislation and representation.

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