Adu Asare sacked as YES Boss

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Category: NewsBrief

Created on Monday, 29 September 2014 00:00

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Adu Asare sacked as YES Boss

The Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Enterprise Support (YES) Fund, Kojo Adu Asare has been removed two months after his appointment.

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Ghana goes green with bamboo bikes

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Category: Special Reports

Created on Monday, 22 September 2014 00:00

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Ghana goes green with bamboo bikes

A young female social entrepreneur has vowed to bring change to the world - one bamboo bike at a time. The 19-year-old employs about 30 girls to produce bikes in Ghana and has received numerous awards for her work.

Winifred Selby, 19, is a young social entrepreneur who is determined to fight for a carbon-free and greener planet. She founded Ghana Bamboo Bikes in 2009 - and her business model took off immediately. She currently employs about 30 young women and her bikes made from bamboo are becoming more popular day by day. Selby says the company creates a turnover of about $10,000 (7,720 euros) a month by exporting some of its bikes.

She started her enterprise at the age of 15. Money was always tight in the family. She says she was motivated by the challenges she and her family were facing.

"When I was six things were so tight that we sometimes had to sell [items] during [school] vacations, because where are the school fees going to come from?" Often she would sell toffee or other small items to earn a little bit of money.

Helping the community

But Selby soon decided she wanted to found her own company that would be committed to promoting fair trade, treating people fairly and creating environmentally responsible products that help reduce change. She also wanted to provide job opportunities that would help other young Ghanaians escape poverty.

Even though the concept of bamboo bikes is nothing new, Selby decided to take the leap with co-founders Bernice Dapaah and Kwame Kyei.

The Ghana Bamboo Bikes initiative is based in Kumasi, Ghana's second biggest city. It's where the team assembles bikes that are suitable for the country's high terrain and rough roads.

"A frame is $250, and we produce 90," Selby said. "If the cost of producing a bamboo frame is 150 and we are selling at 250, then it means we get a profit of 100."

Kafui Dey, a popular TV host in Ghana, took a test ride on one of the bamboo bikes at a recently held exhibition. He says he was impressed with the quality.

Protecting the environment

"It felt good and stable, it wasn't too heavy and I had a spin around, and I enjoyed it," Dey said. "What was more exciting to me was the initiative - being taken by Ghanaians to do something not just for themselves but for their communities."

Selby and her colleagues at Ghana Bamboo Bikes say they aim at becoming a huge company with branches across the country. With such a success story just over four years of operations, the future looks bright for this project which is contributing to reducing climate change and protecting the environment.

Date 18.09.2014

Author Isaac Kaledzi /sst

Source: Deutsche Welle

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Auditor-General Quizzes CHRAJ Boss From Today

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Category: NewsBrief

Created on Monday, 29 September 2014 00:00

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Auditor-General Quizzes CHRAJ Boss From Today

A special purpose audit of the accommodation arrangements and related matters involving the commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Ms Lauretta Lamptey, will be conducted by the Auditor General from today.

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Gov’t Blew 1.9billion On Black Stars Dinner – Afriyie Ankrah Reveals

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Category: Special Reports

Created on Thursday, 21 August 2014 00:00

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Gov’t Blew 1.9billion On Black Stars Dinner – Afriyie Ankrah Reveals

It has emerged from the ongoing Commission of Enquiry into the Brazil 2014 appearance of Ghana that the Mahama government blew a colossal amount of almost 1.9billion cedis (GH₵188,665) on a Presidential dinner which was held just before the Ghana Black Stars emplaned for the tournament.

Former Minister of Sports, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, made this startling disclosure on the first day of his appearance before the three man commission.

“We also spent GH₵188,665 on the Presidential Ball. This event was attended by former players of the National Team, Heads of several corporate bodies, former Ministers of Sports, Black Star players and several other dignitaries. It was at this event that the President encouraged the boys and also signed some jerseys with his green pen, which was auctioned”, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah told the Commission, while giving an account of the costs incurred during preparations for the World Cup.

According to the former Minister, this amount spent on the Presidential dinner was part of a total expenditure of 4,483,262.89 spent mainly by the Ministerial Committee set up to organize Ghanaian supporters for the World Cup and to ensure that Ghana got maximum benefit from the World Cup showing.

Giving a detailed account of the expenses made by the Ministry, the current Minister of State at the Presidency, stated that GH₵1,953,096.52 was spent on Accommodation and Feeding for the over 600 supporters ferried to Brazil to support the team.

A further GH₵140,269 was spent on transporting the supporters while GH₵76,370 was spent on Entertainment for the supporters in Brazil and at the Ghana exhibitions held in Brazil. He again stated that GH₵519,035.10 was spent on 1849 tickets for the three matches Ghana played at the tournament while GH₵128,314.93 was spent on Printing and Souvenirs.

In all, the former Minister of Sports disclosed that 4,509,635 was realized from corporate sponsors and individuals as part of a fundraising effort led by the Ministry and some ambassadors and icons chosen by the Ministry to support the effort.

Mr. Afriyie Ankrah also disclosed to the Commission that unlike the 2010 World Cup when Government ferried over 3,000 supporters to South Africa to watch the World Cup, Government, through the Ministry’s efforts, could only send 612 supporters to the Brazil 2014 world cup, although he admitted that the Ministry had to also cater for some 84 supporters who found their way into the Ghana supporters camp in Natal.

The Commission continues its sitting today.

Source: Gordon Asare-Bediako/New Crusading Guide/Ghana

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