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There is no food shortage in Ghana – Minister of Agric debunks reports
The Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has rubbished off reports that the country is currently facing food shortages.
He said the Ghanaians should disregard such reports because there is an abundance of food in the country.
Addressing the staff of MOFA and farmers in the Eastern Region as part of his official tour, Dr. Akoto said linking high food prices with shortage is non-existent.
“There is no food shortage in Ghana as is being speculated, the food situation in the regions is enough evidence, however, we recognise that food is relatively expensive due to external factors.”
The Minister said, the increase in prices of food commodities is not because of the government’s policies, but external factors such as the increment of imported chemicals and other external factors beyond their control.
“We are encouraging farmers to switch to organic fertilizers produced locally to reduce the impact of fertilizer shortage on food production and urged the far west to switch quickly to the use of compost.”
On financing from the banks, Dr Afriyie Akoto hinted that the government is looking at alternatives to compel banks to lend a portion of their loans to farmers to improve production.
That, he said is to address farmers’ inability to acquire loans from the banks adding that several efforts to the banks had proved futile over the years and the banks preferred to give loans to business people than farmers.
Inflation in Ghana recently moved to a record 27.6% in May, data from the Ghana Statistical Service showed.
Compared to the 23.6 percent recorded in April, this represents a four percentage points jump in the inflation rate.
The latest development means that in the month of May 2022, the general price level was 27.6% higher than in May 2021.
Month-on-month inflation between April 2022 and May 2022 was 4.1%
The Consumer Price Index for May 2022 was 162.8 relative to 127.6 in May 2021.
Also, food inflation rose again to a record 30.1 percent compared to 26.6 percent recorded in April while Non-food inflation stood at 25.7 percent in May, compared to 21.3 percent recorded in the previous month.
The inflation for imported goods was 28.2%, which is higher than the 24.7% recorded for April 2022, while the inflation for locally produced items was 27.3%, up from the 23.0% recorded in April 2022.
Source: www.pulse.com.gh
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NHIA set to boost its cybersecurity and IT Infrastructure
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), in partnership with a leading private cybersecurity solutions provider in Ghana, CyberHawk Limited, is advancing the Authority’s digital infrastructure to ensure seamless operations.
This is to safeguard the Authority’s digital technologies and maintain the trust of active members of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
In this context, the NHIA Management Information System (MIS) Directorate in the Head Office, on February 11, 2024, launched a three-day brainstorming session on the organization’s cybersecurity enhancement agenda.
The MIS Directorate Ag. Director, Mr. Daniel Blankson explained that the collaborative meeting aimed to scrutinize the NHIA’s Information Technology architecture, identifying potential risks and gapsto enhance its cybersecurity posture.
“By leveraging CyberHawk Limited’s expertise, the NHIA seeks to fortify its defenses against cyber threats, protecting sensitive information and maintaining the trust of its members.”
Mr. Blankson applauded the synergy between the two organizations and underscored the Authority’s commitment to embracing cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions to drive its mission forward.
The Head of Information Security and Standards Unit, in the MIS Directorate, Mr. Ebenezer Hooper, highlighted the Authority’s significant milestone on the digital transformation journey.
According to him, the NHIA is actively engaged in fully adopting and implementing modern digital systems to improve its operations.
He said, “The three-day brainstorming meeting will culminate in the development of a robust IT infrastructure, as well as strategic plans to translate security implementations into tangible IT cost savings for the organization.”
“There is the need to form a steering committee or IT advisory committee, operated under the Board, so that they can pay more attention in protecting the huge IT investment while ensuring cyber security-related policies are well protected,” he added.
The Project Manager of CyberHawk Limited, Mr. Chetan Narayana Murthy, lauded the collaboration and anticipated that it would empower the NHIA to implement comprehensive cybersecurity measures.
According to him, “This is a huge project that will greatly benefit the NHIA by implementing robust cybersecurity measures, safeguarding their systems, and ultimately protecting the sensitive information of NHIA members and healthcare providers.”
A Senior Manager of IT infrastructure, Mr. David Asare Addo, and his colleague, a Senior Manager of Applications, Mr. Enock Afanyi, with the MIS Directorate, gave an overview of the NHIA’s current technological landscape.
Present at the meeting were representatives from the Claims, Membership and Regional Operations (MRO), Research, Policy, Monitoring, and Evaluation (RPME), Corporate Affairs, the Audit, Administration, and Human Resource Directorates.
Story By : Vivian Arthur
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
