My Ghana Electronic Desk

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE Mr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong CEO of Zoomlion Ghana Limited displaying his award Ghanaian waste management giant, Zoomlion Ghana Limited and its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, have received the “Leadership in Industry” prize at a  colourful ceremony held in Accra by the Millennium Excellence Foundation. Zoomlion was among 29 institutions and personalities nominated for the awards which have been held every five years since its inception at the turn of the millennium (2000). The company’s award was presented by the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr. Gong Jianzhong and the Representative of  His Royal Majesty the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Oheneba Adusei-Poku, Akyempimhene. In an interview after the awards ceremony held on Saturday, the Chief Executive Officer said Zoomlion was very proud and happy to be recognised by the Foundation. He said Zoomlion has the passion to render excellent environmental sanita

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE The management of Aqua Vitens Rand Ltd (AVRL), working for and on behalf of Ghana Water Company Ltd. as the Operator, has stated that it is aware of the current erratic water supply to customers in the western parts of Accra served by the Weija Treatment Plant and assured that “should the situation become critical, special emergency services will be organised for critical institutions such as hospitals and schools.” In a press statement dated December 9, 2010 and signed by Stanley Martey, Communications Manager, AVRL, the operator said the situation has been caused primarily by disruptions to power supply on which the Weija Treatment Plant relies. “Besides, one of our booster stations located at Sowutuom has a fault that is being rectified,” the statement said. “We have been duly informed by the ECG that they are currently carrying out substantial works on their infrastructure to improve power supply. We should explain to our

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE The World Bank Group has taken anti-corruption enforcement to a new level, by announcing the debarment of two companies and, separately, the first-ever World Bank cross-debarments of firms, for engaging in corrupt and fraudulent practices in development projects. The companies are Kwaplah International Trading Co., Inc., a U.S.-based company, and its owner, Mr. Sherlock Mahn, together with any organisation they directly or indirectly control, who have been debarred for 12 years for engaging in corrupt and fraudulent practices in Bank-financed projects implemented in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Ghana, Gambia and Liberia. According to a press statement numbered 2011/213/INT which announced the debarment, this is the second-longest since the Bank began sanctioning firms in 1999. The statement said, in making its decision, the World Bank’s Sanctions Board took into account the multiplicity of

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE The World Bank Group has taken anti-corruption enforcement to a new level, by announcing the debarment of two companies and, separately, the first-ever World Bank cross-debarments of firms, for engaging in corrupt and fraudulent practices in development projects. The companies are Kwaplah International Trading Co., Inc., a U.S.-based company, and its owner, Mr. Sherlock Mahn, together with any organisation they directly or indirectly control, who have been debarred for 12 years for engaging in corrupt and fraudulent practices in Bank-financed projects implemented in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Ghana, Gambia and Liberia. According to a press statement numbered 2011/213/INT which announced the debarment, this is the second-longest since the Bank began sanctioning firms in 1999. The statement said, in making its decision, the World Bank’s Sanctions Board took into account the multiplicity of

By EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE From left Mr. Ernest Asiedu Caesar, Communications Officer Zoomlion,Sheikh Ishaak Nuamah, Mr. Ernest Kusi, Zoomlion Regional Officer As part of its nationwide campaign on sanitation in Islamic Communities, Zoomlion Ghana. Limited has organised a sensitisation programme for the Islamic Communities in the Koforidua Municipality. The forum, which attracted a lot of Muslims from the New Juaben  Municipality, was addressed by officials from Zoomlion as well as highly respected leaders of the Muslim communities, including the  renowned Islamic Theologian and Educationist, Sheikh Ishaak Nuamah and the Imam of the Koforidua Central Mosque. Addressing the gathering, Mr. Ernest Kusi, The Regional Operations Supervisor for Zoomlion touched on the need for partnership between Zoomlion and the Islamic Communities in championing the cause of clean and environmentally-healthy communities in the Municipality. He added that Islamic Zongos a

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE A new report has refuted earlier hypotheses that the global food price crises of 2007 to 2008, was primarily caused by increased demand in rising economies such as China and India, by falling agricultural yields or food stocks, and by futures market speculation. Instead, using recently available data, the new report released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, titled Reflections on the Global Food Crisis, has attributed the crisis to a combination of increased energy costs, growing demand for biofuels, depreciation of the U.S. dollar, trade shocks related to export restrictions, panic purchases, and unfavourable weather. Estimates of the number of people who were pushed into malnutrition by rising food prices in 2007 vary from around 75 million to 133 million, with the greatest consumption losses falling on women and girls, says the report. It adds that countries were particularly vulnerable to rising prices

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE Hundreds of millions of people across the world will receive daily updates on the latest international efforts to tackle climate change, as a result of an innovative media support programme made possible through an alliance between Internews, Panos and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). The alliance has already supported more than 100 journalists from 43 developing nations at the past three UNFCCC meetings. This year however, the Climate Change Media Partnership (CCMP) has awarded 35 journalists from across the developing world with fellowships to Mexico to provide vital coverage of the annual Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the end of the month, says a statement issued by the International Institute of Environment and Development (IIED). According to the statement, the CCMP programme will enable journalists to report in depth on the negotiations and share their st

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE Last Year's Awards Logo CNN International and MultiChoice have officially launched the annual CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2011 Awards, for which winners will be announced at a gala ceremony to be held in Johannesburg , South Africa in June 2011. The competition is open to African nationals who are professional journalists, including freelancers across print, television, internet, photographic and radio media, while entries that qualify should have been broadcast or published from January 2010 to December 2010. Commenting on the Awards which have been held over the past 16 years, Tony Maddox, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of CNN International, said : “ The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards have been encouraging excellence in journalism across the continent for 16 years and are truly a highlight in CNN's editorial calendar. I’m delighted that they continue to grow in stature an