News
ATU holds ‘Evening with the Vice-Chancellor’
Prof Amevi Acakpovi with the Media and others photos Lizzy Okai
The management of Accra Technical University (ATU) on Tuesday held an event dubbed ‘An evening with the Vice-Chancellor’ at the school’s premises.
It was aimed at sharing insights into recent achievements of the university, update Ghanaians on upcoming projects and innovations and foster a collaborative environment with the media.
It brought together the university’s management, the teaching staff and editors of various media houses.
The Acting Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof Amevi Acakpovi (PhD) said the university, since its inception had undergone various phases of transformation.
“I am particularly impressed with the growth in students’ population and programmes offered by the university,” he said.
Prof Acakpovi said despite the successes chalked by the institution, there were some challenges confronting it.
He said the university’s satellite campus at Mpehuasem was faced with encroachment while the access route to the campus was in a deplorable state.
He also mentioned that “the university was in need of extra vehicle and a dedicated laboratory and workshop to support the Curriculum Base Training (CBT) Agenda.”
The Acting Vice-Chancellor of ATU said plans were in place to establish a vibrant graduate school to run both Masters and PhD Programmes, increase access to grants, conduct more impactful applied research with groundbreaking solutions to societal needs.
Prof Acakpovi said the university hopes to improve its language centre to support the delivery of French, Chinese, Twi and Ga languages, increase student accommodation on campus to about 25 per cent while developing hostel and lecture facilities at Mpehuasem to achieve a fully-fledged satellite campus status.
On the relationship between the media and the university, he described it as cordial, adding that “we hope to explore avenues in enhancing collaborative efforts between ATU and the media in the future.”
Giving highlights on the 75th anniversary celebration of the University, the Chairperson of the anniversary Planning Committee, Prof Alice Mensah (PhD) said the celebrations will begin with a launch on February 8, with the CEO lecture series and public lectures.
Other activities to herald the anniversary, she said were, alumni homecoming, debate with four Technical Universities, sports and games, faculty mini exhibition, cooking competition, old school and food bazaar, Vice Chancellor’s conference, anniversary concert, grand exhibition, awards and dinner night and thanksgiving service.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
News
Ghana Tourism Marketplace is good initiative – Alisa Asamoah
The immediate past President of the Tour Operators Union of Ghana (TOUGHA), Chief Executive of Riali Consult, Mrs. Alisa Osei Asamoah, has lauded the Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC) for its efforts to improve the viability of the sector through the Ghana Tourism Marketplace (GTM).
The GTM is an innovative platform that aggregates all tourism and hospitality vendors in Ghana, providing a unified platform for the distribution of their products and services.
The GTM is a shared economy model to benefit all stakeholders in the tourism ecosystem.
Speaking to the media after a stakeholder deliberation on GTM, Mrs.Asamoah said, this is what they are looking for. According to her, it is a good initiative by the GTDC.
“This is what we are all looking for. When you go to South Africa, and other countries, they have initiated the same thing,” he said.
She said this would positively impact the industry because that is where the private sector would exhibit their products, adding that it is going to be competitive.
Mrs.Asamoah concluded that this would increase trust between them and their clients, and from the presentation, the project would be very sustainable.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
Afenyo Markin criticises Police over handling of Abronye’s case
The Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo Markin has raised concerns about the handling of the arrest and detention of Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe, also known as Abronye.
According to him, the police invited Abronye on Monday, September 8, and he honoured the invitation with his lawyers.
He said Abronye submitted himself to interrogation but, within an hour, was taken into the custody of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB).
The Minority Leader questioned why the police, who were investigating the case and had their own holding cells, decided to send someone being investigated for a misdemeanor to the NIB.
He intimated that checks confirmed that the NIB was not investigating or interrogating Abronye, but had only kept him because the police requested it.
He wondered whether the move was meant to punish Abronye, stressing that the police detained him the whole of Monday night and Tuesday morning, before presenting him to court on 9th September.
The Minority Leader added that in court, the police asked for Abronye to be remanded to allow further investigations, and the judge granted the request.
He however described it as unfortunate that the police handcuffed Abronye when he was leaving the court.
By: Jacob Aggrey
