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Ghana’s Chris Koney to participate in Cool Czechia; Young African Leaders’ Study Tour 2023
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic has selected Ghanaian Marketing Communications professional, Brand, Talent and Stakeholder Relationship Management Specialist, Jonathan Christopher Koney, for the Young African Leaders’ Study Tour in the Czech Republic dubbed COOL CZECHIA 2023.
Known widely as Chris Koney in the African Media and Creative Arts space, he will be joining several thought leaders from across the African continent for the study programme scheduled to take place from July 26 to August 3, 2023 in two Czech cities; Prague and Telč.
The programme will include sessions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, under the supervision of Directors of selected Departments, Office of the President of the Czech Republic, meeting with the Speaker of the Parliament of the Czech Republic as well as a tour of the Chamber of Deputies, which has 200 elected members for four years.
The Editor-in-chief of ČRo Plus, Josef Pazderka will be hosting the participants at the Czech Public Radio (ČRo). There will be discussion with prominent figures from the Non-Governmental Organisation world on the Non-profit sector and the role of civil society at People in Need, a Czech non-governmental, non-profit organization active all over the world. In addition, there will be guided tours in both cities; Prague and Telč.
Chris Koney has transitioned from a full-time journalist into a Marketing Communications professional and has rebranded his image to reflect the output of his products. From serving as Media Officer for talent hunt shows to spearheading communications for state funded initiatives, Chris has made tremendous impact in the last 10 years within Africa’s corporate communications space.
Currently, Chris Koney works with Ghana’s leading Policy and Development Bank, the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) as Assistant Manager, Corporate Affairs / International Cooperation and a columnist with the Business and Financial Times Newspaper.
In 2020, Chris was a panellist for the Global Discussion on Emancipation Day organised by the Commonwealth Society of Canada and in 2019, the City of Toronto extolled him for excellence achieved in his fields of endeavour, leadership and devotion to others, which are contributions that serve to strengthen the community.
Chris was selected by the Netherlands and U.S. Governments for the 2019 Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in The Hague, during which he participated in a one week Press Visitors Programme for selected media and communications professionals around the world.
He participated in a Turkish Airlines Press Trip to Istanbul in 2018, had first-hand experience of the Turkish Airlines Aviation Academy, and toured the Istanbul Airport before it was opened to flights. Also in 2018, Chris served as a Foreign Observer, monitoring the 2018 Turkish General Election.
In 2017, he was announced as Ghana’s representative for the Environmental Protection & Sustainable Development (Tourism) Programme in Berlin organized by GIZ Berlin and the German Federal Foreign
Ghana Tourism Authority is leading Ghana’s participation at ITB Berlin, which opened in Berlin with a vibrant national pavilion highlighting Ghana’s rich cultural heritage, tourism destinations and investment opportunities.
March 5 has been designated as Ghana Day, a special platform to promote Ghana’s languages, cuisine, Kente, festivals and business prospects to the global tourism community. The stand has already drawn strong interest with traditional arts and crafts displays, immersive multimedia presentations and popular Ghanaian snacks.
Seven private-sector players are exhibiting alongside government officials as part of efforts to deepen trade partnerships, expand market access, and attract investment across the hospitality, heritage tourism, ecotourism, and creative arts sectors.
Ahead of the official opening, the Ghana delegation also engaged young Ghanaian investors in Germany in collaboration with V Afrika-Verein and the Ghana Embassy, strengthening diaspora investment linkages and highlighting opportunities within the tourism value chain.
Ghana’s coordinated presence at ITB Berlin 2026 reinforces its strategy to position the country as the Gateway to Africa and a competitive destination for leisure travel and global investment.
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
