Hot!
President launches GH¢1bn COVID-19 support fund…for MSMEs affected by pandemic
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has launched a GH¢1 billion COVID-19 Alleviation Business Support Programme to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The amount is expected to support businesses in areas such as agriculture and agribusiness, manufacturing, tourism and hospitality, education, food and beverages, technology, transportation, commerce, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and textile and garments.
Additionally, MSMEs which need expansion to meet the growing demand for COVID-19 related goods and services can also apply, President Akufo-Addo said at a ceremony to launch the scheme at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday.
He said from today to June 20, self employed, sole proprietorship, limited liability partnerships and joint venture businesses with more than 99 employees can begin the application processes for support.
The President said business applicants must also belong to a trade association or group and be registered with the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI).
To apply, applicants must visit the NBSSI website or visit any of the 170 business advisory offices throughout the country to pick application forms to begin the process, he said.
President Akufo-Addo indicated that the business support programme is expected to help minimise job losses in the wake of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Out of GH¢1.2 billion earmarked for the programme, he said GH¢600 will be disbursed as soft loans to MSMEs with one year moratorium and two years repayment. The rate of interest on the loans is three per cent
Furthermore, the President said the selected participating banks will provide negotiated counterpart funding to the tune of GH¢ 400 million.
President Akufo-Addo said the scheme is expected to reach 180 beneficiaries across the country.
President Akufo-Addo was however optimistic that the Ghanaian economy will bounce back stronger than it was before COVID-19.
He said his administration is committed to helping businesses to get on their feet again and contribute to the growth of the Ghanaian economy.
He pointed out that the government has secured a US$1 billion facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support the growth of the economy.
Additionally, he said the Bank of Ghana has earmarked an amount of GH¢10 billion as investment commitment to support the economy to resist the adverse effects of the COVID-19.
President Akufo-Addo said aside the GH¢1billion facility for MSMEs, the government will make available a GH¢3 billion credit and stimulus package to help boost businesses.
He said the Finance Minister has been tasked to continue finding more resources to support as many businesses as possible to ensure that the country bounce back stronger post COVID-19
The President noted that the pandemic has had a devastating impact of all economies around the world including the Ghanaian economy.
In Ghana, he said the pandemic has reduced productivity, job losses, and affected the revenue of government, businesses and households.
However, the President believes that the country’s economy will bounce back much stronger than it has ever been, post COVID-19.
BY YAW KYEI
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS
You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.
Join our WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
