The newly confirmed Municipal Chief Executive – Hon. Archibold Cobbinah has paid a working visit to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and Mallam Atta Market on Thursday 27th July 2023.

He embarked on this working visit in the company of the newly posted Municipal Coordinating Director, Ishmael Nana Ogyefo and some Heads of Department and Units after his maiden Management Meeting.

Hon. Archibold Cobbinah used this working visit to ascertain the various activities and challenges in the various markets.The MCE assured the traders of further engagements and collaborations to enhance their business environment.

The Team also visited the Circle Police Station, where the MCE was received by the Station Master who assured of their readiness in maintaining law and order to protect lives and properties within the enclave.

At the Mallam Atta Market Hon. Archibold engaged some market women and assured them of further engagements by the Assembly to ascertain and embark their prevailing challenges and deploy interventions aimed at revamping the Market. He also paid a brief visit to the Mallam Atta Clinic.

Hon. Archibold ended his tour with an appreciation message to his team members and called on them to be prepared to make sacrifices in the interest of the Municipality.

A new MCE, Hon Archibald M.A Cobbina the president’s nominee, has been confirmed massively by the Assembly members of Ayawaso Central Municipal Assembly after the old one, Hon. Alhaji Mohammed Ababio Quaye resigned.

16 out of 17 Assembly Members who turned out to vote at the Ayawaso Central Municipal Health/Education Directorate at Kotobabi in Accra unanimously confirmed Mr. Archibald Cobbina.

He was nominated by His Excellency, the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo as a result of the resignation of the former Chief Executive due to some health challenges.

In his acceptance speech, the MCE Elect, Mr. Archibald Cobbina said ‘’patience is indeed a virtue and humility is also a virtue’’.

He first and foremost expressed his gratitude to the Almighty God and then to the president of Ghana for nominating him.

He was grateful to the Assembly Members of Ayawaso Central for unanimously confirming him.

The chiefs of Ayawaso Central were not left out as he expressed his gratitude towards their massive support for him.

Touching on his responsibilities, he promised to carry the municipality to the height we are all expecting it to be. He mentioned that he was aware of the challenges that the municipality is facing and promised therefore that, with determination, nothing is too difficult to be done.

“Revenue mobilization will be a top priority, we will employ needful digitalization to collect revenue for the assembly”, he said.

He also touched on sanitation by saying that we will work to make sure that the municipality is clean always.

He concluded by saying that a collective effort is required from both the Assembly members and the staff to achieve this aim.

The outgoing MCE, Hon. Alhaji Mohammed Ababio Quaye also expressed his gratitude to the president for his support and trust as the former MCE.

He was also grateful to the Assembly members and staff for their masive support for him during his tenure of office as MCE of Ayawaso Central.

He expressed confidence in his successor, the newly elected MCE, Hon. Archibald Cobbina of what he is capable of doing to make the Assemby move forward’’. Alhaji Mohammed Quaye assured his successor of his readiness to contribute in any way to assist in the development of Ayawaso Central Municipality.

‘’I look forward to the bright future that lies ahead in the leadership of Mr. Archibald M. A. Cobbinah MCE’’ the former MCE ended.

The Greater Accra Regional Minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ayawaso Central, Hon. Henry Quartey eulogized the former MCE, describing him as one of the stalwarts of the party who had worked for the party since 1969.

The Regional Minister expressed his admiration for the former MCE and said that it was unusual for people occupying such highly prestigious positions to resign in the event of any challenges they may be facing; that he said he has won the hearts of many including himself. He said, “on this day, I have a lot of respect, admiration and love for him”.

Hon. Quartey also stated that the confirmed MCE, Hon. Archibald Cobbina was capable of continuing and adding to the footprint of the former MCE, Hon. Alhaji Mohammed Quaye, following his contribution to the NPP at the constituency for decades and therefore has to be supported by all the Assembly members and the constituents to achieve his vision.

                                                                                              Report by:

                                                                                            Ivy N. A. A. Quansah

                                                                                       (Municipal Information Officer)

Officers from the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development at the Ayawaso Central Municipal Assembly on the 31st May visited the Accra Newtown Experimental school to sensitize students on adolescent protection. This was part of their planned activities for the year.
The exercise which took place in one of the classes was facilitated by Miss Evelyn Adunah. 72 students participated in the whole exercise. Thirty-two (32) being boys and forty (40) being girls.

It was defined that an adolescent is a person between the ages of 10 to 19 years according to the United Nations Organization. In addition, adolescence was explained as the process or stages a person goes through from childhood to adulthood. Some of these stages affect the adolescents’ behaviors, health and body. However, as they begin to grow, they have ambitions and goals in life that they want to fulfil.

The activity undertaken was the spoonful of life. The purpose of the activity was to help boys and girls reflect on how to stay focused on their goals in spite of many distractions they may face.
Some issues including child abuse, negative peer pressure, staying out late in the night, visiting game centers were also addressed.

The 48-hour reading session for both students and locals of Ayawaso Central constituency concluded at the weekend as part of programmes to commemorate the Accra World Book Capital (AWBC.
The AWBC is a UNESCO-sponsored reading strategy aimed at encouraging school children and community members to read.

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) oversaw the reading festival, on the theme: “Reading to Connect Minds for Development”, held under the auspices of the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Accra was chosen as the fourth African city to host the event this year due to its efforts to promote youth empowerment activities throughout the sub-region.
Mr Alexander Tsumasi, the Assembly Member of Ayidiki Electoral Area, were the programme was held, told the Ghana News Agency that reading was very important for human growth, emphasising that residents, including students, should strive to read on regular basis.
He said reading provided an opportunity to learn new vocabulary and broaden one’s horizon to acquire more knowledge.

Parents and guardians must constantly guarantee that their children read from reliable and relevant sources in order to be responsible citizens.
Mrs Rhoda Akueteh, the Director of the Ayawaso Central NCCE, expressed gratitude for the huge turnout of participants and that the NCCE would continue to sponsor educational programmes to help residents and students build their knowledge power.
She urged parents to continue to provide relevant reading and other learning materials for their children to prevent them from giving excuses not to read

Technical Education Development for Modernized Agriculture in Ghana (TEDMAG), a programme of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture’s (MoFA) Modernizing Agriculture in Ghana (MAG), was funded by Global Affairs Canada. The purpose of TEDMAG was to develop a more market-oriented and farming -as-a-business approach to agriculture. Working together on common goals and beliefs about shifting to market -driven agriculture will help both public and private extension workers to succeed in working with farmers and the food system in Ghana.
Focusing on market -oriented agriculture requires a shift in attitude, skills and knowledge for agricultural extension and development workers as well as the farmers they work with.
This Technical Education Development for Modernizing Agriculture in Ghana has been captured in three pillars namely;
1. Extension Methods for the New Extension Agent
2. Post-Harvest Management in the Agricultural Value Chain
3. Farmer-Based Organization: Your role in Modernizing Ghana’s agriculture.
AGENDA
1.Identify potential stakeholders and collaborators to work with extension educators throughout the value chain.
2. Apply participatory methods for communicating knowledge and skills to build capacity among farmers and other stakeholders in the agricultural value-chain
3. Build capacity of extension workers to develop more market-oriented and farming -as-a-business extension programmes.
PARTICIPANTS
DESCRIPTION SEX DESIGNATION
RESOURCE PERSON FEMALE RAO CROPS
STAFF MALE MISO
STAFF FEMALE HOD
STAFF FEMALE VETERINARY
STAFF MALE AEA
STAFF MALE NSS

EXTENSION METHODS FOR THE NEW EXTENSION OFFICER
The role of the extension Officer in relation to fostering a market-driven system that is focused on the value chain and interacting with the various actors in the value chain and also presents clear, practical tools for use in facilitating learning based on the value chain among adults and youth- with specific attention to gender and engaging with different stakeholders for various purposes.
TRAINING OBJECTIVES
1. Identify and work with various stakeholders and extension educators throughout the value chain.
2. Apply participatory methods for communicating, sharing knowledge, and developing skills to build capacity among farmers and other stakeholders in value-chain agriculture.
3. Build capacity of extension workers to develop more market-oriented and farming-as-a-business extension programmes that link actors the value chain.
KEY POINTS
1. This training is focused on equipping Ghana Extension for work to help farmers and agriculture be more market-oriented.
2. Working together on common goals and beliefs about shifting to value-chain agriculture that will help extension succeed in work with farmers and the food system in Ghana.
3. Focusing on market-oriented agriculture may require a shift in attitude as well as practice.

POST-HARVEST MANAGEMENT IN THE AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAIN
This supports a training-of-trainers that focuses on one part of that value chain-post harvest management with recommendation on how to teach concepts of market and marketing not on production. It compromise food safety and highlights some of the organizations and resources that actors in the agricultural value chain can reference for information on handling and processing foods. It also looks the economic impact of post-harvest loss, the components of practices for managing post-harvest losses in general and considerations for the standards necessary for maximizing food value.
TRAINING OBJECTIVES
1. Identify and work with various stakeholders and extension educators throughout the value chain.
2. Apply participatory methods for communicating, sharing knowledge, and developing skills to build capacity among farmers and other stakeholders in value-chain agriculture.
3. Build capacity of extension workers to develop more market-oriented and farming-as-a-business extension programmes that link actors the value chain.

IMPORTANCE OF POST-HARVEST MANAGEMENT IN THE VALUE CHAIN
1. It maintains quality of product
2. It reduces loss
3. It contributes to food security
4. It adds income for the producer/farmer and everyone else along the value chain.
5. It helps meet consumer preferences and demand and, therefore, provides better markets for farmers.
6. It helps meet requirements for export markets
7. It improves return on investment when meeting market demand
8. It minimizes or reduces effects of climate change
For Example,
a. Climate change may reduce the growing season, leading to lower yields. Heat may affect poultry moulting.
b. Rains affect roads and access to markets
c. Persistent rains or cloudy weather may affect solar drying of vegetables

FARMER-BASED ORGANIZATION: YOUR ROLE IN MODERNIZING GHANA’S AGRICULTURE.
This focusses on learning and working together as an organization to better enter and compete in the marketplace. The content uses the agricultural value chain as a context for applying the group dynamics and skills needed to build viable businesses at any point along the value chain. Special attention is given to inclusivity as a means of improving the economic, social, and environmental results of extension work in benefits of extension workers’ ability to broaden their reach by working with groups rather than individuals.

TRAINING OBJECTIVES
1. Identify and work with various stakeholders and extension educators throughout the value chain.
2. Apply participatory methods for communicating, sharing knowledge, and developing skills to build capacity among farmers and other stakeholders in value-chain agriculture.
3. Build capacity of extension workers to develop more market-oriented and farming-as-a-business extension programmes that link actors the value chain.
KEY POINTS
1. Effective Communication in farmer -based organizations
2. Conflict Management in Farmer based-organization
3. Inclusivity in Farmer-Based Organization
4. Youth in Farmer-Based Organization
5. Markets and the value chain
6. Markets Demand and Market Supply
7. Product Standards
8. Food safety and hygiene
9. Business Planning for the Farmer-Based Organization

Joining the President to commission the astro turf was Ministry of Youth and Sports Minister Hon. Mustapha Ussif, Greater Accra Regional Minister Henry Quartey, Coastal Development Authority Director, Alajo Mantse, Greater Accra Mayor among others.

Speaking at the official opening Sports Minister Hon. Ussif said: ” The Alajo community has today joined the privilege list of communities with astro turf in the country. And without doubt this facility will go a long way to provide sports within the community and also offer a perfect platform for other recreational activities,”

Greater Accra Regional Minister Hon. Quartey also spoke: “The Sports Minister is here and can testify that the national team most of the players come from Zongo communities. So we want to play football here so that we can also get Partey from here. And get other professionals from here. I went to beg the President and Vice President that my community needs an astro turf. I was successful and the long and short of the matter is that today the astro turf has come to existence,”

President Akufo Addo lauded all those involved in completing the project. “The facility lobbied by Hon. Henry Quartey was constructed by the infrastructure for eradication of poverty program under the Coastal Development Authority (CODA) which is headed by youthful chief executive one of your own Jerry Ahmed Shaibu. Ladies and Gentlemen as you all know football is a great passion for our people Ghanaians are not only obsessed about our domestic league and the fortunes of our national teams. Thanks to satellite tv they are also avid watchers of the great leagues of Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Ayawaso Central alone has unearthed several footballing geniuses in our nation such as Anas Seidu, Mohammed Klutse, Abedi Pele, Osei Kuffour, Yaw Preko, and Mohammed Kudus. We want to see more Mohammed Kudus, Abedi Peles been discovered that is why the development of sporting infrastructure around the country is crucial to this end,”

Alajo XI took on a select XI which included Stephen Appiah, Jerry Akaminko, Charles Taylor, John Paintsil, Prince Tagoe, Fatua Dauda, Godwin Attram, Dan Quaye, Haminu Dramani, Emmanuel Agyeman Badu, among others.

Acma Goes Traditional is a yearly program that is established to promote our traditional made in Ghana outfits.
This activity involves all staff of Acma wearing their traditional clothing that depicts the tribes they come from. We can see that our way of dressing is gearing too much towards the western styles. It is time to promote made in Ghana traditional wears for the world to see our rich and beautiful native outfits.

We know that every tribe have their unique way of dressing. These beautiful traditional wears can be worn to any occasion.
Every month of March, being the independence month and also wear Ghana month, let all staff in Acma dress to promote and express their traditional pride.

Annually, we are going to do this activity to promote made in Ghana traditional dresses.
These dresses are so colourful and beautiful that even foreigners love to wear. So let us do all we can to promote our made in Ghana traditional dresses for the world to see.

The Ayawaso Central Municipal Health Directorate on the 21st February hit its principal streets to sensitize people on the need to get vaccinated against the deadly covid 19 pandemic.

They mission was to create awareness of the virus, and how important it was to get all the phases of the vaccine, thereby being protected and also stopping its spread.
Hawkers were also advised on the need to still protect themselves in their everyday endeavors.
Some of the places visited included the Mallam Atta Market, the poly clinic, Abavana School streets and some parts of Kokomlemle. The exercise ended at midday with a message by the Municipal Health Director, Marian Achiano.

The Gender Desk of Ayawaso Central Municipal Assembly on the 6th February this year organized a sensitization workshop with learners at the Tailors and Dressmakers Association ANT. The exercise was on gender-based violence, their types and reporting their channels.
A total of 48 pupils were present, 17 being males and 31 being females. This exercise took place in Accra Newtown.