Day: September 22, 2023

Professor Martin Odei Ajei, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Classics, University of Ghana, has supported the call for a review of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.

He argued that some elements of the Constitution, particularly Article 50, entrenched the mentality of ‘winner-takes-all’ and did not match with the ethical and legal norms of nation building.

‘Whenever there is a need for constitutional review, we should consider that we have a constitution that speaks with the principles and lives of Ghanaians.

‘It should reflect a form of consensual democracy that is better situated with our social settings and ideas about government,’ he stressed.

Professor Ajei made the call at the annual Ephraim Amu Memorial Lecture organised by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences in Accra.

He was speaking on the topic, ‘The Ethics of Nation-Building: Perspectives from the Legon Tradition of Philosophy.’

Prof Ajei said articles of the Constitution should contain moral and ethical ideals aimed at the common good of Ghanaians.

The rules governing those provisions should be based on the historical and cultural philosophical perspectives on human welfare and fellowship.

Prof. Ajei described nation-building as an intentional effort that brought people together to support a shared vision and aim.

He stated that nation building, which required transformative leadership and responsible citizenship, was a political and moral imperative.

‘Political because of the aspiration to forge a political unit whose citizens think, act and live in unified pursuit of demarcated ideals – in the case of Ghana – of the ideals of freedom and justice.

‘And moral because the ideals such as freedom and justice are moral, in as much as they seek to ensure the harmonious coexistence of Ghanaians; as well as their survival, interests and welfare,’ he added.

Source: Ghana News Agency

How do HSR drivers in China drive trains? How are containers loaded and unloaded at the port? How many technical professionals are there in China? Three bloggers, Kevin, Lily, and Daria, transformed into skilled talents and experienced a variety of unique occupations in China at the Second Vocational Skills Competition of the People’s Republic of China in Tianjin.

A total of 109 disciplines have been set up in this vocational skills competition, with a total of 4,045 competitors from all over China participating. They are selected from more than 100,000 participants. Among them, there are experienced ‘masters’ and young ‘craftsmen’ who are eager to create a new peak in their vocational skills.

In addition to traditional disciplines such as aircraft, automobile maintenance, tea art, baking, carpentry, and gardening, the competition also added new disciplines in digital technology skills, such as intelligent manufacturing engineering technology, IC engineering technology, AI engineering technology, VR engineering technology, and others related to new technologies and new occupations. The competition was fierce, and the players have all showed their mastery. The three bloggers at the competition

praised the strong professional skills of Chinese craftsmen. Daria believes that the rapid development of China’s manufacturing industry is inseparable from these craftsmen. She is particularly optimistic about the future development of China’s vocational education, and hopes that more young people will become Talents with excellent vocational skills.

After four days of intense contest, 393 players from various provinces and cities in China won gold, silver and bronze medals in the competition. There were 62 disciplines as the qualification disciplines for the World Skills Competition. The winners will represent China in the 47th World Skills Competition to be held in Lyon, France in September next year. They will compete with global skilled talents and once again

demonstrate the high level of professional and technological development in China.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister for Information, has said the government will be proactive in setting the agenda for national development.

‘Government should not be shy of getting involved in agenda-setting because the only way you can communicate governance properly is by participating in agenda-setting,’ Mr Oppong Nkrumah said.

The Minister said this when he delivered a public lecture on the topic: ‘A Legal Framework for Communicating Governance’, organised by the Faculty of Law, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).

The event was meant to highlight how various laws affect the creation of common understanding about the country’s governance processes and activities.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah said government communication was very important as it enabled it to engage with all stakeholders, create awareness, take timely decisions and shape behaviours, and forge international cooperation.

Through agenda setting, political actors diligently strived to elevate certain issues and make them prominent in public discussions, the Minister explained.

Therefore, proactive agenda-setting would enable the government to send to the public domain the developmental efforts being made so as to generate citizens’ support.

He urged all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure that their Public Relations Officers received and shared information proactively within the government to facilitate agenda-setting.

Efforts to improve inclusivity in government communications through sign language and interpretation should be maintained and mainstreamed.

He said the template developed for crisis communication during COVID-19 pandemic should be replicated during other national crises, adding that, a periodic review of the crisis communication model should be done to keep up with changing trends.

In discussing the legal framework for communicating governance in Ghana, the Minister highlighted five different sets of laws that constituted the framework.

These include the 1992 Constitution and the Executive Instruments, Civil Service Act, and Presidential Office Act.

The others are: Transparency Laws – including the Right to Information Act and the Whistleblowers’ Act-, Wingmen – comprising Political Party Constitutions and Standing Orders of Parliament -, and Free Media Laws such as Article 167(c) and National Media Commission Act.

The Minister said some parts of the legal framework had clarity and allowed for more coherence in communicating governance and participating in agenda setting.

He, however, noted that that other parts of the framework were ambiguous and lacked clarity and authority for the persons supposed to operate in there.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah said that there had been a proposed review of parts of the Presidential Office Act and the Civil Service Act, as well as the Executive Instrument for setting up Ministries.

‘This should bring some more clarity and impetus for the purposes of governance and communicating governance and agenda-setting,’ he noted.

He said the current managers of government communications had made efforts to collaborate with Party Communicators and Members of Parliament to facilitate agenda setting and communication of governance.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah recommended that the ambiguous parts of the legal framework must be given clarity urgently, and the efforts to secure amendment that would bring clarity should be sped up.

The Minister also said there should also be a consensus to deal with the growing threat of misinformation and disinformation.

Source: Ghana News Agency

OccupyGhana, a civil society group, has condemned the arrests of protesters during Thursday’s ‘Occupy Jubilee House’ demonstration.

The group said their arrests were an affront on the fundamental human rights of the protesters to freely express themselves and assemble.

‘In a democratic society, we firmly uphold the belief that the right to peaceful protest is a fundamental pillar of freedoms of expression and assembly,’ OccupyGhana said a statement on Friday.

‘These rights, enshrined in the Constitution, should be unwaveringly upheld and respected by all state institutions.’

The group said the police should have pursued an alternative or less confrontational approach to manage the situation.

It said the arrests had raised questions about the appropriateness of the response by law enforcement agencies.

‘It is important to note that these arrests took place during a time when potential traffic disruptions would have been minimal.’

‘Furthermore, we are reliably informed that there was no court injunction served to the demonstrators, indicating that their right to protest remained fully protected under the law,’ the group said.

OccupyGhana, therefore, demanded a thorough investigation into the circumstances behind the protestors’ arrests to ensure that justice was served, and peaceful demonstrators’ rights were vigorously protected.

The group also urged the police to adhere to the rule of law and to respect the constitutional rights of all citizens.

‘In the interest of nurturing a democratic society where dissenting voices are not merely tolerated but celebrated and respected, we call upon all stakeholders, including the Ghana Police Service and the government, to engage constructively with citizens exercising their constitutional rights,’ it said.

‘We are informed that those who were arrested have now been released, which is a positive development,’ the statement added.

The Police on Thursday arrested about 50 demonstrators who joined hundreds seeking to picket at the Jubilee House, the seat of government.

The arrests took place at the 37 Military Trotro Station where the demonstrators had converged to embark on their planned protest.

The protestors are demanding reforms to lower the cost of living, reduce corruption and improve governance.

The Police have since explained that the Jubilee House is a security installation and were thus seeking a compromise with the organisers over a change of location for the picketing.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Faculty of Law of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) has launched the Law Alumni Association after 13 years after its establishment.

Professor Samuel Kwaku Bonsu, Rector of GIMPA, speaking at the launch held at the school premises, said the Law Alumni Association would provide a platform to promote the Institute’s goal of excellence.

‘The association will provide a platform for extending GIMPA’s commitment to excellence, innovation and service,’ he said.

Prof Bonsu added that the Institute launched the GIMPA Endowment Fund last year with the aim of raising one million cedis to support the GIMPA Faculty of Law.

The Faculty would, therefore, be calling upon some of its new Alumna to aid them in projects, such as taking pro bono cases for prisoners and other important projects of the institution.

Dr Kwaku Agyeman-Budu, Dean of the GIMPA Faculty of Law, in his address, stated that, beginning 2024, the Faculty of Law would be introducing four Master of Laws programmes as part of the road maps of integrating the Faculty and its alumni.

They are: General Master of Laws degree programme, Master of Laws degree in International Trade and Business Law, Master of Laws degree in Dispute Resolution Law and Practice and the Master of Laws in International Criminal Law and Justice.

Dr Agyeman-Budu pointed out that the faculty would leverage the experiences, expertise, and the diversity of networks of the alumni to strengthen the reputation of ‘GIMPA Law’.

‘We intend to leverage on the wealth of knowledge, depth of experience and diversity of networks of our alumni towards strengthening the bonds within the alumni family being birthed today to safeguard GIMPA Law’s reputation as beacon of excellence in legal education in Ghana and beyond,’ he said.

Since 2010, the GIMPA Law Faculty has become one of the best in the country, having trained many renowned personalities.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) remains committed to working with government at all levels in the pursuit of peace and harmony in Nigeria.

Dr Chris Kwaja, the groups Country Manager of USIP, said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja to commemorate the International Day of Peace (IDP), observed around the world on Sept. 21.

The 2023 theme is Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the Global Goals.

Kwaja said “this day is a reaffirmation of our believe in peace as the most viable pathway to a secured and stable world.

“The focus should be about the international day of peace, and the commitment of USIP to work with all actors, government, non governmental, communities and individuals.

“This is towards building peace and restoring trust across all levels of society in Nigeria,” he said.

Kwaja said that peace was a public good that should be treasured by all regardless of religious, ethnic, gender, political and socio- cultural inclinations.

The USIP country manager said that peace was a factor that defined the shared humanity and should be preserved at all cost.

According to him, as government invested in public safety and security, attention should also be given to investments in peacebuilding.

This, he said was by empowering the youths, women and Persons with Disabilities(PWDs), as key levers of peace.

“The same attention should be accorded community level actors working for peace at the grass root.

“Good governance which represents a major pillar of peace should also be upheld by leaders at all levels as a key vehicle for trust building between the government and its citizens,” he said.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria