Day: October 14, 2023

A delegation from 24 top universities in China has held an exhibition at the University of Ghana to offer prospective students the opportunity to apply for scholarships to Chinese universities and become envoys of cultural exchanges. Mr Lu Kun, the Chinese Ambassador, who opened the exhibition, said China welcomed talented Ghanaian students to study in that country’s universities, experience development, learn the Chinese culture and make friends. The event was organised by the China Scholarship Council, in collaboration with the Chinese Embassy, the Ministry of Education and the Confucius Institute of the University of Ghana. Mr Lu said the Embassy would continue to support the academic pursuit of Ghanaian students in China. ‘It is estimated that more than 6,500 Ghanaian students study in China, ranking the second among all African countries for many consecutive years,’ he said. He commended the Scholarship Council for choosing Ghana to host the Education Exhibition, saying; ‘This is the first overseas exhibition held by the Council on campus since the COVID-19 pandemic.’ The delegation only visits Ghana and Egypt, making Ghana the preferred destination in sub-Saharan Africa, which signifies the importance the Chinese Government attached to Ghana, as an education hub. Ghana firmly abided by the one-China principle and actively supported China on issues concerning human rights, which he deeply appreciated, Mr Lu said. There had been three Confucius Institutes in Ghana – the University of Ghana, the University of Cape Coast, and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, where more than 10,000 students were learning Chinese. Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education, said China’s higher educational system had long been celebrated for its unwavering commitment to excellence, innovation and research. He lauded China for positioning itself as a global leader in higher education. Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana, in a speech read on her behalf, said the first Confucius Institute in Ghana was inaugurated in 2013, which started operations in 2014 when the first Ghanaian and Chinese directors were appointed. That, she said, had improved the opportunities for students in their undergraduate Chinese programme and others outside their programme to learn the Chinese Language and Culture. ‘Thus, more of our students are getting to study in China with varying levels of support from the China Scholarship Council as well as host universities.’ The Vice Chancellor commended the Scholarship Council for the support and appealed to China for more scholarship to enhance educational and cultural exchanges between the two countries. Mr Sheng Jianxue, the Secretary-General of the Scholarship Council, said the exhibition served as a platform for educational exchange to strengthen the China-Ghana connectivity for enhanced higher education. That would go a long way to consolidate cooperation between Chinese and Ghanaian universities and support the two-way flow of students and scholars, thereby promoting extensive exchange and mutual learning, he noted.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpe, the Member of Parliament (MP) of Keta in the Volta Region, has organised a free ear screening exercise for students in the constituency. The exercise, in collaboration with the Keta Municipal Health Directorate and Centre for Hearing and Speech Service (CHSS) at the Department of Special Education from the University of Winneba, was aimed at reducing the number of ear-related cases among children in the area. Dr Emmanuel Acheampong, the Coordinator and a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Special Education, Faculty of Behavioral Science at the University of Winneba, disclosed to the GNA that students with severe ear cases would be given medications. ‘We have targeted to screen about 2,000 students on various ear problems within the period.’ He further indicated that the ear served as an important organ that aided in communication, ‘and its malfunctioning affects the whole human body system.’ ‘In education, ear and hearing play a very vital role so if students cannot hear properly, he or she is cut off,’ he added. Mr Gakpe, on his part, expressed appreciation to the organisers for the support. He urged parents to assist their children in the exercise, and ensure regular exercise and check-ups for their well-being. Mr Gakpe said the screening exercise for the young ones was also aimed at improving quality education in the area. ‘We expect the exercise to take place in all basic schools in the constituency.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Kwadwo Amoah, Ashanti Regional Ophthalmologist, has urged the citizenry to desist from the use of unorthodox remedies for eye problems and rather, resort to certified health facilities for proper diagnosis and treatment of eye problems. He said more often than not, some people with eye problems resort to the use of herbal concoctions and other unorthodox treatment practices and it was when the problem escalated that they try to seek Ophthalmologist intervention. This situation, he said, was worrying and called for public education on the dangers associated with unorthodox remedies on the eye. Dr Amoah made the call during an interaction with journalists after a free eye screening exercise organized for workers of the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi. It was organized by Orbis International Ghana in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service as part of activities marking this year’s World Sight Day. This year’s celebration was under the theme: ‘Love your sight at work’, a global call to all corporate leaders to prioritize their workers eye health and understand the importance of the vision at the?work place. World Sight Day is a global event observed annually on October 12, and aims at creating awareness and addressing issues related to eye health to help eradicate vision impairment and blindness. Dr Amoah explained that vision loss was insidious, and often robbing individuals of their sight before they even realized it. It was, therefore, imperative that people prioritized eye health alongside other essential health interventions to ensure that problems could be diagnosed, treated, and, in many cases, cured. He said eye care and rehabilitation services should be accessible, inclusive, and affordable to everyone, regardless of their location or socio-economic status. He was, however, worried about the use of the media to advertise all kinds of products and facilities, which claimed to have treatment for eye problems and asked the media to put a stop to that. Dr. Adolf Ollenu, Programmes Director for Orbis International Ghana, said it was very important to bring eye care closer to the work place since most workers don’t have time to check the status of their eye. He said people must understand the importance of caring for their own eye health and demand access to services, free from any social stigma. ‘No matter where you are or what job you do, it is important to prioritize and protect your eye health at work’, he stated. Some of the people who took part in the eye screening exercise thanked Orbis International Ghana, and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) for bringing the eye screening closer to them.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Area has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA) to step up actions on renewable energy and climate action plan. The CoM SSA is a major catalyst for local climate actions in the Region built on political commitment of local government, supporting cities in meeting the dual challenges of climate change and access to sustainable energy to achieve a low emission, climate resilient and sustainable energy future. The project works around three pillars: development of Sustainable energy access, climate action plan, Urban infrastructure project support and city to city partnerships. Ms. Shea O’ Neil, the Project Manager for Ghana, at the signing said: ‘We have already witnessed the passion, priorities of your Mayor and his team to make STMA more resilient to climate change.’ She prayed that the MoU would not be on paper only but transcend to the ground. ‘Let it be entrenched in the day to day lives of the people on the city and improve upon livelihoods…we are enthused about your bold step and CoM SSA is ready to support the city immediately beginning with assessment of the STMA public buildings for renewable energy solutions,’ she said. Mr. Abdul Mumin Issah, the Metropolitan Chief Executive of the STMA, said the city needed to create an energy balance and pledged active participation to achieve the objectives of the CoM SSA. Dr. Charles Abbey from the GIZ noted the urgent need to integrate climate change actions into local plans . The CoM SSA works in 12,500 cities worldwide, 250 in SSA. They are in eight cities in Ghana. They are funded by the European Union and the BMZ to provide technical assistance to plan effective actions to respond to climate change, support Sustainable urban infrastructure and facilitate cooperation among local authorities.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A lifeless male body has been discovered floating on the Volta Lake at Asutuare in the Shai-Osudoku District of the Greater Accra Region. The deceased is believed to be one of the Chinese engaged in tilapia farming on the lake. Mr Jonathan Kwablah, the Assemblyman of the Asutuare Electoral Area, told the Ghana News Agency that he was alerted about the floating body and called the police. It is believed the man went fishing on the lake or went to work on his tilapia farm and got drowned due to the heavy spillage of the Akosombo and Kpong dams by the Volta River Authority (VRA). Mr Kwablah said with the assistance of some community members, the Asutuare police were able to recover the body, which was decomposing. A police officer also told the Ghana News Agency that the body was sent to the Akuse Government Hospital Mortuary, but the hospital rejected its preservation due to its decomposed nature. It was, therefore, buried at the Asutuare cemetery, he said. Mr Kwablah said the spillage had displaced more than 500 residents of Asutuare and its environs and affected coconut plantations, with about 100 hectares of rice farms, which were almost ready for harvesting, submerged. The VRA has started controlling spills at the Akosombo and Kpong dams in recent days due to the constant rise in water levels. Hundreds of residents in communities along the river, including Asutuare, Akate, Ahenbrom, Meppe, and Battor are bearing the brunt of the spillage.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Over 112 households along the River Oti in the Krachi East Municipality have been submerged due to the rising water due to continuous heavy rains and the Spillage of Bagre Dam at Burkina Faso. The most affected people are from Teflekodzi, Wulubu, Kudorkope, Adakponu, Kerpodzi, Korvekorpe, and Asikanfo-Ambatem, among others all in Krachi East in the Oti Region. About 47 acres of cassava and groundnut farms have been destroyed with several houses submerged by floods. A statement released signed by Mr Jacob Dasievor, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) Secretariat from Krachi East to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said the flooding rendered the victims homeless without shelter and a lot more losing properties. The statement said there were no casualties recorded, however the estimated cost of the disaster was in the thousands of cedis. The statement further said some relief items were needed to sustain the victims such as shelter tents to serve as temporal source of accommodation, food items and cooking oils, clothing and any other items needed to relief the victims. Additionally, the victims will be appreciated for government of Ghana, non-governmental organisations and external donor partners to support them. Mr Dasievor told the GNA that they were liaising with NGOs for support as community visitation is embarked for sensitisation?and?education.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A pro poor project, dubbed ‘Buy me a goat’ has been launched at Chuchuliga, a community in the Builsa North Municipality of the Upper East Region. The project aims to offer children within Chuchuliga and its environs the opportunity to own and breed goats to support their upkeep and education. A total of 200 nanny goats were shared to pupils between the ages of five to ten years from various schools within Chuchuliga and other adjoining communities in the Municipality. The pupils, as part of the project, also received 200 mango tree seedlings, organic manure to help plant the tree seedlings and stationeries, including pencils, exercise and story books among others. The Founder of the Project, Mr Herb McClaugherty, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Chuchuliga after the launch, said the project was expected to run until every child in the community owned a goat. He said the project would be scaled up to other rural communities in the Region so that every child would own a goat. On how the project came about, Mr McClaugherty said, ‘In 2012, I was walking down a path at Sagadugu in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region, and a little boy pulled my sleeve and said buy me a goat. I thought about that for a few seconds. ‘The little boy was called Joshua Sampana. I asked him, why do you want a goat? And he said I feel that if I have a goat, I have something tangible, and if I breed the goat, my mother will have enough money to buy me uniform to go to school. ‘Joshua was not attending school,’ Mr McClaugherty recalled. He said little Joshua, therefore, ignited the initiative to buy goats for children, and indicated that the project was the fourth of its kind after it started at Sagadugu until it was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Founder, an American from West Virginia, United States, said, ‘We came up with 200 goats which is more than we normally do. The most we have ever done is a 100, and we hope to be able to do this in the neighborhoods that need them the most in Northern Ghana.’ Mr McClaugherty said the project would be done annually until every child had a goat, and called on parents to ensure that they assisted their children to breed the goats. He said if the offspring of the goats would be bought by the project to give to more children. ‘We asking their parents to breed them, and the first goat that they would get from breeding, we will buy from them and give to children without goats. So, we encourage them to keep the female goats and keep breeding,’ he said. Mr McClaugherty acknowledged the support of friends, family members and benevolent people who contributed to the success of the project, and reiterated the need for parents of the beneficiary children to ensure the project succeeded. A parent from the Yipaala community, Mr Gabriel Aboriguuk, whose son benefited from the project, expressed gratitude to the Founder and management of the project, in an interview with the GNA. ‘We are predominantly farmers, so we are happy that this project has come to help us care for our children. We thank them very much on behalf of our children, and we are happy that the welfare of the children is of concern to them,’ the parent said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A group, calling itself ‘Coalition of Immediate Past MMDCEs’ has petitioned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over what they referred to as ‘delay in the payment of salary differentials.’ The statement said the immediate past Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) have been denied payment of their salary differentials which accumulated for the four-year period they served the government. In a letter signed by Mr Leo-Nelson Adzidogah, Leader of the group and a former MCE for Akatsi South, it said they remained worried about the issue after fulfilling all the requirements extended to them. ‘Your Excellency, with the greatest respect, we the immediate past MMDCEs deem it expedient to draw your high attention to the delay in the payment of our salary differentials which accumulated over the four years 2017 to 2021 that we conscientiously served your government.’ ‘Mr. President, since we wrote a letter of request for payment of the salary differentials, we have been told to prove whether we deserve the claim we are making.’ ‘We find it extremely unpleasant to draw the attention of your officials to the payment your government made to the NDC MMDCEs who left office in 2017,’ the statement read. They further argued that the NPP government paid other former MMDCEs under the NDC regime promptly, which showed the mark of a responsible government ‘but when it is now the turn of your appointees, the immediate past MMDCEs, your officials in charge of MMDCEs are exhibiting irritating reluctance to pay us.’ The statement also explained that the hesitant manner introduced to pay the MMDCEs was severely putting their firm resolve to contribute their quota to win the 2024 elections in reverse gear. ‘Your Excellency, we are now experiencing severe hardship with our families. It is difficult to survive as we have nothing to live on. The inability to accord a modicum of respect to the former MMDCEs of this government is very much irritating, worrying, and disappointing.’ They are therefore, humbly appealing to the President for his timely intervention, saying ‘We do not want the issue to get out of hand with the delay.’

Source: Ghana News Agency