Day: November 19, 2023

The Volta Chapter of the Ghana Chamber of Entrepreneurs (GCYE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Service Personnel Association (NASPA) in the region to boost youth entrepreneurship skills.

The target, among others, is to implement the Chamber’s National Service Personnel Entrepreneurship Programmes (NASPEP).

Mr Emmanuel Zoe-Agbesi, the Volta Regional Lead of GCYE, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the move was also aimed at promoting entrepreneurship through some key interventions.

‘Other goals of the MoU were to organise NASPEP incubation programmes to offer mentorship, resources, and guidance to nurture innovative business ideas in the service personnel,’ he added.

The MoU would also help to organise a competition to encourage service personnel to develop entrepreneurial solutions to societal challenges.

Mr Zoe-Agbesi further stated that there would be hosting of the annual NASPEP Summit to bring together young entrepreneurs, industry experts, and stakehol
ders for knowledge sharing and networking.

He said the MoU gave NASPA the responsibility to collaborate with them to collectively raise funds for the NASPEP programmes.

‘Both parties would jointly strive to explore funding opportunities from government agencies, private sector, and other relevant sources.’

The amendment or modifications to the MoU shall also be made in writing and agreed upon by both parties and would be governed by the laws of Ghana.

The MoU would last for five years unless terminated by either party in writing with one month’s prior notice.

It was duly signed by Mr Emmanuel Zoe-Agbeko and Livingstone David Agbobada, the Volta regional President of NASPA, and other regional executives.

Some NASPA executives who spoke to the GNA, expressed happiness over the deal and pledged to abide by the regulations.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU-Ghana) has welcomed the government’s decision to recapitalise the National Investment Bank (NIB).

To the Union, this action by the government is a demonstration of saving an institution whose role in the financial industry over the years cannot be taken for granted.

Mr. Morgan Ayawine, the General Secretary of ICU-Ghana, made the commendation as part of its response to the 2024 Budget, presented to Parliament by the Minister of Finance on Wednesday, November 15, 2023.

The government has made a provision of GHS4 billion to address the liquidity issues of NIB, and other distressed Special Deposit taking Institutions (SDIs) in the country.

The amount, which was announced in the 2024 budget, is also expected to take care of some outstanding legacy challenges in the financial sector.

This forms a critical component of the three-year International Monetary Fund (IMF) Programme.

Under the IMF programme, the Bank of Ghana has committed to completing the remaining t
asks from the financial sector cleanup, and these tasks include addressing the insolvency of NIB as well as the long-standing under-capitalisation of several SDIs.

He urged the government to give serious attention to helping other distressed State-Owned Enterprises like Neoplan, Produce Buying Company Limited and Aluworks to improve their operations and contribute to the economy.

He said the Union presented a petition to the government in 2018 and repeated it in September 2023, resulting in a meeting with the Minister of Finance just before the 2024 budget.

He expressed the belief that the recapitalisation would give the NIB a new lease of life to continue its mandate of financing industries in the country for economic development and progress.

He said NIB and other distressed SOEs had contributed immensely to the development of the country and the government should not take their contribution for granted, hence the need to support them to recapitalise.

‘If these Enterprises are supported, they will cont
inue to help the government implement its policies on the unemployment situation of the country,’ he added.

The General-Secretary said the unemployment situation in the country had become dire, indicating that the 2024 budget should not only serve a few people but rather it should benefit all.

Other Executives with the General-Secretary are Mr. Emmanuel Benimah, Deputy General Secretary in charge of Operations and Mr Samuel Ananga, Deputy General Secretary in Charge of Administration and Finance.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Some female flood victims in Mepe have expressed concerns over what they described as privacy breaches at their various safe havens.

They disclosed to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that sharing rooms with their males counterparts had been uneasy since some males did not respect their privacy.

They, therefore, appealed to the authorities to separate victims into males and females to forestall any untoward issues going forward.

Ms. Getrude Nutsukpui, one of the victims, noted that the incident had been recurring and urged authorities to address the issue promptly to safeguard their privacy and well-being.

‘This was the fourth time this had happened to me. Some men who I share the same room with would just barge in mostly when I’m trying to dress up after returning from the bathroom,’ she lamented.

Mrs. Cynthia Adanu also recounted the same experience and called on the camp leaders to help resolve the situation.

She stated that most of the men in her room mostly refuse to give her the space to dress up even
after having her bath.

‘They would just be there. And this makes me feel very bad. There’s no privacy at all. We need help on this, ‘ Mrs Adamu explained.

When GNA contacted Mr. Amos Ahorsu Bolor, the Assembly member for Mepe electoral area, who is also one of the camp leaders, he stated that the victims did not inform him about their challenges in the rooms.

He, however, assured that the situation would be resolved.

He indicated that he would ensure that Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa the Member of Parliament of North Tongu Constituency who was also a key camp leader was notified about the situation for possible measures to be taken.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Tarkwa circuit court has sentenced a 62-year-old illegal miner to 20 years imprisonment in hard labour for pouring liquid suspected to be acid on his former girlfriend, Victoria Salamatu Safia, 35, at Prestea in the Western Region.

John Tandoh alias Kojo Egyaguma, who was convicted of causing harm, pleaded guilty to the charge when he made his first appearance before the presiding judge Mrs Hathia Ama Manu.

As Mrs Manu delivered the sentence, Tandoh kept his head down untill she completed and he was escorted out of the court room by a police officer.

Records from the Tarkwa Local Prison, revealed that in 2012, Tandoh was sentenced to 16 years for a similar offence, but was discharged on Amnesty in June 2020 after severing eight years.

Superintendent of Police Juliana Essel-Dadzie, prosecuting, said Tandoh and the victim lived at Prestea, and were working as partners in an illegal mining site within the vicinity for a year.

She said during the course of work, the convict proposed love to Victoria and
she agreed, and the two had since been living together.

After months, the victim noticed Tandoh’ attitude had changed towards her and always quarreled with her without any provocation, so she advised herself and decided to end the relationship.

On October 20, 2023, at about 0700 hours, the two went to the usual mining site to prospect for gold while going about their respective duties a misunderstanding ensued between them and Tandoh left for town, the prosecutor said.

Superintendent Essel-Dadzie informed the court that after few minutes, Tandoh returned to the site with a bowl covered with a polythene bag and the victim though it was food.

Prosecution said the convict walked towards the victim, attacked her and poured the liquid suspected to be acid on her head, face, and other parts of the body.

The victim sustained severe burns screamed in pain for assistance and a witness who was working nearby went to the scene, and attempted to apprehend Tandoh but he pulled a kitchen knife and threatened to stab h
im and bolted.

Superintendent Essel-Dadzie said Victoria was rushed to the Prestea Government hospital, where she is currently on admission receiving treatment.

The prosecutor said on the same day at about 1430 hours, Tandoh was arrested from his hideout and handed over to the police in Prestea.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Bagbin, has implored Members of Parliament (MPs) to be intentional in their actions to improve the welfare of their constituents.

That, he said, could be achieved by MPs embodying honour through their actions.

‘We cannot overlook the fact that the media and public auditors of ethics, performance and standards monitor us constantly we cannot remain oblivious to their watchful eyes; it is about time we wake up to this reality.

‘As leaders, it is our duty. We can earn a badge of honour beyond the mere title of Honourable. Let us strive to be known for honourable deeds and character, not just our appended labels,’ he said.

Mr Bagbin made the appeal when he addressed MPs at the opening of the 2023 two-day post-budget Workshop held at Parliament House, Accra.

The annual post-budget Workshop has the primary goal of equipping MPs and Senior Officers of the Parliamentary Service with the skills required for scrutinising the Budget and Economic Policy of the Executive arm of go
vernment for the 2024 fiscal year.

It also has the objective of providing MPs with insight into the budget, interrogating to provide an effective oversight role that articulates the government’s policies and programmes.

The key expected outcomes would be quality deliberations of the statement on the floor of the House in the ensuing day’s relevant legislation and the ultimate Appropriation Act for the 2024 financial year.

He, therefore reminded the MPs of their duties to their representatives who had invested their trust in them and were looking forward to them to prove their worthiness of the title duty bearers.

He said according to the Afrobarometer Survey Report (round 91 conducted in July 2022, there was an indication of trust deficit in democratic institutions in the country.

‘Per the trust ratings, the courts have ten per cent; the President 14 per cent; the Electoral Commission ten per cent and the Parliament eight per cent.

‘Honourable members we must change our minds, attitudes and the ways we
conduct ourselves and our business. If you are not worried about the ratings. I’m really distressed,’ Mr Bagbin said.

The five-themed plenary session had discussions centred around a Contextual Overview of the 2024 Budget-Macro Economic, Fiscal Environment and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) presented by Dr Alhassan Iddrisu of the Ministry of Finance, while the Public Sector Debt Management – A Comparative Analysis was exemplified by Mr Samuel Arkhurst also of the Ministry of Finance.

Professor Osei Akoto of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) took the MPs through the Policy Objectives and Target of 2022 Compared to 2024 Objectives and Targets Comparative Analysis.

‘What to Consider in Analysis of the 2024 Sector Budgets – How to Analyse and Critique a National Budget was a presentation by Dr Alex Amankwa Poku of the Ministry of Finance with an exposition on How to use the Appendices in the Budget Statement for Analysis and PBB Estimates by Professor Daniel Twerefour.’

O
ther topics discussed at the two-day workshop focused on the Administration, Economic, Infrastructure and Social sectors.

Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister for Finance said the 2024 budget had been prepared to ensure the accelerated implementation of the Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG) to safeguard the recent macroeconomic gains, expand investments to implement the new growth strategy and chart a new course.

It is also to consolidate and complete ongoing projects to improve productivity and welfare as well as mobilise climate finance to enable the government build resilience and promote climate-sensitive growth.

He said: ‘Mr Speaker, on the provision of growth, including the clearance of road arrears in this budget, this government wants to demonstrate our resolve to build a robust infrastructure network. On statutory funds, we have budgeted for arrears clearance.’

Mr Ofori-Atta urged participants to engage in the workshop with an open mind, and critical eyes.

He called for a partnership that would get
the economy thriving.

‘Mr Speaker, I know with determination we can achieve these lofty goals to maintain the primary balance that is possible.

‘Mr Speaker, this is a time to gather, mend and for peace.,’ he said.

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader, urged MPs to ensure the budget optimally matched the country’s resources to support vulnerable groups in society.

He also called on the MPs to strengthen their roles which would bring their perspectives to bear.

Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Minority Leader, said it was possible for the government to hurriedly start projects without dedicated funding sources to satisfy unplanned campaign promises in 2024.

‘Mr Speaker, overspending is the order of the day in an election year, and to satisfy unplanned campaign promises, projects are hurriedly commenced without dedicated funding sources, and organised labour is assured of improved conditions of service without regard to its impact on the wage bill,’ he said.

The 2024 Budget Statement and Economic
Policy of the Government was presented to Parliament by Mr Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance on Wednesday, November 15, 2023, on the theme: ‘Pursuing Growth and Development within a Stable Macroeconomic Environment.’

It had also been described by the Government as the ‘Nkunim’ Budget or the 2024 Victory Budget.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Madam Susan Adu-Aryee, the Chairperson of the Advocacy and Project Committee of the Zonta Club of Accra Metropolitan, has admonished the youth to experience Artificial Intelligence (AI) responsibly because of its immense opportunities and challenges.

She gave the warning during a webinar organised by the Zonta Club of Accra Metropolitan (ZCAM) in collaboration with other Zonta clubs in Ghana as they commemorated the 104th Zonta Day across the world on November 8, 2023.

The webinar was on topic: ‘Preparing the youth to adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Digital Transformation Era.’

The selected topic was gleaned from Zonta International’s Universal theme of Digitalization this year.

Individuals and professional women and men from various sectors as well as administrators, and about 2,000 students from Senior High Schools including Holy Child School, Accra Girls, Labone, St Louis Kumasi, Achimota and O’Reilly participated in the webinar.

The two-hour webinar was delivered by two seasoned resource p
ersons, Mr Richard Osei-Anim, a Managing Partner of the Hatchery and Coral Reef Innovation Group and Dr Mrs Anane-Mensah, an HR Management Practitioner, a Counselling Psychologist and a Leadership Development Coach.

Mrs Lauretta Yetsa Aryeetey, the President of the Zonta Accra Metropolitan Club of Ghana, told the audience that the Zonta International was founded in 1919 and that it was a leading organisation of professionals, empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy.

She said it has more than 28,000 members who belonged to more than 1100 Zonta Clubs in 63 countries and geographical areas.

‘Zontians all over the world, volunteer their time, talents and support to Local and international service projects,’ she stated, and emphasised that digitalization and AI had a profound impact on the daily reality of the youth.

Mrs Aryeetey said digitalization and AI were increasing at a rapid pace and therefore it was important that Ghanaian youth also adopt them intentionally and responsibly.

‘Young pe
ople in all parts of the world are currently exploring AI as an emerging field to gain relevant skills, pursue unusual careers and accelerate innovation and learning. All these will contribute to shaping their own future and the future of technology globally,’ she stated.

She said: ‘This webinar was meant to present young people, especially girls, the opportunity to better understand the reality of digitization in their lives, the implications of digitalization and AI in their work and social lives and the degree to which they must prepare and adapt to face the challenges and opportunities these trends have to offer now and in the near future.’

Mr Richard Osei-Anim, who gave an overview of AI, its specific concepts while using context specific scenarios, said some of the technical and social skills the youth needed to empower themselves in the Ghanaian context as well as skills required for AI related jobs and ethics.

He told the audience that, globally the demand for AI skills had increased by 450 per cen
t and the world’s data, if supported by AI will grow ten fold in the next 10 years and that ‘The next generation of jobs will require AI to solve problems in a faster and more efficient manner.’

The students expressed concern about AI replacing humans, but they were informed that AI would rather enhance the work of human in different fields and not replace humans in many disciplines.

They were advised to be conscious of how AI could support them in their learning and their world of work, so that they could take advantage of it.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr. Benjamin Azumah, a level 400 Medical Student of the University of Health And Allied Sciences (UHAS), Ho, has advised communities to guard against open defecation and indiscriminate dumping of refuse.

This, he said, would go a long way to prevent the outbreak of diseases such as cholera and typhoid.

Mr. Azumah gave the advice when he led a group of level 400 students of the school on an outreach programme at Adaklu Kodzobi in the Adaklu district.

He reminded the residents to take precautionary measures and keep their surroundings always clean to prevent the spread of diseases, adding ‘it is better to prevent disease than falling sick and look for remedy for such disease.’

Mr. Azumah said many diseases could be prevented if they led a hygienic lifestyles.

He called on them to regularly visit health facilities to check their blood and sugar levels and also eat balanced diets, especially the pregnant women.

Mr. Azumah entreated husband’s to encourage and take their wives to antenatal clinics regularly.

‘Your first point of call when you are sick is the hospital and not a prayer centre as not all diseases are due to spiritual attacks,’ he cautioned.

He suggested to the community to enact a bylaw to make open defecation and indiscriminate dumping of waste a punishable offence.

As part of the outreach programme, the students organised a free medical screening for the community and offered medication.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Vinaco Seed of Hope Foundation, a religious NGO, has given medical care to some 150 aged in the Nygeresia Community in the Western Region.

The Nygeresia Community, mainly fishers, have relatively aged population with different kinds of diagnosis and the medical outreach was to help them know their health status, seek help to improve upon their living.

Evangelist Vincent Ahun, the Founder of the Foundation, told the Ghana News Agency that he was moved to establish the foundation some 13 years ago after visiting the city of Durban in a church called the Good News Centre, where thousands of all manner of persons were fed daily.

He said, ‘I was really moved to see the need of the vulnerable in the community being met by the church of God and after careful Prayer consideration, I started the foundation which had given hope to many children in our catchment area….what we are now looking for is partnership with other well-meaning groups to do more’.

Evangelist Ahun said the Ituma Community had also been tar
geted for the kind act.

Earlier, Ms. Maribel Okine, the Western Regional Director for the Department of Gender, educated the aged to be mindful of the physiological changes that came with aging and seek early medical care.

She also urged communities to properly support the aged and stop calling them ‘evil’ names as it undermined their dignity and sense of belonging.

The Gender Director also asked them to use their experiences in life to guide the younger generation to be better versions of them; ‘know that you aren’t alone in this stage of life; we are here to support you also’.

Enrolled Nurse, Martina Amankwah, from the Essikado Hospital who led the team of Health care professionals to undertake the exercise mentioned increased BP as common factor running through the exercise.

She encouraged them to stop excessive salt intake, rest more and also exercise to improve their conditions.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Western North National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has organized a blood donation exercise to support the Sefwi-Wiawso Government Hospital Blood Bank as part of activities to mark the 20th anniversary of the scheme.

The blood donation exercise is under the theme: ‘Health Heroes, 20 Years Strong’.

In an address, the Western North Regional Director of the scheme, Mr Gordon Amoh Boahen, said apart from the blood donation exercise, the scheme would also embark on a door-to-door sensitization on the MYNHIS APP for new registration.

MYNHIS App is an online registration platform where people can comfortably sit anywhere and use any mobile phone to sign up to the NHIS.

He said the anniversary is a year-long programme, beginning in November 2023 and ending in September 2024.

The Regional Director said the NHIS had added to its benefits package the four childhood cancers, which comprise acute lymphoblastic, leukemia, Burkitt lymphoma, retinoblastoma and Wilms tumor.

He said family planning had also been a
dded to the NHIS benefit package.

Mr Kofi Asmah, the Medical Laboratory Scientist of the Sefwi- Wiawso Government Hospital, lauded the NHIS for the initiative and said the blood donated would go long way to save lives of people, especially women and children.

The exercise was participated in by all the staff from the seven district offices of the NHIA in the Western North Region as well as the regional office staff of the Authority.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Justina Onumah, a Senior Research Scientist, Science and Technology Policy Research Institute of the CSIR-Ghana, has launched the ‘GirledUp’ Initiative to mentor, inspire and provide resource support to girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education.

She said representation and exposure of the young girls mattered if they were to be seen breaking barriers in the areas of STEM.

‘For girls and women in STEM, the challenge is not pursuance in STEM but persistence in STEM to ensure they don’t give up along the way,’ she said.

With mentorship and guidance, she said GirledUp Ghana would support girls to persist in STEM and become the biggest possibilities of themselves, adding ‘We want to see girls of diversity and technological advancement one day.’

Without providing support systems for girls, Dr Onumah said there was a challenge as the world needed more people in Science and considering the more females across the globe, girls had a critical role to play in it.

She called for
inclusivity to enable boys and girls work together to produce problem-solving initiatives.

Professor Nkechi S. Owoo of the World Bank Development Economics Research Group, Washington DC, called on parents and guardians not to buy toy cars for their sons and dolls for their daughters.

If the country could not bridge the gap between Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, she said providing equal opportunities right from home to schools for both sex was the first step to achieve that.

‘The idea that when there is a difficult subject, especially in STEM, a girl cannot do it and must leave it for a boy must be scrapped off,’ she advised.

Dr Lucy Agyepong, Dean of Engineering, Academic City University College, said how STEM was taught in basic schools contributed to inability of students to understand or relate to it.

She condemned the impression given about STEM education as an area for males, adding: ‘If one says a woman’s role is in the kitchen, then that’s the more reason they s
hould do STEM because putting oil and other food stuff together to become a whole meal is chemistry.’

While advising girls, she said: ‘Don’t let anybody tell you, you can’t do it. I want to encourage all of you to trust in your ability. When you put in the work, you will get the results. We want to hold your hand to help you in this journey to make you successful than any of us you see here. We are behind you and wish you hundred percent success..’

Ms Zulaiha Dobia Abdullah, Founder of Divaloper, reiterated that getting girls technological toys to start playing games at home could help to trigger their interest in STEM.

She admonished parents to enrol their children in institutions where they could get STEM opportunities to learn coding and robotics among others.

She entreated parents to use social media to enlighten girls at home about opportunities in STEM, adding: ‘Girls, please be bold in your decision, and smart with your books to be of relevance in your community, country, Africa and the world at la
rge.’

Mrs Larisa Akrofie, Founder of Levers in Heels, admonished girls to do research about the fields they were interested in and have role models they could relate to.

She said research had shown that girls who attended single sex schools were more confident than those who attended unisex schools, a situation that called for attention.

‘Many girls have low self esteem due to society and so teachers and parents need to come together to bring out their confidence and offer them similar opportunities given to boys to enable them excel,’ she added.

Mr Chris Coons, a Senator from Delaware, USA, in a recorded video, commended Dr Onumah for the initiative and encouraged the Initiative to be strong and build mentorship networks for girls to dream big, adding that GirledUp Ghana had what it took to change the lives of girls in Ghana.

The initiative was launched with support from the Mandela Washington Fellowship Reciprocal Exchange Programme.

Source: Ghana News Agency