Day: November 24, 2023

Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) has renovated the Asueyi Community Daycare and Kindergarten School in the Techiman North District of the Bono Region.

The facility, costing GHC400,000, has a new play area, washrooms for boys and girls, mechanized borehole with improved water access, new tables and chairs, for teachers and pupils as well as a 40-inches coloured flat screen television.

Hitherto, the pupils attended classes in an old, dilapidated school block, which according to the school authorities was not only a death trap but impeded effective teaching and learning.

Because of the bad condition of the old school block, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) gathered from residents that the school children could not attend school during the rainy seasons.

Additionally, the company presented learning and teaching materials, including quantities of exercise books, pencils, erasers, as well as reading and stories books.

Speaking at a handing over ceremony held at Asueyi, a farming community, near Techiman, Engine
er Ebenezer Kofi Essienyi, the Chief Executive Officer of GRIDCo said the gesture formed part of the company’s corporate social responsibility commitment that focused on educational support in its operational areas.

Align with GRIDCo’s core value of safety, the company’s attention was drawn to the severe deterioration of the school building and the potential hazard it posed to the young children.’, he stated.

GRIDCO therefore undertook a full refurbishment of existing structures with the addition of other essential amenities.

As the foundation of a prosperous future, Mr Essienyi said by providing the upgraded classrooms, GRIDCo was investing in the education and development of the young minds in Asueyi, aiming to empower them, to pursue diverse career paths such as engineering, medicine, finance, administration, academia and law, ultimately making a positive impact on the community.

‘The generous donation aligns with Goal Four of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on quality education for
all’, Mr Essienyi indicated.

‘GRIDCo anticipates positive outcomes from this support, emphasizing its commitment to fulfilling Ghana’s power transmission needs while actively contributing to the country’s educational development and sustainable practices’, Mr Essienyi added.

Mr Raymond Gamor, the Head Teacher of the school thanked the company for the gesture, saying the school needed more tables and chairs for the 120 students and pupils.

He said the school also required more teaching and learning materials and appealed to other organisations and corporate bodies to come to their aid.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Many different concepts and factors are measurable. Most often, Length, Area, Volume, Mass, and Time are measured on daily basis and almost everyone can measure them.

Radiations are also measurable. The National Institute of Standards and Technology says metrology is the science of measurement and its application. A metrologist then is a scientist who develops processes and systems used to measure these concepts and objects.

Do not confuse metrologist with meteorologist. The latter studies the earth’s atmosphere (climate and weather) to be able to forecast weather conditions.

All humans and the environment are exposed to low level radiations, commonly known as background radiation, and they have adapted to these radiations.

The application of radiations and radioactive materials for human benefit is termed practice. These human activities add to the background radiation to result in elevated radiation exposure of persons.

The practices include the production of radiation sources and radioactive material
s used in medicine, research, industry, agriculture, and teaching; the generation of nuclear power, the management of radioactive waste; and mining activities.

A survey meter indicating the background radiation level in a lab.

There are standards that govern these practices and are intended to reduce exposure of persons working with radiations and radioactive materials to levels as low as reasonably allowable (ALARA). For this to be achieved radiation metrology plays a key role.

To detect the presence of radiation and subsequently quantify it, there is the need for a range of detectors that can be put into two main categories: active and passive detectors. They are also known as dosimeters.

While active dosimeters produce a radiation-induced signal that displays a direct reading of the detected radiation (dose) or detected radiation per unit time (dose

rate) in real-time, passive dosimeters store the radiation-induced signal in the device, which must be processed later, and the output analysed.

This mak
es active dosimeters like survey meters, contamination monitors, and electronic personal dosimeters a preferred choice, even though passive and the active dosimeters are often used together to complement each other.

Active dosimeters can give either a continuous readout of current dose rate, or cumulative dose or both. Active dosimeters can also warn the person wearing it when a specified dose rate or a cumulative dose is exceeded through audio-visual alarms.

Passive dosimeters like film, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), and Thermoluminescence Dosimeter (TLD) badges are usually worn for a month, or longer, by a person on-duty before the accumulated dose is processed and known.

In Ghana that legal period is three months. These devices are often used in places where some personnel are exposed to low levels of radiation on a periodic basis like radiology and radiotherapy units in hospitals, mines, and oil and gas industries.

The active and passive dosimeters collectively are known as radiation protec
tion dosimeters as they help in protecting humans and the environment against the harmful effects of radiation.

An identiFINDER used to detect, locate, measure, and identify the radioactive material producing the radiation.

All radiation protection dosimeters need to be checked and certified that their readouts are comparable with other dosimeters elsewhere in the world.

This is done by comparing their measurement abilities under standard reference environmental conditions with an instrument of the highest metrological quality called Primary Standard that permits determination of the unit of a quantity from its definition.

This process is called calibration. The laboratories hosting these radiation primary standards are known as Primary Standard Dosimetry Laboratories (PSDL).

Their purpose is to develop, maintain, and improve primary standards in radiation dosimetry. There are only 18 PSDLs in the world. The accuracy of the primary standards in each of these laboratories have been verified by comparison
with each other.

There are millions of dosimeters in use worldwide, and all cannot be sent to these 18 PSDLs for checking. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), therefore, established a Network of Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratories (SSDL) in 1976 to be a link between the PSDLs and field dosimeters.

These SSDLs have secondary standards that are calibrated in the PSDLs and they in turn calibrate radiation detectors in use in various countries.

With this arrangement, the SSDLs provide traceability route for equipment to the international system of units. SSDLs improve the accuracy of radiation dosimetry and are designated as national dosimetry standards.

The aim of the Network is to disseminate and encourage correct use of the dosimetry quantities and units through the proper calibration of field instruments by the SSDLs.

The IAEA has a Dosimetry Laboratory that is the central laboratory of the Network and plays a key role by providing reference dosime
ter calibrations, comparisons, reference irradiations and postal dose-audit services to member states.

Ghana has an SSDL, which is a member of the WHO/IAEA Network of SSDLs and used to be the only one in West Africa until Nigeria got one some years ago. Ghana’s SSDL undertakes radiation protection level calibrations and has calibrated thousands of equipment over the years.

These are used in the oil and gas industry, health sector, mines, ports and harbours, research labs, food and beverage industries, and related fields.

All users of radiation detection and measuring devices in Ghana are mandated by regulations to calibrate their devices once in every year. Other African countries also use the services of Ghana’s SSDL.

The Government and people of Ghana must continue to lend their support to the Ghana SSDL so that the laboratory can continue to render quality service to ensure the protection of people and the environment.

It is at the heart of the peaceful applications of ionising radiations for human be
nefit and is hosted by the Radiation Protection Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC).

(Dr Collins Azah is a Research Scientist, Health Physicist, Dosimetrist, and the Head of Ghana SSDL.)

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ghana EXIM Bank (GEXIM) has presented a tractor and its accessories worth GhS 711, 000 to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) towards the National Farmers’ Day celebrations.

The tractor is an LS plus 80 (80 horsepower) which comes with the plough, harrow and boom sprayer with a lifespan of 30 years if maintained well.

The donation is a sponsorship prize for the 1st Runner-up of the 39th National Farmers’ Day that comes off December 1 at Tarkwa in the Western Region.

Ghana EXIM Bank has been sponsoring this prize for 23 years now and sees financing in the Agriculture sector as crucial to the nation’s development, especially adding value through processing for exports.

Mr Bright Evans Darko, Head, SME Banking, GEXIM, who presented the tractor on behalf of Mr Lawrence Agyinsam, CEO of the bank, said the support was to motivate hardworking farmers and fishers to continue to play their critical role in the sector.

‘Exim Bank has been interested in agriculture and agro processing, thereby making G
hanaian goods competitive in the global market place. We believe that if agriculture is supported and financed well it will overall impact the development of the country,’ he said.

Mr Darko said the tractor would help the winner to mechanise his or her farming practices, adding that research had shown that mechanisation saved a lot of time, increase productivity and yields.

Mr Yaw Frimpong, Deputy Minister for MoFA and Chairman of the 39th Farmers’ Day Planning Committee, said the gesture by GEXIM would deepen the sustainable way of agriculture production after receiving the tractor.

‘We shall encourage them to continue doing it for the sake of our farmers because this goes long way to increase their productivity. All these contribute to ensuring food security,’ he said.

Mr Frimpong said we were in an era where climate change kept affecting the world and we ought to do irrigation and have pest and disease resistance crops so we could large scale farming across the country since substantial farming would n
ot take us anywhere.

This year’s National Farmers’ Day Celebrations provides an opportunity to highlight the importance of sustainable agriculture practices, celebrate the contributions of farmers, and reflect on the positives.

The theme for the event is ‘Delivering Smart Solutions for Sustainable Food Security and Resilience,’ and some organisations including OMNI Fert, New Okaff and Green Energy Ghana had donated bags of fertilizers and inputs to support the event.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Nuclear Power Institute (NPI) has cautioned against political expediency in ensuring a full implementation of Ghana’s nuclear power programme and project to transform the economy sustainably.

While noting that funding and public fear were threats to Ghana’s journey of adding nuclear to its energy mix, the Institute said the number one risk to the implementation of the country’s nuclear power programme and project was politics.

Professor Seth Debrah, Director, NPI, said this at the end of a three-day training programme for some media professionals in Accra on the theme: ‘Shaping the perception of nuclear power technology in Ghana, the Media factor’.

He said it was time political parties governed the country with long-term national development plans and not four-year manifestos.

He said a long-term development plan would find a place for the development and management of nuclear power programme and project for reliable, safe, and affordable electricity to power industries for a transformative economy.

‘
A nuclear power programme is not for four years, and the project implementation does not even take four years to be completed [it takes a minimum of six to 12 years]. It transcends political visions and parties,’ he said.

On the economic capacities of a nuclear plant, Prof Debrah gave an example in UK, where a couple turned food vending business at the start of a nuclear power plant into a £1 million business.

Prof Debrah, a Nuclear Scientist, encouraged Ghanaians to embrace nuclear energy as the country worked towards establishing its first nuclear power plant by 2030, reiterating its safety.

‘Although we cannot ignore the risks of a nuclear power plant, including accidents and radiations, it’s important to know that there’s zero margin of error, and adopting it has the tendency to change standards in our country,’ he said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Wisdom Ahiataku-Togobo, Director, Renewable Energy, Bui Power Authority (BPA), says, nuclear power is the surest base-load for reliable, affordable, safe, and clean energy for Ghana’s industrialisation.

He, therefore, urged Ghanaians to embrace nuclear energy as the country worked to establish its first nuclear power plant by 2023, to support the provision of reliable and affordable electricity to households, and boost economic activities.

Mr Ahiataku-Togobo said this at the opening of a three-day training for some media professionals in Accra on the theme: ‘Shaping the perception of nuclear power technology in Ghana, the Media factor’.

‘Nuclear Power has the potential to provide affordable and reliable baseload power for stimulating industrialisation and economic development, and with nuclear power, Ghana can increase significantly the contribution of variable renewable energy such as solar and wind power,’ he said.

He noted that most leading countries in variable renewable energy installations world
wide, first had nuclear power plants installed, adding that ‘any country that you find a nuclear plant, you see industrialisation either having taken place or taking place.’

The Mathematical Physicist cited US, where 104 nuclear reactors were producing energy for economic growth, France – 59, Japan – 56, Russia – 31, Britain – 23, South Korea – 20, Canada – 18, Germany – 17 and South Africa – 1.

He said the availability of cheap power with nuclear as a baseload, would make Ghana attract global companies, leading to the growth of industries and creating more high-income earning jobs for the youth.

‘You can’t run an effective One District-One Factory (1D1F) programme if you don’t have cheap and reliable power,’ the renewable energy advocate said.

He allayed people’s fear on the safety in operating a nuclear power plant with respect to accidents and radiation related issues, saying, ‘only three major accidents have occurred since 1951 (72 years now).’

Such accident resulted in 31 people losing their lives f
rom the 667 nuclear power plants that have been built across the world.

‘Two of these deaths were due to the initial explosion, while the remaining 29 were first responders, who succumbed to acute radiation sickness,’ Mr Ahiataku-Togobo explained.

On mortality rate in deaths, he noted that coal recorded 100,000 per thousand-terawatt hour, oil – 36,000, natural gas – 4,000, hydro – 1,400, rooftop solar – 440, wind – 150, and nuclear – 90.

‘So, nuclear energy is a lot safer than we are led to believe,’ the Director, Renewable Energy, Bui Power Authority, said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also provide strict laws and regulations on safety for the protection of health and the minimisation of danger to life and properties.

Dr Stephen Yamoah, Executive Director, NPG, also said ‘there’s no incidence-free technology the world over, and the fact that there have been some incidents does not make it [nuclear power] dangerous.’

He said unlike hydro for example, where sometimes spillages were done
to keep the integrity of the technology with its attendant impact on livelihoods and communities, there were no nuclear spillages.

‘In using a nuclear plant, you’re always anticipating things ahead, using data and information that will guide timely decisions, including an emergency preparedness plan,’ he said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ghana National Petroleum Commission (GNPC) Foundation for livelihood empowerment programme, under its Skilled Artisan Project (SAP), has trained 337 artisans, who graduated at a colourful ceremony in Cape Coast on Thursday.

The training was put together by GNPC, in partnership with ASEDA Foundation, the institution that collaborates with the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) to examine the trainees and issue them certificates.

Drawn from 22 districts of the Central Region, the beneficiaries went through three years of apprenticeship in various vocational skills such as makeup, plumbing, fashion designing, carpentry, auto-mechanics and general electricals.

Others are hairdressing, interior and exterior designing, decoration, aluminium fabrication, motor vehicle mechanic, engineering, steel bending, shoe making, catering and baking.

They were also provided with soft skills training in standards of business and entrepreneurship practices such as bookkeeping, marketing or sales, branding, cus
tomer relations, attitude to work and safety at work.

The graduates were handed sets of tools relevant to their work to set them up for their entrepreneurial journeys.

These are industrial sewing machines, dryers, local ovens, tile cutting machines, aluminium sawing machines, diagnostic machines, and gas stoves.

Dr Dominic Eduah, the Executive Director, GNPC Foundation, said the training would enhance the employability of the artisans and empower them to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.

The gesture was the Foundation’s contribution to supporting and building the capacity of Ghana’s youth to ensure that as many of them as possible became economically independent to support themselves, their families, communities and be useful to Ghana as a whole, he said.

On education and training, he said the Foundation had since 2018, granted scholarships to more than 7,500 to people including 1,700 in 2023.

Of the total, more than 340 students had been given scholarships for studies in some specialised academic ar
eas.

Among them are about 200 medical students in their final year in Cuba, who would soon return to work in some deprived districts in Ghana.

Dr Eduah said the Foundation had also commissioned several schools to help in the delivery of technical and vocational education and to ensure that Ghanaians, no matter their geographical location, benefited from the oil money.

Education, he noted, remained an important platform towards national development, hence the Foundation’s investment in the sector to make it accessible to every Ghanaian child.

Dr Eduah urged the authorities to ensure that the structures were put to good use and encouraged parents to enrol their children in school.

Mr Freddie Blay, the Chairman of the GNPC Board, re-echoed the Commission’s mandate, including the promotion of exploration, orderly and planned development of Ghana’s petroleum resources.

The GNPC was also responsible for ensuring that Ghanaians obtained the greatest possible benefits from the development of the country’s petro
leum resources, he said.

Mrs Justina Marigold Assan, the Central Regional Minister, advised the beneficiaries to put their skills to good use to benefit themselves and society.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Stigmata Tenga, Executive Director, African Philanthropy Network, says using private resources for social good is the most important investment in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

She said that was the only way to ensure development from the local level to national.

Dr Tenga said this at the 2023 Ghana philanthropy conference on the them: ‘Philanthropy for sustainable development: Opportunities, challenges and the future’.

She said the aim of the conference was to break and find synergies in putting better concrete actions on how philanthropy could play a role in sustainable development.

‘Philanthropy when practiced under the values of African culture is a key strategy for development. There are so many forms of philanthropy that need to be validated and accepted as they are, or molded to become part of what is happening today on the continent, but that is key to achieving our long-term sustainability.’

She called for the development of philanthropic collaborations and partnerships
based on the values of trust, respect, inclusivity and solidarity to involve more young people in the development process.

Mr Jeroen Verheul, Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, said it was important for Africans to mobilise and harmonise philanthropy in all its different forms to support the achievement of the SDGs.

‘Community philanthropy, business philanthropy and big men philanthropy are all forms of philanthropy that can be used by individuals, corporate institutions and governments through different approaches to achieve the SDGs.’

Mr Verheul added that apart from harnessing philanthropy for the SDGs, Ghana must also harness active citizenship to improve society and the economy.

Alhaji Amidu Ibrahim Tanko, Executive Director, STAR-Ghana Foundation, said the conference would help to discover how to sustain philanthropic efforts and move beyond crisis response to recovery and long-term development.

‘It will also help us to move from seeing communities in the geographic sense and move them to the centre
of our compositions and actions around philanthropy, involving them as active and conscious participants in the whole enterprise, and to move towards philanthropy that addresses the underlying causes of poverty and exclusion.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

Some pupils of some basic schools in the Garu District of the Upper East Region have familiarized and acquire knowledge on the procedure and operations of the Ghana Police Service and the courts.

The students and their teachers comprised civic clubs of the Presbyterian Junior High School in Garu paid a visit to the Garu Police Station and the Garu District Court as part their civic activities.

The move was facilitated by the Garu District Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) as part of activities to imbibe in the students the operations of the state institutions such as the security and judiciary sectors.

Mr Samuel Akolgo, the Garu District Director of NCCE, explained to the students that learning and establishing good relationships with state institutions are valuable educational ladder.

He said such exercises would enable the students to gain the requisite knowledge and skills, which would help to develop into good citizens, patriotism, rights and responsibilities and contr
ibute to the development of their communities and the country at large.

General Corporal Raphael Akangwanati, a Police Officer at the District Police Station took the students through the operation of the Ghana Police Service mandated by the constitution enshrined in chapter 15, Article 200 of the 1992 constitution.

He said the police service was mandated to ensure its traditional role of maintaining law and order and encouraged the students to report any criminal activity to the police station through the emergency numbers 999 or 18555.

Mr Thomas Boadi Soyori, the District Court Judge, who took the students through the operation of Judiciary said the 1992 Constitution had mandated the judiciary to remain neutral and independent and ensure justice for all persons.

He explained that judiciary was made of two parts, thus, the Superior Courts and the Lower Courts adding that the Superior Courts consists of: the Supreme Court, the Appeal Court, the High Court and the Regional Tribunals with the Supreme Court
being the highest court of appeal in Ghana while the Lower Courts consist of Circuit Courts and District Courts.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Alhassan Iddrissu, a Lawyer and Legal Advocate at the Centre for Public Interest Law (CEPIL), a Non-Profit Organisation, has called for the elimination of all discriminatory cultures towards people.

He said discrimination infringed on the rights of people and impeded the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that provided that inclusion, inclusive development and growth were ensured.

Mr Iddrissu made the call during CEPIL’s engagement with the Ghana Blind Union in Accra to sensitise members on Human Rights and the presentation of the Human Rights Manual for Human Rights Defenders in the braille format to the Union.

The Manual provides practical guide on prevention and mitigation measures when faced with situation of risk, which includes the legal and constitutional safeguards, provision of fallback mechanisms and relevant support systems to create an enabling environment to respect, protect and promote the rights of Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society Orgainsations’ Advocates.

T
he Legal Advocate said the SDGs also provided that discrimination must be avoided especially against women, children and Persons With Disabilities.

He said Ghanaians were mainly traditional and followed traditional practices and customs, some of whom had worked effectively for them but there were others that needed to be abolished.

”In this particular instance, we know of certain cultures where a Chief is not allowed to meet a blind person, because they see it as against their traditional practice. A person is blind not by choice, it is a question of God, and he did nothing wrong to be blind. So that person should not be discriminated in any way,” he stated.

Mr Iddrissu noted that in some Muslim communities, a blind person cannot be an Imam and in other cultures, one could not become a Chief.

”So that is why I ask a question, what happens when a Chief who was at the time of rising to the throne was not disabled, but gets disabled on the throne?”

The Lawyer noted that society had created many obstacle
s for Persons With Disabilities in the access of education, health and other essential services to the extent that many health professionals were not adequately trained on how to handle them.

”With the ongoing efforts to amend the Disability Act, we will consider some of these to ensure that we have a law that works well for us that avoids discrimination and considers the specific needs of persons with disability because they are part of the society,” Mr Iddrissu added.

The Legal Advocate advised that there must be continous sensitisation and legislation to change the narrative because no one was immune to disability, which could happen unexpectedly.

The Centre for Public Interest Law (CEPIL) founded in 1999 is a Non- Profit Organisation, which provides pro-bono services to the poor and margainalised and vulnerable in society . It also promotes human rights.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Association of Ghana Apparel Manufacturers (AGAM) and the Foreign Trade Association of the German Retail Trade (AVE) have forged a new partnership aimed at fostering sustainable growth and employment in Ghana’s textile sector.

The collaboration is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, signed by Ms Nura Salifu, the Acting President of AGAM, said the partnership focused on three primary objectives.

These are: Strengthening the management of AGAM in a sustainable manner; Providing demand-oriented services for member companies; and Establishing a professional representation of interests.

‘Our collaboration with AVE will empower us to better manage our organisation, offer tailored services to our members, and professionally advocate their interests.’

The President of AGAM said the joint endeavor was part of a broader objective to improve the business environment for Ghanaian enterprises in the Apparel, Garment
and Textile sector, which in turn would drive economic growth and employment development across Ghana.

It quoted Professor Dr Tobias Wollermann, the President of AVE, as saying: ‘We see this partnership as an opportunity to bolster sustainable development in the textile sector. Our joint efforts will enhance competitiveness, and fostering a stronger, more resilient textile sector.’

‘The partnership will also encompass capacity-building efforts, training programmes, and networking opportunities that can further enhance the skill sets of these enterprises and promote the sustainability of the AGAM management.’

‘This significant collaboration represents an international commitment to bolstering economic development in Ghana, with particular attention to the textile industry.’

Both AGAM and AVE eagerly anticipate the positive impacts this partnership will bring to the nation’s textile sector and broader economic landscape.

Source: Ghana News Agency