Day: November 26, 2023

Rev. Mrs. Patricia Akpene Tegbe-Agbo, the National Coordinator of the Women’s Ministry of the Global Evangelical Church, has challenged women to desist from giving excuses in the face of opportunities and accept challenges to achieve their God given potentials.

She said as women we must debunk the notion that leadership and for that matter success were the preserve of a select group of people.

She challenged women to break all forms of limitations militating against their progress, prosperity and aspire for greater heights.

Rev. Mrs. Tegbe-Agbo was speaking at the Tema Presbytery Women’s Ministry Rally 2023 held at the Global Evangelical Church, Yahweh Chapel in Lashibi.

Speaking on the theme: ‘The Woman who Pursues Holiness based on Luke 1:26-38, she said, like Mary, God has called every individual woman with specific assignment.

‘My beloved mothers and sisters in the Lord, just as God sent Angel Gabriel to Mary and she became the mother of the Saviour of the world, so he has set us apart for very impo
rtant roles.

Please note that ours might not be to give birth to another Jesus but God has given us very unique jobs and professions which we must do to the best of our abilities in order to impact the world. ‘

She said the time had come for women to develop fully to attain their God given potentials in order to be independent, supportive not only to their families but the nation at large.

Rev. Mrs. Tegbe-Agbo encouraged the women to be holy in all they do, take whatever God had blessed them to do seriously as through such they would succeed.

Rev. (Rtd.) Edith Adoblosu-Kuhlor, a former National Coordinator of the Women’s Ministry, in her presentation on family life called on the women to support their husbands, especially financially so they could fend for their families.

Rev. Lawrence Tefe Ganyo, the Tema Presbytery Chairman, in a sermon challenged the women that just as God changed the stories of biblical women who lived holy lives, by emulating them, their own stories would change.

The Rally was atte
nded by Rev. Mrs. Vivian Doh, the immediate past National Coordinator of the Women’s Ministry, some Pastors of the Church and their Spouses and hundreds of women drawn from the various congregations within the Tema Presbytery.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Newly graduated students at the SALT Institute, a postgraduate degree Institution, have been urged to take calculated risks and foster an environment that perceives failure as a valuable opportunity for advancement.

They have been asked to question established norms and put in processes that entail calculated conditions that promote experimentation and curiosity.

Madam Mercy Debrah-Karikari, Secretary to Cabinet, made the call in her keynote address at the second graduation ceremony for the Institute.

She encouraged them to develop a cognitive orientation that perceived obstacles as prospects and saw failure as a conduit for acquiring knowledge and change for greater heights.

Madam Bebrah-Karikari said: ‘Be trailblazers in your respective disciplines, utilising innovative approaches to harness the several unexplored possibilities on our continents.’

She said as they moved high in academic careers and took up roles and responsibilities in society, their leadership acumen would be critical to achieving an
y goals.

Madam Bebrah-Karikari charged them to be transformational leaders with the capacity for adaptive innovation that would prepare them to traverse the challenges of Ghana and Africa.

‘The use of technological advancements, data analysis and contemporary patterns to discover innovative solutions to long-standing issues would guarantee that Africa does not merely develop, but does so sustainably,’ she said

She said Ghana and Africa needed leaders who dreamt big, led with integrity and promoted inclusivity, adding that in the pursuit of leadership excellence, ‘we should remember that the essence of leadership does not lie in the positions, but in the meaningful impact we make on the lives of those we serve.’

Dr Kodzo Alabo, Rector of SALT Institute, said the second congregation signified the Institution’s unwavering dedication to nurturing, educating, and supporting emerging leaders both within Africa and on a global scale.

‘As we celebrate this momentous occasion, let us reflect on the impact these g
raduates will have as they embark on their professional journeys, contributing to the development and undoubtedly shaping a brighter future for our continent,’ he said.

The Sundoulos Advanced Leadership Training (SALT) Institute is affiliated with the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).

In all, 20 students graduated with a Master of Arts in International Relations and Diplomacy while nine students had a Master of Arts in Leadership and Management.

Miss Mavis Asare, who graduated with a Master of Arts in Leadership and Management was the Overall Best graduate.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), as part of its outlined programmes for next year, will organise a debate for flag bearers of contesting political parties and Parliamentary candidates ahead of the 2024 General election.

Madam Kathleen Addy, the Chairperson of the Commission, said the debate would enable the flag bearers and independent candidates to communicate their policies and programmes to the citizenry, while Parliamentary candidates would also get platforms to interact with electorates in their constituencies.

‘Apart from these, the debate will also serve as a tension breaker. Because whilst political party candidates may create different platforms for their campaigns, this common platform will let them come together and show to the people that, look, we are not enemies, we are just competing candidates at an election,’ she added.

Madam Addy said this when a delegation from the United Nations (UN) office in Ghana paid a courtesy call to the Commission to address issues of election
s and security.

An inter-party dialogue committee, she said, had been set up at what was called ‘buffer zones’ for conflict resolution at the grassroots levels in every constituency.

‘The committees hold meetings at the grassroots levels to see how things that could escalate probably into conflict be nipped in the bud,’ she stated.

The Chairperson appealed for financial and logistical support to enable it to undertake educational activities across the country towards the election.

The activities were necessary, she said, to draw the attention of politicians to be mindful of their utterances in order not to create tension among the citizenry, especially the youth.

The Commission was also creating platforms for youth interactions through political party youth activist workshops, she said, explaining ‘We call it workshop because it serves as capacity building for them to understand the roles of engagement in the political space, for example going on political procession and demonstration and they need to un
derstand the regulations.’

‘We also have in-school clubs for young persons and we use such platforms for engagement,’ she added.

A critical issue for the Commission for the next year’s election, which was becoming central this time, she said was ‘religion’ and ‘religion intolerance’, hence the Commission would organise inter-faith dialogue platforms to address and control it.

‘In addition to that, we will be holding processions between people of different faiths coming together to preach the message of peace and have fun games with people from different religious groupings.

‘So that we can really show to the people that in Ghana, we have lived peacefully from Islam to Christianity, so the fact that this time around, one candidate is a Christian and the other is a Muslim would not break us apart,’ she said.

Madam Angeline Nkwenkam Nguedjeu, Peace and Development Advisor (PDA) from the United Nations (UN) – Ghana, who led the delegation, commended the NCCE for the measures put in place to ensure peace and
security in the coming election.

She said their mission was to identify which areas the UN could offer support as it always provided assistance by deploying election observers and gave assurance that the information gathered would be submitted to the principals of the UN for their response.

Other members of the delegation were Dr Mathias Awonnatey, UN-Ghana, Manus Macatteu, UN-DPPA, and Ms Ecoma Alaga, Senior Political Affairs Officer/West Africa Team Lead of the UN.

Source: Ghana News Agency

More than 800 delegates from over 100 countries across the globe are expected to attend the first-ever Global Conference on Cyber Capacity Building (GC3B) from November 29th to 30th, 2023 in Accra.

Dr Albert Antwi-Boasiako, the Director-General of the National Cybersecurity Authority, announced this at the Minister’s news briefing in Accra on Sunday.

The two-day event will be held on the theme: ‘Cyber Resilience for Development’.

It is jointly organized by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization, the Cyber Security Authority, the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE), the Cyber Peace Institute, the World Bank, and the World Economic Forum.

Dr Antwi-Boasiako stated that the GC3B Conference was intended to bring together a diverse group of high-level decision-makers and practitioners from Governments, international organizations, the private sector, civil society, and academia.

He stated that cyber resilience and capacity building played a key role in supporting the United Nations 2030 Agenda f
or Sustainable Development.

It would also improve awareness and the need for decision-makers to leverage and create cyber capacity-building programmes and opportunities.

‘Expectations for the event include the development of a global cyber capacity-building agenda, improved coordination mechanisms, and increased resources for cyber resilience’, Dr. Antwi-Boasiako said.

He mentioned that the upcoming conference was a golden opportunity for Ghana to position itself as a leader in cybersecurity development in Africa and urged all stakeholders to actively participate in the event to ensure effective outcomes.

Dr. Antwi-Boasiako added that the event is expected to foster networking opportunities, catalyse commitments on cyber capacity building, and elevate Ghana’s visibility and involvement in global cybersecurity issues.

‘The influx of delegates is also anticipated to bring economic value to the country’s tourism sector,’ he stated.

He noted that the media was recognized as a vital partner in this endeavour
and encouraged the media to continuously educate the public about the importance of cybersecurity.

The President of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE) Foundation, Mr. Christopher Painter said: ‘As the world eagerly anticipates the GC3B Conference, Ghana stands poised to lead discussions and collaborations in the critical realm of cybersecurity, contributing to global efforts for a more secure digital future’.

Some dignitaries present at the news briefing include the President of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise Mr. Chris Painter, members of the Cyber Security Authority Governing Board and members of the Joint Cybersecurity Committee.

Ghana’s journey towards becoming a cybersecurity champion has been marked by significant achievements. The Cyber Security Authority facilitated Ghana’s entry as the 88th member of the GFCE, actively participating in various committees and groups, including the Africa Cyber Experts Community.

This engagement paved the way for Ghana to secure the hosting rights for G
C3B.

Ghana’s success in organizing major global events in 2022, including the G7-ECOWAS meeting, ACE Community Kick-off meeting, and the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) Conference, contributed to the nation’s selection.

The country’s impressive International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ranking, reaching 86.69 per cent in 2020, further solidified its reputation as a cybersecurity stronghold in the Sub-Saharan region.

The CSA’s commitment to cybersecurity development was underlined during an assessment interview in February 2023 with representatives from the AU-GFCE.

Ghana’s successful hosting of previous cybersecurity-related events and its active participation in international cybersecurity initiatives, including the United Nations Open-ended Working Group (UNOEWG), played a crucial role in securing the bid.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Estimates of the 2022 HIV/AIDS shows that some 16,996 persons are living with the disease in the Volta region.

The majority constituting 68 per cent of the estimated HIV population could be found in nine districts within the region, namely, Ho, Hohoe, Ketu South, Ho West, North Tongu, Central Tongu, Keta, South Tongu and Kpando Municipality.

The region further recorded 730 new HIV infections for all ages within the period and young people between ages 15-24, accounting for 12.05 per cent.

Mrs Mary Naa Asheley Anyomi, Volta Regional Coordinator, Ghana Aids Commission/TSU gave the data during a health Walk in commemoration of the 2023 World Aids Day (WAD) in Ho, under the theme, ‘Let Communities Lead.’

It was organised by the Ghana HIV and Aids Network (GHANET) in collaboration with the Network of Persons Living with HIV (NAP+) and other stakeholders to create more awareness of the HIV Self-Testing (HIVST) kit.

She indicated 72.2 per cent of the data are on lifelong Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) treatment
with the Sustainable Development Goal subscribing 95 per cent.

Mrs Anyomi stated the report suggests that at least two out of every 100 people in the region are Living with HIV with a prevalence rate of 1.50 per cent, and however said eight districts including Kpando, South Tongu, Central Tongu, North Dayi, Keta, Ho, Akatsi North and North Tongu have prevalence more than the regional rate.

She said GHANET was coordinating the implementation of HIVST in Ho, Hohoe, Ho West and Adaklu towards contributing to the global target of ending the disease in 2030.

She urged stakeholders to use the media to disseminate accurate information on the disease trends and appealed to society to avoid stigma and discrimination against PLHIV.

Dr Archibald Letsa, Volta Regional Minister in an address read for him by Mr Augustus Awity, Chief Director at the Regional Coordinating Council said the region and Country at large risked losing the benefits of scientific advancement in ART if funding for drugs continues to remain fully
donor dependent.

‘Domestic funding for ARVs is urgently needed to sustain the treatment programme and keep PLHIV alive, strong and healthy,’ as the government sets up the national HIV and AIDS Fund to counter-fund drugs for the disease.

He appealed to corporate Ghana among philanthropists to contribute to the fund as ART had averted the disease progression and AIDS deaths among thousands of PLHIV.

He said leadership and activism of communities were urgently needed to address the challenges currently plaguing the disease response and accelerate progress towards ending the disease.

Mr Ernest Amoabeng Ortsin, President of GHANET said with the steadfastness of the Global Fund, Ministry of Health and the National AIDS/STI Control Programme (NACP), another HIVST kit CheckNow was introduced in addition to the earlier Oraquick kit.

He said the CheckNow HIVST kit, which was a blood-based method gave results in 15 minutes anchored on a third-generation technology capable of determining HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies i
n a fingerstick blood sample.

He said NACP believed the multiplication of HIVST options would help the country achieve the first 95-95-95 UNAIDS target with the nation doing about 72 per cent of the estimated 354,000 PLHIV knowing their status.

He said ‘This means 100,000 PLHIV may not be aware of their status and unknowingly be spreading the disease.

Mr Courage Kofi Botchway, Focal person, Ghana Health Service urged the communities to mainstream prevention campaigns, monitoring, treatment adherence and knowledge generation.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Internal Audit Agency has distributed more than 200 laptops to its units in Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) and some other institutions.?

The presentation, sponsored by the European Union, is to enhance internal auditing in an evolving digital space.?

In all, 179 MMDAs, 16 RCCs and 18 other institutions, including the Ghana News Agency (GNA) and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) received the laptops with their cables and accessories.

Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) together with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have been reported in the Auditor General’s Report to be amongst sectors that had had increased irregularities.?

The internal auditors of these institutions are expected to use the gadgets in auditing the implementation of the 2024 Budget.

They are to report and audit activities under the National Anti-corruption?Action Plan (NACAP), audit and report handing over notes in compliance
with?Section 6 of the Presidential (Transition) Act, 2012 (Act 845) and audit of Asset Declaration under the Public Office Holders.

Other duties are auditing arrears and liabilities, auditing assets and properties to ensure protection and?appropriate ownership, auditing contract execution status, payment and outstanding, and auditing Government procurement.

Dr Eric Oduro Osae, Director General of the Internal Audit Agency, who presented the laptops, said once the internal auditors had adequate logistics to do their work, they would be able to put a check on their system to curb any irregularities.?

‘If we want to succeed in our fight against corruption, the emphasis must be on the preventive measures of the internal auditors. Public Financial Management requires that internal auditors have resources, and this is the beginning of good things to happen,’ he said.

Madam Ruth Ama Botchwey, an Assistant Internal Auditor at Old Tafo Municipal Assembly, in an interview with the GNA, said the laptops would help t
he office achieve targets.

She said: ‘If you don’t have logistics like laptops, and desktops, it will be difficult to store data. With the manual way of storing data, your papers will always go missing.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ghana HIV and AIDS Network (GHANET), in collaboration with the Ghana AIDS Commission and the Ghana Health Service, has embarked on a health walk to promote voluntary HIV testing among Ghanaians.

Dubbed the ‘HIV Self-testing Health Walk’, the three stakeholder groups and their volunteers walked through some principal streets of Cape Coast to distribute HIV self-test kits to further the agenda to eliminate HIV by 2030.

The exercise, preceding World AIDS Day on Friday, December 1, sensitised the public to the prevalence of HIV and AIDS and the need to take action to mitigate the incidence.

Data available at the Ghana AIDS Commission indicates that Ghana recorded 16,574 new HIV infections in 2022 out of which 1,240 came from the Central Region.

The data further estimates that the country had an estimated population of 354,927 HIV patients with 24,046 coming from the region.

Through various placards, the walk preached against discrimination against HIV patients and encouraged the use of condoms for prote
ction, getting tested for the virus and seeking treatment.

Mr William Mends, the Central Regional Chairman of GHANET, indicated that the self-testing kit was easy to use and mainly targeted at the sexually active population.

He said as the world aimed to eliminate HIV by the year 2030, self-testing was an integral part of the strategy.

He noted that the kit had been introduced to promote confidentiality and incentivise people who were shy to approach health facilities to get tested.

He observed with concern that the incidence of HIV was escalating in Cape Coast largely due to the influx of tourists and its attendant heightened sexual activities.

‘Last year we were at Elmina but this year we decided to bring it Cape Coast because as the hub of tourism, a lot of tourists come around with a lot of sexual activities,’ he said.

Mr Mends appealed to the public to muster courage and get tested to know their status for early treatment.

‘There is free treatment for HIV patients. There’s nothing to be scared abo
ut. Just like hypertension, we can manage it for you to live a normal life like everybody else,’ he assured.

He further encouraged those on treatment to continue to take their medications religiously to avoid reaching the AIDS stage.

Mr William Kweku Yeboah, the Central Regional Technical Coordinator for the Ghana AIDS Commission, observed that the number of new HIV infections remained frighteningly high with low treatment coverage resulting in high mortality.

He said there was also heightened HIV-related stigma, and high individual risky behaviours which worsened the situation in Ghana.

He called on the public to demonstrate leadership and responsibility at all levels to help end the scourge of HIV and AIDS in the country.

‘This leadership should start at the individual level through the family and the community to the national level,’ Mr Yeboah encouraged.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) says two in every five women, representing 41.6 per cent of women aged 15 to 49 years have been victims of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV).

It said the women had experienced at least one form of emotional, physical or sexual IPV.

A statement issued by the GSS said this in preliminary findings from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Healthy Survey (GDHS) Report.

It said in all, 35.2 per cent of women had experienced emotional violence at least once, 22.7 per cent physical violence at least once, and 11.2 per cent ent sexual violence at least once.

The statement said more than half, representing 53.4 per cent in the Savannah Region, had experienced IPV, the highest recorded, followed by the Central and the Ahafo Regions with 44.0 per cent, and the Volta Region with 43.6 per cent.

According to GSS, the lowest rate, 26.3 per cent of IPV, was recorded in the Bono Region.

It said more than two in every five with primary education, 44.1 per cent or no education 42.9 per cent, h
ad experienced IPV, almost twice that of women with more than secondary education 23.0 per cent.

The findings indicated that IPV experience varied by employment status as well.

Women employed for cash reported the highest frequency of IPV with 39.5 per cent about 10 percentage points higher than women employed, but not for cash, 28.9 per cent or not employed at all, 29.1 per cent.

It said the most frequent form of sexual violence, 8.2 per cent, was being forced to have sexual intercourse, and physical violence, being slapped, 11.6 per cent.

For emotional violence, 27.1 per cent were being insulted or made to feel bad about themselves.

The statement said overall, one in every three (33.2 per cent) women aged 15 to 49 years in Ghana had experienced physical violence since age 15 years.

It said one in every ten (12.2 per cent) women in the age group reported experiencing physical violence often or sometimes in the 12 months preceding the survey, and 6.8 per cent experienced physical violence while pregnant
.

The findings showed that the Central Region with 44.6 per cent had the highest percentage of women, who had experienced physical violence since age 15 followed by the Savannah 42.9 per cent and Volta 40.2 per cent.

It said the 23.7 per cent, lowest rates of physical violence were recorded in the Upper West and North East Regions.

The statement said about three in every five (63.2 per cent) women, who had experienced physical violence, reported the violence was committed by current (33.2 per cent) or former (29.9) per cent husbands or intimate partners, the leading perpetrators of violence against women.

It said fathers representing 11.9 per cent, mothers 11.9 per cent, and siblings 10 per cent were the next highest categories of persons committing physical violence.

The findings said women also reported physical violence from non-relatives, including teachers 4.9 per cent, schoolmates 4.6 per cent, employers or work colleagues 1.0 per cent and other persons 6.1 per cent.

It showed that 14.1 per cent o
f women aged 15 to 49 years had experienced sexual violence and one in five women in the Volta 22.3 per cent, Central 19.6 per cent and Savannah Regions, 19.6 reported ever experiencing sexual violence, the highest recorded.

The statement said progress toward eliminating violence against women had been slow in the past decade.

It said between 2008 and 2022, the experience of physical violence since age 15 declined from 36.6 to 33.2 per cent, the experience of sexual violence declined from 18.8 to 14.4 per cent, and physical violence against pregnant women increased from 5.2 to 6.8 per cent.

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is commemorated annually on 25th November to create awareness and advocacy on the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls around the world.

It said the 2022 GDHS Report would be released in December 2023.

The statement said the 2022 GDHS Key Indicators Report, which presented statistics on selected health indicators, was released ea
rlier this year.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regional Technical Coordinator of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), Mr Ahmed Ibrahim Bimbilla, has disclosed a record of 884 new HIV infections in the region in 2022.

He said available figures showed that 19,281 people were living with HIV and AIDS in the region, as of December 2022, with Bono’s prevalence pegging at 2.27 per cent.

Mr Bimbilla, who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Sunyani, said about 70 young people had earlier undertaken an HIV and AIDS walk on some principal streets of the city, to create public awareness about the reality of the disease.

Organised by the Bono Regional branch of the Ghana HIV and AIDS Network (GHANET), a leading Civil Society organisation in the fight against disease in the country, the marchers, mostly young people, held placards with inscriptions such as ‘your health is our concern, but the choice is yours’ and ‘your self-testing is here.’

Mr Bimbilla described the spread of new HIV infections in the region a
s alarming, saying in the past three years, the region continued to top in HIV and AIDS cases nationwide, saying it was only in 2022 that the Eastern region jumped to the top.

That notwithstanding, he said it required collective efforts to reduce the region’s HIV prevalence rate of 2.27 per cent, above the country’s prevalence rate of 1.7 per cent and called on everybody to support public education.

Mr Bimbilla said with the use of condoms and lubricants, abstinence from sex, voluntary testing and counselling and other preventive measures cases could be brought under control.

Mr Raphael Godlove Ahenu, the Bono Regional Chairman of GHANET, said the sexually active young people in the region were highly exposed to HIV and AIDS because they had little knowledge about the disease.

He said GHANET had targeted to reach out to and sensitise many of the young people in the region for them to understand and appreciate the need to protect themselves and refrain from pre-marital sexual practices.

Mr Ahenu advised y
oung girls to tread cautiously, and not allow people to lure them into sex by giving them gifts, saying that could expose them to the virus and other sexually transmitted infections.

Sex, he said, was a preserve and consummation of marriage, and entreated the young people to concentrate on their books now and avoid bad peer influences.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bulk Energy Storage and Transportation (BEST) Limited Company, formerly Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST), Mr Edwin Alfred Provencal has been adjudged the Energy Personality of the Year.

The company also emerged as the Petroleum Company of the Year at the seventh edition of the Ghana Energy Awards held at the Labadi Beach Hotel.

Commenting on the two prestigious awards in an interview with the media, Mr Provencal credited the Board and Management of Bulk Energy Storage and Transportation (BEST) Limited Company with the two awards for their contributions towards turning around the fortunes of the company.

‘I will praise the board and management team of the company for their wonderful contributions towards turning around the fortunes of the company’, he said.

He said there was no turning back, insisting that state-owned enterprises could be profitable as evidenced by the performance of BOST over the last couple of years.

His Excellency President Akufo-Addo as
the Guest of Honour of the event also praised the entities and personalities who emerged winners for their wonderful contributions towards advancing the energy sector.

He again touted Bulk Energy Storage and Transportation Limited Company as a major catalyst for any real economic progression.

Bulk Energy Storage and Transportation Limited Company again won the SSI Sustainability and Operational Excellence Award at the Sustainability and Social Investments Awards held at the Kempinski Gold Coast City Hotel on Friday 17th November 2023.

The counts seem not the end as the company gets washed with recognition on both the domestic and international fronts for its wonderful turnaround under the leadership of Edwin Alfred Provencal.

Source: Ghana News Agency