Day: November 26, 2023

Farmers in Ghana have been urged to diversify agricultural production to include all-year-round farming to boost the country’s food sufficiency thereby increasing food security needs of citizens.

Dr Raphael Ane Atanga, Research Team Lead of Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication Education (MECCE) case study project in Kuliyaa indicated that dry season gardening could serve as panacea to climate change if well implemented.

Dr Atanga who was presenting a research finding on the MECCE project over the weekend in Kuliyaa in the Kasena-Nankana West district said research is integral part of modern agriculture especially with the effects of climate change causing long droughts, floods and making agriculture unproductive.

The twelve-month research was undertaken by Dr Raphael Ane Atanga, Dr John Bosco Acharibasam, Dr Paul Achonga Kabah Kwode, Dr. Ranjan Datta, and Dr. Janet McVittie with support from MECCE, a research funding agency.

Dr Atanga said dry season agriculture supports families with food and
income which is key to climate change adaptation education and enhances resiliency to drought through dry season gardening as an alternative source of livelihood.

He explained that through the project, the Kuliyaa women dry season farmers formed a community by creating communal plots and working together on the dry season agriculture.

Dr Atanga said community gardens provide an avenue for engaging in climate change adaptation education communication stressing that ‘dry-season gardens serve as pedagogical sites for rural women in the community of Kuliyaa’.

Dr Paul Achonga Kwode, MECCE research team member indicated that through the research, the women were empowered more than they would have been noting that the effects of climate change across the country is dire making crop production unsustainable stressing that ‘the youth should take advantage of dry season gardening and venture into agriculture to create jobs for themselves’

He said there was the need for technological investment into dry season farmi
ng to make it more cost productive and increase yields for farmers adding that ‘with the right investment, Ghanaians can produce tomatoes and other vegetables to meet the needs of citizens’

Dr Kwode observed that gender mix is an important feature in the community where women and men work together for a common good noting that the research supported women’s empowerment and cultural change.

Madam Kape Rebecca Alugivala, Queen Mother of Nakolo/Kuliyaa community said education on climate change has taught the women groups that farming can be done on any parcel of land provided the needed practices were adopted.

She indicated that as a results of dry season gardening, many parents in the community could take care of their wards in school and understood farming better saying that ‘we use composed

fertilizer to improve soil fertility as climate change has affected the nutritional value of the soil’.

Mr Anthony Adatu, Assemblyman for the Nakolo Electoral Area indicated that dry season farming is one of the majo
r means of creating jobs for the people and engaging them productively instead of being used by insurgence to cause mayhem since the area shares border with Burkina Faso.

Mr Adatu who is also a Research Assistant to the project appealed to the government and other development partners to collaborate with the community to improve production as a model for commercial dry season gardening to supply the country with tomatoes and other nutritional vegetables.

Madam Bakite Kakwara, a beneficiary of the research project said the community has benefited immensely from the monthly knowledge sharing sessions with the research team and it has helped them improved their vegetable cultivation.

She said they now understood climate change better and were adopting early maturing crops for planting and urged the government to assist dry season farmers upscale production.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Gbetsile Circuit Court has granted bail to a clergyman, Jehoshaphat Awuni Azure, in the sum of Gh?50,000.00 with two sureties for unlawfully causing damage to a burglarproof window and some electrical installations, all totalling Gh?6,492.00.

The case was referred for an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and adjourned to December 6, 2023.

The court, presided over by Mrs Eleanor Kakra Banes Botchway, granted bail after the accused had pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against him.?

Inspector Gloria Karikari, prosecuting, said the complainant, Helena Asamani, 42-years-old, was a pupil teacher at Mataheko, while the accused, Jehoshaphat Awuni Azure, 45-years-old, is a clergyman and resides at Afienya.

The inspector said Asamani rented one of her three-bedroom houses to the accused for a period of eight months and in the process, the complainant observed certain strange attitudes of Azure towards claiming ownership of her house.

Prosecutor Karikari said on October 28, 2023, the complainant c
alled the accused to know his preparations in respect of the order given, only to be told that the accused left the house on October 22, 2023, but did not hand over the keys.

The prosecution said the complainant anxiously rushed to the said house the same day and detected that her burglarproof window was removed, her main switchboard was damaged and most of her electrical sockets and wires were destroyed and left on the floor.

The case was reported to the Afienya District Police Headquarters and the investigations revealed that the accused person had earlier agreed to fix everything and gave a statement to that effect, but later changed his mind, claiming he had no hand in the damages.

The accused was then charged with the offences and put before court.

Source: Ghana News Agency

An Accra High Court? has affirmed a GHC 19 million tax liability imposed by the Ghana Revenue Authority on Scancom PLC, owners of MTN Ghana.?

The Court presided over by Justice Afi Agbanu Kudomor upheld that GRA did not err in law when it imposed a Value Added Tax (VAT) liability on Scancom PLC for Imported Services between 2014 to December 2017.?

The court also said GRA did not arbitrarily when it applied the Ghana Educational Trust Fund Levy and National Health Insurance Levy each of 2.5 per cent on the imported services by Scancom PLC irrespective of whether Scancom PLC’s imported services were used to produce Taxable or Exempt supplies.

GRA, therefore did not err in law when it imposed the National Health Insurance Levy and Ghana Education Trust Fund Levy (together with interest and penalties) on Scancom PLC’s Imported Services from August 2018 to December 2018 irrespective of whether they were applied to Taxable or Exempt services.

The? Court said it was for these reasons that the instant Tax Appeal
failed and there would be no order as to costs, each party was to bear its own costs.?

In 2020, the GRA commenced a comprehensive tax audit on MTN Ghana, spanning the period from January 2014 to December 2018.

The audit focused on all aspects of MTN’s business including Input Value Added Tax claims related to goods and services procured by MTN Ghana, Value Added Tax on services imported by the company and Input Value Added Tax claims related to office premises constructed by the telecom giant.

Scancom PLC unhappy about the method of arriving at the tax liability dragged GRA to Court insisting that the Authority erred in law and acted arbitrarily by imposing the tax liability order on the company for the period January 2014 to December 2017.

As part of the reliefs, Scancom PLC wanted an order reversing the GRA’s decision to impose additional VAT of GHS8,793,598.00 and penalty and interest of GHS10,933,119 on imported services utilized by Scancom PLC for its telecommunication business.

‘An order reversing
the Respondent’s decision to impose additional Ghana Education Trust Fund Levy and National Health Insurance Levy of GHC6,379,483.00 and penalty and interest of GHC2,566,124.00 on imported services utilized by the Appellant for its business,’ the reliefs said.

It also sought an order quashing the parts of the Current Tax Assessment relating to the heads ‘Disputed Assessment’, and overturning the Objection Decision by Respondent as it relates to those parts and other order(s) that the justice of the case requires,’ Scancom PLC stated as part of its reliefs sought at the Court.?

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ghanaians have been advised against stigmatising and discriminating against Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV), to avoid the spread of the virus.?

Ms Joanne Anorkor Lartey, the TB and HIV Coordinator at the Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate, speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview, said stigma against HIV and AIDS, had been recognised as the single greatest challenge to slowing the spread of the virus.

She stressed that stigma and discrimination were major barriers to epidemic control, preventing testing, treatment initiation, adherence to therapy, and promoting disengagement of patients from care.

She described stigma as unfavourable attitudes and beliefs directed towards someone, which was also a process of labelling people and separating oneself from them.

Ms Lartey further explained that some unconscious actions of stigmatising others could also cause fear in young people and prevent them from seeking key health information or support when they need it for fear of being judged or excluded i
f they ask questions about sex or HIV.

She indicated that discrimination was the treatment of an individual or group of people with partiality or prejudice due to their status, stigma, was related to attitudes and actions, choice of language, lack of knowledge and fear, as well as shame and blame.

The TB and HIV Coordinator cited the media, health services, workplaces, churches and other religious settings, within family and local communities, as settings where stigma and discrimination could easily occur.

She said HIV-related stigma could affect the emotional well-being and mental health of the PLHIV, which led to the development of a negative self-image such that they began to apply these wrong ideas to themselves, leading to feelings of shame, isolation and despair.

This, she explained, could keep people from accessing HIV care by not disclosing their status to others.

According to her, persons with HIV could also engage in self-stigmatisation, which refers to the negative attitudes, including interna
lised shame, that people with stigmatised conditions have about themselves.

She encouraged the public and health care providers to help address stigma by highlighting the positives, and recognising and acknowledging the inherent worth of PLHIV.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dream Weaver, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) based in Ashaiman, in collaboration with the Ashaiman Municipal Health Directorate, has intensified the HIV and AIDS awareness campaign by conducting free HIV testing in their operating community.

The event formed part of activities to commemorate the 2023 World AIDS Day, which was on the theme: ‘Let Communities Lead.’

Mr Jonathan Tetteh Kwao, the Executive Director of Dream Weaver Organisation, stated that HIV and AIDS were fast spreading within communities across the country and Ashaiman could not be taken out.

He said Dream Weaver had taken it upon itself to demonstrate to the residents of Ashaiman the need to patronise the HIV self-test kits, stressing that the health officials would ensure that participants were tested to know their HIV status.

He stated that many lives had succumbed to the virus since it was diagnosed in Ghana some three decades ago and that there was a lot to be done by the various stakeholders, to ensure that People Living with
HIV and AIDS (PLHIV) were given the needed attention as far as medication was concerned.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview, Mrs Patience Ama Mamattah, the Ashaiman Municipal Director for Health Services, stated that knowing one’s HIV status was key to ensuring viral suppression.

She said that new cases of HIV and AIDS had been recorded in some hospitals in Ashaiman daily, stating that the same mode of transmission had not changed and warned residents to ensure maximum protection from the virus by adhering to the existing safety rules of prevention.

She said the virus was fast spreading among the youth and urged stakeholders to sustain their support to help in maintaining previous efforts, gains and investments made towards fighting against the spread of HIV in Ghana.

The Ashaiman Municipal Health Director advised that abstaining from unprotected sex was important, adding that parents must take very good care of their children, to avoid their engagement in unacceptable social behaviours.

O
ver 300 HIV and AIDS self-test kits were distributed at the Ashaiman Main Loading Terminal amidst intensive sensitization on how to use the test kits to elicit accurate results.

Source: Ghana News Agency

HIV and AIDS continue as a public health threat in the Bono Region, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim Bimbilla, the Bono East and Ahafo Regional Technical Coordinator of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has said.

Presently, Bono’s HIV prevalence stands at 2.27 per cent, higher than the national prevalence of 1.7 per cent, with the region having 19,281 Persons Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWAs) as of December 2022, he said.

Mr Bimbilla said the region recorded 844 new HIV infections between January and December 2022, describing the figure as disturbing and alarming, which required a collective approach to tackling it.

He was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of an HIV and AIDS health walk organised by the Bono Branch of the Ghana HIV and AIDS Network (GHANET), a leading Civil Society Organisation (CSO) in the fight against the disease in the county.

Mr Bimbilla said the surest way to prevent the spread of the virus was adhering to preventive measures, including voluntary testing, use
of condoms, as well as abstaining from pre-marital sex, multiple sexual partners and promiscuous lifestyle.

He expressed worry about continuous societal stigmatisation and discrimination of PLWAs and entreated the public to desist from such attitudes.

Mr Bimbilla indicated that due to the fear of stigma and discrimination, people suspected of living with the virus were adamant about checking to know their status.

Nonetheless, he advised everybody to do the self-testing, saying drugs were readily available for those who tested positive for HIV.

‘If you are positive, that is not the end of life. Those who strictly adhere to drugs attain total viral suppression and can live longer lives as normal human beings,’ Mr Bimbilla stated.

Mr Raphael Godlove Ahenu, the Bono Regional Chairman of GHANET, called for intensified public education on HIV and AIDS so that the public would appreciate and protect themselves against infections.

He also advised sexually active young people in particular to abstain from premar
ital sexual practices and those who could not control their sexual desires to protect themselves by using condoms.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mrs Habiba Kotoma, La Dadekotopon Municipal Education Director has expressed the need for basic school authorities to prioritize and promote the maintenance of washroom facilities in schools.

This is to ensure good hygiene and foster harmonious teaching and learning practices among learners and facilitators, she stated, adding, ‘The use of washroom facilities is a human right issue and there is no basis to deny students or the individual of its access.’

Mrs Kotoma made the statement at an event to climax the World Toilet Day at Tenashie Basic School in the municipality, which was on the theme: ‘Accelerating Change.’

She indicated that the absence of properly functioning restrooms had the potential to disrupt the education of students to a considerable extent and charged school authorities not to lock up restrooms because of minor defects to inconvenience students and staff.

Mrs Kotoma urged the schools within the municipality to put in place a team to ensure regular maintenance and effective use of washr
oom facilities, adding that minor defects on the facilities should be fixed promptly before they degenerate into worst-case scenarios which would attract higher costs.

She commended the intervention of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) in collaboration with the assembly for the provision of a wide range of washroom facilities for several schools in the municipality.

She said plans were advanced to hold a stakeholders’ meeting within the school circles in the area to brainstorm on management strategies to prolong the lifespan of the restroom facilities.

Mrs Constance Owusu Sekyere, the School Health Education Programmes (SHEP) Coordinator, said her outfit would continue to intensify user education and prevail on teachers to promote monitoring and behavioural change in the schools to achieve the goal of accelerating change for this year.

She said about 95 per cent of schools in the municipality had washroom facilities but the issue of maintenance would be improved to prolong their lifespan.

The SH
EP Coordinator indicated that the La Dadekotopon Municipal Assembly was working assiduously with major stakeholders to bridge the deficit gap in the facilities.

Mrs Sekyere said the support of the Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) through self-managed levies to keep the facilities in good shape was critical as evidenced by success stories in some schools, adding that capitation grants were not enough to cater for operation and maintenance issues in the schools.

Mr Samuel Momon, a representative from the La Dadekotopon Municipal Assembly, said the assembly together with its partners would not relent in their efforts to bridge the deficit gap for deprived schools to meet the expected sanitation standards.

He said the issue of sanitation in its entirety remains one of the critical issues at the forefront of the assembly’s quest to deliver on its mandate to better the lot of the people.

Mr Momon applauded the decision reached by stakeholders and authorities to prevail on the PTA to support the maintenance of
the facilities to enable them to function well to help meet the accepted standards.

He said the issue of maintenance should be given the foremost attention by all schools in order not to reverse the gains made with respect to improving sanitation standards and that the assembly would liaise with the education directorate in that regard.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Females in different professions have joined forces to launch ‘The Influential Woman Foundation’ (TIWOF) to support the less privileged in society and offer them economic support through skills training.

Mrs Ezra Abena Baah, the Executive Director and Founder of the Foundation said the move had become necessary because of her hard life experience after she lost her father and considering how some vulnerable groups could be facing similar challenges.

‘I was privileged to be born with a silver spoon in my mouth, attended a good private school and had all I needed until my father passed on, then I had to live with an auntie. I was immediately withdrawn from a government school. Sometimes students and teachers had to contribute to buy me food and books.

‘So one day, I looked back and it dawned on me to become a blessing to others and not to wait to gain the whole world, to help people in need and that was how TIWOF came to being in May 2020,’ she said.

She said the Foundation focused on four thematic areas d
ubbed – ‘I craft’, ‘StreetMax’, ‘Go with the Flow’, and ‘Pinktober’

With the ‘I craft’, she said the Foundation trained people to make items local drinks including ‘sobolo’ and laundry materials like liquid soaps among others.

It also shared hot packed meals, drinks and water with children and other vulnerable people on the streets during Christmas under its ‘StreetMax’ programme.

Under ‘Go with the Flow’, the Foundation distributed sanitary pads to students and educated them on menstrual hygiene, she said, adding that ‘Pinktober’ was a period where they organised breast screening every October as a breast cancer awareness month for members of the public.

Mrs Baah said the Foundation would on December 23, distribute packed hot meals and drinks to 500 persons on the street.

She said it was the desire of the Foundation to be able to spread love and support to vulnerable groups in all 16 regions in the next few years.

Their biggest challenge, however, has been finance, she said and expressed optimism that
more benevolent people who could relate to their mission supported them to touch more lives.

Mr Frank Papa Kwabena Kumi, President of Pali Centre for Transformative Leadership, addressing attendees at the launch in Accra, advised the Foundation to be intentional in sticking to its vision and mission, while not living by default.

He said the Foundation needed to be sensitive to the environment, explaining that an environment determined and dictated an individual’s behavioural pattern.

‘I have seen people urinating in front of Accra mall, especially some ‘trotro’ drivers and mates. The same Ghanaian when he travels to London or America, will not do that. The environment will determine how you behave,’ he added.

Mr Kumi who said the resultant effect of today’s parental neglect shall become tomorrow’s dysfunctional home or generation, bemoaned the non-holistic nature of Ghana’s educational system, saying its curricula were outdated.

‘One’s sitting for an exam cannot determine the intelligence. No wonder the
politicians take their children abroad’.

He said it was demeaning how the nation only had a gross enrolment of 20 per cent into all tertiary institutions.

He also condemned the non-holistic content from the church and the media, especially social media, adding: ‘Prayer sessions online are sometimes demonstrated and people also post just anything on social media irrespective of whether it is authentic or not.’

To address these challenges, he said everyone including members of the Foundation had to embrace the concept of self-leadership and always cross-check content while being discerning on every piece of information.

He also asked them to have collective group initiatives and identify and pursue critical paths to make a difference.

‘Research has shown that by 2025, 50 per cent of workers will have to be re-skilled because their work will be done by machines. So you must increase your problem-solving skills to remain relevant,’ he said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, has advised the youth to bequeath the next generation the legacy of a better tomorrow.

‘Forging a legacy is about the mark we leave in the world, the positive impact we have on those around us and the values we pass down to future generations,’ he said.

The Speaker said this in a speech read on his behalf at the Knutsford University College’s 13th Matriculation and Congregation ceremonies in Accra.

The event was on the theme: ‘Forging a Legacy: Your Role as Graduates in Shaping the Future of our World’.

The Speaker said a legacy did not only mean leaving something behind for people but also in people.

He urged the graduates to be visionary, passionate, and innovative in their endeavours to impact society positively.

Mr Bagbin said education was not just about accumulating information, but what one did with the information and how it was used to shape one’s life and the entire world.

‘Each one of you is not just here to receive a degree but to ac
cept a responsibility to be architects of the future and to leave a mark in this world that extends beyond your own life.

‘You are the authors of your destiny, the artists of your legacy and the architects of your future. If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then you shall be excellent leaders,’ he said.

Bishop Dr Douglas Akuamuah-Boateng, Chancellor of Knutsford University College, said in shaping the future of the world, graduates had a role to contribute conscientiously to solving the global problems that had engulfed mankind.

He said today’s graduates needed new perspectives on life, to work hard to curb the numerous global destructive propensities and to come out with new philosophies and concepts that would enhance leadership and managerial competencies in industries, educational institutions and politics.

‘It is our hope that such competencies would lead to better decision-making by our future leaders, who are graduating today, to
help solve the numerous challenges confronting the world,’ he added.

He urged them to utilise the skills acquired from the College to be good ambassadors and contribute immensely to whatever situation or environment they found themselves in.

Ms Dora Korkor Kpodo, a Bachelor of Science in Communication and Media Studies student, emerged as the overall best-graduating student.

She was awarded a Dell laptop and Ghc10,000 from Stanbic Bank.

Ms Kpodo expressed appreciation to God, her family and all, who supported her in diverse ways to make her dreams a reality.

She advised students, especially females to be determined and committed to their dreams, adding that, with God’s help, they would succeed.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ghana HIV and AIDs Network, (GHANET) has organized a two-hour walk against the spread of HIV and AIDs in the Western Region.

The walk, which started from the Takoradi Technical Institute gate through some streets in Effiakuma, ended at the Effia Police Park where both the young and old were sensitized on new infections and preventive or abstinence measures.

Ms. Joyce Begyina, the Effia Kwesimintsin Municipal Assembly Health Director, the Chief of Apremdo, Nana Egya Kwamena XI and Ms. Eva Ankrah, from Hurds Foundation were some high-profile personalities who joined school children and other community members in the walk to mark the AIDS Day on the theme: ‘Let Communities Lead’.

Nana Egya Kwamena XI, the Chief of Apremdo, encouraged the youth to endeavour to control their sexual drive.

He said communities needed able-bodied individuals to build their development aspirations and that the youth, who were key in the processes, must guard their lives jealously against the ravaging hands of HIV and AIDS.

M
s Begyina said infections among the youth were increasing and accounting for seven per cent of total new infections.

She added that female sex workers had high risks of exposure and called for massive education to save the girl child.

Ms. Alberta Kwofie, the Western Regional Vice President of GHANET, said the walk was also to educate Ghanaians on self-testing to promote voluntary testing to know the individual status.

Source: Ghana News Agency