Day: December 18, 2023

I am privileged to have been able to observe China’s growth from before its 1978 reforms until today. I first visited China with a Philippines-China friendship group in 1977, and then with my father, the late President Diosdado Macapagal in December 1978, just before China embarked on its reform and opening. Between those two first trips of mine to China, at the National Conference on Science, Deng Xiaoping declared that the key to the four modernizations is the modernization of science and technology.

If I were to characterize what happened in China from that time up to today, there is one word to describe it: breathtaking. I recall that in the 1980s,

the term ‘dragon economy’ was coined to describe the economic miracles starting to take shape in China. I was then an official in my country’s Department of Trade and Industry. I was wondering then if China would become our chief competitor in the world. Little did I realize then that China was in a class of its own.

Rather than a competitor, China has prov
en to be a partner in development; it is a market for developing countries, a donor, and a provider of capital and technology. If I were to summarize the keys to China’s success during the last 40 plus years since 1978, I would point to four factors. First, a long-term vision. Second, a strong will to implement that vision. Third, a recognition of the value of infrastructure. And fourth, a recognition of the value of state-of-the-art technology.

At the 20th Party Congress, Chinese President Xi Jinping highlighted, among China’s overall development objectives for the year 2035, to significantly increase scientific and technological capabilities; join the ranks of the world’s most innovative countries, with great self-reliance and

strength in science and technology; and become a leading country in science and technology. Thus, China is setting a new growth model in the increasing complexity and acceleration of change in the entire world system.

The world is indeed in a new era, and this new era calls for a n
ew journey and new cooperation. In this new cooperation, the relationship between the Philippines and China is more important than ever for my country.

Let me end by quoting Chinese President Xi Jinping’s message to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO summit: ‘We need to embrace the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation; accelerate scientific, technological and institutional innovation; foster new economy, new types of business and new business models; and achieve digital transformation.’
Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr. Yaa Akyaa Boateng, the Family Physician Specialist at the International Maritime Hospital (IMaH), has said that preventive health checkups for women have some benefits for everyone and must be encouraged.

She said due to the backbone role women played in the family, society, and country, encouraging them to get checked up to prevent and detect sicknesses early in them would preserve their health to perform their dutie.

Dr. Boateng gave the advice during the weekly ‘Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility! A Ghana News Agency initiative aimed at promoting health-related communication and providing a platform for health information dissemination to influence personal health choices through improved health literacy

She noted that during preventive health checks, three areas-the history of the woman, physical examinations, and medical examinations-are done to pick up signs of sickness early for interventions and management.

Dr. Boateng stated that only regular maintenance helped preserve vehicles; pre
ventive checks also preserved good health in women to prevent complications and premature death.

She encouraged women to see a qualified health care person for checks, indicating that during such checks, their history, including risk factors for diseases such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections, and diseases, as well as pre-existing medical conditions,

She urged women to open and answer such questions, as it would help the doctors to make informed decisions about them and know their financial and social support systems, which would also help tailor a preventive plan that would suit them.

The IMaH Family Physician Specialist said during physical examinations, they checked from the head of the woman to the entire body to pick up any concerns.

She stated that the eyes are checked for any visual issues such as glaucoma, cataracts, and refractive errors, adding that sometimes some health conditions such as blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol caused complications
on the retina, which could be detected during eye examinations.

She said with the ears, having difficulty hearing could affect the quality of life of a woman and must also be examined for early detection and prevention.

The mouth, she said, would also be checked for gum diseases, which, if not detected early, increased the risk of cardiovascular disease as the bacteria that caused them could go into the bloodstream and to the heart.

She said the neck, which contained the thyroid, was checked for enlargement and whether it was over-functioning or under-functioning, indicating that its function in the body was for metabolism to break down the food eaten.

Dr Boateng explained that overworking the thyroid could lead to palpitations and hypertension, while underworking it would slow down metabolism, leading to weight gain.
Source: Ghana News Agency

The Forestry Commission (FC) has presented individual awards to 15 of its staff members in recognition for their commitment, dedication, and outstanding services to the Commission over the years.

Two former staff were presented with meritorious awards, while the Rapid Response Team at the Takoradi District Office of the FC was also recognized for its roles in protecting the country’s forest reserves.

The awardees each received citations, an amount of GHC3,000, a customized watch and the option to choose between a refrigerator, television set and microwave at the 2023 FC Chief Executive’s End of Year Briefing and Staff Recognition Awards ceremony, held in Takoradi.

Mr John Allotey, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Commission, speaking at the ceremony said the awards were to show appreciation to the staff for their invaluable contributions to the success of the Commission over the years.

He said it was also appropriate to recognize them to serve as a form of motivation to both the winners and the o
thers to continue to work hard and give of their best to ensure the Commission successfully achieved its mandates.

Giving an overview of activities of the Commission for the year, Mr Allotey said staff strength had a 3.3 per cent increase from 4,323 in 2022 to 4,467 this year, saying the Rapid Response Team (RRT) members increased from 48 after its inception in 2012 to 130 in 2023.

‘As part of the RRTs key achievements, 67,784 assorted lumbers were seized or evacuated, 290 suspects engaged in various illegalities were arrested, 181 chainsaws were seized, 119 excavators were destroyed and 51 vehicles were arrested among others’, he said.

He said during this year’s Green Ghana Day project, the Commission supervised the planting of over 10.7 million tree seedlings as against an initial target of 10 million.

Mr Allotey mentioned that a total of 249,749.32 metric cubes valued at pound 114 million as against an annual target of 270,000 metric cubes with a value of pound 145 millions of timber were exported as a
t the end of October this year.

Other activities were health and safety training for staff members, commissioning of a new Eastern Regional office complex, and the establishment of a Wood Forensic Laboratory, among others.

Touching on challenges, he noted that illegal mining and logging, bush fires and cattle grazing continued to be their major operational issues and said the Commission would put in place stringent mechanisms to deal with them.

On some of their operational target for next year, Mr Allotey said the Commission would among other things supervise the successful completion of reclamation and re-vegetation activities in mined-out sites within the Denyau Shelterbelt, Supuma and Afao Hills forest reserves.

He indicated that they would cut sod for a Koforidua Zoo project and build regional office for Western North and a District office for Kyebi.

‘We will complete documentation for additional financing and procurement process for the construction works in Shai Hills Resource Reserve, Kakum and Mo
le National Parks to begin under the Ghana Tourism Development Project,’ he added.

Mr Benito Owusu-Bio, Deputy Minister in charge of Lands and Forestry at Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, congratulated the awardees for their selfless roles in ensuring the management of the country’s forest resources.

Mr Augustine Kofi Gyedu, an awardee who spoke on behalf of the award winners, expressed gratitude to the management of the Forestry Commission for recognizing their efforts in ensuring the success of the organization over the years.

He pledged their commitment to continue to work assiduously to ensure the Commission delivered on its mandates.
Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr. Seth Tay, the District Police Commander of Kpone, and the election task force have educated aspirants in the 18 electoral areas ahead of the district-level election in Kpone.

He cautioned the candidates to ensure free and fair elections and also prevent any occurrences such as crime and other related issues that would hinder the elections at various electoral areas in the Kpone Katamanso Municipality.

Mr. Tay said all the aspirants should be of good behaviour and comport themselves while noting the prohibition of phones at the ballot screen when going to vote.

‘The wearing of any aspirant’s attire should be prohibited at the polling stations,’ he stated.

He also reiterated that security would be tight; and anyone who misbehaves or goes against any of the rules and regulations of the laws would face severe punishment.

The District Police Commander stated that the aspirants should advise their supporters that the election is not a do-or-die affair; therefore, it would be a term for everyone either now
or in the future.

He urged them to ensure tolerance, and the process would be ensured by the Electoral Commission based on their performances at the end of the election.

In an interview with Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office, Mr. Isaac Newton Tetteh, the assembly member for Nmlitsakpo Electoral Area, highlighted that the EC might fail to achieve the proposed 60 percent turnout because they are far behind time and the education is poor.

Mr. Tetteh added that NCCE has not lived up to their expectations of educating the public on the importance of district-level elections.

He advised the aspirants that they should refrain from influencing delegates with money because it amounts to a criminal offence, especially in district-level elections.
Source: Ghana News Agency

The Police Service says it has deployed adequate men and women to ensure peaceful District Level Elections (DLE) on Tuesday.

In a brief, it said all should be rest assured that the elections would be peaceful.

It advised the electorate to comply with the rules and regulations of the exercise to avoid being caught up with the law.

The DLE is meant to elect assembly members and unit committee members for for electoral areas nationwide.
Source: Ghana News Agency

The items included bags of rice, cooking oil, bags of sachet water, bottled water, packs of soft drinks, toothbrushes, toothpaste, sets of pens, pencils, sharpeners and erasers, exercise books, and packs of toilet rolls, among others.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Ms Shamsia Fiator, Leader of the Foundation said the vision of the foundation was to reach out to poor, underprivileged persons and orphans in the society, adding that they were the future leaders of the nation.

‘Children are a blessing, and they are also the future leaders of the nation so we will continue to support them and create a better world,’ she added.

Ms Fiator said, ‘We must support the underprivileged children like pupils of Street Academy and put smiles on their faces.’

She appealed to parents to take care of their children and love them.

Ms Fiator, also, urged parents to invest in the education of their wards and cautioned them to stop purchasing expensive funeral clothes which were not beneficial to the development of
their children.

Ms Nelly Quarcopome, Member of the foundation said its core mandate was to take care of street children and orphans, to make their lives better.

She called on Ghanaians to join hands with the foundation to alleviate the suffering of children who were in need.

Mr Ataa Lartey, Chief Executive Officer of Street Academy thanked the donors for their kind gesture and appealed to other organisations and private individuals to come and support the academy.
Source: Ghana News Agency

The Africa Prosperity Network (APN) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat will host African heads of state and top business leaders, among others at the next Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) in Ghana from January 25 – 27, 2024.

The three-day dialogue is on the theme: ‘Delivering Prosperity in Africa – Produce, Add Value, Trade,’ and will be hosted by President Nana Akufo-Addo.

The APD 2024 Retreat will take place at the Peduase Presidential Lodge, Aburi Hills, in the Eastern Region.

Heads of international development institutions, foreign investors, social change-makers, and other Pan-African thought leaders will also attend.

Ahead of the high-profile conference in Ghana, the APN Secretariat, in collaboration with AfCFTA, will organise a media webinar tomorrow, December 19, to unpack and discuss issues pertinent to the realisation of the AfCFTA’s single market focus – collective ownership by the people of Africa.

Themed: ‘What Do You Know About the AfCFTA – and Why Should the
Media Care?’, the discussions will examine the media’s role in mobilising mass engagement and participation in the AfCFTA and the opportunities it brings, especially as it is of immense benefit for the growth of SMEs in Global Africa (the sixth region of Africa).

A release issued by the APN Communication Directorate in Accra said Tuesday’s webinar would feature some of Africa’s media heavyweights; Audrey Gadzekpo, Samuel Atta-Mensah, Elizabeth Ohene, Ferial Haffajee, Joel Kibazo, Charles Onyango-Obbo, Andrew Mwenda, Mariama Sy Ba, David Ndii, Noo Saro-Wiwa and Dele Momodu.

They will discuss ways of internalising and normalising the unfolding reality of facilitating the free movement of people, goods and services among Africa’s 1.4 billion population.

It is also to prompt both AfCFTA actors and influential media players to do more to persuade Africans to tap into the potential of intra-African trade.

A major question that will emerge will be: ‘What can AfCFTA and member states do to support the media to bu
ild public education about the new, open Africa, and how seriously do African journalists themselves take the task of spreading the message?’

The AfCFTA, APN’s principal partner, has been at the forefront of Africa’s new trade paradigm and brought a new lease of life to the continent’s efforts of building the world’s largest single market.

But the lingering question of how to realise the single market through actionable and bankable policy positions has been brought to the fore, the release said.

The media webinar is essentially to get participants to explore and strategise on information-dissemination services and how they can engage and inform people across Africa and the global audiences, to participate actively in the AfCFTA and capitalise on the opportunities it presents.

There will be a presidential dinner gala and the Africa Prosperity Champions Awards ceremony on the night of January 26 at the Kempinski Gold Coast City Hotel in Accra.
Source: Ghana News Agency

China has a long history that stretches for thousands of years. At the beginning of the 19th century, China’s GDP ranked first in the world. However, by the end of the Qing Dynasty, the country was closed to the world and foreign powers invaded, resulting in a sluggish Chinese economy. Before the reform and opening-up in the 1970s, China was still a poor country with a GDP that only accounted for 1.5 percent of the world.

Ever since the reform, China has re-entered a period of vibrant growth with its GDP accounting for 18 percent of the world’s total in 2022, and expected to reach 20 percent in the next few years. This is a remarkable change.

What happened, and the reasons behind it, are extremely deep and complex. The most important contributors are the Chinese people themselves, who have made most of the innovations in the past few decades.

For instance, the new system of farming instituted in late 1970s, named the Household Responsibility System, was born out of a commune founded by 18 households in ea
st China’s Anhui Province, and has since been approved by the leadership and adopted nationwide.

Migrant workers have also contributed to Chinese modernization. About 250 million people worked hard in harsh factory conditions in their early years but their salary was much higher than in the rural areas so they were happy to do such jobs. With the development of Chinese society, their wages are now gradually increasing.

Even in today’s world, the technological innovations we see come primarily from private companies founded by visionary individuals, some of them very successful. So, the Chinese people have made contributions to China’s modernization at different levels, and this is not a random event.

The second factor is the capacity of the government’s leadership team. I have met hundreds of Chinese political leaders, including national, provincial, municipal, all the way down to township and village level. I see a dedication and a high level of leadership in them. Although the Chinese government inevitab
ly has problems that other governments have to a certain extent, the overall capability of the government is obvious. When I meet with the deputy governor or the deputy mayor, I ask them some questions, and I tend to get detailed and professional data and analysis.

China’s poverty alleviation work has detailed numerical targets that government officials must achieve. If they fail to meet this goal, they cannot be promoted. If they really fell far short of their goals, they could be demoted. The government takes independent assessment tests to prevent cheating, or at least limit it.

China’s political system attaches importance to the performance management of government officials. Although official collusion and financial corruption may occur from time to time, it is undeniable that a high level of government leadership has been the main driving force for Chinese modernization.

The third factor can be summed up in one phrase: Seek truth from facts. ‘Crossing the river by touching the stones’ is an image met
aphor for former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping’s strategy of reform and opening-up. This sentence sounds simple, but it requires the government to conduct

experiments and adjust the theory based on practical results before carrying out policies on a large scale.

For example, special economic zones (SEZs) are used for testing purposes. Initially, there were only four SEZs in China, separated from other regions so that it would not affect the entire country if it did not work. After years of experiments, the SEZ policy was extended to more regions and finally to the whole country.

The same is true for free trade zones (FTZs). As a brand-new way for Chinese society to open up and communicate with the world, the first FTZ, officially known as China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, was established in 2013. Only after it was proved successful and adapted was the policy rolled out in the other cities. Although I don’t know exactly how many FTZs there are now in China, there is no doubt that the number is constant
ly growing, and the entire Hainan Island, the southmost province, is also included.

As a big country, if China takes the wrong policies, it could cause big problems. So, they need to conduct trials in a specific location and gather feedback from them to improve policies before large-scale deployment. This approach also demonstrates the ability of the Chinese government to govern.
Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Michael Yaw Gyato, the parliamentary candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has embarked on reshaping the Dambai town roads.

This formed part of his social responsibility agenda to the people of Krachi East Constituency.

Mr Gyato, a former Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the development would help ameliorate the plights of the road users and residents in the area for an economic boost.

He assured the residents of Krachi East that progress of developmental projects would be visible going forward and that ‘the NPP is dedicated to delivering on its promises.’

Some motorists in the area the GNA engaged have commended Mr Gyato for his continuous contributions to the development of the area.

Mr Simon Danquah, a taxi driver who has worked in the area for the past three years, expressed gratitude for the work done.

He also appealed for other roads within the area to be given similar attention.

The roads within Dambai, the densely populated regional Capital
of the Oti region, have been in a deplorable state for years.
Source: Ghana News Agency

The Electricity Company of Ghana Limited has commissioned a ‘Loss Reduction Programme (LRP)’ in the Amasaman District of the Accra West region to facilitate the installation of compliant smart meters directly from manufacturers to customers.

The roll out of the programme in the District signals a complete coverage of the programme in all eight operational districts in the region and would improve energy accounting.

The LRP is an initiative of Management of ECG to ensure the availability of meters to meet service connection requests and reduce system losses.

WINA technologies, a local Ghanaian meter assembling company, is the contractor assigned to the Amasaman District, a news brief from the ECG, copied to the Ghana News Agency, said.

The Company is in partnership with Conlog Solutions, a South African based meter manufacturing company with over 50 years’ experience in providing metering solutions in several countries, for the programme.

At a ceremony to inaugurate the programme, Mr Kingsley Opoku, the
ECG District Manager for Amasaman, said the District struggled with the overwhelming demand for new service connections and replacement of faulty meters, which it was unable to satisfy.

The absence of adequate meters to service the requests led to revenue loss and customer dissatisfaction, he explained.

Mrs Hudson-Butler, the Chief Executive Officer of WINA Technologies assured the ECG that the Conlog meters were designed to withstand all forms of external interference and shocks.

‘Throughout the years, Conlog solutions has mastered the art of perfecting the anti-theft and anti-tampering security features of its meters.

‘We assure ECG that with our technology, anyone who attempts to engage in any form of illegality will be detected and a signal will be sent to the control center. The meter will then deactivate and await official attention from ECG,’ she said.

Mr Emmanuel Ankrah, the Acting Accra West General Manager, ECG, said he was content with the pace at which Districts were adapting to recent innova
tions introduced into the Company’s operations.

He noted that the digitization of many of the Company’s internal processes were geared towards improving revenue and service delivery.

He expressed optimism that through the LRP, shortage of meters would be a thing of the past.

Mr Ankrah said: ‘Inadequate meters to meet service requests has become an excuse for some people to engage in illegalities, robbing the Company of much needed revenue. These activities negatively affect the Company, since such persons use power without paying.’

He said it was good news, therefore, that the LRP programme would ensure that ECG was able to serve customers promptly and efficiently.

The Accra west region has eight operational districts – Ablekuma, Achimota, Amasaman, Bortianor, Dansoman, Kaneshie, Korlebu and Nsawam districts.

Present at the inauguration was the South African Ambassador to Ghana, Madam Grace Jeanet Mason.

Others were the Project Manager, Dr. Belinda Yeboah Dwamena; the Meter Supplier’s Consultant, Mr Jo
nes Ofori Addo and the Accra west region management team.
Source: Ghana News Agency