Day: May 10, 2024

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has promised to provide incentives to churches instead of taxing them.

He said the churches had played a pivotal role in the country’s development efforts through the provision of educational infrastructure, health facilities and social amenities over the years, therefore, it would be prudent to incentivise them to do more rather than taxing them.

‘You’re our domestic development partners and will give you incentives to do more,’ Dr Bawumia said this during a meeting with religious leaders in the Bono East Region on Friday.

‘We will rather want to give churches incentives to support what the government is doing. I want us to be partners, the way the development partners have been with us,’ Dr Bawumia stressed.

‘We should rather be paying them rather than they paying us…unless you don’t understand the work the church has done…if you’re looking at the buildings and keeping the society together…universities, hospitals, schools…it’s massive…it’s
just massive…so, I don’t see a situation where we have to tax the churches,’ Dr Bawumia stated amidst applause from the Clergy.

Some civil society organisations and social activists in the past have supported the call for Churches to be taxed since a lot of them are making money from their members through the collection of offerings and tithes, while others sell anointing oil, spiritual soaps, perfumes, and different items in the church.

Therefore, the Vice President’s stance has brought to rest a raging debate over whether churches should be taxed or not.

Dr Bawumia is on a nationwide campaign tour across all the 16 regions until the first week of June.

‘Bold Solutions for our Future,’ is the theme for his campaign, focusing on three key pillars: The battle of ideas and character, The battle of records and the battle of effective campaign.

The NPP Flagbearer and his campaign team are focusing on issue-based electioneering, tackling cogent, practical, and tailor-made ideas to deal with issues that are de
ar to the Ghanaian people.

He is meeting a wide range of stakeholders including traditional rulers, the Clergy, youth groups, traders, drivers, farmers, and students, and interact with businesses and associations.

He has been visiting market centres and other public places to listen to the concerns of both traders and consumers.

Dr Bawumia also engaged the media, held townhall meetings and continued with his regular stakeholder engagements with Ghanaians.

Since his election as the NPP Flagbearer on November 4, 2023, for the December 7 Election, Dr Bawumia had been regularly active in undertaking broad consultations and interactions with various groups across the country.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, has said that he was working toward having more retired armed forces officers in governance.

Musa said this while speaking with newsmen on Thursday in Kaduna after the Pulling Out Dinner organised by the Infantry Corps in honour of retired Infantry Generals.

He said the retired Generals, who were used for more training at operational and strategic levels, would be needed in governance where they could bring their experiences to benefit the nation.

‘The nation has spent so much in training them, such vast knowledge should not just go like that.

‘We want these top military men to continue to contribute their own quota to the development of the nation,’ he said.

The CDS pointed out that some of the retired Generals had served the Nigerian Army for 35 years, with some going even beyond that number.

‘It means they have accumulated experiences that we cannot afford to do away with.

‘They are still strong, capable and ready. We need them to contribute
so much to the nation,’ he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Lawyer Amma Frimpomaa, Managing Director of State Insurance Corporation Life Savings and Loans Company Limited on Friday, donated variety of items to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and the Children’s Ward at the Sunyani Teaching Hospital.

  In addition, she settled the hospital bills for several mothers who have delivered, and their children were still on admission due to illness totalling about Ghc 25,000.

  The items donated included baby scales, silicone Nasal Aspirators, boxes of Nan baby foods, cartons of milk, cartons of Milo, boxes of wipes, cartons of diapers, tissues, boxes of detergents and toiletries.

  Speaking to the media after the donation, Lawyer Frimpomaa stated that she had been donating for the past nine years in honour of her birthday, which fell on May 6 each year.

  She said her inspiration for supporting these wards was from a personal experience she had together with her sibling nine years ago and had since made it a tradition to give back to these wards on her birthday.

 
Lawyer Frimpomaa urged others to join in supporting these children who were in dire need of such items, but their parents could not afford it.

  Receiving the items on behalf of the facility, Mr. Adams Umar Mengu, Deputy Administrator of the Teaching Hospital, expressed his gratitude to lawyer Frimpomaa for the gesture and emphasized the importance of the items in aiding their effort to combat malnutrition among mothers and children at the facility

  Mr. Mengu also stressed the significance of community support in supplementing the hospital’s resources in the provision of quality healthcare.

  Dr. Bright Asiamah, a Pediatrician at the Sunyani Teaching Hospital, emphasized the urgent need for additional equipment to care for the children in NICU and said that a significant number of babies admitted to the unit suffer from infections and respiratory issues.

  He said currently, the hospital was equipped with eight Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machines and seven incubators but needed more of s
uch essential machines, as the facility could care for 100 to 120 babies each month.

  He said the limited equipment at the facility had forced medical staff to share resources, compromising the quality of health care provided.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), on Thursday sought a partnership with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) iln sensitising Nigerians on irregular migration.

Mr Francois-Xanvier Ada-Affana, the Public Information officer, IOM, presented the request when he led a delegation of IOM on a visit to the Editor-in-Chief of NAN, Mr Ephraims Sheyin, in Abuja.

Ada-Affana said that IOM’s focus was to ensure effective management of migration and to promote international cooperation on migration issues.

He said that IOM’s mandate also included the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need.

He said that relating with the media would aid the quest to share accurate information to people seeking to migrate.

‘Migration is not a problem. It is a reality that we are all called to live with. Migrants bring something wherever they are, wherever they go.

‘What we are called to do is to govern it better by setting up systems, create laws, in
frastructures that facilitate the movement of people regularly.

‘For us, the key message is regular movement with required documents that are needed, we also want people to move to a destination knowing where they are going and why they are going there.

‘We need to ensure that people don’t fall into traps and that people must move with a clear purpose,” he said.

Ada-Affana said that people had fallen victim to traffickers and smugglers and IOM intend to draw people’s attention to it to enable them recognise when their confidence or trust was being abused.

‘We work closely with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), to do a lot of advocacy and ensure that the people, who are committing the crime of trafficking, are prosecuted.’

He emphasised that effective migration management requires more than merely stopping it.

‘It involves effective governance that would ensure successful implementation,’ he said.

Responding, Sheyin promised to partner with IOM for adequate cov
erage and to ensure adequate information flow on irregular migration.

According to him, IOM is doing a good job toward ensuring that Nigerians know the risks involved in irregular migration.

‘The agency will support IOM by covering all its activities.

‘I want to thank you for your efforts at making people know the issues in and around migration, both locally and internationally.

‘I thank you for the emphasis on key areas like accommodation, feeding and basic survival.

‘There is always a need to get the right information across to people through the media.

‘NAN has an existing editorial policy that focuses on issues of migration. We shall use that to support IOM mission.

‘NAN has the technical expertise to handle information coming from IOM. We shall deploy that to monitor the progress made by the organisation,’ he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The ‘See Something, Say Something’ Campaign Team of the Ministry of National Security has discouraged members of the public from placing prank calls to the 999 toll-free number cautioning that it interferes with security emergencies.

The Campaign Team, moving across various regions to promote awareness on personal security, has emphasised the importance of using the emergency number solely for its designated purpose, which is to report potentially suspicious behaviours that can threaten national security.

Mrs Akosua Danquah Ntim Sekyere, Team Lead of the ‘See Something, Say Something’ Campaign, speaking to the media during the Northern Region’s visit, stated that feedback from communities gave the impression that the public was receptive to the campaign messages.

She said, however, prank calls posed a challenge.

Mrs Sekyere noted that the campaign had so far been productive as feedback from communities created such an impression, adding the only negative thing to the campaign had been prank calls.

She h
ighlighted that a continual stream of irrelevant calls might obstruct the ability to address legitimate concerns from callers in need of assistance.

She advised against dialing the number unless there was a genuine concern or observation of a suspicious activity that deserved the attention of security agencies.

She said, ‘The campaign tagline says, ‘See Something, Say Something.’ So, call only when you see something. If you have not seen anything, we encourage you do not to call 999.’

The ‘See Something, Say Something’ is a citizen education campaign launched by the Ministry of National Security in 2022.

The campaign seeks to inform citizens on security issues and the need to report suspicious activities as part of the Ministry’s strategies to counter terrorism,

The campaign has adopted the acronym SALUTE to make it easier for people to describe suspicious acts when they call the emergency number.

This is to facilitate descriptions based on sizes and specifics of an object, activity, location, uniform o
r attire of suspect, time and equipment involved in any act that arouses suspicion.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Havel Corporate Concept, an affiliate of ioSafe Nigeria, has unveiled projects designed to transform Abuja into a smart city.

The Chief Executive Officer of the organisation, Dr Ahmed Badanga, unveiled the projects at a media briefing in Abuja on Friday.

Badanga identified the projects as Abuja Smart City Project and Abuja Residents Smart Card Project.

He explained that the Abuja Smart City Project, which would be implemented in collaboration with critical stakeholders, would make governance, transport, tourism, health, business, and homes smarter.

The. CEO said that the team would explore a Public-Private-Partnership, not just on financial agreements but also in the sharing of expertise, risks, and rewards, in pursuit of mutual and public interests.

He said that the smart city project was tailored-based on local peculiarities, people, and the current state of Abuja city, as against the practice of allocating land to build a smart city within a city.

‘We are blending global standards with our uniqu
e Abuja identity, utilising, and leveraging existing infrastructure, technology, and services within and outside Abuja metropolis,’ he said.

According to him, the goal is to transform Abuja to a smarter, faster, and reliable service provider, and a city where technology and innovation meets hospitality.

He said that the project, when completed, will facilitate real time access to service and transaction via internet, artificial intelligence and customised mobile application tagged, ‘Abuja Smartcity App’, a one stop shop.

This, according to him, will improve the quality of life of Abuja residents.

‘The project is designed to redefine Abuja city, where services are provided smartly by unlocking the potentials of the city to allow people to live, explore, work with ease, and relax pleasantly.

‘This is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals 11, which seeks to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable,’ he said.

He explained that the project would be built in phases, based on existing s
tructures by adopting local content that focused on customer support systems.

He added that the project would rely majorly on technology, particularly internet, Wi-Fi, voice services, fiber optic infrastructure, and satellite services available in the city among others.

‘This will create Abuja, where all activities and responsibilities are interconnected with an array of sensors and data collectors, distributed throughout the city, and monitored centrally,’ he added.

On the Abuja Residents Smart Card Project, Badanga said that the digital biometric database was designed to drive the Abuja Smart City vision to reality.

He said that the proposed card would have basic features of e-payment and biometric data to enable the holders to access government, security, financial, and transportation services.

According to him, efficient public services are not possible without a resident smart card and digital database.

‘The idea of the smart card is to build a reliable database of all residents of Abuja to support
the proposed smart city.

‘This will enhance an effective and realistic ecosystem for planning, especially in the provision and delivery of social services and amenities.

‘This is critical, considering the continued influx of migrants seeking economic opportunities and better life, thereby, increasing the city population with implication on social services, infrastructure, and security.’

To ensure the success of the projects, Badanga said that the organisation would carry out an extensive awareness campaign toward building smart people, to access smart services, in a smart city.

He disclosed that Vice President Kashim Shettima would officially unveil the Abuja Smart Strategic Road Map, during the 2nd edition of the Nigeria Data Expo and Conference scheduled for July 23, 2024.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament of the North Tongu Constituency, and Mrs Isabella Ayimey, the North Tongu District Education Director, have both appealed to teachers considering transfers from the district to rescind their decisions.

Their plea followed the impact of the Akosombo Dam spillage on the teachers in the district, with some seeking to be transferred from the area.

Mr Ablakwa stated that some of the teachers had written to the Ghana Education Service (GES) and requested a transfer from the district. 

This action, he said, would have a negative toll on education in the area.

‘I am begging our teachers to kindly stay. We need them. I urge those of them who called for transfer, to reconsider their decisions,’ Mr Ablakwa appealed.

He, however, expressed gratitude to the educators who stood steadfast and continued in their roles during the challenging times that were brought about by the spillage of the Akosombo dam months ago and pledged to offer his maximum support to them.

Mr Ablakwa also urged the Government to prioritize the welfare of those still staying in tents, especially during this rainy season.

He also called on the Government to compensate the victims after they lost their businesses and houses to the floods.

Mrs Ayimey, on her part, reassured the teachers in the region that the Government was diligently working around the clock to respond to all issues arising in the aftermath of the spillage and urged them not to depart from their vital roles in shaping young minds. 

She pledged continued support from the education office to ensure the well-being and stability of teachers in the district.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has inducted desk officers to improve service delivery across FCT public primary and secondary schools.

FCTA Head of Civil Service, Dr Udo Atang, said during the induction in Abuja, that the move was part of ongoing efforts to deliver quality services to residents of Abuja.

Atang, who was represented by a director in his office, Mrs Funmilayo Kayode, described the initiative as a crucial milestone in the administration’s efforts to transform the education sector.

This, according to him, will make FCT schools more competitive.

‘The new desk officers are expected to be at the forefront of improving services in FCT schools.

‘They will play a critical role in realising the vision of establishing a world-class city where quality services are accessible by all.

‘This is a significant step in the FCTA’s commitment to strengthen good governance through improved education service delivery in FCT schools.’

He urged the desk officers to be dedicated to their du
ties, while reiterating the FCTA’s commitment to recognising and rewarding hard work and excellence.

‘The Annual Staff Recognition and Award is one of FCTA’s ways of recognising hard work. I, therefore, urged you to distinguish yourselves and you will be recognised and rewarded,’ he said.

Mrs Nnenna Akajemeli, National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer, SERVICOM, emphasised the importance of continuous capacity building to ensure quality service delivery.

Akajemeli urged the FCT Administration to fully support service improvement processes in schools to reap the benefits of quality human capital.

‘This will be achieved through training and retraining of staff, to ensure sustained quality service delivery and effective management of customer experiences,’ she added.

In his remarks, Mr Prosper Ibe, the Permanent Secretary, FCTA Education Secretariat, described the induction as a milestone in the ongoing efforts to elevate the quality of education in the FCT.

He encouraged the desk officers to uphold
the principles of accountability, transparency, and integrity.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) has lifted the media blackout placed on Mr Farouk Aliu Mahama, MP for Yendi.

The Association went through an interim restriction on its media reportage for over three months.

This came after he assaulted Mohammed Aminu Alabira, a Northern Regional Citi News reporter on January 27, 2024.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra, Mr Albert Dwumfour, President of the GJA, said the decision to lift the media blackout on Mr Mahama was influenced by the MP’s illustration of deep regret and his vow to work with journalists to safeguard their safety and security in the country.

‘Mr Mahama apologised for the assault on the Citi FM reporter and committed to working to restore cordial relations with the media in the Northern region and the country as a whole.’

The GJA President said, Mr Mahama also noted that he had also withdrawn the suit against GJA and its partners as well as Citi TV and Citi FM and was ready to meet the management of the media house and the victim, for an
amicable settlement.

Mr Dwumfour added that the MP for Yendi sent a formal letter of apology to the management of Citi FM and Citi TV.

He said the MP also wrote to the GJA to settle the matter between himself, Citi FM, TV, and the GJA.

‘After meeting to discuss the reconciliation gesture by the MP, the pleas by the minister of information designate, together with the positive feedback from the management of Citi TV, the GJA and its partners have decided to end the media boycott placed on the MP.

‘We therefore respectfully, request all media organisations to take note and act according with effect from today, May 9, 2024,’ he added.

Mr Dwumfour added they had previously lifted the media blackout on Mrs Hawa Koomsom, MP for Awutu Senya East Constituency, saying the media blackout on Mrs Koomson was lifted some months earlier, adding that the GJA and its partners would ensure that justice was served.

‘The MP met officials of the GJA and its partners to express regret over the attack of the journalist while
pledging to help identify and arrest the perpetrators. It was based on this pledge which was backed by the minister-designate for information that the blackout was lifted, he added.

He said Mrs Koomson fulfilled her promise of aiding the police in their investigations by identifying two suspects.

Mr Dwumfour, therefore assured that the case was still under investigation by the police to ensure the prosecution of the identified perpetrators.

According to him the implementation of the media blackout had proven to be an effective deterrent adding that ‘after recording the attacks and blacklisting people who attack journalists, it has resulted in the reduction of attacks and has also raised awareness.’

‘This is good for us. It means that the measures and decisions we have taken are biting and everyone is cautious and being careful about the media.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan have visited Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, as part of a three-day private visit to Nigeria.

The visit, on the invitation of the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, was also in relation to the Invictus Games, an international adaptive sport competition for wounded service personnel and veterans, founded by Prince Harry in 2014.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Duke and Duchess arrived Abuja on Friday, and immediately visited the Light Academy in Wuse, an institution supported by Archewell Foundation before moving to the defence headquarters.

On arrival at the DHQ, they were received by wives of military officers led by the President, Defence and Police Officers Wives Association, Mrs Oghogho Musa and top officers of the Nigerian military.

The visitors went into closed door meeting with the defence chief, at the end of which they declined to speak with newsmen.

The royal couple had left Abuja for a visit to the Nigerian
Army Reference Hospital Kaduna to interact with wounded soldiers receiving treatment.

They are expected to watch a novelty volleyball match between CDS Invictus and Team Duke on Saturday, hold strategic meetings, and proceed to Lagos on Sunday, before their departure.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria