Day: May 30, 2023

Gomoa Okyereko (C/R), The dead toll of the Tuesday morning Gomoa Okyereko motor accident on the Accra-Takoradi highway had risen to 16.

The 16th person, died soon on arrival at the hospital.

Forty others sustained various degrees of injures are receiving treatment at Effutu Municipal Hospital and the Trauma and Specialist Hospital both in Winneba where they were rushed to.

DO III Mr. Kwesi Hughes of the Effutu Municipal Directorate of the Ghana National Fire Service told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at the scene that they received a distress call at 05:14 hours about the accident at Gomoa Okyereko, near Winneba junction.

He said on their arrival at the scene the Service detected that the accident involved a Yutong Bus with registration Number CR-5866-L from Cape Coast direction with passengers from Liberia heading towards Liberia Camp and a petrol tanker with registration Number WR-2063-10 with three people on board towards Cape Coast direction.

According to DO III Hughes, information gathered indicated that the driver of the bus, on reaching a section of the road at Okyereko veered off his lane and crashed head-on with the tanker which was coming from the opposite direction.

He said it took three hours to rescue both the living and the dead who were trapped in both vehicles.

Some of the victims had their bodies dismembered.

Bodies of the dead have been deposited at the Trauma Hospital for preservation and identification.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), The Government of Sierra Leone says it is ready to hold peaceful, free and fair elections come June 24 as official campaign begins.

Mr Bockarie Albert Kalokoh, a Deputy Minister of Finance of the country, said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at the just ended annual meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

‘We’re well prepared to hold peaceful elections, and the Government is alert. We are committed to ensure that the police and the election body deliver on their mandate,’ Mr Kalokoh said.

Sierra Leone’s 2023 presidential election will be contested by 13 candidates, including incumbent president, Julius Maada Bio of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and Samura Karama of the All People’s Congress (APC), who was the runner-up in the 2018 polls.

Speaking about the prevailing economic hardship in the country, including high inflation, he said the Government had taken cognisance of the challenges and was working ‘relentlessly to ensure that our people are better’.

He said Sierra Leone was opened to the support of development partners, including AfDB, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, while the Government worked on internal mechanisms to address the economic challenges.

Mr Kalokoh noted for example that talks had been advanced for AfDB’s support in development projects in Sierra Leone, including the Lungi Bridge – 7km long bridge to link the Lungi area to Freetown, passing over the estuary of the Sierra Leone River.

‘We’ve been able to develop innovative financing arrangement so that we can tap more into domestic funds, and we’ve also looked into our tax laws to enhance domestic revenue mobilisation and mitigating against cost containment of whatever we’re doing,’ he added.

Commenting on an $8m Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Sierra Leone and four other countries to increase domestic revenue, the Deputy Finance was hopeful that

it would also increase the Bank’s support to the country as they contributed to the replenishment the African Development Fund (ADF).

Ghana, The Gambia, Liberia, and Sudan are the four countries that signed the MoU, which is to augment financing from development partners to expand domestic private sector-led economic growth and development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

‘We’ve affirmed our commitment as a Constituency to improve our contribution towards the replenishment of the Fund and this is to ensure that once we improve our contribution to the Fund, we’ll have more in terms of monetary support from ADF’,’ the Deputy Finance Minister said.

Voters in Sierra Leone will on June 24 elect a President and Members of Parliament, Mayors and local councillors.

A report by the Institute of Governance Reform (IGR) has indicated a high level of preparedness for the 2023 general election by the country’s Election Management Bodies (EMBs), including the security sector.

‘Overall Sierra Leone is 67 per cent ready to go ahead with the 2023 elections. Expert assessment was a little lower (61 per cent) than inter-institutional scores (73 per cent) and self-assessment (70 per cent),’ IGR’s report observed.

About three days ago, the presidential candidates, especially those belonging to the major political parties, signed a peace pledge ahead of the country’s highly anticipated 2023 general election, with a commitment to ensure a successful poll.

A survey by Afrobarometer and IGR, which was conducted to understand the attitudes of Sierra Leoneans as the 2023 elections approached, raised warnings about leaders’ commitment in the ‘fragile post-war state’.

It was observed that the proportion of citizens who prioritised Sierra Leonean identity over their ethnic identity had dropped by 20 percentage points over the past decade.

It was recommended that going into the 2023 elections, leaders demonstrated and acted in a way that would make the people rally behind peace, while authorities worked to ensure peaceful and successful poll.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, The Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) has held a tree planting exercise for five former African heads of state at the Centre in Accra.

The delegation, which was led by former President Dr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete of Tanzania had Dr Moncef Marzouki of Tunisia, Thomas Yayi Boni of Benin, Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone, all former Presidents, and HaileMariam Dessalegn, former Prime Minister of Ethiopia

Their visit forms part of efforts to deepen ties and explore possible areas of collaboration with the Centre.

The five former heads of state who were received by Maj. Gen. Richard Addo Gyane, Commandant of the KAIPTC, were in Accra for the just ended African Leadership Forum.

In his welcome address, Maj Gen Gyane said the symbolic exercise was considered as an a effort to support the nurturing and blossoming of peace on the continent towards continuing the vision and legacy of Mr Kofi Annan to build peace in Africa.

Maj. Gen. Gyane noted that climate change posed a myriad of insecurities in the West African Sub Region and called for a collaborated effort to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Leader of the delegation, former President Dr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete of Tanzania in his remarks, paid glowing tributes to the memory of Mr Kofi Annan and expressed the delegation’s appreciation to the Commandant and his team for hosting them.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, Ghana will host the United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial summit from December 5 to 6, Mr Thomas Mbomba, a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, has disclosed.

The UN Peacekeeping Ministerial is an important opportunity for Member States to come together in a collective effort to strengthen the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations and their impact on the communities they serve.

Mr Mbomba made the disclosure in Accra during a flag raising and wreath laying ceremony in commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers on the theme ‘Peace Begins with Me: 75 Years of UN Peacekeeping.’

This year’s theme recognizes the service and sacrifice of peacekeepers, past and present, including more than 4200 who have given their lives under the UN flag.

Mr Mbomba said it was a momentous time for Ghana, to be entrusted with the privilege of hosting the upcoming Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference.

He said this significant event would bring together leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders from around the world to deliberate on the challenges and opportunities facing UN peacekeeping operations.

He noted that the event would provide a platform to share experiences, exchange best practices, and strengthen partnerships in their collective pursuit of sustainable peace.

‘During the conference, we will focus on critical issues such as the protection of civilians, improving the safety and security of peacekeepers, advancing the women, Peace, and Security agenda, and strengthening the performance and accountability of peacekeeping operations,’ Mr Mbomba said.

‘We aim to harness the collective wisdom and experiences of the international community to identify innovative solutions and strategies that will shape the future of UN peacekeeping.’

He said the changing nature and specifics of modern conflicts, complicated by terrorist threats, and dire humanitarian and socio-economic situations, pose a challenge to the international community.

He reiterated that it was regrettable that despite the noble mission that the Blue Helmets carry out every day in extremely difficult and dangerous conditions, they continue to witness an upsurge in conflicts and war situations in many parts of the world.

He said this underscores the need for continued support from Member States and communities to enable UN Peacekeepers to carry out their mandate effectively.

He said the deliberate targeting of peacekeepers was a cause of deep concern to the Government of Ghana.

‘We mourn the loss of those personnel who have paid the ultimate price with their lives in the line of duty,’ he said.

‘We commend the selfless contribution of all peacekeepers of the UN, the African Union, and regional organizations who are carrying out their duties honourably.’

He also expressed his condolences to the Member States and families of those killed in action.

Mr Mbomba said in line with Ghana’s commitment to international peace, the nation supports the view that international peacekeeping must evolve to better respond to the dramatic changes in the nature and scale of armed conflict.

Mr Charles Abani, the UN Resident Coordinator in Ghana, said Ghana had played a catalytic role in peacekeeping operations, setting an inspiring example for nations around the world.

He noted that ‘out of the 122 contributing countries, Ghana ranks number seven with 2,756 peacekeepers as of February 2023.’

He reaffirmed that the UN would continue being a reliable partner in the agenda for peacekeeping and further commended the role of Ghanaian peacekeepers.

Mr Dominic Nitiwul, the Defence Minister, in a speech read on his behalf urged member nations of the UN to recommit themselves to the noble ideals of the UN and forge a future where generations to come could live in a world of lasting peace.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A four-day high-level conference on biodiversity kicked off at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa today.

Speaking on the occasion, Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy (SEBE) Director Harsen Nyambe said biodiversity is critical to many sectors and livelihoods of local societies in Africa.

However, local communities are not benefiting from biodiversity and there are also challenges of climate change trends and unsustainable use of biodiversity which need to be addressed, he added.

“As a continent, we need to domesticate the outcome of the Montreal CBD COP15. But at the same time, we would want to make sure that we reconcile that with the outcome of the CITES COP 19.”

CITES is one of the conventions that divided the continent despite the resolutions of the Head of States that call for unity and one voice.

“We are therefore hopeful, during these four days, that we will be able to come up with some wisdom on how we can be able to chart a way forward and make sure that we are able to have a united voice of Africa when it comes to matters of CITES,” the director said.

The CITES CoP is where governments (CITES parties) around the world convene every two to three years to review and make decisions on the regulation of trade in endangered species.

A number of frameworks have been put in place for nature based solutions, sustainable forest management and to combat illegal trade of wild fauna and flora.

“We are hoping that all of these frameworks will be able to make a contribution to the strategy as well as the action plan that we are actually going to develop during the coming days.”

During the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP15) held in December 2022 in Montreal, Canada, governments from around the world came together to agree on a new set of goals to guide global action through 2030 to halt and reverse nature loss.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

The Australian Government announced it will provide an additional 29 million USD to humanitarian partners to respond to the growing food security crisis and to assist vulnerable people in the Middle East and Africa.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of people at risk of acute food insecurity, increasing to 350 million people globally.

Australia is deeply concerned for those impacted by conflict, those experiencing extreme hunger and the consequences of crises on global stability and security.

According to Australia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Humanitarian Emergency includes 15 million US dollar to address increased humanitarian, displacement and protection needs of people in drought-affected areas in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.

Four million US dollar will be provided in food and nutrition support to the most vulnerable in Yemen and 10 million US dollar for food and monetary assistance to refugees and vulnerable populations in Lebanon and Jordan, it was indicated.

This package builds on humanitarian support already delivered, including 25 million US dollar in emergency assistance announced in February to respond to growing global food insecurity and humanitarian crises affecting Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Yemen and Pakistan, the ministry added.

Australia’s ongoing response is part of broader efforts to address the underlying causes of crises and food insecurity globally, which includes long-term financial and technical support to build resilient communities and food systems.

Australia has also committed 6 million US dollar to support those affected by the conflict in Sudan.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency