Category: General

Mr George Yaw Ankama, the Bono Regional director of the Department of children has entreated parents to sacrifice for the wellbeing of their children to enable them to become responsible adults in future.

He stated that the well-being of children who were the country’s future have been neglected by the state and that it was time for parents to take it upon themselves to ensure a brighter future for them.

He was Speaking at a child protection durbar jointly organised by the compassion International Ghana and Bishop Brown AME Zion Child and Youth Development Center at Fiapre in the Sunyani West Municipality.

It was under the theme ‘Safe childhood, bright future to empower the community’

Mr Ankamah therefore called on mothers to take it upon themselves to train the children in the love of God and give them the best education to make them useful to family, society, and the nation in general.

He urged parents to always study and know the true character of their children so that they may know the kind of train
ing necessary for the child to fulfil their God given abilities on earth to benefit others in the society.

The Bono Regional director observed that no child was hopeless in life since they were perfect gift from God to mankind and therefore called on parents who insult their children to put a stop to that to prevent them from becoming timid which could affect children psychologically.

He advised parents to control their children on the use of mobile phones and watching cartoons adding that most of the children addicted to cartoons have now become violent in their communities because they try to exhibit the behavior of their favourite characters.

Mr Ankaamah advised the children to stop going to the game centers but cultivate the habit of reading so that they could excel academically.

He urged parents not to make demands from their children, particularly the girls, knowing very well that they were not working but to be concerned about the source of their wealth to protect them from future challenges.

Rev.
Alfred Kumi Fobil, the pastor incharge of the centre said the development centre was focused on protecting children in the Municipality as most of the children in the country were subjected to all forms of abuses and violence.

He stated that such abuses manifest in neglect, child labor, corporal punishment, sexual abuse which put the children at risk in life.

Rev. Fobil mentioned that the centre had been supporting children in several ways by organising special classes for them, providing them with uniforms, learning material, school fees and other personal needs.

Source: Ghana News Agency

It was a cocktail of traditions at the Manyhia Palace, where the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, hosted various tribal chiefs and their people living in the Ashanti Region on Wednesday.

The gathering was one of the rare occasions at the seat of the Asante Kingdom, where traditions of the Asantes gave way to a mixture of cultural displays of other tribes.

Dubbed ‘Ahohoo Dubar’, the event was reserved for Chiefs of various tribes domiciled in the Ashanti Region to pay homage to the Occupant of the Golden Stool as part of activities marking the 25th anniversary of his enstoolment.

Kumasi being a cosmopolitan city is home to virtually all tribes in the country as well other neighbouring countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Niger, Nigeria, Benin and Ivory Coast.

Notable among the tribes that were present were Frafras, Kusases, Gonjas, Kasenas, Dagombas, Walas, Kwahus, Nzemas, Ewes, Fantis, Kantoses, Gas, Moshies and Gurmas.

Others from neighbouring countries including Igbos, Yurobas, as well as Songh
ai were also represented.

Dressed in their colourful traditional costumes, the various chiefs entered the premises of the Palace led by their subjects who displayed their unique traditional dance to announce their presence.

Their arrivals were the centre of attractions to many of the people present at the gathering most of whom were seeing such beautiful cultural diversity for the first time.

The Chiefs who took turns to pay homage to the Asantehene, applauded him for being a generous and accommodating host to them over the years.

They prayed for God to continue to bless the King with infinite wisdom and long life and pledged to live in harmony and contribute to the development of Asanteman.

Other dignitaries who attended the historic occasion were the President of the National House of Chiefs, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi and the Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mr. Stephen Asamoah Boateng.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Odikro and residents of Abura Edumfa in the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese (AAK) District of the Central Region have expressed deep concern over the absence of a healthcare facility in their community.

They have therefore appealed to the government to establish a community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compound for better health service delivery in the community.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Nana Edumadze Kobina IX, Odikro of Abura Edumfa emphasised the urgency of the issue, stressing that the current situation placed undue hardship on the community members.

He said some women had to step in for the role of a midwife to ensure safe delivery of babies when the need arose, but that was not enough because of safe practices.

Nana Kobina, therefore called on the AAK District Assembly and the government to prioritise the establishment of a CHPS compound in the community to provide essential healthcare services and address minor health issues in the community.

In a related development, th
e Odikro also appealed for a portable drinking water, a community center and a bank in the community.

He urged the Member of Parliament, to promptly help address the issues to ensure the well-being of the people.

Source: Ghana News Agency

By Ande Nanja Rene.

The Population of Mbonge Subdivision has celebrated the sudden death of notorious Ambazonia commander, selfstyled General Mad Dog of the Ribbons of Ambazonia.

To the locals, Desmond Koa, popularly known as Mad Dog, has been a menace and terror to the population of Meme and Ndian Divisions.

He was murdered alongside four of his peers by elements of the Repid Intervention Battalion BIR, in Bombele, Mbonge Subdivision, following a Military Invasion of the area on Wednesday April 24, 2024.

Mad Dog recently banned Mondays farming in Meme and Ndian Divisions.

He also recently destroyed and burnt hundreds of National Identification documents of locals and was also accused killing repentant Amba fighter, Mbaku Jean of Kwakwa, late last January this year.

He also murdered a driver plus two passengers in Nganjo in mid-January.

In July last year, Mad Dog brutally murdered two inhabitants of Kombone Bakundu, Mukete Thaddeus and Obie Lyonga, labelling them ‘Blacklegs’.

His corpse will he displa
yed at the Kumba BICEC Junction where government forces have been displaying corpses of deceased Separatists.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

Addis Ababa: Ethiopia’s Green Legacy tree-planting program is a leading example for Africa, UK Climate and Nature Africa Directorate Head said.

UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Climate and Nature Africa Directorate Head, Julian P. Wright, told ENA that Ethiopia has shown progress in its seedlings planting programs since international climate conferences in Durban and Dubai.

‘Ethiopia has progressed since the Durban COP in terms of planting, and a number of examples stand out. The tree planting (Green Legacy), is really good, really important in a country where forestry is a key part of the economy.’

According to him, the UK has a long-standing partnership with Ethiopia on climate change initiatives and hopes that the country can successfully deliver on its ambitious commitments.

The UK is a strong advocate for locally-led adaptation strategies and social protection programs to build resilience at community level, the head stated.

“In Ethiopia we are big supporters of social protection; the
SNP programme for example as a way of improving resilience to climate change on the ground, and locally led adaptation is key.”

The head said the UK has played a key role in establishing the new loss and damage fund at COP 28, aimed at assisting developing countries facing the brunt of climate change impacts.

Continued collaboration between Ethiopia and its partners like the UK will be crucial in ensuring a sustainable future for the African continent, Wright noted, and promised to continue the partnership in the field between the countries.

Planning and Development State Minister, Seyoum Mekonnen on his part expressed Ethiopia’s desire to expand the Green Legacy program and become a renewable energy exporter in Africa.

He revealed that sharing seedlings and exporting renewable energy to neighboring countries are already underway.

‘We are striving to connect countries in Africa through the Green Legacy program and energy transition,’ the state minister added.

Building a climate-resilient economy and red
ucing greenhouse gas emissions are central pillars of Ethiopia’s 10-year development plan, with the ultimate goal of achieving net-zero emissions and a climate-resilient economy by 2050.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Mr Desmond Appiah, the Country Lead for Clean Air Fund, a global philanthropic foundation tackling air pollution, says poor air quality does not only pose health risks to the citizenry, but also has dire consequences on the country’s economic growth.

He said a World Health Organisation (WHO) report in 2018 had shown that about 28,000 people in Ghana died through complications caused by air pollution.

‘Again, the World Bank has done a report which has shown that the Ghanaian economy loses about $2.5 billion a year due to poor air quality, so there is the need to commit much attention to this issue,’ he stated.

Mr Appiah was speaking at the opening of a three-day consultative workshop, held in Takoradi, to solicit stakeholders’ inputs to fine-tune a project meant to promote enforcement of environmental laws and regulations on managing air quality in Ghana.

Dubbed: ‘The Clean Air Project’, the initiative seeks to determine the barriers to the full enforcement of environmental laws and regulations on managing
air quality on urban roads in the country.

It is being implemented by the University of Ghana (UG) and University of Education, Winneba (UEW), with funding support from the Clean Air Fund.

The workshop, first in series of four to be organised, brought together representatives from state institutions, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), media, law enforcement agencies, academia, and transport operators, among others, to seek their views on how best to reduce air pollution on the roads.

According to Mr Appiah, the country had laws and regulations on managing air quality, but enforcement was lacking.

He said: ‘The Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies are doing well on the quality of air monitoring, and there are some transportation initiatives that are being promoted, yet we seem to be having a challenge in seeing through everything for us to get the real impact of these regulations.’

He noted that the Project was, therefore, to help the implementing partners to get a systematic understanding
of some of the things that hindered the successful enforcement of such environmental laws, particularly those on-air pollution.

Mr Appiah said the workshop was part of activities to seek broader consultations to develop recommendations to help influence policy directions to create an enabling environment to enhance effective enforcement of the regulations by the relevant mandated authorities.

‘The part of why we are doing this is to be able to work with authorities to know and tackle the root causes of enforcement challenges, so that we can positively impact the quality of air that we breathe in,’ he added.

Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the Western Regional Minister, said the government acknowledged the effects of air pollution, and the urgent need to combat it.

He noted that the government had put in place environmental regulations and was working on catalysing the clean air movement, while advocating solutions to air pollution.

Mr Darko-Mensah said despite the existence of stringent regulations, enfo
rcement could be challenging, and commended the UG and UEW, and partners for coming up with The Clean Air Project to unravel the root cause of such issues.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ms Paulina Rozycka, the Head of Infrastructure and Sustainable Development, European Union (EU) in Ghana, says sustainable production and economic growth of the cashew sector is of high priority to the Union.

Thus, the EU would provide the needed support towards the development and implementation of transformative policies in partner countries to ensure economic growth.

Ms Rozycka, who was speaking at the sixth Council of Ministers’ Conference of the Consultative International Cashew Council (CICC), said the EU recognised the economic and environmental potential on the cashew value chain.

The conference was under the theme: ‘Projecting the Cashew Sector through local Consumption, Value Addition and Job Creation’.

It brought together ministers, experts, researchers and stakeholders from eleven African countries to share experiences, identify gaps and marshal efforts in promoting the cashew industry.

‘The EU is very interested to see a thriving processing hub in Africa, closely linked to European Markets a
nd guided by inclusiveness and sustainability principles, maximising revenues and jobs for African Nations’ – Ms Rozycka said.

‘Beyond, Cashew has the potential to spearhead and set an example for an agro-industry based on agroecological principles. This is the spirit of the EU Cashew Initiative which is in the making.’

She noted that the EU was set to frame the European Interventions in the sector in a Team Europe Spirit and closely aligned it to partner countries’ interests.

‘We don’t start from zero. The EU is the main donor of the GIZ implemented Move-ComCashew Programme. We salute its 15 years of engagement and its key contribution to the dynamic sector that Cashew is today in Africa,’ she said.

Ms Rozycka noted that the ComCashew was embedded in the larger AgroBusiness Facility for Resilient Value Chains, Co-Funded by the EU (43.8 million EUR) and the German Ministry of Cooperation (12.2 million EUR).

One year on under the programme, she said the editions 16 and 17 of the GIZ-ACA (African Cashew Al
liance) Master Training Programme were training dozens of experts in Ghana from 20 African countries.

Ms Rozycka noted that 30 private sector partners, among them, cooperatives, processors and distributors, had been selected to receive a Matching Grant Fund in 11 different countries, four from Ghana.

She said the grant was mobilising around 6.5 million EUR to address the ‘missing middle’ actors to reach formal finance or to develop some inclusive or sustainable aspects of the value chain.

She commended Ghana and welcomed the recent approval of the Tree Crops Regulation, which aims at enhancing competitiveness, productivity, profitability, and sustainability of tree crop sectors, notably Cashew.

The CICC members are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo.

Established on the 18th November, 2016 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, the CICC aims to create a consultation framework and synergies between member states for a sustainable cashew sector.

A
frica’s cashew industry has come up strongly in recent years as one with great potential and one that can significantly contribute to the economic growth of the continent.

About 60 per cent of the world’s global raw cashew nuts are produced in Africa, with Cote d’Ivoire being the world’s leading producer, producing nearly one million tons in 2021.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Some passengers have appealed to transport operators to officially announce new fares to avert petty quarrels between them and drivers.

The GNA observed that some commercial drivers have increased fares by about 20 per cent since last Saturday, with drivers charging GH9 .00 instead of GH7.50 from Madina to Accra Central Business District.

Also, some passengers are paying GHC7.00 instead of GHC5.50 for a taxi trip from Old Ashongman to Madina.

This is causing misunderstanding between drivers and passengers, some leading to assaults.

Some passengers whom the GNA talked to, said they had not officially heard from the Ghana Private Road Transport Union on any new increment hence unwilling to pay new fares.

Comfort Okyere told the GNA that she was surprised at the increment, saying the Ghana Private Road Transport Union had earlier told the drivers to hold on with the collection of any new fares.

The GNA gathered that some drivers started collecting new fares on Saturday April 20, 2024.

The GNA also observe
d that some commercial drivers (trotro drivers) have printed and pasted new fares in their vehicles.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The National Information Technology Agency (NITA) has signed partnership arrangement with Smar tInfraco and Trend Micro for the provision of antivirus services for the government.

The partnership is aimed at empowering government organisations with robust cybersecurity solutions, ensuring a secure and resilient digital ecosystem that can withstand potential cybersecurity threats.

Mr Richard Okyere-Fosu, the Director General of NITA who signed the agreement on behalf of the Agency said cyber threats had become a global menace and came in various forms, which spread viruses and crippled government systems and services.

He said: ‘A case in point is the internet outage we experienced mid-March of this year.

‘The risk these systems and applications pose to our economy and daily lifestyle is ever growing and we as a nation needs to take deliberate steps to properly profile the risk element and have comprehensive mitigation measures that is forward-looking as part of our national business continuity plan.’

Mr O
kyere-Fosu said NITA has deployed several cybersecurity measures to keep the integrity of the digital infrastructure and applications of government, but antivirus service was one of the missing components for security model.

‘This is why this partnership comes at a very opportune time. We are hoping that the antivirus services will keep the integrity of systems and end nodes within government domain and prevent some of the cybersecurity incidents we have been confronted with in the past,’ he stated.

He said NITA’s assessment showed that just a little over 30 per cent of government systems and end nodes (computers) have the right antivirus setup, stating that this posed a great deal of risk to government in its agenda to fully digitalize the economy.

‘It is in the face of such risk that NITA as part of our mandate have over the past few years collaborated with partners within the public and private sector to roll out a series of interventions to address information and cybersecurity in general across the pu
blic sector space,’ the Director said.

Mr Okyere-Fosu observed that government purchased Trend Micro service some years back as part of the deployment of the eGovernment infrastructure and the partnership rode on the back of the long-standing relationship and even deepened it further by choosing the Managed Service Provider, which was a more cost-effective and value for money approach to government.

Mr Mazen Al-Adhami of Trend Micro and Mr Harkirit Singh, Chief Executive Officer of Smart Infraco said they would work together to support NITA with the provision of robust cybersecurity solutions, ensuring a secure and resilient digital ecosystem that could withstand potential cybersecurity threats in Ghana.

‘Smart Infraco as a technical partner of NITA, will install Trend Antivirus Servers at the two national Data Centres to efficiently deliver antivirus services to government agencies nationwide,’ Mr Singh stated.

Mr Al-Adhami said leveraging on Trend Micro’s innovative suite, Smart Infraco would offer gove
rnment organisations worry-free cybersecurity, saying; ‘This will include endpoint security for defending against ransomware and advanced attacks, email security for real-time protection against targeted attacks, spam, phishing, and viruses.

Present at the signing of the partnership were Mr Alexander Yaw Arphul, Chief Director of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization and Dr Antwi-Boasiako, Director General of Cyber Security Authority.

They expressed happiness of the agreement and congratulated the partners for the initiative.

The initiative would enforce compliance with security architecture, and safeguard government data and infrastructure against cyber threats.

Smart Infraco is the technical partner of NITA providing cutting-edge technology and infrastructure to accelerate the pace of digitalisation in Ghana and offers over 1,000km of high-speed fibre along the eastern corridor of the country Ghana, a secure Tier 3 data centre infrastructure with backup and disaster recovery, as well as digi
tal solutions that enable businesses and government institutions realise their true digital potential.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Addis Ababa: Zenith Steel Company, which is known for producing high-quality steel and electrical equipment in China, has expressed its desire to enter and invest in Bole Lemi Industrial Park, Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) CEO Aklilu Tadese, received and spoke with the General Manager of the company Liwon Donga and officials.

The largest number of foreign investors in the industrial parks managed by the corporation are Chinese, the CEO said. For this reason, he mentioned that the corporation has also opened a Chinese investment desk.

Officials of the company explained the investment plan, current activities of the company and the work they plan to do in the first phase.

Zenith Steel Company, which is based in Changzhou Province, China set a plan to acquire 30 hectares of leased land in the Bole Lemi Industrial Park and invest more than 150 million US dollars.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Wilmar Africa, a leading brand in the food production industry, has donated some items to the Boameman Ghana Foundation as part of its project to empower the less-privileged in deprived communities.

Founded by the National Peace Ambassador Mr Clemence Gyato, the foundation aimed to address pressing issues facing remote communities and marginalised groups by bridging social gaps and creating a brighter and more sustainable future for them.

Wilmar Africa has become the latest company to support the foundation with some items, including bags of fortune rice, detergents, and cartons of cooking oil.

Presenting the items to the foundation, Maame Adwoa Markin, the Brands Manager at Wilmar Africa, said the gesture was based upon their commitment to give back to the community as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility.

She was hopeful that lives would be significantly impacted by the items donated, especially among orphans, widows, and disabled people.

Mr Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey Santana, the Executive Secreta
ry of the Boameman Ghana Foundation who received the items, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Wilmar Africa for their invaluable contribution to supporting the needy in society.

He said the items donated significantly improve the quality of life and provide some necessities to the less fortunate in society.

Mr Aggrey added that they looked forward to more partnerships with Wilmar Africa for positive developmental projects across the deprived communities in Ghana.

Already, the Boameman Ghana Foundation had impacted the lives of orphans around nationwide by making donations to the Osu Children’s Home, New Life Orphanage Home, Assurance of Hope for the Needy, the Ghana National Association of the Deaf, Teshie Children’s Home, and many others.

Some distinguished personalities leading the Boameman Foundation included the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr Lawrence Tetteh, the National Chief Imam Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, his spokesperson Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu, Professor Kuma, former Vice Chancellor
of the University of Mines at Tarkwa and boxing legend Azumah Nelson.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The first cohort of 106 students have graduated under the Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Amalitech collaboration, which seeks to give employable skills in Cloud Computing to over 5000 Ghanaian Youths.

The course structure based on the AWS re/Start programme, a free cohort-based workforce development training programme that helped individuals build cloud computing skills-cloud operations, infrastructure support, programming, security, database fundamentals, and security techniques and commercial support functions, connecting participants with employment opportunities.

The International Finance Corporation had said more than 230 million jobs would require digital skills by 2030 in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Ghana alone, over nine million jobs would need digital skills by the same period, which made it prudent to invest in the future of young Africans.

Ruba Borno, the Vice President of Worldwide Channels and Alliances at AWS said during the graduation ceremony that partnering with AmaliTech had been a great e
xample of empowering people with the cloud computing skills necessary to take charge of their careers and lauded the investment made by the AWS Partner Network (APN), a global community that leverages AWS technologies, Programmes, expertise, and tools to build solutions and services for customers.

More than five million Euros was being injected into the project in Ghana to expand the supply of qualified professionals in cloud computing and increase diversity.

The investment would be allocated over the next three years to AmaliTech, a company that provided employment pathways in the technology sector to people in sub-Saharan Africa, connecting them to the global demand for technology talents.

Mr. Salami Suleiman, Head of Training at AmaliTech said the company’s approach combined training with employment and continuous learning by focusing on skilled technology service.

AmaliTech expects to train over 5,000 people, certify 4,000 AWS practitioners, and secure employment opportunities for more than 2,000 indi
viduals at the end of 2026, he added.

He described the joint project, launched in November 2023 as the largest cooperation by the company history and certainly a huge milestone…’ I am very excited about this collaboration and really looking forward to seeing the first wave of trainees complete this excellent course, which will be a life changing experience for many of them.’

The Ghanaian students completing this training programme are the diverse, talented cloud workforce of the future, equipping organizations across West Africa and globally to accelerate innovation through the AWS Cloud.

Tejas Vashi, Global Lead, AWS re/Start said industry demand for cloud adoption continued to outpace the number of cloud-savvy workers, leaving organizations struggling to find and hire the talent needed to implement cloud services.

He noted that together with AmaliTech, the two hoped to remove all such barriers so individuals from all backgrounds could gain skills to launch successful careers in cloud adding that they we
re committed to helping AWS customers and partners hire with confidence from a trusted pipeline of early-career talent.

Madam Ruth Otasowie, a student from the November 2023 cohort expressed her joy at the opportunity offered her by the companies to have a life changing career in the tech space…’ We had dedicated instructors who cared deeply about us learners, plentiful and detailed resources, and exciting material-driven events to break up the monotony, ensuring the execution of a highly recommendable programme as a starting point for cloud computing enthusiasts.’

Since its foundation in 2020, AmaliTech programmes have already provided more than 1,000 people in Ghana and Rwanda with much-needed digital skills for today’s job market and training a further 5,000 people in cloud computing, marked another major step forward for Ghana’s economy, the livelihoods of Ghana’s growing workforce, and building a sustainable technology ecosystem in West Africa.

AmaliTech placed a strong focus on upskilling and trainin
g programmes, an integral part of the social impact business.

Source: Ghana News Agency