May 12, 2023 – Madagascar Newswire

May 12, 2023

Songtaba awards grants to 20 young entrepreneurs

A total of 20 young entrepreneurs in the Northern Region have been awarded grants to support them to implement their innovative business ideas to expand and increase profit margins.

Their innovative business ideas cut across agribusiness, local fabric weaving, fashion design, and bakery amongst others, and the grants ranged from GHc2,000 to GHc5,000.

They were selected for the grants after participating in the SONGTABA Entrepreneurship Training and Business Micro Grant Challenge held in Tamale.

The SONGTABA Entrepreneurship Training and Business Micro Grant Challenge formed part of a 12-month project implemented by Songtaba, a non-governmental organisation, with funding support from EMpower to support young entrepreneurs in business innovation and E-commerce in a post-COVID-19 era to make use of digital platforms to promote their businesses and increase profit margins.

Madam Lamnatu Adam, Executive Director of Songtaba, speaking at the grants’ award ceremony in Tamale, encouraged the grantees/entrepreneurs to work harder to expand and sustain their businesses.

She said ‘The grant is not much but it is much. With this, if you work harder, you can get bigger opportunities. You have all the soft skills and management skills to succeed.’

The entrepreneurs, prior to the award of the grants to them, were taken through a series of training on entrepreneurship, financial management, and the use of digital platforms/E-commerce to market their products.

Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister, lauded the initiative saying it would contribute to reducing unemployment and poverty levels in the region.

Alhaji Saibu said, ‘As a government, we would continue to create and also support other organisations like Songtaba to develop initiatives to contribute to the sustainable development goals of reducing poverty and creating decent work and economic growth.’

He encouraged young people to position themselves to take advantage of similar opportunities across the country to build their future.

Mr Mathew Azoya, Northern Regional Director of Ghana Enterprises Agency, one of the trainers of the beneficiary entrepreneurs, assured of continuing to coach and guide them to ensure that they made effective use of the grants to expand and sustain their businesses.

Miss Rahinatu Mohammed, a fashion designer from Tamale, who was a grantee, said lessons learnt during the training would help her do the right things for the growth of her business.

She noted that there was high demand for ready-made clothes saying she would use her grant to purchase more materials (clothes) to sew dresses and sell.

Source: Ghana News Agency

May 12, 2023

Four illegal chainsaw operators nearly lynched at Dwenase Bosomkese Forest

Unidentified young men nearly lynched four illegal chainsaw operators at the Bosomkese Forest Reserve at Dwenase in the Tano North Municipality of the Ahafo Region.

The young men, numbering about 10, attacked, seized their machines and motorbikes, and allegedly poured petrol and set the operators ablaze in the reserve.

They were allegedly felling lumber in the forest, which stretches from Dwenase to Ntotroso in the Asutifi North District of the region when the incident occurred on Thursday May 11, 2023 around 1630 hours.

An eyewitness told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) some of their attackers turned around and rescued the victims.

However, two of the victims, Ebenezer Konadu and Abdul Rahman, said to be in critical conditions, the GNA gathered had since been referred from the Duayaw-Nkwanta St John of God Hospital to the Kumasi Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

The other two, yet to be identified, who sustained some burns have also been treated and discharged.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) John Kusorgbor, the Tano North Divisional Police Commander who confirmed the story to the GNA said the police had started investigations into the matter.

He said no arrest had so far been made, and added the police were yet to contact the forestry commission in the area to ascertain whether the victims were operating in the forest illegally.

ACP Kusorgbor however condemned the attempted arson of the victims, and advised the people not to be lawless, but to ensure that they reported alleged incidences of crime to the police for strict enforcement of the law.

Source: Ghana News Agency

May 12, 2023

Ministry awards 100 laptops to top performers in Girls-in-ICT programme

A total of 100 girls, who emerged as top performers in the examinations for the beneficiaries of the Girls-in-ICT programme in the Savannah Region, have each been given a laptop, and a certificate as prizes.

Three of them; Mohammed Rahimmah, aged 11, from North East Gonja District, was adjudged the overall winner after recording a score of 92, while Alfreda Frimpong, aged 12, from Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District, and Salu Saratu Alele, aged 11, from the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District, took the second and third positions after scoring 90 and 89 respectively during the examinations.

Besides the laptops and certificates, the overall winner also received a cash prize of GHc3,000 while the second and third-place winners took home GHc2,500 and GHc2,000 respectively.

There were also awards for Girl Education Officers, Best Teachers from the Districts in the Region, and the Minister’s Special Award.

Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, speaking during the climax of the Girls-in-ICT programme in Damongo on Tuesday to present the prizes to the winners, said the initiative would leave its mark in the minds of the people of the region, and its fruits would be felt for a long time.

The Girls-in-ICT programme was held in the region from April 25 to May 09, where a total of 1,000 girls, drawn from basic schools in all the seven districts in the region, were trained on basic ICT skills to help them explore digital technologies.

This year’s event, which was on the theme: ‘Digital Skills for Life ‘, was organised by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, and sponsored by MTN, German Development Cooperation, Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, GIFEC, ATC and KODRIS AFRICA.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said the training offered to the beneficiaries would enable them to participate in the digital economy adding the speedy adoption of technology was the surest way for the country to catch up with the developed world.

She said the government was working to build 2,016 Rural Telephony Networks in un-served and underserved communities to ensure residents’ access to high-speed voice and data services to improve their business operations as well as enable the schoolchildren such as those trained in ICT skills to continue to explore digital technologies.

She encouraged girls to embrace ICT, explore opportunities in ICT and pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics courses adding computer laboratories would be built in some of the schools in the region to facilitate it.

She advised parents to guide and support the girls to excel in the ICT field while urging the girls to continue to practise what they learnt during the Girls-in-ICT programme training sessions to improve their knowledge.

Madam Gifty Twum Ampofo, Deputy Minister for Education lauded the effort to ensure voice and data connectivity in underserved communities saying this would make learning easy in the communities.

She advised the girls to make good use of digital technologies to uplift themselves.

Madam Lariba Zuweira Abudu, Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection lauded the initiative saying it complemented the efforts of her Ministry to ensure that girls remained in school.

Madam Abudu told the girls that the world was full of opportunities advising them to explore with care.

Mr Saeed Muhazu Jibril, Savannah Regional Minister encouraged the girls to continue to explore ICT tools to excel in their various activities.

Mohammed Rahimmah, the overall winner of the examinations, described her feat as a life-changing experience saying the first time she used a laptop was when she joined the training under the Girls-in-ICT programme.

She expressed gratitude to the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation for organising the initiative and thanked the teachers for the effective way they delivered the lessons to them.

Source: Ghana News Agency

May 12, 2023

DOVVSU urges religious organizations to institute functioning Counselling Units

The Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) has called on religious organisations to institute functioning counselling units manned by professionals to deal with the psychological, physical, emotional and social needs of members in difficult times.

The DOVVSU observed that many faith-based organisations have some kind of counselling services, yet they lacked professionally trained counsellors and logistics to make a profound impact in case of death, divorce, natural disasters, stress, and other socio-economic difficulties.

Chief Superintendent George Appiah-Sakyi, the Central Regional Coordinator of DOVVSU of the Ghana Police Service, made the appeal at a Gender-Based and Domestic Violence (GBDV) sensitisation forum for St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church Women’s Fellowship in Cape Coast.

Taking participants through the complexities of home-related abuses and reporting procedures, he said religious counselling was important as it focused on the mind, body, and spirit of the individual.

But for faith-based principles of forgiveness, patience, tolerance, kindness and peaceful co-existence, he said many troubled people would have remained a pale shadow of themselves and never regained self-confidence.

He stated that as much as people would want to protect their families, it must be understood that domestic violence was a crime punishable by law and for which one could be sentenced to a jail term if found culpable.

The religious community must rise to its religious responsibility and stimulate the desired motivational spirit of renewal and transformation towards effective nation building.

The growth of the faith-based organizations should be measured not only in the number of its followers, but also in the quality of its members who were dedicated to upholding the spiritual virtue of Jesus Christ and personal development, Chief Supt Appiah-Sakyi noted.

He said to help build a progressive and prosperous Ghana, religious growth must strongly anchor on the love for God and humanity.

‘The religious community must create the right environment to empower start-ups to deal with the growing youth unemployment and develop a culture of networking.

He said leveraging the competencies of their networks would help them to scale up and position their businesses to grow while dealing with emerging crisis.

On domestic violence, Chief Supt Appiah-Sakyi cautioned that husbands who intentionally cause their wives pain by refusing to eat their food risk a two-year jail or a fine of GHS6,000 as that constituted emotional abuse.

‘If your husband refuses to eat your food and that makes you unhappy and causes you emotional pain, you can report them to the police. If your husband comes home late and causes you to be unhappy, you can make a case at DOVVSU,’ he said

He warned husbands against molesting their wives in any way, even if they were being insulted, saying they should rather report their wives to the police.

He said refusal of sex was punishable under Ghanaian law, and wives should be reported if they denied their legal partners’ sex.

Chief Supt Appiah-Sakyi advised parents to report all cases related to child abuse, especially involving the girl-child, to DOVVSU and cautioned them to desist from attempting to settle defilement cases at home.

He identified other cases of domestic violence to include physical, psychological and verbal abuses, assaults, forced marriages, threats, rape, incest, sexual harassment and sodomy among others.

Madam Leticia Grant, President of St Paul’s Presby Women’s’ Fellowship, urged all women to resist domestic violence and seek appropriate redress to reduce the spate of homicide issues across the country.

Source: Ghana News Agency

May 12, 2023

WAPCo awards scholarships to 49 brilliant but needy students in Shama

The West Africa Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) LTD, under its livelihood support programme of scholarship and skills acquisition scheme, has so far supported 503 students in Ghana.

The company also disbursed the Cedi equivalent of about $921,000.00 to ensure the youth in their host communities had equal opportunities to develop and achieve their potential.

Dr Isaac Adjei Doku, General Manager of Corporate Affairs, made this known when the company presented scholarship awards to 49 brilliant students in the Shama district of the Western Region.

He explained that the company’s livelihood support programme consisted of two schemes, a scholarship scheme and a skills acquisition scheme. He added that the Shama presentation was the ninth batch of students under the WAPCo scholarship scheme, which he said was yielding positive results.

‘We say without any equivocation that WAPCo in partnership with host communities is impacting the lives of the youth in our host communities one batch at a time ‘

Dr Doku said in administering their livelihood programmes, they ensured that their core values of diversity and inclusion and safeguarding fair representation from each community were reflected in the selection process for the awards, adding that out of 395 scholarship awardees given so far, 195 were females.

He said WAPCo’s investment was also to ensure that their host communities had the talents for their growth and development and noted that’ research indicates that there is a significant correlation between the cognitive abilities of a population and long-term economic growth, which is more potent than simply measuring their educational attainment’.

Dr Doku indicated that over the period, WAPCo-sponsored students have pursued more than 20 courses, reflecting the diversity of interest and pool of employable talents and skills being developed in the host communities.

He mentioned Doctor of Optometry, Medicine and Surgery, Nautical Science, Petroleum Engineering, Actuarial Science, law, and Environmental and safety engineering as some of the courses the beneficiaries pursued in 13 tertiary institutions across the country in the past three years.

He said the company would in the 2022/2023 academic year spend six hundred and forty-one thousand seven hundred Ghana cedis on scholarships.

‘We are proud to say that we have so far achieved a 100 per cent completion rate as all previous recipients of the WAPCo scholarship, except those in school, have successfully completed their programme and graduated. The academic excellence of these graduates is reflective of our One WAPCo core value of operational excellence’

He added ‘We are pleased to note the recent successful completion of the 6th batch of students from their various tertiary institutions of special mention is Christopher Amoasi, from Lower Inchaban in the Shama District.

HE Studied Law at the University of Cape Coast and graduated with First Class Honours and was adjudged the overall best graduating male Law student.

Mr Ebenezer Dadzie, the DCE for Shama District Assembly explained that such a scholarship would allow the beneficiaries to unearth their hidden potential to achieve their dreams to help develop the country.

He said the scholarship scheme would help accelerate the development of human capital to impact the much-expected growth of the country.

Mr Dadzie reiterated that the Assembly would partner WAPCo to help uplift the image of the district through education.

He appealed to the company to help train the youth to spearhead the energy revolution in green energy which is cheaper to help improve the socio-economic conditions of the people.

Mr Samuel Erickson Abakah, the Member of Parliament for Shama Constituency said education remained key in building a better foundation and was hopeful that WAPCo would increase the number of awardees to benefit many more brilliant students whose parents were having socio-economic challenges in catering for them.

He advised the beneficiaries to make maximum use of the scholarship to improve their lives and that of their families.

Nana Korba Aboo III, the Queen mother of Aboadze and Nana Nka Numako IV and Graveldo Nkyirkyir commended WAPCo for the scholarship scheme and advised the beneficiaries to take their studies seriously to justify their inclusion and to pave the way for others.

Nana Kwamina Wienoo II, the acting paramount chief of Shama Traditional Council encouraged WAPCo to continue with such a livelihood empowerment programme to help the district to achieve the needed human capital development to impact the growth of the district.

Source: Ghana News Agency

May 12, 2023

Climate change: MAN commits to green manufacturing

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has expressed readiness to support green manufacturing to ameliorate the negative impacts of their production activities on the environment.

Otunba Francis Meshioye, President, MAN, said this at the maiden edition of MAN Strategic Dialogue Session on Environment and Green Manufacturing in partnership with Natural Eco Capital on Thursday in Lagos.

Meshioye, describing green manufacturing as the current global phenomenon said MAN was committed to guiding its members to make significant progress in this regard.

To achieve this, he said, that the association in January created the Environment and Green Manufacturing Unit with the responsibility of stirring awareness among MAN members on climate change issues and Environmental Management System.

He said the unit in providing members with strategies and necessary information needed to drive environmental sustainability was set to collaborate with relevant institutions and international agencies in achieving its mandates.

“This novel unit amongst other things would guide and encourage seamless transition of members manufacturing processes through the assistance of relevant agencies and organisations to an eco-friendlier production environment.

“This can be achieved through the utilisation of leading technologies and practices on the environment and create mechanisms for sustainable development.

“It will be supporting and facilitating the adaptation of clean and renewable energy by manufacturers while encouraging them to build and develop capacity in environment and green manufacturing,” he said.

In his keynote address, the Director-General, National Environmental Standards Regulations and Enforcement Agency, Prof. Aliyu Jauro, noted that air quality had become a major concern in many parts of the world.

This, Jauro said, led to the need for growing awareness to address air pollution and its impact on public health and the environment.

He said that Nigeria, like many other countries, was already experiencing the impacts of climate change such as increasing temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, and more frequent and severe extreme weather events (floods and droughts).

Jauro, however, said that Nigeria had since taken steps to implement climate mitigation and adaptation measures, including the development of renewable energy sources and sustainable land-use practices.

“Since the ratification of the Paris Agreement, Nigeria has been very forthcoming in turning ambitions into implementable policies and aligning its environmental regulatory regime with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

“There is the need to prioritise the implementation and enforcement of environmental regulations, as well as the development of policies and incentives to promote a low-carbon economy.

“Industries switching to cleaner technologies and transitioning to low-emission development are indispensable for achieving sustainable economic growth through pathways that yield reduced greenhouse gas emissions and other social, economic, and environmental benefits,” he said.

Dr Eugene Itua, the Chief Executive Officer, Natural Eco Capital, said that the adoption of sustainable manufacturing was with enormous benefits and could engender competitiveness and a more resilient economy.

Itua noted that there was a spectrum of efforts to be made toward sustainable manufacturing such as the use of renewable materials, modification of production processes, and use of reusable, biodegradable products.

“Industries must change their manufacturing process to minimise waste, conserve raw materials, and capture and reuse waste materials.

“We must also utilise new technologies involves incorporating more environmentally responsible technologies and equipment into your production process,” he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

May 12, 2023

Centre tasks MDAs on fight against corruption

Mr Umar Yakubu, the Executive-Director, Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch (CeFTiW), has called on Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to raise the bar in the fight against corruption to save the economy from collapse.

Yakubu made the call in Abuja on Thursday at a workshop/presentation of the Transparency and Integrity Index methodology handbook on anti-corruption.

He said the handbook was expected to promote transparency, develop strong preventive mechanisms against corruption.

Yakubu added that the handbook would assist public institutions to improve their performance across the various indicators used for ensuring compliance to public regulations.

“The Transparency and Integrity Index (TII) methodology, therefore, employs a six parameter indices to benchmark the performances of MDAs toward good governance in certain critical areas.

“They are website integrity, fiscal transparency, open procurement and contracting, budget implementation, inclusion and citizens engagement, as well as human resources,” he said.

Yakubu noted that the purpose of the programme was to draw the attention of government at federal, state and local level, of the criteria set out to promote transparency in governance across five major thematic areas.

“When we started in 2021, the highest score was 32. 9 out of 100 marks but in 2022, the Development Bank of Nigeria scored 52, so if you can get 20 percentage increase within one year, I think it is a good development.

“But, a lot of other agencies are not doing so well but with this kind of engagement, we expect them to improve.

“What we assess is the availability of the information on the website, and we are collaborating with other CSOs on anti corruption to ensure that the information being put out is actually true.

“The impact of this workshop on the economy is the prevention of corruption, because we have enough institution combating corruption and we can prevent it before it happens which is a lot cheaper.

“Prosecuting corruption is not cheap and most of the time, it is difficult to get the assess to recovery, so the whole message is about prevention of corruption which cascades into good governance,” Yakubu said.

Mr Dasuki Arabi, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reform (BPSR), in his assessment of MDAs said that they would continue to work with CeFTiW to deepen transparency and accountability across public institution.

Arabi said the workshop was aimed at acquainting participants with the requirements necessary for them to discharge their duties creditably, as well as ensure the principles of accountability and transparency in their respective organisations.

“The Bureau drew her inspiration to partner with the CeFTIW on the Transparency and Integrity Index (TII), based on her strategic role as a driver of Public Service Reforms across MDAs.

“Public Financial Management of the National Strategy for Public Service Reforms seeks to achieve strategic, efficient and effective mobilisation, allocation and use of public resources as well as ensure fiscal discipline, transparency, integrity and accountability through timely reporting.

“This position is also reinforced by the BPSR role as a member of various Inter– Ministerial Anti-Corruption Agencies, and the underlying objective of driving public engagement in line with its statutory role in the implementation of this objective.

“It is also informed in the quest to put in place machineries and institutional arrangements aimed at providing a common vision and long-term agenda to position the country among major player in the global economy in year 2050

“This workshop/presentation of Transparency and Integrity Methodology Index Handbook is coming at the backdrop that during the 2022 Transparency and Integrity Index, it was evident that most Public Institutions were yet to be versatile with the parameters used for ranking.

“This is owing to low– level of awareness and compliance levels in the parameters used for ranking amongst MDAs,” Arabi said.

Amb. Angela Nworgu, BoT Chairman, CeFTiW, said that transparency must be embraced as an essential principle of good governance.

Nworgu noted that transparency was an important tool with which citizens use to hold government accountable, promote trust in government, and foster a thriving ground for integrity.

“The TII serves as a powerful tool to promote transparency, monitor public sector expenditure, and strengthen the integrity mechanisms of public institutions.

“And through this assessment, we hope to make a long-lasting impact in fostering a culture of openness and accountability within the public sector,” Nworgu said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

May 12, 2023

Sudan: NEMA sends food items to stranded Nigerians

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has dispatched assorted food items to the Nigerian Embassy in Sudan to cater for stranded Nigerians waiting to be evacuated to Nigeria from Sudan.

This is contained in a statement signed by the spokesperson of the agency, Mr Manzo Ezikiel on Thursday in Abuja.

Mustapha Ahmed, the Director-General of the agency, explained that the food items are meant to cater for the Nigerian citizens who are awaiting evacuation.

The items consist of 100 bags of rice, 50 bags of beans, 10 cartons of seasoning, 50 cartons of spaghetti and 5 bags of iodized salt.

He said that the items had since been transported to Port Sudan via a TARCO aircraft which brought 123 stranded Nigerians to Abuja at about 12:25 p.m.

This brings a total number of 2,246 stranded Nigerians evacuated to the country from the war-ravaged country.

According to him the evacuation exercise is still in progress as efforts are being made to engage more Nigerian airlines to strengthen the process of transporting more Nigerians willing to come back home.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria