Day: April 21, 2024

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has called for the commitment of more resources to the operations of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to enable it deliver on its mandate.

He said the Commission, which is a creation of the the 1992 Constitution, played a critical role in shaping the behaviour of Ghanaians towards nationalism and needed adequate funding to reach out to the masses.

He made the observation when a team of officials from the NCCE paid a courtesy call on him at the Manhyia Palace ahead of the launch of this year’s Constitution Week in Kumasi.

The delegation led by the Chairman of the Commission, Madam Kathleen Addy, was at the Palace to seek the blessings of the Occupant of the Golden Stool before going ahead with the launch.

‘Together We Can Build Ghana So Let’s Get Involved,’ is the theme chosen for this year’s celebration.

The King said he was aware of the limited resources available to the Commission and charged the leadership to consider seeking support from corpora
te Ghana to augment whatever they received from the government.

He spoke about how civic education used to be part of the curriculum in basic schools which taught children their civic responsibilities, and urged the commission to engage the Ghana Education Service to restore civic education in the curriculum.

Teaching the kids their civic responsibilities at that level, he noted, would reflect in the behaviour of the society to make the work of the NCCE much easier.

‘It is unfortunate that people in recent years are exhibiting behaviours that are inimical to society thinking they are within their rights forgetting that the general good of the population could not be compromised for their sake,’ the Asantehene bemoaned.

He underscored the importance of making the Constitution available to Ghanaians, saying that most citizens were not even aware of the contents of that important document.

He said much as the Commission did not have enough funds to print copies for the masses, they should find means to make
them available to at least teachers so they could empower students to be responsible citizens.

Madam Addy used the occasion to applaud the King for 25 years of visionary leadership which had impacted thousands of lives even beyond Asanteman.

She said the Commission was proud of the King for his sterling leadership and wished him well as he marked his 25th anniversary on the throne.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Eleven students from the Department of Social Work at the University of Ghana have donated 10 plastic chairs to the Ashaiman Municipal Office of the Social Welfare and Community Development Department.?

According to the students, who were on an eight-week internship at the office, they identified a problem, which was the inadequate chairs at the department, and interacted with Dr. Vyda Mamley Hervie, Lecturer and Academic Field Supervisor, University of Ghana, on the issue.

They were motivated by their supervisor to find a solution to the challenge, thus presenting the chairs.

They described the department as the best place to gain practical knowledge and paid critical attention to the formulation and implementation of policies to support individuals and groups in need of various social services.

Mr. Ibrahim Talata Saru, the leader of the interns, handed over the chairs to the department, saying the internship was a tremendous real-life work experience that would help them make a difference in their futur
e careers.

He said the field experience gained would build their confidence and give them a?sense of purpose by developing a deeper understanding of the courses they were studying.

Ms. Anita Gyan, another leader, said that their activities focused on child non-maintenance cases, which included court work, family welfare, Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP), and daycare supervision, among others.

She added that the valuable work experience gained would expand their job network, help them explore interests, and help them form their personal career goals.

Mrs.?Jemima Agyeman, the?Principal Social Work Development Officer, Ashaiman Municipal?Assembly,?commended the students for their kind gesture and being one of the best interns?posted to the assembly to gain practical knowledge.

She explained that the eight-week stay was vibrant and productive as they were ready to learn, accepted their mistakes, and listened to corrections, stressing that these were character traits expected to ensure an enablin
g work environment, paving the way for them to give out their best in teaching them.

‘We are surprised; all along we didn’t know they were even planning to do this, which means that wherever they are, they can identify problems and find solutions to them,’ she stated.

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Mrs. Agyeman asked for God’s blessing for the students for their support and selfless act.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, Finance Minister, says Ghana will in May 2024 sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its official bilateral creditors as a draft of the agreement is soon to be shared with the country.

This MoU is in relation to the restructuring of some US$13 billion external debt to meet IMF’s debt sustainability parameters, with the country reaching an agreement in principle with official creditors in January 2024.

‘Essentially, we’ve agreed to all that we need to do for the [second review programme] to go to the Board, with the only outstanding issue being the draft of the MoU from official creditors, expected in May 2024,’ Dr Amin Adam said.

‘If we have that [the draft MoU], there won’t be any lengthy negotiation because we’ve already agreed to the offer they gave to us in principle since January. So, we don’t expect any hurdles to cross as far as that’s concerned,’ he added.

This is expected to further boost the country’s chance to access a third tranche of US$360 million when the IMF E
xecutive Board meets in June this year over Ghana’s second review programme.

The Minister said this at a press briefing to wrap up Ghana’s activities for the 2024 International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank Group (WBG) Spring Meetings in Washington, US.

The briefing, held on Sunday, April 21, was monitored by the Ghana News Agency.

When it reached a staff-level agreement with Ghana last week, the IMF staff mission team stated that the next step was for the country to have an MoU with the official bilateral creditors.

However, at the just ended Spring Meetings, Mr Abebe Aemro Selassie, Director, African Department, IMF, clarified that the signing of the MoU would not be a prerequisite for the disbursement of funds to Ghana.

On this development, Dr Amin Adam noted that the Official Creditors Committee had shared a draft of the MoU with their members regarding the country’s external debt restructuring.

The Minister added that, ‘… they’re about sharing it [the draft MoU] with us. As soon as we get the draf
t and we’re fine with it, that we will mean that we have an agreement on the MoU.’

He expressed confidence about Ghana securing the third tranche of US$360 million in June.

‘We do not have any reason to suggest that the Board well miss this because essentially, we’ve agreed to all that we need to do… so, I can tell you, we’re very optimistic.’

Ghana is implementing a three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme with the IMF, supported by a homegrown Post-COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG).

This programme is aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, build resilience, and lay the foundation for stronger and more inclusive growth.

The spring meetings, served as a platform for the government to engage with creditors, and other development partners in respect to the country’s economic stability and resilience endeavour.

One of the major developments during Ghana’s participation of the 2024 spring meetings was the announcement of the procurement of some one millio
n modern meters into the country.

The meters would be procured through the World Bank’s Programme-for-Results initiative to help improve revenue collection amidst current power outages in the country, largely attributed to liquidity challenges in the energy sector.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Women Youth, Peace, and Security Institute (WYPSI) of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), in partnership with the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), has sensitised Ada Senior High School students on women in peacekeeping operations.

The sensitization programme, which is funded by the Elsie Initiative Fund of Canada, aligns with the Government of Ghana’s commitment to the Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations, a global effort to empower women in peacekeeping roles.

The nationwide initiative aims at promoting opportunities for women in the military and increasing their participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations, with a focus on encouraging young women to consider careers in the GAF, particularly combat units, which offer strong leadership development opportunities for future deployments.

The campaign also seeks to challenge misconceptions by addressing stereotypes and providing accurate information about the diverse and fulfilling careers available to women in
the military.

Group Captain Theodora Agornyo, the Gender Policy Advisor to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), educating the students on the work of the GAF, urged women to exploit opportunities in the forces to advance their careers, especially in the combat unit, and to climb to top positions.

Group Captain Agornyo told the Ghana News Agency that the goal of the programme was to get women to the decision-making level in peacekeeping operations, and that is only possible when one gets to the very top as a service commander or a commanding officer in the Ghana Armed Forces.

She continued that they were encouraging women to enter the combat unit because it was only in that unit that they could get to the very top?of the GAF.

The programme, which was launched in 2023, aimed to reach over 20,000 students across 85 senior high schools and selected universities across the 16 regions of Ghana.

The campaign, according to Captain Agornyo, has so far been to the Central, Eastern, Volta, and Oti Regions, while the G
reater Accra and Bono Regions commenced on April 15, 2024.

Ghana, she said, recognised the crucial role women play in achieving successful peace operations, as women peacekeepers often connect more effectively with local communities, particularly women and children, who are frequently the most impacted by conflict.

This national campaign builds on Ghana’s existing efforts to promote gender equality in the military, including the implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions calling for increased participation of women in peacekeeping missions.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Traders and commercial drivers, who plied the Koforidua-Ada-Asesewa road in the Eastern Region, have expressed discomfort about the worsening condition of the stretch and appealed to the government to reshape it to facilitate their movements and economic activities.

The traders, who made the appeal through an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said the bad nature of the road had not only slowed down their economic activities, but had a devastating effect on their health and wellbeing.

Madam Afrane, a market woman at Nkurakan, a farming community in the area, told the GNA that she had been buying painkillers whenever she used the road and returned from the market.

Bright Narh, popularly known as ‘Anyemi,’ a commercial driver who plied the Adukrom-Oterkporlu-Asesewa-Nkurakan portion of the stretch remarked that it was uncomfortable to ply the road, which was always dusty in the dry and muddy in the wet seasons.

‘We only spend our daily sales to repair our vehicles due to the nature of the road,’ he
said.

During a visit, the GNA noticed the Nkurakan-Apesua-Huhunya-Klo-Agogo-Obawale-Sikabeng-Oterkporlu-Asesewa stretch was in a bad shape.

The untarred road had developed several potholes, posing threats to the life of commuters, motorists, passengers and drivers, as hundreds of traders and market women used the stretch mostly on Mondays and Fridays, being the market days at Nkurakan, Akate, Klo-Agogo and Asesewa.

Checks showed the same stretch connects to the Boti and Akaa WaterFalls, as well as ‘Umbrella Rock,’ and other beautiful tourist destination sites in the Yilo and Manya Krobo areas.??

As one of the busiest roads in the region, the stretch further links towns and communities within the Upper Manya, Lower Manya, Yilo Krobo Municipalities as well as the Asuogyaman and Okere Districts to Koforidua, the Eastern regional capital.

Some passengers also used the road connecting the Northern and Southern parts of the Volta Regions, Tema and parts of the Greater Accra Region.?

Due to the dusty nature of
the road, many shops at Apesua, Kwasi Diaka and Huhunya communities, as well as some fuel filling stations had stopped operating.

Mary Tamatey, a provision shopkeeper, told the GNA that ‘We only inhale the dust emanating from the road when we come to work. Our daily sales have gone down and we plead with the government to do something about the road’.

The GNA gathered that several operators of food joints, and hairdressing salons along the road had also closed their shops contemplating relocating their businesses.

Mr Joseph Lawer, a dealer in hardware at Nkurakan confirmed the road had been awarded on contract, the contractor had not been seen on site for years.

Some students of the Apesua Community Senior High School along the stretch said the dusty nature of the road was affecting their health.

When contacted, Mr Emmanuel Tetteh Kwao, the Assemblyman for Nkurakan Central Electoral Area, alleged that because the contract was awarded at the national level, they were unable to trace the contractor.

He sa
id his outfit had written officially to Mr Eric Tetteh, the Municipal Chief Executive, and urged the residents and users of the road to remain calm, as he followed up with the letter.

Mr Kwao said the bad nature of the road was having a negative effect on revenue mobilisation, saying it was difficult for revenue collectors to collect taxes at the markets, communities and businesses along the stretch.

He said Mondays and Thursdays were market days at the Nkurakan market, Tuesdays and Fridays at Klo-Agogo markets, Wednesdays and Saturdays at Akate market and Fridays at Asesewa market, saying the assembly could mobilize more revenue for development if the road was put in good shape.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Central Regional Environmental Health Office has declared and certified three rural communities in the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam District as open defecation free (ODF).

Enyan Obontser, Enyan Onyaadze and Ajumako Nyankomase, all large communities with a population of more than 400 people each, passed a strict sanitation assessment by the regional environmental health team and their partners on a visit to the communities.

As required, it was observed that nearly every household in each community had a toilet built by themselves with support from the District Assembly, and exceptionally clean surroundings.

The status was achieved through a sustained community-led sanitation drive over the past three years with clear indicators and timelines.

Supported by World Vision and UNICEF, the trip to the communities also offered an advocacy and learning opportunity to Ms Adwoa Gyakoa Appiah-Kubi, the Child Sanitation Diplomat, who experienced rural sanitation at first hand.

Mr William Freeman Goku, Regional Environmen
tal Health Officer, who was elated with the development, commended the communities and the Assembly for the milestone.

He said the entire region could soon become open defecation free and free of sanitation related illnesses if all big communities were able to achieve the ODF status.

It was his case that ensuring excellent hygiene would promote tourism in the smaller communities.

‘Almost every part of the region has a tourism potential site and so if we tackle those aspects of the challenges, we are promoting tourism indirectly,’ Mr Goku explained.

Rev Ransford Emmanuel Kwesi Nyarko, the District Chief Executive (DCE), described sanitation as critical to healthy minds and noted that it was one of his major priorities.

He admitted that it was difficult to achieve the ODF status due to the large population and applauded the district’s environmental health team for their efforts.

He noted that the district had churned out about 30 ODF small communities in the past but it was time to go into the bigger comm
unities.

Rev Nyarko noted that through the support of agencies like UNICEF, they had established a sanitation fund to provide education and financial support for various communities towards achieving total hygiene.

‘There are a lot more communities in Ajumako that we are still working on and we are hopeful that by the end of my tenure, we should have made quite a remarkable improvement as far as sanitation is concerned,’ he noted.

He appealed to the media to support the campaign for total hygiene in various communities, and particularly against open defecation.

The Child Sanitation Diplomat, Ms Appiah-Kubi, expressed satisfaction with the level of sanitation in the rural communities and described their efforts as ‘encouraging.’

She, however, observed that the communities were using improvised waste bins and appealed to all stakeholders to go to their aid with proper waste bins.

She urged communities to take action on their own with their little resources to promote sanitation and not depend on the gover
nment.

‘There is the need to educate children on proper sanitation and also encourage them to go to school because they are the future,’ she added.

Nana Kofi Donkor, Tufohen of Enyan Obontser, indicated that they had made progress due to the education offered to them.

‘We only had one public toilet but now everyone has a toilet at home,’ he said, qnd made an appeal for waste bins to enable them maintain a cleaner environment.

Nana Ama Sekyiwaa II, Queen Mother of Ajumako Nyankomase, explaining the sanitation routine of the community, said they undertook clean-up exercises regularly.

She said she was leading by example by partaking in all clean-up exercises and urged all other communities to emulate them.

She assured of a sustained effort to keep the community hygienic at all times.

Source: Ghana News Agency