Month: June 2022

Accra, June 30, GNA – Mr Bice Osei Kuffour, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Post has led a delegation to woo United Kingdom’s postal giant, Royal Mail and to explore areas of collaboration and consolidation.

The members of the delegation, who were led by Grow, Unite and Build Africa (GUBA) included the Ghana Post’s strategic partners, Three Turns Shipping.

They met with the key leadership of Royal Mail at their Mount Pleasant Mail Centre (Mount Pleasant), the largest in London.

Mr Osei Kuffour in a statement said: “The visit was amazing as it offered the opportunity for the Ghana Post team to experience how efficient the Royal Mail is and how the company has leapfrogged its challenges in its 500 years of operations.

“Ghana Post being the most reliable service provider in the areas of postal, courier and e-commerce services and one of the best in the West Africa sub region stands to gain a lot from the Royal Mail partnership regarding investment in new areas of the postal value chain and the use of automation for an enhanced and efficient operation.”

Among other strategic alliances, Mr Osei Kuffour proposed exchanges between the two organisations permitting Ghana Post staff to embark on practical training attachments with Royal Mail, whilst experienced present and former members of staff of the Royal Mail offer consultancy to Ghana Post.

The Ghana Post team discussed areas of expertise and asked for technical assistance in the development of current processes to offer matchless mail service delivery in the sub region.

The Royal Mail has moved from operating manually to automating its processes and operations with a key focus on the use of technology.

The company’s use of technology enabled it to process up to 40,000 letters a day at Mount Pleasant alone, using its Intelligent Letter Sorting Machines. With the surge in online retail sales, the Royal Mail is seeing a bigger drive for parcel services and is currently processing up to 800,000 parcels a day in its Warrington super hub.

Dentaa Amoateng, MBE, CEO and President of GUBA Enterprise stated: “The visit as facilitated by GUBA, among other things, is part of the agenda of ensuring synergy between indigenous Ghanaian companies and similar counterparts in Europe and the USA in possible areas of collaboration, knowledge acquisition and for technical assistance.”

Representing Royal Mail at the meeting included Nick Landon (CCO Royal Mail), Antony Harvey, International Managing Director, Ben Holmes, Head of International Relations, Eric Ashiagbor, London Jubilee Plant Manager, Jay Brooks, London Mount Pleasant Manager, and Kevin Cooper, Head of Processing.

The Ghana Post team included Mr Bice Osei Kuffour, CEO, Mr Robert Aseidu, Head of International Affairs, Nana Yaw Osei-Darkwa, Head of Government Business and External Relations, Hanson Owusu, CEO of Three Turns Shipping, and Kwesi Gyesi, MD, TTL Belgium.

The meeting was facilitated by Odana Consult, a subsidiary of GUBA Enterprise UK.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Eight men have won the Tour de France at least three times since that first race back in the summer of 1903. And only five of them have managed three on the trot.

From Friday, Tadej Pogacar will attempt to add his presence to the pantheon of Louison Bobet, Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Miguel Indurain and Chris Froome.

“We’ve worked very hard all year as a team to prepare for this,” said Pogacar on the eve of the 2022 race, which starts in Denmark with a 13.2 kilometre time trial around Copenhagen.

Two more stages follow: a 202.5km voyage between Roskilde and Nyborg and Sunday’s 182km journey between Vejle and Sonderborg.

“Everyone in Denmark rides a bike,” said Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme as part of his justification for launching the world’s most prestigious cycling race in Scandinavia.

Jens Peter Hansen, the head of the Danish cycling federation and Sophie Haestorp Andersen, the mayor of Copenhagen, wheeled themselves out to support Prudhomme.

“It’s a small country with small distances,” said Hansen. “You don’t have mountains. So I guess that’s why a lot of people could see why the bicycle is really a nice way of getting around. I think it’s the Danish mentality. We like to be independent.”

Following the three-day whirl around Denmark, the 22 teams transfer to France and a 171.5km run between Dunkerque and Calais.

The fifth stage from Lille to Arenberg Porte du Hainaut will feature stretches over cobbled sectors.

Review

“Teams will be taking stock after stage five,” added Prudhomme.

The race then heads across the French Alps, including a climb up the legendary Alpe d’Huez and into the Pyrenees where the Hautacam awaits.

If the cobbles and the mountain passes have not furnished a clear front runner after three weeks and more than 3,000km, then the 40.7km time-trial on the 20th and penultimate stage could be the decider.

In 2020, at a similar stage. Pogacar seiwed control of the race from his fellow Slovenian Primoz Roglic.

The Jumbo-Visma team leader was left a quivering wreck on the deck after the then 21-year-old produced a sensational race against the clock to overturn Roglic’s 57 second lead and take the yellow jersey which 30-year-old Roglic had sported since the ninth stage.

Injury forces Alaphilippe out of the Tour de France 2022

With a lead of nearly two minutes and Tour de France convention forbidding racing for the yellow jersey on the last stage, Pogacar went on to Paris safe in the knowledge that he would become the youngest champion in more than a century.

The 21-year-old also claimed the polka dot jersey as best climber on the tour – the “king of the mountains”. There was, quite logically, also the white jersey as best rider under the age of 25.

In 2021, Pogacar retained all three vests at the end of the race.

“The man is at one with his bike,” FDJ team director Thierry Bricaud said. “One-on-one he’s unbeatable.”

And so voilà, Jumbo-Visma’s strategy for 2022: a dual pronged assault on Pogacar.

Both 32-year-old Roglic and 25-year-old Jonas Vingegaard have been anointed leaders.

Duo

“I’m concentrating on getting the most out of myself and the team in a cumulative way,” said Roglic. “As long as we work together, doing as good as possible together, we believe that we can beat him,” he added.

After the disappointment of 2020, Roglic pulled out in the first week of the 2021 race after a fall. Vingegaard took over and finished second.

“We make each other stronger,” added Roglic. “When you have strong individuals around, the whole team gets stronger.

“Primoz and I are good friends when we are not racing bikes,” said Vingegaard, who could become the first Dane to win the race.

“It is totally different from last year. Last year I came to the tour as a helper. And now I am one of the leaders at the biggest race in the world.”

Danish start for 2022 Tour de France as women ride out for first time from Paris

Jumbo-Visma team boss Merijn Zeeman said his lead duo were in good shape.

“In the best scenario, both of them are better than Pogacar,” Zeeman added. “But there is a strong possibility that is not going to happen.

“We need everybody to be at his top level and we definitely need a two-leader strategy. It’s not a secret that Pogacar is the big favourite.”

What an accolade for the 23-year-old from Komenda.

“I’m here to race, and enjoy the moment,” Pogacar told the British magazine Cycling News as he prepared for his latest challenge. “But for sure, making an impact on history gives you some motivation, some sort of a boost.”

Three weeks then for a tour de force.

Source: Modern Ghana

Bolgatanga, June 30, GNA-Mr William Jalulah, the newly elected Upper East Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has reiterated commitment to work to make the Association attractive to media practitioners in the region.

This, he said, would motivate journalists in the region to join the Association in accordance with the Constitution to make it vibrant and serve its mandate as the fourth estate of the realm.

Mr Jalulah who is also the General Manager of A1 Radio, a Bolgatanga based radio station made these known after Justice Charles Adjei Wilson, Upper East Regional Supervising High Court Judge swore in the newly Regional executives of the Association into office.

The others are; Mrs Sandra Fatima Anafu-Astanga, Editor with the Ghana News Agency, Vice Chairperson, Mr Albert Sore, Regional Correspondent of Joynews, Secretary and Joshua Asaah of A1 Radio, Treasurer.

They were sworn into office alongside four co-opted members including Mr Samuel Akapule of the Bolgatanga Technical University, Osman Muntawakilu of the Ghana Broadcasting Cooperation, Ebo Bruce Quansah of the Daily Guide and Albert Azongo of Dreamzfm.

Mr Jalulah observed that interest of journalists in the region to join the Association which was a major professional body of the fraternity was low and attributed the phenomenon to the unattractiveness of the Association and its works.

He pledged to collaborate with the rest of the executives and major stakeholders to ensure that a Regional office for the Association was established to facilitate discussions and members’ participation in running the affairs of the Association.

“We are looking at working to make the Association attractive to journalists who are not members to join and we will be doing this by following the Constitution to ensure that those who are qualified to be members and express interest are given the opportunity.

“We will also work to have an office to facilitate our administrative works,” he said.

He expressed gratitude to members in the region for the confidence reposed in him and the other executives to lead the Association and appealed for cooperation and support to yield the needed results.

He said, “We also want to thank the past executives for holding the Association till date and when the need arises for us to tap into their experience for proper running of the Association we will do that”.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Cristiano Ronaldo is seeking $626,000 from his rape accuser’s lawyer.

Ronaldo’s attorney Peter Christiansen filed the claim with U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer Dorsey, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press. The claim seeks compensation for legal fees from attorney Leslie Mark Stovall, who represented Ronaldo’s accuser Kathryn Mayorga in a civil lawsuit against the international soccer star.

“Given Stovall’s abuses and flagrant misconduct, Stovall should be made personally responsible for ensuring Ronaldo is reimbursed for having to defend against his vexatious and bad faith conduct,” the filing reads.

Per AP, the claim tallies attorney fees ranging between $350 and $850 per hour for nearly 1,200 hours of work in Ronaldo’s defense of the civil suit.

Dorsey threw out Mayorga’s civil suit seeking more than $25 million in damages on June 10 alongside a 42-page order accusing Stovall of “bad-faith conduct.” Dorsey ruled that Stovall used leaked and stolen documents from discussions between Ronaldo and his attorneys to pursue the case.

“I find that the procurement and continued use of these documents was bad faith, and simply disqualifying Stovall will not cure the prejudice to Ronaldo because the misappropriated documents and their confidential contents have been woven into the very fabric of [plaintiff Kathryn] Mayorga’s claims,” Dorsey’s ruling reads. “Harsh sanctions are merited.”

The ruling declared that Stovall “crossed the border of ethical behavior” and disallowed Mayorga from refiling her case. Ronaldo’s claim seeks damages directly from Stovall.

Kathryn Mayorga’s attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, speaks during a news conference in 2018, in Las Vegas, about the rape accusation against Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo. (MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

Mayorga accused Ronaldo of 2009 rape in Las Vegas hotel room

Mayorga, a former model and teacher from Las Vegas, accused Ronaldo of raping her in 2009. Per her 2018 lawsuit, she met Ronaldo at a Las Vegas nightclub before joining him and others at his hotel suite. She says that Ronaldo then raped her in the suite’s bedroom. Ronaldo’s attorneys argue that the sex was consensual. Ronaldo denied the allegation on Twitter in 2018.

Mayorga agreed to a $375,000 non-disclosure agreement in 2010 to remain silent about her accusation. Stovall argued that the non-disclosure agreement was voided by leaked documents from a whistleblower to German news outlet Der Spiegel, which initially reported on the rape allegation in 2017. Der Spiegel’s 2017 report referred to Mayorga by the pseudonym Susan K. Mayorga spoke with Der Spiegel for a 2018 follow-up using her real name.

“The reason why I signed the contract in the first place [was] because I didn’t want my name out there,” she said.

Mayorga reported to Las Vegas police that she was raped and submitted a rape kit in 2009. Per police and prosecutors, she declined to pursue charges or name Ronaldo at the time. She eventually signed the non-disclosure agreement. Police re-opened the case in 2018 after she filed her civil suit. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson declined to pursue charges in 2019, stating that too much time had passed to prove a case to a jury.

Stovall argued that Mayorga was in no shape to sign the non-disclosure agreement in the first place, citing pressure from Ronaldo’s legal team and learning disabilities she experienced as a child.

Stovall didn’t respond to an AP request for comment Wednesday regarding the claim for damages against him.

Ronaldo, 37, plays soccer for the Premier League’s Manchester United and internationally for his native Portugal. He’s a five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or awarded to the world’s best men’s soccer player.

Source: Modern Ghana

Sefwi-Wiawso (WN/N) June 30, GNA- Nyonkopa, a License Buying Company, and a subsidiary of BARRY CALEBAUT has supported 500 cocoa farmers at Nkyonya in the Wiawso Municipality to register their farmlands with the Wiawso Traditional Council Land Secretariat.

The move, according to Mr Fred Frimpong, Sustainability Manager at Nyonkopa was to enable farmers to go on with their farming activities without land litigations.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after the handing over of the land rights documents to the farmers, Mr Frimpong asked farmers to respect the lease agreement since the company would continue to support cocoa production in the area.

Mr Isaac Adu, on behalf of the Western North Regional Manager of the COCOBOD, appealed to cocoa farmers to support the cocoa rehabilitation programme and asked them to adopt modern methods of farming to improve their yield.

He also urged farmers to take up farming seriously, particularly cocoa production and see it as a business venture.

Mr Adu expressed worry about the decline in cocoa production in the area and attributed it to the cocoa swollen shoot disease and asked farmers whose farms were affected to have them treated.

Nana Kwaku Nkuah II, Chief of Anwhiam who represented Wiawso Paramount Chief, lauded the initiative and reiterated that the Traditional Council would not take away lands from settlers and that the documentation would help curb land litigations among farmers and asked them to respect the lease agreement.

Nana Nkuah, also appealed to COCOBOD to urge other cocoa buying companies to emulate Nyonkopa to ensure that all settler cocoa farmers registered their lands for proper documentation.

Some of the farmers in an interview lauded the initiative since according to them, they would now have peace of mind to work on their farms and asked other farmers to join the project.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, June 30, GNA- Dr Angela Lusigi, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme, (UNDP), says civic education is an effective strategy for addressing gaps in gender equality.

She explained that civic education, a valuable tool in educating the citizenry on their rights and obligations, could positively influence individuals’ attitudes and mindsets towards gender equality.

Dr Lusigi said this at the launch of a Gender Policy Document for the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) on the theme: “Gender Mainstreaming for Effective Delivery of Civic Education.”

The Policy is to ensure adherence to the NCCE’s comprehensive and systematic commitment to gender equality at all levels of the Organisation and in its programming, partnerships, and collaboration.

Dr Lusigi said citizens’ rights, responsibilities and obligations to society were premised upon individuals, groups, and communities’ access to and being represented in public structures.

‘‘Citizens must be able to participate fully in the range of economic, cultural, and political life as well as structures of decision-making in society,’’ she said.

The UNDP Resident Representative said the promotion of social justice and human rights were dependent on a vibrant civic life, where male and female citizens were engaged in all aspects of society and the progress of democratic institutions.

She said gender equality was critical to Ghana ‘s development, and as such, the efforts by NCCE to deepen gender mainstreaming through policy is essential for progress.

Dr Lusigi noted that despite increasing attention to gender issues worldwide, substantial gender gaps however existed which is threatening the achievement of the SDGs.

‘‘For instance, Ghana’s recent Voluntary National Review of progress on the SDGs to be presented at the High-Level Forum in July in New York highlights limited progress in women’s participation in parliamentary, political, and public life,’’ she said.

She expressed worry that all the 2021 targets for women participation in public sector leadership were not achieved, particularly the decline in the number of female Ministers and Chief Directors.

The UNDP has supported the development of a training manual to strengthen the gender mainstreaming capacity of NCCE staff nationwide for the effective implementation of the policy.

Dr Lusigi called for stakeholder collaboration to promote an inclusive society for sustainable development, and assured the participants of the UNDP’s commitment to support the country’s efforts to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Dr Mrs Henrietta Yemidi, Director of Research, Gender and Equality, NCCE, said the gender policy will set the tone for a systematic and sustained mainstreaming of gender issues into the operations of the Commission and external stakeholders.

She said the policy was formulated in agreement with gender equality goals, frameworks, and legislative instruments at the international, sub-regional, regional, and national levels

Dr Mrs Yemidi said the policy also responded to provisions on equal opportunity for all as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution and the National Gender Policy Framework by the Gender Ministry.

She said with the availability of desired financial resources, institutional will and support, the Commission’s Gender Policy will be fully implemented.

Mr Samuel Asare Akuamoah, Deputy Chairman, Operations, NCCE advised that all barriers against achieving gender equality including stereotyping must be addressed.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, June 30, GNA- Dr Afisah Zakariah, Chief Director, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has underscored the need for a comprehensive and viable policy to advance Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD).

Such policy, she noted, would specify national priorities, improve investment and monitoring within the sector.

Dr Zakariah was speaking at a zonal consultation workshop on the draft revised ECCD Policy Framework organised by the Gender Ministry in Accra.

The workshop was to engage and solicit inputs from stakeholders directly involved in the implementation of the Policy at the regional and district levels, to facilitate its revision.

Participants were drawn from the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Non-Governmental, Faith-based and Civil Society Organisations.

Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) is the timely provision of a range of services that promotes the survival, growth, development, and protection of young children between the ages of zero and eight.

The review of the policy was a key recommendation of an evaluation conducted in 2020.

Dr Zakariah noted that though the country had made remarkable strides in the ECCD arena, new developments in the sector necessitated an operative policy to effectively address current ECCD needs.

Thus, the revision of the policy is to align it with global and national ECCD priorities, and to address gaps in its implementation over the years.

The Chief Director pointed out that a highly participatory approach and extensive consultations were adopted and carried out at all levels for the policy review process.

“A notable achievement in this process has been the involvement of children in the consultations for which we appreciate Children Believe for their support,” she said.

She urged all stakeholders to continually support the course by integrating ECCD issues into their plans and programmes and to promote inter-agency collaboration for ECCD implementation at all levels.

Dr Zakariah also called on stakeholders to promote positive caregiving behaviours to ensure the optimal development of children in their early years and support for adolescent mothers.

She announced that the “I WILL” campaign, an integrated social and behaviour change programme on ECCD that required mainstreaming into existing programmes for effective implementation would be launched within the next few months.

“Let us continue to work together and ensure that ECCD remains a priority on the national agenda,” she said.

Mr Terrance Beney, ‘Clear Outcomes’ Lead Consultant of the ECCD Policy said inputs from engagements and the policy evaluation, were used in the drafting of the revised policy and its attached documents.

He said nurturing care domains for the country’s ECCD Policy comprised of health, nutrition, early learning, child protection and social welfare, responsive caregiving, and inclusion.

Mr Beney noted that although the country had progressed in childcare, those efforts must be complemented with a better understanding of ECCD issues for enhanced development of children in the country.

He underscored the need for adequate resources for, and effective collaboration amongst all sectors of the economy to address ECCD issues.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, June 30, GNA – The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has directed Ghana to double its efforts in ending the worst forms of child labour, particularly in the cocoa and fishing sectors.

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The Organisation also requested for detailed information on the practical measures Ghana has taken to eradicate the worst form of child labour, including the sale and trafficking of children.?

Ghana is to provide that information before the next session of the Organisation’s Committee of Experts on the Applications of Conventions and Recommendations to be held from August to September 2022.?

This comes on the heels of concerns raised by the ILO to the effect that only ten persons involved in child trafficking had been prosecuted in Ghana since 2015.

Thus, the ILO has urged the Government of Ghana to pursue efforts to strengthen the ability of law enforcement officials, including the Police, prosecutors, and judges, to undertake thorough investigations that would lead to the prosecution of persons engaged in the sale and trafficking of children.

Meanwhile, ILO, under the framework of Trade for Decent Work (T4DW) is equipping Ghana’s Judiciary and Labour Inspectors with the skills to actively?take part in the elimination of child labour through the application of international labour standards as pertains in the country’s laws.?

The project is aimed at improving the application of the ILO’s fundamental Conventions in European Union (EU) trading partner countries through improved labour relations and working conditions.?

The training follows an ILO request that Ghana provides information on the activities undertaken within the framework of the T4DW project, particularly about child labour in the cocoa sector and the results achieved.?

Dr Akua Ofori Asumadu, National Coordinator of the Trade for Decent Work Project, ILO, attributed Ghana’s situation to the lack of political will to deal with the worst forms of child labour in the country.?

She said those challenges had to be addressed to stem the negative implications on trading with the international community.?

In April this year, Mr Bright Wireko-Brobby, Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, who was speaking at a stakeholders’ engagement in Accra to review Ghana’s Hazardous Activities Framework (HAF), posted that the Government was committed to ending all forms of child labour in the country.?

“We are particularly interested in the business of finding possible ways towards the elimination of child labour,” he said.?

Source: Ghana News Agency