Day: March 5, 2023

Representatives of the Bulgarian community in Odessa were unanimous that it is important to have the voice of Bulgarians in Ukraine heard in Bulgaria and that the Bulgarian News Agency’s (BTA) magazine LIK is helping to make this happen. They attended the presentation of the February issue of LIK titled ‘The Voice of Bulgarians in Ukraine’ on March 3, Bulgaria’s National Day, at the Bulgarian Cultural Centre in Odessa. It was presented by BTA Director General Kiril Valchev, Yulia Hristova, Deputy Director of the Bulgarian Media and Communities around the World Directorate, and LIK Editor-in-Chief Yanitsa Hristova. Dmitry Terzi, Director of the Bulgarian Cultural Centre, told BTA that despite the difficult year, the Bulgarian community in Ukraine is standing firm. ‘We are standing firm because we hear Bulgaria and it hears us. We try to keep in touch with BTA. We see your coverage of the things we do here and we are very grateful. We hope that things will get better,’ said Terzi. ‘Times are very difficult, but we are a nation that has gone through such difficult times with dignity,’ he added. Children still go to the school in town, despite the anxiety and danger. ‘Others joined the army and many were killed. I want to do a photo exhibition for all who died, from children to adults,’ Terzi said. Prof. Alexander Ganchev, a historian, also commented on the importance of the February issue of the LIK magazine. ‘Each publication is very important, including from a historical point of view,’ he said. Such a publication could be read 20, 50 or 100 years from now, and at some point it will become a historical source. ‘From the point of view of the presentation of Bulgarian culture, especially from the point of view of what is going on in Bulgaria, I think most people imagine the Bessarabian Bulgarians as a Bulgarian culture unchanged from two centuries ago,’ Ganchev said. What the LIK magazine is doing is very important: ‘It offers a much broader view of the life of Bessarabian Bulgarians and their culture. Poets and artists are featured, there is an interview with the eminent historian Nikolay Chervenkov. This is a multifaceted presentation of what the Bulgarians in Bessarabia are like, how they live and what their emotions, life and culture are like,’ Prof. Ganchev said. Valentina Kaschi, who teaches Bulgarian language and literature at the Bulgarian Sunday school in Odessa, said she believes the February issue of LIK is of particular importance. ‘I think it is very important because the situation in Ukraine is very complicated now, but the Bulgarian community is there – it lives, works and remembers its country, it cherishes its Bulgarian customs, and loves and longs for its ancestral homeland endlessly,’ Kaschi said. ‘The more people in Bulgaria know about the life of Bessarabian Bulgarians in Ukraine – how children learn the Bulgarian language, how rural Bulgarian communities celebrate Bulgarian holidays even in the most difficult times, the more they read about us, the more they will get to know our history here in Ukraine and our traditions,’ the teacher said, adding that this will promote mutual respect.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) as part of stakeholder consultations has engaged the National House of Chiefs on the proposed curriculum for Senior High Schools (SHS). The meeting, which sought to brief the House on the new curriculum and also receive inputs from the traditional leaders, formed part of broader consultations before submitting the final document to Cabinet. The idea was to hear the views of members of the House, who are the custodians of the cultural values, to ensure school children do not depart from the Ghanaian values as they develop. The Council is currently reviewing school curriculum to respond to a national priority of shifting the structure and content of the education system from merely passing examinations to building character, nurturing values and raising literate, confident and engaged citizens. It has already put out the Standards Based Curriculum (SBC) for the basic level and has also concluded the curriculum for SHS, which would soon be submitted to Cabinet after the stakeholder engagements. Led by Professor Edward Appiah, the Director General of NaCCA, the team took the chiefs through curriculum development and particularly exposed them to the details of the proposed curriculum for SHS. The Director General said the SBC sought to address the challenges with the previous curriculum and ensure that the content was benchmarked to international standards. He said the expectation after the implementation of the new curriculum would produce learners with 21st century skills capable of solving problems and contributing meaningfully to development. ‘And so our mandate is to improve teaching and learning using science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at the pre-tertiary level,’ he noted. Prof. Appiah indicated that the STEM concept had been integrated into the new curriculum from kindergarten to the pre-tertiary level as part of efforts to promote STEM education in Ghana. ‘We expect to see our children being patriotic, digitally literates, good communicators, innovative, creative and more importantly they also have to be global citizens,’ he stated. He thanked the House for granting his team audience and assured that their inputs would be considered before submitting the proposed curriculum to Cabinet. Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II, President of the House, commended NaCCA for seeking the views of traditional leaders, saying that, the broader consultation would go a long way to shape the lives of students. He urged the chiefs to share the contents with their colleagues at the regional level as well as people in their jurisdiction.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Reverend Dr. Samuel Worlanyo Mensah, an Economist, has called for the formation of a consortium of National, Regional, and District Best Farmers to help solve problems in the agricultural sector. Rev. Dr. Mensah said the government needed to form and support the National Best Farmers, Regional Best Farmers, and District Best Farmers Consortium to enable them to enlarge their farms to produce to meet the food needs of the country. He said the initiative would solve Ghana’s food needs as well as increase exports to stabilise the economy. Rev. Dr. Mensah, who was speaking at the Ghana News Agency, Boardroom Dialogue, urged the government to work through the committee that superintend over the National Farmers Day celebration for information on the potential of each district. He said most of the farmers had already established their farms and known to the government by virtue of them winning an award. He said these famers could be supported to produce in large quantity and pay back the loans in flexible terms. Rev. Dr. Mensah, who is also the Executive Director for Greater Impact Africa, said it was time the government moved from just motivating the farmers to forming partnership with them. He said the government must provide equipment, including combined harvesters, water pumping machines, irrigational equipment, tractors, and all other tools needed for mechanized farming. He said there was the need for Ghana to overhaul the local economic development, noting that these were long term development goals which would reap more benefits to the country. Rev. Dr. Mensah said the government could convert the potential of each district into strategic production ventures to solve the country’s unemployment problem. The Economist also stressed that it was not enough for Ghana to always run to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout as that could not solve Ghana’s perennial economic hardships. He said the country lacked financial discipline and the only way out of the economic decadency was to fight crime and ensure value for money. The Economist said, ‘if embezzlement, misapplication, and mismanagement do not end all the solutions to revamp the economy are going to be an action in futility.’ Rev. Dr. Mensah advised the government to empower anti-corruption agencies to relentlessly fight corruption as that was the only solution to the problem.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Samuel Bouri Poyari, a Tax Administrator at the Ghana Revenue Authority, has expressed his preparedness to win back the Yunyoo Constituency Parliamentary Elections for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) if given the opportunity in the upcoming primaries. He noted that the NDC needed a candidate with the needed expertise, and competence to win back the seat in the 2024 general election. He said he possessed such qualities to wrestle the seat from the New Patriotic Party. Mr Poyari, who is contesting in the NDC Parliamentary Primaries for the fourth consecutive time, told the Ghana News Agency at Yunyoo that his commitment to champion development, especially among the vulnerable had informed his consistency in the race over the years. He said that the area was among the poorest and underdeveloped constituencies in the country hence the need for a development-oriented lawmaker, who could lobby for projects and undertake initiatives to spearhead the overall development of the area. He said, ‘I am optimistic that the delegates will give me the opportunity to share my decades of rich experience towards transforming the area.’ He appealed to the delegates in the constituency to give him the opportunity to lead the NDC for the 2024 Parliamentary election. Mr Eric Ntala, NDC Yunyoo Constituency Chairman, told GNA that five aspirants had picked nomination forms to contest in the Parliamentary Primaries in the area. Besides Mr Poyari, Mr Joseph Bipoba Nabu, Mr Alhassan Sulemana, Mr Emmanuel Gulari and Mr Adam Abu have also picked the nomination forms to contest in the NDC Parliamentary Primaries in the area. Mr Ntala charged the aspirants to conduct their campaigns with decorum and decency devoid of insults to galvanise the support of the grassroots for victory in 2024.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Senanu Kwesi Djokoto, Acting Volta Regional Director of Health, has asked the public to adhere strictly to the safety protocols to stem the spread of the Lassa fever. He said it was important for the citizens to promote hygiene within their vicinities to prevent rodents from entering their homes to forestall the spread of the disease. Dr Djokoto, speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, disclosed that the Volta region has not recorded the virus, adding that the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service were instituting all necessary mechanisms to contain the outbreak. Lassa fever, according to the Ghana Health Service, is caused by the lassa virus, and the incubation period is between 2 and 21 days. The virus is transmitted to humans through contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent’s urine or faeces. The Service said the virus may also be spread between humans through direct contact with the blood, urine, faeces or other body fluids of a person infected with Lassa fever and that sexual transmission of Lassa virus has been reported. ‘The early symptoms of Lassa fever may include fever and general weakness. The person may later present with headache, sore throat, muscle pain, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea.’ The Service said in severe cases, there maybe bleeding from the mouth, nose, vagina or stomach and that death usually occurred within 14 days of onset in fatal cases. To keep the citizens active and healthy for productive work, the Ghana Health Service on Friday organised a health walk and blood donation exercise for residents in Ho, as part of activities marking the Independence Day celebration. Dr Djokoto described the exercise as good to promote the health of the citizens and to boost the blood bank, and urged the citizens to continue to donate blood to support the health facilities across the country.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ghana Prisons Service has called on Parliament to expedite the passage of the Non-Custodial Bill into law. Shelved for nearly a decade, the Bill, among others, seeks to change the course of offenders’ behaviour by instilling in them a sense of moral obligation to their communities. Besides its purpose of decongesting the prisons, it would also ensure that offenders such as parents and caregivers would carry out their punishments without being separated from their families for years, as is the case under the custodial sentencing system. The Bill, is an alternative to a custodial sentence for convicted offenders of some crimes and would see offenders rendering unpaid public work within a community for a period not exceeding the term of imprisonment for which the court had sentenced them. Deputy Director of Prisons, Robbin Kwesi Asamoah Fenning, the Central Regional Director of the Service, made the call on the sidelines of a graduation ceremony held for 43 inmates at the Ankaful Maximum Security prisons. He prayed that the Bill would not ‘gather dust on the shelves of Parliament.’ ‘The conditions in some of our prisons are quite harrowing but can be corrected with the introduction of a non-custodial sentencing law to greatly reduce prison congestion by minimizing the large inflow of convicts charged with misdemeanour and petty crimes,’ he appealed. The programme was arranged by the Service, together with the Complementary Education Agency (CEA), formally Non-Formal Education Division, and supported by the Ghana Library Authority and the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Municipal Assembly. The graduates, comprising 23 inmates from the Maximum prison and 20 from the Annex, were taken through a year of functional literacy and occupational skills while serving various sentences at the facility. Under the tutelage of professionals from CEA, staff of the Service, and some inmates, the graduates would be integrated into mainstream basic education to enable them to achieve their life goals. Commending the inmates for their resilience to empower themselves, the Deputy Director of Prisons said the move formed part of the Service’s commitment to ensure safe custody, humane treatment, reformation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of inmates. That, he said, would make them responsible, productive, and law-abiding citizens to build a world-class inmate reformatory management. In that regard, he called for ceaseless support to enable more inmates to benefit. Mrs. Justina Marigold Assan, the Central Regional Minister, applauded the management of the Service for the efficient management of the facility regardless of the teething challenges and commended the management for working tirelessly to maintain discipline and orderliness . ‘It is your hard work and due diligence in carrying out your duties that have culminated in achieving such heights, and I urge you to work even harder. ‘I am fully aware of some of the difficulties you face in the discharge of your duties. This is a prison complex, and it takes a lot of hard work, diligence, and strictness to manage such a place,’ Mr. Assan told the Prison management. For the beneficiaries, Mrs. Assan asked them to consider their current incarceration as a temporary opportunity to turn a new leaf and start afresh. She stated that non-formal education had minimized the gap between both formal and informal education and provided liberal, flexible, standard, cheap, and qualitative education as per the need of the individual. Additionally, she appealed to the prison wardens to be circumspect in dealing with the inmates, and treat them with dignity to boost their confidence, reform, and ease their reintegration.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Volta Regional Youth Centre, venue for the 66th Independence Day anniversary and parade, is ready to host the annual national event. President Akufo-Addo has institutionalised the rotation of the national event among the regions to give the regions a taste of the event that had been constantly held at the Independence Square in Accra since 1957. Three regions, namely, Northern, Ashanti and Central had previously hosted the national event. The Volta Region hosting this year’s 66th national parade. The final rehearsal was held Saturday by the 22 contingents of security agencies and 12 selected schools. Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Minister, said, ‘we are more than 100 per cent ready to host all dignitaries, guest, residents and friends on Monday, all things being equal.’ ‘We only pray for a good weather to deliver a historical anniversary here in Ho.’ GNA visited the event venue Sunday and saw final finishing touches to the decorations at the venue in national colours, while floodlights are being fixed as well as GBC OB van and other media installations being mounted, setting the stage for a historical event in the region. This year’s anniversary is on the theme: ‘Our Unity, Our Strength, Our Purpose.’ President Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea Bissau and Chairman of ECOWAS is the special guest of honour.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Torgbui Tenge Dzokoto Gligui VII, Chief of Anyako-Konu and the Paramount Chief of Amugo-Vego Traditional area in the Volta Region, has visited his clansmen in the Western Region. The visit by the Paramount Chief forms part of programmes and activities drawn to engage all citizens abroad, sell the new development vision of the Anyako-Konu area to them and have their support to accelerate development in the area. Torgbui Gligui, addressing the clansmen at a colourful ceremony in Takoradi over the weekend, said, ‘we believe in engaging and problem-solving approach to maintaining law and order for development.’ He said the redevelopment of the Anyako-Konu into a modern township remained a prior vision since ascending the thrown to attract citizens of the area back home. ‘We have started with drawings and approval processes…our economic basis for all this is tourism…we have a lot of water that we must take advantage of to grow our local economy,’ the Chief added. He was grateful to the leadership of the Union in the Western Region for mobilising themselves into a dynamic group to stimulate investment and growth back in their hometown. The Paramount Chief reported on the urgent steps being taken to solve the potable water situation in the area. Lawyer Seth Awuku, the Acting Director of the Animens Hotel in Takoradi and a member of the Anyako-Konu group in Takoradi, praised the leadership approach of the new Paramount Chief, describing him as one willing to consult, learn from others and an engaging approach to governing. He encouraged people from the area to support the Chief to unearth all his development aspirations.

Source: Ghana News Agency