Day: March 20, 2024

Ahead of the 2024 World Water Day celebration, World Vision Ghana has renewed its commitment to ensuring that every child has access to safe water.

Mr Joshua Baidoo, Director for Integrated Programmes of World Vision, Ghana, said Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) played an essential role in ensuring children enjoyed life to the fullest, hence the commitment.

Mr Baidoo was speaking at a press soiree organised by World Vision Ghana in Accra on Tuesday.

The event was for World Vision Ghana and media organisations to bond well and pool resources and expertise together to drive and accelerate community and national development.

He said World Vision Ghana understood the issues of WASH and had prioritised the provision of safe drinking water in its programming for decades.

‘ The communities we work in now have access to clean and safe drinking water, reducing the incidence of water-borne illnesses such as diarrhoea and cholera, which can sometimes lead to child mortality,’ he said.

Mr Baidoo commended the m
edia as a great partner in raising the voices of the most vulnerable children, their families and communities that were desperately in need of clean and safe drinking water.

The Director said two years ago, World Vision Ghana launched a five-year strategic plan designed to expand its outreach to 3.3 million most vulnerable children with life-saving development interventions.

They are WASH services, quality education, health, food and nutrition, livelihood and income generations, child protection as well as environmental restoration concepts for Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration principles.

He said the strategy named: ‘Accelerating our Commitment to the Most Vulnerable Children’ also entailed systems strengthening at the national and sub-national level to facilitate the effective delivery of essential services for children and their families.

He said the strategy outlined three technical programmes as pillars for achieving the strategic objectives.

These are Healthy, Environment and Wellness (HEAL); Rea
ding, Improvement and Skills Enhancement (RISE) and Livelihood Improvement and Family Empowerment (LIFE).

He expressed the hope that the meeting would strengthen the collaborative efforts with the media and showcase World Vision’s technical competence in the various sectors.

Mr Robe L. Wamisho, Technical Programme Manager, WASH, said 85,200 people in communities were provided with access to safe drinking water while providing 19 health facilities with improved water facilities on-site.

He said 56,492 people gained access to improved household sanitation facilities with 77 communities certified as Open Defecation Free.

‘…38 schools with a total population of 11, 981 pupils were provided with clean water on their school premises and 27 schools also received waste bins for effective waste management,’ he added.

He said 298 water and sanitation management teams and 44 WASH school clubs were formed with 631 faith leaders involved in WASH programme activities.

Mr Samuel Gmalu, Programme Manager, Humanitarian
and Emergency Affairs, said 8,000 Asylum Seekers and host community members were reached with humanitarian assistance through the Burkina Faso Asylum Seekers Emergency Response.

He said 85 partners were trained in peace-building and conflict sensitivity programmes in the Gushiegu and Karaga Areas.

Mr Maxwell Amedi, Programme Manager, Food Security and Livelihoods said 290 new Saving for Transformation (S4T) Groups comprising 6,133 members caring for 15,394 children were formed and trained.

He said 4,792 Saving Group members were trained in financial literacy skills while training 1,072 individuals in additional livelihoods, including beekeeping, Shea, and groundnut processing was ongoing.

He said the LIFE technical programme sought to build and maintain peaceful, inclusive, and cohesive families and communities to promote love and justice for one million vulnerable children by 2025.

Mr Sasu Brako, Acting Programme Manager, RISE, said 4,2652 children were participating in unlock literacy interventions acr
oss World Vision Ghana’s programming areas.

He said 32,450 learners from kindergarten to primary three were reached with improved literacy instruction in 264 schools with 360 early childhood teachers and early grade teachers receiving in-service training in unlock literacy and learning roots methodology.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ghana’s economy grew 2.9 per cent growth in 2023 lower than to 3.8 per cent recorded in 2022, the Ghana Statistical Service said on Wednesday.

The Statistical Service indicated that the last quarter of 2023, recorded the highest real GDP growth rate, which was 3.8 per cent, the same growth rate recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022.

In terms of nominal values, GSS noted that the country’s GDP, including Oil and Gas estimate at constant 2013 prices for the fourth quarter of 2023 was GHS50,645.7 million (about 50 billion) compared to GHS48,796.8 million (about 48bn) in the fourth quarter of 2022.

On sectoral basis, the services sector recorded the highest growth of 5.1 per cent, followed by the agriculture sector at 4.5 per cent, while industry sector recorded a GDP growth of 1.6 per cent.

The Statistical Service noted that this was the first time in about 11 years that four of the 22 sub-sectors (Crops; Trade, Repair of Vehicles and Household Goods; Mining and Quarrying and Manufacturing) have accounted f
or more than 50 percent of Ghana’s GDP.

Meanwhile, Ms Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has challenged the government to work towards achieving a five per cent GDP growth.

‘What we want to see is a dynamic economy; we want to see Ghana back to a five per cent growth or more, and we believe that this is achievable,’ she said, during a media engagement with some selected journalists in Accra.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Richmond Atta-Ankomah, Economic Researcher, Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER), has urged government to leverage the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for economic growth.

He said the SDR was a less costly financing regime which offered lower interest rates than commercial loans for countries like Ghana.

‘The current SDR interest rate is about 4 per cent, which was substantially cheaper than 7 to 11 per cent charged on Ghana’s Eurobond, ‘he added.

He said the SDR by the IMF is characterised by quotas, which members shared in a general allocation.

He encouraged government to appeal to the IMF to take into account the need for more funds to help Ghana channel liquidity and investment financing into well structured, sustainable, and inclusive developmental projects.

He said the unused funds by developed countries like the G20 could be channeled to African countries which were in dire need of funds for economic recovery.

He said SDRs allocate
d to developed countries supplemented their trillions of reserves.

Considering the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, Russia’s war in Ukraine and other huge threats facing Africa at the moment, it was important to recycle a portion of the SDRs from developed countries to vulnerable countries like Ghana.

Dr Atta-Ankomah asked the IMF to consider and integrate region-specific shocks to allocate more funds to countries predisposed to certain climate shocks and lack resilience capacity.

He said Ghana could not afford to go to the commercial credit markets even if it was still opened due to its unsustainable high debt level.

‘The precarious conditions and limited financing options in the global south, particularly in Sub Saharan African countries makes the SDR a valuable option to explore, ‘he added.

Mr Atta-Ankomah said a higher allocation of SDRs to Africa offered a unique opportunity to put the continent on track to meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and build th
e Africa ‘we want.’

He said:’the money would not be a free money and would be paid back, therefore we must generate enough revenue from it to quantify our income.’

Speaking on domestic reforms, he said digitizing the economy and tax administration would be efficient to reduce the costs associated with tax collection.

This, he said, would create transparency and accountability in the tax system at all levels to help minimize or eliminate corrupt activities from officials.

He said government must implement prudent expenditure measures by cutting the size of ministries to between 40 to 50, adding that, there must be the need for continuous audit of payroll.

SDRs are not a currency but an international reserve asset created by the IMF expected to have reserve assets features, including immediate availability to address financial needs.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Fidelity Bank Ghana, the nation’s largest privately owned bank, has hosted a delegation of 35 students and faculty from Columbia Business School, a world-renowned institution for business education.

The visit underlines the Bank’s commitment to knowledge sharing and industry collaboration, a press release issued to the Ghana News Agency, said in Accra Wednesday.

The engagement, held at Fidelity Bank’s head office at Ridge Towers in Accra, served as a valuable platform for knowledge exchange and exploration of potential collaborations in driving financial inclusion.

It was also for fostering innovation and implementing effective growth strategies within the African market, specifically focusing on Ghana.

The students engaged in discussions with Fidelity Bank executives, gaining first-hand insights into the Bank’s operations, strategic vision, and steadfast commitment to financial inclusion and sustainability in Ghana.

Leaders from the Bank shared their experiences, including emerging trends and challenges
in the financial landscape and the strides Fidelity Bank was making.

Managing Director Julian Opuni recounted the Bank’s transformation from a discount house in 1998 to a leading universal bank today.

He emphasised strategic expansion, including an international office in Malaysia, and its focus on digital banking for broader financial accessibility.

He inspired the students by urging them to embrace calculated risks.

He shared a personal anecdote about his own career shift to join a young, five-year-old Fidelity Bank in Ghana from the United Kingdom, highlighting the potential rewards of taking bold steps.

Nana Yaa Afriyie Ofori-Koree, Head of Partnerships, Sustainability, and CSR outlined Fidelity Bank’s comprehensive approach to sustainable development.

She addressed the social and environmental challenges and highlighted the Bank’s three-pillar strategy: Sustainable Finance, Sustainable Operations, and CSR.

The examples included the Fidelity Young Entrepreneur program and the Orange Impact initiati
ve, which support education through financial and non-financial support.

Director of Retail, Thomas Ishmael Adjei, showcased Fidelity Bank’s innovative approach to financial inclusion.

He shared the success of the Smart Account, featuring simplified account opening and know-your-customer requirements, and the extensive agency network exceeding 9,000 agents.

This was making financial services readily accessible in remote areas.

Professor Stephan Meier, Chair of the Management Division, and James P. Gorman, Professor of Business at Columbia Business School, expressed their appreciation for Fidelity Bank’s ongoing commitment to providing students with first-hand knowledge of the Ghanaian financial sector.

This marks the third such visit, offering valuable insights into the unique realities of the Ghanaian market.

Professor Meier emphasised the importance of exposing students to diverse perspectives within the field of finance.

The delegation toured the various departments in the Bank, gaining a comprehens
ive understanding of Fidelity Bank’s operations and its steadfast commitment to financial inclusion.

The experience provided students with valuable insights into the unique realities of the Ghanaian market and equipped them with practical knowledge that can be applied in their future endeavours.

‘The visit signifies a crucial step in fostering collaboration between academia and the financial industry,’ the release said.

‘This knowledge exchange equips future business leaders with valuable insights and paves the way for potential partnerships that can contribute to financial inclusion, innovation, and sustainable development in Ghana and beyond,’ it said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ms Cynthia Anima Boadu, the Bono Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has advised students to take matters of security seriously to prevent violence in the country.

Ms Boadu stressed the need for students to be vigilant and report any suspicious activities of individuals or groups of people to the security agencies in time to stop distractions in society.

She gave the advice at a sensitisation and awareness campaign organised by the NCCE at separate programmes for Senior High Schools in the Sunyani West and Sunyani East Municipalities.

The campaigns were part of the NCCE’s Preventing and Containing Violent Extremism (PCVE) Action programme, supported by the European Union (EU) to raise awareness about the activities of extremists and their threats to national security.

Among the schools educated were the Notre Dame SHS, Sunyani SHS, Odumaseman SHS, Twene Amanfo SHS, SDA SHS, Social Welfare Technical Institute, and Sunyani Technical Institute.

The students were engaged t
hrough film screenings to increase their understanding of the dangers of violent extremism and its impact on the security and stability of the state.

Ms Boadu emphasised the importance of peaceful co-existence among students, regardless of their differences, while urging them to avoid marginalization, unhealthy debates, and online radicalization that could lead to violence.

She indicated five other Districts and Municipalities in the Region were undertaking the same educational programmes at Banda Adentro, Dormaa Central, Dormaa West, Jaman North, and Jaman South communities on preventing and containing violent extremism.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Conrad Bombayireh, in Charge of the Sunyani Police Hospital, explained that extremists use unlawful methods to achieve political, ideological and religious goals by targeting the youth who are vulnerable with promises of scholarships, money, and indoctrination.

He therefore urged students to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activities to th
e police.

ASP Conrad Bombayireh gave assurance that their identities would be protected, saying ‘security is a shared responsibility.’

Source: Ghana News Agency