Day: June 5, 2024

Stakeholders in the poultry industry have called for policies that would ensure Ghana’s food security.

Ms Gifty Rodor, Chairperson, Greater Accra Regional Association of Poultry Farmers, who led the appeal, emphatically said Government must prioritise the poultry industry.

If food security was not protected and Ghana allowed competitors to dump their products on its citizenry, farmers would soon be out of business and Ghana would be faced with food imperialism, she said.

This was during the launch of the fourth Ghana Poultry Festival, which would take place on July 1, 2024.

It was organised by Agrihouse Foundation in partnership with Ghana Tourism Authority.

She called on the government to keep to its promise during the launch of ‘Planting for Food and Jobs,’ to increase the volume of maize and soya production to help the sector compete internationally.

The Chairperson said the nation should be sufficient in food security, which was a basic human right, adding that government’s intervention was needed
for the development of the sector.

She said the sector was not developed yet continued to face stiff competition from developed countries.

Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, Founder /Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, urged poultry farmers, especially women to take advantage of the upcoming international conferences to better their lots.

She asked Ghanaians to take part in the poultry festival where poultry products would be promoted through cooking competition.

In all, 40 chefs made up of politicians, among other stakeholders would take part, she said.

Madam Comfort Kyerewaa Acheampong, Coordinator for Ghana National Egg Campaign Secretariat, asked that July 1, every year, be declared ‘Egg Day,’ when consumption of Ghanaian egg would be promoted just as every second Friday of October is recognized internationally as World Egg Day.

She said the importation of exotic eggs should be minimised and those in Ghana, which had more nutritional value encouraged and asked the public to support the campaign.

The
re was a session to discuss how hospitality and poultry sectors could promote development and create jobs.

In a speech read on his behalf, Mr Jonas Asare, Director of Animal Production Directorate, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, commended Agrihouse Foundation for efforts to explore new ways of growing local businesses in the agric value chain and resolving challenges in the sector.

Mr Bright Manye, who read the speech, said the government was committed to supporting the sector, but was quick to add that the task was a shared responsibility.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Cape Coast Metro Office of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) has educated school children on the need to participate in democratic governance processes for national cohesion.

The education marked this year’s citizenship week.

The day on the theme: ‘Children, let’s build Ghana Together,’ was used to help train the children to be agents of change in promoting peaceful election ahead of the December general elections and observe good environmental practices.

Citizenship Week, celebrated annually by the NCCE is a week set aside to create and sustain civic awareness in the citizenry through the delivery of effective civic education to sustain Ghana’s democracy.

Madam Araba Aikins, the Principal Civic Education Officer in Cape Coast at the sensitisation forum advised the children to actively get involved in nation-building to make a difference for the generation unborn.

To help build a prosperous and peaceful nation, the active engagement of youth in the decision-making processes, was cruc
ial, she noted, adding that the Commission will ensure it instilled in them principles of patriotism, discipline, and cleanliness.

She said it was towards this direction that it was helping to inculcate a democratic culture among young people to promote peace through participation in community projects, volunteering and other issues that affected the country.

Madam Aikins educated the children on voters’ rights, and responsibilities required as a citizen, adding that voting was powerful and must be done wisely and peacefully.

Ghana, she noted had a beautiful rich culture and history but needed national unity and harmony to foster development and growth.

For his part, Mr Michael Aggrey, a former head of Programmes of NCCE encouraged the children to motivate themselves with the Ghanaian values to help carve positive attitudes in the country.

He told them to protect the environment, water bodies and natural resources the country was endowed with by ending open defecation, street littering and others which h
ad negative impacts on the environment and citizenry at large.

Mr/ Aggrey stated that the role of children in peaceful elections could not be downplayed because they could engage their peers, families, and communities to promote peaceful dialogue, respect for diversity and conflict resolution through education, advocacy, and community engagement, among others.

He advised them to be agents of change and ambassadors of peace as the country prepared for the general elections in December.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Kobina Yeaboh Okyere, National Director, Compassion International Ghana, has asked churches in the country to ‘illuminate and uplift’ the communities they serve.

He said churches remain ‘powerful catalyst’ for change and national development, therefore, leaders and organisations must not relent on their mission.

Mr Okyere made the remarks at the National Pastors’ Conference, held at the Pentecost Convention Centre at Gomoa Fetteh in the Central Region.

The conference was to enhance collaboration between Compassion International Ghana and local churches, focusing on their shared mission to alleviate child poverty.

Discussions included updates on Compassion International Ghana’s progress and strategic action plans for strengthening partnerships with local churches.

About 400 pastors attended the session.

At the opening ceremony, Rev. Dr. Enoch Nii Narh Thompson reiterated the Church’s role and urged religious organisations to leverage the trust they had in communities to drive spiritual growth and soc
ial development.

Some Christian leaders present at the conference were: Rev. Dr. Enoch Nii Narh Thompson, President of the Ghana Baptist Convention, Rt. Rev. Prosper Samuel Dzomeku, Synod Moderator of the Global Evangelical Church, and Very Rev. Prof. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, President of Trinity Theological Seminary.

Compassion International Ghana, a Christian non-profit organisation, partners local churches across the country to support children living in extreme poverty.

A member of Compassion International Incorporated, headquartered in Colorado Springs, USA, the organisation has been operating in Ghana since 2005, and currently supports over 98,000 children and youth across the country.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Sunyani-based MIHOSO International Foundation, an NGO, has pledged its commitment to modernize agriculture and improve the socio-economic livelihoods of rural farmers.

That would further enhance job creation and poverty reduction, he stated.

Established in 2002, MIHOSO works to improve the conditions of vulnerable people with an emphasis on women, children, and girls.

After 20 years of operations in humanitarian services, Dr Gabriel Gbiel Benarkuu, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) said the foundation intended to engage in commercial farming in cash crops and support agri-businesses and smallholder farmers and cooperative groups.

‘Venturing into commercial farming activities such as mango and cashew plantation will well position us to support farmers with logistics and agricultural products alongside improving physical infrastructure,’ he stated.

Dr Benarkuu said this when speaking at a stakeholder’s consultation meeting in Sunyani, attended by health workers, traditional authorities, civil society
organisations, and actors as well as some heads of Departments and Agencies to collect inputs on its programmes for the next five years.

The foundation organised the meeting aimed at helping it to re-strategize and come out with interventions owned and sustained by community members as part of the redesign phase of the Star Ghana and West African Civil Society Institute (WACSI) Strengthening programme.

The WACSI-funded programme aimed at fortifying the organisation’s sustainability by enhancing its identity, operational powers, and financial acumen and fostering diversification of funding streams.

‘We can’t relegate the impact of the agriculture sector towards sustainable development, and we are committed to advance and make the sector more attractive for the youth,’ Dr Benarkuu stated.

He indicated that the implementation of the 10-year strategic plan of the foundation chalked unprecedented success in the area of mental health, and community development, saying it was now developing another five-year str
ategic plan that hinged on physical infrastructure development, large-scale farming, cooperative support and agricultural services and other social intervention programmes.

Mr Thomas Benarkuu, the Deputy CEO, in charge of Operations at MIHOSO, explained the foundation still stood on its vision of making life better for vulnerable people and local communities.

Highlighting some successes, he said through its intervention many people with disabilities in the Bono East Region had been able to access and benefit from their share of the Disability Fund of the various District and Municipal Assemblies.

‘Now almost all the public health facilities in the Bono and Bono East Districts and Municipalities have Mental Health Units, thereby improving conditions of people with mental health challenges,’ he stated.

Mr Benarkuu expressed appreciation to BasicNeeds Ghana, a key partner, and the Districts and Municipal Assemblies in the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regions for their collaborations which had made the foundatio
n achieve some level of success in the implementation of its programmes and activities.

In a contribution, Mr Daniel Owusu-Amponsah, the Dormaa Municipal Disease Control Officer recommended poultry droppings as an alternative, for soil fertility and to improve crop yields.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Tema Community 25 Lions Club has appealed to organisations and individuals for support to expand and renovate facilities at the Prampram Polyclinic that have infrastructural challenges.

The Club is currently constructing an eye clinic to help expand eye care service to residents of districts and beyond who relied on the polyclinic for their health services.

Mr Kweku Frimpong, the Chairman of the project for the Tema Community 25 Lions Club, who made the appeal, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that apart from the eye unit project, their interactions with the management and a visit to the facility revealed that the polyclinic’s general drug store, also had some flooding challenges when it rains, therefore it needed some urgent attention.

Mr Frimpong said this was a perennial problem during the rainy season, a situation which could lead to the destruction of drugs in storage.

He said it was important for all stakeholders including traditional leaders to support in putting the facility into good shape t
o be able to provide quality care to the people.

Mr Martin Adadey, the President of Tema Community 25 Lions Club, and its members had paid a project site visit to their ongoing eye project at Prampram Policlinic to make sure construction was in progress.

The President said a visit was made to donate items to the clinic and they realised the eye clinic which was the only facility in the enclave providing service to about 200 thousand people within the Tema Community 25 and Sogakope.

Mr Adadey said from that conversation they decided to construct an eye clinic to serve the people within that enclave which was the vision of the club to serve the people within Ningo-Prampram and its enclave.

The President said the project began a couple of years back, but COVID-19 slowed its progress affecting the initial cost of close to GH?250,000 due to inflation, and they had to adjust their budget upwards to be able to complete it by next year.

Dr Alexander B. Adda, the Medical Superintendent of the facility, thanked th
e Club for the ongoing project, saying it would serve a great purpose for the community and other adjoining ones.

He said the eye unit had one operating room and one ophthalmologist, after the completion of the project the Regional Director would send staff to provide quality eye care for the district.

The Medical Superintendent said last year during World Eye Day over 600 people were screened with different eye conditions, early this year they partnered with an Ophthalmologist in Korle-bu to conduct surgeries for 22 people which was successful.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Businesses and households in the Greater Accra region on average endure power outages of more than seven hours at least four times a week, an Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) survey has revealed.

The study, which was conducted between May 6, 2024, and May 12, 2024, among some 82 Small Medium Enterprises (SME) and 83 households, indicated that about 94 per cent of respondents experienced various degrees of power outages ranging from one time to more than seven times within the week.

Overall, the study shows that 75.4 per cent of respondents experienced power outages at least thrice a week with about 19 per cent, recording seven or more times.

In terms of duration of the outages, the survey disclosed that about 57 per cent of respondents experienced seven or more hours of power outages while only 12 per cent said their power outage lasted for three hours or less.

‘These figures show significant outages across the Greater Accra Region even after the president declared dumsor was over.

The study also dis
closed that about 89 per cent of households and 58.5 per cent of SMEs did not have access to any alternative source of power, thereby leading to loss of revenue through unproductivity and damage to goods and appliances, which affected about 61.5 per cent of households and 70.7 per cent of businesses.

Mr Samuel Manu, Head of the Survey Centre, IEA, at a press briefing in Accra, observed that the lack of access to alternative power source meant that most businesses and households in Accra were at the mercy of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the managers of Ghana’s energy sector.

‘Cutting people off the electricity supply is bad, but not informing them in advance before doing so worsens their situation. An overwhelming 95 per cent of respondents indicated that they do not receive any form of communication on the time and reason for power outages.

‘To add salt to injury, the authorities are in denial of the situation and have refused to inform citizens in advance before cutting the electricity suppl
y. This makes it difficult for businesses and households to plan their activities,’ he said.

As part of its recommendation to the power challenge, the IEA, among other things, urged all political parties to produce a roadmap for a lasting solution to Ghana’s energy in their manifestos; called on the ECG to provide information in advance on the time of power outages and advised policy makers to consider policies that made alternative power sources affordable and accessible to Ghanaians.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has advocated for the implementation of a comprehensive national development plan to effectively guide Allocation of Budgeted Funding Amount (ABFA) to maximize its impact.

Mr Edward Yaw Afriyie, PIAC committee member, emphasized the pivotal role PIAC played in promoting transparency and accountability in the management of petroleum revenue in Ghana, adding that challenges such as lack of enforcement mechanisms and the decline in oil production in existing fields persisted.

Mr Afriyie made the call during a presentation from the 2023 PIAC Annual report at a media engagement in Sunyani for media personnel from the Ahafo, Bono, and Bono East Regions.

The engagement aimed to foster collaboration between PIAC and media professionals in the three regions to enhance public awareness and activities of PIAC in the regions.

Mr Afriyie said PIAC recommended that the selection of the ABFA priority areas should be guided by a long-term national development plan
approved by Parliament in accordance with the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA), 2011, Act 815.

He said the Committee had urged the Ministry of Finance to showcase the importance of prioritization through the amount of ABFA allocated to the Industrialization priority area.

Additionally, he stressed the need for the Finance Ministry to ensure that the ABFA allocated to the District Assembly Common Fund was utilized in line with the provisions of the PRMA.

Mr Afriyie highlighted that crude oil production declined for the fourth consecutive year in 2023, with production decreasing from 71.44 million barrels in 2019 to 48.25 million barrels in 2023, representing an annual average decline of 9.2 percent.

He, therefore, urged the government and relevant regulatory bodies to take necessary steps to reverse the production decline on existing oil fields and to encourage investments in unexploited fields.

Nana Kwaku Dei, the Nkosuohene of Pakro and Chairman of the Public Affairs and Communications Sub-Commit
tee of PIAC, urged the media to leverage their platform to hold governments accountable for properly utilizing of public funds.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The government has signed a US2.12 million (¥323,000,000) scholarship grant with the government of Japan to support building the human resource base of Ghana’s public sector for development.

The grant, signed on Thursday, June 4, would see 13 public sector officers from Ghana go to study postgraduate programmes in economics, public administration, public health, and international relations in Japan.

This is being implemented under the Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS), designed to equip Ghanaian public sector workers with the requisite expertise towards the country’s prosperity.

Madam Abena Osei-Asare, Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, signed on behalf of the government, while Naoki Ando, Senior Vice President, of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), signed for the government of Japan.

Speaking at the short signing ceremony, Madam Osei-Asare said the programme would significantly strengthen and contribute to the public sector’s human resource capacity building.

That, she said, would result in public officers acquiring the skills and knowledge well suited for the country’s development aspirations.

‘We are without no doubt that the signing of this grant agreement will further deepen and broaden our thriving bilateral cooperation for our mutual benefit,’ the Minister said.

‘We are without no doubt that the signing of this Grant Agreement today will further deepen and broaden our thriving bilateral cooperation for our mutual benefit,’ she said.

She recounted the gains that Ghana had made through the bilateral cooperation with Japan, which dates back to the early 1970s, highlighting various investments and projects.

She noted that cumulatively, Japan’s support to the Ghanaian economy in recent years totalled about US$2.5 billion, including the cancelling of a US$1.0 billion of debt under the Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative in 2001.

Speaking about projects, she mentioned the Tema Motorway Roundabout (Phase Two) project valued at ¥3.656 billion (approxi
mately US$33.2 million) and the Rehabilitation of National Trunk Road N8, totalling ¥6.849 billion (US$60,376,800).

Another project is the Improvement of the Healthcare System in the Northern Region, being supported with a grant amount of ¥2,455,000,000, equivalent to about US$20 million.

The grant aims to develop and procure equipment for the Tamale Central Hospital and improve the capacity of Savelugu Municipal Hospital, Bimbilla District Hospital, and Kpandai District Hospital.

Madam Yvonne Quansah, Director of External Resource Mobilisation and Economic Relations, Ministry of Finance, reiterated that the scholarship would boost the skills of Ghanaian public servants to drive its development agenda.

‘It also solidifies our commitment to nurturing human capital and fostering knowledge exchanges between our nations,’ she added.

Naoki Ando, Senior Vice President, JICA, said already, 117 Ghanaian public officers had benefited from the scholarship partnership, with 90 having graduated from various universi
ties in Japan.

He stated that Ghana remained Japan’s most important cooperation partner in West Africa, serving as an economic hub and gateway to the region for Japanese companies, and reiterated his country’s continued support to Ghana.

Source: Ghana News Agency