Category: General

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has issued a 10-day ultimatum to the Ghana Police Service to cause the arrest of persons who attacked a reporter of Accra-based Citi FM/TV, Mohammed Amin Alabira, in Yendi, in the Northern Region.

It has also called on the media to blacklist Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama, Member of Parliament for Yendi, who is alleged to have led the assault on the said journalist.

Mr Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, President of the GJA, made the call at a joint news conference by GJA, the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), Private

Newspapers and Online Publishers Association, Ghana (PRINCIPAG) and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), in Accra, on Tuesday.

Mohammed Amin Alabira, a Citi FM/TV Correspondent, was allegedly assaulted during the New Patriotic Party’s Parliamentary primaries at Yendi, in the Northern Region, on Saturday, January 27, 2024.

The said assault is alleged to have been led by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Yendi, Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama.

Mr D
wumfour said the Association was shocked that more than a week after the assault on the journalist, no arrest had been effected.

He, therefore, demanded that the Police ensured that the perpetrators were arrested in the next 10 days, failure of which would compel the Association to advise itself.

‘The GJA, GIBA, PRINPAG and MFWA are really shocked that after a week of this dastardly gangstarism no arrest has been made when the Regional Police Commander also tasted the ruthless actions of the thugs,’ he said.

Mr Dwumfour bemoaned the increased attack on journalists in recent years, indicating that, within the first two months of this year, two journalists had been assaulted.

Over the past five years, from 2019 to 2023, the GJA has documented a total of 45 cases of assault and attacks against journalists and media institutions.

The GJA President said within the last quarter of 2023, more than ten journalists were assaulted while four more spent days behind bars on the orders of the court for no apparent le
gal reasons since 2021.

‘All these cases have not seen any closure and the perpetrators are free while the law enforcing agency, the Police, seemingly looks on unconcerned.’

Mr Dwumfour, therefore, warned that the Association would not countenance any assault on journalists, indicating that, it would blacklist any political actor or party whose members attacked media practitioners in their line of duty.

While calling on the Speaker of Parliament to haul before its Privilege Committee, Alhaji Farouk Mahama, MP for Yendi, to answer for the alleged assault, Mr Dwumfour called on the Judiciary to issue punitive punishments to persons who attacked journalists.

Mr Selorm Adornu, Journalist with Citi FM/TV, who represented management of the Station, said the Station was pained and disappointed by the actions of the MP.

‘It is embarrassing, it is disappointing that the Member of Parliament will attack a journalist in the line of duty, ‘ he said.

He assured of management’s resolve to pursue the matter to its log
ical conclusion and ensure that justice was delivered.

He, therefore, called on the Attorney General to place premium on the case, currently before him.

Mr Muheeb Saeed, Manager for Freedom of Expression, MFWA, called on the Judiciary to do more to protect journalists.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) says the West African market is integral to unleashing the country’s destination portfolio and diversifying its tourist source markets.

The Board said Nigeria and Ghana had shown improvements of 6 per cent and 48 per cent, respectively, in 2023 and ranked among Kenya’s potential markets on the African continent.

The Kenyan government has launched the ‘West Africa Roadshow’ to promote the richness and diversity of the country’s travel destinations.

Madam Fiona Ngesa, the Marketing Manager- Business Development, Kenya Tourism Board speaking at Roadshow Business to Business Meetings in Accra, said the event was to encourage people to travel more within Africa and understand the travel market.

KTB and Kenya Airways are leading over 15 travel trade companies for in-market activations scheduled for February 5 to February 9, 2024, in various cities in Nigeria and Ghana.

She said it was to boost tourist arrivals from West Africa by promoting business and leisure travel.

She said th
e idea was to enable people to benefit from travel and see what Kenya had to offer for their leisure and business.

Madam Ngesa said the Roadshow was to foster collaboration, build relationships and together the continent could improve its travel system.

‘It is to showcase what Kenya had to offer their Ghanaian counterpart and make the Ghanaian travel market to understand the products being offered,’ she added.

The Marketing Manager said the strategy for the next five years was to grow the African arrivals Ghana and Nigeria being key market operators in the region.

She said Ghana because of the previous relationships on a government-to-government basis and the journey for both countries had decided to continue in that direction.

Mr Eliphas Barine, High Commissioner of Kenya to Ghana, said there was the need to strengthen and build institutions that would continue to pursue growth and development in Africa.

He said it was some of these institutions that would continue to connect and link organisations to
industries to take care of businesses.

He said the Kenyan Government was committed to growing all existing relationships already established to develop and grow the various sectors of the economy.

He said the two countries had existing instruments and signed an MOU to foster growth and development, it was now the turn of the private sector to hold hands towards actualizing the objectives and making these better for the people.

‘Government needs from us because this is a journey and I am very happy because my conversation with the officials and in particular the Minister for Tourism is very keen to be able to grow skills and improve customer experience,’ he said.

‘So, the road show present is a tremendous opportunity to share insight, collaborate and promote tourism between our two countries,’ he added.

The High Commissioner said what needed to be done was to sustain the conversation for growth and development while bettering the lives of the people.

Mrs. Susan Ongalo, Chief Executive Officer of the Keny
a Tourism Federation, said the Federation was the link between the private and the public sectors and the partnership was to foster growth and development.

She said the mandate of the Federation was to advocate for a conducive business environment and promote sustainable tourism through effective representation of the private sector.

She said the tourism industry in Kenya had traditionally eight active private sector bodies representing the Associations of Tour Operators, Hotelkeepers and Caterers, Travel Agents, Air Operators and Mombasa and Coast Tourism.

Others are The Pubs Entertainment and Restaurants Association of Kenya, Ecotourism Kenya, and Kenya Professional Safari Guides Association.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Some 830 public sector workers from three regions are participating in a four-month digital training programme targeted at accelerating the digitalization of public sector service delivery.

The government is facilitating the training programme dubbed ‘DigSMART,’ in partnership with the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) of Global Change.

The programme would train participants on artificial intelligence, digital strategy, leadership and governance, transformation, and digital change management principles and processes, among other topics.

The participants were drawn from the Greater Accra, Bono, and Upper East Regions. The GhanaCARES Delivery Unit and the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence (KACE) are partners in the initiative.

KACE carried out a six-month training for 170 civil servants in 2023 on a pilot basis.

Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister of Communications and Digitization, said in a speech read for her at the launch of the programme that the initiative was a strategic endeavour to speed up the digitalizatio
n of public sector service delivery.

‘The government was poised to ensure that every Ghanaian citizen enjoyed the benefits of the digital economy.?

‘We aspire to create an environment conducive to technological innovation, aligning with our national goals,’ she said.?

The Minister emphasized that the programme was consistent with the government’s objective to increase digital literacy and create a comprehensive National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy.

She said the outcomes of the first programme were profound and that participants were expected to apply their digital skills to improve service delivery.

‘This year’s programme’s structure, including weekly online training sessions interspersed with monthly physical sessions, guarantees a consistent and thorough transformation process,’ she said.

Dr Evans Aggrey-Darkoh, Head of Civil Service, said the programme would harness the power of digitalization and optimise government operations.

He was optimistic that the initiative would help address bureau
cracy in government activities, streamline internal processes, and create a more responsive and citizenship-centred approach to service delivery.

Mr Sam Yeboah-Baah, Country Director of TBI, said the programme was financed through a $1.5 million fund for three African countries: Ghana, Malawi, and Rwanda.

The fund, he said, was to build digital skills, culture, and leadership within the public sector to determine a more cohesive and accelerated digital transformation for service delivery.

Beneficiaries of the pilot programme expressed satisfaction, stating that the initiative helped them in mastering digital spaces and pledged to contribute to service delivery.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr. Alvaro Bermejo, Director General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), is set to visit Ghana on a high-level mission from February 10 to 13, 2024.

A statement issued by the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) said Dr. Bermejo would be accompanied by Ms. Marie-Evelyne Pétrus-Barry, Regional Director for Africa.

IPPF is the leading global provider of sexual and reproductive health services worldwide and PPAG is an affiliate of the Federation.

The IPPF supports African national associations in their field actions for vulnerable people and implements regional initiatives that promote sexual and reproductive rights and health across the continent.

According to the statement, during his visit, Mr Bermejo will meet with PPAG teams in Accra to discuss the Association’s priorities and issues in sexual and reproductive health and rights.

He would also undertake a field visit to Cape Coast for first-hand experience with PPAG’s frontline work.

‘In addition, there will be media en
gagements, high-level courtesy calls and meetings with top Ghanaian authorities, including relevant Cabinet Ministers and private organisations working in the Reproductive Health sector in Ghana,’ it said.

The PPAG envisions a Ghana in which young people and disadvantaged groups have unrestricted access to sexual and reproductive health and rights.

The statement said Mr Bermejo’s visit ‘will provide an opportunity to review progress made and challenges that are left to be surmounted.’

It said the visit demonstrated the IPPF’s and PPAG’s continued commitment to defending the rights and health of women, men, young people, and vulnerable groups.

The statement said the PPAG and IPPF were determined to strengthen their collaboration to improve universal access to quality sexual and reproductive health services.

‘For PPAG, it has been almost 60 fulfilling years of influencing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights policies, service delivery and shifting norms and looking forward to more years of impactful e
xistence,’ it said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Golden Star Wassa Limited (GSWL), through the Golden Star Development Foundation, has cut the sod to commence a series of development projects in its host communities in the Western Region.

The beneficiary communities are Akosombo, Akyempim, Brofoyedur, Kubekro, Odumasi, Accra Town, Old Subri, Juaben and Anyinabriem.

The projects, estimated to cost more than US$ 1 million, would include the provision of a mechanized water system at Akosombo and the expansion of mechanized water facilities at Akyempim.??

The rest are one-bedroom 6-unit teachers’ quarters each at Brofoyedur, Kubekro, Odumasi and Accra Town, and two 300-capacity community centres to meet the social needs of the Anyinabriem and Juaben communities.?

In addition, an existing one-bedroom 10-unit teacher’s quarters at Old Subri will be completed to help with the accommodation needs of teachers.?

Works on the various projects would start immediately and are expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

Funding for the projects is by 0.1% of Golde
n Star Wassa’s net pretax profit, 1 USD for every ounce of gold produced and sold by GSWL, contributions of third-party contractors as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), as well as yields from investments of Golden Star Development Foundation.

The selection of the projects was based on the socio-economic needs of the communities as captured through their engagement structures with Golden Star in the forms of the Community Consultative Team (CCT) and Community Mine Consultative Committee (CMCC).?

Mr. Shaddrack Adjetey Sowah, the Vice President and Managing Director of GSWL, told the stakeholders that: ‘The sod cutting for these projects symbolizes our commitment to our mission to benefit more people through the development of Chifeng Gold…’

‘…And to contribute to a brighter and more prosperous future for our host communities, whose importance to our operations cannot be overemphasized’.?

Mr Emmanuel Boakye,?the District Chief Executive, Wassa East, noted the immense impact of Golden Star
Resources as a development partner to the Government within its host communities.?

He urged the communities to continue to provide the social license needed by Golden Star Wassa to thrive and contribute to the area’s economic development.?

The Member of Parliament for Wassa East, Mr Isaac Adjei Mensah, commended Golden Star for its support to host communities over the years and for always going beyond their tax and regulatory requirements to do so.

Mr David Gyapong, a Member of the Board of Trustees, Golden Star Development Foundation, reiterated that Chifeng?Gold, the new owner of GSWL, had demonstrated its commitment to the development of host communities and assured that the projects taken off would be completed as scheduled.

Nana Teng Amoakoh, the Acting Divisional Chief of Anyinabriem, who chaired the function, was full of praises for Golden Star for being consistent in its engagement and support to the community.

He assured the company of community support in its endeavours and encouraged the contr
actors to recruit more local people from the beneficiary communities to work on the projects.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Madam Sarah Adwoa Safo, the New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya, has called for the recognition of women in Ghana’s National Pledge.

She explained that the inclusion of the clause, ‘through the toils of our fathers’ in the National Pledge without mentioning mothers underpinned the role women played in Ghana’s independence struggle and was gender insensitive.

‘Mr Speaker, the National Pledge talks about ‘through the blood and toil of our fathers’ and omits mothers, but the mothers also toiled for this country, and it is gender insensitive.

‘Even when we are referring to the country, we call it our motherland, but when it comes to the National Pledge, and we are referring to the struggles and toils, we omit our mothers, and I want to draw your attention to it so we look at it as a country so that we become more gender-sensitive when it comes to our National Pledge,’ she said on the floor of Parliament.

Ms Safo made the call following the House’s implementation of its new Standing Orde
rs requiring Members of Parliament to recite the National Pledge before proceedings.

Order 69 of the new Standing Orders of Parliament enjoins Members of the House to recite the National Pledge at the first sitting of every week of a Meeting.

The new Standing Orders also required heads of state of institutions to directly be on the Floor of the House to answer questions related to their agencies.

She therefore urged Parliament and the relevant stakeholders to critically assess and make the necessary amendments if needed.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The leadership of Organised Labour in the Ashanti Region say they have prepared adequately to ensure that members of the unions participate fully in the upcoming demonstration against the fifteen per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on electricity consumption.

Organised Labour began agitations some weeks ago by wearing red armbands to demand the Government, as a matter of urgency, reverse the decision to impose the 15 per cent VAT on electricity consumption.

At a meeting in Kumasi on Tuesday, Mr Augustine Adongo Apambila said all was set for the protest on February 13, this year, since the government had not made any official statement regarding the complete reversal of the policy.

He said the routes for the protest had been approved and all the necessary arrangements, including security, had been put in place.

Mr Apambila said Organised Labour was expecting members and individuals in the informal sector to also participate in the exercise actively.

‘Our message to the Government is very simple – we cannot pay
VAT on electricity; we will not pay it today; we will not pay it tomorrow,’ he stressed.

He said it was devastating that after electricity tariffs were increased by 73 per cent in 2022, VAT was being added, to worsen the plight of Ghanaians.

He said Organised Labour was expecting members and non-members to fully participate in the protest and also urged various labour groups to organize their members for active participation.

Mr Apambila indicated that the protest would begin at Kumasi Cultural Center through the principal streets and end at the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) where a petition would be delivered to the government.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Benjamin Jojo Adu-Hanson, the Bono Regional Lands Officer, has expressed concern about the interference of chiefs in vested lands, which has become a hindrance to the government’s operations because of frequent break out of land disputes.

According to him, the allocation of vested lands must be carried out by the Lands Commission in the best interest of the Government.

Mr Adu-Hanson who was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, mentioned issues like double/multiple land sales, land disputes and litigation that have been plaguing Sunyani and its surrounding areas as well as other jurisdictions nationwide in recent years, saying they should be addressed with urgency to promote government business.

He explained that Sunyani lands were considered vested lands, and according to the law, it was the President of the Republic who was responsible for managing all vested lands, as stated in Article 257 of the 1992 Constitution, but the ‘allodial owners being the chiefs, become the
beneficial owners.’

Mr Adu-Hanson emphasized that anyone seeking land allocation in Sunyani must go through the Lands Commission, which had been the established practice for years and had successfully minimised litigation.

He however, expressed worry that in the past four to five years, the chiefs and the ‘usufruct families’ had taken on the responsibilities of the Lands Commission, resulting in a surge in land disputes in Sunyani and its surrounding communities.

Mr Adu-Hanson stated that the entire Sunyani land was considered stool land, under the ownership of the traditional authority, saying the stool had subjects known as ‘usufruct families’ who had been farming on the land for many years, protecting it on behalf of the stool.

However, he added that a worrying trend had emerged where chiefs had started selling those lands and consequently the usufruct families had also begun to sell the lands, resulting in double/multiple ownership claims and subsequent confusion and disputes.?

Mr Adu-Hanson cited a
situation where chiefs, usufruct families and the Lands Commission were all attempting to claim ownership of a piece of land, saying such situations arose because the land was not registered and documented by the Commission and was assumed to be vacant.

He, therefore, called for collaboration among the chiefs, the usufruct families and the Lands Commission to find mutually beneficial solutions to land allocation and management in the region.

Source: Ghana News Agency