Day: July 29, 2023

Four people, including the District Chief Executive (DCE), have picked nomination forms to contest the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary primary in the Adaklu Constituency.

They are Madam Juliana Kpedekpo, the DCE; Reverend Jerry Wedanu, Mr Bright Nyatsikor, and Mr Aklamanu Mawunyo.

Mr Bismarck Ganyo Mamah, Adaklu Constituency NPP Organiser, disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency.

He appealed to the contestants and their supporters to bring decorum in their campaigns and refrain from personal attacks and mudslinging.

Mr Mamah reminded them that they would be contesting to represent the Party so they

should not do or say anything that would bring the name of the Party into disrepute.

‘The NPP is greater than any individual in the party and all who are vying to represent their constituencies in Parliament should not forget that they are doing so on the back of the Party,’ he advised.

The Organizer reminded the people in the constituency to give the opportunity to whoever came out victorious in the Primary to represent them in the next Parliament.

He said the Party and government have done so much for the district adding ‘ with an NPP Member of Parliament more would be done for them.

The Adaklu Constituency Parliamentary seat has been the preserve of the National Democratic Congress since the inception of the fourth republic in 1992.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A Joint Pre-election fact-finding mission deployed to Liberia ahead of the country’s Presidential and Legislative elections by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU) today ended its exercise.

The mission, which began from Sunday 23rd to 29th July, 2023, is to assess the country’s state of preparedness for the polls slated for 10th October, 2023.

A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency said the Mission was co-led by Professor Attahiru Jega, former Chairman of the Independent Nigerian Electoral Commission, for ECOWAS, and Ambassador Calixte Mbari, Head of Democracy, Elections and Constitutionalism of the AU Commission.

Other members of the Mission are Ambassador Haja Alari Cole, member of the ECOWAS Council of the Wise, Mrs Jean Mensa, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, and Mr Elyse Ouedraogo, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission of Burkina Faso,

The rest are Mr Muhammad Sulaiman Isa, Deputy Ambassador of Nigeria to ECOWAS, Dr CyriaqueAgnekethom, ECOWAS Director of Peacekeeping and Regional Security.

It also has a joint technical team from the ECOWAS and AU Commissions.

The statement said the joint delegation held working sessions with stakeholders in the electoral process in Liberia, including the Government, National Elections Commission, the Judiciary, Parliament, Political Parties, Civil Society Organizations, Security Agencies and International Development Partners.

It said the Mission would submit a comprehensive report that would inform the support of ECOWAS and AU to the 2023 electoral process in Liberia.

It said both organisations also provided similar support to the country during its last elections in 2017.

The upcoming election would be Liberia’s fifth set of general elections since the end of the second civil war.

Per the calendar from the election management body, the month of August is slated for the presidential and parliamentary campaigns, to be followed by the publishing of the final list of candidates and replacement of lost and damaged voter registration cards.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP) has commended Ms Yvonne Osei Adobea for her extraordinary accomplishment of being elected as the first female to lead the Student’s Representative Council (SRC) of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

‘This is a remarkable accomplishment in KNUST’s 71-year history, which is truly a testament to your exceptional leadership abilities, determination, and unwavering commitment to your goals.

‘You have climbed up another gender ladder, broken down barriers, and through toil and sacrifice achieved this for all women, and the CPP is very proud of you,’ Nana Akosua Frimpomaa Sarpong Kumankuma, CPP National Chair and Leader, stated in a letter of commendation to Ms. Adobea and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Tema.

‘Women are born with some natural traits, such as good listening skills and the ability to form relationships, but sometimes societal barriers hinder their growth,’ she added.

Nana Kumankuma added that women over the years have proven to be great managers and leaders when such positions arise. Women are able to handle leadership positions as they are multifaceted and multi-tasked.

‘This is another accomplishment towards changing the paradigm. Your journey to success has been nothing short of inspiring, having become the first female student to run for the SRC position twice, both in level 200 and again in level 300, and consistently showcasing exceptional performance on each occasion.

‘This remarkable feat exemplifies you as a true trailblazer, a role model, and a shining beacon of hope for the youth and aspiring young females alike,’ the CPP National Chairperson stated.

Nana Kumankuma, who is aspiring to be CPP Flagbearer for Elections 2024, noted: ‘Your achievement highlights not only your dedication to personal growth but also your profound sense of responsibility towards your academic community.

‘Your leadership will undoubtedly inspire and empower countless young women to step forward and pursue their aspirations without fear or hesitation’.

She noted that Ms. Adobea’s exemplary journey serves as a reminder to all that with hard work, perseverance, and a strong internal drive, there are no boundaries or limits to what one can achieve.

‘As an individual who strongly supports the advancement of young women and youth, I am elated to witness your beautiful success story.

‘I firmly believe that your tenure as the leader of the SRC will bring about transformative changes, fostering an inclusive and empowering environment for all students,’ she noted.

‘May you continue to shine brightly and serve as a guiding light for the generations to come. Your journey is a testament to the incredible potential of young women and youth to bring about positive change in society.

‘Once again, congratulations, Yvonne Osei Adobea, on this well-deserved achievement. May your trailblazing spirit continue to inspire, empower, and uplift all those whose lives you touch,’ the CPP Leader stated.

Nana Kumankuma said that all women needed was support from each other, encouragement, and assisting others who are upcoming and mentoring them for them not to go through the same challenges.

She said if women who have gone through the process start to assist the younger ones, in the next five years they will have women occupying positions they want.

Source: Ghana News Agency

©Mrs Emily Adevor, Project Facilitator of Adaklu/Agotime Cluster of Frontline Church Partners of Compassion International Ghana (CIG) says children must depend on their parents and caregivers for survival and development.

She said it was incumbent on them to love and protect them from any form of abuse.

Mrs Adevor made this known at Adaklu Helekpe in the Adaklu district at the launch of the Cluster’s Resolver system designed by Compassion International to be promoted by its Country offices globally.

The Resolver is a new system designed to track all incidents of abuse, neglect and exploitation by their participants and children at large experience.

It is an internal system between Compassion and its Church Partners with the firm aim to report and resolve child abuse cases within 30 days.

The Resolver system replaces Ethics Point and any other methods of reporting incidents of child abuse by Compassion’ Church Partners.

Mrs Adevor said the Resolver system brought new and improved capabilities in child abuse case management.

She said the system made reporting child abuse cases easier, more accurate, creates multiple channels and anonymous reporting.

The Partnership Facilitator explained that it also provided more timely and relevant intervention, equipping the partnership churches with informed insight and easy analysis of child protection data.

She intimated that compassion and its partners believed that children were created by God in His image and that they have immeasurable dignity and values as gifts from God.

‘As parents and caregivers, we are duty bound to protect our children from abuse and harm to enable them to develop those values,’ Mrs Adevor advised.

She noted that one of the surest ways to prevent children from abuse was that communities should be responsible for the welfare of all children in the community.

She said CIG as part of its prevention interventions, was partnering with Churches to form Child Protection Committees in their communities to ensure that children were well protected from all forms of abuse, violence, and exploitation.

She noted that other strategic prevention interventions were to empower children and the youth in their protection, equip parents and opinion leaders with knowledge and skills to know, love and protect their children and promote behavioral change in prevention and reporting child abuse cases at the community level.

She appealed to children to be good ambassadors of the Resolver posters pasted in their communities by ensuring that no one removed or defaced them.

Mrs Adevor mentioned channels of reporting abuse cases as Church Partner staff, website (mobile friendly) https:/cintl.us/reportabuse, hotline +233242426419 and email [email protected].

As part of the launch there were poetry recitals and choreography by participants from Adaklu Sikama Child Development Centre, outdooring of the Resolver posters, house to house, street, and institutional engagements.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ghana Employers’ Association (GEA), has organised a Training of Trainer (ToT) programme workshop on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) in Accra.

The one-day workshop aimed at enhancing the understanding of businesses within the manufacturing and other allied sectors of Ghana’s economy on OSH.

Mr Alex Frimpong, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GEA, in a statement read on his behalf by Mr Joseph Kingsley Amuah, Director, Industrial Relations, GEA, expressed gratitude to the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) for supporting this initiative.

‘We believe that this effort of the Confederation will equip participants with the relevant OSH knowledge and tools they need to spread awareness and best practices across various manufacturing companies in Ghana,’ he said.

The ToT programme was designed to equip participants with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to disseminate vital information on OSH to every corner of the manufacturing sector.

Mr Frimpong expressed the hope that the outcome of the ToT would not only help to eliminate or reduce hazards and detrimental factors in working conditions but also contribute to the promotion of physical, mental and social wellbeing of employees at the workplace.

He noted that the proactive management of OSH related issues was critical for enterprise development and wellbeing of admit that workplace place accidents and occupational diseases were expensive, which had the potential of diverting resources from productive business engagements, in addition to its adverse implications on the general well-being of workers and their families.

Mr Frimpong said it was equally worrying that some aspects of existing legislation providing for the safety, health and wellbeing of persons at work in Ghana were quite outmoded, limited in scope, scattered and under the authority of different ministries, departments and agencies.

The CEO said the absence of a unique and standard OSH framework was affecting the way and manner work-related injuries, accidents and near accidents at workplaces were addressed.

He said this gap had resulted in huge expenses incurred by businesses to defray compensation to their workers who suffer various degrees of work-related injuries, and fixing, replacing and installing equipment to maximize safety.

Adding that it was against this background that GEA with support from the NHO had developed sectoral OSH Guidelines to support employers and businesses to adequately mainstream the culture of OSH management in every workplace.

Mr Frimpong said the general objective of the guidelines was to ensure that health and safety management in the workplace constitutes a core management function that was on-going and promotes a culture of cooperation between the major stakeholders; such as government, employers and workers.

‘I am happy to inform you that plans have also been put in place to develop similar guidelines for members operating in the banking, financial and hospitality industries.’ Mr Frimpong said.

He said the guidelines were prepared based on a broad-based approach and shaped by internationally agreed OSH principles as defined in relevant International Labour Standards.

He noted that consequently, the guidelines would provide a unique and powerful instrument for the development of a sustainable safety culture at all workplaces.

Mr Fred Antwi, Health, Safety and Environment Expert, in his presentation said risk assessment was important because it helps organisations make informed decisions.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, has inaugurated a 10-member Resettlement Implementation Committee (RIC) with a call to ensure smooth relocation of Project Affected Persons Representative (PAPR’s) on the Labour Department Headquarters Land in Accra.

This is to pave the way for the reconstruction of an ultra-modern Headquarters Office Complex.

The Minister made this known during a stakeholders’ meeting in Accra.

He impressed upon the Project Affected Persons’ (PAP’s) to as a matter of urgency relocate the affected people to pave way for the reconstruction of the four-storey Labour Department Head Office building.

The Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) is implementing Component Three of the Ghana Jobs and skills Project.

As part of the project, the Labour Department Head Office is being redeveloped to an ultra-modern complex.

The implementation of the Project would displace 22 persons, mainly petty traders, food vendors and hawkers, all with movable properties.

The livelihood of these affected persons was impacted.

These displacements and impact triggered the World Bank Involuntary Resettlement Policy.

The Minister emphasized that the project had a timeline, and the more the relocation phase of the project delays, the more it affects the timelines for its completion.

He also revealed that the PAPR’s would be supported to relocate the affected people to places of their choice before the project begins.

However, he urged the Project Affected Persons Representative not to relocate their businesses to prohibited places.

He advised the Representatives that wherever they want to settle, they must ensure they obtain the necessary document for occupancy.

He also tasked the Project Coordinator Mr Ernest Berko to design a canteen that could be outsourced to sublet the space to the food venders.

Mr Baffour Awuah admonished the vendor to comply with the directives, if not, the Ministry would be compelled to fall on the City Guards to ensure they vacate from the Labour Department for work to commence.

The building complex construction, expected to start in May 2023, would be completed within 13 months.

The Minister disclosed that per the guidelines of the World Bank, squatters on the project site had to be relocated with their movable structures before the project commenced.

‘The World Bank’s safeguard policy on involuntary resettlement is to be complied with where involuntary resettlement impacts on livelihoods’ he said.

He therefore directed the representatives of the PAPs to inform their members of the directives from the ministry to relocate as early as practicable.

A representative of the PAP’s, Madam Patience Annan, assured the Minister that they had accepted the call on them to relocate from the premises to make way for the reconstruction of ultra-modern Labour Department Office Complex.

She also thanked the ministry for the kind gesture and advice.

The mandate and the terms of reference for the 10-Member Committee is to evaluate the progress made on the relocation of PAP’s.

The Committee will also ensure restitution due to PAP’s are delivered on time, monitor the affected persons to ensure that the compensation paid to them is used for its intended purposes.

The Committee will exist till the project is completed.

Source: Ghana News Agency