Day: November 8, 2023

General crime has reduced in the Dormaa East District of the Bono Region, the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Augustine Kingsley Oppong, Dormaa East District Police Commander has said. He has therefore expressed appreciation to all stakeholders in the district for their support, saying the police would continue to rely on the public in fighting crime. Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Wamfie, the district capital, ASP Oppong said fighting crime remained a shared and collective responsibility. With assistance from the public, the Police could successfully bring crime to the barest minimum, and thereby, create a safe society. He said the command would not relax, but continue to put in place measures, intensify patrols and enhance personnel visibility at Wamfie and adjoining settlements, saying, the command had increased efforts to stem substance abuse and peddling among the youth in the area. ASP Oppong said the Police were also collaborating with the District Security Committee (DISEC) to halt the activities of illegal miners in the district and urged the people to endeavour to provide information about people with questionable characters and strange movements in the localities.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ministry for Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has initiated procurement processes for the second phase of the Government’s flagship programme, Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) to ensure food security. Mr Tanko Bagbara, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) for MoFA, said: ‘We have begun procuring the services of aggregators and inputs dealers…’ He said eleven commodities had been added to poultry, which would have the supply of 4.5-million-day-old chicks to out-growers before the end of the year. ‘Basically, we are going to use existing renowned poultry farmers and they will have what we call anchor farmers under them so when they benefit from the facility, they will intend to give it to the farmers under them to expand production and gradually we are going to expand and revive all the collapsed poultry sector. ‘For instance, Darko Farms will be on board, Boris BOB will be on board, they also have farmers under them who will produce for them, procurement processes have started already to get it rolled out because, with poultry, we don’t depend on the weather to start.’ Mr Tanko said the Ministry planned to establish specific zones where farmers could seek help. He said the Ministry was in the process of introducing an electronic platform designed for tracking and monitoring activities PFJ Phase Two. Ghana’s Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) phase II has set ambitious targets for the country’s food self-sufficiency. The five-year programme plans to increase self-sufficiency from its current five per cent to seven per cent by the end of 2023, followed by a significant leap to 13 per cent in 2024. The goal is to achieve full self-sufficiency at a remarkable 110.6 per cent by the year 2028. The plan reflects Ghana’s commitment to strengthening its food security and agricultural resilience.

Source: Ghana News Agency

African Charity Organisation, the BernHoffman Care Foundation, has donated relief items to persons in the Volta region affected by the spillage from the Akosombo Dam. The items, valued at over GHS35,000, included rice, cooking oil, drinks, drinking water, toiletries and sanitary material, among other essentials, were to meet the needs of those adversely affected by the floodwaters. The items were distributed to residents in Tokpo in North Tongu in the Volta region with the assistance of the Assembly Man for that electoral area, Mr Israel Kweku Animie. Speaking on behalf of Dr Bernadette Naa Hoffman, President of the Foundation, a member of the team, Mr Collins Cobblah sympathised with the displaced persons and appealed to them to take personal hygiene more seriously in the wake of the disaster. The Foundation, he indicated, had taken note of the devastating impact of the dam spillage on the lives and livelihoods of people in the communities surrounding the dam, the reason Dr Hoffman had marshalled support for affected inhabitants. ‘We are here to assure all of you that we will not relent in our efforts to support you and that your safety and wellbeing are our top priorities,’ he stated. Mr Cobblah expressed concern about the health implications the flooding could have in the affected communities and urged parents to be cautious and take care of their young ones to avoid casualties. ‘Let’s take care of the children who are our future leaders. Let’s be mindful we don’t send them to places where they’re likely to drown. Also important is the need to practice personal hygiene to stay healthy in these difficult times,’ he charged the inhabitants. The Assembly Man for the area and some of the recipients thanked Dr Hoffman and the Foundation for the gesture and appealed for increased support ‘We’re exceedingly grateful for your benevolence and it’s our prayer that God replenishes you mightily so we get to benefit some more. We’re still appealing for more from other individuals and groups to put smiles on the faces of these displaced people. The floods have displaced many people , who are now staying with friends and family. And already, there are reports of small quarrels over food and space,’ one of the affected persons stated. The flooding caused by the spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong hydro dams forced many communities in the North, South, and Central Tongu districts of the Volta region to evacuate, leaving them with no choice but to live in makeshift structures in the meantime. Per data from the National Disaster Management Office (NADMO), there are 21 camps in the North Tongu Constituency alone. In all, some 36,000 people have been displaced by the dam spillage which commenced on September 15, 2023.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Said Adejumobi, Director, Strategic Planning, Oversight and Results Division, (SPORD), Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) says the Joint Inter-governmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE), will engender accelerated development across the continent. He said the value proposition of the joint inter-governmental committees was expected to promote economic liberalisation, and intra-African trade and strengthen political integration. Mr Adejumobi disclosed these to the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the Adhoc expert group meeting. The meeting, on the theme: ‘Transition to Renewable Resources for Energy and Food Security in North and West Africa,’ preceded the second Joint Inter-governmental ICSOE for North and West Africa in Accra from November 1-3. Mr Adejuno said the meetings aimed to cross-fertilize strategic development ideas based on capacity and open avenues for collaboration in furtherance of the ideals of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) as well as regional goals. The ECA makes key recommendations for member states, through research and other strategies to bring regional and global perspectives and commitments as a way forward. The ECA’s regional offices are piloting joint ICSOE among its five Regional Economic Communities (RECs) North Africa with West Africa; Central Africa with East Africa and South Africa. Mr Adejumobi said next year, 2024, which would be the third pilot phase of the Joint Inter-governmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts would be expected to elicit policy review, credibility, and re-alignment of ICSOE in terms of results and outcomes. He said the zeal for the joint sessions is overwhelming as the continent is desirous of bringing the necessary development closer to the people leveraging on energy, food security and value chains. On the practicality of ICSOE, he said Morocco and Egypt were resilient in infrastructural development including road construction, explaining that Ghana could do business with those countries rather than over-reliance on China. He said Ghana’s cocoa bean could also be processed within and in Morocco or South Africa for a win-win situation in an intra-African trade and commerce initiative. Participants examined the impact of climate change in both sub-regions, discussed practical measures for countries to adapt and safeguard their energy and food security, while advancing their development and made some important recommendations. Experts, researchers, development practitioners, and representatives from 22 North and West African countries attended the meeting and discussed three critical issues. The impact of climate change and its implications for economic and social development strategies. Energy security and climate change challenges, and especially the pivotal role of renewable energy in meeting the needs of the populations.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Staff of the Local Government Service and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies have been tasked to eschew partisan politics at the office, stop backbiting, lateness, and absenteeism, and work assiduously to develop their areas. Mr Michael Owusu Amoako, the new Chief Director of the Central Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), who gave the advice, urged the staff to concentrate on the very core reason for their recruitment into the Service. He was speaking to the staff during a two-day tour of six selected Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Central Region. He visited Cape Coast Metro, Awutu Senya East and Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) Municipal Assemblies. The rest are Awutu Senya West, Gomoa East and Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese (AAK) District Assemblies. Mr Owusu Amoako indicated that the Local Government Service was a purposeful institution where partisan politics must not be entertained. He, therefore, called on the various Coordinating Directors and Chief Executives of the various MMDAs to enforce the required rules of the Service as expected, and ensure they were adhered to, for the staff to support the government to achieve its objectives for national growth. He called for peaceful coexistence and teamwork as essential elements in the service which must be encouraged among the staff. The Chief Director noted that the RCC represented the government, and its political leaders being the Chief Executives must implement government programmes with support from civil and local service staff to achieve that purpose. Mr Owusu-Amoako further tasked the Human Resource Departments of the Assemblies to collate data and come out with a structure to monitor staff who absent themselves from work and copy their immediate Coordinating Directors and Chief Executives as well as his office for action. The Chief Director called on all staff of the various Assemblies to rally behind him as he embarked on a rigorous administrative drive to make the Central Regional Coordinating Council a force to reckon with. Present with him were Mr Tally Ansah Asiedu, Head of Public Affairs for the Council, Mr Allan Pantsil, an Assistant Director I and Miss Erica Afadzie Hammond, an Administrative officer.

Source: Ghana News Agency