Day: December 10, 2023

Isaac Amondem, a 38-year-old mixed farmer from Wiaga in the Builsa North Municipality, has emerged as the Upper East Regional overall best farmer in the 39th edition of the Farmers’ Day celebration held at Bolgatanga.

For his prize, he received a tricycle and mist blower, two matchets, two pairs of Wellington boots, a knapsack sprayer and a certificate while Naab Akajiaya Akanfeila, 58 and Madam Charity Zangina Liniyuligba, 43, were adjudged best regional livestock and female farmers respectively.

They received a tricycle, blower, two matchets, two pairs of Wellington boots, a knapsack sprayer and a certificate each.

In all, 220 farmers comprising 205 females and 15 males from the 15 Municipalities and Districts across the region received awards and were given prizes ranging from certificates, tricycles, motorbikes to fridges and televisions among others.

The number included award winners from the regional and district levels.

It was held on the theme: ‘Delivering Smart Solutions for Sustainable Food Se
curity and Resilience.’

Speaking during the celebration, Mr Stephen Yakubu, the Upper East Regional Minister, said agriculture had been the engine of the country’s economic development and had provided employment opportunities for the majority of the people.

‘It is therefore proper we celebrate and duly recognize and honour the tireless efforts of our gallant farmers and fisher folks for their immense contribution to the agriculture sector by producing food for the growing population and industries of this country,’ he said.

The Regional Minister said the theme for this year’s celebration was relevant in tackling the adverse impacts of climate change and the country’s drive to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly goals one, two and 12, which talk about ending poverty, and hunger and ensuring climate resilience respectively.

He proposed innovative technologies that provided real-time data on weather patterns, pest infestations and market conditions as transformative solutions to boosting
agriculture productivity.

‘It is in view of this that the Ghana Agricultural Sector Investment Programme (GASIP) collaborated with the Ghana Meteorological Agency to provide weather information to farmers during the farming season.

‘This has bridged information gaps and enabled farmers to respond swiftly to changing conditions and equipped them with the knowledge needed to make timely and informed decisions,’ he added.

Alhaji Zakaria Fuseini, the Upper East Regional Director of the Department of Agriculture, noted that despite the challenges such as the high cost of inputs, and erratic rainfall, among others that confronted agriculture production, preliminary analysis of the food balance sheet revealed that there would be food surplus in the region after the just ending farming season.

He, however, noted that the Upper East region was the hardest hit by climate change impacts, therefore, the an urgent need for innovative digital technologies that provide adaptive climate-smart agriculture measures to buil
d farmers’ resilience to adapt to changing climate.

The Regional Best Farmer noted that issues of high cost of fertilizer, seeds, farm implements and erratic rainfall continued to be major factors affecting agriculture productivity and urged the Government to work to encourage the youth to venture into dry season farming to boost food security.

Source: Ghana News Agency

On December 7, the joint theme tour and interview activity among translation celebrities and foreign media hosted by the CICG Academy of Translation and Interpretation – ‘Experience the Vitality of Zhongshan Tour’ officially kicked off in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province.

In order to tell a good story of Zhongshan to the world and enhance the international communication capacity of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA, the CICG Academy of Translation and Interpretation, the Publicity Department of the Zhongshan Municipal Committee and the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies jointly built the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA Translation and International Communication Practice Base of the CICG Academy of Translation and Interpretation. This event is one of the series of activities held by the practice base. During the five-day event, a visiting delegation composed of Chinese translators and foreign mainstream media reporters in China will visit and interview Zhongshan in-depth, get a thorough understanding o
f Zhongshan’s urban and rural development and construction, local economic construction and customs, and fully appreciate the unique charm of the city.

Zhongshan is the hometown of Mr. Sun Yat-sen, a great pioneer of China’s democratic revolution, and has been an important city in the Pearl River Estuary since ancient times. It has been endowed with a deep historical and cultural heritage and has nurtured a unique culture of south of the Five Ridges and Xiangshan. Zhongshan is also an important city in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA. Its economy has developed rapidly in recent years and it has made remarkable achievements in manufacturing, service and other fields, attracting many high-tech enterprises to settle in.

At the Zhongshan Museum, the visiting delegation has learned about the development history of Xiangshan (Zhongshan) for more than 5,000 years through the theme exhibition ‘Stormrise over the Lingdingyang Bay – Zhongshan History Exhibition’. Through the exhibition ‘The Boundlessness of the Pro
found Ocean – History Exhibition on Zhongshan Oversea Chinese’, the delegation has gained an in-depth understanding of Zhongshan Overseas Chinese’s global vision, pioneering and innovative spirit, the unique contribution of connecting China and the outside world, and the feelings of patriotism and homeland. At the Pedestrian Street of West Road SunWen, the visiting delegation has personally experienced the unique charm of Zhongshan’s century-old commercial street and the city’s business card.

This thematic tour interview activity will also focus on Zhongshan City’s comprehensive promotion of urban-rural regional coordinated development of the ‘Hundreds and Thousands of Projects’ project and high-quality urban-rural integrated development with Zhongshan characteristics, fully demonstrating the breakthrough results achieved in the progress of Zhongshan’s ‘Hundreds and Thousands of Projects’. According to the itinerary, the visiting delegation will also hold a symposium on international communication strategies
of Zhongshan in the new era. Combined with the urban development planning of Zhongshan, it will focus on the research on how to further strengthen the international communication paths and strategies of the image of ‘Beautiful Zhongshan with Abundant Investment Advantages’ in the new era. From the perspective of translators and foreign journalists, the visiting delegation will contribute to the international communication of Zhongshan, deepen the understanding of Zhongshan by international mainstream media and people at home and abroad, and further enhance the international influence of the city.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Accra School of Hygiene, under the auspices of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Yale School of Nursing to advance in global and planetary health.

The MoU would promote student exchange programmes, and cross-cultural exchanges through guest lectures and other programmes, host and provide visiting scholars as well as leveraging on cross-institutional faculty experience through joint research.

Dr Freda Prempeh, the Minister of MSWR, disclosed this when she paid a familiarization visit to acquaint herself with the operational challenges of the health training school in Accra.

Accompanied by other key staff of the ministry, the sector minister interacted with the management, staff and students of the training school, affiliated with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Technology and the University of Cape Coast, with Diploma and Bachelor programmes.

Dr Prempeh indicated the MSWR was working assiduously to transform the School into a
World Class Public Health Training Institution to enable it to produce competent public health practitioners, capable of meeting the changing health, environmental and development needs of the global community.

She explained the Environmental Health Department of the school was collaborating with the Center Affordable Water Sanitation Technology (CAWST), Canada, to organize short courses for students and faculty, saying so far more than 400 students and faculty members had benefited from the training.

The Department is also in close collaboration with the Training Research and Networking for Development (TREND) to train the tutors, students and field officers on the Sanitation Pathways Initiative (SaniPath).

Dr Prempeh explained that SaniPath focused on providing support to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the country towards solving the problem of data scarcity on the risk of faecal contamination and its implication for public health.

The Occupational Therapy Department has also trained
a total of 87 occupational therapy technicians who are practising at various governmental and non-governmental facilities nationwide, she stated.

Dr Prempeh said the MSWR was committed to ensuring the completion of phases two and three of the three-storey building of a nine-unit classroom block and offices, a facelift of the school compound with pavement blocks and landscaping as well as fencing.

She added that the construction of access roads, demonstration rooms, an insectary and sanitation market, the establishment of a research fund, as well as the acquisition of a new site for the school and regular payment of allowances were the outlook for 2024.

?The establishment of the Accra School of Hygiene can be attributed to the efforts of the colonial government, where in the early 1900s the British administration recognized the importance of public health measures to combat infectious diseases and improve the overall wellbeing of the population.

The precursor to the school was the Government Sanitary Inspe
ctor Training School which was established in 1925 and in 1937 renamed the Government Sanitary Training School, reflecting on its broader scope of training beyond the role of sanitary inspectors.

In 1962, the school underwent another transformation and was re-named the Accra School of Hygiene, and affiliated to the Royal Sanitary Institute of London.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Joshua K. Nyamavor, President of The Ghana Plumbers Association (GPA), has called on plumbers to equip and sharpen their skills to be professionals in their work.

He said ‘when you equip yourself, you meet international standards, become innovative and meet current trends for national development.’

Mr Nyamavor made the call at the Association’s 2023 Annual General Meeting and DPS Pipe Application Workshop in Accra, it was on the theme: ‘Pipework, No Leaks’.

He said plumbers must be professionals to render good service and for capacity building as a whole.

He said doing a credible and quality work would propel them to the next level, and also give them recommendations from other clients.

‘When you are trained professionally, it will be passed on to the future generations which will be another key factor in national development,’ he added.

The President said plumbers, who were self-employed should not think they were experts or professionals in the field but rather be ready to learn on the job.

On th
e workshop, he encouraged them to learn and acquire more knowledge and experience to be innovative plumber leaders.

He said they must be prepared for future plumbing techniques and materials that would be available to them in the future, and through the workshop they would have the opportunity to develop and learn new skills.

He urged training institutions, to be effective in their training but not to train them in a poor and shabby manner.

‘We have to streamline the training to meet standards, give out certificates and also to keep the Association informed, ‘he added.

However, the workshop served as a platform to allow the Association to discuss issues, improvements, and agenda for the coming following year’s.

Mr Ezekiel Ahado, Administrator at DPS Pipes and Plastics said DPS was rolling out this workshop across the country to equip the skills of plumbers in Ghana.

He said the partnership between the institutions geared towards the use of quality pipes and plastics for work.

He advised plumbers to emu
late good work ethnics at work grounds.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Thirty-one members of the CREMA Executive Committee (CEC) have undergone a day’s review meeting on the governance framework of the constitution to guide its work.

The Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission in collaboration with the Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project (GSLERP) supported the day’s constitution framework on drafting for CREMA site II governance framework to enable the new CREMAs to commence work.

Mr Kpaal Elijah, the Assistant Park Manager of the Gbele Resource Reserve, said the Community Resource Management Area (CREMA) Constitution was the legal framework that governed and regulated all activities and operations of the CREMA, which was a key milestone needed to be set out.

Mr Elija noted that this would give the CREMA an identity that represented the aspirations of the people in their quest to protect the environment.

It included the cultures and traditions of the eight constituent communities involved that will empower the CREMA to lobby the District Assembly and other
bodies for the enactment of bye-laws to give authority to the CREMA.

Dr Polycap Maabir, the Park Manager of the Gbele Resource Reserve, emphasized its importance as it would provide guidelines for the daily operation of the CREMA secretariat and other activities.

Other participants were from PAMAU, Chiewia CREMA representative of the Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency and the Sissala East Municipal Assembly.

The regent of Lilixia, on behalf of the Tumu Traditional Council and PAMAU, urged members to be guided by the tenets of the Constitution framework.

Mr Bukari Kadiri, the Chairman of the CREMA Executive Committee, proposed two names ‘Kassena Nemoro CREMA’ and a motto to be known as ‘Nibonjua’ pending further consultation and approval from the elders of the selected communities.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Vera Akafo Ayitey, a Lecturer at Valley View University, has asked organisations and institutions to invest in and cultivate a culture of cybersecurity consciousness.

Dr Ayitey, in a presentation on the topic ‘Organisational Culture and Fraud Prevention’, said organisations, be it public or private, should make deliberate efforts to promote cybersecurity awareness and make investment into its training and utilisation.

The occasion was the graduation of students who had completed their training in the Continuous Professional Development Programme at the Chartered Compliance and Cyber Analyst (CCCA) Institute.

She said, ‘Cybersecurity should be of concern in all organisations from the top-level management to the lowest employee. We need to build a culture where cybersecurity is just not a priority but a way of life.’

She gave real situational examples of how various forms of cybercrimes such as ransomware attacks and phishing could affect the activities of organisations and stressed the need for them to
invest in measures and mechanisms to detect and deal with such cases in time.

‘On May 12, 2017, a ransomware called WannaCry was used to attack over 300,000 computers in the US and UK which brought a lot of essential services to a halt. Organisations must be ahead of time to institute proactive reactions instead of reactive ones,’ she said.

Mr Theophilus Kwadjo Odjer-Bio, the Executive Director of the Chartered Compliance and Cyber Analyst (CCCA) Institute, said efforts were being made towards creating national cybersecurity awareness and education through quiz competitions in tertiary institutions across Ghana.

Ghana, between 2016 and 2018, lost 200 million dollars to cyber-related crime. More than half of them, according to the Cybercrime Unit of the Ghana Police Service, were reported as fraud.

Cybercrime, according to statistics from Cybercrime Magazine – a world-leading researcher on the global cyber economy, predicted the world to lose six trillion annually by 2021. The magazine also predicted the g
lobal ransomware damage costs to reach 20 billion dollars from 2021 onwards.

Source: Ghana News Agency