Day: December 20, 2023

The involvement of community members in strategies to manage bushfires and prevent its devastating effects on environment and livelihoods is crucial, Mr Sumaila Seidu Saaka, a climate and environmental protection expert has underscored.

Mr Saaka who is also the Executive Director of Forum for Natural Regeneration (FONAR), an environmentally focused Non-Governmental Organisation, pointed out that the impacts of bushfires continued to worsen in recent years and local communities’ actors were critical stakeholders in addressing the challenge.

‘Both modern and indigenous knowledge tells us that socio-cultural burning and other forms of local stewardship have played and continue to play fundamental role in establishing and maintaining the fire-independent ecosystems of Northern Savannah Ghana today. Local communities and ethnic groups are therefore critical partners in addressing the bushfire problem,’ he said.

Mr Saaka made these observations during the inauguration and training of Community Bushfire Voluntee
r Squads at Dasang and Kparaboug, two farming communities in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region by FONAR.

It was part of the implementation of the Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) project being funded by Awaken Trees Foundation of Austria.

Apart from training the squads, they were given wellington boots, rake, hand gloves and cutlasses to empower them with the basic fire-fighting knowledge and skills to educate community members on the dangers of bushfires as well as help prevent, manage, and control bushfires in their respective communities.

Mr Saaka explained that globally it had been recognised that although fire had devastating effects on the environment and economy it was essential in the cultural dynamics of various societies and helped to regenerate the environment.

He said what was worrying was the fact that bushfires were not effectively managed in most instances especially in farming communities leading to adverse effects and several losses of property, lives and contributing
to the negative impacts of climate change currently experienced.

The Executive Director noted that although there was the Control and Prevention of Bushfires Act of 1990, PNDC Law 229, that mandated the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to establish fire volunteer squads to help prevent bushfires, many Assemblies in the region had not complied with the law.

Apart from that, he said, the current bushfire law was not clear and lacked direction to achieve the needed results and called on the government to urgently take steps to review the law to spell out responsibilities of appropriate institutions to strengthen coordination and enforcement.

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‘Ghana is likely to miss out on the Sustainable Development Goals especially those relating to the environment and bushfire is one of the major causes because the Assemblies are supposed to develop their plans in line with the SDGs but most of them do not understand them,’ he said.

Assistant Divisional Fire Officer I, Akolgo Awuni, the Nabda
m District Fire Officer, took the squads through functions of Fire Volunteer Squads as spelt out in the PNDC Law 229, to help raise awareness and collaborate with technical services to manage bushfires.

He admonished the community fire volunteer squads to work with lead farmers in their respective communities to help manage bushfires and protect the environment.
Source:Ghana News Agency

Association of Health Service Administrators, Ghana (AHSAG), has called on government to increase the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to cater for utilities at health facilities.

A news statement signed by Abulais Yaro Haruna, Public Relations Officer, AHSAG and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra said some hospital facilities encountering disconnections from the grid by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), therefore, slowing down operations of healthcare delivery.

It said healthcare services must be prioritised, providing the needed resources to enable smooth delivery and access to healthcare.

‘The economy is driven by Human Resources, however, humans need a healthy system to be productive’, it added.

The statement said there must be a substantial increase in the NHIS tariffs to cater for if utility bills.

It urged the government to review this directives and allow health service providers negotiate realistic tariffs with the National Health Insurance Authority.

‘We believe that this i
ssue needs urgent intervention by government to sustain the operations of health facilities’, it said.

Furthermore, the statement noted the high number of health professionals leaving the country for greener pastures elsewhere.

This poses a major threat to quality healthcare delivery and the attainment of Universal Health Care (UHC) by 2030.

‘We urge the ministry of health to put in place prudent measures to immediately curb the alarming rate of staff attrition in the health sector’.

It encouraged the government to consider granting financial clearance for the immediate recruitment of new staff to address the shortfall in health personnel at various health facilities to sustain quality service delivery.

‘Any further delay may have dire consequences on the health of the fewer health care providers at post, and the entire nation’, it added.

However, it said the Association was committed to providing effective leadership to complement efforts by government and development partners to ensure more targeted r
esource allocation and utilisation to fast track the achievement of UHC.
Source:Ghana News Agency

The Reverend Dr Emmanuel James Owusu-Bonsu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Atwima Kwanwoma Rural Bank has said the bank made a considerable progress in 2022 despite global economic challenges.

‘We are all witnesses to the fact that the 2022 financial year was a challenging one. Just at the time when we thought we had escaped from the Covid-19 pandemic and its effect on businesses in general, and the banks in particular.

‘Yet again we were hit with geo-political conflict between Russia and Ukraine which has put a burden on economies globally, with Ghana feeling it most,’ he stated.

Rev. Dr. Owusu-Bonsu said this when he presented his report at the bank’s 40th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at Pakyi No.2 in the Ashanti Region.

He stated that the bank’s total deposits grew from GH?245,714,209 in 2021, to GHS293,938,997 in 2022, recording a 19.63 percentage increase, whilst investment stood at GHS227,427,147 in 2022, as against 2021’s GHS204,082,450, an increase of 11.44 per cent.

The bank’s t
otal assets in 2022, moved up to GHS356,743,095 from GH 300,145,830 in 2021, representing a growth rate of 18.86 per cent, while shareholders’ funds saw an upward growth from GH?42,265,373 in 2021 to GH?48,150,683 in 2022, representing 13.92 per cent growth rate, he said.

Rev Dr Owusu-Bonsu mentioned that profit before tax rose from GH? 7,078,566 in 2021, to GH?9,441,868 during the year under review (2022), recording a 33.39 per cent increment.

He said consequently, profit after tax increased from GH?4,919,808 in 2021 to 6,974,035 in 2022, posting an appreciable 41.75 per cent increment.

The Board Chairman appealed to shareholders to buy more shares to cushion the bank to make it more viable and attractive to prospective customers and maintain its enviable position as leaders in rural banking in Ghana.

Mr. Samuel Bonsu Sekyere, Chief Executive Officer of the bank later told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the board and management’s strategic policies and programmes continued to keep the bank in
the limelight of rural banking in Ghana.

He said the bank was one of the few rural banks in the country that received approval from the Bank of Ghana to pay dividends to shareholders due to its sterling performance during the year under review.

Mr. Sekyere assured shareholders and customers that the bank was ever reliable and able to meet their needs.

The AGM, which also marked the 40th Anniversary of the bank, saw various personalities being rewarded for their pioneering roles and continuous contributions to the growth and sustainability of the Atwima Kwanwoma Rural Bank.
Source:Ghana News Agency

Justice Richard Adjei-Frimpong, a Supreme Court nominee, has urged Parliament to consider all comments on the ‘Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2022’ and come out with a law that benefits every Ghanaian.

He said that issues come before him as a Judge after the House had taken a decision, ‘and that is where I will apply it to duty by the law as a judge.’

Justice Adjei-Frimpong said this when he took his turn at Parliament’s Appointment Committee to be vetted on Wednesday.

‘…Thank you Honourable Chair, I have followed the debate and the comments and so, my position on it is what the law says. Because as a judge, I must be obedient to the law. ‘Fortunately, the law is in this House, and comments are being made by stakeholders, I expect that this honourable House will consider all the comments and the issues that have come out so that at the end of the day, they will come out with a law which will be of benefit every Ghanaian,’ he said.

Justice Adjei-Frimpong said this
in response to a question asked by Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam.

Dr Forson, also the Minority Leader asked if the passage of the law would amount to discrimination against minority sexual groups.

The object of the ‘Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2022’ is to provide for proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian Family Values proscribe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+) and related activities.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo nominated three persons for appointment as Justices of the Supreme Court in November.

The nominees were Mr Justice Henry Anthony Kwofie, a Justice of the Appeals Court; Mr Justice Yaw Asare Darko, a Justice of the Appeals Court and Mr Justice Richard Adjei-Frimpong, also a Justice of the Appeals Court.

The nominations were made by the President in line with Article 144(2) of the 1992 Constitution, subject to the advice of the Judicial Council and
in consultation with the Council of State.

After the vetting, the Committee, which is chaired by Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, the Second Deputy Speaker and the New Patriotic Party MP of Bekwai is expected to submit a report to the plenary for consideration.
Source:Ghana News Agency

Madam Sophia Akuffo, a former Chief Justice, has asked Parliament to ‘slow down’ on the possible ratification of the lithium deal.

She said the deal in its current state reflected the colonial arrangement of mining leases, ‘thus it does not represent the interests of the citizens of Ghana.’

The former Chief Justice asked the legislative arm of government to delay or possibly ‘kick against’ the deal to allow the Government and the concerned groups, including Civil Society Organisations (CSO), to go back to the drawing board to do things a better way.

The 1992 Constitution, under Article 268 Clause one, says, ‘Any transaction, including but not limited to the application for a licence to exploit a natural resource, requires Parliamentary approval.

In view of this legal requirement, Ghana’s first lithium agreement will require parliamentary ratification to take effect.

She made the remarks during the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) presentation to professional bodies on the lithium mining lease agreeme
nt between the Government of Ghana and Barari DV Ghana Limited.

‘We have tried this for such a long time; do we have to keep hitting the same thing and expect different results? Why don’t we change the rhythm? We could have been presented with a better agreement. There is an opportunity to change the agreement through parliament before it becomes legally binding.

If there is still work to be done on the agreement, we will tell Parliament to go slow, take your time, avoid the rush, and make sure that this time around we have an agreement that is fit for Ghana, ‘she said.

In the quest to get a better deal for Ghana, the former Chief Justice enumerated several recommendations that should be considered by the Government and parliament alike.

She advocated for a review of the legal and policy framework underpinning mining leases and agreements, saying the current resource governance of the country still reflected the colonial policies in the mining sector

She called for the introduction of a new policy framew
ork for the mining sector to reflect the policy of state ownership of the country’s natural resources instead of the conventional mining leases awarded to foreign companies.

To fully harness both the raw and industrial components of lithium, Madam Akuffo advised the Government to establish a well-structured lithium value chain with state ownership to create more employment opportunities for the people of Ghana.

Mr. Sam Okudjeto, a member of the Council of State and a renowned private legal practitioner, said the Government must provide clarity on the ownership of Barari DV and the role of the Atlantic Lithium Company in the deal.

He also observed a discrepancy in the duration of the deal, saying that while the minister said the deal would last for 12 years, information available on the company’s website said 15 years.

Representatives from various professional groups from industry and academia also shared their thoughts on the agreement.2

Madam Sena Dake, President, Institute Chartered Accountants, said h
er organisation was interested in the financial aspects of the deal, notably the taxes, value addition, and pricing of lithium.
Source:Ghana News Agency