Day: April 25, 2024

The Department of Social Welfare has sensitised residents, including persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups in the Logre-Zogin and Logre-Kolkpeng communities of the Nabdam District in the Upper East Region on child protection.

The sensitisation, which centered on child labor, teenage pregnancies, school dropouts, illegal mining activities, and the functions of the Department of Social Welfare, aimed at inculcating in them the need to protect their children and prepare them for the future.

It also focused on how they could seek support from the Department of Social Welfare for vulnerable groups in their families and the communities at large.

Mr Gabriel Azagsa Apobona, Nabdam District Officer, Department of Social Welfare, noted that due to activities of illegal mining in the areas coupled with lust for money among the children, some of them dropped out of school and were at the mines loitering.

That, he said, was worrisome as it did not present a good future for them, however given the neede
d education and guidance, these children could unearth their given potential hence the need to sensitise their parents to shape them well for the future.

‘We also realised that some of the children were either orphans or disabled, and so, for them, we intend to link them with social welfare and the District Assembly because, as you know, the government has been allocating three percent of the Common Fund for these groups of people, and in every quarter there is a package that we give to such people,’ he stated.

Mr Apobona emphasised that this necessitated the need for residents of the two communities to be sensitised to be aware of this support by government so that they could seek support for their vulnerable children.

He advised the parents to prioritise education by enrolling their children in schools and nurture them through to become better citizens to cater for them at their old age and contribute to the development of the country.

Madam Yenpoka Mba, a participant, lauded the efforts of the departme
nt for charging them with their responsibilities as parents and added that it was a call in the right direction, and she was committed to investing in her children’s education.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Jerome Agbesi Dogbatse, a Research Scientist at the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG), has told an Accra High Court that he was one of the scientists who tested the Lithovit fertilizer.

He said the testing of the Lithovit fertilizer to be used on matured cocoa seedlings was done before he joined the employment of CRIG in November 2013.

Mr Dogbatse, a subpoenaed witness for Mr Seidu Agongo, was speaking in his evidence-in -chief in the trial involving Dr Stephen Opuni, a former Chief Executive of COCOBOD, led by Mr Benson Nutsukpui, Counsel for Agongo.

Dr Opuni and Mr Agongo are facing 27 charges, including defrauding by false pretences, willfully causing financial loss to the State, money laundering, and corruption by a public officer in contravention of the Public Procurement Act.

They have both pleaded not guilty to the charges and are on a GHS300,000.00 self-recognizance bail each.

He said he only reviewed the draft report but was not part of the team that drafted the main report on the test
ing and to the best of his knowledge, the testing was done by Mr A.A Afrifa and Dr Alfred Arthur, all from CRIG.

He said before he joined the Institute, there were no other Soil scientists at the Division apart from those two scientists.

The witness told the court that he mentioned to the Police in his statement that the nursery work was done before he joined the Division, and he never made any recommendation because he did not participate in the testing.

‘I was not shown the final report but what l worked on was the draft of the report,’ he added.

He said he made some comments for the attention of the lead author and that was what he meant by his review.

The Case was adjourned to April 29, 2024, for continuation.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A Network of Journalists Fact-Checkers of African News Agencies of the Atlantic Federation of African Press Agencies (NJF-FAAPA) has been launched to spearhead activities in countering disinformation and misinformation in Africa.

Given the urgency of the phenomenon, participants at the close of a five-day training seminar on the theme: ‘Fact-Cheking: Detection of Fake News in Media Content’ resolved to create the network of FAAPA Journalists Fact-Checkers to nip the phenomenon in the bud.

Participants of the seminar, held from April 22 to 26, 2024, at the African Center for the Training of Journalists (CAFJ) in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, expressed determination to forge ahead and pool efforts in the fight against fake news.

The Network, among other objectives, will drive efforts through the exchange of experiences and sharing of information regularly to effectively and efficiently fight fake news – a phenomenon that has been pervasive across the continent.

With the threat of the loss of information power
in the world and in Africa due to the rise of fake news, the Network – under the auspices of Mr. Fouad ARIF, President of FAAPA – is expected to play a significant role in preserving the integrity of information and ensuring that the public has access to accurate and reliable information

Mr ARIF, President of FAAPA, who expressed appreciation to the participants for their determination to deal with the issue of misinformation, disinformation and fake news, said it behoved them to take lead roles in the overall efforts of truthful information sharing.

He said at a time characterised by the impact of social networks and the proliferation of fake news, African news agencies were being urged, as part of a new dynamic, to take active roles in changing the narrative.

That, he said, required the advocacy of innovative approaches in order to accompany the unbridled evolution of information systems and the adoption of the profound changes taking place in the media world.

Mr Arif, also the Director General of Moroc
co Press Agency (MAP), said as credible sources of information, the journalists (Fact-Checkers) neeeded to give fundamental importance to the exchange of experience and information in order to face up to the new challenges and the phenomenon of fake news, a real scourge for the media sector

Africans, he said, must work together to fight fake news through effective collaboration and knowledge sharing among journalists across Africa.

Mr Xavier Messe, one of the facilitators from Cameroon, expressed appreciation to the President of FAAPA and commended him for his leadership, which had resulted in the effective administration of the Moroccan Press Agency.

The experience garnered, he said, would go a long way to ensure that the issue of fake news, which posed as a threat to journalism and information sharing, will be dealt with.

Participants were awarded certificates for their participation.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A market survey conducted in the Cape Coast Metropolis by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Wednesday, has shown a significant rise in the prices of vegetables, and cereals compared to the same period last month.

A box of tomatoes which sold at GHC1,500, about a month ago is now going for GHC3,500, while a small paint container of tomatoes has gone up from GHC35.00 to GHC 55.00.

Additionally, a mini bag of onion has go up from GHc600.00 to GHC1,450.00 while a tin tomato container which was GHC30.00 now sells at GHC60.00.

A one kg of garlic has increased from GHC35.00 to GHC40.00

Also, a basket of cucumber sold for GHC100 is now selling between GHC400.00 and GHC500.00.

Many traders blamed the situation on unstable weather conditions and the cost of transportation.

The traders indicated that the price hikes have led to low sales as for instance, patrons preferred tin tomatoes to the fresh tomatoes.

For cereals, a bag of maize rose from GHC600 to GHC800 and a mini bag of millet rising from GHC600 to GHC700.

A
n ‘olonka’, a measuring container of white beans, has gone up from GHC13.00 to GHC14.00 whilst a bag of Bambara beans is GHC1,700 from GHC1,200.

Madam Gladys Mensah, a trader at the Kotokuraba Market, said there will soon be further increases I the prices of cereals and legumes due to the high cost of transportation.

‘Times are hard, there has been fuel price hikes which has made the cost of transporting goods from producers to the market very exorbitant ,’ she added.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Madam Sheila Minka-Premo, the Convener for the Affirmative Action Bill (AAB) Coalition, says the various calls from individuals, organisations, and societies are enough justification to fast-track the passage of the bill into law.

Madam Minka-Premo said the AAB, when passed into law, would address social, economic, and educational imbalances, eliminate discrimination, and champion the need for equal opportunities for both men and women.

She made this known during a two-day workshop for journalists organised by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) in collaboration with CODEO and the Affirmative Action Bill Coalition with backing from the European Union (EU).

She emphasised that no country could achieve its full potential without the equal economic participation of both women and men, explaining that economic development would be on the decline if the highest portion of the population, being women, were discriminated against, stressing that there was a need for inclusion for the country to thrive.

Sh
e said the 40 women members of parliament out of 275 parliamentary seats in the country portrayed an imbalance in the system.

She said such a system was depriving women of their perspective on issues, and therefore called for breaking all barriers to enhance women’s participation in decision-making.

Madam Minka-Premo attributed the low representation of women to the patriarchal system in the country, where the course of men was championed and that of women was demeaned in almost all aspects of social, political, and economic life.

Outlining some critical areas the bill addressed, she mentioned that the marginalisation of women in public and economic life in Ghana was a result of gendered division of labour at home and the lack of legislation to ensure a change for gender equality to be duly dealt with.

The AAB Coalition convener, who is also a lawyer, said that some policies, such as the Girls Education Units of GES, the cabinet’s directive on affirmative action, scholarship schemes set up for females, an
d affirmative action policies in public universities favouring females for certain courses, have been inactive; therefore, the passage of the bill would address their ineffectiveness.

She added that research had proven that it made economic sense to ensure gender equality, as the economy had better opportunities to grow and become more resilient to crises if women and men have equal rights.

The workshop participants agreed on the need for the affirmative action bill to be passed into law.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, has hinted that the government is in the process of establishing the Chieftaincy Development Fund.

This Fund, when set up, would ensure sustainable financing for chiefs and traditional rulers, and enable them to play their roles as leaders in communities.

It will also help traditional leaders to undertake development projects within their traditional areas without waiting for central government, while facilitating capacity building and training programmes for chiefs and queen mothers.

Mr Assamoah Boateng speaking at the ‘Ahohoo Durbar’ at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi, said it was high time the chieftaincy institution was strengthened in its position as the fulcrum around which local development revolved.

The durbar, which formed part of activities marking the 25th anniversary of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, as the 16th occupant of the Golden Stool, was reserved for chiefs of various tribes domiciled in the Ashanti region to pay homage to
the king.

The gathering was one of the rare occasions at the seat of the Asante Kingdom, where traditions of the Asantes gave way to a mixture of cultural displays of other tribes.

Notable among the tribes present were Ewes, Fantis, Gas, Moshies, Gonjas, Walas, Nzemas, Dagombas, Frafras, Kusases.

Other tribal leaders and their subjects from neighbouring countries such as Igbos, Yurobas and the Songhais also attended the durbar.

Mr Asamoah Boateng said the Ministry was also reviewing the Chieftaincy Act, 2008 (Act 759) and the Legislative Instruments 798 to reflect the current trend of events and restore some power to traditional leaders.

On commendations of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, he indicated that ‘as government, we commend your unwavering commitment to raising the standards of education which has benefitted over one million students in Ghana.

For over 22 years, several critical sectors such as health, water and sanitation have benefitted from numerous projects of your Otumfuo Charity Fou
ndation, not to mention initiatives towards poverty alleviation’, he applauded.

Mr Asamoah Boateng echoed that it was evident that Ghana could achieve a lot when visionary traditional leaders such as the Asantehene were actively involved in the implementation of development projects.

Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi, President of National House of Chiefs, said the Asantehene’s contribution to socio-economic, political, and peaceful co-existence was unmatched and highly commendable.

He said his recent move on the ‘Heal KATH Project,’ was one that could linger and lead the nation to ensuring quality health provision.

He used the occasion on behalf of his traditional area (Sefwi Anhwiaso) to donate $5,000.00 to the ‘Heal KATH Project’.

Ogyeahohoo Gyebi touching on the upcoming general elections, indicated that, as the political campaigns intensified, Ghanaians should remain united and preserve the peace, and work towards peaceful and fair elections.

He called on all traditional and community leaders to lead in educati
ng the people, especially the youth not to allow themselves for any political grouping to exploit their vulnerabilities to engage in violence or any vice which could undermine the individual and community safety or the integrity of elections.

Source: Ghana News Agency