Day: June 19, 2024

Mr Richard Jakpa, a Businessman in the Ambulance trial involving Dr Ato Forson, a former Deputy Minister of Finance, says he never failed any promotional examination during his tenure at the Ghana Armed Forces, rather, he was victimised.

He alleged that before he was released from the Military, not dismissed, the Military constituted a ‘Psychological Board’ chaired by one Dr Bruce to declare him insane so he could be released.

In a cross-examination led by Mrs Yvonne Attakora-Obuabasi, Director Public Prosecutions, Mr Jakpa said the Board during its enquiry brought an IQ test from Cambridge University, where according to him, he scored 95 out of 100.

Dr Forson, Dr. Sylvester Anemana, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of Health and Jakpa are charged with causing financial loss to the State.

The State later filed a nolle prosequi to discontinue the charges against Dr Anemana, who is currently out of the country for medical treatment.

Dr Forson was granted a self-recognisance bail of GHS3million for a
llegedly wilfully causing financial loss of 2,370,000 euros to the State.

He is also facing an additional charge of ‘intentionally misapplying public property contrary to section 1 (2) of the Public Property Protection Act, 1977 (SMCD140)’.

Mr Jakpa was also granted bail of five million Ghana Cedis with three sureties one of whom must be justified with documents of landed property.

‘The Board, after some questions, wrote a report and indicated that Mr Jakpa is of superior intelligence,’ he added.

He told the Court that he had done a private investigation course outside the country for two years and during the period he wrote 25 examinations and his average score after the two years was 97. 8 over 100.

Mr Jakpa said the Board included in its report that the course he took in the US and the IQ test from Cambridge University was consistent with his (Jakpa’s) superior intelligence.

According to him the Board said the issues he was having with the Military examination was because of ‘human factor’.

Source:
Ghana News Agency

The United Force for Development International (UF4D), an NGO, has joined the global community in commemorating World Desertification Day.

The day (June 17 every year) is set aside by the United Nations to raise awareness about the urgent need to combat desertification, land degradation, and drought.

A statement issued by UF4D, signed by Mr Abdul-Mumin Yussif, its Executive Director, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Tamale, said ‘In Tamale, Ghana, UF4D is hosting series of events to mark this important day, including a stakeholders’ forum, a tree-planting exercise, and a community sensitisation programme.’

The statement quoted Mr Yussif as saying the theme for this year’s commemoration, which is ‘Land Restoration for Recovery and Resilience’, ‘Resonates deeply with our mission at UF4D. We are committed to working with communities, governments, and other stakeholders to restore degraded lands, promote sustainable land management practices, and support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goa
ls.’

The statement said ‘UF4D’s efforts in Ghana have already shown promising results, with hundreds of acres of land restored through the growing of about 5,000 tree seedlings in the past three years.’

It said, ‘We believe that together, we can make a difference and create a more sustainable future for all.’, Mr Abdul-Mumin Yussif added.

It called on all governments, civil society organisations, and individuals to join forces in the fight against desertification and land degradation.

The statement emphasised, ‘Let us work together to restore our lands, protect our environment, and ensure a brighter future for generations to come.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

Imagine a lactating mother having the peace of mind to concentrate on work and attend to her baby in a work environment without both responsibilities.

How about the babies being under the care of professional caregivers within the work environment for the mothers to breastfeed them during break or attend to them when the need arises.

Is this not the ideal situation women in the working class envisage in their workplaces to make the combination of motherhood and work seamlessly?

This scenario may only remain a wish for the thousands of Ghanaian women working in both public and private institutions across the country, but AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine is already proving that it is possible.

The mining firm as part of its policy to promote inclusivity and women empowerment, has established a baby care centre where lactating mothers are able to breastfeed their babies away from prying eyes.

With women constituting about 12 per cent of its workforce, AngloGold Ashanti believes the provision of facilities to e
nhance productivity among women in the organisation is a judicious investment.

The facility comes with CCTV cameras to provide 24-hour security, reception area, washing area, three care rooms, washroom, waiting area and an eatery.

The idea is also to balance work with the provision of adequate care for babies by women at the workplace after exhausting their mandatory maternity leave to promote a more inclusive environment which ensures employees contribute effectively to productivity irrespective of their gender.

Consequently, stakeholders in the mining sector including women in the company have applauded the initiative by management to for taking steps to address one of the key challenges confronting women with additional responsibilities of providing care for their babies.

Situated just outside the Mine, the fully insured facility provides a touching distance opportunity for lactating mothers to attend to their babies during office recess.

Ofeibia Kwapong, a staff of AngloGold Ashanti, whose 10-month-o
ld daughter was the first to be admitted, said the facility presents a huge relief to female workers of the Mine who go through the natural phenomenon of giving birth, describing it as a game changer which would empower women in the mining sector.

‘It has always been a herculean task handling the demands of the workplace and consistently breastfeeding our babies and providing optimum care for them. This project has come at a period where we have been calling for more women involvement in the mining sector. We can only be thankful to the management of AngloGold Ashanti,’ she commended the company.

Ms. Olivia Boateng, another employee who is also a nursing mother, said the facility was an indication that AngloGold Ashanti cared for new mothers and committed to support women to combine their responsibilities as mothers and employees of the company.

Mr. Meshack Baah, Human Resources Manager, AngloGold Ashanti, said the rationale behind the initiative was to enable breastfeeding mothers to concentrate on their
work while taking good care of their babies.

He said apart from the baby care centre, AngloGold Ashanti had instituted other initiatives to create a conducive working environment for female employee.

These include specially designed work uniforms and overalls for female employees to ensure their comfort, provision of special uniforms for pregnant staff to ensure their safety and comfort at work as well as provision of free menstrual disposable sanitary pads for emergency use.

‘We have also improved maternity leave that includes 16 weeks of confinement post-birth from the previous 12 weeks, and nursing mothers with twins or more given 20 weeks of confinement.

A further four weeks of unpaid leave may be taken before or after confinement,’ he noted.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Unemployed young man, popularly called Junior believed to be a homosexual, was assaulted on Monday night for reportedly making advances towards another young man at Assin Fosu, in the Fosu Municipality of the Central Region.

The victim in his twenties, popularly known as Junior, was seen in a widely circulated video being beaten by a group of people.

Some residents who pleaded anonymity told the Ghana News Agency that the homosexual community in Assin Fosu had established a WhatsApp group into which they added a young man without his consent.

Over time, the victim who is part of the WhatsApp group, contacted the boy and expressed interest in having a sexual affair with him at a particular hotel in Assin Fosu of which he obliged.

The young man who disagreed with activities of homosexuals, organised friends to the said location to wait for the victim (Junior) to ‘teach him a lesson.’

Junior upon arrival at the said location was beaten until he allegedly confessed that he was gay and wanted to have sexual a
ffair with the young man.

The victim was seen in the video receiving slaps, pushes with bruises all over his hands and face.

According to an eyewitness, condoms and Viagra (Tiger), a sexual enhancement product was found on him during a search.

A check at the Assin Fosu police station established that no official complaint had been made so far.

Source: Ghana News Agency

About 100 security officers at the command level in the Northern Region have begun a five-day course on Electoral Violence and Security (EVS) in Tamale.

The training, which seeks to ensure security during elections in West Africa, commenced on Monday June 17 and expected to end on Friday, June 21.

The EVS course is aimed at enhancing the capacity of law enforcement agencies to prevent, manage and deal with perceived electoral violence.

It is an initiative of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) as part of efforts to promote peace and security in West Africa, with support from the German Foreign Ministry.

The EVS training in Tamale is the third in the series, following earlier sessions held in Accra and Kumasi.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Mr Osman Abdul Razak, Course Director at the KAIPTC, speaking at the opening of the training in Tamale, said the course was to equip security agencies on modules that included electoral trends, causes of violence as well as tacti
cal methods of handling violence among other subjects.

He said the course would empower participants to have a collaborative relationship with political parties, adding it would make security personnel more community oriented in policing strategies.

He noted that there existed a routine practice of personnel transfers within security agencies worldwide highlighting the importance of reuniting these individuals to share their experiences and ideas, leveraging their institutional memory to enhance security operations.

He said the EVS training enabled participants to learn from the collective knowledge and strategies developed in various localities towards fostering an effective security framework before, during and after the elections.

Colonel Anorph Barnabas Akanbong, Director of Training at the KAIPTC, said the course would widen participants’ knowledge on the electoral cycle, conflict management and other areas pertaining to elections.

He said the course was an assurance that the security services were
poised to undertake their constitutional mandate and urged members of the public to have confidence in the services.

He commended security personnel for their role in previous transitions of power saying, ‘The concrete security interventions put in place by agencies with the support of Ghanaians led to the consolidation of peace and security over the period.’

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), Mr Tuaruka Duuti, Northern Regional Commander, Ghana Police Service, said the course was necessary for personnel, who would supervise the general election as it would equip them with the management measures, they could observe to ensure a peaceful election.

He reiterated that the course would broaden their knowledge and skills to enable them to handle challenges that might confront them in their line of duty.

He said participants, at the end of the course, would be able to manage information and that the service would leverage social media to spread information on security issues.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Madam Ophelia Mensah Hayford, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI) today opened a two-day workshop on Conserving Aquatic Biodiversity in African Blue Economy (CABABE).

It will support Ghana technically to align and domesticate relevant key global instruments related to aquatic biodiversity and climate change.

Organised by MESTI through African Union InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) with funding from Swedish under a three-year project christened ‘Conserving Aquatic Biodiversity in African Blue Economy’ and being implemented in 55 AU member States.

Madam Hayford said the country had started developing a road map towards the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) towards conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.

She explained that exhausting the processes and ensuring strict compliance would contribute to food security by contributing to building back fisher
ies stock, protecting life under sea, protecting jobs of the over two million in the fisheries value chain and fulfilling international commitments.

Madam Hayford acknowledged that the country’s aquatic biodiversity and ecosystems was threatened by actions, including overexploitation of species, pollution from land-based municipal and agricultural activities, mining and invasive species.

Those, she noted, had a cumulative impact that adversely affected aquatic bodies’ resources, livelihood of communities, especially youth, women and children.

With the technical support, adequate and timely funding, the Minister said respective governments would take the necessary steps to develop and implement robust policies and enforcement mechanisms to reverse the challenges and minimise the attendant risks.

Dr Huyam Salih, the Director of AU-IBAR in a statement delivered on his behalf said the continent was endowed with networks of freshwater Rivers, Lakes, Seas, Oceans, that provided sources of livelihoods, food secu
rity and wealth.

He said to adequately harness the associated opportunities in the aquatic ecosystems, Blue Economy development was identified as a major role for Africa’s integrated socioeconomic transformation in the AU Agenda 2063.

Dr Salih said strategies endorsed by AU Heads of States and Governments in 2020 as the blueprint to guide members to fully exploit the aquatic ecosystems endowments for an inclusive and sustainable Blue Economy would significantly contribute to Africa’s transformation and growth.

He called for the strengthening of the capacity of AU States to adhere to global best practices in conserving aquatic biodiversity and environmental management.

Madam Peace D. Gbeckor-Kove, a Principal Programme Officer at the Environmental Protection Agency, stated that Ghana had signed, ratified and domesticated a number of Conventions relating to Aquatic Biodiversity Conservation, Climate Change Mitigation and Environmental Management but others were yet to complete the full cycle.

‘For now we h
ave existing regulations, including Environment, Lands and Natural Resources, Fisheries, Energy, Transport and Water Resources Management,’ she said.

Madam Gbeckor-Kove urged stakeholder institution to take action to ratify conventions that Ghana had signed onto but yet to be domesticated.

Source: Ghana News Agency