Category: General

Mr Desmond Appiah, the Country Lead for Clean Air Fund, a global philanthropic foundation tackling air pollution, says poor air quality does not only pose health risks to the citizenry, but also has dire consequences on the country’s economic growth.

He said a World Health Organisation (WHO) report in 2018 had shown that about 28,000 people in Ghana died through complications caused by air pollution.

‘Again, the World Bank has done a report which has shown that the Ghanaian economy loses about $2.5 billion a year due to poor air quality, so there is the need to commit much attention to this issue,’ he stated.

Mr Appiah was speaking at the opening of a three-day consultative workshop, held in Takoradi, to solicit stakeholders’ inputs to fine-tune a project meant to promote enforcement of environmental laws and regulations on managing air quality in Ghana.

Dubbed: ‘The Clean Air Project’, the initiative seeks to determine the barriers to the full enforcement of environmental laws and regulations on managing
air quality on urban roads in the country.

It is being implemented by the University of Ghana (UG) and University of Education, Winneba (UEW), with funding support from the Clean Air Fund.

The workshop, first in series of four to be organised, brought together representatives from state institutions, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), media, law enforcement agencies, academia, and transport operators, among others, to seek their views on how best to reduce air pollution on the roads.

According to Mr Appiah, the country had laws and regulations on managing air quality, but enforcement was lacking.

He said: ‘The Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies are doing well on the quality of air monitoring, and there are some transportation initiatives that are being promoted, yet we seem to be having a challenge in seeing through everything for us to get the real impact of these regulations.’

He noted that the Project was, therefore, to help the implementing partners to get a systematic understanding
of some of the things that hindered the successful enforcement of such environmental laws, particularly those on-air pollution.

Mr Appiah said the workshop was part of activities to seek broader consultations to develop recommendations to help influence policy directions to create an enabling environment to enhance effective enforcement of the regulations by the relevant mandated authorities.

‘The part of why we are doing this is to be able to work with authorities to know and tackle the root causes of enforcement challenges, so that we can positively impact the quality of air that we breathe in,’ he added.

Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the Western Regional Minister, said the government acknowledged the effects of air pollution, and the urgent need to combat it.

He noted that the government had put in place environmental regulations and was working on catalysing the clean air movement, while advocating solutions to air pollution.

Mr Darko-Mensah said despite the existence of stringent regulations, enfo
rcement could be challenging, and commended the UG and UEW, and partners for coming up with The Clean Air Project to unravel the root cause of such issues.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ms Paulina Rozycka, the Head of Infrastructure and Sustainable Development, European Union (EU) in Ghana, says sustainable production and economic growth of the cashew sector is of high priority to the Union.

Thus, the EU would provide the needed support towards the development and implementation of transformative policies in partner countries to ensure economic growth.

Ms Rozycka, who was speaking at the sixth Council of Ministers’ Conference of the Consultative International Cashew Council (CICC), said the EU recognised the economic and environmental potential on the cashew value chain.

The conference was under the theme: ‘Projecting the Cashew Sector through local Consumption, Value Addition and Job Creation’.

It brought together ministers, experts, researchers and stakeholders from eleven African countries to share experiences, identify gaps and marshal efforts in promoting the cashew industry.

‘The EU is very interested to see a thriving processing hub in Africa, closely linked to European Markets a
nd guided by inclusiveness and sustainability principles, maximising revenues and jobs for African Nations’ – Ms Rozycka said.

‘Beyond, Cashew has the potential to spearhead and set an example for an agro-industry based on agroecological principles. This is the spirit of the EU Cashew Initiative which is in the making.’

She noted that the EU was set to frame the European Interventions in the sector in a Team Europe Spirit and closely aligned it to partner countries’ interests.

‘We don’t start from zero. The EU is the main donor of the GIZ implemented Move-ComCashew Programme. We salute its 15 years of engagement and its key contribution to the dynamic sector that Cashew is today in Africa,’ she said.

Ms Rozycka noted that the ComCashew was embedded in the larger AgroBusiness Facility for Resilient Value Chains, Co-Funded by the EU (43.8 million EUR) and the German Ministry of Cooperation (12.2 million EUR).

One year on under the programme, she said the editions 16 and 17 of the GIZ-ACA (African Cashew Al
liance) Master Training Programme were training dozens of experts in Ghana from 20 African countries.

Ms Rozycka noted that 30 private sector partners, among them, cooperatives, processors and distributors, had been selected to receive a Matching Grant Fund in 11 different countries, four from Ghana.

She said the grant was mobilising around 6.5 million EUR to address the ‘missing middle’ actors to reach formal finance or to develop some inclusive or sustainable aspects of the value chain.

She commended Ghana and welcomed the recent approval of the Tree Crops Regulation, which aims at enhancing competitiveness, productivity, profitability, and sustainability of tree crop sectors, notably Cashew.

The CICC members are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo.

Established on the 18th November, 2016 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, the CICC aims to create a consultation framework and synergies between member states for a sustainable cashew sector.

A
frica’s cashew industry has come up strongly in recent years as one with great potential and one that can significantly contribute to the economic growth of the continent.

About 60 per cent of the world’s global raw cashew nuts are produced in Africa, with Cote d’Ivoire being the world’s leading producer, producing nearly one million tons in 2021.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Millicent Agangiba, the Executive Director of Inclusive Tech Group, has urged the government to ensure that People with Disabilities (PwDs) are included in the country’s digital technology agenda.

Inclusive Teach is an organisation that works to ensure all-inclusive society where various structures exist for the full utilization and participation of vulnerable groups in the digital space.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the side-lines of the 11th Digital Rights and Inclusive Forum 2024 (DRIF24), underway in Accra, Dr Agangiba stressed that the PwDs could not be excluded socially, and left behind digitally, in today’s interconnected world.

The Paradigm Initiative (PIN), a Pan African organisation, and its partners are organising the three-day conference on the theme: ‘Fostering Rights and Inclusion in the Digital Space.’

Other partners of the conference, being attended by hundreds of delegates, civil society organisations and actors, NGOs and the academia drawn from 61 countries acro
ss the world include E-Governance and Internet Governance Foundation for Africa (EGIGFA) and the University of Media, Arts and Communication.

The rest are the Media Foundation for West Africa, Inclusive Tech Group, Internet Society (ISOC) Ghana Chapter, and Human Security Research Centre (HSRC) Event sponsors include Wikimedia, African Digital Rights Network, Ford Foundation, Luminate, Google, Kingdom of The Netherlands, Mott Foundation, Open Technology Fund (OTF), Internews, Small Media, among others.

As the nation makes significant progress to advance in digital technology, the government must tackle the existing disparities in accessing digital technologies by supporting and providing the required resources and materials to train the PwDs, Dr Agangiba said.

She said although the Inclusive Tech was doing much to enlighten, especially the visually impaired to easily access and use the internet, more support and resources were required to empower more of the PwDs to ensure their inclusion in the digital sp
ace.

With the progress made so far in the country’s digitally driven economy, being spearheaded by the Vice President Alhaji Dr Mahamuds Bawumia, the Executive Director, said if the PwDs were not empowered enough, it would be difficult for them to cope with social life.

As the world turns into a global village with rising internet penetrations, Dr Agangiba said vulnerable people and groups as well as the marginalised in society must also understand how to access and use the internet for productive activities.

She said now that quality education, healthcare and other essential services were being accessed digitally, it was appropriate the government supported her organisation and others to also train and empower the PwDs to access the digital space too.

Dr Albert Antwi-Bosiako, the Director-General of the Cyber Security Authority, said there were gaps in internet access, particularly in the global South and underserved communities, where access to affordable and reliable internet remained limited.

Dr Antw
i-Bosiako noted though the nation had made progress in internet penetration, it was imperative to remain vigilant in addressing the digital divide that persisted, particularly in the un-served and underserved communities.

He said it was the responsibility of governments to foster digital inclusion among their citizens and build a more inclusive digital society.

Dr Aida Opoku-Mensah, the Vice Chairperson, PIN Board, said Ghana was privileged to host the conference, and expressed appreciation to the partners, hoping that the participants would build networks.

The DRIF24, she added, remained important platform where conversations on digital policy in Africa were shaped, policy directions debated, and partnerships forged for action.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye, the Minster for Roads and Highways, has embarked on a tour of the Western Region to inspect progress of ongoing major road projects in the Region.

The projects include the Takoradi PTC interchange, Sekondi to Takoradi road dualisation, and sectional repair works on Nkroful Junction – Ketan to Kojokrom Junction-Kojokrom Market Road on the main Takoradi to Cape Coast highway.

The rest are proposed road construction at Mpohor, dualisation of Takoradi to Agona Nkwanta, and reconstruction of Agona to Tarkwa roads.

He was accompanied by Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the Western Regional Minister, officials from the Ghana Highway Authority and Department of Urban Roads, and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives among others.

Briefing journalists after the inspection, the Minster expressed satisfaction at progress of the various projects and commended the contractors for the work done so far.

Mr Asenso-Boakye said the projects when completed would not only relief commu
ters the stress they went through when plying roads, but also boost economic activities in the respective project areas.

He charged the contractors on-site to ensure they worked assiduously to complete the projects on the specified timelines.

He acknowledged the poor state of some of the roads in the Western Region and expressed the government’s commitment to providing good roads and other infrastructural projects to improve the socio-economic well-being of the people.

Meanwhile, the Minster advised the public against encroaching and disposing of solid waste into drains along the roads.

Mr Asenso-Boakye stated that the act blocked free-flow of water in the drains, resulting in the spill of water onto the roads which caused damage to the roads, especially during the rainy seasons.

‘I am urging the people to stop encroaching the channels of the drains, and disposing of solid waste into them so that we can save our roads from damage of rain water,’ he said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Governments in Africa have been urged to combat women abuses and bullying in the cyber space proactively, as they advance in digital technology.

That, they can achieve if the Heads of States in the continent understand the dynamics and intricacies, accept the magnitude of cybercrime and thereby review and make existing laws punitive enough.

Participants, attending the 11th Digital Rights and Inclusive Forum 2024 (DRIF24), gave the advice during group sessions, and insisted on the need for governments on the continent to prioritise and help combat online violence against women.

Hundreds of delegates, civil society actors and organisations as well as NGOs and academia, drawn from 61 countries across the world are attending the three-day forum on the theme’ fostering rights and inclusion in the digital age’.

Paradigm Initiative (PIN), a Pan African organisation and its partners in Ghana, including E-Governance and Internet Governance Foundation for Africa (EGIGFA), University of Media, Arts and Communication
are organising the forum.

The other partners are the Media Foundation for West Africa, Inclusive Tech Group, Internet Society (ISOC) Ghana Chapter, and Human Security Research Centre (HSRC).

Wikimedia, African Digital Rights Network, Ford Foundation, Luminate, Google, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mott Foundation, Open Technology Fund (OTF), Internews and Small Media are the event sponsors.

Ndeye Fatuo Diouf, Digital Content Manager, Senegal-based Afric Tivistes, a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) regretted that though cybercrimes, especially women abuse, and bullying remained serious offences, some governments in Africa had not shown any political will to arrest the situation.

Women victims of digital abuses and bullying go through serious emotional and psychological trauma and that remain inimical to their growth and development, she said.

According to Ebere Ifendu, the President and Founder, Nigerian-based Women in Politics Forum (WIPF), urged young women in politics to also remain active on social medi
a.

That would enable them to identify and help enact realistic laws and policy frameworks that would guide or govern the use and thereby bring sanity to the internet space.

Ifendu noted that general effects of online violence on remained enormous and urged governments in Africa to prioritise sanctions and help bring the situation under the barest minimum.

However, Rokhaya Tine, Responsible for Communications, Patef Senegal, another CSO said women could do more for themselves in fighting the crime if platforms were provided for them to share their stories and learn lessons.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Odikro and residents of Abura Edumfa in the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese (AAK) District of the Central Region have expressed deep concern over the absence of a healthcare facility in their community.

They have therefore appealed to the government to establish a community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compound for better health service delivery in the community.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Nana Edumadze Kobina IX, Odikro of Abura Edumfa emphasised the urgency of the issue, stressing that the current situation placed undue hardship on the community members.

He said some women had to step in for the role of a midwife to ensure safe delivery of babies when the need arose, but that was not enough because of safe practices.

Nana Kobina, therefore called on the AAK District Assembly and the government to prioritise the establishment of a CHPS compound in the community to provide essential healthcare services and address minor health issues in the community.

In a related development, th
e Odikro also appealed for a portable drinking water, a community center and a bank in the community.

He urged the Member of Parliament, to promptly help address the issues to ensure the well-being of the people.

Source: Ghana News Agency