Category: General

A total of 28 males in the Central Region, representing 82 per cent, and six females, representing 18 per cent, were killed by road crashes from January to March 2024.

The figure reveals an approximate ratio of 1:5, meaning that one female to five males are killed in every road crashes, confirming a similar trend in recent past of higher road fatalities of males than females.

Similarly, two people, being six per cent of people killed in road crashes, were below 18 years, whilst 32, representing 94 per cent, were adults above 18 years.

That indicates that for every 16 adults above 18-years killed, a child below 18-years also dies, revealing relatively high road traffic death ratio of 16:1 for adults than for children.

This is partly due to the high risk of exposure of adults and males to traffic incidences as compared to children, Mrs Linda Affotey-Annang, the Central Regional Head, National Road Safety Authority, told the Ghana News Agency in Cape Coast on Friday.

A total of 245 road traffic crashes, re
sulting in 410 injuries and 34 deaths, were reported as against 231 crashes, 33 injuries and 42 deaths recorded over the same period last year.

The figures represent a 6.1 per cent increase in road crashes, 78.8 per cent increase in injuries and a 19.0 per cent reduction in deaths.

The crashes involved 387 vehicles of all categories; private, commercial, motorbikes, or cycles and 476 casualties, 66 fatalities or deaths and 410 injuries.

Of the reported cases, vehicles involved, people injured and pedestrian knockdowns, respectively increased by 6.06, 1.84, 8.75 and 53.49 per cent, but people killed decreased by 19.05 per cent when compared to the same period of 2024.

On monthly distributions of crashes, injuries and deaths, Mrs Affotey- Annang said the month of March recorded the highest number of crashes of 101 whilst February recorded the least number of 52.

For injuries, January recorded the highest of 161 whilst March had the least; 95.

The rate of decrease for deaths in 2024 was approximately 3.5 p
er month compared to the 1.5 decrease per month for 2023.

Also, a total of 66 pedestrians were knocked down, representing an increase of 53.49 per cent as against 43 knockdowns in 2023.

To understand the enormousness of the crashes, she explained that road traffic accidents had been categorized under fatal, serious or minor depending on the severity.

‘Fatal crashes are crashes which have resulted in the death of at least one person or more within 30 days of the crash, serious crashes are crashes, which have resulted in a serious injury of at least one person, leading to hospitalisation for at least 24 hours.’

‘Minor crashes are those resulting in a minor injury of at least one person, hospitalised for less than 24 hours or no injuries at all,’ she said.

She repeated the Authority’s resolve to inducing positive behavioural change among road users for them to observe and advocate compliance of road traffic regulations.

Also, road users must support the authority and other stakeholders and report traffic i
nfractions as a collective responsibility.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Members of the Local Accountability Network (LANet) of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) are advocating for the continuation of a project which seeks to monitor the implementation of audit recommendations in Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

They argued that, despite challenges impeding their efforts to monitor the implementation of recommendations of the Auditor General (AG) accompanying its annual reports of the Assemblies, discontinuing the project would leave room for more infractions.

The project dubbed, ‘Building Evidence for Increased Accountability in Ghana through a Multi-Stakeholder Accountability Initiative’, seeks to deepen accountability in local governance by empowering members of the LANet to monitor implementation of audit recommendations in the Assemblies.

It is being implemented by Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) with funding from the Hewlett Foundation.

At an evaluation meeting to take stock of the two-year project, which is ending in September, membe
rs of the LANet insisted that it was important to continue monitoring audit recommendations to keep duty bearers on their toes irrespective of their uncooperative nature.

The meeting was to discuss the progress made so far, success stories, and challenges confronting members in following up on audit recommendations.

Armed with the AG’s audit recommendations, members of LANet engages duty bearers on steps being taken to implement the recommendations to ensure proper accountability for public funds entrusted to them.

Members at the meeting, however, recounted how they struggled to get the attention of designated officers to respond to their enquiries.

To cure the problem, some members suggested a bottom up approach from the implementers of the project by engaging authorities at national and regional levels on the activities of LANet so that they would be given some recognition at the local level.

Mr Samuel Harrison Cudjoe, Programmes Officer, GACC, said LANet had made progress under the project, having est
ablished a working relationship with the KMA, and stressed the need to grow that relationship further.

‘For any relationship to stand, it is a matter of trust and openness so I would encourage both the KMA and the LANet to be opened to each other to build trust.

He said GACC was satisfied with the work done so far by LANet and happy that members were pushing for continuation of follow ups on audit recommendations to promote accountability in local governance.

The challenges raised by the LANet, according to him, would enable GACC review its working processes to make the job easier for its partners.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Thomas Fynn, a renowned Ghanaian photographer and Executive Director, FYNNexhibits, has asked parents and teachers to encourage photography among children.

He noted that, cultivating the love for photography in children would enable them to develop photography skills rapidly and become more proficient and masterful in their adult years.

He noted at times, some parents discouraged their children from going into photography because the profession was not lucrative.

He stressed, however, that photography could produce a great deal of profit once it was done well.

‘As a parent, you should study your children to see what they like best. If you realise that your child is interested in taking photos, you should give that child your blessings and help him or her to develop the skills,’ Mr Fynn said.

The Executive Director made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of a five-day photographic exhibitions held from April 22 to 26 in Accra.

The event, held on the theme: ‘Celebrati
on of Ghanaian faces, African Culture and Heritage,’ was organised by Mr Fynn in collaboration with Thomas Lamb, a photographer based in the United States, and the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG).

Mr Fynn said parents who had the means could get affordable cameras for their children to practise and sharpen their senses in photo taking.

‘Parents could also introduce their children to mentors for coaching and guidance,’ he noted.

He added that children having mobile phones should be taught to effectively use the camera features in photo taking and editing.

Mr Fynn said schools also had an important role to play in nurturing children’s love for photography.

‘Teachers should regularly send their students to exhibitions, photo museums and other places of art collections to awaken students’ imagination and kindle in them the love for photography,’ Mr Fynn said.

He added that schools could bring in professional photographers and other photography teachers to take students through
the practical aspects of photo taking.

He said they could also partner corporate bodies such as camera manufacturing companies to sponsor them with cameras that students could use to build their photography skills.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Telecel Ghana, has officially announced its presence in the Ashanti region with a promise to reshape the telecommunications landscape in the region.

The company said after successful takeover of Vodafone Ghana as part of the ultimate phase in the evolution of telecommunication network, it will set new standards of excellence and innovation to transform the telecommunication industry.

Madam Patricia Obo-Nai, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), speaking at an event to officially introduce the Company in Kumasi, explained that Ghana Telecom had existed in Ghana since 1974 but had different investors at point in time for the company.

‘Now our new partner is Telecel,’ and we believe Kumasi is also central and core to the way we do business, and we are here to unveil the Telecel brand to you.’

She explained that in the month of March 2024, Telecel Ghana was out-doored to the whole of Ghana in the capital city, Accra.

Madam Obo-Nai indicated that, the brand was a vibrant and energetic one which the government of Gh
ana owned about 30 percent shares in the business and called on Ghanaians to continue supporting and subscribing to their products for their smooth run.

With the assistance of the new partners, she said all challenges facing the network would be fixed to help offer advanced digital services.

She said the company through its Foundation would continue with the cutting-edge corporate social responsibility programmes which encompassed healthcare, education, water, sanitation, and social inclusion.

Mr. Samuel Pyne, Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, said by virtue of the central location, the Ashanti region offered itself as a nerve center for every industry that existed in the country and by extension, telecommunication thrived because every sector depended on it to make business faster.

He indicated that Telecel Ghana was, therefore, at the right place to do business.

He said Ashanti was characterized by a diverse economic landscape including gold mining, agriculture, trading and commerce, manufacturing,
tourism, adding that, these economic activities contributed significantly to the region’s development and played a vital role in Ghana’s economy.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has identified six priority areas to drive the operationalisation of its Global Strategy in water management research in West and Central Africa.

These priorities are building resilient agri-food systems against climate change, reducing risks from droughts, floods, and compounding systems water risks, and enabling circular water and food economy innovations.

The rest are leveraging water for resilience in fragile and conflict-affected settings, strengthening gender equity in water resources utilization and management, and supporting water infrastructure and allocation decisions.

Dr Olufunke Cofie, IWMI West Africa Regional

Representative, told the Ghana News Agency that the six priorities were crucial and would influence its global strategy.

Dr Cofie was speaking in an interview during a Regional Stakeholder Consultation on IWMI’s Strategic Priorities on Transforming Water Systems for a Sustainable Future in West and Central Africa in Accra.

The event
was to operationalise IWMI’s global strategy through the development of a regional strategy roadmap, codesign and develop mechanism for Research for Development, jointly identify and pursue resource mobilisation opportunities and strengthen networks and future.

She said it was important to have a strategy to guide directions of water management to ensure stakeholders remain focused on their operations.

Dr Cofie said, ‘if strategies are not in place, they will not be able to define their priorities and these Global Strategy was based on Regional Dialogues.’

She said it was to draw an action plan on how they would operationalize the strategy through clearly defined priorities that they agreed upon.

Dr Mark Smith, the Director-General of IWMI, said the strategy had been developed for operationalisation for the next seven years to help address water management challenges.

He said it was to help IWMI’s partners and the countries they work in to become water-secured and manage water better.

The Director-Gener
al said the strategy was to address water risk or drought, flood, and women inequality.

He said, ‘without effective water management, we can easily lose the gains made regarding growth and development.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Cephas Mensah, Director of Research, Statistics, and Information Management, Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI), says a strong and sustained partnership between public and private actors is critical to enhancing research and innovation.

He noted that strong collaboration among the private and public sector players would help Ghana’s funding agencies in attracting financing from other jurisdictions, as well as increasing the frequency of research and innovation to address everyday socioeconomic challenges.

Mr Mensah said this during a two-day validation workshop in Accra aimed at Strengthening the National Research and Innovation Funding Agencies in West Africa (SRIFA).

The workshop was organised by the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI), in collaboration with the Africa Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) in Kenya and the African University of Science and Technology in Nigeria.

It aimed to build capacity and technical support to i
mprove research and innovation funding in Ghana, and to develop a validated programme for the Ghana Council by the close of the training.

The workshop was funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Mr Mensah noted that research in Ghana was sponsored by the government, with assistance from international partners, but there was a need for local private sector providers to support research.

He said that research uptake entailed not only understanding what the research was about but also taking in the research and being able to put it into practice.

‘The UNESCO started a project where the item two of the ten thematic areas was centered on Science communicating with society and vice versa, so within that framework, there has been quite several initiatives and advocacies’

‘These advocacies note that one’s research is undertaken, and get to the end users, how it is communicated, and how people also uptake the research, so it is a very core pillar in that regard,’ he added.

Dr Cynthia Nwob
odo, Project Officer at SRIFA, stated that the organisation had visited four other African countries, with Ghana being the fifth, to deliver reports for validation.

She said they wanted stakeholders to review the issues, challenges, and next steps in training and technical support.

‘Basically what we want to do today is for them to look at the training and technical support, to be able to prioritise, because we intend to bring this training to the Ghana Council, MESTI so that they can be in a better position to operate in Ghana,’ she added.

Dr. Nwobodo said that other African councils performed better, including the National Research Fund in South Africa and the Ugandan Council, among others, emphasizing the importance of the Ghana Council learning from such performing councils to develop its own.

‘These learning visits are essential so that West Africa will not continue to lag behind in areas of research and innovation funding,’ she added.

She emphasized the need for international collaboration, citing
the Global Research Council’s pioneering efforts to bring countries together with the common goal of improving research and innovation funding.

‘So we think it is very important for Ghana to reach out for such bilateral and multilateral collaboration,’ Dr Nwobodo said.

Source: Ghana News Agency