Category: General

Somanya: The University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD) at Somanya in the Yilo Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region has held its fourth matriculation ceremony for 330 fresh students to pursue various academic programmes.

The matriculation marks the formal process of admitting new students for the 2023/2024 academic year.

This diverse group contributes a variety of viewpoints and ideas to the institution, with 166 males, making 50.30 per cent of the total, and 164 females accounting for 49.70 per cent.

They contribute to the university’s goal of achieving gender parity while creating a knowledgeable and competent workforce with a commitment to preserving Ghana’s environment and promoting sustainable practices.

Professor Eric Nyarko-Sampson, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, urged the matriculants to utilise the available facilities to enrich their learning experiences during their stay in the school.

He said the integration of innovative technology was one of the thematic thrust
s of the university’s five-year development plan.

‘Sometimes the very technology meant to connect us divides us, but that technology can do great things,’ he said, and advised the students to use technology with values and compassion, bearing in mind the consequences.

Prof. Nyarko-Sampson said though the internet had empowered many with information, it could also be a place where basic rules of decency were suspended, and pettiness and negativity thrived.

He told the students that their presence in the University was crucial as the Africa Union Commission had introduced an ambitious high-education plan.

‘This plan aims to increase the number of PhD graduates in Africa to 100,000 over the next decade, with 20 per cent focusing on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to support Africa’s growth targets,’ he said.

He urged the students to focus intently on their studies to enable them to accomplish their academic goals.

The University, commissioned by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Add
o in 2020 and matriculated 78 students, had the number increased to 192 students in 2021, 336 in 2023, and 330 in 2024. Justice Fredrick A.W. K. Nawurah, a Judge at the Somanya High Court, advised the students to avoid succumbing to peer pressure, expressing regret over having to incarcerate young individuals who blindly followed others and fell into trouble.

He spoke about the harsh reality of prison and the intimidating environment of the court, urging students to be cautious in their actions and to focus on their studies while obeying all school rules to excel academically.

The UESD offers a range of programmes including regular, sandwich, and E-learning options, which are accessible to students from both local and international backgrounds.

The undergraduate programmes include B.Sc. Geography and Earth Science, Energy and Resource Economics, Environment and Public Health, Sustainable Development, and Water Resources Management.

The rest are Biological and Mathematical Sciences, Chemistry and Biologica
l Sciences, Energy Sustainability, Mathematics, Environmental and Sustainability Science, and Nature Conservation Management.

Others are BSc. Environmental Management; Water, Sanitation and Hygiene; Aquaculture Management; Chemistry and Mathematical Sciences; Physics and Mathematics; Physics and Biological Sciences; Chemistry and Physics; Environmental Economics and Policy; Urban Planning and Development; Sustainable Construction Management and Technology.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra: The Government has announced plans to set up a FinTech Innovation Fund to support Start-ups in the FinTech industry to drive Ghana’s digital revolution.

Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia announced this in Accra on Monday during the official media launch of the maiden 3i Africa Summit.

The three-day summit, to be held in Accra, will come off from May 13-15, 2024, on the theme: ‘Unleashing Africa’s FinTech and Digital Economic Potential’.

The event, being organised by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Development Bank Ghana (DBG), in partnership with Elevandi, a subsidiary of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, would attract governments, businesses, policymakers, academia, investors and thought leaders.

Participants are expected to discuss and collaborate on unlocking Africa’s full potential on fintech and the digital economy.

Vice President Bawumia, who had championed the Government’s national digitalisation agenda over the past seven years, said the path to Ghana’s digital revolution was through
fintech, hence the need to support them financially to thrive.

He, therefore, encouraged all stakeholders in the industry to join forces in improving the legislative and regulatory environment to enhance the payments ecosystem and position Ghana on the path of sustained financial inclusion.

The power of technology, Dr Bawumia noted, would improve productivity and connectivity to empower individuals through fintech startups, as well as small and medium scale businesses to increase innovation and efficiency in the operations of institutions.

It was against this background, he said, that the Government, in the past seven years, had focused on pursuing a digital transformation agenda as part of its economic strategy at the individual and institutional levels.

‘The objective is to ensure digital empowerment for a prosperous future in this accelerated digital era, where the use of modern and emerging technologies have become commonplace and a catalyst for growth, progress, and prosperity,’ Dr Bawumia stated
.

‘It is no news that the Government, under the leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has paid special attention to digitalisation. This has been actively supported by various government institutions and regulators as part of the broader Ghana Digitalization Agenda to advance digital transformation.’

‘It is no coincidence that this upcoming Summit has been dubbed 3i Africa Summit – thus Innovation, Investment, and Impact.’

‘This has been the backdrop of our digitalisation journey to harness the full potential of technology.’

The Vice President highlighted some of the challenges the country faced in advancing its digitalisation agenda and believed that by leveraging technological innovations, it would leapfrog the development process, overcome legacy problems, and improve both the economic and public sectors.

‘For instance, to address the issue of no unique identification for citizens and residents, the Government issued the national biometric ID cards, popularly known as the ‘Ghan
aCard’ to provide a unique and centralised identification system for all Ghanaians,’ Dr Bawumia noted.

‘The acceptance of the ‘Ghana Card’ as the sole identification document for financial transactions in Ghana would in the long run help in the reduction of Non-Performing Loans and mobile money fraud.’

The Government, he said, also leveraged the GPS Technology to implement a digital address system, which resulted in the unique address for all properties in Ghana.

‘Also, the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority provided street names and house numbers for every street in Ghana for easy identification and navigation,’ he recalled.

‘Furthermore, to promote financial inclusion and reduce the dominance of cash for payments, the mobile money payments interoperability system was instituted, thanks to the Bank of Ghana and GhIPSS for championing this cause.’

‘This has led to the seamless transfer of money across different mobile networks and from mobile money wallets to banks, and vice versa.’

The BoG
, he said, piloted both online and offline use cases of the e-Cedi in 2022, and in December 2023, invited applicants to participate in its first-ever e-Cedi Hackathon, designed to foster innovation, drive technological advancement, and develop solutions that would redefine the Ghanaian financial landscape.

Government also embarked on an aggressive digitalisation of the processes of service delivery across various public institutions to improve public services.

The Vice President mentioned the digitalised processes at the passport office to enable online applications and significantly reduce the average turnaround time, the introduction of the paperless port system that largely reduced bureaucracy at the port, and the digitisation of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority operations.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Hubert Nkoulou, Cameroonian former Minister of Health breathed his last on Thursday, February 22, in Yaoundé at the age of 95.

A pioneer in Cameroonian medical science, Nkoulou was revered for his contributions to healthcare and academia.

Born on October 18, 1929, in Olembé, Batchenga, Hubert Nkoulou’s journey was marked by remarkable achievements. After completing his primary education at the Catholic Mission in Bafia and secondary education at the Petit Séminaire in Akono and later at the Lycée Général Leclerc in Yaoundé, he pursued higher studies abroad.

He was appointed as Minister of Public Health from June 18, 1983, to February 4, 1984. His tenure saw significant advancements in the country’s healthcare infrastructure, including the construction and renovation of several hospitals across Cameroon.

Nkoulou’s legacy extends beyond his ministerial role as he played a pivotal role in establishing key healthcare facilities such as the General Hospital of Yaoundé, the Gynecological-Obstetric Hospital of Y
aoundé, and the General Hospital of Douala.

He was also instrumental in the development of pediatric services, orphanages, and leprosy treatment centers.

Throughout his career, Nkoulou’s dedication to healthcare and education earned him admiration and respect both nationally and internationally.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

Accra: The President of the Ghana Hotels Association (GHA), Dr Edward Ackah-Nyamike Jnr, has been appointed to serve on the Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts sub-committee of the 2024 Manifesto Committee of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

His appointment has been greeted with speculations about his affiliation with the ruling party.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency to set the records straight, Dr Ackah-Nyamike Jnr said he had never been a member of the NPP and is currently not a member.

‘My appointment to serve on the committee is strictly professional to tap into my experience in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry,’ he noted.

‘I see this as a unique opportunity to feed the Manifesto directly with issues very dear to the heart of the Tourism and Hospitality Industry for redress. Being apolitical, if NDC had approached me with a similar role, I may have seized the opportunity; but the NPP approached me first, which is why you see my name on the list.’

Dr Ackah-Nyamike said prior to his a
ppointment, a leading member of the NPP, who happened to be a family friend, informed him about the formation of the 2024 NPP Manifesto Committee of which his input was needed on Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts.

He said he willingly accepted to serve on the committee after consultations with industry players and some executives of his association, given his leadership role and experience in the tourism and hospitality industry over the past two decades.

‘After a few days of pondering over it and consulting a couple of industry players and executives of the Ghana Hotels Association, I informed him that I was ready to serve in that capacity for God and country,’ Dr Ackah-Nyamike said.

‘…He was happy about my response and promised to get back to me after further discussions with the bigger team. The next discussion about the topic was when the full list of members on the Manifesto Committee was released a couple of days ago and I started receiving calls over it.’

He said the appointment would offer h
im the opportunity to move the operations of the Association from advocacy to action by inserting its issues and challenges into the manifesto of a major political party with the chance of running the next government.

‘Over the years we sit on the fence for governments to come to power and then we play our advocacy role to get our aspirations met. This time we have the opportunity to insert our issues and challenges right into the Manifesto of a major political party, which has a good chance of running the next government,’ Dr Ackah-Nyamike said.

‘This is certainly a positive effect of this appointment. On the negative side, some suggest that I will be mute on advancing Association matters in the media landscape and other quarters … because of my appointment on the Manifesto Committee.’

He, however, assured his members and the public that he would continue to serve the Association with integrity, dedication, courage and diligence as he had done over the past six years as its President.

Even though
Dr Ackah-Nyamike did not mention what he would contribute to strengthening the 2024 NPP Manifesto on Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, he had always advocated the need for governments to address levies, taxes and other charges affecting the operations of the hospitality industry.

Transparency and accountability in the disbursement of the Tourism Development Fund was one of his advocacies to ensure it supported tourism trade associations with annual allocations.

Dr Ackah-Nyamike had urged governments to construct roads leading to tourist sites in the country, pursue the E-Visa agenda and establish the National Tourism Policy to boost the tourism economy.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra: The Volta Regional Office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will commence its compliance enforcement exercise from March 2024.

The exercise is to ensure that all undertakings are in compliance with the provisions of the EPA’s Act.

They include the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1994 (Act 490), the

Environmental Assessment Regulations, 1999 (LI 1652), Fee and Charges (Miscellaneous Provision) Act, 2022 (Act 1080), the Hazardous and Electronic Waste Control and Management Act, 2016 (Act 917), and the Hazardous Electronic and Other Wastes (Classification), Control and Management Regulations, 2016 (LI 2250)

By the EPA’s Act, an undertaking means any enterprise, activity, scheme of development, construction, project, structure, building, work, investment, plan, programme and any modification.

It also includes extension, abandonment, demolition, rehabilitation or decommissioning of such undertaking, the implementation of which may have a significant impact on the environment.

Mr Hope S
mith Lomotey, Volta Regional Director of the EPA in a document signed and copied to the Ghana News Agency urged the public to ensure that any undertaking be it government or private owned is regularised.

He said enforcement notices had been served on some facilities and the processes were still ongoing.

Mr Lomotey said failure to comply with the notice or directive served by the Agency would lead to the closure of the facilities and prosecution.

He urged the citizens to visit the EPA office to regularise undertakings be they government or privately owned that had commenced construction without an environmental permit, operating without an environmental permit, operating with an expired environmental permit, and operating in non-compliance with an environmental permit.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra: Republican Party chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said on Monday she was stepping down in a leadership shakeup nine months before the U.S. presidential election, following pressure from the party’s likely 2024 nominee Donald Trump.

The move reflected the former President Trump’s sway over the party as he prepares for a likely rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden in November.

After a meeting with McDaniel early in February, Trump wrote on social media that he would be pushing for changes at the Republican National Committee (RNC) after South Carolina’s primary on Saturday, which he handily won over the state’s former governor, Nikki Haley.

Source: Ghana News Agency