L' Observateur Burundi

Our Lady of Mercy Community Services (OLAM), a Non-Governmental Organisation, says the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill into law will empower women towards inclusive and accelerated socioeconomic development.

Mr Emmanuel Atiiga, the Executive Director, OLAM, therefore, called on the government and leadership of Parliament to as matter of urgency expedite actions for the passage of the Bill, which has been in Parliament since 2011, into law.

He made the appeal when he spoke to journalists as part of the activities to mark this year’s International Women’s Day celebration in Navrongo, on the theme’, ‘Investing in women: Accelerate Progress’.

The Executive Director said that among the major tools that could be used to invest and empower women was the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill into Law and providing employable skills to women and young girls.

He was confident that the Bill when passed into law would help encourage efforts towards addressing socio-cultural, political, economic, and education
al gender imbalances in private and public sectors.

‘It is significant to note that among some of the measures that could be adopted and implemented to invest in women and ensure accelerated development, include the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill into law and empowering women, particularly young girls, with employable skills,’ he stressed.

He argued that research had shown that countries which had invested in women were developing at a faster pace and mentioned Rwanda, Iceland, Finland and Norway as some of the examples.

He said it was so sad that many civil society organisations, including OLAM and female aspirants for the local government elections over the years, had been pushing for the Affirmative Action Bill to be passed into law, yet nothing good seems to come out of their efforts, stressing ‘the gender gap has widened socioeconomic and political development.’

The Executive Director stated that providing employable skills to women, particularly the young ones was one of the surest means to
investing in women to accelerate progress.

He said over the years, OLAM and its development partners had implemented some major interventions, aimed at empowering women economically and socially.

He said OLAM’s funding support from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), Senegal and the German Embassy in Ghana, had over the years empowered about 1000 young

girls in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality and Kassena-Nankana West District with employable skills.

These girls have established their own shops and were employing other young girls in the areas of smock weaving, beads making, batik, tie and dye making, dressmaking, hairdressing and Computing.

Some of these beneficiaries, who are widows, orphans and school drop-outs are now independent, taking good care of themselves and their families.

In addition to the skills training and entrepreneurship training, the beneficiaries received start-ups kits such as sewing machines, weaving equipment and cash of monies to facilitate the setting up of the
ir enterprises as well as certificates, he added.

He appealed to government to prioritise Technical and Vocational Education and encourage more females to join the training since it is very critical to addressing the unemployment challenges confronting the country.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Friday visited the home of John Ampontuah Kumah, the late Member of Parliament for Ejisu, to commiserate with the immediate family and sign the book of condolences.

Dr Bawumia was accompanied by the Chief of Staff, Frema Osei Opare, Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Stephen Ayensu Ntim, and some government and party officials.

The Vice President said he had the opportunity to work with the late legislator on several projects and was inspired by his enthusiasm and dedication.

‘Indeed, Ghana and the NPP have lost a hardworking son,’ he said.

‘My deepest condolences to Lilian and the children, his mother, the entire family, and all loved ones. John, Damirifa Due!’

Dr John Kumah, who has been the Member of Parliament for Ejisu in the Ashanti Region, is a lawyer and an entrepreneur with over 15 years experience in leadership, creativity, innovation and resourcefulness in creating jobs, and supporting youth development.

He was the f
irst CEO of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) where he successfully positioned the NEIP as the enabler of the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Ghana.

Prior to working for government, Dr Kumah was the founding member and Managing Partner of Aduaprokye Chambers, a law firm.

He also worked as the founder of Majak Associates Ltd, a building and construction company.

In November 2020, John Ampontuah Kumah received a Doctorate in Business Innovation from the Swiss Business School in Switzerland.

Before then, he had acquired a Masters in Applied Business Research, at the same Business School in 2019.

He had a rich educational background, which includes a Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Business Research in 2019 at Nobel International Business School (NIBS).

In 2009, he had an Executive Masters degree in Business Administration (Finance), from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).

At the University of Ghana, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economi
cs with Philosophy, a Bachelor of Art Degree (Law) LLB in 2011 and a Professional Law Certificate from the Ghana School of Law in 2013. He was admitted to the Ghana Bar in 2013.

Dr John Kumah’s death was reported on Thursday, March 7, 2024. He was 45 years and left behind a wife and six children.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Abibinsroma Foundation, a Non- governmental Organization, has encouraged Ghanaian women to accept green technologies for a more fulfilling life.

The group said the irregular rainfall pattern, sea erosion and the excessive heat, amongst others, proved that humanity could no longer rely on fossil oils for power generation and other critical uses.

Addressing women on the International Women’s Day, Mr Robert Amiteye, Convenor, Abibinsroma Foundation, said women were the natural educators and nurturers of humanity and that they had a crucial role to play in reversing or adapting to climate change.

We at Abibinsroma Foundation are committed to developing the capacity of CSOs in Ghana to advocate for social-inclusive just transition from fossil to green and renewable energy initiatives using progressive rights-based tools, including campaigns, how-to-guides and fact sheets.

He urged women to resist false solutions, demand systems change and a progressive rights-based approach to energy transition.

Ms Indeye Sec
k, Girl Child Coordinator, Abibisroma Foundation, urged women to encourage girls to aspire to greatness and leadership roles in society.

She said when women become part of the decision-making process, they would be able to address their challenges by putting them at the heart of societal needs.

She said women’s needs were societal needs which must be addressed to make humanity strive.

Madam Celestina Obeng, Gender /Health Focal Person, urged women to regularly examine their breasts and other parts of their body and if they observed any changes, they should seek immediate medical help to avoid complications.

She said medicine had advanced lately but an ignored medical problem could be very difficult to be solved.

She asked women to drink water even when they were not thirsty to help nourish critical organs like the liver and kidneys.

Madam Agnes Amankwah, President of Adikanfo Eden Na Wo Beye Nnipa Society, Tema, commended the Abibinsroma Foundation for putting women and climate issues at the core of the
ir operations.

She said women needed more collaboration with worthy partners like Abibinsroma Foundation to address their challenges as well as put forward their thoughts for the good of society.

She lamented the low representation of women in Ghana’s Parliament and other critical areas of decision making.

She urged women to seek a generational change by nurturing girls and young women to seek more knowledge, skills and power.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Matthias Berthold of the European Eunion Ghana Agriculture Programme (EU-GAP) Coordinating Unit, has extolled women for the important role they play in agriculture development in Ghana.

He, however, believed that the real potential of female farmers in contributing to the agriculture sector was much larger if they had access to the needed resources and support.

Mr Berthold, the Project Manager for the Resilience Against Climate Change (REACH), was speaking at an event at Dapuoha community in the Wa Municipality to celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) on the theme: ‘Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress’.

The German Cooperation for International Development (GIZ) organised the event under the EU-GAP, which brought together selected smallholder women farmers in the region and representatives of departments and agencies, including the Department of Agriculture among others.

He referenced a report on Ghana by the Food and Agriculture Organization, which said about 52 per cent of Ghana’s lab
our force was engaged in agriculture and about 39 per cent of the farm labour force was women.

He indicated that despite women’s active role in the agricultural sector, they still faced significant barriers in accessing and controlling vital agricultural resources such as land, which did not only hamper their progress but also undermined the productivity of the local communities.

He emphasised the need to prioritise women’s empowerment by ensuring that they had equitable access to resources, ‘whether through targeted investments or reallocating existing ones.’

‘… let us commit ourselves to the cause of investing in women, bridging the gender gap, encouraging men to support women in every way possible, and break down the barriers that hinder the full participation of women in agriculture,’ he said.

Mr Berthold explained that through the Market-Oriented Agriculture Programme (MOAP-NW) and the REACH Project, they were providing women farmers with business development services to enhance their income of agro-
processors.

He added that they also provided access to finance, training, and information and leveraged innovative digital platforms to improve their farming activities.

He said they were also working with about 600 Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) groups to enhance the women’s access to finance, training and capacity building.

Madam Benedette Naab, the Woman in Agricultural Development (WIAD) Officer at the Wa Municipal Agricultural Directorate, observed that investing in women was not just a moral obligation, but a strategic means of accelerating progress and creating a more inclusive world for all.

She said women faced many barriers, including limited access to resources, land ownership, education, and decision- making power, which needed to be addressed to ensure inclusiveness.

Madam Emilia Nimbebiir, a farmer from Ketuo community in the Nandom Municipality, called on the government to support women farmers since it could improve their economic status.

According to her, the agricultural
equipment, including rippers and the roller planters, made available to women farmers by the EU-GAP was impacting on her farming activities positively.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Stephen Kojo Sackey, United Nations (UN) Peace Ambassador, has called for gender inclusiveness and investment in women as well as supporting the girl-child for their progress in all their endeavours.

Mr Sackey, also Africa’s Focal Person to the UN International Association of World Peace Advocates (IAWPA), made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, as the Association joined thousands of women, globally, to celebrate the International Women’s Day.

The theme for the year: ‘Inspire Inclusion’ served as a powerful call to action to create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive world for all.

He congratulated all women for their hard work, recounting the achievements and the great strides they had made towards peace and security, fundamental human rights, social protection, economic freedom and development across the world.

He advocated more investments in women, individually and collectively, to build sound and conducive socio-economic structures globally.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Joshua Asamoah, Senior Meteorologist, Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet), says there will be more winds, thunders and lightnings from now to the start of the main rainy season.

‘As we are gearing towards the main rainy season, there will be light rains even when the clouds form to pour, however, there will more winds, thunders and lightnings preceding the rains.

‘So, we urged members of the public to find a safe shelter to stay whenever it begins to rain this time to protect themselves from the winds, thunders and lightnings,’ he said.

Mr Asamoah said this to the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of a stakeholder and media training workshop on a VOLTALARM Early Warning System.

The VOLTALARM Early Warning System is a system developed by GMet and its partners to give early warning signals on floods and droughts to persons living within the country’s Volta basins.

The platform is a component of the Volta Flood and Drought Management (VFDM) project developed by Ghana and its neighbouring countries along
the Volta Lake to mitigate floods and droughts along the lake.

Mr Asamoah said the system would help persons and communities along the Volta basins prepare against floods and droughts, especially during the opening of the Bugre Dam in Burkina Faso.

He said they sought to build the capacity and collaboration among stakeholders and the media to sensitise persons and communities along the basins.

Mr Asamoah said that would be done by creating a platform to host their stakeholders – the media and community members along the basin to give them weekly updates on floods and droughts.

He added that they were also developing a Multi-Hazard Warning System for places out of the Volta basin to enable them to also get updates.

Mr Asamoah urged the public to always stay tuned to weather forecasts and updates from GMet to plan their activities and outings accordingly in the wake of climate change and its adverse effects.

Source: Ghana News Agency