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25/12/2017

18/09/2017

Prez Akufo-Addo snobs Kwame Nkrumah as sole founder of Ghana Accra, GP - President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is seeking a new legislation to designate August 4 as “Founders” Day and quash the birthday celebration of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, observed yearly on September 21 as the “Founder’s” day.

When the legislation is finally passed the birthday of the country’s first president would be observed as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day, a departure from the original “Founder’s Day.”

Meanwhile, the President has issued an Executive Instrument to commemorate this year’s celebration of “Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day” as a public holiday.

A statement from the Presidency said August 4 was “obviously the most appropriate day to signify our recognition and appreciation of the collective efforts of our forebears towards the founding of a free, independent Ghana."

It recognised Nkrumah’s standing in the Ghanaian history but said: “it is entirely appropriate that we commemorate him for that role, by designating his birthday as the permanent day of his remembrance.”

“The President has, therefore, decided to propose legislation to Parliament to designate 4th August as Founders Day, and 21st September as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day, both of which will be observed as public holidays,” the statement signed by Communication Director Eugene Arhin at the presidency said.

Critics say the president has skewed account of Ghana’s history to suit his father, Edward Akufo-Addo, and his uncle J.B. Danquah, who also played critical roles in the Anglophone West African country’s independence.

(Written by John Sambuja, Staff Writer)

view more news at https://ghanapress.org

Accra, GP – President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is seeking a new legislation to designate August 4 as “Founders” Day and quash the birthday celebration of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, observed yearly on September 21 as the “Founder’s” day. When the legislation is finally passed the b...

18/09/2017

Mining sector contribution to Ghana's economy surged to ¢1.6 billion in 2016 Accra, GP - Ghana's mining sector contribution to the economy significantly swelled in the 2016 fiscal year, registering ¢1.6 billion to the country's revenue authority (GRA).

The amount represented 15.8 per cent of GRA’s total direct taxes for the year, says Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Sulemanu Koney.

He told members of Journalists for business advocacy in Accra that mining was the leading tax payer and contributor to domestic collections in 2016.

Gold Fields and Newmont Ghana, member companies of the Chamber, were adjudged the largest and second largest tax payer in Ghana in 2016 by GRA.

“The industry accounted for 46% of the country’s gross export revenue in 2016, reinforcing its position as the leading source for forex and a major contributor to the country’s balance of payments," Koney added.

“For the first time since 2011, the provisional balance of payments in 2016 recorded a surplus. This largely reflected an improvement in the trade balance driven by a rise in gold export receipts and a fall in oil import prices."

“Producing members of the Chamber returned USD 2.3 billion, representing 71% of their mineral revenue (USD3.2 billion) through the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the commercial banks in 2016."

“This has significant bearing on the international reserve position of BoG and the stability of the monetary system as a whole.”

Koney asked the government to ensure efficiency in the management of mineral resources. “The government should enact a law for the management of mineral revenue to promote sustainability and efficiency in the expenditure of revenues attributable to mining."

“While government recently enacted a law (Minerals Development Fund Act, 2016, Act (912) ) to govern the transfer of mineral royalty revenue to the District Assemblies (DA), its provisions are yet to be implemented after more than a year of the President’s assent: Constitution and inauguration of Board, Establishment of Mining Community Development Scheme."

“We urge the government to put in place the required structure to support the implementation of Act 912 to facilitate development,” he said.

(By John Ssambuja, Staff Writer) view more news at https://ghanapress.org

Accra, GP – Ghana’s mining sector contribution to the economy significantly swelled in the 2016 fiscal year, registering ¢1.6 billion to the country’s revenue authority (GRA). The amount represented 15.8 per cent of GRA’s total direct taxes for the year, says Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cha...

17/09/2017

Health ministry calls for private sector collaboration to curb road fatalities (Written by Nii Aflah Sackey, Staff Writer)

Accra, GP - The Ministry of Health (MoH) in partnership with stakeholders has organised a conference to deliberate ways of cutting down rampant road accidents and promote access to good health in the country.

The conference looked at quality health and enforcement of road fatalities under a broader topic: “sustainable enforcement to reduce road traffic fatalities by 2020, the role of public-private stakeholders.”

Participants also explored the topic: “promoting access to quality health and wellness for socio-economic growth - the correlation between road crash fatalities, poverty and public health.”

Dr Anastasia Yerenkyi, Driector of Traditional and Alternative Medicine directorate of Ministry of Health who spoke on behalf of the Deputy Minister said the ministry considered public-private collaboration as an important one to its mandate to pursue a holistic healthcare for the citizenry.

The correlation between road crash fatalities, poverty and public health as well as road crash depletes state resources and worsens the plight of the poor, she said.

“Road Traffic Accidents has emerged as an important public health issue which needs to be tackled by a multidisciplinary approach” she added.

About 2,198 individuals lost their lives due to road traffic accidents in 2016, she said, through reckless driving, not obeying road traffic regulations, poor roads, poor maintenance of vehicles and drunken driving.

“Most accidents are due to negligence on the part of road users and we must do something about this. We must stop killing and losing precious lives, yes we must,” she added.

“Road safety is our collective and joint responsibility and I encourage every qualified driver, pedestrian and all road users to promote it.” view more news at https://ghanapress.org

(Written by Nii Aflah Sackey, Staff Writer) Accra, GP – The Ministry of Health (MoH) in partnership with stakeholders has organised a conference to deliberate ways of cutting down rampant road accidents and promote access to good health in the country. The conference looked at quality health and enf...

17/09/2017

New UN Report: Global hunger again on the rise Accra, GP - After steadily declining for over a decade, global hunger is on the rise again, affecting 815 million people in 2016, or 11 per cent of the global population, says a new edition of the annual United Nations report.

The report, titled: "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2017" by Paul Garwood of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said, at the same time, multiple forms of malnutrition are threatening the health of millions worldwide.

It said the increase – 38 million more people than the previous year – was largely due to the proliferation of violent conflicts and climate-related shocks; and some 155 million children aged under five were stunted (too short for their age).

The report said while 52 million suffer from wasting, meaning their weight is too low for their height; an estimated 41 million children were now overweight.

It said anaemia among women and adult obesity are also a cause for concern.

The report said these trends were a consequence not only of conflict and climate change but also of sweeping changes in dietary habits as well as economic slowdowns.

The report is the first UN global assessment on food security and nutrition to be released following the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030 as a top international policy priority.

It singles out conflict – increasingly compounded by climate change – as one of the key drivers behind the resurgence of hunger and many forms of malnutrition.

"Over the past decade, conflicts have risen dramatically in number and become more complex and intractable in nature," the heads of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) the World Food Programme (WFP) and the WHO said in their joint foreword to the report.

They stressed that some of the highest proportions of food-insecure and malnourished children in the world are now concentrated in conflict zones.

"This has set off alarm bells we cannot afford to ignore: we will not end hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030 unless we address all the factors that undermine food security and nutrition. Securing peaceful and inclusive societies is a necessary condition to that end," they said.

"Famine struck in parts of South Sudan for several months in early 2017, and there is a high risk that it could reoccur there as well as it appeared in other conflict-affected places, namely northeast Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen," they noted.

The report said, however, even in regions that are more peaceful, droughts or floods linked in part to the El Niño weather phenomenon, as well as the global economic slowdown, had also seen food security and nutrition deteriorate, they said.

The report said the overall number of hungry people in the world is 815 million.

The breakdown include in Asia: 520 million, in Africa: 243 million, in Latin America and the Caribbean: 42 million.

This is the first time that UNICEF and WHO join FAO, IFAD and WFP in preparing The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report.

This change reflects the SDG agenda’s broader view on hunger and all forms of malnutrition.

The UN Decade of Action on Nutrition, established by the General Assembly, is lending focus to this effort by motivating governments to set goals and invest in measures to address the multiple dimensions of malnutrition.

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2017 has been re-geared for the SDG era and includes enhanced metrics for quantifying and assessing hunger, including two indicators on food insecurity and six indicators on nutrition. view more news at https://ghanapress.org

Accra, GP – After steadily declining for over a decade, global hunger is on the rise again, affecting 815 million people in 2016, or 11 per cent of the global population, says a new edition of the annual United Nations report. The report, titled: “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the Worl...

17/09/2017

Researchers develop fast, paper-based tuberculosis test Accra, GP - Scientists have developed a fast, paper-based test to diagnose tuberculosis that can be read with a smartphone, a technology that is increasingly available in emerging economies.

Diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) early can allow patients to receive the medicine they need and also help prevent the disease from spreading.

However, in resource-limited areas, equipment requirements and long wait times for results are obstacles to diagnosis and treatment.

Dr Chien-Fu Chen from the National Taiwan University and colleagues came up with a more practical diagnostic test that can be read with a smartphone, a release to the Ghana News Agency said.

The researchers combined gold nanoparticles with fluorescent single-stranded DNA sequences that bind to the genetic material of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that cause TB.

These nanoparticles were then incorporated into a paper-based device. Adding even a minute amount of lab-derived, double-stranded DNA from M tuberculosis changed the colour of the test spots within an hour.

It said a smartphone camera was used to analyse the colour change to determine the bacterial concentration.

The researchers also tested a tissue sample from an infected patient to further demonstrate that the device could be used in the field.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in 2015, 1.4 million people died from TB, with most of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries, researchers said.

It said early diagnosis could help curb these numbers. However, conventional methods such as sputum smear microscopy, chest X-rays and molecular-based tests require equipment, electricity and specialised personnel that are not always available in remote or developing areas. The research was published in the journal ACS Sensors. view more news at https://ghanapress.org

Accra, GP – Scientists have developed a fast, paper-based test to diagnose tuberculosis that can be read with a smartphone, a technology that is increasingly available in emerging economies. Diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) early can allow patients to receive the medicine they need and also help prevent...

17/09/2017

African governments urged to support women entrepreneurs Accra, GP - Mrs Kate Quartey-Papafio, the Chief Executive Officer of Reroy Cables Limited, a leading manufacturer of electrical cables across the Sub-region, has called on Africa governments to support women entrepreneurs to take full advantage of economies of scale.
“This can be done through government’s encouragement of the registration of women enterprises in various free zones enclaves across Africa with specific exemptions on their inputs materials for production to reduce cost and encourage intra African trade among women owned enterprises”.

Mrs Quartey-Papafio made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency during the recent Africa Prosperity Conference held in Accra.

She spoke on the on the topic: “Women as Agents of Economic Change: Ensuring Women Can Participate and Thrive with the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA)”.

The CFTA is an instrument to rationalize trade negotiations, reduce the cost of doing business, support industrialization and stimulate cross-border infrastructure projects.

She said the CFTA provides a single economic space with harmonized trade policies and regulatory framework, free movement of goods and investments, expansion of intra-African trade and trade competitiveness at the industry and enterprise level.

Mrs Quartey-Papafio said women in industry in African countries would have to be supported through the drafting of favourable private sector development strategies and programmes to access easily raw materials from other markets within the continent.

This, she explained, would translate into shorter shipment period and lower costs of export as part of plans to integrate women industry players into the overall CFTA initiative.

The Renowned Entrepreneur said women entrepreneurs contribute significantly to the development of African economy and have been the agents of economic change since the industrial revolution in the 19th century and spearheaded economic change in countries such as India, Japan, Ghana among others.

She said African governments can also help women to benefit from CFTA through the formation of technical committees at the Metropolitan and Municipal District Assemblies level to provide advisory services on how to pe*****te into other African markets with their finished products.

“This initiate will also help women to take full advantage of the CFTA at the regional, national and sub-regional levels with expert advice”.

She urged African Women Entrepreneurs to take advantage of technology and explore it’s full benefits to achieve efficiency in production.

“I encouraged frequent seminars on Information Communication Technology Seminars across the sub region to improve upon the goods and services we take onto other African markets”.

The CFTA was established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2012 at the 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State of the African Union to boost Intra-Africa Trade. view more news at https://ghanapress.org

Accra, GP – Mrs Kate Quartey-Papafio, the Chief Executive Officer of Reroy Cables Limited, a leading manufacturer of electrical cables across the Sub-region, has called on Africa governments to support women entrepreneurs to take full advantage of economies of scale. “This can be done through govern...

17/09/2017

UEW Communication & Media Studies launches 10th anniversary celebration Winneba, GP - Reverend Father Anthony Afful Broni, Acting Vice-Chancellor of University of Education, Winneba (UEW), has said there is a need for stakeholders in the communication and media sector to ensure that accurate messages are delivered to their audience.

Reverend Afful Broni said this in his speech delivered on his behalf by Professor Yaw Ameyaw, Director of Quality Assurance of UEW, at the launch of the 10th anniversary celebration of the department of Communication and Media Studies (CMS) of UEW.

The theme for the celebration is: “A decade of providing communication and media studies education: The prospects and challenges”.

Reverend Afful Broni said controlling of message production and dissemination is no longer a privilege possessed only by the church, the state and government, but it is shared by all.

He said “the quality of personnel of communication and media of every country is undoubtedly one of the most valued and important resources through which the country can accelerate development and achieve competitive advantage in this global world of ours”.

Miss Ama Boatemaa Appiah-Kubi, UEW Commutation, Media and Studies Students Association President, said CSM – UEW was established in September 2007/2008 academic year to train people to become experts in the field of communication.

She commended the lecturers for their passionate, dedication and commitment the growth of the department making it among the best communication department in the country.

Mrs Vicky Wireko-Andoh, General Manager for “Today” newspaper, a guest speaker at the launch, commended the lectures through whose foresight has brought the department to this far.

She said research has established that communication and media studies education will be the first choice of profession among secondary school leaving students by 2030.

She said it is time for our communication and media education establishments, to champion the brand Ghana Agenda for our country to transform in all spheres including tourism, education and health.

Professor Asiedu Addo, Dean of Faculty Science, called on the student of the department attend to their studies and utilize the knowledge and skills they have acquired to help create an enabling environment for us all. view more news at https://ghanapress.org

Winneba, GP – Reverend Father Anthony Afful Broni, Acting Vice-Chancellor of University of Education, Winneba (UEW), has said there is a need for stakeholders in the communication and media sector to ensure that accurate messages are delivered to their audience. Reverend Afful Broni said this in his...

17/09/2017

ARC to develop insurance policy to protect African countries against epidemics (Written by Nii Aflah Sackey, Staff Writer)

Accra, GP - Africa Risk Capacity (ARC) aims to develop a new insurance policy to protect and give aid to African countries affected by outbreak of diseases and natural disasters.

The group from different health organizations in Africa and parts of Europe decided to come together to strategize and set an agenda for implementation of the insurance policy to provide special cover for countries that suffer catastrophes.

Lead Advisor of ARC on outbreak and Epidemic in Ghana, Robert Kwame deCraft Agyako told journalists that outbreak of diseases and epidemics including natural disasters have been on the increase and continue to pose a threat to the African continent.

African countries need to be protected and safe-guarded, he added, “Africa must be able to protect itself from any epidemic of diseases or natural disaster and ensure safeness of every citizen.”

The new insurance policy is planned to serve as an external aid to fund affected countries even before internal funding are initiated.

“Just imagine a poor resourced country, this policy would provide the necessary funding to victims before the intervention of the government agencies or other aid organizations,” Agyako said.

The policy aims to build on national level policies in order to respond timely and precisely to affected victims.

ARC provides in-season monitoring for natural hazards and single, transparent and customizable systems for drought, flood and cyclone risk African countries.

It also creates a platform to provide data information on populations vulnerable to disaster and cost to react promptly.

ARC has created avenues to support countries like Mauritanian, Senegal, Mali, and Niger during their disaster period.

About 34.4 million dollars was allocated and spent on such victims.

view more news at https://ghanapress.org

(Written by Nii Aflah Sackey, Staff Writer) Accra, GP – Africa Risk Capacity (ARC) aims to develop a new insurance policy to protect and give aid to African countries affected by outbreak of diseases and natural disasters. The group from different health organizations in Africa and parts of Europe d...

17/09/2017

GP - With the launch of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy by the government, Ghana seems to be pursuing a cause mooted since independence of the Anglophone West African country, to improve on our education system.

But since 1957 it has not been fully implemented till now. The programme began in September will take off to a large extent the financial burden of parents on the education of their children. Farmers and workers in the low ebb as well as wealthy people would be able to send their children to school with very little problems.

It is a universally accepted requirement for all nations to marshal their resources to promote education of their citizens. In fact, most people accept the fact the rapid development of every nation depend largely on the turning out well-educated people with right orientation.

When Ghana attained independence the first government of Ghana under Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah laid emphasis on education by setting up the Ghana Education Trust through which many school buildings especially secondary school buildings were erected throughout the country. Education became free in the northern part of Ghana. Scholarships were offered to children of cocoa farmers. DR Kwame Nkrumah followed up with a scholarship scheme to middle schools with the distribution of free books but this fizzled out after the overthrow of the government of Dr. Nkrumah and CPP as a result of the 1966 coup.

As they were basking in joyous mood beneficiaries of the new programme and members of the ruling New Patriotic Party [NPP] were seen singing and dancing in praise of the government of NPP under Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo. The international community especially the Africa Union were full of praise for the feat chalked by the NPP. Indeed, East African nations of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are currently experimenting free education policy at the basic level offering the policy with some teething problems.

Mr Kwaku Baako the Editor of Crusading Guide commended the president for the bold step in launching the free SHS policy. He said Nana Akufo Addo is following the footsteps of Dr Kwame Nkrumah describing the President as the next "Nkrumah" for Ghana.

Commenting on the government's free SHS policy on Peace FM’s "Kokrokoo" program, the seasoned journalist was pleased with the work done by the President and his government in ensuring that every school child gains free education at the Senior High School level.

The Vice President of the National Graduate Teachers, Angel Carbonu, on his part criticized the new education policy saying that the government’s free secondary education policy should have targeted the deprived families and areas instead of the blanket coverage of all students in public schools adding that the policy, as currently being implemented, is unsustainable.

“The approach to offering help to less endowed people ought to have been taken differently from the one we are doing now,” he said on Eyewitness News.

In his view, students from most private basic schools, and most students entering certain schools deemed top class, did not need support from the government. With regard to the opposition National Democratic Congress the party punched holes in the policy of SHS under NPP saying that the policy would not benefit the entire students in SHS adding that the policy was just like the policy begun by the NDC to be implemented progressively. Some members of the NDC supported the policy but others especially the minority in parliament feel that the policy is so expensive to run that it would not be sustainable.

However, the government of NPP under Nana Akufo Addo said that the policy is not meant for any particular political party promising to use part of the income from oil to continue supporting SHS education in Ghana. Since majority of the people in the country support the policy it has come to stay and cannot be booted out by any future government. We must therefore provide the support and constructive ideas and criticisms needed to get it going with the hope that the school authorities and teachers would be encourage through good service conditions, training and retraining in the implementation processes of the policy.

(Written by Alhaji Alhasan Abdulai, Executive Director eanfoworld for sustainable development)
The Writer
view more news at https://ghanapress.org

GP – With the launch of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy by the government, Ghana seems to be pursuing a cause mooted since independence of the Anglophone West African country, to improve on our education system. But since 1957 it has not been fully implemented till now. The programme began…