Day: June 21, 2023

Mr Gordon Yeboah Opoku, the Sekyere Central District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) is advocating efforts to expose Ghanaian children to the principles of democracy to consolidate the gains under the Fourth Republic. He said engaging children right from the basic school level on the importance of democratic governance was the way to go as a country determined to prevent interruption of constitutional rule. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency on the importance of the annual Citizenship Week celebration by the NCCE, Mr Opoku said it was important to target pupils in basic schools as future leaders in waiting. The Sekyere Central District Directorate of the Commission had been engaging selected basic schools in the district to mark this year's celebration which also coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Fourth Republic. The celebration was on the theme, '30 Years of Consolidating Constitutional Democracy and Building National Cohesion: The Role of the Ghanaian Child.' Various resource persons were mobilised to visit the beneficiary schools to sensitise the pupils on their civic responsibilities as children and the role they could play in building a strong, vibrant, and democratic Ghana. They also encouraged them to be proud as Ghanaians, protect public property, and contribute to the well-being of the communities where they lived. This, according to Mr. Opoku, formed part of the strategies by the NCCE to 'catch them young' and groom them into responsible citizens to ensure continuity of democratic governance. He underlined the need to inculcate Ghanaian values in children not only at the school level but also in various homes. He was of the firm believe that training children with such values would bring out the sense of nationalism in them which would translate into proper care of the environment and other national assets.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ghana Refugee Board (GRB) says it is working towards the operationalisation of the refugee fund, Mr. Tetteh Padi, Executive Secretary of the Board, has said. Mr Padi said the fund would support refugees and help them become self-reliant. The Executive Secretary said this at the commemoration of the 2023 World Refugee Day in Accra, on the theme: 'Hope away from home'. World refugee day is observed each year on the 20th of June to honour the courage, strength and resilience of millions of men, women and children forced to flee their homes under the threat of persecution, conflict and violence. The day is also observed to draw attention to their plight and recognise the contributions of refugees in the various communities that host them. The Executive Secretary said refugees in Ghana must be supported to enable them to live meaningful life as well as enjoy their rights just as Ghanaians. He said: 'Refugees are like you and I, they come with skills, and are professionals, who have had to leave everything behind just to protect their lives…' 'We must all support refugees, they are not looking forward to being fed perpetually, but want to be supported to become independent and that is what the Board ably supported by the UNHCR and other partners, seek to do,' he added. Ms. Esther Kiragu, United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), expressed worry that the rate of displacement was getting faster and bigger than the rate of finding solutions to existing conflicts, adding that 'this is not a very good picture but that is the reality we find ourselves.' She said Global statistics showed that over 100 million people had been forcibly displaced by conflict, and the numbers continued to rise, including that of Ghana. Ms Kiragu said support systems were, therefore, necessary to enhance the capacity of refugees and rebuild them. Professor Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah, Board Chairman of the GRB, said as part of efforts to ensure that persons, who found solace within the country's borders kept hope alive, government had guaranteed that refugees and asylum seekers had access to basic social services such as access to health care, education, and livelihood. He said: 'Ghana remains committed to making sure that refugees do not only keep hope alive while they remain here but that they also develop themselves to enable them to make meaningful contribution to the communities they live in.' He added that government through the implementation of the Ghana card programme, had authorised the issuance of a non-citizen identity card to refugees, which was critical in ensuring their inclusion in socio-economic activities given the significant role the Ghana card played in the country. Ms Kwankia Appolonia, who spoke on behalf of the refugees in Ghana, expressed appreciation to the government, UNHCR and partners for the protection, peace, and security they were enjoying in the country.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Tarkwa Circuit Court in the Western Region has sentenced an ex-convict to eight years imprisonment in hard labour for unlawful entry and stealing. Abraham Ayigra, 23, unemployed, pleaded guilty to the charges and was convicted by the court accordingly. The court heard that in 2022, Ayigra was sent to prison by the Tarkwa District Magistrate Court for committing a similar offence. Chief Inspector Joseph Lartey, Prosecuting, told the court presided over by Mrs Hathie Ama Manu, that the complainant Grace Boateng was a food vendor and a resident of Benso Wassa in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality, while Ayigra was also a resident in the same community. He said on April 26, 2023, at about 1830 hours, the complainant left the house to fetch water with her door unlocked. Chief Inspector Lartey said the convict was captured by Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) installed close to the complainant's house, that her door was open, and she was not at home. He said Ayigra quickly went to inform a friend that he had a job for him, but he declined the offer and left. Chief Inspector Lartey said the ex-convict went back to the complainant's house, ransacked her room, and made away with cash in the sum of GH?25,000.00 which was in a small container concealed in an empty margarine container, some unspecified amount of money, medication, and a red and black purse. The Prosecution said later the complainant found the margarine container without the money behind the palace of the Chief of Benson, while the purse and medication were found in a ghetto. The complainant then lodged a complaint against Ayigra and he was arrested by the Police on May 2, 2023. According to the prosecution, during investigations the ex-convict admitted the offence in his cautioned statement and confessed to the court that 'l have spent all the money l had from the operation'.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Presbyterian Relief Services and Development (PRESED) in collaboration with Ghana Outlook, a UK-based Non-Governmental Organization have handed over a mechanised borehole to the Ayensuano Community in the Eastern Region. The 10,000-liter water facility would help solve the perennial water supply challenges of the people of the town and the neighboring communities. The portable community water was designed to provide safe water delivery options tailored to meet consumer demands especially women and children, schools, and businesses. The Coordinator of PRESED, Mr Emmanuel Nyarko Ankamah, speaking at the handing over ceremony, said through the support from Ghana Outlook several projects, including building of WASH facilities; mechanised boreholes and toilets facilities in various communities in Ghana. The organization, he said, had also built classroom blocks and library facilities for deprived communities. He said:' The projects are their contributions to complement government's efforts at providing potable water for the citizenry towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 6, which seeks to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030.' He pledged the organisation's commitment to continue to provide other social services and amenities to meet the needs of the less privileged and disadvantaged in society through partnerships. Mrs Rebecca Teiko Sabah, the National Director for Development and Social Services of the Presbyterian Church, expressed her joy to be part of the handing over process. She commended the Chiefs and people of Onakwase, a nearby community, for taking care of a water facility commissioned there two years ago. Mrs Sabah noted that their good culture of maintenance of the facility was a motivating factor for them to initiate the Ayensuano project. She said the project was made possible with support from the Ghana Outlook, UK and urged the beneficiaries to develop maintenance culture to sustain the gains made to aid the provision of other projects. The Chief of the area, Baffour Osei Larbi Sakyi Akrati I, expressed his gratitude to all who made the project possible. He said for so many years, the community and its surrounding neighbours have been suffering from water crises until 2021, when the Presbyterian Church provided a mechanised borehole for the Onakwase community. That gesture, he said, had alleviated the suffering of the people, who hitherto, traveled long distances in search of potable water. 'We are now free from snake bites, and water borne diseases due to the pollution of the ayensu river,' he said, and expressed his gratitude to God and the various stakeholders for the opportunity to have access to clean and safe source of water. He appealed to the donors to assist them to build a school in the community to relief school children from trekking long distances to access formal education. 'l am also appealing to you to provide a health post and water facility for Koaboanta community.' Some of the community members expressed appreciation to the donors for the gesture, which they said would help improve socio-economic activities in the area. Present at the ceremony were: Rev. Dr. E. K. Sarbah, PCG National Director, Missions and Evangelism, Rev. Richard Oseiko Gyimah, the Akuapem Presbytery Missions and Evangelism Director, Mr. Buckman Akuffo, the Akuapem Presbytery DSS Director.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Presiding Members (PMs) of the District Assemblies in the country converged in Tamale for this year's National Conference of PMs. The conference was to rally PMs to discuss welfare challenges of Assembly Members and implementation measures to enhance local governance. It was attended by high-ranking dignitaries all over the country including Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, First Deputy Speaker of Parliament. The two-day conference was themed: 'The Role of the Local Authorities in Ensuring Public Safety: Business for All'. Mr Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, said active citizen participation at the local level could help overcome apathy in decision-making. He urged PMs to create civic education platforms for indigenes' voices to be heard and advocated that their concerns and aspirations be represented appropriately. He said insufficient funding was a challenge at the district level despite support from the District Assemblies Common Fund and encouraged PMs to explore other avenues to generate funds to meet the increasing security needs of the community. The Speaker said competency, capacity and quality were sacrificed at the local level, which had the tendency of affecting public security. To address this, he recommended the provision of incentives that could attract qualified personnel to rural areas. Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister, in a speech read on his behalf, acknowledged the contributions of PMs to governance, and urged them to keep up the efforts. Dr Nana Ato Arthur, Head of Local Government Services, said it was ideal for District Assembly elections to be held on partisan basis and argued that although not constitutional, the elections were already partisan. He said 'The aborted referendum was a missed opportunity to make district assembly elections partisan. They are being done partisan already. So, let's make it official.' Mr Eric Nana Agyeman Prempeh, President of the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana urged PMs to support district offices of the National Disaster Management Organisation to promote risk reduction. He said meetings of the district management committees were key to enhancing public safety. Mr Joseph Korto, National Dean of PMs, solicited the provision of offices for PMs to facilitate administrative work at the local level.

Source: Ghana News Agency