Day: July 21, 2023

Christianity, Islam, and Traditional religion in Ghana abhor the activities of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and its related activities (LGBTQ+), Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Chamber of Telecommunication, has stated.

He, therefore, cautioned youth against using the internet to follow the activities of LGBTQ+, stressing that even though children and youth were being encouraged to embrace the use of the internet and technology, they must not allow themselves to be lured into such activities.

He gave the caution when the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, in partnership with the Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana, trained 200 pupils and 67 teachers from public basic schools in the Ningo-Prampram District under the 'Coding Caravan', a digital skills education campaign.

'Your MP is in Parliament fighting to bring the bill against LGBTQ+ activities; therefore, don't allow yourself to be lured into it. It is an abnormal behaviour, and those in it need to be cured; science does not back it as there is no gene that will make you so,' he stressed.

He said the LGBTQ+ community were using all sort of strategies, including the internet, movies, and social media, to lure the youth; therefore, there was a need for the youth and parents to be on alert.

Dr Ashigbey also cautioned the youth against using social media and technology for bad purposes, such as watching pornographic materials and taking and posting nude pictures, instead of using them to invent things that would solve problems in their communities.

'Don't use ICT for evil such as nude pictures and cyber fraud; it is very important that you don't engage in sexual promiscuity when using technology,' he stated.

He reminded the youth and public that Ghana had cyber security laws that dealt with people using the internet for evil.

He them to identify problems in their society and start thinking about technological innovations that could be used to solve them and make their lives much better, as technology was all about solving problems.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal has charged the steering committee of the Public-Private Partnership Forum Office of the Ghana Tourism Authority to iron out the differences among the stakeholders.

The Forum, Dr Mohammed Awal explained was the platform for the stakeholders to shape and sustain the tourism and hotel industries by addressing every challenge hindering the growth of the sector and is a quarterly event, October 2022 as the last time it took place.

Speaking at the Opening Ceremony of the Ghana Hotel Association (GHA) third National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, 2023 on the theme 'Sustaining the Hotel Industry in Ghana Post COVID-19', Dr Awal threatened to take disciplinary action against the steering committee if they fail to convene the forum to map out a strategy to position the tourism sector at the top in West Africa.

'Ghana is one of the 13 countries identified this year as the best places to visit in the world. And if we don't hold public-private partnership discussions, how do we iron out our differences and look at the way forward? We need to meet halfway to make this sector the best in West Africa', he said.

He said it was the dream of the Akufo Addo government to position Ghana as the first country in West Africa in terms of tourism as the country was touted as peaceful with a good legal system with friendly people.

He added that it was the wish of the government through the tourism and cultural industry to make Ghana the centre for meetings, conferences and events.

Touching on job creation, Dr Awal said the tourism industry was the best job avenue to create about 150,000 jobs per annum as the World Tourism Council had indicated that three (3) out of every ten (10) jobs for the next 10 years was created by the sector.

'I want to urge you to help the government to create 150,000 jobs per annum; it can be done', he advised.

He however noted that 1.2 million people from abroad had been targeted to visit the country and also 1.2 million people domestically have been targeted to patronise inbound tourism.

He underscored that domestic tourism would help boost the local economy and strengthen the hotel industry as people would buy gifts and go to the markets as well as book hotels to stay a bit longer to enjoy the tourist sites.

He, therefore cautioned the hoteliers to practise environmental tourism by making sure the environments they operated in were clean to sustain the interest of the tourists.

He charged the hoteliers to source their products from the local communities and also entertain their guests with Ghanaian cultural troops and musicians.

'Also help us to be the avenue for tourism, culture and music. When people come to your hotels, entertain them with our cultural troops and music from our musicians. Create experiences for our visitors; that is how you sell culture and unearth creativity', he advised.

The Public-Private Partnership Forum on Tourism established under Article 42 of the Tourism Act is to engage the private sector to discuss pertinent issues that impact the development of the tourism sector in Ghana.

It has been organised by the Public-Private Partnership Forum Office of the Ghana Tourism Authority under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Samuel Asare Akuamoah, Deputy Chairman in-charge of Operations, National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), says domestic violence is synonyms with Violent Extremism and deserves equal attention.

He said the perpetrators of both acts had the same intention of inflicting harm to victims, so there should be a conscious effort to prevent their happenings.

Mr Akuamoah said this at the opening of a 2-day training workshop on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) for 70 selected NCCE staff and 26 Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) Officers of the Ghana Police Service from 8 Regions at Tesano, Accra in the Greater Accra Region.

The training seeks to equip and strengthen the capacity of staff with adequate knowledge on the subject for public education.

The Deputy Chairman said there was a need to update knowledge through capacity building to deliver effectively.

Mr Akuamoah also asked the participants to continue their education on terrorism and its effects since Ghana is not immune to terrorist attacks.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Owusuwaa Kyeremeh, Director, DOVVSU, said GBV was an economic issue as it affects productivity and impacts negatively on the nation's economy.

She said the act also had social and health consequences on the victim and needed a concerted effort to curtail it.

ACP Owusuwaa Kyeremeh said that was why they thought it wise to partner with NCCE to help disseminate information on the menace as punishment alone is not enough, but education to reduce it.

'We need to network, build capacity and share information to stop GBV, so let's maintain this relationship', she said.

Dr Henrietta Asante-Sarpong, NCCE Director, Research, Gender, and Equality, said cases of gender-based violence are on the rise with several cases of physical and sexual violence and that globally, one out of three women experience sexual or physical violence.

She said in Ghana, one out of four women have suffered physical or sexual violence by intimate partners and that over 48 per cent of Ghanaian girls have been sexually abused.

'Approximately, 94 per cent of children between the ages of one to fourteen have experienced one form of gender-based violence,' she added.

Dr Asante-Sarpong said GBV is usually caused by the low socio-economic status of women, men associated with peers who condoned violence, witnessing marital violence as a child, or being a victim of abuse.

She said to address these root causes, there is the need to carry out a targeted education with different segments of the population, hence the capacity-building training on the subject matter for proper sensitisation.

The training was sponsored by the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG).

Source: Ghana News Agency

Muslim students have been urged to let their character and behaviours reflect the teachings of Islam.

Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, Member of Parliament for Asawase, who made the call said it was important for Muslim youth to be resolute and responsible while ensuring that they did the right thing.

He was speaking at the maiden homecoming and 50th anniversary of the Ghana Muslim Students Association (GMSA) in Kumasi.

Alhaji Muntaka, who is an alumni of the Association said often, attitudes of Muslims in various educational institutions did not usually reflect on the teachings of Islam and urged them to exhibit high sense of morality and attitudes that would help strengthen the propagation of Islam.

He also challenged young Muslims to be adventurous to define themselves in a field to enable them to identify their life aspirations adding that the GMSA fraternity over the years, had produced intellectuals occupying various high offices in the country and that the young ones needed to network with some alumni for various assistance as they pursue their ambitions.

The MP advised the youth to concentrate on their academic work and develop their potential.

Mr Mohammed Rabiu, the Chairman for GMSA alumni in the Ashanti region said GMSA had been the backbone of all Muslim students in secular educational institutions by protecting their Islamic identify.

He said the Association had been able to champion the religious rights of Muslim Students and promoted academic excellence at all levels of education.

Mr Rabiu noted that, as an organization, it was incumbent upon them to have myriad of challenges, which needed to be overcome to make an impact in the communities.

He emphasized that, the continued low performance in Islamic schools was worrying and there was the need for urgent attention to find lasting solutions and lamented over unemployment among Muslim graduates, which was an issue thaat demanded collective interest and practical solutions.

Mr Rabiu urged members to take advantage of the homecoming and share ideas on how to overcome the challenges and pave way for accelerated development.

Sheikh Ishaq Nuamah, a renowned Islamic scholar, who is also an alumnus, encouraged the teaming GMSA youth not to relent on their efforts but rather, be resilient for the betterment of the association.

Source: Ghana News Agency