Day: March 19, 2024

Mr Peter Nortsu Kotoe, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Akatsi North in the Volta Region, has said Technical and Vocational Education (TVET) is crucial in transforming Ghana's economy into a 24-hour economy. 'By equipping individuals with practical skills and knowledge, we enable them to take advantage of the diverse opportunities that arise at any time of the day.' Mr Kotoe said this in a speech read on his behalf by Mr James Gunu, the Volta Regional Secretary of the NDC during the launch of 'Hope Builders Ghana', a non-governmental organization. On the theme: 'Vocational and Technical Education, Our Responsibility,' Mr Kotoe, who is also a ranking member of education in parliament, said paying attention to TVET would lead to increased productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness in the local and global markets. 'Today, we are not only here to celebrate the launch of a new initiative but also to reaffirm our collective responsibility towards vocational and technical education,' he said. Mr Kotoe highl ighted three major barriers that affected vocational and technical skills acquisition in the past. These include stigma (introduction of craft), lack of accessibility, and academic progression where he said, 'We converted Polytechnics to Universities to solve that problem.' He revealed that vocational and technical education was a key driver of local economic development. 'By providing individuals with the skills needed to start and sustain businesses, we stimulate economic growth in our communities,' he said. Mr Kotoe also said vocational and technical education was needed to promote job creation by bridging the gap between skills employers need and the skills job seekers possess. He also explained that the move would empower individuals to reach their full potential and provide them with the tools to pursue their passions, achieve their goals, and contribute meaningfully to society. Mr Kotoe urged all stakeholders to commit to supporting and promoting vocational and technical education, 'for it is our responsibility to ensure that every individual has the opportunity to succeed.' 'Hope Builders Ghana' among other key programmes, would play a pivotal role in their commitment to advancing vocational and technical education in Akatsi North and in other Districts. Community members, youth groups, traditional authorities, and others were in attendance during the launch, which was held at the Ave-Dakpa old market. Source: Ghana News Agency

The National African Peer Review Mechanism Governing Council (NAPRM-GC), has empowered the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) District Oversight Committee (DOC) with information on the Targeted Review of Ghana and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The engagement, held in Takoradi, was in partnership with the Western Region Office of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and sought to equip the DOC with the necessary knowledge on Ghana's Targeted Review of corporate governance as a catalyst to the implementation of the AfCFTA. This is to enable the DOC to educate Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to help them better understand how they could take advantage of the opportunities in the AfCFTA to spur the growth of local businesses. The Most Reverend Professor Emmanuel Asante, Chairperson of the NAPRM-GC, in an address read on his behalf, said the APRM stood as a testament to the commitment of African nations towards self-improvement and accountability. He said the Mechani sm was rooted in the principles of democracy, governance, corporate governance and socio-economic development, while serving as a vital tool for fostering growth and stability across the continent. According to him, the Targeted Review of Ghana provided a roadmap for the development of a National Programme of Action (NPoA), a strategic framework aimed at empowering businesses and strengthening their capacity to thrive within the AfCFTA, to help boost intra-African trade and economic integration. He said the DOC was, therefore, vital to the successful implementation of the APRM, saying it served as a grassroots advocate for good governance and community development. 'We have gathered here to identify how as a people we will be able to equip our MSMEs to enjoy the benefits of this free trade agreement by means of empowerment, and the success of our endeavours relies heavily on collaborative partnerships with key stakeholders,' Most Rev. Prof Asante stated. He, therefore, charged the Committee members to wor k assiduously to ensure the full participation of local businesses in the AfCFTA to help boost economic growth in the country. Madam Winifred Asare, the acting Executive Secretary of the NAPRM-GC, said APRM came into being in 2003 as a voluntary tool for self-assessment, peer learning and experience sharing in democracy and good governance for African Union member states. She said Ghana's journey within the APRM framework had been marked by significant strides since its initial review in 2006, saying the Governing Council had been instrumental in promoting good governance and facilitating positive change. She noted that the DOC had served as the mouthpiece of the Governing Council to disseminate vital information across the country to community-based organizations and businesses as part of efforts to achieve its mandates. She stated that the engagement was, therefore, to broaden the knowledge and understanding of participants on the Targeted Review of Ghana and its contributions to enhance the participati on of the informal businesses in intra-African trade under the AfCFTA in Ghana. Mrs Angela Carmen Appiah, President of the Institute of Directors-Ghana, speaking on the role of corporate governance practice in enhancing MSMEs readiness for AfCFTA, asked local businesses to put in place systems and structures that would promote accountability, transparency, and efficiency in the business. She said all these were prerequisites to boost investor confidence and partnerships for the growth of their businesses. Mr Patrick Adu Osei, Chief Programme Officer at the NAPRM-GC Secretariat, touching on Ghana's Targeted Review of corporate governance as a catalyst to the implementation of the AfCFTA, said corporate governance was what allowed businesses to grow and thrive in a way that built strong fundamentals for future growth. 'For Africa, corporate governance is crucial to building businesses that use entrusted resources efficiently, resulting in the greatest benefits for the majority of the people,' he said. The District Oversight Committees are made up of key community stakeholders including, traditional and religious authorities, representatives from youth groups, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Persons With Disabilities, and other opinion leaders, with officials of the NCCE in both Regional and District offices being the lead members. Source: Ghana News Agency

Medenine: The Ras Jedir border crossing (Medenine governorate) was shut down overnight on the Tunisian side as a precautionary measure to protect Tunisian and Libyan travellers and preserve their safety, following skirmishes and gunfire on the Libyan side, a security source told TAP. The crossing was restricted to ensuring the return of Tunisians to their country, the same source added. The Ras Jedir border crossing was also closed from the Libyan side due to these skirmishes. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse Professor De-Graft Owusu-Manu, President of Green Communities International, said developing countries including Ghana, must take environmental sustainability issues seriously. By doing so, the countries would directly and indirectly be resolving climate issues, preserving the planet and natural resources such as water and air. 'Building a sustainable future and cultivating sustainable ways of living will reduce pollution and protect habitats of plants,' he said. Speaking at the media launch of the first International Conference on Environment, Social Governance and Sustainable Development Agenda of Africa (ICESDA) in Kumasi, Prof Owusu-Manu said developing countries could achieve these through strong and effective collaboration between academia and industry. He cited Rwanda and Cote d'Ivoire as countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, which were confronting sustainability issues hands-on in the right direction, adding that Ghana needed to emulate. He said Ghana could conform to the Environment, Social and Gover nance (ESG) factors to explicitly measure sustainability performance to ensure responsible investments and commit to a social impact agenda. 'While businesses are making profits, they should take care of the people working in the business to thrive as well as protecting the planet through actions; our actions and inactions should not destroy the planet,' he emphasized. Prof. Owusu-Manu, who is the Chairman of the Conference dubbed 'ICESDA 2024' scheduled to take place on 26th-29th March 2024 in Kumasi, explained that the programme would offer participants the opportunity to showcase their sustainable lifestyles, contributions and pathways in addressing the Sustainable Development Goals. The programme would be held on the theme 'Enhancing Environment, Social, Governance and Sustainability for Africa's Development'. The conference would bring teams from across the globe to discuss actionable insights on how to engage stakeholders in resolving issues for sustainable solutions in their business value chain. Topics to be discussed would bother on sustainable innovations in the built environment ecosystem, social entrepreneurship and indigenous knowledge management. Other topics would include food security and climate-smart agricultural technologies (precision agriculture and greenhouse agriculture), urban mobility, sustainable innovations in marine plastics, and textile and microfibre technology. Dr. Christian Mensah Sewordor, Co-Chairman of ICESDA 2024, called on stakeholders to act through research to protect ecosystems and enhance sustainability. Source: Ghana News Agency

Mongolia has lost more than 4.7 million of its livestock herd to extreme weather conditions this winter, the country's emergency committee reported on Tuesday. The figure represents a sharp rise from the roughly 1.5 million reported around a month ago. Extreme conditions - known as 'dzud' in Mongolia - often hit the country lying between Russia and China during the winter months. According to a UN report at the beginning of last month, this is the second year in a row that the country has faced these severe conditions. It described dzuds as a peculiar slow-onset disaster unique to Mongolia, characterized by freezing temperatures, heavy snow and ground so frozen that animals cannot reach pasture. Losses are often high following a dry summer, in which the livestock are unable to build up adequate stores of fat needed for the winter. UN estimates put the total livestock herd there at 64 million animals. 'Herding and livestock have traditionally been integral to Mongolia's economy, culture and way of life,' a UN report notes. According to the state emergency committee, temperatures are currently at minus 10 degrees Celsius in certain areas. During the past winter, one of the harshest in decades, they plummeted to considerably below minus 30 degrees. Source: Ghana News Agency

The Prevention of Violent Extremism, Radicalisation and Small Arms Proliferation in the Sahel and Adjoining Coastal Countries in West Africa Project by the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) has ended. The one-year project, in collaboration with the Government of Japan and the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP), which commenced from March 2023 to March 2024, aimed to address the escalating insecurity in the West African sub-region. The project sought to improve knowledge and information-sharing among security personnel and civil society actors in preventing and countering terrorism, violent extremism, and small arms proliferation, diversions and trafficking in seven countries in West Africa including Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. It deployed capacity development, training of trainers, and a regional policy and experience-sharing seminar, in a way that also sought to contribute to enhancing the activities of the Accra Initiative. At the end of the project, some 92 participants had their capacities enhanced through the project interventions. At an End-Of-Project Steering Committee meeting to review project activities and reflect on the progress of the intervention, Major General Richard Addo Gyane, the Commandant of KAIPTC said it was through such initiatives that could enhance crisis response activities and build a more resilient and secure future for the region. He said despite ongoing efforts in the Sahel region, there had been a concerning rise in extremist and militant attacks, particularly targeting civilians and security forces. Among other interventions, he said the Accra Initiative, launched in 2017 with the aim of addressing the escalating insecurity associated with violent extremism in the region, was critical. Maj Gen Gyane, therefore, commended the dedication and hard work of all stakeholders involved in the project, from its partners in the government of Japan and the UNDP to the Small Arms Commissions, Civil Society Organis ations, Counter Terorism Units, and the Accra Initiative. 'As we look forward to the future, let us remain committed to the cause of peace and security in the Sahel region and beyond. Let us build upon the successes of this project and continue to work together towards a safer and more prosperous West Africa,' the Commandant expressed optimism. Mr Hisanobu Mochizuki, Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, reiterated the importance of the project which had been implemented at a critical time in the Sahel and West African Region. He said activities of extremist groups had devastated countries like Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger with growing terrorist threats in the Sahel region also further increasing towards coastal counties in Cote D'Ivoire, Benin and Togo. Those terrorist acts, the Japanese Ambassador said, had escalated due to the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the region. He said with ECOWAS and other regional cooperation frameworks such as the Accra Initiative, Japan was committed to contribut ing to regional peace as announced during the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Kishida. Amb Mochizuki said the Prime Minister's announcement to provide 500 million US dollars over the next three years for the Sahel region and neighbouring coastal countries of the Gulf of Guinea was proof of Japan's focus on strengthening the stability of the region. Mr Sukhrob Khoshmukhamedov, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP, noted that activities of extremists and terrorists were spreading across the region and undermining human security. He said the threat to wider security of the sub-region also put the economic, social, political and environmental gains made towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals at risk. 'Looking ahead beyond this successful project, we must continue to advance a proactive and preventive regional response. The causes and effects of terrorism and violent extremism do not respect national borders,' Mr Khoshmukhamedov said. Mr John Pokoo, Programmes Head, Conflict Management Programme, KAIPTC, who reiterated the success of the project by building the capacities of 92 participants, said the eight motorbikes were procured for four out of seven target countries including Ghana, Togo, Benin and Cote d'Ivoire. Source: Ghana News Agency