Day: April 5, 2024

United States Beauty Queen Keerah Yeowang will address this year's Africa Peace, Investment and Tourism Summit in Ghana. The annual event, scheduled from 15th to 17th April 2024, is a convergence of visionaries, change makers of Peace, Security and Investments from within the continent of Africa and the diaspora. The Reigning Ms Midwest Galaxy, 2024 will be among key personalities, including Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Nigeria, who will address the Summit. The Summit will also feature the Vice President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Mr John Dramani Mahama, a former President of Ghana, Mr. Benjamin Aduli of Nigeria, and Dr. Sonny Allison, and others. The keynote address by Bishop Kukah will be on the theme: 'Peace and Security - A Panacea For Africa's Underdevelopment'. Yeowang is an entrepreneur and professional makeup artist who launched her own beauty brand, Poshmetics Cosmetics, to inspire self confidence in women and teen girls through makeup and beyond. The l eading beauty brand is recognised worldwide for its cutting-edge highlighter. In her career as an independent image, beauty, and etiquette consultant, Yeowang aims to inspire self-esteem and self-confidence in teen girls and women through make-up and beyond. Additionally, she seeks to serve women in all seasons of life, including corporate executives and community leaders. She has written blogs and appeared on both radio and television programmes. The Summit, organised by the David Douglas Leadership Forum (DDLF) in partnership with the Office of the Ga Mantse - HRM King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II (President of Ga Traditional Council), is to unite diverse stakeholders with a focus on fostering Peace, Investment and Tourism in Africa. From its inception a couple of years ago, the primary objective of the Summit has been to cultivate a positive and inclusive environment, inspiring and empowering individuals and communities, vis a vis nations, and by extension, the entire continent of Africa, to contribute to a future marked by Peace and Security, Prosperity and Sustainable development. This year's Summit, to be held at the Accra International Conference Center (ICC), will serve as a vital platform for stakeholders to foster collaboration and identify investment opportunities, as well as tourism potentials, that can drive economic growth, job creation, and overall community development. Community, political and business leaders will be given the opportunity to showcase their unique potentials and engage investors to explore possibilities for industrialization and economic growth, ultimately leading to increased employment and decrease the unemployment rate on the continent. This year's event is expected to be the largest ever, with more countries in Africa, such as South Africa, Mali, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo and Republic of Benin being represented. Others are Nigeria, Cote D'Ivoire, Cameroon, Kenya, Uganda, and Niger. Being an African event with a global reach, The United States of America, Un ited Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Trinidad and Tobago would be collaborating to make the Summit grand and memorable, a news brief said. It said beyond economic considerations, the Summit underscored the vital impact of leadership in championing peace and community development, with breakout sessions and speeches by seasoned speakers, inspiring participants to become catalysts for positive change in their communities and nations. The Summit will place spotlight on the pivotal roles of creative arts in bridging cultural differences and promoting social cohesion. It does not only emphasise economic and leadership roles and contributions, but also recognises the significance of tourism and cultural exchange, by promoting the rich cultural heritage of the African continent. It seeks to strengthen Regional unity, collaboration, innovation, and knowledge transfer. Other organising partners are Enlightening and Empowering People with Disabilities in Africa (EEPD Africa), Luxurious Living USA, SunR ays Group - Nigeria, Maurya Infotech Services - India, and K-Pentag LLC - Finland. Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Moro Musah, a 33-year-old farmer, has been apprehended by the Tumu Police for allegedly stealing cattle in October 2023 at Kroboi in the Sissala East Municipality of the Upper West Region. In a caution statement presented to the Circuit Court in Wa, the accused, Mr Moro Musah, admitted to the theft but said: 'I stole 14 of the cattle, not the reported 60'. He was put before the court allegedly charged with stealing 60 cattle and was remanded in police custody pending investigation. This follows a complaint lodged to the Tumu Police by one Barry Abdoulaye, a Fulani herdsman from Yigantu in Sissala East, who reported the theft of his 60 cattle from his kraal. The prosecutor, ACP Albert Adiita, presenting the facts to the court, said the Wellembele police motor patrol team, on October 29, 2023, intercepted a Hyundai Grace mini-bus with registration number AS-6743-19, driven by Wakilu Abubakari, loaded with three cattle suspected to have been stolen. Upon interrogation, Abubakari mentioned Musah as the o ne who had tasked him to transport the animals from Kroboi to Wa. A subsequent telephone conversation between Abubakari and Musah confirmed the latter's ownership of the cattle. The vehicle with the cattle was sent to the Wellembele Police Station during the investigations, where Mr Barry Abdoulaye, the complainant, identified a distinct mark on the three cattle matching some of his stolen livestock. ACP Adiita said further examination on Abdoulaye's kraal revealed similar markings on his other cattle, confirming the suspicion of theft by Musah. However, a search for Musah proved futile until December 8, 2023, when he was eventually apprehended by the police, ACP Adiita said. The accused, after interrogation, returned the 14 cattle, while the search for the rest continued. The court remanded the accused person to reappear on April 16, 2024. Source: Ghana News Agency

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in line with its vision to transform lives, has sponsored the construction of some projects in four communities in the Atwima Kwanwoma District. The projects, which included three educational infrastructures and a health centre, were executed in partnership with the Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Kofi Amankwa-Manu. They are a six-unit classroom block with library and 10-seater toilet facility at Atwima Kokoben; a 10-unit classroom block, mechanised water system and 12-seater toilet facility at Foase; 10-unit classroom block with 12-seater toilet facility at Kotwi, and a health centre with nurses' quarters and water system at Winsa. Speaking at separate ceremonies to commission the projects, Mr Amankwa-Manu said they emanated from the strong partnerships between his office, the District Assembly and the Church. The goal was to pursue private partnerships to complement the government's efforts in ensuring quality education and healthcare delivery in the distr ict. Education and health, he said, were two critical sectors that impacted every household and stressed the need for massive investments in those areas. The MP pointed out the crucial roles health and education played in national development and pledged his commitment to partnering with the relevant stakeholders to improve the lives of the people through such interventions. He appealed to all stakeholders to join forces with his office and the Assembly to provide the enabling environment for quality education to thrive. Mr Prince Karikari, the District Chief Executive (DCE), in a speech read on his behalf, underlined the need for users of all the projects to ensure proper maintenance of the facilities under their care. He entreated the beneficiary communities to own the projects and showed a keen interest in their maintenance to prolong their lifespan. Mr Samuel Appiah, the President of the Suame Area of the Church, said the gesture was to help promote quality education and healthcare, which was aligne d with the vision of the church, saying that caring for the people was equally a way to spread the gospel at the grassroots. The church would continue to support humanity and support the district through the partnership with the Member of Parliament, he said. Madam Doris Ofori, the District Education Director, reiterated the need for the school children to take good care of the projects and admonished teachers and other stakeholders to ensure the facilities were used for their intended purposes. 'The facilities have come at the right time and would help address the infrastructural challenges in the district,' she said. Source: Ghana News Agency

Women farmers at Fosukrom in the Bia East District of the Western North Region have appealed for processing, storage and irrigation facilities. With the facilities, the women said they would be able to engage in commercial production of maize, rice and cassava for increased food productivity. Madam Mavis Odoi, the Secretary of the Fosukrom Women Farmers Association (FWFA), made the appeal through the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of a day's training on the adoption and application of indigenous technology. With support from the Global Greengrants Fund (GGF), the Association organised the training for more than 150 women farmers in the area, which also exposed the participants to climate change impact, contributory factors as well as the nation's adaptation and mitigation actions. The women were taken through the use of leaves for the preparation of organic manure, and the proper application of the compost. Madam Odoi said the area had a population of around 1,758, with women and girls being t he majority, and predominantly peasant farmers, with few of them engaged in large-scale farming. They grow plantain, cocoyam, maize, yam, cassava, cocoa, and oil palm with a few others engaged in vegetable production. She explained that the women were mainly in the farming business because they depended largely on it as their source of livelihood due to the lack of formal education. 'In fact, they cannot secure white colour jobs and so farming has become their main alternative, ' Madam Odoi stated, worrying that because of a lack of processing, storage and irrigation facilities those engaged in the cultivation of cereals and vegetables could not produce in large or commercial quantities. Recently, she said the area had been experiencing frequent droughts and disease outbreaks, resulting in low crops yields, and thereby leading to hunger and high poverty, particularly among the women farmers. This continues to increase their socially marginalized situation and they are compelled to use synthetic agrochemi cals in controlling pests and diseases which affect their health, destroy soil quality, enhance climate change impacts and poison biodiversity through run-off water. Madam Odoi commended the GGF for funding the Association to implement a project to help sustain the women in their farming activities. The project seeks to mobilize women farmers in the area and train them on how to prepare organic (indigenous) herbicides and pesticides for their farming, which has no impact on the environment or influence climate change or land fertility, is cheaper and has the ability to improve productivity. It further creates awareness of climate change, she stated and urged the farmers to endeavour to back and share and apply the knowledge acquired to bring positive change in their communities. Source: Ghana News Agency