Category: General

There is high demand for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) schools among students and parents in this year's school's placement. Mr Enoch Amegbletor, Head of Corporate Affairs, Ghana TVET Service, who disclosed to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, said an appreciable number of students who trooped to the school placement's National Resolution Centre this year opted for TVET schools as compared to previous years. 'Yesterday from the regions, the regional reports indicated that there is still more demand for TVET institutions in all the regions,' he added. He said female enrollment had also increased this year in both TVET and grammar schools. He added that they were hoping to have 60,000 students enroll in the 256 TVET institutions throughout the country, an increment from last year's 51,000. Mr Amegbletor said 'the renewed interest and passion for TVET schools are due to the investment Government has made in the sector, particularly in infrastructure and curriculum.' He added that T VET had proven to be an effective study area which enabled learners to gain skills and competencies, making them more creative and employable. Mr Amegbletor indicated that since the commencement of the self placement exercise last week, they had been able to resolve close to 5000 placements issues nationwide. 'Our team are working around the clock to ensure that concerns of parents and students on their schools placements are addressed,' he added. The Ghana Education Service on November 28, 2023 released the 2023 Computerised School Selection and Placement System into Senior High Schools and Technical and Vocational Education and Training Schools (TVET). Out of the total number of 598,839 results received from the West African Examination Council, 585,797 candidates qualified to be placed. A total of 477,772 (81.56 per cent) were automatically placed in one of their choices. However, 108,025 (18.44 per cent) qualified candidates could not be matched with any of their choices and were urged to do self-pl acement to select from available schools. Source: Ghana News Agency

At least 10 persons have been arrested among hundreds of youths, who were demonstrating at Winneba against the Minerals Commission's decision to allow mining in the Muni-Pomadze Ramsar Site and Yenku Forest at Effutu on Tuesday. The arrest was occasioned by the refusal of the youth to heed the police's directive not to enter the premises of the Effutu Municipal Assembly, resulting in a clash. Some of the protesters pelted the police with stones, wounding one police personnel. To avoid an escalation of the situation, the Police fired rubber bullets to disperse the crowd, resulting in some of the protestors sustaining injuries. The demonstration was organised by the Winneba youth, led by Dr James Kofi Annan, an NDC Parliamentary Candidate for the area, in support of a press conference held by the Gomoa Akyempim, Gomoa Ajumako and Effutu Paramount Chiefs, in partnership with some concerned traditional leaders. They had called on the Minerals Commission and the Government to rescind the decision to permit G reen Metal Resources Limited, a mining firm, to undertake large-scale mining in the Muni-Ramsar Site. The demonstration commenced peacefully from the Winneba Cemetery area, through Sankro, Womsum, the Fish Market, Aboadze, and Penkyi among other routes and ended at Ntakufem but turned sour when the protesters tried entering the Municipal Assembly Office, which the police disagreed with. They were later informed that the Municipal Chief Executive and the Coordinating Director were out of town. The protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as 'We say no to mining in Effutu Aboakyer hunting grounds', 'Muni-Pomadze Ramsar site not for mining' and 'Our culture our matter, No mining on sacred grounds.' Dr Annan, briefing the gathering, said Effutuman had a historical linkage with the Muni-Pomadze Ramsar Site, which defined the people's identity and would, therefore, not sit unconcerned about having the site destroyed. He urged the Government to reconsider its decision for the sake of peace and said Ra msar Sites in the country were protected by the Ramsar Convention. The Muni-Pomadze site is specifically protected under the Wetland Management Regulation 1999 LI-1659 covering most parts of Winneba, the Pratu, Natakofo stream, and the Muni-Lagoon. Despite several attempts over the years to mine in the Yenku Forest, the chiefs and all stakeholders had been firm in their stance not to allow that, he said. 'We are saying that the sacredness and integrity of our Aboakyer Festival would be affected because the area earmarked for such mining is a historical site, our heritage, where we go annually to hunt for live deer for the Festival,' he stated. 'We are calling on the Government to quickly withdraw the permit given to the mining firm because it will not bring any development or growth to Effutuman.' Source: Ghana News Agency

Windhoek - The Bank of Namibia, following its Monetary Policy Committee meeting on December 4 and 5, 2023, announced on Wednesday the decision to keep the repo rate unchanged at 7.75 percent. This decision aims to preserve the peg between the Namibia Dollar and South African Rand and bolster the domestic economy. According to Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA), the nation's GDP growth for 2023 is estimated to have decreased to 3.9 percent from 7.6 percent in 2022, primarily due to slower growth in primary industries.

The country's annual inflation rate, which averaged 6.0 percent in the first ten months of 2023, showed a slight increase from 5.9 percent in the same period of 2022. The rise in consumer price inflation was mainly influenced by higher costs in food, housing, and miscellaneous goods and services. Despite this, the average inflation rate is expected to gradually reduce to 5.9 percent in 2023 and further to 4.8 percent in 2024, from 6.1 percent in 2022.

Governor !Gawaxab also highlighted a slowdown in the growth of Private Sector Credit Extension (PSCE), which fell to 1.8 percent in October 2024, compared to 2.8 percent in August 2023. This decrease is attributed to reduced demand in other loans, advances, and overdrafts, along with net repayments in the mortgage category. Additionally, Namibia's merchandise trade deficit slightly narrowed by 1.0 percent to N.dollars 31.7 billion during the first ten months of 2023, as export earnings grew faster than import payments. The stock of international reserves stood at N.dollars 49 billion as of November 30, 2023, a decrease from N.dollars 52.4 billion at the end of October 2023, predominantly due to higher net commercial bank outflows.

Wajdi Ferchichi, candidate in the local elections for the Marsa Riadh constituency (Marsa delegation, Tunis 2), launched his campaign on Wednesday with the organisation of a political café attended by young people and citizens from the area. In a statement to TAP, Ferchichi said that during his campaign he would opt for direct communication with voters, especially those in Jebal Khaoui and Marsa Riadh. According to Ferchichi, his decision to run is based solely on his desire to serve the area and its residents, and to implement a new participatory approach to governance. Among his priorities are urgent solutions to the state of public transport, which is isolating the area, the upgrading of roads and the opening of a youth centre. The candidate believes that training courses should be organised for local young people to encourage them to launch their own projects. The La Marsa delegation has a population of 1,088,686 and a surface area of 30.92 km2, or 10.73 km2 of the surface area of the Tunis governor ate. It comprises 10 delegations: Marsa Plage, Marsa Ville, Les Jardins de la Marsa, Marsa Riadh, Remila, Marsa Montazah, Gammarth, Gammarth Supérieur, Sidi Daoued and Bhar Lazreg. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Stakeholders in the non-profit and financial intelligence and compliance sectors have urged a clear roadmap on the passage of the draft Non-profit Organization (NPO) Bill to aid planning and compliance. They welcomed efforts towards regulating the activities of NPOs but proposed the early passage of the law to enhance transparency in the sector. This, they said, would also help the country to fully comply with international requirements on combating money laundering and terrorism financing. They made the call at a Policy dialogue on 'Safeguarding Civic Space Through an Enabling NPO Legislation in Ghana' organised by the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) in Accra. Non-profit Organizations comprise non-governmental organisations, foundations, community-based organisations, and faith-based organisations that undertake charity-related activities among other socials services. The NPO Bill is expected to provide legal framework to back the operations of organisations that fall under the NPO category. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an independent inter-governmental body that works to protect the global financial system against money laundering and terrorists financing, has recommended to countries to take urgent action to address the use of NPOs by terrorist financiers and money launderers. The FATF's Recommendation 8 requires countries to undertake domestic review of their entire NPO sector or have the capacity to obtain timely information on its activities, size and other relevant features, and review the adequacy of laws and regulations that relate to the portion of the NPO sector that can be abused. Mr Dela Ashiabor, Head, NPO Secretariat, said the NPO Bill was intended to create an enabling environment for non-profits organisations to effectively perform their duties without 'improper infiltration.' He said contrary to fears by some stakeholders that the law could stifle their operations, measures had been outlined in the law to protect the NPOs and ensure some standardisation in the opera tions of such organisations. 'The Bill does not amount to over-regulation, but it is to ensure that we have a law that will enable you (NPOs) to work better' Mr Ashiabor said. Mr Ashiabor said the draft NPO Bill had been sent to the Attorney General for review after which it would be presented to Cabinet for consideration. 'Personally, I hope that the Bill will be passed by the first quarter of 2024,' he said. Ms Shireen Ofosu, Manager, NPO Compliance, Financial Intelligence Centre, Financial Intelligence Centre, said Ghana was currently partially compliant to the FATF's Recommendation 8. She said the passage of the NPO Bill was a key requirement for the country to become fully compliant to the FATF'S recommendations. 'We are not just sanitising the financial sector. It will also help ensure accountability in the NPO sector,' she said. Mr Kwesi Jonah, Senior Research Fellow, IDEG, urged the NPO Secretariat to constantly engage the stakeholders to enable them to appreciate the importance of the Bill to their operations. 'One of the major lessons we've learnt from the NPO Policy is that the NPOs themselves should lead the process,' he said. Source: Ghana News Agency