Day: May 27, 2023

Koforidua, May 27, GNA – Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources has urged personnel of the Forest Service Division of the Forestry Commission (FC) to discharge their mandate dispassionately in accordance with the FC regulations. He said, the government would fully support the personnel to discharge their duties in protecting Ghana’s forest without fear or favour. It would also support them to ward off all intruders, whether illegal miners, agricultural expansionists, cocoa farmers, or illegal loggers. ‘The government is aware of the challenges such as welfare, training and inadequate logistics, and the dangers you encounter in ensuring that our country remains green. We are working around the clock to be able to meet up with the challenges,’ he said. Mr Jinapor was speaking at a sod-cutting cutting ceremony at the Eastern Regional Office Complex of the Forest Service Division of the Commission in Koforidua. The facility consists of a reception, conference room, kitchenette, stores, and 13 offices. It will be responsible for managing seven Forest Districts namely: Akim Oda, Kyebi, Kade, Somanya, Begoro, Mpraeso and Donkorkrom. Mr Jinapor charged the staff to maintain the infrastructure in a way that would allow it to serve not only the region but also the entire nation. He said issues of forests have become prominent in the governance of the country and the affairs of the world at large, adding that, one of the major existential threats to planet Earth is climate change. That, he said, the government’s policy with regard to the forestry sector was based on two pillars: the strategy of aggressive afforestation and reforestation and the strategy to protect the existing forest cover of the country. He stated that these two pillars were the approaches being taken to protect the existing forest cover of the country. Mr John Allotey, Chief Executive Officer of the Commission highlighted the benefits of protecting the forests reserves, citing an example that the main river Pra takes its source from the Southern Scarp FR in the Kwahu Plateau and flows over 240km square into the Atlantic Ocean at Shamma. Together with its tributaries- River Birim and River Ofin, the Pra Basin covers 41 administrative districts in four regions of Ghana -Ashanti, Eastern, Central and Western Regions providing wetlands and water for agriculture, drinking and other domestic uses. He said Eastern Region has 49 reserves covering an area of 1887km square Speaking about 2023 Greening Ghana Day which falls on June 09, Mr Allotey said the Forest Services Division of Eastern Region had raised enough seedlings to meet its target of 300,000, and that seedlings would be available at the Regional and all Forestry District offices. Tetrete Okuamoah Sekyim II, Board Chairman of the Forestry Commission said it had been the focus of the government to preserve the forest because ‘that is where we all take our livelihood. It is in this vision that the government provided the office complex to ensure a smooth run of activities.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

Nogokpo (V/R), May 27, GNA – Torgbi Saba V, Chief of Nogokpo in the Ketu South Municipality of the Volta region, has advised the media, social media users and the public to refrain from passing unsavoury comments relating to Nogokpo and the deity (Shrine). His advice came in the wake of a recent comment made by Archbishop Charles Agyin-Asare, the founder and leader of Perez Chapel during a sermon in his Church auditorium in Accra. The archbishop’s comments received a lot of backlash from members of the public purported to be indigenes of Nogokpo, which according to Torgbi Saba, were not coming from the right people. A statement issued by the palace of Torgbi Saba V, copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said: ‘It has come to the notice of Torgbi Saba V, ‘Dufia of Nogokpo, the current happenings on social media about Archbishop Charles Agyin-Asare and Nogokpo – we wish to let Ghanaians and the world know that we are deliberating on the issue and the general public shall hear from us in due course.’ The statement directs all media outlets and the public seeking further clarification, to do so through the appropriate channel. Archbishop Charles Agyin-Asare, on the third day of a Summit held recently at the headquarters of Perez Chapel in Accra, preached about divine protection and the existence of evil forces and cited several examples to support his teaching. During his preaching, the archbishop recounted an incident where his team received spiritual attacks for hosting a crusade in the Volta Region. ‘During this crusade in Aflao, we slept at Agbozume, that was where our hotel was, and you must go through Nogokpo. And Nogokpo is the demonic headquarters in the Volta Region. ‘We only have not said it but the second night I made Bishop Yaw Adu talk about witchcraft and we disgraced the witches and wizards – When we were driving from Aflao to Agbozume, immediately we got to Nogokpo, Bishop Yaw Adu’s four-wheel drive, the tyre came out from under the car, ‘he recounted. Following the publication of the video online, the Church leader has come under heavy criticism online including from social media handles believed to belong to the Nogokpo shrine. In a related development, Ketu South citizens are demanding an apology from Perez Chapel International founder and leader over his sermon tagging Nogokpo, a community in Ketu South, ‘demonic headquarters in the Volta Region.’ In reaction, Madam Abla Dzifa Gomashie, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ketu South in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said such a tag was unfortunate and that she and her people deserved an apology from the minister of God. ‘Very unfortunate incident. It is an unguarded and inciting comment from a revered leader of a big church. On behalf of my people, I demand an unqualified apology from the man of God, who I have enormous respect for.’ Mr Jonas Fotor Agbagba, Assembly member for Nogokpo/Atsivuta said people had always preconceived minds about the community, famous for its traditional and spiritual shrine, Zakadza. ‘People say many things about Nogokpo because of the deity, but the fact is, it is one of the crime-free and most peaceful places to live in the country. Torgbui Zakadza is a deity that punishes only wrongdoers and gives justice to people served with unfair treatment.’ Zakadza (Fon language) is Yewei’s god of thunder like the Shango cult of the Yoruba or Thor of the ancient Scandinavians.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Cape Coast, May 27, GNA – The Passport Office in the Central Region has said it recorded about 7,000 backlogs of applications in just a 40-day hiatus resulting from a technical hitch. The office, located at Aquarium in Cape Coast, has, therefore, been inundated with dozens of applicants on a daily basis since operations resumed on Friday, May 12. Mr Michael Brako Asante, the Officer in Charge, Passport Application Centre, Cape Coast, has, however, assured that they were working relentlessly to clear all the backlogs by the end of June. In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr Asante explained that operations were temporarily halted because, their server broke down abruptly on Thursday, March 30 due to an excessive power fault. Consequently, the biometric data of applicants, including photos, onto the system could not be captured, compelling the office to take application forms after vetting applicants to wait until the challenge was rectified. ‘We took the server to Accra and filed an official complaint. The supplier gave us a new server which we got on May 12 and asked us to fix the power situation and that is what prolonged the challenge,’ he stated As a result, applicants, most of whom travelled long distances, were left disappointed and stranded while others resorted to other regional offices after several visits. ‘We have not officially arranged appointments with applicants, but the place is already overcrowded. We will start calling them from next week to deal with the backlog,’ Mr Asante said. On the advice of the suppliers of the server, he noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration was planning to rewire the entire office to forestall any reoccurrence. ‘In the meantime, we have been given an Automatic Voltage Regulator to enable us to do our work,’ Mr Asante said. Some of the applicants who spoke to the GNA expressed frustrations with the process, saying it had been stressful. An applicant, Mr Bismark Baah, said he travelled from Twifo-Praso and arrived at the Passport Office around 0800 hours but as of 1500 hours, he had not been attended to. ‘When I asked, I was told there were a lot of applications lying down from last month and so I should exercise patience. ‘I am hoping that it will get to my turn before they close, otherwise, I will find a place to sleep in Cape Coast until I am done,’ he said. Another applicant and student at the University of Education Winneba (UEW), Mr Michael Debrah, indicated he left campus with his colleagues as early as 06:00 hours with the hope of going through a smooth process but he was disappointed. ‘We were led here by our Hall President around 08:00 hours but it is yet to get to our turn. We are hopeful and ready to wait until they attend to us,’ he said. Ms Kate Bentil, a National Service Personnel teaching at Abura Domenase, recounted visiting the Passport Office on Friday, May 05 and after the first phase, was asked to go and return later because the machines were not working. ‘I was told I will be called when the machines start but I was not called. It has been very frustrating considering my distance and the cost of travelling. ‘I always seek permission from my headmistress not knowing whether it will be granted or not. If I am not able to do it today, it means I will not go to school on Monday because I must come back,’ she added.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Rabat (Morocco), May 26, GNA- It was an interesting sight to behold at the King Mohammed V Theatre in Rabat, Morocco, as many queued to taste Ghana’s local dishes and beverages served as part of the commemoration of the ‘Africa Day’ in Rabat, Morocco. Ghana’s ‘Waakye’ and ‘Jollo’, served with indigenous pepper sauce and spicy beverages known as ‘Sobolo’ attracted many participants at the exhibition coordinated by Ghana’s Embassy in Morocco. The swift manner in, which some patrons completed their first course and opted for another turn was indicative that their tongues had had a memorable encounter with a good meal. ‘This is very good. I’ll taste it again. We also prepare jollof in our country but this is more spicy,’ Philip, a participant from Cameroon, said. Fasouma, a Nigerien student in Morocco, told the Ghana News Agency that: ‘I have heard about Ghana’s Jollof so I wanted to have a taste of it. This is really good and I wish your people can teach me how to prepare it.’ Nasiru, a Nigerian journalist, revived the Ghana-Nigeria jollof debate, but admitted in the end that ‘Ghana’s jollof is almost as good as that of Nigeria’. Earlier, some Ghanaian students in Morocco performed Ghanaian cultural dances at a ceremony that preceded the food exhibition. The Kingdom of Morocco on Thursday held a series of events to mark the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now African Union (AU) in 1963. In an interview with the GNA, Mr Samuel Jojo Effah-Broni, Ghana’s Ambassador to Morocco, said the country’s rich local meals demonstrated its unique culture and identity. He said many Moroccans and other foreign nationals were in love with Ghana’s local dishes and beverages. ‘Everybody enjoys the taste of Ghanaian food. Ours is unique. Other countries prepare waakye and jollof, but they are not smooth like ours,’ Mr Effah-Broni said. He said the country must package and market its local dishes well to drive cultural export and to reap benefits for the country in the area of tourism.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, May 26, GNA- The Human Trafficking Secretariat of the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection and its partners have engaged judges in the fight against human trafficking. It collaborated with the Judicial Training Institute and with support from Expertise France to organise a two-day sensitisation and orientation workshop for selected judges. Mrs Francisca Oteng-Mensah, Deputy Gender Minster, in an address, said Ghana was a source, transit, and destination for issues of human trafficking, hence, the need to collectively end all forms of exploitation. ”Let me reinterpret this adage; If you spare the rod, you spoil a child,’ to reflect the fact that, if we identify the offenders without punishing them at the end of the day,’ she stated. Mrs Oteng-Mensah said so far with collaboration with stakeholders, over 375 law enforcement officers had been trained from 2022 to 2023 through the Expertise France Project on Human Trafficking and Irregular Migration. The officers are from the Ghana Police, Immigration Service, Customs officers and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO). She said there had also been the training of trainers for 80 law enforcement officers to enhance their capacities to train their colleagues as well as capacity building for 140 Civil Aviation Officers on victim identification and counter-trafficking activities. The Deputy Minister said 70 judges had been sensitised to human trafficking and irregular migration in the Northern and Southern sectors of the country. She stated that 100 cocoa cooperatives officers’ capacities were built on understanding human trafficking trends, child labour and forced labour indicators. ”We have to look at the financial and other material gains traffickers make from the exploitation of their victims. We can disrupt their activity through restraining and freezing their assets under the EOCO laws at an early stage of the investigation.” Mrs Oteng-Mensah said. For human trafficking, the Deputy said, it included the power to seize and forfeit land, vehicles, and buildings, which may have been used to traffic victims. She expressed worry about the current trend of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and crime involving the Q Net and the level of exploitation being done in the area and appealed for it to be investigated. Dr Afisah Zacharia, Chief Director, Gender Ministry, in a speech read on her behalf by Ms Abena Annobea Asare, Head of Human Trafficking Secretariat, said the workshop was to provide judges with a basic understanding of the issues of human trafficking and irregular migration. She said it was also to enable them to manage traumatised trafficking victims or witnesses in the courtroom, and to discuss issues related to sentencing which was sometimes not in accordance with the statutory provisions and guidance in the Human Trafficking Act. Dr Zakaria said the training was necessitated by the global sales of ammunition, currently, the largest criminal trade followed by human trafficking which called for stakeholders, including judges help eradicate human trafficking. Mr Serge Akpalou, Project Manager, Expertise France, said human trafficking was a global phenomenon that took various forms, such as sexual exploitation, forced labour or services and servitude or the removal of organs in its extreme cases. He said it had recently become more pronounced due to the health and current economic crisis that had heightened the vulnerabilities of people who were already fragile. Every year, Mr Akpalou said, according to the Global Financial Integrity Transnational Crime rating, human trafficking generated approximately $150.2 billion dollars and was the second most widespread form of trafficking in the world, after drug trafficking. The Project Manager said 2.5 million people, mainly women and children, annually fell under the influence of traffickers, and Ghana was no exception. He underscored the need for concerted, united and coordinated actions between agencies and especially between neighbouring countries for an effective fight against the canker. Madam Mabel Ahele, Deputy Director of the Judicial Training Institute (JTI), said according to reports received, the previous sensitisation sessions in Kumasi and Tema were successful. She said the judges received and shared their experiences, limitations and challenges in applying the law, especially regarding dealing with victims of trafficking. ”I pray that this sensitization will follow in the same vein. Let’s bring to light the issues bothering victims of trafficking in our courtrooms, share best practices and discuss very effective ways of tackling the issues so that victims are not re-traumatised and stakeholders develop confidence in our judicial decisions and judgments. ‘Madam Ahele stated.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, May 27, GNA – Professor Michael Kpessa Whyte, a Political Scientist, University of Ghana, will on May 30, 2023, appear before the Supreme Court to state why he should not be cited for contempt of Court for allegedly scandalising the Apex Court. The Apex Court cited the Member of the National Democratic Congress for contempt for bringing into ridicule the dignity, respect, and stature of the Supreme Court and Inciting prejudice against the Court. This borders on a series of tweets by Prof Whyte on May 19, 2023. Prof. Whyte’s comments were made at a time of heated public discussion regarding the Supreme Court’s order to Parliament to expunge the name of James Gyakye Quayson from its records, after it found that he had not renounced his Canadian Citizenship at the time he filed his nomination forms to contest the Assin North polls in 2020. Even before he appeared before the Court, the Professor had already issued a statement apologising to the Court, explaining that his tweet was not in any way related to the Assin North judgment. The summons issued allege that he posted the following; ‘The highest Court of the Land has been turned into a ‘Stupid Court’.’ ‘They have succeeded in turning a Supreme Court into a Stupid Court. Common sense is now a scarce commodity. ‘ Prof. Whyte tweeted. He said, ‘I have observed that Ghanaweb and other media publications sought to associate my tweet with the decision of the Supreme Court in the Assin North matter as stated on the face of the Summons to show cause, but honestly, at the time of my tweet, I had no knowledge of the Supreme Court’s decision as at 9: 59am when I did the tweet.’ He said ‘the said tweet had resulted in the invocation of the powers of the Apex Court in our country for me to appear and show cause because the tweet has scandalized the Apex Court of our land and has brought the dignity of the court into disrepute.’ He said sincerely, the tweet was not done with the intent to scandalise or denigrate a revered institution such as the Supreme Court of Ghana for which he had a tremendous amount of respect and admiration. ‘These are consequences I never intended, although I do accept responsibility that, I could have exercised better judgment in my choice of words,’ he added. He said ‘please permit me to state unequivocally that I have no reason to slander our Supreme Court, and I hereby sincerely apologize unreservedly for any pain and discomfort my tweets may have caused the Chief Justice, the Supreme Court, and the entire judiciary. I hereby retract the tweet in question; accordingly, the tweet has been deleted completely and I pray for forgiveness.’

Source: Ghana News Agency