President Akufo-Addo’s call for a collective effort in sustaining the gains made from the ‘Green Ghana Project’ over the last three years is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Ghanaian Times reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has called for a collective effort in sustaining the gains made from the ‘Green Ghana Project’ over the last three years.
He said it was imperative that Ghanaians owned the project, nurture it and ensure its sustainability.
“Let us go out, not only to plant trees, but grow them for a ‘Green Tomorrow’. This is a duty we owe not only to the current generation but to generations yet to come,” he emphasised.
President Akufo-Addo made the call on Friday when he led a tree planting exercise at the Burma Camp in Accra as part of this year’s ‘Green Ghana Day’ project.
With him were the Minister of Defence, Mr Dominic Nitiwul, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lieutenant General Oppong-Pepprah, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, Mr John Allotey.
President Akufo-Addo planted the first tree (African Star Fruit Plant) followed by Dominic Nitiwul, General Oppong-Pepprah and Abu Jinapor.
The President described the GGP as a massive success, stressing that over 42 million trees had been planted over the last three years with the goal for 2024 being to add another 10 million.
This, he said, would bring the total trees planted for the last four years to 52 million.
The newspaper says that Ms Patricia Obo-Nai, Chief Executive of Telecel Ghana, has advocated the strategic integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in business to drive economic diversification.
Delivering the keynote at the 8th Ghana CEO Summit last Monday, where she was awarded CEO of the Year in the telecommunications sector, she shared insights on the pivotal role of AI in propelling economic expansion.
“As CEOS, we have a responsibility, irrespective of the sector to adopt AI technologies to drive productivity, unlock new opportunities and protect our market relevance and positioning. We all need to support the diversification of our economy through our various sectors,” she said.
Reflecting on Telecel Ghana’s evolution from its roots to the current status as a leading provider of combined mobile, fixed, tech and financial services, she said the telecommunications industry was the backbone of the global digital infrastructure therefore, deploying AI to fast-track service delivery, improve customer experience, and stay ahead of the curve is key to the survival of the industry and the country.
Sharing practical examples of how Telecel Ghana has embraced AI head-on, Ms Obo-Nai said fostering a culture of digital awareness and prioritising agile working culture within Telecel had helped to embed advanced digital technology across its operations.
Telecel Ghana has ingrained AI and machine learning in their product design system to create tailored data and voice packages for customers.
The systems learn each consumer’s behaviour such as their data and airtime usage to recommend personalised packages that align with their purchasing power and usage history.
Additionally, the telco is using AI to predict credit worthiness of customers, credit limits and likelihood for repayment before issuing airtime in advance or loans via their mobile money platform, Telecel Cash.
The Graphic reports that Ghana and Japan has signed a $2.12 million grant agreement for the Human Resource Development Scholarship Programme.
The programme would see Ghanaian public sector workers benefit from development courses in the areas of economics, public administration, public health and international Mission at top Japanese universities.
The Minister of State in charge of Finance, Abena Osei Asare signed on behalf of the Ghana government, while the Senior Vice President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Ando Naoki signed on behalf of the government of Japan.
Ms Osei Asare said the programme would significantly strengthen and contribute to the public sector’s human resource capacity building, resulting in officers acquiring the skills and knowledge well suited for the country’s development aspirations.
She said Japan has been annually offering these scholarship opportunities to officials of the government of Ghana since 2012, noting that in 2020, the programme was scaled up by increasing the number of scholarship slots for Master’s degree programmes from 10 to 12 and by offering one scholarship slot for a PhD degree programme – all at some of the best Japanese Universities.
The Minister said the signing of this agreement would enable 13 Ghanaian public sector officers to study in Japan, bringing the total beneficiaries of the programme to 117.
Ms Osei Asare said the Ghana-Japan bilateral cooperation dates back to the early 1970s when both countries established diplomatic relations.
She said the government of Japan had been supporting the Ghana with concessional loans, grants, and technical assistance over the years.
The newspaper says that UBA Ghana and the Ministry of Finance have conferred to build strong collaboration that can further deepen their relationship in the country.
Towards that, the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Uzoechina Molokwu, paid a working visit to the office of Ghana’s Minister of Finance, Dr Mohammed
Amin Adam as part of measures to improve socio- economic partnership.
During the meeting, Mr Molokwu informed the minister of UBA’s 2024 celebrations which included the UBA Group’s 75th anniversary, 40 years successful banking operation in United States of America and UBA Ghana’s vigintennial.
The MD expressed UBA’s unwavering support for the Ghanaian economy and SME businesses.
He said UBA’s partnerships with organizations such as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat in financing SMEs and capacity building.
For his part, Dr Adam expressed his appreciation at UBA’s continued partnership and support to the Government of Ghana.
He reassured the government keenness in collaborating with the bank and other financial institutions to achieve economic development goals.
He also emphasized the government’s interest in developing the SME businesses as a catalyst for economic growth.
GIK/APA
Ghana: Press focuses on President’s call for sustenance of ‘Green Ghana Project’ gains
