APA – Accra (Ghana)
President Akufo-Addo’s appeal to Ghanaians to accept the vision for the energy sector of the country is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Ghanaian press reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged Ghanaians to accept the vision for the energy sector of the country.
He described the energy future of the country as low carbon resilient and affluent, and that Ghana would demonstrate to the world that low carbon development could be pursued without sacrificing economic growth or social progress.
President Akufo-Addo, who was addressing this year’s edition of the Ghana Energy Awards last Friday night in Accra, said the dedication and effort of every Ghanaian citizen was required aside from the cooperation and support of domestic and foreign parties, to achieve that goal.
The ceremony was on the theme: “Ghana’s energy transition framework – sector institutions as building blocks for the 2030-2040 targets” and it witnessed the celebration of individuals, institutions and organisations for their extraordinary contributions to the growth of the energy sector.
“We rely on Ghanaians to implement energy saving practices and attitudes in their homes, workplaces and communities.
“We need your help to implement the policies and programmes that will make this transition easier and we need you to hold government accountable,” President Akufo-Addo added.
The newspaper says that former President John Dramani Mahama has urged Ghanaians not to lose hope in the country as they have opportunity to change the managers of the country’s economy in the 2024 general elections.
He said many Ghanaians are going through extreme hardship under the Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
For him, many of the youth he had interacted with across the country had lost hope in the country.
The ex-President was addressing the congregants of the Apostolic Continuation Church at Techiman in the Bono East Region on Sunday, November 19, 2023.
The flag bearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) John Dramani Mahama who is in the region for his “Building Ghana Tour” went to the church to worship with them.
The NDC leaders commenced the “Building Ghana Tour” to engage Ghanaians and revitalise the NDC in readiness for the 2024 presidential campaign.
The Building Ghana Tour serves as a platform for Mr Mahama to meet and interact with Ghanaians from all walks of life, supporters, and sympathisers of the NDC.
As part of the tour, he will make crucial stops in key cities, towns, and villages and engage local communities to listen to their concerns, insights, and aspirations for a prosperous Ghana.
Mr Mahama also urged Ghanaians to give thanks to God at all times irrespective of the challenge.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) has opened its portal to enroll Ghanaian youth under its Artisanal Trades and Vocation Module to create a minimum of 20,000 sustainable jobs over two years.
According to a source at the agency, the aim is to address the age-old youth unemployment that had been the bane of all governments in Ghana for several years, and same had been classified in Ghana as a national security threat.
The source explained that, the YEA was embarking on the creation of sustainable employment for the growing unemployed youth through the Youth in Trades and Vocation model, Brick moulding and laying with BRRI, Business Support Programme, Youth in Agric amongst others.
It said, the model would be ran in collaboration with a multi-industry private sector player that was duly registered and licensed in Ghana, under a public private partnership (PPP) arrangement.
The Ghanaian Times gathered that, the project was aimed at building the capacity of unem-ployed and underemployed youth across the country in 10 relevant trades and vocation.
The model will comprehensively train and provide start-up tools to a minimum of 20,000 youth in 10 relevant trades and vocations by the end of 2024, and provide quality start up tools and equipment to each of the 20,000 young men and women after the mandatory six months technical training.
The beneficiaries will also be trained in entrepreneurship and business management as part of preparations towards self-employment and be assisted in delivering quality and world-class products and services to the public.
Under the model, a huge number of the beneficiary slots will be allocated to young women to uplift the affirmative action principle to another level, whilst they are supported to identify entrepreneurial/business opportunities in their respective areas of specialisation within their districts and municipalities.
The newspaper says that Ghana will require not less than $550 billion to successfully implement its Energy Transition Strategy over the next 40 years, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced.
He has therefore called for stronger and greater collaboration among all stakeholders to enable the country implement the strategy successfully since its benefits would far outweigh the cost.
“This national framework is ambitious but it is attainable. It is anticipated that some $550 billion will have to be raised over the next 40 years equivalent to some 10 per cent of our annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This may appear huge, yet it may appear less what will be spent if we carried on unconcerned.”
President Akufo-Addo disclosed this at the seventh edition of the annual Energy Awards organised by Energy Media in Accra on Friday.
This year’s event was on the theme: ‘Ghana’s Energy Transition Framework: Sector Institutions as Building Blocks for 2030-2040 Targets.’
President Akufo-Addo stated that Ghana’s Energy Transition Framework would have long term advantages for the economy, society and environment.
“It will increase our energy security, diversify our energy mix, create jobs, boost health, help to eradicate poverty and safeguard our natural resources. The framework will also position Ghana as a world leader in energy transition and will be amongst the first countries both in Africa and beyond, to attain universal access to clean and modern energy by 2030,” he emphasised.
He said the country would be amongst the first countries to use carbon capture utilisation and storage technology to decarbonise its energy industry and this would demonstrate to the world that low carbon development could be perceived without sacrificing economic growth or social progress.
GIK/APA
Ghana: Press spotlights appeal for acceptance of Ghana’s vision for energy sector, others
