APA – Accra (Ghana)
The call by President Akufo-Addo on foreign governments and agencies to ensure that projects they design to support Ghana’s agricultural sector naturally align with the government’s priorities is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday urged foreign governments and agencies to ensure that projects they design to support Ghana’s agricultural sector naturally align with the government’s priorities.
He explained that in spite of the productive collaboration between the government and its development partners, the misalignment of priorities of some international development agencies and national policies and strategies was a matter of concern.
President Akufo-Addo made the call when he addressed a Presidential Breakfast Meeting organised by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) with development partners on the second phase of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ 2.0) programme in Accra.
The breakfast meeting which attracted international partners such as the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the US Agency for International Development, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the World Food Programme (WFP), GAC, KfW, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the European Union, was to enable the MoFA and the development partners to discuss ways of fostering a more effortless partnership to enhance the effective promotion of the agricultural sector, especially the PFJ 2.0.
There were two rounds of panel discussions under the broad topics: “Enhancing coordination of development partners’ intervention under PFJ 2.0” and “Financing agriculture: The role of development partners”.
President Akufo-Addo said any deviation in policy focus could amount to misdirected investments, saying the forum provided an opportunity for stakeholders to identify the factors causing the disconnect and to take corrective measures.
“Furthermore, we should also address the unwelcome situation where government, through its agencies such as the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, has no full knowledge of some funds being used in the country by International Development Agencies (IDA),” he added.
He called for discussions on funding mechanisms such as loans, grants and technical assessments of other agricultural support initiatives.
The newspaper says that Toyota Ghana Company Limited (TGCL), dealers in automobiles, has handed over a $1 million engineering sciences training centre to the University of Ghana in Accra.
The centre, which occupies six acres of land, is located at the Haatso end of the university, behind the Great Hall.
The establishment of the centre is in fulfilment of a partnership deal signed between the university and the automobile company in 2016.
The company also donated a 33-seater Toyota Coaster bus to the university to be used for transporting students to and from the centre.
In addition, the company will provide engineering equipment worth $2 million over a period of 10 years and administer a $100,000 scholarship fund within the same period to support brilliant, financially challenged students.
The handover ceremony was attended by the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum; the Chairperson of the University of Ghana Council, Justice Sophia A. B. Akuffo (retd); the Vice-Chancellor of U-G, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, and the Chairman of UG Chaplaincy Board, Prof. Charles Ackah.
The rest were the Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Hisanobu Mochizuki; the Managing Director of Toyota Ghana, Kohji Yanaka, and the Chief Director of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Patrick Nimoh.
The centre is equipped with a computer aided design (CAD) room, which houses 40 computers, a three-dimensional (3D) printing machine for the production of small parts designed by students for hands-on experience.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo has called on judges to embrace digital tools and knowledge to ensure the adjudication of cybercrime cases.
According to her, despite the relevance of internet services to current development efforts, it had also provided the platform for miscreants to pursue criminal activities that borders on the country’s safety and security.
This, she said required that judges build their capacity and skills about the internet and its governance to be able to deal with emerging cybercrime cases.
Justice Torkornoo was opening a three-day introductory training on cybercrime and electronic evidence for judges in Accra, organised by the National Cybersecurity Authority (CSA) in collaboration with the European Union (EU) under its framework of Organised Crime West Africa Response on Cybersecurity and Fight against Cybercrime.
It aimed at improving the skills of judges and prosecutors in the adjudication of cybercrime in the country.
Making a case for the deployment of technology in justice delivery and other sectors in general, she explained that the internet was a useful tool that had helped in enhancing productivity and simplifying various aspects of human life.
Similarly, the Chief Justice said it had become an avenue for unscrupulous persons to engage in criminal activities such as financial fraud, cyber bullying and blackmailing.
“The internet has enabled crime on new levels. These cybercrimes are multifaceted and cross border in nature.
This requires that the judiciary is abreast with new tools to be able to deal with such cases. We also need to build the capacities of several criminal justice actors such as Narcotics Control Board, Finance Intelligence Centre (FIC), among others, to be able to effectively play their roles,” she added.
The newspaper says that Fbnbank Ghana has reiterated its commitment to corporate social responsibility and sustainability in order to make a difference for a better tomorrow, not only for the bank but also for the communities it serve.
Announcing this year’s edition of its annual Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability (CR&S)
Week of the bank, slated for October 23 to 28, 2023,Mr Victor Yaw Asante ,Managing Director/CEO, FBNBank Ghana, said, “Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Week is a time when we come together as a bank to not only fulfil our CR&S responsibil¬ity but to try and make a tangible difference in the lives of those we serve.”
“We are excited about this positive impact we can create, and above all, we put our stakeholders at the heart of what we do,” he said.
The annual event, which is the foundation of the bank’s community engagement efforts, is poised to make an impact on the local communities.
The CR&S Week is a Group wide initiative that includes FBNBank Ghana, FBNBank Senegal, FirstBank Nigeria, FirstBank Sierra Leone, FirstBank Gambia, FirstBank Guinea and FirstBank DRC under the theme, “Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness (SPARK) – A Way of Life.”
Corporate Responsibility is one of the bank’s core values, and the Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Week is a way for the bank to give back to the communities.
As part of the celebrations, the bank will make some donations to some selected institutions in the country.
Mr Asante said, “The celebration reflects our commitment to creating positive change. It is also about making a difference for a better tomorrow, not only for the bank but also for the communities we serve. At FBNBank, we are committed to ensuring the FBNBank brand continues to deliver on its promise of putting stakeholders first in all that we do.”
GIK/APA
Ghana: Press spotlights call on agencies to align Agric support with govt priorities, others
