The report of the joint observer programme to end Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices in the ECOWAS regions bordering the seas, known as Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Graphic reports that the joint observer programme is aimed at ending Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices in the ECOWAS regions bordering the seas, known as Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC).
The signing of the pact took place during the closing ceremony of the 13th Session of the Conference of Ministers of the Fisheries Committee for West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, on Friday, December 17, 2021.
The FCWC was established in 2007 to promote and facilitate cooperation in fisheries management between the FCWC’s member countries—Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Liberia, Benin, and Cote d’Ivoire.
The FCWC exist among other things to enhance governance capacity through sub-regional and regional cooperation, particularly in respect to developing and implementing appropriate management frameworks that ensure fisheries resources are harvested sustainably.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Secretary General of FCWC, Mr Seraphin Dedi Nadje, said a joint observer programme would help the FCWC region to effectively and efficiently fight IUU fishing.
He said IUU fishing continued to undermine the development of sustainable marine fisheries in West Africa, resulting in environmental damage, high economic losses, and increasing levels of maritime insecurity.
He observed that the FCWC region lose a lot of money through the activities of IUU fishing annually, a situation he expressed optimism, could be dealt with if all FCWC member states worked together.
The newspaper says that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed the desire to hand over power to an NPP government in 2025 but indicated that internal party actions leading to the next election will actualise that dream or not.
“Every step taken now leading to 2024 is going to be decisive either to give us victory or not,” he told party delegates in Kumasi on Sunday.
The New Patriotic Party is in Kumasi for its annual delegates conference to take stock, amend portions of its constitution and touch base with its grassroots.
The president said competition within the party could not be avoided but “it help the party and not hinder it so we can break the eight.”
But he reckoned that it would require discipline and a united front; promising a level playing field for all presidential aspirants to produce an acceptable leader to be backed by all.
On the economy, the president said he was aware of the situation in the country and the difficulties people were going through as a result of the economic slowdown caused by the COVID 19 pandemic.
However, he said it was not time to through our hands in despair as a people indication his government was determined to bring Ghanaians out of the situation.
The president said the solution lied with the “Obatampa” economic programme which if followed through will lead to progress and prosperity for all.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Elizabeth Sackey, has accepted to lead Metropolitan, Municipal District Chief Executives of Ghana to the 1st West Africa-Latin America trade, investment and sister city conference in Belize, February 2022.
She accepted the invitation when executives of the Local Organising Committee and the brain behind the project, the African Citied Development Consult limited last Tuesday paid a courtesy call on her and gave her the invitation.
The Mayor indicated that she was very interested in opening up the capital city of Ghana, Accra to the World for the unlimited opportunity available around the globe which could be cultivated on the agenda of sister city.
Mrs. Sackey said she was driving home businesses, trade, tourism, agriculture and educational opportunities for the capital.
The Accra MCE called on businesses to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them by the conference to find market for their products, especially the Ghanaian produce.
She emphasised that President Akufo- Addo’s vision of making Ghana Beyond Aid could only be achieved through exports of Ghana made products to the world and Latin America which were still a fresh business zone for many opportunities for the Ghanaian businesses.
The newspaper says that in spite of the difficult economic situation this year, Zenith Bank grew stronger with considerable achievements, Managing Director, Mr Akin Ogunranti, has said.
Speaking at the Bank’s Light-Up and Carols Night Service on Friday, he said the Bank chalked a lot of successes this year.
He said the bank this year celebrated 16 years of successful banking operations in Ghana.
“We opened our 40th business location, Takyi Plaza branch and rolled out three new products,” he said.
Mr Ogunranti said the bank introduced a number of products to meet the banking and financial needs of customers.
They include the Zenith Aspire Account, designed to focus on and enhance the lifestyle of students in tertiary institutions, Zenith Timeless Account, an interest-free banking account designed for senior citizens 55 years and the Zenith Woman, designed to increase financial inclusion among women and improve their entrepreneurial skills.
Mr Ogunranti said the bank carried out extensive digital campaigns to bring banking to the doorstep of customers.
“We rolled out auto-finance schemes to enable individuals, salaried workers and corporate organisations to own vehicle of their choice,” Mr Ogunranti, said.
The newspaper says that a total of 12,780 doses of various COVID-19 vaccines which were found to have expired in November have been destroyed by the Volta Regional Directorate of Health.
Deputy Director of Health (DDH) in-charge of public health, DrSenanuKwesiDjokoto disclosed this to the Ghanaian Times in Ho on Friday.
He attributed the expiration of the vaccines to the low acceptance of the coronavirus jab among the populace, especially the youth in the region.
The vaccines remained in stock until they expired because they were not being administered, explained the Deputy Director.
“The Volta Region has a lower vaccination coverage rate as compared to the national average and this is very unpleasant,” said DrDjokoto.
He revealed that although the region had so far received 480,000 doses of the various coronavirus vaccines including AstraZeneca, Johnson and Johnson, Moderna and Pfitzer, only 259,847 doses were administered as of December 16, 2021.
Dr Djokoto said that 202, 540 people in the region had received at least one dose of the vaccine while only 59,308 were fully jabbed.
He said that health authorities in the region were now adapting an-hands-on-deck approach to reverse the low vaccine-acceptance trend among the populace.
GIK/APA