The call by President Akufo-Addo on the media fraternity to uphold high journalistic standards, embrace training and critically engage society to help advance the development of the country is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has called on the media fraternity to uphold high journalistic standards, embrace training and critically engage society to help advance the development of the country.
“You should recognise the need for training, critical engagement of society, self-regulation and insistence on high media ethics and journalistic standards,” he said.
The President made the call at the maiden Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Dinner on the premises of the Ghana International Press Centre in Accra last Wednesday night.
Decoupled from the awards event, the dinner brought journalists and media managers together to socialise and take stock of the year’s activities.
In attendance were personalities from various fields, most of them connected to the media, including veteran journalists Ajoa Yeboah-Afari; a former Managing Editor of the Daily Guide and Ghana’s Ambassador to Germany, Gina Blay; the Executive Secretary of the National Media Commission (NMC), George Sarpong; the Founder and Leader of the Salt and Light Ministries and friend of the media, Joyce Aryee.
Also present in their numbers were practising reporters, including some winners of the 2021 GJA awards.
Members of the diplomatic community were not left out, as were leaders of businesses, including the Chief Executive Officer of Tobinco Pharmaceuticals, Dr Amoo Tobin, government officials and the international evangelist, Rev. Dr Lawrence Tetteh, who opened the night with a prayer.
It was a joyous occasion, with good music dished out by the Ghana Police Band and performance by the renowned highlife musician, Pat Thomas, who kept patrons engaged throughout the entire event.
President Akufo-Addo, who pledged the government’s support for journalists, also appealed to the GJA to stick to facts and scrutinise comments and opinions on the ongoing discussions between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the government.
The newspaper says that the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has said rigorous work is underway to build the capacity of the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) to ensure it provides international best practice regulatory services to the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.
She said the focus was for NITA not to be a profit-oriented or heavy-handed regulator, but one that enabled, promoted and ensured a vibrant and competitive ICT ecosystem with opportunities for businesses and citizens.
“As the sector grows, it comes with its associated risks and hazards that require proper management to prevent loss of resources for citizens, businesses and the economy at large.
“It is, therefore, imperative that the government partners with the private sector to ensure that systems are standardised to withstand attacks,” Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said.
In her speech at the NITA ICT Stakeholder’s Forum 2022 in Accra last Wednesday, the minister said, “The ministry is mandated to lead and champion the government’s digital agenda through the implementation of digital initiatives to bring services closer to the people. The benefits of these initiatives to the citizens cannot be quantified.”
The forum was organised in collaboration with the Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana (IIPGH) on the theme: “Regulating ICT Businesses and Practitioners in Ghana: Opportunities and Challenges.”
It was for stakeholders to share ideas on how best they could regulate the sector, as well as discuss the regulatory activities NITA would be conducting.
She explained that the ICT sector required a strong regulator ensuring that businesses thrived and consumers received value for money on products, solutions and services rendered by the ICT industry.
“The ministry realised there was a gap in the implementation of NITA’s regulatory mandate and directed the leadership of NITA to refocus its attention on its core mandate of regulating the ICT space, while the operational aspect of its activities is handled by a technical partner,” Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said.
The Graphic also reports that technology has helped many small organisations to grow into giants within their space. As technology evolves very there is, therefore, the need for small business owners to recognise its value and adapt.
This is necessary because the ability to adapt to emerging technologies can drive a business to the next level.
Much as technology comes at a cost to the business, it all depends on whether as a business the owner prefers to treat technology as an expenditure or an investment. What is important is that before making a decision, SMEs must be able to appreciate the fact that markets are becoming more competitive and that adapting to technology to transform and stay relevant is no longer an option.
Here are just a few reasons why SMEs must adapt to emerging technologies to stay competitive, cut cost and improve their bottom-line.
Hackers are all over and they target anybody once they notice an activity online. There are those who have deliberately positioned themselves to target smaller businesses and ‘eat’ them up in bits. Like the saying goes, little drops of water makes a mighty ocean.
As a result, the hackers position themselves to hit the accounts of small business owners. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic for instance, there has been a significant increase in global cyber threats. With SMEs now seen as low hanging fruits, they have not been spared because the hackers know that cybercrime prevention is generally neglected within this sector.
Today, many businesses are selling their things or offering services online. They tap into any available website or download Apps they feel can be of help to them. Their payment systems are not protected neither are they frequently updated.
Remote working has become the order of the day and that is the more reason why there is a sharp increase in cyberattacks. Businesses that have not yet taken the necessary precautions have been vulnerable to these assaults from hackers.
This is why Cybersecurity strategy has become imperative to keep one’s business operational. Constantly, it should be at the back of the mind of every small business owner that upgrading systems just once is not enough.
Tech tools for network security, firewalls, anti-virus for applications and computers, data encryption, security monitoring, logging and alerting systems and system backups must be constantly considered.
For purposes of trust, SMEs must ensure that while protecting their systems, they are not reckless but ensure that security of customer information, intellectual property and any other information that’s critical for financial gain is well protected.
The Ghanaian Times says that the health sector workers will from Decem¬ber 27 join other labour unions to embark on an indefinite strike to press home their demand for the exemption of pension funds from the domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DEP).
The workers include the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Health Services Workers’ Union (HSWU) and Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA).
This was contained in a statement issued in Accra on December 21.
It was signed by the President of GMA, Dr Frank Serebour; President of GRNMA, Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo; General Secretary of HSWU, Franklin Owusu Andah and Nathan Coompson, Chairman of GHOSPA.
According to the statement, the strike action would commence with the withdrawal of all Out-Patient services on December 27.
It said the workers would withdraw emergency services and later all services on January 2 and 9 respectively.
The statement explained that the action had become necessary following the announcement by the Minister of Finance which prompted the Organised Labour to declare a strike.
The Organised Labour, on December 19, declared an indefinite strike from December 27 to drum home its demand for the government to exempt pension funds from the DEP.
The industrial action followed a one-week ultimatum given by organised labour for the government to rescind its decision to include pension funds in the DEP, else workers “will advise themselves.”
Announcing the strike in Accra, the Secretary General of the TUC, Dr Yaw Baah, said the government had failed to heed the demands of organised labour.
The demands, he said, were communicated to the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, on December 12, this year.
“The government has refused to grant us our request that all pension funds be exempted from the DEP. We have decided firmly that all workers of Ghana are going on strike on December 27.
We will be on strike until our demand that all pension funds be exempted from the DEP is granted,” he said.
GIK/APA