The Head of Policy Planning Monitoring and Evaluation at the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Doris Yeboah has announced that government has taken steps to establish marine protected areas (MPA) at Cape 3 Points in the Western region -where shes will go there and have some respite from work of artisanal sherfolks.
Speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the launch of the National Blue Economy Summit in Accra, she indicated that the idea for having marine protected area is to replenish depleting stocks. She said ”There are areas that have rules of no take, you can’t take anything from there -they are protected so that the marine life there will rejuvenate and go back into the system, so you declare an area that this you can’t do anything there for sh to grow, just replenish the stock of the ocean, so it is a standard tool, measure that is done in many countries, we
By Eugene Davisare now starting, we have done some studies, they are going on in the Western region.
On whether the ministry would push for a ban on plastics, she said “It is action that has to be taken by partners, there is already a plastic work that is being done by partners in the plastic space, so they are going to be able to say whether we need a ban or whatever it is. I don’t know what the plastic coalition is thinking now but I guess from their informed position, when they come up with an issue, we would go for it because it is really a ecting our stakeholders.”
A marine protected area (MPA) is a section of the ocean where a government has placed limits on human activity. Many MPAs allow people to use the area in ways that do not damage the environment. Some ban shing. A few do not allow people to enter the area at all.
MPAs are established because the ocean and the things that live in it face many dangers. Threats to the ocean include over shing, litter, water pollution, and global climate change. These threats have caused a decline in the population of many sh, marine mammals, and other sea creatures.
Marine protected areas can have many di erent names, including marine parks, marine conservation zones, marine reserves, marine sanctuaries, and no-take zones. More than 5,000 MPAs have been established around the world. Together, they cover 0.8 percent of the ocean.
The main focus of many MPAs is to protect marine habitats and the variety of life that they support. Some MPAs focus on conserving historic sites such as shipwrecks.
Other MPAs are established in order to ensure that resources are sustainable—that they will not run out.
Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies Dr. Joseph Siaw Adjepong has vowed that with the advent of the Jospong Group Rice Project, the importation of rice into the country will be minimised if not stop completely.
"Where we (JG) see a problem we confront it and solve it and this project that we have begun walahi talahi the [rice] importation must stop," he vowed.
Dr. Adjepong was speaking at a two-day Ghana Food Security conference 2023 themed "Enhancing Food Security: The role of Ghanaian scientists" in Gomoa Fetteh in the Central region.
He encouraged the stakeholders particularly the rice farmers and scientists not to despair that there are no adequate policies to support the initiative but rather be hopeful that when "fruits begin to yeild", policies will change to favour them.
"Wether policy is supporting or not, never be discouraged, let us do our part and when we begin to yield fruits, policies will change to favour us," he assured.
Quoting former president Barack Obama, he further challenged the government to choose hope over the fear that if it bans the importation of rice, Ghanaians will go hungry but rather be hopeful that the Ghanaian farmer will be challenged and empowered to produce quality rice for the country.
The CEO of the Asian African Con-
sortium (AAC), Mrs. Adelaide Siaw Adjepong who is leading the Jospong Group Rice Project noted that science, research and development have traditionally been the drivers of innovation and productivity and are central to everything done in the world.
According to her, if immediate measures to enhance food production are not undertaken, the cost of Africa's yearly food import might rise from $50 billion to US$110 billion by 2030.
"When there is a food crisis, the poor su er the most since they are unable to obtain food due to price hikes" she noted .
She said this motivated the Jospong Group and the AAC in partnership with the CSIR to "perceive" the need to bridge Ghana's food security concerns.
On his part, the Director General of the Council for Scienti c and Industrial Research (CSIR), Prof. Paul Bosu, was hopeful that the two day conference will chart a course towards realizing Ghana's goal of achieving food security and become self-su cient in rice production.
"We in Ghana have all that we need to become food secure," he stressed.
He reiterated that the CSIR and the AAC recently signed an MoU to work together towards the vision of helping Ghanato become food secure.
"We need to support government to achieve its objective of feeding
the Ghanaian population and earn more foreign exchange, " he charged the stakeholders.
The General Secretary of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Labi, who spoke on behalf of the Chairman of Church of Pentecost noted that, this initiative has come at the right time to help Ghana achieve the Sustainable Development Goal two: “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”.
He noted that the conference theme, "Enhancing Food Security: The Role of Ghanaian Scientists" is crucial in Ghana's development discourse, especially at a time when the economy is distressed.
"While we await IMF assistance, it is critical that steps be taken locally to strengthen our country's economic issues," he noted.
The Church commend the CSIR, whose key mandate is to drive national development and global competitiveness in industry through scienti c and technological research, for partnering with Jospong Group.
He noted that the conference is rightly in sync with the 5-year vision of the Church of Pentecost, which has the theme "Possessing the Nations".
"The overarching goal is to equip members who will possess their nations by transforming every worldview, thought, and behaviour with the values, princi-
ples, and lifestyles of the Kingdom of God, thereby turning many to Christ'" he mentioned.
The conference aims to Establish Inter-Institutional Technical Teams With Clear Roles And Responsibilities to Drive The Production of Selected Commodities (ie rice, jute, maize, soya bean, tomato, onion, etc.), and establish timelines for deliverables.
Conduct A Thorough Analysis of The Key Areas of Operations For Each Commodity, Including Breeding, Good Agronomic Practices, mechanization, innovation, etc. and develop action plans to address any identi ed gaps.
Develop clear modalities and guidelines for the implementation of the programme deliverables, including resource allocation, timelines, and communication protocols.
Prepare a comprehensive work plan and budget per selected commodity, outlining speci c activities, deliverables, timelines, and resource requirements.
Recommend training programmes that will build capacity of the technical teams and other stakeholders involved in the production of selected commodities.
The conference brought together Many partners from universities, experienced civil servants from all persuasions and agencies and other partners from Nigeria and Thailand.
Newmont Akyem Development Foundation(NAkDeF) has presented specialised working tools worth GHS80,000 to 57 bene ciaries from its host communities under the Akyem Soft Skills and Sustainability Training
(ASSIST) Programme.
The items are to be used in trade areas, including sewing/tailoring, hairdressing, carpentry, masonry, aluminium fabrication, weld-
ing, auto electronics, tiling, motorbike mechanics, radio and electronics, plumbing, auto mechanics, beauty and makeup, catering, and shoe making.
The ASSIST Programme was
developed to provide entrepreneurial and employable skills to members of our Akyem Mine's host communities who may not have bene ted from the mainstream education system.
The Country Manager for Emirates Ghana, Cathrine Wesley, has reiterated the airline’s resolve to continue to build strong partnerships in the country and also position it as a leading travel destination in West Africa.
“We look forward to continuing to build strong partnerships in Ghana. I would also like to take this opportunity to rea rm Emirates’ commitment to providing world-class service to our customers in Ghana.”
According to Cathrine Wesley, she has been passionate about the airline industry and the role it plays in connecting people and cultures, “I was drawn to Emirates because of its reputation for excellence and its commitment to providing its customers with the best travel experience possible,” she said in an interview that pro led her career thus far.
Ms. Wesley, who is also the country manager for Emirates in Ivory Coast as well, indicated that she felt proud to lead a team of dedicated and talented professionals who give expression to Emirates’
commitment to providing its customers with exceptional service.
In a wide range of interview, she touted Emirates contributions to Ghana’s aviation industry and the economy, when she maintained that “For 19 years operating in Ghana, Emirates has given travellers great travel experiences, including wonderful stop-overs in Dubai while connecting to our numerous destinations.
Emirates has also helped to position Ghana as a leading travel destination in West Africa and has facilitated Ghana’s investment promotion drive. The airline has stimulated economic activity and created job opportunities for Ghanaians through our partnerships with local businesses and suppliers. Additionally, our commitment to providing exceptional services has helped to raise the bar for service standards in the Ghanaian industry. These are some of our signi cant contributions to the aviation industry in Ghana and the economy of Ghana.”
Emirates was recently awarded the Presidential Honour for Distinguished Service at the 2023, Ghana National Honours Awards from President Akufo -Addo for its role in transporting medical supplies, humanitarian aid, and its unstinting support to Ghana during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the country manager, “the recognition is an acknowledgment of the stature of the
Emirates’ brand. Emirates is pleased that our commitment to delivering the highest standards of service and quality to our customers in Ghana has been recognized”.
Further, she urged the sta to continue to work together to contribute to the growth and success of Emirates, its partners and Ghana.
It was somewhere in 2017 when I started knowing Hon. Joe Ghartey, a 2024 Presidential candidate aspirant of the ruling New Patriotic Party and former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice under former President John Agyekum Kufuor's administration, on a personal level.
That was shortly after he was sworn-in by President Nana Akufo-Addo as Minister for Railways Development. Hon Ghartey, very passionate about developing Ghana's Railways sector and using rail to boost economic development, hit the ground running after he was sworn-in in February 2017. I was one of the rst three journalists the Railways Development Ministry selected to join its Press Corps at a time when Hon. Ghartey was actually working as the Railways Development Minister from his o ce as Member of Parliament for Essikado-Ketan Constituency in
the Job 600 building, Parliament House, before the building being used by the Ministry now was prepared. He stayed in his o ce at Parliament for six months with just a secretary but with abundant optimism. Since then, I have been really close to him.
My rst tour with Hon. Ghartey was the inspection of the now Tema-Mpakadan railway line. Those were the early days of Hon. Ghartey's impressive revamping of the once 'dead' Railways sector.
Along the journey, I have learned a lot from this astute Ghanaian politician. Everyone who knows me as a journalist knows that I love asking questions. From my days at Daily Guide Newspaper when I was mainly covering political events or reporting on political issues, till now, I have always believed that the easiest way to introduce and as well market
By Melvin Tarlueoneself as a journalist is to ask relevant questions at every function you attend when the opportunity is given.
So, every time I went on a tour with Hon. Ghartey, after inspecting work being done on a particular Railway track, I would always ask him questions on the development of Railways in Ghana, what the plans were, what he was going to do, etc. But each time we (journalists) asked him to talk about what he was doing or to tell Ghanaians what he was going to do for the Railways sector his answers were a little reserved. I realized that he was a man who loves to work more and talk less, something I have started practicing myself. One day at Kpone while we were inspecting the railway line, he jokingly told me "Melvin, today if you don't stop asking questions, you won't eat." Everyone laughed. Then later, while we were walking, he told me, “The thing is about doing the job and not talking too much about what you are doing or what you want to do. When you do a good job, people will see and your job itself will speak for you when you show it to them."
Hon. Ghartey, after our conversation during the tour, remained true to his conviction which is "more work, less talk." And indeed, when some of the Railway’s tracks were completed, Ghanaians from everywhere, including even the former Deputy General Secretary of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Koku Anyidoho, were full of praise. In 2019 he was identi ed as the Best Minister.
It was indeed under Hon. Ghartey that Ghana since colonial times, could boast of standard gauge Railways lines. The country had since colonial rule by Britain had just narrow-gauge rail lines.
So, the rst leadership lesson I picked from Hon. Ghartey!!! Work more, talk less. When you are called to serve your nation, serve with all your heart, focus on doing the job and do it well.
I have always said one way for Africa to develop or progress is for us to have leaders who talk less and work more. A lot of our leaders talk too much, full of too much rhetorics, make promises upon promises and deliver less or work less.
Another important leadership lesson I picked from Hon. Ghartey is that leaders must strive at all times to not only be concerned about their own welfare but also to be concerned about the well-being of their employees, their followers or citizens.
It was on his birthday in 2018 and we visited the Ghana Railway Development Authority. Hon. Ghartey had visited the Authority to interact with its management members and sta , and to his surprise, the Authority threw a little birthday party for him in its Board room. Though appreciative of the birthday surprise, Hon. Ghartey was mainly concerned about the well-being of Railway workers in Ghana. Prior to him assuming o ce as Railways Development Minister, railway workers in the country had not been paid for several months, something Hon. Ghartey found absolutely unacceptable.
So, while addressing management of the Ghana Railway Development Authority then led by its late CEO, Richard Dombo, Hon. Ghartey appealed passionately to management members of the Authority to at all times think about the ordinary workers at the Authority such as cleaners, drivers, whenever they think of increasing their own salaries and allowances. I was sitting not far from him and heard him clearly saying to Mr. Dombo and his management sta that when you think of increasing your own salaries and allowances, also think of increasing the salaries and allowances of every sta member because the economic conditions that push you to want to increase your salaries and allowances also a ect the ordinary workers here.
After hearing what Hon. Ghartey told management of the Authority, I started saying to myself this man is certainly not one of the typical self-centered and greedy
African politicians I have always known or heard about. He is indeed, a leader who stands for the less privileged, a leader who understands the plight of ordinary workers or ordinary people.
Think about solutions and not dwell on problems
Somewhere in 2019, in the afternoon, Hon. Ghartey called me on phone and I asked that I meet him in his o ce at the Ministry. He needed me to do something for him so I had to rush there. While returning from the Ministry, I met a relative of President Akufo-Addo and while we were talking, the person told me bluntly "the President will remove your man (Joe Ghartey) from o ce". I asked the person why the President wanted to remove Hon. Ghartey from o ce, and the person said because "he (Joe Ghartey) is nurs-
ing a Presidential Ambition and the President now feels it's best to remove him from o ce so he can go focus on his Presidential project".
n 2020, Hon. Ghartey publicly revealed his intention to lead NPP into the 2024 Presidential election. And sadly in 2021, he was surely removed from o ce apparently because of his Presidential ambition. At the time he was removed from o ce, he was in full gear modernizing and revamping Ghana's Railways sector and working on building what he termed as "economic hubs" along major Railways lines. That dream, for obscured political reasons, has not come to life since Hon. Ghartey was removed from o ce, and today, little is heard about the Railways sector as nothing seems to be happening in the sector.
So, after his removal, he called
me to his law rm, Ghartey & Ghartey, at Labone, a suburb of Accra. Yes, I was deeply disappointed he had been removed from o ce. So, when I met him, I said to him, "my main concern now is how we are going to keep you in the media from now until the Presidential primaries next year or in 2023. I am truly worried about you not being out of the spotlight, in the news regularly." Then he asked me: "are you worried?" I responded in the a rmative. And then he told me not to worry, "God knows best", and that rather than dwelling on what has gone wrong, we should rather think about what we can do.
So Hon. Ghartey taught me another important lesson as a leader and that is as a people, we should not dwell on our problems, on what went wrong.
Rather, we should focus on nding solutions to the problems that confronts us and remain resolute in the face of adversity. When he was removed from o ce, he did not despair. He did not take to television and radio stations to speak ill about President Akufo-Addo for removing him from o ce simply because he declared his intention to lead NPP. He rather took his removal from o ce in good faith and moved on.
Today he is running for President and I will not be suprised at all if in the near future Ghana has a President Joe Ghartey. A man who believes in working more and talking less; a man who believes in the welfare of his people; a man who works hard regardless of the situation; a man who bears no grudges and is always looking at the bright side of things; a man who says God knows best. Yes, this is President Joe Ghartey.
Now that the falsehoods and obfuscation of climate denialism have nally been silenced, addressing climate change has become the world’s top priority. But time is running out, and the International Monetary Fund warns that any further delays on implementing policies to mitigate global warming will only add to the economic cost of the transition to a low-emissions economy. Worse, we still lack a concrete, pragmatic strategy for tackling the problem. Although economists have made a robust case for why carbon taxes are the best solution, this option has proven politically infeasible, at least in those countries that account for some of the highest emissions (namely, the United States).
Commentators have also stressed that climate change is a shared problem involving important cross-border externalities that must be addressed through a multilateral approach to global coordination. But, as with carbon taxes, this argument has fallen on deaf ears. And, given the current geopolitical climate and the
increasing fragmentation of the global economy, there is little hope that the message will get through anytime soon. Having committed to assisting developing economies as they confront climate change, the World Bank nds itself limited by the country-based model underlying its nancing operations. It is earnestly weighing its options and considering how it could coordinate climate-related nancing across borders. But while such e orts are well meaning and consistent with the spirit of multilateralism, they inevitably will delay concrete action. World Bank nancing would have to be completely restructured, and coordinating action across multiple countries that have limited nancial resources and often con icting interests seems an impossible task. For example, while some developing economies are rich in fossil fuels, others are starved for energy sources. Given these limitations, pragmatism dictates focusing on the biggest polluters. Global carbon dioxide emissions are concentrat-
ed among only a handful of countries and regions. China, the US, the European Union, Japan, and Russia collectively account for 63% of the total, and none of these top polluters is a low-income country anymore. China, the poorest of the group, represents around 30% of all emissions, making it by far the world’s largest current polluter in absolute terms. But its government is taking steps to accelerate the transition to green energy – a winning strategy, given the country’s abundance of rare earth metals. India, the third-largest emitter, currently accounts for approximately 7% of global CO2 emissions, and its size and growth trajectory imply that it could easily surpass China as the leading polluter, barring stronger climate policies. In fact, when it comes to helping developing countries decarbonize, considerable progress could be made simply by targeting India alone. The big advantage of this strategy is that it would avoid the paralysis associated with attempts to adopt a multilateral approach in an increasingly fragmented world.
This does not mean that we should eschew projects aimed at climate mitigation or adaptation in other countries. But we would not need to wait until everyone is on board before doing anything. Those insisting on a multilateral approach should learn from the experience of the ultimate multilateral institution: the World Trade Organization. Its requirement that every single provision in every multilateral agreement
gain unanimous support has left it increasingly paralyzed, prompting demands for institutional reform. Of course, India is not low-hanging fruit. It is rich in coal and has little incentive (beyond the health of its citizens) to hasten the transition to green energy. In focusing on India, we would need to employ the carrot, not the stick. Since the stick generally takes the form of pressure to implement carbon taxation, it is a non-starter. A tax would be ine ective, because it would incite massive domestic opposition (as has been the case in the US). It would also be morally objectionable, because it is unfair to ask a lower-middle-income country to bear the burden of reducing CO2 emissions when rich countries (like the US) have failed to do the same. Moreover, even if China and India are now two of the world’s biggest polluters, they bear little responsibility for the past, cumulative emissions that led to the current climate crisis.
That leaves the carrot, which would come in the form of tax incentives or subsidies to support green energy. When paired with other policies, these can ease rms into adapting to higher environmental standards (such as those associated with a cap-and-trade program). But such policies are expensive, which means that tackling climate change will require richer countries to help nance them. Whether or not India becomes the new China, it is still in our power to ensure that it does not become the new outsize polluter.
The maiden edition of the Single-Parent Empowerment Initiative Project (SPEI) has been slated for 1 pm on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at the Accra Business School, Spintex Road and will be held on the theme ‘Single-Parenting: the changing phase of modern families’.
The conference will serve as a platform where single parents and the less deprived in communities as a result of broken homes will converge to discuss pertinent issues a ecting their livelihood and well-being.
It is also expected to birth in these individuals new hopes and empower them as they move forward with their lives. The event will host more than 500 women from all walks of life who will come together to share experiences and ideas and to learn from resource persons who
will educate, empower and equip them to pursue their career path while serving God wholeheartedly.
Resource persons will include the rst lady of the Pleasant Place Church and founder of Christ Temple International School, Reverend Olivia Titi-Ofei; Gospel Artist, Abena Ruth; media personality, Tima KunKum and other astute women professionals working within the corporate environment.
The Single-Parent Empowerment Initiative Project is organised by the Beats Foundation, a faith-based foundation established with the sole purpose of helping children who are under single parental care as a result of divorce or death.
The Foundation is here to com-
plement the e orts of single parents by providing educational sponsorship opportunities, and vocational training opportunities, among others for the children and the parent.
Founder of Beats Foundation, Beatrice Bonney-Gyasi, told the B&FT that her out t sees the need to appreciate single parents and celebrate them as such while assisting and encouraging them to still discover their purposes in life.
Being raised by her mother, she believed that “no matter what had happened, be it divorce, separation, death or teenage pregnancy, one could still keep their dreams alive and strive in life” and that is what her foundation wants to unearth. She added that the conference is not limited to single parents, but
also beckons everyone who wishes to learn and make positive future and life decisions.
Ms. Bonney-Gyasi is hopeful the conference would give children of single-parent counseling and empowerment to live their best life, despite any hardships they may have had.
The team at Beats Foundation works hard each year to provide and improve the lives of needy children as they provide protection, show compassion, give hope to needy children and bring out the best in them to contribute their quota to the development of the country.
To ensure the success of this initiative, the Foundation is seeking partnerships and key stakeholders’ involvement to support this important and unique initiative.
Our worst nightmare should not be the fear that Arti cial intelligence (AI) will take over the world and destroy humanity. No way! In such a ctional battle for power, someone will eventually succeed, either out of luck or wit, in shutting them down. And then, what happens next after years of depending on AI?
Our greatest nightmare should be that over-dependence on AI will result in a generation of people who are very smart in getting results, yet woefully unintelligent, without creativity and without imagination.
The uniqueness and power of humans, lies not only in our ability to show emotions, but our unparalleled ability to think, create, imagine, plan and innovate. Yet, in the quest to achieve more, humans are gradually, with all the excitement, handing over this power to machines.
Newton's third law of motion seems to apply to every facet of life. "To every action, is an equal and opposite reaction."
While our everyday interactions with AI produces training data to make machines more intelligent, the abdication of our power of
intelligence and imagination, reverses this process. We learn to "not to think' and to "not create." It is only a matter of time, for enough training data to be produced to retrain our brains to be lower versions of ourselves.
It is worth noting that, what has been created is not only an issue of "machine learning," but also "human learning." AI does not work for free; it gains by learning from those it works for, and humans equally learn this experience of easy life. This results in a divergent dependency relationship.
In the absence of a deliberate e ort to also learn from AI, program it, control it and think ahead of it, we stand to lose more than we gain in the long term.
The release of thousands of AI applications in less than 6 months has started a new bidirectional evolution where machines and humans are heading towards opposite destinations. The process of reverse programming of the human brain just boarded a rocket ship to travel back in time.
Evidence is the creation of many
AI experts in less than 6 months, most of whom know little to nothing in basic math, can't write a single line of code, or even understand the basic architecture of the simplest AI model.
Yet, as it always happens in the initial stages of every addiction, the mind is tricked into the quicksand of serotonin with the term "prompt engineering." Many have become hooked up to this, but unless this evolves into a form of computer language to control the backend algorithm of AI, it only empowers machines more, and leaves us with nothing beyond getting tasks completed quickly. But as stated earlier, we only become "smart but less intelligent:" This is the likely state of the next forms of humans, if this process continues without a deliberate counter strategy.
Seeing beyond this fuzzy haze is the real gold mine that AI reveals. The complexity of arti cial intelligence only shows that, a sect of humans is evolving into super humans. Their thinking is getting sharper, their imagination, wider, and their creativity and innovation, super. While majority of the people will depend on AI, the power to take over the world will
rest, not with AI but with the people that AI depends on. Where you stand will matter.
The more we relegate our unique ability to reason and to create to AI, the more we polarize the intellectual spectrum into a highly intelligent few and woefully unintelligent masses. This should be our greatest nightmare because, slowly and unintentionally, the highest form of human power is dripping into the tank of a very few; our data, our intelligence and our creativity.
Remember, machines have no interest in taking over the world, history shows that it is humans who do, and this time, the humans who control AI.
Therefore, it is very expedient to not just use AI to improve your productivity or relief yourself from boring work, but also, using it to improve yourself, sharpen your intelligence and creativity, and preserve your sense of humanity. Because soon, not many will have these traits, and those who do, will be near super humans.Written
By: Shadrack T. Asiedu(Founder: BeShak Support Systems)
EDITOR: BENSON AFFUL editor@business24
PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS24 LTD.