TIG Post

Tag: commissioner

  • SBGs urged by British High Commissioner to take advantage of climate funds

    SBGs urged by British High Commissioner to take advantage of climate funds

    British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson, has called upon small and growing businesses (SGBs), particularly green start-ups, to leverage climate finance opportunities.

    Addressing the 2023 Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) conference held in Accra, the High Commissioner emphasized the importance of sustainable business practices. She encouraged SGBs to tap into climate financing resources as a means to propel their growth.

    Thompson pointed out that climate change has evolved into a pressing global concern, prompting governments, international organizations, and private sector investors to acknowledge the necessity of channeling funds into sustainable and climate-resilient ventures. This recognition has given rise to various climate financing mechanisms designed to support enterprises that prioritize environmental sustainability.

    She also highlighted the manifold advantages of climate financing, which encompass financial backing for the execution of sustainable projects and initiatives. These projects may include the development of renewable energy systems, adoption of energy-efficient technologies, implementation of waste management solutions, and the creation of green infrastructure.

    She, therefore, underscored the importance of SGBs, especially environmentally-conscious enterprises, harnessing the available financial resources to align themselves with the pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and combat global warming.

    She emphasized that while many organizations might perceive climate financing as primarily accessible to large corporations or extensive projects, it is imperative for small and growing businesses to understand that they, too, have access to these funding opportunities.

    Pearl Nkrumah, Director for Retail and Digital Services at Access Bank Ghana, echoed these sentiments. She highlighted the crucial role that SGBs, commonly referred to as Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana, must play. She noted that the bank had committed approximately GH₵500 million to support these businesses over the past few years and expressed the bank’s commitment to continue doing so in the future.

    “What we also do with regard to the SDGs is empower women because we believe they have a key role to play; so, we give them the necessary enabling platform to survive and take up leadership positions.

    “We believe one of the most important forms of assistance to SMEs is developing the value chain and connecting them to the right network, which we do through capacity building in partnership with other stakeholders,” she said.

    Furthermore, climate financing frequently includes technical assistance and capacity-building initiatives aimed at improving businesses’ comprehension and adoption of sustainable practices. This assistance can be instrumental in helping organizations navigate intricate prerequisites and ensure the effective implementation of sustainable projects.

    The conference, titled ‘Accelerating Action: Small Business Solutions and the SDGs,’ seeks to highlight the notable advancements achieved thus far and identify the strategies to bolster SGB ecosystems as they work towards enhancing their contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the coming seven years.

  • Pope Francis to moderate services for Palm Sunday a day after receiving medical attention

    Pope Francis to moderate services for Palm Sunday a day after receiving medical attention

    Just one day after leaving the hospital, Pope Francis presided over Sunday’s Easter services in St. Peter’s Square.

    In front of more than 30,000 faithful, he presided over the Palm Sunday ceremony, which was followed by the Angelus prayer.

    He had difficulties breathing when he was brought into Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Wednesday, and bronchitis was later determined to be the cause.

    Upon being discharged on Saturday, the Pope joked that he was “still alive”.

    “I just felt a malaise, but I wasn’t afraid,” Italian news agency Ansa quoted him as saying on Saturday.

    After being discharged, the pontiff was seen smiling and waving from his car, before getting out to speak to a crowd.

    Instead of heading home, his car drove past the Vatican and stopped at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. When he came out after praying, people on the street applauded and shouted: “Long live the Pope!”

    During another stop, he exited his vehicle to give chocolate Easter eggs to police officers in his motorcade, AP news agency reported.

    On Sunday he thanked those who prayed for him during his hospital stay.

    Pope Francis waves as he rides in a car near the Vatican after having been discharged from Gemelli hospital in Rome, Italy, April 1, 2023
    Image caption,Pope Francis, surrounded by security officers, waved to the crowds that had gathered outside his hospital in Rome

    The pontiff’s admission to hospital came ahead of the busiest week in the Christian calendar.

    The Holy Week includes a busy schedule of events and services which can be physically demanding.

    The Argentine pontiff, who marked 10 years as head of the Catholic Church earlier this month, has suffered a number of health issues throughout his life, including having part of one of his lungs removed at age 21.

    He has also used a wheelchair in recent months because of problems related to his knee.

    Wednesday’s hospitalisation was his second since 2021, when he underwent colon surgery, also at Gemelli.

    But the Pope has remained active, visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan in February. The previous month, he led the funeral of his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI.

    Although the pontiff, who has pushed for reforms in the Catholic Church, has previously said he would consider stepping down if his health failed him, he recently confirmed he had no plans to quit.

    https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.48.0/iframe.htmlMedia caption,

    Watch: The Pope comforted grieving parents as he left Gemelli Hospital

    Pope’s schedule over Easter

    2 April, Palm Sunday: 09:30 (07:30 GMT) Papal Mass, 12:00 Sunday Blessing

    5 April: 09:00 Papal General Audience

    6 April, Holy Thursday: 09:30 Chrism Mass in St Peter’s Basilica

    7 April, Good Friday: 17:00 Passion of the Lord, 21:15 Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum

    8 April, Holy Saturday: 20:30 Easter Vigil in St Peter’s Basilica

    9 April, Easter Sunday: 10:00 Easter Sunday Mass, 12:00 Urbi et Orbi in St Peter’s Square

    10 April, Easter Monday: 12:00, Pasquetta in St Peter’s Square

  • Over 70% of cocoa lands in Ghana will not be suitable again by 2050 if… – UK’s Harriet Thompson

    The United Kingdom High (UK) Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson has indicated that by 2050, over 70 per cent of the lands in Ghana used to grow cocoa will no longer be suitable for that purpose.

    She says this will happen if temperatures continue to rise as they are doing currently in the country.

    Madam Thompson said this in a tweet on Tuesday November 29 after she paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Food and Agriculture Dr Owusu Akoto Afriyie.

    The courtesy call was to enable the two of them deliberate on issues of relevance in the agriculture sector especially on the United Kingdom Support Climate Smart Agriculture in Ghana.

    Madam Thompson said “Over 70% of land currently used to grow cocoa in Ghana will not be suitable for that crop by 2050 if temperatures continue to rise as they are doing currently.

    “Now is the time to adapt – and the potential to do so is great.”

    Over 70% of land currently used to grow cocoa in 🇬🇭 will not be suitable for that crop by 2050 if temperatures continue to rise as they are doing currently. Now is the time to adapt – and the potential to do so is great. https://t.co/FLNuE9NZhe

    — Harriet Thompson (@HCThompson001) November 29, 2022

  • CHRAJ urges human rights institutions to comply with UN Paris Principles

    The Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has entreated the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) to comply with the United Nations Paris Principles in the implementation and protection of the rights and freedoms of all persons.

    Mr Joseph Whittal, CHRAJ Commissioner, also urged NHRIs to hold governments accountable for their human rights obligations.

    Mr Whittal made the call during an experience sharing visit of a three-member high level delegation from the National Human Rights Commission of Mali (Commission National des Driots de l’Homme) (CNDH).

    The CHRAJ Commissioner, who also doubles as the President of the Network of National Human Rights Institutions in West Africa (NNHRI-WA), said international human rights performance standards such as the Paris Principles would ensure independence, competence, credibility, and accountability of NHRIs, and empower them to be effective in their work.

    Mr Whittal recalled a study of a comparative analysis of African NHRIs and whether their legal frameworks met the effectiveness criteria of the Paris Principles.

    He said the study analyzed the independence, competencies, responsibilities, funding, and financial autonomy of NHRIs, and discovered some limitations in their legal framework, as well as their operational, financial, and appointment autonomy.

    He observed that restrictive mandates imposed by enabling legislation, including poorly written legislation, inadequate protection within the enabling legislation regarding the security of tenure, and ambiguous laws on the powers and functions of these institutions were pointed out as major threats to the legal autonomy of NHRIs.

    The CHRAJ Commissioner disclosed that the report revealed the inadequate ability of some NHRIs to execute their mandates without external interferences, controls, influence or obstruction from any branch of the government, private bodies, and other powerful individuals.

    He noted that withholding of finances by the State to exert controls and inconsistencies in the appointment or removal of Commissioners along with harassment, arbitrary arrests, and murder of human rights defenders, threatened the independence and effectiveness of NHRIs.

    Mr Whittal emphasized that African Governments ought to be conscious of human rights and adopt transparency in the appointment of Commissioners to guarantee the designation of people with integrity, skill, qualification, and competence to head the NHRIs.

    He said a substantive level of political will was required to promote and protect human rights by guaranteeing NHRIs a secure and conducive operating environment.

    He, therefore, urged the delegation from CNDH to resist interference in their operations and to continuously work at implementing the Paris Principles, coupled with adhering to the recommendations of GANHRIs Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) which are aimed at strengthening NHRIs.

    The President of the Mali CNDH and head of the delegation, Mr Aguibou Bouare, also stated that the visit to CHRAJ was critical in the light of the new challenges facing Mali under its Military Regime to draw inspiration from the experience of the Commission, which has maintained its ‘A’ status since 1996.

    He said CHRAJ was a relevant institution beyond Ghana, which inspires a lot of African NHRIs, and so was excited to learn and benefit from its rich experiences to enable them “maintain and consolidate their ‘A’ status”.

    Mr Bouare assured CHRAJ that they would spare no effort in discharging their duty to promote a human rights culture, and adopt the knowledge gained from CHRAJ, as well as implement the SCA’s recommendations in Mali.

    The Paris Principles are a set of standards that frame and guide the work of NHRIs which were drafted at an international NHRIs workshop in Paris in 1991 and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in its Resolution 48/134 of 1993.

    The criteria of these Paris Principles require NHRIs to be independent in law, membership, operations, policy and control of resources.

    They also require that NHRIs have broad mandates, pluralism in membership, broad functions, adequate powers, adequate resources, cooperative methods, and engagement with international bodies to be credible and independent.

  • First AfCFTA trading – Ghana tiles, Rwanda goods take lead

    Ghana has issued its first certificate of full commercial trading to a ceramic tiles production company to export its products under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Guided Trade initiative.

    In the same vein, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has received the first consignment of goods under the initiative from Rwanda, with delivery already done.

    The Assistant Commissioner of Customs in charge of the AfCFTA Secretariat, F.Y. Akoto, who made this known in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, said on September 30, this year, the Customs Division issued the certificate of trading to a tiles manufacturing company, Keda Ghana Ceramics Company Limited, located at Shama in the Western Region, to export a consignment of its products to Cameroun.

    “It is expected that when the products reach Cameroun, their customs officials will give the necessary preferential treatment to Keda Ceramics for it to enjoy reduced tariffs and quota-free facility,” he said.

    On the imports from Rwanda, he said they were made up of coffee products which were received at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

    “Ghana Customs processed the Bill of Entry on the consignment, granting the importer the necessary tariff cuts after he had satisfied all the documentary requirements,” he said.

    Mr Akoto added that a second consignment of tea products from Rwanda arrived at the KIA yesterday and documents on the goods were being processed for possible delivery, possibly before the close of work yesterday.

    Second company

    He further indicated that a second Ghana-based company, the Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP) at Adum Banso, also in the Western Region, was expected to export palm kernel oil to Kenya in due course.

    On the other hand, consignments of tea products were expected from Kenya, while meat products were also expected to arrive from Egypt, he said.

    “This means that the AfCFTA agreement has come into full force and our manufacturers can take advantage of it to export to other countries,” he added.

    F.Y. Akoto —  Assistant Commissioner of Customs in charge of the AfCFTA Secretariat

    Guided Trade

    The Guided Trade initiative, which will be officially launched in Accra today, symbolises the commencement of commercially meaningful trade, starting with seven countries — Ghana, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Tanzania and Malawi.

    Mr Akoto explained that those countries volunteered to represent the eight economic groupings in Africa, namely: the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

    Under the initiative, the AfCFTA Secretariat will assist the countries to test AfCFTA trading documents and procedures on pre-selected shipments of goods among the countries.

    It will guide shipments through customs clearance, including reduced tariff treatment under the AfCFTA in the receiving countries.

    Foreign-owned companies

    Explaining why Keda Ceramics, a Chinese-owned company, benefited from the agreement, the Customs officer said Keda, per its production process, qualified under the rules.

    “Under the rules, a foreign company operating in an African country that has signed on to the AfCFTA agreement qualifies to participate in the trading if the raw materials for its production are sourced locally.

    “In the case of Keda Ceramics, we visited the factory for inspection and realised that 99.97 per cent of its raw materials are internally acquired, so it qualifies to trade under the agreement,” he said.

    Mr Akoto pointed out that AfCFTA was not set up solely for Africans, saying: “Once you set up in Africa and qualify under the rules, you are free to trade.”

    He, therefore, encouraged foreign companies operating in the country to work towards benefitting from the agreement.

    Allowing foreign-operated companies to participate in the trading activities if they fulfilled the requirements set out under the AfCFTA agreement would also improve foreign direct investments (FDIs) into Africa, he said.

    FDIs into African countries hit a record $83 billion in 2021, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD’s) World Investment Report 2022.

    Ghana ready

    Emphasising Ghana’s readiness for the take-off of the AfCFTA, the Customs officer said: “We have the structures in place for an effective take-off.”

    “The Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ghana Chamber of Commerce, the National AfCFTA Coordinating Office, the Customs Division of the GRA, together with the AfCFTA Secretariat, are helping the companies to meet the requirements.

    “The experiences gathered out of this will help streamline our processes for the smooth implementation of the policy,” he explained.

    Addressing challenges

    Mr Akoto said some challenges that had been identified were being addressed.

    “We have been helping local companies to go through the systems. Some of them have been saying although they hear about free trade in Africa, they don’t believe it, so we need to educate them on what it takes to benefit from the free trade agreement,” he said.

  • SIM card registration suit: NIA discloses all 9 applicants have Ghana Cards sitting with NIA

    The National Communications Authority (NCA) has urged the Accra High Court to dismiss a suit seeking to stop the regulatory body from blocking the SIM cards of people who fail to register them with Ghana Cards by September 30, 2022.

    The nine applicants wanted the court to put an injunction on the NCA on the basis that they had registered for Ghana Cards but were yet to get them from the National Identification Authority (NIA) in order to register their sims.

    However, the NCA, in its affidavit in opposition filed Thursday, September 29, 2022 argues that the suit is incompetent because the Ghana Cards of the applicants were ready but they had failed to collect them from the NIA.

    According to the NCA, a search conducted by the NIA upon request by the NCA, through its lawyer, Gary Nimako Marfo, revealed that the Ghana Cards of the applicants had been printed but they had failed to pick them up.

    “It is clear that the applicants have been indolent and have not taken any positive steps to collect their Ghana Cards from the National Identification Authority,” the NCA argued.

    It is also the case of the NCA that the suit was failed to invoke the jurisdiction of the court because the affidavit in support of the applicants’ case was not sworn before a commissioner of oath as required by the rules of court.

    Reliefs

    In their application filed on September 22, 2022, the applicants were seeking seven reliefs.

    First, they sought a declaration that the impugned directive of the respondents requiring the applicants to re-register their mobile phone sim with the Ghana Card as the only identity document, at a time when the National Identification Authority had not been able to issue Ghana Cards to applicants, was in breach of Articles 21, 23 and 296 of the 1992 constitution of the Republic of Ghana, the National Communications Authority Act 2008 (Act 769), the Subscriber Identity Module Registration Regulation 2011 (LI 2006) and the National Identity Register Regulation 2012 (LI 2111) and so, to that extent, null and void.

    Second, they wanted a declaration that the impugned directives of the respondents, on the use of the applicants’ mobile phone sim cards and network services, imposing punitive measures/sanctions commencing 5 September 2022, breach Articles 21, 23 and 296 of the 1992 constitution of the Republic of Ghana, the National Communications Authority Act 2008 (Act 769), the Subscriber Identity Module Registration Regulation 2011 (LI 2006) and the National Identity Register Regulation 2012 (LI 2111) and so, to that extent, were null and void.

    Third, the applicants sought a declaration that the impugned directives of the respondents to applicants’ mobile telecommunication companies to block, disconnect, deactivate, churn and/or in any other way or manner limit the use of the applicants’ mobile phone sim cards and network services by 30 September 2022, at a time when there was no reasonable possibility of applicants receiving their Ghana Cards from the National Identification Authority on or before 30 September 2022 for the purpose of using the identity cards to register their sim cards, was unfair, unreasonable, contrary to law and to that extent, unenforceable.