TIG Post

Tag: West Africa

  • EBID approves US$250 million for Ghana, four others

    The board of directors of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has approved a total of US$250 million for five member states to boost the oil and gas, energy, road infrastructure and agricultural sectors of West Africa.

    The beneficiary countries are Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.

    The approvals are part of the intensified efforts by EBID to invest in key sectors to spur up post-COVID pandemic recovery and mitigate the impact of the Russian – Ukraine war on the member states of ECOWAS.

    This was disclosed by the president and chairman of the board of directors of EBID, Dr George Agyekum Donkor at the just ended 79th session of the board of directors of the bank.

    In his opening statement, Dr Donkor observed that the impact of the COVID pandemic and ongoing Russian – Ukraine war have left many economies in tatters.

    He indicated that the current market conditions have compelled investors to seek premium on investments in sub-Saharan Africa thereby increasing the cost of capital.

    According to the president of EBID, this has resulted in dampening economic growth, wide-spread balance of payments deficits, unfavourable terms of trade, depletion of central bank international reserves, fiscal deficits, and debt distress.

    Therefore, Dr Donkor stressed the need for EBID, as the financial arm of ECOWAS, to deepen its financial intermediation in all the critical sectors of the member states to assist them to recover from the economic challenges.

     Present at the session was the vice-president of the ECOWAS Commission, Damtien L. Tchintchibidja, who lauded the tremendous impact of EBID’s interventions in the sub-region and assured the bank of the commitment of the new administration of the ECOWAS Commission to collaborate and support EBID in its multifarious activities especially in the area of resource mobilisation to transform the ECOWAS Communities.

    ABOUT EBID

    ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) is a leading regional investment and development bank, owned by the fifteen (15) ECOWAS Member States, namely, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

    Based in Lomé, Togo, the bank is committed to financing developmental projects and programs covering diverse initiatives from infrastructure and basic amenities, rural development and environment, industry, and social services sectors, through its private and public sector windows.

    EBID intervenes through long, medium, and short-term loans, equity participation, lines of credit, refinancing, financial engineering operations and related services.

  • 2021 Overall WASSCE best student donates to Akropong School for the Blind

    Mr Kwame Brako Asante, the overall best student in the 2021 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and second best in West Africa, has donated some items to the Akropong School of the Blind in the Eastern Region.

    The items, made up of two sound systems, four microphones, five pen drives and geometrical shapes, were to facilitate learning.

    Mr Kwame Brako Asante, speaking at the short ceremony, expressed his excitement seeing the kids appreciate the donated items.

    He expressed happiness about the students commitment to study and give off their best to society.

    “One thing I believe in is if somebody who is disadvantaged is trying his best to achieve something good, that person deserves support, so I believe they have what it takes but they just need the support,” he added.

    The Computer Science Student of Ashesi University further stated that he had plans of helping others through his field of study, as a way of impacting the various societies in Ghana.

    He finally urged various stakeholders to join hands to support young individuals in their education as a way of making them prominent in society.

    Mr Gideon Doyi, the Assistant Headmaster of the school, expressed his delight having received the items and said it had come at the right time to help them with their audio lessons.

    He thanked Mr Brako Asante for choosing no other institution than theirs to donate the items and encouraged him to continue to support the school in years to come.

    “We rely on sound, and these electronic items are going to help us in both teaching and entertainment,” He added.

    The Assistant Headmaster further stated that the visit would serve as a motivation to the students to also achieve greater heights in society.

    He appealed to individuals, organisations and corporate bodies to emulate the kind gesture by Mr Asante Brako.

    Some students also shared their excitement as the items donated were going to make learning easier and better.

    Source:GNA

  • VENTURE CAPITAL IN WEST AFRICA: The Funding Surge

    AFRICAN STARTUPS ARE RAISING UNPRECEDENTED AMOUNTS AT RECORD SPEED. FOR NOW, THE CONTINENT IS THE ONLY REGION IN THE WORLD SEEING A RISE IN VENTURE CAPITAL FLOWS. PERSPECTIVES FROM WEST AFRICA.

    AS FUNDING FOR STARTUPS FALLS ACROSS the globe, Africa seems to be undergoing a renaissance in this regard.

    “We are seeing a time where funding for African startups rose to a massive $3.14 billion in the first six months of this year alone,” says Eric Idiahi, Co-Founder and Partner at Verod Capital, a leading West African private equity investor. “That is unprecedented and it really shows the interest in the continent!”

    African entrepreneurs are raising money to solve pertinent socio-economic problems on the continent ranging from financial inclusion, providing access to healthcare for the underserved and vulnerable, and bridging the education gap.

    “Africa investment firms and angel networks have started putting money into African companies,” says Dr Akintoye Akindele, yet another West African entrepreneur, who is the Founder of investment vehicle Platform Capital in Nigeria.

    “It took African entrepreneurs almost 10 months to raise $1 billion in 2019. It took the same group eight months to raise $1 billion in 2020. It took them four months to raise $1 billion in 2021 and it has taken them less than six weeks to raise $1 billion in 2022. That means capital is coming in faster into deals and last year for the first time in our history, African investors invested more than European investors. This is a major milestone.”

    Akindele is himself focused on inviting investors “to see Africa the right way”.

    “This is because we know the narrative that exists about Africa and the negative questions we get asked.”

    The thesis of Platform Capital is that it deploys long-term capital to startups whose center of gravity is Africa.

    “Africans need long-term, nurturing and patient capital. Four to five years is too short in Nigeria for a business to turn capital around and grow and deliver profit to capital providers. I believe from my experience that five to six years does not create enough alignment,” says Akindele.

    Based on their extensive research and experience investing in over 100 portfolio companies with a valuation north of $1.5 billion, Platform Capital invests in businesses that will become top in their sectors in 15 years. Akindele also believes his investments should be sector-agnostic.

    “I believe in Africa, we should not be choosing what we cannot invest in… whether it’s energy, telecom, agriculture, infrastructure or value-added services like gaming, I believe consumers need their basic needs met and then on the back of that we can evolve.”

    Akindele’s primary focus is those sectors fundamental to the development of Africa.

    “We invest in key areas that Africa needs to catch up on…so things like technology infrastructure, agriculture or food value chains. They form our anchor sectors and represent about 60% of our portfolio. Then, when you have people who have electricity, food and water, they then go into the next sector like finance as well as education or healthcare…Then our final sector is robotics, artificial intelligence, such as one of our companies that do smell cyborgs,” says Akindele.

    The company he is referring to is Koniku, a synthetic biotech company that creates ‘smell cyborgs’ that can detect a range of compounds in the air in real-time, and which recently partnered with Airbus to launch biotech solutions for aviation.

    The company has so far reportedly raised $49.2 million in four rounds and is part of a long line of African startups bucking the trend of venture capital (VC) investment worldwide.

    According to Yaa Agyare-Dwomoh, a consultant with growth strategy consulting and research firm Frost & Sullivan, African VCs reached $1.8 billion, up 150% compared to $730 million in the same period in 2021 and was subsequently, also the only region in the world to record three-digit growth in the first quarter of 2022.

    As the biggest catch-up market, Africa’s advantage lies in its need for innovative solutions to leapfrog years of underdevelopment. For some pioneers like Oshiorenoya Agabi, the Nigerian-born scientist based in Silicon Valley and Founder and CEO of Koniku, that need for innovation has brought the continent to the age of biotech solutions.

    The company, which was founded in 2017, is using technology to combine traditional computer cells with living biological neurons.

    “We are creating a device capable of thinking in the biological sense like a human by creating neurons that are sensitive to particles and are able detect smell. By this method, the solution can be used for particle detection for aviation, military or agricultural application,”says Agabi.

    Apart from biotech, the figures show that it is a fintech that attracted the largest funding by sector by far, mostly spurred by the need to extend banking and financial services to millions of unbanked and underbanked Africans across the continent. “Fintech is now the most popular sector for investments in Africa. In 2021, fintech funding broke the $1 billion funding barrier and continued to receive the largest amount of funding on the continent, representing 54% of all venture funding deals. In 2022, the fintech sector was responsible for the biggest deals securing two-thirds of the total funding for Africa’s technology firms,” says Dwomoh.

    And this trend looks set to continue.

    “Despite the global trend of tech companies struggling to raise money, African VCs are still raising money at record speed,” adds Akindele.

    An unexpected side effect of the coronavirus pandemic has been the need for inclusive development in areas that fundamentally impacts society. This new trend known as impact investment has also consequently been on the rise in the African VC space.

    Impact investing is based on the notion that when money is managed effectively, it has the added benefit of positively impacting the lives of people as well as creating a return on investment.

    Africa is home to the youngest population in the world, with a median age of fewer than 20 years, and 70% of the population under the age of 30. According to the Global Impact Investing Network 2020 survey, almost half of global impact investment capital goes to the African continent.

    Raised to appreciate poverty and wealth at the same time, Akindele is also a firm advocate of his investments positively making an impact on his portfolio companies. Platform Capital writes cheques anywhere from $10,000 to $10 million with most of the companies in the portfolio growing by 500% in terms of money raised, according to Akindele. As an African advocate, each investment the firm makes has to have an impact that

    is transformational to the continent and its people and most importantly, makes a profit.

    The new influx of money into Africa is just an attestation of everything entrepreneurs like him have consistently been working towards.

    DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana

    Source: forbesafrica.com

     

  • 2023 World University Ranking: UCC remains best in Ghana, 1st in West Africa and 4th in Africa | Full List

    The University of Cape Coast (UCC) has been ranked the best University in Ghana, first in West Africa and 4th in Africa in the 2023 Times Higher Education Rankings.

    The announcement was contained in the 2023 Times Higher Education annual rankings.

    In the 2022 ranking, the University earned the bragging right as the best university in Ghana, the best in West Africa, the 4th best university in Africa and the best university globally for research influence.

     

    The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023 include 1,799 universities across 104 countries and regions, making it the largest and most diverse university ranking to date.

    The table is based on 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

    This year’s ranking analyzed over 121 million citations across more than 15.5 million research publications and included survey responses from 40,000 scholars globally. Overall, about 680,000 points from more than 2,500 institutions that submitted data were collected.

    Trusted worldwide by students, teachers, governments and industry experts, this year’s league table reveals how the global higher education landscape is shifting.

    The University of Oxford tops the ranking for the seventh consecutive year. Harvard University remains in second place, but the University of Cambridge jumped from fifth last year to third.

    The highest new entry is Italy’s Humanitas University, ranked in the 201-250 bracket.

    The US is the most-represented country overall, with 177 institutions, and also the most represented in the top 200 (58).

    Mainland China now has the fourth-highest number of institutions in the top 200 (11, compared with 10 last year), having overtaken Australia, which has dropped to fifth (joint with the Netherlands).

    Five countries entered the ranking for the first time – all of them in Africa (Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Mauritius).

    Harvard topped the teaching pillar, while Oxford leads the research pillar. Atop the international pillar is the Macau University of Science and Technology.

    Overall, 1,799 universities are ranked. A further 526 universities are listed with “reporter” status, meaning that they provided data but did not meet the eligibility criteria to receive a rank, but agreed to be displayed as a reporter in the final table.

    Source: Myjoyonline

  • West African leaders in Mali over detained Ivorians

    Mali’s transitional authorities have received a delegation of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) for talks on the fate of 46 Ivorian soldiers detained in the country since 10 July.

    Mali’s military leader Col Assimi Goïta welcomed the Ecowas leaders as they arrived at the Modibo Keita International Airport in Bamako on Thursday, according to the Malian presidency on Facebook.

    The delegation comprises Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, his Gambian counterpart Adama Barrow, Togolese Minister of Foreign Affairs Robert Dussey and mediator for Mali Goodluck Jonathan.

    The military-led government had postponed the arrival of the Ecowas delegation to Thursday, citing “calendar constraints”. They had been due to arrive two days earlier.

    Senegalese President Macky Sall and his Togolese counterpart, Faure Gnassingbe, were to be part of the delegation announced last Thursday, during an extraordinary Ecowas session the same day in New York, on the side-lines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

    Ecowas chairperson Umaro Sissoco Embalo had hinted at fresh sanctions for Mali if it continued to detain the 46 Ivorian soldiers.

    Mali’s Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop, said his country would not obey any order on the detention of the soldiers, accused of being mercenaries.

    Source: BBC

  • Fitch deepens Ghana junk rating on debt-restructuring concerns

    Fitch Ratings cut Ghana’s credit assessment further into junk on concerns the West African country may restructure debt as interest costs surge.

    The ratings agency lowered Ghana’s long-term issuer default rating to CC, or four levels below investment grade, from CCC, according to a statement Friday. The assessment signifies a “very high level of credit risk” where a “default of some kind appears probable,” according to Fitch’s rating scale.

    “The downgrade reflects the increased likelihood that Ghana will pursue a debt restructuring given mounting financing stress, with surging interest costs on domestic debt and a prolonged lack of access to eurobond markets,” Fitch said. “We believe there could be an incentive to spread a debt restructuring burden across domestic and external creditors.”

    Ghana is considering reorganizing part of its $19 billion of local debt in order to secure a $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, Bloomberg reported this week. External liabilities could also be included depending on how much Ghana would have to reduce its debt-servicing costs to achieve fiscal sustainability, according to people familiar with the situation.

    “There is a high likelihood that the IMF support program currently being negotiated will require some form of debt treatment due to the climbing interest costs and structurally low revenue as a percentage of GDP,” Fitch said. “The most recent IMF debt sustainability analysis, conducted in 2021, found Ghana at a high risk of debt distress and vulnerable to shock to market access and high debt servicing costs. Interest costs have risen substantially since then.”

    Ghana’s 2026 dollar bonds fell 1.1% to 57.42 cents on the dollar by 4:20 p.m. in the capital, Accra, driving the yield 47 basis points higher to 28.94%. The securities have slumped 6% this week. Domestic notes are trading at an average yield of 38.9%, according to the AFMI Bloomberg African Bond Index.

    Source: Fitch

  • Cheapest electricity cost: Ghana ranked 1st, 9th in West Africa, Africa

    According to Global Petrol Prices. Com, the country is also ranked 27th in the world.

    The rankings are coming at a time when the utility tariff providers in the country are making a case for increase in utility tariffs.

    The world average price of electricity is pegged at $0.133 per kilowatt/hour (kWh) for household users and $0.124 per kWh for business users.

    In Ghana, the cost of electricity per kilowatt/hour for household is $0.046 cents which is less than a dollar.

    The situation is similar to that of business consumers, though countries in the region have cheaper cost for electricity bill.

    This clearly shows that the cost of electricity in the country for household, compared to other countries on the continent is very low.

    That goes to buttress the point by the utility tariff providers for an imminent increase in electricity and water bills. Whilst the Electricity Company of Ghana is requesting for 148% increase in electricity tariff, covering 2019 and 2022, Ghana Water Company Limited is demanding for an increase of 334% in water tariff.

    Meanwhile, Sudan has the cheapest electricity tariff in Africa and the World for household.

    It is followed by Libya and Zimbabwe in 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.

    RANKING OF COUNTRIES WITH CHEAPEST COST OF ELECTRICITY IN AFRICA FOR HOUSEHOLD CONSUMERS

    COUNTRY COST($) 100 cents =$1 RANKING
    Sudan 0.002 1st
    Libya 0.004 2nd
    Ethiopia 0.007 3rd
    Zimbabwe 0.013 4th
    Angola 0.027 5th
    Zambia 0.033 6th
    Algeria 0.036 7th
    Egypt 0.044 8th
    Ghana 0.046 9th
    Nigeria 0.057 10th
    Tunisia 0.068 11th
    Cameroon 0.080 12th
    DR Congo 0.083 13th
    Tanzania 0.098 14th
    Botswana 0.103 15th
    USA 0.159 16th
    UK 0.265 17th
    China 0.083 18th

    Source : myinfo.com.gh

  • ‘We are arguably the most stable democracy in West Africa’ Akufo-Addo

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has touted Ghana as operating the best democracy in the West African sub-region.

    The president pointed out the political successes of the Fourth Republic in arriving at that conclusion.

    Among others, he cited the peaceful transfers of power since 1992 and the resort to the courts to deal with major electoral disputes after presidential elections.

    “We have had five presidents in the history of the 4th Republic, with peaceful transfers of power from a governing to an opposition party on three separate occasions.

    “Even when there was disagreement with the outcome of an election, it was the Supreme Court, on two occasions, rather than the streets, that validated its result. We are, arguably, the most stable democracy in West Africa,” he added in an address on April 28 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the referendum that birthed the Fourth Republic.

    In making a strong case for Ghanaians to protect the democracy that has been nurtured over three decades, he stressed: “there are no short-cuts for the progress and prosperity of our country. Only hard work, creativity, innovation, a sense of enterprise and unity in the nation can produce the accelerated economic development that we all yearn for and deserve.”

    The President also urged the citizenry to consolidate their trust in democracy and remain vigilance given that, “the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.”

    “I say so because there are some, who for their own parochial and selfish interests, would want to see a return to the dark days of authoritarian rule, simply because, with no respect for the Ghanaian people, they are either unwilling to subject themselves or their vision to the open scrutiny of the Ghanaian people, or because they know they will be rejected by the Ghanaian people and, thus, seek a shortcut to office and power. Let us strengthen our resolve to resist such persons for our own common good,” he said.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • EU silent on West Africa’s political crises

    Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara should not have even been on the ballot. But the already two-term leader wanted a third stint in office, and through a legal loophole, Ouattara stood for re-election. Despite bitter opposition and risking peace in the Ivory Coast, the ploy worked. The Ivorian election commission said Ouattara won a staggering 94% of the vote, boycotted by the opposition.

    Ivory Coast’s political crisis is far from over. The opposition has refused to recognize the election results, and violent protests have already resulted in deaths.

    The European Union has hardly reacted. The powerful bloc said it had taken note of the results, according to foreign minister Joseph Borrel. “The EU expects all parties involved to contribute to calming the situation and resuming dialogue,” Borrel said rather pleadingly while urging “reconciliation through concrete measures.”

    Words of warning, but no action

    If the EU’s inaction seems familiar, it’s because it is. In 2020, Guinea’s 83-year-old President, Alpha Conde, had the nation’s constitution changed, stood for election, and won. There too, violent protests and accusations of voting manipulation were rife. But Brussels had only words of warning for Guinea even though the election’s credibility was in question.

    Events in Nigeria have received similar treatment. The government is under increasing pressure as primarily young people led mass protests against suppression, police violence, and state corruption. Police have responded brutally, leaving at least 12 people dead so far. And still, the EU has remained silent.

    Brussels bets on regional solutions

    Many people in affected West African countries are dismayed at the EU’s apparent passivity. “This indifference shows the international community doesn’t want to get involved beyond a certain point,” says Ramadan Diallo, a political scientist at the University of Sonfonia-Conakry in Guinea.

    “We will have to resort more to regional resources to solve our problems. We can’t expect anything from this international bloc, based on the EU’s current attitude,” Diallo told DW.

    The EU does get involved in African crises, counters Robert Kappel, a scholar specializing in economy and politics in Africa. He points to training programs for local and regional military forces in Mali. The EU also backs a regional unit hoping to defeat extremists in the Sahel, he says.

    According to Kappel, the EU is publicly shying away from the disputed election in the Ivory Coast for a simple reason. “The EU entrusts regional authorities such as ECOWAS to solve the crisis,” Kappel told DW.

    ECOWAS has intervened in numerous political crises in West Africa, such as in Mali in 2013 and The Gambia in 2017. The EU intervening in Africa is no longer constructive, Kappel says. For example, some African governments see the International Criminal Court as an instrument to preserve Western and European interests on the continent.

    EU working behind the scenes?

    Behind the scenes, it’s a different story, says Thilo Schöne, Ivory Coast’s country representative of Germany’s Friedrich Ebert Foundation, associated with the Social Democrat Party.

    “The EU is one of the decisive actors in mediation efforts between the government and the opposition,” Schöne said. “In fact, ambassadors from several EU member states have been active in talks with the Ivorian government,” Schöne told DW.

    The EU Commission and other member states have issued a rare foreign policy statement on the situation. The EU also sent election observers, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the mission was considerably smaller than in other elections.

    Schöne said the EU finances substantial reports on the elections and peacekeeping missions. Still, the EU wants to stay out of internal conflicts and avoid taking sides as a Western power.

    At arm’s length

    This is a policy change the EU seems keen on embracing. In March, the EU Commission introduced a new Africa Strategy. It referenced peace and security on the African continent. The strategy requires an equal partnership, Robert Kappel said. African governments will have to take more responsibility.

    “There is much more emphasis now on supporting African institutions, the military, and civil society. This is a departure from military interventions,” Kappel said. This move came after a string of unsuccessful military interventions over the past few years.

    The EU’s new approach is urgently needed, according to Kappel, because for Africa to achieve peace and safeguard democracy, African institutions need to be strengthened.

    Source: dw.com

  • West Africa accounts for 90% of all sea kidnappings

    The West African coast is becoming increasingly dangerous for commercial shipping, according to a new report from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

    It says that 90% of all kidnappings at sea happen in that region.

    In the last three months alone, 32 crew were kidnapped in the Gulf of Guinea.

    Most of the vessels were attacked on the high seas, between about 20 and 130 nautical miles off the coast, the IMB said.

    It found that attacks on commercial ships and the kidnapping of crew members had been on the rise in recent times in West Africa.

    It has become common for crews to be attacked by bandits armed with knives and guns, IMB director Michael Howlett says.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Islamist militants clash in West Africa

    The Islamic State (IS) group has confirmed for the first time that it is engaged in heavy fighting with al-Qaeda linked militants in Mali and Burkina Faso.

    In its online publication, al-Naba, it described members of al-Qaeda’s Sahel affiliate as apostates and wild dogs.

    IS said it had targeted its rivals with a suicide bombing and other attacks.

    It was reported earlier that al-Qaeda militants had rejected an IS offer of a ceasefire in exchange for the release of IS prisoners and the payment of blood money for the deaths of IS militants.

    Islamist attacks have intensified in the Sahel in recent months.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Ghana, anchor of security in West Africa — German Envoy

    The Deputy Ambassador of Germany to Ghana, Mr Hans-Helge Sander, has lauded Ghana as the anchor of security in West Africa.

    “Ghana has shown leadership in border security, which is one of the key areas of national security,” he stated.

    The Deputy Ambassador made the remark last Wednesday when the Federal Police of Germany presented document fraud detection equipment to the Training Centre of the Document Fraud Expertise Centre (DFEC) of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).

    The equipment includes an electronic microscope, a modular stereo microscope and a mobile microscope, which will aid in document forensic training of officers of the GIS.

    Mr Sander praised the GIS for chalking up a lot of successes in the area of border security, adding: “The German Embassy is happy to support Ghana in the fight against document fraud.”

    He advised the service not to renege on building the capacity of officers towards the effective scrutiny of travel documents.

    Gratitude

    The Deputy Comptroller-General of Immigration (DCGI) in charge of Finance and Administration, Mrs Judith Dzokoto-Lomoh, who received the items on behalf of the service, expressed gratitude to the German government and the Federal Police for the kind gesture, a statement signed by the Head of Public Affairs, Supt. Michael Amoako-Atta, and issued by the GIS said.

    Mrs Dzokoto-Lomoh gave an assurance that the equipment would be put to good use for the benefit of the country, the comity of nations and other stakeholders in the migration sub-sector, stressing: “It will help bolster activities of the training centre.”

    She explained why the donation was timely and said it would help arrest the dynamism in migrant crime, noting that the gesture was a demonstration of international cooperation in tackling transnational crime.

    “More needs to be done to ensure that neighbouring countries and other sister countries receive only desirable immigrants,” she added.

    The DCGI called on the personnel of the service to go beyond detecting fake documents to building strong cases to prosecute and secure the conviction of offenders to serve as a deterrent to would-be offenders.

    She advised the personnel to take good care of the equipment, adding: “Most importantly, we should deliver results.”

    The Second-in-Command (2IC) at the DFEC, Superintendent of Immigration Mr Frank Apronti, explained that all migration-related crimes, including drug trafficking, human trafficking, smuggling and terrorism, were rooted in fraudulent documents.

    “These devices will simplify document examination and their mobility will prove very useful in training officers across the borders,” he said.

    Occasion

    Present at the presentation ceremony were the DCGI in Charge of Command Post and Operations, Mr Laud Kwesi Affrifah; the Officer in Charge of the DFEC, Chief Superintendent of Immigration (CSI) Mr Kwabena Somuah Amponsah; the Regional Capacity Building Officer, Mr Alistair Rushton; the Police Liaison Officer of the Federal Police of Germany, Dirk Kattlun, and the Visa and Document Advisor at the Federal Police of Germany, Mr Frank Dukpe.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Ghana is well positioned to become West Africa’s tourism destination

    Ghana is well positioned to become the tourism destination in West Africa given the abundant resources and the prevailing peace in the country, Ms Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, has said.

    She said Ghana was increasing her investment portfolio in the sector for accelerated socio-economic growth.

    Ms Oteng-Gyasi, addressing Ghana’s commemoration of the 2019 World Tourism Day, in Kumasi, said the sector contributed about 5.5 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last year.

    Electricity tariff still among highest in West Africa Employers

    It currently employs over one million Ghanaians along the value chain with plans to increasing the figure substantially in the near future.

    This year’s celebration sought to create awareness on the potentials inherent in the tourism sector as a driver of economic growth and wealth-creation.

    According to the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC), one out of 10 jobs globally is tourism-related.

    Ms Oteng-Gyasi hinted that the Marine Drive Development Project, as well as the numerous programmes being undertaken to upgrade tourist facilities, were intended to expand the frontiers of the sector.

    This would help put those facilities in good shape to attract more visitors to the country.

    Added to these are various initiatives to develop the skills of stakeholders for efficient service delivery.

    West Africa inequality most extreme in the world Oxfam report

    Mr Akwasi Agyemang, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority, described this year’s Day as historic as it coincided with Ghana’s declaration of the ‘Year of Return’.

    “We are welcoming our African brothers in the Diaspora back home after so many years living abroad,” he noted, adding that the occasion had brought enormous benefits to the nation.

    Barima Akwasi Offe Okogyeasuo, the Paramount Chief of Kokofu, said the nation must take tourism seriously, being the fastest growing sectors in the world.
    Source: ghananewsagency.org

  • University of Professional Studies Accra hosts 1st West Africa Peace Dialogue

    The University of Professional Studies-Accra through a partnership from its Centre for Public Accountability is supporting the 1st West Africa Peace Dialogue by hosting the event in one of its 400 capacity conference halls.

    This gesture from the University has given the organizers of the event a giants boost as the facility will be used at no cost to the organizers.

    Speaking to Awake News, the Coordinator of the 1st West Africa Peace Dialogue and Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Peace Building, Korsi Senyo said the support from the University a sign that the institution is committed to promoting peace and development in Africa adding that the gesture of the University should be emulated by other state institutions, media organizations and corporate bodies to help bring peace and development to Africa.

    The Dialogue which is on the theme “Sustaining Regional Peace To Promote Trade, Investment and Development in West Africa” is being organized by pro-peace civil society organizations, the Africa Centre for Peace Building, Global Educators for All Initiatives, The Emmanuel Ivorgba Foundation and United Religions Initiatives -West Africa with media partnership from the AMN (publishers of Awake Newspaper & Awake Africa Magazine), GHface.com and FNnewsroom.com

    Read:Electricity tariff still among highest in West Africa Employers

    The event seeks to “explore how best citizens of the West African states can promote sisterhood, peace and trade for the development of the people whiles taking into account national laws and international treaties.”

    Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Peace Building-AFCOPB, Korsi Senyo in an earlier press statement copied Awake News said “In recent times, Africa is experiencing a new trend of conflict homophobic attacks which were witnessed in South Africa. The most recent is Ghana and Nigeria trade feud and this development if not curb will become a serious threat to Africa Unity.”

    “We, as organizations with a strong foundation built on the principles of peace and harmony see peaceful co-existence among neighbouring nations is a key element to promoting trade, investment and human capital development which lead to solving some basic social problems like unemployment, poverty and hunger. These social problems are an influential undertone to conflict and civil unrest.” he said.

    Read:West Africa inequality most extreme in the world Oxfam report

    Mr. Senyo noted that “adherence to national laws without key references to regional treaties signed by states within the region could form a basis for regional conflicts hence defeating the common goals for establishing regional blocs in Africa.”

    On the format of the event, he said “The dialogue will have keynote addresses and panel discussions where speakers and high personalities will be assembled from the business community, law, media, academia and governments to discuss specific areas. This will have the opportunity for participants to interact with the speakers and panellists on the issues.”

    “The second section will focus on research paper presentation where researchers who have done some works on the areas of such conflicts will help find some of underpinning factors to such conflict and how they can be resolved.”

    He has since called on the media, corporate bodies to support the programme.

    “We use to use this media to call on the media, corporate bodies and development partners within the West Africa sub-region and beyond to support this dialogue.”

    Source: awakenewsonline.com