RESEARCHERS CALL FOR THE PROTECTION OF ‘VANISHING’ FROG SPECIES IN GHANA

The theme permeating all presentations at this year’s ‘Save the Frogs Day’ at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) is the need for the protection of endangered amphibian species, some of which are only found in Ghana.

The programme took place on April 28, 2012 and was celebrated simultaneously by 36 countries worldwide.

Organised by Save the Frogs International, a non-governmental organisation, the Vice President, Jonathan Toursan, enunciated that the organisation was founded to solve the global environmental problem of amphibian extinction. He says amphibians are important bio-indicators which need to be protected and cautioned against the use of Atrasine which destroys the existence of frogs.

In a speech about endangered frog species in Ghana, Co-founder and Executive Director of Save the Frogs Ghana, Mr. Gilbert Adum, emphasised the need to protect amphibians especially frogs. He added that, “globally 2000 amphibian species are threatened with extinction and it has been estimated that 32% of Ghana’s amphibians may not survive this century”.

The Ecologist noted that 5 endemic species of frogs are recorded to exist only in Ghana and cautioned against the destruction of the Atiwa Forest which has the Togo Slippery Frog , the closest relative to the largest frog in the world. Save the Frogs Ghana is therefore appealing to government to convert the Atiwa Forest into a national park.

“It is called the Togo Slippery Frog and the largest population in the whole world is found at the Atiwa Hills. Now, they are trying to mine the place for bauxite which will lead to the loss of these frogs. We have collected signatures of over 200 people and will have presentations at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and Forestry Commission. We want them to understand that, it is important to create Atiwa Forest into a national park,” the Frog expert added.

The Chairman for the Board of Directors, Save the Frogs Ghana, Prof. William Oduro also stated that KNUST has started the movement to protect frogs and their habitat. He says the long term goal is to affect positive change in policies that will be beneficial to the environment and humans. He was however quick to add that the main challenge of the organisation has been with the mindset of some Ghanaians in accepting the importance of frogs and conserving their habitat.

In some parts of the Northern Region, frogs are harvested for food and serves as a source of income to the hunters. As parts of efforts to discourage over harvesting of these frogs, Save the Frogs Ghana is embarking on a bee – keeping training programme to provide alternative livelihood for these people.

The Bee – keeping Trainer for the organisation, Ms Jacqueline Kumadoh, disclosed that the programme has already started in the Northern Region and in Atiwa and will soon be expanded to other areas.

 

By David Apinga, Focus FM, KNUST, Kumasi

awintida@scientist.com

 

 

KWESI PRATT CONDEMNS BIOMETRIC REGISTRATION PROCESS

The Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr has expressed displeasure about the execution of the ongoing biometric voter’s registration exercise.
The Electoral Commission is compiling a new electoral register to be used during the December 2012 polls and the exercise is slated for March 24 to May 5.
Speaking in an interview with Nana Jantuah on Focus fm, a Kumasi based radio station on Wednesday March 29, the renowned journalist said he finds it worrying that new biometric machines could break down on the first day of the registration exercise. According to him, the registration exercise will take place within forty days so the machines could be repaired in time but the elections will be conducted within twelve hours and doubts how the elections will be successful if the situation recurs.
“These are brand new machines breaking down on the first day; we are going to use the same machines eight months from now when they will be much older; what is going to happen then if we are to use them in the next elections?”
Mr. Pratt also noted that vigilance on the part of political parties is very low as there are no agents at the polling stations to police the registration process, adding that, “it must be worrying because Dr. Afari Gyan has said that the electoral commission is not in a position to guarantee all by itself a free and fair election and that it is only the vigilance of the political parties and the general population which can guarantee that. It is not possible to vouch for the integrity of the over 40,000 people who will be employed for this programme so you should expect a certain level of vigilance from the political parties and I don’t see that,” he lamented.
The senior journalist blamed the electoral commission for ineffective communication of the schedules for the registration exercise, a situation which has made it impossible for him to register. According to him, information should be provided at all polling stations about the period allocated for the exercise to be conducted at those stations.
He also thinks the commission should have employed people who can type faster as the current officials cannot type fast enough thereby slowing the whole process.

David Apinga, Focus fm, KNUST, Kumasi
awintida@scientist.com

 

Govt approves 20% increase in National Service allowance

The Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning has approved a 20% increase in the national service allowance for the 2011/2012 service personnelin the country.

This was revealed by Mr. Ebenezer Edzii, the Greater Accra Regional Director of the national service scheme at the second General Meeting of the National Service Personnel Association (NASPA) branch of the Tema metropolis.

The 20% increase was announced by Mr. Vincent Kuagbenu, Executive director of the National Service Scheme in September last year during the release of the 2011/2012 postings.

The payment of the new allowances, according to Mr.Edzii, will, however, take full effect after a communication from the Accountant’s General has formally informed all regional directors on the increase.

Currently, service personnel are receivinga non-taxable allowance of GHc202.90 a month and the 20% increase is expected to leap the allowance to GHc243.48.

The regional director also advised the service personnel to work hard and adopt positive working ethics to help achieve the vision of their respective organisations or companies they are engaged in.

Mr. Samuel A. Ankomah, the Metro director of the scheme,hinted thatplans are far advanced to organise series of seminars for the service personnel to enhance their employment capacities. He also advised the personnel to strike a good working relationship with their supervisors or managers adding that this may help them to secure employment at the end of their service period.

The president of Tema Metro NASPA, Mr. Eric P. Oforidisclosed that a tourat the Manhyean SDA primary school in the metropolis showed that the roof of the school building has been ripped off. This situation, according to the president, has forced the school children to studyin the open.

Dilating further, Mr.Oforisaid the association is determined to source funds fromcompanies in the metropolis to re-roof the school building to alleviate the plight of the school children.

According to the president, an amount of GHc20, 000 will be need for the project.

The financial secretary of Tema Metro NASPA,Mr. Richard Darko, in a budget statement, promised his colleagues of the executive preparedness to initiate and implement policies aimed at building their employment capacities urging them to work hard to project the image of the Tema metropolis.

 

Bright Habita

 

“GENDER SENSITIVITY IS NOT LEARNT IN A BOOK” – NANA KONADU AGYEMANG RAWLINGS

A former first lady and founder of the 31^st December Womens’ Movement, Nana  Konadu Agyemang Rawlings has admonished women to be active in gender sensitivity by living it.

Nana Konadu disclosed this at the launch of KNUST Women’s Commissioner’s Week while articulating that, “Gender sensitivity is not learnt in a book, you live it, you have to live it”.

The programme gave a platform for women who have shaped the spheres of Ghana’s politics by ensuring gender equality and women empowerment to err their views on the generational imbalance that befalls women.

She enunciated that gender inequality seems to be engraving women and as such from generation to generation there has been a change of mindset dating as far back as 1973 when the UN declared that women should be emancipated socially, culturally, economically and morally.

She referred to the population census indicating that globally women are more than men but disheartening that only 17% of women are at the helm of power. The founder of 31^st   December Women’s Movement averred that gender balance is needed in order to address specific issues.

In her closing remarks the bold woman noted that, “Leaders will come and leaders will go”, insisting that endowing women should go beyond governmental policies since stakeholders have an active role in shaping the dilapidated condition of women.

By Abena Dugan, Focus FM, KNUST, Kumasi

 

AKUFFO -ADDO TAKES KNUST BY STORM

Ghanaians have been advised not to hand power to incompetent and corrupt leaders in the 2012 presidential election.

This came to light during a speech by the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo –Addo at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) as part of the 10^th anniversary celebrations of the Tertiary Education Students’ Confederacy (TESCON) on October 31, 2011.

In his address, the NPP Leader noted that “our energies as Ghanaians should be steered towards making Ghana a better place to live”.

According to him, an economy that could create jobs and eradicate the headache of poverty has eluded most Ghanaians.

The former foreign minister during the erstwhile Kuffour administration has reiterated that his vision is to transform Ghana into an industrialised economy where the production of raw materials will be turned into finished products and the problem of unemployment will be eradicated.

The “all die be die man” believes that education is the key to unlocking the future of hope.  He repeated that , if he is voted into office there will be free basic and senior high school education for both the rich and the poor.

Nana Akufo Addo stated that the NPP needs power to raise Ghana to the next level, where the woes of Ghanaians will be a thing of the past. He therefore urged TESCON members to keep to their commitment which requires diligence, integrity and sacrifice in ensuring that the NPP is given the mandate during the 2012 election.

In the Chairperson’s acceptance speech, Honourable Kwadjo Mpianim expressed his gratitude to TESCON KNUST for the honour given him as the chairman for the function and applauded the executives for steering the wing in the principles of the New Patriotic Party. The former Chief of Staff hopes TESCON grows from strength to strength.

Other bigwigs of the NPP present at the occasion were the party’s general secretary, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, the National Youth Organizer, Anthony Karbo, former Minister of Finance in the NPP administration, Yaw Osafo Marfo and former Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly boss, Patricia Appiagyei.

ABENA DUGAN

FOCUS FM, KNUST

duganabenaarey@yahoo.com

 

2ND INTERNATIONAL OPEN ACCESS CONFERENCE LAUNCHED IN KNUST

BioMed Central in partnership with Computer Aid Foundation have organised a two- day Open Access Africa Conference at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Currently, Sub- Saharan Africa remains the least developed region of the world in the area of research. This is partly attributed to inability of research centres in developing countries to pay for the high cost of online journal access as well as subscriptions to print versions.

It is in this regard that BioMed Central, a UK based open access publisher has launched a campaign to address this problem in ensuring the widespread dissemination of scientific research with a set of initiatives designed to encourage African researchers to publish their work in open access journals.

Through Open Access, users will have no subscription barriers to journals and full advantage of the internet can be utilised to allow universal access to these journals.

Launching the programme on October 24, 2011, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. William Otoo Ellis in a speech, noted that avenues to make information available without charges for African researchers are a good initiative.

“Therefore any platform that makes available scientific information for sharing must be supported. In this respect , Open Access to research information that enables the immediate and permanent dissemination of online full-text articles and the archiving of scientific research results for all to read and use, free of charge with benefits of lower costs, greater accessibility and better prospects for long-term preservation of scholarly works must be fully embraced,” he added.

In an interview with Focus Fm’s David Apinga, the Head of Marketing and Digital Sales at BioMed Central, Carrie Calder said, “the aim of Biomed Central is to promote scientific research information access in Africa. The traditional module for scientific literature means people have to pay to get the content of such information and it is not everybody that can afford to pay to access information that they need. Biomed Central is therefore using Open Access to publish information and make access free for users in Africa”.

The conference is targeted at researchers, librarians and scientists all over the world and hosted by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, the only university in Ghana with open access institutional repository and the first African foundational member of BioMed Central.

 

By  David Apinga, Focus FM, KNUST, Kumasi.

awintida@scientist.com

 

 

Unknown pollutant kills nearly 10 tons of fish in the Butre Lagoon

The Environmental Protection Agency in the Western Region is investigating the source of a pollutant which has killed nearly 10 tons of fish in the Butre Lagoon in Takoradi.

Though details remain sketchy, the Agency is not ruling out the possibility of a chemical pollution as officials await laboratory results to ascertain the cause of this serious environmental breach.

Joy News’ Western Regional correspondent, Kwaku Owusu Peprah reports that some residents of the area who consumed the dead fishes are said to be suffering from some serious stomach upsets.

The Assembly Member of New Takoradi community E.E. Adokor told Joy News some companies that have been fingered as being behind pollution have however denied any involvement.

He said the lagoon serves as the major source of work for the young men in the area and therefore called the appropriate authorities to quickly step in to avert any further breaches.

 

SHORTAGE OF GAS IS A PAINFUL LEGACY FOR PRESIDENT MILLS – SAMMY AWUKU

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) is asking government to explain the circumstances leading to the shortage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in the country.

According to a press statement released, the NPP says the shortage of the commodity is disrupting livelihoods across the length and breadth of the country.

Deputy Director of communications Samuel Awuku told Joy News the ruling government is unable to handle the situation.

“It is clear the government is helpless. They have no clue how to help solve this problem. Under the NPP’s administration we never experienced these long queues day after day of gas shortage,” he stated.

He said this current situation shows that the NPP better managed the LPG when it was in government and an indication of the Mills-administration’s incompetence.

He indicated that “it looks like the Mills-Mahama administration want to leave a legacy and this legacy is a painful one, a legacy that will remind Ghanaians of how [to vote in 2012]”.

Source: Ghanaweb

 

GHANA NAMED 4TH BEST INVESTMENT IN AFRICA

International investors have chosen Ghana as the fourth best country in Africa for investment, according to the Africa Business Panel survey 2011. The survey, released in late June 2011, was conducted by the Africa Business Panel that sampled 800 business professionals in all the 53 economies in Africa .

The Africa Business Panel is made up of persons who work in the private sector for companies registered in and operating out of Africa. They are the senior managers, entrepreneurs or professionals that form the backbone of the business community throughout Africa.

According to the survey, international investors believe that Ghana’s economic and political climate persist to be stable citing Accra, the capital town, an attractive commercial centre to conduct business from with West Africa. The country’s oil discovery was also said be a factor to investment attraction. Ghana came behind South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya from first to third respectively, the survey indicated.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr George Aboagye confirms the country’s ranking.

“Ghana has been selected as the fourth Best Investment Destination in 2011 in Africa by the international investor community,” Mr Aboagye said in GIPC’s Second Quarter 2011 Investment Report released today August 4, 2011, citing the Africa Business Panel survey 2011.

The survey cited Lourens van Niekerk, Senior Manager at Standard Bank, South Africa as saying, “Ghana’s economic and political stability persists as commercial oil production comes on stream for the first time. Trade with its neighboring giant Nigeria is key and Accra is an attractive commercial centre to conduct business from with West Africa.”

The Chief Executive Officer of Skill Enhancement Centre (SENCE) in Nigeria, Ogo Ibok, noted that Ghana is an emerging market, with a stable government. “The country is attracting a lot of attention and with the recent oil activities there are vast opportunities for investors,” said Ibok.

Ghana recently ranked the 7th largest recipient of foreign direct investments (FDIs) in Africa at the end of 2010, according to the 2011 World Investment Report released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on July 26, 2011. Investors brought into the country, an amount of $2.5 billion with oil seen as the main driver of inflows.

Source: Ghanaweb

 

41st ANNUAL NATIONAL GUNSA CONGRESS COMES OFF

The Ghana United Students and Youth Association (GUNSA), a voluntary and non-profit making organization will hold its 41st National Congress under the theme : “Political Violence, an anathema to Ghana Democracy”: The Role of Students and Youth in Sustaining Ghana’s Democratic Process”, at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Kumasi from the 25th to 29th of August, 2011.

This event, a 4 day Congress will bring together about 500 delegates, observers, invited guests and resource persons to discuss issues concerning the following sub theme: “HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care: The Role of the Young Person” and Discipline in Society: Youth Involvement: The Way Forward”.

Participants at the Congress will discuss the association’s annual report, review its activities during the year, as well as planning for the ensuring year. The participants will also participate in a number of symposia and touch on several national and international issues.

After the 4 days, a communique will be presented to the press.

Story By: Focus fm 94.3