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Development partners meet Gender Minister on Ghana’s Social Protection agenda
Development Partners working in the social protection space have met with the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, to deepen collaboration and support efforts to address growing vulnerabilities among Ghana’s population.
Development partners including UNICEF, the World Bank and the Foreign Commonwealth Development Organization, sought to explore strategic ways of improving the design, coordination, and financing of social protection (SP) programmes in Ghana.
Discussions centred on key priorities such as increasing the national budget allocation for social protection, implementing reforms under the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme and the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP), and introducing future increases in LEAP cash grants as part of efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.
Development Partners highlighted the importance of operationalising the LEAP Indexation Mechanism, a benchmark introduced under the IMF programme to ensure that benefits are indexed to inflation and gradually cover at least 20% of household consumption.
The meeting also touched on the ongoing LEAP reassessment, the development of a shock-responsive SP strategy, and the need for a strong and inclusive national social registry that supports policy targeting and programme delivery.
Emphasis was placed on building partnerships with the private sector to enhance delivery and sustainability of social protection systems in Ghana.
Particular attention was given to interventions aimed at vulnerable groups, including adolescent girls.
The partners expressed interest in empowerment programmes, development of tools to combat teenage pregnancy, and strategies to engage boys and promote positive masculinity as part of the broader gender equality agenda.
Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey reaffirmed government’s commitment, led by President John Dramani Mahama, to ensuring that social protection is given the priority and visibility it deserves in public policy.
She stressed the importance of collaboration among government institutions to deliver integrated services, and called for improved coordination across programmes through tools that allow institutions to access and utilize data from the social registry.
The Sector Minister also emphasized government’s dedication to strengthening gender-responsive policies, ensuring that both boys and girls are not left behind in the drive for equality and sustainable development.
Development Partners welcomed government’s renewed commitment and pledged continued support in areas such as technical assistance, capacity building, policy development, and resource mobilization to ensure that social protection reaches all who need it – especially in the face of rising poverty and widening regional inequalities.
News
Man jailed 20 years for killing wife
A 60-year-old man, Doe Fiano, has been sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment by an Accra High Court for shooting and killing his wife in front of their four-year-old child.
Fiano pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was also handed an additional 10- year sentence for possessing a firearm without lawful authority.
The sentences will run concurrently, as ruled by Justice Mrs Kizita Naa Koowa Quarshie.
The tragic incident occurred following an argument sparked by a phone call the victim, Grace Yorke Torku, received from a male acquaintance.
In response, Fiano entered their bedroom, retrieved a pistol, and fatally shot her.
Originally charged with murder, Fiano opted to plead guilty to manslaughter under Section 296(1) of Act 30, thereby securing a reduced sentence.
His lawyer told the court the convict had no previous criminal record, had shown remorse, and was caring for the couple’s children.
The prosecution, however, called for a minimum sentence of 30 years, emphasising the emotional trauma inflicted on the four-year-old child who witnessed the killing.
It stated that what happened to the child had really affected him, also describing gunshot wounds to the victim’s head and genital area.
In sentencing, the judge took into account both aggravating and mitigating factors, including Fiano’s remorse, first-time offender status, and the need to care for his children.
According to the prosecution, the Assemblyman for Okomante electoral area, Gordon Tsimese, alerted police after the incident at Taaboo Line, where Fiano was reportedly wielding a weapon and threatening passers-by.
Upon arrival, police discovered the victim lying in a pool of blood.
The weapon was later recovered, and an empty magazine retrieved on a follow-up visit.
Fiano was arrested at Nii Amui Park at Ashaiman through police intelligence.
On June 6, 2023, a pathologist at Tema General Hospital confirmed the cause of death as gunshot wounds to the head, described as unnatural. —GNA
News
Efua Sutherland Children’s Park in ruins
Once a vibrant recreational hub for children, families, students and tourists, the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park located at West Ridge in the Greater Accra Region now lies in a state of neglect.
The facility, which was a major site of attraction for school children especially on days of vacation, is now in ruins.
Visitors to the facility are now greeted with obsolete equipment and crumbling infrastructure.
Since 2019, the famous Children’s Park has been left to ‘die.’
This raises serious concerns about the nation’s commitment to preserving such public and monumental spaces.
On a visit to the facility by The Spectator, it observed that equipment mounted on the 14.83-acre playground has rusted and have become death traps, rather than the purpose for which they were mounted for visitors.
Workers were also seen busily weeding the overgrown grass and cleaning the compound.
A source at the Ministry of Gender, Women and Social Protection, the agency with oversight responsibility of the facility disclosed to this Reporter that for now, very few activities were organised on the park.
“It is unfortunate that the facility has turned this way. Very few people come around to make enquiries about it to hold special events. Its current state don’t make it attractive for event organisers again.”
The source added that apart from being unattractive, the state of the equipment scares the children away because they fear they might get injured.
By Linda Abrefi Wadie
