News
Skills dev’t training for youth launched at Sekondi-Takoradi
Mr. Abdul-Mumin Issah launching the Skills development Project
The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) has launched skills development training under the European Union-funded Twin Cities in Sustainable Partnership Project (TCSPP) being implemented in Sekondi-Takoradi in Ghana and Palermo in Italy.
The three-year project aims to enhance the capacity of authorities to address the challenges of urban sprawl, climate change and inadequate social safety nets for vulnerable populations within the two cities.
The launch of the TCSPP Project is also to commemorate the 2023 Europe Month Celebration in Ghana under the theme, “Celebrating Youth and Skills” and to recognise the EU as a funding agency of TCSPP and their contributions and initiatives to support Ghanaian youth in acquiring the right skills for quality jobs.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) of STMA, Mr. Abdul-Mumin Issah, said that having a workforce in a society with the skills that were in demand contributed to sustainable growth, led to more innovation and improved competitiveness.
He said one of the major challenges in society today was the high population of unemployed youth and its corresponding challenges of crime, illicit use of drugs, and irregular migration to southern Europe through the desert and the Mediterranean Sea.
He said the TCSPP Skills Development programme was therefore aimed at complementing the many interventions both the central government and other stakeholders were making to address the youth unemployment situation in the metropolis and other parts of Ghana.
Mr. Issah disclosed that the programme was intended to train 350 vulnerable groups, including unemployed women and youth, returnees and potential future migrants, in professional skills in crop production, animal husbandry, aquaculture, bio-digester technology, eco-friendly oven production and plastic waste recycling.
He said the training would focus on two key areas, namely urban agriculture techniques and green and climate-smart production technologies, adding that “the project will provide post-training assistance to well-deserving trainees by supporting them to construct 500 bio-digester toilets and 100 eco-friendly ovens across the metropolis.
The MCE said the situation reaffirmed his long conviction that “teaching and learning employable skills” was the way forward for most unemployed people to become self-employed and employable in the competitive job market.
The Project Coordinator, Mr. Isaac Aidoo, said the project needed about 350 youth to start the skills training, but at the time of the launch, the number was not up, so he appealed to more youth to come and pick forms because the training was very beneficial.
The chairperson for the launch, Nana Kofi Abuna V, who is the chief of Essipun, said those who had picked forms should count themselves blessed to get the opportunity.
She told the trainees to be committed, determined and visionary, setting some goals ahead of their completion and working hard to get there.
She advised parents not to discourage their children from learning skills because it was the only way to reduce unemployment in the country by making the youth more self-employed and dependent on themselves.
From Peter Gbambila, Sekondi
News
Criminal and Seditious Libel Law was repealed in 2001 yet we still face harassment – NPP
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has criticised the government for what it calls a return to the “culture of silence” in Ghana, despite the repeal of the Criminal and Seditious Libel Law more than two decades ago.
In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the party said the arrest and detention of its Bono Regional Chairman, Kwame Baffoe, also known as Abronye, for allegedly insulting the Inspector General of Police (IGP) was the latest sign of political intimidation.
According to the NPP, eight months into President John Dramani Mahama’s administration, state security had been “weaponised” not to fight illegal mining or protect citizens, but to intimidate and punish dissenting voices.
The party said insecurity in areas such as Bawku, Nkwanta and Gbeniyiri in the Savannah Region had claimed more than 32 lives and displaced over 50,000 people, yet the police and national security were more focused on arresting opposition supporters and social media users for their posts.
The NPP noted that Ghana abolished the Criminal and Seditious Libel Law in 2001 under President John Agyekum Kufuor to protect free speech and media freedoms.
It described the recent arrests of opposition members as an erosion of those democratic gains.
The party said it did not condone insults or vulgar language in public discourse but stressed that anyone who felt defamed should seek redress through civil defamation suits, not criminal prosecution.
It also accused the government of undermining the judiciary by “weaponising” it against political opponents, citing the removal of the Chief Justice.
“The growing climate of intimidation and criminalisation of speech is a serious assault on Ghana’s democracy,” the statement signed by NPP General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong said.
The NPP called on all Ghanaians to resist what it described as a return to tyranny and pledged to roll out a series of actions to protect the country’s democratic gains.
By: Jacob Aggrey
News
NIA opens Premium Centres to register children
The National Identification Authority (NIA) has started registering Ghanaian children aged between six and 14 years at all its Premium Centres across the country.
The Authority says the exercise is part of its duty to register every Ghanaian, both at home and abroad, so that all citizens can have a secure and verifiable national identity.
It explained in a statement issued today that the registration will help build a complete and inclusive National Identity Register (NIR) that captures every Ghanaian from childhood.
According to the NIA, the fee for first-time registration at Premium Centres is GHS 310, which is the approved charge for premium services.
The Authority said the requirements are the same as for applicants aged 15 years and above.
It affirmed that Parents or legal guardians were required to present either a valid Ghanaian passport of the child, the original copy of the child’s birth certificate, or be a Ghana Card holder who can vouch for the child.
The NIA also announced that from Monday, September 15, 2025, its online registration and booking system will be extended to the remaining 11 Premium Centres nationwide.
This it said will allow parents and guardians to schedule appointments more conveniently and avoid delays at the centres.
It further stated that information on the issuance of Ghana Cards for children aged six to 14 years who had already registered will be shared later.
In the coming weeks, the Authority plans to extend this registration service to all NIA District Offices to make it easier for more people to access the service.
By: Jacob Aggrey
