News
WOMEC sensitises girls to aspire higher
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Women, Media and Change (WOMEC), as part of its Gender Transformative Programming (GTP) Turning Point project has made a clarion call on girls at Princeton Academy, Okushibri KKMA Basic School and Appolonnia KKMA JHS to aspire higher in their future endeavours to become agents of change to their communities.
Under the theme “Empowering the Girl Child: A necessary tool for closing the Gender Gap”, WOMEC admonished the girls to always aim higher and make education their valuable tool to harness their potentials.
Executive Director of WOMEC, Dr. Charity Binka said it was prudent to give the girl child equal opportunity irrespective of her race, background and religion for her to achieve her desirable goals in future.
Dr. Binka made these assertions in commemoration of the International Women’s Day, recently.
She lamented that violence against women was on the increase , indicating that many women were out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic, while many girls had also dropped out of school.
“However, the pandemic cannot be blamed for the woeful representation of women in decision making, politics and public life”, she stressed.
Dr. Binka indicated that “the 2021 Global Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum estimates that it will take 135.6 years to close the gender gap worldwide and 145.6 years to attain gender parity in politics.”
“The Constitution of Ghana guarantees equal rights of women and men, yet disparities in education, employment, politics, leadership positions and health for women remain a worry”, she said.
Article 17(1) and (2) of the Constitution guarantees gender equality and freedom of men and women, girls and boys from discrimination on the basis of social or economic status, religion, ethnic grounds.
The Gender Advocate said, to achieve accelerated growth as a nation, Ghana must take steps to ensure that women and girls were put at the centre of planning and programming in national issues.
Dr. Binka called on the government to integrate gender perspectives into all national laws and policies, adding that measures must be introduced to protect girls and provide them with quality education.
She further called on government to take immediate steps to expedite efforts towards the passage of Affirmative Bill into law and said there was the need for intense advocacy on gender equality and empowerment of women and girls.
Dr. Vanessa Nsiah Akosah, Child Rights Activist and a Dental Surgeon also advised the girls not to be scared of taking competitive roles in the society because they had the ability to equally perform like their male counterparts.
She urged stakeholders in the fight of gender parity to constantly support, motivate and encourage girls to see education as an empowerment to the attainment of their future goals.
“But boys should not be sidelined in the fight for gender equality”, she cautioned.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy has appealed to the Ministry of Finance to release GH¢5.6 million to the Petroleum Commission to enable it to establish and operate a world-class data centre.
According to the Committee, access to the funds will strengthen the Commission’s capacity to manage critical upstream petroleum data and improve its operations.
Speaking during the appeal, Chairman of the Committee, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, said the move was crucial to efforts to revitalise Ghana’s upstream petroleum industry and increase oil production.
He noted that although investment and hydrocarbon production had declined in recent years, Parliament’s approval of an extension of the petroleum agreement to 2030 had attracted additional funding and contributed to an increase in production from about 80,000 to 120,000 barrels per day.
Meanwhile, concerns have been raised over repeated budget allocations for oil exploration in the Voltaian Basin.
Mr. Bedzrah stressed that funds approved for exploration must produce tangible results, adding that the Committee would require clear evidence of progress before supporting future budget allocations for the programme.
The appeal was made during a working visit to the Petroleum Commission as part of the Committee’s oversight activities to assess its operations and management procedures.
During the engagement, the Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission, Emeafa Hardcastle, took the Committee through the Commission’s working procedures and mandate, which includes regulating, managing and coordinating upstream petroleum activities.
She disclosed that since assuming office in 2025, government had pursued measures to reverse the decline in crude oil production, sustain output and reposition Ghana as an attractive destination for investment in Africa’s increasingly competitive petroleum sector.
In addition, she said government had secured fresh commitments of about US$35 billion to help revitalise the sector.
As part of the oversight exercise, the Committee is expected to conclude its monitoring visit with engagements at the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL).
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
“No civilisation deserves to be annihilated” – Mahama calls for dialogue on global conflicts at UNGA 81
President John Dramani Mahama has called for solidarity and dialogue in resolving global conflicts, insisting that no civilisation deserves to be wiped out.
“No human civilisation deserves to be annihilated, certainly not a member state of the United Nations,” President Mahama stated in his address at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
He called for solidarity with nations facing terrorism, especially the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), and for a uniform approach to conflicts in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
On the Middle East, the President called for a return to negotiations, saying “The current Middle East crisis is having a deleterious effect on the world economy.”
“I believe that dialogue can resolve even the most intractable of problems,” he added.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
