News
Ladies in mining, allied professions mark Women’s Day
Ladies in Mining and Allied Professions in Ghana (LiMAP-Gh) in collaboration with the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), AngloGold Ashanti (Iduapriem) Limited and Abosso Goldfields Limited at Damang has held the 3rd International Women’s Day 2022 at Tarkwa in the Western Region.
The theme for the one-day celebration was “Break the Bias-Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow.”
The President of LiMAP-Gh, Prof. Grace Ofori-Sarpong said the organisation was formed to build the capacities of its members and beyond and to leave a legacy wherever it worked.
She said the international organisation was formed in 1910 but they decided to come together to form one within the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality of the Western Region to break the biases by equipping themselves adequately at the workplace and transforming their generation by bringing valuable changes in society.
The Paramount Queen of Wassa Fiase Traditional Area, Nana Abena Kunadjoa 11 also said she did not want to believe that women were their own enemies because this belief would not bring any progress and promotion to the women wherever they found themselves.
She said time had come for women who were more than men to rally behind any woman who sought to stand for any public office with their money, love, energy and other resources in order to change the face of the world.
She advised those in school never to think that completing the Junior High School was the best for them to rush into marriage because statistics showed women were occupying very high positions and these came as a result of determination and hard work.
The Municipal Chief Executive of Tarkwa-Nsuaem, Mr. Benjamin Kesse said the assembly was considering giving about 70 per cent of the government appointees to women if the performance of women became very low in the next assembly elections.
He said this idea was to allow women in the assembly and communities contribute to the developmental agenda of the municipality because women were careful and very good at management.
The Community Relations Officer of Goldfields Ghana at Damang Mines, Mrs. Rahmat Yarig said those biases were being broken because many women were in the mining sector doing what was the preserve of men.
She said young women were operating dumpers, graders, caterpillars and other mining and construction machines which could not be done by women in the past.
She said notwithstanding the numerous challenges, women were up and doing and appealed to men to give them the necessary push and encouragement to go forward for the development of the family, the community and the nation at large.
The chairman of the occasion, Pro Vice Chancellor of UMaT, Prof. Anthony Simons said women were very unique and played very important role in all spheres of life.
He suggested women should be given more quota in all aspects of life adding “this job is not for women must be a thing of the past because there are many women Engineers, Miners, Pilots in all the male dominated occupations now”.
Girls from selected Senior and Basic Schools around Tarkwa and its environs attended the celebration.
From Peter Gbambila, Tarkwa
News
NPP condems arrest of Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has condemned the arrest and detention of Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah by operatives of the National Security.
In a statement signed by the General Secretary, Justin Kodua noted that “This unlawful action by the marauding operatives of the National Security is the latest installment of the ongoing series of state-sponsored attacks on the media by the NDC government, in their desperate attempt to silence the media and curtail press freedom.”
According to the him, “The Party condemns in no uncertain terms this state-sponsored lawlessness and commends the many well-meaning Ghanaians who spoke loudly against this shameful conduct by the National Security. We also commend the young people and the team of lawyers who stormed the National Security Secretariat this evening to see to the release of the abducted journalist.”
“The NPP wishes to remind President Mahama and his government that the Ghana that was bequeathed to them on January 7, 2025, was a free country. It was the bastion of democracy, underpinned not only by the existence of functioning democratic institutions but also by our unflinching commitment to upholding press freedom as enshrined in Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution,” they added.
Read the full statement below
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 19, 2025
*NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY CONDEMNS THE UNLAWFUL ARREST OF VETERAN JOURNALIST, OKATAKYIE AFRIFA MENSAH BY NATIONAL SECURITY OPERATIVES*
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) condemns the unlawful arrest and detention by operatives of the National Security, of Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah, a veteran journalist, who has been critical of the John Mahama administration.
This unlawful action by the marauding operatives of the National Security is the latest installment of the ongoing series of state-sponsored attacks on the media by the NDC government, in their desperate attempt to silence the media and curtail press freedom.
The Party condemns in no uncertain terms this state-sponsored lawlessness and commends the many well-meaning Ghanaians who spoke loudly against this shameful conduct by the National Security. We also commend the young people and the team of lawyers who stormed the National Security Secretariat this evening to see to the release of the abducted journalist.
The NPP wishes to remind President Mahama and his government that the Ghana that was bequeathed to them on January 7, 2025, was a free country. It was the bastion of democracy, underpinned not only by the existence of functioning democratic institutions but also by our unflinching commitment to upholding press freedom as enshrined in Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution.
In line with this commitment, the country also went through the painstaking process of repealing the Criminal and Seditious Libel Law in 2001, a process that was spearheaded by the immediate past President, H.E Nana Addo Akufo-Addo, who was then the Attorney General of the Republic.
It is therefore completely repugnant and unacceptable for the John Mahama administration to be using State Security to intimidate political opponents as well as media personnel in a bid to silence all critical voices This, in fact, is an egregious affront to our democratic and constitutional tenets.
We call on the Ghana Journalist Association, the Media Foundation of West Africa, Civil Society Organizations, and all stakeholders to join us in demanding an immediate cessation of this tyranny and growing culture of state-sponsored attacks on the media.
Enough is enough.
…Signed…
JUSTIN KODUA FRIMPONG
GENERAL SECRETARY
News
We have built enough buffers to pay all DDEP obligations – Finance Minister Ato Forson
Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has assured banks that the government has built sufficient financial buffers to meet all Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) obligations this year.
Speaking at a high-level meeting with over 22 Managing Directors of banks, he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to fiscal responsibility and restoring confidence in the financial sector.
“We do not intend to default,” Dr. Forson declared.
“All outstanding holdouts have been paid, and we have put in place the necessary buffers to ensure that every single DDEP obligation for this year will be met.”
The Minister explained that these buffers were created through fiscal discipline, strategic investment cuts, and prudent resource allocation.
As part of this approach, the government has reset goods and services expenditure to 2023 levels and is working to achieve a primary surplus of 1.5% to sustain economic stability.
He also announced plans to submit a fiscal responsibility rule to Parliament, which will set a debt ceiling that the Ministry of Finance cannot exceed.
This measure aims to prevent excessive borrowing and reinforce financial discipline.
Beyond ensuring timely DDEP payments, Dr Forson revealed that the government is taking deliberate steps to reduce reliance on the Treasury bill market.
By improving coordination between fiscal and monetary policies, the government aims to stabilize interest rates and ease liquidity pressures on the banking sector.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
