TIG Post

Author: Phoebe Martekie Doku

  • Some teacher unions end strike action after resolution on COLA

    The Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association of Graduate Teachers, Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana and the Teachers and Educational Workers Union have ended their strike action over the payment of the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA).

    The four teacher unions laid down their working tools on July 4, over lack of consensus with the government.

    But the General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Mr. Thomas Musah on behalf of organised labour, directed the striking teacher unions to call off the industrial action.

    According to reports, the Senior Staff Association of the Universities of Ghana (SSAUoG) has not called off its strike embarked  on July 13, 2022.

    Although a number of schools in the Ashanti Region have resumed school, academic work is yet to commence.

    Final year students of the TI Hamadiya Senior High School say they cannot wait to see their teachers back in school Monday, 18 July, 2022 after their prolonged absence.

    A portion of the students who spoke to CitiNews revealed the difficulties they had to endure in the absence of their teachers.

    “In fact when the teachers went on strike it affected us a lot because class was not effective. There were no students. If you go to class and teachers are not there most of the time we don’t feel like learning and we are also just about to write our WASSCE. We are also unable to cover most of our courses. So now that they have come back we thank the government,” a male student said.

    Another final year student filled with excitement said,”I am very happy they are back to cover all our syllabus”.

    After the back and forth between labor unions and government, the two parties have now agreed on a 15% Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) to be paid to all public sector workers.

    As part of the agreements, the teacher unions had to call off their strike action and return to class with immediate effect.

    According to reports, the payment of COLA takes retrospective effect from July 1, 2022.

     

    Source: The Independent Ghana

     

  • A.B. Crenstil was passionate about the growth of Highlife – Ambolley

    Legendary Ghanaian musician Gyedu Blay Ambolley, says the late Alfred Benjamin “A. B.” Crentsil was very passionate about the growth of Highlife and its sustainability for future generations.

    Ghanaians music lovers were dealt a huge blow after the veteran musician A.B. Crenstil passed on earlier in the week, aged 79.

    Ambolley, who was a very close musical colleague of A.B. Crentsil, recounted numerous conversations where the latter expressed concerns about the direction Highlife was heading, and the need to do more to grow the genre.

    “Whenever we met, A.B Crenstil was very jovial and cracked a lot of jokes, but we often had discussions about the growth and emancipation of Highlife music. We always shared ideas as to how we can contribute to sustaining the genre, a course we as veteran musicians have always championed over the years,” he told the Ghana News Agency.

    When asked about the legacy of A.B. Crenstil as one of Ghana’s music greats, Ambolley said: ” A.B. Crenstil had a distinct approach to his kind of music and you could always realise how unique his music was.

    “He could pick a verse from the bible and create some music which could be very relevant in our way of life as Ghanaians, and this should tell you how creative he was with his style. I want him to be remembered for his contribution to the growth of Highlife, for having performed all over the world, and for his passion to see Highlife transcend musical borders,” he said.

    Ambolley was, however, worried about how Highlife had been sidestepped by younger musicians, with some radio stations not helping the course of promoting Highlife, but remained optimistic that Highlife would not die.

     

     

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • Railway Company to resume Tema-Accra shuttle train services on July 18

    Management of Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL) says it will on Monday, July 18, 2022, resume the Tema-Accra passenger train service, which was suspended temporarily for rehabilitation works.

    “After successfully addressing some technical challenges, GRCL conducted series of test runs and a final joint inspection was also carried out on July 7, 2022, by GRCL and Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA) to ascertain the suitability of the line for passenger service,” a statement from GRCL noted.

    The Ghana Railway Company Limited in the statement said GRDA, which is the industry regulator, has granted it the approval to commence the shuttle service.

    “The general public is being advised to bear with us, that as a start, a restricted speed limit of 35km/h has been imposed on the movement of the train to enable our technical team to continue to address any teething problem that may emerge during these early stages of the resumption of the shuttle service.”

    “There would also be other GRCL officials onboard the train to obtain the views and concerns of commuters to enable Management of GRCL to address them to ensure smooth running of the passenger service to the best satisfaction of our clients. The general public is hereby assured of our usual comfortable, safe and punctual shuttle service GRCL provides,” the railway company added in the statement.

     

     

    Source: Citinews

     

  • Tiwa Savage gets Queen of Afrobeats doctorate

    Nigerian Afrobeats artist, Tiwa Savage, has been given an honorary doctorate by her alma mater, the UK’s University of Kent.

    “Tiwa studied Business at Kent before she embarked on her incredible career – a reminder to all our graduates today to reach for the stars!.” the university tweeted, adding that they were “super proud”.

    Tiwa began her music career doing backup vocals for artists.

    She was the first woman to win the Best African Act at the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards.

     

  • Compiling a new voter register using the Ghana card is good, but Ghanaians must all have one – Asiedu Nketia

    The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Asiedu Nketia has stated that using the Ghana Card as a sole document to register voters is not a bad idea.

    According to him, this will only be possible if all Ghanaians have received  their Ghana Cards from the National Identification Authority

    His comments come at the back of a warning in Parliament by the Minority against the Electoral Commissions to compile a new voter register using only the Ghana card.

    But Asiedu Nketia has cautioned the National Identification Authority and the Electoral Commission on that decision.

    “If you ask me that we should use the Ghana card exclusively for voter registration, I’ll say yes; It’s wonderful and I urged all Ghanaians to be given their Ghana card before that decision is implemented” he stated .

    It will be recalled that Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu stated that such a move by the EC will threaten the stability of the country as the rights of legal age Ghanaians to vote and exercise their franchise will be infringed upon.

    “Our understanding as we pick it up is that the Electoral Commission of Ghana is desperately planning to discard the 2020 voter register and replace it with a new voter register ,which has caused the taxpayer and the people of Ghana to build with $80million thereabout “ he said.

    Ahead of the 2020 general elections ,the EC had Justified its call for a new voters register by claiming that the 2016 register contained names of non citizens hence the reason for a new voters register.

     

    Source: The Independent Ghana

  • Invest in the security of Members of Parliament – Afenyo-Markin pleads with govt

    Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has called on the arms of government to prioritize the security of Members of Parliament.

    Addressing Parliament on Wednesday, he stated that measures must be put in place to ensure the safety of public office holders as attacks on lives are unannounced.

    “Japan never expected this and this is very sad, so Mr Speaker, I call on Parliament to invest in the security of Members of Parliament. I call on the executive to invest in the security of the executive. I call on all arms of government to take interest in the country of public office holders” he pointed out.

    His comments came at the back of the recent assassination of Former Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe.

    Alexander Afenyo-Markin further urged the Members of Parliament to communicate to their constituents despite the discourse that happens between the parliamentarians.

    According to him, the kind of situations some Ghanaians find themselves in, compel them to act in a manner that may threaten the lives of legislators.

    “Mr. Speaker the time has also come for us to go the extra mile to communicate with our constituents, because Mr. Speaker the situations people find themselves leads them to behave in a certain manner.

    It is important that even in our discourse as politicians, we don’t encourage hard lying views and extremist views to take precedence over very liberal and moderate  approach to our public discourse“ the MP advised.

    Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe died Friday July 8, 2022 after being shot at a campaign event, an attack that shocked a country where gun violence is virtually nonexistent.

    Shinzo Abe, 67,was a towering political presence even after he stepped down as Japanese longest serving Prime Minister.

    Abe was rushed to Nara Medical University Hospital after going into cardio and pulmonary arrest. The hospital announced his death shortly after 5am.

    Source: The Independent Ghana

     

  • NIA has issued over 16.7 million Ghana Cards, over 895K uncollected

    Colonel Peter Kwame Ghansah (Rtd), the Head of Operations at the National Identification Authority (NIA), has disclosed that 16,936,934 Ghanaians has been registered by the Authority as of July 12, including pilot, mass and continuous registration exercises.

    He explained that the number of cards printed is 16,743,832 whilst the number of uncollected Ghana cards is 895,140, adding that the number of cards replaced is 159,439.

    Colonel Ghansah announced this when officials of the National Identification Authority appeared in the House to brief Members of Parliament (MPs) about the operations and activities of the NIA.

    Colonel Ghansah also explained that the number of persons whose records were updated is 34,623 whilst the number of foreigners registered and the number of non-citizens who renewed their cards from January to June 2022 is 12,379 and 15,552 is respectively.

    He said the total number of foreigners registered from 2013 to date is 156,339 and that from the figures it means that on average 17,371 foreigners are registered annually.

    Colonel Ghansah further indicated that between 2018 and 2022 the NIA executed MOUs for delivery of data harmonization and integration services with institutions including the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF), Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), the Bank of Ghana (BOG), Artel-Tigo, MTN, Vodafone and Glow.

    He explained that after the execution of the MOU and the data harmonization process, the NIA had transferred data to institutions including the GRA, SSNIT, NHIA and MTN, among others.

    He said for the GRA the NIA has transferred a total of 15, 797,860 data, SSNIT-15,412,055, NHIA-15,370,256, Artel-Tigo-1,766,446, MTN-11,524,584, Vodafone-10, 340,802 and Glo-142,215.

    Colonel Ghansah also stated that the NIA was engaging the Electoral Commission, Birth and Death Registry, Ghana Immigration Service, Passport Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration for similar purposes.

    He explained that Ghanaians who had registered but had not yet received their Ghana card could still be clarified by the Banks and Telcom companies if verification devices specified by the NIA were available.

    Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu in his comments raised concern that the Ghana card which is a public good is increasingly not accessible to millions of Ghanaians.

    He called on the NIA to give a regional and district breakdown in terms of the number of people registered as well as the cards issued by the Authority.

    “Many Ghanaians are struggling to have access to the Ghana card,” he said.

    Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, in his comment, reiterated the call for the NIA to provide the regional and district breakdown in terms of the figures to the House.

    “I subscribe to the idea that we should have the regional and district breakdown because Ghana is broken down into regions, so that when we have the full complements of the identification cards, it should even help us to know region by region and district by district the ethnic breakdown of the country” he added.

     

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • Europe heatwave: Deadly wildfires spread in Mediterranean

    Thousands of firefighters are battling wildfires in Spain and southwestern France, in the grip of a heatwave that shows no sign of easing.

    In northern Portugal, a pilot died when his waterbombing plane crashed in the Foz Coa area, near the Spanish border.

    Fires are ravaging areas of France’s Gironde region, where more than 11,000 people have been evacuated.

    In southern Spain, near the Costa del Sol, about 2,300 people had to flee a wildfire spreading in the Mijas hills.

    Holidaymakers on the beach in Torremolinos saw big plumes of smoke rising in the hills, where several aircraft were tackling the blaze.

    Meanwhile, one local resident described the forest fires near France’s south-west Atlantic coast as feeling “post-apocalyptic”.

    “I’ve never seen this before,” Karyn, who lives near Teste-de-Buch, told news agency AFP.

    The fire there and another just south of Bordeaux have ravaged nearly 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres).

    Since Tuesday, temperatures have soared to 47C in Portugal and above 40C in Spain, leaving the countryside bone dry and fuelling the fires. More than 300 people have died from the heat in both countries, Spain’s Efe news agency reports.

    The Portuguese pilot who died was flying solo in a Fire Boss amphibious plane.

    Portugal’s fire hotspots are in the north – east of the city of Porto. Fires have destroyed 30,000 hectares (75,000 acres) of land this year – the largest area since the summer of 2017, when Portugal suffered devastating fires in which some 100 people died.

    Other parts of the Mediterranean are affected too. In Italy, the government has declared a state of emergency in the desiccated Po Valley – the country’s longest river is no more than a trickle in some places.

    In northern Morocco, several villages had to be evacuated as fires swept through the Larache, Ouezzane, Taza and Tetouan provinces. One village was totally destroyed in Ksar El Kebir.

    France has also had sweltering heat of about 40C and expects more next week, with 16 departments on orange alert, for severe weather.

    The head of France’s firefighters’ federation has warned of the impact global warming is having on civil protection. “It’s firefighters, civil security who deal with the effects on a daily basis – and these effects aren’t in 2030, they’re right now,” said Grégory Allione.

    Heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change. The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to carbon emissions.

     

    Source: BBC

  • Heatwave: National emergency declared after UK’s first red extreme heat warning

    A national emergency has been declared after a red extreme heat warning was issued for the first time, as temperatures could hit 40C (104F).

    The Met Office’s highest warning covers an area including London, Manchester and York on Monday and Tuesday.

    It means there is a risk to life and daily routines will need to change.

    Speed restrictions are likely on railway lines, some schools will close early and some hospital appointments will be cancelled.

    On the roads, gritters are planning to spread sand to reduce melting, and the RAC has warned more drivers will need help as cars overheat.

    On top of the Met Office warning, the UK Health Security Agency issued its highest level four heat alert to health and care bodies – warning illness and death could occur “among the fit and healthy”.

    NHS leaders on Friday evening warned there would be greater demand for ambulances and patients could be at risk if left outside hospitals in emergency vehicles in hot weather.

    In a letter they said ambulances should not wait outside emergency departments more than 30 minutes before offloading patients.

    It is the first time a red heat warning has been issued for parts of the UK, although the extreme heat warning system was only introduced in 2021.

    Downing Street said the alert was being treated as a national emergency. Officials met on Friday and will meet again during the weekend to discuss the response.

    The weather at the start of next week is forecast to be warm across the UK but temperatures will be more like 30C in Scotland and Northern Ireland, rather than the high 30s predicted in parts of England and Wales.

    The heatwave – originating in north Africa – is spreading across Europe and has fuelled wildfires in Portugal, France and Spain.

     

    Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said it was “potentially a very serious situation”, with a 50% chance of temperatures reaching 40C – likely along the A1 corridor, running from London northwards towards Yorkshire and the North East.

    The highest recorded temperature in the UK was 38.7C in Cambridge in 2019 and BBC Weather presenter Matt Taylor said there is now a realistic possibility of hitting 40C in the UK.

    “That is exceptionally hot, the sort of temperatures that if you are on holiday you may be able to deal with but in day-to-day life it can have severe impacts on health,” he said.

    What does extreme heat do to the body?

    As the body gets hotter, blood vessels open up. This leads to lower blood pressure and makes the heart work harder to push the blood around the body.

    This can cause mild symptoms such as an itchy heat rash or swollen feet as blood vessels become leaky.

    At the same time, sweating leads to the loss of fluids and salt and, crucially, the balance between them in the body changes.

    This, combined with the lowered blood pressure, can lead to heat exhaustion.

    Night-time temperatures in some areas will not drop below 25C but they are likely to start cooling off from Wednesday.

    Met Office CEO Penny Endersby said the extreme heat forecast was “absolutely unprecedented” and she urged people to take the warning as seriously as a red or amber warning for snow or wind.

    People in the UK are used to treating hot weather as a “chance to go and play in the sun” but “this is not that sort of weather”, she said.

    In England, there were 2,500 excess deaths in the summer of 2020 due to hot weather, and the Red Cross predicts that heat-related deaths in the UK could treble in 30 years.

    People are being urged to stay hydrated, look out for vulnerable people, keep curtains closed and stay out of the midday sun.

    There have been concerns about pressure on the NHS during the extreme weather. Downing Street said contingency plans were in place and the prime minister was being updated.

    The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the latter half of the 18th century, and experts predict that temperatures will keep rising unless governments make steep cuts to emissions.

    Seven of the top 10 hottest days in the UK have been since 2003, Mr Taylor said.

    • ‘The heat messes with my echolocation’
    • Woman dies following paddleboard rescue

    The latest heatwave has brought warnings of disruption to travel with rail firm Avanti West Coast warning that weekend services might be cancelled at short notice, with amended timetables and extended journey times expected on Monday and Tuesday.

    It said customers should only travel “if absolutely necessary” early next week.

    Network Rail said the impact to train services would “vary by region, but journeys will take significantly longer and there is a likelihood of cancellations, delays and last-minute alterations”.

    Transport for London has also urged people in the capital to only travel for “essential journeys” – and warned there may be some impact to Tube and rail services.

    Meanwhile in sport, five horse race meetings have been cancelled on Monday and Tuesday because of the forecast temperatures.

     

    Source: BBC

  • La Trobe Australia 2022 College Excellence Scholarships

    La Trobe University values academic excellence. High achieving International students thinking about applying for an undergraduate or postgraduate course will be automatically considered for this scholarship.

    The La Trobe International Scholarship (LTIS) rewards high achieving International students. This scholarship is worth between 15% to 25% off the annual tuition fees for the duration of studies.

    About La Trobe University

    La Trobe has been one of Australia’s pioneering universities for more than 50 years. Discover our unique history, including our motto and coat of arms. In 1967, 552 students enrolled at La Trobe University, the third university to open in Victoria, which has grown to accommodate more than 36,000 students, with over 7,000 international students from 110 countries. We now have a network of campuses, with over 28,000 students at our Melbourne Campus and over 7,500 at our campuses in Albury-Wodonga, Bendigo, Mildura, Melbourne City (Collins Street), Shepparton and Sydney.

     

    Requirements for La Trobe University Bachelors Qualification

    • Applicant must be an international student (non-Australian or New Zealand)
    • Must be applying to start an undergraduate or postgraduate coursework program.
    • This scholarship is not available to students who are currently enrolled at the university
    • Must meet course prerequisites
    • Must have equivalent to a weighted average mark (WAM) of at least 65 percent or higher (Australian Equivalency).

    Application Deadline

    December 31, 2022

     

    How to Apply

    Interested and qualified? Go to La Trobe University on www.latrobe.edu.au to apply

    Applicants will be automatically considered for the scholarship after submitting an application for an LTIS approved course.

    Percentage awarded is based on the WAM and overall eligibility of the course. The scholarship will be included in the Letter of Offer.

    The scholarship will be reflected on the student’s statement of account after the census-date once the student has accepted the offer, paid the required deposit mentioned on the offer letter and enrolled into their courses.

     

    Source: La Trobe University

  • Majority of Ghanaians believe e-levy is a bad idea Afrobarometer survey

    Majority of Ghanaians are not in favour of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-levy), a new Afrobarometer study shows.

    The government introduced the e-levy on May 1, 2022, in a bid to widen the tax net.

    However, a large majority of Ghanaians think it is a bad idea and will mean a greater tax burden on citizens.

    The study shows that many do not trust that the government will use the revenues generated to fund development programmes, and citizens are almost evenly split as to whether they will continue to use electronic financial platforms.

    The study also indicates that a majority of Ghanaians believe there are several important goals that a tax revenue system must achieve, including ensuring that people understand the taxes they owe, reducing the tax burden, using tax revenues more effectively, and ensuring that citizens and businesses pay taxes.

    Key findings

    • Three-fourths of Ghanaians disapprove of the e-levy, including 67% who “strongly disapprove” of it (Figure 1). Only two in 10 (19%) endorse the new tax.
    • A similar proportion (76%) think the e-levy is a bad idea because it will increase the tax burden on the poor and ordinary citizens (Figure 2). This includes 63% who “strongly agree” with this view.
    • Three-quarters are also “not very confident” (24%) or “not at all confident” (51%) that the government will fulfill its pledge to use the revenues generated by the e-levy to fund development programmes.
    • Faced with the e-levy, Ghanaians are about evenly split as to whether they will continue to use electronic financial transactions (47%) or avoid using them (49%)
    • A majority of Ghanaians agree that there are several important goals that a tax revenue system must achieve, including ensuring that people understand the taxes they owe (82%), reducing the tax burden (81%), using tax revenues more effectively (83%), and ensuring that citizens and businesses pay taxes (79%).
    • Click here to read the full report

     

    Source: Citinews