Day: April 22, 2024

Numerous events dedicated to Thracian culture are coming up in Kazanlak in 2024, Dr. Momchil Marinov, Director of the local Iskra Historical Museum, told BTA on Monday.

Most of the events will be dedicated to two important anniversaries: the 80th anniversary of the discovery of the Kazanlak Thracian tomb and the 20th anniversary of the discovery of the tomb of Seuthes III in what came to be known as Golyama Kosmatka mound near Shipka in central Bulgaria.

The tomb and cult complex Ostrusha, which has been completely restored, will be officially opened to visitors on April 29. On April 30, an exhibition dedicated to the Kazanlak Tomb will be opened in the Museum.

The purpose of the exhibition is to show new data about the conservation practices applied at the site over the decades. ‘Somehow, being engaged with day-to-day issues, we do not pay attention to the fact that this monument has been adequately protected over many decades and that it is one exemple of how Bulgaria should treat its cultural and histor
ical heritage,’ said Marinov.

The yearly scientific conference on thracology and archaeological research related to antiquity, will also be held on or around the anniversary, with the most prominent researchers in the field expected to take part. Lectures will be organized every month during the year and admission to all initiatives will be free, added Marinov.

Guest exhibitions from other museums are also planned in Kazanlak. ‘Original exhibits related to antiquity and, in particular, the Thracian heritage, which are owned by major Bulgarian museums, will be visiting Kazanlak,’ said Marinov. The programme for the upcoming exhibitions will be announced in the near future.

The celebrations will conclude in September with the 20th anniversary of the discovery of the tomb of Seuthes III in Golyama Kosmatka mound. The objective is to make these events as accessible as possible to the public, so that people can gain a deeper understanding of the region’s rich cultural and historical heritage.

Source: Ghana Ne
ws Agency

Mr. Francis Asenso-Boakye, the Minister for Roads and Highways has expressed the government’s commitment to enhancing the condition of roads in Kumasi, and across the country.

He has therefore asked the people in the area to have faith in the government and support it to ensure speedy completion of the roads and other road networks within the Greater Kumasi metropolitan area.

Mr Boakye, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bantama, stated this, when he led a team to conduct an inspection of road infrastructure in the Kwadaso Municipality.

Among the roads inspected were Tanoso market to Pokukrom, Tanoso to Takyiman, Tanoso to Topre, Anhwiakwanta to Kessben, Lazab to Nwamase road, and the ongoing construction of Kwadaso to Trabuom, among others.

The purpose of the inspection was to assess the condition of the roads and identify the areas which need development.

Mr. Asenso-Boakye, speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after the inspection expressed satisfaction at the progress of work done by the
contractors so far.

The Minister said the roads, when completed, would ease the stress of drivers and passengers in the area passing through every day commuting from and to the area.

He said the massive road construction currently ongoing across the country was a clear manifestation of President Akufo-Addo’s commitment to improve road infrastructure and transportation systems in the country.

The Minister, therefore, entreated all contractors to expedite their work to ensure timely completion.

Prof. Kingsley Nyarko, the MP for Kwadaso, said the completion of the roads within the constituency would enhance economic development and make it one of the beautiful constituencies within Kumasi.

He appealed to the drivers and constituents to exercise patience and rally behind the government to develop the constituency.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The police have arrested two persons in connection with the death of a United States of America national at Nyinasen near Cape Coast in the Central Region.

The two suspects, Wisdom Sete, a Togolese, and Yussif Afrim, were arrested on Friday 19th April 2024, at Assin Prasso for their involvement in the alleged murder of Naomi Jehubiyah.

A statement issued in Accra by Assistant Commissioner of Police Grace Ansah-Akrofi, Director Public Affairs, Ghana Police Service, said a preliminary police investigation indicated that Sete, believed to be the fiancée of the deceased, allegedly conspired with Afrim to kill Jehubiyah.

It said the body had been deposited at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital for preservation and autopsy.

The statement said the two vehicles belonging to the deceased had been retrieved from the suspects who were currently in custody assisting Police investigations.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Gorgisberg Fiagbenu, the Assembly member of Adidome Central electoral area has advanced moves to fight against drug abuse among the youth in the enclave. 

Mr Fiagbenu raised the concerns about the alarming trend of young individuals, aged 14 to 25, dropping out of school and succumbing to the lure of substance abuse, particularly marijuana and other hard drugs in Adidome.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the Assembly Member noted the Adidome market as a hotspot for such activities and pledged to collaborate with local security agencies to crack down on the menace.

Recognising the crucial role of parental guidance in shaping the trajectory of young lives, he emphasised the urgent need for enhanced parental control, and involvement in their children’s lives.

Mr Fiagbenu disclosed to the GNA that plans were underway to launch comprehensive sensitisation programs targeting both youth and parents.

‘These initiatives aim to raise awareness about the detrimental effects of drug abuse, while also high
lighting the proactive measures being implemented by security agencies to address the issue,’ he explained.

Mr Fiagbenu urged parents to support and guard their wards away from destructive behaviours and foster a culture of responsibility and accountability within the Adidome community.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Tropical Biology Association (TBA), together with the Institute of Nature and Environmental Conservation (INEC) Ghana, is running a practical restoration training programme on Ghana’s threatened tree species, for conservation practitioners and managers.

The 10-day training programme, funded by the Fondation Franklinia, aims to build the capacity of the participants to commit to conserve threatened tree species and restore their habitats.

About 20 participants who are undertaking mangrove restoration, natural regeneration, and other forms of forest reestablishments in the country, are taking part in the training programme.

It would cover topics such as Planning Impacts of Restoration Projects, Understanding the Links between Restoration and Ecology of Forests to achieve Long-term Conservation Outcomes, Different Restoration Approaches, and When to Apply them.

Again, participants would be exposed to Monitoring Impacts, as well as Communicating the Importance of Conserving Ghana’s threatened tree species
.

Dr. Rosie Trevelyan, Director, TBA, at the opening of the training programme in Kumasi, emphasized the need to take forest life seriously.

She said forests contributed to providing stable climate, clean water, protecting plants living in them, and fighting atmospheric greenhouse effect among others, adding that the TBA believed that education was an important tool for conservation.

‘We rely on and benefit from forests and if they are gone, we will suffer. We really have to conserve the forests that are left for the benefit of the people as well as our life, but because we have lost so many forests, we can do some action to restore them,’ she observed.

Dr. Trevelyan was optimistic that as the conservationists received knowledge on restoration, they could help in Ghana’s quest in addressing challenges of conserving threatened tree species.

Mr. David Kwarteng, Director, INEC-Ghana, said over 10 percent of Ghana’s native tree species were threatened and that formulating effective strategies to conserve, an
d restore these species in their natural environments were both critical and urgent.

Explaining the genesis of the training, he said Fondation Franklinia funded a workshop that gave birth to the threatened tree conservation action plan.

One of the key gaps that was identified by the action plan was the lack of capacity to undertake restoration using threatened trees (trees that need urgent conservation attention and are at the verge of extinction).

He said in response to that, the training workshop was put together to train Ghanaian conservation practitioners and managers who were directly undertaking restoration on the field.

Mr. Kwarteng mentioned that participants as part of the programme would visit the Bobiri Forest, INEC’s restoration sites, and KNUST Botanical Gardens to learn the different restoration approaches and silvicultural practices being used.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Some beneficiaries of the Land of Opportunity Global Mechanism (LOGMe) project in the Upper West Region have indicated that the project interventions have had a tremendous impact on their economic and social lives.

They said aside improving the vegetation, environment and protecting their water bodies, the project had also provided them with secured sources of income and food for improved family nutrition.

Madam Sahada Chanbua, a beneficiary from the Nanchalla community in the Sissala East Municipality, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at the community during a field visit to the project sites that through the project they were able to meet the education and health needs of their children.

The project is being implemented in eight communities, six in the Upper East Region and two in Sakalu, and Nanchalla communities, in the Sissala East Municipality.

The beneficiary communities received diverse landscape restoration and economic interventions including tree planting, solar-powered mechanised boreholes, an
d fenced areas for dry-season vegetable production.

Others were beekeeping, shea processing machines, energy-efficient cooking stoves, skill empowerment in briquette production and education on Good Agronomic Practices (GAPs) among others.

Madam Chanbua said through the beekeeping intervention, which was for only the women beneficiaries in the community, they made GH?5,200.00 in two years with which they supported their families, saved in their Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) and reinvested part of it into the beekeeping business.

She added that the community also received a shea processing machine, which had helped enhance their shea business and they planned to process the shea into butter, pomade, and soap to sell.

Madam Chanbua said they also received a roller planter, energy-efficient cooking stoves and training on briquette production among others, which had helped improve their livelihood.

At the Sakalu community, Madam Saadia Tahiru, a beneficiary, indicated that through the project t
hey were trained to produce grass briquettes and use energy-efficient cooking stoves, which reduced their cost of buying charcoal to cook.

She explained that the project also cultivated plots for each beneficiary and provided them with improved seeds and inputs coupled with the knowledge of GAPs, so they could sustain their agricultural production beyond the support.

She said the garden they received from the project would serve as a source of economic activity for them during the off-season.

The beneficiaries could not hide their joy in commending the IUCN and its partners and funders for the intervention as it helped enhance their socio-economic livelihoods.

Madam Félicité Chabi-Gonni, the Regional Coordinator of the LOGMe project, expressed satisfaction with the project implementation in the communities visited and its impact on the beneficiaries’ lives.

She said it was achieving the expected results considering the project plan and the work done so far after three years of its implementation.

She ex
plained that the field visit had enabled them to see what had been done and to hear from the beneficiaries how it was transforming their lives, which corroborated with what was planned and the data they received in the report.

Madam Chabi-Gonni appreciated the Italian government for showing interest in improving the livelihood of people in the three countries through the LOGMe project.

Mr Godwin Evenyo Dzekoto, the Northern Sector Manager of A Rocha Ghana, stated that producing the grass briquette for family consumption and sometimes for sale would prevent the women from felling trees to produce charcoal.

He explained that with the abundance of grasses in the area, which would have otherwise been burnt, the women could maximise them to produce the briquette through which they could earn a decent livelihood.

Mr Isaac Kofi Razak, the Extension Officer at the Sissala East Municipal Agricultural Directorate, expressed hope that the livelihood interventions the project had provided would prevent the women from
felling trees to produce charcoal as a source of livelihood.

The project was dubbed: ‘Creating Lands of Opportunity: Transforming Livelihoods through Landscape Restoration in the Sahel’ and is known as: ‘Land of Opportunity Global Mechanism’ (LOGMe).

The Italian Ministry for Ecological Transitions provided funding for the project through the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

It was implemented in Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Niger to contribute towards meeting the land degradation neutrality targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The IUCN led its implementation in Ghana in partnership with A Rocha Ghana, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI), and in collaboration with the Water Resources Commission and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Source: Ghana News Agency