Search

Support fight against Galamsey — Prof. Kwarteng to Chiefs

18 Sep, 2023 By DIS

 

Traditional authorities have been called on to support government in the country’s fight against illegal mining, colloquially known as “galamsey”. This appeal was made by a Historian of Ghana and the Environment at the University of Cape Coast, Prof. Kwame Osei Kwarteng.

 He described as deeply disturbing the massive degradation of the vegetation and pollution of rivers and streams through galamsey and said traditional rulers owe it a duty to themselves and posterity to protect the forest and water bodies. 

Prof. Kwarteng made the observations while delivering his inaugural lecture on the topic: "The Ideological Square: A Historian’s Framework for Environmental Conservation.”

 Among others, he said government could not fight the menace alone without the involvement of traditional rulers, customarily regarded as custodians of land, and therefore, appealed to them to support government in ensuring a galamsey-free country.

 

Prof. Kwarteng with the College of Professors-UCC after his robing

To him, if traditional leaders desist from leasing lands to illegal miners, including Ghanaians and foreigners, it would be very difficult for the miners to access lands to carry out their nefarious activities.

 He maintained that galamsey operators, especially ‘the Chinese’, had resorted to the use of heavy machinery, mercury and cyanide in their operations, causing life threatening health challenges to many people.

 He stated that river bodies and streams were now rendered unfit for drinking and a typical example, according to him, was the River Tano. He noted that government working in concert with Nananom should factor in traditional conservation strategies into the planning of towns.

 “The Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority and Nananom should maintain the buffer zone of hundred metres or more between river bodies and settlements,” he said.

A section of participants in the inaugural lecture

To conserve and preserve the environment, Prof. Kwarteng asked traditional overlords to destool sub-chiefs who blatantly engage in indiscriminate sale of lands to illegal miners.

He advised traditional rulers to remain resolute and refuse signing indentures for mining leases that do not provide comprehensive environmental impact assessment. 

Prof. Kwarteng, however, charged chiefs to report illegal miners to the security agencies to make sure that all offenders were dealt with by the laws of the land.

Prof. Kwarten being congratulated by the Manwrahen of Oguaa Traditional Area, Nana Kweku Enu. Looking on are other chiefs who graced the occasion.

He called for the useful Akan customs, practices and laws such as Awukudae and Akwasidae which had functionally degenerated over time, in order to maintain its legitimacy and reverence in the Ghanaian society to protect the environment.

Profile: Prof. Kwame Osei Kwarteng

•Born in 1965

• Had his primary and middle education at Gyetiase Local Authority Primary School and the Mim Methodist School

• Attended Ahafo Secondary Technical School and was later transferred to Sunyani Secondary School for both the Ordinary and the Advanced levels.

• Gained admission to UCC to pursue a Bachelor of Arts Degree and Diploma in Education in History and Religious Studies.

• Taught as a professional teacher at Kumasi Senior High School from 1992-1999

•Had M.Phil at UCC

•Appointed as Assistant Lecturer at UCC in 2001

•Had his PhD at the University of Birmingham, UK.

•Served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of Mfantsiman Girls' SHS at Saltpond from 2012-2017

•Currently serving as the Chairman of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA)

• Led two separate teams of academics to write the History of UCC in 2022 for the celebration of its 60th anniversary and the History of Ghana Heritage Conservation Trust in 2023 for the celebration of the organisation's Silver Jubilee

•Currently, a member of the newly- constituted Governing Board of Ghana National College.

•Supervised and trained two PhDs and eight MPhil students at the Department of History-UCC.

•Until October 2017, he served as President of University Teachers Association-UCC and a member of the UCC Governing Council.

•Appointed as Full Professor in 2019

•Appointed the Provost of the College of Humanities and Legal Studies in 2022

• Married to Mrs. Comfort Osei Kwarteng and blessed with three children: two ladies and a gentleman

•Staunch Christian and a member of the Harvest Chapel International Church

•Delivered Inaugural Lecture on the topic: "The Ideological Square: A Historian's Framework for Environmental Conservation."

 

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

 

 

Ghana Statistical Service launches UCC StatsBank to influence policy direction

18 Sep, 2023 By DIS

The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has out doored the country’s first integrated data repository, the Statistics Bank (StatsBank). The platform is to empower policy makers, professionals and students to ensure that data-driven decision-making become more inclusive and widespread across the country.

The high-level Academia-based launch of the GSS StatsBank and Hackathon, held in collaboration with the Department of Population and Health of University of Cape Coast (UCC), will enable users to tap into disaggregated data from census and surveys of the GSS.

The StatsBank also has over 350 million statistics, including indicators from the 2021 Population and Housing Census and a comprehensive set of macro-economic indicators.

Presenting an overview of the StatsBank, Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim, there was the need for Ghanaians to think about initiating data sets aimed at solving the complex challenges facing the nation.

“No single data source can help us solve the problems we face. It’s now compelling for all of us to think about bringing together data sets to help solve the complex changes that we have” he noted.

 

Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim speaking at StatsBank Launch at UCC

It was against this backdrop that Prof. Annim indicated that the GSS built the StatsBank to integrate different data sets to guide policy decisions, whilst de-emphasizing data aggregates.

He said the Service was of the belief that high sensitivity characterizing disaggregated data had taken proactive measures to protect the privacy and confidentiality of information from people and organisations.

The Government Statistician expressed keen interest in the micro-data dissemination policy and said the GSS would sign an MoU with UCC in the not too distant future.

He underlined the relevance of UCC’s data to complement and validate GSS’s work.

He commended students of UCC for participating in the hackathon competition that was aimed at raising the awareness of students about StatsBank, while creating avenues and opportunities for collaboration, mentorship, and team building in their academic and career fields.

 For his part, the Head of the Department of Population and Health, Prof. Kobina Esia-Donkoh, expressed gratitude to management and board of the GSS for the initiative.

He said the StatsBank would help students acquire data readily to promote multi-disciplinary research in the country.

During the launch, Mr. Simon Tichutab Onilimor and Ms. Edem Titsriku, Data Scientists from the Statistical Service, demonstrated to the audience how the StatsBank system could be navigated.

The official launch ceremony also witnessed winners of the UCC 2023 StatsBank Hackathon Competition  receive awards. The overall winner, Great Minds, received a cheque for GHS 5,000, the first runner-up team, Badwenba, was awarded GHS 2,000 and Team Robust Research, took the third position with GHS 1,000 cash prize.

Some dignitaries in a group photo with winners of the UCC 2023 StatsBank Hackathon Competition

The launch was chaired by the Provost of the College of Humanities and Legal Studies, Prof. Kwame Osei Kwarteng.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

UCC VC participates in China-Africa Cooperation for Development Conference in Beijing

15 Sep, 2023 By DIS

The Vice-Chancellor of University of Cape Coast (UCC), Prof Johnson Nyarko Boampong, has participated in the China-Africa Cooperation for Development Conference which was organised by the Centre for International Knowledge on Development (CIKD) in Beijing.

The event was held from the 29th -30th August, 2023, was attended by high profile personalities from several sectors of the economy in Africa and China. Also in attendance were diplomats from the Arab Republic of Egypt, Republic of Burundi, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Algeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mozambique, Uganda, United Nations, several businesses from China as well as Economic and Educational Think Tanks from across the globe.

The conference was chaired by ZHANG Laiming, Vice Minister of the Development Research Center of the state Council of People Republic of China (DRC) and Chief Vice President of CIKD.

Participants in the forum discussed several topics, including the Belt and Road initiative and China-Africa development cooperation, Industrialization, urbanization and Inclusive Development-with a focus on digital economy, infrastructure, agricultural development, inclusive growth among others, as well as the South-south cooperation and common sustainable development.

Key International Participants from China and Africa at the Conference

Speaking at the event, the Vice-Chancellor pointed out that education remained a critical area that was worth mentioning within the China-Africa cooperation. “As I speak, the University of Cape Coast is one of the few Universities in Africa that has a Confucius Institute for the study of Chinese language and culture. And I must say that since the establishment of this Institute, the bond between Ghana and China is growing deeper”.

He further stated that “…there are indeed a lot more areas of development cooperation that we are yet to fully explore. Africa still has a lot of untapped potential - not just her natural resources, but also in her human capital. Africa has incredible human talent in her youth.”

 According to the Vice-Chancellor, what was needed to unearth the untapped potential was a commitment by development partners such as China to come to the table with a commitment to have a win-win dialogue towards a shared future that is based on mutual respect for one another.

 For this to happen, Prof. Boampong said, “China and Africa must continue to dialogue. This dialogue must be based on our collective interests taking into cognizance our varied socio-cultural and political circumstances”.

A delegation of the Association of African Universities at the Beijing Foreign Studies University

As part of the visit to China, the Vice-Chancellor joined his colleagues; Prof. O.B. Kehinde, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokota, Nigeria and the Secretary-General of the Association of African Universities, Prof. Olusola Bandele Oyewole to attend the unveiling ceremony of the Chinese Secretariat of the China-Africa Consortium of Universities Exchange Mechanism on the 31st of August, 2023 at the Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Prof. Boampong also held discussions with the President and a team from the Beijing Foreign Studies University to collaborate with the University of Cape Coast in the areas of education studies and languages. A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between UCC and Zheijang Normal University to collaborate in research, student and faculty exchange, staff and development through short courses, curriculum exchange and development as well as joint degree programmes. However, the emphasis of the collaboration will be in the area of education studies and educational research with the view of forming an educational think-tank focusing on China-Africa higher education.

The Vice-Chancellor was accompanied by the Dean of the Office of International Relations, UCC, Prof. Samuel Bert Boadi-Kusi.

Source: Documentation and Information Section/OIR-UCC

Dept. of Hospitality and Tourism Management launches new skills development programme

05 Sep, 2023 By DIS

The Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) has kick-started the training and retraining component of the National Unemployment Insurance Scheme (NUIS) for 1000 workers in the tourism and hospitality sector of the country.

The training and retraining programme, fully funded by the Government of Ghana, focuses on preserving and upgrading the human capital and skills of beneficiaries who lost their employment or are under-employed as a result of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.

The initiative is part of the GH¢100bn Ghana COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalisation of Enterprises Support (CARES) “Obaatan pa” programme by government i to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on households, firms, and the economy.

Mr. Akwasi Owusu Manu addressing the launch

Speaking at the launch of the programme at the School of Medical Sciences Auditiorium-UCC, a Senior Budget Analyst at the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Akwasi Owusu Manu, said a major outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic was the unprecedented levels of unemployment and joblessness recorded during that period.

He said the programme would be implemented in two phases with the first phase covering workers in the sectors that were mostly affected by the pandemic- private education sector and the tourism and hospitality sector.

The second phase, according to him, would cover other sectors of the economy with emphasis on vocational and technical training.

Mr. Manu said the first option was for workers who had the requirements and capacity to pursue existing academic programme or courses available in the training institutions.

He said the programme would enhance the capacity of more than 15,000 people nationwide with skills that could earn them jobs.

Some beneficiaries at the programme

He reminded beneficiaries that government had paid the required fees to the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management to enable them benefit from the knowledge to be offered and further advised workers to take advantage of the opportunity to enhance their employable skills.

Mr. Manu implored the Department to make sure that the beneficiaries justify the investments being made in them by the government and cautioned them not to take advantage of free skills to undermine the programme.

He noted that the government had put in place pragmatic measures to find lasting solutions to the unemployment menace in the country.

The Head of the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Prof. Issahaku Adam, expressed excitement about the initiative and indicated the readiness of his outfit to build the capacities of the beneficiaries with the right skills to increase their chances of securing a new job.

He said the Department was training about 338 employees for the first cohort in Cape Coast and would move to Wa to offer similar training to the covid-ravaged workers.

He mentioned that the second cohort would be trained at a later date.

Prof. Issahaku Adam (in suit, front row),Head of the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, with faculty members of the Department.

 

04 Sep, 2023

1. The University of Cape Coast intends to apply part of its Budgetary Allocation of Funds under the Africa Centre of Excellence (ACE Impact Project), for eligible payments under the following contracts.

 

DESCRIPTION

QTY

BID SECURITY GH¢

UCC/ACE/11/2023

Supply of Mini Bus

1

15,000.00

UCC/ACE/20/2023

Supply of Semi-industrial Research Vessel

1

40,000.00

 

2. The University of Cape Coast invites sealed Tenders from eligible suppliers for supply of the above goods. Tendering will be conducted through the National Competitive Tendering (NCT) procedures specified in the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) as Amended and the Guidelines of the Public Procurement Authority of the Republic of Ghana.

 

3. Interested eligible Tenderers may obtain further information from the Procurement Office, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, and inspect the bidding document at the address and location given from 31st August, 2023, Monday-Friday, 8.00 am to 4.30 pm local time each day.

 

4. A complete set of Tender documents in English may be purchased by interested Tenderers on the submission of a written application to the address below and upon the payment of a non-refundable fee of GH¢300.00 for any of the documents. The method of payment will be by cash, or bank draft to University of Cape Coast. The document will be obtained personally.

 

5. Tenders must be deposited in the Tender Box located at the Procurement Office, New Central Administration Building, New Site, at or before 11:00am, on Thursday, 21st September, 2023.

 

6. Tenders shall be valid for a period of 90 days after the deadline for Tender submission. All tenders must be accompanied by a Tender Security of not less than the respective amounts indicated above from a reputable Bank. Late Tenders will be rejected. Tenders will be opened at 11.05am in the presence of Tenderers’ representatives who choose to attend at the Academic Board Chamber located at the Top Floor of the New Administration Building, University of Cape Coast and at the time specified above.

 

7. All tenders must be accompanied by:

Valid Business Registration Certificate, VAT Certificate, Valid Tax Clearance Certificate, Valid SSNIT Clearance Certificate, Manufacturers Authorization (where applicable), PPA Registration Certificate and other Relevant Certificates.

 

8. Address for inspection and Purchase of Tender Documents:

Procurement Office

New Central Administration Block- New Site

Telephone: 0243422871/0243579933

Email: procurement@ucc.edu.gh/nampofo@ucc.edu.gh

04 Sep, 2023

1. The University of Cape Coast intends to apply part of its Budgetary Allocation of Funds and Internally Generated Funds where applicable, for payments under the following contracts.

 

DESCRIPTION

QTY

BID SECURITY GH¢

CR/UCC/GD/0412/2023

Supply of 2024 Diaries

(Tenderers must submit samples with their bids)

various

8,000.00

CR/UCC/GD/0413/2023

Supply of Desktop Computers and UPS for SGS

30 + 15

10,000.00

CR/UCC/GD/0414/2023

Supply and fixing of Curtains for SGS

various

6,000.00

CR/UCC/GD/0415/2023

Supply of Computers (system unit only) for UJHS

50

8,000.00

CR/UCC/GD/0419/2023

Supply of 30seater bus with baggage carrier on top for SPPS and CoDE

2

50,000.00

 

2. The University of Cape Coast invites sealed Tenders from eligible suppliers or contractors for supply of the above goods or works. Tendering will be conducted through the National Competitive Tendering (NCT) procedures specified in the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) as Amended and the Guidelines of the Public Procurement Authority of the Republic of Ghana.

 

3. Interested eligible Tenderers may obtain further information from the Procurement Office, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, and inspect the bidding document at the address and location given from 31st August, 2023, Monday-Friday, 9.00 am to 4.00 pm local time each day.

4. A complete set of Tender documents in English may be purchased by interested Tenderers on the submission of a written application to the address below and upon the payment of a non-refundable fee of GH¢300.00 for any of the documents. The method of payment will be by cash, or bank draft to University of Cape Coast. The document will be obtained personally.

 

5. Tenders must be deposited in the Tender Box located at the Procurement Office, New Central Administration Building, New Site, at or before 11:00am, on Thursday, 21st September, 2023.

 

6. Tenders shall be valid for a period of 90 days after the deadline for Tender submission. All tenders must be accompanied by a Tender Security of not less than the respective amounts indicated above from a reputable Bank in the format attached in the tender documents. Late Tenders will be rejected. Tenders will be opened at 11.05am in the presence of Tenderers’ representatives who choose to attend at the Academic Board Chamber located at the Top Floor of the New Administration Building, University of Cape Coast and at the time specified above.

 

7. All tenders must be accompanied by:

Valid Business Registration Certificate, VAT Certificate, Valid Tax Clearance Certificate, Valid SSNIT Clearance Certificate, Manufacturers Authorization (where applicable), PPA Registration Certificate and other Relevant Certificates.

 

8. Address for inspection and Purchase of Tender Documents:

Procurement Office

New Central Administration Block- New Site

Telephone: 0243422871/0243579933

Email: procurement@ucc.edu.gh/nampofo@ucc.edu.gh

Adopt multidisciplinary approach to help Ghana achieve SDGs- Geographers urged

04 Sep, 2023 By DIS

The Ghana Geographers Association annual conference has been held at the  University  of Cape Coast with a call on geographers to adopt  multi-disciplinary approaches to help the country achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This year’s event   was on the theme, “Ghana's Journey towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Perspective of Geographers."

The keynoter for the grand opening of the conference, the Head of the Ghana Statistical Service, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim, called for workable strategies in order to achieve the SDGs in Ghana.

He noted that Ghana did moderately well in the attainment of some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and called on the geographers to concentrate their efforts as regards the goals from historical, current and futuristic perspectives to score points in 2030.

"While we undoubtedly need a geographer's perspective in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, the efforts should be dispensed in multi- disciplinary context" he explained.

Prof. Samuel Kobina Annin, Government Statistician

Despite Ghana's preparedness to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs, Prof. Annim said Ghana's frequent reportage on the SDGs was not an indication that the country was achieving the goals.

The Government Statistician  said the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS)  had launched  the National Reporting Platform, a website that would serve as a key source of information with regards to the country’s progress in achieving the SDGs by 2030. He said the data uploaded unto the website "gives substantive breakdown on the number of indicators the country has been able to achieve and how those achievements were made."

Prof. Annim also added that the Service had also introduced the Voluntary National Review (VNR) to share experiences of the country in  implementing the SDGs.

According to him, the VNR also sought to strengthen government’s policies and institutions and to mobilise multi-stakeholder support and partnership for the SDGs implementation.

A section of participants in the opening ceremony

The President of the Association, Prof. Kwabena Barima Antwi, stressed the importance of geography in development. He said the concept of sustainable development of which geography played a role sought to improve the living conditions of all by promoting economic  prosperity, environmental conservation and social inclusion.

Ahead of the keynoter’s address, there were plenary presentations which featured Emeritus Professor Kofi Awusabo-Asare, Prof. David Teye Doku and Dr. Kojo Gyabaa.

The Head of the Department of Geography and Regional Planning-UCC, Prof. Benjamin Kofi Nyarku, chaired the opening ceremony on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UCC Releases NSS Personnel Preparing for Teacher Licensure Exams

04 Sep, 2023 By DIS

In line with a request by the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly (CCMA) wing of the Ghana National Service Personnel Association (NASPA), the University of Cape Coast has released, on special leave, all of its National Service Personnel preparing for the Teacher Licensure Examinations.

The special leave commences from September 1 to September 15, 2023.

In a letter, executives of NASPA-CCMA appealed to management to release personnel preparing for the examinations and also allow them benefit from an online tutorial support established by the Central Regional Executives of NASPA. The platform endeavours to offer additional assistance as well as guidance for the candidates.

“On the platform, a link will be shared in relation to that. While that is underway, we, as your district executives, are working to set up a face-to-face tutorial with experts in the field to boost your self-assurance as you take the licensure examinations” the letter indicated.

The personnel granted the special leave have been directed to return to their allocated duties on September 18, 2023, following the break period.

“We are quite proud of your enthusiasm and dedication to both your academic and service endeavors, and we have no doubt that your efforts will be fruitful” the letter concluded.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

 

 

Pages