My Ghana Electronic Desk

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE A survey conducted in December 2011 by   GlobeScan and SustainAbility of attitudes across businesses, NGOs, academia and government, has revealed the clamour for short term financial gain as a major obstacle to sustainable change in business. Otherwise referred to as financial short-termism, 88% of the 642 experts polled said they see pressure for short-term financial results as a barrier to businesses becoming more sustainable. The latest wave of The Sustainability Survey, a regular survey conducted by GlobeScan, an international opinion research consultancy with a network across over 50 countries and SustainAbility, a think tank and strategy consultancy working to inspire transformative business leadership on the sustainability agenda, asked experts to say whether they considered a range of factors as being barriers to increased sustainability by businesses. Although most of those polled identified multiple barriers, financial short-termism was se...

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE Over 12,000 Ghanaians were issued with visas to travel to the United States of America, (USA), either for business or education in 2011, the US embassy in Ghana has disclosed. Making the disclosure yesterday in Accra on the premises of the US embassy, outgoing US Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Donald Teitelbaum said the number was unprecedented in the history of US-Ghana relationship. Trying to proffer a reason for the large number as he delivered a speech during the Ghana embassy staff’s celebration of US’ 236 th Independence Anniversary and National Day, he said “America is Ghana’s second largest group of visitors and America is Ghana’s most popular foreign destination.” “We issued over 12,000 visas in 2011, more than ever before, and we are good business partners,” Ambassador Teitelbaum divulged. According to the US Ambassador, the United States’ trade with Ghana has hit an all high 220%   over the past five years. “Trade between US and Ghana wa...

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE Ambassador Donald Teitelbaum The United States of America’s (USA) Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Donald Teitelbaum, has expressed his country’s confidence in the peaceful and democratic conduct of Ghana’s December 2012 elections. Ambassador Teitelbaum, whose four-year term as the United States’ representative in Ghana ends this month, was speaking at the USA’s 236 th Independence Anniversary and National Day celebration, which was marked in Ghana with a reception at the United States Embassy in Accra Thursday, June 29, 2012. Using the occasion to also deliver a farewell speech to the Government and people of Ghana, he said;“I am sad to be leaving just as a new election process gets into top gear, but I must say that I am confident the process and the outcome of the process, will live up to the highest standards of the people of Ghana.” “Democracy, freedom and the respect for human rights have been and will continue to be among the shared values that bind...

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has asked all countries attending the Rio+20 conference in Brazil , to expand avenues for least developed countries (LDCs) to fight poverty, boost efficiency and provide new opportunities for the marginalised. Making remarks at a high-level side event on LDCs in Rio de Janeiro, June 21, 2012, he said “We must work together to enhance resilience through support, knowledge sharing and economic diversification. We need to make a special effort for fragile and conflict-affected areas, which are home to more than 1.5 billion people.” Revealing that the UN is working on a new deal for engagement in fragile states that focuses on peace-building and state-building, he stated, “And, more broadly, we need to expand avenues for LDCs to fight poverty, boost efficiency and provide new opportunities for the marginalised.” Mr. Ban Ki-moon pointed out the three crucial areas that need tackling as, sustainable energy, foo...

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE Some new bean varieties released by ISAR on January 15th The Rwandan government has today announced the release of five new iron-rich bean varieties that could provide more iron in the diets of millions of Rwandese who eat beans every day, and will thus aid to fight anaemia which is prevalent in the country. The varieties, which are RAB CB-12-8 or RWV 2887, RAB CB-12-1 or RWV 3006, RAB CB-12-3 or RWV 3316, RAB CB-12-4 or RWV 3117 and RAB CB-12-6 or MAC 42, were selected from a pool of over 5000 nursed seeds, evaluated across mid- to high-altitude agro-ecologies in Rwanda for several years, and finally tested in over 50 on-station and on-farm trials prior to their release to farmers by the Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB). Meanwhile, development and delivery of the varieties is being funded by HarvestPlus, an organisation which leads a global effort to breed and disseminate staple food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals to improve nutrition and p...

World Leaders at the G20 Cannes Summit BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE In a seven-point recommendation, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has tasked the G20 group of twenty finance ministers and central bank governors currently meeting at Los Cabos, Mexico, to speed up progress on action-plan items from previous G-20 meetings and develop clear accountability indicators. The institute has also asked the purse holders of the world’s leading economies and their leaders, to keep food and nutrition security at the top of the agenda of current and future G-20 meetings, invest in agricultural research and development and improve farmers’ access to improved seeds and fertiliser. IFPRI has also requested the group of 20 leaders to improve information to better prioritise needed investment to increase sustainable agricultural productivity, avoid excessive market speculation by providing more timely, accurate information on food prices, stocks and production an...