SIAKON MEDIA

Tamale, June 9, GNA - Mrs Isabella Gyau Orhin, Communications Manager of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a leading waste management company in the country, has disclosed that the company was investing in mechanized agriculture.

She said the company had already acquired land for the project in various regions across the country, adding that, the preparations of lands for the project to start was almost completed in Yendi and Kpandai in the Northern Region.

Mrs Orhin was addressing the media in Tamale on Tuesday, during a press soiree organized by the company to interact with the media and share the success story of the company.

The company used the occasion to commend the media as collaborators to its successes, and urged that they continue to support the company.

Mrs Orhin said the company would engage people in its agricultural activities and create jobs for people in those areas, adding that, the company had employed 22,700 people under the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), 10,000 in the Eco-brigade and 1,500 as sanitation guards.

She said the company was already assembling plants for tractors to facilitate the mechanized agriculture programme, adding that, negotiations were ongoing with the government to incorporate the block farming concept into the company.

"The company was also investing 17 million dollars into composite making where it would recycle waste and turn the waste into compost, as a form of fertilizer for farming," she said.

She said though the company was a waste management company, would broaden its frontiers to all profitable ventures where possible.

Mrs Orhin noted that sanitation was a major global phenomenon that is affecting livelihood of many people, and called on all to help in the fight against environmental degradation, saying, "The Company has done well in the sanitation management of the country, though there is more room for improvement".

She said the company since its establishment in 2006, has carried out various corporate social responsibilities including donating to the vulnerable, public education, organizing clubs in schools as models of sanitation, among others.

Madam Orhin said the company however faces the challenge of the proper place for the disposal of its waste and the misuse of its facilities especially the tricycles.

GNA

Africa is placing too much focus on natural resources

Accra, June 19, GNA - Mr Ben Asamoaning Akumba, Country Director of Amicus Onlus, an Italian Non Governmental Organisation in entrepreneurial development, has observed that Africa was focusing too much on the continent's natural resources at the expense of human resources development.

He said the youth were not only the hope for the future but also part of the dynamism that would transform the fortunes of the continent if they were given all the needed opportunities to develop.  

Mr Akumba, a youth activist, was speaking at a five-day youth conference in Accra organised for youth from all parts of Africa, Asia and the United States at the 2nd Africa Sister Cities International Conference in Accra recently.

He said the youth of Africa must rise up to the challenge of rising youth unemployment across the continent by appreciating the need to be job creators instead of job seekers.

He called on them to think about ways that could affect and promote change in their various countries and communities as their contribution to the development of the continent.

"Challenge the status quo, you must question existing conventions, methods and procedures because that is the only way to bring about change" he said and added that they could only achieve this when they were innovative in their approach to whatever they did.

Mr Akumba said the youth must stop looking up to governments for jobs because various economies across the world could no longer continue to be the biggest employers.

He noted that the picture was not a gloomy one but presented a challenge to the youth to look for opportunities around them that would be of benefit to themselves and their communities.

He called on governments to rapidly create the enabling environment for youth entrepreneurship to thrive by creating access to start-up capital, information and training.

Mr Akumba stressed that youth entrepreneurship held the answer to a vibrant private sector expected to propel the economic development of the African continent.

GNA

Accra , June 18, GNA - The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has adopted short, medium and long term strategies to assist the timber industry to stay in business.

Alhaji Collins Dauda, the sector Minister who made this known said within the short term a waiver of import levy on logs would  be introduced to enable competitive companies  to bring the product into the country.

He said the annual allowable logging has been raised from one million cubic meters to two million cubic meters to make more wood available to timber firms and also salvage the trees from destruction by farmers and illegal harvesting operations.

The minister was answering a question at the floor of Parliament tabled by Mr Andrew Adjei Yeboah, Member of Tano South.

Alhaji Dauda said under the medium strategy voluntary partnership agreement would be in place to retool inefficient processing mills to ensure optimum utilisation of wood resources and reduce waste.

In the long term, there would be rigorous implementation of the National Forestry Plantation Development Programme, to make wood available to the industry.

Under the programme an annual target of 30, 000 has been set, targeting 100 district assemblies.

Alhaji Dauda said despite the promotion of more than 250 lesser used timber species, only 60 species are being utilised commercially, adding research is underway to reverse the trend.

GNA