Friday, 3rd June, 20221

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Page 4DAILY ANALYST Friday, 3rd June, 2022I am completelydisgusted by thetweet of BritishHigh Commissioner– Kwesi PrattRenowned journalist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has statedthat he is disgusted by the tweet shared by BritishHigh Commissioner Harriet Thompson regardingthe arrest of Convener of the #FixThe-Country Movement, Oliver Barker-Vormawor.According to him, the tweet by Thompson was totallywrong and formed part of predated efforts by foreign powersto interfere in Ghana's domestic issues.Speaking in a Good Morning Ghana interview monitoredby GhanaWeb, Pratt said that the explanation givenby the British envoy that her tweet was not meant to bean interference in Ghana's domestic matters is not goodenough."Maybe we should go back to history... and see howwestern diplomats have meddled in our internal affairs toour detriment, and maybe that will wake our people up.I am disgusted. I'm completely disgusted, and then shecomes back and says that is not what I meant."It may very well be that was not her intention. It mayvery well be that it is not what she meant, but she is notthe only person reading the tweet. There are millions ofpeople reading her tweet ... and all of us reading her tweethave also a right to interpret it the way our background allows,and that is why diplomats ought to be cautious whenthey write [and] when they speak."That is why diplomats ought to put on their thinkingcaps when they want to make public statements. I am disgustedwith the tweet of the British High Commissioner,completely disgusted," he said.Meanwhile, Harriet Thompson has clarified that hertweet regarding the arrest of Convener of the #FixThe-Country Movement, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, was not tointerfere in the operations of the Ghana Police Service.Commissioner Thompson suggested that the police hadmisconstrued her tweet to mean that she was criticisingthem.Speaking in an interview with GHOne TV, the diplomatadded that it was never her intention to interfere in thework of the police."To me, it feels like a stretch. It feels like me sayingI am interested in something is a long way from peoplesaying we must take to the streets… Commenting on somethingthat is of great interest to a lot of people in a countryis not interfering in the affairs of that country."If I had thought there was the remotest chance of that,I wouldn't be tweeting things like that. That is clearly notmy intention," she said.Source: ghanaweb.comThe Speaker of Parliament,Alban SumanaKingsford Bagbin,has been commendedfollowing his announcementthat staff membersof Parliament will soon changetheir style of dressing by wearingmade-in-Ghana fabrics for theirofficial duties.The commendation was madeby Made-in-Ghana Ambassador,Emelia Arthur, when she led topmanagement of AdFirst Consultto pay a courtesy call on theSpeaker at his office in Parliament.AdFirst Consult are themanagers of the Made-In GhanaAmbassador, Emelia Arthur, whois also an ace Gospel musician inGhana.The team, comprising itsDirector, Gabriel Arko, Ms. EmiliaArthur, Mr. Timothy Antwi-Otoo,Mrs. Paulina Ofori Agyapong, andKwabena Gyakye Nyarko, wasthere to congratulate the Speakerand assure him of their supportfor the way he dresses by promotingmade-in-Ghana outfits inParliament.He said he w also ensure samefor all the Members of Parliament(MPs) since the current style ofdressing was adopted from Ghana’scolonial master, the British,during the colonial era.Mr. Bagbin has been the onlySpeaker of Ghana’s Parliamentpromoting Ghana wears whileadjudicating his duties as aSpeaker.Therefore, as Made-In Ghana-Ambassador,there was a needfor her to encourage the Speakerand assure him of her support tocontinue the good works.The Speaker explained: “verysoon, those you see sitting infront of me in Parliament willstart wearing Ghana fabrics.”“What you see them wearduring parliamentary sittingswere for the colonial system. Inthose days, there were no heatersso they [British] wore them tokeep them warm but today, it isnot relevant to us as Ghanaians,”he said.Continuing, Mr. Bagbin said,“we need to have an identity as anation to be able to develop”.“We need to have an identityas individuals to be able to developand that is why I decided tochange the style of dressing forthe speakership and some peopledid not understand.”“No nation can develop withoutan identity so there is theA32-year-old man,Prince Adaka, wasalmost lynched onThursday after attackinga woman with aknife and stealing her mobilephone at Kasoa Ota City in theAwutu Senya East Municipality ofthe Central Region.Information gathered indicatesthat the victim was on herway to work when the suspectattacked her.The victim then startedscreaming for help leading to thearrest of the suspect.The angry residents pouncedon the suspect, beat him mercilessly,and slashed his fingers andother parts of his body.The suspect was later handedover to the Kasoa New MarketPolice for investigations.Made-in-GhanaAmbassadorapplauds Bagbinneed for an identity for Ghana.…You check, all over theworld, which country has developedwithout an identity? Andif you talk about the need forone language in Ghana, thereis a problem but how can wedevelop without one language asour identity for the nation?” hequizzed.The Speaker noted that hewas different from his predecessor,Professor Aaron MikeOcquaye, in their ways of doingthings while performing theirduties because they were twodifferent entities from differentbackgrounds.“I can’t be the same as Prof.Ocquaye because we are alldifferent. He grew up in quartershere in Accra, and I grew up in avillage in the Savanna Area of theNorth and by then, education wasnot a priority,” he explained.According to Mr. SumanaBagbin, “our upbringings also“influence the way we do things.”“We were trained to saythings as they are even if you willdie and that is why some peoplein our party do not like me butwhenever there were problems,I was called to step in and havethem resolved,” he stated.He said: “individually, everyoneis different from one anotherbut we need to work together forthe common good of the nation.”“I am not better than any ofyou sitting here because God hasgiven every individual a specialgift which is different from everyoneand that is what we mustunderstand.”Commenting on the consumptionof local foods, Mr.Sumana Bagbin explained thatGhana has several local foodsthat were nutritious but today,“we have abandoned them andgone for foreign ones.”“Today, anytime I travel fromthe North to Accra, I bring ‘DawaDawa’ (Dawa Dawa is a flavouringmade from the seeds of Parkia biglobosa)because it has nutrientsthat can heal a wound if someoneis injured but most people todaywill not eat ‘Dawa Dawa,’” heexplained.He, therefore, urged corporatebodies to support Emilia Arthurand her team to promote made-inGhana goods.“We have GNPC who wouldsponsor beauty pageants insteadof supporting something likepromoting made in Ghana. GNPCwill sponsor Black Stars insteadof sponsoring something like thiswhich is promoting Ghana,” hesaid.For her part, the Made-In-Ghana Ambassador, Emilia Arthur,pledged her support for theSpeaker and urged him to call onher anytime the need arises.She expressed gratitude tothe Speaker and assured him ofher continuous fight for made-inGhana goods.Mobile phone thief’s
DAILY ANALYSTFriday, 3rd June, 2022 Page 5Perspectivewhy we must be concernedabout their destructionForests! Many of usdo not think muchabout their usefulnessin our dailylives as we go aboutour activities. But that glassof water you drank possiblycame from a forest; thatmedicine you bought fromthe medical store might haveoriginated from a forest; thevery air you breathe comesfrom trees possibly in a forest,and most importantly,our planet has not beenobliterated by the sun's raysbecause of forests.These are but a few ofthe numerous services thatforests provide us. Unfortunately,however, we have notdone so well to protect thisuseful resource – degradationof forests continues at terrifyingrates.Figures released by theFood and Agriculture Organizationshow that, globally,for the past ten years, wehave lost close to 5 millionhectares of forests annually[1]. This means that forestscovering a land area comparableto the entire Kumasiare lost across the worldevery two days. Africa topsthe chart when it comes todeforestation globally – about4 million hectares of forestsare lost every year.In Ghana, the figures onthe degradation of forests arefrightening. Ghana's ForestryCommission reports thatGhana loses 2% of its forestcover each year [2]. Simplyput, without any consciousattempt to protect our forests,Ghana may not have anyforest cover in the next 50years.Specifically, in Kumasi,once the Garden city ofGhana, about half (46%) of thedense vegetation has beenlost over the past three decades[3]. Even forest reservesacross the country, whichare supposed to be protectedfrom the onslaught of deforestation,are being destroyedat an alarming rate – close to1% of forest reserves are lostannually [4].These forest reserves werecreated about 100 years ago(1927) by the British colonialadministration to preventover-exploitation of our forestresources [5]. But withcurrent developments, Ghanamay not have any forest re-serves in the next century.The driving forces behindthe loss of our forest coverare numerous. They includeillegal mining, unsustainablelogging, agriculturalencroachment into forests,charcoal burning, sand winning,and institutional andpolicy failures [6]. So whyshould we be concernedabout the depletion of forests,and what can we do toaddress this problem?To explain in simpleterms, the sun's rays reachthe earth every day, producingheat in the process. Someof this heat bounces backinto space in the form of radiation,while some are trappedon earth. Trapping some ofthis heat on earth is good forus because the earth will beextremely cold without this.Carbon dioxide is among thegases that trap the heat fromthe sun and prevent it fromleaving the earth.Having more of this gason our planet means thatmore heat will be trappedand prevented from leavingour planet – this is exactlywhat is happening today.There is so much carbondioxide in our planet's atmospherethat our planet isvirtually heating up quickly.According to the United Nation'sIntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change(IPCC), the earth's temperatureincreased by 0.85°Cbetween 1880 and 2012. If ourplanet's temperature shouldincrease by more than 1.5°C,it is going to lead to catastrophicevents on a globalscale [7].With more than 1.5°Cwarming of the planet, citiesalong the sea will be wipedoff the face of the earth dueto sea-level rise. This willaffect billions of peoplebecause today, about 3 billionpeople in the world livewithin 200km of the sea [8].Moreover, there will beextended drought periodsaffecting food and energyproduction, new forms ofdiseases will emerge, andsome countries will experienceexcessive flooding dueto increased rainfall. At thesame time, water sources willdry up in other countries.But forests, specifically,trees offer some respite. Theysoak up atmospheric carbondioxide to reduce its concentrationin the atmosphere,scientifically called carbonsequestration. Researchshows that large trees storemore carbon dioxide thansmaller trees [9].In fact, these same treesproduce the oxygen whichhumans breathe in and naturallycool the environmentthrough shading and evapotranspiration[10]. The coolingeffect provided by onematured tree is comparableto five air conditioners workingfor twenty hours [11].Particularly in cities,including Accra and Kumasi,trees are sorely needed toprotect residents from urbanheat and clean up the pollutedcity air, among others.Globally, trees are our naturaldefense against the catastrophicconsequences of awarming planet.Why then are we cuttingdown these trees and degradingour forests? The extensivedestruction of forestsdue to the selfish interests ofa few people is a clear demonstrationof William ForsterLloyd's economic theory; thetragedy of the commons - asituation in which individuals'selfish interests lead tothe collapse of the resourcesover which they compete.Forests are being decimatedbecause people havetaken the abundance offorests to mean an absoluteright to exploit them. Thiswill inevitably end in ruin,not only for the few whoare depleting them but foreveryone.We need to plant moretrees instead of cutting themdown, for they are humanity'slifeline – the lungs ofthe earth. In this regard,while we must vehementlyresist the destruction of forestreserves, the initiative bythe Government of Ghana toplant 20 million trees acrossthe country is a step in theright direction and deservescommendation.It must be emulated andstrongly supported by religiousbodies and traditionalauthorities. For the nextgeneration's sake, we need toact now because our childrenmay not have any forests."A society grows greatwhen old men plant trees inwhose shade they shall neversit." — Greek ProverbReligious bodies andtraditional authorities mustspearhead the fight againstdeforestation because governmentleadership is transient,but these institutionscould make it their priorityand ensure that tree plantingbecomes an annual ritualbeyond the tenure of governmentleadership.Presently, scientistshave successfully developedtrees that grow bigger andfaster through gene editingand therefore soak up morecarbon dioxide [12]. This is agiant leap in the right directionas part of efforts to saveour planet. Research in thisarea should be supportedlocally so that more of suchtrees will be produced andplanted while concerted effortsare taken to protect ourforests.In the protection of forests,one key solution canbe considered by authorities– charcoal briquette productionfrom sawdust and coconuthusk. In Kumasi's woodvillage, Sokoban, huge quantitiesof unused sawdust areset on fire each day, pollutingthe environment. However,this is a fuel source.A recent study [13] in thearea showed that the woodworkersare willing to cooperateand support a sawdustbriquette production sincethis would rid the area of thecolossal quantities of unusedsawdust from their site andprovide additional benefitsthrough income and employmentgeneration.Local authorities and interestedprivate entities needto partner with researchersto assess the feasibility,market demand analysis,and cost-benefit analysis ofestablishing these briquettefactories alongside majorwood villages in the country.This will go a long way to reducingdependence on treesas a source of fuel significantly.To cap it all, we must notethat we are all in the sameship, and if or when this shipsinks, we all sink with it. Ifwe do not rethink the imprudentexploitation of naturalresources due to our unlimiteddesires, we are headedtowards a bitter ending."Only after the last treehas died, the last river hasbeen poisoned, and the lastfish has been caught will werealize that we cannot eatmoney." – Jared Diamond.By Dr. Isaac Monney
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Friday, 3rd June, 20221

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