Carry out transparent probe into procurement of Sputnik V vaccines – GII to gov’t

 The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has urged the government of Ghana to carry out a transparent investigation into the controversial procurement of Sputnik V Coronavirus vaccines from a middleman.

According to GII, all alleged corruption cases under the current government must be urgently probed in order to ease the minds of the citizenry.

“The allegations of corruption in the procurement of the COVID-19 vaccine (Sputnik V) from Russia is unresolved and government’s silence on the mater is deafening.

“Another, issue of grave concern is the secrecy surrounding the Government of Ghana’s contract with Frontiers HealthCare Services to carry out COVID-19 testing of passengers at the Kotoka international Airport.

“It is the hope of GII that government will carry out a transparent investigation into these cases and where it has already been done, proactively disclose the report to put the minds of Ghanaians to rest,” parts of the press release from GII signed by Executive Director Mrs. Linda Ofori-Kwafo has said.

The 2021 edition of the Africa Anti-Corruption Day will be marked on Sunday, July 11, 2021.

The theme for this year is “Regional Economic Communities: Critical Actors in the Implementation of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption”.

Find below the full press release from GII to mark the occasion:

Former Facebook insiders explain why the company is making such a big fuss over Apple’s upcoming privacy change

 KEY POINTS

• 1.Facebook’s ad campaign against an upcoming change in the iPhone stands in sharp contrast to competitors like Twitter, Snap and Google, who are taking a more low-key approach.
• 2.Facebook is particularly worried about losing the ability to track “view-through conversions,” which can show that an ad on Facebook later spurred a purchase through another site.
• 3.It is also using the campaign to support small businesses as an attempt to improve its reputation, former insiders say.
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• For the past few weeks, Facebook has been running an ad campaign in defense of personalized advertisements, arguing that targeted ads are key to the success of small businesses.

  The catalyst for the campaign has been an ongoing battle between the social media company and Apple. The battle focuses on a unique device identifier on every iPhone and iPad called the IDFA. Facebook and others that sell mobile advertisements rely on this ID to help target ads to users and estimate how effective they are.

  With an upcoming update to iOS 14, apps that want to use IDFA will have to ask users to opt in to tracking when the app is first launched. If users opt out, it will make these ads a lot less effective. Facebook has warned investors that these looming changes could hurt its advertising business as soon as this quarter.

  But while Facebook has been loud about how harmful this change will be, rivals like Twitter and Snap have said the change will be good for user privacy and could even benefit their businesses. Google, the leading advertiser on the web, has not said nearly as much about the changes, while simultaneously introducing its own privacy-related changes to its Chrome browser and pledging to stop tracking individual users entirely.

  CNBC spoke with a handful of former Facebook employees who have worked on the company’s ad products and businesses and explained why the social media giant is making such a loud fuss about Apple’s upcoming change. 

  How the change hurts Facebook

  Most critically at stake for Facebook is what’s known as view-through conversions. This metric is used by ad-tech companies to measure how many users saw an ad, did not immediately click on it, but later made a purchase related to that ad. 

  Think of view-through conversions like this: You’re tapping through your Instagram stories and you see an ad for a pair of jeans. You don’t tap the bottom of the ad for more information because you’re busy checking out what your friends are up to, but the jeans were cute. A few days later, you go on Google, search for the jeans you saw on Instagram and buy them.

  After the purchase is made, the retailer records the IDFA of the user who bought the jeans and shares it with Facebook, which can determine whether the IDFA matches with a user who saw an ad for the jeans. This shows the retailer that their Facebook ad worked.

  Losing that type of measurement could be a big blow for Facebook. If advertisers are unable to accurately measure the effectiveness of their Facebook and Instagram ads, they may feel compelled to shift more of their budgets to other apps and services where they can see the exact return on investment for their ads. 

  Facebook is the number-two recipient of online ad dollars, behind Google. One particular threat is that advertisers will pour more money into Google’s search ad business, which Facebook cannot duplicate, and which targets users at the time of conversion.

  In terms of specific businesses, the IDFA change will particularly hurt its Audience Network. 

  The Facebook Audience Network provides advertisements in non-Facebook apps, and it uses IDFA numbers to determine the best ads to show to each user based on Facebook’s data. For instance, a soft drink maker could decide to target 18-to-34-year-old gamers in the San Francisco Bay Area with a new promotion. The company could use the Facebook Audience network to have those ads placed before the right audience within mobile games; Facebook would split the ad revenue with the game makers.

  But if users opt out of IDFA tracking, all of that personalization Facebook has built will be rendered irrelevant outside of the company’s own apps. In August, Facebook acknowledged that Apple’s upcoming iOS 14 could lead to a more than 50% drop in its Audience Network advertising business.

  Nearly all of Facebook’s revenue comes from advertising, but Facebook’s Audience Network contributes only a small portion of that -- well less than 10% of the company’s net revenue, a person familiar with the numbers told CNBC.

  Besides view-through conversions, Facebook may lose valuable data about what its iPhone-based users do on their devices when they’re not in Facebook-owned apps. Already, Facebook collects a lot of data about its users from its apps, which include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and others, but every additional bit of data makes its algorithms better at what they do, which includes ad targeting. 

  Although Apple is letting users decide if they want to opt into IDFA tracking, it will still allow app-makers and advertisers to collect some data through its SKAdNetwork API without explicit user permission. But the information shared will be much less granular -- Facebook has warned in developer documents that it won’t support breakdowns of activity in buckets like region, age, or gender, for instance.

  Why all the noise?

  Facebook knows that it won’t be able to convince Apple to change its mind regarding IDFA, but it has pushed forward with this campaign in support of small businesses anyway. Why?

  Reputation repair could be one reason. Facebook’s reputation has been in the gutter since the March 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which a data firm improperly accessed the data of 87 million Facebook users and used it to target ads for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. 

  Since then, Facebook has endured numerous scandals, it has alienated Democrats and Republicans and it has fought a never-ending battle against misinformation on its services. 

  By taking the moral high ground and saying that it is standing up for small businesses, the IDFA debate presents an opportunity for Facebook to rebuild goodwill, even if it’s with just a portion of the general public, one former Facebook employee said. 

  In addition, IDFA tracking isn’t going away -- users will simply have to choose to allow it. This means that Facebook and other app developers will have an opportunity to plead their case to every Apple user. 

  Facebook’s marketing campaign is a key part of its case. The company wants users to associate device tracking with personalized ads and with supporting small business. “Don’t opt in for Facebook, do it for the coffee shop you care about,” is the essence of the message. 

  Within a small subset of its users, Facebook has begun showing prompts asking them to opt into the IDFA tracking. This is what’s known as A/B testing. Among tech companies, A/B testing is a popular strategy for figuring out the most effective way to do something. In this case, Facebook can show different prompts to different users to determine which prompt will be the best at convincing the most people to opt into the IDFA tracking. 

  Most small businesses shouldn’t notice

  Asked if the IDFA change will actually impact small businesses as Facebook claims it will, the former employees gave mixed answers.

  With less tracking data available at its disposal, Facebook and all of its clients, including small businesses, will not be able to target ads as effectively as they once did. So in that sense, yes, small businesses will be affected. 

  However, for many small businesses, the change may not be noticeable at all. 

  If you’re a small coffee shop in Austin, Texas, for example, you may not need too much data to target your ads, said Henry Love, a former employee on Facebook’s small business team. A business like that typically limits its targeting to fairly broad categories -- for instance, an age range and a distance range from a specific zip code would let them target ads to Facebook users in their proximity. That’s the type of data Facebook would be able to collect from its own apps, without needing IDFA to track a user’s activity elsewhere on their Apple devices. 

  “If you talked to any restaurant owner anywhere and asked them what IDFA is, I don’t think any of them would know what that is,” Love said. “It’s affecting Facebook at scale. Not the small business owners.”

  Among the few “small business owners” who might feel the effects of the IDFA change are start-ups backed by venture capital money who have hired professionals with the skills to target users with sniper precision, Love said. 

  “The only people targeting across mobile, web and Facebook Audience Network, they’re not really small businesses,” he said. “They’re sophisticated, VC-backed startups. They’re not your typical SMB.”

  In addition, while the change isn’t slated to happen until early this spring, Facebook has known about it for a long time, and has been rolling out a number of alternative solutions for businesses.

  Most notably, the social media company in 2020 introduced Facebook Shops and Instagram Shops. These features make it possible for brands to list their product catalogs directly on Facebook’s most popular apps, and sell goods directly on Facebook and Instagram. If a sale happens within Facebook’s walls, IDFA tracking won’t be necessary. 

  You may already encountered a few brands selling directly on Facebook and Instagram. Expect to see more moving forward.

Allotey Jacobs - I'm seeing a new leadership'

Former NDC Central Regional Chairman, Bernard Allotey Jacobs has applauded President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Tuesday, March 9 in parliament.

b>I Support Akufo-Addo

Allotey Jacobs further declared his full support for President Nana Akufo-Addo and his government.

“What is happening in this country, my years in politics; there’s a vast change in our governance system. I’m seeing a new type of leadership. In every organization, if it dwells very well, it depends on leadership and we’re seeing this country, when you place Kwame Nkrumah aside; for me, I will say I’m seeing a new leadership,” Allotey eulogized the President.

He added; “I’m seeing a change in our governance system . . . Building a nation, it doesn’t take one person; so, sometimes, we should put our political affiliation aside and look at what the current system is doing and give our massive support because at the end of the day, it will benefit all of us.”

Allotey further expressed delight over the President's speech saying “I enjoyed the President’s state of the nation address”.He made these remarks on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo''. 

President Akufo-Addo touched on the various sectors of the economy and outlined his achievements as well as vision in his second term in office.

Some notable things the President said are:''Mr. Speaker, Government, in four years, has recorded a number of significant milestones in our quest to formalise and modernise the Ghanaian economy. We believe it is the fairest and fastest way to achieve our goals. The National Identity Card rollout, the National Digital Property Addressing System, the interoperability of mobile money transactions, the introduction of the paperless operations at the port, e-business registration system, and access to digital financial services are all part of the drive to formalise our economy, and enhance its productivity."

''Four years ago, it sounded recklessly optimistic, but Free SHS and Free TVET are now entrenched parts of our educational setup. In a few years’ time, we can guarantee that the basic education for the workforce in our country would be at the secondary level. It is a transformational step we have taken, which should quicken the pace of development all round, and give us confidence in our future."

"Mr. Speaker, Ghana rice is the preferred choice in an increasing number of our homes, as the growing, processing and packaging of rice become a more established and attractive industry."

"During this COVID crisis, we have, mercifully, been spared the spectre of food shortages. On the contrary, thanks to Planting for Food and Jobs, food has been in abundance in our markets across the country. Throughout the ages, food processing has provided the takeoff point for the industrialisation of many nations, and we are taking that lesson to heart as we pursue the goal to industrialise, modernise and create jobs for the young people of our nation."

"The One-District-One-Factory programme is part of the anchor on which we are building the comprehensive industrialization of our country. Much of the work has now been done to put in place the framework for the rapid implementation of projects. The factories, that are currently in place and in production, reflect the underlying principle of the programme, which is the equitable distribution of development projects around the country. The prospects of our becoming the automobile hub in West Africa are growing stronger every day, with the investments being made in the country by global manufacturing giants in the automobile industry."

Renders showcase Huawei smartphone with a Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra-like dual-screen configuration

 Huawei appears to have filed a patent for a dual-screen smartphone. A Twitter user has envisioned what it could look like, with the second screen located right next to the rear camera module. The device in question could be the Huawei P50 Pro+, but there's no way to know for sure.

Previous reports told us that Huawei plans on releasing limited quantities of the Huawei P50, Huawei P50 Pro and Huawei P50 Pro+. We have had some glimpses at what the Huawei P50 and Huawei P50 Pro could have in store for us in the past. Drawing inspiration from a recent patent filing, Twitter user @HoiIndi has drawn up a few impressive-looking renders showcasing what appears to be a Huawei smartphone with a secondary screen at the back.

The second Huawei P50 Pro+ screen sits next to the camera modules and can display battery status, time, notifications, etc. Theoretically, it can even double up as a viewfinder, allowing users to click selfies with the objectively better rear cameras. This is quite similar to an earlier Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra render that surfaced online. It is unclear if the device in question is actually the Huawei P50 Pro+ at this point. In all likelihood, this is a limited-edition variant of the device that will be launched alongside the vanilla P50 series.

One report told us that the Huawei P50 Pro+ would feature a 120Hz QHD+ waterfall display and five rear cameras, but mentioned nothing of the second screen. Therefore, we must treat this information with a healthy dose of scepticism. While the device in question could be what the Huawei P50 Pro+ looks like, the lack of information surrounding it makes it virtually impossible to draw any conclusions. Huawei is expected to launch the P50 series in China sometime in April. The prospects of a global launch seem dim.

Philip Kyeremanteng: The role of Solar Energy in Ghana Energy Security and Climate change

 Fossil fuel price instability plus its increasing cost and climate change, as well as efforts to reduce pollution, have led to an unprecedented investment in renewable energy sources in recent times globally.

Ghana, like many other countries, is focused on the integration of renewable energy into the national energy mix to ensure security of energy supply, ensure a cleaner environment, and help mitigate climate change.

Sustainable energy security must therefore be one of the primary concerns if Ghana is interested in governing multi-faceted issue of development. Energy security plays an important role in human empowerment.

Higher energy use enhances production, promotes economic growth, and improves standard of living -all symbols of development which in turn leads to greater energy consumption. In addition, consumption and production of energy also play a major role in several environmental issues such as climate change, depletion of natural resources and air pollution.

Supply security for a country means the country’s ability for efficient generation and production of energy from diversified sources which include renewable e.g. Solar energy.

Now, most of the renewable energy interventions in the country are either being carried out as pilot projects or on short term planning cycle basis.

Thus, no clear integrated roadmap exists for the long-term development and promotion of the different renewable energy resources in the country. To address the related effects of such short-term planning of the overall development of the renewable energy sector, there must be a plan to develop framework for the promotion and development of the country’s rich renewable energy resources for sustainable economic growth, to contribute to improved social life and reduce adverse climate change effects.

Solar energy it’s an efficient tool to support Ghana’s energy supply and sustainability. Investing in Solar power seems to be a promising solution for especially rural electrification in Ghana.

Small-scale Solar plants appear to be most appropriate because they are suitable to the needs of rural communities; most of the components are low-cost in Africa and Chinese markets.

And there are available qualified local human resources to build the system.

For example, Black Spider Ghana has been providing solar energy technology to residential homes, farms, hospitals, industrial and commercial buildings in both the rural and urban areas in Ghana for more than four years now.

Ghana can learn from Saudi Arabia where Solar power has been incredibly popular because of the height of the day, most energy is used for heating and cooling, that is generated from solar power.

Its much more effective and affordable and sensible way to power heating and cooling than to burn oil, which can be preserved and use in a more strategic way. This has been a positive benefit for Saudi Arabia and Ghana can do the same.

At the end of 2015, more than 10 MWp of stand-alone solar PV systems have been installed in Ghana. These are being used for lighting, water pumping, powering of computers for the teaching and learning of ICT and vaccine refrigeration across the country. Over 70,000 solar lanterns have been disseminated.

Stand-alone solar PV systems are market driven in Ghana, spurred by government and donor supported community projects in the past. There has been several of these government projects, but a few cases stand out for enjoying several years of success. Notable community cases implemented include the Weichau project, Isofoton project – funded by the Spanish government, Renewable Energy Services Project (RESPRO) – funded by UNDP and GEF, and the ARB Apex Bank project.

The objectives of these projects were to provide lighting solutions and other services to these communities, and many of them worked successfully until grid extension reached the community.

All these projects were based on the fee-for-service model and community ownership was key to their success.

THE STATE OF GHANA`S EDUCATION SYSTEM AND IT`S IMPACTS ON STUDENTS

 Ghana Education systems has been hanging on by mere centimeters of tread ever since the New Patriotic Party took over from the National Democratic congress and implemented the half baked idea of Free Senior High School.

Over the years following, the state of Ghana Education has come nihility, and still the government has refused to acknowledged the dire state of the nation education systems. The already existing overwhelmed infrastructure can no long be of help, if the current government doesn’t  pay heed and address this issue then, with coming years there will be nothing to recoup.

My contemporary visit to Senior High schools in the Komenda Edina Aguafo Abrem (KEEAMA) Municipal Assembly opened my eyes to the bitter truth about the ailment our children in the various school go through day in day out.

Schools like that of Cape Coast Technical Institute, Edinaman Senior High and Mankessim Secondary Technical are the worst of them all, given that this fore mentioned school suffer most because of being the among the best school in the Central Region.

The fore mentioned schools lack amenities, in the terms of; Classroom Blocks, Seating Chairs, Instructors and above all the various Tools and equipment’s for practical learning.

To this end, the innumerable students are asking the government to come into play and put in place good and practical polices to curtail the situation in the nip.

Latest video : The state of security in Ghana

This latest video shows the state of security in Ghana. The insecurity has reached a point where our school children are not safe even in their respective school compounds.

Unlike the the what the stats show on the security of our land, crime has risen tenfold.

Trader, drivers, children and even the old folks are in danger in their respective communities, apparently it appears as if our leaders are not taken any actions to help curb the massive rates of crimes.