By Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo
An initiative dubbed the Green Growth Ghana Project has been launched in Wa in the Upper West Region.
The project, which is being implemented in the Upper West, Upper East, and Northern Regions is aimed at bettering the lot of women and youth in the green and circular economy by ensuring environmental sustainability, poverty reduction, and gender equality.
Under the project, training, funding, and mentorship will be offered to small-scale green enterprises in the implementing zones.
The Green Growth Ghana Project is being implemented by the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) in collaboration with the Presbyterian University of Ghana (PUG) with support from the European Union (EU).
The President of GNCCI, Dr Clement Osei-Amoako, who launched the Green Growth Ghana Project, expressed appreciation to the chiefs playing host to the project for their support from the onset as well as the EU Delegation in Ghana for its technical and financial assistance.
Dr Osei-Amoako indicated that with the level of support received at the inception of the project, he was hopeful that it would be a resounding success. The President of GNCCI observed that “Ghana faces considerable challenges, including a rapidly growing population, high poverty rates, and continued economic dependence on agriculture, making us particularly vulnerable to climate change”.
“The World Bank’s Country Environmental Analysis highlights that despite a quadrupling of our real GDP over three decades, environmental unsustainability continues to threaten our economic growth due to natural resource depletion and pollution,” he added.
Consequently, Ghana’s Annual Net Savings have been consistently negative since 2007. Among others, Mr Osei-Amoako touched on unsustainable practices, including rampant illegal mining, further threatening livelihoods, water supply, and the sustenance of our natural resources.
He emphasised that the developments underscored the necessity to redefine our production and consumption practices to embrace sustainability through green and circular principles, thereby protecting both ourselves and the vulnerable populations of the world from adverse climate change impacts.
Mr Osei-Amoako described the initiative as timely and stressed the necessity for what he termed “robust support” from all partners to create new employment opportunities in the northern regions of Ghana to reduce north-to-south migration in search of better economic opportunities.
The Project Consultant, Christopher Addy-Nayo, added that the project is aimed at exploring and identifying other potential areas that have been brought into the economic sphere in terms of alternative livelihoods.
He pointed out that the initiative is an opportunity to help revive the cotton industry in the Upper West to help create the needed backward and forward linkages in the weaving sector.
Mr Addy-Nayo stressed that the key focus of the project is to create sustainable jobs in the various sectors in the host communities.
He commended Professor Hamidatu Daramani of Dr Hilla Limann Technical University and Dr Christina Amarchey of the Presbyterian University of Ghana for their exemplary roles in relation to the Green Growth Ghana Project.
Mr Addy-Nayo announced that the EU made available 522 thousand Ghana cedis for disbursement to small-scale enterprises in the project areas.
The Upper West Regional Manager of GNCCI, Jeremiah Tengan, observed that many small-business operators do not make environmental conservation a core part of their operations and said the three-year project will help change that orientation for them to uphold climate smart practices. He encouraged SMEs to follow the processes in order to get financial support to upscale their operations.
The Paramount Chief of Jirapa, Naa Dinaa Donglabong Ganna, and the Paramount Chief of Zini, Kuoro Abu Diaka Sukabe Ninia, who graced the occasion, pledged to the project.
Kuoro Ninia made a presentation on “The Role of Traditional Authorities in Sustainable Development and Job Creation”.
The project is in keeping with some specific United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are: SDG 5—Gender Equality; SDG 7—Affordable and Clean Energy; SDG 8—Decent Work and Economic Growth; and SDG 13—Climate Action.
Fifteen small-scale enterprises that were honoured at the function received certificates.
The function was chaired by Professor Hamidatu Daramani of Dr Hilla Limann Technical University.