Mobile telecommunications giant, MTN, has donated some computers and peripheral devices to the Office of the Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability.
This follows a request made by the Minister of State for Sustainability at the Office of the President, Seidu Issifu, during an earlier visit by officials of MTN last year.
The Minister thanked the delegation for their donation and for taking an interest in the work of the Ministry.
He was hopeful that other organisations will emulate MTN’s gesture and also take an interest in the Ministry’s activities.
Seidu Issifu, in outlining what the Ministry has been up to since its establishment said, “we need to look at sustainability as a national development imperative.”
He disclosed that the Ministry has set up a technical working group that meets monthly to deliberate on measures government can take to tackle the hazards of climate change.
The Minister noted that some private sector institutions are also represented on this body, and took the opportunity to invite MTN to nominate a representative to the group.
He revealed also that the his office is initiating plans to establish Climate and Sustainability Units in all existing Ministries to get them to align and ensure policy coherence, and enable his Ministry Monitor their activities and eventually develop a national conversation around climate change.
Issifu also outlined plans to bring all District Assemblies on board to ensure a bottom-up approach to the climate battle.
He said, “we cannot fight climate change with PowerPoint alone. We need to bring it to the people so they understand that climate change is a behavioral phenomenon, not an act of God.
The Minister also revealed plans of establishing a climate and sustainability hub to coordinate climate action.
He said, “ we have to have a national coordinating body, so we are saying that let’s have a hub. A climate and sustainability hub that will drive climate action in Ghana, building capacity, opening the doors for research and capacity building so that we can have a one-stop centre of excellence.”
Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer at MTN Ghana, Adwoa Wiafe, acknowledged the enormity of the task set before the Ministry.
She expressed MTN’s gratitude for the support the Ministry has given them since its establishment.
In an interview with t he media following the presentation, she confirmed that the company will take up the Minister’s offer of nominating a representative to the technical working group, thanking the Minister for the honour.
“We know that the work is big, so for us to be invited to share our knowledge and also learn from what is being done here is something that we really do appreciate and is something that we’ll take up and see how we can give our best to support the work that they do,” she said.
By SELORM GBORBIDZI, Accra
