About 21, 700 children were exploited online in 2022, with apparent cases of the possession, manufacture and distribution of child sexual abuse materials, including pornography being distributed in the country. The mass use of internet has amplified the production and circulation of child sexual abuse materials and increased incidences of online grooming for sexual abuse, sextotion, sexting including livestreaming of child sexual abuse and cyberbullying. The remarks were made by the Principal Secretary (PS), State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizen Affairs, Joseph Motari, during celebrations to mark the Safer Internet Day, held at the Nakuru ASK Showground, Tuesday. Noting that predators pounced on unsuspecting children online, Motari urged parents and guardians to be present in the lives of their children and engage them in activities beyond the internet, as they were better placed to guide their children on their online activities instead of leaving them unattended. The PS also called on children rights' defenders to pool resources towards safeguarding children against risks and threats posed by internet harm, while reaping from numerous opportunities that the internet offered for their learning and growth. The occasion also marked the launching of National Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA), aimed at guiding professionals handling the complex and evolving nature of online child sexual exploitation. These professionals/stakeholders include law enforcement officers, Child Protection workers, social service providers and health workers. Motari said the SOPs provided a comprehensive framework for identifying, reporting, and responding to child online abuse thereby giving a standardized approach to child protection across board. 'The government prioritises safeguarding children both online and offline and in line with this, my department has developed a comprehensive multi-sectoral plan of action to tackle online child sexual exploitation and abuse,' he said. The PS noted that six percent of children have shared their pictures online and 14 percent have met people they encountered online. Nakuru County Commissioner, Loyford Kibaara, noted that the internet superhighway being installed across the country was a greater opportunity that Kenyans should exploit for economic productivity and not leave children to be corrupted. 'It is the role of the parents to have time with their children and monitor what they do on the internet. Our children are still growing and cannot choose wisely what to see and not to see,' Kibaara noted, regretting the recent killings, which were orchestrated by social media platforms. Kibaara noted that lack of close monitoring of the children by busy parents exposed them to cyberbullying. Source: Kenya News Agency The Vice President and the Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has outlined his ambitious plan to train about one million Ghanaian digital talents as part of his transformative Digital Ghana vision, if elected as President of Ghana. In his first public address following his election as NPP flagbearer in Accra on Wednesday, he said his vision was to build a Digital Ghana, which would apply technology to transform key sectors of the economy. He mentioned key sectors such as the agriculture, healthcare, education, manufacturing, and the financial sector for a prosperous digital economy, to make Ghana a digital hub and create jobs for the youth. To help realise this vision, the NPP flagbearer said he intended to build the digital talents Ghana needed for the global digital revolution, and revealed plans to train at least 200,000 youth every year on digital software skills. That, he said, would not only provide them jobs in Ghana, but also on the global market. 'I want to see Ghana b uild the digital talent we require for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This will mean providing digital and software skills to hundreds of thousands of youth,' Dr Bawumia said. ' In collaboration with the private sector, we will train at least 200,000 youth per year for the next five years. This, along with other policies, will create jobs for the youth, including school dropouts.' 'I also want to enhance the repositioning of the education system towards STEM, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and vocational skills to cope with the demands of the fourth Industrial Revolution and job creation.' ' In collaboration with the private sector, we will aim to train at least 1,000,000 software developers in five years (200,000 per year). As software developers. They will have job opportunities worldwide.' Dr. Bawumia said Ghana had capable manpower but were often derailed by pessimism and impossibility mindsets; adding that his government would champion the mindset of possibilities to bring out the best of every Ghanaian. 'I want to encourage Ghanaians to have a mindset of possibilities and not impossibilities,' he said. 'The challenges we must overcome as a country are too important to let our political differences derail us. There is a critical failure of mindset that manifests itself in the absence of core values, patriotism and principles within our society.' 'We need to invigorate the can do spirit of the Ghanaian to believe that we can even do better than the advanced countries if we put our minds to it.' He cited the example of students from Mamfe Girls and Prempeh College, who won international robotic competitions against their peers in the US, Germany and South Korea. ' We have to apply the same mindset of beating the world in robotics, singathons and cookathons to every sphere of activity. We must believe It is possible!' He said that must be inculcated in the children from school. ' This is why we are going to introduce a growth mindset curriculum to help students build critical skills such us prob lem solving, risk taking, opportunity spotting and design thinking,' Dr Bawumia added. In attendance at the Kofi Ohene Konadu Auditorium of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) were Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, the First Lady, wife of the Vice President Hajia Samira Bawumia, former President John Agyekum Kufuor, former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Aaron Oquaye, and Mrs Osei Frema-Opare, the Chief of Staff. The others are the National Chairman of the NPP, Mr Stephen Ayensu Ntim, Mr Justin Kodua Frempong, the General Secretary, former presidential aspirants of the party, ministers of State, members of Parliament, Party Executives, Council of Elders and the diplomatic community and party supporters. Source: Ghana News Agency
