6 - 2024 - Tamfis

Supreme Court dismisses suit challenging FDA’s ban on celebrities in alcohol adverts

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The Supreme Court has dismissed a suit seeking to declare as unconstitutional the Food and Drugs Authority’s (FDA) guidelines that prohibit celebrities from advertising for alcoholic beverages.

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) in 2016 instituted guidelines for the advertisement of foods and beverages, where the authority noted that no well-known personality or professional shall be used in alcoholic beverage advertisement.

But the plaintiff in the case, Mark Darlington Osae who is the manager for Musicians Reggie N Bollie believes that the directive is discriminatory and unconstitutional.

He filed the suit at the apex court praying the court to injunct the Food and Drugs Authority by interpreting articles 17(1) and 17(2) of the constitution to mean that the directive is discriminatory.

But in a majority 5-2 decision the Supreme Court presided by Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo upheld the constitutionality of the directive.

Mr. Osae’s lawyer, Bobby Banso argued that the FDA’s 2015 regulation banning celebrities from advertising alcohol is discriminatory against the creative arts industry.

The writ asserted that the FDA directive, which states no well-known personality or professional shall be used in alcoholic beverage advertising, is inconsistent with and in contravention of articles 17(1) and 17 (2) of the 1992 Constitution.”

He contended that Articles 17(1) and 17 (2) of the 1992 Constitution guarantee equality before the law and prohibit discrimination against persons on grounds of social or economic status, occupation, among others, and consequently makes the directive null, void, and unenforceable.

The writ also sought the following reliefs;

(a) A declaration that on a true and proper interpretation of Articles 17(1) and 17(2), which guarantee equality before the law and prohibit discrimination against persons on grounds of social or economic status, occupation, among others, Guideline 3.2.10 of the Guidelines for the Advertisement of Foods published by the 1st Defendant on February 1, 2016, which provides that No well-known personality or professional shall be used in alcoholic beverage advertising, is discriminatory, inconsistent with, and in contravention of Articles 17(1) and 17(2) of the 1992 Constitution, and thus unconstitutional.

(b) A declaration that on a true and proper interpretation of Articles 17(1) and 17(2), Guideline 3.2.10 of the Guidelines for the Advertisement of Foods published by the 1st Defendant on February 1, 2016, which prohibits well-known personalities and professionals from advertising alcoholic products, is inconsistent with and in contravention of Articles 17(1) and 17(2) of the 1992 Constitution, which guarantee equality before the law and prohibit discrimination against persons on grounds of social or economic status, occupation, among others, and consequently null, void, and unenforceable.

(c) An order striking down Guideline 3.2.10 of the Guidelines for the Advertisement of Foods published by the 1st Defendant on February 1, 2016, as being inconsistent with and in contravention of the letter and spirit of the 1992 Constitution, and as such nullified.

(d) An order of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendants, their agents, servants, or assigns under the pretext of acting under Guideline 3.2.10 of the Guidelines for the Advertisement of Foods published by the 1st Defendant on February 1, 2016, from doing anything to prevent any well-known personality or professional from advertising alcoholic products.

Notable figures in the creative industry, including Wendy Shay, Shatta Wale, Brother Sammy, Kuami Eugene, and Camidoh, have voiced their opposition to the directive, urging for its repeal. They argue that endorsing alcoholic beverages is a crucial income stream for the creative art industry, and that the ban adversely affects their livelihoods.

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National best cocoa farmers embark on educational trip to UK

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A delegation of fourteen (14) National Best Cocoa Farmers are set to embark on an educational and familiarisation trip to the United Kingdom.

The contingent, made up of current and past award winners from 2019 to 2023, is expected to undertake several activities aimed at promoting the countrys cocoa sector and offer them the opportunity to acquire knowledge and insight into the processes involved in the international cocoa trading system.

Amongst the activities to be undertaken by the delegation include visits to Cadbury and Mars Cocoa Processing Factories, meeting with the Ghanaian Business Community and paying a courtesy call on the Ghana High Commission to the United Kingdom.

The team will also visit the Cocoa Research Institute of the United Kingdom to acquaint themselves with the operations of the institution which conducts research into cocoa.

Other key highlights of the visit will include participation in a Town Hall Meeting and the UK Ghana Business Forum to be attended by the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana and later hold a meeting with the management of the Ghana International Bank (GIB-UK).

According to the Head of Public Affairs at COCOBOD, Mr. Fiifi Boafo, the trip will offer the farmers numerous benefits such as knowledge exchange, skills development, market access and understanding consumers preferences, quality standards and market demands.

Mr. Boafo further observed that the initiative is a demonstration of COCOBODs commitment to empowering farmers, building innovation and strengthening the cocoa industry.

According to him, management recognises the pivotal role cocoa farmers play in the countrys economy and the potential for growth through knowledge sharing in advanced farming techniques.

The objective of management is to empower our hard-working farmers by exposing them to global trends and building their confidence in the sector He emphasized.

The delegation is expected to return to Ghana on Thursday, June 27.

America’s first Black astronaut candidate finally flew. Now it’s time to make more

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Ed Dwight thought he would be an astronaut six decades ago, back when President John F. Kennedy’s administration, in its push for the moon, realized that the impact of America reaching our closest celestial neighbor would be magnified greatly if the crew included a person of color.

“Why don’t we put the first non-white man in space?” Edward Murrow, Kennedy’s director of the U.S. Information Agency, wrote to NASA administrator James Webb in 1961, just five months after the Soviet Union put a person, Yuri Gagarin, into space for the first time ever. “If your boys were to enroll and train a qualified Negro and then fly him in whatever vehicle is available, we could retell our whole space effort to the whole non-white world, which is most of it.”

The climb was steep. While African Americans had pathways into the U.S. military, few had the privilege of becoming pilots in the 1960s, which was the main pathway to becoming an astronaut. Dwight was the only one identified from their ranks as meeting the criteria to be a NASA candidate astronaut.

Why Dwight ultimately wasn’t selected remains a topic of dispute. Not all candidates make it, and NASA could have simply chosen someone else. Or, Dwight may have been subject to the same discrimination that held back scores of African Americans in the Jim Crow era. When asked in 1985, Dwight blamed the assassination of Kennedy as the reason he never flew to space for NASA. He has maintained that support for his flight died with the president.

It wasn’t until 1983 that the first Black astronaut, Penn State alum Guion Bluford, flew to space. Dwight by then had taken up artistry, which would become his focus. Regardless of the cause of Dwight’s omission, one thing remains true: in the 1960s and in the 2020s, there remains a dearth of Black talent flowing into the space sector. In Dwight’s case, America was still actively coming to grips with the equality of its Black citizens. Dr. Martin Luther King was still marching, and Congress was just passing landmark civil rights legislation to protect Black Americans from systemic discrimination.

Today, we as a society have progressed greatly. Dwight’s recent flight is an example of how people are working to correct the failures of the past. On May 19Blue Origin, a private space company, launched Dwight on its own New Shepard Rocket, sponsored by Space For Humanity, a nonprofit. Dwight achieved his long-deferred dream at the age of 90. This was a fantastic event, yet it also highlights the need to be more proactive and deliberate about progress as a society, particularly for today’s aspiring Black youth. Put frankly, there are still too few African Americans participating in our space sector, be it as astronauts, rocket scientists, satellite engineers, or other vocations.

I see this plainly at industry conferences. Among thousands of attendees, I see at best a few dozen Black participants. Among hundreds of speakers, the number who are Black shrinks to the single digits. At smaller events, sometimes I am the only one.

Four years ago, a handful of space industry leaders banded together around the vision of seeing more African Americans get space careers. Those leaders — retired astronaut B. Alvin Drew, Jr, United Airlines Interiors Engineer Khristian Jones, NASA Engineer Tiffany Lockett and AeroVironment executive Will Pomerantz — created the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship (PGSF), an organization that provides internships at space companies for Black college students, along with scholarships, mentorships and networking opportunities. The Jim Crow years may be over, but the scars they left are still evident by the paucity of Black participants in the space sector. PGSF aims to fill, as best we can, the hole left by historical injustices. We are creating pathways for Black students who, like Dwight, dream of going to space and advancing humanity’s presence in the cosmos.

Since our founding, 104 “Patties” have completed fellowships through our organization, the earliest of whom are just starting to enter the workforce. One of them is now a Blue Origin engineer who helped facilitate activities the day of Dwight’s flight.

The 2023 class of PGS Fellows. Credit: PGSF/David Di-Benedetto

“Being a part of the magic that was the NS-25 launch today was truly a once in a lifetime experience,” said PGSF graduate Emily Burrus, who guided youth events at the launch. “Ed’s story is a beacon of hope for all those who may have had their dream opportunities passed up due to prejudices outside their control … His resilience inspires me greatly and I was honored to meet a man who just changed the world forever.”

Adam Ben Youssef, one of the 29 upcoming PGS Fellows in our class of 2024, also attended the flight.

“Today was so action packed that it will likely take me a couple of days to really process what I just experienced,” he said at the May 19 event. “But one thing I know I will take with me is that no matter what I face, I will never give up striving for greatness.”

PGSF is creating the next wave of Black Excellence. We encourage students interested in space and aerospace careers to apply for our program later this summer. Companies or individuals that wish to support our cause can donate through our website. Here’s to creating more Ed Dwights.

Caleb Henry is an executive member of the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship, an all-volunteer nonprofit that provides extraordinary Black students with work experiences in the space and aerospace industries. He co-leads the fellowship alongside Juanitta “AJ” Bekoe, Khristian Jones, Tiffany Lockett and Will Pomerantz.

Spanish startup gets funds to deploy commercial IoT constellation

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FOSSA Systems founders Vicente González (left) and Julián Fernández with a model of their first generation satellite. Credit: FOSSA Systems

TAMPA, Fla. — FOSSA, a Spanish operator of tiny picosatellites, has secured funds for around 20 slightly larger cubesats to start offering full commercial connectivity services for remote monitoring and tracking devices.

The startup said June 19 it has fetched 6.3 million euros ($6.8 million) in a Series A funding round, which Portuguese early-stage investor Indico Capital Partners co-led with the venture arm of Nabtesco, a Japanese aerospace component maker.

Julián Fernández, FOSSA’s (Free Open Source Software and Aerospace) co-founder and CEO, said the venture has raised nearly 10 million euros to date, when including government grants.

The four-year-old company builds its satellites in-house and has deployed 17 picosatellites in sun-synchronous orbit since 2022.

Although these tiny satellites were primarily for demonstrating basic connectivity using Long-Range radio (LoRa), a low-power wide-area network protocol used by most Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Fernández said FOSSA has already booked revenues from companies including Microsoft.

He said FOSSA has received more than a million euros in revenues so far through proof of concept work with several companies.

All but one of the 17 picosatellites FOSSA has deployed have de-orbited. Fernández said its most recently launched batch of four satellites were retired earlier than planned this year after being caught up in a solar storm.

The picosatellites were designed to operate for up to two years, according to Fernández, compared with up to five years for upcoming satellites that would have the volume of a three-unit (3U) standard cubesat measuring 30 centimeters a side, and be more resistant to solar storms.

The first three satellites upgraded for commercial service are slated to launch in October, enabling the company to provide connectivity to an IoT device roughly every 11 hours.

FOSSA, which initially planned to deploy its first commercial satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9 last yearaims to deploy 80 spacecraft by the end of 2025 to reduce latency to near real-time.

“Considering our costs for the satellite, which is really inexpensive, we’re looking at around 20 satellites guaranteed with this funding,” Fernández said, “and the rest is going to have to come either from the revenues or from future fundraising.”

He said a mix of government and enterprise customers have already lined up for the initial commercial services slated to begin before the end of 2024.

FOSSA ultimately plans to leverage its vertically integrated business to offer secure connectivity from dedicated satellites to the national security and defense markets. This business would help fund the infrastructure needed to serve utilities and other corporate customers that are more interested in the company’s connectivity and asset management services than the spacecraft.

“The technology is the same, it’s just a different way of selling it,” Fernández added.

FOSSA also hopes its vertically integrated strategy will help the company fend off increasing competition from others chasing the global IoT market, which is forecasted to grow 20% annually through 2030 to $4 billion, such as SpaceX of the United States.

“Europe is trying to find national or local alternatives to problems like IoT,” Fernández said.

Jason Rainbow writes about satellite telecom, space finance and commercial markets for SpaceNews. He has spent more than a decade covering the global space industry as a business journalist. Previously, he was Group Editor-in-Chief for Finance Information…More by Jason Rainbow