The toilet facility at the Ghana Senior High School(Ghanasco), a coed second-cycle institution in Tamale, Northern Region of Ghana, has been converted into a dormitory.
Reporting from the school, Rainbow Radio’s Prince Kwame Tamakloe said the students who sleep on the water closet toilet keep their trunks, chop boxes and others items in the toilet where they also sleep.
Some of the students who spoke with him claimed that a lack of space in the school had forced them to sleep in the lavatory.
When asked if they disinfected the toilet before sleeping inside, they said no.
Aside from that, the students are also engaging in open defecation due to the lack of access to enough toilet facilities.
According to them, several of the students had suffered fromMalaria and typhoid fever due to the situation.
They have therefore appealed to authorities to intervene and immediately construct a dormitory and toilet facility for them.
When confronted, the headmaster told our reporter said he was unaware of the situation and it was news to him.
The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, and the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, have received praises from Apostle Dr. Stephen Kwame Ntow Amoani, a former chairman of the Apostolic Church International, for their contributions to preserving peaceful relations between Muslims and Christians in Ghana.
Apostle Ntow Amoaning was among Christians who, who joined their Muslim counterparts at the Jubilee House for the National Iftar – the traditional dinner to break Ramadan fast.
Delivering a sermon at the event, Apostle Ntow Amoaning reflected on the level of religious tolerance in the country and applauded Sheikh Sharubutu and Vice President Bawumia for providing leadership, which has greatly inspired and strengthened the harmonious relationship between Muslims and Christians in Ghana.
The national Jubilee House Iftar was introduced by theAkufo-Addo Government in 2017, and it has since been held every year, except in 2020 due to covid-19 restrictions.
Speaking at the ceremony, Vice President Bawumia said the institution of the Iftar, has enabled the government to broaden its engagements with religious groups for harmony.
“The historic institution of the Jubilee House Iftar, after we assumed office in 2017, reflects its importance, and the significance our government attaches to our engagements with religious groups, in our quest to promote harmony among our people,” Dr. Bawumia said.
Dr. Bawumia added: “The month of Ramadan is a period of devotion, sacrifice and togetherness, and the Iftar, as we all know, is a time during Ramadan, which defines the essence of unity, as we have all gathered here from diverse backgrounds, including our Christian brothers, for a meal to break the day’s fast and also pray for our nation Ghana.”
The Vice President also praised the presence and active participation of Christian leaders in the Iftar and called for the strengthening of ties between Muslims and Christians for the peace and unity of the country.
“Listening to the brief sermon of Apostle Dr. Stephen Kwame Ntow Amoani, a renowned Christian leader, at a Muslim Iftar, signifies how special our country is. It is rare to see such beautiful co-existence in many countries, and we must all be proud of our country’s enviable status as a religious-tolerant nation,” Dr. Bawumia said.
“It is important for all of us to continue to play a role to preserve this harmony, and not allow it to be destroyed by those who hate to see such tolerance and togetherness,” he urged.
Present at the Iftar included Ministers, Members of the Council of State, MPs, Members of the Diplomatic community, Muslim leaders and some members of the clergy.
A National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer hopeful,John Dramani Mahama, has stated that Ghana would be doomed if the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is retained in 2024.
In Mr Mahama’s view, the excessive borrowing by the NPP administration will have serious implications for the country’s future generations.
Speaking to delegates of the NDC in theFanteakwa Constituencyin the Eastern Region, John Mahama said the NPP poses a threat to the future of Ghana.
“This government has endangered the future of our children by their reckless borrowing because when our children take over tomorrow, and they are in our shoes, and they go to the International market to look for money, these people will say that your fathers borrowed recklessly, and you could not pay your debt, and so we had to cancel your debt for you.”
The former President also stated that no youthful person concerned about the state of the country will vote to maintain the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2024.
According to Mr Mahama who is on a 3-day tour of the Eastern Region, the reckless and excessive borrowing by the NPP has jeopardised the future of the country for the next 10 years.
“The NPP government is destroying the future of the youth with excessive borrowing. For those who took the loans, how many years are left for them to leave the surface of the earth to join God? The creditors will not give the future generation loans due to the failure of this government to settle its loans”.
“If you are concerned about your future don’t vote for the NPP government that has put us in this situation. Listen to your conscience, they have spoilt the future of Ghana. For the next ten years, it will be difficult to go outside for loans. They have done enough damage to the country, they should pack out,” he said.
Richard Ahiagbah, the director of communications for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), has asked former president John Dramani Mahama to name the party’s individuals he alleges are involved in galamsey.
Mr. Ahiagbah said the former president must be patriotic enough and help the police bring such persons to book.
Mr. Ahiagbah made the call on the back of a claim by former president Mahama that government has deliberately been harassing NDC supporters who engage in galamsey but allowing NPP fanatics to engage in the practice with impunity.
In an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, Mr. Ahiagbah refuted the accusations and said the Akufo-Addo government has made strides in its fight against galamsey and admonished the former president to volunteer information leading to the prosecution of such people.
“When the president took control of the fight against galamsey, he engaged everyone because it is an open fight he was leading and there was no secret about it and I call others to come on board and disregard the comments of the former president”.
“If the former president knows anyone engaging in galamsey, he should tell us because all of us are united in the fight against galamsey. But we want to know the NDC supporters he said are engaged in galamsey, so they can be prosecuted for endangering our future.”
“We must be interested in what the former president was saying because it is revealing that there are NDC people who are doing galamsey, and he knows them and encourages them to keep doing it, but they are now disappointed because the fight against galamsey is successful,” Mr. Ahiagbah further stressed.
Mr. Ahiagbah further indicated that the government’s fight against galamsey has been relatively successful and appealed for a collective effort and collaboration of the public to keep it going.
“The Lands Minister is busy reclaiming galamsey lands and the fight against galamsey is ongoing, and we all have to make efforts to help make the fight a success.”
According to data compiled by the Ghana Police Service‘s Motor Traffic and Transport Department for the first quarter of 2023, there were fewer traffic collisions than there were during that period in 2022.
The statistics revealed that a total of 3,340 cases were recorded between January to March 2023, a 15.06% reduction compared to the same period in 2022.The Greater Accra Region had the highest number of recorded crashes of 1,243 among the 16 regions while the Oti Region recorded 15 cases being the least.In total, 544 people have been killed in various road accidents in the country since 2023 begun.
TheNational Road Safety Authority (NRSA) described the reduction in reported road crashes as a promising outlook for the country.Speaking to Citi News, the Public Relations Officer for the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Pearl Adusu Sateckla said it will deploy various technologies to further reduce road crashes.
Two persons have allegedly been shot and another brutalised by the police inSefwi Bekwaiin the Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai Municipality of the Western North Region.
The alleged shooting incident occurred on Easter Monday when a section of the youth besieged the Bekwai police station to demand the release of 20-year-old Kwabena Gyapong, a pragyia rider who was allegedly brutalised by the Bekwai Police Patrol team and later put behind bars.
According to reports, the pragyia rider was riding towards Sefwi Sorano off the Sefwi Dwinase road when the police ordered him to stop for a search on his tricycle.
His attempt to resist the police’s operation generated a heated squabble between them such that Kwabena Gyapong gave one of the policemen a headbutt which triggered his immediate arrest.
However, when the news broke out to the youth, especially the Pragyia riders, they rushed to the Bekwai police station to attack the police to get the injured victim, Kwabena Gyapong released.
Citi News‘ checks indicate that the pelting of stones against the police however compelled them to fire guns at the aggrieved youth.
Two persons, a male and a female sustained various degrees of injuries in the process and have since been hospitalised at the Green Shield Hospital in Sefwi Bekwai for treatment.
Kwabena Atta Gyebi, one of the victims described his ordeal “the Police Commander instructed them to do this to us. The bullets were not rubber but live ones. The first bullet hit my leg, he did not stop at that, he went ahead to shoot at my hand.”
Father of two of the victims, Nana Gyebi expressed disappointment in the police and asked for authorities to take them on for it.
Meanwhile, the Sefwi Bekwai police command even though will not speak on record has denied the allegation of shooting incidents.
TheBolgatanga Technical Universityhas been fined by the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to pay a sum of GH4,000 for undervaluing a water packaging machine.
The machine was purchased at the cost of GH¢10,000 ten years ago and later sold at GH¢6,000 cedis.
According to the committee, the action of the management of theuniversity has caused financial loss to the state hence the need for them to pay the difference.
The University procured the machine to go into water production, however, the contractor who was charged to construct the building for the production site failed to honour the contract hence the inability of the university to make use of the
.
This came up during the first day of hearing in Tamale by the committee to consider the 2020 Auditor General’s Report on Technical Universities, Reports on the Management and Utilisation of District Assemblies’ Common Fund and other Statutory Funds for the year ended December 31, 2020, in the Northern, North East, Upper East, Upper West and the Savanna Regions.
Asked by the committee if they adhered to the auditors’ recommendation to put the machine to use, a representative from the University said, “Subsequent audits also indicated that we either put the machine in use or we dispose of it. We were having challenges in implementing it. We needed to construct a place to house the machine where we could produce the water from.
He stressed, “We awarded the facility to a contractor alongside renovation with one of our blocks. The contractor couldn’t get his statutory payment certificate. He felt frustrated and abandoned the projects. With our limited resources, we couldn’t complete the structure, so we decided to dispose it, taking into consideration how long it has been sitting there”.
The Committee said, “Your negligence and improper planning have caused the state GH¢4,000. I want to surcharge you with GH¢4,000. It’s supposed to be more than that but let’s maintain it”.
The president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s job approval rating has plummeted after improving in January 2023, according to a new national survey released by Global InfoAnalytics for the month of April 2023.
According to a brand-new nationwide survey conducted byGlobal InfoAnalytics in April 2023, president Akufo-Addo’s job approval rating dropped after improving in January 2023.
The poll shows 65 per cent of voters disapprove of his performance, up from 59 per cent in January, while 29 per cent approve of his performance, down from 32 per cent.
Fifty-eight percent of the governingNew Patriotic Party(NPP) supporters approve the president’s performance and 38 per cent disapprove.
For the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), 11 per cent approved Nana Akufo-Addo’s job performance whilst 86 per cent disapproved his performance.
Additionally, 15 per cent of floating voters approved of his performance compared to 77 per cent who disapproved his performance.
Also, 71 per cent of voters believe Ghana is headed in the wrong direction, unchanged from January 2023 poll.
Nineteen percent believed it is headed in the right direction and a further 10 per cent did not have opinion.
For the NPP primaries ahead of the 2024 national elections, the poll shows Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong (KOA) surging among general voters but not enough to overtake Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen (AKK) and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia (DMB) in the race to lead the NPP into the 2024 elections.
Kennedy Agyapong according to the polls now attracts 23 per cent of votes when voters were asked to indicate their preference for the NPP leadership.
Alan Kyerematen stills leads Dr Bawumia 30 per cent to 29 per cent among all voters. However, among NPP affiliates, Dr Bawumia still has a slender lead over Alan Kyerematen. Dr Bawumia now attracts 39 per cent of NPP votes, Alan Kyerematen attracts 37 per cent while Kennedy Agyapong has 23 per cent.
According to David Tenkorang, general secretary of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association(GRNMA), the senior health professionals leaving to other countries are the experienced and competent ones.
He said if this situation is not attended to immediately, it will have a dire impact on healthcare delivery in Ghana.
Mr Tenkorang identified what is causing the brain drain among health workers after indicating that the salaries of nurses and midwives are not the best.
Also, he said, the general condition of service for health workers is poor.
He was commenting on the red listing of Ghana by theWorld Health Organisation(WHO) and the United Kingdom (UK).
Ghana was included on a list of 54 countries that should not be targeted for recruitment by health and social care employers in the UK due to a UHC Service Coverage Index lower than 50 and a density of doctors, nurses, and midwives below the global median.
Mr Tenkorang told Martin Asiedu Darteh on the Midday Live on TV3 Wednesday, April 12 that “it is quite a disturbing issue because it is going to negatively impact the healthcare delivery in Ghana.
“The government has set out to build Agenda 111 and all these hospitals will have to be populated by nurses and midwives. If we don’t take in drastic actions to stop the situation, it will certainly adversely impact healthcare delivery.”
He added: “As far as 2020, we saw this coming even before Covid reared its ugly head because some of the Scandinavian and European countries have had their nurses move out of UK and therefore we have a certain kind of attrition. The salaries of midwives and nurses in Ghana is nothing to write home about.”
“We need our skilled manpower to take care of the good people of this country. Those who are leaving are not the ones who just completed school, they are the experienced ones, those who have ten years to go on retirement, those who have fifteen years.
“So there is going to be a vacuum because these are the very experienced, competent nurses and midwives who should mentor the newly recruited. If we allow them to leave the way they are leaving, then we will have problems.”
The formerNew Patriotic Party(NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Tema East, Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover, has stated that President Akufo-Addo will make the greatest mistake if he refuses to sign the anti-LGBT bill into law.
Speaking in an interview on UTV on Thursday, which was monitored by GhanaWeb, Titus-Glover allayed fears that the president will not assent to the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021 (Anti-LGBTQI bill), saying that Akufo-Addo not approving the bill will not be politically prudent for the NPP.
“President Akufo-Addo has femalechildren and recently one of them got married. He is a strong believer of the Anglican faith; he does not support gayism and lesbianism.
“Just like the late former President, Prof John Evans Atta Mills, who said he will not allow the acceptance of gays under his presidency, Akufo-Addo also in an Anglican Church in Mampong said same-sex marriage will never happen under his watch.
“We know the implication of these gay issues in Ghana, as a political party and as a government. And you think that after Parliament has passed the anti-LGBT bill, the president will say he will not assent it. That will be the greatest mistake of President Akufo-Addo,” he said in Twi.
Titus-Glover, a former deputy minister of trade and industry, also said that the response given by President Akufo-Addo on the anti-LGBT bill, during the visit of the Vice President of the United States of America, Kamal Harris, was apt.
He explained that President Akufo-Addo only said that the bill is being considered by Parliament and that when it is passed, it will come to him for approval into law.
What Akufo-Addo said:
At the joint press conference, both President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Kamala Harris were confronted with the issue of the criminalization of LGBTQ+ activities in Ghana.
Responding to the question at Jubilee House, in Accra, on Monday, March 27, President Akufo-Addo refuted the suggestion that Ghana already had an anti-LGBT law.
He said that the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021 (Anti-LGBTQI bill), which was championed by “only a hand full of MPs”, is currently being considered by Parliament.
Akufo-Addo added that even if the bill is passed, it will still have to be ratified by him. He also said that the anti-LGBT bill has been modified.
“The legislation was a private members bill; it is not an official legislation of the government but it is one that is being muted by a hand full of private members.
“My understanding from the recent discussion I had with the chairman of the committee is that the substantial elements of the bill have already been modified as a result of the intervention of the Attorney General,” he said.
The Supreme Court (SC) of Norway have declined to grant leave to Messrs Jongsbru AS, a party to the Norway Court of Appeal decision ruled in Ghana’s favor on November 2, 2022.
This was a preliminary decision by a three-member panel of the SC to Norwegian civil procedure rules.
The case concerns the litigation over the purchase of a property previously identified by the Republic of Ghana for use as a chancery building inOslo.
Per the Norwegian law, if a Court of Appeal gives a judgement in a civil case and same is appealed at the SC, the court, would first, make a preliminary decision by taking into consideration, whether a new or major issue of law is raised in the matter.
The Norway SC does not hear an appeal on matters concerning the facts or evidence in a civil matter.
This judgement brings finality to the four year litigation in which the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Godfred Dame represented Ghana.
The Court of Appeal on November 2, 2022 awarded cost of $250,000 in favour of Ghana.
The SC ordered Jongsbru to compensate Ghana nominal legal costs of USD 1 871.
Mr Dame said he was elated by the decision of the SC.
He explained that the cost awarded to Ghana, which was still outstanding, would be used to defray his travel expenses and those of witnesses from Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who testified on behalf of Ghana.
Prior to the decision of the SC, Mr Dame explained that, under Norwegian civil procedure rules, any civil judgment of the Court of Appeal may be appealed to the SC but the hearing of that appeal is not as of right.
In the appeal at the SC, Jongsbru contended that the decision of the Court of Appeal was too short, vague, unclear and contained deficiencies, which rendered a proper appeal on the merits impossible and therefore, the judgment had to be “repealed.”
An application for a judgment to be repealed, in Norwegian law, is similar to a request to set aside the judgment.
Angry youths have demonstrated at a police station in Sefwi Bekwai, Western North, to demand the release of Kwabena Gyapong, a 20-year-old motorized tricycle (Pragyia) rider police custody.
The rider reportedly headbutt a police officer to resist a search in the evening while riding to Sefwi Sorano but was overpowered by the Patrol team and sent to the Police station.
Upon hearing the incident, the youth mostly Pragyia riders mobilized to attack the police station with stones and clubs damaging a service vehicle.
It took the intervention of reinforcement team amid sporadic warning shots to bring the situation under control.
Two of the irate youth were injured in the process while four were arrested.
The Sefwi Bekwai District Police Command denied the injuries suffered by the victims were gunshot.
Nana Gyebi Father of the suspect Pragyia rider alleged his son was badly injured but instead of the police sending him to hospital they caged him at the cells.
Mr. Paul Andoh, the Bibiani Ahwianso Bekwai Constituency1st vice chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on behalf of the MP for the area Hon. Alfred Obeng Boateng, MP and other opinion leaders in the town visited the police station to help deescalate the tension.
At Begoro, in the Fanteakwa North Districtof the Eastern Region, a lightning strike has killed two siblings.
The victims-Selorm Bona,16, and Vivian,14, were struck by ground strike when they reportedly rushed out to pick ripe mango fruits that dropped from the tree while raining.
Selorm died instantly but Vivian died upon arrival at the Begorogovernment hospital.
Lightning kills estimated 24,000 people each year around the world—the majority of the deaths occur in developing countries.
Scientists say Lightning is a frequent occurrence worldwide with an estimated 50 occurrences per second and 20% of those resulting in ground strikes some causing injuries and fatalities.
In Ghana, many traditions believe lightening fatality is punishment or curse by the gods over sin committed by an individual or family.
Managing Director of Asanko Gold Ghana limited, Dr. Charles Amoah, has denied assertions that the police officer perished in the mine’s abandoned pit.
Speaking to the media, Dr. Asamoah explained that the deceased officer was chasing after an illegal miner and unfortunately fell into a pond about 2.5m deep which had been dug by the illegal miners.
“The deceased officer died in a pit dug by illegal miners who invaded the Asanko Gold Ghana Ltd concession and left many uncovered pits. A team of Police officers were on lawful duty and in the process of stopping a group of illegal miners from digging underneath a section of the haul road (just after a contractor’s Laydown area, Chainage 1+500km) which had been backfilled a few days ago.
“The deceased officer’s colleagues managed to rescue him after 5-10 minutes and attempted CPR since he was unresponsive. After several attempts, they rushed him to the clinic where resuscitation continued but he was later pronounced dead,’’ he added.
He disclosed, following the incident, Asanko Gold Ghana Ltd has initiated the following actions plan which include :
Activated its emergency response system.
Informed the relevant regulatory bodies, Minerals Commission, the Ghana Chamber of Mines and District Police Command about the incident.
Evacuated the casualty to a morgue at the Agroyesum Hospital in Manso Adubia.
Halted all Patrol duties.
Dr. Charles Asamoah reaffirmed Asanko Gold Ghana Ltd commitment to promoting environmentally and socially responsible mining in Ghana.
He added, Asanko Mines has always worked in accordance with the Minerals Commission’s regulations, the Ghana Chamber of Mines and District Police Command to ensure the safety of all persons on its concessions.
“The Ghana Chamber of Mines reiterates its call for urgent action to be taken on the growing concern about the activities of illegal miners in bonafide concessions of large-scale mining firms in the country under the guise of community mining. The activities of these illegal miners pose a serious risk to the mining companies, community members, and the country at large. We wish to express our sincere condolences to the bereaved family and the Ghana Police Service”, a statement signed by CEO ofGhana Chamber of Mines, Dr. Sulemanu Koney said.
The prospectiveNational Democratic Congress(NDC) flagbearer, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, has stated that only a serious-minded person with the required skills and credentials could handle the nation’s economic situation.
He noted that state resources have been wasted by the NPP which has led to the country’s economic downturn.
Addressing the NDC party executives in Tamale, the flagbearer hopeful told party faithful that the race to salvage Ghanaians from the current economic hardship must be devoid of attacks on personalities.
He added that the party needs peace and unity in order to get the needed win from the NPP.
Dr Duffuor further urged party executives to vote for him on May 13th to save the country from the NPP.
The northern regional chairman of the NDC, Ali Adolf who received the campaign team at the party secretariat urged Dr. Duffuor to still support the party rank and file even if it does not go in his favour during the party’s primaries.
Dr. Duffuor and his team moved to the Tamale South constituency where a huge crowd met him.
He lashed out at the Akufo-Addo led government for mismanaging Ghana’s economy.
The team also moved to Mion, Saboba, Tatali, and Bimbilla constituencies where party delegates and party executives welcomed Dr Kwabena Duffuor and his team.
He noted that state resources have been wasted by the NPP which has led to the country’s economic downturn.
Addressing the NDC party executives in Tamale, the flagbearer hopeful told party faithful that the race to salvage Ghanaians from the current economic hardship must be devoid of attacks on personalities.
He added that the party needs peace and unity in order to get the needed win from the NPP.
Dr Duffuor further urged party executivesto vote for him on May 13th to save the country from the NPP.
The northern regional chairman of the NDC, Ali Adolf who received the campaign team at the party secretariat urged Dr. Duffuor to still support the party rank and file even if it does not go in his favour during the party’s primaries.
Dr. Duffuor and his team moved to the Tamale South constituency where a huge crowd met him.
He lashed out at the Akufo-Addo led government for mismanaging Ghana’s economy.
The team also moved to Mion, Saboba, Tatali, and Bimbilla constituencies where party delegates and party executives welcomed Dr Kwabena Duffuor and his team.
The Northern Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (NEDCo) has announced that on Tuesday, 18th April, it will embark on a nationwide revenue mobilisation exercise to retrieve monies owed it.
The exercise which will start on 18 April 2023 will cover all customers in arrears, including State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs), Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
According to a statement issued by management, special security arrangements will be put in place to arrest and prosecute anyone who interferes with the exercise.
It added that persons identified to have engaged in illegal connections or reconnections will equally be dealt with in accordance with the law.
The statement also noted that recalcitrant customers who have refused to redeem their indebtedness to the Company after they have been served with demand notices will be arraigned before Court.
They, therefore, urged customers in arrears to pay their bills immediately to avoid disconnection and payment of reconnection fees.
The statement said the NEDCo’s Head Office and Area Offices will be closed temporarily to allow for the full engagement of all staff, including top management in this exercise but said their customer service centres, zonal offices and third-party vendors will remain open to attend to customers including reconnections.
TheGhana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) Upper East Regional Secretariat is pleading with caterers in the area to continue providing meals for students while the government takes immediate action to pay what it owes to caterers.
The caterers are owed the third term and the first term of the 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic years respectively, the situation many caterers lament is negatively affecting their operations.
But in a press statement copied to Citi News, Upper East Regional Co-ordinator of the Ghana School Feeding Programme, Georgina Ayamba, appealed to caterers to remain calm and continue to cook for the children as their arrears are being worked on and will be paid soon.
She also hinted that the governmentis strongly considering an upward adjustment of the amount currently paid to caterers.
“The issue of delays in payments to caterers has been trending in the news lately. I wish to assure caterers in the region that the managers of the program share in their plight and have initiated steps to resolve the problem as soon as possible.”
“Management has also made a proposal to the government to review upward the amount currently paid to caterers which are receiving attention from government. I wish to commend caterers in the region for their patience and to plead with them to continue to cook for the children while their legitimate concerns are being addressed”.
School Feeding caterers across the country laid down their tools last week following several arrears owed them by the government. They also demanded an upward adjustment to the amount per child paid by government.
A parliamentary candidate for the Okaikoi Central constituency on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Baba Sadiq Abdulai Abu has said that the party needs him to claim the Okaikoi Central.
The former 3 Media Networks Chief Executive Officer indicated that he is the best man among the other three contestants in the race to bring victory to the NDC in Okaikoi Central as he resonates pretty well with the various voting blocs in the constituency.
In an interview on the Point Blank segment on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, the industrious creative said there are many things that make him refreshingly different in the race.
“There are certain things that make me a refreshingly different candidate. I resonate with the four voting blocs in the constituency, particularly for the NDC. The Akan voting bloc has been one of the hard-to-reach blocs for the NDC in the constituency, but I resonate very well with the bloc”.
Enumerating the voter base and his chances of winning the constituency on the ticket of the NDC, Baba Sadiq said “We’ve got the Akan bloc, the Ga-Adangbe bloc, the Ewe bloc, and the Muslim-Zongo-Northern bloc, and for the NDC to win in Okaikoi Central, it will need a candidate that resonates with these four blocs and beyond having a candidate that resonates with these four blocs, you will also need a candidate that understands the needs of the people and is innovative enough to create ideas that can solve the people’s problems and that who I am.”
“I cannot specifically mention some of our strategies but all the NDC needs is Baba Sadiq in the race against Patrick Boamah [current NPP MP for the area] to win the constituency,” he added.
A key suspect in the murder of Trooper Imoro Sherrifhas stated before the Ashaiman Circuit Court, presided over by Simon J. Gaga, that he is being starved while being held by the police.
Samuel Tetteh alias Wiper is standing trial together with five others for their various roles in the alleged murder of Sheriff Imoro who was a junior soldier in the Ghana Armed Forces.
Appearing in court on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, lawyers for the accused persons impressed on the judge to grant their clients bail.
Following a lengthy argument between the prosecution and the defence, the third accused person, Ibrahim Abdul Rakib was granted bail in the sum of GH₵150,000 with three sureties, two to be justified with landed properties on health grounds.
The remaining suspects, however, were denied bail.
According to a report by Dailyguidenetork.com sighted by GhanaWeb, Samuel Tetteh before the judge would rule on the bail application raised his hands and with the permission of the judge told the court that he is not being fed enough in custody.
The court after ruling on the bail application further directed the police to take good care of the suspects while they are in custody to ensure that they are fit and healthy to stand trial.
Samuel Tetteh and Abubakar Saddick alias Birdman who are the two main suspects in the case are on trial for conspiracy to commit crime to wit attempted robbery and robbery.
The four remaining suspects, Safianu Musah alias Dayorgu, Ibrahim Abdul Rakib, Yussif Mohammed and Abdul Gafaru Abdul Karim are defending themselves on the charge of dishonestly receiving stolen items.
Facts of the case
Prosecution says the police On March 4, this year received information that a male adult was found lying dead at Ashiaman Taifa.
A team of Police personnel were dispatched to the crime scene and the Police retrieved a blood-stained knife, a backpack containing an iPad, Ghana Card, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Card and Military Uniform belonging to Private Sherrif, who until his demise was a soldier with the Third Battalion at Sunyani.
Investigations revealed that the slain soldier went to visit his female friend at Ashiaman Newtown at about 2230 hours on March 3, 2023, and left for his home at about 0130h hours on March 4, but was attacked by Tetteh and Sadick at Ashiaman Taifa with the intention of stealing his mobile.
Police investigations established that Tetteh stabbed the soldier with a knife during the attack causing him to bleed to death.
Tetteh and Sadick successfully robbed the deceased of his mobile phone and sold it to Ibrahim Abdul Rakib at GHC300.
Ibrahim Rakib also sold the phone to Safianu Musah at GHC350 who claimed he has sold the iPhone to Yusif Mohammed for GHC500 and later to Abdul Gafaru Karim.
The next National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration will make a list of all unfinished projects and assure their completion, according to former president John Dramani Mahama.
The former president said the decision by the current government to abandon projects started under the NDC has been one of the major damages to the country.
Speaking to branch and constituency executives in Odumasein the Lower Manya Krobo Constituency, John Mahama said the priority of the next NDC government is to complete all stalled projects under this government.
Meanwhile, the NDC flagbearer hopeful says no youthful person concerned about the state of the country will vote to maintain the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2024.
According to the former President who is on a 3-day tour of the Eastern Region, the reckless and excessive borrowing by the New Patriotic Party has jeopardised the future of the country for the next 10 years.
Addressing branch and constituency executives in Yilo Krobo Constituency, Mr Mahama rallied the youth to vote back the NDC to save the situation.
He observed that the country is choked with debts making it impossible to pay back.
“The NPP government is destroying the future of the youth with excessive borrowing. For those who took the loans, how many years are left for them to leave the surface of the earth to join God? The creditors will not give the future generation loans due to the failure of this government to settle its loans”.
“If you are concerned about your future don’t vote for the NPP government that has put us in this situation. Listen to your conscience, they have spoilt the future of Ghana. For the next ten years, it will be difficult to go outside for loans. They have done enough damage to the country, they should pack out,” he said.
TheNational Peace Councilstated that it will meet with various political parties and security organizations in the coming days to discuss the recent rise in incendiary remarks made by politicians.
The comment by the Council comes on the back of Abetifi Member of Parliament, Bryan Acheampong indicating that the NPP will not hand over power to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) adding that it will do everything possible to remain in power.
Speaking to Citi News on such utterances by political actors, the Chairman of the Peace Council, Rev. Dr. Ernest Adu-Gyamfi called on politicians to be circumspect in their commentary ahead of the2024 general elections.
“We’ve received some footage by several political actors from both the NDC and the NPP that we think need to be addressed, and we want to appeal to the political actors to be careful and guard what they say and how they say it. Our intention is to invite the parties to the table to review the things we discussed and see the challenges that we have now and see what we can do going forward.”
Dr. Adu-Gyamfi also disclosed that the Council has scheduled a meeting with the various security agencies on addressing possible conflict issues.
“We’ve also scheduled a meeting with the security agencies which will be coming on next month to look at the things that we need to address between now and the next elections and these will be continuous meetings.”
And when asked if the Abetifi lawmaker, Bryan Acheampong, must be punished for his recent statements deemed reckless, Dr. Adu-Gyamfi said “If somebody does something that is criminal, we expect the security agencies to take up the responsibility if they think so.”
Some land guards have inflicted machete wounds on three employees at a block manufacturer in Millennium City, Kasoa in the Central region.
The thugs numbering over 20 were said to have fired guns at the workers when they stormed the block factory site.
Kasapa News’ Yaw Boagyan reports that the invasion by the land guards followed an argument between a driver of the factory and a sub-chief of the area.
According to the driver, Eric Nyamekye, the Youth Chief (Mmrantehene) of Millennium City scratched the company’s truck used in transporting blocks to customers with his Toyota Landcruiser.
The driver says he was slapped by theChiefwhen he approached him to demand that he repairs the damaged area of the truck.
He continued that unknown to them, the Chief later mobilized one truck full of armed land guards who fired shots and attacked the innocent workers with machete and other weapons severely injuring three workers in the process.
They were rushed to the hospital for treatment and the case reported to the police station for investigation.
However, no arrest had been made at the time of filing this report on Tuesday, April 11, 2023.
Vice President,Dr Mahamudu Bawumia will address participants at the 2023 Harvard Africa Development Conference (ADC) which will be held at the Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
The Conference, which is organised annually by the African Caucus of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and the Harvard African Law Association, will be held on Saturday, April 15-16.
A statement issued by the Spokesperson of the Vice President,Dr Gideon Boako, on Tuesday, April 11 said Dr Bawumia will deliver the keynote address.
He will return to Ghana thereafter on Tuesday, April 18.
The African Development Conference convenes students, academia and practitioners to highlight and explore critical issues related to the development of the African continent.
The district chief executive for Amansie South, the Ashanti Region, Clement Opoku Gyamfi, has refuted allegations of making unauthorized electricity connections.
On Thursday, April 6, 2023, the Electricity Company of Ghana(ECG) disconnected the official residence of the DCE accusing him of connecting power without using a meter.
He is said to have without authority, run the power cables through an adjoining plot to his house on the blind side of the ECG.
But after six days of living in darkness, the DCE tells Citi News that he has never tampered with any electricity cable at his residence.
“I have never and will never engage in any illegal connection. This is an official bungalow I was given. I don’t pay bills whether electricity or water, so how can you say I have engaged in illegal connection? It doesn’t make sense. Why will they come in a Rambo style to disconnect me? I saw two land cruisers, pickups and a van with media men just to come and disconnect power,” he fumed.
He further accused the power distribution company of witch-hunting him for some comments he publicly made.
“There’s a back story to all these. I was on a radio in Kumasi and as part of the topics to discuss was ECG disconnections and I emphatically said that ECG is not a serious company but the reason why I said that was because they hardly bring bills and mostly when they bring it, it is an accumulation of several months of debt. This is why they disconnected me. If not witch hunting then why would they do that?”
The District Chief Executive further added that he will soon take action against ECG if power is not restored to his bungalow.
“My official bungalow is under the care of the district estate officer. So he is in charge of it. They will have to take the steps to ensure that power is restored. For my next line of action, let me keep my cards close to my chest for now. The media will hear soon”.
An African human development expert, according to Dr. Ishmael Nii Amanor Dodoo, anyone who wants to take the lead in transforming Africa must first transform themselves.
“Growing up in Africa and working across the continent throughout my career I have come to the conclusion that the only way to effectively solve the myriad of challenges facing Africa is for those at the forefront of bringing about those changes to transform themselves first,” he stated.
Dr Dodoo, who is also a Senior Strategy Advisor to governments, the UN and multilateral institutions was speaking in an interview with Global Award-Winning Management Consultant, Executive Coach, Author, and Speaker Modesta Mahiga on her 360 Leadership Podcast.
He thinks current and prospectiveAfrican leadersneed the to have right mindset, competencies, skills, philosophies, and personal values to couch their vision if they were to effectively addresses the challenges of the continent.
He explained that Africa is a very multi-dimensional continent with several cultures, religions, systems and structures, but many people don’t take the time to understand the continent and its dynamics before choosing to take leadership positions on the continent.
According to him the philosophy of the Africans, their indigenous systems and structures in terms of how things are done on the continent are all things that need to be properly unravelled through anthropological studies to serve as a resource for anyone who desires to be at the forefront of Africa’s transformation.
“Anyone seeking to lead in any African country – whether in politics, business or within the socio-economic space with a vision to help transform Africa must first transform themselves and rethink their approach to dealing with the peoples, systems and structures.
”You can’t give what you don’t have – that is the philosophy I am driving right now,” said Dr Dodoo, who is also a renowned voice on youth leadership, influence and self-transformation for effective governance.
Dr Dodoo further stated that several Africans with the benefit of Western education who are seeking leadership roles in Africa tend to think they wield some superior knowledge and skills that make them better placed than the people on the continent to lead the transformation of the continent, but that notion is wrong.
According to him, having travelled across and worked in at least 36 African countries on the ticket of the UN and other multilateral institution as an adviser on human development and consultant to several presidents, he can tell that Africa has very talented and intelligent people, except that the systems, structures and cultures are vast and varied and those are nuisances that anyone seeking to lead the transformation of the continent cannot ignore.
He believes Africa is poised to be at the forefront of global transformation in the 22nd Century, but that will take leaders who are willing to transform themselves, beginning with an introspective look at their own personal inspiration, purpose, and values and how those are linked to their desire to lead African states.
“Anyone seeking to lead the transformation of Africa first needs to ask himself what inspires them, what is their purpose in life and what are the lenses (values) through which they view the world. If those three elements are more selfish than for the greater good then you have no business going into leadership in Africa,” he said.
Dr Dodoo argued that the majority of people in politics on the African continent got in either by chance or by accident because a family member or friend was in there and offered them an opportunity to also get in and gain some personal benefit, and that is why the problems of Africa are still not being solved.
He however believes there are still a few people in politics who are driven by a genuine desire to transform the continent and those are his focus to work together with them to get Africa into the position where it can lead the world to glory in the 22nd century.
The elephant and lion analogy
Dr Dodoo told a mythical story from his late dad, about why the elephant is the biggest animal in the jungle but the lion is the king of the jungle.
He said the elephant was seen by all jungle dwellers as problematic because its movement and loud trumpeting sounds usually scared everyone, destroyed plants and made everyone uncomfortable.
The animals and plants therefore met and decided the elephant was a problem that needed to be removed in the interest of everyone.
So, they made the lion king and the lion decided that the elephant would serve a better purpose dead than alive. It should be killed and eaten instead of being allowed to move around and scare everyone.
“That is why when there is a big problem at hand in meetings, we often describe it as the ‘elephant in the room’. In other words, we need to remove the elephants in leadership positions on the African continent before we can really have peace and the conducive atmosphere to bring transformation,” he said.
“The elephant in the room in this case refers to those in leadership for selfish interest rather than for the greater good of the continent.”
The continuous enactment of new levies, according to the Ghana Federation of Labour(GFL), poses a risk to the country’s economic growth.
Mr Abraham Koomson, the GFL Secretary General, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency in Tema, said companies had employees and paid their salaries, as well as social security, contributing to the improvement of the standard of living for Ghanaians hence the numerous taxes could have adverse effect on their operations. .
He advised that government not to compel factories to move from the country because some companies had already begun to reduce their workforce, while others were planning to shut down soon.
Mr Koomson stressed that the closure of the companies would adversely affect government revenue all for its development programmes and increase the unemployment rate in the country.
He cautioned that if the local companies would not be revived for the survival of the country, foreign countries investing in the country must not be discouraged.
The GFL Secretary General urged the government to consider the implications of the Excise Duty Bill of 2022 on manufacturing industries, saying it would cripple companies and increase unemployment.
“The GFL continues to receive calls from Chief Executive Officers of companies and other stakeholders raising concerns that the new laws are rushed and passed without proper consultation to weigh the implications on industry, and by extension the fate of workers whose job security is guaranteed if industries break even,” he stated.
Mr Koomson said the products involved in the taxation among several others on the market, were already barely affordable because of the high cost of unit prices triggered by a combination of factors including water and electricity tariffs which saw an upward adjustment at the beginning of this month.
He added that high import bills for raw materials and the depreciation of the Ghana Cedi were all squeezing out capital by the day.
He said times had been hard, leading to companies having to adjust salaries of workers, break even to sustain operations; and the suspension of the new 20 percent bill would boost investor interest, guarantee sustained revenue inflows, and create more jobs.
The recent assaults on somesecurity officials, according to the Wa West MP, pose a threat to national security.
Peter Lanchene Toobu, therefore, wants an immediate review of the mode of operations.
According to him, the world keeps evolving and citizens have become more complex and sophisticated hence the policing technique that was implemented previously cannot be used in recent times to achieve the same results.
“The 1990 policing style cannot be used in 2023 and we need to invest heavily in police training, we need to invest heavily in police recruitment and positive vetting.
“It tells us as a people that we should begin to look at police public relations, that as the police institution grows in numbers, heading towards 50,000, and as the citizens become more complicated and sophisticated we need to think differently,” he said in an interview on JoyNews’ AM Show on Monday.
His comment comes in the wake of the Police arresting six persons last Friday for attacking a police officer at the Wono Akotsosu snap checkpoint in the Kumawu District of the Ashanti Region.
This follows a similar attack on two police personnel by illegal miners at Axim in the Western Region.
As result, the legislator who was also a former policeofficer says that the criteria for police recruitment must also be reviewed.
He mentioned that most of the current police officers are underserving of the job but are only there to get paid monthly and earn a living.
“You cannot get people uniforms to wear when they have not gone through positive vetting, it will come back to bite us, there are many people in the uniform and they are not supposed to be in uniforms, but they’re looking for a job to earn a salary at the end of the month.”
“The passion to wear the uniform is not there, they want a salary, if you’re looking for money and you find yourself wearing any of the uniforms, you’re out there for danger, and you’re actually a danger to the security system that you serve and that’s not the right thing to do,” Mr Toobu added.
Separate attacks on some police and military personnel in different parts of the country have become a concern.
According to former president John Dramani Mahama, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) God has told him the party would prevail in the 2024 general elections.
Speaking to delegates of the NDC in Okere in the Eastern Region on Tuesday, April 11, he said “By God’s grace we have the experience, we didn’t buy it in the store, we didn’t learn it in school, it is God who gave us the opportunity to gather that experience.”
He added “Don’t worry about what some people are saying, it is God’s will, I attend church and when I pray God speaks to me and God has said this is the time for NDC, he has given us power. If God decides no one can change it. Let us continue to pray and trust that what has been arranged will come to pass.”
He further told all Parliamentary candidate hopefuls of the NDC to engage in a decent campaign.
“Let us not resort to insult because we are one family, this is one party, we are looking for one thing, power.
“Let us support whoever will be elected parliamentary candidate and when your time comes you will also be supported.
“It is not only the MP that we have, if we come to power we have board chairmen, we have Ambassadors, DECs, and a lot of appointments and so if you don’t become an MP you will get an appointment.
“So let us keep the campaign decent and when one person has emerged let us all support that person and let the party come to power,” he said.
The Fulani herders living in theBongo-Soe communityin the Bongo District of the Upper East Region have been given a month to leave by the chief and residents of the community.
Mr Vitus Azeem, a native of the Bongo-Soe community and former Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), announced the warning on behalf of the Chief and people at a news conference.
He said the residents, had complained that the nomadic herdsmen had illegally occupied their farmlands and were terrorising them.
There was a violent clash between the community members and theFulani headsmen on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, because a young man from Bongo-Soe who went fishing was allegedly beaten by some Fulani herdsmen in the community, he said.
Mr Atiah Nsoh, the victim, had a fracture on his right leg while his motorcycle, mobile phone, and an undisclosed amount of money were taken from him.
Mr Azeem said it was alleged that the Fulani herdsmen initially wanted to slaughter Mr Nsoh, but a more reasonable member of the trio objected to that, and they tried to castrate him, but he resisted, and they beat him up.
“We wish to state that this is not the first time that some Fulani herdsmen have attacked a member of the community. There were instances where some women were raped, and some cattle stolen from the community”.
In addition, an agent of the Bongo Rural Bank and some Mobile Money vendors in the village were robbed by persons suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, he added.
Mr Azeem explained that several people from the Fulani settlement and the Bongo-Soe community sustained various degrees of injuries due to the clashes,
following which 11 youth from the area were arrested and put in Police custody. He said nine out of the 11 people arrested had since been released.
“We demand that the Police investigate and bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to book; that the Assembly foots the medical bills of the injured young man and retrieve his motorcycle and mobile phone for him,” he stated.
He said the residents were expecting the Fulani herdsmen to vacate the Bongo-Soe community in a month’s time because they had overstayed their welcome and were trying to take possession of the community.
Mr Azeem said the disgruntled community members of Bongo-Soe were not happy that a Fulani chief who was enskinned by the paramount chief of the Bongo Traditional Area, Naba Baba Salifu Alemyaarum, regarded himself to be at the same level as the native community chiefs.
“This Fulani chief has boasted that he and the chiefs in the village were all enskinned by the Paramount Chief and so they were not superior to him and cannot control him”.
A petition that was sent to the Bongo District Security Committee in June 2021 and a follow up as a reminder in January 2022 “on the behavior of the Fulani herdsmen,” had not received any acknowledgment or response, he said.
When the Ghana News Agency contacted Ms Rita Atanga, the District Chief Executive of Bongo, she said DISEC had visited the victim and the Fulani community after the clash.
She said the “Assembly is not sleeping over the matter” and DISEC would work on their demands to find a lasting solution to the issue.
She appealed for cooperation from both factions to ensure the issue was amicably resolved.
The paramount chief of the Bongo Traditional Area, Naba Alemyaarum, when contacted, declined to speak on the issue, but admonished both factions to allow peace to prevail in the area.
The Second Lady, Samira Bawumia, has urged aspiring authors to use creative writing to actively address societal issues.
Addressing young writers at the 2022 Samira Bawumia Literature Prize in Accra last Thursday, she said the importance of writing and the art of storytelling were an important tool that could not be overemphasised.
She said there was therefore the need for the youth to utilise their skills to inspire, educate, and transform lives while capturing stories and experiences that might be lost or forgotten over time.
“The life of the contemporary African in the 21st century and our place in the global village must be told in both fiction and non-fiction, and, indeed, nobody can tell our stories better than ourselves,” she said.
“So I encourage you all to continue to read and write.
A people who read and write engage their imaginations; and this opens up portals of endless possibilities as the most successful of any generation are those whose ideas solve problems within their communities or the world,” she emphasised.
Mrs Bawumia, however, advised that while this was being taken up, writers should not also lose sight of how valuable writing was in today’s job market, saying it was also a means to provide opportunities for self employment and job creation in the future. Competition
The event is an annual biennial literary prize that seeks to create a nurturing and supportive environment for aspiring young Ghanaian writers to grow, develop and highlight their literary skills.
The competition is opened to writers to show their skills in categories, including poetry, short fiction and creative non-fiction.
After receiving over 1,000 entries for all categories in this year’s competition, 30 individuals were awarded with three participants emerging ultimate winners for each category. Awards
Gabriel Awuah Mainoo, Phinehas Osei and Henneh Kwaku Kyere — who emerged ultimate winners for the Poetry, Short Fiction and Creative Non-fiction categories respectively — each took home a certificate, GH¢5,000, a laptop and other souvenirs.
The works of the shortlisted writers would be published in an anthology as a way to train as many writers as possible and raise interest and awareness within the Ghanaian literacy space. Writing habits
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Library Authority, Hayford Siaw, commended the awardees for their sterling performances in the competition, stating that for some time now, the reading and writing habit among the youth could not be hailed.
He added that the establishment and patronage of libraries, and receiving over a 1,000 applicants in the literary competition were evidence of the high rise in reading and writing which should be fostered.
“I urge all to ensure that we make the country a reading country by being readers and actively patronising the works of local writers in the country,” Mr Siaw said.
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The Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Constituency, Lydia Alhassan, commended the Second Lady for her contribution and efforts to unearth writers and their skills.
“I hope that authoring would be recognised as one of the mainstream professions to support local writers in the country,” she said.
As a gesture to show her support, Ms Alhassan purchased 10 books each of all awardees in the competition.
Subsequently, the Managing Director of the Ghana Commercial Bank PLC, Kofi Adomakoh, gave the assurance that the company would support the authors to ensure that the creativity of writers were shown and duly celebrated.
In order to address Africa’s issues with regard to health investments, training, and employment, the Minister of Health,Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, has called for global synergies.
He said while the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the global community were discussing the protection of health investments and boosting health workforce with more emphasis on Africa, it was very important for stakeholders to appreciate that most African countries were saddled with challenges that required global support.
He was speaking at the fifth Global Forum on Human Resources for Health in Geneva.
“Everybody is talking about Africa.
Our country’s context is not that bleak but in some other African Countries, there is that challenge.
“Can we build global and regional synergies? Can we push some from one side to the other?
Can we put investments into areas lacking?
“ This is a problem that needs a global approach to resolve, I suspect that those holding the funds can do human resource capacity building across Africa, that will be helpful a lot in the global health workforce discussions,” Mr Agyeman-Manu emphasised. Global Forum
The forum was held on the theme; “Protecting, safeguarding, and investing in the health and care workforce”.
It examined the required policy solutions, investments and multi-sectoral partnerships to address health and care workforce challenges and advance health systems towards universal health coverage and health security.
The outcomes will inform the United Nations General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting on UHC in September 2023.
The WHO is recommending that all countries increase the graduation of health personnel to reach 8 to 12 per cent of the active workforce per annum.
This means that a country with a total of 5000 physicians will need to graduate between 400 and 600 physicians each year to maintain and improve capacity in relation to population needs and health system demands. Health work force, country situation
Mr Agyeman-Manu said around half of the world’s health workers experienced burnt-out during the COVID-19 pandemic, while 55 countries faced serious shortages of health workers – exacerbated by the poaching of skilled staff by wealthier countries.
“Many countries are struggling to retain health workers, ensure they are equitably distributed, ensure an adequate skills mix, and battling to mitigate their health workers mobility and migration.
However, citing the country’s situation, Mr Agyeman-Manu said the issue of training and employing health workforce was as bleak as it looked in other African countries because the country was producing a huge number of health workforce who were expecting the government to employ them.
“The challenge is that the health sector is attracting a lot of the over a million products of the government’s free Senior High School graduates because the country has an automatic recruitment policy in the health sector after health training.
“The government can no longer soak that anymore so how do we continue to train and keep them.
This is a challenge and these are things we may have to look at when discussing protecting health investments,” he said. Applause
Mr Agyeman-Manu said although the country’s primary health system had been applauded globally, the country was not there yet.
“We all agree that more investments are required in the health workforce. We also need to protect health investments.
“The world is currently seeing inflation and low growth rate and the negative socio-economic impact of COVID-19,” he said.
He said the issue then was how individual countries and the global community could protect health investments as recommended in the face of all the challenges.
“If we continue to train without investments into facilities and scaling up equipment and all that, what would be the use of the workforce?” he querried.
He said during the COVID-19 active period, the country managed to recruit about 50, 000 plus additional health workers who were sitting in their homes doing nothing.
He said the number had been maintained but there still remained a huge backlog yet to be put on government payroll due to financial challenges.
The minister reiterated that health professionals in the country needed to upgrade themselves and improve their skills, hence the need to establish specialist colleges and introduce new programmes of specialisation that would be useful for the country. Africa Charter
Mr Agyeman Manu appealed to global delegates to support the Africa Health Workforce Investment Charter, which Ghana spearheaded last year after COVID-19 exposed continental weaknesses.
The charter aims to align and stimulate investments to half the inequalities in access to health workers, especially in countries with the greatest shortages.
“The 5.3 million shortage comes amid 30 per centunemployment or underemployment among graduates,” said Mr Manu.
“We are also adversely impacted by unmanaged migration.
This is not just an African problem for Africa.
The world is interdependent, and we must act together.
“It is time for governments to show leadership in health workforce investments.
It is time for us to align and synergise efforts with all partners in prioritising health workforce investments.
It is time to walk the talk,” Mr Agyeman-Manu concluded, appealing for global support for the charter. WHO response
The Director-General of the WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a response to the challenges, announced at the closing plenary that he would establish a multisectoral advisory group of experts that would provide him with the evidence for action in support of national health policy and workforce priorities.
“This advisory group will comprise government and partners with expertise in education, finance, gender, economy, health and labour, and will report to a WHO global policy group which will include me and the six regional directors,” he said
He said some of the key outcomes of the forum would be forwarded to the United Nations General Assembly’s High-Level Meetings on Universal Health Coverage and Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response in September 2023.
Director-General of the National Disaster Management Organization(NADMO), Eric Nana Agyeman-Prempeh, has urged for a strategic transition from a one-directional system to a multi-hazard strategy to managing disasters.
He said such a move was necessary in the wake of the frequency and intensity of disasters in Ghana.
He said technology and collaboration were key enablers in developing and implementing a multi-hazard approach to early warning response and disaster risk reduction.
“The devastating fire and flood disaster of June 3, 2015, in Accra is a classic example of a multi-disaster emergency that requires advanced technology to deal with it,” he noted.
He said out of the many disasters in Ghana, flooding was the most common that occurred every year and was managed by NADMO with a strong stakeholder collaboration.
Disaster forum
Nana Agyeman-Prempeh was speaking at an executive breakfast forum organised in Accra to discuss Ghana’s disaster risk reduction strategy.
Dubbed: “Israel-Ghana Emergency Preparedness and Crisis Management”, the forum provided a platform for stakeholders to discuss the country’s ability to deal with emergencies and manage crisis.
Disaster forum
The forum was organised by the Israel Economic and Trade Mission toGhanaand the Israel Export Institute, in collaboration with NADMO.
It brought together personnel from the security agencies and representatives from the Ghana Health Service, the Ghana Geological Survey Authority, the National Development Planning Commission and the National Signals Bureau.
Other participants came from CDD Ghana, the National Centre for Coordination of Early Warning and Response Mechanism, the Ghana Journalists Association, the Ghana Maritime Authority, the Ghana Institution of Engineers, and the Hydrological Services Department.
Five Israeli companies presented Israeli innovative solutions and technologies in the areas of communication, emergency preparedness and public safety, disaster management, and search and rescue areas.
Earthquake
In terms of earthquake, the Director-General of NADMO said records from the Ghana Geological Survey indicated 11 earth tremors on December 12, 2022, spanning nearly two-and-a-half hours.
He said such disasters, among others, made it critical to collaborate with international partners to adopt best practices.
Nana Agyeman-Prempeh said it was also to adhere to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030), an international document adopted by the United Nations (UN) member states, which called for the need for international collaborations.
“The Sendai framework priorities emphasise the need to invest in disaster risk reduction and the importance of establishing strong private sector collaboration,” he said.
Collaborations
The Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Sholmit Sufa, said she had so far witnessed the Appiatse mine explosion disaster, the annual rainfall flooding and the many fire outbreak incidents.
She said such situations called for a national conversation on emergency preparedness, crisis management and best practices to solve them.
She expressed excitement about the partnership, and the hope that some of the innovative solutions developed in Israel could be applied in Ghana to enhance emergency preparedness and crisis management.
“We also hope to highlight some key challenges related to Ghana’s emergency preparedness and crisis management that could have potential solutions from the state of Israel,” she added.
Private developers have been given a three-month deadline by theOforikrom Municipal Assemblyto acquire building permits before proceeding with their projects.
Failure to do so, according to the assembly, will leave it with no option than apply legal sanctions to defaulters.
Addressing assembly members and heads of departments of the assembly during the first ordinary assembly meeting of the fourth session of the second assembly, Municipal Chief Executive of Oforikom, Abraham Antwi said the move forms part of revenue mobilization drive to meet their revenue target this year.
“The Assembly’s revenue inflows for 2022 fiscal year were below expectation. The total revenue (internally generate funds and other statutory funds) received at the end of the year amounted to 12.7 million Ghana cedis representing 54.8 percent of the revenue target.
“The initiative this year is to embark on a revenue drive centered on building permit. Data would be collated on all properties with or without permits in our municipality. Those without building permits are to be given 3 months ultimatum to procure their permit. The assembly will take legal action against defaulters who fail to acquire the permit within the stipulated period”.
The MCE also noted, going forward the assembly will partner the Ghana Revenue Authorityto handle the collection of property rate using the unified common property rate platform for accountability and transparency purposes.
“GRA is in the process of recruiting 30 people as collectors purposely for the collection of the property rate”
The assembly members in the municipality have been implored to collaborate with the unit committee members and zonal councils to support the revenue mobilization drive.
The Volta Region’s Chiefs and People of Abutia in the Ho West District have urged the government to address the severe water shortage problem in the region.
Despite being a popular town close to Ho, the Volta Regional capital, access to potable water is a mirage.
The community has no running water.
The Paramount Chief of the Area, Togbega Abutia Kodzo Gidi, says water scarcity poses a major threat to the socio-economic livelihoods and health of his people.
Togbega Gidi made this known at the climax of their annual Asafotu Festival at Abutia-Teti.
Currently, the Ghana Water Company does not supply the area with potable water despite being a few kilometers away from its pipelines at Sokode, Abutia’s neighbouring community.
Over the years, boreholes and streams have been the source of water supply for the thousands of residents there.
Togbega Abutia Kodzo Gidi said the available sources of water supply cannot meet the demands of the Community, amidst an increasing population.
He said, ”the cost of regular maintenance on the boreholes has also become a challenge.”
Togbega Gidi therefore stressed the need for the government to intervene with the extension of Ghana Water Company’s pipelines as the major source of water supply to Abutia.
Thirty writers have received awards from theSamira Empowerment and Humanitarian Projects (SEHP), the non-profit group founded by Ghana’s second lady Samira Bawumia, for their extraordinary skill in the field of literacy.
The winners of the 2022 Samira Bawumia Literature Prize Awards were from various categories that included fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry. The winners were chosen from the over 1000 entries received for this year’s edition.
The winners – Gabriel Awuah Mainoo, Phinehas Osei and Henneh Kwaku Kyere – for the poetry, short fiction and non fiction categories respectively each took home a certificate, GHC 5000, a laptop and other souvenirs.
These writers now have the chance to get their works published in an anthology to help promote their works in the literacy space.
Speaking at the awards ceremony held at the University of Ghana, the Second Lady, Samira Bawumia urged Ghanaians to patronise the works of local writers to help boost their income.
“We need to cultivate the habit of seeking our Ghanaian writers and reading their works and so as to promote the act and also give them an income,” she said.
The Samira Bawumia Literature Prize is open to Ghanaians living in Ghana, aged between 18 and 30 at the time of the closing date. Entries must be original and entirely your own work.
The National Democratic Congress‘s (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, prospective presidential candidate will begin a three-day tour in the Eastern Region today.
Mr. Mahama will visit thirty-one (31) constituencies where he will meet and interact with branch and constituency executives. He has so far toured 7 regions, touching ground in 106 constituencies.
In the Eastern Region, former President Mahama will speak about his vision of “Building the Ghana we want together,” and why securing a convincing win in the NDC primaries will be a great boost for the 2024 presidential election.
He will also share his plans towards improving the party’s polling and electoral area campaign, through voter mobilizing and canvassing, and the effective utilization of campaign materials and resources.
Mr. Mahama has announced a reward scheme to recognize branches of the party that increase their polling station votes in both the parliamentary and presidential elections.
From the Eastern Region, ex-President Mahama will spend a day touring some constituencies in the Greater Accra Region on Friday, April 14, before heading to the Oti Region.
The CEO of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah, has made a request to Qatar Charity to support the construction of a recuperation area for both the parents and children who come to the hospital for cleft and palate surgery.
Dr. Ampomah lauded the charity organization for the support they are rendering to cleft and palate patients but mentioned that their challenge at the moment is a recovery ward to accommodate both old and new patients.
Dr. Ampomah added that, because the recovery blocks in thehospital are not enough, it creates some sought of competition among the recovery patients.
“I’m sure you have been around the ward and as you can imagine, we can actually triple our outputs but we are limited in space in terms of the ward space because the patients here have to compete with all the other plastic reconstructive cases so they have to compete for beds with contractures, progenitor deformities and all that.
“In fact, one of the dreams that we have is to expand our ward space so that we can do an extension on our ward so that we can have a bit more space. In that way, we can accommodate a lot of our patients, because what happens is that when they come in you know that for the cleft children, they cannot come alone they come with parents. So, we need to find somewhere for the parents to stay and how they’re going to be looked after and that is a bit of a challenge,” Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah explained.
Samira Bawumia, the second lady, has promised to make learning materials available in an effort to boost the nation’s existing literacy rate.
Making the pledge at the Samira Bawumia Literature Prize Awards ceremony in Accra on Thursday, the Second Lady said her Samira Empowerment & Humanitarian Projects (SEHP) will be intensified and commitments made to inculcate the habit of reading in Ghanaians.
Samira Bawumia noted that her outfit will continue to support aspiring young Ghanaian writers while contributing to the growing literary space in the country.
The awards ceremony held at theUniversity of Ghana’s Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER) Conference Hall in Accra, brought people from diverse backgrounds to celebrate the literary works of basic and secondary school students.
“We are going to continue with this awards ceremony and publish the anthology of all the winning entries and give it some breathing time and hold the next awards ceremony after a year,” the Second Lady said.
Contestants of the literacy challenge won various prizes worth thousands of Ghana Cedis.
The first-place winners were awarded laptops and cash prizes of GH¢5000, second-place winners were given GH¢3000, and GH¢2000 for third place winners and 4th to 10th place winners in each category were awarded GH¢1000.
According to research, many Ghanaiansare exposed to harmful health issues like liver and kidney damage as a result of the misuse of mercury by small-scale miners.
The chemical is used to extract precious minerals but researchers say it more often than not becomes a toxic substance with the potential to cause damage if not handled properly.
Mining and its impact continue to engage the attention of key stakeholders with unending calls for modern techniques to save the environment.
During his inaugural lecture, Vincent Kodzo Nartey, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Ghana, highlighted some major challenges associated with coming into contact with the chemical.
“Mercury never dies, thus the metal is rather converted to a more toxic and stable form in the environment and perceives forever and this is where the danger lies.
“As mercury is extensively used in gold extraction by both small scale and illegal miners, their activities expose Ghanaians to mercury contamination through drinking and inhaling of this mercury which is absolved to the blood, once in the circulatory system, it can pass through the blood-brain barrier and accumulate in the brain-damaging the central nervous system,” he explained the effects of the mercury in the system.
He noted that the research observed that “the critical target of elemental mercury is the adult and fatal brain, adding that “the critical target of lethal mercury are the brain and the kidneys.”
“With this background information, mercury is known to one – deteriorate the nervous system, impair hearing, speech, and vision.”
He went on to say that mercury abuse causes involuntary muscle movement, corrodes the skin and locus membranes, causes chewing and swallowing difficulties, it reduces reproductive access, impairs growth and development and causes liver and kidney damage and neurobehavioral effects and eventually death.”
As a result, he wants thegovernmentto restrict the sale and usage of mercury.
“The team calls on the government to enforce tighter control over the sales and usage of mercury. Tighter control over the activities of illegal gold mining should be implemented and sustained.”
He also urged the government to enforce accelerated adoption of cleaner technologies in gold mining in the refinery.
He also advised the government to start a health surveillance programme in mining communities to screen citizens for mercury exposure.
The leadership of the Ghana Immigration Servicehas paid a visit to the family of the officer who was murdered on Monday, April 3.
The late officer who was with two other officers was shot by unknown gunmen in Bawku in the Upper East Region whiles they were in a private vehicle toward town to get something to eat after work.
Three officers of the Immigration Service were shot at while driving from Bawkuto Missiga resulting in the death of 42-year-old Philip Motey.
The other two officers, Eric Ayibiya, 30, and Laurence Afri, 42, were also shot multiple times and are currently receiving treatment at the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital.
On the back of this, the leadership of the Ghana Immigration Service visited the family to commiserate and express their condolences.
Head of Public Affairs at the Ghana Immigration Service, Chief Superintendent Amoako-Atta addressing the family disclosed the willingness of the Immigration Service to provide a befitting burial for the late Motey.
“We have lost a gallant officer, you have lost a son and the country has lost a very hardworking and gallant Ghanaian in the service of his country and we are here to commiserate with the family and let you know that whatever it takes to give our departed officer, brother, son, a befitting farewell, we are ready to do that.”
Family members of the late officer could not hide their grief as they were seen visibly wailing about the passage of their beloved brother.
Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation, and Rural Development, Daniel Botwe, has lauded the Administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), Mrs. Irene Addo Lartey, for completing an office block for the Local Government Service.
Provision of the edifice, he said, is in line with Government’s agenda to deepen decentralization in response to Article 20 of the Constitution.
The Service, he said, is being equipped with the necessary facilities to enable it to accomplish its obligations.
These remarks were contained in a solidarity message delivered on behalf of the Minister at the commissioning of the new office block for the Office of the Head of the Local Government Service (OHLGS) on Wednesday 5th April 2023.
Dan Botwe disclosed that since the establishment of the Local Government Service, one of its major challenges has been inadequate office accommodation.
The Management and staff of the Office of the Head of the Local Government Service, he said, have had to operate from limited office accommodation over the years.
He said, “It, therefore, comes as a relief to commission this ultramodern office facility, which is a result of the collaboration of the Ministry, the Office of the District Assembly Common Fund, and the Office of the Head of the Local Government Service.”
“I commend, the Administrator, Mrs. Irene Addo Lartey for her special interest and effort in seeing to the completion of this edifice.” He urged the Head of Service, his Management, and his staff to put to good use the support government has provided by constructing the Office Block.
He assured provision of the office accommodation should enable the Head of Service to deploy the appropriate human resource to perform to its maximum capacity.
He also urged the staff of the Service to utilize the facility proficiently and to ensure efficient and effective service delivery. He expressed hope the Office Block will position the OHLGS to collaborate effectively with the Ministry to drive the decentralization Agenda.
In his welcome address, the Head of the LGS, Ing. Dr. Nana Ato Arthur disclosed that one of the challenges the Service has had to deal with for the past years was limited space for staff to engage in their official business. He said a cursory walk through some of the offices of the OHLGS showed a picture of overcrowding and congestion, which had an adverse effect on the productivity of staff and did not also auger well for an institution that had the mandate of administrative decentralization in the country.
According to him, although the need for additional office space was long overdue, the completion of the block brings great relief to him as Head and the OHLGS as a whole.
“This new office block is a five-story building with features that have been designed to include interactive spaces for the comfort of staff and visitors alike.”
“And it will surprise you to know that with the hard work of the Contractor, this project was completed within 20 months at a cost of GH¢30 million,” he disclosed.
Dr. Ato Arthur thanked the government, the Minister, the DACF Administrator, the Contractor, the Consultant, and all who worked tirelessly toward the successful execution of the project.
Dr. Clement Apaak, a member of parliament representingBuilsa South, has said that the government has not given the country’s education sector enough priority.
This comes on the back of scores of caterers on the school feeding programme in the Ashanti region who were left in a shock, when the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah snubbed them, on Monday April 3, 2023.
The aggrieved traders had gone to the Regional Coordinating Council to present a petition.
For weeks now these caterers in Ashanti region have been protesting for the release of payments which is almost a year in arrears, and an upward adjustment of the allocation fee, from 97 pesewas per head to GHc3.
They have attributed the demand for adjustment to hikes in prices of food stuff and other food commodities on market.
Commenting on the development on Starr News the lawmaker questioned why the government can neglect education and use public funds for other ventures.
“The question some of us have continued to ask is why for example we will owe school feeding caterers we are not making any efforts to pay them. But the government deem it fit to use taxpayers’ money in excess of three hundred million Ghana cedis towards the construction of personally pledge Cathedral?” Mr. Apaak asked.
He continued: “Then you will also juxtapose with what many of us considered as the misuse of public resources with regards to the President chartering and flying in private jets. So if you want the truth it is that the government simply has failed not to prioritize what is most basic and most important as far as Ghanaians are concerned. It is so simple, there is no other explanation to it.”
The Business Senior High School‘s boys dormitory block has completely been destroyed by fire in the Sagnerigu municipality of the Northern Region, injuring one student.
According to fire officials, the incident which happened on Thursday dawn affected the school prefect’s room.
Firefighters say at the time of the incident, only one student was in the room as schools are on Easter break.
The Northern regional PRO of the Ghana National fire service, ADO 2 Baba Hudu told Citi News that the timely intervention of his men prevented the fire from spreading to other rooms.
At Sefwi Anwiam in the Sefwi Wiawso Municipalityof the Western North Region, a 43-year-old man Kwadwo Affum, has been stabbed to death.
The sudden incident occurred on Wednesday, 5th April 2023 around 7:30 pm near the house of the deceased.
According to reports, the suspect, Adamu Buzanga popularly known as Biegya who is in his late 50s has been living peacefully with the deceased in the same vicinity for a couple of years until Wednesday’s encounter.
Even though Kwadwo Affum is said to have separated from his wife, he left behind five children consisting of four boys and a girl between the ages of one and sixteen.
The matter has been reported to the Sefwi Wiawso District Police Command. The Police team managed to rescue the suspect from a mob action and put him in police custody on Wednesday night.
The Assemblyman for Sefwi Anwiam, Isaac Asante who kept the suspect in his house until the arrival of the police told Citi News the mob pursued the suspect and his family in their quest to take revenge on him.
Investigations into issues related to the filing of nominations by Parliamentary Candidates from the Ayawaso West Wuogon seat have begun, this is according to theNational Democratic Congress(NDC) in the Greater Accra Region.
Three aspirants, John Dumelo, Frederick Nuamah and Moses Baafi Acheampong were expected to have faced the vetting committee on Monday, but the session was rescheduled to Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the vetting was suspended until further notice.
Speaking to journalists, the Secretary of the Greater Accra Regional branch of the NDC and member of the vetting committee, Theophilus Tetteh Chaie says the outcome of the probe would determine the next line of action for the constituency.
“There were some challenges with filing online on the last day. Looking at the two aspirants there were some anomalies, although they claim to have gone through with the process, so our leadership is investigating the matter, so we get the true state of affairs. Once they are done and give us some advice, we will call the constituency and hold the vetting.”
Branch executives have indicated that they are satisfied with any decision taken in the interest of the party.
39 NDC Parliamentary aspirants in various constituencies in the Greater Accra region have been vetted today.
The vetting which started on Monday has seen the approval of 26 aspirants and one person being disqualified.
To recover all arrears due by consumers, the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has begun a national revenue mobilization exercise.
The company is out to collect about GH₵800 million in debts as of January this year, up from GH₵684 million debts that stood on the company’s books as of January 2022.
This was when in September 2022, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) increased the average end-user tariff for water by 21.55 per cent, increasing the debt situation to GH₵800 million.
Out of the amount, private companies and individuals account for 90 per cent, while government institutions account for 10 per cent.
According to the GWCL, whereas the government institutions had been making efforts to settle their debt, consumers in the private sector had been quoting unfavourable business conditions for the accumulation of their debts.
Teshie/Nungua
In view of that, the Managing Director of GWCL, Dr Clifford Braimah, yesterday joined a revenue mobilisation task force team from its Accra East District to collect or disconnect private industries who owed the company.
The team visited the D.U. Fresh Company, Kata Company Limited, Printex Limited, Interplast Limited and Waka Building Limited.
Interplast Limited was in good standing, but Waka Building Limited, Printex Limited and Kata Company Limited proceeded to settle part of their arrears.
However, D.U. Fresh Company, which owed GH¢163,000, was disconnected for failing to settle its arrears.
Dr Braimah noted that the affected customers would be made to settle arrears in full and pay reconnection fees before they would be reconnected.
Enforcement exercise
The GWCL MD said the enforcement was successful considering how majority of the industries were willing to settle their arrears.
He mentioned that the GWCL would not tolerate customers who refused to settle their arrears with the excuse that they did not have water flowing through their taps.
“We are not a prepaid company; we are a postpaid company.
This means that we collect bills on water consumed,” he said, explaining that what had been consumed involved the usage of chemicals and electricity by the GWLC.
Dr Braimah, however, urged the company’s customers to utilise its online platforms such as the GWCL App or pay via mobile money for convenience.
He expressed the hope that the GWCL would mobilise more than 50 per cent of money owed it nationwide by the end of April.
Illegal activities
At Tema, the Deputy Managing Director of GWCL in charge of Operations, Peter De-veer, said arrears as of April 3, 2023, was GH¢140 million.
He noted that it had become expensive to produce water because of activities such as illegal mining, sand winning and farming either inside or close to the river bodies.
Mr De-veer said the GWCL used foreign exchange to procure chemicals to treat the polluted water to meet World Health Organisation standards.
He noted that such activities increased the turbidity of the rivers where GWCL extracted water for treatment.
A campaign to raise awareness about glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency has been launched by students from the development communication department of communication studies at theUniversity of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).
The aim of the campaign is to educate members of the University Community and the general public about the importance of knowing their G6PD status.
G6PD deficiency is a genetic condition that causes red blood cells to break down when the body is exposed to certain foods, drugs, infections or stress. UPSA Development Communication students launch G6PD deficiency awareness campaign
The deficiency occurs when a person is missing or has low levels of the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase enzyme.
Speaking at a symposium to build public awareness of the condition, Sandra Yeboah, a Project Lead and Development Communication lecturer at UPSA, shared her near-death experience with G6PD deficiency and emphasised the need for the disease to be given the attention it deserves.
Madam Yeboah called for the inclusion of the G6PD deficiency test in all mandatory medical examinations in the country to help people know their status. UPSA Development Communication students launch G6PD deficiency awareness campaign
She believes that this will improve patients’ lives and spur more research.
Dr Worlanyo Senadza, a medical practitioner at the UPSA Medical Directorate, explained that the destruction of red blood cells can be triggered by certain foods, such as fava beans, and certain medicines, including antimalarial medication, aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), quinidine, sulpha drugs, and antibiotics, among others.
He said although G6PD deficiency is rarely a life-threatening condition, it can cause serious medical conditions such as hemolytic anemia in adults and severe jaundice in newborns.
The Head of the Department of Communication Studies, Dr Adwoa Sikayena Amankwah commended the final-year communication students for their project, which she described as the “first of its kind.” UPSA Development Communication students launch G6PD deficiency awareness campaign
She revealed that the Department will incorporate the awareness campaign into its yearly programme, where final year students pursuing the Development Communications course can showcase their academic creativity through communication initiatives that address social issues and contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.
Dr Amankwah highlighted the role of the faculty in guiding students with the theoretical and practical knowledge necessary to bring out the best in them.
“Our role as faculty is to guide you with the theoretical and practical knowledge necessary to bring out the best in you, the initiatives in you, the creativity in you, and the latent talent in you,” she said.
“This is what UPSA is about, and I am personally excited to be part of this initiative.”
According to theWorld Bank‘s April 2023 Africa Pulse Report, Ghana’s growth rate has been reduced to less than 2.0% in 2023, ranking it 29th in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This is lower than the 2.7% it earlier projected.
According to the Bretton Wood institution, the expected low growth rate in the country is due to deleterious global shocks and heightened macroeconomic instability.
“In Ghana, more timely data highlight the weakness of economic activity amid the deleterious global shocks and heightened macroeconomic instability”.
It further said government consumption has declined on the back of high debt service and restricted access to international capital markets, adding, business and consumer confidence slumped in late 2022. However, the Purchasing Managers Index is gradually picking up and signaling an expansion in economic activity (50.2 in February 2023).
Continuing, it pointed out that the Ghanaian economy has been struggling with high levels of public debt and elevated inflation fueled by a sharp weakening of the cedi.
“Growth in Ghana is expected to have slowed in 2022 to 3.2%, down from 5.4% in 2021 and far below the country’s average pre-pandemic performance (6.1%)”.
“The economy has been struggling with high levels of public debt and elevated inflation (52.8 percent in February 2023) fueled by a sharp weakening of the cedi (a cumulative depreciation of 40 percent in 2022 and about 20 percent in 2023 so far)”, it added. World Bank lowers Ghana’s growth rate to below 2% in 2023
To curb the rising inflation, it said the Bank of Ghana raised its policy rate by a record 1,500 basis points to 29.5% in March 2023, from 14.5% in December 2021.
The World Bank added that the recovery of economic activity in Sub-Saharan Africa is multispeed, with wide variation across countries.
Sub-Saharan African countries growth characterised as divergent and multispeed
Congo DR will become the fastest growing country in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2023.
The World Bank said the recovery of economic activity in Sub-Saharan Africa is multispeed, with wide variation across countries.
“The region’s moderate growth in 2022 was associated with large countries on the continent registering growth rates that were lower than their long-term average”.
Broadly, more than half of the countries in the region are growing at rates below their long-term average. Among the 10 largest economies in Sub-Saharan Africa—which represent more than three quarters of the region’s GDP—eight are growing at rates that are below their long-term average growth.
Sudan, Nigeria, Angola, and Ethiopia are among the countries with weaker performance compared to their long-term growth rates.
Economy to grow at 2.8% in 2023 – Finance Minister
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta during the presentation of the 2023 Budget in November said the economy will expand by 2.8% in 2023.
“The economy is expected to rebound from 2024 and grow steadily in the medium term to record an average growth of 4.8 percent over the period (between) 2024 and 2026,” he said.
The services sector would “remain the dominant sector over the medium term in percentage contribution to overall national output, followed by industry and agriculture,” he pointed out.
University admission fees should be abolished, according to Rockson Neslon Dafeamekpor, member of parliament for South Dayi.
He has questioned why online application forms that are filled out and submitted electronically are subject to fees of up to GH¢300.
According to the MP, this is a form of extortion used by universities to the detriment of Ghanaians seeking a university education.
He went on to say that, as a member of the public accounts committee, he has had the opportunity to question vice-chancellors who appear before the committee about why they commit what he calls fraud.
He claims that universityofficials usually avoid the subject without responding appropriately.
Mr. Dafeamekpor also stated that he is advocating for the course on the floor of parliament and hopes for success revealing that he is advocating for the course on the floor of parliament and hopes to persuade universities to waive application fees.
The MP made the call during a brief ceremony to present cheques to students on partial scholarships as part of his allocation of the MP’s common fund.
Mr. Dafeamekpor urged the beneficiaries to study hard and return to lend their support to the district.
“I wish you all the best as you get back to school. I urge you all to study hard and return to support the district and take over my position when I hang my boots. And, please produce a lot of academic work on the district so that it will be easy to refer to us,” he said.
A total of one thousand soldiers of the Special Forces have been sent to Bawku in the Upper East Region.
The presence of the Special Forces is intended to increase security while also assisting investigation into the killers who are still on the loose.
The Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu made this known in an interview on JoyNews’ AM Show on Wednesday.
“REGSEC, we are intensifying, government is helping us by bringing in Special Forces to Bawku, about 1,000 of them both police and soldiers.”
He added that “some are already at Bawku. Camps are already being built to house these soldiers.”
Other measures, he claims, have been put in place to improve regional security, but he declined to elaborate.
Mr Yakubu urged civil society and individuals to come forward with any information they may have about the incident.
Despite the fact that no arrests have yet been made, he claims that authorities in Bawku are working round the clock to make arrests.
“I can tell you that we are in control of the situation. Government is helping us otherwise it would have been worse than this,” he assured.
Meanwhile, the Bawku Central MP, Mahama Ayariga has condemned the attack on personnel of the Ghana Immigration Service(GIS) which occurred on Monday, April 3, 2023.
In a press release, the legislator said it was worrying that people would be killed in their line of duty.
He, however, assured that an inquiry will be conducted into the matter.
“This is most reprehensible and should not be repeated again. An investigation into the matter must be conducted and the perpetrators brought to book,” the April 4 release read.
