The vehicle of the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Ga Central, Bashiru Mohammed, has been impounded for driving against traffic and using strobe lights.
He was driving along the airport bypass on Tuesday when he was intercepted by Citi TV’s War Against Indiscipline team.
He was expected in court on Friday, October 7, 2022, together with other road traffic offenders, but has since failed to show up.
The War Against Indiscipline team has impounded six more vehicles at the Community 18 Junction on the Accra-Tema motorway for wrong U-turns and posing danger to other motorists and their own lives.
An Economist, Lord Mensah, has backed assertions of Ghana’s economy by the World Bank.
According to him, the World Bank being an external body gives an accurate measure of the country’s debts and growth prospects.
He noted that the stakeholders in Ghana do not capture the true state of Ghana’s situation in its accounting of the country’s debts.
“Being an external stakeholder of this economy, it is anticipated that once in a while, they’ll come and give us their perspective of the Ghanaian economy. And truly, what they said is a reflection of what is happening on the grounds,” he is quoted by myjoyonline.com.
He added that: “Looking at our debt, I think we’ve been calculating our debt without the contingent liabilities over the years, and if I say contingent liabilities, what I mean is the liabilities that have some inflows to them so we think it is not debt.”
“And we should know that all those inflows that are tied to this debt operate under a certain umbrella which is the economy. So, if the economy is not doing well, obviously those inflows will also be impaired and it can affect your debt payment,” Lord Mensah explained.
The World Bank in the latest report stated that Ghana is currently a high-debt-distressed country with a debt-to-GPD ratio of 104%.
Meanwhile, data released by the Bank of Ghana suggested that Ghana’s public debt stands at GH¢402 billion representing 68% of GDP.
As part of efforts to bridge the access gap within Africa for digital literacy, a team of individuals have developed a unique mobile application to serve this purpose.
The aim of the app which is known as ‘Nimde3’ seeks to provide basic to intermediate IT skills which can be accessed through respective local and foreign languages.
Executive Director of Slamm Foundation, Francisca Boateng, taking her turn on GhanaWeb TV’s BizTech emphasised the importance of infusing digital technologies to bridge Africa’s literacy gap and access to education.
She explained that although some 50 percent of the world’s population have access to the internet, there still remains a fraction of about 20 percent without access to digital education.
“The rationale behind developing this mobile application is to bridge the literacy app and offer access to education. We are targeting to reach some 1 million people who can gain access by using the mobile application which offers wide-ranging IT education,” Francisca Boateng said.
A UK-based Ghanaian sewerage system expert Enerst Kwaku Kobea, has urged the government to build underground storage tanks to store volumes of flood water that wreaks havoc whenever it rains.
His call comes after scores of residents in the Ga South Municipality of the Greater Accra Region have been displaced with several others trapped in their homes as Ashalaja, Weija, Oblogo and Tetegu areas flood.
The residents have described it as a crisis situation as many homes have nearly been submerged. Some have had to use canoes to avoid drowning. They describe the situation as a crisis.
According to them, the flood is a result of an overflow of the Weija dam.
Speaking on Ghana Kasa on Kasapa 102.5FM/Agoo TV, Enerst Kwaku Kobea, said the construction of underground tanks is the way to go in ending the perennial flooding, especially in the country’s capital.
He added that the government must find the funds to construct the underground tanks and sewerage system to conserve water for reuse when it rains heavily.
“This same system can also supply potable water to the citizenry. Underground tanks will have to be built because our land in Ghana is solid, we can dig 20 feet down, and 20 feet up so that the water that is spilled which wreaks will all go into that huge tanks. We can also build an underground sewerage system so that rain that falls in Takoradi, Cape Coast etcetera can be diverted to the Weija Dam so that the dam will be the main water supply for Ghana.
“This should be simple for the government to do to avert the loss of lives and property when it rains. Government should not give excuses but find the funds to construct these underground tanks which are very important.”
An aspiring Constituency Chairman for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Abura Asebu Kwamankese Constituency in the Central Region has become paralyzed a day before appearing before a vetting Committee in the Constituency.
Information gathered revealed that the aspirant, Vicent Koomsom, 24 hours prior to the vetting exercise suddenly lost the strength in his legs as soon as he got down from his vehicle.
The incident has thrown family and friends into a state of shock as they believe there’s been some spiritual orchestration because he’d been very strong and active all this while.
He’s said to have driven his own vehicle to where he became paralyzed.
Vicent Koomsom was eventually disqualified from the Chairmanship race for unknown reasons. He later filed an appeal to the Regional Vetting Committee but his disqualification was still upheld.
According to his supporters, the man has helped the party in the Abura Asebu Kwamankese Constituency and it’s time he should be allowed to lead the party to wrestle power in the 2024 general election.
They warned that the NDC will lose in the constituency if Vicent Koomsom is denied the opportunity to contest the position.
He appeared at the NDC Central Regional Office in a wheelchair to defend his disqualification but the earlier decision was not overturned and consequently filed another petition yet to be studied.
Vicent Koomsom’s supporters have accused former Deputy Minister of Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu who was the 2020 Parliamentary candidate for the area of having a hand in his disqualification.
However, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has vehemently denied that accusation saying the vetting Committee used the party’s rules and regulations in the discharge of their duty and was fair to all aspirants that appeared before them.
It is the last constituency in the Greater Accra Region before entering the Central Region at Kasoa.
With a voter population of 111,000 going by the 2020 general election, Bortianor-Ngleshie-Amanfro Constituency in the Ga South Municipality has been grappling with multiple developmental issues since its creation in 2012.
Bordered by the Weija-Gbawe Constituency to the east, Awutu Senya East Constituency to the western north, the Gomoa East Constituency to the western south area and Domeabra-Obom Constituency to the north, this coastal constituency covers Aplaku, Bortianor, Oshiyie, Kokrobite, Tuba and parts of Weija.
Swing constituency
Although relatively young, the constituency, one of the 34 constituencies in the region, has politically become a swing seat. It has since its creation voted both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament (MPs).
Its current MP is Sylvester Tetteh, who clinched the seat on the ticket of the NPP in 2020. He is the third MP of the constituency.
Saad Habib was his predecessor, who also stood on the ticket of the NPP to assume that office in 2016, while the NDC MP for the area, Bright Kodzo Demordzi, was the pacesetter in running the affairs of the constituency in 2012.
The 2024 Elections, therefore, remain the litmus test case for the ruling NPP and the opposition NDC as to who will clinch that seat and represent the constituency in the Ninth Parliament from January 7, 2025.
Demographics
The constituency has a mix of both formal and informal workers made up of politicians, civil and public servants, teachers, traders, commercial drivers, fishermen and farmers, among others.
1DIF
In spite of challenges, the constituency is a beneficiary of two factories currently operating under the government’s One-District, one-factory policy. One of them, Everpure Ghana Limited, is sited at Tomefa in Ngleshie Amanfro. The factory produces sachet and bottled water. The other factory established to produce diapers, known as Sunda International, is located at Dunkona.
Major Challenges
Bad roads, inadequate drains, bridges, perennial flooding and faulty or inadequate streetlights are among the major challenges facing the constituency.
Other challenges are youth unemployment with some involved in land guardism, lack of potable water and security.
Roads
Just about two per cent of the 1,700 kilometres of the roads in the area have been tarred.
Four taxi drivers at the Galilea Market taxi rank, Nyavlo Mawuli, Emmanuel Mensah, Richard Agyakwa and Christopher Yaw Ahiable, who spoke to the Daily Graphic, called for the roads, bridges, drains and streetlights to be properly examined and fixed.
They said a good stretch of road at Aplaku, and that leading from Ajasco Junction to Red Top the West Hills Mall were in deplorable state. Kuwait, Holy Market and Emmanuel Estates roads need to be put in good shape.
They also mentioned the non-functional streetlights in some areas including around the Ga South Municipal Assembly that must be urgently fixed.
The taxi drivers were of the view that most of the gutters and drains in the constituency had not been either desilted or were defective thereby causing flooding and damage to the roads.
Two teachers, Florence Baidoo and Justus Abban, also reiterated the need to provide more drains and fix the bad roads around the Ngleshi Amanfro Kingstown Black Gate area.
Flooding in the area, they explained, could be minimised if the drains were provided. It would also help to reduce the negative impact on the deplorable roads.
Opinion leaders
Two opinion leaders, Francis Tetteh and Nii Armah Bannerman, both expressed worry about the floods in the area, which they noted was usually caused by unauthorised structures built on watercourses.
A trader, Rosemary Addai, described the Kingstown area of Ngleshi Amanfro as “an SOS situation” because the lack of drainage systems and properly laid out roads and lanes result in intense flooding.
She pointed out that areas such as the Black Gate stretch through to Fear God and the Darius International School vicinities were among the most affected areas of flooding during the rainy season.
The residents, therefore, called on the Ga South Municipal Assembly and the MP to push harder to save the situation as well as the residents.
Opposition
The Constituency Secretary of the NDC, Sam Ampiah said from Red Top to New Bortianor to Broadcasting area there were many houses that did not have pipe-borne water and so they have drilled boreholes to provide water for the households.
“You need to have a borehole, if you don’t drill it, you will be compelled to buy at least GH¢700 worth of water from water tanker operators per week,” he stated.
The secretary, therefore, called on the government to fast track the pace of development in the constituency because its level of infrastructure, particularly the roads, was not the best.
Some residents, including commercial drivers, teachers, opinion leaders and traders, also expressed concerns about the challenges and called on duty bearers to urgently address them.
Projects
When contacted, the Municipal Chief Executive for the Ga South Municipal Assembly, Joseph Nyarni Stephen, outlined some projects which were ready for inauguration.
They include a Divisional Police Headquarters at Tuba and a community centre at Ngleshie Amanfro.
Other projects are at various stages of completion include the male ward at Ngleshie Amanfro Polyclinic, the Mother and Child Unit at Obom Health Centre and a two-storey six unit classroom block at Ashalaja.
Work is also ongoing to complete a two-unit Kindergarten block at the Bortianor Municipal Assembly (M/A) Basic School.
Acknowledgement
The MP for the area, Slyvester Tetteh told the Daily Graphic that at the time he assumed office, less than two per cent of the 1,700 kilometres of the roads in the area had been tarred, saying that “it tells you the enormity of the challenge we have in the road sector”.
He admitted being aware of the displeasure of residents about the poor state of roads in the communities.
Mr Tetteh, however, revealed that funding had been a challenge for successive governments to be able to put roads in the area in good shape.
“I am very much aware of the challenges but I never promised that I was going to fix all roads; rather I pledged to play an advocacy role and lobby for the road sector to get a facelift,” Mr Tetteh indicated.
Minister visits
The MP stated that apart from bringing the sector minister to assess the poor roads himself to understand the nature of the problem in the constituency, he had initiated steps to get some of them to be awarded on contract.
They include the Broadcasting and American roads, which had been tarred but yet to be asphalted to give it a longer lifespan.
The Finney Hospital road and Bortianor-Chokome road were awarded but the contractors abandoned sites and the projects had been rewarded on contract, Mr Tetteh explained.
The MP further stated that Amanfro and New Bortianor roads now had asphalt overlays.
He said about 30km of key roads had been approved for construction. They include the Ajasco to Red Top area popularly called Odakona to the West Hills Mall area.
A contract has also been signed for the rehabilitation of the 6.4km Chinese-Red Top-Ajasco junction road.
Other areas earmarked for rehabilitation are the Fulani area in New Bortianor, Babadogo, Odasiman, Lighthouse areas, and Akpasa enclave to Ayalolo in Bortianor.
The biggest of all the contracts awarded described as the coastal roads is the 24km old barrier to Tuba junction road which is in a deplorable state. When completed the MP explained, it would be asphalted to give it a longer lifespan.
“This road is a very strategic road because it serves as a link road to all the tourism potentials in the entire area,” Mr Tetteh observed.
Drains, challenges
On drains, he said about 40km of drains in the constituency have been earmarked for construction.
“All that we are talking about, approvals have been given but it all boils down to the capacity of contractors and funding; this is because the government does not give mobilisation for road construction,” he further explained.
Other sectors
The MP indicated that sectors such as education, health, sports, youth employment, security, women empowerment had all received attention during his tenure.
The projects include roofing and completion of a five-bed maternity ward for Kokrobite health centre, and the employment of over 40 youth under an initiative dubbed “C.V. Clinic for Youth”.
Other projects include training of 50 women in entrepreneurship development with Seed capital provided to the beneficiaries, completion of 1,000-seater Astro Turf at Tuba, with two more earmarked for construction in communities yet to be identified.
Two new Judges were on Thursday, 6th October2022 sworn-in for the ECOWAS Court of Justice by the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Community, President UmaroSissoco Embalo of Guinea Bissau at a ceremony in Bissau.
Justices Sengu Mohammed Koroma from Sierra Leone and Claudio Monteiro Goncalves from Cape Verde will replace Justices Keikura Bangura and Januaria Tavares Silva Moreira Costa from Sierra Leone and Cape Verde respectively who justcompleted their tenure at the Court.
The new judges will join the President of the Court, Justice Edward Amoako Asante from Ghana, the Vice President, Justice Gberi-be Ouattara from Cote d’Ivoire and Justice Dupe Atoki from Nigeria, whoseterms were renewed by the Heads of State and Government of the Community.
Following their swearing in, the President of the Court, Justice Asante welcomed them to the team and expressed the hope that they will contribute to strenghtening the Court’s rich jurisprudence duringtheir four year tenure.
The President, who was among dignataries at the ceremony added : ‘ We are excited at theirappointment by the leaders of ECOWAS and look forward to their resumption of duty so that they cancontribute their quota to reducing the Court’s bulging cases docket.’
The bodyguard of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Suleiman Salifu has presented 60 bags of cement and Ghc12,000 cash to victims of recent flood disaster at Koforidua Asokore Zongo community.
A taxi driver died after building collapsed on him having rescued occupants of the house trapped by the flood.
Dozens of residents were displaced by the flood caused by overflow of Nsukwao river.
A week after the disaster the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) is yet to provide relief items for the victims.
Suleiman Salifu bodyguard to the Vice President who is about to be outdoor as Chief of Koforidua Asokore Zongo, on Thursday October 6,2022 dashed to the community to make the presentation to the community.
He told Starr News Dr. Bawumia was disturbed by the situation hence supported him to mobilize resources to come to the aid of the victims.
Sulaiman Salifu said the Asokore Zongo community needs some basic social amenities hence about 200 streetlights will be provided to illuminate the community to improve security.
Additionally,he is engaging Zongo Development Fund for construction of boreholes and drainage facilities to curb the perennial flooding in the community.
“At this moment we trying to speak to Zongo Development Fund for Boreholes ,and then two toilets for the community .I have already written the letter so we will push it .We are looking for about 200 streetlights so that we can give it to the community because now we’ve realized that there are somethings going on in the community that is really disturbing .People are selling drugs here and it is giving us problem that is what we even have to put lights everywhere to take that thing out of Zongo” Sulaiman Salifu said.
Some of the victims were grateful to Vice President’s bodyguard for the kind gesture.
Assembly member for Asokore Zongo Electoral area Mumuni Laminu said the donation is timely given that most of the victims are struggling due to lack of support after the disaster.
Almost a week after the flood disaster occured in New Juaben North, victims are yet to receive relief items despite lossing everything to the floods.
203 households were both collapsed completely and partially damaged.
One person died whilst 2686 made up of 977 children and 1708 adults displaced by the floods.
Five basic schools in the municipality which include Akwadum M/A Junior High School and Islamic Basic JHS all in Akwadum and other communities have been shut down due to the floods.
The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has commenced investigations into over 400 public officials who have failed to declare their assets.
CHRAJ explains that 284 of the cases being investigated were brought to its attention in August this year.
The Constitution demands that any person who holds public office must submit a declaration of assets to the Auditor General, within three months of coming into office.
Speaking at a forum in Accra, the Director of Anti-Corruption at CHRAJ, Stephen Azantilow, decried the failure of public officers to comply with the requirement.
”There are some public officials who have made up their minds never to declare their assets.”
“We at CHRAJ also feel helpless because when we have a law that doesn’t compel these people to declare their assets it becomes a challenge,” he added.
With family members of some injured persons in the Ejura shooting incidents agitating for compensation, it has emerged that the Attorney-General (AG) gave a piece of legal advice in July this year for compensation to be paid.
In a letter cited by the Daily Graphic, the A-G, Godfred Yeboah Dame, advised the government to compensate three injured victims of the incident with about GH¢1.28 million.
The three injured persons captured in the A-G’s advice for compensation are Louis Ayipka, 30; Nazif Nuhu, 20, and Awal Mesbawu, 16.
Per the letter, the A-G advised that Ayikpa should be compensated with GH¢347,953, Nuhu should get GH¢192,425, and Mesbawu should be given GH¢678,519.
Apart from the compensation, the A-G also advised the government to implement a recommendation by a Medical Board for the victims to be given medical and psychosocial care.
The letter, dated July 12, this year was addressed to the Minister of Interior, Ambrose Dery.
Family agitates
Last Wednesday, the family of the three injured persons called on the government to pay them compensation as recommended by the Justice Koomson’s Committee.
At a press conference in Accra, the family further urged the A-G to expedite action on the prosecution of those suspected to have killed Yussif and Suraj.
According to the family, after submitting all the required medical documents needed to effect the payment, they had so far not received any acknowledgement indicating receipt of the documents.
Report
On June 29, last year, Abdul Nasir Yussif and Murtala Suraj Mohammed died from gunshots from joint police and military team during activities related to the burial of a social activist in the area, Ibrahim Muhammed, popularly known as Kaaka.
Three other persons — Ayikpa, Nuhu and Mesbawu — got injured in the incident.
A committee set up by the Minister for the Interior to investigate the matter submitted its report in September last year.
The committee, chaired by a Justice of the Court of Appeal, Justice Kingsley Koomson, in its report, recommended that the families of the two young men who lost their lives in the shooting incident must be compensated.
It further recommended that the three injured persons must also be compensated.
While the government had since compensated the families of the two young men who lost their lives in the shooting incident, the injured persons are yet to be compensated.
On what went into arriving at the compensation for each of the three persons, the A-G relied on certain factors used to award compensation in some case law.
These were permanent physical disability or impairment, disruption of education, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, ongoing medical care needs, loss of future earnings, reimbursement of the cost of medical treatments, increase in living expenses among others. The A-G also factored in the national minimum wage and transportation cost, among other factors.
Regarding the medical and psychosocial care, the A-G advised that all three should be given psychosocial support as recommended by the medical board.
“In the case of Awal Mesbawu, the appropriate functional prosthesis should be provided to him to assist in mobilisation as recommended by the medical board,” the A-G said.
Boxing legend Azumah Nelson says he feels fulfilled in life after an illustrious career in the ring and all the good things in life but maintains his greatest need currently are prayers by Ghanaians for divine protection, good health and guidance.
At 63 years, Azumah says seeking the face of God is his biggest priority today after being blessed with a boxing career many can only dream of as a three time world champion in two divisions and a member of the exclusive International Boxing Hall of Fame.
“For now, the only thing I need from Ghanaians is regular prayers for God to guide, protect and bless me with good health so I can continue to be a blessing to the nation in various ways,” he told the Graphic Sports in an exclusive interview.
Azumah defeated the feared Wilfredo Gomez in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to win the WBC featherweight title in 1984. He defended the title six times over the next three years and in 1988 he defeated the tough Mexican boxer Mario ‘Azabache’ Martinez in Los Angeles to win the vacant WBC super featherweight title.
Life after boxing
The legend retired in 1998 and is engaged in boxing promotion by organising the ‘Azumah Nelson Fight Nights, speaking at corporate events and also playing the role as brand ambassador for DE-LUXY Paints and for oil marketing giants GOIL.
Today, Azumah looks back at his career and life with a sense of fulfilment, particularly for the love he’s enjoyed from Ghanaians in and out of the ring.
“I am okay, and thank God for my life. I give glory to God for all that He has done for me. I also want to thank all Ghanaians sincerely for their continuous support for me during my active days.
“They always kept vigil to pray and watch me displaying my skills in the ring and that support brought me this far. This explains why I want to use this opportunity to appreciate them,” he said.
Regarded as the greatest African boxer of all time, Azumah is among a few champions to have held a WBC world title for a decade undefeated. He wants younger boxers to realise that there is intense competition out there, so it is even more difficult to hold on to a title than to work one’s way up to the top as a world champion.
Advice for youth
“They [present generation] should not merely dream to be world champions without knowing how to keep their titles. This is because if you joke with your title, a hungrier opponent will humiliate you before snatching your title belt from you,” he advised.
More than two decades since hanging his gloves [Azumah retired in 1988 but came back a decade later to face old foe Jeff Fenech in a charity contest in Melbourne], the elder statesman of boxing says he is enjoying life outside the ring but still makes time to watch some local fights and on TV.
“There is time for everything, so I am happy and enjoying my retirement. Ironically, when I watch boxing on television and see some of them committing elementary mistakes, I wish I were in the ring dishing it out to entertain my fans.
“However, since I can’t be in the ring anymore, my advice to the young ones is that they should learn the art of boxing well to know the right thing to do in the ring and excel,” he stated.
This year’s International Day of Older Persons was on Saturday held in Accra.
The event organised by the Centre for Ageing Studies of the University of Ghana was on the theme “Resilience of Older Persons in a Changing World.”
The over 1000 older persons from all walks of life were offered free medical screening, free food and sensitised on lifestyles that would keep them fit and strong.
They were screened for Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) infections, Memory stability, cataract, diets and nutrition as well as physical structure and stability.
Dr Frank Dzifa Kpesenu of the Healthy Ageing Programme of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) told the Ghanaian Times that the time had come for the country to have an Ageing Bill to consolidate activities of the aged in the country.
According to him, ageing was not the doing of the individual, but a passage of time that formed part of life, hence the need for a document to serve as a guide for their handling by the state, family, and society.
“The rights of the aged must be consolidated, everything including their social welfare, health, rights and responsibilities, the role of government and the citizenry for the care of the aged must be documented to serve as a guide for future generations,” he added.
The bill, Dr Kpesenu said had been hanging since 2018 and further delays could hamper planned activities of the GHS to address most health care needs of the aged to prolong their lives, through comprehensive health care policies.
The bill, he stated would also serve as a guide for stakeholders and advocates of the aged in order to regulate and streamline their activities to avoid abuses and excesses that could affect the people they were helping, adding that“the bill would make the government take responsibility for certain aspects of care for the aged.”
Rev Prof Akye Essuman of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, urged the aged not to travel long distances to seek medical care in Accra as almost all regional and district hospitals were offering the same services at places closer to them.
He urged them to constantly renew their National Health Insurance Cards in order to benefit from the free medical care offered by the service.
The Executive Director of Samuel AmoTobbin Foundation, Mrs. Harriet Nortinson Asante, said Tobinco Group partnered with the event by offering free medical care for the aged while referrals were also directed to special hospitals free of charge.
She urged the aged to have quality time for themselves, live healthy lifestyles, undertake regular exercises and have enough rest as well as attend checkups every month.
Mrs. Ansah charged the youth to push the country’s law makers to hasten the passage of the Ageing Bill because they would one day become the sole beneficiaries.
Director, Centre of Ageing, Prof Mavis Dako-Gyeke, commended all whose efforts ensured a successful event and urged the aged to take good care of themselves as their health and wellbeing were paramount to the centre and the society.
Over 6.9 million children under five years are expected to be vaccinated in the second round of the National Polio Vaccination Campaign (PVC) from yesterday, October 6 to October 9, 2022.
The round is a follow-up to an earlier exercise that administered the novel oral poliovirus type 2 (nOPV2) vaccine to the targeted children, nationwide.
The Director-General of Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye at a news conference in Accra on Tuesday said the entire campaign was to halt the local transmission of the circulating vaccine-derived polio virus type 2, (cVDPV2), recorded in parts of the country.
“The vaccination would also maintain high population immunity, strengthen surveillance on polio disease, and prevent further polio outbreaks in the country,” he said.
Dr Kuma-Aboagye explained that, although the first round of the polio vaccination in September yielded impressive results, health authorities were not resting on their oars until all targeted children were vaccinated.
“The initial target for the first round was 6.3 million children but after the vaccination, we realised we had vaccinated nearly 6.6 million children meaning, we had more children than targeted and we must build on this achievement to do more during the upcoming second round of the PVC so that no child is left behind,” he added.
Further, the Director-General advised parents and caregivers to ensure their children complete all vaccinations by age two as well as patronise child welfare clinics dotted across the country in order to fully vaccinate and protect their children against vaccine-preventable diseases.
In a speech read on his behalf, the World Health Organisation (WHO) representative to Ghana, Dr Francis Kasolo underscored the need for enhanced polio surveillance to close the gap of the polio outbreak.
“WHO, the UN System in Ghana and other partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) will continue to support the Government of Ghana to respond to public health emergencies and accompany Ghana on the road to achieving universal health coverage,” he said.
The Expanded Programme on Immunisation(EPI) Programme Manager, Dr Kwame Amponsa-Achiano recalled some challenges faced during the first round of the PVC and advised parents and caregivers to make their children available for the vaccines to kick out polio from the country.
“Some children were sent to the farms and couldn’t partake. Other parents also denied their wards because of some religious beliefs and did not see it as necessary while some house markings were washed away by heavy downpours,” he highlighted.
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a disabling and life-threatening disease caused by the poliovirus and spreads from person to person through faecal routes and may multiply in the intestines from where it subsequently invades the nervous system causing paralysis, most often in the limbs.
The disease affects both children and adults, but children under five years are most at risk.
Some signs and symptoms of polio may include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, and stiffness in the neck, pain and weakness in the limbs.
Treatment is mainly supportive and can be prevented through vaccination, improved sanitation and personal hygiene.
The founder and leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP) has said that the meeting President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had with chiefs and Metropolitan Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) on the fight against galamsey will amount to nothing.
In an Onua TV interview monitored by GhanaWeb on Thursday (October 6), Akwasi Addai Odike alleged that most of the participants at the meeting, including the president, are beneficiaries of “galamsey.”
He added that the president’s meeting can be akin to a meeting of shareholders of a company who are meeting to discuss how they will share their profit.
“The meeting the president had in Kumasi had no benefit. The president went to meet MMDCEs, is he not the same person who appoints them? Does he not have a Chief of Staff who is supposed to sack MMDCEs who are misbehaving? Do you have to call all of them together?
“The meeting the president held in Kumasi was a galamsey shareholders’ meeting. The chiefs are blaming the government for the menace, the government is also blaming the chiefs. These are the two groups who went to meet. They are the shareholders in galamsey.
“The president just went to make a speech. He did not state any strategy to stop the menace, and he is not going to because he is a direct beneficiary of the galamsey proceeds. Everything shows that Nana Addo is a direct beneficiary of galamsey proceeds. The chiefs are also beneficiaries of galamsey,” he said in Twi.
He added that Akufo-Addo, after all the resources at his disposal, including the army and putting his presidency on the line, is now asking chiefs to help in the fight against galamsey.
President Akufo-Addo, during his meeting with chiefs and MMDCEs in Kumasi on Wednesday (October 5), urged chiefs across the country to get themselves involved in the fight against illegal small-scale mining since they are the custodians of lands in the country.
“80 percent of the lands in this country continue to be under your custody, much of it having been acquired through the blood and sacrifices of your ancestors. The remainder of 20 percent, which I hold in trust of the people of Ghana, derived from state acquisition from you.
“What this means is that ultimately, the welfare of the state of the lands is our joint responsibility, although by statute the minerals in the soil belong to the president in trust for the people,” he noted.
About eight cold stores within the Tema cold store enclave at a place known as Takyi Yard in Community 1, have absconded upon receiving hints that the Ghana Revenue Authority’s VAT invigilation taskforce was in the area to check if their businesses are tax compliant.
The eight have not erected any signpost of their business names, and some buyers who were around at the time of the visit confirmed not being issued VAT receipts.
The Area Enforcement Manager of GRA in charge of Accra Central, Mr Joseph Annan who led the taskforce during the operations, told the B&FT that the shops would remain closed until the right thing is done.
“We will come back again to effect arrest since they have all run away” Mr Annan said.
He said it was important for these cold stores to register and honour their tax obligations to government, a phenomenon that would enable them to be regarded as legal and responsible businesses.
Meanwhile, the Underbridge Event Centre at East Legon, have also been closed by the GRA for non-registration for VAT.
Others, including, Perez Frozen Foods, Isaac Glavi Trading Enterprise, Wanmafe Company Ltd, Josh Nartey Enterprise were also closed down and arrested for various infractions including non-registration, non-issuance among others.
The various infractions contravene the VAT Act 2013, Act 870.
The government has donated GH¢470,000.00 to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) for onward disbursement to Division One League clubs in Ghana.
According to the GFA, the cheque was handed over to them by the Ministry of Youth and Sports with an accompanying letter from the Chief Director on Friday, April 30, 2021.
The FA said the donation was part of the government’s support mechanism to the beneficiary clubs to offset some of their expenses in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The General Secretary of the GFA, Prosper Harrison Addo, who received the cheque on behalf of the FA, expressed their gratitude to the government and the Ministry of Youth and Sports for their continued support for football development in Ghana.
“On behalf of the Executive Council and the entire football fraternity, we wish to express our sincere gratitude to the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for this amazing gesture. This will indeed go a long way in supporting our Division One League clubs, especially during this challenging period of COVID-19,” he said.
“We are grateful for what we have been given, and we look forward to receiving some relief for our Women’s Premier League clubs soon. We are very positive about the future of our sport,” he said.
Mr Addo also expressed his sincerest appreciation to the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif for his invaluable support to the development of football since he assumed office, and gave an assurance that the accounting process had been initiated for the beneficiary clubs to receive their share of the money promptly to be used for the purpose for which it was granted by the government.
According to the FA scribe, each Division One Club in the league was expected to receive an amount of Ten Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢10,000.00) with the exception of Amidaus Professionals FC.
The CEO of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Opoku Ware Ampomah, has said politicians and top guns seek medical attention at the facility all the time, contrary to popular claims that they preferred flying out of the country for medical attention to using local facilities.
There have been claims that Ghanaian politicians are not investing in the health sector because they travel abroad for medical checkups, hence, do not care about the needs of public hospitals like Korle-Bu and the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals as well as other public health facilities where most Ghanaians visit for treatment.
However, Dr Ampomah said this assertion is untrue.
Speaking on the Class Morning Show on Class91.3FM on Thursday, October 6, 2022, Dr Ampomah said: “They come in as private citizens and we are not allowed to disclose their identities but then a lot of the political leadership, the judiciary, parliamentarians, industry leaders all over, many of them come to Korle Bu.”
“What we should also remember is that no matter how much wealth or insurance you’ve acquired for yourself, there are certain conditions that if they happen, you need immediate treatment in the local environment in which you are…it is not a very good plan to think that when something happens to me, I’ll just fly out…” he added.
For this reason, he noted that “that’s why we all need to come together to make sure that our hospitals, especially Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, which is the apex hospital, is working and is working well and it’s on a solid footing to be able to provide the kind of service that we all need because we believe that Korle-Bu has the name, and no that about that, so if we are given the necessary wherewithal and resources, we will be able to cater to all health care needs”.
Currently, the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is the third biggest referral centre in Africa.
The facility can boast 2,000 beds, 21 clinical and diagnostic departments and three Centres of Excellence. It also has an average outpatient attendance of 1,500 with about 250 inpatient admissions.
The clinical and diagnostic departments include Internal Medicine and Therapeutics, Child Health, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Anaesthesia, Family Medicine/Polyclinic, Accident & Emergency, Psychiatry, Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre and Accident & Orthopaedics. Others are Pharmacy, Pathology, Laboratory and Radiology.
The Hospital also provides sophisticated scientific treatment procedures in various subspecialties such as Neurosurgery, Paediatric surgery, Dental/Oral maxillofacial, Ophthalmology, Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT), Renal, Orthopaedics, Oncology, Dermatology, Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery and Radiotherapy & Nuclear Medicine.
The largest opposition party in Ghana, the National Democratic Congress, has described the current efforts by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government against illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) as mere ‘window dressing’.
According to the party, the Akufo-Addo government only engages in rhetoric rather than cracking the whip on its own officials and officials of the New Patriotic (NPP) who have been caught engaging in ‘galamsey’.
It has, therefore, demanded that President Akufo-Addo, as the first sign of his seriousness in the fight ‘galamsey’, orders the prosecution of five persons including his past appointees and leading members of the NPP.
Here are the five people NDC wants Akufo-Addo to prosecute
Former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng
The first person the NDC is demanding that the government prosecutes is the first Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation under Akufo-Addo’s presidency, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, for allegedly fuelling and profiting from illegal mining.
The former minister, in 2006 contested in the NPP flagbearership race for the December 2008 National Presidential Elections but lost to the current president, Akufo-Addo.
Kwabena Frimpong Boateng is a Ghanaian physician and cardiothoracic surgeon who established the National Cardiothoracic Centre and the Ghana Red Cross Society. He is also the President of the Ghana Heart Foundation and was the Chief Executive Officer of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.
Prof Boateng has been accused by some Ghanaians including veteran journalist Kweku Boateng of owning a ‘galamsey’ site.
Claims that the renowned medical practitioner was involved in ‘galamsey’ heightened in 2020 when 500 excavators seized from illegal miners went missing under his watch.
Former secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, Charles Bissue
The second person the NDC wants prosecuted is the former secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, under President Akufo-Addo, Charles Bissue.
Mr. Bissue, in addition to his rule as the secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, was a presidential staffer. He was also a two-term Western Regional Secretary of the NPP and a member of the National Council of the party.
He recently indicated that he was going to contest in the race for the NPP’s General Secretary position but withdrew at the last minute.
Charles Bissue was implicated in an investigative documentary by Anas Aremeyaw Anas in 2019 as an alleged enabler for galamsey.
Bissue allegedly facilitated for ORR Resource Enterprise, a company seeking to circumvent laid down processes to be given clearance for its mining operations.
The matter was referred to Special Prosecutor, then Martin Amidu, but Bissue was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service before Amidu could finish with his investigations.
Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi Boasiako
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, a.k.a. Chairman Wontumi, is one of the names on the list of the NDC.
He has since 2018 been often accused without evidence of being the El Chapo of galamsey in Ghana.
The involvement of Wontumi in galamsey was highlighted by then Minority lawmaker Adam Mutawakilu in a July 2018 press conference in parliament.
“…The chief of Jakobu came out clearly [to tell me] that the CEO of the forestry commission and Wontumi, chairman of NPP in the Ashanti Region, are engaged in galamsey,” the former MP said.
Wontumi’s name came up again recently, when the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, directed the Forestry Commission to suspend the operations of Akonta Mining Company in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve of the Amenfi West Municipal Assembly.
According to a statement issued by the Public Affairs office of the Ministry on Friday, September 30, 2022, the company owned by Wontumi, has been engaging in mining activities in the forest without a permit.
Former First Vice-Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Central, Horace Ekow Ewusi:
The former First Vice-Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Central, Horace Ekow Ewusi, is another name on the list of the NDC.
Ekow Ewusi was supposedly arrested by the police over the 500 missing excavators used for illegal mining in 2020.
His arrest was after Prof Frimpong Boateng issued a letter directing the Criminal Investigation Department to arrest and interrogate him after learning that former Ekow Ewusi had sold some of the confiscated equipment from illegal miners.
Horace Ekow Ewusi also was caught on tape discussing galamsey plans with a former Minister of Environment, Science, and Technology.
In the said tape, Ekow Ewusi was heard detailing to Professor Frimpong Boateng how they can use galamsey to finance party activities.
He stated: “The last time you met my MP [Elvis Donkor] in Parliament, he told you that he will also need a machine to work with and you even asked him to come and see me because I have a lot of these excavators.”
Professor Frimpong Boateng however denied the content of the leaked audio in a GhanaWeb interview.
Former aide to the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, Andy Owusu
The last name on the list of five names is the former aide to the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, Andy Owusu.
Andy Owusu was captured on tape with other persons who were purported to have received bribes in the exposé by Anas Aremeyaw Anas on galamsey in 2019.
Investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas claimed that Andy Owusu charged GH¢50,000 for his services during undercover investigations and was paid a total of fifteen thousand cedis (GH¢15,000.00).
“Mr. Andy Owusu, a link man for Mr. Bissue charged us fifty thousand cedis (GH¢ 50,000.00) to get us through to him. We negotiated for forty thousand Cedis (GH¢40,000.00) and he accepted it. Out of this amount he accepted part payment of fifteen thousand cedis (15,000.00). Mr. Andy Owusu was also the one who told us how much Mr. Bissue was ready to accept to fast track the process for us. Mr. Andy Owusu also linked us to “school boy” a national security operative for our safety at the illegal mining site”, he posted on his Facebook page.
A 25-year-old mason, Michael Atuah, almost lost three fingers in an alleged machete attack by suspected land guards at Mankessim in the Mfantseman Municipality of the Central Region.
The victim was said to be doing some work at a construction site with some colleagues when the suspects stormed the place armed with a metal pole, machete, and a kitchen knife among others.
The suspects then attacked the victim, swinging the knife at his back and almost severing three left fingers as he tried to protect his head.
The suspects are alleged to have discarded the weapons before leaving the scene with GHC500.00 belonging to the victim.
According to an eyewitness, the victim’s fingers were only attached by soft tissue when they arrived on the scene.
He was rushed to the Mercy Women’s Hospital in Mankessim where he was treated.
Two of the suspects have been apprehended by the police while investigations have been launched into the case.
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has admitted that the government is currently failing in the fight against illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey’.
He, however, said that the government remains unwavering in its resolve to stop ‘galamsey’ and it is confident that it will end the menace soon.
“… yes, you say that we have failed in galamsey but it is an ongoing battle. And we think that, as a government, we are going to win at the end of the day.
“Because there is a lot of goodwill amongst the stakeholders. The traditional authorities and other stakeholders know the harmful effect of galamsey on all aspects of life. So, ultimately, we will get together to control it,” Dr. Afriyie Akoto told journalists at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, October 10, 2022.
The minister also refuted the assertions that ‘galamsey’ is crippling Ghana‘s food production and has particularly destroyed many cocoa farms, leaving just a little.
“… if you are talking about little of cocoa, it is not a little. Galamsey is nibbling at the edges because COCOBOD has done a survey which shows that 2 percent of areas under cocoa are being affected by galamsey. 98 percent is not little left,” he noted.
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has refuted suggestions that his government is not committed to the fight against illegal small-scale mining (‘galamsey’).
According to Akufo-Addo, his government has been committed to the fight against the menace since his first day in office and its determination to curb it even cost his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), some votes in the 2020 General Elections.
The president, who made these remarks at a meeting with the National House of Chiefs and some Municipal Metropolitan and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in Kumasi, intimated that the votes he and his party lost showed that he really put his presidency on the line to fight ‘galamsey’.
“Since I took office on January 7th, 2017, nearly six years ago, I have made it a central feature of my presidency to lead in the fight to rid our country of this menace, which we all now call galamsey. Indeed, it was an important aspect of my inaugural address that day. It has not been easy; it has not been popular and we have not gotten the immediate results that I was looking for.
“Indeed, in the last election of 2020, my stance on the issue cost my party and I significant losses in the mining communities. It turned out that my statement that I was putting my presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey was neither bumbazed nor reckless. It was the simple truth,” he said.
Akufo-Addo also urged chiefs across the country to get themselves into the fight against illegal small-scale mining since they are the custodians of land in the country.
Ghana has issued its first certificate of full commercial trading to a ceramic tiles production company to export its products under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Guided Trade initiative.
In the same vein, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has received the first consignment of goods under the initiative from Rwanda, with delivery already done.
The Assistant Commissioner of Customs in charge of the AfCFTA Secretariat, F.Y. Akoto, who made this known in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, said on September 30, this year, the Customs Division issued the certificate of trading to a tiles manufacturing company, Keda Ghana Ceramics Company Limited, located at Shama in the Western Region, to export a consignment of its products to Cameroun.
“It is expected that when the products reach Cameroun, their customs officials will give the necessary preferential treatment to Keda Ceramics for it to enjoy reduced tariffs and quota-free facility,” he said.
On the imports from Rwanda, he said they were made up of coffee products which were received at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
“Ghana Customs processed the Bill of Entry on the consignment, granting the importer the necessary tariff cuts after he had satisfied all the documentary requirements,” he said.
Mr Akoto added that a second consignment of tea products from Rwanda arrived at the KIA yesterday and documents on the goods were being processed for possible delivery, possibly before the close of work yesterday.
Second company
He further indicated that a second Ghana-based company, the Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP) at Adum Banso, also in the Western Region, was expected to export palm kernel oil to Kenya in due course.
On the other hand, consignments of tea products were expected from Kenya, while meat products were also expected to arrive from Egypt, he said.
“This means that the AfCFTA agreement has come into full force and our manufacturers can take advantage of it to export to other countries,” he added.
F.Y. Akoto — Assistant Commissioner of Customs in charge of the AfCFTA Secretariat
Guided Trade
The Guided Trade initiative, which will be officially launched in Accra today, symbolises the commencement of commercially meaningful trade, starting with seven countries — Ghana, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Tanzania and Malawi.
Mr Akoto explained that those countries volunteered to represent the eight economic groupings in Africa, namely: the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Under the initiative, the AfCFTA Secretariat will assist the countries to test AfCFTA trading documents and procedures on pre-selected shipments of goods among the countries.
It will guide shipments through customs clearance, including reduced tariff treatment under the AfCFTA in the receiving countries.
Foreign-owned companies
Explaining why Keda Ceramics, a Chinese-owned company, benefited from the agreement, the Customs officer said Keda, per its production process, qualified under the rules.
“Under the rules, a foreign company operating in an African country that has signed on to the AfCFTA agreement qualifies to participate in the trading if the raw materials for its production are sourced locally.
“In the case of Keda Ceramics, we visited the factory for inspection and realised that 99.97 per cent of its raw materials are internally acquired, so it qualifies to trade under the agreement,” he said.
Mr Akoto pointed out that AfCFTA was not set up solely for Africans, saying: “Once you set up in Africa and qualify under the rules, you are free to trade.”
He, therefore, encouraged foreign companies operating in the country to work towards benefitting from the agreement.
Allowing foreign-operated companies to participate in the trading activities if they fulfilled the requirements set out under the AfCFTA agreement would also improve foreign direct investments (FDIs) into Africa, he said.
FDIs into African countries hit a record $83 billion in 2021, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD’s) World Investment Report 2022.
Ghana ready
Emphasising Ghana’s readiness for the take-off of the AfCFTA, the Customs officer said: “We have the structures in place for an effective take-off.”
“The Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ghana Chamber of Commerce, the National AfCFTA Coordinating Office, the Customs Division of the GRA, together with the AfCFTA Secretariat, are helping the companies to meet the requirements.
“The experiences gathered out of this will help streamline our processes for the smooth implementation of the policy,” he explained.
Addressing challenges
Mr Akoto said some challenges that had been identified were being addressed.
“We have been helping local companies to go through the systems. Some of them have been saying although they hear about free trade in Africa, they don’t believe it, so we need to educate them on what it takes to benefit from the free trade agreement,” he said.
Flood waters at Weija and its environs have begun to recede, revealing the extent of devastation caused following the opening of the spill gates of the Weija Dam last week.
The recession of the flood waters is as a result of the opening of the Weija estuary and a reduction in the volume of water from the Eastern Region into the Weija Dam.
Consequently, residents who abandoned their homes for fear of their lives have gone back to clean up and salvage remaining personal effects and other items.
The first casualty of the flooding has also been found at Tetegu — a 55-year-old man known as Addi Kwashie, aka Chocholotso.
His body was discovered by the Weija Police around 12:30 p.m.
Kwashie had reportedly run to take cover in a nearby house but ended up getting drowned.
Visit
This came to light when the Daily Graphic visited areas affected by the floods when the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) opened four spill gates of the Weija Dam to allow for the flow of excess water from the facility to save it from collapse.
At New Weija, Tatop, Tetegu, White Cross, Oblogo, among others, there were traces of the levels the flood waters had reached in homes, shops, schools and other facilities.
Some of the traces were at the ground, window and door levels.
There were also traces of refuse and debris in the homes of people at the various places.
On standby were the Marine Police, with their boat; personnel from the Weija Divisional Command of the Ghana Police Service, members of the Ghana Ambulance Service and the Ghana National Fire Service.
At Tetegu, for instance, for the first time in three days, the asphalted road leading to the town could be seen as residents cleaned their shops and homes.
Due to the power outage in the affected flooded areas, people who had generators switched them on to operate their businesses.
Recovering
A victim of the flooding at New Weija, Emmanuel Afari, told the Daily Graphic that with the water receding, he and his family were now trying to test whether or not their electrical gadgets would work.
He said their clothes would all be washed, since Kente and other materials were all submerged in the flood.
Another resident, Alhaji Seidu, said he had lived in the area for 25 years but had never seen anything like the recent flood.
“I have not been home for the past three days and I am now going to see what is left in my house. We had to temporarily relocate when the flood came to our home,” he said.
Zenabu Azumah, another victim, said apart from losing her personal belongings, her business too had been badly affected, as bags of beans for ‘waakye’, cartons of fish and a new fridge were destroyed by the flood.
“I lost all my clothing and all I have left is what I wore on that day. I am still wearing it,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Weija-Gbawe Municipal Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Emmanuel Adu-Boahen, told the Daily Graphic that the organisation was assessing the extent of damage and the number of people displaced.
For his part, the Public Relations Officer of the Weija-Gbawe Municipal Assembly, Julius Sarpei, said the assembly members had been tasked to identify people who had been affected and displaced by the flooding, since they were with them on the ground.
He said as of 11 a.m. yesterday, the assembly was yet to take delivery of relief items from NADMO.
Businesses
While on the rounds, the Daily Graphic team observed that vulcanisers around Tetegu, Tatop and Weija were not working due to the power outage.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) had indicated that until it was safe to restore power, it would not do so.
Yaw Opoku of Tatop Company Limited, manufacturers of concrete products, said the company could not work as a result of the flooding of its yard.
Sumaila, a vulcaniser, who was seen sitting idle, said he could not work because there was no light to power the machine.
He said he could only hope that the flood waters would recede further for the light to be switched on, since he had not worked for the past four days.
At the Talented Royal School where some staff members were seen clearing the debris left by the flood, the Headmaster, Anthony Torgorme, said nothing was destroyed, except for the debris that was left on the compound.
The school, he said, had to be closed, since they could not access it because of the flood.
Support
At Tetegu, members of the National Council of Zamarama Chiefs had gathered to visit some of their members who were hit by the flood.
The President of the council, Chief Musah Yahaya Yandu, said between 80 and 90 per cent of its members lived at Tetegu and so they were at the place to assess the impact of the flood in the homes of those members.
Once that was done, he said, “then we will see how best to assist them”.
With family members of some injured persons in the Ejura shooting incidents agitating for compensation, it has emerged that the Attorney-General (A-G) gave a piece of legal advice in July this year for compensation to be paid.
In a letter cited by the Daily Graphic, the A-G, Godfred Yeboah Dame, advised the government to compensate three injured victims of the incident with about GH¢1.28 million.
The three injured persons captured in the A-G’s advice for compensation are Louis Ayipka, 30; Nazif Nuhu, 20, and Awal Mesbawu, 16.
Per the letter, the A-G advised that Ayikpa should be compensated with GH¢347,953, Nuhu should get GH¢192,425, and Mesbawu should be given GH¢678,519.
Apart from the compensation, the A-G also advised the government to implement a recommendation by a Medical Board for the victims to be given medical and psychosocial care.
The letter, dated July 12, this year was addressed to the Minister of Interior, Ambrose Dery.
Family agitates
Last Wednesday, the family of the three injured persons called on the government to pay them compensation as recommended by the Justice Koomson’s Committee.
At a press conference in Accra, the family further urged the A-G to expedite action on the prosecution of those suspected to have killed Yussif and Suraj.
According to the family, after submitting all the required medical documents needed to effect the payment, they had so far not received any acknowledgement indicating receipt of the documents.
Report
On June 29, last year, Abdul Nasir Yussif and Murtala Suraj Mohammed died from gunshots from joint police and military team during activities related to the burial of a social activist in the area, Ibrahim Muhammed, popularly known as Kaaka.
Three other persons — Ayikpa, Nuhu and Mesbawu — got injured in the incident.
A committee set up by the Minister for the Interior to investigate the matter submitted its report in September last year.
The committee, chaired by a Justice of the Court of Appeal, Justice Kingsley Koomson, in its report, recommended that the families of the two young men who lost their lives in the shooting incident must be compensated.
It further recommended that the three injured persons must also be compensated.
While the government had since compensated the families of the two young men who lost their lives in the shooting incident, the injured persons are yet to be compensated.
On what went into arriving at the compensation for each of the three persons, the A-G relied on certain factors used to award compensation in some case law.
These were permanent physical disability or impairment, disruption of education, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, ongoing medical care needs, loss of future earnings, reimbursement of the cost of medical treatments, increase in living expenses among others. The A-G also factored in the national minimum wage and transportation cost, among other factors.
Regarding the medical and psychosocial care, the A-G advised that all three should be given psychosocial support as recommended by the medical board.
“In the case of Awal Mesbawu, the appropriate functional prosthesis should be provided to him to assist in mobilisation as recommended by the medical board,” the A-G said.
Ukraine plans to establish an embassy in Ghana in future as part of efforts to expand its presence in Africa.
This was disclosed by Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba when he held talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, in Accra.
The visit of the head of Ukrainian diplomacy to Ghana takes place within the framework of the first-ever tour of the head of the MFA of Ukraine to African countries.
A publication on Ukraine’s MFA website said Mr Kuleba informed his Ghanaian colleague in detail about his country’s efforts to liberate Ukrainian territories from Russian occupation.
He thanked Ghana for its solidarity with Ukraine, and support for resolutions at the UN and other international organizations aimed at restoring Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The minister emphasized Ukraine’s desire to start a new high-quality partnership with Ghana, which will be based on mutual respect, mutual support and mutual benefit.
“As part of the implementation of the African strategy, which was developed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the instructions of President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine is expanding its presence in Africa. We reached an agreement with the Ghanaian side: we plan to open a Ukrainian embassy in Ghana in the near future. The establishment of a diplomatic presence in Accra will give an impetus to the development of political contacts, trade, investments, cultural exchanges and cooperation in the field of education,” Mr Kuleba said.
The ministers discussed in detail the steps to intensify cooperation between Ukraine and Ghana in the spheres of security, cyber security, digital transformation, and agriculture.
They agreed to start preparations for the establishment of the Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.
They also spoke about finding ways to restore the safe education of Ghanaian students in Ukrainian universities.
The parties signed a memorandum of understanding on the training of Ghanaian diplomats on the basis of the Diplomatic Academy named after Hennadiy Udovenko at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. The Ghanaian minister also reported on Ghana’s readiness to consider the possibility of internships for Ukrainian students studying English.
Madam Botchway also expressed the interest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ghana in studying the Ukrainian experience in the field of combating disinformation.
As a result of the meeting, the ministers agreed to hold political consultations between the ministries of foreign affairs with the participation of representatives of various departments of the two countries to develop a comprehensive “road map” for the further development of bilateral relations between Ukraine and Ghana.
Mr Kuleba also held talks with President Akufo-Addo.
Some houses in five communities in the Techiman South Municipality of Bono East Region have been submerged, resulting in the displacement of some residents and inaccessible roads.
The Tano River, which is not far away from the communities, annually overflowed its banks, leaving residents stranded and unable to undertake their daily socio-economic activities.
“The waters drained into our rooms to destroy our properties whenever the river become flooded during the rainy season. We need urgent attention from stakeholders, including the Member of Parliament and the Assembly to desilt the river as sand and other solid objects have choked and silted the river”, the residents said.
Some inner roads linking the communities are occasionally flooded during rains, posing danger to residents, especially workers and traders, who use the roads daily.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Anyinabrem, Mr. Kasim Abdul Karim, the Assemblyman for the electoral area, expressed worry about the devastating situation and described it as a “threat to life and a nightmare whenever the rains set in”.
Mr. Karim said before the flooding, two schoolchildren who tried to pass through a flooded road leading to their homes nearly lost their lives and had to be rescued.
In an interview with the GNA, Mr. Kwame Mohammed, the Techiman Municipal Human Resource Director of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), said the organisation had taken steps to address the flooding problems and related challenges but needed the cooperation of the people to effectively address the situation.
Mr. Mohammed said as part of efforts to address flooding in the Municipality, the organisation in collaboration with the Municipal Assembly, had earmarked about five flood-prone areas, comprising Anyinabrem, New Onyinasi, Twimia-Kuase, Twimia-Nkwanta, and Nana Abena Market to improve the drainage systems to avert the reoccurring of floods.
He added that NADMO had demolished some weak structures, including houses that were built on waterways whilst some landlords had been arraigned before the law court to explain why they had built on waterways.
Mr. Mohammed said the Municipal office of the organisation had formed disaster prevention volunteer groups to monitor and report to the office individuals and groups engaging in activities likely to cause disasters while zonal officers were also on the ground providing education to the people on the need to stay away from disaster-prone areas.
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has taken a swipe at the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) after the latter described its effort in fighting illegal mining in the country as a scam.
The NPP Deputy Director of Communications, Ernest Kofi Owusu Bempah in a statement said the NDC’s conduct is “like the pot calling the kettle black because their track record in the galamsey menace is horrible.”
Mr. Owusu Bempah accused the NDC of enabling and festering galamsey when they had the opportunity to pull the plug.
“We are talking about a party that shamelessly launched the Youth in Small Scale Mining programme in the Eastern Region, which apparently opened the floodgate for galamsey.”
“Of course, the galamsey situation got so bad under Mahama in 2015, such that he had to hang his shame on the people of Kyebi, tagging the place as the headquarters of Galamsay in the country.”
He further accused the NDC of enabling galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang to thrive in Ghana.
“For those that may have missed this; the erstwhile Mahama government issued an infinite resident permit to Aisha Huang.”
“Precisely on 28th March 2015, Aisha Huang was given an indefinite resident permit to live here in perpetuity and to engage in her illegal activities. This happened under the Mahama administration. Meanwhile, she was unsuccessful in getting the permit during the President Kufour era.”
“So you see, any dastardly attempt by the NDC to rationalize the political economy of galamsay must be roundedly condemned. It is beyond dispute that under John Mahama-led government, the national record of the deleterious impact of galamsay left a lot to be desired. It was simply unprecedented.”
He explained that all the Akufo-Addo administration has been doing is simply managing a very bad situation as well as it can by the deft and relatively constructive application of the statutory laws of the land.
The National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi while addressing a press conference in Accra on Thursday, October 6, 2022, said the President is not backing his efforts with action.
He described the measures and strategies put in place by government to win the war against the illegality as a clear deception, alleging that some members of the NPP and government are behind galamsey in the country.
A one-time host of The Seat show on Net2 TV, Kwaku Annan, has made an allegation against the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, claiming that he directly interfered with his work while he worked at the pro-NPP station.
Speaking in an interview on Kingdom FM and shared on Facebook, Kwaku Annan explained that the president used his Director of Communications, Eugene Arhin, to send him an order to back down on exposing what he had on the pastor.
“Don’t pretend that we’re in a spirit world. We are in a physical world. President Akufo-Addo looked at my face and told me that we should stop that expose,” he claimed.
Asked by the host of the program he was on, on why the president would want to do such a thing, Kwaku Annan replied that this is something Nana Akufo-Addo should respond to.
“He is the only one who can answer this question. The point is that we’re not speaking in isolation. Eugene Arhin, the president’s spokesperson should call into this program and tell me what the president told him to tell me.
“His Excellency was the one who gave him the instruction when they landed at the airport. Eugene cannot speak in isolation and give instructions. I know what was going on and I have all the records there,” he added.
The broadcaster fell out with his boss, the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, after the latter took him off the show, The Seat, on Net2 TV, and eventually sacked him.
Since then, Kwaku Annan has been on a rant, exposing some of the deep secrets that pertained to his work with the MP and other persons in the current government.
Former Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal Mining, Charles Bissue has responded to the attacks by the largest opposition NDC calling for his prosecution in the infamous galamsey fraud matter.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC)on Thursday asked President Akufo-Addo to show the seriousness of his fight against ‘galamsey’ by prosecuting his officials who have been found complicit in illegal mining immediately.
National Communication Officer of the party, Sammy Gyamfi at a press conference said the government is being rhetorical rather than taking action against the menace.
“Ghanaians are tired of your flowery speeches and useless rhetoric. The so-called fight against ‘galamsey’ has been a spectacular failure and the only way to salvage it is for you to man up and finally begin to crack the whip on your errant appointees and NPP functionaries who are neck-deep in the ‘galamsey’ business.
“We demand the immediate prosecution of all NPP functionaries and NPP officials who have engaged in illegal mining such as Charles Bissue, Chairman Wontumi, the evidence is clear, Andy Owusu, Ekow Ewusi, Prof. Frimpong Boateng among others,” he stated.
But Charles Bissue has rejected the allegations of fraud cited in the NDC Presser on the galamsey menace.
“My attention has been drawn to the scathing attack on my person by the National Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi in his press conference that responded to President H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo’s renewed assurance in the fight against illegal mining. In that press conference aired on various media platforms on Thursday 6 October 2022, Mr. Sammy Gyamfi malign and traduce me by referencing a rather doctored and propaganda-induced documentary authored by Tiger Eye P.I’s Anas Aremeyaw Anas,” said Charles Bissue in his press statement.
He maintained his innocence in the matter saying the public has been misled to accept and believe the narrative by Anas Aremeyaw Anas about the money he was seen taking in the video.
“As I have said countless times, that money was not a bribe, and I did not make any demands whatsoever from any operative or beneficiary of illegal mining while I served on the IMCIM.
“The money in question was a donation from the NPP Chairman of the Ashanti
Region, Bernard Antwi Boasiako alias Chairman Wontumi, to the then NPP
Western Regional Organiser, Abdul Ganiyu for a party event organsied in the
Western Region.
“For the malice and character assassination that Anas and his sponsors had in
mind, the public was denied the audio recordings and full disclosure of the
purpose of that money handed to me.
“It was uncovered that a former employee of the IMCIM, Francis Owusu Akyaw, whom I fired for unsatisfactory conduct sponsored the video recording of the documentary.
“Francis Owusu Akyaw admitted to the Police of having commissioned that
recording. His nomination for the parliamentary candidate in the Juaben Constituency was subsequently declined as a result of this.
“This same Francis Owusu Akyaw is a named beneficiary of a mining firm [DML, as named in the leaked will] co-owned by the late Sir John of the Forestry Commission.”
Charles Bissue Exonerated by CID
The Criminal Investigations Department(CID) of the Ghana Police Service in 2019 exonerated Charles Bissue from allegations of corruption.
After thorough investigations, the CID, in a final report, concluded that Mr Bissue did not circumvent the laid down procedures of the IMCIM to favour ORR Resource Enterprise, the company at the centre of the incident.
In a letter to the President in March 2019, Mr Bissue, also a Presidential Staffer at the time, decided to step aside to avail himself for investigations after he had allegedly been accused by Anas Aremeyaw Anas’s Tiger Eye PI documentary on galamsey fraud.
The documentary alleged that the secretary was involved in alleged shady deals to facilitate processes for ORR Resource Enterprise.
But a letter written to Ampofo, Oppong and Associates, lawyers for Mr Bissue, by the CID on its investigations into the matter exonerated Mr Bissue from any wrongdoing.
The Ranking Member of the Local Government and Rural Development Select Committee of Parliament, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has expressed his indignation at the call by President Nana Akufo-Addo for a new initiative to be adopted in the fight against galamsey in the country.
President Akufo-Addo, at the meeting with some chiefs, metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) to find new ways to deal with the galamsey menace at the Manhyia palace in the Ashanti Region on Wednesday, 5 October 2022, said: “We have tried many initiatives in the fight against galamsey, still we have not won the fight against galamsey in the country.”
According to Mr Vanderpuije, however, considering the plundering that has occurred, “I don’t think there is something the president can do in the next two years to salvage the galamsey menace.”
The opposition MP for Ododododiodio in the Greater Accra Region expressed these doubts when he spoke on 505 on Class 91.3 FM hosted by Korku Lumor.
He noted that there are so many laws like the mining regulations and mining Acts to deal with the galamsey situation.
He said the president, with his cohorts, designed many of these initiatives to cause devastation to the country’s forest cover and water bodies.
Mr Vanderpuye argued that the president’s warning that he was not going to shield anybody in the renewed fight against galamsey was a charade because he had already shielded enough in the fight.
“Hasn’t the President shielded the former Minister of Science and Technology, Prof Frimpong Boateng, under whose watchful eyes some 500 flew into thin air?” he questioned.
He again asserted that the likes of Mr Charles Bissue, the former Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), is walking free despite his alleged involvement in the galamsey menace.
He maintained that there is a tall list of party galamseyers who have been shielded by Mr Akufo-Addo.
According to him, it is too late for the president to turn things around because of the level of devastation caused by the illegal miners.
He said the failure of the president to sustain the fight against galamsey was a situation of sheer incompetence, complicity, unwillingness and dishonesty.
“This government cannot do anything to compensate for the loss because of galamsey,” he said.
The Foundation for Security Development in Africa (FOSDA) has commended the move by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to help resolve the protracted Bawku conflict between the Mamprusis and the Kusasis in the Upper East region.
According to FOSDA, the move by the Asantehene is refreshing and laudable, especially considering the current wave of violence across the West African Sub-region.
“FOSDA has been advocating the establishment of a committee of Eminent Chiefs to mediate the protracted Bawku conflict, learning from the success of the Dagbon case which was led by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. We believe that such a move is very likely to bring the much-needed peace to the people of Bawku given the failure of the judicial system to settle the issues.
“The Bawku conflict has pre-dated Ghana’s struggle for independence and has been intertwined with issues of politics, ethnicity, land and chieftaincy for more than 65 years. In 2021, there was a renewed clash among the parties in an attempt by the Mamprusis to observe the final funeral rite of the late Tampuri Alhaji Adams Zangbeogo which led to loss of innocent lives and property,” the Executive Director for FOSDA, Theodora W. Anit explained in a statement.
She continued: “Besides, it is significant to note that several bodies have attempted to resolve the matter including government commissions, Traditional Authorities, Civil Society Organization (CSOs) and the Supreme Court Ruling of April 2003 still remains the most remarkable attempt to bring finality to the conflict.”
Mrs. Anti further said various researches have proven that conflict prone areas are fertile grounds for violent extremist and terrorist attack.
“The geographical location of Bawku as a border town to Burkina Faso in the North of Ghana makes the current situation in Bawku very worrying and risky for the whole country.
“FOSDA commends Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II for taking up this herculean task to find lasting peace for the people of Bawku, to save lives and bring about sustainable development.
“FOSDA calls for the support of the Government and citizens to support this initiative and urges all interested parties to approach the mediation process in utmost good faith with the hope of coming out with an amicable resolution.”
Samuel Yaw Adusei, a National Democratic Congress (NDC) chairman hopeful, has stated that it is incumbent on the opposition party to win the 2024 general elections to liberate Ghanaians from their sufferings.
He believes that victory for the party in 2024 cannot be achieved under the incumbent Chairman, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo and General Secretary Asiedu Nketiah, who are aiming for the Chairmanship position.
Addressing a press conference on October 6, the former Ashanti Regional Minister under the John Mahama-led administration explained that there was distrust between Ofosu-Ampofo, and Asiedu Nketiah, hence their decision to contest for the same post.
Adusei said he was the new face the NDC needed in the Chairmanship seat adding that both Ofosu-Ampofo and Asiedu Nketiah played a key role in the defeat of the party in 2016 by a historic margin and the 2020 election as well.
“There is extreme hardship in the country that was created by this government and the NDC should win power in 2024 to save Ghanaians but we can’t do that with either Aseidu Nketiah or Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo as our National Chairman
”Aseidu Nketiah has been the General Secretary for the past 17 years and he worked side by side with Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo in the 2016 elections but does not believe that the current chairman should continue …and that’s why he is contesting and the same with Ofosu Ampofo because he doesn’t believe that Aseidu Nketiah whom he has known for years can fill his shoes,” Samuel Yaw Adusei said.
“What these very experienced politicians are doing is to tell the NDC members that they cannot do the job and there is a need for a new face because they have no confidence in each other. They are calling for a change and I am that change because they played vital roles in the 2016 and 2020 elections and we lost.
“The NDC cannot afford to lose the 2024 elections and that is why they need to vote for me as the National Chairman because they cannot win the elections with either Aseidu Nketiah or Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo,” he added.
NDC is looking to stage a comeback into government after two terms in opposition. Ahead of that, it has slated December 17 for its internal elections which will see to the election of national executive officers.
The Agona Swedru Magistrate Court has remanded a 24-year-old driver for allegedly killing Opanyin Kweku Oppong Abdulai, a 70-year-old cocoa farmer at Agona Abodom in the Central Region.
The plea of the accused, Samuel Appiah, was not taken and would reappear in court on October 17.
Prosecuting Sergeant Emmanuel Akunor told the court presided over Mr Isaac Apeatu that the accused resides at Ofankor, a suburb of Kasoa in the Central region.
He said the complainant in the case was Madam Halifatu Abdulai, a daughter of the deceased based at Agona Abodom in the Agona West.
The prosecution said the deceased owned a cocoa farm at Dapong, a village near Upper Bobikuma, and shared boundary with the accused father’s cocoa farm, of which the accused is the caretaker.
He said about three weeks ago, the accused visited the village and a misunderstanding ensued between him and the deceased over missing cocoa beans that belonged to the deceased, which the accused was suspected of stealing.
The prosecution said according to the complainant, she received a call on September 21, from her late father to come to him because he was afraid the accused might harm him due to the accused’s demeanour.
The complainant later received another call from a nearby village that the deceased had gone missing, and that a search team highly suspected the accused arrested and handed him over to the Upper Bobikuma Police for investigation.
The prosecution said while the search team continued with the search on September 22, the body of the late Opanyin Abdulai was found lying under a mango tree covered with timber slaps and was taken to the Swedru Government Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The prosecution said after intensive interrogations, the accused confessed killing the 70-year-old cocoa farmer for accusing him of stealing the cocoa beans.
The Managing Director of the New Times Corporation (NTC), Mr. Martin Adu-Owusu has advised the public to be tenacious and relentless in the fight against breast cancer disease.
“It is our collective and decisive resolve to fight breast cancer in all its tendencies that would have positive impact on both present and future generation,” he said.
Mr Martin Adu-Owusu (middle) speaking at the programme. With him are Ms Dakoa Newman (left) and other dignitaries Photo Victor A. Buxton
He said this when The Spectator, The corporation’s weekly newspaper, organised the maiden Breast Cancer Campaign at the Kaneshie Market Complex yesterday in Accra, to create awareness and also screen market women for the disease.
The two-day Campaign is on the theme “Life before and after Breast Cancer: A future of Positivity and Hope” and it is the NTC’s contribution to raise awareness of the disease.
Mr Adu-Owusu made reference to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 2020 report which said, there were 2.3 million women diagnosed with breast cancer and 685,000 deaths globally, “At the end of 2020, there were 7.8 million women who were diagnosed with breast cancer in the past 5 years making it the world’s most prevalent cancer.”
Mr Martin Adu-Owusu (middle),MD,NTC with Ms Dakoa Newman (fourth from right) and other stakeholders after the launch Photo Geoffrey Buta
He described the situation as worrying, adding that NTC’s campaign was one of the strategies to help reduce the incidence of breast cancer in the country.
He, therefore,called on individuals, and organisations to be ambassadors of breast cancer to fight the menace.
“Breast cancer is preventable and curable when we do regular self-examination and screening. This is not a difficult task and we can save many lives and bring solace, hope and prosperity to many families if we continue with our aggressive campaign on regular self-examination and breast screening,” he said.
The Editor of The Spectator, Mr Emmanuel Amponsah said the campaign would educate the public on early symptoms and signs of Breast Cancer; preventive measures, diagnostic and treatment centres, the measures put in place for early detection and to assist in the management of patients of Breast Cancer, among others.
He referred to the Globocan statistics carried by the Global Cancer Observatory website in March 2021, which said 4,482 women in Ghana were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020, “In the same year, it said 2,055 deaths were recorded. In fact, it is estimated that 4,650 women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually in Ghana while more than 2,000 women die of the disease yearly.”
Mr Amponsah said the campaign would be taken to the door-steps of the Labone Senior High School to educate the students on Breast Cancer in order to prepare them in the fight against the diseases.
The Member of Parliament for Okaikoi South, Ms Dakoa Newman, urged the market women to desist from storing their mobile phones and other items in their brassieres, adding that this act could expose the breast to radiations emitting from the mobile device
She encouraged women to seek early health check-ups and avoid self-treatment at homes, especially using unprescribed medicines
In a speech read on behalf WHO Representative Dr Francis Kasolo said 2.3 million women in 2020, were diagnosed with breast cancer and 685,000 deaths globally.
“As of the end of 2020, there were 7.8 million women alive who were diagnosed with breast cancer in the past five years, making it the world’s most prevalent cancer,” he said.
According to him, there were more lost disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) by women to breast cancer globally than any other type of cancer.
Dr Kasolo said approximately half of breast cancer develop in women who have no identifiable breast cancer risk factors other than gender and age over 40 years
He said certain factors that increase risk of breast cancer are obesity, harmful use of alcohol, family history of breast cancer, History of radiation exposure, reproductive history (such as age that menstrual periods began and age at first pregnancy), tobacco use and postmenopausal hormone therapy.
Dr Kasolo said strategies for improving breast cancer outcomes depended on fundamental health system strengthening to deliver the treatments that are already known to work.
He expressed the hope that every woman in Ghana diagnosed with breast cancer would have access to specialised care without causing financial catastrophe in line with Universal Health Coverage.
Flagbearer hopeful of the New Patriotic Party, (NPP) Kwabena Agyepong, has advocated for the payment of ex-gratia every four years to Article 71 officeholders to be scrapped immediately.
He stated in an interview with Accra-based Joy News that the country does not have the financial resources to support such payments.
Agyepong contended that persons such as Members of Parliament can be given “something little” after serving their terms in office but it should not be in the current lump sum even for MPs who return to Parliament.
He listed the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin together with Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu (Majority Leader and Suame MP) and Kobina Tahir Hammond (Adansi Asokwa MP) as people who have benefited greatly from payment of ex-gratia over the years due to their long stay in the legislature.
He said such payment were not right on any moral standing stressing that it should halt with immediate effect.
“Ex-gratia should be like a parachute payment. When you have served your country like a member of Parliament…it’s a difficult assignment. I would say it is like marriage. When you elevate a lady to certain level as a wife and you want to leave, that’s why they let you pay alimony.
“You have to support her. You cannot allow her just to drop because you are leaving. That’s not right. It is not fair. You make somebody an honorable Member of Parliament, he served when he is going home, something little. Maybe he can take the car away,” the former NPP General Secretary said on October 6.
“…not after every four years. I never understood that. If you are coming back it cannot be ex-gratia. I see the Speaker and the likes of Kyei Mensah, they must have benefited a lot. My good friend KT Hammond…that is not right. It cannot be right on any moral standing. We should stop it immediately. We don’t have the money as a country,” he added.
Mahama, NPP “clash” over payment of ex-gratia
Former President Mahama while speaking to a gathering of NDC lawyers pledged to implement recommendations of the Constitutional Review Committee as well as review ex-gratia payments in the next NDC administration
“The next NDC government must commit to the implementation of the review of the 1992 Constitution, which was begun by President John Evans Atta Mills of blessed memory. This review should among others aim at reforming the judiciary and tackle head-on issues on ex-gratia payments and other matters of Article 71 emoluments” Mahama said.
Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye DC, however, said Mahama benefited from ex-gratia payment to the tune of GH¢14 million in 2013 – a claim the office of the former president has denied.
Abronye DC also said Mahama cannot scrap the payment of ex-gratia because he “loves ex-gratia more than his wife Lordina”.
The NPP in press conference also said the promise by Mahama was mere political rhetoric aimed at swaying voters.
A 47-year-old Assistant Headmaster of Mpatasie D/A Junior High School in the Amansie South District of the Ashanti Region has died after he fell into a mining pit.
Officials say Akwasi Anane had embarked on a routine trip to his mining concession at about 9 p.m., on Tuesday (October 4) when the incident occurred.
The deceased reportedly missed his step and fell into one of the abandoned mining pits. His body was immediately pulled out of the mud after a rescue mission.
He was however confirmed dead at the scene. A District Coordinator for the National Disaster Management Organization for Amansie South Edward Oduro Nsiah confirmed the development to dailymailgh.com.
“He is a teacher and he also has a concession so he went to the site very late. He stood on top of the pit and in an attempt to make a step he slipped and fell into the pit. His body has been deposited at the St. Martin’s Hospital at Agroyesum,” Nsiah said.
“The fight against galamsey is not paying off. For instance when you come to Amansie South nearly 80 percent of the indigenes are into illegal mining. In the last two months, we have lost at least six lives at separate locations and that is very worrying,” he added.
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources who has already visited the mining sites at the Amansie South enclave is still amazed at the level of destruction caused to the environment by illegal miners and said the government will continue to deploy the military to clamp down on such activities.
“It should baffle all of us as citizens and policymakers and stakeholders in this fight how an operation like this in the heart of the forest and the far away areas of our country can go on without notice by police, chiefs, the local political leadership, assembly people, the District Chief Executive and even the inspectorate division of the minerals commission here,” Mr. Jinapor said.
Former President, John Dramani Mahama has underscored the need for government to tackle the growing rate of youth unemployment in the country.
He asserts the high rate of youth joblessness is a matter of national security concern that needs serious tackling.
“Government owe it as a responsibility to do all they can to secure the peace and safety of the nation but above all to reduce youth unemployment. This is necessary to ensure that the young people do not become easily recruitable to fill the ranks of the insurgence due to frustration and lack of opportunity”, says Mr. Mahama.
He was speaking as a special guest of honour at the 2022 Convocation at Liberty University in Michigan of the United States.
The former President while condemning the activities of Boko Haram in the sub-region revealed that the youth stand a chance of being recruited if opportunities are not created for them.
“Ghana is an Island of religious calmness in a sea of turbulence as almost all our surrounding neighbours have in recent times experienced some major form of insurgency, coup d’états or other conflicts including religious conflicts.”
“In all these acts, one thing is clear, leadership at all levels including the family, the school, the church, the government all have the responsibility to educate and inform the impress young members of our society about the imminent threats and dangers out there”, he emphasized.
Terrorist activities happening in Sahelian countries such as Burkina Faso and Mali have become a major concern to the government, hence the need for stringent measures to ensure the safety of the citizenry.
Ghana’s security agencies have been put on high alert over threats of terrorism in the country.
The government said several efforts are underway to ensure that the country is protected from any form of attack following reports that terrorist groups are looking to expand southward, with countries such as Ghana in focus.
Former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, has berated the Akufo-Addo government for failing to consult Ghanaians before going into negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout.
In a statement copied to GhanaWeb, Martin Amidu said that the government has not learnt from the failure of its policies like the E-Levy which it forced on Ghanaians and it is now doing the same thing with the IMF bailout.
He added that the ongoing IMF negotiation is shrouded in secrecy and because the government is rushing to get a bailout before the presentation of the 2023 budget in November 2022, it will accept anything from the IMF even if it will hurt ordinary Ghanaians.
“We the people are entitled to know the content of the dialogue the President, a well-known comprador bourgeoisie who has run this country into its present economic mess, has had with the IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, that they have both already sealed the fate of Ghanaians from being part of or privy to the on-going negotiations which she had agreed with the President will form part of the Minister for Finance’s November 2022 Budget Statement to Parliament.”
“Ghanaian patriots and civil society organizations should, therefore, heed the signal of impunity sent out by the Government to use the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a smokescreen behind which to ram down the throat of Ghanaians an austerity budget in November 2022 without any extensive and in-depth transparent and accountable consultations with “We the People” as required under any democracy.”
Also, Amidu alleged that after mismanaging the resources of the country, Akufo-Addo wants to use the IMF negotiation to ensure that he has a safe retirement.
“President Akufo-Addo through his cousin, the Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister for Finance who has given notice that the suffering of Ghanaians occasioned by the mismanagement of our economy by their Family and Friends’ government provides them the opportunity to use the IMF negotiations as means of carrying through all the diabolical policies that enables them to build annuities abroad with the resources of this country,” he said.
The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has announced that it rescued over 100 residents of Weija and its environs who were stranded due to the spillage of excess water from the Weija Dam.
According to the army, the residents were rescued in some five communities by its officers from the 48 Engineers on October 4, 2022.
“Personnel from the 48 Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) conducted rescue operations in the general areas of Tetegu and New Weija following the floods that ensued from the opening of the Weija Dam spill gates.
“The Tuesday 4 October 2022 exercise was conducted as part of OP BOAFO with about 40 GAF personnel partaking in rescue efforts around Tetegu, Sampa Valley, New Weija, White Rose and Top Down. Personnel were able to rescue over 100 stranded residents.
“The Ghana Armed Forces continues to support citizens in these emergency situations as part of its civic duty to help mitigate destruction of property and loss of life,” parts of a Facebook post shared by GFA on October 6, 2022 read.
Like the floods of Accra that have become a perennial occurrence, residents of Weija have once again had to wake up to the devastating effects of the spillage of the Weija Dam by the Ghana Water Company Limited.
The annual spillage of the dam is meant to release excess water from the dam.
The maximum level of water the dam is built to hold is about 46 feet, but the level came up to 48 feet, thereby threatening its safety, hence the decision to spill.
Residents have been forced to move around in canoes, as many houses have been completely submerged under the water.
Ghana’s internet penetration has now increased from 2.3 million in 2010 to 17 million in 2022, the director-general of the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), Albert Antwi-Boasiako has said.
Speaking on The Asaase Breakfast Show on Thursday (6 October), Antwi-Boasiako said pornography and betting are among the top five most visited websites in Ghana.
“I think that even at the social level, statistics are showing back in 2012, I think Ghana’s internet population was 2.3 million, according to statistics, but somewhere this year we were around 17 million users,” he said.
“Our citizens are quite active on social media, and statistics show that we are ranked the third country with active social media presence behind Nigeria and Philippines in the whole world.
“You may be surprised, access to betting sites is one of them, also it is not very nice to say but even pornographic access is one of them,” Antwi-Boasiako said.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) says the Akufo-Addo government has failed woefully in the fight against illegal mining (galamsey).
The party describes the measures and strategies put in place by government to fight galamsey as a clear deception.
Speaking at a press conference at the NDC headquarters in Accra, National Communications Officer for NDC, Sammy Gyamfi alleged that some members of the NPP and government are behind galamsey in the country.
“The so-called fight against galamsey by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government is a scam and has been a lost battle from day one. This is because, there has never been any genuine commitment or political will on the part of the President to combat the menace.”
“President Akufo-Addo has proven to be a leader who has specialized in talk without backing same with deeds. Today, our beloved country stands at a cross-road of unprecedented economic mess and unprecedented environmental degradation under the watch of President Akufo-Addo and Alhaji Bawumia,” he said.
Sammy Gyamfi at the press conference further slammed the president and the Minister of Lands and Natural Resource, Samuel Abu Jinapor over the galamsey menace and accused them of “shifting the blame to the chieftaincy institution.”
“This latest attempt by the Akufo-Addo government to blame the failed “galamsey” fight on chiefs and community leaders is shameful, to say the least and must be condemned in no uncertain terms.”
“It is about time President Akufo-Addo understood the important duties of the high office he currently occupies. He is the President of the Republic and the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed forces. As President, he has authority and control over the security services and coercive powers of State.”
“The mineral resources of the country are vested in him in trust for the people. And therefore he has the ultimate responsibility to ensure compliance with the mineral and mining laws of the country and the prosecution of those who breach same. More importantly, only he has the power to hire and fire appointees of his who engage in illegal mining. No attempt to shift or share the blame for his failed “Galamsey” fight will wash.”
ECG says it has addressed all challenges that marred its metering systems, hence the need to refrain from any panic buying.
Addressing the media, the Managing Director of ECG, Samuel Dubik said all of its platforms are operational including the vending app on Android mobile phones.
“I would like to reiterate that if your power is not finished, don’t panic, just take your time because if you run out you can buy credit, so we are able to reduce the queues that are forming. But all third parties are up. All those with challenges should go to the ECG offices for the issue to be resolved. We are deeply sorry for the inconvenience and we intend to do right for the people of Ghana”.
The ECG said a technical challenge affected its prepaid metering systems, a development which has interrupted the purchase of electricity credit.
Both domestic and commercial users who run out of power supply were not able to make purchases due to the technical challenge.
Compensation
Some consumers have been counting their losses, with some saying their businesses have been affected negatively following their inability to purchase electricity.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has directed the ECG to compensate customers affected by its prepaid vending and metering glitch.
The directive according to the PURC is in line with the breach of the ECG’s statutory obligations.
The ECG had ruled out any payment of compensation following the vending failure in its prepayment system which has affected consumers for the past one week adding that, such a decision if considered, will be made on a case-by-case basis.
But in a statement issued on Tuesday, October 4, 2022, the PURC said, “it hereby orders ECG to pay compensation to the affected customers”.
This, it says, is in compliance with the law and a demonstration of good customer service.
These compensations will come in the form of one-time electricity credit commencing October 1, 2022 and ending October 7, 2022.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), United Kingdom (UK) and the Department of Health and Social Care, UK, have scaled up efforts to combat Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) with approximately £10 million in funding for NCD research in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Niger.
NIHR, an institution at the forefront of tackling health issues, will provide support for the establishment of a Global Health Research Centre for Non-Communicable Disease control in West Africa to address the scourge of NCDs over a five-year period.
The centre will also develop the skills of local researchers and clinicians and will run a PhD and master’s programme to provide formal training for students in all three countries.
The centre will comprise the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) as the co-lead institutions working in partnership with other institutions, namely Ashesi University, Ghana; Catholic University of West Africa (UCAO-UUB), Burkina Faso and Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherche sur les Dynamiques Sociales et le Développement Local (LASDEL), Niger.
Dr Sylvia Anie at National Institute for Health and Care Research, UK, commented, “NIHR Global Health Research Centres will provide a sustainable platform for high-quality applied health research in low-and low middle-income countries (LMIC) to address the burden of NCDs and improve health outcomes. It is time to shift the centre of gravity to LMIC-led research.”
NCDs, also known as chronic diseases, are not passed from person to person. They include heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease.
Across the world, NCDs kill 41 million people yearly, equivalent to 74% of all deaths globally.
A report by WHO in April 2022 highlighted the alarming rate of deaths from NCDs in Africa, and the NCDs are increasingly becoming the main cause of mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, where the diseases were responsible for 37% of deaths in 2019, rising from 24% in 2000.
This project aims to improve the health and well-being of populations by developing the capacity for high-quality research to inform improved prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of inter-connected NCDs (hypertension, diabetes and co-existing stress, anxiety, and depression).
President of the International Union of Immunological Societies and Chair of the NIHR Global Health Research Centres Funding Committee, Professor Faith Osier, said “these new centres are truly ground-breaking – it’s the first time we’ve seen anything like this level of investment in non-communicable disease research in low and middle-income countries. The potential for this truly equitable partnership working between researchers in LMICs and in the UK is immense and we’re so excited to see the advances that the next five years will bring.”
On her part, the Director for NIHR Global Health Research Centres West Africa, Prof. Irene A. Agyepong welcomed the project and said the centre will make a difference in addressing challenges of non-communicable diseases.
“The fifteen countries of ECOWAS, like most LMICs, are increasingly challenged by rising illness and deaths related to NCDs.
“This is additional to their long-standing challenges from communicable diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis. Research is at the heart of the innovation needed to address these problems, and establishing the centre is a timely and welcome effort to make a difference”.
Co-Director for NIHR Global Health Research Centres West Africa, Professor Tolib Mirzoev said the project will go a long way to improve the control of non-communicable diseases.
“I am delighted to jointly lead the Stop-NCD programme together with Professor Agyepong from the GCPS. Our programme addresses an important and urgent need for high-quality research to improve the control of NCDs in West Africa.
“Through excellent science, comprehensive capacity strengthening and equitable partnerships involving research teams and key stakeholders, we will ensure the longer-term legacy of African-led research for improved policy and practice in NCD control.”
The official announcement and launch of the project was held in Accra, Ghana, on Wednesday, October 4 with the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu as the special guest of honour.
Also present were the representative of the Minister of Health for Niger, M. Sabo Hassane Adamou, Deputy Secretary General and the representative of the Minister of Health for Burkina Faso, Baperman Abdel Aziz Siri.
Scientists, researchers and officials in the health sector from the UK and various West African implementing countries were present in Accra to grace the occasion.
The Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) has encouraged Women in Cross Border Trade who are yet to register with the Authority’s Regional Shipper Committees to do so.
The move is to enable the GSA to gather enough data on their operations and develop programs and policies to support their efforts geared towards socio-economic growth.
This follows several complaints by Women in Cross Border Trade in the past about challenges they face at the borders which include delays by border agencies in processing documents, challenges with the Letter of Commitment (LOC), multiple checkpoints and extortions, and armed robbery among others.
It is for this reason that the GSA collaborated with the GIZ-Trade Hub on 28th September 2022 to sensitize Women in Cross Border Trade in Accra on ways to avoid some of the recurrent challenges in their line of work.
A Senior Officer with the Shipper Services and Trade Facilitation Department of the GSA Mrs. Rhodalyn Djanitey used the occasion to educate the cross-border traders on the Authority’s Shipper Complaints and Support Units which have been set up at all the country’s entry points.
She assured the cross-border traders that the Shipper Complaints and Support Units are well equipped to handle any challenge and encouraged them to utilize their services.
The Head of the GIZ-Trade Hub Dr. Maren Breuer reiterated the crucial role played by Women in Cross Border Trade to Ghana’s economy, hence the decision to intensify efforts to assist them.
The Organizer for the Women’s Wing of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) Pearl Poku commended the GSA and the GIZ-Trade Hub for the initiative and called for regular collaborations to assist the operations of cross-border traders.
A public speaker and broadcaster, Obuobia Darko-Opoku, has launched the IGNITE Youth Empowerment Initiative, to engage, empower and embolden young ladies to become better versions of themselves and position them strategically for leadership.
The first edition of IGNITE was held in September as part of the mentorship programme to inspire young ladies with untapped potentials to learn how to communicate persuasively.
A pioneer in applying successful mentorship practices to young girls, Obuobia Darko-Opoku, said: “This initiative is a dream that means a lot to me because it’s a dream coming to fruition. This is what personally makes me a happy girl. That quest, that desire, to develop your talent, pursue your dream and wanting to lead change is a good thing.”
Continuing with the commitment to build the capabilities of young girls in the non-profit sphere, the Obuobia Foundation, has completed a mentorship programme with over 300 young girls at the University of Ghana, Law Faculty in September.
She noted that the initiative mentored about 300 young girls within the ages of 18 and 25.
“I think for the registration and the virtual registration alone is giving us an impression. And an idea on the kind of people who have shown interest in this programme.
“Because what we realised is that the age has been between 18 and 25, and those are our targets. So, we think that we have achieved our target. We believe that we have achieved our target. So, at least we know that we have made that impact,” the business executive said.
She said, “I always ask myself how I can achieve this? Working with likeminded persons to provide an opportunity for our younger sisters to have a learning opportunity that encourages. And also network amongst themselves to get support for their steps towards success and leadership training.”
According to her, “there are many young ladies with untapped potentials who are deferring their dreams and will do with deliberate mentorship and programming. With the right mentorship programmes we can fuel the birth of a new revolution that harnesses the energy and potential of our teeming women for social economic transformation.”
“I’m sure a lot of you are asking what my goal is. It is to build that critical young women who will lead change and champion progress in all sectors of life. IGNITE is here to engage, empower, embolden young people. This is not the usual mentorship programme or you are my role model cliché. IGNITE is and will be different,” Darko-Opoku said.
Speaking at the youth empowerment initiative, the Special aide to former president John Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari encouraged young girls to speak with conviction.
“The only thing lacking is that sometimes we speak without conviction. Communicating is ideal for us. I think one of the greatest things any leader can do is to learn how to be effective and intentional about what they want to sell, and how they want to do it,” she said. “It is important to reject gender straightjackets. In your attempt to be a female leader you will meet a lot of people who will tell you it’s not possible.”
She added: “These are the things that worked for me and I think they will work for you as well in trying to speak with clarity. A lot of time when people are standing in front of you even with a microphone you can’t hear them because they are mumbling.”
“You don’t have to mumble you need to be confident enough to open your mouth for your words to roll off your tongue, in such a way that every word you use is easily spelt by the person listening to you.”
Other speakers at the forum included Dr Ike Tandoh and Nana Aba Anamoah.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Builsa South, Dr. Clement Apaak, has urged persons who have claimed that they know powerful forces behind illegal small-scale miners (galamseyers) to expose these people.
In a tweet shared on October 6, 2022, the MP intimated those persons, who have suggested they know the powerful people in galamsey but have failed to expose them, including veteran journalist Kweku Baako Jnr, are accessories to the menace which is destroying Ghana.
“Why are those who know the “powerful forces” fuelling and profiting from illegal mining not telling us who these forces are?
“Kweku Baako, and recently the American Ambassador to Ghana, have referenced these powerful forces. They ought to expose them, if not they are accessories,” parts of the tweet read.
Dr. Apaak also questioned why the national security apparatus of the state has failed to fish out the kingpins behind the menace of illegal small-scale mining.
“Who are these powerful forces we are told are fuelling illegal mining (galamsey)? So powerful the state or its institutions and agencies are incapable of dealing with them? Is it that the nation is powerless or those to take action have been compromised, rendering them powerless?” he questioned.
Speaking in an interview on Joy News’ Newsfile program a few years ago, Kweku Baako Jnr. listed a number of reasons he thinks Aisha Huang appears to be getting away with punitive actions despite her illegal activities as regards mining.
According to him, Aisha has connections with big men in high places and for this reason, she appears rather untouchable regardless of her irresponsible actions.
“This particular Chinese woman, I have it on record – was arrested 3 times during the previous administration. Three times she was released. She is a very powerful woman. Operates more within the Ashanti Region, especially Kumasi.
“She’s got connections from my own checks also in this administration. She appears to be a very smooth operative. She’s built a network across the political divide. She’s got her agents placed in political institutions, particularly the security agencies.
“And she’s able to wriggle herself out of danger or trouble any time she is touched,” he said.
Kweku Baako also noted that his checks indicate that Aisha’s actions are backed by accomplices who are also Chinese nationals. According to him, these women, one of whom he says is called Monica, connive to execute their dubious activities.
Kweku Baako added that Aisha Huang and her team have a group of women who have engaged in sexual activities with some big men in high places and have video and audio evidence of them. According to him, these women blackmail the said personalities with such content and entrap them such that, they are not able to fully implement their expected duties.
The President of the National House of Chiefs, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II, has dared Ghanaians to make available evidence that proves that the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Chairman Wontumi, is involved in illegal mining, also known as galamsey.
In his view, President Akufo-Addo can only act when there’s sufficient evidence that his appointees are involved in illegal mining activities.
On September 30, 2022, the Minerals Commission issued a statement asking Akonta Mining, a company owned by Chairman Wontumi, to stop mining operations in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve, describing the activities of the company as illegal.
But critics have said that the chiefs in the area should have rather asked President Nana Akufo-Addo to punish Chairman Wontumi over his involvement in the galamsey activities.
Reacting to the claims, the President of the National House of Chiefs, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II, argued that traditional authorities do not operate on rumours.
He however stated that persons with concrete evidence to back the claims should make it available for the necessary actions to be taken on them.
“I have heard that Wontumi is doing galamsey. Whether it is true or not, I don’t know and I don’t have any evidence, so how do I tell the president about Wontumi in such a forum or expect me to speak about an issue on national television when I don’t have any facts or direct evidence on Wontumi’s activities?
“So, if you have the evidence or anyone has evidence that Wontumi is into galamsey, make it available to the president and he will act on it,” he told Morning Show host of Kumasi-based Oyerepa TV, Kwesi Parker-Wilson.
Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II also cautioned chiefs against engaging in illegal mining.
He insisted that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has their full support in arresting and prosecuting persons involved in the act in spite of their status in the society.
“The chiefs have been warned against the practice because we have asked the President to deal with anyone who is involved, whether a chief, a politician or whoever must be arrested to curb the menace,” he added.
A World Bank report has indicated that if urgent action is not taken, the rising non-communicable diseases (NCDs) burden will add pressure to the already overstretched health systems and pose a major challenge to development in the sub-region.
The Minister for Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, disclosed this at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) on STOP NCD in Accra on Tuesday.
Mr. Agyeman-Manu said the prevalence of NCDs is increasing globally and is currently the leading cause of death and disease burden worldwide.
He said the World Health Organisation (WHO) indicated that heart diseases, stroke, cancers, diabetes, and respiratory diseases outnumber infectious diseases and are the top killers globally, accounting for about 74% of all deaths.
The Minister said West African Sub-region requires employing a scientific approach to improve the health and well-being of the population.
He stated that the scientific approach to salvaging the situation would strengthen individual skills and expertise, organizational systems and processes, system-wide networking capabilities, and leadership of researchers to conduct high-quality research.
“It will also strengthen local communities to engage with and understand how to enable healthy lifestyles as well as policymakers and practitioners to implement evidence-based NCD interventions,” he added.
The approach, according to the Minister, would also entail engaging stakeholders to solicit their views, preference, and expectations and sharing results, and facilitating the uptake of research results into their decisions and practices.
“We will also maintain equitable international partnerships, through shared leadership involving senior and earlier-career staff, and equally distributed management responsibilities,” he stated.
Mr. Manu disclosed that the high-level research on NCDs is being funded by the United Kingdom and co-led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS).
The research team would include a cluster of research and three academic institutions in West Africa (the Catholic University of West Africa in Bobo-Dioulasso Burkina Faso, LASDEL in Niamey Niger, Ashesi University in Brekusu Ghana, GCPS, and UK LSHTM.
The Minister said the government had launched a National Policy for Non-Communicable Diseases to “ensure that the burden of NCDs is reduced to the barest minimum to render it of little or no public health importance and an obstacle to socio-economic development.”
“This is aligned with the ideals of the National Health Policy, 2020, and the Universal Health Coverage Roadmap (2020-2030) which calls for the use of multisectoral collaboration as a mechanism for addressing comprehensively, all the social determinants of health for better health outcomes for all,” he added.
Students of the Walewale Vocational and Technical Institute (WAVTI) in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region are bearing the brunt of the shortage of food in the school.
The school which was recently added to the beneficiary boarding schools in the region is still not properly feeding the students the required diet.
The students are fed with gari without sugar, salt, or oil for over three weeks during lunch and supper meals respectively.
Some students are suffering from beriberi, with sores in their mouths, stomach pain, and diarrhea due to the continuous intake of gari without oil or sugar.
Meanwhile, the boys are compelled to carry concrete and other construction-related works in Walewale and other neighboring communities due to the hunger they are encountering.
They lamented that the shortage of food in the school had affected their studies and other academic activities.
“We are suffering here. Every day, we are given only gari. Some of us have diarrhea and fever due to the gari we are eating. If we get the chance, we will run to our parents. They have been giving us gari, we cannot count the number of weeks that we take gari,” one of the students lamented.
Some say they are scratching their private parts because of the kind of food they always take.
“We are not getting enough and some of us don’t have food in our chop boxes or money to buy food. It is affecting us. Some of us are scratching our testis because of the gari we take every day,” another student bemoaned.
Another student also added that “They have been giving us food like porridge in the morning without sugar and then lunch times too, they normally give us gari without oil or sugar. We are suffering because whenever we call home for help, our parents always tell us that the school is feeding us so why are we requesting food again? Things are difficult here and we don’t know what to do.”
Meanwhile, some sources disclosed that on Wednesday 5th of October, the students took porridge for breakfast, lunch, and supper after their usual gari got finished on Tuesday (4th October 2022).
The principal of the school declined to comment on the issue saying the regional director of education can only speak on the matter.
Executive Director for Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building, Adib Saani, has urged Ghana’s security apparatus to look into possibilities of terrorist and jihadist groups in the West African sub-region raising funds in Ghana.
According to him, there is a high possibility that the terrorist groups are already engaging in illegal mining activities (galamsey) as well as the sale of cattle in the northern parts of Ghana to raise funds to finance their activities.
In an interview with GhanaWeb, Adib, a security analyst, added that the re-arrest of a prominent Fulani Imam, Sheikh Dukere, who was reported to be the emergency contact of five terrorists killed in Burkina Faso, indicates that there might be terrorists who have passed through Ghana or are currently living in the country.
“His (Sheikh Dukere’s) arrest is significant because it tells us a lot about the presence of alleged militants in Ghana. The probability that they are in Ghana is extremely high.
“The possibility that there is a sleeper cell in Ghana recruiting Ghanaians is also very high. And the possibility that they are organizing or planning something against our interest in Ghana is very high.
“And we also need to look at the sale of cattle. It is a potentially huge source of income for militants. The terrorists bring in cattle which they steal from neighbouring countries and export to Ghana to be sold by their agents, who then send back the monies realised to these militants.
“We also need to look at the gold mines, especially in the north. It is a source of revenue for these terrorist groups. The possibility that terrorists have infiltrated the mining sites is very high,” he said.
According to a Joy News report, Sheikh Osman Dukere was arrested for the second time in Ghana by National Security, together with 12 of his followers on Saturday, October 1, 2022.
Although the reason for his arrest has not been disclosed, the Imam was arrested in 2019 with 20 of his disciples when he was accused of having links with a jihadist group in Burkina Faso.
The first arrest was made after the security operatives in Burkina Faso informed the National Security of Ghana that Imam Dukuri was the emergency contact of 5 jihadists it had killed in a gunfight.
Three persons who were victims in the Ejura shooting of June 29, 2021, say they have been neglected by the government amidst their resulting injuries and unbearable medical costs.
Louis Ayipka aged 30, Nazif Nuhu aged 20 years and Awal Mesbawu suffered gunshot injuries when some state security officials responding to a youth protest in Ejura shot into a crowd.
Subsequently, President Akufo-Addo instituted a committee of inquiry chaired by Justice George Kingsly Koomson which recommended compensation for the victims.
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice having also set up a committee of medical professionals to assess the conditions of the victims has since forwarded a computated compensation advice to the presidency.
This, according to a document intercepted by GhanaWeb was contained in a letter addressed to the Minister for Interior, Ambrose Dery by the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame dated July 22, 2022.
The AG in his advice said he took into consideration the assessment of the health professionals and some claims for compensation made by two of the victims through their lawyers.
“Pursuant to a request of this office, the victims have also provided receipts covering their medical bills as a result of their injuries. Additionally, Mr Ayikpa and Mr Nazif Nuhu have made claims for compensation,” the AG noted.
While Louis Ayikpa’s lawyers made a claim for GH¢1,280,850.00 (US$175,262.034), Nazif Nuhu’s lawyers also made a claim for GH¢230,000.00 (US$31,593.914).
But according to the AG, after assessing the claims and the medical reports under two categories of pecuniary and non-pecuniary losses, the computation of compensation for Loius Ayikpa arrived at some GH¢347,953.00 while that of Nazif Nuhu arrived at GH¢192,425,00.
The recommended compensation for the third victim, Awal Mesbawu also arrived at GH¢678,519.00.
This brought to a total of GH¢1,218,897.00 the amount recommended by the Attorney General to be paid by the state to the three victims.
As part of his recommendations, the AG further asked the state to offer psychological evaluation and support to the victims as well as rehabilitation and training to the victims.
In the case of Awal Mesbawu, the AG recommended that “the appropriate functional prosthesis should be provided to him to assist in mobilization.”
“They should be followed up medically for a minimum of two years to manage any long-term complications that may arise,” the A-G added.
It is, however, not known what the ministry of interior has intended to do with the A-G’s recommendations as the victims and their families continue to demand for their compensation.
