Two convicts, a 34-year-old driver’s mate, Abdulai Ibrahim, and Abdulai Kipo, a 36-year-old butcher, have been found guilty of conspiracy to commit crimes, to wit, robbery and robbery.
The duo were found guilty and sentenced to 28 and 18 years imprisonment in hard labour, respectively.
The conviction and sentencing were carried out at the Wa Circuit Court, presided over by His Honour Jonathan Avoogo.
The Upper West Regional Police Command announced the conviction and sentencing of the culprits in a statement.
The culprits were implicated in a series of robberies across the Napogbakole, Danko, SSNIT, and Konta areas of the Wa Municipality.
Their arrest was made possible through intelligence-led investigations and meticulous gathering of evidence by the Regional Police Intelligence Directorate.
The Upper West Regional Police Command has reaffirmed its determination to make the region safe for peaceful coexistence and will continue to work tirelessly to combat crime and protect its residents.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service has arrested two suspects for possession of 11 large compressed sacks of a substance suspected to be narcotics at Ayi Mensah in the Greater Accra Region.
The suspects, Mathew Narkotey and Augustine Teye, were arrested by a team from the National Operations Department (NOD) on June 7 during routine patrols.
The suspects were onboard a Mazda pick-up truck with registration number GT 3490-P when a search uncovered the suspected narcotic substance concealed in the vehicle.
The vehicle and the suspected substances have been impounded and are currently secured at the Joint Operations Centre for evidential purposes.
Both suspects are in police custody assisting with investigations, while efforts are underway to arrest one Martey, named by the suspects as the intended recipient of the consignment.
The Upper West Region is battling an escalating outbreak of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM), with reported cases climbing to 173 and fatalities reaching 16.
Health officials are ramping up response measures as new infections continue to emerge. The latest update from the Upper West Regional Health Directorate confirms four additional cases and 38 suspected infections within the past week.
Jirapa, Nandom, Wa Municipal, and Wa West have been identified as the hardest-hit areas, all surpassing their alert thresholds. Streptococcus pneumoniae remains the most prevalent strain, with Neisseria meningitidis and Haemophilus influenzae also detected among patients.
The outbreak has taken a significant toll on younger populations, with individuals aged 11 to 20 years accounting for 43.8% of deaths recorded so far.
To contain the crisis, health authorities have intensified surveillance efforts, ensuring real-time data sharing with national stakeholders. A total of 221 frontline health workers—including clinicians, surveillance officers, laboratory scientists, and health promotion officers—have been trained to strengthen response measures.
Medical facilities across the region are conducting gram staining procedures, while polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests have confirmed 29 positive cases from 150 cerebrospinal fluid samples analyzed.
In an effort to improve treatment outcomes, hospitals have been stocked with ceftriaxone for immediate antibiotic therapy. Health officials have also instructed peripheral health centers to stabilize and administer IV ceftriaxone to suspected meningitis patients before referring severe cases to higher-level hospitals.
Public awareness campaigns have been intensified, with authorities leveraging radio broadcasts and community education initiatives to encourage early symptom detection and prompt medical attention. The Ghana Health Service has assured residents that “meningitis treatment remains free,” in line with directives from its Director-General.
Despite these interventions, significant challenges remain. Many patients seek medical attention late, leading to delayed diagnosis and worsening conditions. Additionally, co-infections with malaria have complicated the identification and treatment of meningitis cases.
Health officials are also facing hurdles in rolling out reactive vaccination campaigns due to limited vaccine availability, making it difficult to curb the outbreak’s spread.
Six lives have been lost to cerebrospinal meningitis (CSM) in the Upper West Region, with health authorities confirming 17 suspected cases across six districts.
This was disclosed by Dr. Collins Boateng Danquah, Deputy Director of Public Health, as he urged residents to prioritize preventive measures and seek early medical care.
The Nadowli/Kaleo District and Nandom Municipality are the hardest-hit areas, recording the majority of cases. CSM, a potentially fatal disease common in Ghana’s meningitis belt, typically peaks during the dry season from October, claiming lives across the Upper West, Upper East, and Northern Regions.
Dr. Danquah emphasized the importance of staying vigilant and taking precautions. “The public is advised to take preventive measures, such as avoiding overcrowded areas, ensuring proper ventilation in living spaces, and staying hydrated to maintain healthy skin,” he stated.
Symptoms of CSM, including headaches, fever, and neck pain, should prompt immediate medical attention, he advised. “Early treatment is crucial in managing this disease and reducing fatalities,” Dr. Danquah added.
Despite the rising numbers, health officials have yet to declare an outbreak, citing the current situation as below the threshold for a mass vaccination campaign. The strain of bacteria responsible for the reported cases has not been identified, but authorities remain on high alert.
Speaking to Channel One News, Dr. Danquah assured the public that the region is prepared to handle the situation. “The region is well-prepared to contain the disease’s spread,” he stated, adding that measures are in place to provide care for suspected and confirmed cases.
Residents of the Sissala East Municipality in the Upper West Region have called on the government to address the poor condition of the Tumu-Sakai-Walembelle road.
They have urged the government, through its District Road Improvement Programme, to improve the road network to enhance socio-economic development in the area.
In an interview with the Ghanaian Times on August 6, 2024, local residents voiced their frustration over the ongoing neglect by successive governments.
They noted that the road conditions become treacherous during the rainy season, with dangerous mud and slippery surfaces.
A community leader in Sakai, N-dian N-akul Hussein, explained that farming is the main occupation in the area.
Due to the road’s poor state, farmers must use motorbikes to transport their produce to market, as vehicles cannot easily navigate the rough terrain.
“My health is at risk due to the dust from the dusty road and sometimes too when you come to the shop in the afternoon you would notice everything been dusty,” she said.
The deteriorating road, which connects to neighboring Burkina Faso, has also hindered truck access, affecting the transportation of goods like tomatoes and onions into Ghana.
Resident Hanifa Erasung, who runs a provision shop in Sakai, expressed concern about the health risks associated with the dusty road conditions during the dry season.
She highlighted that the dust exacerbates respiratory problems and affects their daily lives.
Dramani Eric, a commercial driver, described the financial strain caused by frequent vehicle maintenance due to the road’s poor condition.
He mentioned that many drivers have stopped using the road because of the high costs and constant breakdowns.
“Last Monday, I loaded some goods and passengers from Wa to Tumu. When we got to Walembelle the vehicle ceased, so I had to look for another vehicle to offload the goods and the passengers. The money I spent to maintain the vehicle was not small, I plan to stop this work and look for a different work because we end up using the profit made to maintain the vehicle,” he lamented.
Assembly member for Sakai Electoral Area, Kantongboku Gbene Elijah, noted that heavy tipper trucks exacerbate the road’s deterioration and expressed uncertainty about whether the Sakai community will benefit from the District Road Improvement Programme.
The road repair contract was awarded to Fuzak Co. Ltd in 2015 under the previous NDC government.
However, the contractor has not returned to the site since the government changed, leaving the road in disrepair.
A young man was overwhelmed with emotion when he had the chance to hug Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the presidential aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), during a door-to-door campaign in the Upper West Region.
Dr. Bawumia, who had been touring the region for a week, stopped to interact with the young man and others present.
Seeing the young man’s eagerness for a handshake, Dr. Bawumia offered him a warm hug instead, making the moment even more special.
The vice president also posed for photos with the young man, who wanted to capture the memory.
The young man, initially planning to vote for another candidate, confessed that this encounter converted him to believe in the NPP’s “It Is Possible” campaign for the 2024 election.
He expressed his newfound admiration, saying, “This is my first time meeting this man, and I like you. It is possible. Today, I will sleep like I’m in Heaven. I was negative, but now it has become positive.”
During his campaign stop in Jirapa, Dr. Bawumia addressed comments made by John Mahama, who claimed the NPP would not choose a Northerner as their flagbearer.
Dr. Bawumia countered this, stating that despite skepticism, he became the NPP’s leader by God’s grace.
He highlighted that Mahama had previously said the NPP should elect Bawumia if they wanted Northern votes.
Now, with his leadership, Dr. Bawumia urged the North to support him in the upcoming election.
Members of the Wa High Court jury in the Upper West region have declared an indefinite strike due to their unpaid sitting and attendance allowances by government.
They expressed their frustration at a media press briefing, stating that they have been working without pay for nearly two years, and their appeals to the government for the release of allowances have been unsuccessful.
The jury members began unfolding their strike action plans last Monday when they boycotted criminal proceedings at the Wa High Court, hoping that the government would address their concerns.
Three days after the boycott, the group, comprising about 25 members, gathered at the forecourt of the Wa High Court to declare their indefinite strike in protest of the non-payment of their 21 months’ allowances.
The jury’s role is critical in Ghana’s legal system, particularly in criminal cases, where they serve as impartial fact-finders, community representatives, and determinants of guilt or innocence, safeguarding against potential abuse of power by the government.
The absence of the jury has led to adjournments in court proceedings, causing disappointment among lawyers and accused persons who came to defend their cases.
The principal state attorney at the Upper West office of the Attorney General Department, Saeed Abdul Shakur, expressed concern about the dire consequences of the strike on justice delivery in the region and appealed to the government to address the concerns of the jury.
In the Wa municipality of the Upper West region, three students enrolled at the Wa Technical Institute have been apprehended by the police after allegedly launching an assault on their housemaster.
As reported by Citinewsroom, the incident transpired on Tuesday, July 25, and came to light when the school authorities promptly reported the matter, prompting swift action from the law enforcement authorities.
The housemaster, identified as Ishmail Musah Froko, suffered severe injuries as a result of the brutal attack and required immediate medical attention, necessitating his urgent transfer to the Wa Municipal Hospital for treatment.
The assault occurred at a residence located two blocks away from the Wa Technical Institute, during a routine monitoring visit conducted by Mr. Froko.
One student has been detained in connection with the assault on the housemaster, while two others were arrested for attacking a fellow student who had courageously intervened to rescue the beleaguered teacher from harm.
One person dead and several others injured after unknown man opened fire at the Wa East District of the Upper West Region.
According to reports, the residents effected an arrest of an unknown man, who was armed, in the area. But suddenly other armed men emerged from the bushes and opened fire on the gathered residents.
The incident is said to have occurred on Sunday, April 2.
The victims were all taken to the Wa Regional Hospital, where the survivors are responding to treatment.
Member of Parliament for Wa East Constituency Godfred Seidu Jasaw confirmed the incident but said information is “sketchy”.
Speaking on Midday News on 3FM on Wednesday, April 5, Mr Seidu Jasaw said relative calm has returned to the area, according to the Assembly member he talked to.
He said the matter has been reported to the Upper West Regional Police Command, which is now handling the case.
A manhunt to arrest the gunmen has been launched.
“The police in Wa municipality were alerted and they got on to the scene but the activities had taken place and the assailants had left.
“At the moment, my information is that the case has been reported to the regional police CID.”
There are suspicions that the case may be as a result of simmering chieftaincy and land disputes.
The MP also said some residents suspect the assailants may be galamseyers who are trying to assert their control of the area.
In order to increase improved safety, Madam Emily Young, the Chief Executive Officer of the non-governmental organization Moving Health Ghana, has renovated some tricycle ambulances for use by communities in the Sissala East Municipality of the Upper West Region.
The tricycle ambulances will help reduce referral time, thereby improving access to health care in real-time.
The communities are Kong, Bugubelle, Banu, Bawiesebelle, and Nabugubelle.
The Moving Health ambulance is a low-cost three-wheel vehicle that has provided access to safe, affordable, reliable emergency transportation to geographically neglected areas.
Madam Young announced this at Tumu at a workshop to relaunch and hand over the refurbished ambulances to the five communities.
She said other old ones would be refurbished for the benefit of other communities, which would bring the number to 10 in the Sissala East Municipality.
“The ambulances will be kept in the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds to improve emergency health care,” she added.
“Our goal is to expand nationwide, and we think the system we have been able to design in Sissala East is applicable to many places in Ghana, Africa, and other parts of the world”.
The design was community-led, and it would be expanded to Wa East and other parts of the region and the country to respond to health emergencies.
Mr Isaac Quansah, the Country Director of Moving Health Ghana, said the NGO decided to improve upon the existing tricycle ambulances, launched in 2019, after complaints on their usage to effectively assist pregnant women to access emergency services.
“We have now built a multi-purpose new fabrication centre in Pulima near Tumu, where these emergency ambulances are designed and fabricated by artisans from the local area.”
“I am proud to say we can produce these refurbished ambulances here for any community that needs them.”
The ambulances come with improved ventilation, spacious with seats for four persons, a stretcher suitable for pregnant women and the sick, a locker to keep medicines, windows, fan, and lights bright enough to carry out emergency care.
They also have public address systems and serine to send out information.
Mr Quansah said the tricycles were robust and could function smoothly on “the bad road networks in the area” to reduce the delays in accessing emergency health care.
Madam Maria Johana Yourpor, the Regional Coordinator, Northern Development Authority, commended the organisation for taking up the challenge to solve women’s issues and promised an effective collaboration for the success of the project.
Mr Mohammed Issah Bataglia, the Country Director of Virtue Foundation, a partner to Moving Health, recalled an encounter he had with a pregnant woman in labour and later depicted that experience in a photograph, captioned: “Why must a woman die giving birth to a human being, can’t we do something about this?”.
This received attention from other partners and they started the idea to use the local emergency ambulances to help women in labour to reach health facilities faster.
He appealed to the communities to take good care of the ambulances to sustain them.
The Sissala East Municipal Manager of the National Ambulance Service, Mr Mohammed Yakubu, said the vehicles had been out of commission since October, 2022 and appealed to the Assembly to help repair them.
There is chaos in Wa Municipality in the Upper West Region as a result of an alleged killing of a young man in his early 20s by the Police.
Abubakar Shaahid from Dondoli, a suburb in the municipality was reportedly shot and killed by the Police around 8:pm Wednesday, March 8, 2023, on suspicion of being part of a robbery gang terrorising residents.
His family members have however refuted the claims by the Police describing Shaahid as a good boy with no history of criminal act.
Calling for justice for their ward, they have vowed to implore all legitimate means to clear his name from the allegations by the Police anti-robbery taskforce.
According to the spokesperson of the family, Muhammed Tamim, the deceased was on his way to meet a family friend at Tanbileju between 7-8:pm last Wednesday night.
He said on his way there, the friend called to inform the deceased to return home since he had heard gunshots in the suburb. But by that time, according to Tamim, the deceased had already been shot and therefore informed the friend that he was shot by the Police.
Muhammed Tamim said that when they went to the police, the officers said they stopped the deceased on his motorbike but that he immidiately alighted from the motorbike and started running away.
According to him, the police labeled the deceased as a suspect from a robbery gang.
Abubakar Tamim narrated that: “Last night at about 7-8:pm, I had a call from a man at Tanbileju who we call Maalam Umar. He’s our family friend and Shaahid (the deceased) usually visited the man to help him with his work. The man is there (at Tanbileju) but has a room in town so the deceased usually ferries him to town (to pass the night). So he was as usual on his way to go and take the man when he was shot dead by the Police. So how do I get to know he was shot by the Police?”
“The man (Maalam Umar) called to tell me that the deceased was coming to take him but because he, Maalam Umar, was hearing gunshots in the area he called to tell the deceased not to come anymore due to the gunshots, only for the deceased to inform the Maalam that he had already been hit by a bullet. So I tried calling Shaahid, the deceased, but he couldn’t answer the call. So I called the Assembly Member of the area to make enquiries about the issue. He told me he saw some officers at a checkpoint around the area but they denied involvement in the operations but mentioned the anti-robbery taskforce and asked him to go to the CID office. According to their narration, the Police said that they stopped the deceased who was riding a motorbike but that after stopping, he abandoned the bike and started running away. But for me, I said how can you stop a person, he stops and then leaves his motorbike and starts running away? And then you shot his stomach. When somebody is running away from you, is it not his back that you can shoot, but not his stomach?”
According to the spokesperson, the familywants justice for their loved one to clear his name who they say had no criminality record at all as being purported by the Police.
The family wants independent investigations into the case to bring out the truth and allow the law to take its cause.
Attempts to get official response from the police have proven difficult as no officer was prepared to go on record even though they are aware of the case except pledging to journalists to release a statement which is yet to come to the fore over 72hours after the incident occurred.
However, very reliable sources in the service who spoke to GhanaWeb on condition of anonymity confirmed the young man was indeed gunned down by their officers but insisted he was an armed robber.
The body of the deceased has since been buried after it was released to the family on Friday, March 10.
The district director of theGhana Health Service(GHS) at Wa East in the Upper West Region, Dr. Mwin Paschal, has expressed concern about doctors leaving their positions in the region.
Mr. Paschal disclosed this during the 2022 Annual Health Review Meeting held at the Bulenga Traditional Council.
The Wa East district is the most deprived district in the Upper West region with a population of over ninety four thousand having access to only one medical doctor who doubles as the District Director of the GHS.
The area is made up of farming communities with a very low income bracket, very little infrastructural development as well as bad roads in the area amidst terrible mobile network signal.
The District Director addressing the Review Meeting said the lack of health infrastructure has contributed to doctor rejecting posting to the area on their first visit.
‘‘Just this year we received postings for one doctor to be stationed at the Bulenga Health center. Our biggest challenge was accommodation and also to fashion out a motivational package to attract him to stay. Unfortunately after coming to access the place, and this is somebody who is even from this area but he turned his back on us. So as off now we do not have any other doctor apart from myself,” he stated.
Dr. Mwin disclosed that 60% of referrals from the district are made of maternal and Neonatal cases which are often directed to the regional hospital.
He recounted how a mother and baby referred to the Wa Municipal hospital last year for theater service died due to lack of the required health facility.
He added that the Wa East District has no medical laboratory adding that most referrals are taken to the regional capital which is about an hour drive from the nearest health center in the area.
This, the District Director said has necessitated the need to have a Polyclinic in the area adding that with the help of the public a structure at the Bulenga Health Center can be used as a theater.
Some 27 individuals have been arrested in relation to the murder of five security guards in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region.
This was revealed by the Minister of Interior, Ambrose Dery, when he appeared before Parliament to answer some urgent questions filed by some members of the House on March 2, 2023.
Eight suspects have been discharged per the Attorney General’s advice.
The sector minister added that no arrests had been made regarding the three missing security guards, and the police were still working to arrest the perpetrators.
He assured that the ministry has been sensitising the youth in the area to be vigilant and be on the lookout for the activities of serial killers.
He also revealed that National Counter Terrorism Unit and the National Small Weapon and Armour Team (SWAT) had been deployed to augment the strength of local police within the Atebubu and Yeji of the Bono East region to combat armed robbery.
According to theMinistry of Interior, three private security guards who went missing after recent killings in Wa in the Upper West Region have not yet been found.
About 10 private security men were killed by unknown assailants in Wa last year which led to the arrest of 27 suspects in connection with the incidents.
Providing an update on the floor of Parliament on the current state of investigations into the serial killings, the Minister of Interior, Ambrose Dery said efforts are underway to arrest the other perpetrators of the heinous act.
Giving a breakdown of the progress of investigations so far, Mr. Dery said, “following the disappearance of five-night security guards who were kidnapped by assailants in different locations and subsequently murdered within the Wa Municipality, a special investigation led to the arrest of 27 suspects, and out of the number arrested, 8 suspects have been discharged on the Attorney General’s advice, 15 suspects are on court bail awaiting the Attorney General’s report.”
He also added that “the police are yet to identify and locate three other missing security guards. The three were reported missing between September and October 2022 and no arrest has been made in respect of the three missing guards. The police have intensified education campaigns in the area to sensitize the residents concerning serial killings and kidnappers.”
“Police intelligence is also working around the clock for clues that will lead to the arrest of the perpetrators,” he further disclosed.
After discovering an unidentified body in a small grave next to the school’s park on Tuesday afternoon, students at the St. Aiden Anglican basic school in Wa in the Upper West Region were left in a state of terror and fear.
Pupils of the St. Aiden Anglican basic school in Wa in the on Tuesday afternoon were thrown into a state of fear and panic after they found an unidentified body in a shallow grave near the school’s park.
The incident is the first since the beginning of this year after 12 of similar cases were recorded last year in Wa.
Citi News’ Latif Mahama said teachers and pupils of the St. Aiden Anglican basic school watched in fear and disbelief as the police tried to exhume the remains of the yet-to-be-identified body near the school’s park.
Citi News sources at the school indicate that some pupils run into a shallow grave which had bones protruding from it.
Within minutes, the school became a point of attraction as scores of students travelled far and near to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be yet another gruesome murder in the Wa township.
Unlike similar incidents that engulfed the Wa township last year, Tuesday’s body had decomposed.
About 18 suspects have been arrested in connection with what is suspected to be ritual killings in the Wa within the past 11 months.
Sources within the Upper West regional police command indicate that investigations so far have not linked any of the suspects to the killings.
Some of the suspects have been released on medical grounds while others are still in custody pending further investigations.
Residents, however, say the killings in the Wa township are becoming one too many and must be halted by the police.
Both teachers and pupils of the St. Aiden Anglican basic school declined to speak on Tuesday’s incident.
At least 33,868 students in the Upper West Region have benefited from the government’s flagship Free Senior High School programme, according to official figures.
Addressing journalists over the weekend, the regional minister Hafiz Bin Salih attributed the increment in secondary school enrolment in his region to the visionary leadership of President Nana Akufo-Addo in making education accessible to all.
“The introduction of the Free SHS programme in 2017 saw all 35 public SHS/SHTS/TVET schools in the region being enrolled onto the programme. So far, the programme has benefited 33,868 students in the region,” Salih said.
He said though the region was faced with the challenge of inadequate infrastructure when the programme was first introduced in 2017, the government through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) has completed 33 new educational projects, with 11 facilities being constructed in different areas within the region.
“In addition, from 2017 to date, the GETFund has completed 33 new infrastructural facilities, and 11 new facilities is in progress. These projects include dormitories, classrooms, science laboratories, administrative blocks, accommodation among others,” he added.
In addition, the minister said strenuous efforts are being made to complete a further 52 stalled GETFund projects in the region. These projects, he said, include some critical infrastructure including the Hilla Limann Technical University, some senior high schools and basic schools across the region.
The Minister of National Security, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, has presented branded motorbikes and vehicles to some security agencies in the Upper West Region to enhance the maintenance of peace and security in the region.
The Ghana Police Service received 20 motorbikes and a pickup; the Ghana Armed Forces, 15 motorbikes and a pickup, and the Ghana Immigration Service had 10 motorbikes and a pickup.
Addressing the security personnel in Wa at a brief ceremony to present the logistics, Mr Kan-Dapaah acknowledged their efforts in ensuring regional peace and security.
He said the Prisons Service, Fire Service, and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) would also receive their share of the logistics later through the Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih.
He acknowledged that the ministries of Defence and Interior had played crucial roles in providing the security officers with the requisite training and logistics to work with, which had earned Ghana the enviable status as the most peaceful country in West Africa and second in Africa, next to Mauritius.
“I know they are doing well but, we thought at the Ministry of National Security that we could also do something, however small, to complement what my colleagues in the Ministries of Defence and Interior are doing,” Mr Kan-Dapaah said.
“This is why we thought it’s necessary to have a look at our budget to see what we can do to assist.”
He commended members of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) and the security and intelligence agencies for the work done to maintain peace in the country.
It was the duty of every government to provide public services to the citizens, including health and educational facilities, he said, but security was the most important as none of the other services could be enjoyed without security.
He said Ghana had been the preferred destination for foreign nationals for businesses or education due to security and urged stakeholders, especially the security agencies, to up their game to maintain that status.
Dr Salih, on his part, said the logistics was timely as it would help improve the security situation in the region.
Commenting on the recent killings and abductions in Wa, he said the REGSEC was not resting on its oars and would work to bring the perpetrators to book.
Brigadier General Matthew Essien, General Officer Commanding, Northern Command, on behalf of the security agencies, acknowledged the government’s efforts in supporting their work.
He commended the National Security Minister for the logistics and said it would make them more effective in their duties but appealed for more support to beef up security.
The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, on Tuesday, cut sod for the construction of a $2 million Astroturf at Tumu in the Upper West Region.
Measuring 100 by 120 feet respectively, the multi-purpose pitch being sponsored by Ghana Gas will be completed in six months.
Speaking at the ceremony the Vice President stated that the government was doing its best to bring development to every sector of the country, although it sometimes appeared slower than expected and said the needs of the youth was at the heart of government’s agenda.
“As a country, one of our biggest challenges is youth unemployment, so government has paid close attention to this area so that even though the problem has not been solved entirely, the New Patriotic Party government has created more jobs than any other government in the 4th Republic and you can bear witness to this,” he said.
He mentioned that 600,000 people were on government’s payroll at the time the party came to power and said an additional 400,000 people had been recruited in the last five years in the health and education sectors as well as the various security services.
To ensure that the youth measured up to the human resource needs of the country, the Vice President said the government had dedicated resources to ensuring that every young person in the country attained at least a senior high school certificate hence the introduction of the free senior high school policy.
“The policy has led to a surge in enrolment into senior high school by 50 per cent and more girls are being enrolled leading to gender parity; government is also paying attention to vocational education by establishing a Technical Education Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training (TEVET) service and also included them in the free SHS policy.
He mentioned that government was building ultra-modern technical educational institutions across the country and retooling existing ones as in the case of St Claires in Tumu.
Touching on the Tumu-Wa road, Dr Bawumia promised the people of Tumu that the government would deliberate on how to acquire a dedicated fund to pay road contractors in the area to ensure that they expedite action on the construction of the road.
“I have been briefly informed that five contractors are supposed to work on the Wa-Tumu road but only one is currently at work due to non-payment of contracts as a result of challenges with disbursement of the internally generated funds (IGF) at the assembly so it is necessary that we have an input as a government to see how these contractors can be paid to make them get back to work”, he stressed.
The senior manager for Community Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility at the Ghana Gas, Mr Stephen Donkor, said the astroturf pitch was one of the numerous ways the company would want to support the development of northern Ghana and appealed to the Municipal Chief Executive to monitor the project to ensure it was delivered on time.
In a speech, the Chief of Tumu, Kuoro Richard Babini Kanton IV lauded the project as relevant and said it would provide the youth the opportunity to nurture their talents in sports and enable them to spend their leisure prudently away from social vices.
The group says out of the 71 vacant positions with 116 applicants, no one from the Upper West Region was selected, although the applicant with the highest score in the exams conducted emerged from the region.
The caucus says eight of the shortlisted applicants from the region were disqualified because they lacked the needed knowledge on the management of district health directorates and epidemic outbreaks.
Describing the situation as unfair, the Secretary of the Upper West NDC Caucus in Parliament, Dr. Sebastian N. Sandaare called on the Ghana Health Service to audit the recruitment process to ensure regional balance.
“The Ghana Health Service is reminded of the duty to act fairly and reasonably in the exercise of its administrative authority, as contained in Article 23 of the 1992 constitution.”
“The Ghana Health Service is enjoined to prohibit discrimination and prejudice on grounds of places of origin,” the MP said.
The tourism industry of the Upper West Region has been described as a virgin entity due to the untapped potential of its tourist attractions and hospitality industry, a renowned industry player has said.
Abdul-Aziz Pelpuo, a seasoned tour guide with many years of accolades and experience in tourism lamented why industry players in the region continued to falter in the promotion of tourism the region has failed to use technology to their advantage in that regard.
He disclosed that only 3 out of the numerous tourist sites have been documented for easy accessibility to tourists far and near, despite the unique tourist products that the region can boast of.
“I’ll describe tourism in the region as a virgin entity. A virgin entity because the tourism industry in the region remains untapped. If you look from all angles, these tourist products, the tourist attraction themselves, the hospitality industry, that’s, the hotels, guest houses, among others, restaurants, chop bars (eateries), in the U/W/R remains untapped.
“And now, what will bring people to our region? – the tourist attraction. Before people come to sleep in our hotels or eat from chop bars, there must be something that would lead them to Upper West Region and these are our tourist attractions.
“And that’s why I say we have very unique tourists attractions that you can’t find anywhere in the world but in the U/W/R but most of these tourists attractions that I’m about to mention, you can’t even find them on Google, you can’t find them on even a simple tourism brochure, you can’t read it from any tourism book.”
“That’s why I describe it as untapped potential. I can mention an endless number of tourist attractions in the region but you can’t find more than 3 on record.
Mostly, you could find Wechau Hippo Sanctuary and then you could also find Gbollu Slave Defence Wall and you could also find the Gbelle Game Reserve,” he lamented.
He attributed the development to the ignorance of the locals of host communities over their inability to appreciate the worth of their tourist products as well as the ineptitude of the institutions mandated to promote such facilities that are under their watch, bemoaning how some of these tourists have been left to rot.
He made these comments in an interview with GhanaWeb Tuesday, September 27, 2022, to assess the tourism potential in the Upper West Region.
The seven-time award-winning best regional tour guide and two-time national best added that it takes the provision of tourism infrastructures such as good roads and health facilities, functioning telecommunication network, and potable drinking water, among other social amenities, to get a thriving tourism industry.
He indicated it is only when those facilities are in place that private investors would be attracted to invest their resources in tourism products to attract tourists to the region knowing they can recoup their resources.
“We have tourism products and we have tourism infrastructure. If government mandated to provide the infrastructure is able to do so, then the private sector can come in to develop the product. Bad road networks – all the roads, as in all the roads leading to the tourist sites (in the Upper West Region) I know, are in a deplorable state. Even the famous Hippo Sanctuary at Wechau you know, there is no good road linking Wechau to the angles, the Mashroom Rock (road too) the same thing, Nanvile Termite Hills, …
Just last two weeks, I had to return a group of 12 (people) just because the road to the Termite Hills was not accessible. So 12 people came from the USA, all the way to Wa. We had to turn back after Sankana halfway, we had to turn back because it had rained and the road was not just accessible.
“Telecommunication network is another thing. Imagine how we use our phones now. So imagine somebody going to an area where there is no telecommunication network, I can’t make a call, I can’t access the internet. You don’t expect people to go there. Those are part of the tourist infrastructure. Now good healthcare: we have the Gbelle Reserve where we have lots of wild animals – bufalloes, elephants, antelopes, and so on, but there is no clinic in and around that area.
So people would not go there. There is no good road there, no telecommunication there, no potable water, and no healthcare facility. So why would people go there? So those are part of the infrastructure. So if government is able to put these infrastructures in place, then individuals or private investors can now come in to develop the products,” Abdul-Aziz Pelpuo stated.
The National Executive member of the Tour Guides Association of Ghana enumerated a few of the available tourist sites in the region as follows:
“Mystery Bleeding Rock (Busa – Wa municipal); Baobab Tree House with a natural door and a window carving with the capacity of the inside able to accommodate about 10 average humans (Busa – Wa municipal); Tomb of a colonial British agent who was instrumental in the demarcation of the northern territories of Ghana that helped to sign treaties with the natives to get them out of the British protectorates (Wa municipal);
Mushroom Rocks (Wuling – Jirapa municipal); and Nanvile Termite Hills (Nadawli-Kaleo). Others are: Mystery Footprints on a Baobab Tree (Ulo – Jirapa municipal); Museum of President of the Third Republic, Dr. Hilla Liman (Gbollu); Gbollu Slave Defence Wall (Gbollu); Gbele Game Reserve (Daffiema-Bussie-Issa district); Crocodile Pond (Sombo – Wa municipal); and Sacred Grove Water Spring (Babile-Brefu: Lawra) and so on.
Ras Bob as he is affectionately called, said the Ghana Tourism Federation includes all the industry players from the private sector – the Hoteliers Association, the Tour Union, the Tour Guides Association, and the Car Rental Association.
According to him, all members of the aforementioned associations are from the private sector and could only discover or identify the tourist sites and then inform the regulators to certify and licence them and then do the promotion of those products.
World Tourism Day
The United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) World Tourism Day is observed on September 27 every year with the aim of fostering awareness among the International community about the importance of Tourism and its social, economic, political, and cultural values.
This year’s event was with the theme: Rethinking Tourism. This year’s official World Tourism Day celebration was held in Bali, Indonesia to highlight the shift towards tourism as a crucial pillar of development.
As part of the celebration, Ghana developed a sub-theme dubbed: Promoting Domestic Tourism for Wealth Creation in Communities to grow the interest of Ghanaians in tourism with the Upper West Region hosting the event in Wa municipal under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
Residents of Wuru, a community in the Sissala East Municipality of the Upper West Region, have reportedly avoided using the Ghana cedi as a legal tender for trading following its continuous depreciation.
The Wuru residents have resorted to using the West African CFA franc, which is used by a number of West African countries such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, and Togo in their trade with people from neighbouring countries. Upper West Region: Wuru community residents refuse to trade in Ghana cedis prefer CFA
“People come here to tell us that it is illegal for us to spend the CFA other than the cedis. We also tell them it is not our fault because the only way for us to survive is to accept the CFA since all the goods come from Burkina-Faso,”he said.
The area’s head, Wurupio Mahama Bataachia Dawuri IV, who spoke to the media, argued that residents’ decision to not trade in the Ghana cedi is not far-fetched as they are yet to see a major development in the area by the government.
According to him, members of the town no longer regard themselves
as Ghanaians and, therefore, are on the lookout for themselves. ”We think of ourselves as being in a neutral zone. Nobody cares about us, so we don’t know if we
belong to Ghana or Burkina Faso,”he said.
The lack of good roads is one of the major challenges facing the community, with a population of over 3,000 that engage in animal
and crop farming. Also, there is no network service available in the area, so residents have been unable to register for their Ghana cards.
To ensure the use of the Ghana cedi during commerce, the people of Wuru have called on the government to see to it that the Sissala East Municipality sees an
uplift.
The people of Wuru, a deprived community in the Sissala East Municipality of the Upper West Region are not using the Ghana Cedis, the official currency of Ghana as its medium of exchange due to depreciation of the Ghana Cedi and other compelling factors.
The only way they accept the cedi as medium of exchange or legal tender is to receive the money in CFA equivalent when selling their products.
The community, with a population of more than 3,000, transacts business with neighbouring Burkina-Faso and accepts the CFA as the legal tender for convenience.
They trade in livestock, cereals and sheanut as well as fowls.
Maize, millet, and sesame are the major crops produced in the area.
Wurupio Mahama Bataachia Dawuri IV, the chief of the area speaking to the GNA, said there was nothing wrong with spending a foreign currency in the area since they do not recognize themselves as Ghanaians because they have been neglected, and do not benefit from government projects.
He attributed the problem to among other things, poor road infrastructure, depreciation of the Ghana cedi and increases in prices of petroleum products as well as Burkinabes being their only business partners.
Some people making payment with the CFA in the Wuru market.
The community, about 70 kilometres from Tumu borders Burkina-Faso and speaks only Kassem, the language of Navrongo and other Kassena Nankana communities of the Upper East Region.
It took the GNA more than three hours on a motorbike from Tumu to the community due to the deplorable nature of the road, which a vehicle cannot access.
The GNA visited the Sissala East Municipality to see problems facing the people and to report on them for assistance by state actors.
Wurupio Dawuri explained that the Ghana Cedi and the CFA were spent concurrently, but that the people stopped accepting the Ghanaian currency due to depreciation and high fuel prices.
The chief said the Wuru community is only remembered during elections, where politicians come to “deceive” them for their votes.
He said: “We consider ourselves as being in a neutral zone. We do not know whether we belong to Ghana or Burkina-Faso because nobody cares about us,” and that they appealed for support over the years that were ignored.
He explained that they have been compelled by circumstances to ignore the Ghana Cedi since they could not convey their produce to any of the Ghanaian communities for sale because of lack of roads and transportation.
“People come here to tell us that it is illegal for us to spend the CFA other than the cedis. We also tell them it is not our fault because the only way for us to survive is to accept the CFA since all the goods come from Burkina-Faso,” he said.
He expressed concern about the inability of the National Identification Authority (NIA) to register and get the Ghana Card for them due to lack of network service in the area for registration.
Wurupio Dawuri said it was important for the government to ensure that the Wuru community gets good roads to be linked to the rest of Ghana to ensure the people belong to Ghana and to enjoy the national cake.
He also appealed for water, communication network and security in the area since they cannot defend themselves from terrorists’ attacks.
Mr. Yakubu Fuseini Batong, the Sissala East Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) said the Tumu-Kunchokor-Wuru road had been awarded and that construction would soon start.
He said efforts were being made to construct and repair broken bridges on the Wuru road.
There have been reports of an alleged intrusion at the Wa School for the Blind by an unknown man amid the recent kidnappings and serial killings in the Upper West Region.
The incident allegedly occurred when one student went behind the girls dormitory to get water, which was confirmed by school officials.
According to headmaster of the school, Sylvester Bayor, “between the hours of 7:30 and 8:00pm in the evening, one girl went behind the girl’s dorm to fetch water and saw a man dressed in black with his face covered with a mask. She quickly turned back and blew the alarm.”
Mr Bayorsaid this generated fear among the students, who ran to their teachers and school security at the main gate to seek cover, thinking the man could be one of the murderers behind the recent killings in the area.
Serial killings in Wa
Recent kidnappings and serial killings in Wa have generated fear and worry among residents. On Friday, September 16, 2022, residents woke up to the news of another missing private security guard, bringing the number to seven in the last five months.
The latest incident was recorded on Tuesday, September 20, 2022, when the lifeless body of a young adult (yet to be identified) was found.
Further reports indicate that the Wa School for the Deaf is located close to the spot where the latest dead body was discovered. This, according to school authorities, has heightened the fears of students.
Mr Bayor noted that the lack of street lights in and around the school makes matters worse.
He noted that the school at night is often plunged into darkness as a result, and this puts the school at a higher risk of being attacked.
He further noted that, despite various calls to government and other stakeholders for help, the school is yet to receive any help in that regard.
Lead suspected busted
Meanwhile, the key suspect believed to be orchestrating these killings has been arrested.
The man identified as Kankani Adongo and believed to be in his mid-forties was arrested on 19th September 2022 at Bamahu, a suburb of Wa.
His arrest was possible due to an extensive collaboration between the police and community search parties to find people involved in this act, the Police announced.
The suspect is in custody and will be arraigned before the court to face justice.
Also, about 305 police officers have been deployed to beef up security in the area. Additionally, police authorities have also placed a ¢100,000 bounty on persons who can volunteer credible information that will lead to the arrest and prosecution of other perpetrators behind the recent killings.
The IGP has also been in the area to ascertain the matter.
Wa Central Member of Parliament, Rashid Pelpuo, has disclosed that the latest killings that had bedeviled the Upper West Regional capital was ritualistic in nature.
Whiles lamenting the growing distress that the killings was having on his constituents, Pelpuo said there was the need for police to step up intelligence to curb the situation.
He said perpetrators are after their victims for ritual purposes. “They are very ritualistic from what we have seen so far,” he said in an interview on Accra-based Citi FM on Tuesday, September 20, 2022.
“In the case of today’s killing, the body was cut open, heart and kidneys removed, testes are also taken. I don’t know what they do with it, it is very terrible, terrible,” he added.
Lead suspect arrested after multiple incidents of murder in Wa
Probe into recent serial killings in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region appears to have received a major boost after Police apprehended a prime suspect on Monday, September 19.
The arrest of Kankani Adongo was said to have taken place through the collaboration of the locals and the Police at Bamahu, a community in the municipality.
The locals who reportedly spotted the suspect, apprehended him and then took him to the palace of the Paramount Chief of the Wala Traditional Area who in turn informed the Police about the arrest of the suspect.
Head of the Public Affairs unit of the Regional Police Command, Chief Inspector Gideon Ohene Boateng in a statement on Monday said: “The Police have arrested one person believed to be the prime suspect behind the Wa murder case.
“Suspect Kankani Adongo, was arrested on 19th September, 2022 at Bamahu, a suburb of Wa after extensive collaboration between the Police and community search parties.
“Suspect is in custody and will be arraigned before the court to face justice,” the statement read in part.
Suspect allegedly eats body parts of victims
According to security and safety analyst, Dr Adam Bonaa, who says he has gathered intelligence to the effect that the suspect ate body parts of some of his victims.
“My intelligence suggests the suspect was behaving in a cannibalistic way. When he was arrested, it was found out that he had eaten some body parts of the people he allegedly killed. This is a very disturbing development if you ask me,” Dr Bonaa is quoted in a report by kasapafmonline.com.
The analyst alluded that such tendencies by the suspect may result from mental health issues.
The arrest follows recent pattern of security officers of some schools disappearing overnight.
Adongo was said to have been found with some clothes belonging to some of the missing persons in his possession.
The Police had a hectic time in their attempt to take the suspect to the Police station due to the resistance of the crowd that had amassed outside the palace who wanted him handed over for instant justice.
The main suspect in the killing case at Wa in the Upper West Region has been apprehended, according to the police.
The suspect, identified as Kankani Adongo, was arrested today, Monday, September 19, 2022, at Bamahu, a suburb of Wa.
This was after extensive collaboration between the police and community searchparties.
“The suspect is in custody and will be arraigned before the court to face justice”, the police added in a brief statement.
Police have already assured that they will continue to maintain law and order in the Wa Municipality and surrounding communities after a string of killings.
Police have special purpose police intelligence and investigation teams working with members of the community.
10 private security men have been killed by unknown assailants in Wa within the last nine months with the latest incident happening last Friday.
This angered youth in the area, who protested the incessant killings.
The Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery has been meeting with leaders of the Waala traditional area and has assured of thorough investigations into the matter.
On Sunday, a body was found in a shallow grave at Bamahu, a suburb of Wa.
“The body was later identified by family members of the deceased as Seidu Baga who was reported missing on 16th September 2022,” police noted in the statement.
The body was subsequently exhumed and conveyed to the Regional Hospital, Wa for autopsy and investigation.
Police have also said they are providing clinical psychologists to offer psycho-social support to the family.
IGP heads to Wa
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare is in Wa, the Upper West regional capital, following the killing of private security personnel in the area.
He together with some members of the Police Management Board and the Upper West Regional Police Command also paid a courtesy call on the Overlord of the Wa Traditional Area, Wa Naa Seidu Fuseini Pelpuo IV.
Earlier, the IGP and some members of the Police Management Board and the Regional Police Command embarked on a security tour in the municipality.
The maiden visit of the IGP to the area is to update the service on the new security measures put in place to bring peace in Wa and the Upper West region at large.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, is in Wa of the Upper West Region today, September 19, 2022.
Mr Dampare’s visit comes in response to the most recent purported claims of murders and disappearances in Wa.
The IGP was accompanied with other top officers, additionally, his visit comes after police in Wa’s “Napogi-ba Kolee” expansion uncovered a body buried in a shallow grave.
The deceased identified as Seidu Dakpuli is the latest security personnel who went missing two days ago.
Some body parts are said to be missing after the exercise.
This comes days after angry youth in the area massed up on the streets and burnt tyres protesting the unexplained killings.
The IGP’s visit is expected to boost Police morale and also assure the citizenry of the readiness of the law enforcement agency to protect them.
Apart from the IGP’s presence, the Police administration has also assured the people of the Wa and its environs that it has taken cognizance of their security concerns and has, therefore, put in place measures to support the Regional Police Command to beef up security to ensure the safety of all persons in the Metropolis.
In this regard, special purpose investigation and intelligence teams as well as additional police visibility and crime combat teams have been deployed to Wa under the leadership of the Director-General of Operations.
The Police reiterated its pledge to the public that they will continue to work towards ensuring the safety and security of all persons across the country.
Member of Parliament (MP) for the Wa CentralConstituency in theUpper West Region, Dr. Rasheed Pelpuo has urged that the police to come up with initiatives to help curb the recent killings in the municipality.
According to him, the police’s present tactics and procedures are failing to address the of ritual killings in the municipality.
So far, nine private security guards working at night in the Wa municipality have allegedly been slaughtered for ritual purposes.
In an interview with Class 91.3 FM, the chief member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), recommended that the RESEC conducts regular inspections on all vehicles leaving the area.
Dr. Pelpuo is also of the view that the identity of people who out of the blue exhibit wealth in the municipality must be known to help unravel the situation of alleged ritual killings.
He alleged that reports available have it that the bodies are being taken to Sierra Leone for some rituals.
On Friday morning, September 16, 2022 residents woke up to the news of another missing privatesecurity guard, bringing the number to 7 in the last five months.
The recent suspected murder happened near the Wa Technical Institute and is the second to have occurred this week.
Traces of blood were found on the floor near the duty post of the victim. Residents suspect both missing persons have been killed and their bodies hidden.
Police investigations are underway.
Meanwhile, the youth are on rampage and protesting the sudden missing of persons in the area. They stormed Wa Naa’s palace demanding to be given permission to search houses of foreigners.
JoyNews understands that overlord of Wa has summoned all sub-chiefs under his jurisdiction to look into the matter and possibly get the Regional Security Council to impose curfew in the community.
Following the alleged murder of six of their coworkers in the previous five months, private security officers in the Wa municipality say that their lives are in danger.
Also reported missing in the previous two months were two more people.
The President from Sunday, August 21, 2022 will inspect ongoing projects and cut the sod for some road construction works in the area.
The proposed itinerary, made available to the Ghana News Agency in Wa by the Regional Coordinating Council, indicates that the President would have a radio interview at Radio Upper West at 1000 hours GMT, after which he would pay a courtesy call on the Wa-Na on Monday, August 22.
He will proceed to inspect ongoing works on Phase II of the Wa Youth Resource Centre in the Wa Central Constituency.
President Akufo-Addo would depart Wa to Lambussie to inspect the Agenda 111 Project and then to Nandom to pay a courtesy call on the Nandom Na, have a radio interview, after which he will cut the sod for the dualisation of the Nandom Town roads, it said.
The President would return to Wa in the evening and meet MMDCEs, regional executives of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) as well as constituency chairmen.
On Tuesday, August 22, the President would inspect the ongoing Wa Shopping Centre and depart Wa to Daffiama-Bussie-Isa Constituency, to pay a courtesy call on the Isa Na as well as inspect the ongoing Isa Agenda 111 project.
He would also visit Kaleo and Wechiau to commission the Kaleo Solar Power Project in the Nadowli-Kaleo Constituency and inspect an Agenda 111 projects at Wechiau in the Wa West Constituency, then depart to Damongo, capital of the Savannah Region.
The Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region is gradually becoming an unsafe place to live in particularly at night due to the recent killings being recorded in the hitherto peaceful town.
Even before the Wa Police Command could unravel the mystery behind some two murders recorded in this year alone, another person was found dead and buried near his workplace on Sunday, July 31, 2022.
Mumuni Jaatuwa alias Kekala who is a night security man from Kpaguri, a suburb in the Wa Municipality was said to have left for work on Friday, July 29, after evening prayers but did not return home the following day.
As a result, a search party was activated and combed around the municipality on Saturday without success.
However, according to Buurinaa, a relative of the deceased, on Sunday after a failed search the previous day, the relatives decided to go back to the deceased’s working place for further search.
He said upon checking one of the uncompleted rooms at the premises, they noticed a portion of the room that appeared weeded with weeds spread over it. This raised their suspicion to call on the Police to the scene. The police dug to reveal the body of the deceased with his stomach cut open, revealing his intestines.
“On Friday, we performed the evening prayer together with him before he left for work. The following day, from morning to evening he didn’t return. Due to that we informed one another and began a search for him. We first went to his farm but we didn’t see him. Secondly, we went to his workplace but there was no trace of him either. We also went to check the Police station thinking that maybe he might have fallen foul of the law but he was not there. Also, we thought that maybe an accident can let him end at the hospital so we went and checked all the wards at the hospital to no avail. We left there around midnight on Saturday.
“So we decided that we’d continue our search for him on Sunday. The following day, we decided to go to his workplace again to check the uncompleted rooms on the premises. So upon entering one of the rooms, we saw that a part of the room appeared to have been dug and refilled, with the weeds on top of it. That heightened our suspicion and made us go back to inform the Police.
“The Police dug the place only to reveal his body with his stomach cut open and his intestines out. But as to what has been removed from the stomach, we can’t tell. So they (the hospital authorities and Police) promised to do what is expected of them and will release the body to us tomorrow Monday for burial,” the relative recounted.
Another relative, Simon Abu also stated that: “He is the youngest brother of my grandfather and I know he’s a night watchman (security) and I know where he works. I was at my farm when the incident happened. I went to see the Police Commander and he pledged to release the body to us tomorrow for burial. The deceased was a good man who rarely had issues with anyone and loved joking with everyone. God will take care of his killers. We leave everything in the hands of God.”
C/Inspector Gideon Ohene Boateng, Head of the Public Affairs unit of the Police Command confirmed the incident in an interview on Monday, August 1, and indicated the Police were doing everything possible to bring the perpetrators to book.
Asked why it was taking the Police too long to solve the recent murders, the Chief Inspector said:
“It’s very much pathetic as I early on said. It’s alarming, yes. But when the Police are investigating a case, in some incidences, a case may be finished with its investigations within two or three days. Others take about a year or two and others even ten years. It depends on the intelligence that we gather and to get the actual perpetrator in order not to lose the case in court. That’s why most, if Police hastily sends a case to court without gathering vital information that’ll let us win a case, at times you see that Police go court to flop.”
He appealed to the general public to be forthcoming with vital information to enable the Police to fight crime effectively.
The Speaker of Parliamenthas constituted an adhoc body of five parliamentary committees to probe the activities of the National Food Buffer Stock Company and the National School Feeding programme.
The mandate of the committees among others is to look into the feasibility and sustainability of the organizations, especially in recent times when there are reports of food shortage in Senior High Schools and the demand from school feeding caterers for an increment in the cost of feeding students.
The Speaker gave these directives in Parliament after visiting the organizations on the 23rd of July 2022.
“Let me once more reiterate that the School Feeding Programme provides great potential. It is therefore critical that we address issues regarding the efficient implementation of the programme, while instituting measures to avert a possible occurrence in the future.â€
The Conference of Heads of Assisted Schools in the Upper West Region last week warned that Senior High Schools in the region may soon shut down if the government fails to supply them with adequate foodstuff to feed students.
“It came out that the food suppliers contracted by Buffer Stock Company and those local suppliers contacted to help out are all refusing to supply due to non-payment of outstanding monies owed for food supplied to the schools. This has led to serious food shortages in all the schools in the region. In fact, an assessment of the situation indicated that most schools cannot go beyond one week if nothing urgent is done about it,†a statement from the Upper West branch of CHASS complained.
The President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Angel Carbornu took on the government regarding the food shortages.
Mr, Carbonu said the current centralized system that authorises only the National Buffer Stock to distribute food to Senior High Schools has largely contributed to food shortages in various schools.
He believes a decentralization of food distribution to Senior High Schools, will address these challenges
Following the continuous surge of food inflation in the Upper West Region, many traders and consumers have been expressing concern about the situation.
Various reasons have been attributed to the increasing prices of foodstuffs in the region.
The region recorded 24.7% food inflation rate in April which was the highest amongst all the regions in the country for that month.
Closely following were the Northern and Upper East regions recording 20.6% and 19.8% respectively.
Even in overall inflation for January 2022, the region recorded 15.6%, second to Greater Accra.
GhanaWeb’s Upper West regional correspondent, Ilyaas Al-Hasan, spoke to some traders on the hike in inflation.
Faatima Muhammad, a trader in Wa Municipal, while sharing her view attributed the increase in food prices to the purchasing of foodstuff and other items from neighbouring countries.
She added that the high exchange rate also has a dire consequences on traders and the economy at large.
“Take tomatoes, rice and cooking oils for instance, which we buy from Burkina Faso, we don’t use Cedis to buy the items. We change Cedis to their currency to be able to trade there and we all know how the Cedi keeps falling every now and then. You go and buy items and the next time you go again, the exchange rate goes up. So you see, when you bring the items you’re also forced to increase the price of the item,” she said.
Another trader, Iddrisu Alhasan also cited the importation of food items as one of the reasons for high prices of foodstuffs in the region, however, believes the desire for abnormal profit margins by some traders is also a major cause.
“Some of us (traders) are simply greedy and selfish. The desire to make too much profit at the expense of the ordinary consumer is our bane. As business people, we like pricing items the way we want since there is no any kind of regulation to that effect,” the business man lamented.
Mark Ismail, also a trader in his opinion said the geographical location of the region is also another factor affecting the rising prices of food as well as food items in the region.
He stated that because of the distance of the region, the cost of items brought in from the other part of the country obviously goes high, and sometimes too high due to the exorbitant transportation fares.
He mentioned that, “It’s not only food items but the price of every item here tends to keep soaring higher and higher. Because of the distance, the cost of transportation for goods is usually high and therefore leading to increase in prices. As you know, anytime fuel prices go up, transport operators also increase their charges which obviously increases the cost prices of our items.”
“And one thing is that since we don’t cultivate everything we eat here, we’ll always need to buy from southern Ghana and elsewhere to feed the region. If fuel prices are stable, that’ll also help stabilise prices of foodstuffs,” he added.
The traders, therefore, called for a more conducive trading environment to reverse the trend to be able to attract more investors to the region.
There is calm in the Upper West Regional capital after some armed military officers assaulted residents over a missing mobile phone belonging to one of the officers.
The incident which has been captured in a viral video and sighted by GhanaWeb happened on Thursday, July 1.
The soldiers subjected their victims, who were mostly commercial tricycle operators, motorists and pedestrians, to severe beating and made them roll on the floor with some forced into gutters nearby.
The over 50 soldiers in a Joy News report monitored by GhanaWeb, have been identified as members of the 10 Mechanized Battalion Infantry in Wa and based at the Napogbakoee area.
The victims of the assault were rushed to the Wa municipal hospital and treated for minor injuries.
Two others, however, sustained severe injuries and were detained at the hospital.
A 29-year-old vulcanizer, Gafur Mahama was beaten to a pulp. He sustained minor bruises on his back and a fracture on his right thigh rendering him unable to walk or sit up.
The PRO of the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council was not spared, he was also brutalized by the soldiers for taking a video of the incident, but was later rushed to the hospital.
The brutality from the soldiers came to a halt after some police officers rushed to the scene and pleaded with soldiers to return to the barracks.
Meanwhile, the Police CID has been tasked to liaise with the military to investigate the issue.
The census night enumeration has commenced successfully in the Upper West Region, with field officers stationed at bus terminals to enumerate persons travelling and were likely not to spend the night of 27th June in any house.
The census night would also see to the enumeration of people in unstable institutions such as hospitals, police cells, hotels and guest houses among others.
Persons enumerated on the census night would be issued with enumeration certificate in order to avoid multiple enumeration.
Mr Sixtus Jeremiah Dery, the Upper West Regional Statistician, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Wa that the exercise commenced at about 1600 hours instead of the expected 1500HRS due to delay in updating the data collection software to the required version.
He explained that the census night would also be marked by spectacular events and activities such as bonfires, siren blowing, gunshots, shooting of fire crackers and climax with durbars among others.
Mr Dery noted that the events and activities would be district specific depending on the peculiar situations pertaining to a particular district.
In the Wa Municipality for instance, the Regional Statistician said the night would be marked with siren blowing from the fire tender and floating.
The actual enumeration exercise was expected to start on Monday, June 28 and end on July 11, 2021.
In all, a total of 2,489 field officers, comprising 2,085 enumerators and 409 supervisors were expected to conduct the census exercise in 1,845 enumeration areas across the eleven districts and municipalities in the Upper West Region.
