Category: General

The Regular Career Couse (RCC) Intake 32 of the Ghana Armed Forces has donated medical equipment worth Ghc300,000 to the 37 Military Hospital, Accra, and the Airborne Medical Reception Station, Bawa Barracks, Tamale.

The equipment, which included a portable ventilator, cardiac monitors, oxygen concentrators, digital sphygmomanometer, oxygen flowmeters, nebulizers, suction machines, digital thermometers and glucometers, and hospital beds, among other sophisticated hardware and supplies, would be given to the emergency units of both medical facilities.

The gesture was a component of the commemoration of their 30th anniversary since graduating from the military academy.

Brigadier-General Prosper Ayibor, Commander of the 37 Military Hospital expressed his satisfaction with senior officers of the RCC Intake 32 for donating the essential medical equipment to the hospital.

The hospital, he said, could no longer rely on outside help, and the gesture by the GAF’s uniformed men would be beneficial.

‘We cannot con
tinue to rely solely on external support, corporate institutions, and well-meaning Ghanaians. It is therefore gratifying to know that many individuals and groupings within the Ghana Armed Forces have come to this realization and doing everything possible to contribute their quota to help the hospital to render the required service,’ he said.

Air Commodore Joseph Mensah-Larkai, President of RCC Intake 32, said that the gesture was in response to the hospital’s repeated requests for support and was a fulfillment of the pledge they made at their 30th anniversary in 2022.

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Vice Admiral Seth Amoama, who also gave 10,000 cedis to buy the equipment, thanked intake 32 for the gesture.

He advised the medical team to take good care of and operate the equipment with care.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Kokro Amankwah, General Secretary, National Association of Local Authorities Ghana (NALAG), has asked the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) to offer financial support to women participating in the district level elections.

He said the aspirants needed assistance to take care of the printing of posters, campaigns and other election related activities.

‘As a nation, the Ministry of Gender, I believe should be of assistance to these women…They are printing their own posters; they are going out campaigning; what support have we given to them?’ Mr Amankwah asked.

He said this at a programme organised by the Alliance for Women in Media Africa (AWMA) in Accra.

It was on: ‘Enhancing inclusive participation in Local Governance: Gender Sensitive reporting for Journalists and Communications Skills for Women Aspirants in the 2023 District Level Elections’.

It was to increase visibility for the women aspirants and ensure that more of them emerged winners in the December 19 District Level
Elections.

The project, with support from the Canadian High Commission in Ghana, is also to enable journalists build their capacity in gender sensitive reporting to increase the quality of coverage for women aspirants in the upcoming and subsequent national elections and marginalised groups.

Explaining why the government through the MoGCSP must support the women aspirants in the upcoming elections, Mr Amankwah said despite the enactment of local and international laws, protocols, and treaties on women’s participation in politics, many were still shying away due to the financial burden and others.

He said it was time the Government took steps to ensure that women were represented in decision making and charged the Ministry to respond to the needs of the aspirants.

‘When we are talking about democracy and we decide to leave women or not to support women the way we should, it becomes a democratic deficit and we cannot pride ourselves as a nation and think that we are the gateway to Africa in terms of democra
cy and other things without paying attention to our women,’ he said.

Dr Abena Yeboah-Banin, Head, Department of Communication Studies, University of Ghana, who also bemoaned the low participation of women in politics, said findings from a 2020 Global Media Monitoring Report indicated that it would take Ghana 67 years to balance the equation of women and men’s representation in politics.

She said that should be a worry to any government that ascribed to the tenets of democracy.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) has expressed worry over the prevalence of open defecation in some communities, especially those along the seashore within the Metropolis.

Mr Abdul-Mumin Issah, the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), said despite the Assembly’s efforts in tackling the menace, about 15 communities were still classified as open defecation prone.

He was speaking at the launch of ‘Operation clean your surroundings,’ a campaign to help address the growing deplorable environmental sanitation practices within the Metropolis, in Sekondi.

Mr Issah noted that in 2021, a total of 176 people were arrested for open defecation while 89 were arrested in 2022, and 40 at the end of the third quarter of 2023

According to him: ‘This year alone, 27 houses without toilets and 30 other sanitation-related nuisances have been prosecuted successfully, and the interventions initiated by the assembly, to a large extent, have helped to improve upon sanitation and hygiene in the Metropolis, but the
progress has been slower than anticipated’.

The MCE said: ‘It is sad to note that people are still openly defecating at seashore and bushes despite the numerous efforts to discourage the phenomena of open defecation within the Metropolis.’

Meanwhile, Mr Issah indicated that the STMA through a European Union funded Twin-Cities in Sustainable Partnership Project (TCSPP) was constructing 500 bio-digester toilets for households in coastal communities which would prioritize female-headed households, disabled and aged.

He said the Assembly was committed to providing the needed infrastructural support in these communities to help reduce the open defecation menace within the Metropolis.

‘I do not doubt that with the backing and total commitment from all stakeholders, we will succeed in this course,’ he added.

Touching on the campaign, Mr Issah said it was aimed at enforcing the Assembly’s environmental sanitation by-laws and encouraged citizens to take responsibility for their actions for a cleaner environment.

H
e explained that the campaign would raise awareness of cleanliness, hygiene, waste management, and environmental preservation through media campaigns and the deployment of a task force to ensure residents complied with the sanitation by-laws laws.

‘The campaign will educate, arrest, prosecute, name and shame sanitation-related offenders across the Metropolis because we ultimately aim to collectively change certain socio-cultural practices from the community members towards environmental sanitation,’ he noted.

The ‘Operation clean your surroundings’ campaign is a component of a three-year TCSPP, being implemented by the STMA, Palermo Municipality in Italy and, other partners and sought to address cleanliness within the environment to help promote healthy living conditions and enhance hygienic lifestyle among the people.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Communities along the Asutuare Junction-Osuwem road have appealed for regular police patrols and a police post to curb robbery attacks in the area.

This follows regular robbery attacks in the communities, with a recent one on the road at Akufokpanya Junction.

On Monday, November 20, at about 2100hrs, one Mohammed Mubarak, a trailer driver whose truck was carrying Banana from Golden Exotic Banana farm to Tema Port, was allegedly attacked and robbed by some armed robbers at the Junction.

Some residents attributed the robbery incidents to lack of police patrol, surveillance and checkpoints on the untarred road and called for the intervention of the Inspector General of Police.

Mr Mubarak, victim of the Monday robbery attack, said when he got to Akufokpanya Junction he slowed down due to a ditch in the middle of the road only to realise that he was under attack.

He said four young men in masks came out of the bush with guns and ordered him to stop.

He said within minutes, four other young men, also in mask
s, came from behind the truck and the eight pulled him out of the truck, subjecting him to beatings.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), he said they beat him up for about 40 minutes, hitting his chest, waist, knees and nose with the guns.

‘The robbers took GhS130 from my pocket, they used my phone to borrow GhS230 from MTN and transfer it onto their phone and also took GhS1, 800 from my bag,’ Mr Mubarak said.

They allegedly made away with his phone and wallets containing his Ghana Card, driver’s license, health insurance card and SSNIT card.

The location is said to be known for such incidents.

The entire road from Asutuare Junction to Osuwem is not motorable, making it easy for robbers to strike on the stretch, some residents said.

‘We are calling for police barriers, patrols and surveillance. The robbers keep taking people’s phones and monies. We are all in danger. Some time ago, we were attacked, we called the soldiers, they came and rescued us,’ an elderly resident said.

Source: Gha
na News Agency

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has reduced electricity tariff by 1.52 per cent, the only downward review for consumers for 2023.

All previous adjustment since the beginning of the year, saw electricity tariff increased, considering the prevailing conditions at the time.

The Regulator increased water tariff by 0.34 per cent for the fourth quarter of 2023.

The new tariffs would be effective December 01, 2023, to February 29, 2024.

Per the approved electricity rates payable by consumers for fourth quarter 2023, residential lifeline customers, would be paying 0.6348 GHS/kWh, compared with the 0.6446 GHS/kWh, effective December 1.

All other residential customers would be paying between 1.4057 GHS/kWh and 2.0271 GHS/kWh, with a service charge of 10.7309 GHS/kWh.

Non-residential customers would pay between 1.2691 GHS/kWh and 2.0161 GHS/kWh, with a service charge of 12.4282 GHS/kWh.

For special load tariff customers, low voltage users would pay an Energy Charge of 2.0088 GHS/kWh, medium vol
tage users – 1.5252 GHS/kWh, high voltage users, 1.6007 GHS/kWh.

High voltage steel companies would be paying an energy charge of 1.1290 GHS/kWh, effective December 1, while high voltage mines would pay 3.998573 GHS/kWh.

For water, residential customers would pay 4.7401 GHS/m3, from December 1, from the existing 4.7239 GHS/m3.

Non-Residential would pay 14.19 GHS/m3 from the existing 14.1394 GHS/m3 while Commercial customers would pay 25.38 GHS/m3 from the existing 25.2962 25.38 GHS/m3.

The tariff for sachet water producers, bottled water and drinks, industrial, public institutions/government departments, public standpipes, ports and harbours, and bulk supply, have al increased, effective December 1.

The review incorporated movement in key uncontrollable factors – exchange rate between the US dollar and the Ghana Cedi, domestic inflation rate, the electricity generation mix, and the cost of fuel, mainly natural gas.

Dr Ishmael Ackah, Executive Secretary, PURC, explained that the review was done to keep t
he utility service providers financially viable and make them deliver on their services to consumers

‘In addition, the Commission considered the competitiveness of industries and the general living conditions of the Ghanaian,’ Dr Ackah said in the fourth quarter review.

A Weighted Average Ghana Cedi-US Dollar Exchange Rate of GHS11.9264 was used for the fourth quarter of 2023, including an under recovery of Ghs0.3792.

The Commission also used an average three-month projected inflation rate of 40.43 per cent for the fourth quarter of 2023 to arrive at the new tariffs for electricity and water.

Again, an applicable weighted average cost of gas – US$7.6426/MMBtu, and projected hydro-thermal generation mix for the fourth quarter – 31.91 per cent for hydro and 68.09 per cent for thermal were considered for the adjustment.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Professor Benjamin J. B. Nyarko, Board Chairman, Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG), has urged journalists to ensure accuracy when reporting nuclear power technology.

He asked them to research properly and choose words appropriately to avoid misinformation.

‘In the nuclear field, one word that you use wrongly, destabilises everything. So, you should choose your words correctly,’ he emphasised.

Prof Nyarko said this in Accra, at a three-day media workshop organised by the NPG in collaboration with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) and Ghana Journalists Association (GJA).

The training, an annual event, was organised for selected journalists in Accra.

This year’s edition was on the theme: ‘Shaping the Perception of Nuclear Power Technology in Ghana; the Media Factor’.

Prof Nyarko entreated media practitioners to apply themselves diligently, pay attention to details, and be persistent to attain professional excellence.

He said nuclear power technology had diverse aspects, which required journalists to specialise.

Speci
alising in specific areas, he said, would enable journalists to do in-depth stories to enrich the public’s understanding of nuclear issues.

‘Our partnership with the media is that in all these issues, we want to get media experts who will speak to it, who will write about it, and talk about it so that people will understand,’ Prof Nyarko said.

He urged the participants to consistently avail themselves for future workshops to build expertise in the nuclear field.

Dr Archibold Buah-Kwofie, Deputy Director, Nuclear Power Institute (NPI), Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, assured that the Institute would always be ready to provide the needed information to help journalists educate and inform the public.

Professor Seth K. Debrah, Director, NPI, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, urged journalists to do more follow-ups and probe more into the issues on nuclear power technology to help Ghana succeed in its nuclear power project.

Mrs Beatrice Asamani Savage, Head of Editorial, GNA, said the journalists’ role in promo
ting nuclear energy should be seen as a national assignment that called for patriotism.

‘This is the opportunity to revive our patriotism and join efforts to move our nation forward. That will be our contribution to save the next generation of Ghanaians,’ she said.

‘We cannot change our fortunes until we industrialise and having energy that is stable, reliable, affordable, and clean is the way to go,’ she added.

Mr Emmanuel Opare Djan, National Organiser, Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), expressed gratitude to the oraginsers of the workshop.

He added that: ‘When the energy sector is producing cheap source of power, it will help us to produce at competitive price, reduce cost of production, save money, create wealth, and employ more people so that we also contribute towards national development.’

The training programme included a writing competition that saw participants put in stories on nuclear power, with special awards from the NPG Board Chairman.

Mr Edward Acquah, Chief R
eporter, GNA, came first, whilst Mr Morkporkpor Anku, Editor, GNA placed second.

Mrs Christabel Addo, Senior Editor, also from GNA came third, whilst Mr Jerry John Akornor, Chief Editor, African Editors, came fourth.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Some nursing mothers in the North Tongu District have expressed gratitude to Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament (MP) and the District Health Directorate for their unwavering support in the wake of the Akosombo Dam Spillage.

Mrs Antoinette Avugble, one of the nursing mothers, shared her ordeal of sleeping on the bare floor with her child in the weeks following the spillage, posing a threat to their health.

She thanked the MP and the Directorate for ensuring that every nursing and pregnant woman in the camps had a mattress to sleep on

Mrs Negble Afi, one of the pregnant women also commended the provision of 24-hour health services at the camps.

She mentioned that the MP and the directorate made it possible for them to access healthcare to the camps.

Mrs Negble also acknowledged the increased availability of mobile toilets and bathhouses in the camps, alleviating tension and improving overall living conditions.

They, however, urged Mr Ablakwa to endeavour to push for their livelihood restor
ation.

Mr Mike Ziggah, the North Tongu District Health Director said the Directorate was poised to working with the Assembly and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that all the flood victims were in good health at all the camps.

He mentioned that Mr Osborn Fenu the District Chief Executive was also playing integral roles to ensure quality health delivery at the camps, adding that his commitment also added to the progress of extending good health conditions.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Professor Kofi Amegah, an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) says the government must invest in air quality monitors to detect and regulate air pollution. That, he said, would enable accurate data generation on the impacts and health implications of air pollution in the country.

‘In Africa we are bereft of data, because we do not have ground monitors to monitor air quality, once you know the level of air pollution, you will know if the population is breathing quality or hazardous air,’ he said.

Speaking at a workshop for environmental health officers in Accra on the health effects of air pollution, Professor Amegah stated that about 10 monitors were required in Accra alone to track the air pollution levels. He said the meeting was to increase national capacity for air quality monitoring, management, and surveillance for diseases linked to air pollution.

It was organised by the Clean Air Fund as part of the Breath Accra Project.

The meeting brought together actors in
the health sector to discuss air pollution related diseases, the risk factors of air pollution and identify strategies for promoting stronger action gainst air pollution while also protecting public health.

Professor Amegah noted that there was a significant lack of data on air pollution in the country.

To fill that gap, the Breath Accra Project aims to make hyperlocal air quality data in the Greater Accra Metropolis publicly available.

He encouraged the public to eat well and stop burning garbage in their homes and street hawkers to wear nose masks to protect themselves from polluted air.

Dr Pier Nudu, a Professor from the Environment and Health Center, World Health Organization (WHO) called for the formation of a network of air monitors to help improve the availability of health data.

Air pollution occurs when harmful particles, such as harmful gases, dust and smoke invade the atmosphere and modify the air’s natural characteristics to make it toxic and dangerous to all living creatures.

Good air quali
ty means that the air is clean and safe to breathe, with low levels of pollution, poor air quality will contain excessive amounts of pollutants, which are often dangerous and potentially fatal to all living creatures.

Air quality can be measured by the levels of pollution present in both outdoor and indoor air through sensors and other monitoring systems that detect specific pollutants in the atmosphere.

Sources of air pollution in Accra are vehicular emissions, continual importation of over- aged vehicles, polluting fleet of minibuses, cooking with charcoal and wood and burning of waste.

Source: Ghana News Agency