Newspaper Headlines Tuesday 29th September 2020
Secessionists allegedly attack Volta STC yard
Unidentified gunmen, allegedly belonging to the Volta Secessionist group, have attacked the Intercity STC transportation yard in the Ho Municipality and set some buses ablaze.
David Owusu Acheampong, a driver, told GNA he was sleeping in one of the busses at about 0200 hours when he heard gunshots.
He said the gunmen accosted him and ordered him to lie down on the ground when he tried to exit the vehicle.
He said two gunmen rushed on the security man, beat him up and demanded keys to the facility.
Acheampong said he escaped by scaling the wall.
He said he heard gunshots while fleeing the scene, adding that about dozen gunmen set the bus ablaze.
One bus was completely burnt while a second was partly damaged.
Mr Richard Ahiafor, Regional Manager of the STC, told GNA the arsonists demanded the keys to the office in an apparent attempt to destroy the whole yard.
He said the incident was reported to the Police and National Security and announced that service had been called off until further notice.
Military and police personnel have cordoned off the area.
Government releases incentive packages to partners in Tourism Industry-Minister.
The Government has released various packages to partners in the Tourism industry and workers in other businesses as part of measures to cushion them against the hazardous effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The package, which is expected to assist businesses to bounce back, include a GHc60 million Stimulus Package to individual businesses and GHc 50 million-facility to support the Media and Creative Arts industry.
The others are a GHc 3 billion facility to players in the Hospitality industry, a GHc 5 million package for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and a GHc 4 million facility for other auxiliary operations.
The Minister for Tourism and Creative Arts, Mrs Barbara Oteng-Gyesi announced the relief package at a grand durbar to climax this year’s United Nations World Tourism Day (UNWTD) celebrations and exhibition at Takoradi in the Western Region.
The international, of traditional rulers, the media, security services, businesses, and partners in the Tourism industry event on the theme, “Tourism and Rural Development”, commenced with a virtual symposium via zoom followed by a health walk, a tree planting exercise, a Sod-Cutting for Damang Arts Training Center and a musical concert at Bogoso.
Mrs. Oteng-Gyesi said the Tourism sector chalked remarkable successes in the “Year of Return” in 2019, but that the gains had been eroded by the COVID-19 pandemic, hence, the prudent measures taken by the government to promote tourism and preserve national and cultural heritage.
According to her, “Beyond the Return”, the industry will bounce back with more attention being focused on the tourist potentials in rural Ghana to accelerate rural development.
According to the Minister, it was refreshing and heart-warming to learn that as the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, about 200,000 visitors from the Diaspora have been billed to visit tourist sites in the country, which position’s Ghana the Homeland destination in Africa for international tourism.
Mrs. Oteng-Gyesi said Ghana had received the “safest tourism stamp” among the comity of nations, a feat, which can boost tourism and increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
She noted that Western Region abounds in immense tourist potentials with special reference to the UNESCO heritage site at Nzulezo, Fort St. Anthonio among others.
The Ministry she explained would improve upon sanitation at the beaches to harness tourist potentials, to improve visitors’ experience and improve physical ambiance at Ankasa Forest, Fort St. Anthonio at Axim and Beyin fort near Nzulenzo”.
She announced that the Ministry would adopt the Masquerade in Takoradi and support it to perform in December every year to drive more tourists to the Western Region.
It is also the intention of the government to renovate the Takoradi Cultural Centre next year, adding, that the government in collaboration with the University of Mines and Energy (UMaT), would cut the sod for a Gold Museum project at Tarkwa by December 31 this year to preserve tangible and intangible evidence of gold.
She asked MMDCEs to promote tourist sites in their various jurisdictions to ensure sustainable tourism in Ghana.
The Omahene of Esikado Traditional Area, Nana Kobina Nketsia V, who chaired the durbar, described the Western Region as “a sleeping giant of Tourism in Ghana” and stressed the need to reawaken the cultural consciousness of people in the Region to locate the tourist sites and develop them.
He said the Western Region abounds in a host of tourist sites and attractions, which need to be harnessed, saying, “As a people, we have a unique culture such as tourism, which requires hospitality, peace, and unity as a benchmark for development.”
He admonished political actors and Ghanaians to ensure peace, unity and love as we go to the polls on December 07.
Nana Nketsia V added that tourism could not thrive in a violent society, hence, the need to consolidate the peace and tolerance of opposing views.
He reminded society to celebrate the Patriots of Ghana, festivals, forts, castles, and monuments such as museums to make them part of their heritage.
He expressed worry about the pollution of river bodies by galamsey activities and urged the government to deal with both nationals or foreigners who were neck deep in galamsey menace, adding, “as our forebears left the river bodies in purity, we need to preserve it for generations yet unborn”.
In a speech read on behalf of the Western Regional Minister, Mr. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah said the Western Regional Coordinating Council (WRCC) was making frantic efforts to showcase the Region as tourists’ destination of choice.
He identified 192 coastal lines from Shama to Jomoro with forts and castles and mentioned the operationalization of the WRCC tourist centre as part of measures to promote tourism in the Region.
The Acting Vice-President of the Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF, Mr Kwesi Eyison appealed to the government and other stakeholders to develop rural areas for tourism to thrive and create employment for the youth.
GNA
NDC will establish agribusiness to Create Jobs-Prof Opoku-agyemang
The next National Democratic Congress (NDC) government would deliberately and aggressively pursue agricultural business to significantly add value to the Country’s agricultural produce.
This, according to its Vice Presidential candidate, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, was one of the surest ways to create more employment for the youth in agriculture and reduce unemployment rate.
Speaking to the media in Cape Coast on the first day of her six-day tour to the Central Region, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said the nation could reap more revenue if value was added to its numerous agricultural produce.
She reiterated the commitment of the NDC government to revive the Komenda Sugar Factory to create jobs for the people of Komenda and the whole of the Central region and Ghana.
She said the next NDC government would encourage the youth to establish farms, while it provided adequate support to farmers to expand production to feed local industries.
Prof Opoku-agyemang stressed the need to build competent human resource to meet the contemporary required workforce through Technical and Vocational Education adding that, in every development, education was key.
This, she explained was the reason for the conversion of the Country’s polytechnics into technical universities during its tenure.
She said graduates of TVET would be encouraged to form a consortium and provided with expert advice and leadership to be able to win contracts to execute government projects.
She said the NDC would invest in building a strong local economy, where local businesses would flourish.
Prof Opoku-Agyemang said NDC would also retool the labour office to create a proper database and encourage people to patronize their services.
She assured that the NDC had a good plan for youth development saying “if we say we have plans for the youth, we are not just saying it, because we laid the building blocks before we left office”.
Tamale Central Hospital discharges patients over strike
It was a frustrating and sorrowful moment on Monday morning at the Tamale Central Hospital, when patients on admission were discharged, because nurses and other allied health workers begun an indefinite national strike.
All the wards at the Tamale Central Hospital remained empty and new patients were returned.
Some relatives were seen lifting their patients from the wards onto tricycles to leave the hospital’s premises, while others waited on the premises thinking about where to send their sick relatives.
A young boy, who came to pick his father, who was in serious pain, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that “I do not know what to do now. I will just take him home.”
The GNA also observed three relatives trying to revive their sick relatives, an elderly man, through a pulmonary resuscitation procedure.
At the Tamale Teaching Hospital, patients remained on admission although nurses were not at post.
Nurses, midwives and other allied health workers began a nationwide strike on Monday in line with the directives from the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association to demand better conditions of service.
GNA
NPP youth urged to be focused in their campaign
Mr Simon Osei Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister has charged the youth of New Patriotic party to be focused in their campaign to retain the party in power.
He said the NPP government under Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, had kept faith with the people of Ghana and there was the need for the youth, who were the major beneficiaries of the government’s policies and programmes, to work to ensure that the party stayed in office to continue with its good works.
Mr Osei Mensah, made the call at the launch of the Ashanti regional youth campaign for the 2020 general election in Kumasi.
The campaign launch, which was on the theme “protecting our gains, consolidating our stronghold”, was to encourage and educate the youth of the party to move from house to house to tell the success stories of the government and the new policies in the party’s manifesto ahead of the 2020 elections.
The Regional Minister pointed out that, as a discerning youth, there was the need for them to counter the propaganda of their opponent and be able to tell Ghanaians the positive impact of the government’s policies and programmes in their lives.
Mr Osei Mensah made references to some of the development initiatives such Youth in agriculture, NABCO, Free SHS Education, Restoration of teacher and nurse trainees’, expansion of health facilities across the country, improvement in agricultural production, amongst others, and said they were tangible evidences for the people to appreciate.
Mr Dennis Kwakwa, Ashanti Regional NPP Youth Organizer, said the government was on course of transforming the lives of Ghanaians, especially the youth, who had been the major beneficiaries of the various initiatives and social intervention programmes of the government.
He said the youth could not stay away for such an opportunity to slip by and should therefore, continue to work hard and intensify their campaigns to help the party to translate the various initiatives in its 2020 manifesto into action for the benefit of all.
GNA
Nurses strike: Patients at Sandema hospital left to their fate
Patients on admission at the Sandema District hospital in the Builsa North District of the Upper East Region are without care from nurses, midwives, and Physician Assistants following the nationwide strike action declared by their various Associations.
The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) and its allied groups including the Nurse Practitioners Association of Ghana and the Nurses and Midwives Specialists Society of Ghana are demanding better conditions of service from the government and hope the strike action would compel the government to heed to their demand.
At 0900hours when the Ghana News Agency (GNA) visited the hospital to ascertain the impact of the industrial action by the major critical staff in the healthcare system, it observed that there was no nurse or midwife at all the wards and the Out-Patient Department (OPD).
Madam Elizabeth Anokato, who was at the OPD with the hope of receiving care from nurses before she sees a Physician Assistant, was disappointed and quietly walked out of the OPD when she was told about the strike action.
At the paediatric ward which had about eight children on admission, there were no nurses to care for the children, a father, Mr Peter Akanba whose son was on admission told the GNA in an interview that “my son had an accident last night and we rushed him here.
“Unfortunately this morning, I was told that the nurses are on strike, I am just confused and helpless. The boy is suffering in pain. Looking at the way the patients are lying helpless without care, the government should listen to the plight of the nurses so they can return to work to help us.”
At the three-bed capacity emergency ward, which had two patients at the time of the GNA’s visit, Mr Elijah Atamale who was on admission, said “I was admitted last night, but was later told that the nurses will go on strike today. When it was 0800hours, all the night nurses left.”
“Since they left, we have been lying here without care, and not knowing whether a Doctor or nurse will come around. Whatever their demands are, I pray that the government listens to them so they return.”
The situation at the male medical and surgical wards were not different, the usually busy wound dressing procedures at the surgical ward was not seen as patients laid in bed with undressed wounds.
Even though no patient was on oxygen and nasogastric tubes at the adult wards, most of them, especially at the male medical wards were on urethral catheter, while at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), out of five babies, two were in critical condition with oxygen machines placed on them.
Ms Zenabu Zimi, the District Chairperson of the GRNMA who visited all the units in the hospital to ensure that non of her members were available to render care, told the GNA in an interview that they had been taken for granted by the government for far too long.
“We feel bad that we are not performing our usual duties as nurses and midwives. Government has to listen to us, you can imagine the type of work we do, we change diapers of patients and dress their wounds daily and at the end, we return home with smelly uniforms.”
She stressed that “we just want the government to listen to us. I also want my members in the entire District to strike hard. We know our patients and even our relatives are suffering but it is time for the government to listen to our demand.”
Dr Bertrand Agilinko, the Acting Medical Superintendent of the hospital who was busily attending to patients alone at the maternity and NICU, said management was working to control the situation in the hospital, adding that they would discharge no critically ill patient.
GNA