Home Blog Page 764

Psalm Adjeteyfio raises concerns over GH¢8,000 ECG bill

By
Editor
-
0
IMAGE COPYRIGHT / AFP/

Ghanaian actor Psalm Adjetefio, popularly known as TT says he owes the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) an amount of GH¢8,000.

He said this in an interview with Citi News’ Vivian Kai Lokko.

In the interview, TT explained that officials of ECG initially brought a bill of GH¢4,500, a piled-up figure the actor owed over a period of time.

He said he had earlier paid a bill of GH¢2100, presented to him by the power distribution company.

According to him, just when he thought that was the last bill, the ECG brought a different bill which they claimed was the ‘real bill.’

Psalm Adjeteyfio told Citi News that: “They came to disconnect my electricity. They said I was owing GH¢4,000. How? You’ve not been bringing us bills, so what are you saying? They said, ‘well, you are owing. We went to the ECG office and I said what kind of job is this? You’ve not been bringing us the bill, and now you are telling us we are owing [this much] and you’ve come to disconnect us”.

“When I thought I had cleared the whole thing, my son came and said that all that we’ve been paying was ‘estimated bill’ and that they had brought the proper bill which is GH¢ 8,000,” he lamented.

The ‘Taxi Driver’ actor said he was surprised that the ECG came up with such huge bills when he does not use any heavy power-consuming appliance.

Speaking in a different interview on Zylofon FM, he refuted claims that he is begging for money again after getting financial assistance for his rent.

He noted that he only mentioned the situation with the ECG and has not begged anyone to help him pay the bills.

This development comes a few weeks after the venerated actor begged the general public to help him pay his rent.

The Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumiah, after hearing his plea, donated an amount of GH¢50,000 to him for his rent and personal upkeep.

Other people, including the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, also went to his aid and promised to pay him GH¢1,000 from his parliamentary salary.

Gambia massacre victims call for release of Reconciliation Commission’s report

By
Editor
-
0

Survivors and families of victims of The Gambian massacre have expressed worry about delays by the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) in releasing its report on the matter.

Martin Kyere, a spokesperson for the survivors and a victim himself, feels the delays are a “deliberate attempt to deny us the justice we deserve.”

He escaped with his life when 44 Ghanaians were murdered in The Gambia in July 2005 under President Yahya Jammeh.

In July 2019, three former members of a paramilitary unit cum death squad, the Junglers, admitted that they and 12 others had carried out the killings on Jammeh’s orders.

Speaking at a news conference in Kumasi, Mr. Kyere also called on stakeholders like the National Assembly of The Gambia, UN, AU, ECOWAS, and other stakeholders in international justice to “call on the TRRC to release the final report as a matter of urgency.”

The Coordinator for the Jammeh to Justice Ghana Campaign, William Nyarko, also said the commission must take steps in releasing the report to give assurance to victims and their families.

For him, the recent alliance between Gambia President Adama Barrow and the now-exiled Jammeh, ahead of elections in December, was a cause for concern.

“This is not a good signal to the victims, and I think the TRRC and the administration should have released this report by now. It is the duty of the TRRC to release this report. They concluded their hearings in May.”

The TRRC was tasked to investigate the killing of some West African Migrants, including 44 Ghanaians, who were passing through The Gambia from Senegal to seek greener pastures in Europe in 2005.

It heard testimony from nearly 400 people from January 2019 to May 2021 about Jammeh’s 22-year rule.

The witnesses gave evidence about torture, rape, and killings sanctioned by the State and often at the hands of the Junglers.

Agyapa deal is good for Ghana; address concerns raised against it – Ofori-Atta to MIIF board

By
Editor
-
0
IMAGE COPYRIGHT / AFP/

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has charged the Board of the Minerals Incomes and Investment Funds (MIIF) to address all concerns raised by various stakeholders about the Agyapa Royalty Deal before it goes back to Parliament.

Mr. Ofori Atta who considers the deal as the best for the country said all the necessary consultations will be done before it is submitted to the House.

The Agyapa Royalty deal was proposed by the government last year to raise funds through minerals royalties for key infrastructure projects, but could not be passed after stakeholders rejected the deal.

While inaugurating the nine-member board of the Mineral Income Investment Fund in Accra on Tuesday, October 12, 2021, Mr. Ofori Atta said: “You must continue with the work that has been done following the theme of the budget ‘Continuity, Consolidation and Completion’ and address and overcome all the concerns against the Agyapa transaction, so we can go to the market and create the first mineral royalty company in Ghana and in Africa because it is good for Ghana.”

“The Attorney General has looked at it. We had a few stakeholder meetings, and I think the new board should be energised to review that and go through the parliamentary process. I’m unequivocal that it is the way to go in terms of monetising our minerals and finding a way to leverage mining,” he added.

About Agyapa deal

In 2018, Parliament passed the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act 2018, which establishes the Fund to manage the equity interests of Ghana in mining companies and receive royalties on behalf of the government.

The purpose of the Fund was to manage and invest these royalties and revenue from equities for higher returns for the country’s benefit.

In exchange, the company planned to raise between US$500 million and roughly $1 billion for the government on the Ghana and London Stock Exchanges to invest in development projects.

However, the deal became a subject of hot debate after the opposition National Democratic Congress and some stakeholders kicked against it.

The woes of the deal were subsequently compounded by a 64-paged corruption risk analysis report released against the deal by the then Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu.

The government subsequently suspended the deal.

Operation Halt has freed forest reserves of illegal miners – Allotey

By
Editor
-
0

Mr. John Allotey, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Commission (FC), has lauded President Akufo-Addo for his resolve to rid the country’s forest reserves of illegal mining activities.

“We thank the President, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources and the Minister of Defence for their support in the fight against illegal mining activities in the forest reserves,” he stated.

Addressing members of the Western North Regional Co-ordinating Council and other key stakeholders in forest reserve management at Sefwi-Wiawso, he said, the active support of the government against illegal mining activities in forest reserves had been of tremendous help to the Commission in its effort to promote sustainable forest resources for the country.

The meeting was part of a two-day working visit to the region by Mr. Allotey and officials from the Commission, to interact with local collaborators, including the Regional Coordinating Council officials, on effective local participation in the protection and management of forest reserves in the Western North Region.

The CEO said the Commission was benefitting immensely from the Operation Halt initiative, which was helping to restore the country’s forest reserves for posterity.

Mr Allotey called on Ghanaians, especially those in forest fringe communities to take a keen interest in the protection of forest reserves in their areas.

“The Forestry Commission has moved from the point where it is solely the responsibility of the Forest Commission to protect the forest, therefore, I appeal to the public to involve themselves in the fight to help save our forest,” he stated.

Mr Louis Owusu-Agyapong, Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Sefwi Wiawso, said the Assembly would do anything possible to support the fight to help protect the forest.

He commended the Commission for the Green Ghana initiative to grow more tree seedlings to help to protect the forest reserves.

Katakyie Kwasi Bumagama II, the Paramount Chief of Sefwi-Wiawso Traditional Area, promised to donate five drones to the Commission to support the fight against illegal activities in forest reserves in the area to help protect the forest in the region.

He appealed to the government to establish a military base in the region to help collaborate with other law enforcement agencies to monitor the illegal activities in the area.

Members of the Commission took advantage to inspect the growth of tree seedlings planted during the Green Ghana Day 2021, which was launched at Sefwi-Wiawso on June 11, this year.

Police up for Extraordinary ECOWAS Parliament meeting at Winneba

By
Editor
-
0
IMAGE COPYRIGHT / AFP/

The Winneba Police Divisional Command has pledged its readiness to provide security for the 2021 Second Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament, which will commence on Tuesday, October 12 to Sunday, 18 at Winneba.

Chief Superintendent Samuel Asiedu Okanta, Winneba Police Divisional Commander, who made this known in an interview with the Ghana news Agency (GNA) in Winneba said the police will help to ensure an incident free and successful event.

The Session will be proceeded by high-level interactive Parliamentary seminar, which will bring together Members of Parliament (MPs) of the ECOWAS Parliament, Regional Police Chiefs, National Electoral Commissioners, International as well as Domestic Election Observer Groups, Civil Society Organizations, Media, Academia and others.

The Seminar will be held under the theme: “High-Level Evaluation on two decades of democratic elections in the ECOWAS Region, Achievements, Challenges and the Way Forward”, and the Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Mr. John Azumah from Cote D’Ivoire will be attending.

It is also expected that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufu-Addo, will attend the opening ceremony.

According to Chief Superintendent Okanta, to achieve the measures, they will adopt all the policing strategies relating to maintenance of law and order, protection of life and property, prevention and detection of crime, crowd control and traffic management among others.

He further stated, that the Service had taken cognisance of traffic congestion, which may lead to the flouting of road traffic regulations by both drivers of vehicles and other road users, as potential threat during the period of the programme.

He therefore called on the public to cooperate with security personnel and drivers in particular, to be responsible on the road by adhering to all the traffic rules and regulations for peaceful and smooth event.

Media urged to support Nutrition Friendly School Initiative

By
Editor
-
0

Mr Nutifafa Glover, Volta Regional Nutrition Officer, has called on the media to support the Nutrition Friendly School Initiative (NFSI) to ensure its success.

He said the success of the initiative required a collaborative effort from all stakeholders, hence the call on the media to assist by educating the public on the essence of the project for them to support it.

Mr Glover said this during a training programme organised by the Ghana Health Service in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service in Ho, for some selected health personnel and some teachers from 41 basic schools.

The training was to equip the participants with the necessary knowledge regarding the Initiative and build their capacity towards implementation of the programme in their various schools.

Mr Glover disclosed that they started the implementation of the programme with 24 basic schools in March last year after it was introduced in February same year.

The Nutrition Officer said currently a total of 107 schools within the eighteen municipal and district assemblies of the Volta region were beneficiaries of the project.

He said a total of 201 schools were also currently undergoing training to be added to the programme, with necessary steps also being taken to pilot the programme in three senior high schools.

Mr Glover said the programme was being spearheaded by the Ghana Education Service and the Ghana Health Service with funding from UNICEF.

The programme aimed at promoting healthy nutrition habits, hygiene and sanitation and physical activities in a safe school environment and ensure good health of the young growing population of the country.

He underscored the importance of the programme in improving the nutritional and health status of school children from kindergarten to senior high and reducing non communicable diseases in the future.

The programme also provided an opportunity for school children to learn about the four-star diet, build a culture of good health among them and ensure that food vendors did not sell unhealthy food to school children, he said.

Madam Millicent Dakeh, Volta Regional Girls’ Education Officer, said the NFSI had packages of interventions including fruit and vegetable days, egg days, physical activity day, SMART School, girls iron and folic acid days, health inspection days.

She said schools were practical platforms where an integrated package of interventions including nutrition meals, micronutrient supplements, infection control, health promotion could be delivered to improve the health and nutrition of school children.

Madam Dakeh said Ghana was faced with a triple burden of malnutrition- underweight, overweight or obesity and micronutrient deficiencies, and called for investment in nutrition to address the situation.

The Girls’ Education Officer said investment in nutrition of school age and adolescents could have a positive impact on their current and future nutrition status and improve their learning ability.

It can also help establish positive dietary and healthy practices that extend into adulthood and help break the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition, she added.

Only woman among DCE nominees in Volta confirmed in second attempt

By
Editor
-
0

Assembly Members in the Agortime-Ziofe District in the Volta Region, on Monday confirmed Ms. Emelia Emefa Adzimah as District Chief Executive (DCE).

She polled 20 “yes” of the 22 valid votes cast to garner a 90.9 per cent endorsement that has made her the only female among confirmed nominees in the Region.

The unanimous approval follows an initial rejection, a week ago.

Madam Adzimah and Mr Seth Kwashie Yormewu, Anloga District nominee, both failed to secure two-third majority votes but garnered more than 50 percent of votes cast during their first time, hence qualified for a second round of votes within ten days.

Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister, witnessed the exercise, which tops a fully constituted local government structure, and was thus grateful to the Assembly for the support.

“The Honorable Members of the Assembly have ensured that the Agortime-Ziope District Assembly has a District Chief Executive, for which I am grateful,” he said.

Mr Phanuel Kadey Donkor, DCE for the Adaklu District, was handed a straight rejection at the confirmation polls, and awaits the President’s renomination or otherwise.

GNA Tema receives commendation for road safety campaign

By
Editor
-
0

The Tema Regional Office of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) has been commended for its road safety campaign initiative as a positive step towards developing journalists’ interest in fighting against the road crash menace.

Mr Gayheart Mensah, a Presidential aspirant of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), commending the GNA-Tema said the campaign platform was a good opportunity to engage people who have voices to put in a word to stop or reduce the carnage on the roads.

Mr Mensah was speaking at the GNA Tema Regional Office and the Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) Road Safety Campaign platform, which seeks to use prominent persons to provide continuous education on the need to be safe on the roads and reduce road carnage.

The Tema GNA and MTTD Road Safety Project seeks to create consistent and systematic weekly awareness advocacy on the need to be cautious on the road as a user, educate all road users of their respective responsibilities, and sensitize drivers especially of the tenets of road safety regulations, rules and laws.

Mr Mensah who is a media practitioner with over three decades of exceptional experience in the field said, “I applaud the Tema-GNA for giving people with voice the opportunity to speak to people on road safety issues”.

He called for the building of alliance between journalists and stakeholders on road safety in Ghana saying, journalists must specialize in reporting on road crash just as they do for other sectors.

“There is the need to have a group of journalists who will have interest in road safety just like the other sector, if we think road safety can have an impact on the economy, then we need to create a top of the mind awareness on road safety,” Mr Mensah who started his career as a journalist with the Ghanaian Times and worked variously as a Presidential Correspondent, Parliamentary Correspondent and Court Correspondent stated.

He said alliance must be built with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), and the MTTD among others to understand what role the media could play to enhance the various institutions’ mandates, which the GNA-Tema had already started.

Touching on the safety of journalists on the road in the discharge of their duties, Mr Mensah who was also a former Assistant Features Editor of the Daily Graphic said, there was the need to engage event organizers especially ministries, departments and agencies.

He said all stakeholders including the presidency must dialogue on the type of vehicles they provide journalists who were assigned to cover them especially during tours which involved driving in a convoy.

Mr Mensah also served as Deputy Editor of “The Evening News” of the Ghanaian Times and was later appointed Acting Editor said providing rickety vehicles or those below the standard of what the organizers use, put the lives of journalists in danger.

He added that media practitioners were one of the few professions that required a lot of movement therefore there was the need for event organizers to ensure the safety of reporters they invite to cover their programmes.

Mr Francis Ameyibor, Tema Regional Manager of the Ghana News Agency on his part, said the need for the creation of the Tema-GNA-MTTD road safety campaign was born out of the ever-increasing figures of road crashes and its attendant consequences.

Mr Ameyibor added that it was also aimed at using prominent persons in society to speak to their constituents on the need to keep safe on the road as a driver, passenger, pedestrian among others.

Tema Motorway: Demolition of illegal structures ends on Wednesday

By
Editor
-
0

The ongoing demolition of unauthorized structures along the Accra-Tema Motorway being undertaken by seven District Assemblies on the stretch will end tomorrow October 13, 2021.

The joint exercise, which commenced last week from Shiashi at the Accra end of the Motorway is under the auspices of the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Henry Quartey.

Personnel involved in the exercise were drawn from Tema Metropolitan Assembly, Ashaiman, Ayawaso West, Adentan, Tema West, LA Dadekotopon, and Ledzokuku Municipal Assemblies, as well as the TDC Development Company Limited.

The massive demolition exercise since its commencement, had mostly affected squatters and traders who have erected metal containers and other makeshift dwelling places.

Mr Frank Asante, Tema Metropolitan Public Relations Officer giving an update of the exercise, told the Ghana News Agency in Tema that it had so far been peaceful, with most of the affected persons removing their structures voluntarily, ahead of the arrival of the taskforce.

Mr Asante said the exercise would pave way for the smooth take off of the major motorway expansion project.

He hinted that the exercise might be extended to some unauthorized structures within the inner cities in Tema as the sprawling squatter settlements contributed to the huge sanitation challenge in the metropolis as they have no places of convenience as well as waste disposal places.

According to him it was the vision of the TMA to make Tema shine again, and therefore he appealed to land owners who had left their lands undeveloped, creating opportunities for squatters to take over to as a matter of urgency develop it or fence it.

SCEF supports 15 public schools with Libraries

By
Editor
-
0
IMAGE COPYRIGHT / AFP/

Street Children Empowerment Foundation ( SCEF), a non-governmental Organisation, in partnership with Book Aid International, has supported some public schools with library structures and books under it’s Reading Is Basic (RIB) project .

The RIB project seeks to engage local students in regular reading and learning to improve their school performance and also to reduce the school drop-out rate due to lack of study areas and libraries.

The Project seeks to promote supplementary learning through establishment of libraries in selected schools, improve quality of education through access to books and instil in students the habit and essence of reading and empower library users to participate effectively in school learning programmes and activities.

Mrs Joelene Clottey, programmes manager, SCEF, said Ghana Education Service officials, head teachers, teachers and prefects were engaged to grow their understanding on the importance of reading and then to establish and support regular access to books and reading by students, within the project schools.

The beneficiary schools are seven urban public schools in James town and Dansoman, five rural communities in the Ga South Municipality with three Non governmental organization providing reading sessions for the community.

She said teachers from the selected schools were oriented and trained in refreshener courses on how to handle library books, lending processes, minitoring and safe keeping of books, adding, “this has helped taeachers to acquire new skills and confident in their use of books to support a range of curriculum subjects – using fiction and non-fiction books.”

“We realised that teachers find it additional task to monitor and supervise and so there’s no proper handling of books and the children are denied access to reading materials. The sense of having a library is to help children read and write”.

Madam Faustina Naana Forson, Ghana Education Service, Head of Supervision, Ga South, commended SCEF for the project, adding the beneficiary schools under her Supervision had seen improvement with the RIB guidelines where learners had gained knowledge and improved on their reading skills.

“I must say that the orientation and training given to our teachers in the selected schools with the needed resources has really helped in achieving the project objectives, “she said.

She appealed to government to train and deploy more librarians or specialised teachers who would solely help manage the library facilities in the schools.

Mr Yakubu Issah, Communications Officer, SCEF, urged beneficiaries to make good use of the library, adding, reading was a fundamental basic in all areas and must be given a priority.

1...763764765...1,457Page 764 of 1,457