Month: November 2023

Dr Gladys Naa Momo Lartey, Member of Parliament for Krowor Constituency, has urged women to conduct self- breast examination and report anomalies for prompt treatment. She said the fear and stigma were all because of the myths and misconceptions surrounding the disease. ‘People think it is a spiritual disease and that is the reason why a lot of women are in the prayer camps seeking treatment.’ Dr Lartey was speaking when she held free breast cancer screening for her constituents at Nungua in Accra. She said breast cancer was not a death sentence, however the unfortunate detection of the disease at the late or terminal stage was what could drastically reduce the chances of sufferers. ‘Breast Cancer is a hospital disease and that if you go to the hospital early your chance of survival is always very bright”, Dr Lartey said. ‘We are losing many lives to breast cancer needlessly and this is what is heart breaking,’ the lawmaker said. The Member of Parliament for Krowor noted that many women with the disease were using all sorts of concoctions and seeking help from prayer camps. She called for a concerted effort on educating women on the risk in resorting to herbal treatment for the disease.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Stakeholders in higher education at an open forum have urged Government to remove its capping on allocations to the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund). They also called for the review of the Fund for it to focus on specific areas of educational support, particularly infrastructure provision, instead of its general support structure. The open dialogue was on the topic ‘Making the GETFund Fit for Purpose’ and was organised by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) as part of its project on ‘Motivating Higher Education Reforms in Ghana – Towards Equity and Sustainability’. The dialogue provided a forum for open discussion on financing challenges that the higher education sector faced. Professor Abednego Feehi Okoe Amartey, Vice Chancellor, University of Professional Studies – Accra, said the passage of the Earmarked Funds Capping and Realignment Act 2017, Act 947, had affected the resource envelope of the Fund. ‘The current 2.5 per cent VAT allocated to the Fund should be reviewed upwards, given the increasing student enrolment numbers in public tertiary institutions as well as the number of projects undertaken across the various university campuses,’ he added. Prof. Amartey said the GETFund should put more emphasis on higher education institutions than the pre-tertiary sector, saying the current 12 per cent fund allocation to them was inadequate. He called for a multiple stakeholder engagement to help address areas of financing challenges and explore other sustainable streams of income to support the Fund. Mr Dennis Asare, a Senior Research Associate at Imani Centre for Policy and Education, said GETFund should adopt innovative ways of raising funds to support its activities. ‘There is a need to improve their efficiency and encourage public-private partnerships to drive more support from the private sector,’ he added. The Ghana Education Trust Fund was established in 2000 by the Ghana Education Trust Fund Act, 2000, Act 581. The Fund was primarily established to provide funding to supplement government budgetary allocations at all levels of education.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Nana Abor Atta II, the Chief of Gomoa Fetteh and Twafohen of Gomoa Akyempim Traditional Area, has appealed to the Government to elevate the Gomoa East District to a Municipal status. He said the population of the district, which was over 350,000 inhabitants, was more populated than several other Municipalities and some Metropolitan Assemblies. ‘Our District was ranked 7th amongst districts, municipalities and metropolitan assemblies throughout the country,’ he added. Nana Abor Atta II made the appeal at a development forum organised by Africa Seafront Properties Limited and the Spio-Garbrah Foundation, with organisational support from Ghana Real Estate Development Association (GREDA) at Gomoa Fetteh, in the Central Region. The Forum, which was the first of its kind, was on the theme: ‘Peace, Unity and Development.’ Nana Atta II said the Gomoa Fetteh lands were stool lands that did not belong to individuals, and appealed to prospective investors to approach the chiefs whenever they needed lands for investment. He commended Dr Spio-Garbrah, former Ambassador of Ghana to USA and Mexico, for his vision in initiating the development forum, and encouraged him to organise more of such events because without peace and unity there could be no developments within the community. Mr Solomon Darko Quarm, the District Chief Executive of the Gomoa East District, said in addition to peace, unity and development, there was the need to ensure security of the people. He said prospective investors would not feel safe if people had to carry weapons to functions, stating that the Government was making efforts to improve on developmental projects such as infrastructure, as far as land guard activities were concerned. Mr Quarm noted that, for instance, the establishment of the Pentecost Convention Center at Gomoa Fetteh during the COVID-19 period was at the disposal of the Government to keep the patients free of charge. ‘People queued at most advanced hospitals in Europe and America and were dying in millions, yet not a single soul perished at the Pentecost Convention Center here in Ghana,’ he added The DCE appealed to the chiefs to assist the district maintain peace in the area, indicating that there was the need to establish a Land Secretariat or Committee to protect the Gomoa lands. Mr Desmond De-Graft Paitoo, Member of Parliament, Gomoa East Constituency, called on his constituents to support the peace efforts being made by the authorities to ensure development in the district. Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, founder of Spio-Garbrah Foundation, thanked the chiefs for their collaboration, without which the event could not have been successful. The presence of the Chiefs and Queen mothers in their flamboyant regalia added a colour to the most magnificent event in grand style best witnessed than described. Other speakers were representatives of the District Assemblies, the District Education Directorate, the District Health Service, the Lands Commission, District Environment officials, the Village and College of Hope.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development in collaboration with the Institute of Local Government Studies, has held a three-day capacity building training for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) on leadership and managerial skills. The training, held in Tamale, brought together all the MMDCEs from six regions of the country namely Northern, Upper East, Upper West, North East, Savannah and Oti Regions. Mr Daniel Botwe, Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, interacting with the media during the training, said it was to enable the beneficiary MMDCEs exhibit quality leadership at their respective offices. Mr Botwe was optimistic that the training would also enhance their commitment to deliver as expected of them. He commended the facilitators of the training and urged the participating MMDCEs to listen attentively to the presentations and seek clarity on issues as the facilitators were knowledgeable and in position to address their concerns. The MMDCEs expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development for organising the training for them and assured the Minister that it would go a long way to enhance their skills to discharge their duties as expected of them.

Source: Ghana News Agency

There was spontaneous jubilation at the premises of the Accra Circuit Courts when a court discharged 23 young men nabbed for allegedly assaulting some elders of Kweiman. The young men were also accused of attacking a palace over the sale of land to an estate developer. The Circuit Court presided over by Mrs Afia Owusua Appiah discharged the accused persons after it adopted terms of settlement process of the Court Connected Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Mr Francis Xavier Sosu told the court that the parties (the complainant and the accused persons) had settled the matter amicably through the Court Connect ADR and he would like the court to adopt the terms of settlement. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Evans Kesse, the prosecutor, said the Police had received settlement processes from the Court Connected ADR hence prayed the court to discharge the accused persons. The accused persons are Gideon Amartey, aka Kitinki, Richard Amartey Mensah, Eziel Adjetey Adjei, Nii Anang Mameley, Mensah Ago, Michael Adjei, Amarh Amartey Kwei, Ebenezer Laryea and Joseph Nii Mensah Anang. The rest are Emmanuel Ago Doko, Reuben Tetteh, Samuel Armah Amartey, Isaac Mensah Lumor, Isaac Armah, Felix Adjei, Ernest Addo, Wisdom Tawiah, Amos Adjei, Isaac Afotey, Mershark Amartey and Jospeh Amartey Lartea Perry. The accused were charged with conspiracy to commit crime namely assault and causing damage. They denied the charges and granted bail. The lawyer for the accused persons prayed to the court that since the accused persons’ family resided within the same vicinity, they would like to settle the matter through ADR. The court obliged defence counsel’s request. The prosecution’s case was that the complainant Nii Amartey Kwei III was the Chief of Kweiman in Accra. It said in May 2023, the Chief granted a parcel of land located at Kweiman to a developer, which the youth disagreed with. Prosecution said on July 6, 2023, the grantee and the Chief went to work on the land and in the process, the accused persons, who were allegedly armed with offensive weapons, rushed to the site and stopped the developer. The prosecutor said they also allegedly went to the Palace and attacked four elders with cutlasses, wood, and metallic objects. It said the accused persons destroyed 12 plastic chairs and a table, all valued at GHC800. Prosecution said a report was made to the Police and the accused persons were arrested and police medical forms were issued to the four complainants- Ibrahim Anum, Benjamin Amartey, Joshua Odai and Francis Mensah to seek medical attention. According to prosecution, when the medical report forms were submitted to the Police, they confirmed that the complainants had been assaulted.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has called on the public to support the fight against bushfires this harmattan season, saying the country has since 2020, recorded a total number of 3,553 cases. Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) James Owusu- Agyei, the Director of Rural Fires GNFS, said 615 cases of bushfires were recorded nationwide from January to September 2023. He said despite measures put in place by the GNFS to sustain and create awareness of the public on the impact of bushfires on Agriculture, Businesses, economy, and livelihood of affected people at the community, Regional and National level, the menace still raged on especially during the harmattan season, from November to March. DCFO Owusu- Agyei said this in a speech read on his behalf at a two-day training of trainers’ workshop on Community-Based Fire Management, organised by the Forum for Natural Regeneration (FONAR) for selected personnel of the rural fire departments of the Nabdam and Talensi Districts. ‘It is very obvious that the responsibility of controlling and managing bushfires no longer resides in the domain of the Service alone but rather on all stakeholders, community members and farmers,’ he added. FONAR is a Ghanaian environment focused non-governmental organisation that promotes ecological restoration, especially on degraded lands for improved livelihoods and poverty reduction among rural subsistence smallholder farmers. The workshop, which formed part of FONAR`s community bushfires management activities in the Nabdam and Talensi Districts, aimed at introducing the regional and select District personnel of the rural fire departments of the GNFS in the Upper East Region to Community- based Fire Management concepts and principles. It also aimed at strengthening the capacity of the personnel to deliver on their mandate and support FONAR`s community bushfire activities in the Nabdam and Talensi Districts. Assistant Chief Fire Officer One (ACFO 1) Anthony Gyasi Boateng, the Upper East Regional Fire Commander of the GNFS, acknowledged that the service in collaboration with FONAR, over the last year had benefited from joint community durbars, public education, and capacity building. He said the fight against bushfires required inter-agency collaboration and FONAR was not only doing just that but was also researching and devising modern ways of controlling bushfires to reduce its negative impact on lives and properties. Mr Sumaila S. Saaka, the Executive Director of FONAR, noted that though Ghana had a good policy on bushfire, the law that was supposed to support the policy to be effective was outdated, given the current trends. ‘The law is punitive, criminalizes and as a result it is difficult to implement it, thus the PNDC Law 229 and so is time we revise the law to conform with the current wildfire policy objectives ‘. He sated He said the country was likely to encounter more bushfires in the future and called on the government to provide the necessary resources by resourcing agencies like the GNFS, responsible for managing bushfires, to be able to implement good aspect of the current law and bushfire policies. Mr Saaka said his outfit was committed to working with other agencies including the GNFS to educate communities about the impact of bushfires and how they could manage bushfires from becoming disastrous.

Source: Ghana News Agency