Day: December 18, 2023

The Ada Foah Detachment of the Riverine Command of the Ghana Navy on 16th of December 2023 intercepted a canoe suspected to be carrying narcotics at the Agorkpo general area.

According to a press release signed by Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Marteye on behalf of Brigadier-General Eric Aggrey-Quashie, the Director General, Public Relations Department of the Ghana Armed Forces, the operation to intercept the vessel was undertaken in the morning between 3am and 8am.

The detachment task with the operation acted on intelligence gathered during night foot patrols on Friday, 15th December 2023.

‘The Detachment laid ambush at two locations from 3am waiting for the movement of the canoes. At about 4am, the first Ambush Team sighted 3 canoes involved in the illegality proceeding at high speed past their location.

Unfortunately, the suspects did not proceed toward the direction of the main Ambush Team as anticipated, so the first team of three men chased and intercepted the third canoe. The three suspects on the thir
d canoe dived into the river and escaped, abandoning the canoe and its contents after a scuffle with the naval personnel.

The other two canoes escaped towards the estuary and could not be apprehended by the main Ambush team after a follow-up up chase,’ the statement explained.

The Detachment, according to the statement, confiscated 45 sacks of suspected marijuana which have been conveyed to Naval Base in Tema for further investigations.
Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Samuel Koku Anyidoho, Founder and CEO of the Atta-Mills Institute has been inducted into the Ghana Psychology Council (GPC).

The event which took place in Accra, saw over 100 licensed professionals receiving their certificates of induction and the swearing of their professional oath to practise as professional counsellors in Ghana.

Speaking on the theme ‘Ethics Excellence and Leadership in Psychological Practice in Ghana’, Professor Angela Ofori-Atta, Chairperson for the GPC Board admonished the inductees not to take their calling for granted.

She said the maintenance of high professional standards should not be compromised at any point in time since GPC would not accept any form of professional misconduct.

According to her, ‘continuous education’ was key to their practice ‘because the renewal of their licenses will be highly dependent on concrete proof of building capacity at all times.’

Prof. Ofori-Atta, therefore asked all inductees to refrain from all acts of indiscipline and collusion with other
s for personal favour or financial gain against the interests of their clients or the profession.

In an interview with the media, Mr Samuel Koku Anyidoho said, ‘I am very grateful to God for this great opportunity, and I pledge to do my possible best to work in the supreme interest of the GPC.’

‘I have no doubt that my association with the GPC and other affiliated professional counselling organisations will go a long way to help the advocacy and transformational agenda of the Atta-Mills Institute,’ he added.

Recently, Mr Anyidoho graduated from the Trinity Theological Seminary at the University of Ghana, Legon in Accra.
Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Cassiel Eghan Asiedu, the Upper West Regional Manager of the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC), said the Commission recorded 781 complaints from utility consumers, out of which 771 were successfully resolved.

Most of the complaints bordered on quality of services with power outages being the highest concerning the Electricity Company, while the complaints of the Ghana Water Company included cuts in water flow and bust pipelines.

Mr Asiedu disclosed this in Wa at the weekend during the end-of-year get-together of the PURC, which brought together representatives from the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), Ghana Water Company Ltd, staff of PURC and some stakeholders.

The Consumer Service Committee members in Tumu in the Sissala East Municipality also attended the event.

He said the Commission described 2023 as a ‘Year of Operational Efficiency’ where it engaged many stakeholders on the operations of the PURC.

Mr Asiedu attributed the successes of the PURC within the year under
review to the collaboration and support it enjoyed from the stakeholders, including the utility service providers and the consumers.

‘If the utilities hadn’t given us this collaboration, we wouldn’t have chalked this success,’ he said, and commended them for their collaboration.

He said for 2024, the commission was strategically positioning itself in its service delivery and termed the year as a ‘Year of Strategic Impact’ with a focus on four key areas.

The four key areas, christened ‘STEP’ – Self-improvement, Transparency, Enforcement and Proactiveness, will focus on staff capacity building, engagement with stakeholders, enforcement of laws and proactiveness in service delivery through the use of technology to receive complaints.

Mr Daniel Awortwe, the Upper West Regional Area Engineer of the NEDCo, commended the PURC for being a ‘great stakeholder’ in the operations of the Company and expressed the hope that the collaboration would continue in the years ahead.

He said NEDCo would leverage technology to
improve on its operations for optimum service delivery by ensuring reliable and quality power supply to consumers.

Mr Kwasi Abebrese, the Upper West Regional Chief Manager of the Ghana Water Company Ltd, assured its consumers of quality service.

He, however, appealed to them to bear with his outfit in responding to complaints and challenges due to the workload on the staff.
Source: Ghana News Agency

The Street Academy, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) has held its annual dinner for street, needy, deprived and less-fortunate children in Accra.

It was organised to show love to the children as part of activities to mark the Christmas festivity.

Food, drinks, water, and snacks, among others, were provided for over 500 street children to make merry.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr Ataa Lartey, the Executive Director of the Academy, said it was an annual programme during which children were fed and supported to have fun.

Mr Lartey said the Academy’s objective was to empower the less privileged and vulnerable within the Communities to be able to live normal and professional lives.

He noted ‘It’s not the fault of these children, just bad parenting that has brought these children on the street. If people come in to support us, they will not be on the street. They are our future leaders.’

According to him the purpose of the party was to allow the less-privileged children to interact with pr
ominent people and share the season’s love with them.

Mr Lartey said showing care to the children would make them feel part of the society, adding that Street Academy provided the necessities of shelter, food and clothing to the children gave them formal education and provided healthcare for them.

‘Ghana was among the first countries to rectify the Convention on the Rights of Children, so this should not only be on paper, but it should also be a reality. We do a lot of Conventions and Treaties, but implementation is the problem. We are implementing all the Rights of Children. We want them to have Basic Education, Education is the key to success,’ he added.

He said, next year the children the academy would provide an ultramodern playing ground for the children and the community

Mr Emmanuel Frimpong, a Board Member of Street Academy, said it was a joy to give back to society and care for the children as well.

He said most of the children do not have parents to support them with the necessary items they nee
d as some also were homeless and survived on the streets.

Mr Frimpng who is also the President of Africa Tourism Research Network, added that ‘as part of the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, it will be a great opportunity to educate the children to draw closer to God and not give up in life as well’ saying through hope, determination, hardworking and prayer the children would great in the future.

Nii Tettey Obroni Onamonsro ll, Kokomlemle Mantse, said it was important to invest in children to become better people in the country.

According to him ‘effort should be put in place to push children on the street to become great leaders and not rebellion children.’

He pleaded with institutions, corporate organisations, stakeholders, and other entities to assist in any form of support to the children.
Source: Ghana News Agency

Madam Elizabeth Sackey, the Mayor of Accra, says the Accra metropolis owes its social and economy vibrancy to migration.

She said Accra owed much of its vibrancy to the dynamic cultures of individuals who had chosen to make the metropolis their home.

Migrants, she noted, particularly the youth, brought perspective, innovative ideas and determination to succeed against all odds.

She said this in an address at an event to commemorate the International Migration Day which was held at the GaMashie Development Agency in Jamestown, Accra.

‘Migrants are not just recipients of our hospitality but active contributors of our economic, social and cultural development. By fostering an environment that nurtures their skills and talents, we unlock their transformative potential for our communities,” she said.

The International Migration Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2000 to recognize the important contribution of migrants while highlighting the challenges they face.

This year
‘s edition was marked at the Jamestown Basketball Court as a community event with a focus on youth empowerment.

The youth of Jamestown and neighbouring communities gathered at the playground with the objective to empower young people to create variable alternatives to irregular migration and to leverage the educational power of basketball to equip the youth with life skills and self-resilience.

The Mayor underscored the role the youth played in the migration discourse, saying it was the collective responsibility of the society to empower them since it acknowledged them as torchbearers of change.

She said the youth could be empowered to play a role in the migration discourse by investing in their skills to shape the future.

The event was attended by diplomats, youth activists and officials of Non-governmental Organization (NGO) and state agencies.

Fatou Diallo Ndiaye, Chief of Mission, International Organization for Migration (IOM), said historically, migration had been considered as a coping mechanism in
Ghana.

She said the launch of the National Coordinating Mechanism (NCM) this year was timely as it would help coordinate effective management of migration in Ghana.

This, she said, will ensure migrants especially the youth were part of the solution and not considered as a problem in the attempts to stifle migration.

Anna Lixi, Delegation of the European Union to Ghana, in her address, said ‘safe, legal and well managed migration is key to unlock the potential of human mobility.’

She said, ‘as part of the effort to unlock the potential of human mobility, the EU reiterate its commitment in ensuring that migration becomes a force for sustainable development.’
Source: Ghana News Agency

The Keta and Anloga Youth Parliaments under the National Youth Authority in the Volta Region, have cautioned fisher folks to stop indulging in illegal fishing methods in the Keta Lagoon.

They said the practice caused irreparable damage to fish stocks, as well as posing health risks to humans.

Mr Emmanuel Gameli Dovia, Chairman of the Publicity Committee in a statement, indicated that their attention had been drawn to the illegal activities of some fishermen using poisonous chemicals and other bad methods to trap new species of fish in the lagoon.

‘The Keta Lagoon fishing has been plagued with illegal activities in recent weeks, destructive fishing practices by the fishers with light, dynamites and chemicals.’

The statement said the acts remained quick fixes for desperate fishers that were causing irreparable damages to the fish stock and risking human health.’

The statement identified areas such as Azizadzi, Kedzi, Vodza, Adzido and Vui as areas around the southern part of the lagoon, which were within
the Keta Municipality where the illegal activities remained rampant.

‘We are, therefore, calling on those engaging in these illegal activities to stop with immediate effect,’ the statement said.

The statement also appealed to assembly members, officials of the Fisheries Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other relevant authorities to investigate and put the situation under control.

The Ghana News Agency (GNA) also observed that the recent opening of the sluice bridges and sandbar at Kedzi-Havedzi, which allowed the sea to flow into the lagoon, causes sea species such as crab, shrimps, sardines, and others to breed in the lagoon.

The situation had forced fishermen on the lagoon to be in desperate need to catch the new species using some bad methods to harvest them.
Source: Ghana News Agency