Day: December 22, 2023

Madam Anita Owusu-Kuffour, Eastern Regional Head of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), has commended stakeholders for their significant roles in promoting public health through the work of the FDA.

She said the commitment and collaboration of stakeholders such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Health Department, ZoomLion Ghana Limited, and the Ghana Standards Authority ensured that regulated products reaching consumers met standards of safety and quality.

She was speaking at the 2023 festival of Nine lessons and carols service organised by the FDA in Koforidua.

She reminded the public to be conscious of the products they purchase around the festive season to ensure that only wholesome products were consumed for public safety.
Source: Ghana News Agency

The Asante Bekwai Circuit Court has sentenced two highway robbers to 20 years imprisonment each, in hard labour.

Musah Alhassan and Yakubu Abdulai denied conspiring to rob 17 persons on a Sprinter bus from Behenase to Kumasi, but they were found culpable after trial.

Detective Chief Inspector Eric Twum, prosecuting, told the Court presided over by Mr Isaac Apeatu that Alhassan,24 years, and Abdulai, 25 years, the convicts, claimed to be illegal miners also known as ‘galamsey’ and residents of Homase and Buipe, respectively in the Northern region.

Prosecution said in the past three months, there had been series of robberies on the Anwiankwanta to Poano stretch of the road which resulted in the death of one person and robbery of valuables of road users.

He said Police therefore intensified Patrols on the Poano to Anwiankwanta stretch.

Prosecution said on July 11, 2023, about 04:30 hours, Police received information that a robbery was ongoing at a section of the road, the outskirts of Behenase. Thus, they
rushed to the scene but the said robbers had escaped, the Court heard.

Detective Chief Inspector Twum said the Police Patrol team whiles combing the area, spotted a woman, one of the victims walking by the roadside towards Behenase.

She informed the Police that she was a victim of that robbery and narrated how the robbery occurred, prosecution told the Court.

She told the Police that she was returning to the scene to get the rest of her money she had hidden in the bush during the robbery. Detective Chief Inspector Twum said the team drove her to the scene.

On the way, she spotted Alhassan and Abdulai about 200 meters away from the scene, walking by the roadside and she identified them to the Patrol team as members of the gang.

Prosecution said this led to the arrest of the convicts. A search revealed GHC 275.00 and two mobile phones namely; Itel and TECNO smart phones on Alhassan.

Abdulai also had on him GHc333.00 and three mobile Phones namely: TECNO, WiDO and SAMSUNG GALAXY S8+ with International Mobi
le Equipment Identification code 352805091057212.

He said during interrogations, Abdulai claimed he recently bought the said Samsung S8+ from the Kumasi Kejetia.

A search was conducted on the phone after Alhassan and Abdulai had signed a consent form in the presence of an independent witness and Police established that their claim was false.
Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ddanibes Foundation, a non-profit organisation in Ghana, has part of activities to mark this year’s Christmas festivities, provided some educational materials to the Amazing Shepherd Orphanage.

The items, including books, pens, pencils, mathematical sets, are to assist the beneficiaries in their educational pursuit.

The foundation also donated some undisclosed amount of money, bags of rice, gari, cooking oil, cartons of tomato paste, crates of eggs, and toiletries to the home.

Mr Andrews Akyeampong Okyere during an interaction with the media after the donation said the gesture, ‘is to bring smiles on the faces of underprivileged persons in the society.’

Mr Okyere, an Educationist and Director Phyllandy Pharmacy, explained that it was important for corporate organisations to be generous in times like Christmas by giving to support the wellbeing of underprivileged in society.

That, the Entrepreneur and Philanthropist said informed the Foundation’s gesture, noting that, ‘it is a service to mankind and
society since people are in need of one thing or the other.’

‘It does not matter the level you find yourself in life. No matter what, there is always someone out there that you can make an impact on. So, let’s be kind to everybody.’

‘Look around your family, community, town, city, church, mosque and identify someone whose face you can put a smile on,’ he encouraged.

Founded in 2012, Ddanibes Foundation aims to help in the alleviation of poverty among the citizenry.

The Foundation, periodically, provides educational support, promote health campaigns, skills development and exchange programmes to ensure the upliftment of Ghanaians, especially, the underprivileged.

Over the years, Ddanibes Foundation had been assisting people all over the country and made donations to orphanages in almost all regions of Ghana.
Source: Ghana News Agency

Participants of the National Development Summit in Accra have proposed wide-ranging measures in the short, medium, and long term to transform the country by 2057 and improve the living conditions of citizens.

The two-day summit, convened by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), closed in Accra on Thursday.

It assembled experts, development partners, heads of institutions, civil society organisations, traditional authority and all relevant stakeholders to contribute ideas towards the establishment of long-term development framework to guide planning for all sectors.

The summit is expected to produce the Long-Term National Development Perspective Framework, which would also be known as the ‘The Ghana Vision 2057.’

The document will articulate the vision of Ghana from the perspective of the people by 2057 and set goals, objectives, the strategic direction to pursue, and targets to be realised.

Key issues

Among the key governance issues identified at the Summit was that partisan politics and
extreme political divisions were hindering development.

It was also identified that the non-binding nature of development plans on political parties were problematic and that the presidential authority to appoint heads of critical institutions undermined checks and balances.

On the economy, the participants cited limited export production, ineffective monetary policies, lack of diversification, making the economy susceptible to external shocks and crises, and informal economy, hindering revenue mobilisation as among areas of concern.

The participants also expressed concern over the disconnect between education institutions and industry, lack of effective social protection for vulnerable groups including pensioners and the aged, and environmental health risks associated with pollution, and poor waste management.

Proposals

The Summit proposed investments in inclusive and equitable growth strategies that consider health, education, gender, social protection and other factors.

The participants also recommen
ded the leveraging of digitalisation and Information Technology (IT) to formalise the economy and address waste, procurement issues and corruption.

The summit proposed support for local industry and agriculture through Central Bank policies to incentivise local production, create value addition and reduce import dependency.

It also proposed the provision of tax incentives for private sector job creation and skill development.

On the issue of governance, the Summit proposed among others the election of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) and empowering the NDPC to ensure standards compliance and budget control.

In 2018, Ghana, adopted a 40-year development plan (2018-2057), with the vision of achieving ‘a just, free and prosperous society’ by 2057.

The plan provides a framework for national development in line with the NDPC’s mandate enshrined in articles 85, 86 and 87 of the 1992 Constitution.

Dr Kodjo Esseim Mensah-Abrampa, Director-General, NDPC, said the Long-Term National
Development Perspective Framework would not replace the 40-year development plan, which he described as technical.

He said the framework would tease out some clear targets that should be attained by 2057 to guide planning.

Dr Mensah-Abrampa expressed hope that the Framework would be launched by March 6, 2024.
Source: Ghana News Agency

The residents of Mafi Zortikpo in the Central Tongu District of the Volta Region have celebrated their fifth Dezaah Festival with a focus on forstering developmental projects in the area.

The festival, organized by Togbe Dordoe IV, Dufia of Mafi Zortikpo, and his elders, brought together the sons and daughters of the region and beyond to rekindle the spirit of unity.

Togbe Dordoe told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that: ‘In as much as we want to bring our people together, we also want a place of convenience and I’m glad we’ve been able to get some fund today to commence the project.’

He lauded the residents and his council members for donating to support the project in the community.

Mr. Agbeti Sekpey Dordoe, the Executive Chairman for the Dezaah Committee, Said they had realized a sum of GHC 7,700 after the festival and some residents had pledged 140 bags of cement and other materials to support the construction of the toilet facility.

He recounted that the Zortikpo community procured two poly tanks, mec
hanized borehole, 150 plastic chairs, benches, streetlights and supported some residents to learn a trad after five years of celebrating the Dezaah festival.

However, he lamented the lack of educational and health facilities in the community and appealed to the government for support.
Source: Ghana News Agency

The Voices of Youth Coalition (VoYC), a youth group in the Wa Municipality, has called for an end to stigmatization, discrimination, and negative attitudes towards teen mothers in schools.

The group said such attitudes discouraged teen mothers from re-enrolling in school and stressed the need to create a safe environment in the school suitable for the re-enrollment of teen mothers.

Miss Rahinatu Haruna, the President of the VoYC, said this in Wa during a street campaign organised by the Coalition to drum home the need for an enabling social and educational environment to encourage teenage mothers to return to school.

Scores of young people from diverse youth groups, organisations, and networks in the Wa Municipality participated in the float through some principal streets.

They wielded placards some of which read: ‘Stop stigma against teen mothers’ and ‘Teen mothers deserve better.’

The programme formed part of the advocacy activities of the group to get girls who got pregnant and dropped out of school
to re-enrol.

The VoYC is an initiative of the Youth Opportunity and Transformation in Africa (YOTA) in partnership with 100% For The Children, an NGO, with support from the Danish Civil Society in Development (CISU), to inspire youth voices in Ghana’s education sector response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group observed that about 1,700 teenage pregnancies were recorded among schoolgirls in the Wa Municipality owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, which had caused many of them to drop out of school.

‘We realised that these teen mothers are not back to school, and we need them in school, so we are creating awareness that these teen mothers need to go back to school, and we need to stop the stigma against teen mothers,’ Miss Haruna explained.

She commended the Wa Municipal Ghana Education Directorate for taking steps to get the affected girls back to school through the re-enrollment policy.

Miss Haruna, however, said the greatest challenge in getting them back to school was the acceptance and willingness of the
girls to go back to school.

‘This is because they feel the school is not safe for them, there is stigma, there is discrimination, and even the infrastructure there is not suitable for them,’ she indicated.

Mr Joshua Jirjiri, the Vice President of the Coalition, indicated that the group would engage the Wa Municipal Education Directorate to chart appropriate ways of integrating teenage mothers into the school.

He encouraged teen mothers to take responsibility for securing their future, saying, ‘If their parents or whoever forces them to go and they are not willing it will affect them, they will bear the responsibility of their lives in future.

‘We don’t think teenage pregnancy should prevent them from going to school, yes, it was a mistake that happened, but should we continue the mistake, no, we need to correct the wrongs,’ he observed.

Some participants of the float acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the youth in all aspects of their lives, including education and social li
fe.

Miss Rhoda Adam, a participant, said some young people and children dropped out of school within the period, with some engaging in drug abuse and emphasized the need for all hands to be on the deck to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.
Source: Ghana News Agency