Day: June 19, 2024

The residents of Babile in the Lawra Municipality have expressed worry about a newly constructed fire service post in Babile, which is collapsing less than four years of its construction.

A visit to the newly constructed structure by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) revealed a part of the wall of the building had collapsed destroying the inner ceiling, while visible cracks were seen on the walls, pillars and beams of the structure.

Speaking to the GNA in Babile, Mr Kadoe Dapilah Vitus, the Regent of Babile, said the fire service post was constructed at the end of 2020 but expressed concern that the building had started collapsing.

‘I am surprised that the wind has pushed the wall down leaving the roof hanging. Is it that the roof of the building was not bonded to the wall? It is surprising,’ he lamented.

The Regent explained that accessing emergency services from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) in the community was difficult and the operationalisation of the fire service post in Babile would help save l
ives and property during fire disasters.

He explained that the current state of the facility was inhabitable for the fire service personnel since it was not connected to the national grid and had no source of water.

Mr Kadoe said the Lawra Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Jacob Dery, had not been able to explain why a borehole, which was part of the contract had been drilled at the fire service office and why it had not been connected to electricity.

Mr Zola Dabuo, the Assembly Member of the Babile Electoral Area, wondered if the structure could serve its intended purpose since it was poorly constructed and could not stand the test of time.

‘This place they have built for us is now like a flower, beautifying the community. It has started collapsing and we are afraid that if it is not worked on, the wind can take off the entire roof.

‘I informed the MCE, and he came and looked at it and said they will attend to it as and when the assembly gets money but told us that if we think the assembly is delaying, we c
an also work on it,’ Mr Dabuo explained.

He said the youth of Babile, with support from an independent Parliamentary Candidate in the Lawra Constituency, Mr Joseph Baanaa Dabuo, had taken steps to rebuild the collapsed portion of the building.

Emphasising the urgent need for the fire service post in Babile, the Assembly Member said they had been recording fire outbreaks in the community very often with the recent one being a structure at the Babile Polyclinic, which caught fire.

He added that the community had also secured two electricity poles hoping to connect the facility to the national grid.

Mr Dabuo, however, said their hope of connecting the electricity to the facility had been dashed by the Northern Electricity Company (NEDCo) asking the community to pay GH?6000.00 to the Company before it would connect it.

Mr Gregory Tengzu, the Bipola Naa (Youth President) of Babile, also appealed for a fire tender when the facility became operational as the mere availability of personnel in the community could
not serve the fire emergency needs of the community.

‘We are pleading that if the office is opened, the government should give us a fire tender if not will the officers use buckets of water to quench the fire in a case of fire outbreak,’ he said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Swedruman Council of Chiefs has cautioned the residents of Agona Swedru to desist from indiscriminate dumping of refuse onto the streets, in gutters and other unauthorised places to ensure environmental cleanliness.

The Council has therefore formed a team made up of chiefs, heads of family and elders to arrest and prosecute offenders, Nana Kweku Esieni V, President of the Council has warned.

Nana Esieni, who is the Regent of Agona Swedru, told the GNA in an interview that the Council will not hesitate to apply severe sanctions against anyone found in contravention of the directive.

According to him, the Council was poised to work with Agona West Municipal Environmental Health and Sanitation and Zoomlion Waste Management Company and had consequently held meetings with their officers.

Nana Esieni who is the Nifahene (Holder Right flank of community’s army formation) of Agona Swedru said the Agona West Municipal Assembly has been adjudged the neatest Assembly for more than five conservative times.

It ha
d also not recorded a single case of cholera for the past seven-and-half years, adding that it was a great achievement and that the Swedruman Council of Chiefs had vowed to rally support behind the Assembly to maintain its clean sheets.

He cautioned parents who sent their children to the dumping containers to give them money to ”pay as you dump ” into the containers to avoid indiscriminate dumping at unauthorised places.

The Regent of Agona Swedru appealed to the Assembly to liaise with the Environmental Health and Sanitation Office to intensify its public education campaign about the dangers of unsanitary environment.

Mr Emmanuel Ampong, the Agona West Municipal Deputy Environmental Health and Sanitation Officer, during a meeting with the chiefs said his outfit had intensified its ”saman-saman’ operations where many sanitation offenders had been arraigned before court to deter people from keeping unclean environs.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A rainstorm has left in its wake destruction of property worth fortunes at Adokwanta in the Krachi East Municipality of the Oti Region.

The storm, which was characterised by strong winds wreaked havoc in the Adokwanta town and surrounding environs following a 40-minute downpour.

Volta River Authority (VRA) resettlement quarters had its roof ripped up along with some temporal structures in the area.

Nana Agyemang Kwame Obortuo, a sub-chief of the area told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that many people were counting their loses as they no longer had places to lay their heads.

Checks by the GNA indicated that a number of the displaced persons were stranded while some were perching with relatives.

Some of the victims, who spoke to the GNA said they had been left stranded with their families as all their houses had been affected by the disaster.

Speaking to the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr. Charles Gyamfi Boateng said his outfit was yet to receive the devastation and will conduct a thorough assessment
of the situation.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister of Energy, stated on Wednesday that the recent power outages in parts of the country were not caused by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

‘Mr. Speaker, the question was asked over two months ago. No, ECG is not undertaking load-shedding as at the time the question was asked. Consumers were experiencing outages due to several factors. That included localised outages due to overload online and transformers,’ he said.

Dr. Opoku Prempeh stated on the floor of Parliament while answering questions and outlining some of the reasons for the country’s recent erratic power supply.

‘Mr. Speaker, at the time the questioner put the question, CenPower had an emergency which meant a complete shutdown, losing immediately 40 megawatts. That also contributed and the plant maintenance on Amandi power was also ongoing at the same time.

‘The emergency outages sometimes requested by GRIDCo have also contributed, so there were myriads of factors that had unfortunately happened, that is
causing the power outages in different times. The reason ECG said they were not load-shedding is because most of the incidents were not planned and so they couldn’t have come out with a pre-programme to say they were loading,’ he told Parliament.

For months, most parts of the country experienced intermittent power outages, with businesses and households bearing the brunt of the burden.

The sector Minister said: ‘…Mr. Speaker, there are certain areas in this country where all of a sudden, the number of residents and businesses have accumulated, parts of East Legon which was purely a residential area have now become a business district, increasing power consumption.

‘Thereby hampering the existing lines there, so the transformers and lines had to be updated. Outages to the average capacity of overloaded lines and transformers.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

The European Union (EU) funded Landscape and Environmental Agility Across the Nation (LEAN) Project in collaboration with Rainforest Alliance has supported 106 communities in four districts of the Western North Region to plant trees at degraded areas.

The initiative aimed to conserve biodiversity, build climate change resilience and reduce emissions from land use in the savannah, high-forest and transition zones of Ghana, while helping local farmers to improve their livelihoods.

Mr Emmanuel Bawuah Antwi, Senior Associate at Rainforest Alliance, explained to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the project had been initiated to plant trees in degraded areas within the Bibiani -Anhwiaso -Bekwai Municipal, Wiawso, Bodi and Akontombra districts.

He said the objectives of the LEAN project were to enhance capacity and commitment to reduce land degradation, increase productivity, prevent forest loss, promote natural resources and build climate change resilience using the integrated landscape management approach (ILM)
.

The Senior Associate said about 150,000 indigenous trees and fruits seedlings for restoration activities in degraded off-farm areas had been experimented in some cocoa growing areas.

Mr Antwi said the LEAN project had been supporting the Green Ghana project through the Rainforest Alliance, and others to plant trees on a degraded off-farm area near Asawinso.

Madam Dorcas Amoah, Vice Chairperson, Sefwi-Wiawso Landscape Management Board (LMB), in an interview with the GNA lauded the EU/LEAN project for the initiative and said it would help restore degraded forest reserves.

She expressed worry over the increasing climate irregularities and encouraged the citizenry to contribute and commit to the Green Ghana project introduced by the government through the Forestry commission.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Bono Regional Office of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) is undertaking a project aimed at reducing the rising cases of pedestrian knockdowns among school children on major access roads, and highways in the region.

According to Madam Abigail Atinpoka, the Bono Regional Head of the NRSA, the Authority had secured funding from the Road Fund, and was constructing child safety crossing points, speed ramps, and other child-friendly road projects along the stretches and highways.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, Mad Atinpoka said the project had commenced in the Sunyani Municipality and was situated mostly on the Abesim-Sunyani stretch where cases of pedestrian knockdowns were very common.

‘In all we are putting up 10 safety crossing points including pavements in the municipality, and six of the projects are situated along the Abesim-Sunyani stretch which is one of the busiest highways in the region,’ she stated.

Describing the project as a laudable initiative that would
further reduce crashes, Mad Atinpoka advised drivers to cooperate with the contractors working on the project, saying soon it would be extended to some major towns and urban centers in the municipality.

She said despite intensified public and driver education, cases of pedestrian knockdowns in the region seemed to be increasing, saying the region recorded 12 cases in 202 seven in 2021, 14 in 2022 and 13 cases in 2023.

She said three cases of the knockdowns had been recorded in the first quarter of 2024 and attributed the cases to speeding and driver negligence.

Madam Atinpoka, therefore, appealed to drivers to endeavour to adhere to road traffic regulations and signs, and entreated pedestrians to always ensure they cross the road at designated crossing points to help reduce the knockdowns and fatalities.

Road safety, she added, remained a collective and shared responsibility, and called on all stakeholders to help the authority to bring sanity on the roads, control crashes and bring the needless deaths un
der the barest minimum.

Source: Ghana News Agency