Category: General

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has cleared 14 out of the 182 containers of medical shipments from the Global Fund stucked at the ports to mitigate HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis for the Health Ministry.

The 14 containers of health commodities, comprising 10 containers of malaria rapid diagnostic tests, one container of malaria injection and three containers of malaria medicine were delivered to the Ministry of Health for onwards transmission to the warehouse.

The supplies, including antiretroviral medications for HIV patients, were held at the Tema port due to non-payment of third-party fees, leading to agitation from the public.

Speaking at a short handover ceremony, the Director of the Revenue Policy Division at the Ministry of Finance, George Winful, said government had earlier paid GHS40 million for the medications, but third-party levy led to delay in the release of the containers.

Also, some stakeholders in the health sector were not aware of the new exemption arrangement, which contributed t
o the delay in clearing the goods.

Mr Winful said to address future delays, an intergovernmental committee was formed by the government after the lessons from the current delays.

The committee include the Ministry of Finance, the Ghana Revenue Authority, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, and the Ministry of Health.

To guarantee prompt resolutions, he said, the committee will collaborate to handle such issues as they come up.

It is anticipated that the rest of the medications will be delivered to the Ghana Health Service’s warehouses by April 19 at the latest.

The Deputy Commissioner of the Customs Division of Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Emmanuel Ohene, said the first batch of medical supplies would help in healthcare delivery.

‘I am pleased to report that the first batch of the consignment has been cleared and it is being released to the Ministry of Health for distribution to various health centres across the country.

‘These drugs are vital for the survival of our fellow citizens and I am glad tha
t they are now in the hands of those who will put it to very good use,’ he stated.

He also encouraged stakeholders and ministries to work with the GRA to take advantage of the new exemption law to clear eligible goods since it would help in avoiding charges and penalties at the port.

He clarified that even though the pharmaceuticals qualified for exemption, their lockup at the port was caused by unpaid obligations, such as third-party clearance fees.

Mr. Ohene reaffirmed that the authority would always prioritise the needs of its clients and encouraged anyone in need of assistance to seek out information on specific tax methods.

‘I would want to express our sincere gratitude to the Minister of Finance and all the officials who have contributed to that resolution of this serious national problem,’ Alhaji Hafis Adams, Chief Director Ministry of Health, said, adding that about about GHS17 million would be needed to clear the containers.

Currently, some 185 containers at the Tema Port and Kotoka Internationa
l Airport (KIA) are still waiting to be cleared.

Alhaji Adams said the clearing process was likely to be completed with delivery to the warehouse expected shortly, not later than April 19, 2024.

He denied reports that the Global Fund had suspended delivery of vaccines and medicines to Ghana.

‘Global Fund has not suspended its support to the good people of Ghana and Global Fund has no intention of suspending support to the people of Ghana,’Alhaji Adams added.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A three-day retreat of the Ho East Presbytery Catechists Union of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG), has opened at Awudome Tsito in the Ho West district of the Volta Region.

Reverend Chief Superintendent of Prisons (CSP) George Akuamoah-Boateng, in charge of the Ho East Presbytery, EPCG, who opened the retreat on Saturday noted that the Catechists were indispensable assets in the growth of the church.

‘The role of the Catechist is very crucial in the growth of the church,’ he said.

The retreat is on the theme: ‘Care for God’s Creation, the Mission of the Church.’

Rev Akuamoah-Boateng therefore urged them to be proactive in the implementation of the church’s policies.

‘It is policies that run the church,’ he said.

He also asked them to improve the cordial relationships between them and other ministers of the church.

Rev. CSP Akuamoah Boateng said the Church was doing everything possible to improve the welfare of its agents.

‘Without unity the church will suffer,’ he said.

Rev. CSP Akua
moah Boateng entreated members of the Church to work to protect the environment from degradation as a way of caring for God’s creation.

Catechist Lord Hodinya, President of the Union, reminded his colleagues that though their work was not financially rewarding they should work diligently for the propagation of the gospel.

He said the leadership of the Union was working on a welfare package for members.

Togbe Gobo Dake XII, Chief of Awudome Tsito, commended the church for collaborating with traditional authorities in the development agenda of their communities.

He particularly thanked the congregation in Awudome Tsito for their role in the development of the community.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Constant Tchona, the Country Director, Plan International Ghana, has called on government to join forces with relevant institutions to confront the many challenges adolescents face.

In Ghana, while significant strides had been made in improving adolescent health and education, he said adolescents faced a myriad of obstacles such as child marriage and teenage pregnancy, poverty, unemployment and violence, on their journey to adulthood.

Meanwhile, he said the voices of adolescents remained unheard, with their needs unmet, and their potential untapped.

Mr Tchona made the call at a ‘National Advocacy Forum for Adolescents’ organised by Plan International Ghana in Accra on the theme: ‘What Young People Want.’

The forum was a call for meaningful engagement between adolescents and policy makers, to ensure commitment mobilization, and accountability.

It was also an opportunity for decision-makers to listen, learn, and act upon the priorities identified by the adolescent population.

The Country Director said:
‘This is why a forum like this stands as a beacon of hope, a platform where the dreams and aspirations of our youth take centre stage. We gather here not only to listen but to truly hear and understand what young people want for their well-being, their future, and their country.’

By leveraging their expertise, networks, and influence, Mr Tchona said Plan sought to ensure that government commitments translated into concrete actions that positively impacted the lives of adolescents across the country.

Dr Bernard Okoe-Boye, the Minister Designate of Health, in a speech read on his behalf, said adolescence was a critical period of development, and the experiences adolescents had at that period could have a profound impact on their health and well-being throughout their lives.

He said government’s comprehensive commitment to adolescent well-being, spanning finance, programme, and service delivery, signed by the Minister of Health in 2023 and showcased at the 78th UN General Assembly, served as a testament to it
s unwavering dedication to championing the rights and health of adolescents.

‘It signifies our collective acknowledgment of the multifaceted challenges confronting our young people, including child marriage, teenage pregnancy, HIV, Gender-based violence, substance abuse, and poverty,’ he noted.

Dr Okoe-Boye said government’s commitment to adolescent well-being resonated with the West and Central African Commitment, which underscored the imperative of implementing comprehensive education and information programmes, enhancing sexual and reproductive health services, and addressing gender inequalities and sexual and gender-based violence.

‘These principles align seamlessly with our vision for adolescent well-being in Ghana, and we stand ready to translate them into actionable initiatives. As the Ministry of Health, we pledge to harness the resources and expertise of our ministry to support this noble cause fully,’ he added.

Dr Frank Lule, the Officer-In-Charge, WHO Ghana, in a speech read on his behalf, said
through collaborative initiatives with the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service, such as conducting training needs assessments to building capacities of service providers, WHO had played a pivotal role in ensuring the delivery of quality adolescent and youth-friendly health services.

‘Notably, our partnership with the Ghana Health Service has led to the piloting and scaling of a digital web1 based platform for monitoring the quality of adolescent and youth-friendly health services in 43 senior high schools.

‘This innovative platform has empowered over 30,000 students to provide feedback on their experiences with service provision, thereby shaping the future of adolescent health care delivery in Ghana,’ he said.

Dr Lule admonished them to remember that their ultimate goal was to translate the discussions at the forum into tangible actions, as they deliberated on the priorities and aspirations of young people.

‘By the end of this conference, it is imperative that we establish robust accountabilit
y mechanisms to track the implementation of our commitments. Only through concerted efforts and unwavering dedication can we realize the vision of sustainable development goals related to adolescent health and universal health care,’ he added.

The forum was also attended by representatives of the Ministries of Health, Gender, Children and Social Protection and Education, Ghana Health Service, Ghana Education Service, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNFPA, and the National Youth Authority.

Students participated from the Labone Senior High School, Accra Girls Senior High, Tema School of the Death and Corpus Christi Senior High Schools, Tema all in the Greater Accra Region.

From the Central Region, students from the Mfanteman Girls Senior High School, St. Augustine’s Senior High School, Cape Coast School of the Death, Assin Manso Senior High School, Methodist High School, Assin North Senior High School and Wesley Girls Senior High school took part in the forum.

The rest were the Aburi Girls Senior High School, Krobo Girls S
enior High School, Ofori Panyin Senior High School and Methodist Girls Senior High School, Mamfe in the Eastern Region.

Established in Ghana in 1992, Plan International has been at the forefront of championing children’s rights and equality for girls for over three decades and worldwide, the nongovernmental organisation operates in over 80 countries, working tirelessly to promote sustainable development and ensuring that every child, regardless of gender or background, can reach their full potentials.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ada East District office of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has met with members of communities that were affected by the recent river and sea waves.

Mr Ebenezer Teye-Nartey Kisseh, the Ada East District NADMO officer, toured the communities to get an overview of what happened and the way forward.

Mr. Kisseh, responding to issues raised by the people on the dredging of the river, disclosed that the government had already captured it in the budget, emphasising that the government had given the Volta River Authority (VRA) power over the river; therefore, anything concerning it will be handled as soon as possible.

‘We had meetings with the VRA, and they have the dredging in the pipeline, so, we are hoping that they will do it as soon as possible; therefore, it is not the mandate of the district assembly or NADMO to dredge the river,’ he stated.

Mr. Agudey Teyekpiti, an elder of the community, said residents had over the years tried their best to convince the District Assembly to rel
ease their share of the Community Development Fund, which was gotten from the sale of premix fuel, to enable them to create an embankment along the river bank, but were yet to be successful with it.

According to him, the said fund would have also aided them in dredging the river to prevent such flooding.

He disclosed that even though the District Assembly has proposed to build a CHPS compound with the Community Development Fund for them, they see it as the least of their problems compared to the perennial flooding.

The community leaders indicated that they were eager to dredge the river by themselves, stating that they had already contacted a businessman in the area to assist with his dredging machine, to which he had agreed.

They, however, said that the fuel cost of the machine was what had delayed them, adding that they were now relying on the benevolence of non-governmental organisations and volunteers to embark on the project.

Meanwhile, when the Ghana News Agency (GNA) visited the area, it was obser
ved that the water had receded and parts of the land were drying up, making it possible for residents to continue with their daily activities.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) has closed down KOFAB ICE, a sachet water producing company, for operating without a license at Ntankoful community in the Essikado-Ketan Sub Metro.

This was after the STMA’s ‘Operation Clean Your Surroundings Campaign’ task force undertook an unannounced visit to inspect the sanitary conditions of facilities and households in the community, found the company to be operating illegally.

A statement signed by Mr John Latse, the STMA Public Relations Officer (PRO), and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the Company was also found liable to be operating without medical certificates of fitness for its workers, had insufficient space for operation and operating under unhygienic conditions.

The statement said, one Maame Efua Ebaa, a public toilet operator, was also fined for poorly maintaining the facility which had a dilapidated septic tank with dangerous cracks, and insanitary environment producing offensive odour.

Again, three residents of the Ntankoful com
munity, Mr Barnabas Mensah, George, and Eva Mensah, were arrested and fined for connecting untreated effluents from a septic tank to a public drain.

Another offender, Dorcas Ngissah, a Cold Store and ‘Chop bar’ operator, was arrested and fined for lack of medical certificates of fitness, co-operating cold store and chop bar in same space and insanitary drainage on her frontage.

Madam Vivian Morrison, a grocery store operator, and Henry Boahene, operating a Pharmacy shop, were both arrested and fined for insanitary drainage in front of their premises.

The ‘Operation Clean Your Surroundings’ campaign, is an initiative by the STMA and supported by the Twin-Cities in Sustainable Partnership Project (TCSPP) to sensitise residents within the Metropolis on the Assembly’s sanitation by-laws, arrest, prosecute, name and shame sanitation-related offenders.

The campaign, sought to change the poor attitudes and behaviours of community members towards sanitation.

In line with the execution of the campaign, a task for
ce undertakes unannounced visits to inspect sanitation conditions at various households, eateries, hotels, pubs and bars, public toilets, transport terminals, and other locations across the Metropolis.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Three trucks of smuggled cocoa beans have been intercepted by the Kpando Municipal Command of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) at Kpando Torkor in the Volta Region.

The registration numbers of the vehicles, which were intercepted between 0040 and 0400 hours on Friday, April 12, are GE 1782-U, AS 7907-22 and GT 5932-12.

Superintendent Michael Amoako-Atta, Head of Public Affairs, GIS said the Officer in-Charge of the GIS in the Kpando Municipal Command, Deputy Superintendent of Immigration (DSI) Peter Austin Hall, and a team of Officers were deployed based on intelligence to Kpando Torkor.

He said a boat suspected to be coming from the Afram Plains was loaded with bags of cocoa beans.

Superintendent Amoako-Atta said the Officers covertly observed the offloading of the cocoa beans into the three trucks, which were parked close to the landing site, ready to be smuggled through an unapproved route at Wli to Togo.

He said the suspects; Wahab Abdulai, Nicholas Agbesi and Fodume, all aged 42, were arrested.

Superintendent Amoako-Atta said the suspects and the trucks had been handed over to the Kpando Police for further action.

He noted that the GIS remained resolute in the protection of borders and prevention of cross-border crimes.

Superintendent Amoako-Atta applauded border residents and the public for continuously collaborating with the Service through information-sharing.

He urged citizens to report suspicious persons and activities to the GIS and other security agencies in line with the ‘See Something, Say Something’ campaign.

Source: Ghana News Agency