Women advised to partake in governance, July 5, 2014, Daily Graphic

Women activist, Mrs Bernice Sam, has called on women to strive to partake in decision-making and governance processes in the country.

According to her, women’s involvement in decision making and governance, especially at the local level was critical for growth and development of the country.

Despite the various international treaties and agreements, laws and policies which Ghana has ratified and endorsed, Mrs Sam said women in Ghana were confronted with systematic and structural challenges which prevented them from participating in decision making and governance.
Mrs Sam was speaking at a national forum on gender equality and women’s rights organised by the Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre in Accra.
The challenges
Aside the systematic challenges, she said innumerable factors inhibited women’s full participation in political decision making, including financial, illiteracy, lack of support from spouses and low self-confidence.
“Despite the constitutional provisions and ministerial directives, there is no law on affirmative action to get more women appointed into political office,” she noted.
With increasing concerns about corruption in the public sector, Mrs Sam explained that some women were hesitant towards entering an arena where they could be tempted with money.
She added that “women who want to enter national politics sometimes do not receive as much support from their political parties. Sometimes women are not part of the ‘old boys’ network and do not have the connections to advance themselves politically,” she stated.
“Empower yourself”
Mrs Sam, therefore, said the Affirmative Action bill-quotas were a giant step towards the goal of increased participation of women in public and political life when passed and implemented.
She called on the Electoral Commission to fix a date for district elections and give it the seriousness that was attached to national elections and also undertake extensive education of the public on the district elections.
Mrs Sam also encouraged women to build individual civic competencies such as getting more education through attending courses, public speaking, confidence building and assertiveness and network, and mobilise others to support the course.
“Higher education can be a factor to increasing the number of women in local government. Adult education classes for women at the community level will boost their morale. This underscores the importance of ensuring girls remain and complete their education,” she said.
The Executive Director for ABANTU for Development, Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, said it was necessary to mentor the younger women generation to join the movement and champion women’s rights.

Although progress had been made, she said there was the need for more women to be supported to partake in governance decisions.

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Door-to-door LPG distribution to resume, April 10, 2014

The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum is to revisit the door-to-door liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) delivery system in order to make it easy for consumers to access cooking fuel.

The system, which used to be in place some years ago, collapsed as a result of inefficient guidelines and regulations.
Known as “Cylinder recirculation”, the model allowed consumers to exchange their empty cylinders with already filled LPG cylinders, instead of going to the gas station to refill them.
The Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, announced this at a conference organised by the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstove to review the Country Action Plan (CAP) and discuss Ghana’s stand on fuel-based interventions, enhancing stove supply, among other issues in Accra.
Guidelines and regulations
Mr Buah said the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum was working with its stakeholders, including the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Energy Commission, to come up with guidelines and regulations to reintroduce the Cylinder recirculation programme.
He said the model was intended to reduce the numerous health and safety- related challenges, including fatal accidents, adding that it was part of efforts at having 50 per cent of the population to use LPG and promoting the use of clean fuel.
Impact
According to the minister, about 84 per cent of households relied on solid fuels such as wood and charcoal for cooking.
Over the last 40 years, Mr Buah said, cooking fuel harvesting had contributed partially to a 70-per cent reduction in forest cover in the country.
Interventions
To address the challenges associated with the use of solid fuels, the minister said the government had put in place policies and programmes that would promote the use of LPG nationwide and also improve the health conditions of Ghanaians.
As part of the measures, he said, the government had introduced the rural LPG promotion programme under which rural folks would be given free cylinders and stoves but pay for the LPG.
By the end of 2014, it is expected that about 53,000 LPG cylinders and stoves with all related accessories will be distributed in 17 districts.
NPA
The Head of Planning and Research at the NPA, Ms Sheila Addo, said the Tema Oil Refinery was upgrading its storage and pumping facilities to ensure that LPG was easily distributed and accessed in all areas in the country.
She said the authority had also embarked on an intensive sensitisation programme to educate the public on safety measures when using LPG.
The Regional Marketing Manager for the Global Alliance, Mr Kwesi Sarpong, said most people were not comfortable using LPG, hence the need to use efficient and sustainable energy and stoves to prevent health complications.

Don’t blame mothers for failures - First Lady, May 17, 2014, Daily Graphic

The First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, has expressed her discontent at those who blame and abandon their mothers and grandmothers for being the cause of their adversities in life.

"Accusing and blaming our mothers and grandmothers for our woes and adversities in life and banishing them to a life of neglect is unacceptable," she said.
She said individuals needed to take responsibility for their failures and actions instead of blaming and casting away their mothers and grandmothers.

Presentation

The First Lady made the remark when she visited the Gambaga Witches Camp in the Northern Region to interact with and also present some items to the women there.
The items included wax print, plastic bowls, rice, beverages, drinks, used clothes and oil.
The First Lady, as part of her trip to the Northern Region, also visited Tamale and the Anfaani Children's homes and donated assorted items to them.
The items included bags of rice, tin tomatoes, diapers,mosquito nets, gallons of oil, drinks, cartons of milo beverage drink and nido powdered milk.
Mrs Mahama described the plight of the women at the camp as a national tragedy and, therefore, stressed the need to help the women in the camp to be re-integrated into society.
"The neglect of a segment of the society will only retard the development of our nation," she stated.

Project

The First Lady embarked on a project last year to provide accommodation and educational facilities for the women and the Gambaga community respectively.
When completed, the project would provide facilities for the residents of the community and its surrounding areas to acquire various vocational skills so that they could learn skills to make them self-sufficient.
Mrs Mahama said when completed, her project would be of immense help to the women at the camp and the Gambaga community.

Girl-child

According to Mrs Mahama, the project is also in fulfilment of her commitment to promote girl-child education aimed at ensuring that girls are equipped meaningfully to contribute to their development.
Mrs Mahama, who was accompanied by the Northern Regional Minister, Mr Mohammed Muniru Limuna, visited the site to see the progress of work.
The elders of the camp expressed their gratitude to the First Lady for the consistant support and care she had shown towards the women in the camp over the years.

Bear-with-us-energy-minister-in-nigeria-to-discuss-gas-supply, March 18, 2014, Daily Graphic

The Ministry of Energy has apologised to Ghanaians for the inconvenience caused by the current load-management exercise being undertaken by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

A statement signed by the Head of Communications at the Ministry of Energy, Mr Edward Abambire Bawa, and issued in Accra Monday said the ministry promised working closely with the utility companies to ensure that “these challenges are resolved by the earliest possible date”.
It said President John Dramani Mahama yesterday dispatched the Minister of Energy, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, to Nigeria to discuss with the Nigerian authorities ways in which they could ensure that the current 30 million standard cubic feet of gas supplied to Ghana was raised to the contractual volume of 120 million standard cubic feet per day.
Mr Buah is accompanied by the Chief Executive Officer of the Volta River Authority (VRA), Mr Isaac Kirk Koffie.
While in Nigeria, Mr Buah will meet with the Minister of Petroleum of the Republic of Nigeria, officials of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Shell and Chevron, who together form N-Gas and are the suppliers of natural gas to Ghana.
The minister will also consult with officials of the West Africa Gas Pipeline Company and the West Africa Gas Pipeline Authority.
Mr Buah is expected back today, March 18, 2014.
Meanwhile, the ECG has said consumers across the country will, from tomorrow, experience up to 12 hours of power outage after 24 hours of power supply as part of a nationwide load management to address a shortfall in the power supply of the country.
The arrangement is part of a nationwide load-management programme to address a shortfall of power in the country.
The shortfall has occurred due to a drastic drop in the gas supply from the West Africa Gas Pipeline.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Head of Public Relations at the ECG, Mr William Boateng, said the country was currently experiencing an off-peak deficit of 160 megawatts, while the peak period suffered a 350 megawatt deficit.

12-hour outage

According to him, the load management would see customers of the company having 24 hours of uninterrupted power supply followed by 12 hours of outage.

Unknown timeline?

Mr Boateng did not give a timeline for the restoration of normal power supply but said it might take a few weeks.
He added, however, that as soon as things got better, the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) would direct the ECG to reduce the number of hours until normalcy returned.
Mr Frank Okyere, the Systems Control Manager of GRIDCo, explained that the challenges experienced lately in electricity supply was as a result of a shortage brought about by demand outstripping supply.

Demand versus supply

But, according to the Public Relations Officer of the VRA, Mr Samuel Fletcher, one of the problems hindering power generation was the increasing rate of demand of electricity which was not keeping up with supply.
Over the last one year, he said, the demand for power had increased by 12 per cent.
“Demand for electricity is rising at an alarming rate,” he stated.

Expansion works

In addition, he said, the TICO Plant in Takoradi had been shut down for expansion works which, when completed, would increase the power generated from 220 to 330 megawatts.
He encouraged Ghanaians to cultivate the habit of saving energy, so that more energy could be reserved for use in times of crisis.

President on energy at breakfast meeting

Meanwhile, at a breakfast meeting with senior members of the clergy at the Flagstaff House in Accra yesterday, President Mahama attributed the disturbing energy situation to a drastic drop in gas supply from Nigeria, writes Kwame Asare Boadu.
Painting what appeared to be a gloomy picture of the power situation, he said gas supply from the WAGP had dropped to almost zero.
Unlike the previous situation, Mr Mahama said, "the pipeline this time is not damaged but the volumes of gas Nigeria is currently piping to Ghana are woefully inadequate".
The situation, he said, had led to Ghana losing about 270 megawatts of power.

Solution

President Mahama said it had become difficult to predict gas supply from Nigeria now.
"Now we can't predict the volumes of gas that will be coming from Nigeria anymore. That is why I have focused on delivering our own gas. Probably by June or July we will have full supply in place," he assured Ghanaians.

No dedicated budget for road safety management, June 20, 2014

The lack of adequate funds to implement road safety policies and action plans has contributed to continued road crashes and fatalities, a road planning consultant has observed.

Dr Paulina Agyekum said stakeholders implementing road safety initiatives faced the difficulty of inadequate funds and, therefore, were unable to fully implement action plans and policies which could reduce road crashes.
Dr Agyekum was speaking to the media at the opening of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) stakeholders’ workshop in Accra yesterday.
Participants will evaluate the 2011-2013 Action Plans of the Third National Road Safety Strategy (NRSS III).
The stakeholders of the NRSC are the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA).
Others are the Department of Urban Roads (DUR), the Department of Feeder Roads (DFR), the National Ambulance Service (NAS) and the Ghana Red Cross Society (GRCS).
The NRSS III was launched in 2011 to align with the United Nation’s Decade of Action for Road Safety initiative which, among other things, seeks to challenge member countries to put in measures to systematically reduce the trend of persons killed and injured in road traffic by 50 per cent by 2020.

No fix budget

Dr Agyekum said while road safety was a huge responsibility, there was no dedicated budget to ensure its management.
She acknowledged, however, that the Road Fund and the Ghana Insurance Commission (GIC) contributed funds to road safety management but said the two organisations did not have fixed percentages of funds for road safety.
She said as a result, stakeholders working with the NRSC had been unable to achieve their targets, as well as implement their action plans towards reducing road crashes.
For instance, she said, road agencies had not been able to work on roads which had been identified as “accident black spots” due to inadequate funding.
“There are so many roads which still have accident black spots but they are yet to be improved and those sections are still causing accidents,” she said.
Despite the challenges, Dr Agyekum noted that the stakeholders had made some strides and recommended, among others, that the NRSC should generate its own funds to support its activities.

Workshop

Earlier at the opening ceremony, the Executive Director of the NRSC, Mrs May Obiri-Yeboah, said to meet the expectations of NRSS III, the stakeholders were assigned specific tasks which were based on research, data, institutional strengths and experiences.
The workshop, she said, was to review the action plan to generate effective measures to help address and manage road safety.
In a speech read on her behalf, the Minister of Transport, Mrs Dzifa Attivor, said road safety was a national and developmental issue that required collective commitment to manage its improvement.

Korle-Bu SSA asks CEO, board chairman to step down, June 24, 2014

The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital Senior Staff Association (KOSSA) has called on the acting chief executive, and the board chairman of the hospital to step down with immediate effect. The ultimatum comes in the wake of allegations of mismanagement of the hospital funds by KOSSA.

The association served notice that it would continue to hold demonstrations if Rev. Albert Botchway and Mr Edward Annan remained in office as acting CEO and Board Chairman respectively.
Speaking at a news conference in Accra Monday, the President of the association, Mr Charles Nii Ofei- Palm, said although President John Dramani Mahama had responded to their petition with the assurance that he was working to address the issues raised in it, they believed that the two personalities had no moral right to continue in office.
He said they were waiting up to June 30 to hear something positive from the President. He said meantime, they would be holding peaceful demonstrations to express their displeasure at the continuous stay of the CEO and the board chairman in office.

The petition

In the petition to the President, the association gave a one-week timeline to hear a favourable response.
The need for the reconstitution of the hospital’s board and the appointment of a new CEO were among their demands.

Recall

The KOSSA had, earlier this month, levelled allegations at the board and the management of the hospital, among which was that although the acting CEO already had a vehicle, the board had agreed to buy him the latest Audi A6 series, fitted with Wifi and google maps for his personal use.
But in a swift response, the board and the management dismissed the claims, saying efforts were rather being made to reduce waste and block leakages to ensure the progress of the hospital.

Demand

At yesterday’s news conference, the KOSSA president commended the President for the $70million investment in new equipment and infrastructure in KBTH.
He, however, said more considerate people had to be put on the board and in management to properly handle that investment.
Mr Ofei-Palm dismissed claims by the management and board that some major projects had been initiated at the hospital.
He contended that most of the achievements Mr Annan was laying claim to, were projects started by the former board and the Ministry of Health.
He said claims that revenue had increased during the CEO’s tenure were also untrue.
Mr Ofei-Palm explained that revenue increased because of the general increment in fees late last year.
On revenue generation at the hospital, he said Prof. Afua Hesse, a former CEO, left over GH¢ 6million in the coffers of the hospital in addition to GH¢2.8 in fixed deposit.

Fact sheet

The association alleged in their petition that the misuse of funds by the board and the management, which had led to poor infrastructure development at the hospital, had also caused avoidable deaths.
It also accused the board and the management of spending more than GH¢1 million on luxury vehicles saying that the management and the board had allegedly bought nine brand new VW Passat vehicles and Audi A6, estimated at more than GH¢1 million.
However, at a press conference, the board and the management dismissed the claims, saying that all efforts were being made to reduce waste and block all leakages to ensure progress and the development of the hospital.
The Minister of Health, Ms Sherry Ayittey, therefore directed that the cars be returned to the Ministry.

EPA to deepen public education on environment, April 10, 2014

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adopting multiple approaches to deepen public knowledge on sustainable development. The new approaches include translating various environmental policies into the local languages.

The Deputy Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Bernice Heloo, announced this at a workshop organised by the EPA to engage stakeholders in the revision of the national Environmental Education Strategy.
Education
The Environmental Education Strategy is a document used to organise education for the public and aims at enlightening citizens to exercise their constitutional right to protect and safeguard the environment.
The document, which was implemented about 20 years ago, will be assessed and reviewed if necessary in the face of emerging environmental issues.
According to Dr Heloo, the integration and expansion of environmental education in the curricula of all levels of the educational system was essential in achieving sustainable development.
She urged the EPA to promote environmental educational programmes and projects through the media and integrate environmental education into non-formal educational programmes to enhance environmental literacy.
She said the education should encourage a clear understanding of the inter-relationship between and among economic, social, cultural, political and environmental issues.
Review
The Executive Director of the EPA, Mr Daniel Amlalo, said there was the need to review the document to identify the gaps and find new ways of addressing the emerging issues.
According to him, environmental education was evolving as new environmental challenges, such as climate change, sanitation and waste management, chemical use and illegal mining, were emerging.
He urged the participants to identify the new contents of the strategy document, its strengths and weaknesses and the mechanisms for its implementation.
In a speech read on her behalf, the Minister of Education, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, said pressure on the environment had led to its deterioration.
That trend of environmental degradation and pollution, she said, did not augur well for sustainable development, hence the need for environmental education to empower the citizens.
According to her, most of the environmental issues were related to behavioural issues and, therefore, individuals needed to develop responsible behaviour in environmental conservation.
She gave an assurance that the Ministry of Education would improve the capacity of the educational systems to prepare people to pursue environmentally sustainable development, including the development of curricula around environmental sustainability.

Invest in sustainable youth education — Delegates, April 5, 2014, Daily Graphic

The first Euro-Africa Youth Parliament conference ended in Berlin last Thursday with a call on African governments to invest in sustainable education of the youth.

The nine-day conference brought together delegates from 51 countries in Africa and Europe to discuss governance issues, including constitutional affairs, industry, technology, research, energy, culture and education.
The delegates, who were divided into eight committees, presented resolutions at the general assembly of the conference where they defended and debated the various issues.
Invest in the youth
Speaking on the sidelines of the closing ceremony, the Chief Executive of the Youth Bridge Foundation, Mr Seth Oteng, said African governments should invest in sustainable education for the youth in order to tap into the potential, skills and competences of the future leaders.
Currently, he said, sustainable education which gave opportunity to the youth and even adults to acquire the needed skills and knowledge for the labour market was important.
Mr Oteng also encouraged the youth to invest in themselves and recognise the importance of education.
The expectations
Touching on the conference, Mr Oteng said the first Euro-Africa Youth Parliament was a great success and expressed the hope that Africa would have a youth parliament very soon.
He said the conference served as a platform for the African youth to do more research into the issues and build on their competencies as they had to compete with their colleagues who had had series of such sessions.
During the closing ceremony, the President of the session, Mr James Benge, urged the participants to share their knowledge when they got back to their countries.
Considering the distance between the various countries, he said the gap could be bridged with such platforms, networking and the sharing of ideas.
Experiences
In an interview with some of the delegates, they expressed their gratitude to the organisers for such a platform which brought together the youth from diverse cultures and ideas.
Mr Ebenezer Nii Martey from Ghana said: “it was an interesting programme and I really enjoyed the detailed and well-informed discussions during the work of the committees and the general assembly”
Ololade Aminat Opadare from Nigeria said: “I am really happy to have participated in the first ever Euro-Africa Youth Parliament conference; I have made a lot of friends and the delegation from Nigeria would ensure that the resolution was presented to our policy makers”.

- See more at: http://graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/20832-invest-in-sustainable-youth-education-delegates.html#sthash.1bDm5i1j.dpuf

Hundreds partake in Joy FM Easter Soup Kitchen, April 21, 2014

Hundreds of underprivileged persons, including head porters, the physically challenged and street children, thronged the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park in Accra yesterday to partake in this year’s Joy FM Easter Soup Kitchen.

At the 15th edition of the event, the beneficiaries who were mainly women and children were given meals, drinks and clothes.
Volunteers from schools and other institutions also attended the event to assist the organisers to feed the needy in society.
The Easter Soup Kitchen is an annual event organised by Joy FM as part of its corporate social responsibility.

Healthcare
The beneficiaries also received free health screening from a team from the Ghana Medical Association and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana.
The team screened them for malaria, blood pressure, breast cancer, eye defects and provided medications to some of the people.
Others were registered free of charge onto the National Health Insurance Scheme.
The Sales and Marketing Manager of Joy FM, Mr Tsidi Dawson, said the programme was supported by individuals and organisations, including the Vodafone Foundation.
Mr Dawson expressed gratitude to all donors and volunteers who contributed immensely towards the success of the event.

Give to society
Present at the event was a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Alan Kyeremanteng, who had earlier donated items towards the event.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic at the event, Mr Kyeremanteng urged the privileged to see the disadvantaged as their responsibility and give them a helping hand.
He said there was more blessing in giving than in receiving, adding that society must show love to the less privileged and also support Joy FM in its cause to put the smiles on the faces of the less privileged.

Metro Mass Transit boss visits Graphic , May 29, 2014

The Managing Director of the Metro Mass Transit (MMT) Company Limited, Mr John Noble Appiah, has called for effective collaboration between the MMT and the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) to strengthen their relationship for mutual benefit.

He made the call when he led a delegation from the MMT to pay a courtesy call on the Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr Ransford Tetteh in Accra yesterday.
According to Mr Appiah, management of the MMT was determined and committed to sustain the company, hence the need for the media, especially the GCGL to support and promote the efforts of the transport company.
Considering the fact that most companies such as the MMT could not sustain their operations in the past, Mr Appiah said with the support of a vibrant medium like the GCGL and the right attitude of the staff of MMT, the company could make a difference.
He added that drivers and the other employees of the company were undergoing re-training and re-orientation to inculcate the right behaviours and attitude in them to promote the transformation and sustainability of the company.
The MMT started with 17 buses in 2002. Currently, it has about 1000 buses while according to the MD, the fleet would be increased to about 1800 buses by 2018.

Interventions

He said next month, the MMT would launch a five-year strategic plan and commission new tracking systems and ICT- based fuelling systems to monitor the operations and fuelling of the vehicles across the country.
Mr Appiah explained that the fuelling systems had become necessary because large sums of money were spent on fuel so with the new system, management would be able to monitor all fuelling activities from its offices, while the tracking systems would assist to monitor the movement of the vehicles.
He also refuted reports that the MMT workers’ salaries were to be increased by 50 per cent instead of 15 per cent, adding that negotiations were currently on going to firm the collective bargaining agreement.
Mr Appiah asked the workers to disabuse their minds of media reports that he had promised to increase salaries by 50 per cent, saying the company could not sustain that level of pay increases.

Editor

In response, Mr Tetteh said the GCGL was ready to partner the MMT to promote the MMT and build it to become a strong organisation which would serve the interest of the nation.
“We will continue to draw your attention to the issues and also bring to light your plight so that the public will also have a better understanding of the issues,” he said.
He expressed concern about the way state-owned business were being run, adding that Ghanaians could manage their own affairs if the right attitude and culture were put in place.

Concerns

During an interaction, some senior journalists in the Graphic newsroom pointed to some issues that they felt the MMT management had to take steps to address.
The Political Editor, Mr Kobby Asmah, said the MMT drivers were noted to engage in reckless driving and stressed the organisation was a national asset, therefore, the drivers needed to protect it as much as possible.
The acting Chief Sub-Editor, Ms Rosemary Ardayfio, urged the MMT to consider modernising its system of ticketing in line with what pertaint in the developed world to reduce the incidence of embezzlement by some conductors.

Foundation supports girl-child education, May 8, 2014, Daily Graphic

The Akua Kuenyehia Foundation has embarked on a programme to support girl-child education through the provision of a scholarship programme for needy girls.

The locally-based non-profit organisation, which is founded by the children of Justice Akua Kuenyehia, the first Vice President of the International Criminal Court of Justice in the Hague, the Netherlands, supports the education of brilliant but needy girls after they have gone through successful screening and registered to benefit from the scholarship scheme.
Over the years, negative perceptions about some people towards the education of the girl child have fuelled gender stereotypes and supported deep-rooted norms and traditions and beliefs that the girl’s role should be confined to the kitchen and for that reason, preference should be given to the education of boys as against the girl child.
But the performance of some female students who have made remarkable progress and climbed the educational ladder to the top, tends to give credence to the saying by the late Dr Kwegyir Aggrey, a renowned Ghanaian educationist, that “if you educate a man, you educate an individual but if you educate a woman, you educate a nation”.

Scholarship package
As part of the scholarship package, the beneficiaries are also groomed and trained to be confident, time conscious, ensure personal hygiene and are exposed to other activities to enhance their skills through summer school programmes.
Operators of the foundation, who support their activities through local fund-raising programmes, have over the years, supported 27 girls who have been enrolled in SHS. The foundation has also supported about 10 girls to obtain sponsorship to the university.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic during an event to raise funds for the foundation, the Board Chairman of the foundation, Madam Joana Foster, said funds raised in a year depended on the number of girls that were offered the scholarship.
She explained that the beneficiaries were given the opportunity to develop their skills through craftwork and other handiworks such as bead-making, to fetch them some income while they were in school.
Despite the financial constraints, she said the foundation was committed to educating at least one girl child, who after her education, would make a difference in her family and community.

Mentoring young women
Justice Kuenyehia said taking into consideration the fact that women constituted 51 per cent of the country’s population, there was the need to educate women alongside men in order to develop the country.
Although most girls acquired basic level education, she expressed worry over the trend of more girls dropping out of school after the basic and junior high levels, stressing that “We need to educate more young women beyond the basic level so that we can get more women taking up leadership positions in the near future”.
She urged well endowed, professional and well educated women to mentor young girls and women, especially the less privileged ones, to also climb the ladder of education and success.

Beneficiaries
Sharing her experiences and how the foundation has helped her, Ms Beatrice Twum, who is currently preparing to go to the university, expressed her gratitude to the foundation.
“The foundation has indeed transformed my life and given me hope. When my dad lost his investment in a cocoa farm, the foundation paid my fees and took over my upkeep and ensured that I was doing my best in school”.
“I also had the opportunity to do an internship with 37 Military Hospital for six months as a nursing assistant which exposed me to the medical course I wanted to do at the university,” she said.

proper-regulations-will-boost-insurance-in-africa, May 10, 2014, Daily Graphic

The Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) and the Metropolitan Group have agreed to explore opportunities in their mutual interests, as well as help improve the lives of Ghanaians.

The collaboration will be based on harnessing the competitive advantage of each company to ensure that the public becomes the ultimate beneficiaries.
For instance, the GCGL having a nationwide reach said it would make its infrastructure available to Metropolitan Group, which specialises in health, pensions and life insurance, to reach out to the undeserved in the Ghanaian society.
Leadership of both companies came to the understanding when the Chief Executive Officer of Metropolitan Group, Mr A.J. Kruger, led a management delegation to pay a courtesy call on the Managing Director of the GCGL, Mr Kenneth Ashigbey.

Long-term investment

Mr Ashigbey said long-term investment vehicles such as life insurance and the pension’s scheme had low patronage in the country and the Metropolitan’s resolve to enhance the penetration would be supported by the GCGL.
“We need to look beyond the structured environment and reach out to other people in the informal sector. We therefore need to do some outside-the-box innovative and creative thinking to reach out to the public,” he stated.
Mr Ashigbey also said the two companies could partner to improve on education among junior high and senior high levels, especially in the less endowed schools in the country through the provision of educational information in its brands, particularly in the Junior Graphic.
In spite of the challenges faced by the print media, Mr Ashigbey expressed the belief that GCGL would continue to adopt innovative and creative strategies to stay afloat.

Mr Kruger

Mr Kruger said Africa had a lot of opportunities in the area of insurance which needed to be explored.
He said with proper regulations, a buoyant capital market for investments and incentives, the insurance industry would pick up on the continent.
Mr Kruger said following the merger between Momentum Health and Metropolitan Group, the consolidated entity would give more options and quality services to the Ghanaian public.
The delegation also familiarised themselves with other activities of the GCGL.

- See more at: http://graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/22654-proper-regulations-will-boost-insurance-in-africa.html#sthash.x8iXl0ry.dpuf

Ghana: Road Accidents kill 520, May 12, 2014, Daily Graphic

Five hundred and twenty people died in road crashes in 3,512 accidents nationwide in the first quarter of 2014.

In addition, 3,301 people sustained various degrees of injures in the process.
According to statistics from the National Road Safety Commission, the Greater Accra Region recorded the highest number of accidents with 1,336, while the Upper East Region recorded the lowest with 35 cases.
At a ceremony to commemorate this year’s West African Road Safety Organisation (WARSO) Day, which falls on May 8, the Executive Director of NRSC, Mrs May Obiri-Yeboah, said the spate of accidents in the country was very alarming and had become a matter of health concern.
WARSO was inaugurated in 2008 under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to promote and reinforce road safety activities and practices in West Africa with the aim of reducing road traffic crashes.
This year’s celebration was on the theme: “Empowering passengers of buses to improve road safety in West Africa”.

Campaign

To mark the day, the NRSC and its stakeholders organised a sensitisation programme at the Madina Lorry station in Accra to educate drivers and passengers on road safety regulations and safety measures.
Mrs Obiri-Ybeoah said the programme formed part of the year-long activities to mark the day to empower passengers, who were mostly the victims of road crashes to caution and alert the police on any indisciplined behaviours by drivers.
Mrs Obiri-Yeboah gave an assurance that authorities, including the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Police Service and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), were working together to ensure that the road crashes menace was controlled.

Appeal to President

She appealed to the President to use his position as the Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to advocate best road safety practices in the West African sub-region.
She also urged the President to encourage his colleague heads of state to raise the road safety profile in their respective countries and also grant WARSO an observer status in ECOWAS to help facilitate the development and integration of road safety agenda.

Report drivers

The Officer in charge of Education, Research and Training at the MTTD, Deputy Superintendent of Police Mr Alex Obeng, urged drivers to ensure safety on the roads by looking out for other road users and paying heed to road safety regulations.
He also noted that passengers had the right under the Road Regulation Act 683 of 2004 to arrest and report any driver who was displaying indisciplined behaviour on the road.
The Madina-Adenta Drivers Welfare Committee Chairman, Mr Tham Ernest, thanked the authorities for the visit and encouraged them to organise more of such programmes to empower drivers and passengers.

ECG not ready with schedule on load shedding, May 28, 2014

Electricity consumers will have to experience erratic power outages for some time because of instability in power generation.

According to the Public Relations Officer of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Mr Dan Adjei Larbi, the company had still not received a specific quantum of megawatts for the load shedding from the generators to make projections and plans.
He said the ECG was, therefore, unable to plan a load-shedding timetable for consumers.
Mr Larbi, explained in an interview, that the company needed a specific quantum of power to be able to draw a timetable for the load shedding, adding that the power providers were working to address the situation and come up with a timetable in due course.
Meanwhile, the Volta River Authority (VRA) has given an assurance that repair and maintenance works on the Aboadze Thermal Plant which resulted in the shedding of about 400 megawatts of power are expected to be completed by July this year.
According to the Corporate Communications Manager of the VRA, Mr Sam Fletcher, the authority was uncertain about the time to end the power outages.
However, he said the maintenance and repair works on the Aboadze Thermal Plant, when completed in July, would generate more than 400 megawatts of power.

Background

Ghanaians across the country have been experiencing power outages for the past months.
In March this year, the ECG announced a load-shedding exercise that was accompanied by a timetable to inform the public when to expect power outages in their vicinities.
While the VRA, at that time, blamed the supply of gas from the West African Gas Company for power generation shortfalls, in April this year the providers announced a marginal improvement in power generation, raising high the hopes of consumers.
However, consumers’ hope of having constant supply of power has been dashed, as supply over the past weeks has remained epileptic in nature. This has left consumers in limbo, with information from providers being at large.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), the regulators of the service providers, has declared its intention to sanction the three power providers for their inability to make available information to the public on the current supply of power in the country.
The commission has communicated its intention to the VRA, the ECG and the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo).
The three providers have up to tomorrow to explain to the PURC the nature of supply and their inability to make available ready information on the total megawatts being shed.

Machines shut down

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Fletcher said some of the machines, including gas turbines, had broken down and were being repaired, while others were maintained to ensure that they worked properly.
According to him, the machines that had been shut down normally generated about 500 megawatts and, therefore, on completion it would close the generation deficit of about 300 megawatts which had resulted in the load shedding exercise.
Some of the machines, he noted, had been shut down for the past two months for repair works to go on, while others were recently shut down for maintenance.
For instance, he said, two gas turbine units at the Aboadze Thermal Plant which produce 100 megawatts each had been closed down for repairs.

Flow of gas

Mr Fletcher also noted that the power outages were not caused by the shortage of gas, saying, “We have enough gas coming from Nigeria. Our gas report as of Monday, May 26, 2014 indicated that Nigerian supplied 97 million cubic feet of gas.”
“The challenges we have to go through every now and then when we have to do maintenance are because the country does not have a power reserve yet,” he stated.

PURC promises reliable power during World Cup,June 11, 2014, Daily Graphic

Electricity service providers have rolled out contingency measures to ensure reliable power supply during the World Cup tournament.

As part of the measures, 50 megawatts of power will be taken from Cote d’Ivoire at the times Ghana will play, since the matches would not run concurrently.
A statement issued by the Director of Public Relations and External Affairs of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Nana Yaa Jantuah, said arrangements were also being made with the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) Limited to reduce its energy consumption at the times Ghana would be playing.
The decision to roll out the contingency measures came after the PURC had met officials of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) and the Volta River Authority (VRA) to ensure reliable power supply during the World Cup.

Power crisis

Ghanaians across the country have been experiencing power outages for the past months due to a shortfall in generation.
Currently, the power producers are shedding off about 300 megawatts of power because some machines have been shut down for maintenance and repair works.
The ECG has, therefore, released a timetable to guide and inform the public as to when to expect power outages in their vicinities.

Streamlining power

According to Nana Jantuah, available units of power would be streamlined, while operational teams would be at post to work on critical substations and installation challenges to ensure expeditious restoration of electricity in the unlikely events of unplanned outages or emergencies.
She said the PURC had also asked the ECG and the Northern Electricity Department (NED) to furnish the public with their fault reporting lines to enable consumers to call the two companies whenever there were faults in the system.
“The PURC has asked the service providers to reschedule all other maintenance activities in the National Inter Connection Transmission System and also at the distribution end of the system, with the exception of emergency works,” she stated.

Conserve energy

Nana Jantuah urged consumers of electricity to conserve energy during the period by putting off high-consuming appliances such as deep freezers and air conditioners.
“It should be noted that these plans are put in place for consumers to watch uninterrupted football matches during the World Cup tournament, but within these arrangements the load-shedding schedule, though varied, still exists,” she stated.
She gave assurance of the PURC’s mandate to critically monitor the situation during the World Cup to ensure that the plans as discussed were put in place.

Celebrating fatherhood: Show of mixed feelings June15, 2014, Daily Graphic

Fathers Day will be observed tomorrow, June 15. But in Ghana, the event comes without the hype and numerous enthusiastic activities that marked the celebration of Mothers Day a month ago on May 8. Various reasons have been assigned to the seeming lack of interest in the event, with many people saying that they are unaware of the event while others say they just don’t have any interest in the celebration.

Fatherhood comes with responsibility
Fathers are considered the backbone of the family unit and it is worth celebrating their contributions to the maintenance of the family.
In the Ghanaian and African cultural setting, men can be termed and considered as fathers once they live a responsible life worthy of emulation.
This is, however, always not the case because while some fathers toil and sacrifice the luxury of life for the growth and development of their children, others do not even know the whereabouts of their children, not to talk of taking care of them.

“Sperm donors”

"If a man bears a child with a woman and fails to cater for the needs of the child, then he cannot be called a father but a sperm donor and that is what my father is".
These were the words of 24-year-old Fredrick Osei who has not seen his father for the past 20 years since he left home.
"My mother has taken me through primary to university education, and currently I am planning to pursue a law degree at the University of Ghana Faculty of Law, and my mother is ready to sell her plots of land to help me if I get admission."
For 26-year-old Ms Clara Afi, her father told her that he could not waste his money on educating his children, especially the girls, so he neither sent her to school nor helped her in any way to make a living for herself.
“My mother sold everything she had to make sure that my siblings and myself learnt some form of vocation,” she said.
The story of Mr Bobby Narh, a mechanic, is not different, as according to him, his father did not accept him at birth.
"My father did not even accept me as his child when I was born. He rejected me and never took up the responsibility of taking care of me” Mr Narh lamented.

Making the difference

Nonetheless, some fathers have made a difference in the lives of their families and have exhibited exceptional qualities of fatherhood. Some have sacrificed the luxury and pleasures of buying flashy cars, houses and material things for the sake of their children.
"My wife died three months ago and it has not been easy combining work and taking care of my two sons who are between the ages of seven and 10”
“I have to wake up as early as 3:00 a.m. everyday so that I can get them ready for school before I leave for the office. I have been doing this for the past six years since my wife got sick and died recently," says Mr Adjei Larbi, a public relations practitioner.
Mariama Ampofo, a university graduate, said "I grew up knowing one man in my life and that was my father. Although I was recently told he was not my real father, I still hold him in high esteem as my father because he has always treated me with fatherly love, tenderness and care”.
“Even when he does not have money, he will make sure that he provides you with whatever you need. He spends all his monies on our education and deprives himself of the luxury car he can easily buy,” Sarah Amankwah, a student said.

Fathers impact on children

According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway website, children who have their fathers close to them are likely to be emotionally secured, confident to explore their surroundings, and, as they grow older, have better social connections with peers. It said the way fathers played with their children also impacted on a child's emotional and social development. Fathers spend a much higher percentage of their one-on-one interaction with infants and pre-school children, in stimulating playful activity than mothers.
The Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560), section 47 states that “a parent or any person who is legally liable to maintain a child or contribute towards the maintenance of the child is under a duty to supply the necessaries of health, life, education and reasonable shelter for the child”.
Fathers’ care and love are irreplaceable in the heart of their children, therefore, irresponsible fathers should reform their ways and ensure that they take responsibility of the children they bring to the world.

- See more at: http://graphic.com.gh/lifestyle/life/25162-celebrating-fatherhood-show-of-mixed-feelings.html#sthash.6KClTxH8.dpuf

Israeli businesses in Ghana to discuss investment, June 16, 2014 Daily Graphic

Ghana is to benefit from about $500m worth of investment from Israeli businesses.

The two countries will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) today to create the enabling environment for them to transact business and grow economic relations.
The investment is part of efforts at fostering bilateral relations between the two countries.
Details of the agreement will be discussed at the meeting today.

Business delegation

A delegation of about 60 businesses, led by the Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr Avigbor Liberaman, arrived in the country yesterday for two-day bilateral talks with government officials and the Ghanaian business community.
As part of the visit, the Israeli Foreign Minister will hold a meeting with the Minister of Defence, Mr Mark Owen Woyongo, and the National Security Advisor, Mr Yaw Donkor.
Addressing the media, Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Hannah Tetteh, said Ghana had benefitted from considerable investment from Israel, especially in agro-processing and manufacturing, adding that that had opened up new areas in the local economy.
She said Israel had, over the years, cooperated with Ghana in areas such as agriculture, early childhood development and general political co-operation.
She said the two countries had long-standing bilateral and diplomatic relations which were established some years back.
Mr Liberaman said investors from Israel had shown interest in investing in the economy of Ghana, adding that the delegation was made up of business representatives of various companies in Israel.
He said Israel would continue to support and co-operate with Ghana to provide the best atmosphere for businesses to thrive in both countries.

Israeli security arrests Graphic cameraman - During visit of Israeli Foreign Minister - See more at: http://graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/25313-israeli-security-arrests-graphic-cameraman-during-visit-of-israeli-foreign-minister, June 17 , 2014, Daily Graphic

A Daily Graphic photographer who had been assigned to cover the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Ghana and Israel yesterday ended up at the Ministries Police Station after he had been picked up by Israeli security personnel.

Mr Emmanuel Asamoah Addai, who was carrying in his bag six bottles of herbal preparations which he had to take every one hour to correct a medical condition, was picked on suspicion of being in possession of explosives.
The Israeli security personnel were accompanying their Foreign Minister for the signing ceremony. Mr Addai had to spend close to four hours at the police station for questioning.
Interestingly, Mr Addai had earlier been cleared by the security operatives when he entered the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel to cover the signing of the MoU.
He was, however, restrained by one of the Israeli security details, who mistook the herbal preparations for explosives, from entering a different conference room where an Israel-Ghana Business Summit was being held.

No excuses
Not even an explanation and a demonstration by the photographer to show that the contents of the bottles were consumables could convince the hard-hearted Israeli security operative to allow Mr Addai to perform his official duties.

Confusion
The situation created a misunderstanding between the Israeli security team, as the second security detail criticised his colleagues for allowing Mr Addai to cover the first assignment.
The ensuing confusion resulted in the Israeli security team handing over the Daily Graphic photographer to the Special Weapon and Tactical (SWAT) Unit of the Ghana Police Service for further investigations.
The team, which looked on haplessly as events unfolded, subsequently handed over Mr Addai to the Ministries Police, without asking any questions.
Mr Addai was released after being made to write a statement and sign a caution statement. He was also asked to report himself to the police station today for further investigations.
Top Ghanaian security officials who were informed about the development were very upset about the arrest of the photographer and promised to secure his release.

Agreements
Meanwhile, Ghana and Israel have signed two agreements which seek to solidify and deepen relations between them.
The Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr Liberman Avigdor, who is leading a business delegation, signed on behalf of his country, while Ms Hanna Tetteh, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, signed for Ghana.
The Israeli delegation is in the country to build on relations between the two countries and explore business opportunities.
Under the first agreement, the two countries are to allow the spouses of staff of their diplomatic missions to work in their countries to support their families, while the other was a joint declaration which summarises the key outcomes of the various activities undertaken by the Israeli Minister on his visit to Accra.

Korle-Bu SSA hold demonstration over query, June 26, 2014, Daily Graphic

Some members of the Senior Staff Association of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KOSSA) yesterday demonstrated in protest against a query issued by the management of the hospital to the president of the association.

The demonstrators said the query, signed by the acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the hospital, Rev Albert Botchway, and issued to the president of the association, Mr Charles Nii Ofei-Palm, constituted a threat to their leader.
Wearing red armbands and chanting slogans, the demonstrators marched from the old administration block to the new one, where they delivered a response to the query to the office of the acting CEO.
The General Secretary of KOSSA, Mr James Clifford Bortey, who led the march, said management should not victimise the president of the association because he had acted on behalf of the association.
He said Rev Botchway had written an “unreferenced query letter” dated June 19, 2014 to the association’s president and wrote another letter asking for the whereabouts of Mr Ofei-Palm, noting that the demonstrators saw both letters as a threat to Mr Ofei-Palm.
A copy of the query which was made available to the Daily Graphic indicated that the acting CEO of the hospital had asked why Mr Ofei-Palm had petitioned President John Mahama on behalf of the association and invited the media to a news conference, acts which flouted the hospital’s policies.
In another letter from the CEO to the Director of Pharmacy of the hospital and dated June 20, 2014, the CEO requested to know the whereabouts of Mr Ofei-Palm, who is a principal pharmacist at the Trauma Unit of the hospital.
The letter requested the head of the directorate to provide information on Mr Ofei-Palm relating to his current duty post, his station, shift, among others, to the Chief Administrator’s secretariat by the close of work on June 24, 2014.

Response letter

In their response to the query, the association said actions taken by Mr Ofei–Palm were on behalf of the association.
The response also said KOSSA had studied the hospital’s media policy and contended that it dealt with individual members of staff and not associations.
The letter alleged that attempts to seek audience with management had been rebuffed by Rev Botchway and said until there was room to address issues affecting the staff and patients, KOSSA would use any appropriate means to vent its grievances.

Rev. Botchway

In an interview, Rev Botchway told the Daily Graphic that Mr Ofei-Palm had gone on television and radio stations to reveal confidential information of the hospital to the public, which he said was against the hospital’s policy.
He said, among other things, that Mr Ofei-Palm should have followed the hospital’s laid down procedures for addressing issues.
He said he had received a response to his query from the association and not from Mr Ofei-Palm.
“After his response, the disciplinary committee will take it from there,” he said.

Recall

The KOSSA held a news conference on June 23, 2014, at which it demanded the immediate dismissal of the Rev Botchway and the dissolution of the hospital’s board.
The ultimatum came after KOSSA had accused the management and the board of mismanaging Korle Bu funds.

Forum discusses draft Family Welfare Policy, Daily Graphic July 2, 2014

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), in collaboration with the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs and related organisations, has held a consultative forum for queenmothers from various parts of the country at Dodowa in the Eastern Region, to discuss the draft National Child and Family Welfare Policy.

The policy is being drafted in response to the results of a mapping exercise conducted by the ministry in 2010, which indicated the need for a comprehensive policy framework for the effective implementation of the various legal foundations and interventions for child protection and the promotion of child welfare.
The mapping exercise revealed that in spite of the legal framework prohibiting child labour under the Children’s Act, the nation still recorded instances of children engaged to work in some rural and urban communities, child trafficking, early and forced marriages and parental neglect.
In response to the findings, and to address the challenges, the ministry has commenced work on a new comprehensive national policy to ensure that there is coordination between thematic policy frameworks and programmes.

Significance

In a speech read on her behalf at the forum, the Minister for MoGCSP, Nana Oye Lithur, said the first draft policy would be out next month, while the final draft was expected to be ready by the end of the year.
In an address read on her behalf by a Deputy Minister-designate, Ms Dela Soway, Nana Oye said evidence from the mapping exercise revealed that the family and community constituted the best framework to help achieve better child protection.
She explained that the policy was to ensure the welfare and well-being of children and families by supporting and prompting family and community strategies and processes, adding that it would also ensure that services were available for children and their families when they faced difficulties.
“Presently, the system only kicks in when a violation has occurred. Under the new policy, prevention is primary through continuous engagement with families and communities on issues of children’s welfare,” Nana Oye said.
She, therefore, said the new policy could only be achieved through advocacy for strong community structures, direct services provision, public education and information dissemination.

Dr Daanaa

The Minister for Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs, Dr Henry Seidu Daanaa, said queenmothers were indispensable, hence the need for them to promote women and children’s rights and welfare through sensitisation programmes.
He encouraged them to use their positions as queenmothers to stop child labour, early and forced marriages and promote girl-child education.
The Queenmother for the Buipe Traditional Area in the Northern Region, Bridgewurche Barchisu, called for intensive education on children’s welfare in the rural and remote areas, since most of the challenges came from there.

Prez Mahama to donate bus to Vandals , July 2, 2014, Daily Graphic

President John Dramani Mahama will, in the course of the week, present a Yutong bus, which is his personal donation, to the Old Vandals Association to facilitate the activities of the association.

Alumni of the Commonwealth Hall of the University of Ghana make up the membership of the association, of which the President is one.
A Presidential Staffer, Dr Clement Apaak, announced this on behalf of the President at the 2014 Old Vandals Jamboree at the Commonwealth Hall at Legon yesterday.
The jamboree was on the theme, “Employment creation from a Vandal perspective”.

“Criticise but defend me”

In a speech read on his behalf, President Mahama encouraged members of the association to contribute to policy formulation and implementation to promote development.
Touching on national issues, he acknowledged the challenges facing the nation and said efforts were being made to find lasting solutions to the current challenges.
He urged the Old Vandals to support and defend him in the face of baseless partisan issues, adding that they should also subject him to criticism when there was the need to.

“Execute your agenda”

An entrepreneur, Mr Gladstone Agbolosoo-Mensah, in his address, urged the President to impress on his ministers and other appointees to execute the agenda of the President’s administration.
He said a lot of things were going wrong in the country and it seemed there was no one to blame for the problems.
“As Vandals, we want the President to succeed. Therefore, he should take his authority and make sure that his agenda is executed by his people,” he stressed.
Mr Agbolosoo-Mensah also encouraged the President to consider investing in the bamboo industry, which he said could be a breakthrough for the country’s economy.
The Omanhen of the Essikado Traditional Area, Nana Kobina Nketsiah IV, who chaired the event, called for the country’s resources to be put to good use for its benefit, instead of exporting them all the time.
The National President of the association, Alhaji Razak El-Alawa, in his statement, said the jamboree was to bring the Old Vandals together to share ideas and contribute to the progress of the hall.
He expressed gratitude to the President for his intention to donate a bus to the association.

Suicide: The result of mental disorders, July 3, 2014, Daily Graphic

Early this year, a 24-year-old student of the University of Education, Winneba, Solomon Obeng, committed suicide.

His reasons, gathered from a note he left behind, were that he had failed his exams. Apparently, Obeng could not withstand the shame he might have suffered from his colleagues upon the news of his failure.
A 30-year-old journalist, Albert Nana Asante, was also alleged to have committed suicide by drinking a poisonous substance suspected to be DDT.
The cases of Obeng and Nana Asante are not isolated suicide cases.
Obviously, for one to take his or her own life, one must be going through stress, depression, hurt, sadness, loneliness, shame, disgrace, trauma or some other struggle.
Many people, to escape, turn to swallow poison, hang themselves, shoot themselves, or jump off a storey-building.
Much is not said about it, but suicide in the country has risen in the past few years, prompting concern that more people are vulnerable.
According to a 2012 survey conducted by the Network for Anti-suicide and Crisis Prevention in Ghana, five or more people commit suicide every day in the country.
The report indicted that the common method used in the southern sector was hanging and poisoning, while in the northern sector, it was by fire arms and also hanging.
It also said the highest number of cases recorded was between the ages of 20 to 35, with a total of 702 and with the reasons being relationship problems, poverty among others.
The ages between nine and 19 recorded 531 deaths. The dominant cause of their death ranged from problems with parents, failure at school, inability of parents to provide needs, impotence and relationship related issues. The statistics further revealed that within the year, more men committed suicide than women with 1,129 men as against 427 women.
According to news reports, the Eastern Region recorded an increase in suicide cases from 14 in 2012 to 26 cases in 2013.

The structure of suicide

According to the Chief Psychiatrist of the Accra Mental Hospital, Dr Akwesi Osei, suicide was premeditated. It is not something one does the first time he or she thinks about it.
“There are three organisational stages of suicide, involving “getting used to,” the idea, the means and the opportunity or motivation,” he added.
He described the first stage as the preparation state where a person prepares to commit suicide. People who are naturally secretive, who come from broken homes, people with no loving childhood and people with traumatic stress disorders are susceptible.
The second, he said were the precipitate factors that triggered one to commit suicide. Some of the triggers were financial crisis, loss of a loved one and separation.
The final stage was when victims remained in a perpetual state of the desire to kill him or herself, and with the triggers including the lack of financial support, among others.

Risk factors

According to Dr Osei, for every case of suicide reported, five people have already contemplated committing suicide, making a total of about 200,000 people contemplating the idea yearly.
“Many people think of suicide every day due to reasons such as failure of academic examinations, teasing, economic hardship, relationship break-ups, among numerous other reasons,” he said.
“Suicides and attempted suicides are big problems, but we pretend they do not exist, we stand and watch wealthy productive members of the society perish in complete avoidable situations,” he lamented.
He explained that about 93 to 95 per cent of every 100 cases of suicides and attempted suicides were caused by mental disorders with risk factors such as depressions, substance use, and excessive alcohol use, as well as post-trauma stress disorder.
He attributed the rise in suicide cases to depression, which accounted for about 80 per cent of suicide cases and post-trauma stress disorders, which were the long term effects of rape, defilement, losing capital and victims of armed robbery.
A Clinical Psychologist, Dr Angela Ofori Attah, also explained “In times of economic hardship, people lose their job, source of pleasure, loved ones, among others leaving them distressed. They feel hopeless about the situation and feel negative about everything in their life, thinking that everything about them is bad”.
Without getting the needed affection and emotional support after long-term effect of terrifying events such as rape, defilement and accident, Dr Ofori-Attah said people were also led to commit suicides.
Dr Ofori-Attah, who is also a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Medical School, said teenage suicides were due to factors such as teasing, bullying physically or on social media, which may also be harassment.
Dr Ofori Attah added that suicide should be decriminalised, so that people with the intention to commit the act could seek help.

Recommendations

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that by the year 2020, 1.5 million people worldwide will be killing themselves annually.
Therefore, the WHO has made suicide prevention, along with public prevention of malaria and tobacco related diseases, the top priorities for the first decade of this millennium.
It was, therefore, necessary for the Government of Ghana to strengthen its institutions and put in place more measures to improve mental healthcare service in the country, Dr Osei said.
He urged authorities to conduct research on suicide so that they could know how to deal with the risk factors.
For her part, Dr Ofori- Attah said the University of Ghana, Ghana Health Service and the National Service Secretariat were working together for psychology and undergraduates of clinical, social and counselling psychology students to go into the communities to work with psychiatric nurses and educate the public on mental health issues for their national service.
She encouraged the Ghana Education Service to strengthen its guidance and counselling unit in the schools, and for teachers to become sensitised and aware of any depressed students.

Project to improve food security launched , Daily Graphic, March 7, 2014

A $70-million project aimed at improving food security and food sustainability in Africa has been launched in Accra.

The project, which would promote policies and capacity-building programmes, is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Known as the Africa Lead II (AL II) the five-year project is intended to support farmers to sustain the economy of their countries to reduce poverty and hunger.
The project, which is in its second phase, is an initiative of President Barack Obama to scale up food security in Africa.
The background
The Africa Lead project operates across sub-Saharan Africa and involves public, civil society and private sector institutions.
Africa Lead seeks to ensure that there are leaders trained to maintain a critical mass of food security.
The leaders are trained to drive agriculture-led development by leading and implementing regional and national agriculture investment Plans within the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) framework.
The project is also linked to the Feed the Future (FTF) initiative, a US-government response to the global demand to advance food security.
The first phase, which began in 2010, was completed in 2013 at the cost of $30 million.
First phase
Giving the overview of the project at the launch of the second phase, the Regional Director of AL II, Ms Carla Denizard, said the first phase had trained 2,789 people across 29 countries in Africa, including Ghana, Nigeria, Mali and Senegal.
She explained that grouped in three components, the first component would focus on improving institutional and human resources capacities.
The second component, she stated, would involve institutional framework assessments and the strengthening of management for policy change and evidence-based policy analysis.
The third component would ensure the enhancement of capacity and engagement of non - state actors, including the private sector.
Deepened interventions
The acting USAID West Africa Mission Director, Mr Bradley Wallach, said the project had so far chalked up some success.
He added that the second phase would be better implemented and had been designed with effective collaboration between its partners to deepen existing interventions.
In addition, he said new approaches to capacity building had been introduced, while institutions would be strengthened to achieve inclusive economic growth and food security.

Business booms at banku and tilapia joints, Daily Graphic. 27 April, 2014

There is nothing more delicious on a hot afternoon or cool evening than a ball of soft banku and spicy-grilled tilapia with fresh pepper and shito to kill your hunger.

Like other Ghanaian dishes such as fufu, rice balls, red-red, waakye and banku tilapia has become a delicacy for most Ghanaians, adding to the delicious and irresistible Ghanaian cuisine.
Apart from the mouth-watering nature of a grilled tilapia, its sumptuous taste, coupled with its appetising and attractive sight because of garnishing, has made the meal the favourite of most Ghanaians. Grilled tilapia, mostly eaten with banku and hot pepper, is served in almost all leading restaurants, as well as at some special joints.
With between GH¢5 and GH¢30, patrons of the meal get to enjoy either a small, regular or large size of tilapia fish and banku.

Enjoying the moment

Consumers of the meal prefer to take it while they are relaxed so that they can enjoy every bit of it, especially its head, which seems to be the tastiest part for many people. Research has also revealed that tilapia contains protein and omega three natural oil, while the banku also provides carbohydrate.
The tilapia is normally served fully with the head and tail as most people feel cheated without those parts.
“I love banku and tilapia with hot pepper on a hot afternoon because the fish is not fried. But I enjoy the eye of the tilapia than any part of it,” Maafia Agyemang said.
“With the hot pepper, banku and tilapia is just a perfect one,” Obed Ayisi said.
But Franklin Badu seems not to agree with these complimentary remarks about banku and tilapia; saying, “I like it but I find it so difficult to eat because of the bones in the fish”.

Business

Although the sale of banku and tilapia is done mostly by women, some men are also doing a very good job in the field. The business has created job opportunities for many people as many banku and tilapia joints continue to spring up at every corner in the cities.
Spotted at Adabraka just opposite the Aponkye Spot in Accra is the Fresh Inn Catering Services which serve one of the tastiest banku and tilapia. The spot is managed by Mr Samuel N. Teye, who learnt the business from his late mother.
According to him, he started in 1990 when he used to help his mother with the business at Mamprobi in Accra.
“I took over from my mother because I used to do the grilling while she did the selling. After school, I got a job but the pay was not good, compared to what I could get from the banku and tilapia business so I stopped and took over from my mother,” he explained. According to him, although many people have joined the business over the years, the business is still good.
“Most people who make orders for occasions in recent times request banku and tilapia as part of their menu, making it one of the most preferred meals at all gatherings, and that is making our business to boom.”
Price of the meal, he added, was determined by the operators but he cautioned that it was always good to take into consideration the area so that the prices were not too high for the residents to patronise.
“I start the business from around 4:00 p.m. almost every day and sell a plate for between GH¢4 and GH¢17, depending on the size of the fish”.

The challenges

Every work comes with its own challenges, and according to Mr Teye, grilling tilapia is very difficult, especially with the exposure to the smoke. He said they were exposed to smoke from the grilling machines, which are fuelled by charcoal.
“The smoke hurts our eyes and we also think inhaling it could have some health implications. I have, therefore, learnt not to stand by the fire for long so that I could avoid the smoke,” he said.

How to prepare tilapia

1. Clean, descale and wash the fish
2. Remove the gill covering and hard fins and slit parts of it.
4.Use your hands or spoon to rub the seasoning mixture all over the fish, including the slits and the inside of the fish. (The season mixture varies from person to person).
5. Leave the marinade on the fish for some few minutes.
6. Brush the grill with oil and place the fish almost directly on top of the coals.
7. Put a little oil on the fish to keep it soft and moist.
8. After 3-5 minutes, turn over the fish and baste this side with a little oil as well.
9. Depending on the thickness of the fish and the heat of the fire, the tilapia should be ready within 10 to 15 minutes.

How to prepare banku

Banku is an indigenous fermented meal of maize and cassava. It is prepared using corn and cassava dough.
The cassava and corn dough are mixed with cups of water depending on how soft or otherwise one wants it.
It’s then kneaded with the hand until very smooth dough is obtained and cooked very well.
It is then moulded into small dumplings and served with tilapia.

Don’t blame mothers for failures - First Lady, Daily Graphic May 17

The First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, has expressed her discontent at those who blame and abandon their mothers and grandmothers for being the cause of their adversities in life.

"Accusing and blaming our mothers and grandmothers for our woes and adversities in life and banishing them to a life of neglect is unacceptable," she said.
She said individuals needed to take responsibility for their failures and actions instead of blaming and casting away their mothers and grandmothers.

Presentation

The First Lady made the remark when she visited the Gambaga Witches Camp in the Northern Region to interact with and also present some items to the women there.
The items included wax print, plastic bowls, rice, beverages, drinks, used clothes and oil.
The First Lady, as part of her trip to the Northern Region, also visited Tamale and the Anfaani Children's homes and donated assorted items to them.
The items included bags of rice, tin tomatoes, diapers,mosquito nets, gallons of oil, drinks, cartons of milo beverage drink and nido powdered milk.
Mrs Mahama described the plight of the women at the camp as a national tragedy and, therefore, stressed the need to help the women in the camp to be re-integrated into society.
"The neglect of a segment of the society will only retard the development of our nation," she stated.

Witches camp national tragedy — First Lady, Daily Graphic,May 22

The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo articulated and affirmed the relationship between advancement and fulfilment of rights and gender equality and equity.

Similarly, the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing generated global commitments to advance a wider range of women’s rights.
At the national level, the 1992 Constitution of Ghana guarantees women’s human rights, while the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly defines the rights of women to be free from discrimination and sets the core principles to protect these rights.
In spite of all these, the abuse and violations of the rights of vulnerable persons, especially women and children and persons with disability, persist. Therefore, the inclusion of gender equality and women’s empowerment as one of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is a reminder that most of these promises are yet to be implemented.

Gambaga Witches Camp

A number of women, kept in mud houses at the Gambaga Witches Camp in the Northern Region, also suffer similar abuse and human rights violations. They are accused of being witches and possessing spirits that are used to cause misfortunes among people in the family and in their communities.
To run for safety, these supposed witches seek shelter at the camp, which serves as a safe haven and ‘refugee camp’ for them. These women, accused of being the cause of the woes of their relatives and community members, live in the camp with their children and sometimes their grandchildren growing up there with little or no care and love from family and friends.
Most of the women living there are isolated and the children who live there with them do not usually go to school due to stigmatisation. Ironically, these women have come to believe that life outside the camp is harder since family and society continue to violate their rights with their hostile attitude.

The spirit child

In some communities, children born with deformities are described as ‘spirit children’ and they are killed or left to die without any care or attention.
But according to the First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, who visited the Gambaga Witches Camp last week, the practice should be discouraged, describing it ‘as a national tragedy.’
While expressing her discontent about the violation of the rights of the women who have been accused of witchcraft, she said it was wrong for individuals to blame and abandon their mothers and grandmothers for allegedly being the cause of their adversities in life and banish them to a life of neglect.
She said individuals needed to take responsibility for their failures and actions instead of blaming and casting away their mothers and grandmothers.

Project

The First Lady embarked on a project last year to provide accommodation and educational facilities to the inmates and the Gambaga community respectively.
When completed, the facility would enable the residents of the community and its surrounding areas to acquire various vocational skills so that they could learn skills to make them make a living.
Mrs Mahama said when completed, the project would be of immense help to inmates at the camp and the Gambaga community.

Girl-child

According to Mrs Mahama, the project is also in fulfilment of her commitment to promote girl-child education aimed at ensuring that girls are equipped meaningfully to contribute to their development.
The First Lady accompanied by the Northern Regional Minister, Mr Mohammed Muniru Limuna, visited the site to see the progress of work.
The elders of the camp expressed their gratitude to Mrs Mahama for the constant support and care she had given to the women at the camp over the years.

- See more at: http://graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/23371-witches-camp-national-tragedy-first-lady.html#sthash.CZlmKhLz.dpuf

ECG reclaims over GH2million cedis from illegal connections, Daily Graphic

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has reclaimed an amount of GH¢2,810,390 from 941 individuals and organisations who were engaged in illegal power connection between January and March this year.
The money were retrieved after the culprits were arrested and prosecuted for stealing a total of 7, 061,183 kilowatt hours ( units) of energy from the ECG, translating into the amount.
The culprits were made up of individuals, organisations and restaurants from the Volta, Greater Accra, Ashanti, Eastern, Western and Central regions.
Illegal power connections remain one of the biggest challenges facing the ECG.
Losses
The Public Relation Officer of ECG, Mr Adjei Larbi, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic last Friday, said the ECG was able to apprehend the culprits after informants alerted the company at their various offices where they operated.
According to Mr Adjei Larbi, the quantum of energy stolen translated into the total amount of money that was paid by the perpetrators after they were fined by the energy court.
informants reward
He said GH¢211,838.64, representing six per cent of the money recovered, was given to the informants who reported the illegal activities to the company as rewards.
He explained that the operation had become necessary for the company to avoid commercial losses of energy which translated to the huge loss of revenue to the company and the country.
“ When illegal activities takes place, the impacts is not only on the revenues we need to re-invest in the company, it also leads to loss of revenue to the economy ” he said.
Therefore, he cautioned members of the public to desist from engaging in illegal  connections.
Bench mark
In addition, Mr Adjei Larbi stated that the regulators of the utility services, Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, had set a bench mark of 21 per cent of loss, hence the need to thrive towards achieving the target.
Last year, the ECG recorded losses of 23.37 per cent as compared to 2012 when it recorded 23.48 per cent of losses.
Mr Adjei Larbi said the company also attached seriousness to the clamping down of the illegal connections to ensure that the loss of energy was reduced.
He therefore, encouraged the public to assist the company by reporting perpetrators of illegal connections to the company and receive six per cent of whatever will be retrieved from culprits.

Prof Sai celebrated for promoting reproductive health, Daily Graphic

THE population, reproductive health and family planning fraternity from across the world, gathered at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra on June 27, 2014, to celebrate the life and achievements of Professor Fredrick Torgbor Sai, on his 90th birthday.
The dinner was attended by representatives of non-governmental organisations, government officials, chiefs and queen mothers. Prof. Sai was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the African Federation for Sexual Health and Rights.
Professor Sai has dedicated most of his life to the well-being of children and women across the globe by championing the cause of making reproductive health information and service accessible to couples and individuals. As a world renowned expert in the field of population, reproductive health, HIV and AIDS and gender equality, Prof Sai was the first to head the National Population Council. He was also the President of the International Planned Parenthood Federation of Ghana (IPPF) and chaired the principal committee of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo (ICPD), Egypt.
“A prominent son”
In a speech read on his behalf, President John Dramani Mahama commended and congratulated Prof Sai for his dedicated services to Ghana.
He described him as “a prominent son of our land, with many accolades to his name nationally and internationally.”
“Prof. Sai’s life is a testimony of how one’s determination and hard work can contribute to a better quality of life for the people, especially the vulnerable and voiceless in the society,” he said.
President Mahama said Prof Sai played a leading role in promoting the family planning programme, resulting in Ghana becoming one of the first African countries to adopt a National Population Policy in 1969.
Prof Sai had a dream
A former President of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Dr Mahmoud Fathalla, said Prof. Sai had a dream of a world where a woman was not denied her right to health and life.
He said although the dream was yet to be fulfilled, some progress had been made, adding that more work needed to be done.
For instance, he said women did not have control over fertility, adding that policymakers had sometimes been shortsighted not to realise that when women were given the choice and the means to implement their choice, they would make right reproductive decisions.
He stressed that women did not have to lose their lives in the process of giving a new life because they had the right to life.
Prof Sai Annual Lectures
For his part, the Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Ebenezer Appiah Denkyira, announced that the GHS in collaboration with other non-governmental organisations would institute the Prof. Sai Annual Lectures.
He said this would be in recognition of Prof. Sai’s contribution to reproductive health globally, among his other commitments.
The lectures will be held during the Family Planning Week celebration which falls on September 26.
Empower women
In his address, Prof Sai expressed gratitude to the non-governmental organisations and government agencies for organising the event in his honour. 
He said empowering women, educating the girl-child and ensuring that women had control over their reproductive choices, were the right things to do for women to take their rightful place in socio-economic development.
Prof Sai said when a woman could choose the number and spacing of her children, she could take charge of her life - complete her education and lift herself and her children from poverty.
“Indeed, if all women had access to family planning and reproductive health services, we could prevent 79,000 maternal deaths and more than 1 million infant deaths each year because family planning leads to lower birth rates and saves money,” he said.

A year after market fires - What has changed? Daily Graphic, March

The women wailed while others remained in a state of shock as they watched  ferocious fire razing down the source of their livelihood - their goods and structures.
They refused to be consoled as they rolled on the bare floor, wishing that the earth would just swallow them up rather than allow them to go through the trauma of losing their lifelong savings and investments within minutes.
Pain, despair and misery were the expressions on the faces of the men who could not express their pain in tears as they looked at the damage caused by the devastating fire.
This was the atmosphere at the various markets across the country, mostly made up of wooden structures, which were destroyed by fires last year.
Although there have been  fires in some markets in the country over the years, last year’s fires were alarming and fierce. These included the ones at the Kantamanto, Makola Shopping Mall, Makola Number Two, Kumasi Central and Dome.
“Markets not safe”
But exactly a year after the incidents, traders seem to have moved on from their tragedy and everything seems to be normal at the markets.
Traders seemed busy and were calling customers to patronise their goods as usual when the Daily Graphic visited the Kantamanto and Makola Number Two markets and shopping mall.
At the Kantamanto Market, the hub for second-hand ware, traders had rebuilt the wooden structures that got burnt and some of them were using umbrellas and canopies as their sheds. Although they have left some alleys, these are too small for fire engines to access the markets in times of fire outbreak.
The situation was not different at the Makola Shopping Mall and Makola Number Two Market where the wooden structures had been rebuilt.
In an interview, some of the traders said although they lived in fear, they did not have any choice than to rebuild the wooden structures, restart their businesses and earn some money to take care of their families.
Madam Vida Koranteng, who plies her trade at the Kantamanto Market said she lost about four bales of clothes, estimated at GH¢3,000, in the fire.
“ With the small savings I had at the bank and support from family and friends, I was able to get back into business but since I started, business has not been going well at all,” she said and added, “most of us invested our monies in buying the bales and keeping them but since we lost them in the fire, it has been very difficult for us”.
When asked if she felt safe at the market, Madam Koranteng said, “Every day, I am grateful to God because I live in so much fear that the fire could come again”.
She added that the market was also not convenient because they were exposed to the  sun and whenever there was rainfall the situation became worse.
“I invested huge sums of money which I was supposed to travel with in the second-hand clothes business, hoping that by the time I am ready to travel, I would have made some profit but I lost all the millions of cedis within a few hours”, a victim of the country’s incessant market fires, Madam Dora Kyerwaa lamented. She also expressed fear about operating at the market.
“We really want the market to be rebuilt because we live in so much fear and anxiety. But we are also scared to lose the land or even our space to the authorities or other people,” Mrs Faustina Tetteh said.
This year, the Kumasi Central Market has experienced two fire outbreaks, giving the impression that the market is not safe.
A recall of the incidents
Traders at the Kantamanto Market had their share of mishap when an inferno swept through the market, destroying almost everything in sight.  It was followed by the fires at the Makola Number Two, Dome, Makola Number One and the  Kumasi Central markets. The devastation and deprivation caused by the market fires, according to reports, led to the death of some traders.
 While some banks paid insurance claims to their customers who lost their wares in the fires, the government also supported the over 7,000 traders with GH¢2 million.
The President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, directed the Ministry of Finance  to release money for the rebuilding and rehabilitation of these markets.
Apart from that, the government also called for international assistance from the United States government to enable it get to the cause of the market fires, while the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) audited and conducted investigations into the circumstances that led to the fires.
The GNFS reports indicated that the markets were congested and had no alleys. Other causes were: the presence of mixed combustibles, overaged wiring, illegal connections, power outages, unprofessionals being engaged for the wiring, faulty electrical wires, overloading of electrical power sockets, cooking in the markets and negative human behaviour and attitude.
The GNFS therefore recommended that local assemblies should implement and enforce the guidelines to protect the markets against fire outbreaks.
As part of the recommendations, the GNFS asked local assemblies to ensure that the markets were safe from potential fire risks by providing hydrants, rewiring them, providing fire posts, alleys, fire defence systems, communication facilities to call the Fire Service, among others, at the markets to make the fight against market fires easy.
GNFS warnings
Earlier this year, the GNFS’  tour to Kantamanto Market to check if the recommendations made had been implemented revealed that its recommendations had been flouted. It expressed the concern that traders had returned to the wooden structures which were easily razed by fire and there were no hydrants, fire posts, communication facilities and alleys, as recommended by the service. The service warned that more fires should be expected if the recommendations were not implemented.
The Greater Accra Fire Officer, Mr Kwame Kwarteng, who led the team to visit the market, said the service faced serious challenges because  the various stakeholders did not give it the needed cooperation.  For instance, he said, during the fire outbreak at Kantamanto, the GNFS had a challenging time getting access to the area to fight the fire.
Rebuild the markets
The Spokesperson for the Hawkers and Vendors Association of Ghana, Mr Ohene Mensah Kakra, made a passionate appeal to the local authorities, including the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, to modernise the markets.
 “We cannot continue to lose our livelihoods all the time for government to give us money; it will not solve the situation. The government should build and renovate these markets into modern ones, to be on the safer side”, he said.
The Queenmother of the Greater Accra Regional Market Traders Association, Madam Mercy Nii Gyan,  at a diagnostic workshop organised by the Ashiedu Keteke Sub-metro in Accra last month, also appealed to traders to allow the government rebuild the markets to ensure their safety.