Day: November 21, 2023

This year’s World Toilet Day 2023 celebration has been marked at Mpoase in the Ablekuma West Municipality on the theme: ‘Accelerating Change through Strategic Partnership, Every Contribution Counts.’

It was to make sanitation for all a global development priority urging changes in both behaviour and policy on issues ranging from enhancing water management to ending open defecation.

It was also to encourage behavioural change and increase access to sanitation among the poor, along with a call to end the practice of open defecation which it deemed harmful to public health.

It was jointly organised by Global Communities, USAID, UNICEF, WaterAid, The Netherland Development Organisation, World Vision, Catholic Relief Services, Sewerage Systems Ghana Limited, and the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area – Sanitation and Water Project (GAMA-SWP).

Dr Freda Akosua Prempeh, the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the annual observance of the day would go a long w
ay towards raising awareness about the need for all human beings to have access to sanitation.

She also recognised the role that the development partners, civil societies, and the Metropolitan, Municipal District Assemblies play in raising awareness of this issue and called on them to approach sanitation in a much broader context includes hygiene promotion.

She said this year’s decision to mark the day at Mpoase, a low-income community, would help raise awareness and mobilize action that could save lives and described poor sanitation as a leading cause of diseases and child death.

Dr Prempeh said the government had invested heavily in projects that would help eradicate open defecation and enhance safe sanitation practices to bring about the needed change.

She said under GAMA-SWP in December 2020 48,641 improved household toilets, benefiting 389,128 people and 406 modern disabilities friendly, gender sensitive institutional toilet for schools.

‘The project also expanded and rehabilitated the Asafo Sewerag
e System in Kumasi and provided an additional 42,000 household toilets and 129 school toilets,’ she said.

The Minister said, ‘Key under the projects’ intervention was the introduction and use of biodigester technology in Ghana which is also largely because it is cheap and easy to install.’

She said Ghana had made strides towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals ‘6’ on water and sanitation, adding that population with access to basic drinking water services increased from 79 per cent in 2017, 2018 to 87.7 per cent in 2021.

‘While population with access to improved toilet facilities, including shared toilets increased from 66 per cent to 80 per cent within the same period,’ she stated.

Mr George Bray, Ablekuma West Municipal Chief Executive urged the media to promote ownership of household toilets as 19,000 households got toilets in the municipality through the campaign.

He said the Assembly continued to sensitise the people to change their character towards good sanitation.

Mr Harold E
sseku, WASH Specialist of the World Bank called on the media to vigorously campaign for the promotion of household toilets to curb open defecation.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Isaac Lamptey, Head of Works Engineer, Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly (KoKMA) has said the status of the odawna market project was currently at the feasibility stage, and a report has been sent to the Finance Ministry for approval.

He said his outfit would engage the stakeholder groups, explain the issues to them, and give them questionnaires to fill in to support it and submit it back to the Ministry of Finance for work to commence.

Mr Lamptey made this statement at a stakeholder engagement for odawna market women organised by KoKMA to elaborate on the status of the redevelopment of the odawna market project.

The project, which is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with funding from the World Bank when approved would serve as the major trading centre for the traders within the municipality and would help generate revenue for the Assembly.

Mr Lamptey indicated that ‘we are hoping that the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) project would also commence as quickly as possible so
that by the time we finish this process and get contractors procured, at least they would be halfway done it would not encounter any delay for the construction work.’

Mr Nii Adjei Tawiah, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly, asked the Odawna Market traders to remain patient and trust the government’s commitment to renovate the market.

He added that ‘we have heard that they want to go on a demonstration and when we hear those things, we must get closer to them and give them update on the reconstruction of the market. It is my appeal that they bare patience with government.’

According to him, the Assembly did not have total control of the project, and that immediately all processes were completed by the Finance Ministry work would begin.

He said ‘the odawna area is a flood prone area and before any project will start a lot of ground works have to be done in order to be able to do a good job.’

Dr Kojo Ohene Sarfo, GARID, said it was waiting for approval to initiate th
e resettlement action plan which would address those who would be affected by the project directly ‘and then subsequently the contractor will start work.’

He added that ‘the GARID project will help address flooding exclusively within the odawna basin and we are waiting for approval from World Bank before we can commence work.’

According to Mr Sarfo, the drain project would start from Paloma Hotel, through Asylum Down, then connect to the Odawna channel near the pedestrian mall.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Nana Abrokwa Asare, the Administrator for National Premix Fuel, has promised to tackle youth unemployment in Asuogyaman Constituency when elected as MP.

He said his ambition to enter Parliament in 2025 is to give hope to the youth and utilise the resources available for development.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after declaring his intention to contest in the upcoming NPP orphan constituency primaries, he said he would utilise tourism potentials in the area to create job avenues for the youth.

Mr Abrokwa stated that the lack of jobs had made the youth more desperate and despondent, and that was why he was contesting the seat to bring relief to the youth and the people of Asuogyaman.

He mentioned mechanised irrigation farming, upgrading of tourist sites, skills development, and the upcoming port at Mpakadan as some of the activities he would pursue to create jobs.

Mr Abrokwa noted that already his charity organisation ‘Nabrok Foundation’ had empowered the youth through skills developme
nt and ‘I will leverage on that when given the opportunity.’

The Premix fuel administrator is one of the 18 aspirants cleared to contest in six orphan constituencies of the NPP in the Eastern Region.

He is in the race with Mr Pius Hadzide, National Youth Authority boss, Mr Paul Asare Ansah, former CEO of Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and one Chief Michael Ansah.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Konkombas in the Yendi Municipality of the Northern Region have celebrated their annual Linujil Festival with a call on residents to prioritise peace and unity for sustainable development.

The Bunbong Linujil Festival, translated as Yam Festival, is celebrated to mark the beginning of the harvesting of yam, which is one of the major crops cultivated by the people.

The event brought together Konkombas and other ethnic groups including Dagombas, Anufos, and Fulanis at a common platform to showcase their rich tradition and cultural heritage.

It was on the theme ‘Peace and Unity’.

Ubor Dawuni Wumbe, Chief of Bunbong, in his address at the festival, said it was intended to enhance unity among the various ethnic groups in the area, and also to seek the blessings of their ancestors for the next farming season.

He said the area was still confronted with numerous development challenges such as education, health, and agriculture, adding that it was important to embrace peace and unity to accelerate the developmen
t of the area.

He encouraged residents to enroll their children in school, especially the girl-child to enable them to take advantage of government policies and interventions as well as minimise gender-based violence.

Alhaji Faruok Aliu Mahama, Member of Parliament for Yendi Constituency said sustainable development thrived on peace and unity, urging the people to endeavour to stay together in harmony to attract the needed development.

The festival, which attracted many dignitaries from home and abroad, witnessed live performances by some artists including ace reggae musicians and three-time Grammy Nominee, Rocky Dawuni.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Obuasi Area of the Pentecost Men’s Ministry (PEMEM), has embarked on a road safety campaign to educate drivers and passengers on the need to observe road traffic rules and regulations.

The campaign, which was launched at the Obuasi central lorry station, aims to reduce road accidents and fatalities in the area and to educate drivers, motor riders, commuters, and the public on the importance of observing road safety regulations.

The theme for the campagin was: ‘Because the Lord has Need for it’, and involved the distribution of flyers, stickers and reflectors to drivers and passengers.

It is part of the Ministry’s social responsibility and commitment to saving lives and promoting the gospel.

According to a report released by the national secretariat of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, a total 1,233 crashes were recorded involving 2,099 vehicles with 186 deaths for the first half of 2023.

It also revealed that deaths resulting from road crashes also increa
sed by 30.07 per cent for the period.

Again, the MTTD reported that a total of 202 persons died through road crashes in December last year.

A total of 1,441 persons sustained various degrees of injuries, with 245 pedestrian knockdowns also being recorded.

Pastor Benjamin Sarpong Mensah, the Leader of PEMEM in the Obuasi Area, expressed his appreciation for the church’s involvement in the awareness campaign to reduce road accidents in the Obuasi Municipality and beyond.

He said the church had a responsibility to educate the public on road safety and to promote good driving habits, saying, the fight to reduce road accidents needed concerted efforts.

The Men’s Ministry was joined by officials from the MTTD, National Disaster Management Oorganisation, National Road Safety Commission, Ghana National Fire Service, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority and the Obuasi Municipal Assembly to sensitise motorists.

Mr. Kwasi Agyenim Boateng, the Ashanti Regional Director of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC
) lauded the Men’s Ministry of the Church of Pentecost for leading the charge to educate road users on measures needed to ensure safety on the road.

He said heading towards the Christmas period, the NRSC would also team up with the MTTD and DVLA to intensify road Safety campaigns to ensure accident-free Christmas.

Mr. Edward Ofori, Manager of the Obuasi office of DVLA, commended the church for the initiative, stressing that it would complement the series of campaigns rolled out to ensure safety on the road.

He hinted that in the coming weeks, the DVLA would collaborate with AngloGold Ashanti and other partners to create awareness on how to obey traffic and road safety regulations.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A 56-year-old Quantity Surveyor, who allegedly took GH?4,000.00 from a driver under the pretext of granting him two plots of land at Domeabra but failed has been granted bail by an Accra Circuit Court.

Mr Christian Setsoafia aka ‘Stone’ who was charged with defrauding by false pretense, pleaded not guilty.

Mr Setsoafa has been granted a GH?5,000 bail by the Court presided over by Mr Isaac Oheneba Kuffour.

The case has been adjourned to December 12, 2023.

Police Chief Inspector John Gohoho, prosecuting, told the Court that the complainant Mr Etse Sosu, who resides at Glefe near Dansoman is a driver while the accused person resided at Ngleshie-Amanfrom near Weija.

The prosecution said in October 2012, the complainant, who wanted two plots of land to buy for his wife and his mother-in-law, encountered the accused person.

It said the accused person showed the complainant two plots of land at Domeabra as his and sold the same to the complainant at GH?4, 000.

The prosecution said the accused person issued t
he complainant with receipt of payment and a site plan and requested the complainant to start building on the land.

It said the complainant put up two separate single rooms on each of the plots but the said single rooms were demolished.

The prosecution said the complainant informed the accused person about the demolishing of the building which the accused person told him he would give him another land as replacement.

It said the accused person gave him another two plots which he constructed on the same, but the footings were again demolished.

The prosecution said the complainant was given third land, but this time was chased out from the land by some land guards.

It said the complainant realised the accused had no genuine land to offer him and requested for a refund of his money, but the accused went into hiding

The Prosecution said in August 2023 the complainant saw the place of abode of the accused person and reported him to the police.

‘The accused person was arrested and after the investigation he
was charged with the offence and brought before the Court,’ it added.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said that he has brought variety of ideas to solve the country’s problems, adding if voted as President, he will bring more ideas to transform the country.

He said ‘I want you to vote in 2024 for Dr Bawumia. I will bring a new vision. I will bring new policies, and we will transform this country. John Mahama is the past. Dr Bawumia is the future. He will take the country to new heights.’

Dr Bawumia said this while addressing a rally at the Jubilee Park in Tamale as part of his ‘thank you tour’ of the Northern Region after being elected the Flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) on November 04.

He was accompanied by some National Executive of the NPP including the Party’s National Chairman, some Ministers of State, and Members of Parliament amongst other leading figures of the party.

Hundreds of people gathered at the park to listen to his message with some carrying placards proclaiming some of the works of the government.

Dr Bawumia said his contributio
n to the development of the country as Vice President was unmatched, adding ‘It tells you that if you make me President, I will have my own vision and I will have my own priorities and I will bring more ideas.’

He turned attention to Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress saying ‘John Mahama is going round the country promising everything to everybody. It is as if he has never been President in this country before. When he was President, did he create jobs, did he tackle corruption, did he issue a Ghana Card, the Vice President retorted.

He added that ‘Today he (John Mahama) is trying to come back. He has been President before, and he could not solve our problems. Even me as Vice President, I have solved many problems. What idea did John Mahama bring when he was Vice President?

He claimed that Mr Mahama did not understand his promise of ‘A 24 Hour Economy’ saying ‘John Mahama’s new idea of a 24-hour economy’ was already being implemented by various agencies and institutions in the country.

Sourc
e: Ghana News Agency

Dr Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of Environment Science Technology and Innovation has urged African leaders to leverage investments from the developed partners to combat climate change and improve the livelihood of people.

He said: ‘we can feel the palpable impact of climate change. We continue to witness increased temperatures, erratic rainfall patterns, severe droughts, and frequent and intense floods. These events have had far widespread reaching consequences on our agricultural productivity, water resources, and overall well-being.’

Dr Afriyie made the remarks at the opening of 5th WASCAL Ministerial Council Meeting in Accra

The WASCAL Ministerial Council Meeting is the highest organ of the institution, and its meeting is geared towards deepening the relations among the member countries on one side and the German partner at the policy making level.

WASCAL is an international organisation created by 10 West African countries that focus on scientific research and climate services.

The meeting brought togeth
er Ministers of States or their representatives from 11 African countries within the EOWAS Sub region.

It was on the theme: ‘Journey towards climate resilience to improve livelihoods in West Africa: Building sustainable policies and partnerships’.

Dr Afriyie who is also the Permanent Vice Chairman of the Ministerial Council said, ‘the time has come for us to take action, to build resilience, and to transition towards a more sustainable future’ and added that our continent has been and is still being hit hard by climate change.

The Minister commended WASCAL for its leadership in championing the cause of climate reliance in West Africa. ‘WASCAL has partnered Germany to combat climate change and explore green hydrogen.’

He said ‘I commissioned the 5.8-million-euro waste-to-energy plant facility in Gyankobaa in the Ashanti Region on behalf of the Government of Ghana. The plant, funded with technical support from the government of Germany is a practical testimony to Germany’s commitment to partnering with West
Africa to run a smooth transition from fossil fuel to clean and renewable energy.

‘The project is not only improving sanitation by converting the ever-increasing municipal solid waste into energy for productive uses and contributing to sustainable industrial development but also creating business models for successful replication and propagation in 10 other regions in Ghana,’ he added.

Dr Afriyie said green hydrogen was a clean and renewable energy source with the potential to revolutionize our energy landscape and significantly reduce carbon emissions.

He said the battle against climate change was not one we as Africans can afford to lose.

Professor Kehinde Ogunjobi, Executive Director at WASCAL, said the organisation now had 12 member countries within the ECOWAS sub region and expressed hope that all 15 member states in the sub region would soon join.

He said there are a few climate scientists in the sub-region and WASCAL aims at training more climate scientists to help support the fight against climat
e change.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Prudential Life Insurance has encouraged the public to sign on to international health insurance or travel insurance plan with the need for people to move around due to work, family and fun increasing.

It said as the nation’s healthcare infrastructure continued to evolve despite the many challenges, the people needed to safeguard their health against unforeseen challenges, both at home and abroad with the right insurance company.

It said Prudential was well positioned to be that partner, saying: ‘From access to world-class medical treatments to peace of mind while traveling overseas, Prudential Travel Insurance Plan serves. as a solution to international health insurance.’

It said Prudential had entered the fast-growing African life insurance industry and had operations in markets in Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Nigeria among others.

The Company said it helped people got the most out of life, by making healthcare affordable and accessible and by promoting financial inclusion, the statement said.

It
said the Company could pay up to US$150,000 for one’s medical and hospitalisation expenses away from home.

The health care services also include dental care for treatment of pain, infection and removal of tooth with a maximum spend of up to US$1,000.

As a broader travel insurance plan, the package also includes other benefits, including emergency medical evacuation in the event of an accident or sudden illness away from Ghana.

The details of the medical and emergency assistance as an international health insurance include medical expenses and hospitalisation of the insured abroad (costs of surgery, medical fees, and pharmaceutical products): up to US$150,000.

Others are emergency medical evacuation of the insured (in the event of an accident or sudden illness): up to US$150,000, emergency dental care (for the treatment of pain, infection, and removal of the tooth/teeth affected) up to US$1,000 and repatriation of the mortal remains when the insured passes on: up to US$ 30,000.

The insurance also includes
the repatriation of a family member travelling with the insured should the insured be hospitalised due to sudden illness or accident for more than ten days or deceased: up to US$ 10,000.

It also considers emergency return home following death of a close relative when the insured’s trip/journey is interrupted by the death of a close relative up to US$ 5,000.

Another is the travel of one immediate family member should the insured should be admitted in hospital for more than five days as a result of an accident or illness covered in the policy max US$ 1000/day.

Prudential Travel Insurance Plan, according to the statement had different options for different prospective insurers based on their interest geographical locations.

The locations are all European countries, including the Schengen area, and worldwide coverage, including the country of residence.

It also provides worldwide coverage excluding the country of residence, USA, Australia, Japan and Canada.

The rest are Canada and USA excluding country of r
esidence.

The statement noted that the policy had an Alarm (Emergency) centre where claimants could call to address their concerns or start processing a claim.

Premiums for the insurance policy, it said, were dependent on the duration of travel, one’s preferred level of cover and age.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Kasimu Abudulai, Acting Upper East Regional Director of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has appealed to District Assemblies to assist the Authority with office accommodation.

He commended the Builsa North Municipal Assembly, under the leadership of Madam Vida Akantagriwen Anaab, the Chief Executive Officer for constructing an office for the Authority, and appealed to other Assemblies, specifically the Bongo District Assembly to emulate the gesture.

‘In fact, I would want to appeal to the Bongo District Assembly to allocate an office space for operations of the Authority since the Bongo office is not spacious and deteriorated. It simply does not accommodate our operations,’ he said.

Mr Abudulai said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sideline of a blood donation exercise organized by the Authority at the Zamse Senior High Technical School in the Bolgatanga Municipality as part of activities to mark the Authority’s 20th Anniversary celebrations.

He acknowledged that th
ough the Authority had the mandate to provide office accommodation for staff, which management had not relented on, the offices being used needed more space.

‘So, it is not easy to give all office buildings. We in the Upper East are even more privileged. We have had three new buildings in the Upper East within the past five years.

‘Bawku West, Tempane and Pusiga have all received new buildings from the Authority and will be commissioned by the Chief Executive Officer himself before the end of November,’ he said.

Mr Abudulai said the Authority had challenges with office accommodation in Builsa North Municipality and the Bongo District, ‘Now that of the Builsa North is out, we are now appealing to the Bongo District.’

He noted that even though the office in Navrongo, in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality was specious, it was in a deplorable state, and needed urgent renovation.

‘We do not have much to ensure that all these things are kept in place. We appeal to the Kassena-Nankana Municipal Assembly to help t
o renovate the place. The office is spacious, but at least, if we can get it renovated, it will help in our operations,’ he said.

He said the key role of the Authority is to pay claims, ‘And you know how utilization of health facilities have increased, coupled with how inflation has affected things. Therefore, we pay all our monies to claims to ensure that the hospitals have good cash flow to run.

Asked why the newly constructed Builsa North office for the Authority was not commissioned for use, several months after its construction, Mr Abudulai said there were a few final additions to be made before they moved in.

‘NHIA is fully digital; everything is based on Information Technology so there are few things we need to do. The type of electrical wiring done by the contractor does not meet our minimum requirements, so we need to rewire the building,’ he said.

He said they also needed to network their cables to allow them to configure their Local Area Network (LAN), relocate their satellite dish, which are t
he receivers of signals from its present location to the new building.

‘We must relocate our power plant to the new building, knowing the nature of power outages in Sandema. Then also, we must drop three phases of the national grid to the building,’ he said.

The Acting Director added that the building was on a low-lying area which needed to be filled with gravel to raise it, and water to be connected before they could occupy the building, ‘We have already provided estimates of all these works to Head Office, they have considered it.

‘An Estate Manager will visit there to assess the place, engage some contractors and hopefully, before the end of this November, the work will be given to a Contractor to execute. Hopefully, before the end of the year, we may move in,’ Mr Abudulai said.

Source: Ghana News Agency