Day: June 14, 2024

The Nkwanta South Municipal Fire Service has a sensitised staff of Beyond the Word Ministry on fire safety measures.

The sensitisation was part of their institutional engagement in the Municipality in reducing fire outbreaks in both corporate institutions and industries in the area.

Mr. John Sonutse, Nkwanta South Municipal Fire Service Safety Officer, took the participants through topics, including types of fire outbreaks, causes, preventive measures and the use of fire extinguishers.

He also took them through first aid firefighting equipment for timely intervention during fire outbreaks both at home and the workplace.

Mr. Sonutse urged the participants to take the training seriously and always take fire safety into consideration in their daily activities.

Mr. James Afriyie, Nkwanta South Municipal Fire Public Relations Officer, advised that all electrical cords must be properly checked and worn-out electrical components replaced to avoid any triggers that might cause fire outbreaks.

Mr. Bright Kwadwo
Owusu Nyasemhwe, the Chief Executive Officer of Beyond the Word Ministry, appreciated the effort of the fire service officers on the training and assured them of the Institution’s commitment in ensuring that all safety measures on fire outbreaks w

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, the First Lady, has urged a united front to fight HIV stigma, promote human rights, and ensure fair access to HIV prevention services for all. She emphasized that issues such as discrimination, stigma, lack of access to healthcare, and socioeconomic disparity need to be addressed for Ghana to achieve effective HIV prevention.

‘These barriers do not only worsen the spread of HIV but also perpetuate inequality and injustice, it is imperative that we address these barriers head-on with courage and determination if we are to succeed in our mission,’ she said.

Mrs Akufo-Addo was speaking at the 2024 National HIV Prevention Summit in Accra on Thursday. She said eradicating HIV stigma and discrimination called for a coordinated effort from all facets of society. The summit was on the theme ‘Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges, Uniting for Effective HIV Response’

Mrs Akufo-Addo stressed the need to give communities the knowledge, resources, and support they need to take charge of their hea
lth and well-being and protect themselves and their loved ones from HIV.

She said society must urgently and fully implement HIV prevention measures and make sure that everyone who needs them receives them.

Innovations in HIV prevention for all categories of persons currently include long-acting injectables, the vagina ring treatment and prevention of mother-to-child transmission protocols, which have been enhanced with highly effective antiretroviral medications and point-of-care screening devices.

Dr Kyeremeh Atuahene, Director General of the Ghana AIDs Commission said the fight against HIV and AIDS response was at a crucial stage, with scientific tools and proven strategies to eliminate the disease readily available to combat global economic challenges.

Insufficient financing, noncompliance with preventive measures, and persistent stigma and discrimination, he claimed, were preventing Ghana from providing the basic HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support services that are required to bring the epid
emic under control by 2030.

Dr. Atuahene said HIV is acquired and transmitted daily in every community in Ghana.

‘We have to talk about HIV prevention because new infections are very high since the sexual behaviours that drive HIV transmission and acquisition are increasingly pervasive with rising levels of high-risk sexual activities among both men and women in every region,’ he said.

Dr. Atuahene said Ghana must prioritize the HIV prevention roadmap to establish a comprehensive national approach for preventative interventions and programmatic scalability, which would help the country to meet the 2025 Global AIDS Targets.

He said in efforts to reduce new infections, the GAC intends to provide people-centred prevention models of care to those at high risk of acquiring HIV.

This year’s HIV Prevention Summit is expected to create a platform for stakeholders to develop a national agenda to prevent the disease.

Dr Atuahene said the summit would finalize the milestones developed by the national HIV preventio
n coalition during the 2025 HIV Prevention Road Map Review and Milestone Setting Workshop earlier in the year.

‘Considering this, the summit will explore innovative technologies, and foster collaborations to strengthen HIV prevention strategies in Ghana while solidifying accountability mechanisms for HIV prevention progress,’ he said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Commissioner of Police (COP), Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, has charged graduates of the Junior Staff Course (JSC) 81 to commit to solving problems at their places of work.

The Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), in an address to the officers, urged them to utilise the knowledge gained to solve problems in a world saddled with various threats to peace and security such as terrorism, ethnic and religious disputes and natural or environmental disasters.

She said this at the graduation ceremony of 76 officers of the Junior Staff Course (JSC) 81 at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC), Teshie.

‘…It is important that you constantly strive to arrive at a clearer understanding of what it takes to contain any of these threats, be it natural or man-made. I exhort you, therefore, as professional military officers to be ahead in your awareness and preparations at all times to be on top of challenges that you might encounter in your future endeavours,’ she said.

M
adam Tiwaa added that the knowledge gained would also position them to effectively manage the multi-dimensional challenges they were likely to face as they advanced in their military careers.

She expressed optimism that the findings and recommendations of their projects would be given the needed attention by appropriate authorities to generate the desired policies aimed at addressing security issues.

Brigadier-General Albert Kwadwo Dawohoso, the Assistant Commandant, Junior Division at GAFCSC, said the course went beyond equipping officers with problem-solving skills to developing their ‘leadership, analytical and communications skills whilst providing the foundation for subsequent career development’.

Students of JSC 81 were taken through a 19-week intensive course training which included a two-week internal security and counter-insurgency course, which culminated in a field exercise codenamed ‘Ombudsman’ where participants were schooled on internal security management.

Some 67 out of the total officers
of the course were Ghanaian military officers drawn from the Army, Navy and Airforce.

The rest consist of four Nigerian Army officers, three officers from the Botswana Defence Forces, an officer from the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) and one from the Gambian Armed Forces.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Market Queens in the Greater Accra Region have pledged to support the ‘See Something, Say Something’ Campaign by sharing security-related information with security agencies.

They have also promised to spread awareness on the campaign for the citizenry to be well informed.

The Market Queens made the pledge on Thursday during a sensitisation session with the Ministry of National Security in Accra.

In May 2022, the ‘See Something, Say Something’ campaign was launched to encourage citizens to play active roles in the protection of the peace and stability of the country.

The campaign aims to empower Ghanaians to be more conscious about their own security and enhance their relationship with State security authorities.

Citizens are to dial ‘999’ to report any suspicious or unusual activity happening within their communities.

Callers are not obliged to disclose their identity.

Since its inception, the Ministry of National Security has extensively engaged citizens, school children and various stakeholders, thr
ough awareness creation campaigns.

As part of the campaign, citizens are encouraged to use the acronym ‘S.A.L.U. T. E.’ to gather information and report suspicious activities.

‘S’ in ‘S.A.L.U.T. E,’ means the size of the item or specific features of the item/person involved in a suspicious activity.

‘A’ stands for suspicious or criminal activity being carried out. ‘L’ for the Location of the activity.

‘U’ stands for the uniform being worn by the suspect. ‘T’ for the time or period of the day the incident happened and ‘E’ for equipment being used to carry out the criminal act.

Madam Mercy Naa Aforowa Needjan, President of the Greater Accra Market Traders Association, praised the Ministry of National Security for counting them as important stakeholders in enhancing Ghana’s security.

She urged traders to be ambassadors of security in the marketplaces and expose evildoers in society.

The traders, during the interactive session, asked security personnel to ensure their anonymity to deepen trust between them
and the populace.

‘On many occasions when we report evil doers to the police or security personnel, they end up releasing them and disclosing our identities to these people thereby putting us in danger. If the security agencies want us to share information with them, they should protect our identities so that we can trust them,’ they said. 

Mrs Akosua D. Ntim Sekyere, Coordinator of the ‘See Something, Say Something’ Campaign, said Market Queens were important stakeholders in promoting security because of their influence on traders.

She said they had the potential to rally traders in support of any government agenda, hence the decision to involve them in the campaign.

Mrs Sekyere said the campaign was a national agenda devoid of political colours, ethnic or religious affiliation and urged the citizenry to embrace the campaign.

‘This is a national campaign which seeks to secure our national security. Given what is happening to neighbouring countries and elsewhere within the Sub-region, we want everybody o
n board including the market community.’

‘Due to the nature of your work, you engage with lots of people and see many things. You are well positioned, and we count on you to help us with valuable information to enhance our security,’ she said.

The Coordinator cautioned against prank calls and abuse of the toll-free line.

She advised parents and guardians to pay attention to their wards’ engagements with people especially on social media to protect them from radicalisation.

Radicalisation is when someone starts to believe or support extreme views, and in some cases, then participates in terrorist groups or acts.

It can be motivated by a range of factors, including ideologies, religious beliefs, political beliefs and prejudices against particular groups of people.

Source: Ghana News Agency

An Adentan Circuit Court has granted bail to Faisal Moro, a businessman arrested in connection with a GHC289,600 alleged visa fraud case.

Moro was admitted to bail in the sum of GHC350,000 with three sureties, one to be justified.

The court presided over by Mrs Sedinam Awo Kwadam, ordered the accused to produce seven passports he collected from victims.

When Moro was asked about the whereabouts of the passports, he said they were in Abidjan, where they were being worked on.

The court has adjourned the matter to July 10, 2024, for Case Management Conference (CMC).

It therefore directed the prosecution to file disclosures.

Moro is accused of collecting GHC289,600 to procure German visas for several individuals.

However, the visas were allegedly found to be counterfeit when two of the victims attempted to use them at the Airport for international travel.

The prosecution led by Chief Inspector Anim Darko, earlier told the court that the complainant, Peter Kwabena Addai, is a businessman residing in Adent
a Frafraha, while the accused lived in Dansoman, Accra.

The prosecution said on April 6, 2024, Addai was introduced to Moro by his friend, Appiah Kubi, as an agent who had successfully secured visas for many people, including himself.

The court was told that Addai approached Moro, who agreed to assist and handed him seven passports to initiate the visa process.

The prosecution said on April 9, 2024, Moro returned two passports with visas, informing Addai that ‘these two are ready and scheduled to travel on April 13, 2024.’

Consequently, a sum of GHC289,600 was deposited into Moro’s Cal Bank Account and on April 13, 2024, he (Moro) accompanied the two individuals to the airport to facilitate their travel to Spain and Germany via Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom.

However, during the check-in process, it was discovered that the visas and tickets were fraudulent, resulting in the denial of travel permission for individuals.

The prosecution said Moro acknowledged the offence in his caution statement to
the Police.

Source: Ghana News Agency

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has secured a coalition agreement between his African National Congress (ANC) party and the former opposition party Democratic Alliance (DA) shortly before the vote in parliament on Friday.

John Steenhuisen, a leading DA politician, said in Cape Town that a ‘new chapter’ was beginning in South Africa after two weeks of intensive negotiations.

The declaration to form a government of national unity was signed and stated that the a coalition, which includes other parties, is in the interests of all South Africans.

Following an election defeat, the ruling ANC party failed to secure an absolute majority for the first time in the country’s democratic history.

The ANC, the party of former anti-apartheid fighter Nelson Mandela, suffered a massive loss of power in the parliamentary elections on May 29. It is the first time in 30 years that it must form a coalition government.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A delegation from GCB Bank PLC has donated food items and an undisclosed amount of money to the Office of the Chief Imam in Accra.

The donation is to support the Office of the Chief Imam to celebrate the Eid-ul-Adha celebration, slated for Sunday, June 16, 2024.

The items include 10 gallons of oil, 10 bags of rice, and two rams.

Mr Emmanuel Odartey Lamptey, the Deputy Managing Director, Operations, GCB Bank PLC, acknowledged the significant contribution of the Chief Imam to national development.

The gesture, he stressed, was part of the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to respond to the needs of the Muslim community in which the financial institution operated.

‘We have gained a lot of inspiration from the Chief Imam and our CSR as a form of sacrifice,’ he said.

The Bank, he stated, as part of its CSR, had supported the country’s educational and health sectors to support community development.

The Deputy Director said the Bank had 184 branches across the country, supporting the government i
n achieving financial well-being.

He said the business of banking was going through technological advances and stressed that the Bank had embarked on a digital banking leadership to provide superior services to its customers.

Mr Lamptey said the Bank had launched its mobile banking application and introduced some market-leading features to be competitive in the financial space.

He prayed for a long life for the Chief Imam and wished them a successful Eid-Ul-Adha celebration.

Sheikh Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu, the National Chief Imam, thanked the bank for the donation and prayed for its success.

The Chief Imam offered prayers for Allah’s blessings upon the bank and lauded the bank’s commitment to supporting the needy.

Source: Ghana News Agency