NPP Sympathizer assaults Splash Fm Morning Show Host

Posted on January 26, 2021January 27, 2021 by Kofi Tutu

An Npp sympathizer Frank Mintah has assulted Splash 92.9 FM Assin Fosu morning show host, Bretuo Nana Kwabena Apomuden for interviewing Mr. Eric Aubyn, the Public Relations Officer of St. Andrews Group Of Companies.

The host interviewed the PRO base on press release from management of st. Andrews group of companies that, Frank Mintah is tarnishing the image of the company that they have sacked all Npp sympathizers from the company.

But according to the Public Pelations Officer, they didn’t sack them base on political affiliation but base on the covid-19 pandemic impact.

Contact Bretuo Nana Kwabena Apomuden for details
0247115354

STORY BY: OHENEBA AMBROSE OF Splash 92.9 FM Assin Fosu C/R 0243958545

General News

Government should band nail cutters(Abokyi Boys) because they can also contribute to COVID-19 spreading- Doctor Appeals

Posted on January 26, 2021 by Kofi Tutu

The Senior Doctor of One family Clinic at Assin Foso in the Assin Foso Municipality in the Central Region, Dr Koduah Shaibu has appealed to the government of Ghana and Ghana Health Service to place a band on these Niger boys who cut nails with scissors and other tools from door to door.

Dr Koduah explained how seriously these workers transfer many diseases from one person to the other through their tools.
“Their working tools are not well treated after being used from one person to the other. He added.”

He therefore appealed to the government to band these mobile nail cutters and also urge the government to strictly enforce babbers, hairdressers and other beauticians to observe the safety protocols of the global pandemic.

For details contact Dr Sheibu Koduah on 0248331331

Story By: Oheneba Ambrose of Splash FM Assin Foso C/R. 0243958535

General News

It’s illegal to give your children to someone to care for them – Gender Ministry

Posted on January 26, 2021 by Kofi Tutu

The Gender Ministry says it is wrong for mothers to give their children to others to take care of them.

According to the ministry, giving once child for upkeep by another family is illegal per Ghana’s laws.

It is common practice in Ghana for poor families to offer their children to others to take care of them while the children in turn provide domestic assistance to the caretaker family. There is often no documentation covering the arrangement. Despite common knowledge that most children offered under such arrangement suffer abuses, the practice has largely remained in place in many parts of the country.

Speaking to Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Tuesday, Deputy Director and Head, Central Adoption Authority of the ministry Stephen Dombo said it is also wrong for people to nurse pregnant women just so they could adopt the babies.

“It’s illegal to take your child and hand him/her to another person to take care of him/her. You bring the child to the social welfare.

“There are people who’ll encourage some young women to carry their babies and adopt after they deliver and that’s illegal. I feel that people need to be educated. If they’re educated, they’ll not do the things they’re doing. Example, if you pick an abandoned child, you don’t keep the child, you report to the police,” he said.

The development comes on the back of the baby harvesting syndicate which was busted last week.

Investigations by the Medical and Dental Council and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) led to the arrest of some doctors, nurses and social workers in the illegal act of baby harvesting’ and ‘human trafficking’.

A joint statement revealed that the investigations were carried into the illegal activities between the periods of June to November, 2020.

As a result of these investigations, two medical doctors, two social workers, four nurses, two mothers and one traditional birth attendant have been arrested so far and are on bail pending further investigations.

According to the statement, Dr. Hope Mensah Quashie was arrested On Thursday, December 31, 2020. Dr. Mensah Quashie who works with the 37 Military Hospital was arrested at his private health facility named Susan Clinic located at Lartebiokorshie, a suburb of Accra. He allegedly sold the first baby boy to the team for an amount of Thirty Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHC30,000.00) in October, 2020.

He was arrested with three nurses who worked at his facility namely Sylvia Awuseh, John Adorey Effie and Angela Ametepe. They have been identified as his accomplices together with one Dede Gifty Anikpi, a traditional birth attendant at Bethlehem Maternity Home at Santoe a suburb of Kpone Katamanso, who referred the mother of the first baby to Susan Clinic.

Source: Starrfm.com.gh

General News, Politics

LIVESTREAMING: 2020 Election Petition hearing

Posted on January 26, 2021January 26, 2021 by Kofi Tutu

The Supreme Court will today, January 26, 2021, hear the John Mahama election petition.

Lawyers of former president John Mahama have filed a motion seeking leave to file “an additional ground of review” to the review application on the interrogatories.

Mr Mahama and his lawyers per the motion for leave are also seeking leave to “replace paragraph 28 of their original statement of the case.

Already, lawyers for John Dramani Mahama have filed a new motion at the Supreme Court asking the Electoral Commission (EC) to furnish them with all 275 original copies of constituency collation forms for the presidential election.

This move follows the dismissal of John Mahama’s legal team’s earlier motion seeking to ask the EC some 12 questions.

Mahama’s motion also has five other requests from the EC, which include the original Constituency Presidential Election Results Summary Sheets and the Regional Presidential Election Results Collation Forms.

The Electoral Commission (EC) declared President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) the winner of the 2020 polls, however, Mr. Mahama disagrees with the figures put out by the Chair of the Commission.

John Mahama, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Presidential Candidate is, therefore, seeking a rerun of the election because he believes no candidate won the polls.

The court is expected to hear the case and give a ruling within a period of 42 days.

Source:Ghanaweb.com

General News

Central Regional Police Command set to release free nose masks to cape coasters

Posted on January 26, 2021 by Kofi Tutu

Central Regional Police Command is set to give free nose masks to Cape Coasters to prevent and contain the virus in the Metropolis.

The command started to arrest people without nose masks in the Cape Coast Metropolis and got arrested 450 residents without nose masks.

Due to this,the Central Regional Police Command is set to release nose masks to work prone areas in the Metropolis.

In an interview with Anaafi Kokooto,the deputy Central Regional Police P.R.O,Sgt. Evans Ettie revealed that,the masks will be shared in Abura market,Cape Coast town,Ntsin and at beaches to help them achieve their 100% coronavirus free goal in the region.

Filed by Anaafi Kokooto Kingdom fm Cape Coast

General News

COVID-19: Ban all social gatherings now – OccupyGhana to gov’t

Posted on January 26, 2021January 26, 2021 by Kofi Tutu

Pressure group OccupyGhana has called on the government to immediately ban all social gatherings in the country due to the increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases.

According to the group, the ban is important to slow the spread of covid-19 across the country.

“The factor(s) driving these unfortunate changes are not letting up, and unless something drastic is done, the situation will get worse. These factors leading to the uptrend are visible to most Ghanaians.

“After almost a year of dealing with this disease, we have all learned the role social gatherings play in spreading. We therefore ask the government to immediately ban all social gatherings till a marked drop in new cases is seen.”

Ghana has now recorded over 3500 active cases with the death toll currently at 361. The country is currently recording almost 600 cases on a daily basis.

Find below the full statement

25th JANUARY 2021

OCCUPYGHANA® PRESS STATEMENT

UPTICK IN NEW COVID-19 CASES AND DEATH – GHANA NEEDS TO ACT AND ACT FAST

The Medical Team of OccupyGhana® has been studying graphs plotting new cases of COVID-19 against time, and sees a relative period of quiescence from late August through much of October 2020.

In the first week of November, though, there was a noticeable spike in new cases that let up about two weeks later. A similar phenomenon was evident as we entered December. Though new cases were more than what was seen in September and October, the growth rate stayed stable.

However, January 2021 has seen a significant uptick in new cases and death. These changes are not letting up three weeks into the month. The uptrends in new cases and deaths are noticeable and more significant this time than back in November and December 2020.

OccupyGhana® therefore states as follows:

1. The factor(s) driving these unfortunate changes are not letting up, and unless something drastic is done, the situation will get worse. These factors leading to the uptrend are visible to most Ghanaians. After almost a year of dealing with this disease, we have all learned the role social gatherings play in spreading. We therefore ask the government to immediately ban all social gatherings till a marked drop in new cases is seen. This will include funerals, parties, church services, night clubs etc. In short, any gathering of more than ten people should be banned again.

2. Unfortunately, a ban might affect the recent and pending re-opening of schools. It will therefore be imperative to explore expanding online classes, whether class sizes of those who cannot take online classes could be reduced to a maximum of ten, and shift systems introduced. For parents who must go to work, it is time for employers to begin conversations on ‘flexitime,’ which breaks the day into three 8-hour cycles where parents could stay at home to supervise online classes and then report to work later in the day. We must do whatever it takes to rein in this trend of infections, and it requires us to be creative in how we think and how we do things.

3. It is our view that the experience from last year showed that a general lockdown is not sustainable. A better alternative, we think, would be to identify and target the hotspots and at-risk groups and explore ways to modify their behaviour. It is unfortunately evident that the social behaviour of those in the middle class is driving this new uptick in cases and deaths. All efforts should be made to influence this behaviour and reverse this trend.

4. Enforcing the mask mandate is also very important. Masks have been shown to break the spread. We must enforce the terms of the Imposition of Restrictions Act, 2020 (Act 1012). However, we think that the punishments in the Act have hardly been applied. This is because although the prescribed fine of between GHS12,000 and GHS60,000 and/or imprisonment between 4 and 10 years might have been well-intentioned to be draconian and convey the seriousness of the situation, they have proven to be unrealistic. Parliament has to consider an amendment of the Act in this light, to aid its enforcement and to provide for realistic fines and other deterrents such as community service for those who breach the law.

5. In the general public, there are still many misconceptions about the disease. Re-educating the public about the disease, the myriad ways it can present and its short and long-term effects should be an exercise our media houses can help with. We are inviting electronic media houses to commit to air approved educational advertisements on the pandemic for a minimum cumulative period of one hour in every 24-hour cycle, over the next month. Print media houses may also commit to print one full-page advert three times a week.

6. Another factor leading to the uptrend is the new variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. Consideration should be given to reducing travel to and from countries where these variants are dominant.

7. We also ask the government to make more hospital beds available as all indications point to a dire need for beds for the ever-increasing number of new cases that need in-patient care.

8. Ultimately, the best way out of the chokehold of this pandemic is a vaccine. Therefore, we implore the government to spare no effort in getting doses of a COVID-19 vaccine for the country.

9. To all Ghanaians, even if you are one of those who will only get a mild case of COVID-19, the toll those who suffer the severe version exact on the health facilities ultimately lead to a situation where help for non-COVID conditions become very difficult or even impossible to obtain. The indirect effects of the disease and a rampant spread are many. Therefore, it behoves us all to work to stop the uptrend in cases.

In conclusion, it is essential for all to recognise the direness of the situation and act accordingly.

Source: Starrfm.com.gh

General News

Newspapers headlines 26 January 2021. Tuesday.

Posted on January 26, 2021 by Kofi Tutu

Source:Gnews.com

General News

Baby who was stolen by Nurse at birth found in India

Posted on January 26, 2021 by Kofi Tutu

A lady who only identified herself as Adoley has narrated how her child was stolen from her at birth and trafficked to India.

Speaking on Angel FM’s Anopa Bofo, Adoley said she gave birth to a baby boy when she was in secondary school form 4.

“My child was shown to me but I was later informed that he is dead,” she narrated.

According to Adoley, she added that just after the baby was shown to her, she was given an injection that put her to sleep and so she could not realise anything that happened afterwards.

All of these happenings notwithstanding, a Man of God told her that she will find something precious which she has misplaced.

Three days later, someone called her from New Delhi in India, obtaining her contact from a nurse, and informed her that the said nurse said, it was her baby that was given to her.

She then inquired from the guardian who at this time was seventy eight years about the whereabouts of her child, to which the woman said the boy is at the university. She later had conversations with her boy and also got his child’s pictures which were sent to her by her child’s guardian mother.

Adoley is still in touch with her child who now lives in the United States of America with her Auntie because her boy’s guardian mother has passed on.

Adoley’s phoned in to narrate her story following reports that the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) had led an operation to rescue a baby who was nearly trafficked by a doctor, nurses and some social welfare workers.

Below are some of the narrations from other callers:

One of the women, who only identified herself as Mabel, recounted her ordeal she went through when she gave birth at the Mamprobi polyclinic some 22 years ago.

“My son will be 22 years should he be alive today”, she said, and added that after her delivery, she was waiting for her child to be brought in the nurses but that never happened.

While she waited for the nurses to dress the child and return the child, a nurse informed her mother that the child was born deformed and that if the child is given to her, she would incur so much cost but to no avail. So, they will inject the baby to kill the child so that she the woman will pay for her burial.

According to her, she wanted to see her child but she was prevented by the nurses. They explained to her that if she cast her eyes on her child, his deformity will cause her to be barren and she will cry all the time, and that was the end of it. She paid for the burial of her child and that was the last time she saw her boy child.

MAVIS

Mavis gave birth in March 1999 at the Komfo Anokye Hospital ward A5. She was later informed that the baby is weak and was transferred to ward A1.

She proceeded to A1 to have a look at the child and left. Upon her return, she was informed that her baby is dead. “That cannot be”, she said.

She went close to the lined up baby’s cot and saw her child but she was told that is not true. She remained vigilant and glanced through the cots and realised that her name is in one of the cots with the cot sheet. She then insisted that her baby is alive and not dead.

The nurses orchestrated the plot to offer the baby to a certain woman who keeps having still birth. Had she been negligent a bit, she would have lost her baby.

The interesting and ironic thing about this particular story is that the said baby who was nearly given to another woman is now a grown woman and also a nurse at the same health facility that attempted to rob her of her biological mother.

AN ELDER OF A CHURCH

An Elder of Church of Pentecost whose wife gave birth to a baby boy at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital some 6 years ago lost his child when he was told few

His wife went through operation to deliver the baby but the child was a preterm baby and thus, was contained in an incubator.

He said, while the baby was in the incubator, he went home but when he returned to the hospital he was told that his child is dead. He followed up with the case but a certain small fridge was opened to him to show him the lifeless body of a child purported to be his dead child.

He added that his boy would have been 6 years should he be alive.

SOURCE:Angelonline.com.gh

General News, Health

Three students infected with COVID-19 since school re-opening

Posted on January 25, 2021 by Kofi Tutu

Three students in senior high schools in Upper West and Western regions respectively, have contracted Coronavirus disease since schools re-opened a week ago.

Dr Patrick Kumah-Aboagye, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, announced this in Accra on Monday, during COVID-19 media briefing.

He said the affected students were being managed in their respective schools.

He said before schools were opened on January 15, this year, the GHS made arrangements for schools to be mapped to health facilities near them.

That, he said, was intended to ensure quick response to COVID-19 infections or outbreaks in any school.

Meanwhile, more than 32 persons have died from COVID-19 related diseases between January 1 and 24, this year.

The GHS Boss said the third phase of COVID-19 surge in the country was very severe and deadly than the surges in July and September last year.

Currently, he said, 372 persons have succumbed to the infectious disease since the nation recorded its first case in March 2020.

He said the active cases had increased from 800 to 3,613 as of January 22, 2021, with 62,135 cumulative cases, noting that the middle and upper classes of the population were most affected.

Dr Kumah-Aboagye said due to the severity of the new wave of infections, the GHS will soon begin Antigen testing in suspected outbreaks in schools and workplaces.

Additionally, Antigen test would be used in hospitals when health workers there had been exposed to the virus, and also use it in selected health facilities.

At the moment, Antigen Test is used at the country’s airport and produce Covid-19 test results within 30 minutes.

Dr Kumah-Aboagye said public health facilities would now offer 24-hour service and intensify Contact Tracing using public transport system like Bolt.

He advised the management of companies and organizations in the country to decongest staff at their workplaces and use virtual services instead.

Dr Kumah-Aboagye urged the public to comply with the preventive and safety protocols as well as the wearing of nose masks.

Source: GNA

General News, Health

Why government is yet to impose another COVID-19 lockdown

Posted on January 25, 2021 by Kofi Tutu

The Information Minister designate, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has explained that government’s decision to impose another COVID-19 lockdown will not be based solely on the increasing number of cases.

Responding to questions at a press briefing on government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana on Monday [January 25, 2021], Mr Oppong Nkrumah said although there have been calls for another lockdown as was done in 2020, the decision taken at the time was a “precautionary one” that gave government the opportunity to study the dynamics of the Coronavirus and plan on how to respond to it.

According to him, “it had nothing to do with the number of cases at the time.”

“Because if it was about the number of cases then of course there will be a strong argument to make that when the cases go up then we have to lock down some more.

General News, History

Rawlings’ speech while on trial after his failed coup on 15th May, 1979

Posted on January 25, 2021 by Kofi Tutu

“Now you listen to me well and good because I am not here to make a speech and I am not here to waste my time talking. First and foremost, let me inform you that I am not here to impose myself on 10 million citizens of this country. But I am telling you that, I am here today in the history of this country to address myself to military senior officers, all those politicians, all those businessmen and foreign criminals who have used our blood, sweat and tears- the tools of our labouring- to enrich themselves, to drown in wine and women, while you and I, while the majority of us, are daily struggling for survival, yes!

I know what it feels like going to bed with a headache for want of food in the stomach. I am not an expert in Economics and I am not an expert in Law but I am an expert in working on an empty stomach while wondering when and where the nest meal will come from.

Let me tell you, the struggling and suffering masses, just one little warning. Should anyone or group of you dare collaborate or help exploiting pigs to run away, this country will once more bleed than we anticipated.

I am going to prove to you today that it is no longer a question of the military against the civilians, it is no longer a question of the Akan against the Ewe, the Ga against the Northerner. But a question of those who have against those who have not, a question of a vast majority of hungry people against a very tiny minority of greedy, inhumane, selfish senior officers, politicians, businessmen and their bank managers and a bunch of cowardly Lebanese who will not stay in their country to fight for a cause. But who is a fool? You and I.

You and I are the bigger fool for allowing such a blatant abuse of human dignity for so long. 22 years after independence, you and I are still hitting our heads on the ground and leaving it all to God to save us one day. Where on this earth had God come to the salvation of a people without the suffering, starving, hungry people taking the law into their own hands!

America has seen her brand of revolution, France has seen her brand of revolution, Britain has seen her brand of revolution , Russia, China, Iran, all of them. Only the black man in the black African continent goes on leading his fellow black men like a herd of cattle while suppressing them like slaves. Let me tell you today that God will not help you, and the big men will not help you because his stomach is full, his children’s stomachs are full and there is enough for them to go and come as they like. Only you can help yourself.”