Tag: government

Posted in General News

People of Twifo Mirekukrom Call for government support.

Posted on by Kofi Tutu

Twifo Mirekukrom is a cocoa farming community in the Twifo Atti-Morkwa district of central region.

Residents of the community has called on government and NGOs to come to their aid because women in the community lost their lives and babies when they goes on labor because of bad roads.

In an interview with the residents, they called the government to come to their aid with the help of Chips Compound, Portable Drinking Water, School Desks for their school children and also fix their bad roads for them.

According to the residents, they drink same water with Animals like pigs, dogs and others.

Some of the women complain that, due to the bad road network, they find it difficult to attend to maternal care when they get pregnant. they continue that they sometime have to bord a Motor byke or Aboboyaa before they can get to the hospital during the time of labor.

They said government has started constructing a six unit classroom block project for them but the construction has stopped since last year so they called on government to let the contractor to come and complete the project for them.

Chief of the Community, Nana Mireku Ababio added his voice to made an appeal to the government and NGOs to come into their help.

Nana said, their school building in the community was built by community in the olden days and the Late EX President Jerry John Rawlings added a pavilion structure but the buildings are old so it has now become a dead trap to the children.

So he is Appealing to the general public to come into their aid.

Story by Evans Donkor, Royal TV, Central Region.

Posted in General News

Press statement requesting government to declare Australian high commissioner & Danish Ambassador persona non Grata- Journalist against LGBTO+GHANA

Posted on by Kofi Tutu


We wish to request government to declare two diplomats as persona non grata as a result of their involvement in funding the community space of the Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) group.

The two diplomats, the Australian High Commissioner, His Excellency, Andrew Barnes and the Danish Ambassador, His Excellency, Tom Norring have been accused for funding the community space as a result of the LGBTQ group hosting them as fundraisers on January 31, 2021.

As a result of their actions, we (Journalists’ Against the LGBTQ group + Ghana) is drawing the attention of government to declare that the presence of the diplomats in the country was unfit and therefore their actions did not consider the highly kept morals and preserved culture and traditions of our dear country.

We also want to clear the air that a story circulating that President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo has directed the closure of the LGBTQ office is totally false and mere charade.

Our checks with the security agencies reveal that they do not know the location of the LGBTQ office but we know the office is located within the precincts of the Australian Ambassador’s official residence.

We are calling on all Ghanaians to join us demonstrate to government how livid we are seeing the group go about their duties in the country.

We will start the demonstration at Obra Spot, Kwame Nkrumah Circle Interchange on Wednesday,24th February, 2021 from 6am to 12noon marching through various places in the national capital until we get to the seat of government, Jubilee House to present our petition.

Signed

Isaac BOAMAH-DARKO
Convenor
Journalists’ Against the LGBTQ +Ghana
0244916571

Posted in General News

Covid-19:Teachers deserve reward for commitment, not only nurses — Akatsi South GNAT to government

Posted on by Kofi Tutu

Mr Prosper Agbeli, Chairman of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Akatsi South has stated that, teachers in the country must be applauded and rewarded for showing commitment to work in the midst of the Coronavirus disease.

According to him, the government has placed priority only on the health sector whilst teachers are left behind.

He added that school children in Akatsi area are finding it very difficult to adhere to the laid down covid-19 protocols especially during break time and after school hours.

He said, maintaining social distancing among children is one of the challenges they are facing in the classrooms since desks are not enough for the pupil.

Mr Agbeli explained that teachers risk their lives playing key roles in ensuring that children go according to the standard protocols to mitigate the spread of the virus.

He appeals for veronica buckets to ensure easy hand washing since school kids often play about anyhow.

Mr Agbeli said wearing the face mask by students during school hours has bee given attention but the situation does not continue after school hours which he said, “is a worrying situation” for teachers as well.

He maintained that government must acknowledge their efforts in these hard times of the covid-19 pandemic and award all teachers for the sacrifices.

Source:ModernGhana

Posted in General News

COVID-19: Close schools now – GMA to gov’t

Posted on by Kofi Tutu

The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) says schools in the country must be shut down in order to control the rising spread of Coronavirus in the country.

The call comes in the wake of increasing fatalities among COVID patients in the country.

The death rate of the virus has reached 457 following the confirmation of eight more fatalities.

Additionally, the country has recorded 722 new infections, raising its active cases to 6,352 from a previous 6,095 since the last update on Saturday, February 6, 2021.

The new infections are from tests conducted as of February 03, 2021.

Speaking to Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Monday, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the GMA Dr. Paa Kwasi Baidoo said the rate of infections will get out of hands if immediate measures are not adopted.

“With the evidence available now, I will not hesitate to say that let’s close or suspend schools. We can test the children, send those who test negative home and keep those who test positive, and manage them. Ghana will not be the only country where they’ve opened schools and closed them because of #COVID19. So there should be a national discussion on what threshold we hit before we close down schools”.

He also noted drinking spots and bars in the country have become superspreaders of the virus.

“One difficulty we have is the drinking spots, bars, and puns. These are superspreader activities but they tell you it’s an open space. But we’ve recorded cases where people went out drinking with friends”.

Source: Starrfm.com.gh/103.5fm

Posted in General News

NADMO must lead enforcement of Covid-19 directives:Disnet-Gh charges gov’t

Posted on by Kofi Tutu

The Disasters Network of Ghana, DisNet GH, the leading NGO on disaster management in Ghana, has charged Government to allow NADMO, which is appropriately clothed by Act 517 of 1996, to address the enforcement of COVID-19 protocols.

It is not the duty of the police to enforce COVID-19 protocols or to handle its violations; it is the responsibility of NADMO and the earlier Government places resources at their disposal to move, the better for us all.

The disease epidemics department of NADMO is responsible for the multi-sectoral coordination of the preparedness, planning, prevention, mitigation, management, enforcement, designing and implementation as well as monitoring of programs to develop and build national capacity on preventive health and pandemic interventions, among others.

DisNet GH is worried Government has not activated the National, Regional, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Disaster Management Committees to manage the enforcement of the COVID-19 protocols. Various Disaster Volunteers and Disaster Clubs in Schools can effectively be mobilized by NADMO to play key roles towards ensuring that the President’s directives on COVID -19 are strictly adhered to in the national interest.

Though the Government has not been candid with the approach to fighting the virus as evidenced in their decisions to discontinue mass testing, contact tracing, refusal to commence work on the promised construction of hospitals, refusal to fund herbal cure, wastage of resources on COVID virtual concert, non functional COVID tracker app, among others, it is our duty as Citizens to put our hands to the wheel to abide by the protocols, help others to adopt the necessary attitudinal change and assist in contact tracing, among others.

Most importantly, for the various directives announced by the President and other key state agencies to work, enforcement must start immediately but with a human face and must be handled by the appropriate Government agencies- in this case, enforcement lies solely in the hands of NADMO and the various Disaster Management Committees at all levels nationwide.

The Corona virus pandemic is our collective enemy. Like any other pandemic form of disasters, it kills without regard to nationality, race, gender, colour, ethnicity, party affiliation, religious belief, wealth status, and educational qualification.

DisNet GH appeals to all Ghanaians to come together, burry their differences and unite in cooperation with the relevant agencies and other frontline actors to defeat the virus.

Signed

E. D. Mensah,
Humanitarian Ambassador

Posted in General News

Rise in Covid-19 cases due to elections; accept responsibility – Prophet to Government.

Posted on by Kofi Tutu

Head Pastor of Alabaster International Ministries, Prophet Dr. Kofi Oduro, has blamed politicians for the jump in the coronavirus cases in Ghana.

He attributed the rise in the cases to the campaign activities during last year’s elections after some of the people who attended campaign events violated the protocols outlined to deal with the virus.

He also lashed out at the lawmakers who engaged in disturbances in parliament during the election of a Speaker for the 8th Parliament on January 7. He noted that they failed to observe the protocols in the chamber that day.

The government has expressed deep concerns following the spike in the active cases of the virus lately.

The country has 390 deaths, as of January 25, 2021, according to the Ghana Health Service (GHS).

The active cases stand at 3,940.

The country’s cumulative cases stood at 63,883 after more than 757,000 tests.

Ghanaians have been urged to observe all the protocols outlined to deal with the virus.

In one of his sermons recently, Prophet Dr. Kofi Oduro blamed the political leaders for the development and asked the government to take blame.

He said “Never tell me that these spikes just jumped up. I am telling you that this is as a result of your political dancing and vuvuzela blowing. Don’t be a hypocrite.

“They must take responsibility, look at the way everybody is in nose mask, everybody washes the hands, sanitizes their hands. If you want us to bring those videos back, we will. Take responsibility.”

He added “Suddenly, coronavirus had jumped. It was already, all the time, spreading. During the campaign, during the inauguration, coronavirus was still spreading.

“I am telling the government to be an example. Don’t tell me that when you were campaigning there was no coronavirus. When the people were fighting in parliament where social distancing was? When people were chewing paper and sitting on other people where did they know there was coronavirus.

“In September, in October in November in December it was spreading. During campaign during inauguration corona was still spreading. I am telling the government to lead by example. Don’t tell me that when you are campaigning there was no coronavirus, when the people were fighting there was no corona.”

By 3news.com|Ghana

Posted in General News

Coalition of CSOs working in government call on speaker Bagbin

Posted on by Kofi Tutu

A six member delegation from the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations working in the area of governance, has called on the Speaker of Parliament to explore ways by which Parliament and Civil Society can collaborate effectively to push the democratic development agenda of the country forward. The delegation was led by the Executive Director of Star Ghana Foundation, Ibrahim Tanko, who, on congratulating the Speaker on his election, recollected the many projects undertaken by Civil Society Organizations and Parliament in the past and expressed the hope of more collaborative efforts in the future.

Speaking on behalf of the group, the Executive Director of the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Rashid Draman outlined seven key issues that Civil Society expects Parliament to work on expeditiously. These include strengthening of the Parliamentary Training Institute, strengthening of the Legislative Drafting Unit of Parliament revision of the Standing Orders consensus building in Parliament, and negotiations and mediation in Parliament.

Speaker Bagbin emphasised that one of the key things he seeks to do during his tenure as Speaker is to create and maintain a bi-partisan Parliament which will work to maintain a balance of power among the various arms of government. The Speaker also emphasised the need for Members to work closely together, building consensus and putting the country first in all their deliberations and actions.

Members of the group that called on the Speaker are Ibrahim Tanko Executive Director Star Ghana Foundation, Dr. Kwesi Jonah,a fellow IDEG, Regina Amanfo from CDD, Beauty Emefa Narteh, Executive Director Ghana Anti-Corruption Coaltion, and Faruza Salisu a Programme Officer from Star Ghana Foundation.

Posted in General News

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

Posted on 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

Posted in General News, Health

Why government is yet to impose another COVID-19 lockdown

Posted on 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.

Posted in Politics

NDC won’t use Bagbin to frustrate Akufo-Addo’s government – Sam George

Posted on by Kofi Tutu

The Member of Parliament for the Ningo Prampram constituency, Sam Nartey George has assured Ghanaians that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will not take advantage of the election of its member, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin as Speaker of Parliament to frustrate President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his second term of office.

Mr. Nartey George in an interview on Eyewitness News said “if we wanted to hold the President to ransom, the Speaker would not have been allowed to appear for the President’s swearing-in ceremony. We would have just asked the First Deputy Speaker, Joe Osei Owusu to replace him. We are not that kind of party.”

“We have proven to be consensus builders, after ceding the first Deputy Speaker position to the NPP, what did we do? We nominated the independent candidate as the Second Deputy. We have shown our interest in safeguarding the democracy of the country,” the Ningo Prampram legislator noted.