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Qatar charity, UGMC treat 30 children with congenital heart disease

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admin
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Health Qatar Treatment

Following the launch of the Congenital Heart Disease treatment programme by Qatar Charity at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), a team of medical Professionals have come together to treat 30 patients, mostly children.

The process commenced on Monday 7th August and ended on Friday 11th August, 2023.

The operation, which was the first ever to be hosted in Ghana by the Centre, was considered to be highly successful at the end of the one week period, as all 30 patients that were selected were treated and discharged from the centre.

Parents showed a lot of joy in their faces and thanked both partners for the treatment for the children.

The operational plan was the catheterization method that was applied allowing minimal invasion as against the traditional open heart surgery that takes much time to finish an operation and more time to recover.

According to the nine Medical Doctors, one local and eight foreign delegations, the process entailed an invasive paediatric cardiac catheterization, making a small incision on the skin and passing a catheter through a vessel in the arm or thigh to fix the congenital heart defects.

“It is a low-risk procedure with post-op recovery of less than 48 hours. The technology reduces both time and cost and make patient recover in two day maximum period making it possible for all the 30 patients to be treated and discharged within the scheduled time frame”.

Reacting to the success at the closing ceremony, the Country Director of Qatar Charity, Mr. Hasan Owda, gave thanks and praises to God for the successful ending of the Programme as planned, and reiterated his commitment and that of the International Director of Programmes at the Qatar Charity headquarters in Qatar, to continue the Ghana-Qatar collaboration to save more lives in Ghana and to undertake other programmes in other areas like livelihood empowerment.

Professor of Paediatric Cardiology in Ghana, Professor Nana-Akyaa Yao, who took centre stage of operations and planning during the programme almost broke into tears as she was just about to give her closing remarks.

According to her, the success wouldn’t have been possible without a staunch commitment to saving the lives of children who needed to be saved.

She commended the Nurses, Anaesthetises, Cardiologist and Qatar Charity who worked together as one-body, to make the dream that was started last year, November, come to fruition.

Considering the challenges that took place, the Professor of Texas University, Professor Mohammed Tawfiq Numan, who majored as an Interventional Paediatric Cardiologist revealed that the almost 40 million population of Ghana needed more Paediatric Cardiologists for their health needs and, therefore, urged the government to help train more Ghanaian students and doctors abroad.

According to professor Numan, the collaboration between all nurses, doctors and players home and abroad was tested when the team needed a “cover stint”, a device that was needed to treat a 10-year old boy with narrow Aorta, but was not available in Africa.

He said the Medical team had to reach out to Lebanon for the device and from Lebanon the device went to Qatar to be sent to Ghana.

“But unfortunately, there was nobody at that time to send it. So it was sent back to Lebanon, through Beirut to Ghana, for the boy to be treated. The boy went through the treatment successfully and was discharged”.

The Director of Medical Affairs at UGMC Dr  Kwame Anim Boamah, in his closing remarks expressed appreciation for the wonderful collaboration between Qatar Charity and UGMC and was happy for the successful outcome of the collaboration and indicated the commitment of UGMC to the long term goals of the relations.

The team of nine medical specialists who led the successful implementation of the programme at the end of the closing event were honoured with trophies and certificates of participation.

GNA

 

Ankaful Psychiatric hospital female ward overcrowded -Patients

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admin
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Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital

Some Nurses at the Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital in the Central Region have expressed concern about overcrowding at the female ward, regardless of the vulnerability, age or severity of the condition of the patients.

According to them, the management of the hospital is embarking on a renovation exercise, which made them proceed with plans to put all the female patients into one ward, despite advice from the nurses.

The move, which contravenes sections 64 and 65 of the Mental Health Act, 2012 has created a situation of ‘survival of the fittest’ at the ward, with the geriatric patients at risk. Geriatric patient has a certain profile of problems (like dementia, delirium, falls, etc) that the doctor is trained to focus upon.

“Quite frankly, the environment created in the female ward is not therapeutic and does not encourage the recovery of patients,” a mental health nurse, who pleaded anonymity, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA).

She added: “The 500-capacity-bed mental hospital was originally built to have three wards, each for male and female, with younger patients and geriatric patients in separate ward.”

The facility now has about 300 beds but the management have allegedly converted two of the female wards into special male ward, as a revenue-generating measure, which is at the peril of the inmates.

When the GNA visited the hospital on Monday, July 31, 2023 it observed that the female patients had only one ward, whilst the male patients have five wards.

On Thursday, March 30, this year, some 25 staff members of the Foster Ward, which accommodates female patients, petitioned the hospital management for a separate ward to admit patients “who are in an acute disturbing phase of a serious mental disorder.”

They also requested for a separate chronic female ward to meet the specific needs of adults 45 years and above, suffering from serious psychiatric issues, stating that “the environment of care, particularly at the Foster Ward, is poorly suited for elderly patients.”

After several months of sustained protest by staff, the nurses said the management had eventually responded with an ongoing renovation of a portion of the male geriatric ward, Volta Ward, to accommodate the elderly female patients.

This means that when the renovation is complete, the aged female patients will share the same ward with the older men, which the nurses believed could have terrible consequences.

If that is done, it will be in direct breach of Section 64 of the Mental Health Act which provides that: ‘female patients in a mental health facility shall have separate sleeping accommodation from male patients’.

“That is not done anywhere; not even in the general hospitals where people are sound, and this is a psychiatric hospital we are talking about. Some of the men are violent and it could lead to rape,” one of the nurses said.

“If somebody rapes or attacks somebody’s mother, will the nurses be held responsible?” they questioned.

The nurses explained that three wards; Nightingale, Aggrey and Simew were originally for the female patients, whilst Foster, Sangmuah and Volta belonged to the men.

But the management in 2018 swapped the inmates of Nightingale and Foster wards and later moved the inmates from Aggrey to join those in Foster, and then converted Aggrey into a VIP male ward.

In November 2022, the management under the immediate past Director, Dr Kwadwo Obeng, proceeded to further convert the Simew Ward into a male Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and moved the elderly women to join the other patients at Foster.

There were four patients at the 24-bed capacity Simew Ward at the time of the GNA’s visit.

“Because patients brought here are violent and destructive, it is not safe for them and the nurses here, because they can run away and using the barbed wire is very dangerous,” one of the nurses at the ward lamented.

“In fact, the place is completely underutilised and not serving its purpose because it was meant to accommodate 24 patients. But there are only four people here,” he added.

At the Nightingale ward, where new male patients under observation are detained and treated, there were 16 patients and 30 beds.

Dr Enoch Donkor, the new Director of the facility told the GNA that the nurses had not engaged him on their concerns since he took office and urged them to do so immediately.

“If the management of the hospital fails, then they can go to the Mental Health Authority and other higher bodies for redress,” he said.

Reacting to their concerns, however, Dr Donkor rejected the claim that the female patients were living in conditions not therapeutic.

He insisted that mixing up the patients had not really affected their recoveries, maintaining that their ages did not really matter, but the severity of their conditions.

Despite that, he admitted that it was ideal to have separate wards for the women, based on various characteristics, but the hospital lacked the financial wherewithal and adequate staff strength.

“We have some structures here which we are not using. We can renovate them and move the patients in, but there is no money for that. The Hospital is faced with countless challenges and we need a lot of money to address them,” he said.

On the issue of renovating the male geriatric ward to accommodate elderly women patients, Mr Thomas Chere Kuusanoo, the Head of Administration, dismissed the claim and said it was for dementia and other special cases.

That notwithstanding, he indicated that it was not an aberration to have males and females in the same ward in many hospitals in Ghana.

From Prince Acquah, Ankaful

GNA 

Editorial: Government must consult properly on deployment of troops to Niger

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THE CHRONICLE
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Editorial

In our Editorial of August 14, 2023 we agreed with the decision of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to activate its standby force to be deployed to Niger to restore constitutional order.

In that piece, we also agreed with the admonishment from Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to President Akufo-Addo not to deploy Ghana’s troop to the intended mission by ECOWAS.

The CSOs criticised the regional bloc for their ‘I Do Not Care’ attitude whenever some heads of state attempted and mostly succeeded in changing the constitutions of their countries in their favour.

According to the CSOs, the unconcerned posture of ECOWAS over decades has emboldened political leaders to manipulate the constitution, but the end result has been the unending military takeovers happening in the region.

Considering the reason behind the position espoused by the CSOs, we could not help but agree 100 percent with them.

However, on the flip side, we argued that the worst form of civilian government was better than military dictatorship. We were happy that, for once, the rather calm ECOWAS was ready to show the other side and protect the region, especially from the influence of western powers.

We drew the attention of our readers to the point that the sub-region would laugh at the wrong side of its mouth if the military coup leaders were not prevented from recruiting a Russian private military company, The Wagner Group, as is happening in Burkina Faso and Mali.

Who knows how the Niger situation will occur, considering the laying of pipe from Africa to Europe, which passes through Niger – the interest of Russia in this venture cannot be downplayed, as it would take advantage of the ongoing coup.

Based on these analyses, The Chronicle reluctantly supported the deployment of Ghanaian troops to Niger.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, as published in yesterday’s edition, the Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rev. Dr. Godwin Nii Noi Odonkor admitted that coup d’états were becoming rampant and should be of concern. He said the phenomenon pointed out the urgent demand for African leaders to provide quality leadership for their citizens.

He, however, made the point that sending troops to Niger would escalate the issue, suggesting that ECOWAS should engage the leadership of the juntas to hand over power to a civilian government.

Over the years, the ECOWAS had resorted to the suggestion above, but none of the juntas obliged. Even in the Niger coup, the operators did not obey the ultimatum given, which is why ECOWAS activated the next line of action.

The bloc had been issuing sanctions to the affected member country by first suspending their membership and then placing travel bans on the coup leaders. However, we have witnessed that these actions have not yielded any results. On the contrary, the military juntas have brazenly called the bluff of ECOWAS.

Against that background, we have not changed our position on the deployment of troops. We have read from several quarters on the subject and Ghanaians have raised compelling concerns, including the economic difficulties currently facing the nation and proper consultations.

Among others, we agree strongly with the call for broader consultation with citizens in that regard.

More importantly, Parliament should take a decision on that as the representatives of the people, if it means that they would have to be recalled from recess to deal with this urgent matter.

In as much as we understand that, as a member of the ECOWAS, it may be difficult for Ghana to isolate itself from the deployment, we hold the view that the government must ensure that the majority decision influences his action.

We are concerned about the regional ties between our nation and the rest of the bloc, especially when we play host to the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The narrative on the image of Ghana, characterised as the gateway to Africa, not lending support in this trying time for the region would definitely be negative.

Africa must unite to protect their resources from the hungry western world, which comes to us clothed in white apparel with a piece of candy to take away our full meal to satisfy their people while impoverishing us.

The Asafofia of Abutia-Kloe calls on the Asafofiaga of the area

By
SAMUEL AGBEWODE
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The Asafo Fia of Abutia-Kloe (left) and Asafo Fiaga of Abutia Traditional Area, Togbe Adza Asamoah (right)

The Asafo Fia of Abutia-Kloe, Togbe Asafo Yao III has called on the Asafo Fiaga of the Abutia traditional area, Togbe Adza Asamoah, and pledged to support him to bring the needed development to the area.

The swearing of the oath by Togbe Asafo Yao to Togbe Adza Asamoah comes after a protracted dispute, which was successfully arbitrated by the Abutia Traditional Council with an unanimous decision in favour of the plaintiff, which made it possible for him to visit the Asafo Fiaga and swear the oath to him as tradition demands.

The Asafo Fia of Abutia-Kloe said it was his hope that with the settlement of the dispute and the oath sworn to the Asafo Fiaga, he was sure that Abutia would move forward in unity to promote rapid development of the area.

Togbe Asafo Yao promised the Asafo Fiaga to cooperate with him to work hard in order to bring the needed development to the people, and stressed the Abutia would definitely see much development and peace in the area.

Togbe Asafo Yao was grateful to the Traditional Council for the amicable settlement, saying the area needed peace, which, he said, was a pre-requisite for development, and called on the people to support him to promote development.

PURC expresses concern about smuggling of electricity meter into Ketu-South

By
SAMUEL AGBEWODE
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The Volta Regional Manager of the PURC, Mr Philip Agbezudor briefing the media

The Volta and Oti Regional Manager of the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC), Mr. Philip Agbezudor, has expressed concern over a cabal smuggling electricity meter from the Republic of Togo to replace those of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Ketu-South Municipality.

Mr. Agbezudor explained that the illegal cross border activities had caused ECG to lose revenue, because the foreign meters never read to enable the service provider to calculate the amount of power a customer consumed within a month, resulting in the stealing of power.

The Regional Manager, who was briefing the media in Ho on the activities of the PURC from January to June 2023, said the management of ECG in the Volta Region found it very difficult to arrest the smugglers of the meters, since customers failed to cooperate with the authorities.

Mr. Agbezudor said even though his outfit always ensured that service providers lived up to its responsibilities to ensure quality and regular provision of service by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and ECG, it was equally important for customers to also show greater responsibility by paying their bills promptly.

He said his outfit and the ECG were still observing the smuggling of the meters into the Ketu South Municipality, and called on consumers in the area to help protect the service provider by providing the relevant information that would lead to the arrest of the smugglers.

According to him, the ECG and GWCL should not always be held responsible for shortfalls in the discharge of their duties, because it was clear that individuals and groups of people had conspired to disrupt the activities of the service providers, which caused them to incur huge financial losses.

Mr. Agbezudor said most of the light outs and irregular water supply that customers normally blamed on the ECG and GWCL, were, in most cases, a result of criminals stealing cables, as well as pipelines that supplied power and water to customers in the affected areas.

He said criminals, who steal pipelines and GWCL meters and ECG cables had scrap dealers as their customers, adding that recently in Ho, a man was arrested through the help of a scrap dealer for possessing four GWCL meters, which he tried to sell.

The Regional Manager also blamed the disruptions in water supply in certain parts of the region, particularly Ho, on the activities of contractors, who were engaged in reshaping of the roads, and in the process destroyed pipelines, resulting in cuts in the supply of the social amenities.

He, therefore, advised road contractors to inform officials of the GWCL anytime they were engaged to enable the authority to assign personnel to repair the pipelines whenever they were broken during construction.

Sale Of UN Slot To Soldiers For $8k Is Hearsay … Full investigation underway -Military High Command

By
JOHN BEDIAKO
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Rear Admiral Seth Amoama

The Military High Command has commenced investigation into alleged sale of slots to soldiers for peacekeeping operations outside the country by a senior military officer of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).

It is alleged that the said officer, in a privileged position, sells the slots for $8,000.00 (Eight thousand dollars), which amount is collected upon the return of the beneficiary.

By this, the soldier is left with $4,000.00 (Four thousand dollars), having made $12,000.00 (Twelve thousand dollars) during the one year tour of the mission.

A highly placed military source at Burma Camp, who confirmed that the issue has gotten to an end, stated that for now it remains an allegation and that a full scale investigation is underway.

According to a respectable source, the senior military officer concerned and the supposed beneficiary soldiers have been contacted and are assisting with investigation.

The source further stated that, there is a roster regarding peacekeeping operations for members, which is strictly adhered.

GAF soldiers are presently serving in Lebanon, The Gambia and South Sudan.

The contingent in Mali, like other states of the United Nations (UN), is withdrawing at the insistence of the host country.

GAF is now left with the conveyance of equipment by road back home, since the two contingents have returned to base safely.

Foreign Minister enraged over illegal fees at Passport Office

By
MAXWELL OFORI
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Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration addressing the media on her visit

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, is enraged over the illegal and exorbitant fees being charged at the passport office.

She was infuriated over the ongoing exploitation, pitching the acquisition of a Ghanaian passport to the highest bidder as against the first come, first serve procedure.

She has since informed all staff who have worked at the office for over a year not to return next week, Monday, August 21, 2023, as new officers would replace them.

“Anybody who has been here for more than a year, from Monday, please do not come back because you have been changed…,” the Minister announced to the hearing of the staff.

Apparently, it is an existing directive that no agency working under the powers of the ministry at the passport office should keep staff at one office for over a year.

Though Shirley admitted that the directive had been grossly overlooked sometimes, she “intends to ensure that this is carried out.”

New Passport Head Office

The Minister paid an unannounced visit to the passport office in Accra on August 14, 2023, following reports of the continuous operation of ‘goro boys’ with the aid of staff.

Her outrage stems from reports that yet-to-be-identified staff at the passport offices, in connivance with non-staff, commonly referred to as ‘goro boys,’ unlawfully charge as much as GH₡3,000.00 from applicants for a passport in a twinkle of an eye.

The unwarranted amount is several increments from the approved GH₡100 for standard and GH₡150 for expedited processes, which should not delay for over a month.

It is instructive to note that some passport applicants are able to receive their passports faster due to the illegal fees charged by the goro boys, whom the Foreign Affairs Minister confirmed have collaborators who are public servants.

Addressing journalists on the visits to the passport office in Accra, the Minister, who was visibly livid, indicated that the disturbing trends she observed dent the image of the passport office and, by extension, the ministry.

NORMAL PROCESS

The passport acquisition processes have witnessed some upgrades, transitioning from entirely manual to digital processes. Applicants are able to apply for a passport online from anywhere, book the available date for an appointment for their supporting documents to be verified in person, and have their biometrics captured.

An applicant who chooses to pay the standard fee of GH₡100 for the forms should have the passport in about a month. However, paying an additional GH₡150 for expedited service should take two weeks.

The unfortunate reality is that the expedited service could last for months; talk less of the regular, a development that defeats the essence of most of the reforms introduced.

EXPLOIT

However, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ayorkor Botchwey, briefing the media, corroborated several media reports on the extortion under her bed.

The introduction of the online processes, for instance, was also to deal with corruption in the acquisition processes, but the minister feared that had been defeated by the public servants entrusted with confidence to man the system.

“How can GH¢100 for standard service passport acquisition and GH¢150 for expedited service be bumped up to GH¢2000 and GH¢3000? I hear they don’t even charge GH¢2,000 now they are charging GH¢3,000 and it is wrong,” she burst out.

PROBE

According to her, she has sanctioned investigations into the illegal operations and “we have some leads,” adding that heads will roll soon.

“But I can say, and we all will agree, that a goro person is outside the passport office, and they need somebody inside to work with. They cannot do it on their own. People are paying GH¢2,000 and GH¢3,000 to acquire a passport. Why should this be so?” the minister retorted

She continued, “We are investigating, and we have some leads that we are dealing with, and very soon we will be able to have some firm information that we will deal with.

“We want to bring some sanity. Every time politicians are tagged as corrupt, meanwhile, it is some public servants who will do things that shouldn’t be done, and they put it on politicians,” she defended.

Civil servant allegedly steals GH¢287k from ADB

By
BERNICE BESSEY
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Court hammer

A Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Regina Abanga, has been arrested and put before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly stealing an amount of GH¢287,775.47 from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) using the financial institution’s Automated Teller Machine (ATM) at various times.

Regina, 44, was slapped with 116 counts of stealing, but pleaded not guilty before Her Honour Kizita Naa Koowa Quarshie yesterday.

Mrs. Quarshie has granted the accused bail in the sum of GH¢250,000.00, with three sureties, one to be justified with landed property worth GH¢125,000. The accused was ordered to report to the police every Wednesday.

The case, as presented by DSP Evans Kesse, was that the complainant, Irene Akua Antwi, is a Unit Head Officer of Business Operation at the ADB Head Office in Accra. He told the court that Regina Abanga is a Secretary at the Energy Ministry and holds an account with the ADB Ridge Branch.

According to him, between November, 2022 and June 2023, the accused manipulated some of the ADB ATMs across the Accra Metropolis and succeeded in withdrawing cash totalling GH¢287,775.47.

DSP Kesse added that she continued with the act until June 15, that the usual withdrawals were detected by Solomon Inkoom, a staff of the bank at the Labone Branch. Solomon also informed the complainant who reported to the ADB’s risk team.

The bank, subsequently, blocked the accused’s ATM card to prevent her from doing further withdrawals. On June 16, 2023, at about 5.00pm, the accused went to ADB Ridge branch to withdraw money from the ATM, but the card was captured.

The accused then went to the Banking hall to report the incident to the management, but only to be arrested by the Risk Team and being handed over to the Ministry’s Police.

During investigations, the accused admitted the offence and indicated further that she used some of the stolen money to buy a Toyota Vitz with registration number GE-3545 -21, and also to finance the construction of a 3-storey building which has reached a 5-cause-level.

How the monies were withdrawn

She withdrew GH¢600.00 on November 4, 2022, GH¢650.00, November 11, 2022, GH¢1,700.00 on November 14, GH¢3,000.00 on November 16, GH¢1,000.00 on November 17, GH¢900.00 on November 18, GH¢200.00 on November 21, GH¢100.00 on November 22, GH¢1,100.00 on November 25, GH¢600.00 on November 28, and GH¢2,300.00 on November 30.

Her December 2022 withdrawals are at follows,

GH¢3,000.00 on December 1, GH¢3,000.00 on December 3, GH¢200.00 on December 5, GH¢1,000.00, December 6, GH¢500.00, December 9, GH¢1,000.00, December 13, GH¢600.00, December 14, GH¢500.00, December 15, GH¢1,000.00, December 16, GH¢1,200.00, December 19, GH¢3,000.00, December 20, GH¢3,000.00, December 23, GH¢200.00, December 24, GH¢3,000.00, and December 30.

2023 withdrawals:

GH¢2,800.00 was withdrawn on January 3, GH¢2,000.00 on January 4, GH¢3,000.00, January 6, GH¢2,500.00, January 12, GH¢500.00, January 13, GH¢2,000.00, January 17, GH¢2,000.00, January 19, GH¢2,300.00, January 20, GH¢1,200.00, January 21, GH¢2,000.00, January 23, GH¢3,000.00, January 25, GH¢3,000.00, January 26, and GH¢2,800.00, January 27.

She withdrew GH¢2,000.00 on February 2, GH¢3,000.00, February 3, GH¢3,000.00, February 10, GH¢3,000.00, February 17, GH¢3,000.00, February 18, GH¢3,000.00, February 20, GH¢3,000.00, February 22, GH¢3,000.00, February 23, and GH¢3,000.00, February 24,.

GH¢3,000.00 was withdrawn on March 1, GH¢3,000.00, March 3, GH¢3,000.00, March 7, GH¢3,000.00, March 8, GH¢3,000.00, March 10, GH¢3,000.00, March 13, GH¢3,000.00, March 14, GH¢3,000.00, March 17, GH¢2,000.00, March 18, GH¢3,000.00, March 20, GH¢3,000.00, March 24, GH¢3,000.00, March 27, GH¢3,000.00, March 28, GH¢3,000.00, March 29, GH¢2,000.00, March 30, and GH¢3,000.00, March 31.

GH¢3,000.00 was withdrawn on April 1, GH¢3,000.00, April 3, GH¢3,000.00, April 5, GH¢3,000.00, April 6, GH¢4,000.00, April 8, GH¢3,000.00, April 12, GH¢3,000.00, April 13,  GH¢3,000.00, April 14, GH¢3,000.00, April 15, GH¢3,000.00, April 17, and GH¢3,000.00, April 18, GH¢3,000.00, April 19, … GH¢3,000.00,

May withdrawals were GH¢3,000.00 on 2n day of the month, GH¢3,000.00, 3rd, GH¢3,000.00, 4th, GH¢3,000.00, 6th, GH¢2,000.00, 8th, GH¢3,000.00, 9th, GH¢6,000.00, 12th, GH¢3,000.00, 13th, GH¢3,000.00, 15th, GH¢2,000.00, 17th, GH¢3,000.00, 19th, GH¢3,000.00, 23rd, GH¢3,000.00, 24th,  GH¢3,000.00, 25th, GH¢3,000.00, 26th, GH¢3,000.00, 28th, GH¢5,000.00, 29th, GH¢3,000.00, 30th, and GH¢3,000.00, 31st.

In June, GH¢3,000.00 was withdrawn on the 1st day of the month, GH¢3,000.00, 2nd, GH¢3,000.00, 3rd,

GH¢6,000.00, 5th, GH¢3,000.00, 6th, GH¢3,000.00, 7th, GH¢3,000.00, 8th, GH¢2,000.00, 9th, GH¢3,000.00, 12th, GH¢3,000.00, 13th, GH¢3,000.00, 14th, and GH¢3,000.00, 15th.

After investigation, the accused was charged with the offences and brought before the Court.

GPHA Clarifies Decision to Increase Port Tariffs

By
admin
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0

The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority has clarified the reasons supporting the need to revise and restructure its tariffs, whose implementation began on the 1st of August.

In a press release, dated 3rd August, 2023 to address the concerns of some sections of the trading public, including the Ghana Union of Traders Association, the Authority cited increases in operational cost emerging from inflation, currency depreciation and other effects of the current global challenges.

While GPHA empathised with the difficulties of traders, the Authority maintained it was necessary to avoid running into losses.

The Authority also indicated that sufficient stakeholder engagement has been done, which led to certain reductions in the initial figures captured in the tariff proposals.

GPHA noted that the decline in cargo volumes at the country’s ports cannot be attributed to the Authority’s service charges which account for only about 6% of total cost of clearance at the ports.

GPHA also disclosed that it has begun investigations into the individual contributors and their share to total cost of cargo clearance in Ghana’s ports, so collectively all stakeholders can engage to find possible solutions.

Strange stinging insects cause ‘curfew’ at Ningo-Prampram District

By
INUSAH MUSAH
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0
An insect

Tiny insects that have painful stings have invaded parts of the Ningo-Prampram District, forcing residents to stay indoors from 5pm.

The insects, whose sting leave painful rashes on the skin of the affected person, have further compelled residents of the affected areas to continuously wear long apparel to cover their body from head to toe.

Areas the insects have invaded for about a month now include; Dawhenya, Abey, Central University, Miotso and parts of Afienya, all in the Ningo-Prampram District .

As an interim remedy, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Samuel Nartey George, has distributed repellents to the residents.

According to the people, the insects have curtailed their night life, since that is the time they become active.

Moses Dortey, the Assembly member for North Dawhenya Electoral Area said he had reported the matter to the Environmental Health Department of the Assembly and EPA, who said they would have to take some samples of the insects and their victims to NOGUCHI for tests.

“And it has been over a month now since I reported the matter to the authorities, yet nothing has been done about it. Life has become unbearable for us, as everybody is forced to put on heavy long clothing to protect themselves.

“Nobody is spared the harsh situation because the insects are biting anybody that their proboscis touches,” the Assemblyman told Accra FM in Twi, a local dialect.

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