Home Blog Page 2064

Registered Nurses, Midwives Union builds and commissions Nightingale Education Complex

By
ERNEST BEST ANANE
-
0
The imposing Nightingale Education Complex

The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has built and commissioned an imposing Nightingale Education Complex in Kumasi.

The facility, built through the contributions of members of the Association through a Public Private Partnership (PPP), comprises a computer laboratory, office of the staff common room, stores and library and classrooms from the Kindergarten to Junior High School (JHS).

It is situated in the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) premises.

Mrs. Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo, President of the Association, explained at the commissioning that, the edifice was the brain child of the GRNMA to enhance teaching and learning for the benefit of children of school-going age in the environment.

According to her, most of the children of staff and other workers at the KATH would benefit most in order not to be trekking afar for the education of their wards.

The President of the Association reminded the members to exhibit professionalism in their line of duty and dealings with patients who were at the centre of their mandates.

Mrs. Ofori-Ampofo also entreated the government to revise their condition of service allowances to lessen their financial burdens to discourage Ghanaian nurses from travelling abroad.

Nana Professor Oheneba Boachie-Adjei Woahene II, Hiahene, who was the Guest of Honour, commended the Association for the laudable initiative to complement the government’s efforts in providing quality education from their own resources.

He advised them to cherish their profession, because it was an honourable one.

Oheneba Woahene also lauded members of the Association for contributing part of their allowances to ensure the development and growth of the country.

He entreated the members to demonstrate goodwill to ensure quality healthcare delivery for their patients to disprove complaints against them by a section of the public.

Nana Professor Boachie-Adjei urged the government, through the Ministry of Health, to train the health workers and engage them to serve the people, and entreated it to expedite the recruitment process of the backlog of nurses who were awaiting postings to enhance quality healthcare in the country.

Ministerial nominees: Shehu Sani urges senators not to confirm El-Rufai

By
admin
-
0
Shehu Sani and El-Rufai

Former Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Shehu Sani, has urged Senators of the 10th Assembly not to confirm the former governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai as Minister.

In a statement he issued on Sunday and made to journalists, the ex-lawmaker expressed surprise that El-Rufai’s name reflected on the list as a ministerial nominee despite his obvious religious colouration that is dangerous to the unity of the nation.

He enjoined the three senators from Kaduna State to rise in honour and resist the confirmation and approval of the former governor for the sake of posterity of the nation.

Senator Sani reminded Senators to respect the Senator Abubakar Sodangi Committee which banned El-Rufai from holding public office.

The statement read: “The Senate should uphold and respect the 2008 Senator Sodangi Committee that barred him from holding public office.

“Particularly, the three senators from Kaduna State; they must categorically and unambiguously reject Elrufai’s nomination.

“Silence is a great disservice and betrayal to the people of Kaduna State, who have suffered under his eight years of tyranny and persecution.

“Nigerian Senators should save the country from the danger and jeopardy of harbouring, incubating and crowning such a man into the palace of power.

“A man with a track record of religious intolerance, extremism and disrespect for rule of law doesn’t deserve the gavel of approval from the legislature. He doesn’t deserve to be a minister.

“Any opposition Senator that confirms El-Rufai has betrayed the moral conscience of the people of this country; any ruling party Senator that confirms El-Rufai has brought in a destructive agent into the government of Tinubu.

“Confirming Elrufai as a Minister is a suicidal mission for the Tinubu administration.”

Credit: dailypost.ng

Court orders Okowa govt to account for over N200bn education funds

By
admin
-
0
Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa

The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, in a landmark judgment, has “ordered the disclosure of the spending details of over N200bn public funds collected by the government of former Delta State governor Ifeanyi Okowa from the Universal Basic Education Commission [UBEC] fund and allocations from the Federation Accounts.”

The court ordered the Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to “disclose details of budgetary allocations and actual spending by the Okowa government between 2015 and 2019, including specific projects carried out to improve primary education in Delta State, and the locations of such projects.”

The judgment was delivered by Honourable Justice Daniel Osiagor. In his judgment, Justice Osiagor held that, “SERAP has cognizable legal right to inquire and know the way and manner public institutions manage public funds. I must say, that every citizen has a duty to demand transparency and accountability in governance of public institutions.”

Justice Osiagor ordered the Delta State government to “disclose how the Okowa government spent over N7.28 billion received from UBEC between 2015 and 2017, and N213 billion received from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) in 2018, at an average of N17.8 billion monthly.”

SERAP’s suit followed the case of seven year-old Success Adegor, who was sent home because her parents could not pay the illegal school fee/levy of N900, and the poor-quality of her Okotie-Eboh Primary School 1. Miss Success had, in a viral video in March 2019 said, “No be say I no go pay, dem go flog, flog, flog, dem go tire.”

Justice Osiagor ordered the government to “disclose details of the primary schools that have benefited from the projects carried out on access to free and quality primary education in Delta State, and information on indirect costs, including uniforms, exercise books, and transport costs to students and their parents.”

Credit: channelstv.com

Striking doctors reject 25% salary increase, N25,000 allowance

By
admin
-
0
Striking Nigerian doctors

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has rejected a 25 per cent basic salary increase offered by the government. The association also rejected the N25,000 peculiar allowance approved for medical and dental doctors in the federal public service.

The Bola Tinubu administration, on Wednesday, approved the rate as peculiar allowance for health workers, few hours after the doctors’ association began its national indefinite strike.

The government conveyed the approval of the allowance to the striking doctors via a letter dated 26 July and signed by the Chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), Ekpo Nta.

The letter reads in part; “The federal government has approved the payment of an Accoutrement allowance of N25,000.00 per quarter to medical and dental doctors in hospitals, medical centres, and clinics in the federal public service. The allowance is to be paid from the overhead budget.”

The President of NARD, Emeka Orji, in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday, said the National Executive Council (NEC) of the association observed the “paltry 25 per cent” increment in the basic salary of doctors as contained in the circular released by NSIWC in the wake of the strike, as well as the accouterment allowance.

Mr Orji said NEC rejects the increase and calls for the fulfillment of the agreement between the doctors and the Nigerian government.

“NEC vehemently rejects the paltry 25 per cent increment in the basic salary of doctors, as well as the accouterment allowance,” adding that the association’s earlier demand is “for full restoration of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure to its right value as at the time of the approval of the structure in 2009,” he said.

He said the strike continues indefinitely “until reasonable progress is made by the government” to address the association’s demands as contained in the ultimatum earlier issued to the federal government.

Credit: premiumtimesng.com

Tinubu to host ECOWAS special meeting on Niger Coup

By
admin
-
0
Bola Tinubu with other ECOWAS Presidents

President Bola Tinubu will on Sunday host a special meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) over the political impasse in Mali. Armed presidential guards seized power in Niger Republic on Wednesday, detaining President Mohamed Bazoum. The situation has sparked condemnation from the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, ECOWAS as well as the United States.

Worried by the situation, Tinubu who is also the ECOWAS Chairman quickly dispatched the President of Benin Republic, Patrice Talon to the West African country that has been termed the most coup-prone in the region.

In a statement on Friday by his media aide, Dele Alake, the President condemned the current political situation in the neighbouring country.

He also pledged that ECOWAS and the international community would do everything to defend democracy and ensure democratic governance continues to take firm root in the sub-region.

“Following the coup in Republic of Niger that has upended the constitutional political leadership in the West Africa country, the Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Tinubu will host a special meeting of the regional leaders on Sunday, July 30th in Abuja,” the statement read.

“President Tinubu as Chairman of ECOWAS, in a statement he personally signed on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, condemned the current political situation in the neighbouring country and promised that ECOWAS and the international community would do everything to defend democracy and ensure democratic governance continues to take firm root in the sub-region.”

Credit: channelstv.com

KMA wants property rate collection reversed to MMDAs

By
SEBASTIAN R. FREIKU
-
0
Patrick Kwame Frimpong - KMA Presiding Member

The General Assembly of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has, by resolution, called on the government to consider restoring the responsibility of collecting property rates back to the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

The resolution was passed last Friday during the 2nd Ordinary Meeting of the 4th Session of the 8th Assembly.

The position of the General Assembly was premised on the report of the Finance and Administration and Revenue Sub-Committees of the Assembly.

The KMA had collected GH¢3,460,361.16 in property rates as at December 2022, as against GH¢114,000 released to it by the government as at July 27, 2023.

Last year, the government, per the 2023 Budget Statement presented to Parliament by the Finance Minister, sought approval to collect property rates amid protests by a section of MMDAs.

Seventy percent of the property rates collected would go to MMDAs, and the 30% would go to Central Government.

The KMA, consequently, received GH¢114,000 last week, since the government took over the collection of property rates, but the General Assembly deems the amount woefully inadequate, hence, the call for the restoration of the collection by the assemblies.

According to the resolution, the continued collection of property rates by the government would go to impoverish the assemblies.

The KMA said the government would have to consider the recommendation to save the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) from being cash-strapped and not render them ineffective finance wise.

The Presiding Member of the KMA, Patrick Kwame Frimpong, who is also the Assembly Member for Krofrom East Electoral Area, said the collection of property rates by the government without consultations with the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and major stakeholders, was already having a negative impact on the finances of the assemblies in the country.

According to him, the move was in contravention to Section 144 of the Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936), which states: “A District Assembly shall be the only authority to Levy rates for a District, despite any customary law to the contrary,” and Section 161, sub-section 3(c) of Act 936, which also states in part: “A rate collector shall pay the amounts collected to the District Assembly concerned.”

Most landlords are evading Rent income taxes – Regional Rent Officer

By
SEBASTIAN R. FREIKU
-
0
Douglas Mackenzie, Ashanti Regional Director - Rent Control Department

Majority of landlords in the Ashanti Region have refused to pay the Rent Taxes to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) as provided by law which has remained a challenge to the Rent Control Department and the government.

By the provision of the Rent Act 220 of 1963, anybody who lets out or leases a property to another person must pay rent income tax of 8% for residential premises and 15% for non-residential premises within 30 days after the rent income is received.

But, Mr. Douglas Mackenzie, Ashanti Regional Director of the Rent Control Department, disclosed in an interview that most landlords had refused to pay the rent income tax over the years.

He said failure to pay tax on rent income by the due date attracts an interest of 125% of the statutory rate compounded monthly.

The Rent Officer noted that many landlords were fearless about the taxation on rental properties by the Ghana Revenue Authority, following the perception that transactions were recorded on paper.

Mr. Mackenzie, however, reminded landlords that in 2020, the Land Act digitalised real estate management in Ghana, and that the GRA was using this system, which tells whether the owners had rented their property or not, to collect the details of property tax filerd in Ghana.

He has, therefore, advised landlords to live up to their tax obligations to contribute to economic growth and national development.

The Regional Rent Control Officer also indicated that most landlords and tenants were always flouting the conditions and terms of tenancy agreements between them contrary to the rules and regulations of the Rent Control Department.

According to him, the agreement between the landlords and tenants must correspond with the receipts and entries on rent card, which must be duly addressed to the tenant within seven days upon payment and agreement.

He said the refusal of landlords to reimburse tenants immediately when they leave their premises or eject is the cause of numerous cases pending before the Rent Control Office.

According to Mr. Mackenzie, most of the landlords drag their feet in refunding rent to tenants with the reason that prospective tenants would hire the room or apartment before they could refund the monies back to tenants.

He said as a result of this situation, the Regional Rent Control Office was currently contending with 1,565 unresolved cases as at the second quarter of the year (July 2023).

Mr. Douglas Mackenzie said 1,037 cases were lodged by landlords, with 528 tenants lodging complaints against their landlords.

Boankra Inland Port project gets huge financial boost

By
SEBASTIAN R. FREIKU
-
0
The administrative block of the project

The $330 million Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal (BILT), popularly known as the Boankra Inland Port project, in the Ejisu Municipality in the Ashanti Region, has received further financial support to ensure its completion and operationalisation.

The Chief Executive Officer of Ashanti Ports Services Limited (APSL), Mr Isaac Afum and Concessionaire to the project, has affirmed that the Africa Export-Import Bank (Afeximbank) is committing some US$280 million into the project.

The artistic aerial view of the Inland Port

He said another financier from Italy was also supporting it with an additional $100 million.

The CEO disclosed this when he led officials from the APSL to acquaint themselves with the progress of work on the $330 million project which had been stalled for nearly two decades due to many teething problems.

The project was supposed to be completed and handed over to the government in November 2024.

Mr Affum said the Ghanaian contractors on the project, Justmoh Construction Limited, had assured that the project would be handed over on schedule.

The CEO expressed the hope that the completion of the project would not only boost business opportunities in the region, but would also create jobs for the masses, especially the youth, through direct and indirect employment.

He said, when completed, over 7000 workers would be created, as well as informal job opportunities within the region and beyond.

The project will also offer significant employment opportunities for both skilled and unskilled labour.

It would have among other things, an inland clearance depot, customs bonded and unbonded estates, commercial areas, such as banks, offices and trading facilities, vehicle parking and light industrial areas and an administration block complex.

The project would also provide services for importers and exporters in the middle and the northern parts of the country and also act as a major conduit for the efficient transportation of transit traffic to and from our neighbouring landlocked countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

The project comprises a COCOBOD terminal which will facilitate exportation of cocoa in the Ashanti region to other neighbouring countries.

He stressed both COCOBOD and Tema Oil Refinery will get their terminals within the Port and it will ensure that cocoa from the Ashanti Region are easily exported to the other neighboring countries.

Mr. Afum expressed the hope that the proposed railway line will be constructed on time for the smooth operation of the Port and hoped the railway project will not hinder the operation of the Inland Port.

He commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his support and confidence in picking a local concessionaire for the development of the Boankra Inland Port.

Mr. Afum also thanked the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah and the Ghana Shippers Authority, the client for the project, for their continuous support towards the progress of the project.

The Project Manager of the Boankra Inland Port, Jarrar Saddique, who briefed the media about the progress of work, said once the entire surfacing, work and the drainage system were done, mounting or erecting of the structures would start.

Newmont Signs MoU with Otumfuo’s Foundation to Support  Educational Projects

By
admin
-
0
David Thornton, Regional Senior Vice President for Newmont Africa, and Nana Prof. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei Woahene II, the chairman of the Otumfuo Foundation, signing the MoU

Newmont Africa has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Foundation to implement two key education-focused projects for a three-year period, at a cost of One Million, Seven Hundred and Ten Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHC 1,710,000.00).

The projects will promote and extend information communication technology (ICT)education and training to less resourced communities through the provision of infrastructure, materials, and associated resources. Specifically, the projects shall seek to improve the reading culture among pupils in these communities, and also build their interest and capacity in ICT.

David Thornton, Regional Senior Vice President for Newmont Africa, presenting Newmont Africa’s financial commitment to the Chairman of the Otumfuo Foundation, Nana Prof. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei Woahene II

Newmont Africa and the Otumfuo Foundation intend to achieve the above objectives through the remodelling and furnishing of six, 50-person capacity containers, to be situated in selected schools.Mobile training camps equipped with computers, shall also be set up in schools to further the training of pupils in ICT.

David Thornton, Regional Senior Vice President of Newmont Africa, stated that, “Newmont Africa is working to extend the positive social impacts of its business in Ghana beyond its host communities and into other areas where critical educational infrastructure, particularly in ICT, is lacking.

It is quite clear to us that ICT will playa key role in an increasingly digitized world, and equipping pupils with the requisite skills will help create a more promising future for them and their families.”

Nana Prof. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei Woahene II, the chairman of the Otumfuo Foundation, recounted the support of Newmont Africa to the Foundation over the years. He said, “for almost a decade, Newmont Africa has been a consistent ally of the Foundation, having provided support in excess of 1 Million Ghana Cedis over the period for several of the Foundation’s programmes and projects.

He added that, “this MoU is a clear demonstration of the commitment of our two entities towards the identification and implementation of meaningful interventions for communities and individuals who are, otherwise, disadvantaged by virtue of their circumstances.”

Parliament gives Forestry Commission teeth to bite

By
admin
-
0
Samuel Abu Jinapor, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources

Parliament at its twenty-ninth (29th) sitting of the second meeting in the third Session, on Friday, July 28, 2023 passed the Wildlife Resources Management Bill, 2022 which had been pending for over fourteen (14) years.

The statement, signed by the sector minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor and released in Accra over the weekend, said the new law, which seeks to revise and consolidate all laws relating to wildlife and protected areas, was previously laid before the fifth, sixth and seventh Parliaments, before it was eventually passed by the Eighth Parliament, on Friday, July 28, 2023.

The following is the full statement;

Parliament at its twenty-ninth (29th) sitting of the second meeting in the third Session, on Friday, July 28, 2023, passed the Wildlife Resources Management Bill, 2022, which had been pending for over fourteen (14) years.

The new law, which seeks to revise and consolidate all laws relating to wildlife and protected areas, was previously laid before the fifth, sixth and seventh Parliaments before it was eventually passed by the Eighth Parliament yesterday

Wildlife and protected areas are currently regulated by the Wild Animals Preservation Act, 1961 (Act 43),the Wildlife Conservation Regulations, 1971 (L.I. 685) and the Wildlife Reserves Regulations, 1971 (L.I. 710).

These legislation, enacted over fifty (50) years ago, are not in tune with current international best practices for wildlife protection and management, and do not provide a proper legal framework for the implementation of the Forest and Wildlife Policy, 2012, the Forestry Development Master Plan (2016-2036) and other national and international frameworks that guide sustainable resource management, all of which were adopted years after the current legislation.

The existing law, also, does not clearly define the aims and objectives of wildlife management and the various categories of protected areas, and lack deterrent sanctions for wildlife offences.

On Thursday, October 28, 2021, Cabinet, at its seventeenth meeting, gave approval for the new Wildlife Resources Management Bill, developed through a very extensive consultative process involving both state and non-state actors, to be laid in Parliament, and on Friday, 3rd March, 2022 I duly laid the Bill in Parliament.

Among others, the new law brings Ghana’s wildlife law in conformity with existing policies in the sector and provide for the implementation of international conventions on wildlife to which Ghana is a signatory.

It provides for a new management structure to give legal backing to the involvement of local communities in wildlife management through the creation of Community Resources Management Areas (CREMAs) and provide higher penalties and sanctions regime for wildlife offenses, deterrent enough to protect our wildlife resources.

The law also provides for the implementation of several international wildlife conventions to which Ghana is a signatory, such as the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitats (RAMSAR), 1971, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, (CITES), 1973, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (BONN) 1979, as well as several indicators in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The passage of the Bill by Parliament means that it is only left with assent by the President of the Republic, and publication in the Gazette, then the Bill will become law. The eventual passage of this Bill, which has been pending for over fourteen (14) years, and which has gone through four Parliaments, marks a momentous milestone in the effective and efficient management of wildlife resources in the country.

The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources is confident that the President of the Republic, who has personally shown keen interest in this Bill, will assent to it once submitted to him for the Bill to become law.

The Ministry is committed to the effective implementation of this piece of legislation, for the efficient and progressive preservation and management of the wildlife resources of our country, in the spirit of transparency, anchored on integrity and utmost good faith, for the benefit of the Ghanaian people.

1...2,0632,0642,065...3,046Page 2,064 of 3,046

EDITOR PICKS

POPULAR POSTS

POPULAR CATEGORY

©
The Ghanaian Chronicle