The Ashanti Regional director of the National Service Secretariat, Mr Alex Opoku-Mensah has been suspended for two months without pay.

The suspension was communicated in a letter to him by the Executive Director of the Secretariat, Osei Assibey Antwi.

The letter dated December 23, 2022, addressed to the loud-mouth Ashanti regional NSS director followed a recommendation by the committee set up to probe the incident which caught the attention of the general public.

According to the letter, the Board of NSS, after intensively deliberating on the committee’s report, “unanimously adopted the recommendations proffered…”

“On that basis you are suspended for two (2) calendar months without pay,” it continued.

After the suspension he is to report to the head office to work under supervision.

Further, he is to issue an official apology to the National Service Scheme “for bringing the name of the scheme into disrepute.”

BACKGROUND
An audio went viral on both social and traditional media containing what was widely considered as verbal attacks on a female nurse at the Manhyia Hospital, by the Ashanti regional NSS director, Alex Opoku-Mensah, father of an in-house officer.
Words contained in the audio revealed Alex Opoku-Mensah, who happens to head a public institution, had followed his daughter to the hospital over work related issues.

Tempers flared up resulting in exchange of words most unprintable.

Many people who heard the audio opined the man could first address the issue, if indeed he had to, through management, instead of going all out on the nurse, who argued she was doing her job, and had no personal issues with his daughter.

A Circuit Court at Dormaa-Ahenkro, Dormaa Central Municipality of Bono Region has sentenced Alexander Addo, aged 24 and unemployed, to a fine of GHS 120,000 for engaging in small scale mining without a license. 

Addo pleaded guilty to the charge. In default he would serve 20 years imprisonment in hard labour.  

Police Inspector (P/Inspt.) Emmanuel Asare told the court presided over by Mr Samuel Djanie Kotey, that the complainant, a farmer, and the convict were residents at different suburbs at Wamfie, the district capital of Dormaa East, Bono Region.  

P/Inspt. Asare said the complainant owned farmland located at Wammu near Wamfie, where part of that land had been cultivated with plantain and vegetables.  

He said for more than a year now, the convict and other ‘galamseyers’ (illegal miners) had taken possession of the land and caused great damage to it.  

P/Inspt. Asare added all efforts made by the police and the complainant to arrest those illegal miners failed, until about four months ago when the complainant, with the assistance of some young men, arrested the accused while he was actively engaging in illegal mining on the farmland.  

The prosecutor said while escorting the accused to the police station, he escaped.  

When the complainant visited her farm at about 1700 hours on Sunday, December 12, 2022, she met the accused and one other accomplice actively engaged in mining on the farmland. 

He said the complainant hid herself and invited her son, a witness in the case, to the scene and they planned on how to arrest miners. 

The complainant and her son secretly left for home and came back in the evening at about 1900 hours, only to meet the accused and his accomplice washing and sieving some soil by the bank of the Wam River with the intention of getting gold. 

The prosecutor said the accused and his accomplice fled when they saw the complainant and her son.  

They, however, succeeded in arresting him (accused) to give him, together with a washing carpet and a plastic container to the Police. 

P/Inspt. Asare said at about 0700 hours on Monday, December 19, 2022, the complainant returned to the scene and found a pickaxe, a shovel and a cutlass believed to be other implements used by the accused and his accomplice.  

During investigations, the convict admitted the offence in his investigation caution statement to police and mentioned one Effah of Wamfie as his accomplice.  

The police went to Effah’s house but was told he had travelled out of town and after investigations, convict was charged with the offence.  GNA

In 2019, I challenged the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana to take steps in ensuring that Pharmacy services are digitized through the introduction of a national scale e-pharmacy platform.

The Pharmacy Council took up the charge (with coordination from my office) and I was honored to launch the Ghana National Electronic Pharmacy Platform (GNEPP) in July 2022. After, a successful pilot, I am delighted that today, the GNEPP goes live and Ghana becomes the first country in Africa and one of only a few countries in the world with an operational national scale e-pharmacy platform.

With GNEPP, after registering with your Ghanacard, any prescription can be uploaded onto the platform via mobile phone throughhttps://www.gnepplatform.com/ (or through a USSD code). You can find which pharmacies close to you have the medicines and compare the prices of the medicines across different pharmacies. Using your mobile phone, you can order the medicine, pay for it, and have it delivered at home through your digital address or pick it up. You can also be sure that the drugs are not fake because the GNEPP platform is integrated with the FDA platform.

With the National Electronic Pharmacy Platform, Ghana will be part of the new pharmaceutical digital economy to boost pharmaceutical sales and generate revenue. GNEPP will also result in less “Wahala” for Ghanaians in the pharmacy space.

My thanks to the Minister for Health, the Pharmacy Council, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, the NHIA, FDA, Medical and Dental Council, HeFRA, Ghana Nursing and Midwifery Council, Allied Health Professions Council, and the private sector partners for their leadership in making this possible for Ghana. It is a major feat. Ayekoo!

God bless our homeland Ghana.

The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), has hinted on harnessing the power of digitalization to ensure efficient and effective use of its resources in the provision of services this year.

Delivering a speech at an end of year Thanksgiving Service at the GIS headquarters in Accra, the Comptroller General, Mr Kwame Asuah-Takyi, indicated that GIS has a planned program aimed at delivering quality services to the public between 2023 -2028.

According to him, the planned programme include safety and security, and how to   harness the benefits of migration for the socio-economic development of the country.

He, however, indicated that these plans will not materialize if GIS does not digitalize its systems to ensure the efficient and effective use of resources in the execution of the plans.

“…Fellow officers, the outlook for the coming year will see the Immigration Service putting in some strategies as we put the final touches to our 2023-2028 Strategic Plan to ensure Public Safety and Security, Service Delivery and also harnessing the benefits of migration for the socio-economic development of the country.

“This will be anchored on digitalization of our work systems to ensure efficiency and effective use of resources,” he said.

The GIS Boss said other guiding principle that will ensure the delivery of quality service to the public will be discipline, positive attitude to work, patriotism and love for the country. “These are the sure ingredients in moving the country forward,” Mr Asuah-Takyi added.

On discipline, Mr Asuah-Takyi noted that it takes discipline and dedication to duty and a sense of purpose to serve Mother Ghana and that the service personnel must strive to be disciplined always.

He advised members of the Service to put to a stop to attitudes that hamper the collective good of GIS and encouraged them to lend their support to management for the betterment of the Service. 

The Special Guest of Honor, Mrs Adelaide Anno-Kumi, Chief Director, Ministry of interior on her part thanked God for all that He has done for GIS and prayed that 2023 will be a better year. He urged the personnel to do their best to lift up the image of the Service in the coming year.

Irrespective of all the speeches, the program wouldn’t have been a success without the melodious songs from the Migrant Band of the GIS.

The group thrilled officers,  management and civilians who were at the premises of the GIS with harmonious Christmas choral and other songs to express their appreciation to the Lord Almighty for how far He has brought the Service.

The popular Christmas twi song: “Afe Ako aprow” to wit “The year has gone a full cycle, It has come to meet us again,” and many more songs were sang to thank God and entertain the audience.

The GIS Boss, the Chief Director of the Ministry of The Interior, management of GIS and the junior officers all couldn’t help but to get on the dance floor to shake off the stress they had gone through.

They, however, didn’t forget to observe a minute silence for 32 of their personnel who went to be with the Lord during the year and prayed that God will keep them in His bossom.