Seth J. Bokpe's Ghana Newsreel

THE Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has directed the immediate withdrawal of the baby food, Beech-Nut Whole Grain Oatmeal and Mixed Fruit, from the market. The Beech-Nut Baby Food, with batch number 9909 B1 and expiry date of December 2010, is one of the products distributed by PNT Pharmacy Limited. According to the FDB, the order, which it said affected only the mentioned product and not other products or brands of the company, was necessitated by evidence of product deterioration caused by weevil infestation. Speaking to the Daily Graphic after conducting sample tests at the company’s warehouse and some retail outlets selling the product, the acting Head of Food Inspectorate of the FDB, Mr Kofi Essel, said the investigation and the directive were the result of a complaint received concerning two of the company’s products — the Beech-Nut Whole Grain Oatmeal and Mixed Fruit and the Beech-Nut Multigrain. He said after follow-up investigations through sampling and inspecting the products in

he Rural Impact Initiative/Eno Birago Charity Foundation has donated second-hand clothing and shoes worth GHC 700 to the Regent University College to support the school’s Rural Educational Empowerment Project(REEP). The donation, which was in response to the university’s appeal, would be distributed to school children in the Kyenkulabi L/A Primary School in the Kraboa-Coalter District of the Eastern Region to motivate them stay in school. Donating the items, the Chairperson of the Rural Impact Initiative/Eno Birago Charity Foundation, Mrs Yvone Birago Sasu, said her outfit was touched by the plight of the children in that community who had to go to school sometimes barefooted and sometimes wear tattered clothes. She said the foundation currently supports children who are deprived in the Dansoman community by paying their fees and providing them with clothes. She said even though there were a lot of children under the foundation’s care, a lot more needed to done to ensure that children

THE Australian High Commission has given financial assistance amounting to GH¢ 743,125 to 24 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the country to support their activities. The grant, which forms part of Australia’s development grant for the 2009-2010 financial year, would go into areas of education, health, rural projects, solar energy, skills training, sanitation, provision of potable water, and refurbishment of school buildings. Other areas where the grant is expected to be used are street lighting, assistance to women co-operative activities and human rights advocacy. Some of the beneficiaries are Global Action for Women Empowerment, for its bakery project, the North Tongu District Assembly, for the supply of dual desks; the Kumasi Girls Senior High School, for the setting up of a computer laboratory, and the Women in Law and Development Africa (WiLDAF), which received 98,135 Australian dollars (approximately GH¢125,844) to assist women in the Ahanta West District in the Wester

THE Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) says there is more than enough Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in the system and so there is no need for panick among consumers and this statement comes to assuage concerns of consumers following reports of shortage of LPG in some parts of Accra, resulting in long queues. Following reports of long queues in areas such as Adabraka and Awudome for LPG the Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Dr Kwame Ampofo, announced that TOR had more than enough LPG in the system. Dr Ampofo told the Daily Graphic that even though the recent inferno which engulfed the refinery had some impact on the supply of the product, supply had resumed and TOR had dispatched tankers for distribution to sale outlets reports Rose Hayford Darko from Tema. He stated that petrol was also being supplied from the various depots across the country and he did not envisage any shortage. Dr Ampofo expressed optimism that there would be no more queues when the tankers delivered the produc

THE Ghana Prisons Service has organised a sensitisation programme to enlighten prison officers in the prospects of the new three-tier National Pension Scheme. The two-day programme, which was in collaboration with AA and K Consulting Services Limited, a tax and management firm, was attended by 50 prisons officers drawn from the 10 regions of the country. In a speech read on his behalf by the Chief Director of the Ministry of the Interior, Naana Ampratwum, the Minister of the Interior, Mr Cletus Avokah, said “the issue of workers’ pay and other emoluments had always been a sour point between the government and employees, especially in our part of the world, where government is the biggest employer”. Mr Avokah stated that the new scheme provided equity standards for all workers through the establishment of a uniform set of rules, regulations and standard for the administration and payment of retirement benefits to all workers, stating that the government had put stringent measures in pla

THE Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) has launched its Law School, with a pledge to help expand the frontiers of legal education in the country. This brings to three the number of public tertiary institutions offering courses leading to the award of Law degrees in the country. The other two are the University of Ghana, Legon, and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). The GIMPA Law Programme is a three-year programme that will concentrate on law for administration, management and corporate governance, with greater emphasis on the economy, administration, management and corporate governance-related law courses such as Commercial and Company Law, Contract and Administration. Other areas include security transactions, banking, development and decentralisation, insurance, taxation and revenue and public policy making. The programme is also expected to broaden legal knowledge and produce legal brains who will work generally in the publi

The pioneers of the civil aviation industry in Ghana will be honoured annually beginning this year for their contributions to creating the country’s enviable safety records in the industry. A fund is also to be set up to support some of the retired pioneers who are in financial difficulties. The Chairman of the Kilo Alpha Aviation Holdings (KAAH), Captain Victor Kwesi Amoah, announced this at a press conference to highlight events of the celebration scheduled for December this year. The initiative, which is under the auspices of the Felvic Aviation Events (FAE), a subsidiary of KAAH, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Transport (MoT) would also be used to demystify the aviation industry and bring it closer to the ordinary Ghanaian. The event, dubbed the “Wright Brothers Day,” would also eulogise Orville and Wilbur Wright, the two brothers who engineered and powered the world’s first aircraft. To achieve the objectives of the week-long celebration, a number of progr

The Head of the Seismic Monitoring Unit of the Geological Survey Department, Mr Sylvanus Ahulu, has advised estate developers and prospective home owners to seek information on the suitability and safety of plots of lands in the event of earthquakes before developing them. He told the Daily Graphic that “identifying the geological formation under the ground will help architects and structural engineers to design and build earthquake-resistant structures”. “Tracking earthquake active zones or fault zones will also facilitate siting important lifeline structures, such as hospitals, schools, communication gadgets and major security installations, away from zones of high seismic risk,” Mr Ahulu said. Last Sunday night’s earthquake scare and the recent earthquake in Haiti which resulted in a mass collapse of buildings and the death of thousands of people have raised concerns over Ghana’s ability to mitigate the consequences of a possible earthquake. Citing the Cedi House in Accra as an

THE Upper West Region recorded a-7.6 per cent reduction in infant mortality rate from 105 in 2003 to 97 in 2008. The region has also seen a reduction in common health cases such as malaria, diarrhoea and respiratory diseases while prompt and timely access to health services has also improved in remote communities in the region. The Director of Programme Planning Monitoring and Evaluation (PPME) of the Ministry of Health (MoH), Dr Frank Nyonator announced this at the Final Dissemination Workshop of the project for Scaling up the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) implementation in the Upper West Region. The workshop was to review the operations of the project in the region and also make recommendations for the way forward. The CHPS form part of a Ghana Health Service (GHS) nation-wide programme which is aimed at bridging the gap in access to health care by locating trained personnel in communities while community members assist in managing health care delivery. A fo

The Okyeman Foundation, a Netherlands-based Ghanaian non-governmental organisation (NGO), is leading the crusade against growing public perception in The Netherlands that donor support for developing countries is misused, hence the need for the Dutch government to scrap such aid. The project, dubbed “Thank You Netherlands”, has objectives including promoting Ghana-Netherlands development co-operation work in Ghana in particular and developing countries as a whole, educating Dutch people on the role their country plays in Ghana with regard to the provision of universal basic education, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and combating HIV/AIDS. It also seeks to promote development work among migrants in The Netherlands. The Project Director of the Okyeman Foundation, Dr K.A. Adansi-Pipim, told the Daily Graphic in Accra that “the project will help create awareness in The Netherlands that funds sent to Ghana are used for the purpose for which they are provided”. The Nethe

THE Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMA) has advised fishermen and travellers on the Volta Lake to be on high alert as the season of thunderstorms begins late February in order to avoid the perennial boat disasters on the lake. Thunderstorms have been the major cause of boat disasters on the Volta Lake, claiming the lives of hundreds of travellers over the years, but the GMA is taking proactive steps this year to give timely weather reports to users of the lake in order to avoid such disasters. The GMA is to collaborate with local radio stations in the catchment area of the lake to disseminate information on thunderstorms to the people. It, therefore, advised the communities to listen to radio stations for such information and act accordingly to minimise disasters on the lake. Normally the thunderstorms travel from East to West and given the period of their monitoring, the GMA is able to give information on the storms three or four hours ahead. The Volta Lake Basin, which spans five regio

A LEGAL practitioner and lecturer at the Ghana School of Law, Nene Abayeteye Amegatcher, has urged Ghanaians to embrace the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Mechanism as a means of increasing the pace of adjudication and reducing the backlog of cases at the courts. He said even though litigation had been found to be a preferred method of dispute resolution than armed conflict and the use of violence, evidence available over the years indicated that litigation had not been able to address the needs of society. Mr Amegatcher who was speaking at a seminar on ADR in Accra on the theme: “Court-Connected ADR: Access to Justice Made Simpler for All”, said surveys and research on the Ghanaian legal system like that of other developing countries revealed that litigation was characterised by constant delays. The seminar, which was under the auspices of the Ghana Judicial Service, was aimed at bringing the ADR process closer to the doorsteps of all Ghanaians. Participants were drawn fr

The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) is working with owners of high rise buildings in the country to acquire aerial platforms to facilitate fire fighting in buildings with 10 floors and above. In this regard a committee has been set up to work out the modalities and co-ordinate the process for the acquisition of the equipment. It is also discussing with the National Insurance Commission for the establishment of a Fire Maintenance Fund spelt out in the Insurance Act 2006 (Act 724). The objective for setting up the fund is to provide funds and equipment to state institutions assigned with fire fighting functions and such other organisations as the commission may determine for the purpose of fighting fire. The Chairman of the GNFS Council, Alhaji Ahmadu Sorogho, announced this at the launch of a website for the country’s fire fighting institution. The website, www.ghanafireandrescue.org, is expected to ensure public education on fire safety and prevention across the country. It will a

THE Board Chairman of the ARB Apex Bank, Dr Samuel Dufu, has advised the Board of Directors of the rural and community banks (RCBs) to thoroughly investigate the background of people they engage in sensitive positions in order to prevent falling prey to cyber fraud, armed robbery and other criminal activities. Dr Dufu who was speaking at the 7th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the bank, said the Bank of Ghana and the ARB Apex Bank had a detailed database on staff with questionable character. He emphasised that "a big database is available, I will advise you to avail yourself of the opportunity in order to spare yourself a lot of hardship." adding that "the few banks among you which have suffered such hardship which were entirely preventable must be a lesson to all." On the bank's performance, he said there had been a significant improvement in the level of profitability from GH¢621,242 in 2007 to GH¢1,234,911 in 2008, stating that the 2009 performance had

RUMOURS of an earthquake hitting Ghana late Sunday night reverberated across the country, prompting millions of people to pour onto the streets and other open spaces for safety. While no one seems to know the source of the rumour, friends, families and neighbours made phone calls, sent text messages and knocked on doors to send warnings to people to wake up and leave their rooms. A text message purported to have powered the rumour mill read, "Today's night 12:30 to 3:30 am, COSMIC RAYS entering Earth from Mars. Switch off your mobiles today's night. NASA BBC news, plz pass to all your friends." The rumour predicted that an earthquake was about to hit the country and advised people to stay out of their rooms to avoid being killed by collapsing buildings. The streets of Accra were jammed with residents seeking protection from the anticipated earthquake, while frantic phone calls were made to and received from relatives, friends and loved one all over the country warning

FIFTY Islamic scholars have ended a four-day seminar on leadership in Accra, with a call on them to avoid attacking other faiths in their quest to persuade people to join the Islamic faith. The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayawaso Central, Sheikh Ibrahim C. Quaye, who made the call, said Islam promoted the peaceful co-existence of Moslems and people of other faiths. Organised by the Al-Huda Islamic Society, the seminar was attended by Imams, Islamic preachers and instructors of Quranic cells in West Africa. It touched on orienting the scholars and preachers to appropriate Islamic evangelism, the prospects and challenges facing the Islamic faith today and the importance of charity to the Moslem. Sheikh Quaye said peace remained an important ingredient for national cohesion and development and so any preacher whose messages did not promote peace but rather incurred the wrath of society should be reprimanded to prevent inter-religious conflict. He said Ghana was a shining example as far

THE Head of the Public Relations Unit of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Ms Bertha Dzeble, has denied reports that armed robbers attacked women who went to some registration centres in Accra for the national identification exercise. Reacting to allegations of an armed robbery attack at some registration centres at Abeka on Thursday, Ms Dzeble said investigations by the security detail of the NIA could not confirm the allegations. According to Ms Dzeble, NIA investigators found that two women were attacked near the SDA Church and Foursquare Gospel Church registration centres at dawn by two men on a motorbike who stole their handbags but no one could confirm the attack at the centres. Meanwhile, the national identification registration centres at the Railway Yard in Accra was plagued with chaos yesterday. The process was characterised by long winding queues of anxious applicants at the four registration centres the Daily Graphic visited at of 3 pm, while three of the four c

The Chief Justice, Mrs Theodora Georgina Wood, has appealed to players in the justice system to ensure the speedy adjudication of cases to reduce the backlog of criminal cases pending at the various courts. She said the pending of cases in the law courts for a long time had created a problem where suspects had been remanded for longer periods. Opening this year’s Criminal Session (Criminal Assizes) of the High Court in Accra yesterday, Mrs Justice Wood said such long delays were a blot on the country’s human rights record. The Criminal Session is a trial by a presiding judge and jury for more serious cases, which, by law, cannot be tried by a judge alone. The session adjudicates cases of murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, robbery, rape, use of offensive weapons and having unnatural carnal knowledge. Sixty-nine cases — made up of 33 on murder, 12 on manslaughter, 19 on rape, four on the use of offensive weapon and one on unnatural carnal knowledge — have been listed for hearing thi

An Olympic-size stadium started by the National Redemption Council (NRC) regime, led by General I.K Acheampong, has been abandoned at Aklomuase, a suburb of Agormanya, in the Lower Manya Krobo District of the Eastern Region. The 40,000-seater facility initiated in 1974 has, in its blue print, facilities including a football pitch, a dressing room, a swimming pool, a tennis court and athletic tracks. The stadium which was expected to serve as the home ground of the defunct Akotex Football Club (FC) is now overtaken by weeds whilst the immediate surroundings has been encroached upon by members of the community for farming activities. The one-and-half mile radius wall on the land has collapsed while other parts developed extensive cracks. Cements blocks (pillars) and some electrical cables which extended electricity to the area have also disappeared under the cover of darkness. An opinion leader in the area and a former counselor in then Manya Krobo District Council, Mr. Sas George, who w

THE country’s only Seismograph, the device used to measure and record earth tremors, has broken down. The mishap, which was brought to the attention of the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Collins Dauda, during a working visit to the Geological Services Department (GSD), has made it impossible for the country to record earth movements for the past two years. The equipment, which was acquired in 1974 and retooled in 1992, ceased working two years ago making the country dependent on other countries to report earth movement occurrences in Ghana. The Director of the GSD, Mr John Agyei Duodu, who took the minister round, said "at the moment when something happens in the country in terms of earth movement, we only have to rely on our partners across the world to receive data to process and confirm". He said with the exception of the Obuasi gold deposits, the GSD had provided all the technical support for the discovery of every mineral deposit or occurrences in the count

HE former Deputy Public Relations Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Europe Group, Mr Mohammed Abdulai Mubarak , has called for the strengthening of the youth base of the party in order to push its agenda as well as consolidate the gains made so far. Mr Mubarak, also known as Ras Mubarak, who is a contestant in the National Youth Organiser race of the NDC, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the party could not overlook the youth since they constitute the bedrock of the party. "If the youth feel marginalised, alienated or ignored then the party would be in trouble”. Mr Mubarak described himself as a thorough-bred party man whose agenda was to address the concerns of the youth in the NDC in a speedy, decisive and mature manner to ensure that the party did not only win successive elections but also prevented problems from degenerating into chaos. He said the party could not continue to put the problems of the youth off perpetually as failure to address

VEHICULAR traffic on the Achimota stretch of the Accra-Nsawam road has reduced drastically following the opening of the Achimota Transport Terminal. All the hustle and bustle of the area, which was characterised by the trotros and the taxis using the shoulders of the road as a parking lot as well as the hawkers jamming the vicinity with their wares, had all disappeared. When the Daily Graphic visited the terminal, it was in full operation, with drivers and passengers alike praising the new facility. The general filth that engulfs many lorry parks in the country was also absent; cleaners and drivers were seen picking up pure water sachets and other materials dropped by passengers. Food vendors and hawkers were, however, present in their numbers at the entrance of the park, which was surrounded by pure water sachets, polythene bags, all flying around. A Driver, Mr Kwadjo Frimpong, told the Daily Graphic that work at the station was very smooth, adding that he was even surprised passeng

THE Parent Teacher Association (PTA) of the St Thomas Aquinas Senior High School has donated a 58-seater bus, valued at GH¢124, 500 to the school. Presenting the keys of the bus, the PTA Chairman who is also an old student of the school, Mr J. A. Larkai, said the vehicle sought to satisfy a need for a vehicle by the institution for its sporting activities and educational tours among other programmes. He said the vehicle would go a long way to uplift the spirit of both teachers and students of the school to do more to enhance the image of the school. Mr Larkai advised the pupils to conduct themselves well and justify the investments their parents were making in them. The headmaster of the school, Mr Frank K. Bebli said the donation was timely since the school's existing fleet had broken down, adding that the bus would help to ease the transportation problem facing both teachers and students. The headmaster commended the PTA for providing the needs of the school and pledged that th

A 48-year-old singer and chorister of the Prince of Peace Pentecostal Ministry at Pig Farm died in church last Sunday when she was electrocuted by the microphone she was using. Janet Adu-Sarpong, a mother of three, was rehearsing with the microphone moments before service began on the first Sunday of the year when the tragedy occurred, ending her 30 years of songs ministration in the service of God. An eyewitness and a friend of the deceased’s, Miss Vida Odoom, said Janet was in the auditorium at the Racheal Preparatory School branch of the church and was rehearsing some of the songs she intended singing during the church service with another member of the choir. “All of a sudden, I saw her trembling with the microphone in her hand, I suspected it was an electrical shock, so I screamed at her to throw the microphone away but she could not,” the witness explained. According to her some few seconds later, the deceased fell on the ground with the microphone still in her grips. Miss Odoom

Vendors of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) who deliver their services from door to door are flouting a directive from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) not to ply their trade in residential areas. According to the directive, the tankers remain a threat to life and property because they not are equipped with adequate safety gadgets in the event of a fire outbreak. A guideline drafted by bodies including the EPA, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) on the installation and operation of LPG facilities in the country frowns on the movement and sale of LPG in residential areas. A Daily Graphic investigations have revealed that the activities of these tankers are widespread in the major cities of the country. Despite the enormous danger they pose to the general public, it appears there is laxity on the part of the EPA and the other stakeholders to enforce the regulat

Tree of Life Church has dedicated its new chapel at Teshie-Demo with a call on the youth to be submissive in order to attain greater heights. The 180-seating capacity chapel, dedicated by the head of the New Life Ministry, Rev. Prof. R.L. Lawson, has facilities such as an auditorium, a separate prayer tabernacle, offices and residences for pastors undergoing training. Delivering a sermon on the theme: "Submissiveness," the head pastor of the Messiah International Bible Church, Rev Dr Emmanuel Tetteh, said young people should be prepared to serve, as servitude remained the only means through which they could obtain knowledge from their leaders. He noted that achieving greatness did not come on the spur of the moment but was the result of a culmination of several years of dedicated service. He said every human being was born with one potential or the other, however, people often had the desire to pursue talents that led to great discoveries, some of which had become very

Life Bridge 68 Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), in partnership with the Ministry of Education, has organised a contest on waste management for pupils from selected schools in Accra. The competition, dubbed 2009 Kids Against Waste Art Contest, was on the theme, "Kids Against Waste — Say: Wash your hands". The national competition, which was the second to be organised in two years, sought to highlight the implications of unsanitary conditions on health. Twenty participants, all pupils in Accra, received various awards for conveying their messages through artwork. The prizes included Cowbell packages, schoolbags, pens, pencils, paintings and textbooks. A seven-year-old pupil of the Lirgo Preparatory School at Adabraka in Accra, Joel Lomo Tetteh, received the grand prize, which included a schoolbag, textbooks, exercise books and a soap dispenser. The first and second runners-up were Adjei Kojo William of Kokomelemele 2 JHS and Bernice Amoah of Osu Saint Peter’s,