Accra Psychiatry Hospital repatriates more cured inmates

Story: Fauziatu Adam
THE Accra Psychiatric Hospital has so far repatriated 112 cured inmates as part of the ongoing decongesting exercise by the hospital authorities.
The third batch of cured mental patients, comprising 10 patients from the Greater Accra Region and 15 from the Eastern Region, would be sent to their homes.
Two of the cured patients who were sent home under the decongesting exercise have been returned to the hospital. One of the two was said to have resorted to the use of cannabis (wee) after he had been released to his relatives.
In interviews with some of the cured patients, Abraham Borketey said he had been on admission at the hospital for six weeks now.
“I was fighting with my relatives over a piece of land and they brought me here, thinking I was mad because I became very violent over that land. The sad thing is that they never visited me. I am happy I am going home today and promise never to fight again,” he said.
Another patient, Noel Tetteh, has been at the hospital for one month.
“I do not know why I was even brought here. I come from Kpone around Tema. My family members brought me because of something I could not even explain. But I am happy I am going home. Unfortunately, my family members do not know that I am coming home,” he said.
For Aku, a cured patient, she was reluctant to go home. She refused to enter the bus and but for a little persuasion and promises from the authorities that they would come for her some time later, she would not have entered the bus.
So far, 70 patients have been transported by the hospital to their respective homes, while relatives of 42 patients have come for them.
The Chief Psychiatrist of the hospital, Dr Akwasi Osei, said the exercise would continue for the next two weeks, noting that it would help the patients reintegrate into society.
  “The longer they remain in the hospital, the more difficult it becomes for them to reunite with society,”  he said.

Mental Institution to collaborate with sister instiution

The Accra Psychiatric Hospital is to collaborate with the Kaduna Neuro Psychiatric Hospital in Nigeria to expose the staff of the former hospital to new techniques of providing proper mental health care.
The relationship, which is to start by June this year, will kick-start with five staff of the hospital.
The Chief Psychiatrist, Dr Akwasi Osei, told the Daily Graphic that the relationship would enable the beneficiaries to share knowledge and experience to enrich their expertise in the administration of mental health at the hospital.
He added that the second batch of cured inmates of the hospital were sent home on Wednesday as part of the exercise to decongest the hospital.
Dr Osei said the second batch, numbering 30, was made up of 25 males and five females.
 He said the Kaduna Neuro Psychiatric Hospital had a doctor-patient ratio of 20:80 and described the state of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital as “an apology of a mental health institution” because of its low staff strength and serious congestion.
When the Daily Graphic visited the Male Special Ward which treats forensic cases, it realised that there were 232 patients and only four members of staff attending to them.
Their living conditions could be compared to those of slaves at the Elmina or the Cape Coast Castle before their shipment abroad.
Dr Osei, however, said the last operation had been a success, adding that 21 patients had been sent back to their families, two inmates could not recognise their houses as a result of the vast development in their areas, while seven others were taken by their family members at the hospital.
The two patients who could not recognise their houses would be taken to the Department of Social Welfare to locate their family members, he noted.
He said community nurses in the respective communities had been tasked to regularly check on the patients.
Dr Osei said the exercise would help the patients to reintegrate into society, saying, “The longer they remain in the hospital, the more difficult it becomes for them to reintegrate into society.”
He said similar exercises the hospital had embarked on in the past involving 90 cured inmates had been successful except for three patients, one of whom could not trace his family.
“Not all patients will be accepted by their relatives because of stigmatisation but at least a chunk of them will be sent home to their relatives and this will decongest the hospital,” he stated.

Nima to get clean water

Story: Fauziatu Adam
THE sod has been cut for work to begin on a community water supply system for Nima.
The project, which is being financed by the Co-operative Housing Foundation (CHF) International and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), forms part of a three-year programme to provide five communities with potable water.
The project is expected to be completed by next year.
The $4.5-million project consists of the construction and mechanisation of a borehole, the construction of a pump house, the installation of two overhead storage tanks with two standpipes and multi taps and the construction of one Aqualite treatment plant.
The project is expected to be constructed by Olivatus Company Limited, a private construction company, and it is to provide potable water for the people of Nima, Avenor and Newtown in Accra.
 A similar project is to be undertaken in the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis to supply water to Kojokrom and New Takoradi.
The Member of Parliament for East Ayawaso, Dr Mustapha Ahmed, who did the sod-cutting, underscored the importance of water to economic growth, development and, indeed, life.
He said the project could be seen as a very major step in fulfilling the dream of providing the beneficiary communities with adequate water.
He noted that in view of the reliance on streams, rivers and other unsafe sources of water, with the attendant adverse effects on health, the government increased support for the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to ensure safer water in rural areas and efficiency in urban water supply.
He said as a demonstration of that commitment, the CWSA received its highest budgetary allocation last year, while the five per cent various communities contributed to the total capital cost was abolished.
However, he said the regularity and quality of water supply was not guaranteed, especially in urban areas, due to frequent shortage and storage in unhygienic containers.
He, therefore, emphasised the need to set up a system to collect adequate data on water supply on a regular basis.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Alfred  Vanderpuije, urged residents of Nima to seek assistance from CHF International for their toilet facilities, since the CHF was willing to assist to construct toilets for the community.
The Country Director of the CHF International, Mr Sandrine Capelle-Manuel, said the foundation initiated the WASH-UP programme to improve water supply and sanitation infrastructure and governance through innovative and sustainable development.
“USAID recognises that although urbanisation increasingly concentrates poverty, it also provides possibilities for escaping it,” he noted.
He added that urban communities continued to grow in Ghana and that had brought about the challenge of providing adequate water supply and basic sanitation services.

5,000 To benefit from maths, science scholarship scheme

FIVE thousand students from various second-cycle institutions will this academic year benefit from the Mathematics, Science and Technology Scholarship Scheme (MSTSS) initiated by the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology.
The scheme is aimed at increasing the enrolment of students studying Mathematics, Science and Technology in various institutions across the country.
The Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ms Sherry Ayittey, announced this at the official launch of a website for the Ghana Mathematics Society (GMS) in Accra yesterday.
She added that the ministry had established the Ghana Space Science and Technology Centre and the Implementation of African Square Kilometre Array Programme to encourage universities in the country to introduce Bachelor of Science programmes in Astronomy and Astrophysics.
She attributed the lack of interest in Mathematics among the youth to the notion that it was a difficult subject and the wrong methodologies that had turned many students away from Mathematics at a very tender age.
She called for a change of attitude towards Mathematics among the youth and urged teachers to adopt methodologies that would encourage and motivate students to like to study the subject.
"The subject can be made attractive to students when greater emphasis is laid on its applications through practical and analytical thinking," she added.
Mrs Ayittey assured the GMS of the ministry's support to promote Mathematics education in the country and Africa as a whole.
"As a ministry responsible for Environment, Science and Technology, we do recognise the importance of Mathematics in contributing towards the achievement of the better Ghana agenda, hence the need to encourage institutions such as the GMS to promote Mathematics in the country," she added.
The President of the GMS, Prof Sitsofe E. Anku, said the reason many students shied away from Mathematics was the way it was taught and not the subject itself.
"Mathematics is doable, can be fun and loveable. That is why we at the GMS are on a mission to revamp Mathematics education in Ghana by rekindling interest in the subject to the extent that students show a natural love for Mathematics," he said.

SAD CASE OF CURED MENTAL PATIENTS.

FRONT PAGE STORY (DAILY GRAPHIC)
 Story: Fauziatu Adam
SIX hundred inmates of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital who have been cured of their mental illnesses are to face forced ejection from the hospital next week.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, the Chief Psychiatrist, Dr Akwasi Osei, said the 600 inmates had all been declared fully recovered and discharged from the hospital but they had refused to leave and make way for other patients.
Consequently, the hospital has declared a special exercise, dubbed ‘Operation 600 Patients Home’, under which patients who have long recovered but refused to go home will be forcibly sent to their families.
The Accra Psychiatric Hospital was built in 1906. It has capacity for 800 patients but currently houses 1,200 inmates, including the 600 who have been declared cured.
The chief psychiatrist was emphatic that the exercise would be sustained over the next six months to create space for the hundreds of patients, some wandering the streets of the city, who were unable to conveniently access mental health care at the facility as a result of the current congestion there.
“Those patients who have been fully cured of their ailments and are eating and living on our premises will be sent home, wherever they come from,” he stressed.
Dr Osei told the Daily Graphic that the exercise would pave way for an in-house patient system, adding that the hospital would consequently encourage community health care that would enable patients to be closer to their families and feel a part of society.
“The stigmatisation of mental patients is one problem that the public must try to avoid, since it does not help the patients to recover and, as happened in Tema recently, this can cause the death of patients,” he stressed.
On the passage of the Mental Health Bill, Dr Osei said the Ministry of Health would meet the Parliamentary Committee on Health to discuss issues concerning the bill.
He called on the government to put in the needed logistics and resources to enable the staff of psychiatric hospitals in the country to work efficiently, adding that if that was done, the youth in particular would find interest in applying to study at their training schools and subsequently work with them.
On Thursday, April 1, 2010, President John Evans Atta Mills paid a surprise visit to the Accra Psychiatric Hospital and assured the medical staff and the patients there that the government would improve upon the procurement of medicines and other facilities for better care of mental patients.

Minority critcises government on fuel prices

 FRONT PAGE STORY (DAILY GRAPHIC)
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah & Fauziatu Adam
THE Minority in Parliament has chastised the government for failing to keep its 2008 campaign promise and its manifesto declaration of “drastically” reducing petroleum prices if voted into power.
Reacting to the recent hikes in the prices of petroleum products, the Minority reminded Ghanaians that the NDC had cumulatively increased the prices of petroleum products by 70 per cent since it assumed office, even though the global price of crude oil had not risen more than 50 per cent.
Addressing  a press conference in Accra yesterday, the Minority Spokesperson on Energy, Mr Joseph Kofi Addah, said the NDC had, over the past two years, not demonstrated to Ghanaians that it had ideas to help the growth of the country.
He compared the situation now to the past administration and explained that former President John Agyekum Kufuor had resolved to pass on any further price increases to consumers if the world price of crude oil were to go beyond $120 per barrel.
“Today, with the world price of oil only in the $80 per barrel range, the NDC administration is quick to point to global increases in petroleum prices as one of the reasons for this increase,” he stated.
Touching on hedging, Mr Addah said by October 2010 the NDC government had said it had dealt with the problems concerning crude oil purchases to protect Ghanaians from increases in the global price of crude oil.
“As we speak, however, we do not know how Ghana has fared in the venture. If Ghanaians were, indeed, protected against any further price increases through this hedging, then why are we soon having to pay higher prices because of global price increases when, indeed, such has not been near 30 per cent?” he questioned.
He said into the third year of the NDC administration, Ghanaians could not see any creative policy initiative that sought to add value to what had been left by the NPP administration.
He explained that the NDC, on the one hand, had continued the policies and programmes of the NPP, while, on the other, it had worsened the situation of hardships rooted in high taxes and increased prices of commodities such as petroleum products, as well as vital services such as utilities.
On issues concerning the TOR debt, Mr Addah charged the government to account accurately to Ghanaians.
He said the government gave eight conflicting figures on the TOR debt in 2009 and 2010, explaining that that was inefficiency on the part of the government to get the right figure to justify the TOR debt.
He recalled the open attacks on the NPP administration by the Committee for Joint Action (CJA) when petroleum prices were increased and accused the CJA of siding with the government because of its silence over the recent increase in petroleum prices.
Mr Addah urged Ghanaians not to allow themselves to be deceived again when the time came for them to decide on who they wanted to govern the country.

MY 2010

Well,well! Recollecting what happened in 2010 might be difficult or might not be at all. 2010 started on a very good note.
The year started a little bit dull for me. I travelled to the Eastern Region with my friends on Campus and spent the night there. The second semester in the second year started with hiccups in class and in my love life.
Love really frowned on me in the early months of the year. Still, during those months, I had the worst skin disease I could ever imagine on my body. Crowded with my project work to complete my course on GIJ, I had to take care of the nemesis on my skin which made me shy away from public.
I must confess, that was the worst moments of my life. Early 2010 was hell. Now the first quarter of the year ended with the quest to have my beautiful skin back and the quest to excel in my academic work.
In fact, Love has not been fair to me this year. The second quarter of the year was a sad one for me. My loved one eventually lost his dad at the time I was struggling to complete my  course and my project work on campus.
I agree I was not supportive at all. Moreover I did not even accept any love from anyone. You might think I am not that caring but I really I did not even have time for myself.
With the hope of starting the third and last quarter of the year with bliss and glamour, I was  faced with some other things. National Service!!!!
The ability to serve your nation with little allowance. Some call it national suffering but I have not thought of a name yet  for it. But manybe you might suggest a name for me! Many things really happened that are better left untold.
Remember, they say, curiosity killed the cat and I don’t want to lose any of my favourite and curious readers to the icy hands of death.
Well the last quarter came with work, work, work. Less time to hangout with friends and less time to watch television. This was the trying time for me. With temptations here and there, and the zeal to excel in the field I find myself, I tell you guys, it has not been a piece of sweet cake for me.
 With many marriage proposals knocking on my door, and a kind of serious and a big woman lifestyle, I guess I couldn’t ask for more. I jus tried my possible best to be the best that I can be.
Making of new friends and learning of new  things in the field of journalism has been fun and very very hectic. I must confess, I chased soli small. Ha ha ha. That is just by the way. Only those in journalism would understand what I am talking about.
What do I hope for next year? I think, it takes a good planner to figure out what would happen to moi next year. Do not guy, I will release my new year resolution in January. But for now I am gonna catch some fun for the ending of the year.
And to all those who have made my year fun, I say Ayeekoo. And to the enemies I have made, that is, if I have made some, May Allah bless y’all. To those I have offended, please forgive me. I am human and bound to make mistakes and even bound to offend people. I know I am even offending you right now but please forgive me anyway.
And to those I have rejected their marriage proposals and am about to reject them, please! Allah has already destined your future wives to you who are a thousand and one times better than me and Allah alone knows best for us all.
WELL HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYZ. Till we meet again next time. SALAAM!

Charlitex launches new ways of sending faxes

Story: Fauziatu Adam

An  Information Communication and  Technology (ICT) firm, Charlitex Investment Ltd has launched a new innovative way of sending documents electronically.
 Speaking at the launch, the Member of Parliament for Upper Manya Krobo, Mr Stephen Amoanor Kwao called on Ghanaians to embrace ICT  as it ensures speedy and efficient delivery of businesses.
“ICT is dynamic and as it changes, Ghanaians should adapt with it, since it leads to the rapid development of the country.
The product enables users to send and receive fax messages through e-mail and prints it directly.
 The Fax 2 E-mail requires just the e-mail address and the fax number of the company who wants to access it to be able operate the fax system.
The Managing Director of the firm, Mr Charles Asante said that “we as a company have realised that it was time wasting to send and receive fax messages, hence, the need to introduce the new product to the market to ensure an easy way of sending fax messages”.
He explained that Charlitex just requires the e-mail address and the fax number of the company for registration. This he added would enable them save that information in their server to be able to carry out the operation.
Other business units of Charlitex Investments includes Installing of Security systems in cars, arranging for holiday and educational trips among others.

GAEC to train personnel

 Story: Fauziatu Adam

The Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) is training personnel to help check the misuse of nuclear and radioactive materials.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is assisting in the development of the human resource base in nuclear security in the face of mounting acts of terrorism involving radioactive materials.
The Director General of GAEC, Professor E. H. K Akaho, who addressed a workshop on nuclear security, said the GAEC and the IAEA were determined to provide regional training opportunities for African countries.
Prof. Akaho said the IAEA global efforts at assisting countries to train the needed human resources to assist in combating malicious acts involving nuclear and radioactive materials were yielding results.
He said with the assistance of the IAEA, the commission undertook a number of security related training workshops which benefited a lot of Ghanaians.
The Deputy Chief of Staff at the office of the President, Mr Alex Segbefia, who read a speech on behalf of the government of Ghana assured the GAEC and the IAEA of the government’s support for the workshop.
 He expressed his appreciation to stakeholder institutions and government agencies, including  the nuclear security committee for teaming up with the GAEC to combat acts involving radioactive materials.
Mr Segbefia urged participants to pay serious attention and participate fully in the proceedings so that they could go back to their countries or institutions and achieve the set goals of nuclear security.

ILO convention to promote decent work

Story: Fauziatu Adam

THE International Labour Organisation (ILO) is working on a convention to promote decent work for domestic workers.
The Head of the Organisation Department of the Ghana Trade Union Congress (TUC), Togbe Adom Drayi II, who made this known at the advocacy workshop on the social protection for domestic workers, said the convention was to address the numerous decent work deficit associated with domestic work.
He said the initiative was the best way to ensure that domestic workers throughout the country operated in a decent environment.
A number of the ILO Conventions adopted in the past have excluded domestic workers from their coverage and the national labour laws of many member states also exclude domestic workers.
Although domestic workers fulfil an important need in virtually every country, they are not fully recognised as workers who are entitled to respect and the protection of the law. They are also among the most vulnerable, abused and lowest paid workers in many countries.
Togbe Drayi classified domestic workers as trained or untrained workers, including caregivers, gardeners, drivers who work within the households, cooks and cleaners, and indicated that over the years domestic workers had been subjected to abuse and some negative treatment.
He noted that institutions such as Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa (LAWA) and some trade unions in the country had, over the years, directed their attention towards the plight of this category of workers through legislative advocacy programmes.
He consequently called on the government to partner the social partners to utilise the opportunity to contribute towards the development of an international standard for the regulation of domestic work.
Togbe Drayi expressed his appreciation to the TUC and Global Network Africa for their support and initiative in advocating for social protection for domestic workers.
 

Japan donates to flood victims

Story: Fauziatu Adam

THE National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has received items worth US$160,000 from the Japanese Government to provide some relief for displaced persons who suffered from the flood disaster early this year.
The items included 2,250 pieces of blankets, 60 pieces of plastic chairs, 1404 pieces of portable jerry cans and 10 pieces of water purifiers.
The Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Keiichi Katakami, who made the presentation, said his country was moved by the news that about 350,000 people had been affected by the flood disaster this year.
He said the Government of Japan was going to approve $8 million for the provision of 29 other items such as water pumps, generators, emergency trucks, forklifts, bulldozers, and air compressors for disaster relief in Ghana.
He further said that they had procured 100, 000 bags worth of maize from their counter-value fund to help affected persons, especially women and children, in the various regions of the country.
The Deputy Minister for Interior, Dr Kwesi Akyem Apea-Kubi, who received the items on behalf of the government, expressed his appreciation to the Government of Japan and gave the assurance that the items would be distributed to the affected victims nation-wide.
                                           

Christian Council launches anti-malaria campaign

Story: Fauziatu Adam

The Christian Council of Ghana has launched a malaria campaign to help reduce the spread of malaria in the country.
The project aims at educating people in remote areas on how to avoid getting malaria.
The programme officer of National Malaria Control Programme ( NMCP), Mr James Frimpong, called on government, religious groups and non-governmental organisations to build and sustain partnership in order to achieve the desired goals.
“To facilitate the achievement of the desired results, the strategic plan stresses on the need to build and sustain partnership amongst all the organisation in the country” he stressed.
He further mentioned that the Artemisinine-based Combination Therapies recommends Artesunate-Amodiaquine, Artemether-Lumefantrine and Dihydroartemisinine-Piperaquine for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria, stressing on the fact that chloroquine was no more effective for the treatment of malaria parasite.
He added that the country’s strategic approach to malaria control gives  prominence to the human and material resources in the country that can be mobilised for effective action against malaria.
He, therefore, mentioned that this strategic approach is inspired by the Roll Back Malaria Initiative  and technical and financial support form development partners.
He assured the council of its support within the confines of its mandates to ensure that the campaign attains the set objectives.
The Project Manager of USAID, Lisa Kramer, advised Ghanaians to use mosquito nets anytime they are going to bed which she explained will help reduce malaria in the country.
She urged all communities in the country to unite and clean their environment regularly adding that “ mosquitoes breed malaria”.
The Deputy Chief of Party for ProMPT Ghana, Miss Christie Billingley, called on Ghanaians to be proactive and vigilant in the fight against malaria because it is treatable and preventable.

Pass Mental Health Bill now — Chief Psychiatrist

Story: Fauziatu Adam

The Chief Psychiatrist of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Akwesi Osei, has made another strong appeal for the passage of the Mental Health Bill (MHB) by the first quarter of next year to help ease the suffering of mental patients in the country.
He said some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and sympathisers of psychiatric hospitals in the country had threatened to demonstrate if the bill was not passed at the given time.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic at the annual end-of-year celebration, Dr Osei said the MHB had been in existence for over four years but it had been sidelined by governments.
He indicated that most mental health institutions in the country, especially the Accra Psychiatric Hospital would collapse if the bill was not passed and implemented soon.
He explained that the bill entailed the decentralisation of the mental hospitals and a system where there would be more mental clinics across the country and easy access to mental treatment across the country.
“Mental treatment would also be moved from hospital care to community care for patients to feel a part of the community than to be caged in hospitals”, he added.
He mentioned that currently, the Accra Psychiatric Hospital had about 1,200 patients,  about 600 of which were fit to go home, but half of that number had been abandoned by their relatives for more than 30 years.
Dr Osei said the psychiatric hospital lacked resources in terms of human, financial, drugs, among others, making it difficult for the hospital to attend to patients promptly.
He added that for close to seven years, the hospital had been owing its food, drugs,  uniforms and  suppliers of other resources due to lack of funds.
He said if the bill was passed and implemented, it would reduce, if not remove entirely, the challenges facing psychiatric hospitals in the country.
 He observed that there was still stigmatisation and lack of understanding of mental illnesses in the country which made the treatment of mental cases very difficult.
He, therefore, appealed to the general public to do away with their perception of  mental illness and urge authorities to pass the bill soon.
The celebration was also meant to relieve staff of their hectic duties after attending to mental patients under very demanding conditions, fete mental patients and award 30 retirees of the hospital who had served tirelessly and retired honourably over the years. They were given 21-inch coloured televisions.

NSS Maize To Feed Ashanti Schools

 FRONT PAGE STORY (DAILY GRAPHIC)
Story: Fauziatu Adam
The National Service Secretariat (NSS) is to sell 4,000 bags of maize at reasonable prices from its farms at Ejura in the Ashanti Region to government-assisted Senior High Schools in the region.
The move is to assist the schools to feed their students at relatively low cost during the second term which begins in January 2011.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Executive Director of the NSS, Mr Vincent Kuagbenu,  said the secretariat had received a request from the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary schools (CHASS) to assist the heads to feed the students, adding that he saw that as a major boost and at the same time a big challenge to the farming component of the service scheme.
He explained that CHASS had also supported the secretariat by transporting service persons to and from the farm free of charge, hence the quick response to the request by the conference.
“Since this is in line with the government’s policy to farm to feed students, we have seriously considered the request,”  he added.
Mr Kuagbenu said currently the secretariat had harvested more than 4,000 bags of maize on its farm at Ejura, while 5,000 acres of land cultivated with maize was yet to be harvested to provide additional food supplies.
About 3,000 service persons have been recruited to work on the farms periodically.
Mr Kuagbenu expressed the hope that the secretariat would expand to the Eastern, Central and Brong Ahafo regions in the next farming season.

Muslims advised to educate their children

Story: Fauziatu Adam

The Spiritual Leader of the Tijaniyya Muslim Movement in Ghana, Sheikh Halifa Abdul Faidi, has called on parents in the Muslim communities to invest in the education  of their children since education was the key to the socio-economic development of the country.
Sheikh Faidi made this call at the launch of the birthday of Sheikh Ahmed Tijani in Accra.
He said that education was a fundamental human right which provided both the young and old the power to reflect on their lives and make better choices for their own development.
He stressed the need to invest more in education and promote the development of the country.
Sheikh Faidi further advised the youth to respect their community leaders, especially the Sheikhs.
He said the birthday celebration was  scheduled to take place from January 13 to 16, 2011. Other activities of the celebrations include honouring prominent personalities in the country, journalists, media houses and institutions that had excelled in their endeavours.

Engen Ghana introduces two fuels

Story: Fauziatu Adam


THE Engen Ghana Limited has unveiled two new different fuels in the market called the Dynamic Diesel for diesel cars and the Dynamic Unleaded for petrol cars.
The dynamic fuels improve fuel consumption system with the potential to reduce fuel consumption and ultimately increase the lifespan of the vehicles and reduce exhaust emissions.
The Managing Director of Engen Ghana Limited, Mr Henry Akwaboah, made this known at the commissioning of a new filling station at Asamankese in the Eastern Region.
Mr Akwaboah said the company’s quest was to offer its customers value for their money and meet their challenging needs.
“We pride ourselves with service dynamism, service quality, value for money, good customer service and above all, the highest standards in health, safety and high quality product,” he added.
He assured the people of Asamankese of their value for money, cleaner fuel and above all environmentally friendly products.
Mr Akwaboah advised the workers  of the station to be proactive in all their services and  to give their customers value for their money.
The District Chief Executive of Asamankese, Mr Seth Okyere, on behalf of the people of the area, expressed appreciation  for the company for making the project a reality.
He cautioned filling station personnel not to favour commercial vehicles against private vehicles as that practice had the tendency to collapse the business.
He further advised the workers to desist from defrauding customers by short-changing them.
Mr Okyere also caution drivers to drive carefully to reduce road fatalities.
The filling station is equipped with modern filling pumps, a shopping centre, 15 guest rooms and a mini bar to entertain visitors who come on visit.

Atlas Copco workers educated on HIV/AIDS

 Story: Fauziatu Adam

The Managing Director of Atlas Copco Ghana, Mr   George Apostopoulos, has called for collective measures to fight the menace of HIV/AIDS in the country.
He added that HIV/AIDS is very high in Africa and it needed a strong and united people to be able to reduce the menace in Ghana and Africa as a whole.
Mr Apostopoulos said this at the launch of a workplace HIV/AIDS policy with the aim of promoting the health needs of the staff the company.
He added that HIV/AIDS was a sensitive issue in the world  and, therefore “ very necessary as a company to initiate this move.
“ We are very committed to making sure that our workers live and work in a healthy environment to make productivity effective”  he added.
He explained that the aim of this policy was to limit the spread of HIV/AIDs amongst workers and support employees that are infected thereby creating a conducive environment for them.
The Director of Ghana Business Coalition (GBC) Against HIV/AIDS,  urged other businesses especially medium and small enterprises to approach the coalition for technical assistance to make their workplace safe and healthy for their workers adding that “ only 40 companies have responded to their call since 2003”.
An Executive Council member of GBC Against HIV/AIDS, Mr Alex Bamfo, said the coalition has initiated steps to broaden its scope to include malaria in its promotion programme because of the alarming rate of the disease in the country.
“ Twenty-two percent of death in the country currentlyis as result of malaria which  also leads to bigger loss of productivity in the country,” he stressed.

ABANTU launches 10th anniversary

 Story: Fauziatu Adam

ABANTU for Development has launched its 10th anniversary with the aim of institutionalising its mentoring programme for the youth.
The programme is to empower the youth, especially women, to get involved in political and leadership programmes and to introduce an exchange programme for the youth.
The director of ABANTU, Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, said that the major concern of the organisation was to achieve gender equality in the country. She said the organisation aimed at prioritising issues related to women’s empowerment through participation in decision making at all levels as a means to promoting women’s right and gender equality in the country.
Dr Mensah-Kutin said ABANTU was a non partisan organisation that trained women for leadership positions, and expressed her appreciation to the media for their consistent commitment to promoting those objectives.
A gender activist, Mrs Rosaline Obeng-Ofori, called on the organisation to initiate Affirmative Action Policy and other policies to encourage women’s participation in politics and the assumption of leadership roles to enable them to make meaningful contributions to the decision-making process.
Other activities lined up for the celebration include the publication of a booklet on the contributions, challenges and prospects of the organisation, a video on Abantu, a photo slide show, an awards ceremony and a seminar to climax the celebration. 

Support women to vie for political positions - WABA

THE President of the Women’s Assistance and Business Association (WABA), a non governmental organisation, Mrs Gloria Ofori-Boadu has stressed the need for governmental and non-governmental organisations to strongly support, and advocate for measures to improve women’s participation in governance.
 She said since women constituted more than 50 per cent of Ghana’s population, it was necessary to encourage more women to vie for political positions in the country, especially at the district assembly level, where the assemblies have the mandate to initiate projects and programmes for the  development of the district.
Mrs Ofori-Boadu said the 1992 Constitution provided for the major functions of the assembly and that included the formulation and execution of plans, programmes and strategies for the effective mobilisation of the resources necessary for the overall development of the district, such as levying and collection of taxes, rates, duties and fees.
Addressing a workshop organised by the Institute of Democracy and Human rights Education of WABA, she said it was a fact that the major reliable and highest source of revenue for internally generated funds of the assemblies were the markets which was an area dominated by women.
She said, for this reason, women played a critical role in executing the functions of the district assemblies, which was to mobilise resources for the overall development of the districts, since the market was dominated by women, who had been socialised to work there as part of their daily chores.
Mrs Ofori-Boadu said it then made sense that Ghana needed to take extra and specific steps to involve women in the district assemblies, since they constituted over 80 per cent of people operating in the informal sector of the economy, which was a major source of income generation in the country.
She said “we are therefore calling for new constitutional provisions that will provide specifically for the nomination, election and appointment of 50 per cent men and 50 per cent women to all nominated, appointed and elected positions to the metropolitan, municipal, district assemblies and their sub-structure, that is the Unit Committees.”
The workshop was aimed at building the capacity of aspiring members of district assemblies through mentoring by other women who had been to the assemblies. It further sought to strongly advocate for specific constitutional provisions to increase women’s participation in political activities in the country.

Bridge the communication gap through education

By Fauziatu Adam

In today’s world of astonishing advancement in Information Communication Technology (ICT), many countries have put in measures to ensure that they take advantage of the opportunity ICT brings for the benefit of their citizens.
 In the United States for instance, an astounding 76 per cent of the population have access to the Internet. In Japan, 86 per cent of the population have access to the Internet.
In Ghana however, only a few people have access to the Internet.Ghana still has a long way to go with regards to becoming an information society.
For Ghana to move rapidly towards being an information society,it should have a society characterised by a high level of information intensity in the everyday life of most citizens in most organisations and work places. They must  use  common or compatible technology for a wide range of personal, social, educational, and business activities, and have  the ability to transmit, receive and exchange digital data rapidly between places irrespective of distance. There is therefore,the need to critically examine the following factors.
 With an illiteracy rate of 31 per cent, according to the Ghana Statistical service, there are numerous Ghanaians who are not educated and it is imperative that the government makes the effort to change that situation.
The basic problems facing the development of Education in Ghana are poverty and inadequate educational facilities and equipment.
Poverty
Due to socio-economic difficulties, many parents cannot afford to send their children to school. Though the government’s Free Compulsory Basic Education (FCBE) makes education in public basic schools free, parents are still obliged to buy school uniforms, books and other educational materials for their children. Many parents cannot afford to do even this; so we have many children hawking in the streets or learning trades instead of acquiring education.
Inadequate Educational Facilities and Infrastructure
There are places in Ghana where people do not have access to schools. In places where there are schools, there is the everlasting problem of inadequate infrastructure.
 It is common therefore, to find students learning under trees and canopies and in open space  exposed to rain and sunshine.
Many of our schools lack other basic imperatives for quality education such as competent and motivated teachers and educational facilities such as textbooks and computers.
 As a result of all these, many students end up lacking quality education.
Needless to say, one needs to have some form of education  to be able to critically and coherently analyse information.
An educated person possesses the intelligence to make rational inferences and deductions from the information they acquire.
The US, Japan, England and other countries have attained the status of an  information society status  because the majority of their citizens are educated.
 If education is not prioritised in Ghana, the country will continue to move towards becoming  an information society but at a slow pace.
Solutions
The government therefore, should take proactive measures to build schools in deprived areas of the country.
 In places where there are schools, the government should ensure that those schools are provided with adequate educational facilities and equipment. Situations where students learn under trees and canopies are unacceptable because such an environment is not conducive for effective teaching and  learning.
The government should find ways of motivating teachers to encourage them to offer their best. Those teaching in deprived areas should be given special incentives to encourage them. This will prevent a situation where teachers refuse postings to deprived areas.
Though the government deserves commendation for making education free and compulsory, a lot still has to be done.
 Many parents prefer sending their children to the streets to sell instead of sending them to school to acquire education. The government should therefore, go the extra mile by prosecuting parents who refuse to send their children to school.
Finally, the government should provide I.C.T equipment  for our schools so that by the time children grow up, they would know certain basic things about the computer and information communication technology.