Month: March 2024

The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) says it is yet to conduct specific study on ‘women buttocks’ as a source of driver inattentiveness.

The Authority in a statement said the assertion was only based on feedback from some road users, including drivers and global examples.

‘While the Authority confirms that distracted driving or driver inattentiveness constitutes a major threat to road traffic crashes, the Authority has yet to conduct a specific study on ‘women buttocks’ as a source of driver inattentiveness except for the feedback from other road users, including drivers and global examples.’

The statement said the NRSA had monitored public reaction to a comment made on Citi FM’s Auto Show programme by its Public Relations Manager on March 28, 2024, about distracted driving as a cause of Road Traffic Crashes in Ghana.

It said distracted driving was a serious and growing global threat to road safety and manifested in various forms, including manual distractions, visual distractions, and cognitive dist
ractions.

 According to the statement, driver inattentiveness may arise from situations when a driver was unable to fully concentrate on the road due to visual or cognitive distraction from watching scenic views of all forms on the road.

It said the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act, 2008 (Act 761) considered careless and inconsiderate driving (driving without due care and attention or reasonable consideration for other persons) as a major road traffic offence with a penalty of two hundred penalty units or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 40 months or both.

The statement said in context, the NRSA representative on the programme sought to give examples of such real-life situations of visual or cognitive distractions, including fidgeting with phones and radio, and ‘buttocks-watching’ by some male drivers.

The Authority encouraged that discussions around road safety during the Easter period should be focused on speeding.

It said motorists must travel at a safe speed and passengers should speak up against all
forms of misbehaviour, including high speeds, wrongful overtaking, the use of mobile phones while driving and other forms of distractions.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Apostle Frederick Kwame Owusu of Divine Pillar of Fire Ministries at Twifo Praso in the Central Region, has admonished Christians to be doers of the word of God to be good ambassadors of Christ.

He made the remarks during the Resurrection Sunday service of the Church on the theme: ‘Resurrection Power has Set us Free’.

Delivering the sermon, he tasked Christians to emulate the deeds of Jesus Christ, turn over new leaves, reach out to the poor and pray against societal atrocities.

The Apostle also urged the congregation to cultivate the habit of forgiving one another, love and desist from gossiping and backbiting.

He said the resurrection of Jesus Christ remained the ultimate demonstration of victory over adversity.

Easter is a time to reflect on the momentous sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for mankind and to celebrate the triumph of the resurrection and His gift of grace, Apostle Owusu added.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Hundreds of Christians in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis thronged their various churches to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Many of the churches were filled with extra seating provided, with many of the congregation clad in white attire to signify their joy in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

At the Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Cathedral, the occasion was used to baptise and confirm 18 people made up of 10 females and eight men, they were officially welcomed to the catholic faith.

A total of 77 others made up of 41 females and 36 males received their first communion after seven months of catechism.

The congregation also used the occasion to renew their baptismal vows.

In a sermon at the packed cathedral Reverend Fr. Lawrence Krah asked the congregation to use the celebration to aim at heavenly things and not earthly things.

He said Christ died for the salvation of the Christian world, Christians especially, Catholics should lead lives of truthfulness, honesty and integrity.

He said t
hey should use the occasion to build on their faith and ensure reconciliation among families and society and continue to lead just and pure lives as well as act as witnesses to the resurrection of Christ and increase their evangelism drive in their various communities.

He said the resurrection of Christ should bring a change in their ways of doing things and they should change their lives and attitude to be good Christians and followers of Jesus.

He commented the parishioners at the cathedral for their full participation in the weeklong activities that marked the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Special prayers were said for the growth of the church and leaders of the country.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson, an eminent priest of the Catholic Church, has entreated Christians to strengthen their faith in Christ with unwavering optimism for victory irrespective of the situation they faced in life.

He observed that many Christians were consumed by the many afflictions in life like sadness, fear and poverty and thought nothing good of themselves.

However, he said just as the crucifixion and death of Christ was crowned with his resurrection, the troubles Christians faced, were bound to end in joy.

Cardinal Turkson was delivering his Easter sermon at the St Anthony Catholic Church at Amia in the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam District of the Central Region.

He indicated that any story of Christ that did not end with His resurrection was incomplete, so were the trials of Christians.

He said the resurrection of Christ brought hope to mankind, adding that it was through the resurrection that the world was saved.

He stressed that Jesus Christ was the only saviour of the world and not any other, ci
ting the uniqueness of His story.

Cardinal Turkson further noted that God was not selective but accepted everybody who sought him fervently.

‘If you seek God with all your heart, he will cause you to find him,’ he stressed.

He submitted that Easter should be understood the same way as Christmas as they did not exist independently, debunking the notion that Christmas was fetishism.

‘You cannot celebrate Easter and not celebrate Christmas. Christmas does not necessarily celebrate the birth of Christ but the beginning of our salvation and Easter is God’s way of saving us from perishing forever.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, on Saturday led the people of Kumasi to undertake massive clean-up exercise in the metropolis.

Similar exercises were conducted in all the traditional areas of the Ashanti region.

The exercise is to help clean up all communities to usher in the 25th anniversary celebration of the ascension of Otumfuo Osei Tutu as the 16th occupant of the golden stool.

Mr Simon Osei Mensah, Ashanti regional Minister, Mr Sam Pyne, Mayor of Kumasi, Members of Parliament, traditional rulers, municipal chief executives, and other government officials joined the Asantehene to inspect the exercise.

Among the communities visited were Tafo, Bantama, Adum, Alabar and others.

There was massive participation by the people in the exercise, which was supported by the Zoomlion, which provided logistics for the exercise.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu, who was elated by the active participation of the people, commended the residents for showing up.

Business activities and commercial transportation services wer
e suspended till 12 noon to allow for traders, drivers, businessmen and women and all residents, to participate in the exercise.

Source: Ghana News Agency

 Scientists at the Food Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (FRI-CSIR) and collaborators have outdoored a fish smoking oven technology with high combustion that pollutes less.

The improvement will provide some comfort for fish processors by reducing the high levels of smoke exposure often exceeding World Health Organisation safety guidelines, resulting in burning, dizziness and irritation of the eye during operation.

Already, studies have linked high levels of smoke exposure by fish smokers to poor eyesight, cataracts, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, wheezing, cough with phlegm and other symptoms indicative of severe respiratory conditions.

 Dr Amy Atter, a Senior Research Scientist at FRI-CSIR, told the Ghana News Agency at a dissemination workshop that the modified oven technology addressed the flaws of ‘Ahoto’, ‘Chorkor’ and other types of ovens.

The new technology promotes rapid cooking and efficiency. The redesigned and improved technology, which was do
ne under the EU-funded Healthy FoodAfrica (HFA) project , offers fishmongers the option of three sources of energy charcoal, firewood and liquified petroleum gas.

She noted that the modification was necessitated by a finding from baseline research conducted at fishing communities, including Keta, Aflao, Dzemeni, Tema New Town and Apam, which indicated that time efficiency and capacity of production were two major concerns.

Dr Atter, who is also a Co-Project lead, said women spent a minimum of six hours every day engulfed by the smoke emanating from their basic wood-fired mud ovens.

‘The dimension of the combustion chamber and the combustion tube have been increased to accommodate more fuelwood and increase transmission of heat for rapid cooking,’ She said.

Mr Emmanuel Kwarteng, a Post Graduate Student under the HFA Project, said recent innovations in fish smoking technologies were mainly inspired by quality and safety requirements for fish.

 Those technologies, he noted, attempted to reduce all forms of
microbiological and chemical contamination of fish. 

 ‘To ensure that smoked fish products are free of microbiological contamination, ovens are constructed using materials that can withstand repeated washing, such as stainless steel, galvanized plates, and, in certain circumstances, tiles,’ he said. 

 ‘In the design, spaces with the potential to harbour microorganisms are also avoided. Adoption and use of these technologies are very crucial to the safety of fish production in the country.’

 Mr Kwarteng said the redesigned technologies incorporated a blend of user expectations and safety concerns in fish processing.

Dr. Seth Agyakwah, the Project lead, said the improved oven technologies activity of the project would contribute to a range of sustainability issues, including social, economic as well as environmental sustainability.

‘We are reducing pollution to the environment, reducing the suffering of women engaged in fish smoking and saving the forest,’ he said.

It will also contribute towards a number
of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the EU-Africa Partnership on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture and the EU FOOD 2030 strategy and national and local development goals.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Green Diversity Foundation (GDF Africa) has marked the International Day of Zero Waste with a call on young people to play active role in reducing the impact of waste to promote sustainable development.

Mr Hobson Agyapong, Executive Director of GDF Africa, said young people constituted the future of the planet, making it critical for them to be involved in solving the world’s environmental challenges.

‘Young people are the future. We cannot neglect them. If we decide to solve the problem without involving them, at the end we know definitely we will also leave, and we will not get people to continue the process.

‘Then it means we have created a mess and we made an attempt to solve it but then we could not sustain it. So for sustainability sake, we believe that the young ones should play a pivotal role in this process of solving our environmental challenges,’ Mr Agyapong said.

He made the call when GDF Africa celebrated the Day at the Lakeside Horticulture Village, Lakeside Estate Ltd, in the Adentan Mu
nicipality, on the theme: ‘Partnership for Sustainable Production and Consumption’.

Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 14, 2022, the International Day of Zero Waste is observed annually on March 30 by nations across the globe.

The occasion brought together stakeholders from government institutions, civil society organisations, academia and the private sector to assess human actions impacting the climate, come up with innovative solutions, and to form partnerships to tackle the impact of climate change

Mr Agyapong noted that waste had become a serious menace, with the United Nations reporting that every one minute, a truckload of plastic is dumped into the ocean.

He said young people must come up with innovative technologies and approaches for avoiding waste and reducing the impact of waste.

He said Ghanaians should adopt indigenous and nature-based solutions such as the use of leaves and paper in place of plastics.

‘Corporate institutions should incorporate waste reduction into t
heir environmental and social governance system to ensure sustainable production and consumption,’ he added.

Mr John A. Pwamang, Board Chairman of GDF Africa, noted that every year, Ghana generated 840,000 tonnes of plastic waste, with only 9.5 per cent being collected for recycling.

He said ensuring zero waste would require bold leadership, unwavering commitment, a fundamental shift in mindset, rethinking traditional business models, and adopting a holistic approach.

‘Together, we can build a world where waste is minimised, resources are preserved, and prosperity is shared by all,’ he said.

Mr Joy Hesse Ankomah, Deputy Director, Built Environment Department, Environmental Protection Agency, noted that to reduce waste, the country must have a ‘good strategic roadmap for implementation and enforceable legislations’.

He said zero waste called for waste avoidance, reuse and recycling.

He advocated reforms, including decentralised management of organic waste, dry waste and domestic hazardous waste, redesign
ing concessionaire agreement, integration of the informal sector, capacity building of waste management officials, adopting financially sustainable models, and upscaling of pilot projects.

Mr Abdulrahim Shaibu-Issah, Executive Director, Recycle Up Ghana, encouraged Ghanaians to take up the responsibility for ensuring zero waste by taking initiatives to avoid single-use plastics.

Lady Vera Wiredu, Executive Director, Volunteers for Victory Network, called for the passing of legislations to cut down single-use plastics and to promote reusable materials among Ghanaians.

Ms Jessica Kpendo, Miss Tourism Ghana, Second Princess, encouraged Ghanaians to make conscious effort to get their own sustainable water bottles for water and bowls to buy food in order to cut down plastics.

Present at the event were students from Mercy Senior High School, Lakeside, and Pinoko Educational Complex, Akyem Brenase in the Eastern Region.

Some of the students called for incorporation of Zero Waste as critical part of the school c
urriculum, as well as the implementation of waste segregation in homes and schools.

The event was organised in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, Environmental Protection Agency, Association of Ghana Industries, the Climate Tribe- United Arab Emirates, and Energy Free.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) has arrested another person reportedly involved in a ‘sophisticated mobile money and sim swap fraud scheme.’

EOCO officials appeared before an Accra Circuit Court and filed an amended charge and facts sheet, after which the court retook the pleas of the accused persons.

The five accused persons namely Richmond Donkor Alias Chino, Cecilia Asabre, Salifu Eshum , Daniel Asomani Baawiah and Shadrack Anthony alias Target have been jointly charged with conspiracy to steal GHC113, 947.57.

They are being held on several charges, including abetment of stealing, attempt to steal, altering of forged documents, possession of forged documents, abetment of money laundering, and money laundering.

They have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The court, presided over by Mr Isaac Addo, admitted the five accused to bail in the sum of GHC600,000 each, with two sureties.

The court said the sureties should be public or civil servants earning GHC3,000 monthly.

It further ordered
the accused to deposit their passports at the Court’s registry.

Lawyer for Shadrack Anthony, the fifth accused who was recently arrested by the EOCO, prayed for bail, saying his client had a fixed place of abode, was married with children, was gainfully employed, and would not interfere with police investigations when released.

The defence counsel told the court that Anthony was also unwell and would come to court at any time if granted bail.

The prosecution did not dispute the granting of bail and requested the court to admit them to bail on the same terms as the fifth accused person’s police enquiry bail term, which was GHC600,000 with two sureties.

The prosecution, however, opposed any variation of the bail terms.

The matter before the court is that on February 14, 2024, EOCO received complaints from a reputable bank in the country that GHC 113,947.57 had been stolen from six of its customers’ bank accounts via a sophisticated mobile money and sim deactivation and reactivation fraud scheme.

The prose
cution said with the collaboration of the Ghana Police Service, the individuals behind the scheme were arrested at Kasea on March 2, 2024, upon a tip-off.

The court heard that preliminary investigations revealed that the accused’s mode of operation was such that, with the connivance of some unscrupulous individuals within Vodafone (now

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Telecel Ghana Ltd), AT (AirtelTigo), and the bank, mobile phone numbers attributed to particular bank accounts were swapped without the knowledge of the actual account holders.

‘This swapping enables the accused persons to take over control of the account holder’s banking channels (Mobile Application and USSD) and with this the accused persons transfer funds in the accounts of the victims to different bank accounts and mobile money accounts.’

The prosecution said investigations revealed that Anthony, the fifth accused, who is a registered third-party agent of Telecel Ghana Ltd, illegally gained access to the user login credentials of one Grace Chartey Gador, his empl
oyee, deactivated and reactivated the sim numbers of the bank customers to enable the other accused persons to steal the money from their accounts.

Preliminary investigations further showed that Richmond Donkor and Salifu Eshum, altered the same ECOWAS Identity card with the number GHA 001091841-0 in the name of one William Agyei Kwarteng and used the ID to swap the phone number attributed to the bank number 2030200665017 belonging to William Agyei Kwarteng.

The accused also transferred a total of GHC 33, 850 from the said account to bank numbers, 2030438618518 and 2100438618512 belonging to Cecilia Asabre, who withdraw the funds immediately the accounts were credited.

According to the prosecution, one Comfort Asamoah-Adu’s account was taken over, resulting in a total transfer of GHC10,341.2 from those accounts to Eshum’s MTN mobile money wallet.

‘Finally, our preliminary investigations showed that in an elaborate social engineering scheme, the fourth accused (Daniel Asomani Baawiah) attempted to steal an
unspecified money belonging to one Muhibatu Abdul Basit through her AT (AirtelTigo) cash number.’

Source: Ghana News Agency