Day: June 17, 2024

The Eastern Regional Office of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has arrested seven owners of Community Information Centers in a dawn swoop operation in Nkawkaw for advertising and selling unregistered drugs.

The operation, carried out with the support of the Ghana Police Service, led to the seizure of several drugs, including aphrodisiacs and herbal products as well as the interdiction of some drug peddlers in the market.

Mrs. Anita Owusu-Kuffour, Eastern Regional Head of FDA, told the Ghana News Agency, that ‘ the exercise served as a way of safeguarding public health against the consumption or usage of unsubstantive products.’

She noted that without the intervention of the Police in enforcing the law public health would be in danger.

She explained that before any swoop exercise was conducted, the Authority had previously given several public education campaigns on the effects and threats of unsubstantiated products and unregistered products on human health.

The FDA exists to ensure the safety, quali
ty, and efficacy of human and veterinary drugs, food, biological products, cosmetics, medical devices, household chemical substances, and clinical trials, as well as control tobacco products through the enforcement of relevant standards to protect public health.

The confiscated products from the Community Information Centers and the market were properly disposed of at Akwadum dumping site.

Mrs. Owusu-Kuffour cautioned the public to go through the appropriate procedures to ensure their products were approved and registered before bringing them onto the market.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, the Senior Presidential Adviser, has indicated that natural resources alone cannot spur the growth and development of Ghana, but good character and patriotism are necessary.

He said, ‘all over the world, countries with little or no natural resources are doing excellently well because they have stuck to discipline, good work ethics and patriotism which are very essential in nation building.’

Mr Osafo-Maafo was speaking at ‘The Pledge; Making the National Pledge a National Reality,’ put together by the Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade of the Freeman Methodist Church in Kwesimintsim.

The project on the Pledge is to help both the current and older generation to make an introspective and retrospective considerations on the content of the nationals emblems and songs and really live in the promises espoused in them to reflect on the fortunes of the country.

Mr Osafo-Maafo wondered why Ghanaians heartlessly smuggled cocoa, and other state natural resources to other countries to sell at cheaper rates,
go to work late or even refuse to go at all on rainy days, adding, ‘in Germany, when the rains fall in the morning and work is delayed, everyone automatically stay on to do extra duty to compensate for the morning loss…this is growth idea.’

He wondered why ‘Ghanaians still perceived state companies as the remnant of colonialism and so continued to handle work with some relaxed mentality…it is about time we came to self realisation that nobody would build our country but us…teach the Pledge with meaning and understanding to the current generation so that the words in them could be actualized.’

He also tasked the churches to psych the mentally of the Ghanaian to give off their best.

Mr. Justice Yaw Ennin, the Western Regional Director of the NCCE, described the Pledge as an official undertaken by all Ghanaians to uphold the integrity, sovereignty and patriotism of state and queried why these things seemed to be missing.

He urged people to stop demanding monies from politicians as it was a major contributor
to socio-economic burden on the country…’stop selling your conscious and rights for monies.’

Lieutenant Col. Bondah, the Commanding Officer for the 2BN at Apremdo, said the new emerging oppressors rule was not from the colonialists but the Ghanaian attitude towards each other.

He said society was gradually losing focus on good virtue and tasked the church to make the positive change happened for the younger generation.

The Right Reverend Emmanuel Kwesi Ansah, the Bishop of the Sekondi Diocese of the Methodist Church, said what was left for the country was to build on the heritage left to us by the forefathers to avert the degeneration of the resources of the nation.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Wisdom Aditsey, the Tema Metropolitan Environmental Health Officer, has advised residents of Tema to change their attitudes and stop littering the environment.

Mr Aditsey said attitudinal change was paramount to cleanliness and the prevention of diseases in the communities.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, he said the bad sanitation conditions in Tema were a result of the bad attitude of people, adding that this needed to change to ensure a clean environment.

He disclosed that ‘I have some labourers working under me; every day, I have to organise people to clean the rubbish scattered at the roadside, community-one station, with some packed in sacks at the roundabout and in front of Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), which is dumped there from the various sites at night.’.

He lamented that ‘for the elder ones, when they litter the compound and I caution thm, they ask, ‘do you sleep here?’; I was attacked before, because I objected to some people littering and urinating around ind
iscriminately.’

The Environmental Health Officer said if the public developed an attitudinal change towards the way waste was handled, Tema would be one of the cleanest cities in Ghana.

‘I am advocating strongly for proper waste handling to be added to the basic school curriculum and for it to be an important issue to be addressed from childhood,’ he added.

He noted that it waa difficult to get the elderly to change some of their bad environmental behaviour, but incorporating it into the curriculum would enable the young ones to get the needed education on it and grow with it.

Mr Aditsey stated that many of the illnesses reported at the health facilities were related to bad environmental practices and personal hygiene, stressing that individuals must take care of their environment by properly managing waste and preventing the breeding of mosquitoes, houseflies, and other insects that could cause diseases. 

According to him, waste must be properly disposed of, noting that the TMA has systems in place for
that; therefore, residents must register with service providers, give their waste to them, and pay instead of littering the environment.

The health officer, however, said that the service provider for community one was not able to go into the densely populated area; therefore, residents sometimes give their waste to informal service providers, who often dump the waste anywhere.

‘I have on a number of occasions advised that if they can devise a way for tricycles to enter the sites to collect the rubbish, then they can feed the huge vehicles that cannot enter the community,’ he said.

Touching on disease prevention, he said personal hygiene was very important, especially hand washing under running water, which was essential before cooking and serving, as well as other good hygiene practices.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Adenta Onyame Akwan Transport Union and Abokobi GPRTU on Monday organized a three-hour clean up exercise by desisting gutters along the Adenta-Aburi road.

The exercise was led by Nana Adu , the Chairman/CEO of Onyame Akwan Transport Union who said the women selling along the road had been dumped refuse into the gutters and during the rains the gutters got flooded .

The floods, he added created problems at the Aburi/Koforidua Station near the Adenta Police Station.

Some of the women who sell along the road also provided some food to the working members.

The Chairman added that similar exercises would continue to desilt the gutters on the other side of the road.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Government has constructed 1,000 metric ton grains receptacle under its flagship project, ‘One District-One Warehouse’ programme in the Krachi East Municipality of the Oti Region.

The said facility is to enable farmers in the Municipality store their produce to prevent post harvest losses and to help food security in the area.

Mr David Ubor Nasandi, a farmer told the Ghana News Agency (GNA), that the challenges of storage and other farming activities, which used to cripple their business, would now be a thing of the past.

He said the Municipality has been blessed with two factories, thus ‘One District-One Factory and One District-One Warehouse.

He noticed that the facilities came at the right time as the production capacity of maize in the Municipality over the years has been increasing.

Mr Fuseini Alhassan Mumuni, another farmer, applauded government and called for farming inputs so they could improve their farming enterprise in the coming years.

Mr Charles Gyamfi Boateng, the Municipal Chief Executiv
e (MCE), assured the farmers of the government’s commitment to fighting food insecurity in the country.

He said President Akufo-Addo was bent on improving the agricultural Sector of the country, adding that, ‘the warehouse and one district-one factory will improve our food insecurity,’ he said.

Mr Boateng said the Municipal Assembly would ensure high maintenance culture of the facility and urged farmers in and around the area to patronize the facility.

He commended the central government for the foresight and said proper usage of such edifice would push the country an inch towards its ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ agenda.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Some suburbs of Kadjebi have been plunged into darkness since Friday, June 14 after rainstorm hit the town.

A high tension pole at Cocoa Market area has broken down, leading to power outage at Martin Kordzi and Asito.

The situation has brought many business activities to halt as the operators had no power alternative.

During a visit by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to the affected areas on Sunday, June 16, cold stores, tailoring shops, drinking sports, chop bars, among others have been closed for the power outage.

Mr. Opoku Mahama, a food vendor at Martin Kordzi, said the light-off had affected his cooking activities as he had no power to grind cooking ingredients and also store food items.

He said if the situation persisted, he would lose most of his customers.

Mr. Opoku appealed to the Kadjebi District Chief Executive to intervene to restore power by Monday, June 17.

Ms Rebecca Zabu, a Seamstress at Cocoa Market, told GNA that the power outage had affected her business as no customer has come to sew s
ince Friday, June 14 as result of the light off.

She said if the situation continued, she would have no means of survival.

She called on the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to restore light to bring life to normalcy.

Mr. Gabriel Kwame Dzanka, a Public Servant at Cocoa Market, told GNA that due to the blackout he was unable to preserve his food items, let alone drink chilled water.

When GNA contacted Mr. Wilson Kwami Agbanyo, the Kadjebi District Chief Executive on the issue, he confirmed knowledge of the problem and said ‘ECG Officials would come and remedy the situation on Monday, June 17, 2024.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, says the forthcoming December 7 general elections should center on policies and ideas.

He says Ghanaians should scrutinize the ideas and policies proposed by the various candidates, which must be the basis for electing who they want to lead the country.

In an address during the Eid-ul-Adha celebrations held at the State House in Accra, the Vice President emphasized the need to ensure unity and a discussion that focuses on policy in the electoral process.

“We are one people, we are one nation, and we should let this election be about the policies, ideas, and solutions that the respective candidates have for the country, and that is what we should be focusing on,” he stated.

Dr. Bawumia also noted Ghana’s status as one of the most peaceful countries in the subregion.

“Ghana is a blessed country. We are the most peaceful country in West Africa and probably about the fifth or so most peaceful country in Africa,” he said.

Source: Ghana Web

In a compelling statement made on his birthday, June 16, Member of Parliament for Assin Central constituency and former presidential aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kennedy Agyapong emphasized the importance of unity within the New Patriotic Party.

He declared that there are no “Ken Agyapong supporters” or “Bawumia supporters,” but rather, there are only “NPP supporters.”

Known for his outspoken nature, Hon. Kennedy Agyapong delivered this message during the celebration of his 64th birthday at his campaign office in Accra.

He began by apologizing to his core supporters for his inability to adequately inform them of his decision to join Dr. Bawumia’s campaign in Kumasi and encouraged them to recognize that their victory depends on the strength of party unity.

He, however, appealed to Dr. Bawumia’s campaign team and supporters to reciprocate the reconciliation gesture he has offered and refrain from any harassment of his supporters.

Ken emphasized the importance of putting party unity above ind
ividual loyalty in the presence of NPP Chairman, Mr. Stephen Ayensu Ntim, urging all party members to set aside their differences and work towards the party’s shared goal of ‘Breaking the 8’.

Ken Agyapong stressed the need for NPP supporters to unite and consolidate their efforts, disregarding any divisions that might have occurred during the presidential primaries.

The call for reconciliation within the NPP comes at a critical time when political parties across the globe are grappling with internal divisions.

Recognizing this, Ken Agyapong stressed that forging a united front is crucial to maintaining the party’s strength and securing continued electoral success.

Ken’s statement resonated deeply with many party members who recognize the need for a harmonious and united atmosphere within the NPP.

As the party gears up for the 2024 elections, Agyapong’s message serves as a rallying cry, reinforcing the importance of a united front to secure victory. His plea for reconciliation emphasizes that, regardless
of personal affiliations or competing aspirations, NPP members should always remain dedicated to the party’s collective success above all else.

The onus is now on party members to respond to this rallying call, welcome constructive criticism, and join forces to achieve electoral success in 2024.

Kennedy Agyapong has apologized to his supporters for not informing them before joining the Vice President and his campaign team on the Ashanti Regional campaign tour.

He made it clear that he has not resigned from the NPP and is not considering running as an independent… pic.twitter.com/2nIS5mn2gx

– EDHUB??? (@eddie_wrt) June 17, 2024

Source: Ghana Web