Category: General

Accra, May, 22, GNA – Some Ghanaian celebrities engaged in the performing arts, entertainment, sports and social media content producers have urged the Commissioner of Insurance, Dr.

Justice Ofori to develop insurance products that caters for their professions.

The celebrities said they use some parts of their bodies in their craft and sometimes in the course of their work, they could lose that function, which could deny them earning regular income

The discussions came up when the National Insurance Commission (NIC) organized a workshop for selected celebrities.

The workshop on the theme: Principles of Insurance, is part of efforts by the NIC to engage the various sectors of the economy and educate them to have a fair understanding and appreciation of insurance as a risk mitigating mechanism.

Some of the celebrities who shared experiences said a music artiste could lose his or her voice, a footballer could get injured in the legs and it will be interesting for instance to insure their body parts used in their craft.

Dr Ofori, the Commissioner of Insurance, in a response, said there are policies available on the Ghanaian insurance market that are tailored for these unforeseen mishaps.

He said such insurance policies are broadly termed Disability Insurances and explained that disability insurance may vary depending on the part of the body that earns the artiste regular income.

Giving examples, Dr Ofori said, “a footballer whose source of income is playing of football can be described under the disability policy as incapable of playing football once he can no longer (temporarily or permanently) be able to earn an income as a result of a bad injury. Similarly, a singer could be described as incapable of singing if he or she loses the voice. All of these can be defined under the disability insurance”.

Some of the participants who attended the workshop included Veteran Actor, David Dontoh, Musician, Gyedu-Blay Ambulley, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Abeiku Aggrey Santana of Okay FM, Entertainment blogger, Zionfelix, Musician Okyeame Quame.

Others are Jackline Mensah, Arnold Asamoah-Baidoo, Rosemond Brown (Akuapem Poloo), Yvonne Nelson, Cece Twum, Ohemaa Mercy, Habiba Sinare Ameyaw Debrah, Benedicta Gafah and many others

Participants were presented with certificates.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, May 22, GNA—Mr Edward Kweku Asomani, Deputy National Security Coordinator, says within the first quarter of this year, the African continent has experienced about 346 terrorist attacks.

He said out of the recorded attacks, 49 per cent occurred in the West African Sub-region.

Mr Asomani said the figures indicated that the Sub-region had become a hotbed for terrorism and, therefore, necessary to create awareness on security consciousness among the citizenry.

The Security Coordinator said this during a media engagement in Accra on measures being taken by Government to combat terrorism.

He said Ghanaians needed to be vigilant because the nature of the threats was unconventional – did not involve Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) or fighter jets.

Mr Asomani said the threats came in many forms, such as, through one’s pastor in the church, a cleric in the mosque, individuals coming in as Civil Society Organisations purporting to do community work.

“Also we know that the terrorists want access to the sea. The nature of the various attacks we have also had in the Sub-region indicates that wherever they go there is some form of mineral or natural resource there, particularly gold. This shows that clearly, Ghana would be of interest and it means we are a target,” he added.

He said a study of the various attacks in the Sub-regions showed that the terrorists usually exploited existing fault lines such as ethno-religious conflicts, communities that felt alienated or had grievances towards authorities.

Mr Asomani, therefore, urged residents on Ghana’s borders not to fall victim to such situations and quickly report any suspicious individuals and activities to security authorities.

He said on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, the Ministry of National Security would launch the, “See Something, Say Something campaign,” to encourage Ghanaians to own their personal security, be aware and conscious of their environment to reduce the threat of any attack on the country.

The Security Coordinator said though Ghana had a robust security and intelligence architecture, their efforts would not yield much result without the support of the citizens.

He said the Ministry was on top of the situation and that there was not need for panicking.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ho, May 22, GNA- Togbe Afede XIV, the Agbogbomefia of Asogli State in the Volta Region has underscored the need for traditional authorities to be united to bring rapid development to their various areas.

He said it was paramount that chiefs buried any division that could prevent them from carrying out their responsibilities to transform the lives of the people.

Togbe Afede, who was speaking at the Asogli Traditional Council meeting in Ho, said chiefs had crucial roles in the development of their jurisdictions.

‘Our reign must benefit the people, we must unite, learn from each other and foster development within our various communities,’ he said.

Togbe Afede who is also the President of the Council urged his colleagues to make lands available for investors who were willing to invest in the region to create job opportunities for the youth.

He said his outfit was making necessary effort to bring development projects to the region, disclosing some areas in the Region had already been surveyed for the projects.

The President said plans to establish a pilot training school and aircraft maintenance facility in the Region remained unchanged.

Togbe noted that talks were still advance with relevant authorities and that they had dispatched letters to the Ghana Airport Authority for the acquisition of land at the Ho Airport to establish a hangar.

The Agbogbomefia disclosed that plans were also afoot to get all the paramountcy in the Region to have Traditional Council for effective administration of the areas.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Techiman South Municipal Assembly has taken steps to accelerate the holistic development of the Municipality, Mr Benjamin Yaw Gyarko, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) has said.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Techiman in the Bono East Region, Mr Gyarko said the Assembly was making strides in the areas of security, cleaning of the city and sanitation management, revenue generation and rehabilitation of roads in the main market.

Touching on security, he stated it had been enhanced effectively through the provision of street lights all over the Techiman main market coupled with improved day and night patrolling by the city guards and personnel of the Ghana Police Service to protect lives and properties.

Mr Gyarko hinted the Assembly had planned to soon commence the rehabilitation of roads in the market and also decongest the area to make it a befitting business location of modern standard to engage in trading activities because “it receives traders and business people from the entire West African sub-region”.

Regarding sanitation, the MCE mentioned the Assembly had engaged the Zoomlion-Ghana, a waste management company to clean the Municipality, adding the Assembly had already cleared all dumping sites and embarked on regular evacuation of the refuse containers located at the four refuse dumping sites in the Municipality.

He said to maintain improved sanitation management for constant cleanliness of the Municipality, stakeholders including the Techiman Traditional Council have been mobilizing the people to engage in routine clean-up exercises, saying “that is highly commendable effort that must be supported by everyone for us to live in a clean environment”.

Consequently, the MCE said residents would be enjoying quality state of health because outbreak of communicable diseases which among others were caused by poor sanitation practices could be prevented to also save individuals, families and government funds that might have been spent on medication, he added,

Mr Gyarko, therefore, implored residents to cooperate with, and support the Assembly in all aspects of its operations to succeed in boosting socio-economic development of the Municipality.

“Development is a collective effort and the cooperation of everyone towards that is paramount”, he said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Wa, May 22, GNA – Traditional leaders, non-governmental organisations and religious leaders have been urged to lead the fight against modern slavery through education.

Madam Terence Tienaah, the Upper West Regional Manager of Action Aid Ghana, said modern slavery had manifested in the form of forced marriage, domestic servitude, debt bondage, child labour and commercial sex exploitation, which were common in the Ghanaian society but received little attention.

She said the role of traditional leaders remained essential in the fight against modern slavery in the communities, and urged them to intensify public education on the causes and effects of the menace as well as its implications to curtail the situation.

Madam Tienaah made the call at a press conference on modern slavery organised by the Upper West Regional Coalition for Combating Modern Slavery (CoCoMos) in partnership with the ActionAid Ghana.

ActionAid Ghana, in collaboration with the Ghana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), is facilitating the project to eradicate modern slavery, being funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.

Mr Eric Dalinpuo, the Convener of the CoCoMos, said there was the urgent need for the stakeholders, especially at the community level, to sensitise the people on modern slavery and its negative consequences within their respective jurisdictions across the region to reduce such practices.

He said no single organisation could fight the canker and called for collaboration towards its reduction if not total eradication, adding; “Combating modern slavery is a shared responsibility involving everyone”.

The Coalition is made up of stakeholders including departments, ministries and agencies, security services, municipal and district assemblies and CSOs operating in the Upper West Region to help fight modern slavery.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Komeso (Ash), May 22, GNA – The people of Komeso, a farming community in the Asante-Akim South Municipality have been asked not to pay any fee when seeking bail for a suspect in police custody.

Chief Inspector Kwabena Asiedu, Station Officer at the Obogu Police Station who gave the advice, said it was illegal to pay any amount when securing bail for a suspect and urged the public to resist any such attempt by a police officer.

The Police Officer who was speaking at a public durbar to educate the people on Ghana’s Case Tracking System (CTS) and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism, insisted that granting bail to suspect must not attract any charges as long as the offence is bailable.

His pronouncement generated massive excitement among the large gathering who were obviously disturbed about the practice of paying money at Police stations to bail a family member or friend in Police custody.

Just after Chief Inspector Asiedu, who was one of the resource persons ended his speech, the residents took turns to ask questions mostly on extortions in various Police stations in the name of granting bail to suspects.

They expressed grave concerns about the situation and called for an immediate stop to the practice since he had indicated that it was against the law.

Chief Inspector Asiedu assured them of his commitment to check unscrupulous officers engaged in the illegal activity within his jurisdiction and urged the people to report such incidence for prompt action.

The durbar was organized by Abak Foundation, a local implementing partner of the USAID Justice Sector Support Activity which seeks to create public awareness about the CTS and ADR through citizen engagement, empowerment, and voice to demand accountability and improve services.

With funding from the USAID, the project, which is being implemented by three civil society organizations, including the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Legal Resources Centre and Crime Check Foundation also aims at improving access to justice in Ghana.

The CTS was launched in 2018 by the Government with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to provide a common platform for easy tracking of cases and communication between the justice institutions.

Mr Philip Duah, Executive Director of Abak Foundation, said both the CTS and ADR sought to improve justice delivery and stressed the need for the citizenry and duty bearers to embrace them.

He said human rights abuse in the criminal justice system could significantly reduce if the CTS was effectively utilized.

He encouraged the people to resort to ADR for amicable resolution of petty cases rather than prolonged litigation in court and recommended the Legal Aid Commission as an alternative way of settling such cases.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Tamale, May 22, GNA – The Yendi Senior High School Old Students Association (YOSA) has pledged its continued support to its alma mater (Yendi SHS) to reposition it to contribute significantly towards the development of the north and the country as a whole.

Mr Shaibu Wilberforce Adams, Northern Regional Chairman of YOSA, who stated this, said even though after 50 years of its establishment, the Yendi Senior High School (SHS) had produced a lot of quality human resource serving in various capacities across the country, a lot more needed to be done for the school to remain a pillar in the country’s development hence the efforts of YOSA.

He was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Tamale when members of YOSA embarked on a procession along some principal streets of the Tamale Metropolis to create awareness about the 50th anniversary celebration of the Yendi SHS.

The celebration, which will be climaxed on May 28, with a durbar at the school’s compound at Yendi, is to recognise its contribution to the development of the country.

The Yendi SHS attained 50 years in the year 2020 but the celebration was put on hold due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Mr Adams said “In fact, these days they talk about schools like Prempeh, Adisadel, TAMASCO and what. We want to surpass them because even if you know our contribution in terms of human resources to the development of the country, you will marvel. You won’t think that after only 50 years, we have come that far. So, we want to develop not only the north but Ghana and we will produce the human resource for that.”

He added that “After 50 years, we should be moving forward. What we knew Yendi SHS to be should improve. We are expecting that Yendi SHS would become one of the pillars in the country.”

He spoke about some infrastructural projects undertaken by YOSA for its alma mater saying it had rehabilitated the school, constructed buildings, and structures including the administration block and classrooms, assembly hall, science laboratory, dormitories amongst others, adding “Almost every year group has also undertaken some projects at the school.”

Mr Mohammed Saani Alhassan, First National Vice President of YOSA expressed appreciation to various stakeholders, especially the media for their support for the celebration.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, Vivie’s Dance Factory, a dance school that promotes the arts through education, performances and entertainment is organizing an event dubbed: “Sparkle Day recital” to showcase the theatre talents of the school.

The Sparkle Day recital which is an annual event offers an opportunity for students, parents and the public to come together to appreciate the contribution of the performing arts to the society.

Ms Vivian Boateng, Chief Executive Officer of Vivie’s Dance Factory, expressed belief that some social issues could be addressed through performances.

“We believe children in Ghana have great talents, unfortunately, there aren’t many creative arts hubs to help nurture these talents,” she said.

She said the school uses performing arts to teach the children value for self, discipline and focus.

Ms Boateng said the Sparkle Day recital event is used to boost the confidence of the students as they perform on one big platform in front of audience.

The event to be held on Saturday, 18th June, 2022 will have about 400 students perform and will involve performances by the VDF students and groups from other partner schools.

It will include performances in Acro Dance, Hip Hop, Contemporary dance, traditional African drumming and dance, ballet, musical theatre among others.

The theme for the event is: Get Back Up Again, Ms Boateng said: “our message is simple, we want people to keep hope alive despite the pandemic.

Source: Ghana News Agency