SOMETHING NEW NOW: July 2014

31 July 2014

Stop creating needless panic, fear about Ebola - Dr E. Obeng-Apori.

he Medical Director of the Ridge Hospital in Accra, Dr E. Obeng-Apori, has called on health professionals to stop creating unnecessary panic about the Ebola disease.

He said the manner in which some health workers were consistently going public with suspected cases anytime someone reported with viral hemorrhagic fever, without ascertaining whether the symptoms were positive for Ebola or not, was the cause of the needless panic and fear creeping into the country.

Biometric alone cannot address challenges of Ghana electoral system - Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan.

The Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, has stated that the biometric technology alone cannot address the challenges of any electoral system.

According to him, machines could not undertake certain functions during election activities, such as the detection of minors and non-nationals in the registration of voters.

Sharing Ghana’s experience in biometric technology during elections at a conference in Accra yesterday, Dr Afari-Gyan told the participants that the EC had to employ other measures to prevent foreigners and minors from voting, adding that “the machine will not solve all our problems”.

Health financing expert and Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Sylvester A. Mensah, says the “future is bright” for the younger generation of the country. According to him, “this is truly an exciting time to be growing up in Ghana.”

Mr Mensah, who was responding to questions in an interview with California-based International journalist Ambrose Ehirim on his best-selling memoirs, “In the Shadows of Politics – Reflections from my Mirror”, said the “pedigree of our country and its institutions among the nations of Africa and the world at large is respectable and therefore, worthy of building upon.”

Special UN Representative for AU and Darfur, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas has said that the late President John Evans Atta Mills demonstrated a sterling determination to succeed and appreciated a new way of doing politics to achieve prosperity and dignity for the people.

He pointed out that “President Atta Mills’ style of governance revealed itself long before he ascended to the highest throne of Ghana. His peaceful and inclusive disposition; his academic background” among others had irreversibly shaped his outlook on politics.

More than 5,000 members of the Trades Union Congress will march in Ghana’s largest cities today, including the capital, Accra, TUC Secretary-General Kofi Asamoah said yesterday. The union represents 18 national unions with workers ranging from miners to healthcare workers and maritime personnel.

“People are angry and complaining because petroleum products and utilities prices have been increased significantly without a corresponding increase in wages and salaries,” Asamoah said. “The government has a responsibility to ensure that there are mitigating measures to help cushion the poor and vulnerable.”

Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari

Ghana duo Sulley Muntari and Michael Essien modeled in the new white AC Milan Dolce and Gabbana suits.

President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana has granted amnesty to 1,104 prisoners in commemoration of Ghana's 54th Republic Anniversary which fell on July 1.
A statement issued by Deputy Minister of the Interior James Agalga here Wednesday said the President acted upon the advice of the Council of State and the recommendation of the Ghana Prison Service.

The categories of prisoners benefitting from the amnesty included 1,001 first offenders who had served at least half of their sentences for outright release.

An Idea for new Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries: Private Money for Fosu Lagoon Landing Port.

IDEA
The fishing sector in Ghana has morphed through a series of stages, albeit it has a rather static growth and contribution towards the national purse. It has been considered at least over the last decade or two as one of the sub-sectors in the agricultural industry that has a potential of creating jobs, helping government raise revenue for development, and most importantly, mitigating poverty along our coastal communities.

Plans to develop and establish fishing harbours or landing sites along our coastal communities have been unearthed every now and then but see “no concrete” implementation. One of such plans has necessitated the position of this piece; “conversion of the Fosu Lagoon in Cape coast into a harbour and fish landing site”.It must be acknowledged that such a decision must come against the backdrop of a comprehensive analysis on the environmental viability and economic prosperity that such a project will bring not only to the people of Cape coast, but the country at large.

Ghana’s government plans to use some of its World Bank loans to fund a free sanitary pad program for young girls in poor rural communities to reduce dropout rates.

The initiative is part of a program known as the Ghana secondary school improvement project. Under the plan, $156 million would be used to build community high schools. The rest of the funds would be channeled into a scholarship scheme for students in poor rural communities as well as for free distribution of sanitary pads.

Studies conducted in Ghana show that the provision of free sanitary pads improved school attendance by cutting absenteeism among girls from 21 percent of school days to 9 percent.

Why we do not deserve US Embassy’s apology.

OPINION

Once upon a time in Ohiakrom, there lived a poverty-conscripted man called Kwasi Manu, a middle-aged man with five children and a wife. Kwasi Manu’s children would have starved to death but for the benevolence of a wealthy farmer called Kofi Odoom.

Kwasi Manu was not only poor, but he was also irresponsible to the extent that he misused money given to him by Kofi Odoom to fend for his wife and children. Apart from his numerous concubines, he was a regular visitor to some of the finest palm wine joints in Ohiakrom, where he sponsored any drinker who had a spare stomach to fill.

He lived as though there was no tomorrow. Appeals from his wife and children to tone down on his excessive debauchery fell on rocks that were harder and drier than those on Tongo Hills. Everybody in Ohiakrom knew that his poverty was self-inflicted due to his careless lifestyle.

The World Bank has approved additional financing to support the development of Ghana’s oil and gas reserves, taking total support to date to nearly $58 million.

The bank said the extra finance would help to establish a national data centre within the Petroleum Commission of Ghana, an independent regulator for the oil and gas sector, and help procure laboratory equipment for Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency.
World Bank country director for Ghana Yusupha Crookes said: “The discovery of deep oil and gas reserves has resulted in a rapid expansion of the oil and gas industry in Ghana, which has the potential to bring significant economic development opportunities to the country.”

Africa: Child Brides Abducted, Raped, Married to Appease Gods, Settle Debts.

In Ethiopia, girls are abducted on their way to school, raped and then married to their captors.

In Ghana, they are married to traditional priests and become "slaves to the gods" to pay for their family's sins.

In Cameroon, girls are promised in marriage to settle debts while still in the womb.

"There are different forms of child marriage but all these different forms have one common point, which is the girl doesn't have a voice," Francoise Kpeglo Moudouthe, Africa officer for the advocacy group Girls Not Brides, told Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"Her status in the community is so low that she doesn't even have a right to speak about this issue: if she wants to marry, when she wants to marry and who she wants to marry."

Africa: New Evidence Shows Chronically Poor Countries Are Gathering Pace in Tackling Hunger and Undernutrition.

BLOG

According to latest research published by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), some of the poorest developing countries such as Afghanistan, Burundi and Liberia are making significant progress in their commitment to reducing hunger and undernutrition witnessed through increased action on these issues.
Launched today, Hunger and Nutrition Commitment Index (HANCI) findings show that some countries that have long seen little action in dealing with hunger and undernutrition, are now making significant efforts to tackle these issues. They are putting in place laws, suitable policies and increasing public investment to change that. For instance, Burundi has improved access to clean water and sanitation and increased agricultural spending; these are large improvements in a country with an 'extremely alarming' hunger status.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has approved the late entry applications for 48 athletes from several countries including Ghana to participate in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow starting this Wednesday (July 23).

The CGF says that athletes from Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Australia and Ghana also had their late entry approved.

According to the Commonwealth Games Federation, the well-advertised deadline for entries closed on June 11, but due to a number of oversights by the athletes’ administrators, they were not entered and faced missing their events.

Residents in Accra, Ghana, will soon enjoy Pinocchio, the best Italian gelateria in the city, is now available on Hellofood.com and offers a choice of either 750 ml or 1L sizes of over 20 homemade, delicious flavours including coffee, dark chocolate, bounty, coconut, pistachio, caramel and many more.

''I'm very happy about this partnership and optimistic that this service will not only make our users extremely happy, but will also keep them coming back for more, which is why we are here!'' Yolanda Lee, Managing Director Hellofood.com Ghana stated.

General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Kofi Asamoah, is warning of dire consequences if the police try to stop their planned nationwide demonstration on Thursday, July 24.

“It is important that nobody put any spook in the wheels of the determined workers who want to express their frustrations about the worsening socio-economic conditions in the country,” he stressed.

Mr. Asamoah’s warning comes after the police administration advised organized labour to hold its planned nationwide demonstration on a regional basis.

...over Mahama Tweets

Hundreds of Ghanaians will next week stage a peaceful protest march on behalf of government against the American Embassy in Ghana for launching an attack on a social media post by President John Dramani Mahama.

The demonstrators are seeking to petition the American President, Barrack Obama, through the American Ambassador to Ghana, Gene A. Cretz, for an apology and action against the Embassy official responsible for the blunder. The march is jointly being organized by the Progressive Socialists Forum of Ghana and the New Politics Network (NPN) - an apolitical grouping. It is scheduled for Friday July 25, 2014 in Accra.

China is not 'Father Christmas' to dole out cash to unprepared gov't - IMANI

Founding President of IMANI Center for Policy and Education, Franklin Cudjoe, has described as shameful the time government is wasting on the procurement of the $3 billion China Development Bank (CDB) loan facility.
Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, he said “I feel ashamed and I feel that we wasted four years chasing a loan we were not prepared for”.

The loan agreement was signed in 2011 by Ghana and CDB after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased the country’s commercial borrowing rate from $800 million to $3.4 billion the same year.

Two Irish exploration firms — Clontarf Energy and Petrel Resources — have reached agreement with the authorities in Ghana over a long-running dispute concerning lost licence acreage in the west African country.
The John Teeling-chaired sister companies — which, respectively, own 60% and 30% of the Tano-2A exploration licence in Ghana (10% is locally-owned) — had initiated legal proceedings (which have now been withdrawn) after US firm, CAMAC Energy had been granted acreage overlapping the Irish firms’ existing prospect. London-listed Clontarf’s share price fell from nearly £3 to less than 50p in the past year, mainly due to the confusion over the Ghana licence.

However, the two companies yesterday announced that the Ghanaian authorities have agreed the provision of additional acreage, which preserves the overall size of the Tano block at around 15,000 sq km — about three times the size of an average licence block held in Ireland’s highly-rated Porcupine Basin field.

NPP settles on October 18 for special congress.

The New Patriotic Party says it has penciled 31st August, 2014 as the date for its Special Delegates Congress to elect the first five of the seven persons who have filed to contest the party’s Presidential Primaries.

“The Special Congress will be held at Regional Centres in all the ten Regions of Ghana. The Party Headquarters at Asylum Down in Accra will also be designated as a Polling Center for some categories of voters,” a statement issued by the party, signed by General Secretary Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, said on Thursday.

BBC’s Documentary On Second Hand Clothing In Ghana.

In Britain, we give thousands of tons of our unwanted clothes to charity shops every year. But where do they actually go? It turns out most don't ever reach the rail of the local charity shop; they are exported to Africa.

And even though we have given them away for free, our castoffs have created a multi-million pound industry and some of the world's poorest people pay good money to buy them.

In this revealing film for BBC Two's This World, Ade Adepitan tells the fascinating story of the afterlife of our clothes. He follows the trail to Ghana, the biggest importer of our castoffs. One million pounds' worth of our old clothes arrive here every week.

Clint Dempsey led the US Men’s National Soccer team to a huge defeat against Ghana during the World Cup — and it was the first time the US have eliminated Ghana in three World Cups! The team accepted the ESPY Award for Best Moment of the year, and thanked the fans more than anyone else!

ESPY Awards 2014 Best Moment

“We just wanted to say its an honor to win this award with all the other players that are in this category,” Clint said when winning Best Moment on July 16 — exactly a month after the game that landed him there. “We appreciate the fans that voted for us, and also the fans who hunted us down when we were in Brazil for the World.”

Ghana could face the wrath of the world’s football governing body after the government announced a three-member commission to probe into the activities of the national team

Fifa has written to the Ghana FA over government’s move to investigate the Black Stars’ poor performance and other off-pitch events at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The Ghana government has set up a three-member Commission of Inquiry with the powers of a high court to look into all activities surrounding the country’s participation at the global showpiece.

Ghana forging ahead with e-agriculture.

Since launching an internet-based platform in February this year to enable agricultural experts, farmers and community members to exchange opinions and resources, the Ghana government has been forging ahead in its quest to digitise the sector, which constitutes the backbone of the economy.
Almost every month, an e-agriculture initiative is being brought in to speed up the process and disseminate digital knowledge that would probably enhance the sector's productivity.

Just recently, the country conducted nationwide tests of an e-agriculture project to help famers get to grip with technology.

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Monday afternoon, said Ghana was not working under the government of the National Democratic government, but assured Ghanaians to take heart and keep faith because Ghana will work again if the New Patriotic Party is voted into office in 2016.

Nana Akufo-Addo made this known when he filed his nomination documents at the NPP headquarters, Asylum Down, Accra. He was the fourth person to file his nomination papers for the 2014 presidential primary, as the opposition party prepares for the December 2016 general elections.

There are fears Ebola could have spread to Ghana as a US citizen is being tested for the deadly virus.

The man was undergoing treatment on Monday after falling ill during a trip to two West African countries with confirmed outbreaks.

A senior official from Ghana’s health ministry said the man being tested was American.

He added: “Records showed that he had been to Guinea and Sierra Leone in the past few weeks.”

The Ministry of Health said the patient, who has not been named, was in quarantine at Nyaho clinic in Accra and urged the public to remain calm.

NDC Unveils $20m Office???

Leadership of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) finally commissioned the controversial $20 million head office building yesterday.

Key and influential members of the party, including some Members of Parliament (MPs), defied a heavy downpour that hit the nation’s capital, Accra, to hold a meeting at the place after midday.

Even though the party has persistently denied ownership of the building, holding the meeting there gave a tacit endorsement that the edifice is owned by the party.

STUDENTS and staff from South Craven School are gearing up for a trip to west Africa at the end of term.

The 21 year 12 pupils and five teachers will be travelling to Ghana.

Their trip has been two years in the planning, and is being organised by teacher Jonathon Lonsdale in conjunction with the organisation Partner Ghana.

The students have been fundraising to cover the substantial costs of their fares.

Ebola epidemic: Global responsibility? Emergency meeting in Ghana adopts new strategy to fight world's deadliest outbreak.

African nations and international health organisations have agreed a joint strategy to fight the deadliest ever Ebola outbreak. The acute viral disease has killed at least 467 people in West Africa, and the concern now is to stop it spreading. Most of the victims are in Guinea, where the outbreak began in January, but it has since spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah has apologised for the embarrassing and abysmal performance displayed by the Black Stars at the 2014 World Cup which saw Ghana crash out in the first round of the group.

Ghana, for the first time in its three successive World Cup appearances obtained just one point in Group G after losing 2-1 to USA, drawing 2-2 with Germany and going down 1-2 to Portugal.

Listen to Afriyie Ankrah in the attached audio below

John Mahama Must Sit Up and Arrest Ailing Economy.

On July 1st, Ghanaians should have been celebrating with pride the 54th anniversary of attaining Republican status. Sadly however, from being the beacon of hope for the rest of the African continent, the vast majority of our countrymen must have perhaps endured the most depressing week in recent times.

The week began with the announcement from one of the respected rating agencies MOODYS that Ghana's sovereign rating has once again been downgraded to B2 confirming the widely held view that Ghana's economic outlook was continuing a downward trend.

Myrtle Breckenridge, 17, from Glasgow, who has just left Shawlands Academy, will be travelling to Ghana in September to help teach English, science and maths at a junior secondary school and a primary school in the Volta region. As a volunteer with Project Trust she has already been given training in languages and teaching before she leaves for the year-long placement.

Under the partnership with Our Lady's, Ms Breckenbridge has already visited the school and will arrange video link-ups between pupils in Scotland and Ghana so they can share lessons. The pupils will also be set up as pen pals.

Press Conference By The Minority On Ghana’s Disappointing World Cup Performance In Brazil 2014.

INTRODUCTION
Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media.
I thank you on behalf of my colleagues for responding to our invitation.
Countrymen and women, over the past few weeks the nation has witnessed very disturbing and dangerous developments in the sphere of sports and we have called you today to share a few thoughts. For a country that is going through very painful economic circumstances, one would expect that whatever decisions are taken will be driven by efficiency, economy, value for money and above all in the national interest. The rot in governance has affected all aspects of our national endeavours.Sports have not been spared.

Milan midfielder Michael Essien released a statement on Ghana’s controversial World Cup campaign.

It was beset by problems, as Kevin Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari were thrown out of the squad on the eve of a decisive match against Portugal and Boateng claims there was financial mismanagement and “amateurish” organisation.

Coach Kwesi Appiah then told media that Essien refused to take part in a warm-up session ahead of that game, so would have to face punishment.

The Ghanaian government has pledged to put its medical research center at the service of experts seeking to contain the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.

Ghana's Noguchi Memorial Institute "will be available to support research into how we can contain and find the needed vaccines to make sure that this outbreak does not occur again," Health Minister Sherry Ayitey told a West African ministerial meeting in Accra – devoted to discussing the Ebola crisis – on Wednesday.

"At this crucial moment, our sister countries also need financial resources to support the effort going on to fight the Ebola virus," she said. "So we would like to appeal to our development partners to… support the three countries so they can procure the needed drugs to support health personnel fighting Ebola."

The President of Medeama Sporting Club, Moses Armah, says he was provoked by Sulley Muntari to retaliate after he was attacked by the Black Stars midfielder during a meeting in Brasilia last week.

The usually calm Mr Armah, also known as Mospacka, a member of the FA Executive Committee, said he reluctantly hit back after he had received two slaps from the player.

Sulley Muntari was recently kicked out of the Ghana squad at the World Cup, following a blazing row with team officials.

Muntari has stayed silent on what happened, but this leaked video from the team hotel might shed some more light on why he was kicked out.
WATCH LEAKED VIDEO BELOW

LIFE sciences firm Omega Diagnostics has announced it is participating in a major project to improve public health data collection in parts of Africa.

The Alva company is already using a mobile app to record and collate results during the testing of its CD4 test for HIV in Kenya and India.

That app, created in conjunction with Edinburgh-based software company Novarum, can allow for the transmission of data from remote locations into central government databases.

Former President of Ghana, Mr. John Kufuor, has called on African countries to pursue good governance and sustain the fight against corruption to sustain investor confidence and foreign investments.

He noted that African countries had in the last two decades liberalised their economies to attract investments, but said there was the need to make further gains by ensuring good governance.

Kufuor spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt in a keynote address he presented at the 2014 Energy, Environment, and Investment Forum (EEIF) organised by the Rivers state Government, with the theme: Sustainable Energy, The Key to Africa’s World Integration.

Africa’s good, bad and ugly as world title remains a mirage

Algeria and Nigeria headed home Tuesday after another five-prong African World Cup challenge came to a disappointing end in Brazil.

While the ‘Desert Foxes’ and ‘Super Eagles’ proved combative last-16 opponents for Germany and France, the lack of a cutting edge in attack led to defeats.

The losses against the former world champions were hardly surprising as African teams have won just 16 of 80 matches against European opponents at the global showpiece.

“We feel that there is much the world can learn from those of us who belong
to what we might term the pre-technological societies.

These are values, which we must not sacrifice unheedingly in pursuit of material progress.

That is why we say that self-government is not an end in itself.
We have to work hard to evolve new patterns, new social customs, new attitudes to life, so that while we seek the material, cultural and economic advancement of our country, while we raise their standards of life, we shall not sacrifice their fundamental happiness…

Wood Group Kenny (WGK) has been awarded an engineering services contract to support Tullow Ghana Limited and its partners through the execution phase of the Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme (TEN) project, offshore Ghana.
WGK will provide subsea, umbilical, risers, flowlines (SURF) engineering services.
The Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme oilfields are situated in the Deepwater Tano area, offshore Ghana, approximately 30 km from the existing Jubilee field.

Authorities in northern Ghana have signed a deal to press ahead with the 40MW first phase of what will eventually be 200MW of solar capacity in the region.

The Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) has finalised an agreement with DCH Solargiga, a subsidiary of China’s Solargiga, to build the plant near Tamale, the principal town of Ghana’s Northern Region.

A deal signed in Ghana’s capital Accra last week between the acting chief executive of SADA, Charles Jebuni, and the managing director of DCH Solargiga, Zhang Gang, paves the way for the start of the project.

A flagbearer aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Stephen Asamoah Boateng, was booed by the ‘Occupy the Flagstaff House’ demonstrators with chants of ‘no politician’.

Asamoah Boateng attempted to join the protesters.

Here are some of the Tweets Trending for Asabee on Twitter.

Tweets about "Asabee"

Hanna Tetteh Tweets about the #OccupyFlagstaffHouse Demonstration actual turnout and the response to her Tweet was Massive.

Their social media campaign was much more effective than the actual turnout.
— Hanna Tetteh (@HannaTetteh) July 1, 2014

Every citizens concerns are important, but after listening to all of them being aired on radio & seeing the number involved it surprising.
— Hanna Tetteh (@HannaTetteh) July 1, 2014

These are some of the Response to @HannaTetteh Tweets...

@HannaTetteh your government has killed the soul of the business community +rhetorics and corruption. Kotma and their ashy buttocks. #ndcout
— dan foster (@scolari157) July 1, 2014

The non-partisan group calling itself Concerned Ghanaians for Responsible Governance (CGRG) is marching to petition President John Mahama on what it said, has been the worsening economic conditions in the country.

Dubbed 'Occupy Flagstaff House', the organizers say every Ghanaian deserved to be happy and are tired of talking about hardship on social media.

Here Are Some Tweets Trending on The Social Media

#OccupyFlagstaffHouse Tweets

July 1, 2014.

His Excellency John Dramani Mahama

President

Republic of Ghana

Dear President Mahama,

IN THE NAME OF THE ALMIGHTY GOD

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has postponed until further notice the implementation of the Value Added Tax (VAT) on financial services scheduled to begin on July 1, 2014.

MEMBERS of a group who have returned from a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ trip to Ghana have spoken about their experiences.

Deb Holland, deputy head teacher at the Pingle School, in Coronation Street, Swadlincote, joined up with dozens of others from across the area to head to Africa with the Burton Albion Community Trust as part of a volunteering missions.

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ESPY Awards 2014 Best Moment

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