Ghana joined the global community to mark the "World Day Against Child Labour" recently to create awareness of the negative effects of child labour.
Each year the day is celebrated on June 12, to link governments, employers and workers’ organisations, as well as civil society groups and others such as schools and the media, in the campaign against child labour, through advocacy and solidarity.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) launched the World Day Against Child Labour in 2002 as a platform for highlighting the global extent of child labour and focusing attention on global action to eliminate child labour.
Child labour had been identified by social workers as a big issue in the country. It involves using children to sell, to fish or work as surface miners or do other jobs that affect their rights, health and welfare, to fend for themselves or their parents and guardians.
“It becomes a human right abuse, especially in the case of children who are trafficked to work for people to earn income for their parents and guardians.
Child labour is closely associated with poverty. Many poor families are unable to afford school fees or other educational expenditure and, therefore, depend on the contribution that a working child makes to the household’s income; they tend to place more importance on that than on their education.
In spite of all the efforts being made to get more children into schools to improve their lot, the picture on the ground with respect to the rights and responsibilities of children in some communities is exactly the opposite and the enormity of the problems confronting children in those communities calls for immediate attention.
In 1998, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work was adopted. It included the elimination of child labour as one of the four fundamental principles which the ILO members pledged to respect, regardless of whether they had ratified the relevant Conventions. In 1999, the ILO’s constituents adopted the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No. 182).
Most children found involved in child labour are those who usually stay with a family member or a guardian. Sometimes, the children may not have any blood relation with the guardian, therefore they are made to go through all sorts of horrific abuse. They are overloaded with task and when they are not up to it, they are severely rebuked.
In support of the campaign against child labour, a workshop, dubbed Supporting Children's Right Through the Arts and Media (SCREAM), designed to build the capacity of educational practitioners to enable them to sensitise the public to the effects of child labour is underway in Kumasi.
About 25 participants drawn from the Greater Accra, Volta and Eastern regions are participating in the workshop, which is also meant to strengthen the capacity of children to enable them to resist any form of child labour.
It is on the theme "Strengthening Children's Participation to Fight Against Child Labour Through SCREAM Methodology and Tools".
About 100 persons from the educational sector and other recognised institutions drawn from the Northern, Western, Ashanti and Eastern regions have already benefited from similar workshops to enable them to address the problems of child labour and its debilitating effects on children.
In her opening remarks, the Co-ordinator of SCREAM, Mrs Josephine Kufour-Duah, explained that the SCREAM training was aimed at building their capacity, and was carefully selecting programmes for children "who themselves should be seen as active stakeholders in the struggle against child labour".
She pointed out that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognised that children had the right to fully participate in matters directly affecting their lives and survival as future leaders.
Mrs Kufour-Duah noted further that since children are very forceful and powerful advocates towards their peers, they should be given the requisite support that would enable them create awareness and understanding of issues involving child labour.
Such initiatives, she said, would go a long way in the prevention and elimination of child labour, which has now become an issue in developing nations.
“SCREAM is meant to educate young people about child labour and its complexities, raising awareness in children using specific modules and provoking their emotional levels to the canker", she explained. She said with SCREAM, the youth would also be empowered to research issues bordering on child labour, human rights and children's rights such as the right to education, food, health, shelter and protection.
“With these initiatives, the youth would graduate from pupils to become community educators", Mrs Kufour-Duah explained further.
In another development, Mr Alexis Danikuu Dery, Senior Programmes Officer of the Assemblies of God Relief and Development Services (AGREDS) Ghana, has disclosed that since its inception, the organisation has rescued, rehabilitated and re-integrated a total of 728 girls in various communities within the country, particularly those from the three Northern Regions, under its Life Line Project, known as Elim Centre, reports the Ghana News Agency (GNA).
Briefing the GNA in Accra on the project on Thursday, Mr Dery stated that as part of its development agenda, the project, established a decade ago, was to provide skills training opportunities for the many trafficked girls languishing on the streets of Accra.
He said the AGREDS-Life Line selected the Agbogbloshie/Konkomba markets for the project, due to the nature of those communities, adding that they had large concentration of migrants from the Northern Regions, who were engaged in all sorts of menial jobs.
The programme officer mentioned unfavourable cultural practices, such as forced marriages, domestic violence and child abuse, among others, as the major contributory factors that led to the exodus of the girls out of their various communities.
Mr Dery said programmes currently being implemented by AGREDS-Life Line included an Early Childhood Development Centre in urban Accra-Agbogbloshie; Back to School; and an Integrated Vocational Skills Training in urban Accra, also based at Agbogbloshie, offering hairdressing, dressmaking, batik tie and dye and catering.
He disclosed that the long-term objective of AGREDS was to effectively contribute towards the progressive and sustainable elimination of the worst forms of child labour.
He mentioned inadequate funding to tackle the root causes of poverty through the provision of micro-credit support to families of trafficked girls; lack of transportation and other logistic support to embark on community sensitisation programmes in the rural areas; and inadequate incentives to motivate staff and volunteers, as problems militating against the success of the Project.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
COURT ORDERS KEJETIA PROJECT TO STOP (PAGE 32)
The Kumasi High Court, presided over by Justice Kwame Ansu-Gyeabour, has ordered that construction works on a storey building at the Kajetia Lorry Park be stopped immediately.
The court also ordered the Ashanti Regional Surveyor and the Survey Department to go to the site where construction works had taken place and measure the plot of land and furnish it with the report.
The court order followed an affidavit filed by Kwadwo Mensah Gyimah on April 3, 2008 in support of an interim injunction he filed restraining the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) from interfering with the development of the project at the Kajetia Lorry Park.
Upon reading the affidavit, and hearing the counsel of Gyimah and the KMA, the court ordered the plaintiff to "stop all construction work at the Kajetia Lorry Park until the report is submitted to this court".
According to the court, the Survey Department should submit the report by July 30 2008.
The KMA has already advised the public to refrain from renting any of the disputed premises, arguing that "the structures have not received approval from the Kumasi Statutory Planning Committee".
According to a notice signed by the Deputy Metropolitan Director, Emelia Botchway, notwithstanding their warnings, members of the public, including banking institutions, had put up notices or banners to the effect that they were opening offices in the structures, and therefore warned that persons and companies who would violate the notice would be prosecuted in accordance with KMA bye-laws.
The court also ordered the Ashanti Regional Surveyor and the Survey Department to go to the site where construction works had taken place and measure the plot of land and furnish it with the report.
The court order followed an affidavit filed by Kwadwo Mensah Gyimah on April 3, 2008 in support of an interim injunction he filed restraining the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) from interfering with the development of the project at the Kajetia Lorry Park.
Upon reading the affidavit, and hearing the counsel of Gyimah and the KMA, the court ordered the plaintiff to "stop all construction work at the Kajetia Lorry Park until the report is submitted to this court".
According to the court, the Survey Department should submit the report by July 30 2008.
The KMA has already advised the public to refrain from renting any of the disputed premises, arguing that "the structures have not received approval from the Kumasi Statutory Planning Committee".
According to a notice signed by the Deputy Metropolitan Director, Emelia Botchway, notwithstanding their warnings, members of the public, including banking institutions, had put up notices or banners to the effect that they were opening offices in the structures, and therefore warned that persons and companies who would violate the notice would be prosecuted in accordance with KMA bye-laws.
Friday, July 25, 2008
DVLA IMPOUNDS ELONGATED VEHICLE (PAGE 30)
Officers of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) in Kumasi have impounded a Toyota Corolla Saloon car which has been elongated to enable it to accommodate three additional passengers and more load.
Instead of the five normal persons, including the driver, the vehicle, with additional length now takes eight persons.
It has two back seats - one at the extreme back, another in the middle-with additional seats, which accommodate the driver and the passenger at the front seat.
The vehicle with registration number WR 1301X was impounded last Tuesday when the officers detected anomalies while examining it for the issue of a roadworthy certificate.
The Ashanti Regional office of the DVLA is now waiting for directives from the Inspectorate and Regulatory Division of its head office in Accra to take their next line of action.
According to the Ashanti Regional Licensing Officer of the DVLA, Mr Noah Tetteh Matey, the elongation of the saloon car to accommodate additional passengers undermined road safety regulations " because in case of any accident, the vehicle easily break apart and cause massive injuries to passengers on board".
Mr Matey said with the elongation of the car, the integral compartment which enabled the chassis to hold the body together had been destroyed.
He said in that situation the frame of the vehicle was not strong enough to provide any safety for the passengers who would be on board, hence the need to impound it.
He said with the refusal of the DVLA to issue a roadworthy certificate to the owner, " there is no way that the vehicle could operate in any part of the country ".
The owner of the vehicle, Mr Moro Ibrahim, - a 45 year old store keeper, told the Daily Graphic that he elongated the vehicle to enable him to create additional space for his family " when we are travelling to the north".
He said the elongation was performed by some artisans at the Suame Magazine, who charged him GH¢1,500.
He said he enlongated the chassis of his vehicle because he had seen similar vehicles had had theirs elongated by the artisans, and that he would contact the artisans to reduce the additional space created.
" I appreciate the fact that I have done the wrong thing, so if the vehicle is released to me, I will contact the artisans to reduce the additional space created to enable me to use the vehicle".
Instead of the five normal persons, including the driver, the vehicle, with additional length now takes eight persons.
It has two back seats - one at the extreme back, another in the middle-with additional seats, which accommodate the driver and the passenger at the front seat.
The vehicle with registration number WR 1301X was impounded last Tuesday when the officers detected anomalies while examining it for the issue of a roadworthy certificate.
The Ashanti Regional office of the DVLA is now waiting for directives from the Inspectorate and Regulatory Division of its head office in Accra to take their next line of action.
According to the Ashanti Regional Licensing Officer of the DVLA, Mr Noah Tetteh Matey, the elongation of the saloon car to accommodate additional passengers undermined road safety regulations " because in case of any accident, the vehicle easily break apart and cause massive injuries to passengers on board".
Mr Matey said with the elongation of the car, the integral compartment which enabled the chassis to hold the body together had been destroyed.
He said in that situation the frame of the vehicle was not strong enough to provide any safety for the passengers who would be on board, hence the need to impound it.
He said with the refusal of the DVLA to issue a roadworthy certificate to the owner, " there is no way that the vehicle could operate in any part of the country ".
The owner of the vehicle, Mr Moro Ibrahim, - a 45 year old store keeper, told the Daily Graphic that he elongated the vehicle to enable him to create additional space for his family " when we are travelling to the north".
He said the elongation was performed by some artisans at the Suame Magazine, who charged him GH¢1,500.
He said he enlongated the chassis of his vehicle because he had seen similar vehicles had had theirs elongated by the artisans, and that he would contact the artisans to reduce the additional space created.
" I appreciate the fact that I have done the wrong thing, so if the vehicle is released to me, I will contact the artisans to reduce the additional space created to enable me to use the vehicle".
Thursday, July 24, 2008
KUMASI RIDGE AREA IS BUSHY (PAGE 29)
Driving through parts of the Ridge residential area in the Kumasi metropolis reminds me of my grandfather's cocoa farm located deep in the heart of a forest at Manhyia, a farming community near Abuom in the Brong Ahafo Region.
Just like Ridge, the cocoa farm at Manhyia is almost encircled with a forest, where the farming community totally depends.
Streams that provide fresh water for the community and for other domestic chores also flow in the forest that harbours wildlife, and where the youth in the farming community go for game for their delicacies.
It is therefore not surprising to see residents at Manhyia trooping in and out of the forest from dawn to dusk for one reason or the other.
Like Manhyia, Ridge also has its fair share of a forest, which stretches, from the Ridge Park — which is used as the training grounds for the 2007/08 Premier league Champions, Kumasi Asante Kotoko — to the Fault Section of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
The forest at Ridge also covers the stretch from the Sergeant's Mess on the Bekwai Roundabout–Golden Tulip Kumasi City Hotel road, to the area directly opposite the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly Head Office.
Another stretch of forest also engulfs the Regional Offices in Kumasi, and in all cases, they perfectly act as potential tourist attractions in the Kumasi metropolis.
In the afternoons, when the sun is very high in the skies and emitting its rays causing residents to sweat profusely, the Ridge Forest offers a haven for commuters, pedestrians and soccer fans who pass through the area.
The fresh air that surrounds the area reduces the heat that emit from the skies, thereby making the sun’s ray a bit bearable.
Because of the density of the forest at the Ridge area, the climate there is also totally different from the rest of the Kumasi metropolis.
This explains why any form of rainfall in the Kumasi metropolis is always heavier at that portion of the land than any part of the metropolis, just as it happens at the forest that surrounds my grandfather's cocoa farm.
The only difference is that, while the forest at Manhyia has been left there for a purpose and therefore is not weeded at any point in time, that of the Ridge is sometimes cleared, to enhance the beauty of Kumasi to enable it to reflect its Garden City accolade.
Ironically, the Ridge Forest at most times is left uncleared, causing the grasses and shrubs to overgrow, creating a conducive abode for all sorts of reptiles and deviants in society.
The efforts by the police and other security apparatus to curb the spate of armed robbery in the country become more daunting if certain people fail to do their work.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Kwaku Ayensu Opare-Addo, on the irregular clearing of weeds at the Ridge area, he said it posed a security threat to residents of the metropolis and its environs.
"Armed robbers and drug addicts can easily use it as a place of abode, and so it should be cleared at regular intervals," he stated.
He pointed out that since the area was also very dark at night, commuters who used the area at such hours could easily be attacked by armed robbers and others deviants in society, "especially when your vehicle breaks down at odd hours at that portion of land".
Mr Opare-Addo pointed out that in as much as the police were poised to combat crime in a more effective and efficient way, the need to create a conducive atmosphere that would enhance their operations was also key to crime combat and prevention.
He, therefore, urged the Environmental Unit of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly to collaborate with the police by regularly clearing weedy areas to prevent criminals from using them as hiding places where they could either attack law-abiding residents or hide after unleashing their venom on civil society.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Head of the Environmental Unit of the KMA, Mr A. L. Antwi, he said the gangs in charge of clearing the area had started their work.
"They weed the area regularly but because of the heavy rains this year, the area overgrows very rapidly, making it look as if we have neglected it."
He mentioned that they were mandated to regularly clear the stretch from the traffic lights to the ECG fault section, the Golden Tulip, Kumasi City Hotel as well as the bungalows surrounding the Ridge to enhance the beauty of the area, thereby promoting adequate security.
Mr Antwi said some portions of the area were, however, supposed to be cleared by the Parks and Gardens Department "but they have neglected it, and this has added to the volume of work that we have to undertake on regular basis".
He also attributed the inability of the Environmental Unit of the KMA to meet some of their obligations to the strength of their workforce.
"We do not have the requisite number of people supposed to clear the area on regular basis, hence the area sometimes overgrow,” he said.
Mr Kofi Asante, a businessman in Kumasi who uses the stretch frequently, expressed concern about the lack of attention by the city authorities.
"There are no street lights at the portion to add to the beauty of Kumasi, and the overgrown weeds also do not only pose security threat to residents but also undermine the tourist potential in Kumasi as well."
He pointed out that with the refurbishment of the Golden Tulip Kumasi City Hotel, "tourists are likely to use the facility on regular basis, so the KMA should be up to the task by putting up street lights to reduce the risk of using the stretch".
"We do not want to hear any act of violence which could lead to the loss of precious life at that area before the KMA acts. This is because life is precious," he stressed.
Just like Ridge, the cocoa farm at Manhyia is almost encircled with a forest, where the farming community totally depends.
Streams that provide fresh water for the community and for other domestic chores also flow in the forest that harbours wildlife, and where the youth in the farming community go for game for their delicacies.
It is therefore not surprising to see residents at Manhyia trooping in and out of the forest from dawn to dusk for one reason or the other.
Like Manhyia, Ridge also has its fair share of a forest, which stretches, from the Ridge Park — which is used as the training grounds for the 2007/08 Premier league Champions, Kumasi Asante Kotoko — to the Fault Section of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
The forest at Ridge also covers the stretch from the Sergeant's Mess on the Bekwai Roundabout–Golden Tulip Kumasi City Hotel road, to the area directly opposite the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly Head Office.
Another stretch of forest also engulfs the Regional Offices in Kumasi, and in all cases, they perfectly act as potential tourist attractions in the Kumasi metropolis.
In the afternoons, when the sun is very high in the skies and emitting its rays causing residents to sweat profusely, the Ridge Forest offers a haven for commuters, pedestrians and soccer fans who pass through the area.
The fresh air that surrounds the area reduces the heat that emit from the skies, thereby making the sun’s ray a bit bearable.
Because of the density of the forest at the Ridge area, the climate there is also totally different from the rest of the Kumasi metropolis.
This explains why any form of rainfall in the Kumasi metropolis is always heavier at that portion of the land than any part of the metropolis, just as it happens at the forest that surrounds my grandfather's cocoa farm.
The only difference is that, while the forest at Manhyia has been left there for a purpose and therefore is not weeded at any point in time, that of the Ridge is sometimes cleared, to enhance the beauty of Kumasi to enable it to reflect its Garden City accolade.
Ironically, the Ridge Forest at most times is left uncleared, causing the grasses and shrubs to overgrow, creating a conducive abode for all sorts of reptiles and deviants in society.
The efforts by the police and other security apparatus to curb the spate of armed robbery in the country become more daunting if certain people fail to do their work.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Kwaku Ayensu Opare-Addo, on the irregular clearing of weeds at the Ridge area, he said it posed a security threat to residents of the metropolis and its environs.
"Armed robbers and drug addicts can easily use it as a place of abode, and so it should be cleared at regular intervals," he stated.
He pointed out that since the area was also very dark at night, commuters who used the area at such hours could easily be attacked by armed robbers and others deviants in society, "especially when your vehicle breaks down at odd hours at that portion of land".
Mr Opare-Addo pointed out that in as much as the police were poised to combat crime in a more effective and efficient way, the need to create a conducive atmosphere that would enhance their operations was also key to crime combat and prevention.
He, therefore, urged the Environmental Unit of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly to collaborate with the police by regularly clearing weedy areas to prevent criminals from using them as hiding places where they could either attack law-abiding residents or hide after unleashing their venom on civil society.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Head of the Environmental Unit of the KMA, Mr A. L. Antwi, he said the gangs in charge of clearing the area had started their work.
"They weed the area regularly but because of the heavy rains this year, the area overgrows very rapidly, making it look as if we have neglected it."
He mentioned that they were mandated to regularly clear the stretch from the traffic lights to the ECG fault section, the Golden Tulip, Kumasi City Hotel as well as the bungalows surrounding the Ridge to enhance the beauty of the area, thereby promoting adequate security.
Mr Antwi said some portions of the area were, however, supposed to be cleared by the Parks and Gardens Department "but they have neglected it, and this has added to the volume of work that we have to undertake on regular basis".
He also attributed the inability of the Environmental Unit of the KMA to meet some of their obligations to the strength of their workforce.
"We do not have the requisite number of people supposed to clear the area on regular basis, hence the area sometimes overgrow,” he said.
Mr Kofi Asante, a businessman in Kumasi who uses the stretch frequently, expressed concern about the lack of attention by the city authorities.
"There are no street lights at the portion to add to the beauty of Kumasi, and the overgrown weeds also do not only pose security threat to residents but also undermine the tourist potential in Kumasi as well."
He pointed out that with the refurbishment of the Golden Tulip Kumasi City Hotel, "tourists are likely to use the facility on regular basis, so the KMA should be up to the task by putting up street lights to reduce the risk of using the stretch".
"We do not want to hear any act of violence which could lead to the loss of precious life at that area before the KMA acts. This is because life is precious," he stressed.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
KATH COLLABORATES WITH BOSTON CHILDREN HOSPITAL (PAGE 29)
THE Ghana Paediatric Heart Foundation at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), in collaboration with the Boston Children Hospital in the United States of America (USA), has established a foundation to mobilise financial and material support from the public to aid in the provision of free cardiothoracic surgery for children suffering from congenital heart defects in the country.
The foundation, which has the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II as the Chief Patron, is also meant to sensitise the public to appreciate the problems that children who suffer cardiothoracic problems go through and to also enable the public to collaborate effectively with the health authorities in diverse ways to make the 100 per cent cost free surgery operation for such children at the KATH become a reality.
To collaborate the initiative the Mt. Olives Presbyterian Church at Patasi in Kumasi has donated a cheque for GH¢1,000 to the foundation. The District Minister of the Church, Rev. Joseph William Acheampong, donated the cheque on behalf of the church when he led a section of the congregation to interact with the hospital authorities.
In his address, Rev Acheampong commended the KATH authorities and their USA counterparts for their initiative to support victims with cardiothoracic diseases.
"We are deeply touched by the work of the Heart Foundation for the good of humanity, and therefore decided to donate to the foundation", he noted
The Chief Executive of the KATH, Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, who received the cheque on behalf of the Ghana Heart Foundation commended members of the Mt. Olives Presbyterian Church for their gesture.
He pointed out that operations related to cardio diseases were very expensive , and therefore called on the public to support the initiative of the KATH-Boston Children Heart Foundation to enable them to mobilise adequate resources for their future endeavours.
" We will continue to count on the contributions of benevolent Ghanaians to sustain the programme to enable us continue to address the health needs of children suffering from heart diseases", he noted.
According to Dr Nsiah Asare, the KATH- Boston Children collaboration had been able to organise free open heart surgery for about 20 children for the past two years, stressing that " the children would have been dead by now if they had not received the free open heart surgery".
He hinted that a team from the Boston Children Hospital would arrive in October this year and therefore gave the assurance that with their collaboration, " and with the support of the public, more cases involving children suffering from heart problems would be attended to “.
The foundation, which has the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II as the Chief Patron, is also meant to sensitise the public to appreciate the problems that children who suffer cardiothoracic problems go through and to also enable the public to collaborate effectively with the health authorities in diverse ways to make the 100 per cent cost free surgery operation for such children at the KATH become a reality.
To collaborate the initiative the Mt. Olives Presbyterian Church at Patasi in Kumasi has donated a cheque for GH¢1,000 to the foundation. The District Minister of the Church, Rev. Joseph William Acheampong, donated the cheque on behalf of the church when he led a section of the congregation to interact with the hospital authorities.
In his address, Rev Acheampong commended the KATH authorities and their USA counterparts for their initiative to support victims with cardiothoracic diseases.
"We are deeply touched by the work of the Heart Foundation for the good of humanity, and therefore decided to donate to the foundation", he noted
The Chief Executive of the KATH, Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, who received the cheque on behalf of the Ghana Heart Foundation commended members of the Mt. Olives Presbyterian Church for their gesture.
He pointed out that operations related to cardio diseases were very expensive , and therefore called on the public to support the initiative of the KATH-Boston Children Heart Foundation to enable them to mobilise adequate resources for their future endeavours.
" We will continue to count on the contributions of benevolent Ghanaians to sustain the programme to enable us continue to address the health needs of children suffering from heart diseases", he noted.
According to Dr Nsiah Asare, the KATH- Boston Children collaboration had been able to organise free open heart surgery for about 20 children for the past two years, stressing that " the children would have been dead by now if they had not received the free open heart surgery".
He hinted that a team from the Boston Children Hospital would arrive in October this year and therefore gave the assurance that with their collaboration, " and with the support of the public, more cases involving children suffering from heart problems would be attended to “.
Monday, July 21, 2008
YAW SAM ALMOST A PAUPER (PAGE 8)
By George Ernest Asare, Kumasi
IN his hey days he was called the Chest man. He could effectively control the ball with his chest, and could also do whatever he liked with the ball, confusing his opponents, in the process creating goal-scoring chances for his attackers to score with ease.
His crossings at the wings were superb, and with his rocket-like speed, he mesmerised his opponents and entertained the spectators such that his very presence in a game pulled the crowd to the stands.
He was a member of the formidable Kotoko team of 1971 team, which conquered Africa for the first time in the club’s history in far away Kinshasa.
He also played a meaningful role in the Black Stars, and in one of his games in Togo, he was brutally attacked by security men and players of the Togo national team.
The attack caused severe injuries to his eye, and left a permanent mark that forced him to put on spectacles to reduce the pains, especially when the sun shines.
Today, he is almost a pauper . This is because he was not adequately remunerated during his days with Kotoko and the Blackstars.
Yaw Sam is his name. At 63 and with four children and a wife, he only survives the hardship’s of the present economic situation by depending solely on the benevolence of some of his admirers who have fond memories of his exploits as a soccer icon in the early 60’s and the 70’s.
This was the period Yaw Sam, together with some of his Kotoko team mates like the late Robert Mensah, Ben Kusi, Oliver Acquah, the late Ohene Brenya, Clifford Odame, Ibrahim Sunday, Sulley, Abukari Gariba, Malik Jabir and Ousmanu, conquered every club in the country and extended their prowess to Africa where they annexed the African cup for the first time in far away Kinshasa by beating Englebert 2-1.
It was at this same period in the early 70’s when in one of his performances with the Black Stars in a match against The Hawks of Togo in Lome, he was nearly lynched.
“After outplaying and outscoring the Hawks, they thought we used Juju, so in the second half, the players attempted to retrieve a white handkerchief that Essel Mensah had deposited in the goal post, and this resulted in a fierce struggle.
“The police and soldiers joined the fray, so I immediately went to Essel Mensah to advise him to allow them to take away the handkerchief, but as soon as they saw me, they left Essel and vented their spleen on me, beating me mercilessly until I fell down”, Sam said.
He continued that, “One of the soldiers who was on the field hit me very hard with his boots, opening a deep cut over my eye, and causing me to bleed profusely”.
Sam stated that this was something he did not want to recall because it nearly blinded him for life but the Ghana Football Association never bothered to treat him.
“I had to spend every pesewa I had with me to treat that wound, and to date, it has left a permanent pain in my eye, forcing me to use this sunglass (he showed it to me) to protect my eye against the sun rays all the time,” he said.
Sam, who started as a Colts player with Great Agonas in Kumasi at age 12, later moved to Great Ashantis and after playing for about a year in 1965 with the Kumasi based club, his exploits caught the attention of the Late Ohene Djan who immediately drafted him into the Osagyefo’s Own Club – Great Republicans- where he exhibited abundant stamina, speed and skills as a natural winger and a midfielder.
Barely a year with Republicans, the 1966 coup, which toppled Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s CPP government from power led to the disintegration of the club.
“ From there, I returned to Kumasi to continue my life, but just then, Mr Jack Moro, one of the then Kotoko administrators spotted me and immediately contacted my father to allow me to play for Kotoko “, Sam told Graphic Nsempa.
“ At that time, we played totally amateur players, so there was neither a contract signed nor monetary consideration to entice me to play. They simply took me for free and because of the love I had for Kotoko I immediately agreed to play for the club”, he explained.
“ I was then staying at Ash Town with my father, the only thing that was provided me were jersey, pants and boots” he explained further.
According to Sam, he met outstanding players in Kotoko “ so I had to sit on the bench for three consecutive years, but fortunately or unfortunately Tufour who was playing as a winger where I also played got injured in my third year on the bench, so I was offered the opportunity to take his place, and that marked the beginning of my exploits as a great player”, he revealed.
He said among the players he met at that time were Kofi Anin, Acheampong, Salisu, Dogo Moro, Abukari Gariba, Osei Kofi and Wilberforce Mfum.
“They were all great players by every standard, so when I got that opportunity, I became very serious to enable me to maintain my position and feature regularly. I never joked and took every aspect of my play time very serious”, he noted.
He said it was in 1967 that the team went for a training tour in London where they played against Crystal Palace, Stokes City, Birmingham United and Oxford United “and apart from Crystal Palace I featured against the other three teams”.
“At that time, there was nothing like monthly salary nor winning bonuses, and it was when I.J. Moukarzel aka Mr Life took over as the Chairman of Kotoko that he introduced the payment of winning bonus of ¢10.00 to players,” he recalled.
Sam who was appointed skipper of Kotoko between 1971 and 74 said he was drafted into the national team alongside Kofi Bruce, Robert Folley, Oliver Acquah, Lamptey France, Malik Jabir and Clifford Odame, among others.
He said it was in 1978 that he hanged his boots and went to London returning home a year later to work with the National Sports Council.
“I have attended many coaching courses at Winneba and had coached many division one and two clubs, but because such teams did not generate any revenue from their matches, they were unable to offer any salary to their coaches.
“So for the past three years, I have been unemployed and depends on some friends and sympathisers to survive this harsh economic period”.
He said none of the Kotoko players who won the cup for the club for the first time received any monetary gains “ but it was the government in power who donated a bus to the team “which did not benefit us in any way”.
“ We had wanted to sell the bus and share the money but management disagreed, and today, I have nothing to show for the services I provided the nation”.
IN his hey days he was called the Chest man. He could effectively control the ball with his chest, and could also do whatever he liked with the ball, confusing his opponents, in the process creating goal-scoring chances for his attackers to score with ease.
His crossings at the wings were superb, and with his rocket-like speed, he mesmerised his opponents and entertained the spectators such that his very presence in a game pulled the crowd to the stands.
He was a member of the formidable Kotoko team of 1971 team, which conquered Africa for the first time in the club’s history in far away Kinshasa.
He also played a meaningful role in the Black Stars, and in one of his games in Togo, he was brutally attacked by security men and players of the Togo national team.
The attack caused severe injuries to his eye, and left a permanent mark that forced him to put on spectacles to reduce the pains, especially when the sun shines.
Today, he is almost a pauper . This is because he was not adequately remunerated during his days with Kotoko and the Blackstars.
Yaw Sam is his name. At 63 and with four children and a wife, he only survives the hardship’s of the present economic situation by depending solely on the benevolence of some of his admirers who have fond memories of his exploits as a soccer icon in the early 60’s and the 70’s.
This was the period Yaw Sam, together with some of his Kotoko team mates like the late Robert Mensah, Ben Kusi, Oliver Acquah, the late Ohene Brenya, Clifford Odame, Ibrahim Sunday, Sulley, Abukari Gariba, Malik Jabir and Ousmanu, conquered every club in the country and extended their prowess to Africa where they annexed the African cup for the first time in far away Kinshasa by beating Englebert 2-1.
It was at this same period in the early 70’s when in one of his performances with the Black Stars in a match against The Hawks of Togo in Lome, he was nearly lynched.
“After outplaying and outscoring the Hawks, they thought we used Juju, so in the second half, the players attempted to retrieve a white handkerchief that Essel Mensah had deposited in the goal post, and this resulted in a fierce struggle.
“The police and soldiers joined the fray, so I immediately went to Essel Mensah to advise him to allow them to take away the handkerchief, but as soon as they saw me, they left Essel and vented their spleen on me, beating me mercilessly until I fell down”, Sam said.
He continued that, “One of the soldiers who was on the field hit me very hard with his boots, opening a deep cut over my eye, and causing me to bleed profusely”.
Sam stated that this was something he did not want to recall because it nearly blinded him for life but the Ghana Football Association never bothered to treat him.
“I had to spend every pesewa I had with me to treat that wound, and to date, it has left a permanent pain in my eye, forcing me to use this sunglass (he showed it to me) to protect my eye against the sun rays all the time,” he said.
Sam, who started as a Colts player with Great Agonas in Kumasi at age 12, later moved to Great Ashantis and after playing for about a year in 1965 with the Kumasi based club, his exploits caught the attention of the Late Ohene Djan who immediately drafted him into the Osagyefo’s Own Club – Great Republicans- where he exhibited abundant stamina, speed and skills as a natural winger and a midfielder.
Barely a year with Republicans, the 1966 coup, which toppled Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s CPP government from power led to the disintegration of the club.
“ From there, I returned to Kumasi to continue my life, but just then, Mr Jack Moro, one of the then Kotoko administrators spotted me and immediately contacted my father to allow me to play for Kotoko “, Sam told Graphic Nsempa.
“ At that time, we played totally amateur players, so there was neither a contract signed nor monetary consideration to entice me to play. They simply took me for free and because of the love I had for Kotoko I immediately agreed to play for the club”, he explained.
“ I was then staying at Ash Town with my father, the only thing that was provided me were jersey, pants and boots” he explained further.
According to Sam, he met outstanding players in Kotoko “ so I had to sit on the bench for three consecutive years, but fortunately or unfortunately Tufour who was playing as a winger where I also played got injured in my third year on the bench, so I was offered the opportunity to take his place, and that marked the beginning of my exploits as a great player”, he revealed.
He said among the players he met at that time were Kofi Anin, Acheampong, Salisu, Dogo Moro, Abukari Gariba, Osei Kofi and Wilberforce Mfum.
“They were all great players by every standard, so when I got that opportunity, I became very serious to enable me to maintain my position and feature regularly. I never joked and took every aspect of my play time very serious”, he noted.
He said it was in 1967 that the team went for a training tour in London where they played against Crystal Palace, Stokes City, Birmingham United and Oxford United “and apart from Crystal Palace I featured against the other three teams”.
“At that time, there was nothing like monthly salary nor winning bonuses, and it was when I.J. Moukarzel aka Mr Life took over as the Chairman of Kotoko that he introduced the payment of winning bonus of ¢10.00 to players,” he recalled.
Sam who was appointed skipper of Kotoko between 1971 and 74 said he was drafted into the national team alongside Kofi Bruce, Robert Folley, Oliver Acquah, Lamptey France, Malik Jabir and Clifford Odame, among others.
He said it was in 1978 that he hanged his boots and went to London returning home a year later to work with the National Sports Council.
“I have attended many coaching courses at Winneba and had coached many division one and two clubs, but because such teams did not generate any revenue from their matches, they were unable to offer any salary to their coaches.
“So for the past three years, I have been unemployed and depends on some friends and sympathisers to survive this harsh economic period”.
He said none of the Kotoko players who won the cup for the club for the first time received any monetary gains “ but it was the government in power who donated a bus to the team “which did not benefit us in any way”.
“ We had wanted to sell the bus and share the money but management disagreed, and today, I have nothing to show for the services I provided the nation”.
BANKS SHOULD SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES (PAGE 4)
By George Ernest Asare, Kumasi.
A 52-YEAR-OLD small-scale industrialist, Madam Philomena Gyempeh, has expressed concern about the negative attitude of the banks over the granting of loans to small-scale industrialists.
She said such attitude undermined the initiative and innovations, and militated against accelerated socio-economic development.
Explaining, Madam Gyempeh who resides at Pramso in the Bosomtwe District of Ashanti Region told Graphic Nsempa that bankers always refused to grant loans to small and medium scale industrialists on the grounds that “we have not developed our businesses to an appreciable level to warrant adequate financial support”.
She outlined her vision as an industrialist in a rural community and the problems that are militating against her efforts in expanding her business.
She is the sole baker in the Pramso community and among the few in the Bosomtwe District, and therefore has a lot of customers who patronise her products.
Madam Gyempeh also produces assorted soap, which are of high demand, but inadequate financial resources makes it impossible for her to expand the business to meet the demands of her customers.
Apart from the bread she bakes, she is also into the pastries business, which she supplies to bereaved families during funeral celebrations in the surrounding communities, as well as marriage ceremonies and other social gatherings.
Madam Gyempeh said efforts to secure loans to buy a mini bus that would be used to supply some of her products to customers in the neighbouring communities always hit the rocks.
“ The banks are killing initiatives, that is the reason why poverty has become endemic in the rural communities”, he said.
“ I have now resorted to producing soap and bread in small quantities to meet the demands of my immediate customers because producing them in large quantities without any vehicle to convey them to the surrounding communities would greatly undermine my business transactions”, she stressed.
She said apart from these products, she also had the skills to produce batik, tie-dye.
“I will venture into that business and will be ready to impart my skills to anyone who desires to learn their production, she said”.
Madam Gyempeh who used to deal in second hand clothes in Accra later diverted to chop bar business before entering into baking.
The death of her mother in 2004 affected her business in Accra, which forced her to relocate to Pramso where she started her current baking business.
A few years later, she expanded the business by producing assorted soap.
Madam Gyempeh advised unemployed women in the surrounding communities to learn a trade “instead of folding their arms to wait for manna to fall from heaven”.
“At the moment, I can say that life is very challenging, but if you do not take the first step, no one will come to your aid, so I will urge women in the various communities to start a business which can generate a little money to make life meaningful to them”, she advised.
A 52-YEAR-OLD small-scale industrialist, Madam Philomena Gyempeh, has expressed concern about the negative attitude of the banks over the granting of loans to small-scale industrialists.
She said such attitude undermined the initiative and innovations, and militated against accelerated socio-economic development.
Explaining, Madam Gyempeh who resides at Pramso in the Bosomtwe District of Ashanti Region told Graphic Nsempa that bankers always refused to grant loans to small and medium scale industrialists on the grounds that “we have not developed our businesses to an appreciable level to warrant adequate financial support”.
She outlined her vision as an industrialist in a rural community and the problems that are militating against her efforts in expanding her business.
She is the sole baker in the Pramso community and among the few in the Bosomtwe District, and therefore has a lot of customers who patronise her products.
Madam Gyempeh also produces assorted soap, which are of high demand, but inadequate financial resources makes it impossible for her to expand the business to meet the demands of her customers.
Apart from the bread she bakes, she is also into the pastries business, which she supplies to bereaved families during funeral celebrations in the surrounding communities, as well as marriage ceremonies and other social gatherings.
Madam Gyempeh said efforts to secure loans to buy a mini bus that would be used to supply some of her products to customers in the neighbouring communities always hit the rocks.
“ The banks are killing initiatives, that is the reason why poverty has become endemic in the rural communities”, he said.
“ I have now resorted to producing soap and bread in small quantities to meet the demands of my immediate customers because producing them in large quantities without any vehicle to convey them to the surrounding communities would greatly undermine my business transactions”, she stressed.
She said apart from these products, she also had the skills to produce batik, tie-dye.
“I will venture into that business and will be ready to impart my skills to anyone who desires to learn their production, she said”.
Madam Gyempeh who used to deal in second hand clothes in Accra later diverted to chop bar business before entering into baking.
The death of her mother in 2004 affected her business in Accra, which forced her to relocate to Pramso where she started her current baking business.
A few years later, she expanded the business by producing assorted soap.
Madam Gyempeh advised unemployed women in the surrounding communities to learn a trade “instead of folding their arms to wait for manna to fall from heaven”.
“At the moment, I can say that life is very challenging, but if you do not take the first step, no one will come to your aid, so I will urge women in the various communities to start a business which can generate a little money to make life meaningful to them”, she advised.
COLLABORATION YIELDS POSITIVE RESULTS AT ASOKORE MAMPONG (PAGE 29)
The effective collaboration between traditional authorities at Asokore Mampong, a Kumasi suburb, on one hand and assembly and unit committee members on the other in initiating development projects over the years is yielding positive results.
Through their collaborative development agenda, they have been able to lobby for the completion of the Aboabo-Asokore Mampong main road.
The collaborators have also constructed a six-unit classroom block that is enhancing effective teaching and learning in the community’s basic school.
Their initiatives have also made it possible for them to provide a number of boreholes for the community to address the problem of inadequate water supply for the people.
The Chief of Asokore-Mampong, Nana Boakye Ansah Debrah, announced this at a forum organised for traditional authorities in the Kumasi metropolis and its environs for effective collaboration among the unit committees, assembly and the traditional authorities.
The forum was organised by the German Development Service (DED) and attended by selected traditional rulers, district and metropolitan planning officers and assembly and unit committees members.
It sought to share experiences on the process of preparing the district development plans with the traditional rulers as the driving force.
The forum, which was held on the theme: “Traditional and local authorities governance; the way forward for successful participatory development planning in the district”, also sought to identify issues that might have an impact on policy in relation to planning and traditional authorities’ participation in local governance.
The DED is one of the leading European development services for personal co-operation that seeks to sensitise traditional authorities to building up a collaborative relationship with local governments.
It also seeks to promote teamwork between leaders in the formal and informal sectors for the sustainable development of the districts.
The Chief of Asokore Mampong, Nana Boakye Ansah Debrah, said as part of the community’s development planning agenda for 2007, they proposed to establish a neighbourhood watch committee, plant trees along the Asokore-Mampong main road and also construct a police post at Asokore-Mampong.
He said the community was last year unable to achieve all its objectives including the construction of a drainage system within the Asokore Mampong old town, the buying of 300 containers for refuse collection at a cost of GH¢9,000, the planting of trees along the Asokore-Mampong main road and the construction of a police post at Asokore Mampong.
Through their collaborative development agenda, they have been able to lobby for the completion of the Aboabo-Asokore Mampong main road.
The collaborators have also constructed a six-unit classroom block that is enhancing effective teaching and learning in the community’s basic school.
Their initiatives have also made it possible for them to provide a number of boreholes for the community to address the problem of inadequate water supply for the people.
The Chief of Asokore-Mampong, Nana Boakye Ansah Debrah, announced this at a forum organised for traditional authorities in the Kumasi metropolis and its environs for effective collaboration among the unit committees, assembly and the traditional authorities.
The forum was organised by the German Development Service (DED) and attended by selected traditional rulers, district and metropolitan planning officers and assembly and unit committees members.
It sought to share experiences on the process of preparing the district development plans with the traditional rulers as the driving force.
The forum, which was held on the theme: “Traditional and local authorities governance; the way forward for successful participatory development planning in the district”, also sought to identify issues that might have an impact on policy in relation to planning and traditional authorities’ participation in local governance.
The DED is one of the leading European development services for personal co-operation that seeks to sensitise traditional authorities to building up a collaborative relationship with local governments.
It also seeks to promote teamwork between leaders in the formal and informal sectors for the sustainable development of the districts.
The Chief of Asokore Mampong, Nana Boakye Ansah Debrah, said as part of the community’s development planning agenda for 2007, they proposed to establish a neighbourhood watch committee, plant trees along the Asokore-Mampong main road and also construct a police post at Asokore-Mampong.
He said the community was last year unable to achieve all its objectives including the construction of a drainage system within the Asokore Mampong old town, the buying of 300 containers for refuse collection at a cost of GH¢9,000, the planting of trees along the Asokore-Mampong main road and the construction of a police post at Asokore Mampong.
POLICE TRAINING SCHOOL GETS MORE FACILITIES (PAGE 29)
Infrastructure development is gradually progressing at the Police Training School at Patasi in Kumasi.
The hitherto inadequate facilities such as dormitories, classrooms and a clinic that undermined effective and efficient training of police recruits are now becoming history.
Hitherto, the Police Training School could accommodate about 90 recruits at a time, but thanks to the refurbishment of both the female and male dormitories, and the construction of a new classroom, as many as 400 recruits can now be accommodated at a time.
This is enhancing the training of future policemen and women who will augment those already on the field and thereby facilitate the provision of adequate security for law-abiding Ghanaians.
When the Daily Graphic visited the school moments after 99 recruits had passed out of training on Tuesday July 15, 2008, the Commanding Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), E. K. Akunnor, who led the reporter to inspect ongoing projects, expressed optimism that when the school gets the necessary support to provide additional facilities it would enhance the training of recruits to address the security concern of the nation.
The Police Training School with support from the Inspector General of Police (IGP) constructed the 400-capacity classroom block at an estimated cost of GH25,000.
The classroom is about 90 per cent complete, but because it has been furnished already, it is being used by the new recruits for their theoretical work.
Because of inadequate infrastructure, the new classroom block is also being used as a church and an assembly hall.
The Commanding Officer appealed to the public to support the Police Command to construct additional blocks to be used as a church and an assembly hall to reduce the pressure on the classroom.
So far a Kumasi-based construction firm, Consar Ltd, and a timber firm, Bomplex, have donated 10 gallons of emulsion paint for the painting of the classroom block and a quantity of plywood for the ceiling. The commanding officer commended them for their gesture.
What remains to be done on the new building are the electrical and plumbing works and the commanding officer gave the assurance that they would be able to complete the classroom project for use with about GH¢5,000.
DSP Akunnor said already the Police Command had provided financial support for the refurbishment of the female and male dormitories.
He said apart from painting the buildings, additional beds, and mosquito nets had also been provided to give the recruits a conducive atmosphere in the school.
He said the school's clinic, which was established some months ago, was also undergoing expansion to enable them to provide quality health care for the recruits and residents within its catchment area.
The commanding officer said the Police Command had provided beds, wheelchairs, furniture, stabilising machines and refrigerators to store drugs, as well as office cabinets and other equipment as part of their effort to upgrade the clinic to a hospital status.
He said other areas that had been refurbished were the charge office, the cells and armouries, which were being fortified.
He said the lighting system at the training school had also improved to enhance security due to the financial support provided by the Police Command. The commanding officer commended the IGP for the efforts he had made to turn the Kumasi Police Training School into an enviable one.
The refurbishment of the four instructors' blocks at the depot to create a congenial atmosphere in the training school remained their key challenge, DSP Akunnor said.
He said the fencing of the school to prevent miscreants from using the premises as a passageway was also one of their challenges and appealed for public support to address it.
"It is a big project because we would require an estimated amount of GH¢120,000 to fence the entire Police Depot. This will also curb encroachment by private land developers, who are eager to build into our portion of land," he said.
DSP Akunnor said their parade ground was also fast deteriorating and needed public support to rehabilitate it.
He explained that maintaining the parade grounds on regular basis was key to the effective and efficient practical training of the police recruits and appealed to the public for support.
"The public need more policemen in the country, so you should also support us in diverse ways to put our training school in good order to enable us to produce the professional policemen and women needed for effective policing to take place in the country," he noted.
Another area of concern to the Kumasi Police Training School is the absence of a library complex.
"At the moment we have no library at the school, and this is undermining effective and efficient academic work,” he bemoaned.
Explaining, he said with a library complex, instructors in the school and the recruits would be able to undertake effective research work to enhance teaching and learning.
The hitherto inadequate facilities such as dormitories, classrooms and a clinic that undermined effective and efficient training of police recruits are now becoming history.
Hitherto, the Police Training School could accommodate about 90 recruits at a time, but thanks to the refurbishment of both the female and male dormitories, and the construction of a new classroom, as many as 400 recruits can now be accommodated at a time.
This is enhancing the training of future policemen and women who will augment those already on the field and thereby facilitate the provision of adequate security for law-abiding Ghanaians.
When the Daily Graphic visited the school moments after 99 recruits had passed out of training on Tuesday July 15, 2008, the Commanding Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), E. K. Akunnor, who led the reporter to inspect ongoing projects, expressed optimism that when the school gets the necessary support to provide additional facilities it would enhance the training of recruits to address the security concern of the nation.
The Police Training School with support from the Inspector General of Police (IGP) constructed the 400-capacity classroom block at an estimated cost of GH25,000.
The classroom is about 90 per cent complete, but because it has been furnished already, it is being used by the new recruits for their theoretical work.
Because of inadequate infrastructure, the new classroom block is also being used as a church and an assembly hall.
The Commanding Officer appealed to the public to support the Police Command to construct additional blocks to be used as a church and an assembly hall to reduce the pressure on the classroom.
So far a Kumasi-based construction firm, Consar Ltd, and a timber firm, Bomplex, have donated 10 gallons of emulsion paint for the painting of the classroom block and a quantity of plywood for the ceiling. The commanding officer commended them for their gesture.
What remains to be done on the new building are the electrical and plumbing works and the commanding officer gave the assurance that they would be able to complete the classroom project for use with about GH¢5,000.
DSP Akunnor said already the Police Command had provided financial support for the refurbishment of the female and male dormitories.
He said apart from painting the buildings, additional beds, and mosquito nets had also been provided to give the recruits a conducive atmosphere in the school.
He said the school's clinic, which was established some months ago, was also undergoing expansion to enable them to provide quality health care for the recruits and residents within its catchment area.
The commanding officer said the Police Command had provided beds, wheelchairs, furniture, stabilising machines and refrigerators to store drugs, as well as office cabinets and other equipment as part of their effort to upgrade the clinic to a hospital status.
He said other areas that had been refurbished were the charge office, the cells and armouries, which were being fortified.
He said the lighting system at the training school had also improved to enhance security due to the financial support provided by the Police Command. The commanding officer commended the IGP for the efforts he had made to turn the Kumasi Police Training School into an enviable one.
The refurbishment of the four instructors' blocks at the depot to create a congenial atmosphere in the training school remained their key challenge, DSP Akunnor said.
He said the fencing of the school to prevent miscreants from using the premises as a passageway was also one of their challenges and appealed for public support to address it.
"It is a big project because we would require an estimated amount of GH¢120,000 to fence the entire Police Depot. This will also curb encroachment by private land developers, who are eager to build into our portion of land," he said.
DSP Akunnor said their parade ground was also fast deteriorating and needed public support to rehabilitate it.
He explained that maintaining the parade grounds on regular basis was key to the effective and efficient practical training of the police recruits and appealed to the public for support.
"The public need more policemen in the country, so you should also support us in diverse ways to put our training school in good order to enable us to produce the professional policemen and women needed for effective policing to take place in the country," he noted.
Another area of concern to the Kumasi Police Training School is the absence of a library complex.
"At the moment we have no library at the school, and this is undermining effective and efficient academic work,” he bemoaned.
Explaining, he said with a library complex, instructors in the school and the recruits would be able to undertake effective research work to enhance teaching and learning.
DVLA REOPENS FIVE DRIVING SCHOOLS IN KUMASI (PAGE 28)
Five out of the 12 driving schools that were closed down by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) in Kumasi two weeks ago for failing to meet the requirements of the licensing authority have now received the nod to resume full operations.
The Ashanti Regional Licensing Officer, Mr Noah Tetteh Matey, told the Daily Graphic that the re-opening of the five driving schools followed the satisfaction by the DVLA after a re-inspection of the schools, saying "They have now put the schools in good order to enable them be proficient in the training of drivers."
He gave the names of the driving schools as Duis Burger, Road Runners, Fantow, Sefos and Joe Rees.
He said two others — The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Trust Way-Driving schools, which were affected by the closure — would be inspected by Friday "and when we see that they have also satisfied our requirements, we will re-open them to enable them to start business".
Mr Matey said five driving schools — World Wide, Kingspride, Nana Dii, Trinity Alliance and Corban — that were yet to meet their requirements remained closed.
Explaining why the affected schools did not meet their requirements, Mr Matey said while some of them operated in containers, making it impossible for their trainee drivers to have a conducive atmosphere to fully concentrate on their programmes, others did not have qualified instructors, road worthy vehicles and dual pedal vehicles.
He said some of them also combined their driving schools with other commercial activities on the same premises.
He said now that those that had been re-opened had refurbished their premises or satisfied all their requirements, it was necessary for them to maintain the standards to prevent any future closure.
Mr Matey said further that the DVLA would pay regular unannounced visits to the schools to ensure that they fully conformed to all regulations that enhanced efficient training of drivers.
He said it was only when drivers were well-trained by the driving schools that there would be discipline on the roads to reduce the carnage that Ghanaians had been subjected to in recent times.
He said it was important that all driving schools had well-qualified instructors "because that is the only way that they could offer useful directives to trainee drivers to enhance safety on our roads".
He said information reaching his outfit indicated that some people were operating driving schools in the Kumasi metropolis and its environs without registering with the DVLA.
Such activities, he said, were illegal and warned such people to stop operating the schools before they were arrested.
Mr Matey said such schools did not know and appreciate the rudiments of the training of drivers "so they would be dealt with when they are found out".
He said apart from registering with the DVLA, all driving schools were also required to have a conducive atmosphere for the training of drivers, dual pedal, road worthy vehicles for their training and qualified instructors among other requirements.
"This is the only way to facilitate the training of drivers for them to appreciate road safety regulations to make travelling more enjoyable," he noted.
"The DVLA expects good working relationship with driving schools where everything is in good order. This will ensure that in future only drivers who attend driving schools will be issued with driving licence," Mr Matey stressed.
The Ashanti Regional Licensing Officer, Mr Noah Tetteh Matey, told the Daily Graphic that the re-opening of the five driving schools followed the satisfaction by the DVLA after a re-inspection of the schools, saying "They have now put the schools in good order to enable them be proficient in the training of drivers."
He gave the names of the driving schools as Duis Burger, Road Runners, Fantow, Sefos and Joe Rees.
He said two others — The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Trust Way-Driving schools, which were affected by the closure — would be inspected by Friday "and when we see that they have also satisfied our requirements, we will re-open them to enable them to start business".
Mr Matey said five driving schools — World Wide, Kingspride, Nana Dii, Trinity Alliance and Corban — that were yet to meet their requirements remained closed.
Explaining why the affected schools did not meet their requirements, Mr Matey said while some of them operated in containers, making it impossible for their trainee drivers to have a conducive atmosphere to fully concentrate on their programmes, others did not have qualified instructors, road worthy vehicles and dual pedal vehicles.
He said some of them also combined their driving schools with other commercial activities on the same premises.
He said now that those that had been re-opened had refurbished their premises or satisfied all their requirements, it was necessary for them to maintain the standards to prevent any future closure.
Mr Matey said further that the DVLA would pay regular unannounced visits to the schools to ensure that they fully conformed to all regulations that enhanced efficient training of drivers.
He said it was only when drivers were well-trained by the driving schools that there would be discipline on the roads to reduce the carnage that Ghanaians had been subjected to in recent times.
He said it was important that all driving schools had well-qualified instructors "because that is the only way that they could offer useful directives to trainee drivers to enhance safety on our roads".
He said information reaching his outfit indicated that some people were operating driving schools in the Kumasi metropolis and its environs without registering with the DVLA.
Such activities, he said, were illegal and warned such people to stop operating the schools before they were arrested.
Mr Matey said such schools did not know and appreciate the rudiments of the training of drivers "so they would be dealt with when they are found out".
He said apart from registering with the DVLA, all driving schools were also required to have a conducive atmosphere for the training of drivers, dual pedal, road worthy vehicles for their training and qualified instructors among other requirements.
"This is the only way to facilitate the training of drivers for them to appreciate road safety regulations to make travelling more enjoyable," he noted.
"The DVLA expects good working relationship with driving schools where everything is in good order. This will ensure that in future only drivers who attend driving schools will be issued with driving licence," Mr Matey stressed.
K-POLY STUDENTS TO ASSEMBLE COMPUTERS (PAGE 11)
AUTHORITIES at the Kumasi Polytechnic (K-POLY) have initiated a programme to build the capacity of their students to enable them to assemble computers.
Already, the school has sourced for a resource person from the United States of America (USA) and equipment for the programme.
According to the resource person who is a Ghanaian, but based in the USA, both the theoretical and practical work would take three weeks after which the students would be able to assemble computers from the scratch.
Mr Andrew Prah, the resource person, told the Daily Graphic that the theoretical part of the programme would take two weeks, while the practical will take just a week.
"After that I am expecting all the beneficiary students to assemble computers on their own and they would also be able to repair them anytime they break down," he noted.
The Rector of K-Poly, Dr B.E. Kwesi Prah, also told the Daily Graphic that the programme would begin during the long vacation period.
Dr Prah said between 40 and 50 students now undertaking Electrical Engineering and Information Communication Technology programmes would benefit from the maiden programme, which would be extended to others in subsequent years.
Dr Prah said it was important for the students to totally submit themselves to the resource persons to enable them to acquire modern computer assemblage skills within the shortest possible time.
Already, the school has sourced for a resource person from the United States of America (USA) and equipment for the programme.
According to the resource person who is a Ghanaian, but based in the USA, both the theoretical and practical work would take three weeks after which the students would be able to assemble computers from the scratch.
Mr Andrew Prah, the resource person, told the Daily Graphic that the theoretical part of the programme would take two weeks, while the practical will take just a week.
"After that I am expecting all the beneficiary students to assemble computers on their own and they would also be able to repair them anytime they break down," he noted.
The Rector of K-Poly, Dr B.E. Kwesi Prah, also told the Daily Graphic that the programme would begin during the long vacation period.
Dr Prah said between 40 and 50 students now undertaking Electrical Engineering and Information Communication Technology programmes would benefit from the maiden programme, which would be extended to others in subsequent years.
Dr Prah said it was important for the students to totally submit themselves to the resource persons to enable them to acquire modern computer assemblage skills within the shortest possible time.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
WASTE WATER MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP IN KUMASI (PAGE 29)
A four-day capacity building workshop designed to sensitise Ghanaians on the need to manage water more effectively and efficiently to reduce waste is underway in Kumasi.
The workshop, which is on the theme, "Improving waste water management in coastal cities”, is being organised by the Ghana government, in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
About 25 representatives drawn from the Hydro Services, World Vision International (WVI), the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Friends of Rivers and Water Bodies, the Ghana Water Company (GWC), the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), the Ejisu-Juaben District Assembly, the Obuasi Municipal Assembly and the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) attended the workshop.
In an address read on his behalf, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Emmanuel A. Owusu-Ansah, said ecosystems had come under increasing stress because the struggle against poverty often left no ready alternatives to the over-exploitation of natural resources.
He said over 25 per cent of the total population of Ghana derived their livelihoods from the coastal and marine ecosystems and resources, indicating that those resources were over-exploited.
He said every human activity in the hinterland, such as the discharge of toxic effluents, inflow of nutrients, wasteful use of water, damage of water organisms and the depletion of the vegetation cover through deforestation, impacted negatively on the coastal environment.
Mr Owusu-Ansah further said other human activities in the hinterlands eventually had “repercussions on the coastal areas and not only diminished fisheries and recreational values of water bodies but also cause disturbances to the natural habitat in humans in various communities and also of animals in their ecological zones".
The regional minister stressed the need to build the capacity of the people for them to appreciate the need to manage the environment in a more effective and efficient way to enable them to "become better managers of our environment".
A Senior Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Mr Ellias Aplaku, expressed concern over the quantum of waste discharged into water bodies and oceans, making them heavily polluted.
"Untreated water and waste products discharged into water bodies eventually end up in rivers and oceans, making them highly polluted," he noted, adding that "the chemicals have the ability to accumulate, eventually becoming toxic and harmful in the future".
He said as populations increased world-wide, there was the need to initiate measures that would reduce the impact of human activities on water bodies to prevent any form of epidemic.
The workshop, which is on the theme, "Improving waste water management in coastal cities”, is being organised by the Ghana government, in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
About 25 representatives drawn from the Hydro Services, World Vision International (WVI), the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Friends of Rivers and Water Bodies, the Ghana Water Company (GWC), the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), the Ejisu-Juaben District Assembly, the Obuasi Municipal Assembly and the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) attended the workshop.
In an address read on his behalf, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Emmanuel A. Owusu-Ansah, said ecosystems had come under increasing stress because the struggle against poverty often left no ready alternatives to the over-exploitation of natural resources.
He said over 25 per cent of the total population of Ghana derived their livelihoods from the coastal and marine ecosystems and resources, indicating that those resources were over-exploited.
He said every human activity in the hinterland, such as the discharge of toxic effluents, inflow of nutrients, wasteful use of water, damage of water organisms and the depletion of the vegetation cover through deforestation, impacted negatively on the coastal environment.
Mr Owusu-Ansah further said other human activities in the hinterlands eventually had “repercussions on the coastal areas and not only diminished fisheries and recreational values of water bodies but also cause disturbances to the natural habitat in humans in various communities and also of animals in their ecological zones".
The regional minister stressed the need to build the capacity of the people for them to appreciate the need to manage the environment in a more effective and efficient way to enable them to "become better managers of our environment".
A Senior Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Mr Ellias Aplaku, expressed concern over the quantum of waste discharged into water bodies and oceans, making them heavily polluted.
"Untreated water and waste products discharged into water bodies eventually end up in rivers and oceans, making them highly polluted," he noted, adding that "the chemicals have the ability to accumulate, eventually becoming toxic and harmful in the future".
He said as populations increased world-wide, there was the need to initiate measures that would reduce the impact of human activities on water bodies to prevent any form of epidemic.
Monday, July 14, 2008
BOXING FANS HAIL JANTUAH'S HOMECOMING (NSEMPA, BACK PAGE)
By George Ernest Asare, Kumasi.
BOXING fans in Kumasi have welcomed the IBF continental fight between their idol, Kofi Jantuah, and his Russian counterpart, Sergio Rakuluv, at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi on July 26, 2008.
Some of the fans Graphic Nsempa spoke to said the bout would go a long way to resurrect the sport which is dying slowly in the Kumasi metropolis, due to a lack of attention by people at the helm of affairs.
Against the background that Kumasi has not hosted a professional fight for a long time, the fans are eagerly waiting for the July 26 encounter so that they would fill the Stadium in their numbers to offer their unflinching support to Jantuah.
United States-based Jantuah, 34, has a record of 34 wins, 20 of which came by the short route with three losses and a draw.
His last attempt at the IBF Inter-Continental middleweight title with Ruben Diaz, was staged in Spain in November 2007 ended in a draw.
Since he left the shores of Ghana 10 years ago, he had never fought in his native homeland, and his return to the ring at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium would generate keen interest among the youth who see him as their role model.
Sources indicate that Jantuah plans to build a boxing gym in Kumasi to revive the sport and as part of his contribution to entice the youth to boxing.
This is to enable those interested in the sport to develop their potential and build a career out from it.
Speaking to Graphic Nsempa on the forthcoming fight, Mr Moses Boadi who is a businessman, commended Jantuah for agreeing to fight in Kumasi to whip up interest among the youth.
He pointed out that in Ghana, much attention has been given to soccer to the detriment of other sporting disciplines.
He said the failure of sports authorities to actively support the development of other sporting disciplines was not helping the youth to develop their potentials in a more effective and efficient way.
Explaining, Mr Boadi said it was when all the sports disciplines were developed that the youth who had the potential in other areas could be able to develop them to place Ghana in a respectable position when it comes to international competitions.
He pointed out that if the authorities took pains to develop boxing at the basic level just as they did to soccer, a lot of potential would be unearthed.
He said it was, therefore, important for the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) to initiate a programme of whipping up interest in boxing as part of their contribution to develop the sport at the grass roots.
He said it was equally important for the GBA to support Jantuah in diverse ways to enable him realise his dream of winning the fight.
Mr Boadi also called on the media to whip up interest in the fight to ensure that as many boxing fans as possible fill the Baba Yara Sports Stadium to support Jantuah to win the fight convincingly.
BOXING fans in Kumasi have welcomed the IBF continental fight between their idol, Kofi Jantuah, and his Russian counterpart, Sergio Rakuluv, at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi on July 26, 2008.
Some of the fans Graphic Nsempa spoke to said the bout would go a long way to resurrect the sport which is dying slowly in the Kumasi metropolis, due to a lack of attention by people at the helm of affairs.
Against the background that Kumasi has not hosted a professional fight for a long time, the fans are eagerly waiting for the July 26 encounter so that they would fill the Stadium in their numbers to offer their unflinching support to Jantuah.
United States-based Jantuah, 34, has a record of 34 wins, 20 of which came by the short route with three losses and a draw.
His last attempt at the IBF Inter-Continental middleweight title with Ruben Diaz, was staged in Spain in November 2007 ended in a draw.
Since he left the shores of Ghana 10 years ago, he had never fought in his native homeland, and his return to the ring at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium would generate keen interest among the youth who see him as their role model.
Sources indicate that Jantuah plans to build a boxing gym in Kumasi to revive the sport and as part of his contribution to entice the youth to boxing.
This is to enable those interested in the sport to develop their potential and build a career out from it.
Speaking to Graphic Nsempa on the forthcoming fight, Mr Moses Boadi who is a businessman, commended Jantuah for agreeing to fight in Kumasi to whip up interest among the youth.
He pointed out that in Ghana, much attention has been given to soccer to the detriment of other sporting disciplines.
He said the failure of sports authorities to actively support the development of other sporting disciplines was not helping the youth to develop their potentials in a more effective and efficient way.
Explaining, Mr Boadi said it was when all the sports disciplines were developed that the youth who had the potential in other areas could be able to develop them to place Ghana in a respectable position when it comes to international competitions.
He pointed out that if the authorities took pains to develop boxing at the basic level just as they did to soccer, a lot of potential would be unearthed.
He said it was, therefore, important for the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) to initiate a programme of whipping up interest in boxing as part of their contribution to develop the sport at the grass roots.
He said it was equally important for the GBA to support Jantuah in diverse ways to enable him realise his dream of winning the fight.
Mr Boadi also called on the media to whip up interest in the fight to ensure that as many boxing fans as possible fill the Baba Yara Sports Stadium to support Jantuah to win the fight convincingly.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
That horrible accident over River Offin...DRIVER OF 207 BUS LACKED EXPERIENCE (PAGE 3)
The driver of the 207 Mercedes Benz bus that crashed into a taxi on the narrow bridge over River Offin last Sunday did not have the required experience for commercial driving, the police in Kumasi have disclosed.
They said Saikibu Arafat, 25, who was behind the wheel, had only three months’ driving experience, but according to DVLA officials, a two-year experience and a further test were required for the acquisition of a Licence “C” which enables a driver to handle the weight of vehicles into which the 207 Benz bus falls.
According to the police, Arafat took charge of the vehicle last Sunday when the actual driver was attending church service.
Seventeen passengers have so far died from the accident which has caused immense anguish at Tetrem where most of the victims resided.
The police said the driver was arrested after he had been treated and discharged at the St Patrick Catholic Hospital at Offinso where he, together with other injured passengers who sustained various degrees of injury, had been rushed for medical care.
Also arrested to assist in police investigations was the driver of the KIA taxi.
He was identified as Agyemang Badu, 44. The two are currently in police custody at Offinso and they will be arraigned after investigations.
Meanwhile, local divers at Amoako and its surrounding communities have been able to retrieve one more body from the River Offin, bringing the death toll resulting from the accident to 17.
The latest victim of the accident was a 25-year-old woman who was identified as Kate Awuni.
Awuni's body was retrieved following the concern raised by her brother who could not locate her at any of the health facilities where the injured had been sent after the accident.
Local divers, therefore, continued to search for her in the river until her body was finally retrieved last Monday.
Sixteen passengers were reported to have died on the spot, with 10 others sustaining various degrees of injury, on Sunday when the Benz bus crashed into the KIA taxi on the narrow bridge constructed more than 70 years ago.
The police told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the driver of the taxi abandoned the vehicle on the narrow bridge moments before the Benz bus, which was speeding from the opposite direction, reached the bridge.
So far, the police have been able to identify 11 of the 17 passengers who perished in the accident.
Most of the victims, including a 92-year-old man, were from the same family and resided at Tetrem in the Afigya Kwabre District of the Ashanti Region.
They were on their way to Kayera to attend a funeral when the accident occurred.
Other victims so far identified by the police are Alhaji Zakaria, 88; Issaka Kassum, 92; Aliu Issaka, 38; Ali Waratu, 27; Zinatu Zakari, 55, and Aminatu Issaka, 50.
The rest are Haruna Shaibu, 70; Abdul Bashiru, three; Kofi Ousman, 21, and Kofi Sampson, 24.
They said Saikibu Arafat, 25, who was behind the wheel, had only three months’ driving experience, but according to DVLA officials, a two-year experience and a further test were required for the acquisition of a Licence “C” which enables a driver to handle the weight of vehicles into which the 207 Benz bus falls.
According to the police, Arafat took charge of the vehicle last Sunday when the actual driver was attending church service.
Seventeen passengers have so far died from the accident which has caused immense anguish at Tetrem where most of the victims resided.
The police said the driver was arrested after he had been treated and discharged at the St Patrick Catholic Hospital at Offinso where he, together with other injured passengers who sustained various degrees of injury, had been rushed for medical care.
Also arrested to assist in police investigations was the driver of the KIA taxi.
He was identified as Agyemang Badu, 44. The two are currently in police custody at Offinso and they will be arraigned after investigations.
Meanwhile, local divers at Amoako and its surrounding communities have been able to retrieve one more body from the River Offin, bringing the death toll resulting from the accident to 17.
The latest victim of the accident was a 25-year-old woman who was identified as Kate Awuni.
Awuni's body was retrieved following the concern raised by her brother who could not locate her at any of the health facilities where the injured had been sent after the accident.
Local divers, therefore, continued to search for her in the river until her body was finally retrieved last Monday.
Sixteen passengers were reported to have died on the spot, with 10 others sustaining various degrees of injury, on Sunday when the Benz bus crashed into the KIA taxi on the narrow bridge constructed more than 70 years ago.
The police told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the driver of the taxi abandoned the vehicle on the narrow bridge moments before the Benz bus, which was speeding from the opposite direction, reached the bridge.
So far, the police have been able to identify 11 of the 17 passengers who perished in the accident.
Most of the victims, including a 92-year-old man, were from the same family and resided at Tetrem in the Afigya Kwabre District of the Ashanti Region.
They were on their way to Kayera to attend a funeral when the accident occurred.
Other victims so far identified by the police are Alhaji Zakaria, 88; Issaka Kassum, 92; Aliu Issaka, 38; Ali Waratu, 27; Zinatu Zakari, 55, and Aminatu Issaka, 50.
The rest are Haruna Shaibu, 70; Abdul Bashiru, three; Kofi Ousman, 21, and Kofi Sampson, 24.
207 BUS — A KILLER? ...Cargo trucks converted to passenger vehicles...Brakes are condemned for lack of spare parts (LEAD STORY)
GARAGES at Suame Magazine in Kumasi where most Mercedes Benz cargo vehicles are converted to passenger buses are providing some clues to the cause of the carnage which has become so rampant on roads in Ghana.
When the Daily Graphic visited the garages on Tuesday, mechanics were busy on their usual chore of remodelling and converting what is popularly referred to as 207 Mercedes Benz cargo trucks to passenger vehicles, two days after a bloody accident involving one of such buses on a bridge across the River Offin in the Ashanti Region.
According to the mechanics, the remodelling involved, among other things, elongating the vehicle and its chassis and converting the chassis from single to double tyres to enable the vehicle take more passengers.
They, however, insisted that that had nothing to do with the accidents involving 207 buses.
Officials of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), when contacted on the issue, indicated that they had consistently refused to register or renew the road worthy certificates of such vehicles when they were converted from cargo to passenger vehicles, since the vehicles so converted had had their brakes tampered with or had defective rear brakes.
Other sources told the Daily Graphic that certain elements within the brake system, when worn out, were difficult to replace and that compelled local artisans to “condemn” those brake parts and make some “alterations” for the modelled vehicle to continue in business.
That came to light during investigations by the Daily Graphic to establish the road worthiness of 207 Benz passenger vehicles, following numerous accidents involving the buses, resulting in critical injuries to passengers and massive loss of lives.
According to road safety statistics in the Ashanti Region alone, between January and July this year, 1,113 vehicles had been involved in accidents, claiming the lives of 146 people.
Two hundred of the accident vehicles were 207 Benz passenger buses, with a disproportionately high percentage of casualties.
Last Sunday alone 17 lives were lost in the latest accident involving a 207 Benz bus at Amoako, near Boamang in the Afigya-Kwabre District of the Ashanti Region.
On why the 207 Benz buses had been involved in so many fatal accidents, the mechanics explained that the accidents should rather be attributed to the attitudes of the drivers, instead of the activities of the mechanics.
"Many of such vehicles ply the Kumasi-Accra, Kumasi-Takoradi, Kumasi-Enchi and other roads of the country without any problems,” one senior mechanic said, adding that "it is the few undisciplined drivers who always bring pain and agony to Ghanaians as a result of their reckless driving".
The mechanics said a lot of effort went into the modelling of the vehicles from single-tyre cargo trucks to double-tyre passenger ones as a way of stabilising the vehicle when in motion.
When the Daily Graphic got in touch with Mr Noah Tetteh Matey, the Principal Technical Engineer of the DVLA in Kumasi, he confirmed that the double tyres in 207 Benz buses enhanced road safety.
"The conversion from single tyres to double is good because in case of any tyre burst the other tyres support the vehicle to prevent any accident. But the mechanics should involve the DVLA in all the processes," he noted.
Mr Matey, however, expressed concern over the elongation of the chassis of 207 Benz buses by the mechanics, saying the mechanism had adverse effect on road safety because it was dangerous and could cause accidents.
Explaining, he said, "The moment you touch the frame with fire you reduce the properties of the material used to build the vehicle and make it fragile. It, therefore, becomes dangerous to road safety."
Mr Matey noted further that vehicles with elongated chassis, as well as defective rear brakes, were always denied road worthy certificates and registration by his outfit.
That, he said, was to ensure that vehicle owners put their vehicles in good condition to make travelling more comfortable and enjoyable.
He said road safety was not the responsibility of the DVLA and the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) alone and, therefore, called on the station masters of the various transport unions to collaborate with other stakeholders to reduce the spate of accidents on the roads.
He challenged the unions to ensure that vehicles that loaded at their stations had very good tyres and brakes, stressing that it was equally important for them to ensure that drivers had the requisite experience before they were allowed to take charge of vehicles.
When contacted, the Commander in charge of MTTU in the Ashanti Region, Superintendent James Sarfo Peprah, indicated that accidents had been occurring, in spite of the numerous road safety campaigns being carried out, and, therefore, urged drivers to respect road safety campaigns to reduce the spate of accidents on the roads.
When the Daily Graphic visited the garages on Tuesday, mechanics were busy on their usual chore of remodelling and converting what is popularly referred to as 207 Mercedes Benz cargo trucks to passenger vehicles, two days after a bloody accident involving one of such buses on a bridge across the River Offin in the Ashanti Region.
According to the mechanics, the remodelling involved, among other things, elongating the vehicle and its chassis and converting the chassis from single to double tyres to enable the vehicle take more passengers.
They, however, insisted that that had nothing to do with the accidents involving 207 buses.
Officials of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), when contacted on the issue, indicated that they had consistently refused to register or renew the road worthy certificates of such vehicles when they were converted from cargo to passenger vehicles, since the vehicles so converted had had their brakes tampered with or had defective rear brakes.
Other sources told the Daily Graphic that certain elements within the brake system, when worn out, were difficult to replace and that compelled local artisans to “condemn” those brake parts and make some “alterations” for the modelled vehicle to continue in business.
That came to light during investigations by the Daily Graphic to establish the road worthiness of 207 Benz passenger vehicles, following numerous accidents involving the buses, resulting in critical injuries to passengers and massive loss of lives.
According to road safety statistics in the Ashanti Region alone, between January and July this year, 1,113 vehicles had been involved in accidents, claiming the lives of 146 people.
Two hundred of the accident vehicles were 207 Benz passenger buses, with a disproportionately high percentage of casualties.
Last Sunday alone 17 lives were lost in the latest accident involving a 207 Benz bus at Amoako, near Boamang in the Afigya-Kwabre District of the Ashanti Region.
On why the 207 Benz buses had been involved in so many fatal accidents, the mechanics explained that the accidents should rather be attributed to the attitudes of the drivers, instead of the activities of the mechanics.
"Many of such vehicles ply the Kumasi-Accra, Kumasi-Takoradi, Kumasi-Enchi and other roads of the country without any problems,” one senior mechanic said, adding that "it is the few undisciplined drivers who always bring pain and agony to Ghanaians as a result of their reckless driving".
The mechanics said a lot of effort went into the modelling of the vehicles from single-tyre cargo trucks to double-tyre passenger ones as a way of stabilising the vehicle when in motion.
When the Daily Graphic got in touch with Mr Noah Tetteh Matey, the Principal Technical Engineer of the DVLA in Kumasi, he confirmed that the double tyres in 207 Benz buses enhanced road safety.
"The conversion from single tyres to double is good because in case of any tyre burst the other tyres support the vehicle to prevent any accident. But the mechanics should involve the DVLA in all the processes," he noted.
Mr Matey, however, expressed concern over the elongation of the chassis of 207 Benz buses by the mechanics, saying the mechanism had adverse effect on road safety because it was dangerous and could cause accidents.
Explaining, he said, "The moment you touch the frame with fire you reduce the properties of the material used to build the vehicle and make it fragile. It, therefore, becomes dangerous to road safety."
Mr Matey noted further that vehicles with elongated chassis, as well as defective rear brakes, were always denied road worthy certificates and registration by his outfit.
That, he said, was to ensure that vehicle owners put their vehicles in good condition to make travelling more comfortable and enjoyable.
He said road safety was not the responsibility of the DVLA and the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) alone and, therefore, called on the station masters of the various transport unions to collaborate with other stakeholders to reduce the spate of accidents on the roads.
He challenged the unions to ensure that vehicles that loaded at their stations had very good tyres and brakes, stressing that it was equally important for them to ensure that drivers had the requisite experience before they were allowed to take charge of vehicles.
When contacted, the Commander in charge of MTTU in the Ashanti Region, Superintendent James Sarfo Peprah, indicated that accidents had been occurring, in spite of the numerous road safety campaigns being carried out, and, therefore, urged drivers to respect road safety campaigns to reduce the spate of accidents on the roads.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
COMMERCIAL DRIVERS ON WARPATH (PAGE 29)
sOME of commercial drivers in Kumasi have advocated the removal of Metro Mass Transit buses from parts of the central business district (CBD) of Kumasi and the Central Market High Street to enhance the free flow of vehicular traffic.
They contend that while the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) and traffic wardens of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly were eager to arrest and prosecute trotro and taxi drivers who committed various traffic offences, they always turned a blind eye to operators of the Metro Mass Transit buses.
At a forum organised by the MTTU in collaboration with the Ghana Road Safety Commission to sensitise drivers to the need to respect road traffic regulations, the commercial drivers expressed concern about the disregard of road traffic regulations by Metro Mass Transit drivers who operate at the CBD and the Kajetia High Street.
They contended further that the activities of the Metro Mass Transit drivers did not only create vehicular congestion at the CBD, but also threatened safety on the road.
The forum was attended by executive members of the various transport unions, including the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Progressive Transport Owners Association (PROTOA), Co-operative Transport Union, King Jesus, Commercial Drivers Union, Unity Transport, Redeemer and ALLTOPS as well as their station masters and other stakeholders.
The drivers raised those concerns during question time after the MTTU Commander, Mr James Sarfo Peprah, and officials of the Road Safety Commission had commented on challenges that undermined road safety in the Kumasi metropolis and its environs, which led to series of accidents and loss of lives and property.
Speaker after speaker wondered why the police were eager to arrest and prosecute commercial drivers, who stopped at vantage points to pick passengers, but allowed operators of the Metro Mass Transit buses to stop and pick passengers at the same spots for which they were harassed.
"They stop on the Kajetia- Bantama road, the Kajetia-Asafo road, Pampaso and other vantage points at the CBD even for longer hours to pick passengers without the police or KMA officers touching any of them but are quick to pounce on us as soon as we stop to pick one or two passengers," they bemoaned.
They contended further that since the Metro Mass Transit buses operated on commercial lines just as the trotro and taxi drivers, the same rules and regulations should also apply in respect of the Metro Mass bus drivers when it came to road traffic offences.
“They compete with us for passengers, but they are allowed to stop anywhere to pick and allow passengers to alight, which gives them unfair advantage over us in terms of daily sales, so it is time they were brought to order to enhance fair competition," they protested.
The drivers suggested that the city authorities should create a terminal for the Metro Mass Transit buses similar to the the State Transport buses to avoid the tension, which was building up between the transport owners and their rivals.
The Public Relations Officer of the KMA, Mrs Jemima Nancy Asare, referred the Daily Graphic to the managers of Metro Mass Transit buses, when she was asked to comment on the complaints of the commercial drivers but efforts to reach them proved futile.
They contend that while the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) and traffic wardens of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly were eager to arrest and prosecute trotro and taxi drivers who committed various traffic offences, they always turned a blind eye to operators of the Metro Mass Transit buses.
At a forum organised by the MTTU in collaboration with the Ghana Road Safety Commission to sensitise drivers to the need to respect road traffic regulations, the commercial drivers expressed concern about the disregard of road traffic regulations by Metro Mass Transit drivers who operate at the CBD and the Kajetia High Street.
They contended further that the activities of the Metro Mass Transit drivers did not only create vehicular congestion at the CBD, but also threatened safety on the road.
The forum was attended by executive members of the various transport unions, including the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Progressive Transport Owners Association (PROTOA), Co-operative Transport Union, King Jesus, Commercial Drivers Union, Unity Transport, Redeemer and ALLTOPS as well as their station masters and other stakeholders.
The drivers raised those concerns during question time after the MTTU Commander, Mr James Sarfo Peprah, and officials of the Road Safety Commission had commented on challenges that undermined road safety in the Kumasi metropolis and its environs, which led to series of accidents and loss of lives and property.
Speaker after speaker wondered why the police were eager to arrest and prosecute commercial drivers, who stopped at vantage points to pick passengers, but allowed operators of the Metro Mass Transit buses to stop and pick passengers at the same spots for which they were harassed.
"They stop on the Kajetia- Bantama road, the Kajetia-Asafo road, Pampaso and other vantage points at the CBD even for longer hours to pick passengers without the police or KMA officers touching any of them but are quick to pounce on us as soon as we stop to pick one or two passengers," they bemoaned.
They contended further that since the Metro Mass Transit buses operated on commercial lines just as the trotro and taxi drivers, the same rules and regulations should also apply in respect of the Metro Mass bus drivers when it came to road traffic offences.
“They compete with us for passengers, but they are allowed to stop anywhere to pick and allow passengers to alight, which gives them unfair advantage over us in terms of daily sales, so it is time they were brought to order to enhance fair competition," they protested.
The drivers suggested that the city authorities should create a terminal for the Metro Mass Transit buses similar to the the State Transport buses to avoid the tension, which was building up between the transport owners and their rivals.
The Public Relations Officer of the KMA, Mrs Jemima Nancy Asare, referred the Daily Graphic to the managers of Metro Mass Transit buses, when she was asked to comment on the complaints of the commercial drivers but efforts to reach them proved futile.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
TAXI DRIVER CONVICTED (PAGE 29)
A Kumasi High Court, Presided over by Justice K. A. Pobih, on Wednesday ,convicted a Kumasi-based driver, Abubarkar Amadu, who robbed a number of people in Kumasi of their property at gunpoint in 2007 to serve a 21-year jail term in hard labour.
This was after the court had found Abubarkar guilty of having conspired with two others to snatch a vehicle, mobile phones, jewellery and cash from their victims in December last year.
Just before the court convicted Amadu, he pleaded with the court to set him free, on the grounds that he had repented from his actions and would totally be law abiding. The court ignored his plea and convicted him.
A State Attorney, Ms Akua Adu-Gyamfi, who prosecuted told the court that Abubarkar Amadu and two others, now at large, robbed one Georgina Adu-Poku at gunpoint.
She said the convict and his accomplice on December 4, 2007, broke into the house of their victim at Tanoso in Kumasi, and at gunpoint, succeeded in robbing her of a GH¢920.
She said not satisfied with their actions, the convict and his accomplices again attacked one Thomas Amankwaa, who resided at Afrancho in Kumasi on December 12, 2007 and snatched his Fiat taxi with registration number AS 722 Z at knifepoint.
Ms Adu-Gyamfi said a day after the robbery at Afrancho, the convict and his accomplice again invaded Kwadaso, another Kumasi suburb, and succeeded in robbing one Agartha Dua of her hand bag, which contained a Motorola cell phone valued at GH¢120 and a quantity of jewellery valued at GH¢18.00 and bolted.
She said police investigations led to the arrest of the convict but his accomplices escaped.
She said after investigations Amadu was charged and convicted.
This was after the court had found Abubarkar guilty of having conspired with two others to snatch a vehicle, mobile phones, jewellery and cash from their victims in December last year.
Just before the court convicted Amadu, he pleaded with the court to set him free, on the grounds that he had repented from his actions and would totally be law abiding. The court ignored his plea and convicted him.
A State Attorney, Ms Akua Adu-Gyamfi, who prosecuted told the court that Abubarkar Amadu and two others, now at large, robbed one Georgina Adu-Poku at gunpoint.
She said the convict and his accomplice on December 4, 2007, broke into the house of their victim at Tanoso in Kumasi, and at gunpoint, succeeded in robbing her of a GH¢920.
She said not satisfied with their actions, the convict and his accomplices again attacked one Thomas Amankwaa, who resided at Afrancho in Kumasi on December 12, 2007 and snatched his Fiat taxi with registration number AS 722 Z at knifepoint.
Ms Adu-Gyamfi said a day after the robbery at Afrancho, the convict and his accomplice again invaded Kwadaso, another Kumasi suburb, and succeeded in robbing one Agartha Dua of her hand bag, which contained a Motorola cell phone valued at GH¢120 and a quantity of jewellery valued at GH¢18.00 and bolted.
She said police investigations led to the arrest of the convict but his accomplices escaped.
She said after investigations Amadu was charged and convicted.
COUPLE DONATES TO BREAST CARE ORGANISATIN (PAGE 11)
A couple from the United States of America (USA) has donated $500 to Breast Care International (BCI), a Kumasi-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) which has specialised in advocating the early treatment of breast cancer to reduce the cost of treatment and fatalities associated with the disease.
The donation, which was made by Mr Jeff Miller on behalf of his wife, Mrs Kathy Miller, was the couple’s contribution to encourage BCI to intensify its outreach programmes of sensitising women to the dangers associated with breast cancer and also encourage those suffering from the disease to seek early treatment.
Mr Miller, a Professor in Business Leadership based in Indianapolis in the USA, made the donation when he took time off an international conference he was attending at GIMPA in Accra to visit Kumasi where he interacted with the executive members of BCI and the staff of Peace and Love Hospital which has specialised in the treatment of breast cancer.
Making the donation, Mr Miller said he heard about BCI two years ago when his wife, who is a breast cancer specialist, attended a conference in Malaysia and met the President of BCI, Dr (Mrs) Beatrice Wiafe Addai.
He said the brief interaction between Kathy and Dr Wiafe Addai forged a bond of friendship, making it possible for the two ladies to follow each other's progress and challenges in terms of breast cancer cases.
"When I was coming to Ghana for the international conference at GIMPA, my wife made it a point that I visit Kumasi to interact with her friend and also make a personal donation to encourage the NGO to sustain its outreach programmes on breast cancer awareness. This was to ensure that as many women as possible appreciate the need to seek early medical care whenever they have breast related problems," he explained.
He said since breast cancer also affected males, it was important for the educational campaigns on the disease to be carried to every remote part of the country to ensure that the requisite awareness would be created for the public to appreciate the dangers of the disease and seek medical treatment.
Dr (Mrs) Wiafe Addai, who received the donation on behalf of BCI, was full of praise for the couple for the gesture they showed.
She said the donation, being the first by any individual, would encourage BCI to sustain its educational campaign on the disease and gave the assurance that the money would be put to good use.
She appealed to the public to make similar contributions to BCI to enhance its educational campaign on breast cancer.
That, she said, would enable the public to appreciate the dangers associated with the disease and seek early medical treatment to save lives and reduce the cost of treatment.
The donation, which was made by Mr Jeff Miller on behalf of his wife, Mrs Kathy Miller, was the couple’s contribution to encourage BCI to intensify its outreach programmes of sensitising women to the dangers associated with breast cancer and also encourage those suffering from the disease to seek early treatment.
Mr Miller, a Professor in Business Leadership based in Indianapolis in the USA, made the donation when he took time off an international conference he was attending at GIMPA in Accra to visit Kumasi where he interacted with the executive members of BCI and the staff of Peace and Love Hospital which has specialised in the treatment of breast cancer.
Making the donation, Mr Miller said he heard about BCI two years ago when his wife, who is a breast cancer specialist, attended a conference in Malaysia and met the President of BCI, Dr (Mrs) Beatrice Wiafe Addai.
He said the brief interaction between Kathy and Dr Wiafe Addai forged a bond of friendship, making it possible for the two ladies to follow each other's progress and challenges in terms of breast cancer cases.
"When I was coming to Ghana for the international conference at GIMPA, my wife made it a point that I visit Kumasi to interact with her friend and also make a personal donation to encourage the NGO to sustain its outreach programmes on breast cancer awareness. This was to ensure that as many women as possible appreciate the need to seek early medical care whenever they have breast related problems," he explained.
He said since breast cancer also affected males, it was important for the educational campaigns on the disease to be carried to every remote part of the country to ensure that the requisite awareness would be created for the public to appreciate the dangers of the disease and seek medical treatment.
Dr (Mrs) Wiafe Addai, who received the donation on behalf of BCI, was full of praise for the couple for the gesture they showed.
She said the donation, being the first by any individual, would encourage BCI to sustain its educational campaign on the disease and gave the assurance that the money would be put to good use.
She appealed to the public to make similar contributions to BCI to enhance its educational campaign on breast cancer.
That, she said, would enable the public to appreciate the dangers associated with the disease and seek early medical treatment to save lives and reduce the cost of treatment.
Monday, July 7, 2008
GHANA CLEFT FOUNDATION LAUNCHED (PAGE 20)
THE Ghana Cleft Foundation was last Saturday launched in Kumasi, with the primary objective of soliciting adequate financial support from the public to enable the Cleft Clinic at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) sustain medical care being provided to babies born with deformities at the mouth and parts of their faces.
The KATH Cleft Clinic, established in 2003, has so far performed surgical operations on more than 400 children and adults suffering from cleft and palate deformities, but inadequate financial resources and other constraints are militating against effective provision of quality medical care to other victims.
Cleft refers to children born with splits in their lips, gums or in the roofs of their mouth.
The condition is referred to as cleft lip or palate, depending on which part of the body was affected, and victims with such deformities find it difficult to live normal lifestyles due to the challenges they face in their daily lives.
Launching the foundation, the Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Abraham Dwuma Odoom, commended authorities of KATH for their sense of initiative, which saw them establishing the clinic to provide efficient medical care to victims who would otherwise have suffered rejection from their immediate families, neighbours and the general public.
He said establishment of the clinic marked another milestone "in our quest for advancement in the field of modern medicine to correct deformities of babies born with splits in their lips, gums or in the roofs of their mouth, making life more threatening to them”.
He said the launch of the Ghana Cleft Foundation had come at an opportune time, because it would help mobilise adequate resources that would enable the clinic to "reach out to more needy people born with mouth deformities".
Mr Odoom pointed out that with the foundation, the medical team at the clinic would also be able to embark on sustainable outreach programmes to sensitise the public to the nature of the deformities, "conduct regular research, train volunteers and work with local community leaders to identify babies affected by the deformities, so that early support could be given to them".
He explained that but for the generosity of the medical team, they would have not been able to reach out to many more victims. He, therefore, assured them of the "ministry's total commitment and support in terms of its budget to the foundation".
This, he said, would make it possible for them to reach out to many victims, especially those in the rural communities across the country to enable many people to access their services at a minimal cost.
"The issue of rejection by families, even to the point of losing their lives, being laughed at and bullied in schools, forcing them to drop out of schools, are a few of the many challenges that those affected must confront with," he added.
Mr Odoom, therefore, appealed to the public to make generous financial and material contributions to the foundation to make it possible for babies and adults suffering from cleft and palate deformities have easy access to medical services.
In his welcoming address, the President of the Ghana Cleft Foundation, Professor Peter Donkor, said the foundation would play an advocacy role, not only to solicit for adequate financial support to provide quality medical care to babies with deformed mouth and faces, but would also sensitise the public to appreciate the need to seek early medical care for cleft and palate victims.
He pointed out that in as much as expectant mothers cherished giving birth to bouncy babies, some of the babies were likely to turn the happiness of their mothers into sadness when they had such deformities at their mouths and other parts of their faces, but gave assurance that with early medical care, the deformities could be corrected to make life more meaningful and enjoyable to the victims.
Prof. Donkor recalled the rationale behind the establishment of the Cleft Clinic at the KATH five years ago, and said their initiatives had brought much joy to parents who attempted to kill their babies due to the numerous challenges that confronted them.
"Some of the babies with cleft and palate deformities looked more like monsters at birth, but we succeeded in turning them into bouncing babies to bring smiles back to their mothers, and that is what we want to continue doing for babies who may have such deformities at birth," he explained.
Prof. Donkor noted that about 300 babies born each year in the country had such deformities, and since their parents might not have the financial resources to correct the deformities, it was important for the public to support them by making regular contributions to the foundation.
The KATH Cleft Clinic, established in 2003, has so far performed surgical operations on more than 400 children and adults suffering from cleft and palate deformities, but inadequate financial resources and other constraints are militating against effective provision of quality medical care to other victims.
Cleft refers to children born with splits in their lips, gums or in the roofs of their mouth.
The condition is referred to as cleft lip or palate, depending on which part of the body was affected, and victims with such deformities find it difficult to live normal lifestyles due to the challenges they face in their daily lives.
Launching the foundation, the Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Abraham Dwuma Odoom, commended authorities of KATH for their sense of initiative, which saw them establishing the clinic to provide efficient medical care to victims who would otherwise have suffered rejection from their immediate families, neighbours and the general public.
He said establishment of the clinic marked another milestone "in our quest for advancement in the field of modern medicine to correct deformities of babies born with splits in their lips, gums or in the roofs of their mouth, making life more threatening to them”.
He said the launch of the Ghana Cleft Foundation had come at an opportune time, because it would help mobilise adequate resources that would enable the clinic to "reach out to more needy people born with mouth deformities".
Mr Odoom pointed out that with the foundation, the medical team at the clinic would also be able to embark on sustainable outreach programmes to sensitise the public to the nature of the deformities, "conduct regular research, train volunteers and work with local community leaders to identify babies affected by the deformities, so that early support could be given to them".
He explained that but for the generosity of the medical team, they would have not been able to reach out to many more victims. He, therefore, assured them of the "ministry's total commitment and support in terms of its budget to the foundation".
This, he said, would make it possible for them to reach out to many victims, especially those in the rural communities across the country to enable many people to access their services at a minimal cost.
"The issue of rejection by families, even to the point of losing their lives, being laughed at and bullied in schools, forcing them to drop out of schools, are a few of the many challenges that those affected must confront with," he added.
Mr Odoom, therefore, appealed to the public to make generous financial and material contributions to the foundation to make it possible for babies and adults suffering from cleft and palate deformities have easy access to medical services.
In his welcoming address, the President of the Ghana Cleft Foundation, Professor Peter Donkor, said the foundation would play an advocacy role, not only to solicit for adequate financial support to provide quality medical care to babies with deformed mouth and faces, but would also sensitise the public to appreciate the need to seek early medical care for cleft and palate victims.
He pointed out that in as much as expectant mothers cherished giving birth to bouncy babies, some of the babies were likely to turn the happiness of their mothers into sadness when they had such deformities at their mouths and other parts of their faces, but gave assurance that with early medical care, the deformities could be corrected to make life more meaningful and enjoyable to the victims.
Prof. Donkor recalled the rationale behind the establishment of the Cleft Clinic at the KATH five years ago, and said their initiatives had brought much joy to parents who attempted to kill their babies due to the numerous challenges that confronted them.
"Some of the babies with cleft and palate deformities looked more like monsters at birth, but we succeeded in turning them into bouncing babies to bring smiles back to their mothers, and that is what we want to continue doing for babies who may have such deformities at birth," he explained.
Prof. Donkor noted that about 300 babies born each year in the country had such deformities, and since their parents might not have the financial resources to correct the deformities, it was important for the public to support them by making regular contributions to the foundation.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
KUMASI MTTU TO FLUSH 'LAKA' SELLERS OUT OF KEJETIA (PAE 28)
The Kumasi Central Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) says it will deal drastically with people who sell a mixture of local gin (akpeteshie) and marijuana to commercial drivers who operate at the Kajetia Lorry terminal in Kumasi.
According to the Central MTTU, the sale of the mixture, branded " LAKA" to commercial drivers who operate in various parts of the country had been on the increase in recent times and that always had adverse effects on drivers who patronised the products.
The Ashanti Regional MTTU Police Commander, Superintendent James Sarfo Peprah, gave the warning as part of their road safety education campaign at the Kajetia lorry terminal.
He expressed concern about the sale of the adulterated local gin at the Kejetia lorry terminal, saying, the intake of LAKA was a threat to road safety.
According to the MTTU boss, the drink did not only cause drivers to lose concentration and impair their judgement in the course of their journey, but also influenced them to drive recklessly, resulting in accidents, which claimed lives and property.
The Central MTTU is undertaking the road safety education campaign in collaboration with the National Road Safety Commission. The campaign is meant to sensitise drivers, station masters, and executive members of the various transport unions at the terminal to the need to be conscious about road safety in order to reduce the accidents in the Ashanti Region and its environs to the barest minimum.
The executive members of groups such as the Ghana Private Road Transport Union, (GPRTU) the Progressive Transport Union (PROTOA) Co-operative Transport Union, King Jesus, Commercial Drivers Union, Unity Transport, Redeemer and ALLTOPS and their station masters as well as other stakeholders attended the forum.
Mr Peprah said discipline by drivers was key to the reduction of vehicular injuries and death on the roads, and therefore, called on all stakeholders to collaborate with the MTTU and the Road Safety Commission to instil discipline among drivers to make travelling more comfortable and enjoyable.
He said intensive educational campaigns carried out by the MTTU and its collaborators led to the reduction of fatal accidents last year, but indications were that fatalities would increase in 2008 if the trend of accidents between January and May continued.
He said whilst 50 passengers were killed between January and March 2007, as against 91 in 2006, as many as 58 were killed between January and March this year, with April and May alone recording 55 deaths.
He said out of the number of deaths recorded in the Kumasi metropolis and its environs between January and May this year, 84 of them were “knockdowns” and out of that number, 50 victims lost their lives.
He warned that the police would be more vigilant on the road and not hesitate to arrest and prosecute drivers who plied the roads under the influence of alcohol, drove recklessly, overloaded their vehicles, drove above the minimum speed limit, failed to maintain their vehicles adequately or failed to observe road safety measures.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Deputy Ashanti Regional Police Commander, ACP Bright Oduro, urged drivers to be circumspect on the road, especially as the December general election drew near.
" As we usher ourselves into electioneering campaigns, let us not lose sight of the fact that we have existing laws which govern all traffic activities and for that matter, these must be complied with".
He said " the police are there to enforce the laws without and prejudice or compromise in order to ensure reasonable sanity on our roads".
He noted that investigations by the police had revealed that many of the road traffic injuries were the result of fatigue on the part of drivers who refused to rest after driving for a long period of time and, therefore, urged them to stop and relax anytime they felt tired, to reduce the spate of accidents on the road.
ACP Oduro said some commercial drivers, especially those in charge of 207 Mercedes Benz buses tampered with their back brakes and warned them to desist from such actions or face prosecution when they were arrested.
According to the Central MTTU, the sale of the mixture, branded " LAKA" to commercial drivers who operate in various parts of the country had been on the increase in recent times and that always had adverse effects on drivers who patronised the products.
The Ashanti Regional MTTU Police Commander, Superintendent James Sarfo Peprah, gave the warning as part of their road safety education campaign at the Kajetia lorry terminal.
He expressed concern about the sale of the adulterated local gin at the Kejetia lorry terminal, saying, the intake of LAKA was a threat to road safety.
According to the MTTU boss, the drink did not only cause drivers to lose concentration and impair their judgement in the course of their journey, but also influenced them to drive recklessly, resulting in accidents, which claimed lives and property.
The Central MTTU is undertaking the road safety education campaign in collaboration with the National Road Safety Commission. The campaign is meant to sensitise drivers, station masters, and executive members of the various transport unions at the terminal to the need to be conscious about road safety in order to reduce the accidents in the Ashanti Region and its environs to the barest minimum.
The executive members of groups such as the Ghana Private Road Transport Union, (GPRTU) the Progressive Transport Union (PROTOA) Co-operative Transport Union, King Jesus, Commercial Drivers Union, Unity Transport, Redeemer and ALLTOPS and their station masters as well as other stakeholders attended the forum.
Mr Peprah said discipline by drivers was key to the reduction of vehicular injuries and death on the roads, and therefore, called on all stakeholders to collaborate with the MTTU and the Road Safety Commission to instil discipline among drivers to make travelling more comfortable and enjoyable.
He said intensive educational campaigns carried out by the MTTU and its collaborators led to the reduction of fatal accidents last year, but indications were that fatalities would increase in 2008 if the trend of accidents between January and May continued.
He said whilst 50 passengers were killed between January and March 2007, as against 91 in 2006, as many as 58 were killed between January and March this year, with April and May alone recording 55 deaths.
He said out of the number of deaths recorded in the Kumasi metropolis and its environs between January and May this year, 84 of them were “knockdowns” and out of that number, 50 victims lost their lives.
He warned that the police would be more vigilant on the road and not hesitate to arrest and prosecute drivers who plied the roads under the influence of alcohol, drove recklessly, overloaded their vehicles, drove above the minimum speed limit, failed to maintain their vehicles adequately or failed to observe road safety measures.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Deputy Ashanti Regional Police Commander, ACP Bright Oduro, urged drivers to be circumspect on the road, especially as the December general election drew near.
" As we usher ourselves into electioneering campaigns, let us not lose sight of the fact that we have existing laws which govern all traffic activities and for that matter, these must be complied with".
He said " the police are there to enforce the laws without and prejudice or compromise in order to ensure reasonable sanity on our roads".
He noted that investigations by the police had revealed that many of the road traffic injuries were the result of fatigue on the part of drivers who refused to rest after driving for a long period of time and, therefore, urged them to stop and relax anytime they felt tired, to reduce the spate of accidents on the road.
ACP Oduro said some commercial drivers, especially those in charge of 207 Mercedes Benz buses tampered with their back brakes and warned them to desist from such actions or face prosecution when they were arrested.
COURT DISCHARGES 17-YEAR-OLD GIRL (PAGE 47)
THE Kumasi High Court, presided over by Justice Imoru Ziblim, has acquitted and discharged a 17-year-old girl who was convicted to serve an 18 month prison term at the Kumasi Central Prisons without an option of a fine.
In his ruling when Elizabeth Dong appeared before him, the judge noted that the whole proceeding, which cumulated in her conviction at the lower court, "was pregnant with procedural irregularities".
He, therefore acquitted and discharged Dong, declaring the case as a nullity.
On behalf of the Attorney General, a Principal State Attorney provided GH¢50 for the ex-convict to enable her to travel to Bolgatanga to unite with her family.
The action of the High Court followed the intervention of the Ashanti Regional Principal State Attorney when the case was cited for adjudication last Friday at the High Court.
Earlier, the Principal State Attorney had told the court that contrary to Section 197 (1) of Act 30, the charge was not read and interpreted to Dong to enable her to defend herself when she appeared before the lower court which tried her.
The plight of the teenager came to light when the Attorney- General and Minister for Justice, Mr Joe Ghartey, paid a familiarisation visit to the Kumasi Central Prison on May 15, 2008.
In the course of the visit, Mr Ghartey came to terms with the massive congestion at the prison where the convict had also been incarcerated.
A Daily Graphic report on Friday, May 16, 2008 headlined, "Justice for All Programme extended to Ashanti", noted that "the Attorney-General was touched when he went to the Female Prison and heard the story of 17-year-old Elizabeth Dong, a native of Bolgatanga, who was convicted to serve 18 months in prison because prosecutors had given her age in court as 19, instead of 17".
At the time of the visit, Dong had served three months because a complainant had accused her of defrauding her of an amount of GH¢30.
Dong told the Attorney General that the complainant in the case had given her goods to sell, in the anticipation that she would be able to reap GH¢70 from the sale but she was able to realise only GH¢40.
She said when the complainant was given the amount, she (the complainant) became angry and accused her of stealing the GH¢30, for which reason she was taken to court and convicted accordingly to serve an 18-month jail term.
Mr Ghartey offered to pay the GH¢30 on behalf of the young girl and assured her that the Justice for all Programme would take up her plight and ensure that she was freed.
When the appellant appeared before the High Court last Friday through the intervention of the Attorney-General, the Principal State Attorney told the court that the accused was illiterate and should have, therefore, been made to understand the charge. But it was neither read nor interpreted to her at the court.
He pointed out that apart from the fact that the charge was not explained to the appellant, "the appellant was not even represented by counsel at the court below".
He further noted that "the age of the appellant was not stated in the facts for the trial judge at the court below to appreciate her age", stressing that the appellant was a juvenile by all standards and should, therefore, be acquitted and discharged.
The judge ordered that the GH¢50 offered by the Attorney-General to pay the fine should be given to the appellant to travel back to Bolgatanga, where she comes from.
In his ruling when Elizabeth Dong appeared before him, the judge noted that the whole proceeding, which cumulated in her conviction at the lower court, "was pregnant with procedural irregularities".
He, therefore acquitted and discharged Dong, declaring the case as a nullity.
On behalf of the Attorney General, a Principal State Attorney provided GH¢50 for the ex-convict to enable her to travel to Bolgatanga to unite with her family.
The action of the High Court followed the intervention of the Ashanti Regional Principal State Attorney when the case was cited for adjudication last Friday at the High Court.
Earlier, the Principal State Attorney had told the court that contrary to Section 197 (1) of Act 30, the charge was not read and interpreted to Dong to enable her to defend herself when she appeared before the lower court which tried her.
The plight of the teenager came to light when the Attorney- General and Minister for Justice, Mr Joe Ghartey, paid a familiarisation visit to the Kumasi Central Prison on May 15, 2008.
In the course of the visit, Mr Ghartey came to terms with the massive congestion at the prison where the convict had also been incarcerated.
A Daily Graphic report on Friday, May 16, 2008 headlined, "Justice for All Programme extended to Ashanti", noted that "the Attorney-General was touched when he went to the Female Prison and heard the story of 17-year-old Elizabeth Dong, a native of Bolgatanga, who was convicted to serve 18 months in prison because prosecutors had given her age in court as 19, instead of 17".
At the time of the visit, Dong had served three months because a complainant had accused her of defrauding her of an amount of GH¢30.
Dong told the Attorney General that the complainant in the case had given her goods to sell, in the anticipation that she would be able to reap GH¢70 from the sale but she was able to realise only GH¢40.
She said when the complainant was given the amount, she (the complainant) became angry and accused her of stealing the GH¢30, for which reason she was taken to court and convicted accordingly to serve an 18-month jail term.
Mr Ghartey offered to pay the GH¢30 on behalf of the young girl and assured her that the Justice for all Programme would take up her plight and ensure that she was freed.
When the appellant appeared before the High Court last Friday through the intervention of the Attorney-General, the Principal State Attorney told the court that the accused was illiterate and should have, therefore, been made to understand the charge. But it was neither read nor interpreted to her at the court.
He pointed out that apart from the fact that the charge was not explained to the appellant, "the appellant was not even represented by counsel at the court below".
He further noted that "the age of the appellant was not stated in the facts for the trial judge at the court below to appreciate her age", stressing that the appellant was a juvenile by all standards and should, therefore, be acquitted and discharged.
The judge ordered that the GH¢50 offered by the Attorney-General to pay the fine should be given to the appellant to travel back to Bolgatanga, where she comes from.
SUBIN MUTUAL HEALTH ORGANSES CLEAN-UP CAMPAIGN (PAGE 29)
The management of the Subin Sub-Metro Mutual Health Insurance Scheme, in collaboration with the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) and Zoomlion, organised a clean-up exercise within its catchment area on Republic day to sensitise the public to the need to recognise environmental cleanliness as a key to healthy life.
The exercise, which lasted for about four hours, was concentrated in suburbs like Amakom, Asafo, Oforikrom, Afful-Nkwanta and the Central Business District of Adum.
It received massive response from residents who supported the organisers to desilt choked gutters, sweep the principal streets and to clear bushy areas, while others used wheelbarrows to cart the refuse.
Officers from the Fire Service also supported the exercise in diverse ways.
Later in an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Manager of Subin Mutual Health Insurance Scheme, Ms Esther Odoom, noted that the exercise, which is the first of its kind by the scheme managers, was part of the measures to conscientise the public to undertake regular clean-up exercises in residential areas to enhance a clean environment all the time.
She pointed out that with a clean environment, diseases like malaria, cholera, dysentery and typhoid fever, which thrived in unhygienic environments could be prevented.
This, she said, would go a long way to reduce the cost of treating them , making it possible for the government to use the resources to be used in treating such diseases to other sensitive areas to accelerate socio-economic development.
Ms Odoom said with the rains intensifying, gutters were likely to get choked while pools of water would collect to create a conducive environment for mosquitoes to lay eggs, " but if we sustain this exercise, we would be able to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs in stagnant waters, thereby reducing malaria attacks".
She said apart from the clean-up exercise, the managers of the Subin Mutual Health Insurance Scheme would also organise a health walk in December this year to promote regular exercising as a therapy.
"There would be a fruit cocktail at the end of the health walk in December to sensitise the public to the need to take in a lot of fruits and vegetables to promote their health", she noted, adding " true freedom is to leave in a healthy environment and enjoy good health all the time".
Ms Odoom, therefore, urged the public to support their initiatives to ensure a healthy environment.
The exercise, which lasted for about four hours, was concentrated in suburbs like Amakom, Asafo, Oforikrom, Afful-Nkwanta and the Central Business District of Adum.
It received massive response from residents who supported the organisers to desilt choked gutters, sweep the principal streets and to clear bushy areas, while others used wheelbarrows to cart the refuse.
Officers from the Fire Service also supported the exercise in diverse ways.
Later in an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Manager of Subin Mutual Health Insurance Scheme, Ms Esther Odoom, noted that the exercise, which is the first of its kind by the scheme managers, was part of the measures to conscientise the public to undertake regular clean-up exercises in residential areas to enhance a clean environment all the time.
She pointed out that with a clean environment, diseases like malaria, cholera, dysentery and typhoid fever, which thrived in unhygienic environments could be prevented.
This, she said, would go a long way to reduce the cost of treating them , making it possible for the government to use the resources to be used in treating such diseases to other sensitive areas to accelerate socio-economic development.
Ms Odoom said with the rains intensifying, gutters were likely to get choked while pools of water would collect to create a conducive environment for mosquitoes to lay eggs, " but if we sustain this exercise, we would be able to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs in stagnant waters, thereby reducing malaria attacks".
She said apart from the clean-up exercise, the managers of the Subin Mutual Health Insurance Scheme would also organise a health walk in December this year to promote regular exercising as a therapy.
"There would be a fruit cocktail at the end of the health walk in December to sensitise the public to the need to take in a lot of fruits and vegetables to promote their health", she noted, adding " true freedom is to leave in a healthy environment and enjoy good health all the time".
Ms Odoom, therefore, urged the public to support their initiatives to ensure a healthy environment.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
DVLA CLOSES DOWN DRIVING SCHOOLS IN KUMASI (PAGE 33)
the Technical Directorate of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) on Thursday, June 26, 2008 undertook a special operation to close down a number of driving schools in the Kumasi metropolis and its environs for failing to meet the requisite standards that enhanced efficiency in driving and road safety.
The Technical Officer in charge of Driving Schools of the DVLA, Mr Joseph Amamoo, in collaboration with the Ashanti Regional Directorate carried out the exercise.
According to Mr Amamoo, the affected schools woefully failed to meet the vision of the DVLA, which was always "to ensure world class driving and safety standards through comprehensive, accessible, quick and effective testing of drivers and vehicles".
He said the affected driving schools also failed to meet the required mission of the DVLA, which sought to " provide the most efficient system of examining drivers and licensing vehicles to ensure road safety and an enhanced records system".
Among the driving schools in the Kumasi metropolis which were closed down were the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) driving school, Sefo and Sons driving school, World Wide, Duisbburger, Trinity and Smark driving schools.
The others were Fantow, Corban, Trust Way, Kings Spride and Nec Dii driving schools.
Mr Amamoo expressed concern about the spate of vehicular accidents in recent times which had claimed the lives of many citizens, and attributed most of the accidents to human error.
He said an Act of Parliament in 1999 directed that all driving schools should not only have business registration certificates but should also have at least two dual pedal vehicles that would enhance the training of drivers in their schools.
He said driving schools were also obliged to have spacious classrooms that could contain 30 students, at least two well trained instructors and should also collaborate with the National Vocational Training Institute in their operations to enable them to produce efficient and world class drivers who would put premium on all their activities anytime they were driving.
Mr Amamoo said all the driving schools were also to take their trainees through a number of subjects to enhance their skills and proficiency in all aspects of driving to make travelling more comfortable and enjoyable.
"The DVLA has been monitoring driving schools across the country to ensure that they complied with the Act of Parliament," Mr Amamoo, said and added that while some driving schools strictly adhered to the directives others had totally ignored them.
He said it was to ensure that all driving schools complied with the directives provided under the Act of Parliament that the DVLA decided to renew the license of driving schools that strictly adhered to their principles, and closed down those that had disobeyed.
He said many of the affected driving schools had relocated to smaller structures after their registration, causing massive congestion in their classrooms.
“In most cases, part of their classrooms are being used as storage facilities while others had been used as computer and hair dressing salons. Others also had plastic and sitting room chairs in the classrooms with pulpits, which were contrary to the directives given to them prior to their registration.
Mr Amamoo said in other cases, wooden structures and containers were used as classrooms, while others used unroadworthy vehicles to train driver trainees. Most schools also used untrained instructors whiles the classrooms used for instructions were dusty and untidy.
"Before we renew the licences of the driving schools we have to re-inspect the schools that we registered because we have noticed that many of them have thrown overboard the directives we gave to them. Since the exercise started, we have closed down a number of driving schools in Accra,Tema, Sunyani, Sekondi- Takoradi, Wa and Bolgatanga. Now we are in Kumasi where we have closed down a number of driving schools which failed to meet our criteria, " he stressed.
He said prior to the exercise, the DVLA embarked on educational campaigns to alert the driving schools to what was expected of them, and followed it up with letters, directing them as to what they should do, setting May 30, 2008 as the deadline for which they should comply with all the directives " after which there would be re-inspection".
He said in Accra for example, as many as 23 driving schools which failed to meet the requisite standards were closed down, with 12 in Tema suffering the same fate.
Among the driving schools in Kumasi which met the criteria were the Keesben, Joe Rees, Faith, Star, Cambodia, Ekas and KAJ Royals. Mr Amamoo gave the assurance that the DVLA would follow due process to ensure that only driving schools which met the approved standards would be allowed to operate.
"The bottom line is safety, and in the future, the DVLA would regularly visit the schools to see what they teach the trainee drivers. We would also review the training programmes to ensure that only proficient drivers are issued with driving licences to reduce the spate of accidents, which occur mostly as a result of human errors, " Mr Amamoo stressed.
He said the DVLA would take the exercise very seriously, and that a list of the driving schools which had been closed down would be handed over to the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) to monitor their operations and arrest those which flouted their directives.
"We have posted closure stickers on all the affected driving schools, and any of them which would tamper with them would not be spared," he warned, and gave the assurance that " the DVLA would only re-open the schools after satisfying itself that they had taken measures that which would enhance efficiency in their operations".
The Technical Officer in charge of Driving Schools of the DVLA, Mr Joseph Amamoo, in collaboration with the Ashanti Regional Directorate carried out the exercise.
According to Mr Amamoo, the affected schools woefully failed to meet the vision of the DVLA, which was always "to ensure world class driving and safety standards through comprehensive, accessible, quick and effective testing of drivers and vehicles".
He said the affected driving schools also failed to meet the required mission of the DVLA, which sought to " provide the most efficient system of examining drivers and licensing vehicles to ensure road safety and an enhanced records system".
Among the driving schools in the Kumasi metropolis which were closed down were the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) driving school, Sefo and Sons driving school, World Wide, Duisbburger, Trinity and Smark driving schools.
The others were Fantow, Corban, Trust Way, Kings Spride and Nec Dii driving schools.
Mr Amamoo expressed concern about the spate of vehicular accidents in recent times which had claimed the lives of many citizens, and attributed most of the accidents to human error.
He said an Act of Parliament in 1999 directed that all driving schools should not only have business registration certificates but should also have at least two dual pedal vehicles that would enhance the training of drivers in their schools.
He said driving schools were also obliged to have spacious classrooms that could contain 30 students, at least two well trained instructors and should also collaborate with the National Vocational Training Institute in their operations to enable them to produce efficient and world class drivers who would put premium on all their activities anytime they were driving.
Mr Amamoo said all the driving schools were also to take their trainees through a number of subjects to enhance their skills and proficiency in all aspects of driving to make travelling more comfortable and enjoyable.
"The DVLA has been monitoring driving schools across the country to ensure that they complied with the Act of Parliament," Mr Amamoo, said and added that while some driving schools strictly adhered to the directives others had totally ignored them.
He said it was to ensure that all driving schools complied with the directives provided under the Act of Parliament that the DVLA decided to renew the license of driving schools that strictly adhered to their principles, and closed down those that had disobeyed.
He said many of the affected driving schools had relocated to smaller structures after their registration, causing massive congestion in their classrooms.
“In most cases, part of their classrooms are being used as storage facilities while others had been used as computer and hair dressing salons. Others also had plastic and sitting room chairs in the classrooms with pulpits, which were contrary to the directives given to them prior to their registration.
Mr Amamoo said in other cases, wooden structures and containers were used as classrooms, while others used unroadworthy vehicles to train driver trainees. Most schools also used untrained instructors whiles the classrooms used for instructions were dusty and untidy.
"Before we renew the licences of the driving schools we have to re-inspect the schools that we registered because we have noticed that many of them have thrown overboard the directives we gave to them. Since the exercise started, we have closed down a number of driving schools in Accra,Tema, Sunyani, Sekondi- Takoradi, Wa and Bolgatanga. Now we are in Kumasi where we have closed down a number of driving schools which failed to meet our criteria, " he stressed.
He said prior to the exercise, the DVLA embarked on educational campaigns to alert the driving schools to what was expected of them, and followed it up with letters, directing them as to what they should do, setting May 30, 2008 as the deadline for which they should comply with all the directives " after which there would be re-inspection".
He said in Accra for example, as many as 23 driving schools which failed to meet the requisite standards were closed down, with 12 in Tema suffering the same fate.
Among the driving schools in Kumasi which met the criteria were the Keesben, Joe Rees, Faith, Star, Cambodia, Ekas and KAJ Royals. Mr Amamoo gave the assurance that the DVLA would follow due process to ensure that only driving schools which met the approved standards would be allowed to operate.
"The bottom line is safety, and in the future, the DVLA would regularly visit the schools to see what they teach the trainee drivers. We would also review the training programmes to ensure that only proficient drivers are issued with driving licences to reduce the spate of accidents, which occur mostly as a result of human errors, " Mr Amamoo stressed.
He said the DVLA would take the exercise very seriously, and that a list of the driving schools which had been closed down would be handed over to the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) to monitor their operations and arrest those which flouted their directives.
"We have posted closure stickers on all the affected driving schools, and any of them which would tamper with them would not be spared," he warned, and gave the assurance that " the DVLA would only re-open the schools after satisfying itself that they had taken measures that which would enhance efficiency in their operations".
LATEX FOAM DONATES TO KUMASI FIRE SERVICE (PAGE 33)
The Management of Latex Foam Mattress has donated 40 student mattresses and pillows worth GH¢1,000 to the Ghana Fire Service in Kumasi as part of its corporate responsibility.
The gesture has now become an annual event and it is to motivate personnel of the service in the Kumasi metropolis and its environs for them to respond to emergencies quickly.
The Human Resource Manager of Latex Foam, Mr Abass Kalimba Amankwah, who presented the items on behalf of the company commended personnel of the service in the metropolis for their commitment and dedication to work in spite of the numerous constraints.
He said Latex Foam recognised their contribution to sustainable national development and would, therefore continue to support them in diverse ways to enable them to discharge their responsibilities in a more effective way.
This, he said, would win them the confidence they deserved.
The Ashanti Regional Fire Officer, Mr Obeng B. Dwamena, who received the items on behalf of the service personnel praised the management of Latex Foam for recognising the contributions of the personnel.
He said the annual visits by Latex Foam " always bring the smiles to the personnel because with the mattresses, the personnel are able to relax and respond to all emergencies, even at short notice".
Mr Dwamena said the government was committed to providing the requisite facilities and equipment to the Ghana National Fire Service to enable it to meet its responsibilities.
He, however, stressed the need for institutions, organisations firms and individuals to also support the service in diverse ways to motivate the personnel to respond to emergencies.
The gesture has now become an annual event and it is to motivate personnel of the service in the Kumasi metropolis and its environs for them to respond to emergencies quickly.
The Human Resource Manager of Latex Foam, Mr Abass Kalimba Amankwah, who presented the items on behalf of the company commended personnel of the service in the metropolis for their commitment and dedication to work in spite of the numerous constraints.
He said Latex Foam recognised their contribution to sustainable national development and would, therefore continue to support them in diverse ways to enable them to discharge their responsibilities in a more effective way.
This, he said, would win them the confidence they deserved.
The Ashanti Regional Fire Officer, Mr Obeng B. Dwamena, who received the items on behalf of the service personnel praised the management of Latex Foam for recognising the contributions of the personnel.
He said the annual visits by Latex Foam " always bring the smiles to the personnel because with the mattresses, the personnel are able to relax and respond to all emergencies, even at short notice".
Mr Dwamena said the government was committed to providing the requisite facilities and equipment to the Ghana National Fire Service to enable it to meet its responsibilities.
He, however, stressed the need for institutions, organisations firms and individuals to also support the service in diverse ways to motivate the personnel to respond to emergencies.
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