GRi Newsreel
31 - 08 -
2003
Forty-five
youths acquire vocational skills
Government
policy on the creation of endowed schools commended
Farmer
jailed seven years for defilement
Missing
Corpse Found
GTB
to close down 24 illegal hotels in Western Region
Chiefs
advised against meddling in party politics
University
Don appeals to the Church to purge itself
Farmer
jailed seven years for defilement
Missing
Corpse Found
Man
on the run for killing his wife
Do
away with instant justice- Chief tells neighbourhood committee
Jomoro
Church of Pentecost holds Youth Convention
Contractors
association get 2.4 billion cedis support
Bolga
court remands six ex-convicts
Bolga
area selected as one of seven pilot customary secretariats
Public
Health Nurses hold annual congress
Road
accidents claiming more lives than HIV/AIDS -Tandoh
Health
students appeal for upgrading of certificates
Five people die in car crash
Unsafe
abortions causing high mortality among youth
Bawku (U/E), Aug 28, GNA - Mr Mahami Salifu, Upper East Regional Minister
has said that the success of government's effort at reducing unemployment among
the youth would be determined by the rate at which it provides vocational and
technical training for the unskilled.
In a speech read for him at a passing out ceremony for 45 trainees of the
Bawku Vocational Institute, Mr Salifu said the government is prepared to play
its part to ensure that the youth are gainfully employed.
The trainees are part of the unemployed youths registered two years ago
under the Skills Training and Employment Placement (STEP) programme.
They underwent six-months courses in carpentry, masonry and dressmaking.
He said government will not shirk its responsibility to develop the
country's human resources and advised the graduates to form partnerships and
larger groups to in order to gain access to the Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF)
to improve their businesses and to adopt improved techniques for creativity.
Mr Guy Williams Mbilla, the Principal said in spite of inadequate
facilities for effective teaching and learning, the Institute had made modest
strides in providing quality skills training to a large number of youths.
He said the Institute is still unable to provide a suitable accommodation
for 25 computers donated by a British non-governmental organisation.
Mr Mbilla appealed to government, non-governmental organisations and
philanthropists to come to the Institute's aid in providing classrooms and
workshops to increase students' intake.
The District Chief Executive for Bawku East, Mr Abdul-Rahman Gumah urged
the graduates to evolve good marketing strategies and human relations to ensure
the success and survival of their businesses.
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Government
policy on the creation of endowed schools commended
Cape Coast, Aug. 28, GNA - Mr Alex Amponfi-Duku, Headmaster of Enyan
Denkyira Secondary Technical School, has described as laudable the government's
policy to develop one school in each district into a well-endowed school.
Speaking to the GNA during the selection of Basic Education Certificate
Examinations (BECE) candidates into senior secondary schools at the Aggrey
Memorial Secondary School, he said the measure would help ease pressure on the
well-endowed schools.
He attributed some of the factors militating against smooth selection and
admission into the schools to the scramble for the few places by many
parents/guardians at the well-endowed schools and wrongful choice of programmes
that are not offered by some of the schools.
Mr Amponfi-Duku said to improve upon such shortcomings heads of basic
schools should work closely with parents and guardians when filling selection
cards for admission into senior secondary schools.
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Farmer
jailed seven years for defilement
Asamankese (E/R), Aug. 28, GNA - Kwadwo Frimpong, a 27-year-old farmer,
who defiled a 15-year-old girl and went into hiding for 18 months before he was
apprehended, was on Wednesday sentenced to seven years' imprisonment with hard
labour by the Asamankese Circuit Court.
He pleaded guilty.
Prosecuting, Police Inspector G.D. Bruce told the court that Frimpong
defiled the girl at Akyem-Nkwatanang on February 19, 2002.
He said Frimpong invited the victim to his house under the pretext of
asking her to run an errand for him but forcibly defiled her.
The victim informed the grandfather about her ordeal and a report was
made to the Police.
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Asamankese (E/R), Aug. 28, GNA - The eight-month-old mystery surrounding
the missing corpse of Madam Dora Nyakoa at the Asamankese Government Hospital
had been solved.
The solution came when a body exhumed at Esuaso in the West Akim District
on the orders of the Asamankese Circuit Court Judge, Mr. S.S Appiah, turned out
to be that of Madam Nyakoa, who died on January 25.
When relatives of Madam Nyakoa went to the morgue on March 17 they could
not find it and this led to the arrest of Francis Lamboe and Abdulai Lamin,
mortuary assistants. They were charged with stealing the body.
While they were being tried before the Circuit Court their counsel, Mr
Samuel Klayson, told the Court that there was a body at the mortuary that was
not covered by records.
When it was checked it was suspected to be that of one Abena Gyima, whose
body was recorded as having been collected by relatives for burial at Esuaso.
Mr Klayson pleaded with the Court to order the exhumation of the body for
examination by a pathologist.
When the case was called on Wednesday, the Prosecutor, Police Inspector
J.F Idan, told the Court that when the body was exhumed on August 22 relatives
of Madam Nyakoa instantly recognised it as that of their missing relative and
the body had since been brought back to the mortuary.
The Court acquitted and discharged the two mortuary assistants and
ordered the body of Madam Nyakoa to be released to the relatives for burial.
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GTB
to close down 24 illegal hotels in Western Region
Bibiani (W/R), Aug. 28, GNA - The Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) is to close
down 24 out of the 137 hotels in the Western Region for operating illegally.
Some of the hotels earmarked for closure do not have licence from the GTB
while others have been identified as having poor facilities including
dilapidated buildings.
Mr Jacob Oti Awere, Western Regional Manager of the GTB, said this at
Bibiani on Wednesday at the start of the exercise.
The Toppers Inn and Mamosa Hotel at Bibiani and the Western Continental
Hotel at Sefwi-Wiawso were closed down.
The Taskforce, which arrived at the hotel premises unannounced, locked up
the hotel rooms after explaining their mission to the hotel managers and lodgers
and escorted the Managers and caretakers to the Police station where their
statements were taken.
Mr Awere said Managers of the affected hotels would be prosecuted to
serve as a deterrent.
He said the exercise in the Western Region
formed part of a national programme to enforce standards for hotels in a bid to
ensure quality service and also protect the customer at all times.
Mr Awere advised the travelling public against lodging in hotels that
operated illegally since they would also be guilty of infringing on regulations
pertaining to the operation of hotels.
"You should always insist on lodging in hotels where the GTB licence
is openly displayed at the reception," he said.
Mr E Owusu-Mensah, Acting Deputy Director of Operations of the GTB, said
a permanent monitoring team had been set up by the GTB that would conduct random
inspection of hotels to ensure that standards were maintained at all levels.
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Chiefs
advised against meddling in party politics
Kumasi, Aug. 28, GNA - A clergyman has advised chiefs never to meddle in
active partisan politics or allow themselves to be used by individuals or group
of people to achieve their political ambitions.
Bishop J. N. K. Boateng, founder of the Gospel Revival Church of Christ,
said apart from sowing the seeds of discord among their people, chiefs, who
openly aligned themselves with political parties "risk loosing their
dignity and the authority they exercise as chiefs over their people".
Bishop Boateng gave the advice when he addressed the closing session of a
three-week programme, organised by the Gospel Revival Church of Christ for its
pastors on Wednesday.
"Chiefs are symbols and custodians of our culture and values and
should, therefore, concentrate on the sustenance of such values and enhancing
peace among their subjects," he said.
Bishop Boateng stressed the need for chiefs to evolve more workable
strategies that would unite and bind them together as chiefs instead of
scrambling for recognition and superiority over their colleagues.
"Unity amongst chiefs is the surest guarantee to ensuring unity of
purpose amongst people and should, therefore, be tackled with all
seriousness."
Bishop Boateng also reminded churches and chiefs of their responsibility
in ensuring that the economic welfare of their people is addressed
He said chiefs and churches should, therefore, not contend themselves
with only the provision of social amenities to their people but also channel
resources into the setting up of enterprises that would provide job for their
people.
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University
Don appeals to the Church to purge itself
Techiman (B/A), Aug. 28, GNA - Dr Daniel Bour, a Lecturer at the Kwame
Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, has expressed
regret at the number of scandals and corruptions that have engulfed the
Christian community all over the world in recent times.
He said the Church that should be the bastion of sanity; morality and
uprightness in the society had rather become an institution of corruption and
scandals.
Dr Bour said this at the 21st Annual Congress of the Ghana National
Association of Adventist Students (GNAAS) at Techiman.
The five-day Congress that is being attended by over 400 delegates drawn
from the whole country is under the theme: "Curbing Indiscipline, The Role
of Adventist Students."
Dr Bour said despite years of ''geometric rise in social theories and
models aimed at solving man's problems on earth, social, economic and political
problems keep rising''.
He appealed to the Church to purge itself of the numerous scandals and
provide the direction towards solving problems.
Mr James Kofi Adusei, National President of Ghana National Association of
Adventist Students, said there was the need for Christians to lead the Vice
President's crusade against indiscipline.
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Farmer
jailed seven years for defilement
Asamankese, Aug 28, GNA- Kwadwo Frimpong, a 27-year-old farmer who went
into hiding for 18 months after defiling a 15-year-old girl, was on Wednesday
sentenced to seven years' imprisonment with hard labour by the Asamankese
Circuit Court on Wednesday.
He pleaded guilty.
Prosecuting, Police Inspector G.D. Bruce told the court that Frimpong
defiled the girl at Akyem-Nkwatanang on February 19, 2002.
He said Frimpong invited the victim to his house under the pretext of
running some errands for him and forcibly had sex with her.
The victim informed the grandfather about her the ordeal and a report was
made to the police.
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Asamankese, Aug 28, GNA- The eight-month-old mystery surrounding the
missing corpse of Madam Dora Nyakoa at the Asamankese Government Hospital has
been solved.
A body exhumed at Esuaso in the West Akim District on the orders of the
Asamankese Circuit Court Judge, Mr. S.S Appiah, turned out to be that of Madam
Nyakoa who died on January 25.
When relatives of Madam Nyakoa went to the morgue on March 17, they could
not find her body and this led to the arrest of Francis Lamboe and Abdulai Lamin,
the mortuary assistants, who were charged with stealing the body.
While they were being tried before the Circuit Court, their counsel, Mr
Samuel Klayson, told the Court that there was a body at the mortuary that was
not covered by records.
When it was checked it was suspected to be that of one Abena Gyima whose
body was recorded as having been collected by relatives for burial at Esuaso.
Mr Klayson, therefore, pleaded with the Court to order the exhumation of
the body for examination by a pathologist.
When the case was called on Wednesday, the prosecutor, Police Inspector
J.F Idan, told the Court that when the body was exhumed on August 22, relatives
of Madam Nyakoa instantly recognised it as that of their missing relative and
the body was sent back to the mortuary.
The Court acquitted and discharged the two mortuary assistants and
ordered the body of Madam Nyakoa to be released to the relatives.
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Man
on the run for killing his wife
Kumasi, Aug. 28, GNA- The Kumasi police have mounted a search for Kwadwo
Oppong, a resident of Kaase in the Kumasi metropolis for allegedly killing his
wife, Amma Nyarko with whom he has three children.
Oppong, a trader, is said to have kicked his wife several times in the
lower abdomen rendering her unconscious.
Mr Gideon Boateng of the Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Unit
told the press on Thursday that there was a misunderstanding between the couple
on August 23 at Kaase.
He said Oppong beat up Nyarko mercilessly, kicking her several times in
the lower abdomen.
Mr Boateng said neighbours rushed to the rescue of Nyarko and realising
her critical condition, sent her to her grandfather's house at Asokwa also in
the metropolis. The father later sent her to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital
(KATH).
Unfortunately, Nyarko died shortly on admission, making Oppong to flee.
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Do
away with instant justice- Chief tells neighbourhood committee
Kumasi, Aug. 28, GNA- Neighbourhood watch committees have been cautioned
not to mete out instant justice to suspected criminals but hand them over to the
police for the law to take its course.
Nana Dr Fredua Mensah, Ayigyahene, who gave the advice, said though the
constitution mandates the committees to complement the efforts of the police to
rid society of criminals, they must know their limitations.
Nana Fredua Mensah was speaking at the inauguration of
the Ayigya Neighbourhood Watch Committee in the Kumasi metropolis on Wednesday.
The 20-member committee is under the chairmanship of Mallam Abdulai Joha.
The chief said the proliferation of neighbourhood watch committees was
not enough to curb armed robberies or crime in general if members of the
committees have questionable characters.
He called on the communities to ensure that they elect unblemished people
to the committees.
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Jomoro
Church of Pentecost holds Youth Convention
Jaway Wharf (W/R), Aug. 28, GNA- Women and children are direct victims of
domestic violence in both developed and developing countries, records on Women
in Law and Development in Africa has said.
The record which covers 1972 and 1996, said out of a total
of 70 murder cases recorded, 57 were domestic in nature with 40
husbands causing the death of their wives.
Mr Benjamin Amenfi Junior, Jomoro District Director of the Commission on
Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), said this at a youth convention
of the Church of Pentecost at Jaway Wharf in the Jomoro District on Thursday. It
has the theme: "Stick closely to God".
He expressed regret that domestic violence was not perpetrated, only by
the poor and the ignorant, but also the well educated, including priests,
teachers and doctors.
He noted that when the Domestic Violence Bill currently before Parliament
is passed, it will make it an offence for any one to subject any women or child
to psychological, physical, sexual or economic abuse.
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Contractors
association get 2.4 billion cedis support
Bolgatanga, Aug. 28, GNA- The Association of Road Contractors (ASROC) and
the Ghana Institute of Engineers (GHIE) is benefiting from a 2.4-billion-cedis
training support programme from the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ).
The programme, dubbed "Small and Medium Enterprises (SME"), is
expected to train core management staff of the two organisations including top,
middle and first line management in road maintenance for a three-year period.
The Project Manager of GTZ in-charge of the SME programme, Mr Hans
Maennchen, said this in Bolgatanga on Tuesday at the annual general meeting of
the Upper East Region branch of ASROC.
He said the programme, which started last year, offers a practical
hands-on approach and is designed to provide beneficiaries opportunity to
improve their knowledge on road maintenance contracts awarded to them.
Mr Maennchen said GTZ liases and brings together German and Ghanaian
companies to share skill and partner one another in various business ventures.
The Executive Secretary of ASROC, Ms Maud Griffins, said a new vision and
direction for the association's development is on course.
''There are measures put in place to legitimise it and strengthen its
communication structures to enhance effective communication among members and
the public'', he said.
She expressed regret at the lukewarm attitude of some members of the
association to participate in some of the training courses organised by GTZ and
said these programmes are geared towards improving the technical and managerial
know-how of members of the association.
Ms Griffins said the new vision being pursued by the association requires
the active participation of its members in the association's activities.
"If we are all strongly committed to this course, we would have
access to several facilities," she said.
The Regional Chairman of ASROC, Mr Edward Ghanem, said the new policy
direction that ASROC has taken, gives its membership a brighter prospect.
Mr Ghanem expressed concern about the finances of the association in the
region and called on members to pay their annual dues in full and regularly to
enhance efficient operation of the association.
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Bolga
court remands six ex-convicts
Bolgatanga, Aug 28, GNA- A Bolgatanga circuit court on Wednesday remanded
six ex-convicts and two others charged with stealing a Yamaha motor-cycle valued
at eight million cedis.
They are Agandaa Awukilu, Abdul Karim Abubakari, Assibi Atule, Salam
Adam, Jacob Haruna and Fuseini Ibrahim. The two others are Abubakari Issifu and
Madina Abdulai.
Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Dorwunor Dodu, told the court that on
August 25, the complainant, one Kassim Adam, was travelling from Bawku to Tamale
to sell his motor-cycle.
When he reached Bolgatanga at about 0100 hours, he was short of fuel and
decided to pass the night at a tea seller's spot near the taxi rank.
While there the first accused, Agandaa Awukilu, and Abdul Karim Abubakari
approached Adam and asked for some money. When
Adam told them he had no money they forced and searched his pocket and took away
75,000 cedis and took away his motorcycle.
Adam reported the robbery to the police and Awukilu and Abubakari were
arrested. Police investigations led to the arrest of others, who had been
convicted for similar offence, the prosecutor said.
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Bolga
area selected as one of seven pilot customary secretariats
Bolgatanga, Aug 28, GNA- The Bolgatanga area is one of seven pilot areas
selected by the government for the establishment of a customary land
secretariat.
The other pilot areas include Nadowli in the Upper West Region, Tamale in
the Northern and the Ashantehene secretariat.
This was made known in a speech read for the Minister for Lands and
Forestry, Professor Dominic Fobih, at a public forum on Land Administration
Project (LAP) in Bolgatanga on Wednesday.
The project aims at enhancing the capacity of traditional landowners to
manage lands in such a way that land would easily be available for development
and investment.
Prof Fobih said the project will not only help traditional land owners to
realise their economic potentials of the land but also assist them to enhance
their own economic standing as well as that of the people.
He said it would require the commitment to justice and fair treatment of
everybody.
He said the project did not intend to alter the traditional and customary
laws and practices of the people. The land rights of all citizens would be
recognised and recorded to ensure protection for future generations.
Prof Fobih appealed to customary land agencies to co-operate with the
public land agencies that are specialists, and cautioned them not to take
advantage of the ignorance of the customary authorities to lord it over them.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mahami Salifu, appealed to chiefs
and land owners to take the workshop seriously and not to allow contentions of
land problems divide them.
Mr Mosobila Kpaama, Chairman of the Regional Lands Commission, said the
implementation of the Land Administration Project is one that opens a window of
opportunity to enable the Commission to address some of the shortcomings with
land administration.
He said the Regional Lands Commission is committed to providing a
platform for all stakeholders to dialogue and chart a new path in land
administration in the region.
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Public
Health Nurses hold annual congress
Wa, Aug 28, GNA- Mr Sahanun Mogtari, Upper West Regional Minister, on
Wednesday called on Ghanaians to support the passage of the National Health
Insurance (NHIS) Bill by regarding it as the most appropriate remedy to the
social problems created by the ''cash and carry system.''
He said people have the opportunity to express opinions on the issue in
the national interest and not to jump into conclusion and portray it as a burden
that must wait.
"Definitely health matters are matters of life and I don't think
patients have the patience to wait for a cure."
Mr Mogtari made the call when he opened the annual national congress of
Public Health Nurses at Wa.
The congress has the theme: "Ghana Health Service,
The Role of The Public Health Nurse in Safe Motherhood."
Delegates, who are from all the regions of the country, will
appraise their performance and set agenda and programmes for the coming
year.
Mr Mogtari said though the Bill has been passed, Parliament shall accept
memoranda from groups and organisations with the aim of making the scheme
successful.
Mr Mogtari appealed to health personnel to join hands with the government
to ensure the success of the Scheme.
The Regional Minister urged workers to support the Bill since SSNIT has
stated that two and half per cent deductions from their contributions will not
affect their retirement benefits.
In an address read for her, Dr (Mrs) Henrietta Odoi-Agyarko, Deputy
Director of Public Health, said the Ghana Health Service has created an enabling
environment for health workers and communities through improved supply of basic
drugs and equipment and improved technical and managerial skills of health
workers.
Additionally, human, financial knowledge and resource mobilisation is
going on as a strategy to improve the safe motherhood programme.
To address the manpower needs of the service, she said, community health
nurses would be given some midwifery skills so that they can serve their
communities better.
Mrs Grace Nkrumah-Mills, National Chairperson of the group, said national
statistics indicate that for every 100,000 deliveries, 214 mothers loose their
lives.
Some of these deaths, she noted, are preventable.
She said the congress will afford them the opportunity to discuss and
build consensus on how to bridge the gaps and shortfalls in the implementation
of the motherhood programme.
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Road
accidents claiming more lives than HIV/AIDS -Tandoh
Amasaman
(G/A), Aug. 28, GNA- Chief Superintendent Victor Tandoh, Commander of the Motor
Transport and Traffic Unit (MTTU) of the Police Service, on Thursday spoke
against the spate of accidents on the roads saying it is claiming more lives
than the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Chief
Superintendent Tandoh said accidents claim more than 500 people a year with
7,000 sustaining various degrees of injuries.
He,
therefore, called on all stakeholders to give the needed support in curbing the
menace. Mr Tandoh was addressing a day's forum on an awareness creation campaign
on accident reduction on the Accra-Nsawam road at Amasaman in the Greater Accra
Region.
The forum organised by the National Road Safety Commission and the
Department of Co-operatives under the Ga District, attracted drivers from
various co-operative unions, personnel from the Ghana Police Service and the
Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS).
Chief
Supt. Tandoh said the Accra - Nsawam road recorded 86 accidents involving 123
vehicles from January to June this year.
He
said 12 people were killed with 68 sustaining various injuries.
He
mentioned over speeding, overloading, wrongful over taking, drinking-driving and
non-maintenance of vehicles as some of the causes of accidents.
The
rest were negligence on the part of pedestrians and mechanical defects.
The
Commander said most of the deaths on the Accra-Kumasi road were due to fatigue
on the part of drivers who travel beyond Kumasi to Accra adding, some try to get
the city earlier and return in order to make more money.
"But
you must remember that, your lives are more precious than the money you
make."
He
urged drivers to adhere to the Highway Code and rest after travelling long
distances to avoid road accidents and loss of lives.
Mr
Tandoh said it was becoming increasingly clear that more private motorists drive
dangerously adding that within four weeks the MTTU had recorded 218 cases out of
which 142 private car drivers.
"We
shall continue to educate, arrest and prosecute offenders no matter their social
standing."
He
however, asked policemen to desist from collecting bribes from drivers as such
behaviour was dragging the name of the Service into disrepute.
Chief
Superintendent Fatima Fuseini, an educator of the National Road Safety
Commission announced that the commission was embarking on a programme aimed at
upgrading the skills of drivers.
She
cautioned tipper truck drivers against indiscipline on the roads and urged them
to adhere to rules of driving.
In
her address, Ms Perpetual Nyarko, a District Co-operative Officer called for
regular campaigns to keep road users informed about their rights and
responsibilities.
Mr
Patrick Norteye Yeboah, Presiding member of Ga District Assembly said the
assembly, the Commission and other stakeholders will soon enact laws to ensure
safe driving in the district and provide lorry parks for drivers to clamp down
on activities of floating drivers.
GRi.../
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Health
students appeal for upgrading of certificates
Accra, Aug 28, GNA- The Ghana Nurse and Midwife Trainees Association (GNMTA),
on Thursday urged the Nurses and Midwife Council (NMC) and the Ministry of
Health to expedite action on the award of diploma certificates to all health
students after their training.
The Association suggested that all health training institutions,
including the Nurses Training College, Community Health Nursing Schools,
Midwifery Training School, Schools of Laboratory Technology, Radiology and
Hygiene, be accredited by a well recognized body as a tertiary institutions with
"immediate effect".
Mr Norbert Jampanah Apuri, President of the Association, on behalf of the
students said should the authorities fail to tell the Association "any
concrete thing by August 31, we shall register our displeasure in various forms
".
Speaking to the press in Accra, Mr Apuri said though the Association
after frantic efforts on July 21st, 2003, issued a communiqué to the Minister
of Health and NMC demanding a positive response on the issue, but "nothing
has so far been heard".
He said the issue of accrediting the various health institutions and
students with diplomas were long overdue because the institutions continue to
offer Diploma programmes with additional subjects including communication
skills, African Studies and Computer studies.
Mr Apuri said the academic calendars have also been programmed to depict
that of the tertiary ones after the government had announced the accreditation.
He said since the announcement, the first two batches have
completed their three-year courses while the third batch has completed their
last semester.
Mr Apuri said though the Minister of Health, after the students'
protests, directed that they be allowed to pursue the programme and that he did
not understand the stance of the authorities.
The Association, therefore, urged the government to consider affiliating
the health institutions with the Universities taking into consideration all
those who have already passed through the system "and not only those who
would be admitted next year as we were told".
GRi.../
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Adiembra (Ash), Aug. 28, GNA- Five people died on the spot and 17 others
received serious injuries, when the vehicle on which they were travelling on
Wednesday ran into a valley near Adiembra on the Bibiani-Kumasi road on
Wednesday.
The dead could not immediately be identified and the bodies have been
deposited at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi for autopsy.
Briefing the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Adiembra on the accident, Police
Chief Inspector Daniel Mensah-Kove, Officer in-charge of the Adiembra police
station, said at about 10.30 am on Wednesday, the 33-seater Mercedes Benz bus,
which was travelling from Bibiani to Kumasi, burst a front tyre near Adiembra.
He said the driver lost control of the bus and it veered off the road and
plunged into the valley killing the five people instantly.
Chief Inspector Mensah-Kove said the 17 others and the driver who
sustained serious injuries were on admission at KATH.
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Unsafe
abortions causing high mortality among youth
Koforidua, Aug. 28, GNA- The Eastern Regional Director of the National
Population Council (NPC), Mr Kofi Abinah, has attributed the high rate of
mortality among the youth to unsafe abortions, inaccessible health care delivery
and lack of information on reproductive health issues.
He noted that due to parents' reluctance to talk about sex to their
adolescent children and the perception of the society on abortions, the youth
resorted to the use of all kinds of drugs in order to get rid of unwanted
pregnancies.
Mr Abinah was making a presentation at a post-launch activity on
adolescent sexual reproductive health and rights organized by the NPC at
Koforidua on Wednesday.
He noted that due to the prevailing negative situation, the youth do not
seek treatment at health facilities when they contract sexually transmitted
diseases.
The workshop targeted the leadership and decision makers in the Muslim
society to be at breast with information on sexually- transmitted diseases and
reproductive issues so that they can sensitise the community.
Topics treated at the workshop included unwanted pregnancy, unsafe
abortions and sexually transmitted infections (STI's).
The workshop was part of activities to commemorate the World Population
Day, which celebrated every July, to highlight the high rate of the world's
population and the need for family planning.
He said workshops and other seminars being organized by the NPC were to
create awareness and used as a micro-strategy to seek information for the United
Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA).
A representative from the Ministry of Education, Mr Rex Baah-Ntiri, asked
the Muslim community to sacrifice for their children's education to ensure their
good future.
"The days when children in Muslim communities did not get formal
education and became liabilities in society should be seen as a thing of the
past," he said and urged the leaders to sensitise their community to invest
in their wards' education.
GRi.../
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