Illegal gold miners have resumed their operations in the Pra River in the Western Region after a recent clampdown on their activities. Their activities, popularly known as ‘galamsey’, have led to the Pra River, which is the source of water to the Daboase Treatment Plant, being silty, while residents complain of excessive noise throughout the day. The residents have, therefore, questioned the presidential directive that the task force on illegal mining should cease its operations. The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis is experiencing water shortages as the water level at the Daboase Treatment Plant, which supplies water to the metropolis, is now at a low level of 1.3 metres instead of four metres.  Situation During a visit to the Doboase plant yesterday, more than six illegal miners were seen on the site seriously mining in the river while the intake point of the treatment plant was filled with the waste from the operations of the illegal miners. The operators were also using long metals to dig up the hilly banks of the river which caved in, destroying the river banks and its green vegetative cover. DCE When the Daily Graphic contacted the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Wassa East, Mr A. E. Aggrey, on the development, he retorted, “Galamsey has always been there and what about it?” He subsequently asked the reporter to relocate to the area if he thought he could do something about it. Discomfort Residents of Daboase told the two reporters that the “galamseyers” operated throughout the day and at night, resulting in the residents having sleepless nights due to the noise  therefrom.  A resident, Agya Ewusi, said the emergence of illegal mining in the area had cost fishermen their livelihood of fishing for shrimps and tilapia. He expressed concern about the inaction of the district assembly concerning  the activities of the ‘galamsey’ operators.  

  The Head of the Education Department of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), Mr Solomon Stanley Eyor, says the board is not relenting in its effort to get the public to understand the dangers of drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking. He said that at a capacity building programme for 60 members of coalition groups in the La-Nkwantanang-Madina Municipality in the Greater Accra Region. The programme was part of a collaborative partnership between the Philip Foundation, a Ghanaian non-governmental organisation (NGO), and the Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America (CADCA).  The participants were taken through basic facts about drug abuse and strategies for prevention, as well as effective strategies to mobilise community support to fight the drug menace. Mr Eyor said the department always took advantage of every opportunity to educate the people to know the harmful effects of drugs so that they would not fall victim to it.  He said community groups could count on the NACOB for expert training and advice on what role they could play to help with the fight against drugs.   He commended the Philip Foundation for taking the capacity building training to the door steps of the coalition groups, and added that education must be a continuous thing. “In reality, we need to work hard against the issue of drugs, because if we sit unconcerned and say because we don’t use drugs, our children don’t use drugs and so we have nothing to do with drugs, we are deceiving ourselves.  The drug problem affects everyone and we need to come together as a nation to fight against drugs in all its forms,” Mr Eyor emphasised. The Executive Director of the Philip Foundation, Mr Boateng Mensah, said the collaboration with Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America (CADCA) would be more of capacity building and technical support.  According to him, what the CADCA has been doing is to bring people from different sectors together as a coalition to come up with strategies to deal with drug issues in their respective communities. He said the Philip Foundation, as the local coordinating body, linked up with the NACOB to provide in-country training on drugs and substance abuse and prevention for coalition members in the La-Nkwantanang-Madina municipality. This was aimed at equipping the participants with the knowledge and skills to provide accurate and behavioural change-oriented messages on drug abuse in their communities.  

  A media sensitisation workshop on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) is to be held on January 16, 2014 in Accra. Thirty journalists from selected media organisations will take part in the one-day event,  which is a partnership between the Graphic Communications Group Limited and the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD). Presentations on both sides of the debate would be made after which discussions would be held. A Deputy Director of CIKOD, Mr Wilberforce Laate, told the Daily Graphic that the sensitisation workshop was crucial, since it would equip journalists with the requisite knowledge of GMOs. According to him, the media is the vehicle for the dissemination of information so if journalists are not adequately informed, it is possible they will pass on the little they know to their readers and audience. “We think that the media should be exposed to all the facets of the debate,” he stated. The Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr Ransford Tetteh, said the workshop was important because journalists needed knowledge and enlightenment on the subject before they could take the frontline role of informing people about the pros and cons of GMOs. He explained that since journalists set the agenda for society, they must be adequately informed in order to keep the gate to avoid the situation where some elements would try to hijack the media for propaganda. Mr Tetteh added that the debate on the GMOs was taking many twists with civil society groups emerging to support or oppose GMOs and that was why there was the need for a corps of well-informed journalists to lead the debate on the subject.  

  A loaded pistol has been seized from a man who posed as a military officer and allegedly terrorised residents of Agape in Accra. Residents of Agape and surrounding communities said Theodore Aggor, the suspect, together with his accomplices, wore military uniforms, drove around the area in an unregistered vehicle and terrorised them. Accomplices on the run The suspect was arrested on January 12, 2013 but his accomplices are on the run. The Odorkor District Police Commander, Superintendent Abraham Acquaye, told the Daily Graphic that the police had information that the people of Agape, Anyah and surrounding communities were living in fear “because of the suspect and his accomplices so we organised an operation and that led to his arrest.” An unregistered foreign pistol loaded with four rounds of ammunition was retrieved from the room of the suspect when the police conducted a search. Superintendent Acquaye said a military uniform, a military cap and a big hammer suspected to have been used for breaking into people’s houses were also found in  the suspect’s room. Dismissed military officer  During interrogation, Aggor told the police that he was a dismissed soldier and when he was questioned about the pistol in his possession, he claimed that he purchased the weapon in Liberia while on a UN peacekeeping mission. Charges  Aggor has since been charged with possession of a firearm without authority and unlawful possession of military accoutrement.   Superintendent Acquaye said investigations were going on to ascertain the veracity of the suspect’s claim that he was a dismissed military officer and called on those who had fallen victim to the threats of the suspect to see the Odorkor Police for the necessary action to be taken.  

  The Marshallan Relief and Development Services (MAREDES), a non-governmental organisation, has appealed to Parliament not to rush in passing the Plant Breeders Bill currently before it. It has, therefore, called on the leadership of Parliament to extend the debate on the bill and educate members of the public so that members of the public can make informed choices and decisions. “Let us take time as a country to study the various researches going on in the world, conduct our own if we have the capacity, to determine the implications and effects of the application of GMOs to the food chain in the country. Let us not rush Ghana into this highly debatable and controversial GMO politics taking place in the world,” it said in a statement signed by its chairman, Sir Kt. Eddie Prah. It also noted that nothing or little was heard in the media concerning interactions of parliamentarians with their constituents on this important bill when Parliament was on break.  It said the bill, even in its present form, without the mention of GM foods and crops, still required more discussion, education and debate, especially  among farmers in food-producing areas of the country where proprietary rights to the crops and food they grew had not been part of their reckoning. “It is for these and other reasons such as the unconfirmed negative health implications of GMOs that we join the call by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, NGOs and civil society organisations for Ghana to hasten slowly in the matter of introducing GMOs to its people,” it said.   It expressed satisfaction about the debate GMOs had generated among non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations, churches and both the Executive and Legislative arms of government. “Unfortunately the issues about GMOs are so highly sophisticated that it is mainly the intellectual classes of our society who are taking part in the debate.  Even these are few. The majority of the people who may be directly or indirectly affected by whatever implications the introduction of GM foods and crops might have are outside the debate and or even if brought in, may have difficulty appreciating the issues,” it stated.  

  Hundreds of containers have piled up at the Tema Port  because of court injunctions. During a visit to the port by the Daily Graphic it was discovered that three categories of containers form the majority of uncleared cargo at the port. The first category consists of containers with the court injunctions on them; the second, containers being held up because of unpaid taxes, while the third category is made up of containers with their contents declared and taxes paid but which cannot be cleared because of problems facing the various shipping lines. In an interview,  the Chief Revenue Officer in charge of State Warehouse, Tema Port, Mr Malik Alhassan Mahama, said per the Ghana Customs Law, PNDC Law 330 of 1993, Customs dared not touch all the three categories of containers. He said Customs had its last public auction of general goods on January 7, 2014 as part of its mandate to auction overstayed cargo and added that before goods were auctioned, they were gazetted and the auction took place 14 days after the gazette. He, however, welcomed any move that would help the Customs Division decongest the port. GHAPOHA The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GHAPOHA), when contacted, also welcomed any intervention that would decongest the ports. In a separate interview with the Daily Graphic in Tema, the Marketing and Public Relations Manager of GHAPOHA at the Tema Port, Mr Paul Asare-Ansah, said “what is important is not to have another agency to do what the Customs Division of Ghana Revenue Authority have been mandated to do”, but rather necessary to remove all bottlenecks that restrained Customs from executing its mandate. According to him, under normal circumstances, unclaimed cargo which had been in the port after 21 days was transferred to Customs for them to process the cargo for  auction.  He also recognised challenges, both administrative or logistic, that prevented Customs from carrying out its mandate and called for the creation of an enabling environment for the mandated organisation to perform its role. Mr Asare-Ansah said  it was strange that somebody would import cargo and willfully abandon such goods.  He was of the view that the challenges creating such situation for importers should be addressed to enable importers to complete transactions to avoid their cargo being put under the unclaimed cargo list (UCL). Seeking Information He advised importers to be well-informed on the processes and seek assistance from custom brokers about their tax obligations, freight charges and other financial obligations.  He said they could also seek information from websites of organisations, with support from the Ghana Shippers Authority. Mr Asare-Ansah called on importers to engage qualified freight forwarders who would perform their work diligently to ensure that importers cleared their goods within the stipulated period.  He was quick to note the increasing taxes which had been a challenge to importers and called for sufficient grace periods to enable them, seek financial support,  noting that “overnight increases have contributed to delay of clearance at the ports”. According to the law, goods that are not cleared within 30 days for general goods and 21 days for perishable goods would be disposed of through public auction. Special Operations Unit The Special Operations Unit at the Presidency recently announced that it had intensified the decongestion of all ports of entry and warned that goods that were not cleared within the stipulated 30 days for general goods and 21 days for perishable goods would be disposed off through public auction. The unit was set up by President John Dramani Mahama and is headed by the Chief of Staff, Mr Prosper Douglas Bani. In the latter part of 2013, the unit uncovered duty fraud involving more than 250 state agencies and private companies. The companies were said to have managed to escape payment of approximately $367 million import duties at bonded warehouses between 2005 and 2012.  

  Four persons have been sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment with hard labour for stealing a vehicle belonging to a hotel in Accra. They are Daniel Adjei, 30, a store keeper; Isaac Kwabena Dankwa, 32, unemployed; Frank Sarpong, 24-year-old ICT technician; and Isaac Annan, a laundry officer. The convicts, who were charged with conspiracy to steal, stealing, abetment of crime and possession of firearms and ammunition without lawful authority, pleaded guilty to the charges. Adjei is to serve four years in jail; Dankwa three years, while Sarpong and Annan are to serve two years each.   Conspiracy to steal Prosecuting, an Assistant State Attorney, Ms Dora Quaye, told the court presided over by Mr Francis Oduro that in November 2010, Adjei and Dankwa met a businessman who expressed interest in buying a car. The convicts then discussed the issue with Sarpong who then worked as an information technician at the Jaria Hotel at East Legon in Accra and he agreed to help them get the car, she said. She said Sarpong then discussed the issue with Annan who also worked at the same hotel and the two hatched a plan to steal the keys to one of the hotel’s vehicles. On December 1, 2010, Sarpong and Annan stole the key to a Nissan Quest vehicle belonging to the hotel and gave it to Adjei and Dankwa, she said. The assistant state attorney told the court that at about 12.45 a.m on December 3, 2010, Adjei and Dankwa went to the hotel and drove away the vehicle, with registration number GT 8652 Z, which had been parked outside the hotel gate. “Before the security men could see what was happening, the two had successfully driven away the vehicle,” Ms Quaye stated. Under arrest  The prosecutor said the CCTV camera installed at the hotel captured Sarpong stealing the car keys and a report was, therefore, made to the police who arrested him. Meanwhile, Adjei and Dankwa drove the Nissan Quest to a house at Madina, also in Accra, where they intended to hand it over to the businessman but they were arrested by the police. She said the police also found a bag containing a pistol and 13 live ammunitions in the house and when the convicts were interrogated, Adjei admitted ownership of the bag and its contents.  

  Calamity befell Kwahu Fodoa, a farming community off the main Nkawkaw-Kumasi road, yesterday, when a five-month old baby was burnt to death, after a gas tanker crashed into a building situated by the roadside. The body of little Yusif has been deposited at the Holy Family Hospital at Nkawkaw. Twenty-seven others sustained various degrees of injury and were sent to the same hospital for treatment. Those whose conditions were said to be serious were sent to the Burns Centre of the Komfo Anokye Hospital in Kumasi. The driver of the vehicle, who was said to have also sustained injuries, could, however, not be traced. Although the tanker, with registration number GE 6376-13 and with the inscription ‘Kan Royal’, which was heading towards Kumasi, did not explode, volumes of the gas which leaked and spread in the direction of the wind  caused an explosion in one of the houses which spread to 36 other houses, leading to the casualties. Kwahu West Municipal Fire Officer According to the Kwahu West Municipal Fire Officer, Mr George Frempong, the incident occurred at about 4:30 a.m. He said when the tanker, which was fully loaded with gas, crashed into the building, housing the New Faith Church International, firemen drawn from Mpraeso, Nkawkaw and Konongo were mobilised to seal the leakage on the tanker. According to him, the firemen at the same time went round the community to tell the people not to set fire for some time, but suddenly there was an explosion in one of the houses killing the child. He said the fire spread to a number of other houses, including three big sheds containing cola nuts being prepared for export, destroying the houses and the commodity. Livestock comprising sheep, goats and fowls were also burnt as well as crops such as cocoa, plantain and vegetation on a large stretch of land of approximately eight hectares were also destroyed. Holy Family Hospital At the Holy Family Hospital, the Director of Nursing in charge of the facility, Madam Julia Nimo, said 13 of the victims had been referred to the Burns Centre of the Komfo Anokye Hospital, Kumasi.  As of press time, firemen and the police had cordoned off the area and efforts were being made to siphon the remaining gas from the tanker. The Eastern Regional Minister, Mrs Helen Adjoa Ntoso, together with the Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr Akuriga Yaagy, as well as the Regional Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Ranford Buakye, visited the scene and the injured at the Holy Family Hospital and the Presbyterian Health Centre.  

  Twenty-eight women have undergone successful operations to correct their obstetric fistula conditions. Obstetric fistula (also known as vaginal fistula) is a medical condition in which a hole develops between either the rectum and vagina or between the bladder and vagina after severe or failed childbirth, when adequate medical care is not available. The women were drawn from all over the country. Nine of them came from the Upper East, five from the Upper West 11 from the Central and three from the Volta regions. The youngest is 19 years and the oldest is 60 years.  Minister’s concern In a speech read on her behalf by the acting Director of the Department of Gender, Mrs Catherine Bob-Miller, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, said the initiative is aimed at providing treatment and care for women and girls suffering from obstetric fistula, as part of efforts to address women’s reproductive health needs. The programme to support women and girls suffering from obstetric fistula was held at the Mercy Women’s Centre at Mankessim in the Central Region.  The package, she said, also included the re-integration of the women back into the society for them to enjoy normal life.  Nana Oye added: “It is my dream to get 200 fistula patients repaired and reintegrated by mid 2014”.  The programme was done with financial support from the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC), through the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, in collaboration with the obstetric fistula teams from the Korle Bu and the Komfo Anokye Teaching hospitals, and the Mercy Women’s Centre in Mankessim. Reintegration of fistula women Nana Oye Lithur said it was important that the hopes and dreams of those who suffered from the condition were renewed in order to ensure their full reintegration into the society. She added that in order for women who had undergone treatment to return to full and productive lives after the surgery, the ministry was looking at providing support for them through the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty (LEAP) facility, which would help them to be economically empowered after the surgery. “We have already done our needs assessment survey while they were on admission. We have already compiled these needs which range from hair dressing to farming for the needed action. In the interim, the ministry will give a token sum of money to start with while LEAP processes your needs,” she added. Obstetric fistula, she said, had serious detrimental consequences for gender relations and the attainment of gender equality and women’s empowerment.  That, she said, therefore, made it more imperative to continue to collaborate with all stakeholders concerned and ensure that fistula conditions among women and girls would become history in our sub-region, as many more of those patients were mobilised for repair and re-integration back in to the society for them to enjoy life, which was a God-given gift to every person.  

  Fifty people were convicted by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly District Court  in 2013 for causing noise pollution in the capital.  They were fined between GH¢60 and GH¢1,800 depending on the nature of their offence. According to the prosecutor, Ms Linda Kumbuno, some cases are still pending before the Laterbiokoshie Sanitation and Motor District Court. The policy She indicated that the AMA introduced a policy to clamp down on excessive noise making in the capital due to the numerous health dangers associated with noise, about three years ago. Ms Kumbuno said under the policy, residential areas were permitted to produce sounds within 55 decibels (db) in the day and 48 decibels (db) in the night. “Educational and health facilities are expected to produce sounds within 55 db in the day and 50 db in the night while commercial areas are within 60-75 db and 55-60 db”, she stated. She explained that entertainment centres, churches and mosques, among others, were to generate noise within the ranges of 65 db and 60 db day and night respectively while industrial areas were also to generate noise level within 70db in the day and 60-70 db in the night. Metro Public Health Directorate For his part, the Metro Public Health Director of the assembly, Dr Simpson Anim Boateng, revealed that as a result of the delay in court procedures, the assembly had adopted Section 54 of the Local Government Act 462, which allows the assembly to serve notice to offenders and subsequently seize the offender’s equipment, if they fail to adhere to the terms of the notice. He asserted that the assembly would clamp down on all recalcitrant individuals who failed to heed to the directive to keep noise levels within the stipulated range in the capital.  Dr Boateng explained that most of the complaints received last year were about excessive noise from churches, beer bars and cassette vendors. The Senior Environmental Health Technologist, Mr Wisdom Aditsey, said Ghanaians had not yet accepted the health implication of noise and that had been responsible for their attitude towards the problem. “The assembly is doing its best to reduce noise pollution in the country, but if Ghanaians do not come to terms with the dangers of noise pollution on their health, all our efforts will yield no result”, he added. According to Mr Aditsey, the assembly will continue to educate the public on the dangers of noise pollution adding “education is the best option” Speaking on the challenges of the exercise so far, he explained that the exercise had become a risk task due to the aggressive nature of offenders. “There are times that we have to struggle with them before we can seize the equipment; sometimes too, our workers are threatened while others chase us after we have seized their equipment”, he said  He advised Ghanaians not to hesitate to report all activities that posed a threat to their health to the assembly for the necessary action to be taken. When  the Daily Graphic visited the Metro Public Health Directorate, some of the sound systems and a generator which had been seized by the task force were at the office. Officials, explained that they had been seized to deter others from making excessive noise, however, they had not decided on what to do with those equipment but maintained that it would not be given back to owners. Writer’s email: [email protected]  

  The Queenmother of the Sunyani Traditional Area, Nana Nyamaa II, has advised the youth, especially adolescent girls, to abstain from premarital sex to avoid contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unwanted pregnancies that could jeopardise their future. She also called on parents to take good care of their adolescent children, especially the girls and provide them with their basic needs to prevent them from falling prey to some unscrupulous men who would take advantage of their vulnerability. Nana Nyamaa gave the advice at a Christmas party organised by the Beauty in Virginity Club, a Sunyani-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) for some orphaned children and members of the club in Sunyani. Nana Nyamaa’s Advice The queenmother, in her address, also called on         society to do more to assist less-privileged children to realise their full potential. Nana Nyamaa commended the Beauty in Virginity Club for their efforts to encourage the youth to abstain from premarital sex and focus on their education, expressing the hope that the youth would reciprocate the efforts of the NGO. She further commended the NGO for the help it had been extending to orphans and vulnerable children in the society for the past years. The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Director of Health Service, Dr Emmanuel Tenkorang, for his part, advised the children not to engage in premarital sex which could lead to unwanted pregnancies and STDs because of peer pressure.  He encouraged the children to focus on their studies, be obedient to their parents and show respect to the elderly and their teachers so that they would grow into  responsible citizens in the future. CEO’s speech The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Beauty in Virginity Club, Mrs Theodora Owusu Asubonteng, in her welcome address said the NGO decided to organise the party, which was an annual event, to help put smiles on the faces of the orphans and vulnerable children in the society. "We focused mainly on orphans and vulnerable children living among us such as those living with foster parents and others because we realised most groups visit the orphanage during Christmas but end up ignoring orphans who are not in orphanages", she said. Mrs Asubonteng said the objective of the NGO was to promote moral values and discipline among the youth and also to advance the cause of the vulnerable persons in the society. Evangelist Diana Adade, who chaired the function, expressed her appreciation and that of the children to the club for the gesture and appealed for support for the organisation to enable it achieved its objectives.  

  A special thanksgiving service was yesterday held by the Ghana Police Service to thank the Almighty God for His divine mercies and favour to the service during the past year. The occasion was used to express the service’s appreciation to the government, the public, foreign partners, stakeholders, sister security agencies and the media, among others, for their support in the fight against crime and other social vices.  Song Ministration With song ministration led by Superintendent Kofi Sarpong, a renowned gospel singer, backed by the Police Band, the personnel danced and sang praises to God for protecting them in 2013. The theme for the event was: “An Attitude of Gratitude.” The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Mohammed Alhassan, together with the Police Management Advisory Board members and personnel drawn from the Greater Accra Region, were in attendance. Sermon Preaching the sermon, Very Rev. Chief Superintendent Frank D. Twum Baah said one important issue that confronted many people was the sin of ingratitude. He said a lot of good things had happened that should make people thank God for His divine mercies. “Some people went to sleep and never woke up; others left their families for duty and never returned,” he told the congregation, adding that their presence at the service should give them cause to thank the Almighty God. Showing Gratitude Very Rev. Baah said thankfulness or showing gratitude should be a way of life for all instead of making it a seasonal event. He also said Jesus Christ came to save sinners by reaching out to them, as opposed to the situation where human beings ran away from their friends and neighbours immediately they did something wrong. According to Very Rev. Baah, everybody needed the hand of God in his or her life in order to change for the better and urged the personnel to have a new work attitude. He held the view that obedience was paramount, adding that,”If we obey the rules and regulations it helps to shape us”. Supt Twum Baah advised the personnel to do their work passionately and always remember to give thanks to God. Remarks  The Director-General, Public Affairs, Rev. /DCOP David Nenyi Ampah-Bennin, said the police administration had every cause to thank God for His mercies and favour throughout 2013 and asked for His protection, guidance and direction for the service in 2014. He said 2013 was challenging as the police service faced a lot of issues that tested the capabilities and professionalism of the service, but noted that with the collaborative effort of the personnel and the public, the police were able to perform to expectation. Election Petition DCOP Ampah-Bennin recalled the election petition, the Melcom disaster, market fires, land, chieftaincy and ethnic disputes and other social events such as national and international football matches as some such challenges. “Within this same year, some of us have fallen while others have been incapacitated with various degrees of injury and other occupational challenges. That is why it is relevant that the service shows its appreciation to God and all others who have helped us,” he said. He asserted that the journey had just begun and urged the personnel not to relent in their efforts to clamp down on criminals who had vowed to make life unbearable for innocent and law-abiding citizens.  

A driver who allegedly shot and killed an Immigration Officer on December 28, 2013, was Wednesday remanded in custody by the Accra District Court. The accused, Aaron Takyi, who worked for the deceased, Kofi Quist Defor, for five years as a driver, was remanded in police custody to reappear on January 29, 2014. He is facing one count of murder but his plea has not been taken. Facts of the case At about 2.00 a.m. on December 28, 2013, Defor and his wife were asleep when the suspect scaled the wall into the house without the dog barking and entered the living room through the kitchen door. According to the police, the dog did not bark because it knew Takyi. Takyi allegedly broke into Defor’s bedroom, dragged him to the living room and subjected him to severe beating. He later shot Defor in the right shoulder and also hit him severally on the neck, rendering him unconscious. He then abandoned him and fled.  Defor bled profusely out of the gunshot wounds and when he was rushed to the Tema General Hospital, he was pronounced dead on arrival. Background Defor, an Immigration Officer, lived at Mataheko, near Tema with his wife, Magdalene Tamakloe, and his siblings; Gideon Defor and Jennifer Lamptey, both students.  Takyi, according to the police, had access to almost everything of Defor and became familiar with an Alsatian security dog in the house.  Apart from Gideon Defor and Jennifer Lamptey, who fed the dog, only Defor and Takyi could go near it. According to the prosecution, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr Cletus Abadamlora, the accused unceremoniously stopped picking calls from Defor and his wife a week before the incident, with the excuse that Defor failed to buy him a Sprinter bus. Mr Abadamlora said Defor established contacts with some foreign companies during his posting at the Immigration Headquarters,  including Blow Group of Companies and while on transfer, he still rendered services to these foreign companies.  The prosecutor also said sometime in 2012, Defor received a threatening note which read: ‘Blow plast your man is too arrogant in the office. He thought his schooling so he is not given any respect in the office. This is just the beginning of the battle with him. Immigration is not belong to him is for all of us because we are Ghana. We don’t want you to be in trouble that is why we posted the passport back to you to restart the process afresh. Thank. This should be a lesson to QUIST in the office stupid man.” Mr Abadamlora said Defor, however, treated the note as a joke and, therefore, did not act on it. He eventually faced his untimely death on December 28, 2013.  Investigations are ongoing. Writer’s email: [email protected].    

  Nineteen drivers in the Asante-Mampong municipality have been convicted to pay a total fine of GH¢2, 742.00 for flouting various road traffic offences. The offences included driving without insurance cover, drunk driving, inconsiderate driving, speeding, overloading and failing to stop when signalled to do so by the police, among others. In all, 30 traffic offences were recorded in December, 2013 alone out of which 19 were taken to court.  In the year, 2012, 18 drivers were sentenced to pay a fine of GH¢1, 982.00 for committing similar offences and a total of 20 cases were reported. Motor Traffic accidents According to the Mampong Divisional Commander of the Mottor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), Superintendent Cosmos Damoah, a total of 18 people were killed and 126 sustained various degree of injuries out of a total of 76 accidents recorded within the year. Supt Damoah said that in 2012 18 died, 142 were injured  in 71 recorded accidents. Addressing the 2013 annual general meeting (AGM) of the Mampong Co-operative Transport Society Limited, Supt Damoah indicated that more people relied on road transport for their various business transactions and adding that the government also derived revenue from those engagements through taxes for development in the country. He expressed regret that a total of 2000 people died through road traffic accidents every year and added that the new Motor Traffic Act, was, therefore, designed to protect drivers and other road users. Advice to drivers The police officer advised that, it was very significant that, anyone who wanted to operate transport business ought to belong to an association before he or she would be allowed to do so. He further explained that as a measure by the authorities to protect the lives of the travelling public, drivers were enjoined to obtain a commercial driving permit in addition to their driving licences before they could ply the road. Mr S.O. Frimpong, the president of the society, who retained his position in an election at the meeting, observed that, the transport business had now become very competitive and so there was the need for members to be disciplined and law abiding in order to attract passengers.  

  Drivers of private, commercial and heavy-duty trucks that traverse through the University of Ghana will from February pay road tolls before gaining access to the University campus. A notice signed by the School’s Registrar, Mrs Mercy Haizel-Ashia, said private cars will pay Ghc1 per entry; Taxis and other small commercial passenger vehicles, Ghc2 per entry and large trucks delivering goods or passing through the campus, Ghc3 per entry. The notice said the new arrangements affect “all vehicles entering the University of Ghana main campus and also those using the road passing through the staff village of the University”. It said: “Only employees of the University and their dependents using vehicles registered with the University will be exempt from paying the road user charges”. “While arrangements are being made for the finalisation of work on toll booths to enable electronic access control, the process will start with a manual collection system for the two months being February and March 2014”, the statement said. The University has also put in place measures to help regular private road users who commute through the University to either pay for the entire year or make half or quarterly payments. “These arrangements will enable them to avoid long queues that may be associated with daily payments and also provide them with unlimited entry whenever the roads are opened”. For a full year, a user must pay Ghc400; for six months, Ghc250 and for three months, Ghc150. The University further entreated the public to “drive carefully through the University campus”, while “observing all applicable road use and road traffic regulations, especially in relation to stopping, parking, speeding and tooting of horns”. It added that: “Arrangements are being made for the effective enforcement of road traffic regulations through appropriate sanctioning of violators”. With specific regard to commercial transport operators, the University warned that it “does not permit any form of commercial transport service on the campus except those approved by management”. “The management of the University of Ghana appeals to the general public for co-operation as the aim of the university is to maintain its road infrastructure in a decent state. “It is also important for persons using the Universities roads to respect the values of the institution as an academic institute that needs peace and tranquility for its work”, it added.

Two pupils of the Martyrs of Uganda School in Santasi - Kumasi, were Wednesday morning crashed to death  by a taxicab while on their way to school. The driver of the taxi, Solomon Baifi, was said to have ignored the signal of a traffic warden to stop and drove into a group of pupils who were crossing the road. The incident happened near the Opoku Ware Senior High School on the Kumasi - Obuasi highway. Three other pupils, who sustained injuries with one in critical condition, were rushed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) and are said to be responding to treatment. Baifi, who was in charge of a KIA Pregio taxicab with registration number AS 6156-09, was said to be driving on the shoulders of the road to avoid the traffic jam ('go-slow').  The traffic warden who usually assist the school children to cross was said to have signaled all other vehicles to stop for the children to cross but Baifi drove from behind on the shoulders of the road and run into the children, knocking down five of them. The children were said to be pupils of Martyrs of Uganda and Opoku Ware Basic schools. The Ashanti Regional Police Commander of the Motor, Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), Chief Superintendent Peter Gyimah, who confirmed the incident to the Graphiconline said Baifi has been arrested and was in police custody. The deceased are yet to be identified. The Police Commander said the suspect would soon be processed for court and provisionally charged with murder. He said the police had decided to charge him for murder because his actions showed that the act was deliberate. He cautioned drivers to be cautious when driving in town and to obey traffic regulations. According to him, if this driver had exercised a little patience and followed the other vehicles, the accident could have been avoided.

  The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Atiwa West Constituency in the Eastern Region, Mr Kwasi Amoako-Attah, has tagged the fight against illegal mining,  “galamsey”, as the biggest challenge of his constituency in 2013. Mr Amoako-Attah told the Ghana News Agency at Akyem-Awenare in the Atiwa District that  he was not against mining since it was a source of employment for the youth.“I am against the wanton destruction of forests, pollution of water bodies such as the Birim River and land degradation through illegal gold mining…this is totally unacceptable,” he stated. Mr Amoako-Attah, therefore,  appealed to those engaged in the industry to operate through laid-down rules and regulations and ensure that all mined-out areas were covered since leaving them open made them death traps. He stated that his major preoccupation since he became the MP in the area had been to build a strong and united community where both indigenes and settlers saw one another as one people to promote the growth of the constituency. Mr Amoako-Attah said this year,   he would continue to lobby for the rehabilitation of the road network in the area which he described as very bad; citing the 12-kilometre Anyinam to Kwabeng, the district capital and to Sankubease as examples. Another area he would vigorously pursue  would be the construction of more Community-based Health and Planning Services (CHPS) compounds to bring healthcare to the doorsteps of the people, the provision of refrigerators and electric generators in health facilities to assist in the storage of essential drugs and the improvement of sanitation. Mr Amoako-Atta disclosed that he had associated himself with the district health directorate’s position of “zero tolerance for maternal mortality” and had, therefore, constructed an ultra-modern maternity ward at the Kwabeng Health Centre, which he would inaugurate next month. On education, he said he would continue with the provision of laptops and books to schools in the area and hinted that even though Moseaso was outside his constituency, in February 2014, he would inaugurate a six-unit classroom block for the Methodist Junior High School which he started before Atiwa was divided into East and West in 2012. In order to allow more children from the area to access high school education, Mr  Amoako- Attah stated that he had acquired a 10-acre plot of land from the chief of Abomosu for a community day senior high school to be built in the town. “ Another dream I have is to construct a college of education to be sited at Akyem-Akropng, ” he said Lobbying for the mobile telephony companies to extend and cover majority of the communities in the constituency, he said, would also engage his attention in this year. — GNA  

  The Accra Regional Police Command has expressed shock that a 27-year-old self-confessed kidnapper had been granted bail by an Accra circuit court and vowed to apppeal against the decision. The court granted bail to the accused, Ernest Abotsi, a self-styled pastor, who was in the dock for kidnapping a nine-year old boy from the Lighthouse Chapel International-Quodesh at North Kaneshie in Accra. Though Abotsi admitted kidnapping the child and three others on separate occasions, he told the court he did not know the consequences of his act.  The court, presided over by Ms Ellen V. Amoah, entered a plea of not guilty for the accused and his accomplice, Isaac Ntie, and remanded them in police custody when the case was heard for the first time. However, on January 7, 2014 when the case was called for the second time, the court granted bail to the two persons who were facing conspiracy and kidnapping charges.  Police not happy  The Accra Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Christian Tetteh Yohunu, told the Daily Graphic that the police were not happy about the decision of the court. He recalled that there was panic in the Accra metropolis “when these kidnappings started and then after the kidnappings had occurred for four consecutive times, we finally arrested the key suspect and his accomplice.” He continued: “The first accused (Abotsi) had confessed to the police and openly admitted before the court that he committed the offence without knowing the repercussions so why should he be granted bail?” Mr Yohunu explained that the offence was a second degree felony which did not warrant a bail. Prosecutor protest bail Mr Yohunu was of the view that the accused person should not have been granted a court bail as the prosecutor protested against it.  The prosecuting officer, Chief Inspector Charles Chester, opposed the bail with the explanation that it would affect the work of the police who were conducting further investigations into the matter. The prosecutor also stated that the kidnapper did not have a permanent place of abode.  “We will liaise with the Attorney General to take up the issue,” Mr Yohunu said. Writers Email:[email protected]  

  Six students at the Nyaniba Health Assistant Training School hostel at Tema sustained various degrees of injury when a gas cylinder they were using for cooking exploded on Monday evening. Three of the students,  Christiana Yawson, 25, Evelyn Sekyi, 21, and Mildred Baufour, 22, who were severely burnt were rushed to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, while the others, Mary Mensah, 24, Gloria Nyeworlemah, 23, and Helena Dzenado, 20, were admitted at the Tema General Hospital. Fire Service The  Tema Metropolitan Fire Officer, Mr William Abekah Blankson, said about 6:50 p.m. on Monday, Mr Kofi Asare, who lived close to the school, called the Fire Service  to  report that fire had engulfed the school at Tema Community 10. He said when the personnel got to the scene  at 7:00p.m., they saw that a section of the hostel was on fire and was spreading fast to the remaining three dormitories. Mr Blankson said they immediately put the fire under control. He said the six casualties were rescued and rushed to the hospital for treatment. He disclosed that preliminary investigation showed that the valve of the gas cylinder was faulty and the gas was leaking while the students were cooking and that caused the explosion. The fire destroyed part of the school hostel and items belonging to the students. At the hospital At the Tema General Hospital, the Senior Nursing Officer at the Accident Centre, Ms Mercy Ologo, said when the victims were brought to the hospital around 8:00 p.m. on Monday night, staff on duty gave them first aid and referred those with severe burns (third degree injuries) to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, adding that the National Ambulance Service was at hand to convey them to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. She said Helena Dzenado was treated and discharged but Mary Mensah and Gloria Nyeworlemah were transferred from the Accident Centre to the hospital’s Female Surgical Ward for further attention.  

  Two young men have been arrested for allegedly robbing two Ghanaian footballers of their laptops and money and stabbing one in the head with a pair of scissors at an Internet café at Abuakwa in the Atwima Nwabiagya District. They were said to have stolen three laptops, three mobile phones, one Apple Ipad and cash, all totalling GH¢6,800.00. The incident occurred on January 7, this year at about 9:30 p.m. at the Executive Internet Café at Abuakwa. The suspects are: Kwadwo Twumasi, alias Rebel, 21, a motorbike seller and resident at Alabar in Kumasi, and Kwadwo Antwi, alias MC, 23, a driver’s mate. Their  accomplice, only known as Cargo, is however, at large. Kwadwo Kankam, a Ghanaian footballer based in Serbia and Michael Oppong, based in Qatar, were in the country for the Christmas holidays and met at the café where they had sent their laptops for programming. Facts Briefing journalists in Kumasi last Monday, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), Mr Augustine Gyening, said on the fateful day, the suspects together with the one at large, stormed the café, armed with pistols, knives and scissors and attacked the people there. He said Twumasi, who was leading the group, asked those at the café at the time, including the attendant, one Yeboah Dankwa, to move into a corner while the other two searched their pockets and picked their laptops as well. He said the police managed to arrest Twumasi on January 10, 2014, and he led the police to arrest Antwi the same day. Twumasi was alleged to have told the police that he had secured an American visa and needed money to buy a plane ticket and, therefore, resorted to armed robbery to finance his trip because his family did not want to assist him. The police retrieved the laptops and two of the mobile phones they stole during the robbery at the café. In a related development, the police have arrested 30-year-old Kwame Adarkwah, a suspected dealer in narcotic drugs. According to the police, the suspect had been on their wanted list for a while and he was arrested when he went to pick up his supply of a substance suspected to be Indian hemp. Mr Gyening said the suspects would soon be arraigned.