Policy think tank, IMANI Ghana has been dragged before the specialized Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) court for the non-payment of contributions of its workers, Accra-based Citi FM has reported. Quoting an unidentified source at at SSNIT, Citi FM said a writ of summons has been served on IMANI Ghana at its Legon offices, adding that IMANI Ghana would put in an appearance this Saturday at the court.  According to the report, the Founding President of IMANI Ghana, Mr Franklin Cudjoe, confirmed the summons.Mr Cudjoe, the report continued, expressed surprise at the the leakage of the news to Citi FM, saying someone is up to some mischief.  “IMANI has never really had permanent workers. But this year, we got a grant and decided that those interns who have spent more than two months we will be paying them this month. So we went to SSNIT to start the process”, he was quoted as saying.He reportedly said: “We went to SSNIT to actually begin the process so I’m very confident that SSNIT itself will probably not be happy that somebody has leaked this issue possibly for their own good. It is very interesting but there is nothing problematic about this issue at all.“Assuming it’s the case that these things are not being paid, that’s why they are going on their education campaign that people come forward and comply so for me, it’s a red herring. Is that not what SSNIT itself wants?” “Our financial status and everything is actually not in doubt so for me, it is a matter of somebody who wants to laugh at us,” Mr Cudjoe was quoted as saying.    

Health authorities in the Asante-Akyem South district of the Ashanti region have initiated investigation into claims that water from a borehole at Adomfe has medicinal properties. Officials from the District Health Directorate have already visited the town to take samples of the water for testing, following media reports of people trooping there to buy water for healing purposes, myjoyonline reported Tuesday. Hundreds of people from all walks of life have been trooping to Adomfe, a small town in the Asante Akyem South to fetch water from a borehole which is said to have healed all sort of illnesses. One gallon (popularly called Kufuor gallon) of the borehole water is being sold for GH¢10 to visitors and GH¢1 to community members. The only proof of the healing power of the borehole water lies in the testimonies of people who have used it. “This water is very good. I have used some already and it’s good; that is why I’ve come for more,” an elderly woman told the Daily Graphic, as she carried a gallon of the borehole water on her head with broad smiles on her face. Madam Yaa Fosu Hemaa was waiting patiently for her turn to fetch the water after joining the queue for more than five hours before the visit of the Daily Graphic. “I have an ear problem and after putting some of the water into my ear, I felt an improvement in my condition. So I’ve come to fetch more of the water,” she said. In another instance, a man was said to have testified that his wife could not take seed again nine years after giving birth to their only child, but after drinking the borehole water, she had become pregnant. Continue reading: Mad rush for 'miracle' borehole water at Adomfe which is said to heal all sicknesses  

  The Right Reverend Professor Emmanuel Martey, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, has urged  government to cut down on waste, fight graft, and find a more efficient way of doing things to turn the economy around. He said the imposition of taxes was not the solution to the prevailing economic challenges, and warned that this could only worsen the plight of the people. The Rt Rev Prof Martey, who was speaking at the induction service for the newly-elected Chairperson of the Sekyere Presbytery, the Rev Ernest Odame Asare, at Asante-Mampong, rallied the church to lead the fight against corruption. He encouraged Christians to fearlessly expose and speak against corrupt practices in the society. The Moderator said they should refuse to either roll over or be intimidated by insults, threats and name calling. Mr. Addai Nimoh, Member of Parliament (MP) for Mampong, praised the church for its significant contribution to the nation’s development, in the areas of education, health and spiritual growth. He called for continued partnership between the church and the state, to bring progress to the people. Rev Asare pledged to work hard to spread the gospel, and purge society of social evils.  

Authorities at the University of Ghana have reviewed the tolling system introduced in the school on Saturday, making it possible for students to access the University without paying road tolls. Commercial drivers who were supposed to pay GHC400 for year due to the introduction will now pay GHC100 . According to the Press and Information Secretary of the Students Representative Council of the University, Mikdad Mohammed, the move “will shift the huge burden on innocent students.” According to Citifmonline, Mr. Mikdad also announced the University’s intentions of providing a shuttle system for students. “We have received very positive indication that in two weeks, we are going to meet the arrival of new shuttles which will begin operations at very vantage points,”Mr. Mikdad stated. The authorities of the University of Ghana on Saturday started charging road tolls to vehicles making entry into the campus. The University said it must charge the tolls to pay for the loan to refurbish and reconstruct roads within the campus. The Student Representative Council (SRC) of the school have protested the new charges and threatened to stage a demonstration over the refusal of the school authorities to exempt students from paying the toll. They have also petitioned Parliament to intervene on their behalf.  

  A woman who extorted GHC 2,000 from the Greater Accra Regional Min¬ister, Julius Debrah, has been granted bail in the sum of GHC10,000, with two sureties by an Accra Circuit Court. The court ordered that the sureties must reside in Accra with a fixed place of abode. Madam Jemima Dufie Ayikpa, 28, a resident ofTaifa, in the Greater Accra Region is said to have alleged that Mr. Debrah was the father of her two children whom he denied responsibility. Prosecuting, Chief Superintendent of Police, Duuti Tuareka told the court, pre¬sided over by Mr. Francis Obiri that the complainant, Mr. Julius Debrah was a former boyfriend of the accused, Jemima Ayipa 28, but the relationship did not last longer. He said few months after their relationship had ended, the accused informed the complainant that she was pregnant, to which he denied responsibility. He said the accused in view of the denial by the complainant, started embarrassing him in the attempt to cause him his job but did not succeed. Chief Superintendent Tuareka said in 2012, Madam Ayikpa, on hearing that the complainant was contesting as a Member of Parliament for the Suhum Constituency, started pestering him to give her money or else she would exposed him in the media He said the complainant, alarmed by her threats, was compelled under the circum¬stance to part with GHC 2,000 out of the GH04,1OO she demanded to trade to avoid further disturbances from her. He said after collecting the money, the complainant never heard from the ex¬girlfriend until his ministerial appointment when she re-surfaced again demanding another GHC 25,000 failure of which she would tarnish his image in the media. True to her words, Madam Ayikpa leaked the story to newspapers. He said Mr. Debrah also received a text message I! [0IW J 11 ^rorn Adotey, a party activist of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to the effect that the accused had agreed to accept GH010,000 instead of the GH025,OOO to end her threats against him after several negotiations, but Mr. Debrah refused the offer and re¬ported the case to the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service (DOVVSU) for investigations, He said after preliminary investigations, Mr. Debrah applied to the Madina District Magistrate court to re¬quest for a DNA test to determine the biological father of the children. The court then ordered that the test should be conducted at the Med Laboratory at Madina and the result proved negative. Later on the accused alleged that the complainant was again responsible for her second child to which the court ordered for another DNA test for both children at Sciencellet Laboratory in the presence of her lawyer and some court officials and again the result proved negative meaning that the complainant was not the biological fa¬ther of the woman’s children. He said Madam Ayikpa, not satisfied with the test results, continued to threaten the complainant but was subsequently arrested by the police for investigation during which she admitted collecting GH02,000.00 but denied threatening to expose him in the media. The court adjourned the case to February 12. 2014.  

The completion date for the Tarkwa-Ayanfuri-Bogoso Road project has been extended. The contractor, Reynolds Construction Company Limited (RCC), was initially scheduled to complete the work by June, this year, but he has been given four more months, extending the completion date to October, this year. The Minister of Roads and Highways, Alhaji Amin Amidu Sulemani and a team of engineers have visited the project site to assess the progress of work.  The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Highway Authrity (GHA), Mr Michael Abbey, stated that the contractor would need 12 more months to complete the entire 93-kilometre stretch. “Even after this extension, the contractor will still need another 12 months to complete this project but a decision is yet to be taken on that,”  he told the Daily Graphic. The project has suffered delays following the contractor’s initial inability to identify a rock source for the works. Currently, only 23 per cent of the 60.48-million-euro, European Union (EU)-funded project has been executed. Roads minister unhappy with pace of work  Alhaji Sulemani, at a meeting with the contractor,  expressed his frustration at the rather slow pace at which the work was being carried out. “The contractor has promised to mobilise more equipment but there is still a lot of worry because technically, the project is expected to be completed in June, this year.”  This is the second time the minister and his team of engineers, including the Chief Director at the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Dr Daniel Darku, the directors of Urban and Feeder roads, Mr Abass Awolu and Mr George Adu Afful, respectively, have visited the project. The first time was in April, 2013. At that time, work done was only five per cent. Project now on course Identifying  a rock source for the works had been a major challenge in the execution of the project but that had been resolved, the resident engineer for the project, Mr Chandra Solanki, stated. He described the pace of work now as healthy, and indicated that there were adequate equipment and personnel to speed up the work.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, has called on workers of the various textile companies to desist from the unlawful trading of some textile designs to their agents outside the country. He said the practice was unacceptable and undermined the growth of the same textile industry that the government was working with the public to protect. “I have information which alleges that some workers of the textile companies engage in the unlawful trading of some of these designs to their agents in China and India,” he said.  Mr Iddrisu asked those engaged in the practice to stop and support efforts at protecting the country’s textile industry.  He made the call at a stakeholders’ forum on the national crusade against the trade in pirated Ghanaian textile designs and trademarks in Accra yesterday. The forum, which was organised by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), brought together some members of the various security services, textile traders and associations, representatives of the Ghana Standards Authority, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, among others. Among others, the forum was to educate the stakeholders on the need for them to join forces to halt the practice.    In June, 2012, the Anti-Textile Piracy Task Force was set up to check the importation of pirated Ghanaian textile prints into the country. The task force confiscated 1,035 pieces of pirated textiles made up of both fancy and wax prints which were later destroyed to serve as a deterrent to others. Mr Iddrisu said the trade in pirated textiles, particularly the designs and trademarks, was not only an infringement on intellectual property but also facilitated the illegal importation of pirated textiles into the country. He said there was no government policy that was seeking to ban the importation of textiles into the country, explaining that the government was rather seeking to regulate the entry of all textiles into the country through defined and designated routes “in order that we have improved statistics and control illegal importation”. Custom Officials  Mr Iddrisu said it was unacceptable for some custom officials to argue “naively” that they could not distinguish between pirated and legitimate textiles. “Your title, as I understand, is Customs, Excise and Preventive Service. Customs because you bring us some import taxes, excise because you monitor what is produced locally and preventive because you must stringently monitor and control the borders and not permit the entry of all unacceptable pirated textiles into the country,” he said. He urged them to exercise their preventive mandate that gave them the authority to help the government deal with the menace of pirated textiles. Mr Iddrisu advised the traders not to import pirated textiles and urged them to make their country proud and show patriotism. He impressed on them that they could deal in genuine textiles and still make profit. Traders/Textile Manufacturers Speaking on behalf of the traders, Mr Joseph Tetteh, a member of the Agbate Textiles Traders Association, said it was about time the local manufacturers made their registered designs public and educated traders on how to differentiate them from the pirated ones. For his part, the Sales and Marketing Manager of the Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL), Mr Stephen Dutton, said even though the company would be 60 years this year, it would not be able to celebrate the anniversary because of the lack of funds. He attributed the company’s situation to the influx of pirated textiles, a development that was hindering the business of the company.  He pledged that ATL would join in the effort to contain the importation of pirated textiles. Mr Dutton, however, denied claims that workers in the textile industry traded designs to their counterparts elsewhere, asking, “What benefit would it be for us when we engage in such acts?”

The Western Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) is investigating the encroachment on lands belonging to the Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL). The lands, some of which are being developed by private individuals, were  obtained by fictitious documents purportedly signed by some management officials of the GRCL. The Western Regional Minister, Mr E.K.T Addo, has, therefore, cautioned workers and other stakeholders to exercise restraint as investigations are going on. The promise and the challenge Addressing the National Executive Council of the Railway Workers’ Union (RWU) in Takoradi last Friday, the regional minister, who was visibly disturbed by the turn of events, told the workers to not  blame the President, the RCC or the Lands Commission for any delays that might be associated with the rehabilitation of the western rail line. President Mahama has promised that the government will revamp the western rail line, particularly the Takoradi-Kojokrom section, this year. The regional minister said he had in his possession letters and documents from developers that suggested that the company itself had given out parcels of land along the rail lines, stretching as far as Kumasi, adding that ‘‘and so we need to deal with all that before work can go on, and this can adversely affect the rehabilitation project’’. Mr Addo hinted that the RCC had hired a bulldozer to demolish structures on the encroached lands and appealed to the workers to advocate the economic significance of the railway rehabilitation programme. Government’s initiative  The Deputy Minister of Transport, Ms Joyce A. B. Mogtari, said the government had allocated $500 million for the development of the western rail line, and that the process to engage a contractor for the project had started. She said with regard to the Eastern rail line, the government had decided to apply the public-private partnership option to attract investors for its development. Ms Mogtari added that the government, with the assistance of the World Bank, was procuring transaction advisory services so that the railway project and the Boankra Inland Port would be undertaken as one project for procurement process for a strategic investor. The General Secretary of the RWU, Mr Godwill Ntarmah, noted with satisfaction that since 2009, salaries of railway workers had appreciated by more than 100 per cent and drew attention to the meagre salary of the company’s managing director.

The diversion of some roads at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra  to make way for the interchange has created traffic jams on roads leading to the Circle.  The otherwise 30-minute drive from Achimota to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle on working days took more than one hour for commuters and motorists Monday. The relocation The traffic was as a result of the relocation of pipelines to pave the way for the construction of the interchange. The relocation works involved digging the ground to locate the pipelines for readjustment. That led to the diversion of traffic from the Mr Biggs Restaurant to the circle onto one of the two lanes leading to the central business district (CBD) of Accra. Motorists moving from Accra to the circle had to use the diversion from Mr Biggs through to the Adabraka Taxi Rank or turn left before the restaurant to join one of the lanes which lead to Accra from the roundabout. The evening situation In the evening, the traffic situation was the same when the Daily Graphic visited the  circle to observe the situation. Traffic was so heavy that vehicles moved at a snail’s pace, especially for motorists moving from Adabraka towards the circle. The situation compelled commuters to get down and walk, instead of sitting in the vehicles for hours. Officials speak An official of the contractor working on the project, Mr Baba Mohammed, explained that they were speeding up work to open the road for use by 6 p.m. yesterday. However, he said there was still work to be done on the relocation of the lines and, therefore, there would be other diversions. Background Construction work on the three-tier interchange at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle began in September 2013.  The Kwame Nkrumah Circle is a key intersection in the arterial road network in Accra which carries about 84,000 vehicles a day. The circle constitutes a key bottleneck in the major road network that links the suburban areas of Accra to the central business district of Accra. The project, funded with a loan from the Brazilian government, is being executed by Queiroz Galvao, a Brazilian company, at an estimated cost of 74 million euros.

The Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) has begun work on the Sunyani transmission lines to ensure the evacuation of power from the Bui Hydroelectric Power Plant. The completion of the transmission lines will ensure that the full complement of the Bui Plant is harnessed.  The sector minister, Mr Kofi Armah-Buah, made this known at the inauguration of the reconstituted board of directors of GRIDCo. The eight-member board, chaired by Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, a private legal practitioner, has Dr Patrick Asebiah Buah, a computer engineer, Mr Anthony El-Adas and Daniel Yahaya, Kaipewura as members. Other members are Mr Komla Dogbe Senanu, a legal practitioner; Alhaji Adam Munkaila, an entrepreneur, and Mr William Amuna, the Managing Director of GRIDCo. According to Mr Buah, the completion of the transmission lines was also to position GRIDCo as the preferred power transmitter within the West African sub-region. "It is in this light that government is making the needed investment to ensure that GRIDCo, as managers of the country's transmission lines, has in place a robust transmission infrastructure to effectively address shortfalls within the sector," Mr Buah stated. He charged members of the board to be guided by principles that would ensure that government's goal of increasing the demand of electricity supply from 2,000 megawatts to 5,000 would be achievable. Mr Buah was hopeful that the diverse background of the board members would enable them to strive to ensure they delivered on the mandate given them. The MD of GRIDCo, Mr Amuna, debunked suggestions of a planned load-shedding to be carried out. He indicated that while the demand for power had gone up by 30 megawatts from January 1, this year, officials were working to configure and convert the Takoradi International Power Company's (TICO) 125 megawatts plant to a combine cycle generator to increase supply. "TICO's unit of 125 megawatts is presently running but would need to be configured. Thus if within the period anything happens to any of the generators, we may then have to shed load’ Mr Amuna said. “Let me, however, put on record that there is no official or calculated load-shedding programme as is being speculated," he said. Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, for his part, thanked President Mahama for the confidence reposed in them.  "We are aware of the enormous challenges the sector has faced in the past and continue to face, and we want to assure that we would do our best to address them," he assured.

The Ghana Manganese Company (GMC) and the Shipping Management Transport (SMT), a Dutch worldwide shipping company, have unveiled a new transshipment vessel called MV Gdamsk. The new vessel is to help the GMC to transship large volumes of manganese ore within the shortest possible time to foreign destinations. The vessel is expected to be kept at 3.5 nautical miles safe from all port navigational approaches, where smaller vessels will then be used to load/feed a floating storage unit (FSU) with cargo from the manganese berth. Within the last five years,  it has become imperative to find new and innovative ways to address the anticipated bottlenecks in the export of manganese ore. The new arrangement, which is under the auspices of the GPHA, will not only ensure operational efficiency in terms of quick turnaround time for vessels but will also generate revenue for the GPHA and the government of Ghana. Additionally, it will create employment and training opportunities for Ghanaian sea farers and cadets from the regional maritime academy. Manganese exports Over the last six years, manganese exports have increased from 1, 022, 899 metric tons (mt) in 2009 to 2,000, 000mt in 2013, the highest ever since the port was constructed. There are also prospects to exceed that target this year and beyond. Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, the acting Director of Ports, Capt. James Owusu-Koranteng, recalled that since 1928 when the Takoradi Port was opened for business,the GPHA had been the main facilitator of the GMC in the export of manganese ore. He said the event marked the beginning of a new and improved transshipment mode to facilitate the export of manganese ore. Safety The Managing Director of the GMC, Mr Juren Egen Daal, also said the project was to ensure safety and efficiency in transporting manganese ore to the company’s final destinations, including China. The Deputy Western Regional Minister, Mr Alfred Ekow Gyan, said globalisation was not only increasing demands on the shipping industry but rather making it complex and dynamic with many challenges and innovations.

The absence of females among the Ghanaian peacekeepers redeployed from Cote d’Ivoire to South Sudan in February this year is to allow their male counterparts to go and prepare grounds for them to join subsequent battalions in the country, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has stated. It stated that currently, as pertained to every new mission, the 300-man peacekeepers were faced with challenges such as accommodation, logistics and administrative constraints in South Sudan. “After three months in South Sudan, the troops we are redeploying will make recommendations that will allow the Ghana Armed Forces to take decisions that will serve the best interest of the female soldiers,” the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Richard Opoku-Adusei, stated. He was reacting to allegations made by an Accra-based private radio station that female soldiers had been left out of the troops being redeployed from Cote d’Ivoire to South Sudan. The female soldiers, who served on the GHANBAT 19 in Cote d’Ivoire, have returned home. Army delegation Major General Opoku-Adusei made this known when he and  other high officials of the GAF paid a visit to the troops at their base at Bondoukou in Cote d’Ivoire last Thursday, January 30, 2014. He was accompanied by the Director-General for International Peace Support Operations, Brigadier General Asamoah Yeboah; Director of Army Peacekeeping Operations, Colonel Nick Kporku; and Sergeant Major of the Army, Master Warrant Officer (MWO) Emmanuel Neequaye. The visit was meant to boost the morale of the soldiers, as well as to learn of the challenges facing them. The troops’ redeployment is the third to take place with Ghanaian peacekeepers serving various missions. The first took place when the GAF moved its UN force from Sinai in Egypt to South Lebenon in 1979 and the second happened in 1999 when troops were moved from Liberia to Sierra Leone.  Normal practice The Chief of Army Staff stated that over the years, any new peacekeeping mission that was deployed to a country often faced teething challenges in terms of accommodation, logistics and administration. “Currently, there is lack of accommodation, place for ablution and administrative challenges that will make it inconvenient to send our female troops to South Sudan,” he stated. He said troops being redeployed from Cote d’Ivoire to South Sudan would go and undertake not only due reconnaissance of the region but also ensure that the environment in South Sudan was “more conducive”. The Chief of Army Staff stated that currently there were about 191 women peacekeepers in South Sudan, including some Ghanaian police women. “Sending our female troops home is not a policy of the Ghana Armed Forces but a decision taken in their best interest,” Major General Opoku-Adusei stated. After serving almost close to six months with their 300 male colleagues in Cote d’Ivoire, the women were brought home after being given what was due them.

More than 100 clients of a savings and loans company, ESLOC Investment Limited, have been allegedly swindled by the company of thousands of cedis. Doors to the premises of the company, located at Community Four in Tema, have been secured with padlocks, while the officials cannot be traced. The victims yesterday besieged the premises of the Tema Community Four Police Station to demand the arrest of Mr Evans Kwofie, the Manager of the company. The  District Police Commander, Chief Superintendent, Mr Victor  Amedeker, assured them that the police would investigate the case and bring the perpetrators to book. Contract The management of the company allegedly signed a six-month agreement with its clients but failed to honour its promise of paying two per cent interest on savings per month and a refund of the returns and deposits after the six-month maturity period. Some of the victims, mostly women, told the Daily Graphic that they had contributed between GH¢220 and GH¢2,500 through the company’s commission agents. They said they had been contributing GH¢2 and GH¢5 per day since they registered with the company last year. According to the victims, those who were issued with cheques for payment had the cheques rejected at the banks because the company was said not to have enough funds in its account. Clients Narrating her ordeal to the Daily Graphic,  Ms Agatha Nyame, 30, said since she registered with the company on   June 18, 2013, she had contributed GH¢5 every day. She said when she went to the company’s head office upon the maturity of the savings, Mr Kwofie could not execute the company’s part of the agreement. She said other victims reported the matter to the police but Mr Kwofie agreed to pay back the money by January 31, 2014. Ms Nyame said she and the other contributors got to the office on the scheduled date only to find the premises locked. Another victim, Mr Charles Fondoh, said some of the victims went to Mr Kwofie’s residence at Gbetsile, near the Michel Camp, only to be told by the landlord that he (Kwofie) had relocated to an unknown destination.

A 22-year-old student of the Christian Institute of Professional Studies (CIPS) at Kukurantumi in the Eastern Region, Joseph Cudjoe, has been arrested for allegedly stabbing another student to death. The deceased has been identified as Samuel Assumeng Frempong, 20, of the Christian Heritage Senior High School, also at Kukurantum. After he had been stabbed at midnight on Saturday, February 1, 2014, Frempong was said to have been rushed to the Tafo Government Hospital but died shortly on admission. The police are yet to establish the motive for the stabbing of Frempong. Frempong’s body has been placed at the morgue pending a post-mortem, while Cudjoe has been placed in police custody for further investigations into the matter. Reprisal  At the moment the police are on patrol at Christian IPS to prevent any reprisal, following reports that some youth of Kukurantumi had planned to attack the institute. Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Eastern Regional Police Public Affairs Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mr Yaw Nketia-Yeboah, said about midnight on that day, Cudjoe had called at the Kukurantumi Police Station to lodge a complaint that four young men believed to be residents of Kukurantumi had attacked him while he was in the town. According to him, Cudjoe claimed the attackers used cudgels and stones and so he stabbed one of them with a knife. Later information received by the police indicated that the young man Cudjoe claimed to have stabbed had died at the hospital. Therefore, the police arrested Cudjoe. Mr Nketia-Yeboah said based on intelligence that some of the young men in the town were planning a reprisal, the police started patrolling the compound of the Christian IPS to contain any reactions. Situation under control While giving an assurance that the situation was under control, Mr Nketia-Yeboah appealed to the youth to not take the law into their own hands and advised that anyone with information on the incident should make it available to the police.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has released GH¢1.2 million to be disbursed to health insurance providers across the country. The money, which was released through the National Health Insurance Fund, is to help the providers deliver quality health care to beneficiaries under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). The Public Relations Officer of the MoH, Mr Tony Goodman, told the Daily Graphic that the amount was to settle half of the arrears owed the service providers since September last year. Currently, there are over 3,500 health insurance providers, both public and private, in the country. Mr Goodman expressed the hope that the money would go a long way to help reduce the expenditure of the providers and consequently enable them to provide good services to Ghanaians. Funding Apart from the premium paid by members, the district mutual health insurance schemes receive regular funding from the central government, which is drawn from the National Health Insurance Fund.  Every Ghanaian worker pays two-and-a-half per cent of his or her social security contribution into this fund, while the VAT rate in Ghana also has a two-and-a-half percentage component that goes into the fund.  Services provided The most popular health insurance policy is the district mutual health insurance scheme, which is operational in every district in Ghana.  It is a public/non-commercial scheme and anyone resident in Ghana can register under this scheme.  The district mutual health insurance scheme also covers people considered to be indigent — that is, the too poor, and those without jobs and lacking the basic necessities of life to be able to afford insurance premiums.  Writer’s email: [email protected]

An Accra circuit court Monday sentenced three people to a total of 85 years’ imprisonment with hard labour for engaging in robbery. That was after the court, presided over by Mr Francis Obiri, had found them guilty on charges of conspiracy to rob and robbery. Robert Kofi Andoh was sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to rob and 30 years for robbery; Harrison Brown Adarkwah was sentenced to 25 years for conspiracy to rob, while Benjamin Aidoo was sentenced to 25 years for conspiracy to rob and 30 years for robbery. Facts of the case Prosecuting, Chief Superintendent Duuti Tuareka told the court that the complainant was a trader living at Alhaji, near Tabora in Accra. He said Andoh was a taxi driver living at Israel, also a suburb in Accra; Adarkwah, unemployed, lived at Achimota Mile 7, while Aidoo was a footballer and lived at Alhaji near Tabora. DSP Tuareka said on June 19, 2013, Andoh and Adarkwah planned to rob the complainant of his unregistered Toyota Camry saloon car. They contacted Aidoo and one other who is at large to assist and they agreed to the deal. About 11:30 p.m. on June 21, 2013, Andoh armed himself with a machete and a padlock, while Aidoo armed himself with a pepper spray. The two then went and laid ambush near the complainant’s house, while Adarkwah stood by the roadside to alert them when the complainant appeared with his car. The three accused persons were there until about 4 a.m. the following day when the complainant pulled up at his main gate, only to realise that the gate had been locked. When he came out of his car, Andoh and Aidoo attacked him from behind and demanded his car keys. The prosecutor said the complainant released the keys to Aidoo for fear that they might kill him. Andoh and Aidoo quickly jumped into the car and drove to the main road, where Adarkwah joined them. The accused persons drove the car to Adarkwah’s girlfriend’s house at Prampram. They later drove the car to a witness in the case at Adoagyiri to secure a loan of GHc7,500. The prosecutor said Adarkwah, who claimed ownership  of the car, was told by the witness to write an undertaking and also to produce the car’s documents for the loan. On July 4, 2013, Adarkwah went to the witness with the car documents. The witness, after interrogating Adarkwah, became suspicious and handed him over to the Nsawam Police, together with the car. The witness further called Andoh to come to his house, to which Andoh obliged. The witness again handed him over to the Nsawam Police.  The complainant rushed to the Nsawam Police Station the same day on hearing that his car had been found and identified the car and Andoh as one of the robbers who had attacked him in front of his house. writers email:[email protected]

Kwasi Oppong Company Limited, a local manufacturer and supplier of building materials in the country, has won the International Quality Crown (IQC) award for its commitment to quality, leadership, technology and innovation. The company received the International Star for Leadership in Quality award (Platinum category) with a citation for its outstanding achievements for perseverance and leadership in excellence and quality in accordance with the IQC100 criteria. The IQC is an annual programme of the Business Initiative Directions (BID) awards  designed to recognise the prestige of outstanding companies, organisations, and businessmen in the business world. This year’s ceremony, which was held in London,UK, brought together companies from 49 countries, together with leaders from different business fields, professionals from the worlds of economics, the arts and corporate image, quality experts, as well as academic personalities and representatives of the diplomatic corps.  Also present was the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BID, Mr Jose E. Prieto. The citation accompanying the Kwasi Oppong Company Limited award paid tribute to the company’s commitment to quality. It also cited the company’s core focus on continuous improvement of its management to maintain leadership in its sector. The award was received by the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Kwasi Oppong, who dedicated it to the entire staff for their dedication.

At exactly 8:25 p.m. Monday, the British Airways Boeing aircraft bearing the body of BBC ace broadcaster of Ghanaian descent, Komla Afeke Dumor, touched down at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra. Friends, relations, colleagues and sympathisers who had thronged the airport to welcome the mortal remains of a man who had done Ghana proud by staying committed to professionalism and excellence as a journalist, were all in a sombre mood. There was no wailing, sobbing, or shedding of tears but the short traditional and religious ceremony that was to take place almost an hour after the aircraft had taxied to a halt, was a solemn one. At last, after a traditional troupe from the Aflao Traditional Area had, for several minutes, livened up the respectable crowd of officials of state, including the Chief of Staff, Mr Prosper Douglas Bani, who represented the President, a large media presence who had come to welcome a fallen colleague, friends, family and compatriots of the Aflao Traditional Area, the casket containing the body of Komla Dumor, noted for his baritone voice on air, was received from the plane. Impact of his death The impact of Komla Dumor’s death on January 18, 2014, at age 41, has been felt across a very broad spectrum of both Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians in the past few days, not only because of its sudden nature, but also because as a journalist, he had made a mark unsurpassed by many, within a short time of plying that trade. He moved from an earlier ambition of becoming a medical doctor and strayed into journalism, albeit not without controversy when he was adjudged Journalist of the Year in 2003 by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA). Unruffled, he rose to become one of Ghana’s finest in broadcast journalism and it was only a matter of time and the BBC would poach him from Ghanaian private radio station Joy FM, to become their spearhead in two major programmes on radio and television – BBC Focus on Africa and African Business Report. Before then, between 2007 and 2009, he hosted Network Africa for the BBC World Service and was also one of the lead presenters for BBC World News' European morning segment. Traditional and Christian Rites The pall bearers from the Lashibi Funeral Home and Crematorium, who received the body from the aircraft, handed it over to the Aflao Royal Guards for the traditional ceremony to begin at exactly 9:23 p.m. Torgbui Dzato of the Aflao Traditional Area led the performance of the rights, after which the Paramount Chief of the Aflao State, Torgbui Amenya Fiti V, officially received the body on behalf of the family, saying “I welcome you back home in the name of all Aflao and all Ghanaians.” Christian rites followed and prayers were offered by Rev Fr Samuel Filton-Mensah of the Accra Catholic Archdiocese. After the rites, the body was presented back to the pall bearers to be transported to the funeral home to await the final funeral rites. Writer’s email: [email protected]   Click here to view more pictures of Komla Dumor's 'return'

An intended peaceful demonstration by the people of Antoa, Duase and Kenyase in the Kwabre East District in the Ashanti Region yesterday to protest against the bad nature of their roads turned bloody when the police opened fire on the demonstrators, causing injury to at least five of them. While the spokesperson for the demonstrators, Mr Osei Assibey, told the Daily Graphic that one of the demonstrators had died as a result of the clash, the police have denied the claim. However, the police confirmed that nine people, including four policemen, were injured during the demonstration. One of the injured, identified as Kwabena Okyere, who sustained a gunshot wound between the eye and the ear, has been referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), while another one has been sent to the Manhyia District Hospital.  Others have been sent to nearby facilities. The demonstrators clashed with the police after they had blocked the main road leading to the town and resorted to the burning of car tyres which resulted in vehicular congestion on the road. Reinforcement Policemen from the Mamponteng Division, who were initially detailed to provide security for the demonstrators, could not control the situation and had to call for reinforcement from Asawasi and the SWAT Bravo Unit, formerly Buffalo Unit, of the Ashanti Regional Police Command. The men from the SWAT Bravo Unit had to fire tear gas and live ammunition to disperse the mob who had then become agitated. The Deputy Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Sergeant Godwin Ahianyo, said  the police had to resort to force to disperse the mob when they refused to remove the roadblocks and were attacking the policemen. He said four policemen, three from the SWAT team and one from the Mamponteng Division, were injured in the process. According to him, the police were yet to confirm any death as a result of the clash and debunked the claim that there had been any death during the clash. Police accused Meanwhile, Mr Osei Assibey had accused the police of unprofessional behaviour leading to injury to the demonstrators.  “We were peacefully going about our demonstration when, out of nowhere, came the reinforcement who started throwing tear gas and shooting at the people with live bullets,” he said. According to him, the demonstrators did not do anything to warrant any reinforcement and accused the police of high-handedness in their approach. He said the demonstrators had grouped at Kenyase and were going about the demonstration peacefully when they had information that another group had also grouped at Duase and blocked the road there. He said the citizens were sensitised to the need to be civil and peaceful during the demonstration and denied that they had been rowdy, necessitating the brute reaction. The demonstration, which was organised by the Concerned Citizens of Kwabre East, was to protest against the bad nature of the roads in the area. The Kwabre District Chief Executive, Mr Iddisa Adams, described the outcome of the demonstration as very unfortunate. He said the roads in question had been given on contract in 2007 but due to the non-performance of the contractor, the contract was terminated in the latter part of last year and was being repackaged for award.

A Deputy Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Mrs Benita Okity-Duah, has challenged women in the country to work hard to break the glass ceiling that had kept some of them under subordination. She observed that in most African societies, including Ghana, girls were trained to make good wives and mothers and were expected to run the home, but the glass ceiling (an imaginary barrier that stops women or other groups from getting the best jobs, although  there are no official rules to prevent them from getting these jobs) kept them under subordination.  Mrs Okity-Duah was speaking at the fourth graduation of the Marg Hair and Beauty Academy in Accra last Saturday during which 11 students graduated and received diploma in cosmetology. She encouraged the large number of girls who were unable to complete senior high school to take advantage of skill-based second cycle training institutions that would provide opportunities for them to acquire knowledge and skills in a chosen career that would enable them to be financially independent. She stated that the ministry would associate itself with private institutions whose work complemented its efforts to create a harmonious society where every person, regardless of sex or individual characteristics, enjoyed equal rights and opportunities. Expected change Mrs Okity-Duah said even though a lot had been done, that phenomenon had not seen the expected change. “It is long overdue for us to move away from the notion that the place of the woman is the kitchen. “Many women in Ghana and across the world have already presented themselves as worthy examples for emulation in various fields. The challenge is for you and I to also prove our worth in breaking the glass ceiling that has kept many women and girls in socio-economic subordination,” she said. Mrs Okity-Duah explained that there was evidence of widespread gender disparity in enrolment and retention of girls and boys at all levels in the school system, especially as one climbed the educational ladder. According to her, a large number of girls (as compared to boys), after completing junior high school, were unable to continue to senior high school owing to various factors, including human trafficking, early and forced marriages, teenage pregnancy and the preference to the education of the boy-child. Ministry’s initiative Mrs Okity-Duah said the ministry ,through the Department of Gender Skills and with support from the African Development Bank, had developed new training modules for vocational training in the country. She said under the Gender Responsive Skills and Community Development Project of the Department of Gender, some teaching materials and equipment to improve the standards of vocational training had been provided, adding that about 600 girls had been supported to undertake vocational courses. Mrs Okity-Duah expressed worry about the unregulated practice in the cosmetology sector and said that must be addressed to ensure health and ethical standards for public safety. She asked the graduates to further build their capacities and position themselves to take advantage of the growing opportunities in the  industry.