More Whales To Die -EPA

Date published: August 25, 2014

By Mohammed Awal (awal19@gmail.com)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has raised concerns over the increasing cetaceans (whales and dolphins) mortality in Ghana’s waters, fearing the worst was yet to come if nothing was done to curb the trend.

It said “there had been a remarkable increase in the incidence of the beaching of whales and dolphins on the coasts of Ghana between 2009 and 2013, documenting 24 deaths with 20, 3 and 1 in the Western, Greater and Central regions respectively.”

In order to have a full understanding of these deaths, “the EPA instituted a committee headed by Professor P.K. Ofori-Danso to investigate the possible causes of the increase in mortality and stranding of whales in Ghana’s coastal waters and to make recommendations for curbing future occurrence,” the EPA told journalists at a press conference last week.

Causes of death
Presenting the committee’s findings, Prof. Ofori-Danso said the causes of these deaths were “multi-factoral.”  He said during their investigations they had ‘hard’ evidences that suggested that these cetacean mortalities were as a result of  ship strikes, entanglement with fishing nets and targeted killings where meat from these cetaceans were used as baits in trapping sharks.

The highest number of mortalities of these sea mammals was reported in 2013 recording 12, from which 11 occurred in the Western region and one in Greater Accra he said at a press conference last week. Prof. Ofori-Danso, however, noted that due to the “highly decomposed” state of some of the carcasses the team came into contact with, it could be possible that some of the deaths did not occur in Ghana’s territorial waters.

He said: “Most of the cetaceans that beached in Ghana were in highly decomposed state and it is possible that some of the carcasses could have drifted from neighbouring countries into Ghanaian waters. “This is because the phenomenon of beaching of dead cetaceans has been reported in other countries in the Gulf of Guinea,” he added.

Recommendations
According to him, the committee’s investigations found out that there was massive institutional weakness in enforcing legislations that sought to protect these sea mammals. He, therefore, called for the need to strengthen the capacity of these institutions as well as streamline the legislative roles and loopholes.

Continuing further, Prof. Ofori-Danso recommended that appropriate measures should be instituted to recover ghost nets from the sea, effective management of urban waste in coastal communities, a satellite sighting and reporting system of cetaceans for ships installed, efficient management of maritime vessel traffic to reduce ship strikes and improved collaborations among relevant institutions.

The  government should embark on comprehensive legislative reforms by amending the Wild Animal Preservation Act, 1961 (Act 43) to include (whales and dolphins) in the list of animals to be protected as well as amending regulations under the maritime transport regime to ensure protection of cetaceans from ship strikes, he urged.

Short URL: http://thechronicle.com.gh/?p=79754

PSGH Rolls Out Measures To Check Fake Drugs

Date published: August 25, 2014

By Mohammed Awal (awalm19@gmail.com)

Due to the influx of fake drugs into the West African pharmaceutical market lately, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) has rolled out an initiative called the ‘PREVENT’ initiative to fight the menace.

According to the UN office on Drug and Crimes (UNODC), West Africa is increasingly becoming the target of a range of counterfeit drugs; such as antibiotics, anti-malaria, anti-retroviral and anti-tuberculosis medicines.  Thousands of lives are perished as a result of the intake of these counterfeited drugs by unsuspecting consumers.

  Speaking at the ‘PREVENT’ initiative launch in Accra last week, Thursday, the president of the PSGH, Pharm. James Ohemeng Kyei said that the PSGH was worried by reports that suggested that fake drugs were being sold and distributed in Ghana and the entire Western African region, thus the introduction of the initiative.

Fighting the scourge
To tackle the scourge of fake drugs in Ghana, the PSGH engaged two technological partners, mPedigree and popOut to implement a system of anti-counterfeiting called ‘PREVENT’ to fight the menace. As a result of the partnership with mPedigree, drugs made and marketed by members of the PSGH had been coded with unique ID’s covered by scratch off ink and tracked at individual pack level with ‘Goldkeys’ technology.

With these features Pharm. Ohemeng-Kyei noted, patients could verify the veracity of the drug they had purchased at the point of sale or dispensing, by scratching to reveal the hidden digits and text  the revealed digits to  short-code 1393 to confirm if the drugs they had bought were valid or otherwise. “The text message is free,” he assured, adding that the power of detecting fake drugs was now in the hands of patients and consumers and would contribute to the quality assurance process for drugs nationwide.

“It is the expectation of the PSGH and its partners that over the next 3 years, millions of Ghanaians will be able to improve their confidence in the quality of medicines sold in Ghana, and consequently the commitment of the pharmacy profession to total patient safety and medical quality,” he further remarked.

In a statement read on his behalf by the Head of Drug Enforcement Department of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Thomas Amedzro, the CEO of the FDA, Pharm. Hudu Moqtari said the initiative would help the FDA “rid our country of counterfeit medicines and by so doing strengthen the manufacturing and supply chain system for medicines produced or imported into the country.”

Fake drugs, he noted, had over the years exposed patients or consumers to various degrees of dangers and that as an Authority they were happy to see the PSGH join the fight against importation of fake drugs into the country. “Such a bold and proactive move is most necessary to ensure we win this battle against illegal operators who will jeopardize human safety for profit motives, and build a system that will be worthy of emulation by other countries,” stated Pharm. Moqtari. The acronym ‘PREVENT’ means ‘Patient, Research, Empowerment, Vigilance and Education through New Technologies.’

Short URL: http://thechronicle.com.gh/?p=79784

WOGFund Boosts Local Firms Participation In Oil Sector

Date published: August 21, 2014

By Mohammed Awal (awalm19@gmail.com) & Pix by Eric Owiredu

Weston Capital has launched the first ever sector focused fund, the Weston Oil and Gas Fund (WOGFund), aimed at enhancing the participation of indigenous companies in the oil industry.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Weston Capital, Rex Kontor, said the WOGFund would support the “drive for local participation in the oil and gas industry by helping build the financial capacity of local companies operating in the sector. “The fund will create an avenue for individuals and corporate entities to participate in the success story of the oil and gas industry”.

Mr. Kontor explained at the launching ceremony that the fund would support Ghanaian companies by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of debt instruments and equities. He added: “The fund is an open-ended one, approved and licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission he said “with an unlimited number of shares at initial price of Ghana pesewas 20 per share.”

Mr. Kontor mentioned that among the aims of the fund was to create an avenue for indigenes to assume center stage in the oil and gas industry by “creating an investment vehicle for them.” Again, he said it was also meant to create an avenue for multinationals and support agencies to channel sustainable investments into helping build the capacity of local suppliers and services providers to deliver industry required international standards.

The activities in the oil and gas industry require “huge capital,” the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commissions, Adu Antwi Anane said. “As a specialty fund with a focus on the oil and gas industry, it creates an avenue for every Ghanaian to invest in the country’s oil and gas sector” he noted explaining that it would bring innovation in, and also help provide the needed capital for further expansion of the industry.

The fund would “let ordinary Ghanaians feel part of the oil and gas industry and generate more public interest in the industry,” he stated.

Short URL: http://thechronicle.com.gh/?p=79649

Our Security Is Under Threat -Abor Ewusi Royal Family

Date published: August 19, 2014

By Mohammed Awal (awalm19@gmail.com)

THE ELDERS of Abor Ewusi Royal Family of Gomoa Fete say their lives are under threat, since the brutal murder of the Fete stool head, Abusuapanyin Nana Kwame Okyere Pantu, who doubles as the Mankrado of Fete Kakraba, by hired assassins.

The Secretary of the Abor Ewusi Royal Family, Stephen Nana Ackon Mensah, at a press conference said they had been reliably informed that an unknown group was planning to eliminate some of them, who were making things difficult for them (the unknown group). “As a matter of fact, our security is at stake,” he said.

This alleged threat against them, he said, was as a result of their continuous efforts at seeking justice for the dead. Nana Kwame Okyere Pantu was viciously shot eight times in front of his house at Fete Kakraba, a town close to the Liberia refugee camp, on February 27, 2014.

Since the shooting incident, the police have arrested eight persons to help them in their investigations, namely Nana Kofi Baah, Abusuapanyin Kwaku Mensah, Nana Kwasi Essel Sey, aka Obaatan, Kwesi Yobo, Kow Boafo, Gyabaah Barnor, Kwasi Boadi and Abiodu Ibrahim. They have all been arraigned before the law court for prosecution.

But two out of the eight, Kwasi Essel Sey, aka Obaatan, and one other, had been released on bail, according to the Abor Ewusi Family’s secretary, adding that the news was shocking to them.

Uneasy calm
In granting the two persons bail, Nana Ackon-Mensah noted that it was creating “uneasy calm” in Gomoa. This had created “serious tension among the people of Gomoa, who are not happy about events since the killing, arrest and bail of the suspects”, said Nana Ackon-Mensah, adding “all is not well at Gomoa Fete,” as some citizens were living in fear of their lives and security.

The family, therefore, called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Alhassan, the Interior Minister and all stakeholders to work to restore calm in Gomoa, as land-guards terrorize the area.

Short URL: http://thechronicle.com.gh/?p=79611

Ghana Is Under Serious Threat Of Contracting Ebola If…

Date published: August 18, 2014

By Mohammed Awal (awalm19@gmail.com)

Ghana is under serious threat of contracting the deadly Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) if extraordinary measures were not taken by all and sundry to ensure that it does not spread into the country, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has warned.

According to its Deputy Director in-charge of disease control, Dr. Kyei Faried, the EVD was a “deadly disease” but “preventable” if the necessary precautionary measures were adhered to diligently.

“The Ebola case is no joke” Dr. Faried cautioned, noting that the outbreak in neighboring countries must be confronted with all the seriousness it deserved.

Effective measures had been put in place for the treatment of a possible EVD in Ghana, he noted, but “an effective leadership at all level is the main tool for dealing with the Ebola in the country.”

He was speaking at the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) awareness week launch last week Friday, in Accra.

Outbreak vastly underestimated

The scale of the Ebola outbreak appears to be “vastly underestimated”, the UN’s health agency says, as the death toll from the disease reaches 1,069.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said its staff had seen evidence that the numbers of reported cases and deaths do not reflect the scale of the crisis.

Also Doctors without Borders likened the situation to a state of war and said the outbreak could last six more months.

“We’re running behind a train that is going forward,” Joanne Liu, the medical charity’s international president, told reporters in Geneva on Friday. “And it literally is faster than what we’re bringing in terms of a response.”

WHO said in a statement that “extraordinary measures” were needed to curtail the outbreak.

A vicious killer

Ebola can torment its victims with high fevers, internal and external bleeding, vomiting and diarrhea. It often afflicts multiple organ systems and can kill up to 90% of those infected. The virus spreads through contact with organs and bodily fluids such as blood, saliva and urine.

Since the current Ebola epidemic was declared in Guinea in March, the disease has spread to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria. And the impact has spread around the world.

Voters’ Register Must Be Audited -Oquaye

Date published: August 13, 2014

By Mohammed Awal (awalm19@gmail.com)

A FORMER Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, has called for a comprehensive audit to be conducted into the current voter register.

Such an exercise, he argued, would restore credibility to the register, thus ensuring transparent and acceptable elections, devoid of bickering in the future. He further called for the amendment of the public election registration of voters’ regulation 2012, CI 72, to ensure that political parties receive copies of the final register the EC would be using in the conduct of elections, at least, 21-days before the election day.

Prof. Oquaye made this call in a paper delivered on his behalf by Mr. Peter Mac Manu, a former Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), at a National Stakeholder Workshop on Electoral Reform, organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in Accra, yesterday.

Raising concerns about the mode of appointment of the EC Chairman, Prof. Oquaye contended that the system, where the appointment of the EC Chairman was solely the responsibility of the President of the Republic, was not the best. The current system, where sometimes the President is also a candidate in presidential elections and appoints the “Umpire without any input from the other side is dangerous,” he argued.

Citing the Sudanese example, where the President appoints the EC Chairman, and approved by a two-thirds majority of all members of parliament, Prof. Ocquaye argued that it was unwise for the president alone to continuously appoint a chairman for the Electoral Commission.

The majority approval of the EC Chairman will strengthen and uphold the independence of the Electoral Commission, he insisted, adding that the EC Chairman “should be given a fixed tenure…say six years,” as is being practised in Kenya and other African countries.

“Accountability mechanisms must be established to regulate the EC’s administrative machinery; the number of errors, acts of omissions which the EC Chairman himself admitted in court as administrative lapses cannot be ignored,” Prof. Oquaye added.

The Supreme Court of Ghana recommended some electoral reforms after ruling on the election petition brought before it by the main opposition New Patriotic Party in the 2012 presidential election, which announced President John Dramani Mahama as the winner.

Past Reforms
Ghana’s electoral system has, since 1992, undergone a number of reforms, key among them being the change from the use of opaque ballot boxes to transparent ones, and the use of picture identity cards. In the 2012 elections, the use of biometric verification machines was a major reform in the electoral process.

But, given that the Supreme Court dismissed the NPP’s petition concerning voting without biometric verification, it is expected that the intended proposals will focus on that system.

V/R Muslims Pledge To Be Peace Ambassadors …As They Reject Religious Extremism

Date published: July 31, 2014

From Mohammed Awal, Ho

A sea of colour and festivity covered the region yesterday, as thousands of Muslims swarmed to observe the Eid-ul-Fitr in the regional capital, Ho, to mark the end of fasting.

Addressing a horde of Muslims at the prayer ground, the Ho Police Depot, the Acting Volta Regional Chief Imam, Alfa Anas Hamidu, admonished all Muslims to “jealously guard” the peace the country is experiencing, after years of political tumult.

Imam Anas also called on President John Dramani Mahama, through the Regional Minister, to bring development to the Muslim communities, as he pledged their resolve to uphold the current peace and unity in the country. He said they would not do anything to jeopardise the tranquility that Ghanaians are enjoying currently, after decades of starvation due to political instability.

“We want to assure you the President and Ghanaians in general, that we would not do anything to spoil the peace we are enjoying in Ghana,” assured Imam Anas. Denouncing religious extremism in any format, he said: “We would not support anyone in the name of religion, tribe or politics to bring trouble in Ghana.”

Lessons learnt from Ramadan

Imam Anas said the month of Ramadan had taught Muslims four things, and they are:

1. How to be patient
2. Upholding good morals
3. Purification of the heart
4. Living a noble lifestyle, and last but not the least
5. Living in peace and unity.

He called on all Muslims to tolerate each other as they sought to exhibit these lessons in their human existence. The Volta Regional Minister, Madam Helen Adjoa Ntoso, wishing all Muslims Bar-ka-da-sallah, urged that Ghanaians adopt responsible attitudes, as she blamed Ghana’s economic woes on irresponsible attitudes of Ghanaians.

That notwithstanding, she said the government was aware of the challenges, and that things would normalise any time soon. “I can assure you that the stormy period is over.” The President, the Minister announced, as a barka da salla package gave the Muslim Umma in Ho 50 bags of rice and cooking oil.

EID-UL-FITR

The Eid ul-fitr, also known Feast of Breaking the Fast, the Sugar Feast and the ‘lesser Eid,’ is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting (Sawm). The Eid is a single day during which fasting is forbidden. The day falls on the first day of the month of Shawwal.

Chambas Extols Mills’ Credentials …At Anniversary Lecture And Urges Mahama To Emulate Him

Date published: July 28, 2014

By Mohammed Awal (awalm19@gmail.com)

The Head of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operations in Darfur (UNAMID), Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, has urged President John Dramani Mahama to adopt his predecessor’s strategic approach to governance, if the latter’s administration was to reverse the current challenges facing the economy.

In order to device a lasting solution to the “precarious state of the national economy,” Dr. Chambas advised that it was vital the John Mahama government “revisit the tested blueprint of success employed by Atta Mills.”

Delivering a lecture in Accra last week Thursday to celebrate the second anniversary of the passing on of President John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills, the former Secretary General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States tasked President Mahama to come forth with prudent fiscal policies that would aid the speedy recovery of the Ghanaian economy.

President Atta Mills’ shrewdness and alertness to good governance saw macroeconomic fundamentals, including inflation and exchange rate, stabilise for the first time since the nineties, Dr. Chambas stated, with inflation figures dropping to single digit in 2010, from a high of 18.1% in 2008.

These were indicative of “prudent fiscal, monetary and austerity policy measures deliberately carved by the late President Mills to ensure that the economy was in a healthy state,” he pointed out. Again, under the stewardship of Mills, Ghana’s budget deficit was reduced to 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared to 14.5% of GDP in 2008, argued Dr. Chambas.

Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas also called on world leaders, especially African leaders, to emulate the almost immaculate lifestyle of the late President John Evans Atta Mills. “President Mills’ modesty, visionary leadership and commitment to democracy, human rights and abhorrence of violence are hallmarks of great leadership in our age,” he said, adding, “Even though short, Atta Mill’s Presidency provided the world with a unique insight into the sterling qualities of a modest and exemplary leader and statesman.”

Forgoing Victory for Peace
The man, Atta Mills, Dr. Chambas recounted, was prepared to curtail his presidential ambition prematurely during the 2008 elections for peace, when tensions were rife. Dr. Chambas, unfolding events as they occurred then, said: “The presidential poll of 28 December was on knife-edge. Nerves were frayed as tensions ran high, with less than a paper-thin margin of a few thousands votes separating Atta Mills and Nana Akufo-Addo. Ghana was on the brink!”

As then President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Chambas, in the company of the Nigerian National Security Advisor and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, embarked on a preventive diplomacy mission in Ghana. They engaged in a shuttle diplomacy, calling on then President Agyekum Kufuor, former President Rawlings, and Nana Akufo-Addo.

On arrival at the home of Captain Kojo Tsikata (rtd), where candidate Atta Mills chose to meet them, Dr. Chambas said he was taken aback by the atmosphere. Surrounded by Capt Tsikata, the late P.V. Obeng, Commander Assasie-Gyimah, Kwamena Awhoi, and a few other advisers, Prof. Mills was “the epitome of calm and serenity, seemingly unaffected by the chaos” in the city, narrated Dr. Chambas.

Welcoming them, Dr. Chambas said Atta Mills had a few but profound words to tell them: “I know I have won the elections, God willing. My victory, however, is not worth a drop of blood from any Ghanaian, no matter his or her affiliations. If the price for peace is my victory, I am prepared to forgo it.” President Mills died on Tuesday July 24, 2012 at the 37 Military Hospital, following a “massive stroke.” He is the first Ghanaian Head of State to have died in office.