Unclaimed bodies congest 37 Military Hospital mortuary
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 April 2002 - One hundred and thirty two dead bodies, including 109 babies, deposited at the 37 Military Hospital mortuary since November 2000 have neither been identified nor claimed. This has created a serious congestion in the mortuary, resulting in frequent breakdowns of the fridges.
A release issued on Monday in Accra from the Armed Forces Public Relations Directorate, signed by Lt.-Col E. W. K. Nibo, Director of Public Relations, gave the bereaved families one month to identify and claim the bodies otherwise they would be given a mass burial.
It stated: "If these bodies are not identified and claimed within one month from the date of the announcement, the hospital under these circumstances, will have no other choice than to give them a mass burial." The Hospital authorities appealed for the maximum co-operation from the general public.
GRi../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Ghanaians urged to adopt healthy lifestyles
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 April 2002 - Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of Health, on Monday urged all Ghanaians to take an interest in their well-being and adopt healthy lifestyles by engaging in physical exercises. This, he said, would reduce the rising incidence of non-communicable diseases, which have reached epidemic proportions in the country.
He said diseases such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension and other related cardiovascular conditions, which are closely associated with sedentary lifestyles and other factors such as smoking and improper diets, are now rated among the top five causes of reported deaths at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
Dr Afriyie in a speech read for him at the launch of this year's World Health Day in Accra, noted that Ghana had achieved some level of success in the control of some infectious diseases, however, the silent epidemic of non-communicable diseases were gaining grounds since conditions such as coronary heart disease now featured high among the top five causes of morbidity and mortality.
The Day, which is being celebrated under the theme, "move for health," is focusing on the upsurge of non-communicable diseases and the need to engage in more physical exercises as a means of cutting down or delaying the onset of these conditions now known as lifestyle diseases.
He said preliminary studies conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) indicate that sedentary lifestyles and lack of physical activity were among the ten leading causes of disability, diseases and death, accounting for some two million deaths annually.
Dr. Afriyie said the management of non-communicable diseases, which are largely chronic and incurable cost around 1.5 and 2.8 million cedis to treat, explaining that most of these diseases were very expensive to manage since about 400 million cedis was needed for renal transplant and 60 million cedis for a dialysis machine treatment, which were part of the management of diabetes and hypertension complications.
The Health Minister said about 40 per cent of non-communicable diseases could be prevented if steps were taken to curb the risk factors, which include the lack of physical activities and obesity.
The Health Ministry is embarking on a nation-wide study on the size of the risk factors in the country in order to come out with a comprehensive exercise to check the rising incidence of these diseases.
GRi../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 09 April 2002 --The Local Government Law, Act 462 is to be amended to correct identified weaknesses in the country's decentralisation programme, Captain Nkrabea Effah-Dartey (rtd), Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, has announced.
The Ministry was in the process of going to Parliament to effect the necessary amendments, Captain Effah-Dartey said at the opening of a two-day training workshop for members of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), in Kumasi, on Monday. Organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, it is aimed at equipping the assembly members with the skills to effectively perform their job.
The Deputy Minister said it was a matter of deep concern that the legislation as it was now, made the sub-metropolitan and town councils hanging institutions, as people were not elected directly into any of them. Captain Effah-Dartey noted that if the sub-structures of the assemblies were effective on the ground, the crave for creation of new districts would have abated.
Besides, there would be remarkable improvement in the revenue generation of the assemblies, he said, pointing out that if all those sub-structures work as they should, he saw no reason why the KMA for example, should not be able to raise not less than 500 million cedis every month. The Deputy Minister was unhappy about the fact that not one of the 17 town councils in Accra and the 24 in Kumasi, was yet working.
GRi../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 April 2002 - Ghana on Monday expressed concern about the escalating conflict between Israel and Palestine and called for an urgent and concerted effort by the international community to end it before it degenerates into a full-scale war which could destabilise the region.
A foreign ministry statement in Accra said Ghana particularly condemns the tit-for-tat violent attacks against defenceless Israeli and Palestinian civilians. It also expressed its sympathies to families of those who have died on both sides.
The statement said recent events, including the bombing and destruction of the headquarters of the Palestinian leader, Chairman Yasser Arafat, in Gaza by the Israeli Defence Force and retaliatory moves by the Palestinian factions clearly show that the two parties were unwilling or unable, on their own, to stop violence against each other.
"The Government of Ghana therefore, calls for an urgent concerted effort by the international community to bring the situation to a halt before it degenerates into a full-scale war which could destabilise the relative peace the Middle East has been enjoying for some time now."
Ghana said it was gratifying to note that the UN had recently adopted a resolution calling for the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel and the immediate cessation of all acts of violence as well as the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority.
The government said it was lending its full support to ongoing efforts being made by the international community and the UN to break the impasse and bring the Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table.
The statement reiterated the Government's conviction that a just and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could only be reached through a process of negotiation based on good faith. "Israel and Palestine are destined to live side by side as neighbours. It therefore, behoves the two parties to create a relationship based on mutual tolerance and respect."
Ghana said this they could do by meeting each other's basic needs as well as implementing the provisions stipulated in all UN resolutions, including resolution 194 which states the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland.
GRi../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 April 2002 - The government was on Monday asked to support the setting up of biogas plants all over the country for the generation of power to complement the country's energy needs.
A biogas specialist, Mr George Aboagye-Mathiesen of Dansk Biogas, Denmark, at a press conference in Accra said there were a lot of benefits to be derived from the establishment of biogas plants. These include electricity for both domestic and industrial use, heat for the drying up of cereals and fertiliser for farming purposes.
Mr Aboagye-Mathiesen said as the world was faced with green house gas emissions, countries were being encouraged to use environmentally-friendly and economical concepts for the production of energy for both local, national and regional use.
Ghana, he noted, could not be left out of this advancement and continue to depend on hydroelectricity and thermal plants for the supply of its energy needs. "The time is ripe for the use of large amounts of animal manure, organic waste, human waste, wood waste, waste from the breweries and all other waste such as domestic garbage to be channelled into the production of biogas for electrical purposes," Mr Aboagye-Mathiesen said.
He said with the high unemployment rate in the country, the establishment of biogas plants would also create jobs especially for the youth. Mr Aboagye-Mathiesen appealed to district assemblies to team up with investors to be able to produce such plants on community bases.
GRi../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 April 2002 - Mr Freddie Blay, First Deputy Speaker of Parliament on Monday, urged the youth and civil society groups to be "constructively militant and impatient to the slow pace of national development."
He said "the older generations have not done well, so far we have not sufficiently reciprocated to society what we have received and continue to still enjoy and we are yet to prove what we have contributed to making the society a better place than we came to meet it."
Speaking at the first of a series of lectures to mark the 25th annual week celebration of the Political Science Students Association (POSSA), Mr Blay said, "I am one of those who have tremendous faith in you and the following generations as individuals and as part of civil society that can open new fronts where you will be waging battles against the common enemy of poverty and ignorance in a more effective and ingenious manner than some of us have succeeded in doing so far,"
The youth and civil society should prepare and train for conscription in the war to deliver the nation from poverty, under development, disease and ignorance, he said, noting that although politicians had a role to play in national development, they did not possess the "magic wand" to the economic problems of the country.
The youth and civil society constitute the new conscience of the nation, the bank of fresh energy, creativity and resilience for national redemption, he said. The lectures are being held under the theme: "The consolidation of democracy in Ghana in the 21st century, the role of civil society groups, individuals and the executive."
GRi../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 April 2002 - Professor Joseph Atsu Aryee, Dean of the Faculty of Social Studies of the University of Ghana, Legon, on Monday urged Ghanaians to change their attitude towards time for the development of the nation. He said the inability of Ghanaians to observe time management in their daily activities was undermining the development of the nation.
Speaking on the theme: "The role of the psychologists in national development" at the opening of the psychology week celebrations of the faculty, Prof. Aryee said psychologists had enormous contributions to make in this area through the organisation of outreach programmes in the communities.
Activities for the week-long celebrations, which is the first to be organised by the department, would include lectures, exhibitions, free clinical and counselling sessions, assessments and discussions on the relevance of psychology in national development.
Prof. Aryee said Ghanaians did not value time and therefore, went to work at their own leisure time, calling on members of the public to desist from the so-called "African time" and be punctual at work.
GRi../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 April 2002 - The Ministry of Education on Monday said the cheque for 150 million cedis meant to build a house for the 2001 best teacher was ready. The only obstacle to the presentation of the cheque is the inability of the winner to fulfil certain conditions to ensure that he benefited fully from his prize, it said.
According to a Ghana News Agency report Ahmed Ayuba, Public Relations Officer of the Ministry, said in an interview that the Ministry had set certain conditions on the issuance of the cheque.
Among the conditions are that the best teacher gets a befitting house to be built in a place of his own choice and that the cheque would only be issued if the winner brought documents of the site plan of the house.
He said since the declaration of the winner, frantic efforts had been made by the ministry to get the site plan of the house so as to issue the cheque for the construction of the house.
Mr Ayuba said the ministry was still waiting for the submission of the relevant documents for the cheque to be released to the winner. Mr Joseph Yaw Nyarko of the Ochisco Methodist Junior Secondary School at Ajumako in the Central Region, who won the award last year has been quoted as saying he was yet to receive his prize.
Mr Ayuba explained that the ministry did not want to present the cheque without seeing the site plan of the house, saying this was to ensure that the money was used for its intended purpose.
He appealed to all district directors of education where award winners would emerge to assist in the speedy documentation of relevant materials for claim. He said the ministry was committed to ensuring that the nation's best teachers were recognised and rewarded.
GRi../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Kumasi (Greater Accra) 09 April 2002 - Reverend (Mrs) Joy Otabil, President of the Women's Ministries of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), has advised couples to try and remain married and avoid broken homes to enable them infuse a sense of discipline into their children.
Analysis of the level of indiscipline in the society today was very alarming and had reached cancerous levels, Rev Mrs Otabil said at the inauguration of Agric Trinity Temple and Buokrom branches of the Women's Ministry of Precious Vessels of Virtue (PVV), in Kumasi, on Sunday.
She noted that the country needed an enhanced civic education programme in schools and workplaces to engender discipline. Preaching the sermon, Rev Mrs Otabil urged women to reflect on their mistakes in marriages so as to avoid repetitions to ensure successful marriage.
She advised Christians to avoid tribalism and religious conflicts to pave the way for accelerated development of the country. She called for an end to spousal murders since the nation could not advance socially and economically through such heinous crimes.
Mrs Beatrice Donkor, National Vice-president of the Women's Ministry of the International Central Gospel Church, stressed that women could do better by exploring their potentials and talents for the benefit of the family and thenation.
She called on Christians to work hard to win more converts for Christ. Evangelist Vincent Acquaah, Lecturer at the Civil Engineering Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), advised women to be submissive to their husbands and be supportive of their families.
GRi../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Tamale (Northern Region) 09 April 2002 - Professor John B.K. Kaburise, 53, and a Professor of Public Law, was on Monday inducted into office as the new Vice-Chancellor of the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale.
He succeeds Professor Raymond Bening, the first Vice-Chancellor who has retired. In his acceptance speech, the Vice-Chancellor said problems facing the university need teamwork to solve.
"We therefore, need to put in building blocks to enable the university to achieve its mission by producing the type of students that society needs from us." He charged the university authorities to create sufficient goodwill to encourage people to work at the university, saying, "out of nothing let us always be the best."
Prof Kaburise assured the university of hardwork and open administration, saying, "what matters is not the number of time I fall down but how often I rise when I fall and having you standing there to support me."
Dr Hakeen Wemah, Chairman of the University Council, said the university was facing pioneering problems and expressed the hope that Professor Kaburise would used his rich experience to improve life in the institution.
He urged the Vice-Chancellor to be steadfast in the handling of issues at the university and not to listen to people who would want to criticise him for being aggressive; saying, "those who criticise you will turn out to say you are too soft for their liking."
Prof. Kaburise graduated from the University of Ghana in 1972, obtaining an honours degree in law. In 1973, he obtained his LLM degree from the University of Pennsylvania in the United States and also studied at Oxford University.
He was, for eight months in 1997, acting Vice-Chancellor of University of Durban-Westville, South Africa, after serving first as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and Research) and Deputy Fice-Chancellor (Finance and Administration).
In his 26 years academic career, Prof Kaburise taught law and held visiting professorial appointments at the universities of Lesotho, UNISA and Venda, Papua New Guinea, Victoria and Waikato, both in New Zealand as well as Boston, Pennsylvania in the U.S, and Cambridge (U.K).
Prof Kaburise has published books on Labour/Industrial Law, the Law of Evidence, Constitutional Law, Legal Education and the Management of Higher Education.
The new Vice-Chancellor has been a Fulbright, visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School (1981), a Smuts visiting Fellow in Commonwealth Studies (University of Cambridge (1987-1988), and a United Nations International Law Fellow (Geneva, 1985). Prof Kaburise is also life-member of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge.
GRi../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com