Doctors can’t
stitch back torn lips
A senior lecturer of Economics at the
University of Ghana, Legon Dr Fritz Gockel has called for the abolishing of the
Special Import Tax imposed on some imported items because it has failed to
achieve its purpose, The Ghanaian Times reports.
He said that, the tax only improved import
revenue adding that, the tax did not take the local manufacturer into
consideration.
Dr Gockel made the call on Tuesday when he
presented findings of a study on the impact of the special tax imposed by
government last year. The aim of the study, conducted by the Private Enterprise
Foundation (PEF) was to assess the impact of the tax on the local manufacturing
industries and to effectively dialogue with the government for necessary
improvements in the macro-economic policies affecting private sector.
Government imposed the tax on certain imported
goods in order to protect local industries. Affected items included poultry
products, flour, articles of garment, edible oil, gas cylinders, steel cabinets
and furniture.
He therefore urged the government to put more
emphasis on measures that would address macro-economic stability and ensure
reliable and uninterrupted utility.
More…/
Two watchmen who recruited a gang of robbers to
rob their master but later redirected them to someone else in the
neighbourhood, have bee remanded in custody. The two, Zakari Fuseini, 42, and
David Benyin, 38, had conspired with the robbers to attack the residence of
Lawyer Zwennes of the MaCarthy Hill in Accra, but upon a second thought,
directed them to the residence of Mrs Rene Acquah, a fashion designer in the
area.
According to the Accra Regional Police, on
November 15, four robbers attacked the house at about 1.30 am and ordered Rene
to open the front door. The robbers after ransacking the house, took away ¢1
million, 1,000 pounds sterling, 1,700 dollars, a video deck, a Pentex Zoom
camera, a CD walkman, a stomach trimmer, a quantity of jewels and ceremonial
sword belonging to Brigadier Acquah (rtd), the father of Rene.
After this, the robbers used cellotape to tie
the mouth and hands of Rene, her watchman, Cornelius Holy Gologah, 50, and the
houseboy, Ernest Attuah, 19, after assaulting them with the butts of the
locally manufactured pistols.
The gardener, Robert Addo, 49, who was in the
outhouse scaled the wall of the house and shouted for help. A
police-cum-military patrol team arrived at the scene and arrested one of the
robbers, Abu Iddrisu, 31, who had emerged from the bush.
Upon interrogation, he mentioned the two
watchmen as those who recruited them for the operation. The watchmen admitted
recruiting the armed robbers to rob their master, but said that realising that
they could be suspected and arrested they shifted their operation on Rene
Acquah.
GRi…/
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Ceremonial streets in Accra are gradually being
taking over by foodsellers according to The Spectator which says “the erection
of unathorised structures like kiosks and tables of food hawkers such as
‘waakye’ and roasted plantain sellers are becoming a big problem for city
planners.”
Accra ceremonial streets include the Kwame
Nkrumah Avenue, Oxford Street, High Street, Ring Road Central and Nima
Highway,.
During an inspection tour, the Spectator says
it observed that people who are using these areas for their economic gains do
not consider their operations an eye-saw but described it as legal, claiming
that the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) collects daily tolls from them.
The hawkers said they pay about ¢11,000
including ¢1,000 as basic rate to AMA, while those selling in small kiosks and
on table-tops pay ¢16,000 and ¢1,000 as basic rates. This, they said, excluded
¢500 daily payments to AMA.
The sellers said the places where they often
conducted their businesses were allocated to them by property owners. A few
also indicated that they sought the permission of AMA officials who gave them
the green light to operate. Still, others who operated around bus stops and
open spaces said they never sought permission from anyone, but regularly pay
tolls to AMA.
More…/
Two housewives of Pokuase, Adisa Ibrahim, 35,
and Christina Aryee, 31, on October 11, tied the hands of a schoolboy, stripped
him naked and gave him a severe beating until he fell unconscious. Richard
Kofi, 12, had to be rushed to the Achimota Hospital where he regained
consciousness.
The boy, reportedly was going to school at
about 7.00 am when the housewives asked him to buy them kenkey and fish for
their breakfast, but he refused with the explanation that he was getting late
for school.
Not pleased with his explanation, they
forcefully gave Richard ¢4,000 to buy the food but he left with the money to
school without buying the food.
The two women about 1.00 pm that day spotted
Richard and demanded their money but he told them of having lost the money
while playing. The explanation infuriated them and they dragged the boy to
their house, tied his hands with a rope, stripped him naked and beat him up
until he fell unconscious.
Sympathisers who heard the shrill cries of the
boy rescued him from the housewives and sent him to the Achimota Hospital where
doctors revived him and treated his bruises. The housewives were later reported
to the Pokuase Policy who effected their arrest.
The housewives admitted beating the boy as a
correctional measure but the police thought otherwise and charged them with
assault and cruelty. When they were arraigned before court on November 19,
charged with assault, Adisa pleaded guilty and was fined ¢100,000 and bonded to
be of good behaviour but Christine pleaded not guilty to the offence. She will
therefore reappear in court on November 28.
More…/
Doctors have tried in vain to stitch back the
lower lip of a woman bitten off by a to-tenant, following a misunderstanding
after the co-tenant eavesdropped on a petty gossip.
The quarrel started when Gladys Yeboah, alias
Ama, heard her husband’s name being mentioned in a conversation by her
co-tenant and her husband. Gladys got angry and started casting insinuations.
When the co-tenant, Christina Konadu, came out to explain matters to her,
Gladys became more furious and attacked Christina. Gladys also bit off her
lower lip, which fell on the floor.
Bleeding profusely, Christina was rushed to the
hospital with the torn lip where doctors tried in vain to stitch it back.
A report was made to the Nima Police in Accra
and after investigations, Gladys was arrested and charged before an Accra
Circuit Tribunal last Tuesday.
GRi…/
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The Mirror carries that the people of Manya
Krobo who for nearly a decade-and-a-half could not accept that HIV/AIDS is real
have finally come to terms with the reality and have gingered up to work
towards its control.
The major realisation according to the story,
came about through tireless efforts of the Manya Krobo Queenmothers
Association, in collaboration with the District Medical Officer of the Atua
Government Hospital, Dr Benhard Kofi Opare.
The group used documentaries on STDs and HIV as
a working tool to educate the people and raise the level of awareness. The
films brought home to them causes of HIV/AIDS symptoms to voluntarily go for
counseling.
The people of Kroboland in the recent past
rejected the diagnosis of medical officers at the Atua hospital and St. Martins
Clinic at Agormenya, all in the Eastern region and refused to recognize
AIDS-related illness even when the symptoms were there to show.
HIV/AIDS-related diseases in most cases were
attributed to curses and supernatural powers rather than the medical diagnosis.
Subsequently, people who tried to help create HIV-AIDS awareness and drove home
the reality of the disease as well as its prevalence were not treated kindly.
A woman from Mampong, one of the suburbs of
Odumase-Krobo, Agnes Batsa (now deceased), who had openly declared that she had
HIV/AIDS, was shunned and ostracised from her community because her
declaration, according to family members, had stigmatised them.
GRi…/
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The Chief Defence Staff (CDS), Lt-General Seth Obeng, has called for the sustenance of cordial relations between the military and civilians to accelerate the development process in the country.
Lt.-Gen.
Obeng, according to a Daily Graphic story commended the civilian population for
such cooperation and stressed that “with their relentless support, the military
will continue to live up to the task of maintaining and ensuring security and
peace and stability in the country”.
The
CDS was speaking during a courtesy call on the Northern Regional Minister, Mr
Prince Imoro Andani, at Tamale as part of a two-day visit to the municipality
to interact with the military and to acquaint himself with situations at both
the 6BN and the Airborne Force.
The
CDS equally commended the police for their cooperation with the military in
bringing about law and order in the country and gave the assurance that “we
will continue to ensure the security of Ghanaians in whatever way we can”.
More…/
The Ghana Education Service (GES) has been called upon to introduce internal part-time for those teaching in remote areas both as an incentive and a means of providing students with adequate tuition.
Mr
Yaw Boadu Ayeboafo, Executive Secretary
of the National Media Commission (NMD), who made the call at the 41st
speech and Prize-Giving Day of the Asankragua Secondary School explained that
this way, the few teachers who accept postings to secondary schools in the
rural areas would be motivated to work extra hard, while the students will be
compensated for the lack of requisite number of qualified teachers.
He
also appealed to the GES to ensure that schools in such areas offer all
programmes so that no child is denied secondary education because of the
non-availability of programme in rural schools.
Mr
Ayeboafo, an old student of the school, said whereas in the cities and urban
areas the large numbers of schools offer opportunities for both students and
teachers to make choices, such incentives are denied their counterparts in the
rural areas.
More…/
An HIV infected person has made a passionate appeal to the government to make frantic effort to reduce the stigma associated with the disease as a means of curbing it’s spread.
The
AIDS victim (name withheld) said the level of stigmatisation and discrimination
against HIV/AIDS patients, even at the hospital has made sufferers bitter with
some deliberately spreading the disease as a form of revenge.
The
patient, who is a member of Wisdom Association, an association of people living
with AIDS, was addressing workers of the Ministry of Trade and Industry during
a durbar on HIV/AIDS organised by the ministry in Accra.
“No
matter how much money the government pumps into educational campaigns, little
will be achieved if people living with the disease are not accorded the needed
care and support. They will feel abandoned and in turn decide to put innocent
people in the same ordeals they are facing”, the patient said.
GRi…/
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