Freight forwarders accuse shipping lines of arbitrary charges (Graphic Online, Tuesday, September 24, 2024 )

 Freight Forwarders' in Tema on Tuesday embarked on a protest against what they termed exploitative practices by shipping lines in Ghana.

The Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), in collaboration with the Association of Customs House Agents of Ghana, Freight Forwarders Association of Ghana, Customs Brokers Association of Ghana, and a coalition of trade associations converged at the premises of the GIFF to press home their demands. 

Clad in red outfits and holding placards with inscription such as "pay refunds promptly or abolish container deposits", "Shipping lines and pirates, no difference just landing", "Scrap local charged in US $", "Consumers are receiving the pains of traders" among others, the organisers said the Tuesday [, September 24,2024] protest was aimed at raising awareness of unfair fees and practices imposed by shipping lines, which were negatively affecting Ghana’s economy and businesses in the logistics and trade sectors. 

"This demonstration has significant implications for the country's economy and the future of Ghana’s shipping industry." Nana Asiamah Peprah, Vice Chairman of GIFF said.

 

 

 via:  https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/freight-forwarders-accuse-shipping-lines-of-arbitrary-charges.html

PNP endorses Janet Nabla as flag bearer - Dr Ayesu is running mate (Daily Graphic, Thursday, September 5, 2024 Page 17)

 

The People's National Party (PNP) has selected Janet Asana Nabla as the party's flag bearer for the 2024 general elections. 

The party has also endorsed Dr Edmund Ayesu, a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Science Research, Kumasi Technical University, as its running mate.

This was contained in a statement issued by the PNP on Monday, September 2, 2024, and signed by its General Secretary, Suleman Seidu.

Mr Seidu indicated that the National Executive Committee of the PNP made the decision at a meeting held on Sunday, September 1, 2024.

He stressed that the pivotal decision marked a significant step towards the party's journey to provide Ghana with a leadership team committed a transformative change.

He said the choice of Ms Nabla was based on her rich background in public service, health administration and political leadership adding that she brings vitals to the board and unwavering commitment to the values of gender equality, economic sovereignty and social justice.

The statement said her historic role as the first female general secretary of a political party in Ghana spoke to her trailblazing spirit and dedication to uplifting all Ghanaians.

On Dr Ayesu, the PNP said his experience in applied econometrics modelling, policy design and civil society activism aligned seamlessly with the PNP’s vision of a prosperous and equitable Ghana.

Confidence

The statement described the PNP’s decision as one that underscores the party's confidence in Ms Nabla and Dr Ayesu as the ideal team to lead the party into the December polls, focusing on the pillars of family, community and the motherland.

The PNP called on Ghanaians to rally behind the duo as they work towards a future that prioritises the well-being and prosperity of every citizen. 

 

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/politics/ghana-news-pnp-endorses-janet-nabla-as-flag-bearer-dr-ayesu-is-running-mate.html

GRA engages market women on need for tax compliance (Daily Graphic, Monday September 2, 2024 , Page 29)

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has held a tax sensitisation programme for traders at the Tema Community One Market on the need to promptly file their monthly tax returns for accountability.

The staff interacted with the market women on the need to pay their taxes and comply with the law governing tax payments.

The GRA also used the platform to sensitise them to its new online portal for tax payment and good governance practices.

The Greater Accra East Area Director in charge of Domestic Tax Revenue, GRA, Assistant Commissioner, Joseph Asare, highlighted the importance of filing tax returns promptly to avoid sanctions.

Mr Asare said as part of the strategic direction of GRA, the Authority had decided to create awareness among trade associations and individuals on the importance of filing their returns, paying taxes and complying with the law.

“We have decided to engage at the local level by deepening the relationship and visiting trade associations, market women, clubs, etc. to ensure that we are able to expand the tax net.” He said.

Mr Asare opined that by engaging the traders, the authority hoped to expand the tax net to ensure that everyone contributed, adding that “it would help in improving the revenue generation of the country.

“The tax burden is just on a few people, so this is a way of deepening the awareness and widening the net for more people to enter so that we can expand the tax base,“ he said.

The Tema Community One Taxpayer Service Centre Office Manager, Lydia Owusu Banahene, educated the women on the benefits of paying their taxes, which  included infrastructure development, the construction of schools, health facilities, and other interventions undertaken by the government.

He said the authority had made transactions with their clients convenient and easy by the introduction of the online portal, and therefore, encouraged the traders to pay taxes online.

Motivation

The Vice-Chairman of the Tema Community One Central Market Association, Philip Kwesi Kyei, encouraged the GRA staff in Tema to regularly visit markets to educate the traders on the need to pay taxes to develop the country.

He said informal workers and businesses did not pay income tax in the same way as formal ones but with regular sensitisation, traders would be motivated to file their returns, initiate payments, apply for refunds, undertake cashless policies and perform other transactions without walking to GRA offices.

via : https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-gra-engages-market-women-on-need-for-tax-compliance.html

Govt must bear cost of transporting emergency cases - DDHS Group ( Daily Graphuic, Saturday, August 31, 2024 Page 17)

 

The District Directors of Health Services (DDHS) Group has called on the government to take full responsibility for the cost of transporting emergency cases by the National Ambulance Service, regardless of the distance. 

The group has also advocated the acquisition of at least two aircraft ambulances to support urgent referrals, particularly from remote areas.

This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the 31st Annual General Conference of the DDHS Group at Ada in the Greater Accra Region

The communiqué, jointly signed by the National Chairman of the group, Dr  Justice Thomas Sevugu, and the National Secretary, Martin Sumani Daanko, further called on the government to  streamline and improve the efficiency of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) claims reimbursement process to ensure the financial stability of health facilities.

This year’s conference,on the theme: “Accelerating Towards Universal Health Coverage with a Strengthened Primary Health Through the Networks Approach: The Role of the DDHS and Stakeholders,” brought together DDHS members, Senior Managers of the Ghana Health Service and health partners to deliberate on critical health service delivery issues in Ghana.

The communiqué, among others, called on the Ghana Health Service to liaise with the Ministry of Works and Housing to address the accommodation challenges faced by health workers by constructing affordable housing units in critical areas.

They also urged the government to place District Directors of Health Services on all allowances due to Level 23H office holders in the public sector, ensuring fairness and equity in their remuneration.

Still on funding, the DDHS Group called on the government to restore the allocation of Government of Ghana funding and ensure its timely release to District/Municipal/Metropolitan Health Directorates to support their operations and public health activities at the Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) level.

They further urged the government to provide financial clearance for the recruitment of critical technical and support staff to strengthen the capacity of District/Municipal/Metropolitan Health Directorates.

Concerns and challenges

The DDHS Group identified a significant shortage of essential technical and support staff, including laboratory and pharmacy technicians, storekeepers, security personnel, orderlies and labourers, which they said hampered effective health service delivery.

Further, they bemoaned the inequitable distribution of health workers across districts, a situation affecting the quality of health services in underserved areas and reiterated the need for the government to address those challenges.

“Many health facilities are burdened with obsolete medical equipment and deteriorating infrastructure, compromising the quality of care provided to patients,” the communique said.

 

Accommodation

The communique noted that the lack of adequate accommodation for health workers, particularly in rural areas, continued to be a major challenge affecting staff retention and morale and highlighted the need for those challenges to be resolved.

The group highlighted the need for increased funding to improve sanitation in health facilities, particularly in managing medical waste.
They noted that transportation of samples of suspected diseases to reference laboratories for confirmatory tests was often delayed, affecting timely diagnosis and treatment, therefore, urged the government to address the concerns urgently.

It further requested that the government should grant tax waivers to DDHS members and health workers to facilitate the importation of vehicles which were often used to support healthcare.

 

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/govt-must-bear-cost-of-transporting-emergency-cases-ddhs-group.html

GHS implements model health centres towards Universal Health Coverage (Daily Graphic, Monday, August 26, 2024 Page 49)

The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, has said a total of 420 health centres are being upgraded into Model Health Centres to enhance quality primary health care.

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The Model Health Centres, located in selected communities across the country, will provide 24-hour easily accessible and affordable healthcare services to healthcare seekers, particularly in rural communities, to reduce the incidence of maternal and child mortality and morbidity.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said this on Wednesday, August 22, 2024 at the opening session of the 31st Annual General Conference of District Directors of Health Services (DDHS) Group held at Ada in the Greater Accra Region.

The annual conference serves as a forum for the heads of district health directorates to take stock, share ideas and best practices in order to improve the country’s health outcomes.

This year's conference was on the theme: "Accelerating towards Universal Health Coverage with a Strengthened Primary Health Care through the Networks of Practice Approach: The Role of DDHS and Stakeholders".

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said out of the proposed 420 model health centres, 153 of them across the 16 regions of Ghana had been identified, adding that contractors would soon be deployed to the sites.

He said the service had recruited 250 new Physician Assistants who would be deployed to the model health centres to offer affordable primary healthcare services to particularly rural dwellers to propel Ghana towards attainment of the Universal Health Coverage target in 2030.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said universal health care was not merely a global aspiration, but a national imperative for Ghana,  stressing that in Ghana about half of the population could not count on having direct access to health services.

Embrace change

He said with barely six years to attain the Universal Health Coverage, there was the urgent need for service providers to begin to do things differently by unifying programmes, partners and stakeholders in our forward march towards a better health coverage using the network of practice approach (NOP).

The NOP aims to ensure the availability of adequate health infrastructure, equipment, trained and compelled workforce to provide high levels of care, strengthen referral linkages and facilitate resource sharing among modern health centres.

He assured participants of GHS’s continuous provision of human resources and equipment at all levels of healthcare services to improve primary health care across the country, and also charged them to show leadership by rationalising allocated resources to strengthen the organisation's service delivery capacity.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said as part of GHS’s commitment to health information system, the service had invested in technology to facilitate real time data sharing and telemedicine, among others.  To that end, health facilities across the country have been connected to fibre systems to enhance digital health innovations.

 

He further revealed plans by the service to introduce a National Boat Service to provide primary health care to people in riverine communities in hard-to-reach districts.

Conditions of Service

The President of the DDHS Group, Dr Justice Thomas Sevugu, reiterated the call for better conditions of service for District Health Directors and improved infrastructure at the district level since they were the implementers of national health policies and programmes.

The Greater Accra Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Akosua Agyeiwaa Owusu-Sarpong, reminded the participants of their role in the implementation of the NOP within their districts, and urged them to prioritise the implementation of the policy towards the achievement of universal health coverage.

Present at the opening session were the Mankralo of the Ada Traditional Area, Nene Agudey Obitchere III, who chaired the function, the District Chief Executive of Ada East, Sarah Dugbakie Pobee; Coordinator, Health Systems, World Health Organisation Ghana Office, Dr Sofonias Asrat Gatachew, and the Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (PPMED) of the MOH, Dr Alberta Biritwum.

 

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-ghs-implements-model-health-centres-towards-universal-health-coverage.html

The Mystery Basket of Ada - Symbol of hope (Daily Graphic, Friday, August 23, 2024 Page 26)

The Asafotufiami festival of the chiefs and people of Ada in the Greater Accra Region is a commemorative event that seeks to honour the heroic achievements of the ancestors of Ada.

According to history, some of the ancestors fought several wars to save Ada from being overrun and destroyed by enemies in the colonial era.  

Throughout the history of Ada, the people have fought in several ancient wars and battles, including the 1750 Battle of Nonobe, the war with Anglos in 1769 and the famous Katamanso war around 1826, where the people of Ada were invited by King Tackie of Accra.

The people of Ada responded to the call, and together with other allies, marched to the Katamanso village near Dodowa to help defeat the Ashantis.  

At the end of each war, surviving warriors who returned home were met at the outskirts of the town by joyous townsmen and relatives and carried shoulder-high to their respective homes amidst various merry-making activities.  

Pride  

Among the people of Ada, the mystery basket of Ada holds a historical pride of place in the community.  

The indigenes of Ada re-enact how the basket was used to fetch water each year

The fighting had been fierce in one particular battle, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. Apart from the injuries sustained, the warriors of Ada were totally exhausted but knew they couldn't let their guard down.  

Oral history of the people of Ada has it that on one such return from a gruesome ancient battle, there was a desperate lack of fresh water. The survival of these warriors depended on the resourcefulness of their war captain, Asafoatse.    

Faced with the daunting task of bringing his troops home safely, the Asafoatse needed to find a way to quench the thirst of the fighters and revive their fighting spirit.

However, there was nothing to fetch the water with, as the fighters were said to have discarded most of their belongings to aid their movement and speed.  

In a desperate mood, the war captain looked for any receptacle that could hold water but all his hands could fall on was a basket woven with grass.  

 

The area's recorded history indicated that one of the fighters questioned the Asafoatse on how a basket could hold water. However, the Asafoatse was said to be undeterred and rather placed a leaf inside the basket and instructed the doubting warrior to fetch water from the river.    

Hope  

The oral history of Ada has it that the basket with the leaf placed in it was able to hold water and became a beacon of hope for the dying warriors.    

The Secretary to the Paramount Chief of the Ada Traditional Area, Djetse Abram Kabu Akuaku III, Jonathan Dokutso, who narrated the story to the Daily Graphic at the sidelines of this year’s Ada Asafotufiami festival, explained that since then, the Mystery Basket, the object that went to the rescue of the thirsty warriors, had come to represent a symbol of hope for the people of Ada.  

Each year, during the celebration of Asafotufiami, the story is reenacted to remind the people of Ada and the rest of the world of the historical significance of the mystery basket.  

“Today, the Mystery Basket may seem like an amusing or spiritual exercise to some, but it remains a powerful testament to the warriors who risked everything to shape the Ada State as we know it today,” Mr Dokutso said.

 via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-the-mystery-basket-of-ada-symbol-of-hope.html

Ensure transparency, accountability in petroleum revenue use - PIAC urges media(Daily Graphic, Thursday, August 22 2024 Page 33)

The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has urged journalists to use their editorial platforms to promote transparency and accountability in the management and use of petroleum revenues.

The Chair of PIAC, Emerita Professor Elizabeth Ardayfio-Schandorf, was speaking at a media engagement on the management and use of petroleum revenues in the country at Prampram in the Ningo Prampram District in the Greater Accra Region on Tuesday.

It formed part of an outreach programme and community engagement by PIAC in the area.

The participants were briefed on matters related to the operations of PIAC and its interventions in the district, as well as how the committee could collaborate with the media going forward.

Present were some PIAC members, including a representative of independent policy research think thanks, Clara Beeri Kasser-Tee; a representative  of Muslim Groups, Dr Ibrahim Lartey, and a representative of the National House of Chiefs on the Committee, Odeefuo Amoakwa Boadu  VIII.

Oversight

As established under Section 51 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA), PIAC, Prof. Ardayfio-Schandorf said, served as a unique citizen-led statutory body tasked with additional public oversight responsibility to support the work of Parliament over the collection, allocation and utilisation of petroleum revenues.

She said PIAC's roles included oversight and monitoring, accountability, advocacy, public engagement and policy recommendations, adding that the committee was mandated to publish two reports annually—an annual report and a semi-annual report based on the collection, collation, reconciliation and analysis of production and revenue data from relevant stakeholder institutions.

Touching on the role of the media to enhance accountability in the management of petroleum revenues, Prof Ardayfio-Schandorf called on journalists to engage more closely with PIAC to report on the committee's findings and recommendations to keep the public informed and also hold public officials accountable.

She said this would ensure that the country’s petroleum revenues were managed effectively and transparently to benefit both current and future generations.

The chairperson reiterated PIAC’s recommendation that the selection of the annual budget funding amount (ABFA) should be guided by a long-term national development plan approved by Parliament in conformity with the Act.

Challenges

Ms Kasser-Tee said a significant challenge PIAC faced was the lack of enforcement powers since  the committee relied on Parliament to enforce the implementation of its recommendations on the management and use of petroleum revenues.

Collaboration

The Tema Regional Chairperson of the Ghana Journalists Association, Emma Dzifa Tetteh Tay, said the association was ready to build long-term partnership with the PIAC in the national interest.

 

As part of its activities in the district, the committee engaged a cross section of residents and also inspected some projects that were being funded through petroleum revenue.

The projects included upgrading works of the Prampram - Anyaman (Latsinyo - Anyaman) road, surfacing of the 22 kilometre Dawa-Ahwiam Ningo feeder road, construction of concrete drain at New Ningo and ongoing works on the Agenda 111 district hospital.

 

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-ensure-transparency-accountability-in-petroleum-revenue-use-piac-urges-media.html