Venue for Greater Accra Independence Day celebration in deplorable state (Daily Graphic, Mar - 04 - 2023 )

Mar - 04 - 2023 

Preparations are underway at the Tema Sports Stadium ahead of the Greater Accra Regional Independence Day parade to be hosted by the harbour city.

When the Daily Graphic visited the stadium, the venue for the event, the facility was being prepared.

This is the first time the regional celebrations are being centralised by the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council.

Ahead of the March 6 parade on Monday, there has been a step-up in rehearsals by members of the various security and selected schools in the region.

Labourers had been hired to weed overgrown weeds, while some portions of the facility had been whitewashed.

Renovation

The state of the canopy over the spectators' stand

The Tema Sports Stadium, which serves as the home ground of clubs such as the Tema Youth in the lower tier leagues, is, however, currently in a dilapidated state and would require an upgrade. The facility is in such poor state that it even poses a threat to human lives.

Plastic seats on the only available spectators’ stand has been ripped off, while the concrete slabs for holding the seats have been destroyed. Also, a canopy, which provides shade, was dangling dangerously, during a visit to the facility yesterday.

The Daily Graphic gathered that the last major renovation of the facility took place prior to Ghana hosting the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.

The renovation, the paper was told, was carried out by the Ghana Football Association, through a FIFA assisted project, and later handed over to the National Sports Authority (NSA) after the tournament.

During the tour, it was also observed that parts of the stadium’s walls had cracked, with exposed iron rods at some portions, while the metal gates around the stadium were very rusty. The toilet facilities have also broken down.

The environment outside the football pitch had overgrown weeds covering most of the landscape.

Ahead of the Greater Accra Regional Parade of Ghana’s 66th Independence Day commemoration on Monday, the surrounding bushes have been cleared and burnt.

The Metropolitan Chief Executive of Tema, Yohane Amarh Ashitey, told the Daily Graphic that the Tema Metropolitan Assembly had to intervene to ensure that the facility was ready to host the rest of the region.

Officials of the NSA at the stadium declined to comment on the state of the facility when the Daily Graphic approached them.

Writer's email: benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh 

via:  https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-venue-for-greater-accra-independence-day-celebration-in-deplorable-state.html

 

Tema, Ghana's pride of well-planned industrial city (Daily Graphic, Friday, March 3, 2023)

 

Oldest, bulletproof police station at Prampram (Daily Graphic,Feb - 17 - 2023 Page 28 )

 Feb - 17 - 2023

Prampram Police Station, the oldest police facility in Ghana

Prampram is a fishing community in the Greater Accra Region. Located in the Ningo Prampram District, Prampram is home to a sprawling sandy beachfront and a holiday destination for revellers.

Apart from being a destination for tourists and holidaymakers. The community boasts a rich history.

One such history is the fact that the town is the home of the oldest police station in Ghana. Not only is the structure the oldest but it is also resistant to bullets (bulletproof).

The facility was originally built in 1814 by the Danes who were in the then Gold Coast, as the first prison in Ghana.

Operational

Located in Lakpleh in Lower Prampram, the structure is currently still operational and serves as a police station for the Prampram township.

During a visit to the community, the Daily Graphic learnt that with the except for the roof of the facility that had been changed, the walls and beams remained much the same since it was built.

A traditional ruler, Asafoatse Lartey Bantama IV, a member of the Prampram Traditional Council, told the Daily Graphic at a community clean-up exercise last Tuesday that Prampram, like many other coastal communities, boasted of a rich history and untapped tourist attractions.

He bemoaned the fact that successive political leaders had not given the needed attention to the development of Prampram and pledged that his office would do everything possible to develop the tourism potential of the town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/oldest-bulletproof-police-station-at-prampram.html

Asafoatse leads Larkpleh community clean-up exercise( Daily Graphic, Feb - 16 - 2023 Page 29)

 Feb - 16 - 2023

 

Community members desilting a drain during the clean-up exercise

Residents of the Larkpleh community in the Ningo-Prampram District of the Greater Accra Region last Tuesday came out in their numbers to participate in a clean-up exercise to rid the community of filth.

The exercise was organised by Asafoatse Lartey Bantama IV, a member of the Prampram Traditional Council, in collaboration with the Larkpleh Youth Association.

By 5 a.m., residents had started converging on the grounds around the Prampram Polyclinic to participate in the exercise which spanned 6 a.m. to 12 noon.It was led by Asafoatse Bantama and Nene Sorsey Quarshie VI, Chief Fisherman for the Lower Prampram Landing Beach.

Cleanliness

The effort, according to the organisers, was to rekindle the spirit of communal labour, while promoting hygienic living conditions.

The exercise was also aimed at promoting environmental cleanliness in the community, as well as sensitising residents to the need to change their attitude towards the environment.

Heaps of refuse that impeded the flow of liquid waste in the drains along the four-kilometre road from the Prampram Polyclinic to the Lower Prampram Landing Beach were cleared during the exercise.

Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service who participated in the clean-up exercise also flushed out the silt after the debris was removed.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic during the exercise, Asafoatse Bantama said the clean-up was to rejuvenate the sense of communal labour which had been abandoned by the residents.

Asafoatse Bantama commended the residents, especially the youth, fishermen and market women, for their enthusiastic support for the exercise, and urged them to maintain hygienic standards of living in their homes.

“There is a lot of filth in the Larkpleh community, but sadly our political leaders are watching and not doing anything about it. As a traditional leader, I decided to organise my community on a day like Valentine’s Day, which traditionally represents a day for showing gratitude to loved ones, to show love and impact on the environment,” he said.

Sustained

He indicated that the exercise would be sustained in the community through regular campaigns, as well as the establishment of a community taskforce, to keep the Larkpleh community clean.Asafoatse Bantama said Prampram could boast of interesting places that attracted tourists, hence keeping the environment clean was pivotal in driving that vision.

Nene Quarshie welcomed the initiative of the traditional ruler, and pledged the support of the fishermen and market women to keep the environment clean.

Writer’s email: Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh

via : https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/asafoatse-leads-larkpleh-community-clean-up-exercise.html

GH₵50m Narcotics destroyed (Daily Graphic Feb - 09 - 2023 Back Page)

Feb - 09 - 2023

 

 

• Kenneth Adu-Amanfoh (2nd from left), Director-General of NACOC, with representatives of the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States and the National Crime Agency of the United Kingdom, setting fire to the seized cannabis

 The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), on Wednesday destroyed narcotic substances estimated to be worth GH¢50 million at the Bundase Training Camp of the Ghana Armed Forces in the Greater Accra Region. This followed a court order that asked NACOC to burn the cannabis intercepted from drug peddlers. 

The latest seizures, estimated at 50 tonnes, were made between the years 2021 and 2023 in the Volta and Eastern regions. 

Destruction 

The destruction exercise was done in the presence of officials of the court, the Ghana Standard Authority (GSA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States, the United Kingdom National Crime Agency and Border Force, as well as the police, National Security, the military and the media. 

The materials were first tested to confirm if they were the actual drugs intercepted before they were set ablaze. The acting Director, Public Affairs and International Relations, NACOC, Francis Opoku Amoah, told journalists that the illegal cannabis was one of the biggest haul made by the commission in recent years. 

He explained that the destruction exercise was in accordance with the commission's law, Act 1019, which required NACOC to seize, investigate and prosecute perpetrators, as well as destroy seized narcotic drugs after following all legal procedures, including securing a destruction certificate.

 He said although it was illegal to use drugs, under Section 54 of Act 1019, NACOC was shifting from incarceration to making drugs use a public health issue to enable persons suffering from substance use disorders to receive the necessary counselling and treatment. 

Fund 

 Mr Amoah said the persons arrested and prosecuted for drug-related offences could be ordered by the court, upon assessment, to seek treatment or rehabilitation and social reintegration. He said the commission was mandated to set up a rehabilitation fund, which could enable the commission to build such centres across the country to take care of such persons as opposed to incarceration of offenders. 

He cautioned the public, particularly owners and drivers of commercial vehicles, not to allow themselves to be used as couriers by smugglers. "They must always be sure to check the content of consignments they intend to convey from one destination to another. 

Vehicle owners should also conduct background checks on their employees before handing over their vehicles to them to avoid having their vehicles seized," he said. 

writer's email: benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh

 

 

 https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/gh-50m-narcotics-destroyed.html

Fire guts wooden structures at "Cambodia" (Daily Graphic Feb - 09 - 2023 Page 40)

 Feb - 09 - 2023

Government urged to support private universities (Daily Graphic Feb - 09 - 2023 Page 28)

Feb - 09 - 2023

Jose Moses Michael (left), Overall Best Student, receiving his award from Ernest Ansah, founder of Data Link Institute of Business and Technology

 

The President of Data Link Institute of Business and Technology (DLIBT), Professor Stanley Saamoah Moffatt, has urged the government to consider all universities, both public and private, as a public good that must be supported in equal measure. 

 He stressed that private universities, just like their public counterparts, were key stakeholders in the delivery of quality education in the country. Prof Moffatt was addressing the 13th graduation ceremony of the DLIBT on Thursday, January 26, 2023 in Tema. 

A total of 235 students graduated in various courses such as Master of Science (MSc) Accounting, Strategic Management. Others completed courses in Bsc Computer Science, Information and Communications Technology, Business Administration as well as Advanced Diploma in Logistics and Transport. 

Awards 

Jose Moses Michael emerged the Overall Best as well as the best Male Student and best student in Computer Science, while Juliana Adu was adjudged the best student in Human Resource. Other award winners were Nixon Kweku Hamilton (Best Student MPhill Strategic Management), Ethel Adoma (Best Female Student, MSc Strategic Management), and Hope Smith Lomotey, Best Male Student. 

Enumerating some of the challenges facing private universities in the country, Prof Moffatt said private universities competed with the public universities in recruitment and retention of highly qualified faculty. 

He said salary increments for government workers made the compensation packages of public universities more attractive than what most private universities could afford. Prof Moffatt noted that the most debilitating challenge facing most private universities was inadequate funding. "DLIBT, like most private universities, rely almost entirely on internally generated funds for all its programmes and activities while most public universities receive funding from a variety of sources, including government agencies, not-for-profit organisations and business interests," he said 

According to him, that never-ending challenge was exacerbated by the tortuous processes of accreditation and affiliation which placed excessive financial pressure on the private universities. 

He called on the government not to deprive private universities of government interventions such as grants from the state, the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), the Scholarship Secretariat, research grants, as well as subsidies for infrastructure expansion. 

While commending the government for abolishing corporate tax, he said the state should further help by waiving all taxes on inputs required for teaching, learning and innovation in the private universities. 

National Development Plan 

Prof Moffatt reiterated the need for a National Development Plan which would serve as a guide for academic institutions to develop programmes and courses that would feed into the plan. 

"A national development plan, in a way, can guide the government to offer competitive contracts to both public and private universities to conduct research and other activities that are believed to be in the broader public interest." he said. 

 A former Dean of the University for Development Studies(UDS) Faculty of Integrated Development, Prof Paul Kwame Nkegbe, who spoke on the theme: “Turning economic crises into opportunities”, said despite facing numerous challenges, tertiary educational institutions had demonstrated an ability to adapt and innovate to meet the needs of their students and society.

 Writer’s email: Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh

 

 

 

https://www.graphic.com.gh/?view=article&id=179185:government-urged-to-support-private-universities&catid=270