Friday, November 30, 2012
DAILY GRAPHIC, Friday, November 30, 2012, Pg. 49. Corporate bodies urged to subscribe Junior Graphic for schools
Story: Mary Ankrah
THE Managing Director (MD) of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, has called on corporate bodies in the country to subscribe to the Junior Graphic newspaper for distribution to deprived schools across the country.
He said that would help the students of those deprived schools who could not afford the newspaper to read and learn from it and for teachers to use as a teaching material for pupils and students.
Mr Ashigbey made the call when some executives of Glico Company paid a courtesy call on him at his office in Accra.
The visit by the Glico executives was to show appreciation to Graphic for its immense contribution towards the success of Glico for the past 25 years.
Accompanying the MD of Glico Life, Mr Edward Forkuo Kyei, were Mrs Vera Haizel-Cobbina, the Head of Technical; Mr Stephen Batu, Marketing and Business Development Manager, and Nana Efua Rockson, Corporate Affairs Manager.
Mr Ashigbey observed that most schools in the country were willing to get the Junior Graphic but could not afford it and, therefore, urged corporate bodies to choose deprived schools which they would be able buy the newspaper for, so that Graphic could distribute the Junior Graphic to those schools.
He stressed that it was imperative to empower the young generation because there were many challenges most of them faced in school, including the non-availability of textbooks and teachers, among others.
“Nobody is going to develop the country for us and so whatever way we can support the country, we should do so,” he advised.
Mr Kyei said as part of GLICO’s 25th anniversary, it had dedicated November to show appreciation to its cherished customers.
The celebration is on the theme: “25 Years together in Business: Our customers, our focus”.
DAILY GRAPHIC, Friday, November 30, 2012. Front pg. & pg. 3. Two children burnt to death — In fire outbreak at Old Fadama
Story & Picture: Mary Ankrah
TWO children were burnt to death when fire gutted some wooden structures at Old Fadama in Accra on Wednesday night.
Emmanuel Kofi, 12, and Kofi Owusu, eight, died when a structure in which they were sleeping was razed down by the fire.
The two children are said to have cried for help but the fire was so intense that no one could enter their room to save them.
Their bodies have since been deposited at the Korle-Bu mortuary for autopsy.
The fire, which began around 9:30 p.m., destroyed 20 wooden structures, some of which were one-storey buildings, cash and the personal belongings of occupants.
A bread seller, Adjoa Mercy, claimed she survived the fire only because she was thrown down from the top floor of the one-storey structure by her landlord.
She said she was awoken from her sleep by the continuous shouts of her name and looked perplexed upon seeing the structure in flames.
She said the landlord, who was close by, threw her off the structure to the ground.
The James Town District Crime Officer, DSP Alex Asamoa-Frimpong, confirmed the incident to the Daily Graphic.
He said before personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service could get to the scene, all the 20 structures had been destroyed.
TWO children were burnt to death when fire gutted some wooden structures at Old Fadama in Accra on Wednesday night.
Emmanuel Kofi, 12, and Kofi Owusu, eight, died when a structure in which they were sleeping was razed down by the fire.
The two children are said to have cried for help but the fire was so intense that no one could enter their room to save them.
Their bodies have since been deposited at the Korle-Bu mortuary for autopsy.
The fire, which began around 9:30 p.m., destroyed 20 wooden structures, some of which were one-storey buildings, cash and the personal belongings of occupants.
A bread seller, Adjoa Mercy, claimed she survived the fire only because she was thrown down from the top floor of the one-storey structure by her landlord.
She said she was awoken from her sleep by the continuous shouts of her name and looked perplexed upon seeing the structure in flames.
She said the landlord, who was close by, threw her off the structure to the ground.
The James Town District Crime Officer, DSP Alex Asamoa-Frimpong, confirmed the incident to the Daily Graphic.
He said before personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service could get to the scene, all the 20 structures had been destroyed.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
DAILY GRAPHIC, Thursday, November 29, 2012, Pg. 48. Establish fund to assist industries in need--- Asamoah
Story: Mary Ankrah
The management of Dannex Limited has underscored the need for the government to establish an industry fund to assist industries in times of need, especially during disasters such as fire outbreaks.
This follows the fire outbreak on the premises of the company, manufacturers and distributors of pharmaceutical products.
It said that would help industries to rebuild their businesses as well as enable them to stay in business to improve the economy.
The Managing Director of Dannex, Mr Yaw Opare Asamoah, made the observation when some executive members and other members of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) visited the company to express the association’s sympathy to them on the fire that gutted the factory and warehouse at the North Industrial Area last Wednesday, November 21, 2012.
The fire destroyed property and products, including heavy machines, all the company’s raw materials and some finished products worth millions of Ghana cedis.
Mr Asamoah observed that as a result of the fire, about 200 of its employees had to go home for a while, adding that the company was working hard to make sure that things were resolved quickly so that things would get back to shape.
He said the unaffected part of the factory would resume production to meet popular demands of its customers within the coming week. He added that the factory will would return to full-scale production after the on-going investigation by the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) is completed.
“We assure our customers and the general public that we do not want to disappoint them and so we are working hard to meet their demands,” he said.
The Board Chairman of the company, Mr Nik Amarteifio, expressed the company’s gratitude to the GNFS for their swift response and to the members of the local community for their support during the unfortunate incident.
“In the midst of the difficulties, we thank God. At least we’ve got something to save,” he opined.
The Accra Regional Chairman of AGI, Mr Humphrey Ayim-Darke, pledged the association’s support and solidarity for the company and assured Dannex’s management that the association was ready to offer any assistance for Dannex to get back to full business.
He encourages the employees to support and appreciate the difficulties that the company was going through and in unity help to restore back the company to where it was previously.
Dannex Limited is a wholly owned private limited liability company. It was established in May 1964 for the manufacture and distribution of pharmaceutical products. Its wide range of products includes the Durol range of products, Danacin, ORS, Koffex, PMF and Gluco-Naf.
The management of Dannex Limited has underscored the need for the government to establish an industry fund to assist industries in times of need, especially during disasters such as fire outbreaks.
This follows the fire outbreak on the premises of the company, manufacturers and distributors of pharmaceutical products.
It said that would help industries to rebuild their businesses as well as enable them to stay in business to improve the economy.
The Managing Director of Dannex, Mr Yaw Opare Asamoah, made the observation when some executive members and other members of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) visited the company to express the association’s sympathy to them on the fire that gutted the factory and warehouse at the North Industrial Area last Wednesday, November 21, 2012.
The fire destroyed property and products, including heavy machines, all the company’s raw materials and some finished products worth millions of Ghana cedis.
Mr Asamoah observed that as a result of the fire, about 200 of its employees had to go home for a while, adding that the company was working hard to make sure that things were resolved quickly so that things would get back to shape.
He said the unaffected part of the factory would resume production to meet popular demands of its customers within the coming week. He added that the factory will would return to full-scale production after the on-going investigation by the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) is completed.
“We assure our customers and the general public that we do not want to disappoint them and so we are working hard to meet their demands,” he said.
The Board Chairman of the company, Mr Nik Amarteifio, expressed the company’s gratitude to the GNFS for their swift response and to the members of the local community for their support during the unfortunate incident.
“In the midst of the difficulties, we thank God. At least we’ve got something to save,” he opined.
The Accra Regional Chairman of AGI, Mr Humphrey Ayim-Darke, pledged the association’s support and solidarity for the company and assured Dannex’s management that the association was ready to offer any assistance for Dannex to get back to full business.
He encourages the employees to support and appreciate the difficulties that the company was going through and in unity help to restore back the company to where it was previously.
Dannex Limited is a wholly owned private limited liability company. It was established in May 1964 for the manufacture and distribution of pharmaceutical products. Its wide range of products includes the Durol range of products, Danacin, ORS, Koffex, PMF and Gluco-Naf.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
DAILY GRAPHIC, Wednesday, November 28, 2012. Pg. 20 Improve quality and accessibility of health service-In poor communities
Story: Mary Ankrah
THE World Vision Ghana (WVG), has appealed to the government to improve the quality and accessibility of health services with particular focus on poor communities in the country.
That, it said could be done by prioritising equitable access to health service on the agenda of district health management teams; addressing the human resource gaps in rural health facilities including improving incentive packages to attract personnel; prioritising proven interventions to improve nutrition in the national health and development agenda and making them available to children and mothers, as well as increase funding for essential drugs, among others.
Mr Charles Hubert, the National Director of WVG, child-focused organisation, made the appeal at a press conference to commemorate the celebration of the Day of the Child.
The event marked a global week of action campaign organised by the organisation on the theme “Child health Now”,.
The global week of action is to enable WVG stress on the need for the government to focus more on family and community health in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 1, 4, 5, and 6, that respectively relate to ending poverty,, reducing child mortality, improving maternal mortality and combating HIV, malaria and other diseases.
As part of the campaign, the organisation created awareness on the need to reduce mortality among children under five and mothers.
While stressing on the need for the government to increase the capacity of communities to take critical actions to promote and protect the health of children, women and the vulnerable, Mr Hubert recommended that government should intensify public education for families and communities on good nutrition and health practices to improve healthcare.
“It is important that the government also support community monitoring systems to identify signs of faltering growth in children under five and support care givers to implement correct actions”, he added.
On child and maternal mortality, Mr Hubert indicated that Ghana had made slow progress in improving child and maternal health since many mothers and children keep dying from preventable causes such as neonatal causes, pneumonia, malaria and diarrhoea.
He said statistics showed that only half of children with suspected pneumonia were taken to appropriate healthcare centres and less than 25 per cent received antibiotics while fewer than half children under five with diarrhoea received oral rehydration and continued feeding.
According to him, the major causes of maternal deaths in the country are haemorrhage and hypertension, stressing that it is important for families to plan for a healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies which could greatly improve child and maternal health in the country.
He, however, noted that the trend of women accessing family planning services had decreased from 34 per cent in 2003 to 24 per cent in 2010 and immunisation rate for major childhood diseases in the country had relatively gone high.
Mr Hubert therefore stressed that further efforts ought to be made to protect all children, particularly the marginalised ones and urged the government to increase its national budget on health to 15 per cent as pledged in the Abuja declaration.
The Vice-Chairperson of the Advisory Council of WVG Dr Adelaide Karstner, called on cooperate bodies and other organisations to help complement the government effort by helping to reduce death among children under five.
THE World Vision Ghana (WVG), has appealed to the government to improve the quality and accessibility of health services with particular focus on poor communities in the country.
That, it said could be done by prioritising equitable access to health service on the agenda of district health management teams; addressing the human resource gaps in rural health facilities including improving incentive packages to attract personnel; prioritising proven interventions to improve nutrition in the national health and development agenda and making them available to children and mothers, as well as increase funding for essential drugs, among others.
Mr Charles Hubert, the National Director of WVG, child-focused organisation, made the appeal at a press conference to commemorate the celebration of the Day of the Child.
The event marked a global week of action campaign organised by the organisation on the theme “Child health Now”,.
The global week of action is to enable WVG stress on the need for the government to focus more on family and community health in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 1, 4, 5, and 6, that respectively relate to ending poverty,, reducing child mortality, improving maternal mortality and combating HIV, malaria and other diseases.
As part of the campaign, the organisation created awareness on the need to reduce mortality among children under five and mothers.
While stressing on the need for the government to increase the capacity of communities to take critical actions to promote and protect the health of children, women and the vulnerable, Mr Hubert recommended that government should intensify public education for families and communities on good nutrition and health practices to improve healthcare.
“It is important that the government also support community monitoring systems to identify signs of faltering growth in children under five and support care givers to implement correct actions”, he added.
On child and maternal mortality, Mr Hubert indicated that Ghana had made slow progress in improving child and maternal health since many mothers and children keep dying from preventable causes such as neonatal causes, pneumonia, malaria and diarrhoea.
He said statistics showed that only half of children with suspected pneumonia were taken to appropriate healthcare centres and less than 25 per cent received antibiotics while fewer than half children under five with diarrhoea received oral rehydration and continued feeding.
According to him, the major causes of maternal deaths in the country are haemorrhage and hypertension, stressing that it is important for families to plan for a healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies which could greatly improve child and maternal health in the country.
He, however, noted that the trend of women accessing family planning services had decreased from 34 per cent in 2003 to 24 per cent in 2010 and immunisation rate for major childhood diseases in the country had relatively gone high.
Mr Hubert therefore stressed that further efforts ought to be made to protect all children, particularly the marginalised ones and urged the government to increase its national budget on health to 15 per cent as pledged in the Abuja declaration.
The Vice-Chairperson of the Advisory Council of WVG Dr Adelaide Karstner, called on cooperate bodies and other organisations to help complement the government effort by helping to reduce death among children under five.
Friday, November 23, 2012
DAILY GRAPHIC, Friday, November 23, 2012, Back page. GNFS personnel acquire sill in rescue operations
Story: Mary Ankrah
PERSONNEL of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) in 12 district stations in Accra have embarked on a three-day fire fighting and rescue exercise to sharpen their skills.
Code named: “FIREX 2012,” the exercise afforded the GNFS personnel the opportunity to operate newly acquired and complex fire equipment.
The district stations which participated in the exercise were the Accra City, Industrial Area, Dansoman, Weija, Legon, Castle and Trade Fair site.
The rest were Madina, Ledzokuku Krowor, Korle-Bu, Adentan and Amasaman.
Competitors took part in breathing apparatus donning and start up, and rescue by ladder climbing from the first floor of a storey building at the first phase.
In the quarter finals, they drew water from a pool to fight fire and at the semi-finals, the fire stations which qualified were Accra City, Castle, Dansoman, Amasaman and Madina, were tasked to fight oil (petrol and diesel) fire with foam concentrates.
At the end, the three winners who performed most creditably in the exercise received trophies, cash and certificates. The Amasaman fire station emerged the overall winner, Accra City was adjudged the first runner up and Dansoman emerged the second runner up.
All the 12 competing fire stations also received certificates of participation.
In an address, the Accra Regional Commander of the GNFS, Mr Kwame Kwarteng, in a speech read on his behalf by the Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Mr Patrick Donkor, said that the mission of the GNFS was to provide an efficient fire and rescue service to meet the statutory requirements in Act 537 of the constitution and public expectations.
PERSONNEL of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) in 12 district stations in Accra have embarked on a three-day fire fighting and rescue exercise to sharpen their skills.
Code named: “FIREX 2012,” the exercise afforded the GNFS personnel the opportunity to operate newly acquired and complex fire equipment.
The district stations which participated in the exercise were the Accra City, Industrial Area, Dansoman, Weija, Legon, Castle and Trade Fair site.
The rest were Madina, Ledzokuku Krowor, Korle-Bu, Adentan and Amasaman.
Competitors took part in breathing apparatus donning and start up, and rescue by ladder climbing from the first floor of a storey building at the first phase.
In the quarter finals, they drew water from a pool to fight fire and at the semi-finals, the fire stations which qualified were Accra City, Castle, Dansoman, Amasaman and Madina, were tasked to fight oil (petrol and diesel) fire with foam concentrates.
At the end, the three winners who performed most creditably in the exercise received trophies, cash and certificates. The Amasaman fire station emerged the overall winner, Accra City was adjudged the first runner up and Dansoman emerged the second runner up.
All the 12 competing fire stations also received certificates of participation.
In an address, the Accra Regional Commander of the GNFS, Mr Kwame Kwarteng, in a speech read on his behalf by the Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Mr Patrick Donkor, said that the mission of the GNFS was to provide an efficient fire and rescue service to meet the statutory requirements in Act 537 of the constitution and public expectations.
DAILY GRAPHIC, Friday, November 23, 2012, Front Pg & 49. Govt distribute 100, 000 laptops
Story: Mary Ankrah
ONE hundred thousand laptops were yesterday distributed to individuals and students across the country under the “Better Ghana Laptop Project”.
Beneficiaries included students from the various institutions of higher learning, including nursing training colleges, polytechnics and universities, in the 10 regions of the country.
The move, which is a partnership programme between the government and rlg Communications Limited, forms part of the government’s commitment to build a better Ghana through science and technology, research and innovation.
Speaking at the ceremony to hand over the laptops to the beneficiaries, President John Dramani Mahama underscored the need to promote research, teaching and learning which underlined the government’s decision to undertake both the basic school computerisation project and the Better Ghana Laptop Project.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to place the highest premium on quality and access to education delivery.
“The government is compelled to comply with the constitutional mandate enjoining us to make education not only of the highest quality but progressively free,” he said.
According to him, the continuous desire of the government to reverse the school under trees phenomenon would align ongoing projects to deliver 100,000 laptops to basic and second-cycle schools, teacher and nursing training colleges, polytechnics and universities to promote teaching, learning and research under the better Ghana agenda.
He said the government’s existing project to supply 60,000 laptops to basic schools nationwide was almost completed, adding that a child in the remotest part of the country could now feel, touch and use a computer.
He gave an assurance that all students and educational institutions in the country would benefit from the laptop distribution programme and urged beneficiaries to take good care of the equipment and put it to uses that would benefit them, their schools, families and communities.
In addition, President Mahama announced that the government would, from next year, commence a special project to train 50,000 teachers in ICT uses and applications to facilitate ICT teaching and learning in public basic and high schools.
On the training of persons with disability (PWDs) in ICT, he observed that the government saw the need to equip PWDs with the requisite ICT skills and knowledge, with the sole aim of making them economically productive.
Alongside the distribution of the laptops at the ceremony, 5,000 PWDs across the country graduated after taking part in the first phase of the training project in software, hardware, entrepreneurship, repair and assembling of computers.
The figure represents 2,500 PWDs from each of the southern and northern sectors of the country.
Out of the number, 2,500 will be attached to schools where locally assembled laptops were being used to teach and repair the computers.
The rest, Mr Mahama said, would be absorbed directly by the private sector under an arrangement between the government and some private sector institutions.
While urging Ghanaians to work at eliminating the exclusion of PWDs from all activities, he said there were ongoing discussions to ensure strict compliance with the Disability Act by all state and private actors.
The Chief Executive Officer of rlg Communications, Mr Roland Agambire, said the success of the project had necessitated the need to expand facilities at the company’s assembly plant at Osu in Accra, adding that plans were underway to construct a second assembly and fabrication plant by the end of the year.
ONE hundred thousand laptops were yesterday distributed to individuals and students across the country under the “Better Ghana Laptop Project”.
Beneficiaries included students from the various institutions of higher learning, including nursing training colleges, polytechnics and universities, in the 10 regions of the country.
The move, which is a partnership programme between the government and rlg Communications Limited, forms part of the government’s commitment to build a better Ghana through science and technology, research and innovation.
Speaking at the ceremony to hand over the laptops to the beneficiaries, President John Dramani Mahama underscored the need to promote research, teaching and learning which underlined the government’s decision to undertake both the basic school computerisation project and the Better Ghana Laptop Project.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to place the highest premium on quality and access to education delivery.
“The government is compelled to comply with the constitutional mandate enjoining us to make education not only of the highest quality but progressively free,” he said.
According to him, the continuous desire of the government to reverse the school under trees phenomenon would align ongoing projects to deliver 100,000 laptops to basic and second-cycle schools, teacher and nursing training colleges, polytechnics and universities to promote teaching, learning and research under the better Ghana agenda.
He said the government’s existing project to supply 60,000 laptops to basic schools nationwide was almost completed, adding that a child in the remotest part of the country could now feel, touch and use a computer.
He gave an assurance that all students and educational institutions in the country would benefit from the laptop distribution programme and urged beneficiaries to take good care of the equipment and put it to uses that would benefit them, their schools, families and communities.
In addition, President Mahama announced that the government would, from next year, commence a special project to train 50,000 teachers in ICT uses and applications to facilitate ICT teaching and learning in public basic and high schools.
On the training of persons with disability (PWDs) in ICT, he observed that the government saw the need to equip PWDs with the requisite ICT skills and knowledge, with the sole aim of making them economically productive.
Alongside the distribution of the laptops at the ceremony, 5,000 PWDs across the country graduated after taking part in the first phase of the training project in software, hardware, entrepreneurship, repair and assembling of computers.
The figure represents 2,500 PWDs from each of the southern and northern sectors of the country.
Out of the number, 2,500 will be attached to schools where locally assembled laptops were being used to teach and repair the computers.
The rest, Mr Mahama said, would be absorbed directly by the private sector under an arrangement between the government and some private sector institutions.
While urging Ghanaians to work at eliminating the exclusion of PWDs from all activities, he said there were ongoing discussions to ensure strict compliance with the Disability Act by all state and private actors.
The Chief Executive Officer of rlg Communications, Mr Roland Agambire, said the success of the project had necessitated the need to expand facilities at the company’s assembly plant at Osu in Accra, adding that plans were underway to construct a second assembly and fabrication plant by the end of the year.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
DAILY GRAPHIC, Thursday, November 22, 2012, Centre Spread, pg. Fire guts warehouse, production of Dannex Ltd
Story: Mary Ankrah
Fire on Wednesday afternoon gutted the factory and warehouse of Dannex Limited, dealers and manufacturers of pharmaceutical and medical products in the country.
The fire, which began about 12:15 p.m., left in its trail massive destruction of property and products worth millions of Ghana cedis.
Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) deployed four fire tenders, one turn-table ladder and two water tankers to bring the fire under control in an hour and a half.
There was a huge traffic congestion on the North Industrial Area road, where the company is sited, resulting in drivers and other road users inhaling the smoke emanating from the fire.
Workers of the company managed to retrieve some of its items, including movable equipment and bags of packaged products.
The Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, Divisional Officer Prince Billy Anaglate, said but for the timely intervention by the service, the fire could have caused greater damage.
He indicated that because the packed products in the warehouse were not segregated and there were no spaces among them, it was difficult fighting the fire.
The Managing Director of Dannex, Mr Yaw Opare Asamoah, told the Daily Graphic that the workers of the company were at their various workplaces when the incident occurred.
He said he was in the office when the Head of Human Resource informed him that there was a fire outbreak at the warehouse and the production site.
“I then quickly called the GNFS for assistance,” he said.
In a related development, more than 30 tenants occupying wooden and metal structures at Cosmos, near the Abeka Lapaz new market, were rendered homeless following a fire outbreak that engulfed their structures on Tuesday night.
The fire, which started around 7:45 p.m., destroyed property worth thousands of Ghana cedis, including household items such as refrigerators, television sets, sound systems, mattresses, clothing and cooking utensils.
When the Daily Graphic visited the scene of the fire outbreak on Wednesday morning, the area had been barricaded.
Some of the victims were, however, seen scavenging through the rubble to salvage what remained of their destroyed items. Others were seen still brooding over their lost items.
Some of the victims who were at home when the incident occurred attributed the cause to erratic electricity supply, saying that immediately power was restored, there were sparks of fire in one of the structures which eventually spread.
Fire on Wednesday afternoon gutted the factory and warehouse of Dannex Limited, dealers and manufacturers of pharmaceutical and medical products in the country.
The fire, which began about 12:15 p.m., left in its trail massive destruction of property and products worth millions of Ghana cedis.
Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) deployed four fire tenders, one turn-table ladder and two water tankers to bring the fire under control in an hour and a half.
There was a huge traffic congestion on the North Industrial Area road, where the company is sited, resulting in drivers and other road users inhaling the smoke emanating from the fire.
Workers of the company managed to retrieve some of its items, including movable equipment and bags of packaged products.
The Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, Divisional Officer Prince Billy Anaglate, said but for the timely intervention by the service, the fire could have caused greater damage.
He indicated that because the packed products in the warehouse were not segregated and there were no spaces among them, it was difficult fighting the fire.
The Managing Director of Dannex, Mr Yaw Opare Asamoah, told the Daily Graphic that the workers of the company were at their various workplaces when the incident occurred.
He said he was in the office when the Head of Human Resource informed him that there was a fire outbreak at the warehouse and the production site.
“I then quickly called the GNFS for assistance,” he said.
The fire, which started around 7:45 p.m., destroyed property worth thousands of Ghana cedis, including household items such as refrigerators, television sets, sound systems, mattresses, clothing and cooking utensils.
When the Daily Graphic visited the scene of the fire outbreak on Wednesday morning, the area had been barricaded.
Some of the victims were, however, seen scavenging through the rubble to salvage what remained of their destroyed items. Others were seen still brooding over their lost items.
Some of the victims who were at home when the incident occurred attributed the cause to erratic electricity supply, saying that immediately power was restored, there were sparks of fire in one of the structures which eventually spread.
DAILY GRAPHIC, Thursday, November 22, 2012. Center Spread, pg. Fire guts warehouse, production of Dannex Ltd
Story: Mary Ankrah
Fire on Wednesday afternoon gutted the factory and warehouse of Dannex Limited, dealers and manufacturers of pharmaceutical and medical products in the country.
The fire, which began about 12:15 p.m., left in its trail massive destruction of property and products worth millions of Ghana cedis.
Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) deployed four fire tenders, one turn-table ladder and two water tankers to bring the fire under control in an hour and a half.
There was a huge traffic congestion on the North Industrial Area road, where the company is sited, resulting in drivers and other road users inhaling the smoke emanating from the fire.
Workers of the company managed to retrieve some of its items, including movable equipment and bags of packaged products.
The Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, Divisional Officer Prince Billy Anaglate, said but for the timely intervention by the service, the fire could have caused greater damage.
He indicated that because the packed products in the warehouse were not segregated and there were no spaces among them, it was difficult fighting the fire.
The Managing Director of Dannex, Mr Yaw Opare Asamoah, told the Daily Graphic that the workers of the company were at their various workplaces when the incident occurred.
He said he was in the office when the Head of Human Resource informed him that there was a fire outbreak at the warehouse and the production site.
“I then quickly called the GNFS for assistance,” he said.
In a related development, more than 30 tenants occupying wooden and metal structures at Cosmos, near the Abeka Lapaz new market, were rendered homeless following a fire outbreak that engulfed their structures on Tuesday night.
The fire, which started around 7:45 p.m., destroyed property worth thousands of Ghana cedis, including household items such as refrigerators, television sets, sound systems, mattresses, clothing and cooking utensils.
When the Daily Graphic visited the scene of the fire outbreak on Wednesday morning, the area had been barricaded.
Some of the victims were, however, seen scavenging through the rubble to salvage what remained of their destroyed items. Others were seen still brooding over their lost items.
Some of the victims who were at home when the incident occurred attributed the cause to erratic electricity supply, saying that immediately power was restored, there were sparks of fire in one of the structures which eventually spread.
Fire on Wednesday afternoon gutted the factory and warehouse of Dannex Limited, dealers and manufacturers of pharmaceutical and medical products in the country.
The fire, which began about 12:15 p.m., left in its trail massive destruction of property and products worth millions of Ghana cedis.
Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) deployed four fire tenders, one turn-table ladder and two water tankers to bring the fire under control in an hour and a half.
There was a huge traffic congestion on the North Industrial Area road, where the company is sited, resulting in drivers and other road users inhaling the smoke emanating from the fire.
Workers of the company managed to retrieve some of its items, including movable equipment and bags of packaged products.
The Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, Divisional Officer Prince Billy Anaglate, said but for the timely intervention by the service, the fire could have caused greater damage.
He indicated that because the packed products in the warehouse were not segregated and there were no spaces among them, it was difficult fighting the fire.
The Managing Director of Dannex, Mr Yaw Opare Asamoah, told the Daily Graphic that the workers of the company were at their various workplaces when the incident occurred.
He said he was in the office when the Head of Human Resource informed him that there was a fire outbreak at the warehouse and the production site.
“I then quickly called the GNFS for assistance,” he said.
In a related development, more than 30 tenants occupying wooden and metal structures at Cosmos, near the Abeka Lapaz new market, were rendered homeless following a fire outbreak that engulfed their structures on Tuesday night.
The fire, which started around 7:45 p.m., destroyed property worth thousands of Ghana cedis, including household items such as refrigerators, television sets, sound systems, mattresses, clothing and cooking utensils.
When the Daily Graphic visited the scene of the fire outbreak on Wednesday morning, the area had been barricaded.
Some of the victims were, however, seen scavenging through the rubble to salvage what remained of their destroyed items. Others were seen still brooding over their lost items.
Some of the victims who were at home when the incident occurred attributed the cause to erratic electricity supply, saying that immediately power was restored, there were sparks of fire in one of the structures which eventually spread.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
DAILY GRAPHIC, Wednesday, November 21, 2012, back page.Govt to build 3 blood transfusion centres
Story: Mary Ankrah
THREE blood transfusion centres are to be constructed in the country to render quality service and reach out to the population.
The facilities will be built in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Robert Joseph Mettle-Nunoo, made this known at the commemoration of the 12th National Blood Donors Day and launch of the 2013 blood donation campaign in Accra.
It was on the theme: “Every blood donor is a hero”.
According to Mr Mettle-Nunoo, the blood transfusion centres would be constructed under phase III of the Ministry of Health (MoH) health services rehabilitation project.
He bemoaned the low patronage of blood donation exercises and indicated that majority of donors were family relations who had to donate to support their ailing relatives.
As a result of inadequate supply of blood and blood products in the country, he said, many people continued to die from pregnancy-related complications, road accidents, life-threatening anaemia and trauma.
He, therefore, underscored the need for all Ghanaians to regularly donate blood to save more lives and avoid needless deaths, adding that if one per cent of the population could make it their civic responsibility to donate at least twice in a year, the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) could collect adequate blood to meet the national requirement of 250,000 units per year.
The NBTS has a target of achieving 100 per cent voluntary non-remunerated blood donation by 2017 to make safe, adequate, affordable and efficacious blood and blood products accessible to all patients who may need them.
Mr Mettle-Nunoo also urged Ghanaians to find out what their blood groups were, so that in times of emergency they could be assisted on time.
Speaking at the event, the Director of the NBTS, Mrs Justina Kordai Ansah, commended all educational institutions, religious organisations, corporate bodies, community groups, individuals and various clubs for their immense role and contribution to the blood drive to save lives through blood donation.
“By choosing to donate blood without getting paid, you have committed a heroic act, a gesture of human solidarity with the power to save lives,” she added.
Mrs Ansah explained that the launch of the 2013 blood donation campaign was aimed at mobilising adequate safe blood for processing into blood components for all patients at the hospitals and clinics who might require blood transfusion, especially during the Christmas season.
THREE blood transfusion centres are to be constructed in the country to render quality service and reach out to the population.
The facilities will be built in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Robert Joseph Mettle-Nunoo, made this known at the commemoration of the 12th National Blood Donors Day and launch of the 2013 blood donation campaign in Accra.
It was on the theme: “Every blood donor is a hero”.
According to Mr Mettle-Nunoo, the blood transfusion centres would be constructed under phase III of the Ministry of Health (MoH) health services rehabilitation project.
He bemoaned the low patronage of blood donation exercises and indicated that majority of donors were family relations who had to donate to support their ailing relatives.
As a result of inadequate supply of blood and blood products in the country, he said, many people continued to die from pregnancy-related complications, road accidents, life-threatening anaemia and trauma.
He, therefore, underscored the need for all Ghanaians to regularly donate blood to save more lives and avoid needless deaths, adding that if one per cent of the population could make it their civic responsibility to donate at least twice in a year, the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) could collect adequate blood to meet the national requirement of 250,000 units per year.
The NBTS has a target of achieving 100 per cent voluntary non-remunerated blood donation by 2017 to make safe, adequate, affordable and efficacious blood and blood products accessible to all patients who may need them.
Mr Mettle-Nunoo also urged Ghanaians to find out what their blood groups were, so that in times of emergency they could be assisted on time.
Speaking at the event, the Director of the NBTS, Mrs Justina Kordai Ansah, commended all educational institutions, religious organisations, corporate bodies, community groups, individuals and various clubs for their immense role and contribution to the blood drive to save lives through blood donation.
“By choosing to donate blood without getting paid, you have committed a heroic act, a gesture of human solidarity with the power to save lives,” she added.
Mrs Ansah explained that the launch of the 2013 blood donation campaign was aimed at mobilising adequate safe blood for processing into blood components for all patients at the hospitals and clinics who might require blood transfusion, especially during the Christmas season.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
DAILY GRAPHIC, Saturday, November 17, 2012, Pg.
Story: Mary Ankrah
Four hundred and forty-three recruits of the Ghana Prisons Service (GPS) passed out in Accra yesterday.
Of the number, 258 are men and 185 women.
The figure brings to 1,500 new personnel recruited into the service this year to enhance the staff strength and operational capacity of the service.
The Deputy Director-General in charge of Operations of the GPS, Mr Benjamin Quaye, said the service was reviewing its programmes to effectively reform and rehabilitate prisoners, particularly the youth, with education and skills training, as well as offer the inmates opportunities for self-improvement.
That way, he said, prisoners would be able to live meaningful and self-supporting lives after their discharge.
Mr Quaye was, however, unhappy that ex-convicts continued to face rejection and stigmatisation from their families, friends and the public after their release.
“This unfortunate situation rather worsens the already broken self-worth of ex-convicts and adversely affects the process of reintegration,” he said.
According to him, as a result of that unfortunate situation, there was a continuous cycle of re-offending among ex-convicts, a development which posed a threat to the safety of society.
Mr Quaye, therefore, advised Ghanaians to change their perception and attitude towards prison systems and prisoners, stating, “After all, imprisonment must not mean an end to what life can offer.”
Special awards were presented to four recruits, with Recruit Officer (RO) Alfred Ablade Okasa-Ashong taking the overall best recruit award, RO Faizal Assani, the best recruit in drills, RO Besam Philemon Bekyaatuur, the Commandant’s award and RO Isaac Barnabas Amuesi, the best in academics.
Four hundred and forty-three recruits of the Ghana Prisons Service (GPS) passed out in Accra yesterday.
Of the number, 258 are men and 185 women.
The figure brings to 1,500 new personnel recruited into the service this year to enhance the staff strength and operational capacity of the service.
The Deputy Director-General in charge of Operations of the GPS, Mr Benjamin Quaye, said the service was reviewing its programmes to effectively reform and rehabilitate prisoners, particularly the youth, with education and skills training, as well as offer the inmates opportunities for self-improvement.
That way, he said, prisoners would be able to live meaningful and self-supporting lives after their discharge.
Mr Quaye was, however, unhappy that ex-convicts continued to face rejection and stigmatisation from their families, friends and the public after their release.
“This unfortunate situation rather worsens the already broken self-worth of ex-convicts and adversely affects the process of reintegration,” he said.
According to him, as a result of that unfortunate situation, there was a continuous cycle of re-offending among ex-convicts, a development which posed a threat to the safety of society.
Mr Quaye, therefore, advised Ghanaians to change their perception and attitude towards prison systems and prisoners, stating, “After all, imprisonment must not mean an end to what life can offer.”
Special awards were presented to four recruits, with Recruit Officer (RO) Alfred Ablade Okasa-Ashong taking the overall best recruit award, RO Faizal Assani, the best recruit in drills, RO Besam Philemon Bekyaatuur, the Commandant’s award and RO Isaac Barnabas Amuesi, the best in academics.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
DAILY GRAPHIC, November 10, 2012, Back page. ‘Equip fire service for emergency situations’
Story: Mary Ankrah
Following the collapse of the Melcom Shopping Centre at Achimota in Accra, a senior official of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has underscored the need for the state to equip the service to deal with emergency situations in future.
He said although the GNFS had the human resource and the expertise in disaster management, equipment to handle emergency situations was woefully inadequate.
The acting Public Relations Officer of GNFS, Divisional Officer III, Mr Ellis Robinson Okoe, made the suggestion in an interview with the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of the passing-out parade of 298 recruits in Accra yesterday.
According to him, the GNFS currently used manual equipment and needed more sophisticated and earthmoving devices to handle emergency situations, especially in the event of the collapse of buildings, earthquake and floods.
“If not for the timely intervention and benevolence of the private companies that volunteered their heavy equipment for the rescuing of the trapped victims in the Melcom disaster, it would have been more difficult to handle the situation because we lack those rescue devices,” he said.
In addition, Mr Okoe said in most disaster situations, the fire service depended on the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) for some equipment and assistance.
To handle similar disaster situations more efficiently in future, he appealed to the government to do its best to provide the GNFS rescue management with the necessary and modern technology devices to facilitate disaster rescue operations.
Earlier at the passing-out parade, the Deputy Minister for the Interior, Mr Kobby Owusu Acheampong, said the government would continue to provide the service with state-of-the art equipment and other logistics so as to make the work of firefighters much easier and less hazardous.
He also used the occasion to urge the recruits to be more diligent, vigilant, impartial and professional in the performance of their duties in the run-up to the December election.
As part of the ceremony, the GNFS inaugurated an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) laboratory to enhance the professionalism of its personnel.
Friday, November 9, 2012
DAILY GRAPHIC, Friday, November 9, 2012, Pg. 11. Women need more opportunities-For economic empowerment
Story: Mary Ankrah
THE Empretec Business Women Forum (EBWF), a gender advocacy group, has called on the government to create more opportunities to enhance women’s economic empowerment.
According to EBWF, there was the need for the government to offer women with purposeful opportunities for their advancement in the workplace, markets and communities in support of the national effort to build a healthy economy, strong society and sustainable environment.
The President of EBWF, Mrs Paully Appea-Kubi, made the call at an EBWF stakeholders meeting in Accra on Tuesday. The meeting was on the theme: “Gender Equality in the Business Environment: The Way Forward”.
The meeting brought stakeholders together to deliberate on the gaps that retard the growth of women’s businesses as well as sensitised them on the need for reforms geared towards women’s economic empowerment.
According to Mrs Appea-Kubi, women have always been the victims of gender discrimination and their traditional roles as child bearers and home keepers had kept them from being major decision-makers and contributing to political and economic matters as compared to men, stressing that women in business were mostly affected by various challenges that affected their businesses.
She asserted that countries that invest in promoting the social and economic status of women have lower poverty rates, adding that there was natural ability of women to transform families and communities from a state of poverty into a state of prosperity due to the multiple task they play in society.
She also stressed the need to mobilise businesswomen under one umbrella body for proper networking and to provide them with a united voice that will enable them to partner with the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC).
Mrs Appea-Kubi said that was necessary to enable them advocate for the resolution of gender issues relating to the business environment, such as inadequate resources for women, and to strengthen the gender desks in all the metropolitan and district assemblies.
The National Programme Coordinator of the United Nations Women, Mrs Afua Ansre, observed that opening opportunities to women in business in all sectors of society was strategic and would be good for equity growth and sustainability in the long-term.
She announced that during the Rio+20 Conference held in Brazil in June this year, emphasis was placed on the need to empower women in business and for that reason, world leaders, business and civil society organisations reached an agreement to advance the social, economic and environmental factors that relate to sustainable growth and development.
“When women are empowered to earn income, they would invest back into their families and communities. This would reduce hunger, poverty and malnutrition and improve on the standards of health, education and well-being of women”, she added.
She observed that despite the major role of women in agriculture in providing food, they do not enjoy equal access to productive inputs and that limited their output in the markets.
“If women were provided the same access as men to fertilisers, seeds and tools, national agricultural yields would rise between 2.5 and four per cent and there would be 100 to 150 million fewer hungry people in the world”, she said.
Mrs Ansre called for the removal of all barriers that limited women’s opportunity and participation in business including access to finance and new technology.
THE Empretec Business Women Forum (EBWF), a gender advocacy group, has called on the government to create more opportunities to enhance women’s economic empowerment.
According to EBWF, there was the need for the government to offer women with purposeful opportunities for their advancement in the workplace, markets and communities in support of the national effort to build a healthy economy, strong society and sustainable environment.
The President of EBWF, Mrs Paully Appea-Kubi, made the call at an EBWF stakeholders meeting in Accra on Tuesday. The meeting was on the theme: “Gender Equality in the Business Environment: The Way Forward”.
The meeting brought stakeholders together to deliberate on the gaps that retard the growth of women’s businesses as well as sensitised them on the need for reforms geared towards women’s economic empowerment.
According to Mrs Appea-Kubi, women have always been the victims of gender discrimination and their traditional roles as child bearers and home keepers had kept them from being major decision-makers and contributing to political and economic matters as compared to men, stressing that women in business were mostly affected by various challenges that affected their businesses.
She asserted that countries that invest in promoting the social and economic status of women have lower poverty rates, adding that there was natural ability of women to transform families and communities from a state of poverty into a state of prosperity due to the multiple task they play in society.
She also stressed the need to mobilise businesswomen under one umbrella body for proper networking and to provide them with a united voice that will enable them to partner with the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC).
Mrs Appea-Kubi said that was necessary to enable them advocate for the resolution of gender issues relating to the business environment, such as inadequate resources for women, and to strengthen the gender desks in all the metropolitan and district assemblies.
The National Programme Coordinator of the United Nations Women, Mrs Afua Ansre, observed that opening opportunities to women in business in all sectors of society was strategic and would be good for equity growth and sustainability in the long-term.
She announced that during the Rio+20 Conference held in Brazil in June this year, emphasis was placed on the need to empower women in business and for that reason, world leaders, business and civil society organisations reached an agreement to advance the social, economic and environmental factors that relate to sustainable growth and development.
“When women are empowered to earn income, they would invest back into their families and communities. This would reduce hunger, poverty and malnutrition and improve on the standards of health, education and well-being of women”, she added.
She observed that despite the major role of women in agriculture in providing food, they do not enjoy equal access to productive inputs and that limited their output in the markets.
“If women were provided the same access as men to fertilisers, seeds and tools, national agricultural yields would rise between 2.5 and four per cent and there would be 100 to 150 million fewer hungry people in the world”, she said.
Mrs Ansre called for the removal of all barriers that limited women’s opportunity and participation in business including access to finance and new technology.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
DAILY GRAPHIC, Thursday, November 8, 2012, Front page & Pg.
Story: Sebastian Syme, Esther Somuah, Dominic Moses Awiah & Mary Ankrah
THREE employees of the Achimota Melcom Shopping Complex have been confirmed dead while 52 others got trapped in a five-storey building after it collapsed in the early hours of yesterday resulting in the destruction of items worth millions of cedis.
The incident, which occurred about 9:45 am, attracted hundreds of people in and around Achimota and other surrounding areas and brought business activities to a complete halt when people abandoned their offices and stores to witness the tragic incident.
A combined emergency rescue team from the Ghana National Fire Service, the National Ambulance Service, the Ghana Police Service, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the National Sanitation Taskforce, the Ghana Armed Forces and other security agencies, as well other private rescue organisations, were at hand to provide rescue operations.
According to an eyewitness who gave his name as Bright Danquah, the building collapsed when the workers were holding their routine morning devotion.
The team employed the use of excavators, forklifts and other heavy equipment to create an opening to allow for ventilation for the victims buried under the rubble.
At the time of filing this report, 45 of the victims had been rescued and rushed to various hospitals.
According to the Director of the Ghana Ambulance Service, Dr Ahmed Zakaria, 13 were rushed to the 37 Military Hospital, while four, 28, and one were conveyed to the Korle-Bu Teaching, Achimota and the Police hospitals respectively.
He told newsmen that the service mobilised all its ambulances in the Greater Accra Region to the disaster area to ensure that victims were promptly taken to hospital.
The accident resulted in a heavy vehicular and human traffic on the Achimota-Ofankor road as drivers stopped to satisfy their curiosity.
What worsened the traffic situation was the decision by the police to cordon off various sections of the area to prevent people from invading the scene to add to the crowd the police had a hectic time controlling.
The team could not immediately rescue the trapped victims as a result of difficulties in having access to the scene. However, local residents of Achimota voluntarily embarked on a rescue mission and managed to get three victims out of the debris while the security agencies had a difficult time trying to restrain the hundreds of onlookers who had gathered at the accident scene.
Some relatives of the victims who were at the scene could not hold back their tears as they wailed in hopelessness, while others busily prayed for the lives of the victims.
Some of the victims trapped in the building were heard shouting and calling relatives on phone and vice versa calling for water as they could not bear the heat underground.
Sympathisers hurled insults and expressed disgust at the apparent shoddy work executed by the contractor of the building.
One of the survivors, Isaac Histowell, 30, told the Daily Graphic that he noticed a crack in one of the main pillars of the structure last Sunday when he was fixing a broken air conditioner.
‘’I reported the incident to my station manager who assured me that they would engage the mason to rectify the situation. A day after, I chanced upon another pillar which also had a similar crack. This time, the manager told me to leave it in the hands of God and that God will never allow anything evil to befall His children,’’ Mr Histowell narrated.
He said at around 9:36 am yesterday, he climbed the outer pillar of the building to fix a different air conditioner, adding that ‘’I heard boom, then a pillar hit my head’’.
The Chairman of the Melcom Group in Ghana, Mr Khubchandani Dhagwan, described the tragedy as very unfortunate and painful to the board, the management and staff of the company.
He said the company rented the building about 10 months ago believing and thinking that it was a solid structure as it had been advertised to be rented.
But as a responsible company, Mr Khubchandani said, it would not shy away from its responsibilities towards the deceased and the injured.
“We will stand by each one of them and their families,” he assured.
A government delegation led by President John Mahama and Vice-President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur in the company of the Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuye, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Hannah Tetteh, and other ministers of state visited the scene.
A delegation from the New Patriotic Party led by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the party’s running mate, and the flag bearer of the United Front Party (UFP) were also at the scene to commiserate with the victims.
THREE employees of the Achimota Melcom Shopping Complex have been confirmed dead while 52 others got trapped in a five-storey building after it collapsed in the early hours of yesterday resulting in the destruction of items worth millions of cedis.
The incident, which occurred about 9:45 am, attracted hundreds of people in and around Achimota and other surrounding areas and brought business activities to a complete halt when people abandoned their offices and stores to witness the tragic incident.
A combined emergency rescue team from the Ghana National Fire Service, the National Ambulance Service, the Ghana Police Service, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the National Sanitation Taskforce, the Ghana Armed Forces and other security agencies, as well other private rescue organisations, were at hand to provide rescue operations.
According to an eyewitness who gave his name as Bright Danquah, the building collapsed when the workers were holding their routine morning devotion.
The team employed the use of excavators, forklifts and other heavy equipment to create an opening to allow for ventilation for the victims buried under the rubble.
At the time of filing this report, 45 of the victims had been rescued and rushed to various hospitals.
According to the Director of the Ghana Ambulance Service, Dr Ahmed Zakaria, 13 were rushed to the 37 Military Hospital, while four, 28, and one were conveyed to the Korle-Bu Teaching, Achimota and the Police hospitals respectively.
He told newsmen that the service mobilised all its ambulances in the Greater Accra Region to the disaster area to ensure that victims were promptly taken to hospital.
The accident resulted in a heavy vehicular and human traffic on the Achimota-Ofankor road as drivers stopped to satisfy their curiosity.
What worsened the traffic situation was the decision by the police to cordon off various sections of the area to prevent people from invading the scene to add to the crowd the police had a hectic time controlling.
The team could not immediately rescue the trapped victims as a result of difficulties in having access to the scene. However, local residents of Achimota voluntarily embarked on a rescue mission and managed to get three victims out of the debris while the security agencies had a difficult time trying to restrain the hundreds of onlookers who had gathered at the accident scene.
Some relatives of the victims who were at the scene could not hold back their tears as they wailed in hopelessness, while others busily prayed for the lives of the victims.
Some of the victims trapped in the building were heard shouting and calling relatives on phone and vice versa calling for water as they could not bear the heat underground.
Sympathisers hurled insults and expressed disgust at the apparent shoddy work executed by the contractor of the building.
One of the survivors, Isaac Histowell, 30, told the Daily Graphic that he noticed a crack in one of the main pillars of the structure last Sunday when he was fixing a broken air conditioner.
‘’I reported the incident to my station manager who assured me that they would engage the mason to rectify the situation. A day after, I chanced upon another pillar which also had a similar crack. This time, the manager told me to leave it in the hands of God and that God will never allow anything evil to befall His children,’’ Mr Histowell narrated.
He said at around 9:36 am yesterday, he climbed the outer pillar of the building to fix a different air conditioner, adding that ‘’I heard boom, then a pillar hit my head’’.
The Chairman of the Melcom Group in Ghana, Mr Khubchandani Dhagwan, described the tragedy as very unfortunate and painful to the board, the management and staff of the company.
He said the company rented the building about 10 months ago believing and thinking that it was a solid structure as it had been advertised to be rented.
But as a responsible company, Mr Khubchandani said, it would not shy away from its responsibilities towards the deceased and the injured.
“We will stand by each one of them and their families,” he assured.
A government delegation led by President John Mahama and Vice-President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur in the company of the Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuye, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Hannah Tetteh, and other ministers of state visited the scene.
A delegation from the New Patriotic Party led by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the party’s running mate, and the flag bearer of the United Front Party (UFP) were also at the scene to commiserate with the victims.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
DAILY GRAPHIC, Wednesday, November 7, 2012, Pg. Danish companies seeks local partners
Story: Mary Ankrah
AS part of its Danida Business Partnership (DBP), the Danish Embassy seeks new business opportunities to assist local businesses in the country.
The move is to transfer the best of Danish technology, management and knowledge into the Ghanaian market to create employment as well as promote green growth through partnership between Danish and Ghanaian companies.
It is also intended to offer support to partners who have significant impact on development in poor communities during the preparatory and implementation phase of partnership at which Danida is expected to reimburse up to 75 per cent of cost of activities during the implementation phase and 50 per cent of five million Danish Kronner (DKK 5 million) in the preparatory phase.
In line with its West Africa Clean Energy and Environment (WACEE’12) project, the DBP would focus on the energy sector with particular emphasis on increasing the use of green technology, energy efficiency and protection of the environment.
Other sectors include housing, water and waste management, oil and gas, among other sectors of the economy.
Speaking at a meeting dubbed “Matchmaking event 2012, organised by the Danish Embassy in Accra on Monday, the Danish Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Carsten Nilanus Pederson, hinted that the focus on energy was because the country’s environment was under pressure with high deforestation and depleting biodiversity and added that poor waste management and galamsey activities had resulted in polluting most water bodies and agricultural lands under cultivation were dwindling due to rural-urban drift.
According to him, economic growth, coupled with population growth, has caused the demand for energy to soar and that had intensified the pressure on vital natural resources
To that end, he said there was the need to explore opportunities in energy generation and efficiency as well as water management to address energy and needs and environmental concerns in the country.
AS part of its Danida Business Partnership (DBP), the Danish Embassy seeks new business opportunities to assist local businesses in the country.
The move is to transfer the best of Danish technology, management and knowledge into the Ghanaian market to create employment as well as promote green growth through partnership between Danish and Ghanaian companies.
It is also intended to offer support to partners who have significant impact on development in poor communities during the preparatory and implementation phase of partnership at which Danida is expected to reimburse up to 75 per cent of cost of activities during the implementation phase and 50 per cent of five million Danish Kronner (DKK 5 million) in the preparatory phase.
In line with its West Africa Clean Energy and Environment (WACEE’12) project, the DBP would focus on the energy sector with particular emphasis on increasing the use of green technology, energy efficiency and protection of the environment.
Other sectors include housing, water and waste management, oil and gas, among other sectors of the economy.
Speaking at a meeting dubbed “Matchmaking event 2012, organised by the Danish Embassy in Accra on Monday, the Danish Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Carsten Nilanus Pederson, hinted that the focus on energy was because the country’s environment was under pressure with high deforestation and depleting biodiversity and added that poor waste management and galamsey activities had resulted in polluting most water bodies and agricultural lands under cultivation were dwindling due to rural-urban drift.
According to him, economic growth, coupled with population growth, has caused the demand for energy to soar and that had intensified the pressure on vital natural resources
To that end, he said there was the need to explore opportunities in energy generation and efficiency as well as water management to address energy and needs and environmental concerns in the country.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
DAILY GRAPHIC, Saturday, November 2, 2012, Pg.2. Brotherhood church holds conference
Story: Mary Ankrah, South Africa, Johannesburg
Courtesy: Brotherhood of the Cross and Star
THE Brotherhood of the Cross and Star (BCS) has held an international convention in South Africa with a call on all world leaders to recognise God as their ruler to facilitate total peace and unity in the world.
It also urged all and sundry to live in peace and practice righteousness so that the world would be a good and better place for all humanity to live.
His Holiness Olumba Olumba Obu, Chairman of the BCS Executive Council and Head of Administration, made the call at the grand finale at the convention.
The convention which was on the theme: “The Power and Glory of Abba Father” was marked with various activities including evangelism, courtesy visit to some political leaders in the country, humanitarian service, fasting and prayers, marriage blessing, the grand finale, and thanksgiving service.
It attracted members of the church from across the continent including Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Malawi, United Kingdom, and United State of America, among other countries to celebrate the power and glory of God on earth as well as mark the 20 years existence of BCS in South Africa.
His Holiness Obu indicated that irrespective of all the energies, huge resources, information and communication technologies (ICT) as well as various trainings in politics, economics, science and administration, governments of various countries have failed as they have refused to recognise the reign of God in their rulings.
He said various religions which ought to encourage people to have respect for the word of God have inadvertently lent their respect to unimportant thoughts, depriving many from realising the real essence of religion.
During a courtesy by Olumba Obu on the President of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), an opposition political party in South Africa, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, stressed the need for Christians to pray fervently to effect positive changes in the world.
“Prayer remains one of the greatest resources to effect change in this world,” he emphasised.
“Let us pray that God will turn hearts away from corrupt desires and change the minds of those who would engage in it. Let us pray for the restoration of integrity in leadership, and uphold the principles of honesty, transparency and accountability in all countries”, he appealed.
Courtesy: Brotherhood of the Cross and Star
THE Brotherhood of the Cross and Star (BCS) has held an international convention in South Africa with a call on all world leaders to recognise God as their ruler to facilitate total peace and unity in the world.
It also urged all and sundry to live in peace and practice righteousness so that the world would be a good and better place for all humanity to live.
His Holiness Olumba Olumba Obu, Chairman of the BCS Executive Council and Head of Administration, made the call at the grand finale at the convention.
The convention which was on the theme: “The Power and Glory of Abba Father” was marked with various activities including evangelism, courtesy visit to some political leaders in the country, humanitarian service, fasting and prayers, marriage blessing, the grand finale, and thanksgiving service.
It attracted members of the church from across the continent including Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Malawi, United Kingdom, and United State of America, among other countries to celebrate the power and glory of God on earth as well as mark the 20 years existence of BCS in South Africa.
His Holiness Obu indicated that irrespective of all the energies, huge resources, information and communication technologies (ICT) as well as various trainings in politics, economics, science and administration, governments of various countries have failed as they have refused to recognise the reign of God in their rulings.
He said various religions which ought to encourage people to have respect for the word of God have inadvertently lent their respect to unimportant thoughts, depriving many from realising the real essence of religion.
During a courtesy by Olumba Obu on the President of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), an opposition political party in South Africa, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, stressed the need for Christians to pray fervently to effect positive changes in the world.
“Prayer remains one of the greatest resources to effect change in this world,” he emphasised.
“Let us pray that God will turn hearts away from corrupt desires and change the minds of those who would engage in it. Let us pray for the restoration of integrity in leadership, and uphold the principles of honesty, transparency and accountability in all countries”, he appealed.
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