At least 20 people perished when a Grandbird bus and a Toyota mini-bus collided head-on along the eastern corridor road between Peki-Adzokoe and Tsibu last Wednesday. The Grandbird bus was travelling from Accra to Chinderi in the Oti Region, while the Toyota mini-bus was travelling from Hohoe to Accra. The Toyota was torn into two upon the impact of the collision, while the Grandbird veered off the road and landed on its side. Fifteen passengers onboard the mini-bus died on the spot, while five passengers on the Grandbird perished in the crash which occurred around 11:40 a.m. Rescue effort Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) were joined by staff of the Ghana Water Company Limited in the rescue operation at the scene of the accident. A member of the GNFS team who declined to be named told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the Grandbird bus, with registration number AS 9801-21, was dodging a pothole on the stretch when it ran into the mini-bus which bore the registration number GT 1865-17. The GNFS team had to use extrication tools to cut various parts of the bigger Grandbird bus before retrieving the lifeless body of the conductor who had been trapped inside. More than 20 other injured passengers were treated at the Peki Government Hospital. Among them are eight men, 12 women, three boys and two girls. It was later confirmed that three children were among the deceased. At the time of filing the report, the Daily Graphic gathered that the deceased included 10 women, six men and four children. The Daily Graphic could not reach officials of the Peki Government Hospital for comment.­­ Credit: Graphic Online

The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Hon. Dr. Freda Prempeh, has called on Zoomlion Ghana Limited to support the national clean up campaign with waste bins. She believes that the waste bins will greatly impact efforts aimed at curbing the indescriminate littering within the major cities. "I am extending a hand to Zoomlion to support this exercise with waste bins to make the exercise more effective". The Minister made the request when she toured some parts of Accra to inspect the ongoing National Clean up Exercise being carried out by the Municipal and District Assemblies in collaboration with Zoomlion Ghana Ltd. According to the Minister the waste bins will also help with waste segregation and recyling which is one of the ultimate goals of the ministry. "Waste segregation and recyling is important to managing the country's waste," she stressed. She therefore called on all stakeholders especially parents and teachers to educate children on waste segregation so they grow with it. Although the Minister was happy to see some youth engaged in segregating plastic waste from a dump site at Glefe- Dansoman for sale, she was however disturbed that they were doing so without any safety precautions and children below 15years of age were also engaged in the activity. "None of them wore nose masks or gloves and there was no handwashing facility available. Also, little Children were also involved in this health threatening activity," she lamented. "If we segregated our waste from home, these children won't be here doing what we should have done that from home," she emphasized. The Public Relations and Corporate Affairs Manager of Zoomlion Private Services, Mr. Ernest Morgan Acquah, responding to the Minister's call for support said, Zoomlion will do everything possible to help address the sanitation challenges of this country. "The Minister's call is a good call and we will support her to manage the sanitation of this country because it's part of our mandate," he noted. With regard to segregation, he said "now that is the way to go because in most countries they're using the waste as a resource and this means that you have to take valuable things in the waste to reproduce something useful," he added. He reiterated the Minister's call for segregating waste at home (source) explaining that when it is done at source, the recoverables are cleaner and less contaminated as compared to what the youth were in engaged in at Glefe. Mr. Acquah observed that having a clean environment is not the sole responsibility of the government or service providers but also the citizens "so we all have to put our hands on deck to ensure that we are part of the monthly national clean up exercise," The nationwide clean up event, which coincided with the International Clean Up Day celebrated every third Saturday of September, was under the theme “Cleaning for Safe, Healthy and Sustainable Ghana” According to the Minister, to enhance the attainment of the Government’s vision of a clean Ghana and sustainable WASH service delivery, there is the need for all stakeholders to actively play their prescribed roles effectively. As part of the cleanup exercise, the Ministry plans to engage traditional and social media sensitization campaigns, intensive premises inspection by staff of the District Assemblies, among others. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

President Akufo-Addo has instructed that all Ghana flags across the country and at Ghana's diplomatic missions should fly at half-mast in honour of Late Former First Lady, Theresa Kufuor. According to President Akufo-Addo, the flying of Ghana flags at half-mast will begin from October 2 to October 8, 2023. In a communique signed by the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, it said "On the instructions of the President, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, all flags across the nation and at Ghana's diplomatic missions shall fly at half-mast from Monday October 2nd 2023 to Sunday October 8th, 2023. "This is in tribute to former Late First Lady Kufuor, which passed away on the 1st of October, 2023" Government says it is extending its heartfelt condolences to the widower, Former J. A. Kufuor and his family. Late Theresa Kufuor was the wife of Ex. President Kufuor, Ghana's formwr head of state. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Hon. Dr. Freda Prempeh has hinted that the Ministry is readying to establishing a Sanitation Authority to regulate the sanitation service providers at both the local and national levels. “The Authority will ensure that these tricycle operators and even the major service providers do the right thing at the right time,” she observed. She explained that the absence of a regulator is making it difficult to sanction the service providers when they go contrary to the norm. The Minister made this known when she was responding to a question on law enforcement in addressing some of the sanitation challenges of the country at a press briefing in Accra to announce a nationwide clean up exercise to be held on Saturday September 30, 2023. The nationwide clean up event, under the theme “Cleaning for Safe, Healthy and Sustainable Ghana”, promises to be a defining moment in the nation's ongoing commitment to improve environmental sanitation services and awareness creation. According to the minister, to enhance the attainment of the Government’s vision of a clean Ghana and sustainable WASH service delivery, there is the need for all stakeholders to actively play their prescribed roles effectively. She therefore called on stakeholders including the Government and non-state actors, the media as well as individuals to come together to plan and execute cleanup activities across the country. As part of the cleanup exercise, the Ministry plans to engage traditional and social media sensitization campaigns, intensive premises inspection by staff of the District Assemblies, among others. Dr. Freda Prempeh, used the opportunity to bemoan the activities of tricycle operators providing sanitation services to be a major hinderance to clearing the city of filth. She noted that many of these operators after collecting the rubbish from homes and shops do not send it to the designated dumping areas but rather dump the refuse at their nearest convenience. “What I have come to realize is that the tricycle operators are making the work of cleaning our environment and garbage collection difficult for all of us. They collect refuse from our households and they look left from right and dump it in the gutters and other unauthorized and illegal areas” she lamented. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

UCS Facility Management Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of the Jospong Group of Companies as part of its Cooperate Social Responsibility (CSR) has offered a free professional cleaning services to flood victims at Nanakrom near East Legon Hills in the Adentan Municipal Assembly in the Greater Accra Region. The company took the initiative to bring relief to flood victims of last Friday September 22, rains which flooded the whole community rendering them homeless and destroying millions of properties. The Nanakrom Community which is noted as a flood prone area since June 3, 2016 is also a borderline within the operations of UCS hence the decision to move to the community to help them salvage the rest of their properties. Speaking to the media, the Operations Manager of UCS Facility Management Ghana Ltd, Mr. Grant Daniel Kuao said UCS believes in touching lives through professional services. “So as part of our CSR, we decided to offer free professional cleaning services to the flood victims who for the past days are still grabbing with flood waters in the area,” he stated. Mr. Kuao said UCS provides a wide range of services such as Janitorial, Landscaping, Cabin services (including water supply, cesspit emptying, mobile toilet rentals and sales and pest control) and also engages in security. He said the company has embarked over 10 homes at Nanakrom to give them professional cleaning services to restore livelihood and also bring hope to the already devastated flood victims in the area. On his part, the Senior Marketing Officer for UCS Facility Management Ghana Limited, Mr. Stephen Afful said the company has deployed a team of 10 professional cleaners to the area to help salvage the situation. Mr. Afful said UCS has deployed the appropriate tools such as floor scrubbing machine, wet and dry vacuum cleaner and many others for the work. “We have allocated three days for this free cleaning exercise and anticipated that the number of homes would increase as residents get to know our free cleaning services,” he stated. He further noted that "We are collaborating with Zoomlion to also do away with filth that emanated from the flood" he added. Mr. Afful said the free cleaning service for Nanakrom flood victims would have cost the company GHS 50,000.00. One of the flood victims, Mrs. Mavis Kevi said the problem started around 2016 after the June 3, disaster because many people have built on water ways. “Initially, when we came here, there was no floods but when people started development and building on the water ways the whole problem started,” he revealed. Mrs. Kevi and more than 10 homes in the area have lost all their properties to the flood including cars, television sets, electrical gadgets, cash, homes appliances and others worth millions of cedis. Apart from the lost of property, she said school children have abandoned school for the past four days because they have also lost all their books and uniforms to the floods. Residents are therefore appealing to the Adentan Municipal Assembly as a matter of urgency to come to their rescue by widening the only gutter in the area to allow free flow of flood waters. Mrs. Kevi on behalf of flood victims at Nanakrom thanked management of UCS Facility Management Ghana Limited for their timely intervention. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

News coming in indicates that the Former Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo-Prampram Constituency, Enoch Teye Mensah is dead. It is emerging that the Former MP gave up the ghost after a short illness. Late E. T. Mensah as a politician, was the PNDC Metropolitan Secretary for Accra (Mayor of Accra), the capital city of Ghana, for ten (10) years (1982-1992). More to follow... Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The wife of former Ghana President John Agyekum Kufuor, Theresa Kufuor has passed away at the age of 87. According to a reports, the ex-First Lady died earlier today, Sunday, October 1, 2023. Theresa Kufuor served as Ghana’s First Lady from 2001 to 2009 when her husband was the country’s head of state. "Her husband, former President John Agyekum Kufuor was at home, when his wife of over 55 years died. Mrs Kufuor has not been well in recent years," the report said. "Incidentally, President Nana Akufo-Addo had travelled to the mountains to pay a visit to the former President and her passing is said to have happened shortly before the President arrived." John and Theresa are blessed with five children - J. Addo Kufuor, Nana Ama Gyamfi, Saah Kufuor, Agyekum Kufuor and Owusu Afriyie Kufuor. They also have eight grandchildren. The couple first met at a Republic Day Anniversary Dance in London in 1961 and began dating before tying the knot in 1962. Before becoming the First Lady, Theresa, whose surname used to be Mensah before she inherited that of her husband, workled as a nurse and midwife. She is also credited with pushing for policy changes in the Government's white paper on Educational Reforms that sought to implement Free compulsory universal basic education (FCUBE) programme. Theresa schooled at the Catholic Convent, OLA, at Keta in the Volta Region before moving to London, where she became a Registered General Nurse, in the Southern Hospital Group of Nursing, Edinburgh, Scotland. She continued her ecucation at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford and Paddington General Hospital, London, attaining a State Certified Midwife Certificate in Premature Nursing. Credit: Pulse GH

Ghanaian Media Personality, Nikki Samonas has been crowned the Africa Entertainment Award at The Voice Archievers Awards 2023 in Amsterdam. According to Nikki Samonas, we was highly honoured to have received the award. Speaking at event, she said "As a global UN Ambassador for Refugees UNHCR and Humanitarian. I have a charity called 'Help them learn' in Ghana" "I cater for children who are disabled and abandoned" "I didn't know many people watch me from Nigeria. I am a Ghanaian. The Voice Achievers Award has created this platform for us to identify with each other and broaden our views on Africa. It is also an opportunity to contribute to the promotion, influence and advancement of Africa. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Chief Executive Officer of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Opoku Ware Ampomah, has clarified that the recent increase in the cost of renal dialysis from GHS¢380 to GHS¢765.42 was not sanctioned by the hospital’s management or approved by Parliament. He told Umaru Sanda Amadu on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News that only six patients were unfortunately affected by the new charge, which was a result of a miscommunication by the Renal Dialysis Unit of the hospital. Dr Ampomah said that the balance will be offset for the affected patients’ next sessions. “Fortunately, this was noticed very quickly and so when we checked, it was only six people who had paid this amount but it is going to be offset because these are patients that are on chronic dialysis so it is going to be offset. It has already been internally remedied and we are also looking at what went wrong and how to avoid it next time,” he said. Dr Ampomah explained that the new charge was a proposal that emanated from the Renal Dialysis Unit, which is factored into a proposal that is then forwarded to the head of department, then to the director of medical affairs, and then to the chief executive officer who then sits with a central management team to discuss, review it, and then make sure that there is a reasonable justification for the prices and then forwarded to Parliament through the Ministry of Health for approval. “But in this instance, what happened was that it had reached the head of the department level but somebody jumped the gun to put out this notice but internally, when this was noticed, a memo was sent from the director of medical affairs directing them [the Renal Dialysis Unit] to take it down and wait until approval had been granted before instituting new charges but unfortunately, because somebody had gone there and taken a photo which went viral, it then appeared as if we had instituted it,” he said. Credit: Citinewsroom

Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu has reminded healthcare professionals, policymakers, researchers, civil society organisations and community leaders that a collective commitment will help address Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) holistically. He made these remarks while launching the Support to Evidence-Informed Priority Setting (StEPS) project in Accra on Thursday. In a speech read on his behalf, he said "This is an initiative positioned to reshape our healthcare landscape and pave the way for a healthier future for our citizens" He added that the escalating burdens of NCDs transcends statistics adding that it deeply affects the lives of individuals, families and communities. Mr. Agyeman-Manu also noted that Ghana like many countries grapples with the rise of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers and chronic respiratory disorders. "The STEPS project represents more than just a new initiative - it signifies readiness to address NCDs using evidence-based strategies and effective priority setting tools" "Our goal is to navigate the complexities of NCDs, identify the most effective interventions, and allocate resources judiciously" "This is initiative is a crucial step toward reducing the burden of NCDs on our healthcare system and on society as a whole" "Prevention of injuries due ti road accidents, domestic violence as well as smoking cessation require a true cross sector approach. In the months ahead, the StEPS project will involve an in-depth analysis of epidemiological data, risk factors, and the socio-economic context of NCDs in Ghana" The Minister cited lifestyle factors such as diets, physical activity, tobacco use and alcohol consumption play a pivotal role in NCD development and progression. He further revealed that the StEPS project envisions partnerships with schools, workplaces, communities and media to promote health-concious choices and facilitate behaviour change. The Health Minister disclosed that Ghana is embarking on a transformative journey in the realm of NCDs. "The StEPS project, supported by our commitment to lifestyle modification, signifies our determination to build a healthier, more resilient nation. It underscores our belief in the power of informed choices, collaboration, and evidence-based strategies" The Project Steering Committee and Technical Working Groups as well as StEPS Secretariat located in the Ministry of Health was also commissioned. "Special recognition gorges to the Norwegian Ambassador to Ghana, Ambassador Ingrid Mollestad, the Bergen Centre for Ethics and Priority Settings (BCEPS), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Trond Mohn Foundation and Norad as well as stakeholders who are playing various roles in makes the StEPS Project a success" Our speakers commended the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Health on the initiative and assured of their support in dealing with NCDs in Ghana. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Greater Accra Youth Wing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has warned that it is prepared to match Ernest Kofi Owusu-Bempah and members of the Fixng the Country Movement 'boot-for-boot at the Office of its Flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama. According to the Greater Accra Youth Wing, Owusu-Bempah and his Fixing the Country Movement should not dare on embarking on their mission. In a communique signed by Regional Youth Organiser, Amorse Blessing Amos, he said "This statement goes as a warning or whatever they may want to call it, to Owusu-Bempah and whoever he may be planning this with, that they should not dare come closer to His Excellency John Dramani Mahama's office. "If he and his lapdogs are men, they should make any silly attempt around that office" "In the event Owusu-Bempah and his group remain nonchalant and attempt anything close to what they have announced, they should pay their coffins and graves before they come" He added that there are hundreds of scandals under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration of which Owusu-Bempah should be interested in. "If Owusu-Bempah does not know this, then he must stop smoking those contaminated weeds and start reasoning like a normal human being conceived and birthed by a woman" In other developments, Member of Parliament (MP), Ningo-Prampram Constituency, Sam George in a tweet tweeted "Dear @ItsAmos1, I have seen your letter to a non-entity that claimed it is preparing to embark on a journey to nowhere" "Kindly know that I stand ready to offer any support that is needed by the Greater Accra Youth Wing to deal swiftly, brutally, and decisively with any silly attempt that he and his paymasters seek to embark on" "Enough of the rogue mercenary claptrap in this Country. 🦁💪🏾🇬🇭🔥" Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Chief Executive Officer, Zongo Development Fund (ZoDF), Dr. Ararat Sulemana Abdulai has revealed that provision of portable drinking water and healthy sanitary conditions in Zongo communities remain top priorities of the Fund. He made these remarks while addressing Journalists in Accra on Wednesday. He said "n this connection, 163 Zongo communities have benefitted from the provision of Mechanized boreholes, whilst 47 Public and Institutional places of convenience have been constructed" He also disclosed that Health facilities have also been upgraded and renovated by the Fund in a number of Zongo communities, in addition to the provision of drainage systems, storm drains and bridges. "On provision of portable drinking water, he cited; Mechanised water system, Opeikuma Zongo, Mechanised water system, Agona Zongo, Mechanised water system, New Bortianor, Mechanised water system, Akwatia Zongo, Mechanised water system, Hweehwee Zongo, Mechanised water system, Zaruba, Tempane, Mechanised water system, Damank, Mechanised water system, Jasikan Zongo, Mechanised water system, Kojo Ashong, Mechanised water system, Kumbungu, Mechanised water system, Asesewa Zongo and Mechanised water system, Sagabo, Bawku. Touching on pvision of places of convenience, Dr. Abdulai said "Wadie Adwumakase Zongo, Cheshagu, Komenda Zongo, Salaga, Nkawie Zongi, Krankwanta Zongo, Damanko, Anweaso Zongo, Bodwesango Zongo and Kumbungo" On the covid-19 response programme, he said "Ladies and Gentlemen, community mobilization remains a cardinal objective of the Fund" "During the intensive period of the COVID19 pandemic, for example, we partnered with Chiefs, Imams and other leaders in Zongo communities to educate, sensitize and distribute COVID19 relief and protective materials." "Our community engagement programme on COVID19 was heralded with the collaboration of His Spiritual Eminence, the National Chief Imam, Regional Chief Imams and Traditional leaders" "The Fund traversed Zongo communities in all the 16 regions to educate, inform and sensitize the communities on the pandemic and the need to get vaccinated" In the area of Sports, the CEO explained that the Fund has invested in the construction of 18 Community Sports and Recreation Centres (Astro Turfs), thereby emerging as the foremost provider of community sports infrastructure in Ghana. "It is an undeniable fact that our communities are awash with sporting talents" "ZoDF recognizes the inexhaustible sporting assets in Zongo communities and is committed to providing enabling infrastructure to unearth, harness and nurture these talents for sustainable socio-economic growth and development" "Additionally, the opportunities for community mobilization through the colorful festivals, diverse social and cultural events to promote social cohesion in Zongos are immense" These facilities, he stressed provide suitable avenues to bring the communities together and promote ethno-religious dialogue in our communities. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith