Posts in category: Other News

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) will begin the administration of booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines from today.

The move forms part of the revision made to the national COVID-19 vaccination policy by the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with stakeholders.

The policy has also been revised to include the vaccination of pregnant women, who will receive either Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.

The Minister of Health, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, announced the review at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday.

Phases

He said the implementation of the booster policy would be in phases, with the initial phase targeting the three arms of government, health workers, people with underlying health conditions, people 60 years or above and all frontline security personnel.

The minister said the boosters were supposed to be taken between three and six months after being fully vaccinated.

“We have reviewed the national vaccination policy to include booster doses and the vaccination of pregnant women.

The National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) proposed the update made today, which has been accepted for implementation. We will continue to ensure the safety and health of all Ghanaians,” he said.

Arrival policy exemptions

Additionally, the policy had been revised to exempt Ghanaians and resident non-Ghanaians who were partially vaccinated or unvaccinated from the current policy, which required all arriving at the Kotoka International Airport to show proof of full vaccination or be vaccinated before allowed to board any airline to the country or be vaccinated on arrival, Mr Agyeman-Manu said.

However, he explained that the exempt group would be offered the opportunity to take the vaccines on arrival, stressing that refusal to take the jab would attract a seven-day mandatory quarantine at a cost to the individual.

He said the country had also revised its de-isolation and discharge guidelines for all persons testing positive for COVID-19 from 10 to seven days after testing positive, irrespective of vaccination status.

Assurance

The Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, gave an assurance to all target groups of the COVID-19 vaccination, particularly the latest addition — expectant mothers — that all safety due diligence had been done to uphold public health strictly.

He assured pregnant women that the vaccines would not have any consequences on their pregnancies or unborn babies (foetuses).

Throwing more light on the de-isolation and discharge policy review, Dr Kuma-Aboagye reiterated the fact that the duration for isolation after testing positive would be seven days.

“All hospitalised patients without symptoms will de-isolate 10 days after testing positive. In cases of high or moderate risk exposure to someone infected with COVID-19, the affected person will stay at home/self-quarantine until day five after last exposure.

“If symptoms develop, the person will be tested for COVID-19. If the result is negative, the person can resume normal activities on day five. Where test is positive, the person will stay isolated until day seven after last exposure,” Dr Kuma-Aboagye said.

Background

The roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines in the country started in phases among segmented populations in March last year.

Phase one targeted segmented populations who were at most risk, including frontline health workers, people with underlying health conditions and people 60 years and above, and ended in October Last year.

The GHS expanded the vaccination exercise to the general population in order to achieve herd immunity and subsequently reduce the burden of the disease.

The second phase, which targeted the public, except people below 18 years and expectant mothers, began from October 26, last year.

The GHS made it clear from the start that the exempt group would be vaccinated when adequate scientific evidence on safety became available.

The Pfizer vaccine has been authorised for children aged 15 and beyond, widening the Ghana population that will be protected against the virus.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

The mobile telecommunications companies have ramped up technical logistics to improve their services towards the ongoing SIM card registration exercise.

As part of the improved logistics, the mobile network operators (MNOs) will, from today, use an updated version of the app being used for the registration, increase the number of smart phones being used for the exercise and increase the number of registration centres to include distributors, all retail outlets, as well as some selected agents.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Telecommunications Chamber, Dr. Ken Ashigbey, said those interventions were part of efforts to make the exercise more efficient and convenient for subscribers.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Dr. Ashigbey said: “Last Thursday, an updated version of the app being used was released to the MNOs, and from today we hope to see improved services, particularly the time of process, as the app, which was quite slow and created all the delay, has been updated; hopefully, it should work better.”

Challenge

Since the directive was given for the re-registration of SIM cards from October 2021 to March 2022, subscribers have complained about various challenges as they go through the process.

The issue has been compounded by long queues at the various registration points, a situation that has attracted concern as possible areas for the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

While admitting that there had been a technical challenge with the app being used, Dr. Ashigbey said the problem had been compounded by the failure of subscribers to complete the first phase of the registration by linking their mobile phone numbers to their Ghana cards, which is a can-do-it process on their phones.

“One of the causes of the situation we have experienced at the various registration points is the fact that many people show up not having completed the first phase of the exercise by linking their cards to their numbers.

“That, together with the verification and the second phase of the exercise, takes time, and with the initial challenge of the app being slow, the unfortunate situation has been created,” he added.

Solution

To improve the situation, Dr. Ashigbey said the MNOs, in particular, had assessed the situation, and having realised the main challenge and after discussions with the other stakeholders, mainly the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation and the National Communications Authority (NCA), it was agreed that the app being used be updated.

“So last Thursday, January 6, the telcos took delivery of an updated version of the app, and because it works on only smart phones, they have also increased the number of smart phones, consequently, while the registration points have also been increased to include distributors, retail shops and the agents.

“Like most technological apps on mobile devices, the re-registration app works only on smart phones, so that has been factored into plans to make the exercise more efficient,” he explained.

He further indicated that a decision had been taken to bring the service to the doorstep of subscribers to prevent the aggregation of people at the offices of the telcos.

“So, for instance, we are planning to get the service to organisations and companies with large numbers, such as churches, mosques and marketplaces on market days.

“This means that in the convenience of their activities, subscribers can go through the process without having to leave their work and wait for hours in long queues to be served.

“However, to be served, subscribers should have first gone through the first phase by dialing *404# to link their SIM cards to their Ghana card.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

Black Stars Ready For AFCON

There is growing confidence in the camp of the Black Stars, with the head coach, Milovan Rajevac, upbeat about getting the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign off to a winning start when the team play their Group C opener against Morocco at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé today.

Coach Rajevac said he expected an exciting game from both sides but maintained that the Black Stars were ready to give of their best to win that opener.

Similarly, a bullish Skipper Dede Ayew said he expected to lead his teammates to victory this afternoon, as he made his seventh appearance at the continent’s flagship tournament.

The opening ceremony

He said it was high time Ghana ended its 40-year AFCON drought, and that a win today against Morocco would put the team on the right path in their quest to win the elusive fifth continental diadem.

The confidence expressed by the coach and the captain follows a rallying call by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to the team to end their long search for a fifth AFCON title.

In a message to the Black Stars yesterday, the President wished the team well and reiterated the expectations by Ghanaians for them to conquer Africa one more time, since winning a fourth continental title in Libya in 1982.

“Like all previous tournaments, Ghanaians demand ultimate glory from the Black Stars. The pressure to succeed is understandably high because of our reputation as four-time champions and also because it’s been 40 long years since we won the tournament.

“The target for you naturally is to bring the cup home. Go a step further than the second place you achieved in 1992, 2010 and 2015,” he had urged the team.

At the team’s pre-match press conference, Serbian Coach Rajevac was emphatic that a winning start in their Group C encounter against the Atlas Lions would be a confident booster for the team, despite the threat the Moroccan posed.

“We are aware of the danger that Morocco poses and that means a lot to us because of what we want to achieve. We expect a thrilling encounter from both sides, but we believe we will get the result that we need at the end of the game,” Coach Rajevac, who had led the team to finish second at the 2010 tournament in Angola, said.

Despite being one of the giants of African football with four AFCON titles, the Black Stars are not one of the favourite teams to win this 33rd edition of the tournament.

The Black Stars are considered behind defending champions Algeria, Senegal, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, among others, to make any significant impact at the continental competition.

Despite missing out on youngsters Felix Afena Gyan and Mohammed Salisu, Coach Rajevac is optimistic Mohammed Kudus will make an injury return to play a pivotal role in Ghana’s participation at the AFCON.

“We included him in the squad after assessing his injury, and with his qualities, we believe he will make the trip to help us in Cameroun,” he said.

In Kudus’s absence, Skipper Andre Ayew and his brother, Jordan, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Fatawu Issahaku, Daniel Amartey, Alexander Djiku, among others, must rise to the occasion to help deliver an important win for the team.

The Black Stars continue to struggle against North African opponents — they exited the last AFCON after losing to Tunisia, and were recently thrashed 3-0 by champions Algeria in an international friendly.

Meanwhile, the Moroccans have so much quality to worry the Stars, despite coming to the tournament without one of their star men, Hakim Ziyech.

But they have equally great players, such as Achraf Hakimi, Munir El Haddadi, Youssif En-Nesyri, Romain Saiss, among others, to make amends for missing out on their Chelsea playmaker who was overlooked by Coach Vahid Halilodzic for feigning injury to avoid a previous international assignment.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

The Police Administration has ramped up security measures, including intensifying patrolling and increasing visibility in crowded areas, across the country to ensure public safety during the festive season.

In line with this, thousands of policemen in uniform and plain clothes have been deployed to various locations throughout the country.

Night patrolling has also been increased, particularly in places the police identify as vulnerable areas.

Alertness

Day and night checks on some trunk roads by our reporters revealed that the police had mounted checkpoints at close intervals for snap checks and scrutiny and to shorten response times for emergencies.

The roads travelled include Accra-Tamale, through Kumasi, Techiman and Kintampo; Accra-Takoradi, Takoradi-Axim, Kumasi-Obuasi, Cape Coast-Kumasi, Accra-Ho, Accra-Aflao, Wa-Tumu, Wa-Jirapa, among others.

The exercise is very visible in the Greater Accra Region, especially in Accra and Tema, and the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi.

In Accra, aside from the usual police patrol teams in police branded vehicles, other channels of policing, such as motorbike, foot and horse patrols during the day and the use of trained dogs for patrol duties, have all been intensified.

A number of uniformed policemen were seen at places such as malls, banks, traffic intersections, some high-profile residential areas, market centres, among others.

The Daily Graphic team observed that many of the policemen had side arms which appeared new, unlike the old AK47 rifles which were usually used by policemen on guard duties at banks.

The visibility of policemen during the night manning road snap checkpoints was also not missed.

Some of the policemen who interacted with the Daily Graphic said they were very alert in looking out for suspicious elements.

Focus

The Director-General of the Public Affairs Directorate of the Ghana Police Service, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr Kwesi Ofori, said the Police Administration had made public safety a top priority and would go all out to ensure that people felt safe as they went about their legitimate businesses during the festive season.

In line with that, he said, full-proof security measures had been put in place ahead of the festivities to avoid any untoward incidents.

He said the police would focus on enforcing road safety, deploying personnel to commercial centres and other public places, as well as monitoring state assets.

“We have covered all areas, as we are also extensively checking the defaulters of traffic regulations, using our CCTV cameras installed at vantage points on highways,” he said.

So far, Mr Ofori said, the annual leave of police personnel had been suspended to ensure that all personnel were on board to take care of security matters for the festive period and beyond.

“The police are already on the ground, so we didn’t launch this year’s Operation Father Christmas. We have taken more elaborate steps operationally to contain any crime during the festive period. We’re on the ground working,” he said.

He said visible security would be in place, along with intelligence surveillance, across the country before and after the celebrations.

Holidaymakers

Mr Ofori explained that the tight security measures were aimed at ensuring the safety and security of residents and domestic and foreign holidaymakers.

He said policemen would patrol tourist sites and beaches during the December and New Year holidays to guarantee the security of holidaymakers.

“We want the public and holidaymakers to fully enjoy these festivities peacefully, but this calls for everybody’s involvement because bad elements in society may use such joyous occasions to engage in various crimes,” he said.

He noted that the patrolling would help monitor and look out for any anti-social elements and offer help in cases of emergencies.

“We have stepped up security measures and mobilised adequate security men to guarantee safety and the security of all to ensure a trouble-free holiday season,” he said.

He urged the people to strictly follow COVID-19 health protocols during the festivities and called for public vigilance during the season, noting that their role was very crucial in the fight against crime.

“The public must be vigilant, share information, report suspicious characters and their activities to the nearest police or law enforcement officers or call the police emergency numbers through 191 or 18555,” Mr Ofori added.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye has disclosed that the number of Covid-19 infections in the Greater Accra region is on the ascendency.

In an interview on Peace FM’s morning show ‘Kokrokoo’, the GHS Boss said about 400 cases are recorded in the city daily.

He has therefore asked Ghanaians to adhere to all the Covid protocols to avoid being infected.

“People should not take things for granted because the numbers have started going up in Accra…we’re reporting about 400 cases a day now. The threat we’re facing is far, far than last year December. We need to apply all the protocols and get vaccinated,” he urged.

Ghana currently has 156 new cases and 1,301 active cases.

Source: Peacefmonline.com

For the first time in a long run, availability rather than cost, risks denying some households access to chicken and other poultry proteins during the Yuletide celebrations.

It follows a historic delay in poultry imports into the country from key markets such as the United States of America (USA), Brazil and the European Union (EU), as a result of disruptions to the global container shipping industry.

A market intelligence report by the Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana (CAG) has established that the situation had pushed orders meant to meet Christmas demands into the second week of January and raising concerns over a looming shortage in poultry products during Christmas and New Year festivities.

The chamber said the development had huge implications on the price of poultry, a key protein source for the country, especially during the Yuletide.

When the Graphic Business checked up with the local poultry industry, farmers said they were aware of the looming shortage but lacked the capacity to fill in the gap.

They mentioned the short time frame and the high cost of operation, particularly feed, as the bottlenecks that would make it impossible for them to benefit from the challenge.

The Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF) said the time frame was too short for its members to salvage the situation, as it takes seven to eight weeks to produce birds for consumption.

It further explained that due to the high cost of production, its members would not even be able to meet the 40 per cent demand for locally produced birds during the festivities, talkless of filling in any void to be occasioned by disruptions to imports.

Delayed containers

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the CAG, Mr Anthony Morrison, in an interview with the Graphic Business in Accra on December 11, observed that the assessment of the chamber showed that with regard to the huge tonnes of containers delayed on the international sea, Ghanaians were likely to see a price hike in frozen chicken and other imported goods during this Christmas.

“With this development, we should be seeing a price increase in imported frozen chicken between 25 per cent and 30 per cent going into Christmas.”

“We may not get those goods in by the time of the yuletide and the earliest they may arrive would be the second week of January 2022,” he said.

Take advantage

Mr Morrison indicated that the chamber expects local poultry farmers to be able to take advantage of the opportunity that will be created for the demand for chicken during the period.

“We expect that from February to April next year, we should have excess imported frozen chicken in the market and this will add up to the woes of the local farmers in 2022.

“Already imported poultry products in the market are about 60 per cent cheaper than locally produced chicken and therefore, should the delayed imports arrive in a month, there is likely to be excess poultry, a phenomenon which will aggravate the already dire position of local farmers.

He urged the government to take the needed steps to protect domestic poultry production from foreign competition, if only the country sought to industrialise.

Low production

The Vice-President of the GNAPF, Mr Napoleon Agyemang Oduro, stated that the local poultry farmers were not in a good position to meet demand this Christmas.

“Granted that import has been delayed and it takes seven to eight weeks to produce birds for the market while Christmas is about 12 days away, it will be difficult to adjust,” he said.

He said the farmers have not been able to produce enough birds for the market this Christmas like they used to do in the past due to high operational cost.

“I can even assure you that we are currently in business not because we want profit but to sustain the market because there are still some Ghanaians who want to kill the birds by themselves.”

“In 2021 alone, cost of production for broilers has increased by over 100 per cent and that is a disadvantage for producers to invest their capital and make losses at the end,” he said.

He said due to the high cost of production, local birds would be priced between GH¢70 and GH¢100 at the market during the yuletide.

He appealed to the government to introduce a soft loan scheme for poultry farmers to access patient funds, scale up production and create jobs to support the economy.

Source: graphic.com.gh

From the midnight of Thursday, November 18, 2021, the collection of road and bridge tolls must cease on all public roads across the country, the Ministry of Roads and Highways, has directed.

The directive follows the Government’s abolition of road and bridge tolls as announced in the 2022 Budget Statement presented by the Minister of Finance at Parliament, on Wednesday.

Mr Ken Ofori-Atta told Parliament that the proposal would take effect after the budget had been approved.

However, a statement signed by Mr Kwasi Amoako-Attah, the sector minister, and shared with the Ghana News Agency, said the directive would take effect from 1200 am on Thursday.

The Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service would be on hand to provide security at the toll locations from the effective date, it said.

The Ministry, therefore, advised motorists to approach the locations with caution and observe all safety measures that will be put in place.

“The motoring public will be advised of further measures in due course,” it added.

Presenting the 2022 budget in Parliament on Wednesday, Mr Ofori-Atta said the abolition of road tolls was meant to reduce the heavy traffic caused by road tolls and to enhance productivity and reduce environmental pollution.

“…over the years, the tolling points have become unhealthy market centres, led to heavy traffic on our roads, lengthened travel time from one place to another, and impacted negatively on productivity. The congestion generated at the tolling points, besides creating these inconveniences, also leads to pollution in and around those vicinities,” the Finance explained.

“To address these challenges, Government has abolished all tolls on public roads and bridges.

“This takes effect immediately the Budget is approved. The toll collection personnel will be reassigned. The expected impact on productivity and reduced environmental pollution will more than off-set the revenue forgone by removing the tolls.”

Source: GNA.

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is expected to present the 2022 Budget Statement to Parliament, today [Wednesday, November 17, 2021] on behalf of the President.

The Budget, according to the Ministry, will focus on expanding the economy’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The budget would dwell on “creating a climate-friendly entrepreneurial state to address unemployment and import substitution,” it said in a statement, on Monday.

Ahead of the presentation, some financial and economic analysts as well as professional and trade organisations have expressed varied expectations on the Budget.

Members of the public have also expressed their concerns and interests, especially on tax cuts and job creation interventions.

Whereas some analysts have urged the Government not to introduce new taxes, others have also called for the widening of the tax net to enable the government to meet its revenue targets.

The Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA) has, for instance, appealed to the government to implement policies that would reduce the cost of doing business in the country.

The Institute for Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana has also urged the Government to introduce policies that would ensure efficiency in the country’s tax administration.

The statement from the Ministry, however, mentioned the digitalisation of the economy, skills development and entrepreneurship as part of the key issues in the presentation.

The presentation of the National Budget Statement to Parliament is in accordance with Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution and Section 21 (3) of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016, (Act 921).

Source: GNA.

A total of 571,894 candidates from 18,028 schools will sit this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) across the country, starting today.

The five-day examination will be written in 2,158 centres under the supervision of 2,158 supervisors and 1,853 assistant supervisors.

Statistics

Two hundred and eighty-seven thousand, six hundred and five of them are males while the remaining 284,289 are females, with the Ashanti Region presenting the largest number of candidates of 111,432, while the Greater Accra Region follows with 105,539 candidates.

The Head of Public Affairs of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Mrs Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, who provided the figures, said the Central Region followed with 63,727 candidates, while a combined force of Western and Western North regions presented 58,316 candidates.

The Eastern Region, according to her, presented 55,930 candidates, while 53,265 candidates were from the Bono, Ahafo and Bono East together. The Northern, North East and Savannah together had 44,838 candidates, while the Volta and Oti together presented 42,093 candidates.

According to her, the Upper East and Upper West Region accounted for 22,116 and 14,638 candidates, respectively.

More girls

She said significantly, the Greater Accra, Upper East and Upper West regions presented more female candidates than males.

The Greater Accra Region presented 50,815 males and 54,824 females, while the Upper East Region presented 10,586 males and 11,530 females and the Upper West had 7,290 males and 7,348 females.

Malpractice

While wishing the candidates all the best in the examination, Mrs Teye-Cudjoe reminded them to stay away from any examination malpractice, since that could jeopardise their future.

She said the WAEC, together with all its partners, had put in place security measures and candidates who fell foul would be dealt with.

Mrs Teye-Cudjoe also reminded invigilators and supervisors as well as the security officials deployed at all the examination centres to play their respective roles professionally and not allow themselves to be compromised.

Best wishes

In a related development, the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, on behalf of his ministry, has extended his best wishes to all the candidates who are writing the exams beginning today, Monday, November 15 to Friday, November 19, 2021.

He said: “Together with your parents and teachers, our dear nation has made great contributions over the past nine (9) years of your education and now is the time for you to finish well and excel”.

Peaceful examination

The statement said the minister was encouraging all candidates, invigilators, supervisors, school authorities and teachers to observe all the COVID-19 safety protocols and avoid all forms of examination malpractice.

“Let me assure you that my ministry is working hand in hand with the Ghana Education Service, West African Examinations Council and the Security Services to ensure a smooth and peaceful examination at all the 2,158 designated centres across the country,” it said.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

The Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Ms Josephine Nkrumah, has said the commission is streamlining its programmes to fuse in Ghanaian values to ensure that the youth have a sense of belonging.

She said the NCCE’s programmes, which included constitutional week, citizenship week, democracy lecture, social auditing programmes, civic education clubs and dialogue series, would be anchored on the values inculcated into the younger ones.

She stated this at an NCCE/National Security forum on national cohesion and inclusive participation governance for members of the Ashaiman Municipal Inter Party Dialogue Committee (IPDC).

The day’s workshop was on the theme: “Empowering Ghanaians to stand for national cohesion and inclusive participation.”

Indiscipline

Answering a question on the increasing indiscipline among students, some of whom vandalised school properties and threatened people in leadership, she said “what is happening among the youth is frightening. They have lost their sense of direction in everything.”

According to her, the youth had become like an untrained army waiting to be unleashed on Ghanaians.

She, therefore called on parents, caregivers, teachers and other stakeholders to instil the right Ghanaian values into the youth.

Ms Nkrumah said the failure on the part of stakeholders to guide the youth would mean they would grow thinking they could use violence and dubious ways to get whatever they decided to have without considering the consequences.

“We need to make time for our youth. Responsible adults are carefully nurtured from childhood. They don’t happen by chance. Don’t think paying school fees and providing three-square meals is enough,” she said.

“We must go back to the basis to re-engineer our senses. Let’s recognise that our security is tied to the values the children have,” she added.

Peace

Speaking on the Public Order Act and Community Surveillance, the Ashaiman District Police Commander, Superintendent Osman Alhassan, said public event organisers must inform the police of their intentions in accordance with the law.

He explained that it was an offence not to inform the police.

Source: Graphic.com.gh