Posts in category: Other News

The Ghana Health Service says it is updating the status of all persons who have been fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 disease in the country.

This has come as a result of challenges being faced by individuals, especially persons wanting to travel outside Ghana, to verify their vaccination status using the barcode at the back of their COVID-19 vaccination card.

This was contained in a statement signed and issued by the Director General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye on Thursday, August 5, 2021.

The GHS, as part of its COVID-19 vaccination data quality assurance process, set up a system of data validation for persons who have received a full dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The process includes placement of a registered metallic peel – hologram with security features – on the vaccination card as proof of full vaccination and a barcode to check vaccination status.

The GHS is however facing challenges with the system as some vaccinated individuals, especially those travelling outside Ghana, are unable to verify their vaccination status using the barcode.

The service has therefore set up a desk at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) for travellers to aid with their vaccination verification process.

“Fully vaccinated outbound travellers (i.e., travellers who have received two doses of AstraZeneca or Sputnik-V vaccine) departing from KIA should contact the Vaccination Verification Desk of the Port Health Unit at the Departure Hall of KIA to verify their vaccination status prior to departure,” the statement said.

It added that other fully vaccinated individuals desirous of verifying their vaccination status should visit the nearest health facility or District Health Directorate for assistance.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

Information available to Joy News indicates that COP Dr. George Akuffo Dampare will take over as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) from August 1, 2021.

He takes over from James Oppong-Boanuh, a lawyer and police officer, who was appointed to be the police boss by President Akufo-Addo in October 2019.

COP George Dampare until his appointment was the Director-General in charge of Administration at the Service.

COP Dr George Akuffo Dampare has been in the Ghana Police Service for close to 30 years.

He joined the service as a Constable and has risen to the highest rank of Commissioner of Police, becoming one of the youngest Police Officers to have attained this in recent years.

He has served in many leadership capacities in the Service including; Director General (Finance), Director General (Welfare), Director General (ICT), Commandant of the Police Command and Staff College, and Accra Region Police Commander. He is currently the Director-General (Operations) of the Service.

COP Dr. Akuffo Dampare became a chartered accountant at the age of 25 while serving as a Police Constable and currently holds a PhD in Finance.

He has been an Adjunct Lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and at the University Of Cape Coast in Ghana.

Amongst his credentials; George Akuffo Dampare (PhD) was a Special Assistant to the Regional Commander, United Nations Mission in Bosnia Herzegovina, Municipal Police Commander, Cape Coast, ADC to the Vice President of Ghana, Accountant/Finance Officer, Ghana Police Service and the Head of Police and Narcotics Desk at the Ministry of Interior.

He has been credited for his lead role in the swift arrest of the alleged killer of former Abuakwa North MP, J.B. Danquah.

Source: Myjoyonline.com.

The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has, for the second time, extended the mop-up enumeration exercise for the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC).

To last for 12 days (July 19 – 30), the latest extension is to allow the GSS to exhaust the remaining six per cent of households that are yet to be covered in the exercise in some parts of the country.

The 2021 PHC, which started on Monday, June 28 in all 16 regions, was expected to end on Sunday, July 11, 2021, but the GSS extended the deadline to Sunday, July 18.

According to the GSS, the move was to ensure that all persons in the country were reached and counted.

Coverage

At a press briefing in Accra on Monday, July 19, the Government Statistician, Prof. Kobina Annim, said at the end of the initial mop-up exercise, 94 per cent of the listed households were enumerated, leaving a backlog of six per cent to be cleared.

He indicated that in line with the GSS’s principle of leaving no one uncounted, the service gave a second window to ensure that everyone was counted to get reliable data on the country.

Prof. Annim added that as of Sunday, July 18, the data collected showed that apart from the Greater Accra Region where 75 per cent of the households had been enumerated, all the other regions exceeded 90 per cent enumeration status.

Prioritised MMDAs

He said 25 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) had been identified as priority areas for the next phase of the mop-up exercise because they hosted most of the remaining six per cent of persons yet to be enumerated.

The MMDAs are located in the Greater Accra, Central, Western, Eastern and Volta regions.

“The identification of these selected areas for the extension and the accompanying duration are driven by a number of factors including calls received by persons in Ghana on their status and experience of the enumeration, departure from benchmark indicators, assessment of the coverage and quality of data received so far,” he said.

Challenges

The Government Statistician added that the enumeration could not be completed in some of the areas, particularly in the Greater Accra Region, because those were fast-growing areas.

Additionally, he said some respondents were unwilling to participate in the exercise for various reasons while the enumerator also faced challenges such as motor accidents, snakebites and dogs attacks.

Although some of the challenges delayed the completion of the enumeration exercise as scheduled, he said the GSS was focused on reaching all the six per cent of outstanding households by the July 30 extension period.

Responding to a question on what the implication of the extension of the exercise was on the PHC budget, he said adequate provision had been made for the mop-up exercise so the GSS was confident that it would complete the exercise within the stipulated budget.

Quality assurance

Prof. Annim said the GSS had instituted spot checks in enumeration areas to get individuals who had not been enumerated to call and be captured.

The move, he said, was part of measures to be sure that quality work had been done by the field officers.

“In the process of spot-checking, verification and validations are done at three levels – listing of all structures, covering of all households in structures and counting of all members in the household,” he said.

He said the GSS had also instituted physical visits to selected households for the purpose of verifying information collected by its field officers.

“These visits will be done by field monitors who will be wearing field monitors’ jackets, branded with 2021 PHC and GSS logos and carrying photo ID,”  he added.

Furthermore, Prof. Annim said as part of the quality assurance process, the GSS had instituted outboard calls to selected members of the public seeking to verify and validate information collected by the field officers.

The GSS boss assured members of the public who were yet to be enumerated that they would not be left out of the exercise.

He also appealed to members of the public who were unwilling to participate in the enumeration exercise to cooperate with enumerators by allowing themselves to be counted.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) Sunday started the actual enumeration of people, starting with those in transit.

Enumerators in the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) visited various places to count people in homeless households in makeshift structures and open spaces, described as “outside sleepers”, people who were in transit, those at transport terminals, those who were spending short stays in institutions such as hotels and guest houses and hospitals.

The Census Night, defined as the period between 6 p.m. yesterday and 6 a.m. this morning, saw more than 60,000 enumerators across the country spending the night counting the eligible class of people.

Sunday, the counting of people in big hospitals and hotels had started across the country, the Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim, told the Daily Graphic.

He said in the hotels, forms would also be left to be filled by guests who were not available to complete them.

For the outside sleepers, the target of the enumerators was to count almost all, but the officers, who wore reflective blue jackets, carried ID cards and adhered to all COVID-19 protocols, would return to the places for a mop-up.

“Enumerators will leave call-back cards at residences where no one is at home to answer questions. All are urged to use the call-back cards to schedule a convenient time that enumerators can return,” Prof. Annim stated.

He said to avoid double counting during the exercise, all persons enumerated last night would be given a ‘certificates of enumeration’.

Briefing

Earlier, at a press briefing yesterday, the Government Statistician had explained that last night’s exercise was restricted to the short stay and homeless households, with the counting and enumeration of people in households and long-stay institutions starting from today until Sunday, July 11, this year.

Prof. Annim said no one was required to travel or move to a specific place just to be enumerated, stressing that “all people should go about their normal business as usual.”

He indicated that an adult member of a household/institution could answer the questions on behalf of other members.

The Government Statistician, who was at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle himself for the enumeration exercise, thanked the public for their cooperation during the listing exercise and said the service was counting on same support for the enumeration.

Readiness

Prof. Annim said 98.3 per cent of the expected number of structures had been chalked and listed as of the end of the 11th day of the 2021 PHC.

What was left included pockets of structures at places such as Ledzokuku (Teshie), Krowor (Nungua), the Kassena Nankana Municipality, Talensi and Bolgatanga East due to refusals as a result of boundary disputes.

Prof. Annim mentioned other contributory factors such as the absence of structure residents or owners when enumerators visited, large sizes of enumeration areas and rapidly expanding localities, but gave an assurance that the chalking of all remaining structures would be completed before the start of enumeration this morning.

Monitors

Meanwhile, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has deployed 40 population experts from the international community to monitor the PHC.

The Country Representative of the UNFPA, Mr Niyi Ojuolape, who confirmed this to the Daily Graphic yesterday, said the deployment was in response to the government’s request for the UNFPA to implement the peer monitoring of the 2021 PHC.

He said the purpose of the monitoring exercise was to observe and report on the training and data collection procedures viz-a-viz international standards and best practices that could be replicated elsewhere on the African continent, with documented lessons learned.

He said the monitoring was also predicated on the need to closely monitor and provide objective assessment and feedback on the impact of the extensive use of new methodologies and technologies (innovations) on the quality of enumeration and share the experiences and best practices with other countries through South-South cooperation.

Mr Ojuolape said the independent monitoring of census exercises had gained currency, especially in the last two census rounds.

He said more developing countries and experts were requesting to be involved in the initiative, as it also facilitated knowledge gathering and experience sharing.

“The ultimate report will be used to share knowledge, experiences and best practices with other countries through UNFPA-led South-South cooperation. Population censuses have been conducted in Ghana at approximately 10-year intervals since 1891, the last being in 2010,” Mr Ojuolape said.

He said the inclusion of people from other countries would enable the process to be truly independent.

“Additionally, the independent monitoring process will benefit from skills and experiences from other parts that may be lacking within the Ghanaian context. Then, again, the inclusion of international citizens from developing countries enhances South-South exchanges,” he said.

Technology

The UNFPA Country Representative said all previous censuses, including those conducted post-independence, had been manually conducted with paper-based questionnaire.

Mr Ojuolape said for the first time ever, the PHC would be done using a fully digital modality.

“The modality utilises the Computer-Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) method, which involves the use of tablets for data collection. While the use of technology allows for a more efficient data collection and analysing process, there are still calls to strengthen quality assurance of data collected,” he added.

Innovation

Mr Ojuolape said to facilitate the census, several innovative and unique features had been introduced in the 2021 PHC that would enable the collection of quality and policy-relevant data and ensure rapid release of user-friendly results.

He said aside from the deployment of the independent observers, the UNFPA had supported the GSS with an international consultant who had been providing technical assistance for the census process since 2019.

Enumerators can be identified by their attire – they are in reflective blue jackets and white caps emblazoned with the 2021 PHC logo.

They are required to present photo IDs when they visit.

Respondents with concerns about an enumerator should call the toll-free call centre on 0800-426-426.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

Ghana has been ranked the second most peaceful country in Africa in the 2021 Global Peace Index report by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).

The IEP is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank dedicated to shifting the world’s focus to peace as a positive, achievable, and tangible measure of human well-being and progress.

A look at the snapshot of the global state of peace as captured in the report, Ghana is ranked 38th in the world out of the 163 countries reviewed. Ghana scored 1.715 which represents a two point move upwards from the previous Global Peace Index report.

Other African rankings

Mauritius, the only African country ahead of Ghana in the Peace index on the first position in Africa ranked 28th in the global space. Botswana took third place in Africa and was ranked 41st on the global peace index.

Iceland is ranked number one as the most peaceful country in the world with a score of 1.1. New Zealand, Denmark, Portugal, and Slovenia are ranked second, third, fourth, and fifth respectively.

Least peaceful countries

The five least peaceful countries in the world, according to the 2021 global peace index are Iraq (ranked 159th), South Sudan (ranked 160th), Syria (ranked 161st) Yemen (ranked 162nd) and Afghanistan (at the bottom ranking163rd)

Covid-19 impact on peace

As part of the key findings of the 2021 Global Peace Index, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which has wreaked massive economic havoc around the world also had “a significant impact on levels of conflict and violence”. The level of civil unrest the report says “rose in 2020, fuelled in large part by responses to coronavirus restrictions”. Over 5,000 pandemic-related violent events were recorded between January 2020 and April 2021 worldwide.

“The deterioration in militarization and improvement in ongoing conflict were both influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a major negative impact on economic activity, human movement, and international relations in 2020. The pandemic had a noticeable impact on the violent demonstrations and political instability indicators, with 25 and 46 countries respectively recording deterioration on these indicators,” the report further highlighted.

Global peace deterioration

According to the Index, “the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated by 0.07 per cent in the 2021 Global Peace Index. Although a relatively small deterioration, this is the ninth time in the last 13 years that global peacefulness has deteriorated”.

The report notes that “in the past year, 87 countries recorded an improvement in peacefulness, while 73 countries recorded a deterioration. Three countries recorded no change in their overall score. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remained the world’s least peaceful region. It is home to three of the five least peaceful countries in the world. However, it recorded the largest regional improvement over the past year”.

Europe the report says “remains the most peaceful region in the world. The region is home to eight of the ten most peaceful countries, and no country in Europe is ranked outside the top half of the index”.

The GPI and IEP

The 2021 Global Index report is the 15th edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI), which ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness. Produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the GPI is the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness.

The report presents the most comprehensive data driven analysis to-date on trends in peace, its economic value, and how to develop peaceful societies.

The GPI covers 99.7 per cent of the world’s population, using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources, and measures the state of peace across three domains: the level of Societal Safety and Security, the extent of Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict, and the degree of Militarization.

IEP achieves its goals by developing new conceptual frameworks to define peacefulness; providing metrics for measuring peace; and uncovering the relationships between business, peace and prosperity as well as promoting a better understanding of the cultural, economic and political factors that create peace.

IEP is headquartered in Sydney, with offices in New York, The Hague, Mexico City, Brussels and Harare. It works with a wide range of partners internationally and collaborates with intergovernmental organizations on measuring and communicating the economic value of peace.

Source: Myjoyonline.com

The Ghana Police Service has said it is on a high alert following reports that suspected bandits are planning to attack communities in northern Ghana, especially those along the border with Burkina Faso.

A police wireless message last Tuesday said: “Reports indicate that Burkina Faso-based bandits are allegedly launching attacks in communities along the Burkina Faso-Ghana border.”

Consequently, the police administration has directed all police commanders in the country to increase patrols to quell the planned attacks.

Wireless Message

Portions of the wireless message, sent to all regional police commanders to be on high alert, read: “The Burkina Faso-based bandits are allegedly planning to launch attacks within the Bolgatanga township and its environs, including areas in Tamale, in the coming days..

“The bandits are suspected to be in possession of military-grade weapons and may have already infiltrated Ghana at yet-to-be-identified locations in the northern regions and they are poised to launch attacks any moment from now.”

The message also said that already several attacks had happened in recent months at the border.

Upper East responds

In response to the directives from the police administration, the Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has increased surveillance in some communities in the region.

Consequently, residents of the region have been urged to be vigilant and report to the various security agencies all suspicious strangers who will come into their communities, hotels, guest houses and other hospitality facilities.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Stephen Yakubu, who is also the Chairman of the REGSEC, stated this in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Bolgatanga yesterday.

Although Mr Yakubu did not explain the strategies that had been put in place for security reasons, he indicated that routinely the security services had been conducting patrols along the border, considering that the region’s topography was one of “long stretch land with porous borders, hence the need to close those gaps.”

He admitted that the region’s closeness to neighbouring countries in the West African subregion that were having some challenges had made it imperative for the security agencies in the region to always be on guard against such criminal elements.

That, he explained, was intended to stop them before they caused any harm to society, giving an assurance that “the situation is under control because we have always been ready and so the region is very secure.”

The regional minister further indicated that the region had its military base, as well as other security agencies that could combine forces to nip in the bud any attacks, but stressed that it was equally important for the citizenry to also volunteer “critical information” to support the efforts of the REGSEC.

High alert at borders

The high alert directive from the Ghana Police Service is the second of such directive in as many months.

Last April, the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) triggered a high alert directive at Ghana’s land borders, warning of a possible invasion by some 1,800 Nigerian prisoners who had broken out of jail on Monday, April 5, 2021.

In a wireless message, the Comptroller-General of the GIS, Laud O. Affrifah, had directed all controls to inform their officers on the ground to be on high alert following the escape of those prisoners.

The GIS also advised residents of border communities to be cautious in dealing with strangers and visitors who tried to get into Ghana through the borders.

Borders closed

Officially, Ghana’s land borders have remained closed since March 2020 when the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, gave the directive as part of efforts to stop the importation of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) into Ghana and also curb its spread.

In September 2020, the airports were reopened, but the land borders remain closed.

However, the porous nature of the borders and the number of unapproved routes at those borders have posed a challenge to security men who are to ensure that the directive is enforced.

Source: Graphic.com.gh

Ghana will become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council from January 1, 2022 until December 31, 2023.

A statement issued by the Foreign Ministry Friday, sighted by Myjoyonline.com, indicated that this follows Ghana’s election to the Council by the General Assembly of the UN to serve the two-year term.

According to the statement, Ghana secured 185 votes out of 190 votes cast during the election.

“Ghana obtained the highest number of votes compared to the four other Member States that were elected, further cementing Ghana’s high standing in the comity of Nations,” it explained

Other nations voted to serve non-permanent roles on the UN Security Council include the United Arab Emirates, Albania, Brazil and Gabon.

In the statement, the Foreign Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway expressed the country’s expectation to, “work closely with all the new members of the Council when Ghana’s tenure commences in January 2022.” 

The Foreign Minister further vowed, “to work assiduously to assist in addressing the conflicts on the continent and sustain the peace the people of Africa need.”

She added that, “Ghana will also use her tenure on the Security Council to seek for a stronger and deeper collaboration and cooperation between the United Nations and regional bodies in a manner that enhances complementarity and ensures effectiveness of coordinated action.”

About the UN Security Council

Every year, five countries are elected to the 15-member Council as non-permanent members for a two-year term, according to a geographical rotation set by the General Assembly in 1963, to ensure fair regional representation: five from African and Asian and Pacific States; one from Eastern Europe; two from Latin American States; and two from Western European and Other States (WEOG).

Source: Myjoyonline.com

Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, the Government Statistician and Chief Census Officer, says the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) is fully prepared to ensure the successful conduct of the 2021 Population and Housing Census.

In a speech read on his behalf in Tamale at the launch of the first digital district 30 days 2021 PHC Night, Professor Annim identified key areas for the exercise to include 131,739 localities, 51,916 enumeration areas, 11,020 supervisory areas in the 260 districts and 16 regions in the country.

He indicated that 75,000 tablets were made available for the enumerators to aid their operations and noted that there would be the use of interactive maps to facilitate effective deployment of field personnel to avoid duplications or gaps in the listing of structures and enumeration of persons.

He urged Ghanaians to have faith in the exercise and avail themselves to be counted in the third Population and Housing Census (PHC) data collection, scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2021.

Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister, said “information on population growth dynamics is important and highly needed by the government to plan for educational needs, where to locate health facilities, how to allocate the social expenditures and identify those who need help in the society”.

Mr Gilbert B. Nuuri-Teg, Tamale Metropolitan Coordinating Director, appealed to the public to cooperate fully with the staff of the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) to make the exercise a success.

He said the PHC exercise would collect information on every structure, household and individual to provide reliable and disaggregated data to the lowest of administration and geography, including rural and urban differentiation.

Mr Nuuri-Teg said Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) would fully support the census exercise to address the various data gaps needed for effective planning of strictured programmes at the district level to promote development.

The PHC exercise is to achieve complete coverage of all structures and persons in Ghana, which is in line with the “leave no one behind” agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It would provide updated demographic, socio-economic and housing data to support development and decision-making as well as the tracking of global, regional, and national development goals.

Source: GNA

Effective Saturday, June 5, road transport fares will be increased by 13%.

The new prices affect all forms of transport including Inter-city (trotro), Intercity (long distance) and shared taxis.

In a press statement, the Ghana Private Roads Transport Union (GPRTU) revealed that the increase is to accommodate the increase in fuel prices announced in May 2021, after long negotiations with stakeholders.

“Upon consultations, government has assured us that it will continue with efforts to prevent a steep rise in input cost.

“Government had also assured us by a letter from the Ministry of Finance that the suspension of the quarterly income tax paid by owners of trotros and taxis will be extended to cover intercity commuter vehicles to reduce the operational cost. We, therefore, encourage government to keep to its commitment in this regard.”

This comes after prices at the pumps in Ghana shot up by 12% due to the introduction of some taxes, increases in margins by the National Petroleum Authority, the industry, and price increases on the international market.

Following an agitation by citizens, the National Petroleum Authority rescinded its decision to increase the fuel margin to 17 pesewas per litre.

In a communique dated May 4, NPA revealed that “the 17 pesewas per litre increase in fuel margins previously announced by the NPA has been reduced to 9 pesewas per litre.”

Subsequently, GPRTU said they were in discussions with government about the increase in transport fares but urged Ghanaians to expect a 10 to 15 per cent increase.

In the press release, they urged transport operators to stick to the proposed increase.

“We request members, commuters and the general public to kindly cooperate for the successful implementation of the new fares,” they added.

Source: MyJoyOnline.com

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended Mali from the regional body over latest coup by the military.

ECOWAS leaders have also ordered the military leaders who are currently in charge of the nation to restore the transitional arrangement put in place in August 2020.

The hope is that this move will ensure that the troubled West African state returns to a democratic rule by February 2022.

ECOWAS heads of state held an emergency extra-ordinary summit in Ghana’s capital Accra on Sunday for deliberations.

In a communique, the ECOWAS leaders reiterated “the earlier decisions that the Head of the transition, the Vice-President and the Prime Minister of the transition should not, under any circumstances, be candidates for the forthcoming Presidential election and reaffirmed” ECOWAS’ support to accompany the transition process in Mali.”

Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, said the ECOWAS leaders expect the Malian Military junta to work closely with the ECOWAS Secretariat to ensure that the existing transitional arrangement is restored by first appointing a civil Prime Minister to lead the process.

“The decision of the heads of state is to go according to the protocol on democracy and good governance to suspend Mali from ECOWAS but at the same time, work with ECOWAS to ensure that the transition is on track towards the end goal which is to return the people of Mali to democratic rule,” Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said.

The military in Mali led by Colonel Assimi Goïta seized power and declared himself president last week.

This follows the detention and subsequent resignation of the civilian interim president Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane last week.

Both men were accused by the military of stalling the transition process in the country after last year’s coup that toppled President Keita.

“In choosing between disorder and cohesion in the defence forces and security, we have chosen cohesion in the defence forces and security because it is in the nation’s best interests,” Goïta said on Friday.

Source: Africafeeds.com