A  tanker carrying diesel and an articulated truck were involved in a fatal accident at Gomoa Dominase on the Accra-Winneba road Thursday morning. The truck had four people on board, including the driver and a female, while the tanker driver and his assistant were the only people in the tanker at the time of the accident. The accident, which occurred around 6:33 a.m., led to the death of the tanker driver’s assistant, whose name was only given as Tawiah.  He was burnt beyond recognition. Injuries The charred body of the deceased has been deposited at the Winneba Trauma and Specialist Hospital awaiting autopsy. The tanker driver, who has been identified as Daniel Ayigye Nartey, was severely injured as a result of burns he suffered and is currently receiving treatment at the Winneba Government Hospital. Three of the passengers on board the articulated truck were rushed to the Winneba Trauma and Specialist Hospital for immediate medical attention. Nuhu Abdulai, the fourth person on board the articulated truck, received medical attention at the Gomoa Buduatta Health Centre where he was treated and discharged. The articulated truck, with registration number GT 6358 V, was carrying logs from Cape Coast towards Accra,  while the tanker,  with registration number GT 8031, was travelling from Accra towards Cape Coast. When the Daily Graphic got to the scene around 8:30 a.m. yesterday, the fire was still burning with personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) from Winneba and Buduburam still trying to put it out.  Collision The Winneba Municipal Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport  Department (MTTD), Assistant Superintendent of Police Mr John Paul Akonde, told the Daily Graphic that the articulated truck was overtaking another vehicle on a speed hump and just as it was about to enter its lane, it collided head-on with the tanker.  The impact of the collision made the tanker burst into flames,  with the tanker driver and his assistant trapped in the fire. The Winneba Fire Commander, DO1 Ebenezer Akrong, said in an interview that the GNFS had a distress call a few minutes after the accident had occurred and rushed to the scene. He added that 13 firemen from the Winneba and the Buduburam fire stations managed to bring the fire under control in 20 minutes. He thanked members of the community for assisting the GNFS to rescue the victims and restore sanity on that stretch of the Accra-Cape Coast road.  

  Two people sustained various degrees of injury last Tuesday when a Toyota Forerunner wagon collided with a BMW saloon car at a point at Adabraka along the Accra-Circle highway. When the Daily Graphic reached the scene at exactly 3:05 p.m, the BMW 5 Series was being towed away. Security personnel who had already been dispatched to the scene managed to maintain sanity and were seen directing traffic to ensure its free movement. According to an eyewitness who gave his name as Philip, he was in a taxi en route to the Cathedral when he saw the BMW with registration number GR 617 L heading towards Accra at top speed. He said he asked the driver of the taxi to stop, having sighted the Toyota Forerunner   with registration number GW 5150 W speeding towards his direction. Philip said the traffic light facing the Cathedral road was not functioning, so the Toyota Forerunner driver crossed over to the other end of the road while the traffic light on the Circle-Accra road had turned green.  He added: “What I realised was that both vehicles had collided in the middle of the road. The Toyota Forerunner somersaulted and in the process hit the traffic light which faced the Odorna road and fell on two pedestrians who were crossing the road to the other end”.    In an interview, the supervisor of the Accident Office at the Central Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), Chief Inspector Aboagye Daffour, gave the names of the drivers of the accident vehicles as Mr Edmond Thompson and Nana Amoateng.   He indicated that the pedestrians, Isaac Obeng, 21, and Yaw Asare, 42, were rushed to the Ridge Hospital for medical attention and that the two vehicles were badly damaged. Investigations are underway to ascertain the actual cause of the collision.  Appeal Cheif Inspector Daffour appealed to the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the MTTU to help repair the damaged traffic lights to prevent accidents.  

    President John Dramani has strongly made a case for the speedy and timely release of funds for the implementation of projects agreed between the Ghana government and its Japanese development partners. He stated that the periods between project conception and authorisation for work to begin were often far too long and called on the Japanese government and investors to critically take a second look at the situation. President Mahama made the point yesterday when he participated in a special Africa-Japan Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) roundtable discussion at the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The discussions were a follow-up to the June 2013 TICAD V, which brought together African leaders, ministers, heads of international organisations and business leaders to identify critical challenges and redefine the role of Japan in Africa's development.   Mutual Benefit President Mahama said the development engagement between Japan and Africa was crucial in advancing the development objectives of both parties. Explaining, he said while Japan had the technology, Africa had the resources, “so it should be a win-win situation”. Ghana, the President said, was already witnessing progress in its engagement with Japan, as a number of companies from that country were playing major roles in developments within the oil and gas industry. Fixing Africa’s infrastructure  He said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan had already shown a keen interest in fixing some of the pressing infrastructure projects in Africa to enhance its integration process. With trade among African countries currently at 11 per cent, President Mahama said the level of trade  was not the best for the continent. “We have no illusions about our challenges but we are working on them and we are determined that we create an environment that is conducive for trade and investment,” he said. Conflicts in Africa Mr Mahama also touched on conflicts in Africa and said “today we have fewer conflicts in Africa and the interventions we have created are achieving positive results”.     

  The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) is sourcing a loan of $95 million from Brazil to purchase agricultural machinery. This initiative is to help increase food production and beef up Agricultural Mechanisation Service Enterprise Centres (AMSEC)  Services by ensuring that every district has at least one service centre. Message From MoFA The of Engineering Services for MoFA, Mr George Akyena Brantuo said this in his address at the Young Farmers League Co-operative Society’s (YFLCS) advocacy seminar in Accra last Thursday. The seminar was part of attempts to get the government’s attention to establish tractor service schemes for farmer groups. “The money will be used to purchase tractors for effective land preparation; planters for precision planting; boom sprayers and pumps for proper crop maintenance; and combine harvesters for effective harvesting,” he said. YFLCS concerns The president for YFLCS, Mr Jacob Doe Adzikah said that the seminar was aimed at getting the government’s attention through the MoFA to establish tractor service schemes for farmer groups like theirs. He said that the seminar was also to advocate the establishment of AMSEC in the Osu-Doku and Akuapem North Districts where most of their members had their farms. “Most of our farmers cannot cultivate large acreages because of limited access to tractor services. This is affecting their profits,” he added.  The YFLCS, he said had a capacity of 28,000 members in 28 districts. YFLCS Research Findings A research conducted by a consultant on behalf of YFLCS reported among others that the member farmers were only able to cultivate one acre due to lack of tractor and other machinery support services. The research also showed that most young prospective large scale farmers were abandoning their farms for similar reasons which makes farming an unattractive venture. Recommendations The research report recommended that considering the fact that their number was large, the government through the district assemblies should facilitate the development of tractor service schemes for them.  

  Three employees of Aviance Ghana Limited have been captured on video breaking into the baggage of travellers at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra and stealing iPads and mobile phones from them. The closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage captured baggage offloading activities in the bulk holding compartment of Emirates Flight EK787 that arrived at the KIA from Dubai on October, 2013. Names of suspects  According to the police, the suspects, whose names were given as Emmanuel Sowah, 35; Abraham Armah, 33, and John Paul Dzanku, 36, conspired with Abraham Tetteh Pinto, a member of staff of Glory Height Profile Consult, to carry out the operation. The first three have been working with Aviance Ghana since 2009.  The CCTV footage showed the three forcibly opening the baggage of some passengers of the Emirates flight and stealing gadgets, including iPads and mobile phones. While Pinto kept watch to ensure that they were not caught, the three Aviance Ghana workers hid the stolen items in their working gear before leaving the bulk holding compartment. Emirates Invites Aviance Security  The footage was seen 10 days after the incident when Emirates Airlines invited the management of the Aviance Security Department of the Ghana Airport Company Limited to watch it. The management of the Airport Security, led by the Aviation Security Operations Manager, Mr Kennedy Affum Agyapong, was said to have been overwhelmed by what it saw. One iPad retrieved  The Public Relations Officer of the CID, Assistant Superintendent of Police Mr Joseph B. Darkwa, told the Daily Graphic that Aviation Security officers later retrieved one iPad from suspect Dzanku upon a search. He said all the four suspects deserted their posts and had since gone into hiding.  They have been charged with stealing and a warrant of arrest was obtained from the courts on January 14. The four have been itemised on the police wanted list in the Police Gazette. Pictures of the four suspects have been posted at vantage points at the KIA and on the notice boards of a number of police stations throughout the country. It is believed, he said, that the suspects could be hiding in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, Somanya or in the Volta Region. “Anybody with information on them should contact the nearest police station or the Director of the Commercial Crime Unit at the CID Headquarters in Accra,” the police notice stated. writers email: [email protected]  

  Power supply shortfalls from the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) have prompted the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to embark on emergency power management exercise for the past three weeks. With no hope of stabilisation of  supplies in sight, the exercise is likely to occur anytime GRIDCo prompts the ECG to cut down on power supply to some of its consumers.  According to the Public Relations Officer of the ECG, Mr William Boateng, the emergency load management had become necessary as the power generators experienced shortages in power supplies from the Bui Generating Plant, as well as the Tema and the Aboadze Thermal plants. The exercise has so far led to the offloading of between 70 and 200 megawatts of power from the national grid to consumers between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on different occasions. Power management Following issues such as shortage in crude oil, the plants are said to have developed faults and the companies need to perform maintenance works to prevent a complete breakdown. Those works, Mr Boateng said, were part of ongoing exercises aimed at protecting transformers from breaking down as a result of excessive load, adding, “These are challenges in the system which are being worked at.” He gave instances when power outages had been experienced to include Monday, January 20 and Wednesday, January 22, 2014 when 70 and 100 megawatts of power respectively were taken off from the national grid. The ECG, according to Mr Boateng, tried as much as possible to ensure that it alerted its clients before their power was taken off. He said although tariffs were adjusted at the beginning of the year, the company was still not achieveing full cost recovery, as people were paying far less than what they consumed. He said with over three million primary customers and an uncountable number of secondary users, the ECG would be able to perform better if it recovered the actual cost of what was consumed by customers. He said it was the aim of the company to achieve a 100-per cent installation of prepaid meters in all urban centres where it operated, saying presently the prepaid meters covered only 30 per cent of its operating areas. He said with a mission of providing quality, reliable and safe electricity services to support the economic growth and development of the country, the ECG, which provides power for six regions, apart from the Brong Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West, was working out a better plan with GRIDCo to ensure that customers were given enough notice before any power management was undertaken. Mr Boateng’s assertion on cost recovery confirms a recent statement by President John Mahama at the launch of Ghana’s first solar plant at Punga in the Upper East Region that one of the major problems that had created stress for the energy companies was the fact that users of energy were paying less than the energy production cost. The President was quoted as saying, “If we want reliable power, then, as a people, we must be prepared to pay for it. Our power tariffs have remained at a certain level for the past several years and the problem that we face is that at the time those tariffs were set, we were using gas to generate the power. Gas is much cheaper than light crude oil.”  Cost Recovery Mr Boateng said so far the company, as a result of the prepaid meters that were introduced, especially with the installation of such meters in the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), had been able to constantly recover about 30 per cent of the power that it supplied and that, he said, was also helping in reducing the government’s indebtedness to the company. Currently, he said, the ECG was working at undertaking a final mop-up exercise to ensure that people who did not get their old meters replaced had them replaced with the prepaid meters.  Also, he said by the middle of this year it was going to embark on a project that would see the whole of Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region, put on prepayment. “The Kumasi prepayment programme,” he said, would also help the company recover most of its cost. According to Mr Boateng, the ECG was working at ensuring that GRIDCo and the VRA also put out information to the public on what role they were playing to ensure that the public appreciated the efforts that they were all making to provide power at all times. Energy needs With a population of over 25 million people, Ghana has an energy supply need of around 2,200 megawatts (MW) plus reserves of about 200MW and, according to the PRO, the country produced around that same figure, saying that “this makes it difficult to sustain constant power supply when there is a breakdown in any of the plants”. Energy supply in Ghana The Akosombo Hydroelectric Power Plant supplies about 1,020MW of energy, followed by the Bui Dam, which produces 400MW; then the Aboadze Thermal Power Plant,  360MW and the Takoradi Thermal Power Plant 330MW.   Kpong produces 160MW, while the country’s first solar plant at Punga in the Upper East Region produces 2MW of power onto the national grid, giving the country a total of 2,272MW of combined electricity supply.  Thermal power plants to produce 500MW have been installed and inaugurated in Tema at various times. Some of them are public projects, but most of the capacity is private (Sunon Asogli — 200 MW) or semi-private (CENIT — 126 MW). Several thermal generation projects totalling over 1,000MW are currently at various stages of development by both public and private operators. These projects include Kpone (Alstom), Sunon Asogli Expansion, Takoradi 2 combined-cycle expansion, CENIT/TT1PP expansion and Takoradi 3 expansion. Writer's email: [email protected]  

  The SEWA Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), is to register about 1,000 under-privileged children in the Eastern Region under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). The Chief Executive Officer of the NGO, Mr Jones Owusu Yeboah, said that at the launch of the foundation at the Assemblies of God Church in Koforidua. He said the initiative formed part of a nationwide drive to put 10,000 children on the National Health Insurance Scheme. Mr Yeboah said the initiative was part of SEWA’s greater agenda to fight the booming child sex trade, which is the result of child trafficking, poverty and irresponsible parenthood. He said a survey by SEWA showed that the growing number of children engaged in commercial sex trade was worrying, adding that most of the girls slept with an average of 12 men in a week and charged from GH¢2 to GH¢5 per man. Mr Yeboah commended the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) for partnering the organisation to achieve its aim of giving life to underprivileged children. He disclosed that in the Eastern Region, children from Koforidua, Somanya, Kwahu and Akim Oda would benefit from the scheme. Mr Yeboah said it was the goal of the foundation to help reduce child prostitution and build a multipurpose home for street and trafficked children, as well as delinquents who needed reformation and reintegration. He said the foundation, with its partners, including the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, would collaborate to work hard to reduce the canker. Mr Yeboah commended sponsors of the foundation, First Allied Savings and Loan and Nii Cudjoe and Associates Company Limited, for their support for activities of the foundation. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Daniel Yaro, Officer in charge of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, said child trafficking had become one major challenge for the nation, and, therefore, urged all to report people suspected to be involved in it. GNA  

  A 27-year-old man who allegedly stabbed an ex-police officer at her Dansoman-Sahara residence in Accra has been arrested. The suspect, Ebenezer Agoah, is said to have stabbed the victim, Sarah Allotey, 64, his aunt, several times after she had refused to give him money he had asked for. According to the Dansoman Divisional Crime Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Godfred Ferdinand Amengor, Agoah locked himself and the victim up in the living room. Agoah, who became furious because of the victim’s failure to give him the money, was said to have pulled out a kitchen knife he had hidden in his pair of trousers and stabbed her in the neck and the stomach several times. Shout for help The Crime Officer said Madam Allotey shouted for help, which drew some neighbours to the house, only for them to discover that the entrance to the living room had been locked. The door was forced open by policemen from the Dansoman Police Station who had rushed to the house on receiving a phone call from one of the neighbours.  According to Mr Amengor, Madam Allotey was found lying on the floor in a pool of blood, while Agoah stood a few metres away holding the knife he had used for the assault. He said the police gave a warning shot and asked the suspect to drop the knife but he refused.  “So we shot at his leg after he had attempted to stab Madam Allotey again on the floor,” he said. Mr Amengo said the victim and the suspect were rushed to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and the Police Hospital, respectively, for medical attention. Madam Allotey has since been discharged, while Agoah is still on admission at the Police Hospital. The Crime Officer said investigations had revealed that Agoah had, before the incident, spent some time at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.  

  The Parent Teacher Association of Adisadel college has rejected a letter of appreciation from the outgoing headmaster of the school, indicating that the PTA bought some vehicles for him as his retirement package. The headmaster, Rev. Herbert Graham took home four luxurious vehicles as his retirement package at a send- off service held for him but the PTA says, they have nothing to do with cars and thus cannot be appreciated for a gesture they have not done. According to Myjoyonline, Rev. Herbert Graham who is still at post after his send-off service, wrote a letter thanking the PTA for having bought him some vehicles as his retirement package and thanking them profusely for the honour done him. But in a sharp rebuttal, the PTA has written to him rejecting his appreciation. According to a letter written and signed by the vice chairman of the PTA, Rev. Emmanuel Abole, the Parents and teachers recognize the retirement plans of the headmaster but have never bought vehicles for him to take home. During the retirement service, four nicely decorated vehicles - Nissan Xterra, Ford Eexplorer, BMW four wheel drive and Opel car - were given to him to take home. However, students are being pressured to pay 30 Ghana cedis levy upon arrival from vacation, to settle their debtors for the vehicles purchased. The school has a population of about 1,700 students. With the PTA denying having bought the vehicles, it is not clear who ordered for the purchase of the four luxurious vehicles. The Ghana Education Service (GES) however, says the levy on the students is illegal. Parents have also been levied 50 Ghana cedis towards the celebration of the 104th anniversary and speech and prize giving-day. The expenditure for the celebration amounts to over a billion old Ghana cedis, an amount the parents and teachers have described as irrational. In a related development, the PTA is calling on the GES to ensure that the headmaster who has retired does not continue to sign letters and cheques and does not control the affairs of the school. They want the headmaster to leave the scene because, the continued stay in office by Rev. Herbert Graham will further increase the tension and division in the school.  

  The Police Intelligence and Professional Standards (PIPS) has taken over investigations into the arrest of a radio show host who accused the police in Wa of incompetence as well as aiding and abetting criminals. Following the accusations during a live discussion on Sungmale FM in Wa in the Upper West Region on Wednesday, the police stormed the studios and arrested the host, Tinaa Adams and his two panelist, forcing the station to abruptly end the programme. The three were taken into Police custody and were later released on bail after their statements were taken. A statement signed by the Director-General of Public Affairs at the Police Administration DCOP (Rev.) David Nenyi Ampah-Bennin condemned the action of the Wa Police, stating that, “the action, irrespective of the circumstances is unacceptable.” “It is the belief of the Police Administration that the issue could have been handled in a more professional manner,” the statement said. The Police Administration further apologised to the management and staff of Sungmale FM for the incident.  

  A stakeholder sensitisation forum on the construction of  an interchange connecting the Accra-Cape Coast highway to the West Hills Mall at Dunkonah was held at Weija in Accra last Tuesday. The shopping centre, which is expected to be completed and opened this year, is a joint venture owned by Delico Property Investments Ghana Limited and Social Security & National Insurance Trust (SSNIT). At the forum, a five-stage construction schedule designed to reduce traffic congestion in the area during construction was unveiled to residents and other stakeholders. The interchange, expected to take 10 months to complete, and described as one of the most critical components of the West Hills Mall development, is being built in close collaboration with the Ghana Highway Authority(GHA) which approved its design and standard specifications.  The project has generated considerable public interest because of its size, location and the variety of add-ons, many of which are new to retail shopping in West Africa. West Hills Mall has an extended parking bay with a capacity for 1,400 cars. The essence of the interchange The interchange became necessary following stringent and meticulous traffic impact assessment conducted respectively by the developer and the (GHA). Mr. Joshua Ayimbora, an engineering consultant on the project said the key component of the interchange was a bridge or a structure which will serve as an underpass from the highway to the Mall.  He said this bridge will be constructed in five phases and to ensure that traffic flow is not unduly affected by the works, two diversions will be constructed with two lanes in both directions and motorists will be adequately and constantly guided by a set of signage, notices and alarms. Explaining the design, Mr. Ayimbora said the interchange will have slipways which will enable motorists from Accra or Mallam to enter the service road for access to existing businesses and residential area to the North of the interchange while shoppers and visitors to the Mall may simply enter the slipway and continue through an underpass straight onto the Shopping mall’s car parking area while other commuters may be dropped off by busses and taxis at designated bus bays. Shoppers from the cape coast approaching through the Kasoa end of the road will drive through the slipway and enter the shopping mall’s parking area while delivery vehicles from that direction will use the service road located west of the Mall. Mr. Isaac Kyei Mensah, representing Delico Property Developments said the completion of the Mall will redefine the local community's business and recreational topography and open up the entire western part of Accra to a new world of opportunities.  The forum was attended by local residents, representatives from Ghana Highway Authority, the Ga South Municipal Assembly, The Weija District Police Command, Chiefs and Elders of neighbouring communities and the Member of Parliament fror the area, bright dzimoje.     Located at Dunkonah in western Accra, just off the Accra-Kasoa-Cape Coast highway, the West Hill Mall development comes with a mix of local and international tenants and has two supermarket anchor tenants, some 65 line shops, a chain of restaurants and a five-screen cinema complex. Industry watchers have touted the new development as possibly the biggest retail shopping centre in West Africa on account of its massive rentable space. Among tenants already lined up for business at the West Hills Mall when it is completed later this year are Shoprite, Palace, Edgars, Mr Price, Woolworth, Jet, MTN, Stanbic, Barcellos, Foods Inn, Basillia, Tante Marie, Bata Pierre Cardin, Lufian, Truworth and Identity.  

  Commercial transport operators (drivers of trotros and taxis) have up to March 31, this year, to secure new transport stickers from their various assemblies within the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA). Operators who fail to comply, according to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Chief Executive, Mr Alfred Oko Vanderpuye, will face appropriate legal sanctions. “Please note that the closing date for renewal is March 31, 2014 after which non compliance operators will be dealt with according to the law,” he stated. The introduction of the new stickers, which comes in blue for all categories of trotros and red for taxis, is part of the implementation of a standard vehicle sticker by the Steering Committee on Urban Transportation (SCUTA). The SCUTA is made up of 13 assemblies that are to enjoy the services of the bus rapid transit (BRT) project within the GAMA. Explaining the rationale for the implementation of the new stickers, Mr Vanderpuye said it became necessary to harmonise the stickers issued by the 13 assemblies after SCUTA’s enforcement exercise revealed that some drivers used fake stickers as a result of the multiple stickers issued by the various assemblies. “The issuance of these new colour-coded stickers shall commence this month, January 2014, in all assemblies,” he stated, and directed all registered transport operator entities such as the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the  Cooperatives and Progressive Transport Owners Association (PROTOA) to acquire their 2014 operating permits from the assemblies they registered with. It is envisaged that the new stickers will also check the ‘floating driver’ menace, which is attributed to congestion at bus stops on Accra’s roads.  Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) associations Even before infrastructural works begin on the newly selected Accra-Amasaman BRT corridor, three transport companies which will secure the buses and operate them have been established. They are the Accra GPRTU Rapid Bus Transit Company Limited, Amalgamated Bus Transit Services Limited and the Ghana Co-operative Bus Rapid Transit Association Limited. Mr Vanderpuye said about 86 buses would be needed, and it was also envisaged that the three companies would run three different services on the Amasaman corridor.  New timelines for BRT “We emphasis again that the government is committed to starting the High Quality Bus Services in July, this year,” Mr Vanderpuye stated. The Accra mayor indicated that the engineering studies on the Amasaman-Tudu and the Adenta-Tema Station were far advanced while preparations, according to him, were also being made to procure the services of a contractor to undertake the infrastructural works. Writer’s email: [email protected]  

  Work on the Kwame Nkrumah Circle project is progressing steadily. The Brazilian construction firm, Queiroz Galvao, executing the 74-million euro project is currently laying the foundation for the construction of the flyovers on the Akasanoma-Nsawam road section of the project. Work on the three-tier interchange started in September last year. So far, eight piles which form the foundation for the overheads and support for the piers (pillars) have been drilled. That side of the project is designed to have 10 piers. One pier, according to the Resident Engineer, Mr Kweku Diafo, has 12 piles. The circle itself has been cordoned off and inside it the contractor is preparing the four remaining piles to pave the way for the rest of the work to continue. “The project is proceeding gradually. What is happening now seems not to be catchy so nobody sees exactly what we are doing,” the Project Co-ordinator of the Department of Urban Roads (DUR), Mr William Donkor, told the Daily Graphic during a visit to the project site last Monday. Mr Donkor indicated that about three kilometres of roadside drains beginning from the Feo Oyo road, close to the New Times Corporation, had already been completed.  “We have already done the drains on both sides of the road from the SSNIT offices, near the New Times Corporation, towards the Awudome Junction,” he said. Apart from those works, he said, the contractor had moved to the eastern end, where it was now working from the Ring Road Central towards the Nkrumah Circle again.  Roadside drains for the Ring Road West (from Odaw towards the Obetsebi-Lamptey Circle) were about 90 per cent complete, according to Mr Diafo. Drainage works on the Nsawam Road, the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue and the Ring Road Central are yet to begin.   The new design “The roadside drains define the limit of the road, so once those are accepted, we can now work in between the drains on the left and the right,” Mr Diafo said. The first level flyover of the new project will be between the Akasanoma road, towards the Accra Newtown Junction on the Nsawam road, as well as from the Newtown Junction on the Nsawam road to the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue, around PTC in the opposite direction. The second level flyover is on the Ring Road between the Fanofa Bridge and Feo Oyo and connects the Ring Road Central to the Ring Road West. The ground level has a roundabout at the existing circle. The Ring Road flyover also lifts the Ring Road above the Odaw River and the rail line.  “We just started work on those bridges and we are building their foundations,” Mr Diafo said. Traffic management and diversions The Director of the DUR, Mr Abass Awolu, said the department was working in line with the contractor’s work plan to provide alternative roads.  He said vehicular traffic would be diverted onto the Otublohum-Dadeban road once its riding surface was improved.  Challenges The major challenge now is the rather slow pace at which the piles are being drilled.  Mr Diafo explained that the contractor was, however, trying to get a more appropriate drilling machine to work on the type of soil (soft materials) within the roundabout to facilitate a faster drilling process. Compensation/relocation of utility lines Mr Awolu indicated that the relocation of utility lines, water, electricity and telecommunication was ongoing.  The office of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) which is sited along the project way will, however, be affected. Consequently, the DUR, Mr Awolu indicated, had come to an agreement with the GWCL officials to build another office at a different location.  Significance of project The Ring Road, of which the Kwame Nkrumah Circle is part, was constructed in the 1960s but it has long exceeded its capacity. The Kwame Nkrumah Circle is a key intersection in the arterial road network in Accra and carries about 84,000 vehicles a day.  It, however, constitutes a major bottleneck in the major road network that links the suburban areas of Accra to the central business district.  Writers email: [email protected]  

  A 29-year-old Nigerian has been arrested for attempting to acquire a visa with a fraudulently obtained Ghanaian passport. The man, whose actual name is William Wilson, had a passport bearing the name Yeboah Wilson William and his picture. The passport, with the number G061359, indicated that it was issued on September 26, 2013 and would expire on September 25, 2018. High Commission Last Tuesday, January 21, 2013, William Wilson went to the Canadian High Commission with the passport which had a Schengen visa indicating he had visited Holland from October 19, 2013 to January 1, 2014. Officials at the high commission, who were processing his visa documents, suspected that the Schengen visa and the immigration stamps indicating he had embarked at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra and disembarked at the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam in Holland were fake. The high commission, therefore, called the Document Fraud Unit of the Ghana Immigration Service to cross-check the authenticity of the passport and the visa applicant. Officers of the unit, after conducting a profile check, found out that the passport was genuine even though the bearer was not a Ghanaian. The passport had all the security features of a Ghanaian passport. A Ghanaian from Ewe During interrogation after his arrest, Wilson maintained that he was a Ghanaian even though his accent gave him up as a Nigerian. He claimed to be a “Ghanaian from Ewe”.  That drew laughter from the Ghanaians as Ewe is a Ghanaian language spoken by the people of the Volta Region and not a name of a town where one could hail from. Wilson was said to have claimed that he was attending a health and safety conference in Toronto, Canada. He later admitted that he was a Nigerian from the Edo State and he had arrived in Ghana two weeks ago by road. Wilson claimed that he traded in human hair for women and that the passport was acquired by his brother, Henry Wilson, who lived in Tema, through a Ghanaian by name Abdulai. He also claimed that he only visited the passport office in Ghana once to take a picture and have his fingerprints taken.  He has been charged with fraudulently acquiring a passport contrary to section 520 of the immigration act 2000(Act 573).  Writer’s email: [email protected]  

  Officials of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts (MoTCCA) and the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) last Tuesday met in Accra to initiate a strategic partnership to effectively promote tourism, especially domestic travel and tours. This was in line with plans to actively engage key stakeholders in the three portfolios under the ministry –  tourism, culture and creative arts – to foster mutually beneficial relationships. The sector minister, Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu Adjare, said she believed that such partnerships would help to stimulate greater public interest and participation in the ministry’s programmes and activities. Last year, President John Mahama, through Executive Instrument (E. I. 2013), established the new Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts to replace the Ministry of Tourism. That increased the number of agencies under the ministry from three to 14, thus placing a greater responsibility on its officials, hence the need to bring all hands on deck to support the new ministry. “I thank the Graphic Communications Group for the support it extended to us in the past year, especially during the Panafest and Emancipation Day celebrations, as well as the company’s conscious efforts to promote tourism, culture and the arts,” the minister said. She declared 2014 as a ‘Tourism Year,’ saying together with the Graphic Communications Group, the Ghana Tourism Development Company, the Ghana Tourism Federation, the Ghana Tourism Authority, the Musicians Union of Ghana and other players, exciting monthly events would be rolled out in all parts of the country during the year to attract Ghanaians, especially the youth, to domestic tourism. The move was also aimed at making creative arts and cultural products appealing to the people. The Managing Director of the GCGL, Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, said the group would use the various platforms that its five newspapers presented, to drive domestic tourism. “We believe that if we encourage Ghanaians to patronise domestic tourism, they can encourage foreign travellers to visit the country. We must believe in ourselves so that we can compete in the comity of nations,” he stated, and added that the GCGL would continue to propagate the benefits of tourism at all times. The Director of Marketing and Public Affairs at GCGL, Ms Shirley Acquah-Harrison,  said  the GCGL would liaise with the ministry to set up a committee made up of representatives of the various stakeholders to draw up an action plan that would spell out the programme of activities for this year. She hinted that some of the activities might include organised trips to towns across the country during traditional festivals, visits to tourism sites, as well as food bazaars.  The GCGL delegation  included Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh,  the Director in charge of Newspapers, Mrs Janet Quainoo, the Editor of The Mirror, and Mr Dodzi Anedor,  the Sales and Advertising Manager, all of whom promised to support the call to promote tourism, arts and culture, to help speed up the national drive for economic development.  

  The Lebanese community in Ghana is to sponsor the children of Ghanaian soldiers who lost their lives while serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The Lebanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Ali Halabi, made this known when he paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Defence, Mr Mark Owen Woyongo, in Accra. The gesture by the Lebanese community is in recognition and appreciation of the tremendous sacrifices Ghanaian troops have made to Lebanon through peace support operations undertaken by the United Nations. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Defence after the meeting, Mr Halabi said although the Lebanese community in Ghana had supported the education of some Ghanaians at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), it was time to extend the gesture to the children of soldiers who  lost their lives in Lebanon. Should the military high command not find such suitable children, the scholarship will be extended to cover children of such soldiers from other peacekeeping missions, whom he referred to as ‘children of martyrs.  Mr Woyongo thanked the Lebanese community in Ghana for their benevolence.  He said Ghanaian troops excelled in peacekeeping wherever they were deployed. The UNIFIL was established by the United Nations Security Council in March 1978 by UN Resolutions 425 and 426. To date, 30 Ghanaian peacekeepers have lost their lives.  

  The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has begun an exercise to relocate transport stations in unapproved terminals to reduce traffic congestion within the Kumasi Metropolis, particularly in the central business district of Adum Pampaso and Kejetia. At a media briefing in Kumasi, the Co-ordinating Director of the KMA, Mr Solomon Asiedu, told the media that the KMA intended to move two major lorry stations to new areas. The relocation He said the first station to be relocated would be the Kejetia-Adum-Pampaso terminal, which currently connects to 14 destinations in the Western Region, to the Afua Kobi Bus Terminal, near the Abinkyi Market. Mr Asiedu said the second station, which operates from seven different locations within the metropolis to the three northern regions, would be moved to the Suame Hill Top Terminal. He mentioned the affected destinations in the Adum-Pampaso and Kejetia area as Asankragwa, Sefwi Bekwai, Tarkwa, Wassa Akropong, Takoradi, Prestea, Sefwi Juaboso, Bonsu Nkwanta, Sefwi Wiawso, Sefwi Debiso/Essam, Prampamaso, Agona-Wassa, Bibiani and Enchi, all in the Western Region. In the second station, he said, there were those loading at House of Faith, Ashtown, Allah-Bar, Manhyia , Roman Hill, Bompata and Mmrom areas to some parts of the three northern regions. The exercise The Head of Metro Transport, Mr Randy Wilson, indicated that the exercise was necessary due to the heavy vehicular traffic in the metropolis and added that the KMA had discussed the issue with the transport operators, as well as members of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU). He recalled that there had been several interactions and discussions with all the transport unions in the affected areas and added that initially, the plan was to begin the relocation exercise simultaneously on January 8, 2014, but that was later changed to January 14, 2014 and finally rescheduled for January 21, 2014.  Inspection of sites He indicated that before the exercise, the KMA, together with representatives of the two affected terminals, the GPRTU and the members of the other transport unions, had inspected the new sites.  Mr Wilson gave the assurance that there would be military patrols at the affected areas to ensure that the exercise was conducted successfully.  

  A 24-year-old teacher, who allegedly defiled a five-year-old kindergarten pupil, was yesterday put before the Accra Circuit Court. Nana Yaw Adu-Larbi, a teacher at the victim’s school at Gbawe in Accra, allegedly abused the girl sexually around 3 p.m. on January 14, 2014. He pleaded not guilty to one count of defilement and was remanded by the court, presided over by Ms Ellen Amoah, to reappear on February 2, 2014. Prosecution’s Case Prosecuting, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mrs Sarah Acquah said the school had closed on that day and the victim was waiting for the school bus to pick her up when she felt like urinating. She then went to the washroom designed for nursery pupils to urinate but Adu-Larbi followed her there and sexually abused her. He then warned her not to inform anyone or risk being lashed by him. The victim bled as a result of the act and on reaching home around 5 p.m., she pleaded with her mother’s friend, who was then washing clothes, to wash her pants for her because she (victim) was feeling uncomfortable. The woman obliged and directed the victim to remove her pants but, to the woman’s surprise, the victim’s pants were soaked with blood, while blood oozed out of her vagina. Victim rushed to hospital The attention of the victim’s mother was drawn to her daughter’s predicament and that prompted the mother to rush the victim to hospital. A medical doctor who examined the victim confirmed that she had, indeed, been defiled. Upon interrogation, the victim informed the doctor that she had been defiled by Adu-Larbi.  The doctor then referred her to the Police Hospital for further examination. A complaint was subsequently lodged with the Odorkor Office of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU), resulting in the arrest and prosecution of the accused person. Writer’s email: [email protected].  

    At least 3,584 streets in the Accra Metropolis have been digitised and assigned names under the street-naming and property-addressing project. The project is spearheaded by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) with funding from the World Bank, through the Ghana Land Administration Project. When completed, the system will provide the platform for proper identification of all physical structures; the opportunity for effective revenue mobilisation and collection; and the necessary platform for effective accountability on development in the metropolis. Background of the project. During the launch of the National Urban Policy Framework and Action Plan in March 2013, President John Dramani Mahama directed the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development to ensure that streets were named within 18 months. In November 2013, the President gave an ultimatum to metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) to complete the street-naming and house-numbering exercises in their respective areas or lose their jobs by September 2014. The implementation of the exercise is guided by the National Street-Naming and Property-Addressing Policy, and the National Operational Guidelines on Street-Naming and Property-Addressing System. AMA Address Briefing the media during an inspection tour of Accra, the Chief Executive Officer of the AMA, Mr Alfred Okoe Vanderpujie, said 22 communities, two per each sub-metro, were consulted during the naming exercise to seek their views on the names to be given to the streets. “We have involved the chiefs, the business communities, the traders, the home owners and all various interested parties so that  we, as AMA, will not generate the names but  the names will come from within the communities,” he said  Mr Vanderpuijie mentioned that the assembly had completed piloted signages in five communities for residents to identify the street names that they provided and also seek redress if they had any issues with the names. The communities were James Town, Korle Dudor, Ministries area, Makola and South Industrial Area.  Mr Vanderpujie said a city-wide validation of all street names would be held on February 11, 2014, to exhibit the new names to the general public for their comments. How the streets will be named. The AMA boss said the streets would be named after prominent citizens who had made a mark on society through their contributions to national development. He said some of the streets would also be named after foreign nationals who had also made an impact in the country, adding that “no street would be named after anyone alive.” He, therefore, denied claims that some individuals had paid some amounts to have some streets named after them.    

  Road accidents in the Ashanti Region reduced from the 1,791 cases recorded in 2012 to 1,390 cases in 2013. Three hundred and six people lost their lives in 2012 against 280 in 2013. A total of 2,213 people sustained various degrees of injuries in 2012 as against 1,495 in 2013 Additionally, 352 pedestrians were knocked down in 2012, while 197  were knocked down in 2013 and those accidents involved 761 commercial vehicles, 449 private ones and 130 motorbikes. The Ashanti Regional Director of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), Mr Thomas Bismark Boakye, in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Kumasi, said the region was given a national target of 428 on fatalities but the region did its best and recorded 280, representing 65.4 per cent reduction. He said the commission was working hard to further reduce the national target of 381 for 2014 to 250, representing 65.6 per cent reduction, and called for the support of all for further reduction. Mr Boakye admitted that though the NRSC reduced road accidents in 2013, it failed a little in the last quarter of the year when about 37 people died in four separate accidents that occurred at Dominase on the Kumasi-Obuasi road, Juaso on the Accra-Kumasi highway, Asonomaso Nkwanta on the Kumasi-Mampong road and Mfensi on the Kumasi-Sunyani road. He said his outfit would ensure 80 per cent enforcement of the road safety regulations and added that the 20 per cent would be used on driver education. Mr Boakye gave an assurance that his outfit would intensify its fight against road accidents and indicated that the NRSC office had introduced road safety ambassadors such as  Peace FM’s Gabby Adu-Gyamfi to reduce road accidents. He said the NRSC offices in the region had collaborated with the Sonnie Badu Ministries to organise a gospel show at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi on January 31, 2014 to pray to God to intervene in the unusual road accidents that might occur in 2014. He also said the NRSC would collaborate with the National Drivers Academy (NDA), the police and the Driver and Vehicle License Authority (DVLA) to fight the menace. He, however, appealed to all stakeholders in road safety and the general public to help in the fight against road accidents.