Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Nkontonpon
SEVEN children were seriously injured, two of them in critical condition, when a heavily loaded grader with failed brakes rammed through a crowd of Sunday school goers at Nkontonpon, in the Western Region.
But for divine intervention, the casualty figures would have been higher as the grader decended a hill and headed in the children’s direction.
Many of the children managed to escape but the objects cleared by the grader on its way downhill seriously injuring the seven who are now on admission at the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital.
The injured children included Francisca Nyamekeh, 6; Ruth Amoasi, 7; Mariam Ameye, 7; Angelina Esibuch,7; Gloria Ankoma, 8; Emmanuel Entsuah, 7, and Kaala Sam.
Apart from injuring the children, the machine also destroyed a petty trader’s shop and prefabricated metal canopies parked off the road for rental, before finally crashing into a building, causing extensive damage to it.
According to an eyewitness, the machine was working without any problem in the early hours of the day but at about 1.00 p.m., the operator moved to the top of the hill where the problem started.
"On his way downhill, we heard the operator shouting as he tried to control the speed of the machine to no avail. The older ones among the children managed to escape but the younger ones were trapped by objects that had been cleared by the machine," the eyewitness said.
Madam Akosua Kakraba, a middle-aged woman whose room was badly damaged by the machine, said, "From church I entered the room and only moved out again as a result of the pandemonium, not knowing that I was rather escaping death."
When this reporter entered Madam Kakraba’s room, it was evident that debris from the part of the building that was hit by the machine were on the bed.
The building is currently not habitable, as it has developed more cracks than before, according to the residents.
Mrs Grace Amoasi, the mother of one of the victims, Ruth, said she could only thank God that none of the children died and prayed that her daughter and other children on admission would get well soon to join their colleagues.
When contacted, the Director of CA Company, Mr Charles Mensah, who expressed shock at the turn of events, assured the community and those affected that his company would be responsible for the damage caused to the property and the children.
The Western Regional Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service, Mr George Adussa-Poku, said the police had taken control of the situation and were currently investigating the cause.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
15 perished in Accident
Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Asuoko-Assaman
THE small town of Asuoko-Assaman, near the Shama Junction in the Western Region, was on Friday night thrown into a state of profuse mourning when a Ford mini bus ran into an abandoned articulated truck, resulting in the death of 15 people on board the bus.
The accident, which occurred around 11.00 p.m., claimed seven lives on the spot, while the remaining five died shortly afterwards when they were rushed to the Effia-Nkwanta Hospital in Sekondi.
The articulated truck was said to have developed a fault at about 8:30 p.m. last Friday and was left in the middle of the road, with its parking light on. The driver of the truck claimed that apart from the parking light, he had positioned a warning triangle a distance behind the truck to warn oncoming vehicles of the danger.
But the Ford mini bus, which was said to be travelling at top speed, ran into the truck, resulting in the prohibitive loss of lives.
The dead included two military officers who were travelling to their duty station in Takoradi.
The identities of the remaining victims are yet to be established.
The impact of the crash was so great that it took the police and residents of the town more than six hours to disentangle the badly wrecked Ford mini bus, with registration number WR 2119 X, which had gone deep under the truck, with the registration number AS 5655 S and fully loaded with goods, and to retrieve the dead bodies.
The residents, who had to cut their sleep to help before the arrival of a police rescue team, could not to do much, as the victims had been seriously trapped under the heavy truck, from the rear of the truck to its axle.
According to the Western Regional Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service , Mr George Adussa-Poku, the police had the signal at about 11.00 p.m. and moved immediately to save the situation.
“The impact was so great that we could not have access to the victims, as they were trapped deep under the articulated truck,” he said.
“It took my men a hectic time to cut the metals and flip the mangled mini bus open to have access to some of the passengers who were already dead,” he said.
He said judging from the impact of the accident, the driver might have been travelling between 140 and 150 kilometres per hour, which he described as outrageous.
“If the driver had been travelling within the stipulated speed limit, knowing that he was approaching a town, the impact would not have been that powerful and we would have had some of the passengers alive to tell us what happened,” he added.
He disclosed that the driver of the truck had said his truck had developed a fault on the road to Takoradi at about 8:30 p.m. and that he (the driver) had erected a warning triangle and put on his parking lights.
Mr Adussa-Poku explained that in the night if only the parking lights of a stationary vehicle were on, without the hazard lights, other vehicles approaching the faulty vehicle would presume the vehicle was in motion.
He said the identities of the victims were not yet known but added that the police managed to retrieve their mobile phones and relatives who had called to find out if their loved ones had arrived safely were greeted with the bad news of their death.
The Regional MTTU Commander said most accidents happened in the night when the police had retired for the day, adding that information available with regard to the Ford bus indicated that from the time the driver left the station in Accra to the time of the accident, he (the Ford driver) had travelled two hours, which was unacceptable.
Mr Adussa-Poku said the driver of the faulty articulated truck was currently in police custody and would be formally charged and processed for court today.
At the Ford Station in Takoradi, officials said the mini bus had 16 passengers on board who were travelling from Accra to Takoradi but only one person had alighted before the accident occurred.
They said it would be very difficult to make any comment, since they could not confirm the speed at which the driver of the Ford had been travelling.
The police expressed the hope that the families of the victims would be located soon to inform them of the tragic incident.
The bodies have since been deposited at the morgue at the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital, while the MTTU has since moved the two vehicles to the Sekondi Police Station.
THE small town of Asuoko-Assaman, near the Shama Junction in the Western Region, was on Friday night thrown into a state of profuse mourning when a Ford mini bus ran into an abandoned articulated truck, resulting in the death of 15 people on board the bus.
The accident, which occurred around 11.00 p.m., claimed seven lives on the spot, while the remaining five died shortly afterwards when they were rushed to the Effia-Nkwanta Hospital in Sekondi.
The articulated truck was said to have developed a fault at about 8:30 p.m. last Friday and was left in the middle of the road, with its parking light on. The driver of the truck claimed that apart from the parking light, he had positioned a warning triangle a distance behind the truck to warn oncoming vehicles of the danger.
But the Ford mini bus, which was said to be travelling at top speed, ran into the truck, resulting in the prohibitive loss of lives.
The dead included two military officers who were travelling to their duty station in Takoradi.
The identities of the remaining victims are yet to be established.
The impact of the crash was so great that it took the police and residents of the town more than six hours to disentangle the badly wrecked Ford mini bus, with registration number WR 2119 X, which had gone deep under the truck, with the registration number AS 5655 S and fully loaded with goods, and to retrieve the dead bodies.
The residents, who had to cut their sleep to help before the arrival of a police rescue team, could not to do much, as the victims had been seriously trapped under the heavy truck, from the rear of the truck to its axle.
According to the Western Regional Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service , Mr George Adussa-Poku, the police had the signal at about 11.00 p.m. and moved immediately to save the situation.
“The impact was so great that we could not have access to the victims, as they were trapped deep under the articulated truck,” he said.
“It took my men a hectic time to cut the metals and flip the mangled mini bus open to have access to some of the passengers who were already dead,” he said.
He said judging from the impact of the accident, the driver might have been travelling between 140 and 150 kilometres per hour, which he described as outrageous.
“If the driver had been travelling within the stipulated speed limit, knowing that he was approaching a town, the impact would not have been that powerful and we would have had some of the passengers alive to tell us what happened,” he added.
He disclosed that the driver of the truck had said his truck had developed a fault on the road to Takoradi at about 8:30 p.m. and that he (the driver) had erected a warning triangle and put on his parking lights.
Mr Adussa-Poku explained that in the night if only the parking lights of a stationary vehicle were on, without the hazard lights, other vehicles approaching the faulty vehicle would presume the vehicle was in motion.
He said the identities of the victims were not yet known but added that the police managed to retrieve their mobile phones and relatives who had called to find out if their loved ones had arrived safely were greeted with the bad news of their death.
The Regional MTTU Commander said most accidents happened in the night when the police had retired for the day, adding that information available with regard to the Ford bus indicated that from the time the driver left the station in Accra to the time of the accident, he (the Ford driver) had travelled two hours, which was unacceptable.
Mr Adussa-Poku said the driver of the faulty articulated truck was currently in police custody and would be formally charged and processed for court today.
At the Ford Station in Takoradi, officials said the mini bus had 16 passengers on board who were travelling from Accra to Takoradi but only one person had alighted before the accident occurred.
They said it would be very difficult to make any comment, since they could not confirm the speed at which the driver of the Ford had been travelling.
The police expressed the hope that the families of the victims would be located soon to inform them of the tragic incident.
The bodies have since been deposited at the morgue at the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital, while the MTTU has since moved the two vehicles to the Sekondi Police Station.
Waste Management: lessons from America
Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Philadelphia
THERE have been various Metropolitan Chief Executives (MCEs) who have headed the Tamale, Accra , Kumasi, and the Twin-City of Sekondi/Takoradi metropolises since their creation at different times.
Their main headache and what mostly caused their exit was their quest to modernise the metropolises or cities to make them conform to international standards, an ambition that was always thwarted by the uncooperative behaviour of members of the public.
The Chief Executive of the Shama Ahanta East (SAEMA), Mr Philip Kwesi Nkrumah, and his counterparts in the Kumasi, Tamale and Accra have tried tirelessly to rid their metropolitan areas of filth as well as congestion on the streets but that has been fiercely resisted.
It was about 11:30 p.m. when a team of journalists from Ghana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania and Guinea left the hotel to visit the Ground Zero in Yew York City, where work was seriously going on for the construction of the new premises of the World Trade Centre.
The reporters were there until lunch time, and within a twinkle of an eye, an open space near the tribute centre was filled with people who had come out to eat lunch provided by food vendors who were there on time to sell.
Everybody at the open space had something to eat from disposable plastic cups and plates. I was keen to know how they were going to dispose of their waste after they had taken their lunch.
Each of them picked his or her plastic waste and into the bins provided for the sellers.
There, I said to myself if this were to be in Ghana, it would have been very interesting as the people would have left the waste there with impunity.
The story was not different on the streets of Washington, Maryland, Philadelphia, and other parts of the United States.
The system in the United States is working, the people know their rights, they know it is wrong to litter the streets; they know the importance of litter bins, which are provided at every street corner in the cities.
A long bus is being operated by one driver, no conductor, no security officer, the people know what to do, unlike here in Ghana where the Metro Mass Transit has countless people working on just one bus so that people will not cheat the system.
In the trains and the buses in various cities is just a simple notice: “No drinks, No smoking, No eating, No spitting or littering, No playing of radio or other instruments except connected to an earphone” and violation of this ordinance is punishable by fine or jail, but just try boarding any Metro Mass Transport bus and you would see that things are the opposite.
The story about Ghana in the international community is very interesting. I felt good when we toured the offices of the officials at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Government Accountability Office, Justice Department in Washington and New York, the World Bank and other state departments and non-governmental organisations. The people in those offices had a good impression about Ghana. They remarked that we had press freedom, good governance, growing democracy and political system, economic stability as well as a sustained fight against corruption.
But what they did not know is that the attitude of the people after 50 years is a drain on the development of the country.
In the early part of this year, Accra, Takoradi and Kumasi metropolises embarked on demolition and decongesting exercises, but they yielded no long lasting result.
Traders have returned to the Market Circle in Takoradi, the streets of Accra and Kumasi, the moves by their MCEs to ease all manner of congestion in our cities were fiercely resisted by hawkers of these metropolises.
At the Market Circle, the officials of the Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly were embarrassed as the politicians came to the rescue of the hawkers.
It is a basic fact and general knowledge that one cannot compare the level of development in Ghana or any African country to that in the United Stated of America, but it will do us a lot of good if we appreciate the need to change our attitude and beautify our communities, cities and towns.
When the streets of Accra were decongested, traders in the shops in the Metropole-Lane in Accra had more customers visiting their shops because people could move freely on the streets.
But today, the hawkers are back on the streets and do we have to always blame the politicians for not providing the needed change when we are not ready to accept the change?
It is said that as we expect others to be perfect, we should ask ourselves whether we are also perfect to match the kind of perfection we expect from others.
A lot of people desire to go to America or Europe to work but they fail to realise that those societies had been made attractive by people who appreciate the importance of litter bin and the need to dispose of waste at the appropriate place. If the attitude of Ghanaians does not change, we will continue to blame political office holders of inefficiency when they are not to be blamed.
After discussing the issue of filth and indiscipline with my colleagues from other parts of the continent, we all arrived at one answer — that it appeared the advocacy for the need for people to accept change and implement change has been left at the door of political leaders.
This is because many of the people are not enlightened, they do not know their rights. Therefore, to them they can only develop when they remind politicians that they have the power to vote them to power without knowing that they have a role to play.
Shopowners in various parts of New York visited by the team of African journalists had the quantity of goods their shops could take at a time so that the front of their shops were free of goods. However, here in the central business districts in the four metropolises in Ghana mentioned in this piece, it is directly the opposite.
It is common to see shopowners in Sekondi/Takoradi displaying their wares in front of their shops and only park them in the warehouses at the close work.
Why can’t we do the right thing for a moment? I believe the people at the helm of the AMA, SAEMA and KMA need to study the system in developed countries and institute the necessary changes. That should be supported by a change in the attitude of Ghanaians.
The Ministry of Information and National Orientation has a lot of work to do in that regard and should attend to it with some urgency, and educate the people, especially traders in the four metropolises, about the need to keep hawkers off the streets.
The hawkers need to be educated and their opinions sought; they need to be part of the solution to the problem. It should not be just a case of the AMA, SAEMA or KMA evoking the powers vested in them by pushing and destroying tables and kiosks around town.
Because the Metropolitan Assemblies use force as the only method to effect change, the people also intimidate them by telling the politicians that they have the power to vote them out of or retain them in office.
But that should not be the case; developed cities like Washington D.C., New York City, Philadelphia and Maryland in the US, and other cities in Europe and other parts the world have developed with the help of their peoples.
Until the people realise their role in transforming the society, we will not achieve any result. We must first work on the attitudes of the people by making sure they welcome and appreciate the change before we move into action.
Washington D.C. receives millions of tourists and that rakes in millions of dollars for the economy of the United States. We have so much to sell to the world, but without the right approach, we will be far from achieving results.
I do not think it is the duty of the metropolitan authorities to educate the people; it is the responsibility of the National Commission on Civic Education, Ministry of Information and National Orientation.
We should always remember that a weak man can not sit on his donkey while it is standing. He, therefore, waits until the donkey bend down and then he mounts it to show people that he can also ride on his donkey.
That means that if we want to create the kind of metropolis that we dream of, we must take a look at the approach we use.
We have some of the most finest journalists on the continents of Africa. They are very vocal and good with the pen. But they seem to have turned their focus on politics while development issues have been relegated to the background.
THERE have been various Metropolitan Chief Executives (MCEs) who have headed the Tamale, Accra , Kumasi, and the Twin-City of Sekondi/Takoradi metropolises since their creation at different times.
Their main headache and what mostly caused their exit was their quest to modernise the metropolises or cities to make them conform to international standards, an ambition that was always thwarted by the uncooperative behaviour of members of the public.
The Chief Executive of the Shama Ahanta East (SAEMA), Mr Philip Kwesi Nkrumah, and his counterparts in the Kumasi, Tamale and Accra have tried tirelessly to rid their metropolitan areas of filth as well as congestion on the streets but that has been fiercely resisted.
It was about 11:30 p.m. when a team of journalists from Ghana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania and Guinea left the hotel to visit the Ground Zero in Yew York City, where work was seriously going on for the construction of the new premises of the World Trade Centre.
The reporters were there until lunch time, and within a twinkle of an eye, an open space near the tribute centre was filled with people who had come out to eat lunch provided by food vendors who were there on time to sell.
Everybody at the open space had something to eat from disposable plastic cups and plates. I was keen to know how they were going to dispose of their waste after they had taken their lunch.
Each of them picked his or her plastic waste and into the bins provided for the sellers.
There, I said to myself if this were to be in Ghana, it would have been very interesting as the people would have left the waste there with impunity.
The story was not different on the streets of Washington, Maryland, Philadelphia, and other parts of the United States.
The system in the United States is working, the people know their rights, they know it is wrong to litter the streets; they know the importance of litter bins, which are provided at every street corner in the cities.
A long bus is being operated by one driver, no conductor, no security officer, the people know what to do, unlike here in Ghana where the Metro Mass Transit has countless people working on just one bus so that people will not cheat the system.
In the trains and the buses in various cities is just a simple notice: “No drinks, No smoking, No eating, No spitting or littering, No playing of radio or other instruments except connected to an earphone” and violation of this ordinance is punishable by fine or jail, but just try boarding any Metro Mass Transport bus and you would see that things are the opposite.
The story about Ghana in the international community is very interesting. I felt good when we toured the offices of the officials at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Government Accountability Office, Justice Department in Washington and New York, the World Bank and other state departments and non-governmental organisations. The people in those offices had a good impression about Ghana. They remarked that we had press freedom, good governance, growing democracy and political system, economic stability as well as a sustained fight against corruption.
But what they did not know is that the attitude of the people after 50 years is a drain on the development of the country.
In the early part of this year, Accra, Takoradi and Kumasi metropolises embarked on demolition and decongesting exercises, but they yielded no long lasting result.
Traders have returned to the Market Circle in Takoradi, the streets of Accra and Kumasi, the moves by their MCEs to ease all manner of congestion in our cities were fiercely resisted by hawkers of these metropolises.
At the Market Circle, the officials of the Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly were embarrassed as the politicians came to the rescue of the hawkers.
It is a basic fact and general knowledge that one cannot compare the level of development in Ghana or any African country to that in the United Stated of America, but it will do us a lot of good if we appreciate the need to change our attitude and beautify our communities, cities and towns.
When the streets of Accra were decongested, traders in the shops in the Metropole-Lane in Accra had more customers visiting their shops because people could move freely on the streets.
But today, the hawkers are back on the streets and do we have to always blame the politicians for not providing the needed change when we are not ready to accept the change?
It is said that as we expect others to be perfect, we should ask ourselves whether we are also perfect to match the kind of perfection we expect from others.
A lot of people desire to go to America or Europe to work but they fail to realise that those societies had been made attractive by people who appreciate the importance of litter bin and the need to dispose of waste at the appropriate place. If the attitude of Ghanaians does not change, we will continue to blame political office holders of inefficiency when they are not to be blamed.
After discussing the issue of filth and indiscipline with my colleagues from other parts of the continent, we all arrived at one answer — that it appeared the advocacy for the need for people to accept change and implement change has been left at the door of political leaders.
This is because many of the people are not enlightened, they do not know their rights. Therefore, to them they can only develop when they remind politicians that they have the power to vote them to power without knowing that they have a role to play.
Shopowners in various parts of New York visited by the team of African journalists had the quantity of goods their shops could take at a time so that the front of their shops were free of goods. However, here in the central business districts in the four metropolises in Ghana mentioned in this piece, it is directly the opposite.
It is common to see shopowners in Sekondi/Takoradi displaying their wares in front of their shops and only park them in the warehouses at the close work.
Why can’t we do the right thing for a moment? I believe the people at the helm of the AMA, SAEMA and KMA need to study the system in developed countries and institute the necessary changes. That should be supported by a change in the attitude of Ghanaians.
The Ministry of Information and National Orientation has a lot of work to do in that regard and should attend to it with some urgency, and educate the people, especially traders in the four metropolises, about the need to keep hawkers off the streets.
The hawkers need to be educated and their opinions sought; they need to be part of the solution to the problem. It should not be just a case of the AMA, SAEMA or KMA evoking the powers vested in them by pushing and destroying tables and kiosks around town.
Because the Metropolitan Assemblies use force as the only method to effect change, the people also intimidate them by telling the politicians that they have the power to vote them out of or retain them in office.
But that should not be the case; developed cities like Washington D.C., New York City, Philadelphia and Maryland in the US, and other cities in Europe and other parts the world have developed with the help of their peoples.
Until the people realise their role in transforming the society, we will not achieve any result. We must first work on the attitudes of the people by making sure they welcome and appreciate the change before we move into action.
Washington D.C. receives millions of tourists and that rakes in millions of dollars for the economy of the United States. We have so much to sell to the world, but without the right approach, we will be far from achieving results.
I do not think it is the duty of the metropolitan authorities to educate the people; it is the responsibility of the National Commission on Civic Education, Ministry of Information and National Orientation.
We should always remember that a weak man can not sit on his donkey while it is standing. He, therefore, waits until the donkey bend down and then he mounts it to show people that he can also ride on his donkey.
That means that if we want to create the kind of metropolis that we dream of, we must take a look at the approach we use.
We have some of the most finest journalists on the continents of Africa. They are very vocal and good with the pen. But they seem to have turned their focus on politics while development issues have been relegated to the background.
Police lament spate of accidents
Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Takoradi
A number of accidents that occurred on the Accra-Takoradi Road and parts of the Shama Ahanta East metropolis over the past three weeks have claimed 21 lives.
Some of the victims also sustained various degrees of injuries.
The Western Regional Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service, Mr E. Adusa-Poku, who described the situation as alarming, said 11 people were confirmed dead in a tragic accident involving a Ford Bus and an articulated truck at the weekend.
He said that was followed by an accident involving another Ford bus and a Mercedes Benz bus in a head-on collision that claimed five lives on the spot in addition to five people killed in other accidents at different locations in the metropolis within the period.
He said the carnage on the road could be avoided if drivers respected road signs and driving regulations and avoided speeding.
He attributed the accidents to speeding, lack of maintenance, alcohol intake by drivers and driver fatigue as well as lack of good judgement before overtaking.
"They speed, drink, overtake in curves and dangerous areas leading to fatalities daily. My men are on the road daily but they cannot be there throughout the day," he said
To check drink driving among drivers, the police mounted an exercise on the road and the alcohol testing machine (Alchometer) used to measure the level of alcohol intake by the driver of a Mercedes Benz bus, Abraham Doi, developed a fault after the test due to the high level of alcohol in his system.
The driver was on Tuesday convicted to a fine of GH¢6,000 (¢60 million), equivalent to 500 penalty units, by the Sekondi Magistrate Court. He faces a 12-month jail term in default.
Mr Adusa-Poku regretted that some drivers drove more than 100 km/h through town and crowded areas and warned motorists not to go beyond the stipulated 50 km/h speed limit when approaching towns.
He was not happy that motorists, both commercial and private vehicle owners, misused the good nature of the Accra-Takoradi road and certain parts of the metropolis to speed.
The regional MTTU commander said the biggest challenge now was how to ensure sanity on the road to protect life and property .
"The police will not be everywhere at all the time and the best thing to do is to ensure that as citizens, we do the right, " he said.
Mr Adusa-Poku gave the assurance that his men would be up to the task during the Ghana 2008 Africa Cup of Nations tournament and indicated that they would be supported by the community police who had been trained under the National Youth Employment Programme.
When contacted, some drivers of the various drivers’ unions, including the Ford Minibus drivers, attributed the spate of accidents to tiredness and wrong judgement while overtaking.
The Secretary of the Takoradi branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr Francis K. Kwaku, explained that the distance from Takoradi to Accra should be covered within four hours and Anomabo in the Central Region had been identified as a rest stop.
"But we fail to rest because the passengers are eager to get to their destination early," he said.
Mr Kwaku described the clamouring for passengers and the quest to make more money by going on a number of trips before the close of the day as unfortunate.
He, therefore, appealed to the authorities to ensure that drivers abided by the regulations.
Some drivers in the metropolis blamed pedestrian accidents on the attitude of pedestrians, who do not take the necessary precautions while crossing the road.
When the Daily Graphic visited the local Ford station, business was brisk as usual, and a passenger who was asked why he wanted to travel on that vehicle said he needed to be in Accra before mid-day.
A number of accidents that occurred on the Accra-Takoradi Road and parts of the Shama Ahanta East metropolis over the past three weeks have claimed 21 lives.
Some of the victims also sustained various degrees of injuries.
The Western Regional Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service, Mr E. Adusa-Poku, who described the situation as alarming, said 11 people were confirmed dead in a tragic accident involving a Ford Bus and an articulated truck at the weekend.
He said that was followed by an accident involving another Ford bus and a Mercedes Benz bus in a head-on collision that claimed five lives on the spot in addition to five people killed in other accidents at different locations in the metropolis within the period.
He said the carnage on the road could be avoided if drivers respected road signs and driving regulations and avoided speeding.
He attributed the accidents to speeding, lack of maintenance, alcohol intake by drivers and driver fatigue as well as lack of good judgement before overtaking.
"They speed, drink, overtake in curves and dangerous areas leading to fatalities daily. My men are on the road daily but they cannot be there throughout the day," he said
To check drink driving among drivers, the police mounted an exercise on the road and the alcohol testing machine (Alchometer) used to measure the level of alcohol intake by the driver of a Mercedes Benz bus, Abraham Doi, developed a fault after the test due to the high level of alcohol in his system.
The driver was on Tuesday convicted to a fine of GH¢6,000 (¢60 million), equivalent to 500 penalty units, by the Sekondi Magistrate Court. He faces a 12-month jail term in default.
Mr Adusa-Poku regretted that some drivers drove more than 100 km/h through town and crowded areas and warned motorists not to go beyond the stipulated 50 km/h speed limit when approaching towns.
He was not happy that motorists, both commercial and private vehicle owners, misused the good nature of the Accra-Takoradi road and certain parts of the metropolis to speed.
The regional MTTU commander said the biggest challenge now was how to ensure sanity on the road to protect life and property .
"The police will not be everywhere at all the time and the best thing to do is to ensure that as citizens, we do the right, " he said.
Mr Adusa-Poku gave the assurance that his men would be up to the task during the Ghana 2008 Africa Cup of Nations tournament and indicated that they would be supported by the community police who had been trained under the National Youth Employment Programme.
When contacted, some drivers of the various drivers’ unions, including the Ford Minibus drivers, attributed the spate of accidents to tiredness and wrong judgement while overtaking.
The Secretary of the Takoradi branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr Francis K. Kwaku, explained that the distance from Takoradi to Accra should be covered within four hours and Anomabo in the Central Region had been identified as a rest stop.
"But we fail to rest because the passengers are eager to get to their destination early," he said.
Mr Kwaku described the clamouring for passengers and the quest to make more money by going on a number of trips before the close of the day as unfortunate.
He, therefore, appealed to the authorities to ensure that drivers abided by the regulations.
Some drivers in the metropolis blamed pedestrian accidents on the attitude of pedestrians, who do not take the necessary precautions while crossing the road.
When the Daily Graphic visited the local Ford station, business was brisk as usual, and a passenger who was asked why he wanted to travel on that vehicle said he needed to be in Accra before mid-day.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Alleged extortion Under NHIS, Doctors Face Probe
Story By Moses Dotsey
Aklorbortu, Shama
Thursday, January 18, 2007
A number of doctors in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis are to be probed for allegations of extortion under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The action, to be undertaken by the Western Regional Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), follows accusations by managers of the scheme and NHIS card holders that the doctors illegally collected between ¢800,000 and ¢2 million per person before treating patients who were covered by the scheme.
The acting Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Linda Vanotoo, said such a practice would pose a serious threat to the survival of the scheme in the region and gave the assurance that the allegation would not be taken lightly.
The victims are said to be mostly the rural poor who were duly registered under the NHIS poor who were duly registered under the NHIS but had little knowledge about the scheme.
Daily Graphic investigations have revealed that those in the farming and fishing communities are no longer interested in the renewal of their insurance because it has rather brought them hardships as a result of the behaviour of some self-seeking doctors at the health facilities.
The Efia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Sekondi and the Essikado Hospital have been cited as being the most notorious for the practice.
Farmers in Abuesi, Shama, Komfueku and a host of other towns and villages in the Western Region who spoke to the Daily Graphic expressed regret at having wasted their time and money registering under the NHIS.
The Daily Graphic travelled to various communities and managed to locate some of the victims of the alleged extortion, who included a 70-year-old man and a physically-challenged young woman covered by the scheme, who narrated their experiences with anger, regret and pain.
Seventy-year-old Opanyin Kojo Arthur said he reported at the Essikado Hospital for a hernia operation in November last year and after the necessary medical tests, a doctor demanded ¢1 million before he would commence treatment.
Hernia operation is covered by the scheme.
“I was taken through the other processes and my health insurance card covered the expenses at that level. But when I was referred to the doctor, he asked me to pay ¢1 million before he starts,” the sad-looking old man said, almost in tears.
Opanyin Arthur said he managed to secure ¢400,000 but the doctor refused to treat him until he could raise the whole amount.
According to Opanyin Arthur, because of that experience he had decided not to renew his insurance.
At Abuesi, another card bearer, a 35-year-old fisherman, Mr Seth Konduah, said he was shocked when, after showing his health insurance card to the same doctor, he was asked to bring ¢800,000 before he could commence treatment on him.
“Because I did not have the money on me he asked me to go home and look for the money,” he said.
“It took me some days to raise the money and he did not even give me a receipt for it. I have just come to realise that I should not have paid because of the NHIS card. Now I want my money back,” he said.
Mr Konduah said after the operation, he had to sell some of his belongings to enable him to pay for the drugs prescribed for him.
Another card holder, Mr Solomon Baah, said in the first week of November last year, he was asked to pay ¢1 million before the commencement of his hernia operation at the same hospital.
At Efia-Nkwanta, an employee of the Benso Oil Palm Plantation Limited (BOPP) in Takoradi who did not want to be named alleged that another doctor collected ¢2 million from him on December 19, 2006 to perform a fibroid operation on his wife although he was a card holder.
Ms Monica Adu, who is physically-challenged, also alleged that her only hope for her fibroid operation was the health insurance but she had no co-operation from the health authorities when she reported at the health facility in April 2006.
She then contacted the scheme manager at Shama, who has now referred her to a private health facility at Daboase.
When contacted to verify the complaints by the victims, the Scheme Manager at Shama, Mr F. K. Blankson, confirmed the claims.
He said he had received those complaints from clients and added that it was wrong for doctors to collect money from patients at health facilities covered by the scheme.
According to him, it was wrong to ask an insured patient to pay at the point of service, saying, “Doctors only write requisitions for whatever items they will need to carry out surgery.”
He said he had made an arrangement for Opanyin Arthur and Ms Adu to undergo their surgery at the Ahmadiyya Hospital at Daboase, a private health facility.
The Administrator of the Efia-Nkwanta Hospital, Mr Micah, said he heard about the complaints when he met with the scheme managers, adding that his outfit was going to investigate.
The Regional Co-ordinator of the NHIS said he was shocked when he also heard about the issue when he met with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health at the Regional Administration.
He deplored it, saying it was a serious threat to the national campaign to bring more people under the scheme.
Aklorbortu, Shama
Thursday, January 18, 2007
A number of doctors in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis are to be probed for allegations of extortion under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The action, to be undertaken by the Western Regional Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), follows accusations by managers of the scheme and NHIS card holders that the doctors illegally collected between ¢800,000 and ¢2 million per person before treating patients who were covered by the scheme.
The acting Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Linda Vanotoo, said such a practice would pose a serious threat to the survival of the scheme in the region and gave the assurance that the allegation would not be taken lightly.
The victims are said to be mostly the rural poor who were duly registered under the NHIS poor who were duly registered under the NHIS but had little knowledge about the scheme.
Daily Graphic investigations have revealed that those in the farming and fishing communities are no longer interested in the renewal of their insurance because it has rather brought them hardships as a result of the behaviour of some self-seeking doctors at the health facilities.
The Efia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Sekondi and the Essikado Hospital have been cited as being the most notorious for the practice.
Farmers in Abuesi, Shama, Komfueku and a host of other towns and villages in the Western Region who spoke to the Daily Graphic expressed regret at having wasted their time and money registering under the NHIS.
The Daily Graphic travelled to various communities and managed to locate some of the victims of the alleged extortion, who included a 70-year-old man and a physically-challenged young woman covered by the scheme, who narrated their experiences with anger, regret and pain.
Seventy-year-old Opanyin Kojo Arthur said he reported at the Essikado Hospital for a hernia operation in November last year and after the necessary medical tests, a doctor demanded ¢1 million before he would commence treatment.
Hernia operation is covered by the scheme.
“I was taken through the other processes and my health insurance card covered the expenses at that level. But when I was referred to the doctor, he asked me to pay ¢1 million before he starts,” the sad-looking old man said, almost in tears.
Opanyin Arthur said he managed to secure ¢400,000 but the doctor refused to treat him until he could raise the whole amount.
According to Opanyin Arthur, because of that experience he had decided not to renew his insurance.
At Abuesi, another card bearer, a 35-year-old fisherman, Mr Seth Konduah, said he was shocked when, after showing his health insurance card to the same doctor, he was asked to bring ¢800,000 before he could commence treatment on him.
“Because I did not have the money on me he asked me to go home and look for the money,” he said.
“It took me some days to raise the money and he did not even give me a receipt for it. I have just come to realise that I should not have paid because of the NHIS card. Now I want my money back,” he said.
Mr Konduah said after the operation, he had to sell some of his belongings to enable him to pay for the drugs prescribed for him.
Another card holder, Mr Solomon Baah, said in the first week of November last year, he was asked to pay ¢1 million before the commencement of his hernia operation at the same hospital.
At Efia-Nkwanta, an employee of the Benso Oil Palm Plantation Limited (BOPP) in Takoradi who did not want to be named alleged that another doctor collected ¢2 million from him on December 19, 2006 to perform a fibroid operation on his wife although he was a card holder.
Ms Monica Adu, who is physically-challenged, also alleged that her only hope for her fibroid operation was the health insurance but she had no co-operation from the health authorities when she reported at the health facility in April 2006.
She then contacted the scheme manager at Shama, who has now referred her to a private health facility at Daboase.
When contacted to verify the complaints by the victims, the Scheme Manager at Shama, Mr F. K. Blankson, confirmed the claims.
He said he had received those complaints from clients and added that it was wrong for doctors to collect money from patients at health facilities covered by the scheme.
According to him, it was wrong to ask an insured patient to pay at the point of service, saying, “Doctors only write requisitions for whatever items they will need to carry out surgery.”
He said he had made an arrangement for Opanyin Arthur and Ms Adu to undergo their surgery at the Ahmadiyya Hospital at Daboase, a private health facility.
The Administrator of the Efia-Nkwanta Hospital, Mr Micah, said he heard about the complaints when he met with the scheme managers, adding that his outfit was going to investigate.
The Regional Co-ordinator of the NHIS said he was shocked when he also heard about the issue when he met with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health at the Regional Administration.
He deplored it, saying it was a serious threat to the national campaign to bring more people under the scheme.
Customs To Beef Up System In Readiness
Story by Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu
Business/Finance Posted - Mon, 14 May 2007
The Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) has said it is ready to make a seamless migration from the old currency to the new Ghana cedi without problems.
The Takoradi Sector Commander of CEPS, Mr Anthony Kodzo Sewor, said the Ghana Community Network (GCNet), an electronic clearing processing platform, is expected to install a software on June 1, 2007 at the front ends of all clearing agents, to automatically convert the amount from the old currency to the new Ghana Cedi.
“If we are not able to use the correct conversion rates, we will over-collect or under-collect revenue which will not favour the one paying and the collecting agency,” Mr Sewor said at a workshop for CEPS officials in Takoradi.
He said the software would be activated by midnight of June 30, this year.
He said the software would help CEPS by making the conversion faster to ensure accuracy and efficiency during the periods preceding and coming after the re-denomination exercise.
The sector commander said as the collector of about 55 per cent of all direct taxes for the country, an intensive education for CEPS officials on the application and the conversion from old to the new currency was necessary.
“If we fail, the effects of under-collection and over-collection will be disastrous for the country,” he said.
Mr Sewor said all stakeholders, particularly the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), would be involved to prevent any confusion during the implementation.
The Deputy Head, Issue Unit of the Bank of Ghana, Mr Emmanuel Bannerman, took the officials through the advantages of the re-denomination exercise.
Story by Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu
Business/Finance Posted - Mon, 14 May 2007
The Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) has said it is ready to make a seamless migration from the old currency to the new Ghana cedi without problems.
The Takoradi Sector Commander of CEPS, Mr Anthony Kodzo Sewor, said the Ghana Community Network (GCNet), an electronic clearing processing platform, is expected to install a software on June 1, 2007 at the front ends of all clearing agents, to automatically convert the amount from the old currency to the new Ghana Cedi.
“If we are not able to use the correct conversion rates, we will over-collect or under-collect revenue which will not favour the one paying and the collecting agency,” Mr Sewor said at a workshop for CEPS officials in Takoradi.
He said the software would be activated by midnight of June 30, this year.
He said the software would help CEPS by making the conversion faster to ensure accuracy and efficiency during the periods preceding and coming after the re-denomination exercise.
The sector commander said as the collector of about 55 per cent of all direct taxes for the country, an intensive education for CEPS officials on the application and the conversion from old to the new currency was necessary.
“If we fail, the effects of under-collection and over-collection will be disastrous for the country,” he said.
Mr Sewor said all stakeholders, particularly the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), would be involved to prevent any confusion during the implementation.
The Deputy Head, Issue Unit of the Bank of Ghana, Mr Emmanuel Bannerman, took the officials through the advantages of the re-denomination exercise.
Man Nabbed For Illegal Connection
Story By Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu,
Takoradi
Posted - Thu, 26 Apr 2007
Officials of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) have arrested a car washing bay operator for illegal connection.
The operator, Isaiah Obeng, had earlier been disconnected for non-payment of bills but he contracted a plumber to reconnect the water through another channel, which did not pass through the meter for him to be billed.
When officials of the GWCL visited the bay on their regular inspection tour of the metropolis, they demanded from those working there the source of the water they were using.
The workers told the officials that it was an underground reservoir which supplied them with the water but the officials were not convinced and demanded to see the meter.
It was upon checking the meter that they discovered Obeng had channelled the water through a different means to its operation point.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Takoradi District Commercial Manager of the GWCL, Mrs Genevieve Ayim, said the operator of the washing bay was disconnected for non-payment of bills in 2005 but he did not settle or even negotiate on the payment of his bills, since he had found a new way of accessing water for his business.
The district manager said the GWCL would calculate the volume of water he had used over the years and ask him to pay, adding that Obeng would be handed over to the police if he failed to settle his debt.
Mrs Ayim announced that the company had set up a Loss Control Unit to check people who had adopted dubious means of cheating the system.
The workers told this reporter that Obeng collapsed on his way to the washing bay after he had been told that the illegal connection had been discovered by officials of the GWCL and he was rushed to the hospital.
Takoradi
Posted - Thu, 26 Apr 2007
Officials of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) have arrested a car washing bay operator for illegal connection.
The operator, Isaiah Obeng, had earlier been disconnected for non-payment of bills but he contracted a plumber to reconnect the water through another channel, which did not pass through the meter for him to be billed.
When officials of the GWCL visited the bay on their regular inspection tour of the metropolis, they demanded from those working there the source of the water they were using.
The workers told the officials that it was an underground reservoir which supplied them with the water but the officials were not convinced and demanded to see the meter.
It was upon checking the meter that they discovered Obeng had channelled the water through a different means to its operation point.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Takoradi District Commercial Manager of the GWCL, Mrs Genevieve Ayim, said the operator of the washing bay was disconnected for non-payment of bills in 2005 but he did not settle or even negotiate on the payment of his bills, since he had found a new way of accessing water for his business.
The district manager said the GWCL would calculate the volume of water he had used over the years and ask him to pay, adding that Obeng would be handed over to the police if he failed to settle his debt.
Mrs Ayim announced that the company had set up a Loss Control Unit to check people who had adopted dubious means of cheating the system.
The workers told this reporter that Obeng collapsed on his way to the washing bay after he had been told that the illegal connection had been discovered by officials of the GWCL and he was rushed to the hospital.
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