One hundred and thirty-nine people lost their lives in fire outbreaks recorded nationwide in 2009 as against 168 deaths in 2008.
Seven hundred and seventy-five others were injured in 2009 as against 661 in 2008.
A public relations officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, Assistant Divisional Officer (ADO) Ellis Robinson Okoe, disclosed this in an interview in Accra.
He said there was a reduction of 61 deaths in 2009 as against 2008, while the number of injuries in 2009 increased by 114 over that of 2008.
He explained that the service was able to reduce the number of deaths in 2009 as compared to 2008 due to the intensification of public education.
Last year, fire gutted the storey building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Electoral Commission, the Ministry of Information, portions of Sodom Gomorrah and the Kumasi Central Market, destroying property running into millions of Ghana cedis.
Mr Okoe said the GNFS would intensify its public education on fire outbreaks by bringing it to the doorstep of the people and targeting markets, car parks and communities.
He noted that the capacity of personnel in fighting fire had been strengthened to save more lives and properties.
He said the Chief Fire Officer of the GNFS had been able to bring owners and tenants of high rise buildings in the Greater Accra Region to form a seven member committee to raise funds to procure a hydraulic platform to fight fires on such infrastructure.
He said the Chief Fire Officer had also instituted an operation code-named, “Operation Fire Alert” to put in place measures to take care of the dry season.
Mr Okoe said a hydrant monitoring team had been instituted to inspect all hydrants, whether active or inactive, in the system.
He appealed to the owners and developers of high rise buildings to involve the GNFS in the construction of buildings to ensure that they incorporate safety gadgets in the buildings to prevent fire outbreak.
He advised farmers, palm-wine tappers and the travelling public to be extra careful during the dry season.
Mr Okoe called on the public to dial 192 anytime there was a fire outbreak.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
I WILL STRENGTHEN FOUNDATION OF NDC- TRIDDLES (Jan. 12, Pg 17, politics)
The Manager of the Bread and Water Group of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Alfred Kojo Triddles has declared his intention to contest the Deputy Propaganda Secretary position of the party.
"Our experience in the last electioneering has given proof of how effective the youth such as myself can effectively defend our party and issues in truth and honesty," he stated.
Addressing a press conference in Accra to declare his intention, Mr Triddles said the party needed people with a deeper understanding of the Ghanaian situation in order to counter the activities of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), so far as the dissemination of information was concerned.
He said when given the nod, he would effectively employ a strategy to propagate factual and accurate information.
Mr Triddles paid glowing tribute to members of the Forum for Setting the Records Straight of the NDC for the role they played in the party's victory in the last election.
He said the party and Ghanaians needed an out-and-out NDC blood such as him to rekindled that fire of victory.
Mr Triddles added that a vote for him would help strengthen the foundation of the NDC, adding “the propaganda business was a youthful one and I best qualify for the position”.
" I have also been a servant of the NDC and will always be", he declared.
Mr Triddles said his decision to contest for the position was to help shore up the energy of the ruling party.
"Our experience in the last electioneering has given proof of how effective the youth such as myself can effectively defend our party and issues in truth and honesty," he stated.
Addressing a press conference in Accra to declare his intention, Mr Triddles said the party needed people with a deeper understanding of the Ghanaian situation in order to counter the activities of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), so far as the dissemination of information was concerned.
He said when given the nod, he would effectively employ a strategy to propagate factual and accurate information.
Mr Triddles paid glowing tribute to members of the Forum for Setting the Records Straight of the NDC for the role they played in the party's victory in the last election.
He said the party and Ghanaians needed an out-and-out NDC blood such as him to rekindled that fire of victory.
Mr Triddles added that a vote for him would help strengthen the foundation of the NDC, adding “the propaganda business was a youthful one and I best qualify for the position”.
" I have also been a servant of the NDC and will always be", he declared.
Mr Triddles said his decision to contest for the position was to help shore up the energy of the ruling party.
" USE LAND TO CREATE JOBS FOR THE YOUTH"(Jan.12,Pg 30)
THE Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashietey, has entreated traditional leaders in the region to disengage themselves from the indiscriminate sale of land under their control and rather use the land to create jobs for the youth by engaging them in agriculture.
He said by engaging in unrestrained sale of stool and family lands, some traditional leaders in the region were perpetually denying the future generation of land for farming and other development purposes.
Mr Ashietey was speaking at a new year reception which was attended by chiefs, queens, public servants, diplomats and some Ministers of State within the Greater Accra Region.
He said traditional authorities were key actors in the decentralisation process and partners in the development of the country and as such they could use the land under their control and the youth on whose behalf they controlled the land to help achieve food security in the country.
“Land is key to peace and it is significant for all of us to prove to the rest of Ghana and the world that we can accommodate, tolerate and co-exist without conflict,” he stated.
Mr Asheitey said in spite of the challenges that faced the country, the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) was able to make some inroads in its development agenda last year.
He said through the RCC’s collaboration with the security agencies, the region reduced crime considerably, adding that the region was able to organise the first agricultural forum at Dodowa, which brought together stakeholders to deliberate on the modernisation of agriculture.
He added that the RCC was able to constitute a board of governors for health institutions in the Greater Accra Region which would help improve health delivery in the region.
Some personalities present included the Greater Accra representative on the Council of State, Mr Emmanuel Adzei Annan; the Chairman of the Civil Service Council, Dr Robert Dodoo; a former diplomat, Mr K.B. Asante; the Chief Executive of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Mr Larry Adjetey; the Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Sylvester Mensah, and the Tema Regional Police Crime Officer, Superintendent Eric Amoako.
Others were the Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports, Nii Nortey Dua; the Minister for Roads and Highways, Mr Joe Gidisu; the Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South, Mr Fitz Baffour, and chiefs from various traditional areas of the Greater Accra.
He said by engaging in unrestrained sale of stool and family lands, some traditional leaders in the region were perpetually denying the future generation of land for farming and other development purposes.
Mr Ashietey was speaking at a new year reception which was attended by chiefs, queens, public servants, diplomats and some Ministers of State within the Greater Accra Region.
He said traditional authorities were key actors in the decentralisation process and partners in the development of the country and as such they could use the land under their control and the youth on whose behalf they controlled the land to help achieve food security in the country.
“Land is key to peace and it is significant for all of us to prove to the rest of Ghana and the world that we can accommodate, tolerate and co-exist without conflict,” he stated.
Mr Asheitey said in spite of the challenges that faced the country, the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) was able to make some inroads in its development agenda last year.
He said through the RCC’s collaboration with the security agencies, the region reduced crime considerably, adding that the region was able to organise the first agricultural forum at Dodowa, which brought together stakeholders to deliberate on the modernisation of agriculture.
He added that the RCC was able to constitute a board of governors for health institutions in the Greater Accra Region which would help improve health delivery in the region.
Some personalities present included the Greater Accra representative on the Council of State, Mr Emmanuel Adzei Annan; the Chairman of the Civil Service Council, Dr Robert Dodoo; a former diplomat, Mr K.B. Asante; the Chief Executive of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Mr Larry Adjetey; the Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Sylvester Mensah, and the Tema Regional Police Crime Officer, Superintendent Eric Amoako.
Others were the Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports, Nii Nortey Dua; the Minister for Roads and Highways, Mr Joe Gidisu; the Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South, Mr Fitz Baffour, and chiefs from various traditional areas of the Greater Accra.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
ONLY ALL NATIONS VARSITY ACCREDITED- TO OFFER OIL, GAS PROGRAMME (Spread, pg 24)
THE National Accreditation Board (NAB) says only the All Nations University in Koforidua has been accredited to offer a programme in oil and gas in the country.
It has, therefore, cautioned members of the public wanting to pursue such a programme in any institution to cross-check with the board before applying.
The Executive Secretary of the NAB, Mr Kwame Dattey, who said this in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said not even a single public university had been accredited to offer such a programme.
He said two public universities, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Science and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa, had applied to run programmes in petro-chemicals.
He said the NAB was ready to grant accreditation to institutions that intended to run the course, provided they met the requisite requirements needed for such programmes.
Mr Dattey said the NAB had set up a quality assurance committee that sent out academic auditors to conduct random checks on the qualification of students and lecturers in various tertiary institutions.
The move, he said, was to prevent the institutions from admitting and using unqualified students and lecturers, saying that the quality assurance committee was set up to know whether or not institutions were still conforming to the rules and regulations under which they were supposed to operate.
He noted that the board had identified about five private tertiary institutions that were engaged in such a practice.
Mr Dattey did not mention the names of the institutions and said the board had asked them (institutions) to withdraw the unqualified persons, failure of which the names of those institutions would be published, after which their accreditation would be withdrawn.
He said the checks were ongoing and that all the 57 accredited private institutions would be covered under the checks, adding that there were rules and regulations guiding the operations of educational institutions in the country.
On the qualification of students to enter tertiary institution, he said the minimum was aggregate 24 in the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) or its equivalents.
Mr Dattey said a lecturer in a tertiary institution must have a research degree, since teaching did not only involve imparting of knowledge but also research.
It has, therefore, cautioned members of the public wanting to pursue such a programme in any institution to cross-check with the board before applying.
The Executive Secretary of the NAB, Mr Kwame Dattey, who said this in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said not even a single public university had been accredited to offer such a programme.
He said two public universities, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Science and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa, had applied to run programmes in petro-chemicals.
He said the NAB was ready to grant accreditation to institutions that intended to run the course, provided they met the requisite requirements needed for such programmes.
Mr Dattey said the NAB had set up a quality assurance committee that sent out academic auditors to conduct random checks on the qualification of students and lecturers in various tertiary institutions.
The move, he said, was to prevent the institutions from admitting and using unqualified students and lecturers, saying that the quality assurance committee was set up to know whether or not institutions were still conforming to the rules and regulations under which they were supposed to operate.
He noted that the board had identified about five private tertiary institutions that were engaged in such a practice.
Mr Dattey did not mention the names of the institutions and said the board had asked them (institutions) to withdraw the unqualified persons, failure of which the names of those institutions would be published, after which their accreditation would be withdrawn.
He said the checks were ongoing and that all the 57 accredited private institutions would be covered under the checks, adding that there were rules and regulations guiding the operations of educational institutions in the country.
On the qualification of students to enter tertiary institution, he said the minimum was aggregate 24 in the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) or its equivalents.
Mr Dattey said a lecturer in a tertiary institution must have a research degree, since teaching did not only involve imparting of knowledge but also research.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
27 NEW BIRTHS RECORDED (JAN 2, 1B)
Story: Henritta Brocke
TWENTY-SEVEN new births were recorded at four major hospitals in the Accra metropolis between 12 midnight and 12:30 a.m. yesterday.
The hospitals are the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, the La General Hospital, the Ridge Hospital and the Police Hospital.
At Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, 13 deliveries, comprising eight females and five males, were recorded.
There was one stillbirth at the nation’s premier hospital.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Principal Nursing Officer of the Maternity Block, Ms Salamatu Bawumia, said eight of the deliveries were through spontaneous vaginal delivery, while five were from caesarean section.
She said two of the children were currently at the Neo-natal Unit receiving intensive care.
One of the new mothers, Ms Bernice Botchway, who was delivered of her baby at 12:10 a.m., said in an interview that she was grateful for what the Lord had done for her.
She said she would name the new-born baby girl “Nhyira”, meaning “Blessing”, as she (Bernice) had lost two other babies in childbirth.
Nine births, made up of four females and five males, were recorded at the Ridge Hospital.
Ms Susana Frimpong, a midwife superintendent of the hospital, said six babies were delivered through spontaneous vaginal delivery, while the other three, one male and two females, were delivered through caesarean section, adding that the first birth was at 12:48 a.m.
At the La General Hospital, four births, comprising two males and two females, were recorded.
The Nursing Officer at the hospital in charge of the Labour Ward, Ms Vivian Ogun, said one male was delivered through caesarean section, the other three were delivered through spontaneous vaginal delivery.
Ms Ogun added that the first birth was at 12:47 a.m.
The Police Hospital recorded two births, both females.
TWENTY-SEVEN new births were recorded at four major hospitals in the Accra metropolis between 12 midnight and 12:30 a.m. yesterday.
The hospitals are the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, the La General Hospital, the Ridge Hospital and the Police Hospital.
At Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, 13 deliveries, comprising eight females and five males, were recorded.
There was one stillbirth at the nation’s premier hospital.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Principal Nursing Officer of the Maternity Block, Ms Salamatu Bawumia, said eight of the deliveries were through spontaneous vaginal delivery, while five were from caesarean section.
She said two of the children were currently at the Neo-natal Unit receiving intensive care.
One of the new mothers, Ms Bernice Botchway, who was delivered of her baby at 12:10 a.m., said in an interview that she was grateful for what the Lord had done for her.
She said she would name the new-born baby girl “Nhyira”, meaning “Blessing”, as she (Bernice) had lost two other babies in childbirth.
Nine births, made up of four females and five males, were recorded at the Ridge Hospital.
Ms Susana Frimpong, a midwife superintendent of the hospital, said six babies were delivered through spontaneous vaginal delivery, while the other three, one male and two females, were delivered through caesarean section, adding that the first birth was at 12:48 a.m.
At the La General Hospital, four births, comprising two males and two females, were recorded.
The Nursing Officer at the hospital in charge of the Labour Ward, Ms Vivian Ogun, said one male was delivered through caesarean section, the other three were delivered through spontaneous vaginal delivery.
Ms Ogun added that the first birth was at 12:47 a.m.
The Police Hospital recorded two births, both females.
Friday, January 1, 2010
THE New Creation Chapel International has donated items worth GH¢300.00 to the Kaneshie Police.
The items included 12 cartons of mineral water, a box of Ceres fruit drink and a fully connected mobile phone.
Pastor Paddy Brew, the head pastor of the church, said the donation was part of the church’s 11th anniversary celebration.
He said the police, as a security institution, had to be encouraged by the citizenry to be able to perform their duties well.
Pastor Brew said the public must support the police instead of criticising them since without them the society would be lawless and would be at risk.
Receiving the items, Chief Inspector Samuel B. Asare of the station thanked the church for the gesture and assured the members that the police would continue to serve the nation through hard work and perseverance.
The items included 12 cartons of mineral water, a box of Ceres fruit drink and a fully connected mobile phone.
Pastor Paddy Brew, the head pastor of the church, said the donation was part of the church’s 11th anniversary celebration.
He said the police, as a security institution, had to be encouraged by the citizenry to be able to perform their duties well.
Pastor Brew said the public must support the police instead of criticising them since without them the society would be lawless and would be at risk.
Receiving the items, Chief Inspector Samuel B. Asare of the station thanked the church for the gesture and assured the members that the police would continue to serve the nation through hard work and perseverance.
CHIRST FOR ALL MISSION CHURCH DONATES ITEMS TO 5 ORGANISATIONS (PAGE 23, JAN 1)
THE Christ for all Mission Church has donated 200 bags of maize to five organisations to help with the feeding of their inmates.
The organisations are Bawjiase Orphanage, Osu Children’s Home, Asiakwa Orphanage, Pantang Psychiatric Hospital and Accra Psychiatric Hospital.
The donation formed part of a three-day annual convention of the church to share some of its resources with the underprivileged in society.
Presenting the maize, the founder of the Church, Rev. Dr Marcus Danso, said the church believed in sharing the little they had, adding that “ there is blessing in giving than to receive”.
Rev. Danso said the donation was part of the church’s corporate social responsibility and advised the members of the church to understand the nature of giving which would serve as blessings in their lives.
He appealed to the other religious bodies to emulate the gesture, especially during seasons such as Christmas.
Receiving the donation, Mr Godfred Fynn of the Bawjiase Orphanage thanked the church for the support.
The organisations are Bawjiase Orphanage, Osu Children’s Home, Asiakwa Orphanage, Pantang Psychiatric Hospital and Accra Psychiatric Hospital.
The donation formed part of a three-day annual convention of the church to share some of its resources with the underprivileged in society.
Presenting the maize, the founder of the Church, Rev. Dr Marcus Danso, said the church believed in sharing the little they had, adding that “ there is blessing in giving than to receive”.
Rev. Danso said the donation was part of the church’s corporate social responsibility and advised the members of the church to understand the nature of giving which would serve as blessings in their lives.
He appealed to the other religious bodies to emulate the gesture, especially during seasons such as Christmas.
Receiving the donation, Mr Godfred Fynn of the Bawjiase Orphanage thanked the church for the support.
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