Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah (Monday, February 11, 2008)
THE Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) will this month begin a training programme for some of its personnel to map out localities for the 2010 population census.
In an interview in Accra, the Government Statistician, Dr Grace Bediako, said the mapping exercise was for the personnel to demarcate each district into smaller enumeration areas of 150 households for easy and effective data collection during the census.
The Government Statistician said the GSS in collaboration with the Survey Department and the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment were currently taking steps to identify boundaries and demarcate areas for the newly created districts as well as update those of the existing ones.
A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population. The term is mostly used in connection with national population and door-to-door censuses to be taken every 10 years according to United Nations (UN) recommendations.
Ghana conducted the last census in 2000 and recorded 18,912,079 people. There were 9,357, 382 males and 9,554, 697 females at the time. Currently, the Ghanaian population is estimated at about 22 million.
Dr Bediako said after the training programme, the personnel would be divided into 10 teams, with four members in each team, to cover the 10 regions, adding that two additional teams would be assigned to verify the work of the 10 teams.
She pointed out that as soon as the service received additional funding for the exercise, more teams would be added to the initial 10 teams.
She further said that the manual to be used for the census would be developed this year as part of the preparation for the exercise.
The Government Statistician stated that Ghana had reached a stage where it had become necessary to embark on digitised mapping process instead of continuing with the previous manual system and said the service would this time combine both the manual and the digitised system for easy compilation and dissemination of statistical information.
“The digitised mapping process is more expensive but it is quicker and makes dissemination of information much easier,” she observed.
She observed that the next census would be more challenging, since instead of the 110 districts which were covered in 2000, presently, there were 168 districts to be covered.
Late last year, President J.A. Kufuor, by an Executive Instrument (EI), created 28 new districts, increasing the total number of metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies from 138 to 166. Some towns were elevated to municipal status and some municipal areas to metropolitan areas.
The Government Statistician stated that the service had set up an advisory committee to help it to put in place effective machinery for a successful census, adding that the committee was made up of experts to advise the GSS as to what direction to go.
Apart from the actual counting of people, she said information such as sex, age, employment, housing, sanitation, access to water and fertility levels among other things which the advisory committee would advise, would be gathered.
She appealed to the country’s development partners and other organisations and institutions which had the interests of Ghana at heart to come to its aid to enable the country to have an effective census programme necessary for planning and development.
“This is the time to appeal for funds to enable the service to plan well for the exercise which is scheduled for 2010,” she stressed.
Dr Bediako said as usual, the census would take two weeks to complete with one census night to be used as the day of reference for the data collection on individuals.
She took the opportunity to appeal to Ghanaians to co-operate with the census officials when the time comes.
Monday, February 11, 2008
2 Arrested over GH¢76,000 Fraud (Page 3)
Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah (Saturday, February 9, 2008)
THE Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) has caused the arrest of two government employees for allegedly misappropriating more than GH¢76,000 belonging to the state.
Nikoi Kotei of the Personnel Processing Unit of the Ministry of Health (MoH), who allegedly diverted a total of GH¢50,907.04 into a private account between November and December 2007, is in the custody of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) in Accra.
The second suspect, John Nyannu, who is the Greater Accra Regional Director of the Department of Feeder Roads, also allegedly embezzled GH¢26,000 and is in police custody.
Sources at the BNI and the Ministries Police confirmed the arrests and said the suspects were being investigated.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, the Deputy Controller and Accountant-General in charge of Finance and Administration (F&A), Mr Abraham Mantey, said the two were arrested after initial investigations had been conducted into their activities by officials of the CAGD.
He said the investigations revealed that in November 2007 Kotei used the staff identification number of a former employee of the MoH in the Wassa West District of the Western Region to divert GH¢5,196.42 to a bank in Accra.
He said before Kotei could make the transfer, he had to re-activate the account, which had been dormant, with an initial savings of GH¢5 and added another GH¢5 later.
Throwing more light on the issue, the Head of the Payroll Division, Mr Seidu Kotomah, and his deputy, Mr Eugene Antwi Agyekum, said in December that same year, Kotei again transferred GH¢45,710.2 in the name of a former district director of Health Services in the Ahanta West District, also in the Western Region, into an account with a different bank in Accra.
Mr Agyekum said when the bank received the GH¢45,710.2 into that particular account, it became suspicious and drew his attention to it.
He said when investigations were conducted, it came out that Kotei waited for the CAGD to complete all checks on the payroll system for the months in question before effecting the transfers.
He said it was also noted that the suspect deleted the names from the payroll after the deal had been effected, adding that in the case of one of the persons whose data he used, he indicated that he was deceased.
Mr Agyekum said Kotei withdrew part of the money in the second instance.
Touching on Nyannu’s case, Mr Mantey said the suspect was involved in the sale of tender documents and allegedly embezzled the funds accruing from the sale.
He said in May 2007, it came out, after auditing, that Nyannu could not account for GH¢20,370 and later refunded GH¢3,300.
Mr Mantey said later, when auditing was conducted, it came out that the embezzled figure had risen from the initial GH¢20,370 to GH¢26,000.
THE Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) has caused the arrest of two government employees for allegedly misappropriating more than GH¢76,000 belonging to the state.
Nikoi Kotei of the Personnel Processing Unit of the Ministry of Health (MoH), who allegedly diverted a total of GH¢50,907.04 into a private account between November and December 2007, is in the custody of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) in Accra.
The second suspect, John Nyannu, who is the Greater Accra Regional Director of the Department of Feeder Roads, also allegedly embezzled GH¢26,000 and is in police custody.
Sources at the BNI and the Ministries Police confirmed the arrests and said the suspects were being investigated.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, the Deputy Controller and Accountant-General in charge of Finance and Administration (F&A), Mr Abraham Mantey, said the two were arrested after initial investigations had been conducted into their activities by officials of the CAGD.
He said the investigations revealed that in November 2007 Kotei used the staff identification number of a former employee of the MoH in the Wassa West District of the Western Region to divert GH¢5,196.42 to a bank in Accra.
He said before Kotei could make the transfer, he had to re-activate the account, which had been dormant, with an initial savings of GH¢5 and added another GH¢5 later.
Throwing more light on the issue, the Head of the Payroll Division, Mr Seidu Kotomah, and his deputy, Mr Eugene Antwi Agyekum, said in December that same year, Kotei again transferred GH¢45,710.2 in the name of a former district director of Health Services in the Ahanta West District, also in the Western Region, into an account with a different bank in Accra.
Mr Agyekum said when the bank received the GH¢45,710.2 into that particular account, it became suspicious and drew his attention to it.
He said when investigations were conducted, it came out that Kotei waited for the CAGD to complete all checks on the payroll system for the months in question before effecting the transfers.
He said it was also noted that the suspect deleted the names from the payroll after the deal had been effected, adding that in the case of one of the persons whose data he used, he indicated that he was deceased.
Mr Agyekum said Kotei withdrew part of the money in the second instance.
Touching on Nyannu’s case, Mr Mantey said the suspect was involved in the sale of tender documents and allegedly embezzled the funds accruing from the sale.
He said in May 2007, it came out, after auditing, that Nyannu could not account for GH¢20,370 and later refunded GH¢3,300.
Mr Mantey said later, when auditing was conducted, it came out that the embezzled figure had risen from the initial GH¢20,370 to GH¢26,000.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Baah-Wiredu Visits Graphic (page 31)
Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
THE Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, yesterday led a team of top officials from revenue agencies to the offices of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) to have an insight into some of the strategies being used by the company to increase productivity.
High on the agenda was the computerised system being used by the editorial department to record output of reporters on daily basis for easy assessment.
The team had discussions with some members of the management staff led by the Managing Director, Mr Ibrahim Awal, before having a tour of some departments of the company.
In the company of the Finance Minister were the Executive Secretary of the Revenue Agencies Governing Board (RAGB), Mr Harry Owusu, the Commissioner of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Mr Emmanuel N. Doku, and his deputy, Mr Robert Kwami, the Commissioner of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Service, Mr Anthony Minlah, and the Deputy Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Mr K. E. Enyimayew.
Others were the Chief Director of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Nana Juaben-Boateng Serebuor, an official of the ministry, Dr Asamoah Baah, and Mr Kofi Nti of the Tax Policy Unit of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and other officials from the agencies.
The visiting team expressed satisfaction at the performance of the company and commended both the management and the staff for contributing significantly towards national development.
Briefing the team, Mr Awal said Graphic as a company believed in credibility and high professional performance hence its leading position in the media landscape all these years.
The GCGL presently produces seven newspapers namely the Daily Graphic, the Mirror, Graphic Sports, Graphic Showbiz, Junior Graphic, Graphic Nsempa and the Advertiser.
Mr Awal said in the performance of their duties as producers of news stories, the company’s newspapers helped in the growth of businesses which in turn increased employment.
The Managing Director assured the minister and his entourage that the company would continue to do what was right as a media house and regularly pay dividends to the government to support the national economy.
Touching on the blogging system which is being used in the newsroom to assess reporters, Mr Awal said it brought out results and avoided disagreement between reporters and their supervisors, since the evidence of the level of one’s performance would be there for all to see, adding that remuneration was based on performance at all levels.
As part of the briefing process, a documentary on the activities of the company was shown to the Finance Minister and his entourage.
In his remarks, Mr Baah-Wiredu said it was refreshing to know that a company in Ghana was doing so well to increase productivity and also encourage its staff to perform.
He said he personally did not support the idea of dismissing people from their jobs but rather called for the adoption of methods to help individuals to develop themselves and improve upon their performance.
Mr Baah-Wiredu, who usually quoted from the Daily Graphic with dates and page numbers of individual issues of the paper, expressed the hope that GCCL could offer some suggestions to the revenue agencies in the area of assessing the output of their staff, since the country needed more from that sector to move forward.
He said the fact that the revenue agencies were able to exceed their target annually did not mean that all was well, adding that although they exceeded their target, what they collected was always far below the national expenditure.
Giving an example to support his assertion, the minister said as the estimated revenue target for 2008 stood at GG¢4.4 billion, the estimated financial requests stood at GH¢10 billion with other requests still coming in.
“We already have a gap of GH¢5.6 billion to fill; that is why we need to work hard,” he stressed.
He congratulated GCGL and expressed the hope that the company would share its experiences with other organisations to also develop.
After the meeting, the team visited the Daily Graphic newsroom where a Deputy Editor, Mr Emmanuel Amoako, briefed them on the blogging system and how individual reporters posted their stories for future reference.
The team also went to the Sports Department, the Photo Department, the Printing Section and the offices and the packaging section of G-Pak, a subsidiary of GCGL, which deals in printing and packaging for individuals and groups.
Staff of GCGL present at the meeting were the Editor of the Daily Graphic and President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Ransford Tetteh; the Public Affairs Manager, Mr Albert Sam; the General Manager in charge of Finance, Mr Baah Adade; the Chief Internal Auditor, Mr Felix Ahima-Adonten; and the General Manager in charge of Packaging, Mr Charles Antwi.
THE Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, yesterday led a team of top officials from revenue agencies to the offices of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) to have an insight into some of the strategies being used by the company to increase productivity.
High on the agenda was the computerised system being used by the editorial department to record output of reporters on daily basis for easy assessment.
The team had discussions with some members of the management staff led by the Managing Director, Mr Ibrahim Awal, before having a tour of some departments of the company.
In the company of the Finance Minister were the Executive Secretary of the Revenue Agencies Governing Board (RAGB), Mr Harry Owusu, the Commissioner of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Mr Emmanuel N. Doku, and his deputy, Mr Robert Kwami, the Commissioner of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Service, Mr Anthony Minlah, and the Deputy Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Mr K. E. Enyimayew.
Others were the Chief Director of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Nana Juaben-Boateng Serebuor, an official of the ministry, Dr Asamoah Baah, and Mr Kofi Nti of the Tax Policy Unit of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and other officials from the agencies.
The visiting team expressed satisfaction at the performance of the company and commended both the management and the staff for contributing significantly towards national development.
Briefing the team, Mr Awal said Graphic as a company believed in credibility and high professional performance hence its leading position in the media landscape all these years.
The GCGL presently produces seven newspapers namely the Daily Graphic, the Mirror, Graphic Sports, Graphic Showbiz, Junior Graphic, Graphic Nsempa and the Advertiser.
Mr Awal said in the performance of their duties as producers of news stories, the company’s newspapers helped in the growth of businesses which in turn increased employment.
The Managing Director assured the minister and his entourage that the company would continue to do what was right as a media house and regularly pay dividends to the government to support the national economy.
Touching on the blogging system which is being used in the newsroom to assess reporters, Mr Awal said it brought out results and avoided disagreement between reporters and their supervisors, since the evidence of the level of one’s performance would be there for all to see, adding that remuneration was based on performance at all levels.
As part of the briefing process, a documentary on the activities of the company was shown to the Finance Minister and his entourage.
In his remarks, Mr Baah-Wiredu said it was refreshing to know that a company in Ghana was doing so well to increase productivity and also encourage its staff to perform.
He said he personally did not support the idea of dismissing people from their jobs but rather called for the adoption of methods to help individuals to develop themselves and improve upon their performance.
Mr Baah-Wiredu, who usually quoted from the Daily Graphic with dates and page numbers of individual issues of the paper, expressed the hope that GCCL could offer some suggestions to the revenue agencies in the area of assessing the output of their staff, since the country needed more from that sector to move forward.
He said the fact that the revenue agencies were able to exceed their target annually did not mean that all was well, adding that although they exceeded their target, what they collected was always far below the national expenditure.
Giving an example to support his assertion, the minister said as the estimated revenue target for 2008 stood at GG¢4.4 billion, the estimated financial requests stood at GH¢10 billion with other requests still coming in.
“We already have a gap of GH¢5.6 billion to fill; that is why we need to work hard,” he stressed.
He congratulated GCGL and expressed the hope that the company would share its experiences with other organisations to also develop.
After the meeting, the team visited the Daily Graphic newsroom where a Deputy Editor, Mr Emmanuel Amoako, briefed them on the blogging system and how individual reporters posted their stories for future reference.
The team also went to the Sports Department, the Photo Department, the Printing Section and the offices and the packaging section of G-Pak, a subsidiary of GCGL, which deals in printing and packaging for individuals and groups.
Staff of GCGL present at the meeting were the Editor of the Daily Graphic and President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Ransford Tetteh; the Public Affairs Manager, Mr Albert Sam; the General Manager in charge of Finance, Mr Baah Adade; the Chief Internal Auditor, Mr Felix Ahima-Adonten; and the General Manager in charge of Packaging, Mr Charles Antwi.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Accountant-General's Dept Denies Media Reports (page 47)
Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
THE Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) has denied media reports that the department has refused to completely pay CAP 30 benefits to retirees of the Land Valuation Board (LVB) who qualify for such benefits.
Reacting to recent media reports which indicated that the department had refused to pay the retirees, in spite of directives from the Presidency, the Legal Officer of the CAGD, Mr Ali Abdul-Samad, said it was not correct that the department had refused to pay completely, explaining that the issue was about the period within which the payments should cover.
He explained that a committee set up to deliberate on the issue recommended that employees of the LVB who were appointed to pensionable post by December 31, 1971 should be paid the CAP 30 benefit up to December 1985 when the board ceased to be part of the Civil Service.
He also pointed out that the CAGD had not received any such directive from the Presidency but instead heard about it from the media.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, Mr Abdul-Samad stressed that the payment was supposed to cover between the date of employment and 1985 when the board was formed through a merger between the then Lands Department and the Ratings Division of the Ministry of Local Government through Section 43 of PNDCL 42 on December 31, 1985.
He explained that in 1993, end-of-service benefits were paid to the affected staff to compensate them for their conversion from civil servants to public servants.
He said the law, therefore, allowed only the payment from the time of employment to December 1985, while the rest of the period which the individual continued to work was supposed to be covered by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
“This arrangement means that the retirees involved ceased to be beneficiaries of the CAP 30 after the cut-off date of December 31, 1985,” he stressed.
Mr Abdul-Samad appealed to the retirees not to feed the public with wrong information but rather come out with the truth.
He pointed out that some of the beneficiaries had complained, with the simple reason that the money they got as end-of-service benefit at the time was minimal. They, therefore, thought of getting more from the government.
“Many of them have forgotten that the amounts they collected were substantial at that time,” he said.
THE Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) has denied media reports that the department has refused to completely pay CAP 30 benefits to retirees of the Land Valuation Board (LVB) who qualify for such benefits.
Reacting to recent media reports which indicated that the department had refused to pay the retirees, in spite of directives from the Presidency, the Legal Officer of the CAGD, Mr Ali Abdul-Samad, said it was not correct that the department had refused to pay completely, explaining that the issue was about the period within which the payments should cover.
He explained that a committee set up to deliberate on the issue recommended that employees of the LVB who were appointed to pensionable post by December 31, 1971 should be paid the CAP 30 benefit up to December 1985 when the board ceased to be part of the Civil Service.
He also pointed out that the CAGD had not received any such directive from the Presidency but instead heard about it from the media.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, Mr Abdul-Samad stressed that the payment was supposed to cover between the date of employment and 1985 when the board was formed through a merger between the then Lands Department and the Ratings Division of the Ministry of Local Government through Section 43 of PNDCL 42 on December 31, 1985.
He explained that in 1993, end-of-service benefits were paid to the affected staff to compensate them for their conversion from civil servants to public servants.
He said the law, therefore, allowed only the payment from the time of employment to December 1985, while the rest of the period which the individual continued to work was supposed to be covered by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
“This arrangement means that the retirees involved ceased to be beneficiaries of the CAP 30 after the cut-off date of December 31, 1985,” he stressed.
Mr Abdul-Samad appealed to the retirees not to feed the public with wrong information but rather come out with the truth.
He pointed out that some of the beneficiaries had complained, with the simple reason that the money they got as end-of-service benefit at the time was minimal. They, therefore, thought of getting more from the government.
“Many of them have forgotten that the amounts they collected were substantial at that time,” he said.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People. (page 7)
By Lucy Adoma Yeboah (February 2, 2008)
ON February 2, each year, the world celebrates World Wetlands Day to mark the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
Since 1997, government agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), individuals and groups have taken advantage of the opportunity to undertake programmes aimed at raising public awareness of wetland values and benefits in general and the Ramsar Convention in particular.
Ghana, like the rest of the world, would have to remind itself of the importance of the day and find ways to protect its wetlands.
For this year’s celebration, the theme suggested by the Convention on Wetlands is, “Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People”, and this will also be the theme for Ramsar's 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties in the Republic of Korea in October-November 2008.
Wetlands are areas where water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the associated plant and animal life. They occur where the water table is at or near the surface of the land or where the land is covered by shallow water.
Wetlands in Ghana, just like elsewhere, are unique ecosystems that provide valuable products and services to satisfy social, economic and ecological needs at the local, national and international levels.
Ghana’s wetlands support fisheries, they play an important role in flood assimilation and provide a source of food, medicines, fuel and building materials for local people and are, therefore, important. All these come together to provide efficient health needs for individuals.
As the world celebrates the World Wetlands Day, there is the need for Ghanaians to have a look at the importance of wetlands. It is important for the celebration to offer us the opportunity to remind ourselves of a few keys issue that exemplify both the direct, positive effects on human health of maintaining healthy wetlands — such as the provision of food, clean water, pharmaceutical products and also the negative effects of mismanaging wetlands that result in the impairment of our health and even the loss of lives — such as the effects of water-related diseases, burning farmlands, floods and water pollution.
This year’s theme, “Healthy wetlands, healthy people”, is aimed at emphasising the strong relationship between healthy functioning wetland ecosystems and human health which underlines the importance of management strategies that support both the health of wetland ecosystems and the health of humans.
Information available at the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission of Ghana on the World Wetlands Day celebration indicates that wetland-related diseases claim the lives of more than three million people every year and bring suffering to many more.
It is also significant to note that adequate, good quality food is a prerequisite for a healthy people and wetlands are key contributors, since they supply us with, for example, fish, including shellfish, and also plants such as fruits and seeds.
Globally, about one billion people rely on fish as their main or sole source of protein and many more consume fish regularly.
In terms of cultivated wetland plants, rice is the most important at a global level, providing 20 per cent of the world's dietary energy supply. Other wetland plants, such as seaweed, although not harvested on the same scale as fish, are still an important source of food for local use and for international markets.
Indirectly, wetland plants often play a vital role as food for livestock on which the health of billions of people depend.
Many people are aware that well managed wetlands will continue to provide food to keep mankind healthy, but there are many human actions that negatively affect the capacity of wetlands to continue to provide for us.
In Ghana, just like many countries of the world, pollution, excessive water abstraction, poor sanitation, over harvesting and, of course, direct wetland destruction by developers and farmers, among others, reduce or destroy the capacity of wetlands to provide food for human consumption, which in turn affects our health.
Water supply
In the area of water supply, wetlands perform a vital function in filtering and purifying freshwater and, therefore, rendering it clean for human consumption. Wetlands have never been a more valuable service for human populations than today when more than one billion people lack access to clean water supplies. But wetlands can only provide us with clean water if we keep them healthy through effective management.
What happens when we destroy our wetlands is obvious — we lose this source of clean water, as well as all the other ecosystem services they provide.
Despite the capacity of freshwater wetlands in purifying water, they do have their limits and that is why it is important to preserve them.
Of particular concern is the 2.6 billion people today who lack access to adequate sanitation and, therefore, pollute wetlands through indiscriminate littering and directly dumping into such water bodies.
Water-related diseases
In many parts of the world, human health is closely linked to water-related diseases. Malaria, because mosquitoes breed in wetlands, and diarrhoea infections, because of sewage contamination, are globally the worst in terms of severity in impact. The problems accounted for 1.3 and 1.8 million deaths, respectively, in 2002, and affected the health of many.
While malaria and diarrhoeal diseases are the two worst in terms of human impact, we may add to this the debilitating effects of other wetland-related diseases such as schistosomiases, onchocerciasis and others.
Diarrhoeal diseases can be controlled through the provision of clean water, good sanitation practices and hygiene education. Poorly treated human sewage contains pathogens that are a key cause of diarrhoeal infections — and wetlands (both inland and coastal) — can be an important transport mechanism for such pathogens where sanitation is poor.
Floods have become more destructive in recent times because, increasingly, human infrastructure is being built in flood-prone areas. This we are all aware of from media reports, statisticians and our own personal experiences.
The direct and immediate impacts on human health include the loss of lives, injuries and, within a very short period of time, the lack of clean water and destruction of sewage systems which result in another set of threats to human health such as diarrhoea, cholera and other life-threatening, water-related ailments.
Receding floods in some countries also provide the perfect environment for malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Finally, there are the long-term effects on mental health, such as anxiety and depression that often follow a major flooding event.
While we cannot easily prevent major floods, we can ensure that we benefit from the flood protection services that wetlands supply. We should know that rivers, lakes and marshes slow down and retain floodwaters to prevent flooding such as the one we recently experienced in the northern part of the country.
Wetlands medicines
Many wetland plants and a number of animal species have been used in traditional medicines for certain ailments and this continues today. They are also used in homeopathic medicines, an ever-growing industry in the developed world, and have a role in the development and production of modern medicines. Activities such as over-collection, destructive harvesting techniques and habitat loss and alteration together challenge the capacity of wetland species to continue to fulfil these roles.
Mental well-being
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that depression and depression-related illnesses will become the greatest source of ill-health by 2020 and the effects on health of physical inactivity in urban populations are becoming ever more costly in terms of medical treatment. We use urban green spaces (parks), including rivers, lakes and reservoirs, for recreation, education and relaxation.
The value of green spaces such as parks in improving the mental and physical health of urban populations is gaining greater recognition and current studies indicate measurable physical and psychological benefits from regular contact with urban green spaces. It is unfortunate that such facilities are not readily available in Ghanaian cities and towns.
Knowing the important role wetlands play in the health of human beings, every Ghanaian should support the fight being fought by groups such as the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission, the Wildlife Society of Ghana, the Friends of the Earth, Ghana (FOE–Ghana) and other like-minded institutions and groups to save our wetlands and enable them to continue providing us the needed health needs.
ON February 2, each year, the world celebrates World Wetlands Day to mark the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
Since 1997, government agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), individuals and groups have taken advantage of the opportunity to undertake programmes aimed at raising public awareness of wetland values and benefits in general and the Ramsar Convention in particular.
Ghana, like the rest of the world, would have to remind itself of the importance of the day and find ways to protect its wetlands.
For this year’s celebration, the theme suggested by the Convention on Wetlands is, “Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People”, and this will also be the theme for Ramsar's 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties in the Republic of Korea in October-November 2008.
Wetlands are areas where water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the associated plant and animal life. They occur where the water table is at or near the surface of the land or where the land is covered by shallow water.
Wetlands in Ghana, just like elsewhere, are unique ecosystems that provide valuable products and services to satisfy social, economic and ecological needs at the local, national and international levels.
Ghana’s wetlands support fisheries, they play an important role in flood assimilation and provide a source of food, medicines, fuel and building materials for local people and are, therefore, important. All these come together to provide efficient health needs for individuals.
As the world celebrates the World Wetlands Day, there is the need for Ghanaians to have a look at the importance of wetlands. It is important for the celebration to offer us the opportunity to remind ourselves of a few keys issue that exemplify both the direct, positive effects on human health of maintaining healthy wetlands — such as the provision of food, clean water, pharmaceutical products and also the negative effects of mismanaging wetlands that result in the impairment of our health and even the loss of lives — such as the effects of water-related diseases, burning farmlands, floods and water pollution.
This year’s theme, “Healthy wetlands, healthy people”, is aimed at emphasising the strong relationship between healthy functioning wetland ecosystems and human health which underlines the importance of management strategies that support both the health of wetland ecosystems and the health of humans.
Information available at the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission of Ghana on the World Wetlands Day celebration indicates that wetland-related diseases claim the lives of more than three million people every year and bring suffering to many more.
It is also significant to note that adequate, good quality food is a prerequisite for a healthy people and wetlands are key contributors, since they supply us with, for example, fish, including shellfish, and also plants such as fruits and seeds.
Globally, about one billion people rely on fish as their main or sole source of protein and many more consume fish regularly.
In terms of cultivated wetland plants, rice is the most important at a global level, providing 20 per cent of the world's dietary energy supply. Other wetland plants, such as seaweed, although not harvested on the same scale as fish, are still an important source of food for local use and for international markets.
Indirectly, wetland plants often play a vital role as food for livestock on which the health of billions of people depend.
Many people are aware that well managed wetlands will continue to provide food to keep mankind healthy, but there are many human actions that negatively affect the capacity of wetlands to continue to provide for us.
In Ghana, just like many countries of the world, pollution, excessive water abstraction, poor sanitation, over harvesting and, of course, direct wetland destruction by developers and farmers, among others, reduce or destroy the capacity of wetlands to provide food for human consumption, which in turn affects our health.
Water supply
In the area of water supply, wetlands perform a vital function in filtering and purifying freshwater and, therefore, rendering it clean for human consumption. Wetlands have never been a more valuable service for human populations than today when more than one billion people lack access to clean water supplies. But wetlands can only provide us with clean water if we keep them healthy through effective management.
What happens when we destroy our wetlands is obvious — we lose this source of clean water, as well as all the other ecosystem services they provide.
Despite the capacity of freshwater wetlands in purifying water, they do have their limits and that is why it is important to preserve them.
Of particular concern is the 2.6 billion people today who lack access to adequate sanitation and, therefore, pollute wetlands through indiscriminate littering and directly dumping into such water bodies.
Water-related diseases
In many parts of the world, human health is closely linked to water-related diseases. Malaria, because mosquitoes breed in wetlands, and diarrhoea infections, because of sewage contamination, are globally the worst in terms of severity in impact. The problems accounted for 1.3 and 1.8 million deaths, respectively, in 2002, and affected the health of many.
While malaria and diarrhoeal diseases are the two worst in terms of human impact, we may add to this the debilitating effects of other wetland-related diseases such as schistosomiases, onchocerciasis and others.
Diarrhoeal diseases can be controlled through the provision of clean water, good sanitation practices and hygiene education. Poorly treated human sewage contains pathogens that are a key cause of diarrhoeal infections — and wetlands (both inland and coastal) — can be an important transport mechanism for such pathogens where sanitation is poor.
Floods have become more destructive in recent times because, increasingly, human infrastructure is being built in flood-prone areas. This we are all aware of from media reports, statisticians and our own personal experiences.
The direct and immediate impacts on human health include the loss of lives, injuries and, within a very short period of time, the lack of clean water and destruction of sewage systems which result in another set of threats to human health such as diarrhoea, cholera and other life-threatening, water-related ailments.
Receding floods in some countries also provide the perfect environment for malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Finally, there are the long-term effects on mental health, such as anxiety and depression that often follow a major flooding event.
While we cannot easily prevent major floods, we can ensure that we benefit from the flood protection services that wetlands supply. We should know that rivers, lakes and marshes slow down and retain floodwaters to prevent flooding such as the one we recently experienced in the northern part of the country.
Wetlands medicines
Many wetland plants and a number of animal species have been used in traditional medicines for certain ailments and this continues today. They are also used in homeopathic medicines, an ever-growing industry in the developed world, and have a role in the development and production of modern medicines. Activities such as over-collection, destructive harvesting techniques and habitat loss and alteration together challenge the capacity of wetland species to continue to fulfil these roles.
Mental well-being
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that depression and depression-related illnesses will become the greatest source of ill-health by 2020 and the effects on health of physical inactivity in urban populations are becoming ever more costly in terms of medical treatment. We use urban green spaces (parks), including rivers, lakes and reservoirs, for recreation, education and relaxation.
The value of green spaces such as parks in improving the mental and physical health of urban populations is gaining greater recognition and current studies indicate measurable physical and psychological benefits from regular contact with urban green spaces. It is unfortunate that such facilities are not readily available in Ghanaian cities and towns.
Knowing the important role wetlands play in the health of human beings, every Ghanaian should support the fight being fought by groups such as the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission, the Wildlife Society of Ghana, the Friends of the Earth, Ghana (FOE–Ghana) and other like-minded institutions and groups to save our wetlands and enable them to continue providing us the needed health needs.
Be careful with combustible materials -Chief Fire Officer
Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
THE Chief Fire Officer, Mr Felix Kwame Ferkah, has cautioned Ghanaians to be extra careful when dealing with fire now that the country is facing severe dry weather conditions.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic , Mr Ferkah said, “We are in a period where the slightest mistake could cause us dearly so we need to be extra careful with how we handle combustible materials.”
He mentioned some items which must be handled carefully, especially as the harmattan season intensified, as all electrical appliances, especially water heaters and pressing irons, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cookers and cylinders, petrol, welding equipment, candles, firewood, charcoal, lighted cigarettes and all naked fires.
A recent report by the Daily Graphic indicated that 25 people lost their lives, while 165 sustained injuries, as a result of burns they received during fire outbreaks last year.
It said the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), however, successfully responded to 2,301 fire outbreaks throughout the country, with an estimated loss of GH¢7.2 million to the victims, during the period.
According to Mr Ferkah, many people were usually caught unawares by fires because they believed that they were accustomed to some items, either in their homes or at their workplaces, and, therefore, knew how best to handle them without the necessary precaution.
Touching on combustible materials, he said the biggest threat usually came from LPG and advised that leakage on cylinders and tubes should be checked regularly.
Mr Ferkah said there was also the need for ventilation in kitchens and areas where gas cookers were kept for air to blow around in case there was leakage.
On electrical connections and appliances, he said wires that had been installed between 15 and 20 years should be replaced, adding that plugs should be removed from sockets when appliances are not in use, since power could still run through such plugs in some instances and ignite fire.
He also advised fitting shop operators, welders and other machine operators who dealt with combustible materials to be wary of how they handled their equipment, especially around areas of open fire, to protect property and human lives.
The Chief Fire Officer also touched on market women who used fire at the markets and also farmers who set fires on their farms and stated that there was the need for all to be cautious for their own good and the good of others.
Mr Ferkah also urged managers of public institutions and operators of public places such as hospitals, schools, manufacturing companies, cinema houses, restaurants, among others, to have some of their staff members trained as fire wardens and also put in place fire extinguishers and hydrants in case of any eventuality.
Quoting from Legislative Instrument (LI) 1724, the Chief Fire Officer said it was an offence for any public institution to operate without a clearance certificate from the GNFS.
He announced that fire fighting was free but took the opportunity to advise people who made calls to fire stations when there were no fires to desist from that behaviour, since that attitude did not augur well for both the public and the service.
THE Chief Fire Officer, Mr Felix Kwame Ferkah, has cautioned Ghanaians to be extra careful when dealing with fire now that the country is facing severe dry weather conditions.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic , Mr Ferkah said, “We are in a period where the slightest mistake could cause us dearly so we need to be extra careful with how we handle combustible materials.”
He mentioned some items which must be handled carefully, especially as the harmattan season intensified, as all electrical appliances, especially water heaters and pressing irons, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cookers and cylinders, petrol, welding equipment, candles, firewood, charcoal, lighted cigarettes and all naked fires.
A recent report by the Daily Graphic indicated that 25 people lost their lives, while 165 sustained injuries, as a result of burns they received during fire outbreaks last year.
It said the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), however, successfully responded to 2,301 fire outbreaks throughout the country, with an estimated loss of GH¢7.2 million to the victims, during the period.
According to Mr Ferkah, many people were usually caught unawares by fires because they believed that they were accustomed to some items, either in their homes or at their workplaces, and, therefore, knew how best to handle them without the necessary precaution.
Touching on combustible materials, he said the biggest threat usually came from LPG and advised that leakage on cylinders and tubes should be checked regularly.
Mr Ferkah said there was also the need for ventilation in kitchens and areas where gas cookers were kept for air to blow around in case there was leakage.
On electrical connections and appliances, he said wires that had been installed between 15 and 20 years should be replaced, adding that plugs should be removed from sockets when appliances are not in use, since power could still run through such plugs in some instances and ignite fire.
He also advised fitting shop operators, welders and other machine operators who dealt with combustible materials to be wary of how they handled their equipment, especially around areas of open fire, to protect property and human lives.
The Chief Fire Officer also touched on market women who used fire at the markets and also farmers who set fires on their farms and stated that there was the need for all to be cautious for their own good and the good of others.
Mr Ferkah also urged managers of public institutions and operators of public places such as hospitals, schools, manufacturing companies, cinema houses, restaurants, among others, to have some of their staff members trained as fire wardens and also put in place fire extinguishers and hydrants in case of any eventuality.
Quoting from Legislative Instrument (LI) 1724, the Chief Fire Officer said it was an offence for any public institution to operate without a clearance certificate from the GNFS.
He announced that fire fighting was free but took the opportunity to advise people who made calls to fire stations when there were no fires to desist from that behaviour, since that attitude did not augur well for both the public and the service.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Help Prpmote LEAP Programme (page 14)
Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah and Edward Turkson
THE Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment, Nana Akomeah, has stated that the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme which is meant to alleviate the suffering of the poor should be supported instead of the political meanings being read into it.
He said
under the programme, the government would spend less than one per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to achieve payouts to more than 160 extremely poor Ghanaian households as a major complementary measure to relieve “fellow citizens who at the moment find themselves in the category of extremely poor, vulnerable and excluded”.
“We are talking about households who have HIV sufferers who have difficulty in raising the highly subsidised GH¢5 cost of monthly treatment. We are talking about households that benefit from improved seeds for planting but end up using some of the seeds for food,” he stressed.
At his turn at the Meet-the-Press series organised by the Ministry of Information and National Orientation in Accra yesterday, Nana Ankomea said “the objection that a welfare programme is dubious because it is an election year is a very unworthy objection”.
He said in as much as the programme was not mainly to achieve political points, the government would be appreciative “if the populace sees the programme as enhancing their welfare and well-being, then we should expect reasonable total support from all and sundry”.
Nana Akomeah stated that the programme was not meant to benefit members of one political party, adding that the criteria for selecting the beneficiaries had been developed by a credible team of local and international experts.
The LEAP programmes is a component of the National Social Protection Strategy which aims at investing in people through social assistance schemes.
Nana Akomea said the core feature of the LEAP was direct cash transfer to categories of poor people, adding that the Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS 5) which was conducted in 2005 and 2006 indicated that 41 per cent of Ghanaians were poor and out of that figure, 18. 2 per cent were considered extremely poor.
He described the extremely poor which the LEAP would take care of as those whose income fell below US$1.00 and were unable to cater for their basic human needs including their food requirements and also suffered from poverty across generations.
“The primary target of LEAP is this 18.2 per cent of the people identified by the GLSS as falling into the category of extreme poor,” the minister stated.
He noted that the amount to be disbursed per month ranged from GH¢8 to GH¢15 depending on the extent of poverty and whether the household had an orphan, a severely disabled person, and persons aged more than 65, adding that the programme would be implemented nationwide from 2008 to 2012.
He said the total cost of the programme for the five-year period was estimated at GH¢26 million, amounting to less than one per cent of GDP.
Nana Akomea dismissed the notion that the programme was being implemented this year to achieve political points and pointed out that the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II) recognised issues of the poor before this year and, therefore, gave his ministry the mandate to develop and implement the programme which it worked on between 2004 and 2007.
On delayed salaries of employees of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), Nana Akomea said the problem stemmed from the fact that his outfit received its allocation for salaries on a three-month basis from some state institutions, who also received those funds on a three-month basis.
The National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) receives financial assistance from the National Health Insurance Scheme, GETFund, District Assembly Common Fund and the HIPC fund.
He announced that personnel at his ministry were preparing cheques for the payment of the affected employees some of whom had not been paid for more than three months.
The National Co-ordinator of the National Social Protection Strategy, Mrs Angela Asante Asare, said although the programme could not solve all the problems facing the poor in Ghana, it could be used to alleviate their suffering.
For her part, a lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon, who is the leader of the design team currently working on the LEAP programme, Ms Ellen Botei-Doku Aryeetey, said if the country was able to register the extremely poor out of the LEAP programme, that register could be used to identify other needed assistance.
The Chairperson for the programme who is also the Minister for Information and National Orientation, Mrs Oboshie Sai Cofie, advised journalists to help explain the concept to the people.
THE Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment, Nana Akomeah, has stated that the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme which is meant to alleviate the suffering of the poor should be supported instead of the political meanings being read into it.
He said
under the programme, the government would spend less than one per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to achieve payouts to more than 160 extremely poor Ghanaian households as a major complementary measure to relieve “fellow citizens who at the moment find themselves in the category of extremely poor, vulnerable and excluded”.
“We are talking about households who have HIV sufferers who have difficulty in raising the highly subsidised GH¢5 cost of monthly treatment. We are talking about households that benefit from improved seeds for planting but end up using some of the seeds for food,” he stressed.
At his turn at the Meet-the-Press series organised by the Ministry of Information and National Orientation in Accra yesterday, Nana Ankomea said “the objection that a welfare programme is dubious because it is an election year is a very unworthy objection”.
He said in as much as the programme was not mainly to achieve political points, the government would be appreciative “if the populace sees the programme as enhancing their welfare and well-being, then we should expect reasonable total support from all and sundry”.
Nana Akomeah stated that the programme was not meant to benefit members of one political party, adding that the criteria for selecting the beneficiaries had been developed by a credible team of local and international experts.
The LEAP programmes is a component of the National Social Protection Strategy which aims at investing in people through social assistance schemes.
Nana Akomea said the core feature of the LEAP was direct cash transfer to categories of poor people, adding that the Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS 5) which was conducted in 2005 and 2006 indicated that 41 per cent of Ghanaians were poor and out of that figure, 18. 2 per cent were considered extremely poor.
He described the extremely poor which the LEAP would take care of as those whose income fell below US$1.00 and were unable to cater for their basic human needs including their food requirements and also suffered from poverty across generations.
“The primary target of LEAP is this 18.2 per cent of the people identified by the GLSS as falling into the category of extreme poor,” the minister stated.
He noted that the amount to be disbursed per month ranged from GH¢8 to GH¢15 depending on the extent of poverty and whether the household had an orphan, a severely disabled person, and persons aged more than 65, adding that the programme would be implemented nationwide from 2008 to 2012.
He said the total cost of the programme for the five-year period was estimated at GH¢26 million, amounting to less than one per cent of GDP.
Nana Akomea dismissed the notion that the programme was being implemented this year to achieve political points and pointed out that the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II) recognised issues of the poor before this year and, therefore, gave his ministry the mandate to develop and implement the programme which it worked on between 2004 and 2007.
On delayed salaries of employees of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), Nana Akomea said the problem stemmed from the fact that his outfit received its allocation for salaries on a three-month basis from some state institutions, who also received those funds on a three-month basis.
The National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) receives financial assistance from the National Health Insurance Scheme, GETFund, District Assembly Common Fund and the HIPC fund.
He announced that personnel at his ministry were preparing cheques for the payment of the affected employees some of whom had not been paid for more than three months.
The National Co-ordinator of the National Social Protection Strategy, Mrs Angela Asante Asare, said although the programme could not solve all the problems facing the poor in Ghana, it could be used to alleviate their suffering.
For her part, a lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon, who is the leader of the design team currently working on the LEAP programme, Ms Ellen Botei-Doku Aryeetey, said if the country was able to register the extremely poor out of the LEAP programme, that register could be used to identify other needed assistance.
The Chairperson for the programme who is also the Minister for Information and National Orientation, Mrs Oboshie Sai Cofie, advised journalists to help explain the concept to the people.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
