February 16

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News
DAILY HERITAGE, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
Veep calls for
partnership to dev.
Zongo communities
Mineworkers, Goldfields
case adjourned to Feb 20
BY KOJO ANSAH
THE VICE President, Dr
Mahamadu Bawumia has
said considering the
enormity of challenges
facing Zongo
communities in Ghana,
the government would require the
partnership of Non-Governmental
Organisations (NGOs), civil society
organisations and international support
to help government alleviate poverty in
Zongos.
“The government recognises the
enormity of the task in dealing with
this situation and therefore as part of
the strategy, the government intends to
partner civil society groups, NGOs,
development partners and diplomatic
missions to implement government
projects and programmes to alleviate
poverty in the Zongos.”
The Vice President said this in a
speech read on his behalf by the
Minister of Inner Cities and Zongo
Development, Alhaji
Abubakar Saddique Boniface last
Saturday during the 5th Annual
Conference of National Association of
Zongo Chiefs held in Koforidua, the
Eastern Regional Capital.
The Vice President stated that the
establishment of the Zongo Ministry
and the passage of the Zongo
Development Fund Law (Act 964 of
2017) showed the government’s
commitment to fulfilling its promise to
urgently tackle the poor living
conditions of people in Zongo
communities.
He said this could not be done by
the government alone hence,
“government’s doors are wide opened
for further discussions on the way
forward to actualise this partnership.”
The conference, attended by all
Zongo chiefs in Ghana, was on the
theme ‘Education, the Bedrock of
Poverty Alleviation in the Zongo
communities.’
Also in attendance was the Second
Lady, Mrs Samira Bawumia.
The Zongo chiefs criticised the
construction of Astroturf Parks in
Zongo communities across the
country.
According to them, it was not a
priority to the Zongo leadership
considering the pressing challenges
confronting Zongo communities in
Ghana.
But, the Minister of Inner Cities
and Zongo Development explained
that the project is multipurpose which
seeks to develop football talents,
promote health and recreational
activities ,improve infrastructure and
provide venue for mass gathering for
the Zongo communities.
“The government
recognises the enormity
of the task in dealing
with this situation and
therefore as part of the
strategy, the government
intends to partner civil
society groups, NGOs,
development partners
and diplomatic missions
to implement
government projects and
programmes to alleviate
poverty in the Zongos.”
•A cross-section of chiefs at the conference
BY MUNTALLA INUSAH
muntalla.inusah@dailyheritage.com.gh
THERE WAS no show at
the hearing of the case
involving the Ghana
Mine Workers Union
and Goldfields Ghana
Limited because the
presiding judge, Justice Laurenda
Owusu was on a different assignment.
The case has, thus, been adjourned
to Tuesday, February 20.
At the last adjourned date, a
motion filed by the Attorney
Generals Department for an order of
the court to compel the Ghana
Mineworkers Union to comply with
Section 10 of the State Proceedings
Act, 1998 Act 555 was struck out for
want of prosecution.
The Mineworkers are seeking to
stop Goldfields Ghana Limited from
implementing an intended ‘Contract
Mining,’ option.
Per Section 10 of the State
Proceedings Act, “a person who
intends to institute civil action against
the Republic shall serve on the
Attorney General a written notice of
that intention at least 30 days before
A WOMAN, believed to be in her
late thirties, on Tuesday morning
drove into a shop at Taifa-Bankyease,
destroying property worth thousands
of Cedis.
According to witnesses, the driver
of the Hyundai vehicle with
registration number GS 3152-16, lost
control, veered off the road and run
into a store containing paints, wooden
doors, polytanks, plumbing
accessories and buildings materials.
The incident, which happened
around 11:15 am, created a chaotic
scene where the shop attendants had
to run for their lives.
One of the shop attendants,
known as Nyamekye who spoke to
the DAILY HERITAGE said “I
would have been a dead woman if I
had not moved from where I was
sitting. Within minutes the accident
the commencement of the action,”
but the plaintiff failed to comply with
the requirement.
happened.
“I was sitting at the far end of the
store where the car entered. I am in
shock and I thank God for saving
me.”
Information gathered indicated
that the driver was a learner without a
license or a learner sign on her car.
No casualties were recorded, but
items worth millions of Cedis were
destroyed.
The driver later reported herself at
the nearby Kwabenya Police Station.
The court said per Section 20 of
Act 555, the court is enjoined to
adjourn the suit titled ‘Ghana
Woman drives car into shop
BY ABIGAIL ASARE
According to witnesses, the
driver of the Hyundai vehicle
with registration number GS
3152-16, lost control, veered
off the road and run into a
store containing paints,
wooden doors, polytanks,
plumbing accessories and
buildings materials.
•The leadership of Mineworkers raising red flags
Mineworkers Union vs. Goldfields
Ghana Limited and the Attorney
General.’
• .At Taifa-Bankyease
•The vehicle after the accident
Background
Per the writ filed on behalf of the
workers by their lawyer, Mr Charles
Bawa Duah, a former Executive
Secretary of the National Labour
Commission, the workers are urging
the court to restrain Goldfields from
going ahead with the intended
redundancy exercise until all the
stakeholders involved “have
concluded or negotiated on whether
the exercise can be averted, and if
not, the category of workers to be
affected and measures to minimise
the impact on workers.”
They are also seeking a declaration
from the court that the redundancy
exercise is “unlawful” because the
reasons given by the mining giant to
lay them off did not meet the
“requirements, conditions or grounds
for redundancy, as provided by
Section 65 of the Labour Act, 2013,
act 651.”
The workers further want the
court to declare that the purported
authorisation of the redundancy
exercise by the Chief Labour Officer
is “illegal, unlawful and null and
void.”
•The hospital meets annually to appraise itself
Stroke, HIV,
pneumonia kill
413 in K’dua
BY KOJO ANSAH
MEDICAL DOCTORS at the
Eastern Regional Hospital,
Koforidua are alarmed at the
increasing death cases related to
stroke, HIV, pneumonia, premature
births, kidney diseases and
hypertension.
These diseases have been
identified as part of the top 10
most leading causes of deaths
recorded at the region's premier
health facility in 2017.
Stroke, HIV and pneumonia
alone killed a total of 413 people in
2017. Out of the number, 201
patients died of stroke in 2017, an
increase of 10% compared to 181
deaths recorded in 2016 which was
also an increase from 163 recorded
in 2015, making stroke the leading
cause of deaths at the hospital in
the last three years.
The medical director at the
regional hospital, Dr Kwame Anim
Boamah said the reason why
people with hypertension and
diabetes die is they fail to adhere
strictly to medication and other
management plans as directed by
their doctors.
He also attributed severe stroke
to ignorance on the part of
persons with such a condition.
HIV/AIDS, which is the
second cause of deaths at the
hospital with increase of 3.6%,
killed 139 people in 2017
compared to 134 , 167 deaths
recorded in 2016 and 2015
respectively.
Pneumonia, also killed 73
patients at the facility in 2017, a
reduction by three compared to 76
cases recorded in 2016.
The medical director said this
during an open day cerebration
observed annually to review
performance of the hospital and
provide opportunity to the general
public to interact with management
on operations of the facility, solicit
their concerns and inputs in
improving quality healthcare
service.
Feats by the hospital
The hospital over the past four
years has undergone
transformation through prudent
financial management and has
seen facelift of its facilities and
wards, as well as roads and
landscape executed mainly
through its own internally
generated funds.
These projects executed were
the brain child of the hospital
welfare committee under the
leadership of Dr Boateng.
The hospital through
its internally generated funds
installed an oxygen plant last year
and currently does not only
produce oxygen for use in the
hospital but supplies oxygen to
neighboring hospitals at a fee.
Other modern biomedical
equipment are being procured for
installation to improve quality
healthcare delivery.
Management’s vision to upgrade
the heath facility to a teaching
hospital status is also on course.
In line with this, some doctors
have been sponsored to be trained
as specialists to enable the hospital
fully role out Post Graduate
Training of Specialist
Doctors from 2020. Already, it
offers six months training to
gynecologists and obstetricians.
Currently the hospital has
signed partnership agreements with
a number of educational
institutions including Koforidua
Technical University to offer
tertiary and post - graduate
programme training for laboratory,
science and nursing students.