Observe traffic regulations-Awuni
26/11/07
Story: Salome Donkor
THE Nima Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Angwobutoge Awuni, has warned that the police will not relent in its efforts to arrest and prosecute drivers who flout regulations.
He, therefore, advised drivers to obey traffic regulations to ensure safety on the roads.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in reaction to a reader’s letter published in the November 7, 2007 edition of the paper, Chief Supt Awuni said it behoved both private and commercial drivers to strictly observe traffic regulations to help reduce the spate of accidents.
The writer of the said letter had accused the Nima District Police of what he termed “the inhuman manner in which the Nima District Police has been arresting and detaining commercial drivers who commit minor traffic offences, without recourse to the due process of the law”.
The writer accused the police of “hiding themselves in obscure corners of the road and writing the registration numbers of vehicles for minor traffic offences just to milk them dry in situations where drivers are unable to meet their unholy demands”.
Chief Supt Awuni explained that some commercial drivers operating at Nima caused obstruction with their vehicles by stopping and parking at unauthorised places, in addition to committing other road traffic offences that necessitated their arrest.
He said the Nima Neighbourhood Watchdog Committee had been supporting the police in arresting such offenders by writing the numbers of their vehicles and sending them to the police.
He said it was necessary to obey traffic regulations in the interest of road safety and called for maximum co-operation from the drivers.
On the allegation of some policemen milking the drivers dry in situations where drivers were unable to meet their unholy demands, Chief Supt Awuni advised drivers who had suffered such a fate to report to him for those involved to be dealt with.
He said much as the police were bent on ensuring discipline on the roads, they would not condone acts of indiscipline.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Traders must take insurance policy
17/11/07
Article: Salome Donkor
Maame Deede, Antie Adwoa and Kwadwo Osei, were among the hundreds of traders who wept uncontrollably following the destruction of their property during the fire outbreak at the Makola Annex Two Market in Accra last week.
A number of shops and stalls were completely razed by the fire which gutted part of the market in the early hours of last Friday. Items destroyed included used clothing, shoes and food.
Amidst wailing and sobbing, the traders stood helplessly as they watched the fire completely burn their goods and other property worth several billions of cedis, to ashes.
The market, popularly called the Tema Station “T.S. Market”, is located just behind the Intercity Transport Terminal at Tudu, adjacent to the Public Works Department (PWD) yard.
Coincidentally, fire broke out at the same area about five years ago, just about six weeks to Christmas.
The tragedy occurred barely 48 hours after fire devastated a warehouse at the Kasoa Market, in the Central Region.
Amidst appeals for government support to enable them to start new lives, some of the traders, have reorganised themselves and begun clearing the debris to reconstruct their shops.
It was reported that the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) had held a marathon session behind closed-doors with leaders of the traders’ associations to strategise on the way forward, and sources close to the meeting indicated that the discussions centred on ways to prevent a recurrence of the fire incident.
It said following the congestion at the market, which impeded the movement of traders, the meeting considered the construction of proper walkways, access routes for fire tenders and the use of better materials to withstand fire in the rebuilding plan.
Calls have been made by insurance officers and related individuals and organisations to the traders to take insurance policies against fire outbreaks.
When contacted, the Special Assistant to the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Ali Baba Bature, added his voice to the calls and said the recent fire outbreaks at the Makola and new Kasoa markets, were a wake-up calls to traders operating in the markets to take steps to protect their property and also take fire prevention measures against such fire out breaks, which lead to the mass destruction of property.
He said, although the affected traders were expecting the AMA to assist them, the assembly was constrained financially ,and therefore could not do much to support them.
A sales representative of the Donewell Insurance Company, Mr Jonas Gyebi-Marfo, also stressed the need for the traders to take policy on fire.
Speaking in an interview, he said such a policy was not only against fire but other natural disasters such as floods, earthquake, and lightening.
He said the policy also covers people who live in airport residential areas and may by injured by an object from a moving aircraft, as well as those in industrial areas and people who may suffer from explosion.
Mr Gyebi-Marfo said the annual premium for such a policy is between 0.25 to 0.4 per cent of the value of the insured property or goods.
He regretted that numerous educational programmes to traders to take such a policy had not yielded the needed results since most of them were reluctant to undertake such a policy.
He pointed out that when such disasters occur, they go to the markets to educate the traders on the importance of insuring their wares, stalls and shops, but although they initially welcome such an idea and show interests, they continue to postpone their plans without taking any conclusive decision to do so.
He, however, said they would continue to educate them on the importance of insurance policies in order to help safeguard their property.
When reached for his comments on the recent fire outbreaks, the Tema Regional Training Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, Assistant Division Officer (ADO) Mr Prince Anaglate, urged the AMA and other related bodies to implement suggestions made by the GNFS.
He said apart from ensuring accessibility at the markets, there was the need for security personnel stationed at the markets to be trained in fire detection and prevention techniques, since they are the first point of contact when such fires start in the night.
He also said since some of the traders use fire in cooking at the markets, it is important for security men who close the gates at the markets to go round to find out any source of fire hazard left behind by the traders and deal with them before closing the gates.
It is obvious that city authorities, the GNFS, people who maintain security at the markets and the traders themselves need to play their respective roles to enhance safety practices at the market to help prevent such disasters.
Article: Salome Donkor
Maame Deede, Antie Adwoa and Kwadwo Osei, were among the hundreds of traders who wept uncontrollably following the destruction of their property during the fire outbreak at the Makola Annex Two Market in Accra last week.
A number of shops and stalls were completely razed by the fire which gutted part of the market in the early hours of last Friday. Items destroyed included used clothing, shoes and food.
Amidst wailing and sobbing, the traders stood helplessly as they watched the fire completely burn their goods and other property worth several billions of cedis, to ashes.
The market, popularly called the Tema Station “T.S. Market”, is located just behind the Intercity Transport Terminal at Tudu, adjacent to the Public Works Department (PWD) yard.
Coincidentally, fire broke out at the same area about five years ago, just about six weeks to Christmas.
The tragedy occurred barely 48 hours after fire devastated a warehouse at the Kasoa Market, in the Central Region.
Amidst appeals for government support to enable them to start new lives, some of the traders, have reorganised themselves and begun clearing the debris to reconstruct their shops.
It was reported that the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) had held a marathon session behind closed-doors with leaders of the traders’ associations to strategise on the way forward, and sources close to the meeting indicated that the discussions centred on ways to prevent a recurrence of the fire incident.
It said following the congestion at the market, which impeded the movement of traders, the meeting considered the construction of proper walkways, access routes for fire tenders and the use of better materials to withstand fire in the rebuilding plan.
Calls have been made by insurance officers and related individuals and organisations to the traders to take insurance policies against fire outbreaks.
When contacted, the Special Assistant to the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Ali Baba Bature, added his voice to the calls and said the recent fire outbreaks at the Makola and new Kasoa markets, were a wake-up calls to traders operating in the markets to take steps to protect their property and also take fire prevention measures against such fire out breaks, which lead to the mass destruction of property.
He said, although the affected traders were expecting the AMA to assist them, the assembly was constrained financially ,and therefore could not do much to support them.
A sales representative of the Donewell Insurance Company, Mr Jonas Gyebi-Marfo, also stressed the need for the traders to take policy on fire.
Speaking in an interview, he said such a policy was not only against fire but other natural disasters such as floods, earthquake, and lightening.
He said the policy also covers people who live in airport residential areas and may by injured by an object from a moving aircraft, as well as those in industrial areas and people who may suffer from explosion.
Mr Gyebi-Marfo said the annual premium for such a policy is between 0.25 to 0.4 per cent of the value of the insured property or goods.
He regretted that numerous educational programmes to traders to take such a policy had not yielded the needed results since most of them were reluctant to undertake such a policy.
He pointed out that when such disasters occur, they go to the markets to educate the traders on the importance of insuring their wares, stalls and shops, but although they initially welcome such an idea and show interests, they continue to postpone their plans without taking any conclusive decision to do so.
He, however, said they would continue to educate them on the importance of insurance policies in order to help safeguard their property.
When reached for his comments on the recent fire outbreaks, the Tema Regional Training Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, Assistant Division Officer (ADO) Mr Prince Anaglate, urged the AMA and other related bodies to implement suggestions made by the GNFS.
He said apart from ensuring accessibility at the markets, there was the need for security personnel stationed at the markets to be trained in fire detection and prevention techniques, since they are the first point of contact when such fires start in the night.
He also said since some of the traders use fire in cooking at the markets, it is important for security men who close the gates at the markets to go round to find out any source of fire hazard left behind by the traders and deal with them before closing the gates.
It is obvious that city authorities, the GNFS, people who maintain security at the markets and the traders themselves need to play their respective roles to enhance safety practices at the market to help prevent such disasters.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
We must be cautious of what we eat
10/15/07
We must be cautious of what we eat
Article: Salome Donkor
Food is an important component of life and as such should be handled properly for it to be safe for consumption. Most people in the cities who find themselves outside their homes for a greater part of the day due to their work schedule have no option than to patronise the services of cooked food sellers.
It is necessary for food vendors to avoid unhealthy practices and work under hygienic conditions to safeguard the lives of customers.
Unfortunately some food vendors in the Accra metropolis, including chop bar operators, bread and vegetable sellers, transact their businesses near open drains, refuse dumps and public places of convenience. The rubbish and its foul odour and flies contaminate the cooked food, most of which are not covered, posing health risk to customers, who do not care patronising the services of such facilities.
The Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Science at the University of Ghana, Prof. Samuel Sefa-Dedeh, was recently reported to have said that the food supply chain, from harvesting, transportation, processing and delivery, demonstrated that Ghanaians were exposed to heavily contaminated food.
That situation made him call for a review of the Food and Drugs Law in order to safeguard food and adequately protect consumers in the country. This was when he was delivering a lecture on the topic: “The Food Supply Chain, Safeguarding Public Health and Safety”, organised by the Food and Drugs Board (FDB), as part of activities marking its 10th anniversary celebrations.
Issues related to food safety and regulations require the regulators to effectively implement it, while operators in the hospitality industry need to learn to operate under a conducive environment and reorganise their operations to promote food safety and good health.
To educate commercial and street food vendors on the need to operate under hygienic surroundings, the Tourism Ministry recently organised a workshop to sensitise over 1,500 food vendors to food safety, hygiene, environmental sanitation, drugs law, business management, capacity building and tax education.
The programme formed part of a nation-wide compering??????? instituted by the ministry to educate the participants, who included 'koko', rice and kenkey sellers, chop bar keepers, confectioners and restaurant operators on the need to operate under hygienic surroundings as a way of promoting tourism.
The Environment Health Officer of the Akwapem South District, Mr Christopher Asubonteng, was reported to have cautioned the public against buying uncovered food items, since they posed health hazards.
He cited the selling of uncovered bread and fried turkey tails and yams at Nsawam as an example, and asked the public to patronise only covered food items to guard against contracting diseases.
Laws regulating food safety and security have been enacted so they should be enforced to ensure that anybody handling food has adequate knowledge in food handling and preparation as required by the law.
Walking through the city in the central business district, one comes face to face with several women who have set up tables at vantage points, selling a variety of food for the public near open drains and mounds of household refuse. One also sees hawkers who move on the streets selling uncovered bread, dough nuts, cakes, all exposed to the sun.One could also speak of kenkey, fresh and smoked fish and meat sellers.
The Environmental Health Division of the Ministry of Health needs to step up it monitoring efforts to ensure food security. The mode of dressing of these vendors and the environment within which they operate is of paramount importance.
Periodic checks will go a long way to help raise the health consciousness among food vendors to take their health issues seriously and to make them aware of how their actions can impact positively or negatively on the lives of the people they serve.
For this reason Environmental Health Officers have carried out periodic screening for food vendors and drinking bar operators who have undergone free medical screening to ascertain their health status before offering their services to the public.
The exercise ensures that all those who sell food to the public are free from infectious and contagious diseases while the food they offer for sale meet the required standards.
Talking to the Daily Graphic after a screening exercise for about 300 food vendors in the Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly, a Principal Environmental Health Officer, Mr Gyesi Nkansah, reportedly gave an important advise to consumers. He said "You should consider the environment the food is prepared; you should not only eat because you are hungry, but consider your health as well."
There are some butchers who process their slaughtered animals with used lorry tyres at unauthorised places in Accra and the Environmental Health Officers of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly have sent a number of them to court.
That was because advice, notices, education and several warnings to them to stop using lorry tyres since it is injurious and dangerous to human consumption, and rather use firewood or gas to burn slaughtered animals have not been heeded.
According to them the continuous use of the lorry tyres to burn the animals is causing smoke, nuisance and environmental pollution to residents in the area, hence their arrest and prosecution.
Truly, matters of food safety are a collective responsibility of all since the regulating agencies alone cannot ensure food safety.
We should take the advise by the Environmental Health Officer seriously by considering the environment the food is prepared. We should not only eat because we are hungry but consider our health as well.
We must be cautious of what we eat
Article: Salome Donkor
Food is an important component of life and as such should be handled properly for it to be safe for consumption. Most people in the cities who find themselves outside their homes for a greater part of the day due to their work schedule have no option than to patronise the services of cooked food sellers.
It is necessary for food vendors to avoid unhealthy practices and work under hygienic conditions to safeguard the lives of customers.
Unfortunately some food vendors in the Accra metropolis, including chop bar operators, bread and vegetable sellers, transact their businesses near open drains, refuse dumps and public places of convenience. The rubbish and its foul odour and flies contaminate the cooked food, most of which are not covered, posing health risk to customers, who do not care patronising the services of such facilities.
The Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Science at the University of Ghana, Prof. Samuel Sefa-Dedeh, was recently reported to have said that the food supply chain, from harvesting, transportation, processing and delivery, demonstrated that Ghanaians were exposed to heavily contaminated food.
That situation made him call for a review of the Food and Drugs Law in order to safeguard food and adequately protect consumers in the country. This was when he was delivering a lecture on the topic: “The Food Supply Chain, Safeguarding Public Health and Safety”, organised by the Food and Drugs Board (FDB), as part of activities marking its 10th anniversary celebrations.
Issues related to food safety and regulations require the regulators to effectively implement it, while operators in the hospitality industry need to learn to operate under a conducive environment and reorganise their operations to promote food safety and good health.
To educate commercial and street food vendors on the need to operate under hygienic surroundings, the Tourism Ministry recently organised a workshop to sensitise over 1,500 food vendors to food safety, hygiene, environmental sanitation, drugs law, business management, capacity building and tax education.
The programme formed part of a nation-wide compering??????? instituted by the ministry to educate the participants, who included 'koko', rice and kenkey sellers, chop bar keepers, confectioners and restaurant operators on the need to operate under hygienic surroundings as a way of promoting tourism.
The Environment Health Officer of the Akwapem South District, Mr Christopher Asubonteng, was reported to have cautioned the public against buying uncovered food items, since they posed health hazards.
He cited the selling of uncovered bread and fried turkey tails and yams at Nsawam as an example, and asked the public to patronise only covered food items to guard against contracting diseases.
Laws regulating food safety and security have been enacted so they should be enforced to ensure that anybody handling food has adequate knowledge in food handling and preparation as required by the law.
Walking through the city in the central business district, one comes face to face with several women who have set up tables at vantage points, selling a variety of food for the public near open drains and mounds of household refuse. One also sees hawkers who move on the streets selling uncovered bread, dough nuts, cakes, all exposed to the sun.One could also speak of kenkey, fresh and smoked fish and meat sellers.
The Environmental Health Division of the Ministry of Health needs to step up it monitoring efforts to ensure food security. The mode of dressing of these vendors and the environment within which they operate is of paramount importance.
Periodic checks will go a long way to help raise the health consciousness among food vendors to take their health issues seriously and to make them aware of how their actions can impact positively or negatively on the lives of the people they serve.
For this reason Environmental Health Officers have carried out periodic screening for food vendors and drinking bar operators who have undergone free medical screening to ascertain their health status before offering their services to the public.
The exercise ensures that all those who sell food to the public are free from infectious and contagious diseases while the food they offer for sale meet the required standards.
Talking to the Daily Graphic after a screening exercise for about 300 food vendors in the Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly, a Principal Environmental Health Officer, Mr Gyesi Nkansah, reportedly gave an important advise to consumers. He said "You should consider the environment the food is prepared; you should not only eat because you are hungry, but consider your health as well."
There are some butchers who process their slaughtered animals with used lorry tyres at unauthorised places in Accra and the Environmental Health Officers of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly have sent a number of them to court.
That was because advice, notices, education and several warnings to them to stop using lorry tyres since it is injurious and dangerous to human consumption, and rather use firewood or gas to burn slaughtered animals have not been heeded.
According to them the continuous use of the lorry tyres to burn the animals is causing smoke, nuisance and environmental pollution to residents in the area, hence their arrest and prosecution.
Truly, matters of food safety are a collective responsibility of all since the regulating agencies alone cannot ensure food safety.
We should take the advise by the Environmental Health Officer seriously by considering the environment the food is prepared. We should not only eat because we are hungry but consider our health as well.
Mentally ill patients need support
Mentally ill patients need support
Article: Salome Donkor
THE country’s mental health has suffered developmental hardship from the colonial era to the present day. Since the celebration of the centenary anniversary of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital last year, a lot has been said on the need for a total support from well-meaning Ghanaians both individuals and corporate bodies, to deal with the challenges facing mental health patients.
Health experts define mental illness as anything that affects a person’s thoughts, emotions or behaviour that results in a negative effect on the person or those around them and also an obvious change in their personality, among other symptoms.
Mental health problems range from chronic mental disorders, trauma, and distress to a great deal of suffering and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that 50 per cent of the estimated 200 million migrants recorded by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) suffered mental health problems.
Looking at this definition of mental illness it is obvious that mental health is a major issue which can affect anybody and one does not need to go naked or wear dirty and tattered clothing or maintain an upkept bushy hair, to demonstrate signs of mental problems.
The situation is more disturbing if one considers facts presented by the immediate past Chief Psychiatrist of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, Dr J.B. Asare, who was reported to have stated that about 25 per cent of Ghanaians suffer mental health problems.
Motorists who use the Mental Hospital-Cathedral Road, might have come into contact with a very noble looking woman, who approaches motorists for money. I always have goose pimples on my body when I see this noble woman, and wonder what is wrong with her.
The need for relatives of treated mental patients to take care of the cured patients and help integrate them into the society, is very important.
According to records at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, the nation was spending GH¢87,600 (¢876 million) annually or GH¢240 (¢2.4 million) daily on the feeding of mental patients whose relatives had refused to take them home after treatment at the psychiatric hospitals.
The records further indicate that a huge chunk of the daily feeding fee drawn from the national kitty, goes waste because one-third of mental patients who are treated refuse to go home, thus compelling hospital authorities to feed them ;as well as those on admission.
Records further indicate that although the Accra Psychiatric Hospital is designed to accommodate at least 800 patients, there are about 1,200 patients there as of now, many of whom have been treated and are supposed to go home, leading to congestion at the wards and over-stretching the hospital’s facilities.
Some mental patients are also seen roaming the city thereby posing as threats to pedestrians. It is in this vain that the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has appealed to the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment and the Department of Social Welfare to help rid Accra of lunatics before the commencement of the 2008 African Cup of Nations.
The Special Assistant to the AMA Chief Executive, and the acting head of Public Affairs of the AMA, Mr Ali Baba Bature was reported to have said that during one of its decongestion exercises in 2005, the AMA was able to rehabilitate about 240 lunatics at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, but due to financial constraints it could not continue with the programme.
He said if the lunatics on the streets would be given the necessary attention, he believed some of them could recover and play useful roles in the society.
The WHO estimates that globally, 450 million people alive today suffer from mental or neurological disorders or from psycho-social problems such as those related to alcohol and drug abuse. Mental illness, therefore remained a major public health problem in every country, a situation, which the organisation says had been escalated by the number of factors, including wars, that had given rise to several thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons often living under trying conditions.
“Many of them suffer silently, many of them suffer alone. Beyond the suffering and beyond the absence of care lies the frontiers of stigma, shame, exclusion and more than we care to know, death,” Dr Joachim Saweka, the WHO Representative in Ghana, was reported to have said in an address read on his behalf during the celebration of the World Mental Health Day in Accra recently.
Dr Saweka pointed out that major depression was now the leading cause of disability globally and ranked fourth among the 10 leading causes of global burden of diseases and called for a change in cultural practices which negatively affected mentally -ill people.
A Community Mental Health Officer of Basic Needs Basic Rights, Mr Dokurugu Adam Yahaya reportedly stressed the need for the public to avoid stigmatisation of epileptics and mental patients and help integrate them into the society.
He made the statement at a mental health week in Tamale and further indicated the need for increase in public awareness to make it possible for many people to seek treatment for their mental illness.
We all need to do something to help integrate cured mental patients into the society. The issue of stigmatisation had compounded the problem. This is because mental illness is believed by some people to emanate from evil spirits, gods, enemies, punishment from ancestors, curses invoked upon people for their evil .
The warning by the Medical Director of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital and acting Chief Psychiatrist, Dr Akwasi Osei, that people should change that perception and champion the rights of mental health patients because everyone could suffer mental illness at anytime, must be taken seriously.
Let’s not forget that mental illness is no respector of persons.
There is the need for intensive public education on mental health issues through adequate provision of resources for information and educational committee activities by the community, psychiatric nurses and public health educators.
Article: Salome Donkor
THE country’s mental health has suffered developmental hardship from the colonial era to the present day. Since the celebration of the centenary anniversary of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital last year, a lot has been said on the need for a total support from well-meaning Ghanaians both individuals and corporate bodies, to deal with the challenges facing mental health patients.
Health experts define mental illness as anything that affects a person’s thoughts, emotions or behaviour that results in a negative effect on the person or those around them and also an obvious change in their personality, among other symptoms.
Mental health problems range from chronic mental disorders, trauma, and distress to a great deal of suffering and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that 50 per cent of the estimated 200 million migrants recorded by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) suffered mental health problems.
Looking at this definition of mental illness it is obvious that mental health is a major issue which can affect anybody and one does not need to go naked or wear dirty and tattered clothing or maintain an upkept bushy hair, to demonstrate signs of mental problems.
The situation is more disturbing if one considers facts presented by the immediate past Chief Psychiatrist of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, Dr J.B. Asare, who was reported to have stated that about 25 per cent of Ghanaians suffer mental health problems.
Motorists who use the Mental Hospital-Cathedral Road, might have come into contact with a very noble looking woman, who approaches motorists for money. I always have goose pimples on my body when I see this noble woman, and wonder what is wrong with her.
The need for relatives of treated mental patients to take care of the cured patients and help integrate them into the society, is very important.
According to records at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, the nation was spending GH¢87,600 (¢876 million) annually or GH¢240 (¢2.4 million) daily on the feeding of mental patients whose relatives had refused to take them home after treatment at the psychiatric hospitals.
The records further indicate that a huge chunk of the daily feeding fee drawn from the national kitty, goes waste because one-third of mental patients who are treated refuse to go home, thus compelling hospital authorities to feed them ;as well as those on admission.
Records further indicate that although the Accra Psychiatric Hospital is designed to accommodate at least 800 patients, there are about 1,200 patients there as of now, many of whom have been treated and are supposed to go home, leading to congestion at the wards and over-stretching the hospital’s facilities.
Some mental patients are also seen roaming the city thereby posing as threats to pedestrians. It is in this vain that the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has appealed to the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment and the Department of Social Welfare to help rid Accra of lunatics before the commencement of the 2008 African Cup of Nations.
The Special Assistant to the AMA Chief Executive, and the acting head of Public Affairs of the AMA, Mr Ali Baba Bature was reported to have said that during one of its decongestion exercises in 2005, the AMA was able to rehabilitate about 240 lunatics at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, but due to financial constraints it could not continue with the programme.
He said if the lunatics on the streets would be given the necessary attention, he believed some of them could recover and play useful roles in the society.
The WHO estimates that globally, 450 million people alive today suffer from mental or neurological disorders or from psycho-social problems such as those related to alcohol and drug abuse. Mental illness, therefore remained a major public health problem in every country, a situation, which the organisation says had been escalated by the number of factors, including wars, that had given rise to several thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons often living under trying conditions.
“Many of them suffer silently, many of them suffer alone. Beyond the suffering and beyond the absence of care lies the frontiers of stigma, shame, exclusion and more than we care to know, death,” Dr Joachim Saweka, the WHO Representative in Ghana, was reported to have said in an address read on his behalf during the celebration of the World Mental Health Day in Accra recently.
Dr Saweka pointed out that major depression was now the leading cause of disability globally and ranked fourth among the 10 leading causes of global burden of diseases and called for a change in cultural practices which negatively affected mentally -ill people.
A Community Mental Health Officer of Basic Needs Basic Rights, Mr Dokurugu Adam Yahaya reportedly stressed the need for the public to avoid stigmatisation of epileptics and mental patients and help integrate them into the society.
He made the statement at a mental health week in Tamale and further indicated the need for increase in public awareness to make it possible for many people to seek treatment for their mental illness.
We all need to do something to help integrate cured mental patients into the society. The issue of stigmatisation had compounded the problem. This is because mental illness is believed by some people to emanate from evil spirits, gods, enemies, punishment from ancestors, curses invoked upon people for their evil .
The warning by the Medical Director of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital and acting Chief Psychiatrist, Dr Akwasi Osei, that people should change that perception and champion the rights of mental health patients because everyone could suffer mental illness at anytime, must be taken seriously.
Let’s not forget that mental illness is no respector of persons.
There is the need for intensive public education on mental health issues through adequate provision of resources for information and educational committee activities by the community, psychiatric nurses and public health educators.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
After Sanitation Week, what next?
After Sanitation Week, what next?
Asks Salome Donkor
Sanitation and waste management are crucial issues that have generated a lot of discussions and featured prominently in various debates.
This is in view of the fact that sanitation is a major problem in Ghana and as one goes round the cities and towns, one sees filth, with drains choked with solid and liquid waste, while open spaces and beaches, which should serve as recreational grounds have become defecating and dumping sites for all kinds of waste.
Some major roads and streets, including lorry parks, are littered with garbage and the situation in low income communities, especially, those in the cities and major towns is a sorry sight.
In some cases inadequacy of resources have been attributed to the problem, while the problem of lack of landfill sites, lack of equipment to cart waste, inadequate health or sanitary inspectors, as well as, non-enforcement of legislation and bye-laws and general indiscipline seem to be major contributory factors to the problem.
People throw out waste and urinate indiscriminately and in some cases defecate carelessly in public places, which according to health experts, lead to the spread of a number of diseases.
To help address the problem, the then Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development took a bold step to institute the National Sanitation Week in 2002 to rekindle the communal spirit in Ghanaians and to draw the attention of the people to sanitation issues that have become a burden to society.
During the week, cleen-up exercises are to be organised in communities, workplaces, offices and schools. This year the sixth Sanitation Week was launched at Konongo-Odumasi in the Asante-Akim North District in the Ashanti Region.
The Vice-President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, who launched the Sanitation Week called on all to respect the environmental health officers to enable them to carry out their duties of education and enforcement of sanitation laws and regulations.
As he appropriately said, it was time for all to turn a new leaf, learn lessons from past Sanitation Week celebrations and resolve to change their attitude towards the environment.
Consequently, he urged school, religious bodies, industry, the private sector and civil society to support the relevant public agencies to manage waste.
Earlier, before the launching ceremony, participants at the second national sanitation policy dialogue, which was held as part of activities marking the Sixth National Sanitation Week in Accra advocated the enforcement of sanitation bye-laws and stiffer penalties for offenders.
They also called for sustainable financing for and use of appropriate technologies in waste management.
The call is very appropriate, considering the fact that some people do not know that there are sanitation bye-laws or have decided not to abide by these laws to help maintain a clean and healthy surroundings.
For instance sections of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Bye-laws (1995), deals with solid and liquid waste management and cleaning. Paragraph Five of Section 175 states that “Owners or occupier of premises shall be responsible for the provision of containers that will be used in storing solid liquid waste within the premises in consonance with specifications approved by the AMA.”
Paragraph Nine states that “The AMA shall impose prescribed fees on an owner or occupier of premises where services are rendered for the disposal of liquid waste and such fees shall be reviewed from time to time.”
Paragraph 11 prescribes a fine not exceeding ¢200,000 or in default of payment to a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months or both for offenders.
Various Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) also have similar bye-laws by the powers conferred on them by the Local Government Act (Act 462).
It is obvious that although MMDAs have been tasked with the responsibility of waste management, the onerous responsibility of ensuring a garbage-free nation does not rests solely on their shoulders. Unit committees, traditional authorities, traders, drivers, passengers and landlords also have respective roles to play.
Persistent education on environmental sanitation had not yielded the desired results, hence the need for effective monitoring and evaluation systems, as well as enforcement of bye-laws to enhance sustainable environmental management.
There is also the need for a strong political will on the part of politicians in dealing with sanitation issues and city authorities should be allowed to execute their programmes without any interference from any quarters if the activities were to serve the general good of the people.
After the launch of this year’s sixth Sanitation Week, nothing had been done in the area of clean-up exercises to demonstrate that the people’s consciousness to sanitation issues that have become a burden to society, had been raised.
I once saw a video clip on Television by the Great Lamptey- Mills School that showed the negative attitude of people to waste disposal and how people manage dtheir personal hygiene and the sanitation. One might think that the people were just acting in the clip but that is the true situation on the ground. It is not surprising if we should check every home to know how they manage their waste and the kind of dustbin they use; polythene and unprescribed materials; perforated and corrosive dustbins.
This gives an indication that many Ghanaians do not care much about sanitation at all. A lot of them take it as normal but the kind of dangers this indiscipline brings to our lives is so great. If measures are not taken towards the indiscriminate disposal of waste, then in the next few years, our lives may be at a higher risk than we see today.
The bad attitude and ignorance of both the educated and the uneducated must change.
Let's learn to do the right thing because a healthy living makes health life.
Asks Salome Donkor
Sanitation and waste management are crucial issues that have generated a lot of discussions and featured prominently in various debates.
This is in view of the fact that sanitation is a major problem in Ghana and as one goes round the cities and towns, one sees filth, with drains choked with solid and liquid waste, while open spaces and beaches, which should serve as recreational grounds have become defecating and dumping sites for all kinds of waste.
Some major roads and streets, including lorry parks, are littered with garbage and the situation in low income communities, especially, those in the cities and major towns is a sorry sight.
In some cases inadequacy of resources have been attributed to the problem, while the problem of lack of landfill sites, lack of equipment to cart waste, inadequate health or sanitary inspectors, as well as, non-enforcement of legislation and bye-laws and general indiscipline seem to be major contributory factors to the problem.
People throw out waste and urinate indiscriminately and in some cases defecate carelessly in public places, which according to health experts, lead to the spread of a number of diseases.
To help address the problem, the then Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development took a bold step to institute the National Sanitation Week in 2002 to rekindle the communal spirit in Ghanaians and to draw the attention of the people to sanitation issues that have become a burden to society.
During the week, cleen-up exercises are to be organised in communities, workplaces, offices and schools. This year the sixth Sanitation Week was launched at Konongo-Odumasi in the Asante-Akim North District in the Ashanti Region.
The Vice-President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, who launched the Sanitation Week called on all to respect the environmental health officers to enable them to carry out their duties of education and enforcement of sanitation laws and regulations.
As he appropriately said, it was time for all to turn a new leaf, learn lessons from past Sanitation Week celebrations and resolve to change their attitude towards the environment.
Consequently, he urged school, religious bodies, industry, the private sector and civil society to support the relevant public agencies to manage waste.
Earlier, before the launching ceremony, participants at the second national sanitation policy dialogue, which was held as part of activities marking the Sixth National Sanitation Week in Accra advocated the enforcement of sanitation bye-laws and stiffer penalties for offenders.
They also called for sustainable financing for and use of appropriate technologies in waste management.
The call is very appropriate, considering the fact that some people do not know that there are sanitation bye-laws or have decided not to abide by these laws to help maintain a clean and healthy surroundings.
For instance sections of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Bye-laws (1995), deals with solid and liquid waste management and cleaning. Paragraph Five of Section 175 states that “Owners or occupier of premises shall be responsible for the provision of containers that will be used in storing solid liquid waste within the premises in consonance with specifications approved by the AMA.”
Paragraph Nine states that “The AMA shall impose prescribed fees on an owner or occupier of premises where services are rendered for the disposal of liquid waste and such fees shall be reviewed from time to time.”
Paragraph 11 prescribes a fine not exceeding ¢200,000 or in default of payment to a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months or both for offenders.
Various Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) also have similar bye-laws by the powers conferred on them by the Local Government Act (Act 462).
It is obvious that although MMDAs have been tasked with the responsibility of waste management, the onerous responsibility of ensuring a garbage-free nation does not rests solely on their shoulders. Unit committees, traditional authorities, traders, drivers, passengers and landlords also have respective roles to play.
Persistent education on environmental sanitation had not yielded the desired results, hence the need for effective monitoring and evaluation systems, as well as enforcement of bye-laws to enhance sustainable environmental management.
There is also the need for a strong political will on the part of politicians in dealing with sanitation issues and city authorities should be allowed to execute their programmes without any interference from any quarters if the activities were to serve the general good of the people.
After the launch of this year’s sixth Sanitation Week, nothing had been done in the area of clean-up exercises to demonstrate that the people’s consciousness to sanitation issues that have become a burden to society, had been raised.
I once saw a video clip on Television by the Great Lamptey- Mills School that showed the negative attitude of people to waste disposal and how people manage dtheir personal hygiene and the sanitation. One might think that the people were just acting in the clip but that is the true situation on the ground. It is not surprising if we should check every home to know how they manage their waste and the kind of dustbin they use; polythene and unprescribed materials; perforated and corrosive dustbins.
This gives an indication that many Ghanaians do not care much about sanitation at all. A lot of them take it as normal but the kind of dangers this indiscipline brings to our lives is so great. If measures are not taken towards the indiscriminate disposal of waste, then in the next few years, our lives may be at a higher risk than we see today.
The bad attitude and ignorance of both the educated and the uneducated must change.
Let's learn to do the right thing because a healthy living makes health life.
Let’s watch these things
Let’s watch these things
Story: Salome Donkor
The maintenance of law and order is essential for development. Apart from the Fourth Republican Constitution which is the supreme law of the land, the various 138 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies have enacted bye-laws to govern the operation of the various assemblies, while corporate institutions and organisations also have rules and regulations governing their operations, to avoid chaos and anarchy.
In the same vein, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and the Tema Municipal Assembly have bye-laws on the management of solid and liquid waste, operations of street market and operations of vehicle dealers, as well as the control of poultry in dwelling-houses.
The laws also deal with operation of cemeteries, use of classrooms by religious bodies, cleaning, entertainment licence, abatement of noise, control of dogs, regulation of vehicle parking places, environmental sanitation and maintenance of premises, among others.
Moving through parts of the city of Accra however shows blatant disregard for these laws. This has led to the springing up of unauthorised structures in parts of the city that had created slums, notably at ‘Abuja’ near the CMD lorry park, and the popular ‘Sodom and Gomorrah’ at Old Fadama.
Apart from this, there is indiscriminate littering by some residents who care less about the health implications of their actions. People also put up dwelling houses on water ways and thereby block the free-flow of water when it rains and causes floods in the city.
The least talked about the carelessness on the road, the better. The National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) described this as the result of aggressive driving and impatience on the part of drivers leading to increase in avoidable road accidents.
A number of ‘tro tro’ drivers operating to Adenta, Legon and Madina, have turned part of the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange into a loading point, although they have been provided with a designated loading point at Shieashie. They are not the only offenders as a number of bus stops in the city had been turned into loading spots.
It is the result lack of compliance on the part of street hawkers to relocate the Pedestrian Shopping Mall at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle that had made the AMA to embark on yet another decongestion exercise, which is the third in two years, in the city.
Recently, this page carried a picture of traders who had rebuilt wooden slabs on gutters at the Ashiaman Market to transact business after they had been removed by the TAMA, in blatant disregard of the powers of the assembly.
No wonder the major concern of Athenian philosophers and the underlying concern of all their theoretical pronouncement was the question of order in the society, since they regarded the maintenance of order as essential for the promotion of true justice within their metropolis to produce the best political community.
As Thomas Hobbes, the great English thinker puts it “All people are selfish; in the absence of authority, they will turn on each other and life will be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short”.
It is necessary for all of us to change our attitudes and ensure that law and order works for a lawless society is a disorganised society. The city authorities and all law enforcement agencies should be proactive and ensure that those who break the law are not sparred.
To cut a long story short, the Metro Page has carried a number of pictures depicting the state of indiscipline and disregard for the city’s rules and regulations, as well as the inability of city authorities to fully enforce their rules and regulations, due to what they have described as inadequate logistic, financial and human resources.
The page will continue to highlight these issues to ensure a positive response from citizens and related bodies.
Story: Salome Donkor
The maintenance of law and order is essential for development. Apart from the Fourth Republican Constitution which is the supreme law of the land, the various 138 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies have enacted bye-laws to govern the operation of the various assemblies, while corporate institutions and organisations also have rules and regulations governing their operations, to avoid chaos and anarchy.
In the same vein, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and the Tema Municipal Assembly have bye-laws on the management of solid and liquid waste, operations of street market and operations of vehicle dealers, as well as the control of poultry in dwelling-houses.
The laws also deal with operation of cemeteries, use of classrooms by religious bodies, cleaning, entertainment licence, abatement of noise, control of dogs, regulation of vehicle parking places, environmental sanitation and maintenance of premises, among others.
Moving through parts of the city of Accra however shows blatant disregard for these laws. This has led to the springing up of unauthorised structures in parts of the city that had created slums, notably at ‘Abuja’ near the CMD lorry park, and the popular ‘Sodom and Gomorrah’ at Old Fadama.
Apart from this, there is indiscriminate littering by some residents who care less about the health implications of their actions. People also put up dwelling houses on water ways and thereby block the free-flow of water when it rains and causes floods in the city.
The least talked about the carelessness on the road, the better. The National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) described this as the result of aggressive driving and impatience on the part of drivers leading to increase in avoidable road accidents.
A number of ‘tro tro’ drivers operating to Adenta, Legon and Madina, have turned part of the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange into a loading point, although they have been provided with a designated loading point at Shieashie. They are not the only offenders as a number of bus stops in the city had been turned into loading spots.
It is the result lack of compliance on the part of street hawkers to relocate the Pedestrian Shopping Mall at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle that had made the AMA to embark on yet another decongestion exercise, which is the third in two years, in the city.
Recently, this page carried a picture of traders who had rebuilt wooden slabs on gutters at the Ashiaman Market to transact business after they had been removed by the TAMA, in blatant disregard of the powers of the assembly.
No wonder the major concern of Athenian philosophers and the underlying concern of all their theoretical pronouncement was the question of order in the society, since they regarded the maintenance of order as essential for the promotion of true justice within their metropolis to produce the best political community.
As Thomas Hobbes, the great English thinker puts it “All people are selfish; in the absence of authority, they will turn on each other and life will be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short”.
It is necessary for all of us to change our attitudes and ensure that law and order works for a lawless society is a disorganised society. The city authorities and all law enforcement agencies should be proactive and ensure that those who break the law are not sparred.
To cut a long story short, the Metro Page has carried a number of pictures depicting the state of indiscipline and disregard for the city’s rules and regulations, as well as the inability of city authorities to fully enforce their rules and regulations, due to what they have described as inadequate logistic, financial and human resources.
The page will continue to highlight these issues to ensure a positive response from citizens and related bodies.
Tema Station is not a market - Ali Baba
Tema Station is not a market - Ali Baba
Story: Salome Donkor
The Head of Public Affairs and Special Assistant to the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Ali Baba Bature, has stated that the New Tema Station in Accra was constructed by the assembly with funds from the World Bank and meant to be a lorry park and not a market.
He said it was, therefore, not true that the AMA encouraged any group of traders to form an association to operate there.
He was reacting to some concerns raised by some traders whose kiosks and structures were destroyed during the decongestive exercise at the station.
Some of these hawkers have expressed their anger at the manner in which the exercise was conducted, reports the Ghana news Agency.
They claimed that the AMA did not give them enough notice before carrying out the exercise, thus making them lose huge sums of money.
In an interview with the GNA, Madam Victoria Mensah, Chairman of Foodstuff Sellers Association, said the action of AMA had come as a surprise to them because when the association heard rumours of the possible “decongestion” at the Tema Station, they contacted the authorities at the AMA and were assured that nothing like that would happen.
She said about two years ago, they were encouraged by the AMA to form the association so that they could have a common voice in any decision of the AMA that might affect them.
She added that officials from the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs and the AMA were present at the inauguration of the association and they, therefore, felt that the city authorities had accepted them.
Madam Victoria Mensah said the destruction of the market was painful because during the celebration of the 50th independence anniversary, they spent ¢35 million to rehabilitate portions of the market and also put up new structures.
"Now that they have destroyed all these structures, this huge amount of money used to get the market beautified has gone to waste.”
She appealed to the AMA to either rescind its decision of evicting them from the Tema Station or find a place to resettle them as they had done for hawkers at Central Accra.
Mr Bature indicated that over the years, hawkers who were displaced during the AMA’s exercises always found ways and means of returning to the streets where they were sacked from and described the concerns by the traders at the Tema Station as a calculated attempt to frustrate the exercise.
He warned that the assembly would not relent its efforts to rid the city of unauthorised structures to enhance sanity and advised traders who had deserted their stalls at the Pedestrian Shopping Mall at Odawna, near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle to occupy them.
He also asked those who were not allocated any stall at the mall to relocate to satellite markets in the city.
He further warned those operating their businesses under electric pylons and as close as 50 metres to railway lines to relocate, since they will not be sparred under the exercise.
He said the exercise will be extended to Airport West, Cantonments, Labone Junction, Dzorwulu, East Legon, Tetteh Quarshie Roundabout, as well as along the Motorway, and called for total co-operation from all illegal squatters to make the exercise successful.
Story: Salome Donkor
The Head of Public Affairs and Special Assistant to the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Ali Baba Bature, has stated that the New Tema Station in Accra was constructed by the assembly with funds from the World Bank and meant to be a lorry park and not a market.
He said it was, therefore, not true that the AMA encouraged any group of traders to form an association to operate there.
He was reacting to some concerns raised by some traders whose kiosks and structures were destroyed during the decongestive exercise at the station.
Some of these hawkers have expressed their anger at the manner in which the exercise was conducted, reports the Ghana news Agency.
They claimed that the AMA did not give them enough notice before carrying out the exercise, thus making them lose huge sums of money.
In an interview with the GNA, Madam Victoria Mensah, Chairman of Foodstuff Sellers Association, said the action of AMA had come as a surprise to them because when the association heard rumours of the possible “decongestion” at the Tema Station, they contacted the authorities at the AMA and were assured that nothing like that would happen.
She said about two years ago, they were encouraged by the AMA to form the association so that they could have a common voice in any decision of the AMA that might affect them.
She added that officials from the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs and the AMA were present at the inauguration of the association and they, therefore, felt that the city authorities had accepted them.
Madam Victoria Mensah said the destruction of the market was painful because during the celebration of the 50th independence anniversary, they spent ¢35 million to rehabilitate portions of the market and also put up new structures.
"Now that they have destroyed all these structures, this huge amount of money used to get the market beautified has gone to waste.”
She appealed to the AMA to either rescind its decision of evicting them from the Tema Station or find a place to resettle them as they had done for hawkers at Central Accra.
Mr Bature indicated that over the years, hawkers who were displaced during the AMA’s exercises always found ways and means of returning to the streets where they were sacked from and described the concerns by the traders at the Tema Station as a calculated attempt to frustrate the exercise.
He warned that the assembly would not relent its efforts to rid the city of unauthorised structures to enhance sanity and advised traders who had deserted their stalls at the Pedestrian Shopping Mall at Odawna, near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle to occupy them.
He also asked those who were not allocated any stall at the mall to relocate to satellite markets in the city.
He further warned those operating their businesses under electric pylons and as close as 50 metres to railway lines to relocate, since they will not be sparred under the exercise.
He said the exercise will be extended to Airport West, Cantonments, Labone Junction, Dzorwulu, East Legon, Tetteh Quarshie Roundabout, as well as along the Motorway, and called for total co-operation from all illegal squatters to make the exercise successful.
AMA DECONGESTION EXERCISE, CHALLENGES & ACHIEVEMENTS
Story: Salome Donkor & Sebastian Syme
THE third phase of the decongesting exercise carried out by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to rid the city of unauthorised structures is still on course.
The exercise, which is the third by the AMA in two years, involves a team of more than 400 people drawn from the Police Striking Force, the AMA Special Task Force and Metropolitan Guards and traditional authorities who descended on selected parts of the city, destroying stalls and other structures deemed to be defacing the metropolis.
According to the AMA, the exercise was carried out as a result of what it termed the persistent refusal of hawkers to move into stalls provided for them by the assembly at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and also to move to satellite markets in the metropolis.
A work plan for the exercise issued to the media by the AMA indicated that the inspection of houses with markets would begin on October 18, after which hawkers on pavements would be arrested, warning that there should be no hawking within lorry parks.
The city authorities have vowed to sustain the exercise until people see the need to do the right thing. Although the assembly has always made it clear that it will not tolerate the activities of petty traders and hawkers in the decongested area, the recalcitrant petty traders and hawkers always manage to return to the streets, despite warnings by the AMA to prosecute offenders.
The Head of Public Affairs of the AMA, Mr Ali Baba Bature, indicated that the demolition exercise in Accra would be sustained as long as hawkers remained recalcitrant.
The hawkers and traders whose kiosks and stalls were destroyed have expressed anger at the manner in which the exercise is being conducted and have demonstrated their resolve to remain in the areas where unauthorised structures have been demolished.
Contrary to expectations that the ongoing decongesting exercise by the AMA will encourage displaced hawkers in the central business district (CBD) of Accra to relocate to the Pedestrian Shopping Mall provided by the AMA at Odawna, a number of stalls at the market are still empty.
A visit to the shopping mall by the Daily Graphic on Monday to find out whether business activities had picked up at the mall, following the decongesting exercise, revealed a complete absence of traders at the mall.
Some traders interviewed as to the large number of empty stalls at the market disclosed that some of the displaced hawkers had adopted new strategies to sell their wares.
They said although those hawkers no longer erected structures on the pavements, they beckoned prospective buyers to secluded places where their wares were secretly kept and sell to them.
They claimed that most of the customers were unwilling to travel all the way from the CBD to the shopping mall at Circle to buy their wares and that explained the refusal of most of the hawkers to relocate to the mall, despite persistent directives from the AMA.
Hanna Timah and Abena Somuah, who sell dresses in the market, told the Daily Graphic that some house owners in the CBD had rented portions of their homes to hawkers who had suddenly turned them into marketplaces and noted that those who rather obeyed the AMA’s directive to relocate to the hawkers’ market were incurring losses because of the lack of customers.
They alleged that hawkers who legitimately owned stalls in the market had rented them out to others who did not have the opportunity to own stalls there, while the original owners rather operated at the CBD where they made profit.
Mr Augustine Amoako, a stationery dealer, whose views were not different from those expressed by the other traders, called on all those who had refused to relocate to the stalls provided for them at the hawkers’ market to rescind their decision.
He urged the AMA to intensify its educational campaign on the matter, since that was the only way to ensure attitudinal change among the recalcitrant traders.
In an interview, the Vice-Chairman of the Pedestrian Shopping Mall Traders Association, Mr Paul Adu-Boahen, who sounded peeved, expressed his disappointment at the way in which the AMA had handled the shopping mall.
He said the AMA issued a directive to shop owners in the CBD to ensure that their goods did not extend onto the pavements to avoid attracting hawkers into the area but that directive had not been enforced, thereby encouraging the return of hawkers into the streets of the CBD.
He disclosed that hawkers had turned the space behind the State Insurance Company (SIC), areas around Pro Credit and Okaishie, all in the CBD, into marketplaces and wondered why the AMA failed to extend the decongesting exercise there.
Mr Adu-Boahen also questioned why the AMA did not relocate the hawkers at the Tema Station to the empty stalls at the shopping mall before embarking on the demolition exercise at the station.
He indicated that what the market needed now was the sale of foodstuffs to attract buyers there and called on the AMA to remove a refuse container close to the shopping mall and which was filled with garbage to create space for business activities.
He said the leadership of the shopping mall would resist any action by the AMA to set up a toll collection point at the market, saying, “The sellers here are not making any profit and, therefore, they cannot afford to pay any fees to the AMA.”
The vice-chairman, who bemoaned the poor security arrangement at the market, alleged that the situation had brought in its wake all forms of social vices, including robbery at the market.
Although Mr Bature has warned that the Tema Station is not a market, nothing has changed after the demolition of unauthorised structures. Brisk trading activities are going on under trees, in the open spaces and under umbrellas erected by the traders. Chop bar operators and other cooked food sellers are also doing brisk business near open drains.
In other parts of the city, some recalcitrant traders have adopted various strategies to carry out their businesses at unauthorised places. Their aim is to make ends meet and damn the consequences of flouting the city’s rules and regulation and this shows that the AMA has an arduous task in effectively dealing with the problem.
The AMA Chief Executive, Mr Stanley Nii Adjiri-Blankson, has, however, not thrown up his hands in despair and is reported to stated that the AMA was "fed up with the belligerent attitude" of some people “to make life unpleasant for other people".
"We are fed up .... And we will do and use everything within our means to ensure that the city is transformed into its deserved status,” he said.
He said even if it took a year, the assembly would sustain the exercise till people saw reason.
It is not easy to change the attitudes of some people and the AMA will actually need to work hard to sustain the exercise to justify the money expended on such exercises and also to maintain sanity in the city.
THE third phase of the decongesting exercise carried out by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to rid the city of unauthorised structures is still on course.
The exercise, which is the third by the AMA in two years, involves a team of more than 400 people drawn from the Police Striking Force, the AMA Special Task Force and Metropolitan Guards and traditional authorities who descended on selected parts of the city, destroying stalls and other structures deemed to be defacing the metropolis.
According to the AMA, the exercise was carried out as a result of what it termed the persistent refusal of hawkers to move into stalls provided for them by the assembly at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and also to move to satellite markets in the metropolis.
A work plan for the exercise issued to the media by the AMA indicated that the inspection of houses with markets would begin on October 18, after which hawkers on pavements would be arrested, warning that there should be no hawking within lorry parks.
The city authorities have vowed to sustain the exercise until people see the need to do the right thing. Although the assembly has always made it clear that it will not tolerate the activities of petty traders and hawkers in the decongested area, the recalcitrant petty traders and hawkers always manage to return to the streets, despite warnings by the AMA to prosecute offenders.
The Head of Public Affairs of the AMA, Mr Ali Baba Bature, indicated that the demolition exercise in Accra would be sustained as long as hawkers remained recalcitrant.
The hawkers and traders whose kiosks and stalls were destroyed have expressed anger at the manner in which the exercise is being conducted and have demonstrated their resolve to remain in the areas where unauthorised structures have been demolished.
Contrary to expectations that the ongoing decongesting exercise by the AMA will encourage displaced hawkers in the central business district (CBD) of Accra to relocate to the Pedestrian Shopping Mall provided by the AMA at Odawna, a number of stalls at the market are still empty.
A visit to the shopping mall by the Daily Graphic on Monday to find out whether business activities had picked up at the mall, following the decongesting exercise, revealed a complete absence of traders at the mall.
Some traders interviewed as to the large number of empty stalls at the market disclosed that some of the displaced hawkers had adopted new strategies to sell their wares.
They said although those hawkers no longer erected structures on the pavements, they beckoned prospective buyers to secluded places where their wares were secretly kept and sell to them.
They claimed that most of the customers were unwilling to travel all the way from the CBD to the shopping mall at Circle to buy their wares and that explained the refusal of most of the hawkers to relocate to the mall, despite persistent directives from the AMA.
Hanna Timah and Abena Somuah, who sell dresses in the market, told the Daily Graphic that some house owners in the CBD had rented portions of their homes to hawkers who had suddenly turned them into marketplaces and noted that those who rather obeyed the AMA’s directive to relocate to the hawkers’ market were incurring losses because of the lack of customers.
They alleged that hawkers who legitimately owned stalls in the market had rented them out to others who did not have the opportunity to own stalls there, while the original owners rather operated at the CBD where they made profit.
Mr Augustine Amoako, a stationery dealer, whose views were not different from those expressed by the other traders, called on all those who had refused to relocate to the stalls provided for them at the hawkers’ market to rescind their decision.
He urged the AMA to intensify its educational campaign on the matter, since that was the only way to ensure attitudinal change among the recalcitrant traders.
In an interview, the Vice-Chairman of the Pedestrian Shopping Mall Traders Association, Mr Paul Adu-Boahen, who sounded peeved, expressed his disappointment at the way in which the AMA had handled the shopping mall.
He said the AMA issued a directive to shop owners in the CBD to ensure that their goods did not extend onto the pavements to avoid attracting hawkers into the area but that directive had not been enforced, thereby encouraging the return of hawkers into the streets of the CBD.
He disclosed that hawkers had turned the space behind the State Insurance Company (SIC), areas around Pro Credit and Okaishie, all in the CBD, into marketplaces and wondered why the AMA failed to extend the decongesting exercise there.
Mr Adu-Boahen also questioned why the AMA did not relocate the hawkers at the Tema Station to the empty stalls at the shopping mall before embarking on the demolition exercise at the station.
He indicated that what the market needed now was the sale of foodstuffs to attract buyers there and called on the AMA to remove a refuse container close to the shopping mall and which was filled with garbage to create space for business activities.
He said the leadership of the shopping mall would resist any action by the AMA to set up a toll collection point at the market, saying, “The sellers here are not making any profit and, therefore, they cannot afford to pay any fees to the AMA.”
The vice-chairman, who bemoaned the poor security arrangement at the market, alleged that the situation had brought in its wake all forms of social vices, including robbery at the market.
Although Mr Bature has warned that the Tema Station is not a market, nothing has changed after the demolition of unauthorised structures. Brisk trading activities are going on under trees, in the open spaces and under umbrellas erected by the traders. Chop bar operators and other cooked food sellers are also doing brisk business near open drains.
In other parts of the city, some recalcitrant traders have adopted various strategies to carry out their businesses at unauthorised places. Their aim is to make ends meet and damn the consequences of flouting the city’s rules and regulation and this shows that the AMA has an arduous task in effectively dealing with the problem.
The AMA Chief Executive, Mr Stanley Nii Adjiri-Blankson, has, however, not thrown up his hands in despair and is reported to stated that the AMA was "fed up with the belligerent attitude" of some people “to make life unpleasant for other people".
"We are fed up .... And we will do and use everything within our means to ensure that the city is transformed into its deserved status,” he said.
He said even if it took a year, the assembly would sustain the exercise till people saw reason.
It is not easy to change the attitudes of some people and the AMA will actually need to work hard to sustain the exercise to justify the money expended on such exercises and also to maintain sanity in the city.
sanitation
Story: Salome Donkor
GHANAIANS have been advised to keep healthy surroundings and maintain hygienic environment to support efforts by city authorities to address sanitation problems.
A former Presbytery Clerk of the Ga Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Reverend Kissiedu Ayi, who gave the advice, said “we need to maintain good sanitation to prevent the spread of diseases such as malaria and control our medical bills”.
He was preaching a sermon at a harvest organised by the Anointed One Presbyterian Church at Sakumono Main to mark the church’s 50th anniversary. The theme for the celebration was “His Grace - Our Sufficiency”.
Reverend Kissiedu Ayi pointed out that it was necessary for every citizen to use his or her God-given talent to the service of mankind, in support of national development.
He called on Christians to be humble and exhibit commitment and dedication in all their endeavours as a demonstration of their commitment to the ideals of Christ.
He also advised political aspirants of the various political parties in the country to seek God’s guidance and direction, and indicated that “all good things come from God who installs a chief, and grants wisdom to leaders”.
Rev. Kissiedu Ayi stressed the need for Ghanaians to remain faithful and loyal to the service of the Lord and avoid irresponsible behaviours that negatively impacted on the country’s socio-economic development.
The Pastor in charge of the church, Rev. (Dr.) Daniel A. Anum, held a series of health talks on topics such as breast cancer and hypertension as part of the celebration, while the Catchiest, Mrs Monica Aba Otto, also led the congregation to make a donation to the Teshie Orphanage.
GHANAIANS have been advised to keep healthy surroundings and maintain hygienic environment to support efforts by city authorities to address sanitation problems.
A former Presbytery Clerk of the Ga Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Reverend Kissiedu Ayi, who gave the advice, said “we need to maintain good sanitation to prevent the spread of diseases such as malaria and control our medical bills”.
He was preaching a sermon at a harvest organised by the Anointed One Presbyterian Church at Sakumono Main to mark the church’s 50th anniversary. The theme for the celebration was “His Grace - Our Sufficiency”.
Reverend Kissiedu Ayi pointed out that it was necessary for every citizen to use his or her God-given talent to the service of mankind, in support of national development.
He called on Christians to be humble and exhibit commitment and dedication in all their endeavours as a demonstration of their commitment to the ideals of Christ.
He also advised political aspirants of the various political parties in the country to seek God’s guidance and direction, and indicated that “all good things come from God who installs a chief, and grants wisdom to leaders”.
Rev. Kissiedu Ayi stressed the need for Ghanaians to remain faithful and loyal to the service of the Lord and avoid irresponsible behaviours that negatively impacted on the country’s socio-economic development.
The Pastor in charge of the church, Rev. (Dr.) Daniel A. Anum, held a series of health talks on topics such as breast cancer and hypertension as part of the celebration, while the Catchiest, Mrs Monica Aba Otto, also led the congregation to make a donation to the Teshie Orphanage.
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