Day: April 12, 2024

Muslims at Kasoa Millennium City and its surrounding areas joined other Muslims worldwide to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, with a call on them to eschew hate, and live in peace with their neighbours. Sariki Father Salisu Inusah, who is the Chief of Staff of Sariki Tahiru Zagi, Gomoa Akyempim Zongo Chief, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said as Muslims marked the end of the 30-day Ramadan, it was expected that everyone would continue to live in peace and harmony with their compatriots. He said the tenets of Islam was against hatred among Muslims and people of other beliefs, but there should be love for all. He expressed gratitude to Allah for the guidance and protection throughout the month to the final prayers. Chief Imam of Gomoa Akyempim Tajudeen Gyaragari pointed that fasting, coupled with prayers, was also very important. 'Ramadan is very important than the day of prayers and every Muslim if only you are fit per the prescription of Islam must participate.' Source: Ghana News Agency

Commuters across the country have been asked not to pay any additional transport fares. This advice is coming from the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC) and on the heels of the recent arbitrary increase in transport fares by some drivers. A press release jointly issued by GPRTU and GRTCC and copied to the Ghana News Agency asked the citizenry not to pay any extra fares until a consensus was reached. The statement described such increases as illegal and in contravention of the Administrative Instrument on the review of public transport fares. The transport bodies indicated that they had not reached a consensus with the Ministry of Transport on adjustment in fares following recent hikes in fuel prices and the attendant operational cost. 'As has been the practice, the leadership met with the Ministry of Transport on Wednesday 10th April 2024 to present our demands. Once consensus is reached, the public will be duly informed,' the statement said. 'Therefore, any increase outside the Administrative Instrument should be disregarded and treated with contempt,' the statement added. 'We, therefore, urge commuters not to pay any fare outside the existing fares. 'We also want to urge all drivers to abide by this directive and have confidence in the leadership,' the statement said. It urged all Regional Administrations, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, and the Station Welfare Committees to ensure compliance with the existing fares. They assured transport operators of the leadership of the two bodies' commitment to continuously push for the welfare of transport operators. Source: Ghana News Agency

Transport fares from Accra to Anloga and Keta have been increased by 20 per cent, effective Thursday, April 11, 2024. Mr Rolex Agbey Miheso, the Chairman of the Accra-Anloga-Keta branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) told the Ghana News Agency on Friday that it was an interim solution to cushion the drivers while they awaited an official announcement. 'We were supposed to have a meeting with the Minister and other stakeholders, but it could not come off as scheduled. So as leadership, we decided to take this initiative to cushion our members for now,' he said. Mr Miheso said the fares were likely to be pegged around 30 to 40 per cent. Passengers who spoke with the GNA confirmed paying GhS70 instead of the usual GhS60 they used to pay for the Accra to the Anloga-Keta trips. Meanwhile, the GPRTU and the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC) have jointly advised commuters against paying any unapproved fares until the officially approved one is announced. The advice follows t he announcement by the Transport Operators Union and the Concerned Drivers Association of Ghana of a 30 per cent increase in fares effective, Saturday, April 13. A press release jointly issued by the GPRTU and the GRTCC attributed the decision by the transport operators to increase fares to the government's failure to adequately address their grievances. Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) says the lack of access routes affected effective fighting of the James Town and Madina Market fires. It said extreme congestion at the two places made it difficult for the GNFS to put out the fires. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after yesterday's fire incident at the Madina Market that razed hundreds of stores, shops and containers, Assistant Divisional Officer I (ADO1) Alex King Nartey, said firemen faced difficulty in putting out the fires because they could not move the tenders. He said apart from the unavailability of access routes, the Market, which was not properly mapped out, also did not have any available fire hydrant. 'The lack of access routes and poor mapping of the market made the fire spread faster,' he said. ADO1 Nartey said despite the extent of damage caused by the nearly nine hours fire, the GNFS managed to prevent it from spreading, thus salvaging about 1000 stores, shops and adjoining properties. He said the cause of the fire, which started at about 21:00 hours on Wednesday, was not readily known, and added that about 200 stores, shops, and containers were affected. Mr Abdul-Jalil Yakubu, the Assembly Member for the area, who was there to assess the situation bemoaned the extent of the damage. He said he would liaise with the appropriate authorities and stakeholders to map out modalities going forward. The April 10 inferno at the market ravaged goods and properties until it was brought under control at about 5:30am Thursday morning. Personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service, despite the initial challenges faced in breaking into the shops, were able to douse the fire. In a related development, fire gutted over 500 wood­en structures at a slum at Jamestown in Accra on Tuesday leaving hundreds of people homeless. Items destroyed included per­sonal effects, fridges and fish. Like the Madina Market fire, there were no access routes for fire tenders to fight it. 'Accessibility to the site of fire was difficult as structures had be en built too close to each other,' ADO1 Nartey said. 'Most of the fire outbreaks would be avoidable if best practices on fire safety are adhered to,' he added. Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) has trained visually impaired persons on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to complement the Digital Inclusion Project in the Techiman Municipality of the Bono East Region. More than 450 people in 13 regions across the country, including 20 visually impaired, have benefited from the GIFEC project, which aimed to involve everyone in the digitization drive. Mr Prince Ofosu Sefa, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GIFEC, said this at the climax of the Computer Basics training for the visually impaired through the Digital Transformation Centres at Techiman in the Bono East Region. Among the 20 beneficiaries were teachers, students, and artisans who found it difficult in applying the ICT skills due to their physical conditions. The participants were trained to use features for the visually impaired on the computer to send and receive emails, type, and use mobile phones to make and receive calls among other things. Mr Sefa noted th at ICT played a significant role in the development of society by facilitating communications, education, access to information, improved healthcare, social connectivity and community building, hence acquiring fundamental digital knowledge was a necessity. Since the inception of GIFEC in 2014, about 1,010 sites have been built with 625 activated, he said, and that the remaining 1,006 sites would be completed this year to bring the total number of rural sites to 2,600. Mr Kwasi Adu-Gyan, Bono East Regional Minister, said the government valued the use of ICT for community building and thus working to extend such services to the various communities to benefit all citizens. Ms Diana Adjorlolo, tutor at the Akumfi Ameyaw Senior High School, and Mr Jeremiah Issahaku, teacher at the Techiman Senior High School, both vissualy impaired, commended GIFEC for the knowledge imparted and promised to apply it to their own benefits and that of others in their association. Source: Ghana News Agency