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Transcript
00:00:00 Hello, good morning and welcome to the AM show for today. I mean, it's a Monday morning,
00:00:08 the 13th day in the month of November 2023. We're gradually sojourning on to the end of
00:00:14 the year. By grace, we've met again to try and put Ghana first, to help in discussing
00:00:22 how Ghana can progress. Now, this morning, of course, we'll start with the AM news and
00:00:29 then afterwards, we'll bring you what the papers are reporting. Now, after we are done
00:00:35 with what the papers are reporting, we'll bring you, you know, the spot where Muftah
00:00:40 Nabila will be updating us on what has been happening from around the spot. Now, bad,
00:00:45 bad, bad news coming in from the Black Stars camp. One of the players, Jamena, lost his
00:00:55 life over the weekend. I'm sure Muftah will be giving you details of that development.
00:01:00 Now, on News Review, we'll be having a development economist and senior lecturer at the University
00:01:06 of Development Studies, Dr. Michael Ayemga, joining us for breakfast this morning. Okay.
00:01:13 Now, after we're done with the sports segment, we'll bring you the big stories. Now, the
00:01:18 Ghana Education Service has announced that teaching and learning has resumed in 81 out
00:01:25 of the 108 schools affected by the Akosobo Dam spillage. Director General, Dr. Eric Nkansa
00:01:32 says his outfit is also making good progress working with key stakeholders to restore teaching
00:01:39 and learning in the remaining 27 schools within the North Tong District, which for the most
00:01:45 part are used as camps and safe havens by displaced households. We'll hear from relevant
00:01:50 stakeholders on the show today and ask relevant questions. So, the resumption, what has been
00:01:58 happening so far in terms of getting teachers and students being on the same level, what
00:02:03 are the strategies we're using on that? We'll have some relevant conversation on that. Now,
00:02:09 after that, joining us, we'll see Deborah and Francisca Angel, one big other prestigious
00:02:16 West African Media Excellence and Conference Award, WAMEKA 2023. We'll see Deborah was
00:02:21 adjudged the best journalist for ICT and telecoms reporting, while Francisca Angel, who also
00:02:28 reports for Corruption Watch, picked up the best investigative reporter award. We'll hear
00:02:33 from them on the show today. So, be with us and let's get it through. Now, that's how
00:02:40 it's going to be. We'll let you have your say on the show from 9.35 onward. But let's
00:02:46 say kudos to authorities who, after them did a thought on the bad nature of the road linking
00:02:56 Kolegu, have moved in to try and rehabilitate that road. Kudos to you. When you act well,
00:03:02 we'll obviously praise you. When you don't, we'll criticize you. That's how it is. So,
00:03:07 on behalf of the team, I say welcome to the show. Be with us. Up next is AM News. Good
00:03:23 morning.
00:03:26 Well, let's do AM News tonight. Government has started its urban renaissance project
00:03:38 through the Sista City project. This project seeks to foster improved urban management
00:03:43 through strategic investment. Government says the Ghana Secondary City Support Program is
00:03:49 a testament to the nation's commitment to creating vibrant, well-managed cities that
00:03:54 will undoubtedly propel Ghana into a new era of prosperity and modernity.
00:03:59 Aeris Dhakling and Sumayya Boyes report.
00:04:04 Government says a test channeling $245 million into the Ghana Secondary City Support Program.
00:04:11 The project, led by the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development,
00:04:17 will reshape urban landscapes and fortify institutional capabilities across 35 municipal
00:04:23 assemblies and 16 regional coordinating councils. During the sword-cutting ceremony at Awutusunya
00:04:30 East and Agona West Municipal Assemblies, Minister for Local Government and Decentralization,
00:04:37 Dan Buche, rallied community members to ensure judicious use of the allocated funds meant
00:04:43 for the execution of the various projects there.
00:04:46 It's important that people are well informed. You get the understanding of the people. So
00:04:52 that even if you don't meet their expectations, because you are being in touch with them,
00:04:57 they have a way of living with it. We have examples of areas that they have built very
00:05:02 beautiful structures, but people have even refused to use it. Because why? They were
00:05:07 not consulted. And if this relationship, I keep emphasizing that the unity committee,
00:05:16 other sub-committees of the local assembly, the assembly members, and then the municipal
00:05:22 assemblies will perform as expected of them. Because the injunction that you shout, shout,
00:05:28 shout, the assembly shout. You understand that? There are so many sub-committees of the
00:05:32 assembly. And if they are all working, they are all meeting very well, then the other
00:05:36 person will say that government is closer to us. You understand? When they say there's
00:05:40 a disjoint, government is not closer to them. It's not necessarily the president or the
00:05:46 MP. You are talking of those who represent the people at the base, and that is the assembly.
00:05:51 And that's why I see the opportunity to talk about the forthcoming disassembly elections.
00:05:57 That they should let people of merit, people who have time to serve the people. And the
00:06:03 interaction is key. The interaction is key. If people know they are involved in the decision
00:06:09 making, if people know that you are consulting them very regularly, even if you don't satisfy
00:06:15 them to the level they want, they will try to appreciate and understand it. And that's
00:06:20 why I'm urging them that the chief should be able to go around. And I'm happy the chief
00:06:23 even said it. If they think that the way they are mixing the concrete is not good, they
00:06:28 are preferring, so instead of applying 100 versus when they are applying 60, they should
00:06:32 be able to draw our attention to it.
00:06:35 Member of Parliament for Aguna West, Cynthia Morrison, praised the government for heeding
00:06:40 to the plight of traders and constituents as a whole for bringing the project to the
00:06:44 area.
00:06:45 What our heart's desire has come to pass. You see in our market women squatting in the
00:06:49 scorching sun, when it rains they have nowhere to sit. But today of all days, by God's grace,
00:06:55 9/11/23, the sword has been cut for the commencement. Money is ready, now that we are going for a
00:07:01 loan, the money is ready and everything. And we pray that almost a year that they've given
00:07:07 us, by the close of day, the market should have been constructed for the women to have
00:07:11 a good place to sit and sell.
00:07:13 The project is expected to end in the year 2025.
00:07:18 For JOY News, I am Jacqueline Ansuma-Iyoboa.
00:07:20 Now a 52-year-old fiscally challenged person is asking society to stop stigmatizing them.
00:07:28 Franklin Toga, whose arm was amputated after an accident at age 19, says the discriminatory
00:07:34 act only prevents fiscally challenged individuals from bringing out the best in them to support
00:07:39 themselves and their families. He's been speaking with Otyrogen's Peter Seno.
00:08:00 He lost his arm while trying to learn a trade after he dropped out of school at the age
00:08:04 of 19. He took apprenticeship with his uncle in vulcanizing and while he was inflating
00:08:09 a lorry tire, it blasted. He woke up on a hospital bed only to realize he lost his left
00:08:15 arm. That did not deter him to become independent and self-reliant.
00:08:21 This is the story of 52-year-old Franklin Toga, a resident at Sandro Kofi, in the Otyrogen
00:08:27 who is now into cuckoo farming with one arm to take care of his family.
00:08:32 He tells us how he has been managing over the past years.
00:08:36 This is my cuckoo farm. I started it somewhere 2015 and then I've been trying to do my best
00:08:48 to bring the cuckoo to a surviving place where it can take care of me and my family. Initially,
00:09:01 I wasn't like this. An uncle of mine who is called Ajimai Francis, he was a vulcanizer
00:09:11 on the 6th of December 1989 at the age of 19 years. And then this unfortunate thing
00:09:20 happened. He also says life has been tough for him even when he tried to get a wife.
00:09:26 Yes, yes, yes. I want to say this. People with disabilities, in fact, we have challenges
00:09:35 too. Look, people don't see you as somebody who can do anything better. It is there. People
00:09:45 stigmatize to us. There's a tree where there are all the ways to go in when you are bringing
00:09:54 such person to your family. Ask you, where are you going with this man? What can he do?
00:10:00 But I am proving them wrong today that disability is not inability. Even though I am challenged,
00:10:08 my mind is not challenged. What I can do, nobody can take it away from me for that one.
00:10:15 He calls on society to stand discriminating against persons living with disability. This,
00:10:21 he says, prevents them from unearthing their potentials. So I am putting this to people
00:10:28 who are making people with disability shy away from what they can do. I'm telling them
00:10:37 they should stop it. I'm using this medium to tell them they should stop it. They should
00:10:41 rather embrace us so that the ability in us can be portrayed so that people can see the
00:10:49 best of us. Simon Opoku-Minta is an assembly member for Central Kufu Electoral Area. He
00:10:56 is asking for support for Franklin to enable him to succeed at his farming business. I'm
00:11:01 here as an assemblyman appealing to the public, philanthropists, NGOs, and all churches to
00:11:10 come to brother Franklin's aid so that at least with some of the farm inputs that can
00:11:18 make his work easier are provided to him so that he can achieve his aim. Franklin is also
00:11:26 good at music, although he did not receive any formal training in this regard. He directs
00:11:32 the EP church choir at Central Kufu Benwa on Sundays and also good on the keyboard.
00:11:38 In fact, it is challenging because sometimes when you are playing, you're jumping, fingering
00:11:46 to reach the other key, whereas the other hand is not there. It's challenging.
00:11:53 [Music]
00:12:21 Peter Ssanu for JNews.
00:12:24 [Music]
00:12:30 Non-governmental organization ActionAid Ghana wants government to commit the needed resources
00:12:35 to the provision of kindergarten and primary infrastructure during educational development,
00:12:39 planning, and implementation. The handing over of a two-unit KG block with ancillary
00:12:44 facilities at Namasa in the Thaim district, the head of programs at ActionAid, Justin
00:12:49 Bayo, said such commitment will help improve the learning outcomes and empower the people
00:12:55 to break free from poverty.
00:12:57 Precious Semavo Azmo.
00:12:58 Namasa DA Basic B School in the Thaim district of the Buno region was established in 2019
00:13:05 by ActionAid to meet the educational needs of 251 pupils in the farming community, but
00:13:11 without a nursery. Over the years, the KG pupils have been using this abandoned and
00:13:16 dilapidated block as classrooms, a place not fit for training future leaders. According
00:13:21 to the headmaster, Alhassan Isifu, the situation of the current 156 KG pupils was inhumane.
00:13:28 Before the commissioning of the basic school from P1 to P6, we were having only five KG2
00:13:37 students, even no single student for KG1 at that dilapidated building. So in fact, I thought
00:13:42 it was, we have to convert the library and then the common room to KG1 and KG2. In fact,
00:13:51 looking at the enrolments, when the children are in school and you come there, in fact,
00:13:55 you yourself, you can't breathe. So it was very, very bad.
00:13:58 ActionAid yet again to the rescue has handed over a two unit KG block at 450,000 cities
00:14:04 with ancillary facilities, including a ball hole and a playground at a ceremony at Namasa.
00:14:11 ActionAid head of programs said they invest in education to empower young minds.
00:14:16 Since 2001, ActionAid has constructed 22 model kindergarten schools with recreational facilities,
00:14:27 especially in the Bono and Ahafu enclaves. This school, which we are commissioning, will
00:14:36 serve as a reserve for learning, a space where young minds will be nurtured and dreams will
00:14:45 take flight. It is a space where teachers will inspire, motivate and mold the minds
00:14:53 of the next generation. The head teacher relishes the positive impact
00:14:57 the edifice will bring. Myself as a head, I know it is going to help
00:15:01 me a lot. And then for the people to help them a lot, it is going to boost enrolments.
00:15:09 And then looking at the infrastructure and all the other things in it, I hope it will
00:15:13 enhance teaching and learning. For now, we don't have fault. We'll be happy
00:15:17 if any benevolent institution can come to our aid.
00:15:21 Justin Bayo appealed to the government to commit resources to help develop the education
00:15:25 of the people. Let us join hands and work together to ensure
00:15:30 that every child in Ghana has access to a quality education.
00:15:36 Kindly permit me to humbly appeal to ensure that the government commits the needed resources
00:15:45 and prioritises the provision of kindergarten and primary infrastructure in our educational
00:15:54 development planning. My humble appeal to you is to prioritise the
00:16:01 maintenance of this edifice. Precious Semevo, Joy News, Namasa.
00:16:08 Agreement Officer at USAID, Paul Napare, has urged chiefs and parents to demand accountability
00:16:14 from managers of educational institutions in their localities. He says when that is
00:16:19 done, it will give a better outcome for education in their respective areas, as teachers will
00:16:24 no longer take decisions that will be affronted to the education of their children.
00:16:28 Ms. Napare made a statement at the original launch of the USAID Ghana Standing Accountability
00:16:35 and Education System project in Waa. Rafik Salam reports from Waa.
00:16:40 The cooperative Assistance and Relief Everywhere and its partners, AFRICAIDS, Community Development
00:16:47 Alliance, Crown Agents, Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition and the School for Life
00:16:54 are implementing the five-year, 50 million cooperative agreement with the Ghana Mission
00:17:00 of the United States Agency for International Development to assist the Ministry of Education
00:17:06 and its allied agencies to strengthen accountability at the basic level. The objective is to strengthen
00:17:15 accountability mechanisms in the education sector. Speaking at the original launch in
00:17:20 Tamale, the Director General of the Ghana Education Service, Dr. Eric Nkansah, in a
00:17:26 speech read on his behalf, said, "For GES, any offer that would help enhance accountability
00:17:33 is welcome."
00:17:34 The education accountability framework, as you are all aware, basic education is key
00:17:45 as it forms the foundation that our children will build on. And so for us in GES, such
00:17:54 a project that would ensure accountability to improve learning outcomes is a very welcoming
00:18:02 one.
00:18:03 Ghana has made significant strides to improve access to education and the quality of it.
00:18:11 The Ghana Education Service has established various structures from the school level to
00:18:18 the national level to enhance accountability. For us in the Ghana Education Service, we
00:18:26 welcome any opportunity that will help us strengthen these systems to make them more
00:18:33 efficient to improve learning outcomes.
00:18:37 The Northern Regional Minister, Shani Alahasan-Shaibu, whose speech was read on his behalf by the
00:18:43 Regional Planning Office, Enusa Abukari, said, "Ghana is committed to ensuring a healthy
00:18:49 collaborative effort between development partners to achieve the SDG Goal 4."
00:18:59 The Health Service Supply Chain Practitioners Association of Ghana says it is worried about
00:19:04 the recent review of their collective agreement. The group says it is sitting on a time bomb
00:19:08 and wants leadership to be more tactful. President of the association, Stephen Setchi, said this
00:19:14 at the Occasions Conference in Tamale.
00:19:20 The conference, which was under the theme "Leveraging Professionalism for an Impactful
00:19:25 Supply Chain," brought together members of the association across the country to deliberate
00:19:30 on their work and welfare. Speaking at the event, the National President, Stephen Setchi,
00:19:36 also raised concerns about issues of their steady leave.
00:19:40 "Morning, Madam Chair. We are calling for the review of the steady leave quota for supply
00:19:46 chain staff. Since leave without, with pay, is either minimal or not sufficient. This
00:19:52 is demotivating and hence an immediate review should be done for that slot for the steady
00:20:00 leave with pay should be widened to include our pay. Also, once our material union is
00:20:06 represented here, Brother Sakai, Madam Chair, we want to let you know our registered by
00:20:14 displeasure to the recent review of our collective agreement. All we are saying is that the full
00:20:22 allowance component should be accountable for all principal grids and not selectively
00:20:28 applied. My advice to the union is that we are sitting on a time bomb, hence in the upcoming
00:20:36 negotiations all eyes will be on them. They should seek for the benefit of the majority
00:20:42 of their members and not the selected few."
00:20:45 Responding to their concerns, the National Chairman of the Health Service Workers' Union,
00:20:51 Zakaria Mohammed, assured the union they would fight their cause.
00:20:57 "But let me assure you, we will do everything possible to better the working condition of
00:21:05 all of us. For that one, I assure you. And so what we need from you is just your prayers.
00:21:14 I know it's not going to be easy, but definitely, when we hit a rock and we say 'chobori',
00:21:22 we expect that all of you will say 'hey', because sometimes that is the language the
00:21:30 government understands. Brother President, let me take the privilege to tell you that
00:21:39 we will do everything possible to make sure that even a 6% - what are we going to do with
00:21:47 6% when inflation is rocketing, inflation is galloping, when people have refused to
00:21:56 start buying lamp louses, then we can't wait to sacrifice for you. No."
00:22:05 In a speech read on behalf of the Northern Regional Minister by the Regional Budget Analyst,
00:22:12 Mohammed Haruna said procurement was one area saddled with issues of corruption in the country
00:22:19 and called on the procurement officers to help protect the government purse.
00:22:25 Ladies and gentlemen, the theme for this conference was relatively new to me because
00:22:32 it emphasizes the transformative power of professionalism. When a professionalism can
00:22:39 use every level of our societies for social equality of the level that a flourish should
00:22:47 produce, it yields efficiency, reliability and sustainability. It ensures that our interactions
00:22:56 are not only profitable but at least can save the health of the state.
00:23:03 The keynote speaker, Dr. Bright Ejekum, who represented the Chief Director at the Ministry
00:23:10 of Health, called on the officers to uphold the ethics of their profession.
00:23:16 "Professionalism goes hand in hand with ethical conduct. Professionals in the supply
00:23:22 chain should uphold high standards of honesty, directness, integrity and respect for all
00:23:29 stakeholders involved. By adhering to ethical practices, we foster trust in our duty which
00:23:39 strengthens the overall integrity of the entire supply chain system."
00:23:44 And that's how we wrap up the AM News here on the show. We'll take a quick break. We'll
00:23:54 be back with an issue of you. Do stay with us.
00:23:57 [Music]
00:24:18 Well, so welcome back to the AM Show. Let's do what the papers are reporting now in our
00:24:24 News Review segment. And today we're going to have a Development Economist and Senior
00:24:29 Lecturer at the University of Development Studies, Dr. Michael Iyengar, being our guest.
00:24:34 I have with me already the Delhi Graphic newspaper. I have the Ghanaian Times newspaper, the Delhi
00:24:41 Guide, the Finder, today the Custodian and the Ghanaian Publisher. So these are the papers
00:24:51 that we'll be sharing with you this morning. Well, so let me welcome our guest, Dr. Michael
00:24:57 Iyengar. So he will be joining us very shortly. He is a Development Economist and Senior Lecturer
00:25:03 at the University of Development Studies. Well, so let's see what the papers are reporting.
00:25:07 Delhi Graphic front page, it says, "Three cement factories shut down. Ghana Standards
00:25:13 Authority accuses them of using inferior materials." And the story is written by Kesta Aburam-Kuranchi.
00:25:22 It says, "The Ghana Standards Authority has shut down the operations of three cement
00:25:27 manufacturing companies due to the use of inferior materials in their cement production.
00:25:32 The companies are Zin'an Safe Cement Ghana Limited, located at the Jiso Kumasi Center,
00:25:39 Ghana Limited, located at Ofenso, and the Unisem Cement Ghana Limited, located at Bekwai,
00:25:46 all in the Ashanti region. The move is part of a larger effort to crack down on substandard
00:25:53 cement production across the country. The crackdown is being spearheaded by GSA under
00:25:58 the auspices of the parent Ministry of Trade and Industry." Now, this is good. And I
00:26:07 want to applaud the GSA for this. How long have the people been producing with inferior
00:26:13 materials? And once they do that, can the Environmental Protection Authority also move
00:26:21 in and ensure some people are doing the right thing? Now, there is this cement factory in
00:26:26 the western region, Western Diamond Cement. Look, it's a good setup. They're employing
00:26:34 people. But whilst at it, they are also polluting the environment. And the EPA has to be up
00:26:43 and doing on that. Now, at their junction, that's where they are building the Agenda
00:26:50 111 for Hunter West. Everybody should go and watch it. On the trees surrounding the area
00:26:57 that are dust all over, and this has been happening for more than four years, is the
00:27:02 EPA telling us that there is nothing wrong with that and that everyone is safe there?
00:27:09 We are putting up the Agenda 111 hospital there. The EPA should ensure that the dust
00:27:17 pollution from the company is minimized. I mean, I covered this story about two years
00:27:22 ago, but the thing is still happening. And the EPA should ensure that people are safe.
00:27:29 The GSA has taught them what they have to do. They should move in and if it's possible
00:27:35 to let them sand down and correct the defect in the factory, then it has to be done. I'm
00:27:40 putting a lot of lives at danger. This factory is in Bukro, in the Hunter West District of
00:27:45 the western region. Hunter West municipality now of the western region. Something ought
00:27:50 to be done. Well, Dr. Michael Ayamga has joined me now. Good morning to you, Doc. Hello, Doc.
00:28:00 I guess all is well. Good morning. Great. Great to have you, Doc. Let's start with the
00:28:09 daily graphic newspaper. I've read a brief on the cement factories that are being shut
00:28:15 down because of the use of inferior materials in their production. Again, on the front page
00:28:23 of the daily graphic, it says, "Break from past. Budget must show tax reform now." And
00:28:29 Danny says, "81 schools in flood hit areas resume." Let's start from the three cement
00:28:38 factories that have been shut down. Now, they have been shut down because they've been using
00:28:43 inferior materials. How does this story come to you as probably someone who has been using
00:28:50 cement for various purposes? Yeah, well, again, it's very disturbing to say the least. We
00:28:59 seem to be a country that reacts rather than be proactive when it comes to ensuring that
00:29:05 there is safety and standards are kept in the building industry. And even though it's
00:29:14 sometimes surprising that we have so many regulatory bodies from the Ghana Standards
00:29:21 Board to the Environmental Protection Agencies and what have you, you only find them on the
00:29:28 street doing things because they pursue them from the perspective of internally generated
00:29:34 funds. That is the biggest problem in this country, that the regulatory authorities tend
00:29:40 to confuse their function of safeguarding the health and life of Ghanaians with generating
00:29:50 funds for their day-to-day activities. So I'm not surprised that we have reached here.
00:29:56 It is very disturbing. You see, GVLA on the road sometimes, maybe funds are not enough.
00:30:04 So that is when they are there taking money just to ensure that it raises funds but not
00:30:09 actually ensuring that vehicles are road-ready. That is why you have the Environmental Protection
00:30:16 Agency going around trying to check buildings, trying to check standards of food and other
00:30:22 things because they feel it in their pocket, not because they want to serve the Ghanaian
00:30:27 population. So our biggest problem as a country is the IGF mentality. So I agree that it's
00:30:35 better late than never to go after these companies. But cement is a very important ingredient
00:30:44 in the building industry. We are in a country where we have very defective buildings because
00:30:50 both the materials and the standards of building are not adhered to. And when some people use
00:30:58 their life savings and try to put up something, a roof over their head, they expect that at
00:31:04 least the things in the market meet the materials standard so that they don't waste their investments.
00:31:12 Unfortunately, we have these companies doing all sorts of things, cutting corners, using
00:31:19 non-standard material, importing fake products, and their money to pass through our series
00:31:26 of regulations that we have put in place here. So I want to commend the EPA for going after
00:31:33 these companies. I think that when it comes to building, it's a two-edged sword. On the
00:31:40 one side, it is cutting the safety of people who live in the buildings that these materials
00:31:46 end up being used to put up. And then also, it is hurting the people who have used their
00:31:51 life savings sometimes to put up these buildings. So I agree that yes, the standards ought to
00:31:57 be kept. But you want to ask yourself, why do they have to take this long? Why does it
00:32:02 be so? After several years of operations, after so many people have relied on these
00:32:08 companies, they have gone there. I think that they have to, first of all, reappraise their
00:32:13 standards and their commitments, and understand that they exist first to ensure that the people
00:32:19 of this country are not taken for a ride by lost people trying to take advantage of the
00:32:27 largely unconcerned people who just go and they buy materials. I myself am not a technical
00:32:33 person, so if I go and buy cement, I may not know that the standards are inferior. I only
00:32:41 get a feedback maybe when the building is offered, the integrity is not that good. So
00:32:48 we need to be proactive. We need to get these things before the polls have worked on the
00:32:54 Ghanaian populace. But it's not only the EG. As Ghanaians, we need to check the institutions
00:33:02 and ensure that they are working for us rather than generating internal funds just for the
00:33:06 island. Now, what about the product that people have already bought? We've been told that
00:33:14 these cement, for example, from Zing'al Safe Cement Ghana Limited, indicated that limestone
00:33:20 did not conform to the requirement for calcium carbonate content in the product. And mineral
00:33:26 identification analysis also showed that the sample was feldspar and quartz. Now, this
00:33:32 is a quote from the GSA. It says, "In view of this, you are instructed to cease operation,
00:33:38 production, and export until the use of the approved raw materials." Now, Professor Dodu,
00:33:43 who is the chief executive for the GSA, explained that feldspar and quartz were not recommended
00:33:50 major constituents of cement. And as such, their use as major constituents by some cement
00:33:55 manufacturers should be stopped forthright. Now, shouldn't people be worried about the
00:34:02 integrity of their structures because they used cement that do not have the required
00:34:07 raw materials? Yeah, that is the unfortunate thing in our system. Maybe some can remember
00:34:17 they used those materials from this company to put up their buildings. Others don't. I
00:34:23 think that those who have bought cement from this company ought to pursue some form of
00:34:30 compensation. Maybe the company should recall these products and then try to compensate
00:34:35 those who have bought them. But I doubt if that can happen in our jurisdiction. Again,
00:34:40 it boils down to the reactive nature of our institutions rather than being proactive.
00:34:45 For how long has this company been operating, and why is the Ghana Standards Authority only
00:34:52 talking about it now? That is the most important thing. The feedback ought to go to both the
00:34:59 company and to the regulatory authority. Cement is not some small water you are buying somewhere
00:35:07 that nobody knows. By the time you are producing cement in this country, the establishment
00:35:12 alone is big and visible for people to see. I'm surprised that every day in the market
00:35:18 maybe the GSA is not aware that this product is there. That they have not gone to buy cement
00:35:25 in the market and do some testing. That is the problem. What is the follow-up from the
00:35:31 Ghana Standards Authority's perspective, rather than maybe either people reporting or waiting
00:35:38 for something to happen? Shouldn't they have gone the first that the product was in the
00:35:43 market, and then tried to investigate its integrity even before something happens? So
00:35:49 yes, the company has to bear some of the responsibility by trying to recall and then compensate those
00:35:57 that have used this product. People who have used that product, they will know. Maybe we
00:36:03 have to do some serious investigation and check the structural integrity of the buildings
00:36:08 that are put up as far as this issue is concerned. But I think that our system has sent some
00:36:15 message to the Ghana Standards Authority, and for that matter, all our regulatory authorities
00:36:21 that are far behind the curve, sleeping on the waiting for something to happen, for them
00:36:28 to come and talk. I think that it is a massive failure on our regulation.
00:36:34 On that note again, I wish the EPA could also move in and investigate allegations of air
00:36:41 pollution by some of these companies. I remember a resident of Bukro did a press conference
00:36:46 and accused a cement manufacturing company in the area of polluting the environment.
00:36:51 The EPA should go in there and check and see if all is well.
00:36:55 Well, let's move on to the Ghanaian Times newspaper. It says, "Expectations of 2024
00:37:00 budget economic policy don't impose new taxes, rather introduce new initiatives to
00:37:07 broaden tax net. Economists urge government. Asantehene launches $10 million fund for Hilo
00:37:16 Komfo-Anoche project. Ghana wins bay to host IFPIM Africa headquarters." It comes with
00:37:23 a photograph of the Minister of Information, Kodjo Pong Nkrumah in Ghana. GMA elect Professor
00:37:29 York Asaveep. Okay. Now, let's check the stories out. Let me turn to page 12 for the
00:37:37 story on the economy. Now, it says, "The government must initiate new measures to broaden
00:37:45 the tax net to show up its revenue rather than the traditional approach of burdening
00:37:51 the existing tax payers through the hiking of taxes and introduction of new ones. Some
00:37:57 economic stakeholders have said. According to them, it was important that new initiatives
00:38:02 and strategies were deployed in the 2024 budget to improve tax collection, to show up government
00:38:07 revenue, and also outline measures to help address the macroeconomic challenges such
00:38:12 as high cost of capital, deficit, and inflation bedeviling the country." Now, in the graphic,
00:38:21 Nah and Danny, who is an economist and former banker, has also urged the country to table
00:38:27 a budget that shows a clean departure from the past to one that brings more major reforms
00:38:32 in taxation. He said, "A country's tax regime was the biggest challenge because it
00:38:37 was too fragmented and put the burden on a few compliant individuals and companies."
00:38:42 Doc, you are a development economist, so you should, you probably understand this better.
00:38:48 What do you make of this expectation by these economists? And you yourself, what's your
00:38:52 expectation in terms of what government should do in taxation whilst it's getting prepared
00:38:58 to present the 2024 budget?
00:39:01 Yes, again, I can't disagree with the various positions held by Nah and Danny. And also
00:39:09 I've seen on the front page of the daily graphic the position, the suggestion by Professor
00:39:15 Peter Kote, who I look at as one of the finest economists we have in this country, a very
00:39:21 thorough person. From our own investigations and observations, businesses are crashing
00:39:28 under the taxes. And it doesn't matter what we do if we do not address the tax burden
00:39:34 of businesses. There is no way we can revive the real sector, bring the growth, and then
00:39:40 the government benefiting the taxes. Companies pay taxes from their profits, and if they
00:39:46 are not profitable, you don't get the taxes. So what government has focused on is putting
00:39:52 these taxes, writing on paper, and telling the IMF that we have imposed taxes, passed
00:39:58 new taxes, and we are expecting to receive this amount. That is just the policy aspect
00:40:05 of it. The practicality of that has remained a challenge. And that is why so far, with
00:40:11 all the stimulus we are putting in the millions, we are getting the IMF, we are getting marginal
00:40:17 and infinitesimal changes in the economy. That is because we have failed to address
00:40:23 the crippling challenges in the real sector. I think that if we want to revive this economy,
00:40:31 we have to pay. There are two things we need to do. First, we have to enforce the tax code.
00:40:36 There are so many people going without being taxed that find their way of getting around
00:40:44 the system. And these are some of the big companies. Those who actually are unable to
00:40:51 avoid taxes are civil servants who go to take their pay at the end of the month, and then
00:40:55 the taxes are deducted from small businesses that are here and there that do not have the
00:41:01 financial networks to either avoid or deliberately refuse to pay tax. But I agree. If the economy
00:41:13 has to rebound, it has to depend on the real sector. It has to depend on the industry.
00:41:20 I think that what the minister ought to be doing is to ensure that we go for enforcement
00:41:27 rather than increases. You talk to business people and they think that a reduction of
00:41:32 taxes in the region of 10 to 15 percent is what is required to make them competitive.
00:41:39 Now, we expect that given the challenges that the country is facing and so far our inability
00:41:47 to secure, meet the deadline for the IMF second trial, I expect the government to come in
00:41:55 hard probably with some additional taxes or some clever way of increasing the taxes on
00:42:01 the already compliant small group. So I agree with Nga and Dani and also the call by Professor
00:42:09 Kuntse that we need to ensure that those that are already in the system are paying their
00:42:16 taxes. If we pursue enforcement, we will not need to increase taxes.
00:42:21 But don't we need to understand why this government has not been able to fulfil its
00:42:28 tagline of moving from taxation to production as a guide going into the future? What really
00:42:36 has been the hindrance in getting government to then move from taxation to production?
00:42:45 The hindrance has been that the government chose the borrowing pact as we have always
00:42:50 said. When it entered and took over the reins of power, it did not immediately launch a
00:42:56 programme to increase domestic production and to make business profitable and then to
00:43:06 from that angle get the resources to develop. It looked at the goodwill that the country
00:43:12 was enjoying at the time. We had just come out of an IMF programme, the 980 million that
00:43:19 the NDC government pursued. At that point in time, we had succeeded in turning the fundamentals
00:43:27 in the right direction in terms of employment, about 5.1% in terms of inflation, it was 13.3%
00:43:37 in terms of growth, 3.1% a year after the energy crisis almost crippled the economy.
00:43:47 We were able to get that economy going at 3.7%. So this thing created some interest
00:43:55 in Ghana. There was an emphasis on Ghana because we seemed to have weathered that storm of
00:44:03 the energy crisis and people saw it as a safe destination to invest. Our euro bonds were
00:44:11 flying, being oversubscribed left, right and centre. All the financial institutions wanted
00:44:17 to lend to us. So at that point in time, government with a lot of slogans did not actually take
00:44:25 time to compact these slogans into policies that were rightly linked with our systems
00:44:31 and also our capacities. But I chose the borrowing path. I started borrowing at an average of
00:44:39 about $8 billion a year. And by the time we realised that we could no longer get the credits
00:44:48 that were coming in, we tried to now look at internal sources of risk money, only to
00:44:54 realise that businesses now have to compete with the extremely deteriorated fundamentals
00:45:02 and therefore could not survive. So it is the government's desire to use a borrowing
00:45:08 path rather than a production path. They said, of course, as a candidate, Bahumia now said
00:45:16 at the time, move it from production to taxation, move the economy from taxation to borrowing
00:45:23 and then after borrowing, they have now moved the economy from taxation under the Mohammed
00:45:30 bin Laden regime to taxation and borrowing. So that is the problem now. They did not settle
00:45:36 down to pursue a well-defined agenda to stimulate the productive sectors of the economy. We
00:45:44 borrowed and spent. And it's a very serious problem now. So all that happened is the borrowing
00:45:52 between 2017 and 2019. We don't even need to talk about 2020, the early part of 2019
00:46:01 when COVID hit. When we started from 2016 all the way to the end of 2018, by then we
00:46:07 had already damaged the structure of the economy with a massive boom.
00:46:13 Okay. Now, this is an important one. We need to do it in the Guardian Times. Asanteyine
00:46:19 launches $10 million fund for Heal Kungfu Anoche Project. Now, the Asanteyine, O2-432,
00:46:26 has launched a $10 million Heal Kungfu Anoche Project, a fundraising campaign for the renovation
00:46:33 and modernization of the main blocks of the Kungfu Anoche Teaching Hospital, CAF, in Kumasi.
00:46:39 He described as apologetic and embarrassing the current state of the facility. He therefore
00:46:45 appealed to MPs, government appointees, corporate organizations, and the public to contribute
00:46:51 and help achieve the targeted amount. Now, this goes to, you know, up to the feather
00:47:00 of O2-4 as a great king. How does this become a benchmark for other traditional leaders
00:47:10 in Ghana to ensure that things in their traditional areas are getting attention as O2-4 is doing
00:47:19 for CAF? Because we understand that already some monies, huge monies, have started coming
00:47:24 in for that project. Yes, I think it's, from where I sit, it's
00:47:31 unfortunate. You see, O2-4 is a great king. We all know that he's a shining example in
00:47:41 the country and beyond. And by the time we have to sit down for an important facility
00:47:48 like the Kungfu Anoche Teaching Hospital to get to where it is and for the great king
00:47:53 to now move, it's an indictment on our governments and particularly the Akufo-Aroi regime that
00:48:02 a region and an area that has made sure that it has become president for two terms have
00:48:09 to get to this level. I don't think that we ought to put this burden on the chiefs.
00:48:15 We ought to put this burden on the government that takes our taxes and people who are supposed
00:48:20 to manage these institutions. We cannot make Ghana a beggar nation. Everything, somebody
00:48:27 has to raise funds. Every day somebody has to donate. It goes round. Whether you are
00:48:34 in an institution working or you're in the market selling, there's always some fundraising
00:48:40 here and there to do things that government is supposed to be doing. I think that that
00:48:45 culture, yes, much as we have to commend Akufo for putting his weight behind this, you know
00:48:52 definitely he's going to succeed because of the integrity he has shown over the years,
00:48:58 the proactivity and then also his desire. We don't have to wait. If our government have
00:49:07 demonstrated this kind of commitment and integrity, I'm sure people will respond to it. So much
00:49:14 as I agree that Akufo is doing the right thing there, but for us to tell, it's a heartbeat
00:49:22 of our delivery, especially from Kumasi all the way to the northern sector. When things
00:49:28 get tough in the other areas, they refer people to the Kofa Norte to tell us. So for us to
00:49:35 sit down and watch it deteriorate to this level, to the point that the king has to ask
00:49:40 this problem, we need to let government understand that these are its responsibilities and therefore
00:49:48 it is not the duty of the citizens to take money from their pockets and reconstruct or
00:49:55 improve state facilities. What will the government then be doing if we have to go down this line?
00:50:03 So yes, we can count it. At a certain point in time we have to go down this line, but
00:50:10 A) we have to hold government accountable. Thank you Akufo for taking this initiative,
00:50:17 but I believe that it cannot become the order of the day. Government has to act. We can't
00:50:23 employ the government machine.
00:50:25 Okay. Now let's do the Daily Guide newspaper and I know you're on page 9 of that paper.
00:50:31 It says, "Cocoa Board assures stakeholders of $800 million syndicated loan." It's written
00:50:36 by Ebenezer K. Amponsa. It says, "The Ghana Cocoa Board has assured its stakeholders of
00:50:41 the company's readiness to continue to secure an $800 million US syndicated loan to fund
00:50:48 cocoa purchases for the 2023-24 crop season." A release issued by the Public Affairs Department
00:50:54 of Cocoa Board said, "It's planned a two-pronged financing for the 2023-24 crop season in an
00:51:00 effort to diversify its source of funding for the annual cocoa purchases."
00:51:05 "The strategy was therefore to use a pre-financing arrangement with international buyers to raise
00:51:11 an amount of $800 million from a syndicated of lenders by end of November 2023. After
00:51:20 engagement with buyers for several weeks, the arrangement was, however, discontinued.
00:51:25 Thus, since the beginning of the season, cocoa purchases have been financed with non-collateralized
00:51:32 cocoa sales proceeds." But it said, "Cocoa Board is therefore still in the process of
00:51:37 securing the syndicated loan for the 2023-24 crop season." Now this is what we've been
00:51:44 doing over the years. How do we ensure that we end our reliance on syndicated loan to
00:51:52 buy cocoa, you know, having produced cocoa for all these years? How can we do it?
00:52:00 Yeah, I think that it's unfortunate. We have largely operated from a farm to packet
00:52:09 policy as far as cocoa is concerned. We harvest the cocoa, go borrow, sell it, and then straight
00:52:17 into the funds. We give something of the well-marked price to farmers, and then straight we spend
00:52:25 everything. The strategic investments needed to revamp and then expand the cocoa sector
00:52:33 has not been happening. Value addition in the cocoa sector has not happened, to the
00:52:38 point that it is embarrassing. I told one of my students that I'm thinking of a way
00:52:44 for us to estimate chocolate imports just by Ghanians. You get Africans get to big airports
00:52:54 and the chocolate they have to carry into this country is unbelievable. But you have
00:53:00 year in year out, we have failed to ramp processing. It has always been problematic, but let me
00:53:06 put a caveat here, that over the years, because of the certainty associated with repayment
00:53:15 of cocoa syndicated loans, we have always gotten more than we needed. People were rushing
00:53:22 to lend for the purchases of cocoa. But unfortunately in the last few years, there has been some
00:53:30 realization that the cocoa syndicated loan has become a backdoor for government growth.
00:53:37 After we have been shut out by the lenders, especially from the Euro-bond markets and
00:53:44 others, because it has become difficult for us to come by foreign currency, we have largely
00:53:51 resorted to putting our burden on whatever source is best. So the cocoa syndicated loan
00:53:58 has become a backdoor channel into some of these credit markets that we have been shut
00:54:04 out from. And because we have failed to honor our agreements in a timely manner, we are
00:54:10 now struggling to raise funds. So to the point of collateralizing sales, collateralizing
00:54:15 sales means that we are actually using what we are going to get from the cocoa to take
00:54:21 the loan. So it means that our earnings from cocoa will actually be seized, which I think
00:54:28 that is unfortunate. We didn't have to come to this level. As I said at the beginning,
00:54:33 our biggest problem in this country is our debt burden. And it is disgraceful that...
00:54:39 So Doug, I wanted to get strategies that Cocoa Bond could use to stop their reliance on syndicated
00:54:47 loans, such that in the near future, we'll use our own funds to purchase the cocoa, sell
00:54:54 it and keep the funds and turn it over. Yeah, the solution is something we have never been
00:55:00 able to do in this country. That is save a percentage towards building a fund that is
00:55:07 capable of buying this cocoa without resorting to the market. But we never did that. We have
00:55:13 this character of centralizing all receipts we get from cocoa and then we start spending
00:55:22 it. If we had a policy that 50% of cocoa revenue is not available for day-to-day spending,
00:55:28 but it starts building a fund to maybe finance cocoa purchases, what is then going to happen
00:55:37 is that we can grow this fund over a number of years. We can ask investors to even probably
00:55:44 buy some cocoa bonds that we normally call them and the proceeds put in this fund. So
00:55:50 that we have a standing fund for use in purchasing cocoa. But what happens is that we produce
00:55:56 the cocoa, sell it, spend everything. Then when it's up to the cocoa buying season, we
00:56:02 go looking for more. And the biggest problem here is that the cocoa prices or what we offer
00:56:11 farmers now to a large degree depends on how much we have to pay and what we have gotten
00:56:18 from the World Bank. So we can't actually provide an incentive for cocoa farmers to
00:56:23 stop even taking our cocoa to Cote d'Ivoire. It is a lack of planning that is the problem
00:56:29 here. The problem is that all cocoa proceeds are seen as disposable. We don't put a significant
00:56:35 percentage of it down to develop the fund and to boost our ability to purchase our own
00:56:43 cocoa. Every cocoa that is living in this country is actually borrowed cocoa because
00:56:49 part of it is earmarked to pay a debt we have used to buy the cocoa. It is disgraceful that
00:56:55 for several years in the cocoa industry, the number two producer in the world, it is disgrace
00:57:02 that we still have to be talking about these things. But hey, the government cannot afford
00:57:07 to let that resources go. You know definitely every dollar in this country now is important
00:57:14 for government, especially the World Finance. But the bottom line is we need to create that
00:57:20 earmarked incentive percentage towards developing the capacity to purchase cocoa.
00:57:25 Okay. Alright. We just have to wrap up here but this is good news for Ghana so let me
00:57:29 just share with you and then we can wrap up. Ghana wins bid to host independent journalist
00:57:34 fund headquarters. It says Ghana has secured the hosting right for the Africa regional
00:57:39 headquarters of the International Fund for Public Interest Media, IFPIM, marking a significant
00:57:47 achievement in the nation's commitment to press freedom and media independence. The
00:57:52 announcement was made during the Paris Peace Forum in France on Thursday, November 10,
00:57:57 2023 by the Minister for Information, Kodjo Pankruma alongside the French Minister of
00:58:01 State for Development and International Partnerships, Chrysola Zakaropoulou. Following a competitive
00:58:08 bidding process, the Ghanaian government has not only allocated a dedicated office for
00:58:13 the IFPIM headquarters but has also pledged to extend diplomatic courtesies to the international
00:58:18 staff operating from the Africa regional headquarters to be established in Accra.
00:58:24 Well so that's good news coming in there from the Ministry of Information.
00:58:29 Doc, I'm grateful to you for your time this morning. Thanks for joining us here.
00:58:33 Pleasure. It's a pleasure. Thank you for having me.
00:58:36 Dr Michael Ayemga is a development economist and senior lecturer at the University for
00:58:40 Development Studies. Well, that's how we wrap it up here on the News Review Segment.
00:58:46 Up next is the sports with Muftahu Nabila. Stay on.
00:58:53 [Music]
00:59:12 [Music]
00:59:14 Enthusiasm and excitement fill the air as the founder of the New Africa Foundation,
00:59:19 Nana Kwame Bediakwu, alias Jacob Caesar and his foreign partners from Tanzania arrived
00:59:26 at the Mepe RC and Akbetikbo basic schools which are serving as shelters for over a thousand
00:59:32 flood victims. Donating three tracks of relief items filled with 100 tents, bags of rice,
00:59:39 soft drinks, tissue, plastic bowls, bottles of water among others, Nana Kwame Bediakwu
00:59:46 also promised to support female victims who have lost their farms to the flood with inputs
00:59:52 to help them bounce back.
00:59:54 I know it's very difficult at the moment, but difficult times, it's only remembered
01:00:01 when the joyful comes in and I believe that there's a lot of joy ahead of us at this moment.
01:00:05 I hope that this very time should encourage us and inspire us to build our nation again.
01:00:13 It shouldn't just pull us down and I know it's heavy and I understand your pain, but
01:00:19 this tells me and I feel like yes, there is more we have to do as a country for each other
01:00:24 to build ourselves up, you know, and I'm ready to help in any form, in any means necessary
01:00:31 that would take this memory away. On that note, I want to say that, you know, I have
01:00:37 an industrial revolution that is going on in regions and I want to dedicate my time
01:00:43 on Vota, this area, by feeding a whole woman here and giving them a capital of Ural and
01:00:52 seedling for farming. You know, I would like to really make sure that there are some factories
01:00:57 that are going to come up here so we can do food processing and create employment and
01:01:02 start to build this place up again.
01:01:04 Highlighting the need for the Disaster Management Committee to consider a tent city for the
01:01:09 flood victims in order to free up the classrooms for academic work, founder of New Africa Foundation
01:01:15 Nana Kwamebediakwu also urged town planners and the leaders of the country to govern well.
01:01:21 Maybe the mind had not thought of a tent city could help them move in from the classrooms
01:01:27 and free the classrooms for the kids. So I also looked at a lot of people who have supported
01:01:31 Ghana and I realized some of the things that were missing and then I also brought to come
01:01:37 and help. I think food is important and we wanted to supply at least two containers of
01:01:43 food for the people so they can, you know, they can survive in the next couple of months.
01:01:49 But I also want to make the country, the government, the town planners aware that it's very important
01:01:54 that, you know, we make sure we govern our countries properly in terms of some of these
01:01:59 national disasters, you know, so, you know, these people are important. They need to be
01:02:02 saved. I don't know, but it's hundreds, you know, as long as there's place for them to
01:02:07 sleep, the tent has bed and it has a shower.
01:02:10 Even though grateful for the items, assistant headmaster of the Mpe Arasi Primary School
01:02:15 Amaglo Mauto said more interventions are needed to fully restore academic wear.
01:02:20 Once everybody moves, we have nine solid classrooms that will be available. Here, the class
01:02:26 four to class six is currently still in the river and it is just drying up and we can't
01:02:32 do any work there now. So we'll be holding the classes under the trees. But the classrooms,
01:02:38 these ones will be available once the victims move out.
01:02:41 Receiving the items on behalf of the flood victims, member of parliament for North Tonga,
01:02:45 Samuel Okujeto Ablakwa, commended Nana Kwebedi Aku, stating that apart from helping decongest
01:02:52 the camps, his agro initiative for the flood victims will aid them in bouncing back economically.
01:02:59 I'm really happy about this great initiative and I want to commend Jacob Siza. Clearly,
01:03:05 his visit is a full package. Relief items now, he has also brought lots of tents, which will
01:03:11 help us ease congestion, but also he has gone beyond just relief items and reducing the
01:03:18 congestion. He's looking at livelihoods and I want to commend him for that agricultural
01:03:24 initiative.
01:03:25 Even though floodwaters have receded in many communities, thousands still remain in shelters
01:03:31 due to the collapse of their homes. Carlos Kaloni, JOYNEWS.
01:03:38 Welcome back to the show. Let's talk more about this whole incident that happened to
01:03:49 the people of the Vorta region. Now, Ghana Education Service says it has started, school
01:03:56 has resumed in 81 out of the number of schools that had to suffer by not going to school
01:04:03 as a result of the spillage. Now, how do we ensure that they starting would then, there
01:04:11 will be continuation in the teaching and learning and what ought to be done to ensure that the
01:04:19 pupils in the area, as well as the students in the senior high school, do not suffer greatly
01:04:24 for that devastation that occurred there. We'll be speaking to relevant stakeholders
01:04:30 who understand education and what has to be done for us to continue developing the children
01:04:37 at that stage. Join us with your comments, go on to our social media platform and leave
01:04:42 your comment there. We'll share it with the rest of the world.
01:04:45 But we'll be speaking to the NADMO, we'll be speaking to education enthusiasts, I mean
01:04:53 education analysts, as well as our reporter on the ground to gauge the mood of these areas.
01:05:00 Carlos Kaloni is on the phone from the ground there. Carlos, good morning to you. You've
01:05:06 been there all this while. You understand what's happening there. Give us a pictorial
01:05:11 view of what exactly the situation is like in these communities.
01:05:15 All right, Brice. So I can say that the water has really receded and in many of these communities
01:05:24 you just find pockets of water in some of the very low-lying areas. And so life appears
01:05:32 to be returning to normal, but still we have a lot of the flood victims in many of these
01:05:40 shelters. For instance, in Kizito we still have a number of them there. And also at Betifo
01:05:48 Camps also has a number of the flood victims, as well as the RC Basic School or primary
01:05:55 school in Mepes. So it's cut across. Many of these flood victims are unable to return
01:06:02 to their homes because their homes have been destroyed. I mean, most of them have these
01:06:09 mud houses. They are no more. So where to stay now is a challenge.
01:06:14 So over the weekend, JCOC has donated some tents for the flood victims to contain them.
01:06:25 And at RC Basic School in Mepes, we had about 110 of such flood victims occupying the classroom.
01:06:34 But through that donation, according to the school authorities, the flood victims will
01:06:40 not be moved into these tents to create a space for academic work to commence in the
01:06:47 basic school, which is the primary school. But they still maintain that the JHS is still
01:06:53 flooded, and so academic work there can't commence.
01:06:58 So across most of these shelters or the camps, school is yet to resume fully. What the MP
01:07:09 has done in that area is to recruit some volunteers to be keeping some of these affected kids.
01:07:17 But as we speak, many of them are preparing to go back to school. So their volunteerism
01:07:24 or whatever they've been doing to support their kids actually ended a few days ago,
01:07:30 which means that if they are not taking this case, many of them will be without teachers.
01:07:37 So the classrooms are still occupied by the flood victims and academic work is yet to
01:07:43 fully resume in some of the schools. But I can say for the RC Primary School, because
01:07:49 of the donation of the tents, today, Monday morning, many of them are returning to their
01:07:54 classroom.
01:07:55 So you can also confirm that indeed 81 out of the schools that were affected have resumed,
01:08:02 I mean, teaching and learning has resumed there?
01:08:05 Grace, I cannot confirm that because I believe what is being said is across the flood, all
01:08:13 the areas affected by the flood. But for MEPEC, I can say that the RC Basic School, yes, the
01:08:21 primary section, academic work has fully resumed this morning due to the tents there.
01:08:29 So what do you think, from your own observation, is or are needed to get teaching and learning
01:08:38 back to normalcy in these areas?
01:08:40 All right, Grace. On the ground, you realize that many of these flood victims, where to
01:08:48 sleep is an issue. For instance, if you go to a basic school, it's just a few classrooms,
01:08:56 and in one classroom you find up to about 60 people in one classroom with their personal
01:09:04 belongings. So the whole place is soaked. And so they need a place to move to so they
01:09:13 can pave way for academic work to commence. Because the students, most of them are having
01:09:20 these classes under three. And like I said, those who are actually providing this free
01:09:27 teaching and learning are volunteers who are going back to school.
01:09:31 So what is needed now to ensure that the academic work of these students are not truncated is
01:09:40 to ensure that a place is created for the victims to move to so that the classrooms
01:09:47 can be free for the students to go back to their classroom. That is crucial. That is
01:09:53 needed as we speak. Because, in fact, Grace, if you go to the community, you'll find many
01:09:59 of these school kids loitering around and even exposing them to a lot of danger. Yesterday,
01:10:06 for instance, a 37-year-old woman told me she has been looking for her child for about
01:10:13 three days now. You can imagine, because there's no other at this camp. So it is important
01:10:18 that they are sent to a safer place where they can now be, and then the classrooms will
01:10:24 be free for academic work to commence.
01:10:27 So you said the water has been receding. Have some of these residents started moving
01:10:35 back to their communities yet?
01:10:37 Yes, indeed. Some of the residents have moved back to their homes. You recall that the UN
01:10:44 interagency group did some work there three days to assess the structural integrity of
01:10:50 those buildings that suffered the flood. And so the NADMO also carried out some fumigation
01:10:58 exercise on some of those homes. So some of them have gone back to their houses, but many
01:11:05 of them are still with friends and families, and some are also still at the shelters. I
01:11:11 mean, the schools serving as shelters for them.
01:11:14 But, I mean, we were told earlier that because of the contamination, it would take some days
01:11:20 for people to move back to their communities. How is it that just days after the water receding,
01:11:28 people are back to the communities? Has that been sanctioned?
01:11:32 That has not been sanctioned. So that is the concern. If you go to the community, there
01:11:37 are people who, I mean, in some cases, their houses have also not been fumigated, but they've
01:11:42 moved into their homes. In fact, I spoke to one elderly man who said he waited for the
01:11:50 fumigation to be carried out, and they never showed up. But where he was staying, one of
01:11:56 the camps, he couldn't stay there any longer because of the conditions there. So he decided
01:12:02 to just move in. And I can say on authority that there's one school in South Sompongboni,
01:12:09 vocational technical school, where my sources there have been telling me that the students
01:12:16 are the ones doing the cleaning up of the place, the debris and all that. And they are
01:12:21 going through a lot as we speak. And they expected either the Ghana Education Service
01:12:28 or NADMO to carry out fumigation and cleaning of these classrooms. But the students and
01:12:34 some staff have been made to clear this debris from the classroom. So it's a story that
01:12:41 cuts across many of these communities, where some residents feel like where they are staying,
01:12:47 the shelters are not conducive enough for them to continue to stay there. So they go
01:12:52 back to their homes, tidy it up, and then they stay. So it's not something that has
01:12:57 been sanctioned by the National Disaster Management Organization. But based on the deplorable
01:13:03 situation at the shelters, the individuals are now deciding to move into their homes.
01:13:10 Well, and what are the authorities saying about this development? Because people thought
01:13:18 that once they move into the places without the relevant clearance, it could spark another
01:13:25 health outbreak that we're not ready to deal with. Isn't that the case?
01:13:31 Indeed, that is the case. Apart from the health crisis that this can bring about, don't
01:13:37 forget many of these houses stayed in the water for weeks. And so the integrity of their
01:13:44 homes would have to be ascertained to be sure that these homes will not collapse on them.
01:13:51 But, you know, like I said, the situation is such that they don't find the shelters
01:13:58 they are living in are conducive. And they also cannot wait much for the authorities
01:14:04 to come up with whatever it is. You know, the UN Interagency Group finished its work
01:14:10 a few days ago. It will issue its report to the Disaster Management Committee, and that
01:14:17 will inform the way forward. But indeed, some of the homes have been fumigated. Not all.
01:14:24 So we can say to a large extent, the health crisis could be managed in those areas that
01:14:31 have been fumigated. But the concern that some of these buildings might not be safe
01:14:36 for the residents to move into is there. But yet, because of the situation, some of them
01:14:41 have decided to go back to their homes.
01:14:45 Okay. So, kindly confirm for me again, how many schools have you seen reopened?
01:14:52 Okay, so I can confirm that the R.P. Busy School, the primary section in effect, has
01:14:59 been reopened because of the sense provided by Jacob Caesar, which really made it possible
01:15:07 for the school authorities to move the flood victims from the classroom to the classroom
01:15:12 to be free for the students. That I can confirm that, yes, it has fully, I mean, academic
01:15:18 work has come in in that school.
01:15:20 Is it because this is a place you have contact at, or you've checked with other places
01:15:25 to then confirm whether or not the schools are reopened?
01:15:29 Yes, so I've also checked at Bessie Poe, Bessie Poe Busy School. The flood victims
01:15:34 are still in the classroom, so academic work is yet to commence, and other communities
01:15:40 have been too. In the Mepheta, the North Congo area.
01:15:45 Okay. Alright, grateful to you. But kindly hold on for me, let me bring in the Deputy
01:15:50 Director of NADMO, Deputy Director General Seji Saji into this conversation. Grateful
01:16:00 to you for joining us here. What has been the work done in preparing these schools to
01:16:08 be reopened?
01:16:11 Thank you. Good morning to you and your cherished listeners. A lot has been going on since the
01:16:19 visit of the Education Minister and his team. Basically, the regional directories of the
01:16:27 Ghana Education Service and the various district directories of the Education Service of Disaffected
01:16:35 Children have been working tirelessly to make sure schools resume. In most of the districts,
01:16:43 that has been achieved. The only challenge left is North Tonga, and even in North Tonga,
01:16:49 some schools have reopened, but some other schools are yet to reopen because we have
01:16:55 not successfully relocated or moved the affected persons from the classroom. We are looking
01:17:04 at it case by case basis. An example is the Al-Ti school that was just mentioned in your
01:17:11 report. There is another one, which is the Presbyterian Basic School, Presbyterian Junior
01:17:18 School, where units of Al-Ti were deleted from classroom tents. It's just that the classroom
01:17:25 tents were not enough to move all, so some of the classrooms having been for academic
01:17:31 purposes to start. But generally speaking, I can say the majority of the schools in almost
01:17:39 all the affected districts, just at North Tonga, that we are having challenges. For
01:17:44 Central Tonga, with the donation of these classroom tents to them, they were able to
01:17:51 successfully complete the reopening of all schools. Now, there were some schools that
01:17:56 were severely affected that the students cannot go back to. What the Central Education
01:18:02 Directorate did was to add them to another school, so they have two streams now. So one
01:18:09 of the streams goes in the morning, and the second stream goes in the afternoon, with
01:18:13 the access of teachers. So the school that was severely affected, the teachers at that
01:18:20 school, are the ones running the afternoon session with the students. And in the morning,
01:18:27 the regular ones, or the original people who occupy those classrooms, attend those ones.
01:18:34 So in total, how many schools have reopened?
01:18:38 I can't give you a figure offhand, but that's why I'm saying that, with the exception of
01:18:46 North Tonga, in Central Tonga, it was about 11 schools that were affected. Now all 11
01:18:53 schools are running now. In Shirewood City School, Essechere, almost all the schools
01:19:01 are running, except one. But even that, they are running classes under trees, because there
01:19:09 is some project going on which will be completed by next week, so that affected persons will
01:19:16 move in. But classes are still going on with their regular teachers. It is the same thing
01:19:22 with Aberdeen School that was mentioned in your report. Even though the classrooms are
01:19:30 still occupied by affected persons, some sort of classes are being run for the children
01:19:37 under the trees, and an uncompleted structure just by the side of the school.
01:19:43 Okay, so do I assume that that's the same situation in South Tonga? You've mentioned
01:19:51 Central Tonga, North Tonga, Shirewood Sudoku area.
01:19:54 Yes, South Tonga we don't have, all schools are running now. It was the Kumbuni School,
01:20:02 which is a secondary school, but that was mitigated I think about a week ago. Roughly
01:20:08 within a week the mitigation was done, and I've told you, hopefully it will be this
01:20:13 week probably.
01:20:14 Okay. Now we also understand that some residents have already moved into their homes. We knew
01:20:21 that people, the sort of anxiety that greeted the level of contamination of the water in
01:20:29 the area, and hearing that they've started to move into their homes gets people's eyebrows
01:20:36 raised, that are we safe?
01:20:38 Well that is true that people have started moving into their homes, but that even started
01:20:45 quite some time ago. Immediately the spilling stopped. You know the level of contamination
01:20:54 differs from community to community, and even in the same community, the level of inundation
01:21:02 also differs from structure to structure. So you have some structures that are completely
01:21:07 covered, you have some structures that the water is at the least level, some structures
01:21:13 that the water is at the window level, some also less than the window, just about two
01:21:18 feet. Those ones that the water receded immediately after the spilling stopped, moved back into
01:21:25 their homes. Now even those that were completely fermented, when the water receded, some places
01:21:33 were completely dry now, and those are the areas that the mitigation was done. But there
01:21:40 is still pools of water in the Mepe township that we are working through, about four or
01:21:48 five days now we've been pumping water into a canal that will lead back into the river.
01:21:55 That pumping is going on. So for returning to their homes, quite a lot of people have
01:22:02 returned to their homes. In San Quintito, which was the biggest holding centre, that
01:22:08 has a little over 500, it used to have about 1,500, but now it has a little over 500 there.
01:22:16 The report of UNO, who is leading the agency working group on emergency to do the conditional
01:22:24 structure assessment and environmental impact analysis, finished their work about three
01:22:29 weeks ago. We are receiving the report somewhere on Wednesday. Now this will give us targeted
01:22:36 measures, but we are still waiting. That's some work that needs to be done on before
01:22:41 the people go back. But generally, some of the houses just need decontamination, fumigation,
01:22:48 and the people can move back into their structures.
01:22:52 So again, confirming this, are we saying that those who have moved into their homes, their
01:22:59 homes have been fumigated already, and that it's safe for them to live in there?
01:23:04 Yes, because we started fumigation about two weeks ago. We started fumigation roughly about
01:23:10 two weeks ago, and quite a lot of the structures have been fumigated. But we are also indicated
01:23:15 that if your place is not fumigated, it doesn't move, just draw the attention of the assembly,
01:23:21 it will get to us, and your place will be fumigated. For example, at one of the holding centres,
01:23:28 they have taken a decision to move the people back, but they are waiting for the fumigation
01:23:33 to be done. We started yesterday. We are hopeful that it will be completed today, and then
01:23:38 from tomorrow or Wednesday, they can start going back to their homes.
01:23:43 I just got to know that your other name is Ahmedonu. That's a beautiful name. So, Mr.
01:23:51 Ahmedonu, are you telling us that there's no cause for alarm?
01:23:55 To a large extent, yes, because of what we are engaging. Normally, in a disaster management
01:24:04 cycle, the recovery stage is a stage that we are very careful about so that we don't
01:24:11 have another situation on our hands after just coming out from one.
01:24:16 Okay, okay. Well, because when I saw the level of, you know, the water in the communities,
01:24:23 I thought it would take us some three, four, six months before these people can go back
01:24:29 to their communities. I didn't know it could take us that very short period for them to go back.
01:24:34 Well, in some places, you'll be right about that, in some places. You know, some communities
01:24:39 were completely submerged, especially the island communities. There's even the issue
01:24:46 of clay buildings. Some of them gave way during the inundation. Now, those people might not
01:24:53 have a place to go back immediately. So, it could take three months, it could take four
01:24:58 months for something to be done for those people to go back. There's also a larger discussion
01:25:04 whether they should go back to island communities that are inside the river. It's a conversation
01:25:11 that we need to have. So, which means that there's a possibility that the island communities
01:25:19 might not be moving back? Yes, because the island communities, quite a lot of the structures
01:25:26 are gone. There's a particular community in Central Tong, there's only one building left.
01:25:33 You know, these are very small, small communities. Most of the structures are pre-structured.
01:25:41 So, what's the plan for such communities that may likely not be re-inhabited by the people?
01:25:51 What's the plan for them? Well, there's a lot of projects going on by philanthropies
01:26:01 and private individuals. The Sierra community is also meeting to take a decision on how
01:26:09 to proceed on such a situation I have described. But in about four of the communities, that
01:26:18 is the HRE area, the Tupou area, the media, the city, FM, in collaboration with the cement
01:26:27 company, are putting up some structures and they are almost about 75% complete. They are
01:26:35 doing the same thing in Nata and they are going to start the same thing in New Backpack,
01:26:41 the Central Tong, where these people can be held temporarily and decide a decision,
01:26:48 a permanent decision is taken on what to do, whether they are moving back to the island
01:26:53 or where the structures will be staying there permanently.
01:26:58 But upon your own studies, is it safe for them to move back?
01:27:07 Well, these are places these people have stayed all their lives. It is not an easy thing moving
01:27:16 people from there. Maybe into the future, the solutions could be those places could
01:27:21 still be used as farmland because those lands are very fertile and that is what even attracts
01:27:28 people to those places. So there could be some arrangement but it is a bigger discussion
01:27:33 that assemblies must have.
01:27:37 Okay, alright then. So as we speak, you say you are receiving a report on the economic
01:27:47 impact assessment that has been done in the areas.
01:27:49 That is a conditional structure integrity assessment and environmental impact assessment.
01:27:56 We will be receiving a report probably by Wednesday.
01:27:59 Okay, but is NADMO doing some works in these communities as we speak? What works are those?
01:28:06 Yes, we are still doing, we leave administration, we are still sharing items because even when
01:28:13 people go back to their homes, quite a number of these people have lost their livelihoods
01:28:17 already. So government is working frantically to get them back on their feet. You know it
01:28:24 will take some time. So relief administration will still continue for some time. Donations
01:28:29 are still coming in but not as small. But that relief administration will now move from
01:28:38 the towns into the homes that where people have moved to.
01:28:44 Apart from that, we are still doing a lot of pumping of water, especially from the first
01:28:50 house ships. But there is still stagnant water that will not dry up anytime soon.
01:28:56 Okay. Now we saw how desperate the situation became when this flooding started. Yesterday
01:29:07 there were some earth tremors in the capital and some parts of the central region. How
01:29:12 prepared is NADMO for earthquakes for example and the aftermath of earthquakes?
01:29:22 Well, for some time now, for some few years back, I think everybody is now aware of this
01:29:28 that we are having a series of earthquakes and tremors. Though not too significant of
01:29:37 an aftermath of the restart kill as the experts would put it, but there are indications that
01:29:43 there can be a possibility of an earthquake effect. And if that happens, the consequences
01:29:51 can be very dire. In 2020, the President, as a result of what has been happening, put
01:30:02 together a committee to come out with a framework for earthquake response for the country.
01:30:08 Their report was presented in 2021 and some actions have already started flowing out of
01:30:15 that report. Some targets have been installed at a number of public institutions, especially
01:30:24 along the fault line. We detect this and the Ghana Geological Survey Authority is actually
01:30:31 involved in this earthquake issue. We are collaborating with them. We have started some
01:30:38 education. UNESCO has come at some point to help us develop some education material. Just
01:30:47 a few weeks ago, there was a training workshop for our staff that are around the fault area
01:30:56 to continue sensitization and education. And we have actually had two full-scale simulation
01:31:06 exercises on an earthquake effect, which gave us a scenario of a mass casualties that can
01:31:14 be a food disaster, football going on at a sports stadium, and this happens. How are
01:31:19 we going to respond? We have done that with all our first-line respondents. We have done
01:31:26 that about twice.
01:31:28 >> What about the people in the areas, I mean, in terms of your simulation exercise? Because
01:31:36 when it came to the Akoso-Bodham spillage, we heard of how the simulation wasn't enough.
01:31:43 How about people who live in these fault lines, such that they also know what to do if there
01:31:49 should be an earthquake?
01:31:52 >> Well, the simulation exercise never really takes away the hazard. It only helps you to
01:31:59 prepare and coordinate your response activity. To a large extent, the Akoso-Bodham spillage
01:32:05 and the flooding that happened afterwards, we could say to a large extent, because we
01:32:13 have done some level of preparation, we turned towards the almighty that we didn't have any
01:32:22 recorded deaths as a direct result of the spillage, because we had pre-designated people
01:32:29 who knew they had to move if the water came and all that. So this is what the simulation
01:32:36 exercise does. It helps you to put yourself in readiness, but it will not take away the
01:32:44 hazard.
01:32:45 >> Okay. So that's why I asked. You said you've done simulation with your first-line
01:32:52 responders, and I wanted to understand what about the people, ordinary people who are
01:32:56 living along the fault line, such that they also know what to do in case there is an earthquake.
01:33:02 >> Yes, so that is why the education and sensitization is going on in those communities, using the
01:33:09 assembly system and our zonal staff, not more decentralizing to the zonal level. So in most
01:33:16 electoral areas, not even our assemblymen, you have not more staff to also in those localities.
01:33:23 >> Okay. Now you mentioned that some devices have been installed. Were they able to pick
01:33:28 the tremor that happened over the weekend for us to then tell that indeed these devices
01:33:33 will help us?
01:33:34 >> Yes, it was. The geological authority, I'm sure, has put out a statement. That is
01:33:42 how they were able to measure the scale. I think they have put out about 3.6 on the
01:33:50 restart scale. So that is how they were able to measure. But normally, the devices pick
01:33:57 these things within seconds and the event follows.
01:34:02 >> Oh. So they are not to serve as a warning mechanism?
01:34:09 >> It is a warning mechanism. It is actually a warning mechanism that will send a signal.
01:34:16 But you know, actions need to be taken within a split second. I can't put out the exact
01:34:24 time, but I know the experts have the time. But I'm told it's within seconds or minutes
01:34:30 that the indication will come before the event follows.
01:34:34 >> Okay. So if that's the case, were people warned that there could be a tremor like that?
01:34:42 >> Yes. But a lot of education is going on around the areas where we have the fault line.
01:34:51 A lot of education and a lot of activities have thrown out of the framework for earthquake
01:34:57 preparedness that was done in 2021.
01:35:01 >> Okay. But so, I mean, in terms of you, Nadmo, being able to accommodate the aftermath
01:35:11 of anything like that in terms of earthquake, we know that financially you are not sound.
01:35:18 How prepared are you to deal with anything like that? I mean, in terms of being able
01:35:23 to help people to go through the aftermath of an earthquake?
01:35:29 >> Well, that is normally a challenge. But our law structures our operations in such
01:35:39 a way that the whole district assembly has a role to play when there is an emergency
01:35:48 or a disaster. So we operate through a structure at the assembly called the District Disaster
01:35:56 Management Committee. This committee has all the heads of the decentralized agencies as
01:36:03 members of this committee and the district chief executive as the chairperson. The Nadmo
01:36:09 director serves as the secretary. And the law also allows for anybody who has a role
01:36:17 to play to be quoted onto that committee. So what happens is that when there is an emergency,
01:36:25 the whole resources of the assembly is at the disposal of this committee because it
01:36:35 is the district chief executive who can commandeer almost all the districts in the district and
01:36:41 deploy them as well. So in the case of the flooding issue, a lot of groups were commandeered
01:36:50 here, even from private people. So that is how our organization is structured. I mean,
01:36:56 there is no state institution in Ghana which is self-sufficient. But what it takes for
01:37:02 us to prepare appropriately and respond that we are up to the task.
01:37:09 >> Okay. Interesting. All right. Grateful there. I had to take you to the earthquake
01:37:17 once we were talking about the flooding. Grateful. But stay with me. Let me bring in my colleague
01:37:23 Carlos Colony again. So you had Mr. Ahmedonu. I love that name. Deputy director general
01:37:32 of the Nadmo saying that schools in Shia or Sudoku have all reopened except one. Schools
01:37:41 in central town, all of them have reopened and where there are difficulties, they are
01:37:47 running shifts. I mean, even in the north town, the school is -- I mean, something is
01:37:56 also ongoing there. This morning, how are the students in the schools that have reopened,
01:38:04 maybe you can confirm, how are they reacting to going back to school? Do we still have
01:38:14 Carlos Colony? >> All right. Please come again.
01:38:19 >> I wanted to understand how the kids are reacting to going back to school.
01:38:25 >> In fact, the excitement I saw on Saturday when it was announced to them that they will
01:38:34 soon be going back to their classroom is something that cannot be described. You know, they have
01:38:39 had the classes under the tree for a number of weeks now. And so after they had those
01:38:47 tents and the headmaster of the school told them Monday morning they are going back to
01:38:54 their classroom, they were really, really, really excited, especially at the primary
01:38:59 school. So I can say for a fact that across the schools, many of the students who have
01:39:06 been having their classes under trees are really not happy with the situation because
01:39:11 of the low level of concentration. There are flood victims at the camps, and so they are
01:39:18 unable to concentrate. So knowing now that they are going back into their classroom,
01:39:22 they are happy. And apart from maybe the students, the teachers themselves are happy that they
01:39:28 are really going back to normal. >> Well, what about -- I mean, the B.C.
01:39:38 -- WIAC has released B.C. results. Have you picked anything on that as well?
01:39:43 >> Well, I tried speaking to the North Tongo Director of Education, and the indication
01:39:52 I got was that they will speak to the issue this week so they can really establish how
01:40:00 they fare in the results. So we are yet to get an update on that particular bit of it.
01:40:08 >> Okay. All right, then. But what about senior high schools? Have they also resumed those
01:40:13 who were affected? >> Well, for the Kizito Senior High School,
01:40:19 you do know that that particular school is serving as a shelter for the flood victims.
01:40:24 So they are yet to resume, and that's the more reason why the traditional leaders and
01:40:31 as well as the leaders in the community are pushing for a quick relocation of the flood
01:40:39 victims from the school so that they can fully resume.
01:40:42 My last interaction with the D.C. East for the North Tongo area, Divine Fennel, it indicated
01:40:50 to me that plans were far advanced to actually move these remaining flood victims from Kizito
01:40:57 so they can pave the way for full academic work to resume at that particular school.
01:41:02 But other senior high schools in the area that have not been affected, they are going
01:41:09 back, especially Elijah-Koboni, which is in the South Tongo District. They are resuming
01:41:15 school this week, hopefully. >> Okay. All right. Mr. Saji, once life is
01:41:22 gradually returning to normalcy, what do people need now to resettle in their homes such that
01:41:31 if people still want to come to their aid, they will know exactly what are needed?
01:41:38 >> As I said, you know, the livelihood of the affected persons is also an issue, and
01:41:45 it will take a long time for these people to get back on their feet and continue with
01:41:50 what they were doing before the emergency. So it is through relief, support, both food
01:41:58 and non-food items that will go a long way to assist these people. And that we are also
01:42:04 doing. And it is going to continue for some time.
01:42:09 >> Okay. All right. Back to the earthquake story, let me ask you this. What advice will
01:42:15 you give to people now that we've started experiencing some tremors? What will be your
01:42:20 advice as in something more of a proactive measure so that even if it happens, the major
01:42:28 one happens, we might not have a lot of, you know, impact going out of our hands?
01:42:36 >> Well, already there is already an issue along where we have the fault line, which
01:42:47 has been heavily developed. That is a serious issue already. But there are some things that
01:42:57 are to be done as soon as an earthquake event occurs. As staff are going around, the geological
01:43:09 service authority is also doing some form of education. And I think very soon there
01:43:15 are some plans to get even media houses to fall so that that kind of education can be
01:43:21 going out. Those who are putting up structures or who continue to put up structures in those
01:43:27 areas, the normal processes of permitting, going through the assembly before you start
01:43:36 any construction must be followed. The assemblies have a certain structure. They normally even
01:43:42 check before a permit is issued. But you know our challenges already. So the advice is that
01:43:48 those who continue to put up structures must try as much as possible to get to the assemblies
01:43:54 and go through the assembly by law before the embankment.
01:44:00 >> But haven't the assemblies been the same people who have looked on for these developments
01:44:05 to spring up along the fault line? How can we then still trust that they can help us
01:44:10 do a better job?
01:44:12 >> Well, it's a general problem of law enforcement in our country. And if that improves, we'll
01:44:18 still continue having these issues.
01:44:22 >> Yes, but these are all assemblies that we have to go for permitting because we want
01:44:27 them to help us. Are the ones looking on for people to build in these areas? So my question
01:44:32 is, how can we still trust the same people to help us prevent these calamities should
01:44:39 an earthquake like that happen?
01:44:41 >> We have engaged assemblies a lot through our disaster management committee for them
01:44:48 to make sure their bylaws work. As part of building capacity, because in disaster management,
01:44:56 the more capacity you have, the less vulnerable you are. So the only way, as for disasters,
01:45:04 we cannot eradicate disasters at all. But we can always build capacity so that our vulnerability
01:45:12 will reduce. So that when it happens, loss to life and property will be very minimal.
01:45:20 And at the center of this is enforcing our own bylaws and the various assemblies.
01:45:31 >> I mean, you are worried about how these places have developed, right? Looking at that,
01:45:39 if there should be an earthquake today, how devastating will it be, looking at how we
01:45:44 are building and developing along the front line?
01:45:48 >> Well, the last earthquake that caused some damage in Accra was somewhere in the 1930s.
01:46:01 That was the last one. And at that time, the level of development in Accra was very minimal.
01:46:10 And given that we have some buildings go down and we had cracks in quite a lot of buildings,
01:46:17 and now that we have structures everywhere, I can only imagine what will happen if we
01:46:23 have an earthquake of a very significant magnitude on the Richter scale.
01:46:35 >> I mean, being the proactive person you are in your position, what would be your recommendation
01:46:43 as to how we can prevent that from happening? People are developing. What must we do?
01:46:47 What do you think must happen?
01:46:50 >> Well, for us, we are a coordinated agency. We coordinate response activities before,
01:46:58 during, and after every emergency. Our work starts with mitigation through preparedness,
01:47:05 response, and recovery. We can only do this within the structure or the existing laws
01:47:13 of this country. So every agency, every unit has a role to play for us to be safe.
01:47:22 It is not only the priorities of the disaster management organization to make the country safe.
01:47:31 It is everybody's responsibility. And that has always been our mantra, that disaster
01:47:37 management is everybody's responsibility.
01:47:40 >> So yes, it is everybody's responsibility. What must happen? What must we all do?
01:47:48 >> Law enforcement. Law enforcement. Apart from law enforcement, what we do now is to
01:47:55 make sure we carry out sanitization and education. And at the same time, develop preparedness
01:48:01 plans so that in the unlikely event that an emergency happens, we already have some protocols
01:48:11 to follow to bring some coordinated efforts to the response.
01:48:19 >> Okay. My final question to you, if someone is new in the city, where are these fault
01:48:27 lines? Where should people be aware that if I live here, it's possible that if there's
01:48:34 a trouble or an earthquake, I'll be affected?
01:48:38 >> Well, it's more on the Makati area, even towards the parts of the Ebre area. The Ghana
01:48:50 Geological Survey Authority has the exact definition of the area. But on top of my head,
01:48:56 these are some of the places that have always been experiencing this problem.
01:49:03 >> Okay. All right. Mr. Ahmed Dono Sejisaji, Deputy Director General of Technical and Reforms
01:49:12 at NADMO. I'm grateful to you that you got the time to be with us. But kindly hold it
01:49:17 for me. Let me bring in Maxwell Lukuto, who is NDC parliamentary candidate-elect for South
01:49:22 Tongue. He's on the ground now, so he could help us with more info. Mr. Lukuto, good morning
01:49:27 to you. Thanks for joining us.
01:49:29 >> Good morning.
01:49:30 >> In South Tongue as we speak, in relation to the aftermath of the spillage of the Akosu
01:49:36 Bodan.
01:49:37 >> Yeah, so after the fallout of the spillage and the accompanying destruction that we saw,
01:49:44 schools had to take a break, especially the Khumbu Tech and then the primary school or
01:49:52 the basic school. They had their compound and their classroom in the flood. So water
01:50:01 went into the classrooms and the whole compound was flooded. The school park, everything was
01:50:06 just flooded. And so they had to take a break. After a little while, there was an arrangement
01:50:13 for the education service for them to run ships with the Presbyterian basic school.
01:50:20 And so students of the Presbyterian school go in the morning, between 6 in the morning
01:50:26 and 12, and then students from the Khumbu basic school will take over from 12 to 5 o'clock
01:50:32 in the evening. So they had been doing that for some time until now that the EF is directing
01:50:40 that they go back to their place. As far as I'm aware, about two weeks ago, there was
01:50:46 some irrigation exercise on the school compound. And there were some controversy over whether
01:50:53 Zumla was doing it as a corporate social responsibility or it was a contract from VRA or from government
01:51:01 or from whoever. We have not seen exactly what it is yet to do. But there was some irrigation
01:51:08 exercise about two weeks ago. What we see on campus is that because the water, which
01:51:17 a lot of debris went into the classroom, there was a need for them to do a lot of cleaning
01:51:22 on the floor. And so for the past two weeks, some students who are in Sacramento County
01:51:29 were called by the school to come over to help with the cleaning exercise. People did
01:51:36 it in the shape of a march in the classrooms and all that. That they have done also for
01:51:41 about a week now. And so today, officially, they will be going back to campus. And I'm
01:51:47 sure the process will continue with the cleaning. What is evident on ground is that most of
01:51:56 the painted buildings, which were submerged in the mud or in the flooded water, have reached
01:52:03 the ground. No arrangement has been made for that. And that would be the critical issue
01:52:10 to look at going forward.
01:52:12 Okay. So you can confirm that schools have resumed in South Tongue, right?
01:52:18 Yes. Yes.
01:52:20 And the situation is a bit normal there?
01:52:23 Yeah. The water has receded completely from this classroom and the whole compound. It's
01:52:29 gone back to its normal level in the Vota River. And so everything is back to its normal
01:52:38 state except the aftermath effect that we are describing.
01:52:46 So there's no school that hasn't reopened? All schools have reopened in South Tongue,
01:52:51 right?
01:52:52 No. The fact is that it's not all schools in South Tongue that went on the break.
01:52:56 Okay.
01:52:57 It was only the schools that were affected. That's what I mentioned, that the Quinibeto
01:53:01 Basic School and then the Vocational Training School. You know, these two schools are closer
01:53:07 to the substation, the ECG substation that so-called have met.
01:53:12 Okay.
01:53:13 Because of their closeness to the canal that takes water from the Vota River to the Gatko
01:53:20 Farm. So it was a spillover from that canal that affected these schools because of how
01:53:27 close they are to the canal. And so this is the only school that actually got closed down
01:53:33 because their compound was flooded. It was not all schools in South Tongue that got flooded.
01:53:38 It was this particular school. So that's the only one that was made with the Presbyterian
01:53:45 Basic School for them to be running ships until this morning that the Quinibeto Basic
01:53:50 School and then the Vocational Training School are supposed to report back to campus.
01:53:54 Okay. All right. Thanks for this particular update. Is there anything you would want NAD
01:54:01 more specifically to do to help residents as they try to reintegrate back into their
01:54:07 communities?
01:54:09 Immediately, for most people in the district and the constituency, is drinking water because
01:54:16 we can't be too sure of the portability of the water we take. So even at an issue of
01:54:26 receiving some relief and some people, late last week I arranged for some bags of water
01:54:35 to be sent to this particular school we are talking about, especially those that have
01:54:40 to be brought back to campus to help in their cleaning exercises and all that. And so I'm
01:54:47 sure they will still need portable drinking water like they will. And then they should
01:54:55 be able to help them rethink their school because, sincerely, if they would have to
01:55:01 continue living and studying under the conditions which the classrooms are at, fine, there has
01:55:07 been fibrillation, but I believe that the painting has to be done. I was called upon
01:55:12 the last time and I'm here to get to the school maybe by the 4th of this today or tomorrow
01:55:17 so that we can think together to see how we can help them in the classroom. So if NAD
01:55:23 more has anything to do in the future, we will have to restore these classrooms to where
01:55:31 they were before the floods took over so that we can have a conducive environment for these
01:55:36 little ones to continue their education.
01:55:39 Okay, alright. Thank you so much. I'm grateful to you. Maxwell Lukoto is the NDC Parliamentary
01:55:45 Candidate-Elect for South Tongue. Well, Mr. Asadji, I'm grateful to you for having time
01:55:50 for us here. But listening to Mr. Lukoto, is there anything you want to add in terms
01:55:54 of specifically to South Tongue?
01:55:57 Well, just to add that I'm sure there will be a meeting this weekend. Once I get my app
01:56:08 up and everything is ready, we can be...
01:56:10 Mr. Asadji, I'm getting some sort of feedback from where you are now.
01:56:15 Okay, is it okay now?
01:56:17 Okay, yes.
01:56:18 So I'm just saying that we are still going ahead with our relief administration. Water
01:56:24 was a major issue. So we deployed quite a number of tankers to be helping with water
01:56:30 and did a lot of distribution of fresh water. That is still ongoing. Even this weekend,
01:56:36 we did at least about 2,000 fresh bags of water to South Tongue. So we should be very
01:56:44 sure that we are still continuing with the relief administration.
01:56:49 All right. So they will still be getting the water, right?
01:56:52 Yes.
01:56:53 All right. I'm grateful to you. Serji Saji, I'm Medunu, AS Deputy Director General of
01:56:59 the NADMO, the National Disaster Management Organization. You're still watching the AM
01:57:05 show. We're talking about the aftermath of the flooding of some parts of the water region
01:57:11 as well as the eastern region from the spillage of the Akosombo Dam. We understand that some
01:57:17 schools have reopened. And NADMO has given us confirmation that a lot of schools have
01:57:29 reopened and that in South Sudoku all the schools have reopened except one or 11 schools
01:57:35 in Central Tongue, all schools have reopened as well.
01:57:39 All right. Let's still stay on the subject and bring in Engineer Abdullahi Mahama to
01:57:46 look at rebuilding the communities now that the water is receding. He is a roads and buildings
01:57:53 consultant. Engineer, good morning. Thanks for joining us. What must be the focus as
01:58:01 we try to rebuild these communities after this very tough time?
01:58:06 Let me say a very good morning to your cherished viewers. And I'll go ahead to go and borrow
01:58:14 one of the statements that the Minister of Energy, Mwamatuku Kupempe, made at the floor
01:58:22 of Parliament last week. The water levels, when they receive other information that they
01:58:30 are getting some more water, there's likelihood of another spillage. And so I'm sure that
01:58:39 the government or the people will not behave like us today. We will have to now be faithful
01:58:45 to the reality that as of November, almost 10th of November, 11th of November, we are
01:58:51 still receiving rain, even in the capital, to a certain level of precipitation. So you
01:59:00 can imagine what is happening in the forest areas and then up there in the northern savannah
01:59:07 areas. So even as much as we are faced with this, we know that once we don't have control
01:59:13 over the ozone layer or the climate change, we can't just -- I mean, everybody now understands
01:59:20 that the pattern of the weather has changed drastically. So we're coming to receiving
01:59:25 some of these things almost every now and then. So what I would suggest is that -- in
01:59:30 fact, I was listening to you in the last one hour when you made mention of the fact that
01:59:36 the United Nations aid or something have gone to conduct a lot of the structural integrity
01:59:43 analysis, which is like one of the best requirements. And by the way, I put this up ahead so of
01:59:49 course you can see it. Last week, one of us in your speaking, I think we projected that
01:59:53 this is what the institution has to carry out before people move into their buildings,
01:59:58 especially with the sort of buildings like maybe two-floor, three-floor, four-floor public
02:00:04 areas. Domestic ones are also very important, but you know that the magnitude of disaster
02:00:10 in a public area would always suffice out of a domestic household. Even though every
02:00:16 day life matters, first concentration has to go to where we have a lot of concentrated
02:00:20 people. Schools, churches, clinics, hospitals, or any event centers must be the first priority
02:00:28 where you have a lot of gathering. And then we look at the domestic. Unfortunately, as
02:00:33 I preempted the last time, most of the mud houses are already gone. There will be an
02:00:38 advice that if the chiefs have some land which are relatively high in terms of elevation,
02:00:44 then we may have to start this resettlement. I've seen some of the media who are doing
02:00:48 a lot in trying to get a lot of Ghanaians to contribute their coastal to have new resettlement
02:00:55 plans. So we have to look at first elevated areas which are higher and at least now they
02:01:01 have an idea where the elevated areas are because of the rain that came. You know definitely
02:01:07 that some areas never flooded. If those areas have not been developed, then it means that
02:01:11 concentration has to go to those areas. And they will have a well planned design, a well
02:01:16 planned educated house so that even though we have a lot of population sitting at one
02:01:20 location, but because it's properly planned and maybe you have two terraced gardens, it
02:01:25 means that you can accommodate a lot of people. And then the other lands will possibly be
02:01:30 left for agro purposes. If there is no option, what I see is that I think viewers would know
02:01:39 if you have been using containment and ridge, you know that the old colonial buildings were
02:01:45 actually suspended. They don't put the concrete on the ground. They actually suspend them
02:01:51 with pillars. If you go to ridge, you see some of them. If you go to containment, you
02:01:54 see some of them. In fact, the cost will be relatively higher than the normal. But if
02:02:01 you look at the fact that you are going to do an excavation, you do your block work,
02:02:05 you come and put in the soil, the sand to be able to get to the concrete level, it might
02:02:10 not be that big when you isolate your buildings with columns and you lift up maybe about one
02:02:17 meter. In the event where we are not doing massive spillage and it becomes necessary
02:02:22 that water would have to flow through these areas, then those buildings will come in handy
02:02:26 because almost all of them are suspended. But that means that it has to be with cost.
02:02:32 So, if a conscious design has to go into it, the consideration would be that we are having
02:02:37 low line areas. They both still want to stay in their locality because of maybe gross proximity
02:02:41 to their farm areas or wherever they are working. And so we can start to do new designs and
02:02:46 lifting up these buildings. And then having an idea that the buildings may not just be
02:02:52 maybe one story or two stories. So, the design must have the design concept of maybe continuation
02:02:58 of the building. So, let's say if you can do 20 buildings now and instead of making
02:03:03 them lateral on the ground, you can do about five. But if you suspend it to ground space
02:03:08 in a second, that means that you have made use of a good chunk of the land. So, you can
02:03:13 go vertically than going laterally on the land. So, you don't actually abuse or exhaust
02:03:18 the high level area that may be smaller than the low line area which is bad. So, these
02:03:24 are the few things that I think that with the setting of the EPA that you have spoken
02:03:28 about, those who are trying to do the permutation and things, these are the things that we have
02:03:31 to look at in the buildings. And then some of the buildings may have been so saturated,
02:03:36 gone beyond the saturation point that possibly those who didn't have, which were constructed
02:03:42 with concrete blocks, like there were no quarry dust blocks, so their level of saturation
02:03:47 would be higher than that of the quarry dust blocks. And the fact that some of them may
02:03:52 have plastered, because once you plaster a building with a very fine material, you are
02:03:58 actually preventing high infiltration or percolation of water into the building. So, some of the
02:04:05 buildings like this one, all this structural integrity analysis, they were able to come
02:04:10 good with it. So, moving forward, no buildings should be left unplastered. And most of the
02:04:15 buildings should have at least concrete blocks, what do you call it, quarry dust blocks, which
02:04:20 would be for the foundation, so that they can resist a lot of this soaking or dampness
02:04:26 and they can be ascent as much, much higher than that of the concrete blocks. So, I'm
02:04:30 sure a lot of associates or these companies who are going into this construction, they
02:04:36 have the engineers like myself who will give you solutions. But we have to move towards
02:04:41 the high areas and then plan and suspend the buildings higher. And I think we can still
02:04:45 see, even in the event that the plaster area is about 1.5 kilometres, there will be adequate
02:04:50 canoes to run around if that becomes necessary. So, at least the buildings may still be cohabited,
02:04:55 but you can still move around. When the event of the extreme strain that was received in
02:05:00 this year, as we have all witnessed across this area, nine communities, nine districts
02:05:07 that have been affected by this.
02:05:09 Well, but in a country where the simplest of things are not being done, I mean, building
02:05:17 permits being granted to people to build in a certain way, even that we have a challenge
02:05:22 with it. Whose responsibility is it then to ensure that this proposal is adhered to? Is
02:05:30 it the builder, I mean the individual who is building, or is it the government, the
02:05:34 assembly to ensure that these are done?
02:05:38 It will go straight to the assembly. When the assembly decides, in fact, let me be frank
02:05:45 with an observation I have made over the few years especially. There are a lot of buildings
02:05:50 that I have seen in question mark areas, and when we dig these, you get to know that they
02:05:56 don't have permits, because no sound engineer at a local assembly who has all the evidence
02:06:04 or all the knowledge will just give permits to buildings that will be sited in the area
02:06:10 where it will be inundated by floodwaters or even rivers, when the rivers are flowing
02:06:17 along and beyond their banks, within communities like what is happening around the Tetugu area.
02:06:21 Most of those buildings do not have permits. In rare occasions you see one or two of them
02:06:25 have no permits. So if they don't have their permits, then the onus lies on the same
02:06:30 assembly to hold the boom by their own, because I have said countless times that there are
02:06:36 a lot of acts, the power that gives the assembly all the liberty to ensure that they carry
02:06:43 out instant prohibition, alteration, abatement, or destruction of most of those structures.
02:06:52 So we are rather ignoring the basic things that would have done, and then when the disaster
02:06:58 comes, then government has now entered and used a scarce resource to have done something
02:07:04 that would have been for expansion of the development. Rather we are using those monies
02:07:08 to solve very basic things that the assemblies could have done.
02:07:12 You see, if you say government, we should zero in to the community. I have said that
02:07:18 our land tenure system is still not an excuse for bad development. You may own your land
02:07:28 as a chief or as a developer, whatever it is, and then the assembly has the power to
02:07:33 do what we call zoning. When the assembly zones an area, that this area is for mini
02:07:40 industrial hub, you cannot go there and do residential apartments. If they zone an area
02:07:47 that this is a residential apartment or residential area, you cannot go into that sector of the
02:07:52 land and start to do industrial hub or industrial construction. And when they say that this
02:07:57 area, the information or the evidence that is available to us, we cannot develop here
02:08:02 for habitation. So even though you may own your land, you cannot sidestep the law. So
02:08:08 the assembly has so much power that they are not abusing you, but your land is on a
02:08:14 funding line in a low-lying area which becomes the receptor of all floodwaters. So we will
02:08:19 not give you any permit to construct a building. In the event where it becomes so critical
02:08:24 that that person wants to carry the development in that way, either way, there are other options
02:08:30 in the law, the act, that gives the developer that if you want to do your development here,
02:08:36 then you have to do what we call flood control measures. As I explained in the act, and these
02:08:41 are all basic laws that are found at the shelf of the assembly. When you look at the land
02:08:45 that is in place at 2006, that 925 is so powerful, and look at the National Board of Glaciers
02:08:50 in the area which has been amended to 6425, it's so explicit that if you have to develop
02:08:56 that said land, we don't have a problem. But we will now give you a design that will
02:09:01 take off all the water in that particular area, not just number this land, but to a
02:09:06 reasonable discharge point. Once you are able to do that, and it will not affect any other
02:09:11 person's development, you are allowed to construct a building. That means you have
02:09:16 met all the engineering criteria enshrined in the act. And these are there. But the only
02:09:22 thing is that, like you and I know, the assembly should lift the level high, and then you should
02:09:30 have minimum interference from the politicians. The assembly should work together for the
02:09:35 people.
02:09:36 I mean, the same laws also allow the assemblies to then decide not to give permits to someone
02:09:46 to build in a certain locality. But we know how people are building in waterways and water
02:09:52 views in our communities. Do you really trust that the assemblies can do this? I mean, if
02:10:00 you, there's a record which you're looking at. There's what we have to do to ensure that
02:10:06 we minimize the impact of flooding, if ever it will happen again in the future. Do you
02:10:12 trust, on the face of the record, that in fact, these assemblies can really do this
02:10:18 work?
02:10:19 If you listen to what I just said, I think the last statement I made was that if politicians
02:10:26 would allow--
02:10:28 No, I got that part. But are you saying that all of these people building in unauthorized
02:10:35 places are influenced by politicians?
02:10:38 No, no. So the assembly, we know the assembly always come out with about 14 or three.
02:10:43 Yeah.
02:10:44 Mostly, they say they are under-resourced. If you have listened to this jingle almost
02:10:48 all the time, the assembly will tell you that we are under-resourced to have, one, vehicles
02:10:53 that we can use to move to these areas which are fast developing. Two, we don't have fuel.
02:10:59 And three, we don't have a constituted tax force.
02:11:02 Okay.
02:11:03 Because when they have to go and carry out, in the law, the Act 121, that gives them the
02:11:08 power to carry out instant prohibition of the moles of the structure, which are considered
02:11:14 as nuisance in the environment. They need a tax force. That tax force has to be paid
02:11:19 by the assembly so that when they move to these areas, because they are well organized,
02:11:25 not armed, they can move into these areas. And once they have been--the engineers have
02:11:31 identified Building A, Building B, Building C to be an obstacle to a flow of water or
02:11:38 any other thing for that matter, and they don't have permit, then they will invoke the
02:11:43 closing of contracts and do the demolition. But if the assembly tells you that even the
02:11:47 engineer or the workshed doesn't have a vehicle to move around, it doesn't have a team to
02:11:52 move if you have to go and do the work, because all the areas, when you get there, you meet
02:11:56 equal resistance. People have tags who are on their land 24/7 guiding them to do construction
02:12:02 even though they know they don't have permit. So the engineer at the assembly may not just
02:12:06 go to these areas on his own. He has to ensure that he has all the adequate--what do you
02:12:11 call it--infrastructure or facilities to aid him to move. And that will come from the
02:12:16 assembly, the dicek or mill sec, or the internally generated funds, what allocation we give to
02:12:24 them. That is what I said, that if you have an assembly or an MMDC who are focused, their
02:12:31 attention will move toward that area, be able to resource those works department, and they
02:12:36 can carry out these preventions or prohibitions or alterations, all the most, because the
02:12:41 alteration means that if you go to the person's land and the structure is being constructed,
02:12:46 you have to call the person to the assembly. If the person has not been given permit, then
02:12:51 the assembly will find the person, go through the process with the person, and possibly
02:12:55 alter the design to fit the area where the construction is. That's why I use the word
02:13:00 "alteration", "abasement", or "carry out instant demolition". In the event where they feel
02:13:05 like the building has to go in whatever way, that's when the prohibition comes in. In the
02:13:10 instant where they feel like they can actually alter the design so that they can still meet
02:13:14 their purpose, then they do the alteration. In the instant where they feel like they have
02:13:17 to do the demolition, because the building has already been started, then they do the
02:13:20 demolition. But the demolition would come with a force of resistance from the people, so
02:13:24 the assembly has to be equipped to be able to meet the same measure of forces coming
02:13:28 from the opposition side to the construction of those type of activities.
02:13:34 Okay, interesting. I think this is a good proposal. I hope that we can do it to ensure
02:13:38 that we minimise the impact of flooding. That should occur in the near future. I'm grateful
02:13:45 to you for joining us here, Engineer Mahama. He is a Building and Road Consultant.
02:13:50 This is the AM Show on the Joint News Channel. Now, over the weekend, there were some reports
02:13:58 of the parts of the Kakum Forest being given out for mining activities. It generated a
02:14:09 lot of debate on social media about whether or not parts of the Kakum National Forest
02:14:18 should be given out for mining activities. We've been checking with the Minerals Commission
02:14:25 to find out why that decision has been taken to lease out some parts of the Kakum National
02:14:36 Forest. I have an update for you here on the show, so do stay with us. We will return after
02:14:43 the break with more. And again, Joint News won big at the Wameka over the weekend. Two
02:14:52 of our colleagues won some incredible awards there. We'll be sharing their stories here
02:14:59 on the show for you. Kweisi Debra has been reporting on tech issues for us on Tech Thursday.
02:15:08 He was judged the best journalist for ICT and telecoms reporting, while Francisca Enchel,
02:15:15 who reports for Corruption Watch, also won the best investigative journalist. Now, they'll
02:15:23 be telling us their story here on the show right after the break, and I'll give you an
02:15:27 update as well on what's happening with respect to that news about some part of the Kakum
02:15:36 Forest being given out for mining activities. You'll want to stay here with us to get to
02:15:42 know what we are picking from the Minerals Commission. Right after the break.
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02:17:20 and using squad bikes. Now, there's also water sports, such as jet skiing or they call it
02:17:27 sky ride. I think this is jet skiing. Boat or canoe ride, among others. There's also
02:17:34 various family games to keep you and your families excited every day. Great tourist
02:17:40 attractions in Upper West Region, including the Mushroom Rock, Slave Caves, and others.
02:17:46 Escape from the south. Escape to the north. Escape to Royal Kweisi Hills Hotel, Jerapa,
02:17:51 Dubai for an unforgettable safari experience this X-mas season and beyond. Please call
02:17:58 0501-69-4280, 0501-69-4280, or 0248-84-4463, 0248-84-4463 for reservations or further enquiries.
02:18:16 Now, that is what it is. Now, you have to experience this, okay? So, let's go into this
02:18:22 X-mas and beyond. Again, prepare for an exhilarating experience at the Grand Fair of the
02:18:29 2023 Ecobank Joint Use Habitat Fair. Join us at the Accra International Conference Centre
02:18:34 from Thursday, November 23rd to Sunday, November 26th, 2023 from 8am to 6pm each day.
02:18:43 Come engage with experts who would guide you through the home ownership process. The
02:18:48 2023 Ecobank Joint Use Habitat Fair is more than an exhibition. It's the gateway to your
02:18:54 dream home. What kind of home do you want to own? Come by and choose for yourself which
02:18:59 of the available options so that you can also be a homeowner soon. Now, the Ecobank Joint
02:19:05 Use Habitat Fair is in partnership with Ecobank, the Pan-African bank, and powered by the
02:19:11 Grand City Extension Project from Cities and Habitats, rent to own, and sponsored by
02:19:18 Elegant Homes and General Constructions Ltd., where quality meets value. Global Lighting,
02:19:24 your solution to quality lighting. Syntex Tank, a strong, a tough. Gold Key Properties,
02:19:32 building prestige since 1997. Springfield X-State or Springfield S-State, where dreams
02:19:41 are built. And Virtual Security, complete security solutions. DBS, your roof aspects.
02:19:49 Virtual InfoSec Africa, security solutions by design. St. Gobain, making the world a
02:19:57 better place. Clefton Homes, beautiful homes, wise investments. And the Kensington Heights,
02:20:05 Airport City, Kumasi, by HDG Homes Ltd. Those are our supporters there. Now, let me share
02:20:17 with you the information we are picking from the Minerals Commission. The Minerals Commission
02:20:22 has indeed released a statement in relation to what's happening, that particular news
02:20:29 about the part of Kakum Forest being given out for mining activities. Now, the attention
02:20:35 of the Minerals Commission has been drawn to publications on social media that some
02:20:41 civil society organizations in the country have vehemently kicked against the attempt
02:20:47 by a mining firm to mine in the Kakum National Park in the Central Region. According to CSOs,
02:20:53 the move follows an application by the High Street Limited to the Minerals Commission
02:20:59 for a license to mine in the Kakum National Forest. The Commission wishes to inform the
02:21:06 CSOs and the public that the application by High Street Limited was rejected and therefore
02:21:14 cannot be processed or considered whatsoever. The Commission wishes to assure the public
02:21:21 that no mineral right, whether for prospecting or mining, shall, and that's the command,
02:21:30 shall be considered or granted in the Kakum National Park. So let me repeat that again.
02:21:37 The Commission wishes to assure the public that no mineral right, whether for prospecting
02:21:46 or mining, shall be considered or granted in the Kakum National Park. That is signed
02:21:56 by Martin Kweku Eyisi, Chief Executive Officer for the Minerals Commission. So that is by
02:22:05 way of information there. Now over the weekend, social media was awashed with the, you know,
02:22:11 public outrage about this. They thought it was a decision, the public thought, all of
02:22:18 us thought it was a decision, but now the clarification is that this was an application
02:22:24 by a company called High Street Limited seeking to mine in the Kakum National Park. So the
02:22:34 Minerals Commission is saying that nothing like that will happen. But then there are
02:22:41 questions that need to, okay, it says, consequently, the Commission has deleted the application
02:22:50 from the online mining cadastra. So that is also something that the Commission has done.
02:22:57 But why did a company apply for a mining licence? Because we know that before you apply for
02:23:05 a mining licence, you have to apply for a prospecting licence, isn't it? So has a company
02:23:09 been engaging in anything like that? The Minerals Commission says no. But when you see something,
02:23:14 you have to say something. So if you see anything, any activity in the Kakum National Park,
02:23:21 you have to report it so that we know, so we can be checking these things. The Minerals
02:23:25 Commission has made it clear that nothing like that will ever happen. So that is my
02:23:32 way of information there. Okay. So let's go to the phone lines now and speak to Kweisi
02:23:46 Debra. Okay, so they've joined us by Zoom there, Kweisi Debra and Francesca Angel. Kweisi,
02:23:56 I was tempted to speak with you in Akan, but let's stay with the Queen's language. How
02:24:00 are you doing, my brother? I'm great, Esge. How are you doing? I'm good, I'm good. And
02:24:08 congrats to you, yeah, but you have to bring the dollars so that we can all share. I mean,
02:24:15 you're the big man now. You don't need this, but I need to have more. You have more. Okay.
02:24:24 Francesca, how are you? I'm good. Okay. I'm good, how are you two? I'm well. As for you,
02:24:34 if you put on a nose mask, it's fine, I understand, right? Good. Kweisi, how was it like for you
02:24:43 to have been a judge the best in ICT and telecoms reporting? Okay, it's more like a reputation
02:24:54 of a nation for me because the first time I applied was in 2013. And yes, I was a finalist.
02:25:04 And in 2021, 2022, so three times, 2023 making the fourth. So in all those instances, yeah,
02:25:18 I couldn't take it. 2019, it was this Nigerian from ICL who took the award. And in 2022,
02:25:28 I mean, yeah, Nigerian, who was it last year. So, and this time around, I met two Nigerians.
02:25:35 So I was thinking, is it going to be the same story? Because you know the rat stuff that I do,
02:25:48 my main thing is to make a TV, but of course I write also. So I'm meeting two Nigerians
02:25:54 thinking, is it going to be the same story? All this time, I'm going to triumph.
02:26:00 And so it's more like a reputation for tech friends there also, because that's where we push our stories.
02:26:08 That's our niche. And it's a win for the whole technological world.
02:26:18 But so what kind of, what story did you win this award with? What was the import of the story?
02:26:26 All right. So I carried out a little investigation into the answer.
02:26:31 I spent also 10 subscriptions by mobile phone users in Ghana.
02:26:36 And yes, I think you remember that story. And I found out that there were about 95 services,
02:26:46 people have subscribed to or know really. And you know, some had to be ready for one,
02:26:53 the subscriptions were from one to eight.
02:27:05 OK, because you might have to come back to you. Your network is quite unstable now,
02:27:10 but we'll try to rectify. Let me come to you, Francesca and Angel. So, Angel,
02:27:16 is this your first time of winning this award or you've won it before? How was it like this time?
02:27:22 Yes, as Debra was saying, this is actually my first time. I had also applied for several years.
02:27:28 I have actually lost count of how many years I've been applying. And last year, Debra and I were finalists.
02:27:36 It wasn't easy, but we didn't win. So this year we won together.
02:27:41 It was really fun to know that we won it together.
02:27:45 So so when you were in the final finalist, I mean the finalist, and you've been there before,
02:27:52 you haven't won it. Debra said he met two Nigerians and was asking, hey, is it going to be the same thing?
02:27:59 How was it for you? Who were you in there with? What was your thinking before you were announced as the winner?
02:28:05 So truth be told, I actually didn't prepare a speech. I didn't prepare a speech because I didn't want to have expectations that wouldn't be met at the end of the day.
02:28:15 And so because it happened last year, so the feeling was some way.
02:28:21 And only for me to get to the award and then it is announced that I actually didn't have anybody I was contending with in the investigative journalism category.
02:28:32 I was just alone. Oh, OK. Yeah. So the moment they said that, oh my God, I didn't prepare a speech.
02:28:43 Oh, so so so so you did an estempo. Oh, yeah.
02:28:49 I just had to think of something. And yeah, and I already had already planned that in case I win, I was going to dedicate the award to my husband.
02:28:58 So it was quite easy to put myself together and say something.
02:29:04 Oh, it's good to hear that you are dedicating the award to your husband.
02:29:08 It tells that, you know, husbands do sometimes. Oh, yeah.
02:29:13 Because, you know, I'm a female and doing investigative journalism, which is very time consuming.
02:29:19 And I'm a mother. And so a lot of the times I have responsibilities as a wife and as a mother.
02:29:25 And so and he's been very tolerant with my own availability and my overly dedication of time to the work.
02:29:34 And he's been very, very supportive. And even so, I said it during the award that even during my documentary production, where I spend nights outside my matrimonial home, he's fine with it.
02:29:45 He checks on me. Sometimes he comes to join us during the production and all that.
02:29:49 And that's of course, I think has helped me a lot, because if I had a husband who didn't understand what I was I do for a living,
02:29:58 I think that there would have been a lot of fight and probably I wouldn't be focused on my work and winning these awards like I'm winning.
02:30:04 So I had to dedicate it to him.
02:30:07 Oh, mister, wherever you are this morning, kudos to you for the role you play in Encho's life.
02:30:15 OK, so so, Francesca, how does this award, you know, what does it bring to your work as an investigator?
02:30:25 It inspires me. You know, when when you keep working, you know you've done a good work,
02:30:30 but then each award you win is like a confirmation that you are doing a good job,
02:30:36 particularly when you know that the judges are internationally recognized, very well-esteemed judges.
02:30:43 And so if your story is able to go through the way over 800 entries from the whole of West Africa.
02:30:49 And so if my story is able to go through the whole process and then is able to make it to the final 17 finalists and then eventually winning,
02:30:58 it's a big deal. It makes me feel OK, I'm doing a good job.
02:31:01 I need to put in more effort and I need to encourage the younger ones to also come up.
02:31:07 OK, so I mean, I don't want to ask you about the story that you won it with, because obviously that that that.
02:31:17 Oh, you want to talk to us about it. The story that won you the award.
02:31:21 Oh, yeah. The story is titled Money Over Human Lives, brought at DVLA exposed.
02:31:28 And the story is how some staff of the DVLA offices across the country have been assisting drivers license applicants to bend the rules and get license,
02:31:41 even when they are not qualified to, because there are lined up processes and tests you are supposed to go through and pass.
02:31:48 You need to go to a driving school and pass the driving school to approve that.
02:31:52 Yes, you are knowledgeable about driving enough to be given a license.
02:31:56 You need to pass an eye test. You need to be able to write a computerized exam and pass.
02:32:01 You need to go and pass a driving test. But then this investigation found that you could actually pay a DVLA staff and the DVLA staff will help you get a license without fulfilling any of those requirements I just listed.
02:32:15 Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Interesting. So, I mean, what is that? What do you mean that we're here to see the best of Francisco Angel there?
02:32:24 Definitely. There's more to come. Hmm. Hmm. We don't want to give hint of what's happening, but we know that there's a lot of work in, you know, being done to ensure that the right things are done in society.
02:32:38 But as an investigative journalist, when you produce a work and it doesn't get, let's say, for example, this DVLA one, did it give you the desired result you set out to achieve when you did this work?
02:32:54 Oh, yeah. So we focus more on doing stories that will bring reforms into the society. And DVLA case is a classical case of the lobbying in existence, but then implementation becomes a problem, probably because there are weak checks and balances within the system.
02:33:14 And then there are gaps that some staff have taken advantage of. And so the essence of the whole story was to expose some gaps in the system that technically need to be checked and also for supervisors to be more vigilant in exactly what is happening.
02:33:30 For instance, if somebody goes to get a driver's license and a person is able to sit in the exam hall and does not write the test and the DVLA staff is writing the test on the person's behalf while they are assisting the cameras in the exam hall, this story exposes exactly how this is done.
02:33:47 And this is for the authorities to see that, OK, there are weaknesses in our line of duty, so let's tighten it. And once the story came out, DVLA management acted really swiftly. They released a statement just hours after the release of the story and subsequently brought out a lineup of activities that they intend to do.
02:34:09 And one of the things is, as we speak, you know, during the investigation, you could actually pay and you pass the eye test. Meanwhile, you are supposed to go to the eye test for them to determine whether you could drive with your own eyes unassisted or you need medical assistance to get maybe a driving aid, glasses or something.
02:34:29 And this investigation found that you could actually pay and you pass even when you have eye problems, which is a danger to everybody else on the road. And then once we finish doing the story, as we speak, the eye test is no more done at DVLA. It has now been handed over to eye test facilities, eye clinics across the country to run on behalf of DVLA.
02:34:53 So you get a certification right from the clinics to DVLA. And I think that is a good result. That is one important thing to save everybody's lives on the street because we all use the roads. And there were a lineup of activities that DVLA plans to do. They've done some and they are yet to do some of it.
02:35:12 Moreover, DVLA also interdicted four staff. We are hoping to get the report of whatever their committee found during their committee meeting. STC was also cited in the documentary for also doing some staff of the STC driving school also practicing a similar thing there.
02:35:33 And after the publication, they also acted really swiftly. The two staff we captured were interdicted and later on they were dismissed from the service. And so we can say that the essence of investigative journalism is to bring the ills of the society out. And it is good to know that the institutions are also being supportive by taking action immediately we release evidence of the wrongs within their institution. So yes, the essence of the story has emerged.
02:36:02 Interesting. Well, Francesca, I'm happy for you and it's our prayer that you keep rising to really get to the level where you wish for yourself. OK, all the best.
02:36:16 Thank you. And I can't end this without giving acknowledgement to my my bosses, the Corruption Watch Management, Dr. Kujo Asante, William Nya Hong, Zachary Atanko.
02:36:31 They are the gatekeepers of every story I bring out. They give me the resources. They make sure that when I bring it out, everything is clean and I can't be celebrating all the successes without giving them acknowledgement for all their support and investment in me.
02:36:47 And then the multimedia group for every support they've been giving my works. I thank all of them. OK. All right, then. Thank you so much for joining us.
02:36:57 So Francesca, she won Best Investigative Journalist at WAMECA 2023. Deborah.
02:37:04 Yes. Charlie. So your line decided to play with us as I won't see your beautiful face on TV.
02:37:13 I'm just wondering. I'm just wondering. I'm thinking that perhaps in my area that the network is messing up.
02:37:21 Or perhaps the work you did on the telecoms probably.
02:37:25 Well.
02:37:37 OK, so so like I asked Francesca, what does this award really bring to your career from now on?
02:37:46 You know, in terms of the content that you generate.
02:37:50 Yes. You know, this was an industry that we did.
02:37:56 We were going to individual mobile phones, trying to see the number of on-site access subscriptions was really immense.
02:38:05 And, you know, as I told you, everything is made up of technology.
02:38:12 And we've been doing it for a very long time now. For some time now.
02:38:17 Of course, it was the idea of our lead was Elvis Kwakye.
02:38:25 Of course, our senior editor now, C.C. Coulston.
02:38:29 A general manager now.
02:38:31 Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
02:38:34 So it's been really tremendous. It produced a lot of results.
02:38:38 Because when we brought out the story, it was widely shared and it was all over the world.
02:38:46 And people unsubscribed.
02:38:48 It brought a lot of benefits to a number of people.
02:38:52 I told you earlier that people had subscribed to a service of less than 0.85 gallons a day.
02:38:59 And for over a decade, you could imagine the amount we have spent on answering a set of questions alone.
02:39:08 So this means a lot to us multimedia, for instance, the technology that I'm headed by my boss, Kofi Adutomfe.
02:39:19 And so I know that this is a whole lot of innovation for us.
02:39:26 And we're going to do our best to bring out more of these stories.
02:39:30 Okay. All right, then. We'll be looking forward to it.
02:39:35 But any people you'd want to appreciate on this journey, because I'm sure that you work with a team.
02:39:41 And of course, this is coming because some people helped you to put the stories together.
02:39:47 Well, my first, the first one goes to my two of my main bosses, Zervis Kwashi and Saida Yiyaku.
02:39:59 And my present bosses, Kofi Adutomfe of the Lavan and Sierra Femmes newsroom.
02:40:05 Kofi has given us lots of room to operate, given us lots of support, lots of goodwill.
02:40:11 And he's been tremendous for the newsroom.
02:40:14 And of course, to the C2 commissioners, given us lots and lots of support.
02:40:19 And then, and then, and Jojo, Jojo also. And all the people in the newsroom, Bright, Bright Anissa, Felicia, all of them.
02:40:34 They've all helped, they've all helped with these pieces that we're doing.
02:40:38 Okay.
02:40:39 And it's been a worthwhile journey.
02:40:42 Okay. All right. So we'll be looking forward to your next work on the IT or the science space.
02:40:49 Absolutely. Absolutely. Lots of stuff is going to come. Lots of stuff is going to come. By God's grace.
02:40:54 Okay. With that, your hat. Yeah.
02:40:56 It's a constant fitter. It's a constant fitter.
02:41:00 You know, I've been wearing the hat for more than 10 years.
02:41:04 Okay.
02:41:05 Yes. That's why you always see me with the hat.
02:41:08 People think I'm bored. I'm not bored. It's just that the hat is a signature, you see.
02:41:12 Okay.
02:41:13 For more than 10 years. You know what I mean?
02:41:15 One day, one day we'll remove it live on TV to see whether you're bored or not.
02:41:19 Oh, no, no, no. Lots of hats. Lots of hats.
02:41:23 All right. Kwesi, all the best to you. Okay?
02:41:27 Thank you very much.
02:41:28 I'll be, I'll be standing by for, for the dollars. But that's not outside.
02:41:33 I'm going to ask you some. I'm going to ask you some.
02:41:38 All right, Kwesi. There you are right there.
02:41:41 He was just the best ICT and telecoms reporter.
02:41:44 He just ended WAMECA 2023.
02:41:47 Well, so those are our two journalists making us proud at WAMECA 2023 there.
02:41:54 Join the Ministry of Education and NEIP for STEMnovation 2023,
02:42:00 the year's biggest science event at the City Conference Centre,
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02:43:29 So let's bring back what happened last weekend.
02:43:33 [MUSIC]
02:43:53 All right, so welcome back.
02:43:56 This is still the AM show.
02:43:59 Now, let's applaud authorities for what they've done on the Colibri Road.
02:44:05 Ben took up an issue with it and after he did that, the authorities have moved in to rehabilitate the road.
02:44:12 So kudos to you.
02:44:13 Like I said in the beginning, when you do something well, we'll come in and applaud you.
02:44:18 If you're not living up to your expectation, too, we will give it to you so that you sit up.
02:44:23 And in that same manner, let me say thanks to a company in the western region, Mompi Heavy Haulage.
02:44:34 Now, all of you know, or most of you know that the Takradi Agunangkwanta Road is in a terrible shape with nobody doing anything about it.
02:44:45 Now, information reaching me indicates that this company, Mompi Heavy Haulage, has really taken it upon itself to try and fix the road.
02:44:56 So they are supporting the Ghana Highways Authority to try and reshape the road and make it more trouble because that road had been in a very bad shape for a long time.
02:45:07 But today, thanks to Mompi Heavy Haulage, the road is being fixed.
02:45:12 The same company is suffering from dust pollution, allegedly from diamond cement.
02:45:17 And that's why I wish the EPA will step in and ensure that they investigate to see how they could stop this dust pollution
02:45:26 because that's where the Agenda 111 hospital for the highways is being constructed.
02:45:31 Mompi Heavy Haulage has complained over the years that their trucks are being damaged by dust pollution from diamond cement.
02:45:39 Yet nothing seems to be happening.
02:45:41 So, I mean, a company that is supporting this way to make the road more trouble needs the support of the state.
02:45:48 So EPA, if the EPA is listening, I know that the executive director is a very forward-looking man.
02:45:58 Please, companies like Mompi need your help.
02:46:01 The other time when I passed by, an oil company has to spend another money to construct a tent to cover its pipes.
02:46:09 Why should one company be affecting negatively another company like that?
02:46:15 So please, move in there and help Mompi because it is also helping the state to make the road more trouble.
02:46:21 Let's open the phone lines. Come in here and have your say on the issues that we've discussed.
02:46:24 0302211691. I'm sure you'll be interested in the VOLTA, what is happening in the VOLTA region
02:46:33 at the aftermath of the Akosombu Dam spillage and also the Kakum National Park.
02:46:40 Now, the clarity is that no mining license has been given.
02:46:44 And in fact, the application has been deleted from the Minerals Commission's cadastre so that nothing like that is there.
02:46:52 So you can call us now and have your say on the issues. 0302211691. Let's hear from you.
02:47:00 Do I have my first call on the line? Call us and let's talk about this together. 0302211691.
02:47:10 We're speaking about what happened. We understand that schools have reopened in many parts of the VOLTA region
02:47:18 and some parts of the greater Accra where they were affected by the spillage of the Akosombu Dam.
02:47:24 We understand that schools have reopened. What are your thoughts on that?
02:47:28 Now, Engineer Mahama is suggesting that if we want to construct buildings in that area,
02:47:33 we have to raise them like those buildings in Ridge. Okay. So Charles is on the line. Charles, good morning to you.
02:47:42 Good morning. How are you, sir? I'm well. Thanks for joining us, sir.
02:47:45 Thank you. I'm grateful. Good morning, sir. How is it? I'm well, sir. Let's hear you, sir.
02:47:52 Okay. I'm from Dabwaya, Pretazuli, North Bulgaria, Savannah region. Great to hear from you. Let's go.
02:47:59 In fact, our route, the new Dabwaya route, has been constructed since long before,
02:48:05 about almost the era of former President, His Excellency John Jeremy Mahama.
02:48:12 Okay. So your route has been constructed. Very bad. Now, at that peak, if you pass through the route,
02:48:19 the route that would have been taken about 30-45 minutes, you will now take about 2 hours before you get to Dabwaya.
02:48:25 And our township routes are all not in shape at all. Okay.
02:48:31 We had a lot of promises and what have you from the government up to date. We are not seeing up.
02:48:37 Our bridge, everything, I don't know either they are progressing or not. Really, we are not happy.
02:48:42 Okay. And Dabwaya-Mangargu route has been given to few contractors. Since that time up to this, it hasn't gotten any proceeds.
02:48:52 Okay. All right. Thank you very much. So the Dabwaya people are calling on government to help fix their route.
02:48:59 And that's why it's important even companies also present in the area and you think you can,
02:49:05 like what Mumpi Heavy Haulage is doing in Western region, kindly also do something like that.
02:49:10 Let's help each other. We know that it's not good that government shakes its responsibility.
02:49:15 But when the road becomes so bad and government is not coming in and we're all living there, it's important you're coming.
02:49:21 So once again, Mumpi Heavy Haulage, good morning to you. Monica and Peter Everett, I mean, they are my people.
02:49:29 These guys have humanity at heart. So kudos for this step. And EP, kindly move in there and help Mumpi.
02:49:36 And not just them. There's another company beside Mumpi, several others, and also the Agenda 111 Hospital.
02:49:43 That's even my heartbeat. That a hospital has been put up at a place where there is allegedly dust pollution from a cement manufacturing company.
02:49:51 So EPA, please, kindly step in there and ensure that the right things are done so that this dust pollution will go down.
02:49:58 Because when you drive by, on top of the trees would indicate to you that in fact some dust pollution is happening in the area.
02:50:04 Is it the one coming from diamond cement? Please move in there and ensure the right things are done so that companies like Mumpi
02:50:11 will always have the resources to support when the country needs help.
02:50:16 And that's how we wrap up today's edition of the AM Show. Thanks for being a part of it.
02:50:20 My name is Samuel Kodjoe-Breeze. On behalf of the production team led by Derek, you know, Sam, our director, our sound guys, our camera guys,
02:50:29 thank you for making us a part of your morning. God willing, we'll meet again tomorrow Tuesday.
02:50:34 Until then, please be good. Newsdesk is up next. Good morning.
02:50:39 (Music)
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2 years ago
Hassan Ayariga's Third Attempt at the Presidency: What's New? - The Big Agenda on Adom TV (13-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
Adom TV News (11-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
The Great Queens Chat Room on Adom TV (11-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
Chaos in Parliament: Was majority leader justified in Naana Agyemang critique that caused furore? - The Big Agenda on Adom TV (11-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
Obra on Adom TV (11-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
Adom TV News (9-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
Nnawotwi Yi on Adom TV (9-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
Adom TV News (8-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
Otan Nni Aduro Chatroom on Adom TV (8-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
Obra on Adom TV (8-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
Adom TV News (7-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
NDC Running Mate: NDC unveils Proof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang as partner for John Mahama - The Big Agenda on Adom TV (7-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
The Great Queens Chat Room on Adom TV (7-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
Obra on Adom TV (7-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
Adom TV News (6-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
Badwam on Adom TV (6-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
Sika OO Sika: 6th March Jackpot - Adom TV (6-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
Adom TV News (5-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
Assent to Anti LGBTQ+ Bill: Is Pres. Akufo Addo swerving mounting pressure to sign bill into law? - The Big Agenda on Adom TV (5-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago
The Great Queens Chat Room on Adom TV (5-3-24)
The Multimedia group
2 years ago