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NewsTranscript
00:00 Coming up this morning, Joy News investigations reveal aside from the increasing cost of treating water
00:06 polluted by irresponsible mining, the Ghana Water Company's treatment process cannot remove poisonous heavy metals
00:14 from water pumps to homes across the country.
00:17 Government insists it has not missed the deadline for the second tranche of the International Monetary Fund bailout as it remains
00:27 optimistic that $600 million will arrive by the end of this month.
00:32 Klaas Mfansipem School calls for parents' support to provide power for the school as the government
00:41 payment default plunges the school into debt.
00:44 We struggle to purchase power this year alone from January to October 31st.
00:52 We have spent
00:55 104,000 cities unprepared.
00:58 We have more as the headmaster warns of major disaster if help doesn't come quickly.
01:06 Plus this morning the New Patrotic Party has fired four of its members for publicly endorsing an
01:13 independent candidate other than its flag bearer,
01:16 Maama Dubaomia. We have details of that statement for you on Joy News Desk.
01:24 My name is Aisha Obeye. Let's settle for the details.
01:26 The Nurses and Midwifery Council says it has conducted and presented its research findings to government on the mass
01:50 exodus of health professionals in the country. Currently data from the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives
01:56 Association indicates more than 5,000 nurses and other health personnel have left Ghana for greener pastures abroad
02:03 over the last three years due to poor conditions of service.
02:08 But board chairperson of the Nurses and Midwives Council, Nana Echan Asante, says their finding reveals
02:15 the situation is systematic and goes beyond just condition of service, adding there is a need for a
02:21 sustainable government policy to deal with the problem.
02:24 We need to take this seriously. It's not a joke. I was just speaking to a doctor from Yahoo.
02:31 She's telling me my nurses are leaving. I get it all the time. I just came from America. I've practiced in America.
02:37 It's not all a bed of roses. My colleagues in America are also crying because what the shortfall
02:44 in America and the Western world is doing is that it means their worst nurses are being overworked.
02:49 The nurses are also leaving the profession. They're going to do other things. They're practicing nursing. They're going into law.
02:56 They're doing so many other things. So there's a void in their units. So they need us.
03:01 What are you doing to at least, if not avoid, the mass exodus of the movement of the nurses to the foreign countries?
03:13 At least, what are you doing about it? Or is it the case that you're helpless?
03:16 So we're not helpless. We're a voice. So as I said, we've conducted research.
03:21 Now we have a better understanding of what's pushing and it's not always the money.
03:27 So what I know government is in the process of coming up with a policy. We are at that table.
03:33 We've submitted a research finding so that when people start talking, it's not just about money because money we all know we can't
03:42 all of a sudden triple or quadruple the pay that we're giving the nurses.
03:46 But in the meantime, the things that we can do about the conditions, having the access to the equipment that they need,
03:53 building a professional, giving avenues for growth within that professional, those other things, those soft things, how could we make it better?
04:01 So like the keynote speaker said, we've been at the table to inform the policy.
04:09 So the policy has the voice from NMC and the nurses included in the overall policy.
04:17 The situation is not different in the private sector as the Private Health Facilities Association of Ghana
04:24 calls on governments to put in place strategic measures beyond the rhetoric.
04:29 Dr. Ohinekwa Binasafo is vice chairman of the Greater Accra Chapter of the Association.
04:36 The brain drain is serious. We have nurses moving, we have doctors moving.
04:41 A time will come and if we don't take care, we might be importing practitioners.
04:45 Already there's a huge doctor to patient gap and this is widening day by day as our doctors move out.
04:55 In my circles, out of five colleagues, medical practitioners, we finished medical school.
05:01 I'm the only one in Ghana now. So that should tell you how serious it is.
05:05 What should we do as a government to ensure that this situation is dealt with?
05:10 Okay, so it starts from policy.
05:14 What is the strategic position of government when it comes to healthcare providers?
05:19 Not just doctors, not just nurses, allied health and the other healthcare providers.
05:26 What strategy is the government going to employ to ensure we have exactly what is happening out there?
05:33 If not 100%, at least you should take what UK did some years back, early 2000s.
05:41 They benchmark Toyota production systems against their healthcare system just to ensure they have
05:48 delivery of quality healthcare which is more holistic and looks at the practitioners and the service delivery.
05:55 So it's a matter of strategy, it's a matter of policy and not just talks.
06:03 Meanwhile, President of the Healthcare Federation of Ghana, Dr. Wisdom Agmagleto
06:08 is advocating a collaboration with the private sector to help attain universal health coverage.
06:14 It is well known that the private sector produces more than 60% of the healthcare needs of this country.
06:23 And in fact, their contribution is bigger than that of the public sector.
06:26 But unfortunately, this sector has not been given the help it needs and also the attention
06:32 that it needs. So what we are asking for is that significantly, as the keynote speaker alluded to,
06:39 we provide 5% of GDP and we are accounting for 20% of GDP growth. And this has a great
06:45 potential and promise for this country, not for individual players but also the country as a whole.
06:51 So we want more collaboration with the government or the public sector
06:55 to be able to help achieve the goals of the universal health coverage.
07:00 Well, still on health, former President John Mahama has added his voice to calls
07:05 for government to pay nursing trainee allowances. According to the trainees,
07:10 the government is yet to honour its promise for the past two years. In the wake of the delay,
07:16 trainees at the Krobo Nursing and Midwifery Training College have rendered an apology to
07:21 John Mahama for rejecting his campaign policy of replacing allowances with student loans
07:27 in the letter read openly in the presence of the former president. The student said they fell for
07:32 empty campaign promises by the NPP. Nanaia Ojima is on the building garnet war of the
07:38 NDC to the Bono East region and has filed this report.
07:41 The nursing students met the John Mahama convoy with placards registering their displeasure
07:53 with the management of training colleges. We were presented with what seemed like a fresh version.
08:02 An open letter was read to the former president during the engagement with the students.
08:08 According to them, they were deceived into believing payments of the trainee allowances
08:14 would be pumped. Please accept our own reserved apology for not heeding your
08:20 counsel during the 2016 election. From the depth of our hearts, we sincerely apologize.
08:27 The students feel frustrated by the failure of the government to pay the trainee allowances
08:41 for close to two years. The allowances was a scam to us that we will get our
08:46 aloha and since we came we have not even received it. We have not received it. This is my second
08:51 year in this school but I have not seen anything like aloha. Me, I'm a third year student. I haven't
08:55 received once since I've came. We have waited. We haven't received anything yet.
09:01 I beg you, if you are hearing me, we are here in Krobo, nursing training school. They said two
09:13 years now you haven't paid them their allowances. Let the aloha come.
09:18 Wherever you are, Krobo nursing trainees are begging you let their aloha come.
09:28 In explaining the decision to cancel the nursing trainee allowances, the former president noted
09:36 the policy was to channel the resources towards improving the health training sector. He believes
09:43 the expansion of the training colleges would have helped train and recruit more personnel.
09:48 What we noticed was that because of trainee allowances, we were not able to take as many
09:56 people into the colleges as we should because the number that we're taking was based on how
10:03 many people we could pay the allowance. At that time in 2017, if you calculated the first salary
10:12 of a nurse, it was something around 1,500 when you come out as a fresh nurse. And the money that
10:19 was being used to pay trainee allowances could recruit 13,000 nurses every year.
10:25 So we said look, let's take the allowance. Let's invest it in building more hospitals,
10:36 in providing more hostels and classrooms in the colleges so that we can bring more of our
10:42 children into the colleges to train. That was our intention. And so we didn't even say
10:49 we're taking the training allowance away and replacing it with nothing. We said we're going
10:55 to replace it with a student loan scheme so that you can take the loan, finance your education.
11:02 When you come out, if you don't have a job yet, nobody will come and ask you for the money.
11:07 But when you start working, we will take it little by little by little by little
11:13 until you are finished paying. If he won't get us the allowance and he's going to provide us
11:18 with student loans, I think that one too is also a nice and a good idea because if we are able to
11:24 get the loans, we will be able to use it and pay our school fees. Meanwhile, the NDC flag bearer
11:30 for election 2024 wants electorates to correct the wrongs by returning the NDC to power.
11:37 When there's a race between lies and the truth, lies will always take the lead.
11:45 But eventually in the end, the truth will be revealed. It is only now the blinkers on our eyes,
11:55 the scales on our eyes have fallen off and we can see that this has been the worst political
12:02 scam in the history of politics, not only in Ghana but in the whole of Africa.
12:07 The building Ghana tour is making its final stop here at the Central Mosque at Techiman.
12:19 Earlier, there was a town hall meeting at Tsoyobodom where concerns of various groupings
12:26 were taken by the NDC. These concerns, according to the party, will feed into the 2024 manifesto.
12:34 For Joy News, Nanaia Ojima reporting.
12:38 Let's stick with health because investigations conducted by Joy News
12:44 has revealed that aside the increasing cost of treating water polluted by irresponsible mining,
12:50 the Ghana water company's current treatment process cannot remove poisonous heavy metals
12:55 from water pumped to homes across the country. Tests conducted at the Ghana Water Company Limited
13:02 Dabwase intake point of the Prairie Vakanthem high levels of arsenic, lead and chromium.
13:09 Erasmus Asaridonko has been speaking to experts on whether the company's current treatment process
13:15 is capable of removing these poisonous metals. Here are excerpts of the part three of his
13:21 documentary Poison for Gold showing today at 8 p.m 8 30 p.m on the Joy News channel.
13:28 This is the Dabwase intake point where the Ghana Water Company Limited pumps and treats
13:39 the pra for distribution to Takrade and parts of the central region.
13:44 I'm fetching a sample from what is being pumped from the Prairie Vakanthem. Samples fetched from
13:56 the Prairie Vakanthem are the Dabwase headworks of the Ghana Water Company tested positive for 0.288
14:04 milligrams per liter of arsenic, 0.186 of chromium and 0.57 milligrams per liter of lead
14:13 all above the safety levels for these poisonous metals. But can the Ghana Water Company's
14:21 treatment process eliminate the presence of poisonous heavy metals?
14:27 We took a trip to the materials engineering department of the college of engineering KNUST
14:34 to speak with engineer Dr. Benetta Kunsen. She has been researching into heavy metal removal from
14:43 water using nanotechnology, mineral waste reprocessing, minerals processing and waste
14:50 management. Some suspended solids have the ability to remove heavy metals. A typical example
14:57 is the iron oxide or iron oxide based materials. So for instance if you have magnetite,
15:05 maghematite which is more like an oxidized form of a magnetite, it has the ability to remove these.
15:14 So once these are the kind of suspended solids we have in the system, they would interact with
15:20 the heavy metals in there and would certainly have some or undertake or undergo some sort of
15:27 absorption in the system. So when they remove the heavy metals and these suspended solids which are
15:35 iron oxides, then you are sure that some levels of heavy metals would have been removed.
15:43 But typically removing those ones doesn't clean water of heavy metals present. Currently what
15:51 Ghana water is doing doesn't take care of that. It takes care of bacterial microbial
16:01 stuff in the water. But with respect to heavy metals, I can give you samples of water which
16:08 contain heavy metals. They may be as clear as you can imagine but then they would have
16:14 levels, high levels of heavy metals in them.
16:17 The pra is polluted mainly by miners opening their residue into the river at Chifu Kototse,
16:27 Chifu Praso and Champfans sitting on the river. But district chief executive for Wassa East,
16:35 Emmanuel Boakye, told our team there are no resources to fight them.
16:40 We tried as much as possible to get an ad-word motor attached to the canoe so that we can track
16:48 those guys. But what we realized was that there are a lot of stones in the river. So you cannot
16:57 run through the river to that place. I think some time ago two military men died
17:05 on this river because of this mining in the river issue. So that has become a challenge to us.
17:15 And that's the more reason why we were unable to take them away from the river.
17:21 Let's have a conversation now. I've been joined by the senior lecturer and head of department
17:30 of the Global Health School of Public Health at the KNUSC, Dr. John Amwesi. Also joining me
17:37 is Professor Chris Gordon. He's an environmental scientist with special interest in biodiversity.
17:43 And I've also been joined by Stanley Marty who is communications manager of the Ghana Water
17:49 Company Limited. I'm grateful gentlemen for your time. Let me begin with you, Dr. Amwesi.
17:57 How do you feel about news that there are heavy, poisonous heavy metals in the water
18:03 running through our taps and that the treatment process of the Ghana Water Company
18:09 cannot actually deal with these challenges?
18:11 Well, thanks Aisha for having me and greetings to the colleague panelists and to all those
18:20 viewing this morning. It's a really important issue that has come up, heavy metals in water.
18:27 As we may be well aware, heavy metals pose a serious threat to health, particularly heavy
18:34 metals like mercury, arsenic and lead. These are well-known heavy metals that tend to put into
18:43 water as a result of mining, including or especially illegal mining practices. Some of the impacts
18:50 that heavy metals can have on health include congenital anomalies, cancers and several other
18:59 very negative effects. And perhaps the most concerning of these are the cancers and the
19:05 congenital anomalies, that is the results or impact on fetuses which can lead to malformations
19:13 in children when they are born. Apart from this, also developmental delays in children
19:19 can come about as a result of this. Now there is what we call acute heavy metal poisoning and more
19:25 sort of chronic where you're exposed to this on a routine basis and water, which is something that
19:31 you consume on a regular basis, can be an easy source of chronic heavy metal poisoning. So it's
19:38 worrying. Now on the side of the Ghana Water Company, obviously I don't work there, and I
19:43 believe they can speak directly to this, but the Ghana Water Company is able to detect the presence
19:48 of heavy metals. This is very clear. The challenge is their ability to remove these heavy metals.
19:55 It's important to recognize that there are levels of heavy metals in various
20:02 waters. You don't want any of this. The concern is the threshold at which they may be.
20:08 My understanding currently is that the threshold for heavy metals in the water that is produced
20:14 by the Ghana Water Company has not been breached. What this means is that the heavy metal levels are
20:19 currently not at the point where they pose a serious health threat. The reason why the alarm
20:24 bells are being sounded and rightly so is because we've seen a consistent increase in these levels
20:31 suggesting that sooner than later the thresholds may be exceeded, which would make the water
20:36 unwholesome for consumption. And if the Ghana Water Company does not have the capacity to remove
20:42 these heavy metals, then we're pretty much screwed. What that means is that our water will not be fit
20:47 for consumption. So it's important that the noise is made now so, one, the pollution can stop, and
20:54 two, the Ghana Water Company can be provided with the tools that they need to remove these heavy
21:00 metals, especially when they start approaching the threshold for which it would be totally unsafe
21:05 for drinking. Well, we do not know yet if we've gotten to that level, and thankfully the Ghana
21:11 Water Company is with us. They will be talking for themselves to tell us where we are right now.
21:17 But let me bring in Professor Gordon. High levels of arsenic, lead, chromium are what we found in
21:25 the water currently running through our taps. What are the dangers associated with drinking water
21:32 polluted with these poisonous heavy metals? Okay, thank you for having me on the program,
21:39 and I would like to first re-emphasize the point that has been made.
21:44 We do not want heavy metals in our water, period. But at this point in time,
21:52 the water that we are getting from Ghana Water Company does not exceed the WHO limits.
22:04 So the water from Ghana Water Company at source is safe. You shouldn't be alarmist about this,
22:11 especially as what has happened is the cost of treatment that we used to do with alums
22:21 and the type of material is no longer effective with the amount of loading
22:29 that we have in the water of sediments and heavy metals. So Ghana Water Company has had to move to
22:37 polymers which are a lot more expensive, but at the same time we do not want Ghana Water
22:43 Company to increase the price of water. So they are in a difficult situation there.
22:48 But again, let's look at the issue that you asked me to talk to.
22:55 We are talking about concentrations which are very small, very, very little, which can impact
23:02 on these human health through long-term chronic effects, apart from the acute that has been
23:10 mentioned already. What do we understand by low level? Well, if you had a line of tankers
23:20 from Accra to Tamil, water tankers, and you dissolved one cube of sugar
23:27 and spread that water among all those tankers, you would actually be reaching the levels that
23:36 heavy metals can have an impact on people. So the levels are very low to cause impact,
23:45 and this is made worse by two things. One is biomagnification, that is through the food chain,
23:53 the quantum of heavy metals that the person ingests through food increases, and the other
24:00 is bioaccumulation, where the heavy metals end up in parts of the body and keep on increasing.
24:09 Mention has been made to the fact that if you have mothers who are eating fish or shellfish
24:17 that contain methylmercury, you can have impact on the unborn infants' growing brains and nervous
24:25 systems. You find that this affects their ability to think, their memory, attention,
24:35 fine motor skills, visual spatial skills, basically they are disadvantaged from birth.
24:42 And if you have intergenerational impact, you find that the communities will have lower and lower
24:51 intelligence and will not be passing the standard exams, not through any fault of their own,
24:58 but basically because their brains were damaged before birth. Now the
25:05 impacts you have on methylmercury poisoning, first of all, it affects everybody of all age.
25:13 It's not just children, it's everybody. You can have loss of vision, you can have tingling
25:21 around the mouth, lack of coordination, impairment of speech, hearing, walking,
25:28 muscle weakness. When it goes to lead, first of all, there's no level of lead that does not
25:35 cause problem. And the lead is accumulated in the brain, liver, kidneys and bones.
25:41 It's stored in the teeth. And when a woman is pregnant, the lead in the bone is released
25:49 during pregnancy and impacts the fetus. It's estimated that approximately 30,000 lives
25:59 in Ghana were lost as a result of pollution. That's about 16% of all deaths annually
26:08 as a result of pollution. So the other question you ask is how do we deal with this?
26:17 First of all, I think we need to explore some of our locally available materials to solve this.
26:27 Experiments have been done in several universities, including KNUST, on how to use biochar,
26:35 use natural clays and mineral deposits that we have in abundance,
26:43 indigenous technologies using clay filtration, a point of use, all of which will remove
26:50 heavy metals from the water. But it's also important to realize that prevention is better
26:58 than cure. We don't wait for the water to be poisoned before we start throwing our arms in
27:05 the air. The previous report said this is an issue, but unfortunately they did not explore
27:15 what is the alternative. Because if most of the sachet water producers are using Ghana Water
27:22 Company water as their source before they create the sachets, we have no recourse, we have nowhere
27:30 to go to. So we have to stop contamination of our water bodies. We need to test the wells and
27:37 boreholes, especially those in the mining areas, to see how far they're exceeding the limits.
27:45 And we need to raise awareness of the impacts of heavy metal pollution, especially in those
27:52 communities that are high in Ghanam Sea activity. We also have another source of lead and heavy
28:00 metals, and that is from the processing of e-waste. I know government has tried to make some
28:07 improved measures to prevent this, but we still do not appreciate the long-term impacts
28:17 all of these pollutants are having on our populations. In such a way, we are mortgaging
28:24 the future of our children because of short-term greed and commercial gain. It's something that
28:31 we need to address as soon as possible, and this is something that has to be done nationally.
28:37 I don't think we should focus on any one particular entry point into the system,
28:46 because we're also getting heavy metals and pesticides through the consumption of food.
28:51 We need to take a step back and have a holistic solution on how do we reduce the amount of
29:00 pollution that we are getting in our bodies. Thankfully, Stanley Marty is here with us.
29:06 Stanley, you've had cause to complain about some of these pollutions in the source of water
29:13 you treat for us to get flowing in our taps. What is our situation as we speak?
29:20 Thank you very much.
29:30 The situation hasn't changed much. We are still polluting our riverbodies
29:41 and I think the situation is getting more dire and more terrible than it was.
29:50 But as a company, we are doing our best to treat the water to meet the drinking standards for
30:01 consumers. I think that I want to urge all researchers to create a platform for some
30:13 discussion and some brainstorming on their findings. Anytime they do some of these things or
30:25 establish some of these findings in their research, make all of us aware that yes,
30:31 water is such that you find a lot of compounds in them, even after treatment. But then are the
30:41 levels harmful for human consumption? No. If the levels are such that it will be harmful for human
30:49 consumption, trust the Ghana Water Company Limited to shut down the treatment plant.
30:54 This is not the first time we are doing that. We have been doing that all along. Anytime we
31:02 treat water and the levels of contamination or the levels of some compounds in the water are
31:10 such that they are not safe for consumption, we shut down the treatment plant. We have two
31:15 standards for treating water. We have the WHO standards and then we have the Ghana Standards
31:20 Authority standards, which is higher than that of the WHO. As a company, we try to do better than
31:26 the WHO. I think that Professor Gording and Dr. Amwesi have alluded to that fact that the levels
31:38 we have in our water are currently not dangerous. But the fear actually is that as illegal mining
31:47 continues, we may get to a point where they may be very dangerous for us. When we get to that point,
31:53 the question remains, is Ghana Water ready to deal with that? Do you have what it takes
31:59 to deal with that challenge if we get there?
32:06 Hello, Stanley.
32:06 Aisha, if we get to the point where we are unable to treat the water to meet the drinking standards,
32:18 we shut the treatment plant down. Okay, so Ghana Water, there's no way we'll pump in
32:23 unwholesome water for people to consume. Anytime we are unable to treat the water to that level,
32:29 we just shut it down. This must be a caution to all of us and then those who are involved
32:35 in illegal, I'm saying. The fear of them shouldn't put all of us into this mess.
32:40 Okay, we need water to consume and to stay safe, stay healthy, so we can be productive for our
32:49 nation. We can't allow a few people to hold all of us to one stop. Seriously,
32:56 for our policies, if we cannot meet the standards, we shut it down. Thank you, Aisha.
33:03 Dr. Amwesi, you've been listening to this conversation and of course, you indicated
33:09 that the levels as we have right now, it's not something we should worry about, but definitely,
33:15 if we do not stop polluting our environment and our water bodies, we certainly will get to that
33:20 point where we'll all be running helter-skelter. How do you propose or suggest that we deal with
33:28 this critical situation going forward? Well, thanks for that question, Aisha. I think that's
33:35 a really important point that Professor Gordon made. This has to do with beyond reaching that
33:43 point where it becomes unwholesome for consumption. Stanley has also clearly reiterated what we both
33:49 said earlier, which is that the Ghana Water Company at this stage is not at a point where
33:56 the water is unwholesome for consumption and they will not supply water when it's unwholesome for
34:01 consumption. The good thing is that they have the equipment to be able to detect the levels.
34:05 This is assured. But the problem, which Professor Gordon mentioned, is the cost involved in
34:11 producing wholesome water is increasing. And if the cost is going up, we already know the economic
34:17 situation, the cost of production goes higher, it has implications, especially for those in the lower
34:24 socioeconomic brackets. It has implications for the cost of doing business and so on and so forth.
34:31 So one may argue that the so-called gains from mining will be completely eroded by the costs
34:38 that would be incurred in trying to purify this water. To the solutions which you asked about,
34:48 Professor Gordon also mentioned again that we have some locally appropriate technologies
34:54 to be able to do this, which can chelate some of these, or shall I say to use a layman's term,
35:00 to amass together some of these heavy metals and take them out. Very simple, cheap. This is a time
35:07 to explore some of these. And then also, the next step will be to equip the Ghana Water Company
35:14 with the tools that are needed should we exceed these thresholds to be able to remove these heavy
35:20 metals. The wiser thing to do, the wiser thing to do will be primary prevention. Stop the water
35:26 from getting polluted. This problem is not only in Ghana. Even in the US, they've had serious
35:33 problems with water flowing from taps, which is contaminated with heavy metals. They've had
35:38 congenital anomalies and big problems, health issues with water that has been contaminated.
35:44 So far in Ghana, we've not had any water coming from our taps that has these heavy metals. So
35:49 what you're doing right now, Aisha, is part of the solution. Start making noise now,
35:53 because otherwise we are mortgaging our future big time and it will not be worth it.
35:58 I'm grateful, gentlemen, for your time. Dr. Jonah Mwisi, Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department
36:04 of Global Health School of Public Health at KNUSC. Professor Chris Gordon is an environmental
36:11 scientist with special interest in biodiversity, and we're also joined by Stanley Marty,
36:18 who is Communications Manager for the Ghana Water Company Limited. That documentary actually
36:24 shows at 8.30pm on the JOIN News channel. Do make a date. Let's get on to other stories.
36:31 Government insists it has not missed the target of the IMF bailout. It is unclear when the IMF
36:42 board will approve the release of the money. But speaking on the probe last night,
36:48 Minister of State or other finance ministry Dr. Amin Adams maintains there's no delay,
36:54 as he assures the money is expected between last week of November and first week of December.
37:00 We're hoping to have this agreement soon, and the next one should happen in the last
37:07 week of November to the first week of December. Last week of November to the first week of
37:13 December. That's when we are getting the next 600 million tranche? That is dependent on when
37:17 the fund board sits and approves it, but we don't expect it to go beyond that.
37:23 Well, we are confident of getting the approval, because we have done our part. And remember when
37:31 we signed the staff level agreement, the IMF MD indicated in the press release that Ghana has
37:40 done its part. We have done our part. And therefore, we are waiting for our creditors to also
37:46 do their part. And the indication we are getting is that they will do their part. And they will do
37:51 it successfully and favorably for Ghana to secure the second tranche.
38:00 We'll be bringing you more on this IMF discussion on midday. Now, let's get to Kepco's,
38:06 because Mfansipim school is now cutting the help of parents to bail them out of their power crisis
38:12 after the government devolted on payments. Headmaster of the school, Ebenezer Kodne-Edo,
38:17 in a speech at the school speech and prize giving day revealed the school is in distress
38:22 and can currently not afford to pay electricity bills. He disclosed that out of 204,000 cities
38:29 accumulated between January and October this year, the government has only paid half with
38:34 an outstanding amount of 115,000 Ghana cities. Listen. We don't have enough furniture in the
38:43 classrooms. Currently, we need 250 unidesks to ensure that our students are well seated.
38:51 These students are using mattresses in the classrooms, which is not comfortable.
38:56 Headmaster of Mfansipim school, Ebenezer Kodne-Edo, sharing some of the challenges the
39:01 school has been grappling with, ranging from the payment of prepaid to the general issues
39:07 of infrastructure. He warned parents in the various houses of the students to lend their support.
39:14 High cost of electricity. We are unpaid. And we always struggle to purchase power.
39:21 This year alone, from January to October 31st, we have spent 204,000 cities unpaid.
39:31 Fortunately, the government has given us 89,000 Ghana cities, leaving 115,000 cities.
39:44 This is indeed very worrying and frustrating as a school.
39:49 Iteration of solar panels on various blocks would be a better option for us. Meanwhile,
39:55 I wish upon all parents of various houses to support the purchase of power in these houses.
40:04 Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, Right Reverend Dr Paul Kwabena-Buafu
40:10 warned management of the school to continue to maintain the standards and the principles of the
40:14 school. But it will always be a standard here at all times. And the board would want to plead
40:22 with the management that our Christian values, our Christian principles are not left behind.
40:31 Even in this age where we seem to acquire knowledge at the expense of morality,
40:39 we pray that the infants will stand tall and churn out nature students who come out with their heart,
40:47 who come out with their love for nature, who come out with their love for humanity,
40:55 who come out with their love that is beyond the artificial intelligence.
41:00 Emoba 93 and head of the medical intensive care unit at the Kolebu Teaching Hospital, Dr Yao
41:07 Oforieje want the educational system to be more inclined towards technology so the country's
41:12 industrialization drive could be supported. We must move beyond short-term fixes and embrace
41:19 a holistic approach that equips our students with the skills and knowledge needed to navigate
41:27 our ever-evolving digital landscape. It is imperative that we introduce digital technology
41:37 at the early stages of education during the formative years of our children
41:42 when their cerebral capacity has no limits. It is not enough to simply introduce technology in our
41:51 classrooms. We must empower our educators with the tools and training necessary to maximize
42:00 its potential. The Infantry Pim School has been holding its 147th anniversary that got many old
42:07 students and the various stakeholders of the school joined them to take stock of the activities
42:12 of the school in the course of time. Reporting for Joy News, Richard Kweje Nyakon. Back here in Accra,
42:21 the New Patriotic Party has fired four of its members for publicly endorsing an independent
42:27 candidate other than its flag bearer Dr. Mahama Dubaomia. The four, namely Hopsin Adoye, Yao
42:34 Boabenga Samwa, Nana Ohedingto and Boniface Abubakar Sadiq, are said to have breached
42:40 the party's constitution. In a statement signed by the General Secretary Justin Kodiak Frempong,
42:47 it entreated other members to take note and focus on activities that will help the party win the
42:53 2024 election. Here are effects of the statement. It says the leadership of the NPP has taken notice
42:59 of recent activities of Hopsin Adoye, Yao Boabenga Samwa, Nana Ohedingto and Boniface Abubakar Sadiq,
43:06 which includes publicly endorsing the candidate of a person other than the duly elected presidential
43:13 candidate of the party, His Excellency Dr. Alhaji Mahama Dubaomia. The statement continues to say
43:21 in spite of their flagrant breach of the party's constitution, particularly Article 35A4 and 391,
43:31 the afore-named men still hold themselves out as members of the NPP. For the avoidance of doubt,
43:38 Article 3 clause 5A and 4 of the NPP constitution enjoins all members of the party to abide
43:47 by and publicly uphold the decisions of the party. And it further states in addition,
43:54 Article 391 of the constitution provides as follows, a member of the party who stands as
44:00 an independent candidate against officially elected member of the party or who joins or
44:06 declares his or her support for another political party or for an independent candidate when the
44:12 party has sponsored a candidate in a general or by-election automatically forfeits his or her
44:18 membership of the party. And that statement is signed by General Secretary of the NPP,
44:26 Justin Kudya. And still on the NPP, the party has elected Dr. Rashid Kwesi Echwafo as its
44:34 parliamentary candidate for the Jumaku Enyan-Esiam constituency. Dr. Echwafo was unanimously endorsed
44:41 by the delegates in that constituency after going unopposed. It's the second time Dr. Echwafo is
44:47 leading the NPP to the polls in the Jumaku Enyan-Esiam constituency, having lost to the
44:53 incumbent MP and minority leader, Dr. Kassiel Atufosin in 2020. Dr. Rashid Echwafo believes
45:02 this is the right time for the NPP to snatch that seat from the opposition NDC.
45:09 When it was announced that the party has opened nominations for us to show up to contest,
45:15 it became rumoured that my constituency polling station executives and electoral coordinators
45:22 wanted me as their parliamentary candidate. I thought it was just one of those rumours.
45:26 After the coordinators picked up the nomination forms for me, they went ahead to pay for the
45:32 forms and help me submit. This is the climax of it and it means that now I have the mandate to
45:37 start working in the constituency as a parliamentary candidate, which I'm going to start as soon as we
45:42 are going to push and push and push. This means the world to me actually. One of the things that
45:48 we have to do, we need to do, is to make sure that all the cracks, all the loopholes we left
45:57 on short, I may not be able to say the specifics because then I'll begin my stuff out, but one of
46:00 the things that we'll do is that we are going to mend the cracks. Because I think that we lost the
46:06 2020 elections largely because of the cracks in our system. Once we are able to mend those cracks,
46:13 I am sure and confident that we shall win. I'm excited that I feel very
46:18 elderly people of our party, those that won us the seat in 1996, we are here. Those that won us in
46:24 2000, for the whole year. What it means is that for the very first time we are going to be united
46:29 to fight and fought for the constituency and I assure you that I am ready, I am committed to this
46:35 and I will not rest a day. What's the live on JOYNEY's desk, we'll take a break and we'll
46:41 return, we'll bring you everything you need to know in business.
46:44 Hi, good morning, welcome to business. My name is Darrell Kwau. Angle Gold Ashanti Oboasi Mine
46:54 is investing in educational development within its catchment by creating a rich pool of human
47:00 resources for the mine's sustainability and other services necessary for development. The company
47:06 has cut short for the construction of an examination printing centre for the Oboasi municipality aimed
47:12 at improving academic performance. The company believes the availability of a well-educated
47:17 workforce would ensure sustainability of the mining industry. Here's more.
47:21 After its revitalisation in 2019, the Angle Gold Ashanti Oboasi Mine has committed to boosting the
47:30 economy of the mining community across diverse sectors including education. Under its 10-year
47:37 socio-economic development plan, the mine has carried out numerous community developments.
47:42 The latest is the construction of the examination printing centre for the Oboasi municipality.
47:47 The 2.4 million projects expected to be completed in four months will be the sole
47:53 exams paper production hub for the municipality. Jacob Edmond-Akwa, a senior manager for project
47:59 service and business developments at AGE. "We are helping as part of our 10-year socio-economic
48:05 development plan. We are helping education in the municipality. It includes a lot of things that
48:11 we've started already. We are building a robotics centre for the Oboasi secondary technical school
48:18 for example. We are also training teachers in many leadership programs. So far we've trained about
48:25 525 teachers. We also provide learning materials. We've provided about 30,000 learning materials for
48:34 the various schools in the municipality." In the preceding year, the Oboasi municipality
48:40 accumulated 94% pass rate for the standard basic examinations, BEC. Municipal Director of Education
48:48 Alfred Coombson is optimistic the new facility would shoot up the performance. "I wouldn't say
48:53 we're facing much challenge because parents in Oboasi municipality now take this opportunity
48:58 to appreciate the effort they are putting in. When it comes to examination, parents from time to time
49:04 help the schools. When I say parents, the parent association, they help the schools
49:08 to print questions for their awards. So now that the printing centre is in, it is going to
49:14 actually save parents the cost of printing examination." "What should we expect from
49:19 results after this kind of test?" "Yes, already Oboasi municipality has been churning out good
49:24 results in examination. As it stands now, as of 2022, our BEC performance pass rate was 94%.
49:32 Now with this machine in place, we expect nothing less than 100%." The company also
49:39 cuts off for the construction of a 3.5 million Ghana cedis chips compound at Epitikoko community
49:45 which is to be completed in seven months. For JOY News, my name is Emmanuel Brightquick.
49:50 Now entrepreneurs, both aspiring and seasoned, have been asked to go beyond merely setting up
49:56 a business to instead seek out the keys to business triumph through the acquisition of
50:01 effective marketing tactics. Here's more from a one-day business seminar organized by
50:07 the Muslim Executive Foundation for the Muslim Community. Mahmood Mohamed Nourideen has more.
50:13 Sheikh Abdel Mohsen Bafi emphasizes the significance of choosing the right location
50:20 for a business. He says consumer preferences and the success of a business often hinges on
50:27 it proximity to potential customers. Understanding the market demands is also crucial for tailoring
50:33 products or services that will resonate with the target audience.
50:42 Before you establish a business such as a lab, consider whether the people in the region truly
50:47 desire it. If they don't need it, it will become a waste. Always ensure that there is a supply reaction.
50:53 Sheikh Bafi delves into the art of deep thinking and observation, stating that successful
51:08 entrepreneurs process an innate curiosity and an ability to see beyond the obvious without
51:16 carefully planning and a thorough understanding of the business landscape. There are some businesses
51:22 that lose more if you do not exercise caution before entering them. Sheikh Bafi warns
51:27 entrepreneurs might find themselves unable to make a living before they even realize.
51:33 The only way to end differentiation is to be able to see beyond the obvious.
51:40 Dr. Abdusamed Muntaka, a lecturer at the KNUSD Business School, emphasizes the importance of forward thinking and flexibility in business strategies to stay competitive in today's dynamic market.
51:53 He urges entrepreneurs to plan ahead and anticipate future trends, emphasizing the
51:58 significance of not falling behind in the fast-paced business world.
52:03 Be rigid about what you must do and what you must avoid. You don't have to interject after putting
52:12 up these ideas, just ensure it functions properly. For example, if it is a requirement that you do
52:18 not sell on credit, be certain that you do not default even through family members.
52:23 "I am not a creditor. I am a woman."
52:29 A seminar organized by the Muslim Executive Foundation focused on the team implementing
52:34 effective marketing strategies for competitive edge. It also featured Sadiq Abdur Razak, a professional in business consultancy.
52:43 In a business setting, you must be strategic so that you don't mistakenly copy someone. You don't
52:51 start a business because someone else is doing it. You have to know your path and what you want to achieve.
52:56 A seminar attracted attendees from Muslim communities in the Ashanti region.
53:04 And that's it for this segment. I shall be back to wrap up.
53:21 And that's how we wrap up the bulletin this morning. My name is Aishwarya Prime.
53:24 Log on to myjoenline.com. There's more than news and updates of all the developing stories. See you again at 12.
53:31 [Music]
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