The General Secretary(GS) of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Lawyer Justin Frimpong Kodua, has visited Mr. Richard Ahiagba, the party’s Communications Director at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH).
On his Facebook wall, Lawyer Justin Kodua wrote…
Earlier today, I visited Mr. Richard Ahiagba, the party’s Communications Director, at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) following an accident he had on his way to Kumasi for a party programme.
Mr. Ahiagba is in a stable condition and is responding positively to treatment.
The NPP expresses its heartfelt gratitude to all well-meaning Ghanaians for their overwhelming love and well wishes.
The attending doctors have advised limiting visitors to ensure Mr. Ahiagba receives adequate rest during his recovery.
The party appreciates everyone’s earnest prayers and support during this time.By:
President of the Ga Traditional Council, His Royal Majesty, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II has accepted the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) invitation to serve as the Special Guest of Honor for the upcoming official launch of the Free Annual Health Check, an initiative of the Chief Executive, Dr Dacosta Aboagye
This came to light on July 25, 2024, when a delegation led by Dr. DaCosta-Aboagye visited the Ga Mantse at his private residence in Accra, to pay a courtesy call on him and officially invited His Royal Majesty to the event.
The event, which is scheduled to take place on Monday, July 29, 2024, at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra is under the theme,“Addressing noncommunicable and chronic diseases in Ghana.” The policy will offer Ghanaians an opportunity to benefit from a free health check in the month of their birth at a cost to be borne by the NHIS.
Some scenes from the event
The Ga Mantse, His Royal Majesty, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II assured the NHIA leadership of his patronage and urged Dr. Dacosta Aboagye to keep up his good works.
The NHIA Boss, Dr. DaCosta-Aboagye thanked the Ga Mantse for his exemplary leadership and assured His Royal Majesty of the organization’s determination to organize free registration of people onto the NHIS during the 2024 Homowo festival celebration.
Dr.Aboagye Dacosta in a chat with Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II
He outlined his four-point vision which includes enrolling children aged six to fourteen in the NHIS and issuing Ghana cards to them, expanding the NHIS Benefit Package by incorporating an annual basic medical health check-up for the Scheme’s active members and the commitment to institutionalizing mandatory health insurance for all visitors entering Ghana.
Dr. DaCosta Aboagye emphasized the importance of providing accessible and affordable healthcare to all citizens, without the burden of additional fees (illegal charges) by some credentialled healthcare providers.
The Gyinyase campus of Kumasi High School (KUHIS), one of the most recognisable Senior High Secondary Schools in Ghana 🇬🇭 became the center of attraction over the weekend.
The school climaxed its 60th Anniversary celebrations with a grand durbar on Saturday with many dignitaries including the Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, Deputy Majority Leader and MP for Asokwa, Madam Patricia Appiagyei, Asokwa Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Akwannuasah Gyimah as well as the Bantamahene, Baffour Owusu Amankwatia and many others participating.
Starting the program with a splendid cadet display interspersed with cultural displays and melodious choir songs to welcome guests including old students, affiliated partners and visitors as well as other invited personalities.
Planning Committee Chairman:
Chairman of the 60th Anniversary Planning Committee, Abrante3 Rev Peter Owusu Mensah welcoming guets and participants said it was heartwarming to see that the 60th anniversary was ending after a year long planning.
“I note with happiness how far we have come to this day and to see all of us gathered here to climax the 60th anniversary in such a grand style speak volumes of the work the planning committee put in achieving this feat”, Abrante3 Owusu Mensah stated.
He commended all the planning commitee members for their commitment as well as all stakeholders including the government and its officials to ensuring projects earmarked before the anniversary got off to a good start.
Education Minister:
Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, an old student and Minister for Education commended the organizers for pulling off a great program and showing determination to build a sports complex for Kumasi hIgh School.
The Minister announced that the government through the GETFUND Secretariat would commit funds to complete the sports complex it has earmarked as a monument for being 60 years old.
He noted that work would soon begin on the project since the drawings and architectural designs had been made ready.
“Kumasi High School deserves the best of everything since the school’s academic performance shows for same and for us in government we will do our part to resource and make Secondary School Education conform to modern standards across the world”, the Minister stated.
Asokwa MP:
Member of Parliament for Asokwa, Patricia Appiagyei thanked the authorities at Kumasi High School and its stakeholders for ensuring the school maintained high academic standards.
She promised to resource the school with 40 computers to ensure ICT courses are carried out with ease.
Dr.Osei Yaw Adutwum in a group photograph
Chairman:
Dr Kwame Adom Frimpong, immediate past Chairman for the Public Interest and Accountability Commission (PIAC), who chaired the event paid glowing tribute to all stakeholders for ensuring Kumasi High School chalked academic successes.
He urged the school to keep its focus in training and educating students to become the best in their fields after Senior High School.
Bantamahene:
Baffuor Owusu Amankwatia, Bantamahene who represented the Asantehene, commended KUHIS for shining so bright with its academic prowess.
He, however,charged the school authorities to lessen the stress on the students by taking them through therapies that could make them balanced persons while in school.
Headmaster:
Headmaster of KUHIS, Mr Benjamin Tawiah Twum thanked the school’s management, Board of Directors and the Parent Association (P.A) as well as the Old Students for showing commitment to seeing optimum academic performances.
He stated that the school had been having higher grades in all courses offered at the school with the least in the last 4 years being 85% pass rates.
“I am excited to report that Kumasi High for the past four years has beeen recording high grades in the WASSCE with 85% pass rates and it is supported by sterling performances in other educational competitions and as i speak Kumasi High is the best in debates in Ashanti, winning the Luv fm High School Debates in two successive occasions in 2023 and 2024 and to make it more glorious KUHIS is the current regional champions in the National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ) competition.
NUGS President:
Daniel Oppong Kyeremeh, the President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) and a former student, in an interview commended Kumasi High School for rising beyond the odds that stood against it many years ago.
He urged the authorities to strive to give the best education to the students currently on campus.
Anniversary highlight:
Launching the anniversary magazine that has everything KUHIS including personalities, academic laurels and sporting achievements, Dr Henry Kwabena Kokofu challenged the school to maintain the high standards it has set for itself.
The school headmaster, the MCE for Asokwa, the Chairman of the anniversary planning committee and the chairman for the event as well as the MP for Asokwa and some old students later cut a cake 🎂 to signal the climax of the 60th Anniversary celebrations.By Michael Ofosu-Afriyie, Kumasi
African wives in the diaspora have been advised to desist from the archaic way of using sex as a bargaining tool in their marriages.
This unholy act has caused a lot of havoc in marriages sometimes compelling husbands to seek for sexual satisfaction outside their marital homes.
Mr. Emmanuel Kesse, a discussant at the maiden edition of a joint program organized by the Men’s and Women’s Ministries of New Covenant United Methodist Church (NCUMC) in Fairfield Ohio, dubbed, ‘Filling Each Other’s Tank’ expressed worry about the lukewarm attitude of African wives especially those in the diaspora when it comes to matters of sex and romance unlike their black American counterparts who are always battle ready.
Responding to a question by Dr. Nana Kissiwa-Arthur Mensah, moderator of the program on how to fill each other’s tank sexually, Emmanuel Kesse did not mince words in pouring out his frustration.
“Sometimes, things get so bad to the extent that you have to appease your wive in order to get what’s legitimately yours. But that’s not sustainable. They don’t initiate anything and when you do, they just quench the fire. In fact, that’s very frustrating”.
Whilst the members of the Women’s Ministry shared myriad of reasons that dwindle their sexual drive to explore as expected by their husbands ranging from stress from work and household chores, majority of the Men’s Fellowship members seconded the view of Mr. Emmanuel Kesse.
Mrs. Dorcas Boakye, a Nurse Practitioner and a discussant, blamed the situation on African cultural beliefs.
“Normally when an African woman explores like a wounded lion ready to devour as expected by our husbands, she is tagged as a spoilt girl so it compels them to be laid-back or give them the traditional missionary style to make us look more innocent”
Mrs. Florence Esi Jonfiah, a member of the Women’s Ministry contributing to the discussion could not fathom why most wives behave as if sex is a man’s benefit when as a matter of fact, the benefits it brings to them is unquantifiable.
“Look let’s not pretend, we equally need sex just like our men need it. For us, apart from the many health benefits including stress release, increased hormone production, vaginal health, improved circulation among others, the ecstatic moments alone is unimaginable”
‘Filling Each Other’s Tank’, a program organized by the NCUMC Men’s and Women’s Ministries over the weekend in Fairfield Ohio sought to explore ways to attend to the needs of spouses and families in order to build a happy Christian home.
This was a departure from both Ministries having separate meetings once in a while to deliberate on their spiritual growth and personal upliftment.
Areas explored included but not limited to intimacy, finances, emotional and psychological needs, raising kids in the diaspora and extended families.
The President of New Covenant United Methodist Church Women’s Ministry, Dr. Edith Gyan, impressed about the organization and the impact of the program hinted of similar events in the subsequent years to try and find solutions to major setbacks in diasporan relationships and families.
Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka Chairman Wontumi
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has urged former President John Dramani Mahama to accept the ‘debate challenge’ so that he can have the opportunity to expose the so-called lies of the Vice-President and NPP Presidential Candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
He said the debate would provide a good platform for the former president to adequately substantiate the claims by him and his party members that Dr. Bawumia is a pathological liar.
“I think Mr. Mahama has a very fine opportunity to sink Dr. Bawumia once and for all, and I will encourage him to accept the challenge without hesitation,” Chairman Wontumi stressed.
The NPP Regional Chairman said he was ready to quit the ruling party to join the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) if Mr. Mahama accepted the ‘debate challenge’ and succeeded in exposing Vice-President Dr. Bawumia as a liar.
There have been loud calls for the NDC flagbearer to accede to the challenge thrown at him by Dr. Bawumia to engage in a one-on-one debate on the economy.
Although the opposition party has jettisoned the challenge, describing it as a bait, many observers hold the view that it will be a good platform to assess the two leading candidates prior to the crucial elections, come December 7, 2024.
Some incorrect funeral-related expressions have become very common and popular in the Ghanaian society.
I would, therefore, like to highlight and correct them to set the record straight. Mediocrity in both oral and written English should not be encouraged.
To start, I cannot fathom why the noun ‘obituary’ is commonly written as titles on funeral posters and billboards in the country. Are we not doing the wrong thing?
The Oxford Dictionary defines obituary as ‘an article about somebody’s life and achievements, that is printed in a newspaper soon after they have died’.
File photo
Based on this definition, I think it is wrong to run funeral posters and billboards under the title ‘Obituary’. These posters and billboards usually announce funeral arrangements.
The following funeral-related expressions are incorrect:
Laying in state
The correct expression is ‘lying in state’. Besides, it is incorrect to hyphenate it, as in ‘lying-in-state’.
The original expression is ‘lie in state’ which means ‘to place the dead body of an important person on view in a public place before being buried’.
The progressive tense of the verb ‘to lie’ is ‘lying’ and not ‘laying’. ‘Laying’ is the progressive tense of the verb ‘to lay’ which usually functions transitively. In other words, it takes an object. Eg: Relatives are laying wreaths on the grave.
This mistake (laying in state) is commonly found on posters and billboards that announce funeral arrangements.
One-week observation
We should rather say or write ‘One-week observance’.
Observation is the act of watching somebody or something carefully for a period of time, while observance is an act performed as part of a religious or traditional ceremony.
Based on their respective definitions, ‘One-week observance’ is correct, while ‘One-week observation’ is incorrect.
One-week celebration
Another common mistake is ‘One-week celebration’. We normally celebrate an event with joy, not sorrow.
In fact, losing a relative forever is very painful; hence, the funeral of a relative is a sorrowful event which does not call for a celebration.
Call to Glory
The correct expression is ‘Called to Glory’. Instead of writing ‘he or she has been called to glory’, we simply write ‘Called to Glory’.
Similarly, instead of writing ‘he or she has gone too soon’, we simply write ‘Gone too Soon’, not ‘Go too Soon’ like ‘Call to Glory’.
‘Called’ and ‘gone’ are the past participles of the verbs ‘to call’ and ‘to go’ respectively. Logically, the past participles of the verbs should be used in both expressions.
The expression ‘A Call to Glory’ is also correct. In this expression, ‘Call’ is a noun and not a verb.
Last respect
The correct expression is ‘last respects’. Don’t forget to add an ‘s’ to ‘respect’. We show respect but pay respects.
This expression is an idiom, and it means ‘to show one’s respect or affection for someone who has just died by coming to see his or her body or grave’. Eg: He came from Germany to Ghana to pay his last respects (not: respect) to his father.
Wake-keeping
The following sentence is incorrect: There will be no wake-keeping. The correct expression is ‘wake’ and not ‘wake-keeping’; omit ‘keeping’.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, wake is an occasion before or after a funeral when people gather to remember the dead person, traditionally held the night before the funeral, to watch over the body before it is buried.
Internment
The correct word is ‘interment’. Due to the similar spellings of ‘internment’ and ‘interment’, many mistake ‘internment’ for ‘interment’ on funeral posters and billboards.
Interment is the act of burying a dead person, while internment is the act of putting someone in prison for political or military reasons, especially during a war, as in: he was threatened with internment in a concentration camp.
MTN Ghana today announced that it has completed 80% of its planned network upgrade across the country, which commenced in June 2024 and expected to end in August 2024. The upgrade involves the replacement of existing mobile network infrastructure with more efficient and environmentally friendly equipment.
The Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of MTN Ghana, Thomas Motlepa, indicated the commitment of the business to delivering unparalleled network service for customers. He said, “Our customers remain at the core of our business. This upgrade will ensure that we have a more reliable and robust networkand help to achieve network virtualization and increased capacity for optimum service delivery.”
In expressing his gratitude to stakeholders and customers, Mr. Motlepa noted “We are thankful to our valued customers and stakeholders for their patience and support during the period especially as we experienced some intermittent network disruptions.”
The modernization of the network is expected to be completed by the end of August 2024. Customers who experience any disruption to any service can call MTN toll free number 100 or reach out via any of MTN’s social media handles.
MTN is on track to invest $1 billion in its network by 2025 as promised.
The company continues to expand its coverage, improve customer data experience, and promote sustainable practices.
End.
Media Contacts:
Adwoa Wiafe
Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer
Georgina Asare Fiagbenu
Corporate Communications Senior Manager
Email: MTNGhana.MediaOffic
The leading telecommunication giant in the country, MTN Ghana, has held its annual editors and stakeholders forum in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional capital, to solicit the necessary feedback from major stakeholders and also showcase its achievements.
The forum, which was held on Wednesday, 24th July 2024, at Lancaster Hotel, brought together senior editors across the region and key stakeholders to review the activities of the company as part of its annual forum aimed at getting necessary feedback to improve its services to customers.
Some scenes from the forum
The Head of this year’s Ashanti Editors & Stakeholders Forum, who doubles as the General Manager of the Northern Business District, Mr Nii Adotey Mingle, revealed that MTN Foundation, over the years, had spent a total amount of GH¢106.5 million on social impact projects.
According to him, the foundation has successfully initiated and completed 166 social projects that have impacted over 4.5 million lives across the country.
Mr.Nii Adotey Mingle speaking at the forum
A section of participants
Mr. Mingle gave the breakdown of the projects as follows:
Educational Sector – 90,
Healthcare – 55,
Economic Empowerment – 15 &
Community Support Initiatives – 6.
He said as part of the company’s commitment to incorporate digital capability and skills training into its programme in order to achieve the foundation’s 75% target by the year 2025, their strategic refocus had ensured completion of a number of digital projects, including the Mamfe Girls Robotics lab, Yilo Krobo 40-seater ICT project, Wiamoase ICT facility-equipment, among others.
According to him, the company’s community support programmes centred on equipping the youth, women, persons with disabilities with digital skills training and interventions, such as vocational skills training, and educational and health infrastructure will be carried out next year.
The Head of Technical in the Northern Business sector, Mr Charles Osei Ajoto, bemoaned the continued fibre cuts and implored all stakeholders, especially the media, to educate Ghanaians to help prevent the fibre cuts.
The Ministry of Health has responded to the allegations made by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, regarding a $34.9 million ambulance spare parts deal.
In a statement released on Thursday, July 25, the Ministry clarified that the contract was originally signed by the now-defunct Ministry of Special Development Initiatives with Service Auto Group Ghana Limited.
The contract covered after-sales service and maintenance for 307 Mercedes Benz Sprinter 315 CDI ambulances secured by the government in 2019.
The response comes after Mr Ablakwa raised an alarm about possible corruption in the deal for which reason he has proceeded to petition the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
The former Deputy Education Minister alleged that the deal was hastily approved by the Finance Minister five days before his removal from office and claimed that $10 million had already been paid to the company.
Mr Ablakwa says his actions seek to protect the remaining funds for the nation. He questioned the legitimacy of Service Auto Group Ghana Limited, noting that the company was incorporated on April 24, 2020—one year after the ambulances were commissioned in 2019.
The outspoken MP raised concerns about the company’s capacity to service the ambulances and was surprised that the government engaged them despite serious findings by the Auditor-General that questioned the company’s credibility.
He has also linked President Akufo-Addo’s two daughters to the company in question, alleging that his checks indicate that one of the directors of the company is a close business associate to Akufo-Addo’s daughters.
Read also: $34.9m Ambulance Spare Parts Deal: OSP acknowledges Ablakwa’s petition
Without responding specifically to the corruption allegations, the Ministry of Health explained that the Finance Minister acted only upon the request of the Health Ministry after the Ministry of Special Development Initiatives was dissolved.
“The Ministry of Health would like to clarify that the Service Provider, Ghana Auto Group Limited, has not been paid an amount of $34.9 million as widely reported.”
“The Ministry of Health is committed to ensuring a sustainable maintenance regime for all fleets procured for the National Ambulance Service to provide reliable, efficient, and safe emergency medical services,” an excerpt of the statement said.
The Ministry added that it is ready to support any effort that will bring further clarity to this issue in the interest of the public.Full statement attached below:
