The Upper West Region is witnessing a concerning rise in cerebrospinal meningitis (CSM) cases, with infections climbing from 42 to 60 and fatalities reaching 14.
Health officials have attributed the increasing death toll to factors such as misdiagnoses, delays in seeking treatment, and the high cost of medical care.
In response, authorities are intensifying efforts to contain the outbreak, emphasizing the need for early medical intervention and considering free treatment for affected individuals.
Dr. Damien Punguyire, the Regional Health Director, explained that many cases are initially mistaken for malaria, leading to inappropriate treatments.
“For the numbers increasing, we are not too worried about the numbers, but what we are worried about is the number of deaths. Because like I mentioned, this is a germ that is living in our bodies, in our nose, in our throats and so on. And in normal circumstances, it won’t cause you diseases but when the conditions become unfavourable, that is the condition that has fertile grounds for the germ to now sip into your body and start manifesting meningitis,” he said.
Dr. Punguyire cautioned that patients often realize their condition is critical only when it is too late. He stressed the importance of early intervention and advised individuals diagnosed with malaria to seek further medical attention if symptoms persist or worsen within 12 to 24 hours.
“So what we can do is to avoid overcrowding, drink a lot of water so that your throats will remain wet and not cracked and above all, when you are feeling unwell with fever or your body is hot or neck pain, you visit the nearest health facility and then they will investigate and treat you. With that, nobody should die,” he emphasized.
Health authorities are urging residents to adhere to preventive measures, including reducing overcrowding and staying hydrated, to minimize the risk of infection.
Ghana is presently working to avert a food crisis amidst a prolonged dry spell that has adversely affected eight regions in the Northern part of Ghana.
These regions, Bono, Bono East, Oti, Northern, North East, Savannah, Upper East, and Upper West, contribute about 62% of the country’s grain production.
Due to the absence of irrigation to ensure continuous crop production, the government has placed an embargo on the export of grains to ensure the domestic demand is met.
Many citizens are now questioning the relevance of government’s flagship programme, One Village One Dam, which they believe, if it had been effective, would have averted the current crisis the country has found itself.
The government spent GH₵201,113,875.00 of the petroleum revenue to construct 285 dams under the flagship programme, One Village One Dam policy, research findings have revealed.
The research was conducted by the Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NORPRA), a Convener of Northern Coalition of Civil Society Organisations with funding support from the Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) as part of expenditure and performance tracking of the dams.
The findings titled; “Ghana’s Oil Money on Dried Dams” was made known to stakeholders in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region.”
The research’s purpose was to ascertain whether the dams constructed in the five regions of the north under the 1V1D policy were supporting all year-round irrigation activities as intended and the amount spent on them.
The research showed that averagely, government spent GH₵670,350.00 on each dam, an amount far higher than the GH₵250,000.00 stated by the government and noted in the contract award letters.
It also uncovered that GH₵10,064,250.00 of the Annual Budget Funding Amount was spent on paying consultancy services for construction supervision of the dams while payment for construction of some dams exceeded the contract sums.
Mr Bismarck Adongo Ayorogo, the Executive Director, NORPRA, who presented the findings, noted that although many of the dams were completed, they were not serving the intended purpose of supporting farmers to engage in dry season farming.
Mr Ayorogo noted that all the dams visited had dried up and farmers could not practice irrigation farming.
“The community members who participated in the focused group discussions and backed with community scorecards said the dams did not contribute to anything and when we visited the dams, almost all the dams were dried up, no single dam was functioning or having water and there was no dry season farming around any of the dams,” he said.
The findings also established that no audit report on the 1V1D projects was found, even though the government had stated in the 2018 Budget Statement and Economic Policies that the Audit Service was increasing its audit coverage on 1V1D to ascertain value for money.
It also revealed that the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA) with institutional capacity of dam construction did not lead in the design, construction, and supervision of the 1V1D projects and the community members were also not involved or consulted and that contributed to the poor implementation of the policy.
The findings therefore recommended that there be an audit into the 1V1D dams while review the policy and including the GIDA and Ministry of Food and Agriculture to ensure that dams were properly constructed to meet the objects of the increasing food security, reducing poverty, and creating jobs.
The government through the then Ministry of Special Development Initiatives in 2018 constructed earth dams as part of the pro-poor policies under the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP) to address regional imbalances, increase food security and jobs creation.
Mr Ayorogo expressed disappointment at the failed policy and called for attention to be paid towards revamping existing dams that were already supporting farmers to practice dry season farming.
Meanwhile, Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong, has clarified that the ongoing drought affecting parts of the country should not be viewed as a failure of the government’s ‘One Village, One Dam’ (1V1D) policy.
In his remarks, the Minister emphasized that the 1V1D initiative was not designed to address the broader irrigation challenges that farmers are currently facing.
“In the situation we find ourselves, what we need is irrigation. All the 574 dams were to hold rainwater and they have been extremely effective and never a failure,” he added.
He further clarified, “With the irrigation, it will require us to pump water from a big water source into a big canal or dam to hold the water.”
The Upper West Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Saanbaye Basilide Kangbere, has passed away at his home in Adjringano, Accra, on Friday, June 7, 2024.
Tanko Dauda Daniel, the Upper West Regional Secretary of the NPP, confirmed the sad news to ChannelOne News but noted that the party has yet to receive official communication from Dr. Kangbere’s family.
Dr. Kangbere, who passed away at the age of 76, had been battling renal health issues for some time. Following his demise, the first vice chairman of the NPP in the Upper West Region, Mr. Adul-Rahman Aziz, is expected to assume the role of Regional Chairman.
In 2022, Dr. Kangbere was reelected as the Upper West Regional Chairman of the NPP, narrowly defeating his main contender, Alhaji Mahama Toyina.
Dr. Kangbere secured 130 votes out of a total of 242 valid votes cast, while Mr. Toyina received 112 votes, contrary to earlier concerns about Dr. Kangbere’s potential defeat.
The Upper West Regional Police Command has announced the unfortunate passing of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr. John Kobina Baidoo.
ASP Baidoo served as a legal prosecutor in the legal and prosecution unit of the Upper West regional police headquarters, and he also took on the role of acting Wa district police commander.
According to a statement issued in Wa on August 1, 2023, and signed by the Upper West regional police commander, ACP Prince Gabriel Waabu, ASP John Kobina Baidoo passed away on Saturday, July 29, 2023.
He had been receiving medical treatment at the Upper West regional hospital in Wa for an undisclosed ailment when he sadly succumbed to it.
In light of this loss, the police administration has scheduled Saturday, August 5, 2023, for the one-week funeral observation to honor the late senior police officer.
ASP Baidoo’s contributions and service to the police force and the community will be remembered during this solemn occasion.
When I received the call to make a statement here today, I was initially stunned, then excited, and then really anxious. I asked myself, why me? But then I asked myself, why not me?
I am a veil-wearing Muslim woman from one of the smallest regions in Ghana; the Upper West, among one of the smallest ethnic groups in the country, the Wala. In many ways, I am a minority of a minority. In many spaces I’ve been in, I am often the exception and hardly the norm.
But that has never held me back. The more down the ladder I appear to be, the higher up the ladder I have always aspired to reach. I became one of the first from my immediate family to attain a university education and one of the first, or perhaps, the only woman from my community to have had a primetime voice on radio and television. My exposure and impact helped inspire many young women, particularly, Muslim girls across the country to pursue a career in media and journalism.
I have worked on many development projects to empower marginalised and underrepresented communities and am currently, a founding member of the Alliance for Women in Media Africa, inspired by a similar organisation in the US. Our young dynamic group of media women are working to advance the welfare and visibility of women in media and ensure that the voices, stories and images of African women and girls are equitably represented.
These examples are not cited to wallow in whatever modest successes I may have achieved, but to demonstrate how far I have come, from how far back I am coming from. I may have walked a few steps up to this platform today, but my journey, like the journey of several others, goes many steps back across multiple generations within many spaces, too numerous to mention.
But let me at least mention my maternal grandmother Alima, an enterprising generous woman who did not have any formal education but encouraged in her daughter an appetite for learning and put her in school. Let me talk about my mother, Hajia Rahmat, who after numerous domestic chores at home had to go out to sell food before she could go to school. She was often late, but she kept going.
My mother says she often walked barefoot to school under the hot sun which will make the ground heat up and burn the soles of her feet. When it became too hot, she would find a patch of grass for a moment’s respite. But she kept going. She became the first woman within her immediate family to attain higher education by progressing to the training college and becoming a teacher and a headmistress. And dare I say she could have gone even further, but she sacrificed her dreams at some point to stay at home to raise her children.
It is because my mother walked for her dreams that today I can run for mine and tomorrow my two daughters will fly for their dreams. That is how progress is made; inch by inch, generation by generation. We keep hitting at it until we completely shatter our glass ceilings. Daughters are the dreams come true of their mothers, and mothers are the greatest hopes for their daughters.
But this is not just a story about mothers and daughters and the power of education to transform, it is also a story about Ghana, about Africa. As a continent that ranks low in many development indices, as we make our way up the ladder for better representation of women, better healthcare, better education, better infrastructure, and better employment, amongst others, the journey up can be daunting with many reasons to despair. Some young Africans may feel that their economic salvation lies elsewhere across the Sahara, beyond the Mediterranean. But no matter how hot the ground gets beneath our feet, the solution is not across but within. We just have to keep going. We have to keep putting in the work. And generation by generation, we will shatter the ceiling for Africa’s economic prosperity.
To attain the Africa We Want, we must embrace our diversity. One important lesson I learnt early on is the value of community and inclusion. My dear father Mr Ismail Muslim was one of the earliest young men to leave his hometown up in the North to set up a base in the capital down south. He found success early, established a home here and opened up his doors to his community. I grew up not only with my siblings but with aunties, uncles, cousins and close and distant relatives. Our house was a gateway for a whole generation. I learnt the values of service, diversity and inclusion early. My father showed me that you indeed rise by lifting others. And that is a lesson my husband and I are teaching our two sons—and our daughters too.
Africa as the most diverse continent in the world, more than anywhere else, must uphold the value of inclusion. We are so fragmented in nations, ethnicities, gender, class and others that unless we work honestly together for the common good, we cannot lift ourselves and our continent. And in lifting ourselves up, we cannot count our success by the very few who reach the top, but by the many who leave the bottom.
To make progress in Africa, we acknowledge that we have to forge meaningful partnerships. In 2010, I had the rare privilege of being amongst the very first cohort of President Obama’s YALI programme. At the Whitehouse, I was lucky enough to be spotted by him to ask a question. I asked whether it was possible to have a true partnership between a superpower like America and a developing country like Ghana. Obama believed that such a partnership was possible because we have many aligning interests.
Over the years, I have reflected on and refined my question even further. Would America, or the developed world, still be interested in Africa without its natural resources?
Much as this is an important question for our partners to reflect on, it is an even more important question for us in Africa to answer. How else can we maximize the benefits of our natural resources and what new value can we harness the energies and innovations of our young people to create to benefit our people and the world? We must begin to reflect on and act for An Africa Beyond Natural Resources.
And it is gratifying to note that there are many young Africans already working to create value across creative and digital spaces, and others. And in so doing, expanding opportunities as well as solving critical problems in their economies.
Examples abound like Miishe Addy, co-founder of startup logistics powerhouse Jetstream; Maya Famodou working in the venture capital space to inject resources into innovative African Startup; Ama Asantewaa of Black Girls Glow focusing on creating safe spaces for creatives go grow; Mahmoud Jajah of Zongo Innovation Hub training young people in predominantly underserved Muslim communities to become software developers and tech entrepreneurs. Young Africans are putting in the work.
It will be important to acknowledge some support they are already receiving. For instance, the US government is investing USD 350 million in the Digital Transformation with Africa programme to create a transformative ecosystem for technology entrepreneurship. In my part of the country, the USAID Sustainable Shea Initiative is empowering over 400,000 women across Northern Ghana for economic and social impact through the shea industry. We look forward to the sustainable impact of such programmes.
We call on African governments to commit to passing affirmative action policies to help bridge the gender and diversity divide. And to treat with the utmost urgency the need to open up major opportunities for Africa’s ballooning youth population.
In 2011, I had the privilege of meeting Michelle Obama at a forum for young African women leaders in South Africa. She spoke about the need for women to step up and own the spaces they occupy. My life’s journey has been about owning the spaces I occupy. And where those spaces do not exist, to create them. Today I call on all women and youth of Africa to step up and own your space because why not you?
I feel honoured today to share this stage, this space, with a phenomenal woman who has not only stepped up to own her space but is actually rocking it. The highest-ranking female official in the United States who has had her fair share of “firsts” and broken several glass ceilings on her way to the top. It is a delight to welcome Vice President Kamala Harristo Ghana, the Center of the World, the black star rising. Martin Luther King Jnr, Malcolm X and Maya Angelou were here. Clinton, Bush and Obama were all here. And now it is her turn. I believe we can all affectionately say… AbenaKamala, you made it.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) will today and tomorrow elect officers to steer the affairs of the Party at the constituency level for the next four years
All is set for the elections, except in 24 constituencies in the Eastern, Central, Volta, Upper West, and Greater Accra regions where the elections have been put on hold.
A statement signed by Mr Daniel Amartey Mensah, Deputy Director of Elections, NDC, ahead of the elections, said the decision was taken due to “disputes over delegates’ list for those constituencies and/or the exclusion from ballot papers of candidates who have been qualified through the appeal process.”
The affected constituencies in the Eastern Region are: Mpraeso, Atiwa East, Atiwa West, Achiase, Nkwawkwaw, Upper West Akim , Afram Plains North, Akim Swedru , Akropong , Fanteakwa South, and Asene Manso Akroso constituencies.
In the Greater Accra Region, elections in the Shai Osudoku, Bortianor Ngleshie , Ningo Prampram, Ledzekuku, Ayawaso North , Amasaman , and Adentan constituencies have been put on hold.
The elections will also not be held in the Hohoe, and Sogakope constituencies in the Volta Region while those in the Prestea Huni Valley and the Shama constituencies in the Western Region have also been put on hold.
The Jirapa West Constituency is the only constituency affected in the Upper West Region.
The Party’s Functional Executive Committeeearlier directed that all elections should be held in one day – either Saturday October 22, 2022 or Sunday, October 23, 2022.
A total of 11, 825 candidates had filed to compete in the elections in the 276 constituencies, including the Santrokofi Akpafu Likpe and Lolobi (SALL) Constituency, which does not have a representation in Parliament yet.
Per the Party’s guidelines, eligible voters would be required to have paid their party dues in full before they would be allowed to cast their votes.
Branch executives and former government appointees of the Party will be eligible to vote in the elections.
The Chairman and Constituency executives are responsible for the venue for the constituency conference, but where there are disagreements, the elections venue “shall” be at the District Capital, the Party, said.
All constituencies are required to include candidates who have been duly cleared to contest through the appeal process on their ballot papers and exclude candidates who have been disqualified through the appeals process from the ballot papers. Elections will not be held till ballot papers are rectified,” it said in a statement.
The Party cautioned that: “Failure to strictly adhere to this directive will render any election illegal, hence a nullity, and appropriate sanctions will be applied to any person found culpable.”
At least GH¢2 million will be pumped into the construction of the controversial astroturf in Tumu in the Upper West region, the Contractor for the project, Sinkare has clarified.
He told Francis Abban, host of Morning Starr on Starr 103.5 Fm, that the 100 by 120 feet pitch alone will cost 1.1 million cedis.
The rest of the money is for floodlights and ancillary works, Mr Sinkare said.
There has been a hue and cry over the project cost after the sod-cutting by Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia on Tuesday, October 11, 2022.
The average cost of astroturfs has been between 300,000 and 600,000 Ghana cedis, according to the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC).
Some Ghanaians on social media reacted to the cost of the Tumu astroturf project questioning why government will splurge GH¢2 million to construct an artificial pitch.
In July 2022, government revealed that it constructed 30 astroturfs at a total cost of GH¢40,779,395.79.
However, a report by PIAC also quoted that the cost of the astroturfs amounted to GH¢8,188,000 million, a massive variance of GHS32,591,395.44.
The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has assured customers in the Greater Accra, Northern and Upper West regions of regular service despite flooding incidents at its treatment plants in parts of the country.
Transformers powering the Nawuni-Dalun treatment plant have been damaged while rain waters have flooded the pump house at the Jambusi plant.
The Communications Head for the Company, Stanley Martey, gave this assurance in an interview with Joy FM on Monday.
“Affected areas will have low pressures but will still have water because you have to do water demand management within the metropolis so that you can share the water equitably, so that is under control,” he said.
Touching the Weija dam, Mr Martey said GWCL had to open four spill gates of the Weija treatment to save the integrity of the dam.
The Wa Regional Hospital has received a completely furnished ambulance that was sponsored by the Upper West Region residents and presented by the speaker of parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Bagbin.
Even though the speaker gave the elephant side contributions, he thanked all participants who thought the initiative was excellent and urged them to keep up the fight for the region’s speedy development, which has been regarded as one of Ghana’s poorest regions.
Presenting the ambulance, Rt. Hon. Sumana said the donation was a demonstration of the power and impact of commitment and community involvement in improving living conditions, and in achieving what once was thought of as a distant possibility
“…Today’s event is a manifestation of what we can do as individuals and as members of the community to improve upon our livelihoods”, he said.
Rt. Hon Sumana Bagbin said the provision of this ambulance goes to augment the existing health delivery systems within the community.
He added that even though the ambulance alone cannot meet all the pre-hospital healthcare needs of the community, it responds to a very critical need.
He continued that “We must ensure that measures are implemented to integrate the ambulance services into the community healthcare processes…I also recommend to managers of the ambulance service to ensure the judicious use of the ambulance.
The Speaker entreated the hospital to maintain the ambulance while he proposed that there should be a policy or guidelines for the use of the ambulance, and adequate training of personnel to operate the ambulance to ensure quality standards and improvement.
He further added that fortunately, there exist several known state and private institutions to provide the hospital with the needed guidance, the National Ambulance Service, the Wa Teaching Hospital, and the private ambulance services are about a few of these institutions that, with good collaboration, could offer significant benefits for managing the ambulance.
Paramount Chief of the Waala Traditional Area, Wa Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV, has expressed worry over some unnecessary commentaries in the ongoing investigations of the recent murders and abductions within the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region.
He advised the people against indulging in speculations, discussions and interference in the arrest of suspects in the case to allow the security agencies carry out their investigations in a professional manner to bring the perpetrators to book.
He made the call Saturday, September 24, 2022, during an engagement with indigenous sectional heads and the youth search teams collaborating with the Police in the search for the victims as well as perpetrators of the heinous crimes.
The Secretary to the Overlord of the Waala Traditional Area – Jinpenhi Naa Kadri Ibrahim – in an interview on the sidelines of the event stated that:
“His majesty felt worried after the arrest of the first suspect of these crimes, then some people within town began to jump into conclusions that he (suspect) was a mad man, he was this, he was a beggar, that he could not have done these things. So this was a great source of worry to his Majesty. He says we’re a people troubled by these developments and we’re the people continuing to pray to Allaah to expose the perpetrators, to give us peace in our backyard. So that the least he would expect from us as a people will be for us to began to conclude that the arrested fellow – the suspect maybe insane. So he says let’s just leave everything to the Police and the investigating team. That let the professional investigators do their work and that if at the end of investigations, it’s concluded professionally that the so, so and so (suspect) is mentally challenged…but who tells us that a mentally challenged person cannot go about killing people? It’s one of the characteristics of that.
“So if indeed it’s confirmed that he’s mad, it’ll still not exonerate him in our mindset that he cannot be behind these (murders) that as far as mentally challenged people sometimes can get to kill people. So his Majesty concern has been that let’s just allow the Police and their investigating team that breathing space to do their work professionally devoid of the interferences and public discussions whilst the investigations are ongoing.”
According to him, the engagement with the youth groups was to express gratitude to the youth groups for their sacrifices to help in unlocking the mysteries surrounding the barbaric killings being visited on the people, adding that the move was also intended to give the people hope of better days ahead.
His Majesty while expressing optimism about the success of the ongoing investigations, reminded the security agencies of the fact that the municipality was still not out of the woods yet.
“As you know, we have been in a state of mourning for sometime now in Wa owing to the unfortunate perpetration of murders against innocent civilians of our society by unknown persons. So his Majesty saw the need to have this briefing with the youth and sectional heads of our community at large, to sort of give them hope that there is certainly good news at the end of the tunnel and to also draw attention to the general security system that Wa is not out of the woods yet. That we’re still struggling and fighting to get out of the predicament. And he also saw it necessary to use the occasion to express his gratitude to the galant search teams made of the youth drawn from the society itself who have been out there sacrificing their time, their sleep and everything of theirs towards finding both the perpetrators of the heinous crimes and also the victims of the unfortunate development who may have been buried unreasonably in very bad ways. If Wa continues to look unsafe or becomes an insecure place, then it definitely will be affecting the rest of the Upper West Region,” his Majesty noted.
He charged the youth to continue to collaborate with the Police and security agencies in fighting the canker to bring respite to the people.
The Overlord reiterated optimism in the ability of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) to rescue the people from the claws of the vicious blood-thirsty murderers.
His Majesty commended business magnate and CEO of Radio Waa, a local radio station, Alhaji Alhassan Gbagnu, for making a financial donation of ¢5,000.00 to support the search teams and a pledge of ¢10,000.00 bounty for any credible information that would lead to the arrest of the suspects. Wa Naa also mentioned the contribution of an amount of ¢2,000.00 to the youth groups by the Member of Parliament for Wa Central – Dr. Hassan Rashid Pelpuo.
He called on other indigenes within and outside the region to emulate such good example by also supporting the fight against the current happenings in the municipality in whatever way possible.
Member of Parliament (MP) for the Wa CentralConstituency in theUpper West Region, Dr. Rasheed Pelpuo has urged that the police to come up with initiatives to help curb the recent killings in the municipality.
According to him, the police’s present tactics and procedures are failing to address the of ritual killings in the municipality.
So far, nine private security guards working at night in the Wa municipality have allegedly been slaughtered for ritual purposes.
In an interview with Class 91.3 FM, the chief member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), recommended that the RESEC conducts regular inspections on all vehicles leaving the area.
Dr. Pelpuo is also of the view that the identity of people who out of the blue exhibit wealth in the municipality must be known to help unravel the situation of alleged ritual killings.
He alleged that reports available have it that the bodies are being taken to Sierra Leone for some rituals.
The total number of persons killed through various road crashes in the Upper West Region has decreased from 58 in 2019 to 54 in 2020 despite an increase in the total number of fatal cases from 43 to 49 respectively.
The road crash statistics from the Upper West Regional Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service also indicated a decrease in the total number of persons injured from 287 in 2019 to 240 in 2020.
A total number of serious cases has also scaled up from 80 in 2019 to 89 cases in 2020 whilst the total number of minor cases also witnessed a jump from 31 to 48 respectively.
Pedestrian knockdown almost doubled from 17 in 2019 to 32 in 2020.
Meanwhile, there has also been a leap in the total number of cases from 154 in 2019 to 186 cases in 2020.
Again, the number of vehicles involved also galloped from 229 in 2019 to 295 in 2020, whilst the number of commercial vehicles saw a marginal increase respectively from 44 to 46 cases.
There is also a marginal increase in the number of private vehicles involved from 61 to 62 in 2019 and 2020 respectively whereas a total number of motorcycles involved correspondingly took a long jump from 124 to 187 cases.
Chief Inspector Gideon Ohene Boateng, the Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) identified human error as the major contributory factor to most of the accidents that occurred.
“If drivers will obey simple road traffic regulations, most of the accidents will be avoided and there will not be needless loss of lives and property,†he said.
Chief Inspector Boateng said as the police and other road safety agencies continue to sensitise the public on road traffic regulations, it also behoved on the public to learn to obey these regulations so that together they could reduce road crashes to the barest minimum, thereby protecting lives and property.
DOI Abraham Nii Dodoo, Ag. Upper West Regional Commander of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has revealed that a total of 153 fire cases had been recorded in the region with one death from January to October 2020.
He said the damage caused by the fire within the period was valued at GH?939,611.00 while the GNFS saved property worth GH?1,115,700.00.
DOI Dodoo revealed this at Gwollu during a ceremony to commission a fire station for the Sissala West District and to pass out 73 fire volunteers for the district.
The Sissala West District Assembly built and furnished the facility while the GNFS provided the fire tender and personnel for the station.
DOI Dodoo also noted that within the same period in 2019, the service recorded a total of 119 fire cases in the region with property damages valued at GH?318,737.00 while the GNFS saving GH?1,105,500.00 worth of properties.
“This clearly shows an upsurge in the fire outbreaks in the region. These figures of the outbreak in the region is a worrying phenomenon and a development, which require a collective effort by all and sundry to support the Ghana National Fire Service to mitigate before it consumes us allâ€, he explained.
DOI Dodoo urged the public to acquire fire extinguishers for their homes as first aid appliance as per the dictates of LI 2249 in the incident of any fire outbreak.
He also appealed to managers of institutions and public places such as schools to acquire fire certificate to enable them to operate, without which one commits an offence.
Amidu Ishaque Chinia, the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister who commissioned the station on behalf of the Regional Minister said bush fires could destroy farm produce and urged the people to take precautionary measures in order not allow fires to derail the success of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme of President Akuffo-Addo led government.
The Deputy Minister, who is also the Parliamentary Candidate of the New Patriotic Party in the Sissala East constituency said through the PFJ programme, the Sissala West District was the major food basket for the Upper West Region and the country at large.
Mr Chinia appealed to the public to ensure that peace was maintained before, during and after the December 7 election.
He advised politicians to rather engage in the issue-based campaign and desist from politics of insults, which was injurious to the relative peace the nation was enjoying.
The Deputy Minister also advised the youth not to allow themselves not to be used by political parties and individuals to foment trouble as the security personnel were ready to deal with any individual or group of individuals apprehended in misconduct.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will on Friday, October 9, 2020, commence a two-day tour of the Upper West Region to rally for support for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) ahead of the December 7 polls.
The President who is on a four-day visit to the Upper East and Upper West Regions is expected to arrive in Wa from Tamale at 0940hrs in the morning by flight.
Immediately after arrival, the President is expected to pay a courtesy call on the newly coronated Yeri-Naa after which he will hold a meeting with the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs and later cut the sod for the construction of the Zoomlion Waste Recycling and Composite Plant in Wa before departing for Mangwe in the Wa East District.
On his way to Mangwe, the President is expected to pay a whistle stop at Busa before proceeding to inspect the ongoing work on the Wa-Bulenga road after which he will address a durbar at Mangwe.
President Akufo-Addo after the durbar at Mangwe will depart for Tumu in the Sissala East Municipality where he will again address a durbar of chiefs and people of the Tumu Traditional Area before returning to Wa.
Upon arrival, he will hold a meeting with party executives, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs) as well as parliamentary candidates of the party before retiring for the day.
President Akufo-Addo will begin his second day with a courtesy call on the Wa Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo, the Overlord of the Waala Kingdom after which he will grant a radio interview to a local FM station in Wa before departing for Lawra.
At Lawra, the President will perform a sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of the Dikpe Bridge before commissioning the 13-megawatt solar power plant in Lawra.
After the commissioning, the President will depart for Hamile in the Lambussie District where he will again commission a Small-Town Water System to provide potable water to the people of Hamile.
After rounding up his two-day tour of the region with the commissioning of the Small-Town Water System at Hamile, President Akufo Addo will depart back to the Wa Airport to fly back to Accra.
Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister, has appealed to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) to consider the establishment of a Military Barracks in the Upper West Region to help consolidate the peace and security in the region.
While commending the CDS for establishing a Military Battalion in the region, the Minister said the Upper West Region shared border with Burkina Faso and was, thus, prone to activities of terrorists.
Dr Bin Salih made the appeal when a team of the military high command led by Lieutenant General Obed Boamah Akwa, the CDS, called on him to officially announce their presence in the region.
The team, including the Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Intelligence, among others, was in the region to hold a conference to discuss the effective ways to maintain peace in the country, particularly, during, before and after the 2020 general elections.
Dr Bin Salih acknowledged the role of the Ghana Armed Forces in safeguarding the peace and security in the region and the country at large and expressed the hope that the 2020 general elections would be violence-free.
He gave the assurance that the Regional Coordinating Council would collaborate with the security agencies, including the Ghana Armed Forces to ensure that peace and security were maintained in the region.
Lieutenant-General Akwa noted that the Army chose to hold the conference in the Upper West Region due to the relative peace in the area.
He assured the Minister that he would be an ambassador of the region, propagating its humanitarian and peaceful nature.
The Upper West Region has recorded 65 per cent Open Defecation Free (ODF) coverage, Mr Agambire Alhassan Inusah, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Upper West Regional Environmental Health and Sanitation Department, has said.
According to him, out of a total of 1,167 communities in the Region, 758 communities had attained ODF status.
Mr Agambire, who said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Wa, added that from January to July 2020, 32 communities were converted to ODF with Jirapa Municipality recording 16 ODF communities within the period.
The rest were: Nadowli/Kaleo District, eight communities, Wa and Sissala East Municipalities recorded three ODF communities each while Daffiama/Bussie/Issah District recorded two ODF communities within the period of January to July 2020.
The Upper West Regional Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee on Sanitation (RICCS) and development partners had been implementing projects and programmes, including the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) and GoG/ UNICEF Results Based Financing (RBF) propramme in the Region, which were geared towards achieving a region-wide ODF by the end of 2021.
Mr Inussah explained that the COVID-19 pandemic had adversely affected the ODF campaign activities in the Region.
He said due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sanitation officers could not visit communities to engage people on sanitation related issues including Open Defecation (OD).
“Sanitation is a matter of behaviour change and officers have to visit the communities to engage the people, but because of COVID-19 we could not do so. Because of that some households who started digging their pits did not complete them,” he explained.
The M&E Officer stated that they would resume vigorous community engagement to sensitise the communities to help change their attitude towards OD and sanitation in general.
He noted that currently, Jirapa Municipality, Wa West, Nadowli/Kaleo and Daffiama/Bussie/Issah Districts were implementing the RBF project, and touted Jirapa Municipality for being the best performing Municipality in the implementation of the RBF programme.
He observed that all efforts to get the various Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) in the Region to enact and gazette sanitation by-laws to help fight the menace of OD had yielded no results.
“It will be difficult to prosecute sanitation offenders if the by-laws are not there and people will continue to defecate in the open,” he said.
However, as part of efforts to improve access to sanitation services, including toilets, the Toilet Engineers and Sanitation Service (TESS) Limited in the Upper West Region, had been constructing affordable and descent bio-digester toilets for household, offices and public places such as schools and markets.
Mr Inussah told the GNA that TESS was ready to partner any organisation to improve Sanitation in the country.
Police have launched a manhunt for a group of persons who were captured on a viral video attacking and stripping another man naked in the Upper West Region.
He said the incident is an infringement on the fundamental human rights of the victim.
“Police have commenced investigations into that issue. We will make sure that the perpetrators will be brought to book,” Inspector Boateng told the Daily Graphic.
The incident is said to have occurred in the Upper West Region and a video of the beatings have been circulated on social media.
The victim was seen being beaten by the gang and later stripped naked.
The face of the woman he is said to have wooed is also shown in the video.
The woman is said to be the victim’s former girlfriend but the woman is now married to another person.
“Graphic Online gathers that the two were in love and had planned to marry, but the father of the woman objected to their union. This is because the guy was an Ahmadi Muslim whilst the woman belongs to the orthodox.
“Instead, the father agreed for her to marry someone else, he [father] was comfortable with.
“But since the two were still in love, sources tell Graphic Online that anytime the man visits the area, he goes to see the woman and the two sneak out for their private moments, the Daily Graphic report explained.
Mr Ahlex Kontor, the Past President of the Rotary Club of Wa, has announced plans by the club to improve access to potable water and good sanitation in the Upper West Region.
As part of the agenda, the Club had collaborated with Rotary Club of Windsor in Canada to construct 12 boreholes in the Upper West Region at the cost of $163,094.
Mr Kontor, who was addressing a handing over ceremony of the club in Wa at the weekend, noted that the project would benefit about 25,000 people in the Region.
“The club in partnership with Rotary Club of Windsor in Canada has gotten approval from Rotary Foundation to undertake the construction of another 12 boreholes under the project “Bring clean water to Jirapa Municipalityâ€, of which the construction of three boreholes has commencedâ€, he explained.
Mr Kontor said the club, in partnership with Rotary Club of Oregon Florence in the USA, is also working to secure funding from the Rotary Foundation to construct 12 boreholes in 12 communities, including five health facilities in five Municipalities and Districts in the region.
He said the club would also construct 28 micro flush toilets in the Wa Municipality to support the fight against open defecation.
Other interventions being undertaken by the club in the 2019/2020 Club year included Hepatitis B screening for 400 people in the region and completion of phase II of the Jirapa town water expansion project among others.
“Fellow Rotarians, let us remain committed to giving to the Rotary Foundation for that is the life-wire of Rotary projects,†Mr Kontor urged.
Mr Sylvester Dery, the President of the Rotary Club of Wa, observed that the club could achieve its goals as the best humanitarian club through effective teamwork.
He said the theme for the 2020/2021 Rotary year was “Rotary opens opportunitiesâ€, and that members could create those opportunities through the execution of the humanitarian projects.
He pledged to work hard to enable the club to achieve its goals and to meet the theme for the year.
The Rotary Club is a global humanitarian organisation that works towards improving the livelihoods of the people, especially less advantaged groups in society, in the areas of maternal and child health, water and sanitation, disease prevention.
It also works to enhance Literacy and Education, peace and conflict prevention as well as community and economic development.
Also present at the handing over ceremony was Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister, as the Guest of Honour.
Nine out of the 11 Municipal and District Assemblies in the Upper West Region have turned a deaf ear on the payment of various amounts of money agreed upon as ex-gratia to their former Assembly members.
The nine include; Wa, Jirapa, Lawra, and Nandom Municipalities as well as Wa West, Nadowli-Kaleo, Lambussie, Daffiama-Bussie-Issa, and Wa East District Assemblies as of now had not paid any amount as ex-gratia to their former Assembly members since the Assemblies were dissolved on October 7, 2019.
So far in the region, only Sissala East Municipality paid in full the agreed amount of GH?3,000.00 to each of its Assembly members, while the Sissala West District paid half (GH?1,000.00) out of the GH?2,000.00 agreed on by the house.
The amounts agreed on by the defaulting Assemblies are; Wa Municipality between GH?1000.00 – GH?1,500.00 to each member, Jirapa Municipality GH?5,000.00 to each member, Lawra Municipality GH?5,000.00 to each member, and Nandom Municipality GH?3,000.00 to each member.
The rest are; Wa West District between GH?1000.00 – GH?1,500.00 to each member, Nadowli-Kaleo District GH?1000.00 to each member, Lambussie District GH?3,000.00 to each member, Daffiama-Bissie-Issa District GH?3,000.00 to each member, and Wa East District GH?3,000.00 to each member.
Some of the former Presiding Members (PMs) of the defaulting Assemblies when contacted expressed their displeasure at the half-hearted attitude of the Assemblies towards payment of their ex-gratia.
They said they made several pleas to the Municipal and District Chief Executives to honour them their entitlement, but all their pleas fell on deaf ears.
“They will promise us when the Common Fund comes, they will pay, but when it lands and you call them they will either not pick your call or they will pick and start complaining that the Assemblies were sitting on heavy debtsâ€, they said.
“What we have realized is that the Municipal and District Chief Executives are being wicked towards usâ€, they said and added that even if things were difficult and they commit to paying bit-by-bit by now all of them would have finished paying.
“For an Assembly member to sacrifice for four years and be denied his/her token christened ex-gratia is unthinkable and a gross display of lack of appreciation of the sacrificial work of the Assembly memberâ€, a member lamented.
The PMs, however, commended Sissala East Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Karim Nanyua, for showing examplary leadership and commitment to the plight of their colleagues.
The PMs also appealed to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to appreciate their plight and impress on the Assemblies to give them their little entitlement.
Meanwhile, Alhaji Issahaku Tahiru Moomin, the Wa Municipal Chief Executive who is also the Dean of the Municipal and District Chief Executives in the region declined to comment when the GNA contacted him.
Three persons from the Wa Municipality who came into contact with a Nigerian who tested positive for Covid-19 have also tested positive.
The patient initially escaped and was later arrested and mandatorily quarantined for treatment.
The three have since been taken to the treatment centre at the Regional Hospital.
The Upper West Region has recorded 11 additional cases of COVID-19 as at 3rd May 2020.
This brings the total number of cases in the region to 19 with one person fully recovered and reintegrated into the community.
A statement signed by the Upper West Regional Minister, Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih , indicates that of the 11 additional cases, one is a resident of Wa who returned from Kenya on the 16th of February 2020.
He traveled back to Wa by public transport and upon arrival self-quarantined for two weeks and has since been living with his family until the 16th of April 2020 when his sample was taken to the laboratory upon self-request.
The statement further stated that the remaining seven persons were picked from Sissala East Municipality following the mandatory screening of travelers arriving in the district from Kumasi and Accra during the partial lockdown in the country.
“Five of them have been identified and transferred to the treatment centre in the Municipal Capital whilst efforts are being made to track the remaining two. All cases currently on treatment are mild to moderate, †his statement revealed.
Dr. Salih said the investigation is underway to identify, isolate and treat all cases and trace all contacts adding that all the cases had a travel history or are contacts of known cases.
He urged all residents of the region to remain calm and cooperate with the authorities as efforts are made to contain the spread of the disease.
“Residents are encouraged to strictly adhere to the physical distancing protocols announced by His Excellency the President; frequently wash hands with soap under running water and or apply hand sanitizer; avoid going to public places unless it is absolutely necessary; and properly wear nose masks when going to any public place.â€
The Upper West Region has recorded 30 new cases of Meningitis with one more death, Upper West Regional Minister has disclosed.
This brings the total number of cases in the region to 303, with forty-four deaths.
“Nandom, Nadowli and Jiripa continue to report the majority of the cases, †Dr. Bin Salih indicated in a statement.
He also said that most of the cases were caused by Neisseria Meningitides Sero Group X which currently has no vaccine.
Meanwhile, the region continues to battle the Covid-19 as more cases have been recorded.
The number of Covid-19 cases in the region has significantly increased by 11 bringing the new total to 19.
The first case was that of a resident who recently returned from Kenya. From the Wa Municipality, three persons who had come into contact with an infected Nigerian were also diagnosed with the disease.
The other seven cases were recorded from the Sissala East Municipality following a mandatory screening of persons who traveled from Kumasi and Accra, Dr. Bin Salih said.
He, however, indicated that all the infected people have been taken to the treatment center and are responding to treatment, while investigations are being conducted to identify, isolate, trace contacts and treat all cases.
He also urged residents of the region to remain calm as efforts are being made to contain the spread of both diseases.
The Ghana Meteorological Agency has warned of a rise in cough, sneezing, catarrh and sore throat in the north of the country following a dust storm that is currently sweeping across the Upper Regions.
Residents of the Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions woke up to an atmosphere choked with dust particles that has impaired visibility and settled on every available surface.
While there has been a mixed reaction to the rather unusual development, the Ghana Meteorological Agency has said the unpleasant weather condition is climatologically associated with the harmattan season.
A statement from the agency signed by Deputy Director, Joseph Portuphy said, “From November-December every year through to the following year April or Mid-May is noted climatologically as the harmattan season for Notthern Ghana. However, each season comes with its variations in intensity either severe, moderate or slight.â€
The Meteo Agency stated that the dust plume is anticipated to clear by the weekend, Saturday or Sunday thus 18th or 19th April, 2020.
The statement further warned of effects and reactions that residents of the affected regions may suffer noting that “this may lead to catarrh, sore throat, sneezing and the possibility of cough.â€
It also advised the curtailment of exposure to the dust and wind.
Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih has confirmed that the death toll as a result of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) stands at 40 out of the 258 reported cases in the region.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, the Minister bemoaned the increasing number of reported cases and associated deaths in the region urging residents to report suspected cases to the nearest health facilities.
“I also wish to indicate that the outbreak of meningitis in the region is quite worrisome. As from 1st January 2020 to 12th April, 2020, the cumulative suspected cases of meningitis stood at 258 of which 40 persons died.
The case fatality rate of meningitis in the region is 15.5%; which is unacceptable. It is reported that about 80% of the deaths was as a result of delay reporting to the health facilities.
“Iam therefore appealing to all and sundry to report to the nearest health facility whenever one begins experiencing headache, fever and stiffness of neck for immediate attentionâ€, he revealed.
Meningitis is a dangerous epidemic, and endemic, febrile disease, characterized by inflammation of the membranes of the brain and spinal cord, giving rise to severe headaches, tenderness of the back of the neck, paralysis of the ocular muscles.
It is sometimes marked by a coetaneous eruption, when it is often called spotted fever.
Meningitis is an air-borne disease, is most feared because it is transmittable, fatal and spreads at an extremely fast pace.
But according to health experts is not that contagious as perceived.
However, the most prominent sign of cerebrospinal meningitis is a stiff neck, severe headache, seizures, fever and vomiting.
Untreated bacterial meningitis medicals doctors have disclosed may pose serious consequences, including permanent brain damage and death.
All contacts that were traced to the only COVID-19 case in the Upper West Region have tested negative for the disease.
This was disclosed to Citi News by the Regional Minister, Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih.
About 46 persons had been identified as close contacts of the patient.
“According to my health authority, the patient is responding to treatment and so far, all the contact people whose samples were taken have proven negative. The tests are negative and that is pleasing to the people of the Upper West Region,†Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih told Citi News.
The first case in the region was announced by the Minister on March 27, 2020.
According to the Minister, the patient is a 42-year-old Ghanaian who visited UK, Spain and returned to Ghana through Egypt.
“The good thing is that, even before the test result came out positive, the suspect was in self-quarantine. He has isolated himself because he had returned from countries where the disease is prevalent…This should not bring fear into us. It does not mean he is going to die,†the Minister said at a press conference on Tuesday.
According to health workers, the patient joined a public transport to the Upper West Region from Accra and was confirmed positive of COVID-19 on March 27, 2020.
Subsequently, samples of persons including health workers who contacted the patient were taken for testing.
Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister, has requested for the establishment of a military base to take care of any unpleasant situations in the region.
He said: “what we have in Wa needs to be expanded and we are willing and prepared to facilitate its expansion. We needed a more befitting military base to take care of all unpleasant situations in the regionâ€, he said.
Dr Bin Salih made the request, when Major General Thomas Oppong-Peprah, the new Chief of Army Staff paid a courtesy call on him at his office.
Major General Oppong-Peprah was on a two-day working visit to the region to interact with the soldiers stationed in Wa to know of their operational challenges, appraise their responsibilities, and assess the administrative operations and logistics situation in the region.
The Regional Minister appealed to the Army Chief of Staff to use his good offices to ensure that “this our request becomes fruitfulâ€.
Dr Hafiz Bin Salih told the Chief of the Army Staff that the region was generally peaceful and attributed it to the relationships among the security agencies, which enhanced the sharing of intelligence and collaboration of operations.
He said the threat of terrorism was the most challenging issue that confronts the region and appealed to the security agencies and the citizens not to be complacent about its occurrence, noting “we need to hold our guard and intensify our operations and we still need to be very, very vigilantâ€.
The government is willing to support the military with its logistical needs to confront and safeguard the country from the activities of terrorists and terrorism.
Major General Thomas Oppong-Peprah said the information he got about the region indicated that terrorism activities was a bit remote but that there were other criminal activities such as armed robbery.
He cautioned that terrorism activities could always come up at any time and warned as well as urged the security agencies and the people to collaborate effectively to ensure that peace and security was compact to ward off terrorism penetrations.
He thanked the traditional authorities for the land provided the Military for the establishment of a barracks in Wa, saying the establishment of a military base in Wa has been on the drawing board for some time now.
“I think now, we have to move out of the drawing board and go to the field and implement it. It is my aim to get a barracks for the regionâ€.
He thanked the Regional Coordination Council (RCC) for the support it had been providing the troops and promised to build on the existing cordial relations between the military and RCC.
