News
Amoako-Atta inspects
Government is working to deliver 1,056.9-kilometre road network to the people of the Upper West Region before the end of the year.
These comprise of 471.3km trunk roads, 123.3 km of feeder roads and 132km of urban roads.
Also, plans are underway to award additional 474km of road projects to contractors before the end of the year, involving 36 different projects at different locations.
The Minister for Roads and Highways, Mr kwesi Amoako-Atta announced this at a news conference at Wa over the weekend as part of a day’s working visit to the region.
He indicated that the ongoing construction and the planned projects when completed would amount to 26.4 per cent of work done on roads in the region.
Mr Amoako-Atta said that the Ghana Highways Authority was handling 21 different projects; Department of Feeder Roads was supervising 42 of them, whereas the remaining 15 was under the Department of Urban Roads.
He said the president was committed to working on roads in the country, hence had invested largely in that sector by ensuring that contractors were paid on time to encourage them to expedite action on their respective projects.
The Minister listed among others the construction of major roads such as Tumu-Hamile, Wa-Bulenga, Wa-Han, Fian-Wahabu and Nadowli-Lawra-Hamile roads.
“We are also upgrading Fian-Daffiama-Nadowli, Wa-Chari, Jirapa-Duori, Tumu-Sissili, Tumu-Gwollu-Hamile, Lawra-Han-Tumu roads. We will also rehabilitate the Dorimon-Black Volta, Welembelle-Santijan and Zambo-Kambaa roads as well as some major routes and roads in the Wa Municipality,” he said.
Mr Amoako-Atta indicated that good road network was a requisite for national development, hence the quest for government to work on all roads across the country.
“It is not a mere coincidence that government has labelled 2020 as the year of roads. Government is tackling all sectors of road construction to meet the high demand for good roads in the country, because road infrastructure is very key in the development of the country,” he explained.
The Minister flanked by his Deputy, Mr Anthony Abeifaa Karbo, the Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih and some heads of departments as well as staff of the Ministry of Roads and Highways toured some projects sites to inspect the ongoing construction of roads.
At Lawra, the Minister and his entourage inspected the broken Dekpe bridge and pledged government’s commitment to constructing the bridge to facilitate trade between Ghana and Burkina Faso.
The minister rounded up his tour at Tumu where he described work done by the various contractors as satisfactory, and called on residents to ensure that road signs were not used as scrap by some unscrupulous people.
Source: Ghanaian Times
Troubled and anxious citizens in Damongo of the Savannah Region have expressed concerns about the number of young people, believed to be under the age of 18, involved in ‘shisha’ smoking in pubs and drinking spots within the township.
Eyewitnesses say the minors were seen patronising nightlife venues, where Shisha smoking happen in the open.
The situation has sparked renewed public concern over the enforcement of child protection laws and regulations governing the operations of entertainment centres in the municipality and country as a whole.
An eyewitness, who spoke to The Spectator on conditions of anonymity for security reasons, noted that the situation was becoming increasingly common.
“This is not a one-off incident. It is becoming very common, but residents like us cannot openly report or speak about it because our lives will be at risk,” he said.
Under Ghanaian law, minors were prohibited from patronising Shisha.
Public health experts have consistently warned that shisha use exposes users to harmful substances that can negatively affect brain development, respiratory health, and overall well-being, particularly among young people.
The residents believe the alleged incidents point to broader challenges relating to youth supervision, substance abuse, and weak enforcement of existing regulations and have called on municipal authorities, security agencies, and regulatory bodies to intensify monitoring of pubs and entertainment centres to ensure compliance with the law.
In an effort to address the menace, Mr Salisu Be-Awurbi, the Savannah Regional Minister, has led public education campaigns, engaged security agencies, and supported enforcement actions to address the rising use of illicit substances in the region.
Wura Kelly Seidu Boresah I, the Chief of Damongo, has also called on all stakeholders including parents, community leaders, institutions, and young people to actively support efforts to curb drug abuse, warning that the rising consumption of hard drugs poses a serious health threat to the future of the youth in the Savannah Region.
He also cautioned individuals involved in the sale and distribution of illicit drugs to immediately desist from the practice, stressing that offenders will face arrest and prosecution in accordance with the law.
From Geoffrey Buta, Damongo, Savannah Region
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Dr Theresa Baffour, an advocate for ending violence and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SAHM SAHW Foundation, has said that society plays a critical and pivotal role in breaking the cycle of domestic violence.
According to her, domestic violence is a major contributor of making women, who are mostly the victims, mentally derailed and unable to engage in economic activities.
She said this when the foundation called on the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, to solicit support for the initiative by the “Strong and Healthy Minds, Strong and Healthy Women” (SAHM SAHW) to combat domestic violence within the Ga State.
The visit was occasioned by the fact that domestic violence cases have become quite prevalent in the Ga communities and is retarding growth.
According to her, the canker was an impediment to national development because the victims were usually tortured and would have to go through series of therapies to return to the right state of mind.
Dr Baffour mentioned that Gender-Based Violence (GBV) places a mental toll on women, and was, therefore, important to break the cycle through comprehensive mental health support, crisis intervention and empowerment programmes in communities with high rates of GBV.
This intervention, she underscored, would help in empowering the denigrated victim of domestic violence to soundly heal, build and thrive.
Dr Baffour added that the initiative would provide holistic, trauma-informed mental health care and advocacy for young women affected by domestic violence.
According to her, the above statement would create safe spaces for healing and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills for renewed hope and empowered life.
The Ga Mantse pledged his support for the laudable initiative to combat domestic violence and also acknowledged the need to address it in the Ga State.
Further endorsement came from Justice Julia Naa-Yarley Adjei Amoah, Chief of Staff at the Office of the Ga Mantse, as she commended the team of SAHM SAHW Foundation for taking a bold step to end the canker in the Greater Accra.
She added that it was a step in the right direction to save vulnerable women from torture, stress and emotional abuse.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
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