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Be honest, truthful to constituents …Catholic Priest tells politicians
● Very Rev Fr. Dr. Ennin
The Provincial Superior for the Society of African Missions (SMA), Very Rev Fr Dr Paul Saa-Dade Ennin has urged politicians to be honest in the discharge of their duties to the country if they want to be celebrated like the country’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
Fr Ennin, who doubles as President of the Conference of Major Superiors of West Africa, said it was important for the politicians to think of the next generation if they wished to be celebrated.
“We’ll continue to talk about Kwame Nkrumah because even today, we cannot point at his properties or personal gains. Rather, we hear of the good deeds of Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana and the continent of Africa at large.”
Speaking with The Spectator, Very Rev Fr Dr. Ennin observed that it was important for the politicians to do what will benefit the society and country and not their selfish interests.
“No matter how much you accumulate, as long as you do not help others, you will gain no dignity” he said and advised that politicians should always work to make the resources of the state accessible to all to improve lives.
The Provincial Superior said it was sad that politicians came campaigning to be of service to their people but when they were voted into office, they become something else.
He said the gospel states that “to whom much is given, much is expected” and so it was sad that when politicians came campaigning to be of service to their people, some ended up rather being a disservice to the people.
“Some of these politicians are actually not what they claim to be because they don’t think of their plight or how to make their lives better.”
Making reference to the readings in Isaiah 22:19-23, he said God had to remove and demote a government official because at the time of existential threat to his people, he was more concerned about wealth acquisition which God was unhappy about.
Very Rev Fr Dr Ennin said God made a replacement with someone else to be a father to his people and govern according to God’s plans.
He said God also entrusted the keys of His Kingdom to Peter in Mathew 16:13-20 of the Gospel to ensure that Peter became the rock, an access and avenue to His grace, goodness, mercy, resources and all other good things.
He said as the clergy, they were supposed to be accessible to those entrusted to their care and mentor them to do what was right because at the end of their service, they would be judged accordingly.
He advised Christians to make themselves available to the service to God just as Mary, the Patron Saint did and been celebrated for many years.
By Dzifa Tetteh Tay
Hundreds of street children received a special treat during the Christmas festivities as a result of a collaboration between the management of the La Beach Hotel and the Street Academy in Accra.
It was part of the Hotel’s current arrangement to provide lunch for the children of the Academy every Friday.
Courtesy that partnership, management of the La Beach Hotel feted hundreds of street children housed by the Street Academy, creating a partying moment for the children.
According to officials of the Hotel, the gesture was to let the children feel part of the festivities and not left out.
The children enjoyed delicious meals and snack after which they danced as they enjoyed the moment.
According to the Hotel officials, “the season represents one that every parent gathers their children and shower them with gifts and others to make them happy but sadly, these unfortunate children are left on their own, having no one to care for them.”
“This is an event we intend to make an annual one. Through this, we hope to put some smiles on their faces. It is not proper to leave them on their own.”
The Executive Director of the Academy, Ataa Lartey, expressed gratitude to the management of the hotel, saying that, “this has gone a long way to excite the children and make them feel part of the celebration.”
He said due to the number of children that join around this time of the year, it becomes difficult for the Academy alone to shoulder this responsibility.
“It is not easy to organise such activities alone because it draws a lot of children, that is, those in the Academy and their friends that follow them but with such cooperate supports, we are able to bring them together to share in moments like this,” he told The Spectator.
By Spectator Reporter
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A 30-year-old surrogate mother has delivered a set of quadruplets at The Walking Egg Medical and Fertility Centre at Pokuase in Accra, in a rare surrogacy success that has brought renewed attention to assisted reproductive care in Ghana.
The babies-two boys and two girls- were delivered through a caesarean section in the early hours of Tuesday at 36 weeks and weighed an average 2.5 kilograms each, a weight doctors say was healthy for a multiple pregnancy.
IUI stands for Intrauterine Insemination, a common fertility treatment where healthy sperm are collected, ‘washed’ and concentrated in a lab, and then directly inserted into a woman’s uterus around ovulation using a thin catheter to help sperm reach the egg for fertilisation, often used for unexplained infertility, cervical issues, or mild male factor infertility, and is less invasive than IVF.
Speaking to The Spectator after the surgery, the Medical Director of the Centre, Dr Nana Yaw Osei, said the pregnancy was achieved through Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) and was not planned to result in multiple births.
“With IUI, you introduce prepared sperm into the uterus and have no control over how many eggs fertilized.”
“Unlike IVF, where embryos are formed outside the body and the number transferred can be controlled, this outcome was left entirely to nature,” Dr Osei explained.
He said unlike IVF which could result in multiple babies, this is “possibly the first IUI leading to quadruplets in Ghana.”
He revealed that the surrogacy arrangement was necessary because the intended mother had lost her uterus during surgery to remove fibroids, making it medically impossible for her to carry a pregnancy.
“She had no womb of her own, through no fault of hers,” Dr Osei said, adding that “Surrogacy was the only option available for her to have a biological child.”
When scans later showed that the surrogate was carrying four fetuses, the medical team considered fetal reduction, a procedure sometimes used to reduce risks in multiple pregnancies. However, the option was rejected.
“As a strong Christian, fetal reduction is abortion to me,” Dr Osei said. “After discussions with the intended parents and the surrogate, we all agreed to continue with the pregnancy.”
Despite concerns commonly associated with multiple pregnancies, Dr Osei noted that the surrogate experienced no major complications, and the delivery was smooth. Paediatric assessments conducted after birth confirmed that all four babies are healthy.
Dr Osei again indicated that surrogacy, though still widely misunderstood, is recognised under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 2020 (Act 1027).
He urged the public to engage the subject with greater understanding.
“Surrogacy is not about convenience,” he said. “It is about restoring hope to people who have lost the ability to carry a child.”
Describing the moment of delivery, he added, “I was in tears in the theatre. It reminded me why I chose this profession.”
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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