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COVID-19 is real, don’t lose guard — KIA Port Heath Director
The Director of Port Health at the Kotoka International Airport, Dr. Lawrence Lartey has advised the public not to fall for peer pressure and ignore the Corornavirus safety protocols at events.
He said that even some adults “fall for pressure to do the unthinkable” stressing that it would be more dangerous for such persons to disregard the COVID-19 protocols.
“When the pressure is on you to remove your mask, do not fall for it” he cautioned.
Dr. Lartey’s admonition was based on an observation that it had become worrying to attend social events and see people without wearing nose masks although it was a major prevention measure against the Coronavirus pandemic.
This, according to him, was prevalent at marriage ceremonies and funerals where hundreds of people gathered.
He said some ladies at wedding ceremonies did not see the need to wear nose masks because of their make-ups and so they would rather show their entire faces regardless of the consequences.
The Director of Port Health was worried that at funerals, it was uncommon to see only a handful of people wearing nose masks at such events.
He called for behavioural change among people as these were not normal times and emphasised that hugging and handshakes should be avoided.
Dr. Lartey said it was a challenge to understand why some people still believed COVID-19 was a myth, however, people’s outlook of the virus changed when someone very close to them got the disease.
He said others also thought that even if the virus existed, it was being exaggerated and this trend put many lives at risk.
The Director of Port Health at KIA advised the public to take the protocols of hand washing, wearing of nose masks, use of hand sanitisers and observing the social distancing seriously because the virus was real.
He said health personnel were trying their best to curb the spread of the virus but sadly some had even lost their lives in the process, and called for strict adherence to the safety protocols.
From Difa Tetteh Tay, Tema
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Richard Appiah, the footballer who killed two children and stored part of their bodies in a fridge at Abesim in the Bono Region in 2021 has been handed a lifetime sentence.
This was after a five member panel of judges at the Accra High Court returned a verdict of guilty against the convict.
Appiah, 32, also a draughtsman would spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of murder.
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BY MALIK SULLEMANA
