News
Explosion of two tankers, kills boy 2, at Apremdo
On Wednesday, a two-year-old boy died when two diesel tankers exploded and caught fire, near the Apollo traffic light junction at Apremdo, in the Effia–Kwesimintsim Municipality.
The deceased was burnt beyond recognition, while his auntie, Maame Abena, a MOMO agent, narrowly escaped from the fire.
The Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipal Assembly (EKMA), has established that operators of the fuel tankers which exploded and caused fire at a parking space, near the Apremdo market, on Wednesday, have no permit to run such business at the premise.
It stressed that the operators have only been granted permits to erect temporal structures for businesses “and not to use the place as a parking lot or distribution point for fuel”.
The Municipal Chief Executive for Effia-Kwesimintsim, Kojo Acquah, told journalists after the fire incident that, the tanker operators have been running their operations at the blind side of the assembly, adding that “the trucks have not been given any permit”.
He has, however, indicated that EKMA would undertake a thorough investigation into the accident, assuring that, the necessary actions and sanctions would be applied against persons or groups whose negligence caused the disaster.
Sources narrated that, the child was left to sleep in one of the containers which served as MOMO joint at a parking place near the Total Filling station, at Apremdo.
The inferno, which began about 1:30 pm, sent thick dark clouds, billowing into the atmosphere and caused people at the scene to run for their dear lives.
For about four hours, the raging fire swept the entire parking area and destroyed six containers used as mechanical spare-parts shop, a drinking spot, an eatery, a MOMO joint, and an Opel taxi cab.
Reports at the scene indicated that, the fully loaded fuel tankers were parked at the parking location(yard) behind the Total Filling station, awaiting directives to discharge fuel at the pump stations before the explosion occurred.
Eye witnesses spoke about earlier efforts of crew aboard two fire tenders, who made frantic efforts to control the raging fire from spreading to other areas including the Total Filling station while an anxious milling crowd at the scene prayed it did not affect the nearby ‘Abenbenbobom market’ at Apremdo.
“I heard an explosion and the place was suddenly consumed by the fire. My brother, the inferno here is no joke,” an eyewitness recalled.
The Public Relations Officer of the Western Regional Command of the Ghana Fire Service, Divisional Officer 111, Emmanuel Kojo Bonney, said six fire tenders were deployed to the scene to control the fire, adding that “it took our team about an hour and forty-three minutes to ‘tame’ the wild fire”.
Complaining about the crowd which milled at the fire scene, he said, “In fire-fighting, every second counts so when the crowd invades the scene, we have to meander through the crowd to fight the fire…this delays our time in fighting the fire. So the police had a hectic time dispersing them.”
FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, TAKORADI
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has urged Ghanaians to make regular physical activity part of their daily routines to improve blood glucose control and reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
It said regular exercise helped the body use insulin more effectively, thereby improving blood sugar regulation and contributing to better overall health.
The call forms part of the Service’s 30-day diabetes awareness campaign ahead of this year’s World Diabetes Day, which is observed on November 14.
The GHS encouraged people to engage in simple physical activities such as walking, dancing, cycling and gardening.
It noted that staying physically active did not necessarily require expensive gym memberships, as everyday activities, including household chores, could contribute to maintaining an active lifestyle.
The Service advised adults to aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week, stressing the importance of starting with manageable activities and gradually building consistency.
It further encouraged people living with diabetes to combine regular physical activity with prescribed treatment and a healthy diet to help manage the condition.
The awareness campaign, being undertaken ahead of World Diabetes Day, is aimed at promoting healthy lifestyle choices and encouraging early action to prevent and manage diabetes.
This year’s World Diabetes Day is being observed under the theme “early action on diabetes,” with November 14 set aside to raise awareness of the condition and the importance of prevention, early detection and proper management.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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We take certain things for granted but it should not be so, especially if you can read, write and understand what is said on TV and Radio in English. Usually at 7:00 pm, I watch the news on one of the popular media channels and it was no big deal until a few days ago.
As I listened to a radio presenter on a popular Fm station, the important role my parents played in my life, as far as education is concerned, suddenly dawned on me. The usual style at the start of the programme, is to play a very funny interaction between a man who identifies himself as Barry …and a Ghanaian man called Akwasi.
This Barry guy apparently was talking to Akwasi by phone and he was speaking in English and Akwasi asked him to speak English, meanwhile Akwasi did not understand the English language, so he quickly asked the Barry guy to change to Twi, when he realised that the intonation was not the normal Ghanaian one.
I really had a good laugh and that was when I realised that my parents had indeed helped me by giving me access to education.
Imagine going to enter a place and they have written push on the door frame and because you cannot read, you decide to assume that you need to pull the door towards you and the embarrassment you will go through, pulling with all your might and especially at places with glass doors at the main entrance, everybody watching you and you struggling with the door for quite a few seconds before deciding to push.
It is in moments like that, that you either start blessing your parents or otherwise, depending on whether they sent you to school or not. There are things we consider as little that we take for granted but in reality, it is a big deal if you are not educated.
I recently had to go to an office located in the Ridge Hospital area and it was located on one of the floors of a story building. The protocol requires that visitors to the place log their details in a book provided for that purpose.
You write the date, your name etc., the usual. Imagine for a moment that you are Akosua Seiwaa, an uneducated person, who is going to see someone in one of the offices in the building and you are required to fill the log book with your details. It suddenly generates a stressful situation for you.
The FM programme really set me thinking about how grateful we ought to be to our parents or guardians who gave us access to education such that we have the confidence to go boldly to all kinds of places without stress.
Just imagine going to a hospital and given a whole bunch of medication. As is usually the case, the pharmacist mentions your name and immediately starts telling you the number of times and the various dosage you are to take them.
He or she then goes to the next person and chances are you are likely to forget some of the instructions. If you are uneducated, how are you going to identify the right dosages and any other special instructions you need. There is a saying that ‘If you can read this, thank a teacher.’ I think it should rather be, ‘If you can read this, thank your parents.’
There was another recording of a hilarious conversation on the show between two ladies one of whom was uneducated and did not understand “It’s been a while”. Apparently a church member met her and she said to her it’s been a while and did not know how to respond till a young girl she was walking with explained to her in Twi “Ose ohuu wo aky3”.
She was bitterly complaining to the friend that had it not been the young girl, she would have been greatly embarrassed with this “it’s been a while, it’s been a while” that the church member said to her. Do not laugh alone. Share. God bless.
