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Flouting COVID-19 protocols: Apaak berates NPP leadership for not sanctioning members
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Builsa South in the Upper East Region, Dr Clement Apaak, has berated the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for just scolding its members for flouting COVID-19 protocols during their primaries.
He expressed disappointment in President Nana Akufo-Addo for just scolding members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for flouting COVID-19 protocols during their primaries and described the President’s lack of firm action as very ‘shameful’ in an open letter addressed to the President on June 28, 2020.
Dr Apaak’s abhorrence to the President’s ‘mild rebuke’ stems from the fact that some members of the public having conducted similar offences have been prosecuted and jailed saying “having opportunity to address the nation a day after the NPP primaries on June 21, the President failed to mention the unfortunate show of impunity by members and supporters of his party.
“Indeed, many videos and pictures that were circulated, showed identifiable faces, which should pose no difficulty to law enforcement to identify culprits, if the President wished to apply the law but, as expected, a week on, the President, having grabbed another opportunity to address the issue.
“After a week of open criticism from a cross section of Ghanaians, to the effect of discriminating against some class of Ghanaians, President Akufo-Addo shamefully pardoned his party members for openly offending his own law.
“To close churches and order citizens about in a certain manner without same applying to his party members, smacks of hypocrisy, divisiveness, and is detrimental to national unity, President Akufo-Addo during his acclamation by his party on June 27, 2020, admitted that his party, the NPP, failed to fully comply with some of the COVID-19 preventive measures and hygienic protocols during its parliamentary primaries and admonished them not to let that repeat itself.
“This past weekend, our party came to the end of the processes that we have to go through to prepare for the elections in December to prepare for the primaries in constituencies where we have sitting MPs, unfortunately, in our enthusiasm and sheer unbridled joy, we broke some of the COVID-19 safety protocols and it should not happen again,” President Akufo-Addo cautioned. -ghanaweb.com
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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