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“Free Range” at Avatime SHS … students lack toilets
Students of the Avatime Senior High School (AVASEC) at Vane in the Ho West District of the Volta Region are said to be defecating indiscriminately in the open with impunity, not only on campus but also in the neighbourhoods due to lack of adequate and decent toilets .
This became the subject matter for discussion at the last quarterly meeting of the Congress of Ho West Paramount Chiefs and Queens at Dzolo-Kpuita during the yuletide.
Osie Adza Tekpor VII, President of the congress who touched on the issue, revealed that some of the students dug shallow holes in the open and defecated in them while others did it in polythene bags.
As a result, the campus and the surroundings of the town are strewn with excrement with the accompanying stench, and health risks making life unbearable in the town, which is the traditional capital of the Avatime Traditional Area.
Osie Adza Tekpor said the sordid and soaring trend was not only disgraceful but also an affront to the status of the second cycle institution.
Worse still, he said, the state of affairs coincided with ongoing efforts by the Avatime traditional authorities to woo foreign and local investors to the area to revive potato, apple and grape cultivation, and also perk up the tourism industry at Avatime.
“The nasty scenes and the surroundings filled with repugnant odour would turn away the investors,” the Osie bemoaned.
Meanwhile, Onetsitsie Osei Yawa VIII, Paramount Queen of Avatime sought to know how students of a second cycle institution could be so morally depraved that they threw polythene bags with excrement even into church premises.
“This is horrifying, indeed,” she grieved.
The congress called on the assembly to rise up and address the problem by providing toilets in the school this month, before all the students returned to campus.
Responding, the District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Ernest Victor Apau gave the assurance that, the problem would be tackled as a matter of priority, not only at AVASEC but also at other senior high schools in the district.
He said that, a water closet project at Kpedze Senior High School was nearing completion.
From Alberto Mario Noretti, Dzolo-Kpuita
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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