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Editorial

Improve security arrangement at match venues

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Dear Editor,

It is sad to hear that a football fan has lost his life at a match venue.

It has thrown the football fraternity into a state of mourning.

The incident which occurred on Sunday when Nsoatreman FC played Asante Kotoko in a Premier League game highlights the lack of proper security measures at the various match venues across the country at all levels of our football.

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Over the years, there have been issues of violent attacks on match officials, sports journalists, and opposition supporters by fans of home teams.

However, most of these cases are not addressed by the Ghana Football Association (GFA).

When such incidents happen, the team that is involved often get banned from playing at their home grounds, while the supporters go unpunished.

This has not yielded the needed results as we continue to see violent acts at our stadiums.

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In view of the recent incident, I recommend that appropriate security measures be put in place by the GFA to protect teams, match officials, and sports journalists. 

To begin with, I suggest that any team that travels to honour league matches should be provided with adequate security.

Also, certain venues in the Bono region, should be allocated a greater number of security personnel to ensure the safety of both home and travelling supporters.

The two most successful football clubs in the country, Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko, should also lead reforms of the league, as often seen in Europe and North Africa, where teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Al Ahly and Zamalek take the bold step in ensuring that decisions regarding the salaries of players, their welfare and security measures at match venues were not only taken for granted.

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For that to happen, representatives of these two clubs at the Executive Committee of the GFA need to be vocal and stand firm with the decision they make.

Atom,

Accra

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Editorial

No life should be lost over allegations

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Dear Editor,

The recent death of Nana Yaw, also known as Dinero/Terry, has left various communities deeply shaken over the circumstances under which a life was lost.

Reports suggest that he went missing after a phone transaction in Teshie and was later found dead. Allegations have circulated that he visited a female friend despite having a pregnant wife at home.

Even if such allegations were true, does that mean he deserved to die? The answer is no. Infidelity is a moral failing, but it is not a crime punishable by death. To suggest otherwise is to normalize violence and diminish the value of human life.

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This tragedy should remind us of the urgent need for justice and accountability. His family especially his expectant wife deserves compassion, not judgment. As a community, we must reject victim‑blaming and focus on preventing such senseless losses in the future.

Nana Yaw’s death is not just a personal tragedy, it is a call to action. 

We must demand thorough investigation, ensure those responsible are held accountable, and commit ourselves to building a society where disagreements and mistakes do not end in violence.

Princess Wonovi, 

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Editorial

Take quick action to rebuild Percheyire R/C Basic School

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The situation at Percheyire R/C Basic School in the Yilo Krobo district is a warning concerning Ghana’s rural education facilities as pupils in Primary four through six are forced to learn inside a building of mud walls, worn-out roofing sheets, and rotting wooden pillars.

It is more than just an infrastructural shortfall. It indicates a fundamental failing of public safety and educational justice. 

Every day, when pupils and teachers arrive at school, their safety is in danger because a school building has such fundamental flaws that it could collapse during a storm.

The classroom is now a hazard rather than a haven for learning for the 30 upper primary pupils and their teachers. A single extreme weather event could cause a mud construction to fall dangerously because it depends on makeshift timber pillars. 

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These children are routinely deprived of the instructional hours that the national curriculum promises them when the arrival of rain inevitably necessitates the suspension of classes to save lives, books, and furniture. 

A deeper systemic problem is revealed when Rev. Elizabeth Korasare, a former teacher, reveals that this identical arrangement has not changed in 38 years. 

Some proponents contend that local government institutions like the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the District Assembly are solely to blame for the main failure. Actual rehabilitation has been postponed due to administrative inactivity, despite official site visits and reports submitted by the school administration. 

According to this viewpoint, there is a problem with the way emergency educational funds are allocated and prioritised when a community school is left in a dangerous condition for decades while waiting for budgetary allocations.

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This point of view highlights the necessity of corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and public-private collaborations. When state machinery fails, supporters contend that combining corporate money with citizen mobilisation provides a more flexible way to replace deteriorating structures.

It is a pity that Percheyire R/C Basic School’s surrounding infrastructure worsens the school’s structural deterioration. Children travelling from nearby communities like Togodo are severely restricted in their access due to an inadequate road network.

When more than 60 school-aged children in a single nearby town are cut off from regular attendance due to distance and bad roads, the school’s capacity to raise the district is substantially limited. A contemporary classroom block will only be successful if students can get there safely.

The lives of Percheyire’s pupils and teachers are at risk, therefore the Spectator is pleading with the Yilo Krobo District Assembly and other interested parties to rebuild the primary block.

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