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‘Maintain clean environments while observing social distancing ‘
Mama Afiakumah II, Queen of the Tsowu-Afede Clan of Ve-Deme in the Afadzato South District of the Volta Region, has said that the social distancing protocol in the wake of efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, is no justification to leave the surroundings dirty.
She insisted that communities must still be kept clean while observing the social distancing.
Mama Afiakumah described as highly unpatriotic the lazy attitude of some young people who hid under the social distancing protocol and refused to tidy up their communities in recent times.
She made the remarks while presenting 10 Veronica buckets, 10 buckets, consignments of liquid soap, hand sanitisers, paper towels and masks among other items, worth about GH₵4,000 to the Ve-Deme community to support the hand washing culture in the area.
Mama Afiakumah said that the pandemic should rather prompt the citizenry to renew their patriotic spirit and team up to fight the virus with great zeal and enthusiasm for life to return to normal in the country as soon as possible.
The queen also entreated parents to monitor their children around the clock while schools were shut, to ensure that they did not drift “off course in these trying times”.
She explained that, leaving children to be on their own all the time may cause them to indulge in vices inimical to their future.
“Our children can continue to learn even outside the classroom until the schools re-open,” Mama Afiakumah added.
She pointed out that the crusade against COVID-19 required all hands on deck, for which she called on all and sundry to support the government’s efforts to contain the spread of the virus.
The queen highlighted the need to maintain high standards of hygiene at all times, saying cleanliness was next to godliness.
She commended the Tsowu-Afede Clan for their strong communal spirit and unity, and urged them to maintain and utilise it to support the community’s set of development objectives.
She announced plans to grow trees along the one-kilometre road between the Ve-Deme junction and the community, with support from the Forestry Commission, saying that the project could be carried out vigorously by the youth in strict adherence to the social distancing protocol.
“There is a lot we can do for ourselves before looking up to the government for support for other projects,” Mama Afiakumah pointed out.
Receiving the items, Togbe Sodzi VI thanked Mama Afiakumah for the unfading concern for the welfare of Ve-Deme and described her as a jewel of the soil.
He gave the assurance that the Ve-Deme community would remain united and focused in its unflinching resolve to support the fight against COVID-19.
From Alberto Mario Noretti, Ve-Deme
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Minister for Education leads monitoring visit to BECE Centres
As part of efforts to encourage candidates writing the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrissu has led a government delegation to the 5 Garrison Education Centre and Emmause Cluster of Schools earlier today in Accra.
The visit aimed at monitoring the conduct of the examination, interacting with candidates, and offering words of motivation.
The minister urged the students to remain focused, confident, and determined, encouraging them to do their best to make themselves and the nation proud.
Accompanying the Education minister were the Minister for Defence, Edward Omane Boamah; Deputy Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs and Member of Parliament for La Dadekotopon, Rita Naa Odoley Sowah and the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Prof. Ernest Davis.
The rest included the Chief Director of the Ministry of Education, Mrs. Maamle Andrews; and the Municipal Chief Executive for La Dadekotopon, Alfredos Nii Anyetei.
Other dignitaries present also reiterated government’s commitment to educational excellence and the holistic development of every Ghanaian child.
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Interior Minister calls for correctional reform as Prisons Service graduates New Officers
Speaking at the Passing-Out Parade of Recruit Course 125 at Ankaful Prison Officers’ Training School in the Central Region, the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak has emphasized the need for correctional reform in Ghana, highlighting the government’s commitment to transforming the Prisons Service into a modern correctional facility that focuses on rehabilitation, reformation and reintegration.
He noted that Government remains committed to expanding vocational training, educational programmes and productive inmate enterprises that reinforce rehabilitation, reformation and reintegration.
The minister pointed out that correctional facilities must become centers of reform, not just detention.
According to him, “is not an act of charity but a strategic investment in national security and human capital. When we empower an inmate with employable skills, we reduce the opportunity for that inmate to re-offend. Rehabilitation and reformation do not occur in isolation but must be linked to purposeful activity.”
To give practical effect to this policy, Muntaka Mohamed-Mubarak announced that Government will scale up support for prison-based ventures, saying that entures such as carpentry, tailoring, agriculture, and industrial operations, including bottled water production, will be central to a sustainable, self-reliant correctional economy.
The Minister also directed all institutions under the Ministry for the Interior to prioritise the purchase of bottled water and toilet rolls produced by the Ghana Prisons Service.
This, he said, will not only reduce the financial burden on the state but also generate revenue and promote inmates’ productivity.
He reassured the leadership and personnel of the Ghana Prisons Service of the Government’s unwavering support, emphasizing that the commitment goes beyond improving logistics and infrastructure to reforming the very foundation of correctional practice in Ghana.
Muntaka Mubarak urged the new officers to serve with integrity, compassion, and professionalism, and assured them that their actions would reflect the high standards of the Service and the trust the nation has placed in them.
