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No sex on eve of elections – journalists advised
A seasoned media practitioner and consultant, Madam Ivy Priscilla Setordjie, has entreated journalists assigned to cover the December 7 polls to abstain from sex on the eve of election.
“The general elections are a sacred national event which requires all your energy and concentration to cover accurately,” she told participants at a recent training on ‘Election Reporting’ at Ho.
According to her, recovering from a hectic and stressful sex session the night before, could affect the performance of a journalist on the field the day after.
The training was organised by the Multimedia Group, Joy News, in the series for 30 journalists in the Volta and Oti regions in the countdown to the polls, to ensure precise reporting and media professionalism on the presidential and parliamentary elections.
Madam Setordjie who was a facilitator and a resource person at the programme again cautioned the participants against taking alcohol, saying any reporter who turned up drunk at a polling station would be doing a great disservice to the nation.
“A serious journalist on a crucial national assignment must avoid anything which would distract his attention from the task ahead of him, she said.
The media consultant reminded the participants that, their duty on that day was not to engage in unnecessary arguments with officials of the Electoral Commission (EC), party agents and personnel of the security agencies.
“You are to report on the facts on the ground without sacrificing your neutrality and professionalism,” Madam Setordjie warned.
On the safety of journalists, she asked the participants to identify a safe exit at every polling station and leave as soon as possible if the ground turned hostile for them.
“No assignment is worth your life and so safety first, report later,” she said.
The topics treated at the training included Election Day coverage principles, Use of cameras at polling stations, and News updates on elections, among others.
However Dr Kojo Cobba Essel, a medical doctor and an ISSA certified expert in exercise therapy, fitness nutrition and corrective exercise, believes individuals must not be deprived of sex before work.
He noted that it was sex “enhanced by other factors” such as aphrodisiacs that actually drains one’s energy.
According to him, if individuals engaged in “responsible sex” without the use of aphrodisiacs that could “actually reduce a lot of stress.”
“If you are not going to take any aphrodisiac and you do it like your regular sex you are going to be less stressed when you wake up,” he noted.
From Alberto Mario Noretti, Ho
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Richard Appiah, the footballer who killed two children and stored part of their bodies in a fridge at Abesim in the Bono Region in 2021 has been handed a lifetime sentence.
This was after a five member panel of judges at the Accra High Court returned a verdict of guilty against the convict.
Appiah, 32, also a draughtsman would spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of murder.
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BY MALIK SULLEMANA
