News
Provide children with education, protect them from early sex …Gender expert urges parents in UWR
Madam Charity Bature (with microphone), addressing the community members
The Upper West Regional Director of the Department of Gender, Madam Charity Bature, has called on parents to take responsibility for their wards to help prevent teenage pregnancy and school dropout.
She said parents were responsible for providing for their children in terms of food, clothing, and shelter; however, some parents rather encouraged their wards to go outside and provide for themselves, which in some cases leads to teenage pregnancy.
Madam Charity Bature made the call at a community engagement on Social and Behavioural Change (SBC) organised by the Club of Children and Youth in Broadcasting (CYIB-Curious Minds) in partnership with Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Funds (UNICEF) at Kagu in the Wa Municipality.
She said the high increase in school dropouts was worrying, and parents needed to take action to ensure children became responsible as they grew.
Madam Charity Bature urged parents and community leaders to encourage their pregnant girls to go back to school after delivery to carve a better future for themselves and their babies.
“Let’s own up to our responsibilities as parents and train our children to become successful in the future. We need to have time to educate our girl child at home. When you have no time for the child, the child becomes infl uenced by peers and, in the end, becomes pregnant and a school dropout,” she said.
She stressed the need for parents to desist from marrying off their children and rather provide them with education and also protect them from early sex.
She encouraged young people, especially women and children, to speak up on issues that affected them.
She advised girls in the community to take their education very seriously and urged the chiefs to strengthen measures to curb the menace of school dropouts.
The Project Coordinator of CYIB-Curious Minds, Mr. Kingsley Obeng-Kyereh, said the engagement sought to create a platform to interact with children, parents, and community leaders to understand their challenges and also educate them on the need to be responsible for their children.
He said the best role model for a child was the parents, and he urged parents to live an exemplary life for their wards to emulate.
Mr. Kingsley Obeng-Kyereh said lack of parental care for children was one of the causes of teenage pregnancies and child marriage and encouraged parents to double their efforts in catering for their children to help curb the situation.
He said Curious Minds sought to ensure that children and youth were well informed and participated in decision-making on issues affecting them by sharing information, building partnerships, and generating knowledge.
From Rafia Abdul Razak, Wa
The Majority Chief Whip and Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, says Parliament and government officials are working closely with authorities in the Netherlands following the detention of the Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem North, Kwame Ohene Frimpong.
Speaking on the matter on Channel One news yesterday, Mr. Dafeamekpor disclosed that the MP was detained at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on Sunday while travelling on a private trip.
According to him, Mr. Frimpong personally informed him about the incident around 5 a.m. on the day of the arrest.
He said the issue was immediately escalated to parliamentary leadership and other state officials for intervention.
Mr. Dafeamekpor explained that the Majority Leader, who was in transit at Heathrow Airport in London at the time, travelled to Schiphol to engage the detained MP and better understand the situation.
He added that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ghana’s Ambassador to The Hague, the Attorney General, the Speaker of Parliament and the Clerk to Parliament had all been involved in efforts to address the matter.
According to him, a Ghanaian lawyer based in The Hague and qualified to practise there has also been engaged to represent the MP.
“The lawyer is dealing with the issues, but let me confirm that he is fine,” Mr. Dafeamekpor stated.
He noted that Parliament and the legal team were still waiting for official documents, including an authenticated copy of the arrest warrant and other details from Dutch prosecutors handling the matter.
The South Dayi MP therefore urged the media and the public to avoid speculation until all facts surrounding the case are confirmed.
“We want to urge all the media houses not to be throwing in things that have not been confirmed,” he said.
Mr. Dafeamekpor further explained that Parliament’s involvement was partly because the MP was travelling with a diplomatic passport.
He noted that extradition and detention cases involving political figures are not uncommon internationally, citing examples such as former Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet and Julian Assange.
According to him, authorities are hopeful the matter can be resolved for the MP to return to Ghana safely.
He appealed to the MP’s family, colleagues in Parliament and the public to remain calm while diplomatic and legal processes continue.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Ghana Water Ltd has announced temporary water supply interruptions in several parts of western Accra following technical challenges at the Weija Water Treatment Plant.
In a press release issued on May 13, the company explained that the challenges had affected water production and distribution in some communities.
According to the management of the company, residents in areas including Dansoman, Mamprobi, Mataheko, Laterbiokorshie, Korle Bu, La Paz, MacCarthy Hill, Gbawe, Mallam, Tesano, Darkuman, North Kaneshie, Dome, Achimota, Anyaa and Ablekuma may experience low water pressure and erratic water supply.
Management noted that engineers and technical teams were working to fix the problem and restore normal water supply as soon as possible.
The company advised consumers to store water whenever there is flow in their communities in order to manage the temporary disruption.
It urged essential service providers to contact their Assembly Members or the Ghana Water Ltd Call Centre for assistance.
The company apologized to customers affected by the situation and appealed for calm and cooperation while efforts continue to resolve the challenge.
By: Jacob Aggrey
