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Return to IPAC; it offers numerous opportunities – Afari Gyan urges NDC
Former Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan, has urged members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to rescind their boycott of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC).
The main opposition party withdrew its participation from IPAC after the 2020 general elections, accusing the leadership of the EC of alleged bias in favour of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The NDC accused the EC of overseeing the manipulation of the 2020 general elections.
While addressing the 3rd Annual Conference of the NDC Lawyers Association in Akosombo in the Eastern Region, Dr. Afari Gyan emphasized the opportunities that IPAC offers to the various political parties.
“The IPAC makes it possible for political parties to know and make inputs to the important thing the Electoral Commission is doing at any point in time. It makes it possible to discuss the concerns of the parties and makes it possible to contribute to the making of subsidiary legislation, and I will appeal to the NDC to go back.”
“Don’t worry if your ideas are not adopted, please go there and make your ideas felt. Indeed, in some cases, IPAC is the forum for stakeholder dialogue towards achieving common ownership of the electoral system. Under Ghana’s Electoral system, there are many opportunities for political parties to participate in Electoral processes that promote free and fair elections,” Dr Afari Gyan advised.
NDC boycotts IPAC meeting on 2020 general elections
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) refused to attend an IPAC meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 21, 2021.
The meeting was aimed at giving the various political parties the opportunity to review the December 7, 2020, general elections.
“The National Democratic Congress (NDC), declined an invitation by the Electoral Commission of Ghana to attend an IPAC meeting to review the 2020 Parliamentary and Presidential Elections which was scheduled for Wednesday 21st April 2021. The party took this decision because of the lack of candour, odious duplicity, and open bias that was displayed by the Jean Mensah-led Electoral Commission in favour of the New Patriotic Party in the conduct of the 2020 general elections,” the NDC said in a statement.
The NDC, in the statement, justified the action, saying it was to protest the supposed bias displayed by the Electoral Commission during the polls.
“It is the considered view of the NDC, that the current leadership of the Electoral Commission who supervised the manipulation of the 2020 general elections and the stolen verdict that resulted from same, lack the integrity, credibility and impartiality to lead any such discussions or review of the very elections they rigged,” it said.
Credit: Citinewsroom.com
Hundreds of street children received a special treat during the Christmas festivities as a result of a collaboration between the management of the La Beach Hotel and the Street Academy in Accra.
It was part of the Hotel’s current arrangement to provide lunch for the children of the Academy every Friday.
Courtesy that partnership, management of the La Beach Hotel feted hundreds of street children housed by the Street Academy, creating a partying moment for the children.
According to officials of the Hotel, the gesture was to let the children feel part of the festivities and not left out.
The children enjoyed delicious meals and snack after which they danced as they enjoyed the moment.
According to the Hotel officials, “the season represents one that every parent gathers their children and shower them with gifts and others to make them happy but sadly, these unfortunate children are left on their own, having no one to care for them.”
“This is an event we intend to make an annual one. Through this, we hope to put some smiles on their faces. It is not proper to leave them on their own.”
The Executive Director of the Academy, Ataa Lartey, expressed gratitude to the management of the hotel, saying that, “this has gone a long way to excite the children and make them feel part of the celebration.”
He said due to the number of children that join around this time of the year, it becomes difficult for the Academy alone to shoulder this responsibility.
“It is not easy to organise such activities alone because it draws a lot of children, that is, those in the Academy and their friends that follow them but with such cooperate supports, we are able to bring them together to share in moments like this,” he told The Spectator.
By Spectator Reporter
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A 30-year-old surrogate mother has delivered a set of quadruplets at The Walking Egg Medical and Fertility Centre at Pokuase in Accra, in a rare surrogacy success that has brought renewed attention to assisted reproductive care in Ghana.
The babies-two boys and two girls- were delivered through a caesarean section in the early hours of Tuesday at 36 weeks and weighed an average 2.5 kilograms each, a weight doctors say was healthy for a multiple pregnancy.
IUI stands for Intrauterine Insemination, a common fertility treatment where healthy sperm are collected, ‘washed’ and concentrated in a lab, and then directly inserted into a woman’s uterus around ovulation using a thin catheter to help sperm reach the egg for fertilisation, often used for unexplained infertility, cervical issues, or mild male factor infertility, and is less invasive than IVF.
Speaking to The Spectator after the surgery, the Medical Director of the Centre, Dr Nana Yaw Osei, said the pregnancy was achieved through Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) and was not planned to result in multiple births.
“With IUI, you introduce prepared sperm into the uterus and have no control over how many eggs fertilized.”
“Unlike IVF, where embryos are formed outside the body and the number transferred can be controlled, this outcome was left entirely to nature,” Dr Osei explained.
He said unlike IVF which could result in multiple babies, this is “possibly the first IUI leading to quadruplets in Ghana.”
He revealed that the surrogacy arrangement was necessary because the intended mother had lost her uterus during surgery to remove fibroids, making it medically impossible for her to carry a pregnancy.
“She had no womb of her own, through no fault of hers,” Dr Osei said, adding that “Surrogacy was the only option available for her to have a biological child.”
When scans later showed that the surrogate was carrying four fetuses, the medical team considered fetal reduction, a procedure sometimes used to reduce risks in multiple pregnancies. However, the option was rejected.
“As a strong Christian, fetal reduction is abortion to me,” Dr Osei said. “After discussions with the intended parents and the surrogate, we all agreed to continue with the pregnancy.”
Despite concerns commonly associated with multiple pregnancies, Dr Osei noted that the surrogate experienced no major complications, and the delivery was smooth. Paediatric assessments conducted after birth confirmed that all four babies are healthy.
Dr Osei again indicated that surrogacy, though still widely misunderstood, is recognised under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 2020 (Act 1027).
He urged the public to engage the subject with greater understanding.
“Surrogacy is not about convenience,” he said. “It is about restoring hope to people who have lost the ability to carry a child.”
Describing the moment of delivery, he added, “I was in tears in the theatre. It reminded me why I chose this profession.”
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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