Editorial
Speed up construction works on Sukura market
Dear Editor,
I write to bring to your notice the delayed construction of the Sukura market in the Ablekuma Central Constituency.
On Thursday, September 10, 2020, a durbar which was graced by the former Member of Parliament (MP) of the Constituency, Mr Ebenezer Nii Narh Nartey, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the Assembly, Mariama Karley Amui, and other dignitaries was held to cut sod for the construction of a modern market for the Sukura community.
As a temporary measure, sheds were erected on the road in front of the old market to accommodate them.
But four years afterwards, the new market funded by the Coastal Development Authority (CODA) under the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP) of the Ministry of Special Development Initiative is yet to take shape.
Work is still at the foundation level, while the place had been turned into a car park and playing field for children.
Traders who sell at the market for the past four years have complained bitterly about the stalled project and the challenges they are facing.
To make matters worse, the temporary sheds have affected traffic flow.
As a concerned member of the community, I once enquired from the Ablekuma Central Municipal Assembly to know the reason for the delay.
Eventually, it was attributed to a change in the design of the infrastructure which needed additional funding.
I find it very disturbing that the market that have served the community for close to 50 years is not properly functioning while some of the traders have had to find other markets to sell.
Personally, I feel there was no need to start the project if the government was not ready financially.
The government, through the Ablekuma Central Municipal Assembly, needs to find ways of ensuring that the stalled project is completed to address the challenges it had brought to the Sukura community.
Benjamin Arcton-Tettey – Sukura
arctontetteybenjamin@gmail. com
Some women choose not to have children, while others want children but are unable to do so because of uncontrollable circumstances.
Due to social expectations, childless women endure anxiety, loneliness, isolation, and even low self-esteem.
Their problems are made worse by the fact that they are labelled as barren. Owing to their current circumstances, individuals turn to a variety of treatments, including assisted reproductive care, in the hopes that eventually their desires would be fulfilled.
Thankfully, some have been successful and have had multipla children, while others have given up and resorted to adoption as a last choice.
However, there is good news for childless women whose circumstances are beyond their control: the nation’s first intrauterine insemination (IUI) quadruplets have been delivered, offering them hope.
IUI is a common fertility treatment where healthy sperm are collected, ‘washed’ and concentrated in a laboratory, 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.
This breakthrough occurred at the Walking Egg Medical and Fertility Centre at Pokuase in Accra, where a 30-year-old surrogate mother delivered a set of quadruplets, a rare surrogacy success that has brought renewed attention to assisted reproductive care in Ghana.
According to our reporter who witnessed the delivery, 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 of 2.5 kilogrammes each, a weight doctors say was healthy for a multiple pregnancy.
The Spectator is filled with joy and applauds the Medical Director of the Centre, Dr Nana Yaw Osei, for this great feat which will give hope to women and bring joy to many families.
Describing the moment of delivery, he added, “I was in tears in the theatre. It reminded me why I chose this profession.”
Hear him, “Unlike IVF which could result in multiple babies, this is “possibly the first IUI leading to quadruplets in Ghana.”
He explained that IUI is not planned to result in multiple births adding that “this outcome was left entirely to nature.”
Again, he revealed that “With IUI, you introduce prepared sperm into the uterus and have no control over how many eggs fertilized.”
The revelation is reassuring therefore we encourage couples to plan surrogacy arrangement as in this case the intended mother had lost her uterus during surgery to remove fibroids, making it medically impossible for her to carry a pregnancy.
Dr Osei again indicated that surrogacy, though still widely misunderstood, is recognised under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 2020 (Act 1027).
Although there have been concerns commonly associated with multiple pregnancies, Dr Osei noted that the surrogate experienced no major complications, and the delivery was smooth.
The good news is that “Paediatric assessments conducted after birth confirmed that all four babies are healthy.”
We therefore urge couples to consider surrogacy which is restoring hope to women who have lost the ability to carry a child.
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
Dear Editor,
I want to use your respected platform to commend the police administration for the swoops that resulted in the arrest of members of some gangs that operates in Accra and other parts of the country.
These are notorious criminals that are always hell-bent to make life difficult for people.
We may be new in 2026 but it looks like these criminals are not ready to change. In less than two weeks into the New Year, the police has already busted several gang members with dangerous weapons in their possession.
It started in Accra with the arrest of 16 suspected individuals who were involved in various criminal cases including daylight robbers, phone snatching, residential robberies, impersonation and many others.
Following that was the seizure of suspected substances believed to be Indian Hemp in the North Tongu District of the Volta region.
Again, the Greater Accra and Eastern Regional Commands also collaborated well to smash a highway robbery syndicate with seven of the members arrested.
The last I can recount for the first month of the year was the interception of 1,613 parcels of suspected narcotics drugs by the Tema Police Command.
All of these goes to speak about the good work the police is doing to make life comfortable and violence –free for Ghanaians.
Without this commitment from the force, a lot of these activities would not have happen. They did all of these at the peril of their lives.
It is my hope that those arrested would be prosecuted and be made to face the full rigors of the law.
Nana Yaw Amankwaa,
Ofankor
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
