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Tanzanian president urges public not to fear COVID-19 pandemic
Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Sunday urged members of the public to stop fearing the COVID-19 pandemic but he said they should continue observing protective guidelines issued by health authorities.
Magufuli made the appeal when he attended Sunday prayers at a church in his native town of Chato in Geita region, said a statement by the Directorate of Communications at State House.
According to the statement, President Magufuli urged Tanzanians to continue working hard, especially in mass production of food saying neighboring countries which were on lockdown will need food supplies when the lockdown was relaxed.
The president reiterated his decision to rule out a lockdown and closure of borders because he said doing so will affect production, implementation of projects and other economic activities, said the statement.
He appealed to religious leaders to conduct prayers for three consecutive days from next Friday, Saturday and Sunday to thank God because COVID-19 infections in the east African nation have started to go down.
Magufuli said latest statistics showed that as of Sunday, Amana hospital in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam which had 198 COVID-19 patients now remained with 12 patients, Mloganzila hospital admitted 30 patients but it now remained with six patients and Lulanzi health facility in Kibaha district had more than 50 patients but it now remained with 22 patients.
He added that in private hospitals like the Aga Khan Hospital remained with 31 COVID-19 patients, Hindu Mandal Hospital remained with 16 patients.”Even my child was infected with COVID-19 but has recovered after taking lemons and ginger. This disease will therefore spread and be contained,” said Magufuli.
The president said if the trend of recovery continued persistently he will soon reopen universities, adding that he was also thinking of resuming sports events.
Magufuli also ordered the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism and other relevant authorities to allow tourists who had planned to visit Tanzania. “You should not stop planes bringing tourists in the country,” he said. -Xinhua
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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.
