Editorial
We must get mental patients off the streets
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On August 4, 2022, the Ghanaian Times reported that over 16,000 mentally challenged patients roamed the streets of Ghana resulting in attacks and assaults by mental patients on innocent people.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Mental Health Authority, Professor Akwasi Osei attributed this to the lack of funds to remove the mental patients off the streets hence their presence on the streets leading to the increasing number of attacks on innocent citizens.
According to him, “the mentally challenged are to be confined to the psychiatric hospitals for treatment but the lack of funds is making it difficult to get rid of them off the streets” and appealed to the government to provide funding for the removal of these patients from the streets to prevent further incidents.
It is so scary and disturbing to see mental patients roaming the streets, especially in the cites, with some naked and others carrying dangerous weapons and threatening people nearby.
Some mental patients have even butchered or murdered children and adults causing loss and unforgettable pain to families but sadly they (the mental patients) rather walk freely on posing further danger to the citizenry.
There have been reports where some mentally deranged persons have even raped women going about their daily activities at knife point.
Although mental illness can occur as a result of life’s challenges such as marital, excessive abuse of drugs or alcohol among others, in some families it is genetic and one needs to be careful of how the mentally ill are treated.
The Spectator is happy about the call for support to mental patients which is a step in the right direction and the earlier we get rid of the mentally challenged people from our streets the better it will be for the citizenry to move about without fear or panic
We are all at risk of these attacks, therefore, the government must make mental health a priority in its agenda by providing adequate funds to deal with the situation for the safety of all.
Reports from the Chief Psychiatrist say that seven years ago, some funding was made available “from which mental patients were taken off the streets gradually back to the psychiatric hospitals, treated free of charge and reintegrated into the communities with their relations but ever since the funding ran out, this is the situation we have found ourselves.”
We are surprised that this noble agenda was stopped; we appeal to the government through the Ministry of Health (MoH) to find a lasting solution to the problem of mental patients posing insecurity to the rest of the citizenry.
The Spectator joins Prof Osei in his advocacy for “the government to establish a Mental Health Fund (MHF) through the introduction of at least GH¢0.50 levy charged on the monthly salary of all workers of the formal sector” which would substantially be enough to cater for mental health treatment for the country.
It is equally important for family members not to neglect their relatives who are mentally deranged as this could cause a relapse but to support and give them the needed love and care to make them stable.
Authorities must ensure that the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHS) which was supposed to have covered mental patients’ treatment is implemented to enable relatives of the mentally deranged take them to the hospital for treatment so they do not end up on the streets.
The government must also supply the psychiatric hospitals with the needed logistics such as adequate drugs for both inmates and out-patients and build more health institutions across the country to accommodate the mentally deranged who are on the streets.
Additionally, the government should improve conditions of health practitioners so they will deliver their services promptly.
As a country, there is the need to give much attention to mental health which is a shared responsibility in order to get rid of mental patients off the streets.
Dear Editor,
Successive governments have spent millions over the years maintaining the country’s roads.
Despite these huge investments, many roads continue to deteriorate due to several factors, including the operations of haulage vehicles.
It is unfortunate that many haulage vehicles, such as tractor-trailers, tipper trucks, and tankers transporting goods from the ports, contribute significantly to road damage.
In many cases, these vehicles are overloaded, placing excessive pressure on road surfaces and accelerating their deterioration.
Regulation 52 of the Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2180), requires that loads carried on vehicles or trailers be securely fastened, protected, and properly packed to prevent them from sliding, shifting, or falling off.
However, compliance with this regulation remains a challenge.
There have also been reports of some heavy-duty vehicles bypassing designated weighbridges and failing to comply with axle-load limits as required by law. This weak enforcement has allowed some operators to continue violating regulations with little consequence.
The issue recently came up on the floor of Parliament, where lawmakers called for stricter enforcement of the laws governing the operations of haulage vehicles.
Their concerns highlight the urgent need for stronger monitoring and tougher sanctions against offenders.
As a concerned citizen, I believe the time has come for Ghana to treat this issue with the seriousness it deserves.
Protecting our roads is a shared responsibility that requires effective enforcement of existing laws and greater accountability among transport operators.
The country cannot continue spending large sums of money repairing roads that are repeatedly damaged by preventable practices such as overloading and non-compliance with axle-load regulations.
Resources that could be invested in education, healthcare, agriculture, and other critical sectors should not be diverted to avoidable road maintenance.
Ensuring strict adherence to haulage regulations will not only preserve the nation’s road infrastructure but also promote safer and more efficient transportation for all road users.
B. Acton-Tettey,
Sukura-Accra
The government’s decision to phase-out the double-track system for Free Senior High School (FSHS) is commendable and highly welcome.
Ghana implemented the double-track system in 2018 to address the extreme congestion in Senior High Schools (SHS) brought on by the Free SHS policy.
In order to make the most use of the facilities already in place, it divides the student body and staff into two alternating batches, Green and Gold. This allows one track to attend classes while the other is on vacation.
Despite greatly increasing access to education, the double-track system has brought up serious difficulties.
In actuality, it has decreased the number of teacher contact hours, which has had a detrimental effect on students’ academic achievement and syllabus completion. Teachers are compelled to teach year-round due to the lack of regular vacation time, which results in fatigue, lower job satisfaction, and less time for professional growth.
Additionally, parents have bitterly complained that their “off-track” children’s extended breaks sometimes lead to laziness since they are disconnected from their academic routines and easily forget what they have been taught.
To help their children stay on top of their schoolwork, some parents use private tutoring which they claim is expensive. Others claim the system is exceedingly complex and indeed it needs to be addressed.
Another unsettling problem is that constant, year-round use of school buildings provides little to no time for regular maintenance, repairs, and cleaning of classrooms and dorms, all of which can have an adverse effect on students’ health.
What is more disturbing is that despite the enormous spikes in student enrollment, there is delayed supply of funds and insufficient food supply which schools frequently have to deal with.
The Spectator is pleased that the government is actively modernising facilities nationwide in order to phase out the double-tract system.
We are happy that the government has successfully completed negotiations with the World Bank to secure $300 million funds to end the double-track system in 2029.
This was announced by the Minister of Education, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu when he addressed the Government Accountability Series at the Presidency in Accra last week.
We are hopeful that the STARR-J Project (Secondary Education Transformation for Access, Relevance and Results for Jobs), an educational initiative by the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the World Bank aimed at expanding equitable access, upgrading facilities, and completely phasing out the double-track system will be feasible.
The government’s promise that under the initiative 210 senior high, technical and vocational schools will benefit from infrastructure expansion and upgrades is laudable. This includes the rehabilitation and expansion of 150 schools through the construction of additional classrooms, dormitories and laboratories.
When completed, the Double-Track System will be eliminated. Parents will heave a sigh of relief and teachers will not be overstretched.
