Breaking News: Unknown assailants kill two in Bawku

 

     

Some unknown assailants yesterday opened fire killing at least two people in Bawku. The incident which took place at Patilmi, a suburb close to the Ghana National Fire Service Station, injured two persons. The two, who sustained various degrees of injuries are said to be responding to treatment at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital while investigations are ongoing to unravel the cause of the shooting. The Bawku Municipal Chief Executive, Issahaku Bukari, told Radio Ghana's Isaac Asare  that   the Municipal Security Council, MUSEC, will be meeting this morning to deliberate on the way forward and also put in place further security measures to avert any re-occurrence. He emphasized, that the shooting has nothing to do with the conflict in Bawku but a malicious act perpetuated by some unscrupulous group of persons who are bent on destabilizing the current peace in the area. Mr Bukari said, the security is on the ground trying to pick up pieces of information to certain the truth of the matter. He said his office is yet to get a briefing from the security, and that those found culpable will be made to face the full rigours of the law. Mr. Bukari, assured the people of Bawku and its environs to remain calm and go about their duties without fear or panic. An eye witness who happens to be the Assembly member for the Patilmi Electoral Area, Imoro Mahamadu, said the incident which occurred  around 8.pm last night  was purely criminal because the victims were sitting infront of their family home conversing when the armed men approached them and opened fire killing the two in the process. He said the deceased who have been identified as Alhassan Hadi and Issaka Tijani, are said to be buried today. The Bawku Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent, Tehupor Kalepsi, told Radio Ghana that security in Bawku will be tightened and that efforts will be made to bring the perpetrators to book.  

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Advocate for sex education to be included in school curriculum: Media urged

Narration: The media has been urged to advocate for sex education to be included in the school curricula. This will address the issue of teenage pregnancy particularly among girls in basic schools. The Executive Director of Youth Harvest Foundation Ghana, YHFG, John Kingsley Krugu, who made the call at a media engagement in Bolgatanga, said countries where sex education is part of school curricula, those countries have made tremendous progress in the area of Adolescent Sexual And Reproductive Health. It was therefore incumbent on the media as key partners in development to impress on policy makers to make sex education part of the country’s educational system.

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Mr. Krugu disclosed that the media has the power to influence policy decisions; hence the need for them to set the agenda and push forward policies that can improve the lot of the youth particularly teenagers. Mr. Krugu said though the media has played its advocacy role in addressing the issue of teenage pregnancy, research has shown that knowledge and information sharing are not enough in changing people’s perception and behaviour towards Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health. He said the media has a critical role in diffusing certain perception that seem to suggest that when children are exposed to sex education, they are likely to lead promiscuous lifestyles. He said in as much as they want the media to play the leading role in advocating  the inclusion of sex education in schools, YHFG in collaboration with other child rights NGOs has engaged the Curriculum and Research Unit of the Ghana Education Service on the issue. Mr. Krugu was hopeful that the unit will consider revising the current curriculum and table it at the policy level for approval.  Presenting the state of adolescent health situation in some selected districts of the region, a staff of YHFG,  Urban Akagwire, echoed the need for the media to help nib teenage pregnancy in the bud before it gets out of hand. Statistics showed that 169 cases of pregnancy among teenage girls in Junior High Schools, JHS, were recorded in Bongo, Talensi and Nabdam districts with Bongo recording the highest of 88 cases from 38 JHSs. Last year the district recorded 18 and 22 reported cases of HIV and AIDS related conditions for males and females, while the Talensi district recorded 18 cases of gonorrhea in 2012.  This Mr Akagwire called for urgent attention to address the situation. He said the  media engagement, was significant considering the critical role it plays in the dissemination of information to the general public. The engagement was used to showcase YHFG’s  FLASH programme, which is a comprehensive sex education manual for health teachers

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UE maintains clean sheet on cholera

      

The Upper East Region has maintained a clean sheet as it has so far not reported any case of cholera this year. The Regional Disease Surveillance Officer, Baba Awuni, who made this known to Radio Ghana in Bolgatanga, said the region did not   record any case of cholera last year as compared to the previous year, where one hundred and 7 cases were recorded in the Kassena-Nankana East and West districts with three deaths. Mr. Awuni said though no new case had been reported, the health sector is leaving nothing to chance to ensure it does not emerge here. The Regional Health Directorate, in view of the Cholera outbreak in Accra and other urban areas, has put in measures to prevent and deal with any suspected case. He announced that a number of health staff have been trained and deployed to embark on educational campaigns to sensitize the general public to the dangers of Cholera and the deadly Ebola disease through the various media outlets. Mr. Awuni hinted that these health professionals are in the Eastern, Central and Western zones. The Eastern Zone comprises of Bawku Municipal and its adjoining communities. The Central Zone covers Bolgatanga Municipal, Bongo, Talensi and Nabdam districts while the Western zone encompasses Navrongo, Sandema and Fumbisi. Mr. Awuni acknowledged the level of partnership between the Ghana Health Service and the media as far as campaign on cholera and Ebola are concerned. He however called on the media to intensify its campaign in warding off any Ebola and cholera attack.

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CODEO propose recommendations for future voter registration exercise

 The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers, CODEO, says though the nationwide limited voter registration which ends today has been generally smooth and peaceful it was concerned with the low turnout of new registrants. CODEO is also concerned about what it described as lack of understanding of procedures for filing challenges against the eligibility of prospective registrants. CODEO is confident in the ability of the Electoral Commission, EC, in the conduct of the exercise, and  recommends that the EC improves its publicity and education campaign in future exercises in order to enhance public understanding of the registration procedures. The Coalition further urges all stakeholders, especially the political parties, to also constructively work with the EC to ensure that the outcome of the exercise is peaceful and credible. A statement signed by its Secretariat Staff, Mensah Aborampah, CODEO said the EC in future should intensify its education of the required documents acceptable for registration. This is because a considerable number of prospective registrants were not aware of the Supreme Court ruling on the NHIS Card and voter registration. The EC should also consider opening centers close to communities as the distances from the registration centers appear to be a factor for the low turnout in the rural areas. The EC should also use more directional signs; especially in the urban centers to enable people to identify registration centers.

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TYD impress on gov’t to reinforce the National Youth Policy

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The Tamale Youth for Development, TYD, a non-political youth network of 27 community based youth groups in Tamale has drawn  government’s attention  to some implementation gaps in the National Youth Policy.  TYD has noted some loopholes in the crafting of the policy, stressing that some critical areas of the policy had received no or little attention. This, it however stated, has thwarted efforts at improving the lot of the youth to contribute to national development. In a statement to commemorate this year’s International Youth Day, TYD, impressed on government to make development and delivery of education and skills training more responsive to the labour market through the constant review of training and education curricula. It also urged government to provide well equipped community based networked ICT resource centers in all districts across the country and facilitate access to credit for the youth for entrepreneurial development. The youth group asked government to facilitate equal access to relevant skills and quality education opportunities for post-basic senior high school drop-outs and prepare tertiary students for gainful employment and responsible citizenship. While imploring government to ensure the effective implementation of the National Youth Policy, it further called on the various assemblies, traditional authorities and the media to create the needed platform for the youth to air their views and contribute to policy making at the local level, especially as the 2014-2017 Medium Term Development Plans are being prepared. It said as the district level elections get closer, it behoves government to appoint more young people into MMDAs through the 30 percent appointment powers of the President. The celebration of the 2014 International Youth Day called on the youth of the country to desist from substance abuse and stay healthy at all times. It was celebrated on the theme: ‘Youth and Mental Health”.

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Horror: Fear and panic grips residents of Bolgatanga

The beheaded body at Yaregabisi

Intense fear and panic have gripped residents of Bolgatanga and its adjoining communities following two gory incidences recorded in the past weeks. Most people are now living in terror as people continue to die mysteriously in the municipality. The unfortunate turn of events has provoked security concerns calling for the intervention of security agencies to arrest the situation. The first, incidence was at Tindonmolgo, where a human head was found in an uncompleted building.  Few days after, a lifeless body of a man believed to be in his early forties was also found floating at Yaregabisi, a community in the Bolgatanga municipality.  Narrating the Tindonmolgo case to Radio Ghana, the Regional Public Relations Officer, of the Ghana Police Service, DSP Thomas Agbenyo,  said  last Friday, the police received anonymous calls  indicating that a human head was found in an uncompleted building. The police crime team then went to the scene and found the head in a fertilizer bag partially decomposed. Because of the nature of the area, they could not find the rest of the body. Upon thorough search the police were able to retrieve other parts of the body including the penis and the scrotum all concealed in a fertilizer sack also buried in the room. The next day, other parts of the body as well as items including an amulet were found in different rooms. DSP Agbenyo, said all the parts were sent to the morgue, meanwhile, a 45 year old trader and a native of Tongo , Madam Emma Sombilla, who is the owner of the building where the parts were found, has been detained  by the police for questioning. She has however  denied having anything to do with the horrific incidenct.  Yesterday around 1pm the police was once again invited to witness another gory incident at Yaregabisi, where a headless body found floating on the Kolaa River. The body, which has not yet been identified was in a black and white smock at the time the police got to the scene. An extensive combing was done after the body had been removed from the river. The police during the search around the crime scene came across plywood soaked with blood, an indication that he was slaughtered on it. A long search for the head of the deceased proved futile. The body has since been deposited at the Bolgatanga hospital morgue while investigations are ongoing. DSP Agbenyo, allayed the fears of residents that the police were on high alert to provide adequate security. He added that police patrol and the surveillance team are working tirelessly to provide 24 hour security and urged the public to relay information leading to the arrest of the culprits. As a way forward, DSP Agbenyo, urged the public to exercise personal safety and get back to their homes early. 

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