November 22

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News
DAILY
Junior Road Care 2018
held for schoolchildren
WITH THE spate of road traffic accidents
in the country, especially during the
Christmas holiday season, basic schools in
the Greater Accra metropolis have joined
forces to renew basic road safety principles
for schoolchildren, to safeguard their
precious lives.
This was made possible when Vivo
Energy Ghana, in partnership with
Applause Multimedia, brought together key
stakeholders including the National Road
Safety Commission (NRSC) and the Ghana
Education Service (GES) at the third
edition of its flagship road safety
programme dubbed ‘My Road Safety, My
Life: Junior Road Care 2018.’
Junior Road Care is an interactive
programme aimed at influencing the
attitudes and behaviour of children to
become more conscious on the road as
pedestrians, cyclists and responsible future
drivers. Over 15 basic schools participated
to learn, share and compete in entertaining
road safety related activities such as drama,
poetry, art and quizzes.
In a speech, read on behalf of the
Managing Director of Vivo Energy Ghana,
Vivo Energy’s Corporate Communications
Manager, Mrs Shirley Tony Kum, expressed
displeasure at the disregard for road safety
regulations by some motorists, referencing
some of the recent deadly road accidents
involving schoolchildren.
“News of avoidable deaths involving
children and other young people are
worrying, especially when the future of this
country hinges on a healthy and empowered
youthful population. Vivo Energy Ghana
wants to use this platform to appeal to
drivers to be cautious on the road to
preserve lives, property and the
environment, especially during the festive
•Prince Akpah (2nd l) with some of the students
•Mrs •Some Elizabeth pupils Naa in Afoley a sketch Quaye, on Fisheries the impact Minister of road and
Christopher accident Lamora, on children Chargé at the d’Affaires Junior Road of the Care US Embassy 2018
period,” she said.
The Greater Accra Regional Basic
Schools Coordinator, Mrs Susana Kennedy,
advised the schoolchildren to implement all
the lessons shared and road safety best
practice in their daily lives to ensure their
safety.
“This road safety programme is
important for all of us. The children are our
future and as motorists, we must exercise
restraint in using the road, especially at
places where schoolchildren frequent. I will
encourage the children to try hard to apply
all these lessons shared here in their daily
lives,” she advised.
The Greater Accra Regional Manager of
the National Road Safety Commission, Mrs
Catherine Hamilton, thanked Vivo Energy
Ghana for its ongoing efforts to drive road
safety education in the country. She further
called on other corporate organisations to
join the fight against road safety accidents
in the country.
At the end of the competitions,
Salvation Army ‘A’ basic school and Kings
Royal Basic school emerged winners in the
poetry and drama categories, respectively.
Lincoln Montessori school and Salvation
Army ‘B’ were also judged winners in the
art and quiz competitions.
Vivo Energy Ghana has implemented
impactful road safety initiatives to create
awareness, educate and sensitise the general
public - particularly drivers and children -
on the best road safety practices to reduce
accidents on the roads. These include the
Fit2Drive wellness and road safety
campaign, the donation of an alcohol meter
to the Achimota Bus Terminal and
commercial transport operators in the
Ashanti Region, the formation of road
safety clubs in schools, among others.
THE MEMBER of Parliament
(MP) for Krachi Nchumuru
Constituency, Mr John Majisi, has
provided over 700 dual desks to
basic schools in his constituency.
According to the MP, the
furniture which was procured
through his share of the MPs
Common Fund, is aimed at
improving teaching and learning in
the Krachi-Nchumuru area.
He reiterated his commitment to
education, adding that he would
make sure every school in his
constituency has furniture by the
end of his tenure as MP.
“This is not the first time I made
donation to schools in my
constituency. I have donated
furniture, laptop computers to
schools and also provided
motorbikes to the local circuit
supervisors.
"I donated several thousands of
exercise books and mathematical
ASURVEY by
Afrobarometer, a pan-
African survey
research organisation
has indicated that
about 57% of
Ghanaians prioritise the availability of
decent work and economic growth
over any other challenges facing the
country.
In view of this, the government
has been urged to invest more into
the creation of jobs in order to
improve the economic conditions of
the country.
According to them, the top most
priority of the average Ghanaian is
the availability of a decent work,
hence the need for the government
to address the unemployment
situation.
Explaining the findings of the
research, which was to ascertain the
citizens’ priorities in respect of the
Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), Dr Edem Selormey,
Afrobarometer Fieldwork Operations
Manageress for West, North and East
Africa, said the government’s
performance is weak in areas that the
citizens prioritise most.
sets and again implemented policies
like scholarship to students,
especially the needy ones. It is my
pleasure to change the narrative. I
want to see students feel better in
the Krachi Nchumuru,
constituency," he stated.
In his view, government alone
could not solve challenges in the
educational sector and that all
stakeholders should come on board
to bring hope to children who are
often described as future leaders.
Though she admitted that the
government was performing better as
compared to some of the 34 other
African countries that the survey was
conducted, Dr Selormey indicated
that the government could do more
to reduce the problem.
In her presentation, she said “only
four countries [the Gambia, Ghana,
Botswana, and Mozambique] where
only a third said the government is
effective on that issue.
“So creating jobs, which is SDG
8, is the highest priority SDG
objectives among our respondents
and it also recorded very low
government performance in 19 out
of the 34 countries,” she added.
She further hinted that, their
findings could help track the
performances of the SDGs, as well
as, serve as a guide in achieving the
goals.
Speaking to the media, Prof.
Henry Kwasi Prempeh, Executive
Director, CDD-Ghana, mentioned
that their research was a feedback to
the government to help them invest
in the area which would benefit the
masses.
“It’s just a useful feedback to any
government so that they could finetune
their policies to ensure that they
provide something that the people
HERITAGE, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2018 WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
MP donates dual desks to schools in Krachi Nchumuru District
PHILIP ANTOH
philip.antoh@dailyheritage.com
want,” he said.
Key findings
Almost three years after the
launch of the SDGs by the United
Nations, Ghana is yet to achieve
majority of the goals.
From their research,
Afrobarometer indicated that, “across
He said he went around
during the campaign and
found out that most of the
schools did not have furniture,
hence the decision to embark
on the initiative.
Mr Majisi urged teachers in
the constituency to work
assiduously to improve the
performance in the Basic
Education Certificate
Examination, stating, "let’s put
in place measures to improve
34 surveyed countries,
unemployment tops the most
important problems that Africans
want their governments to address,
followed by health,
infrastructure/roads,
water/sanitation, education,
management of the economy, and
poverty.”
performance so that those who are
investing will be motivated.”
He emphasised that the furniture
would go a long way in reducing the
furniture crisis within the district.
The District Director of
Education, Benjamin Quame, who
received the desks on behalf of the
schools, thanked the MP for the
gesture, stating that, the MP had
provided several needy logistics
including computers, laptops, both
text and exercises books, among
others.
Furniture, he said
was one of their
greatest challenges
and that, the donated
pieces of dual desks
would give students
peace as they could
now study
comfortably without
laying on their bellies.
The donated desk,
he noted would be
distributed to all
students within the six
circuits in the district.
Govt urged to invest more in job creation
BY BENJAMIN TANDOH
•Mr John Majisi (3rd L), MP for Krachi
Nchumuru (Inset) the dual desks
•Prof. Henry Kwasi Prempeh,
Executive Director, CDD-Ghana
They also
disclosed that,
“Each of seven
other SDGs
captures the
attention of
between 20% and
31% of
respondents,
including SDG2
(“zero hunger”)
(31%), SDG3
(“good health and
wellbeing”) (27%),
SDG16 (“peace,
justice and strong
institutions”) (26%),
SDG9 (“industry,
innovation and
infrastructure”)
(24%), SDG6
(“clean water and
sanitation”) (24%),
SDG1 (“no
poverty”) (22%),
and SDG4 (“quality education”)
(21%).”
They further argued that jobs and
or economic growth and good
governance were higher priorities for
wealthier individuals and for more
economically developed countries.
Among poorer people and countries,
jobs and growth were still important.
NGO supports
Asankrangwa hospital
ASANKRANGWA KROYE
Kuo, (AKK), a nongovernmental
charitable
organisation based in the
United States of America
(USA) has presented hospital
equipment including wheel
chairs, clutches and detergents
to Rev. Father Arthur Rooney
Hospital in Asankrangwa, in the
Western Region.
The NGO has also spent
over $25,000 on rehabilitation
works at the hospital.
Asankrangwa Kroye Kuo
was formed two years ago and
it is made up of sons and
daughters of Asankrangwa
living in the USA.
According to Madam Joyce
Williams, Board Member of the
non-governmental charitable
organisation, AKK was moved
to help the hospital because “it
has a very specific need.”
“The support and
partnership of AKK is aimed at
placing Rev. Fr. Arthur Rooney
hospital in the spotlight to
address some of the gaps and
needs of health facilities as well
as attract positive attention and
development,” she said.
She said AKK was also
touched by the deplorable
nature of the facility of which
many of them have benefited.
“This is a community that
we all belong. Some of us grew
up here, we have our families
here and seeing the health
facility that we had the privilege
of benefiting from when we
were sick, we thought about the
community, because we believe
that if we improve the
community we improve
ourselves together,” Madam
Joyce William stressed.
According to her, AKK was
committed to complement
government’s efforts towards
proper improvement of
healthcare delivery in the
country, especially Asankrangwa
and its environs.
The Hospital Administrator,
Mr Samuel Arhizi was grateful
to the association and asked for
assistance from all indigenes of
the town.
According to him, the
hospital, which was built in
1954, has outstripped its
infrastructure capacity due to
spontaneous growth in its
operations and therefore needed
an adjustment in building to fill
the gap.
He, however, regretted that
since 1954 the hospital has not
witnessed any major
transformation due to its
operations, hence the
infrastructure deficit.
He added that, the hospital
faces major challenges including
accommodation for the staff,
and called on philanthropists to
come to the aid of the hospital
since they have land available
which could be used to put up
accommodation for the staff.
He added: “This facility
serves as district referral
hospital for people from
Samreboi, Enchi, Dadieso,
Wassa Akropong and other
areas, and so the pressure is
always on us to go the extra
mile… we need Ambulance that
can help us to do more to help
the people,” he stressed.
The administrator noted that
because the hospital is a
religious facility; it is very often
neglected in terms of
distribution of equipment and
appealed to the government to
assist them because of its
peculiar nature.
Board chairman of the
hospital, Mr Ernest Kwadwo
Abeka expressed his
appreciation to the AKK and
called on other indigenes of
Asankrangwa living outside the
shores of the country to
emulate AKK’s kind example.
•The hospital administrator, Samuel Arhizi explaining
a point to Madam Joyce Williams and some elders of
Asankrangwa