Friday, 3rd June, 20221

Page 2
Tesla boss Elon Musk has
ordered staff to return
to the office full-time,
declaring that working
remotely is no longer
acceptable.
The new policy was shared in
emails that were leaked to social
media.
Tesla did not respond to a
request for comment on the messages,
one of which appeared to
be addressed to executives.
People who are unwilling to
abide by the new rules can "pretend
to work somewhere else" Mr
Musk said on Twitter, when asked
South Africa's former spy
chief has accused President
Cyril Ramaphosa of
kidnapping and bribery
in a case he has registered
with the police.
Arthur Fraser said the case
related to the alleged attempted
theft of $4m (£3.2m) in 2020 at
one of the president's properties
and the alleged efforts to conceal
what happened.
Mr Ramaphosa said "there is
no basis for the claims of criminal
conduct".
Mr Fraser is seen by some as
an ally of former President Jacob
Zuma.
Some believe the allegations
could be linked to wrangles within
the ruling African National
Congress (ANC) ahead of a leadership
race in December.
The police have confirmed
that a case has been registered
with them and that "due processes
will follow", which includes an
initial investigation.
Mr Fraser, who ran the country's
State Security Agency (SSA)
between 2016 and 2018, has said
he has handed photographs, bank
account details and video footage
over to the police.
In a statement, he alleged
that criminals broke into a farm
in Limpopo province in February
2020 to steal more than $4m.
They were then detained and
interrogated on the property and
paid to keep quiet about what
had happened, the statement
alleges.
In response, Mr Ramaphosa's
office confirmed that there was
a robbery at his farm in Limpopo
"in which proceeds from the sale
of game were stolen".
about the policy.
"Everyone at Tesla is required
to spend a minimum of 40 hours
in the office per week," he wrote
in one of the emails. "If you don't
show up, we will assume you
have resigned."
The BBC is not responsible
for the content of external sites.
View original tweet on Twitter
The emails said staff should
report to work at one of the
company's main offices, "not a
remote branch office unrelated
to the job duties".
Mr Musk added that he
would personally review any
DAILY ANALYST Friday, 3rd June, 2022
requests for exemptions from the
policy.
Mr Musk said working in
the office full-time was what
the company asks of its factory
employees and in-person collaboration
was critical to the firm's
success.
"There are of course companies
that don't require this, but
when was the last time they
shipped a great new product?
It's been a while," he said in an
email, one of two that was leaked
and shared on social media.
"Tesla has and will create and
actually manufacture the most
exciting and meaningful products
of any company on Earth.
This will not happen by phoning
it in."
Companies in many industries
are wrestling with whether
to allow the remote work practices
that exploded during the coronavirus
pandemic to continue.
Some sectors, such as banking,
signalled early on that they
would expect staff to return to
S Africa president accused
of kidnap and bribery
The president, who was
out of the country at the time,
reported the incident to the
police's presidential protection
unit, the statement from his
office said.
He "stands ready to cooperate
with any law enforcement
investigation of these matters",
it added.
After running the SSA, Mr
Fraser went on to head the country's
prison service. Last September,
he was responsible for ordering
Zuma's release on medical
parole nearly two months into
his 15-month prison sentence for
contempt of court - a decision
which was criticised by many
South Africans.
He has also been accused
of enabling graft while he was
running the SSA by witnesses
at an inquiry into corruption in
the country during the Zuma
presidency known as the Zondo
commission. Mr Fraser has
accused the witnesses of lying
about him.
Mr Ramaphosa became president
in February 2018 after Zuma
resigned in the face of numerous
corruption allegations, which he
denied. The ANC remains divided
between supporters of the two
men. It is due to choose later this
year who will be its presidential
candidate for the 2024 elections.
The president has made combatting
corruption a priority of
his government. But his commitment
to this has been questioned
as the misuse of state funds,
especially over money earmarked
for fighting Covid-19, has continued
during his presidency.
Before he became deputy
president in 2014, Mr Ramaphosa
was a prominent businessman
with stakes in mining, telecoms,
media, beverage and fast food
companies.
In 2014, he declared to parliament
that he owned $5m in
shares as well as 30 townhouses.
But it is widely believed that his
wealth is greater than that.
Global News
Elon Musk declares end to
remote working at Tesla
President Cyril Ramaphosa
the office, while others, often in
the tech industry, have said they
will allow remote work indefinitely.
Many places have opted for
a mix.
Office occupancy in the US is
at about 43%, according to data
from Kastle, which runs security
card access systems at thousands
of buildings across the country.
'I lived in the factory'
Mr Musk is famously hard
charging in his own attitude to
work. He rarely takes holidays
and during a crunch period for
Tesla a few years ago, he slept on
the factory floor.
"The more senior you are,
the more visible must be your
presence," he wrote in one of the
emails on the remote work policy.
"That is why I lived in the
factory so much - so that those
on the line could see me working
alongside them. If I had not done
that, Tesla would long ago have
gone bankrupt."
Mr Musk was previously
on the record as having a dim
The US Treasury has
announced a round of
new sanctions against
Russian individuals.
The latest sanctions
target a Kremlin-aligned yacht
brokerage and several prominent
Russian government officials.
Close Putin associate and
money manager, Sergei Roldugin,
who is a custodian of the Russian
president’s offshore wealth is also
on the list.
The State Department has
imposed sanctions on five of Russia’s
oligarchs and elites, including
Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman
of the Russian Ministry
of Foreign Affairs; Alexey Mordashov,
one of Russia’s wealthiest
view of remote work, writing on
Twitter earlier this year that "all
the Covid stay-at-home stuff has
tricked people into thinking that
you don't actually need to work
hard. Rude awakening inbound!"
His comments raised the
potential for a fresh clash of
cultures with the staff at Twitter,
which he is in the process of
buying for $44bn (£35.3bn).
In March, the firm's chief
executive Parag Agrawal said
staff could continue to work from
home "forever".
In a note to employees posted
on the social media platform, Mr
Agrawal said "As we open back
up, our approach remains the
same. Wherever you feel most
productive and creative is where
you will work and that includes
working from home full-time
forever."
"Office every day? That works
too. Some days in office, some
days from home? Of course."
The State Department has imposed
US announces new
round of Russia
sanctions
billionaires; and family members
and entities associated with the
oligarchs and elites.
“Russia’s elites, up to and
including President Putin, rely
on complex support networks to
hide, move, and maintain their
wealth and luxury assets,” said
Brian Nelson, undersecretary of
the Treasury for Terrorism and
Financial Intelligence.
“Today’s action demonstrates
that Treasury can and
will go after those responsible
for shielding and maintaining
these ill-gotten interests. We will
continue to enforce our sanctions
and expose the corrupt systems
by which President Putin and his
elites enrich themselves.”

DAILY ANALYST
Friday, 3rd June, 2022 Page 3
Frontpage Stories
Sir John’s assets frozen
The Office of the
Special Prosecutor
has announced that
it has frozen all assets
belonging to the late
Chief Executive Officer of the
Forestry Commission, Kwadwo
Owusu Afriyie (Sir John) until the
investigations into the alleged
improper acquisition of the
properties are concluded.
Until his demise, Sir John
was the CEO of the Forestry
Commission.
The Will of the late Sir John
which went viral on Monday,
May 23rd, 2022 revealed that the
NPP guru who died in July 2020
allegedly owned some lands in
the Achimota Forest and had
bequeathed the said lands.
In the alleged Will sighted
by Atinkaonline.com, Sir John
named his children and some
individuals related to him as the
ones the lands should be given to
forever.
The will also stated that he
owned land in the Ramsar area in
Sakumono in Accra.
After the will went viral, the
Ministry of Lands and Natural
Resources stated that it will
investigate the said lands on the
list.
The Ministry of Lands and
Natural Resources has revealed
that the repositories of the
records of the land in question
show no record of ownership of
the lands both in Achimota Forest
and Sakumono Ramsar site.
However, in a statement,
the Office of the Special
Prosecutor has commenced full
investigations into suspected
corruption and corruptionrelated
offenses in respect of the
alleged improper and unlawful
acquisition of state lands at the
Achimota Forest enclave and
Ramstar catchment at Sakumono
“The Office of the Special
Prosecutor has commenced full
investigations into suspected
corruption and corruptionrelated
offenses in respect of the
alleged improper and unlawful
acquisition of state lands at
the Achimota Forest enclave
and Ramstar catchment at
Sakumono in Accra by former
Chief Executive Officer of the
Forestry Commission, Kwadwo
Owusu Afriyie alias Sir John (Now
deceased) and other persons.”
The Chairman of the
Governing Council of
the Takoradi Technical
University (TTU), Dr.
Samuel Amo Tobbin,
has donated GHC200,000 as seed
money to the Takoradi Technical
University Scholarship Scheme.
Dr. Tobbin made the
announcement at the
University’s Auditorium
yesterday when he was outlining
his vision and strategy for the
school for the next three years.
Tobinco donates 200K as seed
money for TTU scholarship
Dr. Amo Tobbin indicated that
the seed money is not a one-time
donation but will ensure that
Tobinco Group of Companies
make a monthly payment into
the fund to make it grow to
enable the brilliant but needy
students to have support.
He also directed the Director
of Finance of the university to
compile all his sitting allowances
for all meetings and pay them
into the Scholarship Scheme.
“The scheme shall provide
financial assistance to talented
but financially disadvantaged
students in the Western Region
to pursue their university
education. I have personally
instructed the Director of
Finance to compile all my sitting
allowances for all meetings and
pay same into the Scholarship
Scheme. I have also decided that
Tobinco Group of Companies is
making an initial commitment of
GH¢200,000.00 into the fund,” Dr.
Samuel Amo Tobbin said
Dr. Amo Tobbin noted that the
Council as part of its corporate
and social responsibility has
authorized the scholarship
plan to aid disadvantaged and
outstanding students.
“As part of the university's
corporate social duty, the council
authorized this scholarship
plan to aid disadvantaged but
outstanding students. This is an
improvement over the previous
one, which exclusively helped
outstanding but needy students
in the University's local vicinity.
We will work with companies,
organizations, and private
individuals to rake in more
money into the fund. This could
be monthly or annual donations.”
the respected entrepreneur.
He explained that the move
is an improvement to the already
existing scholarship scheme of
the University.
He indicated that, with
the support of the rest of the
Council members, he will solicit
the support of Companies,
organizations, and private
individuals for more funds for the
scheme.
Dr. Amo Tobbin appealed
to companies, institutions,
businesses, and the general
public to support the scheme
in order to assist the talented,
brilliant yet unprivileged
students.
According to him, his
motivation for instituting a
scholarship scheme for the
brilliant but needy students was
premised on scripture.
“I am motivated by the
scripture that “mercy to the
needy is a loan to GOD, and
GOD pays back those loans in
full. I pray you draw the same
inspiration and give cheerfully
towards a worthy course,” he
explained;
The Vice-Chancellor of the
Takoradi Technical University,
Rev. Prof. John Frank Eshun, in
an address appealed to Dr. Elder
Amo Tobbin to use his influence
to grow the scholarship scheme
established by himself.
He expressed confidence
that the initiative taken by the
Council Chairman will unveil
greater talents and change the
lives of many students.
He also appealed to all and
sundry to contribute to support
the scheme.
Three grabbed for robbing and
kidnapping a Nigerian lady
Three persons have
been put before an
Adenta Circuit Court for
allegedly robbing and
kidnapping a Nigerian
lady at Amrahia in the Greater
Accra Region.
The lady is said to have gone
to meet Richmond Klutsey, one of
the accused persons and her date,
whom she had met on a dating
site
Ṫhe three accused persons
namely Richmond Klutsey,
26, Samuel Olessey aka Junior,
27,,and Gordon Amable aka
Sackey, 27, are all labourers at a
block factory at Danfa, Accra.
The accused persons have
been charged with Conspiracy to
commit crime, kidnapping, and
robbery.
They have pleaded not guilty,
and the Court presided over by
Mrs Sedinam Awo Balokah has
admitted them to bail in the
sum of GHS 600,000 with three
sureties, one to be justified.
The Prosecution has been
ordered by the Court to file
disclosures two days before the
next adjourned date.
The matter has been
adjourned to July 5.
Prosecution led by Police
Chief Inspector Maxwell Lanyo
narrated that the complainant
Victoria Amarachi Micah is a
trader residing at Spintex, Accra.
Chief Inspector Lanyo said on
April 7, this year, the complainant
who met Klutsey on a dating site
agreed to meet her at Amrahia.
Prosecution said at about
11:00 pm, the complainant came
to Amrahia and Klutsey asked
Amable, his security man, to meet
her and bring her home because
taxis and other transport services
were not allowed to enter their
estate.
It said on reaching back of
Christian University College,
Amable held the mouth of the
complainant and forced her into a
forest behind the university.
The Prosecution said Klutsey
and Olessey, who were already
waiting in the said bush, held the
complainant, stripped her naked,
threatened her with a cutlass and
collected her iPhone 13 Pro Max.
It said the accused persons
demanded money before
releasing her.
According to Prosecution
the accused persons forced
the complainant to transfer
money from her Nigerian bank
account into another bank
account provided by Olessey, but
the complainant gave a wrong
password, and the transaction
could not go through.
The Prosecution said while
the accused persons were waiting
for the transfer to go through, the
complainant managed to escape
amidst screaming for help.
It said accused persons chased
her and she was rescued by some
people and a report was made to
the Police at Oyibi.
Prosecution said Klustey
was traced by the Police, and
he mentioned Amable as his
accomplices.
It said Klutsey led the Police
to Danfa and Amrahia for a
search.
Prosecution said during the
Police search, 18 phones were
found on Klutsey, including the
complainant’s iPhone.
Three other Phones were
found on Olessey while one
iPhone was found on Amable, the
prosecutor said.
According to the prosecution,
Police investigations revealed
that accused persons were
involved in a series of similar
cases under investigations.

Page 4
DAILY ANALYST Friday, 3rd June, 2022
I am completely
disgusted by the
tweet of British
High Commissioner
– Kwesi Pratt
Renowned journalist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has stated
that he is disgusted by the tweet shared by British
High Commissioner Harriet Thompson regarding
the arrest of Convener of the #FixThe-
Country Movement, Oliver Barker-Vormawor.
According to him, the tweet by Thompson was totally
wrong and formed part of predated efforts by foreign powers
to interfere in Ghana's domestic issues.
Speaking in a Good Morning Ghana interview monitored
by GhanaWeb, Pratt said that the explanation given
by the British envoy that her tweet was not meant to be
an interference in Ghana's domestic matters is not good
enough.
"Maybe we should go back to history... and see how
western diplomats have meddled in our internal affairs to
our detriment, and maybe that will wake our people up.
I am disgusted. I'm completely disgusted, and then she
comes back and says that is not what I meant.
"It may very well be that was not her intention. It may
very well be that it is not what she meant, but she is not
the only person reading the tweet. There are millions of
people reading her tweet ... and all of us reading her tweet
have also a right to interpret it the way our background allows,
and that is why diplomats ought to be cautious when
they write [and] when they speak.
"That is why diplomats ought to put on their thinking
caps when they want to make public statements. I am disgusted
with the tweet of the British High Commissioner,
completely disgusted," he said.
Meanwhile, Harriet Thompson has clarified that her
tweet regarding the arrest of Convener of the #FixThe-
Country Movement, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, was not to
interfere in the operations of the Ghana Police Service.
Commissioner Thompson suggested that the police had
misconstrued her tweet to mean that she was criticising
them.
Speaking in an interview with GHOne TV, the diplomat
added that it was never her intention to interfere in the
work of the police.
"To me, it feels like a stretch. It feels like me saying
I am interested in something is a long way from people
saying we must take to the streets… Commenting on something
that is of great interest to a lot of people in a country
is not interfering in the affairs of that country.
"If I had thought there was the remotest chance of that,
I wouldn't be tweeting things like that. That is clearly not
my intention," she said.
Source: ghanaweb.com
The Speaker of Parliament,
Alban Sumana
Kingsford Bagbin,
has been commended
following his announcement
that staff members
of Parliament will soon change
their style of dressing by wearing
made-in-Ghana fabrics for their
official duties.
The commendation was made
by Made-in-Ghana Ambassador,
Emelia Arthur, when she led top
management of AdFirst Consult
to pay a courtesy call on the
Speaker at his office in Parliament.
AdFirst Consult are the
managers of the Made-In Ghana
Ambassador, Emelia Arthur, who
is also an ace Gospel musician in
Ghana.
The team, comprising its
Director, Gabriel Arko, Ms. Emilia
Arthur, Mr. Timothy Antwi-Otoo,
Mrs. Paulina Ofori Agyapong, and
Kwabena Gyakye Nyarko, was
there to congratulate the Speaker
and assure him of their support
for the way he dresses by promoting
made-in-Ghana outfits in
Parliament.
He said he w also ensure same
for all the Members of Parliament
(MPs) since the current style of
dressing was adopted from Ghana’s
colonial master, the British,
during the colonial era.
Mr. Bagbin has been the only
Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament
promoting Ghana wears while
adjudicating his duties as a
Speaker.
Therefore, as Made-In Ghana-Ambassador,
there was a need
for her to encourage the Speaker
and assure him of her support to
continue the good works.
The Speaker explained: “very
soon, those you see sitting in
front of me in Parliament will
start wearing Ghana fabrics.”
“What you see them wear
during parliamentary sittings
were for the colonial system. In
those days, there were no heaters
so they [British] wore them to
keep them warm but today, it is
not relevant to us as Ghanaians,”
he said.
Continuing, Mr. Bagbin said,
“we need to have an identity as a
nation to be able to develop”.
“We need to have an identity
as individuals to be able to develop
and that is why I decided to
change the style of dressing for
the speakership and some people
did not understand.”
“No nation can develop without
an identity so there is the
A
32-year-old man,
Prince Adaka, was
almost lynched on
Thursday after attacking
a woman with a
knife and stealing her mobile
phone at Kasoa Ota City in the
Awutu Senya East Municipality of
the Central Region.
Information gathered indicates
that the victim was on her
way to work when the suspect
attacked her.
The victim then started
screaming for help leading to the
arrest of the suspect.
The angry residents pounced
on the suspect, beat him mercilessly,
and slashed his fingers and
other parts of his body.
The suspect was later handed
over to the Kasoa New Market
Police for investigations.
Made-in-Ghana
Ambassador
applauds Bagbin
need for an identity for Ghana.
…You check, all over the
world, which country has developed
without an identity? And
if you talk about the need for
one language in Ghana, there
is a problem but how can we
develop without one language as
our identity for the nation?” he
quizzed.
The Speaker noted that he
was different from his predecessor,
Professor Aaron Mike
Ocquaye, in their ways of doing
things while performing their
duties because they were two
different entities from different
backgrounds.
“I can’t be the same as Prof.
Ocquaye because we are all
different. He grew up in quarters
here in Accra, and I grew up in a
village in the Savanna Area of the
North and by then, education was
not a priority,” he explained.
According to Mr. Sumana
Bagbin, “our upbringings also
“influence the way we do things.”
“We were trained to say
things as they are even if you will
die and that is why some people
in our party do not like me but
whenever there were problems,
I was called to step in and have
them resolved,” he stated.
He said: “individually, everyone
is different from one another
but we need to work together for
the common good of the nation.”
“I am not better than any of
you sitting here because God has
given every individual a special
gift which is different from everyone
and that is what we must
understand.”
Commenting on the consumption
of local foods, Mr.
Sumana Bagbin explained that
Ghana has several local foods
that were nutritious but today,
“we have abandoned them and
gone for foreign ones.”
“Today, anytime I travel from
the North to Accra, I bring ‘Dawa
Dawa’ (Dawa Dawa is a flavouring
made from the seeds of Parkia biglobosa)
because it has nutrients
that can heal a wound if someone
is injured but most people today
will not eat ‘Dawa Dawa,’” he
explained.
He, therefore, urged corporate
bodies to support Emilia Arthur
and her team to promote made-in
Ghana goods.
“We have GNPC who would
sponsor beauty pageants instead
of supporting something like
promoting made in Ghana. GNPC
will sponsor Black Stars instead
of sponsoring something like this
which is promoting Ghana,” he
said.
For her part, the Made-In-
Ghana Ambassador, Emilia Arthur,
pledged her support for the
Speaker and urged him to call on
her anytime the need arises.
She expressed gratitude to
the Speaker and assured him of
her continuous fight for made-in
Ghana goods.
Mobile phone thief’s

DAILY ANALYST
Friday, 3rd June, 2022 Page 5
Perspective
why we must be concerned
about their destruction
Forests! Many of us
do not think much
about their usefulness
in our daily
lives as we go about
our activities. But that glass
of water you drank possibly
came from a forest; that
medicine you bought from
the medical store might have
originated from a forest; the
very air you breathe comes
from trees possibly in a forest,
and most importantly,
our planet has not been
obliterated by the sun's rays
because of forests.
These are but a few of
the numerous services that
forests provide us. Unfortunately,
however, we have not
done so well to protect this
useful resource – degradation
of forests continues at terrifying
rates.
Figures released by the
Food and Agriculture Organization
show that, globally,
for the past ten years, we
have lost close to 5 million
hectares of forests annually
[1]. This means that forests
covering a land area comparable
to the entire Kumasi
are lost across the world
every two days. Africa tops
the chart when it comes to
deforestation globally – about
4 million hectares of forests
are lost every year.
In Ghana, the figures on
the degradation of forests are
frightening. Ghana's Forestry
Commission reports that
Ghana loses 2% of its forest
cover each year [2]. Simply
put, without any conscious
attempt to protect our forests,
Ghana may not have any
forest cover in the next 50
years.
Specifically, in Kumasi,
once the Garden city of
Ghana, about half (46%) of the
dense vegetation has been
lost over the past three decades
[3]. Even forest reserves
across the country, which
are supposed to be protected
from the onslaught of deforestation,
are being destroyed
at an alarming rate – close to
1% of forest reserves are lost
annually [4].
These forest reserves were
created about 100 years ago
(1927) by the British colonial
administration to prevent
over-exploitation of our forest
resources [5]. But with
current developments, Ghana
may not have any forest re-
serves in the next century.
The driving forces behind
the loss of our forest cover
are numerous. They include
illegal mining, unsustainable
logging, agricultural
encroachment into forests,
charcoal burning, sand winning,
and institutional and
policy failures [6]. So why
should we be concerned
about the depletion of forests,
and what can we do to
address this problem?
To explain in simple
terms, the sun's rays reach
the earth every day, producing
heat in the process. Some
of this heat bounces back
into space in the form of radiation,
while some are trapped
on earth. Trapping some of
this heat on earth is good for
us because the earth will be
extremely cold without this.
Carbon dioxide is among the
gases that trap the heat from
the sun and prevent it from
leaving the earth.
Having more of this gas
on our planet means that
more heat will be trapped
and prevented from leaving
our planet – this is exactly
what is happening today.
There is so much carbon
dioxide in our planet's atmosphere
that our planet is
virtually heating up quickly.
According to the United Nation's
Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC), the earth's temperature
increased by 0.85°C
between 1880 and 2012. If our
planet's temperature should
increase by more than 1.5°C,
it is going to lead to catastrophic
events on a global
scale [7].
With more than 1.5°C
warming of the planet, cities
along the sea will be wiped
off the face of the earth due
to sea-level rise. This will
affect billions of people
because today, about 3 billion
people in the world live
within 200km of the sea [8].
Moreover, there will be
extended drought periods
affecting food and energy
production, new forms of
diseases will emerge, and
some countries will experience
excessive flooding due
to increased rainfall. At the
same time, water sources will
dry up in other countries.
But forests, specifically,
trees offer some respite. They
soak up atmospheric carbon
dioxide to reduce its concentration
in the atmosphere,
scientifically called carbon
sequestration. Research
shows that large trees store
more carbon dioxide than
smaller trees [9].
In fact, these same trees
produce the oxygen which
humans breathe in and naturally
cool the environment
through shading and evapotranspiration
[10]. The cooling
effect provided by one
matured tree is comparable
to five air conditioners working
for twenty hours [11].
Particularly in cities,
including Accra and Kumasi,
trees are sorely needed to
protect residents from urban
heat and clean up the polluted
city air, among others.
Globally, trees are our natural
defense against the catastrophic
consequences of a
warming planet.
Why then are we cutting
down these trees and degrading
our forests? The extensive
destruction of forests
due to the selfish interests of
a few people is a clear demonstration
of William Forster
Lloyd's economic theory; the
tragedy of the commons - a
situation in which individuals'
selfish interests lead to
the collapse of the resources
over which they compete.
Forests are being decimated
because people have
taken the abundance of
forests to mean an absolute
right to exploit them. This
will inevitably end in ruin,
not only for the few who
are depleting them but for
everyone.
We need to plant more
trees instead of cutting them
down, for they are humanity's
lifeline – the lungs of
the earth. In this regard,
while we must vehemently
resist the destruction of forest
reserves, the initiative by
the Government of Ghana to
plant 20 million trees across
the country is a step in the
right direction and deserves
commendation.
It must be emulated and
strongly supported by religious
bodies and traditional
authorities. For the next
generation's sake, we need to
act now because our children
may not have any forests.
"A society grows great
when old men plant trees in
whose shade they shall never
sit." — Greek Proverb
Religious bodies and
traditional authorities must
spearhead the fight against
deforestation because government
leadership is transient,
but these institutions
could make it their priority
and ensure that tree planting
becomes an annual ritual
beyond the tenure of government
leadership.
Presently, scientists
have successfully developed
trees that grow bigger and
faster through gene editing
and therefore soak up more
carbon dioxide [12]. This is a
giant leap in the right direction
as part of efforts to save
our planet. Research in this
area should be supported
locally so that more of such
trees will be produced and
planted while concerted efforts
are taken to protect our
forests.
In the protection of forests,
one key solution can
be considered by authorities
– charcoal briquette production
from sawdust and coconut
husk. In Kumasi's wood
village, Sokoban, huge quantities
of unused sawdust are
set on fire each day, polluting
the environment. However,
this is a fuel source.
A recent study [13] in the
area showed that the woodworkers
are willing to cooperate
and support a sawdust
briquette production since
this would rid the area of the
colossal quantities of unused
sawdust from their site and
provide additional benefits
through income and employment
generation.
Local authorities and interested
private entities need
to partner with researchers
to assess the feasibility,
market demand analysis,
and cost-benefit analysis of
establishing these briquette
factories alongside major
wood villages in the country.
This will go a long way to reducing
dependence on trees
as a source of fuel significantly.
To cap it all, we must note
that we are all in the same
ship, and if or when this ship
sinks, we all sink with it. If
we do not rethink the imprudent
exploitation of natural
resources due to our unlimited
desires, we are headed
towards a bitter ending.
"Only after the last tree
has died, the last river has
been poisoned, and the last
fish has been caught will we
realize that we cannot eat
money." – Jared Diamond.
By Dr. Isaac Monney

Page 6
DAILY ANALYST Friday, 3rd June, 2022
Call Asante Okore of Sekyikrom to order!
—IGP urged
Story Freeman Koryekpor
Awlesu, Back From
Sekyikrom, Eastern Region
The aggrieved destooled
Apagyahene of
Sekyikrom in the
Nsawam Adoagyir
Municipality of the
Eastern Region, Oheneba Nana
Asante Okore I, popularly known
as Toroo, has been accused of
hiring gun-wielding thugs who
are intended to cause harm to
the chiefs, queen-mothers and
elders at Sekyikrom Palace on
Sunday May 2022.
The thugs numbering about
eight (8), were believed to be
notorious land-guards hired
Founder and President
of the Worldwide
Miracle Outreach
and an International
Evangelist, Dr.
Lawrence Tetteh; and the
Spokesperson for the National
Chief Imam, Sheikh Aremeyaw
Shaibu, have disagreed with the
purported armed demonstration
that is being planned for 4th
June 2022 by some citizens of
the Republic.
The Religious Leaders made
their point on GTV’s Breakfast
Show on June 2, 2022.
According to Sheikh
Aremeyaw Shaibu, if they
intend to stage a demonstration
with ammunition, they
should stop because that could
create a state of instability
in Ghana, insurgency, and
also treasonable things in the
Nation.
“I want to tell any Politician,
I’m sure no Politician is
encouraging that across the
parties. Stay safe and keep on
the fight, meaning use wisdom.”
Citing an example, he
stated: “In Uganda, if you are
an opposition leader you are
beaten and put behind a pickup
truck.” He added that people
can express disagreement
with some assertions by the
President or Vice President
as well as the government in
power, but one should not take
by Asante Okore from different
communities to cause mayhem
at the chief of Sekyikrom palace
on that Sunday.
According to reports, they
stormed the palace when the
chief of the area, Nana Sakyi
Agyekwa V, Queen mother, Nana
Agyekwabea Akyeampomah
III and Sakyikrom Stool Father
(Gyaasehene), Nana Owusu
Aduomi aka Methuselah
including other chiefs, queenmothers,
elders and people of
Sakyikrom were celebrating
their annual Akwasidae Kesea
for the year 2022.
Nana Sakyi Agyekwa V,
who blew the lid over Asante
Okore Toroo’s action, stated
categorically that the thugs
it personally and turn it into
hatred where one would want
to create an atmosphere of
insurrection.
Dr. Lawrence Tetteh also
said: “sometimes young men
get so psyched up and make
statements without thinking
and I keep saying emotions
have no intent. We should be
able to make statements that
will not undermine the very
things we are doing. They are
demonstrating because they
stormed his palace on Sunday,
May 29, 2022, with machetes,
guns and other offensive
weapons.
He pointed out that the
thugs threatened to cause
mayhem over the destoolment
of their 'paymaster,' Asante
Okore since they could not
understand the reason he was
destooled by the Queen-mother
of Sakyikrom, Nana Agyakwabea
Acheampomaa III.
The chief indicated that
lucky however, eluded the thugs
as the Asafo group and the youth
of the area successfully arrested
eight of them and handed them
over to the Nsawam District
Police Command.
The police at the CID
Department of the Nsawam
District Police Command have
confirmed the arrest of the
thugs, saying that the case was
under police investigation.
Nana Sakyi Agyekwa V
pointed out that they seized
motorbikes, cutlasses and other
offensive weapons possessed by
the thugs during their arrest
The chief further recounted
the series of attempts by Asante
Okore to team up with the
destooled Abusuapanyin of
Sakyikrom, Mr. Amadi Yemo,
to attack their integrity and
reputations.
The Sakyikromhene
stated that he fully supported
the decision of Agyakwabea
are not happy with something,
but if you are going to do it in
violence, that will be a crash
which we don’t want in Ghana.
Let us try to do things within
the confinement of the law by
seeking police permission.”
He continued: “the whole
essence of being here is to
create an environment where
Muslims and Christians can live
in peace, where NPP and NDC
can live in peace as well.”
“I am happy that our young
Acheampomaa III to perform
rituals to destool Asante
Okore because the continuous
misconducts of him was creating
serious confusion, tension and
insecurity in the area.
Nana Sakyi Agyekwa V noted
that after he was installed Chief
of Sakyikrom, he personally
approached Asante Okore to
advise him to stop causing
trouble in the area.
But, according to him, Asante
Okore turned down all his pieces
of advice.
Nana Sakyi Agyekwa V
described Toronto as a notorious
trouble maker in Sakyikrom,
accusing him of using the name
of the Inspector General of
Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo
Dampare, to terrorise the chiefs,
queen-mothers, elders, and other
traditional office holders within
the Sakyikrom.
"Whenever there are
little misunderstandings
between Asante Okore and
other traditional office holders
sometime during our meetings,
you could see that Asante
Okore will just flip his mobile
phone and threaten that he
will call the IGP to report that
person to him, because IGP is
his friend. These have been the
continuous behaviours of Asante
Okore in Sakyikrom," Nana
Sakyi Agyekwa V disclosed to
journalists at a press conference
held at Sakyikrom on Monday,
We are against armed demo - Religious leaders
men and women are going on
demonstration, it is part of
democracy but violence is not
acceptable,” he concluded.
In a statement posted on
their Facebook page, the Ghana
Police Service on Wednesday,
June 1, 2022, said it had received
notification from the abovementioned
organizers of the
intended demonstration on
Sunday, May 29, 2022.
May 30, 2022.
The press conference was
held in a quick reaction to the
current widespread media
reports attributed to Asante
Okore to the effect that all
the households in Sakyikrom
did not have toilet facilities, a
development which compels the
indigenes to defecate in bushes
and at the public cemetery.
Mr. Asante Okore was
reported to have made these
derogatory comments on Onua
TV. He was also reported to
have made several dangerous
statements against the elders,
chiefs, queens and people of the
area which has dented the image
of Sakyikrom.
He was ostensibly exhibiting
these acts to destroy the
reputation of the newlyinstalled
Sakyikromhene but
evidence available showed
that Nana Sakyi Agyekwa
V demonstrates that he has
technical know how to work
closely with the traditional
authorities and leadership of
the Nsawam Adoagyir Municipal
Assembly.
However, the continuous
practice of Mr. Asante Okore to
go on Onu TV to peddle falsehood
against the Sakyikrom has
angered the traditional office
holders and youths in the area.
Addressing a crowded press
conference, Nana Sakyi Agyekwa
V issued a stern warning to Mr.
Asante Okore and his followers
including the destooled
Abusuapanyin of Sakyikrom,
Mr. Amadi Yemo to immediately
stop their continuous habit of
using the media to attack the
integrity and reputation of him
and his elders of the area, lest he
(Asante Okore) would face their
wrath.
According to him, their
attention has been drawn to the
series of the bad news attributed
to Asante Okore on Onua TV,
describing the contents of
these statements as complete
gross disrespect, useless and
misconception, and charged the
IGP to call Asante Okore and his
followers to order!
"If really it is true that what
Asante Okore has been always
saying that the IGP is his friend,
then l am using this platform to
appeal to the IGP to immediately
invite Asante Okore and his
followers to advise them to stop
their continuous behaviours,
because their actions and
inactions were retarding
development in Sakyikrom,"
Sakyikromhene appealed to the
IGP
Ḟlanked by the Queenmother
of Sakyikrom Nana
Agyakwabea Acheampomaa III,
Stool father of Sakyikrom, Nana
Sakyi Agyekwa V pointed out
that the troubles that Asante
Okore and his followers were
fomenting in the area were
threatening lives and security in
the area.
Against this back ground,
Nana Sakyi Agyekwa V
warned the youth not to allow
themselves to be used by
some self-seeking individuals
including Asante Okore and his
followers.

DAILY ANALYST
Friday, 3rd June, 2022 Page 7
OSP without governing board
took over, cash-strapped
The Office of the Special
Prosecutor is without
governing board 9
months after Kissi
Agyebeng took over as
the Special Prosecutor in 2021.
Office, this has not been done.
Per the Office of Special
Prosecutor Act 2017 and Act 959,
the board is to formulate policies
for the OSP and to ensure proper
and effective performance of the
functions of the Office, advise
the Special Prosecutor on the
recruitment and selection of
various staff among other duties.
However, without this, the
Special Prosecutor will be unable
to function.
The Board is to consist of
the Special Prosecutor, the
Deputy Special Prosecutor,
one representative each from
the Audit Service, the Ghana
Police Service, Economic and
Organized Crime Office (EOCO),
Financial Intelligence Centre,
Commission on Human Rights
GMA makes giant strides in
maritime security – D-G
Mr Thomas
Kofi Alonsi,
the Director-
General of the
Ghana Maritime
Authority (GMA), says the
Authority has made tremendous
strides in maritime security
despite continuous piracy threats
from lack of control over the Gulf
of Guinea.
He said the challenges with
the fight against piracy were
enormous because the Gulf of
Guinea cut across several coastal
states, emphasising that a coastal
state like Ghana, could not fight
the phenomenon by its sole
efforts.
Mr Alonsi said it called for
concerted and collaborative
efforts to nip it in the bud or
reduce it to the barest minimum
and that mechanisms had been
put in place to ensure safety
and security within Ghana’s
maritime domain.
The Director-General,
who took his turn to address
the media at the Ministry of
Information said: “We recognise
that it is a challenge to shipping
and inimical to business
interest…”
He noted that as part of its
mandate to ensure maritime
security within Ghana’s maritime
jurisdiction, the Authority had
taken some steps to complement
existing measures instituted to
address illicit maritime activities
and maintain maritime security.
In that regard, Mr Alonsi said,
the Authority had procured a
Mercy-Class Patrol Mother Ship
and a daughter craft to improve
surveillance and patrol activities
within Ghana’s maritime
jurisdiction particularly within
the Economic Exclusive Zone.
He said the rate of crimes on
the country’s territorial waters
also necessitated the acquisition
of a surveillance system – Vessel
Traffic Management Information
System (VTMS) – for electronic
A Joynews report indicates
that even though the OSP has
written numerous letters to the
Presidency reminding it of the
need to inaugurate the Board to
ensure smooth operation of the
surveillance and monitoring of
Ghana’s coastline.
It is an enhanced surveillance
system with the capacity of
monitoring the entire coast of
Ghana, including the Exclusive
Economic Zone and the Volta
Lake using its integrated
electronic functionalities.
The VTMS, the Director-
General explained, ensured
the protection of the country’s
maritime resources as well
as offshore installations, oil
terminals, gas pipelines, and
prevention of illegal, unreported
and unregulated fishing, piracy
and prevention of ship source
pollution.
Further to the provision of
safety and security of ships in
the country’s maritime domain,
Mr Alonsi noted that Ghana’s
maritime jurisdiction was
under continuous surveillance
particularly the West African Gas
Pipeline, Aboadze pipeline, Ghana
Gas pipeline, Jubilee Oil Fields,
Tein Oil Fields, Sankofa Oil Fields
and Fishing Prohibited Zones.
He said from the records of
the GMA, when the Surveillance
System was established and
became fully functional, piracy
and armed robbery in the
country’s maritime domain had
drastically reduced.
He added that the movement
of vehicles within control areas
and the control of fishing within
prohibited areas were being
effectively monitored to ensure
sanity on the country’s waters.
Mr Alonsi said a Global
Maritime Distress and Safety
System (GMDSS) was effectively
being implemented by a
reception and that distress
calls were relayed from vessels
within its coverage area, with
ship owners and ship operators
developing confidence in
operating within the country’s
waters.
Captain Emmanuel Kofi
Ankamah, Deputy Director in
charge of Ship Inspection and
Maritime Security, GMA, said
piracy and maritime insecurity
generally required some level
of multinational collaboration,
most of which were spearheaded
by the GMA.
He said the Yaoude Code of
Conduct, an architecture for
the repression of piracy, armed
robbery against ships and illicit
maritime activities in West and
Central Africa – was one of such
collaborative efforts to check
some of the insecurities.
The Deputy Director of
Maritime security disclosed
that in 2019, some 127 cases of
insecurity across the Gulf of
Guinea were recorded, while 139
cases were recorded in 2020 and
74 cases recorded by the end of
2021.
and Administrative Justice
(CHRAJ), a person nominated
by the Minister for National
Security, and one other person
who is a female representing the
Anti-Corruption Civil Society
Organizations.
The board will then will then
elect a person other than the
Special Prosecutor or Deputy
Special Prosecutor from among
themselves as Chairperson of the
Board.
The President is then required
to inaugurate the board members
nominated by the institutions in
accordance with Article 70 of the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference,
Christian Council unhappy
with exclusion from SHS
management
The leadership of the
Ghana Catholic Bishops
Conference and the
Christian Council of
Ghana have expressed
their dissatisfaction with their
exclusion from the management
of Senior High Schools.
In a communiqué issued
after their annual joint meeting
on Wednesday May 25, the
leadership of the Ghana Catholic
Bishops Conference and the
Christian Council of Ghana
said the Ministry of Education’s
unwillingness to sign a joint
memorandum of understanding
with the missions and the
ministry for the administration
of schools was worrying.
They also expressed their
unhappiness over the nonrepresentation
of a member of
the council or conference on the
new Ghana Education Service
Council.
Below is an extract of the
statement
“The leadership of CCG and
GCBC have taken delivery of a
draft document called “Universal
Guidelines for Secondary
Schools” that spells out giddiness
for all Senior High Schools in the
nation.
We wish to state emphatically
that the Faith Based
Organizations which play pivotal
role in education in Ghana
have not been officially notified
Constitution.
Aside from the lack of board,
the OSP lacks adequate resources
and also funds to contract
workers on it payrolls.
“The OSP is said to have made
a request for the approval of a
GHS1 billion budget to set up
the office, build a cyber-security
and forensic lab, cells to keep
suspects and purchase other
logistics,” Myjoyonline indicated.
Finance Minister, Ken
Ofori-Atta pledged to release
some GHC170 million out of the
requested amount but so far, only
GHC10 million has been released.
about any document containing
guidelines for Secondary School
Education in Ghana.
Secondly, we respectfully
wish to remind the Minister
of Education that the joint
Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) by the ministry and the
Missions have not been signed.
We kindly appeal to the
Minister to expedite action to
sign the MoU for the smooth
running of our schools.
Moreover, we wish to state
that no Guideline for Secondary
School education should replace
the MoU, which both the
Missions and the Ministry have
put together.
Thirdly, we wish to bring to
the attention of the Ministry of
Education that the leadership
of CCG and GCBC are not happy
about the decision to inaugurate
a new Ghana Education
Service (GES) Council without
representation from the Council
and the Conference.
Both CCG and GCBC have
played and continue to play in
the development of education in
the country.
We therefore wish to state
that all critical decisions that
are taken on education in the
country should be done through
consensus building with
stakeholders like the Faith Based
Organizations.”

Page 8
The Food and Drugs
Authority (FDA) has
called for engagement
to explore culturally
acceptable alternatives
to tobacco use in Northern
Ghana.
The Authority identified
possible cultural impediments
to tobacco control in northern
Ghana, especially in the Upper
East Region, and said stakeholder
engagements on exploring
culturally acceptable alternatives
for tobacco use was needed.
Mrs Delese Mimi Darko, the
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of
the FDA, in her address at the
launch of the World No Tobacco
Day celebration in Bolgatanga,
said “This year’s launch in
Bolgatanga was necessary after
identifying possible cultural
impediments to tobacco control
within the region.”
The launch, on the theme:
“Tobacco: Threat to our environment,”
was aimed to raise
awareness among members of
the public on the environmental
impact of tobacco.
Mrs Darko noted that over
the years, the World No Tobacco
Day celebration concentrated
on the effects of tobacco use on
the health of tobacco users and
those around them.
“This year’s focus is on the
often-overlooked effects which
the environment suffers because
of tobacco use, from its cultivation
and production to its distribution
and consumption.”
Health
DAILY ANALYST Friday, 3rd June, 2022
FDA advocates culturally accepted
alternative to tobacco use
That, she said would expose
the tobacco industry’s effort to
make its products more appealing
by marketing them as
environmentally friendly.
She said the environmental
effects of tobacco were evident
in the unexplained bush fires
and fire outbreaks at markets
and other public places, “This
fight against tobacco is a fight
against micro plastic and toxins
poisoning our water, soil and
aquatic life.”
She said with the campaign
for effective policies to reduce
tobacco consumption, governments
and policymakers
globally were tasked to step up
legislations and strengthen existing
schemes to make tobacco
producers responsible for the
environmental and economic
costs of dealing with tobacco
waste products.
The CEO said the World
Health Organization (WHO)
also recommended a complete
ban on tobacco advertisement,
promotion and sponsorship in
accordance with the Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control
(FCTC).
Mrs Darko said Ghana’s
regulation of tobacco control
was backed by the provisions of
the Public Health Act, 2012 and
the Tobacco Control Regulations,
Nurses and midwives advised to be united
and improve quality health care delivery
2016 (L.I 2247), noting that measures
being enforced were aimed
at protecting minors from the
influence of the tobacco industry
and users as it limited the sale of
tobacco to persons above 18years.
She said Ghana’s progress in
working with the Ministry of
Health, WHO, Vision for Alternative
Development (VALD) and
other Civil Society Organizations
both locally and internationally
in tobacco control was remarkable.
Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu,
the Minister of Health, in a
speech read on his behalf, said
tobacco was not only dangerous
to the health of the citizenry, but
was a threat to the environment
through the release of noxious
chemicals present in the tobacco
smoke.
“Globally, smoking is known
to emit nearly 2.6 billion kilogrammes
of carbon dioxide and
5.2 billion kilogrammes of methane
into the atmosphere each
year. This gives a clear picture of
how smoking alone contributes
to climate change,” he said.
The Minister said the annual
celebration of the World No
Tobacco Day was a constant
reminder of the effort’s citizens
could put in the fight against
tobacco to ensure Ghana and the
world were free of tobacco.
Naba Sigri Bewong, the
Paramount Chief of the Sakoti
Traditional Area in the Nabdam
District of the Region, said
the Region’s House of Chiefs
had over the period convened
Traditional Council meetings on
tobacco and its related diseases,
and further pushed for the
removal of tobacco from dowry
requirements. “We are enjoined
by law to modify aspects of our
custom, which seem to be outmoded,”
he added.
Over 3,000 nurses have
migrated from Ghana for
greener pastures this year;
GRNMA blames government
Mr Clifford Veng,
the Sissalla
East Municipal
Director of
Health, has
advised nurses and midwives to
remain united and work hard
to improve quality health care
delivery.
He expressed worry over
the current fragmentations in
the rank and file of the nursing
front, which, he said, was
likely to weaken the nurses’
bargaining power for better
conditions of service.
Mr Veng made the remarks
during the Nurses and Midwives
Association’s Week celebration
of Zone D, comprising Sissala
East and West, held at Tumu.
He sensitised the staff on the
appraisals, study leave and Code
of Conduct of the Ghana Health
Service and urged them to be
abreast of them.
Mr Francis Bentor, the
Municipal Chairman of the
Association, said: “Investing
in nursing education,
infrastructure and welfare is the
surest way to securing global
health, as nurses and midwives
form a greater workforce in the
health care system”.
He suggested the need for
an engagement between the
employer and the universities
to establish a flexible modular
course for staff, which would not
interfere with service delivery.
The celebration commenced
with a clean-up exercise with
a float through the Tumu
Municipal Hospital to the
Sissala East Municipal Assembly,
National Health Insurance
Scheme Office, Municipal Health
Directorate, Community Centre
and finally converged at the
Municipal Hospital.
They carried placards,
some of which read: “Invest
in nursing and midwifery
education,” “Improve nurses and
midwives’ conditions of service,”
and “Respect the rights of nurses
and midwives”.
Mr Fuseini Batong Yakubu,
the Municipal Chief Executive,
commended the nurses and
midwives for their commitment
to duty, which had consecutively
won the Municipality the Best
Performing Municipality in
health in the region.
He encouraged them to stay
and work in the country since
Ghana remained one of the
peaceful countries.
Some deserving past
executives and the 2022
Municipal Best Nurse, Midwife,
Health Tutor, and Young
Achiever received certificates.
The International Nurses’
Day is celebrated annually
in memory of the founder of
nursing, Florence Nightingale,
and to honour nurses as an
invaluable resource, while
creating awareness on their
challenges.
The Ghana Registered
Nurses and Midwives
Association (GRNMA)
says over 3,000 nurses
and midwives have
left the country to seek greener
pastures since the beginning of
the year.
The Association attributes the
high rate of migration of health
professionals to unfair salary
scales and poor conditions of
service.
There are fears hospitals and
health centres in the county
would be hit with understaffing
in the next three to five years if
the trend is not reversed.
The Ghana Registered Nurses
and Midwives Association
says the government has over
the years failed to implement
collectively agreed conditions of
service.
Ashanti regional chairman,
Jones Afriyie Anto, says three
years ago they negotiated
incentives for personnel posted
to rural areas.
The government agreed on
mapping the rural areas to kickstart
implementation, but this
has not been done.
An agreement on teaching
and research allowances for
health tutors is also yet to be
implemented.
Mr. Afriyie Anto says these
challenges have forced many of
health workers to seek greener
pastures.
The association says the
government is aware of the
increasing number of nurses and
midwives leaving the country
but has done nothing to stem
the tide.
Meanwhile, the acting
President of the Offinso
Traditional Council, Nana Kwaku
Duah the second wants the
group to exhaust all avenues to
avoid a strike.

DAILY ANALYST
Friday, 3rd June, 2022 Page 9
Opinion
Neonatal Jaundice: Chronicles
of a paediatric nurse
The readings on the
monitor stopped
suddenly, and my
heart skipped a
beat. I was not prepared
to be the bearer of the
news that the twins could
not make it.
How does the medical
team explain to a couple suffering
from childlessness for
a decade that they had lost
their twins, born 5 days ago,
to a preventable condition
called Neonatal Jaundice?
In many years of working
in the Emergency Room (ER)
as a paediatric nurse, this was
one of the most challenging
tasks I had to carry out with
my colleague doctors.
A look at the mother
screaming at the top of her
voice made tears roll down
my face. I had to excuse myself
quickly to maintain good
composure.
Though it was late in the
night, the mother’s scream
drew the attention of many
people to the ER to find out
what was happening.
Within a short period, all
one could see was a group of
people who could not hold
back their tears. What a night
duty! Other members of
the night team were just as
speechless.
What went wrong from
the time of birth till their
discharge? What were the
systems lacking to help these
neonates survive? I guess
these were the questions they
were all asking themselves.
The father of the babies,
who had a team of prayer
warriors fervently praying
with him for a miracle to
happen, was not ready to accept
any negative news from
the medical team.
Though the long-term
complications of jaundice
had been explained to him,
he was ready to fight with
his last breath to make the
children survive.
Suddenly, I heard one
woman in the crowd saying,
“This same jaundice happened
to my daughter, and
now she is not talking, walking,
or growing like other
children.
I wish God took her as
a baby so I would not need
these frequent admissions
to the hospital". As I listened
to this woman talk to the
other parents, I realised the
struggles mothers living with
children with cerebral palsy
had.
Finally, when we managed
Management of neonatal
jaundice
Management of neonatal
jaundice includes exposing
the babies to a type of blue
light called phototherapy; the
Firefly is an intense form of
blue light and works very fast
to decrease the amount of
jaundice in the blood.
Another form of treatment
is a procedure known as
exchange blood transfusion
used in severe cases. In this
procedure, blood is removed
in small volumes from the
baby, and fresh blood is given
back with each amount that
is taken out. This is done to
decrease the amount of blood
with unconjugated bilirubin
in the baby.
What about early morning
sunbathing, which has been a
practice of old?
SUNBATHING SHOULD
NOT BE USED IN MANAGING
BABIES WITH JAUNDICE,
AND NEITHER SHOULD THEY
BE GIVEN GLUCOSE.
Complications
The major complication
from neonatal jaundice is
a condition known as Kernicterus.
It is a type of brain
damage that results from a
high amount of unconjugated
bilirubin in a baby’s blood. It
can cause cerebral palsy and
hearing loss. Others may die
as described above.
But who is to be blamed
for this preventable condition?
Most health facilities in
the country do not have phototherapy
machines, leading
to delayed treatment initiation
as they need to refer.
Many people lack adeto
calm the parents down
and broke the unpleasant
news, the father held onto
my scrubs tightly and shouted,
“Maame Nurse, please
do something because my
daughters cannot die like
that”.
That statement hit my
bones, and I wished something
else could have been
done, but they arrived at our
hospital too late.
In my country, Ghana, two
years after marriage without
a child can send a woman to
her early grave, and this was
ten years of marriage without
the cry of a baby in their
home.
Only God knows how this
couple had survived till this
time. Miraculously, God blessed
them with a set of twins,
two beautiful girls.
Pregnancy and delivery
were very smooth until they
were discharged home. On
the third day, the mother
noticed that her baby's eyes
were yellow and not sucking
well.
She complained to almost
everyone who visited that
day, but they all said she
should expose them to the
early morning sun.
This she did for a day
without improvement. Finally,
the elderly aunty assisting
in caring for these babies decided
to put glucose on their
eyes and give them some to
drink.
Later, when the parents
noticed the babies had
stopped sucking the breastmilk
and had developed a
change in their posture accompanied
by a high-pitched
sound when crying, they got
alarmed and rushed them to
the ER where I work.
This was 2 days since the
mother first noticed the eyes
yellowing. On arrival at the
ER, the paediatrician told
them both babies had severe
jaundice with brain involvement
after taking a history
and examining them.
However, the medical
team put in every effort to
save them but unfortunately,
the babies died in less than
24hrs.
The ER staff deals with
this and many other emotionally
draining stories concerning
neonatal jaundice. I
remember how a man nearly
beat his wife after the doctor
told them their baby had
jaundice.
According to this man, his
wife loved groundnut soup
when she was pregnant, and
that caused neonatal jaundice.
That was when I realised
the level of ignorance about
neonatal jaundice in my
country.
Elsewhere in the developed
world, there is no difficulty
in the management of
neonatal jaundice, but not in
my country, especially when
one of the causes is the first
item almost all expectant
mothers buy to give a good
smell to their baby’s clothes;
CAMPHOR also known as
NAPHTHALENE BALLS.
Statistics have shown that
6 out of 10 babies who are
carried to full term and 8 out
of 10 premature babies may
develop jaundice a few days
after birth.
Causes of neonatal jaundice
One of the leading causes
of neonatal jaundice is the
excessive breakdown of red
blood cells and the immaturity
of the liver to handle it.
When red blood cells are broken
down, one of the by-products
is a pigment known
as unconjugated bilirubin,
which is yellow.
It goes through a process
with the help of the liver to
be conjugated and removed
from our bodies. However,
due to the immaturity of
the newborn's liver, not all
the unconjugated bilirubin
gets conjugated, and some
remains in the baby’s blood.
It is this yellow pigment
remaining in the blood that
gives a yellow colour to babies.
In a condition known as
glucose -6-phosphate dehydrogenase
(G6PD) deficiency,
the lack of the enzyme
known as G6PD causes red
blood cells to break down in
excess in response to certain
medications or chemicals like
camphor or infections. The
excess breakdown of the red
blood cells overwhelms the
liver, and jaundice occurs.
There are other causes,
like blood group and rhesus
incompatibility and infections,
which all lead to an
excessive breakdown of red
blood cells in the baby. This
unconjugated bilirubin can
enter the brain and cause
brain damage.
Other causes, like liver
diseases, may lead to jaundice
in the newborn, but this is
not common.
This demonstrates that
pregnant women's food does
not cause neonatal jaundice.
quate education on neonatal
jaundice, like the man who
nearly beat up his wife.
Family members, friends,
and sometimes healthcare
personnel wrongly prescribe
sunbathing to our newborn
babies when they become
yellow.
As I signed out from my
night shift in the morning, I
could not stop thinking about
this couple and the countless
parents who have suffered
the same fate due to late detection
and the poor management
of jaundice.
As a consequence of neonatal
jaundice, children have
developed cerebral palsy and
some are perceived to be from
the river gods.
I left the hospital in pain
that day, praying that no
child should suffer or die
from a condition as preventable
as neonatal jaundice.
Recommendations
NEONATAL JAUNDICE IS
EASILY PREVENTABLE
AVOID THE USE OF CAM-
PHOR/NAPHTHALENE BALLS
IN EARLY INFANCY
DO NOT SUNBATHE BA-
BIES WHOSE SKIN OR EYES
ARE YELLOW
RUN TO THE NEAREST FA-
CILITY WHEN YOU SEE YOUR
BABY’S EYES ARE YELLOW
PHOTOTHERAPY UNITS
MUST BE AVAILABLE IN
EVERY HEALTH FACILITY
WHERE CHILDREN ARE
BORN
Written by: Maame Akosua
Serwaa-Gyening, a Paediatric
Nurse
Email: masagg30@gmail.
com

Page 10
The United Nations
Development
Programme (UNDP)
and Societe Generale
Ghana PLC (SG Ghana)
have signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU)
to encourage and support
innovators, especially small
MTN Ghana has
held its 4th
Annual General
Meeting since
listing on the
Ghana Stock Exchange in 2018.
The meeting saw the
approval of the Audited Financial
Statements for the year ended
December 31, 2021, and the
declaration of a final dividend.
After studying the full-year
performance of the company in
2021, the total dividend for the
year was 11.5 pesewas per share,
representing 70.6% of profit
after tax and a 43.8% increase in
dividend per share payout in 2021
over 2020.
Board Chairman of MTN
Ghana, Dr. Ishmael Yamson,
attributed the significant growth
in the company’s revenue to
strong growth in Data Service,
Mobile Money, and Voice Service.
During the period, the
company recorded 56.3% growth
in data revenue, 38.2% growth in
Mobile Money revenue supported
by some 4.9% growth in voice
revenue.
He stressed that the past
year ended successfully and
assured shareholders that MTN
Ghana will always endeavor to
make sure the company is wellmanaged
with best interests of
shareholders in mind.
“We had a successful Annual
General Meeting. The results
were very good. Shareholders
approved the payment of very
decent dividends. We assure
shareholders that our focus
is a very robust governance
culture that will ensure that the
company is well managed, well
catered for and continues to
operate in an ethical manner,” Dr.
Business
DAILY ANALYST Friday, 3rd June, 2022
UNDP and Societe Generale partner to promote
innovations, inclusive entrepreneurship in Ghana
businesses led by youth,
women, and persons with
disabilities (PWDs) to scale up
innovations towards sustainable
development.
The partnership aims to
leverage the expertise and
resources of both institutions to
provide a tailored programme
including capacity building,
mentorship, business to
business matching, and pitching
master classes to enable easy
access to investors and markets
for products and services.
“Partnership plays a
critical role in accelerating the
achievement of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) by
2030 and UNDP is committed to
working with the Private Sector
and all actors to unlock SDG
aligned investments for greater
impact.”
“This partnership is very
important as Société Générale
joins forces with UNDP to
support national actions
to expand employment
opportunities for youth, women,
and People with Disabilities
for shared prosperity”, noted
Angela Lusigi, UNDP Resident
Representative in Ghana.
As part of the partnership,
the UNDP Accelerator Lab, SG
Innov8 Hub and SG Home of
Business will be leading efforts
to co-create opportunities for
innovators to thrive and scaleup
to penetrate markets beyond
MTN shareholders to receive
dividend representing 70.6% of profit
Yamson indicated.
Speaking at the event, Chief
Executive Officer of MTN Ghana,
Selorm Adadevoh, explained that
during the period in review, 4G
network coverage was improved
to over 90 percent with an
addition of 1,446 sites to reach an
extra 1.7 million people.
Additionally, the company
added on 131 2G sites, 130 3G
sites, while some 1,200 sites were
modernized to improve customer
experience.
Mr. Adadevoh expressed
optimism for the 2022 financial
year stating that the company
forecasts revenue growth in the
high teens.
“We forecast service
revenue growth in the high
teens (in percentage terms)
over the medium-term from
the previous guidance of 13%
to 15%. In addition, we will
progress the execution of the
expense efficiency programme
and our prudent approach to
managing costs to deliver on
our commitment of margin
expansion,” he said.
Scancom PLC (MTN Ghana)
held its first AGM in May 2019
after it listed on the Ghana Stock
Exchange (GSE) on 5 September
2018. It remains the company
with the largest number of
Ghanaian shareholders following
its Initial Public Offering (IPO)
which raised GHS 1,146,589,464.75
from 128,152 applicants. The IPO
of MTN Ghana made history as
the largest primary share offer
in the history of the GSE. Most
importantly, it enabled many
Ghanaians to own shares in one
of Ghana’s largest, most visible
and well-respected companies.
the shores of Ghana.
“This partnership with the
UNDP Accelerator Lab which has
the unique expertise in working
with grassroots innovators will
not only broaden the Bank’s
reach but also its ability to
support new initiatives, SMEs,
young people, persons with
disabilities and innovative
startups”, said the Managing
Director of SG Ghana PLC, Hakim
Ouzzani.
The partnership will leverage
UNDP’s expertise in working
with grassroots innovators,
and SG Ghana’s expertise in
supporting businesses and
entrepreneurs.
Under the agreement,
UNDP through its Accelerator
Lab, and SG Ghana through its
The Association of
Ghana Industries has
stated the inability of
its members to access
credit facilities due to
the recent hike in the monetary
policy rate.
The bank of Ghana’s
Monetary policy committee
noted that because of the
current rise in the inflation rate
it has become necessary for
the committee to increase the
Monetary policy rate.
However, Chief Executive of
the AGI, Seth Twum Akwaboah,
has noted that this has increased
the cost of lending and the
production cost per unit of most
manufacturing firms.
Speaking to a cross-section
of the media at the Arab-African
Economy Summit, He stated
that the move by the BoG even
though a means for inflation to
reduce, is hampering the growth
and activities of local businesses.
“We understand the policy
rate is to slow down inflation,
but the bottom line is that when
Innov8 Hub and the SG Home of
Business, will run the Inclusive
Entrepreneurship partnership,
taking a pipeline of innovators
through capacity building,
free use of SG Ghana’s Home
of Business and Innov8 Hub
services.
Participating entrepreneurs
will include a selection of the
22 grassroot innovators who
received funding and technical
support through the UNDP
Accelerator Lab COVID-19
Innovation Challenge and other
innovators and entrepreneurs
selected by UNDP.
It is expected that at least
50% of innovators supported will
gain increased traction to scale
up their innovations.
Our members can’t
access credit due to policy
rate increment – AGI
such measures are taken the
implication is clear as interest
rate goes up highly. And it gets
to a point where banks are
even interested in investing in
government bonds and treasury
bills and all that. It means it
is crowding out private sector
access to financing”, he said.
The AGI’s CEO however
noted that this high policy rate
should not be retained for a long
time since it will force local
businesses out of operation due
to high-interest rates and the
cost of borrowing.
“If we don’t have a choice,
but to have a policy of this
nature and if it goes on for too
long it will have a great impact
on businesses and the economy
“, he lamented.
“We have to look at the
immediate and the longterm
impact. We have been
engaging the Bank of Ghana
and will continue to do that. If
we continue to engage, we will
amicably solve this”, he added.

DAILY ANALYST
Friday, 3rd June, 2022 Page 11
Sports
Karim Benzema has
revealed that he studied
Cristiano Ronaldo
intensely as he
looked to learn from
the Portugal star at Real Madrid
when they were team-mates.
Benzema and Ronaldo joined
the Spanish side in the same
summer, from Lyon and Manchester
United respectively.
Ronaldo hit the ground running
at the Santiago Bernabeu
and became an immediate star
in the capital, though it took
slightly longer for Benzema to
reach his top form.
What did Benzema say about
Ronaldo?
The France striker had a slow
start to life at Madrid and tried
his best to learn from his teammate
to help improve his own
game.
"When I watched what he
did, I tried to concentrate on his
movements: the dribbling, the
finishing, the passing, his ball
handling, I dissected everything
about him," Benzema told Onze
Mondial.
"But, then it’s impossible to
achieve the same thing.
Benzema:
I dissected
everything about
Ronaldo's game
at Real Madrid
to get better
"I still have a lot of things
in my head. I want to win more
titles, more Champions Leagues.
And with the national team, the
World Cup. That’s all I have as a
dream."
Benzema opens up on early
struggles at Real Madrid
Benzema is coming off the
best season of his career, having
scored 27 times in La Liga in
2021-22 and an incredible 15
times in the Champions League
as Madrid won both competitions.
That's a significant improvement
from his early struggles at
Madrid.
He started just 13 of the 27
La Liga matches in which he
featured in his first season since
making the move from France
and struggled to maintain his
place in the starting XI.
“My first season, the first six
months, were very difficult, as
I was alone and I didn’t speak
the language so everything was
complicated," he reflected.
"I had arrived in a new world,
with a new team, a different
type of football. Luckily I didn’t
give up."
Jordan Ayew did what
I wanted -Otto Addo
Black Stars head coach,
Otto Addo, has said
he was satisfied
with Jordan Ayew's
performance in
Ghana's win over Madagascar on
Wednesday, June 1, 2022.
Jordan has gone another
game without scoring for the
Black Stars, taking his drought
to 15 games since scoring against
Sao Tome and Principe in March
2021.
According to Otto Addo, the
Crystal Palace man came close
to scoring in the match but the
Barea goalkeeper, Razakanirina
Rakotohasimbola was just
excellent.
"The players who started
[against Madagascar] deserved
to do so, including Jordan
[Ayew]. Jordan had good training
sessions and he created some
chances [during the game]. He
himself had some chances; the
[Madagascar] goalkeeper had an
excellent day,” the Black Stars
boss said.
Otto Addo continued that,
Jordan not scoring is not a
problem because the focus on is
on executing his task and he did
that to perfection.
“If you watch the Premier
League, sometimes you can see
Jordan score; his last goal was
maybe three weeks ago. It’s not a
big problem if somebody doesn’t
score. For me, it’s about creating
We lost to a stronger team
- Madagascar coach
The head coach of the
Madagascar national
team has hailed
the Black Stars as
deserving winners of
their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
qualifier played at the Cape
Coast Stadium on Wednesday,
June 1, 2022.
Nicholas Dupuis told
reporters in the post-match
conference that Ghana exhibited
great football in the match and
deserve all three points.
Addressing a question on
comments he made prior to the
chances and doing well and
that’s what he did today so I’m
satisfied.”
AS Roma youngster, Felix
Afena-Gyan set up Kudus
Mohammed, before doubling
the lead himself. Osman Bukari
wrapped up the win in the dying
game, Dupuis said that his team
came up against a team that has
shown readiness to compete at
the World Cup.
He commended Ghana for the
victory as well the qualification
to the World Cup which will be
held in Qatar in November.
“I said that we came here for
business when you are going into
a battle you can’t say that you are
going to lose. We fought and we
lost. We met a strong team who
are ready to go for the World Cup
and once again I congratulate
them for the win. We were too
coach Nicolas
Dupuis
embers of the match with a cool
finish.
Ghana have leaped to the top
of Group E following the win.
The Black Stars, in their second
group game, will play as guests to
Central Africa Republic on June
5, 2022.
young and I believe they will
learn more lessons from this
game,” he said.
Nicholas Dupuis however
clarified that his team were
undone by the inexperience. He
emphasized with hope that his
players will learn from the defeat
and bounce back stronger.
The captain of the Bareas was
full of praise for his teammates
but noted that they were undone
by inexperience.
“In the first we defended
well but the Ghanaian attackers
were too fast. We tried to contain
them but in the second half we
couldn’t. Most of our players are
young and were playing their
first international match so they
did well. We were beaten and we
accept it,” he said.
Madagascar were handed a
hammering by Ghana at the Cape
Coast Stadium on Wednesday,
June 1, 2022.
AS Roma youngster, Felix
Afena-Gyan set up Kudus
Mohammed, before doubling
the lead himself. Osman Bukari
wrapped up the win in the dying
embers of the match with a cool
finish.
Ghana have leaped to the top
of Group E following the win.
The Black Stars, in their second
group game, will play as guests to
Central Africa Republic on June
5, 2022.