General News
Adisadel College controversy should have been handled out of court – Osei Owusu
Joesph Osei-Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, has expressed reservations about prosecuting the perpetrator of the Adisadel College attack.
The Deputy Speaker, addressing Fettehman Senior High School’s 10-year anniversary celebration, believes that the problem may have been handled by the school’s administration rather than the offender being tried in a general court.
“We should look at how we bring up children in this country since it is becoming a challenge. This kind of upbringing is important. There is no need for him to be that violent towards another student. If we discuss this in isolation, we would miss it. What happened in the school is a reflection of what is happening in the country. We think we are not supposed to punish students and this is how we pay for it as a country.
“There is nothing wrong with students being at each other, but when it gets beyond regular bullying, it is bad. I regret that it has been taken to the court since this matter could have been addressed in the school, but the Attorney General thinks otherwise,” Joseph Osei-Owusu said.
Despite criticising the student’s heinous behaviour, Hon. Osei Owusu says the offender should have been counselled so that he might concentrate on his education for the sake of his future.
In the footage, a 17-year-old final-year student is shown squeezing his colleague’s neck and then pounding his head on a metal bed, injuring the victim.
Mr Osei Owusu has also voiced concern over deteriorating discipline standards, questioned the moral upbringing of Ghanaian youngsters, and urged for more intentional attempts to establish discipline in children.
“Whatever has happened should be left in the past and look forward to reforming the students involved in the video. We are copying blindly, and we must go back to our roots as Ghanaians,” the First Deputy Speaker noted.
Meanwhile, on the topic of Fettehman Senior High School’s lack of suitable facilities, the First Deputy Speaker advised the Member of Parliament to voice concerns on the floor of Parliament for further action, while encouraging pupils to preserve strong moral values and integrity.
The school has an infrastructure deficit since the facilities on campus are insufficient for the approximately 1500 pupils. Students had no choice but to eat under the trees.
Aside from these issues, the school has started a project to build a cottage for the headmistress of the school, but it needs help from the government and well-meaning Ghanaians to finish it.
The school’s board chairman, Joseph Annan, stated that the institution requires assistance to accommodate over a thousand pupils.
“We have a lot of infrastructure deficit as a school, ranging from the lack of accommodation on campus for teachers to the lack of a dining hall among others. This has made it difficult for the school to function” the Board chairman of the school, Joseph Annan said.
“With a little effort we have begun constructing the bungalow for the headmistress, but we will need support from corporate Ghana and the government to finish this project” the board chairman noted.
The Regional Director of Education for the Central Region agrees that infrastructural issues on campuses of most senior high schools are substantial, but the directorate is working hard to overcome these challenges.
“The challenges of infrastructure on the campuses of some schools in the region cannot be left out, but we are working hard to ensure that support comes from government and well-meaning Ghanaians” Regional Director of Education Emmanuel Essuman said.
General News
9 killed, several others injured in an accident at Ho
A terrible accident occurred at the base of Galenkui Mountain in Ho, claiming the lives of nine people, including babies.
The terrifying occurrence occurred as a 207 Benz was transporting goods and passengers from Abotoase to Sogakofe.
The car encountered brake failure while descending the mountain, culminating in a collision with a Zoomlion garbage truck.
Initial reports verified seven fatalities at the disaster scene, including newborns and children.
Following that, Mary Dzifa, a nurse at Ho Municipal Hospital, informed Citi News that roughly ten children had died in the disaster.
“I was at our facility yesterday, November 22, when a car rushed in with dead and injured children and injured adults, especially men. Some were attended to at the facility, and the rest who were severely injured were taken to the Ho Teaching Hospital. The dead children will be about 10.”
Officials at the Ho Teaching Hospital said that 32 people were admitted for injuries incurred, with 9 dying as a result of their injuries.
Amos Jah, the Public Relations Officer of Ho Teaching Hospital, said that the injured patients are receiving medical attention and making progress in their rehabilitation.
“I received a call from a friend yesterday who was going back to town and that he saw the accident, so I quickly informed the nurses to be on alert. Some were brought in with pickups, ambulance, tricycles; the situation was very bad, some had broken limbs, some heads almost being severed, some were bleeding from all parts of the body. After two hours, we were able to calm the situation down.”
“We had a total of 30 accident victims brought here. Two others were brought from the Municipal Hospital this morning, making it 32 in all. My information is that we lost 9 of them, 4 are kids and 5 are adults. For the kids, three were brought in dead. Those injured are responding to treatment.”
General News
This was avoidable – Bonaa on fatal clashes in Nkwanta
Dr Adam Bonaa, a security expert, has requested the Oti Regional Minister to restrict all public events in Nkwanta in response to the riots that have taken eight lives.
The fights, in his opinion, were avoidable.
“The Regional Minister and his men must make certain that this never happens again.” This was avoidable, yet 8 people died as a result,” he remarked on TV3’s Ghana Tonight on Tuesday, November 21.
He further suggested that “It is important to suspend all public activities that are likely to take place by the two factions, this is the surest way of letting them know that there is an authority within Nkwanta and the region.”
The Oti Regional Security Council (REGSEC) will host an emergency security meeting today, Wednesday, November 22, in response to the Nkwanta riots.
Regional Minister Joshua Gmayenaam Makubu, appearing on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 on Tuesday, November 21, verified the number of dead and described the pandemonium as “ethnic clashes.”
“Tomorrow we are going to have an emergency security meeting again, ” he further said.
He also disclosed that there had been conflicts in town two weeks earlier between members of two tribes, Adele and Akyode.
Following the conflicts, the Minister of the Interior, Ambrose Dery, acted on the advice of the REGSEC and via Executive Instrument to impose a curfew on Nkwanta township.
The curfew will be in force from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 21.
On Tuesday, November 21, an attacker opened fire in the town’s central market area.
Several people have been murdered and others have been injured as a result of the incident.
The Oti Regional Security Council dispatched officers to the region to handle the situation.
“Government wishes to appeal to all to exercise restraint and to use the established mechanisms for the resolution of all their conflicts and disputes.
“Meanwhile, the Government will like to reiterate that, there is a ban on all persons in Nkwanta Township and its environs from carrying arms, ammunition or any offensive weapons and any persons found with any arms or ammunition will be arrested and prosecuted,” the Minister said.
General News
I never indicated my house was sold – Speaker of Parliament
Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has categorically rejected selling his official house to a private developer.
He then stated that his home was “almost sold” to a private developer.
The Speaker of Parliament recently revealed that his Accra home was sold to a private developer while he was still living there.
He said this only came to light when the developer went to the Lands Commission to register the land on Monday at the Speaker’s Breakfast Forum in Accra.
However, the Lands Commission claimed in a statement that “at no time did the Lands Commission sell the said property to a private developer.”
In a recent meeting with civil society organisations, the Speaker emphasised that his official house was on the verge of being turned over to a developer except for the intervention of the Lands Commission.
“I didn’t say my residence was sold. That was not what I said. This was just a comment in passing when I said it was almost sold but luckily, I was in possession. And I said it was when they went to Lands Commission that they realised from the search that it was the residence of the Speaker,” Alban Bagbin clarified.