General News
Food suppliers spend the night at the National Food Buffer Stock
On July 4, members of the National Food Suppliers Association spent the night at the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) to press their demands for payment of almost two years’ worth of food supplies supplied to various schools.
The suppliers, who had travelled from various regions of Ghana, invaded NAFCO’s headquarters on Tuesday in an attempt to press their demands, but their attempts were futile.
At 10:00 p.m. on July 4, a Citi News team arrived at NAFCO’s headquarters and saw the suppliers sleeping on the floor in protest.
NAFCO spokesperson Kwaku Amedume underlined that members of the organisation would continue picketing on July 5.
He urged the government to pay their arrears since their creditors are evicting them from their houses.
He claims that their condition has escalated into a severe national security concern that demands quick intervention.
“We no longer have peace in our homes. Our homes have been taken over by creditors, and we seem to have found a place here [Buffer Stock Company]. As you can see, most of them are sleeping like they’ve never slept before. This shows the kind of trauma they go through in their own beds. We are only appealing to the government. It is not our intention to embarrass the government in power. However, this is a serious national security issue because it threatens their very existence, the essence of their being. That is why we are appealing to the government.
“The government should turn its attention to these people. They are really going through a lot. For over two years, the painful thing is that when the government got the money, NAFCO decided to work with a different set of people. We started free SHS with the government when the government didn’t have a penny.”
He said that the government had neglected to pay them their dues on multiple occasions.
“In 2021, they sat us down and made us supply on credit. At the end of the year, they only paid a fraction of what we supplied. We didn’t mind, but in 2022, we demanded money for 2021, but they didn’t listen to us. They told us to continue to supply and that they would pay us. For the entire year of 2022, we supplied foodstuffs to the NFSC without taking a dime,” he complained.
He stated that they will continue to sleep at the NAFCO headquarters till their monies arrive.
“The only way forward is for us to get our money.” Otherwise, we will remain here,” he stated.
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.”
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.
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.
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