Eddie's Dailies

It was an easy ride for the Ministry of Energy as it wiped the floor clean to win the ultimate title in the finals of the maiden edition of “The Gas Challenge,” a quiz on Ghana’s oil and gas industry, organised by the Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC). The brain contest, held in Accra last Thursday, saw the ministry garner 64 points to secure the bragging rights over the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), which scored 48 and 18 points, respectively. The Graphic Communications Group Limited had shown early promise in the competition’s first stage but fell off narrowly. Prizes The Energy Ministry took home two laptops, a shield and GH¢10,000 as the prize for the ultimate winner, while PIAC and GBC received two tablets and a shield each, in addition to GH¢5,000 and GH¢3,000, respectively. All participating institutions also received GH¢1,000 each as appearance fee and a certificate of participation. Categories The Ministry ...

In spite of Ghana having one of the best climatic conditions suitable for beekeeping and honey production, the country imports more than 600 tonnes of honey worth millions of cedis every month. Data from the Federation of Ghana Bee Keepers Association (FGBA) showed that although about 70 per cent of the country's vegetation supported beekeeping, more than 60 per cent of honey consumed or for manufacturing purposes were sourced from foreign markets, including Burkina Faso. According to the federation, the situation was mainly attributable to the increasing demand for honey on the local market and failure on the part of local producers to match the demand. It attributed the failure to the lack of adequate resources and inputs at the disposal of local industry players, owing to the absence of credit schemes and policy direction to propel them to produce in commercial quantities. This, perhaps, summarises the extent to which Ghana's beekeeping and honey industry has been neglect...

The conversion of bus stops in the Accra metropolis into mini lorry stations by some ‘trotro’ and taxi drivers has reached alarming levels. Many designated bus stops on major routes in the national capital are now serving as mini lorry stations, creating gridlocks, especially during the rush hours. Section 19 of the Road Traffic Act, 2004 (Act 638) prohibits the parking of motor vehicles on the verge or shoulders of a road or on any land situated between two carriageways. However, some trotro and taxi drivers disregard the law with careless abandon and the police appear to be helpless in dealing with the situation. In February 2014, the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service issued an ultimatum stipulating an April 2014 deadline to drivers parking at such bus stops to stop the practice or risk being dealt with by the police. Ghana News Headlines Five years after the ultimatum, the practice goes on, with some of the bus stops developing into mini lorr...

In spite of the numerous projects and policies initiated by successive governments to revamp and scale up the performance of Ghana’s poultry industry, the sector continues to underperform, with industry players fearing that the sector could collapse in future. Over the past decade, the government has initiated at least five separate strategic policies and programmes targeted at building the capacities of local poultry farms to meet the country’s increasing demand for poultry products. They include the Cockerel Project (2009), SADA Guinea Fowl Production Project (2013), Broiler Revitalisation Project (2015), CSIR-ARI ARIBRO Project (2015) and the Livestock Policy and Strategy Document (2016). The Broiler Revitalisation Programme, for instance, was introduced with the intention of reducing poultry imports by 40 per cent. However, the plan flopped. According to the poultry farmers, it was bedevilled with low sales as local producers had to contend with cheap imports. For example, while a...

Commercial transport business in Nungua and its adjoining communities has been given a boost following the opening of the newly constructed bus terminal at Nungua. After months of closure, the new terminal, capable of accommodating more than 200 vehicles, was opened for business on April 2, 2019. The move followed a Daily Graphic publication which revealed how commercial drivers in the area had created unauthorised loading points on the Teshie-Nungua-Tema Beach Road, as a result of the absence of a bus terminal in the area. The publication which appeared in the Tuesday, March 26, 2019 edition, highlighted how the unlawful activities of the drivers threatened pedestrian safety and undermined the flow of traffic on the Nungua main road. Ghana News Headlines For latest news in Ghana, visit Graphic Online news headlines page Ghana news page Business ongoing For years, scores of commercial drivers had converted designated bus stops along the road into loading spots, a situation which initia...

The recent referendum for the creation of the Western North, Oti, Ahafo, Bono East, Savannah  and North East regions supervised by the Electoral Commission recorded a total of 4,175 rejected ballots. The figure, taking into consideration the mammoth approval by the electorate who took part  in the exercise may appear small but significant enough to influence the outcome of a major election, especially one that is determined by simple majority. For instance, in the 2012 parliamentary elections at the Tema East Constituency, the then candidate, Nii Kwartei Titus Glover beat his closest contender Kempes Ofosuware by only three votes which consequently earned him the name “MP3.” Assuming four of the electorate who voted in favour of Mr Glover had “messed up” with the ballot, the destiny of the contest would have been altered by human making. This is one out of tens of examples that testifies the importance of ensuring the validity of every vote cast. The trend from 2008 Per Ghana’...

Commercial drivers who ply the Teshie-Nungua-Tema Beach Road continue to jostle one another for passengers, at the expense of pedestrian safety, while a newly constructed bus terminal at Nungua in the Krowor municipality of Accra, remain closed. The terminal, constructed at a cost of GH¢5.4 million, is yet to be opened for business, months after its completion. The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, inaugurated the facility in December 2018 when he visited the municipality as part of his Greater Accra Regional tour. The closure of the facility, which can accommodate not less than 200 vehicles at a time, has compelled some commercial drivers to create unauthorised loading points along the Nungua main road. For years, scores of commercial drivers had converted designated bus stops along the road into loading spots, a situation which initially informed the decision by the authorities to construct the terminal to curtail the practice. Ghana News Headlines Drivers worried In random...

AN operation conducted by the Eastern Regional Police Command last Saturday (27-04-2019) to rescue suspected trafficked children engaged in forced labour at Edrekpota, an island community along the Volta Lake at Afram Plains in the Eastern Region, was characterised by disbelief as all the children in the community, except babies had gone missing on the operation day. The Eastern Regional Police Command had, through a recent undercover investigation, gathered with pictorial evidence, the existence of 24 trafficked children, including one girl, engaged in forced labour in the community. The investigation had also revealed that the identified trafficked children, between the ages of 5 and 13, were suspected to be "owned" by 11 different boat masters residing in the community. After embarking on a three-hour journey on the lake with the aim of going to rescue the suspected victims from bondage and apprehend perpetrators, the operations team, numbering about 15, arrived at the ...

The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Eastern Regional Police Command and the Ghana Navy have, in a joint operation, rescued 13 children allegedly trafficked to Edrekpota, an island community along the Volta Lake at Afram Plains in the Eastern Region. Aged between five and 16 years, the children were part of 24 children suspected to have been trafficked from Ada, Ningo and other distant locations to the island community who have been engaged in fishing activities by their boat masters on the Volta Lake. The rescue occurred in the wee hours of last Monday after the police, through intelligence, intercepted a bus conveying 13 of the suspected trafficked children to their respective hometowns by two persons at Atimpoku in the Eastern Region. Dubbed, Operation Ablorde, the exercise was part of efforts by the police and the Navy to stop the menace of trafficking children. Earlier on Saturday, the police and the Navy team had made an unsuccessful effort to rescue the children. Custody ...

A 12-year old victim of child trafficking on the Volta Lake has revealed that he was offered to a boat master by his mother two years ago to enable her garner money to pay for the release of his father who was in police custody for assaulting his own brother. Kwame (not his real name), the eldest of five children, was among 13 other suspected trafficked children engaged in forced labour on the Volta Lake who were rescued by the police Monday dawn (29-04-2019). Recounting his ordeal to Eddiesdailies yeaterday (Tuesday, 30-04-2019), he recalled that his father was caught in a brawl with his uncle one morning at a community within Ningo where they resided. The row, he said, culminated with the exchange of blows between his father and his uncle during which the former “wounded” the latter on his face. He stated that the matter was reported to the police after which his father, a farmer, was arrested and detained. Days later, he said his mother, a petty trader, ...

Motorists and pedestrians who ply the Graphic Road-Kaneshie-Odorkor road, are exposed to danger, as a result of the removal of many drain coverings on the road. The dual-carriage stretch has most of the slabs covering the gully drains on the outer lanes of the road removed. The Graphic Road-Kaneshie stretch is a major route for thousands of motorists and commuters. The situation, therefore, threatens the safety of motorists and commuters who are required to exercise caution at the various spots of danger. Some of the uncovered drains have sticks placed in them by some concerned individuals to warn motorists of the danger ahead, but that act in itself is dangerous. To worsen the situation, some of the street lights along the corridor, particularly those in front of the Graphic Communications Group Limited and the Graphic Road overpass, where a lot of the uncovered drains can be found, are not functioning. Dangers Some petty traders and hawkers along the shoulders of the...

A FOUR-WAY intersection at Nungua Barrier in the Krowor District has become a high accident-prone spot for motorists. This is as a result of the absence of traffic lights to regulate the movement of motorists on the busy junction that connects Nungua to areas such as Tema and Junction Mall, Spintex, Ashaiman and Adegono. Description Many motorists use this part of the Teshie-Nungua-Accra beach road stretch and, therefore, requires a great deal of caution for all road users. When the Daily Graphic visited the scene, it found out that although there was no congestion at the time of the visit, drivers from all directions of the intersection continually jostled to find their way. Impatience and recklessness on the part of drivers were common, as some drivers traded in insults to express their displeasure at one another. To worsen the situation, sections of the road have been converted into loading points by some commercial drivers. Petty traders have also invaded portions ...