STC, Metro Mass Transit suffer losses due to COVID-19 protocols
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The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has put Inter-City STC and Metro Mass Transit Limited (MMT) into dire financial straits, compelling them to turn to the government for support.
The two state-owned transport companies have, averagely, lost 60 per cent of their monthly revenue and are struggling to pay the salaries of their staff, who number about 4,000.
They are also grappling with huge operational costs, including fuel, which is a consequence of the physical distancing requirement protocol that has compelled them to operate at half capacity.
This came to light when the Daily Graphic visited the companies in Accra yesterday to ascertain the impact of COVID-19 on their operations.
STC
The Managing Director of Inter-City STC, Nana Akomea, said the company had lost 70 per cent of its GH¢5 million monthly revenue to the pandemic and could barely maintain its wage bill and meet operational costs.
“Our international operations to Cotonou in Benin, Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire and Lome in Togo, as well as Burkina Faso, account for 40 per cent of our monthly revenue, but we lost all of them because of the closure of the country’s borders.
“About half of the remaining 60 per cent of the revenue that is from domestic sources has also been lost due to the physical distancing requirement because our buses now take half of their capacity,” he added.
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Nana Akomea said the company had also depleted its reserves in acquiring 100 buses and was still bearing some port and insurance charges on them.
Under the circumstances, he said, it was suffocating to meet a monthly GH¢1.5 million wage bill, in addition to fuel cost of GH¢1.4 million.
“So far, we have been able to pay our 700 workers 50 per cent of their salaries for April 2020, hoping to pay the outstanding amount later. We have sent a proposal to the government for support; the situation is dire and we hope to get a favourable response,” he said.
MMT
For his part, the Corporate Communications Manager of the MMT, Mr George Krobea Asante, said the company, which survived on internally generated funds (IGF), had suffered “drastic revenue losses” because of the movement restrictions.
He said apart from having to operate its buses at less than 50 per cent capacity, in compliance with the physical distancing directive, the company spent the meagre revenue it generated on putting in place safety systems to prevent the spread of the virus.
Mr Asante said given the circumstances in which the MMT found itself, it was left with no option but to turn to the government for support.
“We are in a dire financial situation because of the negative effects of COVID-19 and are struggling to keep and pay workers. The management has, therefore, sent a distress call to the government, through the COVID-19 Committee, for support, and that is how workers are being paid till now,” he added.
Explaining further, he said the MMT was not out of the woods yet, as the company was still struggling to break even in its operations.
Mr Asante added that although some transport operators had increased their fares to cut cost, the MMT had maintained its fares, in line with the company’s policy.
“By our policy, fares need to be 15 per cent lower than those charged by other transport operators, so we have kept to this policy and not increased our fares,” he said.
According to him, the company had not been able to put its new 50 buses to use because of the situation in which it found itself.
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Court fines Akropong Kingmakers GH₵48,000 for flouting social gathering directive
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Share Tweet ShareThe four persons who were arrested during the installation of the new Okuapehene in Akropong last Friday have been fined by the Akropong Circuit Court, presided over by Mrs Arrit Nsemboh.
The four, sentenced on their pleas of ‘guilty’ to the offence of flouting the directives on restrictions on all social and public gatherings, have been fined a total of GH¢48,576.
They will each serve a jail term of four years if they default in paying the fines.
The convicted persons — Odehye Kofi Asiedu Adu-Mfum, 57; Nana Semanshia Ohene Asah Krofah II, 43; Ohenenana Bennet Smith Opoku, 55, and Nana Odi Asempa Krobea Asante, 76 — were charged for failing to comply with the restrictions imposed on all public gatherings, contrary to Paragraph 1(A)VII of E.I. 64 and Section 6 of the Imposition of Restriction Act 1012/2020.
Offence
Detective Inspector Lukeman Sulemana, the prosecutor, told the court that the accused had been deeply involved in the installation of the new Okuapehene in Akropong Akuapem last Friday.
He said the four played significant roles in ensuring that the physical distancing directives put in place, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, were not adhered to.
Plead for mitigation
Before passing judgement, counsel for the accused, Mr Joseph Adakpaksa, pleaded for mitigation, considering that only 11 kingmakers had performed the customary rites to install the new chief and so they had been overwhelmed by the presence of onlookers.
He further pleaded that the ages of the accused persons should be taken into consideration.
Passing judgment, the court applied the minimum sentence, fining each of the accused persons 1012 penalty units, which translates into GH¢12,144, or in default four years in jail.
Last Friday in Akropong Akuapem in the Eastern Region, the people ignored the Presidential directives on physical distancing during the installation of Odehye Kwadwo Kesse as the new Okuapehene.
The installation was done just a day after the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs had ruled in the litigation between the two factions in the Akropong chieftaincy dispute, led by the Okuapehemaa, Nana Nketiaa Obuo II, and the Family Head, Abrewatia Madam Lily Nana Agyeman, over the selection of a new chief to succeed the late Oseadeeyo Addo Dankwa III.
The three-member Judicial Committee of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs said the selectee for the Okuapehene Stool by Nana Nketiaa Obuo was against the laid down customs and traditions of the people of Akuapem.
It further held that per the traditions and customs of Akuapem, it was the Abrewatia of the Sakyiabea Royal Family that had the mandate to select a nominee for the position of Okuapehene.
Appeal to National House of Chiefs
Meanwhile, the Daily Graphic has gathered that the faction led by the Okuapehemaa has filed an appeal with the National House of Chiefs against the ruling by the Judicial Committee of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs.
In a notice of appeal to the National House of Chiefs sighted by the Daily Graphic, four aggrieved persons argued that the judgment by the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs amounted to a misdirection of law.
They contended that the judgment was made against them, despite “the weight of the evidence”.
“The committee’s finding that the nomination of a Royal to be enstooled as Okuapehene is the sole prerogative of the Abrewatia of the ruling house whose turn it is to select a candidate was erroneous.
“The judgment is unsatisfactory and failed to resolve the issues raised, both on the pleadings and the evidence, as well as on the memorandum of issues,” they said.
They further noted in the appeal that additional grounds of appeal would be filed “upon receipt of the record of appeal”.
For their reliefs, they “want the judgment set aside” and a “declaration that Odehye Kwasi Akuffo is the proper person to be installed and an order that he be installed as the next Okuapehene”.
2.
Okyenhene’s directive on burial: Bereaved families move bodies from morgue
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Share Tweet ShareBereaved families within the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area have begun moving the bodies of their deceased relatives from the Kyebi Government Hospital morgue in response to a directive by the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin.
On Monday, April 20, 2020, the Okyenhene gave a month’s ultimatum to families of deceased persons to take the bodies from morgues in the Akyem Abuakwa State for burial, in the face of congestion concerns due to the restriction on funerals.
The Daily Graphic gathered that bodies removed from the Kyebi Government Hospital morgue were either sent for private burial or to private morgues outside Akyem Abuakwa.
Impact
In an interview last Monday, the Medical Superintendent of the Kyebi Government Hospital, Dr Richard Nii Darku Dodoo, said families were adhering to the directive by Osagyefuo Ofori Panin.
“No bodies were retrieved from the morgue for burial, except those of Muslims, during the lockdown, but due to the directive by the Overlord of Akyem Abuakwa, some families have, out of fear and panic, taken out the bodies of their deceased relatives for burial.
“Others moved the remains of their relatives to private morgues within and outside the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area, although the morgue at the Kyebi Government Hospital is not full to capacity," he said.
Again, he said, residents of the traditional area had developed the habit of calling the hospital to confirm the operation of the morgue before bringing the bodies of their deceased relatives for preservation.
COVID-19 combat
Dr Dodoo said the hospital was ready for the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), but no positive case had been recorded there.
He said all suspected cases in the hospital turned out negative, but the authorities were awaiting the result of a pending case.
He said the hospital had all the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers, as well as other essential items which were donated by institutions and the traditional authorities to deal with the pandemic.
The hospital had also created a seven-bed isolation ward and two holding centres for suspected patients, he added.
Numbers reduced
The Mortuary Manager at the hospital, Mr Adams Nuhu, said since the directive from the Ofori Panin Fie, the morgue had been relatively busy every weekend.
As a result of that, he said, the number of dead bodies at the morgue had reduced drastically.
“The morgue’s capacity is 100, and we currently have about 40 bodies in it. We still have a lot of room for bodies to be deposited should anyone want to have his or her relative kept here.
“After the directive, on average we eject 14 bodies from the morgue on weekends, which is far more than we did during the lockdown,” he said.
3.
Wife and boyfriend hatched three plots to kill husband
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Share Tweet ShareIt has emerged that the wedded wife who plotted with her boyfriend to kill her husband, had hatched three plans to execute their ploy.
Mavis Brepor, 32, and Patrick Asare, 50, were arrested last Saturday after contracting 'an assassin' to kill David Gator, 52, to whom she had been married for 13 years with three children.
Their plan, however, could not materialise because Asare, while recruiting the would be assassin, mistakenly called the Manhyia Divisional Police Commander, ACP Kwaku Buah for the role.
Giving details of the arrest at a press briefing on Wednesday, ACP Duah, said when he realised that the call was a mistake, he feigned interest in the deal for which Asare offered GH₵100,000 to finish the job.
“In intelligence, that information was like a pot of gold to us and it was important we manage it well and that is what we did,” he said Thursday in a later interview on Accra-based radio station, Citi FM.
He said the assassination was to be carried out on Saturday, May 2.
According to ACP Duah, the suspects had been in a relationship for about six months and had done a blood covenant.
He said the two “had vowed to live together forever and the best way for them to live forever was to eliminate the husband.”
He said there were three plans but the first plan, which was to poison the man with powdered bottles could not be executed because Gator often ate together with his children and wife.
“Plan B was to get someone to kill him. If we had not swiftly moved in on the day of planned killing, this man [Asare] would have gone to Nima to get some thugs to come and kill him. That was the plan C,” ACP Duah said.
He said after the arrest of Asare, “We went to the house of Mr Gator and the man was eating with the wife but unknown to him, the wife and the boyfriend had planned to kill him.”
He said when he broke the news to him, Gator broke down in tears and enquired from his wife what wrong he had done to warrant such an act from her.
ACP Duah attributed the arrest of Asare and Mavis to the handiwork of God, saying, “He would have been dead by now if God had not been on his side and if the call had gone to the wrong person.”
4.
Court fines Akropong Kingmakers GH₵48,000 for flouting social gathering directive
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Share Tweet ShareThe four persons who were arrested during the installation of the new Okuapehene in Akropong last Friday have been fined by the Akropong Circuit Court, presided over by Mrs Arrit Nsemboh.
The four, sentenced on their pleas of ‘guilty’ to the offence of flouting the directives on restrictions on all social and public gatherings, have been fined a total of GH¢48,576.
They will each serve a jail term of four years if they default in paying the fines.
The convicted persons — Odehye Kofi Asiedu Adu-Mfum, 57; Nana Semanshia Ohene Asah Krofah II, 43; Ohenenana Bennet Smith Opoku, 55, and Nana Odi Asempa Krobea Asante, 76 — were charged for failing to comply with the restrictions imposed on all public gatherings, contrary to Paragraph 1(A)VII of E.I. 64 and Section 6 of the Imposition of Restriction Act 1012/2020.
Offence
Detective Inspector Lukeman Sulemana, the prosecutor, told the court that the accused had been deeply involved in the installation of the new Okuapehene in Akropong Akuapem last Friday.
He said the four played significant roles in ensuring that the physical distancing directives put in place, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, were not adhered to.
Plead for mitigation
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Before passing judgement, counsel for the accused, Mr Joseph Adakpaksa, pleaded for mitigation, considering that only 11 kingmakers had performed the customary rites to install the new chief and so they had been overwhelmed by the presence of onlookers.
He further pleaded that the ages of the accused persons should be taken into consideration.
Passing judgment, the court applied the minimum sentence, fining each of the accused persons 1012 penalty units, which translates into GH¢12,144, or in default four years in jail.
Last Friday in Akropong Akuapem in the Eastern Region, the people ignored the Presidential directives on physical distancing during the installation of Odehye Kwadwo Kesse as the new Okuapehene.
The installation was done just a day after the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs had ruled in the litigation between the two factions in the Akropong chieftaincy dispute, led by the Okuapehemaa, Nana Nketiaa Obuo II, and the Family Head, Abrewatia Madam Lily Nana Agyeman, over the selection of a new chief to succeed the late Oseadeeyo Addo Dankwa III.
The three-member Judicial Committee of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs said the selectee for the Okuapehene Stool by Nana Nketiaa Obuo was against the laid down customs and traditions of the people of Akuapem.
It further held that per the traditions and customs of Akuapem, it was the Abrewatia of the Sakyiabea Royal Family that had the mandate to select a nominee for the position of Okuapehene.
Appeal to National House of Chiefs
Meanwhile, the Daily Graphic has gathered that the faction led by the Okuapehemaa has filed an appeal with the National House of Chiefs against the ruling by the Judicial Committee of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs.
In a notice of appeal to the National House of Chiefs sighted by the Daily Graphic, four aggrieved persons argued that the judgment by the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs amounted to a misdirection of law.
They contended that the judgment was made against them, despite “the weight of the evidence”.
“The committee’s finding that the nomination of a Royal to be enstooled as Okuapehene is the sole prerogative of the Abrewatia of the ruling house whose turn it is to select a candidate was erroneous.
“The judgment is unsatisfactory and failed to resolve the issues raised, both on the pleadings and the evidence, as well as on the memorandum of issues,” they said.
They further noted in the appeal that additional grounds of appeal would be filed “upon receipt of the record of appeal”.
For their reliefs, they “want the judgment set aside” and a “declaration that Odehye Kwasi Akuffo is the proper person to be installed and an order that he be installed as the next Okuapehene”.
5.
Man attacks wife with axe for denying him sex
Victus Kuudiyiri — The alleged suspect
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Share Tweet ShareA man who allegedly inflicted multiple wounds on his wife’s head with an axe for denying him sex is in trouble with the law.
Victus Kuudiyiri, 35, a security man, has been remanded in prison custody in Wa, while the woman has been sent to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi for medical attention.
He has been charged with attempted murder and the docket on the case forwarded to the Attorney-General’s Department for advice.
Kuudiyiri, whose plea was not taken when he appeared before the Wa Magistrate Court, presided over by Mr Sydney Braimah, will reappear on May 20, this year.
Quarrel
According to the prosecutor, Sergeant Ali Katebor, Kuudiyiri, who did not like the idea of his wife denying him sex, locked her up for several hours in their apartment on May 1, this year.
He said not satisfied with that act, Kuudiyiri again picked up a quarrel with the wife, and when a misunderstanding ensued between them, he picked up an axe and violently hit the woman's head with it.
He said the woman fell down unconscious, and realising what he had done, Kuudiyiri took to his heels.
Son’s phone call
Sergeant Katebor said the couple’s 10-year-old son, who witnessed the act, picked up her mother's mobile phone and called her aunt, who went to the scene and rushed the unconscious victim to the Wa Government Hospital.
He said because of the gravity of the injury, she was rushed to KATH.
According to the prosecutor, three days later, Kuudiyiri reported himself to the Wa Police and was consequently arrested.
He was arraigned before the Wa Magistrate Court and charged with the offence of attempted murder and remanded, pending further investigations.
Meanwhile, the Upper West Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mr Francis Aboagye Nyarko, has cautioned aggrieved people not to take the law into their own hands under any circumstance but report any misunderstanding to the police.
6.
Churches ready to resume activities as they offer safety protocols on COVID-19
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Share Tweet ShareHeads of Christian Ecumenical Bodies in Ghana have expressed their preparedness to resume activities, as they put together a proposal for the government to clearly spell out modalities under which they can safely perform their programmes without endangering the lives of congregants.
The proposal is a follow up to a meeting between President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and leaders of the Christian faith at the Jubilee House on April 21, 2020.
The proposal, a copy of which was sighted by the Daily Graphic, is advocating strict adherence to all prescribed precautionary etiquettes against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), including providing separate seating areas for the aged.
It is to be jointly presented by the Chairman of the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG), the Most Rev. Dr Paul Boafo; the President of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC), Rev. Prof. Yaw Frimpong-Manso; the President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference (GCBC), the Most Rev. Phillip Naameh, and the President of the National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches (NACCC), Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams.
Proposal
The proposal identifies some risk areas for the spread of the virus and proffers solutions to mitigate them.
The areas include entry points to churches, such as doors and door handles, rails and pillars, and seating arrangements in the churches.
The churches have expressed their commitment in the proposal to ensure that services such as offertory, communion and giving or receiving offering and tithes are carried out in line with the safety protocols.
They have further offered to form COVID-19 response teams in their respective churches, in addition to stepping up education on the pandemic by engaging members and people within their environs.
Reaction
Opinions over the possible resumption of religious activities are, however, divided.
Reacting to a question on the subject on social media platforms, some respondents said they would only attend church services if logistics needed to observe the protocols were provided to ensure their safety.
“If the markets are open for business, why can’t we go to church? I will go if the ban is lifted, but the church must make provision for adherence to the protocols, such as handwashing at vantage points within the church premises, ensuring that people obey physical distancing and, more importantly, they wear their nose masks,” Madam Yaa Benewaa Ofori, a Presbyterian, said.
Kofi Ansah Mensah, a Methodist, said he was ready to attend church should the ban be lifted today because before the ban, his church had discussed the possibility of holding services with smaller congregants.
Eno Bruwaa Agyeman, an usher at a charismatic church, also said she and her colleagues were eagerly looking forward to the lifting of the ban, saying: “I don’t believe there is anything to fear if we all go by the safety protocols. After all, since the restrictions on movement was lifted, we go to work and the markets.”
Madam Yaa Boahemaa Boateng of the Church of Pentecost said she was not too sure if she would want to go to church immediately if the ban was lifted, for the reason that she felt uncomfortable having the nose mask on for more than an hour.
“So I will stay away and only go when I would not need to wear the mask. After all, these past six weeks have proved that the church is in our hearts and not in the building,” she said.
A young couple, Mr and Mrs Oteng-Brobbey, expressed concern over how safe children’s service would be, adding: “If there is assurance that it will be safe for our children to go to Children’s Sunday School or for them to be with us at the main auditorium, fine; if not, we don’t think we will be going to church soon.”
Muslims
Some Muslims too indicated their preparedness to go to the mosque if the ban was lifted, since measures would be put in place to ensure the safety of worshippers.
“At this point, we all are aware of the risks and safety protocols. I will be at the mosque to worship once I’m assured of the safety protocols in place, particularly the observation of physical distancing.
“We are not in normal times and so we should understand that we will have to pray without touching one another, as is usually done,” Zakaria Ali said.
“With regard to the washing of hands, we do that through the observance of ablution before each prayer time. At the moment, some of us have included the use of soap, instead of just water. What will be challenging is the physical distancing — as we have specific times to pray, the space in the mosque does not allow for adequate physical distancing. Perhaps many would opt to be outside to pray,” Abdul Malik Aziz said.
Background
A ban was placed on all public, social and religious gatherings by President Akufo-Addo on March 15, as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease.
When he extended the ban, the President said there was a unanimous decision with the leaders of the major interest groups that it was early to lift it.
However, in preparation for the eventual lifting of the ban, the leaders of the Christian Ecumenical Bodies have presented the proposal.aa
7.
COVID-19 patient recaptured after escaping from quarantine
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Share Tweet ShareA combined team of the Birim Central Municipal Health Directorate, the Oda police and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) has recaptured a 27-year-old covid-19 patient who escaped from his confinement at Akwatia in the Denkyembuor District in the Eastern Region last week.
Kwame Oduro was recaptured last Saturday at Apam in the Central Region where he had taken refuge.
He has since been taken to the Kasoa Treatment Centre for quarantine and medication.
Briefing
Briefing the Daily Graphic at Oda yesterday, the Birim Central Municipal Director of Health Services, Mr James Avoka, said the Denkyembuor District Taskforce on covid-19 spotted Oduro at a check point at Akwatia.
He said his temperature was found to be far above normal, so he was referred to the hospital where his sample was taken and later confirmed by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research to be coronavirus positive.
Lockdown
Mr Avoka said Oduro was among a number of people who fled Accra to Akwatia when the President announced the restrictions on movement in the city.
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He said Oduro was confined to Akwatia by the Denkyembuor District Assembly under police supervision, while steps were being taken to send him to Accra for quarantine and medical treatment.
Mr Avoka said on April 28, 2020, the policeman guarding him sought shelter at the nearby barracks when it threatened to rain, but on his return he realised that Oduro had escaped.
He said through investigations, the police tracked him to a village near Akwatia and later Oda and Akyem Aboabo.
They caused announcements to be made on radio stations in Oda that whoever was harbouring the suspect should send him to the BNI Divisional Office at Oda.
He said Oduro escaped to Apam when he heard the announcements.
He said the Oda BNI collaborated with its counterpart at Apam and that led to Oduro being recaptured at his hideout in the community last Saturday.
8.
More young people contracting COVID-19 in Ashanti Region
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Share Tweet ShareThe Ashanti Region has recorded the youngest coronavirus disease (COVID-19) confirmed patient, as the figures in the region soared by 10 more to 163 in one week.
The youngest is a 10-year-old patient whose case has been confirmed, while the oldest patient is 83 years.
At the weekly media briefing, the Ashanti Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Emmanuel Tenkorang, said of the number of confirmed cases, 44 per cent were aged between 10 and 29 years, an indication that the belief that the virus thrived more in older people than in the youth was a myth.
Ashanti’s epicentre
Giving a breakdown of the cases in the region, Dr Tenkorang said 17 of the 43 districts in the region had so far recorded cases of the disease, with Obuasi assuming the reputation as the epicentre of the COVID-19 in the region, having recorded 47 cases.
Of the 163 confirmed cases, 56 per cent are males, with the remaining 44 per cent being females.
“The youngest case we have had here is 10 years old and the oldest 83 years. Some 37 people have so far recovered and three are currently on admission. The number of contacts that we are actively following as of now is 54,” he indicated.
He said given the number of districts that had recorded confirmed cases, the GHS had to intensify tracing, testing and isolation to be able to contain the disease.
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High-risk group
As a first measure, he said, there would be mass screening of people considered as the high-risk group — people who come into contact with many people in a day, including traders and drivers — to be able to do a lot more testing for possible isolation of those who would test positive.
He said the service was also to scale-up its routine surveillance to be able to track and deal with all persons who might be carriers of the disease but might not know it.
So far, 817 contact tracings had been done, with 763 discharged, he noted.
Tests and treatment
Dr Tenkorang said having test results in good time remained a challenge in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
To resolve that, he said, arrangements had been made to increase the testing centres to four to complement the efforts of the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR), while one more treatment centre was to be added to the existing two.
“So far, the KCCR has tested 41,986 samples. It is our plan to decentralise the labs. Apart from the KCCR, we are also working to set up at least two labs, in addition to the KCCR lab.
“One will be based in our public health reference lab in Kumasi South. We are also talking to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital whether we can use their labs. There are other facilities that we can put in shape, so that the testing goes faster.
“So far, that has been our major bottleneck as far as our COVID-19 fight is concerned,” he said.
Media
Dr Tenkorang commended the media for displaying a high level of professionalism in the fight against the pandemic.
He said as co-frontline workers, the media needed to be given special mention, just as the frontline medical staff, because "you equally risk your lives to get the news to the people".
9.
COVID-19 testing is free — GHS
Share Tweet Share EmailThe Ghana Health Service (GHS) has cautioned the public to be careful about imposters who are extorting money from people in the name of contact tracing.
It said the state was not charging any contact of COVID-19-infected persons money to have his or her sample taken and tested.
The caution comes on the back of incidents reported to the Daily Graphic that some unscrupulous persons were calling people to demand mobile money transfers from those people for them to undergo testing to know their COVID-19 status.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Head of the Public Relations Unit at the GHS, Mr Jacob Andoh, said: “We don't take any money from anybody to take his or her sample; we have not sent any contact tracers to communities to take money from people either.”
He said district offices of the GHS had trained contact tracing teams that included a medical laboratory scientist to collect the needed samples at no cost to anybody.
“If anyone comes to you with such a proposal, please ask for his or her identity card and report him or her to the nearest police station. The sample taking and testing are at no cost to anyone,” he added.
Modus operandi
The alleged imposters call people on their mobile phones and tell them that they had been pencilled in for contact tracing and testing but the kit for the exercise had run out and demand between GH¢40 and GH¢65, through mobile money transfer, for the kit.
The reports were received from people residing at Gbawe, Kasoa, Adenta and Ashaiman, where some contact tracing exercises had been going on.
The GHS said it was going to investigate the matter and bring perpetrators to book.
National update
The GHS, through its official website, has indicated that since the first case of COVID-19 was recorded on March 12, 2020, a total of 2,032 contacts traced had tested positive, out of the total national confirmed cases of 3,091, as of the morning of May 8, 2020.
10.
NDC suspends Allotey Jacobs
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Share Tweet ShareThe opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has suspended its former Central Regional Chairman, Mr Bernard Allotey Jacobs.
A letter addressed to Mr Jacobs and signed by the National Chairman of the NDC, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, said Mr Jacobs was suspended for “persistent anti-party conduct”.
“The Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the National Democratic Congress, acting on behalf of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party, at its meeting held on Wednesday, the 6th day of May, 2020, has suspended you forthwith as a member of the party, pursuant to articles 46(1), 46(6) and 46(8) of the party’s constitution for your persistent anti-party conduct,” the letter stated.
It added that the matter had been referred to the Disciplinary Committee of the NDC for further action.
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