Fuel Station in trouble for ignoring Fire Service warning

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Mr Osarfo Affum, Acting Head of Public Relations of GNFS
Mr Osarfo Affum, Acting Head of Public Relations of GNFS
The Ghana National Fire Service is to take action against owners of a fuel station that is likely to pose fire threat to the residents around Pambros, near Weija in Accra in the Ga South Municipality.
The Service says notwithstanding the revocation of the fire permit that was issued to the owners of the fuel station [Lucky Oil] in 2012, the owners went ahead to construct the building for the station. The withdrawal of the fire permit, officials say, was due to the closeness of the Lucky fuel Station’s to two residential apartments within the community, adding the owners varied the building plans without approval. Checks by 3FM’s Community Connect last week showed construction work on fuel station, which is opposite the Panbros Salt Industry, was almost complete. Alhaji Aleru Lukeman, owner of the station told 3FM that he has not received any letter or order from the authorities asking him to stop work, saying “I have not received any letter from the Assembly nor the Fire Service. In any case you can check from our regulator on the matter.” However, the Greater Accra Chief Fire Officer, Ebenezer Simpson disputed Alhaji Lukeman’s claim the permit has not been revoked. He explained that GNFS upon inspection of the facility discovered Lucky Oil Station had varied the plans without the approval of the Chief Fire Officer, contrary to regulation 14 of Legislative Instrument 1724. “We have been to the place, seen the discrepancies and have submitted our report to the Chief Fire Officer to take his action. However, the fire permit he had was issued in 2012, which has been revoked. He cannot be using that for the filling station under construction,” ACFO Simpson noted. In April this year, the Acting Head of Public Relations of GNFS, Divisional Officer Grade II, Mr Timothy Osarfo Affum, told journalists after visiting the construction site that the withdrawal of Lucky Oil’s fire permit was due to the nearness to two residences. He said the facility as it stands now, if allowed to proceed would create a serious fire threat to both occupants and the community. Kweku Adjei Nkrumah, a resident whose house borders the Lucky Oil and TEL Filling station, which is fully operational, said each time fuel is dispensed they are unable to do anything for over four hours. “Each time they dispense fuel, we cannot do anything. We cannot cook or light a fire since it could explode. Our house is just inches away from the filling station. Besides we have children here who have respiratory conditions,” he said. “We are pleading with the authorities to act fast by closing down these two filling stations because of the harm they are causing and the potential disaster waiting to occur.” Community Connect contacted the Metropolitan Chief Executive Jerry Acquaye-Thompson for their position on the case to which he said, “The owners of that land have relevant documents to prove they own the land and can thus go ahead with their chosen project.” COMMUNITY CONNECT is a community relations programme which airs on 3FM 92.7 on Mondays at 7.00 pm By Gideon A. Sackitey|3FM 92.7|3news.com

Minister must admit there is no money to pay teachers – former GES boss

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Seth Terkper, Finance Minister
Seth Terkper, Finance Minister
Former Director of the Ghana Education Service, Michael Nsowah, has rubbished reasons given by the Finance Ministry for the nonpayment of salaries of more than 3,000 teachers for the past three years.
According to the Ministry, the teachers who form the Coalition of Unpaid Teachers, do not have their names on the payroll of the Controller and Accountant General, explaining that they have not been given the financial clearance to that effect. The Ministry further said the Ghana Education Service, which is the employer, is responsible for submitting the names of the affected teachers to it for the necessary clearance to be given before they could be paid. But the former Director General disagrees with the Finance Ministry’s justification. “If you have approved my budget that I can employ 60,000 teachers, and I haven’t exceeded the number, why do you talk of clearance and protocol when we need teachers? I don’t think anybody can convince me that they did not go through the proper protocol. What protocol? If there is no money tell us,” he said Explaining further, Mr Nsowah wondered whether the previous systems in place have been changed, arguing that, the emolument of teachers is agreed upon in the yearly budget, hence the teachers are supposed to be paid unless their monies have been used for other things. “I think the teacher associations should find out if the old practice has changed because they are supposed to be absorbed in the budget. They should go back to the budget and find out how much was approved. If these teachers were not there, where do you think those children would have been?” he asked. Background The over 3,000 teachers have been denied their salaries for the past three years on grounds that the Ghana Education Service employed them without seeking the financial clearance from the Finance Ministry. The teacher unions have blamed the GES for their dilemma. Some of the unpaid teachers claim they have had to resort loans and borrowing from friends and family for survival. They accused Ghana National Association of Teacher, National Association of Graduate Teachers and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers of not doing much to help them. According to the leadership of the three unions have received GHC 200,000 each to influence the delay in the payment of their salaries because they do not belong to the three unions; an allegation the unions have denied. Meanwhile, the unpaid teachers are planning to picket at the Finance Ministry Wednesday [today] to register their displeasure. Sarah Parku|3FM 92.7|3news.com

Over 18,000 people challenged in the Limited Voter’s Registration

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voter registration4A total of 18,986 people who registered in the just ended limited voter’s registration exercise had their eligibility challenged nationwide on various grounds, the Electoral Commission has revealed.
Those who were challenged had their voter’s identity card retained by the officials of the Electoral Commission at the various district offices across the country until the determination of their cases. The Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of people who were challenged with 5,084 while the Upper West had 246, the lowest number of cases. The Greater Accra recorded 15,000 cases, and already, the various District Registration Review Committees have begun hearing the challenge cases. The committees are made up of representatives of the various political parties, religious and traditional leaders as well as the security agencies and judges. The committees are to determine the eligibility of those who were challenged, and if found to be eligible, their voter’s identity cards released to them to enable them vote in the November 7 general elections. The Greater Accra Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, Kwame Amoah, explained that persons found guilty will either have their names deleted from the register or their cards being withheld. “The committee’s work is to focus on whether the person qualifies to have his details on the register or not. They invite the challenge [the person who challenged the voter] and the one challenged and if found not qualified, his details will be taken off the register,” he said He said the work of the committee which begun after the first phase of the exercise is expected to be completed within seven days. ‘‘The process is ongoing, it will depend on the number of cases in each district then we will get to know the number cleared. There isn’t much timeline but when the issue comes to your notice, you have up to seven days to address’’. The 10-day nationwide limited voter’s registration exercise ended last Sunday. A number of people were reportedly unable to register in the exercise due to the limited registration centres used. Sarah Parku 3FM 92.7 | 3news.com

BNI detains TOR worker with gun waiting for Prez Mahama

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gunCredible information reaching tv3network.com indicates that a worker of the Tema Oil Refinery, Senanu Asbeit Akpade is currently in the custody of the Bureau of National Investigations -BNI – for possessing a gun ‘in wait for President Mahama’.
Mr. Asbeit Akpade who worked with the Environmental Department of TOR is a known supporter of the governing National Democratic Congress and touted himself as such was among staff and management of the refinery who were waiting for the president. President Mahama was at the refinery on Monday, May 9 with the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr. Keith Christopher Rowley to assess the company’s performance since it resumed full operations in February this year. Ahead of the president’s arrival, however, National Security officers who had gone ahead of the presidential convoy arrested the man after realizing that his behaviour was suspicious. When he was arrested a gun he was trying to conceal was found on him. Another worker at the company who spoke to tv3network.com on condition of anonymity said “before the president arrived yesterday, one of the known NDC guys in the office had been arrested having a gun on him.” He went on to say “the National Security officers around suspected his behavior and quickly apprehended him and took the gun away from him. Because he was arrested before the president arrived, most of the workers and even some management staff were not aware that such an activity had gone on.” News of his arrest started trickling in Tuesday morning but after working our sources, it emerged that most workers had no knowledge of what had gone on prior to the president’s arrival. Our anonymous source said “the action took place around the frontage of the old administration block, precisely around where the Managing Director parks his car. “He had the gun on him before coming to work that day. Apparently, he has been bringing the gun to work for some time now without the knowledge of his colleagues and the security at the gate. He is currently in the grips of the BNI and that is where we know he is at the moment.” Attempt on President’s life Although the intentions of the man are not immediately known he is the second unauthorised person to have been arrested with a gun around President John Mahama. The first was Charles Antwi who is currently receiving psychiatric treatment for saying that he wanted to kill the president so he will become president of Ghana. He was arrested at the President’s church where he had frequented with his gun waiting for the president so he can do whatever it was he had planned. It took the vigilance of a church member who suspected Charles Antwi’s behavior and alerted the security officers leading to his arrest. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on his first day in court but was later sent for psychiatric analysis and treatment following what the judge suspected was ‘unusual’ about him. By Martin Asiedu-Dartey|3news.com|Ghana Twitter: @NewsyMartin

IEA holds 2016 presidential debate in September

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IEA holds 2016 presidential debate in September
IEA debateThe Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has scheduled the last week of September for the first of two presidential debates ahead of the 2016 presidential elections.
The second is scheduled to be held in the third week of October, a couple of weeks before the elections. These were made known by the Institute on Tuesday, May 10, when it launched its timetable for the encounters. Though the two presidential debates will involve political parties with members of parliament, a separate one is being considered for the two frontrunners – John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). “From all indications, Ghanaians are really looking forward to it apart from having a platform for all the four,” said IEA’s Executive Director Jean Mensah. Evening encounters will also be held across the nation for all presidential aspirants, IEA announced. A Vice Presidential Debate has also been scheduled to be held in the first week of October. The debates will be on the policy agenda and programmes of the different candidates together with a detailed analysis of their credibility, competence and capacity to solve national problems. Source: 3news.com|Ghana

Literary Discourse: “General Public” or “Public”

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Grammar_nimishgoelIntroduction Is it “General Public” or “Public”? It is both depending on the context and preference of diction. Hahahahaaa! Many experts and users of English argue that what is “Public” is “General.” Therefore, according to these people, the phrase “General Public” amounts to verbosity, which should NOT be entertained.
While there could be wisdom in this argument, “General Public” remains an exceptionally legitimate phrase accepted in almost all dictionaries – from Oxford to Cambridge, from Webster’s to Collins, from Macmillan to Longman. Below is the justification of claim: Semantic Disparity (difference) Permit me to state that it is NOT always the case that anything “Public” is “General.” A classic example is “Public University” which is NOT, at all, “General University.” Hahahahaha! Clearly, in this context, the word “public” could be: STATE, GOVERNMENT, NATIONAL. Examples: * Gbewaa University is a PUBLIC school. Or * Gbewaa University is a STATE school. * Kadiogo College is a PUBLIC institution of higher learning in Moshie Kingdom. Or * Kadiogo College is a GOVERNMENT institution of higher learning in Moshie Kingdom. Semantic similarity It is instructive to emphasize that “General Public” and “Public” share certain common semantic properties (elements of meaning). Ideally, “General Public” is an emphatic or extended version of “Public.” This view could be best understood in the definition of both terms. General Public According to the dictionaries mentioned earlier, “General Public” refers to the ordinary people in society, rather than those who are considered to be important or who belong to a distinct group. Synonyms of “General Public” include “the people”, “the masses”, “civilians” the ordinary people”, “the men/women in the street.” Public Similarly, “Public” as a noun means ordinary people in general or the community. As an adjective, it means “concerning the people as a whole.” In this context some of its synonyms are “popular”, “general”, “common.” Special Meanings In addition to the contextual meanings of the terms under review, “Public” has various technical meanings in various fields of knowledge. For instance, in the lexicon of PUBLIC RELATIONS, “Public” refers to a sub-set within a whole. Examples: * Teachers as a PUBLIC in a school. * Administrators as a PUBLIC in the same school. * Cleaners as a PUBLIC in the same school. * Learners as a PUBLIC in the same school. * Parents as a PUBLIC in the same school. When all these are brought together, they constitute PUBLICS. For this reason, “Public” which is regarded as a Mass Noun in ordinary English is a Count Noun in the jargon of PUBLIC RELATIONS: Public – Singular. Publics – Plural. Usage in Journalistic Writing Journalistic writing uses what is termed as “Condensed Grammar” in which words are economized to maximize space and ensure precision. Therefore, news editors and sub-editors prefer “Public” to “General Public.” It is not that “General Public” is WRONG but that “Public” is conventionally PREFERABLE. Conclusion Dear reader, in the light of the above explanation, it may be clear to you that the use of “General Public” and “Public” is a matter of personal choice. However, it is advisable to consider the context whenever you want to use “General Public” or “Public.”   By Abubakar Mohammed Marzuq Azindoo, Acting Registrar, Hudaibiya University College, Accra.

President Obama to visit Hiroshima

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The atomic bomb dome. Some 140,000 are believed to have died in the attack on Hiroshima
The atomic bomb dome. Some 140,000 are believed to have died in the attack on Hiroshima

Barack Obama is to visit Hiroshima this month – the first serving US president to travel to the Japanese city since it was hit by a US nuclear bomb in 1945.

The visit will be part of an Asian trip from 21-28 May that will also take in Vietnam. The Hiroshima bombing on 6 August 1945 killed 140,000 people. Along with a second bombing on Nagasaki – it is credited with ending World War Two. The White House said there would be no apology for the bombings. A statement from Mr Obama’s press secretary read: “The President will make an historic visit to Hiroshima with Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe to highlight his continued commitment to pursuing peace and security in a world without nuclear weapons.”
The bomb that changed the world
HiroshimaImage copyrightGetty Images
Image captionA mushroom cloud over Hiroshima following the explosion of an atomic bomb
  • The bomb was nicknamed “Little Boy” and was thought to have the explosive force of 20,000 tonnes of TNT
  • Colonel Paul Tibbets, a 30-year-old colonel from Illinois, led the mission to drop the atomic bomb on Japan
  • The Enola Gay, the plane which dropped the bomb, was named in tribute to Col Tibbets’ mother
  • The final target was decided less than an hour before the bomb was dropped. The good weather conditions over Hiroshima sealed the city’s fate
  • On detonation, the temperature at the burst-point of the bomb was several million degrees. Thousands of people on the ground were killed or injured instantly
Find out what happened in the hours before the bomb was dropped Was it right to drop the bomb on Hiroshima?
In ruling out any apology, the president’s communications adviser, Ben Rhodes,said on his Twitter page that the US would be “eternally proud of our civilian leaders and the men and women of our armed forces who served in World War II”. He said that Mr Obama would “not revisit the decision to use the atomic bomb at the end of World War II. Instead, he will offer a forward-looking vision focused on our shared future”. He said the visit would “offer an opportunity to honour the memory of all innocents who were lost during the war”. Mr Rhodes added: “The President and his team will make this visit knowing that the open recognition of history is essential to understanding our shared past, the forces that shape the world we live in today, and the future that we seek for our children and grandchildren.” Mr Obama will also take part in the G7 summit in Japan’s Ise-Shima peninsula and hold bilateral talks with Mr Abe. Before that Mr Obama will meet Vietnam’s leadership and deliver a speech in the capital, Hanoi, on US-Vietnam relations. Jimmy Carter has visited Hiroshima, but after the end of his presidency. A US ambassador attended the annual commemoration for the first time in 2010.

Seventy years since Hiroshim

The ‘sanitised narrative’ of Hiroshima’s atomic bombing: The US view that the bombing was necessary to end the war ignores a terrible and enduring cost. Japan revisionists deny WW2 sex slave atrocities: Examining the rise of revisionism and the fraught issue of comfort women.   Source: BBC

Two friends in police grip for fighting over pussycat

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Two friends in police grip for fighting over pussycat
The two friends - Atta [in shirt] and Evans
The two friends – Atta [in shirt] and Evans
Two friends are in Police grips for causing harm to each other over a misunderstanding arising out of the stealing of a pussycat belonging to one of them.
The two – Kwesi Atta and Enne Evans – have been issued with medical forms to seek treatment after which they would be charged with ‘acts tending to disturb public  peace’, TV3’s Josephine Frempong has reported. Police say 43-year-old Atta who is a labourer at the Tema Port, accused his unemployed friend,  39-year old Evans, of stealing his cat and thus confronted him last Saturday resulting in exchanges but they were prevented from fighting. On Monday, Atta was said to have confronted Evans on the issue again, leading to a fight during which Atta inflicted cutlass wounds on Evans who also used a club to attack Atta. The Tema Community 11 Police was immediately called at about 10:30am to intervene in the fight which took place at a popular place called Water Melon Avenue in Community 10. Both men were brought to the Police Station with various degrees of injury and with blood oozing out of their bodies. Evans told Police investigators that he used the club in self-defence because Atta attacked him with a cutlass. By Stephen Kwabena Effah|3news.com Twitter @steviekgh

Abossey Okai ICGC threatened by engulfing refuse

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Refuse Sandwiched between the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) and a mosque at Abossey Okai in Accra is a heap of refuse.
This pile of refuse has infamously gained accolades including ‘Temple Refuse’ and the ‘Rubbish of Babel’. For congregants of ICGC, worshippers at the mosque, workers and residents of the area, the stench emanating from the pile of refuse is nauseatingly bad. Speaking on 3FM’s Community Connect, Reverend Albert Ocran of the ICGC said the heap of refuse started piling up a couple of years from about 100 meters away from the church. “It started a couple of years ago. Where the refuse is now was occupied by five football pitches constructed by the church for kids in the community. All these investments were made to beautify the place but the rubbish has overrun these pitches,” said Rev. Ocran. He said the area occupied by the refuse is not earmarked as a place for dumping refuse. “City authorities have categorically confirmed that the area is not meant for dumping of refuse. Earlier this year, they put up a sign post instructing people not to dump refuse there but at the same time, you have some persons who stand on that refuse dump to charge people who come to dispose off their waste.” He stated further that the stench from the stinking refuse travels to a far distance that people in the community find it unbearable. “You can imagine the impact on the church,” Rev Ocran said. “We spend thousands of Cedis deodorizing and disinfecting the environment. In spite of that, when it rains, some blackish liquid just flows from the environment into our space,” Rev Ocran added. Community Connect’s attempts to get reactions from the Mayor of Accra, the PRO, and the Head of Health at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly have all not been successful. 3FM will follow up on this issue and will bring you updates. Community Connect airs on Mondays from 7pm to 8pm on 3FM. The show interrogates issues in your communities for the appropriate authorities to act upon them. By Solomon Mensah|3FM|tv3network.com|Ghana

Meet the blind model – Blessing Henebeng

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Meet the blind model – Blessing Henebeng
Blessing HenebengVisually impaired Blessing Henebeng, a first year Social Work student of the University of Ghana, Legon, says she is not deterred by her condition and is raring to be a super model in Ghana and across the world.
Blessing lost her sight six years ago, when she was in class at Ejisuman Senior High School, and has never been able to regain her sight. She, however, believes she still has what it takes to walk the runway just like every other model. She also believes this is her time to make an impact as a model. Speaking on TV3’s morning show New Day, Blessing recounted how she lost her sight and shared the aftermath of her experience with host Moonn Sangmoor. “When I had my sight, I really admired the models and anytime I saw someone modeling, I go like wow I would love to do that. “I tried to model a few times way back in school during our entertainment shows and I thought it was amazing.” She tells how she suddenly went blank in class one day and how she thought that had brought life to an end for her. “I thought my whole world had come to an end because I didn’t know what to do again at that very moment. “I wasn’t eating, talking to anybody, wasn’t getting close to anyone and all I used to do was cry everyday and lock myself up in the room.” Blessing spoke about her favorite model, Menaye Donkor, who is the wife of Black Stars midfielder Sulley Muntari. She described Mrs Muntari as a mirror of herself. “I love Sulley Muntari’s wife because she’s one person I admire so much because she’s bold, intelligent and has made Ghana proud. “I used to see myself in her when I had my sight because I had the chance of seeing her on TV, magazines and newspapers.” Blessing is billed to model at a fashion show to be organised by Ghanaian fashion designer Barimah K.K Mensah at the Akropong School for the Blind on May 21. By Nana Afrane Asante|3news.com|Ghana
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