THE THOUGHTS ROOM

Wednesday morning on my way to work, a tipper truck driver rammed the back my sister’s car and broke the tail lights. We were of course angry but calm in handling the situation. The driver, who was coming from the main Legon road, in his attempt not to give a “trotro” driver space to join the main road from the overpass, ended up smashing our car and also denting the side of the car I was riding in. IGP, Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan The first line of action was to call the police. Although we were close to the Legon Police Station, we couldn’t leave the accident scene because the police would have to come to the scene to collect information on how the accident happened and mark the area. I picked my phone to make the call. But not sure of what to do after the police short code 191 gave me a busy tone, I went on to search for a police contact number on google. The first link which popped up was the police website, www.police.gov.gh/contactus . I scrolled down but couldn’t fin...

Sometime last year I had to apply for a Ghanaian passport to enable me make a trip abroad. It amazed my work colleagues when I said I was going to the Passport Office at Ridge to place my application. They were amazed because they had expected me, as a journalist, to have had one by then. The truth is I had tried but given up my chase for a passport in 2011 after a “goro boy” (a passport contractor) at the then Foreign Affairs Ministry near the Tema Station in Accra demanded GH¢50 from me to have my passport processed within a month. This was in spite of my buying an “express” application form at GH¢100 which promised or rather guaranteed that I got my passport in three weeks. I refused his offer. A friend took his word for it and had his passport in three months. I kept the form nonetheless and later when I tried submitting it, I was told I had to buy another form because it had expired. I was less perturbed about getting another form at GH¢100 again since time was running...

The lead scientist for the Ebola Vaccine trial in Ghana, Prof. Fred Binka has offered to volunteer for the clinical trial. Prof Fred Binka According to him, he would be delighted to be used for the vaccination trial if that will bring an end to the misconception about the trial scheduled to take place in the Volta Region. Prof. Binka who is the Foundation Vice-Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, said on Starr FM that “I have had a battle with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA); I would be the first to take the vaccine. Because this is a political disease and maybe we have to find different ways of doing that. I don’t think I will be offering Ghanaians something that will be dangerous to them.” “But if they can see that I personally can take the vaccine, I will be happy to do that. When this vaccine came to Geneva, the assistant WHO director took it and so there is no problem at all,” he said. At a recently held sensitisation forum in Accra, Prof. Binka ...

Victims of last Saturday’s Sodom and Gomorrah demolition exercise took to the streets Monday morning to demonstrate against the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA). Sodom and Gomorrah residents demonstrate over demolition According to reports, the groups picketed at various spots including the Parliament House, State House, AMA office and the Agbogbloshie Market. According to a report on Citi FM, the demonstrators numbering about 200 were trying to enter the Banquet Hall of the State House to draw the attention of the President to their plight as a result of the demolition which has left them homeless. Another group, numbering about 1000 blocked the roads leading to the Agbogbloshie Market with burning tyres. Describing the situation as chaotic, the Citi FM report said the police were on the ground trying to bring the crowd under control. The angry youth say they have been betrayed and will vote against the National Democratic Congress (NDC) come 2016. Background ...

President John Dramani Mahama has directed that DNA tests be conducted on the charred bodies of last Wednesday’s fire disaster to ease identification by family members. He is, therefore, calling on families who are yet to identify members to visit the 37 Military, Police and Korle Bu Teaching Hospitals with DNA samples to confirm the identities of the deceased. The President gave this directive Wednesday morning during the memorial service to sympathise with victims of the double disaster which claimed over 150 lives and destroyed properties worth millions of Ghana cedis. The memorial service brings to an end the three days of mourning set aside by government in honour of the victims who died during the flood and fire that hit parts of Accra on Wednesday, June 3, 2015. Addressing the congregation, President Mahama said, “Government has given authorisation for DNA tests to be conducted on the bodies from the disaster which have not yet been identified. This will allow famili...

I have for some time decided to remain silent on issues, not because I don’t have a voice but I’ve come to realise that as human, anything you say will be interpreted in another way to suit the interpreter. So when reports of discrimination against Muslims in the Western Region came into the public domain, I once again decided to stay mute. But today, I’ve come out to speak on the issue because I think a big social blunder has been committed by the first gentleman of our land. Although the issue seems to be dying out gradually (as has always been the case in Ghana), I still hold the view that our President made a big mistake giving a stern warning to heads of institutions who discriminate on the basis of religion during his state of the nation address in parliament a fortnight ago. In his words, President Mahama said, “Ghana has enjoyed a long history of religious tolerance…Our constitution in Article 21(1) guarantees the freedom of religion and the freedom to express one’s...

A Research Fellow at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Dr Kofi Bonney, has cautioned the public to be wary of the types of hand sanitizers they buy from the market as part of precautionary measures to prevent an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. According to him, hand sanitizers come in two forms; one meant to kill only bacteria and another meant to kill all forms of germs including bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa.  Following the outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa, there has been a marked upsurge in the use of hand sanitizers for disinfecting the hands for fear of people coming into contact with the virus. However, at a sensitization forum on Ebola organised by the Graphic Communications Group Limited, Dr Bonney noted that there was a need for the public to carefully read the labels of the sanitizers before buying them. “Take your time to read what the sanitizers can do. Read the instructions and what they contain because the sanitizer ...