THE THOUGHTS ROOM

The President of the Ghana Heart Foundation and the former Chief Executive Officer of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Professor Kwabena Frimpong, revealed on Awake  that he still harbours pains about circumstances that led to his removal as the CEO of the Cardiothoracic Centre. Appearing on e.tv Ghana’s flagship show,  Awake , on Thursday morning, Professor Frimpong Manso expressed his belief that the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital deserved to be managed properly by dedicated people. He also lamented at how unjustified his removal from office was. “I feel very sad for Ghana,” he replied in response to host Rashida Nasamu's probe into his view of the decision by the President to remove him from office. Professor Frimpong-Boateng was sacked in August of 2011 in unclear circumstances in a move that seemed, to observers, to be more politically than professionally motivated. He had returned to Ghana from Germany to practice as the nation's first locally-based cardiothoracic ...

Executive Secretary of the Narcotics Control Board, Mr Yaw Akrasi Sarpong, has called for the depoliticization of matters relating to drugs in the quest to fight against drug trafficking. Speaking on e.tv Ghana’s flagship programme, Awake, he noted that “is important that this matter of drugs is depolicticized and nobody should take the credit.” Mr Akrasi Sarpong said law enforcement agents were to take credit for the fight against drug trafficking and accused politicians of benefiting from the sweat of those law enforcement agents. He said, “I have said elsewhere that politicians ought not to be the beneficiaries of state resources more than law enforcement agents. Where in a country and in Africa do politicians cream off resources and live better and more comfortable than law enforcement agents” “We’ve got it all wrong. They are not tin gods. They need law enforcement agencies to stay in power. And they ought to recognize them. And for me that is the key thing. It...

An obstetrician gynecologist has dispelled rumours that condoms, especially female condoms are among several causative agents resulting in cervical cancer amongst women. Dr Michael McCarthy who is a regular contributor on e.tv Ghana's flagship programme  Awake , Monday, explained that condoms were some of the safest modern contraceptives and their use amongst women helps in the prevention of contracting cervical cancer. He was speaking on a broader topic; abortion, when the issue of female condoms and cervical cancer cropped up. In Ghana, it is believed that 6.57 million women over the age of 15 are currently at risk of developing cervical cancer. Each year, at least 3,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer while about 2,000 die from  it in the country. When asked by host, Rashida Nasamu about the myth surrounding female condoms as causing cervical cancer, Dr McCarthy had this to say: “It’s a complete lie. You are actually protecting yourself from the main ca...

Executive Secretary of the Constitution Review Commission, Dr Raymond   Atuguba , Wednesday on Awake pointed some sections of the constitution which are likely to be amended or retained. Although the President is the sole person who is allowed to make public the recommendations made in the constitution, Dr   Atuguba   also held some personal views regarding some clauses and articles in the constitution. Whilst some have called unnecessary the need to tamper with the constitution, Dr   Atuguba , however thought otherwise. According to him, the constitution as a framework has gotten to its limit in so many areas. He cited media freedom as one of the provisions of the constitutions which was likely to regress the country. He explained that some democratic societies had scaled back because their constitutions had reached their limits, thus the need for a constitutional review. In his judgment of Ghana, he said, “we’ve gotten to our utmost li...

Dr Raymond Atuguba, a constitutional lawyer and Executive Secretary of the Constitutional Review Committee has reiterated his comments about the judiciary being the most corrupt institution in the country. According to the lawyer, “the greatest threat to Ghana’s infant democracy is the judiciary.” He made these remarks when he hosted by Rashida Nasamu on e.tv Ghana’s flagship programme, Awake. Dr Atuguba who was nearly “lynched” by colleague in the judicial fraternity for some comments he made on one local radio station, Joy FM, accused the radio station for misconstruing his comments about the judiciary. JOY FM’S UNFAIRNESS According to Dr Atuguba, his comments on Joy FM were misconstrued. He said, “What Joy FM did was a dangerous thing. What they did was to take a tape of three and half hours to four hours and then cut bits and pieces and join them up.” However, the lawyer did not sue the radio station, which he according to him “would be a waste of ...

A senior cadre and a close ally to the Rawlingses, Dr Ayirebi Acquah says the conduct and pronouncements of the former president could land him in a situation which could amount to his mistreatment in the party he founded. According to him, after 19 years of ruling Ghana, ex-president Jerry John Rawlings feels neglected since the people he used to advise and consult with are no longer giving him the opportunity to do same. Sharing his thoughts on  e.tv Ghana ’s flagship programme,  Awake , Dr Acquah also expressed his thoughts concerning the impact that the former president’s wife had had on his current state and her aspiration to vie for president in Ghana. He also commented on the former president’s pronouncements during the recently held June 4 celebrations at Aflao where ex-president Rawliings is on record to have said that the ruling NDC government is not observing the principles and values of the June 4 uprising which sought to emphasise the values of probity, ...

Transport Minister, Alhaji Collins Dauda, says government had plans of building a new airport at Prampram even before the plane crash incident occurred on Saturday night. According to him, he had paid a visit to the site not long ago to ascertain the availability of the land, adding that, “the land was intact.” In a phone interview on e.tv Ghana’s morning show, Awake on Monday, Alhaji Dauda stated that the Kotoka International Airport was getting congested. Calls have been made for the relocation of the Kotoka International Airport following Saturday night’s plane crash which claimed the lives of ten passengers on board a 207 Benz bus. The calls have been based on the increasing spring up of high rising buildings along the KIA area and the encroachment of lands around the area. Affirming the calls, Alhaji Dauda said “Government has planned to have a new airport” and that survey works are ongoing and when completed, bidding for the construction of the new airport would be ...

Last Saturday night’s disaster which claimed the lives of ten persons on board a passenger bus around the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra has been attributed to many factors such as complacency on the part of the pilot and poor weather conditions at the time the accident occurred. The accident, which involved a Nigerian   Allied Air  Boeing 727-200 cargo plane and a 207 Benz bus, has got many questioning the credibility of the Ghana Meteorological Agency with regards to communicating weather conditions to the air traffic control room at the Kotoka International Airport. However, Senior Meteorologist at the Ghana Meteorological Agency, Muller Tsatsu Siameh, has come clear that at the time of the incident, the GMA had communicated clearly to the pilot. He explained Monday on e.tv Ghana’s morning show, Awake, that the rain fall pattern at the time had changed from slight rainfalls to moderate rainfall, which according to him, had the possibility to impair the vis...