National Democratic Congress Communication Director Sammy Gyamfi says Mahama would have provided free electricity for Ghanaians during lockdown

In an interview with Nana Aba Anamoah on GhOne Tv’s State of Affairs he said “ If his Excellency John Dramani Mahama was the President of Ghana, all Ghanaians would have been enjoying free electricity by now”.

According to the NDC communication director under the leadership of Former president John Dramani Mahama this recommendation would have been non negotiable.

“For the NDC and especially his Excellency John Dramani Mahama the recommendation for free electricity is non negotiable”. He said.

Mr. Gyamfi emphasized on the fact that people living in the house are using more electricity and yet they are not working therefore paying electricity bill will be very difficult.

“There should not be any contestation about it”. People are living in the house, they are consuming more electricity and yet they are not working, how do we expect them to pay for electricity? These are not normal times” He said

This reaction by the NDC came after the President Nana Akuffo Addo announced on Sunday 5th April 2020 that Ghanaians will enjoy free water for the next three months without paying due to the lockdown.

A medical doctor at the LEKMA hospital in Teshie has tested positive for corona virus

According to Ledzokuku Constituency Legislator Mr. Bernard Oko-Boye the Ghana health services has already accounted for the unnamed doctor in the number of cases recorded in Ghana.

The unnamed doctor is reported to have attended to several pregnant women. Meanwhile it is alleged that he operated on one of the pregnant women before testing positive to the corona virus.

Mr. Oko-Boye further disclosed that LEKMA hospital will be closed down for disinfection on Tuesday 31 March 2020.

Ghana has so far recorded 153 corona virus cases, with 5 deaths and 2 recoveries.

The National Media Commission (NMC) has warned media practitioners against making jokes with Covid-19

The commission, in their bid to reduce public anxiety and provide hope in the moment of uneasiness has cautioned media practitioner against making jokes with the virus.

According to the commission humor may lead to the reduction of anxiety in these stressful moments but it can also carry the risk of minimizing the sense of seriousness, leading to complacency in public response. In a statement signed by George Sarpong, Executive Secretary of the NMC.

However the NMC noted that since the outbreak of the coronavirus and the President’s preventive measures to protect the country, the media has shown commendable support for the national cause and justified why the constitution (1992) gave the media a pride of place.

The media is doing it best in creating awareness and also educating the general public about the coronavirus, its symptoms and the precautionary measures to take against the virus by professionals, Doctors and experts.

Media practitioners are therefore urged to bear in mind that balance still remained their greatest professional virtue, saying the best way to achieve that was to rely on official sources for accurate information about the global pandemic.

The first two cases was recorded in Ghana on Thursday March 12. And has now recorded a total of eleven cases.

Medical Doctor Abigail Omane has encouraged Ghanaians on the measures to take in order to boost their immune system against the deadly corona virus.

In an interview with Berla Mundi on Tv3 health segment she said “I advise we eat fruits which are rich in vitamin C, Zinc and Vitamin E”. “Zinc is needed by the cells to fight infections, Oranges, lemon, apples are rich in vitamin C which helps to boost the immune system”. Ginger has protective effect on the heart too”.

With recent report suggesting that individuals with strong immune system can fight the virus or at least sustain it, she further emphasized on the fact that exercise is vital when it comes to getting a strong immune system.

“Exercise helps to release stress which is good for boosting the immune system”. Exercising three times a week is adequate for the immune system”. She said.

Research shows that older people are likely to die from the virus due to weaker or decline immune system than the young ones who have strong immune system.

Dr. Omane advised against the excessive intake of food supplements. “Don’t take it in excess, you need to consult a doctor in order to get the right dose”. Food supplements are good for older people”.

“People aged 60 and above usually have declined immune system”. As we grow our immune system declines especially people with diabetes and heart diseases making it easy to get these infections and therefore these food supplements helps in sustaining and keep them put”. She added.

Covid-19 is a deadly virus which has become a pandemic in the world. The virus has claimed Millions of lives worldwide. Ghana has recorded 11 cases so far with no death. Doctors and Professionals are educating the world on the precautions to take in order to avoid the virus. This Virus has taken the world by surprise.

Upper West Regional Director of Health Service Doctor Osei Kuffuor Afreh has expressed concerns about the outbreak of meningitis which led to the death of eighteen people in the region.

Speaking in an interview on Joynews he said “We are dealing with cases of meningitis and looking at the environmental conditions we find in the upper west region, around this time of the year is dry and is very hazy and dusty”. Also the temperatures are very high”. These environmental conditions predisposes people here to getting meningitis”.

According to Doctor Afreh since the turn of the year, the region has recorded about one hundred and thirty seven cases compared to last year. “Last year by this time we have recorded more than one hundred and eighty cases, now we have recorded about hundred and thirty cases meaning the figures are coming down but it still high”. He added.

“We have recorded some deaths which is not very good because we expect that as people are diseased obviously they should be healed and if we had treatment protocols for the disease”. So far we have recorded about eighteen deaths which is quite high” He said.

Doctor Afreh emphasized on the fact that most of these deaths are caused by patients reporting late to the hospital and some of the patients have underline diseases like HIV/Aids and Tuberculosis.

“Some patients were brought to us unconscious, some terminally ill, they virtually could not eat and we needed to make sure to step up our game to make sure they survive but unfortunately because they came in late it was very difficult for us to revive them” The biggest challenge from our analysis is that because the whole country is singing Covid-19, people attention has been diverted from meningitis which is even more violent than the Covid-19 we are talking about” He said.

He therefore urged the media to help in creating awareness and also to educate the public on the precautionary measures in avoiding meningitis. Educating the public about the sign and symptoms that will show for them to know that they are having meningitis.

Meningitis is a serious disease in which there is inflammation of the meninges caused by bacterial infection, and marked by intense headache and fever, sensitivity to light and muscular rigidity.

The Director, Department of Gender in the Gender ministry Rev. Dr. Comfort Asare on Monday says Rape victims are afraid to speak up”

Speaking to Mamavi Owusu Aboagye on Joynews Desk she said “ Individuals are afraid to report rape case to the court”. Families will sit victims down and tell them when you report, it will tarnish our family image and they end up discouraging the victims from going to court”.

According to Dr. Asare the government is committed to helping victims. “The government has released some funds to the ministry (Gender) to support the agenda of helping victims of sexual abuse”. Measures have been put in place to help raped victims like the Justice for children policy”. she said.

Speaking about the international women’s day she also addressed the fact that the Gender ministry strongly supports implementation of “Affirmative Action Bill”

The Affirmative Action Bill (A.AB) seeks to remove the unjust barriers that obstruct the pathways to the progress of women and the marginalized in the society. The bill requires government to ensure equitable gender representation at all levels.

Health Minister Hon. Kwaku Agyemang Manu says “Corona Virus can affect blacks“.

Speaking to the media in a press conference on Wednesday, he advised Ghanaians not to believe the information spreading that the deadly corona virus also known as Covid-19 cannot affect blacks.

He said “Research has not been able to find the nature of the virus and no vaccine is being created” We should therefore listen to the advice given by experts and act accordingly. He also pleaded with professionals to handle information about the virus efficiently.

Hon. Agyemang Manu advised Ghanaians to only believe information coming from the health Ministry. “You can only confirm from the health ministry if there is any confirmed case in the country” We must take information from the right source before disseminating it”. He said.

The Ministry of health organize a press conference to address questions and concerns pertaining the corona virus. The deadly virus has caused fear and panic among countries as the number of deaths keeps increasing.

The corona virus has weaken a lot of countries and vaccines are yet to be created. Egypt is the only country to record the first case of the virus in Africa.

Multiple award winning journalist Umaru Sanda Amadu has encouraged the student of the Ghana Institute of Journalism to believe in their capacity

Speaking as a guest lecturer at the institute he said “As student journalist believe in your capacity”

According to him students should believe in their capabilities because that is the first in making them successful in the field of journalism. “There is nothing Nana Aba can do that you can’t do” he said. He advised student to believe in themselves and work towards improving their writing skills through constant practice.

Umaru Sanda also enlightened the students on the basic techniques in journalism, ranging from how to get news ideas, sources of news ideas and how to conduct interviews.

He also shared some experiences with the students in his days as a student journalist at the institute. He said “Create a blog and keep writing” I had a blog where I use to write and it really helped” Improve on your writing skills”.

Umaru Sanda is a multiple award winning journalist at Citi TV/FM and is a product of the Ghana Institute of Journalism. He has been in media for a decade now and has been an inspiration to most students and journalist.

Education Minister Dr. Mattew Opoku Prempeh has denied reports suggesting he was part of the numerous Politicians who benefited from GETfund.

“There is no truth in this matter” I have never received money from GETfund as a minister” He said. “ In 2014 we were awarded a scholarship by GETfund when we had an invitation from Harvard University to pursue a three weeks course”

A report by the Auditor-General named Dr. Mattew Opoku Prempeh among the politicians who allegedly received funding from the Ghana Education Trust Fund to study abroad.

The Minister of Education is alleged to have received an amount of US$11,200 to study in Harvard University and US$12,800 as living allowance and tuition.

Speaking on Joy Super morning show, Head of public relations at the Ministry of Education Vincent Assefuah, denied those reports. “it was in 2014 that Dr. Mattew Opoku Prempeh was awarded a scholarship to go and study in Harvard. It was a three weeks training and when you are done you need to come back and demonstrate what you have learnt and so we have not been happy with the reports going round”. He said

Dr. Opoku Prempeh has urged the public to disregard such claims which according to him is “borne out of mischief and lies intended to cause disaffection”.

The Member of Parliament for Bantama constituency Hon. Daniel Okyem Aboagye says the NDC government left behind a broken economy.

Speaking to JoyNews Roland Walker on Thursday ahead of the State of the Nation Address he said “We inherited a broken economy by the NDC government”.

The Member of parliament believes the Nana Addo government has done more than enough to revive the already broken economy they inherited from the Mahama government.

“We inherited a country choked with debt by the NDC government”. “The financial sector was broken” He added.

Ahead of the state of the nation address the member of parliament believes the NPP government has done a great job putting into consideration how the Ghanaian economy was during the NDC government.

The state of the nation Address will be held today in parliament by the President Nana Akuffo Addo as he seeks to address the country about its economic and social state.