The plan by the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure that all the 16 regions receive the electoral materials they require for the 2020 elections by Friday, November 20, and the announcement that children between the ages of five and 12 years will now be required to undergo a mandatory COVID-19 screening upon arrival at Kotoka International Airport are some of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that all the 16 regions of the country will receive the electoral materials they require for the 2020 elections by Friday, November 20, this year.
The report added that ahead of that, the Electoral Commission (EC) will hold an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting with all stakeholders on Thursday to brief them on Election Day activities.
The electoral materials include ballot papers, the voters register, thumbprint pads, voting screens, stationery, identification jackets, polling station booths, rechargeable lamps, indelible ink, educational posters, seals and COVID-19 items such as Veronica buckets and sanitiser.
The Chairperson of the EC, Mrs. Jean Mensa, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in an exclusive interview on Monday, added that all the political parties had also received their copies of the voters register.
The interview comes after the two Deputy Chairpersons of the EC, Dr. Bossman Eric Asare and Mr. Samuel Tettey, had met the Deputy United Nations Secretary-General, Ms Amina J. Mohammed, who is in the country on an official visit ahead of the December 7 polls and to familiarise herself with support efforts towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The newspaper says that children between the ages of five and 12 years will now be required to undergo a mandatory Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) screening upon arrival at Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
According to the new directive, children who fall in this age bracket would not be required to pay any fee for the test. However, children below five years are exempted from the test at the airport.
Other passengers outside this age bracket must pay $150 for the antigen test carried out at the upper arrival hall of the Terminal Three of KIA by Frontier Health Care.
The directive by the management of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) is part of the enhance measures by the government to ensure the fight against the spread of the virus through importation is prevented.
The updated COVID-19 guidelines for KIA published by GACL which takes effect on November 16 indicted that “children between the ages of five and 12 years will undergo testing on arrival free of charge.”
The Times reports that 40 suspected criminals, including seven females, have been arrested by the police in separate swoops in Accra.
The operation, which was carried out by the Airport, Railways and Amasaman District Police Commands, was to flush out criminals from their hideout, particularly in the Greater Accra Region.
When the police nabbed the suspects at Kantamanto,Kwame Nkrumah Circle, an abandoned house in Shangrilla Area,Nsakina Cemetery and Obeyeyie, dried leaves, suspected to be Indian hemp, were retrieved.
The Accra Regional Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) EffiaTenge, who disclosed these to the Ghanaian Times, in Accra, yesterday, who confirmed the arrest, said personnel of the Railway Police Command, on November 13, dawn, swooped on 25 suspects, including seven females.
She said at Amasaman on November 11, at about 10:5pm, the police rounded up Emmanuel Commey,23, at Nsakina Cemetery and when search was conducted on him, 164 wraps of dried leaves, suspected to be cannabis and seven packets of cigarettes were found on him.
The newspaper says that the latest Nissan Patrol which comes in two variants, the 5.6L V8 and the 4.0L V6 has been officially introduced onto the Ghanaian market by Japan Motors Trading Company Limited (JMTC), dealers in Nissan range of vehicles in Ghana.
The new Nissan Patrol SUV becomes the latest edition of the Japanese automobile’s longest-standing flagship model.
Speaking during the launch in Accra, the Managing Director of Japan Motors, Mr. Salem Kalmoni, said the vehicle was engineered to suit the world’s most demanding driving conditions to give its drivers and passengers a luxurious experience.
He said Nissan’s decision to provide options in the Patrol lineup with the introduction of the smaller 4.L V6 engine variant was to widen its range to meet demands of customers in different markets.
“The Patrol is one of Nissan’s longest-standing and most cherished models with a long and proud heritage,” he added.
GIK/APA