The advice by President Akufo-Addo that election campaigns should be devoid of gender, religion and ethnic sentiments and the confirmation by the authorities that 55 persons at the Accra Girls Senior High School (SHS) have tested positive for COVID-19 are some of leading stories in the Ghanaian newspapers on Tuesday
The Times reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged communicators of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to ensure that this year’s election campaign is devoid of gender, religious or ethnic sentiments.
Speaking during a virtual meeting with members of the communication team over the weekend, President Akufo-Addo said that tribal, religious and gender sentiments would not help the party’s cause.
“We should be looking at all-time records and competencies. The election should be a discussion on competencies,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo is facing his predecessor, John Dramani Mahama in the December 7 Presidential Election.
The newspaper says that Ghana’s Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources has called on Ghanaians to support efforts to preserve and conserve Ghana’s water resources to spur the realisation of water-related sustainable development goals (SDGs).
According to the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, efforts should be directed at renewing partnership with all stakeholders, including traditional authorities and increased government support for agencies responsible for the management of water resources.
“These water bodies are for our own survival and that of future generations. It is our duty to protect them. People should not dump rubbish or defecate into water bodies. We must not pollute or contaminate them as well through nefarious activities such as illegal mining (galamsey). We will work actively with all stakeholders to preserve and conserve our water resources,” she said.
The Minister was speaking at a ceremony in Accra yesterday to inaugurate the newly appointed Chairman of the Water Resources Commission, Minta Afosa Aboagye.
She said that Ghana was using only about 14 percent of the 53.2 billion cubic metres of surface water in the country, and that it was the responsibility of all “Ghanaians to act as proper custodians of the water resources.”
The Times also reported that the Electoral Commission (EC) has so far registered a total number of 4,445,346 voters during the second week of on-going registration exercise meant for this year’s General Election.
Out of the figure, the Greater Accra Region leads with 20.9 percent of the registered voters with Ashanti Region following with 18.4 percent and the Eastern Region at a distant third with 9.5 percent while the Central Region followed with 9.4 percent and North East Region trailing at bottom with 1.7 percent.
The report added that Dr. Bossman Asare, Deputy Chairman of the EC in charge of Corporate Affairs made this known yesterday during the third session of the weekly press briefing dubbed, “Let the Citizen Know,” a medium being used by the Commission to clarify all processes and activities ahead of the General Election.
He gave the total numbers of registered voters per the regions as Ahafo Region 86,498, Ashanti 816,481, Bono 177,424, Bono East 163,680, Central 415,799, Eastern 421,467, Greater Accra 929,366, North East 76,854, Northern 254,575, Oti 83,799, Savannah 78,410, Upper East 147,365, Upper West 115, 281, Volta 274,063, Western 287,222 and Western North 117,062.
The Graphic reported that 55 persons at the Accra Girls Senior High School (SHS) have tested positive for COVID-19, the authorities have confirmed.
A joint statement issued by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Ghana Educations Service (GES), dated Monday July 13, 2020, said that the infected persons comprise students and staff at the school.
The cases were detected after 314 persons at the school were tested for the virus, 259 persons tested negative.
“Following the first report of COVID-19 cases in some Senior High Schools in the country on 6th July, 2020, the Ghana Health Service and the Ghana Education Service instituted a number of measures to determine the extent of the outbreak and containment measures,” the statement said.
GIK/APA