Ghana: Press zooms in on President’s commitment to fight against corruption, others

APA – Accra (Ghana)
President Akufo-Addo’s affirmation of his commitment not to set aside due process in the fight against corruption in the country and said, his administration was committed towards enforcing the law on corruption is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Wednesday.
The Ghanaian Times reports that President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has affirmed his commitment not to set aside due process in the fight against corruption in the country and said, his administration was committed towards enforcing the law on corruption.
He explained that, every single allegation of corruption against any member of his government had been investigated by independent bodies such as Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Criminal Investigation Commission (CID) and in some cases by parliament.
“It is not my job to clear or convict any person accused of wrongdoing or of engaging in acts of corruption. That is the job of the courts and law enforcement agencies,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo said this in a speech at the opening of this year’s conference of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) in Cape Coast.
The five-day conference is on the theme: “Ensuring high standards and integrity in public life; the role of the legal profession”.
President Akufo-Addo said he would place his government’s record on corruption for public scrutiny and said the current administration under his leadership, had taken the boldest initiative so far in the country to reform and strengthen the capacity of institutions to tackle corruption in the country’s history.
He further stated that: “My job is to act on allegation of corruption by referring issue or issues to the proper investigative agencies for the relevant enquiry or action including if necessary the suspension of the affected official pending the conclusion of investigations”.
That, he said, was exactly what had been done since January 2017 and proceeded to mention a number of allegations against members of his administration on a case by case basis.
The newspaper says that the Atlanta-based Delta Airlines (DL) flight 157 from Ghana to New York had to do an emergency landing last Friday five hours into the flight due to a mechanical malfunction with the backup oxygen system on the plane.
The New York (JFK) bound flight underwent the diversion and emergency landing to Lajes Airport.
A statement issued by Kingdom Concepts Consult on behalf of the airline in Accra yesterday and copied the Ghanaian Times indicated that the diversion was reportedly initiated due to concerns related to oxygen levels on board the Boeing 767-300ER, registered N191DN aircraft.
“Delta flight 157 from Accra to New York-JFK diverted to Lajes Airport following a mechanical issue with a backup oxygen system. The crew descended to a lower altitude out of an abundance of caution during the diversion and the aircraft landed safely,” the statement said.
The statement said an alternate aircraft was dispatched from Lisbon to help customers more quickly get to their final destinations while the original aircraft was repaired by maintenance technicians.
“We apologise to our customers for the delay in their travels,” the statement said.
The Boeing 767-300ER aircraft had 215 customers and six crew onboard.
The airline further stated that customers were provided meals at TER and deplaned into a secure area while waiting for the alternate aircraft from Lisbon, which later departed for Lajes.
“Refunds and an additional gesture of goodwill were provided to our customers for the experience while the original aircraft and crew had since made it to JFK,” the statement noted.
The Graphic reports that Consolidated Energy Service Chamber Ghana (CESCGHA), a new service chamber, has been inaugurated in Accra.
The chamber is a merger of Ghana Oil and Gas Service Providers Association (GOGSPA) and Upstream Petroleum Service Providers Association (UPSAG).
It will serve as a mouthpiece for oil and gas service providers in the upstream oil and gas industry to strengthen the competitiveness of indigenous companies in the energy sector in the country.
It would also promote the interests of members in Africa and the global energy space.
The Chairman of CESCGHA, Nuertey Adzeman, further explained that the chamber was established to create an enabling environment to nurture and promote the development of the sector in the country.
“We are confident that the establishment of this chamber will be a means through which we can contribute to the development of the industry using collaborative and innovative means to create opportunities for economic growth,” he added.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission, Egbert Faibille Jnr, congratulated CESCGHA on the establishment of the new chamber.
He gave an assurance that the commission would engage the chamber when there was the need and also provide assistance to members to facilitate their business.
The newspaper says that the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has covered the bills of 226 child cancer patients since June last year.
Following the addition of four childhood cancers to the list of ailments covered under the national health financing scheme in June 2022, 136 children with cancers visited designated health facilities between June and December last year, while 90 cancer patients have visited health facilities this year.
The acting Senior Manager, Corporate Affairs of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Abdul Karim Naatogmah, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that most of the child patients visited the health facilities once, mainly Teaching and Regional hospitals, with nine clients making two visits this year, while three others made three visits each.
He, therefore, said that the scheme made reimbursements of about GH¢250,000– GH¢143,143 in 2022 and GH¢100,937 this year.
Mr Naatogmah said the services were provided by a multi-disciplinary team of experts in seven facilities.
They are the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra; Cape Coast Teaching Hospital; Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi; Ho Teaching Hospital; Tamale Teaching Hospital; Greater Accra Regional Hospital, and the Holy Family Hospital in Techiman, the Bono East regional capital.
“This informed the roll-out of coverage in these facilities,” the manager added.
The childhood cancers were acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, burkitt lymphoma, retinoblastoma and wilms tumour.
The First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, announced the inclusion of the four most common childhood cancers in November 2021, during the launch of an NHIS Week celebrations.
The inclusion followed an initial actuarial modelling of the scheme’s capacity to absorb the costs of coverage for childhood cancers.
“The commitment of the authority towards the attainment of our goals is unwavering, and all measures will be employed to ensure the full implementation of initiatives in collaboration with stakeholders,” Mr Naatogmah said.
GIK/APA