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4 in trouble for killing 10-year-old elephant
Four persons are in the grips of the police in the Sissala East Municipality for allegedly killing an elephant.
DSP Gbelle Kumpe, the Municipal Police Commander, told the GNA that the four would be arraigned before court for allegedly killing the elephant at the Gbele Game Reserve.
“There was a report from the Forestry Commission that an elephant was killed and on May 20, 2020, after an investigation, we carried out a raid and 12 persons were arrested and a search conducted revealed the tail of the elephant and other body parts; we also retrieved three guns from them.”
He said the four were alleged to have participated in the killing of the elephant and that the tusk of the elephant was later dumped behind the Bugubelle Police Station.
DSP Kumpe said the four who were currently on police enquiry bail would be sent to Wa for prosecution, if their dockets were ready.
“There is an attack on the forest and its resources and my advice for all, is to stop depleting the forest or else if you get caught you would not be spared,” he said.
DSP Kumpe said the lack of cooperation from the public was disturbing saying, “there is low cooperation from the public and that is the lifestyle of some of the people here, they have the habit of harbouring criminals” and urged all to support the police.
The Park Manager of the Gbele Reserve, Dr Owusu Ansah in an interview said, “It was in connection with the killing of a ten-year-old elephant whose ivory market value could cost $10,000.00, which motivated the poachers to kill the young elephant.”
He said a kilogramme of the ivory is about 2,000 dollars and the ivory recovered is about 20 kilos, and added that “for anybody to kill an elephant the motivation will be to get the ivory sold, which is very valuable.”
Dr Owusu said that “elephant hunting had been banned since 1989; in the past, Ghana had more elephants than Burkina Faso, according to the literature, but we have made the place inhabitable for them due to attacks.”
Sissala area still remains their route into the Nazinga Forest Reserve in Burkina Faso and every year they come around for visit, which hunters take advantage of to kill them. GNA
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GFP founder Akua Donkor passes on
Akua Donkor
The founder and leader of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), Madam Akua Donkor, has passed away.
She died at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital on Monday, October 28 at 72.
Reports gathered by The Spectator indicated that she was diagnosed with respiratory issues at the Nsawam Government Hospital and was referred to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital where she died.
Known for her spirited presence in Ghanaian politics, Akua Donkor was a staunch advocate for the rights of farmers and women.
Her bold and outspoken demeanour enabled her to capture public attention and significantly impact the grassroots communities she aimed to represent.
Throughout her political journey, she distinguished herself by running for the presidency multiple ti mes, demonstrating remarkable resilience despite financial challenges.
Akua Donkor was listed as the third candidate on the ballot for the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
Her political career began with her election as the Assemblywoman for Herman in the Ashanti region, and she made her first bid for the presidency in 2012 as an independent candidate.
She was, however, disqualified by the Electoral Commission in 2012 and 2016 for the reason that she did not meet the eligibility requirements.
News
Stop using breast enhancing creams …they expose females to breast cancer
Mrs Enyonam Abiti making a presentation
Women have been cautioned to stop using of breast enhancing creams which is said to contain estrogen, predisposing them to the breast cancer disease.
Using such creams over time increases estrogen levels in patrons of such products thereby exposing them to the disease.
Estrogen is a type of sex hormone responsible for development and regulation of female reproductive system and secondary sex chart.
Mrs Enyonam Abiti, a medical officer at Madina Pentecost Hospital, said this at a day’s seminar and breast cancer awareness creation day at Sunyani in the Bono Region.
The programme, organised by the Bono Regional office of COCOBOD, forms part of activities to mark this year’s World Breast Cancer Day celebrations held every year in October.
Some staff of COCOBOD and women in cocoa farming used the opportunity to have their breast screened.
Mrs Abiti during a presentation revealed that one in every eight women was diagnosed of breast cancer while 1 from 1,000 men contract the disease.
She noted that early detection and regular screening was the surest way to salvage the situation.
She mentioned that habits such as excessive smoking and alcohol intake predisposes women to breast cancer.
Moreover, she added that people advanced in age, past history, past ovarian cancer case as well as young girls that menstruate early, among others stands the risk of contracting the disease.
The Bono Regional Administrator of COCOBOD, Michael Paddy Kwesi Asumanu, stated that the decision to organise the breast screening was to ensure that women in cocoa farming were healthy at all times to go about their farming activities in order to increase productivity.
“We don’t want a situation where our women in cocoa farming are infected with breast cancer disease to jeopardise the cocoa sector,” he said.
According him, the Regional Office of COCOBOD in partnership with the Bono Regional Teaching hospital would organised screening for about 4,000 women on October 31, 2024 at Goaso in the Ahafo Region.
The move, he said, was part of their corporate social responsibility towards women as the world mark breast cancer awareness creation this month.
Some of the women who spoke to The Spectator commended COCOBOD for the gesture and called on other institutions of state to emulate the example.
The organisers later held a float on the principal streets of Sunyani to create awareness on the breast cancer disease.
From Daniel Dzirasah, Sunyani