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OccupyBoG: Reckless spending of public funds is why we’re here today – Mahama Ayariga
Member of Parliament for Bawku Central has said that the country’s financial woes and the Bank of Ghana’s 2022 record GH¢60.8 billion loss can be attributed to reckless spending.
Speaking on PM Express, Mahama Ayariga stated that despite the country’s economic crises the BoG is spending over $200 million on a new office complex.
He also dismissed claims of Covid-19 and the Russian-Ukraine war having an effect on the country alleging that the government has been spending money as it pleases and creating waste.
“Look at what they are doing about the construction of the new head office building and that tells you exactly what has led us to where we are today. Reckless spending of public money. We’re not even talking about some other agents, we’re talking about the central bank itself using over $250 million to construct office space in the midst of all this suffering.”
“It is across the entire government that there is reckless spending, there is waste, there is massive looting and corruption. And at a certain point, the public payers cannot bear the level of looting and stealing that is taking place. So they will have to go and then borrow and come and then loot and borrow and come and loot to a point where the international financial market is no longer even able to accommodate us when we come to borrow,” Mr Mahama said.
He noted that despite the numerous promises made to the people of Ghana, the government are unable to fulfil them and rather placed on citizens taxes that are affecting business and standard of living.
“You go to our ports, and when you are importing one item, you have so many taxes and levies. People pass through Ivory Coast, and they find a way of getting the goods into the country because the taxes are just excessive. So all across the system there is a lapse and the central bank has played a role because they failed to hold the line,” the Bawku Central MP said.
This follows the NDC’s demonstration on Tuesday, in Accra, to demand the removal of the central bank Governor and his deputies for mismanaging the bank.
Although the protesters were prevented from accessing the central bank on the basis that it is a security zone, the leadership of the party including the MPs were allowed access to present their petition to the governor.
However, a man who identified himself as the Head of Security at the Bank appeared to receive the petition with the excuse that the BoG Governor was in a meeting with officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The protestors have vowed to return to the central bank with their petition.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
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Cervical Cancer alert: Avoid sex at early age
The Programmes Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Mary Efua Commeh, has advised young girls to avoid sex at an early age.
This, she explained, will give the cervix the opportunity to mature before they become sexually active.
“You need to delay what we call the first sexual intercourse as much as possible to give the cervix the opportunity to mature before the person becomes sexually active,” she said.
Dr Commeh stated this in an interview with The Spectator in Accra on Tuesday as a part of the Cervical Cancer awareness month.
According to her, cervical cancer was the second leading female cancer in Ghana with a total of about 3,072 cases annually, and out of that, 1,815 deaths are recorded, representing more than 50 per cent.
She indicated that “If young girls are going to be sexually active, then you need to talk to your parents about being vaccinated.”
She explained that vaccinating young girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) has been found to be a very effective way of preventing cervical cancer.
“There are countries that started HPV vaccination years ago and they are not seeing any cervical cancers now because they would have eliminated most of the high-risk HPVs in their women. So if the high-risk HPV is not there, then obviously the results on cervical cancers are going to go down,” she added.
Dr Commmey said the HPV vaccination is recommended for young girls aged nine to 14 years, adding that it had been found to be highly effective, not just for cervical cancers but for other HPV-related cancers, such as anal cancers, cancers of the vagina, genital warts, amongst others.
She further elaborated that the idea is to put up a barrier before the HPV comes in and that once a young female encounters it, she is already protected.
She also mentioned that for cervical cancers, the main cause is called HPV infection, saying generally, all sexually active women acquire HPV at some point in their lives.
However, the Programmes Manager of NCDs at the GHS mentioned that the body has a way of clearing the HPV, explaining that it is a natural mechanism that goes on, unfortunately, there are a few women whose HPV persists.
Moreover, she noted that the numbers for Cervical Cancer tend to be much higher because at times, clients would wait, and try all sorts of medications before they finally report to the health facility saying “we actually lose some women before they get to the hospitals with over 75 per cent of the cases coming in its third and fourth stages.”
Dr Commey, therefore, called for public awareness while ensuring the availability of information for prevention and control.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
