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ECOWAS Court orders AG to pay $750 for late filing of defence in case against Agyapa deal
The Attorney General has been ordered by the ECOWAS Court to pay an amount of $750 dollars to Transparency International for late filing of its defence in the case filed against the Agyapa deal.
Transparency International is asking the sub-regional court to halt the proposed deal geared at monetizing Ghana’s gold and rather allow for further consultation as it alleges that the presence of politically exposed persons in the transaction leaves much to be desired.
The Sub-regional Court which is sitting here in Accra on Wednesday, March 23, heard the case for the first time.
Chief State Attorney, Dorothy Afriyie Ansah, urged the court to permit the Attorney General’s Office to file a defence despite failing to file one after many months.
She explained that as the officer tasked to handle the case, she suffered post-COVID-19 complications and was therefore unwell.
Lawyers for Transparency International led by Olumide Babalola did not oppose this request. The Court, therefore, adopted the proposed defence filed by the AG’s office.
Mrs Afriyie Ansah however noted that lawyers for Transparency International had filed a response to the proposed defence which had now been adopted.
She, therefore, urged the court to give the office more time to file a further response. This did not sit well with Mr Babalola who urged the court to award a cost of $1,000 if it was minded to grant such an adjournment.
“The AG is an institution. It’s not an individual. If you were not here today, does it mean no one will come?” He quizzed.
Mr Babalola pointed out that he flew into the country from the United Kingdom and, therefore, deserves to be reimbursed with the cost.
“They were served as far back as July, 2021. I flew in from the UK two days ago. The expense is unquantifiable.” He said.
The Court, therefore, ordered the AG to pay Transparency International $750 dollars.
Source: www.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
