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Methodist Men’s Fellowship celebrate the aged at Effiakuma
• Mrs. Mina Tweneboa-Kodua (right) receiving a gift from Mr. Abraham A. Aikins
The Association of Methodist Men’s Fellowships of Dunwell Branch at Effiakuma has celebrated the aged in the church by hosting them to a dinner to mark the end of 2022 under the theme “Celebration of God’s Grace and Mercy.”
The Dunwell Branch Men’s Fellowship Chairman, Brother Gilbert Armstrong-Mensah said: “The aged who have paid their dues in the church have been neglected for far too long”.
He said these old men and women worked hard to sustain the church but had been forgotten with little or no attention shown to them.
He, therefore, pleaded with all Methodist Men’s Fellowship country wide to consider the aged people who contributed immensely to the growth of the church and must not be forgotten so soon especially those who had little care for themselves.
Mr. Armstrong-Mensah was addressing a dinner held recently at the Dunwell Methodist Church where the aged had gathered to eat, socialise and show their dancing skills which they once practised.
He said as the newly elected chairman of the fellowships he would make sure a data base was created for all the aged to enable the association occasionally visit them to know their major challenges and how best the church could assist them.
He suggested that a form of appreciation be started for all the aged just as the church normally did to the pastors as a thank you for their contribution to the church.
He said the indiscipline in the country was as a result of government taking over all the mission schools not applying any disciplinary actions in the institutions.
He said that many demonstrations in society, strikes in institutions and other unwanted behaviours were as a result of broken down discipline in all the learning institutions right from Basic Level to tertiary adding “government must return all mission schools to the various churches because government had opened enough schools to manage now and this would bring the needed peace in Ghana”.
The Sekondi Diocesan Chairman, Brother Paul Appiah also said some spouses had lost their partners and since the children were grown and not staying with the parents, life became difficult and boring to some of the aged.
“The teachings in the Sunday school have made our children to grow up well disciplined but other churches easily snatched them away from us”, he said.
He appealed to the fellowship to continue committing the aged into prayer, frequent visitation and some tokens would encourage them to be lively and know that they had not been forgotten.
The Effiakuma Circuit Superintendent Minister, Very Rev. Lewis Smart Asare said what was taking place was a sign hatched by God and executed by men since all here were ambassadors of Jesus.
He said all men needed to get closer to Christ in order to shine for others to see just like the moon which got its light by leaning on the sun in order to shine for others.
Thirty members of the church who were aged attended the dinner and all were given an undisclosed amount of money as a New Year gift.
From Peter Gbambila, Effiakuma
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ICU holds Greater Accra regional youth, women confab
The Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) on Friday held the Greater Accra Regional Youth and Women’s Conference to build a strategic network.
The conference which brought together representatives of the Union was a great opportunity for ICU Ghana to make its voice heard on policies that were crucial to the development of the country.
The platform was also used to elect new officers for the Greater Accra Branch of The ICU Ghana to mark its 12th National Quadrennial Conference in August.
The General Secretary of the ICU Ghana, Mr Morgan Ayawine, called on government to assist the two state-owned media organisation, New Times Corporation (NTC), publishers of The Spectator and The Ghanaian Times newspapers and Graphic Communication Group Limited (GCGL).
“The two state-owned media played major roles in disseminating government policies, educating, entertaining and informing the public of the happenings in the world,” he added.
He said ICU Ghana would also raise issues about the recapitalisation of the two organisations with the sector minister.
Mr Ayawine disclosed that the ADB and NIB banks were also going through the same ordeal but government intervened and urged government to do same for the two state-owned organisations.
He stressed on equal partnership between unions and employers, saying the capital and labour were crucial to create, produce and generate funds.
The General Secretary advised the various branches of the association to suggest solutions on socio-economic issues such as employment for discussions.
The newly-elected members who were sworn in by the General Secretary, Mr Morgan Ayawine includes Belinda Cochrane-chairman, Eric Ekow Turkson-Vice chairman and Moses Kwaku Otoo-Secretary.
Others were Charles Akomea-Financial Secretary, Charles Biden- Executive Member, Diana Asiedu-Women’s Representative and Samuella A. Brago-Youth Representative.
The chairman of the Greater Accra Branch of the ICU Ghana, Belinda Cochrane thanked the leadership for contributing to the success of the union.
She added that the conference was to prepare for the 12th National Quadrennial Conference and also to take stock of the activities of the branch for the past years and discuss issues on the ground.
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Minister for Health holds emergency stakeholder meeting with principals and directors of Health Training Institutions
In a proactive move to strengthen collaboration within the health sector, the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has convened an emergency meeting with the Conference of Heads of Health Training Institutions (COHHETI) across the country.
The meeting aimed to deepen engagement between the Ministry and key stakeholders responsible for training health professionals.
The session provided a platform for open dialogue on the challenges facing health training institutions, the quality of healthcare education, and the strategic direction of human resource development in the sector.
Addressing the stakeholders, Mr. Akandoh emphasized the importance of fostering strong and cordial relationships between the Ministry and training institutions to ensure a well-coordinated and responsive healthcare system.
He indicated that the purpose of the meeting was also to collaborate, discuss concerns, and find practical solutions that would benefit not only the institutions but also the Ghanaian people who rely on the healthcare system.
The President of COHHETI, Madam Margaret Mary Alacoque welcomed the initiative, describing it as timely and necessary. She raised concerns about transportation challenges, accreditation delays, staffing shortages, and the general conditions and status of service for Health Training Institutions (HTIs). She also shared innovative strategies that some institutions have adopted to improve training outcomes.
In his response, Mr.Akandoh assured participants of the Ministry’s commitment to addressing their concerns and announced plans to enhance coordination and follow-ups.
He added that the Ministry would soon introduce policy reforms aimed at improving standards in health education and ensuring alignment with national health priorities.
These reforms include reducing the cost of admission, implementing automatic code generation for applicants, and clarifying leadership roles within HTIs.
