Editorial
Parents must support their children with special needs
Overcoming stigmatisation at all levels in society is one campaign almost every civil society organisation is tackling.
From menstrual hygiene, breast cancer, HIV/AIDS to crime-related stigma; these organisations have gone to extreme lengths to create awareness to make it easier for victims to be accepted in the society.
It is, therefore, strange to read about a call on parents that takes their children with special needs to Special or Care Homes to be catered for and eventually, abandon them.
That is wickedness at the highest level.
According to a report published by this paper, some parents and guardians have turned these special schools into ‘dumping grounds’ where they take their wards and leave them to their fate.
These parents refuse to visit the children for the period they stay at the facility and care less about their state of health.
The worse of all is that such parents would not even attend meeting of parents to discuss the welfare of these children that needs the support of their parents to survive.
The Spectator finds the situation very offensive and unacceptable considering the fact that these children have no hand in their formation and did nothing to contribute to their present form.
The timing also make it very startling because of the several campaigns on this social canker called stigmatisation.
The truth is, we have gone past the era where a certain level of stigmatisation was allowed because the mode of transmission of certain diseases were actually not clear.
In this era, there is information everywhere on how people who had been released from detentions, people who have recovered from certain sicknesses etc should be integrated into society.
So, having overcome some challenges, The Spectator wonders why parents in this age would ‘dump’ their wards somewhere.
This paper, therefore, affirms the call on such parents to rather encourage their special children so that their talents can be harnessed
Editorial
ECG PowerApp: A mixed bag of technical issues, uncredited payment concerns
Dear Editor,
On February 18, 2020, the former Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, launched the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) PowerApp, a mobile application designed in-house by staff of ECG.
It was to improve its service delivery to its customers.
The development of the app also meant that customers of ECG would now have the opportunity to purchase power and pay bills using their mobile phones.
That means customers of ECG would no longer have to join long queues to purchase power, but could now do that at their own convenience and in the comfort of their homes.
According to the Communication Officer, the PowerApp has increased annual revenue growth for the company.
He said as of April 2024, the new application system had increased its annual revenue growth by 128 per cent as compared to the old system at negative seven per cent.
Despite these reasons for which the app was developed and the benefits it has brought to ECG, there have been growing concerns among a section of the public on its use.
Some have argued that they were not credited after using the app to recharge their prepaid meter while the money was deducted from their MoMo accounts.
Such experience has made some customers vow not use the app to recharge their prepaid meters but rather go to prepaid vendors nearby to purchase credit. Some are even prepared to travel to far places to purchase prepaid credits.
I think such experience does not speak well of ECG because it could affect public trust in the company in its service delivery. This is the more reason why the ECG has to take the concerns raised by its customers seriously.
Kofi Bruce,
Mampong
Editorial
Our women can deliver
Dear Editor,
I write to congratulate the women that have so far caught the attention of President John Dramani Mahama for ministerial appointment.
So far, over 10 women have been vetted already and they all gave a very good account of themselves and I hope that they perform to the best of their abilities.
This is a good sign from President Mahama who demonstrated a strong resolve to provide an enabling environment for the women to be part of decision making by choosing a woman as his Vice President.
And true to his word, a number of women have been appointed in ministerial positions and others as presidential staffers.
I believe the other appointments to come would also have women making the cut.
This would be a morale booster for the young women out there who thinks that their position is the kitchen or in a man’s house as a wife.
This is a clear case of women given the urge to aim to rise above what society and traditional norms have set for them. I wish them well.
Maame Atta,
Kokompe
