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Renovate, rename market after former President Rawlings …Berekum Rawlings Park market women appeal
Market women and traders at the Rawlings Park market at Berekum in the Bono Region have appealed to the next NDC government to convert the market into a modern one with better facilities to honour the memory of the former head of state.
The current deplorable state of the market, according to the women exposes them to the vagaries of the weather, making business and trading activities unbearable for them.
The market which is an open structure without lockable stores was constructed during the Rawlings administration but has since deteriorated.
The leader of the market women, Maame Yaa Badu, made the appeal when the Vice presidential candidate of the NDC visited the area during a campaign tour of the Bono Region
The market, one of the busiest which attracts traders from within and outside the Berekum municipality was earmarked to be named after Former president Rawlings but it did not materialise.
The market women subsequently installed Prof. Opoku-Agyemang as a market queen of the Rawlings Park market to signify their unflinching support for the NDC party.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang on her part appealed to market women to vote massively for former President John Dramani Mahama in the December polls.
The NDC party, she noted has superior policies and programmes to improve the cause of women and Ghanaians in general, saying that the only way such policies could materialise was for the NDC to come to power.
She said the party would establish a women’s bank to offer soft loans to women to support their trading activities as well as improve their livelihoods.
According her, policies such as the big push, apprenticeship programme and 24-Hour economy would boost training and employment opportunities for the youth of the country.
She further challenged Ghanaians to demand accountability from their political leaders, saying that the essence of elections was about development.
From Daniel Dzirasah, Berekuma
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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
