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W/R deserves fair share of national cake – Kofi Buah
Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah
The Deputy Minority Lead¬er in Parliament, Mr Em¬manuel Armah Kofi Buah, has lamented over the social and economic situation in the Western Region, arguing that the area deserved a fair share of national development.
He explained that, the issue of a fair distribution of the national cake for the Western Region is a con¬cern which has often been raised particularly about the challenges not only of the road infrastructure, but, also healthcare.
Mr Buah, a Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellem¬belle, raised these concerns on Tuesday, when Parliament held a public forum to mark three decades of represen¬tation in Takoradi, on the theme; ‘30 years of parlia-mentary democracy under the 4th Republic: The journey thus far.’
He noted that, in most cases, families returned to various constituencies with dead bodies that could have been saved.
Mr Buah said the existence of a strong minority has held a balance and tried to nip in the bud some of the issues that resulted in the death of the three republics.
He said “as politicians, we should take note of these concerns and work collective¬ly towards strengthening our democratic governments to proceed on this trajectory,” he said.
Mr Buah explained that the minority did not seek to hinder the action of the government, but, rather to improve issues in the national interests.
The MP for Effia Nkwanta, Joseph Cudjoe, who repre¬sented the Majority Leader said the new democratic cul-ture was to establish a frame¬work of government which would “secure for ourselves prosperity, the blessings of liberty and equality.”
He said research showed that fewer people enjoy the fruit of democracy and that, constituents were angry and unhappy about institutions.
The MP told participants that Ghana was grappling with youth unemployment, chieftaincy, conflicts, eco¬nomic hazards, vigilantism, insecurity and corruption in public life, suggesting that “It’s time to re-engineer our constitutional architecture and parliamentary processes and procedures to conform to today’s realities.”
“We need a constitutional order and a parliamentary system that frowns upon the winner takes all syndrome and promotes collaboration, collectiveness and conversa¬tions in decision making at all levels of governance,” he said.
The Clerk to Parliament, Mr Cyril K.O Nsiah, described the celebration as a signif¬icant milestone in Ghana’s democratic history.
Mr Nsiah assured that the parliamentary service, re¬mained committed to provid¬ing the necessary technical support services required for the effective discharge of the constitutional mandate of Parliament.
He said “we will continue to reform our institutional structures to better serve your representatives in a non-partisan and profession¬al manner. The service shall strive at all times to uphold the culture, the values and principles of independence and impartiality.”
“We shall continue to strive for even greater achievements and leave a lasting legacy for posterity, as we firmly establish principles and ideals of parliamentary democracy in our nation.”
From Clement Adzei Boye, Takoradi
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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
