News Desk || Circumcision Gone Bad? 10-day-old baby dies after circumcision at KNUST Hospital
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Hello, good morning. Welcome to Join Newsdesk. We're coming to you live from our studios in Kokum Limne. Coming up this morning,
00:05 10-day-old baby dies in a suspected case of medical negligence at KNUSC Hospital when parents took him for circumcision.
00:14 Also, demand for immediate governmental intervention to enable the provision of
00:25 holistic care for mentally challenged persons increases as lack of human and financial resources
00:31 continue to impede efforts by NGOs and the public
00:36 institutions working in the area of care. We have a special conversation on the prevailing situation.
00:43 Plus 1 million Ghana citizens belonging to the University of Ghana locked up in
00:52 UDK financial services. Details of that, including efforts by the university
00:58 in securing accreditation for a number of its non-accredited academic programs
01:05 captured in the 2021 Auditor General's report.
01:08 My name is Ayeshe Ibrahim. Do stay for details.
01:13 [Music]
01:31 Many thanks for choosing us. A 10-day-old baby has died at the KNUSC Hospital in Kumasi in a suspected case of
01:39 medical negligence. The baby was sent to the facility for a male circumcision procedure,
01:44 but hospital sources say he suffered cardiac arrest and died a few minutes later
01:49 while in the care of the medical team. Our humanitarian help desk reports the situation has left the parents of the baby
01:57 devastated. On April 3, 2023,
02:01 Mohammed Jamal and Halima Tu Adams took their son, Faraj Mohammed, to the KNUSC Hospital for a simple procedure.
02:09 Male circumcision. The baby was received by a nurse who took him to the theater for the procedure.
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02:53 The world cry of the baby was heard for the last time by the parents who were then seated at the waiting area
03:00 of the theater. Then some senior nurses and doctors were seen rushing into the theater, a
03:08 development which made the parents distraught. The baby's mother,
03:13 Halima Tu Adams,
03:15 knew something bad had happened to the baby, but had to endure a long wait to hear news about her son.
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03:35 The thought of losing their only male child under bizarre circumstances has left the couple traumatized.
03:42 The feeling or the pain that you go through,
03:46 unless you experience it, because it's something you cannot even express it. What you go through, the
03:54 psychological pains, the trauma that you go through, any night, what, when you hear the cry of the child,
04:02 the pains and the, even, you can't do anything, you can't focus.
04:07 Authorities at the KNUSC hospital have declined comments on the mother.
04:12 The university relations officer says the mother has been referred to the legal department of the university.
04:20 But a patient-centered
04:22 non-governmental group is leading a campaign to bring justice to the Jamals.
04:28 The advocacy for medical malpractice victims says it can establish a prima facie case against KNUSC hospital.
04:36 Kwame Mbube Apia is the executive secretary.
04:38 More indications, the hospital was negligent in the conduct of the circumcision.
04:44 So we believe strongly that we will be able to establish a prima facie case
04:48 against the hospital. And the little checks that we have made with the hospital,
04:52 the indications are that one,
04:55 the person that supposedly conducted the procedure
04:59 was not an expert in that field and the person was unqualified to take up that particular exercise.
05:06 Then again, we also told that they actually did not procure the informed consent of the patient,
05:13 the parent, sorry, because it's important to let them know
05:15 the risk associated with the procedure and then any other outcome that they are likely to have
05:22 before the process is done. That wasn't done.
05:24 Also, we are, from the investigations we have done,
05:28 we know for a fact that they actually did not take the history of the baby
05:33 before proceeding to undertake the procedure. If that had been done,
05:36 I am sure a lot of these issues would have been averted.
05:40 Checks at the health ministry indicate
05:42 medical legal cases are on the rise in the country. In recent times, at least two medical legal cases are received every week,
05:52 a development which has left health minister Kwakuwa Jemimene worried.
05:57 What I'm seeing of late in the ministry,
06:02 are issues of litigation.
06:04 For the past four weeks or so,
06:08 almost every week, we get at least one letter from the Attorney General's office.
06:14 Somebody has sued,
06:16 somebody with
06:18 problems with care service delivery and they want us to come with
06:23 information for them to go to court with.
06:26 Then we refer to the Director General for Kumabwaja.
06:31 But I've been with you for the past six years.
06:33 Earlier when I came in, those things were not happening that much.
06:37 But now it's become
06:40 something, it's just climbing, it's becoming very common.
06:42 From Kumasi, for Joy News,
06:45 Bayanetewia reporting.
06:47 Let's still stick on health because there's an increase in demand for an urgent care service.
06:57 There's an increase in demand for an urgent government intervention to provide holistic care for mentally ill.
07:04 Attempts by non-governmental organizations to complement government's efforts have been overstretched
07:10 due to the immense need for human and financial resources.
07:13 Reducing stigma and ensuring access to quality mental health care in Ghana remains a mission yet to be accomplished.
07:21 Hano Odame has been exploring the case of mental health care in this feature titled "Minds on the Street".
07:27 [Music]
07:43 Sometimes I feel very bad because some are very young and some are very old too.
07:51 And some too, they are not clothing well. So sometimes you feel bad about it.
07:57 [Music]
08:01 It is not only about how they feel, but the pain they can also inflict on anyone they come by.
08:08 [Music]
08:10 In August 2022, a mentally challenged woman hit a man with stones at this particular spot.
08:19 For those who stay and live around, it was a moment of reawakening.
08:24 For how long are they going to tolerate or look over their shoulders when they see a mentally challenged person in the abyss?
08:32 [Music]
08:36 That torturous incident lingers on, on the minds of many who heard it.
08:43 But most especially on the minds of those who witnessed that horrific act.
08:49 The thought of being attacked, abused or beaten by a mentally challenged person is an act no one would want to experience.
08:59 It's quite frustrating of late. I do meet them.
09:03 Sometimes they come towards you while you are walking and you are a little scared,
09:09 especially during the night and you feel you should run away.
09:13 And when you try to, they try to follow you. It is something which is really, you know, uncomfortable.
09:20 And I feel the government should in a way try to put them together in one place.
09:27 You know, some are very threat to life.
09:31 [Music]
09:34 That intervention to get them off the streets was announced on March 2022 by the then Medical Director of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, Dr. Pinaman Apau.
09:48 She revealed the redevelopment of the facility into a 220-bed hospital was under government's Agenda 111 program
09:58 and was part of many other projects, including the construction of 101 district hospitals, six regional hospitals and two psychiatric hospitals.
10:11 The first day that was communicated to management was the end of June 2022.
10:18 However, updates that I got recently from the coordinator of the Agenda 111 project indicates that
10:25 currently they are doing what we call technical evaluation on tenders that had been submitted.
10:33 But almost a year on, not much has happened in terms of a pull-down and a fix-lift.
10:41 One would think the facility hosting some of the mentally challenged persons in the national capital will be rid of their presence around their premises.
10:52 But that's not what we see here at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital,
10:57 where some of them reserving permanent habitations around this place, passers-by and residents are uncomfortable.
11:05 We feel very bad because it is not good for somebody to carry a stone and throw another person.
11:12 Even if the person is not a madman or the person is not a madwoman, you understand, we call it a little violence.
11:20 It's something that is not good at all.
11:23 Former director of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, Dr. Akwesose, doused in on this development.
11:32 At the time the idea came to pull down the structures and build new ones,
11:38 we had got to the point where it didn't seem fitting for a facility of our age in Ghana.
11:45 So the idea was to pull it down and rebuild it.
11:48 All things were more or less in place, but somehow it's told.
11:54 I'm sure it's not totally dead. I'm sure the plans are still there. That's somewhere along the line.
12:00 You will get the funding to continue the program. That was it.
12:04 Now you mentioned two new psychiatric hospitals. Yes, one in the northern belt, one in the middle belt.
12:10 As far as I know, they are still on the drain board. Land has been secured and they started building them.
12:18 So we hope that funds will continue to be available for them to finish building them.
12:23 And if they finish, it will be wonderful, because for now all our three facilities are down south.
12:30 As a nation waits to see the fulfillment of the redevelopment promise,
12:34 we should have seen the completion of the redevelopment promise,
12:39 the mentally challenged on the streets will perhaps remain, and the fears of many will also perhaps remain.
12:48 Some of them, in fact, they look scary.
12:52 And I think it is not right to be walking on the way and maybe coincidentally you run through them
13:03 and then some of them, in fact, what they can do to you.
13:08 And because he is a mad person or mentally challenged person, you can't take him or her to court or anything like that.
13:16 I am Hannah Odame for JOYNEWS.
13:20 And back in the studio, my name is Aishe Brime. I have been joined in the studio by Dr. Iao Amangwa Asa.
13:37 He is the Deputy Director in Charge of Health Promotion at the Mental Health Authority.
13:42 And we are going to have a conversation on this.
13:46 First, let's look at key strategies and considerations as far as mental health care is concerned in Ghana.
13:54 Okay. First and foremost, let me say a good morning to your cherished viewers.
14:00 This report that you have just shown is a concerning issue. It is indeed a concerning issue.
14:07 I mean, when you walk the streets of the major capital towns in our country, you find lots of them.
14:15 And it is quite worrying. But we need to do something about it.
14:21 We need to do something about it. It is becoming a security threat.
14:25 So if you ask about the strategies that we are using to deal with this situation,
14:31 I mean, our current Mental Health Act asks us to move away from institutionalisation to community-based care,
14:43 whereby persons with mental health conditions would have more of their management and treatment in the community.
14:51 So that being said, what it means is that we need to integrate mental health care as part of the primary health care.
14:58 Having personnel to be there to be part of the management.
15:02 We have community mental health nurses who go into the community to look after these persons,
15:08 include their caregivers, family members, all parts of the care for persons with mental health conditions.
15:16 What was the status of interventions, if I may ask, I mean, to check stigmatisation of persons with mental health?
15:25 Over the period we have had calls to complain about this.
15:29 Well, stigma is an attitudinal problem that is more rife in our community. It is a deep-rooted problem.
15:38 Stigma is about when you know... So let me set the story this way.
15:46 Okay.
15:48 If I should ask you that if you were to, or somebody close to you, a colleague, is experiencing psychological issues,
16:00 what is your knowledge? Do you have appropriate knowledge?
16:03 Do you have good attitude to support this individual to seek for care?
16:09 Would you support that individual while that person is receiving care?
16:13 That is the question I ask. If your answer is yes, fine. If the answer is no, then there is a bit of stigma there.
16:20 Because you see the person and you think that you have your own problem, you have personality weakness and all that.
16:25 That is the issue that we are having.
16:27 So yes, stigma is not something that we can assess. It is by our attitude towards our colleagues, our family members and all that.
16:35 Imagine somebody breaks their hand. All of you guys will go to visit that individual in the home.
16:41 But what if I say that I have psychological issues? You have your own problem, you have personality weakness.
16:48 That is the stigma. So it is about time and it is underpinned by lack of knowledge.
16:54 So until people get that appropriate knowledge, they will still express negative attitude.
16:59 And that is where I am heading towards. Have you created enough awareness?
17:04 Because if I have a colleague or I have someone closer who is showing some traits of mental illness,
17:11 I may not even know because I don't know the symptoms, I don't know the triggers, I don't know what to look out for.
17:18 But if I am educated well enough, then I will be able to pick some of these signals and not to stigmatise.
17:25 That is very true. And with this awareness, it comes in different forms.
17:30 We can do a whole nation whereby we show stuff on TV, on radio.
17:35 And of course, you yourself will need to take that step to acquire that knowledge.
17:40 When COVID came, we were not waiting for the TV. We were reading all over the place to get knowledge about it because it was scary.
17:46 So it is the attitude with which we embraced acquiring the knowledge of COVID.
17:53 Same way we should do with mental illness. Because look, I mean, the studies tell us that for every four people,
18:02 one of them is likely to experience mental health conditions in their lifetime.
18:07 And currently, we have more than 350 million people globally experiencing depression.
18:13 And the current dispensation is full of stress.
18:17 Work-life balances, relationship issues, the Ghanian environmental self, traffic, religiosity, family issues, socialisation and all that.
18:30 All this is causing so, so much stress for us.
18:33 And stress, if you do not take care of it, would graduate into the psychological issues.
18:39 You get me? So for that matter, I would come down that if you are experiencing stress, you should not take it lightly.
18:47 You should take steps to help, to de-stress, to help yourself.
18:51 What are the steps to take?
18:54 Well, first and foremost, you need to know the triggers and try to avoid them.
18:59 And when it becomes for me, because if you do not have that appropriate knowledge, seek for help.
19:07 That is what I advise.
19:09 You may take some steps that may not be helpful to you.
19:12 Some will enjoy drinking alcohol and taking substance, and they all end up on the street.
19:18 So if you are not sure, take steps. But there are simple lifestyles.
19:22 But what are the triggers? At what point would you think that I am stressed and so I need help?
19:28 Well, when more often when your mental capacity, you know that your mental capacity have dropped.
19:36 You cannot sleep well, you cannot eat well, you become restless.
19:39 Those that you used to enjoy, you are not enjoying it anymore.
19:42 You cannot relate well with your colleagues.
19:45 You understand? Your work capacity.
19:48 You know that you can read continuously for three hours, and now you realize that,
19:52 now you can't, one hour you get tired and that sort of thing. Mental exhaustion.
19:56 The moment you begin to experience this thing, it should tell you that, look, you need some sort of help.
20:00 And there are basic lifestyle changes that you need to sleep well, you need to eat well.
20:04 You don't spend the whole night looking at everybody's statutes and responding to it when you need to be sleeping.
20:09 If you don't get good sleep, it affects your mental capacity. You get tired. You get tired all the time.
20:14 So these are basic lifestyle changes. That is the first step.
20:19 But when it graduates, then you need to seek for help.
20:22 I want to talk about how to foster the culture of acceptance.
20:26 I mean, understanding people having mental challenges and then having some empathy for them.
20:34 But it brings back the conversation about awareness.
20:37 You talked about COVID. Even COVID, that affected everybody.
20:42 We were all scared. This is new. I mean, it's going to kill us.
20:45 And so we all wanted to read something about it.
20:48 But you want a third party to have empathy, to feel for someone close to them
20:55 and not to stigmatize them. They are two different things.
20:59 So I want to believe that there should be a systematic way of actually imposing all of this on us,
21:08 creating that kind of awareness. You know, that also works.
21:12 Instead of waiting for us to get up and go start reading about how to get the triggers,
21:20 if you have a colleague or a family member who is showing signs,
21:25 what are the signs they will be showing? What should I do?
21:28 How about you imposing it on us?
21:30 Imposing knowledge is quite difficult here.
21:36 But what we need to understand is that each of us is at risk at any point in time
21:43 of experiencing mental health problems.
21:46 And for that matter, how you want to be treated when you experience it,
21:50 you should so in the same way extend that treatment. That is the basic thing.
21:57 That is the basic thing.
21:58 Whichever way you look at it, there must be some form of education.
22:01 There must be some form of education. That is when this opportunity came.
22:04 I'm here. You understand?
22:06 So I congratulate you guys for doing what you do when it comes to mental health.
22:10 Others are doing it. But you need as an individual to arm yourself.
22:18 That is the first thing.
22:19 Whilst we, because I mean, awareness, it takes a lot of money.
22:24 You know that. We have our financial issues.
22:27 Government is doing so much to support us.
22:29 But I mean, everybody's asking for money.
22:31 Everybody's asking for money.
22:32 There's very little that they can do when it comes to that.
22:35 So with the little resources that we have, we are doing that.
22:38 You understand? We go to schools to educate the students.
22:41 We do virtual seminars that is open to everybody.
22:45 We've trained a journalist to talk to people how to report on mental health issues
22:50 so that we would reduce the stigma about all this.
22:53 So these are basic things.
22:54 But I mean, if there is more resources, we could do more.
22:57 If it's decided that, oh, mental health authority,
23:00 every week we are giving you five hours to come and do education,
23:05 we could, there are so many things that we could do with that.
23:08 But of course, you're also doing your business, so you need to look at that aspect.
23:11 Well, it's a social intervention. Why not?
23:14 Have you even tried that kind of conversation?
23:17 I think it is something that we'll be interested in
23:20 because it's for a good cause for the country.
23:24 But also, you keep on talking about early intervention and prevention measures.
23:30 Tell me about it.
23:32 Well, you see, mental health problems does not go away by itself.
23:41 You need that professional help.
23:44 And the earlier you seek for that professional help, the better.
23:49 Because if you seek for it, outcomes for you are better.
23:54 Recovery is faster.
23:56 Every little support that comes into the management and treatment from family members is worthy.
24:04 If you wait and it gets worse, you would have to leave here to go and visit that individual.
24:10 It's costly because you are leaving.
24:13 But when it's early, that means that you need only to talk to that person, for example,
24:18 have you taken your medication, have you done that?
24:21 And that support helps in recovery faster.
24:25 So the moment you realize that you have a problem and you seek for early intervention,
24:30 the outcomes are much better and faster for you.
24:33 If you wait, it will get worse.
24:35 And as it gets worse, management and treatment becomes more expensive and more difficult.
24:41 And so if there is that intervention, early detection,
24:50 or you find out that there's something like that,
24:52 there's also what you call the personalized treatment.
24:59 Personalized treatment is when you've gone into the facility.
25:03 You've gone into the facility and the doctors and nurses,
25:07 the doctors have assessed you and decide that this is the plan,
25:11 that this is the management plan they are going to follow in your treatment.
25:17 That is personalized.
25:19 Is there a possibility of personalized treatment?
25:23 Of course, that is what they've been doing.
25:26 That means that you don't have to be admitted at the hospital?
25:30 No, no, no, no, no. We are talking about community-based.
25:33 So if you go in early, perhaps they would not need to admit you.
25:39 So they give you the advice, the medication, whatever it is.
25:42 But we have community mental health nurses who would come home to have a look at you
25:47 and help in the management.
25:49 It's all management, management, management to treatment.
25:52 We've been talking about educating the public.
25:54 We've been talking about how we ourselves can take up the mandate,
25:59 I mean, open ourselves to read and understand what the triggers are and act fast.
26:05 But we need to also talk about health professionals,
26:09 those who give care to mental health patients.
26:13 What's our situation as a country?
26:16 Health professionals in general or mental health professionals.
26:19 Mental health professionals. And in terms of their training?
26:23 In terms of their training, I would say they are having the best of training.
26:27 The numbers that we have issues about because we've reported before
26:32 that most of them are living outside to seek for greener pastures.
26:36 And so that has reduced the numbers, increasing the burden of those here.
26:41 But the fastest strategy is to increase their production.
26:44 Of course, not forgetting about the quality.
26:46 The quality will not be compromised on the training that they receive.
26:49 But the idea is to increase production from the training colleges
26:52 so that they would close the gap with this training.
26:56 So generally, what would be your assessment of mental health care in Ghana?
27:03 Has there been an improvement or we are having more people on the street?
27:08 I think last year or so, the Minister of Health reported about 16,000 people on the street.
27:16 That is a huge number and that is concerning.
27:19 So for me, even if there is one person on the street, that is too much numbers for me.
27:24 You understand? That is too much numbers for me.
27:27 Mental health in Ghana, yes, there is more room for improvement.
27:32 But we've done so much.
27:34 Years ago, you guys would not even have mental health issues to talk about.
27:37 But here, we are talking about mental health.
27:39 So through that education and awareness and collaboration with you guys, that is one bit.
27:46 The passing of the Act in itself, we are trying to...
27:49 Our current Chief Executive is more enthused about collaboration, bringing everybody on board.
27:56 Because everybody is working in their silos.
27:59 But if we all work together, the impact will be huge.
28:03 The impact will be huge.
28:04 So that is what we are looking at.
28:06 We are asking everybody that, look, if you are doing something about mental health,
28:10 come, our doors are always open.
28:12 Let's see how we can work better.
28:14 So that is asking me to come and negotiate for my five hours.
28:18 Of course, we are going to start that when we finish this program.
28:21 So that is all that we are looking at at this stage.
28:25 Let's look at the challenges.
28:27 I mean, funding is something we all know about.
28:30 It's been one of your biggest challenges.
28:32 What other challenges can you talk about?
28:35 And has it gotten better in terms of funding?
28:38 Funding, I would say that, I mean, if we get more, we will be happy with it.
28:43 Are you satisfied with what you have now?
28:46 I would not use... As far as if we get more, we will be happy.
28:51 If you are eating one...
28:53 It's an issue of...
28:56 So yes, we are grateful for very...
29:00 That's what the government does for us. We are so much grateful.
29:03 Because every little helps, you understand?
29:05 So financial issues, yes, that's the major problem.
29:09 Because whatever you need,
29:12 whatever you need in terms of medication,
29:14 in terms of logistics and resources,
29:17 even the producing, everything is money, you understand?
29:21 And it's all... It's a system, you know?
29:24 But the money is what you need.
29:26 So if the money comes, all these things would be addressed.
29:31 Yes, the challenges are there, but I must tell you that
29:33 we are doing our best under the circumstance.
29:36 And yes, the stigma is there, but I can say,
29:40 when you talk to people who are more receptive
29:43 to listening to mental health issues than previously.
29:46 So that means that we've made some impact.
29:50 We've made some significant impact.
29:51 People are embracing mental health.
29:53 Attitude, stigma, it's quite deep.
29:56 So it takes quite some time to approach it,
29:58 if you understand what I mean.
30:00 But at least we've made quite significant progress.
30:02 Well, this is an issue that we are all interested.
30:05 We will support you all the way
30:07 as you try to improve on mental health care in the country.
30:12 We wish you all the best, and thank you for the good work.
30:15 Dr. Yawaman Kwa'asa, he's a Deputy Director
30:17 in charge of health promotion at the Mental Health Authority.
30:21 And we've been talking about how to improve
30:23 on mental health care.
30:25 Let's get on to other stories, which also is in the health sector.
30:29 Because the Ghana Health Service says over 60% of the population
30:33 has not fully taken the jab against the COVID-19 virus.
30:37 The country is still far behind
30:39 in achieving its COVID-19 vaccination target.
30:42 The service says this leaves the country vulnerable to the virus.
30:47 The Director General of the Ghana Health Service,
30:49 Dr. Patrick Kumaabuwaje, who was speaking at the launch
30:52 of the seventh national COVID-19 vaccination campaign,
30:56 made this announcement. Listen.
30:59 Only 10.8 million of the population in Ghana
31:02 have been vaccinated against COVID-19, representing 34%.
31:08 13.9 million have received just one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
31:13 The Ghana Health Service is not happy with the development.
31:17 The service has therefore launched a seventh edition
31:20 of its COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
31:23 The target is to administer one million doses of vaccine
31:27 to individuals above the age of 15.
31:30 Director of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kumaabuwaje, says
31:34 a lot of work needs to be done to reach herd immunity.
31:38 Nearly 26 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have reached
31:44 almost 40 million persons, out of which 10 million persons
31:48 are fully vaccinated.
31:50 And as was said earlier, this represents about 59.4% of the target.
31:55 While this is commendable achievement, the country is still far
31:59 from achieving its national target.
32:01 This means that the whole population still stands at risk
32:05 of a likely event of new variants as COVID-19 remains
32:09 extremely unpredictable.
32:11 And I must say, as you saw the program manager present,
32:17 this total dose represents about 34.4% of the population.
32:23 What it means is that almost 70% or a little over 60%
32:29 of the population are unvaccinated.
32:33 He indicated that misinformation is hindering many individuals
32:38 from getting vaccinated.
32:40 Well, I think it's always been the misinformation and then the fear
32:44 and then the low-risk perception.
32:46 The low-risk perception is the thing that is going to happen to you,
32:48 but not me.
32:50 But what we have noticed is that when the vaccines are taken close to them,
32:54 we are able to overcome that challenge.
32:56 And that's why we are doing outreaches to the people to ensure that
33:00 even though they may not feel that they are not at risk,
33:04 but if the vaccine is provided, they are willing to go.
33:06 They may not travel to go and queue and have it,
33:10 but if the vaccine is taken to them.
33:12 And that approach has really helped us and we continue enforcing that
33:15 until we meet our targets as we said ourselves.
33:19 Manager of the expanded program on immunization,
33:23 Dr. Kwame Mponsa-Acianu outlined strategies to attain the vaccination target
33:29 during the campaign.
33:31 We are aiming to deploy approximately 5,000 and over vaccination teams
33:37 with over 1,000 supervisors across all the level from national, regional,
33:41 districts and sub-districts.
33:44 Using almost 23,000 healthcare workers and volunteers nationwide,
33:49 we are aiming to vaccinate approximately 40 persons per team
33:54 of vaccinators per day.
33:56 And of course we will ensure that these teams are visible.
33:59 The vaccination campaign is scheduled to kick off from July 19 to July 23.
34:04 Esther Nkrumah's report read to you.
34:07 One million Ghana cities of money belonging to the University of Ghana
34:13 is locked up with NDK financial services.
34:16 This came to light during Tuesday's Public Accounts Committee settings.
34:20 Director of Finance for the University, Benissa Gudu,
34:23 says the university has learned lessons and has since put in place
34:27 an investment policy to ensure it does not happen again.
34:31 She says they are working to retrieve the locked up funds.
34:34 Listen to the interaction between the Chairman of the Committee, James Kluge-Aveji,
34:39 and the Director of Finance of the university.
34:42 So the university, that is the Office of Research, Innovation and Development.
34:55 You invested in NDK financial services.
35:00 And only 100,000 was redeemed,
35:05 leaving a balance of 1,234,767.59 Ghana cities.
35:17 Have you been able to recover this balance from the NDK financial services?
35:24 Thank you, Mr. Chair.
35:26 As a university, we have learned from our previous acts.
35:31 Answer my question first.
35:33 We haven't recovered the amount by going through the process.
35:38 Currently, it's with the legal counsel to follow up through the due process.
35:42 We currently have an investment policy which confirms what we are saying
35:46 and we are adhering to that.
35:48 So that is where we are.
35:51 Why is NDK financial services not able to refund the money or pay you the money?
35:57 Is there any reason?
35:58 They had liquidity challenges.
36:00 And what they told us when we sent it to them was they promised to actually pay.
36:04 But we never got the money.
36:06 So we have followed our internal processes and handed it over to our legal counsel.
36:10 Are they still in operation?
36:12 Yes, to some extent.
36:15 To some extent means what?
36:19 I can't confirm their status as of now.
36:23 Then your answer is yes should not be the case.
36:26 Okay.
36:27 I ask are they still operating, you say yes.
36:30 I withdraw that.
36:31 I withdraw that.
36:32 The legal counsel will follow up with due process and inform the NDK.
36:35 It means that the legal counsel never followed up on all these issues.
36:39 Now you are saying that they will follow up.
36:42 They haven't followed up.
36:43 It's a continuous process.
36:44 They sent a letter and they keep following up.
36:47 But as I said, the $100,000 was retrieved through correspondence as well.
36:52 They have sent reminders.
36:54 And I think we have attached a copy of the letter.
36:57 It's a process which is ongoing.
36:59 Thank you, Mr. Shea.
37:01 Well, the university says it has taken steps to ensure accreditation of some of its unaccredited programs
37:08 captured in the 2021 Auditor General's Report.
37:12 The 2021 Auditor General's Report revealed 374 academic programs offered by the University of Ghana were unaccredited.
37:21 Out of the 374, 14 are diploma programs and 80 are undergraduate programs.
37:27 Postgraduate programs are 213 and 67 are PhD programs.
37:32 The report stated that the university advertised 374 academic programs on the various web portals
37:39 that had their accreditation expired or required re-accreditation during the period under review.
37:46 But the university says it has accredited 60 out of the 80 undergraduate programs
37:51 with 20 still undergoing the process of accreditation.
37:55 Listen to that interaction between Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and Registrar of the university.
38:05 After we had these audit responses, we've put in place a lot of measures.
38:11 So, for instance, currently we have a total of 132 programs, or should I say we have a total of 220 programs
38:21 in the whole university.
38:23 We have put in place measures to ensure that all of these programs are properly accredited.
38:31 Currently, we have 132 programs which are fully accredited.
38:37 This cuts across all levels.
38:39 Madam, I'm sorry that I may come across as being rude.
38:44 But I'm asking a specific question.
38:47 But you want to give me a PhD thesis out here.
38:51 2021, the auditors came in for the undergraduate programs.
38:58 80 of them were not accredited.
39:01 I'm interested in that 80 that was not accredited.
39:05 What have you done about it?
39:07 The 80 that you audited and they were not accredited.
39:12 Mr. Chairman, what we have done is put in place systems to ensure that all of these 80 programs are properly accredited.
39:26 How many of them have you gone to get accreditation for, the 80?
39:32 Mr. Chairman, out of the 80, I would say that currently we have 60 of the undergraduate programs fully accredited.
39:42 And the rest are in the process of being accredited.
39:46 Now, let's go to the next one, postgraduate.
39:49 You have 213 programs that were not accredited.
39:55 Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
39:57 As part of the process, we have weeded out many programs that were no longer being offered at the University of Ghana.
40:07 So, as I said, we have a total of 220 programs in all.
40:12 So, this figure of 213 postgraduate programs, half of them probably have been taken out because they are no longer offered.
40:23 At the University of Ghana, and the remainder have gone through the accreditation processes or are in the process of going through reaccreditation.
40:35 If you just joined us, this is Joy News Desk. Let's take a break and bring your business shortly.
40:41 [Music]
40:54 Hi, good morning. Welcome to Business. My name is Darrell Quah.
40:58 The Office of the Registry of Companies, ORC, will soon roll out a software to assist and provide services to individuals with low literacy levels.
41:06 The digital platform will also ease accessibility and patronage of services of the ORC.
41:12 This was revealed at the inauguration of the ORC Office Complex in Kumasi. Here's more in this report.
41:18 The three-story building of the Office of the Registrar of Companies in Kumasi is to get closer to the business community
41:27 and improve the quality of services provided to clients in the northern sector of Ghana.
41:33 It costs 8 million Ghana cedis and was financed using internally generated funds from the Registrar General's Department in the Office of the Registrar of Companies.
41:44 The ORC is responsible for registering, managing, and regulating commercial enterprises.
41:50 Registrar General Jemima Mama Owari says failure to digitize systems and processes at the office would be costly for the country.
41:59 She says the digital operation will help phase out the activities of middlemen in transactions and access to services.
42:07 We acknowledge the fact that we are in a digital era and there are still some people in our society who unfortunately have not been exposed to this.
42:16 This office will therefore have a specialized division to assist clients who generally have no knowledge in IT and require aid.
42:24 But let me make a point here. It's not going to be that forever and ever you'll be coming here to get help.
42:29 We'll help you once and then you go and try to use the system yourself.
42:34 So we cut out the continuous flow of human traffic to this place.
42:39 With the assistance of the World Bank, this new software that I'm talking about will replace the current one, which is giving us lots of challenges currently.
42:48 It's going to be migrated onto the G-Cloud before the end of August and I believe our services will improve considerably.
42:56 Ashanti Original Head of ORC Nanaume Chaprempe says the inception of the ORC in 2019 has seen an increase in business and company registration in the region.
43:08 The digitalization process has helped because the turnaround time is quicker.
43:12 It used to take about three months for you to get a name because we had to come through manual manuscripts to be able to determine whether this one has registered or not.
43:21 But right now, at the touch of a button, you're able to determine whether this name is on the system or not.
43:26 So it takes a shorter time for us to process documents.
43:30 The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfrey Yabu Adame, wants permanent offices of the ORC to be established in all regions.
43:40 I've stated before that effectively harnessed, the organization of companies possesses the ability to be a formidable gun for the state in the area of good governance and the fight against corruption.
43:53 In this regard, it's an absolute imperative for the ORC to have permanent offices around the country.
43:59 The ORC needs to be firmly established in every region and district of Ghana.
44:04 The Kumasi office of the ORC does not ought not to be the last of the expansion drive of the ORC.
44:12 I assure you of the government's support for the organization of companies to acquire its own permanent offices in all the regions of Ghana, so as to improve service delivery and ease of doing business.
44:24 For Joy Business, Mona Lisa Frimpon reporting.
44:30 Now with Ghana's economy seeing an exponential dip in recent times, there have been calls to develop strategic policies in supporting the patronage of green businesses and their products.
44:40 Ashantu Binawadirekta at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Mahmouda Osman believes the optimization and patronage of environmentally sustainable enterprises could shore up the sinking economy.
44:53 He says the continuous dependence on imported goods would not only throw the country into economic difficulties but also threaten national security.
45:01 Here's more.
45:02 SNV Green Regional Trade Show held in Kumasi.
45:06 Ashanti Regional Director of Trade, Mahmouda Osman noted the essence of embracing a green and circular economy through industrialization.
45:16 Under the Green Project, I have witnessed entrepreneurs come out with very attractive and useful products from waste.
45:25 Some are producing raincoats, laptop bags, etc. from waste sachets rubbish.
45:32 Production of reusable sanitary pads.
45:36 Fertilizer from cocoa husks, charcoal briquettes, organic compost, among others.
45:44 Global economy is sinking for various reasons.
45:47 One major factor that makes Ghana's economy to struggle is lack of adequate industrialization, making us dependent on imports.
45:59 The following exhibition entitled "The Outlook of Sustainable Trade Investments - The Future for the Ghana Economy" was in partnership with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, GIZGAR, Association of Ghana Industries.
46:13 The two should work together over 50 businesses from SNV's green incubation community.
46:22 Alright, that's it for this segment. The news continues after the break.
46:42 Welcome back to JNU's Next to the Rest of Our Stories.
46:45 Majority in Parliament for the first time since the NDC started boycotting Parliament over the Attu Kweisi trial proceeded with business despite the absence of minority MPs.
46:56 Yesterday, the House took questions, laid papers and discussed statements.
47:01 Although the House fell short of considering much weightier businesses like bills,
47:06 it's a significant turn from the past when it just adjourned the House whenever the NDC group abstained from sitting.
47:13 Majority Chief Whip Frank Anodompe had a clear message for the NDC.
47:18 Parliament of Ghana cannot wait for you. Listen.
47:22 Our police is a minority and they have elected not to be present.
47:28 We are the Parliament of this Republic, cannot wait for them.
47:32 And hence, as often been the practice, I want to appeal to you that the answers to these questions be published,
47:42 except for question 1405, which stands in the name of General Bufi-Sethi.
47:51 The first speaker, Thiole.
47:55 Among the key businesses the House considered was a statement from the Food and Agriculture Ministry on the debt owed suppliers of the Bafastok company.
48:04 According to the minister, the suppliers will be paid by the end of midweek.
48:09 Bafastok has made payments in respect of 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 in full.
48:19 Mr. Speaker, in 2022, of their 726,617,881 Ghana cities, 500 million cities have been paid to the suppliers.
48:34 We still owe suppliers a little more than 203 million Ghana cities.
48:41 Such release, Mr. Speaker, is sent to finance and last week we received 100 million, which is 50% of what is due the suppliers.
48:56 We have transferred same through the processes to Bafastok.
49:00 We are hoping that, Mr. Speaker, by the midweek this week, that 50% will be sent to suppliers.
49:08 Mr. Speaker, I have also assured the suppliers that by the 17th of August, as we commence the payment of the 50% 17th of July, by the 17th of August, the remaining 50% will be paid.
49:26 Mr. Speaker, we have kept faith with the Bafastok suppliers.
49:30 As I mentioned, the total business that we have done with the Bafastok company is to the tune of an exact 2,705,408,476 M58 Pesos, 2.7 billion, out of which 2.5 billion has been made.
49:55 And we will pay the remaining 200 million that is submitted to us in full by the end of August.
50:04 We commence payment hopefully by Wednesday and in a month's time the total payment will be made.
50:12 We don't have challenges with the suppliers.
50:18 We are extremely surprised about the happenings in the last two weeks, but we take it in good faith and we will continue to work with them.
50:28 You have the Greek Minister, Brani Champo, ending the news at 10 on Joy News Desk.
50:36 Log on to myjoyonline.com, there is more of the news over there.
50:41 And the headlines you would see, KNUST Hospital cited for alleged medical negligence as 10-day-old baby dies during circumcision.
50:51 You would also see caregivers call on government for holistic health care for mentally challenged persons.
51:01 My name is Aishe Ibrahim, see you again at 12.
51:05 [Music]