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NewsTranscript
00:00 Welcome to Newsdesk with me, Mamie Sinja Miche-Thompson.
00:03 In the next hour, more than 30% increase in persons killed due to road traffic accidents
00:09 in July 2023 compared to the same period last year.
00:14 We have details from the latest figures from the National Road Safety Authority on road
00:18 traffic casualties.
00:24 Also death toll from the North East floods climbs to 8 with more floods expected as the
00:29 Bagri Dam opens.
00:31 We have details.
00:40 A Niger coup leader, General Tshiani promises to hand over power in three years.
00:45 How so?
00:46 We tell you plus how South African President Siroama Posa intends to work with AU to restore
00:52 constitutional order in countries experiencing coup d'etat.
01:03 Details of these and more plus business in the ZAL.
01:06 Please stay tuned.
01:06 Now, 43 persons died through road traffic accidents in July 2023 compared to the same
01:29 period in 2022.
01:32 These are figures contained in the latest data on road traffic casualties published
01:37 by the National Road Safety Authority.
01:39 According to the data, 1,328 people died through road crashes in July this year compared to
01:47 1,221 recorded last year.
01:51 Let's take a look at the highlights and various breakdowns as has been reported by the National
01:57 Road Safety Authority.
02:01 When you take a look at the information that we have before us, the source of National
02:07 Road Safety Authority, of course, cases reported 8,137, 8,869.
02:19 This is a period between January to July 2023.
02:24 And the yellow there marks those cases that are reported, I think injuries and crashes.
02:32 And then we have those, the yellow is the cases reported in January of this year, January
02:41 to July 2023.
02:43 And the green represents the cases that were reported last year between January and July
02:48 2022.
02:50 And so before you in January, the cases reported in 2023 is 8,137.
02:58 And those reported last year 8,869.
03:03 So there you see that there's some slight decrease this year of cases that have been
03:09 reported.
03:10 Now, when it comes to the vehicles involved, we have 13,862 vehicles involved in these
03:16 road crashes in this year between January and July 2023, and 15,239 in 2022.
03:27 Persons killed 1,272 this year and 1,443 last year.
03:35 And then persons injured, you have 9,135 this year, 9,228 last year.
03:44 Pedestrian knockdowns as well, 1,418 this year and 1,580 last year.
03:59 And then we have the percentage change in the road traffic in road crashes situation
04:04 from July to January, or I beg your pardon, January to July 2023 and 2022 compared.
04:13 And so you can see from the source, National Road Safety Authority, 8.25% minus 8.25% cases
04:24 reported this year, and then minus 9.04% with vehicles involved in this.
04:33 And persons killed minus 11.85%, persons injured minus 1.01%.
04:42 And then pedestrian knockdowns minus 10.25%.
04:51 And now we move on to the road traffic crash and casualty from January to July 2023.
04:59 And then as we refer to you, the red is for July 2023, that is this year, the yellow represents
05:07 that of last year.
05:08 And the cases recorded 1,233 this year, 1,182 last year.
05:18 You realize that that's a slight increase of cases reported this year.
05:24 Vehicles involved too have gone a bit higher as 2,099 this year and 1,991 last year.
05:34 Persons killed, 186 persons have been killed this year and 143 last year.
05:41 And so that's some increase in the persons killed or the number of deaths that have been
05:47 recorded this year.
05:49 And also the persons that have been injured also went up a little bit, and that is 1,328
05:57 compared to 1,221 last year.
06:00 And pedestrian knockdowns have slightly reduced and pedestrian knockdowns this year were 213
06:10 and then 224 last year.
06:14 And these figures are for July this year compared to July last year.
06:23 Also percentage change in these crashes situation in July of last year compared to July of this
06:32 year.
06:33 So we have cases reported that is 4.31% and then vehicles involved is 5.42% plus persons
06:43 killed which is over 30%, that's 30.07%.
06:49 And then persons injured 8.76%.
06:53 Pedestrian knockdowns that has gone a little bit lower which is -4.91%.
06:59 So you realize that the number of persons killed this year have increased over 30% and
07:06 that's according to the National Road Safety Authority.
07:15 Meanwhile the authority says some of the interventions ruled out are working.
07:20 The commander of joint news for the Drive Safe campaign, David Osafwa-Dunting is acting
07:25 director general of the National Road Safety Authority.
07:31 Little motivation is that comparing this year's figures to last year, we're seeing some reductions
07:40 in some of the indicators.
07:43 Marginal as some of them may look though, but it is very refreshing to know that something
07:49 positive is being done by way of interventions to have come and reflecting positively also
07:58 on the figures.
07:59 Indeed the performance of every country's road safety management is to see figures going
08:04 down.
08:05 The crashes, the injuries and the deaths and those are the indicators that suggest that
08:11 some intervention is receiving or reflecting positively on the roads.
08:19 So that is quite motivating.
08:21 But indeed we wish that we have far lower figures so we can see some more reductions
08:28 by now.
08:29 But the level of intervention that we're ruling out, the National Road Safety Authority itself
08:36 as a lead agency by way of the Drive Safe campaign that you, your media championed and
08:42 the Stay Alive campaign that we also championed together have gone deeper into the structure
08:52 of road safety management in this country to the extent that campaign, education, publicity,
08:58 advocacy, it's something that we can all say that we have made some relevant achievement,
09:06 very significant.
09:07 Now you don't get figures coming down for the sake of it.
09:11 It is always contingent on a certain practical work you are doing on the ground.
09:18 And that is how figures come down because we have factors that are always fighting against
09:22 us.
09:23 The vehicle population is growing every day.
09:27 Human population is growing every day.
09:30 Indiscipline on our roads and as you are aware, some malfunctioning of certain road facilities.
09:36 These are all critical factors that give impetus for risk, people to take risk and for that
09:45 matter, resulting in deaths.
09:47 But if you have a very strong campaign structure, which I really commend the media for supporting
09:55 the National Road Safety to that extent that we were able to roll out this campaign and
10:00 all we were trying to do was to minimize indiscipline, especially on the part of road users, drivers,
10:08 pedestrians, passengers, motorcyclists, and all that, so that they can themselves own
10:14 road safety.
10:15 They can protect themselves when they are using the road.
10:19 And I think that I must commend Ghanaians for accepting the campaign, which had a slogan,
10:27 "Jai Obunsema Njimano" because we were trying to let Ghanaians recognize the fact that crashes
10:35 happen not because of the work of the devil.
10:38 It is because we are indiscipline.
10:42 And still on our Drive Safe campaign, dysfunctional traffic and street lights are becoming a common
10:46 phenomenon in Greater Kumasi.
10:48 A number of road traffic accidents have occurred at some intersections as a result of the malfunctioning
10:54 traffic lights coupled with some dysfunctional street lights.
10:59 Commuters have lamented delays in fixing them and at major intersections in the region,
11:04 Nana Bwache, Dangkwa, Yadom, interacted with some commuters at Amakun in Kumasi.
11:11 In several communities, dysfunctional traffic lights and street lights have led to traffic
11:16 congestion, wrong vehicle and pedestrian directions, motorist conflict, and prolonged travel times.
11:22 The poor illumination at night and safety at road intersections have become a worry
11:28 to motorists and commuters.
11:30 This traffic light always, sometimes it goes on, sometimes it goes off.
11:35 And even yesterday, as one of my brother was saying, there was an accident here with a
11:40 VIP and a motorbike.
11:42 And this traffic light is the inner city traffic light from Kumasi to Ajiso and Accra.
11:47 And you can see behind you, you have seen that those from Accra to Kumasi, they just
11:53 stop here and watch those from Kumasi to Accra to come before they move because of the traffic
11:58 light.
11:59 And I don't know who is responsible for the traffic light to maintain or to repair when
12:04 it goes off any time.
12:05 Is it the road minister or is it any other institution who's supposed to do the traffic
12:10 light at all times?
12:11 In Kumasi here, I can tell you and I can show you that those living in Kumasi, we don't
12:16 have traffic light.
12:17 And it's true.
12:18 This is a highway traffic light and it's off.
12:21 So those from the left and those from the right, who's supposed to pass and who's supposed
12:25 to wait?
12:26 And even the traffic light behind me, the street light behind the traffic light, you
12:31 can see it's not working.
12:32 Some is not working.
12:34 So and this is a dark spot.
12:36 And here, armed robbers came around to rob us.
12:39 If you are holding your bag like this, they told us we have some mobile phone or laptop
12:43 because we are all students living in this area.
12:45 So we are pleading with the authorities.
12:47 You come on board.
12:48 They should do it on time.
12:49 The traffic light is a problem.
12:50 Like traffic light, it's not working.
12:56 We really do have a problem with our traffic lights over here.
13:00 Sometimes when the drivers use the stretch, they do get confused.
13:04 There was an accident.
13:05 And the driver said, "This is Kumasi center."
13:10 City authorities really do use the stretch.
13:12 So I'm really surprised as to why we have some dysfunctional traffic lights coupled
13:17 with dysfunctional street lights.
13:31 We really do record some accidents over here.
13:34 I am quite surprised as to why we have a dysfunctional traffic light on such a huge stretch.
13:41 The assembly member thought of working on these dysfunctional traffic lights.
13:49 We got some MTTB officers to be stationed over here, but they could not do the job.
13:56 How we are living here in Ambukum, we are living a death trap concerning this stretch.
14:01 If you look at the dysfunction of this traffic light, it's causing a lot of accidents over
14:04 here.
14:05 Just recently, I think yesterday, yeah, there was a huge accident over here.
14:09 That was VIP bus and a certain motorbike due to this dysfunction of this traffic light.
14:14 And it's very disheartening and embarrassment.
14:16 So we are calling on the authorities to come into our aid.
14:19 Kumasi, we are very worried about this situation.
14:23 Look at the Children's Park just opened here.
14:26 And that place is called a headquarters of armed robbers because of the abandonment of
14:31 the street lights.
14:32 We don't have one there.
14:33 Reporting for JOY News, Nana Bwachi, Dankwe Yadom, Kumasi.
14:39 Now, deaths from the Northeast Regional floods have reached eight as two more bodies were
14:43 found after a building collapsed on them in the Yonyon Nanswani District.
14:48 The incident occurred on Friday and the bodies have since been retrieved and buried.
14:52 Meanwhile, authorities in Bokina Faso have begun the spillage of the Bagri Dam, which
14:57 is expected to cause more floods and potentially worsen the situation.
15:02 Speaking to JOY News, Regional Minister Yidana Zakaria has called on residents living and
15:07 farming along the spillways to evacuate to safer grounds and stay alert.
15:12 Correspondent Ilya Sutanko reports from Cherponi District.
15:16 The Northeast Regional authorities are still taking stock of the damages as a result of
15:21 torrential rainfall in the region.
15:23 Eight people are now confirmed to have lost their lives and three more injured and receiving
15:28 treatment.
15:29 According to the Disaster Management Organization, the eight died through building collapse and
15:34 drowning in the Eastern West Manprasit Municipality and the Yonyon Nanswani District.
15:39 The flooding has grounded transportation to certain parts of the region as road bridges
15:44 have been washed away.
15:45 Education and health care services have also been suspended in some of the affected areas,
15:50 with several farmlands and houses destroyed, and many residents are still stranded in their
15:55 communities with no access to other parts of the region.
15:58 As part of its Regional Toll of the Affected Areas to Assess Local Authorities conduct
16:03 aftermath assessments, Regional Minister Idana Zakaria visited the Cherponi District, one
16:08 of the districts hard hit by the floods.
16:10 Here, the flooding has worsened the already bad state of the road network and the poor
16:15 living conditions of the people, as road bridges, farmlands, as well as food crops have been
16:20 flooded and washed away.
16:22 At Tikinga, where a bridge linking the Cherponi and Yonyon District was collapsed, a Member
16:27 of Parliament, Tahidu Abdirazak, explained the state of damage caused by the torrential
16:32 rains.
16:33 "Where we are specifically is known as Tikinga, which falls within the Cherponi constituency
16:39 or Cherponi District.
16:40 And across the Betam Bridge is Yonyon constituency.
16:41 Our share has been split once, but beyond Yonyon, I'm told it's split about two, three,
16:48 four times of the main road.
16:54 Yesterday was Wanjiki Market Day.
16:57 Bunkoruku people, Yonyon couldn't access Wanjiki Market due to this damage.
17:01 But when we stand here and look at this way, we have communities along this side.
17:06 We have Gaptangu, Nigeria, Patani, Ngabangani, Saku, Pampali, Saka, Pampali, and then Wonjoka
17:18 as well.
17:19 Then when you get to Wonjoka and you go the other side, all this is going to reach the
17:25 OT.
17:26 And when you go to that side, we have Tinchangu, Naturi, Nakaku, number one, Nakaku number
17:33 two, then Nduni as well.
17:35 As I'm standing and speaking to you, the National Director told me Nduni as well, on those
17:41 stretches are all what, flooded.
17:43 This is what is happening to us now within the Cherponi District."
17:48 He said although an assessment was ongoing, about 42 communities are believed to have
17:53 been affected with most of them still inaccessible and commuters now have to solely rely on the
17:59 use of canoes to access their homes and farmlands.
18:02 He appealed for the provision of life jackets among other relief items to assist the victims.
18:08 "I think we are used to 27 prune areas when it comes to floods.
18:15 But this year on has been extended.
18:17 We have about 15 communities more that have been added to the 27 communities that we are
18:23 aware of.
18:24 And we have about 12 areas that they use local canoe to cross to the other neighboring countries.
18:33 That is Northern Togo, Satsangamangu.
18:37 And all these people cross without life jackets.
18:39 I did mention that the state should help us support these vulnerable people.
18:48 And I know beyond the state, we have other NGOs, organizations that are into this.
18:59 We are asking and requesting from them the needed support that we need to support these
19:06 people who are what."
19:07 We are taking live to Parliament now where we understand the Majority Chief Whip MP for
19:24 Nswaim Edoge Frank Adadompe is holding a press conference and our parliamentary correspondent
19:31 Mbura is there bringing us live updates from there.
19:35 Because of this, because something that I don't know anything about.
19:40 Now they go on Netoo and his media platforms just hurling insults at me.
19:49 So I got to know of the fact and I called his Eastern Regional Campaign 1 in January.
19:58 I called him to tell him about it.
20:00 And he said, "Well, they've been told about the truth."
20:02 And he got in touch with the COBI Creative Limited, I mean the CEO of that advertising
20:08 company.
20:09 And they've done the needful.
20:10 So they've paid money to that person and the artwork has been put back.
20:16 Well, one would have thought that after all this vilification and after all these insults
20:23 on me and my personality, if you found out what the truth is, at least it would have
20:28 come out.
20:29 I don't need the apology.
20:30 But at least come out with the truth.
20:32 Let the public know that you hurriedly put allegations on an innocent man.
20:40 And it turned out that Arnold Mbura doesn't know anything about these so-called matters.
20:46 So I feel very slighted.
20:47 I feel a lot of pain.
20:50 But I still have to manage this.
20:52 This is an internal election.
20:55 And he's not an enemy.
20:57 Somebody I respect.
20:59 I don't even do this to my political opponent.
21:01 The NDC who have their artwork all over in Sao.
21:04 I don't go about pulling down their artwork.
21:07 How much more will I go out to pull down an artwork of my colleague member of parliament?
21:15 It's quite strange.
21:17 And this is not the first time they are hailing these allegations at me.
21:21 I want to use your medium to appeal to our colleague.
21:26 I don't have anything personal against him.
21:29 In this contest, people have taken positions.
21:32 And I'm a human being.
21:34 I have also taken a position.
21:37 I feel proud about the person I support.
21:41 And if I have to suffer these allegations and persecution because of my support for
21:45 the vice president, I find it very strange.
21:48 I plead with them that they should understand that this is an internal election.
21:52 And next time something happens, the least they can do is to investigate.
21:57 You don't come out and put allegations against somebody and especially when you find out
22:03 that what you said was not true.
22:06 The decent thing you should do is to come out and put out the fact.
22:11 Interestingly, this morning, I called Kobe Creative Limited again.
22:16 He confirmed that he got back to him and they've made payment.
22:20 And therefore, they've put out his artwork on the metal work.
22:27 So ladies and gentlemen, this is not a matter that we should split heads over.
22:32 I'm not interested in pressing any charges against them because mainly because it is
22:38 an internal election.
22:40 But I want to send a note of caution to them that they should respect my decision.
22:44 My decision to support the vice president is not out of nothing.
22:48 It is based on substantive evidence of what the man can do for our party and this country.
22:55 It's not for me to run the campaign for them, but they should not use me as a subject matter
23:01 of their campaign.
23:02 Clearly, what they put out is not true.
23:06 And I would advise Neto and his media platform that they know the implications.
23:14 With this extent of experience they have, they know the implication.
23:17 If you put out falsehood against somebody without evidence, they know the implication.
23:22 And I'm not the one to advise them on what to do.
23:24 But they should desist from these attacks on my personality.
23:29 I will not support him.
23:31 I don't believe in him.
23:34 I believe in the one I support.
23:35 And they should, just as they support Ken Ohinede's chapter poem, they should respect my decision
23:40 to support somebody else.
23:42 And let it be as it is.
23:44 I'm here with my boarding pass.
23:48 Just to emphasize, I traveled on the 12th.
23:54 And I was due to return.
23:55 If you look at the original charter, I was supposed to return on the 20th, on the 21st.
24:05 I had to change my ticket.
24:06 Thankfully, we had finished the conference.
24:08 I had to change my ticket and come back and deal with this Obuhaha.
24:13 Because I received multiple, thousands of WhatsApp messages, loved ones, my fans, people,
24:21 all over the world, seeking to know what is happening between me and Mr. Ohinede's chapter
24:26 poem.
24:27 I don't have anything personal against him.
24:29 And I believe that, I want to challenge them that now that they have the fact, they should
24:35 put out the fact.
24:36 And this matter should rise to one's forearms.
24:39 So my boarding pass and ticket is here.
24:41 You can reference it duly.
24:42 And then COBI Creative Limited, your contact, the CEO's contact, and everything is here.
24:48 You can go beyond that and speak to the city authorities, the municipal chief executive,
24:55 and there are sections or departments at the assembly who manage such outfit.
25:02 You can speak to them and the facts will be known.
25:07 I'm also told that this metal work has, COBI Creative Limited has owned it for more than
25:12 10 years.
25:14 It's owned it for more than 10 years.
25:16 Once upon a time, a car ran into it and it got dented.
25:22 And he said that he had instructed SIC Insurance to deal with it because they were the company
25:32 that insured it and they didn't do it.
25:33 He had to take it upon himself and do it himself.
25:37 So the place is a very popular place.
25:38 The huge metal.
25:39 [MUSIC PLAYING]
26:08 And so those were steps from Parliament, where MP for Nswae Medridi, Hon.
26:13 Frank Anadompre, has been responding to some allegations being made against him.
26:18 We'll be bringing you more on that later.
26:20 But still with the OT Regional Minister, Mr. Joshua Makobu has endorsed the candidature
26:25 of the Vice President, Dr. Mahmoud Abou-Ami, saying there's nothing wrong in doing that.
26:30 According to him, the Vice President has a clear vision to lead the NPP to win the 2024
26:35 presidential elections.
26:37 The minister has been speaking to my colleague, Peter Senu, in that region.
26:42 He's not the Vice President of Flamboyancy and Prolificates.
26:46 No, no, no, no.
26:47 He's not.
26:48 It is alleged that you are throwing your support behind the Vice President to become the flagbearer.
26:54 Well, if I'm throwing my support behind the Vice President, I don't think there's anything
26:58 wrong with it.
26:59 If you know me from the -- for long, I always support hard work.
27:05 I'll support ideas.
27:07 I'll support -- Alice, a direction.
27:12 I'll support a vision.
27:15 I'm not that type of person that is capable of navigating my way in the midst of the -- when
27:21 the situation is messed up.
27:23 No, we need a direction.
27:25 We need a vision.
27:26 And I think the Vice President, right from the time he became a running matrix, has always
27:33 been at the forefront of telling the NPP, look, we can go this way.
27:38 So you believe he's sharing his vision, his ability to lead the party into 2024 elections?
27:43 Definitely.
27:44 And be the next president by 2025.
27:47 The regional minister has also denied the allegations that he and some regional executive
27:54 members have sabotaged the camp of flagbearer hopeful Allan Kodjoe-Chairman Tingjo in his
27:59 tour of the O2 region some weeks ago.
28:02 According to the minister, members of the Allan campaign team in the region have failed him.
28:08 Sometimes, what I've always said is that there's nothing wrong to fail, but it is very disastrous
28:19 when you fail as a result of your own incompetence, and you still go ahead to ascribe that to
28:27 other people.
28:29 Look, I like Allan.
28:32 I respect him, a minister that has served in cabinets of two successive NPP governments,
28:39 the government of His Excellency John Ajay-Kum-Kufu and the government of His Excellency Nana
28:44 Adodankwe-Kufu.
28:45 I have no reason to want to sabotage what they call Honorable Allan Chairman Tingjo.
28:52 So if he wins primaries today, am I not going to campaign for him?
28:57 If he becomes president and he decides that I remain in the region, will I say because
29:01 he's the president I won't do that?
29:03 But the fact is that his people in the region let him down.
29:08 Yes, his people in the region let him down.
29:11 Let me tell you, the first time I heard that Honorable Allan Chairman Tingjo was coming
29:15 to the region, I was in Gou and I had to quickly run down to there.
29:20 I was here the day he was supposed to have come.
29:23 I was in this office waiting, waiting, waiting, until a call came at the last minute that
29:27 he was not coming, and they were going to reschedule.
29:30 Look, the next time I heard of his coming was when he was actually in town, and that
29:37 very day, I was, I went to a funeral in Prue West, proceeded to address the chair of Dumassie
29:46 because we had lost an uncle there too, and I slept in Dumassie.
29:51 That Sunday I was on my way to Accra when I got a call that, no it was a Monday, I got
29:59 a call that the Honorable Allan Chairman Tingjo was in the region and wanted to say hi to
30:05 me, and I said hi, but look at the time people are calling me, I am out of the region and
30:10 there's nothing I can do to come back.
30:12 But again, when he was to come, the next time, I was informed, I sat here and he came with
30:19 one of my godfathers, Honorable Peter Amewu.
30:22 I'm that type of person that, look, because of my background as a person with disability,
30:27 if you like intimidating other people, you have no relationship with me.
30:32 They want a situation whereby at least the environment will be created for everybody
30:37 to exhibit their what?
30:39 Their self-confidence and then their talent.
30:41 But when you are going wrong, I would say that no, you could have done this thing this
30:45 way.
30:46 The OT Regional Minister Joshua Makobi says although he does not entirely disagree with
30:50 the survey that puts his region in the lead as having made direct bribery requests from
30:56 service seekers, the establishment of agencies and departments in the new region may have
31:01 contributed to the outcome of the survey.
31:04 In 2022, a UN report on corruption in Ghana on people's experiences and views cited the
31:10 OT Region public service officials as people who have made the highest direct bribery request
31:16 from service seekers.
31:18 The Minister, Harafes, says he would in the coming days engage heads of departments of
31:23 public institutions in the region on the need to tackle the phenomenon.
31:27 The regional correspondent has been speaking to the Minister on the back of this survey.
31:32 Just like the others, we see there is no smoke without fire.
31:36 And if the perception is high, there is that likelihood that the realities are also higher.
31:45 And that is unfortunate.
31:48 It shouldn't have occurred.
31:50 However, considering the nature of the OT Region as one of the deprived regions, most
31:56 of the people who are enlightened from among us have migrated to stay in Accra.
32:02 Some of the offices that have come to be with us now, like the regional police headquarters,
32:08 most of the places becoming divisions, the immigration, GRA, that is customs, and other
32:17 things, those offices didn't used to what?
32:20 Exist from among us.
32:21 So definitely, if this is our first encounter, there are so many things that people, out
32:28 of ignorance, might not know how to approach it.
32:31 And something that you could have gone to do it yourself.
32:34 You approach a public officer to do it.
32:36 If that person does not have that goodwill or a high moral standing, the person might
32:42 want to do it by taking advantage of you.
32:46 So such a perception, to some extent, should not be something I would want to disagree
32:53 completely with.
32:54 But I feel that those of us who are public officers, and we have been put in charge of
32:59 other people, we shouldn't take advantage of what?
33:03 Their ignorance to enrich ourselves.
33:06 I will take this seriously, and probably in the coming days, engage heads of the public
33:14 institutions, talk about teachers, talk about the police service, other security agencies,
33:20 and then the Lands Commission.
33:23 I will try to engage and let them know that this is the perception out there, and then
33:28 it needs to be honest with our people.
33:32 Going forward, how do we, I mean, beyond what you've said, engaging the heads of departments
33:36 and all that, how do we, as much as possible, nip this in the bud?
33:41 So that Otis' name doesn't come as a front-liner in terms of corruption-related activities.
33:48 Yeah, I think our citizens will have to also be confident in themselves.
33:54 When you are seeking a public service, it is your right, and within your domain, to
34:00 go for it.
34:01 So if we get there, and you are not being served, at least now, our system has been
34:08 decentralized to a certain level.
34:11 We have assembly members, unit committee members, then the district assembly, the social welfare
34:18 people, the human rights people, they are there.
34:21 Approach them when you are seeking a service from a public officer, and you are finding
34:28 challenges.
34:29 These are people who are there, NCC is there, to also educate you on how to get some of
34:34 this.
34:35 I think that's what we should also be doing.
34:37 Intensify education among our people.
34:39 They should know what they can request for, and the right they have to be furnished with
34:44 that information.
34:45 Nana Nnum and then other religious leaders, they are our sermons, and we should incorporate
34:51 some of these things that are the rights of the people, so that they will know when to
34:56 demand and when not to.
35:00 Our people, too, they have that desire that, "Oh, let's push it, and then it will be
35:05 done very fast."
35:06 If you need, you need a document to use next week.
35:09 Start looking for the document today.
35:11 You don't wait until it is a day to the document, then you go there and say, "Look, I can give
35:16 you."
35:17 Sometimes, it is not even the public officers who request directly.
35:20 It is those who seek the service who tell, "Look, I'll give you this so that you can
35:24 do this for me."
35:25 Then they go back to make it look like it was the person who requested.
35:31 Let's head to South Africa now, where President Siruama Posa says his government is working
35:37 through the African Union to end several conflicts and to restore constitutional order in countries
35:43 which recently experienced coups.
35:45 The West African sub-regional body, a couple of days ago, announced that it was working
35:50 in conjunction with the AU to tackle the political situation in Niger, where the presidential
35:55 guard deposed a democratically elected president, Mohamed Mbassoum.
36:00 Speaking in a televised address last night, Mr. Rama Posa lamented the latest developments
36:05 could undermine the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is being hosted by Ghana,
36:11 aimed at liberalizing trade and promoting mutual growth and development across Africa.
36:16 We are working towards the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area,
36:23 which is set to eliminate trade barriers, boost intra-African trade, and achieve prosperity
36:31 for all of Africa.
36:33 It will also accelerate manufacturing and industrial capacity on our continent.
36:40 The vibrant trading Africa we seek to build depends on Africa being stable and peaceful.
36:50 For our continent Africa to thrive, we must silence the guns.
36:56 We continue to work within the African Union to end several ongoing conflicts on the continent
37:04 and restore constitutional and democratic government to countries that have recently
37:11 experienced coups.
37:14 South Africa is directly involved in a number of efforts to bring peace to Africa.
37:20 We are currently involved in supporting the people of Mozambique and the Democratic Republic
37:26 of Congo to ensure that there is peace and stability in their countries.
37:33 The administration that I have the honor to lead has been devoted to attracting greater
37:40 trade and investment into South Africa.
37:43 Every visit we make to countries on our continent and across the world, and every visit by heads
37:51 of state from other countries, focuses on strengthening economic ties between our country
37:59 and those countries.
38:03 Meanwhile, experts are looking forward to observing how South Africa will deal with
38:07 Russia on the activities of the mercenary army, the Wagner Group, which is being accused
38:12 of supporting military regimes in West Africa as over 30 world leaders converge in South
38:18 Africa for the 15-week summit in Johannesburg.
38:22 Head of our Foreign Affairs Desk, Blaset Soga, will be joining us later.
38:26 Meanwhile, Indonesia's co-leader has promised to return the West African country to civilian
38:34 rule within three years.
38:36 General Abderrahman Chian has made the announcement after meeting mediators from West Africa's
38:41 regional bloc, Ekoas, in the capital, Niamey.
38:44 Ekoas has threatened military action to reverse last month's overthrow of President Bassem
38:49 Eftokosvile.
38:50 The Janta head said that Niger did not want a war but will defend itself against any foreign
38:57 intervention.
38:58 Thousands of men came to a stadium in Niamey on a Saturday to register for a volunteer
39:04 force in case of invasion.
39:06 Although overcrowding prevented the registration process from starting, the writer's news
39:11 agency reports, regional efforts to reverse the coup have been backed by the US and France,
39:17 which both have military bases in Niger.
39:20 These bases are part of efforts to tackle jihadist groups in the wider Sahel region.
39:25 The Janta leader, who headed the presidential guard before seizing power on 26 July, said
39:32 military intervention could worsen the Islamist insurgencies linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic
39:38 State group.
39:39 The situation in Niger, as regards timelines given by the Janta to hand over power, is
39:44 unique.
39:45 Now let's have a look at how the Mali and Burkina Faso situations were handled by both
39:51 the Janta and Ekoas.
39:53 And as you can see on your screen, between 2021 and 2023, five coups were reported in
39:59 Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
40:06 And the sanctions instituted in Mali, one, the Ekoas instituted a ban on trade of goods
40:13 except for food, of course, and fuel and medicine, also cut off from regional financial market
40:20 and suspended from Ekoas until the instituted constitutional rule.
40:25 Now, a 24-month transition agreed upon after Ekoas rejected their 36-month proposal.
40:36 In Guinea, Ekoas condemned the coup, suspended their membership from Ekoas, and also demanded
40:43 that they return to constitutional rule.
40:46 Now, they agreed to send a high-level mission to Guinea.
40:50 The Janta there proposed their own three-year transition timeline, and this is for Guinea.
40:58 Now, in Burkina Faso, the Janta was suspended from Ekoas' governing bodies, and also Ekoas
41:07 condemned the coup but remained inactive for a period.
41:11 Now, no sanctions were immediately imposed.
41:15 The Janta agreed to return to democracy in 24 months.
41:24 In the Gambia, Yayan Jammeh refused to step down, but then 7,000 troops led by Senegal
41:32 marched up at the border of Gambia.
41:36 The troops ensured a transition to democracy in three days' record time.
41:41 Barrow was sworn in as president.
41:49 In Guinea-Bissau, Ekoas deployed some 631 troops, mainly from Nigeria and Senegal.
41:56 The troops protected public buildings and institutions.
42:03 Now, from all these scenarios, the ultimatum given by Ekoas to these various Jantas failed.
42:13 I mean, the timelines that these countries, especially Mali, Burkina Faso, the Gambia
42:19 and the rest, couldn't adhere to the time, they didn't adhere to the time and couldn't,
42:26 you know, bring back constitutional rule between those periods.
42:30 Also, diplomatic negotiations are still ongoing in all these five countries and are yet to
42:35 seek any favorable outcome in these countries.
42:39 Military intervention on the part of Ekoas is still yet to be done.
42:52 We'll be right back with Business.
42:56 [Music]
43:00 Hi, welcome to Business.
43:02 My name is Daryl Powell.
43:04 The Economist Intelligence Unit is predicting that Ghana will reach an agreement with its
43:08 external creditors in the coming weeks to pave way for the restructuring of foreign loans.
43:13 This is disclosure from its newest document titled "Outlook for Global Sovereign Credit Risk,"
43:19 and there is more in this report.
43:21 This will come as a piece of good news for the country as it will be on schedule to begin
43:27 its external debt restructuring.
43:29 According to the UK-based firm, Ghana has advanced with its negotiation for external
43:34 debt restructuring.
43:36 The country, in December 2022, requested a bilateral debt restructuring under the Common
43:42 Framework for Debt Treatment supported by the G20.
43:47 In June this year, the government sent a non-binding working debt restructuring proposal to official
43:53 bilateral creditors, signifying the beginning of a negotiation process that the EIU said
44:00 it expects to conclude in the coming weeks.
44:03 Ghana and five other countries defaulted on their loans in 2022 as public finances became
44:10 strained whilst interest rates surged.
44:14 The UK-based firm added that many more countries are expected to record debt defaults this
44:20 year, and most of these countries at the highest risk of debt default are in Africa.
44:26 Meantime, the government is likely to extend the second round of domestic debt exchange
44:31 program for about a week.
44:33 This is despite receiving about 90% participation in the domestic dollar bonds and cocoa bills.
44:39 Here's more.
44:40 Based on their engagement with persons with knowledge of the offer results, they say the
44:46 extension should be described as an administrative one, and not because the offer wasn't successful.
44:53 This is because the domestic dollar bonds and the cocoa bills had about 90% participation.
44:59 However, when it comes to the pension funds, most of the fund managers wanted some extra
45:04 time to properly collate the offers that have come in.
45:08 Hence the need for this administrative extension.
45:11 The offer, which began on July 14, has already been extended by once already.
45:16 Government is hoping to restructure 60 billion Ghana City's worth of bonds in this last round
45:23 of domestic debt exchange program.
45:25 That is, the domestic dollar bonds, the cocoa bills, and the pension funds.
45:31 The holders of these funds are expected to exchange their papers for new bonds.
45:36 Sources say based on these results, government can say that it has technically concluded
45:41 the domestic debt exchange program.
45:43 This should help the country in securing the second round of IMF cash by the end of this year.
45:50 Now, interest rates surged from the money market to 31.08% as the government's borrowing
45:57 spree on the domestic market continued.
45:59 According to results of Treasury Bill's auction by the Bank of Ghana, the government
46:03 has a 3.45 billion cities, 12.91% lower than the ambitious targeted amount of 3.96 billion cities.
46:10 Interest rates in Ghana rank the highest in middle-income countries in Africa.
46:16 The rates, however, are lower than the inflation of 43%, indicating that the real rate of return
46:23 on investment is negative.
46:25 According to data from the Bank of Ghana, the yield on the '91 debt bill increased
46:30 from 21.61% to 26.70%.
46:34 That of the 182 debt bill reached 27.88% from 27.59% the previous week.
46:42 The one-year bill reached that by 0.39% to a total of 1.08%.
46:48 Meanwhile, demand for the 182 debt bill for the first time in several years exceeded the
46:53 '91 debt bill.
46:55 Investors tended 1.69 billion cities for the six-month bill.
46:59 All the bets were accepted.
47:01 Investors also offered 1.63 billion cities for the '91 debt bill, in which all the bets were accepted.
47:08 And that's business.
47:12 The news continues after the break.
47:14 Welcome back.
47:21 Now, students of Kratu Senior High School in the O2 region are battling lack of portable
47:25 water on campus.
47:27 The students are having to trek to town to buy a gallon of water at one Ghana city.
47:32 The situation is affecting academic work prompting school authorities to make an urgent appeal
47:37 to government and NGOs to come to their aid.
47:39 There's more in the following report.
47:42 For many people, access to portable water is not a challenge, even if supply is irregular.
47:49 But this is not the situation for students of the Kratu Senior High School in the O2 region.
47:55 The school is grappling with acute lack of water, which always threatens to put on hold
48:00 teaching and learning in the institution.
48:03 Students have to leave campus carrying gallons into the community to purchase water at their
48:09 own cost, which is impacting their finances adversely.
48:14 The students say their academic work is being affected as they use time for study hunting
48:20 for water.
48:22 Lack of water is a great concern for us.
48:27 I spend 80 pesos on water daily.
48:30 This is affecting me financially.
48:33 Government and O2 students must help us.
48:49 The issue of no water is really worrying us.
48:52 It is affecting our academics.
48:54 After class, we have to go around town in search of water.
49:01 We come back usually tired and we are unable to study at premise.
49:06 Students make disguise themselves as if they are going to fetch water.
49:12 This is the same water problem around town.
49:15 We take it as an opportunity.
49:19 If it is possible, we will say it so that the government will come and help us.
49:24 If possible, we will fortify the school.
49:26 The challenges our school is facing is about the water problem.
49:30 That is the major challenge we are facing in this school, which we think if it is solved,
49:36 our academic performance and a lot of things will improve in this school.
49:40 We are pleading with the people and the O2 students to help us with our water problem.
49:45 When the girls are, you know, they have mental issues.
49:58 When they are within that mental period,
50:02 just to say that, it affects them because they need the water.
50:06 They need water to have to watch their, to go to the, to watch their, their, their, their,
50:12 their paths and whatever.
50:14 So the water affects them a lot.
50:17 Without the water, so some of them, you will be surprised that some may even,
50:22 if they don't have the water, they may stay in the dormitory without coming to class.
50:26 Authorities of the school say their efforts to get the school potable water
50:31 has yielded no results and are appealing to government and private institutions for support.
50:37 Our students have to travel to town to fetch water every day.
50:41 And it has posed a lot of challenges for us.
50:44 Some of them use it as an excuse to run to town,
50:47 to do a lot of things that bring a lot of problems or challenges to the school.
50:52 They use that as an excuse to break bounds all the time.
50:56 Apart from the water challenge, we also have the challenge with accommodation.
51:00 We don't have enough dormitory facilities to accommodate all our girls.
51:06 Whilst help is on the way, if any, these students have to struggle daily,
51:13 with all the risks associated, leaving campus every day
51:17 to battle it out with other community members for water.
51:21 Meanwhile, some students are also taking advantage of the situation
51:25 to run to town without permission.
51:29 And that's it for Newsdesk.
51:31 I'm Amisinyam Chethams.
51:33 And thanks for your company.
51:34 There's more news on myjoyonline.com.
51:38 Thanks.
51:42 ♪