#OccupyBoG Demo: We will not leave untill the Governor receives our petition - Minority Leader
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Transcript
00:00 You can see that a scaffold. You can see that a scaffold. You can see that a scaffold. You
00:28 can see that a scaffold. Personnel of the Ghana Police Service are behind the barricades
00:45 mounted here specifically at the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue. The demonstrators want to use the
00:51 road, the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue. Police says no, you should use the castle road. The protesters
01:03 are also saying no, they want to use the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue. They are saying that this
01:10 is a shorter route that will get them to the Bank of Ghana, the central bank where they
01:17 want to occupy. Earlier, the chairman of the National Democratic Congress, Johnson Esiadu
01:24 Nketiah, stated emphatically that it is the Bank of Ghana they want to occupy. In fact,
01:32 he described the Bank of Ghana as a crime scene and said that is where they want to
01:39 occupy and that is where they are going to go. So yes, this intersection has become busy
01:52 now. Protesters saying they want to use the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue road which leads down
02:01 to the central business district and connects to Tama Station and then to Kwame Nkrumah
02:07 Mausoleum, to the old Parliament House and then to the central bank. But police says
02:13 they should use the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue. That is the source of disagreement between
02:18 the protesters and personnel from the Ghana Police Service. This is what a crowd looks
02:27 like. It's a sea of people on this road, on the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue. For previous protests
02:37 that I've covered, I was able to see the end of the protest. That is not the case today.
02:49 It's a sea of people who have poured onto the streets today to demand a resignation
02:56 of the governor of the central bank and his two deputies.
03:18 My name is Frank. Frank what? Bobo Afo. Okay. You've seen the disagreements here. Protesters
03:26 want to use the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue road. Police says no, use the castle road. We are
03:33 on a peaceful demonstration. We agree on the route. We don't know why they have changed
03:38 the route. But whatever the case, we are at our destination. What do you make of what
03:47 is happening here? The disagreement, the near scaffold here? We want to give you...
04:12 A lot of placards here. Addison must go. No jobs for the youth. We can't buy K and
04:38 K. You can see some head porters also here taking part in the protest. Those are sights
04:53 and sounds from the Occupy BOG protests. If you heard Maxwell Agbogba, he said there are
04:59 actually other central business districts heading towards the Bank of Ghana. They have
05:05 already notified that they will picket at the Bank of Ghana premises. But earlier there
05:11 was some misunderstanding between the organizers and the police. But they say they will still
05:17 get to their destination. Listen to the leaders of the protest. What we are seeing today,
05:23 we think that this particular governor should not be allowed to stay in office. He's a printer.
05:29 And we all know what printing does. Printing of money is like an alcoholism. The perceived
05:37 good effect comes immediate and the hangover comes after the party. This Akufu Addo government,
05:46 together with the governor, hasn't been fair to the people of Ghana. In fact, Governor
05:52 Addison printed for President Akufu Addo for them to live a champagne lifestyle on an appetizing
06:01 budget. We can't continue this way. Today, look at what is happening to our economy.
06:07 Ghanaians are struggling, finding it very difficult to survive. In fact, some are struggling
06:13 to eat three times a day. We can't continue this way. And so clearly, clearly what is
06:20 happening in this country cannot continue. We want this government out. The governor
06:25 must go and the president must be allowed to appoint a new set of Bank of Ghana team.
06:34 And that's what we're waiting for.
06:36 We have the minority leader here, Kastelatu Fosse. Let's find out from him. You're live
06:42 on Joy News on the AM show right now. The last time you spoke on Joy FM, you had disagreements.
06:47 You said that you had disagreements with the police on the route for this demonstration.
06:52 We want to find out, is the minority, are the protesters going to go with the police
06:58 directly?
06:59 The route, so we are ready to work with the Ghana Police Service. They are indeed here
07:05 to protect us. This protest is organized by the minority in parliament, the official opposition
07:13 in this country. We have every right under the constitution to protest. And as part of
07:19 our oversight responsibilities, we can use this route to express our revulsion against
07:28 the conduct of the central bank. Our position is simple. The Ghana Police Service must show
07:35 us where the security zone ends. The so-called security zones. We'll comply with that. We'll
07:41 get to the end of the security zone with the protesters. And at that point, I, together
07:49 with the leadership of the NDC minority in parliament, must be allowed to walk to the
07:56 central bank to present petition. That should be received by the governor himself. He must
08:03 be the one to receive our petition. I won't just hand over to him, we'll read it to his
08:08 hearing and we'll demand his exit today. If he fails to exit, there will be a series of
08:15 actions against him.
08:17 So what happens if the governor of the Bank of Ghana does not come out to receive your
08:21 petition?
08:22 Then we will not live there.
08:23 You will not live there?
08:24 We will not live there until he receives the petition.
08:27 You'll stay there throughout the night?
08:29 Yeah, yeah.
08:30 Till tomorrow?
08:31 We'll live till I can, we'll stay there till I can come. He must be the one to receive
08:33 the petition.
08:34 Not him or not him.
08:35 Not even a rep from the central bank?
08:36 No, no, no.
08:37 We are not protesting against staff. We are protesting against the conduct of a governor.
08:47 Against the conduct of the governor.
08:50 It's intended to send a signal over a disagreement or a dissatisfaction with a particular conduct.
08:59 So the route that is chosen for that protest is significant and important. I do not see
09:06 why it should be a problem for Ghanaians to march to the Bank of Ghana to present a petition
09:12 to the governor. I do not see what a serious violation of law and order that would constitute.
09:18 So I am quite frankly surprised that the police wants to create the impression that it is
09:22 such a major difficulty and that they cannot offer security.
09:26 The people who have showed up for this demonstration have no intention of going to cause chaos
09:31 or going to engage in any unlawful acts. They just want to show presence at the destination
09:38 where the greatest harm has been done to the Ghanaian economy.
09:42 So I don't think that any problem should arise. The police should have adequate capacity to
09:47 ensure that no law is breached or that law and order is not undermined.
09:53 And therefore we are determined to achieve that objective of going to the Bank of Ghana
09:58 to present our petition to the governor.
10:01 Why the Bank of Ghana and not the Jibli House like we have seen in recent times?
10:06 If you say that the back stopped with the president, one would say that it should be at the Jibli House, not the Bank of Ghana.
10:12 We are aware that it is the president and the sidekick, Aladji Baumea, who are behind the collapse of the Ghanaian economy.
10:18 We are fully aware of that. But the governor is symbolic to the extent that it symbolizes
10:25 institutional decay. You know the governor has adequate powers in Ghanaian law to prevent what happens.
10:33 He has a right to refuse to comply with any request that has detrimental effects on the Ghanaian economy.
10:40 But he didn't do it. So the protest is symbolic in that it is to send a signal to any and everybody
10:46 conspiring with the Akufu Addo Baumea government to do damage to this Ghanaian economy
10:52 that the people of Ghana will hold them accountable.
10:55 So it is the first in a series of steps to drum up that point.
10:59 And what happens if the governor and his two deputies do not resign?
11:04 We will not relent in making that demand until he goes.
11:09 So a real showdown is about to take place.
11:12 A real showdown is about to take place?
11:13 Absolutely.
11:14 The governor is a coward. Dr Edison is a coward.
11:18 He has been a coward for seven years. He has been a coward for seven years.
11:23 And at least every year we invite him twice to appear because of the Auditor General's report.
11:29 And I can say on authority that Dr Edison himself has appeared before the Public Accounts Committee
11:34 maybe two or three times in seven years. He is a coward. He runs away from his own work.
11:38 From his own failings. Most times he sends his deputy, Maxwell.
11:42 And I won't be surprised that today it would be Maxwell who would have the balls to come out.
11:46 Edison himself won't come out. Edison is a coward. And I'm putting it to him.
11:49 You are a coward. And you have failed. You are a colossal failure.
11:53 Because look, where we sit as a country, let's call a spade a spade.
11:56 We have 196 central banks for 196 countries across the world.
12:02 In 2022, the Central Bank of Ghana, the Bank of Ghana, came last.
12:09 We had the worst performing currency in the world.
12:13 Our currency was worse than the currency of Yemen.
12:16 Was worse than the currency of Syria.
12:18 Worse than the currency of South Sudan.
12:21 Worse than the currency of Yemen.
12:23 Worse than the currency of Ukraine.
12:25 Zimbabwe.
12:27 Our currency was worse.
12:29 So, come on. If you sent your child to school,
12:35 and the teacher you asked to teach your child, or the lesson teacher who is teaching your child at home,
12:40 and he goes to write a licensure exam, and in Ghana comes last, would you continue?
12:44 But what even annoys us as young people the most,
12:47 is that in 2022, they increase their allowances to themselves by 100%,
12:52 and pay themselves 8.7 million as allowances for coming last.
12:56 This is the failing of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana.
12:59 This is the same Governor of the Bank of Ghana who in 2022,
13:02 apart from borrowing in excess of the 5%, 38 billion,
13:06 to the Government of Ghana in clear violation of the Bank of Ghana Act.
13:12 Alright, let's go back to the Occupy BOG protest,
13:17 where they are at the moment.
13:19 We're hearing of a stillmate between the organizers and the police.
13:23 Maxwell Abagba will bring us all the updates.
13:26 Hello, Aisha, can you hear me?
13:50 I'm Claire Maxwell.
13:57 Yes, Aisha, the situation has not changed.
14:00 We're still here on the Kwame Nkrumah.
14:03 [No audio]
14:14 [Music]
14:43 We are waiting for the leadership.
14:46 The leadership is behind us right now, but we are getting closer to them.
14:51 We are waiting for them to get closer, so that they'll see what will happen.
14:55 Behind me, lots of police officers, all of them are from OCS,
15:01 this mountain barricade, and they're saying that the protesters
15:04 both have to use the Castle Road.
15:13 Maxwell, have they been able to present their protest to the Governor of the Bank of Ghana?
15:20 No, not yet. Not yet. They've not been able to present their position.
15:24 In fact, they are still here on the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue.
15:28 The Kwame Nkrumah Avenue road.
15:30 That road connects to the Central District.
15:33 But they are not yet at the Central Bank, that's the Bank of Ghana.
15:39 They are standing on the street because the police have barricaded the road.
15:45 Barricaded the road from the human wall on that side,
15:49 and then also barricaded the water channel.
15:53 Like we saw some weeks ago, some weeks ago, you know, also there.
16:00 You can see, they are very agitated at this point.
16:05 Angry that they are not being allowed to use the road in front of the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue stretch.
16:14 Let's see what is going to happen. Let's get close up and see if we can speak to
16:19 what they make of this.
16:25 [Speaking in Swahili]
16:30 Maxwell Agbagba there with some updates from the Occupy BOG protest.
16:43 And we understand there is a stalemate between the organizers and the police.
16:48 We are told that they were not agreeing on the route, which has been the problem since day one.
16:56 Maxwell Agbagba is back. Maxwell?
16:59 [Speaking in Swahili]
17:04 I don't know if you have information on what is happening ahead of us.
17:08 The road has been barricaded by the police. They formed a human wall.
17:11 They've mounted barricades.
17:13 The demonstrators want to use the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue road.
17:17 The police say they want to use the Castle Road.
17:19 We know there has been a source of disagreement between you, the organizers, and the police.
17:23 What do you make of the situation?
17:25 Well, as far as we are aware, the agreement was for us to go this way.
17:34 The Castle Road?
17:36 Yes, and take a left turn.
17:38 Our intention, really, is to get to the new Bank of Ghana building, where the construction is taking place.
17:45 That's the site right after the Electoral Commission.
17:48 That is our focus.
17:50 The information we are getting is that some of the demonstrators are unhappy.
17:55 The police want us to truncate the movement at this point and take the left turn.
18:02 I think it is a needless confrontation.
18:05 I don't think that it will serve anybody's interest to want to antagonize these numbers.
18:13 I mean, it is in the interest of the police to act.
18:17 [inaudible]
18:19 Of the marches.
18:21 I'll be talking to someone who could get to Aplakwa shortly.
18:24 But what we can see out of us is that the police are not enforcing.
18:31 It's urging the protesters to move, to follow him.
18:35 At this point, we don't know what is going to happen.
18:38 [inaudible]
18:46 Let's see if we can talk to the minority leader, Kasola Tufosu.
18:51 [inaudible]
18:55 We are live on TRY News right now.
18:57 We are live on TRY News.
18:58 Minority leader.
18:59 [inaudible]
19:01 Okay, let's see if we can get a word from him.
19:05 I'll come back to you.
19:07 Okay, he's [inaudible]
19:10 What's going to happen at this point is in the company of some police officers.
19:16 Remember, this has been the source of disagreement between personnel of the Ghana Police Service and the organizers of this demonstration.
19:25 [inaudible]
19:35 When do we have to cut the road?
19:37 [inaudible]
19:45 Let's see what is going to happen right now.
19:49 Minority leader Kasola Tufosu seemed to agree that the agreement was to use the castle road.
20:07 So I have with me here the National Youth Organizer of the NDC, Georgia Pariado.
20:11 National Youth Organizer of the NDC.
20:13 A lot of the people taking part in this protest are young people.
20:17 You've seen the source of disagreements here.
20:23 The demonstrators saying they want to use the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue road down to the CBD to the BOG.
20:28 Police says they'll use the castle road.
20:30 As a National Youth Organizer, what are you telling them?
20:32 We agreed before this demonstration on the certain routes we are using.
20:37 The route was to go through this road in front of the party office and then proceed towards the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum.
20:45 Unfortunately, we got here this morning and the police have changed the route of the engagement.
20:49 We've agreed with the police that we are going to take this immediate turn.
20:53 The castle road.
20:54 And then go all the way through the Rage Hospital and then towards the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum.
20:58 So you can see the crowd has started moving.
21:01 That's contrary to what the demonstrators want.
21:03 They say they want to use the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue down to the CBD.
21:08 The original route we agreed on was going through the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue route.
21:12 But this morning, I understand the police had a press conference yesterday and altered the route.
21:17 But our leadership together with the police have agreed as of this morning that we are going to resort to this route.
21:22 So that is exactly what we are going to do.
21:23 So the road we are taking right now is the Kodjo Thompson road?
21:26 This is Kodjo Thompson road.
21:28 The castle road leads to the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum.
21:30 No, the castle road is where you have the Holy Spirit Cathedral.
21:34 So we are going through this route, through Rage Hospital, to the Holy Spirit Cathedral, through Rage Hospital, and then towards the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum.
21:41 What they did to us on Thursday and on Saturday, Friday, by stopping us from going through the Jolobi Thief House.
21:49 They are doing the same thing today. Right?
21:52 They are doing the same thing today. Stopping law enforcement.
21:56 You can see that is the sign for you, Castle Road.
21:59 And that is what the protesters have been directed to use.
22:02 In fact, you saw the minors, the police, the law enforcement rushing here to calm down the protesters.
22:11 To tell them that this is the route they agreed.
22:15 This is the route they agreed with the police.
22:18 So the protesters, the demonstrators, should use this route.
22:23 The demonstrators, however, disagree with the leadership.
22:26 [Protesters chanting]
22:46 [Protesters chanting]
22:57 Essentially what he was saying is that President Nduku Fwate, the government is taxing on their lottery wins.
23:05 The government is also taxing their bets.
23:07 And he says he fears that when he is going to get married, the government will tax him for getting married as well.
23:13 You are supposed to do this. What?
23:16 Are you a former worker of GN Bank?
23:19 And what are you saying? Anadolu revoked BOG and the Ministry of Finance license and restored GN Bank.
23:27 Why? What have you been doing? You've been unemployed?
23:30 No, no, no. I'm unemployed.
23:33 How long have you been unemployed?
23:35 For four years.
23:36 For four years?
23:37 For four years. Since 2019. I've been unemployed.
23:40 I'm unemployed. You understand?
23:43 The banks, the owners of the banks in this country are hypocrites.
23:49 They are supposed to do this demonstration.
23:55 Because now, look at the introduction of the GDEP.
24:00 They have introduced those programs to destroy the banks.
24:03 You understand? They are supposed to do what?
24:05 They are supposed to do this demonstration.
24:07 Not even the citizens. The banks in Ghana are supposed to do this.
24:11 The financial institutions in Ghana are supposed to do this demonstration.
24:15 Because of what they introduced, you know, the banks have lost all their capitals.
24:22 They've lost all their capitals.
24:24 Now, now, now, now, now, now, it's calling for recapitalization.
24:30 They are supposed to do this demonstration.
24:32 Not even the citizens.
24:34 The banks. Commercial banks, ADB, Fidelity, Acrobank, they are supposed to do this demonstration.
24:39 It is very, very bad. It is very, very bad. Serious.
24:43 What's your name?
24:44 My name is Philip Sapia.
24:46 I did the one-man demonstration.
24:49 You are saying that you've been unemployed for four years.
24:52 For four years.
24:53 You are feeding your family. How do you...
24:55 How can I feed them? How can I feed them?
24:57 How can I feed them? I'm struggling.
24:59 How can I feed my family? I can't feed them.
25:01 Not at all.
25:02 I can't feed them. Not at all.
25:04 I have no job. I have nothing to do.
25:06 How can I feed my family?
25:08 I can't feed them.
25:10 I can't feed them.
25:11 So you can still ask me questions for me to answer you.
25:14 I can't feed my family.
25:15 They are struggling.
25:16 As I'm talking to you, my child's school fees, my children's school fees have been piled up.
25:22 Has been piled up.
25:24 Now I'm looking for money to go and pay those monies.
25:27 You understand?
25:28 So it's difficult for me to pay their fees and I don't have anything to feed them.
25:32 Welcome to join us.
25:43 Oh, thank you so much.
25:44 Tell us, you've been working from Zeko all the way to this point.
25:48 What has the experience been like for you?
25:51 Well, it's been very good.
25:53 The enthusiasm is high. The commitment is high.
25:56 We are fighting to relieve Ghana from the troubles we are going through.
26:00 From Narnado, supported by a fraudulent Bank of Ghana transaction that wasted so much money.
26:08 More than 60 billion bond wasted.
26:11 So it's important for us to demonstrate our anger and our frustrations.
26:18 Because this is a government we have confidence in because of the promises they have made.
26:24 And see what is happening.
26:26 Premier said about Bank of Ghana being the source of our income.
26:32 That we were borrowing too much.
26:34 There was so much money in Bank of Ghana.
26:36 Today, after spending everything in Bank of Ghana, they have overshot the balance by 66 billion Ghana cities.
26:44 And I've gone ahead to also...
26:46 ...we all know is that it's a source of siphon of money into private pockets.
26:59 We can't be in a country with these kinds of things happening around us.
27:03 Okay, thank you very much.
27:05 ...member of parliament, Rashid Koppou.
27:09 We also have... Johnson is here to...
27:16 Let's see if it will be possible for us to speak to him.
27:19 Chairman, we are live on Troy News right now.
27:21 We are live on Troy News.
27:23 And in a country where numbers matter a lot in demonstrations.
27:28 You've seen the number. What's your own estimation of the numbers here today?
27:31 Well, it's overwhelming.
27:33 And I guess you have to bear the testimony.
27:36 I cannot be satisfied for myself.
27:38 But as I promised you in the studio last night, that this is a demonstration for the youth.
27:45 The youth is taking control of their future.
27:49 I think the youth has responded.
27:52 And I think I'm very impressed.
27:54 And I'm also impressed about the activism of all our members of parliament.
28:00 They've done extremely well under the new leadership.
28:04 And I think that going forward we are heading towards victory.
28:09 You described the Bank of Ghana as a crime scene.
28:12 You said it's got a security zone.
28:14 And you're saying that it's important for the numbers here to occupy the BOG.
28:21 Don't you think that's a recipe for chaos?
28:24 No, the actual recipe for chaos is the mismanagement at the place.
28:30 And the refusal of leadership of the country to discipline people and hold them to account for wrongdoing.
28:38 If you have a bank which is supported by its own regulations,
28:43 and the government and leadership of the bank, they flood their own laws with impunity.
28:49 They need to go.
28:51 That's all. Because we are in crisis.
28:53 And we want to take this nation out of the crisis.
28:56 And the same people, the same style of thinking that created the problem,
29:01 cannot be relied upon to solve that problem.
29:04 And I'm happy that the IMF is in town.
29:09 Today, the Commonwealth speakers of all the Commonwealth countries are in town.
29:16 Members of parliament from Commonwealth countries are in town.
29:19 The hypocrisy of this government has been badly exposed.
29:23 And I think that this is the beginning of the fall of the Akufu Addo Baumea fraudulent government.
29:30 The fall of the government, the Akufu Addo Baumea government?
29:33 The fall of the Akufu Addo Baumea fraudulent government.
29:38 Okay, that's an adjective.
29:40 The president himself has thrown his hands out there that all these problems will be solved by the next leader.
29:48 So what is he doing there? What is he being paid for?
29:51 You are being paid to do a job.
29:53 There are problems.
29:55 Everybody is rallying around the president to solve those problems.
29:59 And you indicated to us even during COVID time, you know how to fix the economy.
30:04 But you cannot bring people from death to life.
30:09 Now these are the problems. Solve them.
30:11 And you say, let's wait for the next president.
30:14 If we are to wait for the next president, you better pack and go home.
30:18 So it saves us the salary we are paying you because you have admitted that you are not doing anything there.
30:23 And you cannot solve any of the problems.
30:25 But to stand there and think that in this mess you can impose, you can continue to impose another leader on us to come and continue your mess.
30:37 Ghanaians will not take it.
30:39 Okay, finally, finally before you go, Chairman.
30:41 So the goal is to occupy the road in front of the Bank of Ghana?
30:46 Are you going to go there or is the leadership that will go?
30:49 You talk to the leadership.
30:51 I am here to show solidarity to the youth.
30:55 I was not part of the planning of the route.
30:58 And so they will tell you where we are passing.
31:01 But wherever they are passing, I am with them.
31:03 If we have to sleep, I will sleep with them.
31:05 Really?
31:06 Yes.
31:07 Okay, thank you.
31:08 So you just heard MDC Chairman Johnson and CEDU Iketia.
31:12 Earlier...
31:15 Earlier...
31:16 ...the Bank of Ghana actually as a crime scene and said they are going to occupy the Bank of Ghana.
31:24 The central bank actually.
31:26 He said that is the goal and that is where they want to get to.
31:31 Let's try to speak to more people.
31:33 [Crowd shouting]
31:56 Mr. Sosu, you have also seen the numbers here.
31:59 We will go forward a bit.
32:00 You have also seen the numbers here.
32:02 We want to find out what you make so far of this protest.
32:05 Well, I think that it has been very massive.
32:08 It tells you how prepared Ghanaians are to pour out their disappointments and disagreements.
32:17 I have always said that in every democracy, the only tool available to citizens to truly express their grievances is the ability...
32:28 [Cut]
32:34 ...of the Republic.
32:35 We are only taking on an institution of state.
32:38 This institution is supposed to be independent and this institution is supposed to...
32:44 [Cut]
32:47 ...of this country, manage our monetary policy, manage our fiscal policy...
32:52 [Cut]
32:54 ...for badly mismanaged, you know, the BOG.
32:58 And remember that recently, one of the reasons why most banks were collapsed...
33:03 [Cut]
33:06 ...where, where, where, where...
33:08 [Cut]
33:09 ...I say, well, let me put it...
33:10 [Cut]
33:13 [Music]
33:19 You have illegally printed over 70...
33:22 [Cut]
33:26 [Music]
33:37 Certainly a charged atmosphere there will definitely take you back there and get you all the sights and sounds happening there.
33:47 You heard Maxwell Agbogba speak with some key members of the NDC.
33:51 You have a chairman of the NDC saying that the protests and the numbers that poured out speaks volumes as to how the economy is affecting the citizenry.
34:01 We'll take you back to that venue and for you to witness exactly what is happening there.
34:08 Yet to actually present their petition to the governor of the Bank of Ghana, they say.
34:14 You heard Sam George say that the governor is a coward because he cannot come out to take the petition.
34:23 We're looking forward to who takes that petition.
34:27 We'll bring you all of that right now.
34:29 Let's get on to other stories.
34:31 Over 90 percent of Ghanaian kidney failure patients who desperately need dialysis don't have access to this life-saving treatment.
34:39 This is according to a yet-to-be-published study titled "50 Years of..."
34:46 This study, authored by a nephrologist at the KNUSC, Eliyof Kranten Tano, and his dedicated team, has unveiled statistics that expose the harsh reality of the situation.
34:58 Dr. Tano was on the Super Morning Show earlier to give further details on the study. Let's hear him.
35:05 What we see in the clinics are so small as compared to what we think is the main problem.
35:11 Because these people happen to be in Accra, they know 37, they know Kolebu.
35:15 How about those in the Upper East, Upper West region who probably will be going through the same symptoms and be told that,
35:23 "Oh, it is something that they did wrong in terms of their body or whatever it is that they did."
35:31 So probably they don't even care to get into the health facility.
35:34 So far as the numbers are concerned, like you rightly said, we believe that some 13% of our population have some form of kidney disease.
35:41 So if we are assuming, averagely, we are about over 30 million, some 4 million of us have some form of kidney disease here in Ghana.
35:50 Now the key thing is that the majority of the 4 million, chances are that will be fine.
35:55 They might not even get kidney disease, get kidney failure, I should say, and need dialysis.
36:00 But there is a chunk that might end up doing that and as per our ballpark figures that we put together in that paper,
36:06 in the sense that we believe some 15,000 people might end up requiring kidney replacement therapy or dialysis.
36:14 Now as per some survey that we did not long ago in terms of finding out how many people are currently on dialysis across the country,
36:24 it's not even up to 2,000.
36:25 So what that means is that there is a chunk of people who would need dialysis and are not getting it in other areas.
36:33 That's over 13,000 people.
36:35 So what it means is that there is a bigger problem than we see it and we probably may need to attack it from that angle.
36:41 Well, two persons suffering from kidney failure have also been sharing their experiences in receiving dialysis on the same show.
36:50 Throughout my school life, I don't remember going to the hospital. I was very, very active.
36:55 So I didn't know where it was coming from.
36:58 And besides that, when it comes to lifestyle, I was one that my friends would tell you, yes, I don't indulge in.
37:04 So I was very active.
37:07 So it came as a shock to me.
37:09 Before the sickness, my weight was around 78 to 80 kg.
37:15 Okay.
37:16 Yes.
37:17 So you were heavier than me.
37:18 Yes, but now I'm 57 kg.
37:21 Wow.
37:23 Yeah, I'm 57 kg.
37:27 And I'm not working because I don't have the strength to work.
37:32 I mean, even as I'm sitting, when I get up, you'll see that my legs are swollen.
37:36 And I'm even lucky today.
37:38 As I'm talking, I'm not spitting because I can spit about 40 times a day.
37:43 Yes, I spoke to them and they said it's part of the condition.
37:47 Everybody was devastated.
37:50 My mom, my dad, my siblings, my wife.
37:53 Everybody was devastated.
37:55 I was devastated myself when they broke their knees to me.
37:58 At that point, I was contemplating suicide.
38:01 Why?
38:02 Because I knew there was no help coming.
38:05 And I mean, I talked to people.
38:07 They told me the only way out is transplant.
38:10 And how am I going to get $40,000 to $70,000?
38:15 And even to talk of the dialysis itself, a week, you spend close to $2,000.
38:22 Minus your medication.
38:23 Yeah, every week.
38:25 Why I do my session?
38:26 A session is $5.50.
38:28 And because we are anemic, we need to take an injection every session.
38:33 And one shot is $2.20.
38:36 We'll buy two, which is $4.40.
38:38 So plus $5.50, which is $9.90, almost $1,000 per session.
38:42 And we go twice a week.
38:44 So that's $2,000.
38:45 I'm very worried.
38:46 Very, very worried.
38:48 Because if it gets to a point where you go on Tuesday, where to get Friday, it's an issue.
38:53 So you have to make calls, you have to make calls, you have to make calls before a bill comes out.
38:59 Even as I'm talking to you, a very close friend of mine, today, he will not be able to come.
39:05 Because from Friday, when we went on Friday, he ran the calls, ran the calls, ran the calls.
39:10 So yesterday, he called me and told me, "Actually, I'm not even able to raise one CD.
39:15 So I'm not sure I can come."
39:18 And those days, I was missing the sessions.
39:22 You miss a session, and before you realize, a day or a day after, I'm in a rush to the emergency.
39:28 After being diagnosed with kidney failure, I realized I was having swollen feet.
39:35 Couldn't eat well.
39:37 I started draining, like, literally, I had no hope.
39:42 So my parents called me, "Dwanaana Didi."
39:47 I told them, "I can't eat. I don't know what to eat. You'll lose appetite."
39:51 There was no hope. No one to donate.
39:54 Like, my only hope, the only hope I had at the moment was kidney transplant.
40:00 Because dialysis, three times every week.
40:04 It collapsed the family business.
40:07 I was on dialysis for years.
40:10 So it collapsed the family business.
40:13 How many years?
40:14 For about 45 years, I was on dialysis.
40:17 At the same place, right? 37?
40:21 37. It got to a point, it was true, too.
40:24 I was moved to a private dialysis center.
40:27 First dialysis, yes.
40:30 Because the machines weren't enough at 37.
40:33 Sometimes they got broke down.
40:36 No one to fix it. They had to look for other alternatives.
40:41 Wow.
40:42 So, so, Mnana, 45 years on dialysis.
40:49 At the same numbers, the same costs that Charles and his family have been dealing with.
40:54 About a thousand cd's per session.
40:57 Yes. More than a thousand, though.
41:00 More than a thousand, right?
41:01 Yes, because your Ipoh and Ione alone, those are the medications you take.
41:07 And let's say, because we are all hypertensive, so your BP has to be managed.
41:17 So your BP medications, sometimes they give you injections and all that.
41:22 And being on dialysis is not just being on the machine.
41:26 You need extra care.
41:28 The nurses there, too, I salute all of them.
41:31 They really do. They give extra attention, too.
41:34 Sometimes you'll be there on the dialysis machine.
41:37 Someone will be on your right, on your left. You wake up, one is gone.
41:41 One is dead?
41:42 One is dead.
41:43 Yeah.
41:44 Just because maybe he delayed for dialysis.
41:51 And he came in as an emergency, but he couldn't stand to the machine.
41:57 So we lose the person.
42:00 Kids are so young at six on dialysis.
42:05 It's sad.
42:07 Well, this is an ongoing discussion as government is being asked to help support
42:15 the services of dialysis patients to reverse this situation.
42:20 Let's get more on Joynee's today.
42:22 Her journey began in defiance, battling hunger and homelessness to pursue education
42:28 against her father's wishes for a life in farming.
42:32 Today, Naomi provides not just shelter, but a sense of family to children from diverse backgrounds,
42:38 defying all odds and economic challenges.
42:41 Here's Naomi's story of hope.
42:44 [Children singing]
42:48 It is dinner time at the Royal Seed Home, a shelter at Papase in the Central Region.
43:03 80 hungry mouths are ready to be fed.
43:06 Meet Naomi, the lifeline to hundreds of street and special needs children who might have otherwise been left without a home.
43:15 We have been getting the children from the Department of Social Welfare to the home now.
43:20 And as I'm talking with you now, having almost 70, 75 children,
43:27 you've got to know that some of them has epilepsy, and some of them has a little bit mentally challenged,
43:34 and some of them are children in need that they cannot do anything.
43:39 Some also has a stroke.
43:41 As I'm talking with you now, I'm having a baby which is six, seven to eight months who has a stroke.
43:48 But Naomi's journey to becoming this saviour was not an easy one.
43:54 26 years ago, she battled hunger and homelessness because she defied her father's wishes to pursue an education.
44:02 The father wanted her to be a farmhand, but she wanted to do more than just farming.
44:08 Naomi, from a poverty-stricken background, longed for a brighter future.
44:13 She rebelled and enrolled in a vocational institute in Kaswa, but was often forced to spend lonely nights on the streets.
44:21 Because of my ganesities, in 1993 it was 9,000.
44:30 But now we call it 9,000.
44:33 So I ended up in gates after we start from school, and I became a street girl for some days, three, four days.
44:43 So through that, I asked myself, when I was crying, crying, hungry, thirsty, if I didn't die and I survived,
44:53 what can I do to serve my siblings on the streets who are in this situation?
44:59 After graduation, she worked as a hairdresser, but she became passionate about taking care of homeless and vulnerable children because of her personal experience.
45:09 We're live on Join News today. We're coming to you from our studios in Kokomolimli.
45:17 Let's take a break. When we return, that's business.
45:25 Time now for business. Let's check out what's making headlines in business.
45:29 Ride Hailing Company, Yango, says it will continue to invest in the general well-being of its drivers to protect them and their customers.
45:37 The company made the announcement after it organized a free health screening for all Yango drivers in Accra.
45:44 The exercise saw drivers move to the head office of Yango in Accra to participate in the screening.
45:51 The drivers were screened for prostrate, eye tests, and other diseases.
45:56 Speaking to Joy Business, the country manager of Yango, Tom Ofunime, said the company will continue to prioritize the safety and health of its customers.
46:05 For us, the health and wellness of our partner drivers is important to us.
46:09 Given the rise in health issues, early detection is important.
46:12 That's why today we partnered with StandoutCare to give provisional preventive checks for prostate cancers.
46:19 We extended it beyond just prostate cancer. They're also doing dental checks.
46:23 And because they're on the road, we're also doing eye checks as well, making sure that they're in a very good state to serve the people of Ghana.
46:29 On its part, Team Lead for StandoutCare, Patrick Finn, explained that the South is partnering with Yango to successfully undertake the screening exercise.
46:39 First of all, health care is an essential component of life.
46:43 And it's even more essential among people like drivers who take us around all the time.
46:48 If the drivers who commute us from place to place are not healthy or not physically fit, we all know the possible consequences.
46:58 So we partnered with Yango Ghana to screen their drivers or their partner drivers for these medical conditions because we believe that health is wealth and health is safety as well.
47:13 Some of the drivers spoke to Joy Business after the exercise.
47:17 It is a very good idea because they are thinking of the drivers and the good health of the drivers.
47:25 They want the drivers to be strong enough in order to work and promote the company.
47:31 So I think it's a very good idea.
47:33 On the asset for business, APNES is showbiz.
47:36 Let's get into showbiz.
47:37 Elikom the designer, Elikom the tailor, who was on career trail on Joyland, is telling young people to learn how to embrace their failures and actually look at what opportunity they can get out of it.
47:51 Because he birthed his career when he had to take a year's defer from University of Lagon.
47:58 This is how he said it.
48:01 Same Lagon, level 300.
48:04 My dad had passed away.
48:06 This was maybe like some eight to 10 years now.
48:09 My mom is doing well.
48:11 For me and my little brother to go to school, he had also started the University of Science and Technology by then, I think.
48:17 So it was hard for everyone.
48:19 So I deferred one year of the course.
48:21 I was like, "Chale, I'm not going to fit again. Maybe I'll continue school some other time, maybe not, but I don't have money now."
48:26 I went home.
48:28 While I was home, I started thinking, "Now this is one thing you and the kids at home need to know.
48:33 That it's important to embrace failure.
48:38 It's important to embrace the downsides of your life.
48:41 It's important to, I mean, cry over it.
48:46 Be sad. Think about it.
48:49 But once you start thinking of the problem, "I'm not going to be able to go to school again. I'm deferring."
48:54 Start thinking about the solution.
48:57 So in thinking of the solution, this is the quote I have in this area.
49:01 That in adversity, a man finds himself.
49:05 When you're down, you're low, you're in trouble, things are not going well for you.
49:09 That's the time you might find yourself if you pay attention.
49:12 And that's where fashion was birthed.
49:14 So I like making clothes. I like looking different.
49:18 So I go to Kanto-Manto, get some small money, buy a shirt, change the buttons.
49:22 I didn't know what I was doing.
49:24 I'll put some African print on the side, I'll write my name, I'll just wear it.
49:28 Next thing I know, I'm walking around town and somebody, "Hey, your shirt is nice.
49:32 Hey, who made it for you?"
49:34 "Oh, myself." "Ah, what? Oh, it's nice. Tell him to do something for me."
49:39 Now his friends are calling me. "Tell him the shirt is for you."
49:42 This is how my business has transformed over the years.
49:44 Well, that was Ellicott the tailor.
49:51 Now let's turn our attention to the films.
49:53 Well, Mali Gavor, who is an actor, was in a seat with Amelie Dessau on Celebrity Biz.
50:02 And he is telling Ghanaians that you should not give up simply because things are difficult.
50:07 But the Ghanaian environment does not actually have fertile grounds for young entrepreneurs.
50:13 Setting up a business in Ghana, I'm going to need like three hours.
50:17 It's very strange, I won't lie.
50:23 Ghana isn't very, we don't provide the kind of fertile ground that you would need to sort of come in and flourish as a business.
50:30 Especially as young business owners who are just trying to make it.
50:33 It's not like I have unlimited money or anything.
50:36 So I won't lie, Ghana is not that hospitable in that way.
50:39 However, if you can find a way to persevere through those obstacles, then the business opportunities are immense and they're great.
50:45 So I'm not going to lie and say, "Oh, it's easy. You can just breeze in and do whatever you want."
50:48 But if you can just persevere, the results are amazing.
50:53 I'll give you a practical example.
50:55 When we started building this place, I started when dollar was one is to six.
51:00 And we spent a few months building this space.
51:03 I started when dollar was one is to six. When I finished building, dollar was one is to 14.6.
51:09 So I started from one is to six, ended at one is to 14.6.
51:13 Which means that whatever I was using to buy $10,000 back in the day, now I'm having to use more than double to buy that same $10,000.
51:21 Which is absolutely insane and you wouldn't find that in a lot of places and for the most part, usually that would cripple any business plan.
51:28 And that will be it for Showbiz.
51:31 The name is Ibrahim Bambako. Make sure you're logging on to MyJoinline for more entertainment stories.
51:35 Aisha, back to you.
51:36 And my name is Aisha Ibrahim. Log on to MyJoinline.com for more of the news and updates of all the developing stories.
51:42 Do enjoy the rest of our programs.
51:45 [Music]