Monies are not refunded by utility providers – Consumers cry

Some consumers in the Northern region are complaining bitterly that utility providers have not refunded their monies, despite government’s instructions to do so.
Most of these consumers wondered why the Volta River Authority (VRA) has refused to abide by the instructions by government, hence describing it as a deceit and palpably signifies a sabotage of the ruling government in pursuing its better Ghana agenda.
In October last year, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission permitted the Volta River Authority and Ghana Water Company to increase their billing rates by 78.9 and 54 percentage points respectively.
This “wham-bam” bulk increase in utility tariffs met a public outcry across the country which compelled the government to absorb the increment by subsidizing the utility tariff by 25 percent.
Consumers were now to pay 59.18 percent instead of the 78.9 percent increment announced.
Despite the 25 percent subsidy, others were not enthused saying it will not make any difference in mitigating cost of operation especially in the small scale businesses.
However, on 18^th November, 2013, at a news conference, officials of the VRA assured consumers they will be refunding monies due them.
October monies according to them were to be in December while December’s own will be refunded this month. But this has not been the case.
Speaking to the Public Relations Manager of VRA, Alhaji Mohammed Siam, admitted that some category of customers have not received their monies as a result of technical challenges.
According to him, such category meters did not come with their software which is making it very difficult for an immediate refund of the monies.
Meanwhile, this problem has been known by them and they went ahead to announce that all customers will be receiving their refund without specifying which category of customers.
Customers are also raising questions as to why if there is an increment it affects immediately and the refund is unable to do so.
However, Alhaji Siam therefore rendered an unqualified apology to their clients and appealed to them to exercise restraint as they are working to refund their monies to them.
He said the Chinese consultants are currently in town to rectify the problem.
By: Saaka Alhassan/Fiilafmonline.com/Ghana

Communities within Tamale Metro lack portable drinking water and sanitation

Over ten communities within the Tamale Metropolis still lack portable drinking water and sanitation facilities

compelling residents to commute several kilometers to get access to drinking water.
This has also resulted to residents in these communities to engage in indiscriminate defecation which is posing a danger to their health.
Humans and livestock struggles for same water for life in these communities.
Fiila News’ visit to Zoozugu, Chesei, Datooyili, Dohini, among several communities revealed that the residents lack portable drinking water and sanitation. All the above named communities depend on Dams for their socio-economic activities which are almost at the verge of drying up.
In an exclusive interview with Madam Hawabu Alhassan, a house wife at Zoozugu, bemoaned the spate of the water crises in the area saying, they have no option than to drink water mixed with urine and excreta of livestock.
She indicated that the peak season for the water crisis within the area is mid-February through March onwards where women have to commute over six (6) to seven miles for water for the upkeep of their families.
During this period, Madam Hawabu says women can only go thrice to fetch water either in the central business district of Tamale or other communities which would not even be enough for cooking not alone bathing.
Even though, how dirty and milky the water seems to look, some residents cherished it to pipe-borne.
According to WaterAid in Ghana, a Non Governmental Organization in water, sanitation and hygiene, 10.5 million women and girls lack safe and adequate sanitation. 2.3 million out of this number do not have access to toilets at all. 4.8 million Ghanaians are said to practice open defecation or “free range” everyday.
According to a World Bank Water and Sanitation Programme (WSP) report released in 2012, Ghana’s economy loses 420 million cedis each year due to poor sanitation. This is estimated to be 1.6 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Meanwhile, the Mayor of Tamale, Abdul-Hanan Rahman Gundadoo indicated that attempt has been made to get some of the communities with portable drinking water.
Gundadoo says the assembly has made some funds available in this year’s budget to enable the Ghana Water Company to extend electricity to some of the communities.
By: Saaka Alhassan/Fiilafmonline.com/Ghana

Media urged to focus on positive reportage in the north

President of the Northern Regional Chapter of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA), Caesar Abagali has urged Journalist in the region to focus their reportage on the positives of the region and turn a blind eye on the negative sides.
He said other sectors or regions in the country are more volatile than the northern region but because the media in those regions want to propagate positives for accelerated development, they neglect the negativity in their reportage.
According to the GJA president, portraying only the negativity of the region drives investors away which subsequently relegate the development of the region to the “back burner”.
He said some media house because of their ignorance and bad perception towards the north always wants to report only on the negativity of the region. This he said must be stopped to pave way for development.
The president of the GJA said this on the New Year day at the Buipe Wura Mahama Jinapor II’s palace during a press soirée organized by the BuipeWura to fraternize with the media in the region.
Mr. Caesar Abagali on behalf of the media in the region pledged their commitment and support to the Buipe Wura and the development of the region.
On his part the Paramount Chief of the Buipe Traditional area, BuipeWura Abdulai Jinapor commended the media for their support through the times of his difficulties till when issues became calm in the traditional area.
It would be recalled that the Buipe Wura was deskinned by the Paramount Chief and the entire Gonja traditional council for allegedly pulling a trigger during a meeting at the Gonja Traditional Council meeting in Damongo somewhere in 2010 which resulted to his immediate deskinnement and a subsequent installment of his successor from the Lebupe gate.
After years of legal battle and media war over his legitimacy as Buipe Wura, later last year he was reinstated due to several dialogue and apologies.
However, he therefore assured people of the traditional area, his peaceful coexistence with the Gonja traditional council and his defunct successor from the other gate.
He also disclosed the establishment of a development cum educational fund in his traditional council to spearhead development and accelerated education standards and performance in the area.
By: Saaka Alhassan/Fiilafmonline.com/Ghana

TaMA admits its inability to enforce bye-law on household toilet facility

The Tamale Metropolitan Assembly has admitted its failure to enforce a byelaw it instituted somewhere in 2011 to ensure all Landlords make provisions for toilet facilities in their homes in the metropolis.
The failure of the assembly is however attributed to the sinking financial background of residents of the metropolis.
In 2011, the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly made known its intension not to construct public toilets in neighbourhoods in all communities under its jurisdiction except at public places such as market, hospitals, lorry stations and institutions or places where people congregate on daily basis.
Announcing the directive, the then Mayor, Alhaji Haruna Abudulai Friday during a working visit at separate meetings with chiefs and opinion leaders in the Metropolis said Landlords and all owners of homes and other residential properties who do not have toilet facilities within their homes were therefore required to urgently provide such necessities or have themselves to blame when enforcement of the directive begins.
The initiative was to be implemented by all MMDAs across the country as part of measures by the local government ministry to combat poor environmental sanitation and other unhygienic condition associated with public toilets. This was also aimed at protecting the people against exposure to the risk of contagious and infectious diseases associated with the usage of public toilets.
The Public Affairs Director of the Assembly Issah Musah Salifu in an interaction with Fiila News admitted the assembly has not done much in enforcing the directive. This he said is as a result of the caliber of people they are dealing with and the financial status of the people. However, he said others are complying with the directive.
The PRO added that concerted efforts are being made to engage landlords to adopt such measures to help reduce the expenditure of the assembly. Despite the noncompliance, the assembly is encouraging landlords and other residential property owners to adopt the measure.
By: Saaka Alhassan/Fiilafmonline.com/Ghana

People of Buipe to celebrate Damba after three years of Chieftaincy battle

Preparations are in earnest by the Buipe Traditional Council to celebrate the Damba festival in an enormous way after three years without celebrating the unique Damba festival in the area.  The traditional area has been for almost three years now without celebrating Damba festival due to a chieftaincy dispute in the area.
The news has become a sigh of relief to the people in the area, the Gonja Tradition Council and the Northern Region in general.
The Paramount Chief of the Buipe traditional council, Buipe Wura Abdulai Jinapor announced this at his palace in Buipe as part of his New Year message to the people under his jurisdiction.
It would be recalled that the Buipe Wura was deskinned by the Gonja Traditional Council for his alleged pulling of a trigger during a meeting at the Gonja Traditional Council meetings in Damongo somewhere in 2010 which resulted to his immediate deskinnement and a subsequent installment of his successor from a rival gate, Lebupe gate.
After years of legal battle and media war over his legitimacy as Buipe Wura, later last year he was reinstated due to several dialogue and apologies by prominent individuals in the country. After his reinstatement other media houses, journalists and individuals raised issues of soiling the mouths of the paramount Chief of the Gonja Traditional Council and his subjects with money. This was because in the tradition of the Gonjas, a chief has never been deskinned and reinstated from time immemorial.
BuipeWura Abdulai Jinapor II therefore assured people of the country his peaceful coexistence with the Gonja traditional council and his defunct successor.
Prominent Chief, Togbe Afede from the Volta region will be the Chairman and Guest of honour of the occasion. Several prominent individuals and government officials will be attending the Damba festival in Buipe this year.
By: Saaka Alhassan/Fiilafmonline.com/Ghana

Tamale Mayor calls for support to develop the metropolis

The Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive, Abdul-Hanan Rahman Gundadoo has called on chiefs, religious leaders and people of the metropolis to support his administration in championing the developmental agenda of the assembly.  This he said will create employment opportunities, enhance living standards and promote peaceful coexistence for accelerated development.
Abdul-Hanan Rahman Gundadoo made the call at separate meetings with chiefs, opinion leaders, religious leaders, women, unit committee members and other residents during a familiarization tour in 10 peri-urban communities under his jurisdiction. Since assuming the reign as the Metropolitan Chief executive for the assembly in the 4^th quarter of last year, the visit was to formally introduce him and afford the opportunity to interact with the people.
The communities he visited include, Zoozugu, Chesei, Datooyili, Adobiliyili, Dohini and Dalogyili. The rest are Yagyili, Janshegu, Yong Dakpemyili and Kudula.
In all the ten communities the Mayor visited, four common prominent concerns were raised. These include, access to road network, portable drinking water, electricity and sanitation. These they said will help improve their health and speed up development in these deprived areas of the metropolis.
Abdul-Hanan Gundadoo was however pleased with the reception and assured the people the government’s commitment to improve the living standards of people in the country through an integrated and multifaceted approaches to empower the masses for development in all sectors.
He therefore appealed to the chiefs and people to shun away issues that have the tendency to mar the beauty of the peace the metropolis and for that matter the entire region is currently enjoying, hoping that nothing at all will jeopardize successes chalked so far.
By: Saaka Alhassan/Fiilafmonline.com/Ghana

Pregnant women cautioned to shun alcohol

Pregnant women have been cautioned to stay away from taking alcohol in order to prevent malformation and retardation of the brain of the fetus. Those who also have plans to become pregnant must do away with any form of alcohol which has the tendency of causing fetus disorders.
A team of Psychiatric Nurses, Ashiabgor Courage, David K. Larbi and Christopher Boamah Ababio, all from the Tamale Teaching Hospital on Fiila Fm Lunch Time Health Matters Programme today said women must stay away from alcohol to improve the health status of their wards.
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a pattern of mental and physical defects that can develop in a fetus in association with high levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
According to the team of Psychiatrics, developing brain cells and structures can be malformed or have development interrupted by prenatal alcohol exposure. This they said can create an array of primary cognitive and functional disabilities including poor memory, attention deficits, impulsive behavior, and poor cause-effect reasoning as well as secondary disabilities.
They added that, alcohol exposure presents a risk of fetal brain damage at any point during a pregnancy, since brain development is ongoing throughout pregnancy.
In 2008, a report carried out by the website Medical News Today listed Ghana among countries where alcohol consumption is high. The report says, mostly, the alcohol consumed is illicit.
As of 1987, fetal alcohol exposure was the leading known cause of intellectual disability in the Western world. In the United States and Europe, the FAS prevalence rate is estimated to be between 0.2-2 in every 1000 live births.
The lifetime medical and social costs of FAS are estimated to be as high as 800,000 US dollars per child born with the disorder. The psychiatrics therefore cautioned women to shun away the practice of alcohol intake no matter the quantity when they are pregnant.
By: Saaka Alhassan/Fiilafmonline.com/Ghana