The 217 million dollar facility has not been put to use since the commissioning of its first phase about a year ago. Authorities of the University have disagreed with the Health Ministry on the appropriate management to be adopted.

According to sources, Cabinet’s expected discussion has been necessitated by Citi FM’s sustained campaign for the operationalization of the facility, and other abandoned health amenities across the country.

Background

The Medical Centre, which has its first phase completed and ready to commence operations, was inaugurated by former President John Mahama in 2016.

Whereas the University believes processes leading to the construction of the facility gives it a direct oversight role of the Medical Centre, the current Ministry of Health under the Akufo-Addo government thinks otherwise.

A Deputy Minister of Health, Kingsley Aboagye Gyedu, had earlier said government currently needs about $6 million to make the facility operational, and an additional $50 million to complete the phase two of the project.

Fight for UG Medical centre

The immediate past Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Ernest Aryeetey, has also charged the current university administration to fight to ensure that they have overall control of the Medical Centre.

“The University needs to stand up and fight for what is rightfully its property,” he noted in a Citi News interview.

1,400 staff were shortlisted for UG Medical Centre

A former Deputy Health Minister, Rojo Mettle Nunoo, has said about 1,400 personnel had already been shortlisted and ready to be recruited as staff of the Medical Centre before the John Mahama administration was kicked out of office.

According to him, a total of 28,000 applied to work for the Centre, out of which 1,400 were selected.

Mr. Nunoo said the previous government had an adequate plan in place on the way forward for the Centre, adding that all was set for the facility to be operational before the NDC left office.

“Government will pay salaries so we got the Public Service Commission to agree to the establishment of the hospital and 28,000 people applied to be staff of the hospital. We did interviews and the first round of over 1,400 or so people were identified and appointment letters were going to be given. The Fair Wages Commission had also agreed with the salary structure of the hospital and given approval,” he said in a Citi News interview last week.

Citi News has in the last few days exposed a number of health projects undertaken by successive governments which cost the taxpayer several millions of dollars, but have been abandoned.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey & bSixtus Dong Ullo/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah, is on record to have hinted of a July 2018 timeline for a possible passage of the Bill.

[contextly_sidebar id=”TA6Iy4CBaCBpqc35XF7LckEN5baQmrIK”]But the coalition doubts the assurance, saying this deadline may not be achieved.

Speaking to Citi News, Project Officer of the Coalition, Esther Ahulu, charged government to prioritize the bill and lay it before Parliament for the consideration of the House.

She said several promises for the passage of the bill have not yielded any positive results “so why should we believe this time round that it will be fulfilled, because as we speak, the bill is still in cabinet, how does the process go on if the bill is in cabinet?”

“For almost a year now, the Bill is still with the executive. How does the process go on? We should move it a step forward, move it from cabinet to Parliament level so that from next year, [2018], Parliament can start working on it,” she added.

The coalition also said the current posture on the bill is disappointing hence their call.

New deadline

Mr. Mensah-Bonsu, who is also the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs whilst speaking to journalists last week, said Parliament would finish work on the Bill by the second meeting of the next session of the house, which translates to about July 2018.

“I want to believe that if we cross this meeting into the meeting of next year [2018], I should think by the close of the second meeting, we should be in the position to have dealt with the RTI Bill.”

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By: Naa K. Siaw-Marfo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The President said this directive will be implemented by a task-force without “regard to any political or special interests.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”cLSmGjclxkGFGp7xQqNOlVHd18lbql2r”]A statement issued by the presidency and signed by the Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid, after the Cabinet meeting, said the decision, which is one of the nine directives issued out by the President, seeks to in the interim, “give comfort to and ensure the safety of our citizens.”

It said “Deployment of a task force, within 30 days, to assess the risk that our current LPG infrastructure poses in terms of public health and safety. High risk stations will be immediately closed down, in accordance with relevant law and without regard to any political or special interests. Low risk stations will be designated for the supply of gas for vehicles with improved safety standards.”

These directives followed the public outcry in the wake of the massive explosion at an LPG filling station at Atomic Junction.

That explosion has so far claimed at least seven lives and injured over 100 persons. The loss of lives even touched closer to the Presidency, as a presidential correspondent for Net 2 TV lost his life in the commotion sparked by the explosion.

The outrage of the explosion was the culmination of widespread concern over the lax safety standards of some LPG and petrol fill stations, which has seen about eight major explosions since 2014, not counting the June 3 fire and flood disaster at a petrol station near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

Implement cylinder circulation program – Nana Addo orders

The President also ordered the implementation of the Cylinder Re-circulation Model of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

The module, proposed by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), will ensure that LPG filling points are sited out of densely populated area and commercial centres.

This is unlikely to go down well with the LPG Marketers Association and the Association of Gas Tanker Drivers, who have in the past kicked against this proposal, citing job losses and other negative impact on their businesses.

The President expects this and some other directives issued after Thursday’s cabinet meeting, to be implemented within a year.

Find below the full statement from the Presidency, which also outlines nine safety measures ordered by hte President after the Cabinet meeting.

NEW GOVERNMENT REGULATORY MEASURES, FOLLOWING GAS EXPLOSION AT ATOMIC JUNCTION

On the evening of 7th October 2017, the nation was shaken by a horrible gas explosion at Atomic Junction in Accra, which led to the loss of seven lives, 132 injuries and the destruction of valuable property. In the past three years, we have been subjected to eight such incidents of explosions. This latest incident was one too many, which we must take all necessary steps to bring to an end.

The importance of gas, and its use in our national economy, requires that we must develop and enforce regulations and practices, and deploy technology to ensure the safe use of gas and safety of our citizens.

At the Cabinet meeting of 12th October 2017, the President of the Republic, on the advice of Cabinet, directed that henceforth the Cylinder Recirculation Model of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) distribution be implemented. This model means that LPG Bottling Plants will be sited away from congested commercial and population centers and will procure, brand, maintain and fill empty cylinders to be distributed to consumers and households through retail outlets. Low risk stations will be designated for the supply of gas to vehicles. This whole exercise must be completed within one year.

In the interim, the President has directed that the following steps be taken to give comfort to and ensure the safety of our citizens:

1. immediate inspection of all gas stations and the vigorous enforcement of existing regulations by the National Petroleum Authority;
2. review of the current licensing regime to ensure that only those with demonstrable capacity and competence engage in the LPG distribution business;
3. institution of mandatory training and certification of the staff of Regulators, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and LPG Marketing Companies to ensure the safe handling of LPG;
4. review the safety protocols along the entire value chain through the combined efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), National Fire Service (NFS), Town and Country Planning Department of the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation and the Factories Inspectorate Department of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations;
5. deployment of a task force, within 30 days, to assess the risk that our current LPG infrastructure poses in terms of public health and safety. High risk stations will be immediately closed down, in accordance with relevant law and without regard to any political or special interests. Low risk stations will be designated for the supply of gas for vehicles with improved safety standards;
6. the immediate incorporation of standards and guidelines developed by Ghana Standards Authority on the handling, storage and distribution of LPG and other petroleum products as technical regulations to strengthen the enforcement regime;
7. the recruitment by NPA of 200 safety auditors to join the staff of the Factories Inspectorate Department of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to check regularly on all stations to ensure full compliance with safety standards and practices;
8. expedition of action by the Fire Service and the Police Service of on-going investigations. Any operator or regulatory official, against whom any act of criminal negligence is established, will face the full rigors of the law;
9. immediate cessation, until further notice, of all construction of facilities intended for use as gas or petroleum retail stations.

The safety of citizens is the paramount objective of Government, and the President will take all necessary steps to ensure that citizens are safe.

……signed……

Hon. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid

Minister for Information
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By: Ebenezer AAfanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Mr Jonathan said those who carried out the attack were “cruel and evil”.

It is feared more bodies still lie under the rubble of buildings destroyed by the explosions, which targeted a crowded market and a hospital.

Nigeria has been facing a sustained campaign by the Islamist Boko Haram militant group.

Last month Boko Haram abducted 200 girls from a boarding school in the north-eastern town of Chibok.

The president said he was committed to fighting terrorism despite criticism that he has failed to ensure security.

‘Enemies of progress’

His office described Tuesday’s attack as a “tragic assault on human freedom”.

“President Jonathan assures all Nigerians that [the] government remains fully committed to winning the war against terror and… will not be cowed by the atrocities of enemies of human progress and civilisation,” it said in a statement.

He announced increased measures to tackle the militants, including a multinational force around Lake Chad which comprises a battalion each from Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria.

If this is once again the work of Boko Haram, it shows the Islamist extremist group’s determination to expand its area of operation and prove that it can strike where it wishes, the BBC’s Will Ross, in the Nigerian capital Abuja, says.

The second blast in Jos came 30 minutes after the first, killing rescue workers who had rushed to the scene, which was enveloped by clouds of black smoke.

“It’s horrifying, terrible,” said Mark Lipdo of the Stefanos Foundation, a Christian charity based in the city who said the air was heavy with the smell of burning bodies.

Witnesses described a grim scene of dead and badly injured people – some with their limbs blown off – as fires were still raging out of control eight hours after the attack.

Dozens of casualties were covered in grain that had been loaded in the second car bomb, witnesses said.

“Firemen are still trying to put several blazes out. We believe we will find more bodies,” a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) said.

He said the fires were being fuelled by flammable goods at the market, including rubber sandals.

The regional governor’s office told AFP news agency that most of the victims were women.

The market and bus terminal are part of the commercial centre of Jos.

Correspondents say that Nigeria is under renewed worldwide attention over its response to Boko Haram, especially given the global attention on the plight of the missing school girls.

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