According to the Authority, the hospital’s Director, Dr. Eugene Dordoye, has been enrolled in some refresher courses to improve his interpersonal skills.

[contextly_sidebar id=”IyAQXIhdRiR4oA60HP5foJeoNYJ6X03E”]The staff said Dr. Dordoye’s presence at the facility posed a danger to their mental and physical health.

Among other things, they accused him of putting them through emotional and psychological stress.

On Thursday, they declared a strike, asking the Mental Health Authority and the Ministry of Health to transfer Mr. Dordoye.

The Mental Health Authority has refused to meet their demands, and has rather asked the striking health professionals to return to work, arguing that they can raise their concerns if the director persists with the alleged inappropriate conduct after his refresher course.

The Head of Communications at the Mental Health Authority, Kwaku Brobbey, told Citi News that it is working to address the impasse.

“What we have decided to do was to get the Director of the Hospital to go into some programs that will help him improve his personal relations at the facility. I think as an Authority, we need to approach this with caution and that decision that we have taken is something that will be of interest to the staff of the hospital. If he comes back from this training and this thing continues then, of course, we have reasons to ask him to perhaps step aside,” he said.

“It should take him some three to four months to go through these courses we have arranged. We are trying to solve a situation and it is not for us to carry out the wish of any person just because the person feels that they cannot work with someone else. They should reconsider their position and let’s give an opportunity to the strategy we have outlined and see what can come out of it,” he added.

Meanwhile, the health practitioners have vowed not to return to work until their request is granted.

‘Medical Director will not be removed’

The striking health professionals embarked on an industrial action in 2017 over the same matter, but the government said removing the director will set a bad precedent.

“I don’t think if we go on that tangent, it will help anybody because it may set a precedent which will not help this nation at all. If staff get up and start agitating that they want a director [sacked] and a Minister goes by that decision and takes him away, it is going to set a precedent for others to follow suit,” the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health, Robert Cudjoe said in an interview.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The condition also affects the ability of the affected persons to understand what is happening around them, and causes them to be confused as well as frustrated as they can no longer do things that they used to do without support from other people.

[contextly_sidebar id=”KSSa27b5PYx728UvTETcMs8cr9NnPsm9″]Dr. Akwesi Osei, the Chief Executive Officer of the Mental Health Authority (MHA), made the claim at the 2017 World Alzheimer’s Day conference held in Accra on Tuesday on the theme: “Remember Me.”

He said although the statistics were huge, a large number of the condition was not reported because they were often treated as an ‘old age syndrome,’ where older persons often forgot their names, that of their relatives or failed to recognize their environment.

He said because of the lack of knowledge of the condition in Ghana and Africa in general, there was no recognition at all for proper care-giving, protection of the rights of sufferers, proper health care interventions nor initiatives to create public awareness for early reporting.

Dementia, he said, was a real tragic illness, because it was an irreversible condition which damaged the brain cells, and the dangers were that it could not be easily diagnosed, but its progression could be slowed down with some medication if patients reported early to the hospital.

Dr Osei said the nation had not done well at all in terms of taking care of its aged persons and giving them the required professional and mental health care.

He said “Alzheimer’s is a reality and all are potential candidates,” saying awareness about the disease had been a major problem as knowledge about the dangerous silent killer was not widely known, but were often lumped together with other mental health conditions.

The United Nations, he said, in recognition of the impact of the disease globally, set aside September 21 annually, for the acknowledgment, create awareness and to intensify advocacy to affect policy changes.

The day was also to ensure that people living with the condition got the best of health care, social support as well as respect for their dignity, rather than being stigmatized and ostracized as witches.

Mr Ato Wright, the Vice President of the Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Association of Ghana, said although the exact cause of dementia was Alzheimer’s which was one of the types of dementia was not readily know.

He said risk factors such as excessive alcohol abuse, smoking, Hypertension, stoke, diabetes, lack of some vitamins such as B6 and B1, road crash, food contaminations with heavy metals as well as genetic pre-disposal exposures could trigger the illness.

Mrs Esther Dey, the Executive Director of Alzheimer’s Ghana, mentioned some of the symptoms apart from the loss of short term memory as disorientation of place, forgetfulness which was often characterized by a condition called denial, delusion, hallucination, aggression, sleep disturbances and the loss of interest in things that they used to enjoy.

These, she said could be reduced by addressing the known risk factors and gave the assurance that the Association would continue to intensify its advocacy to attract the attention of government and other stakeholders to join hands in providing quality care, as well as strengthen legislation on stigma and discrimination of persons with mental health disorders.

The Conference which was organised by the Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Association of Ghana (Alzheimer’s Ghana), as part of activities to commemorate the Day, therefore sought to highlight the plight of people with mental problems such as dementia and their families in Ghana’s aging population.

It also sought to create awareness about the dangers of excessive use of mercury in “galamsay”, which was a major cause of dementia, as well as the livelihood issues involved, and shed light on the unique impact of the disease and mental health conditions on women, including the stress associated with caregiving.

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Source: GNA

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The call comes in the wake of recent challenges faced by the Accra Psychiatric Hospital due to government’s indebtedness to the facility.

The hospital recently shut down its Out Patient Department (OPD) due to lack of basic materials and stationery included A4 sheets.

The Executive Director of the Association, Peter Kwame Yeboah told Citi News, mental health services are indispensable and required the necessary attention to make it sustainable and efficient hence the appeal.

Speaking at the launch of the mental health week in Accra on Monday, he said, “we need mental health services in Ghana that is sustainable, equitable, efficient and effective to serve our collective needs. We need political support if mental health support is to be sustainable in our country. We call on the government to ensure sustainable funding for the Mental Health Authority.”

“We also ask Parliament, the Executives especially the Ministry of Finance to fast track action to ensure that the LI is passed,” he said.

‘Mental health fund will save psychiatric hospitals’

The Mental Health Authority has urged government to pass the Legislative Instrument (LI) on mental health to end the frustration of Psychiatric Hospitals constantly relying on government for funding.

Dr Akwasi Osei, Chief Executive Officer of the Mental Health Authority, told Citi News the LI includes the establishment of the mental health fund which will provide funds to run the various mental health facilities in the country.

Dr. Osei said, “The mental health law talked about the establishment of a mental health fund. That mental health fund will be fed through the mental health levy which may be part of an existing levy or capitation like NHIA, VAT or road fund.”

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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[contextly_sidebar id=”lgcWfdjvfJH5kVee4SHmRyufsezaaaon”]Expresso which has the lowest voice and data subscribers in the country has been faced with several challenges for some time now.

Majority of Expresso’s challenges has been tied to its affiliation with Sudan and Sudatel which has made difficult to raise capital locally and internationally and deal with vendors.

Two years ago Sudatel initiated moves to sell its shares in Expresso.

It also gave the former National Security Coordinator, Colonel Larry Gbevlo-Lartey (retired) gave him the power of attorney to run the telecommunications company.

Despite the move the telecom operator is still struggling to stay afloat

Expresso’s Chief Commercial Officer Freddie Quainoo tells Citi Business News is currently in negotiations with a number of local investors and will soon solve its challenges.

‘ We have not shut operations, are lines are working, we are operating like a normal telco, yes we are having some challenges which is not too new in our industry however there a lot of discussions ongoing with some local companies and potential investors who have expressed interest in the company depending on how things go with the owners, the regulator and government.

Hopefully very soon we will see the company recover from its woes.’ He said.

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By:  Vivian Kai Lokko/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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[contextly_sidebar id=”TmrPZIa4ZSwIbuq8ec8uiBqUo5WnkVxt”]Africa’s biggest phone company will also continue to engage with the Nigerian authorities to try and ensure an amicable resolution, MTN said in a statement on Thursday.

Pending the court hearing, neither party should take further action until the matter is resolved, the company said.

“There are valid grounds upon which to challenge the fine,” MTN said.

“Accordingly MTN has followed due process and has instructed its lawyers to proceed with an action in the Federal High Court in Lagos seeking the appropriate reliefs.”

The Nigerian Communications Regulator imposed the penalty on MTN for failing to meet a deadline to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered subscribers as security agencies seek to fight crime in a country with poor identity records.

Chairperson Phuthuma Nhleko is leading negotiations with the NCC after Chief Executive Officer Sifiso Dabengwa resigned.

The initial fine of $5.2bn was reduced by 25% to $3.9bn earlier this month, with a payment deadline set for December 31.

NCC spokesperson Tony Ojobo declined to comment on MTN’s plan to challenge the fine.

MTN shares gained 6.3% to R138.20 rand at the close in Johannesburg, the highest since December 3. That values the company at R255bn.

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Credit:  News24

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[contextly_sidebar id=”GWfEfUB8Vfaj5vZj84jgrO31c98Cwlda”]Their concerns come days after Scancom Limited (MTN) emerged winner in the auction process for one of the frequency spectrum lot in the 800 MHz Band for mobile services.

MTN which is the largest mobile network operator in the country, with about 15million subscribers, secured one of the 2x10MHz spectra blocks in the 800MHz spectrum auctioned by the NCA.

The auction came with a lot of opposition including the ICT Chamber which urged the NCA to only allow Ghanaian companies to bid for the license.

The External Affairs Director for Vodafone Ghana, Gayheart Mensah in an interview with Citi Business News, blamed the inability of the other mobile telecom operators to be part of the 800 MHz Band auction to their inability to make profit as well as the structure of the telecom sector.

“It is no surprise that when it came to the issue of the 800 spectrum it was only MTN that had the muscle to bid for it and the fact that Vodafone, Airtel, Tigo could not take part should send a signal to the regulators of the telecom industry that there is something fundamentally wrong with the structure of the industry in Ghana. Of all the Telcos, it is only MTN that is making profits and it is because of the size advantage.” Gayheart Mensah noted.

He added, “We shouldn’t forget that if the rest are also making profits, it all contributes to the taxable revenues and incomes of the companies and feeds into the total revenues that the government gets to the extent that they are not making profits, it detracts from the pool of resources and revenues from which government can apply taxes.”

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By: Norvan Acquah-Hayford/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Vodafone, others worried over unfair treatment appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Employees of the telecommunications company receive financial support annually from the Vodafone Ghana Foundation to start and sustain various meaningful and impactful initiatives they feel passionate about; particularly in the areas of health and education. These include building and renovation works, mentorship, donations and ICT workshops.

Established in 2009, the Vodafone Ghana Foundation has invested in creating initiatives that solve pressing health issues, ensure healthy lives and promote the wellbeing of Ghanaians in various communities nationwide.

Commenting on the foundation’s impressive EVP footprints in Ghana, Nana Yaa Ofori-Koree, Head of Vodafone Ghana Foundation said they have pioneered and invested in numerous initiatives in the health, education, and other sectors.

“Vodafone Healthline, Healthline 255, Healthfest, Mobile 4 Good, Bring a Cheer, Vodafone Scholars are among the ground breaking initiatives the public identifies the Vodafone Foundation for. In the area of EVP, the tighter schedules of our employees do not prevent them from investing time, money and energy in making sure the specific needs of a given community are met.”

Nana Yaa mentioned that as the foundation continues to impact society more positively, Vodafone remains committed to investing more to change lives for the better.

LIBRARY PROJECTS

True to the leadership by example mantra, the telecom operator’s Senior Management Team (SMT) led by Chief Executive, Haris Broumidis renovated the Senchi Community Library building and compound, donated reading materials to the school and organized an educational “fun and learn fair” programme for the children.

In partnership with Joy FM, Vodafone’s employees built an ultra-modern library for the Asofan cluster of schools, near Ofankor in the Ga West Municipality of the Greater Accra Region. The library was built as part of the Read 100 project with the aim of inculcating reading habits into pupils between the ages of eight and fourteen.

The Yamaoransa community in the Central Regon also came to a standstill when Vodafone employees renovated and handed over a library to the Chief and people of the community. The team also donated books, learning materials, furniture, and volunteered in several activities including a clean-up exercise and painting of the library.

MENTORSHIP AND TRAINING PROGRAMMES

At the New Horizon Special School at Dzorwulu, Accra, Vodafone employees embarked on a series of ICT training sessions where students of the school with intellectual disabilities such as spastic, cerebral palsy and autism, were taught daily for two weeks on how to use the internet to enhance their entrepreneurial skills and connect with their friends and family through social media.

In emphasising the need for corporate Ghana to concentrate on universal education for all children, Vodafone employees partnered Special Attention Project (SAP), a local NGO that provides educational support for out- of-school children with Specific Learning Disabilities (SpLD), to provide support to school drop-outs who live independently on the streets and show signs of SpLD. The team went a step further to conduct different forms of training for teachers on how to identify and manage children with SpLD.

A group of Vodafone employees, organised a series of mentoring programmes dubbed, Dream Believe Achieve (DBA) in primary and junior high schools across the country to equip school children with leadership skills to become responsible future leaders. Thousands of school children at the primary and junior high school level nationwide have benefitted from this project.

Social workers of the Boys Remand Probation Home at Ako Adjei in Accra were not left out of the mentoring and retooling programmes. In a two- day capacity training workshop dubbed ‘Hope Initiative’, 15 workers of the facility were equipped with knowledge and information on Behaviour Management of the Juvenile offender and how to reduce the level of recidivism among youth at risk. Aside Cognitive Self Change, Behaviour Management and Social Skills modules treated, the team renovated the roof of the home which was in poor condition and presented the home with footballs, basketballs, accessories and exercise kits.

INCUBATOR DONATIONS

The Foundation donated 10 incubators to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Tamale Teaching Hospital and one to the Nsawam Hospital to equip the neonatal department to give many premature babies born in the hospital a greater chance of survival.

BLOOD DONATION SUPPORT FOR JUNE 3 FLOOD AND FIRE VICTIMS

Aside the £100,000 package the Foundation used in supporting victims of the June 3 floods and fire incidents in Ghana, employees of the telecom operator held a blood donation exercise at Vodafone headquarters where other companies within the Airport City enclave took part in raising additional pints of blood to support the National Blood Bank.

PUBLICITY PARTNERSHIP WITH OPERATION SMILE

Vodafone staff contributed immensely in creating awareness and educating communities about cleft lip and Operation Smile – the medical mission which provides free reconstructive surgery to people living with cleft lips and pallets. The awareness campaign was done through radio interviews, developing and distributing publicity materials and actively involving other staff to recruit candidates for cleft lip and palate operations. This contributed to over 400 patient evaluations and 90 surgeries performed at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital in April 2015.

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Source: Vodafone Ghana

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[contextly_sidebar id=”jfT5hMx9IPGHFHJ3a4VbwJnSYmlKz8Vn”]On October 26, MTN announced that it had been fined $5.6bn in Nigeria for failing to disconnect up to five million unregistered SIM cards in a timely manner.

Then on Thursday, the mobile network – which is Nigeria’s biggest with over 60 million subscribers – said that the Nigerian Communications Commission had cut the fine to $3.4bn.

But in a twist, MTN on Friday morning told shareholders in a statement that its fine had actually not been reduced by 35% – as indicated from a first letter from the NCC on December 2 – but actually by 25%.

“Late on 3 December 2015, the day after receipt of the first letter, the company received a further letter from the NCC dated 3 December 2015 (the second letter).

“The second letter, which was stated to supersede the first letter, informed the company that the fine had actually been reduced by 25% to 780 billion naira ($3.9bn) and not by 35% to 674 billion naira ($3.4bn), as was stated in the first letter. The payment date remained 31 December 2015.

“Neither the first letter nor the second letter sets out any details on how the reduction was determined,” said MTN.

The company further said that executive chairman Phuthuma Nhleko plans to “immediately and urgently re-engage with the Nigerian Authorities” regarding the change in the fine.

MTN’s mega fine in Nigeria has become a headache for the company which has since seen its previous group CEO Sifiso Dabengwa quit and its share price decimated by up to a fifth on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

On Thursday, the company also announced that its Nigeria CEO Michael Ikpoki and its head of regulatory and corporate affairs in that country, Akinwale Goodluck, had resigned.

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Credit:  Fin24

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The award-winning Tigo Insurance scheme, has over the years given to its customers like never before in times of ill health, or when ones relative is deceased. Over GHC5million in more than 7,000 claims between 2010 and now has been paid as claims.

The new beneficiary Madam Eunice Dzifa Heyman received her cheque of GHC2, 000 at a colorful presentation in dansoman to cover her funeral expenses.

The claims manager, Nicholas Normeshie noted that “Customers are required to pay GHC1.30 monthly premium for the Life Scheme and GHC1.40 monthly for the Hospital Support Scheme. He added that the scheme is also designed to be simple and easily accessible, in that every valid claim is paid within a matter of 72 hours, unlike some of the regular insurance schemes, which pay claims in two weeks or more

“The Life scheme covers the policy holder and one other family member, and it pays up to GHC2,000 maximum when any of the two dies.

The Hospital Support scheme pays up to GHC600 when any of the beneficiaries is on admission in a hospital.”

Eunice Heyman chose the Tigo Life Insurance Scheme and covered her dad under the scheme so she earned the full benefit upon her dad’s demise he added.

The Tigo insurance scheme has over 1.5million customers which is designed to make insurance simple and affordable for the many Ghanaians who are unable to afford the regular insurance policies.

The operations manager for Tigo insurance Barbara Asante said because of the small monthly premium of up to only GHC1.40, compared with the relatively huge premiums the regular schemes charge, the uptake of Tigo Insurance has been encouraging over the last five years.

Insurance coverage in Ghana is said to be less than two per cent of the population, and mobile micro-insurance has been identified as one of the sure ways of boosting insurance uptake in Ghana.

Tigo Insurance offers two policies: A Life Insurance policy and a Hospital Support Insurance policy. Tigo insurance promises to unveil a new product which will wow customers in the year .the insurance manger hinted that the policy is currently undergoing a test trial.

The scheme has Prudential Life and BIMA a Micro-Insurance agent as its partners.

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Source: Tigo Ghana

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[contextly_sidebar id=”8rClXqs3FEGDto5nW0miLa9gpEa7wiJw”]This is the concern being raised by players in the ICT sector.

According to them, the situation has also affected the larger economy as businesses are unable to expand and employ labour to contribute to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The Chairperson of the ICT Sector of the Association of Ghana Industries, Nana Beechem tells Citi Business News a tax waiver system will allow businesses adopt modern technology trends to enhance growth.

“The technologies we Seatec sell, the country does not manufacture, we don’t even assemble and yet the taxes on them are so high. We pay at least 20 percent for import duties. When you add all the taxes, for any item that comes in, you get at least 30 percent excluding imports taxes that you are likely to get back,” she said.

The Chairperson further stated, “If the uptake of the technology is slow because of this, the person does not have the opportunity to go and work in an office where they will use the latest technology, their productivity is not improved so the companies are not as productive as they ought to be so they don’t also end up employing more people and paying more taxes and contribute to the economy as a whole.”

Nana Beechem who is also the Managing Director of sales and maintenance of application systems firm, Seatec Limited was speaking at a seminar on using Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise solutions to meet evolving communication needs of businesses.

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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Industry appeal for tax cuts on ICT imports appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.