The angry residents on Saturday morning took to the streets to pour out their displeasure about the decision.

The residents burnt lorry tires amidst chanting in protest of the decision to use the land for an interim bus terminal.

According to the aggrieved residents, the siting of the terminal in the midst of a cluster of schools will affect academic activities and endanger the lives of both teachers and students.

One of the residents who spoke to Citi News said “We are demonstrating for the interest of the community and not individual interests. This is a community school that we have with other clusters of schools surrounding this area and you want to turn this place into a bus terminal. Imagine you have a child here and they want to turn the place into a bus terminal so that the drivers will be shouting Boli, Tamale, and Walewale, how can these children have the concentration to learn?”

Another demonstrator said “I met with the Ashanti Regional Peace Council here and told them everything concerning the park and they understood me. We are waiting to see what will happen here.”

The proposed interim terminal, according to the Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly (AMMA), is to aid the relocation of drivers from the Tamale station at Alabar.

An opinion leader in the area, Alhaji Baba Alhassan, says other alternatives must be considered since the residents are adamant in their opposition to the terminal.

“You see, those mates, they are hypocrites. They have been fighting among themselves and killing each other. So why do they want to bring them here? They cannot bring them here. If they bring them here, it is going to be a very big problem for us. So we will not understand and we will never understand why they want to bring them here”.

All demarcation sketches posted at the site, have been destroyed by the residents.

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By: Hafiz Tijani/Citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Asawase residents protest siting of bus terminal on school land appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

They have accused world leaders of turning a blind eye to the happenings in Myanmar hence their action.

[contextly_sidebar id=”T4gPkoN6DWJYKR8vAxUwVBHI3mU9NpHa”]The group during the protest presented a petition to the Israeli Embassy in Ghana.

Myanmar is currently in the midst of a brutal crackdown against its Muslim minority Rohingya population, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee into neighboring Bangladesh.

Speaking to Citi News, a leader of the group, Ras Mubarak, who’s also a Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, said an immediate action must be taken by world leaders to end the attack.

“..We are here at the Obra Spot in Circle to begin a procession to Accra which is the Art centre where some of us will leave and go to the Isreali Embassy to deliver a petition. We are requesting for the Isreali Embassy to stop the sale of arms to the army in Myanmar. As you may be aware, there are a group of countries who as of last year were selling arms to Myanmar, and the reason we are doing this is because of past history. We have the history of Holocaust, we have the Rwandan situation and the Sierra Leonean situation, and if we do not speak out against such atrocities in the world, we all become complicit in the crimes that are being perpetuated by the people who have the power to perpetuate crime.”

The demonstration came off, despite a call from the Accra Regional Police Command to call off the protest.

The group notified the Police about its demonstration [which will be staged in Ghana] against the state of Israel, following alleged reports of the sale of arms to the Myanmar government.

Rohingyas have been fleeing attacks in Western Myanmar, specifically Rakhine state, which began on August 25, 2017. The incident led to insurgents attacking Police posts and an army camp which killed about twelve persons in the process.

The military has been accused of burning Rohingya villages, but the army has explained that it is only responding to attacks by militants and not targeting civilians.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Group stages demo in Ghana to protest Rohingya crisis appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The group notified the Police about its demonstration [which will be staged in Ghana] against the state of Israel, following alleged reports of sale of arms to the Myanmar government.

In a meeting with the group, the Police Service however advised the organizers , led by the MP for Kumbungu, Mr. Ras. Mubarack to “rescind on their intended demonstration due to personnel constraint and issues bordering on national security.”

The Police Command, in a statement signed by Head of Public Affairs Unit of the Police Service, Efia Tenge urged interested supporters to “refrain from taking part [in the protest] since it will not provide security for the demonstration.”

The statement indicated that though Mr. Mubarak and his group refused to respect the decision of the Police to reconsider a postponement, the Police Service will “implore the leadership to heed to the Police by rescinding on their decision for further deliberations.”

Rohingyas have been fleeing attacks in Western Myanmar, specifically Rakhine state,  which began on August 25.

The incident led to insurgents attacking Police posts and an army camp which killed about 12 in the process.

The military has been accused of burning Rohingya villages but the army has explained that it is only responding to attacks by militants and not targeting civilians.

–

By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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They say they will do everything possible to resist the sale of the plants and other company assets.

[contextly_sidebar id=”q0S1oTQG1HJSz2AW21BEsA1yyfuFevtQ”]Government has advertised the sale of at least a majority stake in specified thermal plants owned by the VRA.

The advertisement, which was placed in the Daily Graphic indicated that the sale forms “part of government’s efforts to restructure the energy sector.”

“As part of government’s efforts to restructure the energy sector and optimising the operational efficiency of the power SOEs, a number of policy measures are being explored. Key among these measures is government’s consideration that separating VRA’s thermal operations from its hydro operations will improve their ability to favourably compete with other power generating companies significantly and return it to profitability,” the advert said.

Workers who spoke to citifmonline.com on condition of anonymity said the advert was placed in the papers without the knowledge of VRA.

They say government intends to sell off VRA’s thermal assets, estates and other non-core assets.

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta indicated private sector involvement in restructuring the VRA when he presented the 2017 budget in Parliament, saying a new entity will “hold” the VRA’s thermal assets.

“Mr. Speaker, as a government, we are committed to achieving a least-cost power generation infrastructure through accelerated private sector participation. This will partly involve the restructuring of the power sector by bringing all hydro generation exclusively under the Volta River Authority (VRA) and creating a separate thermal market.. A new entity will hold the thermal assets which are currently held by VRA and make available a significant portion of this entity for private sector investment in pursuit of its private sector participation policy,” said the Minister

He re-affirmed it in the mid-year budget , saying “Mr. Speaker, one key intervention that Government promised in the 2017 Budget Statement was the restructuring of the Volta River Authority (VRA) to bring about increased operational efficiency and private sector investments in the power . Government has approved the VRA restructuring agenda submitted by the Ministry to Cabinet and processes towards the implementation of the restructuring agenda have begun under the coordination of the Finance Ministry.”

In 2016, employees with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) embarked on a demonstration to protest the then NDC government’s plans to privatize ECG.

After a series of demonstrations however, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government decided to review some portions of the agreement , explaining further, that it was a concession and not an outright sale.
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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We’ll fight attempts to sell VRA assets – Workers appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The group, according to their leaders, has over 500 members across the country who have not been posted after the completion of their programme of study and National Service in 2011, and have since remained unemployed.

The group raised their concerns at a press conference in Sunyani on Tuesday, addressed by its leader, Daniel Amoako.

He lamented government promised to tackle  their concerns  but they have not seen anything concrete steps taken to solve the problem.

“As veterinary technicians and nurse professionals, we cannot work without salaries. Unfortunately, however, those concerned and responsible for our engagement are doing nothing and are refusing to post us to the appropriate facilities to render our services to the nation,” he emphasized.

Mr. Daniel Amoako, therefore, appealed to government and the two ministries to as a matter of urgency enable them contribute to the development of the nation as well as cater for their families.

An Executive Member of the group, Guak Richmond on the sidelines of the Conference, said though they were encouraged to pick up appointments as voluntary workers at the abattoir, slaughter houses and border towns to help improve the health services in the country, they still serve as volunteers without any effort to permanently engage them.

He warned that until the authorities fulfill their grievances, they will no longer opt for dialogue with government.

“They should be expecting a demonstration at the flagstaff house and the sector ministries as well,” he charged.

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By: Mashoud Kombat/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Give us clearance or face our wrath – Health professionals to gov’t appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

A teenager in the capital Caracas and a woman in San Cristobal, near the Colombian border, were shot dead.

A national guardsman was killed south of the capital.

Tens of thousands of people rallied to demand new presidential elections and the release of jailed opposition politicians. Mr Maduro accused the opposition of attacking police.

He also accused them of looting shops, saying that more than 30 arrests had been made.

Supporters of the government held a rival rally in Caracas.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Henrique Capriles has called for further mass protests on Thursday.

Despite having the world’s largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela has suffered for several years from high inflation, rampant crime and a shortage of basic goods.

The protests taking place across the country were expected to be the biggest in three years, putting extra pressure on President Maduro to negotiate with the opposition and find a way of easing the country’s economic crisis.

Anti-government protesters have described it as Venezuela’s “second independence day”.

Elections are not due until 2019, but the opposition says the country is on the verge of collapse. Inflation is expected to top 700% this year, the IMF says.

The latest crisis was triggered by last month’s Supreme Court decision to officially take over power from the opposition-controlled parliament.

The Supreme Court reversed its decision after three days, but it was too late to prevent a new wave of protests.

Venezuela has now seen weeks of clashes between demonstrators and police. The latest deaths bring the number killed to at least eight, with many more injured.

–

Source: BBC

The post Three killed at anti-government protests in Venezuela appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The students, who nearly clashed with police officers maintaining law and order at the school on Friday evening, are demanding to go home following these deaths.

According to information available to Citi News, three students who were sick reportedly demanded exeats last week, and after they were granted, they all died within two weeks at the Hospital.

The students thus demonstrated today [Friday], when three more students fell sick and were taken to the Garden City and Manhyia Government Hospitals respectively.

The main entrance to the school was blocked with several people including parents and townsfolk demanding that authorities open the gate for them to take their wards home.

One of the students, who helped convey some of his ailing colleagues to the hospital, narrated what transpired to Citi News, “It all started last week Wednesday when we heard that one of our guys, a form one student is dead. The next week, also on a Wednesday, we also heard of the death of another form two student, and on Thursday, the following day, we heard another student had died bringing the number to three. This morning we heard about the death of another student, and also this evening we also heard another student is dead. So the students decided that if this is happening, the school should allow us to go home whether for prayers or any kind of protection. From the look of things the school hasn’t thought of allowing us to go home so we had to demonstrate for the authorities to know how serious we are about what is happening.”

Sick students stable

According to the student who wished to remain anonymous, those at the Hospital are recuperating.

“This evening we have taken three students to the Hospital. Some complained of heart attacks and headaches, and when we took them to the sick bay they complained a lot, so we decided to rush them to the Hospital. And when I was leaving the Hospital some of them were okay.”

Mysterious deaths?

He alleged that, the school has experienced about six mysterious deaths, which often occur every third term, hence students feel unsafe to stay in the school.
According to him, the students are even more scared because this time round, the deaths are happening in the second term, and management of the school appear unconcerned.

He even revealed that the Headmistress of the school is also currently unwell and on admission.

“These deaths have been occurring mostly every third term. But the reason why the students are furious is that, this time it is happening in the second term and administration is not saying anything about it. As I speak to you right now, the Headmistress herself is seriously sick and in the Hospital. So we have spoken to the Assistant Headmaster of administration and the Senior House Master, and they are saying that they may close down the school for the students to go home, so probably by tomorrow (Saturday) they will allow the students to go home.”

“I have personally witnessed about five students who have fallen sick seriously and have been taken to the Hospital. But I have also heard of the death of about six people.”

Meanwhile Citi News gathered that, the number of people dead from the school include two matrons.

Angry parents

Some of the parents who had gathered in front of the school gate expressed disappointment that the school authorities failed to come out and speak to them on what exactly was happening, and whether their kids were safe.

“Are the police officers waiting for chaos before they bring more people? The man should come and speak to us the parents so we have our peace of mind. I have two children in there and I can’t be feeling good” an angry parent said.

“We are parents and we are very worried, so kindly come out and speak to us just to calm us down. There are a lot of parents here. Why is this going on? We have rumours that some deaths are happening; that there’s cholera and all that, they should come out and speak to us” another angry father said.

The Assistant Headmaster of the School in charge of Academics, Ernest Wiafe, said the students became agitated and were becoming chaotic following rumours that another student had died after supper.

“…So in the process, there was a bit of stone throwing and some noise; and so we had to call the police who were close and they came with a little bit of reinforcement. So as you can see the situation has normalized. Unfortunately, some media houses presented a completely different story, that’s why you see a few parents outside the school trying to get their wards back home. But let me confirm that our students are all safe and they are sleeping. So the parents would have to leave and find a better time to come back and find out things for themselves.”

No food poisoning

On the matter of deaths in the school, Mr. Wiafe said none of the students died in the school, but at external health facilities. He also debunked reports that the students may have died from food poisoning in the school.

“We have two form two boys and one form one student who died. As I speak to you, we don’t know the cause of death. However they didn’t die in the school. They fell sick, reported to the sick bay, they had first aid, and the nurses sort exeat for them; their parents took them to the Hospital and they passed on. They all died on different days within a span of about fifteen days. These are isolated cases. For a very long time we haven’t recorded such situations, these are unfortunate times; we have a student population of over 2,800. In the case of the last person who died, he took an exeat, went home and the father took him to a Hospital, he was treated and discharged; later in the day he felt sick again and was taken to Tech Hospital and he died.”

He said the deaths cannot be linked to food poisoning since the entire student population ate the same food with the deceased persons.

“Nothing like food poisoning; Mind you we have a boarding population of a little over 2,100 who all take food from the dining hall. There’s also a canteen where the students go to buy food from. So if it were to be a case of food poisoning, you could have imagined the number of casualties. So we have no doubt at all, that these are students who had ailments and unfortunately passed on. However investigations by professionals are still ongoing and I believe we will know everything.”

Investigation into deaths

According to Mr. Ernest Wiafe, the matter has been reported to the municipal health directorate, which has dispatched officials to the school to collect vital information, and also do same at the hospitals where the students died, to ascertain the cause of death.

Mr. Wiafe also said closing down the school would not be necessary considering that the West African Senior High School Certificate Examination, WASSCE, is ongoing.
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie & Lauretta Timah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Kumasi Academy students protest over ‘mysterious’ deaths appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Union officials representing thousands of striking medical workers have signed an agreement with government officials in the capital, Nairobi.

The doctors are to receive increased allowances as negotiations over other issues continue.

The doctors have been demanding higher wages and better working conditions and say more doctors need to be hired.

About 2,500 public health institutions were affected by the strike.

A number of patients are reported to have died from a lack of medical care during the walkout.

“We are grateful that this dark page in the history of our country has come to an end,” Health Minister Cleopa Mailu said at the signing of the deal.

The authorities would do their best to ensure Kenyans “get services quickly”, he added, without giving exact dates on when public health services would be back up and running.

Dr Ouma Oluga, head of the union of medical workers (KPMDU), said: “The strike may be over but the industrial dispute is not yet”.

He reiterated the union’s argument that it was impossible to separate the rights of patients from the rights of doctors.

The return to work agreement will see doctors receive an additional $560 (£460) to $700 a month in allowances.

However a separate agreement, called the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is yet to be discussed.

The CBA could take weeks to conclude as the organisations that actually employ the majority of the doctors – the County Boards of Health – were not involved in drafting the document and they need to study it before the county governors can sign.

Previous attempts to end the strike failed as doctors and the government refused to compromise on their positions.

Last week the government withdrew its offer of a 50% pay rise to the workers.

The jailing of KPMDU union leaders for refusing to honour a court order to call off the strike failed to persuade the doctors to back down.

As well as higher salaries, doctors have been campaigning for improvements to dilapidated public health facilities and want Kenya to address a huge shortage of doctors.

–

Source: BBC

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GETFund in a statement however assured that it is committed to its obligations towards students who are studying abroad on government sponsorship.

[contextly_sidebar id=”PtVHs1lFo5i0ZxrOlY1GjNKJcOm4cAsz”]Some Ghanaian students studying in the United Kingdom on GETFund scholarship, recently threatened to embark on a demonstration in London over their unpaid stipends.

The affected students said they had not received their stipends since September 2016, and thus served notice of a demonstration on Friday, March 3, 2017 in front of the BBC Broadcasting house in London.

The GETFund, according to its statement, is aware of the arrears and has “since the beginning of the year [2017] been corresponding with some of the schools and students as to our arrangements to settle our obligations.”

The fund attributed the problems to transition challenges which it assured are being addressed.

“The GETFund has been confronted with some challenges recently but these are being resolved. Parents and students are thus assured that our obligations regarding the scholarships will be honored soon.”

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We’ll overcome scholarship payment challenges soon – GETFund appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Park’s presidency has been rocked by allegations that a close friend used her ties to the leader to meddle in state affairs and wield improper influence. Prosecutors investigating the case have indicted her friend, Choi Soon-sil, and are seeking to question the president about her role in the scandal.

Organisers said 800,000 people had gathered early on Saturday evening and expected a total of 1.5 million people to join by the end of the night. Police declined to give an estimate of the crowd size but said 25,000 personnel had been dispatched to police the protest.

The protests, now in their fifth week, have remained peaceful and marked by huge candle-lit rallies where activists and rock bands have entertained a diverse crowd of students, office workers, and young families.

“I was watching the news and thought this cannot go on – people really want her to step down but she hasn’t,” said 45-year-old Kwak Bo-youn, one of the protesters.

“This is the second time for me to the protests, but the first time for my husband and kids”.

Earlier in the day, a large group of demonstrators marched to within 200 metres of the presidential palace, where Park resides, but a court appeal to allow protesters to remain there after dark was rejected.

Park, whose five-year term ends in February 2018, has apologised twice over the affair but is resisting calls for her resignation. Opposition parties are canvassing for support to impeach her.

Her approval ratings slipped one percentage point on Friday after hovering at just 5 percent for three consecutive weeks. Her disapproval rating rose three percentage points to 93 percent, according to a poll by Gallup Korea, which is not affiliated with the U.S.-based Gallup, Inc.

Park Geun-hye’s popularity and election as president in 2012 stemmed in part from the symbolic connection to her father who ruled South Korea for 18 years until he was assassinated by his spy chief in 1979. Many, especially the elderly, credit Park’s father with the rapid development of Korea.

However, only 9 percent of people aged over 60 said Park was doing well, according to the Gallup Korea survey.

Her support is lowest amongst young people. Ninety-nine percent of 19-29 year-olds and 98 percent of people in their thirties disapproved of Park, according to Gallup Korea.

Fears of policy-making paralysis prompted by the political crisis has also dealt a blow to consumer confidence, which fell to its lowest in more than seven years in November, South Korea’s central bank said.

–

Source: Telegraph

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