
C/R: One dead following chieftaincy clash at Gomoa Nyanyano
A chieftaincy clash at Gomoa Nyanyano in the Central Region has left one person dead. Properties running into thousands of cedis have also been lost as a result of the incident. Sources close to Citi News say a substantive chief installation ceremony by elders from the Gomoa Nyanyano Stool land following the demise of the chief of the town Dr. Nana Obeng Wiabo V, led to the clash. Frank Ayikwe, a principal elder of the town narrated the incident to Citi News.

Meningitis resurfaces in Upper West Region
Health authorities in the Upper West region have disclosed that cases of meningitis have been recorded in some districts within its catchment areas. "We are in the meningitis season, some of the districts have started reporting suspected cases of meningitis. We are investing our cases and what I can say is that currently, no district has reached an outbreak threshold. However, Nandom got an alert level in week one and week three. We have investigated and responded, but no death of meningitis has been recorded from the beginning of the year till now," the Regional Health Director said. More than 40 out of the close to 400 persons who contracted meningitis in the region in 2020 died, attracting the attention of Ghana's parliament to call on the health ministry to find a lasting solution to the situation.

Accra: Police demolish illegal structures at Abuja CMB
Hundreds of squatters at Abuja CMB in Accra have been displaced after the demolition of their structures by a team of policemen from the Greater Accra Regional Police Command. The police say the land on which the structures have been erected is needed by the rightful owner for development. Some of the dwellers who were agitated by the action tried confronting the police on why their structures were being pulled down without any notice.

WHO/FDA registered Antimalarial, Pyramax approved for Coronavirus clinical trials
The World Health Organization prequalified and Ghana Food and Drugs Authority registered Antimalarial Pyramax, a fixed-dose combination medication for the treatment of malaria, has been approved for clinical trials for COVID-19 in South Korea. In 2017, Pyramax an oral drug produced as a result of a collaboration between Medicines for Malaria Venture, University of Iowa and Shin Poong Pharm, a South Korean pharmaceutical firm specializing in neglected tropical diseases were included in both the pediatric and adult Essential Medicines Lists of WHO for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria. Internationally, Pyramax is registered in twenty-six countries with high malaria burden and locally registered by the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority since March 2020 for the management of uncomplicated malaria.

Akufo-Addo addresses Ghanaians on COVID-19 measures tonight
Scheduled for 8 pm, the address will be broadcast live on all major television networks including 97.3 Citi FM and Citi TV. Top of tonight's update is expected to be Ghana's COVID-19 vaccination programme following the arrival of 600,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India and distributed by COVAX, a global vaccine sharing initiative. The vaccines which came in last week will be deployed to designated health facilities and are expected to be administered first to frontline health workers, and high-risk persons and people over 60 years, to slow the progression of the disease. Aside from the planned sensitization campaign in markets, lorry parks, churches, mosques and other public places to provide further clarity on the vaccination exercise, some government officials will also be taking the vaccine jab publicly to boost confidence in vaccine rollout.

Government to use technology in deployment of COVID-19 vaccines
Government will use technology in deploying the newly arrived vaccines in Ghana. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, government launched the COVID-19 tracker app to aid contact tracing efforts in limiting the spread of the disease. Dr. Nsiah Asare says details of all vaccinated persons will be captured on the Ghana Health Services' electronic database adding the government will inculcate technology in the COVID-19 vaccination program.

Ghana in talks with manufacturers to receive more vaccines
Government is in talks with manufacturers of the COVID-19 vaccines to get additional vaccines for the country. Former Deputy Health Minister, Dr. Okoe Boye on The Big Issue on Citi TV/FM said Ghana will receive more vaccines in the coming weeks. The vaccines arrived via the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility which Ghana has signed onto alongside 91 other countries.

GRIDCo blames Saturday's 'dumsor' on gas supply challenges
The Ghana Grid Company has attributed the power outage experienced by some Ghanaians in parts of the country to disruptions in its power supply system. It said gas supply challenges from the offshore fields is to blame for the blackout on the night of Saturday, February 27, 2021. GRIDCo in the press release stated that it "Wishes to inform the general public that at approximately 18:55PM on Saturday, February 27, 2021 gas supply challenges emanating from the Offshore fields, led to the loss of power supply totalling about 1,000MW.".

I won't legalise same-sex marriage in Ghana
Ghana's President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stressed that it will not be under his presidency that marriage between persons of the same sex will be legalized in the country. In 2018, the President gave the first of his indication that he will never amend the laws of the country to allow for same-sex marriage. "Currently, there are some laws on LGBT in Ghana. We in the police will enforce the law as far as the limits of the laws are concerned. Therefore, as long as those laws remain in our statute books, we are going to enforce them. If the people of Ghana by way decide that they are going to legitimize it and is taken off from our books, we are okay with it. But until that is done, we will ensure that the laws are complied with", he said.

Bagbin more of an NPP speaker than NDC
Mr Aboagye added: "If we are going to work on perceptions and utterances and attitudes of people, then the NDC Speaker is more of an NPP Speaker than NDC". Explaining himself further, Mr Aboagye said: "Didn't you hear ET Mensah's recent interview and what he said about the treatment meted out to him and Bagbin and others?". "Where was Bagbin in the scheme of all of this until he became Speaker? Haven't you heard? And that is why I keep telling you that Bagbin being Speaker is more of an NPP than NDC". "You don't think that if some NPP MPs had not gone into some cult with them [NDC], he [Bagbin] would've won ?" he asked. "If we are to work on words and perceptions and posture, then Bagbin is more of an NPP Speaker than an NDC person", Mr Aboagye stressed.

Attitude of some Akufo-Addo appointees made Ghanaians angry with NPP on Dec.7
According to him, this was because some appointees had stinking attitudes and the people wanted to prove to them that power resides in them. He was shocked that even the good policies implemented by the government did not convince the people of Ghana who had decided to punish the party because of their appointees who had stinking attitudes. Apart from the stinking attitude of appointees, he noted that the NPP's handling of issues with regards to illegal mining was not the best and therefore people in these mining communities ganged up to "Teach them a lesson".

Let law take its course when handling LGBTQI matters
As a result, the Police as law enforcers would continue to apply Ghana's laws on such issues. "Currently, there are some laws on LGBT in Ghana. We in the police will enforce the law as far as the limits of the laws are concerned. Therefore, as long as those laws remain in our statute books, we are going to enforce them. If the people of Ghana by way decide that they are going to legitimize it and is taken off from our books, we are okay with it. But until that is done, we will ensure that the laws are complied with", he said. The IGP has advised that while at it, people must not to take the laws of the country for granted as the police would not spare anyone who flouts the law saying "Let us not take the laws into our own hands".

NDC MPs 'under a lot of pressure' to reject Akufo-Addo's ministerial nominees
"The MPs represent constituencies and the constituents and the grassroots members and the hardcore NDC opposition members also have their grievances in the last election and the MPs of the NDC are under a lot of pressure." "You can even see some hashtags that are calling for mass rejection of all the nominees", Mr Samoa Addo told Eugene Bawelle on Class91. In his view, while the apologies rendered by some of the re-nominated ministers-designate could soften the hearts of the NDC MPs to look favourably on them, the arrogance and flippancy displayed by others, such as Agriculture Minister-designate Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, will be to his disadvantage.
Accidents on Accra-Kumasi road caused by non-dualization of highway by corrupt leaders
The Accra-Kumasi road has become a spot for countless road accidents usually involving passenger buses that collide head-on with other vehicles. For Mr Bentil, the dead have been killed by corrupt leaders: "Money stolen and wasted on judgment debts in Ghana each year can dualise Accra-Kumasi road. Those who died on that road were killed by corrupt leaders!" he lashed out. His call for the reconstruction of the road from a one-lane road to a two-lane road has been backed by experts who say that dualised roads lead to a drastic reduction in road accidents, especially head on collisions.

Striking airport workers give government two weeks to resolve grievances
Speaking to Citi News, General Secretary of the Public Services Workers Union of the Trades Union Congress, Mr. John Sampah, said the workers will resume the industrial action should the government fail to honour its promise. "At the end of the three-hour meeting, there was an agreement to the effect that the workers will withdraw all their services and give the government the 15th of March for it to address the concerns of the workers. In the meantime, one of the concerns of the workers, which was the promotion of a certain group of staff who had been interviewed two years ago but was pending; the Chief of Staff gave instructions to the Board Chair that the letters to those workers be written by Monday. That was agreed upon." The outrage of the workers led to the disruption of all departures at the Kotoko International Airport on Friday morning following the indefinite withdrawal of services of all general staff at the airport on the orders of the Divisional Union of the Public Services Workers Union at the Ghana Airport Company Limited.

North Dayi DCE empowers PWDs with start-up kits
According to him, a total of six hundred and sixty-four PWDs have been captured in the district out of which more than half of the number have been supported with such items as part of government's Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty programme. Some of the items given out are; deep freezer, baking oven, corn and cassava mill, wheelbarrow and farming equipment. Mr. Atta noted that, prior to him taking office as DCE of the area, many of such persons in the district have been complaining of being neglect but "What I can do is to take them out of that poverty cycle and that is what we should be doing".

Manual on COVID-19 vaccination being developed for public sensitization
To dispel scepticism about the vaccines, the government has said there will be sustained public sensitization campaigns by the Local Government Service, Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, National Commission for Civic Education and Information Services Department to educate the public on the upcoming immunization exercise. "We couldn't have started education on vaccination at a point where the focus was on treatment or when the vaccine was being developed. We had to get good and strategic signals to show that we are just about getting the vaccines before we roll out. You can't give education on a vaccine that has not been developed and approved for use, but I agree that we can make more noise for the public to know about it now." Aside from the planned sensitization campaign in markets, lorry parks, churches, mosques and other public places to provide further clarity on the vaccination exercise, some government officials will also be taking the vaccine jab publicly to boost confidence in vaccine rollout.

Construction of national cathedral still government's priority
The construction of a national cathedral remains a top priority of the Akufo-Addo government, the Minister-designate for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ebenezer Kojo Kum has said. "The National Cathedral project is still a government priority project. The President has said that the project is going to be constructed at the very least cost to the state. It is on course and already the constructors are on site." The court, in February 2020 however dismissed his injunction application seeking to halt ongoing works on the land earmarked to house the National Cathedral.

Peace Council's new governing board commences work
The new governing board of the National Peace Council has commenced work in earnest to execute its mandate of promoting peace, unity and stability among the citizenry. Members expressed their eagerness to serve at an orientation workshop held in Accra, which also provided a platform for the Council and its international partners like the UNDP to honour and appreciate the dedication and hard work of the former Board members during their tenure of office to sustain peace. Addressing the participants, Dr. Adu-Gyamfi said the Peace Council Act imposed an obligation on the Council to network, cooperate, and co-create with identifiable partners to prevent, manage, and resolve conflicts in the country.

Carpenter arrested for stealing coffin
A carpenter at Ayigbe Town in Accra, George Amoah is in the grips of the Korle Bu police for allegedly stealing a coffin worth GHS2000. According to the Accra Region Police PRO, DSP Effia Tenge, the personnel traced the stolen coffin to Korlewoko, a suburb of Accra where the suspect had allegedly sold it to a bereaved family for a burial ceremony. "Police proceeded to the funeral and found the coffin beside the deceased who was lying in state, ready to be put into the coffin for burial."