Two-hour rains flood Accra

Two hours of torrential rain Friday afternoon inundated many parts of the capital, Accra with flood waters, rendering many roads almost impassable.

The floods have cause heavy vehicular traffic.Large parts of the Kwame Nkrumah circle, Kaneshie First Light and the Central Business District are completely submerged.

There are no reports of loss of lives.Myjoyonline.com's David Andoh reports that residents in the affected areas are busily scooping water from their flooded rooms.

The rains started at about 2pm and lasted barely two hours but left many residents devastated.

A shopkeeper at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Ama Dansuaa, who said she lost more than half of her wares to the floods, complained that the floods exposed the poor drainage system in the capital.

Like many petty traders, she has no insurance and rues Friday's floods.

Former Majority leader predicts disaster in NPP

Former Majority Leader, Abraham Osei Aidoo has described the recent outburst in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as another recipe for disaster.

“What is happening in our party is not good and it is a recipe for another disaster,” he said.

Mr. Aidoo was speaking with Afia Pokua the Vim Lady Wednesday on Burning Issues on Adom FM and Asempa FM.

It would be recalled that NPP stalwart and financier Kennedy Agyapong has been campaigning vehemently against the current National Executive, accusing them of misappropriation of resources and calling them incompetent.

The Assin Central MP has even threatened to use $20million to form a new party and run the NPP down if the current National Chairman, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey retained his seat.

He has also threatened to quit Parliament and resign from the part if the executive dared to take him to the disciplinary committee of the party tom answer for his allegations against the executive.

Some of the executives, including the National Chairman and his First Vice, Fred Oware have fired back at Kennedy Agyapong.

Meanwhile the First Vice is also calling the National Chairman a liar because the latter said the former had shelved plans to run for the chairmanship.

Mr. Aidoo said such internal wrangling are driving floating voters away from the party like what happened in 2007 when 17 candidates fiercely contested for the party’s presidential slot.

He expressed his disappointment in the manner in which party stalwarts like Okere MP, Dan Botwe who are denying any wrangling in the party saying that behaving like an ostrich would not solve the problem.

Mr. Aidoo thinks among all the contestants for the position of General Secretary, Kwabena Agyapong fits the bill best.

Kwame Nkrumah on African Unity

Ghana, a big loser in $3bn Chinese loan deal - Dr. Lloyd Amoah

Senior Lecturer at Ashesi University and Afro-Chinese Relations expert, Dr. Lloyd Amoah has said Ghana is a big loser in the US$3billion Chinese Development Bank (CDB) deal.

“Using the Jubilee Oil Field as collateral for the loan should not have happened in the first place because that move collided with the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, Act 815, 2011” he said.

Dr. Lloyd Amoah made this statement in an interview with Afia Pokua on Burning Issues.

The loan conditions also require that Ghana begins repayment ahead of the full advancement of the loan.

As a result, the Chinese has so far advanced US$600million out of the proposed US$3billion, and Ghana has already put US$72million into an escrow account as part of the repayment condition under the loan agreement.

In the agreement, Ghana will be supplying China 13,000 barrels of crude oil daily, which is the share of Ghana's oil in the Jubilee Field.

The Ghanaian Parliament gave its assent to the agreement in February 2012 under the leadership of the then Deputy Speaker and now Speaker, Right Honorable Edward Doe Adjaho.

Dr. Amoah said Ghana identified some lapses in the deal after signing it and has so far paid about $292,000 as administrative expenses for the amendment.

He however noted that in spite of the down side of the loan agreement, Ghana stands to benefit if the loan is acquired and put to good use.

Asked whether Ghana should take any legal action in the international court, he said Ghanaians must rather pressurize the government to ensure that all of the US$3billion arrives as promised.

Meanwhile, MP for New Juaben South Dr. Mark Assibey Yeboah disagreed with the assertion that Parliament supervised a deal that has landed Ghana in a ditch.

He argued that the benefits were overwhelming, but admitted that there were excesses such as the US$25million the country would pay this year despite the fact that the Chinese have advanced on US$600million so far.

Dr. Assibey Yeboah therefore called for renegotiation of the deal to clear some excesses.

Former Vice Chairman of the Finance Committee in Parliament and former MP for Sege, Alfred Abayete saw nothing wrong with the loan but was concerned about those who would work with the money and the possibility of embezzlement.

An expert in China-Ghana Relations, Prof. Adams Andrew Adjei, currently lecturers in China said the Chinese have not respect for African so he was surprised Ghana entered into a loan agreement with China.

He cautioned that the Chinese will not forgive the loan even if Ghana ran into problems so Ghana should be circumspect that extent to which they relate with the Chinese.

Story by:Kwame Yankah

BP overtakes Malaria as number one killer – GHS Boss

The Director General of Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr. Ebenezer Appiah Denkyira has revealed that High Blood Pressure (BP) has overtaken Malaria as the number one killer in the country.

He was speaking on Adom FM/Asempa FM’s ‘Burning Issues’ talk show with Afia Pokua the Vim Lady.

The discussion focused on how to prevent sudden deaths like what happened to Ace Ghanaian BBC World News Anchor Komla Dumor.

Dr. Appiah Denkyira noted that the country paid great attention to preventing malaria-related death to the detriment of BP, which was at the second spot.

“No malaria-related deaths have reduced considerably and our records show that BP is the number one killer in the country now,” he said.

He attributed the increasing cases of high BP to several factors, including stress due to traffic congestion, excessive thinking, inactive lifestyle, and fatty foods among other things.

Dr. Appiah Denkyira advised those in their mid-30s to check their pressure regularly.

He also urged regular exercising, spending quality time with friends, and resting as stress releasers.

Meanwhile, Minority Chief Whip in Parliament and MP for Okere, Dan Kwaku Botwe who also spoke on the show said it was time for Ghanaians to move away from curative to preventive health.

“Our focus should now be on how to prevent diseases rather than seeking cure,” he said.

He observed that Komla Dumor’s death has suddenly become a reference point for discussion on individuals’ health, saying that Ghanaians only remember to pay attention to their health after a misfortune like Dumor’s unexpected demise.

Dan Botwe believes preventive health is possible if the needed personnel and facilities are made available across Ghana.

According to him, it is high time changes were made to the National Health Insurance Scheme to cover check-ups and others.

“We don’t have to reinvent the wheel - we must rather take advantage of the expertise of Ghanaians with overseas experience in preventive health to improve the scheme,” he said. “Political will is all that is left to see these things coming into fruition.”

Dan Kwaku Botwe therefore called on all stakeholders including the media to continue sensitizing the public on preventive rather than curative health lifestyles.

Meanwhile Wa West MP and Chairman for Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, Joseph Yieleh Chireh said for years there was no medical doctor in his constituency and residents had to travel 45 miles to Wa for medical assistance.

He said such a situation stifles preventive health, adding however that a doctor has only recently been posted to his district and he is due to start work on 26th January this year.

The MP however noted that due to lack of medical facilities and other resources in the northern parts of the country, medical practitioners had often refused postings to the area.

He was hopeful that Ghana’s health system would get better over time.

Story by:Kwame Yankah