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NewsTranscript
00:00 Good afternoon, welcome to join you today. We are coming to you live from our studios in Kokumlemle.
00:04 We are on DTT because we're free to on DSTV channel 421 and GO TV channel 125.
00:11 We are your home of independent, fearless and credible journalism. Coming up this afternoon,
00:17 double trouble for residents living in and around Sogakope as Ghana grid company cuts
00:22 power amid flooding in the area. More as the National Disaster Management Organization says
00:28 it has begun distributing relief items to affected residents. We'll take you live to
00:34 that community for updates on the situation. Also this afternoon, the Office of the Special
00:41 Prosecutor files application at the Supreme Court demanding that Justice Edward Chum be
00:47 removed from further presiding over the case against Cecilia Dapa, claiming his past unfair
00:53 and prejudicial comments. And later this afternoon, we'll take a look at how eye care influences work
01:02 and productivity as we commemorate World Science Day today. We have details plus a live broadcast
01:10 of the National Science Maths Quiz and you don't want to miss the action as it unfolds. My name is
01:16 Aishe Oubah. I'm also live on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and X for our join news on TV. My
01:22 personal handle is @theNanaAishe. Please stay. Lawyers for embattled former sanitation minister
01:47 Cecilia Dapa have expressed disappointment at what they call unethical behavior, which the OSP is
01:55 exhibiting the case of a former minister as follows a petition to the Chief Justice filed by
02:01 the OSP for the judge, Justice Edward Chum to recuse himself from the cases he's handling. Lawyer for
02:07 Madame Cecilia Dapa, Victoria Ba, did not mince words and called out the OSP for not giving any
02:13 prior complaint of the judge's comments or behavior that warrants him recusing himself. Richard
02:20 Kwedenya, who is in court, he joins us with details. Richard, give us details of why the OSP has
02:26 petitioned the Chief Justice. So, I said the OSP grounds its petition on what it says are well-founded
02:34 beliefs that Justice Edward Chum, the High Court judge, appears to be highly prejudicial against
02:40 not only the Office of the Special Prosecutor, but his person as well as personally he feels
02:46 that if the judge continues to sit on the case, he will not get justice. The OSP in the petition
02:52 says he doesn't reasonably expect to be partial to proceedings before the judge. He verily believes
02:59 that the judge may not give him any office that requires justice that he needs. And so that is
03:04 contained in the petition sent to the Chief Justice. So, what's been the reaction of the lawyers for
03:11 Madame Cecilia Dapa, Kwejo? I tell you that it was a brutal reaction. Lawyer for Madame Cecilia Dapa,
03:17 Victoria Ba, says it was disappointing that the OSP having regard to the adverse effects that the
03:23 application has on Madame Cecilia Dapa, her cash under seizure and her bank account frozen, the OSP
03:30 did not even deem it fit to give notice of the petition. So she says they see the petition and
03:35 without prejudice to the merits of the petition before the CJ as a deliberate ploy to forsake
03:41 the hearing and desperate attempt to avoid the OSP's own ill-fated application. So on the criminal
03:47 matter, Victoria Ba said they were improperly served and when Madame Cecilia Dapa and her
03:53 husband showed up in court to deal with the issues in the cash sheet, the OSP did not have the capacity
03:58 to show up in person to inform the court and though she had inconvenience in the petition,
04:04 she further noted that she was not aware of any law or procedure that responses to the absence
04:10 of a lawyer or prosecutor just because they have petitioned the Chief Justice in respect of a
04:15 matter she had due notice or have been initiated. So she described the act of the OSP as highly
04:21 unethical. So this case has been adjourned to the 18th of October where it is expected that the Chief
04:26 Justice will have made a determination in the petition brought before her. Madame Cecilia Dapa
04:31 was in court with her husband. She was spotted in some beautiful black and white suit dress with a
04:38 black headgear to match. Beside her, the spectacle husband who held a walking stick. She doesn't
04:44 look like someone who is troubled and would occasionally take her phone and browse through
04:49 it. So we are back in court on the 18th of October. Aisha. Court correspondent Kweje Nyanku
04:55 with that update away from the court.
04:58 There's double trouble for residents of Sogakope and adjoining communities as a Ghana grid company
05:12 has cut power amid flooding situations in the area. An ongoing spillage of the Akonsombo and
05:18 Kmondams have led to severe flooding in several communities along the Volta River. Gridco
05:24 announced in a statement on Wednesday that it has shut down its substation in Sogakope due to
05:30 flooding at the station and for the safety of residents. We have our reporters deployed to
05:35 various parts of the region. There will be Carlos Kaloni will be joining us shortly with more on
05:42 this. But now, right now, listen to the
05:46 some community members speaking to Joy News.
05:52 The information from VRA indicates that this situation might persist for about a week or two.
06:03 The inflows are heavy now and they think that in about a week or two, they will have reduced the
06:10 spillage. Because the situation is still unfolding, our team, that is our district staff, are still
06:16 going on with the assessment. But as we speak, we have relief items in those districts now.
06:22 At least seven of those people have been moved to safe havens.
06:26 Deputy Director General of NADMO, Sergiu Sergiu Amedonu,
06:33 says the organization has started distributing relief items to the area.
06:37 Meanwhile, a member of parliament for South Tong, Kwamla Mensa,
06:43 Wyoming, is calling on government to release the MPs' common fund to help provide some relief items
06:48 to the affected residents. The district NADMO did not have anything. The assembly itself
06:54 has collapsed. And this is why I think I have to call on the central government to release the
07:00 common fund to enable some of these interventions to be carried out. And so it's a problem that we
07:07 think needs all to just come put hands on the clothes and see how it comes to us.
07:13 You can hear or hear from our reporters who are in the area shortly, but on your screens are
07:24 visuals of how the place is looking at this point. Of course, you can see how devastating
07:32 this is in the north Tong, south Tong areas, including the unlawed districts. This is how
07:39 the place is looking like because there's been a spillage of the Akonsombo Dam and residents say
07:47 there's also power outage, which the ECG has been explaining why. So this is actually double
07:56 jeopardy for the residents here. And of course, you can see how the visuals are on the screen.
08:03 We'll be getting our reporters, Carlos Kaloni, who will be joining us shortly. All right. So
08:09 Carlos has joined us. He'll be telling us more. Carlos, tell us about the communities
08:13 you have visited and what you found. Okay, so we've been to a number of communities
08:19 in the Eswajiman area. And in fact, the flood situation there, you know, a lot of homes have
08:27 been affected and people moving out in and out and all that. But currently we are the VRA
08:32 at the Akonsombo Dam itself, where the deputy minister of energy, Herbert Kramper, is leading
08:39 a government delegation to meet with management of VRA to look at how they can mitigate the impact
08:47 of this flood situation on Ghanaians downstream. And earlier, I have been speaking with the
08:54 deputy CEO in charge of operations here at the VRA, and he's been telling me that the spillage
09:05 will come to an end, hopefully by next week, Tuesday, considering the volumes that are coming.
09:11 If we're able to do that, I mean, if we're able to control it, then hopefully by next week,
09:15 we should see the spillage reducing or going down entirely. And so the ministry of energy and VRA
09:23 are going to have a joint press conference any moment from now to address the press,
09:28 and we'll be updating viewers on the way forward on the spillage so far.
09:33 So how are residents coping? Well, residents, you know, because of the
09:40 accommodation situation, most of them in the mud houses, they would have to move to other places,
09:46 and a lot of inconvenience for them. And so I spoke with one woman who actually had nothing,
09:54 I mean, no mattress to sleep on, she slept on a normal mat, and all those things are gone,
09:59 and she's moving into another community. And she really expressed concern over the situation,
10:06 and hoping that NADMO will come their way with some relief items, especially with mattresses and
10:12 basic things that they can depend on while they move into other communities here. So that's the
10:18 situation on the ground. Carlos Coloni is joining us from some of the towns around the Notong area.
10:27 Ivy Setoji is also joining us from Central Tong District. Ivy, where have you been so far,
10:35 and what are the people telling you? I have been to Bapa Awaduwe, Kome,
10:41 in the Central Tong District, where the whole community is flooded. I saw residents trying to
10:49 get their properties out to a higher ground. The Mankla Law and some residents were trying to help
10:56 get them out of the area. In that community, right now, they can only use canoe to cross.
11:02 So we are trying to use the canoe to the community to get the shore and to meet every resident. Now,
11:08 what they are saying is that people along the lower water, they should have been
11:12 resettled before the spillage of the dam, and that was not the case. And so the disaster,
11:20 and the government should have done that, and because they have every facility to do that now,
11:25 they are asking government to get them some relief items, especially for the elderly and the students
11:32 to use for the meantime. It is devastating when it goes to the community. You see
11:38 elderly people trying to cross the river, trying to get their properties out. Currently, I am in
11:44 Sogak, the Central Tong District, that's the Ghana Bridge component, because their power station,
11:53 which is also flooded. And now, it's interesting to know that some areas,
12:00 the hospital, some parts are also flooded. The Kumbuni school is also flooded, it's also affected.
12:07 Some students have been asked to go home because of the flood. So currently, that's the situation
12:12 we are in. I can see some authorities, yes, and officials, they are trying to see what they can
12:19 do at the power station. So that's the situation we are in currently, Aisha. And so how are the
12:25 residents managing the situation? Well, some of them are relocating to their families and friends
12:32 at the other side. In Central Tong, they are going to the main backpacks, which is not affected
12:39 anyway. In South Tong too, they are also going to some residents, their families and friends.
12:48 In Mesa too, the situation is the same. It's getting worse by the day. In Mesa, it's getting
12:54 worse, backpacking, the situation is getting worse. Residents are moving to family and friends. So if
13:00 you don't have any family in town, if you don't have friends, that means you are left alone,
13:05 you'll be stranded. So that's what is happening currently.
13:10 This is Oje from the Central Tong district. So definitely, we are monitoring the situation.
13:15 We'll bring you updates in our subsequent bulletins.
13:21 We take a break on Joy News Today. We'll be back with more.
13:24 Welcome back to Joy News Today. We're going back to the Tong area where there's been constant
13:35 flooding because of the spillage of the Akonsombo Dam. Right now, Energy Minister and the VRA
13:42 are about to address the press. My colleague, Carlos Kaloni, is there for us. He joins us live.
13:47 Carlos, what can you tell us from this press briefing?
13:51 Chief Executive in charge of engineering and operations. Please, let's have the microphone
14:00 over to him there because if he moves, it means all the media will have their microphones and
14:06 cameras. So let's take that from him over there. And he'll make a statement. Right after that,
14:14 we'll take PowerPoint presentation. We will be happy to move out for the questions and also to
14:24 get the assignment from the Chief Executive and the Honorable Minister. Thank you all very much.
14:31 This is the end of it. We're all ears. Thank you.
14:34 Thank you.
14:37 Good afternoon, first of all.
14:41 All right.
14:41 Sorry.
14:41 Okay.
14:42 Sorry.
14:44 Okay.
14:45 Okay.
14:46 On September 15, 2020, the Akonsombo Dam on the coast of the waterfront of the Akonsombo Dam,
14:58 flowing high into the sea, resulting in a water level exceeding its upper level.
15:10 The spillage is to prevent the water from atopping and compromising the integrity.
15:16 This is not the first time the BR is draining water from the Akosifuja.
15:22 Spillage of water from the dam was done in 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1991,
15:39 and more recently 2010.
15:41 These were all done to prevent the water from atopping.
15:46 In line with our emergency preparedness plan and standard operating procedures,
15:53 prior to the commencement of the spill operation,
15:56 formal letters were sent to all the stakeholders, both at the national and district levels,
16:01 including all communities and people living along the downstream of the dam,
16:07 to inform them of the spillage.
16:08 The spillage began at a low rate for about one and a half weeks,
16:13 with no impact on the downstream communities.
16:16 However, the inflow into the reservoir continues to increase at a higher rate.
16:23 And therefore, there was a need to increase the spill rate
16:28 in order to slow down the rate at which the reservoir aggravation was rising.
16:35 This has resulted in the flooding of some communities downstream of the dams.
16:41 Before the spill rate was increased,
16:45 the Water Authority, in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Organization,
16:50 and others,
16:51 evaluated some of the residents in the affected communities
16:54 to higher grounds, which we designated as the safe haven of these communities.
17:00 And essential relief items were provided for the affected communities.
17:05 On October 11, 2023,
17:08 the VRA will continue to monitor the inflow into the Akosobo Reservoir,
17:14 and make a decision to close the spill gate to stop the spillage when the situation suggests so.
17:21 The VRA therefore wishes to caution all residents along the Kota River
17:27 and downstream of the Akosobo Dam and Kondang
17:31 to continue to take the necessary precautionary measures to prevent loss of lives.
17:35 The VRA will continue to monitor the situation,
17:39 work with our key stakeholders, and provide regular updates
17:44 to ensure prompt response to any emergency that may arise.
17:48 We deeply regret any inconveniences caused by this exercise.
17:54 Thank you.
17:55 [inaudible]
18:02 Colleagues from the media,
18:03 we are doing this in order to appreciate what is going on here.
18:11 We are faced with two evils.
18:15 So one evil for inundation, for flooding downstream,
18:20 and the first bigger evil, if we don't do anything,
18:25 of compromising the integrity of the dam.
18:29 [inaudible]
18:41 And so that's why we are here.
18:45 Ladies and gentlemen, we want to say about my presentation
18:49 that it gives some insights in regards to data analysis
18:55 so that as friends of the media, we can also appreciate the reasons behind what we are doing.
19:02 Let's invite our colleague Wahab from the Engineering Services Department.
19:08 Thank you.
19:11 [inaudible]
19:26 The VRA and the Energy Ministry addressing the press
19:33 and also assuring them of what they intend to do to resolve that situation.
19:40 [inaudible]
19:45 Away from that, WorldSide Day is marked on the second Thursday of October every year.
19:50 The theme for this year is "Love Your Eyes at Work"
19:53 with a primary focus on raising awareness about safeguarding vision in the workplace
19:59 and urging employers and leaders in the working world
20:02 to prioritize the eye health of the employees.
20:05 If you are in the corporate sector or even run a personal business
20:09 which requires you to constantly read documents,
20:12 how much attention are you paying to your site to maintain a good and healthy eye?
20:18 We've been speaking with Dr. Augustine Derry,
20:24 who is an optometrist with Third Eye Care and Vision Center.
20:29 He spoke with Bennis Abubedo on Newsdesk.
20:32 One, the eyes work with light.
20:36 The kind of light that enters your eye, the kind of light that the ambient lighting around.
20:40 So you have to have good lighting around.
20:44 You have to have good lighting from the laptop or the PC
20:46 or any visual display units that you are using.
20:49 Or it may hurt your eyes.
20:50 And apart from that, even the angle, say the laptop, that's an okay angle.
20:56 What I have here is good?
20:58 Yes, yes.
20:59 That's an okay angle.
20:59 What about this?
21:00 You may be bending a little.
21:02 Okay, what about this?
21:03 And that is too much.
21:04 Yes, that's too much.
21:05 This is just appropriate.
21:06 Right.
21:07 Just appropriate.
21:07 Because it should be like this or up to 45 degrees.
21:12 From these screens, we have a lot of what we call the blue light that comes out.
21:16 Blue light from studies, they show that it can make you uncomfortable.
21:23 They actually affect your productivity at work.
21:26 Imagine you're a banker.
21:27 Blue light is high energy light and it gets into the eye.
21:31 It can give you eye fatigue quickly.
21:34 You are typing in 80 what what and you're a banker and you get tired.
21:39 You just type in a lot of different things.
21:42 So whilst employers may think that it's not too important, it may cost you quite.
21:47 So in that scenario, how do I protect my eyes from the blue light?
21:52 And also if I'm in an office space that doesn't have good lighting,
21:57 maybe my employers are not willing to,
22:01 or they don't even have the knowledge to say that, oh, the lighting is not too good for our eyes.
22:05 How do I take the personal initiative?
22:07 Before that, if your employer is around, you should call him to come and listen to us.
22:12 He needs to have good lighting for you.
22:14 I mean, he can't be paying you and giving you a problem in the end.
22:17 That's not fair.
22:19 So if you have the screens, one of the things you can do is you can get
22:22 blue light protective glasses just to help you feel better when you are using the laptop.
22:28 And something as little as even the environment, like the AC,
22:33 can affect your eyes and your productivity.
22:35 Yes.
22:36 If the place, I like that look, if the place gets very cold, chilled,
22:43 you realize that your eyes start to burn.
22:45 They start to dry out.
22:46 Dry eyes, fatigue.
22:49 They also cause loss of productivity in the office.
22:54 Medical personnel of the psychiatry department at the Kolebu Teaching Hospital have been
22:59 appreciated with some relief items in recognition of their outstanding work in caring for individuals
23:05 with mental health challenges.
23:07 The items were presented to them by the Zen Riders Cycling Club.
23:11 More in this report.
23:13 Tuber 10 marks World Mental Health Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness and fostering
23:20 mental health advocacy and education to recognize the tireless efforts of caregivers of individuals
23:27 facing mental health challenges.
23:29 The Zen Riders Cycling Club has donated relief items to the psychiatric department of the
23:35 Kolebu Teaching Hospital.
23:36 Founder of the group, Michael Amankwa, told Joe News that support is necessary for the
23:43 medical personnel to know they are appreciated.
23:46 And as we all know, today is World Mental Health Day, and we wanted to show appreciation
23:50 for the health workers that operate in this field.
23:55 So we came here to spend some time with them and also let them know how much they mean
23:59 to us and how much we appreciate what they do and our intent of working with them to
24:04 demystify mental health and allied challenges that come with this field.
24:10 All the items I think the most, one was they got personalized mugs with very beautifully
24:17 written warm messages that anytime they read it is going to lift and it's going to uplift
24:20 their spirit and their emotions because of the things they do.
24:23 It's important that they feel very special.
24:25 They are calm, they are warm.
24:26 So that when their clients come with all the challenges and the things that go with, you
24:32 know, mental health, they are always composed in the right frame of mind to take care of
24:37 their clients.
24:38 So we got them some water.
24:39 We got them some drinks.
24:40 We got them also massage vouchers so they can actually go and pamper themselves.
24:44 He also indicated that the group will be embarking on a cycling challenge from the 1st to the
24:50 11th of November to raise awareness about mental health.
24:54 Zen Riders, November 1st to November 11th, we're actually going to ride a bicycle from
25:00 Accra to Tamale and back in awareness for mental health.
25:05 You know where Tamale is?
25:06 Yes, it's in Australia.
25:08 It's in Australia.
25:09 So we're actually going to ride from Accra to Tamale and back in 10 days to create awareness
25:15 for mental health.
25:16 And the way we are going to do it is this.
25:18 We are going to educate, we are going to entertain and we are going to inspire.
25:21 This is a very innovative way of getting the message across to people.
25:24 Neo psychiatrist Dr. Fela Fiyagwe indicated that the group's gesture was a testament in
25:32 appreciation of their work, even in the face of the stigma they encounter.
25:37 I think that your gesture today is a testament to the fact that everything we are doing is
25:43 being seen by all and is being recognized.
25:45 We in mental health are highly astigmatized as our clients.
25:50 So we hardly get...
25:52 We've had all these labels all these years and sometimes it has a telling impact on us.
26:03 And we are so grateful that you take these opportunities to remind us that whatever we
26:08 do is never gone under the carpet, it's seen by all.
26:11 And we want to say a very, very big thank you to you.
26:14 Our doors are always open.
26:16 You know, we also have some corporate engagements and we are very happy to partner with you
26:21 in order to move the frontiers of mental health to where it's supposed to be.
26:24 The team for this year's Mental Health Awareness Day is ensuring mental health has a fundamental
26:31 human right. Estelle Cromer's report for joining us.
26:34 Executive Secretary of the child-centered non-governmental organization Life Again,
26:39 Saudatu Mohamed has called for the inclusion of sexual education in the curriculum of schools
26:45 in the country.
26:46 According to her, the lack of sex education at schools, especially at the basic level,
26:51 is a contributory factor to the increasing cases of teenage pregnancies among girls.
26:56 Saudatu Mohamed made the call at the celebration of International Day of the Girl Child in
27:02 the Upper West Region.
27:03 Joining us is Upper West Region correspondent Rafik Salam reports.
27:06 The International Day of the Girl Child is being celebrated every year to address the
27:13 challenges girls face and to promote girls' empowerment and the fulfillment of their human
27:20 rights.
27:21 Two girl-centered non-governmental organizations, Life Again and the Community Development
27:26 Alliance, CDA, joined hands with the Upper West Region's Office of the Department of
27:32 Children to celebrate the day in their region.
27:35 Seventy girls, comprising of 50 school-going girls and 20 girls who are out of school,
27:43 took part in the event where they laid bare the challenges they go through with a view
27:50 to finding solutions to them.
27:52 Some successful and influential women in the region were also given the opportunity to
27:58 tell them their experience and leadership journeys with a view to mentoring them.
28:04 And I want to use this opportunity to tell those who are following boys, my sisters,
28:10 my daughters, stop.
28:11 It has made some of your colleagues to be in the house, a lot of them.
28:18 Even when the opportunity is given, re-entry policy, it's not everybody that can handle
28:26 it.
28:26 It's not easy feeding a child while going to school.
28:30 You were alone, you couldn't make it.
28:32 Now they've added you something.
28:34 The opportunity is there, but because of the stress.
28:37 Don't take that because there is an opportunity for you when you are pregnant or when you
28:42 give birth.
28:43 You can still come back to school, but there are a lot of challenges in it.
28:48 One major challenge which girls in the region face is the issue of parental neglect, which
28:54 in many occasions resulted in some of the girls being pregnant and others married off.
29:00 Statistics from the Ghana Health Service reveals that the country every year records 110,000
29:07 teenage pregnancies, 4,000 of them were found in the Apoos region.
29:12 Executive Director of Life Again, Saudotu Mohamed, blamed the issue on the lack of sex
29:18 education in schools in the country, which he wanted the status quo to change.
29:24 We know as a country we don't have sex education in our schools.
29:29 And also at home, parents don't talk to their children about sex.
29:32 Even when girls see their mansers, mothers don't talk to them to explain to them what
29:38 it means.
29:39 And I believe fathers don't even engage boys when they have their first wet dreams to explain
29:44 to them what it means.
29:46 So there is so much gap.
29:48 There's a gap when it comes to sex education.
29:50 And we believe that this is one of the key causes of teenage pregnancy in Ghana and also
29:57 in this region.
29:58 Program coordinator of Community Development Alliance, Dr. Grimegzi, on her part, however
30:04 wants parents to live up to their parental responsibilities.
30:07 People in the region here, I can say confidently that over the years that we have been working
30:13 with these girls, we have been working with parents, they hide behind poverty and neglect
30:19 these girls on their own.
30:20 Because people give birth to children and leave them to their fate.
30:25 Whatever happens to them, parents don't care.
30:27 So these are real challenges that these girls face within the community that we think parents
30:33 need to come together.
30:34 You've given birth to a child, you need to be responsible for these children so that
30:38 they grow up to become responsible people in the community and the society at large.
30:44 Some of the girls said their course.
30:47 My name is Akuzoba Nnama Elizabeth.
30:50 My name is Mohamed Behirtu, a student of Women's Power Model JHS.
30:55 I am here to celebrate International Girls Day and I have learned a lot.
31:00 And one thing that I have learned is that I should take my studies seriously and listen
31:06 to advice from my parents.
31:08 My name is Akuzoba Nnama Elizabeth.
31:12 I'm a student of World School for the Blind.
31:14 We have learned that as a girl, what men can do, you can also do.
31:20 So we shouldn't allow ourselves for men to deceive us and one day get us pregnant, which
31:26 may drop us from school and we can't continue our education.
31:33 Reporting for JNews, Rafiq Salam.
31:39 [Music]