15 injured, 5 hospitalized and over Ghc11,000 stolen in Okaikoi North centre attack | JoyNews Prime
15 injured, 5 hospitalized and over Ghc11,000 stolen in Okaikoi North centre attack | JoyNews Prime
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Hello, good evening, this is Joy News Prime with me Paius Kuju Baka. In our headlines
00:04 this hour, heavy rains cut off the Solaborle Highway. Vehicles from Savannah and Upper
00:10 West Regions stranded.
00:12 15 persons injured, 5 hospitalized following an attack by unidentified thugs while waiting
00:21 in queue to be registered in the ongoing voter registration exercise at Ukaikwe North in
00:26 the Greater Akara Region.
00:27 The police officer accused of plotting to remove the IGP retires today. We have a report
00:35 on his time at the police service.
00:40 Plus exhibitors promise even more goodies and sweet deals ahead of the Ecobank Joy News
00:45 Habitat Fair in November as the Novell Clinic in Thema ends on a high note.
00:51 We are your home of independent, fearless and credible journalism. Please stay tuned
00:55 in.
00:55 Always a joy to have you on. Let's now settle for the details.
01:14 Heavy rains have cut off the Solaborle Highway. Passengers traveling along the Bamboiwa Highway
01:20 are stranded after the road was cut off Sunday. The road links the south and upper west regions
01:25 of the country. A bridge linking Borle and Dole communities have been completely washed
01:30 off making it impossible for vehicles and people to cross.
01:34 Let's get on the phone lines and speak with the Savannah Regional Minister Sahid Muhazu
01:39 Jibril for more on this.
01:41 Minister, thank you for joining us on Joy News Prime.
01:45 Now first off, how old is the Solaborle Highway and how long was this road constructed?
01:51 Good morning, good evening to your listeners and cherished watchers. Unfortunately, I can't
02:03 tell how long this road has been constructed. But my memories will best tell me when it
02:10 was rehabilitated somewhere in 2000 and 2001 by a constructor known as Wadie in Gwa Municipality.
02:23 But since then, it has been seen every year for improvement along the Bamboi to Gwa Municipality.
02:37 Which other roads have been affected as a result of this havoc?
02:42 Specifically, it is in the Borle District in a community called Dole where we have about
02:50 three culverts, seven as it is between the upper west and the Savannah Region. These
02:59 have been completely washed off.
03:03 And what would you estimate as the economic impact of this damage on the region?
03:08 Obviously, it is very, very serious. It is a major road linking Accra, Kumasi, Pichumay
03:19 and to Upper West. And for that matter, parts of Burkina Faso, it is a major trunk road.
03:25 And so the economic impact is going to be very, very big on the country.
03:36 And in the interim, what alternative routes have you been able to give to commuters?
03:42 I just finished speaking with the Chief Director of Ghana Highway Authority and we are diverting
03:48 the road from Pichumay to Kintampo and to Fufuso and to connect through Damangu to So'ola
03:57 and then you get into Gwa and Burkina Faso.
04:01 All right.
04:02 It is going to be a very long stretch.
04:03 All right. Thank you very much, Honourable Minister, for your time.
04:08 He is the Savannah Regional Minister speaking to us on the back of that
04:10 havoc that has happened in the Upper West Region.
04:14 We will follow up on that and keep you posted in our subsequent bulletins.
04:18 From one incident to the other, fire has gathered several shops at Katamanto in a
04:22 crowd destroying goods worth millions of cities. The cost of the fire which started
04:27 Sunday morning is yet to be determined. Firefighters from the Ghana National Fire
04:31 Service were dispatched to the scene, but the fire had already spread to several shops.
04:36 [Foreign language]
04:44 In the early hours of Sunday morning, fire broke out at Abuja, at CMB, behind Coco Board,
05:00 at Katamanto, one of the busiest clothes retail centres in the region.
05:05 Behind me, you can see the extent of damage where people have lost their source of livelihood
05:13 and their place of inhabitation. But we will be speaking to NADMO,
05:18 a representative from NADMO, to tell us how they intend to help the people.
05:22 First and foremost, we need to do the first thing by doing assessment and taking
05:28 inventory of all the households over here and then we'll know the number of people we are
05:35 dealing with. We can't just say we are dealing with a thousand people, the number is 500.
05:40 We can't say we are dealing with 500, the number is a thousand. So we need to really know those
05:45 who have been affected and what belongings that have been destroyed by the fire and to
05:52 enable us to know what provision to be made. We have already made arrangements for accommodation.
05:59 We have made arrangements led by the MC. We have made arrangements to evacuate them to one of the
06:06 schools and provide them with mattresses and the like to pass the night or two over there
06:14 before we know what to do for them over here. The municipal chief executive was also present
06:21 to ascertain the level of damage caused by the fire. As an assembly, we'll see what we can do
06:29 to help those that are in need. With mothers and children, probably they may need a place
06:35 to sleep. So that arrangement has already been put in place. Now let's hear from the victims
06:40 of the fire as they plead with government to come to their aid.
06:47 It was around 4am this morning when I heard a lady shout that she had seen a thief. Because I'm a
06:53 woman, I couldn't come to catch the thief. Later, the same boy started shouting that Abuja is on
06:59 fire. When we came out, we realized that the fire had started from the bakery. Some people tried to
07:04 quench the fire but to no avail. So the fire service came. Unfortunately, they arrived without
07:11 water in their tank. So while they waited for water, the fire started spreading and we had to
07:16 run for our lives. My clothes, my television, everything I own is burnt. I don't know what to
07:26 do. Government should come to our aid. Everyone here moved from other places to settle down.
07:34 If we don't reconstruct the structure soon, we will be homeless. Actor and political aspirant
07:42 John Domello was also here to sympathize with the people. We are doing the limited registration
07:49 just around the corner. One of the guys I work with, his mother has her place here. So they
07:56 told me about it and I said, "Why don't I drive here and sympathize with the mom and of course
08:01 the rest of the people?" Apart from that, also a couple of market women that I also deal with
08:08 in terms of my farming activities are also in this area. And so that's why I just came here.
08:13 But I know for a fact that the MP was here early on and whatever help that she's going to give,
08:21 of course. Despite the level of damage done, there are still people trying to make a business out of
08:26 this, especially the scrap dealers. Reporting from Abuja, behind CMB, Aska Tamanto in the
08:34 central business area, my name is Emma Davis. And many first-time voters eager to be registered in
08:43 the limited voters registration stayed overnight at the Okanikwe North District Office to avoid
08:49 long queues in the morning. They hoped the exercise would run smoothly. Little they did
08:54 know that they were putting themselves at risk. 15 persons have been injured. Five among them
08:59 have reportedly been hostilized after masked men stormed the Electoral Commission's registration
09:04 center at the Okanikwe North constituency. They attacked people who had queued to be registered.
09:11 A report by Prince Oswansa read to you. So when I was running and they hit the stick,
09:18 they threw the stick and it hit my leg. That is gifted dog. She was brutally attacked by
09:23 unknown men in the early hours of Sunday morning while waiting for a turn to register.
09:28 As I tried to wake up again, I couldn't. So I fell again, but that one I fell on the stone.
09:35 Her legs failed her as she ran for her life. Like I don't know and it ended me this way.
09:42 All my legs is paining me. It's shivering. I can't walk. According to some eyewitnesses,
09:49 the unidentified men attacked them and bolted away with more than 11,000 Ghana cities
09:55 and mobile phones. Elon Marion Deborah lost $100. Our phones, our money, a lot of people's money
10:02 has been stolen. My phone, iPhone, I have $150 at the back in the case. It's stolen. My
10:10 colleagues' phones and money are stolen. Everything has been stolen. There were no
10:13 security pistol available when these people were attacked. The NDC constituency chairman for
10:18 Kankwe North, Gregory Kwashi says the incident has been reported to the police for investigation.
10:25 I personally drove some of them to the Achimota police station. So as we speak, some of them are
10:29 said they've been interrogated by the CID. Other members are supposed to go to lodge official
10:33 complaints. Some have been given the medical form. So the one at 7 has the medical form
10:37 and another at Achimoto hospital. Some police officers arrived after the attack. Meanwhile,
10:43 some first time voters have expressed concerns about waiting long hours in the queue. While
10:49 others alleged that members are being assisted by some political parties to jump the long queues.
10:55 You could see some people are quarreling, some people are taking things not easy here.
10:59 Everybody is trying to find his way early to go home. That's the problem here.
11:04 How they might do for you know me, I know the barb. Yeah, them do like them be heroes.
11:08 They've already been called by civil society organizations and some political parties
11:13 to decentralize the ongoing voters registration exercise, which is currently limited to the EC's
11:19 district offices. A report by Prince Sowuso and Sark read to you.
11:23 Executive director of the Media Foundation for West Africa, Suleyman Abraima says the electoral
11:29 commission is making the constitutionally guaranteed right to vote a costly right to
11:34 exercise. The EC has refused calls to decentralize the ongoing voter registration exercise,
11:40 limiting the process to its district offices only. Speaking on our news analysis show news file,
11:46 Mr. Abraima warned that the EC is undermining democracy.
11:50 And in this particular voter registration process that we are talking about, we are predominantly
11:58 talking about young people, people who just turned 18 and above, and perhaps a few others
12:05 who were 18 as of the last registration exercise and yet couldn't register. The question to ask is,
12:11 why do we want to put a price on the fundamental exercise of, you know, civic rights to vote?
12:20 Why must people endure the pain and the price to be able to register? Why should we make people's
12:30 willingness to participate in the democratic processes so painful, so difficult, and so
12:35 expensive? I honestly believe that if Madam Jean Menza was still in the civil society space,
12:42 leading IEA as she was before her appointment to become the EC chair, I'm sure,
12:50 and I have no doubt she would have perhaps been our chief spokesperson.
12:53 Meanwhile, Senior Vice President of Imani Africa Kofi Bento says there is no constitutional basis
13:01 for the EC conducting voters registration given the existence of the National Identification
13:07 Authority. Article 45 says that the electoral commission shall have the function to compile.
13:14 It never said they should go and register people. In the process of compilation,
13:19 you may register, but again, a commission in the hierarchy of authorities is less than an authority.
13:25 All right, now, so the National Identification Authority is higher in order than a commission,
13:31 number one. Number two, it is an electoral commission, not a registration commission.
13:35 So to that extent of registration or compiling of register, if even the NIA was a National
13:41 Identification Commission, because it is specific for identification, it will have a better legal
13:48 authority to do registration and that stuff for EC to use it. Okay, but it is an identification
13:54 authority. My argument is that 45 requires the EC to compile the register of voters
14:02 from the list of the NIA. You don't need Parliament to do that.
14:05 Mr Watanjohi News Prime. Now, the police officer accused of plotting to remove the IGP has retired
14:13 and will cease to be a police officer from Monday. COP George Alex Mensah appeared before Parliament's
14:20 Hadok Committee investigating the alleged plot and affirmed his stance that all is not well within
14:25 the police service and called for reforms. Head of our security desk, MFA Powell, looks back at his
14:31 career. G.A. Mensah is not pribable. COP George Alexander Mensah served for more than three
14:39 decades as a police officer, serving in different ranks and capacities. He shot to fame when he was
14:45 appointed as head of the Accra Region Police Command. He saw the importance of working with
14:51 the media and told a number of them, including JOY News, where he made this profound statement
14:57 about bribery and corruption affecting the police service. G.A. Mensah is not pribable. His strong
15:04 views had no limits. What I said yesterday, if you give me the chance today, I will say so again.
15:12 He's not managing the police service well. And for me, for the 31 years that I've been in the
15:22 service, I can tell you he's the worst IGP we've ever had. Even before a public inquiry into his
15:28 plot to oust the current IGP, George Okufudampare, he would not shiver. He expressed his views
15:35 strongly and clearly. As I sit here, I don't have any bad blood, but what I do is I speak my mind,
15:41 whether you like it or not. You're my boss and you do what I don't like, I'll tell you. You can
15:45 decide to hate me for that. That is your matter. COP George Alexander Mensah is such a man who did
15:51 not hide his desire to become the Inspector General of Police, even under scrutiny. My CV
15:58 was given to somebody who sent the comment collector for me.
16:06 What was the purpose for it? Was it for him to secure a job for you or to do what?
16:16 The purpose was for him to go and lobby.
16:23 I'm sorry.
16:26 We do apologize for that hitch there. Now, three thrilling days filled with exceptional deals have
16:42 concluded in the industrial city of Thema as the Joy News Ecobank Habitat Fair wrapped up its
16:47 successful run. For those who couldn't attend and those seeking even more enticing offers,
16:53 the excitement continues. Here's a glimpse of what lies ahead as we prepare for the mega fair
16:58 in November at the Accra International Conference Center. Michael Ashale Hasmul.
17:03 Hello, welcome to Thema. Specifically, this is the Thema Metropolitan Assembly.
17:09 The Joy News and Ecobank has been holding their third Joy News Ecobank Habitat Fair.
17:15 Over here, we bring you nothing but the best players in the housing sector. Right from buying
17:21 your land or you want to own a house fresh. Well, this is the place to be. If you are thinking of
17:26 how to put stuff in your home, furnish it. Furniture, plastering, lightning. This is your
17:34 one-stop shop for all your housing problems. So, one of our exhibitors and we know for sure they
17:39 are going to be there come November is Global Lightning. The work I do definitely all that
17:45 they have here. All your lightning problems, they have a solution for you. Thank you very much for
17:49 joining us. What's your name? My name is Nicholas. So, at the Marketing Executive. Wonderful, Nicholas.
17:54 So, Nicholas, you have a lot of lights. Difference, I didn't know we had this many different types of
18:00 lights, right? What do you have for those that are going to come in November? Okay, those that
18:07 will be coming in November at Conference Center, right? Okay, so here we brought a few of
18:13 our items. But at the main one, we are going to bring wide varieties of lights. What you have seen
18:18 here are just few that we have. So, in November, we are bringing the whole showroom to Conference
18:23 Center. Talk of the different types of... The whole showroom? The whole showroom to Conference Center.
18:27 Talk of the different types of bulbs from the 8 watts to 9 watts. Wait, which ones are those?
18:32 Just show us. Now, this is an emergency bulb. This is one of its kind. With this bulb, when the lights
18:37 goes off, let me demonstrate. When the lights goes off like this and you're in darkness, don't worry.
18:42 Just take off the bulb, put it in the holder, then you switch it on. Then use it as a touch light.
18:49 Then you can work with it. It will not electrocute you. When you get to where you want to use it, you
18:53 can hang it. Then it gives you brightness where you want to use it. And the interesting thing about
18:57 the bulb is it can last between 3 to 5 hours when it's fully charged. 5 hours. So, I have seen
19:03 Kent Grand Plus and there's Kent XL Plus. Really, these machines, what do they do? Okay, so the
19:12 Grand Plus and the XL Plus are both for boil water. If you have boil water in your home, these two are
19:17 good for the boil water to purify, to remove the salt from it. That's the reverse osmosis process.
19:22 Yeah, now the difference is that this one is mounted on the wall and this one is fixed under
19:26 your sink. If you don't want anything to show on your kitchen, then this is good for the sink
19:33 under. But this one is for mounting on the wall. Interesting. So, for boil water, what if I don't
19:38 have boil water and I have regular tap water? Yeah, so we have these two machines for your regular tap water.
19:43 Also for under the sink and wall mounting. It also goes through the same purification, but this goes
19:48 through the normal purification because in our tap water there's no salt. So, it just goes through
19:53 normal purification. The UV treated system as well. And then with this one, inside the tank, there's a
19:59 UV in it which keeps your water purified. After going through all that has to be offered at the
20:05 Joy News Ecobank Habitat Fair, for many people what you're thinking about is how do I afford it?
20:12 Are they affordable? But maybe you don't have the cash yet, right? That's EcoBank. Definitely that.
20:17 I'll stand by to listen to whatever problem you have, whatever need that you have. And I'm thinking
20:23 that they have a solution that meets you definitely halfway. Thank you very much for doing this with us, sir.
20:29 Hi, thank you. Good afternoon. What's your name, sir? I'm Winston Wobiel with Ecobank. Winston, so
20:36 for many people it will be how to fund their dreams. How does Ecobank make this dream a reality?
20:42 Yes, thank you. So, I think over the previous fairs and even at this fair also, it's become very
20:50 clear that Ecobank is very ready and indeed there are many testimonies to this fact that
20:57 we are ready to support individuals make the dream of home ownership come through. And there
21:04 are several options available. As we've said, we have the traditional way of taking a mortgage.
21:11 And the good thing about the Ecobank mortgage is that it gives you up to 20 years to pay for
21:17 your house. And moving now, you have up to 20 years to pay. We also have the
21:24 other financing options of even the buy now pay later, where when your building is ready,
21:30 getting it fit to living becomes a challenge for some people. Because if you are taking a mortgage,
21:36 you'd have started paying and then your funds become a bit tight. So, we have the buy now pay
21:41 later option that allows you to buy stuff like your furniture, your kitchen cabinets,
21:46 your other electronic appliances to fit into your home. We're wrapping up in term here, but what
21:51 should you expect from the Join Use Ecobank Habitat Fair? I have the General Manager of Sales
21:57 and Customer Experience with the Joy News brand. Thank you very much for joining us.
22:03 Thank you very much. So, for many, I'm talking to some of the patrons, they like what you've put up,
22:09 but they want more. Is there more that you're offering? Yes. First of all, let me say that
22:18 this is our first time in Thema. It's been very exciting. We've gone around the clients,
22:24 we've spoken to the exhibitors, everybody's excited. I can say that we exceeded our
22:32 expectations. I mean, Thema exceeded our expectations in terms of attendance, in terms of sales,
22:38 in terms of leads that have been generated. Thema has been phenomenal. It's our first time in Thema,
22:45 that is the Ecobank Join Use Habitat Fair. It's been an eventful set of days here. Patrons,
22:51 exhibitors are happy. We hope to see you sometime later in the month of October in Kumasi and then
22:58 again in Takradi. And then in November, we'll bring you the biggest of the fairs, that is the
23:05 November Fair. Watch out on all our platforms. We're definitely bringing you updates on that.
23:10 You don't have to miss out on all the juicy offers and goodies that we're giving to patrons
23:15 that decide to come through the mega fair itself. For Join Use, Michael Ashale.
23:21 This is still Join Use Prime. More after this break.
23:27 Hello, you're still watching Join Use Prime. Before we go, let's
23:36 dash through myJoin Online portal where we've got great stories there for you.
23:39 Our top story there, we are trying to protect the sanctity of the voters' register. That's
23:44 according to EC, justifying limited voter registration exercise. We've got great stories
23:49 on that portal for you. Do feel free and read them. Still on the voter registration, we've got
23:56 a limited voter registration that's according to electoral commission, is being unlawful,
24:00 being attributed to Dr. Apac and Poland government under pressure over escalating cash for visa
24:06 scandals. And that's how we part company here on Join Use Prime. I am Pius Kujubaka. For more
24:13 stories, again, do log on to myJoinOnline.com. Pleasure serving you. Do enjoy the rest of our
24:17 programs. Bye.
24:20 [MUSIC]