Blog (Page 23)

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 19 November, 2018. At the 23rd Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Awards, individual journalists working with the Graphic Group won 11 out of 36 individual awards, that is, nearly a third. The Graphic Group also won four institutional awards. Whilst the Graphic Team is celebrating, the rest of the discerning public is saying: ‘Who buys Graphic anyways and who reads Graphic at all?’ ‘Content will still be important….writing will still be relevant,’ Professor Audrey Gadzekpo, dean of the School of Information and Communication Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, observes on the death of the newspaper. Writing, as in print journalism, isRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 16 November, 2018. Yesterday’s 2019 budget speech by Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana’s finance minister offers several teaching points. Let us begin by looking at the speech writing and presentation angle. The speech was widely advertised on social media as beginning at 10am. From that time onwards, listeners and media houses that wanted to broadcast it live had scheduled their programming to accommodate that. The finance minister ended at 2:16pm. ‘Honourable Minister, you may wait,’ the speaker announced as the heckling became overbearing.‘ I may have to extend the time if I have to.’ When the chamber of Parliament became quieter, theRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 14 November, 2018. The cat is out of the bag; Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG) is a poisoned chalice. This was confirmed by Thiaru Ndugu, deputy managing director of CBG at a meeting with the staff in Accra this week, reports Nana Oye Ankrah for citibusinessnews.com on 12 November, 2018. ‘We are trying as much as possible to consult the customers and make them understand exactly what is happening. We were given a bond and that is the only cashflow we can pay depositors with. We held a meeting with them [financial institutions, and savings and loans companies who have investmentsRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 12 November, 2018. ‘Prof Paul K. Nyame, chairman of the Ghana Medical and Dental Council has advised medical students to wear their white coats while on study clerking or studying as students,’ myjoyonline.com has reported. ‘He noted that the wearing of the white coat onwards needs to be enforced by hospital authorities even when they have graduated as doctors and dental surgeons. According to him, patients feel reassured to see a doctor who turns out in a professional look.’ The distinguished professor was speaking at the fifth White Coat Ceremony (WCC) of the School of Medicine and Dentistry held onRead More →

By Isaac A to MENSAH Accra- 9 November, 2018. Dr Francis Ibrahim-Betonsi, let us call him FBI, is newsworthy for his resilience. After he’s spent six years of suffering in limbo, the Ghana Health Service has this week started restoring him to the status quo ante; to his schedule as medical officer; it is not a promotion. ‘The general practitioner…was victimised and falsely accused of a mental illness by some superiors and subjected to four psychiatric assessments all of which saw him cleared as normal, reported ghanaweb.com on 7 November, 2018. ‘When he refused to submit himself for yet another psychiatric examination, he was subtlyRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 7 November, 2018.   On 12 October, Catherine Afeku, minister for tourism, arts and culture launched the maiden issue of See Ghana Magazine. The venue was the Kempinski aka the go to place for the posh; the latest craze in town, the upscale location that lends class, and gravitas to functions. The Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City Accra is located right next to the government ministries at Ridge Accra; it is just a stone’s throw from Tema Station, at the entrances of which stand several public toilets!!! It has a taxi rank in front of it and a few tableRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 5 November, 2018.   Last Thursday, Pre-Vas Royal Kids School in Teshie organised an emergency teacher counselling session. The theme was caning and corporal punishment. The previous day, some parents had caused the proprietors and the headmaster a sleepless night on account of some other parents’ children having been caned. ‘I haven’t slept at all,’ groaned Webster Afotey Marshall, the headmaster, as he announced the emergency counselling session. “Masha Marshall”, as the students prefer to call him, had previously warned against the practice. The concerned parents had informed the proprietors and headmaster that where the cane could not be used,Read More →

THE 23RD GJA AWARDS; QUOTATIONS #2. By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 2 November, 2018. The 23rd Ghana Journalists Awards held last weekend in Accra has lost its key message. The thrust has been submerged by the celebrations of the award winners. So let us quickly recap. The theme chosen was, ‘State of Investigative Journalism: Boundaries of Privacy and Borders of the Public Interest’. Her Ladyship Justice Sophia Akufo, the chief justice (CJ), who was the keynote speaker, delivered a forthright message on the theme. ‘You cannot break into somebody’s house and install cameras claiming you are conducting an investigation in the interest of the public.’Read More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 31 October, 2018. Last weekend, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) celebrated its 23rd annual awards day at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City Accra. It was a big moment for the winners. They have already used the occasion to brand their media houses. Obviously it gives them an important marketing edge over their counterparts. The winners’ marketing communications teams are already taking full advantage of it. We congratulate all winners and all journalists and all writers who are struggling to improve the Ghanaian media landscape. Ayekoo!!!… Well done. Now to some pictures from the weekend’s moments interspersed with some relevantRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 29 October, 2018.   From 25-26 October, Astana 2018, the World Health Organisation (WHO) conference on primary health care (PHC) was held successfully in Kazakhstan. Forty years ago in 1978, the WHO met in Kazakhstan in a first ever conference on primary health care. ‘Although the world is a healthier place for children today than ever before, close to six million children die every year before their fifth birthday mostly from preventable causes, and more than 150 million are stunted,’ said Dr Henrietta Fore, UNICEF executive director. ‘We as a global community can change that, by bringing quality health servicesRead More →