Management of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has called on the public to download “My NHIS App” on Play-Store and Apple-Store to register and renew their membership cards with ease.
Officials of the National Health Insurance Authority noted that the NHIS application has taken away the burden of having to travel to its offices for registration and renewal, and it is important that the general public tap into the new innovation and enjoy the best of its service.
According to the Upper East Regional Manager of Monitoring and Evaluation of the Scheme, Shafiq Siita, “with the NHIS APP, all you need is your Ghana card to register and renew your membership card.”
The Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Scheme, Rufina Ankwain, said the app also contained medicines covered by the NHIS card, including the locations of its offices.
She revealed that the service makes registration free for pregnant women, and in their case, they would be required to visit its offices for the purposes of verification.
The PRO also noted that there is a free care policy for people who are 70 years of age and older to sign up for the NHIS or renew their membership without having to pay.
She added that the policy also guarantees a waiver of the 30-day mandatory waiting period and an exemption from the premium and processing fees.
They made this known when they spoke to Mark Smith on A1 Radio’s Daybreak Upper East show regarding the National Health Insurance Scheme.
The Auditor-General has indicated that the Bolgatanga Technical University has improved financial performance by 34.2 percent. This was contained in the Report of the Auditor General on the Public Accounts of Ghana – Technical Universities for the year ended 31 December 2022.
“The financial year under review recorded a surplus of GH¢951,280.97 compared with a surplus of GH¢708,993.09 posted in 2021, representing an improvement in the financial performance of the University of 34.2 percent,” the statement said.
The Report continued to say “Total Income increased by 84.0% to GH¢45,223,752.19 from GH¢24,582,632.52 in 2021. Government of Ghana subventions increased by 79.7% during the year from GH¢19,479,475.81 in 2021 to GH¢35,007,920.46 and this was attributed to an increase in salaries during the year. Total Expenditure also registered a growth of 85.4% to GH¢44,272,471.22 from GH¢23,873,639.43 in 2021. This was due to an increase of 78.4% in employees’ compensation which was caused by a general increase in salaries.”
Non-Current Assets decreased by 13.9 percent to GH¢6,420,599.93 from GH¢7,454,849.65 recorded in 2021 due to depreciation charge for the year.
Current Assets however, increased by 72.7 percent to GH¢5,761,701.31 from GH¢3,335,832.53 recorded in 2021 and this was mainly due to an increase in students’ debtors.
Current Liabilities also recorded a significant growth of 383.4% to end the year at to GH¢1,362,238.65 as against GH¢281,826.34 posted in 2021 and this was largely due to unpaid electricity bills of GH¢1,054,012.80 at the end of 2022.
“The current ratio declined to 4.2:1 in 2022 (2021 – 11.8:1) however, the University would still be capable of meeting its short-term financial obligations,” the report added.
The Auditor-General is asking management of the Bolgatanga Technical University to recover GH¢325,048.15 from David Brown.
Mr. Brown is said to have resigned from the institution, thus invalidating a bond he signed with the technical university
This was contained in the Report of the Auditor General on the Public Accounts of Ghana – Technical Universities for the year ended 31 December 2022
“We noted that the University granted study leave with pay to Mr. David Brown to pursue a 4-year PhD in Road & Transport Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology from 2019 to 2022. However, Mr. David Brown resigned on 30 September 2022 after completing the course, without serving the University or refunding the full cost of salaries and allowances as stated on the bond form. The total salaries and allowances paid to him including interest amounted to GH¢325,048.15.”
Aside the AG’s recommendation for the retrival of the funds, the AG charged the institution to take steps to prevent similar situations from happening.
“We recommended to Management to take steps to recover the amount of GH¢325,048.15 from Mr. David Brown or his guarantors and pay same into the Auditor-General’s Recoveries Account at Bank of Ghana with account number 1018331470015. We again advised Management to ensure that any officer who wishes to access study leave with pay secures an insurance/bank guarantee before approval is granted. This will make it easier for Management to recover the money expended on the staff from the insurance/bank guarantee in the event the officer fails to return to serve the bond term.”
Residents in the eastern part of the Talensi District in the Upper East Region have expressed concern about armed robbers regularly causing deaths and injuries to locals.
Recounting the series of incidents in the area to Mark Smith on A1 Radio’s Daybreak Upper East Show, Solomon Zinekena, a resident social commentator in the area, said killings in the area are becoming too many and residents are gripped with fear as they are unsure of the next person to be killed.
He said “Just on Thursday, August 31, 2023, being the latest, one Boroug alias Calendar was shot dead,” adding that several other people have been maimed, had their legs broken by gunshots, and robbed of their valuable properties.
Mr. Zinekena said police officers in the area are also not safe, as it appears the number of armed robbers outnumbered that of the police officers deployed to patrol the area, and some officers have also been killed.
According to him, “just last month a police officer was shot dead, and just as we are talking, a group of police officers had a gun battle with armed robbers when the police met them on the way; several shots went untargeted, and one of the police officers who was on a motorbike lost grip of his AK47 rifle and it was taken away by the armed robbers”.
“Can you even imagine that between Yameriga and Sheaga, just across that small bridge, people were armbashed there for hours? They robbed their money, and one Anaju, who was returning from town with his car, robbed his money, and they packed all those they robbed into his car to take them back to Bolga town so that they could escape. He added
Narrating similar incidents in the past, “he said it will be recalled that in July 2022, one CK from Gbane was shot dead, and that very day, one Beehinab Yendouma was shot in the leg, and he has been maimed, notwithstanding a very recent case where one person from Namolug was also shot dead.”
The resident said most of their livelihood depends largely on the mining in the area, but that is where most of them are robbed, maimed, and killed on their way back home.
Mr. Zinekena said essential workers in the area are making attempts to take transfers, and potential workers posted to the communities have refused postings.
He said the community, including chiefs, is appealing to duty bearers to come to their aid as they are willing to engage the District Security Council,the District Commander, and other opinion leaders instead of embarking on demonstrations.
A1 Radio has learned that the Talensi District Security Council will be meeting today, September 4, 2023, over the happenings in the area and will be updating the public as soon as possible.
A women’s farmer group in Wooredaa, a suburb of Zanlerigu community in the Nabdam District of the Upper East, has called on non-governmental organisations, philanthropists, and individuals to help them expand their vegetable garden.
The group, numbering 113, said they have outgrown the capacity of the garden, which only accommodates 36 farmers, forcing them to run in shifts, which reduces productivity.
The women’s group is part of an irrigation project being implemented by NABOCADO with support from MISEREOR.
The project covers eighteen communities across the diocese and targets twelve communities for the provision of solar mechanised water systems for irrigated vegetable cultivation.
In an interview with A1 News, the leader of the group, Mrs. Modesta Azumah, said the group had secured land and needed support to fence it to enable them to cultivate their vegetables and provide more opportunities for women in the area to improve their livelihood.
“As women farmers, one of our major challenges now is getting our land fenced to expand production and accommodate more of us, and that is because it has to do with finance, which we are unable to do by ourselves,” she stated.
She noted that “the garden in its current capacity can only accommodate 36 farmers, and so what we do is that we farm in batches, such that 36 farmers are allowed to cultivate for three harvesting periods and make way for another batch, and this, I must say, is not yielding the desired results for us.”
“We are, by this medium, appealing to NGOs and well-meaning Ghanaians to come to our aid so that we can also, in our own way, farm to make vegetables available and affordable in our markets, which would greatly reduce the burden on all of us having to provide for our families,” she appealed.
The project aimed at empowering women and serving as an alternative source of livelihood for them to support their families.
A security analyst, Saani Adib, has asserted that the testimony by COP George Alex Mensah, one of the police officers in the alleged leaked tape, to oust the Inspector General of Police, Dr. Akuffo Danpare, is inconsistent.
Mr. Adib said the admission by COP Mensah that the tape is doctored, claiming that the tape is incomplete as portions are doctored, and admitting statements in the tape attributed to him indicate that the officer is inconsistent with his stance and the Committee must probe further.
According to him, this is necessary, especially with the allegations he made against the sitting IGP about his leadership.
Mr. Sani made these assertions when he spoke on A1 Radio’s News Link.
He said the IGP must also be invited by the committee to answer questions regarding the allegations made against him by COP Mensah.
COP Mensah told the committee on Thursday, August 31, that the IGP’s leadership style has led to a decline in morale among many police officers.
“Dampare is not managing the police service well, and the majority of police officers are not happy. You can call the police officers underground, and they will tell you,” he stated.
Before the committee assigned to investigate the veracity of the leaked tape, COP Mensah expressed his inability to verify several details on the tape, claiming it has been doctored and does not accurately reflect the original conversation he had with the former NPP Northern Regional Chairman, Bugri Naabu.
He also firmly stated that there was no plan to remove the IGP, emphasising that the tape circulating has been strongly edited.
In a direct exchange with Committee Chairman Samuel Atta Akyea, COP Mensah stated that “this tape that was played today, to me, was an edited tape; I have not heard any unedited tape for me to talk about as I sit here.”
COP Mensah added, “On the tape that I heard today, there are so many things in that tape that I don’t remember, and there are so many things that we discussed that are not on the tape. I’ve met Bugri Naabu four times, and we have discussed many things, some of them private things that I am not ready to discuss in public”.
“I had a meeting with Bugri Naabu, but I don’t remember having any plans to remove the IGP because I don’t remove IGPs,” he stressed.
His claims contradict the testimony of Bugri Naabu, who appeared earlier before the committee and confirmed the veracity of the tape and also confirmed recording it in his private office in Osu.
Bugri Naabu also said that COP Mensah wanted him to discuss the possible removal of Dampare from office because he was not likely to help the NPP win the 2024 elections.
Former President and flagbearer for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has accused the president of the republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, of appointing most of his party sympathisers to the bench to do his bidding.
This, Mr. Mahama noted, is to enable the president and his appointees to evade accountability after they have left office.
He made this claim when he was addressing the closing ceremony of the 3rd Annual Lawyers Conference of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Saturday, September 2, 2023.
According to him, the judiciary is packed with NPP-inclined judges because this government has carried out a deliberate policy of putting their people onto the bench.”
“He has appointed the biggest number of judges onto the bench; it is more than 80 towards 100 and counting. You can see what the current president has done. He has packed the court, and we know they have packed the court because they want to avoid accountability after they have left office”. The former president added
He also called on NDC members to take up careers on the bench in order to “balance out” the judiciary.
“So, I encourage some of you to look at careers on the bench so that we can balance out what the current situation is. We must be prepared as NDC legal persons to also go onto the bench so that we can balance out the judiciary,” he urged.
His comments have since generated attention among the general public, with some condemning the politicisation of the judiciary.
Career Day is an event held at schools to introduce students to a wide range of career options. The main objective of Career Day is to provide students with information about different professions, industries, and career paths so that they can make informed decisions about their future.
During career day, professionals from various fields are invited to share their experiences, provide insights into their work, and answer students’ questions. In the Upper East Region, for instance, Career Day is organised for only pupils who are lucky to attend private schools.
However, the Widows and Orphans Movement (WOM), a non-profit organisation based in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region and ActionAid Ghana are changing the narrative by ensuring that pupils and students in the region also have the opportunity to learn about various career options and be inspired by successful professionals.
The Career Day which was held in 4 schools in the Talensi and Nabdam districts formed part of several interventions that WOM and ActionAid Ghana doing to increase school enrollment and retention of students in the selected districts. These schools are the Sekote Primary/Junior High School and Nangodi Primary/Junior High School in the Nabdam district and the Yagzoore JHS/Primary and Tongo-Beo JHS/Primary School in the Talensi district.
A Child Sponsorship Officer at the Widows and Orphans Movement, Nancy Awinbisa Amiziah said before the Career Day celebration, a planning meeting was held with headteachers of the schools, officials from the Ghana Education Service, and other stakeholders and it was agreed to include a military officer, a lawyer and a doctor to interact with the students.
She explained that the Career Day activity tries to expose the students and pupils to different career paths in the job market for them to strive hard to achieve in the future.
“Also, we want to increase their interaction among themselves and promote teaching and learning in the schools. We are hoping that what we are doing would trigger something in the students to take their studies seriously and a school dropout rate would reduce in the Nabdam and Talensi districts”, she added.
At the Sekote primary school to interact with the students and pupils on Wednesday was Edna Ivy Adabayeri, a lawyer for the Upper East Regional Lands Commission and Registrar of Lands. Lawyer Adabayeri explained the challenges she faced growing up in a community in Navrongo and navigating through to become a lawyer.
“What I want you to know is that I also went through school like you. I failed my exams throughout my journey but I never gave up. Each time I fail, I try again and eventually, I get it. You must be determined, focused on what you want to do in life”
She entreated the students to be humble, and hardworking, and cultivate the habit of reading to become lawyers.
Next was a doctor, Dr. Berta Gibil, a paediatrician at the Upper East Regional Hospital. According to Dr. Gibil, she was driven to become a doctor because of her interest in helping the vulnerable in society. The native of Tongo-Wakii who grew up in Tamale in the Northern region said even though her parents doubted her in the career she chose, they supported her in all they could.
She also talked about the importance of good health and encouraged the students to take care of their bodies and pursue careers in the medical field if they were interested
Lastly, the military officer, WO II Addo Richard Adu shared his experiences in the army and talked about the importance of serving one’s country. He discussed the different roles within the military and the skills required to succeed in the armed forces. He also highlighted the discipline and commitment needed to be a soldier and encouraged the students to consider a career in the military if they were interested in protecting and serving the country.
WOM and ActionAid Ghana also supported 200 needy and orphan students in all 4 schools with books
Health facilities in the Upper East Region are owed a total of Ghc6,027,357.16. This is according to the Auditor-General’s report on the public accounts of Ghana – Ministries, Departments and other agencies (MDAs) for the year ended 31 December 2022.
The War Memorial Hospital in Navrongo, the capital of the Kassena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region is owed by the National Health Insurance Authority to the tune of Ghc1,107,597.91.
Additionally, the report revealed that a total of 123 health institutions across the country are owed more than Ghc 47 million.
“Regulations 3.8 of the National Health Insurance Regulations, 2004 provides that a claim or payment of health service submitted to the scheme shall be paid within four weeks after receipt of the claims from the Health care facility unless there is legal impediment. We noted that the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) owed 123 Health Institutions a total amount of GH¢47,617,164.46 for services rendered.”
The details are as follows: Pungu – GHC 216,233.75, Navrongo – GHC 351,290.12, Manyoro – GHC 332,731.35, Kologo Health Centre – GHC 518,464.97, Navrongo Health Centre – GHC 101,545.59, War Memorial Hospital – Navrongo – GHC 1,107,597.91, Talensi District Hospital – GHC 644,423.87, Shia CHPS – GHC 68,157.25, Kpatia CHPS – GHC 182,934.23, Balungu CHPS – GHC 45,818.56, Tenkzuk CHPS – GHC 71,725.16, Yinduri CHPS – GHC 68,469.58, Datuko Health Centre – GHC 191,841.72, Duusi Health Centre – GHC 227,730.46, Gbani Health Centre – GHC 107,110.01, Gorogo Health Centre – GHC 74,550.41, Pwalugu Health Centre – GHC 119,713.34, Winkogo Health Centre – GHC 107,606.19 and Wuru/Vunania – Ghc574,549.58.
The Auditor General called on the NHIA to take quick steps to make payments to these facilities.
“We recommended that the Heads of the Health Institutions should engage the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority for reimbursement of the outstanding amounts due their Facilities.”
The War Memorial Hospital in Navrongo, the capital of the Kassena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region is owed by the National Health Insurance Authority to the tune of Ghc1,107,597.91.
This is according to the Auditor-General’s report on the public accounts of Ghana – Ministries, Departments and other agencies (MDAs) for the year ended 31 December 2022.
Additionally, the report revealed that a total of 123 health institutions across the country are owed more than Ghc 47 million.
“Regulations 3.8 of the National Health Insurance Regulations, 2004 provides that a claim or payment of health service submitted to the scheme shall be paid within four weeks after receipt of the claims from the Health care facility unless there is legal impediment. We noted that the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) owed 123 Health Institutions a total amount of GH¢47,617,164.46 for services rendered.”
The Auditor General called on the NHIA to take quick steps to make payments to these facilities.
“We recommended that the Heads of the Health Institutions should engage the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority for reimbursement of the outstanding amounts due their Facilities.”
