UER: Tax Defaulters to apply for Waivers- GRA

   The Manager of the Bolgatanga Taxpayer Service Centre (BTSC) Bismark Shaibu Mahama

The Manager of the Bolgatanga Taxpayer Service Centre (TSC) of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Bismark Shaibu Mahama, has urged tax defaulters to apply for waivers as the 2022 budget has offered a window of opportunity to redeem their indebtedness.

This came to light in an exclusive interview with our Correspondent Emmanuel Akayeti in Bolgatanga, the Upper East Region. Mr. Mahama disclosed that the Penalty and Interest Wavier Act, 2021 (Act 1065) referred to in this act as the “Principal enchantment”, is amended in section one by the substitution for subsection 1 of 1 where a person on or before 30^th June 2022, pay tax arrears to the Ghana Revenue Authority, files outstanding returns in respect of the previous year up to December 2020, the Commissioner-General shall not recover assessed penalty and interest of the tax arrears paid in respect of the relevant period.

Mr. Mahama indicated that the budget this year has rather given taxpayers relief in terms of their individual taxes or the income they earn from their individual businesses or as employees of organizations. He said the marginal relief threshold for all individuals has been increased from GHC 319 a month to GHC 365.

What this means Mr. Mahama explained further that as a registered member, whatever income earned either from employment or from business, after SSNIT deduction of 5.5 percent, there is a relief of up to GHC 365 that will not be taxed on the remaining amount. He added that this element of the relief used to be GHC 319 but has now been raised to GHC 365 a difference of about GHC 46 disposable income to the individual who earns less.

Regarding the waiver of penalty and interest, he said the period has also been extended from last 30^th September 2021, now one can apply for the waiver up to 30^th June 2022, this year.

Mr. Mahama stated that for all defaulters of incomes tax law up to the period 31^st December 2020, the law has also given them a window of opportunity to file their applications for waiver up to June 2022.

He admonished tax defaulters especially in the Upper East Region to take advantage adding that, they should try to redeem themselves by filing their returns within the set period and pay what is due or make sufficient arrangements to file their returns and GRA will waiver the penalties and interest for you.

UER: Private Sector participation in Maternal and New Born Health in Rural Areas -Dr Bogee

Dr. Gillian Bogee

The Executive Director of the Ayire Clinic and a Senior Paediatric resident, Dr. Gillian Bogee says the private sector plays a key role in delivering sexual and reproductive health services. 

This was disclosed in an interview with our Correspondent Emmanuel Akayeti on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Ayire Clinic in Bongo-Soe.

Dr. Bogee indicated that the role of the private sector in improving maternal and newborn health in achieving the Universal Health Coverage and the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) goal 3 cannot be overemphasized. She indicated that the private sector contributes immensely to improving sexual and reproductive health services of the nations through the provision of family planning services for women of reproductive ages.

In line with this, Dr. Bogee indicated that there has been considerable progress in lowering the maternal mortality rate in Ghana over the past 25 years. However, there is still much progress left to make: the country still experiences an alarming rate of 308 deaths per 100,000 (2017), whereas the global rate stands at 211 deaths per 100,000. According to Ghana Health Service, a total number of 875 maternal deaths in 2018 and 838 in 2019. 

       Ayire Clinic

This figure further decreased to 776 in 2020 despite the increase in total deliveries while institutional maternal mortality ratio reduced from 117 in 2019 to 106 in 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and all its associated impact. She added that Neonatal Mortality Rate is 25 per 1000 live births making up 68% of infant mortality and 48% of under-five mortality. Antenatal clinic attendance (at least 4 visits) is 89% with a skilled attendance at birth being 79%.

A board member from the United States of America, Jeffrey Scott Witty said the facility is a hospital complex that will solve the problem of highly trained professionals refusing to postings to the five northern Regions. When completed he stated, it will feature medical school and training programs, giving the opportunities and education for the local communities, bringing home Ghanaians professionals abroad.

 Another Executive Director of the Ayire Clinic also resident in the US expressed joy and readiness to support the facility to deliver health care services to the rural communities.  She said, “I’m also contributing my quota towards helping to improving quality health care and providing wellbeing for all at all ages, in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3”.  

She is steering the facility towards achieving its vision in the coming year she said, and she is certain, that the facility will go a long way to help save lives and improve the livelihood of the people in the community as well.

 

UER: 178 Teachers and Health workers Trained in Child Protection NBD

Some participants  at the three-day training workshop on Child Safeguarding and protection of Vulnerable Adults

About One hundred and 78 teachers drawn from 356 Catholic Schools, from the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese (NBD), have been given a three-day training workshop on Child Protection and Vulnerable Adults.

The workshop which was participated by ten health workers from Catholic Health Centres was organized by the Diocese with sponsorship from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) This was disclosed by the Acting Regional Manager of Catholic Educational Unit, Rev. Sister Bernadine Permi, in an interview with gbcuraradio.com in Bolgatanga, on the side-lines of the efforts being made by the Catholic Church to promote safeguarding and child protection within our schools and communities.

She said
the aim of the workshop was to train each teacher per school as a safeguarding representative in that particular school which will a point of contact for a child or vulnerable adult.

She added that, in case of anything within the school, a report must first be reported to the representative in the school before it gets to the child protection team and finally to the child unit of the Ghana Education Service (GES).

 

Rev Permi indicated that, the participants were taken through the concrete steps of safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, shared real stories they encountered in their various schools and communities.

Some the participants also expressed their joy of the things they learnt from the workshop and lauded the Diocese for organizing such an insightful programme for them.

The General Manager of the Catholic Educational Unit, Araba Bentum, who was present at the workshop expressed joy that it was full of insight and charged teachers to take care of children entrusted to them in their various schools both Catholic and non-Catholic schools and as well spread what they have learnt to all stakeholders so as to create the awareness that, “children are to be seen and not heard is a thing of the past”.  She added that corporal punishment should also be avoided in training our children both in schools and at home.

 

The General Manager advised parents to try and provide for the needs of their children and the vulnerable so that they will not fall into temptation, for the child protection and safeguarding the Vulnerable Adults starts from the home.

 

Mrs Bentum recommended that the training workshop be replicated in all the dioceses across the country, she concluded. 

GBC URA Radio Lauded for good work- UE Regional Minister

     Hon. Stephen Yakubu Upper East Regional Minister

The Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu, has lauded the staff of GBC URA for working collaboratively with the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) in executing the development agenda of the Upper East Region and Ghana at large.

This was contained in the Regional Minister’s New Year message to the good people of the Region, during an interaction with our gbcuraradio.com in Bolgatanga.

The Minister seized the opportunity the thank the good people of the Upper East Region for hard work and cooperation throughout the year and URA RADIO in particular for its immense contributions using both radio and television to propagate the development of the agenda of the government.

He cautioned residents to be peace-loving people and also conform to the rules and regulations of the country so that no one finds his or herself culpable of the law for no one is above it. Mr. Yakubu added that his desire is that everyone should be able to go about their daily activities peacefully without any hindrance.

He said, he has, therefore, tasked all the security agencies to ensure that the law is abided by all in the region and that anyone who defaults will be dealt with accordingly.

Mr. Yakubu further urged residents of the Upper East to bury all their political and ethnic sentiments differences to allow peace to prevail to enable us to work together for the development of the Region as efforts are being made to bring in investors to invest to create jobs for the youth.

The Regional Minister said in the execution of the Region’s development agenda, toes might have been stepped on, that notwithstanding, he operates an open-door policy and would not hesitate to dialogue with any aggrieved person for the sake of peace.

  

 

UER: A 25 Bed Capacity Hospital Commissioned at Bongo-Soe

Ayire Clinic, a 25 Bed Capacity Hospital Commissioned at Bongo-Soe

A 25-bed capacity hospital has been commissioned in Bongo-Soe in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region. The hospital which termed as Ayire Clinic was constructed at the cost of ten million Ghana Cedis (GHC 10,000,000.00), has a 25-bed capacity, Outpatient Department (OPD), 4 consulting rooms, pharmacy unit, an injection room, ICT, and general administration units, a Doctor’s bed resting room, three wards, and two washrooms.

The aim of the facility is to help increase access to effective and quality health care for the community members and Ghana as a whole. In an interview with our gbcuraradio.com in Bongo-Soe, the Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Ayire Adongo indicated that the facility is the brainchild of the Savannah Cultural Foundation, a local organization the seeks to conserve and promote indigenous knowledge through active participation of rural people in identifying and preserving their political, cultural and indigenous practices in livelihood security in Northern Ghana.

The Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Ayire Adongo

Mr. Adongo stated that the Upper East Region contributes greatly to maternal and neonatal mortality in Ghana and improving this sad situation, where a mother in an attempt to give birth loses a life necessitated the construction of the hospital as a contribution to addressing these bad socio-economic development indices.

Fortunately, he added that there are specialist Doctors from home and in the diaspora such as the United States of America, Germany, and Ukraine collaborating in the development agenda of a specialist hospital, a research center, a teaching hospital, and the establishment of a nurses and midwifery training school. All these individuals are contributing their quota immensely to the realization of these development agendas.    

The Medical Director of the Ayire Clinic, Dr. Kofi Asare-Ansah stated that the facility is a dream come through after years of hard work, determination, perseverance, and focus in achieving this noble goal of providing health care for all ages to the people of Bongo-Soe and Ghana at large. Dr. Asaare-Ansah said even though the project is 5 percent complete, it is his prayer that the vision of the facility will come to fruition in the coming years.

                         The Medical Director of the Ayire Clinic, Dr. Kofi Asare-Ansah

Dr. Albert Kitcher Ukraine, and a board member of Ayire Clinic

The Official Consular OF Ghana to Ukraine, and a board member of Ayire Clinic, Dr. Albert Kitcher expressed joy that the facility stands for excellence and for wellbeing its galvanizing diversity of experience from all facets of the health sector to propel on to deliver the health needs of the people. 

 

UER: 178 Teachers and Health workers Trained in Child Protection NBD

 

   The Acting Manager Catholic Education of Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese Rev Sister Bernardine Pemi

About One hundred and 78 teachers drawn from 356 Catholic Schools, from the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese (NBD), have been given a three-day training workshop on Child Protection and Vulnerable Adults.

 

The workshop which was participated by ten health workers from Catholic Health Centres was organized by the Diocese with sponsorship from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) This was disclosed by the Acting Regional Manager of Catholic Educational Unit, Rev. Sister Bernadine Permi, in an interview with GBCURARADIO.COM in Bolgatanga, on the side-lines of the efforts being made by the Catholic Church to promote safeguarding and child protection within our schools and communities.

 

She said the aim of the workshop was to train each teacher per school as a safeguarding representative in that particular school which will a point of contact for a child or vulnerable adult.

 

She added that, in case of anything within the school, a report must first be reported to the representative in the school before it gets to the child protection team and finally to the child unit of the Ghana Education Service (GES).

 

Rev Permi indicated that the participants were taken through the concrete steps of safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, shared real stories they encountered in their various schools and communities.

 

Some of the participants also expressed their joy at the things they learnt from the workshop and lauded the Diocese for organizing such an insightful programme for them.

 

The General Manager of the Catholic Educational Unit, Araba Bentum, who was present at the workshop expressed joy that it was full of insight and charged teachers to take care of children entrusted to them in their various schools both Catholic and non-Catholic schools and as well spread what they have learnt to all stakeholders so as to create the awareness that, “children are to be seen and not heard is a thing of the past”.  She added that corporal punishment should also be avoided in training our children both in schools and at home.

 

The General Manager advised parents to try and provide for the needs of their children and the vulnerable so that they will not fall into temptation, for the child protection and safeguarding the Vulnerable Adults starts from the home.

 

Mrs Bentum recommended that the training workshop be replicated in all the dioceses across the country, she concluded.

Indigenous Seeds Oil from Our Local Environment

Minyela Sylvester CEO Minsaap Ventures

Adam was created by God and kept in a garden signifying that, all man needs to survived and stay healthy is the environment. 

It is against this backdrop that, a 42-year-old businessman and a 2010 graduate from the University for Development Studies (UDS) with the knowledge in his development studies and a passion for studying natural things, had to delve into natural seed oil extraction. 

Sylvester Minyila is now a friend to every pod that a tree or plant can bear not only for the benefits the fruits can provide for our health, but the seed which unknowing to us has a rich natural oil that can treat numerous ailments. 

These fruits and pods abounds in our environment especially in the northern parts of Ghana. 

The Boabab tree hitherto unknown to most natives, has a lot of benefits. Aside the leave being used for soup, the dry Boabab fruit is use for porridge and TZ.  

The various seeds oils

The seeds are the main component use together with beans, round powder beans and flour to prepare a local dish call ‘tuunto’ a major meal in the performance of traditional funerals in the Bolgatanga Municipality (BM) (the Gurune speaking area).  

The core of the seeds that contain that groundnuts like substance is also use for soup especially vegetables but that is mostly during famine period. In fact, history has it that, in August 1982 – May 1983 famine in Ghana, the (BM) and its adjoining communities relied mostly on the Boabab tree leaves and the seed for survival. 

Baobab seed oil

Expert say, the Boabab seed oil is generally known for its regenerative abilities.

 Its excellent in skin softening and healing of any imperfection due to its antioxidants and solves most of the health problems. In an interview with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Minsaap Ventures Sylvester Minyila indicated that, after extracting the oil, the residue of the Boabab seed becomes animal feed in effect, nothing of Boabab is useless. 

He stated that, Boabab Seed Oil contains Vitamins A, B and C along Omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids, Magnesium Potassium and Calcium. 

Baobab powder and Pumkin seeds 

He added that, similar nutrients and vitamins are contained in Pawpaw, neem, Pumkin and kenaf seed oils, and plays a similar role in the enhancement of the health of people daily. 

The seed oil extractor

Regarding job creation, Minsaap Ventures has employed 8 direct staff, 8 temporal staff to handle the separation, milling and extraction plants as well as the packaging and labeling .and about two hundred and 87 indirect employees that is those rural poor who gather the raw materials from the Boabab, Neem, pumkin, kenaf seeds and sell them to Minsaap Ventures, Pawpaw seeds from the pawpaw daily venders. 

 

Minsaap Ventures has in a way provided some form of income generation for the vulnerable in some rural communities. 

Some products of Minsaap Ventures ‘are certified by the Food and Drugs Authority. Mr. Minyila stated that, his intention of expanding the venture into a bigger factory.

Story by: Emmanuel Akayeti