Life is indeed a paradox. We at times find it difficult to understand nature. After months of drought when finally the rains come, it causes disaster. A front page story of the Daily Graphic says four days of persistent rains in the Upper East region have claimed four lives and rendered 150 people homeless in the West Mamprusi and Builsaa districts. According to the report at Jamaa in the West Mamprusi district four people drowned in the floods raising fears of the worst disaster if the floodgates to the Bagre dam in Burkina Faso are opened as expected on Sunday.
The top story of the paper however gives cause for hope. It says delegates from 100 countries across the globe have begun a search in Accra for solutions to the that keep plaguing humanity dire to world wide climatic changes. The paper shows President Kufuor exchanging pleasantries with one of the delegates on his arrival for the opening ceremony of the week-long UN conference. Politics is not everything and this is exemplified by a former Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor. He has told Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom the CPPpresidential candidate that he is not interested in the running mate position of the party now. Dr. Nduom told the Graphic on Wednesday that he had penciled Dr. Duffuor and three others for consideration by the leadership of the party as running mate for the December polls. The story can be found on page three of the Graphic.
Still with the Graphic and to Nigeria . The paper reports on its foreign page that the country’s Islamic Authority has told the man who has 86 wives to choose only four and repent within three days or be sentenced to death. The Jamatu Nasril Islam passed their verdict on Mohammed Bello Abubakr, 84, according to Sharia law.
The Ghanaian Times reports as its top story that the over 3,000 abandoned dual desks meant for distribution to basic schools in the Ga West and south Municipal Assemblies have now been distributed to the beneficiary schools. According to the story, the Ga South Assembly hired 16 cargo trucks on Monday to collect and distribute their half of the consignment that has been left in the open for months. The paper shows some of the desks being packed into a truck for distribution to the schools. Also treated as a front page story is the ban slapped on Gari soaking Garsoak a food product in Kumasi. The Food and Drugs Board has directed the manufacturers to stop production immediately.
The Daily Guide reports that David Quartey, the 22 year old son of a High Court Judge in Ghana has been jailed for life for plunging a knife repeatedly into his guardian, Dr. Victoria Anyetei. Quartey, a law student who lived on Humber Road, Dartford, was found guilty of stabbing to death Victoria, who gave him lodgings and acted as his guardian.
THE EDITORIALS
The Daily Graphic calls on people who are unaware of the threats posed by climate change to look up north where the story is about extreme drought or heavy rainfall that cause havoc to life and property. The Graphic notes that the failure to demand climate justice perpetuates climate change. The paper therefore calls for concerted efforts now to address the issue.
The Ghanaian Times is happy that the three thousand dual desks abandoned at Amasaman have now been distributed to basic schools in the district. The paper notes that hundreds of pupils in the Ga South District will now know the joy and relief of sitting on proper furniture when school reopens next month. The Times says the story of the abandoned desks still raises questions and calls on the GES to institute a probe so that those found to be responsible can be punished.
The Public Agenda says it is regrettable the country’s delegation to the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing will be returning home empty-handed, crushing out of h e games without any medals won. The paper notes that, Ghanaians cannot run away from the fact that preparations towards the Olympics were woefully inadequate. It says the so-called lesser known sports were grossly neglected in the name of the Ghana 2008 football tournament which ended in February. The paper is concerned that instead of raising the standard of infrastructure, some officials have decided to engage in unnecessary blame games with some of the athletes, a case in point being the unpaid bonus allegations made by female sprinter Vida Anim.
