FOMWAG INAUGURATES ASHAIMAN BRANCH (PAGE 18, AUGUST 17, 2010)

The Greater Accra President of the Federation of Muslim Women’s Association in Ghana (FOMWAG), Hajia Sirina Ketuw, has urged Muslim women to build a strong and upright family structure which will produce responsible and righteous youth for the nation.
She said research had shown that children who grew up without good parenting were likely to be deviant in society.
Hajia Sirina made the remarks at the inauguration of the Ashaiman branch of FOMWAG where she noted that in Islam, every aspect of life was prescribed for the man but the best object of the world is a pious woman.
She noted that FOMWAG was an umbrella of all Muslim women associations in Ghana and it sought to mobilise, educate, conscientise and help Muslim women to contribute their quota towards the national development.
Hajia Sirina called on Muslim women to stand by the truth and shun dishonesty and falsehood.
She explained that since the woman was the family’s first instructor, she should be educated to enable her care and educate her children.
Hajia Sirina was of the view that giving children a solid foundation in Islamic education will go a long way to inculcate its lessons in the child.
She noted that deviant children had no respect for family values and grew up to become bad parents themselves, building a vicious cycle of a bad society.
Hajia said that if the family structure was strong and upright, children would be responsible and grow to become righteous citizens.
She said knowledge was a prerequisite for serving ‘Allah’ hence the need to educate the Muslim woman through seminars, workshops and conferences.
Hajia Sirina said FOMWAG believed that the most important role for a woman was to be a good Muslim who lived in conformity with the tenants of Islam.
This, she noted, made such a woman obedient, truthful and sincere, eliminating all forms of corruption.
Hajia Sirina appealed to the Muslim women to be good achievers through education, morals and walk in the fear of God.
Inaugurating the Ashaiman branch of FOMWAG, the National Vice-President, Hajia Fati Suleman, outlined the objectives of the association and appealed to the women to discard some negative remarks made about Muslim women.
She stated that the notion that Muslim women were treated as objects, had no right to choose their partners and did not have the right to inheritance was false and urged them to strive to make significant moves to build their image in society and in national development.
Hajia Fati later swore in the executives of the Ashaiman branch of the association.

'POISON' FOR SALE? (1B, AGUST 3, 2010)

THE Greenwich Cold Store in Tema has come under intense scrutiny by the security agencies who are looking for 2,000 cartons of imported ‘gold fish’ which were declared unwholesome by the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) but were allegedly diverted into the warehouse in the Port City.
The action by the security agencies follows concerns that the diverted fish, two 40-footer container consignments, could be on sale for public consumption.
The fish was declared unwholesome when it arrived at the Tema Port and embargoed for clearance at the Tema Container Terminal (TCT) near the Golden Jubilee Terminal.
However, per a letter dated July 14, 2010 and signed for the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) Sector Commander in Tema, Mr K.K. Laryea, the cargo was allegedly sold to a fish processing company, Daireson Company, in Tema for GH¢4,200 per container for processing into fish meal.
The letter was explicit that “the containers would be moved to your operational areas under armed escort to ensure that no diversion takes place”.
But a security source at the Tema Harbour told the Daily Graphic that instead, the cargo ended up in a cold store at the Tema Fishing Harbour, raising serious security and safety concerns.
Further information gathered by the Daily Graphic indicated that the entire quantity of fish was dislodged from the containers into two cargo trucks, with registration numbers AS 4490 E and AS 2980 E, and conveyed to the Greenwich Cold Store under no armed guard, as was expected.
When information on the movement of the fish was made available to the Tema Office of the FDB, it acted swiftly and sealed the entrance of the cold store for further investigations.
The Head of the Drugs Control Unit at the Tema Office of the FDB, Mr Vigil Edward Prah-Ashun, confirmed the information.
He said the managing director of the cold store, whose name was not made available, was made to sign an undertaking to ensure that the seals were not broken.
He said the FDB would, in conjunction with other security agencies, start investigations into how the embargoed unwholesome fish was sold and moved out without any armed guard.