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Rusted taps cause lead poisoning which can result in epilepsy, Miss Agnes Sam; Psychiatric Nursing officer at the Kaneshie polytechnic has revealed. She said when people fetch water from taps that are rusty, they end up imbibing large volumes of lead which can lead to epilepsy. Miss Sam made this revelation during a community durbar on mental illness in Accra yesterday. The durbar was held in partnership with BasicNeeds, a nongovernmental organization that provides health care for the needy on the theme “Creating awareness on Mental illness and epilepsy for increased membership”. The Psychiatric Nursing officer said for many years epilepsy has been attributed to spiritual causes leading to stigmatization of victims. She however cleared that misconception saying that epilepsy is a medical condition that can be managed when medical care is sought. Miss Sam said many people have the misconception that people having seizures should not be touched, “others say if you touch them ...

The Energy Commission will from next month embark on an exercise to confiscate used refrigerators from the market. The Commission said all second hand fridges being brought into the country will be seized at the points of entry, notably the habours and ports. The Commission will however, compensate those whose goods arrived in the country before the period. These are part of measures being adopted to save the consumption of energy in the country. Speaking at a press briefing on the exercise, Mr. Kofi Agyarko, principal programme officer of Energy Commission said research indicates that obsolete or used gadgets consume more energy. He said there is, therefore, the need to make the country energy preserving for the future. Adding used refrigerators most of the times cause fire outbreaks due to the high amount of energy they consumes. The principal programme officer urged the public not to consider the beauty of an electric gadget but its energy efficiency rating. This ratin...

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly yesterday surprised squatters within the metropolis with three demolition exercises. The areas affected by the exercise were Apenkwa interchange, new Fadama, and Achimota behind the new bus terminal as well as the main Achimota gutter. There was a heavy police presence to deter any act of resistance from the squatters. Squatters looked on helplessly as graders destroyed wooden structures which served as their homes and stores. When this reporter got to the scene onlookers had gathered to witness the exercise. The heavy police presence however prevented them from taking any action. Some of the squatters said they had not been given any notice of the demolition exercise but the Accra Metropolitan Assembly said they had been served eviction notices for some months. Abena kwesiwaa Kyei, director of Okaikoi North said the Assembly was to going to ensure that the exercise was successful. She therefore said police personnel were going to be placed...