Black fly re-emerges in Northern Volta

Accra, June 16, GNA - The black fly, the small sturdy hump-back, which carries the parasites that cause onchocerciasis or river blindness has re-emerged in Northern Volta, the NDC MP for Krachi East, Mr Wisdom Gidisu said on Thursday. He said the re-emergence of the fly had reduced the working time of farmers in the area, reduced income-generating capacity of the people and had forced rural/urban migration and given the area a negative public image.

The Member, who was making a statement on the floor of the House said the risk of river blindness, if not checked would eventually reduce the population of the area due to the departure of young people and pre-mature death of the aged. He said there was a shortage of Ivemectin, a drug used in the treatment of the disease in the area. The MP appealed to the Minister of Health to increase the allocation of the drug to the affected communities. "The Minister should not only be treating the disease but should also embark on periodic spraying of the affected areas to reduce their potency and population."

In another statement, Mr. David Hennric Yeboah, NPP MP for Afigya Sekyere East, has called for the return of professional Ghanaians living in foreign lands. He said, "Some of our countrymen who have travelled abroad have either acquired some skills or professions or have increased their knowledge, which could be extremely beneficial to our dear country." The Member said, however, most of these people feel unwelcome when they come home.

"Some of our brothers and sisters who had attempted to come home narrate stories of hostilities by their own kith and kin here in Ghana. Will the country be prepared to receive them? What conditions are there at home that can quickly settle them? These are the questions they keep asking." Mr Yeboah said as a nation, "we spend billion of cedis on foreigners as consultants and experts while there are Ghanaians with similar skills working in other countries." He called on the government and the society as whole to entice them with incentives for them to come home to help in national development.