MAZA health transportation saves lives

 

Transportation of patients to health facilities is vital to healthcare delivery in every country.

Timely transportation of patients in dire need of healthcare to health facilities is a necessity.  However, transportation of patients in critical conditions to health facilities, from mostly remote areas in Ghana is still inadequate.

Over the years, government’s commitment through the National Ambulance Service and efforts of mostly mission health facilities operating in remote areas of the country as well as the work of some NGOs to provide quick means of transportation of patients to health facilities is commendable but which still needs more work to close the transportation gap of patients in need of healthcare in the rural areas to health facilities.     

The presentation of 13 improvised tricycle ambulances by MAZA to help improve healthcare delivery in the Chereponi District of the Northern Region has come as an answer to the yawning gap of providing patients with fast, timely and reliable transportation to health facilities.    

*One of the 13 tricycle ambulance at the launch. 

Access to Urgent Health Care

In most rural areas of Ghana, studies indicate that sick people trying to urgently get to hospitals or health facilities, face obstacles such as long distances of about 30 kilometres or more that takes over four hours to cross. Some of these routes and paths, which are impassable roads, with few motorized vehicles and unreliable transportation service, come at a high price.

Often time, the lack of money to pay for appropriate scares transportation, further compounds the conditions of the patient and delays the time by which they get to the health facilities.

According to health experts the phenomenon is one of the most crucial root causes of the disparity of urban-rural premature deaths in Ghana, especially for the most vulnerable members of the population including pregnant women and infants.

Thus MAZA’s initiative, which seeks to reduce the incidence of such preventable deaths by providing an innovative social enterprise transportation solution at the community level that is safe, accessible, affordable and reliable, has come as an answered prayer to the many rural dwellers.

What is MAZA?

MAZA is a Hausa word which means quickly. The initiative basically focuses on establishing a transportation network for urgent health care needs in remote areas of Ghana, while creating income-generating opportunities for drivers, traders and farmers.

With the commencement of operation of motorized passenger tricycles in Chereponi District to serve the health needs of most of the 53,000 population size of the district, MAZA has a vision and prospect to scale up to cover more communities in the next few years, and extend its services to other rural districts in Ghana.

The 13 tricycle ambulances, worth GH¢104,000, will no doubt help bridge the gap between patients urgently in need of healthcare and healthcare providers trying to provide life-saving care to patients in time.

The vehicles are multi-purpose by design to meet the immense transportation needs of the rural communities and ensure reliability of the health transportation service through mobile technology and a roster system for drivers.

* A pictorial steps of how the Ambulance will operate 

According to Dr. Nana A. Y. Twum-Danso, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of MAZA the introduction of the tricycle ambulances, to transport patients in remote rural communities would make it possible for people to access health care at the health posts in the district on time.

She explained that the operation of the ambulances which would be based at the community level would complement the work of the National Ambulance Service (NAS) by positioning its vehicles in the communities.

Dr. Twum-Danso, bemoaned the burden sick people trying to access health facilities in remote areas faced, in covering long distances, using impassable roads, few motorised vehicles, unreliable transportation services and lack of money to pay for appropriate transportation. These challenges sometimes cause avoidable complications and deaths, if patients in these areas received timely means of transport to the health facilities.

Hajia Mary Nakobu, Chereponi District Chief Executive, said most of the maternal and infant mortalities in the district occurred as a result of lack of transportation to get the expectant mothers and infants to the health centres.

She expressed the hope that the MAZA ambulances would help improve the health needs of the people in the district, particularly those living in communities far from the district capital.

The Chereponi District Health Director, Dr Stephen Dadia, commended MAZA for the initiative and expressed optimism that would contribute greatly to reducing infant and maternal deaths in the district.

Dr. Anita Appiah, who represented the National Catholic Health Service also commended efforts of MAZA to reduce avoidable deaths (including maternal and infants death) and bring healthcare to the door steps of the people.   

To achieve its vision, Maza continues to partner with the Ghana Health Service, Chereponi District Health Administration and the District Assembly, National Ambulance Service and National Catholic Health Service, as well as the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection. Others include development partners, local chiefs, opinion leaders, and other community members.

WE HAVE A DUTY

WE HAVE A DUTY TO ASK QUESTIONS.
WE HAVE A DUTY TO ASK PAINFUL QUESTIONS.
WE HAVE A DUTY TO INTERROGATE OUR PAST.
WE HAVE A DUTY TO RETHINK OUR ATTITUDE.
WE HAVE A DUTY TO QUESTION OUR PATRIOTISM.
WE HAVE A DUTY TO BE RESPONSIBLE.
WE HAVE A DUTY TO CHANGE OUR HEART.
WE HAVE A DUTY TO BE HUMAN BEINGS AGAIN.
WE HAVE A DUTY TO THE PEOPLE OF WORTH.
WE HAVE A DUTY TO STOP BEING POMPOUS BEGGARS.
WE HAVE A DUTY TO BE TRUE TO OURSELVES.
WE HAVE A DUTY TO KILL OUR GREED.
WE HAVE A DUTY TO ARREST THE BENIGN NEGLIGENCE NIBBLING AT OUR INCORRECT SMILE.
KOFI! IS AFI THERE?
TELL KASSIM AND ATIPO A NEW DAY OF DUTY IS HERE.
TELL THEM ALL THAT WE HAVE A DUTY TO BE TRUTHFULLY DUTIFUL TO BUILDING AKUA GHANA.

‪#‎JUSTTHINKINGALOUD‬# KYB

‘SDGs Implementation requires collective responsibility’

To ensure the successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Mr. Samuel Zan Akologo, Executive Secretary of Caritas Ghana, has reiterated the need for more stakeholder responsibility toward collective actions to attain the SDGs.

He said the “overwhelming endorsement of the Declaration and the 17 SDGs by the UN was an indication of the responsibility to act! Implementation is at the heart of the responsibility to act which must be manifest in concrete initiatives and allocation of resources”.

The Executive Secretary said these recently in a keynote address in Luxembourg at the climax of the European Year for Development and Luxembourg Presidency of the European Union Commission in 2015.

Mr. Akologo called for effective engagement in innovative partnership to implement the SDGs, noting that the imperative of partnerships that underpinned the unprecedented collective action and agreement of all the diverse International Financial Institutions (IFIs), comprising the global and regional development Funds and Banks, projection that the Post-2015 financing for Development will rise from Billions to Trillions, should characterise further deliberations leading to the implementation and attainment of the SDGs.

“This was a great innovation of partnership which further imposes a responsibility to act in the spirit of togetherness and to deliver the financial resources they projected for the implementation of the SDGs” he added.

To show commitment to the collective partnership in implementing the SDGs, Mr. Akologo expressed the need for the respective principal shareholders of the IFIs to begin defining a common purpose of financing for a people-centred development that will contribute to ending extreme poverty by 2030 in ways that will ‘leave no one behind’.

He also entreated Civil Society Organisations to engage the IFIs through effective and innovative advocacy actions, underpinned by dialogue to ensure that the responsibility to act by these IFIs on the development agenda remain paramount.

With the adoption of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) as the outcome for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in July 2015, which the United Nations Agenda 2030 recognised as the principal means of implementing the SDGs; Mr. Akologo also tasked major stakeholders at the UN Sustainable Development process   and Financing for Development to critically act together in partnership in all actions necessary and desirable to the implementation of the SDGs.

He observed that, another dimension of understanding the framework for the implementation of the SDGs is the inter-relationship with the just ended climate change conference in Paris.

“The Sustainable Development Goals were the principal reason and thus constitute the content of the Special United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in September this year 2015,” said Mr. Akologo, who added that the outcome document – Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development expresses global commitment to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, were adopted on 25^th September, 2015 by world leaders from 193 countries.

He said another dimension of understanding the framework for the implementation of the SDGs was the inter-relationship with the just ended climate change conference in Paris, and reiterated Pope Francis’ call on world leaders that Economic Justice, Care for our common home (the Earth) and Social Development can no longer be issues of separable concern.

The Executive Secretary therefore entreated civil society organisations and those in corporate business as well, to accept as a common ground and normative value for dialogue and partnership to work to advance economic justice, care for the environment and social development.

He suggested that stakeholders focused more clearly in defining and developing innovative partnerships around these five critical issues in goal 17 of SDG Framework.

Even though the Group of 77 and China have sponsored a resolution for the consideration of the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly on issues of implementation of the post-2015 development agenda, “we in civil society and other stakeholders need to make sure that the spirit of this resolution is consistent with principles of participation and partnership as defined by the SDG Framework” he added.

At the event were Ministers, Commissioners of the European Union and delegations from other countries, as well as a good representation from Caritas Europa and other civil society organisation.

*Mr. Zan Akologo, delivering his address.  

Media charged to improve accountability in Forestry

Professionals in the media industry have been urged to improve accountability in forest governance in Ghana to save the country from the loss of industry.

Mrs. Linda Ofori-Kwafo, Executive Secretary, Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, in a recent presentation at Koforidua, charged the media to be abreast with the areas of corruption in forestry and collaborate with other mandated institutions and organisations to fight the canker.

She observed that illegal logging and other forms of corruption in the forestry industry was causing the state to lose huge chunks of revenue, and tasked Journalists to go and uncover those shady deals and save the country from further losses.

The Executive Secretary who took the participant through strategies of whistleblowing and ways of fighting corruption, urged them to work in a team, study the legal provisions and be abreast with the various constitutional provisions for forestry governance in order to effectively go about their work.

She charged the media to be the change they want to see, to conduct thorough investigations, become effective in the area of their facilitation and put pressure on the state institutions to deliver. “In doing this make sure you don‘t get corrupted yourself” she added.

Similarly, Dr.  Emmanuel Marfo, Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, bemoaned the low media coverage given to forest governance issues, and noted the responsibility of the media to ensure greater accountability and transparency in the sector.

He said the media should for instance investigate whether communities in which concession were granted for companies for timber logging were benefiting from the Social Responsibility Agreement.

Stating that there was nothing like Special Permit in our laws, the Lecturer said “if we can stop the issuance of special permit, we will stop the illegalities in the industry”.

He therefore called for accountability and urged that the provisions in the statute books be made known to the stakeholders and public alike.

Dr. Marfo noted that under the current regime of sharing benefits of revenue generated from the forest resources, the farmer, who often tenders the trees and on whose farm the trees were felled receives nothing; and called for efforts to address the anomaly.    

Mr. Nehemiah Tettey Odjer-Bio, EU-SCIPFLEG Project Field Coordinator.
Friends of the Earth-Ghana, said it was important to help curtail illegal forestry activities in the country, adding that although the Non-Government Organisations were doing their part and urged the media to complement these efforts to ensure there was greater transparency and accountability in the management of our forest or suffer the consequence of our forest being wiped out in the country.

To make much impact, he entreated stakeholders under the Voluntary Partnership Arrangement (VPA) and the Forest Law Enforcement in Governance, to effectively play their roles to ensure accountability and transparency.

Participants at the end of the programme, pledged to build a vibrant network, work assiduously to unearth the ills and commend the good efforts in advanced in areas of forest governance.  

Steer the new path of Ghana’s progress

Journalists and Media Practitioners in Ghana have been charged to build lasting brands of themselves in order to offer quality professional services and steer the path of Ghana’s progress.

Dr. Nana Oppong, President of Distinguish Scholars of Africa (DINTSA), made the remarks when he led a training workshop for Journalists in the International Standards Journalism (ISJ) Certification Programme at the Accra International Conference.

The programme, the first of its kind in Ghana, seeks to train Journalists in the country to become top-notch professional who would champion excellence in Journalism and demand accountability and transparency in the socio-politico- economic development of the country.

It was organised by the DINTSA and Data Link Institute.

With the phenomenon of having an NDC and NPP nations, and several ethnic states in Ghana, Dr. Oppong bemoaned our weak allegiance to the country, arguing that “we need people who love Ghana; we need dedicated people in Ghana.”

He observed that we have to change the way we conduct politics in Ghana, and charged Journalist to be at the forefront to steer the path of new progress in the country.

Describing the programme as signifying the Birth of a new chapter in Ghana’s Journalism, Dr Oppong, tasked Journalists to do something new and nationalistic that would rekindle the spirit of nationalism and patriotism among Ghanaians, and inspire a new sense of ‘Ghanaianess’ among our people.

To effectively perform this role, he urged Journalists to sharpen their skills, acquire requisite knowledge and build their competence in order to deliver.

The main Facilitator, who took participants through five critical areas of applied knowledge and democratic governance: economics, law, intelligence, politics and society (E-LIPS), stated that understanding these basic areas was vital to making them excel in their careers.

Dr. Opong, touched on the poor conditions of service of journalists in the country, and observed that it was about time Media Processionals in Ghana received good professional fees, adding that the ‘soli’ or honorarium paid them was woefully inadequate.

“Create a product or service, add a different touch to your journalism and start charging for your services,” he noted, and advocated for standard payment for journalists.  

He advised media professional to build effective networks that will help them champion their professional course.

Hon. David Yeboah, MP, said that people become remarkable when they believe in themselves go far, adding that it takes courage for someone to run this programme. He commended the good works and efforts of Dr. Oppong.

Similarly, Hon. Owusu Boateng, MP for Akyem Akroso Constituency, expressed worry about monetisation in politics and highlighted the need for Ghanaians to be selfless and work for the common good. He said education was key in the answer to the mired challenges in our country but urged the educated to give back to the society.

He said “you need education and skills to rise,” entreating media practitioners to keep on learning and use their intelligence to better serve society.

The ISJ is informed by relevant competence in five critical areas of applied knowledge and democratic governance in E-LIPS.  

The Distinguished Scholars of Africa and Data Link Institute have developed a scientific, strategic, comprehensive and yet fast-tracked ISJ programme for journalists and would-be-journalists, which promises to enhance competence leading to national, international competitiveness and professionalism, prestige as well as employment and networking opportunities for participants.

The certification in international standards journalism is part of the learned heart programme of the Distinguished Scholars of Africa and Data Link Institute for strategic capacity-building of journalism and support for enhanced democracy in Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Participants at the programme, pledged to further the excellence in the profession and make journalism the bastion of change in Ghana and Africa.  

‘Do the right thing’-Bishop Afoakwah charges Ghanaians

*Bishop Afoakwah with concelebrating Priests and some Seminarians.

Most Rev. John Yaw Afoakwah, Catholic Bishop of Obuasi, has tasked Christians and Ghanaians

to do the right things at all times, to ensure greater discipline and development of the country.

As people destine for glory, he said Christians should not relent in their efforts when faced with challenges, but should always strive in hope and persevere in their works and prayers to attain the glory.

Bishop Afoakwah said this in a homily when he recently presided over a Mass at the St. Peter’s Regional Seminary at Pedu, for the Admission to Candidacy for Ordination and the Institution of Acolytes at the Seminary for some seminarians.

In spite of the many problems and persecution that they may suffer, the prelate entreated Christians never to forget they were destined for glory and should therefore look up to Christ Jesus as their ideal in their lives.

The Bishop, quoting from chapter 12 of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, cautioned the seminarians and Christians at large not to conform to the dictates of the contemporary world but to model their lives unto Christ Jesus and let the renewal of their minds transform them to always discern the will of God.

“Blessed are the rich and powerful for they shall have their way at all times” he ridiculed, to portray the sad state of affairs in our country, and decried the instance where Jesus Christ’s Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12), which forms the basis of righteousness were being revised and rewritten to suit our social comfort.

He therefore called for radical Christianity that would help transform our society and spread the good news everywhere. 

“Dare to be different in living your faith” said the Bishop, who noted that we are all children of God and small saints on earth, required to lead worthy lives and be steadfast in prayers.

In all, 46 candidates who were Admitted to Candidacy for Ordination were vested in white cassocks which the Bishop blessed, while the 56 candidates who were Instituted as Acolytes (Extra-Ordinary Ministers of the Holy Communion) were also presented with the Chalice.

Bishop Afoakwah, urged the seminarians to let their lives must inspire sanctity every time.   

In a welcome, Very Rev. Robert Charles Snyper, Acting Rector of the Seminary, highlighted the essence of the Mass in the formation of the Seminarians and thanked Bishop Afoakwah for his time.

Very Fr. Christopher Vordzorgbe, Senior Lecturer, in an interview, urged the faithful to continuously support the Seminarians with prayers and words of encouragement, as well as contribute financially to their welfare all the time.

Present at the Mass were relatives, friends and well-wishers of the seminarians as well as Priests, Religious, Societies and Confraternities from the various Churches the Seminarians were coming.

PFA makes significant strides

The Project Five Alive!(PFA), a seven-year initiative to assist ongoing efforts to reduce death in children below ages five in Ghana, using quality improvement methods in health system, has recorded remarkable gains in saving many lives of infants.

At the closing ceremony of the Project in Accra on Monday, Dr. Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey, Senior Technical Director of the Project, sharing some reflections on the impact of the initiative, stated that as of April 2015, the under-five mortality rates in 140 health facilities the project worked with nationally had reduced by 32 percent.

He expressed hope that Quality Improvement (QI) methods used during the project will transcend every facet of national health delivery, noting that a National Quality Forum will be a stepping stone to further ensure QI works in Ghana.

To intensify the QI practice in health facilities, Dr. Sodzi-Tettey called on authorities to redefine the roles of the 400 Improvement Coaches the PFA trained, to help ensure the adherence of quality improvement measures to improve effective health delivery to patients.

He said as the influence of patient communities grows, it must be accounted for in programming, adding that effective community engagement can help solve small problems associated with projects.

“Quality Improvement alone was not enough, but quality planning, quality control and quality improvement integration is key” to ensure success of health interventions in the country, Dr. Sodzi-Tettey observed.         

Project Fives Alive! is a partnership between the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and the National Catholic Health Service (NCHS) to reduce morbidity and mortality in children less than five years old (Under-5) and also improve faulty referral processes in maternal and newborn care in Ghana.

Project Fives Alive! officially launched on July 8, 2008, in three districts in northern Ghana, was a seven year project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the collaborative work between IHI, NCHS, and the Ghana Health Service to achieve the objectives of the project which was implemented in four consecutive waves (phases) in all regions of Ghana.

Mr. George A. Adjei, Director of NCHS, in a presentation, described the PFA project as special and complex, in terms of its design, duration and strategy, which started in three selected sub-districts, extending to districts and then to all regions of Ghana.

He summarized the experience of the project as challenging, gratifying and inspiring, stating that the results at the end, the project contributed immensely to reducing under-five mortality in Ghana.

The Director said the project was inspirational in that it has taught the personnel skills of improvement science, adding that the NCHS has adopted it as a business strategy, which has been applied in the NHIS billing and claims management and to improve on the pass rate of students in the Midwifery training colleges under NHCS, with remarkable results.

He said the project was also inspiring because it has heightened appreciation of data to tract performance for managers at all level, as well as re-awakened the “do-it-yourself” spirit among managers that has enable them not to wait to be told what needed to be done to fix system bottlenecks.          

Touching on the challenges of the project, Mr. Adjei, noted that the national focus of PFA, and managing staff and resources at different sites from Accra, Tamale and later in Kumasi offices was a challenge; adding it challenging “working with partners from different cultural, ethical and national orientations which sometimes brought little tensions from time to time.” 

He thanked the partners and all past and present staff, who worked and ensured the success of the project, stressing that though the project had closed, it bequeathed to individuals, service providers and country the ideology of Quality Improvement, which gives a new impetus to apply Continuous Quality Improvement methods in all facets of life.

“What we require is the discipline to continue using data to guide our decisions and interventions,” he added.

Most Rev. Joseph Afrifah-Agyekum, Bishop of Koforidua and Bishop responsible for Health, who Co-chaired the function, commended the staff and the partners in their commitment that contributed to the success of the project for the past years.

He noted that though the project was ending with poignant lessons and the impact made in saving lives, its continuity was paramount to ensure quality improvement in healthcare delivery to patients.

Prof. Pierre Barker, Senior Vice President, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, who co-chaired the function, reminiscing exciting experiences during visits to some project sites, thanked all partners and staff for their tireless efforts in making the project a success.

“The project was largely successful with a combination of hard work and faith in God,” he added.     

Dr. Nana Twum-Danso, Former Director of the Project in a brief remark recounted the cordiality that existed among the staff, adding that the project was the most challenging in her professional experience, but added it was the most rewarding.                

She commended the wonderful collaboration that existed between partners on the project; the stimulating mental exercise that brought to bear the wealth of creativity among staff and also the effective team spirit fostered, which helped them to adopt new ideas to adjust designs that ensured the overall success of PFA. 

Some staffs who shared their experiences touched on the challenging lessons PFA taught them and the inspiring opportunity the project gave them to contribute to efforts at saving lives of infants.

Certificates and Souvenirs were presented to staff in appreciation for their hard work, dedication and commitment to the success of Project Fives Alive.     

By applying QI methods, Project Fives Alive! sought to assist and accelerate Ghana’s faith-based and public health services to reach the country’s fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing mortality in children under-5 from an estimated 110 per 1000 live births to less than 40 per 1000 live births (66% decrease) by 2015

Secondly, the core QI framework upon which the project was designed was the Model for Improvement, which enabled the project staff and the local QI teams with whom they work to set aims, identify process failures and develop, test and assess whether changes were leading to improvements.

The Improvement Collaborative Network, which accelerates peer-to-peer learning and improvement on a large scale, was an integral part of the project’s design. Thus in every four to six months, the local QI teams convene at a Learning Session to acquire QI knowledge and skills, and to share their QI experiences and learn from their peers’ successes and challenges. They therefore apply what they have learned during the intervening Activity Periods, with support from their district managers and the project staff who visit them monthly to assist with development and testing of change ideas, and implementation and sustainability of successful changes.

Who can access a deceased person’s bank accounts?

We do not want to discuss death as Africans. Our culture has found a way to consign issues about death to the background. We hardly discuss what could happen to our loved ones after we have died. We do not want to discuss what could happen; not that we do not care, but rather because our culture makes it appear as if it is a taboo or bad omen. It is a tough subject for Christians who even believe in Heaven after death to fully grasp.

But, the single most important truth we must all acknowledge is that death, being part of humanity is inevitable. We may not know when, but it will painfully happen one day. The recent June 3^rd disaster that claimed about 200 lives in Accra, caused by flooding and fire in a fuel station demonstrates the harsh reality of death. Did those beautiful and innocent people know they will never return to their loved ones when they left home on that fateful Wednesday?

Is there one person in your life you trust that knows your estates including your bank accounts? Or, have you documented all your estates (property, bank accounts, investments in shares or mutual funds, insurance, etc) in a way that will make accessibility of these estates easier for loved ones when you are no more? I have decided to focus only on bank accounts for this article.

Let us discuss what happens to someone’s bank accounts when the person is deceased. As someone who works in the banking industry, it is painful to see how relatives of deceased persons who do not know the procedural matters associated with deceased person’s bank accounts and estates are left to wallow in abject ignorance because they did not know what to do. In some cases, the monies left in the bank accounts of these deceased persons when left unclaimed for some years, are returned to the Government’s chest whilst the deceased’s loved ones struggle with their lives.

Each bank has its own procedure on how it deals with a deceased customer’s bank accounts. It is important for the deceased’s relatives, friends or lawyer to notify the bank through letters of administration provided by a competent Court when someone passes away, as the bank will not necessarily be aware of a customer’s death. A bank normally freezes a deceased customer’s private accounts when notified of the death. If a deceased customer had a joint account, the account will usually be transferred into the living account holder’s name.

Who can obtain information about and access to a deceased customer’s bank accounts?

Banks still have a duty of confidentiality to their customer, even after their death. This means banks cannot disclose information about their customers to anyone other than parties who are legally entitled to it. In most cases a bank can only take instruction from the executors or administrators of the estate and is unable to release information to other parties, such as next of kin, family member or estate beneficiaries.

Banks are not mandated to give the status of a deceased person’s financial records to wife, children, parents, Abusuapayin, beneficiaries of a will, etc until the necessary legal clearance documents (letters of administration) are produced. Banks owe their fiduciary responsibility of confidentiality to the courts and the dead. You must do the right thing legally to obtain access to the funds in the deceased person’s bank account.

A bank is only able to take instructions regarding a deceased person’s account from someone who is authorised to act on behalf of the deceased’s estate. The legal process is usually to obtain probate or letters of administration from the High Court. This allows executors or administrators to deal with the deceased’s property. Once probate or letters of administration have been obtained, the executors or administrators should be able to set up a special account called “the Estate of [deceased’s name]”.

The bank will then transfer funds from the deceased customer’s accounts to the estate account and close the deceased’s personal accounts. The estate account is used to distribute/share funds as documented in a will, intestate law or any other certified sharing formula. Once distribution is completed, the estate account is closed.

Dealing with the estate of the deceased

Probate is the legal process of distributing the estate of a deceased person. First you will need to find out whether the person made a valid will. A will explains what should happen to the deceased

person’s estate – their money, property and possessions. It may be held by a bank, solicitor, a safe custody facility, a trusted friend or relative.

If there is no will, the person is said to have died intestate and so different rules apply. For example, in Ghana, the Intestate Succession Law (PNDC Law 111) will be used by the courts to share the estate if the potential beneficiaries apply to the courts through their lawyers.

If there is a will, the deceased will usually have appointed executors to deal with the estate including monies and financial investments held in commercial and investment banks or insurance companies. If no executors were appointed, or there is no will, the court will appoint an administrator.  Executors and administrators are responsible for ensuring that beneficiaries obtain what is due them from a deceased’s estate.

For more information, I advise readers to consult the following regulations in Ghana; Administration of Estates Act, 1961 (Act 63), The Wills Act, 1971 (Act 360), Intestate Succession Act, 1985 (PNDC Law 111), Intestate Succession Amendment law, 1991 (PNDC Law 264), Marriages Ordinance Act, 1951 (Cap 127). Copies of these acts can be obtained from the Assembly Press in Accra, Ghana near the Accra Polytechnic.

Example of Mr. Tawiah and his deceased Sister’s bank accounts

Mr Tawiah wanted information from his deceased sister’s bank about her accounts.  He and his family also wanted an explanation from the bank about why it had allowed insurance premium payments made by standing order to continue from his sister’s account following her death. The bank was not willing to provide this information to Mr Tawiah because he had not been appointed to act on behalf of his sister’s estate.

Mr Tawiah wrote to a daily newspaper and also reported to a radio station on behalf of his family to see whether they could help him get this information from the bank. The media house which knew probate processes referred the matter to a lawyer. The lawyer advised Mr Tawiah that a media house is a wrong place to contact for assistance because the administration of his sister’s estate can only be authorised by a court.  To be able to help him, he needed a waiver of confidentiality from the administrator of the estate or someone appointed to act on behalf of the estate, such as a lawyer.  The relationship between a bank and its customer is confidential. 

Mr. Tawiah followed the lawyer’s advice by engaging the services of a lawyer. The lawyer followed the necessary procedures from the courts and the bank eventually released the necessary information that enabled the family to get access to their late sister’s funds. The Bible says for lack of knowledge, my people perish (Hosea 4:6). To avoid unnecessary delays when you need access to a deceased person’s bank accounts, always engage the services of a family lawyer to handle all probate and letter of administration matters.

Important Definitions

Administrator: A person appointed by the court to handle the estate of a person who died intestate, whose will is invalid, or whose named executors are unwilling or unable to act.

Beneficiary of the Estate: Someone who receives a specific gift or an amount of money from the deceased, as detailed in their will.                    

Estate: All assets, including (but not limited to) money, shares, real estate, vehicles and personal possessions.

Executor: A person or trust company named in the will to administer the estate of the deceased.

Letters of Administration: A document granted by the High Court which appoints administrators of an estate when the person has died intestate or when the will is invalid. 

Intestate: When a person dies without a will.

Probate: A document granted by the High Court which acknowledges the executors of the will as administrators of the deceased’s estate.

Will:  A legally enforceable document which specifies the desired distribution of a person’s property upon their death.