Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga.
A 35-YEAR-OLD cattle dealer from Bawku has appeared before the Bolgatanga Magistrate Court for possessing ammunition without lawful authority.
Awudu Hamidu, who pleaded guilty, was remanded in prison custody to reappear on March 31, 2008.
Prosecuting, Detective Inspector John Agyuah told the court presided over by Mr. Hakeem Osman that on Monday March 11, 2008 at about 7:30 pm, the accused was arrested at Asanga, a suburb of Bawku by security personnel on patrol duties.
He said the accused who had flouted curfew hours was spotted by the security men however on seeing them, Hamidu fled. The prosecutor said the security men pursued him and arrested him.
According to him, a search on the accused revealed two AK 47 rifle magazines with a total of 46 live ammunitions.
Detective Agyuah said the security personnel interrogate the accused with the view of eliciting more information but the accused could not give them any explanation as to the source of the ammunitions.
He said Hamidu was therefore handed the police in Bawku who later referred him to the regional office for further investigation.
The Prosecution stated that since the case was still under investigation, he prayed the court to remand the accused in prison to allow further investigation to which the court obliged.
Wednesday 19 March 2008
Tono Irrigation scheme to be rehabilitation (Daily Graphic, Wednesday March 19, 2008.Page 31)
Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Tono
THE Minister of Food and Agriculture Mr. Ernest A. Debrah, last Saturday cut the sod to mark the start of work on the rehabilitation of the Tono Irrigation Scheme in the Kassena-Nankana District of the Upper East Region.
The rehabilitation works, which has been on the drawing board for decades, would cost GH c 7.90 million cedis. It would include regarding and gravelling of the main access road in the scheme, re-gravelling of the dam wall and erosion control of the dam slopes and replacement of lost linings of concrete on the main and lateral canals.
There would be a construction of washing bays, culverts, water control gates and desilting of main drain.
Six construction firms have been engage to execute the project scheduled for completion in December.
The construction of the Tono Irrigation Dam started in 1975 and was completed in 1979.covering a total 2,440 hectares of irrigable area. However for the past 25 years that the project has been operating, no major maintenance has been carried on the facilities. This has led to a reduction of the original 2,440 hectares of irrigated land to the present 1,800 hectares.
The ceremony was witnessed by a cross-section of people, including traditional rulers. Also present was the Minister for Energy and MP for Navrongo Central, Mr. Joseph Kofi Adda.
Mr. Debrah expressed the hope that when the project was completed it will lead to improvement in economic well being of the people of Navrongo and its environs and Ghana at large.
He noted that the physical, economic and social sustainability of the scheme after the rehabilitation will depend on the collective effort of the farmers, the Irrigation Company of the Upper Regions,(ICOUR), management and the wider community who are direct or indirect beneficiaries of the scheme.
Mr. Debrah entreated the contractors who would work on the project to live up to expectation by ensuring quality output and deliver within the schedule.
The Minister disclosed that government in its bid to improve the rice sector intends to assist farmers in the vast rice valleys of Fumbisi with inputs and land preparation to crop a total of 1000 hectares of rice for a start.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Alhassan Samari in a speech read on his behalf by his deputy, Mrs. Agnes Asangalisah Chigabatia said the project was a demonstration of the government’s commitment to the accelerated development to the area.
“The project when completed will not only increase food production in the region but will also give more jobs to people and thereby put more money in the pockets of our farmers”, he said.
The Minister calls for public support towards the successful completion of the project to serve it intended purpose.
The Managing Director of ICOUR, Mr. Issa Bukari conveyed ICOUR’S appreciation to government for funding the project and added the project when completed would enhance the efficiency of water management to increase productivity also areas which hither to could not get water can now be put under cultivation.
The National President of the Farmers and Fisherman Award Winners Association of Ghana , Mr. Philip Abayori while commending the government for rehabilitating the dam appealed for the refurbish the rice mills to boost rice production in the area.
-End-
THE Minister of Food and Agriculture Mr. Ernest A. Debrah, last Saturday cut the sod to mark the start of work on the rehabilitation of the Tono Irrigation Scheme in the Kassena-Nankana District of the Upper East Region.
The rehabilitation works, which has been on the drawing board for decades, would cost GH c 7.90 million cedis. It would include regarding and gravelling of the main access road in the scheme, re-gravelling of the dam wall and erosion control of the dam slopes and replacement of lost linings of concrete on the main and lateral canals.
There would be a construction of washing bays, culverts, water control gates and desilting of main drain.
Six construction firms have been engage to execute the project scheduled for completion in December.
The construction of the Tono Irrigation Dam started in 1975 and was completed in 1979.covering a total 2,440 hectares of irrigable area. However for the past 25 years that the project has been operating, no major maintenance has been carried on the facilities. This has led to a reduction of the original 2,440 hectares of irrigated land to the present 1,800 hectares.
The ceremony was witnessed by a cross-section of people, including traditional rulers. Also present was the Minister for Energy and MP for Navrongo Central, Mr. Joseph Kofi Adda.
Mr. Debrah expressed the hope that when the project was completed it will lead to improvement in economic well being of the people of Navrongo and its environs and Ghana at large.
He noted that the physical, economic and social sustainability of the scheme after the rehabilitation will depend on the collective effort of the farmers, the Irrigation Company of the Upper Regions,(ICOUR), management and the wider community who are direct or indirect beneficiaries of the scheme.
Mr. Debrah entreated the contractors who would work on the project to live up to expectation by ensuring quality output and deliver within the schedule.
The Minister disclosed that government in its bid to improve the rice sector intends to assist farmers in the vast rice valleys of Fumbisi with inputs and land preparation to crop a total of 1000 hectares of rice for a start.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Alhassan Samari in a speech read on his behalf by his deputy, Mrs. Agnes Asangalisah Chigabatia said the project was a demonstration of the government’s commitment to the accelerated development to the area.
“The project when completed will not only increase food production in the region but will also give more jobs to people and thereby put more money in the pockets of our farmers”, he said.
The Minister calls for public support towards the successful completion of the project to serve it intended purpose.
The Managing Director of ICOUR, Mr. Issa Bukari conveyed ICOUR’S appreciation to government for funding the project and added the project when completed would enhance the efficiency of water management to increase productivity also areas which hither to could not get water can now be put under cultivation.
The National President of the Farmers and Fisherman Award Winners Association of Ghana , Mr. Philip Abayori while commending the government for rehabilitating the dam appealed for the refurbish the rice mills to boost rice production in the area.
-End-
Tuesday 18 March 2008
Chigabatia tours Tenkodogo prisons in Burkina Faso( Daily Graphic Monday March 17, 2008. Page 32)
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Mrs. Agnes Chigabatia (second left), the Deputy Upper East Regional Minister being assisted by the Regional Prisons Commander, Mrs. Florence Yeboah Acheampong(left) to present a gift to the Director in-charge of the Central East Province of Burkina Faso, Mr. Sibiry Neya after touring the prisons in Tenkodogo.Mrs. Yeboah Acheampong accompanied the deputy regional minister to Tenkodogo join the people to celebrate the International Women’s Day which fell on March 8.
While there, the Upper East Regional Prisons Commander and other members of the delegation seized the opportunity to visit her counterparts and share ideas on operations of the service in that country.
Mr. Neya informed the delegation that apart from the male prisoners who are fed once a day, women and children were fed thrice a day
At the female section, the delegation was shown a 72 year old women who was serving a two-month jail sentence for perpetrating female genital mutilation.
Mrs. Chigabatia took the opportunity to advice the woman not to engage in such acts that brought her to prison to which she obliged.
4 Chiefs, 28 assembly members boycott assembly inauguration
Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Paga
17/03/08
THE chiefs and people of Chiana, Kayoro, Katiu and Nakong, as well as their counterparts from the eastern part of the newly created Kassena-Nankana West District in the Upper East Region, boycotted the recent inaugural ceremony of the district.
Their action was in protest against the choice of Paga as the district capital instead of Chiana.
All the 28 elected assembly members from the western and eastern parts of the district also absented themselves from the function in protest against the siting of the capital at Paga.
The new assembly comprises 46 members made up of 32 elected and 14 government appointees. Only 18 out of the 46 assembly members attended the inaugural ceremony.
Despite the boycott, a colourful durbar was held at Paga with heavy military and police representation. The inauguration brought out the best of the rich cultural heritage of the people.
In attendance was the Paramount Chief of Paga, Pe Charles Awampaga, and other divisional and sub-chiefs from the area.
Among the distinguished personalities who witnessed the ceremony was the District Chief Executive for Kassena-Nankana, Mr Emmanuel Chegeweh; the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chiana-Paga, Mr Abuga Pele; the Minister of Energy and MP for Navrongo Central, Mr Joseph Kofi Adda; the DCE for Builsa, Mr Thomas Kofi Alonsi; and the National Co-ordinator of the National Youth Employment Programme, Mr Leo Kaba.
Representatives of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment and a number of heads of decentralised departments and agencies also graced the occasion.
In President Kufuor’s inaugural address read on his behalf by the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, he called on the people to work in unity to ensure that absolute peace prevailed, since it was a pre-requisite for development.
“You must allow unity to permeate all your dealings at the individual and collective levels,” he stressed.
President Kufuor urged the assembly to be proactive and performance-oriented, adding that they must come out with innovative ways of generating revenue and improving revenue collection.
Mr Chegeweh said the creation of the new district would accelerate development in the area.
He stated that education, health and agriculture, among other sectors, would see rapid development.
“Employment avenues shall be created in all these sectors for the unemployed, especially the youth, thereby reducing poverty in the area,” Mr Chegeweh said.
On behalf of the chiefs and people of the new district, the DCE expressed appreciation to the President for giving them a new district, which, he said, was a great legacy for which the NPP government would forever be remembered by the people.
To ensure the smooth kick-off of the new assembly, Mr Chegeweh stated that the Paga Town Council offices would be used temporarily as the District Assembly offices while the motel close to the Paga Crocodile Pond was to be rehabilitated and turned into offices for the decentralised departments of the assembly.
On residential accommodation, the DCE said four two-bedroom bungalows and 18 chalets near the Paga Crocodile Pond would be rehabilitated for officers that would be posted to work in the district.
He announced that the government had allocated two vehicles, five tractors and a computer and accessories, and in addition GH¢30,000 had been allocated to the new district to facilitate a smooth kick-off.
Mr Chegeweh called on members of the new district assembly to work in unison, bury all differences and forge ahead in the best interest of the citizens of the area.
A Bolgatanga Circuit Court Judge, Mr Osei Kwame, swore the assembly members in. They took the official oath and the oath of secrecy.
17/03/08
THE chiefs and people of Chiana, Kayoro, Katiu and Nakong, as well as their counterparts from the eastern part of the newly created Kassena-Nankana West District in the Upper East Region, boycotted the recent inaugural ceremony of the district.
Their action was in protest against the choice of Paga as the district capital instead of Chiana.
All the 28 elected assembly members from the western and eastern parts of the district also absented themselves from the function in protest against the siting of the capital at Paga.
The new assembly comprises 46 members made up of 32 elected and 14 government appointees. Only 18 out of the 46 assembly members attended the inaugural ceremony.
Despite the boycott, a colourful durbar was held at Paga with heavy military and police representation. The inauguration brought out the best of the rich cultural heritage of the people.
In attendance was the Paramount Chief of Paga, Pe Charles Awampaga, and other divisional and sub-chiefs from the area.
Among the distinguished personalities who witnessed the ceremony was the District Chief Executive for Kassena-Nankana, Mr Emmanuel Chegeweh; the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chiana-Paga, Mr Abuga Pele; the Minister of Energy and MP for Navrongo Central, Mr Joseph Kofi Adda; the DCE for Builsa, Mr Thomas Kofi Alonsi; and the National Co-ordinator of the National Youth Employment Programme, Mr Leo Kaba.
Representatives of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment and a number of heads of decentralised departments and agencies also graced the occasion.
In President Kufuor’s inaugural address read on his behalf by the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, he called on the people to work in unity to ensure that absolute peace prevailed, since it was a pre-requisite for development.
“You must allow unity to permeate all your dealings at the individual and collective levels,” he stressed.
President Kufuor urged the assembly to be proactive and performance-oriented, adding that they must come out with innovative ways of generating revenue and improving revenue collection.
Mr Chegeweh said the creation of the new district would accelerate development in the area.
He stated that education, health and agriculture, among other sectors, would see rapid development.
“Employment avenues shall be created in all these sectors for the unemployed, especially the youth, thereby reducing poverty in the area,” Mr Chegeweh said.
On behalf of the chiefs and people of the new district, the DCE expressed appreciation to the President for giving them a new district, which, he said, was a great legacy for which the NPP government would forever be remembered by the people.
To ensure the smooth kick-off of the new assembly, Mr Chegeweh stated that the Paga Town Council offices would be used temporarily as the District Assembly offices while the motel close to the Paga Crocodile Pond was to be rehabilitated and turned into offices for the decentralised departments of the assembly.
On residential accommodation, the DCE said four two-bedroom bungalows and 18 chalets near the Paga Crocodile Pond would be rehabilitated for officers that would be posted to work in the district.
He announced that the government had allocated two vehicles, five tractors and a computer and accessories, and in addition GH¢30,000 had been allocated to the new district to facilitate a smooth kick-off.
Mr Chegeweh called on members of the new district assembly to work in unison, bury all differences and forge ahead in the best interest of the citizens of the area.
A Bolgatanga Circuit Court Judge, Mr Osei Kwame, swore the assembly members in. They took the official oath and the oath of secrecy.
Exploring tourism potential of the Upper East Region -—NCRC shows the way
Article: Benjamin Xornam Glover
17/03/08
THE Upper East Region abounds in several tourist attractions, which are potentials for investment. Despite those potentials, the region lacks the necessary infrastructure, such as hotels, restaurants and other services to support and market the industry.
The general belief is that investment in that sector of the region’s economy with its well-known multiplier effect, as well as backward and forward linkages, would help create job opportunities in areas that had such tourist endowments.
Examples of Natural Conservation sites in the Upper East and the Upper East Region are the Widnaba eco-tourism site, the Paga Crocodile Ponds and the Tongo hills and shrines.
Widnaba is a fascinating Kusasi cultural site that also offers the Red Volta River Valley's many natural rewards.
The story of the Widnaba people began long ago on Kusanga land in Burkina Faso. When the chief landlord died, the very numerous Kusanga clan overburdened the land. His surviving three sons and a daughter decided to search for new lands with the eldest son's horse. The youngest brother remained at Zooga, where there were good harvests and delivery of two baby, signs of good luck.
The eldest brother settled on the next land, where there were even better harvests and the delivery of three young horses, which were exceptional signs of good luck. He named the land Widnaba or Horse Chief. The other two siblings eventually founded Tilli and Kusanaba.
The Kusaasis are called "the people of the earth", as they believe the chief god, Winam, created all animals, plants and people from the earth, and continues to dwell with his creations in the atmosphere. Spirits of the deceased can commune with the chief spirit while remaining close to their surviving families. Ancestral spirits play an active role in Kusaasi traditions, beliefs and families.
At Widnaba, visitors go out in guided hikes in the scenic hills north of Widnaba and Zebilla allow fantastic views far into Burkina Faso.
The Tongo Hills and Tengzug Shrines are also a must see tourist destination in the Upper East Region.
This unique, beautiful, culturally rich landscape is a proposed UNESCO World Heritage site. The hills, with their wondrous rock formations, caves, and natural rock shelters, are the sacred cultural centre of the Talensis.
Numerous sacred shrines, including the paramount, ba’ar Tonna’ab ya’ nee, nestle in the cliffs above the village of Tengzug.
For centuries, the many agriculturists in the Tongo Hills were harassed by slave raiders from conquest states both north and south, and many ended up as Akan forest kingdom slaves.
More slave raiders, supplying new slave owners, returned in the 1880s–90s.
The Tongo Hills have been widely known as a site of sacred power since the late 1800s. The ancestor shrine, Tonna’ab, was also a refuge and potent symbol for those who resisted "pacification" — the hills were among the last areas in Ghana to submit to British rule.
In 1911 and again in 1915, the British evicted the Talensis to end that resistance, and all access to sacred sites was banned. However, by the 1920s, it was clear that the great ancestor shrine Tonna’ab could not be destroyed. The vibrant Talensi communities of the Tongo Hills show the same tenacity today.
The Paga Crocodile Pond is a culturally protected sacred pond grove with a resident population of “friendly reptiles” that enjoy a local taboo banning anyone from harming them.
In a bid to promote community-based tourism, an Accra-based non-governmental organisation, Nature Conservation Research Centre (NCRC), has taken the initiative to develop those sites and market those eco-tourism sites in the region.
NCRC is a Ghanaian non-profit, private voluntary organisation implementing conservation initiatives to promote a greater awareness and protection of the natural, historic and cultural diversity of Ghana and ultimately the West African sub-region.
With funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other partner agencies, NCRC is working to develop a network of community-based destinations that link tourism development with environmental, historic, and cultural conservation.
According to the National Eco-tourism Co-ordinator of NCRC, Mr Bob Nakuku, the organisation was working to develop a network of community-based destinations that link tourism development with environmental, historic, and cultural conservation.
He said the goal was to create sustainable income-generating ventures benefiting the community, and conserving local wildlife, environment and culture.
He stated that a tourism management team comprising local community members directed the project at ground level with advice from a volunteer stationed at the rural village.
“Development activities are dependent on community input, local workmanship, and communal labour. All revenue collected from the tourism project is managed by and for the village. Electricity, adequate drinking water facilities and a new school are just a few of communities' stated goals for the future,” he added.
In the Upper East Region, Mr Nakuku said NCRC partnered Community-Based Eco-tourism Project like the Paga Sacred Crocodile Ponds, Sirigu Traditional Arts Centre, the Widnaba Eco-tourism site, and the Tongo Hills and Tengzug Shrines.
He said under the intervention, visitor centres had been constructed, while guest houses and lodges had also been built at the various sites.
In addition, dustbins, sanitation equipment and directional signs had been provided to aid tourists visiting the sites.
The people, he added, had also benefited from several capacity-building workshops to empower them with knowledge on sanitation, first aid, and HIV/AIDS prevention, among others.
Mr Nakuku said the intervention of NCRC had also led to the creation of jobs for the youth in the respective communities.
The tourism sector in the Upper East Region has a great potential. With enough investment, it is hoped that the eco-tourism sites would be developed and in the long run, make the region the preferred tourism destination in the country, not to talk about the economic benefits that it would bring to the people.
17/03/08
THE Upper East Region abounds in several tourist attractions, which are potentials for investment. Despite those potentials, the region lacks the necessary infrastructure, such as hotels, restaurants and other services to support and market the industry.
The general belief is that investment in that sector of the region’s economy with its well-known multiplier effect, as well as backward and forward linkages, would help create job opportunities in areas that had such tourist endowments.
Examples of Natural Conservation sites in the Upper East and the Upper East Region are the Widnaba eco-tourism site, the Paga Crocodile Ponds and the Tongo hills and shrines.
Widnaba is a fascinating Kusasi cultural site that also offers the Red Volta River Valley's many natural rewards.
The story of the Widnaba people began long ago on Kusanga land in Burkina Faso. When the chief landlord died, the very numerous Kusanga clan overburdened the land. His surviving three sons and a daughter decided to search for new lands with the eldest son's horse. The youngest brother remained at Zooga, where there were good harvests and delivery of two baby, signs of good luck.
The eldest brother settled on the next land, where there were even better harvests and the delivery of three young horses, which were exceptional signs of good luck. He named the land Widnaba or Horse Chief. The other two siblings eventually founded Tilli and Kusanaba.
The Kusaasis are called "the people of the earth", as they believe the chief god, Winam, created all animals, plants and people from the earth, and continues to dwell with his creations in the atmosphere. Spirits of the deceased can commune with the chief spirit while remaining close to their surviving families. Ancestral spirits play an active role in Kusaasi traditions, beliefs and families.
At Widnaba, visitors go out in guided hikes in the scenic hills north of Widnaba and Zebilla allow fantastic views far into Burkina Faso.
The Tongo Hills and Tengzug Shrines are also a must see tourist destination in the Upper East Region.
This unique, beautiful, culturally rich landscape is a proposed UNESCO World Heritage site. The hills, with their wondrous rock formations, caves, and natural rock shelters, are the sacred cultural centre of the Talensis.
Numerous sacred shrines, including the paramount, ba’ar Tonna’ab ya’ nee, nestle in the cliffs above the village of Tengzug.
For centuries, the many agriculturists in the Tongo Hills were harassed by slave raiders from conquest states both north and south, and many ended up as Akan forest kingdom slaves.
More slave raiders, supplying new slave owners, returned in the 1880s–90s.
The Tongo Hills have been widely known as a site of sacred power since the late 1800s. The ancestor shrine, Tonna’ab, was also a refuge and potent symbol for those who resisted "pacification" — the hills were among the last areas in Ghana to submit to British rule.
In 1911 and again in 1915, the British evicted the Talensis to end that resistance, and all access to sacred sites was banned. However, by the 1920s, it was clear that the great ancestor shrine Tonna’ab could not be destroyed. The vibrant Talensi communities of the Tongo Hills show the same tenacity today.
The Paga Crocodile Pond is a culturally protected sacred pond grove with a resident population of “friendly reptiles” that enjoy a local taboo banning anyone from harming them.
In a bid to promote community-based tourism, an Accra-based non-governmental organisation, Nature Conservation Research Centre (NCRC), has taken the initiative to develop those sites and market those eco-tourism sites in the region.
NCRC is a Ghanaian non-profit, private voluntary organisation implementing conservation initiatives to promote a greater awareness and protection of the natural, historic and cultural diversity of Ghana and ultimately the West African sub-region.
With funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other partner agencies, NCRC is working to develop a network of community-based destinations that link tourism development with environmental, historic, and cultural conservation.
According to the National Eco-tourism Co-ordinator of NCRC, Mr Bob Nakuku, the organisation was working to develop a network of community-based destinations that link tourism development with environmental, historic, and cultural conservation.
He said the goal was to create sustainable income-generating ventures benefiting the community, and conserving local wildlife, environment and culture.
He stated that a tourism management team comprising local community members directed the project at ground level with advice from a volunteer stationed at the rural village.
“Development activities are dependent on community input, local workmanship, and communal labour. All revenue collected from the tourism project is managed by and for the village. Electricity, adequate drinking water facilities and a new school are just a few of communities' stated goals for the future,” he added.
In the Upper East Region, Mr Nakuku said NCRC partnered Community-Based Eco-tourism Project like the Paga Sacred Crocodile Ponds, Sirigu Traditional Arts Centre, the Widnaba Eco-tourism site, and the Tongo Hills and Tengzug Shrines.
He said under the intervention, visitor centres had been constructed, while guest houses and lodges had also been built at the various sites.
In addition, dustbins, sanitation equipment and directional signs had been provided to aid tourists visiting the sites.
The people, he added, had also benefited from several capacity-building workshops to empower them with knowledge on sanitation, first aid, and HIV/AIDS prevention, among others.
Mr Nakuku said the intervention of NCRC had also led to the creation of jobs for the youth in the respective communities.
The tourism sector in the Upper East Region has a great potential. With enough investment, it is hoped that the eco-tourism sites would be developed and in the long run, make the region the preferred tourism destination in the country, not to talk about the economic benefits that it would bring to the people.
Saturday 15 March 2008
EC begins replacement of voter ID cards(Saturday, March 15, 2008 Daily Graphic Back Page )
...................Benjamin Xornam Glover reports from Bolgatanga that the EC in collaboration with the Bawku MunicipalSecurity Committee,(MUSEC) have postponed the Commission's programmes onreplacement of lost, torn or defaced voter identity cards thereplacement exercise of voter identity cards.The replacement exercise, which commenced yesterday morning has also been suspended in the Garu-Tempane District.The Upper East Regional Director of the EC, Mr. Adam Iddrisu Mahamawho disclosed this to the Daily Graphic at Bolgatanga on Friday said thereason for the postponement was as a result of the unstable securitysituation prevailing in the area. “We held a meeting with the MUSEC on March 12, 2008 and based ontheir recommendation it was decided that the exercise be postponed. A newdate will be announced later”, Mr. Mahama said. Due to renewed conflict in Bawku earlier this week, the Minister ofthe Interior on the advice of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC)re-imposed a curfew on the town and extended it to Pusiga; Zabugu, Binduriand Zoosi. The curfew will start from 3 pm to and ends at 7 am each day. Meanwhile Mr. Mahama has stated that the exercise in other parts ofthe region have started well. He said in all 278 replacement centers have been established in theregion for the exercise adding that Officials at the EC have dividedthemselves into three groups to supervise the programme.
Government committed to issues on women and children (The Mirror, Saturday, March 15, 2008 Page 37)
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Benjamin Xornam Glover, Tenkodogo, Burkina FasoThe Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs. Agnes Asangalisa Chigabatia last Saturday, joined the women of Burkina Faso to celebrate this year International Day of women at Tenkodogo in the South East Province of Burkina Faso.
Mrs. Chigabatia made the comment in an interview with journalist at Tenkodogo, in the South East Province of Burkina Faso when she led a Ghanaian delegation to celebrate this year’s International Womens Day.
International Women's Day (8 March) is an occasion marked by women's groups around the world. This date is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday.
The theme for this years celebration was “Female and HIV/AIDS, lets fight stigmatization and discrimination.” The celebration was preceded by a week long forum attended by several women organization in Burkina Faso to deliberate on challenges facing women in the fight against the pandemic.
Mrs. Chigabatia said in Ghana toe thirds of District Directors of Education were women while out of the ten regional directors of Education, eight were women, adding that the highest position in the judicial system was headed by a woman.
The First Lady of Burkina Faso, Mrs. Chantale Campaore stressed the importance of the celebration and said it offered women an an opportunity to evaluate their performance in the past and plan ahead particular when it came to the role of women in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
She also pledged her commitment to war against the deadly disease in her country.
The event was marked by a march past by a number of women’s organization drawn from all over Burkina Faso.
Thursday 13 March 2008
More soldiers to keep peace in Bawku
Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover,
Bolgatanga
13/03/08
About one hundred military personnel have been flown to Bawku in the Upper East Region to strengthen peacekeeping efforts in the area.
The Deputy Upper East Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Hamidu Mahama, who made this known to the Daily Graphic yesterday, said the deployment of the military personnel was a result of the resumption of violence in the area this week.
He expressed the hope that the reinforcement would significantly improve peace in the area.
Renewed fighting in Bawku on Monday night and Tuesday has claimed at least two lives. A number of houses have also been burnt down. The dead have been identified as Lawale Muntala, 44, and Sulemana Imoro, 30.
Muntala, a Moshie, and Sulemana, a Hausa by tribe, who were both cattle dealers, were said to be travelling to Bittou in Burkina Faso on a motorbike for business.
According to the Upper East Regional Crime Officer, Superintendent Victor Seth Agbentornyo, when they got to an area called Beriberi at about 9 a.m. unknown assailants allegedly attacked them, robbed them of their money and mobile phones and killed them. He said the bodies of the deceased had been deposited at the Bawku Hospital Mortuary.
Mr Agbetornyo said the death of the two sparked off sporadic shooting, adding that there was even an attempt to set a police rented quarters ablaze but the police quickly mobilised and foiled the move.
The Minister of the Interior on the advice of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has by Executive Instrument extended the curfew in Bawku to Pusiga, Zabugu, Binduri and Zoosi, all in the Upper East Region, with immediate effect. The curfew will now start from 3 p.m. to 7 a.m. each day.
The Government on Monday relaxed the curfew at Bawku and its environs from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. following what it described as “the return of relative normalcy” only for the situation to escalate the next morning.
Bolgatanga
13/03/08
About one hundred military personnel have been flown to Bawku in the Upper East Region to strengthen peacekeeping efforts in the area.
The Deputy Upper East Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Hamidu Mahama, who made this known to the Daily Graphic yesterday, said the deployment of the military personnel was a result of the resumption of violence in the area this week.
He expressed the hope that the reinforcement would significantly improve peace in the area.
Renewed fighting in Bawku on Monday night and Tuesday has claimed at least two lives. A number of houses have also been burnt down. The dead have been identified as Lawale Muntala, 44, and Sulemana Imoro, 30.
Muntala, a Moshie, and Sulemana, a Hausa by tribe, who were both cattle dealers, were said to be travelling to Bittou in Burkina Faso on a motorbike for business.
According to the Upper East Regional Crime Officer, Superintendent Victor Seth Agbentornyo, when they got to an area called Beriberi at about 9 a.m. unknown assailants allegedly attacked them, robbed them of their money and mobile phones and killed them. He said the bodies of the deceased had been deposited at the Bawku Hospital Mortuary.
Mr Agbetornyo said the death of the two sparked off sporadic shooting, adding that there was even an attempt to set a police rented quarters ablaze but the police quickly mobilised and foiled the move.
The Minister of the Interior on the advice of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has by Executive Instrument extended the curfew in Bawku to Pusiga, Zabugu, Binduri and Zoosi, all in the Upper East Region, with immediate effect. The curfew will now start from 3 p.m. to 7 a.m. each day.
The Government on Monday relaxed the curfew at Bawku and its environs from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. following what it described as “the return of relative normalcy” only for the situation to escalate the next morning.
Tuesday 11 March 2008
MARKET WOMEN GO WILD • Halt opening of new market (The Mirror [lead] Saturday, March 8, 2008. Story on page 38)
Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga
THE embers of a long standing dispute between the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly (BMA) and a group of market women over the distribution of stalls were reignited this week when the market women staged a massive demonstration to stop the opening of the market.
So intense was the protest that the assembly officials had no option that to suspend the ceremony indefinitely.
The blockade dashed the hopes of the assembly to successfully inaugurate the renovated Bolgatanga Central Market for business.
The reason for the demonstration? Some of the women who spoke to the Mirror said they only heard of the announcement on radio a day or two to the inauguration.
The women have had several issues to resolve with the assembly regarding the allocation of sheds and stalls in the rehabilitated market
The market women said they would only allow the assembly to carry out the commissioning after the assembly had made available, the complete list of beneficiaries of the stalls in the market.
They alleged that rather than allocating the sheds to the old occupants the assembly had given out sheds to people who originally were not doing business in the market.
It would be recalled that last year, the Association embarked on a similar protest against the commissioning of the market. Based on this the former Upper East Regional Minister Mr. Boniface Gambila, set up a committee to ensure a fair re-distribution stalls and stores.
According sources within the BMA, the committee had finished its work and all was set for the inauguration only for them to meet resistance from the market women.
Speaking to The Mirror the Public Relations of the BMA, Mr. Felix Ayaaba said the hierarchy of the assembly will meet the market women and debriefed them on the outcome of the committees report.
THE embers of a long standing dispute between the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly (BMA) and a group of market women over the distribution of stalls were reignited this week when the market women staged a massive demonstration to stop the opening of the market.
So intense was the protest that the assembly officials had no option that to suspend the ceremony indefinitely.
The blockade dashed the hopes of the assembly to successfully inaugurate the renovated Bolgatanga Central Market for business.
The reason for the demonstration? Some of the women who spoke to the Mirror said they only heard of the announcement on radio a day or two to the inauguration.
The women have had several issues to resolve with the assembly regarding the allocation of sheds and stalls in the rehabilitated market
The market women said they would only allow the assembly to carry out the commissioning after the assembly had made available, the complete list of beneficiaries of the stalls in the market.
They alleged that rather than allocating the sheds to the old occupants the assembly had given out sheds to people who originally were not doing business in the market.
It would be recalled that last year, the Association embarked on a similar protest against the commissioning of the market. Based on this the former Upper East Regional Minister Mr. Boniface Gambila, set up a committee to ensure a fair re-distribution stalls and stores.
According sources within the BMA, the committee had finished its work and all was set for the inauguration only for them to meet resistance from the market women.
Speaking to The Mirror the Public Relations of the BMA, Mr. Felix Ayaaba said the hierarchy of the assembly will meet the market women and debriefed them on the outcome of the committees report.
Monday 10 March 2008
Regions mark 51st Anniversary(Daily Graphic, Friday, March 7,2008 Page 34)
...........Benjamin Xornam Glover reports from Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region that pupils and security personnel Pupils and Security Personnel hoping to have their first independence day parade at the Jubilee grounds in Bolgatanga had their hopes dashed as for the second year running the parade was held at the dusty St. Johns Park.
Work on the Jubilee Park, which started a little over a year ago, is yet to be completed. In an interview with a section cross section of marchers, some of the students said they would have wished to take the parade on a well-paved grounds. They appeal to the government to ensure that work on the grounds is completed. “We can not be inhaling dust always”, one student said.
The Upper East Regional Minister who read President John Agyekum Kufuor's address, took the salute at the St. Johns Park where the parade of about 240 members of the security services 1,856 school children from public and private basic schools, second cycle, voluntary and youth organizations was under the command of Assistant superintendent of Police, ASP, Mr. Kweku Bempah.
The Regional Police band under the command of Inspector Kofi Agyeman Badu was the toast of the audience as they treated the gathering to delectable marshal songs as the contingents march past.
Among those present were the Governor of the Central South Province of Burkina Faso, Madam Pauline Hien Winkoun, the Representative of the Governor of the Central East Province of Burkina Faso, Gouba Boudoma, Service Commanders, The Paramount Chief of the Bolgatanga Traditional Area, Naba Martin Abilba III, religious leaders, heads of government agencies and departments.
Work on the Jubilee Park, which started a little over a year ago, is yet to be completed. In an interview with a section cross section of marchers, some of the students said they would have wished to take the parade on a well-paved grounds. They appeal to the government to ensure that work on the grounds is completed. “We can not be inhaling dust always”, one student said.
The Upper East Regional Minister who read President John Agyekum Kufuor's address, took the salute at the St. Johns Park where the parade of about 240 members of the security services 1,856 school children from public and private basic schools, second cycle, voluntary and youth organizations was under the command of Assistant superintendent of Police, ASP, Mr. Kweku Bempah.
The Regional Police band under the command of Inspector Kofi Agyeman Badu was the toast of the audience as they treated the gathering to delectable marshal songs as the contingents march past.
Among those present were the Governor of the Central South Province of Burkina Faso, Madam Pauline Hien Winkoun, the Representative of the Governor of the Central East Province of Burkina Faso, Gouba Boudoma, Service Commanders, The Paramount Chief of the Bolgatanga Traditional Area, Naba Martin Abilba III, religious leaders, heads of government agencies and departments.
Wednesday 5 March 2008
Pwalugu Tomato Factory faces closure
Story: Benjamin X. Glover, Pwalugu
THE Northern Star Tomato Factory at Pwalugu in the Upper East Region faces imminent closure due to the refusal of local farmers to sell tomatoes to the factory.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr Kwame Bonsu, told the Daily Graphic at Pwalugu on Monday that the factory was operating at 40 per cent capacity following the decision of the tomato farmers to sell their produce to market queens from Accra and to local consumers instead of the factory.
He was reacting to earlier reports that the local farmers had refused to respect the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding signed last year between the factory and the farmers.
He said prior to the planting season, the management provided the farmers with high yielding seeds and entered into an agreement with them to supply the factory with tomatoes at an agreed price. But when harvest was due, the farmers reneged on the agreement and refused to sell to the factory.
“The bottom line is that they are getting a better price from the market women even though we have an MoU with them to sell to us,” Mr Bonsu said.
Asked how much the company was offering, Mr Bonsu said currently the management was offering farmers GH¢4.00 per 40 kilogrammes of tomatoes. In addition, he said, the company had taken over the cost of transporting the produce from the farm gates to the factory and had also supplied them with plastic crates to make transportation easy.
In reaction, some of the farmers in the Kassena-Nankana District told the Daily Graphic that the price being offered them by the factory was low, stressing that they would run at a loss if they sold their produce at that price.
“Some of us cannot pay the huge loans we invested in our ventures, should we go by the price being offered by the factory at Pwalugu.”
They denied the assertion by Mr Bonsu that the factory supported them with inputs.
According to their spokesman, “the agreement was that the factory should assist us with inputs including fertilisers, chemicals and land preparation. However, after nursing our seeds and preparing them for planting, the floods that hit the region destroyed everything. We went back to the factory for assistance but to no avail. We, therefore, had to fall on the banks and other financial institutions for loans to cultivate the crop. We are ready to sell to the factory if they are prepared to increase the price from GH¢ 4.00 to GH¢5.00 per 40 kilogrammes of tomatoes”.
But Mr Bonsu described the farmers’ decision as a short-sighted one that could lead to the eventual collapse of the factory.
“It is the responsibility of the farmers to feed the factory. Taking the produce to the market women does not support the reasons why the government decided to support the farmers, revive the factory and thereby create more jobs for the people,” he said.
THE Northern Star Tomato Factory at Pwalugu in the Upper East Region faces imminent closure due to the refusal of local farmers to sell tomatoes to the factory.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr Kwame Bonsu, told the Daily Graphic at Pwalugu on Monday that the factory was operating at 40 per cent capacity following the decision of the tomato farmers to sell their produce to market queens from Accra and to local consumers instead of the factory.
He was reacting to earlier reports that the local farmers had refused to respect the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding signed last year between the factory and the farmers.
He said prior to the planting season, the management provided the farmers with high yielding seeds and entered into an agreement with them to supply the factory with tomatoes at an agreed price. But when harvest was due, the farmers reneged on the agreement and refused to sell to the factory.
“The bottom line is that they are getting a better price from the market women even though we have an MoU with them to sell to us,” Mr Bonsu said.
Asked how much the company was offering, Mr Bonsu said currently the management was offering farmers GH¢4.00 per 40 kilogrammes of tomatoes. In addition, he said, the company had taken over the cost of transporting the produce from the farm gates to the factory and had also supplied them with plastic crates to make transportation easy.
In reaction, some of the farmers in the Kassena-Nankana District told the Daily Graphic that the price being offered them by the factory was low, stressing that they would run at a loss if they sold their produce at that price.
“Some of us cannot pay the huge loans we invested in our ventures, should we go by the price being offered by the factory at Pwalugu.”
They denied the assertion by Mr Bonsu that the factory supported them with inputs.
According to their spokesman, “the agreement was that the factory should assist us with inputs including fertilisers, chemicals and land preparation. However, after nursing our seeds and preparing them for planting, the floods that hit the region destroyed everything. We went back to the factory for assistance but to no avail. We, therefore, had to fall on the banks and other financial institutions for loans to cultivate the crop. We are ready to sell to the factory if they are prepared to increase the price from GH¢ 4.00 to GH¢5.00 per 40 kilogrammes of tomatoes”.
But Mr Bonsu described the farmers’ decision as a short-sighted one that could lead to the eventual collapse of the factory.
“It is the responsibility of the farmers to feed the factory. Taking the produce to the market women does not support the reasons why the government decided to support the farmers, revive the factory and thereby create more jobs for the people,” he said.
Monday 3 March 2008
JOURNALISTS SENSITISED ON FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION(D/G Monday March 3,2008) P 34
A day’s sensitisation workshop for journalists in the Upper East Region to the dangers of female genital mutilation and other harmful cultural practices has ended at Bolgatanga.The workshop, which was organised by the Ghana Association for Women’s Welfare (GAWW), was to update the knowledge of media practitioners on the harm the practice cause to women.GAWW, an affiliate of the Inter-Africa Committee on Harmful Traditional Practices affecting the health of women, urged the media practitioners to use their tools of communications to nip the negative practice in the bud.Opening the workshop, the President of GAWW, Mrs Florence Ali, described FGM as the most dehumanising and harmful cultural practice that must be condemned and stopped.She advised the participants to lead the crusade in creating the awareness that would lead to the abolition of the act.The Bongo District Officer of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr S. A. Hakeem, said under the criminal code of Ghana, anybody found carrying out the act or collaborating was liable to prosecution.He, therefore, urged members of society to be on the look out for people who infringed on the law and report them to the appropriate quarters for punitive action.
Ethnic groups in Bawku conflict sign peace accord(D/G Monday March 3,2008) p 32
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Alhassan Samari, (4th from left), and other leaders of the various ethnic groups in the Bawku Municipality appending their signature to a communiqué issued at Bolgatanga after a peace dialogue.The dialogue was at the instance of Mr. Samari who is also the Chairman of the Upper East Regional Security Committee. It was aimed at halting violence in the Bawku Municipality following the recent ethnic conflict that erupted there.
The leaders of the various groups that participated in the talks were Messrs John Ndebugre, Mohammed Tahiru Nambe, Stephen Siedu, Abubakar J. Ustarz, Tahiru Kundima, Mbalba Alhassan, spokesperson for the Kusasis, Mamprusis, Bisssas’, Hausas, Moshies and Dagomba communities respectively.
The communiqué among other things called for a stop in the levying of monies, which is believed to be collected for the purpose of buying arms and ammunitions that was now going on in the communities
It also urged the security agencies to arrest all wrong doers and deal with them on individual basis irrespective of their ethnic background or social status.
The joint statement also advocated a stop in the seizure of motorbikes and bicycles from people and food stuffs from women traders.
“Mamprusis and Kusasis should see the other tribes as part of them and not suspect them of taking sides. The other tribes should on the other hand, not act in a way to open them to be suspected of taking sides in the conflict”, the communiqué said.
Sunday 2 March 2008
LIVE IN PEACE — ALHASSAN SUMANI (PAGE 34)
Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Kpikpira
THE chiefs and people of Kpikpira in the Garu-Tempane District of the Upper East Region have celebrated their annual "Danjour" Festival with a call on the people to live in peace to facilitate the development of the area.
The Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, made the call at the fifth annual "Danjour" Festival of Bimobas at Kpikpira near Garu. The festival is organised to honour the ancestors of Bimobas for their hard work and sacrifices.
Mr Samari stated that “in a war of brother against brother and sister against sister, there can neither be a conqueror nor a vanquished. Only one thing can be certain and that is, we all lose together”.
The regional minister advised the people to be guided by their utterances at all times, stressing that all parties must work together to improve the fragile security situation in the region, especially in the Bawku Municipality.
He called on the traditional leaders to support the peace efforts by the government and the Regional Security Council towards the attainment of lasting peace in the area.
Mr Samari said the government was embarking on many development interventions this year aimed at improving the living conditions of the people of the area.
He stated that plans were far advanced for the maintenance of all boreholes in the area, adding that the road between Garu and Bawku would also be tarred.
Mr Samari, who is also vying for the parliamentary seat of the Garu-Tempane Constituency on the ticket the New Patriotic Party, advised the people to take advantage of government policies such as the School Feeding Programme, the National Health Insurance Scheme and the Capitation Grant to raise the quality of life of the people.
The District Chief Executive of Garu-Tempane, Mr Emmanuel S. Asigri, emphasised the need for the people to pool their resources both human and material to improve their living conditions.
The Presiding Member of the Garu-Tempane District Assembly, Mr Joseph Kpenka Dindiok, urged the government to provide security before, during and after the 2008 general election.
While commending the government for providing a number of development projects in the area, he appealed to the management of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation to incorporate Moar, the language of the Bimobas, in their programmes.
The MP for the area, Mr Dominic Azumah, called on the youth not to allow themselves to be used by politicians to foment trouble.
The Chairman of the Bimoba Union, Staff Sergeant Osmanu Yinbom (retd), said the union had decided to sponsor more students, especially girls.
THE chiefs and people of Kpikpira in the Garu-Tempane District of the Upper East Region have celebrated their annual "Danjour" Festival with a call on the people to live in peace to facilitate the development of the area.
The Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, made the call at the fifth annual "Danjour" Festival of Bimobas at Kpikpira near Garu. The festival is organised to honour the ancestors of Bimobas for their hard work and sacrifices.
Mr Samari stated that “in a war of brother against brother and sister against sister, there can neither be a conqueror nor a vanquished. Only one thing can be certain and that is, we all lose together”.
The regional minister advised the people to be guided by their utterances at all times, stressing that all parties must work together to improve the fragile security situation in the region, especially in the Bawku Municipality.
He called on the traditional leaders to support the peace efforts by the government and the Regional Security Council towards the attainment of lasting peace in the area.
Mr Samari said the government was embarking on many development interventions this year aimed at improving the living conditions of the people of the area.
He stated that plans were far advanced for the maintenance of all boreholes in the area, adding that the road between Garu and Bawku would also be tarred.
Mr Samari, who is also vying for the parliamentary seat of the Garu-Tempane Constituency on the ticket the New Patriotic Party, advised the people to take advantage of government policies such as the School Feeding Programme, the National Health Insurance Scheme and the Capitation Grant to raise the quality of life of the people.
The District Chief Executive of Garu-Tempane, Mr Emmanuel S. Asigri, emphasised the need for the people to pool their resources both human and material to improve their living conditions.
The Presiding Member of the Garu-Tempane District Assembly, Mr Joseph Kpenka Dindiok, urged the government to provide security before, during and after the 2008 general election.
While commending the government for providing a number of development projects in the area, he appealed to the management of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation to incorporate Moar, the language of the Bimobas, in their programmes.
The MP for the area, Mr Dominic Azumah, called on the youth not to allow themselves to be used by politicians to foment trouble.
The Chairman of the Bimoba Union, Staff Sergeant Osmanu Yinbom (retd), said the union had decided to sponsor more students, especially girls.
CABLE THEFT HAMPERING PROGRESS OF GT IN UE (PAGE 32)
Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga
THE Upper East Regional Manager of Ghana Telecom (GT), Mr Eric Asante, has identified cable theft and difficulties in the payment of bills by customers as some of the major challenges facing the company.
He has, therefore, advised customers of the company to be watchful and report people who would attempt to cheat the system to the company or the police for punitive action to be taken against them.
Mr Asante said this at a town hall meeting the company held at Navrongo in the Kassena Nankana District.
The meeting served as a platform for customers to interact with the management of the company and afford them the opportunity to air their views and grievances on the performance of the company.
Mr Asante noted with concern that for 2007, cable theft alone cost GT GH¢460 million, stressing that the practice created a lot of inconveniences for customers.
Responding to the concerns raised by the customers, Mr Asante said a new network of cables had been laid in the Navrongo exchange into which all existing customers would be transferred to improve on the fixed line service.
He added that the management was also working around the clock to extend broadband service to the Navrongo area to enable the people to have easy assess to the Internet.
Mr Asante further stated that efforts were being been made to rehabilitate all broken-down pay phones for people to have easy assess to communication facilities.
The Regional Corporate Affairs Manager of GT, Mr Gordon Wellu, said the management was committed to the improvement of GT network in the region.
THE Upper East Regional Manager of Ghana Telecom (GT), Mr Eric Asante, has identified cable theft and difficulties in the payment of bills by customers as some of the major challenges facing the company.
He has, therefore, advised customers of the company to be watchful and report people who would attempt to cheat the system to the company or the police for punitive action to be taken against them.
Mr Asante said this at a town hall meeting the company held at Navrongo in the Kassena Nankana District.
The meeting served as a platform for customers to interact with the management of the company and afford them the opportunity to air their views and grievances on the performance of the company.
Mr Asante noted with concern that for 2007, cable theft alone cost GT GH¢460 million, stressing that the practice created a lot of inconveniences for customers.
Responding to the concerns raised by the customers, Mr Asante said a new network of cables had been laid in the Navrongo exchange into which all existing customers would be transferred to improve on the fixed line service.
He added that the management was also working around the clock to extend broadband service to the Navrongo area to enable the people to have easy assess to the Internet.
Mr Asante further stated that efforts were being been made to rehabilitate all broken-down pay phones for people to have easy assess to communication facilities.
The Regional Corporate Affairs Manager of GT, Mr Gordon Wellu, said the management was committed to the improvement of GT network in the region.
MP PROVIDES CHUCHULIGA WITH ICT CENTRE (PAGE 32)
Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Chuchuliga
THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Builsa North, Mrs Agnes Asangalisa Chigabatia, has provided a multi-purpose Information Communication Technology (ICT) Centre and a vocational institute for Chuchuliga in the Builsa District of the Upper East Region.
The two projects were executed with financial support from her non-governmental organisation (NGO), Lack Sueg Foundation.
The centre, known as the St Agnes Vocational Training and the ICT Institute, are part of a programme by the MP to ensure that people, especially the youth, are trained to enable them establish their own businesses.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, who inaugurated the centre, expressed gratitude to Mrs Chigabatia, who is also the Deputy Regional Minister, for her contribution to the development of the constituency in particular and the district as a whole.
Mr Samari said for the past seven years, the government had put in place a number of policies and programmes such the Micro Finance and Small Loan Scheme to improve the lives of the people.
He appealed to the trainees to form co-operative societies upon graduation to enable them to apply for loans from such outlets and establish their own businesses.
In a welcoming address, Mrs Chigabatia said she used part of her share of the District Assemblies Common Fund to establish the centre in a bid to stem the migration of young girls in the area to the southern part of Ghana in search of menial jobs.
She said “a drive around the commercial centres of Accra and Kumasi in the early hours of the day portrays a despicable scene as one can see young boys and girls from the northern part of the country sleeping on verandas of stores and shops, and added that some of the girls were exposed to all forms of abuse, including rape.
“It is time we took proactive steps to curb this menace instead of engaging in talk shops, which do not get us anywhere,” she emphasised.
Mrs Chigabatia announced that similar centres would be established in other communities in the constituency including Sandema, Wiaga, Kadema and Siniensi to train more youth in the area.
She stated that apart from vocational and ICT training, her foundation would also focus on agriculture, prevention of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, promotion of reproductive health as well as agriculture.
The deputy regional minister appealed to all Ghanaians, corporate bodies and the government to assist the foundation with more computers, as well as teaching and learning materials to help expand the centre.
The MP later donated three wheel chairs, footballs and sets of jerseys and track suits to some individuals, communities and the District Directorate of Education.
The District Chief Executive, Mr Thomas Alonsi, urged the beneficiaries of the centre to attach importance to computer training to enhance their chances of employment after their education.
THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Builsa North, Mrs Agnes Asangalisa Chigabatia, has provided a multi-purpose Information Communication Technology (ICT) Centre and a vocational institute for Chuchuliga in the Builsa District of the Upper East Region.
The two projects were executed with financial support from her non-governmental organisation (NGO), Lack Sueg Foundation.
The centre, known as the St Agnes Vocational Training and the ICT Institute, are part of a programme by the MP to ensure that people, especially the youth, are trained to enable them establish their own businesses.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, who inaugurated the centre, expressed gratitude to Mrs Chigabatia, who is also the Deputy Regional Minister, for her contribution to the development of the constituency in particular and the district as a whole.
Mr Samari said for the past seven years, the government had put in place a number of policies and programmes such the Micro Finance and Small Loan Scheme to improve the lives of the people.
He appealed to the trainees to form co-operative societies upon graduation to enable them to apply for loans from such outlets and establish their own businesses.
In a welcoming address, Mrs Chigabatia said she used part of her share of the District Assemblies Common Fund to establish the centre in a bid to stem the migration of young girls in the area to the southern part of Ghana in search of menial jobs.
She said “a drive around the commercial centres of Accra and Kumasi in the early hours of the day portrays a despicable scene as one can see young boys and girls from the northern part of the country sleeping on verandas of stores and shops, and added that some of the girls were exposed to all forms of abuse, including rape.
“It is time we took proactive steps to curb this menace instead of engaging in talk shops, which do not get us anywhere,” she emphasised.
Mrs Chigabatia announced that similar centres would be established in other communities in the constituency including Sandema, Wiaga, Kadema and Siniensi to train more youth in the area.
She stated that apart from vocational and ICT training, her foundation would also focus on agriculture, prevention of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, promotion of reproductive health as well as agriculture.
The deputy regional minister appealed to all Ghanaians, corporate bodies and the government to assist the foundation with more computers, as well as teaching and learning materials to help expand the centre.
The MP later donated three wheel chairs, footballs and sets of jerseys and track suits to some individuals, communities and the District Directorate of Education.
The District Chief Executive, Mr Thomas Alonsi, urged the beneficiaries of the centre to attach importance to computer training to enhance their chances of employment after their education.
DR AMANKWA BIDS FAREWELL TO UPPER EAST (PAGE 23)
Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga
A farewell party has been held in Bolgatanga in honour of the outgoing Upper East Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Joseph A. Amankwa, and three other officers of the Regional Health Administration.
Dr Amankwa is proceeding on transfer to the Public Health Division of the Ghana Health Service in Accra, after working in the Upper East Region for 26 years.
Dr Amankwa came to the region in 1982 and by dint of hard work, rose through the ranks to become the Regional Director of Health Services.
Other officers who are proceeding on transfer are, Messrs Kwaku Dua Oyinka, the Deputy Director; Asamany Dela, the Regional Bio-statistician; and D.D. Salifu, the Human Resource Manager, all of the Regional Directorate of Health Services.
In a farewell speech, Dr Amankwa said working in the region was very challenging, but was quick to add that the challenge had given him vast experience.
He promised to use his new appointment to champion the cause of his colleagues in the region.
Tributes were paid by directors and staff of the Regional Health Administration.
Dr John K. Awoonor-Williams takes over from Dr Amankwa as the substantive Regional Director of Health Services.
A farewell party has been held in Bolgatanga in honour of the outgoing Upper East Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Joseph A. Amankwa, and three other officers of the Regional Health Administration.
Dr Amankwa is proceeding on transfer to the Public Health Division of the Ghana Health Service in Accra, after working in the Upper East Region for 26 years.
Dr Amankwa came to the region in 1982 and by dint of hard work, rose through the ranks to become the Regional Director of Health Services.
Other officers who are proceeding on transfer are, Messrs Kwaku Dua Oyinka, the Deputy Director; Asamany Dela, the Regional Bio-statistician; and D.D. Salifu, the Human Resource Manager, all of the Regional Directorate of Health Services.
In a farewell speech, Dr Amankwa said working in the region was very challenging, but was quick to add that the challenge had given him vast experience.
He promised to use his new appointment to champion the cause of his colleagues in the region.
Tributes were paid by directors and staff of the Regional Health Administration.
Dr John K. Awoonor-Williams takes over from Dr Amankwa as the substantive Regional Director of Health Services.
GOAT THIEF FINED GH¢300 (MIRROR, PAGE 27)
Frrom: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga
A magistrate’s court in Bolgatanga has fined a 20-year-old farmer, Tindanzor Kweku, GH¢300 or in default to go to jail for 12 months for stealing a she-goat valued at GH¢30 belonging to one Wobil Kpanah, a community policing official at a village near Baare in the Talensi-Nabdam District.
Tindanzor pleaded guilty and was convicted on his own plea.
Detective Inspector John Agyuah told the court presided over by Mr Hakeem Osman that during the early part of February, this year, Kpanah released his animals for grazing.
The prosecution said later in the day when the animals returned home, the complainant detected the loss of one of the animals.
The prosecution said he sent a message round the village.
Detective Inspector Agyuah said on February 16, this year, Kpanah received information to the effect that that the missing goat was in the house of the accused. He therefore went there with the aim of retrieving the goat.
According to the prosecution when Kpanah tried to explain the matter to the accused person’s father, the man (accused’s father) proved difficult and subsequently drove the complainant away.
The prosecution said Kpanah therefore lodged a complaint with the police who later arrested the suspect.
A magistrate’s court in Bolgatanga has fined a 20-year-old farmer, Tindanzor Kweku, GH¢300 or in default to go to jail for 12 months for stealing a she-goat valued at GH¢30 belonging to one Wobil Kpanah, a community policing official at a village near Baare in the Talensi-Nabdam District.
Tindanzor pleaded guilty and was convicted on his own plea.
Detective Inspector John Agyuah told the court presided over by Mr Hakeem Osman that during the early part of February, this year, Kpanah released his animals for grazing.
The prosecution said later in the day when the animals returned home, the complainant detected the loss of one of the animals.
The prosecution said he sent a message round the village.
Detective Inspector Agyuah said on February 16, this year, Kpanah received information to the effect that that the missing goat was in the house of the accused. He therefore went there with the aim of retrieving the goat.
According to the prosecution when Kpanah tried to explain the matter to the accused person’s father, the man (accused’s father) proved difficult and subsequently drove the complainant away.
The prosecution said Kpanah therefore lodged a complaint with the police who later arrested the suspect.
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