Wednesday 30 April 2008

PARTIES MUST EDUCATE FOLLOWERS ON ELECTORAL RULES (PAGE 16)

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga

The Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana in charge of Finance and Administration, Mr David A. Kanga, has advised leaders of political parties to educate their followers to adhere to the electoral rules and regulations to ensure a free and fair election.
He has also urged them to recruit credible persons as polling agents to monitor the forthcoming elections not only to ensure peaceful elections but also to enhance the country's democratic process.
Mr Kanga was speaking at a special Regional Inter-Party Advisory Committee meeting in Bolgatanga, the Upper East regional capital.
The meeting on the theme: “Building Confidence in the Outcome of the 2008 Elections” was aimed at offering a platform for the political parties to have insight into the work of the EC.
It was organised by the EC with support of Friedrich Ebert and KAB Governance Consult. Topics discussed included the “Inbuilt Integrity of Ghana's Electoral Process”; “Results and Challenges of the Replacement of Lost Voter ID Cards”; “Revision of the Voters Register — Challenges and Expectations” and “Expectations of the Commission From Political Parties Towards Credible Elections in December 2008”.
It was attended by representatives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the Convention People's Party (CPP), People's National Convention (PNC), the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), and the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), as well as the media.
Mr Kanga explained that rigging of an election could only take place at the polling stations when the political parties appointed as polling agents people who were not vigilant or were illiterate, drunk or ignorant of the electoral process.
He also called on political parties to desist from organising thugs to ransack collation centres after counting at the polling stations. “Let it continue to be said that Ghana is a peaceful place in terms of elections”, he stressed.
Mr Kanga warned media practitioners to desist from announcing uncertified results.
For his part, the Deputy Chairman of the EC in charge of operations, Mr Kwadwo Sarfo Kantanka, appealed to political parties to step up education of their supporters to refrain from acts that could mar the elections.
Mr C.O. Addai, Director in charge of Training, touched on the forthcoming revision of the voters register confirming that the EC would soon embark on a 10-day registration exercise to enable those who had attained the age of 18 to register, adding that the commission would be establishing 5000 registration centres across the country for the exercise.
He, however, cautioned against impersonation and double registration, stressing that anyone caught would be prosecuted.
The Upper East Regional Director of the EC, Mr Iddrisu Adams, disclosed that 9,655 people registered to replace their Voter’s Identity cards in the region during the just-ended Electoral Commission's exercise to replace lost IDs.
He added that the highest figure of 2,493 people was recorded in the Kassena-Nankana District while the Garu-Tempane District recorded the lowest figure of 652 people.
The Programmes Co-ordinator of FES, Mr Ibrahim Tahiru, said his organisation believed that inter-party dialogue and co-operation had the greatest potential of eliminating cynicism, mistrust, rancour and bitterness in the political divide and contribute to increased level of trust among them.
“This inter-party dialogue and engagement, if properly managed, would result in peace and security, which are essential for poverty reduction and long-term sustainable development. It is the goal of every political party to capture power or, if already in power, to maintain it”, he added.

Friday 25 April 2008

NORTHERN PRESYTERY LAUNCHES EDUCATION STRATEGIC PLAN (MIRROR, PAGE 35)

From Benjamin Xornam Glover, Garu

The Northern Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana ended its Seventh Annual Conference with the launch of a four- year Education Sector Strategic Plan to improve upon the education in its area of operation at Garu in the Upper East Region.
 The plan which stretched from 2007 to 2010 would among other things address the inadequate number of trained teachers, increase teaching and learning materials as well as augment the low enrolment of girls in the basic education.
 Addressing the conference, the Chairman of the Northern Presbytery Rev. Kwasi Addae Naami explained that out of this plan, a project called Quality Education improvement Project has been established with a yearly support to the tune of €100.000 for the next four years from Oikonomos Foundation.
 He explained further that one of the components of the project is the sponsorship package for 15 students in training colleges who would serve in Presbyterian schools at the end of their studies and also sponsorship package for volunteer teachers.
Naami, however, indicated that there were some limitations with regard to the usage of the funds, for instance at no time should not more than 25 per cent of the fund be used for infrastructure. “Infrastructure development can for the time being only take place in two districts, namely Tamale
Rural and Urban and the fund cannot be used to build kindergartens or Nurseries” he stressed.
 Rev Naami encouraged members to endeavor to seek other sponsors for other sectors within the strategic plan as well as coverage areas which were not sponsored by the donors.
 The Chairman also announced that the Presbytery has completed its first phase of Information Communication Technology (I.C.T) center and it was ready to be commissioned in April by the Moderator of the general Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.

Sunday 20 April 2008

CALVARY BAPTIST ASSISTS FLOOD VICTIMS (MIRROR, PAGE 35)

By Benjamin Xornam Glover

Members of the Calvary Baptist Church in the Greater Accra Region have presented an amount of GH¢1,000 to the people of the Garu-Tempane District of the Upper East Region towards rebuilding efforts after last year’s devastating floods which claimed lives and displaced several people.
 The Senior Pastor of the church, who doubles as the General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev. Fred Degbe, presented the cheque to the Garu-Tempane District Chief Executive, Mr Emmanuel S. Asigri, who is also a member of the church.
 Presenting the cheque last Sunday, Rev. Degbe said the gesture was the church’s contribution to help bring relief to the people. He expressed the hope that such support would provide the needed help for the people. 

PRESIDENT'S INTERVENTION IN BAWKU CONFLICT LAUDED (PAGE 25)

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bawku

THE Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, has commended President J.A. Kufuor for his personal intervention in the Bawku crisis which has led to the gradual return of peace to the town.
He said the conflict, which some few weeks ago seemed not to be abating, seemed to have abated since the President held separate talks with the leaders of the two feuding factions at the Castle in Accra.
He pointed out that before the President intervened, the curfew was from 3.00 p.m. to 7.00 a.m. but that had been extended a number of times because of the relative stability in the area to the current 10.00 p.m. to 4.00 a.m.
 The minister assured the people of Bawku that the curfew would be extended further or lifted completely if they conducted themselves properly and lived by the laws of the country.
 Mr Samari made the remark at the seventh annual conference of the Northern Presbytery held at Garu in the Garu-Tempane District.
 “I am particularly happy about the laudable overall objectives of the church, which does not limit itself only to the preaching of the word of God but also goes out to involve itself in the provision of social and development services such as health, education, agriculture, water harvesting and the rehabilitation of the physically challenged,” he added.
“This, undoubtedly, exemplifies the oft-quoted portion of the Holy Scripture to the effect that ‘man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’,” Mr Samari said.
 The regional minister commended the leadership of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana for its intimate knowledge of the socio-economic problems confronting the people and making valuable contributions over the years as part of crucial efforts at improving the living standards of the people.
 He appealed to the church to assist the Bawku peace process to bring lasting peace to the many ethnic groups in the area which lived in mutual suspicion of one another.
 The Chairman of the Northern Presbytery, Rev Kwasi Addae Naami, said the Presbytery had put in place an educational strategic plan — 2007 to 2010 — aimed at addressing the inadequate number of trained teachers, teaching and learning materials, as well as the low enrolment of girls in schools.
He said the plan would benefit from a yearly amount of £100,000.00, with support from the Oikonomos Foundation and PRISMA.
 “One of the components of the project is the scholarship package which will sponsor 15 students in training colleges so that at the end of their studies they will serve in Presbyterian schools,” he added.
 Rev Naami mentioned the establishment of an ICT resource centre for Presbyterian institutions in Tamale.
 He praised four districts of the church — Bolgatanga, Garu, Sandema and Tamale (rural and urban) — for setting up credit unions which would go a long way to meet the financial needs of their members and urged the remaining districts to do same.
 The Garu-Tempane District Chief Executive, Mr Emmanuel Sin-Nyet Asigri, whose speech was read on his behalf, thanked the Presbyterian Church for the assistance given to the people of the district through the Garu Presby Agricultural Station, the community-based rehabilitation centre and relief items to flood victims.
 

Saturday 19 April 2008

Commission intensifies campaign on road safety

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover,
Bolgatanga
March 31
THE National Road Safety Commission has intensified its nation-wide campaign against road traffic accidents in the country. 
The commission has, therefore, called on regional co-ordinating councils, metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies, as well as other stakeholders in the road sector to join the commission to combat the increasing spate of road traffic accidents.
The acting Executive Secretary of the National Road Safety Commission, Mr John Noble Appiah, announced this at a stakeholders’ meeting at Bolgatanga.
He stated that road safety should be seen as everyone's responsibility, stressing that if drivers were trained properly, they could contribute more positively to the reduction in road traffic accidents and their related consequences.
Mr Appiah said road accidents cost Ghana 1.6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product, adding that 42 per cent of people who died in Ghana through road accidents were pedestrians.
He noted that Ghana’s vision of becoming a tourism destination could be shattered if the increasing rate of road accidents was not curtailed.
“In a country where there is a high rate of road accidents, you cannot attract tourists,” he said.
Mr Appiah called on all Ghanaians to become advocates of road safety wherever they found themselves.
He stated that the commission was aware of the ongoing educational programmes on road safety in basic schools, adding that stakeholders in the industry were in the process of coming up with a comprehensive standard syllabi for the teaching of road safety in schools.
According to him, the commission intended to hold a meeting with all political parties with the view to impressing upon them to advise their followers on traffic regulations to keep them abreast of road signs and ensure safety on the roads.
The Upper East Regional Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Kwaku Bempah, said in 2007, the police recorded 153 motor accidents in the region some of which caused 56 deaths and left 116 others sustaining injuries.
He said speeding, wrong overtaking and the disregard for road signs were some of the factors which contributed to road accidents in the area.
ASP Bempah stated that strategic measures had been put in place to check road users as a measure of reducing the rate of accidents this year.
The Regional Co-ordinator of the National Road Safety Commission, Mr Alex Ayeta, said arrangements had been made with all the stakeholders to educate drivers in the region on traffic regulations to keep them abreast of road signs to ensure safety on the roads.

Interior Minister advises security agencies

March 31
THE Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, has tasked personnel of the security agencies to adopt proactive strategies to avert any unrest during the electioneering and after the elections.
"It is a well known fact that misunderstanding in the electoral processes were the cause of armed conflicts and mayhem in Togo, Liberia and La Cote d’Ivoire, thus leaving Ghana as the only place of peace and stability in the sub-region.”
"The need to sustain peace and stability in Ghana has, therefore, become imperative as there will be no place of refuge if this country falls into a similar phenomenon,” he said.
Mr Bartels said this in an address read on his behalf by the Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Agnes Asangalisa Chigabatia, at a day’s workshop in Bolgatanga.
The workshop, organised by the Ministry of Interior with support from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, was aimed at conscientising personnel in the security agencies in the Upper East Region on their role in the 2008 general elections.
It was also targeted at educating security personnel in the region on their role in the 2008 general election and reminding them to maintain their inter-dependent and non-partisan role during elections.
About 50 participants drawn from the police, fire service, immigration service, the military, Customs, Excise and Preventive Service, as well political parties, the Electoral Commission and the National Commission on Civic Education, attended the workshop.
Mr Bartels told the security agencies that they had no choice but to be firm and fair, adding "You need to be extra vigilant and ensure that those who attempt to foment trouble are put in their proper place".
The Senior Programme Manager of Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Mr Isaac Owusu-Mensah, said every Ghanaian had a role to ensure the safety of other Ghanaians during and after the elections in December.
“The state has a role in our safety but it is a limited role and as it happens in all jurisdictions, the citizenry play a crucial role by supporting security services with the requisite information and the needed comportment,” he said.
The Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Ofosu-Mensah Gyeabour, said the Ghana Police Service and related security agencies had a statutory duty to ensure that law and order prevailed before, during and after the elections.
He called on the security personnel to arm themselves with the provisions of the Public Order Act and the Political Parties Law to enable them to deal effectively with issues as they cropped up.
Mr Gyeabour also urged them to show a high sense of professionalism no matter the provocation, stressing that they should be neutral and focused on their responsibilities.
The Regional Director of the National Electoral Commission, Mr Iddrisu Adam, advised them not to show prejudice against any party or take part in the administration of polling stations since that was the role of the staff of the commission.
The Regional Director of the National Commission on Civic Education, Mr Haruna Sulemana Hussien, advised the security personnel to regularly keep track and monitor the situation on the ground in order to determine hot spots and flash points.
That, he said, could help avert any electoral conflict and violence.  

Drivers concerned about deplorable Tamale-Bolga road

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Pwalugu
March 31
SOME drivers and other road users plying the Bolgatanga-Tamale Highway have expressed their anger at the deteriorating portions of the road.
The drivers complained bitterly that the road between the Pwalugu Bridge, Winkongo and Bolgatanga had developed deep pot-holes which posed great danger to road users.
“Master, this is an international highway linking Ghana with countries like Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and other Sahelian nations and we expect the government to quickly move in to solve the problem, but it has persisted all these years,” one driver said.
“How can a major road be in such a shape? We want the government to see to this road in order to prevent fatal accidents. As you can see, the vehicles have no other option than meander along the deplorable road at great risk. We do not want innocent travellers to lose their lives as a result of the bad nature of the road," another driver stressed.
When contacted, the Regional Director of the Ghana Highway Authority, Mr Francis Hammond, conceded that the problem had persisted for a number of years, but was quick to say that measures had been put in place to reconstruct the road.
 He said before December, last year, the problem was on the stretch from the Pwalugu bridge all the way to the outskirts of Bolgatanga “but as of today, the bad area has been rehabilitated, leaving only the 100-metre stretch; that is, between BOST and Bolgatanga Senior High School. We are still on it and hopefully it would be repaired soon,” he said.
According to Mr Hammond, contractors who were awarded contracts on the road failed to execute it, adding that most of the time, the contractors complained of poor cash flow.
“I can assure you that within the next couple of weeks, the problem will be rectified,” he stressed.

Monday 7 April 2008

Annual Leave

Benjamin Xornam Glover has started his annual leave from April 1, 2008 to May 29, 2008

ECG points to GRIDCo for power outages in parts of Tema, Eastern Region(Daily Graphic, Thurdsay, March 28, 2024. Online)

  The Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) has reduced its power supply to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), impacting electricity supply...