The newly appointed District Chief Executive for the Garu-Tempane District in the Upper East Region, Mr David Adakudugu, has identified good governance, human resource development, private sector development and human resettlement as his priority and key development issues in his new role as DCE for the area.
In his acceptance speech after he was overwhelmingly endorsed by the Garu-Tempane District assembly, Mr Adakudugu, 41, said he hoped to rely on the expertise, skills of cooperation and understanding of the team he was about to lead to bring development to the district.
At an emergency meeting held at Garu, 30 out of the 31 assembly members present, representing 96.7 per cent, voted for Mr Adakudugu, a Marketing Officer, to confirm his nomination.
While expressing his appreciation to assembly members for giving him the nod, he said he would co-operate with all stakeholders to develop the district.
“As a local person, I know the strength and weaknesses of our people. I also know the potential of the district and given my background as a marketer and businessman, I promise to use my networking skills to market the district in order to mobilise extra support from development partners outside,” he said.
He promised to operate an open, accountable and transparent administration devoid of discrimination on grounds of political, ethnic and religious affiliation.
He expressed gratitude to the President for giving him the opportunity to serve his people, and pledged to live up to expectation.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, who administered the official oath of allegiance and Secrecy urged the new DCE to lead a modest life and be responsive to the needs of the people.
He urged the DCE to build bridges and work closely with the chiefs and people to bring about peace in the area.
Tuesday 28 April 2009
Sunday 26 April 2009
CITI FM SUPPORTS FOSTER HOME (The MIRROR, Saturday April 25, 2009. PAGE 29)
From Benjamin Xorman Glover, Yorogo
Citi FM, an Accra-based private radio station, has presented food items worth GH¢1,500 and an amount of GH¢2,000 to an orphanage at Yorogo, near Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region.
The donation, comprising eight maxi bags of rice, one bag each of maize, gari, beans and sugar, some gallons of cooking oil as well as confectionery, forms part of the station’s social responsibility towards the needy in the society.
The team leader and officer in charge of Operations at Citi FM, Richard Mensah, assisted by the Northern Regional Correspondent of the station, Mr Abdul Karim Naatogmah, handed over the items to the management and staff of the Mama Laadi Foster Home as part of activities marking this year’s Easter celebrations.
Presenting the items, Mr Mensah said the funds for the items were raised through appeals made on air to its listeners.
He promised that the station would continue to help bring happiness to people who needed it.
The Supervisor of the foster home, Madam Laadi Ayine, commended Citi FM for their kind gesture and said that the gift had come at a very opportune time because the prices of food items had shot up.
Madam Laadi’s view was corroborated by the Board Chairman of the home, Naba Aberimah 11, Chief of Yikene, who said the donation would go a long way to ease the burden faced by the management of the home.
The orphanage currently has 50 inmates, 41 of which are resident in the home, undergoing various reform programmes, after which they would join their families, communities and some few boarding schools, with the support from the home.
Majority of the children in the orphanage have lost one or both parents and have been rejected by their families with the reason that if they are kept around, they could kill other family members with their “witchcraft.”
Citi FM, an Accra-based private radio station, has presented food items worth GH¢1,500 and an amount of GH¢2,000 to an orphanage at Yorogo, near Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region.
The donation, comprising eight maxi bags of rice, one bag each of maize, gari, beans and sugar, some gallons of cooking oil as well as confectionery, forms part of the station’s social responsibility towards the needy in the society.
The team leader and officer in charge of Operations at Citi FM, Richard Mensah, assisted by the Northern Regional Correspondent of the station, Mr Abdul Karim Naatogmah, handed over the items to the management and staff of the Mama Laadi Foster Home as part of activities marking this year’s Easter celebrations.
Presenting the items, Mr Mensah said the funds for the items were raised through appeals made on air to its listeners.
He promised that the station would continue to help bring happiness to people who needed it.
The Supervisor of the foster home, Madam Laadi Ayine, commended Citi FM for their kind gesture and said that the gift had come at a very opportune time because the prices of food items had shot up.
Madam Laadi’s view was corroborated by the Board Chairman of the home, Naba Aberimah 11, Chief of Yikene, who said the donation would go a long way to ease the burden faced by the management of the home.
The orphanage currently has 50 inmates, 41 of which are resident in the home, undergoing various reform programmes, after which they would join their families, communities and some few boarding schools, with the support from the home.
Majority of the children in the orphanage have lost one or both parents and have been rejected by their families with the reason that if they are kept around, they could kill other family members with their “witchcraft.”
Monday 20 April 2009
NAKONG APPEALS TO GOVT FOR ASSISTANCE (PAGE 39)
THE people of Nakong in the Kassena-Nankana West District in the Upper East Region have appealed to the government to provide them with basic amenities to make life bearable for them.
The absence of boreholes, teachers’ accommodation, proper toilet facilities, a police post and motorable roads is negatively affecting the progress of the community.
The paramount chief of the Nakong Traditional Area, Pe Joseph Banapeh Afagachie, made the appeal when the Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, paid a courtesy call on him to introduce himself to him and his people.
Nakong is midway between Navrongo in the Upper East Region and Tumu in the Upper West Region. However, the absence of a tarred road passing through the town has given armed robbers and other criminals a safe haven to conduct their nefarious activities.
The Nakong portion of the Navrongo-Tumu road is unmotorable during the wet season.
Pe Afagachie also expressed concern about child trafficking, which is prevalent in the area, adding that the crime was carried out with the consent of parents.
He, therefore, appealed to the government for support in curbing the menace.
“They (children) are being denied education, normal childhood and child security and are exposed to all forms of child abuse and because they lack education and vocational skills, they are unemployable and even turn to stealing and prostitution as a lifestyle,” he said.
Pe Afagachie said many of the youth, out of frustration, had taken to drugs and alcohol and were gradually becoming alcoholics and appealed to them to desist from that since it would affect them and retard the development of the area.
“The youth are our cultural and human resource, as such they ought to be guarded and protected jealously,” he said while appealing to the government and other stakeholders to come to the aid of the community.
He also solicited the assistance of the regional minister to check the presence of the black fly that caused river blindness, which is threatening the people.
Pe Afagachie said the community had no dam for dry season farming and a source of drinking water for animals and appealed to the government to provide the community with basic amenities, including two dams and tractor services.
Mr Woyongo assured the chief that the government was more committed to the construction of the road to open up the area to other parts of the north.
He said the main focus of the government was to help bridge the gap between the north and the south and assured the chief that the government would respond to their needs and provide other basic facilities for the community.
Mr Woyongo appealed to the people to practise family planning and produce the right number of children they could cater for in order to solve the problem of child trafficking.
The absence of boreholes, teachers’ accommodation, proper toilet facilities, a police post and motorable roads is negatively affecting the progress of the community.
The paramount chief of the Nakong Traditional Area, Pe Joseph Banapeh Afagachie, made the appeal when the Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, paid a courtesy call on him to introduce himself to him and his people.
Nakong is midway between Navrongo in the Upper East Region and Tumu in the Upper West Region. However, the absence of a tarred road passing through the town has given armed robbers and other criminals a safe haven to conduct their nefarious activities.
The Nakong portion of the Navrongo-Tumu road is unmotorable during the wet season.
Pe Afagachie also expressed concern about child trafficking, which is prevalent in the area, adding that the crime was carried out with the consent of parents.
He, therefore, appealed to the government for support in curbing the menace.
“They (children) are being denied education, normal childhood and child security and are exposed to all forms of child abuse and because they lack education and vocational skills, they are unemployable and even turn to stealing and prostitution as a lifestyle,” he said.
Pe Afagachie said many of the youth, out of frustration, had taken to drugs and alcohol and were gradually becoming alcoholics and appealed to them to desist from that since it would affect them and retard the development of the area.
“The youth are our cultural and human resource, as such they ought to be guarded and protected jealously,” he said while appealing to the government and other stakeholders to come to the aid of the community.
He also solicited the assistance of the regional minister to check the presence of the black fly that caused river blindness, which is threatening the people.
Pe Afagachie said the community had no dam for dry season farming and a source of drinking water for animals and appealed to the government to provide the community with basic amenities, including two dams and tractor services.
Mr Woyongo assured the chief that the government was more committed to the construction of the road to open up the area to other parts of the north.
He said the main focus of the government was to help bridge the gap between the north and the south and assured the chief that the government would respond to their needs and provide other basic facilities for the community.
Mr Woyongo appealed to the people to practise family planning and produce the right number of children they could cater for in order to solve the problem of child trafficking.
Sunday 19 April 2009
FOUNTAIN GATE CHAPEL GETS NEW LEADERS (MIRROR, Saturday April 18, 2009 PAGE 34)
Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga
Pastor Clement Anchebah of the Accra Branch of the Fountain Gate Chapel (FGC) has been inducted as the new chairman of the International Presbytery of the church.
He succeeds Pastor Eastwood Anaba, Founder of the FGC, who is stepping down after leading the church for nearly 22 years.
The induction service was the high point of the church’s five-day Easter convention, dubbed the International Extra Oil conference and came off two days after six members of the congregation, including two daughters of the founder, died in a motor accident on the Tamale–Bolgatanga highway.
The deceased were on their way to the convention when the incident occurred. Also inducted into office was the Vice-Chairman of the International Presbytery, Professor Sai Ditto, and the Co-ordinator of the presbytery, Pastor Cornelius Yakung.
From a humble beginning in 1987, the church has witnessed significant growth and currently has branches all over the country and other parts of the world.
Apart from preaching the word of God, the church has established a school that admits pupils from the kindergarten to junior high school level. Plans are far advanced for the establishment of a senior high school.
In his sermon, Pastor Anaba expressed the hope that the church under a new leadership would experience growth and lead to the fulfilment of its aims and objectives.
He explained that the decision to step down and hand over the leadership of the church to someone else was to relieve him of some of the administrative functions. The move, he also added, would give him the free hand to pursue the word of God more forcefully than he had ever done.
He charged the congregation to support the new leadership in its desire to win more souls for the Lord.
Pastor Anchebah was presented with a Bible, a copy of the church’s constitution and a flag as symbols of his office.
In his acceptance speech, Pastor Anchebah promised to continue on the foundation already laid by the Senior Pastor. He also pledged to pursue the desire of the founder of the church to intensify its evangelism mission of the northern parts of the country to win more souls for Christ.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, noted the positive contribution of the FGC on the socio-economic lives of the people in the region.
He said apart from establishing a school, the church, being conscious of the poverty levels of the people in the region, had also assisted some of its members to establish farms and businesses, which would undoubtedly complement government’s efforts at alleviating poverty among the people.
Whilst lauding the church for living up to its social responsibilities, Mr Woyongo also commended the leadership of the church for putting in place an effective succession plan contrary to the traditional beliefs that the founder of the church must die before he/she is succeeded.
He commended the leadership of the church for the bold initiative and urged other religious denominations to emulate same.
He also appealed to all religious bodies in the region to continue to pray for the return of peace to Bawku and other hot spots in the region.
Pastor Clement Anchebah of the Accra Branch of the Fountain Gate Chapel (FGC) has been inducted as the new chairman of the International Presbytery of the church.
He succeeds Pastor Eastwood Anaba, Founder of the FGC, who is stepping down after leading the church for nearly 22 years.
The induction service was the high point of the church’s five-day Easter convention, dubbed the International Extra Oil conference and came off two days after six members of the congregation, including two daughters of the founder, died in a motor accident on the Tamale–Bolgatanga highway.
The deceased were on their way to the convention when the incident occurred. Also inducted into office was the Vice-Chairman of the International Presbytery, Professor Sai Ditto, and the Co-ordinator of the presbytery, Pastor Cornelius Yakung.
From a humble beginning in 1987, the church has witnessed significant growth and currently has branches all over the country and other parts of the world.
Apart from preaching the word of God, the church has established a school that admits pupils from the kindergarten to junior high school level. Plans are far advanced for the establishment of a senior high school.
In his sermon, Pastor Anaba expressed the hope that the church under a new leadership would experience growth and lead to the fulfilment of its aims and objectives.
He explained that the decision to step down and hand over the leadership of the church to someone else was to relieve him of some of the administrative functions. The move, he also added, would give him the free hand to pursue the word of God more forcefully than he had ever done.
He charged the congregation to support the new leadership in its desire to win more souls for the Lord.
Pastor Anchebah was presented with a Bible, a copy of the church’s constitution and a flag as symbols of his office.
In his acceptance speech, Pastor Anchebah promised to continue on the foundation already laid by the Senior Pastor. He also pledged to pursue the desire of the founder of the church to intensify its evangelism mission of the northern parts of the country to win more souls for Christ.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, noted the positive contribution of the FGC on the socio-economic lives of the people in the region.
He said apart from establishing a school, the church, being conscious of the poverty levels of the people in the region, had also assisted some of its members to establish farms and businesses, which would undoubtedly complement government’s efforts at alleviating poverty among the people.
Whilst lauding the church for living up to its social responsibilities, Mr Woyongo also commended the leadership of the church for putting in place an effective succession plan contrary to the traditional beliefs that the founder of the church must die before he/she is succeeded.
He commended the leadership of the church for the bold initiative and urged other religious denominations to emulate same.
He also appealed to all religious bodies in the region to continue to pray for the return of peace to Bawku and other hot spots in the region.
ASAGA RENDERS APOLOGY TO REPORTER (D/G Saturday, April 18, 2009 PAGE 13)
The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Nabdam Constituency in the Upper East Region, Mr Moses Asaga, has rendered an apology to the Ghanaian Chronicle reporter who was assaulted by some NDC supporters while covering a victory rally at Nangodi.
The meeting was is honour of Mr Asaga.
The apology was contained in a letter signed by a close aide to the MP, Mr John Paul Danka, and addressed to the reporter.
It was also copied to the regional secretary of the GJA.
“On behalf of the MP for the Nabdam Constituency, Mr Moses Asaga and his constituents, I will like to convey his profound apology to Mr William Jalulah of the Ghanaian Chronicle on the unfortunate incident that happened on Saturday, April 11, 2009 at his constituency during the victory rally that was organised in his honour”.
“It is also his wish and desire that Mr William Jalulah will overcome whatever trauma that he might have gone through during the unfortunate incident quickly and continue with his good works in the region,” it said.
Mr Danka quoted Mr Asaga as assuring the media that enough security measures would be taken in future programmes to avert any reoccurrence of such incidents.
He also quoted the MP as expressing the hope that the apology would be accepted whole heartedly by the victim of the assault.
It would be recalled that on Saturday, April 11, 2009, a group of NDC supporters in the Nabdam Constituency pounced on the reporter and subjected him to severe beatings.
The reporter’s crime was that he had taken a photograph of some NDC supporter’s engaged in a brawl with a man in an NPP T-shirt.
That act did not go down well with the mob numbering about 15, so they pounced on him in an attempt to forcibly seize the camera to delete the photographs but the reporter resisted.
In the process, the mob not only beat up the journalist, but they also pushed him onto the ground, kicked him severally and bit him on the fingers all in an attempt to snatch the camera from him.
This led to the damage of the camera.
Mr Jalulah was rescued by his colleagues and taken to Bolgatanga where a report was lodged with the Police.
He was later given a medical form to seek medical attention at the hospital.
The meeting was is honour of Mr Asaga.
The apology was contained in a letter signed by a close aide to the MP, Mr John Paul Danka, and addressed to the reporter.
It was also copied to the regional secretary of the GJA.
“On behalf of the MP for the Nabdam Constituency, Mr Moses Asaga and his constituents, I will like to convey his profound apology to Mr William Jalulah of the Ghanaian Chronicle on the unfortunate incident that happened on Saturday, April 11, 2009 at his constituency during the victory rally that was organised in his honour”.
“It is also his wish and desire that Mr William Jalulah will overcome whatever trauma that he might have gone through during the unfortunate incident quickly and continue with his good works in the region,” it said.
Mr Danka quoted Mr Asaga as assuring the media that enough security measures would be taken in future programmes to avert any reoccurrence of such incidents.
He also quoted the MP as expressing the hope that the apology would be accepted whole heartedly by the victim of the assault.
It would be recalled that on Saturday, April 11, 2009, a group of NDC supporters in the Nabdam Constituency pounced on the reporter and subjected him to severe beatings.
The reporter’s crime was that he had taken a photograph of some NDC supporter’s engaged in a brawl with a man in an NPP T-shirt.
That act did not go down well with the mob numbering about 15, so they pounced on him in an attempt to forcibly seize the camera to delete the photographs but the reporter resisted.
In the process, the mob not only beat up the journalist, but they also pushed him onto the ground, kicked him severally and bit him on the fingers all in an attempt to snatch the camera from him.
This led to the damage of the camera.
Mr Jalulah was rescued by his colleagues and taken to Bolgatanga where a report was lodged with the Police.
He was later given a medical form to seek medical attention at the hospital.
Friday 17 April 2009
WOMEN URGED TO TAKE UP ROLES IN ASSEMBLIES (D/G, Friday, April 17, 2009. PAGE 17)
WOMEN in the various assemblies in the Upper East Region have been urged to take up education on the standing orders of the various municipalilties and districts to empower them to take up challenging roles in the assemblies.
The Upper East Regional Programme Manager of the Action Aid Ghana, a non- governmental organisation, Mr Michael Lumor, gave the advice in a speech read on his behalf at a meeting of assembly women at Bolgatanga.
The meeting, attended by the 47 Assembly women from the nine municipal and district assemblies in the region, was organised by the Regional Intersectorial Gender Network with the support of Actionaid Ghana.
It was aimed, among other objectives at integrating the newly appointed women into a regional Assembly women caucus in order to enhance the confidence of the women in the decision making process at the local level.
Mr Lumor said the struggle for empowerment and equality of women could not be achieved, if they lacked the requisite legal language and terms used on the floor of the assemblies and therefore urged them to position themselves well by mastering the standing orders .
The Programme Manager also entreated the women to vie for leadership positions, especially at the sub-committee levels, to make their voices heard.
He also encouraged the women to desist from being “back benchers” at their respective assemblies and rather develop the confidence to contribute meaningfully to proceedings of the house.
“To win the fight of getting more women elected will largely depend on how the current crop of Assembly women perform to the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the electorate,” he said.
Mr Lumor said Actionaid Ghana was committed to working with women in leadership by providing the necessary skills needed for effective local governance, adding that his outfit would continue to build and sustain the caucus of Assembly women to ensure that they continued to be the mouthpiece of women in the region.
The Chairperson of the Assembly Women Caucus, Madam Stella Yembilah, encouraged individuals and organisations to commit resources towards the capacity building efforts of members. That way, they will be better placed to carry out their role effectively.
Mr Daud Abang Gos, the Chairman of the Regional Intersectorial Gender Network, expressed the hope that the platform created for the assembly women would make members assertive and help them to work harder in the interest of women and children.
Between 2002 and 2006, there were 50 Assembly women in the region, made up of 15 elected and 35 appointed. Currently, there are 47 women serving in the various assemblies, comprising 21 elected and 26 appointed.
The Upper East Regional Programme Manager of the Action Aid Ghana, a non- governmental organisation, Mr Michael Lumor, gave the advice in a speech read on his behalf at a meeting of assembly women at Bolgatanga.
The meeting, attended by the 47 Assembly women from the nine municipal and district assemblies in the region, was organised by the Regional Intersectorial Gender Network with the support of Actionaid Ghana.
It was aimed, among other objectives at integrating the newly appointed women into a regional Assembly women caucus in order to enhance the confidence of the women in the decision making process at the local level.
Mr Lumor said the struggle for empowerment and equality of women could not be achieved, if they lacked the requisite legal language and terms used on the floor of the assemblies and therefore urged them to position themselves well by mastering the standing orders .
The Programme Manager also entreated the women to vie for leadership positions, especially at the sub-committee levels, to make their voices heard.
He also encouraged the women to desist from being “back benchers” at their respective assemblies and rather develop the confidence to contribute meaningfully to proceedings of the house.
“To win the fight of getting more women elected will largely depend on how the current crop of Assembly women perform to the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the electorate,” he said.
Mr Lumor said Actionaid Ghana was committed to working with women in leadership by providing the necessary skills needed for effective local governance, adding that his outfit would continue to build and sustain the caucus of Assembly women to ensure that they continued to be the mouthpiece of women in the region.
The Chairperson of the Assembly Women Caucus, Madam Stella Yembilah, encouraged individuals and organisations to commit resources towards the capacity building efforts of members. That way, they will be better placed to carry out their role effectively.
Mr Daud Abang Gos, the Chairman of the Regional Intersectorial Gender Network, expressed the hope that the platform created for the assembly women would make members assertive and help them to work harder in the interest of women and children.
Between 2002 and 2006, there were 50 Assembly women in the region, made up of 15 elected and 35 appointed. Currently, there are 47 women serving in the various assemblies, comprising 21 elected and 26 appointed.
Wednesday 15 April 2009
ZOOMLION, RCC TO IMPROVE SANITATION IN UER (D/G, Thursday, April 16, 2009.PAGE 35)
THE Management of Zoomlion Ghana, a private waste management company, has pledged to partner the Upper East Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) to improve the sanitation situation in the region.
The acting Regional Operations Supervisor of Zoomlion, Mr Laud Mike Tagoe, gave the assurance when he led a five-member delegation to pay a courtesy call on the Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, at his office in Bolgatanga.
Mr Tagoe stated that the visit was to brief the new regional minister on the activities of Zoomlion in the region and to solicit his assistance to improve sanitation in the region.
He said Zoomlion started its operations in the region in 2006 and currently had staff strength of 600, including personnel under the sanitation module of the National Youth Employment Programme.
According to Mr Tagoe, his outfit was working closely with the various Municipal and District Assemblies to ensure clean environment in the region.
He stated that Zoomlion had instituted a programme dubbed “Sanitation improvement package” under which it had entered into agreement with the various Municipal and District Assemblies by providing them with refuse trucks and a number of refuse containers placed at vantage points to collect refuse.
Mr Tagoe said Zoomlion was assisting the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly in the management of its landfill site at Sheering by providing it with a bulldozer, to bring sanity to the place.
He said the management of the company was taking measures to set up a recycle plant to recycle some of the waste.
According to Mr Tagoe, as part of his outfit’s efforts to control the rising incidence of malaria, Zoomlion had embarked on malarial control programme in the region.
He said in that regard, the company had taken delivery of 40 mist blowers, which will be distributed to support the programme.
Mr Woyongo commended Zoomlion for its commitment to keep the region clean.
He, however, expressed concern about the lukewarm attitude of the people towards the environment and the inability of the Municipal and District Assemblies to enforce their bylaws, especially the one on littering, which is hindering the efforts of ensuring a clean environment.
The regional minister stressed that the Regional Co-ordinating Council would advise the Municipal and District Assemblies to enforce their by-laws to the letter.
“I strongly feel that the assemblies can make a lot of money by enforcing these bylaws because if somebody litters and you fine him or her, part of the fine could go into the coffers of the assembly,” he said.
Mr Woyongo said the government was committed to ensuring a clean environment, so his administration would support agencies such as Zoomlion, which is in the forefront of keeping the environment clean, especially as the country was preparing to mark its Golden Jubilee anniversary next year.
The acting Regional Operations Supervisor of Zoomlion, Mr Laud Mike Tagoe, gave the assurance when he led a five-member delegation to pay a courtesy call on the Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, at his office in Bolgatanga.
Mr Tagoe stated that the visit was to brief the new regional minister on the activities of Zoomlion in the region and to solicit his assistance to improve sanitation in the region.
He said Zoomlion started its operations in the region in 2006 and currently had staff strength of 600, including personnel under the sanitation module of the National Youth Employment Programme.
According to Mr Tagoe, his outfit was working closely with the various Municipal and District Assemblies to ensure clean environment in the region.
He stated that Zoomlion had instituted a programme dubbed “Sanitation improvement package” under which it had entered into agreement with the various Municipal and District Assemblies by providing them with refuse trucks and a number of refuse containers placed at vantage points to collect refuse.
Mr Tagoe said Zoomlion was assisting the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly in the management of its landfill site at Sheering by providing it with a bulldozer, to bring sanity to the place.
He said the management of the company was taking measures to set up a recycle plant to recycle some of the waste.
According to Mr Tagoe, as part of his outfit’s efforts to control the rising incidence of malaria, Zoomlion had embarked on malarial control programme in the region.
He said in that regard, the company had taken delivery of 40 mist blowers, which will be distributed to support the programme.
Mr Woyongo commended Zoomlion for its commitment to keep the region clean.
He, however, expressed concern about the lukewarm attitude of the people towards the environment and the inability of the Municipal and District Assemblies to enforce their bylaws, especially the one on littering, which is hindering the efforts of ensuring a clean environment.
The regional minister stressed that the Regional Co-ordinating Council would advise the Municipal and District Assemblies to enforce their by-laws to the letter.
“I strongly feel that the assemblies can make a lot of money by enforcing these bylaws because if somebody litters and you fine him or her, part of the fine could go into the coffers of the assembly,” he said.
Mr Woyongo said the government was committed to ensuring a clean environment, so his administration would support agencies such as Zoomlion, which is in the forefront of keeping the environment clean, especially as the country was preparing to mark its Golden Jubilee anniversary next year.
BOREHOLES FOR 13 UPPER EAST COMMUNITIES (D/G, Wednesday, April 15, 2009.PAGE 20)
THIRTEEN communities in six districts in the Upper East Region have been provided with wells fitted with hand pumps to solve the acute water problem facing the people.
The Watertown Rotary Club in the United States of America financed the estimated GH¢49,563 project with support from Rotary International.
Pastor Emmanuel Atia of the Victory Assemblies of God Church in the Bolgatanga Municipality initiated the project during a visit to the USA, which was facilitated by the Tamale Rotary Club.
The club, together with Pastor Atia, monitored the progress of the project.
The beneficiary communities were Nayriga-Donne in the Bolgatanga Municipality, Boya-Gumbo and Kamega in the Bawku West District, Missiga in the Bawku East District, Paga in the Kassena-Nankana West District, Namoo and Kassingo in the Bongo District and Baare in the Talensi/Nabdam District.
The criteria for selecting the beneficiary communities included scarcity of potable water and co-operation from citizens of the communities.
The projects took three months to complete.
The Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, who inaugurated three of the wells at Nyariga-Doone, commended the donors for going to the aid of the people in the rural communities, stressing that the government alone could not shoulder the burden of developing the entire country.
While commending the donors for the gesture, Mr Woyongo entreated the beneficiary communities to treat the wells as their own property by monitoring their use and also through regular maintenance of the facilities.
Mr Woyongo stated that the region had already benefited from the International Development Association (IDA) Fund for the construction of 10 water systems under the small towns water supply and sanitation project, adding that 80 per cent of work on the project was completed.
He named the beneficiary communities as Bazua, Garu, Tongo, Fumbisi, Wiaga, Paga,Sirigu, Binaba, Kusanaba, Bongo and Sumbrungu.
Mr Woyongo hinted that the region was also to benefit from additional water system to be constructed at Denugu, Danorga, and Tempane-Yabrago, all in the Garu-Tempane District.
“Feasibility studies on these two water systems have been completed and contracts would soon be awarded,” he said.
The assembly member for Nyariga-Donne, Mr John Nyaaba and an opinion leader, Mr John Akaribo, on behalf of the community members, expressed his appreciation to the donors for the project.
He stressed that construction of the wells would go a long way to ameliorate the suffering of the people, who, in the past, had to walk long distance in search of water.
A representative of Rotary International, Pastor Walter Hughes, said his organisation was pleased to be associated with the project.
He also commended the Tamale Rotary Club for assisting the communities.
The Watertown Rotary Club in the United States of America financed the estimated GH¢49,563 project with support from Rotary International.
Pastor Emmanuel Atia of the Victory Assemblies of God Church in the Bolgatanga Municipality initiated the project during a visit to the USA, which was facilitated by the Tamale Rotary Club.
The club, together with Pastor Atia, monitored the progress of the project.
The beneficiary communities were Nayriga-Donne in the Bolgatanga Municipality, Boya-Gumbo and Kamega in the Bawku West District, Missiga in the Bawku East District, Paga in the Kassena-Nankana West District, Namoo and Kassingo in the Bongo District and Baare in the Talensi/Nabdam District.
The criteria for selecting the beneficiary communities included scarcity of potable water and co-operation from citizens of the communities.
The projects took three months to complete.
The Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, who inaugurated three of the wells at Nyariga-Doone, commended the donors for going to the aid of the people in the rural communities, stressing that the government alone could not shoulder the burden of developing the entire country.
While commending the donors for the gesture, Mr Woyongo entreated the beneficiary communities to treat the wells as their own property by monitoring their use and also through regular maintenance of the facilities.
Mr Woyongo stated that the region had already benefited from the International Development Association (IDA) Fund for the construction of 10 water systems under the small towns water supply and sanitation project, adding that 80 per cent of work on the project was completed.
He named the beneficiary communities as Bazua, Garu, Tongo, Fumbisi, Wiaga, Paga,Sirigu, Binaba, Kusanaba, Bongo and Sumbrungu.
Mr Woyongo hinted that the region was also to benefit from additional water system to be constructed at Denugu, Danorga, and Tempane-Yabrago, all in the Garu-Tempane District.
“Feasibility studies on these two water systems have been completed and contracts would soon be awarded,” he said.
The assembly member for Nyariga-Donne, Mr John Nyaaba and an opinion leader, Mr John Akaribo, on behalf of the community members, expressed his appreciation to the donors for the project.
He stressed that construction of the wells would go a long way to ameliorate the suffering of the people, who, in the past, had to walk long distance in search of water.
A representative of Rotary International, Pastor Walter Hughes, said his organisation was pleased to be associated with the project.
He also commended the Tamale Rotary Club for assisting the communities.
REDUCING POVERTY IN THE UPPER EAST REGION...Guinea fowl farmers have role to play (D/G, Wednesday, April 15, 2009.PAGE 20)
GUINEA fowls were among the last birds to be domesticated by man. The origin of guinea fowls is West Africa; the Gulf of Guinea to be specific.
In northern Ghana, about 10 million guinea fowls are produced annually.
According to an animal scientist with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), Mr S.Y. Apiiga, the Upper East Region produces about five million guinea fowls, the single largest producer in the country. It is followed by the Upper West Region, which produces four million of the birds while the Northern Region places third, producing three million of the birds.
Research conducted by the University for Development Studies (UDS) suggests that the Upper East Region breeds contain a lot of meat types, the Upper West products are known for their eggs while the Northern Region is noted for the dual purpose breeds it produces.
In the Upper East Region, the bird is reared mostly under the extensive or free range system where the bird scavenges for feed, insects, worms and water.
A bird produces between 90 and 150 eggs per year under this system. The eggs take 28 days to hatch and mature between five and six months, weighing between 800 grammes and 1.5 kilogrammes.
According to Mr Apiiga, the guinea fowl is not only an economic bird which could reduce poverty and increase rural income, but also a socio-cultural bird.
The meat and eggs are a delicacy and there is high demand for the meat and eggs in Ghana and outside the country.
“It is a common fact that a family of five or less people can depend on 20 birds for their food and cash needs through the sale of the birds and eggs,” Mr Apiiga said.
He stated that in the Upper East Region, guinea fowl is used for sacrifices, dowries, festivals, festivities and as gifts to friends and relatives, adding that it is also the preferred meat for women.
Furthermore, the meat and eggs have medicinal properties because they contain less cholesterol and fats since they are reared organically.
The manure is rich in nitrogen and good for vegetable crop production.The feathers are now used for interior decorations and in the fashion industry.
Guinea fowl has the potential of reducing rural poverty, promoting food security and reducing malnutrition in children, women and increase standard of living in northern Ghana, which incidentally ranks high on the poverty ladder of the country.
It is to erase this social canker of poverty that a number of farmers in the Upper East Region have come together to form an association of Guinea Fowl Farmers Association to harness the enormous prospects.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the association at Bolgatanga, the chairman, Mr Thomas Asomburah stated that the members, having observed with grave concern, the negative perception that the region was hit by abject poverty and recognising the fact that the region abounds with a lot of natural resources of which the guinea fowls are a segment and realising that they could exploit this noble industry, found it prudent to form the association towards fostering a pragmatic agenda to achieve the ultimate goal of eradicating poverty staring at them in the face.
“In fact, posterity would not forgive us if we sit under the umbrella of poverty with the stereotype mind that the region is hit with abject poverty and leave these natural resources untapped for the betterment of our lives,” Mr Asomburah stated.
The chairman stated that the enterprise was rather a challenging one and was therefore soliciting the assistance of all stakeholders, including the government to boost the production of guinea fowls.
“We are certain that if there is a good development and assistance, the youth who shy away from farming, would be involved to reduce the unemployment situation in the region and thereby prevent many of them from migrating down south for non-existent jobs. This is a viable venture, marketing is no problem and the industry has no room for rot or glut”, he stressed.
Mr Apiiga shares the same views, emphasising that even though the guinea fowls have a lot of prospects, the industry is hampered by a myriad of constraints including availability of fertile eggs for hatching throughout the year, high mortality and morbidity of keets (1-10 weeks) due to diseases, parasites and pests, poor management, such as housing, feeding, medication and watering.
The rest are high cost of feed, drugs and vaccines, availability and affordability of small scale incubators, lack of credit and funding by banks and financial institutions, poor processing and packaging of guinea fowls for home consumption and for export market and competition from imported chicken.
On the way forward, Mr Apiiga said despite the numerous constraints facing the guinea fowl industry, the following steps, initiatives and activities could help boost the production of guinea fowls. They include continuous technical information on management, feeding, housing, disease prevention and control, provision on micro credit and logistics by banks non-governmental organisations (NGOs), Municipal and District Assemblies as well as development partners.
Others are provision of small scale incubators to farmers by the government at subsidised prices, subsidising drugs and vaccines for guinea fowl farmers, promoting the cultivation of maize, sorghum, soya beans and groundnuts as feed for the birds, instituting a Presidential Special Initiative on guinea fowl production to provide funding and focus on its production, processing and marketing.
The rest are establishment of processing plants, at least one in each region, for the processing of birds to add value for export, ban or limit the importation of foreign chicken from Europe, America and Asia, upscaling the production and marketing of herbal preparation for farmers.
By so doing, the farmers can help bring the dream of improvement, production and marketing of the birds to fruition.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Owen Woyongo, who inaugurated the association commended the leaders.He said his administration would do all in its power to ensure that his three prong vision of unity, peace and development was achieved.
He gave the assurance that the government, which had agricultural development as one of its keys to development, would through the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority strengthen the partnership among all stakeholders, including the Guinea Fowl Farmers Association, in eradicating poverty from the region.
In northern Ghana, about 10 million guinea fowls are produced annually.
According to an animal scientist with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), Mr S.Y. Apiiga, the Upper East Region produces about five million guinea fowls, the single largest producer in the country. It is followed by the Upper West Region, which produces four million of the birds while the Northern Region places third, producing three million of the birds.
Research conducted by the University for Development Studies (UDS) suggests that the Upper East Region breeds contain a lot of meat types, the Upper West products are known for their eggs while the Northern Region is noted for the dual purpose breeds it produces.
In the Upper East Region, the bird is reared mostly under the extensive or free range system where the bird scavenges for feed, insects, worms and water.
A bird produces between 90 and 150 eggs per year under this system. The eggs take 28 days to hatch and mature between five and six months, weighing between 800 grammes and 1.5 kilogrammes.
According to Mr Apiiga, the guinea fowl is not only an economic bird which could reduce poverty and increase rural income, but also a socio-cultural bird.
The meat and eggs are a delicacy and there is high demand for the meat and eggs in Ghana and outside the country.
“It is a common fact that a family of five or less people can depend on 20 birds for their food and cash needs through the sale of the birds and eggs,” Mr Apiiga said.
He stated that in the Upper East Region, guinea fowl is used for sacrifices, dowries, festivals, festivities and as gifts to friends and relatives, adding that it is also the preferred meat for women.
Furthermore, the meat and eggs have medicinal properties because they contain less cholesterol and fats since they are reared organically.
The manure is rich in nitrogen and good for vegetable crop production.The feathers are now used for interior decorations and in the fashion industry.
Guinea fowl has the potential of reducing rural poverty, promoting food security and reducing malnutrition in children, women and increase standard of living in northern Ghana, which incidentally ranks high on the poverty ladder of the country.
It is to erase this social canker of poverty that a number of farmers in the Upper East Region have come together to form an association of Guinea Fowl Farmers Association to harness the enormous prospects.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the association at Bolgatanga, the chairman, Mr Thomas Asomburah stated that the members, having observed with grave concern, the negative perception that the region was hit by abject poverty and recognising the fact that the region abounds with a lot of natural resources of which the guinea fowls are a segment and realising that they could exploit this noble industry, found it prudent to form the association towards fostering a pragmatic agenda to achieve the ultimate goal of eradicating poverty staring at them in the face.
“In fact, posterity would not forgive us if we sit under the umbrella of poverty with the stereotype mind that the region is hit with abject poverty and leave these natural resources untapped for the betterment of our lives,” Mr Asomburah stated.
The chairman stated that the enterprise was rather a challenging one and was therefore soliciting the assistance of all stakeholders, including the government to boost the production of guinea fowls.
“We are certain that if there is a good development and assistance, the youth who shy away from farming, would be involved to reduce the unemployment situation in the region and thereby prevent many of them from migrating down south for non-existent jobs. This is a viable venture, marketing is no problem and the industry has no room for rot or glut”, he stressed.
Mr Apiiga shares the same views, emphasising that even though the guinea fowls have a lot of prospects, the industry is hampered by a myriad of constraints including availability of fertile eggs for hatching throughout the year, high mortality and morbidity of keets (1-10 weeks) due to diseases, parasites and pests, poor management, such as housing, feeding, medication and watering.
The rest are high cost of feed, drugs and vaccines, availability and affordability of small scale incubators, lack of credit and funding by banks and financial institutions, poor processing and packaging of guinea fowls for home consumption and for export market and competition from imported chicken.
On the way forward, Mr Apiiga said despite the numerous constraints facing the guinea fowl industry, the following steps, initiatives and activities could help boost the production of guinea fowls. They include continuous technical information on management, feeding, housing, disease prevention and control, provision on micro credit and logistics by banks non-governmental organisations (NGOs), Municipal and District Assemblies as well as development partners.
Others are provision of small scale incubators to farmers by the government at subsidised prices, subsidising drugs and vaccines for guinea fowl farmers, promoting the cultivation of maize, sorghum, soya beans and groundnuts as feed for the birds, instituting a Presidential Special Initiative on guinea fowl production to provide funding and focus on its production, processing and marketing.
The rest are establishment of processing plants, at least one in each region, for the processing of birds to add value for export, ban or limit the importation of foreign chicken from Europe, America and Asia, upscaling the production and marketing of herbal preparation for farmers.
By so doing, the farmers can help bring the dream of improvement, production and marketing of the birds to fruition.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Owen Woyongo, who inaugurated the association commended the leaders.He said his administration would do all in its power to ensure that his three prong vision of unity, peace and development was achieved.
He gave the assurance that the government, which had agricultural development as one of its keys to development, would through the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority strengthen the partnership among all stakeholders, including the Guinea Fowl Farmers Association, in eradicating poverty from the region.
ARMED ROBBERS ATTACK PASSENGERS, KILL TWO (D/G, Wednesday, April 15, 2009.PAGE 31)
Two persons died on the spot, while four others were injured when a gang of armed robbers attacked a 207 Benz bus on which they were travelling from Tamale to Bolgantaga at Karimenga, near Pwalugu, last Sunday.
The dead were a young girl and a man whose identities were not immediately known at the time of filing this report. The injured, including the driver, Alhassan Mamudu, 48, Barikisu Forkor, 36, and Adiya Abdulai 18, who sustained gunshot wounds, were admitted to the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital.
Six other passengers who sustained minor injuries were also admitted to the same hospital where they were treated and discharged.
A Burkinabe and five volunteers from different European countries, as well as other passengers on board the same bus, escaped unhurt.
The driver of the bus, with registration number AS 7970 R, told journalists from his sick bed at the hospital that they were attacked by armed robbers when the bus got to Karimenga in the Talensi-Nabdam District in the Upper East Region late afternoon on Sunday.
He explained that while the bus was in the process of climbing a hill at the section of the road, he heard gunshots whose bultets hit his front tyres, leading to the blast of one of them.
He said he later heard voices ordering him to stop. According to him, due to the blasted tyre, he couldn’t move further. The robbers, who had masked their faces, moved to the vehicle and ordered all occupants to come down.
He said at gunpoint, the robbers matched them into a nearby bush and ordered them to lie down while they (robbers) mounted a search on them.
He said monies and other valuables including some mobile phones, and digital cameras belonging to the white volunteers, were taken away.
An 18-year-old, Adiya Abdulai, a final-year student at the Damongo Senior High School, reported that her GH¢350 was taken away by the robbers. According to her, the money was meant to buy tomatoes from Navrongo to sell.
The passengers said at the time their bus was stopped at Karimenga another Benz bus from Bolgatanga to Tamale had been stopped by the same robbers at gunpoint.
Meanwhile, police personnel from the Northern and Upper East regions have been deployed to the area to mount a search with the view to arresting the culprits.
The dead were a young girl and a man whose identities were not immediately known at the time of filing this report. The injured, including the driver, Alhassan Mamudu, 48, Barikisu Forkor, 36, and Adiya Abdulai 18, who sustained gunshot wounds, were admitted to the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital.
Six other passengers who sustained minor injuries were also admitted to the same hospital where they were treated and discharged.
A Burkinabe and five volunteers from different European countries, as well as other passengers on board the same bus, escaped unhurt.
The driver of the bus, with registration number AS 7970 R, told journalists from his sick bed at the hospital that they were attacked by armed robbers when the bus got to Karimenga in the Talensi-Nabdam District in the Upper East Region late afternoon on Sunday.
He explained that while the bus was in the process of climbing a hill at the section of the road, he heard gunshots whose bultets hit his front tyres, leading to the blast of one of them.
He said he later heard voices ordering him to stop. According to him, due to the blasted tyre, he couldn’t move further. The robbers, who had masked their faces, moved to the vehicle and ordered all occupants to come down.
He said at gunpoint, the robbers matched them into a nearby bush and ordered them to lie down while they (robbers) mounted a search on them.
He said monies and other valuables including some mobile phones, and digital cameras belonging to the white volunteers, were taken away.
An 18-year-old, Adiya Abdulai, a final-year student at the Damongo Senior High School, reported that her GH¢350 was taken away by the robbers. According to her, the money was meant to buy tomatoes from Navrongo to sell.
The passengers said at the time their bus was stopped at Karimenga another Benz bus from Bolgatanga to Tamale had been stopped by the same robbers at gunpoint.
Meanwhile, police personnel from the Northern and Upper East regions have been deployed to the area to mount a search with the view to arresting the culprits.
BAWKU CELEBRATES SAMANPIID IN PEACE (D/G, Tuesday April 14, 2009. Front Page)
A CRITICAL test of the peace in Bawku was surmounted over the weekend when thousands of visitors joined the chiefs and people of the Kusasi Traditional Area to celebrate their annual Samanpiid Festival.
The grand occasion was celebrated in an atmosphere of peace, erasing earlier fears that some trouble makers would take advantage of the celebration to cause mischief.
The heavy deployment of police and military personnel throughout the Bawku municipality to avert any clashes did not deter the people from engaging in an all-day celebration to give thanks to God and the ancestral spirits for a successful farming season.
The grand durbar organised to climax the festival also provided the platform for the discussion of social and development issues affecting the people.
In an address read on his behalf, President John Atta Mills urged the people to re-dedicate themselves to the cause of peace and unity.
“It is my hope and prayer that you the people of Bawku will give peace a chance so that you can benefit from the development that the present government has planned for you,” he said in his address read by Mr Mark Woyongo, the Upper East Regional Minister.
The President observed that the incessant conflicts in Bawku and its surroundings had retarded the development of the area and, therefore, appealed to the chiefs to use this year’s celebration to mend broken relationships with their neighbours for peaceful and harmonious co-existence in Bawku and its environs.
He assured the people that the government would not renege on efforts at ensuring that peace was maintained in Bawku and challenged the parties in the conflict to recognise each other as brothers and sisters who needed each other for mutual development.
“The Upper East Region, to which Bawku belongs, is the poorest in the country. Therefore, our common enemy is poverty, which we must fight, but not to take arms against ourselves because there shall be no winner or loser in such a fight,” the President said.
Touching on the government’s development plans for the area, the President said his administration would focus on agriculture, stressing that in that light more irrigation dams would be constructed, while old and silted ones would be rehabilitated to promote dry season farming, especially in the northern parts of Ghana.
The festival was put on hold last year due to the absence of peace in the Bawku Traditional Area. The last time it was held was on December 31, 2007, but immediately after it ended conflict erupted between the Kusasis and Mamprusis and since then the security situation in Bawku had not been the best.
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Cletus Avoka, said the celebration of the festival was testimony of the return to peace in the hitherto conflict-prone area and encouraged the people to maintain the peace for wealth creation for the welfare of the people.
He reminded all and sundry that the era of the culture of impunity must be a thing of the past, warning that the years when people committed arson and other crimes because of their party, ethnic or religious affiliations were gone.
The Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, expressed concern over the long period of conflict and violence in his traditional area, emphasising that the people had become poorer as a result.
He said now no one needed to tell the people of Bawku to stop what he termed “a senseless conflict” and rather seek unity among the various tribes for meaningful development.
The Northern Regional Minister, Mr S.S Nayina, who was in the entourage of the government team at the festival, challenged the people of Bawku to see themselves as one common people and get united to collectively eradicate their problems of poverty, ignorance and disease for the common good of the area.
The Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Mahama Ayariga, dismissed assertions in sections of the media that the President was “slow” in the discharge of his duty, stressing that he was rather being meticulous to avoid mistakes.
He urged all to support the President’s nominees for the positions of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives so that, together with the President, they could begin the implementation of the agenda for a better Ghana.
The grand occasion was celebrated in an atmosphere of peace, erasing earlier fears that some trouble makers would take advantage of the celebration to cause mischief.
The heavy deployment of police and military personnel throughout the Bawku municipality to avert any clashes did not deter the people from engaging in an all-day celebration to give thanks to God and the ancestral spirits for a successful farming season.
The grand durbar organised to climax the festival also provided the platform for the discussion of social and development issues affecting the people.
In an address read on his behalf, President John Atta Mills urged the people to re-dedicate themselves to the cause of peace and unity.
“It is my hope and prayer that you the people of Bawku will give peace a chance so that you can benefit from the development that the present government has planned for you,” he said in his address read by Mr Mark Woyongo, the Upper East Regional Minister.
The President observed that the incessant conflicts in Bawku and its surroundings had retarded the development of the area and, therefore, appealed to the chiefs to use this year’s celebration to mend broken relationships with their neighbours for peaceful and harmonious co-existence in Bawku and its environs.
He assured the people that the government would not renege on efforts at ensuring that peace was maintained in Bawku and challenged the parties in the conflict to recognise each other as brothers and sisters who needed each other for mutual development.
“The Upper East Region, to which Bawku belongs, is the poorest in the country. Therefore, our common enemy is poverty, which we must fight, but not to take arms against ourselves because there shall be no winner or loser in such a fight,” the President said.
Touching on the government’s development plans for the area, the President said his administration would focus on agriculture, stressing that in that light more irrigation dams would be constructed, while old and silted ones would be rehabilitated to promote dry season farming, especially in the northern parts of Ghana.
The festival was put on hold last year due to the absence of peace in the Bawku Traditional Area. The last time it was held was on December 31, 2007, but immediately after it ended conflict erupted between the Kusasis and Mamprusis and since then the security situation in Bawku had not been the best.
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Cletus Avoka, said the celebration of the festival was testimony of the return to peace in the hitherto conflict-prone area and encouraged the people to maintain the peace for wealth creation for the welfare of the people.
He reminded all and sundry that the era of the culture of impunity must be a thing of the past, warning that the years when people committed arson and other crimes because of their party, ethnic or religious affiliations were gone.
The Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, expressed concern over the long period of conflict and violence in his traditional area, emphasising that the people had become poorer as a result.
He said now no one needed to tell the people of Bawku to stop what he termed “a senseless conflict” and rather seek unity among the various tribes for meaningful development.
The Northern Regional Minister, Mr S.S Nayina, who was in the entourage of the government team at the festival, challenged the people of Bawku to see themselves as one common people and get united to collectively eradicate their problems of poverty, ignorance and disease for the common good of the area.
The Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Mahama Ayariga, dismissed assertions in sections of the media that the President was “slow” in the discharge of his duty, stressing that he was rather being meticulous to avoid mistakes.
He urged all to support the President’s nominees for the positions of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives so that, together with the President, they could begin the implementation of the agenda for a better Ghana.
Sunday 12 April 2009
PEACE IN BAWKU TO BE PUT TO TEST (D/G, Thursday, April 9, 2009. CENTRE SPREAD)
The relative peace prevailing in the Bawku Municipality of the Upper East Region will be put to test today, when the chiefs and people of the Bawku Traditional Area observe their annual Samanpiid festival.
The Samanpiid festival, which is celebrated by the Kusasis between November and December every year, has in the past been marred by some of the most violent clashes in the area.
Its significance is to give thanks to God for a good harvest and provide a platform for the discussion of the social and economic challenges facing the people.
It, however, had to be postponed on more than two occasions due to the recurrent violence in Bawku and security concerns.
The last time the festival was celebrated on December 31, 2007, it was marred by a violent clash between the Mamprusis and Kusasis in what was then believed to have been sparked by an armed robbery incident allegedly carried out by Fulani herdsmen.
Since then, the government had on several occasions imposed a curfew on the town in addition to the deployment of more police and military personnel there to help maintain law and order.
Currently, the town is under a midnight to 4 a.m. curfew. There is also a ban on the carrying of arms and ammunition in the town and its environs.
A number of lives have been lost and property worth several thousands of Ghana cedis destroyed in the recurrent clashes in the area.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, in an interview with the Daily Graphic said all the necessary precautions had been taken to ensure that the festival is celebrated without any incident.
Mr Woyongo, who is also the Chairman of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), said security in Bawku had been beefed up with the deployment of more police and military personnel.
He said as part of the efforts to ensure that the peace in the area is not derailed, REGSEC had demarcated some routes to be used by the people who would be travelling from the various villages to the durbar grounds at the Bawku Community Centre.
“These routes will be policed by the security agencies to ensure that nothing untoward happens”, Mr Woyongo said.
The regional minister said apart from that, a lot of education had been embarked on. That included a directive to the municipal assembly and the Information Services Department to educate the people in the area not to resort to any provocative acts that might disturb the peace.
“I have met the Bawku Naba a couple of times and so far the Bawku Naba has been very co-operative. Similarly, the Regional Police Commander has also met him and the response had been very positive”, he said.
The Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, who also spoke to the Daily Graphic said apart from the police personnel from the Rapid Deployment Force who would be deployed to the festival area, some personnel would also be stationed at vantage points in the town to prevent any violent acts.
The Samanpiid festival, which is celebrated by the Kusasis between November and December every year, has in the past been marred by some of the most violent clashes in the area.
Its significance is to give thanks to God for a good harvest and provide a platform for the discussion of the social and economic challenges facing the people.
It, however, had to be postponed on more than two occasions due to the recurrent violence in Bawku and security concerns.
The last time the festival was celebrated on December 31, 2007, it was marred by a violent clash between the Mamprusis and Kusasis in what was then believed to have been sparked by an armed robbery incident allegedly carried out by Fulani herdsmen.
Since then, the government had on several occasions imposed a curfew on the town in addition to the deployment of more police and military personnel there to help maintain law and order.
Currently, the town is under a midnight to 4 a.m. curfew. There is also a ban on the carrying of arms and ammunition in the town and its environs.
A number of lives have been lost and property worth several thousands of Ghana cedis destroyed in the recurrent clashes in the area.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, in an interview with the Daily Graphic said all the necessary precautions had been taken to ensure that the festival is celebrated without any incident.
Mr Woyongo, who is also the Chairman of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), said security in Bawku had been beefed up with the deployment of more police and military personnel.
He said as part of the efforts to ensure that the peace in the area is not derailed, REGSEC had demarcated some routes to be used by the people who would be travelling from the various villages to the durbar grounds at the Bawku Community Centre.
“These routes will be policed by the security agencies to ensure that nothing untoward happens”, Mr Woyongo said.
The regional minister said apart from that, a lot of education had been embarked on. That included a directive to the municipal assembly and the Information Services Department to educate the people in the area not to resort to any provocative acts that might disturb the peace.
“I have met the Bawku Naba a couple of times and so far the Bawku Naba has been very co-operative. Similarly, the Regional Police Commander has also met him and the response had been very positive”, he said.
The Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, who also spoke to the Daily Graphic said apart from the police personnel from the Rapid Deployment Force who would be deployed to the festival area, some personnel would also be stationed at vantage points in the town to prevent any violent acts.
Wednesday 8 April 2009
COMMITTEE TO PROBE BAWKU STUDENT CLASH (D/G, Wednesday, April 8, 2009, BACK PAGE)
A 10-member committee has been constituted to investigate the recent clashes between students of the Bawku Senior High School and Bawku Technical Institute, which led to massive destruction of property.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, who toured the schools on Monday to assess the extent of damage caused during the clashes, disclosed that the committee had 10 days to work after which its recommendations would be implemented.
He also hinted that students in the two institutions would be surcharged with the cost of repair works after the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited in the region had submited an evaluation of the damage caused.
Mr Woyongo recommended the immediate dismissal of students identified as ringleaders to serve as deterrent to other students.
Meanwhile, the two schools have been closed down with immediate effect. However, final-year students of Bawku Senior High School have been permitted to stay and write their exams.
Students of both schools went on rampage following a misunderstanding in the aftermath of an end-of-term entertainment programme organised separately by both schools.
Briefing the Upper East Regional Minister, the Bawku Municipal Co-ordinating Director, Mr Alhassan Yakubu Abubakari, said some students from the technical school, after their entertainment session on Saturday, April 4, 2009, crossed over to join their friends at the secondary school to join in the fun at the senior high school.
However, some misunderstanding ensued among some of the students over a girl, and this led to some altercations. The row was brought under control by the headmaster and some tutors with help from the Ghana Police Service, which was called in to restore calm.
He said the following day, some students of the Bawku Senior High School were alleged to have launched a counter-attack, when they marched on the Bawku Technical Institute.
Armed with stones and other fighting implements, the students went on rampage and in the process destroyed school property at the technical institute including electrical installations, an air conditioner, louvre blades and a borehole.
The attacking students also desecrated portions of a mosque on the premises of Bawku Technical Institute, and removed a goal post on the field of the technical institute.
The timely intervention by personnel of the Ghana Police Service and a detachment of the Airborne Force averted a bloodbath. To maintain law and order, police presence was beefed up around the two schools.
Mr Woyongo expressed his displeasure at the act of vandalism perpetrated by the students and warned that such incidence would not be tolerated.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, who toured the schools on Monday to assess the extent of damage caused during the clashes, disclosed that the committee had 10 days to work after which its recommendations would be implemented.
He also hinted that students in the two institutions would be surcharged with the cost of repair works after the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited in the region had submited an evaluation of the damage caused.
Mr Woyongo recommended the immediate dismissal of students identified as ringleaders to serve as deterrent to other students.
Meanwhile, the two schools have been closed down with immediate effect. However, final-year students of Bawku Senior High School have been permitted to stay and write their exams.
Students of both schools went on rampage following a misunderstanding in the aftermath of an end-of-term entertainment programme organised separately by both schools.
Briefing the Upper East Regional Minister, the Bawku Municipal Co-ordinating Director, Mr Alhassan Yakubu Abubakari, said some students from the technical school, after their entertainment session on Saturday, April 4, 2009, crossed over to join their friends at the secondary school to join in the fun at the senior high school.
However, some misunderstanding ensued among some of the students over a girl, and this led to some altercations. The row was brought under control by the headmaster and some tutors with help from the Ghana Police Service, which was called in to restore calm.
He said the following day, some students of the Bawku Senior High School were alleged to have launched a counter-attack, when they marched on the Bawku Technical Institute.
Armed with stones and other fighting implements, the students went on rampage and in the process destroyed school property at the technical institute including electrical installations, an air conditioner, louvre blades and a borehole.
The attacking students also desecrated portions of a mosque on the premises of Bawku Technical Institute, and removed a goal post on the field of the technical institute.
The timely intervention by personnel of the Ghana Police Service and a detachment of the Airborne Force averted a bloodbath. To maintain law and order, police presence was beefed up around the two schools.
Mr Woyongo expressed his displeasure at the act of vandalism perpetrated by the students and warned that such incidence would not be tolerated.
Wednesday 1 April 2009
VODAFONE DONATES TO EDUCATIONAL FUND (D/G, Thursday, April 2, 2009. PAGE 39)
VODAFONE Ghana has donated GH¢3,000 towards the Educational Fund instituted by the Paramount Chief of the Bolgatanga Traditional Area, Naba Martin Abilba III.
The amount is to assist the chief to continue to champion the alleviation of poverty and improve the social and economic situation in the traditional area.
The Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana, Mr David Venn, accompanied by the Upper East Regional Manager of the telecommunication company, Mr Eric Asante, and the Head of Corporate Communications of Vodafone Ghana, Major Albert Don Chebe (retd), presented the money to Naba Abilba during Mr Venn’s maiden visit to the region.
The visit was to inform the people of Bolgatanga, through the chief, about the operations of the company.
Mr Venn stated that as part of its corporate social responsibility to share the benefits of developments in mobile communications technology, protect the natural environment and support local communities, Vodafone Ghana would soon launch a foundation
He said in that direction, an initial investment of £200,000 had been voted for the exercise and the public would soon be invited to submit proposals on how the programme would be run.
"We are working feverishly to deploy new technology and introduce innovative world-class products and services on the Ghanaian market to demonstrate the fame of Vodafone worldwide to all Ghanaians," he said.
Mr Venn gave the assurance that within the next few weeks all OneTouch subscribers in the region and other parts of northern Ghana would testify to the exceptional quality communication service on the company’s mobile network, adding that the work, which was progressing steadily, would increase the mobile phone mast from nine to 30.
He said the company was committed to the development of local communities and that under its access to communications programme, community SIM phone booths were being deployed in rural and peri-urban communities across the country to ensure that many Ghanaians could use telecommunications.
Those phones, he said, were also being installed in several second-cycle schools to facilitate easy communication between students and their parents and guardians.
Mr Venn extended his warmest felicitation to the Bolga Naba and assured him of the best of relations between the company and the traditional council.
He later donated a book he authored during his five-year stay in Zambia and Vodafone souvenirs to the Naba.
In response, the Bolga Naba commended the CEO for the visit and urged the management to go all out to deliver quality services to the people.
He later presented Mr Venn with a smock to commemorate the visit to the palace.
The amount is to assist the chief to continue to champion the alleviation of poverty and improve the social and economic situation in the traditional area.
The Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana, Mr David Venn, accompanied by the Upper East Regional Manager of the telecommunication company, Mr Eric Asante, and the Head of Corporate Communications of Vodafone Ghana, Major Albert Don Chebe (retd), presented the money to Naba Abilba during Mr Venn’s maiden visit to the region.
The visit was to inform the people of Bolgatanga, through the chief, about the operations of the company.
Mr Venn stated that as part of its corporate social responsibility to share the benefits of developments in mobile communications technology, protect the natural environment and support local communities, Vodafone Ghana would soon launch a foundation
He said in that direction, an initial investment of £200,000 had been voted for the exercise and the public would soon be invited to submit proposals on how the programme would be run.
"We are working feverishly to deploy new technology and introduce innovative world-class products and services on the Ghanaian market to demonstrate the fame of Vodafone worldwide to all Ghanaians," he said.
Mr Venn gave the assurance that within the next few weeks all OneTouch subscribers in the region and other parts of northern Ghana would testify to the exceptional quality communication service on the company’s mobile network, adding that the work, which was progressing steadily, would increase the mobile phone mast from nine to 30.
He said the company was committed to the development of local communities and that under its access to communications programme, community SIM phone booths were being deployed in rural and peri-urban communities across the country to ensure that many Ghanaians could use telecommunications.
Those phones, he said, were also being installed in several second-cycle schools to facilitate easy communication between students and their parents and guardians.
Mr Venn extended his warmest felicitation to the Bolga Naba and assured him of the best of relations between the company and the traditional council.
He later donated a book he authored during his five-year stay in Zambia and Vodafone souvenirs to the Naba.
In response, the Bolga Naba commended the CEO for the visit and urged the management to go all out to deliver quality services to the people.
He later presented Mr Venn with a smock to commemorate the visit to the palace.
WOYONGO VISITS UPPER EAST REGIONAL HOSPITAL (D/G, Thursday, April 2, 2009.PAGE 32)
INADEQUATE human resource, lack of certain basic facilities, poor residential accommodation for staff and erratic supply of utilities such as water and electricity are militating against the effective and efficient delivery of health services in the Upper East Region.
The Medical Director at the Upper East Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga, Dr Aduko Amiah, disclosed this during a visit by the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, to the facility.
The visit was to afford the minister the opportunity to learn at firsthand some of the challenges facing the hospital, with the view to helping to solve them.
According to Dr Amiah, the hospital, which had a total bed capacity of 207, was currently manned by five Ghanaian doctors, including one on contract, with support from personnel from the Cuban Medical Brigade.
He said apart from the shortage of doctors, the facility lacked nurses and other allied health workers and support staff, saying it currently had 80 nurses out of the 250 required.
He attributed the shortage to the persistent refusal of medical officers to accept posting to the region as a result of the poor conditions of service.
“Doctors refuse posting to this place because of the absence of opportunities to make extra income, popularly referred to as locum, which abounds in the southern parts of Ghana,” he said.
Dr Amiah said those who accepted posting to the north were often forgotten and denied the opportunity to enjoy their full leave, let alone go for further professional development or even gain promotion.
The medical director, who has been in the region since 1986, said the few who were carrying the heavy load were becoming burnt out and that might be a contributory factor to the poor attitude shown by some health staff.
He, therefore, appealed to the government to put in place effective systems, such as practical incentive packages like personal income tax breaks to make for the loss of income from locum, free accommodation and utility services like water, telephone, electricity, fellowship and quicker promotions to attract doctors and other critical staff to accept posting to the region.
The Chairman of the hospital’s Advisory Board, Naba Asigri Bewong, said since the hospital served as a referral facility for the whole region, the board had tried in the past to meet with Members of Parliament from the region and municipal and district chief executives to solicit their support in resolving some of the challenges without success.
Naba Bewong, who is also the Paramount Chief of the Sakoti Traditional Area, stressed that several correspondence to that effect in the past had not yielded any positive response.
He appealed to the regional minister to arrange a forum for all sides to see how best they could support the hospital.
Mr Woyongo commended staff of the hospital for the immense role they had played in health delivery in the region, even under critical and trying conditions.
He said notwithstanding the challenges, the few dedicated staff were working tirelessly to improve health care in the area.
The regional minister was later conducted round some projects underway to upgrade the hospital. Facilities visited included the new OPD Block and the Maternity Block.
The Medical Director at the Upper East Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga, Dr Aduko Amiah, disclosed this during a visit by the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, to the facility.
The visit was to afford the minister the opportunity to learn at firsthand some of the challenges facing the hospital, with the view to helping to solve them.
According to Dr Amiah, the hospital, which had a total bed capacity of 207, was currently manned by five Ghanaian doctors, including one on contract, with support from personnel from the Cuban Medical Brigade.
He said apart from the shortage of doctors, the facility lacked nurses and other allied health workers and support staff, saying it currently had 80 nurses out of the 250 required.
He attributed the shortage to the persistent refusal of medical officers to accept posting to the region as a result of the poor conditions of service.
“Doctors refuse posting to this place because of the absence of opportunities to make extra income, popularly referred to as locum, which abounds in the southern parts of Ghana,” he said.
Dr Amiah said those who accepted posting to the north were often forgotten and denied the opportunity to enjoy their full leave, let alone go for further professional development or even gain promotion.
The medical director, who has been in the region since 1986, said the few who were carrying the heavy load were becoming burnt out and that might be a contributory factor to the poor attitude shown by some health staff.
He, therefore, appealed to the government to put in place effective systems, such as practical incentive packages like personal income tax breaks to make for the loss of income from locum, free accommodation and utility services like water, telephone, electricity, fellowship and quicker promotions to attract doctors and other critical staff to accept posting to the region.
The Chairman of the hospital’s Advisory Board, Naba Asigri Bewong, said since the hospital served as a referral facility for the whole region, the board had tried in the past to meet with Members of Parliament from the region and municipal and district chief executives to solicit their support in resolving some of the challenges without success.
Naba Bewong, who is also the Paramount Chief of the Sakoti Traditional Area, stressed that several correspondence to that effect in the past had not yielded any positive response.
He appealed to the regional minister to arrange a forum for all sides to see how best they could support the hospital.
Mr Woyongo commended staff of the hospital for the immense role they had played in health delivery in the region, even under critical and trying conditions.
He said notwithstanding the challenges, the few dedicated staff were working tirelessly to improve health care in the area.
The regional minister was later conducted round some projects underway to upgrade the hospital. Facilities visited included the new OPD Block and the Maternity Block.
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