STAY OUT OF PARTISAN POLITICS ...Akologu urges heads of MMDAs (PAGE 13, OCT 28, 2010)

The Minister of Information, Mr John Tia Akologu, has re-echoed an advise to heads of ministries, departments, and agencies to stay out of partisan politics and to be as politically neutral as possible.
He reiterated that when public and civil servants openly participated in political activities they compromised the objectivity of their offices.
Mr Akologu therefore appealed to them to be committed, loyal and impartial in the discharge of their duties.
The minister made the call when he interacted with heads of departments as part of his three-day official visit of the Upper East Region to familiarise and ascertain the operations and problems of the agencies under the ministry of information.
The tour also aimed at communicating government policies and programmes to the staff of district assemblies, traditional rulers and sections of the public, as well as encourage public sector workers to put in their maximum efforts towards the attainment of the “Better Ghana” agenda.
During his interaction with the heads of departments, the Information Minister advised them not to just concentrate on their daily paperwork and filing of reports to their head offices in Accra but also open their doors to the media in the region to try to educate the public on the essence of the several interventions being put in by the government.
He said although the politician would carry the message to the people, the same message on development projects being embarked on by the government would carry more weight and meaning if delivered by the technical persons in charge of a department or an agency.
He assured the heads of departments that past vindictiveness where civil and public servants were removed from office at will had been stopped, adding that past government officials perceived to be corrupt had been sent to court for the due process to establish the said corruption.
“Even though the decisions of the courts are sometimes questionable, government has decided to abide by those decisions,” he said.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, who was present at the meeting advised heads of departments to create special budget lines for P ublic relations and media campaigns to propagate their programmes, since communication played a key role in governance.
Earlier, the minister paid a courtesy call on the Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, and the Paramount Chief of Bolgatanga, Naaba Martin Abilba.
The Regional Minister, a media man himself, lauded the media in the region for deepening the relationship that existed but expressed concern at the activities of a few especially when it came to reporting on the conflict situation in the Bawku area.
He admonished journalists who report on conflicts to base their write-ups on facts in order not to inflame passions.

BANKS URGED TO MAKE THEIR OPERATIONS MORE ATTRACTIVE TO CUSTOMERS (SPREAD, OCT 27, 2010)

THE Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, has appealed to the leadership of banks and other financial institutions operating in the region to relax some of the rules and regulations governing their operations, where possible, so that their services will become more attractive to the people in the area.
He said the introduction of those innovative products would not only take care of the majority of people but also improve the lifestyles of individuals, which could in turn quicken the general development of the area.
Mr Woyongo said this in a speech read on his behalf by the District Chief Executive for Kassena-Nankana East, Mr Emmanuel Andema, during the official opening of the Navrongo branch of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).
“In situations where majority of our people in a particular area are poor, banking institutions should not just concern themselves with providing only banking services but also play a lead role in the general socio-economic development of the people,” he observed.
He said the Kassena-Nankana East District had a lot of potential as far as agriculture was concerned and cited the existence of the Tono Irrigation facility, which he said opened a lot of opportunities to individuals and groups who would want to venture into all- year-round large- scale farming involving the cultivation of rice, tomato, pepper and other crops.
Mr Woyongo expressed the hope that the services to be provided by the bank would, in no small measure, help boost the efforts at food production.
The Managing Director of ADB, Mr Stephen Kpordzih, said the opening of the new branch in Navrongo was to have its services on the doorstep of the people and help reduce poverty.
He reiterated the expectation that the bank would remain the most competitive in respect of lending rates, particularly to the agriculture sector.
Mr Kpordzih noted that the three regions of the north offered huge potential for increased production of food, industrial and export crops, poultry and livestock, so expanding ADB’s reach in the area meant a greater boost for agribusiness, including transportation, storage, preservation, warehousing, input distribution and marketing.
The opening of the new branch, he said, was a testimony of the bank’s commitment to expanding its reach to its valued clients in the northern parts of the country.
He, therefore, urged customers of the bank and prospective ones to take advantage of the various products in existence and future ones to do business with ADB for their mutual benefit.

WOMAN'S BODY FOUND FLOATING (BACK PAGE, OCT 26, 2010)

THE body of an 18-year-old woman who had been declared missing has been found floating under a bridge on the Bolgatanga-Zuarungu road.
Augustina Anyeema had been declared missing the previous day before her floating body was seen on Sunday near the offices of the Metro Mass Transit Company at about 6 a.m.
Augustina, a resident of Daportindongo, a suburb of Bolgatanga, was said to have left home the previous day.
A close relative told the Daily Graphic that the family was suspicious about the circumstances of her death and wondered why she had gone that far since their house was quite a distance from where the body was found.
“We were surprised this morning when we had the information that the body of our daughter had been found under this bridge. We were surprised because where we live is far from this river and she is not known to like swimming,” the family member said.
The deceased was wearing a shirt and a pair of blue jeans shorts, both of which were intact at the time she was found floating. The body had since been deposited at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital mortuary for autopsy.

ASSEMBLY PROCURES 1,500 DESKS FOR SCHOOLS (PAGE 22, OCT 23, 2010)

THE Bawku Municipal Assembly has procured 1,500 dual desks to be distributed to some schools in the area. This is to address the acute shortage of furniture in schools in the municipality.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Bawku, Mr Abdulai Musah made this known to the Daily Graphic after visiting some primary schools in the municipality.
During the tour, it came to light that furniture in the primary schools was grossly inadequate. At least in two of the four schools visited, namely Zuabuliga and Tes-Natinga primary schools, pupils sat on the bare floor for their lessons.
Teachers who spoke to the Daily Graphic appealed to the assembly to provide their schools with furniture.
They also bemoaned the inadequate number of teachers and called on the authorities to post trained teachers to the schools.
The Zuabuliga Primary School has two trained teachers and three untrained teachers while the Tes-Natinga Primary School has only volunteer teachers.
Other schools the MCE visited were the Buabula Municipal Assembly (M/) Primary School and Aniisi Primary School.
Mr Abdulai stated that the problem of lack of furniture had persisted over the years and it was against that background that the current assembly was working hard to provide schools with classrooms and furniture to build a vibrant and enlightened human resource base.
He said through hard work, the assembly had abolished classes done under trees in the municipality, adding that the assembly, together with the Municipal Education Directorate, was working hard to get trained teachers to fill the classrooms.
In all the four schools visited, the MCE presented a total of 2,874 exercise books to be distributed to the pupils in Upper Primary while those in lower primary, especially the newly admitted ones and those in tattered clothes, were given a total of 97 school uniforms.
Mr Abdulai addressed the pupils and urged them to take their studies seriously.
He assured them that the government would do everything possible to create a better teaching and learning environment for them to study.

ESTABLISH NHIS OFFICE IN GARU-TEMPANE (PAGE 63, OCT 25, 2010)

The District Chief Executive for Garu-Tempane in the Upper East Region, Mr David Adakudugu, has expressed concern about the long delay in the establishment of a National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in the district.
According to him, the lack of an independent scheme in the district, which was carved out of the Bawku Municipality over four years ago, had affected enrolment of subscribers unto the scheme.
As a result of the lack of a scheme in the district, residents from the district have to travel to Bawku to subscribe to the NHIS. However, due to the unstable security situation in Bawku, many residents in Garu-Tempane have not had the chance to subscribe to the scheme for fear of their lives .
The DCE who was speaking at the launch of a special mass registration exercise in the district, therefore, called on the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to open a scheme office in the district.
Hundreds of people who have been denied the opportunity to register under the NHIS turned out to partake in the three-day exercise.
Giving an overview of the mass registration exercise, the Regional Manager of the NHIA, Mr Roger Ayine Aposs, said as part of the initiatives to reach out to more Ghanaians who would otherwise not have time to visit the offices to register with the schemes, his outfit had embarked on the exercise to go to the subscribers to ensure that many more people were enrolled.
He said the exercise would also give those whose cards had expired an opportunity to renew their membership to enable them to benefit from efficient and quality health care services.
Mr Aposs gave the assurance that all clients registered during that mass registration period would receive their NHIS ID cards within one month of registration and that a temporal data entry centre had been set up in the regional office of the NHIA to clear all the backlog.
This is to ensure the quick processing of data from the special registration exercise.
He said a similar exercise would be undertaken in the Talensi-Nabdam District, which also did not have a scheme office.
Touching on the performance of the scheme in the region, Mr Aposs said as of October 18, 2010, GH¢1,306,905.69 had been released to schemes to settle their indebtedness with the health service providers.
He said the NHIS coverage in the region had been very encouraging with the Builsa scheme having about 80 per cent coverage.
The Kassena-Nankana District has recorded 78 per cent coverage while the Bongo and Bawku-West districts have covered about 78 and 68 per cent of registration respectively.
He outlined a number of plans earmarked by the NHIA to deal with the problems that confronted the operations of the scheme in the region.
These included regular stakeholders engagement aimed at resolving impasse on tariffs, breach of protocol and training of staff on monitoring and evaluation tools, and providing ICT supports to fast track registration unto the scheme.
The Bawku scheme manager, Mr Mahamadu Akugri, said efforts to increase membership onto the scheme had been continuously hampered by the Bawku conflict, the large coverage area, the lack of commitment by some community mobilisers and low number of suitably qualified personnel, among others.
He appealed to community members to take advantage of the mass registration exercise to get enrolled onto the scheme.
A resident of the area, Mr Abraham Anyande, said due to the delay in the processing of the cards and the distance one had to cover to get registered, most residents in the district had given up on the NHIS.
He, therefore, welcomed the mass registration exercise and urged the scheme operators to find solutions to the difficulties in obtaining their registration cards.

Frustration Galore - For Fresh SHS Students(Junior Graphic, October 20-26,2010. page 6)

.....................A tour of some schools revealed that none of the new structure started to accommodate first year students have been completed. At the Bolgatanga Girls Senior High School, the Headmistress, Ms. Francisca Yizura told this reporter that the school had put in steps to accommodate all first year students from outside the region while those within the Bolgatanga Municipality will be admitted as Day students. In all the school is expecting 322 newly admitted students.
The Headmistress indicated that works on the ground floor of a new classroom structures will soon be completed for the girls to start using them for academic work. In addition, the new administration block is almost completed and it is likely so the teachers and non-teaching staff will soon move into it, to enable the school authorities convert the old staff common room into classrooms for studies.
At the Bolgatanga Senior High School, the Head master, Mr. , Didacus Afegra who is also the Regional Vice chairman for CHASS , said his school which is has been designated as a model school did not benefit from the allocation of new classroom and dormitory structures provided by Government to accommodate first year student, for the 2010-2011 Academic year.As a result the school has had to convert the Assembly Hall as dormitory, while the science laboratory and the Technical block have been turned into classroom facilities.
However at the Notre Dame Senior High School, in the Kassena-Nankana East District, the contractor working on a Six classroom block and toilet and urinal facility has completed and handed the structure to the Regional Minister for onward handing over to the school authorities.
The Principal of the Bolgatanga Technical Institute, Alhaji Umar Alhassan said he is looking forward to admitting 600 first year student but unfortunately work a new classroom block is uncompleted. As a stop gap measure, the students will be housed in the already dilapidated dining hall. He added that any available space will also be used as classroom block.

ASSOCIATION ASSISTS 4 UPPER EAST COMMUNITIES (PAGE 22, OCT 19, 2010)

THE UK branch of BONABOTO, a union of citizens of Bolgatanga, Nabdam, Bongo and Tongo, has presented 130 computers and their accessories worth £52,000 to three Senior High Schools (SHS), three resource centres and the Bolgatanga Regional Library.
The items, which included monitors, CPUs, and two printers, are to be distributed to the Bongo SHS, Zuarungu SHS and Kongo SHS.
The other beneficiaries are the Bolgatanga, Bongo and Tongo Resource Centres.
Presenting the items, a member of BONABOTO in the UK, Mr Nyeya Yen said, “In this modern era of super information highway, it is rather sad that many of the schools in the region lacked computers to compete in the information communication technology world”.
He advised the beneficiary students to make good use of the facility to improve their academic work in school.
Mr Yen, who was assisted by the Secretary of the BONABOTO UK, Mr David Atugiya Ayinne, urged the management of the schools to be mindful of the culture of maintenance to prolong the life span of the computers.
He also appealed to the government, politicians and all stakeholders in education to ensure that children in the area received quality education.
“We BONABOTO UK are conscious of the hardships that our people face. We call on our Members of Parliament (MPs) to use their common fund to support brilliant students who due to deprivation, could not attend school.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, who facilitated the transportation of the items from the ports to the region, commended BONABOTO UK for the foresight and said his administration would do all it could to improve education in the area.
He urged students to eschew all acts of indiscipline and student demonstrations with their attendant destruction of school property as had been recorded in recent times in some schools in the region.
The regional minister warned that those caught for committing such crimes would be dealt with according to the laws of the land.
Mr Woyongo also spoke about steps being taken to provide adequate infrastructure to accommodate students under the new three-year SHS educational system, and called for co-operation from all and sundry.
The Bongo District Director of Education, Mr Francis Agyeere, appealed to the donors to extend their support to the basic school level as ICT education was now an examinable subject, but unfortunately, most schools in the area did not have access to computers.
He also appealed to the district assembly to ensure that all schools in the area received the necessary computer laboratories for the effective teaching and learning of ICT.
A renowned Catholic Priest and founder of BONABOTO, Monsignor Roger Aboteyuure, also commended members of the UK branch of the union for their selfless spirit and dedication to help their counterparts at home.
He explained that BONABOTO was not a tribal, religious or political organisation, but a group interested in seeking the welfare of people from the four towns—namely, Bolgatanga, Nabdam, Bongo and Tongo.
The Paramount Chief for Bongo, Naba Salifu Alemyarum, stressed that since education is key to the development of every society, the traditional authority would support every effort to improve education delivery in the district.

BONABOTO ASSISTS 7 INSTITUTIONS (PAGE 54, OCT 11, 2010)

THE UK branch of BONABOTO, a union of citizens of Bolgatanga, Nabdam, Bongo and Tongo, has presented 130 computers and their accessories worth £52,000 to three Senior High Schools (SHS), three resource centres and the Bolgatanga Regional Library.
The items, which included monitors, CPUs, and two printers, are to be distributed to the Bongo SHS, Zuarungu SHS and Kongo SHS.
The other beneficiaries are the Bolgatanga, Bongo and Tongo Resource Centres.
Presenting the items, a member of BONABOTO in the UK, Mr Nyeya Yen said, “In this modern era of super information highway, it is rather sad that that many of the schools in the region lacked computers to compete in the information communication technology world”.
He advised the beneficiary students to make good use of the facility to improve their academic work in school.
Mr Yen, who was assisted by the Secretary of the BONABOTO UK, Mr David Atugiya Ayinne, urged the management of the schools to be mindful of the culture of maintenance to prolong the life span of the computers.
He also appealed to the government, politicians and all stakeholders in education to ensure that children in the area received quality education.
“We BONABOTO UK are conscious of the hardships that our people face. We call on our Members of Parliament (MPs) to use their common fund to support brilliant students who due to deprivation, could not attend school.”
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, who facilitated the transportation of the items from the ports to the region, commended BONABOTO UK for the foresight and said his administration would do all it could to improve education in the area.
He urged students to eschew all acts of indiscipline and student demonstrations with their attendant destruction of school property as had been recorded in recent times in some schools in the region.
The regional minister warned that those caught for committing such crimes would be dealt with according to the laws of the land.
The Bongo District Director of Education, Mr Francis Agyeere, appealed to the donors to extend their support to the basic school level as ICT education is now an examinable subject, but unfortunately, most schools in the area did not have access to computers.
He also appealed to the district assembly to ensure that all schools in the area received the necessary computer laboratories for the effective teaching and learning of ICT.
A renowned Catholic Priest and founder of BONABOTO, Monsignor Roger Aboteyuure, commended members of the UK branch of the union for their selfless spirit and dedication to help their counterparts at home.
He explained that BONABOTO was not a tribal, religious or political organisation, but a group interested in seeking the welfare of people from the four towns—namely, Bolgatanga, Nabdam, Bongo and Tongo.
The Paramount Chief for Bongo, Naba Salifu Alemyarum, stressed that since education is key to the development of every society, the traditional authority would support every effort to improve education delivery in the district.

NGO BAILS OUT CHILDREN ENGAGED IN MINING ACTIVITIES (PAGE 54, OCT 11, 2010)

SOME years back, I received a call from one of the mining sites in the Talensi-Nabdam District. A young boy who had gone into one of the several mining pits in search of gold had suffocated and died. It was such a pathetic sight; seeing one young boy who should have been in the classroom losing his life while mining for gold.
In the Talensi-Nabdam District where gold is mined legally or illegally (galamsey), the miners employ the services of children to sift the pounded rock extracted from the mines to get the gold dust. The masters then sell the gold through the buying companies.
Even though the involvement of children in mining is illegal, it is very difficult to clamp down on the perpetrators. Parents either encourage their wards to venture in the activity or the children themselves, out of adventure, go into these activities at the expense of their education.
Instead of finding their way to the classrooms, these children make their way to the mines and no wonder the district has witnessed a decline in the performance at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) level.
A survey conducted by the district assembly in 2007 revealed that as many as 658 children who were supposed to be in the classroom or learning various trades were working in the mines.
The Talensi-Nabdam District Assembly, in partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), engaged Afrikids Ghana to undertake a project to tackle child labour in the small-scale gold mines in the district. One hundred and fifty out of the 658 identified children were pulled out and enrolled in school.
AFRIKIDS Ghana is a charity organisation based at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region working for the welfare of children. This year, the same NGO has, through the support of the Baring Foundation from the UK, gone to the aid of 30 children who hitherto were engaged in mining with a view to giving them education and skills training.
Twenty-three out of the 30 children will be put in schools while the remaining seven will be given skill training in vocations like carpentry, hairdressing and dressmaking.
The Talensi-Nabdam Area Manager of Afrikids Ghana, Mr Richard Amoah, disclosed this during the presentation of school uniforms and working kits to the beneficiaries.
He said his organisation was hopeful of stopping children from engaging in the dangerous activity of mining.
As part of the support, each of the children who had been withdrawn from mining and sent to school was presented with 10 exercise books, a school bag, foot wear, two pairs of socks, pens, pencils, a set of uniforms and a belt.
Each of the children was also presented with two female goats and a sheep for them to rear, and it is expected that the animals will reproduce and later sold to take care of financing their education.
The organisation has also paid the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) dues for one year while those not registered under the National Health Insurance Scheme have been registered.
The children pursuing skill training will also get sets of working tools, training fees as well as bicycles for those who travel to distant places to work, lunch allowance, two goats and sets of training uniform.
Apart from those items, Afrikids Ghana will provide quarterly supply of soap and toiletries, organise quarterly meetings of parents and child, conduct weekly monitoring at training centres, schools and homes, educational and empowerment talks, counselling and literacy and numeracy classes for those in skill training.
Mr Amoah said a lot would be required from the parents of the beneficiary children in solving the problems confronting them, stressing that their intervention would only last for two years.
He also pleaded with the district assembly to work closely with the traditional leaders to see the urgency to stop children from engaging in child labour in the communities, especially in mining activities.
Mr Amoah further called for the extension of the school feeding programme and other interventions to cover very remote places.
“There should also be the need for a lively and friendly atmosphere in our schools to retain such children,” he stressed.
The Country Director of Afrikids Ghana, Mr Nicholas Kumah, pledged Afrikids’ commitment to ensure the effective monitoring of the children who had been withdrawn from the mining activity.
He advised the pupils not to revert to the mining activity but stick to their books in order to become responsible people in future.
The District Chief Executive, Madam Viviane Anafo, commended Afrikids Ghana for initiating the move to get the children out of the mining pits.
She advised those currently benefiting from the programme to encourage others who were in the pits to embrace education and desist from the dangerous activity of mining.
Madam Anafo also spoke against the migration of children to the southern parts of the country in search of menial jobs, stressing that parents should encourage their children to stay back and pursue education and other skill acquisition programmes.
The Deputy District Director of Education, Mr Duncan Nsoh, lauded Afrikids Ghana for adopting home grown measures to competently deal with the problems facing children’s welfare in the district in particular and the region as a whole.
Today, Afrikids Ghana has taken a big step to stop children from engaging in mining but many more children are in the pits to make a living. It will take a lot more efforts to get all of them out and enrol them in school.
Let us not let the chance to give these children a bright future slip by. The time to act is now. All hands must be on deck to withdraw these children from the dangerous activity of mining.

Faces of female aspirants ......in assembly elections(D/G Thursday, October 7,2010. P. 11)

Helen Akanbong: FUMBISI CENTRAL ELECTORAL AREA /BUISLA DISTRICT

Having looked that the development challenges facing her people in her electoral area, Madam Helen Akanbong said she simply cannot identify herself with then but take a proactive step to contribute her quota toward the development of her area, hence her decision to contest in the up-coming local level elections.Speaking to the Daily Graphic about her intention to contest the assembly elections Madam Akanbong said she will be relying on her exposure in leadership as a community development worker to enhance the fortunes of her people.She said when given the nod, her focus will be to work with the youth to see how best they can contribute to the development of their community. “with the right kind of education, skill acquisition and proper vocational training, the youth will find their feet and work towards the development of the community, and that will be my focus”, she said.She also hopes to mobilize the women in her electoral area especially those in the non-formal sector to assess micro finance schemes to enable them become self sufficientMadam Akanbong said she is optimistic about her chances adding that to prepare her for the task ahead she has read widely and participated in various capacities building programme to sharpen her potential.Her major concern however has to do with attempts by people to align her to a political party. Madam Akanbong believes that women contesting the election should be judge on their own merit and what they can do and not which political party they belong to since the elections are by law non-partisan.She is appealing to her electorates to vote for her so that collectively they will seek the development of the electoral area.

Madam Mary Kugazo: Yemeriga Electoral Area, Talensi-Nabdam District

For Madam Mary Kugazo, this will be her first attempt at seeking election as an assembly woman in the Talensi-Nabdam district. Prior to arriving at this decision, Madam Kugazo has been working with women’s groups and widow in Shea butter extraction as well as nursing of tree seedlings for afforestation programme.A Seamstress, Madam Kugazo for the past eight years has tended to 6 acres of grated mangoes, 4 acres of teak, 2 acres of eucalyptus and acacia. Now she is seeking the mandate of her electorate to vote her into the local assembly.Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Bolgatanga, Madam Kugazo said her motivation to contest the polls stems from her desire to assist the people, mostly woman from her electoral area who do not get any form of support for the work they do.She said her election to the assembly will serve as a platform to trumpet the needs of her colleague women and children and persuade the assembly to take decision that will benefit women who are underrepresented in the assembly.She said although woman play a critical role in decision making the reality is that they suffer some level of discrimination and said the time has come for all to join hands to fight for their rightful place in society.Madam Kugazo also appealed to the chiefs and opinion leaders in the electoral area to throw their support behind to bring change to their community.

Madam Gifty Ntaaga Ayomalie, Dulugu Electoral Area , Bolgatanga Municipality Madam Ayomalie epitomizes the oft said adage, “Disability is not inability”. Though physically challenged, Madam Ayomalie has never allowed her condition to become an impediment in her quest to seek reelection into the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly.Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Madam Ayomalie said her first attempt at entering the assembly was met with several challenges which she overcame with ease.According to her, while her opponents were hammering on her physical disability being an impediment, she focused on what she can do for her community. She said through her lobbying skills, she has being able to source funds for some women groups in the community.According to her, she has also lobbied to get some schools in her community to be enrolled into the school feeding programme as well as funds to rehabilitate a dam for dry season gardening.Madam Ayomalie, a staff of the Judicial Service said the work of an assembly woman is not easy but with hard work and determination one can surmount it. She maintained that her interest in the race is to encourage other physically challenged persoion not to give up on life. She is however calling for support for women, both financial and logistics to enable more women take part in the district level elections.

COMMITTEE CONDEMNS BAWKU SHOOTING (BACK PAGE, OCT 8, 2010)

THE Bawku Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee (BIEPC) has condemned the latest shooting incident that occurred in the municipality last Sunday and described it as the work of isolated individuals, and calculated to disrupt the prevailing peace in the area.
The committee stated unequivocally that the shooting incident was not related to the protracted ethnic conflict in the area.
On Sunday, October 4, 2010, three persons were arrested in connection with a shooting incident at Bawku and two AK 47 assault rifles, two G3 assault rifles, six empty AK 47 magazines, three G3 empty magazines, and half gallon Rangoon Oil for servicing the weapons were retrieved from them.
In a statement and signed by the co-chairmen of BIEPC, Mr Thomas Abilla and Alhaji Ibrahim Kobilla, and issued in Bolgatanga yesterday, the committee said, “Our investigation and contacts have revealed that the incident was in no way related to the conflict. It was totally a criminal act, the motive of which is yet to be established”.
The committee called on the people of Bawku to assist the security agencies in their work and not condone crime.
“People should be prepared to point out the criminals that are in our communities and fomenting troubles. The activities of those who do not want the area to have peace is not helpful but very detrimental to the development of the area,” the committee said.
The committee said it was determined and focused on working relentlessly to restore permanent peace in the area and would continue with the pacification rites it had started as part of measures to maintain the five-month truce.
It reminded the people of Bawku that nobody could bring peace to their area except themselves, and, therefore, appealed to all the people to show the maximum co-operation, trust, sincerity, tolerance and maturity in all their actions in order to contribute to the restoration of permanent peace in the area.
The committee commended the security personnel for the prompt action they took that led to the arrest of the suspects in the shooting incident.

QUEENMOTHER FOR BONGO TRADITIONAL COUNCIL (OCT 7, 2010)

THE Bongo Traditional Council has for the first time in four decades elected a queenmother for the area, in the person of Ms Christiana Asindikye Ngee, a 54-year-old educationist.
The election of the queenmother was in response to a suggestion from the National House of Chiefs that traditional councils in the three northern regions should facilitate the election of queenmothers who would play meaningful roles in the development of the area especially, in addressing issues affecting women.
It is in response to this challenge that four royal families, namely Anafobisi, Adabobisi, Abumbangbabisi and Asankabisi, under the direction of the Paramount Chief of Bongo, Naba Salifu Aleemyarom, have unanimously elected Ms Ngee, who is a staff of the District Directorate of Education to the position.
Speaking at the post coronation event, Naba Baba Salifu said the event was not only historic but also would be of great help to development and promotion of peace.
He particularly commended the National House of Chiefs for listening to the proposal he made during the Africa Sister City International Conference held in May this year, where all the chiefs from southern Ghana attended the conference together with their queenmothers, whilst those from the north were without queenmothers because they had none.
Outlining the role of the queenmother in the administration of the traditional council, he said she would assist in mobilising women in the traditional area towards development, participate in the arbitration of cases, especially those concerning women and communicate cases beyond her to the traditional council for resolution.
He added that the queenmother would also be invited to the traditional council, Regional House and the National House of Chiefs on cases pertaining to women and also be responsible for the selection of “magazia” that is women leaders in the traditional area.
Naba Aleemyarom appealed to other traditional councils in the northern part of the country to fast track the process of electing queenmothers to help accelerate development particularly.
He was optimistic that the election of queenmothers in the area would help address some of the negative cultural practices and customs affecting women and children in the area.
The Queenmother-elect, who is also a panel member of Bongo District Family Tribunal, expressed her appreciation to the royal families for unanimously endorsing her for the position and promised to work hard in the interest of the traditional area.

QUEENMOTHER FOR BONGO TRADITIONAL COUNCIL (OCT 7, 2010)

THE Bongo Traditional Council has for the first time in four decades elected a queenmother for the area, in the person of Ms Christiana Asindikye Ngee, a 54-year-old educationist.
The election of the queenmother was in response to a suggestion from the National House of Chiefs that traditional councils in the three northern regions should facilitate the election of queenmothers who would play meaningful roles in the development of the area especially, in addressing issues affecting women.
It is in response to this challenge that four royal families, namely Anafobisi, Adabobisi, Abumbangbabisi and Asankabisi, under the direction of the Paramount Chief of Bongo, Naba Salifu Aleemyarom, have unanimously elected Ms Ngee, who is a staff of the District Directorate of Education to the position.
Speaking at the post coronation event, Naba Baba Salifu said the event was not only historic but also would be of great help to development and promotion of peace.
He particularly commended the National House of Chiefs for listening to the proposal he made during the Africa Sister City International Conference held in May this year, where all the chiefs from southern Ghana attended the conference together with their queenmothers, whilst those from the north were without queenmothers because they had none.
Outlining the role of the queenmother in the administration of the traditional council, he said she would assist in mobilising women in the traditional area towards development, participate in the arbitration of cases, especially those concerning women and communicate cases beyond her to the traditional council for resolution.
He added that the queenmother would also be invited to the traditional council, Regional House and the National House of Chiefs on cases pertaining to women and also be responsible for the selection of “magazia” that is women leaders in the traditional area.
Naba Aleemyarom appealed to other traditional councils in the northern part of the country to fast track the process of electing queenmothers to help accelerate development particularly.
He was optimistic that the election of queenmothers in the area would help address some of the negative cultural practices and customs affecting women and children in the area.
The Queenmother-elect, who is also a panel member of Bongo District Family Tribunal, expressed her appreciation to the royal families for unanimously endorsing her for the position and promised to work hard in the interest of the traditional area.

PUPILS IN DANGER...Live in fear everyday (LEAD STORY, JUNIOR GRAPHIC, OCT 6, 2010)

The lives of pupils of Tedam Primary School in the Upper West Region are in danger.
Madam Justina Addi, Circuit Supervisor in charge of Paga Central stated that the busy Ghana-Burkina Faso Highway which is right in front of the school poses great danger to the schoolchildren since there is no fence wall around the school.
She appealed to the district assembly to urgently solve the problem because the famous Paga Crocodile Pond was also opposite the school and could cause serious problems should there be any mishap.
Madam Addi, who made the appeal at a ceremony to usher first-year pupils into basic schools in the district, said the situation was a challenge to both teachers and community leaders who had to keep an eagle’s eye on the pupils to prevent them from going onto the major road before, during and after school hours.
Dubbed “My first day at school”, the pupils were presented with confectionery and cups.
The joint ceremony organised to induct 250 pupils enrolled into primary one for the Tedam, Paga L.A, Paga R.C and Chania Primary Schools as well as other satellite kindergarten facilities in the area, was attended by a number of parents and teachers of the schools.
The District Director of Education, Mr Augustine Bugase, called on teachers, to create a child-friendly environment that would attract children to attend school daily.
He also urged the teachers to employ a child-friendly approach in their teaching to make the school environment one that newly admitted children would enjoy.
Alhaji Jibrel Adam Uztarz, the Deputy District Co-ordinating Director, who represented the District Chief Executive, said the government would continue to provide free school uniforms, textbooks and exercise books as well as one free meals for pupils in an effort to improve enrolment in public schools.
He, however, advised parents not to neglect their duties but continue to provide for their children and also urged the pupils to obey their teachers and take their lessons seriously.

MP FOR TALENSI SUPPORTS FLOOD VICTIMS (PAGE 13, OCT 6, 2010)

THE Member of Parliament for Talensi in the Upper East Region, Mr John Tia Akologo, has presented a large quantity of relief items to the flood victims of Balungu, Pwalugu, Sheaga, Yinduri and Namoligo, all communities in his constituencies.
Mr Akologo who is also the Minister of Information presented a truck load of 15 bales of clothing for women, children and men; 40 bags of rice, 20 bags of beans, 10 bags of millet, 20 cartons of cooking oil, 30 packets of roofing sheets, 10 packets of roofing nails, 1,000 plastic buckets and basins, 100 pieces of kerosene lanterns and 100 pieces of poly mats to his constituents.
At Balungu, Mr Akologo interacted with the family of a first-year Junior High School student, Master Atampugre Atuuna, who got drowned in a river during the floods and donated relief items to them.
He made a similar presentation to a bereaved family at Namoligo who lost their relatives during the floods.
Accompanied by District Chief Executive for Talensi-Nabdam, Madam Viviane Anafo, the Regional Co-ordinator for NADMO, Mr Patrick Akake, district officers of NADMO as well as constituency executives of the NDC, the MP toured the various communities to commiserate with the victims and present the items to help ameliorate their suffering.
The MP appealed to the people to collaborate with the task force in charge of the distribution of the items and said he would do his best to get more items to assist the displaced people.
He also spoke of the government’s plans to put in place a mechanism to harvest the water that is accumulated annually as a result of heavy rains and the opening of the spillways of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso for both hydro generation and irrigated farming.
The DCE for the area, Madam Anafo, commended the MP for complementing the efforts of the government to support the people who have been hit by the floods.