Bawku: REGSEC calls for restraint

DOB: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2013, PAGE 17

The Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has called on the people of Bawku, especially the youth, to remain calm and not to resort to violence in seeking redress to violence. The Chairman of the REGSEC, who is also the Regional Minister, Alhaji Limuna Mohammed-Muniru, in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Bolgatanga, said the region, in general, and Bawku, in particular, needed peace and unity for speedy development. He said nothing would be spared in ensuring that permanent peace was restored in the region. After leading members of the REGSEC to visit Bawku, where two people were shot dead last weekend, Alhaji Mohammed-Muniru also met opinion leaders in the Bawku area — both Kussasis and Mamprusis — and encouraged the youth to cooperate with the security personnel in Bawku in their quest to bring peace to the region. “On our part, we will get the security agencies to intensify their patrols and make efforts at bringing the troublemakers to order,” he said. It will be recalled that two people were shot dead in separate incidents in the Bawku municipality in the Upper East Region last weekend. While one of them, identified as Hasmin Yakubu, 28, was shot at Sagabo last Friday, the other, whose name was given as Osman Inusah, died at the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital where he had been rushed to after he had been shot at Possum, near the Bawku Cattle Market on Saturday. Two others, whose names were given as Dambilla Issah, 68, and Tanko Haruna, 30, who sustained injuries were treated and discharged from the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital after they were attacked by unidentified gunmen last Friday. So far no arrest has been made in connection with the two incidents, but according to the Bawku Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Ebenezer Kawku Asare, police investigations are underway. By Benjamin Xornam Glover/Daily Graphic/Ghana http://graphic.com.gh/Politics/bawku-regsec-calls-for-restraint.html

Farmers introduced to new varieties of maize

DOP: 14 October 2013

Some farmers from the Kassena-Nankana East Municipality and the Bongo District in the Upper East Region have been introduced to new varieties of maize, sorghum and cowpea. At a farmers’ field day at Bonia in the Kassena-Nankana East Municipality and Samboligo in the Bongo District, the farmers, numbering about 40, were introduced to the hybrid maize variety, which has high protein content; high yielding sorghum varieties; and cowpeas. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), in collaboration with the Savanna Agriculture Research Institute (SARI), and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) organised the field day. ­­The IITA Representative, Mr Clement Achuliba, said the project was being sponsored by the IITA Africa Rising Programme based in Ibadan, Nigeria, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He said prior to the start of the project, a community analysis programme was carried out during which researchers interacted with the farmers and identified some of the challenges facing farming in the selected communities. The challenges, he said, ranged from pest, disease, erratic rainfall which all contributed to low yields, adding that lack of access to improved seeds was also identified as a disincentive to farming. Mr Achiliba was optimistic that over the four-year project span, the intervention to promote drought tolerant crops would be achieved and result in farmers benefiting from their toil. The Bongo District Director of MOFA, Alhaji Musbau Ahmed, who represented the Regional Director of Agriculture, noted that because the rain pattern had become unpredictable in the region, there was the need for fast maturing crops that could withstand drought. He said the hybrid maize seed, such as the one being introduced to the farmers, was well timed, since maize was fast catching up in the Upper East Region as a staple. He, however, bemoaned the high cost of the seeds and suggested that farmers could come together, pool resources and purchase the seeds, since they stood to benefit in the long run. The Deputy Co-ordinating Director for the Kassena-Nankana East Municipal Assembly, Mr Michael Awuni, said agriculture played a crucial role in the economy of the country in general, and that people of the area in particular should welcome the intervention which, he said, would help reduce poverty and hunger and ultimately improve the standards of living of farmers By Benjamin Xornam Glover/Daily Graphic/Ghana http://graphic.com.gh/General-News/farmers-introduced-to-new-varieties-of-maize.html

1, 134 pupils in Gowrie benefit from oral health education and screening

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Gowrie Eastwood Anaba Ministries, (EAM), a Christian worldwide revival ministry, under its social transformation programme, has carried out a dental exercise for pupils of the Gowrie and Tingre Primary and Junior High schools in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region. A team of oral health officers screened the over 1,134 pupils. The organizers also distributed toothbrushes and paste, literature on good oral practices as well as bibles to each of the pupils. The Vice President of EAM, Mrs. Mrs. Rosemond Anaba said the motive of the programme was to promote oral health and hygiene among the school children and encourage them to practice good dental care. She said the programme is a contribution to efforts the government and the various NGOs to improve the lifestyles of the people in the Gowrie community adding that the community was selected because of the peculiar challenges prevalent in the area. Explaining the four folds aim of the sensitization programme, Mrs Anaba said first of all, the organizers through the programme wishes to warm about the dangers of bad oral hygiene, since oral health is an aspect of health care many people take for granted. “Many people don’t know that bad oral hygiene is connected to heart diseases and other related diseases. It also has damaging effect on their personalities and also affect their social lives in many ways including marriage”, she said. Secondly, Mrs. Anaba said the programme is to impact knowledge about the causes of diseases of the decay of the teeth and the gum and also demonstrate some of the ways to prevent diseases and how to seek effective treatment. She said her organization also seeks to offer direction to people, especially children concerning the effective use of tooth brushes and tooth paste and caution them on the application of fluoride products on the market and other sustainable alternatives to prevent mouth odour. Mrs Anaba said EAM through this outreach missions seeks to establish the maintenance of good oral hygiene by encouraging communities to go for regular check up with the dentist. She urged parents, teachers and guidance to act as dentists by looking into the mouth of children to ensure that everything is alright. “Good teeth will always attract good people to you and improves a person confidence level,” she said She was optimistic that by targeting the young ones, the children will embrace the need to keep their teeth clean at all times and grow to practice good oral hygiene. A Senior Oral Health Officer at the Sandema District Hospital, Mr Jonas Panwum who led a team of oral health officers to examine and sensitize the pupils on oral health underscored the need for regular visit to the dentist. He said one of the many problems in the region is halitosis adding that having a smelly mouth or halitosis can be greatly embarrassing since one can lose a lot of friends and loose respect too. He said bad breath can largely be prevented and expressed appreciation to the organizers for offering them the platform to reach out to people and educates them on the need to seek early treatment. Mr Panwum appealed to the government and the chief dental officer to put in place incentive packages that will motivate a lot more dentists to come to the region and also provide logistics including means of transport to carry out similar outreach programmes for the benefit of the people. Madam Monica Nsoh, Headmistresses for the Gowrie Primary School expressed her appreciation to EAM and their partners for reaching out to the over 100 school children, and urged other corporate bodies in Ghana to emulate this shining and humanitarian exercise. -END- Writer’s email: Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh Quick read Ø 1,134 pupils in the Gowrie Community in the Bongo District have benefited from a free dental care. Ø The outreach was organized by the Eastwood Anaba Ministries, a Christian revival ministry with aim to promote good oral health and hygiene among the school children and encourage them to practice good dental care. Ø The beneficiaries apart from the screening and education where presented with tooth brushes and tooth paste and also educated the use of other sustainable alternatives to prevent mouth odour. Pix: The Vice President of EAM, Mrs. Mrs. Rosemond Anaba(right) handing out a package of tooth brushes and tooth paste to a pupil as part of the outreach programme.

Builsa North District Assembly hands over health and educational projects to four communities

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Sandema The Builsa North District Assembly in the Upper East Region has handed over two new Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds to the Ghana Health Service in the district to provide quality health care to the people in the Zundema-Siniensi and Yipaala-Chuchuliga communities. The GH 194, 444.24 CHPS compounds, built with resources from the District Development Fund (DDF), has facilities for a ward, theatre and offices and residential accommodation for the resident midwife and Community Health Officer. It would bring quality health care services closer to the people, who hitherto had to travel long distances to access health services. The assembly has also handed over a three-unit kindergarten block with ancillary facilities at Achog-Yeri to the District Education Directorate built at a cost of GH c 105,145.80 also funded by the DDF. The Builsa North District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Bonaventure Adangabey, who handed over the projects also cut the sod to mark the beginning of work on GH c 295, 532.83 Six -unit classroom block a for the Awusu-Yeri community. Funding for the project was provided by the Ghana Education Trust Fund, (GETFUND) as part of effort to eliminate the phenomenon of schools under trees. In his remarks, Mr Adangabey said the provision of the projects is part of the efforts aimed at improvement access to basic education in deprived communities as well as improving access quality health services in the district. He particularly bemoaned the congestion in the Awusu-Yeli Primary School where as many as 80 pupils struggle find space in a classroom and urged the contractor, Messrs Nabula Enterprise to stick to the 6 months duration and complete the work on time to facilitate decongestion of the classrooms. He said it is expected that the project when completed will go to ease the difficulty with congestion and led to an improvement in the teaching and learning in the community. In respect of the CHPS compounds, he said many people in the rural areas were suffering because of inaccessibility to a health facility, hence the need to provide the CHPS compound. He urged the District Health Directorate to as a matter of emergency post staff and logistics to the facility to for the effective running of the facilities. The District Director of Education, Mr Bernard Akara and his Counterpart from the Health Service, Madam Juliana Adiali expressed their appreciation to the district assembly for its unwavering commitment at helping accelerate access to basic education and health in the area by constructing the classroom and the CHPS facility. They both pledged to help make effective use of the facilities in order to create a conducive learning environment for children in the community as well as enhance the quality of health care services to the people in the beneficiary communities. Madam Adiali appealed the members of the Zundema-Siniensi and Yipala-Chuchuliga communities, especially the women and children to patronize CHPS compound and also urged the community members to ensure the new structures were adequately maintained. -End- Writer’s email: Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh Quick read:  The Builsa North District Assembly has handed over two new CHPS compound to provide quality health care to the people in the Zundema-Siniensi and Yipaala-Chuchuliga communities.  The assembly has also constructed a three-Unit classroom KG block with ancillary facilities as well as cut the sod for a six-unit primary school block to ease congestion in the Awusu-Yeri community.  It is expected that the four new projects will enhance access to health care and also improve teaching and learning in the district. UNPUBLISHED

Two die in Bawku shooting incidents

Two people were shot dead in two separate incidents in the Bawku municipality in the Upper East Region during the weekend. While one of them, identified as Hasmin Yakubu, 28, was shot at Sagabo last Friday, the other, whose name was given as Osman Inusah, died at the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital where he had been rushed to after he had been shot at Possum, near the Bawku Cattle Market on Saturday. Published on Monday October 21, 2013 Pg 16 Two others, whose names were given as Dambilla Issah, 68, and Tanko Haruna, 30, are receiving treatment at the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital after they were attacked by unidentified gunmen last Friday. Issah is said to have been shot in the abdomen, while Haruna is said to have sustained multiple wounds on both arms, the right thigh and chest. Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Bawku Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Ebenezer Kwaku Asare, said the incidents were not linked to the protracted ethnic clashes which had deprived the once popular economic hub of northern Ghana the necessary economic and social progress. According to the police, Yakubu was shot about 7:40 p.m. by unknown assailants when he was sitting with a lady, suspected to be his girlfriend, in front of a house. He was shot in the neck and the chest, killing him instantly. He said in Inusah’s case, two gunmen allegedly went to his house about 7:45 p.m. on Saturday, knocked on his door and after he had opened the door, his assailants opened fire on him. Inusah was rushed to the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital, where he died later. The suspected armed assailants also shot Issah and Haruna, who were rushed to the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital, where they are being treated. Chief Supt Asare said when the security team combed the scene; they found 24 empty shells and two live ones of AK 47 ammunition. So far, no arrest has been made in connection with the two incidents, but police investigations are underway. By Benjamin Xorman Glover/Daily Graphic/Ghana Writer's email: benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh http://graphic.com.gh/General-News/two-die-in-bawku-shooting-incidents.html

Builsa South DCE to bridge development gap

Published in the Daily Graphic on Tuesday 08 OCTOBER 2013. Elizabeth Jane Afuic, one of the two female District Chief Executives (DCEs) in the Upper East Region, has committed herself to collaborate with the technocrats and other assembly members to bridge the development gap between Builds South and the rest of the country. Madam Afuic who was recently endorsed by all the 27 members of the Builsa South District Assembly, in an interview with the Daily Graphic during the second ordinary meeting of the assembly at Fumbisi, said she saw her appointment and subsequent confirmation by the assembly members as a move to encourage more women in the district to enter local-level politics. She has, therefore, vowed to work hard to justify the confidence reposed in her. Out of the 13 districts in the Upper East Region, only two are headed by female chief executives. The other assembly headed by a woman is the Nabdam District Assembly, which has Madam Vivian Anafo as the DCE. “This singular act that saw my overwhelming endorsement is a clear demonstration of their preparedness to support me in our collective effort at delivering development to our people”, she said, adding that she would count on their support and unity to confront the numerous development challenges of the district. The DCE, who prior to her appointment, served as a government appointee in the assembly, said she intended to tap from the varied and diverse expertise of the assembly members as well as the technocrats in the district to accelerate development in the district, which was recently carved out of the Builsa District. Outlining her agenda for the district, Madam Afuic said her administration’s topmost priority would be to address issues related to illiteracy, poor healthcare delivery, low agricultural productivity, inadequate water and sanitation, poor road network and the creation of employment opportunities for the youth. Madam Afuic disclosed that the district had been selected as one of the first 50 districts to benefit from the construction of a senior high school (SHS) out of the 200 SHSs the government had decided to construct across the country. The DCE said the project site, between Kanjarga and Gbedema community, had already been selected and the site plan prepared for that purpose. In the area of health, the Builsa South DCE said, maternal mortality, malaria and teenage pregnancy were on the ascendency and to address that, she would work closely with the district directorate of health to sensitise the target population to take preventive measures to reduce such occurrences, if not to eliminate them. Madam Afuic said with agriculture being the mainstay of the people in the district and engaging about 70 per cent of the population, she would lead efforts to expand the sector, increase productivity and also make sure that farmers had value for money. She added that opportunities in the rice sector support programme and other government policy interventions such as the fertiliser subsidy programme, youth in agriculture and block farming programme would be embraced to address the food insecurity situation in the district. She lamented the poor road infrastructure in the area, especially the main trunk road spanning Sandema-Wiaga-Fumbisi, which is in a deplorable state and posing a great risk to commuters, and gave an assurance that she would coordinate with the Department of Feeder Roads and the sector ministry to have those roads tarred and to open up the areas, which incidentally are farming communities. By Benjamin Xornam Glover/Daily Graphic/Ghana http://graphic.com.gh/General-News/builsa-south-dce-to-bridge-development-gap.html

Kassena-Nankana West Assembly confirms DCE

Published on Daily Graphic, Saturday October 5, 2013 Page 17 Members of the Kassena-Nankana West District Assembly have confirmed Mr George Nonterah, a retired educationist, as the District Chief Executive for the area. Mr Nonterah polled 51 out of the total 64 assembly votes, representing 79.7 per cent, in the election supervised by the Electoral Commission. Twelve assembly members voted against the nominee while 1 vote was rejected. Though the nominee had an overwhelming endorsement, there was drama, as prior to the sitting of the house, all 20 government appointees, including the presiding member of the house, were presented with letters revoking their appointment. The terse letter, dated September 25, 2013, signed by the Upper East Regional Minister, Alhaji Limuna Mohammed-Muniru, read: “The Government has with effect from 16th August, 2013 revoked your appointment as government appointee for the Kassena-Nankana West District Assembly. Thank you for your service.” Subsequently, 10 out of the 20, whose appointment were revoked, were recalled while a new set of persons were appointed to the assembly as ‘government appointees’ for the confirmation process to proceed. Mr James K. Kupamwo, one of the dismissed appointees, who is also the Chiana-Paga Constituency Chairman of the NDC, described the revocation as a blot on the party in the constituency since, in his view, the interest of a greater number of people in the district had been sacrificed just for one single individual. He warned that the fortunes of the NDC in the constituency remained bleak by that singular action taken by the regional minister and regional executives of the party. He questioned the propriety of the letter revoking the appointment of members of the assembly, arguing that the same persons who were dismissed had participated in similar meetings days after August 16, 2013. Responding to the correctness or otherwise of the decision to dismiss the government appointees on the eve of the sitting of the house to consider the president’s nominee, Alhaji Limuna Mohammed-Muniru maintained that the participation of the dismissed assembly members in the previously failed attempts was not illegal. He maintained that even though the revocation took effect from August 16, 2013, the dismissed appointees were not served, hence it could be argued that they were not communicated to. The regional minister said the one who appointed them could revoke their appointment at anytime, hence government did not err by dismissing them from their assembly. He dared the peeved appointees to head to court if they felt their rights had been infringed upon. Alhaji Mohammed-Muniru had earlier advised the assembly members to have the development of the place at heart and rally behind the elected DCE to develop the district. He also advised the approved DCE to work with all assembly members and not be selective in their dealings. “In a democracy, minority views must be respected,” he stressed. The regional minister assured the people that with tier support, he would push hard for the carving out of a new district out of the existing one since that was the major desire of the people. “The paper work has been completed and if we should all work hard, eschew division, it should be possible to get a new district out of the existing one,” he said. He urged the approve DCE to promote peace and unity to propel development, and urged assembly members to abstain from acts of acrimony. Mr George Nonterah , the approved DCE, expressed gratitude to the President for nominating him for the position and thanked the assembly members for the confidence reposed in him. He gave the assurance that he would run an open door administration to ensure that the problems of the district are solved together. “The complexity of our district makes us very suspicious of one another. We need to have trust for one another. Let this be the beginning of mutual respect and trust so that together we will push for the development of the area,” said Mr Nonterah who also pledged to prioritised education in his development agenda for the area. By Benjamin Xornam Glover/Daily Graphic/Ghana Writer’s email: Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh http://graphic.com.gh/Politics/kassena-nankana-west-assembly-confirms-dce.html

Tackling Streetism in Bolgatanga -School of Night Rabbits to the rescue

Published in the Daily Graphic of Thursday October 3, 2013 Page 47

Streetism is a term used to describe children who are forced to spend most of their time outside their homes, engaging in menial income-generating activities in order to survive. Often, such children who seek refuge and survive outside the home come from rural or the poor areas of towns and cities. Bolgatanga, the regional capital of the Upper East Region, and a major transit point to some West African countries, has been grappling with streetism for some time now. The town’s strategic position avails it to the type of menial jobs that attract street children. They carry loads for lorry drivers and passengers, while others work in the ‘chop bars’ and eat whatever is available to them. School of Night Rabbits In 2003, a volunteer from the United Kingdom, Clare Armstrong, in collaboration with a manager of a foster home, Mama Laadi foster Home, started a programme initially known as “School of Hard Knocks,” which provided an avenue for street children to gather regularly to receive health support and basic tutoring from the two women. In 2005, Afrikids Ghana, an NGO, partnered ‘School of Hard Knocks’ and assumed responsibility for the project. Under the new name, School of Night Rabbits, Afrikids continued to take children off the streets and put them in the classroom where they were taught some basic numeracy and literacy skills. The NGO also took responsibility for the children’s upkeep. The syllabus run by the School of Night Rabbits is a mix of Ghana Education Service lessons and a wider set of social and health lessons and recreation. During classes, the children are given the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in some practical lessons such as drumming and dancing, storytelling, poetry recitals, doormat weaving etc. They are also taught basic health and hygiene and how to stay safe even on the streets. Teachers Teachers of the “School of Night Rabbits” spend a lot of time on the streets where they monitor the situation of the children and find out their backgrounds. The project, thus, helps to guard even children on the streets from getting into worse situations. When possible, the children are mainstreamed into the Afrikids Ghana main sponsored projects for them to receive more comprehensive support or unit them with their families. The teachers are volunteers who receive monthly allowances from Afrikids Ghana. The leader of the volunteers is Ms Saratu Abubakari. Giving an overview of the programme at a ceremony in Bolgatanga, where free school uniforms and learning materials were presented to beneficiaries, Ms Abubakari said for the three years that she had been engaged on the project, a number of children had been withdrawn from the streets and encouraged to either go back home or to school. She said from October 2012 to date, the “School of Night Rabbits” had registered about 70 children, though 43 of them were regular at evening tutorials, and added that of the 43 street children rescued, 24 had been placed in schools. Ms Abubakari was not happy about the irregular manner in which the 24 pupils attended classes because they had to hustle on the streets after school each day in order to survive. She said the remaining 19 children had all expressed interest in going to school and indicated that a search was being made for schools to absorb them. Support Package The head of the Bolgatanga Area Programme of Afrikids Ghana, Mr Cletus Anaaya, said support provided the children under the project included monthly stipend, health insurance, provision of female goats for families of the children to rear, soap and other toiletries, educational talks to motivate them to want to go back to school, as well as counselling services. He said after a period of nine months, during which time the children attended night classes, some of them agreed to go back to school, while others went back to their families. Mr Anaaya said a few neither went back to school nor home because they had nobody to take care of them. “The organisation unfortunately is also unable to mainstream them into any of its existing projects for direct support. Intervention The Director of Programmes at Afrikids Ghana, Mr David Pwalua, said the intervention had given them the opportunity to reach out to children who, through no fault of theirs, were not regular in school or had not been to school at all. He called on all stakeholders, including lorry park overseers, parents and civil society organisations, as well as the government to support Afrikids Ghana to give education to children who are not in the formal school system. A beneficiary, Ms Ibrahim Fidaus, who is now in junior high school, thanked Afrikids for picking her from the streets and enrolling her in school. Ms Ibrahim revealed that she would remain in school and continue till she reached the highest level. By Benjamin Xornam Glover/Daily Graphic/Ghana http://graphic.com.gh/General-News/tackling-streetism-in-bolgatanga-school-of-night-rabbits-to-the-rescue.html