NEW DIRECTION FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION (PAGE 11)

THE Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Professor Dominic Fobih, has said that Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is to be repositioned to enable it to play its proper role in national development.
He said the repositioning of TVET would assist polytechnics to blaze a new trail in tertiary education where there would be a healthy blend of practical competency acquisition and theory.
Professor Fobih said this in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Paul Effah, Executive Secretary of the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), at the maiden congregation of the Bolgatanga Polytechnic.
A total of 199 graduates made up of 136 males and 63 females who completed their academic programmes of study during the 2005/2006 and 2006/2007 academic years were given Higher National Diploma certificates.
Prof. Fobih said the government would continue to improve physical and academic infrastructure and develop the human capital through the many interventions instituted.
He also said the government through the NCTE had started a research in order to harmonise the needs of the world of work and the polytechnic curriculum.
“The results of this research together with a tracer study being carried out by the National Board for Professional and Technicians Examination (NABPTEX) and NCTE would help polytechnics to design their training to suit the needs of industry,” he said.
Prof. Fobih emphasised that the perception that polytechnics were not receiving the necessary attention from the government was false.
He stressed that the government’s budget for polytechnics had risen from approximately GH¢ 3,100,000 in 2001 to GH¢ 54,096, 618.
The minister advised the graduands to be focused as they entered the job market, since they were likely to face a lot of challenges.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, urged the polytechnic authorities to restructure their curriculum to address the current and future needs of the country, stressing that with the recent oil find in Ghana, there was going to be a demand for a new crop of skilled personnel which the nation currently lacked.
The Rector of the Bolgatanga Polytechnic, Professor Paul B. Tanzubil, said academic life had seen tremendous improvement over the years, adding that the polytechnic now ran five programmes instead of two.
He announced that four new programmes, namely Ecological Agriculture, Industrial Art, Civil Engineering, and Hotel Catering and Institutional Management would soon be rolled out.
The Chairman of the Polytechnic Interim Governing Council, Professor A. A. Alemna, observed that despite the laudable roles envisaged by Polytechnics they were yet to assume their role in national development.

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS OF UNPF ATTEND MEETING (D/G Wednesday July 23, 2008 PAGE 20)

THE Upper East Regional Secretariat of the National Population Council has organised a day's co-ordination meeting for implementing partners of United Nations Population Fund-sponsored programmes in the region. The objectives of the meeting were to facilitate the co-ordination of activities of the implementing partners and receive reports from them on the status of their programmes. The participants at the meeting included representatives from the Ghana Statistical Service, National Youth Council, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), the Ghana Health Service and the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service. In an address, the Upper East Regional Population Officer, Mr Alosiba Azam, said the National Population Council (NPC) was established by Act 485, 1994 to advise the government on all population matters. According to him, the NPC therefore had the responsibility for co-ordinating all population programmes to ensure synergy. In his report, the Upper East Regional Officer of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DVVSU), Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Jerome Kanyog, said the regional offices of the unit were in distress, stressing that anytime it rained personnel of the unit were forced to suspend work. According to him, the concrete roofs of the unit's office located within the premises of the Regional Police Command leaked anytime it rained and that demanded major renovation. He added that the situation had been brought to the attention of the Regional Police Command for redress. DSP Kanyog said the DVVSU had investigated several cases, prosecuted offenders and also collaborated with other public institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to conduct outreach programmes. For his part, Mr Thomas Azure of the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) said even though the UNFPA did not deal directly with the regional offices in the region, it worked closely with the GSS at the head office level in the implementation of some of its activities. Mr Azure cited, for instance, technical assistance the UNFPA had provided the GSS in the preparation of the 2010 population and housing census project document and pilot census mapping undertaken in 2007. Mr G. Bozia of the Ghana Health Service said with support from UNFPA there had been a series of training programmes for midwifes on safe motherhood skills while the same organisation had assisted in health education across the region. Mr David Atinga of FIDA stated that in collaboration with the UNFPA, his organisation had trained a number of para-legals who had been equipped with the understanding of basic laws on the rights of citizens. Mr Duad Abang-Gos of the National Youth Council (NYC) said the NYC, with support from the UNFPA, was co-ordinating to implement an adolescent reproductive health programme for young persons, especially those out of school. At the end of the interactions, the stakeholders pledged to work together to achieve the set targets

RED CROSS TO THE AID OF VICTIMS (D/G Tuesday July 22, 2008 PAGE 20)

"NEVER in my wildest imagination did I think that I will ever get a new abode to lay my head. After such an extensive damage to my structures during last year's floods, little did I know that someone will come to my aid. I am most grateful to the Ghana Red Cross Society and the International Organisation for Migration for this wonderful gesture." With these words, Madam Aweriga Akisiya, a woman aged over 80 thanked her benefactors for providing her with shelter. Madam Akisiya, a mother of six and 10 grandchildren, like many others in the Builsa District in particular and the Upper East Region in general, experienced the twinge of last years floods, which led to the collapse of many houses and loss of several lives. She is now a proud owner of a two-unit house constructed by the Ghana Red Cross Society (GRCS) with support from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Towards the end of 2007, the three northern regions suffered from serious floods never experienced in the history of the country in recent times. Many people died and property worth several thousands of cedis, including houses and foodstuffs, were lost. As expected, the floods brought serious humanitarian concerns to the population. Large tracts of farmlands were destroyed while many people were displaced. The GRCS, in line with its mandate of assisting disaster victims, moved into the affected regions to collect data on the affected people. The aim of the data collection was to map out danger zones for proper assessment of the number of victims. In addition to the provision of initial support in terms of food items to the displaced persons, the GRCS held discussions with some of its partners out of which IOM, a UN agency that has specialised in managing migration,decided to assist in the rehabilitation of displaced persons. Out of that friendship resulted the construction of 55 two-unit houses at Chuchuliga in the Upper East Region and Sugutampia in the Northern Region. The buildings, estimated at about $75,000 have now been completed and given out to the beneficiaries. Speaking to the Daily Graphic at Chuchuliga after inspecting the project, the Secretary-General of the GRCS, Mr Andrews Frimpong, said after a series of discussions with IOM, it was agreed that a number of houses should be built to replace the collapsed ones. He said at Chuchuliga, where more than 300 houses were destroyed, the two organisations provided 30 housing units while Sugutampia in the Northern Region had 25. Mr Frimpong pointed out that the aid was earmarked for the aged and vulnerable,widows, the blind and other physically challenged persons as well as women and children. He said the gesture was a demonstration of the organisation's commitment to alleviating the plight of persons affected by natural disasters. Explaining why Chuchuliga was selected over other communities, Mr Frimpong attributed the gesture to the commitment and leadership qualities exhibited by its chief, Naba Francis A. Asangalisa. "At the initial stages of the floods when we were distributing food and other items to the victims, the chief played a key role that was why Red Cross decided that if there was going to be additional support, then it should go to Chuchuliga," Mr Frimpong said. He expressed his appreciation to the Chief of Chuchuliga and his elders as well as members of the community for their support, co-operation and understanding, adding that without that assistance, the successes chalked up could not have been possible. For his part, the National Programme Officer of IOM, Mr David Ekow Appiah, said his organisation had taken it upon itself to support the vulnerable in times of need, stressing “I am prepared to work with the Red Cross in the future to bring relief to the people. He also expressed the hope that the assistance provided would go a long way to ameliorate the suffering of the people, especially with the onset of the rains this year. The Chief of Chuchuliga , Naba Francis Asangalisa, was grateful to the two organisations for the gesture. With the success story of Chuchuliga and Sugutampia, the Red Cross and IOM have made progress in their efforts to heal the wounds of the two regions. It is hoped that other humanitarian organisations would emulate their example to bring relief to the people who suffered serious damage as a result of the disaster.

CONTINUE TO ASSIST IN NATIONAL DEVT ...Samari urges senior citizens (D/G Tuesday July 22, 2008 PAGE 20)

THE Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, has appealed to senior citizens in the region to reflect on how best they can still be of use to the national development effort. "The development of Ghana and the Upper East Region can only move forward through the collective efforts of all of us in addressing poverty and the diseases that have afflicted our people," he said. Mr Samari said this in Bolgatanga at a reception organised by the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) for senior citizens in the region to commemorate Ghana's Republic Day. He noted that the region was endowed with natural resources such as irrigable land, minerals and tourist sites that could be exploited by potential investors. "There is the need for us to work concertedly towards creating a congenial atmosphere for both private and government businesses to go on uninterrupted," the regional minister emphasised. He stressed the need for the senior citizens to ensure that incidents such as communal conflicts in Bawku, as well as land and chieftaincy disputes and highway robberies, were done away with to promote the accelerated development of the region. Mr Samari enumerated some of the achievements of the NPP government since 2000, adding that the improvement in the economy could not have been possible without the wise counsel and efforts of some of the senior citizens. Each of the over 100 senior citizens from all the municipalities and districts in the region, with the exception of those from the Bawku municipality, was presented with a full piece of Ghana@50 cloth and cash of GH¢40. Present at the ceremony were the Deputy Regional Minister, Mrs Agnes Chigabatia, as well as municipal and district chief executives for Garu Tempane, Talensi-Nabdam, Bongo, Kassena-Nankana West and Kassena-Nankana Central.

CHILDREN IN BAWKU FACE HEALTH RISK (D/G Tuesday July 22,2008 PAGE 20)

MOST children in the Bawku Municipality, especially those under five years of age, stand the risk of contracting infectious diseases because about 78 per cent of them who were expected to be immunised could not do so due to the conflict.
The Bawku Municipal Director of Health Services, Dr Mensah Afful, painted the gloomy picture at Bawku when he addressed the youth of all the tribes in the municipality at a meeting organised by the Bawku Literary Society (BLS).
IBIS Ghana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), sponsored the event.
Dr Mensah Afful said as a health policy, his outfit was expected to immunise 90 per cent of children below the age of five against polio and measles, but as of March, this year, between 20.4 per cent and 22.3 per cent of the children in the area had been immunised against polio and measles.
The figures, he said, were low compared to 26.9 per cent and 28.2 per cent coverage for polio and measles during the same period last year.
Dr Mensah noted that the situation had resulted in a pool of infections leading to rising number of deaths among children because most of the nurses could not move freely to some parts of the municipality for the immunisation while parents equally could not go to the health centres to have their children immunised.
"Even now that the area is experiencing relative calm, hospital attendance is very low and one may wonder where they take the sick to and this is becoming a great worry to the health directorate," he lamented.
Dr Mensah said performance indicators on immunisation, deliveries and out-patients department (OPD) were all going down as a result of the restriction on the movement of people.
He said only six doctors made up of two Cubans and two Ghanaians as general doctors and two ophthalmologists, were currently at post and they were working under serious stress.
Dr Mensah Afful described the conflict as unproductive considering the numerous negative effects it had had on the socio-economic life of the people, especially the health implications the people were grappling with.
For her part, the Human Resource Officer of the Ghana Education Service (GES) in Bawku, Madam Fatima Seidu, said teaching and learning came to a standstill any time the conflict intensified.
She added that as a result of the conflict, a lot of teachers, especially the non-natives, had been thronging the Municipal Directorate of the GES to seek transfers and releases, to the detriment of the pupils.
According to Madam Seidu, her recent visit to some of the basic schools in the area revealed that only two out of the 10 teachers were in some of the schools, adding that in some cases only 50 out of 150 pupils population were present.
She explained that education was the bedrock of development for every society, and therefore, appealed to the youth to influence their neighbours positively when they returned to the various communities so that there would be effective teaching and learning.
Speaking on the theme: "Tolerance Amongst the Youth — A Prerequisite for sustainable peace in Bawku", the President of BLS, Miss Florence Bombande, said there could never be any meaningful development in Bawku if there was no peace.
She, therefore, admonished the youth not to allow themselves to be used as a tool in the conflict because it was their future that was at stake and any lapses on their part could jeopardise them greatly.
Miss Bombande urged the youth in Bawku to see themselves as brothers and sisters and strive to live peacefully.
At the end of the meeting, the youth saw the need for peace to prevail in Bawku and its environs, and therefore, came out with some resolution messages for peace, some of which read “Respect for individual opinions”, “Let's live in peace in Bawku”, “Political campaigns should be peaceful” and “Discipline during the elections”..

CHANGE VOTING PATTERN, URGES AKUO-ADDO (D/G Thursday July 17,2008 PAGE 17)

THE flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has reiterated his appeal to voters in the Upper East Region to change their voting pattern and vote massively for the NPP.
That, he said, would ensure that the good works already started by the NPP administration would be sustained.
He explained that since 1992 the people of the region had never given their mandate to the NPP and stressed that the time had come for them to change their voting pattern.
Nana Akufo-Addo arrived in Bolgatanga on Tuesday to a tumultuous welcome by party faithful at the start of a four-day campaign tour of the region.
He told the party faithful to dismiss the notion that the NPP was an Akan party, stressing that the roots of the party cut across the entire country.
"Majority of Ghanaians have made up their minds that they are returning the NPP to power for the third time and I think it is important that this time round the people of this region do all within their power to share in the victory of the NPP by increasing the current two parliamentary seats it occupies," the NPP flag bearer told a crowd at a rally at the Bolgatanga Jubilee Park.
The tour will take him to eight out of the 13 constituencies in the region where he is expected to interact with party faithful, chiefs and other opinion leaders.
Constituencies excluded from his tour are Garu-Tempane, Bawku Central, Zebilla, Pusiga and Binduri.
Hundreds of party faithful defied an early afternoon downpour to welcome Nana Akufo-Addo to the region at the outskirts of Bolgatanga. Both lanes on the highway from Winkongo Junction to Bolgatanga were jammed with vehicles, while several motorcyclists, some without safety helmets, threw caution to the wind by riding dangerously.
Little wonder, two motorcyclists were rushed to the Bolgatanga Central Hospital at the back of a party van after their motorbikes had collided and they had sustained severe injuries at the ADB Junction in the heart of Bolgatanga.
Dwelling on some of the development projects embarked on by the Kufuor Administration, Nana Akufo-Addo urged Ghanaians to return the party to power to continue with its good development works.
He said his major vision for the three northern regions would be to close the development gap between the north and the south, stressing that he wanted to be the one to lead the process of bridging the gap through the establishment of the Northern Development Fund.
The NPP flag bearer also said his government would inject modernity into agriculture, especially in the northern part of the country to transform the area into the bread basket of the country.
He said his administration would embark on an extensive irrigation programme, while more dams, boreholes, as well as rain harvesting techniques, would be introduced to turn the area around.


Nana Akufo-Addo also mentioned that his government intended to establish more vocational and technical schools, as well as agricultural colleges, for the training of the youth "so that we can get the skills needed to drive the transformation of the north".
The NPP flag bearer and his entourage had earlier called on the Paramount Chief of the Bolgatanga Traditional Area, Naba Martin Abilba, and the Tindana (traditional landowner) of Soe, Nyaba Ayelgeya, to introduce himself to them.
The entourage later called on the Regional Chief Imam, Yussif Adam, at his mosque to seek his spiritual blessing.
Nana Akufo-Addo was accompanied by Messrs Yaw Osafo-Maafo; Alan Kyerematen and Dan Botwe, all former flag bearer aspirants, Hajia Alima Mahama, who is eyeing the vice-presidential slot, Madam Rita Asobayire, the NPP National Women's Organiser, the Upper East Regional Minister, as well as regional party executives.
Mr Kyerematen, overwhelmed by the large crowd that came to welcome Nana Akufo-Addo, called on the Electoral Commission to organise the elections immediately to see if the NPP would not win, while Mr Botwe urged all who had turned 18 to have their names registered when the EC opened the voters register later in the year.
The Upper East Regional Minister called for a united front if the NPP was to make inroads in the region.
Nana Akufo-Addo later met with regional, constituency and polling station chairmen to discuss the way forward for the party.

MORE YOUTH ATTEMPT SUICIDE (The Mirror, Saturday July 12, 2008 PAGE 15)

From Benjamin Xornam Glover, Navrongo

The number of cases of attempted suicide recorded in the Kassena-Nankana District of the Upper East Region is becoming alarming, especially the large number of youth involvement.
Statistics available at the Navrongo Police Station have revealed that four incidents of attempted suicide were reported between January and June this year.
Additionally, The Mirror investigations at the Navrongo War Memorial Hospital also revealed that 15 suicide cases were reported at the facility between September 2007 and May this year.
A half-year report made available to The Mirror by the district police showed that three of the cases involving the youth were reported in January this year, while the other one occurred in March 2008.
According to the Upper East Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Inspector Ebenezer Tetteh, in all the cases recorded, the mode adopted by the culprits was drinking DDT, a poisonous substance.
He said the first incident, involving one Kanpawin Adia, occurred in January 10, 2008. Adia was later arrested and charged for attempted suicide.
The second incident occurred on January 12, 2008. However, no arrest was made.
The third case was recorded at 2:15 p.m. on January 31, 2008 and it involved one Mathew Amediko, while the fourth one took place on March 3 and the victim was one Alexander Akwopore.
Inspector Tetteh was, however, unable to assign any reasons for that disturbing trend.
The Senior Health Services Administrator of the Navrongo War Memorial Hospital, Mr Kofi Konlan, also told The Mirror that all the 15 people who attempted to take their lives and were rushed to the hospital were treated and discharged, stressing that no deaths were recorded at the facility. He confirmed that the mode of suicide was through the consumption of poisonous substances.
Some residents of Navrongo attributed the incidence of suicide to hopelessness and frustration, though they could not offer further explanation.

9 MORE BAWKU SUSPECTS TRANSFERRED TO ACCRA (D/G Friday July 11, 2008, PAGE 39)

THE police administration in the Upper East Region has dispatched nine more persons arrested in connection with the conflict in Bawku to Accra to facilitate speedy investigation and trial.The suspects, who were arrested nearly two weeks ago, were transported by road to Tamale last Thursday from where they will be airlifted to Accra to join 17 others, who are on various charges.Briefing the press at Bolgatanga, the Upper East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, (DCOP), Ofosu Mensah Gyeabour, said the suspects, who have already appeared before a Bolgatanga Magistrate Court on charges of murder, conspiracy to murder and rioting with weapons, were being transferred to Accra for security reasons.He gave the assurance that the police would work to ensure that peace returned to the Bawku municipality to ensure that the people went about their normal activities without fear.Meanwhile the Police Command has taken delivery of 17 vehicles to facilitate the work of the police in the region.At the presentation ceremony at Bolgatanga, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Alhassan Samari, said the presentation showed the government’s commitment to equipping the police to enable them to deliver effectively and efficiently.He said most of the vehicles would be dispatched to Bawku to help the police in the fight to halt the conflict there."The inability of the police to move around in Bawku is due to the lack of vehicles. With these new vehicles, I am hopeful that you will put up your optimum best in order to maintain the peace of the area," he said, adding that "peace in Bawku is something that must be maintained".Mr Samari urged the drivers of the new vehicles to ensure their judicious use and conduct regular maintenance to enhance their lifespan.DCOP Ofosu Mensah Gyeabour expressed appreciation to the Government of Ghana and the Police Administration for allocating the vehicles to the region, which, will go a long way to help in the fight against crime in the region.He said in order to ensure the effective use of the vehicles, an orientation course is being organised for the drivers, with resource persons selected from Accra and the region to train the drivers on the effective management of the vehicles.

RED CROSS STEPS UP RELIEF IN BAWKU (D/G Friday July 11 2008 PAGE 45)

THE Ghana Red Cross Society will from today begin distributing food items worth GH¢140,000 to 1,000 vulnerable families in the Bawku Municipality in the Upper East Region.The beneficiaries include persons who have been displaced by the recent conflict in Bawku and its surrounding communities.Truckloads of relief items, made up of mostly food items, which arrived in the Upper East Region yesterday, are expected to be distributed over a five-day period.The items include a total of 60 tonnes of maize, 20 tonnes of beans, one tonne of iodised salt and 20,000 litres of palm oil.At a brief ceremony at Bolgatanga, the Secretary General of the Ghana Red Cross Society, Mr Andrews Frimpong, said the society was supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross, and expressed the hope that distribution of the items would be smooth for the benefit of all.Mr Frimpong expressed the society’s appreciation to the International Committee of the Red Cross for reaching out to the vulnerable.He recalled a similar intervention after last year’s floods, and said the latest donation would go a long way to ameliorate the suffering of the people.The Bawku Municipality has since January this year experienced ethnic conflict, which had led to the loss of lives and property, as well as many people being displaced.Most people who could not bear the twinge of the conflict have fled the area to other parts of the country as well as neighbouring Togo and Burkina Faso.Present at the function was the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Burkina Faso, Mr Moussa Ouattara, as well as officials of the Red Cross in the Upper East Region

TRANSFER OF 17 TO ACCRA WRONG — AVOKA (PAGE 47)

A legal practitioner, has faulted the procedure under which 17 people suspected to be involved in the Bawku conflict were airlifted from Tamale to Accra to ensure what the police called speedy investigations and trials.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic at Bolgatanga, Mr Cletus Avoka, a lawyer and a former Member of Parliament for the Bawku West Constituency, said “the procedure adopted by the police was arbitrary and wrong.”
Last Tuesday 17 persons arrested in connection with the conflict in Bawku were transported by road from Bolgatanga to Tamale to be airlifted to Accra.
The Upper East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police Ofosu Mensah-Gyeabour, told the court that the cases were being sent to Accra to ensure speedy investigations and trial of those cases.
He said that decision would also prevent relatives and friends of the suspects in the region from interfering with police investigation into the cases.
Mr Avoka explained that the manner in which the accused persons were transferred was inconsistent with the legal procedure of transferring cases from one court to the other.
According to Mr Avoka, it was evident that some of those airlifted to Accra had earlier been arraigned before the Bolgatanga District Court and remanded in custody and pointed out that the only way one could carry out such an act was for the Chief Justice to direct the judge(s) sitting on the case to transfer them.
He said the other option was for the prosecution to apply to the court to have the cases withdrawn, re-arrest the suspects then process them before another court.
“But for a case before a court of competent jurisdiction and without appropriate instructions have the case transferred is inconsistent with the known principles of criminal procedure in our jurisprudence”, he said.
In the view of Mr Avoka, the action embarked on by the police constituted contempt of court since “they have disabled the judge from carrying out his function and brought the administration of justice into disrepute.”
Meanwhile 18 persons who have been granted bail by the Bolgatanga District Magistrate’s Court in connection with the conflict in Bawku, who were due to appear before it on Thursday failed to turn up in court.
When the case was called, counsel for 11 of the suspects, Mr Cletus Avoka, said the suspects failed to turn up in court probably out of fear because unconfirmed information going round indicated that those on bail should also be arrested and sent to Accra.
That, he said, might have led to their absence from court.
He therefore prayed the court to adjourn the case in order to allay the fears of his clients. The judge concurred and adjourned the case to July 17, 2008.

REMOVAL OF BARRIERS MUST BENEFIT ECOWAS CITIZENS (PAGE 14)

THE National Co-ordinator of the Ghana Trade and Livelihood Coalition (GTLC), Mr Ibrahim Akalibilla, has asked ECOWAS governments to ensure that the removal of barriers on the trans-ECOWAS highway benefits the citizens of the sub-region through increased trade and not just serve as a means to get goods from other parts of the globe efficiently distributed within the sub-region.
He also called on the governments of Ghana and Burkina Faso, in particular, to harness the strengths of the private sector, as well as farmers, to develop a joint enterprise on tomato production and processing within the shortest possible time.
"We see the opportunity in the tomato trade that goes on between Ghana and Burkina Faso as expanding that space for people to transact business, a space that will provide a platform to open up other opportunities for engagement," he said.
Mr Akalibilla said this at a durbar at Po, organised by the GTLC and its counterpart in Burkina Faso, Organisation pour le Reinforcement des Capacite de Development (ORCADE), as part of this year's Regional Integration Week celebration.
The durbar was aimed at providing the platform for a purposeful discussion which would contribute to accelerate the processes of regional integration in the ECOWAS community, using Ghana and Burkina Faso as case studies.
Mr Akalibilla said that livestock development and processing, shea nut development and processing cultivation and processing of tomato, among others, presented many opportunities which could help transform the livelihoods of many, especially women.
Ghana's Ambassador to Burkina Faso, Mr Sahanun Mogtari, who represented the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD, said that although ECOWAS had made giant strides towards integration in the past decade, a lot still remained to be done to avoid the marginalisation of the sub-region in today's competitive global economy.
He said it was imperative that countries in West Africa re-positioned themselves along the line of economic blocs, such as the European Union and the North Atlantic Free Trade Association, to deal with present global and economic problems which were further compounded by the rising fuel and food prices, leading to unrest
in some countries.
The Permanent Secretary of the National Commission for Integration of Burkina Faso, Mr P. Lonpo Jamario, called for more action to concretise, strengthen and consolidate the integration process in West Africa.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, said Ghana and Burkina Faso had a lot in common, so fostering good neighbourliness would be of mutual interest to the people of the two countries.
Mr Samari called on citizens of ECOWAS countries to do away with mistrust and suspicion if the cardinal objective of economic integration was to be achieved.
Mr John Akparibo, on behalf of Ghanaian farmers, said the absence of ready and secure markets, as well as of storage facilities, discouraged farmers from producing at full capacity. He also bemoaned the security interruption of the movement of persons and goods between Ghana and Burkina Faso which he described as a threat to regional integration.

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Navrongo Research Centre to get modern laboratory(D/G Thursday July 3, 2008 page 40)

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Navrongo
The Navrongo Health Research Centre, (NHRC), in the Kassena-NankanaDistrict of the Upper East Region to get a $ 139,000 modern clinicallaboratory.The project which is being funded by the United States Embassy whencompleted will serve to enhance research activities at the centre andenable it conduct more sophisticated research. It will also provide anopportunity for the centre to provide laboratory services to people inthe Navrongo community.Speaking at a sod-cutting ceremony at Navrongo, Major Vang Tong onbehalf of the US Ambassador to Ghana said the construction of theclinical trial centre would help the people in terms of healthservices delivery in the district.Major Vang, who is also the Chief at the Office of SecurityCooperation, praised the management of the centre on its achievementsover the years and express the hope the early completion of theproject would go a long way to further enhance their researchactivities.The District Chief Executive for Kassena-Nankana, Mr. EmmanuelChegeweh, commended the US government for its support to the centrewhich he said, would go along way to enhance its work and enable itachieve the mandate for which it was established.Mr. Chegeweh said the centre since its creation, has made inroads intoseveral research interventions that have gone a long way to improvethe health status of the people, adding that NHRC's intervention intoAdolescent Sexual Reproductive Health, especially among young peoplehas improved the knowledge and attitudes on sex and has ultimatelyreduced HIV/AIDS and STI's infection among the youth.The Director of NHRC, Dr. Abraham Hodgson said the construction of amodern laboratory will further enhance "our research activities,enabling us answer scientific question that will help inform policyand ultimately improve health".He said since its creation in 1992, research activities have focusedon infectious diseases like malaria, cerebro-spinal meningitis,respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases and schistosomiasis.It has also researched into community based health service delivery,reproductive and adolescent health, Female Genital Mutilation, andageing.He disclosed that currently the centre was following up on over 2000newborns under its Birth cohorts study emphasizing that these childrenwill be followed up till they are five years of age to study theeffects of malaria on them.Dr. Abdul-Razak Dokurugu on behalf of the regional director of healthservices stressed the importance of research in health servicedelivery and commended the US embassy for supporting the centre.Dr. William Gudu, in charge of the Navrongo War memorial Hospital whobemoaned the absence of an efficient medical laboratory services inthe district said the completion of the project will boost diagnosticservices in the district and result in better treatment of ailments.

TWO SIGN PACT ON WHITE VOLTA BASIN (D/G Thursday July 3, 2008 PAGE 38)

Ghana and Burkina Faso have signed a joint agreement on the creation, responsibilities, composition and operation of the Transboundary Committee for the effective management of the resources of the White Volta Basin.The signing ceremony of the Statutes and Statutory Regulations for the management of water resources of the White Volta sub-basin by the Governor of the Central East Region of Burkina Faso and the Upper East Regional Minister of Ghana marks the establishment of consultative forums at the national and transboundary levels.This endeavour is aimed at strengthening stakeholder participation at the local level in the development of integrated water resources management interventions to implement in the Volta basin towards sustainable ecosystem functions and services.The transboundary forum further acknowledges the interactions of primary stakeholders straddling the frontiers of the two countries at the grass roots and the possibility of tensions and even conflicts, thus promoting common activities among cross-border communities and a sense of shared responsibility towards regional integration and co-operation.The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, signed for Ghana, while his counterpart from the Central East Region of Burkina Faso, Mr Simeon Sawadogo, initialled for his country.The ceremony was witnessed by Ghana's Ambassador to Burkina Faso, His Excellency Sahanun Mogtari. Also present were the District Chief Executives for Garu-Tempane and Bawku West, Messrs Emmanuel Asigri and Desmond Bugbilla; the Regional Co-ordinating Director, Mr Samuel N'lary, as well as the Basin Officer of the Water Resources Commission, Mr Aaron Aduna.Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Samari observed that it was common knowledge that a significant number of people in northern Ghana depended on the Volta River for their livelihood by way of domestic water supply, agriculture, fishing or transportation.He added that "for us in the northern part of Ghana, the water and other natural resources of the Volta Basin will, therefore, make an immense difference in our quest for development if they are efficiently managed".Mr Samari stressed that the Government of Ghana placed high premium on sub-regional and regional co-operation and economic integration as an effective mechanism for improving trade, as well as the well-being of the citizenry, as the Volta was recognised as a vital instrument for regional co-operation, integration and development.He appealed to his partner in the agreement to be ready to share information, particularly during this coming rainy season, to prevent any eventualities on people living downstream.Mr Samari, who hinted at the information on meteorological forecasts on the expected rainfall and possible rising levels of the Bagre and Kompienga dams, said such information would greatly help Ghana to adequately prepare for flood management.The regional minister pledged his commitment to facilitate the efficient and integrated management of the shared resources of the Volta.The Governor of the Central East Region of Burkina Faso, Mr Simeon Sawadogo, for his part, said both Ghana and Burkina Faso relied on the water resources in the Volta Basin and so there was the need for the authorities on both sides to work hard to ensure their sustenance for the present and future generations.Ghana's Ambassador to Burkina Faso, Mr Mogtari, who stressed the importance of water, said the effective implementation of the agreement would help reduce poverty among the people.Mr Kwame Odame-Ababio, the Co-ordinator of the Project for Improving Water Governance in the Volta Basin (PAGEV), said PAGEV was a unique initiative on shared water resources management approach, adding that during the three years of implementation, the project, which was funded by the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency, had facilitated community participation in transboundary water management, in partnership with stakeholders from Ghana and Burkina Faso.In addition, it had also supported the two countries to improve policy and institutional environment that enhanced a better governance of the shared basin.

Toende Rural Bank makes gain(D/G Wednesday, July 2, 2008 page 33)

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Zebilla
The Toende Rural Bank in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region recorded a net profit of GH¢ 12, 800 in 2007 representing an increase of 341.8 per cent over the GH¢ 2,897 recorded for 2006.
The banks total asserts for 2007 also amounted to GH ¢ 943.506 as against GH ¢ 613,669 record in 2006 an increase of 53.7 per cent.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the bank, Rev. Dr. Jacob Ayeebo who announced this during its Annual General Meeting,(AGM), held at Zebilla.
He said total investment rose from GH ¢ 436,780 in 2006 to GH ¢ 728,276 for the year under review while loans advanced to small scale businesses and others persons who salaries passes through the bank increased from GH ¢ 71,208 in 2006 to GH ¢ 107,186 in 2007.
According to him, total deposits amounted to GH ¢ 684,501 in 2007 as against GH ¢ 439,715 in 2006 representing and increase of 55.6 per cent.
Commenting on the banks achievements over the period, Rev Ayebo said during the period under review the bank was rated the 19th performing bank out of 120 rural banks throughout the country for the fourth quarter of 2007 by the Efficiency Monitoring Unit of APEX Bank.
According to him, in addition, the bank was ranked 49 out of the 125 rural bank assessed on performance for the whole year.
Rev. Ayeebo disclosed that the bank succeeded in paying off its preliminary expenses in 2007 and also bought a double cabin pick up vehicle to facilitate its operations.

WORK BEGINS ON BAWKU ROADS (D/G July 3, 2008 PAGE 40)

The Bawku Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), M. Abdulai Abanga, has cut the sod for work to begin on a total of 17.8 km of road at Bansi, near Bawku, in the Upper East Region.
The project, which is being funded by Irrigation Development Authority and the Community-Based Rural Development Programme at a cost of GH¢250,000, is expected to be completed in four months.
The roads are the 10.9 km Zawse–Bansi and the 6.9 km Azumsapeliga-Kikolonko.
According to the MCE, the project is in fulfilment of the government’s promise to re-construct the roads that were destroyed by floods last year.
Mr Abanga said when he assumed office as MCE he had road construction as part of his vision and so the construction of this project was a double vision that had been fulfilled.
He asked the chiefs and people to continue to preach peace in order to end the conflict situation in Bawku.
"As it stands now, if we do not stop the conflict, monies we could have channelled into building roads, schools, and irrigation facilities would go into peacekeeping," he lamented.
The Chief of Bansi, Naba Edward Atia, was full of praise for the government for ensuring the fulfilment of their promise to the people.
The chief said since 1970, when the Busia government constructed the roads they had never seen any rehabilitation and the situation became worse when the floods devastated the municipality.
"The roads had been unmotorable for a long time and it has been difficult to cart foodstuffs to the market centres. Also it was extremely difficult when transporting the sick and pregnant women especially to health centres but with the road construction, things would be much easier," he said.

NAYAGNIA HOLDS FOOD AND SEED FAIR (D/G July 3, 2008 PAGE 40)

Two non-governmental organisations — Action Aid Ghana and CARE International — with support from the Department for International Development in the UK, have presented food items and seeds to persons in flood-hit communities in the Kassena-Nankana District IN the Upper East Region to enable them to improve upon their livelihood.
Under a project code-named the Food Security and Agriculture Recovery Management II (FARM II), Care International is supplying millet, maize and cowpea freely to households in six districts in the three northern regions while Action Aid Ghana is doing same for four districts in the Upper East and Upper West regions.
A Programmes Manager of Action Aid Ghana, Madam Christiana Amarchey, who disclosed this to journalists at Nayagnia in the Kassena-Nankana District during a food and seed fair, said the project was targeted at solving the food insecurity situation in the aftermath of last year's devastating floods which claimed lives and properties, including the washing off of farmlands and farm produce.
She explained that it was also aimed at helping persons in the affected community to rebuild and regain their livelihood.
Madam Amarchey said beneficiaries were given vouchers to buy grains and certified seeds of their choice. The grains, she explained, was to sustain the families while the seeds were to be planted to provide security for the beneficiaries.
She expressed the hope that the beneficiaries would make good use of the offer being given them in order to achieve the goal for which it was instituted.
The District Chief Executive, Mr Emmanuel Chegeweh, commended the two NGOs for their gesture, stressing that it would go a long way to mitigate the looming hunger following the delay in rainfall.
He disclosed that as a result of last year's floods a total of 53,000 people were displaced, while 9,000 houses collapsed. He added that 98.1 km of roads, and seven dams were also destroyed.

CHILD WELFARE ORGANISATIONS DISCUSS STATE OF U.EAST KIDS (D/G Thursday July 3, 2008, PAGE 40)

A two-day stakeholders conference for staff of Afrikids Ghana, a charity organisation that works for the welfare of children, and representatives of Municipal and District Assemblies in the Upper East Region has been held at Bolgatanga with a call on civil society organisations and local government authorities to take interest in issues of child migration, child labour, trafficking and streetism in all the endemic communities of the region.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, who made the call, said this would complement the government's effort at ensuring that all forms of child abuse were brought to the barest minimum, if not eliminated.
The regional minister said this in a speech read on his behalf by his Deputy, Mrs Agnes Asangalisa Chigabatia, at the conference which had the theme: "Forging the efforts of stakeholders for optimum projects delivery".
The conference, the seventh in the series, was organised to source ideas as to how to improve a project known as "Operation Fresh Start," which is being implemented by the NGO aimed at relocating and resettling children from the streets in Kumasi and other big towns in the country and integrating them with their families and providing them with appropriate vocational skills to enable them to earn a living.
The project is currently being implemented in Bolgatanga, Bongo, Talensi-Nabdam and the Kassena-Nankana West districts.
While commending the NGO for liberating about 160 children from the streets in Kumasi and from the hazards of child labour, Mr Samari also praised them for introducing a micro-finance component that assists parents of targeted children to generate some income to support their children who are placed in various forms of vocational training.
He entreated Afrikids Ghana to take advantage of the Micro-Finance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) facilities established by the government as a source of micro-credit loan for beneficiaries.
Mr Samari also called on the NGO to consider replicating the project in the remaining five districts in the region to tackle the menace of child labour holistically.
The Project Manager, Mr Richard Amoah, said since the inception of the project in 2005, the 160 children, mostly from the Race Course area in the Kumasi metropolis in the Ashanti Region, had been successfully resettled with their families in the Upper East Region and were undergoing various vocational training courses, while some had been enrolled in formal education.
He said the time had come for local government authorities to come on board to support the project and be part of the success story.
The Country Director of Afrikids Ghana disclosed that after several years of relying on donors from outside for support, his organisation would soon wean itself off foreign donors and raise funds internally.
He said following the success of the NGO, Afrikids was being mentioned for several awards for its efforts at reducing child labour in the country.

JOHN NDEGO, OTHERS TRANSFERRED TO ACCRA (PAGE 3)

THE Upper East Regional Police Command has handed over to the Criminal Investigations Department in Accra the cases involving 17 persons arrested in Bawku in connection with the conflict in the municipality.
According to the Upper East Regional Police Command, the suspects were being transferred to Accra to facilitate speedy investigations and trial.
The suspects were transported by road to Tamale yesterday from where they will be airlifted by military aircraft to Accra.
Among those being transferred to Accra is John Awunbila Ndego, said to be a top adviser to the Bawku Naba, who was arrested over the weekend for allegedly attempting to smuggle arms and ammunition to Bawku.
Also included is police constable Daniel Yeboah, who is alleged to have stolen a rifle belonging to a colleague policeman on peacekeeping mission in Bawku and sold it to a civilian.
Briefing the media prior to their departure, the Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Ofosu-Mensah Gyeabour, said the government was determined to ensure that peace prevails in Bawku in order to allow law-abiding citizens to go about their activities peacefully.
"We are transferring these suspects to Accra because friends and relatives frequent our offices to plead for their arrested relatives and this has proven a discomfort for us,” he said, adding that CID personnel from the region who were accompanying the suspects would assist their counterparts in Accra to ensure a speedy investigation and trial of the cases.

BAWKU CASES TRANSFERRED TO ACCRA (PAGE 25)

THE case involving Mr John Awunbila Ndego, said to be a top advisor of the Bawku Naba, who was arrested over the weekend for allegedly attempting to smuggle arms and ammunition to Bawku, will now be heard in Accra.
According to the Upper East Regional Police Crime Officer, Superintendent Victor Seth Agbetornyo, the case involving the accused, together with all others involving persons arrested so far in connection with the Bawku crisis, had been transferred to Accra for prosecution.
When this report was being filed yesterday, the regional crime officer said the police were awaiting the arrival of a specially arranged helicopter to airlift all the suspects, including those on remand, to Accra.
It was, however, uncertain the reasons behind the transfer of the cases to Accra for further hearing. Also, the total number of persons being transferred to Accra was not known as of press time.
Since the conflict broke out between the Mamprusis and Kusasis in the Bawku Municipality on December 31, 2007, there have been several arrests. While some of those arrested have been arraigned in Bolgatanga and remanded in prison custody, others have been granted bail.