PUT MASLOC LOANS TO GOOD USE — YIRYEL (D/G Monday, September 29, 2008. PAGE 40)

THE Northern Zonal Co-ordinator of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Mr Simon A. Yiryel, has advised recipients of MASLOC funds to put them to good use instead of diverting the money for unplanned purposes.
"The loans you are receiving today are meant to assist you in your businesses, so be careful not to misapply the money," he stressed.
Mr Yiryel said this at Bawku when his outfit disbursed MASLOC loans to the tune of GH¢56,600 to 323 people in 21 different groups.
Citing examples from other parts of the country, he said some recipients of the facility in Wa misapplied their loans by buying motorbikes for pleasure rides and even married additional wives, adding that such a bad practice was definitely unacceptable and unthinkable.
"It is better for you not to take the loans than taking it only to misapply the money and when the time for repayment is due, you throw your hands in the air," he emphasised.
Mr Yiryel said it was not easy for the government to continue to pump money into MASLOC, stressing that when recipients were lucky to be selected, there was the need to ensure that the loans were repaid to enable others to benefit from the facility.
For his part, the Bawku Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Abdulai Abanga, thanked the government for its decision to assist businessmen and women in the country with loans to help them expand their businesses.
Mr Abanga said he was happy to see people in Bawku benefit from the MASLOC loans because when the disbursement of the facility delayed due to the conflict at that time, some politicians took advantage of the situation to peddle lies to the effect that the government had deceived them.
He also advised the recipients to invest the loans wisely.

BOLGATANGA DESERVES MODERN MEAT SHOP (D/G Monday, September 29, 2008 PAGE 40)

“Safe water supply and adequate sanitation to protect health are among the basic human rights. Ensuring their availability would contribute immeasurably to health and productivity for development.”— Dr Gro Harlem Bruntland, Director General of WHO.

THE safety of meat on the Ghanaian market, especially those slaughtered locally, has been a source of concern over the years.
A couple of weeks back, I made an infrequent visit to the Bolgatanga slaughter house, along the Bolgatanga–Bawku main road, not to purchase meat but to observe how things were done there.
Shocking would be the best word to describe the scene that greeted my eyes. Butchers slaughtering animals on the bare ground and burning off the fur in bellowing smoke was an unsightly scene.
Apart from the eyesore it creates in the municipality, this way of preparing meat for human consumption, to me, is unhygienic and poses serious health consequences.
Apart from its crowded nature, I realised the facility was located in a very grimy area. Flies abound in the area and meat meant for human consumption is exposed to the flies. Anyone who visits the vicinity is immediately greeted by a nauseating stench.
This undoubtedly poses serious health hazards to people who do business in the area, those who live close by and consumers of the produce. Urgent steps must be taken to address the issue.
Surprisingly, meat sellers and consumers could be seen busily engaged in buying and selling of meat, though from their gesticulations, one could see that they abhor the unsanitary conditions at the place.
I then asked myself if that was the place where all the meat that we consume in Bolgatanga came from. I could only yell, we are in deep trouble!
The Daily Graphic gathered that the butchers relocated to the present site in 1998 after the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly instituted measures to rehabilitate the old market where they once occupied.
However, 10 years down the line, the rehabilitation of the central market including the new slaughter house has been completed, but the butchers are yet to move into their new environment.
Some butchers who did not want to be named, expressed concern about the unsanitary conditions prevailing at the present site but said they simply did not understand why up to date they had not been allowed to operate from the newly rehabilitated structure.
"We once made an attempt to move into the new structure but we were chased away by some of the market women because they were contesting the assembly on the process of allocation of stores in the markets," said one of the butchers.
They contended that although the renovated slaughter house was too small to contain the large number of butchers currently operating at the old site, they would still have loved to operate at the new structure.
They are all aware of the dangers involved in operating in the prevailing unsanitary environment.
According to the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, Revised Environmental Sanitation Policy, District Assemblies shall ensure that all communities that need slaughtering facilities have access to them, either as public or private facilities. They are to be registered and regularly inspected by the district assembly.
Why then have the butchers not been relocated to the slaughter house that was sponsored by the government and the European Union fifth Micro Finance Projects Programme for all this while, warranting the sale of meat in unsanitary condition to the innocent public? This was the question I posed to the Bolgatanga Municipal Co-ordinating Director, Mr Philibert Kuupol.
In his response, Mr Kuupol said initially the assembly had planned to inaugurate the entire market before allowing the traders to operate in. He, however, stated that there was a misunderstanding over the allocation process and that stalled the process.
Mr Kuupol said the problem had been sorted out and hopefully the market and the meat shop would be opened for business. He could not, however, give the exact date for the relocation of the butchers.
Responding to the concerns by the butchers that the new structure was too small, the Municipal Co-ordinating Director said aside the new meat shop, some adjoining stalls had been allocated to the butchers to serve as meat shop to accommodate all the meat sellers.
Touching on the unsanitary nature of the old slaughter house, Mr Kuupol said the ideal situation was to site the abattoir outside town where the animals could be killed and transported to the meat shop for sale to the general public.
"There is the need for us to organise the place properly because whether we like it or not, we all eat meat from the place; it is, therefore, necessary we keep the place clean," he said.
Mr Kuupol, however, gave the assurance that the assembly would do all in its power to ensure that the new meat shop was opened and the butchers relocated to ensure that the public was served with hygienic meat.
A healthy mind, it is said, is in a healthy body. And a body can be healthy if it lives in a healthy environment.
As stated by the Health Minister, Major Courage Quashigah (retd), at the launch of the Sixth National Food Safety Week in Accra in July, this year, inadequate sanitation leads to eight deaths in the country every hour, topping the list of all causes of mortality.
The minister was quoted as saying that the total number of yearly outpatient cases reported with food-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, typhoid, cholera and hepatitis, was about 420,000 with annual death rate of not less than 65,000.
Again, Major Quashigah was reported to have said, “Diarrhoea diseases from consumption of raw and rotten vegetables and fruits, meat and fish production and processing, including street foods, are usually closely linked to poor hygiene.”
The sanitation situation at the present slaughter house at Bolgatanga is deteriorating by the day and the fear is that this might lead to increase in sanitation-related diseases among the people.
If Bolgatanga in particular and Ghana in general is to make strides in its efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on sanitation practices, there is the need for the authorities concerned to provide the meat-consuming public a decent meat shop.

TRADER HELD OVER THEFT (D/G Monday September 29, 2008. PAGE 47)

A trader, Muntari Abdulai, who allegedly sedated his colleague and stole his money, kola nuts and mobile phone, has been arrested by the police in Bolgatanga.
Abdulai is alleged to have laced a fizzy drink with a sedative and offered it to a co-passenger, Ibrahim Haruna, also a trader, in the bus on which they were travelling.
The Upper East Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Inspector Ebenezer Tetteh, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic, said on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 the two boarded a Metro Mass Transit bus from Kumasi to Bolgatanga.
He said on reaching Kintampo, the suspect allegedly bought a drink which he later laced with a sedative and offered it to Haruna, who drank it and subsequently fell into deep sleep.
The PRO said about 8.00 a.m. the next day, Haruna woke up and found himself in a hotel (name undisclosed) in Bolgatanga.
Inspector Tetteh said Haruna later realised that his LG mobile phone, 10 bags of kola nuts, 100,000 CFA, and GH¢16 had been stolen and so he quickly reported the matter to the Bolgatanga Police.
Police investigations led to the arrest of Abdulai in Tamale.
He said after investigations, the suspect was charged with stealing and arraigned.
Abdulai is currently on police remand and will appear again before the court on September 27, 2008.

SECURITY PERSONNEL IN UE COMMENDED (D/G Wednesday, September 24, 2008.PAGE 21)

THE Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, has commended personnel of the security services in the region for their professionalism in the performance of their duties that has sustained the peace in the region.
The minister said this in a speech read on his behalf by his deputy, Mrs Agnes Chigabatia, at a handover parade held in honour of the outgoing Upper East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Ofosu-Mensah Gyeabour, in Bolgatanga.
DCOP Ofosu Mensah Gyeabour, who assumed duty in October 2005, is on transfer to the Northern Region as the Northern Regional Police Commander.
He has been succeeded by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, who until his elevation was the Deputy Regional Police Commander.
"The police and the other security agencies in the region are beacons of hope as far as maintenance of peace and security is concerned. To me there is nothing worthier than the peace and security the region is enjoying. The people in this region owe them a debt of gratitude," Mr Samari said.
He stated that despite its challenges, the police service had contributed immensely towards the maintenance of peace and security in the Region.
The regional minister particular lauded the outgoing Regional Police Commander for his sterling leadership qualities that brought about peace in trouble spots in the Upper East Region such as Bawku, Tongo-Beo and Gonno-Torsin and an end to the Sandema Chieftaincy dispute, among others.
While commending the outgoing police officer for a good work done, Mr Samari also gave the assurance that the Upper East Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) would give his successor the necessary assistance to operate more efficiently.
In his speech, DCOP Gyeabour noted that despite the numerous constraints and challenges facing the police service in the region, they had worked hard to sustain peace in the area.
He expressed his appreciation to the Upper East RCC, the traditional rulers, sister security agencies, and the good people of the region for their co-operation.
DCOP Gyeabour urged his colleagues, senior police officers and other service personnel to continue to work more assiduously and win the confidence of the people.
While thanking the media for the co-operation he enjoyed during his tenure of office, he also enjoined them to be circumspect in their reportage.
DCOP Gyeabour later handed over the baton of office to his successor, ACP Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, after which he was symbolically pulled out of the premises of the Regional Police Headquarters to end his tenure of office.
DCOP Gyeabour had earlier inspected a special send-off parade made up of 60 personnel under the command of Assistant superintendent of Police (ASP) Seth Tay.
Present were the Commanding Officer of the 6th Battalion of the Ghana Armed Forces, Tamale, Lt Col Joseph Aphour; the Upper East Regional Commander of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service, Mr Evans Klutse; the Regional Commander, Ghana Prisons Service, Mrs Florence Yeboah; service commanders of the Ghana Immigration Service and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), traditional rulers, departmental heads and other security personnel.

(“Stop such dangerous practices”, D/G Friday, September 19, 2008, page 20)

A Taxi plying the Tamale-Bolgatanga Highway. It is fully loaded with passengers, while two other passengers, a man and woman, who could not get space in the vehicle, hang dangerously in the booth.Such a practice is a recipe for disaster because in the event of an accident, the “hanging passengers” will increase the country’s mortality rate. Such a dangerous practice must be stopped by the law enforcement agencies

PURC DEPLORES POOR WATER SUPPLY TO UE (D/G Saturday, September 29, 2008 BACK PAGE)

THE Chairman of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, has expressed displeasure at the inability of Aqua Vitens Rand and the Ghana Water Company Limited to supply sufficient water to residents of Bolgatanga, Bawku and Navrongo in the Upper East Region.
Speaking at Bolgatanga after he led a team of commissioners of the PURC on a tour of the Upper East Region, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, stressed the need to harness the various water sources in the region to make potable water accessible to all.
Prof. Frimpong Boateng mentioned the White Volta River, the Tono Dam and other small dams as possible sources of raw water that could be tapped for use and advocated the deployment of appropriate technology to make water accessible to all.
While imploring the operators to expedite effort to get water to the people, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng stressed the need for consumers to pay their modest water bills to help the operators to continue to provide them with the quality services required of them.
The acting Upper East Regional Chief Manager of Aqua Vitens Rand, Mr George Yanore, mentioned the siltation of the Vea Dam and the breakdown of pumping machines at Vea, the suspected drop in the ground water table of the wells at Bawku and Navrongo and frequent power outages as some of the challenges facing the smooth operation in the region.
Mr Yanore said studies were ongoing, with funding from the World Bank, for the expansion of the Bolgatanga water system. The goal of the project is to meet the water supply needs of the municipality by 2025.
He added that the company, with support from a Dutch NGO, Water for Life, was funding the extension of water to selected poor communities in the Bawku and Navrongo areas.
This will involve the construction of 15 public standpipes to supply water to the people.
He said the viable option for Bawku was to consider the possibility of a surface water system, probably from the nearby White Volta River.
Out of the estimated daily demand of 1.3 million gallons of water per day for Bolgatanga, only 880,000 gallons of water is pumped, whilst of the estimated daily demand of 1,134,000 gallons in Bawku, only 178,000 gallons are pumped.
In Navrongo, only 167,000 gallons are supplied, out of the daily estimated demand of 640,000 gallons.
While water treated for consumption in Bolgatanga is from the Vea Dam, Bawku and Navrongo are supplied from mechanised boreholes.
The rest of the small systems have been handed over to the respective district assemblies for management by the communities under the National Community Water and Sanitation Strategy.

PNC ELECTS ANTHONY FOR BINDURI SEAT (D/G Friday, September 19, 2008. PAGE 15)

A 44-year old teacher, Mr Cyprian Azure Anthony, has been endorsed as the People's National Convention (PNC) party parliamentary candidate to contest the Binduri seat.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Upper East Regional Secretary of the party, Mr Henry Fatchu.
According to Mr Fatchu, the candidate was elected by popular acclamation by the 87 delegates of the party in an election conducted by the Bawku Municipal Electoral Officer, Mr Azu Boscos and supervised by the regional executives of the party.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic later, the regional secretary of the PNC said when elected , he would evolve a comprehensive policy on rural development by giving top priority to the introduction of productive life in the rural areas.
“The party would do this by identifying towns along our border such as Bawku, Hamile, Paga, Aflao, Namoo, Elubo, and Half Assini and construct suitable warehouses and retail structures for these locations to act as market centres to serve our ECOWAS countries,” he said.
Mr Fatchu added that agricultural and other productive camps would also be located near these growth poles, where employment would be available to the youth, who would be assisted with inputs, extension services and other resources so as to reduce the level of migration of particularly the youth from the north to the south for non-existing jobs.
Mr Azure thanked the delegates for the confidence reposed in him and pledged to advocate the development of the area when voted into power.

RECONSTRUCT BOLGATANGA ROADS —HAKIM (D/G Monday September 15, 2008. PAGE 40)

THE Upper East Regional Chairman of the Association of Road Contractors (ASROC), Mr Dauda Hakim, has called on the government to reconstruct roads in the Bolgatanga Municipality to befit its status as a regional capital.
Mr Hakim made the call at a special general meeting of the association held at Bolgatanga.
“Potholes have become a regular feature in the municipality and with the onset of the rains within the past two months, travelling in the area has become quite tough,” he stated.
Mr Hakim said roads such as the one leading to the ministries area had gone from bad to worse and at any point in time, vehicles could be seen swaying dangerously in their bid to dodge deep potholes.
He stated that although some road contractors had been engaged to do some repair works, there was the need to carry out complete reconstruction and expansion of the roads to modernise and improve the road network in the municipality.
Touching on other challenges facing the association, Mr Hakim advocated that all government projects below GH¢50 million should be awarded to local contractors based in the region while foreign contractors could partner local contractors for contracts above that figure.
He also called on awarding agencies to deal with only contractors registered with any of the associations when giving out jobs as that would help the associations to sanction such a member in the event of non-performance.
Mr Hakim advocated a review of the Public Procurement Act to favour local contractors and entrepreneurs, since the present system was cumbersome and left little and sometimes no room for discretion even in times of emergencies, adding that it was also over centralised and favoured only the clients.
The regional chairman advised local contractors to desist from under-pricing for jobs, since that was not helpful.
The Regional Director of the Ghana Highway Authority, Mr Francis Hammond, and the acting Regional Director of the Department of Feeder Roads, Mr K. Omane Brimpong, urged the local contractors to follow the laid down procedures and guidelines by providing all relevant documents when tendering for jobs in order to meet the requirements.
Mr Hammond implored them to execute quality jobs in order to win future contracts.
The Deputy Regional Minister, Mrs Agnes Chigabatia, exhorted members of ASROC to think about the general development of the region and not their personal interests in the execution of their jobs.
She stated that award of contracts was not based on political lines as perceived by some contractors, and advised them to do efficient work to attract future contracts, emphasising that the government was counting on contractors to deliver quality jobs to help reduce the poverty of the people.

OPEN DEFECATION - THE BIGGEST SANITATION PROBLEMS IN UE (D/G Monday September 15, 2008. PAGE 40)

“Sanitation is a way of life. It is expressed in the clean home, the clean farm, the clean business, and industry, the clean neighbourhood and community. Being a way of life, it must come from within; it is nourished by knowledge and grows as an obligation and as an ideal in human relations."—World Health Organisation (WHO).
In the year 2004, the Bolgatanga Municipality was adjudged the cleanest municipality in Ghana and was given the "Cleanest City Award".
One would have thought that the conferment of that award would spur the people in the Bolgatanga Municipality on and encourage the administrators of the municipality to continue to strive for more laurels.
Four years down the line, the municipality has lost its shine. Bolgatanga is facing poor sanitation problems. The entire municipality is in “shit”. Yes shit, waste matter from both human beings and animals have littered the whole place.
It is common to come across the residents, both young and old, male and female, jostling one another for space to openly defecate.
Apart from that, some of the residents continue to dump refuse indiscriminately, thereby worsening the deplorable sanitation condition of the area.
Despite the efforts being made by the Municipal Assembly and organisations like Zoomlion Ghana Limited, to address the situation, especially the open defecation gets worse every day.
The sanitation situation in Bolgatanga can be described as destructive. Open places such as the frontage of the offices of the Information Services Department, the Basket Ball Court area, near the Black Star Hotel, the stretch of land close to St Clement Primary School at Dapooretidongo, the storm drains near the Aningazanga cluster of schools, have been soiled by people who prefer to defecate in the open, be it in the morning, afternoon and night damning the health implications of their act.
But why do people engage in such a negative act? “Public places of convenience for the entire population are not enough, compelling the people to practise open defecation, wrap the faeces in plastic bags and throw them in uncompleted buildings," says Mr Abugbilla Mathew Asampana, the Upper East Regional Environmental Health Officer.
Public toilets are limited in the Bolgatanga township. In the communities where such facilities exist, this writer observed that the people would prefer squatting in the open to ease themselves than paying for the service.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey Report for 2006, open defecation was widespread in the Upper East Region with about 82 per cent of the people without any access to latrines.
It added that 17.5 per cent of 1,134 households had improved sanitation facilities, ranking the region the ninth out of the 10 regions in the country.
When contacted, the Municipal Co-ordinating Director, Mr Philibert K. Kuupol, conceded that open defecation and the general deplorable sanitation problem in the area was one of the biggest challenges facing the municipality.
While admitting that some residents continued to dump refuse indiscriminately, Mr Kuupol said others defecated in the open, adding that the practice of open defecation was as a result of the failure of landlords to provide latrines in their homes.
That situation, he said, had compelled people to defecate in the open. Mr Kuupol, therefore, advised the people in the municipality to desist from such unhygienic acts and to ensure the regular cleanliness of their surroundings to prevent the outbreak of communicable diseases.
He stated that in view of those difficulties, the assembly assisted some landlords with funds to enable them to construct latrines in their houses, stressing, “Sadly, the money was not used for the intended purpose.”
Sadly, according to Mr Kuupol, the assembly could not trace the documentation to know who benefited from the funding.
"In view of that the assembly at one of its meetings passed a resolution to shelve the matter and start everything from the scratch," the MCD said.
He said the assembly was now insisting that all new estate developments in the municipality should have latrines.
Mr Kuupol stated that with the help of its members, the assembly had embarked on an intensive public education to discourage people from defecating in the open.
Statistics obtained from Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate in the region state that public facilities for excreta disposal in the region are woefully inadequate for the population.
For instance, for public facilities, there are 123 septic tank latrines, 171 Kumasi Ventilated Improved Pits (KVIPs), six water closets and eight environs loo toilets.
For the private facilities, there are 3,119 water closets, 247 KVIPs, 22 septic tank latrines, 156 latrines, four pit latrines and three pour flash facilities.
Interestingly, out of the 156 pan latrines, 78 are in government quarters in the regional capital.
The revised environmental sanitation policy (May, 2007) of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, bucket (pan) and open trench latrines are seriously discouraged and must be phased out as they do not meet minimum sanitary standards.
Recommended technologies are the water closet and septic tank system, the pour flush latrine (where water is used for anal cleansing), the ventilated improved pit latrine (VIP), the aqua privy, and any other proven technologies recommended by the ministry.
According to the Regional Environmental Health Officer, Mr Abugbila, "as a result of these inadequacies, the people practise open defecation, wrap and throw faeces into uncompleted structures".
He noted that unavailability of genuinely acquired sites for solid waste disposal was another challenge facing the region, adding "There is still more to be done, particularly, in the area of public facilities."
Mr Abugbila said "from the foregoing, it is evident that whilst the world is striving for better health and longevity of life through hygiene practices, we are negating the whole process."
According to the Water and Sanitation Sector Monitoring Platform (WSMP) Ghana report (August 2008), human faeces left in the open fields, bushes or drains generate millions of viruses, bacteria and parasites.
Houseflies usually fly between those faeces and the food including fruits. When human beings eat such contaminated foods, they inadvertently eat their own faeces and that of others.
We, therefore, open ourselves up for illnesses that can even lead to deaths. Rains also wash away most human faeces left in the open into rivers, ponds, open wells, lagoons and beaches.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service (MICS 2006 report), about 19 per cent of the population (nearly 4.2 million people) still rely on untreated water from streams, dams, ponds, rivers and open wells for drinking and cooking. They might, therefore, have been drinking their own or other people's faeces and injecting themselves with germs and diseases.
Human faeces are the primary source of diarrhoea pathogens.
According to UNICEF, the daily under five child deaths from diarrhoea diseases in 2004 was 5,000. In Ghana, there are reports that about 80 per cent of all out-patient department (OPD) cases are sanitation and water-related.
An Extension Services Specialist of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) in the Upper East Region, Mr Emmanuel Adii, speaking at a public forum in Bolgatanga recently, said sanitation related diseases such as diarrhoea, malaria and skin diseases, run high among the 10 top causes of OPD attendance.
According to him, in 2006, malaria accounted for 42.2 per cent under five admissions in the region.
Ghana is currently on the downside in terms of achieving the MDGs for access to improved toilet facilities. Things can only change when radical measures (policies, programmes and plans, as well as high commitment to implementation) are taken to "rescue" the situation.

CHIEFS REMINDED TO REMAIN NEUTRAL (Mirror Saturday, September 13,2008. PAGE 42)

By Benjamin Xornam Glover,
Bolgatanga

THE Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education, (NCCE), Mr Larry Bimi, has reiterated the need for chiefs to remain neutral and guard against declaring publicly their support for political parties.
Mr Bimi reminded chiefs of Article 276 (1) of the 1992 Constitution and advised them to adhere to the provision to ensure a free and fair and peaceful election.
Article 276 (1) states “ a chief shall not take part in active party politics; and any chief wishing to do so and seeking election to Parliament shall abdicate his skin or stool”.
Mr Bimi gave the advise at a forum for chiefs and opinion leaders at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region. The forum forms part of efforts by the NCCE to ensure peaceful elections this year.
He said it was necessary for chiefs to remain neutral because they represented the people adding that their neutrality can help them intervene in some of the minor problems that rise up in the communities.
“Chieftaincy is a dignified role as such chiefs must exude fairness and certain level of impartiality in whatever they do,” he said.
He urged the chiefs and opinion leaders to play their roles responsibly to sustain unity and peace in the area.
The NCCE Chairman, while cautioning the chiefs also called on politicians to leave the chiefs to perform their traditional roles.
He urged leaders of political parties to be well-informed about the chieftaincy institution and desist from infiltrating the ranks of chiefs with the aim of luring them to their side.
The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Agnes Asangalisa Chigabatia, said the institution could not serve as an honourable institution if it was full of mutual suspicion, intolerance and violence. She urged traditional rulers to take the initiative in pursuing sustainable peace.
She urged the traditional rulers to make their leadership relevant to the aspirations of the majority of the people rather than serving the interests of a few ambitious persons.
The Paramount Chief of Bongo, Bonaba Salifu Aleemyaarum, who chaired the function reminded his colleagues that peace was the pre-requisite for development and, therefore, urged them to play their roles responsibly to enhance the accelerated development of their localities.

INADEQUATE HEALTH PERSONNEL IN UE WORRYING (D/G Saturday, September 13, 2008. PAGE 22)

THE inadequacy of health personnel in the Upper East Region is becoming increasingly alarming, the Regional Director of Health Services, Dr John K. Awoonor-Williams, has observed.
Presently, the doctor patient-ratio stands as one doctor to 29,000 patients as against the national ratio of one doctor to 13,000 patients, while in the case of nurses, the ratio is one nurse to 1,243 patients.
At the 22nd annual general conference of the Public Health Nurses Group (PHNG) at Bolgatanga, Dr Awoonor-Williams said the region was not only beset with poor doctor-patient ratio, but it also faced the gloomy prospect of most of the health staff posted to the region declining the offer.
“Out of 11 doctors posted to the region over the last four years, only one reported,” he said, adding that that was a very sad situation.
“There are more doctors at the Ridge Hospital in Accra than the total number of doctors put together in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions. The same can be said of nurses and other categories of staff,” Dr Awoonor-Williams stated.
According to him, currently the region had a total of 842 nurses of all categories deployed in 166 health facilities constituting an average of five nurses per facility.
He described the situation as a very serious setback to accessible health care in the region and a major setback in achieving the millennium development goal targets, if the current ratio was not addressed immediately by the government.
Dr Awoonor-Williams, said despite the challenges, the region had the highest number of baby-friendly facilities. According to him, out of 237 facilities countrywide, 51 of them, representing 22 per cent, were in the region, an indication of the quality of service in the region.
While bemoaning the poor staff strength of health practitioners in the region, the regional director noted that one major problem within the health sector was poor staff attitude and poor customer care, which had brought the corporate image of the service into disrepute.
He, therefore, called on nurses to change their attitude towards patients “as that bad attitude drives away many patients from the public health facilities”.
Dr Awoonor-Williams also called on nurses in leadership positions to mentor the young ones that passed through their hands to give their best to patients, adding, “We must commit ourselves to the service of our clients and improve on supervision at all levels.”
Touching on the theme for the conference: “Promoting community involvement in reducing maternal morbidity and mortality, the role of the public health nurse,” Dr Awoonor-Williams said the death of a pregnant woman was totally unacceptable.
He, therefore, charged the practitioners to do whatever they could as health providers to curtail the problem.
“Maternal mortality is not only a health issue, but also has both economic and social ramifications. We must, therefore, rededicate ourselves to ensure that we save our mothers from unnecessary deaths,” he stressed.
The Chairperson of the PHNG, Ms Beatrice Appah, said globally, 585,000 women died every year due to complications that arose from pregnancy and child birth, adding that 579,150 deaths, representing 99 per cent occurred in developing countries such as Ghana.
She, therefore, called for the involvement of the community as one of the cheapest but effective methods of averting the situation.
The Director in charge of Public Health of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Joseph Amankwa, noted that the death of a pregnant woman did not only mean two deaths at the same time, but also a loss of family physician and bread winner, adding that it was also a recipe for breakdown of social cohesion and development.
He proposed the establishment of a Presidential Commission on Maternal Health to strongly re-position and give maternal health the recognition it deserved
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, admonished all health personnel to be good ambassadors of the National Health Insurance Scheme and the government’s free maternal health care policy to help reach the Millennium Development Goals four and five.

SHORTCOMINGS OF POLICE OFFICERS WON'T BE TOLERATED (D/G Saturday, September 13, 2008. PAGE 23)

THE Police Administration has warned that it would not tolerate any shortcomings by police officers that would tarnish the good image of the service.
The former Upper East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Ofosu-Mensah Gyeabour, who is now in charge of the Northern Region with oversight responsibilities for the Upper East and West regions, gave the warning when reviewing a passing-out parade of 133 police recruits at Pwalugu.
"We live in a world of mass indiscipline and the society expects us to have strength, skills, experience and courage to deal with this menace in our protection of life and property, prevention of lawlessness and apprehension of those who break the law, no matter how desperate and dangerous the criminal or situation may be," he stressed.
The recruits underwent six months training at the Pwalugu Police Training School where they studied criminal investigation, criminal law, law of evidence, professional police ethics, English language and report writing.
Mr Gyeabour told the recruits that much was expected of them as there was a lot of work and challenges for the police, stressing that they should be ready for all kinds of emergencies and carry out their duties strictly and within the law.
He noted that the service was a challenging one, with many temptations and public criticisms and as such, the recruits needed to stand firm and be honest in their decisions and judgement of situations that would confront them from time to time.
"You must win and sustain public confidence, which is vital to policing and intelligence gathering that cannot be achieved easily. You are passing out in an election year and your ability to make right
judgement devoid of bias and favouritism to any political party would help to enhance the image of the service and give credence to your level of professionalism," he cautioned.
DCOP Gyeabour commended the Municipal and District Assemblies in the Upper East Region for assisting the Police Administration in addressing the acute accommodation problems facing the police in the region, stressing that it was a demonstration that the welfare of the police personnel was of
great concern to the good people of the region.
Three recruits were awarded for their hard work. General Recruit James Owusu Sarpong was adjudged the overall best recruit while Justina Quansah stood out in academics with the best in drill award going to Daniel Akakpo.

2 CABLE THIEVES JAILED 14 YEARS (D/G Saturday, September 13, 2008. PAGE 23)

THE Police Administration has warned that it would not tolerate any shortcomings by police officers that would tarnish the good image of the service.
The former Upper East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Ofosu-Mensah Gyeabour, who is now in charge of the Northern Region with oversight responsibilities for the Upper East and West regions, gave the warning when reviewing a passing-out parade of 133 police recruits at Pwalugu.
"We live in a world of mass indiscipline and the society expects us to have strength, skills, experience and courage to deal with this menace in our protection of life and property, prevention of lawlessness and apprehension of those who break the law, no matter how desperate and dangerous the criminal or situation may be," he stressed.
The recruits underwent six months training at the Pwalugu Police Training School where they studied criminal investigation, criminal law, law of evidence, professional police ethics, English language and report writing.
Mr Gyeabour told the recruits that much was expected of them as there was a lot of work and challenges for the police, stressing that they should be ready for all kinds of emergencies and carry out their duties strictly and within the law.
He noted that the service was a challenging one, with many temptations and public criticisms and as such, the recruits needed to stand firm and be honest in their decisions and judgement of situations that would confront them from time to time.
"You must win and sustain public confidence, which is vital to policing and intelligence gathering that cannot be achieved easily. You are passing out in an election year and your ability to make right
judgement devoid of bias and favouritism to any political party would help to enhance the image of the service and give credence to your level of professionalism," he cautioned.
DCOP Gyeabour commended the Municipal and District Assemblies in the Upper East Region for assisting the Police Administration in addressing the acute accommodation problems facing the police in the region, stressing that it was a demonstration that the welfare of the police personnel was of
great concern to the good people of the region.
Three recruits were awarded for their hard work. General Recruit James Owusu Sarpong was adjudged the overall best recruit while Justina Quansah stood out in academics with the best in drill award going to Daniel Akakpo.

SCHOOL DESKS ABANDONED AT ZEBILLA (D/G Wednesday September 10, 2008. PAGE 21)

A NUMBER of dual desks meant for distribution to schools in some communities in the Bawku West District in the Upper East Region have been left at the mercy of the weather at Zebilla.
Some of the pieces of the furniture have even started deteriorating.
According to the District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Desmond Bugbilla, the desks were provided by the government for distribution to the schools but due to the devastating effect of last year's floods, some communities in the district had been cut off from the district capital as portions of the road had been rendered unmotorable.
The situation has hampered the easy transportation of the duel desks as, well as some electric poles meant for electrification of some communities.
Mr Bugbilla made this known when a Deputy Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, Alhaji Ahmed Awudu Yirimeah, visited the area to assess progress of work on feeder roads under reconstruction after the last year's floods.
The reconstruction works being undertaken throughout the region under the Northern Floods Reconstruction Programme (NFRP) are being financed mostly by donor agencies such as the International Development Association and Agence Française De Development and the World Bank.
Mr Bugbilla said work on the road projects under the NFRP in the district was progressing at a slow pace and he blamed part of the problem on contractors, who, he said, had always cited lack of funds as an excuse for their inability to complete the various projects on time.
Responding to the concerns raised by the DCE, Alhaji Yirimeah dismissed the alleged assertion by the contractors and said "as far as the NFRP was concerned, there is money for the payment to any contractor that completes any project".
He urged the contractors to stop blaming the government for non-payment, but must move to the site and work towards the early completion of their projects.
During an inspection tour of the Kukurizua–Widnaba feeder road, it was observed that inadequate culverts on the Road to contain large volumes of water had led to the washing away of portions of the road.
Under the NFRP, four feeder roads in the Bawku West District were selected for spot improvement. They are the Kubore-Sapeliga, Kukuzua–Widnaba, Zebilla-Zabre and Zebilla-Teshie-Googo feeder roads.
The deputy minister later interacted with the chiefs of Sapeliga and Konkonsa to brief them about the numerous interventions put in place by the government and solicited their support to enable the government to retain power.

POLITICIANS MUST PROMOTE PEACE (MIRROR, Saturday September 6, 2008 PAGE 42)

By Benjamin Xornam Glover,
Bolgatanga

Pastor Mike Ayikade of the Fountain Gate Chapel in Bolgatanga has called on all political parties seeking mandate of Ghanaians in the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections to remain committed to the peace and security of the country.
He also reminded politicians of the status of Ghana as a peaceful nation and, therefore, enjoined them to maintain that status quo in order not to compromise the peace and stability of the country.
Pastor Ayikade gave the admonition when the vice-presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, joined the congregation in worship at Bolgatanga as part of his tour of the Upper East Region.
Dr Bawumia was accompanied by his wife, Samira; the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Boniface Abubakar Saddique; the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, and his deputy, Mrs Agnes Chigabatia.
Others included Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, the Campaign Director, and Alhaji Karim Grunsah, a Football Administrator and leading member of the NPP.
According to Pastor Ayikade, politicians must conduct their political activities in a manner that would not degenerate into violence and ensure that love permeated their every action.
“The people of Ghana in general and the Upper East Region in particular are resolved to pursue peace before, during and after the December elections and those who seek our mandate to rule must also pursue peace and purge this country of acts that will lead to conflict,” he stressed.
Responding, Dr Bawumia described his selection as a divine intervention, stressing that within 48 hours he had been elevated from being a banker to a politician with the potential of becoming the Vice-President of Ghana, which is something, he had never expected.
He urged the congregation to pray for him and phrased his statement with a quote from the scriptures that said “unless the Lord builds a house, those who build labour in vain”.
Dr Bawumia said his selection was a call to service towards the development of the nation and, therefore, urged all to join him pray to God for guidance and wisdom.
Earlier, the vice-presidential candidate and his entourage had joined members of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Bolgatanga to celebrate mass. He also paid courtesy calls on the Regional Chief Imam in his mosque and addressed members of the Ahlu Sunna Muslim sect, also in Bolgatanga to solicit their support.
At a meeting with members of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs, Dr Bawumia said victory for Nana Akufo-Addo would fulfil the age-long dream of some northern patriots towards bridging the gap between the north and the south.
He said prior to Ghana’s independence, some elders of northern Ghana such as Mr C.K. Tedam, Adam Amandi, Alhaji Mumuni Bawumiah, (his late father), S.D. Dombo, Dr Hilla Limann, Jato Kaleo, among others, have dreamt of a marshal plan that would bridge the development gap between the north and the south of the country.
According to him, unfortunately, that dream was not achieved and it was this dream that the NPP candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, had resurrected through the Northern Development Authority.
He pledged the commitment of the NPP government to fast track the rapid development of the north to fulfil the age-old dream of their fore bears through improved methods of agriculture, education and access to finance.
The Paramount Chief of Kayoro, Oscar Batabi Tiamo, on behalf of 17 paramount chiefs and 52 divisional chiefs of the house, urged politicians to see themselves as components of development.
Pe Tiamo, while reminding politicians of Ghana’s enviable record as a nation of peace, called on them to eschew acts that could destabilise the country. He also pledged the support of the house to whoever would emerge winner in the December elections.

AID FILM PREMIERS IN BOLGA (Graphic SHOWBIZ, Thursday September 4, 2008 PAGE 9)

By Benjamin Xornam Glover

A 40-minute documentary film about foreign aid in Africa and its impact on the people, titled How To Make a Difference in Africa has been unveiled at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region.
The documentary highlights the positive gains made by Afrikids Ghana, a grassroot child rights organisation which works alongside indigenous communities to improve the quality of life for rejected and vulnerable children. It also examines how the ‘bottom up’ approach can transform the impact of aid and make it truly sustainable.
The film was produced by Sorious Samura, an award-winning Sierra Leonean journalist best known for documentaries foe CNN such as Cry Freetown (2000) and Exodus from Africa (2001).
Samura’s approach has sometimes been controversial and his methods extreme, but his reputation for the unflinching pursuit of truth regardless of its inconvenience has earned him respect across Africa and throughout the world.
How effective are foreign-based charities in Africa? Is there an alternative to the top-down approach which has dominated the aid industry for decades? These were the questions Samura and and his company, Storyhouse Films, spent a month searching answers for by looking at the operations of an organization called AfriKids in Ghana .
AfriKids is a child rights organisation, which works alongside indigenous communities in Ghana to improve quality of life for rejected and vulnerable children.
The national premiere of the film was held in Bolgatanga, the national headquarters of the NGO, came after the international one on June 19 in London. It was estimated that over 300 people descended on Westbourne Studios for the London screening.
The National Director of Afrikids Ghana, Mr. Nicholas K. Kumah told the audience at the of the premiere, mostly journalists, that after watching a documentary on Kenya which exposed corruption in that country, his organisation challenged the producers of that film to come to Ghana to see the positive work being done here.
“We thought that as an organisation working in Africa and relying mostly on donors abroad, any documentary that seeks to tell outsiders that Africans are corrupt has a very serious repercussion on our work”
He said for that matter, Afrikids challenged the producers of the documentary to look at the positive sides of Africa by offering their NGO up for to scrutiny.
According to Mr. Kumah, Insight TV came to Ghana to review the activities of Afrikids at the end of which they were surprised at what positive things are being done by the NGO which is committed to ensuring that all children in northern Ghana are afforded their basic rights.
According to Sorious Samura, Afrikids is one of the few charities which manage to positively demonstrate how foreign aid works for Africa.
The documentary is expected to be broadcast soon on one of the nation’s television networks.

COUPLE DROWN IN FLOOD WATERS (D/G Tuesday September 2, 2008 BACK PAGE)

TWO persons are reported drowned in flood waters at Buuri in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region.
The couple, Akuka Ayeebo, 50, and his wife, Awimbora Akuka, 45, together with their child were said to have crossed the Buuri section of the White Volta in a canoe to the Nafkoliga side to tend to their crops and on their return, were swept away by the flood.
Their canoe was said to have hit a tree and sank. Eyewitnesses said the child was rescued but the couple drowned and their bodies had still not been found.
The Member of Parliament for Zebilla, Mr John Ndebugre, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic, said all efforts were being made to find them.
He appealed to all persons living on the banks of the White Volta from Sapalliga to Pwalugu in the Talensi-Nabdam District to exercise great caution in the conduct of their daily affairs such as farming and other trading activities in order to avert any further calamities.
“The rains are likely to be heavy between now and the middle of September and that, combined with the spilling of water from the Bagre Dam, can pose a real danger to people living within the catchment area of the White Volta River,” he said.
Mr Ndebugre said even though the spillage was being managed by the authorities of the Bagre Dam in such a way that its effects on the people living down stream of the White Volta were minimised, caution must be taken to avert any more loss of lives.
The District Chief Executive for Bawku West and Chairman of the District Disaster Management Committee, Mr Desmond Bugbilla, when contacted confirmed the incident and added his voice to the call on all citizens to assist in finding the bodies of the couple.
He also urged the citizens to heed calls to relocate to higher and safer grounds and refrain from taking the risk to cross the river to avert similar incidents.