The Garu-Tempane District in the Upper East Region has set aside GH¢6,612,936.29 to support development projects in the district for 2010.
The assembly has also estimated that it will generate GH¢96,620.00 as its internally generated fund, which is the primary source of revenue to every assembly.
The Garu-Tempane District Chief Executive, Mr David Adakudugu, said this at the second ordinary meeting of the fourth session of the assembly at Garu.
According to Mr Adakudugu, the 2010 Annual Action Plan of the assembly contained most of the 2009 projects, which had been rolled over and a few ones added for implementation.
He said the plan had been sub-divided into ‘Good Governance and Civic Responsibility, Human Resource Development and Private Sector Competitiveness, which conformed with the three thematic areas of GPRS II, the document that guides the national development drive.
Giving a breakdown of the figure, the DCE said GH¢ 1,504,086.58 had been earmarked under the Good Governance and Civic Responsibility agenda, while with the Human Resource Development, which covered sectors such as education, health and support for persons with disability had a provision of GH¢1,397,549.02.
According to the DCE, the Private Sector Competitiveness sector which included agriculture and its sub-sectors, roads, markets, water and sanitation also had a provision of GH¢6,990,407.11.
Mr Adakudugu commended the assembly members for their support and appealed to them to collaborate more in the provision of development projects for the area.
“Effective revenue mobilisation has been a major problem in the district. The assembly has, therefore, instituted measures to improve the revenue mobilisation drive,” the DCE said, adding that in doing so management had been able to reshuffle the nine area council secretaries and steps were underway to do same for the revenue collectors to set realistic targets.
“We will also ensure regular monitoring of the revenue collection points,” Mr Adakudugu said.
He said in addition to the above, an instant payment of commission to revenue collectors as they rendered accounts on their daily collections was being introduced to avoid accumulating commissions that were being used as an excuse for embezzling revenue.
The DCE said another measure was to embark on training programmes to build the capacities of the revenue collectors and area council staff in revenue mobilisation and record management.
He told the assembly members that a number of projects had been awarded on contract, and would thus be completed between three and six months.
These include the construction of Community Health Preventive Services (CHPS) compounds with a borehole at Aloko and Gagbiri; the construction of classroom blocks at Akara, Kongo, Garu, Nomboko, Kpatia, Buipielsi and Gaago.
The DCE commended the district’s development partners such as the District Wide Assistance Programe (DWAP), World Vision International, Community Base Rural Development, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Children’s Fund, among others, for their support in achieving the needed development in the district.
The Presiding Member of the assembly, Mr Solomon Awini, noted the marked improvement in the security situation in the district and expressed hope that with support from the District Police Commander, the Community Watchdog Committee concept would come into force to save the people from the wrath of criminals.
He also brought to the notice of the assembly members the harm done to the environment by bush fires and enlisted their support to avert the situation in future.
The assembly passed a resolution to ban the use of “spinners” at funerals after sunset. According to the assembly members, the use of the spinning equipment at funerals attracted children to the funeral grounds at the expense of their education.
They also claimed that it had raised the level of promiscuity in the town since an inspection of funeral grounds a day after showed a large collection of used condoms. The Presiding Member also said available figures from the Girl Child Education Unit indicated that the number of teenage pregnancy cases and illegal abortions was on the increase.
The restriction, as proposed by the chiefs in the area, is therefore to reverse the situation.
The DCE also backed the resolution and stressed that it would go a long way to help preserve the indigenous culture of the people.
Thursday, 31 December 2009
TECHNOSERVE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME ENDS (PAGE 22, DEC 30)
Technoserve (TNS) Ghana, a non-governmental organisation has since 2005, begun implementing a food security programme called the Multi Year Assistance Programme (MYAP) in the Upper East Region.
The overall goal of the programme was to build the resilience of communities and households to insecurity through agricultural assistance and institutional development of local non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) ,supported the MYAP which was funded through the Community Enterprise Development Initiative (CEDI) Trust.
Five years on, the TNS has brought the MYAP to a close, leaving in its trail a lot of successes, which if sustained, will go a long way to help most food-insecure households and communities to build sustainable capacity to mitigate food-related shocks.
Speaking at a close-up durbar at Zebilla in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region, a Senior Programme Advisor of TNS, Mr Anthony Adom, said in the Upper East Region alone, the MYAP benefited 2,350 farming households from 42 communities which were registered into 72 co-operative groups.
He said additionally, 12 communities were supported with 16 irrigation-pumping machines for dry season farming.
The programme also constructed three 40 tonne-capacity and eleven 20 tonne-capacity grain warehouses in 14 communities in the region.
According to Mr Adom, 42 farmers were also trained as extension volunteers to augment the efforts of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture Extension Service programme.
One other intervention, which was carried out within the five-year programme, was the support to 18 communities with boreholes to increase their accessibility to potable water, Mr Adom noted.
This followed a realisation that some assisted communities did not have access to good drinking water and even where it was available, the distance covered to access the resource was so great that accessing potable water was laborious and time consuming.
Mr Adom said another significant success chalked up was in the area of improving accessibility to market centres from production sites.
He said most of the operational communities were in remote and deprived areas of the region, some of which were not passable and farmers had to trek to the nearest market centres.
During the period of the MYAP, Mr Adom said one of such routes which needed attention was the Katiu-Kayoro. The TNS-Bolgatanga supported the district assembly in blasting of rocks to level and construct retaining walls to facilitate vehicular movement for evacuation of foodstuffs and people to the market centres and to the rest of the district.
The senior programme advisor also indicated that the programme was in collaboration with the Non-Formal Education Division to train facilitators from 24 beneficiary communities to organise literacy classes for the people. The TNS and the NFED district directors supervised these classes and provided chalk, blackboards, exercise books, pencils, solar lamps and paid the monthly allowances of teachers.
To ensure sustainability of the farmer groups and the technologies transferred to them under the MYAP, the TNS facilitated registration of the farmers with the Department of Co-operatives.
Mr Adom said it was his expectation that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Department of Co-operatives would continue to work with the farmer groups in sustaining the gains of the MYAP.
TNS donated motorbikes to the Department of Co-operatives and the Gender Desk Officer of the MoFA where the programme was implemented to ensure its sustainability.
Mr Adom said although the TNS was closing out the MYAP, that did not mean that its activities in the Upper East Region had ended, as other programmes, such as the Sorghum and shea projects being implemented in the region at the moment would continue.
He commended MoFA and the Savannah Agriculture Research Institute for supporting the TNS in all its activities under the MYAP.
The Bawku West District Director of Agriculture Mr Yussif Sulemana commended the TNS for its MYAP intervention, which he said had benefited farmers in the area, stressing that farmers who participated had experienced improved changes in their farming enterprise with increased income levels which ensured food security.
The Bawku West District Chief Executive, Mr Anabah Adam Moro, noted that for farmers in the Upper East Region in general and the Bawku area in particular, the improvement in the onion farming business would trigger economic growth for the farmers.
He added that provision of irrigation-pumping machines to enable farmers to produce onions and other vegetables during the dry season was in fulfilment of the government’s agenda to create jobs for the youth and reduce the rural-urban migration that was assuming an alarming rate.
Dr Roger Kanton of SARI implored regional and district directors of agriculture to sustain the mechanism instituted by TECHNOSERVE during its intervening period to ensure food security and more income for farmers.
He also called on politicians to invest more in agriculture, particularly in the northern regions of Ghana since a successful implementation would turn the area into a grain basket for the whole nation.
A representative of the beneficiary farmers, Mr John Akonaba, expressed appreciation of the farmers to the TNS for coming to their aid, and said the lessons learnt over the period would go a long way to increase food production.
The overall goal of the programme was to build the resilience of communities and households to insecurity through agricultural assistance and institutional development of local non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) ,supported the MYAP which was funded through the Community Enterprise Development Initiative (CEDI) Trust.
Five years on, the TNS has brought the MYAP to a close, leaving in its trail a lot of successes, which if sustained, will go a long way to help most food-insecure households and communities to build sustainable capacity to mitigate food-related shocks.
Speaking at a close-up durbar at Zebilla in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region, a Senior Programme Advisor of TNS, Mr Anthony Adom, said in the Upper East Region alone, the MYAP benefited 2,350 farming households from 42 communities which were registered into 72 co-operative groups.
He said additionally, 12 communities were supported with 16 irrigation-pumping machines for dry season farming.
The programme also constructed three 40 tonne-capacity and eleven 20 tonne-capacity grain warehouses in 14 communities in the region.
According to Mr Adom, 42 farmers were also trained as extension volunteers to augment the efforts of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture Extension Service programme.
One other intervention, which was carried out within the five-year programme, was the support to 18 communities with boreholes to increase their accessibility to potable water, Mr Adom noted.
This followed a realisation that some assisted communities did not have access to good drinking water and even where it was available, the distance covered to access the resource was so great that accessing potable water was laborious and time consuming.
Mr Adom said another significant success chalked up was in the area of improving accessibility to market centres from production sites.
He said most of the operational communities were in remote and deprived areas of the region, some of which were not passable and farmers had to trek to the nearest market centres.
During the period of the MYAP, Mr Adom said one of such routes which needed attention was the Katiu-Kayoro. The TNS-Bolgatanga supported the district assembly in blasting of rocks to level and construct retaining walls to facilitate vehicular movement for evacuation of foodstuffs and people to the market centres and to the rest of the district.
The senior programme advisor also indicated that the programme was in collaboration with the Non-Formal Education Division to train facilitators from 24 beneficiary communities to organise literacy classes for the people. The TNS and the NFED district directors supervised these classes and provided chalk, blackboards, exercise books, pencils, solar lamps and paid the monthly allowances of teachers.
To ensure sustainability of the farmer groups and the technologies transferred to them under the MYAP, the TNS facilitated registration of the farmers with the Department of Co-operatives.
Mr Adom said it was his expectation that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Department of Co-operatives would continue to work with the farmer groups in sustaining the gains of the MYAP.
TNS donated motorbikes to the Department of Co-operatives and the Gender Desk Officer of the MoFA where the programme was implemented to ensure its sustainability.
Mr Adom said although the TNS was closing out the MYAP, that did not mean that its activities in the Upper East Region had ended, as other programmes, such as the Sorghum and shea projects being implemented in the region at the moment would continue.
He commended MoFA and the Savannah Agriculture Research Institute for supporting the TNS in all its activities under the MYAP.
The Bawku West District Director of Agriculture Mr Yussif Sulemana commended the TNS for its MYAP intervention, which he said had benefited farmers in the area, stressing that farmers who participated had experienced improved changes in their farming enterprise with increased income levels which ensured food security.
The Bawku West District Chief Executive, Mr Anabah Adam Moro, noted that for farmers in the Upper East Region in general and the Bawku area in particular, the improvement in the onion farming business would trigger economic growth for the farmers.
He added that provision of irrigation-pumping machines to enable farmers to produce onions and other vegetables during the dry season was in fulfilment of the government’s agenda to create jobs for the youth and reduce the rural-urban migration that was assuming an alarming rate.
Dr Roger Kanton of SARI implored regional and district directors of agriculture to sustain the mechanism instituted by TECHNOSERVE during its intervening period to ensure food security and more income for farmers.
He also called on politicians to invest more in agriculture, particularly in the northern regions of Ghana since a successful implementation would turn the area into a grain basket for the whole nation.
A representative of the beneficiary farmers, Mr John Akonaba, expressed appreciation of the farmers to the TNS for coming to their aid, and said the lessons learnt over the period would go a long way to increase food production.
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
RURAL BANKS MUST STREAMLINE OPERATIONS (PAGE 39, DEC 29)
THE Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni, has called on rural and community banks to streamline their operations to favour rural customers.
She said much as the rules and regulations governing the rural banks should be upheld, management also ought to be flexible in their dealings with their rural clients.
At the opening of the Bongo Rural Bank in the Upper East Region, Mrs Awuni urged the bank to take particular note of the peculiar circumstances of the area where the greater majority of the customers lived and design an appropriate product, which, she said, would encourage them to save regularly.
In situations suah as this, banking institutions should not just be concerned with providing traditional banking services, but should play a lead role in the general socio-economic development of the people," the deputy regional minister said.
The opening of the bank brings to five the number of rural banks operating in the region. The opening of the bank was mooted by the district assembly as far back as 2002 and by dint of hard work and through the many challenges that confronted the promoters, the bank is now operational.
Mrs Awuni, while commending the district assembly and the promoters who contributed in diverse ways towards the establishment of the facility, urged the people of Bongo to contribute towards the sustenance of the bank by investing in the shares of the bank.
The Interim Board Chairman of the bank, Mr Joachim Akuure, stated that it had been the desire of the bank since 2002 to have banking services on the doorstep of the people.
He recounted some of the challenges that came their way and commended the district assembly, the traditional authorities and citizens of Bongo for supporting the idea.
The President of the North Eastern Chapter of Association of Rural Banks, Mr John Asabigi, urged management and staff of the Bongo Rural Bank to study the Bank of Ghana regulations and comply with the directives to avoid sanctions. He also called on the management to report accurately and timely to bodies that legitimately required such information.
Mr Phillip Cobinnah, Assistant Director, Banking Supervision Department of the Bank of Ghana, appealed to opinion leaders to educate their people on the need to promptly repay loans that were advanced to them to save the bank from collapse.
The District Chief Executive for Bongo, Mr Clement Akugre, said the inauguration of the bank would no doubt have a great impact on the local economy in particular and the region as a whole.
He said apart rendering services in the form of granting loans for the enhancement of the small and medium scale enterprises to expand their businesses, the opening of the new branches would reduce the man-hours that were lost by workers through travelling to the regional capital to access banking services.
"The man-hours gained as a result of the establishment of the bank would undoubtedly contribute in no small measure towards the accelerated growth of the district," he said.
She said much as the rules and regulations governing the rural banks should be upheld, management also ought to be flexible in their dealings with their rural clients.
At the opening of the Bongo Rural Bank in the Upper East Region, Mrs Awuni urged the bank to take particular note of the peculiar circumstances of the area where the greater majority of the customers lived and design an appropriate product, which, she said, would encourage them to save regularly.
In situations suah as this, banking institutions should not just be concerned with providing traditional banking services, but should play a lead role in the general socio-economic development of the people," the deputy regional minister said.
The opening of the bank brings to five the number of rural banks operating in the region. The opening of the bank was mooted by the district assembly as far back as 2002 and by dint of hard work and through the many challenges that confronted the promoters, the bank is now operational.
Mrs Awuni, while commending the district assembly and the promoters who contributed in diverse ways towards the establishment of the facility, urged the people of Bongo to contribute towards the sustenance of the bank by investing in the shares of the bank.
The Interim Board Chairman of the bank, Mr Joachim Akuure, stated that it had been the desire of the bank since 2002 to have banking services on the doorstep of the people.
He recounted some of the challenges that came their way and commended the district assembly, the traditional authorities and citizens of Bongo for supporting the idea.
The President of the North Eastern Chapter of Association of Rural Banks, Mr John Asabigi, urged management and staff of the Bongo Rural Bank to study the Bank of Ghana regulations and comply with the directives to avoid sanctions. He also called on the management to report accurately and timely to bodies that legitimately required such information.
Mr Phillip Cobinnah, Assistant Director, Banking Supervision Department of the Bank of Ghana, appealed to opinion leaders to educate their people on the need to promptly repay loans that were advanced to them to save the bank from collapse.
The District Chief Executive for Bongo, Mr Clement Akugre, said the inauguration of the bank would no doubt have a great impact on the local economy in particular and the region as a whole.
He said apart rendering services in the form of granting loans for the enhancement of the small and medium scale enterprises to expand their businesses, the opening of the new branches would reduce the man-hours that were lost by workers through travelling to the regional capital to access banking services.
"The man-hours gained as a result of the establishment of the bank would undoubtedly contribute in no small measure towards the accelerated growth of the district," he said.
SECURITY BEEFED UP IN BAWKU (BACK PAGE, DEC 29)
THE Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has beefed up security in Bawku ahead of today’s Samanpiid Festival of the chiefs and people of the Kusasi Traditional Area.
According to the Chairman of the REGSEC and Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, additional security personnel drawn from the military and the police had been deployed to the area to ensure that nothing untoward happened.
In an interview in Bolgatanga, Mr Woyongo said it was the desire of the REGSEC that the relative peace being enjoyed in the area was retained and enhanced, for which reason the council would not leave anything to chance.
He disclosed that an additional 100 soldiers and the same number of policemen had been deployed in the town to assist those already on the ground to ensure a peaceful celebration.
This year’s Samanpiid Festival, which is a traditional thanksgiving event by the Kusaug (Kusasis), also coincides with the 25th anniversary of the enskinment of the current Paramount Chief of Bawku, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Personal Assistant of the Bawku Naba, Mr Thomas Abilla, said the Samanpiid Planning Committee had been liaising with the Bawku Municipal Security Committee to ensure that the right things were done to ensure an incident-free ceremony.
He said this time round the event would be held at the Daduri Park, instead of the Community Centre Park, which, from all indications, could not contain the anticipated large number of people.
“We have invited the Nayiri and King of Mamprugu, the Kumbu Naa, the Lawra Naa, the Paramount Chief of Bolgatanga and the Paga Pio, who is also the President of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs, to join the Bawku Naba to celebrate this milestone and you would agree with me that if all these prominent chiefs are coming with their retinue of elders, then the Community Centre Park cannot contain all of them, in addition to the 23 divisional chiefs and their entourage, hence the choice of the Daduri Park,” Mr Abilla said.
According to him, in addition to those dignitaries, other prominent sons and daughters of Bawku, including all the Members of Parliament from Bawku, as well as ministers of state, had been invited to join in the celebrations.
The Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, is scheduled to join the people for the celebration as the special guest of honour.
According to the Chairman of the REGSEC and Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, additional security personnel drawn from the military and the police had been deployed to the area to ensure that nothing untoward happened.
In an interview in Bolgatanga, Mr Woyongo said it was the desire of the REGSEC that the relative peace being enjoyed in the area was retained and enhanced, for which reason the council would not leave anything to chance.
He disclosed that an additional 100 soldiers and the same number of policemen had been deployed in the town to assist those already on the ground to ensure a peaceful celebration.
This year’s Samanpiid Festival, which is a traditional thanksgiving event by the Kusaug (Kusasis), also coincides with the 25th anniversary of the enskinment of the current Paramount Chief of Bawku, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Personal Assistant of the Bawku Naba, Mr Thomas Abilla, said the Samanpiid Planning Committee had been liaising with the Bawku Municipal Security Committee to ensure that the right things were done to ensure an incident-free ceremony.
He said this time round the event would be held at the Daduri Park, instead of the Community Centre Park, which, from all indications, could not contain the anticipated large number of people.
“We have invited the Nayiri and King of Mamprugu, the Kumbu Naa, the Lawra Naa, the Paramount Chief of Bolgatanga and the Paga Pio, who is also the President of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs, to join the Bawku Naba to celebrate this milestone and you would agree with me that if all these prominent chiefs are coming with their retinue of elders, then the Community Centre Park cannot contain all of them, in addition to the 23 divisional chiefs and their entourage, hence the choice of the Daduri Park,” Mr Abilla said.
According to him, in addition to those dignitaries, other prominent sons and daughters of Bawku, including all the Members of Parliament from Bawku, as well as ministers of state, had been invited to join in the celebrations.
The Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, is scheduled to join the people for the celebration as the special guest of honour.
Monday, 28 December 2009
BISHOP ABADAMLOORA PASSES ON (SPREAD, DEC 28)
THE President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference, The Most Reverend Bishop Lucas Abadamloora, is dead.
He died on Wednesday, December 23, 2009, a day after his 71st birthday, at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital.
The sudden death of Bishop Abadamloora, who was also the Catholic Bishop of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese, seriously affected the celebration of Christmas by the church in Bolgatanga as many members grieved over the death of the beloved bishop.
In a chat with a cross-section of Catholics during the Christmas period, they described the man as a very good man who performed his service to God and mankind with great love and compassion.
Some priests who also spoke to the Daily Graphic reluctantly and pleaded anonymity, because the church was yet to make an official statement, described him as an inspirational leader.
A native of Chiana in the Upper East Region, Bishop Abadamloora celebrated his 71st birthday at a private ceremony on December 22, 2009, shortly after which he was said to have felt some pain in his body and checked into the hospital but died a few hours later.
The Vicar General of the Catholic Church, Monsignor Thomas Anamoo, when contacted, declined to comment and said the church hierarchy in the Tamale Archdiocese would be meeting on Monday after which an official announcement would be made. “Until that is done, I cannot make any statement on the issue,” he said.
He died on Wednesday, December 23, 2009, a day after his 71st birthday, at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital.
The sudden death of Bishop Abadamloora, who was also the Catholic Bishop of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese, seriously affected the celebration of Christmas by the church in Bolgatanga as many members grieved over the death of the beloved bishop.
In a chat with a cross-section of Catholics during the Christmas period, they described the man as a very good man who performed his service to God and mankind with great love and compassion.
Some priests who also spoke to the Daily Graphic reluctantly and pleaded anonymity, because the church was yet to make an official statement, described him as an inspirational leader.
A native of Chiana in the Upper East Region, Bishop Abadamloora celebrated his 71st birthday at a private ceremony on December 22, 2009, shortly after which he was said to have felt some pain in his body and checked into the hospital but died a few hours later.
The Vicar General of the Catholic Church, Monsignor Thomas Anamoo, when contacted, declined to comment and said the church hierarchy in the Tamale Archdiocese would be meeting on Monday after which an official announcement would be made. “Until that is done, I cannot make any statement on the issue,” he said.
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
PWDs CALL FOR GREATER SUPPORT (MIRROR, DEC 24, PAGE 25)
From Benjamin Xornam Glover,
Sambolgo
Persons with Disabilities (PWD) in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region have called on the government to ensure that issues affecting persons with disabilities are considered in the implementation of projects and programmes towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
“It is our expectation that the government and parliament would take steps to address our concerns with the view to ensuring our full participation in all matters affecting our well-being.”
A spokesperson of the Federation of Persons with Disability in the district, Mr David Aniaa, made the appeal at a delayed celebration of the International Day of the Disabled at Sambolgo Namoo in the Bongo District.
December 3 has been set aside by the UN to serve as a platform for raising the concerns and challenges of PWDs who represent an appreciable proportion of the world’s population
Members of the federation marked the day in the district, which was on the theme “Making the MDGs inclusive; Empowering Persons with Disabilities and their Communities around the World”, with a route march through the streets of the town to create awareness in the rural community on the need to treat children and adults with disabilities with dignity.
Mr Aniaa emphasised that over 2.8 million people with disabilities in the country were armed with the requisite tools, skills and knowledge to enter the national political life as active participants.
He, however, bemoaned the fact that in spite of these development, PWDs worldwide continued to live under poverty, diseases and hunger thus portraying them as the most vulnerable class.
According to a spokesperson for the group, PWDs are not asking for charity but rather empowerment or skill training to realise their full potential.
He solicited the support of the Bongo District Assembly, as well as heads of departments, to provide a quota for the employment of persons with disability, as well as the National Youth Employment Programme to cover PWDs.
Mr Aniaa also called on the Bongo Mutual Health Insurance Scheme to continue to support the vulnerable to enable them to access free medical care.
A director at the Assembly, Mr John Adongo, disclosed that the Assembly had approved funds for the building of a resource centre for the disabled and said work would soon begin on the project.
Presenting a paper on “Disability and Human Rights Perspective of the Millennium Development Goals,” the District Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Amos Ayuure, said the MDGs would not be achieved if policies, programmes, monitoring and evaluation of the goals did not include persons with disability.
“The international community needs urgently to act to mainstream disability in the MDG processes,” he stressed.
The Food Security and Community Rehabilitation Programmes Co-ordinator of ADDRO, an NGO, Akologo Daniel Adoliba, reaffirmed a statement the Former World Bank President, James Wolfensohn, said, that, “Unless disabled people are brought into the development mainstream, it will be impossible to cut poverty in half by 2015 or give every girl and boy the chance to achieve a primary education by the same date.”
According to Daniel Adoliba, disability continues to be largely ignored as a MDG issue and this must be corrected.
He suggested that PWDs should be given greater representation in programmes targeted at achieving any of the eight MDGs.
“Though the MDGs do not specifically mention human rights and disability, the implementation of the MDGs should be done in such a way that promote the human rights of PWDs,” he said.
Sambolgo
Persons with Disabilities (PWD) in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region have called on the government to ensure that issues affecting persons with disabilities are considered in the implementation of projects and programmes towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
“It is our expectation that the government and parliament would take steps to address our concerns with the view to ensuring our full participation in all matters affecting our well-being.”
A spokesperson of the Federation of Persons with Disability in the district, Mr David Aniaa, made the appeal at a delayed celebration of the International Day of the Disabled at Sambolgo Namoo in the Bongo District.
December 3 has been set aside by the UN to serve as a platform for raising the concerns and challenges of PWDs who represent an appreciable proportion of the world’s population
Members of the federation marked the day in the district, which was on the theme “Making the MDGs inclusive; Empowering Persons with Disabilities and their Communities around the World”, with a route march through the streets of the town to create awareness in the rural community on the need to treat children and adults with disabilities with dignity.
Mr Aniaa emphasised that over 2.8 million people with disabilities in the country were armed with the requisite tools, skills and knowledge to enter the national political life as active participants.
He, however, bemoaned the fact that in spite of these development, PWDs worldwide continued to live under poverty, diseases and hunger thus portraying them as the most vulnerable class.
According to a spokesperson for the group, PWDs are not asking for charity but rather empowerment or skill training to realise their full potential.
He solicited the support of the Bongo District Assembly, as well as heads of departments, to provide a quota for the employment of persons with disability, as well as the National Youth Employment Programme to cover PWDs.
Mr Aniaa also called on the Bongo Mutual Health Insurance Scheme to continue to support the vulnerable to enable them to access free medical care.
A director at the Assembly, Mr John Adongo, disclosed that the Assembly had approved funds for the building of a resource centre for the disabled and said work would soon begin on the project.
Presenting a paper on “Disability and Human Rights Perspective of the Millennium Development Goals,” the District Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Amos Ayuure, said the MDGs would not be achieved if policies, programmes, monitoring and evaluation of the goals did not include persons with disability.
“The international community needs urgently to act to mainstream disability in the MDG processes,” he stressed.
The Food Security and Community Rehabilitation Programmes Co-ordinator of ADDRO, an NGO, Akologo Daniel Adoliba, reaffirmed a statement the Former World Bank President, James Wolfensohn, said, that, “Unless disabled people are brought into the development mainstream, it will be impossible to cut poverty in half by 2015 or give every girl and boy the chance to achieve a primary education by the same date.”
According to Daniel Adoliba, disability continues to be largely ignored as a MDG issue and this must be corrected.
He suggested that PWDs should be given greater representation in programmes targeted at achieving any of the eight MDGs.
“Though the MDGs do not specifically mention human rights and disability, the implementation of the MDGs should be done in such a way that promote the human rights of PWDs,” he said.
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
33 FILE TO CONTEST POSITIONS IN UE NPP (PAGE 17, DEC 22)
Former Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Agnes Asangalisah Chigabatia, has announced her intention to contest the position of Upper East Regional Chairperson of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
At the close of filing of nominations last Friday, December 18, 2009, Mrs Chigabatia, the immediate past Member of Parliament for Builsa North, was the only female among the list of eight persons contesting to lead the party in the region.
Others on the list are the incumbent Regional Chairman, Tahiru Issahaku Ahmed, Messrs Jonathan Anoboro Angme, Basko Kante, Bukari Bawa Ayamga, Alfred Kwara, Anderson Anaphor-Nabo, and Rockson Bukari, the charismatic former Municipal Chief of Bolgatanga.
In all, 33 individuals have filed to contest for the nine executive positions of the party in the Upper East Region.
Four persons are contesting for the position of First Vice Chairman. They are the incumbent ,Mr Kizito Akamyonse, Alhaji Abubakar Jibriel Ustarz, Mr Gabriel Ayaana and Mr Paul Allou.
A former District Chief Executive for Kassena-Nankana, Mr Emmanuel Chegewe, Mr Isaac Atasige and Osman Konkonaba have all lined up for the position of Second Vice Chairman.
The position of Secretary is being hotly contested by two former DCEs who incidentally are lawyers, an aspiring lawyer and one other person.
Mr Joseph Dindiok Kpemka , former DCE for Garu-Tempane, comes face to face with his colleague lawyer. Mr Thomas Alonsi, formerly a DCE for Builsa; Mr Mohammed Tahiru Nambe, an aspiring lawyer, and Mr William Aduum.
The race for the position of Assistant Secretary will be between Mr Roland Minyila and Cletus Ayambire Innocent.
Perhaps the hottest contest will be that for the position of Organiser of the party, which will be keenly contested by the incumbent Mohammed Mahama and firebrand Yaw Mort.
The contest for the position of Treasurer involves three people. They are Messrs Edward Nchor, Patrick Ayaaba and Madam Constance Apasinaba, while for the position of Women Organiser, three persons, namely Janet Azupwah, Hajia Nnichima Hawa, and Madam Alima Musah, who contested and lost the Bolgatanga Central seat in the last parliamentary elections, will battle it out.
Incumbent Youth Organizer, Abdulai Mohammed Tanimu faces a stiff challenge from Messrs Paul Atinga, Michael Abogro and Latif Solomon.
Filing of nominations opened on Monday, December 14, and ended on December 18, 2009. The position of chairperson attracted a nomination fee of GH¢ 1,000 while that of the other positions went for GH¢500.
The outgoing Regional Secretary of the NPP, Mr Godfred Koyiba, said with the filing of the nomination successfully completed, the current regional executives would meet with the party’s Regional Council of Elders after which a date would be scheduled for the vetting of the candidates, as well as setting the date for the elections.
He appealed to the aspirants to work hard, understand each other, and avoid campaigns of infighting and vilification.
“People should come out and indicate to the electorate what they actually can do for the party, so that come 2012, the NPP will recapture political power. We are aware that we have pushed our party into a ditch and that was through our own misunderstanding and differences,” he said.
At the close of filing of nominations last Friday, December 18, 2009, Mrs Chigabatia, the immediate past Member of Parliament for Builsa North, was the only female among the list of eight persons contesting to lead the party in the region.
Others on the list are the incumbent Regional Chairman, Tahiru Issahaku Ahmed, Messrs Jonathan Anoboro Angme, Basko Kante, Bukari Bawa Ayamga, Alfred Kwara, Anderson Anaphor-Nabo, and Rockson Bukari, the charismatic former Municipal Chief of Bolgatanga.
In all, 33 individuals have filed to contest for the nine executive positions of the party in the Upper East Region.
Four persons are contesting for the position of First Vice Chairman. They are the incumbent ,Mr Kizito Akamyonse, Alhaji Abubakar Jibriel Ustarz, Mr Gabriel Ayaana and Mr Paul Allou.
A former District Chief Executive for Kassena-Nankana, Mr Emmanuel Chegewe, Mr Isaac Atasige and Osman Konkonaba have all lined up for the position of Second Vice Chairman.
The position of Secretary is being hotly contested by two former DCEs who incidentally are lawyers, an aspiring lawyer and one other person.
Mr Joseph Dindiok Kpemka , former DCE for Garu-Tempane, comes face to face with his colleague lawyer. Mr Thomas Alonsi, formerly a DCE for Builsa; Mr Mohammed Tahiru Nambe, an aspiring lawyer, and Mr William Aduum.
The race for the position of Assistant Secretary will be between Mr Roland Minyila and Cletus Ayambire Innocent.
Perhaps the hottest contest will be that for the position of Organiser of the party, which will be keenly contested by the incumbent Mohammed Mahama and firebrand Yaw Mort.
The contest for the position of Treasurer involves three people. They are Messrs Edward Nchor, Patrick Ayaaba and Madam Constance Apasinaba, while for the position of Women Organiser, three persons, namely Janet Azupwah, Hajia Nnichima Hawa, and Madam Alima Musah, who contested and lost the Bolgatanga Central seat in the last parliamentary elections, will battle it out.
Incumbent Youth Organizer, Abdulai Mohammed Tanimu faces a stiff challenge from Messrs Paul Atinga, Michael Abogro and Latif Solomon.
Filing of nominations opened on Monday, December 14, and ended on December 18, 2009. The position of chairperson attracted a nomination fee of GH¢ 1,000 while that of the other positions went for GH¢500.
The outgoing Regional Secretary of the NPP, Mr Godfred Koyiba, said with the filing of the nomination successfully completed, the current regional executives would meet with the party’s Regional Council of Elders after which a date would be scheduled for the vetting of the candidates, as well as setting the date for the elections.
He appealed to the aspirants to work hard, understand each other, and avoid campaigns of infighting and vilification.
“People should come out and indicate to the electorate what they actually can do for the party, so that come 2012, the NPP will recapture political power. We are aware that we have pushed our party into a ditch and that was through our own misunderstanding and differences,” he said.
CHANGE ATTITUDE TOWARDS ENVIRONMENT — MRS AWUNI (PAGE 16, DEC 22)
The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni, has advocated a change of mindset towards the environment, particularly with regard to bush burning and use of forest resources.
She said with the desert rapidly approaching Ghana, there was the need for chiefs and traditional rulers in the region to play a leading role in the fight against rampant bush burning, which also threatens food production.
Mrs Awuni said this in Bolgatanga during a one-day workshop on the Ghana Environmental Management Project (GEMP) and the National Action Programme to combat desertification and drought.
She said gradually bushfire was eating away large tracts of land for food crops, and therefore encouraged organisations working on how to protect the environment to partner with chiefs in curbing the phenomenon.
This, she said, could be in the form of a reward system to award traditional areas that ensured that bush burning in their communities were discouraged.
GEMP is a Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) funded project designed by the Government of Ghana to find lasting solution to desertification in the country.
The project seeks to achieve this goal by strengthening Ghanaian institutions in rural communities to enable them to reverse land degradation and desertification in the three regions of northern Ghana.
It would also promote the adoption of sustainable water and land management systems to improve food security and reduce poverty in the three regions
Mr Frank Alormene, a Principal Programme Officer at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said GEMP-related activities in the Upper East Region started in the 1990s when in 1994 the UN General Assembly declared June 17 as the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.
According to him, the project was being implemented in 30 interested communities in all districts within the Upper East Region, with emphasis on communities severely hit by desertification.
“Let us not forget that effective management of bush fire equals reversing the land degradation problem. Reversing the land degradation problem equals improving food security, improving food security equals poverty reduction and improved standard of living”, he said.
Mr Isaac C. Acquah, another Principal Programme Officer of the EPA, said GEMP was to complement efforts made under the Savannah Resource Management Project (SRMP).
Mr Samuel Anku, Director of Inter-sectoral Network, EPA, said in Ghana, a recent study by the World Bank and DFID estimated that the cost of environmental degradation was about $ 475 million a year or 5.5 of GDP.
According to him, the insidious nature of the phenomenon was having a serious impact on human development and livelihoods of communities.
He said the involvement of the local people was, therefore, to ensure long-term sustainability of the land in which they lived or had an interest.
She said with the desert rapidly approaching Ghana, there was the need for chiefs and traditional rulers in the region to play a leading role in the fight against rampant bush burning, which also threatens food production.
Mrs Awuni said this in Bolgatanga during a one-day workshop on the Ghana Environmental Management Project (GEMP) and the National Action Programme to combat desertification and drought.
She said gradually bushfire was eating away large tracts of land for food crops, and therefore encouraged organisations working on how to protect the environment to partner with chiefs in curbing the phenomenon.
This, she said, could be in the form of a reward system to award traditional areas that ensured that bush burning in their communities were discouraged.
GEMP is a Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) funded project designed by the Government of Ghana to find lasting solution to desertification in the country.
The project seeks to achieve this goal by strengthening Ghanaian institutions in rural communities to enable them to reverse land degradation and desertification in the three regions of northern Ghana.
It would also promote the adoption of sustainable water and land management systems to improve food security and reduce poverty in the three regions
Mr Frank Alormene, a Principal Programme Officer at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said GEMP-related activities in the Upper East Region started in the 1990s when in 1994 the UN General Assembly declared June 17 as the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.
According to him, the project was being implemented in 30 interested communities in all districts within the Upper East Region, with emphasis on communities severely hit by desertification.
“Let us not forget that effective management of bush fire equals reversing the land degradation problem. Reversing the land degradation problem equals improving food security, improving food security equals poverty reduction and improved standard of living”, he said.
Mr Isaac C. Acquah, another Principal Programme Officer of the EPA, said GEMP was to complement efforts made under the Savannah Resource Management Project (SRMP).
Mr Samuel Anku, Director of Inter-sectoral Network, EPA, said in Ghana, a recent study by the World Bank and DFID estimated that the cost of environmental degradation was about $ 475 million a year or 5.5 of GDP.
According to him, the insidious nature of the phenomenon was having a serious impact on human development and livelihoods of communities.
He said the involvement of the local people was, therefore, to ensure long-term sustainability of the land in which they lived or had an interest.
Sunday, 20 December 2009
WOMEN ASKED TO GO FOR VOLUNTARY TESTING AND COUNSELLING (PAGE 35, DEC 21)
THE Dachio South Women Farmers Association (DSWFA), a community based organisation in the Bolgatanga Municipality, has organised a Free Voluntary Counselling and Testing for women groups within the Zuarungu area.
The aim of the exercise was to enable the women and other members of the society to know their HIV status in order to protect themselves from the deadly disease and also encourage healthy living.
The Project Co-ordinator, Mr Collins Amadu Atuah, told the Daily Graphic at Zuarungu after one of the counselling and testing sessions that with nearly 10,000 people believed to be living with HIV AIDS in the region, it had become necessary to encourage people to undergo the test.
Whilst encouraging people to go and check their status, Mr Atuah spoke against stigmatisation and discrimination against people living with the disease.
He said aside the HIV/AIDS programmes, the CBO was also involved in creating awareness among the women groups on local governance because women continued to be largely marginalised in the initiation of policies and implementation processes in their communities.
“Women targeted are now aware of their rights, ” he asserted.
On the environment, Mr Atuah said women in the project’s catchment area were also educated on the need to preserve the environment by helping to curb bush fires and the rampant felling of trees.
He said over the period that the project had been underway in the Zuarungu community, 1,500 improved tree seedlings had been distributed to 750 women to be planted around their homes.
He commended IBIS West Africa for supporting the organisation, adding that through their support, DSWFA had increased the bargaining powers of the 15 organised women groups which are now able to present their development needs to the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly and their respective sub-district structures for redress.
Mr Atuah appealed to IBIS West Africa to continue supporting the organisation and other women civil society organisations which are weak to support the education and engagement processes.
“With the continuous support from IBIS, DSWFA will make women to actively engage with the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly and its sub-district structures to demand effective services and hold their leaders accountable,” he stressed.
A beneficiary of the project, Ms Christiana Adekurah, said the engagement processes initiated by the DSWFA were well thought-out programmes which would go a long way to enhance the capacity of the women.
She was particularly happy about the Voluntary Counselling and Testing programme, and said it would help them to know their status and better manage their lifestyles.
Mr Ayamga Anamboyire, an HIV AIDS educator, lauded the DWSFA for involving the youth in its programmes and said it would help reduce the rate of infection in the municipality.
The aim of the exercise was to enable the women and other members of the society to know their HIV status in order to protect themselves from the deadly disease and also encourage healthy living.
The Project Co-ordinator, Mr Collins Amadu Atuah, told the Daily Graphic at Zuarungu after one of the counselling and testing sessions that with nearly 10,000 people believed to be living with HIV AIDS in the region, it had become necessary to encourage people to undergo the test.
Whilst encouraging people to go and check their status, Mr Atuah spoke against stigmatisation and discrimination against people living with the disease.
He said aside the HIV/AIDS programmes, the CBO was also involved in creating awareness among the women groups on local governance because women continued to be largely marginalised in the initiation of policies and implementation processes in their communities.
“Women targeted are now aware of their rights, ” he asserted.
On the environment, Mr Atuah said women in the project’s catchment area were also educated on the need to preserve the environment by helping to curb bush fires and the rampant felling of trees.
He said over the period that the project had been underway in the Zuarungu community, 1,500 improved tree seedlings had been distributed to 750 women to be planted around their homes.
He commended IBIS West Africa for supporting the organisation, adding that through their support, DSWFA had increased the bargaining powers of the 15 organised women groups which are now able to present their development needs to the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly and their respective sub-district structures for redress.
Mr Atuah appealed to IBIS West Africa to continue supporting the organisation and other women civil society organisations which are weak to support the education and engagement processes.
“With the continuous support from IBIS, DSWFA will make women to actively engage with the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly and its sub-district structures to demand effective services and hold their leaders accountable,” he stressed.
A beneficiary of the project, Ms Christiana Adekurah, said the engagement processes initiated by the DSWFA were well thought-out programmes which would go a long way to enhance the capacity of the women.
She was particularly happy about the Voluntary Counselling and Testing programme, and said it would help them to know their status and better manage their lifestyles.
Mr Ayamga Anamboyire, an HIV AIDS educator, lauded the DWSFA for involving the youth in its programmes and said it would help reduce the rate of infection in the municipality.
GARU-TEMPANE DISTRICT BUILDS MORE SCHOOLS (PAGE 35, DEC 21)
FOUR deprived and remote communities in the Garu-Tempane District of the Upper East Region are to benefit from educational infrastructure to be provided at a total cost of about GH¢281,000.
The school buildings, which would be funded from the District Development Fund, will be located at Bulipelisi, Kongo, Akara and Nomboko.
Apart from Bulipelisi, which is benefiting from a nine-unit classroom block, an office, store, a borehole, six seater KVIP and urinal, the remaining three communities will each have a three-unit classroom block , an office, store, four-seater KVIP and a urinal.
When completed, it will ease the burden of junior high school students who hitherto had to walk between 10 and 13 kilometres to attend school.
The District Chief Executive(DCE) for Garu-Tempane, Mr David Adakudugu, told the Daily Graphic after a tour of the beneficiary communities to hand over the sites to the various contractors for work to start that the projects were intended to bring relief to the people and ensure that they no longer walk long distances to attend school.
He said the projects were approved by the general assembly in June this year, but failed to take off due to lack of funds.
He, therefore, expressed his pleasure that funds had now been made available for the projects to take off.
The DCE said in all, 11 JHS projects were approved for 2009, but funds available could cater for four.
He said anytime the assembly was able to raise funds, the other seven projects would be tackled.
He said the next step would be to ensure that the classrooms were adequately furnished and that efforts were underway to ensure that the assembly sourced for funds to provide furniture for the various schools.
In respect of the unavailability of teachers in the district, Mr Adakudugu said the assembly was assisting in the training of more teachers.
Currently, 130 teacher trainees are being sponsored in various colleges of education, adding that upon completion, they would be posted to various schools in the district to teach.
He commended the Ministry of Education for approving the construction of an office facility for the district education directorate.
He said the inadequate office facility had forced over 52 senior staff at the directorate to operate under a tree.
The District Engineer, Mr Emmanuel Botchwey, appealed to chiefs, opinion leaders and community members to co-operate with the contractors for the early completion of the projects.
Mr Simon Avuuga, who represented the district director of education on the tour, thanked the district assembly for its resolve to construct more schools in the district, but urged the DCE and the assembly to work out modalities for getting more teachers posted to the district since a lot of the schools in the district lacked teachers.
In another development, the district assembly has awarded a contract for the reshaping of the Garu –Gagbiri road. This will involve the rehabilitation of a huge culvert on the road, which is in a bad state and currently a death trap.
The other road to be rehabilitated is the Garu and Tempane feeder roads . The two projects are being funded under the Community Based Rural Development Programme.
The DCE commended the Ministry of Roads and Transport for assisting the district with a comprehensive road network map and said the assembly would do its best to ensure that the entire district was linked to enhance the movement of people, goods and services.
Other development projects being embarked on by the assembly include the rehabilitation of the Garu court building and the Kpatia primary school.
Funds for the two projects are from the District Assembly Common Fund.
Mr David Adakudugu said development in the relatively young district was on course, and appealed to the Government and non-governmental organisations, as well as development partners to come to their aid in the provision of social amenities.
The school buildings, which would be funded from the District Development Fund, will be located at Bulipelisi, Kongo, Akara and Nomboko.
Apart from Bulipelisi, which is benefiting from a nine-unit classroom block, an office, store, a borehole, six seater KVIP and urinal, the remaining three communities will each have a three-unit classroom block , an office, store, four-seater KVIP and a urinal.
When completed, it will ease the burden of junior high school students who hitherto had to walk between 10 and 13 kilometres to attend school.
The District Chief Executive(DCE) for Garu-Tempane, Mr David Adakudugu, told the Daily Graphic after a tour of the beneficiary communities to hand over the sites to the various contractors for work to start that the projects were intended to bring relief to the people and ensure that they no longer walk long distances to attend school.
He said the projects were approved by the general assembly in June this year, but failed to take off due to lack of funds.
He, therefore, expressed his pleasure that funds had now been made available for the projects to take off.
The DCE said in all, 11 JHS projects were approved for 2009, but funds available could cater for four.
He said anytime the assembly was able to raise funds, the other seven projects would be tackled.
He said the next step would be to ensure that the classrooms were adequately furnished and that efforts were underway to ensure that the assembly sourced for funds to provide furniture for the various schools.
In respect of the unavailability of teachers in the district, Mr Adakudugu said the assembly was assisting in the training of more teachers.
Currently, 130 teacher trainees are being sponsored in various colleges of education, adding that upon completion, they would be posted to various schools in the district to teach.
He commended the Ministry of Education for approving the construction of an office facility for the district education directorate.
He said the inadequate office facility had forced over 52 senior staff at the directorate to operate under a tree.
The District Engineer, Mr Emmanuel Botchwey, appealed to chiefs, opinion leaders and community members to co-operate with the contractors for the early completion of the projects.
Mr Simon Avuuga, who represented the district director of education on the tour, thanked the district assembly for its resolve to construct more schools in the district, but urged the DCE and the assembly to work out modalities for getting more teachers posted to the district since a lot of the schools in the district lacked teachers.
In another development, the district assembly has awarded a contract for the reshaping of the Garu –Gagbiri road. This will involve the rehabilitation of a huge culvert on the road, which is in a bad state and currently a death trap.
The other road to be rehabilitated is the Garu and Tempane feeder roads . The two projects are being funded under the Community Based Rural Development Programme.
The DCE commended the Ministry of Roads and Transport for assisting the district with a comprehensive road network map and said the assembly would do its best to ensure that the entire district was linked to enhance the movement of people, goods and services.
Other development projects being embarked on by the assembly include the rehabilitation of the Garu court building and the Kpatia primary school.
Funds for the two projects are from the District Assembly Common Fund.
Mr David Adakudugu said development in the relatively young district was on course, and appealed to the Government and non-governmental organisations, as well as development partners to come to their aid in the provision of social amenities.
GARU-TEMPANE DISTRICT BUILDS MORE SCHOOLS (PAGE 35, DEC 21)
FOUR deprived and remote communities in the Garu-Tempane District of the Upper East Region are to benefit from educational infrastructure to be provided at a total cost of about GH¢281,000.
The school buildings, which would be funded from the District Development Fund, will be located at Bulipelisi, Kongo, Akara and Nomboko.
Apart from Bulipelisi, which is benefiting from a nine-unit classroom block, an office, store, a borehole, six seater KVIP and urinal, the remaining three communities will each have a three-unit classroom block , an office, store, four-seater KVIP and a urinal.
When completed, it will ease the burden of junior high school students who hitherto had to walk between 10 and 13 kilometres to attend school.
The District Chief Executive(DCE) for Garu-Tempane, Mr David Adakudugu, told the Daily Graphic after a tour of the beneficiary communities to hand over the sites to the various contractors for work to start that the projects were intended to bring relief to the people and ensure that they no longer walk long distances to attend school.
He said the projects were approved by the general assembly in June this year, but failed to take off due to lack of funds.
He, therefore, expressed his pleasure that funds had now been made available for the projects to take off.
The DCE said in all, 11 JHS projects were approved for 2009, but funds available could cater for four.
He said anytime the assembly was able to raise funds, the other seven projects would be tackled.
He said the next step would be to ensure that the classrooms were adequately furnished and that efforts were underway to ensure that the assembly sourced for funds to provide furniture for the various schools.
In respect of the unavailability of teachers in the district, Mr Adakudugu said the assembly was assisting in the training of more teachers.
Currently, 130 teacher trainees are being sponsored in various colleges of education, adding that upon completion, they would be posted to various schools in the district to teach.
He commended the Ministry of Education for approving the construction of an office facility for the district education directorate.
He said the inadequate office facility had forced over 52 senior staff at the directorate to operate under a tree.
The District Engineer, Mr Emmanuel Botchwey, appealed to chiefs, opinion leaders and community members to co-operate with the contractors for the early completion of the projects.
Mr Simon Avuuga, who represented the district director of education on the tour, thanked the district assembly for its resolve to construct more schools in the district, but urged the DCE and the assembly to work out modalities for getting more teachers posted to the district since a lot of the schools in the district lacked teachers.
In another development, the district assembly has awarded a contract for the reshaping of the Garu –Gagbiri road. This will involve the rehabilitation of a huge culvert on the road, which is in a bad state and currently a death trap.
The other road to be rehabilitated is the Garu and Tempane feeder roads . The two projects are being funded under the Community Based Rural Development Programme.
The DCE commended the Ministry of Roads and Transport for assisting the district with a comprehensive road network map and said the assembly would do its best to ensure that the entire district was linked to enhance the movement of people, goods and services.
Other development projects being embarked on by the assembly include the rehabilitation of the Garu court building and the Kpatia primary school.
Funds for the two projects are from the District Assembly Common Fund.
Mr David Adakudugu said development in the relatively young district was on course, and appealed to the Government and non-governmental organisations, as well as development partners to come to their aid in the provision of social amenities.
The school buildings, which would be funded from the District Development Fund, will be located at Bulipelisi, Kongo, Akara and Nomboko.
Apart from Bulipelisi, which is benefiting from a nine-unit classroom block, an office, store, a borehole, six seater KVIP and urinal, the remaining three communities will each have a three-unit classroom block , an office, store, four-seater KVIP and a urinal.
When completed, it will ease the burden of junior high school students who hitherto had to walk between 10 and 13 kilometres to attend school.
The District Chief Executive(DCE) for Garu-Tempane, Mr David Adakudugu, told the Daily Graphic after a tour of the beneficiary communities to hand over the sites to the various contractors for work to start that the projects were intended to bring relief to the people and ensure that they no longer walk long distances to attend school.
He said the projects were approved by the general assembly in June this year, but failed to take off due to lack of funds.
He, therefore, expressed his pleasure that funds had now been made available for the projects to take off.
The DCE said in all, 11 JHS projects were approved for 2009, but funds available could cater for four.
He said anytime the assembly was able to raise funds, the other seven projects would be tackled.
He said the next step would be to ensure that the classrooms were adequately furnished and that efforts were underway to ensure that the assembly sourced for funds to provide furniture for the various schools.
In respect of the unavailability of teachers in the district, Mr Adakudugu said the assembly was assisting in the training of more teachers.
Currently, 130 teacher trainees are being sponsored in various colleges of education, adding that upon completion, they would be posted to various schools in the district to teach.
He commended the Ministry of Education for approving the construction of an office facility for the district education directorate.
He said the inadequate office facility had forced over 52 senior staff at the directorate to operate under a tree.
The District Engineer, Mr Emmanuel Botchwey, appealed to chiefs, opinion leaders and community members to co-operate with the contractors for the early completion of the projects.
Mr Simon Avuuga, who represented the district director of education on the tour, thanked the district assembly for its resolve to construct more schools in the district, but urged the DCE and the assembly to work out modalities for getting more teachers posted to the district since a lot of the schools in the district lacked teachers.
In another development, the district assembly has awarded a contract for the reshaping of the Garu –Gagbiri road. This will involve the rehabilitation of a huge culvert on the road, which is in a bad state and currently a death trap.
The other road to be rehabilitated is the Garu and Tempane feeder roads . The two projects are being funded under the Community Based Rural Development Programme.
The DCE commended the Ministry of Roads and Transport for assisting the district with a comprehensive road network map and said the assembly would do its best to ensure that the entire district was linked to enhance the movement of people, goods and services.
Other development projects being embarked on by the assembly include the rehabilitation of the Garu court building and the Kpatia primary school.
Funds for the two projects are from the District Assembly Common Fund.
Mr David Adakudugu said development in the relatively young district was on course, and appealed to the Government and non-governmental organisations, as well as development partners to come to their aid in the provision of social amenities.
IMPROVING LIGHTING SYSTEMS FOR NORTHERN REGION...The sun is the anwer (PAGE 35, DEC 21)
Of the twelve calendar months in a year, the Upper East Region enjoys only three or four months of rain.
The remaining nine or eight months are largely made of intense heat from the sun that is unfortunately not utilised as a source of energy.
It has been established that the systematic harnessing of solar energy can generate substantial amount of clean energy to power a lot of homes, offices and industry, instead of hydro power.
Ironically, in Ghana, the penetration rate of electricity in rural areas is said to be very low, particularly in rural off-grid communities where only between 15 and 17 per cent electricity coverage has been achieved.
The National Electrification Programme being implemented by the Government has an ambitious objective of achieving 100 per cent electrification coverage in the country by the year 2020.
The programme began in 1990 and is still ongoing.
In areas where economic activities are low and the cost of investing in grid electricity extension is high, the use of solar PV systems could be considered by the Government and the district assemblies to address the social and economic needs of communities and institutions operating in the socio-economic sectors such as in health and education.
It is to create awareness on the potential of solar energy that the Association of Ghana Solar Industries (AGSI) has organised a solar awareness workshop for stakeholders in Bolgatanga.
The Secretary of the association, Samuel Adu Asare, said his organisation’s advocacy was geared towards increasing the use of solar energy as a natural and more reliable energy resource in Ghana.
He said the reason was that, since 20 years of the Government’s attempt at promoting renewable energy use in Ghana to complement grid electricity, the penetration rate of solar energy in the country is still low and quite insignificant (0.01 per cent).
In spite of Ghana’s envious electrification rate of 67 per cent currently (which can be considered as the most electrified developing country in sub-Sahara Africa, second only to South Africa), Ghana’s economic productivity, however, is very low (indicated by a GDP per capita of USD$739.128 (2008) compared to some of the low electrified countries in Africa such as Botswana with 39 per cent electrification rate but has a GDP per capita of USD$7,554.24
He noted that although most of the main solar projects implemented by the Government through donor support were done in northern Ghana, an estimated 5,000 solar home systems mainly stand alone systems, and battery charging services had been implemented in the past with minimum success due to sustainability issues.z
He said, nevertheless, the lack of sustainability and continuity had been the main challenge which they were determined to address through the engagement of both the Government and the private sector in developing viable projects that are creditable and sustainable.
According to him, it was very difficult and expensive to extend hydro-electricity from the national grid to rural areas, hence the need for the Government and individuals to embrace solar energy as the appropriate source of electricity for the rural areas of the country.
A consultant to AGSI, Mr Frank Adabre, said solar energy had been identified as the best form of alternative source of energy, adding that in developed countries, solar energy had been embraced and adopted as their source of energy.
He said the advocacy action of the association was to get the district assemblies to address the issue of improving the livelihood situation of rural dwellers in northern Ghana, who were in dire need of improved lighting systems for socio-economic development.
“It is about time the Government and policy makers made it a decision to include the use of solar energy in their agenda, especially in off-grid areas,” he said.
He said already, the Sissala District in the Upper West Region, West Gonga and West Mamprusi in the Northern Region, as well as the Builsa District in the Upper East Region were beneficiaries of a pilot project being carried out with assistance from the World Bank to install small household solar systems at a subsidised cost.
Touching on some of the benefits to be derived from the use of solar PV systems, Mr Adu Asare said Solar PV systems could help improve vaccine preservation and promote immunisation programmes in remote communities.
In the area of education, he said, it could be used to enhance learning and promote the academic performance of school children, as well as promote the use of ICT and Internet browsing to facilitate research, business and communication.
The District Co-ordinating Director of the Talensi-Nabdam District in the Upper East Region, Mr Fuseini Alhassan, lauded the potential of the Solar PV systems and called on district assemblies in the country to start thinking of formulating policies in their medium-term development plans to promote and ensure deliberate investment in solar energy as a major source of electricity for areas that were far and difficult to reach with power from the national grid.
“That way, we will be ensuring that our people in the rural areas will benefit socially and economically, ” he stressed.
The remaining nine or eight months are largely made of intense heat from the sun that is unfortunately not utilised as a source of energy.
It has been established that the systematic harnessing of solar energy can generate substantial amount of clean energy to power a lot of homes, offices and industry, instead of hydro power.
Ironically, in Ghana, the penetration rate of electricity in rural areas is said to be very low, particularly in rural off-grid communities where only between 15 and 17 per cent electricity coverage has been achieved.
The National Electrification Programme being implemented by the Government has an ambitious objective of achieving 100 per cent electrification coverage in the country by the year 2020.
The programme began in 1990 and is still ongoing.
In areas where economic activities are low and the cost of investing in grid electricity extension is high, the use of solar PV systems could be considered by the Government and the district assemblies to address the social and economic needs of communities and institutions operating in the socio-economic sectors such as in health and education.
It is to create awareness on the potential of solar energy that the Association of Ghana Solar Industries (AGSI) has organised a solar awareness workshop for stakeholders in Bolgatanga.
The Secretary of the association, Samuel Adu Asare, said his organisation’s advocacy was geared towards increasing the use of solar energy as a natural and more reliable energy resource in Ghana.
He said the reason was that, since 20 years of the Government’s attempt at promoting renewable energy use in Ghana to complement grid electricity, the penetration rate of solar energy in the country is still low and quite insignificant (0.01 per cent).
In spite of Ghana’s envious electrification rate of 67 per cent currently (which can be considered as the most electrified developing country in sub-Sahara Africa, second only to South Africa), Ghana’s economic productivity, however, is very low (indicated by a GDP per capita of USD$739.128 (2008) compared to some of the low electrified countries in Africa such as Botswana with 39 per cent electrification rate but has a GDP per capita of USD$7,554.24
He noted that although most of the main solar projects implemented by the Government through donor support were done in northern Ghana, an estimated 5,000 solar home systems mainly stand alone systems, and battery charging services had been implemented in the past with minimum success due to sustainability issues.z
He said, nevertheless, the lack of sustainability and continuity had been the main challenge which they were determined to address through the engagement of both the Government and the private sector in developing viable projects that are creditable and sustainable.
According to him, it was very difficult and expensive to extend hydro-electricity from the national grid to rural areas, hence the need for the Government and individuals to embrace solar energy as the appropriate source of electricity for the rural areas of the country.
A consultant to AGSI, Mr Frank Adabre, said solar energy had been identified as the best form of alternative source of energy, adding that in developed countries, solar energy had been embraced and adopted as their source of energy.
He said the advocacy action of the association was to get the district assemblies to address the issue of improving the livelihood situation of rural dwellers in northern Ghana, who were in dire need of improved lighting systems for socio-economic development.
“It is about time the Government and policy makers made it a decision to include the use of solar energy in their agenda, especially in off-grid areas,” he said.
He said already, the Sissala District in the Upper West Region, West Gonga and West Mamprusi in the Northern Region, as well as the Builsa District in the Upper East Region were beneficiaries of a pilot project being carried out with assistance from the World Bank to install small household solar systems at a subsidised cost.
Touching on some of the benefits to be derived from the use of solar PV systems, Mr Adu Asare said Solar PV systems could help improve vaccine preservation and promote immunisation programmes in remote communities.
In the area of education, he said, it could be used to enhance learning and promote the academic performance of school children, as well as promote the use of ICT and Internet browsing to facilitate research, business and communication.
The District Co-ordinating Director of the Talensi-Nabdam District in the Upper East Region, Mr Fuseini Alhassan, lauded the potential of the Solar PV systems and called on district assemblies in the country to start thinking of formulating policies in their medium-term development plans to promote and ensure deliberate investment in solar energy as a major source of electricity for areas that were far and difficult to reach with power from the national grid.
“That way, we will be ensuring that our people in the rural areas will benefit socially and economically, ” he stressed.
BAWKU BARCLAYS CELEBRATES 'MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY' (PAGE 38, DEC 21)
THE staff of the Bawku Branch of Barclays Bank Ghana Ltd have undertaken a clean-up exercise at the St. Anthony Catholic School in the Bawku Municipality as part of its social responsibility to the community.
They also painted the walls of the building to mark the bank’s “Make a Difference Day”.
They were joined by the pupils of the school and teachers to celebrate the day. The bank sets aside a day in every year to mark the “Make A difference Day” and make its impact felt by the members of the communities within which it operates.
Interacting with the headmistress of the school and her staff, an official of the bank, Mr Frank Annan, advised them to take proper care of the building and ensure that it was maintained at all times.
He said other institutions that had benefited from such celebrations in the past were the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital Children’s Ward and the Zebilla Government Hospital in the Bawku West District.
They also painted the walls of the building to mark the bank’s “Make a Difference Day”.
They were joined by the pupils of the school and teachers to celebrate the day. The bank sets aside a day in every year to mark the “Make A difference Day” and make its impact felt by the members of the communities within which it operates.
Interacting with the headmistress of the school and her staff, an official of the bank, Mr Frank Annan, advised them to take proper care of the building and ensure that it was maintained at all times.
He said other institutions that had benefited from such celebrations in the past were the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital Children’s Ward and the Zebilla Government Hospital in the Bawku West District.
STUDENTS PRAY FOR PEACE (PAGE 35, MIRROR, DEC 19)
From Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bawku.
THE unending conflict in Bawku in the Upper East Region has thrown a spanner in the education of the youth in the area, compelling them to cry out to God to touch the hearts of the feuding factions.
More than 1,700 students of the Bawku Senior High School held an inter-faith service to pray for lasting peace in the area.
Also present at the prayer session were about 144 members of staff and management of the school, as well as other peace-loving people in Bawku.
The touching move by the students attracted officers from the municipal office of the National Commission for Civic Education and the Ghana Education Service. A representative of the paramount chief of Bawku, as well as members of the Bawku Inter-Ethic Peace Committee and the Inter-Faith Dialogue Committee, also joined the youth to pray for peace, which has eluded the people for a very long time.
The programme was characterised by Christian and Islamic readings, intercessory prayers, as well as the presentation of peace messages by the bodies present.
The objective of the service, according to the organisers, was to enable the school community to add its voice to the call by state and non-state organisations for an end to the protracted hostilities in the Bawku municipality.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr Bismarck Simon Kpuli, said peace was dear to the hearts of the school community, as it was of paramount importance to the development of the area.
He said for a long time peace had eluded the inhabitants of Bawku and stalled commercial activities and social cohesion. He, therefore, called on everyone to join the school in crying to God for the “re-emergence” of peace in Bawku to enable the children, who were the future leaders, to have access to uninterrupted educational opportunities.
Mr Kpuli reminded the people of Bawku of their collective responsibility towards ensuring and sustaining a violent-free atmosphere for the moral, spiritual and academic development of the children.
He expressed regret that under the current turbulent circumstances, the vision of the school administration, which was to build eminent personalities out of their students, might remain a mirage, adding, “That must be of great concern to everyone.”
He was, however, optimistic that with one voice in prayer to God, peace would surely return to Bawku.
The Personal Secretary to Bawku Naba Asigri Abugrago, Mr Thomas Abilba, commended the management of the school for putting together the prayer service with the aim of praying for peace in Bawku.
According to him, the students who are the future leaders deserved proper moulding by adults.
He reminded the students of the greater need for religious tolerance and charged them and others in Bawku to resolve their differences through laid down conflict resolution mechanisms.
Mr Leonard Dakura of the Municipal Education Directorate urged the students to be law abiding, since discipline was a tool for the promotion of peace.
He advised them to co-operate with the school authorities to ensure that they achieved their objective for being in school.
The Bawku Municipal Director of the NCCE, Mr P.P Apabey Baba, reminded the school community that peace was a process which required sustained and concerted efforts by all.
He called on the students to study hard to ensure that they acquired the necessary skills needed for development and also continue to work towards sustainable peace in Bawku.
THE unending conflict in Bawku in the Upper East Region has thrown a spanner in the education of the youth in the area, compelling them to cry out to God to touch the hearts of the feuding factions.
More than 1,700 students of the Bawku Senior High School held an inter-faith service to pray for lasting peace in the area.
Also present at the prayer session were about 144 members of staff and management of the school, as well as other peace-loving people in Bawku.
The touching move by the students attracted officers from the municipal office of the National Commission for Civic Education and the Ghana Education Service. A representative of the paramount chief of Bawku, as well as members of the Bawku Inter-Ethic Peace Committee and the Inter-Faith Dialogue Committee, also joined the youth to pray for peace, which has eluded the people for a very long time.
The programme was characterised by Christian and Islamic readings, intercessory prayers, as well as the presentation of peace messages by the bodies present.
The objective of the service, according to the organisers, was to enable the school community to add its voice to the call by state and non-state organisations for an end to the protracted hostilities in the Bawku municipality.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr Bismarck Simon Kpuli, said peace was dear to the hearts of the school community, as it was of paramount importance to the development of the area.
He said for a long time peace had eluded the inhabitants of Bawku and stalled commercial activities and social cohesion. He, therefore, called on everyone to join the school in crying to God for the “re-emergence” of peace in Bawku to enable the children, who were the future leaders, to have access to uninterrupted educational opportunities.
Mr Kpuli reminded the people of Bawku of their collective responsibility towards ensuring and sustaining a violent-free atmosphere for the moral, spiritual and academic development of the children.
He expressed regret that under the current turbulent circumstances, the vision of the school administration, which was to build eminent personalities out of their students, might remain a mirage, adding, “That must be of great concern to everyone.”
He was, however, optimistic that with one voice in prayer to God, peace would surely return to Bawku.
The Personal Secretary to Bawku Naba Asigri Abugrago, Mr Thomas Abilba, commended the management of the school for putting together the prayer service with the aim of praying for peace in Bawku.
According to him, the students who are the future leaders deserved proper moulding by adults.
He reminded the students of the greater need for religious tolerance and charged them and others in Bawku to resolve their differences through laid down conflict resolution mechanisms.
Mr Leonard Dakura of the Municipal Education Directorate urged the students to be law abiding, since discipline was a tool for the promotion of peace.
He advised them to co-operate with the school authorities to ensure that they achieved their objective for being in school.
The Bawku Municipal Director of the NCCE, Mr P.P Apabey Baba, reminded the school community that peace was a process which required sustained and concerted efforts by all.
He called on the students to study hard to ensure that they acquired the necessary skills needed for development and also continue to work towards sustainable peace in Bawku.
Friday, 18 December 2009
DINDIOK TO CONTEST UPPER EAST REGIONAL SECRETARY OF NPP (PAGE 17, DEC 18)
A former District Chief Executive for the Garu-Tempane District Assembly in the Upper East Region, Mr Joseph Kpemka Dindiok, has declared his intention to contest the Upper East Regional Secretary position of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Speaking to the Daily Graphic at Bolgatanga, the aspirant who was once a Presiding Member of the same assembly in 2008, said his decision to contest the position was to bring some dynamism and vibrancy into the party in the region in order to reposition it to re-capture power in the 2012 general election.
Mr Dindiok, now a Bolgatanga based private legal practitioner, said he was coming into the race with a wealth of experience, having climbed the ladder of the local government system.
In 2006, he was an elected Assembly Member for the Kpikpira-Natinga Electoral Area. That same year he was elected the Presiding Member of the assembly.
In August 2008, he was nominated as the DCE and with over 96 per cent of votes in his favour; he was overwhelmingly confirmed as the DCE.
“As far as the NPP is concerned in the Upper East Region, I think that the party needs to improve on its strength. We need a new set of leadership; a new sense of direction and a new focus to be able attain the height that we aspire for ourselves in the region,” he stated.
“In the light of this we need tried and tested people, who will not only stand the test of time in the party but will favourably, compete and overcome the leadership of the National Democratic Congress,” he said while sharing his thought on what he brings to the table.
He promised to improve on the communication and research unit of the party in the region to ensure that the party remained in touch with the electorate, when given the mandate.
According to him, he would also be a team player when given the nod. “I will always let the principle of unanimity guide us in all that we do so that the supreme interest of the party rather than our parochial interest will prevail,” he said.
Although he believes the incumbent Regional Secretary of the NPP has done well, he holds the view that the incumbent did not do enough. “I hope to build on what he has done to ensure that the party reaches the high level we aspire to be,” he said.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic at Bolgatanga, the aspirant who was once a Presiding Member of the same assembly in 2008, said his decision to contest the position was to bring some dynamism and vibrancy into the party in the region in order to reposition it to re-capture power in the 2012 general election.
Mr Dindiok, now a Bolgatanga based private legal practitioner, said he was coming into the race with a wealth of experience, having climbed the ladder of the local government system.
In 2006, he was an elected Assembly Member for the Kpikpira-Natinga Electoral Area. That same year he was elected the Presiding Member of the assembly.
In August 2008, he was nominated as the DCE and with over 96 per cent of votes in his favour; he was overwhelmingly confirmed as the DCE.
“As far as the NPP is concerned in the Upper East Region, I think that the party needs to improve on its strength. We need a new set of leadership; a new sense of direction and a new focus to be able attain the height that we aspire for ourselves in the region,” he stated.
“In the light of this we need tried and tested people, who will not only stand the test of time in the party but will favourably, compete and overcome the leadership of the National Democratic Congress,” he said while sharing his thought on what he brings to the table.
He promised to improve on the communication and research unit of the party in the region to ensure that the party remained in touch with the electorate, when given the mandate.
According to him, he would also be a team player when given the nod. “I will always let the principle of unanimity guide us in all that we do so that the supreme interest of the party rather than our parochial interest will prevail,” he said.
Although he believes the incumbent Regional Secretary of the NPP has done well, he holds the view that the incumbent did not do enough. “I hope to build on what he has done to ensure that the party reaches the high level we aspire to be,” he said.
UE HOST TRIANGULAR BOXING TODAY (PAGE 47, DEC 18)
The Upper East Region will host the revised Northern Triangular Boxing Tournament at the Navrongo Cinema Palace today in what promises to be an exciting tourney.
Boxers from the three Northern regions — Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions — will take part in the tournament.
The Upper East Regional Sports Development Officer, Mr John Bosco Abase, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic at Bolgatanga said the tournament formed part of the region’s preparation towards this year’s National Sports Festival.
He said apart from that, organisers were looking forward to making it an annual event with each of the three regions taking turns to host the event every two or three weeks as a way of unearthing potential world champions.
Mr Abase also hinted that plans and preparations were underway to organise an inter-districts competition to select a formidable regional team to represent the region in the forthcoming National Sports Festival.
According to him, all the districts in the region are currently preparing feverishly towards this inter-district competition on a date yet to be fixed.
The Regional Sports Development Officer also disclosed that a number of sporting activities and events were being planned for next year to coincide with the regions 50th anniversary celebrations.
Amongst the events are an inter-district Under 15 marathon race, inter-district Under 15 football competition, inter-zonal volleyball completion for men and women, as well as a Northern Triangular Tennis tournament among the senior teams of the three regions of the north.
He also said a boxing tournament among Upper East, Greater Accra and Burkina Faso had also be lined up among the activities to commemorate the regions golden jubilee celebration.
He disclosed that a number of regional sports associations had been reconstituted and would soon be inaugurated to enhance the promotion and development of sports in the region.
Boxers from the three Northern regions — Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions — will take part in the tournament.
The Upper East Regional Sports Development Officer, Mr John Bosco Abase, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic at Bolgatanga said the tournament formed part of the region’s preparation towards this year’s National Sports Festival.
He said apart from that, organisers were looking forward to making it an annual event with each of the three regions taking turns to host the event every two or three weeks as a way of unearthing potential world champions.
Mr Abase also hinted that plans and preparations were underway to organise an inter-districts competition to select a formidable regional team to represent the region in the forthcoming National Sports Festival.
According to him, all the districts in the region are currently preparing feverishly towards this inter-district competition on a date yet to be fixed.
The Regional Sports Development Officer also disclosed that a number of sporting activities and events were being planned for next year to coincide with the regions 50th anniversary celebrations.
Amongst the events are an inter-district Under 15 marathon race, inter-district Under 15 football competition, inter-zonal volleyball completion for men and women, as well as a Northern Triangular Tennis tournament among the senior teams of the three regions of the north.
He also said a boxing tournament among Upper East, Greater Accra and Burkina Faso had also be lined up among the activities to commemorate the regions golden jubilee celebration.
He disclosed that a number of regional sports associations had been reconstituted and would soon be inaugurated to enhance the promotion and development of sports in the region.
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
UPPER EAST REGSEC CALLS FOR BOUNDARY DISPUTE COMMITTEE (PAGE 14, DEC 15)
The Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has proposed the setting up of a joint security committee, comprising officials from Ghana and Burkina Faso, to investigate the recent altercation between natives of the two countries.
Last month, a violent confrontation between natives of the two countries at Mognori led to the death of two Ghanaians.
According to the REGSEC, the final resolution of the matter would help restore and strengthen the traditionally cordial relations between the two countries.
The Upper East Regional Minister and Chairman of the REGSEC, Mr Mark Woyongo, made the proposal at a meeting between officials of Ghana and Burkina Faso in Bawku on Saturday following the misunderstanding that broke out two weeks ago.
Present at the meeting were members of the Bawku Municipal Security Committee, led by the Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Musah Abdulai, and a 16- member delegation from Burkina Faso.
Last month, a group of Ghanaians from Bawku, led by one Moro, now at large, stormed the Burkina Faso side of Mognori, a border town, and allegedly started firing gunshots and threatening the peace of the area following an altercation with a Burkinabe over an unpaid toll.
According to reports, the Ghanaians, who were in eight in number, were overpowered and allegedly chased out. Luck, however, ran out for two of them, who were allegedly beaten and killed.
It took the personal involvement of the regional minister, who phoned his counterpart in the Central East Province of Burkina Faso, Mr Simeon Sawadogo, to negotiate the release of the deceased for burial in Ghana.
The deceased were identified as Gilla Issaka, 30, and Abdul Wahab Yussif, 27, both Bisas, and they have since been buried.
The 16-member Burkinabe delegation from the Central East Province was led by the High Commissioner (Haute Commissaire) to the Governor, Mr Pierre Bicaba. Other members included the Prefet de Bittou (District Chief Executive) of the area where the incident occurred, Mr Koudougou Hamidu, and the Chief of the Burkina Faso side of Mognori, Zampalige Boureima.
They were in Bawku to express their sympathies to the bereaved families, as well as the authorities of the region over the unfortunate incident.
According to Mr Bicaba, Burkina Faso and Ghana shared a long-standing bond of friendship and the unfortunate incident of November 27, 2009 should not mar the fruitful relations between the two countries.
Mr Mark Woyongo, for his part, said his administration had taken a serious view of the unfortunate incident and that everything possible would be done to bring the perpetrators to book.
He encouraged the people on the other side of the border to provide the security agencies on the Ghanaian side with information that would lead to the apprehension and prosecution of those who perpetrated the crime.
“We are concerned about that incident because it could have damaged the relationship between us and your country. We are determined to bring the perpetrators to book, but we are handicapped in the sense that we haven’t got enough information to be able to pursue the perpetrators, who are now at large. I am sure people on your side know the people who were involved. Once you are ready to assist us with the identity of those involved, we will arrest them and prosecute them,” he intimated.
Mr Woyongo thereafter proposed the setting up of a joint committee by both countries to investigate the incident and asked the Burkinabe delegation to work closely with the committee to unravel the persons behind the crime.
The delegation later called on the Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II.
They impressed on the Bawku Naba to urge his subjects to exercise restraint so that what happened did not escalate and mar the good relations between the two countries.
Naba Azoka expressed regret at the unfortunate incident and said people of the two communities were one people and so what happened should not have occurred.
Last month, a violent confrontation between natives of the two countries at Mognori led to the death of two Ghanaians.
According to the REGSEC, the final resolution of the matter would help restore and strengthen the traditionally cordial relations between the two countries.
The Upper East Regional Minister and Chairman of the REGSEC, Mr Mark Woyongo, made the proposal at a meeting between officials of Ghana and Burkina Faso in Bawku on Saturday following the misunderstanding that broke out two weeks ago.
Present at the meeting were members of the Bawku Municipal Security Committee, led by the Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Musah Abdulai, and a 16- member delegation from Burkina Faso.
Last month, a group of Ghanaians from Bawku, led by one Moro, now at large, stormed the Burkina Faso side of Mognori, a border town, and allegedly started firing gunshots and threatening the peace of the area following an altercation with a Burkinabe over an unpaid toll.
According to reports, the Ghanaians, who were in eight in number, were overpowered and allegedly chased out. Luck, however, ran out for two of them, who were allegedly beaten and killed.
It took the personal involvement of the regional minister, who phoned his counterpart in the Central East Province of Burkina Faso, Mr Simeon Sawadogo, to negotiate the release of the deceased for burial in Ghana.
The deceased were identified as Gilla Issaka, 30, and Abdul Wahab Yussif, 27, both Bisas, and they have since been buried.
The 16-member Burkinabe delegation from the Central East Province was led by the High Commissioner (Haute Commissaire) to the Governor, Mr Pierre Bicaba. Other members included the Prefet de Bittou (District Chief Executive) of the area where the incident occurred, Mr Koudougou Hamidu, and the Chief of the Burkina Faso side of Mognori, Zampalige Boureima.
They were in Bawku to express their sympathies to the bereaved families, as well as the authorities of the region over the unfortunate incident.
According to Mr Bicaba, Burkina Faso and Ghana shared a long-standing bond of friendship and the unfortunate incident of November 27, 2009 should not mar the fruitful relations between the two countries.
Mr Mark Woyongo, for his part, said his administration had taken a serious view of the unfortunate incident and that everything possible would be done to bring the perpetrators to book.
He encouraged the people on the other side of the border to provide the security agencies on the Ghanaian side with information that would lead to the apprehension and prosecution of those who perpetrated the crime.
“We are concerned about that incident because it could have damaged the relationship between us and your country. We are determined to bring the perpetrators to book, but we are handicapped in the sense that we haven’t got enough information to be able to pursue the perpetrators, who are now at large. I am sure people on your side know the people who were involved. Once you are ready to assist us with the identity of those involved, we will arrest them and prosecute them,” he intimated.
Mr Woyongo thereafter proposed the setting up of a joint committee by both countries to investigate the incident and asked the Burkinabe delegation to work closely with the committee to unravel the persons behind the crime.
The delegation later called on the Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II.
They impressed on the Bawku Naba to urge his subjects to exercise restraint so that what happened did not escalate and mar the good relations between the two countries.
Naba Azoka expressed regret at the unfortunate incident and said people of the two communities were one people and so what happened should not have occurred.
Monday, 14 December 2009
PROF JOHN KABURISE PASSES AWAY (DEC 14, PAGE 11)
NINETY students, including a 99-year-old man, graduated at the 3rd congregation of the Presbyterian University College (PUC) held at Abetifi in the Eastern Region at the weekend.
The 99-year-old graduate, Mr Akasease Kofi Boakye Yiadom, a veteran who fought in the Second World War enrolled in the university at the age of 96, to read Business Administration.
In an address read on his behalf by the Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr Alex Segbefia, President John Evans Atta Mills advised graduates of tertiary institutions to stay in the country to apply the skills and knowledge they had acquired in the nation’s re-building process initiated by the government.
He said rather than migrating to other countries to become part of the common unskilled labour done there, they should use the skills in such areas as Information and Communication Technology (ICT), among other professions, to contribute their quota to the country’s socio-economic development.
The President reminded products of tertiary institutions that “since education at such higher levels had equipped them with the requisite knowledge and skills of critical thinking and creativity, they must strive to apply such skills to enable them to become self-employed”.
He reminded the graduates that “nation-building calls for hard work, dedication and the desire to achieve something for your country”.
“Remember the church, the nation and others have sacrificed to make you what you are today. You must arise and join the government to build this nation to realise our dream of a better Ghana”, said Prof. Mills.
On government education policy, the President said his government had put in place structures and measures which would, in no doubt, transform the educational system to produce “men and women who will positively impact on the search for solutions to the numerous challenges confronting our developmental agenda”.
He mentioned the provision of school uniforms for basic school pupils, starting from December this year, the abolition of all extra fees at the basic education level, increase in Capitation Grant from GH¢3 to GH¢4.5 per child and the improvement on the quality of teaching and learning with, incentive packages for teachers in deprived areas as part of the policy.
Prof. Mills also gave an assurance that the government would continue to subsidise the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) registration fees by 70 per cent, adding that in 2010, additional 415 school buildings would be provided in schools whose pupils attended classes under trees.
The President acknowledged the role being played by private tertiary institutions in the country, noting that the increase in the enrolment of students in tertiary education from approximately 10,000 in 1990 to 100,000 currently had been attained through the involvement of private tertiary institutions.
To enable the nation to enjoy the full benefit of the expansion of her tertiary educational system, he said the government was critically examining its tertiary education policy and its financing, adding that “we remained committed to its policy of cost sharing”.
Prof. Mills commended the Presbyterian Church of Ghana for playing a significant role in the educational system of the country from basic to tertiary levels, and appealed to the management of the PUC not to ignore the church’s noble principle as enshrined in the Presbyterian educational philosophy, but to inculcate it in its students.
Earlier in his welcoming address, the Principal of the PUC, Prof. K. Sraku-Lartey, said as part of the strategic plans to reposition the institution to become a centre of academic excellence and a pacesetter in tertiary education delivery, the University Council had approved plans to enable the institution to obtain a charter by 2013 and introduce new demand-driven programmes, which would meet both local and international requirements.
He announced plans to increase student population to at least 1,500 in five years and to at least 3,000 in the next 10 years, indicating that there were plans to establish a School of Agriculture, which he said would be backed by a viable commercial agriculture and take advantage of the University of Ghana’s College of Health Science Biomedical School to establish a medical school
On the challenges facing the institution, Prof. Sraku-Lartey expressed concern over the lack of accommodation for both staff and students, the lack of water on all campuses, lack of computers and accessories to run ICT programmes, and books for its library, and called on the government and well-endowed individuals to assist the institution.
The 99-year-old graduate, Mr Akasease Kofi Boakye Yiadom, a veteran who fought in the Second World War enrolled in the university at the age of 96, to read Business Administration.
In an address read on his behalf by the Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr Alex Segbefia, President John Evans Atta Mills advised graduates of tertiary institutions to stay in the country to apply the skills and knowledge they had acquired in the nation’s re-building process initiated by the government.
He said rather than migrating to other countries to become part of the common unskilled labour done there, they should use the skills in such areas as Information and Communication Technology (ICT), among other professions, to contribute their quota to the country’s socio-economic development.
The President reminded products of tertiary institutions that “since education at such higher levels had equipped them with the requisite knowledge and skills of critical thinking and creativity, they must strive to apply such skills to enable them to become self-employed”.
He reminded the graduates that “nation-building calls for hard work, dedication and the desire to achieve something for your country”.
“Remember the church, the nation and others have sacrificed to make you what you are today. You must arise and join the government to build this nation to realise our dream of a better Ghana”, said Prof. Mills.
On government education policy, the President said his government had put in place structures and measures which would, in no doubt, transform the educational system to produce “men and women who will positively impact on the search for solutions to the numerous challenges confronting our developmental agenda”.
He mentioned the provision of school uniforms for basic school pupils, starting from December this year, the abolition of all extra fees at the basic education level, increase in Capitation Grant from GH¢3 to GH¢4.5 per child and the improvement on the quality of teaching and learning with, incentive packages for teachers in deprived areas as part of the policy.
Prof. Mills also gave an assurance that the government would continue to subsidise the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) registration fees by 70 per cent, adding that in 2010, additional 415 school buildings would be provided in schools whose pupils attended classes under trees.
The President acknowledged the role being played by private tertiary institutions in the country, noting that the increase in the enrolment of students in tertiary education from approximately 10,000 in 1990 to 100,000 currently had been attained through the involvement of private tertiary institutions.
To enable the nation to enjoy the full benefit of the expansion of her tertiary educational system, he said the government was critically examining its tertiary education policy and its financing, adding that “we remained committed to its policy of cost sharing”.
Prof. Mills commended the Presbyterian Church of Ghana for playing a significant role in the educational system of the country from basic to tertiary levels, and appealed to the management of the PUC not to ignore the church’s noble principle as enshrined in the Presbyterian educational philosophy, but to inculcate it in its students.
Earlier in his welcoming address, the Principal of the PUC, Prof. K. Sraku-Lartey, said as part of the strategic plans to reposition the institution to become a centre of academic excellence and a pacesetter in tertiary education delivery, the University Council had approved plans to enable the institution to obtain a charter by 2013 and introduce new demand-driven programmes, which would meet both local and international requirements.
He announced plans to increase student population to at least 1,500 in five years and to at least 3,000 in the next 10 years, indicating that there were plans to establish a School of Agriculture, which he said would be backed by a viable commercial agriculture and take advantage of the University of Ghana’s College of Health Science Biomedical School to establish a medical school
On the challenges facing the institution, Prof. Sraku-Lartey expressed concern over the lack of accommodation for both staff and students, the lack of water on all campuses, lack of computers and accessories to run ICT programmes, and books for its library, and called on the government and well-endowed individuals to assist the institution.
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
NATIONAL CHIEF IMAM PRAYS FOR PEACE IN BAWKU (PAGE 38, DEC 9)
The National Chief Imam Sheikh Dr Usman Nuhu Sharubutu, has reiterated the need for the people of Bawku to embrace peace and forgive another in the interest of national development.
Sheikh Sharubutu made the plea in a special prayer for the people of Bawku at the funeral of the late Chief Imam of Bawku, Sheikh Mualimu Mohammed Dantani, last Sunday.
The late Sheikh Dantani, 87, died on Friday, November 27, 2009 and has since been buried in line with Islamic tradition.
Sheikh Nuhu Sharubutu urged the Moslem community in Bawku to continually pray to Allah for peace in the area, since the absence of peace in the community was derailing development.
Present at the funeral were the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, The Bawku Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Musa Abdulai, the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mr Adamu Daramani Sakande, the Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu, amongst others.
The National Chief Imam, had earlier called on the Bawku Naba, Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, and prayed with him for peace.
At the funeral grounds, four prominent opinion leaders from the Kusasi and Mamprusi tribes, whose voices carry much weight in Bawku, also advised the people of Bawku to know that unless the citizens of the area realised that peace was indispensable, development would continue to elude them.
Alhaji Mumuni Bolnaba and Alhaji Osman Khassim, Kusasi opinion leaders and Alhaji Sulemana Yirimea and Alhaji Malik Imoro Salifu, Mamprusi opinion leaders, jointly called on the people to pursue the path of peace.
They bemoaned the fact that while other parts of the country were witnessing rapid development as a result of the peaceful environment prevailing there, Bawku, the once bustling commercial hub of the Upper East Region, was rather retarding as a result of an unending conflict.
The four, therefore, called on the people to bury the hatchet and desist from all acts of violence that had retarded growth and development in the area.
They also called on the people not to take the law into their own hands, but to always report all trouble makers to the security agencies for the necessary action to be taken.
The Upper East Regional Minister said there was no substitute for dialogue in a conflict situation, and, therefore, pleaded with all to get involved in the peace process.
The regional minister later asked the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central to join him in the search for peace in the area, stressing that “we are committed to the peace process and we will together work out a lasting solution to the problem. We are all stakeholders in the search for peace, ” he said.
The Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu, appealed to the people of Bawku not to let their differences and disagreements lead them into war and destruction.
He said the heavy security presence in the area was at great cost to the nation and that the cost of keeping the security personnel in the area could have been diverted to other developmental projects, such as roads and housing in the area, had there been peace.
The Municipal Chief Executive for Bawku, Mr Musah Abdulai, urged the people to use the presence of the eminent Islamic clerics in the town to forgive one another and live in peace.
The Member of Parliament for Bawku, Mr Adamu Daramani, said the conflict in Bawku had discouraged a lot of people from investing in the town in particular and the region as a whole, and, therefore, appealed to the people to leave the past behind them and resolve to live together.
Sheikh Sharubutu made the plea in a special prayer for the people of Bawku at the funeral of the late Chief Imam of Bawku, Sheikh Mualimu Mohammed Dantani, last Sunday.
The late Sheikh Dantani, 87, died on Friday, November 27, 2009 and has since been buried in line with Islamic tradition.
Sheikh Nuhu Sharubutu urged the Moslem community in Bawku to continually pray to Allah for peace in the area, since the absence of peace in the community was derailing development.
Present at the funeral were the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, The Bawku Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Musa Abdulai, the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mr Adamu Daramani Sakande, the Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu, amongst others.
The National Chief Imam, had earlier called on the Bawku Naba, Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, and prayed with him for peace.
At the funeral grounds, four prominent opinion leaders from the Kusasi and Mamprusi tribes, whose voices carry much weight in Bawku, also advised the people of Bawku to know that unless the citizens of the area realised that peace was indispensable, development would continue to elude them.
Alhaji Mumuni Bolnaba and Alhaji Osman Khassim, Kusasi opinion leaders and Alhaji Sulemana Yirimea and Alhaji Malik Imoro Salifu, Mamprusi opinion leaders, jointly called on the people to pursue the path of peace.
They bemoaned the fact that while other parts of the country were witnessing rapid development as a result of the peaceful environment prevailing there, Bawku, the once bustling commercial hub of the Upper East Region, was rather retarding as a result of an unending conflict.
The four, therefore, called on the people to bury the hatchet and desist from all acts of violence that had retarded growth and development in the area.
They also called on the people not to take the law into their own hands, but to always report all trouble makers to the security agencies for the necessary action to be taken.
The Upper East Regional Minister said there was no substitute for dialogue in a conflict situation, and, therefore, pleaded with all to get involved in the peace process.
The regional minister later asked the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central to join him in the search for peace in the area, stressing that “we are committed to the peace process and we will together work out a lasting solution to the problem. We are all stakeholders in the search for peace, ” he said.
The Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu, appealed to the people of Bawku not to let their differences and disagreements lead them into war and destruction.
He said the heavy security presence in the area was at great cost to the nation and that the cost of keeping the security personnel in the area could have been diverted to other developmental projects, such as roads and housing in the area, had there been peace.
The Municipal Chief Executive for Bawku, Mr Musah Abdulai, urged the people to use the presence of the eminent Islamic clerics in the town to forgive one another and live in peace.
The Member of Parliament for Bawku, Mr Adamu Daramani, said the conflict in Bawku had discouraged a lot of people from investing in the town in particular and the region as a whole, and, therefore, appealed to the people to leave the past behind them and resolve to live together.
Friday, 4 December 2009
ISD SELLS GOVERNMENT POLICIES (PAGE 26, DEC 4)
The Information Services Department (ISD) in the Upper East Region has begun a seven-day public education campaign on government policies and programmes.
The campaign will cover all the nine districts and municipal assemblies in the region.
Topics being treated include the enhanced Capitation Grant, the National Youth Employment Programme, Youth in Agriculture and the Ghana School Feeding Programme. Peace, unity, national cohesion and the activities of the various municipal and district assemblies are also being explained.
Briefing field officers at the launch of the campaign, the Upper East Regional Information Officer, Mr Nelson Mba Ayamga, advised them against playing politics with issues of national concern.
He also urged them not to argue with members of the public as that might portray the ISD in a negative light.
Mr Ayamga advised the officers to work in unity, since their duties were interdependent and none could work efficiently without the others playing their respective roles well.
He said as information workers, they must keep abreast of government policies at all times, since members of the public could call on them at any time for information relating to the work of the Government.
The Regional Information Officer asked the staff to listen attentively to the reactions of the people in the course of the campaign so that at the end, a comprehensive feedback report could be sent to the Government for appropriate adjustments to be made.
Mr Ayamga also used the opportunity to call on all district information officers to submit their action work pans for the year 2010.
The campaign will cover all the nine districts and municipal assemblies in the region.
Topics being treated include the enhanced Capitation Grant, the National Youth Employment Programme, Youth in Agriculture and the Ghana School Feeding Programme. Peace, unity, national cohesion and the activities of the various municipal and district assemblies are also being explained.
Briefing field officers at the launch of the campaign, the Upper East Regional Information Officer, Mr Nelson Mba Ayamga, advised them against playing politics with issues of national concern.
He also urged them not to argue with members of the public as that might portray the ISD in a negative light.
Mr Ayamga advised the officers to work in unity, since their duties were interdependent and none could work efficiently without the others playing their respective roles well.
He said as information workers, they must keep abreast of government policies at all times, since members of the public could call on them at any time for information relating to the work of the Government.
The Regional Information Officer asked the staff to listen attentively to the reactions of the people in the course of the campaign so that at the end, a comprehensive feedback report could be sent to the Government for appropriate adjustments to be made.
Mr Ayamga also used the opportunity to call on all district information officers to submit their action work pans for the year 2010.
JOURNALISTS URGED TO GO BEYOND BASICS OF REPORTING (PAGE 26, DEC 4)
The Associate Dean of the African University College of Communication, Mr Ato Amoaning Annan, has called on journalists to go beyond the basics of reporting and undertake investigations and ascertain the validity of facts about events and issues.
“It takes going beyond an event to bring to light human rights abuses. Journalists, therefore, need an extra eye to identify human rights violations and report on them,” he said.
According to him, reporting on issues would ensure that many Ghanaians were better informed about their rights and the rights of others.
Speaking at a day’s seminar for media practitioners in the Upper East Region on Human Rights reporting, Mr Annan, who is also in charge of Diploma Programmes and Student Affairs at AUCC, said the approach required media practitioners to go into detail and be thorough and explanatory.
He explained that human rights reporting aimed at determining and discovering the wrongs of human actions.
He added that apart from exposing human rights issues to the public it also provided the rationale for correction.
A Legal Officer at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Samuel Bosompem, noted that the commission alone could not tackle all issues on human rights and appealed to the media to collaborate with it to promote the rights, and dignity of the people.
He said the commission handled over 12,000 cases annually, 70 per cent which were concluded and the rest rolled over to the following year. He said the numbers could reduce if journalists redirected their focus and talked about human rights issues.
The Upper East Regional Director of CHRAJ, Mr Kenneth Adabayeri, appealed to the media not to hesitate to approach the commission in the region whenever there was the need to get information or clarification on any issue concerning human rights abuses.
He said journalists, by their training and calling, were human rights defenders.
“We at the commission cannot work in isolation. We need your collaboration to sensitise the public and enhance the frontiers of good governance and democracy,” he said.
“It takes going beyond an event to bring to light human rights abuses. Journalists, therefore, need an extra eye to identify human rights violations and report on them,” he said.
According to him, reporting on issues would ensure that many Ghanaians were better informed about their rights and the rights of others.
Speaking at a day’s seminar for media practitioners in the Upper East Region on Human Rights reporting, Mr Annan, who is also in charge of Diploma Programmes and Student Affairs at AUCC, said the approach required media practitioners to go into detail and be thorough and explanatory.
He explained that human rights reporting aimed at determining and discovering the wrongs of human actions.
He added that apart from exposing human rights issues to the public it also provided the rationale for correction.
A Legal Officer at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Samuel Bosompem, noted that the commission alone could not tackle all issues on human rights and appealed to the media to collaborate with it to promote the rights, and dignity of the people.
He said the commission handled over 12,000 cases annually, 70 per cent which were concluded and the rest rolled over to the following year. He said the numbers could reduce if journalists redirected their focus and talked about human rights issues.
The Upper East Regional Director of CHRAJ, Mr Kenneth Adabayeri, appealed to the media not to hesitate to approach the commission in the region whenever there was the need to get information or clarification on any issue concerning human rights abuses.
He said journalists, by their training and calling, were human rights defenders.
“We at the commission cannot work in isolation. We need your collaboration to sensitise the public and enhance the frontiers of good governance and democracy,” he said.
HELP CURB NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICES — BUILSA DCE (PAGE 26, DEC 4)
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Builsa in the Upper East Region, Mr Nobert Awulley, has charged chiefs and opinion leaders in the various communities to help in the campaign against negative environmental practices such as bush burning and indiscriminate tree felling as the dry season sets in.
He has warned that anybody who was caught would be severely dealt with to serve as a deterrent to others.
The DCE was speaking at a forum held at Sandema, the district capital, to round off a two-week public hearing session.
The programme was held in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Ibis West Africa, which took the district administrators round all the eight Town/Area Councils in the district to ascertain the immediate needs of the community members in order to prioritise them.
It also offered the people at the grass roots the opportunity to interact and brainstorm with policy makers on issues affecting them.
Addressing the forum, the DCE explained that the assembly had realised the need to engage the people, who were the end-users of facilities in the planning process.
He said the conventional practice whereby projects were often forced on the people in the communities did not augur well for even development, noting that when the people were not consulted before citing projects, they sometimes showed little interest in them.
Mr Awulley expressed the intention of the assembly to revive the various Town/Area Councils.
He said when this was done, the revenues they would mobilise would be used to carry out development projects.
He appealed to the people not to play politics with the public hearing session, since that might derail the good intentions of the programme.
The DCE charged chiefs and opinion leaders in the various communities to help in the campaign against unfriendly environmental practices.
Touching on the tarring of the Sandema-Chuchuliga road, Mr Awulley said there were some outstanding bills yet to be settled and that until the contract was legally abrogated the road could not be re-awarded to a different contractor in view of the legal implications involved.
He also said the Ministry of Roads and Highways was conducting investigations into how some contracts were awarded and that work would resume on the road as soon as investigations were completed.
A contributor to the programme, who described the shea tree as the cocoa of northern Ghana, lamented how some unscrupulous persons were destroying the economic crop with impunity.
He suggested the enactment of a legislation to protect the shea tree from further destruction as any further destruction of the tree could eventually lead to its extinction.
He said most families, survived economically on the shea-nuts during the lean season.
The Builsa District Planning Officer, Mr Lawrence Webadua, explained that the assembly had come to the end of the planning year, and for that matter, there was the need to interact with the end users of facilities to know their basic needs to enable the assembly to factor its findings into the district’s 2010-2013 medium-term development plans.
He commended the participants from the various communities for turning out in their numbers to brainstorm on issues of development concern despite the fact that they were in the peak of the harvesting season. Mr Webadua promised that their concerns would receive the needed attention.
He has warned that anybody who was caught would be severely dealt with to serve as a deterrent to others.
The DCE was speaking at a forum held at Sandema, the district capital, to round off a two-week public hearing session.
The programme was held in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Ibis West Africa, which took the district administrators round all the eight Town/Area Councils in the district to ascertain the immediate needs of the community members in order to prioritise them.
It also offered the people at the grass roots the opportunity to interact and brainstorm with policy makers on issues affecting them.
Addressing the forum, the DCE explained that the assembly had realised the need to engage the people, who were the end-users of facilities in the planning process.
He said the conventional practice whereby projects were often forced on the people in the communities did not augur well for even development, noting that when the people were not consulted before citing projects, they sometimes showed little interest in them.
Mr Awulley expressed the intention of the assembly to revive the various Town/Area Councils.
He said when this was done, the revenues they would mobilise would be used to carry out development projects.
He appealed to the people not to play politics with the public hearing session, since that might derail the good intentions of the programme.
The DCE charged chiefs and opinion leaders in the various communities to help in the campaign against unfriendly environmental practices.
Touching on the tarring of the Sandema-Chuchuliga road, Mr Awulley said there were some outstanding bills yet to be settled and that until the contract was legally abrogated the road could not be re-awarded to a different contractor in view of the legal implications involved.
He also said the Ministry of Roads and Highways was conducting investigations into how some contracts were awarded and that work would resume on the road as soon as investigations were completed.
A contributor to the programme, who described the shea tree as the cocoa of northern Ghana, lamented how some unscrupulous persons were destroying the economic crop with impunity.
He suggested the enactment of a legislation to protect the shea tree from further destruction as any further destruction of the tree could eventually lead to its extinction.
He said most families, survived economically on the shea-nuts during the lean season.
The Builsa District Planning Officer, Mr Lawrence Webadua, explained that the assembly had come to the end of the planning year, and for that matter, there was the need to interact with the end users of facilities to know their basic needs to enable the assembly to factor its findings into the district’s 2010-2013 medium-term development plans.
He commended the participants from the various communities for turning out in their numbers to brainstorm on issues of development concern despite the fact that they were in the peak of the harvesting season. Mr Webadua promised that their concerns would receive the needed attention.
PNC CONGRATULATES FARMERS (PAGE 14, DEC 4)
THE Upper East Regional Secretariat of the Peoples National Convention (PNC) has sent a message of congratulation to all Ghanaian farmers for their contribution to national development.
In a statement to mark the 25th National Farmers Day today, issued in Bolgatanga and signed by the Regional Secretary of the PNC, Mr Henry Fatchu, it said the party appreciated the hard work of farmers and fishermen.
It noted that this year’s National Farmers Day celebration, on the theme, “'Accelerated Agricultural Modernisation for Food Security and Economic Transformation”, is indicative of the fact that the agricultural sector has contributed greatly to the Ghanaian economy, and could be the engine of faster growth and poverty reduction if the Government formulates and implements the right policies within the right institutional framework.
“We therefore find it unacceptable that in spite of the role of Ghanaian farmers and fishermen in the context of the socio-economic environment, vast majority of the farmers and fishermen are poor and faced with production uncertainties.
At the same time, the statement said, middlemen continued to compound their woes by exploiting them as a result of price volatility, whiles governments over the years looked on without remedying the situation”.
In a statement to mark the 25th National Farmers Day today, issued in Bolgatanga and signed by the Regional Secretary of the PNC, Mr Henry Fatchu, it said the party appreciated the hard work of farmers and fishermen.
It noted that this year’s National Farmers Day celebration, on the theme, “'Accelerated Agricultural Modernisation for Food Security and Economic Transformation”, is indicative of the fact that the agricultural sector has contributed greatly to the Ghanaian economy, and could be the engine of faster growth and poverty reduction if the Government formulates and implements the right policies within the right institutional framework.
“We therefore find it unacceptable that in spite of the role of Ghanaian farmers and fishermen in the context of the socio-economic environment, vast majority of the farmers and fishermen are poor and faced with production uncertainties.
At the same time, the statement said, middlemen continued to compound their woes by exploiting them as a result of price volatility, whiles governments over the years looked on without remedying the situation”.
BOLGA TROUBLEMAKER NOT STAFF OF NYEP (PAGE 3, DEC 4)
THE Bawku Municipal Co-ordinator of the National Youth Employment Programme, Mr Phillip Ayamga, has denied claims by Yakubu Mohammed Sadat, the 27-year-old man who was jailed 30 years by the Bolgatanga Circuit Court, that he was a staff of the programme.
Speaking in a telephone interview with the Daily Graphic from Bawku, Mr Ayamba said at no time had the NYEP engaged the convict to work on any of the modules of the programme.
“I can also confirm that he was not engaged by my predecessor. I have checked through the files in this office ever since the news broke and at no time have I come across his name under any of the modules run by the NYEP,” Mr Ayamba asserted.
He, however, conceded that the convict had been frequenting the offices of the programme in Bawku to request for forms but that did not make him a staff of the programme.
Asked how many people were working in the office, he said apart from him, there was a marketing officer currently at post.
He said three other officers, the data entry clerk, the deputy co-ordinator and a secretary who were engaged under the previous government had all stopped going to the office since the change of government.
The Bolgatanga Circuit Court sentenced Sadat to 30 years in prison after convicting him of possessing a firearm without lawful excuse.
Sadat, a Wala from the Upper West Region but resident in Bawku, was found guilty of possessing a locally-manufactured revolver by the court, presided over by Mr William Boampong.
Sergeant Raphael Azanyitigah, the police prosecutor, told the court that the convict, until his arrest, was working at the National Youth Employment Office in Bawku.
Speaking in a telephone interview with the Daily Graphic from Bawku, Mr Ayamba said at no time had the NYEP engaged the convict to work on any of the modules of the programme.
“I can also confirm that he was not engaged by my predecessor. I have checked through the files in this office ever since the news broke and at no time have I come across his name under any of the modules run by the NYEP,” Mr Ayamba asserted.
He, however, conceded that the convict had been frequenting the offices of the programme in Bawku to request for forms but that did not make him a staff of the programme.
Asked how many people were working in the office, he said apart from him, there was a marketing officer currently at post.
He said three other officers, the data entry clerk, the deputy co-ordinator and a secretary who were engaged under the previous government had all stopped going to the office since the change of government.
The Bolgatanga Circuit Court sentenced Sadat to 30 years in prison after convicting him of possessing a firearm without lawful excuse.
Sadat, a Wala from the Upper West Region but resident in Bawku, was found guilty of possessing a locally-manufactured revolver by the court, presided over by Mr William Boampong.
Sergeant Raphael Azanyitigah, the police prosecutor, told the court that the convict, until his arrest, was working at the National Youth Employment Office in Bawku.
Thursday, 3 December 2009
BOLGA COURT JAILS BAWKU TROUBLEMAKER (PAGE 3, DEC 3)
THE Bolgatanga Circuit Court has sentenced a 27-year-old man to 30 years in prison after convicting him of possessing a firearm without lawful excuse.
Yakubu Mohammed Sadat, a Wala from the Upper West Region but resident in Bawku, was found guilty of possessing a locally manufactured revolver by the court, presided over by Mr William Boampong.
Prosecuting, Sergeant Raphael Azanyitigah told the court that the convict, until his arrest, was working at the National Youth Employment Office in Bawku. He said about 4 p.m. on December 1, 2009, the police had a tip-off that the convict was carrying a locally manufactured revolver on his body in the Bawku township.
The prosecutor told the court that Detective Lance Corporal Iddi Abdul Razak was immediately dispatched to the Zongo area where he located Sadat and effected his arrest.
He said a search was conducted on the convict and a locally manufactured revolver concealed in a plastic bag was found on him.
The convict had initially pleaded not guilty but when given an opportunity to explain himself, he told the court that the revolver had, indeed, been found on him and that it had been given to him by one Salia to be delivered to another person in town.
The judge, after hearing the explanation, entered a plea of guilty and sentenced him accordingly.
In his ruling, the presiding judge stated that the convict’s explanation was no defence.
Mr Boampong said he took into consideration the indiscriminate handling of firearms without lawful authority in Bawku and its environs and the threat to security in the area.
Immediately the sentence was announced, Sadat broke down emotionally and nearly collapsed to the ground but he was helped back on his feet by the police officers in court.
Yakubu Mohammed Sadat, a Wala from the Upper West Region but resident in Bawku, was found guilty of possessing a locally manufactured revolver by the court, presided over by Mr William Boampong.
Prosecuting, Sergeant Raphael Azanyitigah told the court that the convict, until his arrest, was working at the National Youth Employment Office in Bawku. He said about 4 p.m. on December 1, 2009, the police had a tip-off that the convict was carrying a locally manufactured revolver on his body in the Bawku township.
The prosecutor told the court that Detective Lance Corporal Iddi Abdul Razak was immediately dispatched to the Zongo area where he located Sadat and effected his arrest.
He said a search was conducted on the convict and a locally manufactured revolver concealed in a plastic bag was found on him.
The convict had initially pleaded not guilty but when given an opportunity to explain himself, he told the court that the revolver had, indeed, been found on him and that it had been given to him by one Salia to be delivered to another person in town.
The judge, after hearing the explanation, entered a plea of guilty and sentenced him accordingly.
In his ruling, the presiding judge stated that the convict’s explanation was no defence.
Mr Boampong said he took into consideration the indiscriminate handling of firearms without lawful authority in Bawku and its environs and the threat to security in the area.
Immediately the sentence was announced, Sadat broke down emotionally and nearly collapsed to the ground but he was helped back on his feet by the police officers in court.
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
PLANT MORE TREES TO CHECK DESERTIFICATION — WAYONGO (PAGE 31, DEC 3)
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Owen Woyongo, has underscored the need for all residents in the region to grow more trees to check the spread of desertification which was threatening the future of the region.
He said in the face of climate change and its impact on humanity, there was the need for people, especially those living close to River White Volta, to increase the number of trees, particularly economic ones such as mango and cashew to help to reduce deforestation and also create incomes for members of the community.
Mr Woyongo made the call at the third Ghana Country Forum of Communities in the White Volta Basin, held at Zebilla in the Bawku West District.
The forum, which attracted participants from 13 communities along the White Volta Basin, was facilitated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, (IUCN).
Since 2004, the IUCN, a body of the United Nations, has been collaborating with the Water Resources Commission of Ghana and the Directorate General of Water Resources, (DGRE) of Burkina to implement the project for improvement in water governance in the Volta River Basin.
The Zebilla forum was, therefore, aimed at bringing the various stakeholders to share thoughts and experiences and also come out with an appropriate institutional framework for managing the White Volta Basin in a sustainable manner.
Mr Woyongo commended the IUCN for the intervention, particularly for supporting communities to raise over 15,000 seedlings which were planted along the banks of the White Volta and challenged all to ensure the survival of the seedlings to achieve the desired results.
He also appealed to other communities outside the project area to embrace the programme.
In his presentation, Mr Joachim A. Abungba of the of the Water Resources Commission said the second phase of the project for improving water governance in the Volta Basin within the framework of the local Trans-boundary Committee for Management of the White Volta sub-basin (CTGEN) necessitated coordinating the role of the Water Resources Commission (WRC) through the White Volta Basin Secretariat (WVBS) in the implementation of interventions in the selected communities.
He listed the specific objectives of the forum as the sensitisation of the people to the value of ecosystems, strengthening the capacity of river banks protection committees for effective management of interventions and the promotion of the ecosystem restoration in order to improve services for poverty reduction.
It also aims at supporting options for improved livelihoods of households, and the promotion of management mechanisms for enhanced project delivery.
Mr Abungba said the WRC-WVBS, together with implementing partners, organised formal entry visits into the communities in July 2009.
This drive created awareness and the needed environment for activity implementation in the communities.
He said in addition to that, the NGOs partnering the project, namely the BACH, which mobilised communities in the Bawku West District and BEWDA, which was responsible for communities in Bawku Municipality and Garu-Tempane District, also organised HIV/AIDS education and awareness campaigns for five communities in August 2009.
More than 300 community members participated in the programme.
According to him, Range Officers of the Forest Services Division also helped to train nursery attendants of the newly selected communities in nurseries management in August 2009, while the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) organised soil fertility management training programmes for all communities in August 2009. About 300 people benefited from this programme.
He said the late release of funding for project activity implementation, limited funding to cover the increasing number of communities and lack of means of transportation for the project coordinating institution (WRC-WVBS) were some of the challenges that militated against the smooth implementation of the project.
The communities that participated in the forum were, Mognori, Kugrasia, Nafkolga, Bazua, Googo, Kobore, Sakom, and Galaka.
He said in the face of climate change and its impact on humanity, there was the need for people, especially those living close to River White Volta, to increase the number of trees, particularly economic ones such as mango and cashew to help to reduce deforestation and also create incomes for members of the community.
Mr Woyongo made the call at the third Ghana Country Forum of Communities in the White Volta Basin, held at Zebilla in the Bawku West District.
The forum, which attracted participants from 13 communities along the White Volta Basin, was facilitated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, (IUCN).
Since 2004, the IUCN, a body of the United Nations, has been collaborating with the Water Resources Commission of Ghana and the Directorate General of Water Resources, (DGRE) of Burkina to implement the project for improvement in water governance in the Volta River Basin.
The Zebilla forum was, therefore, aimed at bringing the various stakeholders to share thoughts and experiences and also come out with an appropriate institutional framework for managing the White Volta Basin in a sustainable manner.
Mr Woyongo commended the IUCN for the intervention, particularly for supporting communities to raise over 15,000 seedlings which were planted along the banks of the White Volta and challenged all to ensure the survival of the seedlings to achieve the desired results.
He also appealed to other communities outside the project area to embrace the programme.
In his presentation, Mr Joachim A. Abungba of the of the Water Resources Commission said the second phase of the project for improving water governance in the Volta Basin within the framework of the local Trans-boundary Committee for Management of the White Volta sub-basin (CTGEN) necessitated coordinating the role of the Water Resources Commission (WRC) through the White Volta Basin Secretariat (WVBS) in the implementation of interventions in the selected communities.
He listed the specific objectives of the forum as the sensitisation of the people to the value of ecosystems, strengthening the capacity of river banks protection committees for effective management of interventions and the promotion of the ecosystem restoration in order to improve services for poverty reduction.
It also aims at supporting options for improved livelihoods of households, and the promotion of management mechanisms for enhanced project delivery.
Mr Abungba said the WRC-WVBS, together with implementing partners, organised formal entry visits into the communities in July 2009.
This drive created awareness and the needed environment for activity implementation in the communities.
He said in addition to that, the NGOs partnering the project, namely the BACH, which mobilised communities in the Bawku West District and BEWDA, which was responsible for communities in Bawku Municipality and Garu-Tempane District, also organised HIV/AIDS education and awareness campaigns for five communities in August 2009.
More than 300 community members participated in the programme.
According to him, Range Officers of the Forest Services Division also helped to train nursery attendants of the newly selected communities in nurseries management in August 2009, while the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) organised soil fertility management training programmes for all communities in August 2009. About 300 people benefited from this programme.
He said the late release of funding for project activity implementation, limited funding to cover the increasing number of communities and lack of means of transportation for the project coordinating institution (WRC-WVBS) were some of the challenges that militated against the smooth implementation of the project.
The communities that participated in the forum were, Mognori, Kugrasia, Nafkolga, Bazua, Googo, Kobore, Sakom, and Galaka.
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
CHIEFS, TRADITIONAL LEADERS TO CHECK GENDER VIOLENCE (PAGE 11, DEC 1)
Chiefs and Traditional leaders in the Upper East Region have intensified their campaign for the elimination of violence against women.
The Regional House of Chiefs has since September, 2008 adopted a resolution compelling all paramount chiefs to enforce the reform or abolish all such practices that are harmful, injurious and constitute an affront to women’s right.
The Paramount Chief of Bongo and a member of the Regional House of Chiefs, Naba Salifu Alemyarum, announced this in Bolgatanga during this year’s 16-days of "Activism against Gender Base Violence Campaign" organised by Action Aid Ghana (AAG).
The theme for the celebration was “Commit: Act: Demand: We can end Violence against Women”
Naba Alemyarum said traditional authorities now appreciated the need to support women in the fight against negative cultural practices.
“In the past, women were not allowed to participate in decision-making as they were only confined to domestic work. Today in this region, the negative behaviour and practices that impede the socio-cultural development of women have been given serious attention”, he announced.
Naba Alemyarum said for instance, for the first time in the history of the traditional area of Bongo, he had made arrangements to include respectable women sitting in his council of elders, who are consulted in resolving domestic violence related issues.
Naba Alemyarum who spoke on the topic, "The Practice of Harmful Cultural Practices is an Obstacle to Women's Access to Justice - The Role of Traditional Authorities in Protecting the Rights of Women in the Upper East Region.", said in spite of the gains made, it will require collective efforts by civil society organisations, individuals and agencies to expose perpetrators of such harmful practices for appropriate sanctions to be meted to them.
“Though we are winning the war against betrothal, forced/early marriage and elopement, all attempts at reducing dowries have been resisted. In the Bawku paramountcy, even though the paramount chief instituted a dowry system the people have refused to abide by it. We are told some women make fun of their colleagues as cheap women because lesser dowries were paid for them hence inciting other families to resist and refuse it,” he said.
Another challenge confronting the House of Chiefs, he said, was how to increase the number of vacant paramount seats, making the enforcement of resolutions extremely difficult, adding that out of 17 paramountcies in the region,five were vacant. This situation, he said, further compounded the setting up of committees to review customary practices.
Naba Alemyarum appealed to the government to assist the house to engage the services of a legal practitioner to handle its legal issues since, the legal practitioner engaged by the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs had resigned.
“The traditional institutions need to be strengthened, devoid of political and religious interference and given the free hand to operate and accomplish its core duties”, he said.
The acting Regional Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Kenneth Adabayeri, appealed to victims of gender based violence not to hesitate to call on the commission in the region for redress.
“The services of CHRAJ are free and we do not demand anyone to have money before accessing our services”, he assured.
The Upper East Regional Development Programme Manager of Action Aid Ghana, Mr Micheal Lumor, announced that his organisation had spent GH¢58,800.00 in various programmes towards reduction of violence against women and funding women’s economic empowerment interventions in 2009, describing the impact as tremendous.
These he said, included the creation of legal awareness for 200 selected women, providing equipment for the offices of Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) in Zebilla with a computer, a printer and office furniture to facilitate the work of the police.
He said available data revealed that the fight against violence against women was far from being won, and therefore entreated the support of all to deal with the violation of women’s rights on a sustainable basis.
The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni, said the government was undertaking gender mainstreaming programmes which emphasised gender responsive budgeting in all sectors.
She said as result staff of the various Municipal and District Assemblies were being provided with skills in gender responsive budget planning and implementation.
The Regional House of Chiefs has since September, 2008 adopted a resolution compelling all paramount chiefs to enforce the reform or abolish all such practices that are harmful, injurious and constitute an affront to women’s right.
The Paramount Chief of Bongo and a member of the Regional House of Chiefs, Naba Salifu Alemyarum, announced this in Bolgatanga during this year’s 16-days of "Activism against Gender Base Violence Campaign" organised by Action Aid Ghana (AAG).
The theme for the celebration was “Commit: Act: Demand: We can end Violence against Women”
Naba Alemyarum said traditional authorities now appreciated the need to support women in the fight against negative cultural practices.
“In the past, women were not allowed to participate in decision-making as they were only confined to domestic work. Today in this region, the negative behaviour and practices that impede the socio-cultural development of women have been given serious attention”, he announced.
Naba Alemyarum said for instance, for the first time in the history of the traditional area of Bongo, he had made arrangements to include respectable women sitting in his council of elders, who are consulted in resolving domestic violence related issues.
Naba Alemyarum who spoke on the topic, "The Practice of Harmful Cultural Practices is an Obstacle to Women's Access to Justice - The Role of Traditional Authorities in Protecting the Rights of Women in the Upper East Region.", said in spite of the gains made, it will require collective efforts by civil society organisations, individuals and agencies to expose perpetrators of such harmful practices for appropriate sanctions to be meted to them.
“Though we are winning the war against betrothal, forced/early marriage and elopement, all attempts at reducing dowries have been resisted. In the Bawku paramountcy, even though the paramount chief instituted a dowry system the people have refused to abide by it. We are told some women make fun of their colleagues as cheap women because lesser dowries were paid for them hence inciting other families to resist and refuse it,” he said.
Another challenge confronting the House of Chiefs, he said, was how to increase the number of vacant paramount seats, making the enforcement of resolutions extremely difficult, adding that out of 17 paramountcies in the region,five were vacant. This situation, he said, further compounded the setting up of committees to review customary practices.
Naba Alemyarum appealed to the government to assist the house to engage the services of a legal practitioner to handle its legal issues since, the legal practitioner engaged by the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs had resigned.
“The traditional institutions need to be strengthened, devoid of political and religious interference and given the free hand to operate and accomplish its core duties”, he said.
The acting Regional Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Kenneth Adabayeri, appealed to victims of gender based violence not to hesitate to call on the commission in the region for redress.
“The services of CHRAJ are free and we do not demand anyone to have money before accessing our services”, he assured.
The Upper East Regional Development Programme Manager of Action Aid Ghana, Mr Micheal Lumor, announced that his organisation had spent GH¢58,800.00 in various programmes towards reduction of violence against women and funding women’s economic empowerment interventions in 2009, describing the impact as tremendous.
These he said, included the creation of legal awareness for 200 selected women, providing equipment for the offices of Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) in Zebilla with a computer, a printer and office furniture to facilitate the work of the police.
He said available data revealed that the fight against violence against women was far from being won, and therefore entreated the support of all to deal with the violation of women’s rights on a sustainable basis.
The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni, said the government was undertaking gender mainstreaming programmes which emphasised gender responsive budgeting in all sectors.
She said as result staff of the various Municipal and District Assemblies were being provided with skills in gender responsive budget planning and implementation.
Sunday, 29 November 2009
TWO BEATEN TO DEATH (BACK PAGE, NOV 28)
TWO persons resident at Mognori, a border town near Bawku in the Upper East Region, were beaten to death at the Burkina Faso side of Mognori on Thursday evening following a misunderstanding that ensued between them and some residents on the Burkina side.
The White Volta River separates the two communities and people from either side constantly cross it for trading activities.
A security source in Bawku told this reporter that since the river had partially dried up, some young men on the Ghana side had constructed a temporary road, using tree branches, to facilitate the movement of vehicles into both sides of the Mognori community.
The temporary “road” across the White Volta links the two sides in the dry season and drivers who use the road are expected to pay a toll of GH¢1 to the youth who constructed it.
According to the source, on one occasion a Burkinabe driver crossed over to the Ghana side and back to the Burkina side over five times without paying the prescribed toll.
A misunderstanding ensued and in the process the Burkinabe driver allegedly slapped one of the youth from the Ghana side of Mognori. The young man allegedly ran to the Ghana side and later to Bawku to organise some colleagues to attack the driver.
The group, led by one Moro, armed themselves with a weapon and headed towards the Burkina side of the community where they fired indiscriminately and attacked the residents there.
Some members of the group, the source said, upon seeing the situation, fled the area, leaving the two who were beaten to death.
Security personnel from Ghana were detailed to the area to negotiate with their counterparts on the other side of the river and brought the deceased back to Ghana on Friday.
The names of the deceased were given only as Angola and Murtalla, both Bissas. Their remains have since been deposited at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital mortuary for autopsy.
The White Volta River separates the two communities and people from either side constantly cross it for trading activities.
A security source in Bawku told this reporter that since the river had partially dried up, some young men on the Ghana side had constructed a temporary road, using tree branches, to facilitate the movement of vehicles into both sides of the Mognori community.
The temporary “road” across the White Volta links the two sides in the dry season and drivers who use the road are expected to pay a toll of GH¢1 to the youth who constructed it.
According to the source, on one occasion a Burkinabe driver crossed over to the Ghana side and back to the Burkina side over five times without paying the prescribed toll.
A misunderstanding ensued and in the process the Burkinabe driver allegedly slapped one of the youth from the Ghana side of Mognori. The young man allegedly ran to the Ghana side and later to Bawku to organise some colleagues to attack the driver.
The group, led by one Moro, armed themselves with a weapon and headed towards the Burkina side of the community where they fired indiscriminately and attacked the residents there.
Some members of the group, the source said, upon seeing the situation, fled the area, leaving the two who were beaten to death.
Security personnel from Ghana were detailed to the area to negotiate with their counterparts on the other side of the river and brought the deceased back to Ghana on Friday.
The names of the deceased were given only as Angola and Murtalla, both Bissas. Their remains have since been deposited at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital mortuary for autopsy.
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
MILITARY PRESENCE IN BAWKU VITAL — LECTURER (PAGE 15, NOV 24)
There is the need for a robust military presence in Bawku to enforce peace in the violence-stricken municipality in the Upper East Region.
Lietenant Colonel Emeka Ogbanna, a lecturer at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College who made the call noted that, until such a decision is taken, the situation in the troubled border town would continue to deteriorate and the search for peace would remain elusive.
Lt Col Ogbonna made the observation during a meeting with the Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni and some members of the Regional Security Council at Bolgatanga after a tour of the region by some lecturers and students of the college.
Four directing staff and eight students from the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College were in the region for a week’s study tour.
The tour formed part of the Senior Staff Course of the college, which is conducted yearly to help the students to collate views and suggestions from institutions as part of their academic programme.
Lt. Col. Ogbonna , a Nigerian, said the unending violence in Bawku, in spite of all the measures taken by the Government, was derailing development efforts of the municipality in particular and the region as a whole. He, therefore, appealed to the Government to renew the mandate of the military in the area to deal effectively with the conflict, irrespective of the opposition by human rights groups.
He emphasised that for a long time, combatants had acted with impunity and disregarded the right of innocent persons to live in peace and added that it was about time combatants in the conflict were dealt with drastically to serve as a deterrent to others.
He recounted a similar exercise in Nigeria, which helped to bring peace in one of the states after a similar insurrection.
The call by the military officer follows a similar one made by the Regional Minister and Chairman of Regional Security Council, Mr Mark Woyongo to the Government earlier this month, to declare a state of emergency in Bawku to enable the security agencies to deal with the situation there.
This was after Mr Woyongo and some members of REGSEC were forced to take cover and avoid being fired at by combatants during a recent altercation in the municipality.
The students from Ghana, Rwanda, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, observed that the conflict in Bawku was impacting negatively on the lives of the people and called for a prompt resolution to improve trade and socio-economic activity.
Whist commending the Government for the intervention made so far in the resolution of the conflict, they advocated the involvement of other paramount chiefs in the region in the conflict-resolution process.
On Agriculture, the students noticed a huge potential in the sector but bemoaned the lack of inputs and modern technology to move farming to a higher level.
They, therefore, suggested that farmers in the region should be provided with inputs such as tractors and water pumps, amongst others, to enhance farming.
They observed that the Northern Star Tomato Factory had a great potential and suggested that operations at the factory be diversified for other crops such as pepper to be processed there, and the production standards improved to attract private investment to assist farmers in the region.
They also supported the suggestion that farmers and other people be allowed to have shares in the factory.
The students bemoaned the inadequacy of health personnel in the region and asked the regional co-ordinating council and the Ghana Health Service to address the issue.
“From our tour, the doctor–patient ration was 1:16,000, whilst in the Builsa District, the ratio is 1: 81,000. This is unacceptable and poses a serious challenge”, one of the students observed.
They also raised concern about the rice farms at the Fumbisi Valley in the Builsa District where they said large tracts of rice fields were ready for harvesting but were being threatened by bush fires due to the absence of a combine harvester for the job. They appealed to the Government to help the farmers to harvest the crop.
Responding to some of the observations, Mrs Awuni said their findings would be critically looked into and indicated that the regional minister was already in Accra negotiating for a combine harvester for farmers to assist in harvesting the rice.
She also added that the RCC was already addressing some of the issues raised, including the lack of medical doctors and other allied health workers.
Naval Captain James Kontoh leader of the team, said findings from the tour, apart from fulfilling the academic requirements of the students would also be forwarded to the Government to serve as a feedback on its policies and programmes.
The two other lecturers who accompanied the team were Lt Col Irvine Aryeetey and Lt Col John Obibah Kusah.
Lietenant Colonel Emeka Ogbanna, a lecturer at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College who made the call noted that, until such a decision is taken, the situation in the troubled border town would continue to deteriorate and the search for peace would remain elusive.
Lt Col Ogbonna made the observation during a meeting with the Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni and some members of the Regional Security Council at Bolgatanga after a tour of the region by some lecturers and students of the college.
Four directing staff and eight students from the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College were in the region for a week’s study tour.
The tour formed part of the Senior Staff Course of the college, which is conducted yearly to help the students to collate views and suggestions from institutions as part of their academic programme.
Lt. Col. Ogbonna , a Nigerian, said the unending violence in Bawku, in spite of all the measures taken by the Government, was derailing development efforts of the municipality in particular and the region as a whole. He, therefore, appealed to the Government to renew the mandate of the military in the area to deal effectively with the conflict, irrespective of the opposition by human rights groups.
He emphasised that for a long time, combatants had acted with impunity and disregarded the right of innocent persons to live in peace and added that it was about time combatants in the conflict were dealt with drastically to serve as a deterrent to others.
He recounted a similar exercise in Nigeria, which helped to bring peace in one of the states after a similar insurrection.
The call by the military officer follows a similar one made by the Regional Minister and Chairman of Regional Security Council, Mr Mark Woyongo to the Government earlier this month, to declare a state of emergency in Bawku to enable the security agencies to deal with the situation there.
This was after Mr Woyongo and some members of REGSEC were forced to take cover and avoid being fired at by combatants during a recent altercation in the municipality.
The students from Ghana, Rwanda, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, observed that the conflict in Bawku was impacting negatively on the lives of the people and called for a prompt resolution to improve trade and socio-economic activity.
Whist commending the Government for the intervention made so far in the resolution of the conflict, they advocated the involvement of other paramount chiefs in the region in the conflict-resolution process.
On Agriculture, the students noticed a huge potential in the sector but bemoaned the lack of inputs and modern technology to move farming to a higher level.
They, therefore, suggested that farmers in the region should be provided with inputs such as tractors and water pumps, amongst others, to enhance farming.
They observed that the Northern Star Tomato Factory had a great potential and suggested that operations at the factory be diversified for other crops such as pepper to be processed there, and the production standards improved to attract private investment to assist farmers in the region.
They also supported the suggestion that farmers and other people be allowed to have shares in the factory.
The students bemoaned the inadequacy of health personnel in the region and asked the regional co-ordinating council and the Ghana Health Service to address the issue.
“From our tour, the doctor–patient ration was 1:16,000, whilst in the Builsa District, the ratio is 1: 81,000. This is unacceptable and poses a serious challenge”, one of the students observed.
They also raised concern about the rice farms at the Fumbisi Valley in the Builsa District where they said large tracts of rice fields were ready for harvesting but were being threatened by bush fires due to the absence of a combine harvester for the job. They appealed to the Government to help the farmers to harvest the crop.
Responding to some of the observations, Mrs Awuni said their findings would be critically looked into and indicated that the regional minister was already in Accra negotiating for a combine harvester for farmers to assist in harvesting the rice.
She also added that the RCC was already addressing some of the issues raised, including the lack of medical doctors and other allied health workers.
Naval Captain James Kontoh leader of the team, said findings from the tour, apart from fulfilling the academic requirements of the students would also be forwarded to the Government to serve as a feedback on its policies and programmes.
The two other lecturers who accompanied the team were Lt Col Irvine Aryeetey and Lt Col John Obibah Kusah.
Sunday, 22 November 2009
DEPUTY MINISTER PRAISES RELIGIOUS BODIES (PAGE 39, NOV 23)
THE Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni, has commended religious organisations for assisting the governments in the provision of education for Ghanaian children.
She stated that the government saw the private sector, including the churches, as an active partner in development.
Mrs Awuni said this during the inauguration of a new classroom block for the Fountain Gate International School at Bolgatanga.
The GH¢443,238.98 building, financed by the Fountain Gate Chapel, consists of 27 classrooms, an administrative block, a dining hall, and a sports field, among other facilities.
Mrs Awuni cautioned the school authorities to live above reproach, avoid indulging in any amorous relationship with the pupils but rather serve as role models to them.
The Director of the school, Reverend Mrs Rosemond Anaba, said the academic facility was established in 1996 with 107 children in four classrooms, but currently had total enrolment of 640 pupils.
She said the aim of the church was to adequately equip the school to provide the needed human resources for the country.
Mrs Anaba said the school had been scoring 100 per cent in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) since its establishment with an average score of 80 per cent distinction.
She stated that the government saw the private sector, including the churches, as an active partner in development.
Mrs Awuni said this during the inauguration of a new classroom block for the Fountain Gate International School at Bolgatanga.
The GH¢443,238.98 building, financed by the Fountain Gate Chapel, consists of 27 classrooms, an administrative block, a dining hall, and a sports field, among other facilities.
Mrs Awuni cautioned the school authorities to live above reproach, avoid indulging in any amorous relationship with the pupils but rather serve as role models to them.
The Director of the school, Reverend Mrs Rosemond Anaba, said the academic facility was established in 1996 with 107 children in four classrooms, but currently had total enrolment of 640 pupils.
She said the aim of the church was to adequately equip the school to provide the needed human resources for the country.
Mrs Anaba said the school had been scoring 100 per cent in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) since its establishment with an average score of 80 per cent distinction.
Thursday, 19 November 2009
ERNEST ACHEAMPONG'S BREAKTHROUGH (SHOWBIZ, PAGE 4, NOV 19)
By Benjamin Xornam Glover
THE auditorium of Fountain Gate Chapel last Sunday witnessed the launch of the musical works of one of the young musicians practising his trade in the Upper East Region.
The album launch marked the biggest breakthrough for gospel artiste, Ernest Acheampong who for the past four and half years had been looking forward to outdoor his talents.
In a chat with Showbiz, Ernest, a native of Trede in the Ashanti Region who lives in Bolgatanga said “it was the love of the things of the Lord that inspired me to put together this maiden album titled Aseda Nkoa.”
The CD version has seven songs while the audio cassette has six. All songs were written, arranged and sang by Ernest.
A member of the Church of Pentecost, Bolgatanga District, Ernest, born in 1979, was full of praise to God for guiding him through thick and thin culminating in the official launch of his debut.
He re-countered several challenges that came his way that nearly prevented him from achieving his objective. “ Key among them was the difficulty in getting a producer to support my vision.”
He was therefore grateful to Mr. Peter K. Kufour, a Bolgatanga based businessman and other philanthropists for recognising his potential and offering him the necessary support culminating in the release of his album.
He dedicated his maiden effort to all apostles of the gospel and also to his mother Madam Serwah Akoto, who he described as a great inspiration in his life.
The album launch kicked off with performances by some musicians such as Darling Silvia, Evangelist K. Frimpong and Madam Martha Fuseini.
Halfway through the performances, Pastor Solomon Dapour of the Fountain Gate Chapel officially launched the album.
That done, MC for the launch, Onimyamfuor Aborampa, a DJ with Hello FM in Kumasi auctioned the album.The first copy of the CD was bought at GH¢1,000 by a Bolgatanga based businessman, Mr. Kwodwo Boakye.
This paved the way for performances from Ernest who treated patrons to songs from the album including the title track Aseda Nkoa, Pagya Me Ko Soro, and Madamfo Pa. Other songs on the album are; Waye Amame and Animonyam Nka Wo.
THE auditorium of Fountain Gate Chapel last Sunday witnessed the launch of the musical works of one of the young musicians practising his trade in the Upper East Region.
The album launch marked the biggest breakthrough for gospel artiste, Ernest Acheampong who for the past four and half years had been looking forward to outdoor his talents.
In a chat with Showbiz, Ernest, a native of Trede in the Ashanti Region who lives in Bolgatanga said “it was the love of the things of the Lord that inspired me to put together this maiden album titled Aseda Nkoa.”
The CD version has seven songs while the audio cassette has six. All songs were written, arranged and sang by Ernest.
A member of the Church of Pentecost, Bolgatanga District, Ernest, born in 1979, was full of praise to God for guiding him through thick and thin culminating in the official launch of his debut.
He re-countered several challenges that came his way that nearly prevented him from achieving his objective. “ Key among them was the difficulty in getting a producer to support my vision.”
He was therefore grateful to Mr. Peter K. Kufour, a Bolgatanga based businessman and other philanthropists for recognising his potential and offering him the necessary support culminating in the release of his album.
He dedicated his maiden effort to all apostles of the gospel and also to his mother Madam Serwah Akoto, who he described as a great inspiration in his life.
The album launch kicked off with performances by some musicians such as Darling Silvia, Evangelist K. Frimpong and Madam Martha Fuseini.
Halfway through the performances, Pastor Solomon Dapour of the Fountain Gate Chapel officially launched the album.
That done, MC for the launch, Onimyamfuor Aborampa, a DJ with Hello FM in Kumasi auctioned the album.The first copy of the CD was bought at GH¢1,000 by a Bolgatanga based businessman, Mr. Kwodwo Boakye.
This paved the way for performances from Ernest who treated patrons to songs from the album including the title track Aseda Nkoa, Pagya Me Ko Soro, and Madamfo Pa. Other songs on the album are; Waye Amame and Animonyam Nka Wo.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
TWO BAWKU SHOOTING INCIDENT SUSPECTS ON REMAND (BACK PAGE, NOV 18)
A circuit court in Bolgatanga has remanded in police custody for two weeks the two suspects arrested in Bawku last week in connection with the shooting incident in the municipality.
Rashid Bukari and Justine Hado will re-appear before the court on November 27, 2009.
The Upper East Regional Crime Officer of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Edward Tabiri, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic, said that would allow the police to continue with their investigations.
He said the two were being held for unlawful possession of ammunition, adding that after investigations had been concluded, appropriate charges would be preferred against them.
Supt Tabiri said a duplicate docket had been forwarded to the Attorney-General’s office for further advice, adding that the pleas of the suspects were not taken.
The suspects were picked up by a joint military and police patrol team after Rashid was alleged to have fired some shots in town, creating panic in the municipality.
Thirty-four rounds of unfired AK 47 ammunition were reportedly retrieved from a jacket said to have been worn by Rashid.
Rashid Bukari and Justine Hado will re-appear before the court on November 27, 2009.
The Upper East Regional Crime Officer of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Edward Tabiri, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic, said that would allow the police to continue with their investigations.
He said the two were being held for unlawful possession of ammunition, adding that after investigations had been concluded, appropriate charges would be preferred against them.
Supt Tabiri said a duplicate docket had been forwarded to the Attorney-General’s office for further advice, adding that the pleas of the suspects were not taken.
The suspects were picked up by a joint military and police patrol team after Rashid was alleged to have fired some shots in town, creating panic in the municipality.
Thirty-four rounds of unfired AK 47 ammunition were reportedly retrieved from a jacket said to have been worn by Rashid.
Sunday, 15 November 2009
UPPER EAST NDC PROPOSES CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT (PAGE 14, DEC 14)
THE Upper East Regional branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has proposed amendments to the party’s constitution that will extend the tenure of office from a period of two years to four years for all party executive members at all levels.
The branch also proposed for the consideration of the national conference the redesignation of the propaganda wing of the party as its communication wing to avoid misinterpretations of its functions.
Another amendment proposed by the conference was the inclusion of the Youth and Women’s Organiser to the branch level executive of the party.
The Regional Secretary of the party, Mr Donatus Akamugri Atanga, announced this at the party’s regional delegate’s conference which also saw the election of new executive to man the affairs of the party.
He said the proposed extension of the term of office for executive when adopted, would give the elected officers more time to execute their respective projects for the party.
He explained that the constant organisation of the party every two years created division as some people campaigned on mudslinging.
“When this happens, we do not have enough time to reconcile our differences before going for another conference. If it is changed to four years, there will be adequate time to resolve those differences and build bridges before the next elections,” he explained.
Touching on the performance of the party over the past four years, Mr Atanga said with hard work and the support of leadership at the constituency to branch levels, the party won eight parliamentary seats out of the 13 seats in the region.
While commending the grassroots members for their hard work and support for the party, he urged them to brace themselves up for bigger challenges in the 2012 general election.
During the election, the incumbent Regional Chairman of the party, Alhaji Mumuni Bolnaba, retained his position when he polled 79 votes as against 21 and 13 votes obtained by his contenders, Dr Robert Akuganaba and Mr Solomon Adambire respectively.
Mr Victor Yahaya won the position of first vice chairman, while Mr Robert Apassanaba secured the post of second regional vice chairman.
Mr Donatus Akamugri Atanga retained the post of Secretary after defeating five others who contested the position, with that of Deputy Secretary going to Mr James Abanka who went unopposed.
The post of regional Treasurer was secured by Alhaji Issah Mumuni, with Mohammed Mashod as his deputy.
Baba Kumasi caused a major upset when he polled 64 votes to topple the incumbent regional organiser Mr David Aruk who had 42 votes.
Mr Issaka Haruna contested the post of deputy organiser unopposed and won after his contender Mr Patrick Amoro had stepped down. The position of Propaganda Secretary went to Mr Bernard Bougzo, while that of Deputy Propaganda Secretary went to Mr Said Ahmed.
Earlier in the week, the youth and women wings of the party also elected Mr Robert Yeleoni and Madam Faustina Teni Abagre as their organisers respectively.
The elected executive were sworn into office by a Member of the National Executive Committee, Madam Hilda Salifu.
Those present at the conference were, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mark Woyongo, Minister of Interior and MP for Zebilla, Mr Cletus Avoka, the Presidential Spokesperson Mahama Ayariga, and the MP for Garu-Tempane, Dominic Azumah and a Deputy National Youth Organiser of the NDC, Mr Kofi Adams.
Speaker after speaker urged the followers of the party to remain united and work towards fostering unity and consolidating the fortunes of the party beyond the 2012 general election.
The branch also proposed for the consideration of the national conference the redesignation of the propaganda wing of the party as its communication wing to avoid misinterpretations of its functions.
Another amendment proposed by the conference was the inclusion of the Youth and Women’s Organiser to the branch level executive of the party.
The Regional Secretary of the party, Mr Donatus Akamugri Atanga, announced this at the party’s regional delegate’s conference which also saw the election of new executive to man the affairs of the party.
He said the proposed extension of the term of office for executive when adopted, would give the elected officers more time to execute their respective projects for the party.
He explained that the constant organisation of the party every two years created division as some people campaigned on mudslinging.
“When this happens, we do not have enough time to reconcile our differences before going for another conference. If it is changed to four years, there will be adequate time to resolve those differences and build bridges before the next elections,” he explained.
Touching on the performance of the party over the past four years, Mr Atanga said with hard work and the support of leadership at the constituency to branch levels, the party won eight parliamentary seats out of the 13 seats in the region.
While commending the grassroots members for their hard work and support for the party, he urged them to brace themselves up for bigger challenges in the 2012 general election.
During the election, the incumbent Regional Chairman of the party, Alhaji Mumuni Bolnaba, retained his position when he polled 79 votes as against 21 and 13 votes obtained by his contenders, Dr Robert Akuganaba and Mr Solomon Adambire respectively.
Mr Victor Yahaya won the position of first vice chairman, while Mr Robert Apassanaba secured the post of second regional vice chairman.
Mr Donatus Akamugri Atanga retained the post of Secretary after defeating five others who contested the position, with that of Deputy Secretary going to Mr James Abanka who went unopposed.
The post of regional Treasurer was secured by Alhaji Issah Mumuni, with Mohammed Mashod as his deputy.
Baba Kumasi caused a major upset when he polled 64 votes to topple the incumbent regional organiser Mr David Aruk who had 42 votes.
Mr Issaka Haruna contested the post of deputy organiser unopposed and won after his contender Mr Patrick Amoro had stepped down. The position of Propaganda Secretary went to Mr Bernard Bougzo, while that of Deputy Propaganda Secretary went to Mr Said Ahmed.
Earlier in the week, the youth and women wings of the party also elected Mr Robert Yeleoni and Madam Faustina Teni Abagre as their organisers respectively.
The elected executive were sworn into office by a Member of the National Executive Committee, Madam Hilda Salifu.
Those present at the conference were, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mark Woyongo, Minister of Interior and MP for Zebilla, Mr Cletus Avoka, the Presidential Spokesperson Mahama Ayariga, and the MP for Garu-Tempane, Dominic Azumah and a Deputy National Youth Organiser of the NDC, Mr Kofi Adams.
Speaker after speaker urged the followers of the party to remain united and work towards fostering unity and consolidating the fortunes of the party beyond the 2012 general election.
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THE Minister of the Interior, Mr Cletus Avoka and the Director General of the Ghana Immigration Service, Mrs Elizabeth Adjei, have jointly c...
