STOP PULL-HIM-DOWN ATTITUDE (D/G, Tuesday, March 31, 2009. PAGE 16)

The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Owen Woyongo, has urged members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Navrongo Central Constituency to stop the pull-him-down attitude.
He said they should rather offer him the necessary support to enable him to work in the interest of the region.
“The pull-him-down attitude is not benefitting anybody and is making a mockery of Navrongo which is touted as the citadel of education of the north,” he said, adding that “if we have to move forward and develop, then we have to learn to support each other no matter our political leanings and religious inclination”.
Mr Woyongo said this at a victory get-together organised by the Navro-Pungu branch of the NDC in the Navrongo Central Constituency.
He said though the NDC lost the parliamentary election of which he was the candidate, the party won in the presidential polls, and said it was time members of the party forgot the past, corrected their mistakes and put in new strategies that would help the NDC to win the 2012 general election.
“We are going to win all the seats in the region in 2012 with the policies and programmes we are putting in place, especially the poverty alleviation programmes and the special focus on agriculture,” he said.
The Regional Minister disclosed that the region, together with the two other northern regions, would benefit from some foreign assistance from the Canadian International Development Authority to the tune of $15 million for food security and other allied agricultural programmes.
He explained that the programme would take care of the marketing environment and production, adding that, that together with the NDC’s special attention to agriculture would boost food production in the region and help reduce poverty.
He, however, emphasised that these projects and programmes would only yield success if the people eschewed violence and embraced peace.
He, therefore, urged all and sundry to tolerate the views of people from the other political divide and ensure peace in their localities.
He announced that plans were far advanced to have the mortuary facility at the Navrongo War Memorial Hospital, which had broken down for some time, resuscitated at a cost GH¢8,000.
The Regional First Vice Chairman of the NDC, Mr Richard Aduah, thanked the people of the area for their support and said though the NDC failed to win the parliamentary seat, their hard work led to the victory of the party’s presidential candidate.
Mr Aduah urged supporters of the party to work hard and put in motion a vigorous campaign for the party to win the Navrongo Central seat in the 2012 elections.
He said the NDC would not be vindictive, stressing that the party would continue all projects initiated by the NPP government and cited the Navrongo–Pungu road still under construction as an example.
He urged the regional minister to remain focus in his determination to develop the region, adding that he should beware of people whose main preoccupation was to gossip.
Professor John Kabruise, a former Vice Chancellor of the University for Development Studies, who lost out in the campaign to contest the Navrongo Central seat on the ticket of the NPP, congratulated Mr Woyongo and pledged his support for him.
“Mr Woyongo is no stranger to us and we know that he is capable of bringing considerable development to the region,” he said.
He expressed shock at the defeat of Mr Woyongo in the parliamentary elections because the NDC won in the presidential election in both rounds and asked that some internal research ought be made to identify what went wrong.
He reiterated the need for peace and a determination to work together by all to enable the regional minister to deliver in his new appointment.

BOLGATANGA NEEDS MUNICIPAL HOSPITAL (D/G, Monday, March 30, 2009. PAGE 40)

THE Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, has expressed concern over the absence of a municipal hospital in Bolgatanga, the regional capital.
According to him, the absence of such a facility put a lot of stress on the regional hospital, which had to cater for more than one million people in the region.
He, therefore, advocated the construction of a polyclinic to complement the efforts of the current Upper East Regional Hospital in delivering quality health care to the people of the Bolgatanga municipality.
Speaking at the launch of the World TB Day in Bolgatanga, the regional minister said although a project of such nature was started in the late 1970s, it did not materialise.
He announced the Regional Co-ordinating Council’s preparedness to ensure that such a facility was provided to commemorate 50 years of the creation of the Upper East Region in September next year.
“I have no doubt that this will go a long way to address the health care needs of the people of the region,” he said.
Responding to the concern, Dr George Sipa Yankey, the Minister of Health, gave the assurance that everything possible would be done to bring the project into fruition.
The Bolgatanga Regional Hospital is undergoing expansion which will ensure its transformation into a state-of-the-art referral facility to meet the health needs of the people.

RECEPTION FOR 2 NCCE STAFF (D/G, Monday, March 30, 2009. PAGE 40)

THE Upper East Regional Office of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has held a reception to bid farewell to the out going Regional Director, Mr H.S. Haruna, and his Deputy, Mr Mike Fuoh.
Mr Haruna, who has served in the region for eight years, is on transfer to the Northern Region, while Mr Fuoh is proceeding on retirement after a career spanning 37 years, the last 14 years which had been spent in the Upper East Region.
According to Mr Peter Hastings Mensah, the current Upper East Regional Director of the NCCE, the ceremony was not only to bid farewell to the two officers but also celebrate their honest and dedicated service to the commission.
While commending his predecessor for the foundation he laid, Mr Mensah also described Mr Fuoh as a very knowledgeable person while in active service.
“Mr Fuoh has been of immense assistance in terms of experience and one cannot doubt the unique way he worked in the office. He is a fountain of experience and possesses great knowledge which can be tapped by all for the benefit of the commission,” he stressed.
He urged the staff of the commission to learn from the two officers in order to improve on the fortunes of the commission.
According to Mr Mensah, in order to boost the morale of the staff of the commission in the region, his administration was working out modalities for the introduction of a welfare scheme for them.
The Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional Area, Naba Salifu Alemyarum Atamale, who chaired the function, advised the staff of the NCCE to eschew laziness and work hard to improve upon the fortunes of the commission.
Some members of staff sang the praises of the two officers and described them as the strong pillars behind some of the successes chalked up by the NCCE in the region.
Both Messrs Haruna and Fuoh advised the staff of the commission to work effectively to continue from where they ended.
The two officers were presented with gifts in recognition of their hard work.

GOVT TO REVAMP RICE INDUSTRY IN UPPER EAST (D/G, Monday, March 30, 2009. PAGE 40)

THE government has initiated moves to revamp the rice industry in the Upper East Region. As such it has sought the intervention of some investors from Thailand with the view of establishing a rice mill in the rice producing areas of the region.
The Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo who announced this, said the move was aimed at creating jobs, rekindling farming activities as well as reducing poverty in the region.
The regional minister said this, when he paid a courtesy call on the chiefs and people of Sandema as part of his familiarisation tour of the area.
He was accompanied by the Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Alhaji Mahama Hamidu and the Registrar of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs, Mr Samuel S. Mahama.
Mr Woyongo was not happy that the Fumbisi Valley, which used to produce large tonnes of rice and other food crops, had not been put to good use, stressing that it was the intention of the government to rekindle life in that part of the region.
He stated that if such an intervention was provided by Thailand, enough jobs would be created and the youth would not be compelled to migrate.
Speaking at the palaces of the Sandem Nab, Nansuib Nab Alexis Atampuri Azantilow, the Kayore Pe, Oscar Batabi Tiyamu and the Paga Pio, Pe Charles Awia Awampaga, Mr Woyongo said the Mills administration was committed to the improvement of the well-being of the people.
He said the development of agriculture in the northern part of the country was a priority on the government’s agenda.
For that matter, the regional minister said a number of interventions had been earmarked for the north to bridge the development gap between that part of the country and the south.
“We will construct more dams and dredge the 220 dams already in the system that had been silted. The government will also make accessible to farmers at reduced prices”, he said.
He stated that the region had started taking delivery of a number of tractors including those that could plough the field in flooded areas which would be sold out to farmers at subsidised prices to enable them to expand their farms.
The regional minister deplored the slow pace at which work on the Sandema-Chuchuliga road and the one leading to Kayoro were progressing, and impressed upon the supervising agencies to see to the early completion of the projects.
Mr Woyongo said he was count on the co-operation of chiefs to sustain the peace in the region and therefore appealed to the various traditional rulers to join hands with the government to bring development to the region.
He urged the chiefs to entreat their subjects to foster peace in the country, stressing that the people should put behind party politics and forge ahead in unity to develop the region.
The Nansui Nab, Alexis Atampuri Azantilow pledged his support and that of the people in his traditional area to the regional minister in the development of the area.
At Kayoro, Pe Oscar Batabi Tiyamu urged the government to extend electricity to his traditional area and also improve the road network between Kayoro and Paga, the district capital.
The Paga Pio, Pe Charles Awia Awampaga, for his part, bemoaned the lack of consultation with traditional authorities in the selection of government appointees to the District Assemblies.
He called on the regional minister to ensure that development projects were evenly spread across the length and breadth of the district.
The Paga Pio pledged his willingness to donate land for the construction of a modern police station with barracks attached befitting Paga, which is a busy border town.
The regional minister mentioned the development of the tourism potential of Paga including the crocodile pond and the slave camp at Pikoro in order to attract both local and foreign tourists.

NATIONAL TB DAY LAUNCHED AT BOLGATANGA (D/G, Thursday, March 26, 2009 PAGE 21)

GHANA records about 14,000 new cases of Tuberculosis (TB) every year, as against an average of 5,000 cases recorded in the 1980’s, the Minister of Health, Dr George Sipa-Adjah Yankey, has revealed.
Speaking at the national launch of the World TB Day at Bolgatanga on Tuesday, Dr Yankey said the increase in reported cases could be the direct result of the increasing HIV sero-prevalence rate and other social factors such as poverty and poor accommodation.
TB is a lung infection that is both preventable and curable. If left untreated however, it may slowly lead to permanent disability and death. About 1.5 million people die each year from TB around the world. Africa is particularly affected by the disease, since three out of every 10 cases of TB in the world occurs in Africa.
TB poses two special challenges. The first is that persons with HIV and AIDS are particularly susceptible to TB while the second is that some strains of TB are now resistant to the drugs commonly used to treat them.
The theme for this year’s event is: “I am stopping TB” and it involves a two-year campaign which would offer everyone the opportunity to showcase to the general public his or her achievement and successes at TB Control.
Dr Yankey said the fact that TB and HIV were related could not be overlooked, adding that tests conducted in a number of countries had shown that up to 70 per cent of TB patients were infected with HIV.
He expressed regret that in spite of the scientific advances in the control of the disease, it still posed as a health challenge, and that in addition to poverty, local beliefs had also contributed to the slow progress of bringing the disease under control.
Dr Yankey said despite these challenges, TB could be stopped if TB patients became active participants in their diagnosis and took all their anti TB drugs as directed.
He also charged health workers to be alert to the symptoms of the disease and provide prompt diagnosis and treatment, and called on scientists to contribute to the fight to stop TB by engaging in research to develop new diagnostics, new drugs and new vaccines.
“Curing one TB patient will prevent 10 to 15 others from contracting the disease in one year,” he said.
He said the Ministry of Health through the Ghana Health Service (GHS) had established 1,018 TB treatment centres country-wide to take care of patients, while there were 219 diagnostic centres with quality equipment to diagnose the disease throughout the country.
He said the ministry had also engaged the private sector to implement what was known as the Public Private Mix Directly Observed Treatment Short-Courses (DOTS), to diagnose and treat TB, adding that the number of regions implementing the programme had been increased from two to six in the country.
He said TB medication was free with poor patients being supported with financial and other supports in the treatment of the disease.
While commending donor partners for their contributions to TB control in Ghana, Dr Yankey called for support from chiefs and traditional rulers, who are custodians of the nation’s culture, to help demystify TB disease.
Dr Frank Adae Bonsu, Programme Manager of the National TB Control Programme, announced that six out of the 10 regions, namely Greater Accra, Ashanti, Volta, Eastern, Central and Western had already attained the global target for TB treatment and the challenge was to maintain it until 2015 and beyond.
He, however, said the remaining four regions, which were presently below the global treatment target, were working assidiously to ensure that they attained the global target.
Currently, Northern Region is two per cent points below the target, Upper East (seven per cent) Brong Ahafo (eight per cent) and Upper West (14 per cent).
While commending the hard work and dedication of the Regional Health Directorate, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, stressed the need to expand laboratory services, increase coverage of community-based TB care and step up TB care in the Navrongo and Bawku prisons and other high risk groups.
Dr Daniel Kertesz, WHO Representative in Ghana, said his outfit would continue to provide support to the TB strategic plan developed by the Ministry of Health to enhance the management of TB in Ghana.

LET'S OBSERVE ECOWAS PROTOCOL (D/G, Saturday, March 28, 2009. SPREAD)

The Secretary General of the West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF), Mr Oumar N’dongo, has called on governments of member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to ensure the full implementation of regional protocols.
He noted that weaknesses in the implementation of the protocols on free movement of persons, residence and establishment would affect business operations in the sub-region and hinder the creation of a borderless ECOWAS region.
Mr N’dongo made the call in a speech read on his behalf by Ms Bashiratu Kamal at a rally held at the Paga Border in the Upper East Region to create public awareness about the free movement of ECOWAS citizens.
The function was organised by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa(OSIWA) and other major stakeholders, including the Abusua Foundation, National Union of Ghana Students, Ghana Youth Network, Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Ghana Police Service, Immigration Service and the Ghana Education Service.
Mr N’dongo said despite the adoption of the protocols and other regulations to further strengthen the creation of a borderless ECOWAS, travelling within the ECOWAS sub-region is extremely difficult, on account of the ever-increasing number of illegal barriers and roadblocks, and the extortion of money from travellers at every checkpoint.
“We are not oblivious of the possible abuse of the protocols by some security agencies, such as the possible smuggling and operations of prostitution syndicates, drug rings and other forms of organised crimes. However, this must not take our focus from the goal of creating a borderless ECOWAS.
He noted that the economic benefits surmounts the threats posed by other anti-social issues and therefore stressed the need for all citizens in the sub-region to support the agencies that are mandated to implement the protocols, and educate the people on their benefits.
Mr Baffour Addo, Business Manager of Abusua Foundation, was optimistic that the rally would help in sensitising stakeholders at all levels to the free movement of people in the ECOWAS sub-region.

UE HEALTH WORKERS ATTEND PERFORMANCE MEETING (PAGE 20)

THE Upper East Regional Director of Health Services Dr Koku Awoonor-Williams has stated that implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in the region has resulted in the significant increase in the utilisation of health services.
According to him, out-patient attendance in the region increased from 764,817 in 2007 to 1,081,650 in 2008 while malaria continued to take the first position for OPD attendance in the region, mostly children under five years.
Dr Awoonor-Williams made this known at the 2008 annual health sector performance review meeting at Bolgatanga.
The aim of the meeting was to take stock of the past and improve upon the areas where the health personnel fell short.
The regional director, however, noted that the implementation of the scheme in the region was faced with some significant challenges.
They included delay in the submission of claims by service providers, long hours spent by clients to receive health care and delay in re-imbursement of claims by schemes to providers.
Dr Awoonor-Williams also mentioned the high indebtedness of the various schemes in the region to facilities as a major challenge that posed a threat to the NHIS and service delivery.
“Our records show that indebtedness of the various schemes in the region to facilities is over GH¢2.8 million while facilities are indebted to the Regional Medical Stores to the tune of GH¢200,000”, he said.
The regional director, therefore, urged the National Health Insurance Authority to address the problem, stressing that “as a poor and deprived region, we cannot afford to lose the health gains chalked up under the scheme in the recent past”.
Touching on the human resource problem, he said the region was faced with inadequate health personnel of all grades in the region, citing for instance that each of the five district hospitals was manned by a single doctor apart from the Cuban Medical Brigade.
According to him, while most people were not accepting posting to the region, the health personnel there were applying to leave the region daily for other regions, especially the Brong Ahafo and Greater Accra regions.
Dr Awoonor-Williams noted that none of the eight newly qualified doctors posted to the region last year resumed work, adding that over the past three years, only one out of 13 doctors posted to the region reported for duty. He said the region also lacked many critical staff members
The regional director noted with concern that out of the 35 medical assistants in the region, 22 of them were above 54 years while 74 out of the 224 nurses in the various hospitals in the region were between 55 and 60 years.
He added that 70 per cent of newly qualified nurses from the health training institutions in the region did not want to serve the area that trained them.

REPAIR DOMITORY OF BAWKU TECHNICAL INSTITUTE (D/G Monday, March 16, 2009.PAGE 36)

THE Principal of Bawku Technical Institute, Alhaji Alhassan Umar has appealed to the government for support in rehabilitating the students’ dormitory block, which is in a deplorable state.
He noted that if nothing concrete was done about the situation, the school might not reopen for the third term, since that would be the beginning of the rainy season.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Bawku, Alhaji Umar said although the plight of the school was well known to the stakeholders of education, right from the regional to the national levels, nothing had been done about it.
The current structure housing the students was constructed over 35 years ago and has since not seen any renovation.
The two-storey building with leaking roofs, has no louvre blades and wire-netting for the windows. The wooden frames are rotten while portions of the walls have developed deep cracks, exposing the students to danger.
The original intake of the structure was 280 but has increased to more than 530 students, forcing the school authorities to convert a recreational centre and some packing rooms into dormitories. And a dormitory that used to accommodate seven students is currently accommodating 15 students.
Alhaji Umar said numerous appeals to the government through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to address the issue had not yielded any positive results.
“Matters came to a head after a recent downpour which flooded their dormitories and destroyed learning materials and other belongings,” he noted.
According to Alhaji Umar, the students, who could not withstand the hardships at the institute, recently staged a demonstration within the confines of the institution to express their displeasure at the deplorable condition in their dormitories.
The principal said at one time, he received an assurance from the GETFund of financial assistance to rehabilitate the dormitory block, but to date no such assistance had come.
He, therefore, appealed to the government as a matter of urgency, to come to the aid of the school.

ACHEL FAMILY SUPPORS EDUCATION IN WORIKAMBO (D/G Monday, March 16, 2009. PAGE 36)

PARTICIPANTS in a forum in Tamale recently to discuss ways of expediting the development of northern Ghana have expressed disappointment with northerners in leadership positions for not doing much to transform the area.
According to news reports, participants in the forum held the view that while northerners in key positions only amassed wealth and built mansions in the south, they returned home to build only "huts", thereby contributing to a further widening of the north-south development gap.
One family that does not fit into the above category mentioned above is the Achel Family of Worikambo, a community about 10 kilometres miles away from Garu-Tempane.
Concerned about the unimpressive academic performance of the children, members of the Achel Family of Worikambo have established an education endowment fund to support brilliant, needy students in senior high schools (SHSS).
The endowment fund was launched on February 27, 2009 in memory of the late Colonel Mark Mbawuni Achel, who had great passion for education.
The goal of the fund is to raise money to provide financial support to the best male and female junior high school (JHS) graduates from the Worikambo JHS during their four-year SHS.
The children of the late Colonel Achel, who was the first individual in the Achel family to receive formal education, have taken it upon themselves to contribute financially towards the fund while a special board of trustees chaired by the district director of education, would be set up to ensure the disbursement of the funds to beneficiary students.
The eldest son of the late Colonel Achel, Mr David Sando Achel, who was one time Chief of Army Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces, said the fund was named after his late father because of the importance he attached to education.
According to him, his late father made sure that as many members of the Achel family as possible had access to education.
He said the late colonel also extended his benevolence to members of his extended family and other citizens of Worikambo.
Mr Sando Achel said the fund was, therefore, to help encourage the present-day students to study hard and excel in their academic pursuit in order to realise their dreams of becoming responsible future leaders.
He said beneficiaries of the fund should be limited to final-year students of Worikambo JHS who fully participate in the Basic Education Certificate Examination for the first year, adding that the scholarship would be extended to other students in the community in subsequent years.
The best male and female students every year will benefit from a bursary of GH¢100 each at the beginning of each academic year for their four-year SHS programme, which would be adjusted periodically to take care of inflation as and when necessary.
Mr Sando Achel threw a challenge to the students to learn hard to justify the investment being made in them.
The District Director of Education, Mr Eugene Zongo-Naa, commended the family of the late Colonel Achel for establishing the endowment fund, the first of its kind in the district.
He also threw a challenge to the other citizens as well as the general public to support the fund to ensure that many more children from Worikambo acquired quality education.
The Headmaster of Worikambo JHS, Mr Patrick M. Abugri, said the intervention by the Achel family would go a long way to boost education in the area.
He, however, bemoaned the inadequate number of teachers in the area, stressing that apart from the three trained teachers, the school had engaged three other volunteer teachers to assist in training the children.
While appealing to parents to contribute something little to encourage the volunteer teachers, he also appealed for exercise books and other supplementary readers to aid the running of the school.
As a first step to ensuring that the students excel, the estate of the late Colonel Achel donated 40 dual desks to the school to enhance effective teaching and learning.
The assembly member for Worikambo, Mr Abu Seidu Kariyama, appealed to members of the Worikambo community to desist from stealing furniture from schools, since such actions retarded education of the children.

HEADMASTERS PLEAD FOR TIMELY RELEASE OF FEEDING GRANTS (D/G. Saturday, March 14, 2009. BACK PAGE)

THE Conference of Heads of Assisted Senior High Schools and Technical Institutions (CHASS) in the three northern regions has expressed concern over the persistent delays in the release of feeding grants for schools in the regions.
The heads, therefore, appealed to the government to ensure the timely release of funds to prevent the late reopening and early closure of schools.
The Upper East Regional Chairman of CHASS, Mr Patrick Tangonyire, made the appeal in a speech at the ninth joint northern CHASS conference held in the Upper East Region.
The theme for the three-day conference was: “Boarding school system, an instrument for quality education and peace in northern Ghana”.
Mr Tangonyire, who is also the Headmaster of Navrongo Senior High School, described as inadequate the feeding grant which is currently GH¢0.80 per student per day and proposed an increment.
He said as a result of the late payment, a lot of schools had accumulated debts due to the high prices of food and, therefore, advocated a special relief package by the government to help schools in the three northern regions to bring them back to real life.
Responding to the concerns raised by the leadership of CHASS, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Wayongo, pledged to collaborate with the regional ministers of the Northern and Upper West regions to find a lasting solution to the problems.
He, however, charged the heads of educational institutions in the region not to let the problems confronting them to distract them from their primary responsibility of character moulding and the realisation that the students were the most important resources.
Mr Wayongo said discipline could not be achieved in schools when rules and regulations were not strictly enforced. He, therefore, urged the heads of institutions to instil discipline in the students, stressing that “the world outside the school demands men and women full of self-discipline”.
Reverend Father Dr Augustine Abasi, a lecturer at the University for Development Studies, who spoke on the theme for the conference, said apart from preparing students for personal growth and exceptional achievement, the boarding school system also provided opportunities for the development of character and leadership.
He said the boarding school system also had an enormous contribution to make in breaking ethnocentrism and prejudice. It also gave informed minds and attitudes that contributed to peace in the north.

TOMATO GLUT IMMINENT IN UPPER EAST (D/G, Wednesday March 11, 2009. PAGE 31)

THERE is an imminent tomato glut in the Upper East Region due to the lack of market for the produce.
While the reactivated Northern Star Tomato Factory is currently not functioning due to lack of funds to purchase tomatoes to feed the factory for processing, the refusal of traders from the southern part of the country, popularly called market queens, to buy tomatoes from farmers in the Upper East Region has compounded the woes of the farmers.
The market queens prefer to travel to neighbouring Burkina Faso to purchase the produce.
To ensure a win-win situation, the Vice-President, Mr John Mahama, has asked the management of Northern Star to enter into an agreement with tomato farmers and purchase the produce on credit.
Mr Mahama, who gave the directive when he undertook a fact-finding tour of the factory at Pwalugu, said this was to prevent the large tonnes of tomatoes produced in the area from going bad on the farms.
He bemoaned the lack of linkage between production and processing and promised to liaise with the ministries of Trade and Industry and Food and Agriculture on how best to raise funds to keep the factory running all-year round.
The Operations Manager of the factory, Mr Kwabena Darkwa, who conducted the Vice-President round the facility, said the plant, which was recently rehabilitated with technical and logistic support from Trusty Foods Company Limited, had the capacity to process raw tomato into paste.
He said the paste is later transported to Trusty Foods factories in Tema for canning. He said though the farmers had produced large quantities of tomatoes which could feed the factory, the lack of funds to purchase the produce had brought activities at the factory to a halt.
A group of workers who have served the factory for over 40 years seized the opportunity of the Vice-President’s visit to complain about the non-payment of their wages and other benefits and appealed to him to assist them.
The Vice-President was accompanied by the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, the Minister of the Interior, Mr Cletus Avoka, the Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Mahama Ayariga, the Upper East Regional Director of Agriculture, Mr Roy Ayariga, and the Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Alhaji Hamidu Mahama.
The Vice-President had earlier held discussions with the tomato farmers at Navrongo, where he gave the assurance that the government shared in their plight and that everything would be done to address the problem.
The President of the Tomato Farmers Association, Mr Ahmed Bogobiri, alleged that the market queens preferred travelling outside Ghana to purchase tomatoes because they smuggled goods such as cement, roofing sheets and hard liquor (Akpeteshie) in exchange for the vegetable and asked officials of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) to thoroughly search vehicles plying between Ghana and Burkina Faso to cart tomatoes in order to check smuggling.
He also proposed that farmers should be made to buy shares in the factory at Pwalugu to give them a say in its management.
The Regional Director of Agriculture, Mr Roy Ayariga, dismissed assertions by the market queens that tomatoes from the region had something to do with quality, stressing that quality wise, tomatoes from Ghana and Burkina Faso were at par.

DON'T INDULGE IN PARTISAN POLITICS (PAGE 23)

THE Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, has cautioned staff of the Upper East Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) against any involvement in partisan politics.
At a maiden meeting with them in Bolgatanga, Mr Woyongo, while recognising the right of the staff to share in the views of any political party, warned that that should not be at the expense of the good of the council.
“You must always realise that as civil servants your primary duty is to serve the government of the day," he said.
Also present at the meeting were staff of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
Outlining his vision for the region, he identified the promotion of peace, unity and development as the pillars around which his administration would revolve and entreated the staff to support him in that endeavour.
He, therefore, called for punctuality, hard work and dedication to duty on the part of staff of the RCC in particular.
“I consider you as my immediate family. If I succeed, the credit will not come to me alone but the entire RCC,” he said.
Mr Woyongo, who has worked in the Civil Service for 38 years, 21 of which he spent in the region, said he had the issues of the region at his fingertips and appealed for co-operation and support from the staff of the RCC to effectively implement government policies.
He urged the staff to observe the basic rules of environmental cleanliness at their workplaces and also take good care of government property.
He also charged drivers at the RCC to ensure the regular maintenance of the vehicles entrusted to their care and refrain from drunkenness while on duty.
He bemoaned the fact that although the region had abundant natural resources such as granite, gold, clay deposits in the Talensi-Nabdam District and a large quantity of shea-nuts, none had been effectively exploited and promised to lead the region in attracting investors to the area.
“If we are able to develop these resources, we will be putting money in the pockets of the people and create several employment opportunities for them,” he said.
He announced that as part of plans towards the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the region, he intended creating a website to market the region’s resources to the international community with the aim of attracting foreign investors to create jobs in the region.
“That way, nobody will be encouraged to take a gun and fight at the least provocation. It will also lead to a reduction in the craze among the youth for migration to the south in search for menial jobs,” he added.
He also spoke about the establishment of the Savanna Agricultural Development Authority and the Shea-nut Development Board to market shea-nuts, which he described as the “cocoa of the north”.
Mr Samuel N'lary, the Chief Director at the RCC, urged the workers to support the new regional minister to achieve his vision for the region.

Upper East GHS receive vehicles, motorbikes(D/G, Monday, March 9, 2009 Page 36)

THE Ghana Health Service (GHS) in the Upper East Region has received nine new vehicles and 122 motorbikes from the government and UNICEF to help address its transportation problem.The vehicles and motorbikes which would be distributed to all the nine municipal and district health directorates, would enhance the implementation of the Nutrition and Malaria Control for Child Survival Programme (NMCCSP), a GHS/Ministry of Health/World Bank project.The NMCCSP focuses on community based cost-effective nutrition and malaria control interventions, which was first piloted in the Bongo district with remarkable effect on child survival indicators.After piloting the project in the region, five other districts, namely, Talensi-Nabdam, Bawku-West, Kassena-Nankana, Garu-Tempane and Kassena-Nankana West started its implementation in 2008.Three other districts—Bolgatanga, Bawku and Builsa would soon commence the programme.Speaking at the inaugural ceremony at Bolgatanga, the Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Koku Awoonor-Williams said the vehicles had come at an opportune time as they would go a long way to revamp the transport system of the GHS within the region.Dr Awoonor-Williams charged municipal and district directors of health services as well as unit and facility heads to ensure value for money in the utilisation of the vehicles.He warned that the regional health administration would apply the appropriate sanctions on officers who would mishandle the vehicles.“I must cite a string caution here to municipal and district directors that the vehicles are strictly meant for health service delivery and not symbols of office and social functions. They must be at all times made available for general health service delivery”, Dr Awoonor-Williams warned.While calling on the beneficiary districts to take the maintenance of the vehicles seriously, he also urged them to ensure that all motorbike riders were trained and appropriately licensed. The regional director stressed the need for the necessary security measures to be put in place to curb the incidence of motorbike thefts.The Deputy Director-General of the GHS, Dr George Amofa commended the government and UNICEF and other partners for the donation, saying the vehicles had come at the right time.The Bongo District Director of Health Services, Madam Rofina Asuru, on behalf of the beneficiaries, expressed gratitude to the donors and pledged to put the vehicles to good use.

Opinion leaders to work for peace(D/G, Monday, March 9, 2009 Page 45)

Opinion leaders from the feuding ethnic groups in the Bawku conflict have given the assurance to work in concert to restore peace to the municipality.They gave the assurance during peace mediation mission Vice President John Dramani Mahama undertook to conflict-torn Bawku.Representatives of the two main feuding ethnic groups, the Kusasis and Mamprusis, as well as other minority groups, including Moshies, Busangas, Hausas, Frafras and Dagombas, participated in the mediation talks, which were held at Bolgatanga last Friday.Both the Kusasis and Mamprusis presented five representatives each for the meeting, while the minority groups sent two each.The Vice-President brokered the peace and mediation talks, which were held in camera, as part of efforts to reconcile the people after the recent conflict in the area.Some opinion leaders from all sides who spoke to the Daily Graphic after the meeting lauded the frankness and openness which characterised the talks and gave a promise to go back to educate their people on the need to maintain the peace in the area.They expressed concern about the conflict in Bawku and the bad image it had created, not only for the once vibrant trading town, but also the entire region, and resolved that this should be the last time such upheavals would be heard of in the municipality.They stressed the need for regular dialogue and interaction among all the factions to deal with the deep-rooted animosity that existed among the people.Prior to the closed-door session, Vice-President Mahama said the government was very much concerned about the situation in Bawku and was determined to ensure that it employed all necessary means, including creating a platform for serious dialogue, to bring lasting peace to the area.The Vice-President said the culture of impunity, which had crept into the conflict area, must cease and that firm action would be taken against anyone who flouted the law.The Minister of the Interior, Mr Cletus Avoka, said the people of Bawku had co-existed for many years and said there was no need for them to fight each other.He urged them to embrace dialogue as a means to solving their differences.Present were the Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Mahama Ayariga and Members of the Upper East Regional Security Council.

Use of Children in Bawku conflict alarming(D/G, Saturday, March 7, 2009 Page 19)

The Commanding Officer in charge of the Airborne Force in Tamale, Lieutenant-Colonel Isaac Awuah-Mantey, has noted that the war in Bawku has become more disturbing because of the increasing number of children being recruited as combatants.Briefing the Vice President, Mr John Mahama, who is leading a government delegation on a fact- finding mission in Bawku on the peace-keeping operations, Lt.Col. Awauh-Mantey recalled that on March 2, 2009, 20 children of the Mamprusi tribe, aged between eight and 15, ambushed a Kussasi woman near the Bawku Hospital and were about to kill her when she was rescued by the security agencies.Again, he said a certain elderly man of Moshie extraction was caught selling petrol in small sachets at GH¢1.00 each to children who had been mobilised to go and burn down some houses.He described the involvement of children in the conflict as unacceptable and advised those behind it to stop.Pointing to the killing of a Busanga man, one Mohammed Issaka, on March 1, 2009 as the immediate cause of the recent escalation in the violence, the commanding officer said the feuding factions had embarked on retaliatory killings which should be nipped in the bud.He noted that the inclusion of minority tribes in the conflict had widened the horizon of the conflict, and said this must be critically looked at to prevent the spread of the conflict to other parts of the country.Lt. Colonel Awuah-Mantey proposed that some opinion leaders of both factions should be made to commit themselves in writing that they would be held responsible for any breach of security in the municipality.In addition to advocating stiff punishment for perpetrators of crimes to serve as a deterrent to others, Lt. Colonel Awuah-Mantey also called for the sensitisation of the youth, majority of whom are illiterate and gullible.He also called on the government to resource the National Peace Council to constantly meet with the leadership of the feuding factions as well as the youth to find amicable solutions to their differences.The Upper East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, called for the resourcing of the police to facilitate their operations in the area.He said of the 27 Mahindra vehicles dispatched to the area a few months ago, 10 had broken down while half of the remaining 17 had to be taken to Accra almost every week for servicing.He lauded the police administration for releasing three new pick-ups to the region but appealed for more to enable the police to deliver.He said the only armoured personnel carrier and two other light armoured vehicles dispatched to the area have all broken down and are currently parked at the police station, and called for their withdrawal.He appealed to the paramount chief of Bawku, Naba Abugrago Asigri Azoka II, to stay action on plans to encroach on police lands, since the police administration would need the land for future expansion.The Vice President, Mr John Mahama, condemned the use of children in the Bawku conflict and appealed to the conscience of all those engaged in the warfare to desist from it.He also commended the security agencies and encouraged them to do more to restore the peace in the area.“Let us get rid of as many of the weapons that come in as possible so that we can reduce the capacity of the people to commit crime,” he said.The Vice President promised to pass on to the Chief Justice the concerns raised about the unjustifiable bailing of suspects who committed atrocious crimes, including murder and arson, by the courts and the effect it was having on the security situation in the area.He advised the people to desist from taking refuge in political parties to perpetuate crime and cautioned that notwithstanding the political party individuals belonged to, once they were found culpable, they would be held responsible for their actions.“This is the dawn of a new era and people are going to be held responsible for their actions,” he said.Addressing the troops later, the Vice President gave the assurance that the government would solve all the problems of logistics to enable them to perform effectively.The Minister of the Interior, Mr Cletus Avoka, said the government would pass a new legislation that would give the National Peace Council legitimacy and authority to enable them to perform their role.He, however, called for the neutrality of the security agencies in the discharge of their duties.

Resort to dialogue...Veep appeals to feuding factions in Bawku conflict (D/G, Saturday, March 7, 2009 Page 19)

The Vice President, Mr John Mahama, has appealed to the feuding factions in the Bawku conflict to resort to dialogue rather than confrontation in resolving their problems.“There is no way any of the feuding factions can win this conflict by the use of force and fire arms. The answer to your differences does not lie in the shooting and killing of each other. The answer is to talk to each other and see each other as a brother or a sister,” he said.The Vice President renewed the appeal when he held separate meetings with the Paramount Chief of Bawku, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, and the elders of the Mamprusi community in Bawku.The visit of the Vice President, who was accompanied by the Minister of the Interior, Mr Clestus Avoka, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, the Presidential Spokesperson and a former MP for Bawku Central, Mr Mahama Ayariga, the Commanding Officer of the Northern Command of the Ghana Armed Forces, Brigadier General Joseph Adinkrah, and the Head of Operations of the Ghana Police Service, Deputy Commissioner of Police Patrick Timbillah, was to assess the conflict situation in the municipality.Violence erupted in the Bawku municipality on Monday, March 2, 2009 after a young man, Mohammed Musthafa, a Busanga, was gunned down by unknown persons.The violence intensified on Tuesday, when some youth, after the stabbing of another person in the centre of town, took to the streets burning houses and looting property amidst the firing of guns from all corners of the municipality.The number of deaths recorded since the conflict was resurrected stands at nine. So far 41 persons have been arrested by the joint police and military patrol teams, out of which 11 have been remanded in prison custody by the Bolgatanga Circuit Court.Six weapons, made up of four AK47 rifles, one G3, one single-barrelled weapon and 202 rounds of AK47 ammunitions were also retrieved from the combatants.A number of persons, including a police constable on peacekeeping duty, sustained gunshot wounds and are on admission at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital.The police constable had, however, been flown to Koforidua in the Eastern Region for further treatment.Vice President Mahama, who is in Bawku at the instance of the President, expressed the government’s displeasure at the death of innocent citizens and appealed to the people to let peace prevail.He reminded the people of the poverty levels of the three northern regions, which, he said, was very high and stressed that those resources which should have been used by the municipal assembly for development and to create employment was now being channelled into maintaining the peace in the area.He warned that the government was going to be firm and cautioned persons who hid behind political parties to fuel the crisis to desist from that.Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II blamed the constant escalation of violence and serial conflict in the area to activities of some security personnel and the failure of politicians of the past government to deal with the perpetrators of crime.He urged the current government to come out clearly on the Bawku chieftaincy issue, and if possible publish a White Paper based on previous court rulings as to who owns Bawku.An opinion leader of the Mamprusi community, Mr David Molli, for his part, commended the President for the prompt manner in which he dispatched the Vice President to the area to assess the situation, and expressed the hope that the government would, for once, settle the issues of Bawku amicably.Earlier at a meeting with head of security agencies on the ground, Mr Mahama commended the police and military for a good job done so far and urged them to continue with tactical strategies and regular snap checks and searches to make Bawku an arms-free zone.The Minister of the Interior, Mr Cletus Avoka, appealed to the security agencies to maintain neutrality and be unbiased in the discharge of their duties, adding that the continued conflict in Bawku and elsewhere was as a result of the fact that people were not satisfied with the neutrality of some of the security personnel.He, however, gave the assurance that the government was committed to ensuring law and order.Lieutenant-Colonel Isaac Awuah-Mantey, Commanding Officer in charge of the Tamale Airborne Force, who briefed the Vice President and his entourage on the operations of the security personnel, also bemoaned the unjustifiable bailing of suspects by the courts.He stressed that throughout the Bawku crisis, which started on December 31, 2007, certain persons who committed heinous crimes, ranging from arson to murder and were apprehended, have all been allegedly released by the courts and are roaming the streets of Bawku with impunity.He said in situations where murder suspects were arrested and released after a brief incarceration, the wrong signals were sent to the criminals and this also had a demoralising effect on the security personnel.He, therefore, advocated that people arrested in connection with the conflict should be handed severe sentences to serve as a deterrent to others.The Upper East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, appealed for more logistics such as vehicles and enhanced living conditions for the more than 500 military and police personnel working to restore peace in Bawku, a request the Vice President obliged to take up with the police and military administration.

Regions observe Indece anniversary(D/G, Satuday, March 7,2009 Page 16-17)

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga
The Vice President, Mr. John Mahama has noted that constant violence in the Upper East Region would not only rob the area any meaningful development but would also scare off potential investors which would inevitably deny the people employment opportunities.
He has therefore entreated the people to partner the government in its bid of finding lasting peace in the area and put it on the track of development.
“With the support of the chiefs, opinion leaders and the security agencies, pragmatic measures would be taken to find lasting peace to the incessant problems in Bawku and in other parts of the of the region and put its development back on track”, he said.
The Vice President said this at a parade in Bolgatanga to mark the independence anniversary celebration of Ghana in Bolgatanga. This is the first time, a high profile guest such as the Vice President, has reviewed the independence anniversary celebration in the region, which was formed by security services drawn from the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Prisons Service, Customs Excise and Preventive Service, the Fire, and Immigration Services, as well as 2,247 children from selected schools in the Bolgatanga Municipality.
The parade was under the command of Assistant Superintendent of Police, (ASP), Kweku Bempah.
Among the dignitaries present were Mr. Cletus Avoka, Minister for the Interior, Mr. Mark Wayongo, Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mahama Ayariga, Presidential Spokesperson, Brigadier-General Joseph Adinkrah , in charge of Northern Command, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Patrick Timbillah, Director Genreal in Charge of Operations as well as Service Commanders.
A ten-man delegation from neighboring Burkina Faso, led by Mr. Pierre Bicaba, High Commissioner of the Province of Boulgou in the Central East Province, attended this year's anniversary celebration.
Vice President Mahama identified poverty as the number one enemy of the people in the region adding that this has been exacerbated by the violent ethnic and chieftaincy conflicts in some parts of the region, especially Bawku.
To that end, he said President Mills' government would work towards the alleviation of poverty in the region through the creation of employment opportunities which will engage the boundless energies of the teeming youth in active economic ventures all year round.
The Vice President however stressed that without peace; no meaningful development would take place and urge the people to embrace peace.

MRS AWUNI GRATEFUL TO PRESIDENT (PAGE 39)

THE Deputy Upper East Regional Minister designate, Mrs Lucy Awuni has expressed her appreciation to the President for appointing her to serve the region.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic on phone, Mrs Awuni, who is a retired educationist and social development worker, expressed the hope that with her experience as a teacher and having served with a non governmental organisation, she would offer the necessary assistance to the regional minister to administer the region to the admiration of all.
She said when confirmed, she would assist the regional minister to work closely with the security agencies to effectively deal with all forms of conflict confronting the region.
“We need to dialogue very often as a people to address our disagreements”, the deputy minister designate stressed.
Mrs Awuni also promised to work closely with women groups to tackle head-on the challenges facing them, adding “I will pay special attention to the empowerment of women and involve them in the decision making process, especially on peace building.
Born at a village known as Yaligu in the Bawku municipality, Mrs Awuni obtained her basic education at Navrongo. She said after completing middle form four, she proceeded to the Tamale Women’s Teacher Training College for a four-year Certificate ‘A’ course.
According to her, after her teacher training course, she taught for some time before pursuing a specialist course in Home Economics at the St Louis Training College.
She later returned to the classroom where she rose through the ranks to the position of senior superintendent in the Ghana Education Service.
Mrs Awuni later left the teaching profession and joined the development world where she worked as the Women’s Development Coordinator for the Navrongo-Bolgatanga diocese of the catholic church from 1987 to 1996.
She later joined Action Aid Ghana as an education programme officer in charge of formal and non-formal sectors. After working for 21 years with the development world, she proceeded on voluntary retirement in 1999.
Mrs Awuni is married to the former Member of Parliament for the Binduri constituency, Mr Mark Anthony Awuni and blessed with six children, five females and a male.

WE WILL DEAL RUTHLESSLY WITH OFFENDERS (D/G, Thursday, March 5, 2009 PAGE 54)

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, Upper East Regional Police Commander, has warned trouble makers in Bawku about the dangers involved in engaging the joint Police and Military team on the ground in fights.
He said it was dangerous to use fire-power as a means of thwarting the efforts of the security forces to maintain law and order in the area and warned the trouble makers that the security forces would do everything to stop criminals from taking the law into their own hands.
Speaking to the media at Bawku last Tuesday, DCOP Mahama said the security agencies were alive to their responsibilities and would continue to pursue all the trouble makers to ensure that lasting peace returns to the area.
“It is life and property that is being destroyed in Bawku and we will not sit down and allow that to happen”, he added.
While assuring the nation of the commitment of the security agencies to get to the root of the problem, he appealed to the citizens of Bawku to partner the security agencies to bring peace and security to the area.
“Some members of the public who even see crime being committed are unwilling to report such actions to the security agencies, while others are even willing to aid the perpetrators to run away, this is not good,” he said and called for the cooperation of the general public.
So far 40 persons, including two women, have been arrested in connection with the disturbances. They have been transferred to the regional headquarters in Bolgatanga, where they are being screened.
Those found culpable will be charged and prosecuted. The security agencies have also seized one G3, a military rifle, some AK47 assault rifles and assorted ammunitions from some people in the area.
The official death toll in the latest round of fighting in Bawku is now eight. One police constable on peacekeeping operations was also shot in the leg. The policeman is currently on admission at the Bolgatanga regional hospital but he is likely to be flown out for further treatment.
Many houses have also been burnt rendering occupants homeless. Some of the displaced persons are now lodging with friends and relatives.
Houses burnt in the confusion, include the house of Mrs Agnes Azumah Osmanu, mother of the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Adamu Dramanu. Others were the house of the Registrar of the Bawku circuit court Mr Hamza Uztarz and that of his younger brother, Umar Uztarz, who is an accountant with the Bawku Municipal Mutual Health Insurance Scheme.
At the time of the incident, both men were out of their abodes. Also burnt was a house of a disabled old woman, Ayishetu Buzanga, whose residence and food barn were razed down. After narrating her ordeal, the regional police commander offered her some money to cater for herself and her family.
Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service appeared to have been overwhelmed by the number of fire incidents because apart from the inadequacy of the single fire engine, they were also exposed to incessant firing and are unwilling to move in to protect life and property.
Meanwhile, police reinforcement is due to arrive in Bawku to complement efforts by those on the ground.

POLICE, MILITARY REINFORCEMENT FOR BAWKU (D/G, Wednesday, March 4, 2009PAGE 30)

A police and military reinforcement yesterday moved into the conflict zone of Bawku and found the town completely deserted, even though the curfew hours announced by the Interior Minister had not been altered.
By 12:15 p.m. when the Daily Graphic joined the team in Bawku, there was no commercial activity. Meanwhile, intermittent gunshots could be heard from the outskirts of the town.
A number of people could also be seen with small pieces of luggage at a temporary lorry park in front of the police station ready to leave the town.
The security team also discovered that most government workers had abandoned their posts and that there had been destruction of some property.
A house located a few metres behind the police station had been set ablaze.
Several houses, including those of the registrar of the Bawku Circuit Court, Mr Hamza Uztarz, and a businessman, Salifu Turay, had been burnt down.
Another lady, Ayifatu Bufanga, also had several items in her room burnt. Moved by her plight, the Regional Police Commander, DCOP Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, made a personal donation of GH¢30 to her.
At a suburb called Magema, the house belonging to the accountant of the Bawku Mutual Health Insurance Scheme, Mr Umar Uztarz, was razed to the ground.
Some items, including a satellite dish and a water pumping machine, were allegedly looted.
Tear gas was thrown at some policemen by unidentified civilians while the police tried to drive away some people who were shooting at the police.
A young man who also threw a petrol bomb at the military was shot in the right thigh and rushed to the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital for treatment.
The Regional Police Commander led a team of policemen to the Ghana-Togo border at Bulmakom to escort some stranded traders back to Bawku.
The police and the military have, meanwhile, intensified their patrols in the town.
At the time of filing this report, the Regional Police Commander was in a meeting with senior police officers at the Bawku Police Station to strategise on how to resolve the conflict.

STOP VIOLENCE IN BAWKU, URGE MP, REGIONAL MINISTER (D/G, Wednesday, March 4, 2009PAGE 15)

THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mr Adamu Daramani, has made a passionate appeal to his constituents to stop the violence in the Bawku municipality.
Relatedly, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, has also condemned the clashes in the Bawku municipality, saying “the task of developing the region is always hampered by the incessant fighting in the Bawku area and other hot spots in the region.”
The MP described as most unfortunate the recent eruption of conflict in the area and said the time had come for all to join forces for the re-building of the town which, for a greater part of last year, witnessed several deaths and loss of property.
In a telephone interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Daramani emphasised that conflict in the area could not solve any problem and cautioned all those behind the dastardly acts in Bawku to put a stop to them.
He condemned the setting ablaze of a house belonging to his mother, Madam Agnes Azumah Osumanu, at Gigange, a suburb of Bawku, and that of the vice-chairman of the Bawku Central branch of the NPP at Mognori.
He said at the time his mother’s house was attacked, the 70-year-old pensioner was away in Accra for medical check-up.
Mr Daramani solicited the support of opinion leaders and the leaders of political parties to address the latest conflict that had erupted in the municipality.
He also pledged his commitment to any attempt by the government to restore peace in the Bawku area.
“From what I have heard so far, this is not a Mamprusi-Kusasi affair. This is an NPP-NDC violence and we must all act now to avert any further loss of human lives and property,” he said.
He expressed optimism that the presence of the police and the military in Bawku would reduce the uneasy calm prevailing in Bawku and lead to the restoration of peace in the area.
Addressing his maiden meeting with staff of the Upper East Regional Co-ordinating Council in Bolgatanga, the Regional Minister condemned the latest clashes in the Bawku municipality.
He said the task of developing the region was constantly hampered by the incessant fighting in the Bawku area.
“Comments made by people in other parts of the country are not complementary at all. We should, therefore, strive to ensure lasting peace in the region,” he said.
In a related development, the Upper East Regional Police Command has commenced the screening of the 27 people arrested in connection with last Monday’s unrest in Bawku.
Those found culpable will later be arraigned.
A police source hinted that over 100 policemen selected from other parts of the country were due to arrive in the region to beef up peacekeeping operations in the Bawku area.
Five people were confirmed dead in renewed fighting in the Bawku municipality last Monday.
A police constable, Peter Ayivie, was also shot in the leg at the hostel where security men on peacekeeping operations were lodging.
The cause of the violence is not yet known.

5 KILLED IN RENEWED FIGHTING IN BAWKU (D/G Tuesday, March 3 2009. PAGE 3)

FIVE persons were killed and two others, including a police constable who was identified as Peter Ayivie, seriously wounded in renewed fighting in some parts of the Bawku municipality of the Upper East Region.
The dead, one of whom was identified only as Azay, with the others yet to be known, have been deposited at the mortuary. The name of the other person who was seriously injured has been given as Rahim Alhassan, who is reported to be on admission at a private medical facility in Bawku and said to be in critical condition.
The cause of the latest incident was not known at the time of filing this report but both the police and the military have intensified their patrols in the area.
An uneasy calm reigned over the area and every activity was at a standstill, with people staying indoors.
Information gathered by the Daily Graphic had it that Azay, who is about 30, was killed near the offices of the Ghana National Fire Service in Bawku about 10 p.m. on Sunday, March 1, 2009.
According to a source close to the police, Azay was allegedly shot in the stomach at close range, resulting in his intestines gushing out.
About 10 a.m. yesterday, fighting erupted again and it was alleged that Alhassan was severely wounded with a machete around the Total Filling Station, right in the centre of town, resulting in renewed fighting in the town.
The source said in the process, another person, whose identity is yet to be known, was killed and the body found around the new lorry park.
Meanwhile, the Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, has said the police and the military are in control of the situation.
He indicated that some arrests had been made, adding that investigations were underway to arrest all those connected to the latest clashes.
In a related development, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, has convened an emergency Regional Security Council meeting to address the latest crisis in Bawku.
Mr Woyongo, who assumed duty only yesterday, had, on Saturday, immediately after arriving in the region to assume duty, announced that his primary concern was to restore lasting peace to Bawku.

WOYONGO TARGETS PEACE IN BAWKU (D/G, Monday, March 2, 2009 PAGE 16)

THE new Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Owen Woyongo, has described conflicts in Bawku as a blot to the development of the region and pledged to bring a closure to the recurrent conflicts in the region.
Promising to work with both factions in the conflict, the regional house of chiefs, and other stakeholders to end the crisis, he emphasised that without peace, there could not be any meaningful development.
“Once peace is attained, there will be speedy development and the economic life of the area, which has stalled will bounce back to life,” he said.
Speaking at a ceremony at the Residency to officially welcome him to the region, Mr Woyongo promised to work with everybody no matter their political party affiliation, religious background or tribe to turn the fortunes of the region round.
He therefore admonished the people of the region to lend their support and encouragement to his administration.
“We are condemned to working together. My enemy is not the man or woman on the other side of the political divide. My enemy is the poverty that is staring us in the face. That poverty does not discriminate and that is why we have to put our shoulders to the wheel to make sure that we drive poverty out of this region,” he said.
Mr Woyongo arrived in Bolgatanga on Saturday to a rousing welcome. A procession of regional executive and supporters of the National Democratic Congress, the chief director and staff of the Regional Coordinating Council, district coordinating directors, heads of security agencies, heads of departments and scores of people were at Pwalugu, about 20 kilometres outside Bolgatanga to meet the minister who arrived from Tamale by road.
The procession drove into Bolgatanga amidst the tooting of car horns and ended at the Residency where Mr Woyongo addressed the crowd. He expressed gratitude to the people of the Upper East Region for the warm reception accorded him.
”Ever since my name was mentioned, I have enjoyed tremendous support from the people and I am very grateful,” he said.
He promised to work with all who are prepared to join him in his efforts to bridge the development gap between the north and south and committed to helping to improve the living condition of the people.
He was unhappy that in spite of all the numerous economic potential that exists, the region still lagged behind the rest of the country in terms of development and promised to work hard to attract investors into the region.
“We are poor in the midst of plenty. We have too many resources which are yet to be tapped and I am sure if we get the correct investors, we will be on the road to driving out poverty”.
“We are about to begin a new chapter in our development agenda and I appeal to you all to put your hands on deck. We should put politics on the back burner and put the development of the region on the front burner. That is the only way forward,” he said.
Mr Woyongo said he had earlier met with all MPs from the region prior to his departure from Accra to solicit their support and promised to constitute a committee to plan the 50th anniversary celebration of the creation of the Region, which falls next year, to showcase the region’s potential to the international committee.
Mr Woyongo, accompanied by Mr Donald Adabire, a former Regional Minister, and the Deputy Regional Minister designate, Mrs Lucy Awuni had earlier paid a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief of Bolgatanga, Naba Martin Abilba and the Bishop of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese of the Catholic Church, Most Rev. Lucas Abadamloora.

AFRIKIDS GHANA HOLDS REVIEW CONFERENCE (D/G, Monday, March 2, 2009. PAGE 40)

AFRIKIDS Ghana, a child welfare non-governmental organisation based in the Upper East Region, has held a stakeholders conference in Bolgatanga to assess its performance over the years.
Afrikids runs a number of projects one of them being “Operation Fresh Start”, which is an innovative child rights project that tackles child trafficking and the associated problems of child streetism and child labour in the Upper East Region.
The short-term aim of the organisation is to reduce the levels of child trafficking while the long-term one is to stamp it out altogether.
The day’s conference was on the theme: “Fashioning out a realistic resettlement package for project beneficiaries; the role of stakeholders”.
It attracted participants from a cross-section of society, including local authorities drawn from the Bolgatanga, Bongo, Talensi,Nabdam and Kassena Nankana West District assemblies, and representatives of the regional coordinating council, the department of community development, the department of social welfare and trade associations.
In a welcoming address, the Country Director of Afrikids Ghana, Mr Nicholas Kumah, acknowledged the collaboration his organisation enjoyed with the district assemblies, stressing that they had been of immense help to the organisation in the running of its projects.
He noted that 95 per cent of the 160 children engaged in various dehumanising labour repatriated from Kumasi to the Upper East region by Afrikids Ghana had been retained with some of them being trained in various vocations.
The country director stated that although the initial thinking of the people was that the project would not be possible, "we of Afrikids have made it a reality".
He said the first batch of trainees were due for graduation while the rest were also making progress in their respective courses and would also graduate by the end of the year.
According to Mr Kumah, international organisations had developed interest in Afrikids’ activities and wanted to be part of the success story.
"It will, therefore, not be fair that the assemblies in which the project has been successful, are not fully on board to share in the glory," he noted.
Mr Kumah, therefore, called on the assemblies to show practicalcommitment to the operations of Afrikids by contributing their part to reduce to the minimum the menace of streetism, child labour and child trafficking.
He acknowledged the interest shown by Barclays Bank Ghana in Afrikids’ projects and expressed the hope that the new- found partnership would yield the desired results.
Mr Richard Amoah, the Project Manager of Operation Fresh Start, a wing of Afrikids Ghana that deals with resettlement of repatriated children, took stakeholders through the various stages of the project.
He said those children had been on their various vocations since their integration and some of them would graduate some time this year.
Mr Amoah stated that the first batch of trainees who sat for their apprenticeship examinations passed, adding that one of them obtained a distinction.
"The belief therefore that that it would be impossible to resettle
these category of people is being proven incorrect by the works of Afrikids, because the trainees have for the past years been still at post eager to complete their respective vocations," he said.
Recounting some of the achievements chalked up by the project so far, Mr Amoah disclosed that one of the beneficiaries was now continuing her education at the Gbewaa Teacher Training College while more than 120 parents were engaged in some livelihood activities due to the extended microfinance support the project had given them.
He threw a challenge to the stakeholders that the trainees needed to be resettled with a start-up package, which demanded their commitment to practically support Afrikids in that direction.

WORKSHOP TO ENHANCE WORK TO CRAFTSMEN ENDS IN BOLGA (D/G, Monday, March 2, 2009. PAGE 40)

A DAY’s training workshop on arts and craft to sensitise craftsmen and women to upgrade their skills and knowledge through the adoption of improved technologies to enhance the quality of work has ended in Bolgatanga.
The workshop was also aimed at motivating the participants not only to increase productivity, but also come out with customer-friendly products.
It was attended by selected craftsmen and women as well as cultural officers from the Centre for National Culture throughout the country. The workshop was organised under the European Union (EU) Cultural Initiative Support Programme (CISP).
Since the project was launched in August, 2007, a number of activities had been organised to transform the cultural landscape of the country.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Coordinator of the CISP, Mr Kwesi Gyan-Apenteng, noted that the craft industry was one of the most vibrant sectors, which was often described as the informal economy.
He stated that the crafts played a major part of the broad tourism and hospitality industries that enhanced the image of Ghana internationally.
Mr Gyan-Apenteng, however, said unfortunately Ghanaian crafts and artefacts often failed to compete favourably against those from other countries because of poor finishing and sometimes faulty designs.
Those challenges, he said, had been identified under the project resulting in the deployment of strategies to address the problem.
“The time has come to introduce innovation through new thinking, technologies and international best practices to the development of these crafts for the betterment of the local and national economies,” Mr Gyan-Apenteng stressed.
He bemoaned the disappearance of the local architecture, mostly the round huts systems, and called on the local authorities and some business concerns to realise the potential of the traditional designs.
The leading consultant of the CISP, Mr John Osei Bobie Boahin, expressed concern about the demise of the local architecture.
He noted that in warm climatic situations as the one prevailing in northern Ghana, it was necessary for the people to maximise the use of the straw in their design to minimise the effects of the heat instead of relying on metal roofing sheets.
Mr Boahin, who is also the Head of the Department of Integrated Rural Art Industry at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi , appealed to the government to pay special attention to the arts industry.

WOMEN URGED TO REPORT CASES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (D/G, Monday, March 2, 2009. PAGE 40)

THE acting Upper East Regional Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Kenneth Adabayire, has urged women to report cases of domestic violence to the security agencies for appropriate action.
He said there was the need to protect the rights of women to enhance their development.
Mr Adabayire was speaking at a forum organised by the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Ghana to sensitise community and opinion leaders from five communities in the Bolgatanga municipality to the effects of domestic violence on families.
The participants were drawn from the Balungu, Kandiga, Sumbrungu, Zorko and Zuarungu communities.
According to Mr Adabayire, even though some men were victims of Domestic Violence, women were the worst affected.
He, therefore, urged the participants to fight for the rights of women, stressing that the passage of the Domestic Violence Act demonstrated the government’s commitment to gender equality.
“Once human rights are respected, it will help in the development and peaceful co-existence,” he said.
Mr Adabayire said although the courts were there to handle all cases of domestic violence, the best and preferred way of handling such cases was the alternative dispute resolution, and therefore urged the participants to explore that mode of solving problems.
The Regional Project Coordinator of FIDA-Ghana, Mr David Atinga, expressed worry at the high rate of domestic violence in the region, stressing that over the past two years, more than 300 of such cases had been received by his outfit.
According to him, those cases had either been handled directly by FIDA’s paralegal office in Bolgatanga or referred to other law enforcement agencies. “Eight cases ended up in court and they have sent very strong signals to perpetrators of women rights abuses that we are serious”, Mr Atinga said.
He commended organisations such as CHRAJ, Legal Aid Board and the Department of Social Welfare for their keen involvement in tackling the issues of domestic violence in the region.
The Principal Field Officer of the National Commission for Civic Education, Mr Gomez Adongo, enjoined the participants to do away with cultural practices in the region that infringed on the rights of women.
He, therefore, implored the participants to fight for the rights of women, stressing that the passage of the Domestic Violence Act demonstrated the government’s commitment to gender equality.

BOLGA NURSES COLLEGE LACKS INFRASTRUCTURE (D/G Monday, March 2, 2009. PAGE 40)

THE Principal of the Bolgatanga Nurses’ Training College, Mr Moonin Musah, recently expressed his frustration at the inadequate infrastructure which is hampering the training of nurses.
The college is currently being housed in temporary accommodation with limited number of classrooms and other ancillary facilities.
“Well, it appears there is light at the end of the long tunnel. The poor state of infrastructure in the region’s health training schools, which adversely affects effective teaching and learning as well as the quality of nurses trained, will soon be a thing of the past,” Mr Musah stated.
According to the Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Koku Awoonor-Williams, the region was working with the ministries of Health and Finance and the Ghana Health Service on a proposal for $6 million Kuwaiti government support to rehabilitate the nurses’ training colleges.
Dr Awoonor-Williams made this known at this year’s annual regional health sector performance review meeting at Bolgatanga.
The regional director expressed the hope that the proposal when approved, would go a long way to enhance the quality of nurses turned out from the training institutions.
He said until then there was the need for the management of nurses’ training institutions to step up discipline among students and improve internal management systems to ensure that the health staff strive to promote the corporate image of the service.
According to Dr Awoonor-Williams, apart from the inadequate infrastructure at the various health facilities, most of the existing structures were poor.
He said there were a number of dilapidated health facilities and residential accommodation, inadequate staff accommodation and several uncompleted capital projects.
Dr Awoonor-Williams cited for instance that Bolgatanga, the regional capital, had no municipal hospital and the current state of the health centre serving the municipality did not befit it status.
He noted with concern that a project started in the late 1970’s to provide a municipal polyclinic for Bolgatanga had been abandoned.
“The lack of a municipal hospital or polyclinic in the area put pressure on the regional hospital,” he said.
The regional director, however, stated that in a bid to address the challenges, his administration had put in place some innovative measures including the renovation of dilapidated staff residential and office accommodation to improve the working and living environments of the staff.
He added that some projects that were unduly delayed had been completed in the Bongo and Garu-Tempane districts and the Bolgatanga Municipality to provide accommodation for the staff.
Dr Awoonor-Willians also mentioned the $12 million Saudi Fund secured for the second phase of the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital rehabilitation project.
He expressed his appreciation to the regional coordinating council and the municipal and district assemblies in the region for their continuous support and cooperation towards infrastructure development and general health issues.