EMBRACE POVERTY REDUCTION PROGRAMMES (D/G, Saturday May 30, 2009. PAGE 22)

THE National Co-ordinator of the Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP), Mr Roy Ayariga, has urged Ghanaians, especially those from the deprived areas, to take advantage of interventions such as the NRGP to improve their standard of living.
He stated that there were some people who could get out of their poverty through a little effort but instead of taking that bold step, they rather chose to look up to the government to bring them out of poverty.
Mr Ayariga made the call at the Upper East Regional launch of the NRGP at Bolgatanga.
Giving an overview of the programme, Mr Ayariga said the NRGP was being financed by African Development Bank (ADB) and the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD).
He said a total of $104.34 million would be spent on the project in the beneficiary regions, adding that the duration of the project was eight years.
Mr Ayariga explained that the scheme was aimed at developing agricultural commodity value chains to increase production in rural areas of the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions and contiguous savannah districts of Brong Ahafo.
He added that the new programme was also expected to provide production and marketing infrastructure, improve access to rural financial services and would fully integrate key private sector operators in the value chain.
The national co-ordinator emphasised that the overall objective of the programme was to achieve sustainable agricultural and rural livelihoods and food security for the rural poor in northern Ghana.
Mr Ayariga stressed that the goals of the programme were not different from those of the savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) and other such interventions.
He added that they were all geared towards accelerated economic growth and social cohesion in the rural savannah areas of the country.
While calling on people in the beneficiary regions to embrace the programme and see it as theirs, Mr Ayariga also challenged members of the investment community in other parts of the country to partner farmers in the northern parts of the country to derive the desired benefits from the NRGP.
“The north offers the best opportunity both in terms of whether, land and water resources. This is the time for the investors to come up north in partnering the local farmers to produce crops, especially vegetables for export”, he said.
The Deputy East Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni who launched the programme on behalf of the regional minister, said what the government was doing through the NRGP, was to provide the incentive framework for investors.
She emphasised that what was required was for farmers and the business community to seize the opportunity and help to save the people from abject poverty.
Mrs Awuni appealed to agricultural business firms operating in the south to move up north and partner with the hardworking and industrious farmers to do good business on the aegis of the NRGP.
“The fact that the north is the least developed places a huge responsibility and a sense of urgency that we have to work even harder so that we can progress at an accelerated pace to catch up with the rest of the country”, the deputy regional minister said.
Mrs Awuni also called on chiefs and landowners to willingly release land, especially to the youth and women when they approached them.

PEACE. MY PEOPLE...President tells leaders of Mamprusis and Kusasis in Bawku Traditional Area (D/G. Saturday May 30, 2009 LEAD STORY)

STORY: Benjamin Xornam Glover & Alhandu Abdul-Hamid


RESIDENTS of Bawku yesterday felt the brightest prospect for peace in the area when leaders of the Mamprusis and Kusasis, under the watch of President J. E. A. Mills, hugged each other in public for the first time since the 2007 outbreak of war between the two groups.
With the Kusasi delegation led by the Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka, and the Mamprusi side led by Alhaji Akalifah Bugri Seidu, the elders displayed mutual affection and a commitment to work for peace.
Among those who observed the momentous occasion were members of the Bawku Inter-ethnic Peace Committee and the Upper East Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC).
Prior to the meeting, President Atta Mills offered to say a a prayer to God in which he prayed to the Almighty to facilitate an atmosphere in which the rival factions would be filled with the spirit of love, fellow feeling and human kindness for a successful outcome and repeated his earlier pledge that the government had no intention of dabbling in chieftaincy affairs.
The President had earlier held separate meetings with the chiefs and opinion leaders of both sides in the conflict with the view of helping bring lasting solutions to the recurrent conflict in the area.
President Mill said his government could not determine the heir to any skin but would ensure the implementation of the decisions of the institutions mandated to do so by the Constitution if they made their findings known to the government on any dispute referred to them.
He said the Constitution had put in place institutions that were mandated to deal with chieftaincy disputes and asked for chieftaincy disputes to be directed to those institutions for redress.
The President said the purpose of the meeting was to allow peace to prevail in Bawku and its environs and appealed to the leaders to ensure that people went about their normal duties peacefully.
He said all documents stating claims to chieftaincy would be submitted to the mandated institutions and whatever their comments or findings were was what the government would abide by.
The President requested that as the farming season was about to begin people should be made to have access to their farmlands and also the central market should be made accessible to all. He also expressed his displeasure at the state of the Bawku Hospital, which is not functioning effectively because some medical staff feel threatened go to work.
He expressed gratitude to the factions and the members of the Inter-ethnic Peace Committee for attending the meeting and asked those with problems with their farmlands to report to the Inter-ethnic Peace Committee for redress.
The Bawku Naba on behalf of the Kusasis made a commitment to ensure that farmers who had no litigation with owners of their farmlands went about their farming activities without hindrance.
For his part, Alhaji Akalifa Seidu said the Kusasis should not entertain any fears and asked them to feel free to go to the central market to engage in their trading activities or to the hospital to seek medical attention.
Members of the Inter-ethnic Peace Committee, namely Mr David Molie, representing the Mamprusis, and Mr Thomas Abilla, representing the Kusasis, took turns to brief the President on work done so far.
Mr David Molie told the President that members of the committee were at peace with one another and that all members were committed to the peace process in the area.
He said the committee was mandated to promote peace and encourage free and easy interaction among people of all tribes in the area.
Mr Thomas Abilla from the Kusasi side on the committee also confirmed that there was some tension in the area that needed to be defused to allow free movement and trading in the area.
According to him, the committee plans to move from community to community to meet all stakeholders in the peace process including youth groups, women’s groups and other opinion leaders there to talk to them to also embrace peace.
Also present at the meeting were the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo; the Deputy Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni; the Minister for Defence, Lt. Gen. Joseph Smith (retd); the Minister for the Interior, Mr Cletus Avoka; the Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Mahama Ayariga; the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, and other government officials.

WE WILL INSIST ON ACCOUNTABILITY (D/G. Friday, May 29, 2009. SPREAD)

President John Evans Atta Mills has stated that his government will insist that the members of the New Patriotic Party administration account for their period of stewardship in much the same way as his administration expects to be called upon to account for its stewardship and service.
“The fact that a government was booted out of power does not excuse it from failing to account to the people for its stewardship. This is an acceptable norm and we will insist on it to the letter. But we want to do this with regard to due process,” he said.
President Mills made these remarks in Bolgatanga during a grand durbar of the chiefs and people of the Upper East Region to round off his two-day working visit to the region.
Traditional rulers from all the 17 paramountcies in the region, resplendent in their traditional fugu and its accessories, converged on the Golden Jubilee Park, which was equally parked to capacity.
The President explained that in doing so, however, his government would want to make sure that it applied the rule of law, adding that at the end of the day whenever the people gave their decision, nobody would have the opportunity to dispute it.
“It is for the sake of candour, openness and transparency that we let the people know where we are taking over from so that there can always be a point of reference. There is no point in throwing dust into the eyes of the people; the fact must be told,” he said.
He said although he had been in power for only five months, he could say that the signs were good and gave the assurance that his government would not fail Ghanaians because it knew that the promises it made to the citizens were sacred.
On criticisms of his government, President Mills said he wished that within four months he could do what he had promised to do in four years.
“If they knew how to do this, why didn’t they do it in the eight years that they were in power?” he asked.
He promised that under his administration, the development of the Upper East Region would be fast-tracked, insisting that he had a competent team to ensure that those promises were fulfilled.
He said government would improve agriculture in the region through irrigation farming, subsidy on fertilisers, tractor services and other inputs to boost food production.
Touching on his plans for the region, he said a number of interventions had been lined up in the areas of agriculture and infrastructural development, including the rehabilitation of dams.
He said many investors wanted to come into the country, stressing that he knew that the northern regions were a peculiar attraction, hence the setting up of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority.
He, however, said much could not be achieved in an atmosphere of violence and appealed to the people to ensure that peace prevailed.
He expressed the hope that given the numerous interactions he had had with the opinion leaders of Bawku, the problems there would be dealt with.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, disclosed that the Bawku Municipal Assembly, on the advice of the Regional Security Committee (RESEC), was constructing a mini military barracks at Bazua near Bawku to ensure the permanent presence of the military in the area.
He said the project, which started with funding from the assembly and supported by the Regional Co-ordinating Council and some assemblies in the region, had stalled due to inadequate funding and appealed to the President for a special fund to be allocated for the completion of the project
He said the presence of the military in the area would bolster the confidence of the people and help forestall any future breaches of the peace.
The regional minister said the protracted Bawku conflict had left a big scar on the once peaceful region which had become a source of worry to peace-loving people. But he was optimistic and hopeful that a lasting solution would be found for the people of Bawku to live in harmony.
The President of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs, Paga-Pio Pe Awiah Awampaga ll, said the region was peaceful but it could not boast of total peace because of the Bawku conflict, adding that the Regional House of Chiefs was doing its best to finding a lasting solution to the issue.
“Even though we do not doubt the capabilities of the 10-member committee appointed to go into the matter by the regional minister, I will call for your personal intervention. I believe that Ghanaians will appreciate your efforts and will not see it as interfering in chieftaincy matters because we are talking about peace and not who should be a chief,” he said.
The Paga-Pio was grateful to the President for maintaining the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture when he cut down the number of ministries and appealed to him to, in conjunction with the Speaker of Parliament, put in place a committee in Parliament for chieftaincy affairs.

WE'LL MAINTAIN PEACE IN BAWKU...Says President Mills (D/G. Friday May,2009. PAGE 17)

President John Evans Atta Mills has reiterated the government’s commitment to the maintenance of peace and stability in Bawku and its surrounding communities.
The President gave the assurance at a meeting with the Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area, Naba Abugrago Asigri Azoka II, at Bolgatanga last Wednesday as part of his two-day visit to Upper East Region.
President Atta Mills said the recurrent conflict in Bawku had adversely impacted on major development projects in the area and resulted in the government spending huge sums of money to maintain peace and security while the security personnel on operational duties in the area were also spending precious time at their peril to bring the situation under control.
The President, therefore, appealed to the opinion leaders in the area to lend their support to the government’s effort to secure peace and security in the area.
The achievement of peace and security, the President said, was crucial for the people to move freely and use their energies to engage in productive activities to ensure that they had better and fulfilling lives.
President Atta Mills said the government was committed to building a better Ghana but indicated that such an objective could not be achieved in the midst of confrontations and insecurity.
Responding, the Bawku Naba said Bawku had not known peace for some time now and it was time to deal effectively with the situation.
Naba Azoka said the conflict was not a chieftaincy issue because that had been settled in the law courts and appealed to anybody who had a problem to seek redress in the courts.
He added that there was tension at Bawku partly because the people could not move freely; a situation which had deprived them of the opportunity to conduct their businesses.
He said he attended the meeting with the President because he wanted to share ideas on how to find a lasting solution to the conflict with him
After the initial courtesies and exchange of ideas, the President and the Bawku Naba retired into a closed-door session for further discussions.
The President also addressed a meeting of opinion leaders of the Mamprusi community at Bolgatanga yesterday and reiterated the government’s neutrality in the Bawku conflict, maintaining that the government which he led would never take sides in the conflict.
“The only side that this government is on is the side of peace, tranquillity and stability,” he said, and charged the opinion leaders to support the government in its efforts to bring permanent peace to the area.
President Atta Mills said nobody was happy about the situation in Bawku where for more than a year now people had lived under a curfew.
He said the solution lay partly on the government and the people, adding that the government would ensure that anyone who broke the law was arrested and dealt with.
President Atta Mills said Bawku had great potential in terms of developments and urged the people to partner the government in its bid to attract more investments to the area.
He, therefore, appealed to factions in the dispute to put an end to the conflict and support the government in that effort.
The President commended the establishment of an inter-ethnic peace committee comprising both Kusasis and Mamprusis in the area to examine steps at ending the conflict in the area and appealed to the people to support the work of the committee.
The leader of the Mamprusi community, Mr Akalifah Bugri, commended the President for inviting them to a meeting to deliberate on the way forward for Bawku.
He said the problems of Bawku dated back many years, adding that a number of interventions to bring it under control had failed because truth, the key element in fostering peace, was absent.
He proposed that apart from holding separate sessions with the sides involved in the conflict, the government should also meet both sides at a round table to passionately discuss the issue and map out the way forward.
Mr Akalifah identified chieftaincy and inaccessibility to land by the Mamprusis as some of the undertones of the conflict and appealed to the government to help resolve the conflict.
Earlier, a delegation of chiefs from the eastern corridor of the Kassena-Nankana-West District had called on the President to petition the government to heed their request for a separate district as a matter of fairness.
The leader of the delegation, Mr Roger Atasige, asserted that as far back as the 1970s, seven villages, including Manyoro, Natugnia, Nabango, Yua, Kandiga, Sirigu and Mirigu had been requesting through democratic means for a separate district and constituency but their requests had been turned down.
He, therefore, appealed to the President to act on their concern.
Responding, the President said the government would critically study the issue and ensure that once all the requirements were met as stipulated by law, their concerns would be taken on board.
“Government work within certain rules and regulations and we want to take decisions that are informed by the provisions of the laws,” he said.
Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, General Secretary of the NDC, commended the group for the peaceful and democratic way they presented their request and intimated that their concerns would be thoroughly looked at.
Present at both meetings were a Member of the Council of State, Very Rev Jacob Ayeebo, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, the Deputy Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni; the Minister of Defence, Lt Gen. Joseph Smith; the Interior Minister, Mr Cletus Avoka; the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Albert Abongo, and other party executive members.

MILLS BEGINS U/EAST TOUR (D/G, Thursday, May 28, 2009. SPREAD)

THE President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, arrived in Bolgatanga yesterday to begin a two-day working visit to the Upper East Region to thank the people of the region and familiarise himself with some developments there.
He was met on his way to Bolgatanga at Pwalugu, a town just before the Upper East Regional capital, by the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, and other government officials.
From Pwalugu, the convoy drove straight to the residency, where the President inspected a guard of honour mounted by personnel of the Ghana Police Service. He later called at the palace of the Paramount Chief of the Bolgatanga Traditional Area, Naba Martin Abilba, to pay homage to the chief and his people.
At the palace, President Mills said he was there to say ‘thank you’ to the people for their support for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the last general election.
He said not only did the people of the region vote massively for him but also for the first time in so many years they voted for the NDC parliamentary candidate, Mr Opam Brown.
He assured the people that the government would do all in its power to meet their aspirations.
The President said the government would give the regional minister and his team of municipal and district chief executives all the support they needed.
He said since he arrived in the region, the regional minister had wasted no time in drawing his attention to some nagging problems there.
“These are problems that have existed for some time but I have no doubt whatsoever that we have the capacity, determination and commitment to resolve them,” he stated.
He said while the government would strive to meet all its promises, it needed patience and support from the citizenry and called on the populace to live in peace with one another, adding, “Our objective as a people is to ensure that we improve on our lives and build a solid foundation for not only our children but also generations yet unborn.”
Welcoming the President, Naba Abilba congratulated him on his victory and prayed for the success of his government.
“We are blessed to have got a man like Prof Mills to lead the nation and I am very hopeful that his visit here today will expose him to some of the development challenges facing us,” he said.
He commended the President for recently dispatching the Vice-President to the Bawku municipality to mediate in the conflict and said that move was very proactive in helping to bring the situation under control.
The Bolga Naba later adorned the President with a white “Fugu” and an accompanying northern traditional hat.
While in the region, the President will meet with various chiefs, including the Bawku Naba, Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, as well as chiefs from the Kassena-Nankana East District. He will also interact with opinion leaders, Muslim and Christian leaders, as well as party activists.
He will visit the Sumbrungu campus of the Bolgatanga Polytechnic to inspect development projects there and climax his visit with an address at a durbar of the chiefs and people of the region at the Golden Jubilee Park in Bolgatanga.
The President is accompanied by the Minister of Defence, Lt Gen Joseph Smith (retd), the Minister for the Interior, Mr Cletus Apul Avoka, the Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Mahama Ayariga, and the Head of Communications at the Presidency, Mr Koku Anyidoho.
The President is expected to visit the Upper West Region after his tour of the Upper East Region.

EXHIBIT DISCISPLINE IN CONLICT AREAS...Alhaji Mahama (D/G, Thursday, May 28, 2009 PAGE 20)

THE outgoing Upper East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Alhaji Hamidu Mahama has challenged police personnel on operational duties in the Bawku Municipality to exhibit greater discipline in the discharge of their mandate in the conflict areas.
DCOP Mahama who is due to assume command of the Western Region, stated that the Police Administration would not sit down and allow the hard won reputation of the service to be dragged in the mud, especially after relative peace had been restored in the conflict areas.
DCOP Mahama gave the advice when he interacted with police personnel on operational duties in Bawku during a working visit to the area.
He said attempts by the security agencies including the police to bring permanent peace in Bawku would be a mirage if police personnel on the ground did not exhibit discipline in all their dealings, especially their daily contact with civilians in the municipality.
While cautioning them to be fair and firm in carrying out their mandate, he advised them to show respect to the ordinary person on the street and desist from all acts of harassment that might end up tarnishing the image of the police service.
“The cornerstone of the new police administration is discipline and any personnel who fails to display a high sense of discipline will not be spared”, he warned.
The outgoing regional commander urged the men to examine what role they could play collectively to resolve the conflict in the area to enable them to return to their respective stations.
He enjoined the personnel to remain neutral at all times.
Responding to some of the challenges confronting his men on the ground, DCOP Mahama said the police administration was fully aware of the logistic problems facing them and gave the assurance that the necessary steps would be taken to make life comfortable for them.
Meanwhile, the peacekeepers have appealed to the outgoing regional commander and the regional coordinating council to help in replacing their tents since they are in deplorable state.

DOBA DAM NEEDS REHABILITATION (D/G, Thursday, May 28, 2009PAGE 20)

DAMS, dugouts and boreholes play an important role in the life of most communities in the northern parts of the country.
This is partly due to the long period of dry seasons experienced in that part of the country. Out of the 12 calendar months, most communities in the north experience between eight and nine months of dry weather, while the remaining three months are the wet season.
The situation has compelled most of the communities to rely on dams, boreholes and dugouts for survival.
Sadly however, most of the dams are either silted or have their banks broken much to the discomfort of the people who depended on them.
One of such dams in a distressful state, is the Doba Dam located in the Kassena-Nankana East District in the Upper East Region.
The dam which is one of the oldest in the Kassena-Nankana East District, was constructed by the government in the late 1950s to provide water for the community for their domestic animals, construction of houses and other uses.
Farming
The Assembly Member for the Gayingo-Doba electoral area, Mr Clement Nchor stated in an interview with the Daily Graphic that, until the early 1980s, the Doba Dam was solely managed and used by the Ministry of Agriculture to crop tomatoes and rice, among others as part of field demonstration to farmers on modern methods of farming.
He said in addition to that, the fisheries department was equally responsible for harvesting fish from the dam every year.
According to the assembly member, the existence of the dam had impacted positively on the lives of the people in Doba in many ways.
This included the availability of water that made it very easy for the people of the community to get water for their livestock and for the construction of their houses during the dry seasons.
Mr Nchor stated that fishes from the dam also served the protein needs and source of income for a cross section of the people, adding that farmers earned a lot of income, particularly in the dry season from the tomatoes, rice and other leafy vegetables they cultivated.
Some of the people have taken advantage of the availability of water to plant mangoes, guava, oranges and other economic trees as well as pawpaw, cassava and plantain which provided them a lot of revenue, thereby reducing poverty among such families, he said.
In addition, Mr Nchor said the presence of the dam had also created employment for some of the youth in the area who work as farm hands in the gardens belonging to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
He, however, stated that due to siltation over the years, the dam had become very shallow making it to dry up between March and May, every year before the rains set in, in June.
Rainy season
He stated that in 1997, the Irrigation Development Authority tried raising the dam’s embankment as a way of increasing the volume of water in it, but the work was poorly done.
“Due to that, the spillway has become very difficult for people especially schoolchildren. to cross over during the rainy seasons,
“A good driver is required to be able to drive down the steep bank to convey sick persons and pregnant women to hospitals any time such incidences occur,” he stressed.
Mr Nchor said due to the siltation of the dam and the consequent limited amount of water in it, life had not been the same for the people of Doba.
He said between the months of March and May when the quantity of water level was reduced, animals got stuck in the mud in their attempt to drink water from the dam and when that happened in the night, some of them even die.
“In view of that, some of the animals wander far in search of water and are either stolen or go astray. This becomes an economic loss to the owners of such animals”, Mr Nchor said.
He stated that another problem which was very worrying was the fact that the number of dry season tomato and other leafy vegetable farmers in the fenced irrigated field had reduced, adding that even the few who still farmed there, had to compete for the limited quantity of the water in the dam and that could sometimes lead to conflicts among them.
Migration
That problem Mr Nchor said, had compelled many of the youth in the area to migrate to the southern part of the country in search of non-existing jobs.
The assembly member emphasised that a more serious phenomenon was that because a large area of the extreme end of the dam remained dry the land owners now cultivate rice directly in the dam thereby further aggravating the bad situation.
“Such farmers feel there is no need to allow that fertile land go waste, hence their decisions”.
Mr Nchor said another worrying spectacle of the drying up of the dam was that some of the land owners had allowed contractors to win graves on some of the dried up portions of the dam.
The loose soil was subsequently carried into the dam, worsening the already bad situation. Even though the chief and the assembly members prevailed on those land owners to put a stop to such unhealthy practices, it is sad to note that the practice still persistes.
Water
It has become very difficult for some people to have access to water for the purpose of building or reconstructing their houses due to limited quantity of water in the dam between February and May every year.
The people now rely on the few boreholes and that have put more pressure on those facilities in the community leading to their frequent break-down.
The least said about fish stocks the better.
To Mr Nchor, the way forward is to desilt the dam to increase its volume of water to enable it to serve the varied needs of the people of Doba.
He said although an appeal had gone to the Kassena-Nankana East District Assembly, the house was constrained financially to carry out the project.
That notwithstanding, he reiterated his passionate appeal to the assembly, the Regional Minister and the Minister of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) to come to the aid of the people.
“We the people of Doba have the confidence in the current government’s social policies towards alleviating poverty, especially in northern Ghana, mentioning in particular, the establishment of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA)”, the assembly member said.
Appeal
He also appealed to the Member of Parliament (MP) for Navrongo Central, Mr Joseph Kofi Adda to put the state of the Doba Dam on his developmental agenda by going to the aid of the people.
“The chief and people of Doba shall forever remain grateful to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government and other past governments for the many developmental interventions in Doba. When the dam problem is solved, it will go a long way to reduce poverty in the village”, he said.
While appealing for support to save the dam, he also called on the entire people of Doba to cooperate with him and the chief of the area to save the only dam in the community from drying up completely.
“The strongest appeal is to the people who farm close to the dam and the base of the banks or allow contractors to win graves there to put an immediate stop to the bad practice to save it from collapse.
“It is our collective responsibility to ensure that this great asset is maintained to demonstrate to the government that we care for our own welfare and are prepared to continue to take care of any public property to convince it to respond favourably to our request to desilt the dam”, the assembly member said.
Already the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo has stated that a number of dams in the region have been earmarked for rehabilitation.
It is, therefore, the prayer of the people of Doba that their dam would be included in the package to bring relief to them.

ASSIST NAVRONGO WAR MEMORIAL HOSPITAL (PAGE 19)

THE Medical Superintendent of the Navrongo War Memorial Hospital, Dr William Gudu, has appealed to the government and other stakeholders to help the hospital with resources to enable it to provide quality health care to the public.
He said the hospital, which served the people of Kassena-Nankana East and Kassena-Nankana West districts, could not boast of modern facilities such as laboratory and theatres.
In addition, inadequate supply of water and erratic electricity power supply had affected health care in the hospital.
Dr Gudu made the appeal when the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, toured the facility to familiarise himself with some of the challenges facing the hospital, with the view to initiating solutions to them.
The visit to the hospital also saw the inauguration of the rehabilitated mortuary facility which broke down five years ago. The facility was rehabilitated at the cost GH¢9,000 with funds from the hospital’s internally generated revenue.
Briefing the regional minister on the challenges facing the hospital, Dr Gudu said the hospital, which was established during the colonial era, lacked modern toilet facilities and patients had no option than to visit KVIPs.
He also bemoaned the inadequate beds and dilapidated physical structures, and, therefore, appealed for support.
Responding, MrWoyongo said the government had placed premium on the health of the people and would do its best to address the numerous challenges facing the hospital.
On the poor water supply to the facility, Mr Woyongo tasked the District Chief Executive for Kassena-Nankana East, Mr Emmanuel Andema, to liaise with the Ghana Water Company to ensure that water was pumped into the hospital’s overhead tanks, at least once a week, while efforts were being made to address the problem permanently.
Mr Woyongo also promised to coordinate with the offices of the Volta River Authority to examine the possibility of supplying the hospital with a separate transformer to curtail the problems of the frequent power fluctuation.
According to the regional minister, prior to the rehabilitation of the mortuary, families from the three districts who relied on it rather had to travel to the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital to preserve their corpses.
He tasked the management of the hospital to enter into agreements with mechanics to ensure a regular maintenance culture.
On personnel, the regional minister promised to explore the possibility of partnering the Ministry of Health to put in place a package that would see the flying in of a team of specialist doctors to conduct clinics at least once a month.
While commending the medical staff for their dedication to work, he appealed to them not to embark on strikes.
“Already, our people are suffering and the health facilities are not the best. Our people cannot afford to travel outside to assess health care, so please bear with us,” Mr Woyongo said.
He gave the assurance that government was very sensitive to the plight of health workers and would do all it could to meet their requests for better remuneration once the conditions were all right.

Chief Executives assume office.........But what should the people expect from them?(D/G. Monday, May 18, 2009. Page 36)

Chief Executives assume office.........But what should the people expect from them?
Article: Benjamin Xornam Glover
The period from April 24, 2009 to May 6, 2009 saw the confirmation ofthe entire president’s nominee for the position of Municipal andDistrict Chief Executives (M/DCEs) in the Upper East Region.There are nine districts in the Region. Seven of the appointees hadtheir confirmation process endorsed “one touch” as said in localparlance while the remaining two had to go for a re-run to have theircandidature approved. They both failed to get the nod after the firstround of voting by their respective assembly membersThe nominee who had their appointment confirmed at the first shot wasMrs. Vivian Anafo for Talensi/Nabdam, Mr. Norbert Awulley for BuilsaDistrict, and Mr. Epsona H. Ayamga for the Bolgatanga Municipality.The rest are Mr. David Adakudugu for the Garu-Tempane District, Mr.Thomas Adda Dalu for the Kassena-Nankana West District, Mr. MusahAbdulai for the Bawku Municipality and Mr. Emmanuel Andema for theKassena-Nankana district.Messrs Moro Adam Anaba and Clement Akugri Tia, the nominees for theBawku West and Bongo Districts respectively were initially rejected bytheir assemblies but were later confirmed at a later sitting of theirrespective assemblies within the stipulated 10 days interval providedby the Electoral Commission.With the approval of the Municipal and District Chief Executives, theRegional Coordinating Council under the leadership of the RegionalMinister, Mr. Mark Woyongo now has the full complements of hislieutenants to implement the development agenda of the government andbring total development to the various districts.Come September, next year, the Upper East Region will mark its GoldenJubilee Celebration, however at 49 years since its creation, theregion is faced with a number of developmental challenges, key amongthem is the high poverty rate.The region has great potential in large scale rice production,especially in the Oncho Free-Zone area around Fumbisi in the BuilsaDistrict, Cash Crop production which is made possible due to the manysmall-scale irrigation sites such as the Cotton Ginnery and theNorthern Star Tomato Factory in the Talensi/Nabdam district.One can also talk of the crafts industry including the smock business,the leather and straw trade, the mining and quarry activities as wellas the rich tourist attraction sites such as the Paga Crocodile Pond,the Tongo Rock and Tenzuk Shrine, the Navrongo Minor Basilica amongstother attractions.In spite of the great potentials that exist in the region, it is stillviewed as one of the most deprived area where its people live inmisery because leadership have not been able to exploit or showcasethe rich potentials to the outside world.Poor sanitation, environmental degradation, especially indiscriminatelittering of refuse, the unending conflict in Bawku and in otherhotspots in the region has connived to give the region a bad name.These confirmed M/DCE now in office in the two municipalities andseven districts should therefore consider it a privilege to work hardand contribute positively to enhance the living conditions and turnaround the fortunes of their people.Here are some of the few developmental challenges I think the variouspolitical heads now in office must address now that they have beenconfirmed and sworn into office.For instance, in the year 2004, the Bolgatanga Municipality wasadjudged the cleanest municipality in Ghana and was given the"Cleanest City Award".A few years down the line, the municipality has lost its shine andBolgatanga is facing poor sanitation problems. Apart from theindiscriminate littering, the lack of toilet facilities in the varioushomes has forced some of the people to defecate in the open.Mr. Epsona H. Ayamga and his team of administrators at the BolgatangaMunicipal Assembly would have to stretch every sinew of the muscle toaddress the sanitation problem facing the municipality.He must also explore every opportunity to ensure that therehabilitated Bolgatanga Central Market, which for the past eight ormore years have been left unoccupied is brought back to life toimprove on the local economy of the area.Next is the Bawku Municipality which has for the past two years beenbedeviled with incessant conflicts that have retarded the developmentof the area.Mr. Musa Abdulai, with his background as a development worker, has thearduous task as a MCE to the once populous trading town to rekindlethe spirit of togetherness, peace and unity among the people andensure that permanent peace is achieved in Bawku.The Municipality is also famous for onion production and vegetablesand one can only watch keenly how the law and sociology graduate fromthe Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology work to boostthe agriculture potentials of Bawku.Mr. Emmanuel Andema, DCE for Kassena-Nankana East will have toredouble his efforts to ensure that agriculture which is the mainstayof the local economy and accounts for about 68 per cent of theemployable population is given a boost.It is an established fact that a substantial number of the peoplebecome underemployed during the agricultural off-season, resulting insome of them migrating out of the district thus minimizing labouravailability for communal work during the period of emigration.Next door is the Kassena-Nankana West District headed by Mr. ThomasAdda Dalu. The district though newly created is much endowed. Thedistrict boasts of such wonderful tourist sites such as the PagaCrocodile pond where human can easily interact with reptiles.Sad to say, this facility has not been well developed to match thefame that is associated with the area. This facility when welldeveloped could rake in more revenue for the assembly and improve thelocal economy of the area.Others sectors of the economy in the district such as agriculture,education, health to mention a few will also require substantialattention to uplift the lives of the people.Builsa District under the leadership of Mr. Norbert Awulley, will haveto work closely with the Ministry of Agriculture to support farmerswith water pumps, seeds, fertilizers and other inputs to boost foodproduction especially in the oncho free zone.The district is also prone to natural disasters such as floods andwindstorms and he must therefore work hard to put in place mechanismsthat will ameliorate the plight of the people.Mr. Clement Akugri Tia, DCE of Bongo will have to ensure that by theend of his term, his district gets at least a kilometer of tarredroad. Bongo is the only district in the Upper East Region where thereisn’t a single tarred road not even in the district capital and thepeople have over the past years made several appeals to the governmentto if for nothing at all ensure that the road leading to the town fromBolgatanga is tarred to reduce the drudgery of travelling on it.Similarly, other districts namely Talensi/Nabdam, Bawku West, andGaru-Tempane are faced with major developmental challenges and therespective DCEs, Mrs. Vivian Anafo, Moro Adam Ayana and DavidAdakudugu have the envious task to work hard to justify the confidencereposed in them.Generally, it is a well known fact that poverty is the number oneenemy of the region and those elected into office must endeavor tofeature elements of poverty alleviation mechanisms and bring aboutaccelerated development. -End-

BUILSA NORTH MP THROWS WEIGHT BEHIND DCE (PAGE 16)

THE National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Builsa North, Mr Timothy Ataboadey has declared his total support for the newly approved District Chief Executive (DCE) for Builsa, Mr Norbert Awulley.
He stressed that Mr Awulley was best suited for the job.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Ataboadey, who had initially expressed dissent over the choice of Mr Awulley by the President, said having reflected over the issue and knowing who the nominee was, he had no doubt in his mind that, he would live up to the task.
Mr Ataboadey was among the few high profile personalities to have vehemently opposed the choice of Mr Awulley as the DCE.
He told a section of the media that broad consultations were not done with the party stakeholders and that he believed some personalities at the presidency manipulated the selection of the various district, municipal and metropolitan chief executives.
According to the Builsa North MP, although the NDC party promised him and the party supporters in the area that they would be consulted during the selection process, they only heard on air the one who had been chosen as the DCE.
However, when the Daily Graphic contacted him moments after the nominee was overwhelming approved by the assembly, he said “Those initial reactions are natural and bound to happen”,
”I have worked with him (Mr Awulley) for far too long and I believe that he will show that he is really the father of the district by bringing all of us on board”.

CONTRACTORS UGED TO GIVE REALISTIC QUOTATIONS (MIRROR, Saturday May 16, 2009. PAGE 34)

From Benjamin Xornam Glover,
Bolgatanga.

Contractors in the Upper East Region have been called upon to submit realistic quotations when they bid for contracts to enable them to execute the projects to specification when they win the contracts.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, made the call when members of the Association of Road Contractors (ASROC) paid a courtesy call on him in his office.
A statement signed and issued by the Public Relations Officer of the Northern Regional Co-ordinating Council said Mr Woyongo condemned the delay in the payment of contracts and promised to take up the issue with the agencies responsible.
It said the regional minister, touching on the development prospects of the region, noted that under the Savannah Accelerated Development Agency, more roads would be rehabilitated and new ones constructed to link up the hinterlands with marketing centres.
He also said priority would be given to the construction of dams and urged the contractors to position themselves to avail themselves of the opportunities.
Mr Woyongo mentioned the celebration of the region’s 50th anniversary next year and appealed to the membership of ASROC in the region to participate fully in the event.
The Northern Regional Chairman of ASROC, Mr Hakeem Dauda, assured the regional minister of the co-operation of the members of the association.
He expressed concern over the backlog of contract payments to members and appealed to the regional minister to assist in clearing all bottlenecks.
He also called on the government to create an enabling environment for the business of contractors to thrive.

ADDRO GIVES VEHICLES TO CO-ORDINATORS IN 6 REGIONS (D/G, Saturday, May 16, 2009. PAGE 23)

THE Anglican Diocesan Development and Relief Organisation (ADDRO) has taken delivery of 10 four-wheel drives and pick-ups to facilitate the smooth operations of its malaria control programme dubbed: “Nets for life”.
The funds for the vehicles, valued at GH¢424,614, were assessed through some development partners, including the Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD).
The vehicles were handed over to the respective project co-ordinators from the Upper East, Upper West, Northern, Ashanti, Eastern and Western regions at a ceremony in Bolgatanga.
The Executive Director of ADDRO, Very Reverend Dr Jacob Ayeebo, who made the presentation, said the vehicles would facilitate dissemination of information about malaria and the use of treated mosquito nets.
He stressed the gesture would contribute to the reduction of malaria-related diseases among the vulnerable population in the beneficiary regions.
Very Rev. Ayeebo, who is also a member of the Council of State, said the first phase of the nets for life programme started in 2006 and ended in 2008 during which a number of successes were chalked up.
It included the distribution of long-lasting insecticide treated nets (ITNs) to various communities that contributed towards the prevention of outbreak of malaria and related diseases among the vulnerable population in the three northern regions.
Very Rev. Ayeebo said under the second phase of the programme, three more regions had been included in the programme, namely Ashanti, Eastern and Western.
He expressed the hope that the vehicles would contribute to achieving better results over what was witnessed in the first phase of the programme.
Very Rev. Ayeebo urged the beneficiary regional co-ordinators of the programme to use the vehicles for the intended purposes.
He urged the drivers to ensure regular maintenance, stressing they should abide by the organisation’s vehicular user policy to prolong the life span of the vehicles.
The Heath Co-ordinator of the Anglican Health Services, Mr Benson Azure Nsoh, on behalf of the beneficiary regions, expressed appreciation to the donors for their gesture, and gave the assurance that they would use the vehicles to achieve the goals of the programme.

FIGHTING CROSS BORDER CRIME...Security officials map out strategies (D/G Saturday May 16, 2009 BACK PAGE)

THE Upper East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, has met with his counterparts from the neighbouring border towns of Bittou in Burkina Faso and Cinkasse in Togo to map out strategies to fight cross-border crime.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic at Bolgatanga, Alhaji Mahama said since cross-border crime was still a problem, there was the need for those in charge of security to dialogue regularly on how best to handle the situation.
He said the security officials from all the three sides discussed the need for them to effectively collaborate and find a modern way of fighting cross-border crime.
The security officials also discussed the need to check the proliferation of arms and ammunition at the border towns.
Alhaji Mahama said recent events in Bawku and other border towns gave the police cause to believe that some criminal elements were now taking advantage of the situation to rob people.
He said the police believed that those criminals were likely to run across the border, hence the need for security chiefs from Ghana to collaborate with their counterparts in Burkina Faso and Togo to work hard and expose those criminal elements.
He described the meeting as very successful and expressed the hope that the collaboration would be deepened to find common approaches to dealing with security challenges facing the three neighbouring countries.
The Upper East Region shares common borders with Burkina Faso to the North and Togo to the East of the country.

BAWKU CONFIRMS ABDULAI (PAGE 14)

The Bawku Municipal Assembly has confirmed Mr Musa Abdulai, a development worker formerly with Action Aid Ghana, as the Municipal Chief Executive for Bawku.
At an emergency meeting held at Bawku in the Upper East Region, 45 out of the 46 assembly members present voted in favour of the nominee, while one person voted against his candidature, in an election supervised by officials of the Electoral Commission.
Committing himself to achieving peace in the area, Mr Abdulai solicited the support of all the people in the municipality to work in concert in the search for permanent peace in the area.
He said efforts must be made to return Bawku to its former state as a bustling commercial town.
Mr Abdulai thanked the assembly members for giving him the nod, and said he would co-operate with all stakeholders to develop the municipality.
He noted that although some remarkable success had been achieved in the search for peace by the various stakeholders, much more remain to be done.
He therefore appealed to the assembly members to support him in his quest to bring peace to the area.
“Until those of us who are sons and daughters of this municipality commit ourselves and energies to it, much cannot be done by the peace brokers. In other words peace cannot be imposed on us from outside,” he said.
“This being so, those of us in leadership position from the area must garner all our available human resources, knowledge and wisdom to partner in this crusade for peace, that way we would create the requisite atmosphere to prosecute the development agenda for municipality,” he added.
While promising an honest and dedicated leadership, Mr Abdulai promised to work assiduously with all to reduce poverty and improve the standard of living of the people in the area.
“Our worse enemy is poverty for which reason we all need to pool together to deal with it. We should rekindle the spirit of togetherness, peace and unity of purpose if only we should meet the hopes and aspirations of our people in the areas of education, agriculture, health, water and sanitation, road infrastructure and other essential services that will improve upon the living conditions of our people,” he said.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, bemoaned the recurrent nature of the conflict in Bawku and renewed his appeal to the assembly members to assist in the peace building efforts, adding that development could not take place when there was no peace.
He disclosed that for the last Samanpiid festival celebrated a few days ago, GH¢10,000 was spent to beef up security and maintain the peace in the area, stressing that the conflict in the area was having a toll on the finances o f the region.
Mr Woyongo expressed the government’s determination to ensure that a permanent solution was found to the problem before the end of its term, and therefore enlisted of the assembly members in that direction.
The Regional Minister announced that the Regional Security Council intended forming a joint committee of opinion leaders from the Mamprusi and Kusasi sides to meet with the REGSEC to decide on when to lift the curfew in the area.
“We want that decision to come from the people.
We have come long way and I do not think that we want to get back.
The conflict is retarding the progress of this beautiful town,” he said.
Rev. Fr. Jacob Ayeebo, a member of the Council of State, commended the assembly members for the overwhelming support given to the President’s nominee and encouraged them to continue to work together towards the development of the area.

JOHN NDEBUGRE JOINS NPP (PAGE 14)

Mr John Akparibo Ndebugre, an independent parliamentary candidate for Zebilla Constituency in the Upper East Region in the 2008 election, has joined the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
According to Mr Ndebugre, the national executive of the People’s National Convention (PNC), his former party, have failed to organise the party in conformity with the ideology of the founding fathers of the party, as well as the constitutional requirement for the formation of political parties, which demands that each political party has to practise internal democracy.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Mr Ndebugre said he was reading the statement on behalf of the executives of the 30 wards and 100 polling stations for the 2004 and 2008 elections.
He said it was for the practice of internal democracy, provision of information on party’s ideology and to sponsor candidates for elections that the late Dr Hilla Liman formed the PNC. However, these ideologies had been abandoned by people “who have imposed themselves as national executive on the people”.
He said the unconstitutional actions of the “so-called national executive” resulted in the abysmal results of the party during the last two elections.
Mr Ndebugre added that the national executive committee that was elected in May 2004 was unconstitutionally ousted in December 2007 by people who used illegal means to impose themselves as national executive on the party.
He said the illegal executive members failed to follow the laid down procedure for organising congress because they neglected the rule that demanded that parties held constituency and regional elections prior to the national congress.
He said the national delegates congress which elected the national executive and presidential candidates for the 2008 election did not have the mandate of the members of Zebilla, as well as some other constituency executives in the country.
Mr Ndebugre said the members and executive of Zebilla still considered the national executive of the party who were elected in 2004 as the substantive officers and were the very people who advised him to contest the 2008 elections as an independent parliamentary candidate.
He said after considering the consistent illegal behaviour of the “so-called national executive”, the members and the executive of Zebilla decided that they had to part ways with the party.
He said because they could not stay aloof in the face of the socio-economic and political happenings in the country, they decided to join forces with the NPP.
Mr Ndebugre said the defecting members had had discussions with the executive of the NPP on how to contribute to strengthen the NPP at the constituency to recapture political power in 2012.
Reacting to the defection, a leading member of the PNC, Dr Sontim Tobiga, described the move as “their individual choice which must be respected, because they have the freedom to associate with any political party of their choice at any time.”
He said in recent times Mr Ndebugre had not acted in any way in the interest of the party, including contesting the 2008 elections as an independent candidate at Zebila where the PNC had a parliamentary candidate.
However, the National Chairman of the NPP, Mr Peter Mac Manu, speaking via phone from Norway, where he is attending the national conference of the Conservative Party in Oslo, described the defection as good news and welcomed Mr Ndebugre to the NPP fold.
He said Mr Ndebugri being an experienced politician had come to realise the need to be part of the political party whose values and ideology bordered on respect for the rule of law, fundamental human rights, free speech and special respect for the poor and the vulnerable.

PEACE C'TTEE FOR BAWKU INAUGURATED (PAGE 3)

THE government has inaugurated a 10-member Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee comprising both Kusasis and Mamprusis to broker a permanent peace in the Bawku municipality and its environs.
The terms of reference to guide the committee include the opening up of genuine, constructive and effective dialogue among the people of Bawku, especially the major protagonists in the conflict.
It is also to help educate the general populace on the need for peaceful co-existence, placing emphasis on commonalties that unite the people, instead of the insignificant differences dividing them.
It is to delve deeper into historical antecedents that unite the people and commit themselves to exposing all those who want to derail the peace process for the law to take its course.
The committee is also to help educate the populace of Bawku to separate criminal acts and activities from those related to the conflict and allow the law to take its natural course on those acts.
It is to make useful suggestions and recommendations to the Municipal Security Committee on ways of managing the conflict in the municipality and finally propose to the Regional Security Committee when the curfew on Bawku should be lifted.
Inaugurating the committee, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, said as a result of the conflict in that part of the country over the past one and half years, the government and the municipal assembly had been compelled to redirect scarce resources to manage and maintain peace and order, to the detriment of development projects in the area.
He said to worsen an already bad situation, most development partners who obviously felt unsafe working in a volatile and risky environment had also abandoned the area and left the people to their fate, culminating in the area lagging behind the rest of the country in terms of development.
“There is the need for us to stop for a moment, reflect and give peace a chance,” Mr Woyongo said.
The regional minister said he was convinced that members of the committee would live up to expectation and prove equal to the task ahead in order to restore peace in Bawku.
He commended the security agencies for the tactical manner in which they nipped in the bud the April 30, 2009 incidence in which some unidentified gunmen attacked some individuals at the Kariyama Cattle Market and stole some cattle which were later retrieved.
“That was needless and very irresponsible on the part of whoever might have orchestrated it,” he said.
Mr Woyongo tasked the security agencies to tighten their intelligence network and enhance their surveillance activities at public places to avoid such incidents in the future.
The Municipal Chief Executive for Bawku, Mr Musa Abdulai, said the absence of peace in Bawku was hampering the effective development of the area and appealed to members of the committee to work assiduously to see how best to bring permanent peace to the area.
“Nobody, apart from us, can bring peace to Bawku. We should, therefore, see dialogue as the best way to address our differences,” Mr Abdulai said.
A representative of the Mamprusis, Mr David Molie Belko, observed that what was unfolding in Bawku, with the inauguration of the committee, was a laudable process which promised to be of immense benefit to the people of Ghana.
For his part, Mr Thomas Abilla, who spoke on behalf of the Kusasis, said the inauguration of the committee would enhance dialogue among the feuding factions and lead to evolving best ways of resolving whatever differences that might exist among them.
Members of the committed are Messrs Mohammed Tahiri Nambe, David Molie Belko, Bashiru Salifu, Ziblim Adam and Alhaji Ibrahim Kobila, representing the Mamprusi side.
The rest are Messrs Patrick Adakurugu, Thomas Abilla, Richard Ayabillah, Naba Adams Awinu and Madam Grace Nkaw, representing the Kusasis.

BAWKU CONFIRMS ABDULAI AS DCE (PAGE 16)

The Bawku Municipal Assembly has confirmed Mr Musa Abdulai, a development worker, formerly with ActionAid Ghana as its Municipal Chief Executive.
At an emergency meeting held at Bawku, 45 out of the 46 assembly members present voted in favour of the nominee, while one person voted against in an election supervised by the officials of the Electoral Commission (EC).
Mr Abdulai thanked the assembly members for the honour done him and promised to cooperate with all stakeholders to develop the municipality.
He called for the support of all the people in the municipality to work hand in hand with him in the search for permanent peace in the area and return Bawku to its former state as a bustling commercial town.
He noted that although some remarkable success had been achieved in the search for peace by the various stakeholders, more remains to be done.
Mr Abdulai, therefore appealed to the assembly members to support him in his quest to bring peace to the area.
“Until those of us who are sons and daughters of this municipality commit ourselves and energies to it, much cannot be done by the peace brokers. In other words peace cannot be imposed on us from outside”, he said.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo bemoaned the recurrent nature of conflict in Bawku and renewed his appeal to the assembly members to assist in the peace building efforts, adding that development cannot take place when there is no peace.



He disclosed that for the last Samanpiid festival celebrated a few days back,an amount of GH ¢10,000 was spent to beef up security and maintain the peace in the area,stressing that the conflict in the area was having a toll on the finances of the region.
Mr Woyongo expressed government’s determination to ensure that a permanent solution was found to the problem before the end of its term and called for the support of the assembly members in that direction.
The regional minister announced that the Regional Security Council intended to form a joint committee of opinion leaders from the Mamprusis and Kusasis to meet and discuss and advise the REGSEC when it should lift the curfew on the area.
“We want that decision to come from the people. We have come a long way and I do not think that we want to go back. Because the conflict is retarding the progress of this beautiful town”, he said.
Mr Woyongo said the government was committed to reducing poverty in the region and to that end, had evolved so many intervention programmes under the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority to help bridge the development gap between the north and south.
He therefore called for the support of the people to bring all that into fruition.
Rev. Fr Jacob Ayeebo, a member of the Council of State, commended the assembly members for the overwhelming support given to the President’s nominee and encourage them to continue to work together towards the development of the area.

AFRIKIDS DONATES TO BOLGA POLY DISASTER FUND (PAGE 20)

THE Staff of Afrikids Ghana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) operating in the Upper East Region, has donated GH¢300 towards the Bolgatanga Polytechnic disaster fund.
The money was raised from personal contributions by 16 members of staff of the NGO to help ameliorate the pain of the students, some of whom lost everything in a fire outbreak that razed a hostel block down in February, this year.
The hostel, a one storey-block consisting of 12-room apartment, which was originally meant for classrooms, was converted into a residential facility to accommodate the students.
The acting Head of External Affairs of the NGO, Mr Raymond Ayinne, assisted by three of his colleagues, Ms Sandra Dordaa, Ms Irene Asaana and Peter Ayariga, presented the money to the management of the Polytechnic at a brief ceremony on campus.
Making the presentation, Mr Ayinne stated that he and his colleagues were deeply touched by the plight of the students hence their decision to contribute their widow’s mite to help lessen the pains they were going through.
He said the presentation did not represent a corporate donation but individuals who were deeply touched by the plight of their brothers and sisters.
Mr Ayinne expressed the hope that other individuals and organisations would emulate the gesture to help the students.
Receiving the cheque, the Rector of the Polytechnic, Professor Paul Tanzubil commended the staff of the NGO for the gesture.
He said he was particularly pleased that it was coming from individuals of the NGO, adding “This is an exemplification of what your organisation really stands for”.
Mr Ayinne expressed the hope that the gesture would go a long way to rekindle a fruitful working relationship between the polytechnic and the NGO.

ADDRO LAUNCHES DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTERVENTION PROGRAMME (PAGE 20)

ADDRO stands for the Anglican Diocesan Development and Relief Office now known as the Anglican Diocesan Development and Relief Organisation. ADDRO is an initiative of the Anglican Diocese of Tamale and it covers the three regions of the Northern part of Ghana, namely the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions.
The diocese believes in a holistic ministry of saving not only the soul but the body as well, it has initiated a number of development projects in many rural communities, especially in the Upper East Region.
ADDRO started its first mission in 1971. It was an irrigation-farming project intended to support the people involved to produce crops and vegetables during the dry season so that they could improve their standards of living.
In 1978, a new development took place and the Anglican Church Agricultural Project (ACAP) was launched to meet the needs of the poor. All the projects started through private, clergy or parish initiative and were unco-ordinated, scattered and “everybody was doing their own thing”.
The efforts of those projects were not co-ordinated to maximise the effects on the receivers.
However, in 1996, the diocese took a bold and decisive step and consolidated its development work through the establishment of the diocesan development and relief office“ADDRO”.
Over the years, ADDRO developed from a well -willing missionary approach into a professionally based organisation with state of the art equipment, well trained and professional staff members.
One area of concern to this religious organisation is gender discrimination and health education.
Since 2006, Addro has been collaborating with CordAid, a Netherlands-based charity organisation to combat the gender discrimination and violence against women inside and outside their homes.
The aim of that programme was to contribute to the elimination of gender-based discrimination and to promote the reproductive health rights of women. It is targeted at a change of behaviour at the regional, district and community levels in northern Ghana.
Although many people might think that women have equal rights compared to men, especially in the three northern districts of Ghana, practice proves completely otherwise. Child labour, low girl-child education, widowhood rites and property inheritances are socio-cultural issues that need serious attention.
ADDRO wants to be of help with regard to those issues by creating awareness and understanding at all levels in the Ghanaian society, especially in the Upper East Region.
The implementation strategy includes community mobilisation, sensitisation, awareness creation and the empowerment of targeted individuals and groups through workshops to have the capacity to combat gender based discriminations and to promote the rights of women and children.
The organisation has made a great impact on the beneficiary communities and districts which are contributing massively to the reduction of gender based discrimination and its related consequences.
In terms of gender relations in northern Ghana, inequality stemming from traditional norms and beliefs is pronounced. Despite the fact that women provide over 65 per cent of the farm labour and about 85 per cent of the marketing of agricultural produce, they are still discriminated against when it comes to ownership of assets and productive resources.
Women are not expected to be owners nor custodians of productive resources like land, economic trees, or even cattle or bullocks.
Ownership of assets by women is limited to personal effects like cooking utensils, clothing, among others. Women are, therefore, unable to take their destinies into their own hands, as they do not often have control even over their own economic assets. This limits the exercise of their much-needed freedom to live and enjoy life as human beings.
Furthermore, women are discriminated against in matters of education as a result of the literacy level among women compared with that of their male counterparts, which is very low. This high level of illiteracy among women has incapacitated them and limited their exposure to development opportunities to initiate, plan, implement and manage self-help small enterprises on a sustainable basis, leaving them with less economic, social and political power as compared to men.
Besides the above mentioned negative inequalities, gender based violence is prevalent in the area affecting mostly women and occurring at personnel, domestic, community and state levels with its many varied manifestations. The use of violence by men against women is to prevent women from realising their rights, be they economic, social, political or sexual.
The problem is not only widely spread geographically, but its incidence is also extensive, making it a typical and accepted behaviour, widely ignored and so little understood.
It is for this reason that ADDRO has launched a GH¢200,000 Domestic Violence Intervention Programme. The programme is funded by CORDAID and it is to be started by ADDRO in selected communities in the Bolgatanga Municipality and the Bawku West district for the next two years.
Speaking at the launch of the programme, the Co-ordinator for Gender and Development of ADDRO, Mrs Esther Amoako, said domestic violence was on the increase in the area in view of the perception held by the people about the rights of women and children in the family.
She said the gross abuse of the rights of women and children by husbands, denying women basic rights to own property, forced marriages in the name of upholding the tradition had contributed immensely to the increasing poverty situation in the area.
The programme co-ordinator said the trauma women went through when they were abused was so alarming that there should be several interventions to nib the problem in the bud.
Mrs Amoako added that what was even more dehumanising was that wives were sometimes prevented from speaking to their fellow women while others were prevented from seeing family members and other relations.
The Executive Director of ADDRO, Very Reverend Dr Jacob Ayeebo proposed a comprehensive collaboration programme with NGOs working in the areas of human rights-related issues, especially domestic violence, to map up a clear-cut strategy to ensure speedy reduction in domestic violence-related cases in the three northern regions.
He stated that northern Ghana could overcome poverty, “the key enemy in this part of the country, if we work together with seriousness against ignorance and accept the simple education we get from service providers such as ADDRO, we would cross a hurdle in achieving a poverty free system”.
Reverend Dr Ayeebo said battery, physical abuse of especially women and children, economic deprivation of women, sexual abuse and emotional torture of women and children were unacceptable in the 21st Century Ghana, and that such actions were criminal and infringed on the fundamental rights of women and children who are most vulnerable.
Reverend Dr Ayeebo who is also a Member of the Council of State, further called on the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Departments of Women and Children, the Centre for National Culture (CNC) as well as the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), to collaborate effectively at ensuring that they combine education and action in eliminating the phenomenon.
A Senior Investigator with CHRAJ in the Upper East Region, Mr Mohammed Tiamiyu, who presented a paper on “Domestic Violence and the Law,” said domestic violence in families was not limited to only the battery of women, but that child abuse whether verbal or physical, abusive and offensive words against partners, among host of unhealthy grudges in the family, constituted elements of domestic violence.
He added that physical abuse including forceful confinement or detention of another person, deprivation of a partner or a member of the family from accessing the necessities of life, subjecting one to cruel and inhuman treatment, sexual and economic abuse as well as emotional and psychological exploitation of a family member, constituted domestic violence.
Mr Tiamiyu stated that domestic violence was a human rights issue which was treated strictly as such under the Domestic Violence Law, Act 732, adding that the various laws enforcement agencies would treat such cases with the necessary attention they deserved irrespective of who the offenders were, whether it is the man or the woman.

GOVT'S 100 DAYS IN OFFICER ...Views from Bolga & Cape Coast (PAGE 31)

Salifu Amadu, Retired Educationist

I WOULD like to put the assessment of the government’s first 100 days under several headings. In the area of administration, I think everything is on course, even though certain ministries are without Deputy Ministers and some boards of public institutions are not in place. All in all, one can say, it’s a good beginning.
In terms of security, there has not been much change. Though there are prospects for better things in the foreseeable future.
In terms of the promise to prepare and present to parliament, legislation on various tax and tariff measures designed to provide relief for Ghanaians, we have seen a reduction of taxes on particularly petrol and diesel. However, I think the government dribbled Ghanaians by reducing the taxes by five per cent and turned around to increase the prices by 10 per cent. To me this is not an incentive to the generality of Ghanaians.
On the promise of ensuring effective waste management systems to deal with the appalling filth in our communities, I will say that if the emphasis was on the national capital, Accra, then the government has scored high marks but the situation across the nation is nothing to write home about.
I do agree that tackling the issue of sanitation is not an event but a process. There is a need for a strong policy directive to deal with the problem of sanitation. There should be a sustained effort and dedication from all Ghanaians to ensure that our environment is kept clean always.
We all need to put our shoulders to the wheel because one cannot sit in Accra and pretend to be cleaning the whole nation. It should be a policy for the district and municipal assemblies in the region to take up the issue of sanitation seriously. Once that is done we will be cutting down on the health bill, since most of the many people who report to our hospitals have their ailment related to poor sanitation.
But then, more importantly, we want money in our pockets and I think the government will do well to ensure that it lives up to the responsibility to improve on salaries. On the scale of 1 to 100, I will give the government 50.

Lukman Imoro, Founding Member, Bawku Literary
Society

For me the first 100 days have so far been good. Over the past three months, we have seen the commitment of government to continue with existing government programmes such as the National Youth Employment Programme, School Feeding Programme, and National Health Insurance Scheme. This I think is fantastic.
In the area of administration, I think the government had fared well in that within 100 days, the government has put in place a cabinet, a Council of State. With these vital institutions in place, Ghanaians can now be rest assured that the Presidency is now set to roll out its policies.
Again the fact that the government has been able to create the impression that the wrangling that is normally associated with the transition has been reduced drastically is laudable.
On the promise to establish a lean, but effective and efficient government by cutting out ostentation and profligate expenditure; rationalising ministries and ministerial appointments; promoting service, humility and integrity as canons of government, the Government has kept its word.
Now we have about 74 ministers compared to 87 in the last term of the past government. This is significant but what we are yet to know is how much each of those ministries that have been cut out will cost the nation in terms of running them and where these monies have gone to.
On the environment and sanitation, the fact that there has been some form of campaign going on is impressive. But I must add that the issues concerning the environment are more of attitudinal and that would be difficult to change within 100 days.

ODO ASAFUAHBA, FRUIT SELLER

It is too early to judge the President. People are complaining but we should give him time.
We should give him about six to seven months and see what he and his government can do for the country.
I know that there is no money in the system but we have to manage until we feel the change in our pockets. I know by four years he would have accomplished what he set out to do.
Lorry fares have not been increased and so it is good for us.
Zoomlion is working and we know the sanitation problem would be better.
Unemployment is still a problem.
Someone just stole my money because he is unemployed. Hawkers like us are suffering and there should be work avenues for us to benefit.
There should be a little relief for us to feel the change.
If we don’t feel any better change after the four years we would advise ourselves but if we are satisfied we would vote for him again.

Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Journalist

Judging by what has already been done in terms of putting in place a cabinet, a Council of State, appointment of Ministers of State and their deputies as well as nominations of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, I must say the president has done well within the first 100 days in office.
On the issue of sanitation, well the present government can be commended for instituting a nationwide clean-up campaign. But instituting such a day alone is not enough, what I think must be done is to ensure that all metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies sustain the efforts with regular clean-up exercises to keep the environment clean.
On the media front, the government under the leadership of Prof. Mills has enjoyed some support in terms of access to information but in other parts of the country, some media houses have been left out of events organised by the state and this I think is not good.
I look forward to greater co-operation with the media by all officials of the government. Whatever it is you do not expect everyone to share your views. People will always differ on opinions and would not share the same philosophy.
On security, I will say so far, it has been encouraging. Citing Bawku for instance, security since the current government took office has been good. I pray that it will be improved so that Ghanaians will feel safe and secure to go about their legitimate duties devoid of fear and intimidation.

NICHOLAS NYAME, TRADER

We thank God for giving us a successful transition.
The President said there was no money in our pockets and that he would ensure that Ghanaians were living acceptable lives.
If the President, and for that matter the government, is doing well, Ghanaians should be the judges and not himself.
But now it is obvious that all of us are suffering. Even those in the NDC are complaining.
It is sad to note that the drivers who kicked the NPP out are those crying the loudest in these hard times.
The cedi is depreciating every day and those of us who sell we cannot even restock. Things are really difficult these days. There are no jobs in the system and young people are now turning into thieves. How can we survive a system like this?
Zoomlion had always been doing their work to keep the communities clean. All salaried workers who buy my wares are now complaining that they do not have money and are not buying like they used to. Four years will soon be here and we pray that things would change for the better.
We hope that it would get better. There should be money in the system and Ghanaians should be able to live their lives.
If the President and his government want to stay longer they should work harder.

KWABENA ASIEDU, COBBLER

When I look around not much has occurred after the President’s 100 days in office but I know things would get better.
I must say here that if the President would want to listen to everybody he better hand over the presidency.
He must continue to stay focused like he is doing and we believe with him things would change for the better.
He is on track and I am telling him to take his time and take the right decisions for us as Ghanaians and not be distracted by the things he hears.
In 100 days we all see that at least fares have not been increased and that is commendable.
It is also commendable that the President is appointing people from other parties to help solve the nation’s problems. That is good because we are all Ghanaians and that would help promote unity.
The drug menace is also being controlled by the government and crime I think is on the decline.
He has done well for now and we know that Ghana would be better off after the four-year term.
I want to see so many of the unemployed youth with employable skills and also Ghana being a safe place to live by the end of his term.

RICHARD MENSAH,
BUSINESSMAN

We have always enjoyed peace in this country and we are happy that the government has worked to sustain the peace.
All I have seen in these 100 days is the clean-up campaigns and for that we are happy about it.
The difference between the former government and this one is great and we all feel the difference.
If Ghanaians would be truthful we would say that things are not going the way we expected.
The President has not met our expectations considering his promises during the electioneering. We expect better days ahead.
Credit crunch or no credit crunch we are here in Ghana and we voted for a President who can make our lives better so he should please do well to do that.
There should not be any excuse.
Once his government is in place I hope that they would start serious work to ensure that Ghanaians feel the change.

CALM RETURNS TO BAWKU MUNICIPALITY (PAGE 23)

Calm returned to the Bawku Municipality yesterday after violent skirmishes at Kariyama lastThursday, which claimed one life and led to the injury of, at least, three others.
In an interview at Bolgatanga yesterday, the Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo told the Daily Graphic that soldiers and police personnel had been deployed to the area and reinforcement was expected to bring the situation under control.
Mr Woyongo, who is also the Chairman of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), said he had directed the security agencies to ensure that the culture of impunity was dealt with once and for all to bring the recurrent violence in the area under control.
Giving the details of the attack that took place last Thursday, Mr Woyongo said one man went to the animal market at Kariyama on a motor bicycle in the company of another person.
He said an unidentified gunman aimed at the rider but missed the target. Unfortunately the bullet hit the passenger who sat behind him causing injury to his left hand.
As a result of the volatile nature of the area, word quickly went round and soon after there were reprisal attacks. In the process, a 50 year old man was killed while another was shot at the ankle and some others sustained knife wounds.
The regional Minister said the Municipal Security Committee quickly convened an emergency meeting during which a decision was taken to impose a 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew on the town.
According to Mr Woyongo, due to an improvement on the security situation in the area, MUSEC had wanted to revert to the normal curfew hours of 12 midnight to 4 a.m.
However, he indicated that the police had received information about the people behind last Thursday’s act and were closing in on them.
Mr Woyongo said a meeting had been scheduled between leaders of both Mamprusis and Kusasis on Tuesday May 5, 2009 to deliberate on the way forward towards securing the fragile peace in the area.
He said they would like to listen to them, but if they think that the curfew should continue, they wouldn’t mind, but if they recommend that we should lift the curfew we will do it and then put the responsibility on them to ensure that we do not go back to those dark days”, Mr Woyongo said.
The Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, (DCOP), Alhaji Mahama Hamidu said the security agencies had intensified their patrols of the area and were making efforts to arrest all those connected with last Thursday’s disturbances.