ATEBUBU TO ENJOY POWER (PAGE 54, JULY 19, 2010)

THE Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo has cut the sod for an electrification project for the Atuba community near Binduri in the Bawku Municipality.
The project forms part of the government’s efforts at connecting rural communities in all districts in the region to the national grid.
In all, 50 rural communities in the nine districts in the region are to benefit from the programme this year.
Speaking at a brief ceremony at Atuba to mark the commencement of work, Mr Woyongo said the government would ensure that power was extended to every rural community to improve the life of the people.
He expressed the hope that when completed, the project would not only boost the establishment of micro businesses in rural areas to enable rural dwellers to improve upon their living standards, but would also help students in those communities with their studies, especially at night.
According to Mr Woyongo, aside the electrification project, the government was also taking realistic measures to bridge the wide development gap between communities in northern and southern Ghana.
He cited the Youth in Agricultural Block Farming Programme as one of the interventions and urged the youth to embrace it in order to make money and contribute their quota towards the development of their communities.
The Bawku Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Musa Abdulai reiterated his call for peace in the municipality to fast-track the provision of development projects in the area.
He also stressed the need for reconciliation and unity, adding that without those values, Bawku would never know progress.
Mr Abdulai stated that in spite of all the difficulties that the municipality had been going through, the area was still benefiting from the government's programmes to ensure effective teaching and learning.
He mentioned the capitation grant, distribution of free exercise books, school uniforms, construction of school buildings and the engagement of the youth for the National Youth Employment Programme as some of the interventions.
Mr Abdulai expressed the hope that the newly found path to peace would be maintained and enhanced for the benefit of all.
The divisional chief of Kaadi, Naba Anobila Azimbe, commended the government for extending electricity to the community and pledged the co-operation of his people towards the speedy completion of the project.

UE YOUTH SLAM CALLS ON HLODZE TO RESIGN (PAGE 13, JULY 15, 2010)

THE Youth Wing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Upper East Region has slammed calls by some youth activists of the party for what they term incessant verbal attacks on the National Youth Organiser, Mr Ludwig Hlodze.
According to the leadership of the youth of the NDC in the region, such incessant verbal attacks and constant calls on Mr Hlodze to resign was premature and unjustifiable.
A statement signed and released by the Regional Youth Organiser of the NDC, Mr Robert Yeli-oni, said those pushing for the resignation of Mr Hlodze must exercise a lot of restraint and decorum about their differences with the style of leadership of some national leaders of the party.
It made reference to recent demands by Mutala Ibrahim, a Deputy National Youth Employment Programme Co-ordinator, and an earlier one by Mohammed Mubarak (Ras Mubarak), a youth activist, on Mr Hlodze to resign his position and described such calls as not only baseless and unnecessary but also premature.
It explained that Mr Hlodze and his deputies had been in office for just six months and had been working very hard with the various regional executives and tertiary institutions on how to mobilise resources and logistics to put the youth in productive ventures, adding that following the youth summit in Ho in April 2010, a lot of data had been collected and a number of programmes drawn up, all targeted at equipping the youth of the party.
“We want to believe that Mr Mutala and others who think like him are probably ignorant of these activities for the youth, hence their accusations are empirically and poorly underpinned.
The demand for Mr Hlodze’s resignation is purely ill-conceived and diabolical, aimed at disrupting the solid foundation laid for the youth of the party,” it said.
“We wish to further state that as humans, Mr Hlodze may have his weaknesses. However, it is our conviction that his critics have not been fair to him, since they blatantly failed to provide any evidence of his non-performance but rather focused on a petty generalisations that he doubles as a presidential aide,” it added.
The statement advised that “as much as it is their right to criticise our leaders, it should be done within the confines of laid down structures in the party, instead of the constant recourse to the media”.
The leadership of the Upper East Youth Wing admonished the national youth organiser not to be distracted by those negative criticisms but rather focus on the ultimate objective of engaging and pursuing the interest of the generality of the youth to propel the party into another victory in 2012, as was done by his predecessor, Mr Haruna Iddrisu.

TRADE UNION CONGRESS CAUTIONS PURC (PAGE 22, JULY 6, 2010)

THE Ghana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) has cautioned the government and the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) to review the recent increases in utility tariffs.
According to the leadership of the GTUC, it will not hesitate to mobilise its members to embark on a massive nationwide street protest against the recent increases in the utility tariffs announced by the PURC on June 13, 2010.
Already, the leadership of GTUC has called on workers across Ghana to wear red arm bands, and hoist red flags in protest against the increases in tariffs.
Addressing members of organised labour in the Bolgatanga Municipality, the Deputy General Secretary, General Agricultural Workers Union, Mr Edward Kareweh said the GTUC was not totally against the increment, but furious at the huge margin announced by the PURC.
He said the recent increments did not have any correlation between prices and incomes, and added that not even the 10 per cent increases in salaries would make up for the huge tariffs being charged by the utility providers.
Mr Kareweh also said the lifeline proposed by government was a mirage in that the poor in society were unable to assess it.
“Many poor people in this country live in compound houses and do not have their own meters, so collectively feed into one meter and their consumption shoot up beyond the lifeline threshold,” in the estimation of Mr Kareweh, “What the utility providers can do is to map out all compound houses and provide occupants with separate meters to enable them to enjoy the lifeline threshold announced by the government”. “We want subsidies that are target based so that the import can be measured and not an omnibus one”, he said.

CADRES WANT BOLGA MCE REMOVED (PAGE 14, JULY 5, 2010)

Some cadres of the ruling National Democratic Congress(NDC) in the Bolgatanga Municipality of the Upper East Region have called for the immediate removal of the Bolgatanga Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Epsona Harry Ayamga, from office.
The cadres are accusing the MCE of perpetuating activities which are detrimental to the interest of the NDC, warning that if care was not taken, they could ruin attempts by the NDC to retain the Bolgatanga Central Constituency parliamentary seat.
Addressing a press conference at Bolgatanga, the Municipal Co-ordinator of the Association of the Committee for the Defence of the Revolution (ACDRs), Mr David Apea, said the continuous stay of Mr Epsona Ayamga Harry in office as MCE was creating division within the party in the constituency.
However, the MCE, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, debunked the assertions of the cadres stressing that his primary focus was to pursue the Better Ghana agenda being championed by President Mills.
He was of the opinion that the cadres were being mischievous and probably being used by some selfish individuals to settle what he described as perceived misunderstandings.
The spokesperson for the cadres, Mr David Apea, accused the MCE of alienating some key members of the constituency executive committee, stressing that ever since he assumed office as MCE, his working relations with some key members of the constituency executive had turned from bad to worse.
After the constituency executive committee elections held in October, 2009, the MCE had failed to even convene a meeting of the contesting parties to heal their wounds and build bridges so as to prepare the grounds for the 2012 elections.
“More worrying is the fact that he himself openly campaigned against some executives who at the end emerged victorious,” they alleged.
The cadres alleged that since the MCE assumed the office, he had not visited or paid a single courtesy call on any chief in the Bolgatanga Municipality, ward chairman and cadres among others and this attitude of his had left the party in shambles with no political cohesion and direction.
They also accused the MCE of engaging in politics of exclusion by categorically declaring himself unwilling and unprepared to work with some of the constituency executives, some of whom collectively worked so hard and tirelessly towards victory in the 2008 general election.
“As cadres with the zeal for fighting for the sustainability of the system, we have advised him on a number of times to reconcile with all those whose toes he stepped on but he has not heeded anybody’s advise,” they said.
They also alleged that the MCE had surrounded himself with some ‘gangs’ who went about intimidating all those opposed to the MCE and mentioned that a meeting attended by constituency executive committee, ward chairmen and youth organisers at the residency of the Regional Minister on June 12, 2010, came to an abrupt end following a near exchange of blows and possibly blood bath when alleged ‘thugs’ mobilised by the MCE attempted to intimidate those opposed to the MCE and preventing them from making their inputs.
According to the cadres, since that meeting took place, some of the cadres have been receiving threats, adding that although all these concerns were raised before the National Outreach Team led by Alhaji Hudu Yahaya, the MCE has refused to reconcile with the cadres.
“In short, the MCE for Bolgatanga is arrogant and a non-conformist. He is not politically in tune with the party agenda,” the cadres said.
Mr Epsona Harry Ayamga stated that he related with all the members of the constituency executive except those who were anti-development. He also insisted that he enjoyed a good working relation with the chiefs in the municipality and emphasised that on assumption of office, he, together with officials of the assembly, paid courtesy calls on 28 chiefs in the municipality.
He also said his partnership with the chiefs had led to the payments of allowances due them that had delayed for the past years. Mr Ayamga dismissed allegations that he had gangs that go about intimidating people, stressing that nothing will deter him from delivering on the NDC campaign manifesto.
The MCE who has served as the Bolgatanga Constituency Chairman of the NDC for 14 years and only stepped down after he was appointed the MCE said he is not opposed to leaving the office as MCE but insisted he will not succumb to pressures from some constituency executive whose sole aim is for him to circumvent procedures to satisfy their parochial interest.
“Why should a constituency executive be annoyed because he or she was not invited to sit in a meeting to open Tender? No politician worth his salt, will come into office and allow some constituency executives to push him or her around to do things that will go against the laws of the country. They don’t want to accept that governance has changed and that things are supposed to be done well and in accordance to the law,” Mr Ayamga said.

SANDEMA SEC-TECH STUDENTS SUSPENDED (SPREAD, JULY 5, 2010)

THIRD year students of the Sandema Senior High Technical School in the Builsa District of the Upper East Region have been suspended for rioting on the school campus.
Authorities of the school in consultation with the district directorate of education and the district assembly suspended the students following a students’ riot that led to the destruction of school property, including louver blades and plastic chairs.
Witnesses said during Prep at about 7 p.m. on Monday, June 28, 2010, some third year students went on a rampage, put off lights in the classrooms and stormed the library, ostensibly to peel off the notice indicating their performance in the terminal examinations.
The students who were also alleged to have been dissatisfied with the pasting of the results on the notice board, vented their anger on their juniors who apparently were ridiculing them (seniors) over their poor academic performance.
In the process, three students were seriously injured and taken to the Sandema Hospital where they were treated and discharged.
Not satisfied with their action, the rampaging students went to the bungalow of one of the teachers and destroyed property, including plastic chairs and louver blades.
The timely intervention of police personnel averted further destruction of property.
Meanwhile, following the disturbances, school authorities after consultation with the district education directorate and the district assembly have asked the third year students to go home while a committee is to be set up to investigate the incident.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr John Ababa, who confirmed the incident said the students could have gone through the right channel to have their grievances redressed rather than destroying school property.
He explained that the pasting of the results on the notice board had been a regular feature and none of the students had complained to the school authorities.
He wondered why the students would go to the extent of hitting other students and attack a master’s bungalow to destroy property for that reason.
He expressed the hope that the committee would do a thorough job and sanction those found culpable.

PAGA-NANIA COMMUNITY HAILS ANDRE DEDE AYEW (PAGE 31, JULY 3, 2010)

The Kassena-Nankana West District Chief Executive, Thomas Dalu Addah, has commended the Black Stars on their performance in the ongoing World Cup tournament in South Africa.
He has particularly, hailed the performance of Andre Ayew, a native of the area for his sterling performance and bringing honour to the area.
In an interview with journalists at Paga, the district capital, Mr Addah said the performance of Dede had turned out to be an inspiration to many children in the district who are hoping to grow up into great sportsmen and women.
He said there are many talents in the districts who are looking out for assistance to blossom into big stars and serve their nation.
Andre, son of the maestro, Abedi Ayew Pele hails from Nania in the Kassena Nankana West District of the Upper East Region. The area is well known for its tourism potential due to the existence of the Paga Crocodile pond and Pikworo slave route, but the presence of the Ayews has brought an additional tourist attraction for foreign and local tourists who visit the town to see where these gem of talents hail from.
Mr Addah expressed the hope that the Ayews, especially the Maestro, will make good his promise to help harness more talents from the area and build them into great sportsmen and women.
“As far as my district is concerned, there are lot of talents and I pray the senior Ayew (Pele) will come down to help us develop those talents”, Mr Addah said
Mr Ayew Wensongo Costa Abedi, Cousin of Abedi Pele said he was happy at the performance of his kinsmen in the national team and prayed that they(Andre and Rahim) would continue to excel and assist other team members to excel and bring honours to the nation.
An uncle of Abedi, Mr Atasungu Ayew, said their home in Nania had become a viewing centre as many of the youth usually trooped to the house to watch young Dede and his team mates play, adding that they are proud of the team.
The Headmistress of the Nania L/A Primary School where Abedi
Pele had his elementary education, Abiba Karim, also expressed joy at the performance of Andre, adding that most of the young pupils had adopted him as their mentor.

REVIVE OPERATIONS OF PAGA AIRSTRIP — WOYONGO (PAGE 22, JULY 1, 2010)

THE Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo has appealed to the Military High Command to reactivate operations of the Paga Airstrip for emergency landings and medical evacuation.
He said as a result of the inactivity of the facility, lives of people who needed to be flown out urgently to Accra during medical emergencies had been lost due to the long distance they had to travel to Tamale to catch a flight.
Mr Woyongo made the appeal when the Chief of Staff, General Headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces, Commodore Jeffery Mawuli Biekro, paid a courtesy call on him in Bolgatanga.
Commodore Biekro, who was accompanied by Col Abu Alhassan, Director of Army Operations, Col Joe Manu, Staff Officer in charge of Logistics, General Headquarters, Lt Col Moses Aryee, Staff Officer, Operations, General Headquarters and Lt Col Isaac Awuah-Mantey, Commanding Officer, Air Borne Force, was en-route to Bawku to interact with troops and assess peacekeeping operations in the area.
Mr Woyongo commended personnel of the Ghana Army on duty at Bawku for their selfless and dedicated services which had led to the gradual restoration of peace in the area.
He outlined measures taken by the government including the revitalisation of the Bawku Inter-Ethic Peace Committee which is currently embarking on a peace outreach programme in communities in the municipality to restore peace in the area.
Mr Woyongo expressed satisfaction with the performance of the military personnel so far and encouraged them to continue to remain neutral in the discharge of their duties.
Commodore Biekro in response to the request, said steps are being taken by the military high command to activate some airstrips across the country to facilitate easy deployment of troops in times of emergencies.
Touching on his mission to Bawku, he said it was the desire of every Ghanaian that peace was restored permanently in the area since whatever incidence that took place there affected every Ghanaian.
He said the resources that the government was pumping into the conflict could be better channelled into other development projects to improve the living conditions of the people.

CONSTITUTION REVIEW WILL ENSURE HOME-GROWN DEMOCRACY — ABU (PAGE 14, JULY 1, 2010)

A MEMBER of the Constitution Review Commission (CRC), Kunbun Naa Yiri Alhaji Iddrisu Abu, has argued that the review of the 1992 Constitution represents nothing more than good housekeeping for the country.
He said it is also an attempt by the people of Ghana to fashion out home-grown solutions to governance problems.
He observed that although Ghana was making strides on the road map to constitutionalism, there were still too many challenges to the governance process.
He was addressing the Bawku municipal level consultations of the CRC.
The forum in the Bawku municipality, which should have been held earlier in the year, was delayed due to the conflict situation there. It attracted an impressive gathering of heads of departments, assembly members, teachers, health workers and the public who expressed their views and opinions on the operations of the Constitution.
Mr Rowland Atta-Kesson, a researcher, said at the end of the regional and district level consultations, the CRC would make recommendations to the government for consideration and provide a draft bill for a possible amendment of the 1992 Constitution.
The Bawku Municipal Chief Executive, in a welcoming address, commended the CRC for creating the platform to critically examine the supreme law of the land.
Some women participants advocated the extension of maternity leave from three to six months, taking into consideration the admonition by the Ministry of Health to women to do exclusive breast-feeding for six months.
Ms Jane Asare Dartey, a teacher, observed that if that was done, women would get enough time to breastfeed their children and ensure the healthy growth of their babies.
According to Article 27(1), special care shall be accorded to mothers during a reasonable period before and after child-birth; and during those periods, working mothers shall be accorded paid leave.
Article 27(3) also states that women shall be guaranteed equal rights to training and promotion without impediments from any person.
Some contributors observed that the Constitution did not specifically make provision for the situation where a vacancy is created as a result of the death or resignation of the sitting Vice-President and, therefore, called for the inclusion of a provision to regulate a situation where a vacancy was created as a result of the stepping down of a Vice-President.
Mr Richard Akumbas, another teacher, said the Constitution was not clear on the position of the Vice-President in the event that he/she resigned to join another party and urged the CRC to examine the provision that would enable the Vice-President to complete his term.
He proposed that in a situation where a sitting Vice-President resigned from his party and joined another party or died, it should be possible for the President to re-nominate another person, subject to the approval of Parliament.
He also petitioned the CRC to consider a proposal for amending the Constitution to allow a ceiling for the appointment of judges for the Supreme Court.
Rev. Edmund Wasan Nagba of the Presbyterian Church at Bawku proposed the removal of the indemnity clauses from the 1992 Constitution to deal with persons who interrupted the democratic governance of the country.
He also proposed the separation of the office of the Attorney-General from that of the Ministry of Justice to allow for an efficient dispensation of justice.
The Chief of Binduri, Naba Robert Akolbila, said Article 276(1) state that a chief shall not take part in active party politics and any chief wishing to do so and seeking election to Parliament shall abdicate his skin or stool.
However, Naba said, the Constitution was silent on the time frame for the abdication so that if the chief failed to secure his seat, he could return to his stool or skin.
He also argued that if chiefs may be appointed to any public office for which they were qualified, then they should also be considered for appointment as metropolitan, municipal or district chief executives and ministers of state.