KOMBIAN'S ACCOMPLICE ARRESTED IN BAWKU (PAGE 3, DEC 28, 2010)

THE police in Bawku have arrested a 31-year-old man suspected to be an accomplice of the jailed fugitive, Johnson Kombian.
Mamudu Ndekugre was apprehended at Zabugu, a suburb of Bawku, at the weekend. At the time of his arrest, the police found on him an AK47 rifle with about 100 rounds of AK47 rifle ammunition, as well as pistol ammunition.
Police sources in Bawku told the Daily Graphic that the suspect had been on the police wanted list as the main partner of the hardened criminal, Kombian, who was arrested in Togo and jailed for breaking jail.
Kombian is also alleged to have murdered two policemen.
Ndekugre, popularly known in Bawku and its environs as “Kpankpe” (dried Guinea fowl), has also been on the wanted list for a very long time for his alleged roles in some high-profile robberies and motorbike snatching.
According to a police source, the suspect was the one who shielded and accommodated Kombian at Bugri anytime Kombian was wanted by the police for various offences, including the alleged killing of policemen at Nakpanduri and other communities in the Northern and Upper East regions.
He is also said to have operated with Kombian and other members of a robbery gang that terrorised and robbed passengers on buses that plied the Bawku-Cinquansi route and other roads in the area and deprived them of valuable items and huge sums of money.

SCHOOLS URGED TO SUSTAIN HIGH LEVEL OF DISCIPLINE (PAGE 11, DEC 13, 2010)

VICE- President, John Mahama, has urged management, staff and students of schools in the Upper East Region not to relent in their efforts to promote and sustain high standards of discipline since it forms the key foundation to achieve academic excellence.
The Vice-President made this remark in a speech read on his behalf by the Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tetteh-Enyo, at the 50th anniversary celebration of Notre Dame Seminary/Senior High School at Navrongo in the Upper East Region.
The advice comes at the heels of some serious indiscipline demonstrated in some schools in the region in the course of the year which saw students in not less than five senior high and technical schools embarking on demonstration resulting in temporary closure of these schools.
“I have a firm belief that the upsurge of immoral activities and some of the problems we are faced with today could be minimised or eliminated, should students in this country resolve to be honest and hardworking and grow up with these attributes before they mature into adult life or enter into a world of work,” the Vice-President noted.
He, however, commended staff and students of Notre Dame for their achievements in the past and their continuous dedication to contribute their quota to the provision of affordable access to quality education to the youth and urged them to sustain it.
The Vice-President reassured all that the government was committed to provide an educational system which liberates the minds of future leaders and equip them with creative and innovative skills.
He added that government had taken note of the challenges facing the school and would do whatever possible within limited budgetary provisions to assist the school to improve upon its facilities to make teaching and learning more meaningful.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, an alumnus of the school, said the government was aware of the enormous challenges posed by the four year SHS and had, therefore, embarked on the provision of massive infrastructure in all senior high schools in the country.
He added that in the Upper East Region, nine 6-unit classroom blocks and eight dormitory blocks and Kitchen /Dining halls costing GH¢ 11,310,430.63 were under construction.
Mr Woyongo said equally worth noting was the fact that the government would continue to provide subsidy to all students in the senior high schools, as well as scholarship to all students of northern extraction, adding that the government was working assiduously to make sure that salaries of teachers were competitive with other professionals.
The acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Lawrence Satuh, an alumnus who delivered the keynote address, said Notre Dame from the onset had made a conscious effort to go for quality and not quantity, stressing that there was no wonder the status quo in terms of academic excellence had prevailed in the school with consistent enviable records.
“Notre Dame has sustained and thrived all these years based on the quest for excellence, hard work, sheer determination to succeed”, he said and tasked the current student body to emulate the proud achievement of the past students.
The Rector and Headmaster of the school, Rev. Fr. Francis Kudelogo, commended the founding fathers of the school for laying a strong foundation that had made the school what it is today.
For her part, the acting Regional Director of Education, Mrs Agnes Atagabe, urged parents to embrace the government's scholarship package for science and mathematics students in each district.
As part of the golden jubilee celebration, 10 institutions and individuals were honoured for their dedication and continuous contributions towards the growth of the school. They were Navro-Pio Kwara Kadatua, Missionaries of Africa, Presentation Brothers, The IHM Sisters and Rev. Fr. Francis Maddens.
The rest were Mr Mark Woyongo, Mr Joseph Kofi Adda, Mr Kenneth Anewenah, Mr Dominic Soree and Mr Robert Atiiga.

THREE DIE IN MOTOR ACCIDENT (MIRROR, PAGE 35, DEC 11, 2010)

From Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga

Three people, including a three-month-old baby, died when a vehicle they were travelling in had an accident on the Bawku-Bolgatanga road last Monday.

According to the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Kweku Bempah, who is in charge of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit of the Ghana Police Service in the Upper East Region, the accident occurred in a town called Tilli at about 12:30 p.m..

DSP Bempah, who withheld the names of the victims, said the accident could be as a result of a tyre burst. 

He said the victims were travelling to Accra when the incident occurred.

He identified the victims as a National Security Personnel, a female who is a prison officer and the baby girl.

According to the police, the vehicle, a Ford Everest, with registration number GW 2800 X, was being driven by a military man and it is believed they were returning from a family gathering in Bawku.

The driver is said to have sustained an injury in the hand while two others whose condition are said to be critical have been dispatched to Accra for further treatment.

The National Security operative who died on the spot was buried last Tuesday at Pusiga in line with Islamic beliefs.

AVIATION TEAM INSPECTS PAGA AIRSTRIP (BACK PAGE, DEC 10, 2010)

A team of technical experts from the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the Ghana Air Force (GAF) has conducted a preliminary assessment of the Paga airstrip with the view to reactivating flight services at the facility.

The team, led by the Manager of Aerodrome Safety and Standards at the GCAA, Mrs Anita Adjei-Nmashie, and Wing Commander Frank Hanson of the GAF, was in the region at the invitation of the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, to examine the suitability or otherwise of the airstrip for commercial flights.

The minister, who accompanied the team, said the reopening of the airstrip would not only open up the region for tourism but also boost trade.

He said as part of the plans, a cold storage facility would be provided close to the airstrip to expedite the easy transportation of fresh vegetables, which occasionally went to waste at the farm gates.

Mr Woyongo appealed to the traditional authorities in the area to co-operate and provide the needed assistance for the airport project.

Although the Paga airstrip has a good landscape, it cannot be used for commercial purposes because it is too near Burkina Faso, a situation that forces aircraft flying in to veer into the airspace of that country before returning to the facility to land. 

USE CONCENSUS TO CHOOSE NPP CANDIDATES...Says Yaw Mort (PAGE 12, DEC 4, 2010)

The Upper East Regional Organiser of the New Patriotic Party, (NPP), Mr Yaw Mort is advocating the use of consensus to determine the right choice of parliamentary candidates for the party at the various constituencies in the region.
Mr Mort, who said this in an interview at Bolgatanga, appealed to the rank and file of the party, especially in the region to be guided by their past experiences in the selection of parliamentary candidates to represent the various constituencies. “We must bear in mind that posterity would judge us if we repeat the same mistakes we made in the past”, he said.
He recalled strategic meetings held which brought together all former appointees, MPs and office holders of the party a couple of weeks ago, as well as meeting with the National Organiser of the NPP, Alhaji Moctar Bamba,where it became clear that the way forward for the party in its quest to secure parliamentary seats in the region is not to repeat the mistakes of the past during the selection of parliamentary candidates, but rather allow due process to prevail.
He, therefore, entreated all party members to abide by the laid down regulations and desist from internal power struggle in selecting a parliamentary candidate, since that would only harm the party’s quest to capture many parliamentary seats and ultimately win the 2012 general elections.
He said there can be disunity in the party especially at the constituency level, if dissatisfied contestants at primaries decided to go independent, stressing that such a development could result in widespread “skirt and blouse” voting pattern that characterised the 2008 elections.
Mr Mort said that from the 2011 budget which was presented to Parliament, it was clear that the NDC government had lost focus and was struggling to hold on to any floating straw as a drowning man would always do, and the suffering populace of this country, especially those from the northern part of the country would not forgive the NPP if “we fail to rescue them from their current predicament as a result of our own internal power struggles”, he added.

OBRAFUOR AND FRIENDS FOR BOLGA (SHOWBIZ, DEC 2, 2010, PAGE 8)

By Benjamin Glover

Bolgatanga is gradually becoming a venue of choice for Ghanaian artistes to showcase their talents and interact with their fans.
Over the last one month, artistes such as Mzbel, Reggy Zippy, Kobby of Wutah fame, Iwan and D’Flex have all been there to entertain music fans.
Tomorrow December 3, Obrafour, Ayigbe Edem, Sherifa Gunu, Guru and Kawa Stone are scheduled to entertain guests at the Soul Train Nite Club.
Under the auspices of Execution Incorporated, Obrafour and his friends, apart from entertaining their fans is also on a mission to promote the habit of reading hence the theme for the show: Discover Your Potential Through Reading.
According to organisers of the programme, part of the proceeds from the show will be donated to Reading for Wealth Ghana to promote reading in the local community.
The event is supported by Filla FM, Justice FM, URA Radio and Builsa Community Radio.

VRA ASSISTS UPPER EAST FLOOD VICTIMS (PAGE 42, DEC 1, 2010)

THE management of the Volta River Authority (VRA) has donated a quantity of food items to be distributed to some displaced flood victims in the Upper East Region.
Officials of the VRA handed over the items, including 95 maxi-bags of maize and 50 bags of locally milled rice to the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, as its contribution towards ameliorating the suffering of the people who were victims of the recent spillage of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso and excessive rainfall in the region.
A Senior Community Relations Officer of the VRA, Alhaji Mohammed Siam who made the presentation, said the donation was to augment the efforts of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) in supporting the victims of the floods.
He said similar donations had been made to flood victims in the Northern Region and that the VRA was committed to assisting deprived people, especially the vulnerable in the severely affected communities.
Mr Mark Woyongo thanked the VRA for helping to alleviate the suffering of the people and indicated that the donation would go a long way to complement the efforts of NADMO in attending to the affected families in deprived communities.
He also commended the VRA for donating locally milled rice instead of the imported one since that would encourage local rice farmers to maximise their output and also keep them in business.
The Regional Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Patrick Akake, said the floods that hit the region early this year left in its trail devastation and he did not rule out the possibility of many people migrating to other parts of the country in search of other jobs.
“The situation in the villages is very bad and most families struggle to get their daily meal”, he said, and appealed to other organisations to emulate the gesture of the VRA and coming to the aid of the affected persons.

UPPER EAST APPEAL FOR VEHICLES (PAGE 42, DEC 1, 2010)

THE Upper East Regional Police Command has made a passionate appeal to the government for vehicles to enhance highway patrol duties in the region.
The Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Chief Inspector Thomas Agbanyo, who made the appeal, said inadequate logistics, including vehicles were a major set-back to the police in fighting crime.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Bolgatanga in the wake of the recent highway robbery on the Bolgatanga-Bawku highway, Chief Inspector Agbanyo revealed that the only highway patrol vehicle, a Bolero with registration number GP 2266 had broken down and that was hampering patrol duties by the personnel.
He said the public expected the police to be on the highways regularly to ward off the threats of robbers and ensure their safety, but due to logistical challenges, that was impossible.
Chief Inspector Agbanyo, therefore appealed to the government and the Police Administration to resource the command to facilitate the smooth operations of the police.
He said the command did not also have adequate police personnel as most of the personnel transferred to the region failed to report.
The Regional Police PRO urged the authorities to take steps to ensure that all police personnel posted to the region accepted the posting.
It would be recalled that at about 5 p.m. on November 14, 2010, armed robbers attacked travellers on the Bolgatanga–Bawku Highway, specifically between Nangodi and the Tilli forest.
The armed robbers robbed many passengers of their money and other valuables, including mobile phones after which they fled the scene before the police could arrive.

INVOLVE ZOOMLION IN STATE FARMS MANAGEMENT (PAGE 42, DEC 1, 2010)

THE Communications Officer of Zoomlion responsible for the northern sector, Mr Francis Atayure Abirigo, has appealed to the government to consider engaging Zoomlion in the establishment and management of state farms to ensure food security in the country.
Making the appeal through the Daily Graphic in Bolgatanga, Mr Abirigo said Zoomlion had the human resource, requisite managerial skills and capacity to ensure that the envisaged national food buffer stock programme became a reality.
He said the company cultivated over 900 acres of various crops in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions this year, under the “Zoom Farms Project.”
Mr Abirigo said in the Northern Region alone, the company cultivated 360 acres of rice in the Savelugu District and Yendi Municipality, while in the Upper West Region, it cultivated 298 acres in four districts.
He stated that 107 acres had been used for maize cultivation, 86 acres for cowpea and 105 acres for soya beans.
According to him, 145 acres of land were being cultivated in three districts in the Upper East Region, while 75 acres had been used for the cultivation of maize and 70 acres for soya beans, all of which were due for harvesting.
Mr Abirigo said if the Youth in Agriculture Module of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) was integrated into the Zoom Farms Project, it could help the nation to have a bumper harvest and go a long way to ensure food security.
He said over the years, Ghanaians in particular, and Africans in general, had woefully failed to manage state businesses and property, but had succeeded in managing private businesses.
Mr Abirigo stated that it was against that backdrop that he was calling on managers of the state purse to consider farming as a sure way of bridging the gap between the poor and the rich in the country.
The communications officer urged the youth in the country to take farming as sustainable employment rather than looking for non-existent white-collar jobs since it had a higher potential of improving their economic status.
He explained that the Zoom Farm Project was aimed at ensuring that the government’s efforts at enhancing food security and buffer harvest for both internal and external use was achieved.
Mr Abirigo also emphasised that farming, and for that matter agriculture, could change the economy into a self-reliant one and Ghanaians would certainly be the beneficiaries, unlike oil and gold whose revenue were influenced by foreign investors.
He urged all staff of Zoomlion, especially the Regional and District Operations Supervisors (DOS) to tighten their belts as they moved to a new pedestal.

EPA SUPPORTS UE COMMUNITIES ON ENVIROMENTAL PROTECTION (PAGE 42, DEC 1, 2010)

THE Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Upper East Region is partnering some communities in the region to protect the environment and other natural resources.
The move is also aimed at curbing bush burning and rampant felling of trees that degrade the environment.
One of the communities to benefit from such collaboration is the Sherigu in the Bolgatanga Municipality.
Speaking at a community forum at Sherigu, the Regional Director of the EPA, Mrs Zenabu Wasai King, said environmental problems, especially land degradation had been terrible challenges over the years in the region in particular and the nation in general.
She stated that the challenges had made survival of mankind more difficult and unpleasant.
Mrs Zenabu mentioned illegal mining activities, over-grazing, poor farming practices, harsh climatic conditions, bush fires, cutting of trees for fuel wood and other related human activities among the major activities that destroyed water bodies, food insecurity, health hazards and climatic change.
The EPA Regional Director, therefore, stressed the need for all and sundry to be conscious of the environment and protect it for the future generation.
She said the EPA had teamed up with communities such as Jetiaga in the Bawku Municipality to organise community forums on the devastating effects of bush burning on the environment.
Mrs Zenabu added that the EPA had also held talk shows for environmental clubs in senior high schools in the region and educated the students on the need to green the region.
She stated that as part of the watershed management, the EPA was also supporting the Sherigu community to plant and nurture over 1,200 tree species along the Aperiga stream which was one of the tributaries of the River Naga.
Mrs Zebabu appealed to Municipal and District Assemblies in the region to enforce building regulations to prevent people from building on water ways and to comply with building codes.
She urged traditional authorities to institute effective community measures to minimise bush burning.
The leader of Divine Tender Care Foundation, a community-based organisation in the Sherigu community, Mr Sylvester Adigma, who is partnering the EPA, said under the guidance of the EPA and the Ghana National Fire Service, the community had embraced a well thought out programme to protect the environment.
He said many tree species and alternative livelihood programmes had been adopted, which had started yielding positive results.
According to Mr Adigma, the programmes had attracted some foreign organisations, which had moved in to assist them.
Madam Juliet Iris Crabbe of the Ghana National Fire Service educated the community members on the effects of bush burning, and urged them to effectively manage the use of fires so as not to destroy the environment.
The representative of the chief of Sherigu, Apasenaba Nsoh, appealed to the government to provide the community with a dam which would also serve as a source of water supply to support the community tree planting programme.

CHURCHES URGED TO HLP BRING PEACE TO BAWKU (PAGE 22, NOV 30, 2010)

THE outgoing Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), Rt. Rev. Dr Yaw Frimpong-Manso, has reiterated his call on churches to partner the government in the search for permanent peace in the Bawku Municipality and other conflict areas of the country.
He stated that the absence of peace was a disincentive for rapid progress and development of the country, and therefore, stressed the need for the church to play a leading role in mediation efforts to bring lasting peace.
The PCG Moderator gave the advice during a special erection and induction church service of the new Upper Presbytery of the PCG at Bolgatanga.
The new presbytery, which is the 16th presbytery of the PCG, was carved out of the Northern Presbytery to enhance the effective administration and evangelism mission of the PCG in the northern part of the country.
Districts comprising the new presbytery are Bawku, Sandema, Garu, Wa, Gambaga and Bolgatanga, which is the head station of the presbytery.
The service also saw the induction of the chairperson of the new presbytery, Rev. Esmond W. Nagba, and other officers of the presbytery, including Rev. Martin Lamisi Sebire, the Presbytery Clerk, and Mr Solomon Atigah, the Presbytery Lay Representative of the General Assembly Council.
In a sermon, Rt. Rev. Frimpong-Manso said the erection of the Upper Presbytery reinforces the need to break the large presbyteries of the church into small units to afford effective management, evangelism and church growth.
He urged all members of the church to participate actively in the evangelism efforts of the church in the strength of the Holy Spirit.
“I am sure you are aware of the responsibilities of the presbytery, the task you have gladly accepted to shoulder. You must work together to build a strong presbytery that will be spiritually and financially viable,” the Moderator said.
On behalf of the general assembly of the PCG, the Moderator presented a new four-wheel pick up vehicle for the use of the chairperson to facilitate work in the presbytery.
The Chairperson of the newly created Upper Presbytery, Rev. Esmond Nagba, promised to offer a type of leadership that would re-brand and reposition the presbytery to another level.
He, however, called for total support and collaboration if that was to be achieved.
Rev. Nagba reminded the congregation that the Ghanaian society was looking to the church to give the right kind of leadership.
He, therefore, tasked them to condemn all negative tendencies in leadership and governance, and uphold acts that would enhance the image of the church in Christian witness.
Present at the service were the immediate past Moderator of the PCG, Very Rev. Dr Sam Prempeh, the Moderator elect of the PCG, Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Martey, the Clerk of General Assembly, Rev. Herbert Opong, the Northern Presbytery Chairperson, Rev. Dr Martin Bugri Nabor, the Clerk of the Northern Presbytery, Rev. Jacob Kojo Wandusim and some presbytery chairpersons.