Mamprusis urged to return to negotiation table

Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru & Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga The President, John D. Mahama has appealed to the Mamprusis representatives on the Bawku Inter Ethnic Peace Committee who have opted out of the dialogue process initiated to bring permanent peace to that area to rescind their decision and return to the negotiation table. He said such a move will help in bringing lasting peace to Bawku “once and for all”. President Mahama made the call on Tuesday at a durbar of chiefs and people of the Upper East Region at the Jubilee Park in Bolgatanga as part of his nationwide thank you tour. The people of the Upper East Region gave President Mahama and his entourage a rousing welcome. He was met at Winkongo by a teeming group of sympathisers and supporters. Among them was a large group of motor riding youth who led the presidential convoy in a procession to the durbar grounds. The long procession slowed down the movement o f the convoy increasing the about 20 minutes to the Jubilee Park to about three hours. At the Jubilee Park, the President was ushered in by drumming and dancing by the various ethnic groups. The massive crowd at the Jubilee Park went into a frenzy and many were seen waving miniature flags in appreciation of the visit of the president. On Bawku, the President the people of the three regions of Northern Ghana were brothers and sisters and therefore see no reasons why they should be divided by conflict. He indicated that their common enemy is not among themselves but rather poverty. He therefore stressed the need for them to unite and wage a common war against poverty He said Bawku could have been much develop and prosperous than it is today but for the conflict that rock the area. He therefore tasked the people in that area to continue to work together to bring permanent peace to the area.” There can be no development without peace”, he stressed. He commended the chiefs and people of Bawku for helping to maintain the relative peaceful atmosphere and urge them to ensure that such peace is not derailed. President Mahama said he has directed the ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to release an amount of GH C 2 million toward helping in the re-roofing of schools that had thier roofs ripped off during a storm that hit the region earlier in teh year in order not to create problems as school prepare to reopen soon. He said the Late President initiated a number of development project in every single district of the country including the Upper East Region. He said in three and a half years, the government had to put up a number of school infrastructural projects in secondary schools across the country. “This has been one of the largest single investment projects in secondary education that has been made in the history of this country. Dormitory blocks, dinning halls, classroom blocks were all rolled out under the better Ghana agenda of the government. Other development projects he said were clinics, CHPS compounds, roads were also provided. He said one project which was dear to the heart of the late president and which the first and second phases had been done was the rehabilitation of the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital. He assured the people that the remaining phases o f the rehabilitation programme will be completed under hi leadership. He said government is currently completing the procurement process for the next phase o f the project and work will soon start. He said apart from the rehabilitation of the existing hospital, government is committed to the construction on an additional Regional Hospital in the region. On road project in the region, President Mahama said currently ongoing are the Missiga-Kulungugu road, Bolgatanga-Bongo Road, Winkongo-Tongo Road, Navrongo –Tono Road, and the Chuchuluga-Tumu raod, which when completed will link the region to the Upper West Region. He said there are also two important road project to be started before December, these are the Bolgatanga –Bawku road and the Sandema-Wiesi raod and said it is the determination of government to have these road and many other done to bring relief to the people. The Paramount Chief of Sakoti, Nabna Sigri Bewong, on behalf of the chiefs and People of the region commended President Mahama and his Vice on their elevation to the high office of President and Vice President respectively. He also commended the government of or the orderly manner in which the funeral was held. He lauded the late president for the number of development project he initiated in the region in particular and the country as a whole and urged the President to continue with the works started by the late president. The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mark Woyongo said the region greatly acknowledge and appreciate the number of development projects carried out in the region under the past three and half years. -End-

Millennium Village Project Launched

Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru & Benjamin Xornam Glover, Silinga President John Mahama has launched the Millennium Village Project (MVP) in the West Mamprusi District in the Northern Region and the Builsa District in the Upper East Region. The project seeks to reduce poverty and improve the living standards of the people in the three regions of the north. Among some of the projects to be implemented are construction of clinics, provision of free bed nets, agricultural subsidies, potable water, schools, electricity, roads and further support for the communities in sustainable development. The project seeks to help the beneficiary communities to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and it is being jointly implemented by the British Department for International Development (DFID) and the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority( SADA). The project, which would be completed in five years, is expected to cost £11.5 million and benefit 30,000 people in the catchment area. It is being funded by the British Department for International Development (DFID). Launching the project at Silinga in the West Mamprusi District in the Northern Region Tuesday, President Mahama said the project would improve the living standards of the people in the savannah ecological zone. “The project is going to change lifes in all aspects, ” he said, adding that when the project succeeded it would be replicated in all rural areas in the three regions of the north and the northern parts of the Volta and Brong Ahafo regions. He said the aim of the project was to create opportunities in the rural areas to reverse the situation where people migrated from the northern parts of the country to the southern parts in such of jobs. He called for a collective ownership of the SADA interventions if the programme was to achieve the objectives for which it was set up. “It is wrong for people to sit on the fence and ask what the SADA has done for the people of the region.“We must bear in mind that the SADA is a 20-year programme and not an event. The SADA belongs to the people living in the Savannah Ecological Zone and until we rise up and own it, we will not achieve success,” the President said. President Mahama said all credit for the successful launch of the project must go to late President John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills, under whose tenure the project was formulated. He said under the better Ghana Agenda of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, the late President provided for a vehicle that would bridge the development gap between the north and the south. He thanked the UK Government for the work it did in getting the SADA off the drawing board to the implementation stage through the DFID, which he described as very active in the fields of education, health, private sector development and in governance. “It is our determination, under this government, to expand cooperation and partnership,” he stressed. At the launch were Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute and Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and Mr Andrew Mitchell, UK’s Secretary of State for International Development. Professor Jeffrey Sachs expressed the hope that the launch of the programme would mark the beginning of the end of poverty in the West Mamprusi and Builsa districts because there was no reason for poverty to continue. “This is a hardworking community, and with the helping hand from the United Kingdom, coupled with new technologies and new ways of doing things, poverty can be ended in this region. That is our determination, ” he said. For his part, Mr Andrew Mitchell, the UK’s Secretary of State for International Development, said by the end of the project cycle, the UK would want to see at least 11,000 people lifted out of poverty, with another 15,500 people having access to sanitation. He added that they looked forward to seeing 10,000 people having access to clean water and a massive drop in the number of children under five who died so early in their lives. The President of the National House of Chiefs and Paramount Chief of the Wulugu Traditional Area, Naa Professor John Nabila, on behalf of the overload of the Mamprugu Traditional Area, expressed the appreciation of the chiefs and people of the area to the UK Government for extending support to the area. He expressed the hope that the intervention would witness a tremendous transformation in agriculture, health, education, infrastructure and Information Communication Technology that would transform the lives of the people and project the area into a middle income status.

Communities along White Volta spared 72 hours after opening of Bagre Dam

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga More than 72 hours after the opening of the sluice gates of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso, farmlands and communities downstream in the Upper East Region have been spared from the usual floods and destruction that comes with such exercise. Although, the volume of water in the White Volta River has swelled up, it has not extended to farmlands and communities along the river course. Briefing the Daily Graphic after a tour of the some communities along the White Volta, The Upper East Regional Director National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Mr. Patrick Akake said although there have been a swell in water levels, it was insignificant to course havoc. He has however caution farmers and people living along the water course to be mindful and avoid extra cautious and avoid activities such as fishing and attempting to cross the rising tide with their harvested crops to avoid drowning. According to Mr. Akake, information reaching him indicated that this time round due to the decision by the Burkinabe authorities to resort to a gradual spillage of water from the Bagre dam, the effect of flooding has been minimal. The floodgates to the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso were opened last Friday to allow excess water to flow out. For that reason, an alert was raised for people living in low-lying and flood-prone areas in the Upper East Region to evacuate to safe grounds. An official delegation, led by the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mark Woyongo and Alhaji Gilbert Iddi the Chief Executive Officer of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), were in Burkina Faso to observe the spillage of the excess water from the dam. It will be recalled that the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council and the NADMO issued an early warning last Tuesday following a correspondence from Burkina Faso that the dam in that country were full and the authorities there would be compelled to open them soon to allow the water to flow into the White Volta which flows through Ghana Residents in the region, along the river course were therefore informed of an imminent spilling and therefore advised to move to higher grounds in order to secure their lives rather than risk their lives by living in the course of the water. In 2007, the death toll from the floods that hit the Upper East Region as a result of the spillage and heavy rains was 31 with as total of 19,621 houses collapsing under the ravages of the floods. That same year, about 90,703 people were rendered homeless. In 2010, at least 12 lives were lost as a result of people trying to harvest their crops with the aid of canoes and collapsing switch houses following days of heavy rainfall and the opening of the sluice gates of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso. That same year, dozens of farmlands along the White Volta basin were inundated with water in several communities. As a long term solution to the problem of flooding, the Ghanaian Government has announced measures to harness the water by constructing a dam on the White Volta at Pwalugu in the Upper East. Work on that project is scheduled to commence in 2014 and completed by 2019. The multi purpose facility scheduled to be completed in 2019 will generate electric power and irrigate over 100,000 hectares of land. Its existence, he further noted, will promote water transport and improve fishing activities to reduce hunger and poverty. -End- August 27, 2012

POTAG leadership reacts to demands by Kumasi Chapter

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Sumbrungu THE National Executive of Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana,(POTAG), has assured it members that despite the challenges confronting it with regards to the full implementation of Single Spine Salary Pay, the association is working assiduously and round the clock to ensure that whatever is due its members is given to them. Leadership of POTAG has therefore cautioned all is local chapters to channel their grievances through the National Executive of the association rather than POTAG for redress rather than going on air and holding press conferences without consulting the national executives. Reacting to a press conference emanating from the Kumasi chapter of the association and captured in the Daily Graphic of August 24, 2012 cataloguing a number of outstanding issues regarding the implementation of POTAG’s single spine salary, the General Secretary of POTAG, Mr. Oswald Atiga said in as much some of the grievances raised were genuine, it wouldn’t have been improper if the Local Chairman and his executive had at least cross checked from leadership some of the issues raised before going on air. “We completely and utterly reject the manner in which this was done. We take this stand because it was unanimously agreed at our last congress in Bolgatanga that all grievances from the Local Chapters be channeled through the National Executive of POTAG”, the general secretary said. Responding to some of the issues raised by the Kumasi chapter of the association, Mr. Atiga said as far as the National Executive of POTAG is the Standing Joint Negotiating Committee (SJNC) has been formed but will only commence negotiations on category two and three allowances early next year for all public sector workers including POTAG. He recalled that when POTAG met officials from the Controller and Accountant General’s Department in Chrystal palm hotel shortly before the payment of the SSS, POTAG was advised to report any type of anomalies or distortions that might occur with the implementation of the SSS to them through the Polytechnic Finance and Payroll officers and as far as leadership is concern, some Polytechnics have started doing just that. On book and research allowance, Mr. Atiga said shortly after the burial of the Former President, the National Leadership of POTAG wrote a letter to the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) regarding this subject matter. Following which the FWSC also attached a covering letter and sent it to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. “As we speak, the National President is in Accra following up on the status of this allowance”, he said adding “ It is very embarrassing having to hear issues first hand on air when some of them could have been discussed internally before. It also gives the false impression among our members as if the National Executive is not working”. On the charge of undue politicization of POTAG Single Spine Salary, Mr. Atiga said the national leadership of POTAG has since the payment of the Single Spine Salaries to its members not made any statement whatsoever regarding the new salaries. Mr. Atiga therefore demanded to know from the Kumasi Chapter which group or groups are making such political statements. The General Secretary of POTAG gave the assurance that despite the challenges, facing its members, leadership are working assiduously and round the clock to ensure that whatever is due our members is given to them. -End- August 24, 2012

Resident urged to move upstream to avoid flood disaster as authorities in Bagre prepare to spill excess water on Friday.

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga The Upper East Regional Office of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) has activated its flood alert signal following a correspondence received from authorities in Burkina Faso of an imminent spilling of water from the Bagre Dam. NADMO in collaboration with the various Municipal and District Assemblies and the Information Services Department have deployed vans to warm the public to move to safer and higher grounds as the spillage is expected to take place on Friday, August 24, 2012 at 10 O’clock. Speaking to the Daily Graphic at Bolgatanga, the Regional NADMO Coordinator, Mr. Patrick Akake said all the necessary contingencies have been put in place to avoid any casualty should the excess water from Burkina Faso swell up the river and possibly lead to flooding. He advised the people in the areas likely to be affected by the floods, esperaxcilly communities such as Binduri, and Vokop in the Bawku municipality and Sapeliga, Googo, Saka and Bazua in the Bawku West District and Pwalugu in the Talensi District as well as communities in the Northern Regions along the White Volta River to move upstream to avoid any disaster as recorded in the 2007 floods, which destroyed several hectares of farmland, houses and property in the three northern regions and rendered several people homeless. The flooding in the Upper East and Northern regions as a result of water spillage from hydro dams in Burkina Faso is an annual ritual. In 2010, at least 12 lives were lost as a result of people trying to harvest their crops with the aid of canoes and collapsing switch houses following days of heavy rainfall and the opening of the sluice gates of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso. That same year, dozens of farmlands along the White Volta basin were inundated with water in several communities. In 2007, the death toll from the floods that hit the Upper East Region as a result of the spillage and heavy rains was 31 with as total of 19,621 houses collapsing under the ravages of the floods. That same year, about 90,703 people were rendered homeless. The situation led to the visit of the Parliamentary Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises which suggested to the government to build a multi-purpose dam for both hydro and irrigation for Agriculture in the Upper East Region to harvest the huge volumes of water that occasionally caused flooding and the subsequent loss of lives and properties. It is learnt that the Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) has committed 5.6 million Euros towards feasibility studies of the Pwalugu Multi-purpose dam project to be constructed by the Volta River Authority (VRA). Dr. Joseph Oteng-Adjei, the Minister of Energy who said this in a speech read on his behalf at a stakeholder consultative meeting on the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam Project on the theme; 'Socio-economic development: The role of the Pwalugu Dam.' Said the dam is expected to incorporate 80 megawatts (MW) of hydroelectric power to boost the local economy upon completion in September 2019. -End- August 22, 2012

UE REGIONAL MINISTER KICK AGAINST CITING OF FUEL STATIONS ALONG BORDER TOWNS

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga There have been concerns raised over the indiscriminate springing up and building of fuel stations along border towns in the Upper East Region. The phenomenon, observers believe have made it easier for some people in the region to smuggle petroleum products to neighboring countries especially Togo and Burkina Faso. Speaking in an interaction with stakeholders in Bolgatanga, the Regional Minister, Mr. Mark Woyongo noted that the ever increasing number of fuel station, particularly in border towns of the region was worrisome. “Between Navrongo and Paga, a distance of about just about 5 kilometers, there are about 12 filling station and indications are that more are coming up. This is simply unacceptable. How many cars do we have in this region to warrant such high number of filling stations? There need to keep an eye on springing up of filling stations”, he said. While calling on the Municipal and District Security Committees to put in place mechanisms and also step up surveillance on the smuggling of petroleum products, Mr. Woyongo also urged licensing and approval authorities to the review the process of granting license to stations that are likely to be built close to border areas. The Regional Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Mrs. Zenabu Wasai-King said upon receiving an application, EPA writes to the respective district assembly to check whether such land had been earmarked for such purpose and whether the necessary preconditions for the building of such a facility had been met before final endorsement is given. She therefore called for greater collaboration among Municipal and District Assemblies, the Survey Department and the Town and Country Planning offices in the region to curtail the indiscriminate erection of such facilities close to border areas. -End- August 20,2012

Muslim in Bolga observe Eid Ul Fitr prayers

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga The Upper East Regional Chief Imam, Yussif Adam has given assurance that the Muslims community will continue to pray for the nation in order to peace to prevail in the country before, during and after the 2012 general elections. Leading the Eid Ul Fitr prayers at the Jubilee Park in Bolgatanga, Imam Yussif Adam said a peaceful nation will accelerate the pace of development of the region in particular and Ghana as a whole and as clerics, they are committed to relentless prayer to see Ghana develop rapidly. He appealed to all political parties to go about their electioneering activities devoid of insults and inflammatory language. Present at the prayers were the Upper East Regional, Mr. Mark Woyongo, The Municipal Chief Executive for Bolgatanga, Edward Ayagle and the New Patriotic Party parliamentary candidate for Bolgatanga Central, Dr. Geysika Agambilla In his message to the congregants, Mr. Woyongo commended the Muslims community for successfully completing one month of fasting and prayer and expressed the hope that both the physical and spiritual cleansing they have gone through will translate in their daily lives the rest of the months. He appealed to all Muslims in the region to continue to live in peace. “Remember our region is about the poorest in this country and we can only get out of this poverty if we live in peace and unity. As we get into elections 2012, I want to appeal to everybody to live in peace. Politics is not supposed to divide us. Politics is not insults. I want t o appeal to you not to allow yourselves to be misuse for any violent acts. Let us remember that we are brothers and sisters. We should get into the elections as one people and go about it in a peaceful manner”, he said. -End- August 19, 2012

Dominic Ayine gets nod to contest Bolga East seat on the ticket of NDC

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Zuarungu Dr. Dominic M. Ayine, a lawyer has been elected as the parliamentary candidate for the yet to be legalised Bolgatanga East Constituency to contest the general elections on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress, (NDC). Dr. Ayine, a Managing Partner of the law office offices of Ayine and Felli polled 85 votes out of the 137 votes cast to beat his contender, Mr. Timothy Azaa Ayamga who secured 52 votes. Bolgatanga East Constituency is part one of the additional 45 constituencies the Electoral Commission (EC) intends to create across the country. The Constitutional Instrument for the creation of additional constituencies has been laid in Parliament pending maturation. In a post victory interview with the Daily Graphic, Dr. Ayine described the election process as very fair and well organised. He commended the executives of the party for the decent manner they organised the election. On his vision for the constituency, he said since it is a new constituency, he and his executive are committed to adopting a strategy of marketing the party and his candidature very well in order to deliver the seat for the NDC. He said as a first step, he will help in the construction of a constituency office and also strengthen the party structures in the area. “We will have to showcase what we can do as a party and as a government in order to bring about development for our people”, he said. Touching on developments for the area, he said the national government will usually draw its development plan and as MP, his will be to buy into that and see extent to which he can exploit the framework of the national development for the development of the people in the constituency. The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mark Woyongo said the victory of the candidate is the beginning of a much greater work towards securing not only the parliamentary but presidential victory for the party. He tasked members of the party in the area to eschew procrastination but rather bury their differences and work together since the party do not have the luxury of time. He said victory for the NDC in the December Polls will be a fitting memorial to the Late President John Evans Atta Mills under whose tenure; the constituency was formulated and created. The only thing you can do in appreciation is to vote massively for the NDC. I am sure that will be the beginning of a new district for the Bolgatanga East. “If we all pull in the same direction, I have no doubt that victory will be ours, especially now that we have our brother as the President. The last time that we had a northern President was 33 years ago. It has been a very long time. If we miss this opportunity it may take us another forty years so my appeal, without sounding ethnic is that let us rally behind the NDC so that some December 7 we will return our brother as president of the republic” Mr. Bede Ziden, a co-opted member of the National Executive Committee of the NDC dismissed assertions that the NDC ahs erred in choosing parliamentary candidate even before the passage of the C.I stressing that technically and legally, the party was on course to elect its candidate in preparation for the formal creation of the constituency. -end- August 18,2012

Methodist Church of Ghana and partners build SHS for Sakoti

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Sakoti The Methodist Church of Ghana in partnership with the Living Word United Methodist Church, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A has constructed a new Senior High Technical School at Sakoti in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region. The GH c 300,000 project, which has facilities such as six classrooms, offices, library, staff common room and washrooms is to help provide the youth in the area with access to quality education and to make them play meaningful roles in the development of the society. At a dedication ceremony, the Bishop of the Northern Diocese of the Methodist Church of Ghana, Rt. Rev. Emmanuel MacLord Afriyie said the church throughout its existence have contributed immensely in partnering government in the provision of social services in the areas of health, education among several other sectors of the economy. He invited the people in the community to identify with the project by accepting to contribute their bit to ensure it delivers on the targets for which it was set up. The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mark Woyongo commended the Methodist Church of Ghana and its partners from the United States for the collaboration and efforts which have culminated in the construction of the school block which incidentally happens to be the very first senior high school in the Sakoti traditional area. He also commended the church and it partners for contributing immensely not only in the education sector but also drilling four boreholes for the Sakoti and Yagzore communities which has led to access to potable drinking water. Mr. Woyongo also commended the benefactors for executing a number of projects in various communities across the region such as the extension of electricity to the Bolgatanga Methodist Primary School and Junior High School, drilling of two boreholes for the Tambugu and Nagakenya. He also lauded the church by spreading its evangelism works with the construction of a chapel in the Nanjopuing community. He tasked the beneficiary community not only to ensure that the educational infrastructure is maintained but also use interventions such as the capitation grant, free school uniform for pupils in deprived communities and the school feeding programme wisely to enrol their children in school. The District Chief Executive for the area, Madam Vivian Anafo said the project has come in timely to augment efforts by the assembly in providing educational infrastructure in the area. She gave the assurance that the assembly will supply all the furniture needed for the smooth take off of the school. Rev. Micheal McIntyre of the Living Word United Methodist Church, U.S.A, urged members of the community to remain united stressing that with unity and corporation, the society will achieve a lot in terms of development. Mrs Mary Jackson, Project Coordinator and Consultant to the Methodist Church of Ghana said the church was elated to have completed the project, which was as a request from the paramount chief of Sakoti , Naba Sigri Bewong, was completed within two years. She encouraged parents to endeavour to send their children to school in order to guarantee a better future for their wards. Naba Sigri Bewong expressed appreciation to the donors and pledged the preparedness of the community to maintain the facility and also plant trees around it t o serve as windbreak during storms. The District Director of Education, Mr. Farra Joachim also commended Church for providing the facility which he said will go a long way to help sharpen the literacy and numeracy skills of the youth, improve and empower them with skills, and serve as a gateway to various careers by the youth who will have otherwise dropped out after Junior High School and resort to other negatives lifestyles including migration to urban areas in search from non-existing jobs. -End- August 16, 2012

RCC worried about fertilizer smuggling in UE

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga The Upper East Regional Coordinating Council is worried about fertiliser smuggling in the region and has proposed the placing of a ceiling on on the number of dealers of the product as a means of curbing the negative practice. At a meeting with stakeholders in the agriculture and agro-chemical dealers, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mark Woyongo said there have been reports of rising reports of some dealers and distributors conniving with smugglers to allegedly smuggle fertiliser across the borders to neighbouring Togo and Burkina Faso. He has therefore charged security agencies, Municipal and District Security Committees, Municipal and District Directors of Agriculture to immediately put in place measures to bring the practice under control. “The amount of fertiliser that has come into the region is very huge, yet day in day out, our farmers are crying that they cannot get the product. The irony is that just across our borders, one can see mounting of fertilisers as though the factory for producing the product was located in those countries”, he said. The Minister noted that the multiplicity of dealers in the region largely accounted for the bad practice and therefore tasked the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to streamline and limited the number of dealers to enhance effective monitoring. He said although the complaint of smuggling was rampant across the region, it is alarming in border districts and therefore charged the heads of the various security agencies in the region with the responsibility of checking smuggling of fertiliser across the border for sale to step up their efforts. He reiterated that fact that government is likely to withdraw the subsidy on fertiliser because we cannot subsidise the cost of fertilisers only for it to find its way across the borders. The Regional Director of Agriculture, Mr. Cletus Achaab affirmed that there are too many fertilizer dealers in the region with the Bawku municipality alone having over 67 dealers. He said in the year 2011, 182 fertilizer dealers were registered but the figure shot up to 221 in 2012. Enumerating challenges with both subsidy and block farm fertilisers in the region, Mr. Achaab said among the contributory factors was the fact that vehicles loaded with fertilisers arrive very late in the night(between 10 pm and 3 am) and this provide a conducive atmosphere for perpetuating malfeasance. He also cited inadequate staffing of all the security agencies along the border towns as well as the practice of some dealers using framers passbooks to exaggerate quantities by the farmers after giving the farmers some few bags for free as a major challenge. Another challenge, Mr. Achaab cited is the many exit points and the usage of unapproved routes by vehicles loaded with fertilisers as a cause for smuggling Mr. Achaab also expressed worry at what he described as high profile interference as hampering checking smuggling of fertiliser across the border for sale. “Claims by the security agencies that when offenders (smugglers) are caught they receive calls or threats to release them from very “important” people” He recommended that fertiliser distribution and marketing should be handled by MOFA if not in the whole country, but at least in border towns and communities especially in the Bawku, Garu, Paga, Bongo and Zebilla communities to check smuggling. Meanwhile, during the interaction, some dealers proposed that following the extent of smuggling of the product which is heavily subsidized for farmers in the country, the government should redesigned the mode of packaging for the subsidized fertilizers to distinguished it from the non subsidized ones to bring the practice of smuggling under control just was done in the case of the premix fuel -End- August 17, 2012

Legacies of Prez Mill- A perspective from the Upper East

Article and Pix: Benjamin Xornam Glover The Upper East Region under the reign of the late President, Professor J. E.A. Mills benefited from a number of development projects for which reason the people of the region will forever be grateful to him. Under his three and half year reign, the region witnessed massive development in all sectors of the economy, from Education, Agriculture, Sports, Health, among several other sectors. Late President Mills was popularly known as Asomdwe Hene(King of Peace) and true to that accolade, Prof. Mills immediately upon assuming the reins of power dispatched his Vice-President, now President of the country, His Excellency John Mahama to the Bawku, which deeply engulfed in ethnic conflict between Kusasis and Mamprusis, to mediate and help find solution to the situation. Not long after, In May 2009, the late President himself followed up with a visit to the region and held a meeting with the protagonists at the residency in Bolgatanga. Prior to that meeting, which had in attendance the Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area, leading the Kusasi delegation and Alhaji Akalifah Bugri Seidu leading the Mamprusis side, the late President Mills in line with his characteristic Christian beliefs, offered to say the opening prayer 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. After that historic meeting, and for the first time since December 31, 2007 when conflict broke out between the two ethnic groups, residents of the area felt the brightest prospect for peace in the area when leaders of the Mamprusis and Kusasis under the watch of the late President hugged each other in public, a gesture that doused the raging conflict Bawku. In the area of education, the late President left no stone unturned in ensuring that the region benefitted from its fair share of infrastructure. A number of a educational infrastructural projects to enhance and improve quality education delivery in the region were pursued. The late President immediately after assuming power fulfilled a major campaign promise of getting a large auditorium for the Navrongo Campus of the University for Development Studies. In March of 2011, he visited the Navrongo campus where he cut the sod for the commencement of work on the GH c 3 million auditorium,which is currently at an advance stage of completion. The Late President’s commitment to the development of the Upper East Region was remarkable. Under his rein and through the Ghana Education Trust Fund, (GETfund) , a number of vehicles were presented to senior high schools to augment their transportation challenges. For instance under the rein of late President Mills, eight 30 seater buses and six pick up vehicles to 14 senior high schools in the region to support their academic work. The beneficiary schools or the buses are, Zuarungu Senior High School, Kongo Senior High School, Awe Secondary Technical School, Sirigu Senior High School, Kusanaba Senior High School, Notre Dame Senior High School, Zorko Senior High School and Fumbisi Senior High School. Those who benefitted from the Mahindra Pick-up vehicle were, Bongo Senior High School, Gowrie Senior High School, Sandema Senior High School, Bawku Senior High School, Tempane Senior High School and Zebilla Senior High School. A number of schools under trees where eradicated during the rein of the late President. As disclosed by the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mark Woyongo, in October 2011 during a visit by Members of the Council of State, a total of 185 schools holding classes under trees in the Upper East Region were provided with classroom infrastructure by the government since it assumed the reins of power. The Minster, briefing the delegation then indicated that the achievement became possible due to a crash programme being embarked upon by the NDC government under President Mills to provide educational infrastructure for schools. He said in addition to tackling the schools under trees, second cycle institutions in the region have benefitted from over 99 big projects comprising dormitories, classrooms books, assembly halls, laboratories, as well as teachers’ accommodation facilities. According to the Regional Minister, the increase in the capitation grant, expansion of the school feeding programme, distribution of free exercise books and uniforms to deprive pupils have undoubtedly increased school enrolment drastically. He said additionally, a number of district education directorates and second cycles have also received pick up and buses to enhance supervision and administration of the schools. During the Upper East @ 50 celebrations the President commissioned a I.C.T centre as a gift from the Government of Ghana to the people of the region to commemorate the occasion. The ultra modern facility is presently serving the I.C.T. needs of the people of the region, especially students who use it for research and academic purposes. During that same periods a massive street lighting project was also carried out in the regional capital to give the area a facelift. In the area Sports, President one of his numerous visits to the region cut sod for the construction of a number of sporting infrastructures meant to harness the various talents of the youth. The $ 100,000 facility including Volley ball and Basket ball courts located within the Bolgatanga Sports Stadium is now in use by the people of the youth of the region to boost sports and recreation in the region. In Agriculture, I recall that it was during one of his tour to Garu that the late the President launched a special campaigned targeted at revamping the Cotton industry in the northern parts of the country. His vision as he launched what was known as the “White Gold” Campaign was to creating jobs, rekindle farmers activities and ultimately reduce poverty in the northern belt through cotton which use to be the a vibrant cash crop for the area. Under the initiative, the Cotton belt has been zone into three and assigned to three companies for the production of cotton. The zones are the North-Eastern Zone which has been allocated to WIENCO Ghana Ltd in partnership with Geo-Cotton, a French company and covers, Kassena-Nankana, Talensi Nabdam, Bawku West, Bawku Municipality, Garu-Tempane, Bongo, Builsa, West and East Mamprusi, Bunkpurugu, Gushegu, Saboba, Chereponi and Zabzugu districts. The second zone and Third Zones, the North-western and North Central, have being allocated Olam Ghana Ltd and Plexus in Partnership with Amajaro Ghana Ltd and covers about 23 municipalities and Districts in the Upper West and Northern Regions . These companies are to carry out cotton production through the pre-financing of small-holder farmers by the provision of inputs to the farmers in their zones and also have exclusive rights to pre-finances production and purchase seed cotton in their zones. Still in Garu, President Mills worried at the wanton pollution of the environment by polythene bags directed all municipal and district assemblies to initiate a programme to curtail the menace. Perhaps the greatest tribute Municipal and District Assemblies in the region in particular and the country as a whole could pay to the late president is for them to implement programmers torid the environment of filth, something the former president has desired. Between Friday March 25 to Saturday March 26, 2011, the Late President toured the Upper East Region and among his itinerary he carried out a number of activities including a sod cutting ceremony of a number of development projects and also inspected ongoing projects. He also interacted with chiefs from all the paramount area in the region. He was in Navrongo where he inspected ongoing projects at the Our Lady of Lourdes Girls Senior High School and also commission an electrification project at Nakolo. Another project that the region benefitted from was the sod cutting ceremony by the late President of an 8.5 kilometre Navrongo-Nayagenia-Mirigu road project. The late President was also in Zebilla to inspect ongoing projects at the Zebilla Senior High School as well as cut the sod for a borehole projects in the Zabugu-Natinga areas. His last vist to the region also saw him in the Garu-Tempane District where the late president again cut the sod for a 10 kilometre road project from Tempane through Yabrago to Woriyanga. As noted by Mr. Roland Ayoo of the NDC, the late president’s commitment to the development of the region was remarkable and unprecedented in the history of Ghana. “No doubt he will always be remembered for his three visits to the region in less than four years”, he said

Bawku NPP gears up for Emergency Primaries

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bawku In the wake of the two year jail sentence imposed on the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mr. Adamu Daramani Sakande, who is also the parliamentary candidate for the party in the pending national elections in December, 2012, some names have begun emerging in constituency as possible replacement with few days left for the filing of nominations at the Electoral Commission. So far, eight names have emerged as possible replacement for the candidate, according to sources within the party. The party is expected to hold primaries on August 25, 2012 and even before nominations open on August 15, 2012, some names are making rounds in the area as possible replacement candidate. Mr. Sakande was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for falsely holding himself as a Ghanaian in order to be elected MP. The MP who was found guilty and convicted on three counts of false declaration of office or voting, perjury and deceiving a public officer is currently serving his sentence while his legal team has hinted of filing an appeal. According to party sources, names such as Messrs Abubakari Jibril Ustaz, who in 2004 filed to contest the seat as an Independent Candidate, Mr Mohammed Tahiru Nambe, who contested the primaries with the incarcerated MP in 2007 and lost, Amadu Hamza, the Constituency Secretary and Alhaji Alhassan Haruna, of Metro TV fame have all come up strongly to filing their nomination. Some party supporters in the constituency are also rooting for other candidates such as Madam Hawa Narichima the Regional Women’s Organiser, Osman Masahudu, Isaac Awuni and Baba Siedu. Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Mr. Uztarz Saeed Abass the Deputy Constituency Secretary, said following consultation with stakeholders in the party at the National and Regional level, as well as opinion leaders in the party at the constituency level, it has been decided that the party hold primaries to select a suitable candidate for the election. He said nomination will open on August 15, 2012 and close on August 20, 2012 after which the party will go to the polls on August 25, 2012 to elect a candidate. “We had initially wanted to elect a candidate by consensus, but after a meeting with all those who have expressed interest, none was willing to concede so we have opted to hold primaries in order to choose a candidate. We only have this short period of time to do this and get our campaign back on track”. He said. Mr. Uztarz Saeed Abass conceded that the unfortunate incarceration of the current MP has affected the campaign strategy of the party in the constituency but was optimistic that come August 25, 2012 after the primaries have been held, the party will get it machinery in place towards retaining the parliamentary seat. -End- August 14, 2012

UE residents weeps on Day 1 of National mourning

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga With a deep clouds looming overhead for most part of Wednesday, people in the Bolgatanga, the Upper East Regional capital, followed proceedings on television sets as the final journey of the late President to the ancestral world commenced. Activities in the municipality were generally low key. While some shops remain open a few others remain closed. The general atmosphere was dull as a result of clouds that loomed over the municipality right from the dawn on Wednesday. In the absence of an official designated viewing centre, mourners were glued to their private TV sets in their shops, offices and homes to follow the funeral proceedings from the national capital, Accra. Michael Ayine, whose eyes was filled with tears as the cortege of the late President arrived at the State House said never again will Ghana have such a President. “He was extremely calm and entertained all forms of criticism make against his person to the extent that he never got the chance to finish his first term in office”. Another mourner, Robert Adongo opined that Ghanaians have a lot to learn from the leadership style of the late President. Najat Mohammed, another mourner said the late President devoted his life to the service of mother Ghana and this should serve as an example to all Ghanaians to commit themselves to hard work and dedication. Meanwhile, there appears to be inadequate supply of the official funeral cloth in the Bolgatanga municipality. A section of the sympathisers told the Daily Graphic that they have found it difficult to come across the various design on sale in other parts of the country. A tour of the commercial street and parts of the market revealed that the only design avaioble was “Asomdwe Hene” which was selling at GH c 10 per yard. However the traders gave the assurance that supply will be increased to ensure that mourners desirous of buying the cloth can do so. In a related development, the Regional Coordinating Council has planned a vigil at the Jubilee Park at 7 pm on Wednesday to give the people in the region an opportunity to pay their last respect to the late President. The Public Relations Officer of the RCC, Mr. Peter Atogewe Wedam,told the Daily Graphic that in attendance will be the Regional Police Band, selected choirs from churches in the Bolgatanga Municipality to sings dirges as the region mourns the late president. According to him, the programme will be interspersed with tributes from various individuals and groups. -End-

UE holds vigil in memory of Prex Mills

Story & Pix: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga It was an outpouring of grief as citizens of the Upper East Region poured into the Jubilee Park in Bolgatanga to partake in a vigil held in memory of the departed President of Ghana, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills. The night was filled with tributes, dirges, traditional praise singing and total recollection of the life and works of the late President by mourners who swarm the venue. Not even a five minute power outage in the municipality deters the crowd who have gathered to mourn the late president. Politicians, members of the clergy, Islamic leaders heads of security services, heads of departments, chiefs, and people from all walks of life gathered to mourn the late president in their own small way. The Municipal Chief Executives for Bolgatanga, Mr. Edward Ayagle, in a brief tribute said Ghanaians need to focus their attention to the principles and ideals that the late president stood for which included the principles of accountability, discipline, dedicated service, hard work humility. “Nothing will please him (The Late President) more than to see his people lifted from poverty and deprivation. We must do well as citizens to live up to our responsibilities and also respect the views of others which were espoused by the departing leader. He said one other tenet of the late president was to supervise a free, fair and peaceful election devoid of acrimony and rancour. “We must as a people resolve to go about the pending elections in such a peaceful manner so that even in his grave, the late president will heave a sigh of relief”. According to Mr. Ayagle, above all else, Ghanaians must honour the late president’s memory by imbibing the love, honesty, and forbearance which was demonstrated throughout his life on earth, stressing that anything to the contrary will be disgraceful to the legacy of the Prof. Mills.

Rev. Esmund Wasau Nagba, chairperson of the Upper Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana called on Ghanaians to emulate the life and achievements of the late President and be inspired to do more for mother Ghana. An Islamic Scholar, Mallam Salihu Haruna Rashid, admonished the youth especially Muslim youth not to allow themselves to be use by any political party to cause violence, since that will be the greatest honour they could give to the late president. The Upper East Regional Chairman of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, (GPCC), Rev. Amos Jimmy Markin said Ghana has lost a great leader but was hopeful that he (the late President) has found rest and peace in the bosom of the Lord. “As a nation, we may be in grief but God in his own wisdom will restore us and give us hope”, he said. The night was laced with traditional kologo(string) music performances by musicians and cultural groups who extolled the life and works of the late President. Also in attendance were the Regional Police Band who provided soothing dirges for the many mourners. -END- August 9, 2012

UE Cadre Front pays tribute to Prof. Mills

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover The Upper East Regional branch of the United Cadre Front has state that the most rewarding tribute that all Ghanaians can pay to the memory of the late President, Professor John Evans Attah Mills is to ensure a very peaceful, transparent, free and fair general election in December 2012. “When it comes to good governance, the former president stood very tall among his compatriots or class allies worldwide. He exhibited the highest degree of probity, transparency and accountability, very incorruptible, very discerning and a strict adherence to the rule of law”, the UCF noted in a statement signed and issued by Mr. Noble Asakeya Alagskomah, chairman of the group. They described the late President as a nationalist and a selfless President and indicated that his demise was a tragedy to the nation and a serious setback not only to Ghana but Africa and the world at large. “He was most accommodating, religious and most tolerant President Ghana ever had”, they said in their tribute. While consoling the family of the late President, most especially , Dr. Mrs. Ernestina Naadu Mills, the NDC party and the good people of Ghana, the cadres said they are more than convince that, President John Mahama will continue the good works and the leadership style of the late president -End-

OXFAM and its partners work to improve maternal care(D/G. Saturday August 4, 2012) Page 11

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Sumbrungu An intervention carried out by Oxfam and its partners including the Participatory Action for Rural Development Alternatives (PARDA), in selected communities in the Upper East has led to an increase in facility deliveries of babies under the supervision of skilled personnel and improved maternal are. Working in collaboration with PARDA, OXFAM started the health project started in March 2011 with the first phase ending in March 2012. The project is currently running on a second phase and will continue till March 2013. Six communities in three districts of the region are implementing the project with the intention to complement the work of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), to reduce maternal mortality. The communities are Sapeliga and Tanga in the Bawku- West District; Sumbrungu and Zuruangu in the Bolgatanga Municipality; and Naaga and Gia in the Kassena- Nankana District. Available statistics indicate that in 2010, Sapeliga recorded 329 skilled deliveries but in 2011, the figure shot up to 355. In Tanga/Timonde, for 2010, skilled delivery was 24 but increased to 156 in 2011. In Zuarungu, skilled deliveries increased from 188 in the year 2010 to 191 in the year 2011, while in Sumbrungu, skilled delivery shot up to 245 recorded in 2011 from 154 recorded in 2010. For Naaga/Kolgo, and Wuru, Gia, skilled deliveries for 2010 was 77 and 17 respectively but the figure increased to 91 and 78 in the year 2011. The Director of PARDA, Mr. Micheal Wombeogo, disclosed this during a field visit by the West African Regional Director of Oxfam, Mr. Mamadou Biteye. The visit was to monitor the progress of the intervention, share experiences and chart a way forward. Mr. Wombeogo said the main aim of the project was to add value to maternal and child health care and services in the target communities. He said through the intervention well established Traditional Births Attendants (TBAs) and Community Health Committees (CHCs) systems have been put in place and these personnel work effectively with health centers officials to ensure long term support in health care delivery. He added that there was more community involvement and ownership of the process t he sense of community ownership as well as commitment from the traditional authorities in the promoting maternal healthcare in the respective communities. Torching on some of the success stories in the focal communities, Mr. Wombeogo said Community Health Committees (CHC) in Tanga successfully through the District Assembly lobbied for the construction of a borehole for the Tanga health centre. He said that same CHC has also been able to lobby for the setting up of a labor room and the provision of a skilled birth attendant to commence skilled deliveries in the Tanga Health centre. He said in Sapeliga, the CHC with the help of the Sapeliga Health Centre has successfully lobbied for the full support of the traditional authorities in promoting antenatal care and overall maternal healthcare. Mr. Wombeogo stressed the need for more community involvement and ownership of the process to help to further reduce maternal mortality in the focal communities. “The communities should see the TBA’s and CHCs and Health Centres as their own and therefore help sustain it. Again Traditional Authorities have a great role in ensuring the sustanianlity of the laid down structure even long after the project Officcilay phase out”,he said. The West African Regional Director of Oxfam, Mr. Mamadou Biteye commended the Ghana Health Service, (GHS) for their collaborative role in ensuring the success of the programme in the beneficiary communities. He said the role of Oxfam’s role was to to replace government in the delivery of health services but to complement whatever efforts are being made, he therefore appealed to the GHS and community members to embrace the concept. Mr. Mamadou Biteye, who is based in Senegal, also visited Nalerigu in the Wes Mamprusis District of the Northern Region where he interacted with another project implementation partner, Partners in Rural Empowerment and Development, (PARED). PARED with support from OXFAM is implementing three projects, namely, Integrated Livelihood Programme, the Food and Agriculture Recovery Management Project and the Enhanced Livelihood Conservation Agriculture Project. During an interaction with farmers at Sumnibomah, Mr. Biteye was informed that as result of the support from OXFAM through PARED, there has been an increase in yields. One female community member, Safura Mahamadu said gender discrimination has reduced significantly since women in the community they have under Oxfam’s intervention, have been empowered and involved in decision making process in the village. Mr. Sibri Gumah, a farmer said Oxfam had made a significant impact in the area adding that through the provision of bullock, donkey and carts which is used in land tilling and carting of goods from the farm to the marketing centers yields have increased from about four bags of maize to 10 bags of maize at the end of the farming season. August 4, 2012