Work on four aerodromes to begin next year

(Published in the Daily Graphic of Friday, November 22, 2013 Page 32) The construction of four aerodromes in the Upper East, Volta, Central and Eastern regions is scheduled to begin early next year. President John Dramani Mahama said the Ghana Airports Authority was finalising the designs for the projects, while the process for the award of the contracts was going on. The President, who announced this yesterday after inspecting the proposed site for the Bolgatanga aerodrome at Anateem, said the construction of the aerodromes would enhance domestic air travel. He said the aerodromes would facilitate the lifting of passengers to and from the beneficiary regions to the other regions. Air travel President Mahama said the aviation industry had picked up in the country, with five companies operating commercial flights. Besides, he said, the number of domestic passengers had also increased astronomically. However, he said due to the absence of airports in the Upper East, Central, Volta and Eastern regions, people who wanted to fly out and those who wanted to go to those regions were compelled to travel to adjoining regions to catch flights. He said the construction of the aerodromes, which was part of the promises contained in the 2012 manifesto of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), would save passengers the trouble of going through adjoining regions before catching flights. President Mahama indicated that the Accra, Kumasi and Sunyani airports would also see major facelift. The President’s visit to the project site formed part of his two-day working visit to the Upper East Region. He also inspected construction works on the Nangodi section of the Bolgatanga-Bawku Road and inaugurated a school facility funded by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) for Our Lady of Lourdes Girls' Senior High School in Navrongo. The President’s presence in the region is the second leg of his nation-wide tour. He first visited the Volta Region from November 16-17, 2013.

Focus on Talensi

Published in Daily Graphic of Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Isaac Yin is a teacher at Tongo but lives in Bolgatanga from where he communes to work daily. He always gets to work with brown hair because of the dusty roads between Winkongo and Tongo. He wants work on the road to be completed early so that he avoids the inconveniences he has to endure every week on his way to and from school. The seven kilometre Winkongo-Tongo road in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region was one of several road projects awarded in 2012. The project is expected to be completed in June 2014. Even though work on that stretch of road is progressing at an appreciable rate, some residents of the area, especially those whose houses are close to the road have decried its dusty nature because it has serious health implications. In an interview with the District Chief Executive for Talensi, Mr Edward Awunore at Tongo, he said the assembly would ensure a speedy completion of the project.

“I have been on the engineer to ensure that the contractor delivers a quality job and so far they have not disappointed. All the old culverts have been demolished and new and stronger ones constructed,” he said, adding that work was progressing speedily as the contractors were now left with the last stage of gravelling before the application of bitumen on the surface of the road.” Mr Awunore said the Talensi District Assembly has initiated a number of developmental projects to help address the myriad of both educational and social problems in some communities in the district. The lined up projects, which cut across the area of education, provision of electricity and access to potable water, have been spread evenly to benefit each community. Education The DCE for Talensi said his assembly had chosen education as its main priority to help improve its human resource base and enhance the socio-economic transformation of the people. Therefore, the assembly in consultation with the chiefs and opinion leaders has initiated a new senior high and technical school which is ready to admit its first batch of students. He said the assembly had set up an implementation committee to supervise enrolment for this year and also written to the National Service Secretariat to post personnel to the school to aid with teaching. He said the assembly has also identified indigenes who have studied relevant courses in the universities and polytechnic and would engage them to help support the school in order to improve quality education for children in the district. He conceded that although Bolgatanga Senior High School (BIGBOSS) was located within the district, it was more like a regional model school and not all qualified students from the district gain admission to BIGBOSS, hence the initiative to establish a new school to complement the existing senior high school. Mr Awunore disclosed that his district has also been selected to benefit from the community Senior High Schools (SHSs) initiated by the president adding that already a 51 acre land has been secured for that purpose. Technical and Vocational Education The DCE said technical and vocational education also remained the focus of the assembly and the assembly had extended support to two institutions within the area. These are the Namalteng Integrated Vocational School and the Duusi Vocational School, initiated by the former MP for Talensi, Mr John Tia Akolgu. He said the Namalteng Integrated Vocational School had its facility recently renovated and painted by the assembly and was also supplied with some freezers and gas burner to support the practical lessons in the school. The Duusi Vocational School which will soon commence enrolment also received some sewing machines and 25 computers procured by the former MP for the use of the school. At the Namalteng Integrated Vocational School, an administrator of the school, Mr Clement Anaba, confirmed the assembly’s support for the school but bemoaned the lack of interest in vocational and technical education on the part of parents and children. He said the school, which runs a four-year programme in courses such as catering, secretarial practice, building and construction, carpentry, textiles, hand weaving and dressmaking, has a student population of only 31. He said sometimes, tutors had to go into town to canvass for enrolment and suggested that the school be placed on the computerised placement system to address the issue of low enrolment. Streetlights The DCE said the assembly had installed a number of streetlights in some communities and institutions to boost security. Among them are the Bolgatanga Senior High School and the Pwalugu Police Training School, emphasising that the assembly is ready to do its best to bring development to the people. Water One other challenge facing the people in the district is access to potable water. Due to the rocky nature of the area, any attempt to drill a borehole is met with difficulties. That notwithstanding, the DCE said the assembly was also implementing a Small Town Water System in communities such as Pwalugu and Duusi to address the challenge of access to potable water in the district. He added that the assembly was also looking at drilling about 10 boreholes in selected communities to help to ease challenges facing the people with regards to access to water. According to Mr Awunore, the assembly was also collaborating with World Vision International Ghana with the drilling of some boreholes in the district. “It is my strongest belief that when these projects are fully implemented, the people of the district, especially Pwalugu, will no more have water problems,” he said. Health In the area of Health care, the DCE said the assembly was working hard towards upgrading the health centre into a district hospital. As a result, the assembly has initiated the construction of a new patient ward and a theatre facility, and work is progressing steadily. Mining He said the Talensi District was blessed with mineral resources, mostly gold. This has seen an active small scale mining industry in the area. He noted that in the midst of this enterprise, the district has recorded a number of security challenges as a result of disputes among mining firms over who owns a concession. The DCE said to address the challenge, the Talensi District Security Committee (DISEC), in collaboration with the Ghana Immigration Service, the police, the Mineral Commission, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has stepped in to help bring calm at the various mining sites and promote harmonious working environment. Revenue Mobilisation He said the assemblies, realising that they could not continue to rely on the District Assemblies Common Fund to support development projects, have put in place mechanisms to increase its internal revenue mobilisation. As a result, as of June 2013 this year, the assembly mobilised GH¢ 74.000 as against GH¢ 61,000 estimated as internally generated funds. Support for Women groups Mr Awunore said the assembly had assisted women groups by putting up two craft centres; one at Winkongo and the other at Tongo, where women groups converge to engage in basket weaving. By Benjamin Xornam Glover/Daily Graphic/Ghana http://graphic.com.gh/General-News/focus-on-talensi.html

Fibre cuts hamper quality service — MTN

Mobile Telecommunications Network, MTN has indicated that rampant cuts of its fiber optic cables continue to be a major challenge that undermine the company’s ability to provide the kind of quality services to its subscribers. The Corporate Service Executive, Mrs Cynthia Lumor in an interview with the Graphic Business in Bolgatanga said the frequent damage being caused to the company’s fiber optic cables imposes a huge cost on the service provider but most importantly create difficulties for customers in affected areas in their quest to access telecommunication services. Mrs Lumor who led officials of MTN Ghana to Bolgatanga to interact with Editors and senior media practitioners in the Upper East Region as part of its annual editor’s fora held across the country said a huge percentage of the cuts are as a result of road construction activity, small scale mining and theft. She said the situation is getting worse by the day in spite of a vigorous campaign to sensitize the public against it. She said MTN will continue to liaise with stakeholders such as the Association of Road Contractors, Ghana Highway Authority, Department of Feeder and Urban Roads amongst others to try and find ways to avoid the fiber cuts that occur when road construction is going on. “The effect of fiber cuts is that it compromises MTN’s ability to provide quality services to customers. The reason why we have invested so much in fiber is because of the quality and capacity of services that fiber optic network provides. It has so much capacity that it can carry so much more calls, there is faster speed doe greater service but when the fiber is cut, it means customers who would have been supported with very good quality service are deprived of the chance to access the network,” she said. She said even though MTN has redundancies, for example ability to deploy its microwave network in cases when its fiber optic cables, because the microwave has less capacity, it will result in fewer resources being contended for by many more people which then leads to congestion on the network, drop calls and its attendant frustrations. She therefore appealed to the public to report activities of such miscreants to the law enforcement agencies. Mrs Lumor said the experiences of MTN customers remain the focus of its operations and to that effect, this year, MTN is investing $ 105 million in network upgrade to improve customer experience. The Editors Forum also focused on the company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives by the MTN Foundation in the country. Mrs Lumor indicated that the Foundation invested a total of GHc 750, 927 in the Upper East Region mostly is areas of health and education. Among the beneficiary is the St Charles Primary School, in Bolgatanga where an ICT centre is being provided. The Head of Technical Services of MTN in charge of the Northern Sector, Mr Charles Osei Akoto said between 2007 to date, 230 arrest have been made of people who are involved in the stealing of MTN transmission logistics such as liters of fuel, as well as generator batteries from the company’s various cell sites. He said the incidence of theft took place in five regions including Upper East, Upper West, Northern, Brong Ahafo and Ashanti Regions but stressed that majority of those cases were recorded in the Asante Region with the remaining regions recording just a few cases. “Specifically, we have made arrest in Juaso, Obuasi, Juabeng, Sunyani” he added. He explained that because MTN is a strong brand and has the largest cell sites; it has become the target of more theft cases. Touching on MTN’s network improvement in the Upper East Region, Mr Akoto said MTN network availability in the region has significantly improved after a radio assess network project carried out recently adding that a total of 60 cell sites have been swapped and upgraded in the region as at the end of August 2013 He also indicated that extension of fiber network in the Upper East Region which will see the implementation of 181 kilometer fiber line between Tamale and Bolgatanga will kick start soon. He said when this happens; the Upper East Region will be link to MTN’s national and international fiber network. By Benjamin Xornam Glover/Graphic Business/Ghana Writer’s email: Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh http://graphic.com.gh/Business-News/fibre-cuts-hamper-quality-service-mtn.html

Regions join in ‘celebrating’ eclipse

Benjamin Xornam Glover reports from Bolgatanga that after watching the spectacle, a resident, Ms Regina Sundong, simply remarked, "This is a beautiful scenery by all standards." She was among several residents of Bolgatanga who watched the phenomenon that saw the moon passing between the sun and the earth, causing a partial blocking of the sun’s rays. Some residents of Koforidua observing the eclipse from a bowl of water. Picture: Nana Konadu AgyemanSome residents of Koforidua observing the eclipse from a bowl of water. Picture: Nana Konadu AgyemanSome students of the Bolgatanga Girls’ Senior High School who took turns to watch the phenomenon by sharing a single solar eclipse shade available marvelled at the sight of the sun. Ms Elizabeth Anaba, a form one student, said she was happy to have experienced the "once-in-a-lifetime” occurrence, adding that it was an experience that would live with her for a long time. Published: Daily Graphic, November 4, 2013 http://graphic.com.gh/General-News/regions-join-in-celebrating-eclipse.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Youth urged to shun negative behaviours

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, BOLGATANGA Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Daniel A Syme has advised the youth in the region to shun negative tendencies such as ethnic, political a and religious and rather focus on their studies to become better persons in future. Mr Syme who gave the advice during the observations of the African Youth Day at the Bolgatanga Girls Senior School reiterated the fact that if the youth should concentrate on their studies, they will become useful citizens not only for their families but their communities and the region as a whole. The Africa Union Youth Day is observed on November 1 each year. This was as a result of a resolution adopted by Heads of state and governments of the Africa Union in Banjul, Gambia in 2006. Since then, Ghana has been celebrating the African Youth Day.The theme for the 2013 celebration is "Africa's Youth Population: opportunity or threats,Ghana in perspective" The Deputy Regional Minister, Mr Daniel Syme in a keynote address also called on people with selfish interest, who use the youth to perpetuate crimes, to desist from the act and rather help groom them to become responsible future leaders. "I remain convinced that our youth must be effectively engaged and involved in efforts to achieve sustainable development of Ghana and Africa for that matter. To do this, the youth must be adequately prepared,which sharply imposes the need to invest sufficiently in human capital development," he said. He gave the assurance that government would continue to expedite action to pass into law and implement the Ghana Youth Policy and finalize its action plans, as well as ensuring that data and information on young people are available to inform sustainable actions. Mr Syme also appealed to stakeholders, including the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), the Private Sector, NGOs, development partners and the youth to synergize efforts in delivering on youth development and empowerment in Africa. The Upper East Regional Youth Coordinator of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Mr Daud James Abang-Gos, said the day is set aside to appreciate the achievements of the country's youth and celebrate thir successes. Mr Abang-Gos said the celebration of the day usually offers the opportunity for government, Civil Society Organizations, parents, key state actors, including the youth themselves, to share a common platform by taking stock of activities, successes and failures, challenges of young people in Africa and propose policy directions to address them. He said the youth in Ghana and Africa in general have been involved in nation building in the areas of agriculture, sports, academia, productivity and maintainable of general security, adding that "it is not the case that young people are always involved in negative things, they also contribute to nation building" "We in the National Youth Authority with support from government are prepared to deliver quality youth service to make them work with their hands, legs, hearts and heads," he added. A communication and leadership trainer, Mr Eduard Povel, advised the youth to remain focus, developed a goal and work towards achieving their targeting life. -end Quick read > Since 2006, Ghana has been celebrating the African Youth Day > The day was set aside following a resolution adopted in Banjul by Heads of state and governments of the Africa Union to declare every 1st day of November as Africa Union Youth Day. > The Deputy Upper East who addressed a forum at the BOLGATANGA Girls Senior High School at this year's regional celebration called in the youth to shun negative behaviors and embrace attitudes that changes the world. Writers's email: benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh