THE Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, has commended personnel of the security services in the region for their professionalism in the performance of their duties that has sustained the peace in the region.
The minister said this in a speech read on his behalf by his deputy, Mrs Agnes Chigabatia, at a handover parade held in honour of the outgoing Upper East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Ofosu-Mensah Gyeabour, in Bolgatanga.
DCOP Ofosu Mensah Gyeabour, who assumed duty in October 2005, is on transfer to the Northern Region as the Northern Regional Police Commander.
He has been succeeded by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, who until his elevation was the Deputy Regional Police Commander.
"The police and the other security agencies in the region are beacons of hope as far as maintenance of peace and security is concerned. To me there is nothing worthier than the peace and security the region is enjoying. The people in this region owe them a debt of gratitude," Mr Samari said.
He stated that despite its challenges, the police service had contributed immensely towards the maintenance of peace and security in the Region.
The regional minister particular lauded the outgoing Regional Police Commander for his sterling leadership qualities that brought about peace in trouble spots in the Upper East Region such as Bawku, Tongo-Beo and Gonno-Torsin and an end to the Sandema Chieftaincy dispute, among others.
While commending the outgoing police officer for a good work done, Mr Samari also gave the assurance that the Upper East Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) would give his successor the necessary assistance to operate more efficiently.
In his speech, DCOP Gyeabour noted that despite the numerous constraints and challenges facing the police service in the region, they had worked hard to sustain peace in the area.
He expressed his appreciation to the Upper East RCC, the traditional rulers, sister security agencies, and the good people of the region for their co-operation.
DCOP Gyeabour urged his colleagues, senior police officers and other service personnel to continue to work more assiduously and win the confidence of the people.
While thanking the media for the co-operation he enjoyed during his tenure of office, he also enjoined them to be circumspect in their reportage.
DCOP Gyeabour later handed over the baton of office to his successor, ACP Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, after which he was symbolically pulled out of the premises of the Regional Police Headquarters to end his tenure of office.
DCOP Gyeabour had earlier inspected a special send-off parade made up of 60 personnel under the command of Assistant superintendent of Police (ASP) Seth Tay.
Present were the Commanding Officer of the 6th Battalion of the Ghana Armed Forces, Tamale, Lt Col Joseph Aphour; the Upper East Regional Commander of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service, Mr Evans Klutse; the Regional Commander, Ghana Prisons Service, Mrs Florence Yeboah; service commanders of the Ghana Immigration Service and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), traditional rulers, departmental heads and other security personnel.
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
Monday, 22 September 2008
(“Stop such dangerous practices”, D/G Friday, September 19, 2008, page 20)
A Taxi plying the Tamale-Bolgatanga Highway. It is fully loaded with passengers, while two other passengers, a man and woman, who could not get space in the vehicle, hang dangerously in the booth.Such a practice is a recipe for disaster because in the event of an accident, the “hanging passengers” will increase the country’s mortality rate. Such a dangerous practice must be stopped by the law enforcement agencies
Sunday, 21 September 2008
PURC DEPLORES POOR WATER SUPPLY TO UE (D/G Saturday, September 29, 2008 BACK PAGE)
THE Chairman of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, has expressed displeasure at the inability of Aqua Vitens Rand and the Ghana Water Company Limited to supply sufficient water to residents of Bolgatanga, Bawku and Navrongo in the Upper East Region.
Speaking at Bolgatanga after he led a team of commissioners of the PURC on a tour of the Upper East Region, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, stressed the need to harness the various water sources in the region to make potable water accessible to all.
Prof. Frimpong Boateng mentioned the White Volta River, the Tono Dam and other small dams as possible sources of raw water that could be tapped for use and advocated the deployment of appropriate technology to make water accessible to all.
While imploring the operators to expedite effort to get water to the people, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng stressed the need for consumers to pay their modest water bills to help the operators to continue to provide them with the quality services required of them.
The acting Upper East Regional Chief Manager of Aqua Vitens Rand, Mr George Yanore, mentioned the siltation of the Vea Dam and the breakdown of pumping machines at Vea, the suspected drop in the ground water table of the wells at Bawku and Navrongo and frequent power outages as some of the challenges facing the smooth operation in the region.
Mr Yanore said studies were ongoing, with funding from the World Bank, for the expansion of the Bolgatanga water system. The goal of the project is to meet the water supply needs of the municipality by 2025.
He added that the company, with support from a Dutch NGO, Water for Life, was funding the extension of water to selected poor communities in the Bawku and Navrongo areas.
This will involve the construction of 15 public standpipes to supply water to the people.
He said the viable option for Bawku was to consider the possibility of a surface water system, probably from the nearby White Volta River.
Out of the estimated daily demand of 1.3 million gallons of water per day for Bolgatanga, only 880,000 gallons of water is pumped, whilst of the estimated daily demand of 1,134,000 gallons in Bawku, only 178,000 gallons are pumped.
In Navrongo, only 167,000 gallons are supplied, out of the daily estimated demand of 640,000 gallons.
While water treated for consumption in Bolgatanga is from the Vea Dam, Bawku and Navrongo are supplied from mechanised boreholes.
The rest of the small systems have been handed over to the respective district assemblies for management by the communities under the National Community Water and Sanitation Strategy.
Speaking at Bolgatanga after he led a team of commissioners of the PURC on a tour of the Upper East Region, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, stressed the need to harness the various water sources in the region to make potable water accessible to all.
Prof. Frimpong Boateng mentioned the White Volta River, the Tono Dam and other small dams as possible sources of raw water that could be tapped for use and advocated the deployment of appropriate technology to make water accessible to all.
While imploring the operators to expedite effort to get water to the people, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng stressed the need for consumers to pay their modest water bills to help the operators to continue to provide them with the quality services required of them.
The acting Upper East Regional Chief Manager of Aqua Vitens Rand, Mr George Yanore, mentioned the siltation of the Vea Dam and the breakdown of pumping machines at Vea, the suspected drop in the ground water table of the wells at Bawku and Navrongo and frequent power outages as some of the challenges facing the smooth operation in the region.
Mr Yanore said studies were ongoing, with funding from the World Bank, for the expansion of the Bolgatanga water system. The goal of the project is to meet the water supply needs of the municipality by 2025.
He added that the company, with support from a Dutch NGO, Water for Life, was funding the extension of water to selected poor communities in the Bawku and Navrongo areas.
This will involve the construction of 15 public standpipes to supply water to the people.
He said the viable option for Bawku was to consider the possibility of a surface water system, probably from the nearby White Volta River.
Out of the estimated daily demand of 1.3 million gallons of water per day for Bolgatanga, only 880,000 gallons of water is pumped, whilst of the estimated daily demand of 1,134,000 gallons in Bawku, only 178,000 gallons are pumped.
In Navrongo, only 167,000 gallons are supplied, out of the daily estimated demand of 640,000 gallons.
While water treated for consumption in Bolgatanga is from the Vea Dam, Bawku and Navrongo are supplied from mechanised boreholes.
The rest of the small systems have been handed over to the respective district assemblies for management by the communities under the National Community Water and Sanitation Strategy.
Friday, 19 September 2008
PNC ELECTS ANTHONY FOR BINDURI SEAT (D/G Friday, September 19, 2008. PAGE 15)
A 44-year old teacher, Mr Cyprian Azure Anthony, has been endorsed as the People's National Convention (PNC) party parliamentary candidate to contest the Binduri seat.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Upper East Regional Secretary of the party, Mr Henry Fatchu.
According to Mr Fatchu, the candidate was elected by popular acclamation by the 87 delegates of the party in an election conducted by the Bawku Municipal Electoral Officer, Mr Azu Boscos and supervised by the regional executives of the party.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic later, the regional secretary of the PNC said when elected , he would evolve a comprehensive policy on rural development by giving top priority to the introduction of productive life in the rural areas.
“The party would do this by identifying towns along our border such as Bawku, Hamile, Paga, Aflao, Namoo, Elubo, and Half Assini and construct suitable warehouses and retail structures for these locations to act as market centres to serve our ECOWAS countries,” he said.
Mr Fatchu added that agricultural and other productive camps would also be located near these growth poles, where employment would be available to the youth, who would be assisted with inputs, extension services and other resources so as to reduce the level of migration of particularly the youth from the north to the south for non-existing jobs.
Mr Azure thanked the delegates for the confidence reposed in him and pledged to advocate the development of the area when voted into power.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Upper East Regional Secretary of the party, Mr Henry Fatchu.
According to Mr Fatchu, the candidate was elected by popular acclamation by the 87 delegates of the party in an election conducted by the Bawku Municipal Electoral Officer, Mr Azu Boscos and supervised by the regional executives of the party.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic later, the regional secretary of the PNC said when elected , he would evolve a comprehensive policy on rural development by giving top priority to the introduction of productive life in the rural areas.
“The party would do this by identifying towns along our border such as Bawku, Hamile, Paga, Aflao, Namoo, Elubo, and Half Assini and construct suitable warehouses and retail structures for these locations to act as market centres to serve our ECOWAS countries,” he said.
Mr Fatchu added that agricultural and other productive camps would also be located near these growth poles, where employment would be available to the youth, who would be assisted with inputs, extension services and other resources so as to reduce the level of migration of particularly the youth from the north to the south for non-existing jobs.
Mr Azure thanked the delegates for the confidence reposed in him and pledged to advocate the development of the area when voted into power.
Sunday, 14 September 2008
RECONSTRUCT BOLGATANGA ROADS —HAKIM (D/G Monday September 15, 2008. PAGE 40)
THE Upper East Regional Chairman of the Association of Road Contractors (ASROC), Mr Dauda Hakim, has called on the government to reconstruct roads in the Bolgatanga Municipality to befit its status as a regional capital.
Mr Hakim made the call at a special general meeting of the association held at Bolgatanga.
“Potholes have become a regular feature in the municipality and with the onset of the rains within the past two months, travelling in the area has become quite tough,” he stated.
Mr Hakim said roads such as the one leading to the ministries area had gone from bad to worse and at any point in time, vehicles could be seen swaying dangerously in their bid to dodge deep potholes.
He stated that although some road contractors had been engaged to do some repair works, there was the need to carry out complete reconstruction and expansion of the roads to modernise and improve the road network in the municipality.
Touching on other challenges facing the association, Mr Hakim advocated that all government projects below GH¢50 million should be awarded to local contractors based in the region while foreign contractors could partner local contractors for contracts above that figure.
He also called on awarding agencies to deal with only contractors registered with any of the associations when giving out jobs as that would help the associations to sanction such a member in the event of non-performance.
Mr Hakim advocated a review of the Public Procurement Act to favour local contractors and entrepreneurs, since the present system was cumbersome and left little and sometimes no room for discretion even in times of emergencies, adding that it was also over centralised and favoured only the clients.
The regional chairman advised local contractors to desist from under-pricing for jobs, since that was not helpful.
The Regional Director of the Ghana Highway Authority, Mr Francis Hammond, and the acting Regional Director of the Department of Feeder Roads, Mr K. Omane Brimpong, urged the local contractors to follow the laid down procedures and guidelines by providing all relevant documents when tendering for jobs in order to meet the requirements.
Mr Hammond implored them to execute quality jobs in order to win future contracts.
The Deputy Regional Minister, Mrs Agnes Chigabatia, exhorted members of ASROC to think about the general development of the region and not their personal interests in the execution of their jobs.
She stated that award of contracts was not based on political lines as perceived by some contractors, and advised them to do efficient work to attract future contracts, emphasising that the government was counting on contractors to deliver quality jobs to help reduce the poverty of the people.
Mr Hakim made the call at a special general meeting of the association held at Bolgatanga.
“Potholes have become a regular feature in the municipality and with the onset of the rains within the past two months, travelling in the area has become quite tough,” he stated.
Mr Hakim said roads such as the one leading to the ministries area had gone from bad to worse and at any point in time, vehicles could be seen swaying dangerously in their bid to dodge deep potholes.
He stated that although some road contractors had been engaged to do some repair works, there was the need to carry out complete reconstruction and expansion of the roads to modernise and improve the road network in the municipality.
Touching on other challenges facing the association, Mr Hakim advocated that all government projects below GH¢50 million should be awarded to local contractors based in the region while foreign contractors could partner local contractors for contracts above that figure.
He also called on awarding agencies to deal with only contractors registered with any of the associations when giving out jobs as that would help the associations to sanction such a member in the event of non-performance.
Mr Hakim advocated a review of the Public Procurement Act to favour local contractors and entrepreneurs, since the present system was cumbersome and left little and sometimes no room for discretion even in times of emergencies, adding that it was also over centralised and favoured only the clients.
The regional chairman advised local contractors to desist from under-pricing for jobs, since that was not helpful.
The Regional Director of the Ghana Highway Authority, Mr Francis Hammond, and the acting Regional Director of the Department of Feeder Roads, Mr K. Omane Brimpong, urged the local contractors to follow the laid down procedures and guidelines by providing all relevant documents when tendering for jobs in order to meet the requirements.
Mr Hammond implored them to execute quality jobs in order to win future contracts.
The Deputy Regional Minister, Mrs Agnes Chigabatia, exhorted members of ASROC to think about the general development of the region and not their personal interests in the execution of their jobs.
She stated that award of contracts was not based on political lines as perceived by some contractors, and advised them to do efficient work to attract future contracts, emphasising that the government was counting on contractors to deliver quality jobs to help reduce the poverty of the people.
OPEN DEFECATION - THE BIGGEST SANITATION PROBLEMS IN UE (D/G Monday September 15, 2008. PAGE 40)
“Sanitation is a way of life. It is expressed in the clean home, the clean farm, the clean business, and industry, the clean neighbourhood and community. Being a way of life, it must come from within; it is nourished by knowledge and grows as an obligation and as an ideal in human relations."—World Health Organisation (WHO).
In the year 2004, the Bolgatanga Municipality was adjudged the cleanest municipality in Ghana and was given the "Cleanest City Award".
One would have thought that the conferment of that award would spur the people in the Bolgatanga Municipality on and encourage the administrators of the municipality to continue to strive for more laurels.
Four years down the line, the municipality has lost its shine. Bolgatanga is facing poor sanitation problems. The entire municipality is in “shit”. Yes shit, waste matter from both human beings and animals have littered the whole place.
It is common to come across the residents, both young and old, male and female, jostling one another for space to openly defecate.
Apart from that, some of the residents continue to dump refuse indiscriminately, thereby worsening the deplorable sanitation condition of the area.
Despite the efforts being made by the Municipal Assembly and organisations like Zoomlion Ghana Limited, to address the situation, especially the open defecation gets worse every day.
The sanitation situation in Bolgatanga can be described as destructive. Open places such as the frontage of the offices of the Information Services Department, the Basket Ball Court area, near the Black Star Hotel, the stretch of land close to St Clement Primary School at Dapooretidongo, the storm drains near the Aningazanga cluster of schools, have been soiled by people who prefer to defecate in the open, be it in the morning, afternoon and night damning the health implications of their act.
But why do people engage in such a negative act? “Public places of convenience for the entire population are not enough, compelling the people to practise open defecation, wrap the faeces in plastic bags and throw them in uncompleted buildings," says Mr Abugbilla Mathew Asampana, the Upper East Regional Environmental Health Officer.
Public toilets are limited in the Bolgatanga township. In the communities where such facilities exist, this writer observed that the people would prefer squatting in the open to ease themselves than paying for the service.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey Report for 2006, open defecation was widespread in the Upper East Region with about 82 per cent of the people without any access to latrines.
It added that 17.5 per cent of 1,134 households had improved sanitation facilities, ranking the region the ninth out of the 10 regions in the country.
When contacted, the Municipal Co-ordinating Director, Mr Philibert K. Kuupol, conceded that open defecation and the general deplorable sanitation problem in the area was one of the biggest challenges facing the municipality.
While admitting that some residents continued to dump refuse indiscriminately, Mr Kuupol said others defecated in the open, adding that the practice of open defecation was as a result of the failure of landlords to provide latrines in their homes.
That situation, he said, had compelled people to defecate in the open. Mr Kuupol, therefore, advised the people in the municipality to desist from such unhygienic acts and to ensure the regular cleanliness of their surroundings to prevent the outbreak of communicable diseases.
He stated that in view of those difficulties, the assembly assisted some landlords with funds to enable them to construct latrines in their houses, stressing, “Sadly, the money was not used for the intended purpose.”
Sadly, according to Mr Kuupol, the assembly could not trace the documentation to know who benefited from the funding.
"In view of that the assembly at one of its meetings passed a resolution to shelve the matter and start everything from the scratch," the MCD said.
He said the assembly was now insisting that all new estate developments in the municipality should have latrines.
Mr Kuupol stated that with the help of its members, the assembly had embarked on an intensive public education to discourage people from defecating in the open.
Statistics obtained from Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate in the region state that public facilities for excreta disposal in the region are woefully inadequate for the population.
For instance, for public facilities, there are 123 septic tank latrines, 171 Kumasi Ventilated Improved Pits (KVIPs), six water closets and eight environs loo toilets.
For the private facilities, there are 3,119 water closets, 247 KVIPs, 22 septic tank latrines, 156 latrines, four pit latrines and three pour flash facilities.
Interestingly, out of the 156 pan latrines, 78 are in government quarters in the regional capital.
The revised environmental sanitation policy (May, 2007) of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, bucket (pan) and open trench latrines are seriously discouraged and must be phased out as they do not meet minimum sanitary standards.
Recommended technologies are the water closet and septic tank system, the pour flush latrine (where water is used for anal cleansing), the ventilated improved pit latrine (VIP), the aqua privy, and any other proven technologies recommended by the ministry.
According to the Regional Environmental Health Officer, Mr Abugbila, "as a result of these inadequacies, the people practise open defecation, wrap and throw faeces into uncompleted structures".
He noted that unavailability of genuinely acquired sites for solid waste disposal was another challenge facing the region, adding "There is still more to be done, particularly, in the area of public facilities."
Mr Abugbila said "from the foregoing, it is evident that whilst the world is striving for better health and longevity of life through hygiene practices, we are negating the whole process."
According to the Water and Sanitation Sector Monitoring Platform (WSMP) Ghana report (August 2008), human faeces left in the open fields, bushes or drains generate millions of viruses, bacteria and parasites.
Houseflies usually fly between those faeces and the food including fruits. When human beings eat such contaminated foods, they inadvertently eat their own faeces and that of others.
We, therefore, open ourselves up for illnesses that can even lead to deaths. Rains also wash away most human faeces left in the open into rivers, ponds, open wells, lagoons and beaches.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service (MICS 2006 report), about 19 per cent of the population (nearly 4.2 million people) still rely on untreated water from streams, dams, ponds, rivers and open wells for drinking and cooking. They might, therefore, have been drinking their own or other people's faeces and injecting themselves with germs and diseases.
Human faeces are the primary source of diarrhoea pathogens.
According to UNICEF, the daily under five child deaths from diarrhoea diseases in 2004 was 5,000. In Ghana, there are reports that about 80 per cent of all out-patient department (OPD) cases are sanitation and water-related.
An Extension Services Specialist of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) in the Upper East Region, Mr Emmanuel Adii, speaking at a public forum in Bolgatanga recently, said sanitation related diseases such as diarrhoea, malaria and skin diseases, run high among the 10 top causes of OPD attendance.
According to him, in 2006, malaria accounted for 42.2 per cent under five admissions in the region.
Ghana is currently on the downside in terms of achieving the MDGs for access to improved toilet facilities. Things can only change when radical measures (policies, programmes and plans, as well as high commitment to implementation) are taken to "rescue" the situation.
In the year 2004, the Bolgatanga Municipality was adjudged the cleanest municipality in Ghana and was given the "Cleanest City Award".
One would have thought that the conferment of that award would spur the people in the Bolgatanga Municipality on and encourage the administrators of the municipality to continue to strive for more laurels.
Four years down the line, the municipality has lost its shine. Bolgatanga is facing poor sanitation problems. The entire municipality is in “shit”. Yes shit, waste matter from both human beings and animals have littered the whole place.
It is common to come across the residents, both young and old, male and female, jostling one another for space to openly defecate.
Apart from that, some of the residents continue to dump refuse indiscriminately, thereby worsening the deplorable sanitation condition of the area.
Despite the efforts being made by the Municipal Assembly and organisations like Zoomlion Ghana Limited, to address the situation, especially the open defecation gets worse every day.
The sanitation situation in Bolgatanga can be described as destructive. Open places such as the frontage of the offices of the Information Services Department, the Basket Ball Court area, near the Black Star Hotel, the stretch of land close to St Clement Primary School at Dapooretidongo, the storm drains near the Aningazanga cluster of schools, have been soiled by people who prefer to defecate in the open, be it in the morning, afternoon and night damning the health implications of their act.
But why do people engage in such a negative act? “Public places of convenience for the entire population are not enough, compelling the people to practise open defecation, wrap the faeces in plastic bags and throw them in uncompleted buildings," says Mr Abugbilla Mathew Asampana, the Upper East Regional Environmental Health Officer.
Public toilets are limited in the Bolgatanga township. In the communities where such facilities exist, this writer observed that the people would prefer squatting in the open to ease themselves than paying for the service.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey Report for 2006, open defecation was widespread in the Upper East Region with about 82 per cent of the people without any access to latrines.
It added that 17.5 per cent of 1,134 households had improved sanitation facilities, ranking the region the ninth out of the 10 regions in the country.
When contacted, the Municipal Co-ordinating Director, Mr Philibert K. Kuupol, conceded that open defecation and the general deplorable sanitation problem in the area was one of the biggest challenges facing the municipality.
While admitting that some residents continued to dump refuse indiscriminately, Mr Kuupol said others defecated in the open, adding that the practice of open defecation was as a result of the failure of landlords to provide latrines in their homes.
That situation, he said, had compelled people to defecate in the open. Mr Kuupol, therefore, advised the people in the municipality to desist from such unhygienic acts and to ensure the regular cleanliness of their surroundings to prevent the outbreak of communicable diseases.
He stated that in view of those difficulties, the assembly assisted some landlords with funds to enable them to construct latrines in their houses, stressing, “Sadly, the money was not used for the intended purpose.”
Sadly, according to Mr Kuupol, the assembly could not trace the documentation to know who benefited from the funding.
"In view of that the assembly at one of its meetings passed a resolution to shelve the matter and start everything from the scratch," the MCD said.
He said the assembly was now insisting that all new estate developments in the municipality should have latrines.
Mr Kuupol stated that with the help of its members, the assembly had embarked on an intensive public education to discourage people from defecating in the open.
Statistics obtained from Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate in the region state that public facilities for excreta disposal in the region are woefully inadequate for the population.
For instance, for public facilities, there are 123 septic tank latrines, 171 Kumasi Ventilated Improved Pits (KVIPs), six water closets and eight environs loo toilets.
For the private facilities, there are 3,119 water closets, 247 KVIPs, 22 septic tank latrines, 156 latrines, four pit latrines and three pour flash facilities.
Interestingly, out of the 156 pan latrines, 78 are in government quarters in the regional capital.
The revised environmental sanitation policy (May, 2007) of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, bucket (pan) and open trench latrines are seriously discouraged and must be phased out as they do not meet minimum sanitary standards.
Recommended technologies are the water closet and septic tank system, the pour flush latrine (where water is used for anal cleansing), the ventilated improved pit latrine (VIP), the aqua privy, and any other proven technologies recommended by the ministry.
According to the Regional Environmental Health Officer, Mr Abugbila, "as a result of these inadequacies, the people practise open defecation, wrap and throw faeces into uncompleted structures".
He noted that unavailability of genuinely acquired sites for solid waste disposal was another challenge facing the region, adding "There is still more to be done, particularly, in the area of public facilities."
Mr Abugbila said "from the foregoing, it is evident that whilst the world is striving for better health and longevity of life through hygiene practices, we are negating the whole process."
According to the Water and Sanitation Sector Monitoring Platform (WSMP) Ghana report (August 2008), human faeces left in the open fields, bushes or drains generate millions of viruses, bacteria and parasites.
Houseflies usually fly between those faeces and the food including fruits. When human beings eat such contaminated foods, they inadvertently eat their own faeces and that of others.
We, therefore, open ourselves up for illnesses that can even lead to deaths. Rains also wash away most human faeces left in the open into rivers, ponds, open wells, lagoons and beaches.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service (MICS 2006 report), about 19 per cent of the population (nearly 4.2 million people) still rely on untreated water from streams, dams, ponds, rivers and open wells for drinking and cooking. They might, therefore, have been drinking their own or other people's faeces and injecting themselves with germs and diseases.
Human faeces are the primary source of diarrhoea pathogens.
According to UNICEF, the daily under five child deaths from diarrhoea diseases in 2004 was 5,000. In Ghana, there are reports that about 80 per cent of all out-patient department (OPD) cases are sanitation and water-related.
An Extension Services Specialist of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) in the Upper East Region, Mr Emmanuel Adii, speaking at a public forum in Bolgatanga recently, said sanitation related diseases such as diarrhoea, malaria and skin diseases, run high among the 10 top causes of OPD attendance.
According to him, in 2006, malaria accounted for 42.2 per cent under five admissions in the region.
Ghana is currently on the downside in terms of achieving the MDGs for access to improved toilet facilities. Things can only change when radical measures (policies, programmes and plans, as well as high commitment to implementation) are taken to "rescue" the situation.
CHIEFS REMINDED TO REMAIN NEUTRAL (Mirror Saturday, September 13,2008. PAGE 42)
By Benjamin Xornam Glover,
Bolgatanga
THE Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education, (NCCE), Mr Larry Bimi, has reiterated the need for chiefs to remain neutral and guard against declaring publicly their support for political parties.
Mr Bimi reminded chiefs of Article 276 (1) of the 1992 Constitution and advised them to adhere to the provision to ensure a free and fair and peaceful election.
Article 276 (1) states “ a chief shall not take part in active party politics; and any chief wishing to do so and seeking election to Parliament shall abdicate his skin or stool”.
Mr Bimi gave the advise at a forum for chiefs and opinion leaders at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region. The forum forms part of efforts by the NCCE to ensure peaceful elections this year.
He said it was necessary for chiefs to remain neutral because they represented the people adding that their neutrality can help them intervene in some of the minor problems that rise up in the communities.
“Chieftaincy is a dignified role as such chiefs must exude fairness and certain level of impartiality in whatever they do,” he said.
He urged the chiefs and opinion leaders to play their roles responsibly to sustain unity and peace in the area.
The NCCE Chairman, while cautioning the chiefs also called on politicians to leave the chiefs to perform their traditional roles.
He urged leaders of political parties to be well-informed about the chieftaincy institution and desist from infiltrating the ranks of chiefs with the aim of luring them to their side.
The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Agnes Asangalisa Chigabatia, said the institution could not serve as an honourable institution if it was full of mutual suspicion, intolerance and violence. She urged traditional rulers to take the initiative in pursuing sustainable peace.
She urged the traditional rulers to make their leadership relevant to the aspirations of the majority of the people rather than serving the interests of a few ambitious persons.
The Paramount Chief of Bongo, Bonaba Salifu Aleemyaarum, who chaired the function reminded his colleagues that peace was the pre-requisite for development and, therefore, urged them to play their roles responsibly to enhance the accelerated development of their localities.
Bolgatanga
THE Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education, (NCCE), Mr Larry Bimi, has reiterated the need for chiefs to remain neutral and guard against declaring publicly their support for political parties.
Mr Bimi reminded chiefs of Article 276 (1) of the 1992 Constitution and advised them to adhere to the provision to ensure a free and fair and peaceful election.
Article 276 (1) states “ a chief shall not take part in active party politics; and any chief wishing to do so and seeking election to Parliament shall abdicate his skin or stool”.
Mr Bimi gave the advise at a forum for chiefs and opinion leaders at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region. The forum forms part of efforts by the NCCE to ensure peaceful elections this year.
He said it was necessary for chiefs to remain neutral because they represented the people adding that their neutrality can help them intervene in some of the minor problems that rise up in the communities.
“Chieftaincy is a dignified role as such chiefs must exude fairness and certain level of impartiality in whatever they do,” he said.
He urged the chiefs and opinion leaders to play their roles responsibly to sustain unity and peace in the area.
The NCCE Chairman, while cautioning the chiefs also called on politicians to leave the chiefs to perform their traditional roles.
He urged leaders of political parties to be well-informed about the chieftaincy institution and desist from infiltrating the ranks of chiefs with the aim of luring them to their side.
The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Agnes Asangalisa Chigabatia, said the institution could not serve as an honourable institution if it was full of mutual suspicion, intolerance and violence. She urged traditional rulers to take the initiative in pursuing sustainable peace.
She urged the traditional rulers to make their leadership relevant to the aspirations of the majority of the people rather than serving the interests of a few ambitious persons.
The Paramount Chief of Bongo, Bonaba Salifu Aleemyaarum, who chaired the function reminded his colleagues that peace was the pre-requisite for development and, therefore, urged them to play their roles responsibly to enhance the accelerated development of their localities.
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Ashaiman PWDs receive GH¢400,000 support(Daily Graphic, Friday September 18,2026)
https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-ashaiman-pwds-receive-ghc400-000-support.html
