The Associate Dean of the African University College of Communication, Mr Ato Amoaning Annan, has called on journalists to go beyond the basics of reporting and undertake investigations and ascertain the validity of facts about events and issues.
“It takes going beyond an event to bring to light human rights abuses. Journalists, therefore, need an extra eye to identify human rights violations and report on them,” he said.
According to him, reporting on issues would ensure that many Ghanaians were better informed about their rights and the rights of others.
Speaking at a day’s seminar for media practitioners in the Upper East Region on Human Rights reporting, Mr Annan, who is also in charge of Diploma Programmes and Student Affairs at AUCC, said the approach required media practitioners to go into detail and be thorough and explanatory.
He explained that human rights reporting aimed at determining and discovering the wrongs of human actions.
He added that apart from exposing human rights issues to the public it also provided the rationale for correction.
A Legal Officer at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Samuel Bosompem, noted that the commission alone could not tackle all issues on human rights and appealed to the media to collaborate with it to promote the rights, and dignity of the people.
He said the commission handled over 12,000 cases annually, 70 per cent which were concluded and the rest rolled over to the following year. He said the numbers could reduce if journalists redirected their focus and talked about human rights issues.
The Upper East Regional Director of CHRAJ, Mr Kenneth Adabayeri, appealed to the media not to hesitate to approach the commission in the region whenever there was the need to get information or clarification on any issue concerning human rights abuses.
He said journalists, by their training and calling, were human rights defenders.
“We at the commission cannot work in isolation. We need your collaboration to sensitise the public and enhance the frontiers of good governance and democracy,” he said.
Friday, 4 December 2009
HELP CURB NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICES — BUILSA DCE (PAGE 26, DEC 4)
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Builsa in the Upper East Region, Mr Nobert Awulley, has charged chiefs and opinion leaders in the various communities to help in the campaign against negative environmental practices such as bush burning and indiscriminate tree felling as the dry season sets in.
He has warned that anybody who was caught would be severely dealt with to serve as a deterrent to others.
The DCE was speaking at a forum held at Sandema, the district capital, to round off a two-week public hearing session.
The programme was held in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Ibis West Africa, which took the district administrators round all the eight Town/Area Councils in the district to ascertain the immediate needs of the community members in order to prioritise them.
It also offered the people at the grass roots the opportunity to interact and brainstorm with policy makers on issues affecting them.
Addressing the forum, the DCE explained that the assembly had realised the need to engage the people, who were the end-users of facilities in the planning process.
He said the conventional practice whereby projects were often forced on the people in the communities did not augur well for even development, noting that when the people were not consulted before citing projects, they sometimes showed little interest in them.
Mr Awulley expressed the intention of the assembly to revive the various Town/Area Councils.
He said when this was done, the revenues they would mobilise would be used to carry out development projects.
He appealed to the people not to play politics with the public hearing session, since that might derail the good intentions of the programme.
The DCE charged chiefs and opinion leaders in the various communities to help in the campaign against unfriendly environmental practices.
Touching on the tarring of the Sandema-Chuchuliga road, Mr Awulley said there were some outstanding bills yet to be settled and that until the contract was legally abrogated the road could not be re-awarded to a different contractor in view of the legal implications involved.
He also said the Ministry of Roads and Highways was conducting investigations into how some contracts were awarded and that work would resume on the road as soon as investigations were completed.
A contributor to the programme, who described the shea tree as the cocoa of northern Ghana, lamented how some unscrupulous persons were destroying the economic crop with impunity.
He suggested the enactment of a legislation to protect the shea tree from further destruction as any further destruction of the tree could eventually lead to its extinction.
He said most families, survived economically on the shea-nuts during the lean season.
The Builsa District Planning Officer, Mr Lawrence Webadua, explained that the assembly had come to the end of the planning year, and for that matter, there was the need to interact with the end users of facilities to know their basic needs to enable the assembly to factor its findings into the district’s 2010-2013 medium-term development plans.
He commended the participants from the various communities for turning out in their numbers to brainstorm on issues of development concern despite the fact that they were in the peak of the harvesting season. Mr Webadua promised that their concerns would receive the needed attention.
He has warned that anybody who was caught would be severely dealt with to serve as a deterrent to others.
The DCE was speaking at a forum held at Sandema, the district capital, to round off a two-week public hearing session.
The programme was held in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Ibis West Africa, which took the district administrators round all the eight Town/Area Councils in the district to ascertain the immediate needs of the community members in order to prioritise them.
It also offered the people at the grass roots the opportunity to interact and brainstorm with policy makers on issues affecting them.
Addressing the forum, the DCE explained that the assembly had realised the need to engage the people, who were the end-users of facilities in the planning process.
He said the conventional practice whereby projects were often forced on the people in the communities did not augur well for even development, noting that when the people were not consulted before citing projects, they sometimes showed little interest in them.
Mr Awulley expressed the intention of the assembly to revive the various Town/Area Councils.
He said when this was done, the revenues they would mobilise would be used to carry out development projects.
He appealed to the people not to play politics with the public hearing session, since that might derail the good intentions of the programme.
The DCE charged chiefs and opinion leaders in the various communities to help in the campaign against unfriendly environmental practices.
Touching on the tarring of the Sandema-Chuchuliga road, Mr Awulley said there were some outstanding bills yet to be settled and that until the contract was legally abrogated the road could not be re-awarded to a different contractor in view of the legal implications involved.
He also said the Ministry of Roads and Highways was conducting investigations into how some contracts were awarded and that work would resume on the road as soon as investigations were completed.
A contributor to the programme, who described the shea tree as the cocoa of northern Ghana, lamented how some unscrupulous persons were destroying the economic crop with impunity.
He suggested the enactment of a legislation to protect the shea tree from further destruction as any further destruction of the tree could eventually lead to its extinction.
He said most families, survived economically on the shea-nuts during the lean season.
The Builsa District Planning Officer, Mr Lawrence Webadua, explained that the assembly had come to the end of the planning year, and for that matter, there was the need to interact with the end users of facilities to know their basic needs to enable the assembly to factor its findings into the district’s 2010-2013 medium-term development plans.
He commended the participants from the various communities for turning out in their numbers to brainstorm on issues of development concern despite the fact that they were in the peak of the harvesting season. Mr Webadua promised that their concerns would receive the needed attention.
PNC CONGRATULATES FARMERS (PAGE 14, DEC 4)
THE Upper East Regional Secretariat of the Peoples National Convention (PNC) has sent a message of congratulation to all Ghanaian farmers for their contribution to national development.
In a statement to mark the 25th National Farmers Day today, issued in Bolgatanga and signed by the Regional Secretary of the PNC, Mr Henry Fatchu, it said the party appreciated the hard work of farmers and fishermen.
It noted that this year’s National Farmers Day celebration, on the theme, “'Accelerated Agricultural Modernisation for Food Security and Economic Transformation”, is indicative of the fact that the agricultural sector has contributed greatly to the Ghanaian economy, and could be the engine of faster growth and poverty reduction if the Government formulates and implements the right policies within the right institutional framework.
“We therefore find it unacceptable that in spite of the role of Ghanaian farmers and fishermen in the context of the socio-economic environment, vast majority of the farmers and fishermen are poor and faced with production uncertainties.
At the same time, the statement said, middlemen continued to compound their woes by exploiting them as a result of price volatility, whiles governments over the years looked on without remedying the situation”.
In a statement to mark the 25th National Farmers Day today, issued in Bolgatanga and signed by the Regional Secretary of the PNC, Mr Henry Fatchu, it said the party appreciated the hard work of farmers and fishermen.
It noted that this year’s National Farmers Day celebration, on the theme, “'Accelerated Agricultural Modernisation for Food Security and Economic Transformation”, is indicative of the fact that the agricultural sector has contributed greatly to the Ghanaian economy, and could be the engine of faster growth and poverty reduction if the Government formulates and implements the right policies within the right institutional framework.
“We therefore find it unacceptable that in spite of the role of Ghanaian farmers and fishermen in the context of the socio-economic environment, vast majority of the farmers and fishermen are poor and faced with production uncertainties.
At the same time, the statement said, middlemen continued to compound their woes by exploiting them as a result of price volatility, whiles governments over the years looked on without remedying the situation”.
BOLGA TROUBLEMAKER NOT STAFF OF NYEP (PAGE 3, DEC 4)
THE Bawku Municipal Co-ordinator of the National Youth Employment Programme, Mr Phillip Ayamga, has denied claims by Yakubu Mohammed Sadat, the 27-year-old man who was jailed 30 years by the Bolgatanga Circuit Court, that he was a staff of the programme.
Speaking in a telephone interview with the Daily Graphic from Bawku, Mr Ayamba said at no time had the NYEP engaged the convict to work on any of the modules of the programme.
“I can also confirm that he was not engaged by my predecessor. I have checked through the files in this office ever since the news broke and at no time have I come across his name under any of the modules run by the NYEP,” Mr Ayamba asserted.
He, however, conceded that the convict had been frequenting the offices of the programme in Bawku to request for forms but that did not make him a staff of the programme.
Asked how many people were working in the office, he said apart from him, there was a marketing officer currently at post.
He said three other officers, the data entry clerk, the deputy co-ordinator and a secretary who were engaged under the previous government had all stopped going to the office since the change of government.
The Bolgatanga Circuit Court sentenced Sadat to 30 years in prison after convicting him of possessing a firearm without lawful excuse.
Sadat, a Wala from the Upper West Region but resident in Bawku, was found guilty of possessing a locally-manufactured revolver by the court, presided over by Mr William Boampong.
Sergeant Raphael Azanyitigah, the police prosecutor, told the court that the convict, until his arrest, was working at the National Youth Employment Office in Bawku.
Speaking in a telephone interview with the Daily Graphic from Bawku, Mr Ayamba said at no time had the NYEP engaged the convict to work on any of the modules of the programme.
“I can also confirm that he was not engaged by my predecessor. I have checked through the files in this office ever since the news broke and at no time have I come across his name under any of the modules run by the NYEP,” Mr Ayamba asserted.
He, however, conceded that the convict had been frequenting the offices of the programme in Bawku to request for forms but that did not make him a staff of the programme.
Asked how many people were working in the office, he said apart from him, there was a marketing officer currently at post.
He said three other officers, the data entry clerk, the deputy co-ordinator and a secretary who were engaged under the previous government had all stopped going to the office since the change of government.
The Bolgatanga Circuit Court sentenced Sadat to 30 years in prison after convicting him of possessing a firearm without lawful excuse.
Sadat, a Wala from the Upper West Region but resident in Bawku, was found guilty of possessing a locally-manufactured revolver by the court, presided over by Mr William Boampong.
Sergeant Raphael Azanyitigah, the police prosecutor, told the court that the convict, until his arrest, was working at the National Youth Employment Office in Bawku.
Thursday, 3 December 2009
BOLGA COURT JAILS BAWKU TROUBLEMAKER (PAGE 3, DEC 3)
THE Bolgatanga Circuit Court has sentenced a 27-year-old man to 30 years in prison after convicting him of possessing a firearm without lawful excuse.
Yakubu Mohammed Sadat, a Wala from the Upper West Region but resident in Bawku, was found guilty of possessing a locally manufactured revolver by the court, presided over by Mr William Boampong.
Prosecuting, Sergeant Raphael Azanyitigah told the court that the convict, until his arrest, was working at the National Youth Employment Office in Bawku. He said about 4 p.m. on December 1, 2009, the police had a tip-off that the convict was carrying a locally manufactured revolver on his body in the Bawku township.
The prosecutor told the court that Detective Lance Corporal Iddi Abdul Razak was immediately dispatched to the Zongo area where he located Sadat and effected his arrest.
He said a search was conducted on the convict and a locally manufactured revolver concealed in a plastic bag was found on him.
The convict had initially pleaded not guilty but when given an opportunity to explain himself, he told the court that the revolver had, indeed, been found on him and that it had been given to him by one Salia to be delivered to another person in town.
The judge, after hearing the explanation, entered a plea of guilty and sentenced him accordingly.
In his ruling, the presiding judge stated that the convict’s explanation was no defence.
Mr Boampong said he took into consideration the indiscriminate handling of firearms without lawful authority in Bawku and its environs and the threat to security in the area.
Immediately the sentence was announced, Sadat broke down emotionally and nearly collapsed to the ground but he was helped back on his feet by the police officers in court.
Yakubu Mohammed Sadat, a Wala from the Upper West Region but resident in Bawku, was found guilty of possessing a locally manufactured revolver by the court, presided over by Mr William Boampong.
Prosecuting, Sergeant Raphael Azanyitigah told the court that the convict, until his arrest, was working at the National Youth Employment Office in Bawku. He said about 4 p.m. on December 1, 2009, the police had a tip-off that the convict was carrying a locally manufactured revolver on his body in the Bawku township.
The prosecutor told the court that Detective Lance Corporal Iddi Abdul Razak was immediately dispatched to the Zongo area where he located Sadat and effected his arrest.
He said a search was conducted on the convict and a locally manufactured revolver concealed in a plastic bag was found on him.
The convict had initially pleaded not guilty but when given an opportunity to explain himself, he told the court that the revolver had, indeed, been found on him and that it had been given to him by one Salia to be delivered to another person in town.
The judge, after hearing the explanation, entered a plea of guilty and sentenced him accordingly.
In his ruling, the presiding judge stated that the convict’s explanation was no defence.
Mr Boampong said he took into consideration the indiscriminate handling of firearms without lawful authority in Bawku and its environs and the threat to security in the area.
Immediately the sentence was announced, Sadat broke down emotionally and nearly collapsed to the ground but he was helped back on his feet by the police officers in court.
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
PLANT MORE TREES TO CHECK DESERTIFICATION — WAYONGO (PAGE 31, DEC 3)
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Owen Woyongo, has underscored the need for all residents in the region to grow more trees to check the spread of desertification which was threatening the future of the region.
He said in the face of climate change and its impact on humanity, there was the need for people, especially those living close to River White Volta, to increase the number of trees, particularly economic ones such as mango and cashew to help to reduce deforestation and also create incomes for members of the community.
Mr Woyongo made the call at the third Ghana Country Forum of Communities in the White Volta Basin, held at Zebilla in the Bawku West District.
The forum, which attracted participants from 13 communities along the White Volta Basin, was facilitated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, (IUCN).
Since 2004, the IUCN, a body of the United Nations, has been collaborating with the Water Resources Commission of Ghana and the Directorate General of Water Resources, (DGRE) of Burkina to implement the project for improvement in water governance in the Volta River Basin.
The Zebilla forum was, therefore, aimed at bringing the various stakeholders to share thoughts and experiences and also come out with an appropriate institutional framework for managing the White Volta Basin in a sustainable manner.
Mr Woyongo commended the IUCN for the intervention, particularly for supporting communities to raise over 15,000 seedlings which were planted along the banks of the White Volta and challenged all to ensure the survival of the seedlings to achieve the desired results.
He also appealed to other communities outside the project area to embrace the programme.
In his presentation, Mr Joachim A. Abungba of the of the Water Resources Commission said the second phase of the project for improving water governance in the Volta Basin within the framework of the local Trans-boundary Committee for Management of the White Volta sub-basin (CTGEN) necessitated coordinating the role of the Water Resources Commission (WRC) through the White Volta Basin Secretariat (WVBS) in the implementation of interventions in the selected communities.
He listed the specific objectives of the forum as the sensitisation of the people to the value of ecosystems, strengthening the capacity of river banks protection committees for effective management of interventions and the promotion of the ecosystem restoration in order to improve services for poverty reduction.
It also aims at supporting options for improved livelihoods of households, and the promotion of management mechanisms for enhanced project delivery.
Mr Abungba said the WRC-WVBS, together with implementing partners, organised formal entry visits into the communities in July 2009.
This drive created awareness and the needed environment for activity implementation in the communities.
He said in addition to that, the NGOs partnering the project, namely the BACH, which mobilised communities in the Bawku West District and BEWDA, which was responsible for communities in Bawku Municipality and Garu-Tempane District, also organised HIV/AIDS education and awareness campaigns for five communities in August 2009.
More than 300 community members participated in the programme.
According to him, Range Officers of the Forest Services Division also helped to train nursery attendants of the newly selected communities in nurseries management in August 2009, while the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) organised soil fertility management training programmes for all communities in August 2009. About 300 people benefited from this programme.
He said the late release of funding for project activity implementation, limited funding to cover the increasing number of communities and lack of means of transportation for the project coordinating institution (WRC-WVBS) were some of the challenges that militated against the smooth implementation of the project.
The communities that participated in the forum were, Mognori, Kugrasia, Nafkolga, Bazua, Googo, Kobore, Sakom, and Galaka.
He said in the face of climate change and its impact on humanity, there was the need for people, especially those living close to River White Volta, to increase the number of trees, particularly economic ones such as mango and cashew to help to reduce deforestation and also create incomes for members of the community.
Mr Woyongo made the call at the third Ghana Country Forum of Communities in the White Volta Basin, held at Zebilla in the Bawku West District.
The forum, which attracted participants from 13 communities along the White Volta Basin, was facilitated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, (IUCN).
Since 2004, the IUCN, a body of the United Nations, has been collaborating with the Water Resources Commission of Ghana and the Directorate General of Water Resources, (DGRE) of Burkina to implement the project for improvement in water governance in the Volta River Basin.
The Zebilla forum was, therefore, aimed at bringing the various stakeholders to share thoughts and experiences and also come out with an appropriate institutional framework for managing the White Volta Basin in a sustainable manner.
Mr Woyongo commended the IUCN for the intervention, particularly for supporting communities to raise over 15,000 seedlings which were planted along the banks of the White Volta and challenged all to ensure the survival of the seedlings to achieve the desired results.
He also appealed to other communities outside the project area to embrace the programme.
In his presentation, Mr Joachim A. Abungba of the of the Water Resources Commission said the second phase of the project for improving water governance in the Volta Basin within the framework of the local Trans-boundary Committee for Management of the White Volta sub-basin (CTGEN) necessitated coordinating the role of the Water Resources Commission (WRC) through the White Volta Basin Secretariat (WVBS) in the implementation of interventions in the selected communities.
He listed the specific objectives of the forum as the sensitisation of the people to the value of ecosystems, strengthening the capacity of river banks protection committees for effective management of interventions and the promotion of the ecosystem restoration in order to improve services for poverty reduction.
It also aims at supporting options for improved livelihoods of households, and the promotion of management mechanisms for enhanced project delivery.
Mr Abungba said the WRC-WVBS, together with implementing partners, organised formal entry visits into the communities in July 2009.
This drive created awareness and the needed environment for activity implementation in the communities.
He said in addition to that, the NGOs partnering the project, namely the BACH, which mobilised communities in the Bawku West District and BEWDA, which was responsible for communities in Bawku Municipality and Garu-Tempane District, also organised HIV/AIDS education and awareness campaigns for five communities in August 2009.
More than 300 community members participated in the programme.
According to him, Range Officers of the Forest Services Division also helped to train nursery attendants of the newly selected communities in nurseries management in August 2009, while the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) organised soil fertility management training programmes for all communities in August 2009. About 300 people benefited from this programme.
He said the late release of funding for project activity implementation, limited funding to cover the increasing number of communities and lack of means of transportation for the project coordinating institution (WRC-WVBS) were some of the challenges that militated against the smooth implementation of the project.
The communities that participated in the forum were, Mognori, Kugrasia, Nafkolga, Bazua, Googo, Kobore, Sakom, and Galaka.
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
CHIEFS, TRADITIONAL LEADERS TO CHECK GENDER VIOLENCE (PAGE 11, DEC 1)
Chiefs and Traditional leaders in the Upper East Region have intensified their campaign for the elimination of violence against women.
The Regional House of Chiefs has since September, 2008 adopted a resolution compelling all paramount chiefs to enforce the reform or abolish all such practices that are harmful, injurious and constitute an affront to women’s right.
The Paramount Chief of Bongo and a member of the Regional House of Chiefs, Naba Salifu Alemyarum, announced this in Bolgatanga during this year’s 16-days of "Activism against Gender Base Violence Campaign" organised by Action Aid Ghana (AAG).
The theme for the celebration was “Commit: Act: Demand: We can end Violence against Women”
Naba Alemyarum said traditional authorities now appreciated the need to support women in the fight against negative cultural practices.
“In the past, women were not allowed to participate in decision-making as they were only confined to domestic work. Today in this region, the negative behaviour and practices that impede the socio-cultural development of women have been given serious attention”, he announced.
Naba Alemyarum said for instance, for the first time in the history of the traditional area of Bongo, he had made arrangements to include respectable women sitting in his council of elders, who are consulted in resolving domestic violence related issues.
Naba Alemyarum who spoke on the topic, "The Practice of Harmful Cultural Practices is an Obstacle to Women's Access to Justice - The Role of Traditional Authorities in Protecting the Rights of Women in the Upper East Region.", said in spite of the gains made, it will require collective efforts by civil society organisations, individuals and agencies to expose perpetrators of such harmful practices for appropriate sanctions to be meted to them.
“Though we are winning the war against betrothal, forced/early marriage and elopement, all attempts at reducing dowries have been resisted. In the Bawku paramountcy, even though the paramount chief instituted a dowry system the people have refused to abide by it. We are told some women make fun of their colleagues as cheap women because lesser dowries were paid for them hence inciting other families to resist and refuse it,” he said.
Another challenge confronting the House of Chiefs, he said, was how to increase the number of vacant paramount seats, making the enforcement of resolutions extremely difficult, adding that out of 17 paramountcies in the region,five were vacant. This situation, he said, further compounded the setting up of committees to review customary practices.
Naba Alemyarum appealed to the government to assist the house to engage the services of a legal practitioner to handle its legal issues since, the legal practitioner engaged by the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs had resigned.
“The traditional institutions need to be strengthened, devoid of political and religious interference and given the free hand to operate and accomplish its core duties”, he said.
The acting Regional Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Kenneth Adabayeri, appealed to victims of gender based violence not to hesitate to call on the commission in the region for redress.
“The services of CHRAJ are free and we do not demand anyone to have money before accessing our services”, he assured.
The Upper East Regional Development Programme Manager of Action Aid Ghana, Mr Micheal Lumor, announced that his organisation had spent GH¢58,800.00 in various programmes towards reduction of violence against women and funding women’s economic empowerment interventions in 2009, describing the impact as tremendous.
These he said, included the creation of legal awareness for 200 selected women, providing equipment for the offices of Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) in Zebilla with a computer, a printer and office furniture to facilitate the work of the police.
He said available data revealed that the fight against violence against women was far from being won, and therefore entreated the support of all to deal with the violation of women’s rights on a sustainable basis.
The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni, said the government was undertaking gender mainstreaming programmes which emphasised gender responsive budgeting in all sectors.
She said as result staff of the various Municipal and District Assemblies were being provided with skills in gender responsive budget planning and implementation.
The Regional House of Chiefs has since September, 2008 adopted a resolution compelling all paramount chiefs to enforce the reform or abolish all such practices that are harmful, injurious and constitute an affront to women’s right.
The Paramount Chief of Bongo and a member of the Regional House of Chiefs, Naba Salifu Alemyarum, announced this in Bolgatanga during this year’s 16-days of "Activism against Gender Base Violence Campaign" organised by Action Aid Ghana (AAG).
The theme for the celebration was “Commit: Act: Demand: We can end Violence against Women”
Naba Alemyarum said traditional authorities now appreciated the need to support women in the fight against negative cultural practices.
“In the past, women were not allowed to participate in decision-making as they were only confined to domestic work. Today in this region, the negative behaviour and practices that impede the socio-cultural development of women have been given serious attention”, he announced.
Naba Alemyarum said for instance, for the first time in the history of the traditional area of Bongo, he had made arrangements to include respectable women sitting in his council of elders, who are consulted in resolving domestic violence related issues.
Naba Alemyarum who spoke on the topic, "The Practice of Harmful Cultural Practices is an Obstacle to Women's Access to Justice - The Role of Traditional Authorities in Protecting the Rights of Women in the Upper East Region.", said in spite of the gains made, it will require collective efforts by civil society organisations, individuals and agencies to expose perpetrators of such harmful practices for appropriate sanctions to be meted to them.
“Though we are winning the war against betrothal, forced/early marriage and elopement, all attempts at reducing dowries have been resisted. In the Bawku paramountcy, even though the paramount chief instituted a dowry system the people have refused to abide by it. We are told some women make fun of their colleagues as cheap women because lesser dowries were paid for them hence inciting other families to resist and refuse it,” he said.
Another challenge confronting the House of Chiefs, he said, was how to increase the number of vacant paramount seats, making the enforcement of resolutions extremely difficult, adding that out of 17 paramountcies in the region,five were vacant. This situation, he said, further compounded the setting up of committees to review customary practices.
Naba Alemyarum appealed to the government to assist the house to engage the services of a legal practitioner to handle its legal issues since, the legal practitioner engaged by the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs had resigned.
“The traditional institutions need to be strengthened, devoid of political and religious interference and given the free hand to operate and accomplish its core duties”, he said.
The acting Regional Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Kenneth Adabayeri, appealed to victims of gender based violence not to hesitate to call on the commission in the region for redress.
“The services of CHRAJ are free and we do not demand anyone to have money before accessing our services”, he assured.
The Upper East Regional Development Programme Manager of Action Aid Ghana, Mr Micheal Lumor, announced that his organisation had spent GH¢58,800.00 in various programmes towards reduction of violence against women and funding women’s economic empowerment interventions in 2009, describing the impact as tremendous.
These he said, included the creation of legal awareness for 200 selected women, providing equipment for the offices of Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) in Zebilla with a computer, a printer and office furniture to facilitate the work of the police.
He said available data revealed that the fight against violence against women was far from being won, and therefore entreated the support of all to deal with the violation of women’s rights on a sustainable basis.
The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni, said the government was undertaking gender mainstreaming programmes which emphasised gender responsive budgeting in all sectors.
She said as result staff of the various Municipal and District Assemblies were being provided with skills in gender responsive budget planning and implementation.
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