Three NPP candidates challenges Parliamentary results( D/G, January 12, 2013. Page 14)

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga The New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Bawku Central in the Upper East Region, Mr. Alhassan Haruna has filed a petition at the Bolgatanga High Court challenging the declaration of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Mr Mahama Ayariga as winner of the 2012 parliamentary election in the constituency. The petition was filed on Friday, January 11, 2013 at the Bolgatanga High Court. In an interview with the Daily Graphic via telephone, Mr Alhassan, a former Deputy Managing Director for Metro TV said decision to challenge the parliamentary results in the Bawku Central Constituency was based on what he term ‘fraudulent acts’ and irregularities practiced by the EC officials who were in charge of elections in the constituency that in the long run affected the authenticity of the elections and therefore rendered the outcome null and void. He confirmed that other respondents in the case are the Electoral Commission (EC). Mr Mahama Ayariga, a former Deputy Minister of Education polled 24,071 representing 54.86 per cent to win the seat while Mr Haruna Alhassan polled 19,082 votes, representing 43.49 per cent. The PNC’s Joseph Awini Aguuda garnered 303 representing 0.69 per cent while Iddrisu Mubarak of the PPP and Madam Ibrahim Zaliya of the CPP polled 269 and 151 representing 0.61 per cent and 0.34 per cent respectively. In a separate interview, the Bawku Central NPP Constituency Secretary, Hamza Amadu backed the petitioner stressing that it was his legitimate and constitutional right to seek the courts interpretation on what they deemed were irregularities at the polls. -END- benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh

360 Burkinabe refugees repatraited(Daily Graphic, Saturday, January 12, 2012. Back Page)

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga 360 out of the 600 persons who fled from conflict in their communities in Burkina Faso to Sapelliga in Bawku West district in the Upper East Region on the eve of the New Year, have been repatriated taken back to Yuuga in Burkina-Faso, where a temporal camp have been established. Authorities of Central East Province in Burkina-Faso with support from their Ghanaian counterparts started the repatriation of the Burkinabes from Sapelliga with state sponsored buses from Burkina-Faso on Sunday, January 6, 2013. The Bawku West District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police, (A.S.P.) Mr Christian Dogbatse in an interview on the progress of the repatriation exercise which was started on Sunday said it has been a smooth exercise so far. He said most of the 240 refugees left have opted to leave voluntarily since the distance between Sapelliga and Yuuga is about 18 kilometers. Some of them are said to have come into the country with their cattle and were said not to be comfortable sending the herd to the Yuuga refugee camp but were making alternate arrangement to go back. He said so far the process has been peaceful so far with no major incidence recorded. He expressed the hope that the remaining leg of the repatriation exercise will be as smooth as the initial phase. It will be recalled that a conflict between Busangas and Fulanis in the Barigunse, Yarikor and Zaabire communities in neighboring Burkina Faso from December 31, 2012 to January 2, 2013, led to the influx of some 600 refugees into Sapelliga in the Bawku West District. Authorities of both countries quickly mobilized to find lasting solutions to the problems and ensured that the displaced persons were quickly assisted and repatriated back to their communities. -End- writer's email:benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh

Fuel Shortage hits Upper East Region(D/G, Wednesday, January 9, 2013. Page 42)

Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga There has been shortage of fuel in the Bolgatanga municipality of the Upper East Region over the past three days. A visit to a number of fuel filling stations in the regional capital saw fuel attendants confirming the shortage. Clients who visited the pumps were met with the "No Patrol inscriptions" mounted at the entrance. At Yikene Total filling station, the Daily Graphic chanced a long queue of clients accessing super as that was the only brand available. The staion had ran out of diesel. The attendant said the station ran out of the products at the close of last week but luckily, super arrived later which was been sold to clients. A source however told the Daily Graphic that fuel tankers have left for the Buipe Depot with the hope of lifting some fresh stock for sale to clients by close of the week. writer's email: benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh

Providing ART therapy-Human Resource major impediment in Upper East Region(D/G, Tuesday, January 8, 2013 Page 11)

Repatriation of stranded Burkinabes begins(D/G, Monday, January 7, 2013. Page 38)

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga Officials from Ghana and Burkina Faso have commenced an exercise to repatriate a total of 600 displaced burkinabes seeking refuge at Sapelliga in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region. The influx of the refugees into Ghana is said to have been fueled by a conflict between some Busangas and Fulanis in the Baringunse community in Burkina Faso and later spilled over to Yorikor and Zaabire on December 31, 2012.The refugees later into Sapelliga in Ghana which is about about 7 kilometers from their respective communities. The first batch of 266 out of the total of 600 were repatriated on Sunday while officials from both countries put in place measures to have all the displaced person freighted back home. Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Bawku West District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police, (ASP) Christian Dogbatse said buses were brought in by the burkinabe authorities on Sunday to pick the first batch of 266 from Sapelliga in Ghana to Nayuuga innBurkina Faso on Sunday. He said the exercise will continue until such time that all the refugee depart Sapelliga He said NADMO and other security agencies such as the Ghana Immigration Service were on hand to supervise the repatriation exercise. Last week, the Upper East Regional Coordinator of NADMO, Mr Alfred Saawug led officials of the agency to Sapelliga to hand over some relief items to the displaced persons. The Bawku West by the District Chief Executive Alhaji Anaba Adam Moro, on behalf of the assembly also presented some food and toiletry items to be distributed among the registered refugees. The Governor in of the Central East Province in Burkina-Faso, Allahidi Diallo, who also visited the refugees and said arrangements were far advanced to create shelters at Nayuuga Community in Burkina-Faso to accommodate the refugees while steps taken very soon, while steps taken towards a peaceful resolution of the problem. He expressed appreciation to the people of the chiefs and elders as well as the people of Sapelliga for playing host to the refugees, while efforts are made for them to return home. benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh

Ghana Tourist Authority closes two facilities(The Mirror, Saturday, January 5, 2013. Page 24)

The Ghana Tourist Authority, (GTA) has closed down some guest houses in the Bolgatanga municipality of the Upper East Region for operating either illegally or under poor conditions. The two facilities affected under the first phase on an exercise to enforce standards were the Ghana National Association of Teachers, (GNAT) hostels and Gumah lodge on the Bolgatanga -Bawku Highway. The 10 room GNAT Hostel has operating been operating for several years despite the fact that it was yet to receive license from the GTA. The security set up of the facility is not sound while operators do not have approve GTA receipts books. Gumah Lodge on the other hand was not structurally sound and occupants were exposed to danger with crack walls and steep stairways which could easily collapse.Bed in some rooms were broken, while mattresses had sunk. Some mattresses were uncovered while electric switches were also broken down. Officials of the GTA said the facility has not met all the needed Board not to operate in their own interest.Alhaji Hakim Ishmael, acting Regional Manager of GTA , who led a team of GTA officials and policemen to lock up those facilities, said this was part of measures to enforce acceptable standards. He expressed concern about the situation where some of the hospitality facilities, without approved licenses from the Board, were doing brisk business and under sub-standard conditions adding a number of hotels and restaurants had been marked out for closure in the region. He was particularly worried about the unhygienic conditions under which some of the hotels and restaurants worked, saying that, the GTA would never allow them to operate with impunity. Alhaji Ishmael said the exercise would be sustained to bring sanity through best practices and maintenance of high standards in the industry. He called on owners and managers of hotels and restaurants to co-operate with the Board to raise standards and attract more tourists. writer's email: benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh

Bazua farmers get grain storage facility(D/G, Thursday, January 3, 2013)

A former Upper East Regional Best farmer, Mr. Martin Ariku has advised the youth in the region to embrace agriculture and dedicate their time and energies to it, if the battle against poverty is to be won. According to the 2012 Regional Best farmer, the region posses a lot of potential and with the right attitude and the needed support, the youth can reap the desired benefit and curb the rising cases of unemployment and migration to the southern parts of the country in search of non-existent jobs. Mr. Ariku gave the advice at the inauguration and handing over of an 80 metric tome warehouse for the storage of grains and other farm produce for sale later by farmers at prices that will help them make profit. The facility is also to curb the difficult challenges of post harvest losses farmers has to endure. The warehouse facility is part of the Ghana Arzakinmu Programme designed to increase smallholder participation in certified warehouses by expanding the provision and use of improvised aggregation, post –harvest handling and storage services in the Volta, Northern, Upper West and Upper East Regions. The programme is funded by the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa and is being implemented by the Agribusiness Systems International in partnership with the Ghana Grains Council. The project has trained a total of 12, 327 small holder farmers comprising 7, 996 men and 4,331 women within the project implementation area in best practices in post –harvest handling and storage of grains and have also been introduced to the basics of the warehouse receipt system, which is being piloted by Ghana Grains Council. In all 18 community storage warehouses of 80 metric tons capacity have been provided for progressive farmer based organizations, nucleus farmers and community aggregators within the implementation area to improve grain storage and also ensure access to higher value markets and timely financing through the warehouse receipt system. The programme is also collaborating with partners to improve market linkages between smallholder farmers and profitable markets. Speaking at the handing over of one of the community storage warehouses at Bazua, Mr. Ariku who is also the 2008 Bawku Municipal Best Farmer, said from an initial stage of a small holder farmer with just 2 acres of land, he has matured into a farmer who can now assist others to produce to feed themselves and the nation as a whole and expressed appreciation to the Ghana Arzakinmu Programme, the Agriculture Development Value Chain Enhancement(ADVANCE) Programme, Agribusiness Systems International and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. He said apart from the storage facility, the project has also aided him and his colleagues in developing a management model to help them maintain the warehouse adding that the warehouse receipt system introduced by the Ghana Grains Council will now help farmers grow and really make faring a business. While calling on the youth in the region to embrace agriculture a vehicle to escape from the excruciating pain of poverty, he also appealed to the government to initiate policies that will make the venture more viable. The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Grains Council, Dr. Alfa Kadri advice managers of the facility to adhere to standard practices and accepted protocols on how to receive grains, processing and proper storage methods as well as efficient documentation processes among others in order to derive the desired benefits. He also encourages the farmers to embrace the warehouse receipt system. He disclosed that the Ghana Grains Council has been able to issues the first warehouse receipt the first of its kind not only in here in Ghana but West Africa and second in Africa. “What it means it that farmers will be able to use those warehouse receipts as collaterals for example to source funds from financial institutions and inputs dealers to support their businesses”, he explained. Mr. Hlupeki Phiri, of the Ghana Arzakinmu Project said it is important for the farmers to uphold and enforce appropriate management systems that will generate enough resources for the maintenance and upkeep of the facility.