WHOSE DUTY IS IT TO KEEP THE ENVIRONMENT CLEAN?...Views from Bolga (MIRROR, Saturday, February 28,2009.PAGE 25)

Joseph Kpenka
Dindiok,
Outgoing DCE,
Garu-Tempane
District Assembly

For us to have a very sustainable system of managing our environment, we need to reflect on our history. We will realise that in the past, be it a military junta or civilian government attempts were made to ensure that the environment was always clean. This was done by way of organising clean up campaigns. Unfortunately, most of such initiatives have become a mirage.
What needs to be done this time round, is to adopt an approach that will revolutionise the whole system starting from the grassroots through to the top.
We may also have to inculcate the teaching of keeping proper sanitation in our educational curricular to ensure that children imbibe the principle of keeping the environment clean.
Measures should also be put in place to sanction persons who indiscriminately throw away sachet water wrappers and in the process pollute the environment.
It is important that a critical look is taken at efforts towards preventing people from polluting the environment in the first place before putting in place other remedies that go to ensure cleanliness of our localities.
To prevent people from littering, sanitation bins must be made readily available in all cities, towns and villages and placed at vantage points that are easily accessible by all.
Sanitation laws should also be enforced so that whoever breaches the law will become culpable and made to pay for violating the regulations. This I believe will serve as a deterrent for others and will go a long way to make our environment very clean.

Daud James
Abang-Gos,
Regional Director, National Youth
Council

Keeping a clean environment is a collective responsibility for all Ghanaians. Every citizen has a role to play in ensuring that the environment is very clean at all times.
Communities are made up of homes, therefore if every household is kept clean, this will translate to the community and in the long run the entire society will be kept clean.
But I must quickly add that, it is one thing collecting refuse from homes and another thing dumping it at the designated refuse collection points.
The assemblies must also live up to their responsibility of ensuring that refuse generated and sent to the collection points are regularly lifted and sent to the disposal sites.
The disposal sites should be efficiently managed to ensure that refuse sent there are properly disposed off.
This way, our environment will be clean and community and national health bill would be reduced.
It is important that the public is also educated and made aware of the negative consequences of not keeping the environment clean. When this is done they will appreciate the need to keep a clean environment.

Cyprian Tengabo,
GNAT

Efforts aimed at ensuring sustainability of the environment will be possible primarily through education. Though, a lot of moves have been made over the years to make sure that our environment is clean, the situation rather seems to be getting out of hand and this is because, governments over the years have only paid lip service to sanitation efforts.
Though some little successes have been achieved over time, the problem still persists due to the fact that the people who generate the mess are far removed from the policy makers.
The difficulty can basically be traced to the lack of appreciation of sanitation messages and programmes.
Of course, we clean our homes everyday, so why can't we clean our surroundings? This means there is something lacking. Policy makers should come out with pragmatic education programmes.
Indeed, agencies such as the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Information Services Department (ISD) and all other agencies that relay information to the people must evolve measures that can be sustained and educate the public on the need to clean their environment.

Madam Mariama
Yayaha, Regional
Director, Department of Children

I think that the best way to sustain a clean environment is to ensure awareness creation among the citizenry on the harmful effects of insanitary conditions.
There should be continuous campaigns on cleanliness of the environment. That way we would be awaken to the need to keep the environment clean.
This will encourage everyone to do his or her part to ensure a clean and healthy environment.
Many people have resorted to indiscriminate littering of the environment because they have not been enlightened enough about the negative consequences that an unclean environment can bring about.
On the other hand while making people aware of the negative consequences of insanitary conditions, they should also be made to appreciate the positive side of ensuring cleanliness.
In most homes, it is the children who mostly do the house hold chores and sent to dispose of rubbish.
It will therefore be of great benefit if children and young adults would be targeted and educated about the need to keep the environment clean as they are the future leaders of the country.
Most District and Municipal Assemblies have bye-laws on sanitation, but unfortunately these laws are poorly enforced or not at all.
I think that the assemblies must first set the ball rolling by putting in place structures that would go to ensure good sanitation, by designating places for rubbish disposal as well as rubbish bins placed at vantage points to avoid indiscriminate littering.
Many of the diseases that afflict us as a municipality and by extension the nation, including malaria, can be avoided if only we would keep our environment clean.

Alex Ayetah,
Regional Road
Safety Coordinator

For me, the best way to go about ensuring a clean environment is to carry the message to the schools. If children are taught about the essence of keeping the environment clean they will carry the message home and even influence their parents.
Teachers should be organised and equipped with the needed skills to enable them impart knowledge on the environment to their pupils and students.
In this struggle to ensure a clean environment, it is important that every single Ghanaian is encouraged to get on board and join hands with the government in its attempt to keep a clean Ghana.
The District Assemblies and more especially, the assembly members must also play their role as leaders of their electoral areas and educate their people on the need to keep a clean environment.
The government's target to achieve a clean environment in its first 100 days in office, should not be a difficult task to achieve if we are all sincere and serious about the problem at hand.
The media has a role to play by focusing their lenses on the environment, rather than on politics. That way they will be contributing towards ensuring a clean and healthy environment.

BOLGA POLY HOSTEL ON FIRE (D/G Monday, February 23, 2009 Pg 49)

A hostel at the Bolgatanga Polytechnic at Sumbrungu in the Upper East Region has been destroyed by fire. Items belonging to the students which are yet to be quantified were destroyed in the fire which broke out last Saturday. The one-storey, 12-room apartment was originally meant to be a classroom block but was converted into a residential facility to accommodate more students at the polytechnic. Eight rooms out of the 12 were completely razed down by the inferno, which was attributed to an electrical fault which was subsequently fuelled by the explosion of gas cylinders which were being kept in the rooms. Each room had at least two gas cylinders, while one of the rooms on the upper floor had as many as 12 cylinders in it. In addition, a number of coal-pots, table-top gas cookers and electric stoves were found in the debris. Items destroyed included personal effects, academic materials, desktop and laptop computers, television sets, entertainment gadgets, cash. No casualty was, however, recorded. The President of the Students Representative Council (SRC), Mr Solomon Awariya, said the fire started from one of the rooms on the ground floor around 1 p.m. on Saturday and before long it spread to the upper floor and all efforts by some students to retrieve their belongings proved unsuccessful. He said an emergency call was made to the Ghana National Fire Service in Bolgatanga and firemen were sent to help put out the fire. He regretted the loss of vital documents in the blaze, adding that just recently the SRC renovated the Junior Common Room at the cost of GH¢2,100, only for it to lose everything to the fire. He added that among the items destroyed was a brand new public address system, purchased at the cost of GH¢1,500, which was being kept in one of the rooms that got burnt. Asked why they failed to utilise the fire extinguishers provided on the floors during the initial stages of the fire, Mr Awariya retorted that ever since they reported to campus, no student had been given the necessary training to handle the fire extinguishers. A Senior Hall Tutor, Mr Emmanuel Akanpaadgi, expressed regret at the incident and said in the interim, management had made available two structures to serve as temporary accommodation for the weekend pending management decision later. He disclosed that the authorities were arranging for food for the students, since most of them had lost everything. Queried as to why the authorities permitted the students to live in their rooms with explosive items such as gas cylinders, Mr Akanpaadgi said though management did not approve of that practice, it had to allow it based on some reasons offered by the students. He said management was in the process of providing a permanent common place for the students to do their cooking when the incident occurred.

ALAGSKOMAH ASPIRES TO BECOME BOLGA MCE (D/G Saturday, February 21, 2009. PAGE 13)

MR Michael N. Asakeya Alagskomah, a former Assemblyman for the Zaare electoral area in the Bolgatanga Municipality of the Upper East Region, who is also aspiring to become the municipal chief executive has said he would implement an aggressive sanitation programme to restore the city to its former glory and make it one of the best cities in the country.
Speaking in an interview with Daily Graphic at Bolgatanga, Mr Alagskomah, a Pharmacy Technologist in charge of the Bolgatanga municipal health centre, said that should he get the nod, he would work very hard together with his administrators to put the city in good shape and make it clean once again.
“Apart from constructing more public places of convenience, we will also embark on sustainable clean-up campaigns. It shouldn’t be once in a month or when a dignitary is coming then we run helter-skelter to put the place in order. People should learn to keep the environment decent at all times and this I intend to make through public education to make part and parcel of us,” he said.
Mr Alagskomah said he believed that when the people were healthy, they would increase productivity, adding that a clean environment would go a long way to reduce the health bill.
He noted that community hygiene was lacking in the Bolgatanga municipality, adding that when given the mandate, he intended to launch an education campaign and provide all the requisite resources to facilitate a clean environment.
Born in 1955 in Zaare, a suburb of Bolgatanga, Mr Alagskomah served during the PNDC era as a cadre in various organs and was one time chairman of the Investigation and complaints committee and head of projects and programmes.
In the recent past, he served as an assembly member for the Zaare electoral area from 1998-2002 during which period he was the chairman of the health subcommittee of the Bolgatanga municipal assembly
He said besides tackling issues of the environment, he intended to address the numerous economic challenges facing the people in the municipality.
“I am not a reservoir of total knowledge. We are blessed in this municipality with technocrats and professionals that I will bring together to see how we can look at the economic policies of the party and how to tackle the numerous development challenges facing the people,” he said.
“I believe that when we come together, we will certainly project the municipality and that will benefit all of us,” he added.
Touching on other areas of concern, he said apart from confronting the issue of sanitation and economic challenges, he intended to encourage farmers in the municipality to boost their agricultural activity and indicated that rain-fed agriculture had not been helpful over the past years.

KSM goes north for Valentine(Graphic Showbiz, Thursday, Feb 12-18, 2009. Page 8)

Celebrity Night Club and Entertainment Centre in the Upper East Region will host Ghana’s King of Satire, Kwaku Sintim-Misa also known as KSM on Valentine's Day.
KSM who is heading up north for his first ever stage performance in that part of the country.
He is expected to treat his numerous fans in the northern part of the country to a rare performance of what he is best known for.
KSM who hosts a prime time TV show on Metro TV, “Thank God is Friday”, has won the hearts of a large number of fans in the Upper East Region and is adored by numerous fans.
A management member of Celebrity Night Club and Entertainment Centre, Mr. Abdulai Issaka in an interview with the Graphic Showbiz said KSM’s trip to the Upper East Region is in two folds.
According to him, the first part of KSM’s visit will see the artists holding motivational talk sessions for students of the Navrongo campus of the University for Development, as well as their counterparts at the Bolgatanga Polytechnic campus on Friday, February 13, 2009.
He added that the trip will be capped with a live stage performance at the Bolco Hotel, which also hosts the plush celebrity night club on Saturday February 14, 2009.
Mr. Issaka reiterated that he motive for bringing down KSM was not for monetary gains but afford the people quality entertainment never witnessed before.
He disclosed that a number of prizes will be doled out to couples who patronized the event. He assured that fans who turn up at the event will never regret as in house DJs have all geared up to dish out good music at the after party inside the club.
Mr. Issaka promised that his outfit would go the extra mile to satisfy them and live a lasting impression stressing that Celebrity Entertainment Centre will make good its promise to contributing positively to the growth of the entertainment industry in the Upper East Region.
KSM on in a special radio jingle built to hype the event assured the people of Bolgatanga of a wonderful session on Valentine’s Day.
A night with KSM is being sponsored by SWAP Restaurant, Sinant Minat Hotel, Premier Lodge, Lesken Enterprises, Extee Crystal Hotel, Ghana Telecom, and Fongo Venture.

POLICE COMMANDER WARNS CRIMINALS (D/G Wednesday February 18, 2009. PAGE 40)

THE Upper East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, has warned that criminals who intend to take the relative calm prevailing in Bawku to perpetuate crime will not have it easy.
He said the Regional Police Command had intensified its patrols and was firmly on the ground to deal with any criminal activity.
DCOP Mahama said this in an interview with the Daily Graphic on Sunday after meeting with various opinion leaders in Bawku in the wake of the death of a sanitary inspector last Saturday.
While calling on all those with information that could lead the police to arrest the perpetrators of crime in the municipality, he also gave the assurance that the people would be protected to enable them to go about their normal duties freely.
The 48-year-old Mr Sayibu Adam Sunka was shot in the head and killed while travelling from Garu to Bawku last Saturday at about 5pm.
Information had it that the deceased, a sanitary inspector, who had earlier in the day responded to a call to examine an animal meant for slaughtering, was killed while returning home after performing that task.
Police investigations revealed that on reaching a community called Lalsaa, near Bugri, he was shot and hacked to death, while his black Sukida motorbike with registration number NR 3764 X and a mobile phone were taken away.
A search of the crime scene, a river bed, by the police investigation team revealed one spent AA cartridge.
Meanwhile, the Bawku Municipal Security Committee has called on residents of Bawku to remain calm while the police and related security agencies take steps to resolve the issue.
Members of the MUSEC made the appeal when they visited the bereaved family to console them .
The MP for Bawku Central, Mr Adamu Daramani, appealed to the youth to remain calm and trust the security agencies as they had all that it took to investigate the matter. “We cannot afford to go back to those dark days,” he said.
Members of MUSEC together with the MP later visited the crime scene. The deceased has since been buried in line with Islamic beliefs.

SUIT AGAINST ME IS DIVISIVE...Says MP for Bawku Central (D/G Tuesday February 17,2009. PAGE 16)

The Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mr Adamu Daramani, has described the recent suit filed against him at the High Court in Accra by a Bawku-based cattle dealer for allegedly holding a British passport as more divisive than reconciliatory.
He said “Given our recent history, the fallout from the court proceedings might not be too good for our people.”
He, however, expressed confidence that he would emerge victorious after the case had been dealt with by the courts.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in an interview he appealed to the people of Bawku to unite and rally behind him in the effort to transform the Bawku Municipality and put the local economy on sound footing.
Speaking after his first interaction with his constituents since he was sworn in as MP on January 7, 2009, Mr Daramani said politics was about development and therefore asked the people to bury their differences and gear their efforts towards the development of the constituency.
His arrival in Bawku was characterised by a carnival amidst tooting of horns and mass jubilation by his supporters some of whom displayed motorbike riding skills through the main streets of Bawku.
He extended his gratitude to the party agents, supporters and others in the constituency for ensuring his victory in the recent elections.
He thanked them for electing him and promised that he would respond to the needs of the people in the constituency to ensure the accelerated development of the constituency.
He disclosed that he had taken delivery of 100 pieces of street lights and that they would be handed over to the municipal assembly.
He expressed the hope that the lights when installed would contribute to enhancing the security of the area.
Mr Daramani appealed to the youth in particular to refrain from any act that could disturb the peace of the area and urged them to have confidence in the security services.

CATTLE DEALER STEALS CATTLE (The Mirror Saturday February 14,2009PAGE 35)

From Benjamin Xornam Glover,
Bolgatanga

A 48-year-old cattle dealer, Musah Aduni, has been remanded in prison custody by the Bolgatanga Circuit Court, for possessing seven cattle valued at GH¢4,500 belonging to one Amadu Jallo.
Musah who pleaded not guilty, would reappear on February 25, 2009.
Also to reappear in court are two of Musah's daughters, (names withheld), aged 18 and 17, both students. They have been charged with aiding and abetting their father to commit crime.
The two girls were granted bail in the sum of GH¢20,000 each with a surety each.
Police Detective Inspector, John Agyuah Chief, told the court, presided over by Mr William Boampong, that on February 4, 2009, the complainant, Amadu Jallo, a cattle herdsman returned to his village Kajolo, near Paga with his cattle after the day’s grazing and allowed the animals to hang around his hut.
The prosecutor said at about 6:30 p.m., Amadu asked his son, Issah, to drive the animals into the kraal. He said in doing so, Issah observed that 10 cattle were absent.
According to the prosecutor, Issah drew the attention of his father, who immediately embarked on a search within the neighbourhood.
Inspector Agyuah said Amadu later reported the matter to the owner of the cattle, one Azupero Parachana, who also joined the search party.
He said on February 5, 2009, the search party continued with the search of the animals and in the process, Issah detected the signs indicating the movement of the cattle and alerted other members of the team.
Mr Agyuah said the team followed the prints and ended up in the house of the accused persons.
He said when confronted, Musah confirmed that the cattle were in his possession but added that they were brought to him by some Fulani man he did not immediately identify.
He said the accused persons later led the search party to his living room where the animals were being kept.
The prosecutor said the complainant saw seven cows which he identified as his.
According to Inspector Agyuah, the accused person pleaded with the complainant to take the seven animals away, explaining that if he had known the cattle belonged to him, he would not have accepted them from the said Fulani man.
Inspector Agyuah said the complainant objected to the offer and sent word to the Chairman of the Paga Cattle Dealers Association, who arrived later with some police men who arrested Amadu.
The prosecutor said it was at this point that the accused person pleaded alibi, claiming he had passed the night with the wife at Kajolo village and had just arrived in the house.
He said further investigation conducted into the matter led to the arrest of the two daughters who when cautioned, gave contradictory statements all in an attempt to support the plea of alibi by their father.