TMA to construct fence walls around selected schools

Date: Jan 27 , 2018 , 09:19

Author: Benjamin Glover                                                                                                       

The Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) has cut the sod to begin the construction of fence walls around some selected public schools in the metropolis.

The project forms part of measures being put in place by the assembly to deal with threats of encroachers on lands belonging to the schools.

The beneficiary schools under the first phase of the project are the Adjetey-Ansah Memorial and Manhean Basic School, Community 7 Basic School, Kotobabi School Complex, Old Lashibi Primary 1 and 2 and Baatsonaa School Complex.

Milestone

At the sod-cutting ceremony, the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) for Tema, Mr Felix Mensah Nii Anang-La, described the project as another milestone in the realisation of the Tema Restoration Agenda as far as the education sector was concerned.

“Tema was once acclaimed a model city; but sadly, the prevailing situation in most of the public schools is a far cry from what we all meant to see. Our educational infrastructure has deteriorated over the years due to neglect.

“But the government of the New Patriotic Party deems it necessary to secure school lands for future expansion and to deter developers from encroaching on the school lands.

The MCE said by securing the school lands, the assembly and the education directorate would be able to protect school lands and judiciously manage the land space available for future development.

Mr Anang-La said in spite of other pressing commitments, the assembly would continue to invest in education and provide quality education to every child of school-going age as was the dream of the government.

He assured the Ghana Education Service (GES) that in the face of limited resources, the assembly would carry on with its support to existing facilities to ensure efficiency and improve teaching and learning in all schools.

Encroachment

The Tema Metropolitan Education Director, Mrs Margaret Nsiah-Asamoah, noted that with the fencing of the schools in the metropolis, students and teachers would feel comfortable to teach and learn, and it would also deter miscreants in the community from obstructing teaching and learning activities in the schools.

The Headmistress of the Community 7 Number 1 Basic School, Mrs Gloria Agbeshie, indicated that the project would help ward off squatters and other community residents who evaded the place and used it for other undesirable activities, including the smoking of cannabis at night.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tema Central, Mr Kofi Brako, enumerated some of the projects carried out in the constituency and promised to work closely with the assembly to promote education service delivery.

writer's email: benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh 

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/education/tma-to-construct-fence-walls-around-selected-schools.html

Tema Metropolitan Education Directorate honours teachers

Date: Jan 20 , 2018 , 09:49

Author: Benjamin Xornam Glover                                                                                        

The Tema Metropolitan Directorate of Education has awarded 56 teaching and non-teaching staff for their hard work and contributions towards the improvement of education.

The awards, which cover two years, 2016 and 2017, were to recognise and reward outstanding, as well as innovative teachers from pre-school to senior high school (SHS) levels.

More female teaching and non-teaching staff received awards during the year under review, with 26 females as against 23 males. In 2017, a total of 15 females picked awards as against eight males, but in 2016, 15 males as against 11 females picked awards.

Though the ceremony held annually is basically for public schools, some 20 private schools that have distinguished themselves well in terms of the provision of infrastructure, academic performance and commitment to education of children in the metropolis were also acknowledged and presented with certificates.

Prizes

The award winners received chest coolers, cookware, rice cookers, refrigerators, gas cooker with oven, citations and certificates as their prizes.

For 2016, Mr Joe Innocent Kodjo of the Tetteh Ocloo State School and Mr Bright Badzi of Chemu SHS won the best science and mathematics teachers’ award for the junior and senior high school categories respectively while Mr Alexander Tetteh Odonkor of Our Lady of Mercy (OLAM) SHS was adjudged the best teacher in Information and Communications Technology for 2016.

The Awardees for 2017 included Mrs Rita Brown Fletcher of Chemu SHS, best teacher in Information and Communications Technology, Mr Gadasu Dogbe of Chemu SHS, best teacher in French, Mr Kodwo Aggrey of Naval Base JHS, best teacher in Science and Mathematics, Ms Ester Dewornu, Sakumono TMA Primary, best teacher, Kindergarten category and Nene Akam Apaglo, Manhean Anglican JHS, best teacher, JHS category.

Others are: Mr Exekiel Gamey Community 8/3 Primary, best teacher Primary category, Mr Stephen Opoku, OLAM SHS, Mrs Akosua Frimpomaa Asante-Brown, Chemu SHS, Vocational and Technical Education Category, and Mr Tetteh Abraham Ahumah of Manhean Senior High Technical School who emerged the best in the  non-teaching staff category for 2017.

The rest are: Mrs Pascaline Ninfaakang of Oninku Drive Basic School and Mrs Elizabeth Ama Asare of Tema Senior High School, who obtained the overall best head of basic school and second cycle school respectively.

Some of the private schools that were awarded were: Leonardo Basic School, First Star Academy, Queen Esther Schools, Deks Educational Institute, Prince of Peace Presbyterian School and Bethel Methodist School. 

Motivation

The Director of Education in Tema, Mrs Margaret Nsiah-Asamoah, said the award scheme for teachers in the metropolis was instituted some decades ago as a form of motivation.

She commended the award winners and urged them to continue working hard in whatever capacity they found themselves to make the teaching profession an enviable one.

Mrs Nsiah-Asamoah encouraged other teachers who did not win any award not to be disappointed, but to work harder so that in future they would also be rewarded.

She also called on government and other stakeholders in education to support education service delivery in the metropolis stressing that “education can only be delivered if teachers are provided with the needed tools.”

Support

The Metropolitan Chief Executive of Tema, Mr Felix Mensah Nii Anang-La commended the Education Directorate for its contribution to education delivery in the metropolis.

He said a number of concrete steps had been put in place to address the challenges confronting the educational sector in the metropolis.

He mentioned some of the measures to include the introduction of an exchange programme where teachers in Tema are sponsored by the Tema Metropolitan Assembly to travel to the United Kingdom for a week-long programme to learn best practices.

He said last year, three teachers were selected from Twedaase Basic School, Manhean and Anglican Methodist School emphasising that the assembly intended to expand the programme to cover more teachers.

The other measures were the construction of fence walls around selected schools in the metropolis to help check encroachment and also improve discipline. The beneficiary schools under the first phase of the project were the Adjetey-Ansah School, Community 7 Basic School, Kotobabi School Complex, Old Lashibi Primary 1 and 2 and Baastonaa School Complex.

He said the assembly had already supplied over 1,500 furniture sets to selected basic schools throughout the metropolis, adding that the next phase would cover the senior high schools.

He further disclosed that as part of efforts to end the shift school system, the assembly had approved the construction of two new 12-unit one storey classroom block for the Kotobabi School Complex and Community 7 number 1 and 2 Junior High Schools, stressing that those projects were targeted at transforming the education sector under the Tema Restoration Agenda being embarked on by the assembly.

Personal development

The acting Greater Accra Regional Director of Education, Mrs Margaret Frempong-Kore, said the role of teachers in the socio-economic development of the country could not be overemphasised and advised teachers to invest in training and development to enable them to acquire knowledge to enhance their output.

She also asked parents to channel most of their resources into the education of their children instead of spending on material things.

via : https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/education/tema-metropolitan-education-directorate-honours-teachers.html

'Borla taxis' banned from using Motorway

Date: Jan 10 , 2018 , 06:47

Author: Benjamin Xornam Glover

                                                                             

The Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) has banned the tricycles popularly known as 'borla taxis' from transporting refuse from various locations to the Kpone Landfill site using the Accra-Tema Motorway.

The Accra-Tema Motorway is fast losing its environmental attractions as some tricycle operators carting refuse from various parts of Accra to the Kpone Landfill site have resorted to dumping waste at unauthorised places along the stretch.

Built in 1964, the 19-km motorway, with its breath-taking landscape, is gradually losing its beauty as the tricycle riders offload their garbage, gradually turning portions of the motorway into a dump site.

“In view of this deplorable development, which is worsening by the day, the  TMA would like to inform owners and operators of such tricycles that they are no longer permitted to transport refuse from their various locations across the Accra-Tema Motorway to the TMA landfill site,” the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Felix Mensah Nii Anang-La, warned when he spoke to the Daily Graphic.

He said to ensure the effective enforcement of the directive, the Ghana Highway Authority had been asked to alert its agents at the toll booths on the motorway to prevent such unauthorised tricycles from accessing the motorway if they were loaded with garbage.

He stressed that any operator found culpable would have his tricycle impounded and also face possible legal action.

Serious view

Mr Anang-La said the TMA took a serious view of the manner in which operators of tricycles were consistently littering the motorway.

According to him, the unfortunate practice did not only mar the beauty of the motorway but also cost the assembly huge sums of money to clear the filth from the highway.

He advised operators of tricycles to rather transport the refuse to the various refuse transfer stations or central collection points within their respective districts or municipalities for onward transportation to the landfill site with the appropriate refuse haulage trucks.

Bad activitiesThe tricycle operators, instead of riding all the way to the Kpone Landfill site, usually tips over at the roadside under the cover of darkness.

They usually operate at dawn, and after lifting their rubbish from residents for a fee, they end up emptying their load along the motorway.

The absence of street lights on the expressway has further emboldened the riders to carry out their nefarious activities.

Public anger

Some commuters who spoke to the Daily Graphic called for action from the relevant bodies to halt the negative activities.

The Protocol and Administrative Officer at the Tema Development Corporation (TDC), Mr Ian Okwei, called for a ban on the use of tricycles for transferring waste to the landfill site.

He said the activities of tricycle operators who carried waste from Accra to the Kpone Landfill site via the motorway were counter-productive.

He said most of the tricycle operators dumped their refuse on the sides of the motorway to avoid paying dumping fees at the Kpone Landfill site.

“These tricycles, apart from littering the motorway, also cause traffic congestion on the motorway,” he said.

Mr Okwei called on assemblies along the motorway to deploy sanitation officers to arrest those who flouted the law.

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/borla-taxis-banned-from-using-motorway.html

Teen pregnancy reduces in Tema

ate: Jan 24 , 2018 , 12:07

Author: Benjamin Xornam Glover                                                                                           An intense public education campaign by the Ghana Health Service in the Tema Metropolis has resulted in the reduction of teenage pregnancy cases in the area.

Between January and September last year for instance, a total of 475 adolescents got pregnant compared to the 568 cases during the same period in 2016.

The Tema Metropolitan Director of Health Services, Dr John B.K Yabani, who disclosed this at the Adolescent Health Advocacy Week in Tema recently, said in spite of the improvement in adolescent pregnancy within the metropolis, more work needed to be done to substantially reduce cases of pregnancy among young people to ensure that every adolescent girl was healthy to be nurtured into a responsible adult.

The theme for the Adolescent Health Advocacy week celebration was: ‘Reducing Adolescent Pregnancy: A Shared Responsibility’.

The programme was organised by the Regional Health Directorate with support from the Petroleum Ladies Association, Rotary Club of Tema, Meridian, the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) and the Assembly Member for the Kwesi Plange Electoral Area, Mr Alhassan Issah.

The Tema Metropolitan Adolescent Health Focal Person, Mrs Grace Eddy Amewu called for increased support and resources to the health sector to enable her outfit increase access to adolescent health information.

As part of the activities marking the National Adolescent Health Advocacy Week, An Adolescent Health Club for the Kwesi Plange Electoral Area was inaugurated. Members of the club are to serve as health ambassadors to promote and share information with their peers.

Mr Issah commended the Ghana Health Service for the formation of the adolescent health club in the community, stressing that it would go a long way to make the youth aware of the needed information and also improve access to adolescent sexual reproductive health services.

The Director of Social Welfare at the TMA, Mrs Matilda Mahama commended the health directorate for establishing community adolescent health clubs for young people.

The Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate, with support from the Rotary Club, Tema Meridian and the Petroleum Ladies Association, provided free dental services to the adolescents and registered them free of charge onto the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/juniors/junior-news/teen-pregnancy-reduces-in-tema.html?template=main&is_preview=on

Occupants of Kaiser Flats vacate to evade forcible ejection

Date: Feb 02 , 2018 , 08:28

Author: Benjamin Xornam Glover                             Occupants of four blocks of flats earmarked for demolition within the Kaiser Flats enclave have finally vacated the structure.

This has paved the way TDC Company Limited to take possession of four block apartments which will be demolished at a date yet to be communicated for subsequent redevelopment.

The exercise was supervised by officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the TDC, Tema Metropolitan Assembly, the Ghana Police Service and personnel from National Security.

Even before the team arrived at dawn on Thursday, more than 90 per cent of the affected persons had voluntarily vacated the flats.

Injunction

As at 7 am, only one occupant claimed she and her family had no place to go and was being assisted by the NADMO to move into a safe haven while another tenant had secured a court injunction seeking to prevemt TDC Development Company Ltd from forcibly ejecting her family.

Mrs Janet Barnes, of Room number three, Block 407 had filed a motion for injunction against the TDC from demolishing her flat at the High Court, Land Division in a writ date January 30, 2018.

The case will be heard on February 13, 2018.

The Director General of NADMO, Nana Prempeh Agyemang, who was at the scene to supervise the eviction exercise, visited the aggrieved lady and admonished her to move out since her safety and that of her family was at stake.

Also present at the site officials of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) who disconnected utility services to the affected Flats.

Members of the TDC taskforce also barricaded the rooms of the evicted tenants to prevent intrusion.

The Director General of NADMO, Nana Prempeh Agyemang commended the affected residents for making the work of NADMO and the other agencies very simple by complying and voluntarily moving out even before the due date.

Squatters

The illegal occupants of the flats at Tema Community Four had sought court action to restrain the TDC from ejecting them, but after years of litigation, the High Court in a Judgement delivered on October 28, 2013 ruled in favour of the latter.

The TDC subsequently obtained a writ of possession to remove the occupants to make way for the redevelopment scheme planned for the whole of Tema, especially the Kaiser Flats area.

The recovery of the blocks was undertaken by the court, sometime in July 2017 but due to some interventions, the exercise was aborted by the court. Later, the occupants went to court to plead for some time to vacate the flats.

The court obliged and gave the occupants up to the end of January 2018 to completely vacate the block of flats.

History

Built in the 1960’s as a temporal structure to accommodate expatriates who were building the Volta Aluminum Company, the Kaiser flats have outlived its usefulness, and there are severe structural damages.

The four flats earmarked for demolition after as assessment conducted by the AESL are part of many structures in that enclave that seems to be falling apart anytime soon.

TDC has indicated it preparedness to extended its renovation exercise to the remaining blocks of flats in the area.
In all,  187 persons were affected in the ejection exercise on the four blocks of flats.

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/occupants-of-kaiser-flats-vacate-to-evade-forcible-ejection.html?template=grabbc5&is_preview=on

Black sludge forms along part of Ada Beach

Date: Jan 18 , 2018 , 07:46

Author: Benjamin Xornam Glover

Date: Jan 18 , 2018 , 07:46

Author: Benjamin Xornam Glover

                                            Residents of two communities in Ada reported the presence of a film of black sludge along their beaches last Tuesday and attributed it to an oil spillage, which is said to have resulted from an oil tanker that caught fire off the coast of Prampram last Monday.

The sludge formation along the beaches of communities along the Lolonyakope and Ayigbo Electoral areas in Ada, temporarily affected fishing activities in those communities.

The Assembly Member for the Lolonyakope Electoral Area, Mr Michael Torgbe, in a telephone interview with the Daily Graphic, said he was notified by some residents and fisherfolk last Tuesday afternoon that they had seen a film of black sludge at the beaches and that it was spreading to other communities in the Ayigbo Electoral Area.            

According to him, he passed on the information to the security agencies, adding that after closely monitoring the situation, the community members left the beaches and returned to their respective homes.

The assembly member said when the residents returned to the shoreline yesterday morning, the thick film of oil had dissipated with the aid of the sea waves.

Impact

Mr Torgbe said the colour of the sea water in the affected area was returning to normal, although the spillage had left in its trail a pungent smell.

“It is too early to tell if there is some impact associated with this spillage on marine life. Our fishermen have resumed fishing and we can only tell after they return from their fishing expeditions,” he said.

Meanwhile, the incident has been reported to the district office of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for further investigations.

Mr Torgbe said though the source of the oil spill remained undetermined; some residents had attributed it to a fire incident on the high seas, involving a Togolese registered oil tanker that caught fire off the coast of Prampram, on January 15.

The oil tanker, MV Synagogue, carrying tonnes of oil, caught fire on the high seas but personnel of the Ghana Navy and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority acted timeously to rescue the crew.

Initial reports said the fire on board the MV Synagogue broke out while technicians on the vessel were carrying out repair works. 

Injured persons

One person on board the MV Synagogue, who was said to have sustained life-threatening injuries, was initially sent to the Tema General Hospital and was later transferred to the 37 Military Hospital in Accra for treatment.

Five others, who were also on the vessel, were brought ashore to receive treatment at a health facility in Tema.

Meanwhile, officials of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authorithy (GPHA) have commenced investigations into the cause of the fire.

Capt. Christian Yeboah-Asante, Harbour Master in-charge of the Tema Port, told journalists that the GHPA “will liaise with the relevant agencies to establish the cause of the accident”.

 Meanwhile, the acting Head of the Accra East Region of the EPA, Mrs Irene Opoku, has said the sludge could be marine diesel from a wrecked marine vessel on the high seas, but would not say it was from the MV Synagogue.

via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/black-sludge-forms-along-part-of-ada-beach.html

New cargo information system won’t bring additional cost — CTN assures importers

A Management Consultant, Mr Geoffrey Nyarko Cole, at a forum with members of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders in Tema, said the planned introduction of CTN would not come at extra cost to the importer or the agents.

He stated that the new system would rather block the leakages in revenue collection at the ports.

CTN, also known as Loading Certificate, is an official marine document that contains information relating to the cargo and its movement between ports.

It was proposed to start on February 1, 2018 and scheduled to be piloted for two weeks, after which it will be mandatory for all shipments to Ghana to have a CTN number, without which cargo cannot be cleared at the destination.

Implementation

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance, has appointed CTN Ghana Ltd as the sole representative for the implementation of CTN System to/from Ghana with the rest of the world.

Mr Cole explained that under the system, exporters would be required to provide detailed and timely information about their shipment in advance on a global online platform.

He said by adopting the CTN system, Ghana Customs would be seeking to modernise its operations to facilitate the movement of the legitimate trade in line with international best practices.

Mr Cole indicated that once implemented, the CTN would allow Ghana Customs and other stakeholders to commence the import review processes well in advance, resulting in several benefits.

He mentioned some of the measures to include generation of key prior shipment information in real time to effectively control, supervise and manage import traffic into Ghana, collation of reliable trade database to benchmark and protect government revenue in import duties and taxes, as well as plugging of identified loopholes and leakages in order to preserve the sanctity and integrity of customs valuation of goods and freight.

Swift review

Despite the assurance that the service would come at no cost to the importer and clearing agents, members of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders kicked against the policy, stressing that Ghana Customs presently had a robust system in place to determine the valuation of goods.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the President of the Freight Forwarders Association, Mr Kwabena Ofosu Appiah, called for a relook at the new policy.

“We are saying that with Ghana ratifying the World Trade Organisation Trade Facilitation Agreement, which allows any two customs entities to cooperate and exchange trade documents, why wouldn’t Ghana Customs increase capacity along these lines to be able to do this at no fee instead of the $100 to be charged by CTN Ghana per every 20-footer container?” he asked

The Special Advisor to the Commissioner-General of the GRA, Mr Christian Sottie, who was also present at the forum, called for further conversation on the issue in order to address all the concerns raised.

The management of CTN Ghana indicated that based on the reservation raised by the freight forwarders, they would engage in further stakeholders’ meetings to determine the way forward. — GB

Writer’s email: Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh

via : https://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/new-cargo-information-system-won-t-bring-additional-cost-ctn-assures-importers.html?template=grabbc5&is_preview=on

Date: Jan 23 , 2018 , 08:42

Author: Benjamin Xornam Glover

Category: Business News