Tuesday, December 29, 2009

DEBRAH RETAINS NDC ER CHAIRMANSHIP SLOT (PAGE 14, DEC 29)

THE Eastern Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Julius Debrah, retained his position when he overwhelmingly disposed of his only challenger, Mr Anane Boateng, at the regional congress.
In what seemed to be block voting, Mr Debrah who first assumed the position in 2005, secured 198 votes against 23 obtained by Mr Boateng at the well-attended congress at Somanya.
The peaceful elections which were conducted by the Electoral Commission (EC) was witnessed by Dr Kwabena Adjei, National Chairman of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the General Secretary, and other top officials of the NDC.
For the position of vice chairman, Mr Samuel Kwaku Agyei beat four contestants to secure it while Messrs Anthony Gyampo, Bismark Tawiah Boateng, Yaw Adu Gyamfi and M.M. Doh, who before the elections held the respective positions of secretary, organiser, propaganda secretary and deputy regional secretary beat other contestants to retain their positions.
The positions of treasurer, deputy organiser and deputy treasurer went to Faustina Koranteng Addo, Kodwo Adotey and Abdul Aziz Mohamed respectively.
With regard to the post of youth organiser and women organiser, Mr Kwaku Boateng and Madam Evelyn Korang who contested for the respective positions achieved their objective when the ballots were cast in the Afram Plains District some days ago.
In his acceptance speech, Mr Debrah pledged to lead the new executive to win more people to the party’s fold to win additional parliamentary seats and increase the presidential votes in the region at the 2012 polls.
Both Dr Kwabena Adjei who swore the new executive into office and Osabarima Owusu Gyamadu, a member of the Council of State who was present at the gathering, expressed their satisfaction that the event came off peacefully.
Earlier, the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, highlighted the achievements of the NDC in the region for the year, and said a lot of infrastructural amenities, especially roads, had either been constructed or rehabilitated.
Mr Ampofo who indicated that more good things were yet to come, said judged by such credible performance, Ghanaians would definitely vote for the retention of the NDC in 2012.

Monday, December 28, 2009

UPPER MANYA DISTRICT PROJECTS ON COURSE (PAGE 14, DEC 28)

A NUMBER of development projects that would transform the Upper Manya District unto one of the best in the Eastern Region in terms of social amenities have been completed with others being at the last stages of completion.
The projects, estimated to cost hundreds of thousands of cedis, and being funded by the assembly, the government and donor agencies, include school buildings, roads, clinics, residential accommodation for staff of the assembly.
The district, carved out of the Manya Krobo District less than two years ago, lacked a number of social amenities, especially at Asesewa, the district capital.
In view of that, the district assembly, under the direction of Mr Joseph Tetteh Angmor, the District Chief Executive (DCE), initiated a programme to complete all viable ongoing projects and start new ones in almost all the communities.
Addressing the assembly meeting at Asesewa recently, Mr Angmor told the gathering that many of the projects had already been completed, while many more would be completed and handed over to the beneficiary communities as soon as possible.
He named those completed as streetlights, a clinic and a six-unit classroom block at Apimso, Samlesi and Prekumase respectively. He also mentioned conversion of a palm oil factory into offices at Asesewa and an epicentre at Osonson as well as the Asesewa town roads.
Projects he said were near completion were the conversion of a four-unit classroom block into offices to be used by the assembly at Asesewa, a 16-seater KVIP at Sekesua, a revenue office at Otrokpe, and bungalows for the staff of the assembly at Anyaboni.
In addition, he said, a number of social amenities such as classroom blocks, boreholes and feeder roads had been given out on contract in different parts of the districts, and mentioned the 23.5 kilometre Asesewa-Akrusu, the 26.3 kilometre Sekesua-Adwenso and the 20.2 kilometre Prekumase-Abuatsam roads as some of the projects.
Mr Angmor said the assembly had to hasten the work on the projects to improve the living conditions of the people in the area, one of the most deprived in the region.
With regard to the assembly’s finances, he said it had received a total of GH¢1,363,946.00 as its share of the Common Fund for 2009, while GH¢19,098.00 had been mobilised as an internally generated revenue, which was targeted at GH¢205,200, representing 9.3 per cent of the budgeted figure and was hopeful that more would be added to it by the close of the year.
On the National Youth Employment Programme, the DCE said currently, 234 persons had been engaged in teaching, sanitation and waste management as well as in health modules.
The DCE, who dwelt on other areas, such as afforestation, the National Service Scheme and teenage pregnancy, called on the assembly members, traditional authorities and opinion leaders to support the assembly to carry out its development programme to improve the lot of the people.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

YOUTH ADVISED TO TAKE INSPIRATION IN FARMING (BACK PAGE, DEC 22)

THE Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, has advised the youth to take inspiration from the achievements of this year’s national best farmer and go into farming.
He gave the advice when Mr Davies Nene Korboe, the 36-year-old Somanya-based National Best Farmer, called on him at his office in Koforidua at the weekend.
Nene Korboe was accompanied by Messrs Abraham Edusei and Richmond Amponsah, the Eastern Regional Best and Second Best farmers, respectively, for this year and Mr Stephen Agyeman, the region’s best farmer for 2007.
Also present were the Regional Director of Agriculture, Mr K. Ocloo, and other officials of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
According to Mr Ofosu-Ampofo, the region had large tracts of arable land and the youth could take inspiration from the achievement of Nene Korboe and go into farming.
That, he said, would not only reduce unemployment among the youth but also enable them to generate appreciable incomes for their livelihood.
“There is dignity in farming and you should take advantage of the large stretch of arable land and go into agriculture to earn a living,” he stated.
The regional minister stated that his administration was prepared to give the necessary incentives to help boost agriculture in the region.
He announced that a group of investors from Italy would soon be in the region to process fruits for export.
For his part, Nene Korboe expressed his appreciation to the government for honouring him, adding that it would not motivate only him but also the youth, particularly those in the Somanya area, to go into farming.
He called on the government to extend facilities offered to cocoa farmers to those cultivating other crops, as well as others in aquaculture and livestock.
Earlier, Mr Ocloo had briefed the regional minister on steps being taken by his outfit to improve crop yield in the districts.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

840 BICYCLES FOR SAAMAN SCHOOLCHILDREN (JUNIOR GRAPHIC, DEC 16, PAGE 3)

Schoolchildren in and around Saaman, a cocoa-growing community, who walk long distances to school will no longer do so.
This is because Cadbury, a cocoa-processing firm, has donated 840 bicycles worth GH¢87,000 to be distributed to schoolchildren in the area.
The children at Saaman and nearby towns and villages usually become very tired on reaching their schools and, therefore, are not able to study.
This situation has adversely affected their studies as most of them perform poorly in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
Realising the difficulties the children have been going through, Cadbury decided to come to their rescue with the package dubbed “Cadbury Cocoa Partnership”, the company’s initiative to assist people in cocoa-growing areas, especially schoolchildren, to overcome their difficulties.
The presentation of the bicycles at Saaman turned the small community with about 200 households into jubilation as parents followed their children to receive the bicycles.
The Chief of the town, Barima Okuampa Agyeman, who accompanied the Nkosuohene of Fanteakwa, Nana Antwi Boasiako I, to witness the distribution, described the package as the best to the children since most parents could not afford to pay for the cost of transporting their children to school.
Presenting the bicycles to the children, the General Manager of Cadbury Canada, Mr Gary Scullion, said in all, 5,300 bicycles would be made available to Ghanaian schoolchildren under the initiative to relieve them of their suffering so that they would be able to concentrate on their studies.
The Managing Director of Cadbury Ghana, Mr James Amoateng, said the package, which would cover children of 700,000 cocoa farmers in Ghana, would lessen the burden of the farmers and boost their morale to produce more cocoa.
He appealed to the parents and guardians of the schoolchildren to ensure that the bicycles were used for the intended purpose.
Mr Basilio Okello, National Director of World Vision through whom the bicycles were channelled for distribution to the children, said pupils who cover at least a kilometre or more would benefit from the package.
The Cadbury Cocoa Partnership package has won the admiration of the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Fanteakwa, Mr Abass Fuseini Sbaabe, who described the initiative as one of the best to improve the standard of education in the district.
The DCE who stated that the government was also doing its best to improve education, appealed to development partners to help in the crusade against HIV/AIDS in the
district.

KOFORIDUA APOSTOLICS LAUNCH 75TH ANNIVERSARY (PAGE 20 DEC 16)

The Koforidua area of the Apostolic Church of Ghana last Sunday launched the 75th anniversary of the introduction of the church in Ghana.
The first church was planted at Asamankese in 1935.
Representatives from all branches in the area, led by their pastors and elders, attended the function, which took place at the regional chapel.
Briefing the congregation on the establishment of the church in the area, Elder J.K. Obeng of the Central Assembly, said although missionaries from Bradford in the United Kingdom arrived in the country in 1935 and settled at Asamankese the same year, it was in 1939 that they went to Abisim, a small village near Koforidua, which could only be reached by a foot path.
According to him, with the help of the first local converts, the early British missionaries managed to spread the gospel to Suhum in 1942, and Jumapo near Koforidua in 1947, where churches were planted and a lot of people admitted into the Apostolic fold.
He said the church, which started with a handful of converts, now had a membership running into thousands, with many branches in many towns and communities in the region.
One of the surviving pioneers of the church, Pastor D.T. Tenobi, recounted the difficulties the early missionaries and the local church leaders went through, some at the peril of their lives, and said in all cases, they were successful.
The Head of the Koforidua Area, Apostle J.K. Addey, who launched the anniversary, led the gathering to observe a minute’s silence in memory of all the departed men and women, whose efforts made it possible for the church to be firmly rooted in the area.
In a sermon based on Psalm 78: 38 and Deuteronomy Chapter 33, Apostle Addey entreated the congregation to build upon the gains made by the early missionaries and converts by drawing more people into its fold.
Apostle Addey, who indicated that the church would now concentrate more on voluntary work to improve upon living conditions in communities in the Koforidua area, said the spiritual needs of its members would also be taken care of at all times.

OKYEAME AKUFFO BOUNCES BACK (PAGE 20, DEC 16)

After sojourning in the United States for over 16 years, Okyeame Kwasi Akuffo, a former State Linguist, is now back home.
Okyeame Akuffo, noted for customary recitals and appellations at state functions, funerals, engagements and other social gatherings, said he had decided to come home to help promote the country’s traditions.
The middle-aged traditionalist who was once a research assistant at the Centre for National Culture, Accra, and guest lecturer at the Department of Linguistics, University of Ghana, Legon, had in the 1980s and 1990s held audiences spell-bound with his appellations and tributes in Twi and other languages, highlighting traditional practices in almost all the ethnic groups in the country.
Explaining why he decided to come back home after a long sojourn in the United States, Okyeame Akuffo, who is currently based at Tutu on the Akuapem Scarp, said “the rich clauses and phrases in Twi and other Ghanaian languages are being replaced by English, and we should not let the science of our languages be destroyed by the language of those who colonised us”.
“Now, hardly will Ghanaians speak the local languages without lacing the speeches with such English words as hospital, post office, car, bus and milk, but we have words for such items in the local languages, which I am here to promote,” Okyeame Akuffo stated.
Okyeame Akuffo, who while in the US, lectured on Ghanaian culture during the Black History months of February and performed at various functions, including visits of former President Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman, said he had managed to portray to the outside world that Ghana had a rich culture to sustain.
He called on Ghanaians, especially the youth, to go by the Ghanaian culture in whatever they did, particularly the way of dressing and to avoid using English words when speaking the vernacular.

KWAHU PRASO RURAL BANK IMPROVES COMMUNITIES (PAGE 20, DEC 16)

The Kwahu Traditional Area, especially the Kwahu South District, which until three years ago included Nkawkaw, a fast-growing municipality, is full of traders who deal in various merchandise.
The activities of these traders, whose shops were in Nkawkaw, Mpraeso and such big towns as Nkwatia, Obomeng, Obo and Kwahu Tafo have turned such towns into commercial centres, attracting all sorts of people.
The area is also endowed with arable land suitable for the cultivation of various crops such as tiger nuts, plantain, cereals, yam, cocoyam and cassava, so a lot of the inhabitants have gone into farming for livelihood.
A few others have also gone into transport business, operating all types of vehicles which convey passengers and cart goods all over the country.
However, despite the resourcefulness of the traders, transporters and farmers, not many have been able to expand their enterprises over the years.
That is because there was no financial institution that offered micro-credit facilities to support such small and medium-scale businesses.
While some of the shops remain virtually empty at certain periods of the year, farming activities do not progress and are at the subsistence level or small holdings to feed the families of the farmers, leaving very little for the market.
Those in the transport business cannot purchase new vehicles and have to make do with rickety vehicles, which most often, break down.
As a result, most of the enterprises cannot raise the required revenue to adequately meet the needs of their owners and dependants, so poverty is the order of the day, especially in the rural communities which rely solely on farming.
To reverse the situation in the area, especially in Kwahu Praso and its surrounding communities, which are noted for their food cultivation, a group of retired civil servants - Oppong Kissi, D. K. Dobreh and Yaw Kissi, all residents of Obo and of blessed memory and a prominent farmer, Mr E. A. Mensah, came out with the idea of establishing a rural bank to boost economic activities in the area.
The bank was also to cater for the domestic needs of the people as well as support the education of children or wards of customers and workers.
The bank, which was established in 1982 at Kwahu Praso, was named after the town, Kwahu Praso Rural Bank.
Credit facilities
To fulfil its objectives, the bank, which started its operations on a modest note, has grown over the years and started offering credit facilities to the people.
The beneficiaries include farmers, traders and operators of transport services and other categories of customers such as workers, who benefit from all sorts of facilities, ranging from salary advances and loans to support their education.
Parents, especially those in subsistence farming, who under normal circumstance cannot afford to pay for the education of their children or wards, have also, over the years, been granted loans to meet such needs.
The most significant aspect of the bank’s loan portfolio is that it keeps increasing each passing year.
For instance, in 2007, the bank gave out GH¢204,822.00 as loans and advances to its customers. That increased to GH¢363,780 the following year.
Out of the amount given out in 2008, GH¢45,030 went into agriculture (food crop production and maintenance of cocoa farms,) GH¢50,300 to transport services; GH¢5,200.00 into cottage industries; GH¢62,700.00 went into education, while GH¢79,440.00 was made available for other customers to take care of their various needs.
Catchment area
According to the Supervising Manager, Mr Kwame Owusu Ansah, the bank had this year given out macrofinancing packages totally GH¢70,902 to small-scale groups with membership of about 25. In all, 202 people from the bank’s catchment area have benefited from that facility.
“We have also assisted the Kwahu Praso, Nkawkaw-Koforidua, Nkawkaw-Accra Station B branches of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union to own new vehicles for commercial purposes, while many people have also been supported to expand their businesses, farms and other micro or medium-sized enterprises.
“In addition to that, an amount of GH¢62,700 has been given out as salary advances and personal loans, which has made it possible for the beneficiaries to improve on their lot, particularly in education,” Mr Owusu Ansah stated.
Three women at Nnadieso, Madam Yaa Aboagyewaa, Dora Fremah and Helen Akyaa, who had between GH¢800 and GH¢1,000 as loans to support their businesses, were full of praise for the bank, but wished the amount should be increased.
The Chairman of the Nkawkaw-Koforidua branch of the GPRTU, Mr Ernest Ansong, whose outfit also took some of the loans, said the union would go in for more of such facilities.
With regard to its social responsibility, the Kwahu Praso Rural Bank has also done a lot with a yearly support, either in cash or in kind to the communities.
For example, this year, the bank donated constructional materials for the rehabilitation of a kindergarten at Kwahu Praso, supplied electric bulbs for street lights at Muramura, a farming community near Kwahu Praso, and also donated crocodile machetes to the Kwahu South and Kwahu East districts to be given out as prizes at the recently organised Farmers Day in the two districts.
The bank is also currently supporting the Kwahu South District Assembly to construct a lorry park and durbar ground for Kwahu Praso.
To improve its services, the bank, which has two mobilisation centres at Prah River and Suminakese, will be rehabilitating its agencies at Obo, Nkawkaw, Nkwatia and complete its computerisation programme to link the agencies with its headquarters. It will also continue with the periodical training of the staff.
The bank has been able to offer credit facilities and honoured its social responsibility due to the significant contributions of the board members, namely Mr Eric Kwakye Darfour, the Chairman; Madam Grace Boateng, Vice Chairperson; Messrs Fred Adu Dwumor, Samuel Darfour, J.K. Boakye, Board Secretary, Chairman of Finance Committee and Chairman of the Human Resource Committee respectively.
The prudent measures outlined in the boardroom, which were vigorously implemented, have increased the fortunes of the bank tremendously.
For instance, its deposits grew from GH¢465,790 in 2005 to GH¢556,775.00 in 2006 and GH¢714,490.00 in 2007, and then to GH¢919,231.00 in 2008.
Its pre-tax profit also rose from GH¢12,556.00 in 2006 to GH¢35,237.00 in 2007 and GH¢29,302.00 in 2008.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

INTENSIFY EDUCATION TO CURB SPREAD OF HIV (PAGE 11, DEC 15)

THE DEPUTY Eastern Regional Minister, Muhammed Ahmed Baba Jamal, has called on the media and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to intensify educational campaigns on negative cultural practices that contribute to the spread of HIV AIDS.
He said research had shown that by their biological nature, women were more prone to HIV infection than men when they engaged in unprotected sex, and that situation had been compounded due to a number of cultural practices and factors which militate against women’s rights.
Baba Jamal made the call when he addressed a public forum on HIV AIDS and violence against women in Koforidua. The event was organised by Ark Foundation, an NGO dedicated to the welfare of women and children.
He made reference to the widowhood rites that compelled widows to marry a relative of their deceased husband, the social norm that makes women submissive to men, as well as women’s inability to negotiate for safe sex, as some of the risk factors that exposed women to the virus.
He said such a culture had allowed men to take undue advantage of women in matters relating to sex and that had accounted for the spread of HIV, particularly among women.
The deputy regional minister expressed his appreciation about the role being played by the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service other law enforcing agencies, civil society groups, especially the Ark Foundation to address the issues.
The Eastern Regional Director of DOVVSU, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Eunice Annor and Madam Hillary Gbedemah, a legal practitioner, took the gathering through the various aspects of domestic violence and how it related the spread of HIV.
Earlier, the Executive Director of the Ark Foundation, Madam Angela Dwamena Aboagye said her outfit would continue to organise advocacy programmes on the issues and also ensure the implementation of policies that would help address the problems.
This, she indicated had become necessary because a lot of women and children needed to be protected from domestic violence, as a positive step towards the HIV response programme.

Monday, December 14, 2009

POLYTECHNICS MUST CONCENTRATE ON RESEARCH...Urges President Mills (PAGE 11, DEC 14)

PRESIDENT JOHN Evans Atta Mills has charged polytechnics in the country to concentrate on research, as well as the training of career-oriented human capital required for accelerated development.
He said that was critical because practical orientation of polytechnic training made it the primary avenue for the development of skills for business and industry.
The President also stressed the need for polytechnic education to be developed as a credible alternative to other forms of tertiary education focusing on the practical aspects of training of students.
The President made the remarks in an address read on his behalf by the Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, at the 7th congregation of the Koforidua Polytechnic at the weekend.
In all, 915 students, out of which 15 had first class honours graduated in various programmes at the Higher National Diploma (HND) level and were presented with certificates. The ceremony was attended by a number of dignitaries including the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo.
He emphasised that the Competency-Based Training (CBT) method being introduced into the polytechnics, including the Koforidua Polytechnic, would equip their products with entrepreneurial capacity to enable them to set up their own businesses to be employers rather than employees.
President Mills said it was in that respect that the government was fully resourcing the polytechnics, including the Koforidua Polytechnic which he said had been recently allocated GH¢1.4 million by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) for the construction of infrastructural amenities and development of the capacity of staff.
The President congratulated the graduates for their successes and advised them to look into the future with determination, and advised them to use the knowledge acquired to serve the nation and humanity in general.
The Rector of the polytechnic, Dr George Afrane, said the polytechnic, which was established in 1997 with a handful of students who studied Marketing, Purchasing and Supply now had a student population of 4,174 pursuing various programmes at various levels.
In addition, he said the polytechnic was running distance learning centres at Oda and Nkawkaw, and that it had planned to extend such centres to other towns in the region.
A long vacation programme, he said, was also being organised for workers within the New Juaben Municipality.
Dr Afrane who expressed satisfaction with the performance of the academic staff and the students, said such an achievement was due to the disciplinary measures instituted, and gave an assurance that the required security measures were being taken to ensure that its certificates which were being awarded internally would continue to be recognised as those of any other government tertiary educational institution in the country.
Earlier in his welcoming address, the Chairman of the Governing Council of the polytechnic, Nana Nkwantabisa lll said with the passage of the New Polytechnic Law 2007 (Act 745), the focus and the expected output from the polytechnics had received a new focus which demanded that drastic and concerted efforts on the part of all stakeholders should be made towards achieving the noble goal of providing the requisite enabling environment for teaching, learning and research.
He stated that the academic autonomy enjoyed by polytechnics under the law equally necessitated a shift towards providing the condition of service package that would retain staff and attract top-class students, and that the initiative had turned Koforidua Polytechnic into a centre of excellence.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

HELP CHECK FALLING STANDARD OF EDUCATION (PAGE 14, DEC 12)

THE VICE President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, has asked the people of Okere and the entire Akuapem area of the Eastern Region to identify the main factors that have in recent times contributed to the falling standard of education in the area.
That, according to him would make it possible to reverse the trend, which he said had dented the image of Akuapem as the cradle of education in the country.
The Akuapem area in recent times has witnessed an abysmal performance of pupils in the BECE , some of the junior high schools scoring zero per cent.
Mr Mahama made the remark when he addressed the annual Odwira Festival of the people of Okere at Adukrom, the traditional headquarters, recently.
According to the Vice President every child had the capacity to develop academically but that could not be possible due to a number of factors such as inability of teachers to properly guide them, inadequate educational materials or infrastructure and failure of parents to ensure that their children or wards would be regular at school.
Mr Mahama who cited a school which scored zero per cent at the BECE in the Central Region but scored 100 per cent the following year after the factors militating against the performance of the pupils were identified and rectified.
He also announced various initiatives such as the construction of police stations, one at Adukrom, and the putting up of a girls’ dormitory for the Nifa Senior High School to replace the current structure being used by the girls, which is close to that of the boys.
Mr Mahama also commended the chief of Okere, Osuodumgya Otutu Kono III, for leading his people to undertake a number of projects in the area to improve the lot of the people.
Osuodumgya Otutu Kono who had set up a foundation to assist needy pupils and students in the area deplored the low performance of pupils at the BECE and asked parents and teachers as well as the government to see how best to address the issue.
He also called on the government to expedite work on the construction of the girls’ dormitory at the Nifa SHS, a police station at Adukrom as well as other social amenities that would improve the lot of the people.
He further solicited for government assistance to resolve the protracted chieftancy dispute in the Akuapem area which according to him if not resolved on time had the tendency of disturbing the peace of the area.

APPAW-GYASI TO CONTEST NPP NEW JUABEN SOUTH (PAGE 13, DEC 12)

A 42-year-old Koforidua businessman, Mr Ike Appaw-Gyasi, has declared his intention to contest the chairmanship of the New Juaben South Constituency of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Mr Appaw-Gyasi, who is currently the Eastern Regional Secretary of the NPP and was in the campaign teams of both former President J.A. Kufuor and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the party’s flag bearer for the 2008 elections, made his intention known at a press conference in Koforidua.
He said he had decided to take up the mantle to resolve the differences in the party in the constituency and unite the rank and file not only to retain the seat but also ensure that the party overwhelmingly won the presidential votes in the area in the 2012 general election.
To achieve that purpose, Mr Appaw-Gyasi, who stated that he did not belong to any perceived faction within the party in the constituency, said if elected chairman, he would immediately call for a stakeholders’ meeting to resolve internal differences.
He further stated that the party’s polling station executives and foot soldiers, who would benefit from training programmes to sharpen their skills for the 2010 polls, would also be taken good care of in all aspects, adding that the “winner-takes-all” syndrome would be a thing of the past under his chairmanship.
He said nobody within the NPP should be left out in carrying out the party’s good agenda for the 2010 elections and that he had positioned himself to lead the party to accomplish its agenda at the constituency level.
He, therefore, called for support from the rank and file of the party to enable him to execute his initiatives to improve the fortunes of the party for a resounding victory in 2012.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

CADBURY GIVES BIKES TO SAAMAN PUPILS (PAGE 22, DEC 5)

SCHOOLCHILDREN in and around Saaman, a cocoa-growing community, who normally walk long distances to school, would no longer do so.
This is because Cadbury, a cocoa procession firm, has donated 840 bicycles worth GH¢87,000 to be given out free to schoolchildren in the area.
Saaman, which is situated in the cocoa belt in the Fanteakwa District of the Eastern Region, has a junior high school and a number of primary schools.
Other towns and villages within the vicinity also have such schools and because most of the children come from villages and hamlets kilometres away, they have to cover the long distances by foot to and from school each day.
The children normally become too tired on reaching school so they are not able to pay attention properly during classes while at home after classes they cannot also go through their study notes due to tiredness.
Such a situation has adversely affected their studies as most of them perform poorly in the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE).
Realising the difficulties the children have been going through, Cadbury decided to come to their rescue with the package dubbed: “Cadbury Cocoa Partnership”. This is the company’s initiative to assist people in cocoa-growing areas, especially schoolchildren, to overcome their difficulties.
The presentation of the bicycles at Saaman turned the small community with about 200 households into jubilation as parents followed their schoolchildren to the spot where the bicycles were distributed.
The chief of the town, Barima Okuampa Agyeman, who accompanied the Nkosuohene of Fanteakwa, Nana Antwi Boasiako I, to witness the distribution of the bicycles, described the package as the best for the children, since most parents living along the road could not afford to pay for the transport cost of their children to go to school.
Parents whose children use footpaths were also appreciative because the bicycles can go through the meandering paths with ease to enable the children to attend classes on time.
Presenting the bicycles to the children, the General Manager of Cadbury Canada, (the mother company), Mr Gary Scullion, said in all 5,300 bicycles would be made available to Ghanaian schoolchildren under the initiative to alleviate their suffering so that they would be able to concentrate on their studies.
The Managing Director of Cadbury Ghana, Mr James Amoateng, said the package, which would cover children of 700,000 cocoa farmers in Ghana, would lessen the burden of the farmers and boost their morale to produce more cocoa.
He appealed to the parents and guardians of the schoolchildren to ensure that the bicycles were used for the intended purpose.


















Mr Basilio Okello, the National Director of World Vision, through which the bicycles were channelled, said pupils who covered at least a kilometre or more would benefit from the package.
The Cadbury Cocoa Partnership package has won the admiration of the Fanteakwa District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Abass Fuseini Shaabe, who described the initiative as one of the best to improve the standard of education in communities in the district which produce mainly cocoa.
He said the gesture from Cadbury was borne out of the company’s love for children and the district. Cadbury is also sinking 10 wells to provide the people with potable water.
The DCE, who stated that the government was also doing the best to improve education in the area, appealed to the country’s development partners to help wage a crusade against HIV/AIDS in the district.
He expressed his appreciation to Cadbury International, World Vision, VSO, Care International, as well as individuals who had helped to improve the lot of the people in the area.

BIRIM NORTH DEVELOPMENT ON COURSE...But bad roads hinder progress (PAGE 22, DEC 5)

BEFORE 1988, the Birim North District was part of the then Birim District. The Bririm District was a large area composed mainly of forests containing various tree species of economic value such as Odum, Sapele, Mahogany and Wawa.
The vast area is also an arable land suitable for the cultivation of various crops such as oil palm, citrus and cocoa, as well as cereals and tubers such as cocoyam, cassava and yam.
The district also had big and densely populated towns including Akyem Oda, Akyem Swedru and New Abirem, Afosu and numerous towns and villages.
The large land area with its corresponding large population made its development in terms of the provision of social amenities such as roads, schools, hospitals and potable water difficult although the district assembly with its headquarters at Akyem Oda did its best in this respect.
It was, therefore, decided to create the Birim North District from the mother district, the Birim District, in 1988 to facilitate the development of its communities.
The Akyemmansa District was further carved out of the Birim North making the Birim North smaller, to accelerate its development.
The new district Bririm North with its capital at New Abirem is surrounded by five districts, namely the Kwahu West, Kwaebibirem, Asante-Akyem, Akyemmansa and Atiwa.
It has an estimated population of 80,000 spread out in big towns such as New Abirem, the district capital, Ntronang, Akoasi, Pankese and Nkwateng and smaller towns and villages such as Asuobena, Kyenkyenko, Gambia and Kuntenase.
The creation of the new political entity, as expected, led to the acceleration of its development with the rehabilitation and construction of schools, roads, markets, clinics and the provision of potable water for many towns and villages.
However, since many communities could not benefit from such needed social amenities in the past eight years, the assembly, under the direction of Mr Napoleon Amoako Asiamah, the District Chief Executive (DCE), has, since his assumption of office this year, initiated an elaborate development programme to ensure that every community would have its fair share of the national cake with at least one of such amenities.
Under the programme with education as the priority, all the communities without basic schools are being provided with such facilities while old ones such as the D/A Model schools at Akwadum and Adadekrom are being renovated.
The two second cycle educational institutions in the area, the Afosu/Abirem SHS situated between the borders of Afosu and New Abirem and the St Michael’s SHS at Akoasi, have also been provided with the necessary facilities to enhance teaching and learning.
A scholarship scheme has been instituted for qualified and needy junior high school leavers in the various communities to continue their education at the senior high schools, while those with the WASSCE results are also being sponsored to pursue courses in teaching and nursing.
These students, together with others who are also being supported by the assembly at the polytechnics and the universities, are expected to come back to assist in their chosen fields to advance the development of the area.
To ensure that the area catches up with the technological world of ICT, the assembly is planning to set up an Internet facility to hook the second cycle educational institutions and also serve the public.
With regard to water and sanitation, small water systems have been provided for the people in some of the big towns like New Abirem, Ntronang, Pankese and Amuana Praso, while almost all the small towns and villages such as Yaw Tano, Wiowso, Tweapease, Larbikrom and Praso Kuma have benefited from boreholes.
The assembly’s sanitation drive is also making a good impact on the communities because it has teamed up with Zoomlion to regularly rid the communities of filth.
In anticipation of the influx of people to the area due to the operations of Newmont, a gold mining company, the assembly has acquired a large tract of land for the disposal of liquid and solid waste, particularly at New Abirem.
On health, the health centre at New Abirem has just been elevated to a full hospital status with a resident medical doctor to assist the medical assistant, all of whom have been provided with residential facilities by the assembly.
Persons living with HIV/AIDS and the physically challenged are also being supported with funds to make a living.
To boost trading, farming and micro businesses, the assembly is constructing a GH¢300,000 market complex at New Abirem together with other markets at Amuana Praso, Ntronang, Akoasi and Nkwateng.
It is also assisting some farmers to secure funds or oil palm and cocoa hybrid seedlings to expand their farms and one of the beneficiaries, Mr Kwaku Nti, from Hweakwae, who has gone into poultry farming, is grateful to the assembly for the initiative.
Tourism is also being boosted and an historic village, Praso Kuma, where the great Asante King, Osei Tutu I, was said to have died in war with the Akyems about four hundred years ago, is to be provided with the necessary facilities to cater for Ghanaian and foreign tourists.
Other facilities to be developed in the tourism sector include the township of Akrofonso, which lies on the confluence of the rivers Pra and the Nwin, with the waters of the two rivers forcing to flow to the other, making it a beautiful work of nature.
Although the district has made a headway in its development drive, the bad nature of the main roads that link the area with the rest of the country have negatively affected its development.
These roads, the New Abirem-Nkwantanan road and the New Abirem-Ayirebi road, are almost impassable during the rainy season, and so dusty during the harmattan period that those who ply them, apart from having difficulty in breathing are also covered with dust, thus preventing prospective investors from doing business in the area.
The assembly, which has acquired a grader and a tipper truck purposely to recondition the feeder roads and has done a lot in that respect has been compelled to start rehabilitating such major roads.
However, not much is being done because the workload is heavy and requires a huge financial outlay, which is beyond the reach of the assembly. The assembly has therefore called for government intervention, particularly during the harmattan before the rains set in next year.
If this is not done, there is no way the Birim North District could accomplish its development agenda and attain a municipal status as expected within the next few years due to the activities of Newmont, which has also been providing some of the social amenities for communities in its operational areas.
“We are doing our best and some of the roads, the Akoasi-Tenkyemso-Abotsikrom road and the Afoso-Tweapease Akoasi road are being rehabilitated while most communities now have the basic necessities of life such as water, schools and clinics.
“But the bad nature of the main road linking the capital with the rest of the country, which is almost impassable during the rainy season, is cutting the area from the rest of the country and we wish this problems is tackled now before the rains set in,” the DCE, Mr Amoako Asiamah, stated.
Considering the rate at which the assembly with the support of its development partners, as well as Newmont, is providing the necessary social amenities and the influx of people from the rest of the country to be engaged in the mine fields, the rehabilitation of the main road in the area would hasten the district’s development to the status of municipality in the near future.

POLICE IMPOUND WHITE NUMBER-PLATE BUSES (PAGE 23, DEC 5)

THE Eastern Regional Police Command on December 1, 2009 started impounding air-conditioned buses with white number plates being operated commercially.
According to the police, the white-plated registered vehicles were for either hiring or domestic use and owners of those vehicles had to register them commercially with the yellow number plate.
The air-conditioned buses, which cost between GH¢33,000 and GH¢36,000 each, were purchased by some financial institutions for some individuals and transport unions on a hire-purchase basis to be paid for within four years but because insuring them for commercial use costs higher than insuring them for private use, most of the owners have decided to register them as private vehicles, although they use them to carry passengers.
The Eastern Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Stephen Andoh-Kwofie, who notified the various transport unions in Koforidua about the exercise during a meeting a month ago, said it was wrong for any vehicle using the white number plate to carry passengers, explaining that in the event of an accident, it would be difficult for the occupants to claim insurance.
To buttress his case, DCOP Andoh-Kwofie said four passengers, who died when one of those air-conditioned buses, a Nissan Urvan was involved in an accident at Akyem Swedru about a month ago, could not be paid any insurance claims because the vehicle had not been registered to carry passengers.
“We will not allow such a thing to continue so we will impound all such vehicles found carrying passengers in any part of the region,” he stated.
DCOP Andoh-Kwofie, who said operators of those vehicles would be prosecuted, asked their owners to register them appropriately to avoid being punished.
At the various loading pads in Koforidua where some of the white number-plated buses load, the executives of the transport unions said it was wrong for the police to impound the vehicles because most of them had been registered to carry passengers.
The Chairman of the Koforidua-Swedru branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) of the TUC, Mr Muniru Alhassan, produced documents from the State Insurance Company and the Ghana Tourist Board in respect of one of those vehicles and said all passengers on board would be covered by insurance in the event of an accident.
He, however, asked the police to deal with owners of vehicles which did not have the relevant documents.
When contacted on the issue, some officials of insurance companies in Koforidua pleaded anonymity but said their outfits were obliged to cater for all those on board those vehicles so far as the vehicles had insurance cover. According to them, the colour of the number plate did not matter.

Monday, November 30, 2009

UPPER MANYA TO PUNISH IRRESPONSIBLE PARENTS (PAGE 16, NOV 30)

THE UPPER Manya Krobo District Assembly in the Eastern Region has started drafting bye-laws to punish parents who refuse to send their children to school.
The District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Joseph Tetteh Angmor, made this known when he addressed the Apimso congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana to mark its centenary celebrations.
The main occupation of the people of the Apimso area, who are mostly Presbyterians, is farming.
According to Mr Tetteh Angmor, true Christians should be concerned about the future well-being of their children.
He said if parents in the area would not live up to their responsibility of taking care of their children’s education, then the assembly would come up with punitive measures.
He therefore, advised parents, especially Christians to take keen interest in the education of their children so that they would grow to become responsible adults.
“The Assembly is in the process of drafting bye-laws which will apportion appropriate punishment for parents who will refuse to send their children to school but rather engage them on the farm and other menial jobs and I want all of you to see to the educational needs of your parents to avoid being punished,” he stated.
He said the government was concerned about the education of children, necessitating the introduction of initiatives such as the Capitation Grant and the School Feeding Programme to ensure that all parents, who could also access health care through the national health insurance scheme would be able to send their children to school.
The assembly, he also stated, had taken the initiative to sponsor students in the area in teacher and nursing training colleges. It has also undertaken other projects such as clinics at Samlesi and Ternguanya.
On sanitation, the DCE appealed to the people to regularly undertake clean-up exercises to rid the communities of filth.
Mr Angmor praised the Presbyterian Church of Ghana for its assistance to the poor, moulding the character of the people in the proverbial Presbyterian discipline and immense contribution to the improvement of education.

Friday, November 27, 2009

DO AWAY WITH NEGATIVE TENDENCIES (SPREAD, NOV 27)

THE FIRST Lady, Mrs Ernestina Naadu Mills, has called on Ghanaians to do away with all negative tendencies that account for the high mortality in the country.
Those tendencies, she said, included certain cultural practices such as the desire of couples to have children of a particular sex, which compelled them to have more children, at the risk of the women, and myths associated with family planning by a section of society, as a result of which many couples shied away from it.
The First Lady made the call at the national launch in Koforidua on Wednesday of a campaign for the acceleration of reduction in maternal and new-born deaths.
The gathering, which formed part of an African Union celebration of the event on the theme, “Ghana Cares: No woman should die while giving life”, was attended by the Minister of Health, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor; the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo; his deputy, Baba Jamal; the Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Elias Sory; the Eastern Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Erasmus Agongo; a representative of the World Health Organisation, Dr Daniel Ketez, as well as a representative of the AU, Madam Biance Gawanas.
Also present were traditional rulers from almost all the five traditional areas in the region, including the Omanhene of New Juaben, Daasebre (Prof) Oti Boateng, who chaired the function.
According to Mrs Mills, although there had been educational campaigns to reduce maternal and new-born deaths in the country over the past 31 years, the death rate was still high.
The First Lady called for an intensive educational campaign on family planning, as well as negative cultural practices that led to maternal mortality.
She also called on the Ministry of Health to ensure that pregnant women in rural areas regularly had access to professional care, adding that the district assemblies must also collaborate with the GHS to operate the community-based health planning and services (CHIPS) in the rural areas for the benefit of expectant women.
Dr Kunbuor said globally, maternal deaths stood at 600,000 annually, while that of new-born babies was 3,000,000.
He said Ghana was taking steps in line with initiatives of the AU to reduce maternal and new-born deaths by creating public awareness of the issue, as well as providing the necessary support.
He called on medical doctors and midwives to do their best, in the face of workload challenges, to be as caring as the tenets of their profession demanded.
Dr Ketez said women should adopt family planning, while the expectant ones should be provided with emergency services to be helped to deliver by only qualified midwives and traditional birth attendants.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

AMPOFO COMMENDS SDA (NOV 25, PAGE 17)

THE EASTERN Regional Minister Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, has commended the East Ghana Conference of the Seventh Adventist (SDA) Church for its immense contribution to the socio economic development of the region.
He said the church, apart from establishing schools from the basic level to a diploma awarding college of education to give quality education to the people in the region, had also set up a hospital to cater for their health needs.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo said these initiatives in addition to an elaborate programme on HIV/AIDS as well as an agricultural venture (large scale cultivation of citrus and mangoes) in some parts of the region had gone a long way to reducing poverty and improving the living condition of the people.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo made the commendation at a sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of an office complex for the East Ghana Conference at Koforidua at the weekend.
He said by these contributions, the East Ghana Conference had become a dependable development partner to the government and expressed the hope that it would continue to provide more of such initiatives for the total development of the region.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo who was happy about the construction of offices for its administration advised the leadership of the church to use the facility to train and teach the youth on morale discipline, education and patriotism.































That, he said would go a long way to directing the youth, most of whom had resorted to video games and pornographic materials.
In a sermon, the General Secretary of the S.D.A. Church in Washington, USA, Pastor (Dr) M.A. Bediako called on Ghanaians, especially Christians to support any government elected to administer the country.
Pastor Bediako who advised Christians not to allow bad experiences to influence their future said they must also live decently to avoid contracting HIV/AIDS.
Earlier, the president of the East Ghana Conference, Pastor A. Twumasi-Ankra traced the history of the church from its inception in the region at Osiem in 1931 and said with a humble beginning, it now has a membership of 31,150.
He said apart from catering for the spiritual needs of the members, it had also established schools from the kindergarten to the tertiary level, the S.D.A. College of Education at Asokore, a hospital at Koforidua as well as an agricultural venture in some parts of the region.
The Omanhene of New Juaben, Daasebre (Prof) Oti Boaten who presided over the function dwelt extensively on HIV/AIDS contraction, prevention and stigmatization and called on the people in the area to live decently.

NAGRAT AT IT AGAIN...Calls for nationwide strike from Monday (LEAD STORY, NOV 25)

Story: A. Kofoya-Tetteh, Koforidua

GRADUATE teachers in the country, under the umbrella of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), are up in arms again, ready to lay down their tools from Monday, November 30 as a result of what they claim is a lowering of their conditions of service.
The decision to embark on the industrial action was taken at a meeting of the association in Sunyani at the weekend, following which the National Council directed its members to lay down their tools with effect from Monday. They have also been directed not to participate in any official duties from the date of the strike.
The teachers’ action comes one week ahead of the first-term examinations of most senior high schools in the country.
The President of NAGRAT, Mr Kwami Alorvi, told the Daily Graphic that the association had given notice of its intended strike to the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES) after several unsuccessful efforts to get issues related to teachers’ conditions of service resolved.
At the core of their grievances is a reduction in their responsibility and car maintenance allowances from GH¢1 and GH¢40, respectively, to 30Gp and GH¢7, respectively.
A statement signed by the Eastern Regional Vice-Chairman of NAGRAT, Mr Kwaku Djan-Asante, and circulated to members in the region, said the government, instead of adjusting upward the responsibility and car maintenance allowances, had rather reduced them.
It said apart from that, NAGRAT members who were due for interview for promotion had not been called, despite assurances by the Minister of Education to that effect.
According to the statement, the Director-General of the GES had also not directed headmasters to make invigilation at the WASSCE optional, thereby paving the way for headmasters to coerce teachers to invigilate, with its attendant risks and meagre allowances.
It recalled that in 2006 NAGRAT members embarked on an industrial action over WASSCE invigilation and allowances but the then government could not address the problem.
The national consensus was arrived at after a tour of the regions, during which NAGRAT executives held meetings with members to thoroughly discuss their conditions of service.
An ultimatum given by NAGRAT to the government for discussions on its conditions of service expired on October 30, 2009 but there was no response.
Mr Kwami Alorvi, who led the discussions, said the tour was to enable the NAGRAT leadership to interact with members of the association for their views on those issues.
Graduate teachers have, for the past three years, been in negotiations with the Ministry of Education over emoluments and other packages.
Discussions were expected to have been concluded last month but the critical issues, including emoluments, delays in the payment of allowances of members and cuts in allowances, remain unresolved.
Earlier, Mr Alorvi had told the Daily Graphic that a house master, for instance, was formerly paid a monthly allowance of GH¢1; senior house master, GH¢1.50, and headmaster between GH¢3 and GH¢5, but the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning had recently reduced that to 30Gp, 70Gp and GH¢1, respectively.
The promotion of members of NAGRAT had also stalled for some years now, he noted, noting that teachers were being denied their rights to their salary entitlements and benefits, as promotions were tied to them.
He said the excuse given by the authorities was that there were no funds to conduct the interviews for the promotions.
He said interactions were currently ongoing with the rank and file of the association, adding that NAGRAT would come up with its next line of action regarding those issues.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

ASSEMBLY MEMBERS SHOULD BE PAID WELL — PARTICIPANTS (PAGE 17, NOV 24)

PARTICIPANTS at a consultative forum on local governance have advocated a drastic reduction in the number of assembly members, who they said should be well paid.
Currently, there are 5,000 assembly members representing communities in the 170 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies in the country who are only given between GH¢150 and GH¢500 based, on the financial strength of the assemblies, at the end of a four-year term.
The payment, which according to most of the participants, should be on a monthly basis, would serve as a morale booster for the assembly members to serve the communities well.
The forum, which was organised at Koforidua, the Eastern Regional Capital by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development with financial support from GTZ of Germany, brought together traditional rulers, opinion leaders, as well as former and present district chief executives in the region.
According to the participants, the large number of the assembly members, makes it impossible for them to be adequately resourced financially.
They argued that since assembly members were needed to assist in the development of the communities, the best thing to do was to merge some of the electoral areas and reduce the number of the assembly members so that one well-resourced assembly member would take care of a large area which is currently under three or more assembly members.
They also suggested a review of the unit committee concept which, according to them, was not functioning.
Setting the ball rolling, the immediate past Eastern Regional Representative on the Council of State, Mr Fred Asante, said the electoral areas should be merged and the number of assembly members reduced so that it would be possible to give them monthly salaries and end-of-service benefits.
Mr Asante, who is also an assembly member in Atiwa, supported his argument with the explanation that assembly members spent so much time at the expense of their businesses and that if they were adequately resourced, they would offer their best to help develop the communities.
His argument was supported by most of the participants.
With regard to the position of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs), all the speakers except one were of the view that the present process whereby the President appointed them should be continued.
They explained that there was the possibility of elected MMDCEs who belonged to different political parties other than that of the ruling one sabotaging government programmes.
A former Presiding Member of the East Akyem District Assembly and a strong advocate for the appointment of MMDCEs, Mr Kofi Ampofo, called for a simple majority of the number of votes to be secured by a person nominated by the President when assembly members cast the ballot on him.
He argued that the present system in which a prospective MMDCE should obtain two-thirds of the votes was not ideal since in certain instances, voting had to be conducted two or more times lasting several weeks during which affected political entities could not steer the affairs of such areas.
On the involvement of chiefs in local government, the participants were of the view that the chiefs should take active part in it and that any project or programme to be undertaken in their areas must be known to them and they must give their approval before the execution so that what the people actually needed would be provided.
According to them, in the past many projects such as markets were sited at wrong places and people did not patronise them just because traditional rulers were not consulted to make inputs.
Earlier, the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, expressed his displeasure about the creation of new districts by the previous government without the necessary facilities being provided and mentioned the Upper Manya Krobo and Atiwa districts as examples.
He said the creation of new districts was a good thing but the necessary facilities and seed money must be made available before their creation.
Mr Ampofo also called for a well-resourced Regional Coordinating Council to enable it to properly supervise the metropolises, municipalities and districts.
The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, briefed the gathering on the local government concept since its inception 20 years ago and said it had become necessary to review and improve it.
He said the stakeholder meeting was also to tackle grey areas of the concept which could not be implemented due to constitutional problems and gave the assurance that the input made at the meeting would be presented to experts to see how best they could be handled.

Monday, November 23, 2009

NEW JUABEN SOUTH NDC ELECTS OFFICERS

THE New Juaben South Constituency of the National Democratic Congress has elected its executive.
In the race for the chairmanship, Mr Andrew Asabere Awuku secured 129 votes to beat the only challenger, Mr Peter Kwadwo Frempong, who had 82 votes while Mr Salifu Iddrisu was elected the Vice-Chairman with 131 votes to beat Mr Baba Tanko who had 63 votes.
For the position of Secretary, Mr E. Forster-Tetteh had 122 votes to beat his sole challenger, Mr Isaac Adongo, who secured 87 votes.
The other elected executives were Messrs Benjamin Azamatey, Deputy Organiser; Victor Stanley Bakah, Treasurer; Baafour K. Asianoa, Deputy Treasurer; Sahadatu Ibrahim, Propaganda Secretary; Gabriel Ahadzi Dela, Deputy Propaganda Secretary; Mr Michael Osei, women organizer, Madam Janet Tagoe, Deputy Women Organiser; Madam Jefferies Amma Rejoice, Youth Organizer; Mr Gbomittan Y. Dodzie and deputy youth organiser Prince Mohammed Adams.
The rest who took executive positions were Messrs Kennedy Joseph Wolanyo, Ofori Ntikora, John Kodowo Aflatornu, Simon Resey Axolu, Elorm D. Kportufe, Edward K. Frempong, Madam Veronica S. Yakubu and Mrs Elizabeth Dwomoh.
The Eastern Regional Secretary of the party, Mr Anthony Gyampoh, who swore them into office after Miss Lydia Agyiri, the New Juaben Municipal Electoral Officer of the Electoral Commission had declared the results, called for support for the new executive to enable them do what was expected to win the seat in the 2012 elections.

GOVT WILL FLUSH OUT GALAMSEY OPERATORS (1B, NOV 23)

STORY: A Kofoya-Tetteh, Kyebi

PRESIDENT John Evans Atta Mills has declared the government’s determination to flush out illegal gold miners (galamsey operators) from mining communities in the country.
He said the activities of the galamsey operators, who used dangerous chemicals such as cyanide, had, for some time now, polluted sources of drinking water, especially the Birim River in the Akyem Abuakwa area, and caused incalculable damage to the environment.
The President gave the assurance when he addressed a colourful durbar of the chiefs and people of Akyem Abuakwa to mark the 10th anniversary of the installation of the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, at Kyebi last Saturday.
The event was also graced by dignitaries such as the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo; the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2000 elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; some ministers of state, Members of Parliament, members of the Diplomatic community, district chief executives, the Wurunaba, Naa Prof John S. Nabila, who is also the President of the National House of Chiefs, and other traditional rulers from different parts of the country.
According to President Mills, he had heard a lot about steps being taken by the Okyenhene to safeguard the environment, especially flushing out illegal miners whose activities had polluted sources of drinking water in the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area, adding that his administration would go all out to support the Okyenhene to flush out the illegal miners.
That, according to the President, would make it possible for the people in the area to have good drinking water.
He, therefore, called on the “galamsey” operators to move out or regularise their activities so that they could go about their duties in such a way that would not pollute sources of drinking water in the area.
“I am aware that the Okyenhene and the Eastern Regional Minister had already taken steps to stop the illegal miners from polluting the water bodies and I am giving my full support because the illegal miners are poisoning the water and also destroying the environment,” President Mills stated.
He praised the Okyenhene for his numerous initiatives that would not benefit only Okyeman but the country as a whole.
The Okyenhene enumerated a number of projects and programmes that he had undertaken or were being executed to alleviate poverty and improve the lot of not only Akyems but all Ghanaians.
These included the establishment of a university at Bunso, the University College of Agriculture and Environmental Studies, that would start admitting students next January; the setting up of a foundation to check environmental degradation; a crusade against HIV/AIDS, as well as making parents to live up to their responsibility of educating their children.
“My utmost concern is about the environment and the need for parents to live up to their responsibility in educating their children because I do not understand why parents refuse to cater for the educational needs of their children, although they have the means,” Osagyefuo Ofori Panin said.
The Okyenhene, who called on the government to continue to provide good schools in the rural areas and improve the conditions of service of teachers so that they would put up their best in the classrooms, called for punitive measures to be instituted against parents who neglected their children’s education.
With regard to disputes associated with chieftaincy, family and land in the area, he said measures were being put in place to resolve them and expressed the hope that those disputes would be reduced to the barest minimum in the next decade.
Osagyefuo Ofori Panin expressed his appreciation to his wife and all the divisional and sub-chiefs of Akyem Abuakwa for supporting him over the past 10 years and called on the chiefs to unite to advance the cause of Okyeman and Ghana in general.

Friday, November 20, 2009

MIXED REACTION TO APPOINTMENT OF MMDCES (PAGE 17, NOV 20)

WHETHER to appoint or elect metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) dominated a round-table inter-party discussion on local government at Akosombo.
While some of the participants did not see anything wrong with the President appointing MMDCEs since that would enable them to properly execute government programmes as representatives of the President, others were of the view that such political heads should be elected to make them accountable to the people who would either vote for their retention or otherwise.
After deliberating on the matter for more than half an hour, it was agreed that three or more persons should be nominated by the President for the people to decide their fate through the ballot box.
The round-table discussion with the theme “Twenty years of Decentralisation and the Assembly System of Local Governance in Ghana” was organised by the Institute of Local Government with financial support from GTZ of Germany.
It was to get the various political parties, academia and other stakeholders to brainstorm on various aspects of local government with the aim of strengthening it to ensure good governance.
In attendance were representatives of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), the main opposition group, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the Peoples’ National Convention (PNC), the United Renaissance Party (URP), the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the Democratic People’s Party (DPP).
Setting the ball rolling, the General Secretary of the PNC, Mr Bernard Monah, said it was wrong for the President to appoint MMDCEs since they would only be accountable to the President.
He argued that in such a situation, the MMDCEs would sing the swan song of the President to maintain their positions and disregard the welfare of the people they were expected to serve through the execution of good programmes and projects.
His argument was supported by the General Secretary of the CPP, Mr Kobina Greenstreet, who said MMDCEs usually became tin gods who sang the praises of the President when they were appointed by him and that if local government should have its real meaning, then such political heads must be elected to be accountable to the people who would either retain or vote them out at the end of their term, based on their performance.
The National Organiser of the NDC, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, who represented the party, came out strongly in favour of the President appointing MMDCEs with the explanation that such political heads who were not members of the ruling party could decide to either sabotage the government or threaten the security of the President.
“How can you have somebody from the opposing camp of the President to represent him at the metropolitan, municipal and district levels without that person sabotaging the government or engaging in activities that would not be in the interest of the President?” he asked.
A former Minister of State and member of the NDC, Mr Kwamena Ahwoi, who also believed that for now MMDCEs should be appointed, reminded the gathering about the confusion which nearly created a constitutional crisis about 15 years ago when the late Vice-President Arkaah from a different political party could not see eye to eye with the then government headed by President Rawlings.
“Let us ponder over this issue dispassionately so that we do not recommend anything that would be inimical to the state or the communities that would be headed by the MMDCEs”, Mr Ahwoi stated.
Another representative of the NDC, Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, supported the idea of appointing MMDCEs and said although it had been enshrined in the NPP manifesto that such political heads should be elected, that party could not do so during its eight years of administration because that party realised that it was not feasible.
When it came to their turns, both Dr Kwasi Jonah of the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, Legon and Mr Kwasi Afriyie-Badu of Kab Governance Consult said the ideal thing to do was to elect MMDCEs but judging by the cost involved and other problems inherent in Ghana’s electoral system, adding another group of prospective political heads for 170 metropolises, municipalities and districts to the process now would not be easy.
They, therefore, called for a gradual process during which all the bottlenecks associated with the electoral system in Ghana, especially that of lack of funds would be removed after which MMDCEs should be elected.
A representative of the NPP, Mr Jonathan Hagan, suggested that the regional ministers and MMDCEs should be taken away from the security system if MMDCEs were to be elected so that they would not pose any threat to the government or the President, should they come from different political parties or areas that did not support the ruling party.
After a lengthy debate on the issue, it was agreed that three or more persons should be nominated by the President to be voted for the MMDCE positions.
With regard to other aspects of the local government system, a past Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Kwabena Sintim Aboagye, who was also one of the representatives of the NPP at the forum, was not happy about moneys given to members of parliament for the development of communities in the constituencies; a practice that MMDCEs could not question, and called for a re-examination of the issue.
Other issues that were deliberated on were the creation of new districts, the involvement of chiefs in the local government system, the appointment of deputy MMDCEs and how certain programmes such as HIV/AIDS could be tackled with funds either from the local level or from the central government.
The Director of the Institute of Local Government Studies and moderator of the programme, Dr Esther Ofei-Aboagye, expressed satisfaction about the friendly nature of the debates, which according to her, would go a long way in improving the local government system for the benefit of the communities.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

OFOSU AMPOFO PARDONS MDCES (PAGE 16, NOV 19)

THE Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, has rescinded his decision to discipline 16 out of the 21 municipal and district chief executives (MDCEs) in the region who reported late for a public function last week Wednesday.
This followed an apology rendered to him by the MDCEs, who also demonstrated their resolve not to repeat such a thing by reporting promptly for a similar meeting the following day.
The MDCEs, together with other heads of departments, agencies, and top officials of the assemblies were to report on that day at the New Capital View Hotel, Koforidua at 8 a.m. for an orientation seminar on auditing, but by 10 a.m., only five of them, namely, Messrs Joseph Omari (Kwahu South), Napoleon Amoako (Birim North), Joseph Tetteh Angmor (Upper Manya), Tom Budu (Akyemansa), Andrews Tetteh Soda (Yilo Krobo) and a handful of the other participants were present.
That incurred the wrath of Mr Ofosu Ampofo, who decided to take disciplinary action against them, although he did not specify the form or nature of the sanction.
In an interview at his residence, Mr Ofosu Ampofo explained that he had pardoned the MDCEs because they had demonstrated in action not to be late at public functions again by reporting promptly for a similar gathering the following day.
He stated that he also took into consideration the apology rendered, but warned that a repeat of such misconduct would not be tolerated.
“I have to pardon them because of the remorse they exhibited and also demonstrated in action by reporting promptly the next day for another meeting.
“In fact, some even arrived before the stated time, and I have no other choice than to pardon them,” the regional minister stated.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

NGO ON WIDOWS' WELFARE INAUGURATED IN KUMASI (NOV 18, PAGE 20)

SALKAN Christ Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to the welfare of widows, the aged and under-privileged children, has been inaugurated at Koforidua.
The NGO together with its sister organisation, Christian Friends of Democracy, also promotes good governance, conflict resolution, crusade against HIV/AIDS and helps the unemployed in the New Juaben Municipality to be engaged in income-generating ventures.
At the inaugural ceremony at the weekend, the Executive Director of Salkan Christ Foundation, Mrs Sarah Okantey, who is also the Project Director of Christian Friends of Democracy, said the two Koforidua-based organisations would continue to tackle problems militating against women, especially widows, venerable children and the aged.
She said most widows had to go through some inhuman, outmoded traditional rites and some children through no fault of theirs, faced a lot of challenges.
Mrs Okantey said while the women, especially widows could not take any action against such inhuman treatments meted out to them either due to ignorance and poverty, the venerable children could also not tackle their own problems because of their ages.
She stated that it was in that respect that the two organisations were formed to help address such problems.
“Although we came to the scene last year, we managed to assist eight women made up of widows and single mothers in diverse ways, especially counselling and empowerment to fight for their rights or make a living,” she said.
“We are now handling 200 desperate, rejected, dejected and miserable women some of who were at the point of taking their own lives because they could not by themselves overcome their challenges,” Mrs Okantey stated.
She gave the assurance that the two organisations would not relent in their efforts in addressing the challenges of the oppressed and the needy.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo commended the foundation for achieving a lot within a period of one year.
He mentioned some of the achievements of the foundation as the provision of 22 boreholes for 22 communities, scholarships for 736 pupils and students in junior and senior high schools, teacher training colleges as well as tertiary educational institutions.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo added that the foundation had also been negotiating for the release of Ghanaian prisoners illegally incarcerated in prisons in La’ Cote d’Ivoire.

KWAHU PRASO RURAL BANK GIVES MORE LOANS (PAGE 20, NOV 18)

THE Kwahu Praso Rural Bank, near Nkawkaw gave out GH¢363,780 as loans to its customers last year as against the GH¢204,822 it made available for the same purpose in 2007.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the bank, Mr Eric Kwakye Darfour made this known at the 14th annual general meeting of shareholders of the bank at Kwahu Praso at the weekend.
He gave the breakdown as agriculture (food crop production and maintenance of cocoa farms),
GH¢45,000; cottage industry,
GH¢52,000; transport, GH¢50,300; education, GH¢62,700; and others GH¢79,440.
According to Mr Darfour, the bank decided to increase its loan portfolio to support the people in its catchments area to expand their agricultural and other commercial ventures.
He said those who were also assisted for educational purposes used the facility to educate themselves or children, and added that the initiative was to eradicate poverty in the area.
Mr Darfour stated that the bank was able to give out more loans due to its splendid performance during the year under review.
He said its total income increased from GH¢146, 916 in 2007 to GH¢213165 in 2008 while deposits grew from GH¢714,490 to GH¢919,231 within the same period.
Mr Darfuor said the bank’s pre-tax profit increased from GH¢12,556 in 2006 to GH¢35,237 in 2007 but plummeted to GH¢29,302 in 2008.
He attributed the decrease to the inability of some of the beneficiaries of the loans to repay, and therefore, appealed to them to do so to enable others to benefit from the facility.
To improve the fortunes of the bank and serve customers better, Mr Darfuor announced the purchase of a Nissan Pick Up vehicle for its operations and a further training of its staff while the computerisation exercise being embarked on would be completed in 2011.
He added that the bank currently provided Western Union Money Transfer facilities as well as the e-Zwich, and appealed to people in the area and those outside the country to do business with it.
The Head of Human Capital and Administration Department of the ARB Apex Bank, Mrs Francisca Dedei Attipoe, who deputised for the Managing Director of the bank, Mr Eric Osei-Bonsu, commended the bank for its outstanding performance.
She however urged the board and management of the Kwahu Rural Bank to take note of the current competition within the banking sector and accelerate its modernisation drive to attract more customers.
Mrs Attipoe also briefed the shareholders of the bank on the current situation of rural banks some of which, she said, would be merged to enable them to stand firmly to serve the communities within their catchments area.

AKUAPEM FOUNDATION IMPROVES EDUCATION (PAGE 20, NOV 18)

ABOUT 150 years ago, the Basel missionaries set foot on the Akuapem scarp with two main aims.
The first aim was to establish churches and convert the indigenous people to Christianity and secondly to set up basic schools to educate the local people, especially the new converts to at least read and write so that they could properly communicate with the missionaries.
The Basel Mission which later became the Presbyterian Church of Ghana continued with its educational drive by establishing the first teacher training institution, the Presbyterian Training College (PTC) at Akropong, the traditional headquarters, to train teachers for the numerous basic schools.
The teachers most of whom were also trained to be ministers of the gospel, apart from helping to turn out good pupils for the then secondary schools, also succeeded in putting the proverbial Presbyterian discipline in the pupils.
The discipline instilled in the students made them to excel in the second cycle schools and finally the universities, especially the University of Ghana where students of Akuapem origin were more than any other ethnic group, especially in the 1970s.
The large number of students from Akuapem at the universities no wonder led to many of them coming out as lawyers, academicians, ministers of the gospel and engineers in different fields.
However, from the mid 1990s, the high standard of education in the Akuapem area which has now been divided into two political entities, the Akuapem North District and Akuapem South Municipality started moving anti-clockwise with many of the basic schools having all the final year students failing the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
For instance, statistics made available by the Akuapem North District Director of Education, Mr Alfred Osei indicate that out of 1,937 candidates who sat for the BECE in the district in 2005, 1,038 passed and 899 failed while in 2006, 1,204 out of the total of 2,080 candidates presented, failed.
The situation was almost the same in 2007 when 920 out of 2,089 presented for the examination, failed while last year, 874 out of the 2,187 candidates who took part in the examination, failed.
This year’s BECE results were also not encouraging because out of the 2,668 candidates presented, 1,212 failed.
The situation in the Akuapem South District is no different as portrayed by the Municipal Director of Education, Madam Stella Kwamina Nanor although she said there had been some improvement at the BECE.
However, the continued decline in the performance of the pupils in the area over the years has led to the reduction in the number of students from Akuapem to the universities and other tertiary educational institutions.
To reverse the trend, the Akuapem Community Foundation, a body formed and directed by some well-meaning citizens of Akuapem to see to the development of the area, decided to give the necessary support to improve education in the area.
The foundation which was formed about five years ago, has within the past few years, provided educational materials, especially books to some of the junior high schools (JHS) in the area.
Apart from that, it has also taken the initiative to educate parents and guardians on the need to invest in the education of their children or wards who are also properly counselled to take their studies seriously.
To crown such efforts, the foundation has been periodically holding durbars christened: “Akuapem Education Day” each year during which stakeholders of education such as parents, teachers and directors of education in the two districts brainstorm to find lasting solutions to the problem.
This year’s event on the theme: “Economic empowerment — Earning a living from the natural environment,” took a different course because it focused on the economic empowerment of parents to be able to properly cater for the educational needs of their children or wards.
The event which took place at the serene Danso’s Naturalist Centre at Ahyiresu, near Aburi at the weekend, brought together parents, pupils, educationists, District Chief Executives for the area, Mr George Opare-Addo (Akuapem North) and Dr Godfried Osei-Bonsu Twum (Akuapem South) as well as resource persons such as Mrs Rosetta Annan, a former Director at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Ofosu Ampofo who also attended the meeting, expressed concern about the declining standard of education not only in the Akuapem area, but the region as a whole.
He warned that any JSS in the region which records zero per cent in the BECE would have its head replaced.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo, however, directed the two assemblies to give the necessary support to all basic schools to enable the pupils to perform well.
For her part, Mrs Rosetta Annan, formerly of the Ministry of Food and agriculture, took the parents through the rudiments of income generation, especially with the use of the area’s natural resources.
A number of schoolchildren who also excelled in the previous BECE and were at the ceremony, were given books.
The Mamfehene, Osabarima Ansa Sasraku who also addressed the function, said the main aim of the foundation was to improve the well-being of Akuapems, adding that such an initiative could only be achieved through good education and income generation for parents.
He stated that the foundation had also taken steps to restore the ecology of the area which was being degraded at an alarming rate as well as helping to fight the dreaded HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Osabarima Sasraku said the institution of those measures had already started yielding positive results.
He cited for instance that out of the 120 final year JHS pupils who were given books and other assistance by the foundation last year, 113 of them had grades between one and six in English, 104 scored between one and six in Mathematics and 108 had between one and six in General Science — a remarkable development.
With such an improvement in the performance of the pupils only a year after they had been provided with books and other materials and counselling, it is hoped that many more pupils would perform creditably at the BECE next year and the years beyond to reverse the downward trend of the standard of education in the area.
The situation would put Akuapem back on the map of Ghana as one of the areas with a high standard of education.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

CEPS JUNIOR STAFF APPEAL TO RAGB (NOV 14, PAGE 23)

JUNIOR officers of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) have called on the Revenue Agencies Governing Board (RAGB) to reduce the number of steps they have to go through before becoming senior officers.
They also suggested that CEPS officials who lost their lives or got injured in the course of their work must be rewarded and honoured.
The Chairman of the Junior Staff Association, Mr Felix A. Brobbey made the call at the ninth biennial national delegates conference of the association at Koforidua.
The four-day conference, on the theme: “Integrated revenue collectors-The dawn of a new era in revenue mobilisation,” which was attended by delegates throughout the country, was to take stock of the association’s activities with a view to enhancing revenue collection.
According to Mr Brobbey, there were 17 promotional steps within the service junior officers had to go through, nine to reach the senior level, which makes it impossible for most of them to attain senior staff status before retirement.
He expressed the hope that recommendations made jointly by management and the senior and junior staff to address the issues would be considered.
Mr Brobbey said the junior staff association had performed creditably, mobilising over 50 per cent of the total national revenue over the years despite the numerous challenges.
He, however, appealed to his colleagues to eschew all forms of indiscipline and adopt the best working practices and lead simple lifestyles to keep away accusing fingers.
Mr Brobbey urged the CEPS management to honour their obligation to the staff in terms of refund of medical expenses and payment of retirement and long-service benefits since non-payment of such benefits had the potential to make the service corrupt.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, expressed dissatisfaction about the inhuman condition under which CEPS officials worked at the entry and collection points, and gave the assurance that he would contact other regional ministers to see how best to solve that problem.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo commended CEPS for its credible performance over the years.
The Executive Secretary of the Revenue Agencies Governing Board (RAGB), Mr Samuel Sallas-Mensah, said over the past four years, tax revenue had grown on the average of more than 20 per cent, which supported about 60 per cent of government expenditure budget.
He stated that despite such a good performance of tax revenue, there was still room for improvement, adding “we still have to do a lot more work to expand the tax net, seal the leakage and provide quality service.
Mr Sallas-Mensah also explained to them the integration of the three revenue collection agencies, namely CEPS, Internal Revenue Service and the Value Added Tax, giving the assurance that there would not be any job loss.
For his part, the Commissioner of CEPS, Mr E.R.K. Lanyon, briefed them about the modernisation exercise currently going on at CEPS to improve staff performance in mobilising more revenue.
He asked the junior officers to observe the code of conduct in the course of their duty so that there would not be a situation to dismiss any of them for avoidable infractions.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

GHANA TO EARN MORE MONEY FROM TRADITIONAL EXPORTS (PAGE 38, NOV 12)

THE Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Hannah Tetteh, has stated that with improvement in the export of non-traditional products, Ghana can earn GH¢5 billion in 2015.
This, she said, would make it possible for the country to attain a middle-income status with a per capita income of US$1,000 by the year 2020.
“We have set ourselves an ambitious goal of achieving a middle-income status with a qualitative benchmark of US$1,000 per capita by 2020, using export as the main springboard for realising this vision,” Ms Tetteh said.
The minister made these remarks when she addressed a stakeholders’ forum on the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF) in Koforidua.
She said considering the small size of Ghana’s domestic market, the export sector provided the best option for optimising production possibilities and a quicker way of integrating the country into the global economy.
Ms Tetteh said since the non-traditional sector in that direction would create more wealth, generate employment and improve the welfare of the people, it was, therefore, necessary that EDIF would be well resourced to support that sector.
The minister, who acknowledged the role EDIF had played in promoting the non-traditional sector since its inception in 2001 in areas such as agro-processing, salt mining, wood processing, handicraft, garments and textile, as well as pharmaceuticals and plastics, called for the right stimuli, through adequate, affordable and timely finance, for the sector.
Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, Minister of Agriculture, expressed regret that although agriculture played a key role in the country’s economy, it was still being practised at a subsistence level with many farmers using hoes and cutlasses for land clearing.
He said another worrying aspect of farming in Ghana was the high cost of tractor services for land clearing and non-application of fertiliser, all contributing to low productivity of agricultural produce.
The minister expressed concern about the inability of some prospective exporters to honour orders due to limited production base, while most of them were not able to meet the required quality standard and had their products rejected, causing embarrassment to the ministry.
Mr Ahwoi said it was due to such challenges that a number of measures such as offering of credit facilities, subsidy for the procurement of inputs and mechanised services, as well as the development of agricultural exports, were being taken to support farmers.
An official of the Prudential Bank told the meeting that EDIF, since 2001, had approved GH¢13,519,862 to the bank for on-lending to its beneficiaries.

MINISTER TO DISCIPLINE MDCES FOR LATENESS (BACK PAGE, NOV 12)

THE Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, has decided to take disciplinary action against 17 out of the 21 municipal/district chief executives (M/DCEs) in the region for reporting late at a public function.
The M/DCEs, together with heads of ministries, departments and other top officials of the assemblies as well as members of the Audit Report Implementation Committee (ARIC) were supposed to report at the New Capital View Hotel, Koforidua, at 8 a.m. on Monday for a sensitisation seminar on auditing.
But by 10.30 a.m. only four of the M/DCEs, namely Messrs Joseph Omari (Kwahu South), Napoleon Amoako (Birim North), Joseph Tetteh Angmor (Upper Manya) and Tom Budu Akyemansa and a handful of the other participants were present.
That angered Mr Ofosu Ampofo, who said he had taken the issue very seriously and would punish the district political heads, although he did not specify the nature of the disciplinary action.
“You are being paid with the taxpayer’s money and given all the necessary support, including vehicles to be prompt at public functions, and I will not take any explanation for not being able to come at the appropriate time”.
He then directed the officials registering the participants to provide him with the list of the M/DCEs who reported late for the necessary sanctions.
Later in an address, Mr Ofosu Ampofo asked ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) as well as the municipal/district assemblies which had not yet constituted ARICs to do so in order to ensure that recommendations contained in all audit reports in their respective organisations would be implemented.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo, who dwelt extensively on public auditing and how it affects the operations of the assemblies, expressed hope that the MDAs/MMDAs would give ARICs unrestricted access to documents and employees as well as the necessary administrative and logistical support to do their work.
He also cautioned the MDAs/MMDAs to be guided by the principles of probity, transparency and accountability which the Government stood for, adding that any public service manager who mismanaged the affairs of his or her organisation would face the full rigours of the law.
A resource person, Mr Richard Ntim of the Institute of Internal Auditors, Ghana, asked the participants to follow laid-down regulations in auditing to avoid being sent to committees for questioning.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

GHANA COULD EARN GH¢5BN IN 2015 - TETTEH (PAGE 21, NOV 11)

THE Minister of Trade and Industry, Madam Hanna Tetteh, has stated that with the improvement in the export of non-traditional products, Ghana could earn GH¢5 billion in 2015.
That, she said, would make it possible for the country to attain a middle-income status with an income per capita of US$1,000, by the year 2020.
The minister made the remarks when she addressed a stakeholders’ forum on the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF) in Koforidua over the weekend.
She said considering the small size of Ghana’s domestic market, the export sector provided the best option for optimising production possibilities and a quicker way of integrating the country into the global economy.
Madam Tetteh stated that since the non-traditional sector in that direction would create more wealth, generate employment and improve the welfare of the people, it was therefore, necessary that EDIF would be well-resourced to in turn support that sector.
The minister acknowledged the role EDIF had played in promoting the non-traditional sector since its inception in 2001 in areas such as agro-processing, salt mining, wood processing, handicraft, garments and textile as well as pharmaceuticals and plastics. She called for the right stimuli through adequate, affordable and timely finance for the sector.
“We have set ourselves an ambitious goal of achieving a middle-income status with a qualitative benchmark of US$1,000 per capita by 2020, using export as the main springboard for realising this vision,” the minister stated.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, expressed regret that although agriculture played a key role in country’s economy, it was still being practised at a subsistence level, with many farmers on small holdings using hoes and machete for land clearing.
He said another worrying aspect of farming in Ghana was the high cost of tractor services for land clearing and non-application of fertiliser, all contributing to low productivity of agricultural produce.
The minister also expressed concern about the inability of some prospective exporters to honour orders due to limited production base, while most of them were not able to meet the required quality standard and had their products rejected, causing embarrassment to the ministry.
Mr Ahwoi said it was due to such challenges that a number of measures such as offering of credit facilities, subsidy for the procurement of inputs and mechanised service, as well as the development of agricultural export, were being taken to support farmers.

PUT ASIDE POLITICAL AFFILIATION IN ASSEMBLY DELIBERATIONS (PAGE 15, NOV 11)

THE Presiding Member of the Atiwa District Assembly in the Eastern Region, Mr Kwasi Amoako Attah, has stated that since the assembly does not conduct business on party lines the members should put aside political affiliation in their deliberations.
That, he said, would help accelerate the development of the communities in the area.
Mr Amoako Attah made the remarks when he addressed the second ordinary meeting of the assembly this year at Kwabeng, the district capital, at the weekend.
The Atiwa District, which was carved out of the vast East Akyem District about four years ago, though a stronghold of the New Patriotic Party, also has a large following of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to the presiding member, the area could only be developed if members of the assembly could put aside their political affiliations, unite and ensure a judicious use of resources.
Mr Amoako Attah pledged to continue to fight against corruption, and urged the assembly members not to do anything that would undermine the development of the communities but to continue to offer dedicated service to the people.
The District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Emmanuel Attah Twum, said eight projects were currently being undertaken with funding from the District Assemblies’ Common Fund and HIPC initiative, adding that construction work on them was at different stages of completion.
The projects included a GH¢96,000 health insurance office at Anyinam which has been completed, a GH¢61,000 junior high school complex at Pameng, which is 50 per cent complete, a GH¢68,352.43-four-unit kindergarten block for the Abomosu Presbyterian school which is 65 per cent complete and a GH¢181,724.62 two-storey bungalow for the DCE at Kwabeng.
On revenue generation, Mr Atta Twum said out of the estimated GH¢170,164 to be collected this year, GH¢118,427.35 had already been mobilised as of the end of October.
He also told the House that it’s first quarterly share of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund in the sum of GH¢232.241.98 as well as that for the second quarter constituting GH¢223,098.48, had been received.
The DCE gave the assurance that the assembly would make judicious use of the funds to improve the lot of the people.
He deplored the poor performance of the pupils at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), saying out of the total number of candidates who sat for the examinations, 898 passed and 1,051 failed.
Mr Atta Twum, therefore, appealed to parents and teachers to live up to their responsibilities to reverse the trend.
He dwelt on other areas such as health, agriculture, and said the assembly had taken the necessary steps that would improve the lot of the people in the area, and appealed to the assembly members for support in that direction.