THE Ghana Oil Palm Development Company (GOPDC) over the weekend gave out a cheque for GHҐ12,000 to the Okumaning Stool to support the activities of the chief, Barima Adu Gyamfi and his elders.
Okumaning is one of the towns within the operational area of GOPDC which is cultivating oil palm plantation on a large track of land the chief and his elders gave the company.
Making the presentation at Kwae, the Managing Director of GOPDC, Mr J.C.E. Inkumsah, said apart from supporting the traditional authorities in the area, the company had also lived up to its social responsibility by helping to improve education, health, extension of electricity as well as providing other aspects of community development projects.
Mr Inkumsah cited for instance that GOPDC provided GHҐ200,000 towards Okumaning’s electrification project before the company’s oil palm plantation was matured.
He said the company which was assisting other communities in its operational area in diverse ways, adding that it had earmarked GHҐ47,600 to finance a project proposed by the community in consultation with the Kwaebibirem District Assembly.
He, therefore, appealed to Barima Adu Gyamfi to prevail on his people to stop harassing workers of the company.
Barima Adu Gyamfi who was accompanied by the Queen of Okumaning, Obaa Panyin Abena Kyerewa and Abusuapanyin J.F. Asare, expressed his gratitude to GOPDC for its assistance and said he would ensure that no worker of the company was harassed.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
AKYEM KOTOKU CHIEFS SUPPORT NEWMOUNT (PAGE 20)
THE chiefs and people of Akyem Kotoku, where Newmont, a multi-national gold mining company, is prospecting for minerals, have hailed the approval for the company to operate in the area.
According to them, the company’s investment in the area would improve the living conditions of the people in the affected communities.
They have, therefore, condemned a Tarkwa-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), Wassa Communities Against Mining (WACAM), for campaigning to stop Newmont from operating in the area.
These were contained in a communiqué signed by 173 persons, made up of chiefs, assembly members, opinion leaders and farmers in the various communities which was addressed to the United Nations Commissioner on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland.
Some of the signatories were Osabarima Owusu Gyamadu, the Eastern Regional representative on the Council of State who represented the Akyem Kotoku paramountcy, Nana Akwasi Amoh Kyeretwie I, the chief of Abirem, Nana Kwadwo Amoh II, Afosuhene, Nana Korankye Ababio of Adausena, Nana Asiedu Akora II, Ntronanghene and Nana Twum Barima I, of New Abirem.
Others were Messrs Solomon Yeboah, Samuel Osei Gyekye, Stephen Acheampong, Collins Anarfi Dompreh, all of the Birim North District Assembly, Mr Ibrahim Osman and Edward Tamon, representatives of the Birim North Youth Association, Mr Ismaila A. Bala, representing Village and Town Committees and Messrs Akwasi Ofori-Amamfo and Francis Hodogbe, representing farmers.
According to the signatories, Newmont had satisfied all the requirements for it to operate, and that the living conditions of the people in the operational area would be tremendously improved if the company starts its operations.
“If Newmont, which has satisfied all the requirements for it to operate but has not yet commenced actual digging of the mineral, has already provided the communities with school buildings, improved water and sanitation, and takes steps to train the youth in various trades for them to improve their livelihood, then why should WACAM engage in such a propaganda to stop it from operating in the area?” the communiqué asked.
The communiqué further stated that Newmont’s activities in the area, coupled with the facilities it was providing, would within the next five or 10 years, transform the area into a municipality, and that the people were preparing themselves to make the best use of all business opportunities that would emerge.
“We in the affected communities are also preparing to make the best of all business opportunities expected to emerge, and even where WACAM and its coalition see as damage such as the pit likely to be filled with water after the mine closure, has been identified to be developed as lake for eco-tourism and fishing industry”, the communiqué stated.
“If WACAM is really interested in our welfare, why is that it has not bothered to meet us for us to know each other to address our concerns if any, but rather sat back to organise a campaign to stop Newmont from operating here,” the communiqué asked.
It, therefore, called on the UN Commissioner of Human Rights and all others related to the issue to ignore WACAM’s agitation since it had been calculated to draw back the clock of progress for the people in Newmont’s operational areas.
According to them, the company’s investment in the area would improve the living conditions of the people in the affected communities.
They have, therefore, condemned a Tarkwa-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), Wassa Communities Against Mining (WACAM), for campaigning to stop Newmont from operating in the area.
These were contained in a communiqué signed by 173 persons, made up of chiefs, assembly members, opinion leaders and farmers in the various communities which was addressed to the United Nations Commissioner on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland.
Some of the signatories were Osabarima Owusu Gyamadu, the Eastern Regional representative on the Council of State who represented the Akyem Kotoku paramountcy, Nana Akwasi Amoh Kyeretwie I, the chief of Abirem, Nana Kwadwo Amoh II, Afosuhene, Nana Korankye Ababio of Adausena, Nana Asiedu Akora II, Ntronanghene and Nana Twum Barima I, of New Abirem.
Others were Messrs Solomon Yeboah, Samuel Osei Gyekye, Stephen Acheampong, Collins Anarfi Dompreh, all of the Birim North District Assembly, Mr Ibrahim Osman and Edward Tamon, representatives of the Birim North Youth Association, Mr Ismaila A. Bala, representing Village and Town Committees and Messrs Akwasi Ofori-Amamfo and Francis Hodogbe, representing farmers.
According to the signatories, Newmont had satisfied all the requirements for it to operate, and that the living conditions of the people in the operational area would be tremendously improved if the company starts its operations.
“If Newmont, which has satisfied all the requirements for it to operate but has not yet commenced actual digging of the mineral, has already provided the communities with school buildings, improved water and sanitation, and takes steps to train the youth in various trades for them to improve their livelihood, then why should WACAM engage in such a propaganda to stop it from operating in the area?” the communiqué asked.
The communiqué further stated that Newmont’s activities in the area, coupled with the facilities it was providing, would within the next five or 10 years, transform the area into a municipality, and that the people were preparing themselves to make the best use of all business opportunities that would emerge.
“We in the affected communities are also preparing to make the best of all business opportunities expected to emerge, and even where WACAM and its coalition see as damage such as the pit likely to be filled with water after the mine closure, has been identified to be developed as lake for eco-tourism and fishing industry”, the communiqué stated.
“If WACAM is really interested in our welfare, why is that it has not bothered to meet us for us to know each other to address our concerns if any, but rather sat back to organise a campaign to stop Newmont from operating here,” the communiqué asked.
It, therefore, called on the UN Commissioner of Human Rights and all others related to the issue to ignore WACAM’s agitation since it had been calculated to draw back the clock of progress for the people in Newmont’s operational areas.
TRANSFORMATION OF UPPER MANYA BEGINS (PAGE 20)
IN February, 2008, the Upper Manya Krobo District, an area comprising rural communities, was inaugurated.
Two main reasons accounted for the creation of the new district which was created out of the vast and populous Manya Krobo District.
In the first place, creation of the new district was to ensure that the numerous rural communities, most of which had not been provided with social amenities such as good roads, clinics, public places of convenience and educational infrastructure such as school buildings and residential facilities would be provided with funds from the new assembly.
Secondly, it was also to make it possible for an effective administration in such a way that the population, composed mainly of farmers and petty traders, would be properly taken care of in respect of the Government poverty alleviation measures.
The new district, with the exception of Asesewa, the capital, is composed of numerous towns, villages and hamlets.
Apart from Asesewa, an ancient town that has some basic amenities such as a hospital and a number of good school buildings, some of the main towns and villages like Dawa Korlewa, Osonson, Sekesua, Otrokper, Anyaboni, Samlesi, Sumuer Ternguanya and Mensah Dawa, lack a number of such facilities.
Another big problem is the inability of the people, mostly farmers, to go into large-scale production of food crops such as corn, all types of tubers and palm fruits which are processed into palm oil due to a lack of financial capital.
As a result, they operated on small holdings for local consumption, leaving little for the markets at Sekesua, Asesewa and Agormanya in the mother district which is now known as Lower Manya Krobo.
Some of the people are also engaged in petty trading of all sorts.
Although the previous administration did its best to address some of the infrastructural problems by instituting some poverty alleviation measures such as facilitation credit facilities from the banks and constructing a number of school buildings, clinics, roads and markets, not much has been accomplished.
Most of the farmers and traders still operate on small-scale, while a lot of the communities still lack basic social amenities, particularly educational infrastructure.
As a result, pupils in some communities, especially Bormase Whenya had to attend classes in dilapidated buildings some of which had been constructed some 50 years ago without renovation or under canopies erected with palm fronds, making it impossible for classes to be conducted during rainy days.
Realising the deplorable situation of the people, the District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr J.T. Angmor, has shortly on assumption of office, come out with an elaborate four-year programme to transform the district to become one of the best in the region.
Under the programme, all good projects initiated by the previous administration would be continued while those not properly awarded are to be repackaged while new projects would be executed in areas not yet covered.
The ongoing ones that would be completed included clinics at Sumuer Ternguanya and Samlesi, teachers’ bungalow at Anyaboni, modern public places of convenience and culverts at Asesewa and boreholes at Sekesua.
Contracts to be repackaged include spot improvement of the 10-kilometre Gyekiti-Obelemanya feeder road awarded in 2005, the construction of a six-unit classroom block with staff common room, office and store at Kwaopeniase which was given out on contract in 2006 and a slaughter house at Asesewa also awarded in 2006.
To ensure that all bad roads linking the communities are motorable at all times, especially during the rainy season, the assembly has just purchased a grader in that respect to be periodically shaping such roads.
The acquisition of the grader was in fulfillment of a promise the DCE made to the assembly members in his maiden address to the assembly.
A number of communities not yet provided with electricity would be hooked to the national grid.
Although a number of projects initiated by the previous administration such as the tarring of the two-kilometre Asesewa town roads and the wiring of the District Assembly Primary School also at Asesewa, had been completed, others are ongoing and the assembly has taken steps to ensure their early completion.
Some of such projects are the construction of a lorry park at Asesewa, Area Council offices at Mensah Dawa and Anyaboni.
Mr Angmor said his administration in line with the manifesto of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), would ensure that the people in the various communities received their fair share of the national cake in terms of social amenities and other poverty alleviation initiatives to improve their lot.
“You are all aware that our district is new and most of the communities do not have the basic amenities, and since it is a Herculean task to ensure that every community, would have all such amenities, I will do my best to ensure that every community benefit from at least one of the basic amenities such as good drinking water, school buildings or good roads”, the DCE told the House.
With regard to poverty alleviation initiatives such as the School Feeding Programme, only one school, the Presbyterian Primary School at Mensa Dawa, has been covered and steps were being taken to rope in other schools.
Since the Health Insurance and the National Youth Employment schemes have not yet been established in the district as a result of which the people have to rely on the mother district, Lower Manya Krobo for such initiatives,the assembly has taken steps to have such programmes firmly established in the district.
The assembly has also decided to sponsor students from the communities in colleges of education as well as nurses’ training colleges so that after their training, they would serve in the district.
Although most of these initiatives, especially the provision of social amenities and other programmes would be funded by the Government and other donors such as the European Union and Plan Ghana, a lot would have to be sourced from the assembly.
However, the financial position of the assembly like that of any other newly-created district is weak.
For instance, out of this year’s target of GH¢903.300 made up of internally-generated funds, grants and other sources to support its numerous projects and programmes of which GH¢206,000 would be from internally-generated funds, only GH¢19,008.80 was collected by the end of the first quarter of the year, representing 9.2 per cent.
To reverse the situation, the assembly has put in place the necessary mechanism to plug the loopholes to increase revenue, particularly at the big marketing centres in the district such as Asesewa, Akateng and Sekesua, the main sources of internally-generated revenue.
It is expected that with these initiatives and programmes, the commitment and dynamism of the DCE coupled with the support from assembly members, the district, currently among the deprived in the region, would be transformed into one of the best in the foreseeable future.
Two main reasons accounted for the creation of the new district which was created out of the vast and populous Manya Krobo District.
In the first place, creation of the new district was to ensure that the numerous rural communities, most of which had not been provided with social amenities such as good roads, clinics, public places of convenience and educational infrastructure such as school buildings and residential facilities would be provided with funds from the new assembly.
Secondly, it was also to make it possible for an effective administration in such a way that the population, composed mainly of farmers and petty traders, would be properly taken care of in respect of the Government poverty alleviation measures.
The new district, with the exception of Asesewa, the capital, is composed of numerous towns, villages and hamlets.
Apart from Asesewa, an ancient town that has some basic amenities such as a hospital and a number of good school buildings, some of the main towns and villages like Dawa Korlewa, Osonson, Sekesua, Otrokper, Anyaboni, Samlesi, Sumuer Ternguanya and Mensah Dawa, lack a number of such facilities.
Another big problem is the inability of the people, mostly farmers, to go into large-scale production of food crops such as corn, all types of tubers and palm fruits which are processed into palm oil due to a lack of financial capital.
As a result, they operated on small holdings for local consumption, leaving little for the markets at Sekesua, Asesewa and Agormanya in the mother district which is now known as Lower Manya Krobo.
Some of the people are also engaged in petty trading of all sorts.
Although the previous administration did its best to address some of the infrastructural problems by instituting some poverty alleviation measures such as facilitation credit facilities from the banks and constructing a number of school buildings, clinics, roads and markets, not much has been accomplished.
Most of the farmers and traders still operate on small-scale, while a lot of the communities still lack basic social amenities, particularly educational infrastructure.
As a result, pupils in some communities, especially Bormase Whenya had to attend classes in dilapidated buildings some of which had been constructed some 50 years ago without renovation or under canopies erected with palm fronds, making it impossible for classes to be conducted during rainy days.
Realising the deplorable situation of the people, the District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr J.T. Angmor, has shortly on assumption of office, come out with an elaborate four-year programme to transform the district to become one of the best in the region.
Under the programme, all good projects initiated by the previous administration would be continued while those not properly awarded are to be repackaged while new projects would be executed in areas not yet covered.
The ongoing ones that would be completed included clinics at Sumuer Ternguanya and Samlesi, teachers’ bungalow at Anyaboni, modern public places of convenience and culverts at Asesewa and boreholes at Sekesua.
Contracts to be repackaged include spot improvement of the 10-kilometre Gyekiti-Obelemanya feeder road awarded in 2005, the construction of a six-unit classroom block with staff common room, office and store at Kwaopeniase which was given out on contract in 2006 and a slaughter house at Asesewa also awarded in 2006.
To ensure that all bad roads linking the communities are motorable at all times, especially during the rainy season, the assembly has just purchased a grader in that respect to be periodically shaping such roads.
The acquisition of the grader was in fulfillment of a promise the DCE made to the assembly members in his maiden address to the assembly.
A number of communities not yet provided with electricity would be hooked to the national grid.
Although a number of projects initiated by the previous administration such as the tarring of the two-kilometre Asesewa town roads and the wiring of the District Assembly Primary School also at Asesewa, had been completed, others are ongoing and the assembly has taken steps to ensure their early completion.
Some of such projects are the construction of a lorry park at Asesewa, Area Council offices at Mensah Dawa and Anyaboni.
Mr Angmor said his administration in line with the manifesto of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), would ensure that the people in the various communities received their fair share of the national cake in terms of social amenities and other poverty alleviation initiatives to improve their lot.
“You are all aware that our district is new and most of the communities do not have the basic amenities, and since it is a Herculean task to ensure that every community, would have all such amenities, I will do my best to ensure that every community benefit from at least one of the basic amenities such as good drinking water, school buildings or good roads”, the DCE told the House.
With regard to poverty alleviation initiatives such as the School Feeding Programme, only one school, the Presbyterian Primary School at Mensa Dawa, has been covered and steps were being taken to rope in other schools.
Since the Health Insurance and the National Youth Employment schemes have not yet been established in the district as a result of which the people have to rely on the mother district, Lower Manya Krobo for such initiatives,the assembly has taken steps to have such programmes firmly established in the district.
The assembly has also decided to sponsor students from the communities in colleges of education as well as nurses’ training colleges so that after their training, they would serve in the district.
Although most of these initiatives, especially the provision of social amenities and other programmes would be funded by the Government and other donors such as the European Union and Plan Ghana, a lot would have to be sourced from the assembly.
However, the financial position of the assembly like that of any other newly-created district is weak.
For instance, out of this year’s target of GH¢903.300 made up of internally-generated funds, grants and other sources to support its numerous projects and programmes of which GH¢206,000 would be from internally-generated funds, only GH¢19,008.80 was collected by the end of the first quarter of the year, representing 9.2 per cent.
To reverse the situation, the assembly has put in place the necessary mechanism to plug the loopholes to increase revenue, particularly at the big marketing centres in the district such as Asesewa, Akateng and Sekesua, the main sources of internally-generated revenue.
It is expected that with these initiatives and programmes, the commitment and dynamism of the DCE coupled with the support from assembly members, the district, currently among the deprived in the region, would be transformed into one of the best in the foreseeable future.
Monday, August 24, 2009
DOVVSU TO SUPPORT RAPE VICTIM (PAGE 53)
THE Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service has decided to place its clinical psychologists at the disposal of the 19-year-old woman who was raped at Asafo in Kumasi to help her come out of her trauma.
Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr George Appiah-Sakyi, the Ashanti Regional Commander of DVVSU, told the Daily Graphic that the entire DVVSU had only two clinical psychologists all based in Accra, but one of them would be invited to Kumasi to help the woman get out of her psychological difficulties.
The woman, who was on her way to Accra, was forcibly dragged into a taxi by a 30-year-old gym instructor, Eric Bawuah, to a drinking spot and in the full glare of some young men, raped her.
Last Wednesday, the Kumasi Circuit Court, presided over by Mr Adjei Frimpong sentenced the muscled Bawuah to 30 years imprisonment for rape and robbery.
Mr Appiah-Sakyi said his outfit had extended an invitation to the victim and was waiting for a response from her to enable the counselling process to begin.
“When she comes, we shall put the option before her and if she agrees, to it we shall go ahead to offer her the necessary guidance and counselling,” he said.
Mr Appiah-Sakyi explained that in situations like what the lady went through, there was the likelihood that she would experience a Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occur or is threatened.
Traumatic events that may trigger this situation include sexual and other violent personal assaults.
Medical experts said people with PTSD have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to. They may experience sleep problems, feel detached or numb, or be easily startled.
As Bawuah stood in the dock last Wednesday, the victim, a slim and fair-coloured lady, stared at him perhaps picturing the ordeal she went through at his hands.
Mr Appiah-Sakyi stated that his outfit was determined to go to the aid of rape victims who needed help to come out of their traumatic experiences.
Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr George Appiah-Sakyi, the Ashanti Regional Commander of DVVSU, told the Daily Graphic that the entire DVVSU had only two clinical psychologists all based in Accra, but one of them would be invited to Kumasi to help the woman get out of her psychological difficulties.
The woman, who was on her way to Accra, was forcibly dragged into a taxi by a 30-year-old gym instructor, Eric Bawuah, to a drinking spot and in the full glare of some young men, raped her.
Last Wednesday, the Kumasi Circuit Court, presided over by Mr Adjei Frimpong sentenced the muscled Bawuah to 30 years imprisonment for rape and robbery.
Mr Appiah-Sakyi said his outfit had extended an invitation to the victim and was waiting for a response from her to enable the counselling process to begin.
“When she comes, we shall put the option before her and if she agrees, to it we shall go ahead to offer her the necessary guidance and counselling,” he said.
Mr Appiah-Sakyi explained that in situations like what the lady went through, there was the likelihood that she would experience a Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occur or is threatened.
Traumatic events that may trigger this situation include sexual and other violent personal assaults.
Medical experts said people with PTSD have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to. They may experience sleep problems, feel detached or numb, or be easily startled.
As Bawuah stood in the dock last Wednesday, the victim, a slim and fair-coloured lady, stared at him perhaps picturing the ordeal she went through at his hands.
Mr Appiah-Sakyi stated that his outfit was determined to go to the aid of rape victims who needed help to come out of their traumatic experiences.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
AKYEMANSA PROJECTS TO BE COMPLETED (PAGE 23)
ALL viable ongoing projects initiated in the newly-created Akyemansa District in the Eastern Region before the National Democratic Congress (NDC) came to power will be completed.
This will make it possible for the beneficiary communities to enjoy the use of such amenities on schedule for the transformation of the district, which is one of the most deprived in the region.
The District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Tom Budu, gave the assurance in his maiden address to the assembly at Akyem Ofoase.
Some of the projects currently under construction include a 24–unit market shed at Bontodiase and Adjobue costing GH¢69,333.11 out of which GH¢44,806.53 has already been paid to the contractor and an GH¢87,109 six-unit classroom block for the Ayirebi District Assembly Junior High School (JSS) for which GH¢26,133 has also been paid out.
Others include another six-unit classroom block at Chia at a cost of GH¢86,890 out of which GH¢26,533 has been spent, a GH¢189,899 bungalow for the DCE out of which GH¢101,755.00 has been utilised and a building to house a District Magistrate’s Court at Ofoase costing GH¢101,850.00 out of which GH¢30,555.00 has been spent.
The rest are a bungalow at Ofoase for the District Co-ordinating Director and an area council office at Akokoaso.
According to Mr Tom Budu, the assembly was also undertaking a number of projects in different parts of the district.
He also mentioned some of the ongoing projects as the rehabilitation of primary schools at Brenase and Asuboa, reshaping of a portion of the Kotokuom-Brenase road, completion of modern public places of convenience at Chia, Kotokuom, Brenase and Ofoase, as well as the provision of furniture for schools at Zevor, Kwaboadi Number Two, the Ofoase model school, Subinso, Kofi Nimo, Anyinase, Katamanso and Boso-Villa.
The DCE stated that the assembly had received GH¢165,257.86 as its share of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund for the first quarter of the year to support development projects, and called for support from the assembly members for the successful execution of the projects.
Mr Tom Budu said it was the commitment of the NDC administration that every community should get a fair share of the national cake in the form of social amenities.
With regard to other initiatives to further improve the lot of the people, he said a scholarship scheme would be instituted for brilliant needy students while tourism, agriculture and fishing would be promoted.
This will make it possible for the beneficiary communities to enjoy the use of such amenities on schedule for the transformation of the district, which is one of the most deprived in the region.
The District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Tom Budu, gave the assurance in his maiden address to the assembly at Akyem Ofoase.
Some of the projects currently under construction include a 24–unit market shed at Bontodiase and Adjobue costing GH¢69,333.11 out of which GH¢44,806.53 has already been paid to the contractor and an GH¢87,109 six-unit classroom block for the Ayirebi District Assembly Junior High School (JSS) for which GH¢26,133 has also been paid out.
Others include another six-unit classroom block at Chia at a cost of GH¢86,890 out of which GH¢26,533 has been spent, a GH¢189,899 bungalow for the DCE out of which GH¢101,755.00 has been utilised and a building to house a District Magistrate’s Court at Ofoase costing GH¢101,850.00 out of which GH¢30,555.00 has been spent.
The rest are a bungalow at Ofoase for the District Co-ordinating Director and an area council office at Akokoaso.
According to Mr Tom Budu, the assembly was also undertaking a number of projects in different parts of the district.
He also mentioned some of the ongoing projects as the rehabilitation of primary schools at Brenase and Asuboa, reshaping of a portion of the Kotokuom-Brenase road, completion of modern public places of convenience at Chia, Kotokuom, Brenase and Ofoase, as well as the provision of furniture for schools at Zevor, Kwaboadi Number Two, the Ofoase model school, Subinso, Kofi Nimo, Anyinase, Katamanso and Boso-Villa.
The DCE stated that the assembly had received GH¢165,257.86 as its share of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund for the first quarter of the year to support development projects, and called for support from the assembly members for the successful execution of the projects.
Mr Tom Budu said it was the commitment of the NDC administration that every community should get a fair share of the national cake in the form of social amenities.
With regard to other initiatives to further improve the lot of the people, he said a scholarship scheme would be instituted for brilliant needy students while tourism, agriculture and fishing would be promoted.
Friday, August 21, 2009
SELF-STYLED JOURNALIST ARRESTED (PAGE 20)
A SELF-STYLED journalist, Ebenezer Van Dyke, who for the past six years has operated in the Eastern Region with the press card of Radio Gold, has been arrested for allegedly defrauding a District Chief Executive (DCE) and a Member of Parliament (MP) of a total sum of GH¢750.
The suspect, whose case was just mentioned at a District Court at Odumase-Krobo on August 14 and charged with fraud under false pretence, has been remanded at the Akuse Prisons to re-appear on August 27, this year, for the trial to begin.
Van Dyke allegedly charged Johnson Ehiakpor, the DCE for Asuogyaman, GH¢430, and Rev. Dr Asare Akoto, the MP for Asuogyaman, GH¢320, to do feature stories on them which would be aired on Radio Gold.
The accused’s attempt to defraud a third person, Mr Charles Evans Apreko, the DCE for Kwahu North, gave him away because of the collaboration between Mr Apreko and Mr Ehiakpor.
According to Mr Ehiakpor, who spoke to the Daily Graphic on April 19, this year, Van Dyke phoned him at Atimpoku that he would broadcast a feature article about him, and thus demanded GH¢500, but after negotiations, the accused agreed to take GH¢400.
He said because he did not have the money that particular day, he asked the accused to come back on April 20, but after parting with the GH¢400, Van Dyke again demanded GH¢30 to pay for a taxi he claimed to have chartered from Accra to Atimpoku.
Mr Ehiakpor further stated that on August 12, Van Dyke again came to him and demanded GH¢250 to feature him in a political story on Radio Gold, so he alerted the police who arrested him.
He stated that checks at Radio Gold indicated that Van Dyke did not work there.
The suspect, whose case was just mentioned at a District Court at Odumase-Krobo on August 14 and charged with fraud under false pretence, has been remanded at the Akuse Prisons to re-appear on August 27, this year, for the trial to begin.
Van Dyke allegedly charged Johnson Ehiakpor, the DCE for Asuogyaman, GH¢430, and Rev. Dr Asare Akoto, the MP for Asuogyaman, GH¢320, to do feature stories on them which would be aired on Radio Gold.
The accused’s attempt to defraud a third person, Mr Charles Evans Apreko, the DCE for Kwahu North, gave him away because of the collaboration between Mr Apreko and Mr Ehiakpor.
According to Mr Ehiakpor, who spoke to the Daily Graphic on April 19, this year, Van Dyke phoned him at Atimpoku that he would broadcast a feature article about him, and thus demanded GH¢500, but after negotiations, the accused agreed to take GH¢400.
He said because he did not have the money that particular day, he asked the accused to come back on April 20, but after parting with the GH¢400, Van Dyke again demanded GH¢30 to pay for a taxi he claimed to have chartered from Accra to Atimpoku.
Mr Ehiakpor further stated that on August 12, Van Dyke again came to him and demanded GH¢250 to feature him in a political story on Radio Gold, so he alerted the police who arrested him.
He stated that checks at Radio Gold indicated that Van Dyke did not work there.
PRESIDENT MILLS PRAISES PRESBY CHURCH (PAGE 20)
THE President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, has expressed the government’s gratitude to the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) for its immense contributions to the development of education and improvement in the social sector.
President Atta Mills’s gratitude to the PCG was contained in an address read on his behalf by the Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Mr Stephen Amoanor Kwao, at the opening ceremony for the ninth General Assembly of the PCG at Abetifi-Kwahu in the Eastern Region at the weekend.
In all, 500 delegates from the 14 presbyteries in the country, as well as others from different parts of the world, including the United States, Canada and Britain, were attending the six-day conference.
The conference, on the theme: “Let us rise up and build”, was to deliberate on various issues affecting both the PCG and society as a whole.
According to the President, the PCG had since its establishment in the country 181 years ago, set up numerous schools from the kindergarten to the tertiary level, as well as hospitals in different parts of the country, which had tremendously improved education and social services.
President Atta Mills stated that PCG’s contributions to the educational and social sectors had enhanced the living standards of the people, especially the poor.
He said in addition to the provision of amenities and services, the government would in the coming years commit itself to the development of pragmatic pro-poor programmes that would help improve the well-being of the ordinary Ghanaian.
To ensure that more social amenities would be made available for the people, President Mills gave the assurance that all good programmes initiated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration would be continued.
“The PCG has since its establishment 181 years ago, built schools at all levels of education as well as hospitals some of which are the Presbyterian Colleges of Education at Akropong-Akuapem and Abetifi, and health institutions such as the Akuse and Nsawam hospitals as well as the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital at Mampong-Akuapem, and I commend you for the provision of these amenities which have improved the lot of Ghanaians,” President Mills said.
To ensure that the PCG would be financially empowered to continue to provide such amenities, he advised it to enter into strategic investments in areas such as fruit processing, supermarkets and fuel filling stations.
He appealed to the church to help address issues like unemployment, communal conflicts, poverty and disunity.
President Atta Mills also expressed the government’s worry about the growing trend of disorder in churches in recent times, citing issues like occultism, tribalism, exploitation, corruption, infighting, fornication, adultery and other forms of indiscipline as typical examples.
He, therefore, appealed to the leadership of the various churches to address them.
The church, the President stated, must also help stamp out cyberfraud (sakawa), armed robbery, dealing in narcotic drugs and other forms of deviance.
President Mills noted with regret the level of indebtedness of the district assemblies to contractors due to corruption and mismanagement.
He stated that the government would not witch-hunt its political opponents, but would ensure that they accounted for their stewardship, adding that his administration would pursue accountability, probity and transparency.
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the PCG, Rt. Rev. Dr Yaw Frimpong-Manso, said although the PCG had done a lot in terms of provision of social amenities such as schools and hospitals to improve the physical well-being of the people, as well as catering for their spiritual needs, a lot remained to be accomplished.
He particularly mentioned the three northern regions which lacked much development, and said the PCG would initiate a number of programmes to reach out to such regions to win more souls for Christ.
The moderator’s address, which was contained in a 23-page document with numerous Biblical quotations that was accepted as a working document for the church, also highlighted on various issues affecting both the Church and the country, especially the political atmosphere.
The document also included the church’s investment in the hospitality industry, evangelism, national development, education and other social services, all of which would be supported with the Presbyterian Foundation that had so far yielded GH¢910,410 and the church’s Millennium Development Fund which had also netted GH¢74,987.27.
Rt. Rev. Frempong-Manso, who said his term of office as moderator would come to an end next year, was hopeful that God would guide the PCG to elect a successor to take over the mantle from him.
President Atta Mills’s gratitude to the PCG was contained in an address read on his behalf by the Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Mr Stephen Amoanor Kwao, at the opening ceremony for the ninth General Assembly of the PCG at Abetifi-Kwahu in the Eastern Region at the weekend.
In all, 500 delegates from the 14 presbyteries in the country, as well as others from different parts of the world, including the United States, Canada and Britain, were attending the six-day conference.
The conference, on the theme: “Let us rise up and build”, was to deliberate on various issues affecting both the PCG and society as a whole.
According to the President, the PCG had since its establishment in the country 181 years ago, set up numerous schools from the kindergarten to the tertiary level, as well as hospitals in different parts of the country, which had tremendously improved education and social services.
President Atta Mills stated that PCG’s contributions to the educational and social sectors had enhanced the living standards of the people, especially the poor.
He said in addition to the provision of amenities and services, the government would in the coming years commit itself to the development of pragmatic pro-poor programmes that would help improve the well-being of the ordinary Ghanaian.
To ensure that more social amenities would be made available for the people, President Mills gave the assurance that all good programmes initiated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration would be continued.
“The PCG has since its establishment 181 years ago, built schools at all levels of education as well as hospitals some of which are the Presbyterian Colleges of Education at Akropong-Akuapem and Abetifi, and health institutions such as the Akuse and Nsawam hospitals as well as the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital at Mampong-Akuapem, and I commend you for the provision of these amenities which have improved the lot of Ghanaians,” President Mills said.
To ensure that the PCG would be financially empowered to continue to provide such amenities, he advised it to enter into strategic investments in areas such as fruit processing, supermarkets and fuel filling stations.
He appealed to the church to help address issues like unemployment, communal conflicts, poverty and disunity.
President Atta Mills also expressed the government’s worry about the growing trend of disorder in churches in recent times, citing issues like occultism, tribalism, exploitation, corruption, infighting, fornication, adultery and other forms of indiscipline as typical examples.
He, therefore, appealed to the leadership of the various churches to address them.
The church, the President stated, must also help stamp out cyberfraud (sakawa), armed robbery, dealing in narcotic drugs and other forms of deviance.
President Mills noted with regret the level of indebtedness of the district assemblies to contractors due to corruption and mismanagement.
He stated that the government would not witch-hunt its political opponents, but would ensure that they accounted for their stewardship, adding that his administration would pursue accountability, probity and transparency.
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the PCG, Rt. Rev. Dr Yaw Frimpong-Manso, said although the PCG had done a lot in terms of provision of social amenities such as schools and hospitals to improve the physical well-being of the people, as well as catering for their spiritual needs, a lot remained to be accomplished.
He particularly mentioned the three northern regions which lacked much development, and said the PCG would initiate a number of programmes to reach out to such regions to win more souls for Christ.
The moderator’s address, which was contained in a 23-page document with numerous Biblical quotations that was accepted as a working document for the church, also highlighted on various issues affecting both the Church and the country, especially the political atmosphere.
The document also included the church’s investment in the hospitality industry, evangelism, national development, education and other social services, all of which would be supported with the Presbyterian Foundation that had so far yielded GH¢910,410 and the church’s Millennium Development Fund which had also netted GH¢74,987.27.
Rt. Rev. Frempong-Manso, who said his term of office as moderator would come to an end next year, was hopeful that God would guide the PCG to elect a successor to take over the mantle from him.
AKWATIA ELECTS MP AT LAST (PAGE 16)
THE rerun of the December 8, 2008 parliamentary election at six polling stations at Akwatia in the Akwatia Constituency in the Eastern Region now belongs to history.
The election, which was first held on December 8, last year, had to be re-run because of the seizure of ballot boxes by some aggrieved persons from the six polling stations, namely Yoruba Mosque ‘A’, Yoruba Mosque ‘B’, Lorry Station ‘A’, Lorry Station ‘B’, Presby JSS and AME Zion Church.
The situation made it impossible for the Electoral Commission (EC) to declare the results. Due to the problem, the Akwatia Constituency has not had a representative in Parliament for the past eight months.
The matter initially went to a High Court at Koforidua which ruled that the rerun should be held in all the polling stations in the constituency but that order was later quashed by the Supreme Court, which ordered a rerun at the six polling stations.
Although five persons, namely Dr Kofi Asare of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Baba Jamal Mohammed Ahmed of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Basil Ahiable, an independent candidate, Samuel Adjei of the Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP) and Mr Samuel Abrokwa, another independent candidate, competed for the Akwatia parliamentary seat, it was a straight fight between Baba Jamal and Dr Kofi Asare. Dr Asare eventually won the day.
Although Dr Asare had 1,011 votes at the six polling stations which were less than half of Baba Jamal’s 2,044 in the re-run on August 18, 2009, the NPP candidate was declared the winner.
That was because he had obtained 16,889 in the December 8, 2008 elections in the remaining 83 polling stations which together with the 1,011 put his total votes at 17,900 as against Baba Jamal’s total votes of 15,854, made up of 13,810 obtained on December 8 and the 2,044 secured on August 18.
The whole event, starting from December 8, 2008 and ending on August 18, 2009, was characterised by mistrust, acrimony, rancour and confusion among supporters of the NDC and the NPP, leading to violence on Saturday, August 15 during which four persons were slashed with machetes and had to be sent to the St Dominic Hospital in the town.
The violence continued the next day, August 16, and armed policemen had to fire tear gas to disperse supporters of the two political parties who had massed up on the streets between their offices which are almost within the same vicinity of the town for a showdown.
At the end of the disturbances, which lasted for about 15 minutes, some of the supporters and executive from both sides sustained various degrees of injury, while some vehicles had their windscreens smashed and bodies dented.
While the General Secretary of the NPP, Nana Ohene Ntow, was hit in the face and bled from the nostrils, Baba Jamal, who was with some newsmen in the NDC constituency office, had to be escorted to safety.
In all, about 20 persons from both sides sustained various degrees of injury from punches and machetes.
To maintain the peace, the Ministry of the Interior had to impose a dust-to-dawn curfew on Akwatia and its environs, while the Eastern Regional Security Committee also called for the postponement of the rerun, explaining that it could not guarantee the safety of the voters.
However, President John Evans Atta Mills came out with an assurance of adequate security for the voters for the event to come off as scheduled.
In line with the President’s assurance, hundreds of policemen and some soldiers, all in riot-control gear, were positioned at the six polling stations and other vantage points in the town while all vehicles entering the area were checked for arms and other offensive weapons.
The heavy security presence virtually turned the town to a battle zone, so a number of voters initially decided to stay away from voting in the morning, making it possible for impostors to vote in their names.
Some of the impostors, numbering about 30 who were identified in their attempts to vote, were, however, not arrested but were only warned by security personnel and officials of the EC led by its Deputy Commissioner, Mr David Kanga.
Realising the tension that had engulfed the polling stations and the possibility of violence between supporters of the NDC and the NPP, the national leadership of the two parties quickly met behind closed doors and decided to jointly organise a walk to all the six polling stations.
The initiative, dubbed “Peace Walk”, was to demonstrate to the voters that there was no animosity or acrimony between the executives of the two parties and as such, they should consider themselves as one people but with different thinking to vote freely and elect a candidate of their choice.
Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketsia, the General Secretary of the NDC, and Mr Peter Mac Manu, the National Chairman of the NPP, led the group holding each other’s hand which was occasionally placed on the other’s shoulders amidst jokes and laughter in a friendly manner.
Other members of the Peace Walk were the General Secretary of the NPP, Nana Ohene Ntow, the National Chairman of the NDC, Dr Kwabena Adjei, and a number of MPs from both sides who were later on joined by the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo.
Mr Ampofo, who is also the National Organiser of the NDC, expressed his appreciation to his colleagues for organising the peace walk, which, according to him, had calmed down tension at Akwatia and made it possible for voters to exercise their franchise in a peaceful manner.
Although the Akwatia Constituency rerun parliamentary election was successful and Dr Kofi Asare of the NPP got the mandate of the people to represent them in Parliament, the decision of Baba Jamal, his defeated opponent, to go to court over alleged malpractice at some polling stations, especially at Akyem Wenchi, the home town of Dr Kofi Asare, has pointed out clearly that the embers of the election at Akwatia had not yet been quenched.
It is, however, the hope that the issue would be resolved amicably to give Akwatia, a diamond-mining centre with people from different ethnic backgrounds living with the Akyems, the landowners, who form the majority, the peace it needs for its development.
The election, which was first held on December 8, last year, had to be re-run because of the seizure of ballot boxes by some aggrieved persons from the six polling stations, namely Yoruba Mosque ‘A’, Yoruba Mosque ‘B’, Lorry Station ‘A’, Lorry Station ‘B’, Presby JSS and AME Zion Church.
The situation made it impossible for the Electoral Commission (EC) to declare the results. Due to the problem, the Akwatia Constituency has not had a representative in Parliament for the past eight months.
The matter initially went to a High Court at Koforidua which ruled that the rerun should be held in all the polling stations in the constituency but that order was later quashed by the Supreme Court, which ordered a rerun at the six polling stations.
Although five persons, namely Dr Kofi Asare of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Baba Jamal Mohammed Ahmed of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Basil Ahiable, an independent candidate, Samuel Adjei of the Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP) and Mr Samuel Abrokwa, another independent candidate, competed for the Akwatia parliamentary seat, it was a straight fight between Baba Jamal and Dr Kofi Asare. Dr Asare eventually won the day.
Although Dr Asare had 1,011 votes at the six polling stations which were less than half of Baba Jamal’s 2,044 in the re-run on August 18, 2009, the NPP candidate was declared the winner.
That was because he had obtained 16,889 in the December 8, 2008 elections in the remaining 83 polling stations which together with the 1,011 put his total votes at 17,900 as against Baba Jamal’s total votes of 15,854, made up of 13,810 obtained on December 8 and the 2,044 secured on August 18.
The whole event, starting from December 8, 2008 and ending on August 18, 2009, was characterised by mistrust, acrimony, rancour and confusion among supporters of the NDC and the NPP, leading to violence on Saturday, August 15 during which four persons were slashed with machetes and had to be sent to the St Dominic Hospital in the town.
The violence continued the next day, August 16, and armed policemen had to fire tear gas to disperse supporters of the two political parties who had massed up on the streets between their offices which are almost within the same vicinity of the town for a showdown.
At the end of the disturbances, which lasted for about 15 minutes, some of the supporters and executive from both sides sustained various degrees of injury, while some vehicles had their windscreens smashed and bodies dented.
While the General Secretary of the NPP, Nana Ohene Ntow, was hit in the face and bled from the nostrils, Baba Jamal, who was with some newsmen in the NDC constituency office, had to be escorted to safety.
In all, about 20 persons from both sides sustained various degrees of injury from punches and machetes.
To maintain the peace, the Ministry of the Interior had to impose a dust-to-dawn curfew on Akwatia and its environs, while the Eastern Regional Security Committee also called for the postponement of the rerun, explaining that it could not guarantee the safety of the voters.
However, President John Evans Atta Mills came out with an assurance of adequate security for the voters for the event to come off as scheduled.
In line with the President’s assurance, hundreds of policemen and some soldiers, all in riot-control gear, were positioned at the six polling stations and other vantage points in the town while all vehicles entering the area were checked for arms and other offensive weapons.
The heavy security presence virtually turned the town to a battle zone, so a number of voters initially decided to stay away from voting in the morning, making it possible for impostors to vote in their names.
Some of the impostors, numbering about 30 who were identified in their attempts to vote, were, however, not arrested but were only warned by security personnel and officials of the EC led by its Deputy Commissioner, Mr David Kanga.
Realising the tension that had engulfed the polling stations and the possibility of violence between supporters of the NDC and the NPP, the national leadership of the two parties quickly met behind closed doors and decided to jointly organise a walk to all the six polling stations.
The initiative, dubbed “Peace Walk”, was to demonstrate to the voters that there was no animosity or acrimony between the executives of the two parties and as such, they should consider themselves as one people but with different thinking to vote freely and elect a candidate of their choice.
Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketsia, the General Secretary of the NDC, and Mr Peter Mac Manu, the National Chairman of the NPP, led the group holding each other’s hand which was occasionally placed on the other’s shoulders amidst jokes and laughter in a friendly manner.
Other members of the Peace Walk were the General Secretary of the NPP, Nana Ohene Ntow, the National Chairman of the NDC, Dr Kwabena Adjei, and a number of MPs from both sides who were later on joined by the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo.
Mr Ampofo, who is also the National Organiser of the NDC, expressed his appreciation to his colleagues for organising the peace walk, which, according to him, had calmed down tension at Akwatia and made it possible for voters to exercise their franchise in a peaceful manner.
Although the Akwatia Constituency rerun parliamentary election was successful and Dr Kofi Asare of the NPP got the mandate of the people to represent them in Parliament, the decision of Baba Jamal, his defeated opponent, to go to court over alleged malpractice at some polling stations, especially at Akyem Wenchi, the home town of Dr Kofi Asare, has pointed out clearly that the embers of the election at Akwatia had not yet been quenched.
It is, however, the hope that the issue would be resolved amicably to give Akwatia, a diamond-mining centre with people from different ethnic backgrounds living with the Akyems, the landowners, who form the majority, the peace it needs for its development.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
AKUAPEM RURAL BANK MAKES PROGRESS (PAGE 33)
THE Akuapem Rural Bank with its headquarters at Mamfe in the Eastern Region last year recorded a pre-tax profit of GH¢432,928.
The amount constituted a 54.01 per cent increase of that of 2007 which stood at GH¢281,109.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the bank, Mr Edward Offei-Bekoe, announced these at the 28th Annual General Meeting(AGM) of shareholders of the bank at Mamfe at the weekend.
He said the bank’s deposits within the period also rose by 18.15 per cent from GH¢5,182,162 to GH¢6,122,474 while shareholders capital hiked from GH¢179,897 to GH¢250,539, an increase of 39.27 per cent.
According to him, the increase in the bank’s fortunes made it possible to increase loans and advances by 71.85 per cent from GH¢2,009,531 to GH¢3,453,443 adding that its microfinance scheme was doing well.
To ensure efficient operation of the bank, he told the shareholders that the existing branches and new ones to be opened would be fully computerised.
Mrs Grace P.H. Bartels-Kodwo, Manager, Research, Marketing and Corporate Affair of the ARB Apex Bank, said it had become necessary for the ARB Apex Bank to underwrite some new banking services for the rural banks and the banking public, as well as improve its product base and introduce new products.
The new services, he stated, would cover trade finance, relationship or domestic banking, guarantees, value chain financing, card-based products, ATM operations, offshore banking and deposit insurance, adding that these services were not intended to compete with rural banks but rather to provide support services in areas where rural banks do not have the capacity to undertake.
Mrs Bartels-Kodwo further stated that due to the changing scene of the banking sector, coupled with competition from commercial banks, rural and community banks needed to have a very solid strategic alliance to enable them to stay in competitive business.
She stated that in that respect, there was the need for some rural banks to merge so that the weak ones would be strengthened.
The amount constituted a 54.01 per cent increase of that of 2007 which stood at GH¢281,109.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the bank, Mr Edward Offei-Bekoe, announced these at the 28th Annual General Meeting(AGM) of shareholders of the bank at Mamfe at the weekend.
He said the bank’s deposits within the period also rose by 18.15 per cent from GH¢5,182,162 to GH¢6,122,474 while shareholders capital hiked from GH¢179,897 to GH¢250,539, an increase of 39.27 per cent.
According to him, the increase in the bank’s fortunes made it possible to increase loans and advances by 71.85 per cent from GH¢2,009,531 to GH¢3,453,443 adding that its microfinance scheme was doing well.
To ensure efficient operation of the bank, he told the shareholders that the existing branches and new ones to be opened would be fully computerised.
Mrs Grace P.H. Bartels-Kodwo, Manager, Research, Marketing and Corporate Affair of the ARB Apex Bank, said it had become necessary for the ARB Apex Bank to underwrite some new banking services for the rural banks and the banking public, as well as improve its product base and introduce new products.
The new services, he stated, would cover trade finance, relationship or domestic banking, guarantees, value chain financing, card-based products, ATM operations, offshore banking and deposit insurance, adding that these services were not intended to compete with rural banks but rather to provide support services in areas where rural banks do not have the capacity to undertake.
Mrs Bartels-Kodwo further stated that due to the changing scene of the banking sector, coupled with competition from commercial banks, rural and community banks needed to have a very solid strategic alliance to enable them to stay in competitive business.
She stated that in that respect, there was the need for some rural banks to merge so that the weak ones would be strengthened.
AKWAATIA: IT'S NPP (1B)
Story: A. Kofoya-Tetteh & Nana Konadu Agyeman
Dr Kofi Asare of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was yesterday declared the winner of the Akwatia Constituency seat by the Electoral Commission (EC).
He polled a total of 17,900 votes as against 15,860 by Mr Baba Ahmed Jamal of the National Democratic Party (NDC) to come a close second.
This was after the rerun results of yesterday in six polling stations had been added to the results of 83 polling stations in December last year.
At the end of voting yesterday, Dr Asare secured 1,011 votes while Mr Baba Jamal topped the polls with 2,050 votes.
In the December polls, Dr Asare got 16,889 while Mr Jamal secured 13,810 votes. Mr Basil Ahiable and Mr Samuel Abrokwah, both independent candidates got 1,835 votes and 64 votes respectively and Mr Samuel Adjei of the CPP got 109 votes. The latter candidates did not feature in yesterday’s ballot and accordingly got no votes. At the time of filing this report, the atmosphere at Akwatia was peaceful and calm with heavy security presence.
The rerun of the election was occasioned by the alleged snatching of ballot boxes at the six polling stations during the December 7, 2008 general election.
The Koforidua High Court upheld Mr Baba Jamal’s suit for the EC to conduct election in all the 89 polling stations and not only the six affected ones, but the Supreme Court overturned that ruling and ordered the EC to conduct the rerun in only the six troubled polling stations, when Dr Asare took the case before it.
The total number of registered voters in the six out of the 89 polling stations was 4,581.
Earlier in the day, the mounting tension between the NDC and the NPP had subsided.
That was after a peace walk by the national executive of the two political parties.
The walk, jointly led by the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, and the National Chairman of the NPP, Mr Peter Mac Manu, took the group to all six polling stations where they urged the voters who had formed queues not to fight but to vote for the candidate of their choice.
Mr Asiedu-Nketiah, who held the hand of Mr Mac Manu, said the leadership of the two political parties had come together to ensure a peaceful election at Akwatia.
He said the NDC at first did not believe that the elections at only six polling stations could lead to violence as occurred last Sunday and that the Akwatia elections should not divide the people.
For his part, Mr Mac Manu said there should not be any acrimony between the NPP and the NDC, since they were all one people.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, who later joined the group, expressed his appreciation to the leadership of the two parties for their initiative to calm the tension and ensure peace in the area.
Earlier, there had been confusion at Yuroba Mosque A Polling Station when the Electoral Commission (EC) officials, led by Mr David Kanga, a Deputy Chairman of the commission, tactfully turned away some people who had wanted to vote twice from the polling station.
Events leading to the rerun of the election had been characterised by scuffles between supporters of the NPP and those of the NDC.
The volatile political situation at Akwatia prompted the police to fire tear gas on some occasions last Sunday, to disperse supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who had massed up in the streets possibly for a showdown.
The events compelled the Ministry of the Interior to impose a curfew on Akwatia and the Eastern Regional Security Council to call for the postponement of the election.
However, President Mills lifted the curfew and overruled the proposal by the Eastern Regional Security Council for the postponement of the election.
Dr Kofi Asare of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was yesterday declared the winner of the Akwatia Constituency seat by the Electoral Commission (EC).
He polled a total of 17,900 votes as against 15,860 by Mr Baba Ahmed Jamal of the National Democratic Party (NDC) to come a close second.
This was after the rerun results of yesterday in six polling stations had been added to the results of 83 polling stations in December last year.
At the end of voting yesterday, Dr Asare secured 1,011 votes while Mr Baba Jamal topped the polls with 2,050 votes.
In the December polls, Dr Asare got 16,889 while Mr Jamal secured 13,810 votes. Mr Basil Ahiable and Mr Samuel Abrokwah, both independent candidates got 1,835 votes and 64 votes respectively and Mr Samuel Adjei of the CPP got 109 votes. The latter candidates did not feature in yesterday’s ballot and accordingly got no votes. At the time of filing this report, the atmosphere at Akwatia was peaceful and calm with heavy security presence.
The rerun of the election was occasioned by the alleged snatching of ballot boxes at the six polling stations during the December 7, 2008 general election.
The Koforidua High Court upheld Mr Baba Jamal’s suit for the EC to conduct election in all the 89 polling stations and not only the six affected ones, but the Supreme Court overturned that ruling and ordered the EC to conduct the rerun in only the six troubled polling stations, when Dr Asare took the case before it.
The total number of registered voters in the six out of the 89 polling stations was 4,581.
Earlier in the day, the mounting tension between the NDC and the NPP had subsided.
That was after a peace walk by the national executive of the two political parties.
The walk, jointly led by the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, and the National Chairman of the NPP, Mr Peter Mac Manu, took the group to all six polling stations where they urged the voters who had formed queues not to fight but to vote for the candidate of their choice.
Mr Asiedu-Nketiah, who held the hand of Mr Mac Manu, said the leadership of the two political parties had come together to ensure a peaceful election at Akwatia.
He said the NDC at first did not believe that the elections at only six polling stations could lead to violence as occurred last Sunday and that the Akwatia elections should not divide the people.
For his part, Mr Mac Manu said there should not be any acrimony between the NPP and the NDC, since they were all one people.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, who later joined the group, expressed his appreciation to the leadership of the two parties for their initiative to calm the tension and ensure peace in the area.
Earlier, there had been confusion at Yuroba Mosque A Polling Station when the Electoral Commission (EC) officials, led by Mr David Kanga, a Deputy Chairman of the commission, tactfully turned away some people who had wanted to vote twice from the polling station.
Events leading to the rerun of the election had been characterised by scuffles between supporters of the NPP and those of the NDC.
The volatile political situation at Akwatia prompted the police to fire tear gas on some occasions last Sunday, to disperse supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who had massed up in the streets possibly for a showdown.
The events compelled the Ministry of the Interior to impose a curfew on Akwatia and the Eastern Regional Security Council to call for the postponement of the election.
However, President Mills lifted the curfew and overruled the proposal by the Eastern Regional Security Council for the postponement of the election.
Monday, August 17, 2009
CURFEW IMPOSED ON AKWATIA...REGSEC wants election postponed (1B)
Story: A. Kofoya-Tetteh, Akwatia
THE Ministry of the Interior has imposed a curfew on Akwatia and its environs following mounting tension and violence in the run up to the rerun of the election in six polling stations scheduled for tomorrow, August 18.
The volatile political situation at Akwatia yesterday prompted the police to fire tear gas to disperse supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who had massed up in the streets possibly for a showdown.
The decision of the Ministry was announced by the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, at the end of an emergency Eastern Regional Security Council meeting in Koforidua yesterday to review the security situation at Akwatia and its implications for the election.
At the end of the meeting, the regional security council called for the postponement of the election because the safety and security of voters could not be guaranteed.
The council also ordered all non-residents of Akwatia who were currently in the town and its environs ostensibly for the Tuesday election to leave the area immediately.
Meanwhile, the mounting tension between supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC)) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) over the rerun of the election in six polling stations of the Akwatia Constituency erupted into violence yesterday, prompting the police to fire tear gas to disperse the combatants.
In the midst of the confusion which occurred at about 7 a. m. and lasted for nearly 15 minutes, seven persons from both sides sustained various degrees of injuries and were sent to the St Dominic Hospital, Akwatia for treatment.
One of the victims was said to be in very serious condition and had to be rushed to the operating theatre.
Four others who were said to have sustained wounds from machetes on Saturday, in another clash between supporters of the two political parties, had earlier been sent to the same hospital.
The General Secretary of the NPP, Nana Ohene Ntow, was also injured in yesterday’s attack and was bleeding from the nose while Baba Jamal Mohammed Ahmed, who, with some reporters, had holed up themselves in the NDC office, had to be escorted to safety.
Three vehicles — a Tata pickup with registration number GS 5867 Z belonging to a member of the Eastern Regional Executive of the NPP, an Opel saloon car with registration number GR 7672 T and another vehicle, a JMC pickup with registration number GN 6031 Z — had their windscreens smashed and parts of their bodies dented.
No arrests had so far been made and the police have mounted roadblocks to search for arms from every vehicle entering the town while a number of security personnel have been placed at vantage points in the town.
For about two hours (8a.m. to 10a.m.) when the Daily Graphic team was in the town, no taxi or any commercial vehicle could go to the town and passengers had to alight at Boadua, a distance of about a kilometre, to continue the journey by foot.
The Akwatia District Police Commander, ASP Kofi Oduro Monko, who was leading about 200 policemen in riot control gear, said his men found it difficult to control the situation because the people, who knew each other, would not allow anybody from the opposing sides to enter their areas.
According to eyewitnesses, yesterday’s incident occurred when members of the NPP decided to go on a walk in the morning after which they organised a mini rally.
The source said while the NPP supporters were gathering, a number of people suspected to be members of the NPP from Wenchi, a town within the constituency, started arriving in the town to join their colleagues who had massed up behind the NPP constituency office.
The source indicated that the NDC supporters, who had also gathered behind their party’s constituency office, which is by the main entrance to the town and few metres from the NPP constituency office, decided to block and search the vehicles carrying the NPP supporters with the view to checking whether or not they were carrying weapons and that generated into the fight.
Nana Ohene Ntow, who spoke to the Daily Graphic, blamed the NDC for the incident and said if such attitude of the NDC was not checked, it might lead to anarchy.
On the other hand, Madam Catherine Ayakwah, an Eastern Regional Executive member of the NDC, accused members of the NPP in the constituency for causing the problem.
THE Ministry of the Interior has imposed a curfew on Akwatia and its environs following mounting tension and violence in the run up to the rerun of the election in six polling stations scheduled for tomorrow, August 18.
The volatile political situation at Akwatia yesterday prompted the police to fire tear gas to disperse supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who had massed up in the streets possibly for a showdown.
The decision of the Ministry was announced by the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, at the end of an emergency Eastern Regional Security Council meeting in Koforidua yesterday to review the security situation at Akwatia and its implications for the election.
At the end of the meeting, the regional security council called for the postponement of the election because the safety and security of voters could not be guaranteed.
The council also ordered all non-residents of Akwatia who were currently in the town and its environs ostensibly for the Tuesday election to leave the area immediately.
Meanwhile, the mounting tension between supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC)) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) over the rerun of the election in six polling stations of the Akwatia Constituency erupted into violence yesterday, prompting the police to fire tear gas to disperse the combatants.
In the midst of the confusion which occurred at about 7 a. m. and lasted for nearly 15 minutes, seven persons from both sides sustained various degrees of injuries and were sent to the St Dominic Hospital, Akwatia for treatment.
One of the victims was said to be in very serious condition and had to be rushed to the operating theatre.
Four others who were said to have sustained wounds from machetes on Saturday, in another clash between supporters of the two political parties, had earlier been sent to the same hospital.
The General Secretary of the NPP, Nana Ohene Ntow, was also injured in yesterday’s attack and was bleeding from the nose while Baba Jamal Mohammed Ahmed, who, with some reporters, had holed up themselves in the NDC office, had to be escorted to safety.
Three vehicles — a Tata pickup with registration number GS 5867 Z belonging to a member of the Eastern Regional Executive of the NPP, an Opel saloon car with registration number GR 7672 T and another vehicle, a JMC pickup with registration number GN 6031 Z — had their windscreens smashed and parts of their bodies dented.
No arrests had so far been made and the police have mounted roadblocks to search for arms from every vehicle entering the town while a number of security personnel have been placed at vantage points in the town.
For about two hours (8a.m. to 10a.m.) when the Daily Graphic team was in the town, no taxi or any commercial vehicle could go to the town and passengers had to alight at Boadua, a distance of about a kilometre, to continue the journey by foot.
The Akwatia District Police Commander, ASP Kofi Oduro Monko, who was leading about 200 policemen in riot control gear, said his men found it difficult to control the situation because the people, who knew each other, would not allow anybody from the opposing sides to enter their areas.
According to eyewitnesses, yesterday’s incident occurred when members of the NPP decided to go on a walk in the morning after which they organised a mini rally.
The source said while the NPP supporters were gathering, a number of people suspected to be members of the NPP from Wenchi, a town within the constituency, started arriving in the town to join their colleagues who had massed up behind the NPP constituency office.
The source indicated that the NDC supporters, who had also gathered behind their party’s constituency office, which is by the main entrance to the town and few metres from the NPP constituency office, decided to block and search the vehicles carrying the NPP supporters with the view to checking whether or not they were carrying weapons and that generated into the fight.
Nana Ohene Ntow, who spoke to the Daily Graphic, blamed the NDC for the incident and said if such attitude of the NDC was not checked, it might lead to anarchy.
On the other hand, Madam Catherine Ayakwah, an Eastern Regional Executive member of the NDC, accused members of the NPP in the constituency for causing the problem.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
NDC HOLDS RALLY AT AKWATIA (PAGE 14)
THE NATIONAL Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, has asked voters in the six polling stations in the Akwatia Constituency who would be going to the polls on August 18, this year, to elect the party’s candidate, Mr Mohammed Ahmed Baba Jamal.
He said Baba Jamal, who is a Deputy General Secretary of the party and Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, was the best man to team up with the government to develop the area.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo made the call last Thursday when he addressed a large gathering of NDC members and supporters after an early morning walk in some of the areas of Akwatia where the ballots were to be cast on August 18, this year.
Also in attendance were Baba Jamal and the party’s executive for the Akwatia Constituency.
According to Mr Ofosu Ampofo, Baba Jamal’s current position as a deputy minister in the government would make it easy for him to team up with other government officials to develop the area, adding that any other person would be a disaster for the people in the constituency.
“Baba Jamal is already in government and can lobby Parliament for projects, poverty alleviation measures and any other issue to be effectively implemented because he is one of us in government who can take decisions and at the same time implement them,” Mr Ofosu Ampofo stated.
On allegation that Baba Jamal did not come from the area, he said the parents of the NDC parliamentary candidate had stayed there for years, adding that Baba Jamal, who was also born at Akwatia, had nowhere to go because Akwatia was his permanent home.
“If the forefathers and parents of Baba Jamal had stayed at Akwatia from time immemorial and had given birth to him here, then he is not an outsider,” Mr Ofosu Ampofo asked, after which the crowd responded with a deafening no.
Baba Jamal, for his part, stated that he was conversant with the problems of Akwatia, especially those of the Ghana Consolidated Diamonds, (GCD) the main source of employment in the area which had virtually collapsed, and gave the assurance that the company would be given to a strategic investor for revamping.
He also promised the people of his commitment to help provide social amenities to further improve their living conditions.
The Kwaebibirem District Chief Executive, Mr George Agyemang Duah, appealed to the voters to rally behind Baba Jamal to occupy the Akwatia Constituency seat, since the Kade Constituency, which is also in the district, was being held by the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He said Baba Jamal, who is a Deputy General Secretary of the party and Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, was the best man to team up with the government to develop the area.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo made the call last Thursday when he addressed a large gathering of NDC members and supporters after an early morning walk in some of the areas of Akwatia where the ballots were to be cast on August 18, this year.
Also in attendance were Baba Jamal and the party’s executive for the Akwatia Constituency.
According to Mr Ofosu Ampofo, Baba Jamal’s current position as a deputy minister in the government would make it easy for him to team up with other government officials to develop the area, adding that any other person would be a disaster for the people in the constituency.
“Baba Jamal is already in government and can lobby Parliament for projects, poverty alleviation measures and any other issue to be effectively implemented because he is one of us in government who can take decisions and at the same time implement them,” Mr Ofosu Ampofo stated.
On allegation that Baba Jamal did not come from the area, he said the parents of the NDC parliamentary candidate had stayed there for years, adding that Baba Jamal, who was also born at Akwatia, had nowhere to go because Akwatia was his permanent home.
“If the forefathers and parents of Baba Jamal had stayed at Akwatia from time immemorial and had given birth to him here, then he is not an outsider,” Mr Ofosu Ampofo asked, after which the crowd responded with a deafening no.
Baba Jamal, for his part, stated that he was conversant with the problems of Akwatia, especially those of the Ghana Consolidated Diamonds, (GCD) the main source of employment in the area which had virtually collapsed, and gave the assurance that the company would be given to a strategic investor for revamping.
He also promised the people of his commitment to help provide social amenities to further improve their living conditions.
The Kwaebibirem District Chief Executive, Mr George Agyemang Duah, appealed to the voters to rally behind Baba Jamal to occupy the Akwatia Constituency seat, since the Kade Constituency, which is also in the district, was being held by the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
DON'T TAKE DECISIONS THAT WILL ADVERSELY AFFECT YOUR FUTURE...Presby Moderator advises the youth (PAGE 22)
THE MODERATOR of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), Rt Revd Dr Frimpong-Manso has advised the youth to be cautious of any decision they take since the slightest mistake will negatively affect their future.
Rt Revd Frimpong-Manso gave the advice when he addressed the third national delegates assembly of the Young Adults’ Fellowship of the PCG held at the Akyem Oda Senior High School over the weekend.
The event under the theme: “Put on the Armour of God”, brought together young adults from all the congregations of the PCG to brainstorm on matters affecting the fellowship and inculcate the proverbial Presbyterian discipline in them.
According to Rt Revd Frempong-Manso, the youthful stage in life, especially that of young adults, was full of challenges and temptations because they had to make choices and decisions out of numerous voices, doctrines and marriage partners.
Basing his sermon on Genesis Chapter 3, he said that in taking a decision, young adults had to be careful since the slightest mistake would negatively affect their future.
“There are many voices calling to attract your attention as young adults but not every voice or fashion whether in theology or ethics comes from God and you must beware of the tricks of the devil”, Rt Revd Frimpong-Manso stressed.
The moderator further stated that the church was fighting a spiritual war with satan and a host of unseen angelic and celestial enemies, as such, christians, especially young adults should fortify themselves spiritually as good soldiers to face the unseen evil spirits.
Rt Revd Frimpong-Manso asked members of the fellowship to provide sound leadership and guidance to those in the Young People’s Guild and Junior Youth of the PCG.
He said they could only do that if they eschewed negative tendencies such as Internet fraud (sakawa) and immorality, which might also lead to the contraction of HIV AIDS.
The Birim Central Municipal Coordinating Director, Mr Okoffo-Boadi Boampong who spoke on behalf of the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, also dwelt extensively on social evils in society and called on the church to help find solutions to them.
Rt Revd Frimpong-Manso gave the advice when he addressed the third national delegates assembly of the Young Adults’ Fellowship of the PCG held at the Akyem Oda Senior High School over the weekend.
The event under the theme: “Put on the Armour of God”, brought together young adults from all the congregations of the PCG to brainstorm on matters affecting the fellowship and inculcate the proverbial Presbyterian discipline in them.
According to Rt Revd Frempong-Manso, the youthful stage in life, especially that of young adults, was full of challenges and temptations because they had to make choices and decisions out of numerous voices, doctrines and marriage partners.
Basing his sermon on Genesis Chapter 3, he said that in taking a decision, young adults had to be careful since the slightest mistake would negatively affect their future.
“There are many voices calling to attract your attention as young adults but not every voice or fashion whether in theology or ethics comes from God and you must beware of the tricks of the devil”, Rt Revd Frimpong-Manso stressed.
The moderator further stated that the church was fighting a spiritual war with satan and a host of unseen angelic and celestial enemies, as such, christians, especially young adults should fortify themselves spiritually as good soldiers to face the unseen evil spirits.
Rt Revd Frimpong-Manso asked members of the fellowship to provide sound leadership and guidance to those in the Young People’s Guild and Junior Youth of the PCG.
He said they could only do that if they eschewed negative tendencies such as Internet fraud (sakawa) and immorality, which might also lead to the contraction of HIV AIDS.
The Birim Central Municipal Coordinating Director, Mr Okoffo-Boadi Boampong who spoke on behalf of the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, also dwelt extensively on social evils in society and called on the church to help find solutions to them.
YOU ARE SERVANTS ...Not Lords, President tells his ministers (LEAD STORY)
Story: A. Kofoya-Tetteh
& Kweku Tsen, Koforidua
PRESIDENT John Evans Atta Mills has asked regional ministers to come up with an effective monitoring and accounting system to ensure that funds released to the various district assemblies for development projects and other initiatives are judiciously managed.
That, he stated, would not only avert the situation where such funds were mismanaged as was the case during the previous administration but would also make it possible for the successful execution of projects and programmes to improve the lot of Ghanaians.
The President made the call when he addressed the maiden conference of regional ministers in Koforidua yesterday.
The three-day conference is on the theme, “The Role of the Regional Minister in the New Policy of a Better Ghana”.
President Mills said a cursory examination of the accounts of some of the district assemblies had revealed considerable mismanagement of funds by those who were previously in charge of them and that it was only the judicious application of such funds that would accelerate the development of the communities.
That, the President stated, would improve the life of the people, who, in return, would show appreciation by voting to retain the NDC in power at the 2012 general election.
He said regional ministers must know that they were servants but not lords and must show humility, competency, and transparency in the use of funds meant for the people because at the end of their four-year period they would have to account for their stewardship.
President Mills stated that government officials must be upright in their doings and warned that he would not hesitate to take disciplinary measures against any of such persons found wanting.
Rebutting allegations that he had been slow in taking decisions, the President said everything was on course for a better Ghana and that he would not rush to make mistakes, since some of such mistakes would be difficult to correct.
He submitted that it was unacceptable for his critics to expect him to fulfil his campaign promises within a seven-month period, saying that a lot had already been accomplished for the total development of the country.
With regard to the improvement of the local government system, he stated that steps were being taken in that respect, adding that preparations were in progress for a broad national stakeholder’s consultation to review 20 years of the district assembly concept.
President Mills asked the regional ministers, metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives and assembly members to always be in touch with the people to know their needs.
The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, said the ministry would be implementing some selected programmes such as resourcing the newly created district assemblies some of which, he stated, were only created by the previous administration without adequate provisions for the much needed resources to administer them.
Mr Yieleh Chireh, who dwelt extensively on various aspects of the local government system, expressed his appreciation to the Danish Development Agency (DANIDA) for its continued support for the system.
In his welcoming address, the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, enumerated the economic potentials of the region and expressed the hope that the meeting would afford the regional ministers the opportunity to share ideas on topical issues and collectively fashion out strategies to build a better Ghana.
The Omanhene of New Juaben, Daasebre (Prof.) Oti Boaten, chaired the function.
& Kweku Tsen, Koforidua
PRESIDENT John Evans Atta Mills has asked regional ministers to come up with an effective monitoring and accounting system to ensure that funds released to the various district assemblies for development projects and other initiatives are judiciously managed.
That, he stated, would not only avert the situation where such funds were mismanaged as was the case during the previous administration but would also make it possible for the successful execution of projects and programmes to improve the lot of Ghanaians.
The President made the call when he addressed the maiden conference of regional ministers in Koforidua yesterday.
The three-day conference is on the theme, “The Role of the Regional Minister in the New Policy of a Better Ghana”.
President Mills said a cursory examination of the accounts of some of the district assemblies had revealed considerable mismanagement of funds by those who were previously in charge of them and that it was only the judicious application of such funds that would accelerate the development of the communities.
That, the President stated, would improve the life of the people, who, in return, would show appreciation by voting to retain the NDC in power at the 2012 general election.
He said regional ministers must know that they were servants but not lords and must show humility, competency, and transparency in the use of funds meant for the people because at the end of their four-year period they would have to account for their stewardship.
President Mills stated that government officials must be upright in their doings and warned that he would not hesitate to take disciplinary measures against any of such persons found wanting.
Rebutting allegations that he had been slow in taking decisions, the President said everything was on course for a better Ghana and that he would not rush to make mistakes, since some of such mistakes would be difficult to correct.
He submitted that it was unacceptable for his critics to expect him to fulfil his campaign promises within a seven-month period, saying that a lot had already been accomplished for the total development of the country.
With regard to the improvement of the local government system, he stated that steps were being taken in that respect, adding that preparations were in progress for a broad national stakeholder’s consultation to review 20 years of the district assembly concept.
President Mills asked the regional ministers, metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives and assembly members to always be in touch with the people to know their needs.
The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, said the ministry would be implementing some selected programmes such as resourcing the newly created district assemblies some of which, he stated, were only created by the previous administration without adequate provisions for the much needed resources to administer them.
Mr Yieleh Chireh, who dwelt extensively on various aspects of the local government system, expressed his appreciation to the Danish Development Agency (DANIDA) for its continued support for the system.
In his welcoming address, the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, enumerated the economic potentials of the region and expressed the hope that the meeting would afford the regional ministers the opportunity to share ideas on topical issues and collectively fashion out strategies to build a better Ghana.
The Omanhene of New Juaben, Daasebre (Prof.) Oti Boaten, chaired the function.
Friday, August 14, 2009
ER COORDINATING COUNCIL INAUGURATED (PAGE 21)
The Eastern Regional Coordinating Council, a body that oversees the overall activities of the municipal and district assemblies in the region was inaugurated at Koforidua last Monday.
The council with the Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo as Chairman, has the Deputy Regional Minister, Mr Baba Jamal, the 21 municipal and district chief executives, presiding members of the various assemblies, the regional coordinating director and two representatives from the Regional House of Chiefs as members.
All heads of decentralised departments in the region are ex-officio members.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Mr Ofosu Ampofo asked the members to ensure that the municipal and district assemblies in the region as well as the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) would ensure that the vast economic potential of the area would be harnessed to meet the expectations and aspirations of the people.
He said the government was of the view that the assemblies had the potential to resolve the numerous problems confronting the people, especially those in the rural areas.
The regional minister said it was in that respect that it had transferred authority, competence and financial resources, especially the District Assemblies’ Common Fund to the districts.
According to Mr Ampofo, the judicious disbursement of such funds would ensure the success of rural development programmes.
In that regard, he said the coordinating council had to institute measures that would ensure that financial resources brought into the region would make the desired impact on the people.
Mr Ampofo, therefore, urged members of the council to hold in check the activities of the MDAs to ensure that their proposed development programmes would among other things be in accordance with regional development perspectives.
The regional minister traced the history of the region from its creation in 1953, said a number of committees had been set up to deal with issues such as disasters, prisons, procurement, health and policing.
He expressed the hope that members of the council would live up to expectation.
The Omanhene of Akyem Bosome, Nana Oworae Agyekum who is also a member of the council, entreated his colleagues to help improve the lot of the people but not to be an obstacle to development.
The council with the Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo as Chairman, has the Deputy Regional Minister, Mr Baba Jamal, the 21 municipal and district chief executives, presiding members of the various assemblies, the regional coordinating director and two representatives from the Regional House of Chiefs as members.
All heads of decentralised departments in the region are ex-officio members.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Mr Ofosu Ampofo asked the members to ensure that the municipal and district assemblies in the region as well as the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) would ensure that the vast economic potential of the area would be harnessed to meet the expectations and aspirations of the people.
He said the government was of the view that the assemblies had the potential to resolve the numerous problems confronting the people, especially those in the rural areas.
The regional minister said it was in that respect that it had transferred authority, competence and financial resources, especially the District Assemblies’ Common Fund to the districts.
According to Mr Ampofo, the judicious disbursement of such funds would ensure the success of rural development programmes.
In that regard, he said the coordinating council had to institute measures that would ensure that financial resources brought into the region would make the desired impact on the people.
Mr Ampofo, therefore, urged members of the council to hold in check the activities of the MDAs to ensure that their proposed development programmes would among other things be in accordance with regional development perspectives.
The regional minister traced the history of the region from its creation in 1953, said a number of committees had been set up to deal with issues such as disasters, prisons, procurement, health and policing.
He expressed the hope that members of the council would live up to expectation.
The Omanhene of Akyem Bosome, Nana Oworae Agyekum who is also a member of the council, entreated his colleagues to help improve the lot of the people but not to be an obstacle to development.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
BOOST OKWAWU UNITED (PAGE 63)
The leaders of the two main political parties in the Eastern Region, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), as well as well-to-do individuals, over the weekend decided to put aside their political difference and unite to give financial, material and moral support to the Okwawu United Football club towards their return to the premier league.
The club, the pride of the Region which about two years ago was in the premier league but, was relegated, is currently campaigning for re-entry into the elite division.
The political leaders comprised the Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, all the five district chief executives in the area representing the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the two MPs, who are all members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
To translate their words into action, the two groups met the playing body and officials of Okwawu United Football club at Nkawkaw, the team’s home base, last Sunday where they donated GH¢5,000 cash, 20 bags of rice and other items to the club.
Making the presentation, Mr Ofosu Ampofo said the two political bodies had to come together to assist Okwawu United come out of the doldrums to enter the elite football division since there was currently no such club in the region.
He said although the task ahead of team was herculean, with discipline and dedication on the part of the players, the club would clear all hurdles to be in the premier league next season.
The Member of Parliament for Nkawkaw, Mr Seth Adjei-Baah, popularly known as ‘Shaaba’, was happy that the two main political groupings in the area had come together to chart a common course and appealed to all well-meaning persons to throw their lot behind the club.
Mr Francis Anom, the club Chairman gave the assurance that everything was on course for the club’s re-entry into the elite football division and thanked the donors for their support.
Earlier, Mr Ofosu Ampofo had presented three sets of jerseys and a trophy to the St Paul Technical Institute at Kukurantumi.
The club, the pride of the Region which about two years ago was in the premier league but, was relegated, is currently campaigning for re-entry into the elite division.
The political leaders comprised the Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, all the five district chief executives in the area representing the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the two MPs, who are all members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
To translate their words into action, the two groups met the playing body and officials of Okwawu United Football club at Nkawkaw, the team’s home base, last Sunday where they donated GH¢5,000 cash, 20 bags of rice and other items to the club.
Making the presentation, Mr Ofosu Ampofo said the two political bodies had to come together to assist Okwawu United come out of the doldrums to enter the elite football division since there was currently no such club in the region.
He said although the task ahead of team was herculean, with discipline and dedication on the part of the players, the club would clear all hurdles to be in the premier league next season.
The Member of Parliament for Nkawkaw, Mr Seth Adjei-Baah, popularly known as ‘Shaaba’, was happy that the two main political groupings in the area had come together to chart a common course and appealed to all well-meaning persons to throw their lot behind the club.
Mr Francis Anom, the club Chairman gave the assurance that everything was on course for the club’s re-entry into the elite football division and thanked the donors for their support.
Earlier, Mr Ofosu Ampofo had presented three sets of jerseys and a trophy to the St Paul Technical Institute at Kukurantumi.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
COCOBOD TRAINS COCOA SPRAYERS (PAGE 30)
THE acting Deputy Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) in charge of Agronomy and Quality Control, Dr Yaw Adu-Ampomah, has cautioned personnel engaged in the spraying of cocoa in the region to desist from negative acts that would defeat the purpose of the exercise.
He mentioned some of the acts as pilfering of inputs and discrimination and extortion of monies from farmers.
Dr Adu-Ampomah gave the warning when he addressed gang supervisors engaged in the spraying exercise and district chief farmers at Asamankese, capital of the West Akyem Municipality at the weekend.
The exercise organised by COCOBOD, was aimed at controlling the blackpod and other related diseases and pests that negatively affect cocoa production.
In all, about 6,000 gang supervisors and district chief farmers from all six cocoa growing regions in the country have so far been trained.
Mr Adu-Ampomah said the exercise which was a special package for cocoa farmers to boost production to meet the one million tonne target for the 2020/2021 cocoa season, was free and under no circumstance should farmers be made to pay anything for it.
He stated that COCOBOD was leaving no stone unturned to boost cocoa production by ensuring the safety of sprayers, adding that all items that were needed for the exercise had been procured.
Dr Adu-Ampomah advised the farmers to weed their farms and maintain proper farm sanitation (removal of mistletoes and overhead shades).
He said come next year, all farmers would be directly supplied with both fungicides and insecticides to minimise the diversion of such products and also ensure that every farmer would be covered.
The National Co-ordinator of the spraying programme, Mr Kwame Obeng Adjinah said all cocoa areas had been covered and expressed the hope that it would have a positive impact on cocoa production to meet the one million-tonne target for 2020/2021.
He mentioned some of the acts as pilfering of inputs and discrimination and extortion of monies from farmers.
Dr Adu-Ampomah gave the warning when he addressed gang supervisors engaged in the spraying exercise and district chief farmers at Asamankese, capital of the West Akyem Municipality at the weekend.
The exercise organised by COCOBOD, was aimed at controlling the blackpod and other related diseases and pests that negatively affect cocoa production.
In all, about 6,000 gang supervisors and district chief farmers from all six cocoa growing regions in the country have so far been trained.
Mr Adu-Ampomah said the exercise which was a special package for cocoa farmers to boost production to meet the one million tonne target for the 2020/2021 cocoa season, was free and under no circumstance should farmers be made to pay anything for it.
He stated that COCOBOD was leaving no stone unturned to boost cocoa production by ensuring the safety of sprayers, adding that all items that were needed for the exercise had been procured.
Dr Adu-Ampomah advised the farmers to weed their farms and maintain proper farm sanitation (removal of mistletoes and overhead shades).
He said come next year, all farmers would be directly supplied with both fungicides and insecticides to minimise the diversion of such products and also ensure that every farmer would be covered.
The National Co-ordinator of the spraying programme, Mr Kwame Obeng Adjinah said all cocoa areas had been covered and expressed the hope that it would have a positive impact on cocoa production to meet the one million-tonne target for 2020/2021.
APIREDE LAUNCHES 5-YEAR DEV PLAN (PAGE 20)
A FIVE-YEAR development programme that would transform Apirede, a picturesque community situated on the highest point of the Akuapem Scarps, has been launched.
Under the programme which is estimated at GH¢805,500 and funded by the people through the payment of special levies, a number of social amenities made up of boreholes, modern places of convenience, teachers’ bungalows, a two-storey market and the rehabilitation of the road network in the town would be undertaken.
Also included in the programme is the refurbishment of the community library with books, computers and accessories.
The chief of the town, Nana Saforo Okoampa, announced the programme at the launch of the 15th anniversary of his installation at a mini durbar at Apirede at the weekend.
The durbar brought together other chiefs in the area such as Osabarima Ansa Sasraku, the chief of Mamfe, Nana Asare Brempong, Awukuguahene, Messrs Dan Botwe and William Boafo, Members of Parliament, respectively for Okere and Akropong, the District Chief Executive for the area, Mr George Opare Addo, all of whom donated or pledged various sums of money and building materials to support the programme.
ECOBANK also gave a GH¢10,000 cheque to help finance the projects.
Speaking at the ceremony, Nana Okoampa said he and his sub-chiefs, with the support of well-meaning citizens of the town, had decided to carry out the initiative since the government alone could not provide all the necessary social amenities for the area.
Nana Okuampa stated that the people had already assisted in rehabilitating the local Presbyterian and Methodist junior high schools and the construction of the Apirede-Sra-Somanya road.
He said an education fund would soon be launched to support brilliant needy students in the area.
The chief called for support from the people and other organisations in order to realise their cherished objective.
Mr Dan Botwe who was honoured for his immense contribution towards the uplift of the town, was happy that the chief and his people had initiated the programme that would eliminate ignorance, poverty and diseases from the area.
He gave the assurance that he would team up with his colleague MP and the assembly to assist the town.
Mr Opare Addo also pledged the district assembly’s assistance towards the development of the town.
Under the programme which is estimated at GH¢805,500 and funded by the people through the payment of special levies, a number of social amenities made up of boreholes, modern places of convenience, teachers’ bungalows, a two-storey market and the rehabilitation of the road network in the town would be undertaken.
Also included in the programme is the refurbishment of the community library with books, computers and accessories.
The chief of the town, Nana Saforo Okoampa, announced the programme at the launch of the 15th anniversary of his installation at a mini durbar at Apirede at the weekend.
The durbar brought together other chiefs in the area such as Osabarima Ansa Sasraku, the chief of Mamfe, Nana Asare Brempong, Awukuguahene, Messrs Dan Botwe and William Boafo, Members of Parliament, respectively for Okere and Akropong, the District Chief Executive for the area, Mr George Opare Addo, all of whom donated or pledged various sums of money and building materials to support the programme.
ECOBANK also gave a GH¢10,000 cheque to help finance the projects.
Speaking at the ceremony, Nana Okoampa said he and his sub-chiefs, with the support of well-meaning citizens of the town, had decided to carry out the initiative since the government alone could not provide all the necessary social amenities for the area.
Nana Okuampa stated that the people had already assisted in rehabilitating the local Presbyterian and Methodist junior high schools and the construction of the Apirede-Sra-Somanya road.
He said an education fund would soon be launched to support brilliant needy students in the area.
The chief called for support from the people and other organisations in order to realise their cherished objective.
Mr Dan Botwe who was honoured for his immense contribution towards the uplift of the town, was happy that the chief and his people had initiated the programme that would eliminate ignorance, poverty and diseases from the area.
He gave the assurance that he would team up with his colleague MP and the assembly to assist the town.
Mr Opare Addo also pledged the district assembly’s assistance towards the development of the town.
SOUTH AKIM RURAL BANK JOINS GHANA CLUB 100 (PAGE 20)
THE South Akyem portion of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional area is mainly a forest zone where varieties of food crops such as maize, plantain and all types of tubers are cultivated.
While some of the foodstuffs are consumed locally, most of them find their way to other markets in nearby metropolitan such as Accra and Tema, as well as big towns like Ashaiman and Koforidua.
The area is also the main cocoa belt in the region and is one of the most populous areas in the region with a large segment of the population engaged in commercial enterprises such as transport and trading in all sorts of merchandise.
Although the people are enterprising, their desire to go into large scale production of food and cash crops as well as boosting commercial activities has been hampared due to lack of funds.
The reason is that over the years, there was no financial institution within the vicinity to offer them the necessary credit facility.
As a result, farming at the subsistence level was the only option, with most of them on small holdings while petty trading was the order of the day.
The possibility of those wishing to go into the transport sector to purchase new vehicles for either private or commercial purposes was zero.
The people had to rely on old dilapidated vehicles most of which often broke down in the middle of journeys.
It is in the light of this deplorable situation that the establishment of the South Akim Rural Bank with its headquarters at Nankese on November 2, 1984, came as a sigh of relief to the people.
The bank which currently has branches at Suhum, Asamankese, Adoagyiri, near Nsawam and an agency at Osenase, a farming community within the West Akyem Municipality, has since its inception offered credit facilities to people in its catchment areas.
The bank granted a total of GH¢3,689,102.01 in 2008, an increase of 51 per cent over GH¢2,450,744 it gave out the previous year.
Apart from that, the bank has been honouring its social responsibility by assisting communities in its catchment areas in diverse ways, such as offering scholarships to brilliant needy students.
All that has been possible as a result of the prudent measures instituted by the bank’s board of directors, which was implemented by management.
For instance, last year, the bank’s profit after tax more than doubled from GH¢172,984.01 in 2007 to GH¢361,910 in 2008, total assets shot up from GH¢6,646,673 to GH¢7,890,700 with the shareholders’ fund increasing from GH¢559,271 to GH¢826,064, within the same period.
Such a significant achievement as expected, catapulted the bank into Ghana Club 100, a group of 100 most viable commercial entities in the country in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2008 ratings.
The bank which currently occupies the first position of rural banks in the Eastern Region, also moved up from the 87th position to 21 out of all the rural banks in the country.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic after a board meeting at Nankese, the elated members, including the chairman, Mr W.K. Boateng, the immediate past chairman, Opanin Kwasi Gyasi together with other technocrats, bankers and captains of commerce, Messrs S.K. Akwetey, Vice Chairman, E.K. Oware, E.C. Asante-Addo, Umar Amoah G.D. Agyakwah and S.S. Ayeh, Nana Kwaku Addo and Mrs E.A. Fianko, could not hide their excitement.
The board which was not surprised that the bank had achieved such a feat, said since it was the collective effort of the board, management, customers and particularly shareholders, that had made it to come this far, it had to considerably reward customers and shareholders.
For instance, last year, the bank gave out GH¢3,689,102.01 to its customers as loans compared to GH¢2,450,744 disbursed in 2007.
The bank’s social responsibility within that period included offering of scholarships to 65 brilliant needy students, rehabilitation of the police barracks at Suhum, the Nsawam and Koforidua Central Police Stations and the acquisition of water pumps for Akote and Ayisikrom, very remote farming communities.
The bank is also planning to construct buildings for a proposed senior high school at Nankese.
The success of the bank and its assistance to individuals engaged in agriculture and commerce as well as the communities, particularly those within Nankese town, has helped to improve the standard of living of the people in the area.
Speaking at the recent annual general meeting of shareholders of the bank, the Nankesehene, Nana Annor Maafo II said, “this bank has indeed helped my people and I will do everything possible to ensure its continued existence”.
With such a laudable contribution of the bank that has tremendously improved the standard of living of the people, it is expected that beneficiaries of its loans would promptly pay back for others to benefit from the facility.
Much is also expected of the board and management to institute the required measures such as the strengthening of the internal control mechanism to prevent fraudulent deals, particularly Internet fraud that has of late bedevilled the banking sector.
These measures would go a long way to further boost the fortune of the bank to enable it to continue to render better services to the communities
While some of the foodstuffs are consumed locally, most of them find their way to other markets in nearby metropolitan such as Accra and Tema, as well as big towns like Ashaiman and Koforidua.
The area is also the main cocoa belt in the region and is one of the most populous areas in the region with a large segment of the population engaged in commercial enterprises such as transport and trading in all sorts of merchandise.
Although the people are enterprising, their desire to go into large scale production of food and cash crops as well as boosting commercial activities has been hampared due to lack of funds.
The reason is that over the years, there was no financial institution within the vicinity to offer them the necessary credit facility.
As a result, farming at the subsistence level was the only option, with most of them on small holdings while petty trading was the order of the day.
The possibility of those wishing to go into the transport sector to purchase new vehicles for either private or commercial purposes was zero.
The people had to rely on old dilapidated vehicles most of which often broke down in the middle of journeys.
It is in the light of this deplorable situation that the establishment of the South Akim Rural Bank with its headquarters at Nankese on November 2, 1984, came as a sigh of relief to the people.
The bank which currently has branches at Suhum, Asamankese, Adoagyiri, near Nsawam and an agency at Osenase, a farming community within the West Akyem Municipality, has since its inception offered credit facilities to people in its catchment areas.
The bank granted a total of GH¢3,689,102.01 in 2008, an increase of 51 per cent over GH¢2,450,744 it gave out the previous year.
Apart from that, the bank has been honouring its social responsibility by assisting communities in its catchment areas in diverse ways, such as offering scholarships to brilliant needy students.
All that has been possible as a result of the prudent measures instituted by the bank’s board of directors, which was implemented by management.
For instance, last year, the bank’s profit after tax more than doubled from GH¢172,984.01 in 2007 to GH¢361,910 in 2008, total assets shot up from GH¢6,646,673 to GH¢7,890,700 with the shareholders’ fund increasing from GH¢559,271 to GH¢826,064, within the same period.
Such a significant achievement as expected, catapulted the bank into Ghana Club 100, a group of 100 most viable commercial entities in the country in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2008 ratings.
The bank which currently occupies the first position of rural banks in the Eastern Region, also moved up from the 87th position to 21 out of all the rural banks in the country.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic after a board meeting at Nankese, the elated members, including the chairman, Mr W.K. Boateng, the immediate past chairman, Opanin Kwasi Gyasi together with other technocrats, bankers and captains of commerce, Messrs S.K. Akwetey, Vice Chairman, E.K. Oware, E.C. Asante-Addo, Umar Amoah G.D. Agyakwah and S.S. Ayeh, Nana Kwaku Addo and Mrs E.A. Fianko, could not hide their excitement.
The board which was not surprised that the bank had achieved such a feat, said since it was the collective effort of the board, management, customers and particularly shareholders, that had made it to come this far, it had to considerably reward customers and shareholders.
For instance, last year, the bank gave out GH¢3,689,102.01 to its customers as loans compared to GH¢2,450,744 disbursed in 2007.
The bank’s social responsibility within that period included offering of scholarships to 65 brilliant needy students, rehabilitation of the police barracks at Suhum, the Nsawam and Koforidua Central Police Stations and the acquisition of water pumps for Akote and Ayisikrom, very remote farming communities.
The bank is also planning to construct buildings for a proposed senior high school at Nankese.
The success of the bank and its assistance to individuals engaged in agriculture and commerce as well as the communities, particularly those within Nankese town, has helped to improve the standard of living of the people in the area.
Speaking at the recent annual general meeting of shareholders of the bank, the Nankesehene, Nana Annor Maafo II said, “this bank has indeed helped my people and I will do everything possible to ensure its continued existence”.
With such a laudable contribution of the bank that has tremendously improved the standard of living of the people, it is expected that beneficiaries of its loans would promptly pay back for others to benefit from the facility.
Much is also expected of the board and management to institute the required measures such as the strengthening of the internal control mechanism to prevent fraudulent deals, particularly Internet fraud that has of late bedevilled the banking sector.
These measures would go a long way to further boost the fortune of the bank to enable it to continue to render better services to the communities
RERUN OF AKWATIA CONSTITUENCY PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION...Only regisered voters, accredited officials to be allowed to restricted areas (PAGE 15)
THE Eastern Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Stephen Andoh-Kwofie, says only registered voters and accredited officials would be allowed within a 100-metre radius of polling booths at the upcoming rerun of the Akwatia parliamentary election slated for August 18, this year.
The other officials, he said, would be from the Electoral Commission (EC) and representatives of the contesting political parties, as well as police personnel who have been empowered to use reasonable force to ensure that nobody disrupts the election.
DCOP Andoh-Kwofie gave the hint yesterday when he briefed the Akwatia Constituency executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) led by its chairman, Alhaji Baba Yakubu, and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) led by the secretary, Mr Kwaku Ofori Abrokwa, the regional press corps and the EC officials, on measures so far taken to ensure that the election would come off peacefully.
According to DCOP Andoh-Kwofie, the police had taken all the necessary steps to deal ruthlessly with anybody intending to cause confusion, and that people who had nothing to do at the polling stations must not go there.
He said under normal circumstances, polling booths were not entirely restricted areas but his outfit had been compelled to ban unauthorised persons from such places to prevent the recurrence of seizure of ballot boxes at such polling stations during the December 8 general election.
“Although the elections will be held in only six polling stations, policemen, apart from being at the polling stations, would be deplored at vantage points within the entire Akwatia town where some roadblocks would be mounted” he said.
“My men have also been empowered to apply reasonable but justifiable force on any person attempting to cause confusion before, during and after the election in the town”, DCOP Andoh-Kwofie added.
In answer to a question on how to deal with “machomen” anticipated to be in the area during voting day, he said any heavily built visitor spotted within the vicinity would not be arrested except that person tried to cause confusion.
The regional commander said the police had done what was expected for a peaceful election, and therefore, appealed to the contesting political parties to educate their followers on the dos and don’ts of the election so that nobody would contravene the law.
He added that ignorance of the law would not be an excuse to involve in any bad thing that would disrupt the election.
The Regional Director of the EC, Mr Paul Boateng, for his part stated that the EC would use new ballot papers but the same voters’ register that was used for the December 8, last year’s general election in the constituency.
Asked about the transfer of votes, he said only those effected before the December 8 elections would be allowed and that no new transfers would be entertained.
Mr Boateng appealed to the press to be circumspect in their reportage in order not to inflame passion to cause confusion.
The other officials, he said, would be from the Electoral Commission (EC) and representatives of the contesting political parties, as well as police personnel who have been empowered to use reasonable force to ensure that nobody disrupts the election.
DCOP Andoh-Kwofie gave the hint yesterday when he briefed the Akwatia Constituency executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) led by its chairman, Alhaji Baba Yakubu, and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) led by the secretary, Mr Kwaku Ofori Abrokwa, the regional press corps and the EC officials, on measures so far taken to ensure that the election would come off peacefully.
According to DCOP Andoh-Kwofie, the police had taken all the necessary steps to deal ruthlessly with anybody intending to cause confusion, and that people who had nothing to do at the polling stations must not go there.
He said under normal circumstances, polling booths were not entirely restricted areas but his outfit had been compelled to ban unauthorised persons from such places to prevent the recurrence of seizure of ballot boxes at such polling stations during the December 8 general election.
“Although the elections will be held in only six polling stations, policemen, apart from being at the polling stations, would be deplored at vantage points within the entire Akwatia town where some roadblocks would be mounted” he said.
“My men have also been empowered to apply reasonable but justifiable force on any person attempting to cause confusion before, during and after the election in the town”, DCOP Andoh-Kwofie added.
In answer to a question on how to deal with “machomen” anticipated to be in the area during voting day, he said any heavily built visitor spotted within the vicinity would not be arrested except that person tried to cause confusion.
The regional commander said the police had done what was expected for a peaceful election, and therefore, appealed to the contesting political parties to educate their followers on the dos and don’ts of the election so that nobody would contravene the law.
He added that ignorance of the law would not be an excuse to involve in any bad thing that would disrupt the election.
The Regional Director of the EC, Mr Paul Boateng, for his part stated that the EC would use new ballot papers but the same voters’ register that was used for the December 8, last year’s general election in the constituency.
Asked about the transfer of votes, he said only those effected before the December 8 elections would be allowed and that no new transfers would be entertained.
Mr Boateng appealed to the press to be circumspect in their reportage in order not to inflame passion to cause confusion.
Friday, August 7, 2009
US-BASED COUPLE BUILDS KINDEGARTEN BLOCK (PAGE 21)
A GHANAIAN lecturer at the University of Kentucky in the United States, Professor Kwaku Addo, and his wife, Mrs Esther Addo, have constructed a kindergarten classroom block at Adjeikrom, a deprived farming community in the Fanteakwa District in the Eastern Region.
The kindergarten, which has been named Kentucky Academy, is also being supported by the Extension Homemakers Association of the University of Kentucky.
Members of the association who paid a courtesy call on the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, at his official residence at Koforidua after visiting the academy said the association had decided to provide the necessary facilities and meals for the children to relieve their parents of additional burden.
Briefing Mr Ampofo on the reason they had decided to put up the kindergarten block, Professor Addo, whose in-laws have stayed at Adjeikrom for years, said he and his wife were aware of the financial difficulties facing the people and that compelled them to undertake the initiative.
He gave the assurance that he and his wife and the association would continue to provide the necessary assistance that would transform the kindergarten to become one of the best in the country.
Mr Ampofo expressed his appreciation to the couple and the association for coming to the rescue of one of the numerous rural communities where educational facilities were poor.
He stated that their assistance would go a long way in complementing the government’s efforts at providing quality education for all children of school age in Ghana, especially in deprived communities.
The regional minister took the opportunity to brief the group about the region’s system of governance and its culture, economic, agricultural and tourism potentials.
The kindergarten, which has been named Kentucky Academy, is also being supported by the Extension Homemakers Association of the University of Kentucky.
Members of the association who paid a courtesy call on the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, at his official residence at Koforidua after visiting the academy said the association had decided to provide the necessary facilities and meals for the children to relieve their parents of additional burden.
Briefing Mr Ampofo on the reason they had decided to put up the kindergarten block, Professor Addo, whose in-laws have stayed at Adjeikrom for years, said he and his wife were aware of the financial difficulties facing the people and that compelled them to undertake the initiative.
He gave the assurance that he and his wife and the association would continue to provide the necessary assistance that would transform the kindergarten to become one of the best in the country.
Mr Ampofo expressed his appreciation to the couple and the association for coming to the rescue of one of the numerous rural communities where educational facilities were poor.
He stated that their assistance would go a long way in complementing the government’s efforts at providing quality education for all children of school age in Ghana, especially in deprived communities.
The regional minister took the opportunity to brief the group about the region’s system of governance and its culture, economic, agricultural and tourism potentials.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
GOPDC REWARDS RETIRED WORKERS (PAGE 31)
FOUR employees of the Ghana Oil Palm Development Company (GOPDC), an oil palm plantation and processing factory at Kwae in the Kwaebibirem District of the Eastern Region who recently retired have been honoured.
One of the four managers was presented with a generator and a plague while the rest had plagues and deep freezers.
They were Messrs Stephen Korley, Emmanuel Fui Doe, Alfred Monney and J.N. Asiedu.
Mr Korley was employed as an electrical engineer in 1982 while Mr Doe was engaged as Plant Maintenance Manager in 1979. Mr Asiedu joined the company in 1979 as an overseer but rose through the ranks to become Assistant Plantation Manager, while Mr Monney was employed as a Mechanical Engineer in 1979.
Presenting the gifts to the retired employees, the Managing Director of the GOPDC, Mr J.C.E. Inkumsah, said the company would, for a long time, remember them for their dedication to duty which had made it possible for the company to grow.
One of the four managers was presented with a generator and a plague while the rest had plagues and deep freezers.
They were Messrs Stephen Korley, Emmanuel Fui Doe, Alfred Monney and J.N. Asiedu.
Mr Korley was employed as an electrical engineer in 1982 while Mr Doe was engaged as Plant Maintenance Manager in 1979. Mr Asiedu joined the company in 1979 as an overseer but rose through the ranks to become Assistant Plantation Manager, while Mr Monney was employed as a Mechanical Engineer in 1979.
Presenting the gifts to the retired employees, the Managing Director of the GOPDC, Mr J.C.E. Inkumsah, said the company would, for a long time, remember them for their dedication to duty which had made it possible for the company to grow.
CONTRACTS AWARDED IN ATIWA DISTRICT NOT COMPLETED — DCE (PAGE 17)
MOST of the contracts awarded in 2006 and 2007 for the construction of social amenities such as classroom blocks, places of convenience and boreholes in the Atiwa District in the Eastern Region have not been completed.
The projects were being funded by the GETfund, District Assemblies Common Fund, HIPC initiative/District Assemblies Common Fund and the Social Investment Fund.
Construction work on most of the projects which were expected to be completed within seven months and handed over to the communities was between 20 per cent and 66 per cent complete.
The District Chief Executive, Mr Emmanuel Atta Twum, made this known in his maiden address to the assembly over the weekend.
He said apart from two projects, an office for the health insurance scheme at Anyinam, the commercial centre of the district, and a 14-seater water closet at Dongobe, which had been completed, the rest, 26 in all, are at various stages of completion, ranging from 20 per cent to 66 per cent.
The DCE told the assembly that the failure of the contractors to complete the projects had raised questions on contract management in the assembly and that management was investigating the causes of the delay to ensure that the jobs would be completed as soon as possible.
Aside that, he said the Regional Programme Steering Committee had approved a number of projects for the district to be implemented under the Local Service Delivery and Governance Programme.
These, he said included the drilling of 15 boreholes at Tiawia-Subrisu, Abresu-Atifi, Osoroase-Sawer, Ahankrasu, Asunafo, Osorase-Adjikpo, Anyinam Slaughter House, Awenare, Anyinam-Train Station, Anyinam-Zongo, Tiawia, Tumfa and Akrofufu.
With regard to roads, he indicated that two kilometers of the Kwabeng roads and the Kwabeng-Nkurakan Road would be rehabilitated.
He further told the assembly members that the assembly had taken steps to tackle health problems such as HIV and AIDS, sanitation, disasters and security in the area.
Mr Atta Twum who said the assembly had to raise more internally-generated revenue for the funding of some projects, expressed regret that only GH¢59,103.29 out of the estimated GH¢170,164.00 revenue for 2009 had been mobilised and stated that measures had been taken to address the problem.
The projects were being funded by the GETfund, District Assemblies Common Fund, HIPC initiative/District Assemblies Common Fund and the Social Investment Fund.
Construction work on most of the projects which were expected to be completed within seven months and handed over to the communities was between 20 per cent and 66 per cent complete.
The District Chief Executive, Mr Emmanuel Atta Twum, made this known in his maiden address to the assembly over the weekend.
He said apart from two projects, an office for the health insurance scheme at Anyinam, the commercial centre of the district, and a 14-seater water closet at Dongobe, which had been completed, the rest, 26 in all, are at various stages of completion, ranging from 20 per cent to 66 per cent.
The DCE told the assembly that the failure of the contractors to complete the projects had raised questions on contract management in the assembly and that management was investigating the causes of the delay to ensure that the jobs would be completed as soon as possible.
Aside that, he said the Regional Programme Steering Committee had approved a number of projects for the district to be implemented under the Local Service Delivery and Governance Programme.
These, he said included the drilling of 15 boreholes at Tiawia-Subrisu, Abresu-Atifi, Osoroase-Sawer, Ahankrasu, Asunafo, Osorase-Adjikpo, Anyinam Slaughter House, Awenare, Anyinam-Train Station, Anyinam-Zongo, Tiawia, Tumfa and Akrofufu.
With regard to roads, he indicated that two kilometers of the Kwabeng roads and the Kwabeng-Nkurakan Road would be rehabilitated.
He further told the assembly members that the assembly had taken steps to tackle health problems such as HIV and AIDS, sanitation, disasters and security in the area.
Mr Atta Twum who said the assembly had to raise more internally-generated revenue for the funding of some projects, expressed regret that only GH¢59,103.29 out of the estimated GH¢170,164.00 revenue for 2009 had been mobilised and stated that measures had been taken to address the problem.
NDC TO WIN AKWATIA SEAT — OFOSU-AMPOFO (PAGE 15)
THE NATIONAL Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, has said that the party will definitely win the Akwatia Constituency seat in the re-run scheduled for August 18.
That, he said, would enable the party to increase its parliamentary seats to make it easy for the government to carry out its development agenda to make life worth living for all Ghanaians.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo, who is also the Eastern Regional Minister, gave the assurance when he addressed executive members of the NDC in Koforidua last Monday.
The meeting was to re-activate the NDC and strategise for both the Akwatia re-run and the 2012 elections.
The Akwatia Constituency re-run has become necessary because the 2008 parliamentary election in that constituency was disrupted, making it impossible to declare a winner.
According to Mr Ofosu-Ampofo, although the NDC had done everything to tilt the balance between it and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to enable the NDC to win the Akwatia seat, the regional executive should be in the constituency before the election to propagate the good policies of the NDC in order to win more people to its side to convincingly win the seat.
“The NDC is currently at the battle front and we will marshal all resources to win the battle, come August 18.
“We are leaving no stone unturned, so all of us should sacrifice by going to the area to drum home the good things of the government, so that they vote for the NDC to carry the day,” he stated.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo, who stated that the party had not forgotten its foot soldiers, asked the party’s executive to recognise the tremendous contributions of the foot soldiers so that they would be assisted, adding, “We will never abandon the foot soldiers.”
On the country’s present economic situation, he said although the NDC inherited a huge debt from the previous NPP Administration, the government was doing its best to resuscitate the economy, but pointed out that its good policies were being hampered by saboteurs such as some self-style market queens who had been preventing others from selling at some of the markets just to create hardship for others.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo, who spoke on issues on the environment said the government would not sit by for water sources to be polluted by “galamsey” operators, but appealed to the operators to go for the required licenses so that they would operate within the approved regulations.
He also assured all those who had something to do with the Ghana Consolidated Diamonds (GCD) at Akwatia that every effort was being made to revamp it.
Earlier, Mr D.S. Boateng, Ghana’s ambassador-designate to Cuba, thanked members of the party in the region for their support as well as that of President John Evans Atta Mills for his appointment.
That, he said, would enable the party to increase its parliamentary seats to make it easy for the government to carry out its development agenda to make life worth living for all Ghanaians.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo, who is also the Eastern Regional Minister, gave the assurance when he addressed executive members of the NDC in Koforidua last Monday.
The meeting was to re-activate the NDC and strategise for both the Akwatia re-run and the 2012 elections.
The Akwatia Constituency re-run has become necessary because the 2008 parliamentary election in that constituency was disrupted, making it impossible to declare a winner.
According to Mr Ofosu-Ampofo, although the NDC had done everything to tilt the balance between it and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to enable the NDC to win the Akwatia seat, the regional executive should be in the constituency before the election to propagate the good policies of the NDC in order to win more people to its side to convincingly win the seat.
“The NDC is currently at the battle front and we will marshal all resources to win the battle, come August 18.
“We are leaving no stone unturned, so all of us should sacrifice by going to the area to drum home the good things of the government, so that they vote for the NDC to carry the day,” he stated.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo, who stated that the party had not forgotten its foot soldiers, asked the party’s executive to recognise the tremendous contributions of the foot soldiers so that they would be assisted, adding, “We will never abandon the foot soldiers.”
On the country’s present economic situation, he said although the NDC inherited a huge debt from the previous NPP Administration, the government was doing its best to resuscitate the economy, but pointed out that its good policies were being hampered by saboteurs such as some self-style market queens who had been preventing others from selling at some of the markets just to create hardship for others.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo, who spoke on issues on the environment said the government would not sit by for water sources to be polluted by “galamsey” operators, but appealed to the operators to go for the required licenses so that they would operate within the approved regulations.
He also assured all those who had something to do with the Ghana Consolidated Diamonds (GCD) at Akwatia that every effort was being made to revamp it.
Earlier, Mr D.S. Boateng, Ghana’s ambassador-designate to Cuba, thanked members of the party in the region for their support as well as that of President John Evans Atta Mills for his appointment.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
GOVT WILL ENSURE EFFICIENCY OF MMDAs — CHIREH (PAGE 14)
The Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, has assured that the government will continue to play its role to ensure efficient operation of metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs), particularly in the area of waste management.
That, he said, would make it possible for the communities to be clean at all times.
He gave the assurance when he addressed an emergency delegates’ conference of the National Association of Local Authorities in Ghana (NALAG) in Koforidua last Thursday.
The conference, which was attended by delegates from the MMDAs, was to discuss pertinent issues and elect national executives.
According to Mr Yieleh Chireh, although the main challenge confronting both the local and central governments was solid waste management, the inability of the central government and local authorities to institute proper waste management systems over the years had resulted in deteriorating sanitary conditions in towns and cities.
The minister, who expressed hope that a revised environmental health sanitation policy that was awaiting parliamentary approval would help address the issue, called on the assemblies to do their best to ensure a clean environment.
He also stated that the government’s intention of holding a stakeholders’ forum on decentralisation would help address all pertinent issues militating against the local government system.
Mr Yieleh Chireh expressed hope that the delegates would elect capable and dedicated officers to steer the affairs of NALAG.
The Eastern Regional Minister,Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, said metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives should uphold the principle of accountability and transparency, adding that any of them who would deviate from such principles and conduct themselves in such a manner that would tarnish the reputation of the government would be “shown the exit card”.
“The level of corruption in the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies is highly unacceptable because funds meant for development with the intention of alleviating poverty are disbursed recklessly.It is unfortunate that most of our leaders do not consider the plight of the people they represent and such leaders will be severely dealt with,” he stated.
With regard to the empowerment of women, Mr Ofosu Ampofo called on the assembly members to throw their weight behind female members nominated for appointment as metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives.
In his address, the outgoing President of NALAG, Mr Mawutor Goh, said his outfit last year achieved some successes in advocacy, and that it had managed to fight for an increase in the District Assembly Common Fund from five to seven-and-half per cent as well as the passage of the Local Government Service Act 656.
Mr Mawutor Goh, who dwelt on various aspects of local government, thanked the delegates for their co-operation and support, and appealed to the members to accord the same support to his successor.
Present at the gathering were the New Juaben Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Alex Kwaku Asamoah, a former Minister of State, Mr D.S. Boateng, the Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Baba Jamal, and the Deputy Registrar General, Mr Ohene Obeng.
That, he said, would make it possible for the communities to be clean at all times.
He gave the assurance when he addressed an emergency delegates’ conference of the National Association of Local Authorities in Ghana (NALAG) in Koforidua last Thursday.
The conference, which was attended by delegates from the MMDAs, was to discuss pertinent issues and elect national executives.
According to Mr Yieleh Chireh, although the main challenge confronting both the local and central governments was solid waste management, the inability of the central government and local authorities to institute proper waste management systems over the years had resulted in deteriorating sanitary conditions in towns and cities.
The minister, who expressed hope that a revised environmental health sanitation policy that was awaiting parliamentary approval would help address the issue, called on the assemblies to do their best to ensure a clean environment.
He also stated that the government’s intention of holding a stakeholders’ forum on decentralisation would help address all pertinent issues militating against the local government system.
Mr Yieleh Chireh expressed hope that the delegates would elect capable and dedicated officers to steer the affairs of NALAG.
The Eastern Regional Minister,Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, said metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives should uphold the principle of accountability and transparency, adding that any of them who would deviate from such principles and conduct themselves in such a manner that would tarnish the reputation of the government would be “shown the exit card”.
“The level of corruption in the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies is highly unacceptable because funds meant for development with the intention of alleviating poverty are disbursed recklessly.It is unfortunate that most of our leaders do not consider the plight of the people they represent and such leaders will be severely dealt with,” he stated.
With regard to the empowerment of women, Mr Ofosu Ampofo called on the assembly members to throw their weight behind female members nominated for appointment as metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives.
In his address, the outgoing President of NALAG, Mr Mawutor Goh, said his outfit last year achieved some successes in advocacy, and that it had managed to fight for an increase in the District Assembly Common Fund from five to seven-and-half per cent as well as the passage of the Local Government Service Act 656.
Mr Mawutor Goh, who dwelt on various aspects of local government, thanked the delegates for their co-operation and support, and appealed to the members to accord the same support to his successor.
Present at the gathering were the New Juaben Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Alex Kwaku Asamoah, a former Minister of State, Mr D.S. Boateng, the Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Baba Jamal, and the Deputy Registrar General, Mr Ohene Obeng.
SUHUM-KROBOA-COALTAR TO EMBARK ON DECONGESTION (PAGE 22)
THE SUHUM-Kraboa-Coaltar District Assembly in the Eastern Region has decided to decongest some areas of Suhum, the district capital,to prevent disasters such as floods and fire outbreaks.
The exercise,the first of its kind to be undertaken in the area, would involve demolition of structures and houses on watercourses and places earmarked for roads.
Under the exercise, owners of such structures or buildings would not be paid any compensation, but would rather pay for the cost of demolition.
The District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Samuel Fleisher-Kwabi, dropped the hint in an answer to a question at a workshop on planning and physical development which was organised by the assembly last Tuesday, to educate developers and other stakeholders such as chiefs on all aspects of development, particularly land acquisition in the district.
The questioner had wanted to know about efforts being made by the assembly to assist people whose houses had been put up in flood-prone areas in the town.
According to the DCE, many landlords had put up structures and buildings at unauthorised places such as watercourses and other areas earmarked for roads, thus making such areas inaccessible to vehicles such as fire engines during fire outbreaks.
Mr Flesher-Kwabi said such situations would lead to calamities, should disasters arise,as such it had become necessary to undertake the exercise to prevent loss of life.
With regard to the granting of building permits, the DCE said that was the sole responsibility of a planning committee set up by the assembly and warned assembly members to desist from interferring in the granting of the permit.
He also called on officials of the Town and Country Planning Department to speed up processes of acquisition of building permits.
Three resource persons, made up of the Eastern Regional Director of Town and Country Planning, Mr Samuel Yaw Antwi, the Regional Lands Officer, Mr Maxwell Adu Nsafoah, and Mr Isaac B. Armah, the New Juaben Municipal Roads Engineer took the gathering through land acquisition, its usage, construction of town roads and other aspects of development.
The Apedwahene, Barima Obenakwa Kwarifa II who chaired the function, explained that Suhum lands were owned by his ancestors who gave it out to the people for use but had not been sold.
The exercise,the first of its kind to be undertaken in the area, would involve demolition of structures and houses on watercourses and places earmarked for roads.
Under the exercise, owners of such structures or buildings would not be paid any compensation, but would rather pay for the cost of demolition.
The District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Samuel Fleisher-Kwabi, dropped the hint in an answer to a question at a workshop on planning and physical development which was organised by the assembly last Tuesday, to educate developers and other stakeholders such as chiefs on all aspects of development, particularly land acquisition in the district.
The questioner had wanted to know about efforts being made by the assembly to assist people whose houses had been put up in flood-prone areas in the town.
According to the DCE, many landlords had put up structures and buildings at unauthorised places such as watercourses and other areas earmarked for roads, thus making such areas inaccessible to vehicles such as fire engines during fire outbreaks.
Mr Flesher-Kwabi said such situations would lead to calamities, should disasters arise,as such it had become necessary to undertake the exercise to prevent loss of life.
With regard to the granting of building permits, the DCE said that was the sole responsibility of a planning committee set up by the assembly and warned assembly members to desist from interferring in the granting of the permit.
He also called on officials of the Town and Country Planning Department to speed up processes of acquisition of building permits.
Three resource persons, made up of the Eastern Regional Director of Town and Country Planning, Mr Samuel Yaw Antwi, the Regional Lands Officer, Mr Maxwell Adu Nsafoah, and Mr Isaac B. Armah, the New Juaben Municipal Roads Engineer took the gathering through land acquisition, its usage, construction of town roads and other aspects of development.
The Apedwahene, Barima Obenakwa Kwarifa II who chaired the function, explained that Suhum lands were owned by his ancestors who gave it out to the people for use but had not been sold.
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