SAMUEL DUODU'S STORIES

DCE warns farmers against bush fires (Page 22, Jan 28, 2011

2011-01-28T08:51:00.000-08:00

Story: Samuel Duodu, Drobo

THE District Chief Executive (DCE) for Jaman South, Mr Julius Atta Bediako, has cautioned farmers in the district against starting bush fires.
He, therefore, advised the people in the area to prepare their food at home during this harmattan season to prevent bush fires.
The DCE reminded them of the havoc the 1993 bush fires caused to food and cash crops and property with some people losing their lives.
He, therefore, warned hunters, palm-wine tappers, honey extractors and cigarette smokers to be careful about the way they handled fire in the bush in order to prevent bush fires in the area.
Mr Atta Bediako was speaking at a fund-raising durbar organised by the Adomabea family of Atuna, near Drobo in the Jaman South District of the Brong Ahafo Region in aid of an education endowment fund to support brilliant, needy students.
He stressed that the time had come for the people in the area to inject more funds into education and the general development of the communities instead of relying solely on the government.
Mr Atta Bediako advised the people in the area to let education of their children be their priority as it was the cornerstone of the country’s human resource development.
The DCE urged the people in the area not to allow religious, tribal and political differences to divide them, and be united to move the district forward.
He called on the youth to be disciplined, law abiding, adding that they should not take the laws into their own hands and disturb the prevailing peace in the country.
Mr Atta Bediako reminded the people that as this year is an action one, most of the towns in the district would be connected to the national grid while the roads would be constructed for smooth transportation in the area, in addition to the supply of school uniforms, water, among other development projects.
He praised the Anomabea family for organising such an important programme and urged them not to let it be a nine-days’ wonder.
The DCE urged the other families in the area to emulate such a good example.
The newly elected assembly member for Anomana Electoral Area, Mr Ahmed Abuu Konadu, thanked the people for giving him the mandate..
Nana Amera Yeboa, who chaired the function, commended the DCE for his hard work and expressed the hope that by the end of the year, he would be described as the action man of the year.

SUNYANI GETS BIOMETRIC PASSPORT APPLICATION CENTRE (SPREAD, JAN 21, 2011)

2011-01-21T03:50:00.000-08:00

A biometric passport application centre has been inaugurated in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mr Chris Kpodo.
The opening of the centre means residents of the region who want to acquire biometric passports do not need to travel to Accra to have their documents processed.
The Brong Ahafo Region is one of the six pilot regions in the country to benefit from the biometric passport application centre project, which is in line with the government’s e-governance policy to decentralise biometric passport application.
Mr Kpodo urged those mandated to manage the centre to exhibit high moral standards by not delaying the process unduly or carrying out underhand dealings for monetary gain.
He said the migration from the old passport to the new biometric system was in conformity with international standards. Besides, the change-over would enhance the dignity of Ghanaians travelling all over the world, as the new passport had security features that would eliminate impersonation and other fraudulent activities associated with the old system.
Mr Kpodo said the new system had one-off payment of GH¢50 for normal processing and GH¢100 for those who wanted it urgently.
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, expressed the appreciation of the people in the region to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration for choosing the region as one of the six pilot regions to benefit from the project.
He asked holders of the old passports not to rush for the biometric ones, since the old ones would be valid till 2015.
He said the new system required the physical presence of an applicant, which would also help eliminate the use of middlemen or passport contractors, thereby saving time and cost and reducing fraud.
The Omanhene of the Seikwa Traditional Area in the Tain District, Nana Kwaku Dwuma Ankoana II, who chaired the function, on behalf of the chiefs and people of the region thanked the government for the centre, saying it would save the people the time and cost involved in acquiring a passport.

SUSTAIN CAMPAIGN ON MALARIA PREVENTION (PAGE 42, JAN 19, 2011)

2011-01-19T07:42:00.000-08:00

MEDIA practitioners, especially journalists and radio presenters, have been urged to sustain the campaign on malaria prevention and treatment through their reportage as the disease is the leading cause of death in the country.
Available statistics from the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) indicates that about 4,500 deaths caused by malaria are recorded annually in public health facilities across the country, while 1,500 children under-age five and 60 pregnant women die every year from the disease.
Media practitioners have therefore been advised to pay special attention to malaria prevention and treatment programmes to reduce the disease to its barest minimum.
Journalists and radio presenters were further tasked to provide effective and factual reportage on malaria and seek accurate information on it before reporting on the disease.
Speaking at a day’s training workshop for journalists and radio presenters in the Brong Ahafo Region in Sunyani, Mr Morris Ocquaye, the Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) Adviser of Promoting Malaria Prevention and Treatment (ProMPT), said media practitioners, especially broadcasters, by passing on accurate information on malaria to the populace, would help in the control and prevention of the disease.
He stated that apart from being a killer disease, malaria could also retard the mental development of children.
Malaria, Mr Ocquaye said, is preventable and curable, so media practitioners should give equal attention to the dissemination of accurate information on the disease to the public.
Mr Ocquaye said one of the effective strategies for the prevention of malaria was the use of Long-Lasting Insecticide Treated nets (LLINS) for night-time prevention of mosquito bites.
He said the workshop was also aimed at equipping media practitioners, especially journalists and radio presenters with the requisite information on malaria to clear the misconceptions associated with the disease in the country.
The NMCP Officer at the Ghana Health Service (GSH), Mr Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey, who presented a paper on malaria, burden, epidemiology and vector control, said everyone in Ghana could get malaria but children under age five and pregnant women were most vulnerable.
He said malaria was transmitted or spread naturally through the bite of an infected female anopheles mosquito and could also be transmitted accidentally through blood transfusion or through injection with blood contaminated with the malaria parasites.
Mr Gakpey said the typical breeding sites for mosquitoes carrying the malaria parasite included stagnant waters and rain pools, overflow water, roadside ditches, potholes, rice fields, tidal swamps, semi permanent stagnant waters along streams, rivers, among others.
He mentioned the main interventions for malaria control as the use of Long-Lasting Insecticide Treated nets (LLINs) for night-time prevention of mosquito bites, Indoor Residual Spraying of insecticides and Intermittent Prevention Treatment for pregnant women (IPTp) with Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP).
On the national anti-malaria drug policy, Mr Gakpey stated that chroloquine was no more an effective drug for malaria treatment and it had also been banned in the country, stressing that it was also an offence to sell or trade in chroloquine in the country.
He said artesunate-amodiaquine combination was the recommended drug for the treatment of malaria in the country, mentioning other approved drugs as artemether–lumefantrine and dihydroartemisinin piperaquine.
Mr Gakpey said the additional ACTs would be used for patients who could not tolerate the artesunate-amodiaquine combination as quinine drug of choice for the management of malaria in the event of treatment failure.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Health Promotion Officer, Mr William Sopiimeh, who represented the regional health directorate, urged journalists to partner the GHS to spread the information on malaria prevention to reduce the disease burden.
A media consultant for PROMPT, Ms Rosemary Ardayfio, said the workshop was to update the knowledge of media personnel to enable them to give out accurate information on malaria control and prevention.
She said it was also aimed at introducing the affordable medicines facility for malaria (AMFm), the drug and treatment policies and shift from targeted distribution to universal coverage of LLINs.

PROF DJANG-FORDJOUR IS NEW S-POLY RECTOR (NSEMPA, BACK PAGE, JAN 17, 2011)

2011-01-17T04:57:00.000-08:00

By Samuel Duodu, Sunyani.

PROF. Thomas Kwadwo Djang-Fordjour, 56, a former Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Education, Winneba, Asante Mampong campus, has been inducted into office as the new Rector of the Sunyani Polytechnic.
The new Rector who is a Prof. in Veterinary Medicine took over from Prof. Kwesi Nsiah Gyaabah, who retired after serving for 12 years.
Prof. Djang-Fordjour who has a lot of experience in the field of tertiary education, also served as Head of Department of Veterinary Anatomy at the University of Sokoto in Nigeria, between 1988 and 1992, and acting Head of Department at the Department of Animal Science at the University of Development Studies (UDS), Tamale from 1993 to 2005.
The acting Chairman of the Sunyani Polytechnic Governing Council, Mr Stephen Kofi Mensah, inducted Prof. Djang-Fordjour into office at a well-attended investiture ceremony at the Polytechnic auditorium in Sunyani, the Brong Ahafo Regional capital.
Among the dignitaries who attended the ceremony were the Chairman of the Conference of Polytechnics Rectors, Dr Y.S. Paligah, the Catholic Bishop of Sunyani, Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the Omanhene of Sunyani Traditional Area, Nana Bosoma Asor Nkrawirie II and Omanhene of Berekum Traditional Area, Daasebre Amankona Diawuo II.
Also present were some rectors of the sister polytechnics, some members of the various Polytechnics Governing Councils and academic staff from the University of Education, Winneba, Asante Mampong campus.
Addressing the investiture ceremony, the Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, stressed the importance of polytechnic education to national development, saying it produces highly technical and skilled level manpower to run the economy.
He gave the assurance that the government would continue to provide the necessary support for polytechnic education, especially in the areas of the provision of infrastructure to facilitate teaching and learning as well as accommodation for teachers and students.
Mr Opoku reiterated the call on tertiary institutions, including the polytechnics, to tailor their training policies to the needs of the oil and its related industries, saying it is unacceptable for the country to continue to import expertise when a lot of the country’s youth remained unemployed.
Prof. Djang-Fordjour, in his address, said his vision for the Sunyani Polytechnic was to make it a prominent institution recognised nationally and worldwide for Polytechnic Education in technical, vocational, commerce, finance and management studies.
He said the road map to achieving this goal includes effective management of existing resources as outlined in the government’s White Paper on Education Reform Review, 2007 (Polytechnic).
Prof. Djang-Fordjour gave the assurance that he would embark upon an open administration that would allow the committee system to operate, respect the views of staff, students and other stakeholders, and also open all communication lines to help check rumour mongering, fear and panic.
He stated that he and his management team would work to secure the accreditation for the Bachelors of Technology in Hospitality and Tourism Management, General Agriculture, Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Higher National Diploma (HND) in Wood, Bricks and Tiles Technologies and Computer Science Engineering as soon as possible.
Prof. Djang-Fordjour asked for the co-operation of the Council, the Academic Board, Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana and all unions on the polytechnic’s campus so that together they could build an enviable polytechnic in the country.
The new rector who is a native of Kutire No. 1 in the Berekum Municipality is married to Mrs. Diana Djang-Fordjour and has four children.

GOVT URGED TO GRANT LONG-TERM LOANS TO FARMERS (PAGE 22, JAN 15, 2011)

2011-01-17T04:08:00.000-08:00

A farmer in the Brong Ahafo Regional Nana Yaa Badu, has appealed to the government to grant long term loans to farmers to enable them to expand their farms.
She said that would encourage farmers to diversify their crops by growing more cashew, pepper, maize and also engage in poultry and fish farming to settle the loans which would be granted them.
Nana Badu made the appeal at a meeting with a cross-section of farmers at Senase, near Berekum.
She expressed concern about indiscriminate bush burning in the municipality that had resulted in bush fires in the municipality, destroying large quantities of agricultural produce.
Nana Badu, therefore, appealed to the municipal assembly to provide logistics such as uniforms and wellington boots to the fire volunteers to ensure effective prevention of fire.
She stressed the need for farmers to invest in the education of their children up to the university level for them to become responsible adults in the future since education is the key to success in life.
Nana Badu admonished the farmers to refrain from wasting their money on marrying many women and expensive funerals.
She reminded the farmers that the increase in the producer price of cocoa to GH¢200 was to help them to sponsor their children’s education and to ensure an improvement in their standard of living.
Nana Badu implored the farmers to cultivate the habit of saving with the banks to enable them to secure financial assistance, whenever they were in need.
As an opinion leader of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Nana Badu advised the youth of the party not to take the law into their own hands by removing Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs) from office which did not augur well for party unity and cohesion.
She, therefore, advised them to be disciplined and law abiding by impressing upon the MDCEs to deliver qualitative leadership to the people.
She commended the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, for his outstanding performance in the region, describing him as the "action man of the year."

BRONG AHAFO CPP, PNC INITIATES UNITY MOVES (PAGE 13, JAN 15, 2011)

2011-01-17T03:36:00.001-08:00

The Brong Ahafo Regional branches of the People’s National Convention (PNC) and the Convention People’s Party (CPP) have initiated moves to force their national executive to form a united Nkrumahist political party to contest the 2012 elections.
At a forum in the Sunyani municipality, the rank and file of the two Nkrumahist parties publicly declared to the whole nation their position on unification before the 2012 general election.
The meeting was held in collaboration with Nkrumah Rising, an organisation composed of CPP and PNC members desirous of creating sufficient internal pressure at the grass roots within the PNC and the CPP to bring about the total unification of the two parties.
Addressing the forum, the CPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Jomoro, Ms Samia Nkrumah, used the opportunity to announce her intention to contest the chairmanship of the CPP, with the reason that she wanted to be in a better position to facilitate and cement the unity agenda that was before the CPP and the PNC.
She noted that the unity of Nkrumaist groups was not a luxury but an absolute necessity if they wanted to win political power in order to transform the country.
“This cannot be achieved by a tradition that boasts not more than three MPs and, therefore, requires a different mind-set. Since 1992, unity among the Nkrumahist parties has eluded us, but we are at a junction where we either unite or we perish. We must unite or perish,” she stated.
“We in the PNC and the CPP are descendants of the same tradition. We are a family and no matter our current challenges, it is imperative that a tradition like ours emphasises unity above all else. Symbols and names are important, but we have to learn to focus on what unites us,” the only CPP MP added.
Ms Nkrumah said there was very little that divided the two parties, looking at their manifestos, and called on all to have faith in the Nkrumahist vision and work towards it.
She stated that this was the time for the PNC, the CPP, the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) and other Nkrumahist groups to form a formidable, unified, alternative political force to contest the 2012 elections as one Nkrumahist party.
She commended the Brong Ahafo Regional executives of the PNC and the CPP for working together before any other group started talking about unity on the ground.
“We recognise your pioneering role in this endeavour and I am here to be part of this process, without which our revival as one Nkrumahist party will not be possible,” Ms Nkrumah stated.

BUSH FIRE MENACE IN BRONG AHAFO (MIRROR, PAGE 21, JAN 15, 2011)

2011-01-14T07:12:00.000-08:00

From Samuel Duodu, Sunyani.

BUSHFIRE destroyed 224 farmlands cultivated with food and cash crops as well as livestock estimated at the cost of GH¢390,491.00 (¢3.9billion) with one death and four injuries in the Brong Ahafo Region in the year 2009 and 2010.
Out of the 224 bushfire cases recorded for the period between 2009 and 2010, 59 were reported while 165 were not reported with Techiman and Wenchi municipalities recording the highest cases of 105 and 60 cases respectively.
The region also recorded a total of 258 fires from January to December, 2010, as compared to 249 cases recorded for the same period in 2009.
The breakdown is 115 domestic fires for the same period in 2010 as against 105 in 2009, electrical fire 20 for 2010, 25 for 2009, vehicular fires 40 for 2010, 33 for 2009, commercial fires one for 2010, five for 2009, institution fires one for 2010, none for 2009 while others are 19 for 2010 and 24 for 2009.
The Regional Fire Command also attended to 40 road accidents from January to November 2010 and 44 for the same period for 2009 which resulted in the death of 21 people in 2010 as compared to 24 deaths recorded for the same period for 2009 as well as 86 and 60 injuries for the period respectively.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Fire Officer, Mr Paul Opoku, who gave the statistics on the fire situation, said the command has banned group hunting in the region which begun from November, 2010 and ends in March, 2011 since it has been identified as the major cause of bushfires during the dry season in the region.
On road accidents, Mr Opoku, who is also a Divisional Officer Grade 1 of the GNFS, said the command has intensified its education campaign to help minimise fire outbreak in the region, especially domestic and bushfires which increase during the dry season (harmattan).
The Regional Fire Officer said the command in collaboration with the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) and the Regional Secretariat of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) had set up anti-bush fire task forces which include the military, police, GNFS and NADMO to prevent and check those who would set fire during the dry season.
Mr Opoku said the command had trained 7,000 fire volunteers in the region while plans were underway to recruit more volunteers across the region to help combat the bushfire menace in the region.

PRU NDC SUPPORTS DCE (PAGE 12, JAN 13, 2011)

2011-01-13T04:08:00.001-08:00

THE Executive Members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Pru constituency have reaffirmed their support for the Pru District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Mohammed Masawud.
“So far as we are concerned the DCE is delivering and his relationship with the constituency executives as well as the rank and file of the party is cordial”, they said.
According to them, the party was also solid on the ground and coupled with the hard work of the DCE, the party was poised to retain the parliamentary seat and increase its vote margin in the 2012 general election.
The Pru Constituency Organiser of the party, Mr Mustapha Alhaji Seidu said this at an executive meeting to evaluate and assess the performance of the party for last year at Yeji, the district capital. Mr Seidu congratulated the DCE for his good work since he assumed office.
He debunked reports in a section of the private press that the NDC was collapsing in Yeji, saying the party was united and stronger and this would be manifested in the 2012 general election.
He called on supporters of the party in the constituency to close their ranks and rally behind the executive and the DCE to deliver the ‘Better Ghana’ agenda to the people of the district.
Mr Seidu further cautioned those who wanted to disturb the current peace prevailing in the constituency to desist from such act.
He appealed to the supporters as well as the youth wing to respect the party hierarchy and also work together as a team with the executive to ensure a resounding victory for the party in the 2012 election.
The constituency chairman, Alhaji Mumuni Inusah, said the executive would not allow a few disgruntled and selfish individuals who were using a section of the private press to create confusion in the party in the constituency and cautioned those members to turn over a new leaf or risk being sanctioned.
He reiterated that the entire constituency executive had no problem with the DCE since he was in constant touch with the party and had contributed immensely to the growth and development of the party before and after taking office as the DCE.

REVIEW LAW ON BUSH FIRES — OPOKU (PAGE 42, JAN 13, 2011)

2011-01-12T07:40:00.000-08:00

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Fire Officer, Mr Paul Opoku, has called for the review of PNDC Law 299, (1990) on bush fires, since the law has outlived its usefulness.
He stated that the anti-bush fire law was outmoded, weak and did not prescribe enough stringent sanctions to deter people from causing bush fires in the country.
Mr Opoku stated that the law on bush fires, which was promulgated 20 years ago, was not consistent with the present times and had also weakened the resolve of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) to fight bush fires in the country, especially during the dry seasons.
Mr Opoku, who is also a Divisional Officer Grade 1 of the GNFS, made the call in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Sunyani following the ban on hunting and other bush fire-related activities in the Brong Ahafo Region from November, 2010 to March, 2011.
He said in recent times bush fires caused by hunters in search of game during the prohibition period had caused destruction to both food and cash crop plantations running into thousands of Ghana cedis in the region.
The Regional Fire Officer said because the law on bush fire was weak and outmoded, the “economic saboteurs” had been made to go scot free by the law courts after they had been arrested and arraigned.
Mr Opoku stated that the state of affairs in the region had not only weakened the resolve of the GNFS to fight the rampant bush fires in the region, but had also made the investment of people into farming to go waste.
“If offenders of such crimes are not brought to book to assuage the pains of victims, it will serve as a disincentive or de-motivation for those who are desirous to venture into commercial farming, more especially at a time that the government is encouraging the youth to embrace farming as a commercial venture,” he stressed.
Mr Opoku gave statistics on the bush fire situation in the region from 2009 to 2010 to buttress his point.
He said bush fires destroyed 224 farmlands cultivated with food and cash crops, as well as livestock in the region worth GH¢390,491, and also resulted in one death and four injuries.
He said out of the 224 bush fire cases recorded in 2009 and 2010, 59 were reported while 165 were not reported, adding that Techiman and Wenchi Municipalities recorded the highest cases of 105 and 60, respectively in the region.
The Regional Fire Officer said his outfit in collaboration with the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) and the Regional Secretariat of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) had set up an anti-bush fire task force, which included the military, the police, the GNFS and NADMO to cause the arrest of people who would set fire during the ban period.
Mr Opoku said the command had re-trained the 7,000 fire volunteers in the region while plans were under way to recruit more volunteers across the region to help combat the bush fire menace in the area.
He stated that the command had also intensified its anti-bush fire educational campaigns in the region as part of the broader strategy to deal with the menace, which is rampant between January and March.
Mr Opoku appealed to residents in the region to co-operate with the GNFS to help combat bush fires during the prohibition period, since it was a shared responsibility

TANOSO NURSES' TRAIING SRC APOLOGISES ...For students demonstration (PAGE 11, JAN 12, 2011)

2011-01-12T06:49:00.000-08:00

THE Students Representative Council (SRC) of the Tanoso Community Health Nurses’ Training School at Tanoso, near Sunyani in the Tano North District of the Brong Ahafo Region, has apologised on behalf of the students of the school to the principal and the administration for a demonstration organised by the students on November 24, last year.
The demonstration by the students took place 20 days after the new Principal of the College, Mr William Abotzabire, took office from the immediate past Principal, Ms Josephine Koranteng Asare, who served as principal since the establishment of the school about eight years ago.
The students organised the demonstration to call the attention of the school authorities to the poor quality of food served them, the delay in the release of their allowances, overcrowding in the hostels leading to the spread of skin diseases, poor lighting system on the school campus, broken-down furniture and the non-utilisation of the development fee of GH¢25 paid by the students.
An apology letter signed by the SRC President, Enoch Damoah, and all the executive members to the principal, and copied to the Daily Graphic said, “On accounts of the demonstration which occurred on November 24, 2010, the whole school stands to apologise to our dear principal and the whole administration for demonstrating against them particularly the principal who has not yet settled”.
It said: “They realised their demonstration was not done at the right time and even should not have been done at all because we now know it was baseless. Please sir, the whole students have regretted and are appealing to you to forgive us again as your sons and daughters,” the letter stated.
The students pledged to abide by the rules and regulations of the school.
A visit by this reporter to the school to ascertain whether the issues raised by the students have been resolved, indicated that the poor lighting system and the poor quality of food have been improved while steps were being taken by the principal to resolve the others.
When contacted, Mr Abotzabire said the problems raised by the students had persisted before he took over as the principal and while he was in the process of solving some of the problems the students embarked on the demonstration.
The principal stated that within his short stay in office, he had been able to improve on the quality of food, the lighting system, the public address system and also was in the process of repairing broken furniture.
On the overcrowding in the hostels, Mr Abotzabire said he was making efforts to resolve them.
He explained that his predecessor signed some admission letters in replacement of students who did not honour their admission for the 2010/2011 academic year at the time he had taken over as the principal, which had increased the number of students from 170 to 176.
Mr Abotzabire noted that although the students had apologised he still stood by his earlier appeal to the Ministry of Health (MOH) to set up an independent committee to investigate the students’ demonstration, since he had a strong conviction that there might be some ‘forces’ behind it.
“I fear the staff because I do not know who is behind the demonstration because there is no smoke without fire. I came to meet some of the grievances of the students,” he said.
Mr Abotzabire said if the independent body came to investigate and made its recommendations he would be acting with a reference point.
He added that the investigation by an independent body would also help curb further demonstrations in the future.
Further inquiries by this reporter revealed that since the inception of the school about eight years ago students have been paying for entertainment and sports fees but no item for such activities have been bought and now the students are demanding items such as ludo, draught, footballs and whistles, for sports and games.

LET CHIEFS SELECT GOVT APPOINTEES — AHWOI (PAGE 12, JAN 11, 2011)

2011-01-11T07:07:00.000-08:00

A LOCAL Government consultant, Mr Kwamena Ahwoi, has suggested that the President’s power to appoint 30 per cent of assembly members should be taken away and given to the National House of Chiefs.
According to him, that power given to the President has often been abused by the various Presidents at one time or the other and needs to be changed “if we are to achieve an effective and efficient decentralisation system in the country.”
Mr Ahwoi, who is also a lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), made the suggestion at a public lecture on Ghana’s decentralised system in Sunyani on the topic: “One Step Forward: The significance of L.I. 1961 in Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies’ Capacity.”
The lecture was organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, in conjunction with the Local Government Service (LGS), and was attended by traditional rulers, municipal and district chief executives, directors and staff of decentralised departments in the region.
Mr Ahwoi further stated that because of the power to appoint 30 per cent of assembly members was conferred on the President by the 1992 constitution, political parties in power had used that to reward their members by appointing people who were incompetent to the assemblies.
He cited instances, especially during the reign of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) under President J.A. Kufuor, when such government appointees to the assemblies were sacked or removed en bloc to pave way for the President to appoint a new set of people just to vote to approve his nominees for the position of District Chief Executive (DCE).
He added that after the approval of the President’s nominee for DCE those who were sacked were re-appointed by the President and this was not helpful to the country’s decentralisation process.
Mr Ahwoi allayed the fears of the staff of the civil service who would be migrated to the Local Government Service that they rather stood to benefit since a LGS Act had been put in place to regulate conditions of service and conduct.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, suggested that a second look be taken at the role of the Regional Co-ordinating Councils (RCCs), especially in the consideration of resource allocation.
He stated further that the responsibilities assigned to and undertaken by the RCCs far outweighed the resources allocated for the purpose.
That, he said, made it extremely difficult for the RCCs to discharge these important assignments, a situation that normally tended to portray the RCCs as ineffective in performing their functions.
“I am sure I speak on behalf of all the RCCs and their functionaries in making a strong appeal that this issue be given an early and urgent attention.
The Head of the Local Government Service Secretariat, Mr Akwasi Opong Fosu, said the passage of L.I. 1961 was significant in the local government system in the country.
Osahene Kwaku Aterkyi, the President of the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs and Omanhene of Kukuom Traditional Area, who chaired the function, said if the decentralisation system was fully implemented, it would create employment to absorb unemployed graduates at the district level, which would also bring about a remarkable improvement in the living conditions of the people.

3BN READY FOR ANY SPILLOVER FROM IVORIAN CRISIS — CO (PAGE 19, JAN 11, 2011)

2011-01-11T06:48:00.000-08:00

The Commanding Officer (CO) of the Third Battalion of Infantry (3BN) in Sunyani, Lt. Col. Cornelius Lithur, has given an assurance that the unit has placed special focus on the Brong Ahafo section of the Ghana/Cote D’Ivoire border to prevent any spillover of violence into the country.
He said the unit would continue to closely monitor developments in the country.
He said so far the border appeared to be calm but the unit was alert and would not take things for granted.
Lt. Col Lithur gave the assurance at the battalion’s West African Soldiers Social Activity (WASSA) held at the Liberation Barracks Poolside in Sunyani on Friday.
The CO in his address also called for greater collaboration and co-operation between the military and the police and other security agencies to help fight armed robbery in the country, which continues to be a menace.
Lt. Col. Lithur urged the men and women of the battalion to continue to exhibit a high sense of tolerance in the New Year, adding that as professional peacekeepers they had to go about their duties with a high level of tolerance despite extreme and unwarranted provocation at times.
On discipline, he said the period under review was encouraging but urged the soldiers to improve on it in order to attain the highest standard required.
“Let me, therefore, admonish the few indisciplined ones to desist from irresponsible attitudes which will be responded to with severe disciplinary sanctions to make such negative practices very unattractive,” he stressed.
He also advised personnel to plan well and prepare adequately for their exit from the service “to avoid the surprised look on our faces even after serving for 25 years or more”, adding that it was also necessary for them to attach some importance to the education of their children.
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, for his part, commended the security agencies for sustaining the country’s relative peace and stability which had gained the country the accolade of ‘oasis of peace’ in the sub-region.
He noted that the security of the region was at the beginning of last year tested by the Tuobodom incident but with the prompt response of the security forces peace was restored, while another unfortunate incident at Bechem was also nipped in the bud.
Mr Opoku expressed the hope that the cordial relationship between the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) and the 3BN would continue to grow so that together they would create a congenial environment for all to go about their business without fear or hindrance.
Present at the end-of-year get-together was the General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Northern Command, Brigadier-General Charles K. Ocran.
Prizes were awarded various companies within the unit which excelled in certain sporting activities such as football, volley, tug-of-war, among others, while the Alpha Company of the 3BN was adjudged the overall best company, receiving a trophy as their prize.

CHELSEA MAINTAIN LEAD (BACK PAGE, JAN 10, 2011)

2011-01-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

Berekum Chelsea maintained their lead in the ongoing Glo Premiership when they defeated visiting Mighty Jets 2-1 at the Golden City Park yesterday.
A 27th minute spot kick awarded Chelsea by referee William Agbovi, after Richard Ofori handled the ball in the box, was beautifully converted by Bismark Idan to put the homesters ahead.
However, Mighty Jets cancelled the lead in the 83rd minute through Abubakar Sadick following a goalmouth melee.
As the game was heading for a draw, nimble-footed Obed Owusu won the day for Chelsea when his 35-metre deceptive shot in the 88th minute caught keeper Frank Oduro unawares.

TWO KILLED BY COLLAPSING BUILDING (BACK PAGE, JAN 8, 2011)

2011-01-10T10:08:00.001-08:00

Two persons died on the spot, while three others sustained injuries, when a storey building under construction at Antwrifo in the Dormaa West municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region collapsed on them on Wednesday evening.
The deceased have been identified as Papa Solo, 32, and Edward Cudjoe, 18, both residents of Antwrifo, who were chatting at the site when the incident occurred.
The names of the injured were given as John Adu, a middle-aged man who is the owner of the collapsed building and clearing agent at Elubo in the Western Region; Alfred Tawiah, the Catechist of the local Presbyterian Church, and Henry Obeng, aka Ata.
The bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the Dormaa Ahenkro Presbyterian Hospital morgue, while the three injured persons are also on admission at the same hospital.
It took a rescue team, led by the Divisional Officer Grade One of the Dormaa West Municipal Fire Station, Mr Charles Kumi Amponsah, about two hours to remove the dead and the injured who were trapped under the debris.
Among the security agencies that took part in the rescue operation were the police and a military patrol team, as well as the Dormaa West Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Vincent Oppong Asamoah, who provided a generator to assist in the operation, since Antwrifo has no electricity.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, Mr Amponsah said the disaster occurred between 4.15 p.m. and 4.30 p.m. on Wednesday but the station received the distress call at 5 p.m. and rushed to the scene immediately.
He said the Fire Service rescue team cut the iron rods and the concrete debris under which the victims were trapped to remove them.
He attributed the collapse of the building, which was at the first floor level, to shoddy work, since those working on it did not allow the concrete works to dry before removing the bamboo sticks and others that had been used to support the concrete works for the first floor.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, also visited the scene later and expressed his sympathy and that of the Brong Ahafo Regional Co-ordinating Council to the bereaved families.
He urged the various municipal and district assemblies (MDAs) in the region to strictly enforce their bye-laws and other regulations on building construction to forestall the future recurrence of that disaster.

NO VIOLENT CRIME RECORDED IN SUNYANI (MIRROR, PAGE 21, JAN 8, 2011)

2011-01-07T10:22:00.000-08:00

From Samuel Duodu, Sunyani

NO violent crime was recorded in the Sunyani Municipality, the capital of the Brong Ahafo Region, during the Christmas and the new year periods.
The municipality, however, recorded a total of 38 assault cases, 12 offensive conduct cases and 13 stealing cases during the period.
Some of the cases are in court, while others are still under investigations. Majority of the assault cases recorded for the period were mostly among households and family members and were also as a result of drunkenness or under the influence of alcohol.
Police Superintendent (Supt), Maxwell Osei, the Sunyani Municipal Police Commander, who disclosed this in an interview with The Mirror in Sunyani, said some of the offenders in the assault cases who acted under the influence of alcohol or were drunk during the act after sobriety and regaining their composure regretted their actions and had resolved their differences with their victims.
He attributed the calmness during the festive period in the municipality to the deployment of a number of police patrol teams and others on foot in the municipality who helped to maintain law and order.
Supt. Osei also commended residents in the municipality who co-operated with the police to ensure a peaceful Yuletide and New Year and urged them to continue to assist with policing of the municipality by reporting suspicious characters in their vicinities to the police and also provide useful information for the arrest of criminals in their hide-outs.

OSAGYEFO AGYEMAN BADU URGES POLITICAL TOLERANCE (SPREAD, JAN 3, 2011)

2011-01-03T07:16:00.000-08:00

Ghanaians, especially supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), have been advised to be tolerant of one another’s view, since democracy thrives on the free expression of divergent views and opinions.
Speaking at an end-of-year get-together organised by the Dormaa Traditional Council, the Omanhene of the Dormaa Traditional Area in the Brong Ahafo Region, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu II, said, “The fact that you disagree with the views or opinions expressed by someone who does not share your political ideology does not make the person an enemy.”
He, therefore, appealed to supporters of political parties to accommodate one another’s views to ease the political tension in the country as the nation entered 2011, a year before the 2012 general election.
The occasion was also used to present scholarship packages to 128 senior high and tertiary students from the traditional area. The packages were provided by the Dormaaman Educational Endowment Fund (DORMEEF).
Osagyefo Agyeman Badu noted that the traditional area had not been spared the intolerance that had crept into the country’s politics, sometimes leading to undesired consequences.
In that regard, he appealed to supporters of the NDC and the NPP within his jurisdiction not to allow their political differences to divide them as a people, saying that they should rather unite for the sake of Dormaa and Ghana as a whole.
“At the end of the day, we are one people with a common destiny and politics must not make us enemies,” he said.
He used the opportunity to appeal to the government to use 2011 to extend electricity to all towns and villages in the traditional area that had not been connected to the national grid.
“Sleeping in darkness is against the fundamental human rights of citizens, so in 2011 all communities in the traditional area must have electricity,” he stressed.
The Dormaahene further appealed to the government to tar Dormaa Ahenkro town roads and upgrade the Dormaa-Nkrankwanta-Sefwi and the Gambia-Kyeremasu roads to facilitate commercial activities in the traditional area.
Osagyefo Agyeman Badu commended the government for the provision of massive educational infrastructure in the traditional area during its two-year stay in office.
He expressed the hope that President Mills would make good his declaration that 2011 was going to be an action year that would bring tremendous improvement into the living standards of every Ghanaian.
He commended his people for sustaining the peace and stability in the area and contributing to the development of the area and hoped that 2011 would be a prosperous one for them all.
Touching on the Ivorian crisis, the Dormaahene called for dialogue, instead of military force, to resolve the matter.
The Gyasehene of the Dormaa Traditional Area, Barima Oppong Yaw Ababio, earlier in his welcoming address, had pledged the support of the traditional council to all assembly members and unit committee members in the traditional area and urged them to team up with the assembly for the development of the area.

DORMAA TRADITIONAL COUNCIL SUPPORTS EDUCATION (PAGE 11, JAN 3, 2011)

2011-01-03T07:06:00.001-08:00

THE Dormaa Traditional Council has so far spent a total of Gh¢120,000.00 (¢1.2billion) on 1,070 students, from the traditional area, in senior high and tertiary institutions in the country under its Educational Endowment Fund christened “Dormaaman Educational Endowment Fund” (DORMEEF) established ten years ago.
A total of 128 students which comprises 78 at the senior high school (SHS) and 50 at the tertiary levels are being sponsored under the fund for the 2010/2011 academic year.
Speaking at the annual award of the bursary to the 128 beneficiaries for the 2010/2011 academic year at Dormaa Ahenkro, which was held together with an end of year get together of the chiefs and citizens of Dormaa to usher in the new year, Osagyefo Oseadeayo Agyeman Badu II, the Omanhene of Dormaa Traditional Area, said the bursary was in its 10th year and had provided financial support to academically promising, needy students from the area to pursue SHS and tertiary education.
He noted that the traditional council saw education as the key to the socio-economic development of every society and would, therefore, continue to make education one of its top most priority.
Nana Agyeman Badu also used the occasion to commend the government for the provision of massive educational infrastructure in the traditional area and expressed the hope that in the coming years, the government would do more to raise the standard of education in the area.
The Secretary to the Board of Trustees for DORMEEF, Mr S H Baah, who presented the bursary on behalf of the President of the Dormaa Traditional Council and the initiator of the fund, Nana Agyeman Badu, expressed the hope that the beneficiaries of the fund would reciprocate the gesture by maintaining a high academic standard.

ADUANA WILL TAKE AFRICA BY STORM — DORMAAHENE (PAGE 31, JAN 3, 2011)

2011-01-03T06:59:00.000-08:00

The Omanhene of the Dormaa Traditional Area, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu II, who is also the Life Patron and bankroller of league champions, Dormaa-based Aduana Stars, says the club is poised to take Africa by storm as it represents Ghana in the CAF Champions League in 2011.
He said the club had proved in its short stay in the domestic top flight that it was a force to reckon with and would exhibit that same character in Africa.
Nana Agyeman Badu II, who said this at an annual get-together of the chiefs and people of Dormaa Traditional Area at Dormaa-Ahenkro to usher in the new year, said Aduana was also poised to retain the Glo Premier League title in the 2010/2011 season.
According to him, teams that had taken the lead in the premiership, especially Bechem Chelsea, also from the Brong Ahafo Region, are good but Aduana was going to assume the top spot in the second round.
He noted that the team used the first round to warm up and now that everything was set, it was poised to reclaim the top spot and go ahead to retain the title.
The Dormaahene called on Ghanaians to support the club as it ventured into Africa so as to bring back the glory associated with Ghanaian teams on the continental front.
The Life Patron of Aduana Stars also appealed for prayers and financial support from all and sundry from the Dormaa State to enable the club to retain the premiership title and also cause a stir in Africa.
Barima Oppong Yaw Ababio, the Gyasehene of Dormaa Traditional Area, earlier in a welcome address thanked all who had supported the club both in prayers and cash.
He reiterated the appeal to all citizens of Dormaa, as well as Ghanaians, to support Aduana Stars spiritually and financially as it prepares to represent the nation in Africa.

COMPANY DONATES TO WIDOWS (PAGE 22, DEC 31, 2010)

2010-12-31T07:33:00.000-08:00

FRANK Media, operators of Adepa Fm at Techiman, Dinpa Fm in Sunyani both in the Brong Ahafo Region, as well as Sompa Fm in Cape Coast in the Central Region, have presented fowls and rice valued at GH¢4,106 to 306 widows and six widowers in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The gesture was to help the beneficiaries and their children to celebrate Christmas like fortunate families and also to encourage them not to lose hope in life.
Apart from the donation, the widows and widowers were also entertained and given inspirational messages by some ministers of the gospel who advised them not to lose hope.
Presenting the items at a ceremony at the forecourt of Adepa Fm at Techiman, Mr Kwame Baffoe-Adjei, the Events and Promotions Manager of Frank Media, who deputised for the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Frank Asare, said the gesture formed part of the social responsibility of the company.
He said the company had decided to focus on the vulnerable group in the society to let them feel that they were part of the society and that they had not been neglected.
Mr Baffoe-Adjei said the management of the company had planned to use the platform to form an association for the widows and widowers, adding that that the company would continue to assist the less privileged and marginalised in society.
He, on behalf of the board, management and staff of the company, wished all widows, widowers and orphans merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
In the words of exhortation, Pastor George Asare Duah of the Apostles Continuation Church International and Pastor Emmanuel Oppong of Fountain Gate Chapel International branch urged the widows and widowers not to grieve over the death of their partners but to have faith in God, since God had plans for their future.
They also encouraged them not to give up but rather work hard to take care of their children to make them responsible citizens of the nation.
Pastor Duah appealed to the government to make provision for vulnerable groups, especially widows and orphans in the national budget to cater for some of their needs.
The Atipenhene of Techiman Traditional Area, Nana Mohammed Twi-Brempong, who chaired the function, thanked Frank Media for coming to the aid of the less privileged in society urged other corporate organisations to emulate the company.

NEW CLASSROOM BLOCK FOR NKORAMAN SHS (PAGE 22, DEC 24, 2010)

2010-12-26T09:25:00.000-08:00

A GH¢260,000 six-classroom block for the Nkoraman Senior High School (SHS) at Seikwa in the Brong Ahafo Region has been jointly inaugurated by the Tain District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Jones Samuel Tawiah, and the Omanhene of Seikwa Traditional Area, Nana Kwaku Dwumah Ankoanna II.
The project was financed by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) under the government’s emergency classroom block projects to help provide classroom accommodation for first-year SHS students.
Nkoraman SHS is among the 20 SHSs selected to benefit from the first phase of the emergency classroom project in the Brong Ahafo Region.
Brains Construction Works Limited, a Sunyani based construction firm undertook the project.
Speaking at the ceremony to inaugurate the project, Mr Tawiah thanked President J.E.A. Mills for the initiative to help ease congestion in the classrooms and also for the smooth beginning of the three-year SHS programme.
He pledged that the district assembly would monitor closely the use of the facility, and therefore urged the management of the school to maintain the building in order to lengthen its lifespan.
Mr Tawiah stated that the government would continue to provide school infrastructure for all educational institutions to enhance teaching and learning.
He implored teachers to also give their best to ensure high academic standards.
The DCE stressed that the classroom block must not only add beauty to the school, but must also result in high academic performance of the institution.
Mr Tawiah announced that the school would also benefit from the construction of a one-storey building to be used for administration, as well as Information Communication Technology (ICT) centre, adding that the GETFund would finance the project.
The Tain DCE said the assembly in conjunction with the Member of Parliament for the area was also working around the clock to provide the three SHSs in the district namely Nkoraman, Badu and Manje, with computers to help bridge the digital gap between the students and their counterparts in well-endowed schools in the urban areas.
Mr Agyeman Duah, the Planning Officer at the Regional Education Directorate, commended the contractor, Brains Construction Works Limited, for not only completing the project on schedule, but also executing it according to specification.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr Kofi Obeng-Badu, thanked the government for the gesture and said the facility would go a long way to ease congestion in the classrooms.
He added that the facility would also help improve academic performance of the students

CRI RELEASES NEW VARIETIES OF MAIZE (PAGE 35, DEC 22, 2010)

2010-12-22T02:36:00.001-08:00

THE Crops Research Institute (CRI) in collaboration with the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DMTA) Project, has released four new varieties of maize onto the market.
The maize is not only high-yielding, but also capable of withstanding drought, and has between two and three months maturity period.
The maize varieties are ‘Enibi’, quality protein white hybrid maize maturing in 105-110 days, ‘Aburohemaa’, ‘Omankwa’, both white maize maturing in 80-85 days and ‘Abontem’, a yellow maize maturing in 80-85 days, which is good for the livestock industry.
The project is being sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (ADVANCE) Project.
The project is aimed at helping to reduce poverty and hunger and increase food and income security of resource-poor farm families and maize consumers in Ghana through the development and dissemination of nutritious, high and stable-yielding maize varieties tolerant to the major biotic and stress in the country.
Speaking at one of the national maize variety trials and a farmers’ field day at the Subingya Irrigation Project site at Wenchi, the Head of Cereals Programme at the CRI, Dr Kwadwo Obeng-Antwi, said the varieties were developed as a result of the climate change and its attendant shortening of the rainy seasons in Ghana, to help farmers reap the full benefits of their toil.
He said the trials sought to evaluate performance of new varieties against existing ones to determine which varieties would go into on-farm trials and subsequent release.
Dr Obeng-Antwi said the field day was also to allow farmers and other stakeholders to appreciate the performance of seven new hybrid maize varieties (PAN 53 imported by Wienco and eight Pioneer hybrids imported by AGRISERV) alongside 36 other varieties, including the recently released CRI/DTMA.
He said the 43 varieties of maize were tested in three groups based on their maturity periods, such as Eztra early varieties (75-80 days), Early (90-95 days) and Medium/Intermediate (105-110 days and late 120 days).
Dr Obeng-Antwi added that the field day would also expose farmers to the new maize varieties before they were released.
An official from the USAID, Mr Alfred Osei, pledged the agency’s support for such initiatives to increase productivity and incomes of farmers, as well as to ensure food security in the country.

VRA DONATES TO BRONG AHAFO FLOOD VICTIMS (PAGE 35, DEC 22, 2010)

2010-12-22T02:35:00.000-08:00

THE Volta River Authority (VRA) has donated 130 bags of maize to communities which were recently affected by floods in the Kintampo North Municipality, Pru and Sene Districts in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The communities were flooded as a result of the opening of the Bagri Dam in Burkina Faso and the torrential rains that hit the northern parts of the country that made the White Volta and its tributaries to overflow their banks.
The donation to the flood victims in the Brong Ahafo Region formed part of a GH¢10,000 relief package for communities affected by the recent floods in the northern part of the country.
The Sunyani Area Manager of the Northern Electrification Department (NED) of the VRA, Mr Noble Dormenu, presented the relief items on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the VRA, Mr Kweku Awortwi.
He said the gesture was to help mitigate the plight of the flood victims.
Mr Dormenu expressed the hope that the relief items would go a long way to solve the food situation of the affected communities whose farmlands had been destroyed as a result of the flooding.
The Principal Community Relations Officer of the NED of the VRA, Alhaji M.E. Siam, said most of the communities affected were predominately farming communities which relied on agriculture as their source of livelihood, and therefore, needed to be assisted with the food items.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, who received the items on behalf of the victims, thanked the VRA for the gesture.
He said the government had already provided some relief items to the communities but it could not do it all alone, and therefore, welcomed such assistance from other corporate institutions such as the VRA.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo appealed to other corporate institutions to come to the aid of the communities affected by the floods to help mitigate their suffering.
The Regional Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr J.B. Nyarko, appealed to the VRA and the Pru District Assembly to construct drains along the roads in some of the VRA resettlement town at Yeji to help address the perennial flooding experienced by the people in the area each year.

DROBO CELEBRATES MUNUFIE KESE FESTIVAL (PAGE 35, DEC 22, 2010)

2010-12-22T02:30:00.000-08:00

THE people of Drobo in the Jaman South District have held a grand durbar to climax the celebration of their week-long Munufie Kese festival.
The festival symbolised family reunions, planning for development projects, a remembrance and thanksgiving of the ancestors for protecting the people over the years and asked for more years ahead.
The celebration also marked the 29th anniversary of the enstoolment of the Omanhene of Drobo Traditional Area, Beyeeman Bosea-Gyinantwi II.
Speaking at the durbar, Beyeeman Bosea-Gyinantwi advised his people to take keen interest in the education of their children to enable them to become responsible leaders in future.
He stressed that the only legacy parents could bequeath their children was good education, and therefore, urged parents to reduce their high expenditure on funeral activities and rather invest the money on the education of their children.
Beyeeman Bosea-Gyinantwi advised the people, most of whom are cocoa farmers in the Sefwi area, to use the Akuafo cheque system when selling their cocoa beans.
He warned farmers along the boarder towns to avoid smuggling of cocoa to the neighbouring countries.
The Omanhene appealed to the Berekum Municipal and Jaman South District Assemblies to take realistic measures to rehabilitate the deplorable Berekum-Drobo road.
He advised drivers plying the road to be cautious in order to minimise accidents.
The Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, who is a citizen of the area, congratulated the Drobo Omanhene on his achievements.
He also commended the people in the area for their co-operation and unity.
The Queen of the Drobo Traditional Area, Nana Yaa Ansua, urged the people of Drobo to register with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
He appealed to the people not to politicise the scheme since it had nothing to do with politics.

88 CLASSROOM BLOCKS UNDER CONSTRUCTIO IN BA...To replace schools under trees (PAGE 35, DEC 22, 2010)

2010-12-22T02:24:00.000-08:00

THE government has released a total of GH¢13,902,160.21 this year for the construction of 88 classroom blocks to phase out schools under trees in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, made this known at the inauguration of a GH¢120,000 six-classroom block with a staff common room and sanitary facilities for the Bamiri Local Authority Basic School, near Techiman.
The project was financed through the District Development Fund (DDF), a grant under the Functional Organisational Assessment Tool (FOAT) and executed by E. NAK-CO Construction Limited, a Techiman-based construction firm.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, said 20 Senior High Schools (SHS) in the region would also benefit from the emergency six-classroom block project at a total cost of GH¢5,324,649.60 to accommodate first year SHS students to ensure the smooth implementation of the three-year SHS programme.
He said the money was for the first phase of the project, which would cover 20 SHS, while another amount, higher than the former, would be released to take on other SHS which were not part of the first phase.
According to him, the government had also spent GH¢20,208,900 this year in providing other educational infrastructure such as dormitories, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centres and libraries for SHS in the region.
He said in addition to the already mentioned educational infrastructure, the government had supplied 44,000 free uniforms and 717,864 free exercise books to basic schoolchildren in the region.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo called on parents, especially those in the countryside, to take advantage of the interventions by the government such as the free school uniform and exercise books policy, the provision of modern classroom infrastructure, to enrol all their children of school age in school.
He added that the government had increased the number of beneficiary schools of the school feeding programme, especially those in deprived communities, as a measure of increasing enrolment. The regional minister, therefore, appealed to the people in the area to let the education of their children be their priority, as education is the cornerstone of the country’s human resource development and social uplift.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo explained that the government’s interventions in the education sector were geared to lessen the financial burden on parents.
The Techiman Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Alex Kyeremeh, said since he took office, he had been able to initiate the construction of about 30 classroom blocks for basic schools in the municipality.
He said 17, out of the 30 classroom blocks had been completed and handed over to the schools for use, while the rest where at various stages of completion.
Mr Kyeremeh said the assembly had so far spent GH¢30,000 as financial support for needy students from the municipality in various SHS and tertiary institutions.
He said plans were also underway to start a nurses’ training college at the Techiman Holy Family Hospital next year.
Mr Kyeremeh said the assembly had made education a top priority since it was the bedrock for the development of the municipality.
The Municipal Director of Education, Mr Godfred Axorlu, urged the community and the management of the school to take good care of the facility.
He also urged parents to take advantage of the numerous government interventions to enrol their children in school.
The Chief of Bamiri, Nana Obiri Yaw Kokroko, who chaired the function, thanked the government for the provision of the classroom block.
He appealed for the tarring of the Bamiri-Techiman road, the extension of electricity to newly developed areas of the town and a mechanised borehole.

HELP MINIMISE CHIEFTAINCY, LAND DISPUTES (PAGE 22, DEC 21, 2010)

2010-12-21T08:49:00.001-08:00

The codification of the Ghanaian customary laws regarding chieftaincy, family and land ownership will help minimise the numerous protracted and costly chieftaincy and land disputes in the country.
The Omanhene of the Kokofu Traditional Area in the Ashanti Region, Barima Offe Akwasi Okogyeasuo II, who made the observation, said even though customary law was an important source of law in Ghana, the rules and practices of some communities were not always clear.
He said the uncertainty in the customary law had contributed greatly to chieftaincy and land disputes in the country.
According to him, the nation stood to benefit if those customary laws were codified and documented to serve as reference to resolve chieftaincy and land disputes that had choked the courts.
Barima Okogyeasuo, who is also a Joint Steering Committee member of the Ascertainment of Customary Law Project (ACLP), made the remarks at the opening of a two-day workshop to validate the findings of data collected from two pilot areas in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The pilot areas are Duayaw Nkwanta and Nkoranza traditional areas.
The project, an initiative of the National House of Chiefs, in collaboration with the Law Reform Commission with the support of the German Development Co-operation (GTZ), is to ascertain and codify the customary law rules and practices on land and family in Ghana .
It constituted the first initiative to be taken towards fulfilling the important constitutional mandate given to the National House of Chiefs in Article 272 (b) of the 1992 Constitution.
The article mandates the National House of Chiefs to undertake the progressive study, interpretation and codification of customary law with a view to evolving, in appropriate cases, a unified system of rules of customary law and compiling the customary laws and lines of succession applicable to each stool or skin.
Barima Okogyeasuo said the gaps in the knowledge of customary law also accounted for the high incidence of chieftaincy disputes, and that the state of affairs reinforced the need for the ascertainment and codification of customary laws which were easily ascertainable and accessible to help resolve such disputes.
Giving a background of the project, the Kokofumanhene said it began in December 2006 and among the objectives were: to pilot the ascertainment, validation and codification of customary law on land and family with variations, ascertain customary law on land and family validate and codify the ascertained customary law on land and harmonise codified customary law on land and family.
Barima Okogyeasuo said the project was in three phases; the pilot phase, collection of variation of customary laws phase and final validation, codification and harmonisation phase.
He said the project was currently in the pilot phase in which 20 traditional areas; two from each of the 10 regions of the country, had been selected for collection of data.
The Kokofumanhene mentioned the traditional areas as Offinso and Tepa in Ashanti’ Duayaw Nkwanta and Nkoranza in Brong Ahafo; Eguafo and Assin Attandanso in Central; Akuapem and Yilo Krobo in Eastern, Kpone and Osudoku in Greater Accra, Gonja and Mamprusi in Northern, Bolga and Paga in Upper East; Kaleo and Nandom in Upper West; Asogli and Kete Krachi in Volta and Lower Axim and Sefwi Chiraano in the Western Region.
The Executive Secretary of ACLP, Mrs Sheila Minkah-Premo, who presented the Land Law findings of the two traditional areas for Brong Ahafo, said the validation workshop was to fine tune the information or data collected during the research before the final report.
The National Research Co-ordinator of ACLP, Mr Thomas Tagoe, said focused group discussions and group interviews were used for the collection of the data.
The participants at the workshop who were mainly members of the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs raised objection on the boundary demarcation mentioned in the report of the findings and also the term stool lands and vested lands.
According to them, vested lands did not belong to the government but to nananom, and that it was the administrative functions that had been transferred to the state which were to be administered for and on behalf of the stool.
They also said the customary laws on land in the region did not discriminate against women owning and having access to land as captured in the findings and called for an amendment of that portion.
The President of the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs and Omanhene of Kukuom Traditional Area, Osahene Kwaku Aterkyi, in his welcoming address, expressed the hope that the project would be extended to many other traditional areas to ensure its sustenance in the country.

MERRY CHRISTAS...Minister, MMDCEs wish their people (BACK PAGE NSEMPA, DEC 20, 2010)

2010-12-20T03:37:00.000-08:00

By Ernestina Kyerewaa Oppong, Kumasi &
Samuel Duodu, Sunyani

Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo ,
Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Sunyani.

CHRISTMAS is here with us again and I wish to take the opportunity, which Christmas offers for all people, especially Christians, to share in the love of Christ and to call on all chiefs, queenmothers, MMDCEs, parliamentarians, the security agencies, heads of departments of ministries, staff of the regional office and residents of the region, to unite and help sustain the relative peace in the region to ensure its rapid development.
The region has potential in agriculture, agro processing and tourism, but this can only be harnessed when there is peace and stability in the region.
I, therefore, urge all in the region to desist from politicising every issue, which has the potential to threaten the peace and stability of the region.
We should be circumspect and exercise a high sense of decency anytime we call into radio programmes and also desist from insulting each other.
The region in 2010, was relatively calm except the Tuobodom chieftaincy dispute, which nearly breached the peace and stability of the region, but was swiftly dealt with. The region also experienced some highway robberies that were also dealt with swiftly by the security agencies.
I pray for an incident free Christmas, so police/military patrol teams have been deplored on the highways in the region, especially the Techiman-Kintampo Highway, Atebubu-Yeji and other places in the region to nip in the bud any armed robbery attempts.
I wish to also assure all that the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and the Regional Security Council would continue to work hard to create a peaceful environment for all to go about their daily activities as well as maintain law and order.
The region, under President Atta Mills’ watch, has witnessed massive infrastructural development in the various sectors of the economy. On roads, the government released a total amount of Gh¢8,885,634.58 for the construction of some culverts and bridges, upgrading and surface dressing of major feeder roads, as part of efforts aimed at enhancing access to the hinterlands to facilitate movement of goods and people in the region.
Some of the roads are Prang-Zambarama-Abease-Kintampo Road, Yeji, Sampa and Goaso town raods.
On Education, the government released an amount of GH¢20,208,900, for the provision of various educational infrastructure in the region under a Special Infrastructure Project. These include the construction of classrooms, dormitories, science and computer laboratories and libraries, among other facilities in the various senior high schools (SHS).
Government is also committed to the establishment of the University of Energy and Natural Resources in the region and plans are far advanced to admit the pioneers for the university by next year.
On Health, government will continue to streamline, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), improve it and achieve better access to health services, increase education and training for all levels of medical personnel, improve rural access to medical care, provide clean and potable water, improve sanitation as well as provide high level support for the health sector.
The Tain District has been selected to benefit from the construction of a District Hospital financed by Euroget De- Invest SA of Egypt and a 70-acre land has been acquired and structural designs are in their final stages for its implementation.
On Agriculture, under the National Food Security Programme, maize stock levels in the region which have been stored in pro-cocoon facilities in Sunyani, Wenchi, Atebubu and Tain collection points stand at 21,227 mini bags.
The Fertilizer Subsidy Programme is on course in the region. In 2009, a total of 319,650 bags of fertiliser were distributed to farmers in the region and as at September 2010, a total of 125,545 bags of various types of fertilisers had been supplied to farmers in the region.
All these interventions have helped in cultivating a total of 11,555 hectares of various crops, which comprise of maize, rice, sorghum, soya bean and tomatoes under the block-farming project.
I wish to assure all that the government will work hard in the coming years to help bring into fruition the better Ghana Agenda and an improvement in the living conditions of the people of this region.
Let’s bury our differences and rally behind the government to improve on the lot of the region. I wish you all a merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!
Mr John Alex Ackon,
Obuasi Municipal
Assembly, Obuasi.
OBUASI as a town has been a great blessing to my administration since I assumed office about a year and half ago. I have really enjoyed the co- operation of the residents and the assembly members to the fullest.
One important tool that helped me in the achievement of our goals for 2010 is the unity amongst us all.
This has reflected in the fact that there has been absolute peace in the municipality, which resulted in higher security performance, and the rate of robbery, which had gone up previously, has reduced.
I would like to use this opportunity to wish Nananom, the security services and government agencies and all the people in my municipality a merry Christmas and prosperous near year.
I am assuring them that although there had been a lot of challenges this year, I want them to believe that with the support of my committed staff we will overcome our challenges next year.
Amongst the challenges we encountered was sanitation, which stood tall, and it was because the assembly was paying for everything. There are over 39,000 households in the area and each house would be asked to pay GH¢8 a month.
Households have been divided into three zones with three different contractors handling each zone. With these measures in place and the support of the citizenry sanitation problem is going to be a thing of the past.
Have a merry, merry Christmas!

Kaakyire Oppong
Kyekyeku Afigya
Kwabre District, Kodie.
I AM so grateful to the chiefs, queens, members of parliament, assembly members, security services and government agencies and the entire residents in my district.
But for their support, I would not have been where I am now. My coordinating director and the entire staff have been of great help to me and I consider them as the wheels, which drove me to my destination of success.
My prayer for all this Christmas is that God grant you all your heart’s desires and also give you maximum protection throughout the year 2011.
The Afigya Kwabre District has achieved a lot this year and is hopeful to climb the ladder to the top next year.
Among our achievements this year is our first qualification for the District Development fund, which enabled us to undertake a lot of projects.
The qualification for the fund is based on assessment of good management and we qualified because of our good management skills.
On education, we commissioned eight schools and we also constructed 80 boreholes to make potable water accessible to all.
Next year, we are going to continue all projects initiated this year.
Afigya Kwabre does not have a district education directorate and as from next year we are going to have our own offices.
We can now boast that there is no school under trees in our district because all have been eliminated this year. The shift system is also going to be abolished totally because currently Atimatim and Asiwa.
Only five schools were benefiting from the school feeding project and as from 2011 it would be expanded to cover more schools.
This district has so many developing areas known as new sites and electricity would be extended to all those areas. I hope to have the continued support of all to better the lot of us all in the district.
I wish you all God’s blessings, merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year
Mr Ohyeaman Appau,
Mampong Municipal
Assembly, Mampong.
I wish all a merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year, to Nananom, MPs, staff of government agencies, the security services and to all residents of Mampong most especially, my assembly members who have rendered support to me in diverse ways.
My fervent prayer is that the coming year brings everyone good tidings.
I really appreciate what the assembly members did for me because if they had not supported me, the assembly would not have been able to execute our plans.
The 2011 has already been declared as the action year by the President of Ghana, His Excellency, Professor J.E.A. Mills and Mampong will not be left out in the action.
We are going to construct a lot of roads, build school blocks and also make sure education moves up the ladder.
One major challenge faced by the Mampong Municipal Assembly was the nature of our roads and we hope to repair them next year.
I have already spoken to the Department of Feeder Roads and they are prepared to bring down their tools and start work early next year.
We have done our best this year; it is not enough and we hope to continue what we started next year. Afehyia pa oo.
Mr Kwame Adarkwa,
Bosome Freho
District, Awisa.
IT IS yet another Christmas and the year is coming to an end. We thank God we are all alive because not all were able to live and witness the end of this season.
Glory be to the name of the Almighty God for giving us long life to witness this.
I would like to use this opportunity to wish all in this district, Nananom, MPs, security services, heads of departments, assembly members and the people of this district a merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.
This year has been very fruitful, because we have had a lot of projects including new school buildings, health centres and new market stalls.
Next year, a lot of things are going to happen in the district, which includes motivation for teachers. They will be given a special package in the district. Furniture will also be provided for schools.
To my dear cocoa farmers, I want to assure them that, next year their farms will be sprayed at least three times before the year ends.
The assembly will also, among other things, build an Information Technology Centre at Asiwa and renovate the health centres there.
We have done our best this year and we will continue to do more in the coming year to improve the living standards of people in the district.
Afehyia pa oo!

Madam Martha Bruckner
Ejura-Sekyeredumase District
Ejura.

I wish to express my profound gratitude and appreciation to the chiefs of Ejura and Sekyeredumase in particular, all traditional and religious leaders, officers and staff of Ejura Sekyeredumase district assembly, the security agencies, departmental heads and staff and all related government agencies for your moral, spiritual and material support given to my administration.
Nananom, my brothers and sisters, your support and co-operation did not only improve our lot but most significantly, brought our district to the limelight to the admiration of many.
It is, therefore, my fervent prayer and hope that you will continue to offer more support and co-operation to the assembly so that together we will move Ejura Sekyeredumase forward in the right direction.
We have done a lot in the year and promise to continue with more projects in the coming year, which the President has declared as the year of action.
I wish you all a merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
May God bless you all.

Mr Adam Iddssah,
Kwabre East,
Mamponteng.
Afehyia pa! To all Ghanaians, most especially to the residents of the Kwabre East District, Nananom, traditional and spiritual leaders, security agencies, heads of departments of governments agencies.
I believe and hope that we will all live to see the coming year. I do not have much to say, except that Kwabre East has seen a lot of developments this year and I am urging all to keep their fingers crossed because more projects are in the pipeline.
Among the many projects that will be tackled in the coming year are a new market at Mamponteng the building of more schools and bore holes.
Next year will be full of action as the President promised and I wish to appeal to all and sundry to believe in God and also have hope in the government that Kwabre East will really move forward in the right direction.
I will count on your support, which was invaluable this year, to make new strides in the coming year. I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

VRA DONATES TO FLOOD VICTIMS (NSEMPA, PAGE 15, DEC 20, 2010)

2010-12-20T03:36:00.000-08:00

By Samuel Duodu, Sunyani.

The Volta River Authority (VRA) has donated 130 bags of maize to communities that were affected by the recent floods in the Kintampo North Municipality, Pru and Sene Districts in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The communities in the municipality and the two districts were flooded as a result of the opening of the Bagri Dam in the Burkina Faso and the torrential rains that hit the northern parts of the country that made the White Volta and its tributaries to over flow its banks.
The gesture to the flood victims in the Brong Ahafo Region formed part of a GH¢10,000 relief package to communities affected by the recent floods in the Northern Regions, which included the Brong Ahafo .
Mr Noble Dormenu, the Sunyani Area Manager of the Northern Electrification Department (NED) of the VRA who presented the relief items on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the VRA, Mr Kwaku Awortwi, said the gesture was to help mitigate the plight of the flood affected communities in the Brong Ahafo Regions situated along the Volta lake and its tributaries.
He expressed the hope that the relief food items would go a long way to also enhance the food situation of the affected communities whose farmlands had been destroyed as a result of the flooding.
For his part, the Principal Community Relations Officer of the NED of the VRA, Alhaji M.E. Siam, said most of the communities affected were predominately farming communities who relied on agriculture as their source of livelihood and therefore, needed to be assisted with the food items.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, who received the items on behalf of the victims, thanked the VRA for the gesture.
He said already, the government had provided some relief items to the communities but it could not do it all alone and therefore, welcomed such assistance from other corporate institutions such as the VRA.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo therefore, appealed to other corporate institutions to come to the aid of the communities affected by the floods to help mitigate their suffering.
Mr J.B. Nyarko, the Regional Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) for his part, appealed to the VRA and the Pru District Assembly to help construct drains along the roads in some of the VRA resettlement town at Yeji, the Pru District capital, to help address the perennial flooding experienced by the people in the area each year.

UPSURGE IN CRIME WORRYING (PAGE 20, DEC 20, 2010)

2010-12-20T03:32:00.001-08:00

THE Brong-Ahafo Chapter of the Human Rights Reporters Network (HRRN), has expressed worry over the upsurge in crime, especially armed robbery, in the country in recent times.
The network has, therefore, called on the government to establish what it termed “security posts” at vantage points along the country’s highways to help reduce crime.
It also urged security agencies, especially the Ghana Police Service, to adopt innovative strategies to combat crime in the country.
Speaking with the media, the Regional President of the Network, Mr Fred Tettey Alarti-Amoako, said even though the police administration claimed that the general statistics across the country showed that crime had reduced by eight per cent as of September, this year, the crime situation still looked very awful.
According to him, the consistent killing of policemen by armed robbers must ginger the police to clamp down on armed robbery in the country.
Mr Alarti-Amoako appealed to the government to resource the security services, especially the police, to make them more efficient and proactive.
With Christmas approaching, the HRRN President reminded the police that criminals would intensify their nefarious activities and, therefore, urged the police to also adopt new tactics to successfully crack down on the criminals.
Mr Alarti-Amoako, implored the general public to release information about criminals living in their areas to the security agencies for their easy arrest.
He urged the media to collaborate with the police and other security agencies to help combat crime in the country.

9 COMMUNITIES INAUGURATED TO BOOST NDC ACTIVITIES IN BA (PAGE 12, DEC 18, 2010)

2010-12-20T02:53:00.000-08:00

THE General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has inaugurated nine committees for the Brong Ahafo Regional Branch of the party.
The committees made up of the Council of Elders, Finance, Disciplinary, Communications, Reconciliation and Conflict Resolution, Project, Political, Welfare and Legal are to assist in the various aspects of the running of the party in the region.
Some of the personalities serving on some of the committees include Mr. J.H. Owusu Acheampong, Madam Cecilia Johnson, both Council of State Members, Alhaji PMC, Mr. I.K. Adjei Mensah, Board Chairman of Bui Power Authority (BPA), Mr. Kwabena Kyere, a former Deputy Minister of Education during the former President Rawlings NDC administration and Nana Diawuo Ninpong.
Speaking at the ceremony in Sunyani, Mr. Nketiah urged members of the committees to meet regularly to deliberate on issues that affected the party and its unity.
He urged them to address specific issues and not to see themselves as one of the various wings of the party but as sa set up.
Mr Nketiah appealed to the regional, constituencies and branch executives in the region to continue to work hard and innovate strategies to effectively run the party so as to ensure another resounding victory for the party in the 2012 general elections.
Among those who graced the occasion were, Mr. Yaw Boateng Gyan, the National Organiser of the party, Mr. Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Municipal and District Chief Executives.

MDDCES URGED TO WORK HARDER (PAGE 29, DEC 15, 2010)

2010-12-15T06:21:00.001-08:00

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, has urged Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs) in the region to eschew laziness and work assiduously to ensure the success of the government’s “Better Ghana” agenda of improving the living conditions of the people.
He also entreated the MDCEs to be in touch with the chiefs and people to explain the government’s policies and programmes to them.
According to him, their constant interaction with them would let them know their problems at first-hand and help find solutions to them.
“You should not wait for funerals or any social functions before visiting the various communities within your area of jurisdiction,” he stressed.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo made the call at a meeting with MDCEs, municipal and district co-ordinating directors in the region in Sunyani.
He urged the MDCEs to eschew arrogance and lifestyles which could cast a slur on their office and the government.
The Regional Minister stated that it was through constant interaction with the chiefs and people that would enable them to appreciate the efforts of the government, adding “You must develop good rapport with Nananom and the people.”
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo noted with concern that the region scored zero in the Functional Organisational Assessment Tool (FOAT) in 2008, and urged the MDCEs to work hard to enable their assemblies to qualify for the facility under the FOAT.
That, he said, was another way of helping the assemblies to get extra funds apart from the District Assemblies’ Common Fund (DACF) to implement their development agenda.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, however, commended the MDCEs for embarking on massive physical development within their two-year stay in office, adding “You have done well in terms of the provision of development projects which are dotted throughout the region.”
He entreated the MDCEs to also visit project sites to inspect the progress of work to ensure that they were completed on schedule and according to specifications.
Turning to the co-ordinating directors, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo urged them to be committed to the cause of the government.
He, however, sounded a note of caution to those who were playing politics with their office, warning that those who wanted to do politics must resign.

STAKEHOLDERS OF BUI POWER PROJECT ATTEND FORUM (PAGE 23, DEC 13, 2010)

2010-12-15T05:15:00.001-08:00

A STAKEHOLDERS’ forum to deliberate on measures to achieve cultural integration among the resettled communities under the resettlement programme of the Bui Hydroelectric Project, has been held at Bui in the Tain District in Brong Ahafo Region.
The forum was organised by the Bui Power Authority (BPA) and Ghana Dams Dialogue, a capacity building body for the dam affected communities.
The participants of the forum discussed the various cultural practices of the resettled communities such as festivals, taboos, pouring of libation and other traditional protocols at the resettlement camps.
The stakeholders who attended the forum included chiefs, assembly members and other opinion leaders from the affected communities in Tain District and Bole-Bamboi in the Northern Region.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Dr Liqa Raschid –Sally, who led the Ghana Dams Dialogue team, said her outfit had tabled the discussion to provide tools for improved decision making on dam related issues for equitable, participatory and sustainable development of dams in the country.
She stated that the meeting was held not because the team foresaw crisis ahead of the resettlement, but discussed ways of sharing information and increased awareness about resettlement and dam related issues affecting the local communities in terms of capacity building.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bui Power Authority (BPA), Mr Jabesh Amissah–Arthur who chaired the dialogue, said the meeting was a historic one since it was the first time chiefs and other opinion leaders in the two districts affected by the project had met.
He, therefore, urged the stakeholders to cooperate with BPA in making the Bui resettlement programme a success.
The chief of Bui, Nana Kwadwo Wuo II, commended BPA and Ghana Dams Dialogue for the capacity building workshop.
He said it would promote peaceful co-existence among the resettled communities and their host.
Giving updates on the resettlement, the Resettlement and Community Relations Officer of BPA, Mr Wumbilla Salifu, disclosed that construction of about 176 housing units to accommodate the three remaining communities — Bui village, Bator Akanyakrom and Dokokyina had been completed.
He expressed hope that those communities would be relocated in the first quarter of next year.

GH¢8,885,634.58 VOTED FOR ROADS DEV IN BA (PAGE 35, DEC 9, 2010)

2010-12-10T05:02:00.000-08:00

THE government has voted GH¢8,885,634.58 for the upgrading and surface dressing of major feeder roads in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The move is part of government’s efforts to provide access to the hinterlands to facilitate movement of people and haulage of agricultural produce to the commercial centres in and outside the region.
The roads to be rehabilitated include the Bomaa-Tepa, Tekesse-Yaa Mansa, Badu-Droboso, Mim-Asukese-Kwahu, Weijakrom-Mim, New Kokrompe-Mpaamu Valley Farm Track roads, Tanokrom-Akohasuamu Valley Farm Tracks, Yeji, Sampa and Goaso town roads.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo announced this at a meeting with members of the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs at Sunyani.
He stated that the government’s promise to establish a University of Energy and Natural Resources in the region was on course, adding that land had been acquired for the establishment of the institution.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said the national and regional task forces set up to oversee the implementation of the project had completed their feasibility studies and submitted their report to the government.
He commended Nananom for donating large hectares of land for the project.
“It is my conviction that the realisation of this project will not only boost standard and access to tertiary education in the region, but will also create economic and employment opportunities in the region,” Mr Nyamekye-Marfo stated.
He said a hospital would be constructed in the Tain District under the Ghana Hospitals Project financed by Euroget De-Invest S.A. of Egypt, which was recently, launched by the Vice-President.
According to him, about 70 acres of land had been acquired for the project and structural design was being finalised for the implementation of the project.
Touching on the Fertiliser Subsidy Programme, the Regional Minister said, as at September 2010, 125,545 bags of different types of fertilisers had been supplied to farmers in the region.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said that had helped the farmers to cultivate 11,555 hectares of crops which comprised maize, rice, sorghum, soya beans and tomatoes.
He said under the National Forest Plantation Development Programme and the Greening Ghana Project, a total of 127,000 seedlings had been planted on 85.5 hectares of land since March, 2010, while 43,892 seedlings had been distributed to the various district assemblies in the region.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said on the national food security programme, 21,227 mini bags of maize had been stored in pro-cocoon facilities in Sunyani, Wenchi, Atebubu and Tain collection points.
He said under the Agricultural Mechanisation Programme, nine mechanisation centres had been set up in the region with 45 tractors to facilitate access to the equipment by farmers.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo mentioned the locations as Tano Obuase, Nkoranza, Kintampo, Wenchi, Amantin Atebubu and Tuobodom.
He called on traditional rulers in the region to use their expertise in conflict resolution to resolve all the chieftaincy disputes pending before the Regional House of Chiefs.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said no meaningful development could take place when there was no peace and stability.
He, therefore, urged Nananom to stem chieftaincy and land disputes in the region to sustain peace.
The President of the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs, Osahene Kwaku Aterkyi, who is also Omanhene of Kukuom Traditional Area, pleaded with the house to amicably settle all chieftaincy disputes pending before it.

FARMERS DAY HELD AT ATEBUBU-AMANTIN (NSEMPA, SPREAD, DEC 6, 2010)

2010-12-06T04:14:00.000-08:00

By Samuel Duodu, Afrefreso.

Twenty-three farmers, including the three district best farmers in the Atebubu-Amantin District of the Brong Ahafo were honoured at a durbar held at Afrefreso, a farming community, to mark the District Farmers Day on the theme “Grow More Food”.
The awardees who were mostly into food crops, livestock and poultry were given prizes including knapsack spraying machines, wellington boots, machetes, wax prints and bicycles.
Thirty-seven-year-old Issah Abubakari from Lailai was adjudged the District Best Farmer and presented with a motor-bike in addition to a spraying machine, wellington boots, machetes and wax prints.
Ametus Dorsah from Congo/Kokofu and Comfort Akua Mansah from Afrefreso were also adjudged the second and third best district farmers respectively and they were both presented with three and two packets of roofing sheets respectively, in addition to spraying machines, wellington boots, machetes and wax prints.
Mr Sanja Nanja, the Atebubu-Amantin District Chief Executive (DCE), in his address urged the youth in the district not to regard farming as a job for the old but embrace it with all enthusiasm to enhance their livelihoods.
He said the youth should see farming as a business worth investing in since farming, like any other business, needed financial investments so that should not scare them.
Mr Nanja disclosed that the assembly, in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), under the Youth in Agriculture programme, cultivated 55 acres of rice and 447 acres of maize, while 80 livestock farmers were supplied with 800 sheep for breeding under the Livestock Development Project (LDP).
He expressed the hope that by the first quarter of next year, 400 sheep would be supplied to farmers, while the Inland Valley Rice Project (IVRP) which would phase out in June, next year continued to provide financial assistance to farmers in communities such as Jato Zongo, New and Old Konkrompe, Mem and Duabone 1 and 11 who had embarked on rice farming.
These and other interventions, he said had been put in place by the government to demonstrate the ‘Better Ghana Agenda” that the government was pursuing in agriculture.
Mr Nanja congratulated all the hard-working farmers in the district, especially the award winners and said the awards should motivate them to work even harder to produce more food to ensure food security in the country.
Mr Wilfred Anonadaga, the District Director of Agriculture, urged farmers in the district to see agriculture as a very lucrative business with high returns.

3,223 SCHOOLCHILDREN RECEIVE FREE UNIFORMS (PAGE 43, DECEMBER 6, 2010)

2010-12-06T03:32:00.000-08:00

A TOTAL of 3,223 schoolchildren in 15 deprived communities in the Sunyani Municipality in the Brong Ahafo Region have benefited from the government’s free school uniform policy.
Some of the beneficiary schools are Atronie Municipal Assembly, Atronie Methodist, Antwikrom, Ohukrom, Daadom, Yawsaekrom and Wawasua Primary schools.
Presenting some of the free school uniforms at ceremonies at Atronie and Wawasua, the Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Kwasi Oppong Ababio, stated that the government’s policy to supply free school uniforms to deprived schools was not a nine-day wonder but would continue every year as far as the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government was concerned.
He gave the assurance that schools in deprived communities in the municipality would also benefit from the school feeding programme, which had been increased by the NDC government to entice more children to enrol in schools.
Mr Ababio said the free school uniforms and exercise books were in fulfilment of the NDC’s manifesto for the realisation of the “Better Ghana” Agenda.
He said already more than 100,000 free exercise books had been distributed to the schools in the municipality.
The MCE stressed that the government’s aim for the intervention was to reduce the burden on parents as far as education financing was concerned.
He stated that the government would ensure the success of the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) to enhance quality education delivery since no country could develop without education.
Mr Ababio reiterated the government’s commitment to provide rural communities with the necessary social amenities such as potable water, good roads, electricity and quality classroom blocks to ensure that the people lived in dignity.
He urged the schoolchildren to justify the huge investment being made in them by the government and their parents by studying hard to become responsible future leaders.
The Sunyani Municipal Director of Education, Rev. Father Timothy Kamkam Dwomfuor, who received the uniforms on behalf of the schools, thanked the MCE and the government for the gesture.
He gave the assurance that the uniforms would encourage the children to go to school.
Rev. Fr. Dwomfuor urged the teachers to eschew alcoholism, laziness and absenteeism.
He also entreated parents to take keen interest in the education of their children.

SOAP SELLER STEALS TWO PHONES (MIRROR, NOV 27, 2010, PAGE 27)

2010-12-02T22:37:00.000-08:00

From Samuel Duodu, Kintampo.

A-23-year-old trader, who sells a locally made soap known as “Tamale Banku” or “Azumah Nelson Blows” run out of luck when three mobile phones he allegedly stole from other traders at Buipe were retrieved from him by the Police Highway Patrol team stationed at the Soronuase toll booth on the Kintampo-Tamale road.
The patrol team did not only retrieve the phones from Awudu Alidu, but also arrested him and sent him to the Kintampo North Municipal Police station where he was processed after investigations and put before the Kintampo Magistrate court in the Brong Ahafo Region.
Alidu, who appeared before the court, presided over by Mr Albert Zoogah, was charged with stealing. He pleaded not guilty but was remanded in prison custody and would re-appear before the court.
When Alidu was arrested he told the police that he found the phones in a black polythene bag which was on the ground along the Black Volta River at Buipe where he went to bath.
But the complainants, John Duut and Peace Boku, who went to the Kintampo Police Station after Alidu was arrested identified the phone as theirs.
Prosecuting, Inspector Wisdom Ahiakpor told the court that the Duut and Peace as well as Alidu are traders and resided at Buipe and Techiman, respectively.
He said on October 25, 2010, Duut and Peace went to the market at Buipe to sell and buy goods and while attending to customers they left their phones on the table where they were selling.
Insp. Ahiapkor said Duut and Peace returned to find out that the phones have been stolen and started to conduct their own investigations.
The prosecutor said on the sameday about 7.10 p.m. the patrol team on duty at Soronuase toll booth stopped a Tico taxi cab at the toll booth and during a search in the taxi, Alidu was found with three mobile phones and a cash of Gh¢68.50.
Insp. Ahiakpor said when the police questioned Alidu as to how he got the said items he could not give any tangible reason so he was arrested and sent to the Kintampo Police Station.
He said during interrogation, Alidu stated that he went to the Buipe Market to sell a locally made soap called “Tamale Banku or Azumah Nelson Blows” where he realised the money from the sale of the soap but he found the phones on the ground hid in a black polythene bag along the Black Volta River at Buipe where he went to bath.
He said Duut and Peace came to the Kintampo Police station and identified the phones as theirs and after investigation Alidu was charged with the offence.

FARMER SHOOTS RELATIVE AT FUNERAL (MIRROR, NOV 27, 2010, PAGE 35)

2010-12-02T22:35:00.000-08:00

From Samuel Duodu, Kintampo

The Kintampo Magistrate Court in the Brong Ahafo Region has remanded in prison custody a farmer who shot and wounded his relative with a musket at the funeral of a deceased relative at Ampoma in the Kintampo South District.
Kennedy Kwabena Adom Oduro was charged for causing harm to Felicia Baffoe in the right hand and stomach.
Oduro, whose plea was not taken, will reappear before the court, presided over by Mr Albert Zoogah, on Monday, November 29, 2010.
The facts of the case, as presented in court by Inspector Wisdom Ahiakpor, were that Felicia is a housewife residing at Kintampo, while Oduro lives at Ampoma. They are related to each other.
He said on November 1, 2010, Felicia and Oduro attended the burial and final funeral rites for two of their relatives at Ampoma.
Inspector Ahiakpor said while the funeral was underway, there was the firing of musketry and Oduro was one of the musketeers.
He said Oduro fired the shotgun which hit Felicia on the right hand and stomach.
Inspector Ahiakpor said Felicia was rushed to the Techiman Holy Family Hospital, from where she was later referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi where the pellets were removed and she was admitted.
A report was made to the police, which led to Oduro’s arrest. After investigations, he was charged with the offence.

USE FOOTBALL TO PROMOTE UNITY (NSEMPA, NOV 29, 2010, BACK PAGE)

2010-12-02T22:24:00.000-08:00

By Samuel Duodu, Bechem

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Tano South District in the Brong Ahafo Region, Mr Zakari Bukari Anaba, has called on football loving fans in the district and the region to use the game to promote unity and peace, instead of using it to create enmity and perpetuate violence, which does not augur well for the development of the game in the region.
Mr Anaba cited the recent violence that broke out during a division one middle league match between Bechem United and B.A. Stars at the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park at Bechem, the district capital, as an example.
He said the game was for fun and not to make enemies and therefore, urged fans to learn how to accept defeat when their teams lost a match.
Mr Anaba said this when he donated 12 sets of Jerseys, 12 footballs, three volley balls, whistles and three trophies worth Gh¢9,000 for the hosting of the 28th Annual Inter Basic Schools Games Competition at Bechem on Wednesday.
The donation of the items coincided with the opening of the games at the Nana Fosu Gyeabour’s Park. About 90 Basic Schools from four circuits in the district, namely Bechem Circuits ‘A’ and ‘B’, Techimantia and Dermaa Circuits which comprise of Junior High Schools (JHSs) and Primary Schools from both public and some private schools are taking part in the three-day competition.
Among the games to be competed for are football, volleyball, handball and netball.
Mr Anaba, in his address, said the gesture from the District Assembly was to support other curricular activities such as sports, since it was another way of developing and unearthing the talents of the youth to help them contribute their quota towards national development.
He said the sports equipment was for distribution as prizes to the various schools that would emerge winners in each of the circuits and commended the organisers of the games while urging the various competing schools to comport themselves during the games.
The DCE advised the pupils and students to see the games as one for fun and not to create violence, saying in every competition, there would be winners and losers and all must accept the outcome whether they won or lost.
Mr. Anaba gave the assurance that the government would continue to provide the necessary infrastructure, teaching and learning materials to enhance teaching and learning in the schools in the district and the region..
The District Director of Education, Mrs Mary Gyimah, who received the sports equipment, thanked the DCE and the assembly for the support, saying it would go a long way to boost the morale of the various participating schools.
She called for more support in terms of the provision of classrooms to eradicate schools under trees in the district.

ACCEPT POSTINGS TO DEPRIVED AREAS (NSEMPA, NOV 29, 2010, PAGE 14)

2010-12-02T22:22:00.000-08:00

By Timothy Gobah & Samuel Duodu, Berekum

The Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, has expressed concern about the over concentration of health personnel in the urban areas to the detriment of rural and deprived areas in the country where their services are needed the most.
He, therefore, appealed to newly trained health professionals, especially nurses and midwives to accept postings to the deprived areas of the country to cater for the health needs of the people while the government also made efforts to improve conditions of service and come out with incentive packages for them.
The Vice-President noted that certain categories of workers could go on strike but not health professionals such as nurses who were trained to save lives.
Concern
He expressed the concern at the 13th matriculation ceremony of the Berekum Nurses and Midwifery Training College (NMTC) in the Berekum Municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region last Friday.
One-Hundred and fifty students out of the 1,358 applicants that gained admission for the 2010/2011 academic year, took the college’s matriculation oath and that of the Nurses and Midwives Council of Ghana at the ceremony.
The Vice-President as part of activities to mark the ceremony, which formed part of the 53rd anniversary celebration of the Berekum NMTC, inaugurated a GH¢700,000 new lecture block for the college the construction which started in April 2008 and got completed in October 2010.
Mr Mahama on behalf of the government also donated a 31-seater air-conditioned bus worth GH¢100,000 ($70,000) to the college.
In his address, he noted that some of the qualities one needed to become a nurse was compassion, kindness, politeness and cheerfulness and therefore, urged the students to cultivate all those character traits in order to offer quality care to the sick after their training.
Achieving MDGs
Touching on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Mr Mahama said Ghana was on track to achieve some aspects of MDG by 2015 but lagged behind in the areas of maternal and child mortality as well as water and sanitation, which were inter-related.
He, therefore, called on all Ghanaians, especially health personnel, not to spare any efforts to ensure that maternal and child mortality rates dropped to zero, saying that all resources must be applied to ensure that the country achieved the MDG’s 4&5 that sought to reduce the under-five and maternal mortality rates.
Mr Mahama gave the assurance that the government would also do its part by ensuring that clinics and hospitals were available at every nook and cranny of the country as well as health personnel to ensure that every pregnant woman received quality healthcare during delivery since majority of deaths recorded at birth were as a result of unsupervised delivery.
The Vice-President congratulated the college for being one of the best health training institutions in the country and urged the students who were privileged to gain admission to the college to uphold the high sense of discipline to come out as well trained professionals ready to serve anywhere in the country.
Advice
The Catholic Bishop of Sunyani, Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, who delivered the keynote address, advised the students not to allow material and monetary gains to take precedence over and above their primary duty to preserve and save lives.
He also reiterated the call on nurses not to strike due to demands for higher pay since that also defeated the very purpose for which the profession was created and had developed and evolved through the centuries.
Most Rev. Gyamfi commended the government for the provision of infrastructure for the Berekum NMTC and called for the continuous collaboration between the Catholic Church and the government in the area of health care.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, for his part said the government had not left out the Brong Ahafo Region when it came to the provision of health infrastructure, adding that the region could boast a modern and state-of-the-art regional hospital, which was a referral health institution.
He disclosed that plans were far advanced for the establishment of a midwifery training school at Goaso by the close of the year, while the Techiman Holy Family Hospital was in the process of securing accreditation to start a nursing training school, adding that very soon, the region would be a nurse exporter to other parts of the country.
Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, the Minister of Health, in his address, said over the last couple of years, the government had stepped back and decided to repackage the principles of health care delivery to ensure that all barriers to care were removed and the nursing profession remained central to that effort.
Appeal
He entreated the students to be prepared to accept postings to deprived areas after their training, which most people saw as punishment, saying the government was now prepared to recognise and reward appropriately.
The Principal of the Berekum NMTC, Madam Monica Nkrumah, in her welcome address, said the total number of applicants to the college rose to 1,358 from last year’s figure of 882. Out of this, 687 were short-listed for an admission interview, but only 150 were offered admission comprising 50 midwifery students and 100 nursing students.
She expressed her gratitude to the government for the tremendous assistance to the college, such as the construction of a 100-capacity female hostel, now accommodating 284 students and a lecture hall complex comprising a library, skills laboratory and offices, which was inaugurated by the Vice-President.

DISSOLVE RNC, CRRC — EXTRACTIVE ENGAGEMENT GROUP (NSEMPA, NOV 29, PAGE 3)

2010-12-02T22:20:00.000-08:00

By Samuel Duodu, Kenyasi

Members of the Ahafo Extractive Engagement Group (AEEG) have called for the dissolution of the Ahafo Resettlement Negotiation Committee (RNC) and Crop Rate Review Committee (CRRC) since they no longer served the interest of the large majority of the people living in communities affected by mining in the Ahafo area of the Brong Ahafo Region.
The committees set up under the auspices of Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL), operators of the Ahafo Mine in Kenyasi in the Asutifi District in 2004, comprise representatives from communities, government agencies and the company.
The committees were to negotiate on issues concerning compensation and resettlements on behalf of persons in communities affected by the operations of the company, but had reneged on their core functions thereby placing the interest of the mining company above that of the people affected by mining.
AEEG, a coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), Community Based Organisations (CBOs), Youth Associations, Students Unions, Farmers Associations and Business Associations operating in the district which acts as the voice of the local communities, promote their welfare and support the development agenda of the district assembly, said some of the members on the committees were representing communities that did not exist.
The group, which also operates under the bigger umbrella of the Ghana Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Coalition, mentioned some of the ghost communities which had a representation on the committees as Bonaa, Kodiwohia, Ba-past, and Subriagya, among others.
In a petition, signed by members of the AEEG calling for the dissolution of the RNC and CRRC, presented to the Asutifi District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Eric Addae, and copied to the Ministers of Lands and Natural Resources, Environment, Science and Technology and the media in Kenyasi, said the committees had compromised their impartiality by accepting contracts from the company.
This practice, the group said, had fragmented the committees while the membership was also too large for effective deliberations to be made. There was also lack of feedback from members of thei communities.
The group stated further that the company together with the committees had reneged on their promises to conduct yearly elections of the members of the RNC made up of community representatives and the moderator.
It added that some prominent communities within the affected areas of mining also did not have representation on the RNC and mentioned one of the communities as Wamahinso.
The AEEG, in calling for the dissolution of the two committees, suggested that there should be one strong and effective committee, which would be responsible for the negotiations of crops, land and resettlement issues.
They suggested further that the total membership of the committee should not be more than 45, while farmers who have been marginalised in terms of education and organisation would be assisted by AEEG to form farmers associations.
It also recommended that farmers should represent the greater membership of the committee at least 30 out of the 45 members, because they were mostly directly affected when it came to compensation and resettlement while farmers’ representatives should be chosen from the various recognised farmers associations in the affected communities within the Asutifi District.
Again, the group suggested that the remaining 15 of the 45 members should comprise of representatives of the traditional authority, government agencies, a legal adviser, moderator and CBOs to serve as advisors and ex-officio members.
“There should also be yearly election of the members of the committee including the moderator.”
The AEEG noted that if the company did not want to go by the suggestions then it should abide by the provisions in the Minerals and Mining Act (Act 703 of 2006) which states that “ The amount of compensation payable should be determined by agreement between the two parties (the property owner and the company” according to section 73 (3).

GBC'S CHARGES FOR SOCIAL EVENTS WORRY BA RESIDENTS (PAGE 43, NOV 29, 2010)

2010-12-02T11:35:00.000-08:00

SOME educational institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and individuals in the Brong Ahafo Region have expressed displeasure about the way Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) in the region is treating them.
They allege that the GBC charge them for social events they organise.
According to them, in recent times, whenever they organised events or activities which were for the benefit of the larger society, they were asked to pay monies ranging from GH¢400 to GH¢1,500.
According to them, enquiries from their colleagues and partners from other regions of the country indicated that GBC did not charge them whenever they organised social functions.
They, therefore, appealed to the GBC management and board, the Ministry of Information and the National Media Commission (NMC) to check what they considered a departure from GBC’s role of doing developmental journalism.
According to the Junior Assistant Registrar in-charge of Public Relations of Catholic University College of Ghana, Mr Charles Alex Cosmos, the GBC charged the university GH¢1,000 for covering its matriculation.
He said the university considered the charge unusual, and therefore did not pay and the Ghana Television (GTV) did not turn up for the programme.
An official of the Wenchi Campus of Methodist University College of Ghana, also told the Daily Graphic that the management of the university were asked to pay GH¢500 for coverage when the university was taking over property from BAT to establish a nurses’ training college (NTC).
A research student and an officer in-charge of livestock at the Sunyani Municipal MOFA office, Mr Edward Kwame Awenseba, said he was shocked when the GBC gave him an invoice of GH¢700 to pay for the coverage of his research findings.
Mr Awenseba said his project which was supervised by the University of Cape Coast, was aimed at introducing new technology to small ruminant farmers on how to keep their livestock in confined areas instead of allowing them free-range grazing.
He said as a result of the money factor introduced by the GBC, small livestock farmers across the country had been denied the opportunity to learn the new technology, adding that “even TV3, a private station, came to cover the event without charging any money.”
The officer in charge of Disease Control at the Sunyani Municipal Health Directorate, Mr Samuel Addo, said in a recent National Measles Immunisation Programme, the GHS approached the GBC in Sunyani and other private radio stations in Brong Ahafo to help them propagate the message to the people for massive participation, but GBC gave them an invoice of GH¢546.25 to be paid for the coverage, but surprisingly private media houses like Dinpa FM and Sky FM covered the event for free.
Mr John Abaa of ActionAid in Sunyani said the NGO invited GBC for the 2010 Annual Regional Girls’ Leadership Conference from November 3 to 6, 2010 but GBC demanded GH¢1,500 before covering the programme.
The Chairman of the Munufie Kese Festival Planning Committee, Mr George Adjei Henneh said the GBC charged GH¢800 for coverage of the festival.
He said initially when he sent the letter for coverage, GBC did not say anything about money but later when he sent a member of the committee to follow up on the letter, he was told by the Business Division of the corporation to pay GH¢800.
Mr Henneh said when the emissary expressed surprise about the charge, he was told that it was a new directive.
He said the chiefs and people of Japekrom were highly disappointed about GBC’s treatment, stressing that in the past, they only provided vehicle to convey the news team to and from Japekrom for the festival.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Regional Director of GBC, Madam Eunice Obeng Yeboah on the allegations, she said it was a policy directive by the management of GBC to charge for all social activities that had commercial elements in them.
When asked to give an example of social activities with commercial elements in them, Madam Obeng Yeboah could not provide one, but only said “we have been directed to charge to meet operation cost.”

CHELSEA STILL LEAD (BACK PAGE, NOV 22, 2010)

2010-11-25T01:58:00.000-08:00

Bechem Chelsea maintained their lead in the ongoing Glo Premier League when they defeated visiting Wa All Stars 2-1 at their adopted Berekum Golden City Park yesterday.
Bismark Idan opened the scoreline for Chelsea with a 17th minute grounder, but that lead was cancelled by All Stars’ Fatau Mohammed in the 57th minute.
When the match looked like heading for a draw, Chelsea’s determination not to surrender the top spot was bolstered with the match winner through substitute Emmanuel Clottey in the dying minutes of the game.
• Visiting Cape Coast Ebusua Dwarfs held Kessben to a goalless draw at the Sekondi Sports Stadium at Essipong yesterday, reports, Moses Dotse Aklorbortu.

NDC COMMITTED TO IMPROVING ROADS IN COCOA AREAS (PAGE 13, NOV 13, 2010)

2010-11-20T00:55:00.000-08:00

THE Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, has debunked reports in a section of the media that the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) government was not doing anything to improve roads in the cocoa growing communities in the country, especially in the Brong Ahafo Region.
He said contractors who were awarded the roads in cocoa producing areas in the region were working but had to stop as a result of the torrential rains that hit the cocoa growing areas in the region recently, and that now that the rains had subsided, work had begun earnestly on the roads to make the evacuation of cocoa from the area easy.
Mr Opoku said this at separate durbars held at Anwiam and Norbekaw, both cocoa growing areas in the Asunafo South District of the Brong Ahafo Region, to cut the sod for the commencement of the tarring of two kilometres of the Anwiam and Norbekaw town roads to give the two towns a facelift.
In addition, drains would also be constructed along the roads to check flooding.
The two road projects are being funded by the Government of Ghana (GOG) at a cost of GH¢560,000 (¢5.6billion) each.
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister also inaugurated a GH¢149,000 six-unit classroom block for the Methodist Primary School at Sankore which was funded by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETfund) as part of the government’s efforts to eradicate schools under trees in the region.
Mr Opoku in his address gave the assurance that the NDC government would ensure that every community in the country would have its share of development projects.
He said it was during the NDC government under former President Rawlings that the Brong Ahafo Region witnessed massive infrastructure development in terms of roads and the extension of electricity which opened up the region to the rest of the country.
Mr Opoku, therefore, said President Mills’ administration which was committed to the ‘Better Ghana’ agenda would ensure that every nook and cranny of the country was made better for its inhabitants.
He, therefore, gave the assurance that the government would continue to improve the road network in the region, provide potable water and extend electricity to communities which do not have them.
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister also called on the people in the region to rally behind the government to enable it to achieve the ‘Better Ghana’ agenda.
Touching on education, Mr Opoku said in line with the government’s policy of investing in the people, interventions and programmes had been rolled out which include the construction of about 70 classroom blocks to phase out schools under trees in the Brong Ahafo Region.
He said the government had also allocated 880 scholarships under the Mathematics, Science and Technology Scholarship scheme to the region, adding that each of the 22 Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) in the region would receive 40 each to be given to brilliant, needy students at the senior high school and the tertiary levels studying mathematics and science subjects.
Mr Opoku said the government had also supplied the region with over 44,000 school uniforms and 717,864 free exercise books under its free school uniform and exercise books policy for distribution to basic school children which were on-going, adding that all these were geared towards the realisation of true universal access to basic education in the country.
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, therefore, urged parents to take advantage of the various interventions by the government in the educational sector and enrol their children in schools.
Mr Danso, the Asunafo South District Chief Executive (DCE), for his part, said the assembly would continue with the extension of electricity, provision of potable water and school infrastructure to all communities in the district.
He announced that the assembly had acquired a grader which would be used to reshape all roads leading to food and cash crop production areas in the district to enable farmers cart their produce to the marketing centres with ease.
Mr Danso said the government had also increased the number of beneficiary schools under the school feeding programme for the district to enable many more schools to benefit.
Mr Emmanuel Papa Pireku, the Brong Ahafo Regional Director of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), in his brief remarks commended the Deputy Minister who lobbied for the two road projects for the district and called on the people in the beneficiary communities to co-operate with the contractor to ensure that the projects were completed on schedule.

FDB DESTROYS EXPIRED DRUGS (PAGE 22, NOV 13, 2010)

2010-11-20T00:47:00.001-08:00

THE Sunyani zonal office of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has destroyed expired, substandard drugs, unwholesome foods, cosmetics, household chemicals and medical devices valued at GH¢14,252.75 at the Sunyani landfill site.
The destroyed items were assorted products such as meat, fish, milk, biscuits, confectionery, herbal and orthodox medicines, aphrodisiac and detergents.
The items were seized during the post-market surveillance exercise conducted in 15 municipalities and districts in the Brong Ahafo Region including Sunyani, Asunafo North, Techiman and Wenchi municipalities, Asunafo South, Nkoranza South, Sene, Tain, Tano North and Tano South Districts from March to October this year.
The exercise which formed part of the FDB’s mandate, was to ensure public health and safety and it was organised to rid the markets of expired, fake, unregistered and unwholesome foods, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices and household chemicals.
During the exercise, officials from the FDB also examined products on the markets to ascertain the conditions under which they were stored and displayed for sale.
Briefing newsmen in Sunyani before the destruction of the items, the Sunyani Zonal Officer of the FDB, Mrs Nora Narkie Terlabie said during the exercise wholesale outlets, supermarkets, provision stores, pharmacy shops, and licensed chemical stores were inspected for expired, unregistered, fake and unwholesome products.
She explained that unwholesome products were those which were improperly stored, for instance those under wrong temperature, as well as those which had broken seals, rusted, dented and bloated cans.
According to her, products under those conditions were likely to become unsafe before their intended dates of expiry.
Subsequently, Mrs Terlabie said the safety and quality of those products could not be guaranteed hence the need to withdraw them from the market for destruction.
Mrs Terlabie advised the public to be cautious when buying products during festive periods, especially now that Christmas is around the corner.
She further urged the public to check the expiry dates of products and avoid expired ones when buying them.
“Refrain from buying dented and leaking products, desist from buying products exposed to the sun or improperly stored and buy from hygienic shops, especially when buying meat, frozen foods, pastries and bread,” Mrs Terlabie stressed.
She also urged shop owners to store and display products in cool and dry places, employ the principles of first in first out (FIFO) or first expired first out (FEFO) to avoid products staying longer on the shelves, and observed good personal hygiene to help reduce contamination in the shops.
Mrs Terlabie called for co-operation from the public to assist the FDB to ensure public health and safety.

SCHOOL PROPRIETOR IN COURT FOR FRAUD (PAGE 20, MIRROR, NOV 13)

2010-11-13T02:15:00.000-08:00

From Samuel Duodu, Kintampo.

THE proprietor of the Hope for Life Senior High School (SHS) at Babato in the Kintampo North Municipality in the Brong Ahafo Region who went into hiding after taking delivery of 51 bags of sheanuts valued at Gh¢3,100 has come face to face with the law.
Augustine Weturah, 37, is alleged to have told the complainant in the case, Salifatu Dramatu, also a resident in Kintampo, that he had been contracted by the Ghana Nuts Company Limited at Hansua, near Techiman, to purchase sheanuts on their behalf.
Based on this information, Dramatu gave 51 bags of sheanuts worth GH¢3,100 to Weturah but after receiving the nuts, Weturah began to play pranks and later went into hiding.
Weturah was later spotted in town by Dramatu who arrested him and handed him over to the police.
Weturah appeared before the Kintampo Magistrate Court and was charged with the offence of fictitious trading but he pleaded not guilty and was granted bail in the sum of Gh¢4,000 with two sureties to be justified.
Weturah would re-appear before the court, presided over by Mr Albert Zoogah, on November 15, 2010.
Prosecuting, Police Inspector (Insp) Wisdom Ahiakpor told the court that Weturah and Dramatu both lived at Kintampo and that Weturah approached Dramatu that he had been contracted by the Ghana Nuts Company Limited and needed customers to supply him with sheanuts to purchase for the company.
He said Dramatu showed interest and supplied Weturah with 51 bags of sheanuts valued at GH¢3,100. Weturah collected the sheanuts without paying for them and went into hiding.
Insp. Ahiakpor said Dramatu made all efforts to reach Weturah on phone and by contacting him personally but to no avail.
The prosecutor said Dramatu on September 18, 2010, spotted Weturah in Kintampo and arrested him and handed him over to the police. During interrogation Weturah admitted collecting the sheanuts without paying for them.
Insp. Ahiakpor said Weturah agreed to pay the money later and was granted police enquiry bail but he failed to pay the money.
He said Weturah was served with criminal summons to appear before the court on October 22, 2010, but he failed to appear. Subsequently, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

MORE BRONG AHAFO YOUTH PATRONISE APHRODISIACS (PAGE 21, MIRROR, NOV 13, 2010)

2010-11-13T02:05:00.000-08:00

From Samuel Duodu, Sunyani.

The use of aphrodisiacs or sex enhancement drugs is said to be on the increase in the Brong Ahafo Region, especially among the youth.
The Sunyani Zonal Officer of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB), Mrs Nora Narkie Terlabie, said this in an interaction with newsmen in Sunyani prior to the destruction of expired, substandard drugs, as well as food, cosmetics and medical devices worth GH¢14,252.75 at the Sunyani Landfill site last Tuesday.
Mrs Terlabie, who is in charge of the FDB in the Brong Ahafo Region, said the region had been flooded with aphrodisiacs and that everywhere one went, one could meet three or four people, especially young men, selling the drugs either to their counterparts or some elderly men.
According to her, most of the seized drugs meant for destruction by her outfit were aphrodisiacs.
She said on her visit to one of the district assembly offices in the region, she met a young man selling aphrodisiacs on the premises.
Mrs Terlabie said members of her team seized the drugs the young man was selling, adding that they were surprised to see that some staff of the assembly who patronised the drugs came forward to plead for the release of the seized drugs to the young man.
According to her, those officials who intervened for her to release the drugs to the young man told her that he had been going to the district assembly office almost every day to sell the drugs and there had not been any negative report made about the drugs by those who patronised them.
That, Mrs Terlabie said was the situation in the region which was hampering the efforts of the FDB to live up to its mandate of ensuring public safety.
She added that most of the aphrodisiacs on the market were not registered and had Chinese inscribed on them, which was against FDB’s regulations.
She, therefore, cautioned the public against the use and patronage of those unregistered aphrodisiacs, since they posed a serious health risk to the users and were also against public safety.
She stated further that it was an offence to peddle any drug, including aphrodisiacs, and urged those who wanted to buy any drug for use, including aphrodisiacs, to go for them at pharmacies and licensed chemical shops.
Mrs Terlabie also advised the public to be vigilant when buying any product, especially imported biscuits, drinks, cooking oil, canned foods and frozen meat and fish, for the Christmas festivities, since most of those items might be expired.
“When you are buying any of these items during the Christmas festivities, you should look for the expiry dates on them. For canned foods, you must ensure that the can is not dented or rusted, while for drinks you must ensure that the lid or the seal is not opened and leaking,” she stated.

ATEBUBU-AMANTIN ASSEMBLY LAUNCHES EDUCATION FUND (PAGE 11, NOV 10, 2010)

2010-11-13T00:52:00.000-08:00

THE Atebubu-Amantin District Assembly has launched an educational fund dubbed “Atebubu-Amantin Education Endowment Fund” (AADEEF) to support academically promising students of the district at the senior high school and tertiary levels of education.
To begin with, the assembly has voted a seed capital of GH¢30,000.00 and will also contribute two per cent of its share of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) every quarter to the fund.
To ensure the sustainability of the fund, contractors working with the assembly will also pay 0.5 per cent of the total of their contract sum to the fund, while the assembly will intermittently contribute a quarter of its available balance into the fund.
A fundraising activity during the launch of the programme also yielded an amount of GH¢9,217.00 with GH¢2,417.00 cash and GH¢6,800 in cheques and pledges.
To ensure equity and transparency in the disbursement of the fund, an 11-member board of trustees chaired by Rev. Peter Atia, a Clegyman was also inaugurated, with Nana Owusu Acheaw Brempong II, Omanhene of Atebubu Traditional Area and Osabarima Ababio, Omanhene of Amantin Traditional Area acting as life patrons of the fund.
Launching the fund at the forecourt of the assembly at Atebubu, Mr Eric Opoku, the Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, expressed the hope that the eligibility criteria for accessing the fund would be brilliant but needy students to help them climb the academic and professional ladder.
He entreated the board of trustees to observe the principles of equity, fairness, transparency and accountability in the management of the funds and further urged them to devise modern and pragmatic strategies to mobilise resources for a sustainable scheme.
“You must eschew discrimination and political considerations in the disbursement of the fund”, he told the trustees.
Mr Opoku commended the District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Sanja Nanja, Nananom, assembly members and all who in diverse ways helped in this bold initiative to ensure academic progression of children in the district.
Touching on some of the government interventions and programmes in the educational sector for the region, Mr Opoku said the government was constructing over 69 classroom blocks to phase out classes held under trees in the region.
He said about 1,000 students in the region would also benefit from the Mathematics, Science and Technology Scholarship scheme, a collaboration between the Ministries of Environment, Science and Technology and Education.
Mr Opoku announced that the region had been supplied with 44,000 school uniforms and 717,864 exercise books for distribution to basic schoolchildren under the government’s free school uniform and exercise books policy, and that all these were geared towards the realisation of true universal access to basic education in the country.
He urged parents to take keen interest in the education of their children and admonished pupils and students to eschew all forms of social vices and channel all their energies into their studies in order to justify the huge investments being made in them by their parents and the government.
The Atebubu-Amantin DCE, Mr Nanja, said the assembly set up the fund to assist the numerous students in the district who were brilliant but could not further their education as a result of financial constraints.
He, therefore, appealed to all and sundry in the district to contribute their quota to ensure the sustainability of the fund no matter how small it was.
Rev. Peter Atia, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the fund, for his part pledged to work assiduously to ensure that the fund was sustained to the expectations of all.
Nana Owusu Acheaw Brempong II, the Omanhene of Atebubu Traditional Area, who chaired the function, commended the assembly for establishing the fund and appealed to the people in the district to contribute to the fund to ensure its sustainability.

METHODIST UNIV TO ESTABLISH NURSES TRAINING COLLEGE (PAGE 11, NOV 10, 2010)

2010-11-13T00:51:00.000-08:00

THE Methodist University College of Ghana (MUCG) is to establish a Nurses Training College (NTC) at Wenchi in the Brong Ahafo Region next year.
Consequently, the university has acquired a 32-acre property belonging to the British American Tobacco (BAT) at Wenchi to set up the Nursing College which will eventually have a medical school attached to it.
The university will also use the Wenchi Methodist Hospital as a venue for the practical training of its students.
Speaking at the handover ceremony of the property at Wenchi, the Principal of the MUCG, the Very Rev Professor S.K. Adjepong said the MUCG acquired the leaf station property from BAT from a disadvantaged position, in that, it had no money at the time but went into negotiations for the property situated on the 32-acre land.
The principal observed that the idea of establishing a Nurses Training College made the BAT officials consider their bid over others and allowed the university to pay for the property on instalment basis to enable it to serve a public cause.
Rev. Prof. Adjepong stated that if things worked according to plan, the NTC would hit the ground running, come next academic year.
He indicated that the university had drawn up a curriculum and it was with the National Accreditation Board, saying the Nurses and Midwives Council had equally been contacted.
Touching on the daunting task ahead, Rev. Prof. Adjepong said “We will develop the place in piece-meal but progressively”.
He thanked the Wenchi Traditional Council and all those who played a role in the acquisition of the property.
The Security and Environmental Health Manager of BAT, Mr Michael Bondurin handed over the keys of the property to Rev. Prof. Adjepong.
In a brief remark , Mr Bondurin pointed out that when BAT decided to fold up, a lot of offers were received but it decided to give the property to the Methodist Church for the benefit of society.
Among those who witnessed the ceremony were the Vice Principal of MUCG, Very Rev. Prof. J.N. Kudadjie, The Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture- Wenchi Campus of the MUCG, Prof. E.O Octhere and the Omanhene of Wenchi, Nana Abrefa Nketiah.

THREE BODIES TO TACKLE GRADUATE UNEMPLOYMENT (BACK PAGE, NOV 10, 2010)

2010-11-13T00:45:00.000-08:00

THE National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) is in discussion with the National Service Scheme (NSS) and the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) to train unemployed graduates in business and entrepreneurship.
Under the programme, the participants should be prepared to set up their own businesses at the end of their two-year stint under the NYEP.
Mr Lukman Abdul-Rahim, the Executive Director of the NBSSI, explained that the move was to help reduce graduate and youth unemployment and create jobs to reduce poverty.
Mr Abdul-Rahim was speaking with the Daily Graphic in Sunyani shortly after meeting with some beneficiaries of the Root and Tuber Improvement and Marketing Programme (RTIMP).
The programme, which is sponsored by the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), is aimed at providing managerial and technical support to actors in the value chain of root and tuber production and processors.
Mr Abdul-Rahim also visited some of the project sites of the beneficiaries under the programme and interacted with them to know their challenges at first-hand to make recommendations for assistance.
So far about 300 people in the Sunyani, Techiman and Kintampo North municipalities, Sunyani West, Tano North and Atebubu-Amantin districts in the Brong Ahafo Region who are mostly into the production and processing of root and tuber, particularly cassava, are benefiting from the programme.
Mr Abdul-Rahim said beneficiaries under the business and entrepreneurship training programme would be supported with start-up capital when they exited from the National Service to set up their own businesses.
He said he managerial component of the RTIMP was to do with how beneficiaries could operate as business entities and also work as entrepreneurs.
He said other components included developing business plans, record-keeping and basic accounting practices, safety and hygiene practices.
In terms of technical support, the NBSSI would come up with proposals to address the technical gaps in the area of skills, equipment or machines, he said.
Mr Abdul-Rahim said by doing so the NBSSI was also fulfilling its mandate to promote and develop micro enterprises in the country, adding that NBSSI activities were also spread across the 110 districts in the country.
He said the RTIMP would continue to make resources available to address all the challenges faced by micro enterprises to ensure their sustainability through improved productivity, high incomes and job creation, since they had the potential for achieving the government’s private sector agenda.

YEJI TOWN ROADS TO BE TARRED (PAGE 35, NOV 8, 2010)

2010-11-12T23:58:00.002-08:00

THE Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Joe Gidisu, has cut the sod for the tarring of two kilometres of roads in Yeji town and the construction of 500 metres of drains along the road.
The projects, which are aimed at giving Yeji a facelift and to help ease the perennial flooding, are expected to be completed by September next year.
The projects, which are being financed with a Japanese grant of GH¢775, 685,64, are being executed by Kehentson Company Limited.
Addressing a durbar of chiefs and people of Yeji after cutting the sod for the commencement of the projects, Mr Gidisu said the government had decided to channel a greater part of a $13.2 billion roll-on-credit facility it secured from the Chinese government, during the recent visit by President John Evans Atta Mills to that country, to improve the road sector of the economy.
He stated that some roads in the Brong Ahafo Region would receive attention under the Chinese facility, notably the Atebubu-Kwame-Danso-Kajeji road to the banks of the Volta Lake in the Sene District, which has been on the drawing board for about a decade.
He said the government’s decision to use a greater portion of the facility for the road sector, was to take off some of the huge financial burden on the government’s funding for the sector.
Mr Gidisu added that much attention would be paid to feeder roads and other link roads in the country under the facility, saying that the road sector was the pivot for the socio-economic transformation of the country.
He assured Ghanaians that the road infrastructure of the country would see massive transformation in 2011 under President Mills’s administration.
The minister said since Prof. Mills took over power, his government had paid more than GH¢300 million to road contractors in the country while there were still some arrears to pay.
In response to an appeal by the Omanhene of Yeji Traditional Area, Pemanpem Yaw Kagbrese V, and the Pru District Chief Executive, Mr Masawud Mohammed, that the government should improve the drainage system of Yeji town to ease the perennial flooding , Mr Gidisu said those concerns would be taken on board.
He expressed the hope that when the project was completed, it would bring improvements in the living conditions of the people.
Mr Gidisu also called on the contractor executing the project to construct the roads to the agreed specifications so that it would last longer.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, said the government was committed to the improvement of the road network in the country, giving an assurance that every community would get its fair share of development projects.
Mr Mohammed, the Pru DCE, appealed to the minister to consider improving other roads in the area such as the Prang-Abease-Kintampo and Yeji-Vutudeke roads, since they lad to food-growing communities in the district.
Nana Kagbrese, who is also the Vice-President of the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs, expressed his appreciation to the government for the project.
He appealed for additional stretch of the town roads, including the one leading to the District Hospital.

CHURCH EDUCATION UNIT ASSITS CHIRAA SDA SCHOOL (PAGE 35, NOV 8, 2010)

2010-11-12T23:58:00.001-08:00

THE Ghana Union Conference (GUC) of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church and the Brong Ahafo Region SDA Education Unit have presented five packets of roofing sheets worth Gh¢1,1000 to the Chiraa SDA basic school in the Sunyani West District.
The gesture is to enable the school to re-roof the kindergarten (KG) block, whose roof was recently ripped off during a rainstorm in the area.
The General Manager of SDA Schools in Ghana, Elder Peter Yaw Frempah, who presented the roofing sheets, said the gesture was in response to an appeal made by the authorities of the school for assistance when the roof of the three-classroom block for the KG was ripped off.
He pledged that the church would continue to collaborate with the central government to provide quality education in the country.
The Chairman of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of the school, Mr R.O. Ampofo, who received the items, thanked the church and the education unit for their prompt response to the distress call made by the school authorities and the PTA.

CAPITAL RURAL BANK ORGANISES RAFFLE (PAGE 35, NOV 8, 2010)

2010-11-12T23:57:00.000-08:00

THE Capital Rural Bank with its headquarters at Abesim in the Brong Ahafo Region has organised its annual raffle dubbed: “My home bonanza raffle draw’’ to reward its loyal customers.
The raffle, the second this year, is drawn every year with a house as the first prize.
It is aimed at rewarding loyal customers of the bank, inculcating the habit of savings in the people, as well as helping to mobilise excess liquidity in the system.
Mr William Gyabaah of Abesim won the first prize of the raffle and was given a two-bedroom flat at Abesim as his prize.
The second and third prizes of a deep freezer and a television set, respectively went to Mr David A. Appiah and Dr G.W. Opoku both from Sunyani, while consolation prizes of wall clocks and the bank’s branded T-shirts were presented to the 11th-50th winners.
Speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic after the draw, the Chairman of the bank’s Board of Directors, Dr E. Yaw Peprah-Agyemang, said so far about 70 people had benefited from the bank’s housing project christened “Capital affordable housing” launched last year to help meet the country’s housing deficit stock among Ghanaians.
He said under the bank’s housing scheme, the bank provided financial support to enable low-income earners in the formal and informal sectors in the region to own their houses.
Dr Peprah-Agyemang said the innovation by the bank was the first of its kind to be carried out by any rural bank in the country.
Dr Peprah-Agyemang explained that the bank decided to come up with the affordable housing product to make up for the housing deficit in the region and the nation as whole.
He added that one needed to save for at least six months to qualify for a mortgage or a housing loan to purchase the house.
Dr Peprah-Agyemang said the raffle was being run in collaboration with a private real estate developer, adding that the rest of the loan would be spread over a period of 10 years.
He said the bank was there to assist all to embark on their legitimate ventures, and had put in place a scholarship scheme for the children of its customers to pursue tertiary education.
The Managing Director of the bank, Mr Kwaku Damoah, said every customer of the bank who saved continuously and had a minimum of GH¢100 in his/her accounts qualified to enter the draw.
He said apart from providing financial services, the bank also counselled people on the kind of investments to make.

PARENTS URGED TO ENROL THEIR CHILDREN IN SCHOOL (PAGE 35, NOV 8, 2010)

2010-11-12T23:56:00.000-08:00

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, has called on parents, especially those in the countryside, to take advantage of the numerous interventions by the government to enrol their children in school.
He mentioned some of the interventions as the supply of free school uniform and exercise books policy, as well as the provision of modern classroom infrastructure.
According to him, the government has also increased the number of beneficiary schools on the school feeding programme, especially in deprived communities, to encourage more children to go to school.
The regional minister, therefore, appealed to the people in the area to let the education of their children be their priority, as it was the cornerstone of the country’s human resource development and social uplift.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, who represented the Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, as the special guest of honour, made the call at a colourful durbar of chiefs and people of Banda Ahenkro in the Tain District to climax their annual Fordjour Yam festival at Banda Ahenkro.
The durbar was also used to raise funds for the construction of a weekly market for the area initiated by the Omanhene of Banda Traditional Area, Okokyeredom Kwadwo Sito I.
The government delegation, led by Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, pledged 15 packets of roofing sheets worth GH¢3,000 and GH¢2,000 cash towards the construction of the market.
The occasion also served as a remembrance and thanksgiving for the ancestors for protecting the people over the years and asked for more blessing in the years ahead.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo explained that the interventions by the government in the educational sector were geared towards the lessening of the financial burden on parents.
He urged Ghanaians to use their annual festivals to plan for self-help development projects and generation of adequate funds to support the education sector.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo further admonished Ghanaians to use festivals as a rallying point to promote unity and reconciliation.
The Minister of Chieftaincy and Culture, Mr Alexander Asum Ahensah, implored chiefs, who are the repository of the country’s rich cultural heritage, to use festivals to revive the country’s culture which was dying slowly.
He stated that chieftaincy disputes were a bother to the government, since they retard development.
Mr Ahensan, therefore, urged the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs to find possible ways of resolving all the 56 chieftaincy disputes pending before it.
The President of the Regional House of Chiefs, Osahene Kwaku Aterkyi, who is also the Kukuomhene, said the region lagged behind in girls’ education in the country.
He, therefore, called on stakeholders, especially Nananom, to lead the crusade to promote girls’ education and to abolish cultural practices affecting the well-being of girls and undermining their education.
The Omanhene of Banda Traditional Area, Okokyeredom Kwadwo Sito I, appealed to chiefs in the area with inter or intra community disagreements to use the festival to bury their differences to enhance the development of the area.
The Omanhene of Yeji Traditional Area, Pemanpem Yaw Kagbrese V, who is also the Vice-President of the Regional House of Chiefs, chaired the function.
He reiterated the call on the chiefs to use the festival to unite their people.

SUMA RURAL BANK RECORDS MORE PROFIT (PAGE 42, NOV 8, 2010)

2010-11-12T23:51:00.000-08:00

THE Suma Rural Bank Limited at Suma Ahenkro in the Jaman North District in the Brong Ahafo Region recorded a profit before tax of GH¢64,217 in 2009 against GH¢21,469 recorded in 2008.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the bank, Mr Ofori Asubongteng, announced this at the 24th annual general meeting of shareholders of the bank at Suma Ahenkro.
He said the bank‘s share capital went up from GH¢56,987 as of December, 2008 to GH¢155.903 at the end of 2009 while the total deposits of the bank increased from GH¢1,291,672 to GH¢2,030,841.
Mr Asubonteng further stated that last year, loans and advances given out stood at GH¢1,065,430 compared to the GH¢975,966 granted the previous year.
He said the loans went to various sectors, including transport, agriculture, trading, salaried workers, funerals, medical, as well as micro finance.
Mr Asubonteng announced that investments also increased from GH¢252,000 to GH¢1,081,436 while the total assets grew from GH¢1,887,433 to GH¢2,688,885.
The board chairman stated that the bank had met the Bank of Ghana’s (BOG) minimum capital requirement but urged the shareholders to do more to grow up the capital as the BOG might increase the minimum requirement anytime from now.
He said the bank was constructing a computer science laboratory for the Sumaman Senior High School (SHS) at Suma Ahenkro.
The Senior Manager of the bank, Mr Martin Adjei-Amponsah, announced that GH¢8,519 was paid to shareholders as their dividend.
Mr Adjei-Amponsah said the bank had planned to open branches at Berekum and Brodi and also set up a special savings for workers dubbed: “WSSA.”
He said the bank purchased Akuafo cheques worth GH¢117,492 as against GH¢34,498 bought in 2008.
Mr Adjei-Amponsah appealed to customers who had obtained loans from the bank to pay back promptly to ensure the continuous existence of the bank and also pave way for others to enjoy the facility.
The Assistant Director of Banking Supervision Department of the BOG, Mr Philip E. Cobbina, called on Board of Directors of rural banks to focus on good corporate governance and risk management to ensure the continuous existence of their banks.
He said in addition to good risk management, the banks must also be seriously concerned with the growth of their capital.
Mr Cobbina stressed the need for banks to constantly grow their capital by either retaining part of their profits or asking shareholders to inject fresh capital.
He commended the shareholders, board members and staff of the bank for their immense contributions which had brought the bank that far and urged them to work harder than before to move the bank forward.
The Managing Director of the ARB Apex Bank Limited, Mr Eric Osei Bonsu, in an address read on his behalf, stressed the need for Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) to form corporate merges in order to stay in business.
He said the second quarter of 2010 report on performance showed that of 131 RCBs compiled by the Efficiency Monitoring Unit of ARB APEX Bank, only 91 RCBs nationwide had met the newly paid-up capital requirement of GH¢150,000.

NDC WOMEN ORGANISERS WANT NANA TO DISTANCE HERSELF FROM GROUP (PAGE 13, NOV 8, 2010)

2010-11-12T23:41:00.000-08:00

WOMEN Organisers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Brong Ahafo Region have called on Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, a former first lady and now a Vice Chairperson of the NDC, to distance herself from the recent posting of her posters across the country by persons claiming to be foot soldiers of the party.
The women stated that Mrs Rawlings‘ delay in distancing herself from the unlawful conduct of the faceless and nameless so-called foot soldiers were undermining the work of President Mills and the unity within the party.
“The delayed silence from Mrs Rawlings is fuelling lots of speculations which do not augur well for the image of our founder, hence our call for Mrs Rawlings to immediately distance herself from the misconduct of the faceless and nameless persons so that as a party and government, we can focus on the work ahead and build the Better Ghana that Ghanaians voted President Mills to do,” the women organisers stated.
A release issued to the press in Sunyani and signed by Nana Adwoa Takyiwaa, the NDC Brong Ahafo Regional Women’s Organiser, on the recent Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings posters said they had nothing against the desire of Mrs Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, one of the Vice Chairpersons of the NDC, to vie to lead the party into 2012 general election.
The release said the NDC was a democratic party and believed in opening up the political space for every qualified member of the NDC to vie to lead the party.
“However, we are extremely displeased with the attempt by some persons to create unnecessary confusion within the party and distract the attention of President Mills’ government to deliver on its mandate and pursue the Better Ghana agenda,” it said.
The women organisers, therefore, called on Mrs Rawlings to immediately distance herself from this unacceptable behaviour by the group of young men who are misbehaving and destroying the reputation of our Founder as well as the solid image of the NDC.
The women urged Mrs Rawlings as a mother figure to call the lawless persons to order or distance herself from them, adding that every well-meaning mother will not tolerate the waywardness on the part of her children and in like manner, Mrs Rawlings must not tolerate the waywardness of these cowards.
The NDC Brong Ahafo Women Organisers, however, pledged their unflinching support to President Mills and said they had no doubt that a Better Ghana will be built for the NDC’s mandate to be renewed in 2012.
They added that when a Deputy Minister of Information, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, made some attributions to Mrs Rawlings recently, she acted with dispatch to set the records straight.
“It is therefore disturbing that with regard to the recent matter which is undermining unity within the party and undermining the work of President Mills, Mrs Rawlings is delaying in distancing herself from the unlawful conduct of the faceless and nameless so-called foot soldiers,” they stated.
The release noted that it was a matter of fact that some women have made it to the high position of president of their nations and it was a matter of fact that many more women will aspire to such a high office but it is also a matter of fact that those who had made it to the high office, did not employ backdoor tactics as well as support lawlessness within the ranks of their parties.
“Particularly, we are unhappy about the lawlessness being perpetrated by certain faceless and nameless persons in the name of Mrs Konadu Agyemang Rawlings”, the release said.
“We find it highly inappropriate that a lawless agenda is being pursued in the name of a Vice Chairman of the party and also the wife of our respected founder his Excellency Jerry John Rawlings,” it stated.

ADUANA DEEPEN KOTOKO'S WOES (BACK PAGE, NOV 8, 2010)

2010-11-12T23:34:00.000-08:00

Two quick goals by Aduana Stars marksman Bernard Dong Bortey within five minutes further deepened the woes of Kumasi Asante Kotoko in their 10th week Glo Premier League thriller at Dormaa-Ahenkro, yesterday.
Bortey, who was a thorn in the flesh of Kotoko right from recess, capitalised on the loss of concentration on the part of the Kotoko defenders to power the defending champions to a 2-0 win. The victory has made each player GH¢600 richer from a special bonus promised by the club’s bankroller and Life Patron, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu II.
Determined to make good his promise to score against Kotoko, Bortey opened the Aduana account with a 20-metre shot from the left which beat goalkeeper Isaac Amoako after 57 minutes. He capitalised on lack of communication in the Kotoko defence to double the lead five minutes later.
Kotoko, playing under caretaker coach, Opoku Nti, and Technical Director Malik Jabir, took the game to the homesters in the first half but Daniel Nii Adjei, Kabiru Moro, Louis Agyemang and Jordan Opoku lacked bite upfront, leaving goalkeeper Stephen Adams on a virtual holiday.
Kotoko made three straight substitutions in the last 20 minutes of the game, bringing on Samad Oppong, Kwadwo Poku and Daniel Ofei for Aziz Ansah, Ekow Benson and Kabiru Moro but that could not alter the scoreline.

SUGAR THIEF FINED (MIRROR, PAGE 35, NOV 5, 2010)

2010-11-06T07:57:00.000-07:00

From Samuel Duodu, Kintampo

ONE of the two persons, who were charged with stealing five bags of sugar with an inscription of the World Food Programme (WFP) embossed on the sacks at Kintampo two weeks ago, has been sentenced to a fine of Gh¢960 or in default serve 23 months imprisonment.
The Kintampo Circuit Court also ordered the convict, Adjei Kwame Vasco to pay a compensation of Gh¢350 to the driver of the Bolga bound articulated truck from which the sugar was stolen, for damaging the tarpaulin been used to cover the sugar on board the truck.
Vasco, 27, and Peter Kategeh, 26, a driver, were arrested by the police at Kintampo when they were loading the sugar into a Tico taxi.
However, the court, presided over by Mr Albert Zoogah, acquitted and discharged Kategeh, since according to the evidence adduced by the court he had no knowledge of the crime, because he was only stopped by Vasco while he was working as a commercial driver to render a service.
During their first appearance in court, Vasco pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, causing unlawful damage and stealing while Kategeh denied knowledge of the crime and were both remanded.
Vasco told the court that he was riding a bicycle from Babatokuma to Kintampo when he saw the bags of sugar by the roadside and called the driver to come to convey them.
However, at the second hearing of the case, Vasco confessed to the crime and pleaded for leniency.
The facts of the case were that the two were residents of the Kintampo North municipality in the Brong Ahafo Region while the complainant, Mohammed Yakubu was from Accra and in-charge of the articulated truck.
Yakubu, who was in transit stopped over at Kintampo to rest and later took off to Babatokuma. On arrival at Babatokuma, he detected that the rope that was used to fasten the tarpaulin was loose and was dragging on the road.
Yakubu stopped and detected that thieves had cut the tarpaulin and had stolen some bags of sugar.
He quickly reported it to the police patrol team stationed at the Surounuan toll booth.
Yakubu, with the help of the Police Patrol Team traced the stolen bags of sugar to Kintampo and on their way they came across a taxi parked along the road.
The team saw Kategeh sitting behind the steering wheel of the taxi, while Vasco was loading the sugar into the car.
The two were arrested and sent to the Kintampo Police Station with the exhibits.

COMPANY REGISTERS 350 NEEDY PEOPLE UNDER NHIS (PAGE 23, NOV 5, 2010)

2010-11-06T07:41:00.001-07:00

A PRIVATE company has registered 350 needy people including widows, orphans, the aged and the disabled at Kwatire, a farming community in the Sunyani West District in the Brong Ahafo Region for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
A cassava starch processing factory at Kwatire, Kofi Vinyo Company Limited (KVCL), spent GH¢3,000 on their registration as part of the company’s social responsibility to the community.
The $700,000 factory, which is under construction at Kwatire and scheduled to start operations next year, is an initiative of Mr Kofi Vinyo, a Sunyani-based philanthropist and a businessman, with financial support from the Sunyani branch of ECOBANK.
At the ceremony to register the needy people at Kwatire, the company donated a 21-inch colour television set to the Kwatire Health Centre which serves the people of Kwatire, Adentia, Odumase and their surrounding villages.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Managing Director of KVCL, Mr Vinyo, said the company saw good health as an important asset for every human being and, therefore, decided to sponsor the registration of the underprivileged in the society to enable them access quality health care.
He stated that even though the factory had not begun operation, he wanted the people in the town to know that the company would be committed to its social responsibilities when it starts production next year and would employ about 700 inhabitants of the town.
He added that the factory would process cassava into starch for industrial use and export, adding that the target was to produce 14,000 tonnes of starch for export annually.
The managing director said the company was expected to cultivate 2,000 acres of cassava by the next major farming season and had also planned to assist individual farmers who were interested in cassava production to do so.
Mr Vinyo, however, appealed to the government to assist the company by providing the necessary security and also to enable it import machines from China for its operations.
The Sunyani West District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Kwadwo Osei Asibey, lauded Mr Vinyo for the investment and commended the company for fulfilling its social responsibility to the community even though it was yet to start production.
He appealed to residents of Kwatire and its environs, especially the youth who would be direct beneficiaries of the factory, to cooperate with the investor to ensure the success of the project.
The DCE also pledged the district assembly’s support for the company.
Mr Asibey called on chiefs in the area to release more land for the expansion of the factory when the need arose since it was part of their contributions towards job creation.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Sunyani Municipal Health Insurance Scheme, Ms Victoria Manu, appealed to wealthy people in the society to help less fortunate ones to register with the scheme, and thanked Mr Vinyo for the gesture.
The Sunyani West District Director of Agriculture, Madam Joyce Takyi, stressed the economic importance of cassava and urged residents of Kwatire who were desirous of going into cassava production not to hesitate to do so.
The Sunyani Branch Manager of ECOBANK, Mr Haruna Alhassan, called on the people of Kwatire to lend their support to the project to ensure its success.
He also urged people who would be engaged when the factory starts operations to cultivate the habit of saving in order to get soft loans from the bank.
The Managing Director of KVCL, the DCE and the other dignitaries later toured the factory site to see the progress of work.

VAT SERVICE HOLDS SEMINAR FOR HOTEL OPERATORS (PAGE 22, NOV 2, 2010)

2010-11-06T03:33:00.000-07:00

THE National House of Chiefs (NHC), in collaboration with the Law Reform Commission, is conducting research to ascertain the customary law on land and family in selected traditional areas in the country.
The traditional areas are Offinso and Tepa (Ashanti), Duayaw Nkwanta, Nkoranza (Brong – Ahafo), Eguafo, Assin Atandanso (Central), Akuapem, Yilo Krobo (Eastern) and Kpone and Osudoku (Greater Accra).
The rest are Gonja and Mamprusi (Northern), Bolga, Paga (Upper East), Kaleo, Nandom (Upper West), Asogli, Kete Krachi (Volta) and Lower Axim and Sefwi Chirano (Western).
Known as the Ascertainment and Codification of Customary Law Project (ACLP), the project is partly in fulfilment of Article 272 (b) of the 1992 Constitution.
The project is being supported by the German Development Co-operation (GTZ) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Addressing a regional validation workshop in Wa, the National Research Co-ordinator of the ACLP, Mr Thomas Tagoe, said the main objective of the project was to carry out the progressive study, interpretation and codification of customary law with a view to evolving, in appropriate cases, a unified system of rules of customary law.
He said currently 20 traditional areas in the country were being piloted to ascertain customary law on land and family in additional customary legal communities with validations.
According to him, the project was being undertaken in three phases, with two traditional areas from each of the 10 administrative regions.
Mr Tagoe explained that the phase one would involve data collection and literature review, among other issues.
“In the phase two of the project, additional variations of customary laws from about 30 traditional areas will be collected on land and family law,” he added.
Mr Tagoe said within the final stages of the project, it was expected that consultations would be held with traditional leaders from other traditional areas, which were not involved in the process of data collection.
That, he said, would give them the opportunity to review the findings of the ascertained law and identify variations from their communities.
A member of the Joint Steering Committee of the Project, Dr Henry Daannaa, gave the assurance that other traditional areas would be roped in after the validation workshops.

DORMAA WEST NDC URGES SUPPORTERS TO STAY UNITED (PAGE 12, NOV 1, 2010)

2010-11-06T02:35:00.000-07:00

Executive Members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Dormaa West constituency have called on supporters of the party in the constituency to close their ranks and rally behind the executives to deliver the Better Ghana Agenda.
They also congratulated the Dormaa West Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr. Vincent Oppong Asamoah, on the good work done in the municipality since he assumed office about 18 months ago.
The Constituency Executives further cautioned those who want to disturb the current peace prevailing in the constituency to desist from such act.
The Constituency Secretary of the Party, Mr. Haford Yeboah a.k.a Tomboya, made the call and the commendation at a meeting with the executive members and the rank and file of the party at Dormaa Ahenkro, the municipal capital.
Mr. Yeboah mentioned some of the projects undertaken through the support of the Municipal Assembly since the MCE took office as the construction of about 15 school buildings at Agyemankrom, Antwirifo, Amasu, Nkrankwanta and Gonokrom which were executed in less than two years.
Touching on electricity, he said the assembly under the able leadership of the MCE has extended electricity to some communities such as Tronang, Agyemankrom, Sawaba Zongo, Kofikumikrom and Krakrom.
On the educational sector, Mr. Yeboah said about 73 senior high schools (SHS) and 33 tertiary students have been fully catered for while 33 boreholes which were out of use for about eight years were being repaired.
He said the entire youth of Dormaa were also impressed with the construction of the dressing room at the Nana Agyeman Badu Park at Dormaa Ahenkro which has enabled Aduana Stars to play their home matches at Dormaa Ahenkro.
The Dormaa West NDC Constituency Secretary described Mr. Asamoah as an achiever and urged residents in the municipality to judge the good work done and vote massively for the party in the 2012 general election to enable it continue with the good work.
The NDC Constituency Vice-Chairman, Alhaji Kankani, appealed to the supporters as well as the youth wing to respect the party hierarchy in the constituency and also work together as a team with the executives to ensure a resounding victory for the party in the 2012 election.
The NDC Constituency Youth Organiser, Mr. Kwaku Agyeman a.k.a. Yaa Naa cautioned those who want to disturb the current peace prevailing in the constituency to desist from such act.
The NDC Constituency Women Organiser, Madam Ashietu Banda urged women in the party to vote massively for women candidates contesting the forthcoming District level elections.
This, she said would go a long way to get more women to participate in the local level of decision making.
Madam Banda also commended the MCE for his good work and called on all residents in the constituency to rally behind him and President Mills to deliver the Better Ghana Agenda.

FREE SUPPLY OF UNIFORMS WILL BE SUSTAINED (PAGE 22, OCT 30, 2010)

2010-11-06T02:16:00.000-07:00

THE Dormaa West Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Vincent Oppong Asamoah, has stated that the government’s policy to supply free school uniforms to deprived schools is not a nine-days’ wonder.
He said the intervention would continue every year as far as the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government was concerned.
The MCE also stated that schools in deprived communities in the municipality would benefit from the school feeding programme which had been increased from 1,500 to 3,000 by the government to entice more children to enrol in schools.
Mr Asamoah gave the assurance when he distributed the government’s free school uniforms to 240 pupils in the Kofiasua Primary School in the municipality in fulfilment of the NDC’s manifesto for the realisation of the “Better Ghana” agenda.
Already more than 100,000 free exercise books have been distributed to the schools in the municipality.
Mr Asamoah said the aim of the government was to reduce the burden on parents in financing education.
The MCE explained that the government would ensure the success of the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) to enhance quality education delivery since no country could develop without education.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to provide rural communities with the necessary social amenities such as potable water, good roads, electricity and quality classroom blocks to ensure that the people live in dignity.
Mr Asamoah advised the teachers to offer their best, and cautioned them against drunkenness.
He also urged the pupils to keep their surroundings clean to avoid the outbreak of diseases, adding that the schools must plant more trees and flowers to beautify their compounds.
The Dormaa West Municipal Deputy Director of Education, Mr Atakorah Amaniampong, who received the uniforms on behalf of the schools, thanked the MCE and the government for the gesture, and gave the assurance that the uniforms would encourage the children to go to school.
He said the uniforms had come at the right time to reduce the burden on parents.
Mr Amaniampong urged the teachers to eschew alcoholism, laziness and absenteeism, stressing that parents should take keen interest in the education of their children.

GH¢450,000 VOTED FOR MEASLES CAMPAIGN (PAGE 11, OCT 30, 2010)

2010-11-06T02:08:00.000-07:00

The government in conjunction with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has voted GH¢450,000 (¢4.5 billion) for the National Mass Measles Campaign in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The money is for the procurement of needles, syringes and other essentials items for the measles immunisation programme scheduled to take place from November 3 to 6, 2010 nationwide.
About 400, 081 children between the ages of nine and 59 months are expected to be immunised against measles in the region, which is a follow up of the routine immunisation, and also reach out to those who were not covered during the routine one.
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease and one of the highest causes of under five mortality worldwide. In addition to the measles vaccination, children from nine months to under-five years will receive Vitamin A capsules which helps to give children good eyesight and boost their immunity.
The immunisation campaign is on the theme “Measles kills, immunise your child now”. Measles, which is a killer, is preventable when the child is vaccinated against it.
Speaking at the Regional launch of the campaign/media briefing on integrated 2010 measles/Vitamin A immunisation campaign in Sunyani, Dr Aaron Offei, the Brong Ahafo Regional Director of Health stated that Ghana was one of the countries in the Sub-region that had made significant improvements in measles immunisation.
He noted that in spite of the 90 per cent coverage achieved in the region, there was a need to do more to capture those yet to be reached during the supplementary immunisation campaign.
Dr Offei, therefore, called on all stakeholders, especially the media, to use their medium to create the awareness on the need for every parent to ensure that their children aged from nine months to under five years are immunised.
Dr. E. T. Tinkorang , Deputy Regional Director of Health Service, also in-charge of Public Health, said the immunisation programme had been planned in such a way to ensure safety and the protection of the environment.
He explained that one syringe and needle would be used for each child during the immunisation and once it was used, it would be disposed of immediately without causing any environmental hazards after the programme.
He called for proper co-ordination at the municipal and district levels to ensure the success of the programme, adding that districts should design their programmes in such a way to enable them to capture those in hard-to-reach areas in their districts.
Mr Amofa Boateng, the Regional Disease Control Officer, who spoke on the communication strategy, reiterated the call on the media to create awareness on the need for all to vaccinate their children aged below five years against measles.
He called for co-operation from the public to ensure the success of the programme.

TWO IN COURT OVER STOLEN SUGAR (MIRROR, PAGE 20, OCT 30, 2010)

2010-10-29T10:40:00.000-07:00

From Samuel Duodu, Kintampo

TWO residents of Kintampo, who stole five bags of sugar valued at GH¢600 with an inscription of the World Food Programme (WFP) embossed on the sacks are in the firm grip of the law.
Adjei Kwame Vasco, 27, and Peter Kategeh, 26, a driver, both residents of Kintampo, were alleged to have stolen the sugar on board a Bolga bound articulated truck with registration number GT 7658.
Vasco and Kategeh have been charged with conspiracy, causing unlawful damage and stealing, but they have pleaded not guilty to the counts of causing damage and stealing.
They were remanded by the Kintampo Magistrate Court, presided over by Mr. Albert Zoogah, to re-appear in court in the first week of November, 2010.
Vasco, who pleaded not guilty to the counts of causing damage and stealing told the court that he was riding a bicycle from Bababtokuma to Kintampo when he saw the bags of sugar by the roadside and called the driver to come to convey them.
According to the police, stealing of items on board articulated trucks in transit to the northern part of the country and the country’s landlocked neighbours within Kintampo has been on the increase in recent times.
Prosecuting, Inspector Wisdom Ahiakpor told the court that the two are residents of the municipality while the complainant, Mohammed Yakubu is from Accra and in-charge of the articulated truck.
He said Yakubu, who was in transit stopped over at Kintampo to rest and later took off to Babatokuma. On arrival at Babatokuma, he detected that the rope that was used to fasten the tarpaulin was loose and was dragging on the road.
Insp. Ahiakpor said Yakubu stopped and detected that thieves had cut the tarpaulin and had stolen some bags of sugar.
He said Yakubu quickly reported it to the police patrol team stationed at the Surounuan toll booth.
The Prosecutor said that Yakubu with the help of the Police Patrol Team decided to trace the stolen bags of sugar to Kintampo and on their way they came across a taxi cab parked along the road.
Insp. Ahiakpor said the team saw Kategeh sitting behind the steering wheel of the taxi, while Vasco was loading the sugar into the car.
He said the two were arrested and sent to the Kintampo Police Station with the exhibits.
The Prosecutor told the court that a search in the room of Vasco revealed a sack containing maize with the WFP inscription on it.
He said after investigations the two were charged with the offence.

MODERN EQUIPMENT FOR BROAG AHAFO HOSPITALS (PAGE 22, OCT 29, 2010)

2010-10-29T10:04:00.001-07:00

ALL health facilities in the Brong Ahafo Region, especially the regional, municipal and district hospitals are to benefit from modern medical equipment and drugs from MEDSHARE Company, a United States of America (USA) based humanitarian organisation.
The medical supplies, which would be distributed freely to beneficiary hospitals and clinics from time to time in the region, would be used by the health facilities for the needy and during their outreach programmes.
Under the deal, the beneficiary health institutions would only pay for the shipping and handling charges, while the donation of the medical supplies would be made at the request of and to the specifications of the beneficiary facilities. The company would also present new equipment, straight from the manufacturers to the beneficiaries.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo-Nyamekye-Marfo, struck the deal during his recent visit to the USA.
This came to light at a meeting in Sunyani attended by the Regional Minister, Mrs Christine Komba Boateng, a Ghanaian based in Atlanta, Georgia in USA; the Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Aaron Offei, and the Medical Director of the Regional Hospital, Dr Abebrese.
Mrs Boateng, who is also a Patient Care Technician, said her group, comprising two other Ghanaians, namely Messrs Patrick Kwame Junior and Robert Andoh, were only facilitating the deal.
She said apart from the equipment and drugs, health institutions in the region that do not have ambulances could request for those vehicles.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said the government and the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) were ready to collaborate with any organisation, group or individuals such as MEDSHARE Company and Mrs Boateng to promote quality health care delivery to the people.
He called on the various health facilities in the region to make their needs known so that they could be assisted.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo lauded Mrs Boateng and her group for seeking the welfare of their nation and expressed the hope that other Ghanaians based abroad would emulate the example.
Dr Offei, for his part, said the Ghana Health Service (GHS) had a policy on the donation of medical supplies and expressed the hope that all the donated items were in line with that policy.
Dr Abebrese seized the opportunity to request for a C.T. scan machine for the regional hospital.
Mrs Boateng, in the company of the regional director of health services and medical director of the regional hospital later toured the regional hospital to assess the needs of the facility in order to make a request for medical supplies.

ADOPT PROACTIVE STRATEGIES FOR DEV...Opoku urges MDAs (PAGE 13, OCT 27, 2010)

2010-10-27T07:55:00.000-07:00

The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, has urged Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) to adopt proactive and productive strategies in their planning schemes to effectively address disaster management issues to ensure a reduction in the occurrence of disasters, especially man-made ones, to the minimum in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
He, however, gave the assurance that the central government would not stand in the way of the National Disaster Management Organisation’s (NADMO) operations but would rather assist the organisation in any possible way to enable it to achieve its legal mandate.
Mr Eric Opoku said this at a durbar held at the forecourt of the Bechem Civic Centre in the Tano South District to mark the regional celebration of this year’s World Disaster Reduction Day. It had the theme, “Making Cities Resilient-My City is Getting Ready”.
Touching on the theme for the celebration, the deputy regional minister said the campaign of making cities resilient was aimed at building strong and sustainable urban communities, which would ultimately protect people against disasters.
He, therefore, urged MDAs, as well as the general public to take action to help reduce the vulnerability of their towns and cities to disasters.
Mr Opoku noted that planning and development of communities must be considered as a shared responsibility and, therefore, not be left solely for central and local government authorities.
“We as individuals and communities equally have an important role to play in protecting critical infrastructure by avoiding attitudes and tendencies in direct relation to the building of structures in waterways,” he said.
Mr Opoku noted that natural disasters cannot be absolutely prevented, but could be minimised to the barest, if we adopt prudent methods in our planning and development schemes and programmes.
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister added that disasters could also come in the form of epidemics and pandemics as a result of our bad sanitary attitudes.
He, therefore, reiterated the call on everyone to maintain high levels of hygiene and sound environmental practices.
Mr Opoku further appealed to all educational institutions to incorporate disaster management issues in the various curricula so that the youth in schools understand the importance of disaster management.
Mr J.B. Nyarko, the Regional NADMO Coordinator, for his part, commended the Tano South District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Bukari Zakari Anaba and the entire district for accepting to host the programme at a very short notice and expressed the hope that in future other districts would emulate their kind gesture.
Mr Anaba, the Tano South DCE, called on all residents to join hands with their respective MDAs and other statutory planning agencies to help prevent disasters, especially man-made ones.

E-TOYS AND MORE SETS UP E-LEARNING CENTRE ....At Odumase in Sunyani West (PAGE 11, OCT 25, 2010)

2010-10-25T05:15:00.000-07:00

AN e-learning centre valued at GH¢70,000 and equipped with the modern multimedia branded computers loaded with powerful educational software has been inaugurated at Odumase in the Sunyani West District of the Brong Ahafo Region.
The centre, set up by e-toys & more, was initiated by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunyani West, Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, and funded through his share of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) with support from the District Assemblies Common Fund.
The centre, which is located on the compound of the Odumase St Peter and St Paul Junior High School (JHS), will serve about 3,000 students in the Odumase community.
Speaking at the inauguration, Mr Awuah said he established the centre to help bridge the digital gap for pupils and students in his constituency and bring them at par with their counterparts elsewhere.
Apart from helping to bridge the digital gap, he said it was also to help inculcate Information and Communications Technology (ICT) studies in the children, since it had now become an examinable subject at the basic level of education.
“I am delighted that finally the schoolchildren in my constituency can also benefit from the great technological revolution taking place around the world, especially educational technology,” he stated.
Mr Awuah indicated that plans were underway to replicate the e-learning centre in other communities in the constituency.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Director of Education, Rev. S.A. Amankwah, for his part, commended the MP for his initiative to promote quality education in the constituency and appealed to him to replicate the centre in Chiraa, Fiapre and Nsoatre, the other major towns in the constituency, for pupils and students there to benefit from it.
Mr George Sackey Jnr, the Executive President of e-toys, for his part, said education was becoming completely technology-driven throughout the world, with modern forms of delivery being employed to replace traditional ones.
He said it was the mission of his company to provide technological solutions for the educational needs of children, schools and communities to help bridge the technological gap between our part of the world and the developed nations.
Mr Sackey later presented a certificate to Mr Awuah in acknowledgement of the latter’s valuable contribution to the development of ICT education in Ghana.
Nana Kwame Korang, the Omanhene of the Odumase Number One Traditional Area, who chaired the function, expressed his gratitude to the MP for the gesture and urged teachers, pupils and students to make maximum use of the facility to broaden their knowledge.

ESTABLISH 'MINI' STOCK EXHANGE FOR RURAL BANKS (PAGE 29, OCT 23, 2010)

2010-10-25T04:01:00.000-07:00

THE Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Asutifi Rural Bank Limited, Mr Kofi Bonsu Boakye-Boateng has suggested to the ARB Apex Bank Limited to establish what he termed “ a mini Stock Exchange” solely for Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) where the share of these banks could be traded.
That, he said would enable the RCBs to raise the needed capital and also enable non-resident citizens desirous to have some kind of investment back home to own shares in these banks.
Mr Boakye-Boateng made the suggestion at the 22nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the bank at Acherensua in the Asutifi District of the Brong Ahafo Region.
He noted that one area posing a serious challenge to most RCBs was the build-up of the appropriate minimum stated capital level of GH¢150,000 set up by the Bank of Ghana and one of the ways to meet this requirement was the proposed “mini stock exchange” .
Mr Boakye-Boateng further proposed that another way shareholders could help to build share capital for their banks was to publicly convert cash donations and cash gifts at social functions into quantities that are equivalent to ordinary shares for the beneficiary.
Presenting the report of the bank for the year under review, Mr Anthony Yaw Oppong, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, said the bank made profit after tax of Gh¢51,107.73 for the year ended December 31, 2009.
He indicated that the total assets of the bank also increased from GH¢1,299,722.88 in 2008 to GH¢2,121,059.58 in 2009.
Mr Francis Boateng, who deputised for the Managing Director of ARB Apex Bank Limited, Mr Eric Osei Bonsu, commended the bank for its impressive performance over the years.
He advised the board and management of the bank to strive to always improve on services to maintain the ever- growing competition in the banking industry and urged the bank to brace up for the challenge of migrating from manual operation to a computerised environment.
Mr Osei-Bonsu further advised rural banks to keep abreast of issues at the banking front and embrace corporate mergers and commended the Asutifi Rural Bank for including merger talks in its agenda and expressed the hope that it would be among the first rural banks to embrace and take steps to merge with some other rural banks.

BRONG AHAFO POLICE TO CURTAIL ACCIDENT RATE (MIRROR, PAGE 36, OCT 23, 2010)

2010-10-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

From Samuel Duodu, Sunyani.

Forty-five out of 125 people lost their lives through road accidents in the Brong Ahafo Region from September this year to date.
There were also 156 vehicles involved in the accidents recorded within the period with a total of 31 fatal cases while 150 people sustained various degrees of injury.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Police Commander of the Motor Traffic Transport Unit (MTTU), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr Paul Wesley Baah, disclosed this in an interview with The Mirror in Sunyani.
He stated that in view of the alarming situation, the unit in collaboration with the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) and the Driver Vehicle License Authority (DVLA) has stepped up the road safety campaign in the region to ensure an accident free situation or a reduction of such fatalities to the barest minimum between now and Christmas.
The Regional MTTU Commander attributed the increase in road accidents in the region to speeding and driver fatigue.
Consequently, Mr Baah said the unit had embarked on an exercise to check speeding, tyres, fire extinguishers, advance triangles and driving licenses as measures to curb road accidents in the region.
ASP Baah said because of the bad weather condition being experienced now, especially in the night and early morning, there was the need for drivers to check their wipers and make sure that they had advance triangles in their vehicles so that anytime there was a breakdown of their vehicles they placed one 50 metres in front of the vehicle and another 50 metres behind it.
The MTTU Regional Commander appealed to motorists to be cautious on the roads and desist from speeding since it had been the major cause of road accidents in the region.
Mr Baah mentioned the accident-prone areas in the region as Techiman-Kintampo–Kadelso roads and the Sunyani-Duayaw Nkwanta-Bechem roads.

GH¢76,000 DRUGS FOR KWATIRE HEALTH CENTRE (PAGE 35, OCT 21, 2010)

2010-10-20T05:33:00.000-07:00

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, has presented assorted drugs worth GH¢76,000 to the Kwatire Health Centre in the Sunyani West District.
The North Carolina Cancer Coalition based in the United States of America (USA) donated the drugs through the Peace and Love Clinic (Breast Cancer International) based in Kumasi.
The Kwatire Health Centre serves Odumase, Adentia and Kwatire and their surrounding villages.
Speaking at a brief presentation ceremony at Kwatire, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said the donation of the medicines was his contributions towards quality health care delivery to the people of the area.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, who is a native of Kwatire, said the gesture was a way of giving back to the community where he was born and bred.
He gave the assurance that the government was committed to the improvement of healthcare delivery in the country and had, therefore, embarked on massive expansion of health infrastructure in the country.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said the government’s pledge of instituting a one-time premium under the National Health Insurance Scheme was possible and would be implemented latest by next year.
He called on residents in the region to continue to rally behind the government to ensure the success of its “Better Ghana” agenda.
The Sunyani West District Director of Health Services, Ms Eva Aryee, expressed gratitude to the regional minister for the gesture and pledged that the drugs would be used for the intended purpose.

COUPLE KILLED IN MOTOR ACCIDENT (PAGE 51, OCT 20, 2010)

2010-10-20T05:22:00.000-07:00

A MAN and his wife died on the spot when a Man Diesel cargo truck on which they were travelling collided with a Renault articulated truck with registration number AS 1996 U on the Kumasi-Sunyani road.
The cargo truck, with registration number GW 8624 X, which was said to be carrying crates of eggs, was from Dormaa-Ahenkro heading towards Accra, while the articulated truck, loaded with mattresses, was from Kumasi.
The deceased persons were identified as Yaw Sakyi, who was the driver of the cargo truck, and his wife Vida Nkansah.
Their bodies have been deposited at the Sunyani Regional Hospital, while four others on board the articulated truck, comprising the driver, his mate and two women, are responding to treatment for injuries at the same hospital.
Briefing the Daily Graphic in Sunyani, the Brong Ahafo Regional Police Commander of the Motor Traffic Transport Unit (MTTU), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Wesley Paul Baah, said the accident occurred when the driver of the cargo truck swerved to avoid hitting a taxi-cab which stopped suddenly ahead of his vehicle.
In the process, the vehicle veered into the lane of the articulated truck, leading to the collision.
Mr Baah said investigations into the accident were still ongoing.

GRIDCO DONATES TV TO TECHIMAN HOSPITAL (PAGE 42, OCT 20, 2010)

2010-10-19T07:03:00.000-07:00

THE Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCO) area office in the Techiman Municipality in the Brong Ahafo Region has donated a 32-inch flat screen colour television set and a stabiliser worth GH¢1,000 to the Techiman Holy Family Hospital.
The donation formed part of the social responsibility of the company, and was handed over after with a two-hour health walk by workers of the company through some principal streets in Techiman and a clean-up exercise on the hospital premises.
Workers of GRIDCO with support from the staff of the Techiman branch of Zoomlion tidied up the hospital’s compound, cleared weedy surroundings and cleared choked gutters.
Making the presentation, Mr Richard Asante Gyan, the Techiman Area Electrical Engineer of GRIDCO, who represented the Area Manager, Mr Tony Godzi, said the donation, the health walk and the clean-up exercise formed part of activities to mark the safety awareness week of the company.
It was on the theme: “Emerging risks and new patterns of prevention in the power sector.
Mr Gyan said GRIDCO was a powerful utility company established in 2007 out of the Volta River Authority (VRA) to take over the transmission functions of the VRA to transmit power to any destination in the country and beyond.
He said the week was being used to educate members of the public on the need to observe safety in their homes and workplaces, and pledged that the company would sustain the programme through the mass media.
Mr Gyan added that the donation of the TV set formed part of the social responsibility of the company in its area of operations and expressed the hope that the gesture would help cement the relationship between GRIDCO and the hospital.
The Administrator of the Holy Family Hospital, Mr Barnabas Yeboah, who received the item on behalf of the hospital, said the TV set would be placed at the out-patient department (OPD) for all to see since it was the first port of call at the hospital.
He appealed to GRIDCO and the VRA to help the hospital resolve the power fluctuation and low voltage experienced by the hospital from time to time, which had damaged some of their equipment.
Mr Yeboah expressed gratitude to the management and staff of GRIDCO for the gesture and pledged to take good care of the TV set.

GH¢76,000 DRUGS FOR KWATIRE (PAGE 22, OCT 19, 2010)

2010-10-19T03:37:00.000-07:00

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, has presented assorted drugs worth GHҐ76,000 to the Kwatire Health Centre in the Sunyani West District.
The North Carolina Cancer Coalition based in the United States of America (USA) donated the drugs through the Peace and Love Clinic (Breast Cancer International) based in Kumasi.
The Kwatire Health Centre serves Odumase, Adentia and Kwatire and their surrounding villages.
Speaking at a brief presentation ceremony at Kwatire, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said the donation of the medicine was his contributions towards quality healthcare delivery to the people of the area.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, who is a native of Kwatire, said the gesture was a way of giving back to the community where he was born and bred.
He gave the assurance that the government was committed to the improvement of healthcare delivery in the country and had, therefore, embarked on massive expansion of health infrastructure in the country.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said the government’s pledge of instituting a one-time premium under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was possible and would be implemented latest by next year.
He called on residents in the region to continue to rally behind the government to ensure the success of its “Better Ghana” agenda.
The Sunyani West District Director of Health Services, Ms Eva Aryee, expressed gratitude to the regional minister for the gesture and pledged that the drugs would be used for the intended purpose.

CHELSEA WIN (BACK PAGE, OCT 18, 2010)

2010-10-18T06:17:00.000-07:00

Berekum-based Chelsea collected the three maximum points at home after defeating the defending champions, Aduana Stars, 1-0 in their Glo premier League regional derby at the Berekum Golden City Park yesterday.
A 25-metre free kick by Black Stars striker Emmanuel Clottey in the 53rd minute won the day for Chelsea after goalkeeper Stephen Adams failed to save the powerful grounder.

WE'LL MAKE KOTOKO LIKE REAL MADRID (GRAPHIC SPORTS, PAGE 11, OCT 15, 2010)

2010-10-15T07:56:00.000-07:00

The Board and Management of Kumasi Asante Kotoko Football Club (FC) are poised to build the club to be at par with others in Europe such as Manchester in the English Premiership and Real Madrid in the Spanish top flight among others.
Consequently, the board and management of the club have begun the process with the construction of a housing scheme for the playing body and technical handlers of the club to be christened
The project christened: “Kotoko Team Village” also includes a clinic to provide quality healthcare for the playing body their families and supporters of the club.
To the club has acquired a five-acre land in Kumasi for the construction of the team’s village.
Mr George Amponsa-Duodu, the Supporters Co-ordinator of the Club and a management member disclosed this at the launching of a fund dubbed “Apem Be Ba” in Sunyani , the Brong Ahafo Regional capital on the eve of the club’s mid-week encounter with Berekum Arsenals at the Berekum Golden City Park.
He said proceeds from the fund would be used for the project comprising of a two-bedroom house each for the players and bungalows for the technical handlers of the team as well as a clinic to give maximum medical attention to the players and their families.
Mr. Amponsa-Duodu added that with time the clinic would be extended to other regions in the country to enable supporters of the club and their families to also enjoy the benefits of the fund.
He said all supporters of the club within the country have been encouraged to at least contribute a minimum of GH¢2 annually, while the management was also soliciting for funds from corporate bodies to build the fuAnd.
The Supporters Co-ordinator of the club added that parts of proceeds from the fund would also be used to pay the winning and the goal bonuses of the club at the long-run so as to lift some of the financial burdens on the board and management.
He said other programmes would also be rolled out under the fund for the benefit of the teeming supporters of the club and all those who contribute to the fund would have their names published at every quarter in the Kotoko Express, the official newspaper of the club.
Mr. Amponsa-Duodu therefore urged all members of the various circles of the club nationwide to contribute towards the fund as part of their efforts to support the management to bring into fruition the vision they have for the club to build it into the status comparable to clubs like Chelsea in England, Real Madrid in Spain and any other team internationally.
He said it was the vision of the Dr. K.K. Sarpong led management team to build Kotoko to recapture its past glory which made the team to be adjudged as the best club of the centruy and also a force to reckon with as one of the best international clubs worldwide.
The Kotoko Management Member further disclosed that it was the desire of management at the long run to turn the fund into a savings and loans bank to enable the entire rank and file of the club to benefit.

WOMAN ATTEMPTS TO SELL DAUGHTER (PAGE 27, MIRROR, OCT 16, 2010)

2010-10-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

From Samuel Duodu, Fiapre.

The Fiapre Circuit Court, presided over by Mr Benjamin Osei Yaw, has sentenced a-27-year-old beans seller, who attempted to sell her baby girl for GH¢5,000 at Ntotroso in the Asutifi District of the Brong Ahafo Region to 10 years imprisonment.
Anitatu Dauda was charged with child trafficking. She pleaded not guilty.
The court also ordered that the Department of Social Welfare should take custody of the child.
Prosecuting, Police Superintendent (Supt), F. K. Agyei told the court that the complainant was a contractor and on August 19, 2010, while he (complainant) was out of his office the accused went there and met a security officer in his absence.
He said, the accused told the security officer that she wanted to see the complainant for some discussions.
The security officer, according to the prosecutor inquired from Anitatu what the issue was, she then told the security officer that she wanted to sell her daughter.
Supt. Agyei said the security officer called the complainant and informed him about what had transpired between him and Anitatu.
He said the complainant then told the security officer to let Anitatu wait since he was on his way to the office.
The prosecutor said Anitatu repeated her resolve to sell her daughter to the complainant when he finally met her.
Supt. Agyei told the court that the complainant then feigned interest to buy the baby and therefore alerted the police, who later arrested Anitatu.

SHOW INTERST IN CHILDREN'S EDUCATION (PAGE 35, MIRROR, OCT 16, 2010)

2010-10-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

From Samuel Duodu, Bodaa

The Omanhene of Awasu Traditonal Area (Dwenem), Nana Bofo-Bene has urged parents to reduce the high expenditure on funeral activities and use their resources to invest in the education of their children.
This he said will enable them to rise higher on the academic ladder and grow to become responsible citizens in future.
He also warned students against the way they used mobile phones during the free night calls instead of using that period to study.
Nana Bofo-Bene, who is also an Assistant Director of Education at the Sunyani Municipal Education Directorate of the Ghana Education Service (GES), said this at the inauguration of the Bodaa Students’ Union at Bodaa in the Jaman South District of the Brong Ahafo Region.
He said, education was the key to the development of every society and therefore urged parents to provide their children with the necessary basic needs to sustain their interest in school and to complement the efforts of the government.
Nana Bofo-Bene, who chaired the occasion, said “Shame unto the child who does not do better than his father” and therefore admonished the students to be law abiding and desist from engaging in anti-social activities such as engaging in violent demonstrations, which affect smooth academic work.
The Jaman South District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Julius Atta Bediako, urged students to be law abiding and lead lives worthy of emulation to encourage their parents to help them to further their education.
Mr Francis Apraku Ankamah, the Life Patron of the Students Union, advised the students to respect their parents, teachers and opinion leaders wherever they might be and expressed regret about the poor standard of female education in the district as a result of teenage pregnancies.
The President of the Union, Mr Nyamekye Sly-Castro, said their objectives include to promote education and fight against illiteracy and ignorance on the part of the town, foster close relationship among all students of Bodaa and non-students of the town.

GWCL/AVRL LOSES GH¢12,375 IN BA...Through theft of metre reading gadgets (PAGE 42, OCT 14, 2010)

2010-10-13T05:46:00.000-07:00

THE Brong Ahafo Regional office of the Ghana Water Company Limited/Aqua Viten Rand Limited (GWCL/AVRL) has since January, this year lost a total amount of GH¢12,375 through the stealing of metre reading gadgets in the region.
Since the beginning of the year 225 metre reading gadgets worth GH¢12,375 have been stolen in the region, with the Sunyani Municipality alone recording 150 cases, Berekum 45, while the Dormaa Municipality and the Dormaa East District have recorded 20 and Techiman Municipality 10, respectively.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Manager of the GWCL/AVRL, Mr Maxwell Addo-Boateng, made the revelation in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Sunyani at the weekend.
He said the situation had assumed an alarming proportion and residents in the region had been urged to be on the alert and report any suspicions characters in their vicinities to the police.
Mr Addo-Boateng warned those who patronised the sale of the stolen metres to turn over a new leaf since it affected the smooth operations of the company in the region.
He stressed that the company spent a lot of foreign exchange to import the metre reading gadgets so when they were stolen, it led to the loss of treated water for consumption and the company had to spend many hours in restoring the service.
Mr Addo-Boateng said the situation created inconvenience for the company and the public.
He stated that the company in a bid to halt the stealing of its existing metre reading gadgets in the system, had started installing new plastic metre reading gadgets inside the premises of customers to replace the original brass coated ones, which had been the centre of attraction for the thieves.
According to him, the company had also embarked on a public education campaign to sensitise the people on the need to protect the metre reading gadgets installed to pipelines in their homes.
Touching on water supply in Sunyani, Mr Addo-Boateng said the situation had been stable but the rationing of water supply in the municipality and its environs was still ongoing.
He stated that stability in power supply had also enhanced operations, and expressed the hope that it would continue for the company to deliver efficient services to the public.
Mr Addo-Boateng disclosed that the company produced 115 million gallons of water daily for the region, which could not meet the current two million gallons demand hence, the rationing of water in Sunyani, Chiraa, Dumesua and the other catchment areas of the company in the region.

DERMA BANK MEETS BANK OF GHANA'S REQUIREMENT (PAGE 42, OCT 13, 2010)

2010-10-12T05:50:00.000-07:00

THE Derma Area Rural Bank (DARB) Limited in the Tano South District in the Brong Ahafo Region has now met the Bank of Ghana’s (BOG) minimum share capital requirement of GH¢150,000 for all Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) in the country by the end of 2010.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the bank, Mr George Amano-Kyeremeh, announced this at the 23rd annual general meeting of the bank at Derma.
He said the bank’s paid-up capital increased from GH¢54,817.88 in December, 2008 to GH¢152,483.17 in December, 2009, representing an increase of GH¢97,665.30 or 178.16 per cent of the 2008 figure.
Mr Amano-Kyeremeh said that was made possible by transferring GH¢80,000 of the income surplus to add up to the share capital while the board of directors also purchased at least GH¢1,000 worth of shares each.
He stated, however, that the board did not recommend the payment of dividend for the year under review, saying “If the performance of your bank continues to improve, the board may recommend the payment of dividend to shareholders by the next AGM.”
Mr Amano-Kyeremeh said the bank also increased its profit after tax from GH¢22,110 in 2008 to GH¢160,678 in 2009 while the bank’s deposits rose from GH¢1,930,529 in 2008 to GH¢2,218,434 in 2009.
He said the bank’s total assets grew by 18 per cent; from GH¢2,175,078 two years ago to GH¢2,563,602 in 2009, while its investments rose from GH¢674,835 in 2008 to GH¢903,756 last year representing an increase of 34 per cent.
Mr Amano-Kyeremeh said last year, the bank was able to grant loans/advances worth GH¢1,198,747 to its customers engaged in agriculture, trading, transport, as well as salaried workers, as against a lending package of GH¢796,295 given out in 2008.
He added that with the current performance, the bank was poised to expand and steps were being taken to upgrade its Tepa mobilisation centre into a full-fledged agency while plans were under way to establish an agency at Penkwase/New Dormaa community in the Sunyani Municipality.
“We are now ready for full online operations when ARB Apex Bank Limited and Millennium Development Account (MIDA) computerisation project takes off,” he added.
The Manager of the Sunyani branch of the ARB Apex Bank, Mr Claver Dadzie, who read a speech on behalf of the Managing Director, Mr Eric Osei-Bonsu, commended management, staff and shareholders of the bank for the impressive performance over the years.
He reiterated the call on all RCBs to observe the ARB Apex Bank regulations and bye-laws in order to promote decency and sanity in their operations as any deviation or default came along with the imposition of various sanctions and penalties.
The Supervising Manager of the bank, Mr Emmanuel Osei Afriyie, said the bank would continue to introduce innovate products and also improve on its services to the satisfaction of customers and prospective clients.

FARMERS COMMEND GOVT FOR INCREASING COCOA PRICE (PAGE 22, OCT 12, 2010)

2010-10-12T05:19:00.000-07:00

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Branch of the Ghana Cocoa and Shea-nut Farmers’ Association (GCSFA) has commended the government for increasing the producer price of cocoa from GH¢150 per bag to GH¢200.
The Regional Chairman of the association, Nana Adjei-Damoah, made the commendation on behalf of the members at a news conference at Sunyani last Monday.
He, however, appealed to the government to put in place measures to tackle the post-harvest losses on perishable crops so that farmers in those sectors would also see an improvement in their lives.
Nana Adjei-Damoah said the news conference was to express the farmers’ joy and satisfaction to the government for the increment in the producer price of the commodity.
He stated that the gesture would go a long way to motivate farmers to increase their output and also help curb cocoa smuggling to neighbouring La Cote d’Iviore.
Nana Adjei-Damoah, who is also the Deputy National Chief Farmer, stated that apart from the increase in the price of cocoa, the government had also offered several incentive packages for farmers including the payment of bonus to cocoa farmers, scholarships for cocoa farmers’ wards, free mass spraying, rehabilitation of cocoa roads and free supply of solar torch lights to cocoa farmers.
He mentioned the others as farmers’ housing scheme, the proposed cocoa farmers’ pension scheme and free provision of solar streetlights for farmers in the remotest parts of the country.
Nana Adjei-Damoah stressed that the gesture was a demonstration that the government had the welfare of farmers at heart.

USE FESTIVALS TO PLAN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS (PAGE 22, OCT 12, 2010)

2010-10-12T05:18:00.000-07:00

A TRADITIONAL ruler has urged Ghanaians to use festivals to plan for development projects and the generation of funds to support development of education in their communities.
The Chief of Duadaso Number Two, near Sampa in the Brong Ahafo Region, Nana Kwaku Ababio II, made the call at a grand durbar to climax the celebration of their annual Jobofie Yam Festival at Duadaso Number Two.
The ceremony coincided with the official opening of the newly established Duadaso Diamono Senior High School (SHS), a private educational institution.
The occasion was in remembrance and thanksgiving of the ancestors for protecting them over the past years and asked for their blessing in the years ahead.
Nana Ababio, who is also Mponuahene of Sampa Traditional Area, stressed that the time had come for the people in the area to inject more funds into education and the general development of the communities.
He advised the people in the area to let the education of their children be their priority, as it was the cornerstone of the country’s human resource development.
The Benkumhene of Sampa Traditional Area, Nana Wollingo also advised the students of Diamono SHS to lead exemplary lives since they were the pioneers of the school.
He, however, cautioned them against alcoholism, drug abuse and improper dressing.
Nana Wollingo implored the students to make the best use of every opportunity by learning hard in order to become useful adults, adding that the child of today is the adult of tomorrow.
The Unit Committee Chairman of the town, Mr Joseph Kumi, impressed upon the teachers to lead moral lives for their students to emulate since children tended to copy their lifestyles blindly.
Mr Kumi appealed to parents and guardians to spend less on funerals and other social activities but rather devote much resources to educate their children.
The Krontihene and Akyeamehene of the town, Nana Kwame Gyinabe and Nana Kojo Konlor, respectively, commended Nana Kwaku Ababio on his contribution to the development of the community.

FATHER JAILED FOR INDECENT ASSAULT ON DAUGHTER (PAGE 19, OCT 12, 2010)

2010-10-12T04:51:00.000-07:00

A Palm wine tapper who inserted his fingers into the vagina of his 10-year-old daughter has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by the Fiapre Circuit Court, near Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The convict, Tosu Amodu, who pleaded guilty to the offence of indecent assault contrary to section 103 (2b) of Act 29/60, was sentenced based on his own plea by the court presided over by Mr Justice Benjamin Osei Yaw.
Prosecuting, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kwaku Amoako, told the court that the complainant in the case was the wife of Amodu and they had six children, with the victim being the eldest.
DSP Amoako, who is also the Regional Co-ordinator of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU), told the court that Amodu had not been maintaining the complainant and their children so she left the house to do some work.
He said three months ago, the victim complained to her mother that her father, Amodu had been inserting his fingers into her private parts anytime she (the mother) was not in the house.
He said the victim again complained to the mother on October 5, 2010 that Amodu had not stopped inserting his fingers into her private parts.
The complainant, therefore, reported the case to the police at Tanoso and Amodu was arrested and handed over to the DOVVSU in Sunyani for further investigation.
The victim was sent to hospital by the police and the medical examination revealed that the victim had blood stains in her private part.
He said Amodu admitted in his caution statement to the police that he had inserted his fingers into the victim’s private part on many occasions.
DSP Amoako said after investigations Amodu was charged with the offence and was put before the court.

FARMER ARRESTED ON SUSPECTED MURDER (PAGE 19, OCT 12, 2010)

2010-10-12T04:49:00.000-07:00

A 75-year-old farmer who allegedly shot and killed another farmer over a disputed cocoa farm at Osei-Asibey-Krom, near Asumura in the Asunafo North Municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region, has been arrested by the police.
The body of the deceased, Kwaku Acheampong, has been deposited at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi awaiting autopsy.
After the incident, the suspect, Ibrahim Bin Seidu, went to the charge office of the local police station at Asumura and told the police that a group of people numbering about six wielding guns, had attacked him at his cottage but he managed to repel them and in the process shot and killed one of them.
However, an eyewitness later told the police that he was present at the scene when Seidu shot and killed Acheampong instantly.
The police have arrested the suspect who is in police custody while the gun he used in committing the crime has been retrieved by the police.
Briefing the Daily Graphic in Sunyani, the Deputy Regional Crime Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police Mr Savior Ahiamadi, said both Seidu and Acheampong resided at Osei-Asibey-Krom, near Asumura and were litigating over a cocoa farm in the area.
He said the dispute over the cocoa farm between the two went before the chief of the area for settlement but both parties were not satisfied with the outcome.
The issue is pending before a court at Goaso, the capital of the Asunafo North Municipality.
ASP Ahiamadi stated that on October 6, 2010, Acheampong realised that someone had entered his cocoa farm to harvest ripe cocoa pods and later he had information that it was Seidu who went to harvest the cocoa, which he hid in his hut.
He said Acheampong, in the company of others, went for the cocoa Seidu was said to have harvested from the farm, an action which angered him ( Seidu).
ASP Ahiamadi said Seidu with a gun, later went to Acheampong’s cottage where he was working on the farm and shot him, killing him instantly.
He said police investigations revealed that Seidu, after committing the crime, fled the scene and reported to the local police that a group of people numbering six and wielding guns had attacked him but he repelled them and in the process shot one of them.
ASP Ahiamadi said Paa Yaw, one of the people who were at the scene when Seidu shot and killed Acheampong, later informed the police leading to the arrest of Seidu.
He said Seidu is currently in police custody while the police are conducting further investigation into the case.

KOBEDI CAMPAIGNS AGAINST CHILD TRAFFICKING (PAGE 11, OCT 9, 2010)

2010-10-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

A community durbar has been held at Kobedi, a farming community in the Sunyani Municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region to educate residents on the dangers of child trafficking, child abuse and child labour. The people were also enlightened on the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC).
The programme dubbed “Campaign against child trafficking” was also aimed at sensitising members of the community and the public at large, to the need to desist from such acts and protect the rights of every child in the society.
It was organised by Destiny Kids World (DEKIWOLRD), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Sunyani, on the theme “Child Trafficking, a recipe for disaster on the incoming generation”.
Addressing the durbar, Mr Blessed Emmanuel Asum, the Chief Executive Officer of DEKIWORLD, urged parents to be circumspect with people who go to the villages to negotiate with their children to stay with them in the urban centres.
He said most of these children are denied their basic rights after they have been given out as househelps, adding that their “mistresses” exploited them while some are lured and seduced in doing things which were detrimental to their education.
Mr Asum, therefore, urged parents to take the education of their children seriously and desist from any form of punishment that was detrimental to the child’s health and education.
He encouraged members of the Kobedi community to endeavour to perform their responsibility as parents and advised both children and the youth of Kobedi to be obedient to their parents and take their education seriously.
A representative from the Social Welfare Department, Mr George King Gasu, urged parents to desist from flogging their children anytime they went wrong and rather adopt positive and healthy correctional methods.
Mr Isaac Abu Spurgeon, also of the DEKIWORLD, mentioned that child trafficking was sometimes carried out through abduction, outright sale or deceit of a parent.
He said the causes of this canker could be attributed to many factors such as poverty, the desire to get rich overnight, ignorance and broken homes among others.

NCHIRAA HOSTS WORLD TOURISM DAY (SHOWBIZ, PAGE 8, OCT 8, 2010)

2010-10-08T05:26:00.000-07:00

By Samuel Duodu

THE Amamere Fie Cultural Troupe from Wenchi in the Brong Ahafo Region were the toast of patrons who converged at the Nchiraa Roman Catholic Basic School Park for a durbar to mark this year’s national celebration of World Tourism Day.
The group’s drama entitled “Amamere yento ntwene” which literally means “culture cannot be destroyed” engaged the attention of the audience tremendously. The performance aimed at bringing to the fore the responsibility of citizens towards the conservation of the country’s forests, water bodies, natural resources and the environment as a whole.
The durbar was spiced with other entertainment including drumming and dancing by the Tanokrom Agoromma, the resident cultural troupe of the Brong Ahafo Regional Centre for National Culture and brass band music.
The excitement at the durbar ground reached fever pitch when the VIP guests, including the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr. Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo and the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Mr. Kobby Acheampong joined some of the audience to dance to some brass band music.
The day was to promote awareness among the community of the importance of tourism. This year’s celebration on the theme “Tourism and Biodiversity” sought to highlight the symbiotic relationship between tourism and bio-diversity, which accounted for the various national resources of the earth for tourism development.
A good number of both domestic and international tourists defied a heavy down pour earlier in the day as well as the bad access road to visit and have fun at the Nchiraa Waterfall . The waterfall was the focus of the celebration and according to the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Mr. Acheampong it was also to help attract investment around the waterfall and other attractions within the municipality and the Brong Ahafo Region as a whole.
“We are confident that this beautiful fall will attract the needed investment to make it a showpiece for tourism in this region. It is our prayer that this waterfall will become a source of income for the development of this municipality”, the Deputy Minister said.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr. Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo on his part called on the people in the host communities of the various tourist attractions in the region to keep their environment clean always as their contribution towards the promotion of tourism in the region and the nation as a whole.
Osabarima Kwadwo Sito, the Omanhene of Banda Traditional Area who also represented the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs and chaired the function in his remarks pledged the commitment of nananom towards the development and promotion of tourism in the region.
Among the dignitaries present were the Minister of Chieftaincy and Culture, Mr. Alexander Asum Ahesan; Board Chairman of the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB), Mr. Edem Kpodo; the Chief Executive of GTB, Mr. Julius Debrah and Prof. George Gyan Baffour, the Member of Parliament for Wenchi.
Also present were Ms. Charlotte Sika Quagraine, Miss Tourism 2010 and Ms. Flora Owusuwaa Brenya, First Princess Miss Tourism 2010.
As part of the activities to mark the day, prizes were presented to the Wenchi Senior High School and the Itiquama SHS also at Wenchi, all in the Brong Ahafo Region for placing first and first runner-up in an a Tourism quiz competition .

ADUANA PIP B.A. STARS (BACK PAGE, OCT 7, 2010)

2010-10-08T04:39:00.000-07:00

Defending league champions, Aduana Stars, confirmed their home invincibility in the Glo Premier League when they beat regional fellows and debutantes, B.A Stars, by a lone goal in their sixth week encounter at the Nana Agyeman Badu Park at Dormaa-Ahenkro.
A 25th minute penalty kick awarded Aduana Stars by Kumasi-based Referee Kwame Nsiah Boafo was beautifully converted by Bernard Dong Bortey to enable the homesters to snatch the three maximum points at stake.
Referee Boafo awarded the penalty when Don Bortey’s free kick hit the hand of an opponent in the penalty box a minute earlier.

CONDUCT CLEAN CAMPAIGN FOR DISTRICT LEVEL ELECTIONS (PAGE 12, OCT 7, 2010)

2010-10-08T04:12:00.000-07:00

THE District Chief Executive (DCE) for Tano South, Mr Bukari Zakari Anaba, has called on all candidates contesting the forthcoming district level election to refrain from the use of divisive language and actions during their campaigns.
He said the district assembly election was not on partisan lines and it behoved all candidates to conduct clean campaign devoid of insults, insinuations and conflict.
“You must respect the views of each other in the conduct of political campaigns,” he stated at the last meeting of the district assembly at Bechem, the district capital.
He reminded all candidates that at the end of the day “we are looking for competent and selfless people who would serve their communities and help push the decentralisation concept further”.
Mr. Anaba said now that the district level election campaign was gathering momentum, there was the tendency for some candidates seeking for election to employ fair or foul means to get elected.
He said there was, therefore, the need to sound this note of caution to ensure that the non-partisan concept did not degenerate into violence that usually characterised elections held on party lines.
Mr Anaba urged all candidates to educate the electorate on the decentralisation concept and to encourage them to show up in their numbers to exercise their franchise on the election day.
Mr Anaba said the assembly’s Internally Generated Fund (IGF) as of August 31, 2010 stood as Gh¢89,186.74 as against a projected figure of Gh¢211,900.00.
He said the assembly also received the first quarter of its share of the District Common Fund (DAFC) of GH¢186,659.72 with the Member of Parliament (MP) Common Fund of Gh¢16,765.10.
“The second quarter for 2010 will be released by October 2010, according to sources at the DAFC Secretariat”, he added.
Mr Anaba disclosed that the assembly through hard work qualified for the 2008 District Development Facility (DDF) Assessment of Functional Organisational Assessment Tool (FOAT) and GH¢433,435.52 had been allocated for development and investment, while Gh¢35,349.56 had also been allocated for capacity building of Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs).
Touching on the road network in the district, Mr Anaba said about 425 kilometres of feeder roads were under construction at various locations which included Bechem-Breme, Breme-Ahwrewham, Breme-Mansopa, Breme-Ohianimguase-Mansin, and Tuagyenkrom-Asuoso, while 16.5km roads in the district capital was being opened up to enable it to be tarred.
The Tano South DCE said the District Government Hospital at Bechem had also been earmarked to benefit from the government’s infrastructure development and expansion of health facilities.

ONLY 7 PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN PRU HAVE KG ACCOMMODATION (PAGE 43, OCT 5, 2010)

2010-10-05T05:09:00.001-07:00

ONLY seven out of the 92 primary schools in the Pru District in the Brong Ahafo Region have accommodation for pupils at the Kindergarten (KG), the District Director of Education, Mr Yaw Manu Yeboa has said.
He has, therefore, suggested that new designs of infrastructure for schools in the country should include a one five-unit classroom block for KG and lower primary schools instead of the three-unit classroom block which only satisfies accommodation for lower primary, upper primary or junior high school (JHS).
Mr Yeboa made the suggestion at the inauguration of a KG and a three-unit classroom block for the Labun Resettlement Township District Assembly Primary School in the Pru District in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The Volta River Authority (VRA) Resettlement Trust Fund financed the project at a cost of GH¢58,000.
The government and the VRA established the fund in 1996 with the main aim of improving the living conditions of the inhabitants of the 52 resettlement towns affected because of the construction of the Akosombo Dam in the early 1960s.
Mr Yeboa commended the VRA Resettlement Trust Fund for satisfying the demands for classroom infrastructure for KG, primary and JHS.
He said another problem that deterred teachers from accepting posting to the rural areas was lack of accommodation, and appealed for decent teachers’ residential accommodation in such deprived areas.
The Board Chairman of VRA Resettlement Trust Fund, Mr Andrew T. Baffour, said the trust fund had spent GH¢103,000 on two projects, namely a three-unit classroom block to be used as a primary school and a kindergarten school complex at Labun and Prang, respectively.
He said the mission of the trust fund was to ensure that the resettlement communities were provided with welfare projects.
These include environmental amelioration and social welfare projects like community centres, public health centres, educational facilities, electricity, water and sanitation to enhance the living standards of the members of the communities.
Mr Baffour said since its inception, the trust fund had executed several projects in the resettlement communities, including 35 KG blocks, 52 primary school blocks, 42 JHS, three teachers’ quarters, 10 clinics, nurses’ quarters, 82 boreholes, 15 small town water systems and eight community centres.
He expressed the hope that the classroom block would help increase the enrolment and retention of pupils.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo thanked the trust fund for the facility.
He expressed the hope that the school management committee would institute a maintenance culture to extend the life span of the building.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said the government had put in place many interventions such as provision of classroom infrastructure to create congenial environment to enhance quality teaching and learning.
He urged parents to take keen interest in the education of their children.
The Omanhene of Prang Traditional Area, Nana Kwadwo Nyarko III, who chaired the function, appealed to the government to pay in full the compensation for the land it acquired for the resettlement township at Prang.
He thanked the trust fund for the classroom block and called on the people to take good care of the building.

ONLY 7 PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN PRU HAVE KG ACCOMMODATION (PAGE 43, OCT 5, 2010)

2010-10-05T05:09:00.000-07:00

CHELSEA PIP FAISAL (BACK PAGE, OCT 4, 2010)

2010-10-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

Bechem Chelsea defeated Kumasi-based King Faisal by a lone goal in their Glo Premier League match yesterday at their adopted Berekum Golden City Park.
A 30-yard grounder by Emmanuel Clottey on the 30th minute was what won the day for the homesters as Benjamin Mensah in post for Faisal had no answer to the delivery.
Attendance was quite impressive despite an earlier down pour which made the pitch quite soggy.

GHANA LOST ABOUT 69,250 TONNES OF COCOA...Through smuggling in 2009/10 (PAGE 42, OCT 4, 2010)

2010-10-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

GHANA lost about 69,250 tonnes of cocoa (over 1.1 million bags) through smuggling to La Cote d’ Ivoire at the Sefwi Essam Cocoa Region in the Bia District in the Western Region during the 2009/10 main crop season.
The Sefwi Essam Cocoa Regional Manager of the Produce Buying Company (PBC) Limited, Mr George K. Tieku, said this at a farmers rally organised at Essam to commemorate the 10th anniversary celebration of the listing of PBC on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
It was on the theme: “Maintaining the leadership role of PBC Limited in the cocoa and shea-nut business.”
Mr Tieku said apart from affecting the national economy, the smuggling activities which were on the increase in the area, had also led to the production of poor quality cocoa beans.
He said if that negative practice was not checked, the country was likely to lose its recognition as the producer of premium quality cocoa, which was acknowledged internationally.
Mr Tieku, therefore, appealed to all cocoa farmers, workers and well-meaning Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians as well to desist from the negative act to save the economy.
The regional manager said the government used part of the revenue it derived from cocoa production to undertake development projects like roads, health and educational facilities while it had introduced certain interventions for cocoa farmers such as the mass spraying of cocoa, subsidised fertiliser and the consistent increases in the price of cocoa.
“It will be fair to reciprocate this gesture from the government and Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) by not smuggling cocoa to Cote d’Ivoire only to improve their economy to the detriment of ours,” he advised the farmers.
Mr Tieku stated that his outfit was working in close collaboration with all stakeholders in the cocoa industry to curb the menace while they hoped to improve their market share from 40 per cent in 2008/09 main crop season to about 50 per cent for the 2009/10 season in terms of cocoa purchase.
He gave the assurance that plans were afoot to reward all committed and loyal farmers who sold their produce to the PBC with certain promotional packages in the ensuing season.
He expressed gratitude to all loyal and hardworking farmers, shareholders, workers and marketing clerks who had helped the PBC to achieve its current success.
The Bia District Co-ordinating Director, Mr Abudu Amadu, said the assembly had set up a district task force to go on patrols to arrest cocoa smugglers who had now resorted to the use of motorbikes in their activities.
He added that over GH¢10,907 had so far been spent on the operations of the task force.
Mr Amadu appealed to the PBC to extend its social responsibility to assist the assembly to reshape some feeder roads in the cocoa-growing communities.
He said that would go a long way to help evacuate cocoa to the main depots on time, hence preventing the smuggling of the produce.
The Bia District Chief Farmer, Nana Nkuah, congratulated the PBC on its successful listing on the stock exchange.
The Essamhene, Nana Anim Baffour II, who chaired the function, reiterated his appeal to farmers and all actors to desist from smuggling cocoa since it benefited the recipient country at the expense of the government.
Three best farmers from the Yaw Matwa, Debiso ‘B’ and Akaatiso districts of the cocoa region, namely Messrs Kwame Bour, Charles Kyeremeh and Nana Henneh Abubakari, were honoured with parcels and certificates.

COURT ORDERS RELOCATION OF NOISY CHURCH (PAGE 27, OCT 2, 2010)

2010-10-03T10:19:00.000-07:00

THE Sunyani Magistrate’s Court has ordered the Majesty Worship Centre in Sunyani, located behind the South Ridge Hotel, to relocate by the end of this year following a suit brought against the church for excessive noise making in a residential area.
The court, presided over by Mr Joseph Mensah, also upheld the claim of the plaintiff, who is also the Managing Director of the South Ridge Hotel, Mr Charles Adu Gyamfi, that the Majesty Worship Centre and the Presiding Pastor, the defendants, were squatters and trespassers of the land they were occupying behind the hotel since the land belonged to the Ghana Airport Company.
The court said it could not give an immediate ejection notice but in the interim it asked the church to bring the noise level down until the time they had been ordered by the court to relocate.
The plaintiff had sought the court to order the church to desist from making excessive noise within the vicinity close to where the South Ridge Hotel was operating and also to eject the defendants from the land the church was occupying.
According to the writ filed by the plaintiff, he sought an order of the court because the defendants had already been ordered by the Town and Country Planning Department in Sunyani to relocate since November 20, 2009.
Granting the request, the presiding magistrate, Mr Mensah, said after the court went into the merit of the case it realised that the defendants were squatters and trespassers on the land.
He said the court also found out that the land on which the church was operating belonged to the Ghana Airport Company
The presiding magistrate said the court, therefore, ordered the presiding pastor of the Majesty Worship Centre to relocate from the land before December 31, 2010 or else the court would order for their ejection from the land.
After the judgement, the presiding pastor assured the court that the church would comply with the orders.
The case was subsequently adjourned to January 5, 2011 for the parties to come to court for the court to verify whether the orders had been complied with.

NYAMEKYE-MARFO LEADS INVESTMENT DELEGATION TO US (PAGE 22, OCT 1, 2010)

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THE Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, will leave Accra tomorrow for Tuscaloosa, United States of America (USA), as head of a high-powered delegation from the region to explore various businesses and development opportunities.
Disclosing this to the media practitioners in Sunyani last Wednesday, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said the trip, which was long overdue, was at the invitation of the authorities of City of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
He said the trip would also afford the delegation the opportunity to hold fruitful discussions with their counterparts and to find out mutually beneficial ways of improving their development efforts.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said apart from touring some important places, including the cotton farms, industrial sites like the Mercedes Benz manufacturing plant at Alabama, they would also engage in talks on investment opportunities in the Brong Ahafo Region.
He stated that the trip would afford the delegation an opportunity to highlight the economic potential of the region and to seek partnership and joint collaboration in various fields of co-operation.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo further said that members of the delegation would brief a large number of Brong Ahafo citizens in the USA on events at home, adding that a forum would be created for them to ask questions to enable the delegation to get ideas and suggestions from them.
“We will let them understand the need for them to come and invest and how successful their counterparts at home are doing to help development the region,” Mr Nyamekye-Marfo added.
He said the dignitaries the delegation would meet included the Governor of Alabama, Senators and the Mayor of Tuscaloosa, to strengthen the existing sister-city relationship between cities in Alabama and their counterparts in the Brong Ahafo Region. The visit will end on October 9, 2010.
Other members of the delegation are Mr Kwasi Oppong-Ababio, the Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive, Hajia Amina Amadu, the District Chief Executive for Jaman North and Mr Otu Essel, the Presiding Member of the Sunyani Municipal Assembly.
The rest are Ms Augusta Tettey, the Public Relations Officer of the Regional Co-ordinating Council, Mr Joseph Awuah, the Headmaster of Sunyani Senior High School and Mr Seth Appiah, the Finance Officer of the Sunyani Municipal Assembly.

FOUR CHILDREN DROWN ON WAY TO SCHOOL (BACK PAGE, SEPT 29, 2010)

2010-09-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

FOUR schoolchildren from Kasana, a farming community near Wenchi, who were crossing River Tain to attend school on Tuesday got drowned when their canoe capsized in the middle of the river.
The deceased were among nine other pupils crossing the river from Kasana to Badu on the other side of the Tain river, where their school is located.
Their bodies have been retrieved and identified as Esther Ataa, 15; Mercy Ayiribo, 13; Martin, 9 and Nana Akwasi, 16, who was paddling the canoe at the time of the accident.
In a bizarre twist to the development, the Omanhene of Badu, Nana Boakye Yiadom II, is alleged to have asked the bereaved families to pay GH¢500 each for the performance of purification rituals before the bodies would be released for burial.
At the time of filing the story yesterday, the bodies were still lying on the banks of the river on the Badu side, as the chief was allegedly waiting for the families and their money.
The victims of the canoe accident were the second batch of pupils said to be crossing the river to school that day after a first batch had crossed to safety.
The others were rescued by a diver, Kwasi Boakye, who told the Daily Graphic that there was a heavy rain the previous day, which led to increase in the volume of water in the river.
One of the survivors who gave her name as Janet confirmed the story and added that the canoe was normally paddled by one of the male pupils to their final destination every day.

PUPILS IN 14 BASIC SCHOOLS GET FREE UNIFORMS (PAGE 42, SEPT 29, 2010)

2010-09-28T07:20:00.000-07:00

ONE thousand, three hundred and forty-two basic school pupils in 14 primary schools in deprived communities in the Sene District in the Brong Ahafo Region have benefited from the government’s free school uniform intervention.
The beneficiary pupils are from the Dwankrom Presbyterian, Akyeremade Battor District Assembly (D/A), Akyeremade Roman Catholic (R/C), Lassi D/A, Menkor D/A, Lemu Mantukwa D/A, Zambrama D/A and Chense Battor DA primary schools.
The rest are Dogondagyi DA, Adorkope D/A, Kulungugu D/A, Asempanaye D/A., Zigakope D/A, Tabus D/A, Abugame D/A, Abuoso D/A and Ayetsekope D/A primary schools.
The presentation was made on "My First Day at School” when the new entrants were presented with fruit drinks and cups.
Speaking at separate ceremonies at Dwankrom and Akyeremade Battor, the Sene District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Dominic Napare, said the gesture was in fulfilment of the campaign promise of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to provide free school uniforms and exercise books for basic school pupils.
He said it was also part of the government’s intervention to ensure that all schoolchildren had access to education and remain in school.
Mr Napare said pupils of 84 basic schools in deprived communities in the district were expected to benefit from the free school uniforms.
He said the 14 beneficiary schools were part of the 84, giving the assurance that the remaining pupils would receive theirs whenever they were ready.
The DCE added that schoolchildren in the district had already benefited from the free exercise books.
Mr Napare advised parents not to use the pro-poor intervention put in place by the government to lessen the burden of educational expenditure on them to shirk their responsibilities towards the education of their wards.
The District Director of Education, Mr William Yaw Xetor, said the free school uniforms and exercise books policy of the government was also aimed at sustaining the interest of pupils in school.
He, therefore, reiterated the call on parents to complement the efforts of the government by providing other educational needs of their children to ensure their retention in school.
The DCE later inspected the construction of a two-bedroom teachers’ accommodation at Kwame Danso which is at the roofing level and a three-unit classroom block at Lemu, which is also at the lintel, to accommodate the pupils as a result of increase in enrolment.

BA RCC TO SUPPORT WOMEN ASPIRANTS (PAGE 13, SEPT 23, 2010)

2010-09-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) has pledged its maximum support for all prospective women candidates contesting the forthcoming District Assembly election in the region to ensure that more women are elected as assembly members.
Subsequently, the RCC has directed all the 22 Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) in the region to give all female candidates the same level of support to ensure that women did not only participate in the district level election, but also win.
Mr Eric Opoku, the Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, made the pledge at the opening of a three-day trainer of trainers’ workshop for 50 selected women aspirants for the forthcoming District Level Election in the region at Fiapre in the Sunyani West District .
"I would like to use this platform to encourage as many women as possible to stand for the forthcoming local government election," he stressed.
The Government of Ghana, Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) sponsored the capacity-building workshop organised by the Brong Ahafo Regional Directorate of the Department of Women under the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC).
Mr Opoku noted that the decision by the RCC and the subsequent call on the MDAs in the region to support women aspirants were part of efforts to sensitise and encourage many more women in the region to compete for public offices as a result of their low participation.
He added that the workshop was one of the efforts of the government, through the MOWAC, to sensitise women and create the enabling environment for them, not only to participate in the forthcoming assembly election, but also win.
Mr Opoku stated further that a balanced participation of both women and men in decision-making was bound to produce different shades of ideas, values and leadership styles leading to a fairer and more balanced country.
He, therefore, suggested that as a long-term measure, the necessary legislative framework should be initiated to provide quotas for and reserve seats for women as strategies for hastening women’s participation in politics and the public service.
Madam Patience Opoku, the National Director, Department of Women, in her remarks, lauded the Deputy Minister for being a gender advocate and gave the assurance that the department would come up with more capacity building programmes for women aspirants before and after the district level election.
She called for massive support for all women contesting the forthcoming elections, saying this could be further extended in the 2012 general elections to get more women elected as Parliamentarians.
She debunked the assertion that women cannot combine their traditional roles as managers of the home and that of decision-making, saying these attributes of women could be brought to bear at the decision-making and governance levels of the country, adding that women were compassionate in nature and this could also be brought to bear at those levels.
Madam Opoku also urged women, especially mothers, to share the household chores between their male and female children as a way of helping to change the perceived chauvinist nature of the Ghanaian society.
Ms Malonin Asibi, the acting Regional Director of Women and Children, stressed the importance of women’s participation in public decision making and said their increased participation at that level would ensure the sustainable development of the country.

SUBMIT GENUINE CLAIMS — ADU-BONA (PAGE 42, SEPT 23, 2010)

2010-09-22T06:10:00.000-07:00

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Claims Manager of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Mr James Adu-Bona, has admonished service providers to submit claims that will leave no traces of doubt or suspicion to avoid the rejection and delay for payment of bills.
“Service providers must follow due diligence since the vetting process would not spare any one who might fail to conform to laid down rules,” he said.
Mr Adu-Bona, who is also the Nkoranza Scheme Manager, gave the admonition at a day’s workshop to update the skills of officers responsible for the preparation of claims in all Health Insurance Service providing facilities in the Dormaa Municipality at Dormaa Ahenkro.
The workshop, organised by the Dormaa Municipal Mutual Health Insurance Scheme in collaboration with the Dormaa Presbyterian Hospital, was on the theme: “Effective claims administration: A tool for efficient and credible transaction”.
The workshop was also designed to prepare the participants to adequately handle information on the NHIS forms with ease and to promote minimal rejection of their claims during vetting.
Topics treated at the workshop included features on the Health Insurance Membership Identity Cards, attendance of Health Insurance Card Bearers and medicines captured under the scheme and diagnosis.
Mr Adu-Bona stated that one of the goals of the NHIS was to keep within the scope of the World Health Organisation (WHO) treatment guidelines and protocols by guiding the service providers to observe best practices.
He, therefore, appealed to billers to stick to prescriptions offered by doctors and use specific and generic names of drugs instead of lumping drugs under brand names and making them unacceptable in the approved NHIS drug list.
Mr Adu-Bona said clinical auditing had revealed that hospitals encouraged clients to go for scheduled mandatory visits even where they were not ready to do so, while clients also visited hospitals every week because the insurance covered them.
He also bemoaned the situation where clients jumped from one health facility to another even without exhausting their drugs at the previous visit.
The Dormaa Municipal Health Director, Madam Florence Iddrisah, appealed to the scheme to grant same bills for all categories of service providers to cut down on public discrimination and insinuation to staff of some of the facilities.
She urged the government to provide for recruitment of separate staff to work on claims as health workers had to spare part of their time, stressing that could make them to make mistakes.
The Municipal Health Insurance Manager, Mr Martin Amponsah, called on service providers to work hand-in-hand with the scheme to ensure its sustenance.
He advised billers to desist from engaging in any dubious practices since the vetting process was capable of identifying them with ease.

CLASSROOM BLOCK FOR BECHEM ISLAMIC BASIC SCHOOL (PAGE 35, SEPT 23, 2010)

2010-09-22T06:06:00.001-07:00

THE Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) is to construct a six-classroom block for the Islamic Basic School at Bechem in the Tano South District.
The gesture from the government to the Muslim community at Bechem is part of the efforts to eradicate schools under trees in the district.
The Tano South District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Bukari Zakari Anaba, made this known when he presented 400 mats to the Muslim community at the Bechem Central Mosque to mark this year’s Eid-Ul-Fitr celebration in the district.
He commended the Muslim community in the district for their co-operation and support for the government.
Mr Anaba said the site for the construction of the classroom block had been handed over to the contractor for work to commence.
He urged the Muslim community to continue to pray for President J.E.A. Mills and his team and also rally behind the government to succeed in its “Better Ghana” agenda while the government would also take proactive and pragmatic measures to improve the living standard of Ghanaians.
Mr Anaba said Islam, which is peaceful, meant total submission to the will of Allah. He, therefore, urged the youth to eschew violence and immoral activities to prove to the world that their fasting had instilled peace in them.
The Tano South District Chief Imam, Alhaji Ibrahim Gariba, on behalf of the Muslim community, thanked the government for its support during the Ramadan and all Islamic celebrations.
He asked for Allah’s blessings for the President, his vice, cabinet and all government functionaries to rule the country efficiently.

GOVT ADVISED ON COCOA FARMERS PENSION FUND (PAGE 35, SEPT 23, 2010)

2010-09-22T06:05:00.000-07:00

THE government has been urged to set a gross cocoa price of a bag and a net price of a bag if it wants the proposed pension scheme for cocoa farmers in the country to be realistic.
A concerned farmer, Mr Patrick Asiedu Tannor, who made the suggestion in an interview at Seikwa in the Tain District in the Brong Ahafo Region, said under the system, the net cocoa price should be the price that would be paid to the farmers.
He said the government should also set up a pension scheme and pay the excess of the gross cocoa price over the net cocoa price into the scheme.
To make this step very effective, Mr Tannor said the excess in a bag of cocoa should be deducted just like workers salaries before the money is given to the various societies who bought the cocoa.
Mr Tannor said if well implemented, the proposed cocoa farmers’ pension scheme the government could court the favour of the farmers.
He further suggested that proper records on farmers should be kept and made available to the Ghana Cocoa Board and other operators of the scheme at the end of every year.
Touching on the maturity date of the scheme, Mr Tannor said a date should be fixed for it; for instance, it could be 10 years.
“Under no condition or circumstances could one receive his or her pension benefits before the policy matures. After the maturity date, owners of farmlands that are 30, 35 or 40 years old may be eligible to receive their benefits, based on the amount they have accumulated,” he added.
To make the step effective, Mr Tannor said a map should be drawn to cover all farmlands, adding “This will prevent the situation where farmers would try to receive double benefits on the same farmland”.
He stated that surveyors should extend the map every year to cover new farmlands, adding that he was ready to clarify any ambiguity in those steps.

AMPOMAH LAUDS EFFORTS OF COCOA FARMERS (PAGE 35, SEPT 23, 2010)

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cocoa farmers have been commended for their contribution towards the sustenance of the Produce Buying Company Limited (PBC) over the years, which had culminated in its listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange more than 10 years ago.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Manager of the PBC, Mr Robert Kofi Ampomah, who made the commendation, however, urged them to continue to keep faith with the company while it also instituted incentive packages for them to increase their cocoa yields and improve their welfare.
Mr Ampomah was speaking at a farmers’ durbar at Goaso, the capital of the Asunafo North Municipality, to mark the 10th anniversary of the listing of PBC on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
The event was held on the theme: “Maintaining the leadership of Produce Buying Company Limited in the cocoa and shea nut business.”
The occasion was also used to honour nine workers at the regional office, 36 marketing clerks at the district level and 12 best district farmers who were presented with spraying machines and certificates.
Prominent among the awardees at the regional level was Mr Franklin Kamkam, who was adjudged the best accounting officer.
Mr Ampomah said the company had made strides since its listing on the stock exchange and expressed the hope of increasing its profitability on the stock market in the coming years, to the benefit of its shareholders who comprise Ghanaian farmers and workers.
He said the company had outlined a number of measures to be adopted for the next three years to maintain its leadership role in the cocoa and shea nut business.
Mr Ampomah said notable among the measures was the increase in cocoa purchases from the current 38 per cent to 43 per cent of the total market, construction of 69 sheds and depots and renovation of 63 out of the existing storage facilities. It had also ensured the prompt, efficient and cost-effective evacuation and handing over of cocoa purchased to promote good seed fund recycling rate.
He said the PBC would continue to deepen its social responsibility through the provision of electricity, potable water and other development projects to improve the living standards of the people, as well as provision of inputs like fertilisers, spraying machines and insecticides/pesticides to farmers to improve on cocoa production.
The Deputy Regional Chief Farmer, Nana Osei-Adusa, urged the management of the PBC to brief farmers who were shareholders on the company’s performance on the stock exchange as well as the payment of dividends.
He also called for an intensive education campaign to erase the erroneous impression by farmers that the price of cocoa was higher in La Cote d’ Ivoire than in Ghana, which was a contributory factor to smuggling.
The Regional Manager of Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease Control Division of the COCOBOD, Mr Enoch Y.T. Donkor, implored cocoa farmers to co-operate with officials of the division, who inspect cocoa farms and educate them on their maintenance.
The Asunafo North Municipal Quality Control Officer of the Quality Control Company Limited, Mr Bernard Adotey Brown, also urged the farmers to follow the right procedures for drying cocoa beans.
That, he said, would enable the country to maintain its status as one of the leading producers of quality cocoa beans in the world.
The Asunafo North Municipal Co-ordinating Director, Mr John Kofi Adomako, urged the PBC to pay bonuses promptly to farmers and ensure that children of cocoa farmers were the recipients of COCOBOD scholarships.
The Omanhene of Goaso Traditional Area, Nana Kwasi Bosompra I, who chaired the function, commended cocoa farmers for their contribution towards the socio-economic development of the country.
He, however, enjoined the PBC to institute an incentive scheme for its purchasing clerks to discourage them from exploiting farmers through the manipulation of their weighing scales.

GOVT WILL SUPPORT HEALTH CARE INITIATIVES (NSEMPA, PAGE 14, SEPT 20, 2010)

2010-09-20T05:45:00.000-07:00

By Samuel Duodu, Abesim.

The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, has given the assurance that the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) and the government would continue to support any healthcare initiative aimed at reducing under-five and maternal mortality rate to the barest minimum in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 & 5.
He stated further that the government would also not reneged on its pledge to implement the one-time payment under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) so as to improve and sustain healthcare financing, as well as increase the accessibility of healthcare services to the ordinary Ghanaian.
Appeal
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister therefore, appealed to health workers in general, and those in the region in particular, to let the impact of all initiatives aimed at promoting quality healthcare in the country to be felt by the ordinary Ghanaian.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo gave the assurance at the opening ceremony of the third Annual General Conference of the Ghana Association of Public Health Technical Officers (GAPHTO) at Abesim, near Sunyani, last Monday.
The five-day conference is on the theme “Achieving MDG 4&5, The Responsibility Of The Public Health Technical Officer”. MDG 4&5 seeks to reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate and also by three quarters over the same period the maternal mortality ratio.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo in his address said the Brong Ahafo Region was able to vaccinate 470,800 children during the third round of the National Immunization Days, that is, 102.4 per cent over the expected coverage.
He, however, expressed worry that available statistics in the region indicated that, in 2007, 88 maternal deaths were recorded. The figure dropped to 81 in 2008, but suddenly increased to 89 in 2009.
This, he said, represented a rate of 210 per 100,000 live births as compared to the National Institutional Maternal Mortality rate of 196 per 100,000 live births.
“This situation obviously calls for an immediate solution. This is because single maternal death is an unquantifiable loss to the immediate and extended families as well as the country as a whole and we must therefore, spare no effort in this region to reverse this adverse trend”.
Increase
Touching on the dreaded HIV/AIDS, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said the deadly disease was also on the increase in the region and from the Sentinel Reports, the disease increased from 2.6 per cent in 2008 to 2.9 in 2009, adding that, last year, out of a total of 10,036 patients and blood donors screened for HIV/AIDS by the Ghana Health Service, 1,685 were found to be positive. This is something everybody has to worry about.
“As managers of healthcare delivery in the region, it is important that we put in the necessary programmes and strategies to educate the public on the need to adopt healthy lifestyles to prevent these diseases”, he told the participants.
In a speech read for the President of the association, Mr Samuel Addo, by Mr Osei Kwakye, the General Secretary, he said the promotion of good maternal and child health was dear to the hearts of many nations including Ghana, hence the adoption of the theme, because the roles and contributions of the Public Health Technical Officer in the achievements of this goal was paramount.
Mr Addo said some childhood diseases such as measles, which used to be one of the contributory factors to the high infant mortality rate in the country was now a thing of the past and therefore, members deserved some commendation.
Disparities in salary
He said the existence of low salary packages and disparities continue to be a challenge for members of the association and cited an instance where the salaries of a State Registered Nurse and that of the Technical Officer, the Community Health Nurse and the Field Technician and Technical Officers who had been able to raise themselves to degree levels through further studies still received Technical Officers salary.
Mr Addo expressed the hope that the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) would address these disparities and added that lack of career development, delayed promotion and lack of placement after further training were some of the challenges faced by members of the association.
Notwithstanding these, The GAPHTO President pledged that they would not relent in their efforts to serve the country, intensify their collaboration with policy makers and other partners for the growth and development of the association.
Dr Aaron Offei, the Regional Director of Health Service, for his part, commended members of the association for their role in promoting maternal and child health in the country as well as diseases control.

NASTY INCIDENT MARS ADUANA-HEARTS MATCH (BACK PAGE, SEPT 20, 2010)

2010-09-20T05:38:00.001-07:00

A nasty incident climaxed the Aduana Stars-Hearts of Oak Glo Premiership third week top liner at Dormaa-Ahenkro yesterday when Aduana's Accra Representative, Kofi Manu, verbally assaulted Coach Herbert Addo at the homesters' bench in apparent disapproval of the goalless draw result.
Coach Addo, who could not stand Manu's behaviour, replied him, resulting in some hot verbal exchanges which needed the timely intervention of the club's Operations Director, George Gyawu, to separate them.
In the process, an upset Coach Addo kicked a plastic chair to express his disgust.
Hearts entered the game with a defensive approach and succeeded in securing an away point as Aduana's attacking trio of Bernard Dong Bortey, Joseph Mugri and Richard Addae were held in check by the Hearts backline of Osei Bonsu, Karimu Alhassan, Owusu Seifa and Akwasi Bobie Ansah.