Story: Samuel Duordu, Sunyani
THE Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) will field parliamentary candidates in all the 24 constituencies in the Brong Ahafo Region in the forthcoming general election, the Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman of the party, Mr Peter Amoh, has disclosed.
He said consequently, the regional secretariat had sent nomination forms to all the constituencies to enable qualified party members to file to contest the primaries.
Mr Amoh, who made the disclosure in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Sunyani, further stated that the flag bearer, the patron and the national executive of the party were due for a visit to the region by next week to interact with all party executives from the grass roots to regional level, as well as the people.
He said immediately after the regional tour by the flag bearer, the regional secretariat would roll out its campaign strategies for the region to ensure the success of the party in the forthcoming general election.
Mr Amoh, however, urged supporters of the party to embark on clean campaigns devoid of insults, saying that the DFP was the number one party that did not believe in violence and intimidation and that it was for peace and national unity.
He added that the party would not resort to intimidation and victimisation when voted into power, noting that when it was not in government it would provide constructive opposition and focus on issues, principles and policies, while avoiding insults, abuse, peddling of lies, violent threats and political vendetta.
Mr Amoh stated that the DFP had come to introduce decency and clean politics in the body politic of the country and, therefore, urged the electorate to vote massively for it at the December polls.
He said the DFP, as a centre-left party, would, on the economic front, concentrate on removing the bottlenecks confronting improvement in agriculture, industry, trade and tourism, adding that on the trade side, the party would review the liberal trade policies of the NPP and the NDC governments which had hampered the growth of local industries.
On agriculture, Mr Amoh stated that the DFP would provide subsidies and agricultural inputs, as well as grant loans at the appropriate time to farmers.
He said the DFP would work towards the provision of the basic necessities of life, such as adequate food, housing, clothing, water, health care, quality education, roads, energy and telecommunications.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
5 APRM COMMITTEES IN BA INAUGURATED (PAGE 39)
Story: Samuel Duodu, Berekum
THE African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) oversight committees for Berekum and Dormaa West muncipalities, Jaman North, Jaman South and Dormaa East districts in the Brong Ahafo Region have been inaugurated.
The committees comprise nine elected members from selected identifiable stakeholders groupings at the district level and the District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) as an ex-offocio member, bringing the total membership of each committee to 10.
The objectives of the committees are to educate and sensitise community members to better understand the APRM process.
APRM is an African self monitoring system in which a country voluntarily accepts to undertake an internal audit of its political, economic, corporate and socio-economic governance system by ordinary citizens, after which an external audit or verification is conducted by an independent panel from the African Union (AU).
Ghana was among the first 12 countries to officially accede to the APRM by signing the Memorandum of Understanding in March, 2003.
The Chairman of the National APRM Governing Council (NAPRM), Rev Prof S.K. Adjepong, who is also the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast and currently the Vice Chancellor of the Methodist University College of Ghana, inaugurated the committees at a ceremony at Berekum.
He reminded the committee members not to politicise their work, since the APRM was a process set up to foster effective governance and socio-economic development of the African continent.
Prof. Adjepong stated that the NAPRM-GC had pledged not to be partisan. He, therefore, urged the committee members not to see their selection as an opportunity to score political points.
"The moment we realise that you are being partisan, we would take you out of the committee," he cautioned.
Prof Adjepong told them that their work was a sacrificial one that call for dedication, selflessness and sacrifice.
He advised them to live above reproach and refrain from anti-social behaviours that could cast a slur on the image of the committees.
The NAPRM-GC Chairman also urged the committees to endeavour to undertake their activities in a spirit that would promote national unity and progress towards the achievement of good governance in their respective districts and the country as a whole.
A member of the Berekum committee, Mr Edward Nyamekye, on behalf of all the committees, thanked the people for selecting them to serve on the committees.
He pledged that they would work hard to justify the confidence reposed in them, and appealed for support from the national secretariat to enable them to work effectively.
THE African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) oversight committees for Berekum and Dormaa West muncipalities, Jaman North, Jaman South and Dormaa East districts in the Brong Ahafo Region have been inaugurated.
The committees comprise nine elected members from selected identifiable stakeholders groupings at the district level and the District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) as an ex-offocio member, bringing the total membership of each committee to 10.
The objectives of the committees are to educate and sensitise community members to better understand the APRM process.
APRM is an African self monitoring system in which a country voluntarily accepts to undertake an internal audit of its political, economic, corporate and socio-economic governance system by ordinary citizens, after which an external audit or verification is conducted by an independent panel from the African Union (AU).
Ghana was among the first 12 countries to officially accede to the APRM by signing the Memorandum of Understanding in March, 2003.
The Chairman of the National APRM Governing Council (NAPRM), Rev Prof S.K. Adjepong, who is also the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast and currently the Vice Chancellor of the Methodist University College of Ghana, inaugurated the committees at a ceremony at Berekum.
He reminded the committee members not to politicise their work, since the APRM was a process set up to foster effective governance and socio-economic development of the African continent.
Prof. Adjepong stated that the NAPRM-GC had pledged not to be partisan. He, therefore, urged the committee members not to see their selection as an opportunity to score political points.
"The moment we realise that you are being partisan, we would take you out of the committee," he cautioned.
Prof Adjepong told them that their work was a sacrificial one that call for dedication, selflessness and sacrifice.
He advised them to live above reproach and refrain from anti-social behaviours that could cast a slur on the image of the committees.
The NAPRM-GC Chairman also urged the committees to endeavour to undertake their activities in a spirit that would promote national unity and progress towards the achievement of good governance in their respective districts and the country as a whole.
A member of the Berekum committee, Mr Edward Nyamekye, on behalf of all the committees, thanked the people for selecting them to serve on the committees.
He pledged that they would work hard to justify the confidence reposed in them, and appealed for support from the national secretariat to enable them to work effectively.
Monday, May 5, 2008
'BE GUIDED BY EXPERIENCE OF OTHER NATIONS' (PAGE 40)
Story: Samuel Duodu, Sunyani
Ghanaians should be guided by the experiences of other nations on the African continent where there are conflicts as a result of elections, in order to continue to safeguard the peace and stability of the country, the Executive Director of Peace and Violence-Free Advocacy Foundation International (PEVFAF), Mr Frank Opoku Adjapong, has said.
He stressed that Ghanaians must not allow their political affiliations to divide them and create tension in the country, since politics was not about enemies and friends, but rather for the welfare of the people and the socio-economic advancement of the nation.
“We must, therefore, let our political persuasions guide us to make the right choices in the forthcoming general election that would result in an improvement in the living conditions of the ordinary Ghanaian, as well as the forward march of the nation, than to see it as a fight,” he emphasised
Mr Adjapong gave the advice at the 12th bi-annual conference of the Mid-West Ghana Adventist Choir Union at the Sunyani Jubilee Park in the Brong Ahafo Region.
His talk formed part of PEVFAF’s advocacy programme towards a violence-free elections this year.
PEVFAF, a non-partisan, non-section and non-profit-making organisation devoted to peace and violence-free Ghana and Africa at large, has so far taken their campaign towards violence-free elections to several Pentecostal, Charismatic and Orthodox churches in and outside the Brong Ahafo Region.
The executive director noted that the organisation was not only for a violence-free elections this year, but also to ensure that acts of violence were removed from the body politic, football, and religious and ethnic matters.
He said no society would achieve progress where there was violence, chaos and confusion.
Mr Adjapong, therefore, urged Ghanaians to embrace dialogue as a means of resolving their differences than to resort to violence, which had the potential to threaten the peace and stability of the nation.
He also appealed to all factions engaged in land and chieftaincy disputes across the nation to resort to dialogue for their settlement, in order to promote peace and development.
Mr Adjapong implored Christians, Muslims, traditionalists and all other religious faithful to peacefully co-exist and pray for peaceful polls in December, this year and the stability of the nation.
He also appealed to political parties and their supporters to be circumspect in their utterances during their campaigns in order not to spark off violence.
Mr Kwame Appiah Baah, also of the PEVFAF, for his part, called on all Ghanaians to get involved in the campaign for peace and violence-free Ghana, since there was no winner in any violent situation.
Ghanaians should be guided by the experiences of other nations on the African continent where there are conflicts as a result of elections, in order to continue to safeguard the peace and stability of the country, the Executive Director of Peace and Violence-Free Advocacy Foundation International (PEVFAF), Mr Frank Opoku Adjapong, has said.
He stressed that Ghanaians must not allow their political affiliations to divide them and create tension in the country, since politics was not about enemies and friends, but rather for the welfare of the people and the socio-economic advancement of the nation.
“We must, therefore, let our political persuasions guide us to make the right choices in the forthcoming general election that would result in an improvement in the living conditions of the ordinary Ghanaian, as well as the forward march of the nation, than to see it as a fight,” he emphasised
Mr Adjapong gave the advice at the 12th bi-annual conference of the Mid-West Ghana Adventist Choir Union at the Sunyani Jubilee Park in the Brong Ahafo Region.
His talk formed part of PEVFAF’s advocacy programme towards a violence-free elections this year.
PEVFAF, a non-partisan, non-section and non-profit-making organisation devoted to peace and violence-free Ghana and Africa at large, has so far taken their campaign towards violence-free elections to several Pentecostal, Charismatic and Orthodox churches in and outside the Brong Ahafo Region.
The executive director noted that the organisation was not only for a violence-free elections this year, but also to ensure that acts of violence were removed from the body politic, football, and religious and ethnic matters.
He said no society would achieve progress where there was violence, chaos and confusion.
Mr Adjapong, therefore, urged Ghanaians to embrace dialogue as a means of resolving their differences than to resort to violence, which had the potential to threaten the peace and stability of the nation.
He also appealed to all factions engaged in land and chieftaincy disputes across the nation to resort to dialogue for their settlement, in order to promote peace and development.
Mr Adjapong implored Christians, Muslims, traditionalists and all other religious faithful to peacefully co-exist and pray for peaceful polls in December, this year and the stability of the nation.
He also appealed to political parties and their supporters to be circumspect in their utterances during their campaigns in order not to spark off violence.
Mr Kwame Appiah Baah, also of the PEVFAF, for his part, called on all Ghanaians to get involved in the campaign for peace and violence-free Ghana, since there was no winner in any violent situation.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
NPP CONCLUDES PRIMARIES IN BA (PAGE 14)
Story: Samuel Duodu, Sunyani
THE New Patriotic Party (NPP) has concluded its primaries to elect parliamentary candidates who would contest on the party ticket for the forthcoming December general elections in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The candidates are Mr. Ignatius Baffour Awuah, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister for the Sunyani West constituency, Mr. Robert Sarfo Mensah, for the Asunafo North, Mr. Ernest Akobour Debrah, the Minister of Food and Agriculture for Tano North, Mr. Andrews Adjei Yeboah. a Deputy Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines for Tano South, Mr. Yaw Afful for Jaman South and Kwaku Agyenim-Boateng for the Berekum Constituency.
The rest are Mr. Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh for Sunyani East, Prof. George Gyan-Baffour, a Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic planning for Wenchi, Mr. Yaw Ntow-Ababio for Dormaa East, Mr. Kwaku Agyemang Manu, a Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry for Dormaa West, Kwame Amporfo Twumasi, a Deputy Minister of Energy for Nkoranza South, Major Derick Oduro (retd) for Nkoranza North and Mr. Paul Okoh for Asutifi North.
Briefing newsmen in Sunyani after the completion of the party's primaries, Mr. Kwasi Adu Gyan, the NPP Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman, said the party was confident to win 20 seats out of the 24 parliamentary seats in the region.
He said the party was working hard to regain the six seats that it lost to the NDC in the 2004 election to add to the 14 seats that the party won.
Mr. Adu Gyan said to ensure that the party achieved the target, it had began with the restructuring of its polling stations by increasing the number of polling station executives from five to 15 to embarked on what he termed "a room to room" campaign to counter the house to house campaign of Prof. Atta Mills, the flag bearer of the NDC.
Relatedly, three political heavyweights of the NPP who contested the party’s primaries in the Region have been handed a resounding defeat in the keenly contested primaries.
The aspirants are Ms Anna Nyamekye, a Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture; Nana Obiri Boahen, a Minister of State at the Ministry of the Interior, and the former NPP Regional Chairman; Captain Nkrabeah Effah Dartey (retd), one of the former presidential aspirants of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and incumbent Member of Parliament for Berekum.
Capt. Effah-Dartey (retd), who was challenged in the contest by six other aspirants, polled five votes out of the total of 118 votes cast at the primaries, thereby losing the seat to Mr Kwaku Agyenim-Boateng, a legal services consultant, who obtained 88 votes and emerged as the winner of the keenly contested primaries.
The other contestants in the race were Dr Kwabena Twum-Nuamah, a medical practitioner; Mr Francis Manu-Gyan, Regional Administrative Officer of GBC at Ho; Dr Kodjo Opoku-Adomah, a veterinary surgeon; Nana Adu-Gyamfi Kumaning, a retired diplomat; and Professor Daniel Obeng-Ofori, a lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon. They polled three, one, three, nil and 18 votes respectively.
The Sunyani East Constituency primaries was won by Mr Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, General Secretary of the National Association of Local Authorities and a former Presiding Member of the Sunyani Municipal Assembly, who polled 61 votes to beat Nana Obiri Boahen, who polled five votes, and Mr Kwame Twumasi-Awuah, the Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive, who had 39 votes.
The Sunyani East seat became vacant following Mr J.H. Mensah’s decision not to seek re-election. Mr Mensah is also the sitting NPP MP.
Ms Nyamekye, who is also the incumbent MP for the Jaman South Constituency, lost her seat to Mr Yaw Maama Afful, a US-based businessman who polled 63 votes against 39 to win the primaries.
Other aspirants who contested Ms Nyamekye were: Mr Stephen Kofi Adinkrah, Mr Prince Yeboah Marfo, the Vice-Principal of the Berekum Training College; Johnson Yeboah, Madam Florence Boadi, a tutor at the Sunyani Senior High School, and Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, a Sunyani-based legal practitioner, who polled nil, two, three, two and four votes respectively, out of the 114 total ballots cast.
THE New Patriotic Party (NPP) has concluded its primaries to elect parliamentary candidates who would contest on the party ticket for the forthcoming December general elections in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The candidates are Mr. Ignatius Baffour Awuah, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister for the Sunyani West constituency, Mr. Robert Sarfo Mensah, for the Asunafo North, Mr. Ernest Akobour Debrah, the Minister of Food and Agriculture for Tano North, Mr. Andrews Adjei Yeboah. a Deputy Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines for Tano South, Mr. Yaw Afful for Jaman South and Kwaku Agyenim-Boateng for the Berekum Constituency.
The rest are Mr. Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh for Sunyani East, Prof. George Gyan-Baffour, a Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic planning for Wenchi, Mr. Yaw Ntow-Ababio for Dormaa East, Mr. Kwaku Agyemang Manu, a Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry for Dormaa West, Kwame Amporfo Twumasi, a Deputy Minister of Energy for Nkoranza South, Major Derick Oduro (retd) for Nkoranza North and Mr. Paul Okoh for Asutifi North.
Briefing newsmen in Sunyani after the completion of the party's primaries, Mr. Kwasi Adu Gyan, the NPP Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman, said the party was confident to win 20 seats out of the 24 parliamentary seats in the region.
He said the party was working hard to regain the six seats that it lost to the NDC in the 2004 election to add to the 14 seats that the party won.
Mr. Adu Gyan said to ensure that the party achieved the target, it had began with the restructuring of its polling stations by increasing the number of polling station executives from five to 15 to embarked on what he termed "a room to room" campaign to counter the house to house campaign of Prof. Atta Mills, the flag bearer of the NDC.
Relatedly, three political heavyweights of the NPP who contested the party’s primaries in the Region have been handed a resounding defeat in the keenly contested primaries.
The aspirants are Ms Anna Nyamekye, a Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture; Nana Obiri Boahen, a Minister of State at the Ministry of the Interior, and the former NPP Regional Chairman; Captain Nkrabeah Effah Dartey (retd), one of the former presidential aspirants of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and incumbent Member of Parliament for Berekum.
Capt. Effah-Dartey (retd), who was challenged in the contest by six other aspirants, polled five votes out of the total of 118 votes cast at the primaries, thereby losing the seat to Mr Kwaku Agyenim-Boateng, a legal services consultant, who obtained 88 votes and emerged as the winner of the keenly contested primaries.
The other contestants in the race were Dr Kwabena Twum-Nuamah, a medical practitioner; Mr Francis Manu-Gyan, Regional Administrative Officer of GBC at Ho; Dr Kodjo Opoku-Adomah, a veterinary surgeon; Nana Adu-Gyamfi Kumaning, a retired diplomat; and Professor Daniel Obeng-Ofori, a lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon. They polled three, one, three, nil and 18 votes respectively.
The Sunyani East Constituency primaries was won by Mr Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, General Secretary of the National Association of Local Authorities and a former Presiding Member of the Sunyani Municipal Assembly, who polled 61 votes to beat Nana Obiri Boahen, who polled five votes, and Mr Kwame Twumasi-Awuah, the Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive, who had 39 votes.
The Sunyani East seat became vacant following Mr J.H. Mensah’s decision not to seek re-election. Mr Mensah is also the sitting NPP MP.
Ms Nyamekye, who is also the incumbent MP for the Jaman South Constituency, lost her seat to Mr Yaw Maama Afful, a US-based businessman who polled 63 votes against 39 to win the primaries.
Other aspirants who contested Ms Nyamekye were: Mr Stephen Kofi Adinkrah, Mr Prince Yeboah Marfo, the Vice-Principal of the Berekum Training College; Johnson Yeboah, Madam Florence Boadi, a tutor at the Sunyani Senior High School, and Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, a Sunyani-based legal practitioner, who polled nil, two, three, two and four votes respectively, out of the 114 total ballots cast.
'DON'T ALLOW POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS TO DIVIDE US; (PAGE 15)
Story: Samuel Duodu, Sunyani
THE Executive Director of Peace and Violence-Free Advocacy Foundation International (PEVFAF), Mr Frank Opoku Adjapong, has said Ghanaians must not allow their political affiliations to divide them and create tension in the country.
He said politics was not about enemies and friends, but rather, it sought the welfare of the people and the socio-economic advancement of the nation.
He reminded Ghanaians to be guided by the experiences of other nations in Africa where conflicts had arisen as a result of elections to continue to safeguard the peace and stability of the country.
“We must, therefore, let our political persuasions guide us to make the right choices in the forthcoming elections that would result in an improvement in the living conditions of the ordinary Ghanaian”, he stressed.
Mr Adjapong was speaking at the 12th bi-annual conference of the Mid–West Ghana Adventist Choir Union (MIGACU) held at the Sunyani Jubilee Park in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The executive director noted that the organisation was not only for violence-free elections this year, but to ensure that violent acts were removed from the body politic, football, religious and ethnic matters.
He said no society would make progress when there was violence, chaos and confusion and, therefore, urged Ghanaians to embrace dialogue as a means of resolving their differences, rather than resorting to violence which had the potential to threaten the peace and stability of the nation.
Mr Adjapong also appealed to all factions engaged in land and chieftaincy disputes across the nation to resort to dialogue for the settlement of the dispute for peace to prevail for development to take place.
He urged Christians, Muslims, traditionalists and all other religious faithful to peacefully co-exist and pray for the peace and stability of the country as the nation goes to the polls in December, this year.
Mr Adjapong also appealed to political parties and their supporters to be circumspect in their utterances during their campaigns to avoid violence.
Mr Kwame Appiah Baah, also of the PEVFAF, called on all Ghanaians to get involved in the campaign for a peaceful and violence-free elections since there was no winner in any violent situation.
THE Executive Director of Peace and Violence-Free Advocacy Foundation International (PEVFAF), Mr Frank Opoku Adjapong, has said Ghanaians must not allow their political affiliations to divide them and create tension in the country.
He said politics was not about enemies and friends, but rather, it sought the welfare of the people and the socio-economic advancement of the nation.
He reminded Ghanaians to be guided by the experiences of other nations in Africa where conflicts had arisen as a result of elections to continue to safeguard the peace and stability of the country.
“We must, therefore, let our political persuasions guide us to make the right choices in the forthcoming elections that would result in an improvement in the living conditions of the ordinary Ghanaian”, he stressed.
Mr Adjapong was speaking at the 12th bi-annual conference of the Mid–West Ghana Adventist Choir Union (MIGACU) held at the Sunyani Jubilee Park in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The executive director noted that the organisation was not only for violence-free elections this year, but to ensure that violent acts were removed from the body politic, football, religious and ethnic matters.
He said no society would make progress when there was violence, chaos and confusion and, therefore, urged Ghanaians to embrace dialogue as a means of resolving their differences, rather than resorting to violence which had the potential to threaten the peace and stability of the nation.
Mr Adjapong also appealed to all factions engaged in land and chieftaincy disputes across the nation to resort to dialogue for the settlement of the dispute for peace to prevail for development to take place.
He urged Christians, Muslims, traditionalists and all other religious faithful to peacefully co-exist and pray for the peace and stability of the country as the nation goes to the polls in December, this year.
Mr Adjapong also appealed to political parties and their supporters to be circumspect in their utterances during their campaigns to avoid violence.
Mr Kwame Appiah Baah, also of the PEVFAF, called on all Ghanaians to get involved in the campaign for a peaceful and violence-free elections since there was no winner in any violent situation.
Friday, May 2, 2008
FARMERS ATTEND RALLY ON SWOLLEN SHOOT CONTROL (PAGE 21)
Story: Samuel Duodu, Krakrom
THE Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD) Management Committee of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has held a rally for 400 cocoa farmers drawn from seven cocoa-growing villages at Krakrom, near Nkrankwanta in the Dormaa Municipality.
The day's rally was aimed at educating the cocoa farmers on the symptoms, mode of spread and control of swollen shoot.
The participants came from Amadukrom, Ntensere, Yawusukrom, Nyamebekyere, Appiakrom, Yanbediagro, Koofiekrom, Kwame-Yeboakrom and Krakrom.
The Executive Director of the committee, Mr F. E. Nsiah, reminded the farmers that the only available antidote to the swollen shoot menace was to cut down the infected trees and their adjacent contact trees to avoid further spread.
Mr Nsiah noted that COCOBOD was leaving no stone unturned to encourage cocoa farmers across the country to plant cocoa genotypes, which were resistant to the swollen shoot.
He said for now the most tolerant progenies being supplied to farmers were the inter-upper Amazon hybrids.
The executive director advised cocoa farmers to create cordons of at least 10 metres, made up of cash crops immune to the swollen shoot virus, such as citrus and oil palm, between new cocoa establishments and existing plantings.
Mr Nsiah also entreated the farmers to form co-operative societies to enable them to have easy access to financial assistance from the government and financial institutions.
The Dormaa Municipal Cocoa Officer, Mr Emmanuel Nii-Arku, took the farmers through the symptoms peculiar to the various stages of the swollen shoot.
He said the disease manifested itself in reddening cocoa leaves, swellings at the nodes and internodes and induced swelling on roots of the cocoa trees.
A spokesperson for the farmers, Nana Bio-Agyemang, suggested to the government to give all farmers whose cocoa farms were affected by swollen shoot the necessary financial support to rehabilitate their farms.
The Odikro of Krakrom, Nana L. Y. Adomah, appealed to the committee to consider the establishment of a one-stop cocoa nursery in the area from where farmers could be supplied with seedlings free of charge.
THE Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD) Management Committee of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has held a rally for 400 cocoa farmers drawn from seven cocoa-growing villages at Krakrom, near Nkrankwanta in the Dormaa Municipality.
The day's rally was aimed at educating the cocoa farmers on the symptoms, mode of spread and control of swollen shoot.
The participants came from Amadukrom, Ntensere, Yawusukrom, Nyamebekyere, Appiakrom, Yanbediagro, Koofiekrom, Kwame-Yeboakrom and Krakrom.
The Executive Director of the committee, Mr F. E. Nsiah, reminded the farmers that the only available antidote to the swollen shoot menace was to cut down the infected trees and their adjacent contact trees to avoid further spread.
Mr Nsiah noted that COCOBOD was leaving no stone unturned to encourage cocoa farmers across the country to plant cocoa genotypes, which were resistant to the swollen shoot.
He said for now the most tolerant progenies being supplied to farmers were the inter-upper Amazon hybrids.
The executive director advised cocoa farmers to create cordons of at least 10 metres, made up of cash crops immune to the swollen shoot virus, such as citrus and oil palm, between new cocoa establishments and existing plantings.
Mr Nsiah also entreated the farmers to form co-operative societies to enable them to have easy access to financial assistance from the government and financial institutions.
The Dormaa Municipal Cocoa Officer, Mr Emmanuel Nii-Arku, took the farmers through the symptoms peculiar to the various stages of the swollen shoot.
He said the disease manifested itself in reddening cocoa leaves, swellings at the nodes and internodes and induced swelling on roots of the cocoa trees.
A spokesperson for the farmers, Nana Bio-Agyemang, suggested to the government to give all farmers whose cocoa farms were affected by swollen shoot the necessary financial support to rehabilitate their farms.
The Odikro of Krakrom, Nana L. Y. Adomah, appealed to the committee to consider the establishment of a one-stop cocoa nursery in the area from where farmers could be supplied with seedlings free of charge.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
'PROBE DEATH OF CABBY IN PRISON' (PAGE 36)
Story: Samuel Duodu, Sunyani
The family of a 27-year-old taxi driver who died in prison custody at the Sunyani Central Prisons have appealed to the Minister of the Interior to set up an independent investigation body to establish the circumstances that led to his death in prison.
According to the family of the deceased, their son, Udo York, was hale and hearty before he was convicted to serve a six-month jail term for defaulting to pay a fine of GH¢600 for a traffic offence he had committed.
The family also stated that they would not bear the cost of the mortuary fees and that for the post mortem, which they had been asked by the Prison authorities to pay, because the deceased died in the custody of the Ghana Prison Service.
The spokesperson for the family, Mr Charles Nketiah, who is also the uncle of the deceased, made the appeal through the Daily Graphic in Sunyani. He said they were only informed about the death of their relative by prison officials after they had deposited the body at the Brong Ahafo Regional Hospital mortuary in Sunyani.
He said the family had been asked to go for the body of the late York for burial, since the service could not pay for the cost of the mortuary fees, as well as that for the post mortem to be performed on the deceased to establish the actual cause of his death, which he said the family had rejected till the cause of his death had been established.
Mr Nketiah disclosed further that the deceased died in prison and not in the hospital and therefore he was appealing to the government and the Minister of the Interior to set up an independent investigation body to establish his death in custody.
He said the late York had already served one and half months of his six months’ imprisonment and it was just last Wednesday, April 23, 2008 that the family was informed about his death.
Mr Nketiah stated that the convict was the only breadwinner for the family when he was fined to pay GH¢600; he was not able to pay the fine, since his wife was also nursing their four-month-old baby and for that reason could not raise money from anywhere to pay for the fine imposed on him and therefore decided to serve the prison term.
“We therefore learnt with shock that York had died in prison custody, since he was hale and hearty when he began serving the term of imprisonment and some members of the family even visited him in prison and he did not complain of any sickness till his death last Wednesday.”
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Sunyani Central Prisons authorities they confirmed the death of York with the explanation that the deceased convict was sick and was taken to hospital, but died that night after he was brought back to the prisons.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Regional Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), the Regional Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ansu Frimpong, confirmed that the deceased, who was a taxi driver in Sunyani, was arrested by Personnel of the MTTU last month (March) for road obstruction and failing to produce a driving licence, and he was processed for court.
The deceased appeared before the Duayaw Nkwanta Circuit Court presided over by Mr Emmanuel Yartey and he was convicted and fined GH¢600 or in default six months’ imprisonment with hard labour.
The family of a 27-year-old taxi driver who died in prison custody at the Sunyani Central Prisons have appealed to the Minister of the Interior to set up an independent investigation body to establish the circumstances that led to his death in prison.
According to the family of the deceased, their son, Udo York, was hale and hearty before he was convicted to serve a six-month jail term for defaulting to pay a fine of GH¢600 for a traffic offence he had committed.
The family also stated that they would not bear the cost of the mortuary fees and that for the post mortem, which they had been asked by the Prison authorities to pay, because the deceased died in the custody of the Ghana Prison Service.
The spokesperson for the family, Mr Charles Nketiah, who is also the uncle of the deceased, made the appeal through the Daily Graphic in Sunyani. He said they were only informed about the death of their relative by prison officials after they had deposited the body at the Brong Ahafo Regional Hospital mortuary in Sunyani.
He said the family had been asked to go for the body of the late York for burial, since the service could not pay for the cost of the mortuary fees, as well as that for the post mortem to be performed on the deceased to establish the actual cause of his death, which he said the family had rejected till the cause of his death had been established.
Mr Nketiah disclosed further that the deceased died in prison and not in the hospital and therefore he was appealing to the government and the Minister of the Interior to set up an independent investigation body to establish his death in custody.
He said the late York had already served one and half months of his six months’ imprisonment and it was just last Wednesday, April 23, 2008 that the family was informed about his death.
Mr Nketiah stated that the convict was the only breadwinner for the family when he was fined to pay GH¢600; he was not able to pay the fine, since his wife was also nursing their four-month-old baby and for that reason could not raise money from anywhere to pay for the fine imposed on him and therefore decided to serve the prison term.
“We therefore learnt with shock that York had died in prison custody, since he was hale and hearty when he began serving the term of imprisonment and some members of the family even visited him in prison and he did not complain of any sickness till his death last Wednesday.”
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Sunyani Central Prisons authorities they confirmed the death of York with the explanation that the deceased convict was sick and was taken to hospital, but died that night after he was brought back to the prisons.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Regional Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), the Regional Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ansu Frimpong, confirmed that the deceased, who was a taxi driver in Sunyani, was arrested by Personnel of the MTTU last month (March) for road obstruction and failing to produce a driving licence, and he was processed for court.
The deceased appeared before the Duayaw Nkwanta Circuit Court presided over by Mr Emmanuel Yartey and he was convicted and fined GH¢600 or in default six months’ imprisonment with hard labour.
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