From Akwasi Ampratwum-
Mensah, Sunyani
The Chief of Yawhimah, near Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, Nana Ansuh Ababio, and two others, Messrs Anane Boateng and Nicholas Kwasi Yeboah, have filed a writ at the Sunyani High Court against the government, demanding compensation in respect of their land at Kotokrom/Yawhimah.
The land in quesion was compulsorily acquired for the purpose of a shooting range for the 3rd Brigade Infantry (3BN) barracks in Sunyani.
Also joined in the suit filed through the Attorney-General’s (A-Gs) Department in Sunyani, is the Executive Secretary of the Lands Valuation Board in Accra as the second defendant.
The three plaintiffs argued that following the force with which their land was taken away from them, their crops were badly affected, but the second defendant, who was mandated by the government (first defendant) to pay for compensation to the plaintiffs, has refused to do so, despite persistent demands.
The plaintiffs are also praying the court to compel the defendants to obey any order it deems fit.
In their statement of claim, filed by Twumasi and Associates, a Sunyani-based law firm, the plaintiffs indicated that in or around 1972, the first defendant compulsorily acquired a seven-mile square land belonging to the plaintiffs and other farmers for the purpose of a Military Shooting Range for the 3BN, and that their cocoa and other cash crops were on the land.
They further stated that prior to the compulsory acquisition of their lands by the first defendant, the second defendant was mandated by the government to assess the cost of the crops belonging to the plaintiffs to enable it pay them appropriate compensation.
According to the statement of claim, the second defendant complied with the instructions by the government and that their names, sizes of their lands and the amount of crops affected were to be taken away by the second defendants, and crop compensation would be paid immediately.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
NDC ELECTS NYAMEKYE-MARFO TO CONTEST SUNYANI EAST (PAGE 13)
A former District Chief Executive (DCE) for Sunyani, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, 53, has been elected the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary aspirant to contest the December 7, 2008 election for the Sunyani West Constituency in the Brong Ahafo Region.
He secured 157 votes to beat three other contestants in the constituency primaries, held at Mantukwa, a town off the Sunyani-Berekum road, on Wednesday.
The defeated aspirants were Mr Ahmed Boadan, Rev. Nana Adjei Ntow and Mr Obeng Apraku Tando. The election was conducted by the Electoral Commission (EC) and supervised by representatives of the Regional Secretariat of the NDC, led by Mr Mohammed Seidu Maha, the Regional Youth Organiser.
With the Sunyani West primaries over as the 23rd in the region to be organised by the party, the Sene Constituency is the only one left to be held.
In a brief address before the delegates cast their votes, the Constituency Chairman, Mr Ishak Twumasi Ankrah appealed to the voters to be patient since all the primaries in the previous 22 constituencies in the region had recorded no violence.
Without any apparent reason, the Constituency Chairman took media men invited to cover the event to task by insisting that, they reported accurately whatever transpired at the primaries, and cautioned that any media house that failed to do so would face the law and would not be invited to cover any future events of the party in the constituency.
Mr Ankrah expressed optimism that the NDC would beat the New Patriotic Party (NPP) aspirant for the constituency, Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, who is also the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister.
Before the EC representatives were called to declare the results of the elections after the counting of the ballot, the Regional Youth Organiser called on all the contestants to make their individual pledges to uphold and respect the outcome, saying that their invitation was in accordance with the party’s tradition at such primaries.
In turns, they all obliged to abide by the results and declared their unflinching support for the winner.
He then expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the delegates for the confidence reposed in him, having contested in three previous primaries but failed to win in the ultimate elections.
This time around, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo declared that even though the NDC was cash strapped, it would win the December elections convincingly since the electorate were yearning for a change in governance from the NPP.
He, however, advised the party’s agents who would be deployed to the various polling stations to be very vigilant and ensure that, the elections were transparent, free and fair, and promised to work hard to wrest the seat from the NPP.
For their part, Rev. Nana Ntow pledged to support the candidate-elect with 10,000 posters, while Mr Tando said he would make available a vehicle for his campaign , with Mr Boadan pledging his energy, wisdom and political experience to rally behind Mr Nyamekye-Marfo.
He secured 157 votes to beat three other contestants in the constituency primaries, held at Mantukwa, a town off the Sunyani-Berekum road, on Wednesday.
The defeated aspirants were Mr Ahmed Boadan, Rev. Nana Adjei Ntow and Mr Obeng Apraku Tando. The election was conducted by the Electoral Commission (EC) and supervised by representatives of the Regional Secretariat of the NDC, led by Mr Mohammed Seidu Maha, the Regional Youth Organiser.
With the Sunyani West primaries over as the 23rd in the region to be organised by the party, the Sene Constituency is the only one left to be held.
In a brief address before the delegates cast their votes, the Constituency Chairman, Mr Ishak Twumasi Ankrah appealed to the voters to be patient since all the primaries in the previous 22 constituencies in the region had recorded no violence.
Without any apparent reason, the Constituency Chairman took media men invited to cover the event to task by insisting that, they reported accurately whatever transpired at the primaries, and cautioned that any media house that failed to do so would face the law and would not be invited to cover any future events of the party in the constituency.
Mr Ankrah expressed optimism that the NDC would beat the New Patriotic Party (NPP) aspirant for the constituency, Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, who is also the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister.
Before the EC representatives were called to declare the results of the elections after the counting of the ballot, the Regional Youth Organiser called on all the contestants to make their individual pledges to uphold and respect the outcome, saying that their invitation was in accordance with the party’s tradition at such primaries.
In turns, they all obliged to abide by the results and declared their unflinching support for the winner.
He then expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the delegates for the confidence reposed in him, having contested in three previous primaries but failed to win in the ultimate elections.
This time around, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo declared that even though the NDC was cash strapped, it would win the December elections convincingly since the electorate were yearning for a change in governance from the NPP.
He, however, advised the party’s agents who would be deployed to the various polling stations to be very vigilant and ensure that, the elections were transparent, free and fair, and promised to work hard to wrest the seat from the NPP.
For their part, Rev. Nana Ntow pledged to support the candidate-elect with 10,000 posters, while Mr Tando said he would make available a vehicle for his campaign , with Mr Boadan pledging his energy, wisdom and political experience to rally behind Mr Nyamekye-Marfo.
DERMA RURAL BANK DESIGNS NEW PRODUCT (PAGE 23)
THE Board of Directors of the Derma Area Rural Bank Limited in the Brong Ahafo Region has designed a product for farmers within its catchment area.
As part of the product, a group of farmers who open a joint saving account with the bank would secure loans from the bank, with their savings automatically serving as collateral for them.
For such farmers, the bank would also not require salary earners to stand as guarantors when they apply for a loan facility.
With regard to salaried workers, another product termed “credit line” has been designed by the board for them to secure loans without much stress.
The two products would be operational by September, this year.
The Chairman of the board, Mr G. Amano-Kyeremeh, announced this at the 21st annual general meeting (AGM) of the bank at Derma near Bechem.
He appealed to all manner of people in the catchment area, especially farmers, to save with the bank so that in times of need they would be supported by the bank.
The board chairman stated that the bank posted a net profit of GH¢80,624.22 after expenses and reducing the accumulated loss of GH¢142,367.10 in 2006 to GH¢71,820.90 in 2007.
He further indicated that the bank’s total assets increased from GH¢1,077,795.20 in 2006 to GH¢1,436,752.48 in 2007, representing two per cent over the previous year’s.
According to Mr Amano-Kyeremeh, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) now required all rural and community banks to increase their share capital to at least GH¢150,000.
He therefore stated that with the bank’s current shareholding of GH¢53,950.87, there was the need to inject GH¢96,049.13 as additional share capital to meet the BoG’s requirement.
He, therefore, urged all shareholders to buy at least two times the quantity of shares they already had.
Mr Amano-Kyeremeh stated that the bank had started to computerise its operations to enable it to operate the e-zwich system introduced by the BoG.
He said when completed, any customer could access his or her money at any point of sale terminal at any part of the country and could also receive payments from traders who had the e-zwich card.
The board chairman advised the shareholders to desist from writing anonymous letters about members of the board.
He stated that in today’s competitive banking environment, any evil report that anyone maliciously smeared on the bank might have serious consequences on its operations.
“Customers might not want to do business with the bank while depositors would refuse to put their monies in the bank and that the fortunes of the bank will be doomed for ever if such a situation occurs,” Mr Amano-Kyeremeh stressed.
The Managing Director of the ARB Apex Bank, Mr Eric Osei-Bonsu, in a speech read on his behalf noted that the performance of most RCBs had been very encouraging, as they had consistently registered impressive deposit mobilisation and increases in share capital, which were indications of growing public confidence in the rural banking system.
He said despite the achievements, rural banks still had a lot more to do by way of effective credit administration, cost control and reduction so as to meet the challenges of the changing competitive business environment.
According to Mr Osei-Bonsu, the rural banks still continued to perform the crucial function of moral financial inter-mediation that would lead to economic, as well as social development and transformation.
He added that rural banks, therefore, needed the continuous support from the shareholders, the regulatory authorities and the general public.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) of Tano South, Mr Osei Sekyere Bota, stated that the establishment of the bank was a huge legacy for the people in the district and beyond so everyone ought to show concern about its growth rather than resorting to writing anonymous letters about members of the board of directors.
The Omanhene of Bechem Traditional Area, Nana Fosu Gyeabour II, urged the shareholders to appoint people with the requisite knowledge about banking as directors of the bank but not people with unscrupulous and suspicious characters.
As part of the product, a group of farmers who open a joint saving account with the bank would secure loans from the bank, with their savings automatically serving as collateral for them.
For such farmers, the bank would also not require salary earners to stand as guarantors when they apply for a loan facility.
With regard to salaried workers, another product termed “credit line” has been designed by the board for them to secure loans without much stress.
The two products would be operational by September, this year.
The Chairman of the board, Mr G. Amano-Kyeremeh, announced this at the 21st annual general meeting (AGM) of the bank at Derma near Bechem.
He appealed to all manner of people in the catchment area, especially farmers, to save with the bank so that in times of need they would be supported by the bank.
The board chairman stated that the bank posted a net profit of GH¢80,624.22 after expenses and reducing the accumulated loss of GH¢142,367.10 in 2006 to GH¢71,820.90 in 2007.
He further indicated that the bank’s total assets increased from GH¢1,077,795.20 in 2006 to GH¢1,436,752.48 in 2007, representing two per cent over the previous year’s.
According to Mr Amano-Kyeremeh, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) now required all rural and community banks to increase their share capital to at least GH¢150,000.
He therefore stated that with the bank’s current shareholding of GH¢53,950.87, there was the need to inject GH¢96,049.13 as additional share capital to meet the BoG’s requirement.
He, therefore, urged all shareholders to buy at least two times the quantity of shares they already had.
Mr Amano-Kyeremeh stated that the bank had started to computerise its operations to enable it to operate the e-zwich system introduced by the BoG.
He said when completed, any customer could access his or her money at any point of sale terminal at any part of the country and could also receive payments from traders who had the e-zwich card.
The board chairman advised the shareholders to desist from writing anonymous letters about members of the board.
He stated that in today’s competitive banking environment, any evil report that anyone maliciously smeared on the bank might have serious consequences on its operations.
“Customers might not want to do business with the bank while depositors would refuse to put their monies in the bank and that the fortunes of the bank will be doomed for ever if such a situation occurs,” Mr Amano-Kyeremeh stressed.
The Managing Director of the ARB Apex Bank, Mr Eric Osei-Bonsu, in a speech read on his behalf noted that the performance of most RCBs had been very encouraging, as they had consistently registered impressive deposit mobilisation and increases in share capital, which were indications of growing public confidence in the rural banking system.
He said despite the achievements, rural banks still had a lot more to do by way of effective credit administration, cost control and reduction so as to meet the challenges of the changing competitive business environment.
According to Mr Osei-Bonsu, the rural banks still continued to perform the crucial function of moral financial inter-mediation that would lead to economic, as well as social development and transformation.
He added that rural banks, therefore, needed the continuous support from the shareholders, the regulatory authorities and the general public.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) of Tano South, Mr Osei Sekyere Bota, stated that the establishment of the bank was a huge legacy for the people in the district and beyond so everyone ought to show concern about its growth rather than resorting to writing anonymous letters about members of the board of directors.
The Omanhene of Bechem Traditional Area, Nana Fosu Gyeabour II, urged the shareholders to appoint people with the requisite knowledge about banking as directors of the bank but not people with unscrupulous and suspicious characters.
Friday, August 29, 2008
KEEP PROMISES, UPHOLD TENETS OF ELECTORAL RULE (PAGE 13)
THE Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), Rt. Rev. Dr Yaw Frimpong-Manso, has urged all the presidential aspirants to faithfully keep their promises and uphold the tenets of the electoral rules — free, fair, transparent and peaceful election.
He has also appealed to politicians in general to make a more productive use of the youth, rather than engaging them in conflicts and acts of violence, vandalism and hooliganism, particularly in the run-up to the elections.
“On our part as a church, I urge all agents to allow officials of the Electoral Commission (EC) to come into the Sunday worship meetings and to educate our members on the electoral processes, especially how to use the ballot papers, so that the spoilt votes will be reduced to the barest minimum this year,” he pleaded.
The Moderator, who made the appeal when he addressed the eighth General Assembly of the PCG at the auditorium of the Sunyani Polytechnic in the Brong Ahafo Region last Saturday, said: “Above all, let us pray for God’s guidance as we use our thumbprints to decide who the Lord will choose to rule the nation for the next four years.”
The theme for the six-day meeting, which is being attended by delegates from the United States of America (USA), Germany, the Netherlands and Sierra Leone, is: “Put on the Whole Armour of God”.
Rev. Dr Frimpong-Manso, who explained that the theme for the meeting required that Ghanaians counteract any acts that could cause conflicts with prayers, lead sound Christian lives and invoke the power of God around, said: “I urge all our members to cast their votes on Sunday, the 7th of December for us to elect credible people to represent us as our leaders.”
The Moderator also stressed the need for Ghanaians to guard against anything that would derail the gains of the current church growth and the democratic dispensation in the country, added that “it is in the light of this that we appeal to all the parties and their members to exercise restraint in the event of any extreme provocations before, during and after the electioneering.
He further appealed to the traditional rulers to avoid disputes and conflicts that would tend to tear the nation apart and also not to prevent their people from voting, particularly in Bawku, Buipe and other areas of the country, where there are ethnic conflicts and chieftaincy disputes.
He noted that recently, there had been stories of the revival of ritual murders in some parts of the country, which, he said, had been a matter of concern to all Ghanaians.
That, the Moderator observed, was an indication that the forces of darkness and the obnoxious cultural practices of human sacrifices were still prevalent among some people in certain parts of the country, which, he said, called for serious prayers and a national crusade against such practices.
Apart from praying about this, he emphasised that the church should “put on the whole armour of God” in order to bring about effective evangelisation and the understanding that Jesus Christ had paid the last price for mankind, through his death on the cross, adding that, “So we don’t need any human sacrifice to atone for our sins”.
He declared, “This is our belief, and this is what we must proclaim loud and clear as we put on the whole armour of God.”
Touching on education, the Moderator noted with satisfaction that against the challenging educational environment, some key institutions of the church continued to make great impact on the nation, and explained that last year, three of the church’s top institutions, namely, Aburi Girls, Prempeh College and the Presbyterian Senior High School (PRESEC), Legon, turned out a total of 1,318 students, who fully qualified for entry into tertiary institutions, with 10 students of Aburi Girls, making aggregate six.
Again, he pointed out that PCG institutions provided access to scholarships to 15,417 needy but brilliant students as well as the physically challenged pupils/students, a scheme, he said, was initiated by one Lois Wilson, on behalf of Westminster Church, Albany in the USA, which amounted to $8,400.
According to Dr Frimpong-Manso, there was also a steady growth of a church-based support for its institutions, which he claimed was a good sign of the church’s renewed commitment to education.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, in a speech read on his behalf, gave the assurance that the government was ever prepared to deepen its partnership with the church, especially in the areas of education, agriculture and health.
The minister also appealed to the church to continue to pray for the success of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, so that they would be trouble-free, adding that the church should also educate its congregation on their civic responsibilities so as to help them exercise their franchise wisely.
He has also appealed to politicians in general to make a more productive use of the youth, rather than engaging them in conflicts and acts of violence, vandalism and hooliganism, particularly in the run-up to the elections.
“On our part as a church, I urge all agents to allow officials of the Electoral Commission (EC) to come into the Sunday worship meetings and to educate our members on the electoral processes, especially how to use the ballot papers, so that the spoilt votes will be reduced to the barest minimum this year,” he pleaded.
The Moderator, who made the appeal when he addressed the eighth General Assembly of the PCG at the auditorium of the Sunyani Polytechnic in the Brong Ahafo Region last Saturday, said: “Above all, let us pray for God’s guidance as we use our thumbprints to decide who the Lord will choose to rule the nation for the next four years.”
The theme for the six-day meeting, which is being attended by delegates from the United States of America (USA), Germany, the Netherlands and Sierra Leone, is: “Put on the Whole Armour of God”.
Rev. Dr Frimpong-Manso, who explained that the theme for the meeting required that Ghanaians counteract any acts that could cause conflicts with prayers, lead sound Christian lives and invoke the power of God around, said: “I urge all our members to cast their votes on Sunday, the 7th of December for us to elect credible people to represent us as our leaders.”
The Moderator also stressed the need for Ghanaians to guard against anything that would derail the gains of the current church growth and the democratic dispensation in the country, added that “it is in the light of this that we appeal to all the parties and their members to exercise restraint in the event of any extreme provocations before, during and after the electioneering.
He further appealed to the traditional rulers to avoid disputes and conflicts that would tend to tear the nation apart and also not to prevent their people from voting, particularly in Bawku, Buipe and other areas of the country, where there are ethnic conflicts and chieftaincy disputes.
He noted that recently, there had been stories of the revival of ritual murders in some parts of the country, which, he said, had been a matter of concern to all Ghanaians.
That, the Moderator observed, was an indication that the forces of darkness and the obnoxious cultural practices of human sacrifices were still prevalent among some people in certain parts of the country, which, he said, called for serious prayers and a national crusade against such practices.
Apart from praying about this, he emphasised that the church should “put on the whole armour of God” in order to bring about effective evangelisation and the understanding that Jesus Christ had paid the last price for mankind, through his death on the cross, adding that, “So we don’t need any human sacrifice to atone for our sins”.
He declared, “This is our belief, and this is what we must proclaim loud and clear as we put on the whole armour of God.”
Touching on education, the Moderator noted with satisfaction that against the challenging educational environment, some key institutions of the church continued to make great impact on the nation, and explained that last year, three of the church’s top institutions, namely, Aburi Girls, Prempeh College and the Presbyterian Senior High School (PRESEC), Legon, turned out a total of 1,318 students, who fully qualified for entry into tertiary institutions, with 10 students of Aburi Girls, making aggregate six.
Again, he pointed out that PCG institutions provided access to scholarships to 15,417 needy but brilliant students as well as the physically challenged pupils/students, a scheme, he said, was initiated by one Lois Wilson, on behalf of Westminster Church, Albany in the USA, which amounted to $8,400.
According to Dr Frimpong-Manso, there was also a steady growth of a church-based support for its institutions, which he claimed was a good sign of the church’s renewed commitment to education.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, in a speech read on his behalf, gave the assurance that the government was ever prepared to deepen its partnership with the church, especially in the areas of education, agriculture and health.
The minister also appealed to the church to continue to pray for the success of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, so that they would be trouble-free, adding that the church should also educate its congregation on their civic responsibilities so as to help them exercise their franchise wisely.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
MORE INCENTIVES FOR FOREST PLANTATION DEVELOPMENT WORKERS (PAGE 21)
THE Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, Mrs Esther Obeng-Dapaah, has given the assurance that the government will continue to provide incentives for workers who are engaged in forest plantation development to resuscitate the country’s forest cover.
Consequently, she has urged the workers not to hesitate to make their problems and other needs, which could help them to give of their best known to their respective supervisors.
Mrs Obeng-Dapaah gave the assurance when she paid a working visit to the Brong Ahafo Region to acquaint herself with the progress of work on plantations established outside forest reserves, which were being managed with HIPC funds.
The tour was also to enable her to see the operations of some selected timber industries in the region.
The minister was accompanied by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Commission (FC), Professor Ashie Kotey, the Director of Plantations; Mr F.S. Amoah, the Director of Operations, Mr Alex Boadu; the National Co-ordinator of HIPC Plantations, Nana Osei Yaw Barimah, as well as other officials of the FC and the Forest Services Division (FSD).
Addressing workers engaged on the Yaya Forest Plantation, near Chiraa, Mrs Obeng-Dapaa said the various forest plantations had been established as a result of the extensive degradation of the country’s forest resources.
In September, 2001, the President, Mr J.A. Kufuor, launched the National Forest Plantation Development Project at Ayigbe in the Wenchi Municipality, aimed at whipping up the enthusiasm of individuals and groups to undertake reforestation programmes of degraded forests in their respective communities.
Mrs Obeng-Dapaah stated that the programme to reforest all degraded areas was very dear to the heart of the government, hence its commitment to providing the necessary nurseries, tools and other incentives to communities to undertake their programmes.
The minister and her entourage later visited the Asuo Bomosadu Timbers and Sawmills (ABTS) Limited at Berekum, where she was conducted round by the Managing Director of the company, Mr Ernest Kwame Apraku.
Mr Apraku stated that the company, on its own, was engaged in a massive afforestation programme but needed financial support from the government to sustain its raw material requirement.
The minister also inspected the progress of work at the Oti Yeboah Complex Limited at Abesim, near Sunyani, where she and her entourage were taken round by Mr Fayez Akil, the General Manager of the company.
He said since the establishment of the company in 1993, the workforce had increased from 800 to 1,200.
Mr Akil stated that the company produced lumber of all kinds for local consumption and export.
He said at the ply mill division, plywood of all sizes were produced for local use, while 60 per cent of their products were exported to Nigeria, Benin and other ECOWAS countries.
On the company’s reforestation programme, the general manager indicated that the company had planted a total of 900 acres of teak in the Tain I Forest Reserve and about 300 acres in private plantations at Kobedi, Pede, Chiraa Tanom, Atakrom, Kobede Sreso, Adiembra and Atronie.
He, however, appealed to the minister to assist the company to acquire a forest concession to help increase its production and to create more employment for the people.
According to Mr Akil, the company was producing below capacity due to inadequate raw materials and the high cost of fuel, spare parts and electricity.
Consequently, she has urged the workers not to hesitate to make their problems and other needs, which could help them to give of their best known to their respective supervisors.
Mrs Obeng-Dapaah gave the assurance when she paid a working visit to the Brong Ahafo Region to acquaint herself with the progress of work on plantations established outside forest reserves, which were being managed with HIPC funds.
The tour was also to enable her to see the operations of some selected timber industries in the region.
The minister was accompanied by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Commission (FC), Professor Ashie Kotey, the Director of Plantations; Mr F.S. Amoah, the Director of Operations, Mr Alex Boadu; the National Co-ordinator of HIPC Plantations, Nana Osei Yaw Barimah, as well as other officials of the FC and the Forest Services Division (FSD).
Addressing workers engaged on the Yaya Forest Plantation, near Chiraa, Mrs Obeng-Dapaa said the various forest plantations had been established as a result of the extensive degradation of the country’s forest resources.
In September, 2001, the President, Mr J.A. Kufuor, launched the National Forest Plantation Development Project at Ayigbe in the Wenchi Municipality, aimed at whipping up the enthusiasm of individuals and groups to undertake reforestation programmes of degraded forests in their respective communities.
Mrs Obeng-Dapaah stated that the programme to reforest all degraded areas was very dear to the heart of the government, hence its commitment to providing the necessary nurseries, tools and other incentives to communities to undertake their programmes.
The minister and her entourage later visited the Asuo Bomosadu Timbers and Sawmills (ABTS) Limited at Berekum, where she was conducted round by the Managing Director of the company, Mr Ernest Kwame Apraku.
Mr Apraku stated that the company, on its own, was engaged in a massive afforestation programme but needed financial support from the government to sustain its raw material requirement.
The minister also inspected the progress of work at the Oti Yeboah Complex Limited at Abesim, near Sunyani, where she and her entourage were taken round by Mr Fayez Akil, the General Manager of the company.
He said since the establishment of the company in 1993, the workforce had increased from 800 to 1,200.
Mr Akil stated that the company produced lumber of all kinds for local consumption and export.
He said at the ply mill division, plywood of all sizes were produced for local use, while 60 per cent of their products were exported to Nigeria, Benin and other ECOWAS countries.
On the company’s reforestation programme, the general manager indicated that the company had planted a total of 900 acres of teak in the Tain I Forest Reserve and about 300 acres in private plantations at Kobedi, Pede, Chiraa Tanom, Atakrom, Kobede Sreso, Adiembra and Atronie.
He, however, appealed to the minister to assist the company to acquire a forest concession to help increase its production and to create more employment for the people.
According to Mr Akil, the company was producing below capacity due to inadequate raw materials and the high cost of fuel, spare parts and electricity.
PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ASSURES POLICE (PAGE 16)
THE Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and Interior has given the assurance that it will ensure that the Ghana Police Service is provided with the needed logistical and infrastructural support, especially residential and office accommodation that will spur them on to deliver efficient and effective policing in the country.
The committee recognised that the police were working under stressful conditions, and, therefore, it was important that their welfare was catered for to enable them to discharge their duties conscientiously and without any hindrances.
“Your welfare is the concern of the committee, and it is of paramount importance to members. We understand your work very well, and so we will do our best to ensure that the challenges that you face are addressed to the barest minimum” the committee assured.
Alhaji Abukari Samani, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale North, who is also a Ranking Member of Defence and the Interior of the committee, gave the assurance in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region noted that “your efforts at combating crime, even under difficult conditions, have been noticed and we commend you for that”.
Alhaji Samani, who was contributing to an interactive meeting between the Select Committee and a section of the Brong Ahafo Regional Police Command, however, urged the police not to be downhearted in the face of the challenges, but continue with their good work.
The 12-member delegation of the committee, led by its Chairman, Mr Eugene Atta Agyapong, the MP for Abetifi, was in the region for a two-day working visit.
Alhaji Samani’s comments came shortly after the Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Seth Charles Oteng, had briefed the committee members on the operations of the command, which he said, were characterised by numerous problems and challenges, including the abysmal number of personnel, inadequate residential and office accommodation, among other challenges.
Touching on the upcoming December 7, 2008 general election, Alhaji Samani pointed out that for Ghana to sustain its democratic dispensation, much depended on the police, and, therefore, called on the police to ensure that the elections were not only peaceful, but transparent.
He stressed that the police should not in any way interfere with the operations at the polling stations while the electorate cast their votes, adding that the police were only there to maintain law and order, while the people were left to decide on who they wanted to vote for.
According to the ranking member, it was not for nothing that the security agencies were usually made to exercise their franchise a day before the elections, so that on the D-day they would be absolutely free to ensure that the polls were conducted in a peaceful atmosphere.
Alhaji Samani pointed out that in the event that someone was ineligible to vote, the best option was to allow whoever was in disagreement to fill the appropriate form to state their claim for the Electoral Commission (EC) to decide later, explaining that no police officer had the right to obstruct anyone from exercising their franchise on the election day.
He declared, “It is criminal for any policeman or woman to deny someone the right to vote and to make their choice, and whoever comes out as the winner should have been the decision of the electorate and should be accepted by the contending parties as it has happened in the previous elections”.
When the MP for Sene, Mr Kwame Twumasi-Appiah, asked why the police were still not wearing their badges and name tags, the Regional Commander of Police explained that the National Headquarters was yet to provide them with those things.
The committee recognised that the police were working under stressful conditions, and, therefore, it was important that their welfare was catered for to enable them to discharge their duties conscientiously and without any hindrances.
“Your welfare is the concern of the committee, and it is of paramount importance to members. We understand your work very well, and so we will do our best to ensure that the challenges that you face are addressed to the barest minimum” the committee assured.
Alhaji Abukari Samani, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale North, who is also a Ranking Member of Defence and the Interior of the committee, gave the assurance in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region noted that “your efforts at combating crime, even under difficult conditions, have been noticed and we commend you for that”.
Alhaji Samani, who was contributing to an interactive meeting between the Select Committee and a section of the Brong Ahafo Regional Police Command, however, urged the police not to be downhearted in the face of the challenges, but continue with their good work.
The 12-member delegation of the committee, led by its Chairman, Mr Eugene Atta Agyapong, the MP for Abetifi, was in the region for a two-day working visit.
Alhaji Samani’s comments came shortly after the Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Seth Charles Oteng, had briefed the committee members on the operations of the command, which he said, were characterised by numerous problems and challenges, including the abysmal number of personnel, inadequate residential and office accommodation, among other challenges.
Touching on the upcoming December 7, 2008 general election, Alhaji Samani pointed out that for Ghana to sustain its democratic dispensation, much depended on the police, and, therefore, called on the police to ensure that the elections were not only peaceful, but transparent.
He stressed that the police should not in any way interfere with the operations at the polling stations while the electorate cast their votes, adding that the police were only there to maintain law and order, while the people were left to decide on who they wanted to vote for.
According to the ranking member, it was not for nothing that the security agencies were usually made to exercise their franchise a day before the elections, so that on the D-day they would be absolutely free to ensure that the polls were conducted in a peaceful atmosphere.
Alhaji Samani pointed out that in the event that someone was ineligible to vote, the best option was to allow whoever was in disagreement to fill the appropriate form to state their claim for the Electoral Commission (EC) to decide later, explaining that no police officer had the right to obstruct anyone from exercising their franchise on the election day.
He declared, “It is criminal for any policeman or woman to deny someone the right to vote and to make their choice, and whoever comes out as the winner should have been the decision of the electorate and should be accepted by the contending parties as it has happened in the previous elections”.
When the MP for Sene, Mr Kwame Twumasi-Appiah, asked why the police were still not wearing their badges and name tags, the Regional Commander of Police explained that the National Headquarters was yet to provide them with those things.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
INFORMATION OFFICER CAUTIONS ISD OFFICIALS (PAGE 36)
THE Brong Ahafo Regional Information Officer, Mr Bossman Amoh-Poku, has advised cinema commentators and other officials of the Information Services Department (ISD) to avoid indulging in partisan politics as they go round to disseminate government policies and programmes in the various communities.
He explained that, as officials of the department, they should see it obligatory to play their traditional role of educating the people on government policies, programmes and projects but beyond that, they should not be perceived as being politically inclined to the government of the day.
“It is our traditional duty to serve all governments but there is the misconception that officers of the ISD have been a propaganda machinery of the ruling government but we should not be partisan at all in performing our duties. We should make it a point not to go beyond our scheduled role,” the information officer cautioned.
Mr Amoh-Poku gave the advice in an interaction with the Daily Graphic in Sunyani.
He stated that his outfit had embarked on a two-week educational campaign aimed at creating the awareness of the people in the various communities about the government’s policies and programmes.
He said the campaign covered the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the Capitation Grant, the School Feeding Programme, the national identification system, the free medical care for pregnant women as well as the Free, Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE).
Mr Amoh-Poku stated that the ISD officials were prepared to make the maximum use of the information vans provided by the government in all the districts.
He expressed the hope that, with talk and film shows preceded by good music, the people would appreciate the message designed for them.
He observed that during his few rounds, he realised that pregnant women were patronising the health facilities to access the free medical care which was now free, adding that, with the new policy, maternal and infant morbidity and mortality would drastically reduce.
Mr Amoh-Poku emphasised that with the continuous awareness being created, the programmes would impact positively on the people.
He expressed gratitude to the government for beefing up the strength of the office staff of the ISD in all the districts and municipalities.
According to him, currently not less than five qualified officers had been employed in the region and were manning the various offices, as against previously where there was only one person doing all the work.
The regional information officer, however, appealed to the district and municipal assemblies to assist the ISD field officers by providing them with office accommodation and other logistical support to enable them to perform their duties without any hindrance.
He alleged that some of his officers sometimes used the vans as offices and resting places, which did not augur well for any meaningful work.
Mr Amoh-Poku said the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment had directed that the assemblies should provide logistical support for the ISD in the respective districts, especially the servicing of the information vans.
He, however, noted with concern that little was being done in that regard, even though the department was serving the interest of the assemblies.
He explained that, as officials of the department, they should see it obligatory to play their traditional role of educating the people on government policies, programmes and projects but beyond that, they should not be perceived as being politically inclined to the government of the day.
“It is our traditional duty to serve all governments but there is the misconception that officers of the ISD have been a propaganda machinery of the ruling government but we should not be partisan at all in performing our duties. We should make it a point not to go beyond our scheduled role,” the information officer cautioned.
Mr Amoh-Poku gave the advice in an interaction with the Daily Graphic in Sunyani.
He stated that his outfit had embarked on a two-week educational campaign aimed at creating the awareness of the people in the various communities about the government’s policies and programmes.
He said the campaign covered the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the Capitation Grant, the School Feeding Programme, the national identification system, the free medical care for pregnant women as well as the Free, Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE).
Mr Amoh-Poku stated that the ISD officials were prepared to make the maximum use of the information vans provided by the government in all the districts.
He expressed the hope that, with talk and film shows preceded by good music, the people would appreciate the message designed for them.
He observed that during his few rounds, he realised that pregnant women were patronising the health facilities to access the free medical care which was now free, adding that, with the new policy, maternal and infant morbidity and mortality would drastically reduce.
Mr Amoh-Poku emphasised that with the continuous awareness being created, the programmes would impact positively on the people.
He expressed gratitude to the government for beefing up the strength of the office staff of the ISD in all the districts and municipalities.
According to him, currently not less than five qualified officers had been employed in the region and were manning the various offices, as against previously where there was only one person doing all the work.
The regional information officer, however, appealed to the district and municipal assemblies to assist the ISD field officers by providing them with office accommodation and other logistical support to enable them to perform their duties without any hindrance.
He alleged that some of his officers sometimes used the vans as offices and resting places, which did not augur well for any meaningful work.
Mr Amoh-Poku said the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment had directed that the assemblies should provide logistical support for the ISD in the respective districts, especially the servicing of the information vans.
He, however, noted with concern that little was being done in that regard, even though the department was serving the interest of the assemblies.
AYUM MAKES STRIDES IN FOREST RESOURCES PROTECTION (PAGE 36)
IN September, 2001, President J.A. Kufuor launched his special initiative (PSI) on forest plantations, realising the significance of forest resources in the lives of mankind. The launch took place at Ayigbe, a predominantly farming community along the Sunyani-Techiman road.
After launchig the programme, the President went ahead to put in place the Forest Plantation Fund Development Board (FPFDB) under the chairmanship of the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, to manage and oversee the programme of reforestation in the country.
Since its establishment in 2002, the FPFDB has been presenting nursery tools to a number of communities to plant in the degraded forests. On July 31, 2008, the Okyenhene made one of such presentations to six selected communities in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The items, valued at GH¢18,000, included wire mesh, wheelbarrows, shovels, machetes, hoes, watering cans, head pans, buckets, wellington boots and rakes. The beneficiary communities were Kwadaso, Subriso, Buoku, Konasua and Twumasikrom as well as Wamanafo Mixed Stand Plantation Group.
The communities were the first to receive the tools because they had been able to reforest the largest portions of degraded forests in their respective communities since the president launched the special initiative.
At the presentation ceremony in Sunyani, the Okyenhene noted that there was the urgent need to protect the country’s forest resources because the sub-sector constituted six per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and employed 120,000 people in the formal sector while the forestry sector also directly supported the livelihood of about two million Ghanaians.
Osagyefo Ofori Panin also observed with concern that Ghana was threatened by the rapid depletion of its forest resources, leading to a reduction in the productive capacity of the forest.
He stressed that the annual timber harvest was almost four times the annual allowable cut, resulting in an estimated annual forest resource depletion cost of between four and six per cent of GDP.
According to him, the board had so far disbursed GH¢6 million to support the plantation development programme, and that funds provided by the board to the Forestry Commission had been used to cultivate 53,000 hectares of Taungya Plantations.
Osagyefo Ofori Panin said the board had also supported more than 1,000 individuals and 60 communities to plant tress on farmlands with tree seedlings, including fruit trees, which had also been supplied to schools, district and municipal assemblies and other public sector organisations.
Responding positively to the PSI on forest plantations, Ayum Forest Products (Mim) Limited, a timber company operating in the Asunafo North Municipality in the Brong Ahafo Region, has embarked on a massive reforestation project in its degraded Amama Forest Reserve at Atronie, near Sunyani.
It was established in 1940 as a Shelter belt Reserve (battery of blocks of forest oriented in the north-south direction across the path of the harmatan wind to help reduce the effect of the dry winds).
The reserve covers an area of 44 square kilometres and ecologically, the reserve forms part of the north-western block of the moist semi-deciduous forest zone in Ghana and was noted for a high density of important tropical hard wood timber species, including Afromosia and Sapele. Over 100 tree species were identified in the forest around 1964.
In terms of biodiversity conservation, it formed a corridor between the Bosomkese Reserve to the east and Asukese to the west and before 1983, facilitated the seasonal movement of elephants in the then designated Bosomkese group, according to officials of the company.
According to the Ayum Reforestation Manager, Mr Michael Gyasi Mensah, from 1983 to the early 1990’s, fire was regularly sweeping through the forest, which had before then been one of the richest government forest reserves in the country.
In 2001, when the concession was divested from the Mim Timber Company (MTC), which was government owned to Ayum, the forest had been seriously degraded and since then not a single tree had been logged because a greater proportion of the reserved area had no merchantable trees.
The only areas with any appreciable amount of tree cover occurred along the banks of the streams joining the rivers. Since the river banks fall under the fine grain protection areas as defined by the forest protection strategy of Ghana, those areas could not be logged.
It is against this background that, the company decided to go into massive reforestation programme to meet the company’s obligations under the Trades Union Congress (TUC) agreement through enhancement of the economic and environmental value of the land area constituted as Amama Forest Reserve.
Since 2002, when the company started its project on a trial basis with only 50 hectares containing 31,609 tree species, Ayum has now planted a total of 4,508,397 species, covering grand total land area of 43 square kilometres. The tree species include Cedrella, Ofram, Ceiba, Mahogany, Edinam, Wawa, Utile, Emire, Kyenkyen, Koto, Kokrodua, Mansonia, Asanfina, Makore and Akasa, as well as some exotic species.
According to the Forest Operations Co-ordinator of the company, Mr Hani Kweku Ibrahim Captan, with an initial amount of $200,000, the company had now injected about $1 million into the plantation.
He expressed the hope that “Within the next 15 to 20 years, we shall reap some benefits. We are doing it in all our concessions in the country to sustain the future of our industry”.
On August 15, 2008, the Okyenhene, accompanied by 30 small-scale plantation developers in the Brong Ahafo Region, visited the plantation site at Atronie. The trip was initiated by Ms Gytha A. Nuno, the Executive Director of Environ-Care Wagon, an environmental education organisation and an immediate past member of the Forestry Commission Board.
The aim of the visit was to showcase the company’s plantation as a model site for field training of local community and small scale forest plantation developers and to whet their appetite for more “natural” plantations.
For almost three hours, the visitors were conducted round the plantation by the Reforestation Manager, Mr Mensah and Lt Col K.A. Odoi-Gyampo, the Administrative Manager of Ayum.
Surprisingly, the board chairman did not show any sign of weary and defied the muddy lanes in the plantation and rather walked through energetically.
In a brief speech, the Reforestation Manager stated that there were 105 permanent workers at the site and 15 temporary ones.
He said the fringe communities were invited to plant food crops on plots allocated to them, to boost food supply in the region in particular and the country as a whole.
According to him, there were about 400 farmers located in various portions of the land area, who were engaged in cassava, plantain, yams and other food crops production.
The company, he said, had indeed created jobs for people in the community.
Lt Col Odoi-Gyampo explained that in going about their activities, the farmers take good care of the tree seedlings planted by the company’s workers.
He stated that the company had no share of the foodstuffs produced by the farmers, adding that the agro-forestry system had greatly helped the two parties.
The reforestation manager noted with satisfaction that since 2002, no fire outbreak had been recorded on the plantation.
He stressed that the farmers had been banned from taking matches, lighters and any other form of live fire to the plantation for cooking purposes or smoking, a directive, he said, had worked very well.
Osagyefo Ofori Panin, who was overwhelmed by the operations of the company, remarked that, “Ayum is doing a wonderful job here and if all timber firms, groups and individuals were to do the same thing, there would have been a tremendous resuscitation of all degraded forests in the country”.
“I am not driven here in my capacity as a traditional ruler but I am here by my passion for nature, and it is sad that our forests have been destroyed through human activities, but we need to respect the rule of nature, since it is difficult to bring back what we destroy,” he said.
After launchig the programme, the President went ahead to put in place the Forest Plantation Fund Development Board (FPFDB) under the chairmanship of the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, to manage and oversee the programme of reforestation in the country.
Since its establishment in 2002, the FPFDB has been presenting nursery tools to a number of communities to plant in the degraded forests. On July 31, 2008, the Okyenhene made one of such presentations to six selected communities in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The items, valued at GH¢18,000, included wire mesh, wheelbarrows, shovels, machetes, hoes, watering cans, head pans, buckets, wellington boots and rakes. The beneficiary communities were Kwadaso, Subriso, Buoku, Konasua and Twumasikrom as well as Wamanafo Mixed Stand Plantation Group.
The communities were the first to receive the tools because they had been able to reforest the largest portions of degraded forests in their respective communities since the president launched the special initiative.
At the presentation ceremony in Sunyani, the Okyenhene noted that there was the urgent need to protect the country’s forest resources because the sub-sector constituted six per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and employed 120,000 people in the formal sector while the forestry sector also directly supported the livelihood of about two million Ghanaians.
Osagyefo Ofori Panin also observed with concern that Ghana was threatened by the rapid depletion of its forest resources, leading to a reduction in the productive capacity of the forest.
He stressed that the annual timber harvest was almost four times the annual allowable cut, resulting in an estimated annual forest resource depletion cost of between four and six per cent of GDP.
According to him, the board had so far disbursed GH¢6 million to support the plantation development programme, and that funds provided by the board to the Forestry Commission had been used to cultivate 53,000 hectares of Taungya Plantations.
Osagyefo Ofori Panin said the board had also supported more than 1,000 individuals and 60 communities to plant tress on farmlands with tree seedlings, including fruit trees, which had also been supplied to schools, district and municipal assemblies and other public sector organisations.
Responding positively to the PSI on forest plantations, Ayum Forest Products (Mim) Limited, a timber company operating in the Asunafo North Municipality in the Brong Ahafo Region, has embarked on a massive reforestation project in its degraded Amama Forest Reserve at Atronie, near Sunyani.
It was established in 1940 as a Shelter belt Reserve (battery of blocks of forest oriented in the north-south direction across the path of the harmatan wind to help reduce the effect of the dry winds).
The reserve covers an area of 44 square kilometres and ecologically, the reserve forms part of the north-western block of the moist semi-deciduous forest zone in Ghana and was noted for a high density of important tropical hard wood timber species, including Afromosia and Sapele. Over 100 tree species were identified in the forest around 1964.
In terms of biodiversity conservation, it formed a corridor between the Bosomkese Reserve to the east and Asukese to the west and before 1983, facilitated the seasonal movement of elephants in the then designated Bosomkese group, according to officials of the company.
According to the Ayum Reforestation Manager, Mr Michael Gyasi Mensah, from 1983 to the early 1990’s, fire was regularly sweeping through the forest, which had before then been one of the richest government forest reserves in the country.
In 2001, when the concession was divested from the Mim Timber Company (MTC), which was government owned to Ayum, the forest had been seriously degraded and since then not a single tree had been logged because a greater proportion of the reserved area had no merchantable trees.
The only areas with any appreciable amount of tree cover occurred along the banks of the streams joining the rivers. Since the river banks fall under the fine grain protection areas as defined by the forest protection strategy of Ghana, those areas could not be logged.
It is against this background that, the company decided to go into massive reforestation programme to meet the company’s obligations under the Trades Union Congress (TUC) agreement through enhancement of the economic and environmental value of the land area constituted as Amama Forest Reserve.
Since 2002, when the company started its project on a trial basis with only 50 hectares containing 31,609 tree species, Ayum has now planted a total of 4,508,397 species, covering grand total land area of 43 square kilometres. The tree species include Cedrella, Ofram, Ceiba, Mahogany, Edinam, Wawa, Utile, Emire, Kyenkyen, Koto, Kokrodua, Mansonia, Asanfina, Makore and Akasa, as well as some exotic species.
According to the Forest Operations Co-ordinator of the company, Mr Hani Kweku Ibrahim Captan, with an initial amount of $200,000, the company had now injected about $1 million into the plantation.
He expressed the hope that “Within the next 15 to 20 years, we shall reap some benefits. We are doing it in all our concessions in the country to sustain the future of our industry”.
On August 15, 2008, the Okyenhene, accompanied by 30 small-scale plantation developers in the Brong Ahafo Region, visited the plantation site at Atronie. The trip was initiated by Ms Gytha A. Nuno, the Executive Director of Environ-Care Wagon, an environmental education organisation and an immediate past member of the Forestry Commission Board.
The aim of the visit was to showcase the company’s plantation as a model site for field training of local community and small scale forest plantation developers and to whet their appetite for more “natural” plantations.
For almost three hours, the visitors were conducted round the plantation by the Reforestation Manager, Mr Mensah and Lt Col K.A. Odoi-Gyampo, the Administrative Manager of Ayum.
Surprisingly, the board chairman did not show any sign of weary and defied the muddy lanes in the plantation and rather walked through energetically.
In a brief speech, the Reforestation Manager stated that there were 105 permanent workers at the site and 15 temporary ones.
He said the fringe communities were invited to plant food crops on plots allocated to them, to boost food supply in the region in particular and the country as a whole.
According to him, there were about 400 farmers located in various portions of the land area, who were engaged in cassava, plantain, yams and other food crops production.
The company, he said, had indeed created jobs for people in the community.
Lt Col Odoi-Gyampo explained that in going about their activities, the farmers take good care of the tree seedlings planted by the company’s workers.
He stated that the company had no share of the foodstuffs produced by the farmers, adding that the agro-forestry system had greatly helped the two parties.
The reforestation manager noted with satisfaction that since 2002, no fire outbreak had been recorded on the plantation.
He stressed that the farmers had been banned from taking matches, lighters and any other form of live fire to the plantation for cooking purposes or smoking, a directive, he said, had worked very well.
Osagyefo Ofori Panin, who was overwhelmed by the operations of the company, remarked that, “Ayum is doing a wonderful job here and if all timber firms, groups and individuals were to do the same thing, there would have been a tremendous resuscitation of all degraded forests in the country”.
“I am not driven here in my capacity as a traditional ruler but I am here by my passion for nature, and it is sad that our forests have been destroyed through human activities, but we need to respect the rule of nature, since it is difficult to bring back what we destroy,” he said.
POLICE URGED TO CONTINUE WITH GOOD WORK (PAGE 14)
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and Interior has assured personnel of the Ghana Police Service that it will work hard to ensure that they are provided with the needed logistics and infrastructure.
It said the immediate priority would be the provision of adequate residential and office accommodation to make them confortable to deliver in an efficient and effective manner.
Alhaji Abukari Samani, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale North, who is also the Ranking Member of Defence and Interior gave the assurance in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region on Thursday.
He noted that “your efforts at combating crime even under difficult conditions has been noticed and we commend you for that”.
Alhaji Samani who was contributing to an interactive meeting between the select committee and a section of the Brong Ahafo Regional Police Command, however, urged the police not to be downhearted in the face of the challenges but rather continue with their good work.
The 12-member delegation of the committee, led by its Chairman, Mr Eugene Atta Agyapong, the MP for Abetifi, was in the region for a two-day working visit.
“Your welfare is the concern of the committee and it is of paramount importance to members. We understand your work very well and so we will do our best to ensure that the challenges that you face are addressed”, Alhaji Samani assured.
He said the police personnel could only succeed in the discharge of their duties if they co-operated well with the civilian population, especially those who provide them with information that lead to the arrest of persons with questionable and suspicious characters, adding that, “you will make your work very difficult if you fail to co-operate with the public who leak information to you”.
On the forthcoming elections, Alhaji Samani urged the police not to interfere with the voting at the polling stations because the police were only there to maintain law and order while the people were left to decide on who they wanted to vote for.
“For the sake of mother Ghana, it is important that you remain neutral in discharging your duties, even though you may have your individual choices”.
“Please do Ghana proud by ensuring a free, transparent and peaceful elections, don’t allow the polling stations to be turned into a free for all flight. Do not allow yourselves to be seen as pillars of fear by your appearance anywhere you are but let the people see that you are always there to protect them”, Alhaji Samani emphasised.
Alhaji Samani’s comments came shortly after the Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Seth Charles Oteng, had briefed the committee members about the operations of the command, which he said, was characterised by numerous of problems and challenges, including the low number of personnel, inadequate residential and office accommodation, among other challenges.
The MP for Ho Central, Captain George Mfojoh (retd), in his contribution appealed to the police to ensure that remand prisoners were given a fair and speedy trial by making sure that dockets on their cases were ready.
By so doing you will prove your critics wrong that you throw the dockets away or destroy them for rewards from contending parties” he said.
Asked why the police were still not wearing their badges and name tags, the Regional Commander explained that the national headquarters was yet to give them out.
The committee also visited the Three Garrison Brigade (3BN) at Yawhimah, near Sunyani, where they were briefed by the Officer Commanding , Lt.Col. Michael Ayisi Amoah, and other senior officers about the operations of the command and the challenges.
It said the immediate priority would be the provision of adequate residential and office accommodation to make them confortable to deliver in an efficient and effective manner.
Alhaji Abukari Samani, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale North, who is also the Ranking Member of Defence and Interior gave the assurance in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region on Thursday.
He noted that “your efforts at combating crime even under difficult conditions has been noticed and we commend you for that”.
Alhaji Samani who was contributing to an interactive meeting between the select committee and a section of the Brong Ahafo Regional Police Command, however, urged the police not to be downhearted in the face of the challenges but rather continue with their good work.
The 12-member delegation of the committee, led by its Chairman, Mr Eugene Atta Agyapong, the MP for Abetifi, was in the region for a two-day working visit.
“Your welfare is the concern of the committee and it is of paramount importance to members. We understand your work very well and so we will do our best to ensure that the challenges that you face are addressed”, Alhaji Samani assured.
He said the police personnel could only succeed in the discharge of their duties if they co-operated well with the civilian population, especially those who provide them with information that lead to the arrest of persons with questionable and suspicious characters, adding that, “you will make your work very difficult if you fail to co-operate with the public who leak information to you”.
On the forthcoming elections, Alhaji Samani urged the police not to interfere with the voting at the polling stations because the police were only there to maintain law and order while the people were left to decide on who they wanted to vote for.
“For the sake of mother Ghana, it is important that you remain neutral in discharging your duties, even though you may have your individual choices”.
“Please do Ghana proud by ensuring a free, transparent and peaceful elections, don’t allow the polling stations to be turned into a free for all flight. Do not allow yourselves to be seen as pillars of fear by your appearance anywhere you are but let the people see that you are always there to protect them”, Alhaji Samani emphasised.
Alhaji Samani’s comments came shortly after the Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Seth Charles Oteng, had briefed the committee members about the operations of the command, which he said, was characterised by numerous of problems and challenges, including the low number of personnel, inadequate residential and office accommodation, among other challenges.
The MP for Ho Central, Captain George Mfojoh (retd), in his contribution appealed to the police to ensure that remand prisoners were given a fair and speedy trial by making sure that dockets on their cases were ready.
By so doing you will prove your critics wrong that you throw the dockets away or destroy them for rewards from contending parties” he said.
Asked why the police were still not wearing their badges and name tags, the Regional Commander explained that the national headquarters was yet to give them out.
The committee also visited the Three Garrison Brigade (3BN) at Yawhimah, near Sunyani, where they were briefed by the Officer Commanding , Lt.Col. Michael Ayisi Amoah, and other senior officers about the operations of the command and the challenges.
Friday, August 22, 2008
I'M NOT AGAINST MILLS, MAHAMA PAIR — RAWLINGS (PAGE 13)
FORMER President Flt Lt. J.J. Rawlings has debunked allegations that he is not ready to join the Atta Mills campaign team.
He has, therefore, given the assurance that he will lend his support to the flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Prof. J.E.A. Mills and his running mate, Mr John Dramani Mahama, in their campaign to wrest political power from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the upcoming December elections.
According to the founder of the NDC, it was only Prof. Mills and Mr Mahama who could salvage the already shattered economy of Ghana when the NDC was voted to administer the country, come December 7, 2008.
Addressing separate rallies in the Brong Ahafo Region, where he decided to join the campaign programme of the NDC, the former President made it clear that he was poised to vigorously campaign alongside the party’s flag bearer to enable the NDC achieve its aim of removing the NPP from power.
At the palace of the Omanhene of the Sunyani Traditional Area, Nana Bosoma Asor Nkrawiri II, Flt.Lt. Rawlings explained that the three of them had decided to campaign in different directions of the country, and that in November, he, Prof. Mills and Mr Mahama would mount the same platform to intensify their campaign.
He advised supporters of the NDC to be very vigilant during the December elections in order not to allow the NPP to do their own thing and eventually clinch another victory, which he said, would then spell the doom of the economy.
Tracing the political history of Ghana, Flt. Lt. Rawlings said his decision to embark on the 1981 revolution was as a result of the massive corruption that had eaten into the fabric of the economy, pointing out that under the NPP government, such a social canker still existed and, therefore, appealed to Ghanaians to vote overwhelmingly for Prof. Mills to change the future of the economy.
At Berekum, J.J., as he is affectionately called, received a rousing welcome and paid a courtesy call on the traditional authorities and leaders of the Zongo community, where he pointed out that Ghana was not the bona fide property of any group of people, and that everyone should feel a part of the system.
He, therefore, urged the Zongo people to turn up in their numbers on the election day to vote massively for the NDC to assume the reigns of governance and turn the economy around.
Flt. Lt. Rawlings had earlier toured Sankore, Gambia, Amaasu, Kyeremasu, Nsoatre and Dormaa Ahenkro.
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He has, therefore, given the assurance that he will lend his support to the flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Prof. J.E.A. Mills and his running mate, Mr John Dramani Mahama, in their campaign to wrest political power from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the upcoming December elections.
According to the founder of the NDC, it was only Prof. Mills and Mr Mahama who could salvage the already shattered economy of Ghana when the NDC was voted to administer the country, come December 7, 2008.
Addressing separate rallies in the Brong Ahafo Region, where he decided to join the campaign programme of the NDC, the former President made it clear that he was poised to vigorously campaign alongside the party’s flag bearer to enable the NDC achieve its aim of removing the NPP from power.
At the palace of the Omanhene of the Sunyani Traditional Area, Nana Bosoma Asor Nkrawiri II, Flt.Lt. Rawlings explained that the three of them had decided to campaign in different directions of the country, and that in November, he, Prof. Mills and Mr Mahama would mount the same platform to intensify their campaign.
He advised supporters of the NDC to be very vigilant during the December elections in order not to allow the NPP to do their own thing and eventually clinch another victory, which he said, would then spell the doom of the economy.
Tracing the political history of Ghana, Flt. Lt. Rawlings said his decision to embark on the 1981 revolution was as a result of the massive corruption that had eaten into the fabric of the economy, pointing out that under the NPP government, such a social canker still existed and, therefore, appealed to Ghanaians to vote overwhelmingly for Prof. Mills to change the future of the economy.
At Berekum, J.J., as he is affectionately called, received a rousing welcome and paid a courtesy call on the traditional authorities and leaders of the Zongo community, where he pointed out that Ghana was not the bona fide property of any group of people, and that everyone should feel a part of the system.
He, therefore, urged the Zongo people to turn up in their numbers on the election day to vote massively for the NDC to assume the reigns of governance and turn the economy around.
Flt. Lt. Rawlings had earlier toured Sankore, Gambia, Amaasu, Kyeremasu, Nsoatre and Dormaa Ahenkro.
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Wednesday, August 20, 2008
POLICE ADVISED NOT TO ACCEPT FOOD, WATER FROM PARTIES ...At polling stations (PAGE 16)
Police personnel have been cautioned not to accept water or any package of meal from any political party whenever they are posted to a polling station to perform security duties during elections or any organised programme by the Electoral Commission (EC).
The police have also been urged to discharge their duties as professionals whenever they are dispatched to perform electoral assignments and indeed, all other functions they are tasked to undertake.
The Berekum Municipal Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Charles Ampem Kosono, who gave the caution at Berekum, stressed that “it is not allowed for any policeman or woman to take food or even water from political parties during election times. Whoever is caught will face sanctions”.
Speaking at a day’s forum organised by the Berekum office of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) for youth activists of political parties in the Berekum Constituency, Mr Kosono explained that by accepting any food package from one political party or another, the police officer would have compromised his or her neutrality and, therefore, would not be able to fully exercise his/her operative at the polling station.
The forum was to brief the participants on the code of conduct by the political parties before and during the December elections.
He again pointed out that every policeman or policewoman was always given a ration whenever assigned to perform election duty even a day before the actual time. Besides, he emphasised, “Once you are a policeman on duty, you have to prepare adequately before leaving for your duty post, but not to leave there to buy food or water or rely on anybody else for food”.
Turning to the activists, ASP Kosono reminded them of the existence of the Public Order Act, which he described as very important for all of them to comply with, because according to him, the police would not renege on its responsibility to strictly apply the law, especially before, during and after the December general election.
The Municipal Police Commander noted that some of the political parties felt reluctant to inform the police about their activities, especially when organising political rallies, pointing out that any party intending to hold a rally, should inform the police five days before the event to allow the police to prepare adequately.
“It is our duty to protect the people and their property, and we cannot refuse any party’s intention to hold any forum of any kind, but all we need is that the parties should inform us in time so that we also can organise our men and women to provide them the needed protection,” Mr Kosono directed.
He also noted that some political activists, especially the youth, never went home after attending rallies but rather found their way to drinking spots and after taking alcoholic beverages, would resort to fomenting trouble, thereby falling foul of the law.
According to ASP Kosono, some motorcycle riders conduct themselves recklessly during political party rallies, with some riding unregistered bikes. He warned that anyone caught in that act would not be spared.
The Berekum Municipal Director of the NCCE, Mr Kofi Adu Gyamfi, took his time to take the activists through the code of conduct, and urged them to avoid all acts that would undermine the smooth programme of the upcoming elections.
He pointed out that democracy had come to stay in the country, and so anyone desirous to turn the clock of progress back would not be tolerated.
Mr Gyamfi cautioned the youth against defacing an opponent’s party posters and other paraphernalia or obstruct a political programme. They should also avoid the use of abusive language during campaigns, and observed that excessive drinking of alcohol, wee smoking and the use of narcotic drugs were a recipe for trouble.
Some of the party representatives expressed concern over the late start of the NCCE’s programme line-up to educate the political parties in the municipality on the code of conduct, while others urged officials of the NCCE to remain wholly neutral, since any open alignment shown to any party would compromise their neutrality.
The police have also been urged to discharge their duties as professionals whenever they are dispatched to perform electoral assignments and indeed, all other functions they are tasked to undertake.
The Berekum Municipal Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Charles Ampem Kosono, who gave the caution at Berekum, stressed that “it is not allowed for any policeman or woman to take food or even water from political parties during election times. Whoever is caught will face sanctions”.
Speaking at a day’s forum organised by the Berekum office of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) for youth activists of political parties in the Berekum Constituency, Mr Kosono explained that by accepting any food package from one political party or another, the police officer would have compromised his or her neutrality and, therefore, would not be able to fully exercise his/her operative at the polling station.
The forum was to brief the participants on the code of conduct by the political parties before and during the December elections.
He again pointed out that every policeman or policewoman was always given a ration whenever assigned to perform election duty even a day before the actual time. Besides, he emphasised, “Once you are a policeman on duty, you have to prepare adequately before leaving for your duty post, but not to leave there to buy food or water or rely on anybody else for food”.
Turning to the activists, ASP Kosono reminded them of the existence of the Public Order Act, which he described as very important for all of them to comply with, because according to him, the police would not renege on its responsibility to strictly apply the law, especially before, during and after the December general election.
The Municipal Police Commander noted that some of the political parties felt reluctant to inform the police about their activities, especially when organising political rallies, pointing out that any party intending to hold a rally, should inform the police five days before the event to allow the police to prepare adequately.
“It is our duty to protect the people and their property, and we cannot refuse any party’s intention to hold any forum of any kind, but all we need is that the parties should inform us in time so that we also can organise our men and women to provide them the needed protection,” Mr Kosono directed.
He also noted that some political activists, especially the youth, never went home after attending rallies but rather found their way to drinking spots and after taking alcoholic beverages, would resort to fomenting trouble, thereby falling foul of the law.
According to ASP Kosono, some motorcycle riders conduct themselves recklessly during political party rallies, with some riding unregistered bikes. He warned that anyone caught in that act would not be spared.
The Berekum Municipal Director of the NCCE, Mr Kofi Adu Gyamfi, took his time to take the activists through the code of conduct, and urged them to avoid all acts that would undermine the smooth programme of the upcoming elections.
He pointed out that democracy had come to stay in the country, and so anyone desirous to turn the clock of progress back would not be tolerated.
Mr Gyamfi cautioned the youth against defacing an opponent’s party posters and other paraphernalia or obstruct a political programme. They should also avoid the use of abusive language during campaigns, and observed that excessive drinking of alcohol, wee smoking and the use of narcotic drugs were a recipe for trouble.
Some of the party representatives expressed concern over the late start of the NCCE’s programme line-up to educate the political parties in the municipality on the code of conduct, while others urged officials of the NCCE to remain wholly neutral, since any open alignment shown to any party would compromise their neutrality.
Monday, August 18, 2008
READING AND WRITING COMPETITION HELD IN SUNYANI (PAGE 15)
By Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah, Sunyani
THE Brong Ahafo Regional Director of the Non-Formal Education Division (NFED) of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, in collaboration with the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC), has organised reading and writing competition for 26 adult learners in the region, with a view to testing and enhancing their literacy abilities.
The competition was also organised as a prelude to the International Literacy Day celebration, which comes off on September 7, 2008 at Dodowa, in the Greater Accra Region, where the national reading and writing competition will be held.
According to Mr Amponsah-Kusi Kakabo, the Sunyani Municipal Coordinator of the NFED, some of the internally generated activities of the learners would also be showcased at the Dodowa meeting and mentioned some of them as batik, tie-dye, soap and pomade making, snail and mushroom rearing, gari processing, palm oil extraction and beads making.
Speaking at the function, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, urged the adult learners to study hard since education was key to any individual venture and national development, and also advised them to enroll their children in school by taking advantage of the government’s fee-free education and the School Feeding programme.
Also, Mr Baffour-Awuah appealed to the facilitators of the NFED programme to be patient with the learners because of their decision to learn at an advanced age, adding that any attempt to ridicule them during classes would dampen their spirits and enthusiasm to learn, thereby defeating the objective of the government to provide education to adults.
The Regional Minister further urged those selected to represent the region at the Dodowa competition to endeavour to win prizes for the region at the national level.
THE Brong Ahafo Regional Director of the Non-Formal Education Division (NFED) of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, in collaboration with the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC), has organised reading and writing competition for 26 adult learners in the region, with a view to testing and enhancing their literacy abilities.
The competition was also organised as a prelude to the International Literacy Day celebration, which comes off on September 7, 2008 at Dodowa, in the Greater Accra Region, where the national reading and writing competition will be held.
According to Mr Amponsah-Kusi Kakabo, the Sunyani Municipal Coordinator of the NFED, some of the internally generated activities of the learners would also be showcased at the Dodowa meeting and mentioned some of them as batik, tie-dye, soap and pomade making, snail and mushroom rearing, gari processing, palm oil extraction and beads making.
Speaking at the function, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, urged the adult learners to study hard since education was key to any individual venture and national development, and also advised them to enroll their children in school by taking advantage of the government’s fee-free education and the School Feeding programme.
Also, Mr Baffour-Awuah appealed to the facilitators of the NFED programme to be patient with the learners because of their decision to learn at an advanced age, adding that any attempt to ridicule them during classes would dampen their spirits and enthusiasm to learn, thereby defeating the objective of the government to provide education to adults.
The Regional Minister further urged those selected to represent the region at the Dodowa competition to endeavour to win prizes for the region at the national level.
ASSEMBLY MEMBER TALKS TO GRAPHIC NSEMPA (PAGE 9)
By Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah, Sunyani
THE Assembly Member for Atonotia North and South Electoral Area in the Berekum Municipality, Mr Nicholas Yeboah-Mensah, alias Joe Amerigo, has appealed to the presidency to seriously consider the inclusion of assembly members, when it came to conferring honours on Ghanaians who had diligently served the country in diverse ways in the future.
In his opinion, the 60-year-old Mr Yeboah-Mensah said, some assembly members have contributed immensely towards the socio-economic development of their respective electoral areas and for that matter, the country should consider them for honours for their dedicated service.
The Atonotia North and South Assembly member, who walked to the offices of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, disclosed to Graphic Nsempa that, he had represented his people in the area as an assembly member, for16 years since the inception of the assembly concept in 1996.
Mr Yeboah-Mensah said, he and other colleagues in the country, who have served in the same capacity as assembly members and contributed their quota to the overall development of the country, ought to have been considered for honours by the president.
According to him, in the last election of assembly members, he went unopposed, because his electorates had realised the good works he had performed, especially in lobbying the assembly to provide potable water, electricity and good roads, to most parts of the area, which in effect had improved the living conditions of the people in the community.
Asked whether the ex-gratia awards for assembly members at the end of their term was not enough honour for them, the Berekum Municipal Assembly member, who looked dejected, intimated that, the ex-gratia awards cut across and so it was significant that the president recognised those who had selflessly and dedicatedly served their electoral areas and conferred honours on them.
In that way, Mr Yeboah-Mensah, expressed the hope that, people who were capable but felt reluctant to put themselves up as assembly members, would be motivated to do so, while those already in there, would work harder than before in order to catch the eyes of the president.
THE Assembly Member for Atonotia North and South Electoral Area in the Berekum Municipality, Mr Nicholas Yeboah-Mensah, alias Joe Amerigo, has appealed to the presidency to seriously consider the inclusion of assembly members, when it came to conferring honours on Ghanaians who had diligently served the country in diverse ways in the future.
In his opinion, the 60-year-old Mr Yeboah-Mensah said, some assembly members have contributed immensely towards the socio-economic development of their respective electoral areas and for that matter, the country should consider them for honours for their dedicated service.
The Atonotia North and South Assembly member, who walked to the offices of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, disclosed to Graphic Nsempa that, he had represented his people in the area as an assembly member, for16 years since the inception of the assembly concept in 1996.
Mr Yeboah-Mensah said, he and other colleagues in the country, who have served in the same capacity as assembly members and contributed their quota to the overall development of the country, ought to have been considered for honours by the president.
According to him, in the last election of assembly members, he went unopposed, because his electorates had realised the good works he had performed, especially in lobbying the assembly to provide potable water, electricity and good roads, to most parts of the area, which in effect had improved the living conditions of the people in the community.
Asked whether the ex-gratia awards for assembly members at the end of their term was not enough honour for them, the Berekum Municipal Assembly member, who looked dejected, intimated that, the ex-gratia awards cut across and so it was significant that the president recognised those who had selflessly and dedicatedly served their electoral areas and conferred honours on them.
In that way, Mr Yeboah-Mensah, expressed the hope that, people who were capable but felt reluctant to put themselves up as assembly members, would be motivated to do so, while those already in there, would work harder than before in order to catch the eyes of the president.
Friday, August 15, 2008
TECHIMAN COUNCIL SUPPORTS UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION (PAGE 18)
A FIVE-YEAR sponsorship package for the Annual Northern Region Inter-District Basic Schools Sports Festival has been inaugurated in Tamale.
A non-governmental organisation, RICS Charities, provided the facility, which is aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the festival, as well as identifying and harnessing the development of sports talents, particularly among the youth in the region.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees for RICS, Mr Rex Danquah, who announced the package at a press briefing in Tamale, explained that his outfit had already provided four footballs, plaques, trophies and medals for winners of this year's competition.
He, however, declined to mention the total cost of the package and stressed that it would be reviewed from time to time over the five-year period.
Mr Danquah said incentives would be provided for participants who would excel in the competition, while a bursary of GH¢50 would be given to each participant for as long as they continued to strive for excellence.
He indicated that "this incentive will continue up to the university level, as long as the beneficiaries continue to engage in sporting activities and achieve excellence in them".
Mr Danquah noted that his outfit would collaborate with the Ghana Education Service (GES), to rope in the sponsorship package for children who were out of school but had great talents in sports.
That measure, he said, was to enable such less privileged children to get access to quality education, while making sure that they developed their respective sports talents to the highest point.
"Another package is that we are prepared to give Gh¢20 to any pupil who could break 20-year-old records and GH¢10 to those who could break 10-year-old records while GH¢5 would go to any pupil who could break records below 10 years," the chairman added.
According to him, RICS had a plan to open special accounts at some banks, where beneficiary students and pupils could go with their identity cards to facilitate payment of their grants.
A non-governmental organisation, RICS Charities, provided the facility, which is aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the festival, as well as identifying and harnessing the development of sports talents, particularly among the youth in the region.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees for RICS, Mr Rex Danquah, who announced the package at a press briefing in Tamale, explained that his outfit had already provided four footballs, plaques, trophies and medals for winners of this year's competition.
He, however, declined to mention the total cost of the package and stressed that it would be reviewed from time to time over the five-year period.
Mr Danquah said incentives would be provided for participants who would excel in the competition, while a bursary of GH¢50 would be given to each participant for as long as they continued to strive for excellence.
He indicated that "this incentive will continue up to the university level, as long as the beneficiaries continue to engage in sporting activities and achieve excellence in them".
Mr Danquah noted that his outfit would collaborate with the Ghana Education Service (GES), to rope in the sponsorship package for children who were out of school but had great talents in sports.
That measure, he said, was to enable such less privileged children to get access to quality education, while making sure that they developed their respective sports talents to the highest point.
"Another package is that we are prepared to give Gh¢20 to any pupil who could break 20-year-old records and GH¢10 to those who could break 10-year-old records while GH¢5 would go to any pupil who could break records below 10 years," the chairman added.
According to him, RICS had a plan to open special accounts at some banks, where beneficiary students and pupils could go with their identity cards to facilitate payment of their grants.
Monday, August 11, 2008
MINISTER ASSURES FARMERS IN BUI DAM AREA (SPREAD)
Farmers whose agricultural activities have been destroyed by the Bui hydroelectric project, currently underway in the Tain District in the Brong Ahafo Region, will be adequately compensated, the Minister of Energy, Mr Felix Owusu Agyapong, has said.
He stressed that once the Land Valuation Board had completed its demarcation work and the necessary inventory of crops and other properties of the farmers had been documented, he would liaise with the Minister of Finance and other stakeholders of the project to see to the payment of adequate compensation to those who deserved it.
“Even the Constitution frowns on the non-payment of compensation to people whose lands and other belongings would be taken by the government in respect of any project or infrastructural development. In fact, we can’t take your lands for free,” the minister noted.
Mr Agyapong gave the assurance in reaction to concerns raised by the Chief of Jama in the Bole District in the Northern Region, Nana Kwadwo Pambo II, over the compensation package for farmers affected by the project. The farmers are currently resettled at Jama, a predominantly farming community at the other side of the Bui River.
The minister, accompanied by the Chief Director of the Ministry, Mrs Diana Hammond; Mr Addo Yobo, the Chief Executive Officer of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transport (BOST); Mr Antwi Darkwa, the Director of Power at the Ministry, and Mr Kwaku Acheampong, his Special Assistant, paid a working visit to the project site at the weekend to see at first-hand the progress of work.
President J.A. Kufour, on Friday, August 24, 2007, cut the sod for the commencement of work on the Bui Hydroelectric Power Project, which is being executed by Sinohydro Corporation of the People’s Republic of China.
The total cost of the project is about US$630 million, including a provisional sum for irrigation resettlement, employers permanent facilities and project engineering and administration costs.
Mr Agyapong told the chief and his elders that the ministry, the Bui Power Authority (BPA) and the contractors, as well as all other stakeholders of the project, were ready to work together with them towards the successful completion of the project, which, he said, had been on the drawing board for a long time.
He, therefore appealed to the people to be patient, while arrangements were being made to address the problem of compensation, saying that the project was for the benefit of all Ghanaians.
To another request for improved seeds and other farming inputs, extension of power to Jama from the project site, a police post, potable water and drugs for the Jama Health Centre, the minister gave the assurance that he would liaise with the appropriate authorities to ensure those requirements were provided.
However, Mr Agyapong explained that the Bui Power Project was a huge programme that involved the provision of many socio-economic amenities and infrastructure, including the building of the Bui City, adding that the government was indeed committed to ensuring that the project was successful.
From the Jama town, Mr Agyapong also visited the resettlement site in the area, where about 50 housing units had been constructed for the people from Agbegikuro and Lucene villages in the Bole District, as well as Brewohodi and Dam Site villages in the Tain District, mostly Ewe and Dagarti settlers engaged in farming and fishing.
At a meeting with the people, Mr Michael Torgbadja, their spokeperson, thanked the government for the effort to resettle them.
The minister reiterated his earlier call on the people to continue to be patient because the BPA was working around the clock to fulfil all the agreements reached before they moved to their new resettlement area.
Later in an interaction with newsmen at the Bui dam site, officials of BPA gave the assurance that the project would be completed on schedule or ahead of time because the work was moving at a fast rate.
In a technical brief, the Resident Engineer of BPA, Mr Oware Kissi, indicated that the construction of a resettlement camp at Jama for 48 households, made up of 216 persons living at the dam site, began in March this year.
Mr Agyapong also paid a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief of the Banda Traditional Area, Okokyeredom Osabarima Kwadwo Sito, at his palace at Banda Ahenkro.
He stressed that once the Land Valuation Board had completed its demarcation work and the necessary inventory of crops and other properties of the farmers had been documented, he would liaise with the Minister of Finance and other stakeholders of the project to see to the payment of adequate compensation to those who deserved it.
“Even the Constitution frowns on the non-payment of compensation to people whose lands and other belongings would be taken by the government in respect of any project or infrastructural development. In fact, we can’t take your lands for free,” the minister noted.
Mr Agyapong gave the assurance in reaction to concerns raised by the Chief of Jama in the Bole District in the Northern Region, Nana Kwadwo Pambo II, over the compensation package for farmers affected by the project. The farmers are currently resettled at Jama, a predominantly farming community at the other side of the Bui River.
The minister, accompanied by the Chief Director of the Ministry, Mrs Diana Hammond; Mr Addo Yobo, the Chief Executive Officer of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transport (BOST); Mr Antwi Darkwa, the Director of Power at the Ministry, and Mr Kwaku Acheampong, his Special Assistant, paid a working visit to the project site at the weekend to see at first-hand the progress of work.
President J.A. Kufour, on Friday, August 24, 2007, cut the sod for the commencement of work on the Bui Hydroelectric Power Project, which is being executed by Sinohydro Corporation of the People’s Republic of China.
The total cost of the project is about US$630 million, including a provisional sum for irrigation resettlement, employers permanent facilities and project engineering and administration costs.
Mr Agyapong told the chief and his elders that the ministry, the Bui Power Authority (BPA) and the contractors, as well as all other stakeholders of the project, were ready to work together with them towards the successful completion of the project, which, he said, had been on the drawing board for a long time.
He, therefore appealed to the people to be patient, while arrangements were being made to address the problem of compensation, saying that the project was for the benefit of all Ghanaians.
To another request for improved seeds and other farming inputs, extension of power to Jama from the project site, a police post, potable water and drugs for the Jama Health Centre, the minister gave the assurance that he would liaise with the appropriate authorities to ensure those requirements were provided.
However, Mr Agyapong explained that the Bui Power Project was a huge programme that involved the provision of many socio-economic amenities and infrastructure, including the building of the Bui City, adding that the government was indeed committed to ensuring that the project was successful.
From the Jama town, Mr Agyapong also visited the resettlement site in the area, where about 50 housing units had been constructed for the people from Agbegikuro and Lucene villages in the Bole District, as well as Brewohodi and Dam Site villages in the Tain District, mostly Ewe and Dagarti settlers engaged in farming and fishing.
At a meeting with the people, Mr Michael Torgbadja, their spokeperson, thanked the government for the effort to resettle them.
The minister reiterated his earlier call on the people to continue to be patient because the BPA was working around the clock to fulfil all the agreements reached before they moved to their new resettlement area.
Later in an interaction with newsmen at the Bui dam site, officials of BPA gave the assurance that the project would be completed on schedule or ahead of time because the work was moving at a fast rate.
In a technical brief, the Resident Engineer of BPA, Mr Oware Kissi, indicated that the construction of a resettlement camp at Jama for 48 households, made up of 216 persons living at the dam site, began in March this year.
Mr Agyapong also paid a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief of the Banda Traditional Area, Okokyeredom Osabarima Kwadwo Sito, at his palace at Banda Ahenkro.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
4 THERMAL INSULATED BUILDINGS PUT UP AT BUI (PAGE 21)
AN Accra-based private construction company, Isopanel Limited, has constructed four thermal insulated buildings for use by Sinohydro Company of the People’s Republic of China, the company which is currently executing the Bui Dam project in the Tain District of the Brong Ahafo Region as offices, residential accommodation and laboratory.
The project, which took the company about four weeks to complete, will help ease the housing problem at the dam site.
Speaking at a brief ceremony at the dam site to hand over the buildings to the Chinese, the National Sales Manager of Isopanel, Mr Joseph Tetteh, stated that the company had been operating in the Ghanaian thermal insulation industry for over five years now.
He explained that the company was established in response to the felt needs of many Ghanaians and people along the West Coast of Africa for polystyrene products of all kinds.
The Technical Manager of Sinohydro, Mr Liu Yu, and Ms Clarissa Zhu of the Commercial Department of the Company, expressed gratitude to the management of Isopanel for the successful completion of the project, which would help solve the office and residential accommodation problems of the company.
The project, which took the company about four weeks to complete, will help ease the housing problem at the dam site.
Speaking at a brief ceremony at the dam site to hand over the buildings to the Chinese, the National Sales Manager of Isopanel, Mr Joseph Tetteh, stated that the company had been operating in the Ghanaian thermal insulation industry for over five years now.
He explained that the company was established in response to the felt needs of many Ghanaians and people along the West Coast of Africa for polystyrene products of all kinds.
The Technical Manager of Sinohydro, Mr Liu Yu, and Ms Clarissa Zhu of the Commercial Department of the Company, expressed gratitude to the management of Isopanel for the successful completion of the project, which would help solve the office and residential accommodation problems of the company.
Monday, August 4, 2008
DORMAA HONOURS OSAGYEFO AMOATIA OFORI PANIN (GRAPHIC NSEMPA, SPREAD)
By Akwasi Ampratwum- Mensah, Dormaa Ahenkro
THE Okyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, travelled all the way from the comfort of his Ofori Panin Fie at Kyebi in the Eastern Region to pay a historic royal visit to his traditional brother and friend, the Dormaahene Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu II, at his Abampreduase Palace in Dormaa Ahenkro, where a splendid durbar by the chiefs and people of the Dormaa Traditional Area was organised in his honour.
Arrival
As early as 7.00a.m. the people had started making their way to the Palace of the Dormaahene to a wait the arrival of the Okyehene, the crusader against the wanton destruction of the country’s forest resources and the general degradation of the environment, accompanied by a huge entourage of divisional and other sub-chiefs as well as his better half, Obaapa Ofori Atta.
Indeed, it was a delight to watch the milling crowd at Abrampreduase, where as usual there was an incessant drumming of Fontomfrom and Kete, dance to tunes of the Baabianeha Agofomma from Ntrobaa as well as the music provided by the live performance of the Dormaa FM Band.
All this while, a contingent of chiefs and members of organised groups, notably, hairdressers, beauticians and dressmakers, had positioned themselves at the outskirts of Dormaa to receive the Okyehene and finally usher him into the township and to the palace proper.
Retinue
The palace was electrified when the Dormaahene and his mother, the queen of the traditional area, Nana Akosua Fimah II, and the other chiefs descended from the top floor of the palace in a retinue to take their seats to wait for their august guest, who after some long minutes of anxious and restless waiting, finally landed with his left and right hand men of honour at the palace to a rousing and tumultuous welcome.
After a lengthy exchange of greetings, the meeting was started with prayers and the pouring of libation and later an introduction of the chiefs from the two traditional divides.
Welcoming the Okyehene, Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu recalled the journey of the people of Dormaa from Akwamufie in the year 1640, through Akyem, where they settled peacefully with their hosts, until they finally migrated to their present traditional area and noted that the hospitality accorded the Dormaa people by the Akyems, would forever be remembered.
Achievements
The Dormaahene then recounted the achievements of Osagyefo Amoatia during his short period of ascending the Okyeman stool, including his fight against the destruction of the country’s forest resources and his crusade against HIV/AIDS, adding that the Okyehene had so far lived an unblemished life and encouraged him to continue with those good works.
For his part Osagyefo Amoatia urged the people to stand solidly behind the Dormaa Paramount Chief and continue with the love they had persistently shown to him in order to make his reign a successful one.
He pointed out that riding in palanquins and the enjoyment of other luxuries by paramount chiefs did not make one a prominent traditional ruler but rather it is the tangible legacy that the chief would bequeath to posterity which determined the calibre of such a chief.
For instance, he pointed out that a successful chief was the one who would ensure that children in his traditional area were well educated, since education was crucial in the development of any nation.
Osagyefo Amoatia, pointed out that “as chiefs we should not restrict our activities to cover only our respective traditional areas of jurisdiction but rather we should consider ourselves as serving the people of the whole country since we are one people with a common destiny.
Crusade
He said it was in that vein that he had mounted a crusade against the indiscriminate felling of trees, resulting in the wanton destruction of the country’s forest cover as well as the general environmental degradation.
According to the Okyehene those who wanted to fell trees should first register their companies with the Forestry Commission, adding that the felling of a single tree was very significant since that could lead to the gradual destruction of the vegetative cover and to the disadvantage of posterity.
“We should think seriously about our children and show concern about their future and in fact, parents, especially fathers who do not take good care of their children’s welfare, should be sanctioned when they are identified,” Osagyefo Amoatia suggested and added that poverty should not be an excuse to deny the children of their education.
Touching on the December general elections, Osagyefo Amoatia, appealed to the people to ensure that the current peaceful atmosphere in the country should be maintained, since politics should not be a recipe for violence or war, as it had happened elsewhere in Africa in particular and the world at large.
THE Okyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, travelled all the way from the comfort of his Ofori Panin Fie at Kyebi in the Eastern Region to pay a historic royal visit to his traditional brother and friend, the Dormaahene Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu II, at his Abampreduase Palace in Dormaa Ahenkro, where a splendid durbar by the chiefs and people of the Dormaa Traditional Area was organised in his honour.
Arrival
As early as 7.00a.m. the people had started making their way to the Palace of the Dormaahene to a wait the arrival of the Okyehene, the crusader against the wanton destruction of the country’s forest resources and the general degradation of the environment, accompanied by a huge entourage of divisional and other sub-chiefs as well as his better half, Obaapa Ofori Atta.
Indeed, it was a delight to watch the milling crowd at Abrampreduase, where as usual there was an incessant drumming of Fontomfrom and Kete, dance to tunes of the Baabianeha Agofomma from Ntrobaa as well as the music provided by the live performance of the Dormaa FM Band.
All this while, a contingent of chiefs and members of organised groups, notably, hairdressers, beauticians and dressmakers, had positioned themselves at the outskirts of Dormaa to receive the Okyehene and finally usher him into the township and to the palace proper.
Retinue
The palace was electrified when the Dormaahene and his mother, the queen of the traditional area, Nana Akosua Fimah II, and the other chiefs descended from the top floor of the palace in a retinue to take their seats to wait for their august guest, who after some long minutes of anxious and restless waiting, finally landed with his left and right hand men of honour at the palace to a rousing and tumultuous welcome.
After a lengthy exchange of greetings, the meeting was started with prayers and the pouring of libation and later an introduction of the chiefs from the two traditional divides.
Welcoming the Okyehene, Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu recalled the journey of the people of Dormaa from Akwamufie in the year 1640, through Akyem, where they settled peacefully with their hosts, until they finally migrated to their present traditional area and noted that the hospitality accorded the Dormaa people by the Akyems, would forever be remembered.
Achievements
The Dormaahene then recounted the achievements of Osagyefo Amoatia during his short period of ascending the Okyeman stool, including his fight against the destruction of the country’s forest resources and his crusade against HIV/AIDS, adding that the Okyehene had so far lived an unblemished life and encouraged him to continue with those good works.
For his part Osagyefo Amoatia urged the people to stand solidly behind the Dormaa Paramount Chief and continue with the love they had persistently shown to him in order to make his reign a successful one.
He pointed out that riding in palanquins and the enjoyment of other luxuries by paramount chiefs did not make one a prominent traditional ruler but rather it is the tangible legacy that the chief would bequeath to posterity which determined the calibre of such a chief.
For instance, he pointed out that a successful chief was the one who would ensure that children in his traditional area were well educated, since education was crucial in the development of any nation.
Osagyefo Amoatia, pointed out that “as chiefs we should not restrict our activities to cover only our respective traditional areas of jurisdiction but rather we should consider ourselves as serving the people of the whole country since we are one people with a common destiny.
Crusade
He said it was in that vein that he had mounted a crusade against the indiscriminate felling of trees, resulting in the wanton destruction of the country’s forest cover as well as the general environmental degradation.
According to the Okyehene those who wanted to fell trees should first register their companies with the Forestry Commission, adding that the felling of a single tree was very significant since that could lead to the gradual destruction of the vegetative cover and to the disadvantage of posterity.
“We should think seriously about our children and show concern about their future and in fact, parents, especially fathers who do not take good care of their children’s welfare, should be sanctioned when they are identified,” Osagyefo Amoatia suggested and added that poverty should not be an excuse to deny the children of their education.
Touching on the December general elections, Osagyefo Amoatia, appealed to the people to ensure that the current peaceful atmosphere in the country should be maintained, since politics should not be a recipe for violence or war, as it had happened elsewhere in Africa in particular and the world at large.
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