Thursday, May 28, 2009

ILLEGAL CHAINSAW OPERATORS TO FACE THE LAW (SPREAD)

THE government has declared a nation-wide war on illegal chainsaw operators, with a warning that persons caught with illegal lumber face severe punishment, while their vehicles will be confiscated to the state.
Additionally, security around the country’s forest reserves and on routes to the timber areas is to be tightened to facilitate the arrest and prosecution of offenders.
The measures, according to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, were part of a comprehensive plan to halt deforestation and the alarming rate at which “the country’s forest resources are being destroyed by illegal timber operators”.
The government’s action was announced after a visit to one of the country’s most treasured forest reserves in the Brong Ahafo Region which is said to be disappearing due to the activities of illegal operators.
It became clear during the visit that operators had encroached on the Tinte Bepo Forest Reserve in the Nkawie District of the Brong Ahafo Region and depleted it of almost all its precious wood cover.
Prime species of wood destroyed by the illegal timber operators in the 115.5 square-kilometre reserve include Ofram, Mahogany, Wawa and Dahoma.
The degraded state of the forest came to light when some state officials and environmentalists, led by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Collins Dauda, visited the reserve on Monday.
The minister cautioned the chainsaw operators to desist from their nefarious activities because his ministry had declared a relentless war to clamp them down.
Alhaji Dauda expressed grave concern over the wanton destruction of the Tinte Bepo Forest Reserve, saying it was disheartening and alarming to enter the forest only to find the illegal timber operators felling trees of all sizes.
He was accompanied by the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, the Executive Director of the Forest Services Division (FSD) of the Forestry Commission (FC), Mr Raphael Yeboah, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Tano South, Mr Bukari Zakari Anaba, and the Tano South District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) W. Y. Avornu.
Alhaji Dauda’s visit followed a tip-off that some people were illegally causing extensive damage to the portion of the forest near Bechem and off the Bechem-Tepa main road.
Since the Tinte Bepo Forest Reserve stretches into the Tano South District, the minister directed that with immediate effect the Forestry Commission should cede it to the Bechem office of the FSD for effective and efficient supervision, management and monitoring.
He appealed to all Ghanaians, especially Nananom and opinion leaders in the various communities, to assist the ministry and the Forestry Commission in their resolve to flush out all illegal chainsaw operators in the country.
“That is what I have started and I will follow them wherever they are going and whichever forest they enter until they stop their inimical activities. They can’t hide because I will move from forest to forest to deal with them,” the minister said.
He observed that looking at the way the country’s forest resources were being destroyed, if appropriate measures were not put in place, there would come a time when Ghanaians would have to import wood to undertake projects.
The regional minister, who was equally outraged, pointed out that the destruction of forests in the region and security issues were the main problems in the region.
He gave the assurance that the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) would deal decisively with all illegal matters, in collaboration with other stakeholders.
Mr Yeboah said the destruction of forests was a national menace and indicated that the exercise embarked upon by the minister would be sustained until the phenomenon was stopped to save the environment from total destruction.
Mr Anaba disclosed that a truckload of sawn timber had been impounded for investigation.
The minister later directed the DCE and officials of the FSD to ensure that all the pieces of sawn timber left in the forest were conveyed and auctioned.

ARSENAL BEAT CHELSEA AGAIN (BACK PAGE)

Berekum Arsenal registered a back-to-back victory over regional rivals, Bechem Chelsea, with a 1-0 win at the Sunyani Stadium yesterday
It was the same scoreline they posted in their ninth week clash at the Golden City Park.
A powerful 40-yard shot by Kwaku Sarpong on the 30th minute gave the visitors the sweet victory.
The Berekum lads had earlier on the sixth minute wasted a golden opportunity, with striker Francis Aggrey wasting several others later.
The game became balanced with Arsenal slightly on top until the 52nd minute when Chelsea’s marksman, Isaka Ibrahim hit the crossbar to the displeasure of the fans.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

VEEP LAUNCHES WATER, SANITATION PROJECT ...In Brong Ahafo (SPREAD)

THE Vice-President, Mr John Mahama, has launched a €17 million peri-urban, rural and small town water and sanitation project to provide potable water and improved sanitation infrastructure for people in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The project, which is being jointly financed by the government and the Agence Francaise de Development (AFD), will provide 112 hand-dug wells with pumps, 621 boreholes with pumps, 18 small town and three multi-village water supply systems, 5,000 household latrines, 161 institutional toilets, among others, for the various communities in the regions.
It is envisaged that the project, which is expected to be completed in 2011, will improve access to safe water and sanitation in the participating communities, improve the health and economic status of the beneficiary areas, as well as provide institutional capacity building for sustainability.
The project, which is being implemented by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), will also contribute to the provision of potable water and good sanitation facilities for over 300,000 people living in the region.
In the Brong Ahafo Region, only 53.51 per cent of the population have access to safe water, but it is estimated that by the end of the project the coverage for rural water in the region would have increased by 13.47 per cent to bring the regional coverage to about 67 per cent.
Launching the project, Mr Mahama expressed appreciation to the French government for providing funds for it.
He recalled that the French government also provided funds for the rural water and sanitation project in the Northern Region which was completed in December 2007 and expressed the hope that the good relationship that existed between the two countries would be strengthened.
He said the provision of potable water was one of the priority areas of the government, adding that as part of measures to accelerate the provision of that essential service for the people, especially those living in deprived communities, the government had allocated GH¢30 million in this year’s budget as an investment in the water and sanitation sub-sector.
The Vice-President stressed that as part of the government’s commitment to ensuring that there was greater acceleration in the delivery of water and sanitation facilities to rural communities, it had reviewed the policy of community contribution to capital cost of water supply facilities by rural communities.
“We do not want a situation where communities will be left out of projects because of their inability to contribute towards capital cost of facilities,” Mr Mahama declared.
He said in line with the transparent administration promised by the government, all stakeholders in the project were to ensure that the right procedures were followed and competitive tendering used in the award of contracts.
He cautioned the contractors and consultants to ensure that quality work was done to enhance the sustainability of the facilities that would be provided, adding, “Contractors and consultants should discard the erroneous impression that our people living in the rural areas are ignorant and lack understanding of development issues.”
He recognised the efforts the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government made to secure the funding for the project and promised that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration would continue any good project initiated by the past regime..
The French Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Francis Hurtut, noted that the project was consistent with the Ghana Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy II (GPRS II), which states, “Improving access to potable water and sanitation is critical to achieving favourable health outcomes, which, in turn, facilitate economic growth and sustained poverty reduction.”
He disclosed that the presence of the AFD in the water and sanitation sector dated back to 1989 and that the AFD was now willing to develop new water and sanitation projects in the country in the coming years.
Mr Hurtut said in strict compliance with the Paris declaration on the efficiency and harmonisation of aid, the institutional and financial design of the project was aligned with national procedures.
The Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Dr Hanna Louisa Bisiw, disclosed that an estimated $78 million would be required for the CWSA, according to the projections of the Strategic Investment Plan (SIP), to enable the sub-sector to achieve its set targets for the year.
The Chief Executive Officer of the CWSA, Mr Philip Gyau-Boakye, pointed out that as a facilitating agency, the prime goal of the agency was to ensure that there was an increase in the number of people who had access to potable water and good sanitation services.
The acting Managing Director of the GWCL, Mr Andrew Barber, in a speech read on his behalf, admitted that the Brong Ahafo Region had a low level access to potable water supply and sanitation, for which reasons interventions were needed to improve those two sectors, hence the new project.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, in his welcoming address, noted that owing to the perennial water shortage that hit most of the farming communities in the region, some of the farming settlements were abandoned by the farmers, who left for the major towns and villages where they could get potable water to drink and also for other domestic uses.

VEEP PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR LOCAL INDUSTRIES (PAGE 13)

The Vice President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, has reiterated the policy of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to provide the necessary support to private companies which add value to the country’s natural resources.
He said since such enterprises provided employment to the youth, especially the rural dwellers, the government would take a critical look at the problems confronting them and assist in finding solutions to their challenges.
Mr Mahama gave the assurance when he inaugurated a quarry at Papaso, near Wenchi in the Brong Ahafo Region at the weekend.
The project, which is known as the J.A. Quarry, is owned by the Zoomlion Company Limited, a private waste management enterprise. Its objective is to support the construction industry with quality products and excellent service.
It has a production capacity of 400,000 metric tonnes of quarry products per year.
Established in 2007 and believed to be the biggest in the country, the project currently employs about 100 workers, with various skills, and the figure is expected to increase as production goes on.
The Vice President noted that a major problem facing the country now was the rural-urban migration by the youth, and that the government would, therefore, encourage both local and foreign investors who would decide to establish companies in the rural areas with incentives such as tax rebates to provide jobs for the people.
He observed that apart from the negative effects of the rural-urban drift on agriculture in particular, the cities and other urban areas were becoming choked with people who were mostly unemployed or under-employed.
Mr Mahama said quarrying was a capital intensive venture and that the survival of the company would depend on efficient management, the effective maintenance culture and the adoption of the best practices in order to stay in business for a long time.
He expressed the hope that with the opening of the quarry in that part of the country, the availability of chipping would no longer be a problem for road contractors.
“I urge road contractors to effectively use the products to do a good job and building contractors, especially those doing state projects to also utilise the chipping’s from quarries in order to ensure quality work for the nation,”, Mr Mahama appealed.
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Collins Dauda, said it was the vision and mission of the ministry to ensure the sustainable management and utilisation of the country’s natural resources for accelerated national socio-economic growth and development.
That, he said, could be achieved through effective formulation, implementation, co-ordination, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes of the sector.
Alhaji Dauda, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asutifi South, stressed that the ministry had a duty to create an enabling environment for effective private sector participation in the management and utilisation of the country’s natural resources.
He said the quarry industry was of vital importance to the socio-economic development of the country in the areas of construction of houses, roads, railways, waterways, dams and many other physical structures.
The minister, however said, he was mindful of the legitimate concerns of the surrounding communities, especially the potential impact usually associated with quarry operations, such as blast vibrations, noise, flying rocks and dust, which if not properly managed, could result in cracks in buildings.
Nonetheless, Alhaji Dauda said those potential impacts could be mitigated through the effective enforcement of the health and safety provisions in the mining, explosive and environmental regulations as well as the observance of proper mining practices.
He urged the management of the company to live up to its social responsibilities by being responsive to the needs of the host community and must also be transparent in their engagement with all the stakeholders to promote social harmony with its host communities.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, said the region was blessed with a lot of natural resources, such as gold, timber, quarrying materials and large tracts of fertile farm land but pointed out that, those resources could not be harnessed effectively without investors, both local and foreign.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Death of Goaso Hospital Administrator..11 TO OPEN DEFENCE (PAGE 34)

The Sunyani High Court has established a prima facie case against eleven accused persons whose alleged roles led to the death of Mr Anthony Yeboah-Boateng, a former Administrator of the Goaso Government Hospital, at Atronie in the Brong Ahafo Region two years ago.
The court, presided over by Mr Justice Godwin Gabor, arrived at the decision following the closure of the case by the prosecution on Tuesday, May 11, 2009.
Consequently, the court has ordered the accused persons to open their defence today.
A source close to the court told the Daily Graphic in Sunyani that the prosecution had called 11 witnesses since the beginning of the trial on January 1, 2008.
It said the witnesses included the wife of the deceased and his sister, who were both in the company of the deceased at the time of the incident.
Until their indictment, the 11 were among 30 suspects who had been standing trial at the Sunyani Magistrate's Court 'B' for their alleged involvement in the murder of Mr Yeboah-Boateng on Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007. Mr Yeboah-Boateng was also the Presiding Member of the Asunafo North District Assembly.
According to the source, all the accused persons were represented by defence counsel with six of them given lawyers by the Legal Aid Board because of their difficulty in engaging lawyers.
The accused, who are still in prison custody, are facing three counts of conspiracy to commit murder, contrary to Section 23 (1) and 46 of the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29); murder, contrary to Section 46; and causing unlawful damage, contrary to Section 172 (3) of the act.
They are Douglas Afriyie, alias Dougie, a chemical seller; Stephen Donkor, alias Kofi Ankamah, an undertaker; Kwadwo Awuah, alias Koowua or “I see”, shoe shine boy; Kwasi Nyantakyi, alias Nana Kusi, barber; Kwaku Agyeman Badu, alias Wakuu, driver; Adama Hamidu, mason; James Dankwa, mason; Kwame Yeboah Addae, alias Akolo, farmer; Emmanuel Kwaku Lartey, alias Adjetey, farmer, and Kwame Krah, alias Koo Krah, farmer.
The court has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of 14 other suspects who are now at large.
On April 8, 2007, Mr Yeboah-Boateng, in the company of his wife and two other women, was conveying a corpse of his relative in his car from the Sunyani Regional Hospital to the Goaso Hospital mortuary.
When he got to Atroni the accused persons, together with others, blocked the road with rocks and cement blocks, forcing Yeboah-Boateng to stop.
The accused persons, together with the others, then rushed on Mr Yeboah-Boateng and accused him of being a ritual murderer because he was carrying a corpse in his car.
Before the deceased could offer any explanation, the accused and others pulled him out of the vehicle, clubbed him to death and attempted to set his body and car ablaze.
The accused persons and the others then vandalised his car and the corpse and bolted from the town.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

NEWMONT BUILDS SCHOOL FOR DOKYIKROM (JUNIOR GRAPHIC, PAGE 3)

Newmont Ghana Gold Limited has built and furnished a six-classroom block, an office, a store, a staff common room and a library at a cost of GH¢250,000 for pupils of Dokyikrom near Kenyasi in the Brong Ahafo Region.
Prior to the construction of the new building, the pupils were accommodated in a three-unit classroom block which has also been renovated to serve as a junior high school (JHS) for the community.
The non-existence of a JHS in the community in the past had compelled pupils who completed primary six in the town to attend JHS at Yawusukrom, a community which is quite far from Dokyikrom. The company has also provided a toilet and a urinal for the school.
Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL), operators of the Ahafo Mine also plans to construct a four-unit teachers’ quarters estimated at $60,000 in the town before the academic year ends.
Mr Randy Barnes, the External Affairs Manager of NGGL, who handed the completed projects over to the Ghana Education Service (GES) at a ceremony at Dokyikrom last Wednesday, said that the company was committed to improving the lives of those within its operational area by adding value to enhance social development.
The Asutifi District Director of the GES, Mr. Amanor Kyeremeh, who received the keys to the building, expressed his appreciation to NGGL for putting up the classroom block as its contribution towards quality teaching and learning in the area.
The NGGL also presented two footballs and sets of jersey to the school.
In a related development, the company handed over another renovated three unit-classroom block, financed at a cost of GH¢ 23,000 to the people of Wamahinso also in the district.
The project was a collaboration among the community members, NGGL and the district assembly.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

GOVT URGED TO PROVIDE FREE FAMILY PLANNING SERVICES (PAGE 20)

THE government has been called upon to consider providing free family planning (FP) services under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Participants at a seminar at Sunyani on dissemination of a road map to repositioning family planning in Ghana, who made the call said, that would enable married couples to make informed choices and avoid unwanted pregnancies.
The participants also appealed to the various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to assume ownership of FP and other population related concerns by allocating more resources as a complement to the dwindling donor funding for such areas.
The participants’ concerns were part of a number of recommendations they made at the end of the seminar organised by the Brong Ahafo Regional Secretariat of the National Population Council (NPC) with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The participants led by Mr Sylvester A. Agangmikre, the Regional Population Officer, resolved that they would reach out to traditional authorities, religious and youth leaders, among other groups, to rekindle their interest in FP campaigns as well as the implementation of sustainable plans.
They commended the government’s efforts to bring down maternal deaths through the provision of free health services for pregnant women under the NHIS, but cautioned that if FP adoption was not promoted, there was the possibility of increased child-bearing.
The participants expressed worry about the waning attention to FP issues in recent times, with emphasis being shifted to HIV/AIDS, stressing that stakeholders in FP must revive public interest on the subject as was the situation in the past.
A specialist in public health, Dr David A. Opare, who presented a paper on “Repositioning FP”, stated that “If birth intervals increased to 36 months in Ghana, infant mortality rate would drop by 27 per cent, under five mortality rate would drop by 23 per cent, deaths to children under five years of age would fall by 21,700 annually while fulfilling unmet need for FP, will avert 4,419 maternal deaths between 2000 and 2015”.
He explained that unmet need refers to fecund (fertile) women who do not want to get pregnant for the next two to three years (spacing) or women who do not want to have any more children (limiting) but are not using any method.
Dr Opare, who is also the Sunyani Municipal Director of Health Services, said FP coverage in the municipality increased from 36.1 per cent in 2006 to 38 per cent in 2007 and shot up to 40 per cent in 2008 as compared to the national target of 28 per cent for those periods, and described the achievement as “good”.
According to him, “Emergency contraception shall not be promoted as a regular FP method while abortion is not and shall not be used as a FP method”.
Dr Opare maintained that repositioning FP in Ghana would involve advocacy at all levels to translate commitment and political will into concrete action, partnership with district assemblies in funding to integrate FP services through a revised Community-based Health Planning and Services (CPS) programmes.
He said it would also involve national health insurance coverage, rebuild wider network of stakeholders, such as traditional leaders, religious groups, the media as well as the ministries, departments and agencies (Midas), among others.
Dr Opare said as a strategy for the repositioning of FP, there was the need for increased awareness of and commitment to the integration of FP as an essential tool of national health and development goals.

MINING COMPANIES ASSIST IN NATIONAL DEV (PAGE 20)

MINING companies contribute immensely to the development of the country by their very existence in the rural communities with the added benefits in the areas of information and communication technology (ICT), banking, supply chain, electricity, health, education, human resource development and technology transfer.
The value of what the mining industry generates for the state is not restricted to fiscal imports alone, but also the linkages between the mining industry and the economy through the supply of goods and services.
In her recent interaction with the press in Sunyani, the Brong Ahafo Rgional capital, to launch the Ghana Chamber of Mines’s (GCM) 81st birthday, Ms Joyce R. Aryee, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the chamber, stated that the mining industry paid GH¢179,978,383, representing more than 14 per cent of the total internal revenue collections and in addition, pay dividends and corporate taxes to the government.
She added that in 2006, mineral revenue accounted for $1,281,904,104 which rose to $1,793,343,307 in 2007 and shot up to $2,304,027,387 in 2008.
According to Ms Aryee, mineral royalty in 2006 stood at $38,457,123 and in 2007, the figure went up to $53,800,299 while in 2008 it soared to $68,358,428.
The CEO further stated that the mining industry returned a total of 63 per cent of mineral revenue to Ghana in 2007 out of which six per cent was paid to the government, both at the national and district levels in the form of royalties and taxes while 10 per cent was paid to the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for electric power purchases with 13 per cent paid to Shell, Total and other fuel filling stations.
In addition to the cost of fuel, Ms Aryee said the mining companies paid about GH¢73 million, representing three per cent of mineral revenue as taxes, levies and duties on the product to the government as well as margins to oil marketing companies.
She said two per cent of mineral revenue was used to amortise loans offshore while 32 per cent of the revenue was spent on the importation of capital items.
Ms Aryee stated categorically that the GCM “does not condone illegal mining, its related activities and does not aid any persons related to this act”, stressing “illegal mining is wrong, dangerous and not helpful whatever form or for whatever reason”.
She, however, stated that the chamber supports and would continue to support licensed small-scale mining, adding that it recognised the achievements of licensed artisan small-scale mining.
“We are currently involved in a project to undertake a study into small-scale mining with the view of enhancing the understanding of the needs of the challenges of the small-scale miner”.
The chamber has made inputs into the regulations on the mining law for the standardisation of compensation processes in the mining areas, and that it is advocating for compensation to be in the form of cash and where possible, land in the case of farmers whose lands have been taken for mining activities.
The intangible benefits of mining, such as employment generation, long-term capital formation, social investments as well as skills transfer, complement the fiscal payments to state as a total package of benefits to the country.
Under the auspices of the chamber, the mining industry continues to be actively pursuing proactive strategic relationships with its major stakeholders with the purpose of creating the right basis for addressing key issues relating to the role of mining in national development.
The climax of activities to mark the 81st birthday of the GCM will be a general meeting on May 29, 2009 at the MPlaza Hotel in Accra on the theme: “Mining and sustainable development: Meeting inter-generational challenges”.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

OPPONG-ABABIO CONFIRMED AS MCE (PAGE 17)

A 54-year-old Agricultural Extension Officer, Mr Kwasi Oppong-Ababio, has been confirmed by members of the Sunyani Municipal Assembly (SMA) as the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the area.
He polled 25 out of the 27 total votes cast .
Mr Oppong Ababio’s overwhelming endorsement at the election, conducted by the Municipal Office of the Electoral Commission (EC), countered the widespread speculation that he would be rejected by the assembly members.
His supporters, mostly from Abesim, near Sunyani, his native town went into wild jubilation when the results was announced and he was smeared with talcum powder after a large white cloth was thrown around his neck.
The function was also observed by a team of Canadian visitors who were in the municipality to strengthen the sister-relationship existing between the Sunyani municipality and Canada.
In a brief remark, Mr Oppong- Ababio expressed his deepest thanks to President J. E. A. Mills for nominating him and the assembly members for their support of making him the MCE.
He promised to operate an open-door administration devoid of discrimination for the effective development of the municipality.
Mr Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunyani East, reminded the assembly members of the non-partisan concept of the assembly and expressed the hope that, such a constitutional provision should be the guide to all stakeholders.
He also observed that, the MCE and the Presiding Member (PM) had their complementary roles to play in the running of the assembly and urged the two to stick to their defined duties for the betterment of the municipality.
Earlier, the assembly had elected a 55-year-old Sunyani-based Legal practitioner Mr Kwadwo Ottu-Essel, who was also the chairman of the Sunyani Public Tribunal as the Presiding Member.
The Supervising High Court Judge for Sunyani, Mr Francis Kwabena Opoku, swore the two into office and congratulated them saying that, “I am happy that one of my colleagues has been elected as the PM”, in the case of Mr. Ottu-Essel.

Monday, May 4, 2009

STOP CELEBRATION OF 'APO' FESTIVAL — WENCHI QUEEN (PAGE 22)

THE queen of the Wenchi Traditional Area, Nana Toaa Samangyedua III, has appealed to the Brong Ahafo Regional Security Council (RESEG) as a matter of urgency, to stop its feverish preparations towards the celebration of the “Apo” festival being organised by one Nana Abrefa Kwadwo Nketia VI because he is “an ungazetted paramount chief” of the traditional area.
According to the queen, the celebration of the festival by the said Nana Nketia, also known as Mr Kwadwo Nyame Nketia or Coach Nketia, was likely to lead to a breach of peace, mayhem and loss of lives and property.
A thump-printed release by the Omanhemaa, a copy of which was sent to the Daily Graphic in Sunyani, said, “The damage which may be done to life and property as a result of the celebration of the festival will be enormous to the state than to prevent it.”
The petition said in part that, “Under the present hostile environment in Wenchi, due to the chieftaincy dispute now pending at the National House of Chiefs, it will not augur well for the traditional area to be granted any permit for this traditional festival since it is likely to lead to violence, bloodshed and disruption of peace in the area.”
Nana Samangyedua III explained that the regional minister had made her to understand that he would stop the celebration of the festival, but that was not what was on the ground as he had rather encouraged the said Mr Nyame Nketia to go ahead with the celebration.
She stated that according to the custom and tradition of Wenchi, the Omanhemaa plays a pivotal role in the celebration of the “Apo Festival” but because of the chieftaincy dispute in the town, she had been sidelined.

BUSINESS FORUM ON BUSINESS PRACTICES OPENS AT KENYASI (PAGE 22)

A BUSINESS forum dubbed: “The Ahafo Business Week”, which seeks to create an opportunity for local entrepreneurs to enhance their understanding of business practices and to showcase Ahafo as a place to do business in Ghana, has opened at Kenyasi Number Two in the Asutifi District.
  Among activities to take place during the forum are a business roundtable to discuss business opportunities and challenges for local entrepreneurs in Ahafo, a business fair for local entrepreneurs to exhibit their products and services to community members in general and potential clients in particular, and business-to-business encounters for local entrepreneurs.
The programme is being organised jointly by the Ahafo Local Business Association (ALBA), Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
The programme has the theme: “Developing businesses in Ahafo through partnership” and is being sponsored by a host of companies including Golder Associates, Semex Ghana Limited, Toyota Ghana Limited, Pergah Transport and Eusbeth Hotel.
The General Manager, Environment and Social Responsibility, of NGGL, Mr Dan Michaelsen, in a speech read on his behalf at the opening ceremony, said the event would provide the platform to expand the horizon of business opportunities in the area.
He said Newmont was aware of the perception that mining communities did not adequately derive economic benefits from the presence of mining companies and, therefore, had been confined to underdevelopment.
Consequently, he said, the company showed early determination to change the situation by developing the capacity of the local economy not only to support the mine, but also to remain buoyant and diversified even after the mine losses its productivity.
Mr Dan Michaelsen said further that in conjunction with the IFC, Newmont initiated a programme known as the Ahafo Linkages Programme (ALP)  in 2007 with the aim of generating employment and increasing revenue for local medium and small-scale enterprises through the provision of business development training and market diversification.
He added that a Local Supply and Contractor Development Unit of the company had been established to prepare local business entities to do business with the company.
According to him, since the inception of the ALP, Newmont had awarded contracts worth more than $10.5 billion which had a remarkable bearing on employment opportunities to local vendors and suppliers in the area.
Mr Michaelsen gave the assurance that his company would continue to support the development of the local economy in ways that would enable it to stand on its feet in order to improve the lives of the host communities of the company.
  He expressed the hope that the partnership between Newmont and the communities would continue to deepen, leading to the realisation of the common objective of ensuring sustainable development.

                                                           

 

NEWMOUNT TO LAUNCH MALARIA CONTROL PROGRAMME (BACK PAGE)

Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL), which is operating the Ahafo Mine in the Brong Ahafo Region, is to launch an Integrated Community Malarial Control Programme as part of the company’s efforts to eradicate the menace in its host communities.
Under the first phase of the programme, the Gyedu Health Centre Laboratory will be equipped with diagnostic equipment to be manned by trained laboratory technicians.
In addition, the company will distribute treated bed nets to households at two of its settlement sites at Ntotroso and OLA Senior High School.
The Community Development Superintendent of NGGL, Mr Joseph Danso, announced this at a durbar to commemorate the district’s celebration of this year’s World Malaria Day at Ntotroso, which was on the theme, “Counting Malaria Out”. It was jointly organised by the Asutifi District Health Directorate and NGGL.
To show its commitment, Newmont distributed 500 Long-lasting Insecticide Treated Bed Nets (ITNs) to pregnant women and children under five years and treated old bed nets for the community members at the function.
Mr Danso had also announced plans by the company to organise a malarial quiz competition for selected second-cycle institutions within its operational area, and expressed the hope that the competition would be keener than it was last year, saying, “At Newmont, our fight against malaria does not start and end on World Malaria Day.”
The superintendent observed that malaria had plagued humanity for a long time and it continued to hunt about 40 per cent of the world’s population, affecting more than 500 million people per year and killing over one million.
“This is a disease that kills 3,000 children per day,” he noted, saying that complications from malaria, including severe anaemia, account for “at least a million more deaths, while malaria takes as much as 40 per cent of public health expenditure in malarial endemic areas, with Ghana being no exception”.
He emphasised that in Ghana, malaria accounted for about 40 per cent of all out-patient department (OPD) cases and accounted for about 25 per cent of all under five mortality cases.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Aaron Offei, disclosed that the current poor personal and environmental sanitation in towns and villages, made it difficult to address diseases of public health importance such as malarial and guinea worm.
He described the disease burden of malaria in the region as enormous, pointing out that in the year 2007, 49 per cent of all patients seen in hospitals and health centres were malarial cases, but said the figure reduced to 44 per cent in 2008.
Dr Offei noted that it was clear the malaria disease contributed to low productivity and absenteeism in schools in the region and that the regional health directorate had intensified activities to control the disease, including public education and advocacy for improved access to potable water.
The Asutifi District Director of Health Services, Mr John Frederick Dadzie, said in 2006, malaria constituted 36 per cent of all cases while in 2007 it was 37 per cent and in 2008, 36.5 per cent.
Mr Dadzie, however, noted that the ranking of malaria among the top 10 causes of mortality was reducing gradually, and disclosed that in 2006, the disease placed third and moved down to fourth and fifth positions in 2007 and 2008 respectively.