Two second half spot-kicks awarded Chelsea by Kumasi-based class one referee, G.K. Manu, gave them a 2-1 triumph over visiting Hasaacas in their Glo Premiership pairing at the Sunyani Coronation Park yesterday.
Hasaacas snatched the opener against the run of play on the 38th minute through Joe Agyemang who was put through by his midfield partner, Edwin Gyimah, who dribbled his way from the defence into the Chelsea 18-yard box.
On resumption, the Bechem lads, led in attack by Obed Owusu, fought hard and eventually earned two quick penalties which were converted by Owusu and right back, Eric Agyeman, on the 51st and 59th minutes respectively.
Displeased with referee Manu’s second penalty decision, the Hasaacas bench charged on him on the field but the timely intervention of the policemen on duty saved the situation.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
15 TRAINED UNEMPLOYED YOUTH RECEIVE KITS (PAGE 20, NOV 25)
SIXTY selected unemployed youth, including 15 women from Dormaa East District and Dormaa West Municipality in the Brong Ahafo Region who have undergone management training courses in various vocations, have been presented with start-up kits worth GH¢18,000.
A total of 450 graduate apprentices have so far received such training in the area since the project started in September, 2003.
They learnt hairdressing, tailoring, dressmaking, auto mechanics, welding, bicycle repairs, blacksmithing, carpentry, masonry, leather works, shoemaking, electricals and electronics.
The Rural Enterprises Project (REP) of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), organised and financed the programme through the Business Advisory Centre (BAC) of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) and supported by the Dormaa Municipal Assembly.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony at Dormaa Ahenkro, the Head of the BAC in the area, Mr I.A. Antiri said the objective of the project was to reduce poverty and empower the rural unemployed youth, especially women, adding that the project was demand-driven.
He stated that as part of their training, the beneficiaries were also taken through records keeping, banking culture, group formation and credit management.
Mr Antiri gave the assurance that BAC was well positioned to provide technical and managerial advice on whatever business anyone thought of engaging in free-of-charge, adding that there were many advantages as far as the centre was concerned.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Dormaa, Mr Vincent Obeng Asamoah cautioned the beneficiaries not to sell the kits they had been given but use them for the purpose for which they were provided.
He said since the basic aim of the project was to reduce poverty, they should also offer similar training to other unemployed youth in the area so that they could also address their poverty challenges.
Mr Asamoah added it was the aim of the Government to assist the unemployed youth in the country.
The assembly member for Nkrankwanta Electoral Area, Mr Charles Adomah expressed his appreciation to the benefactors for the gesture, saying the items would go a long way to solve their poverty problem.
The Secretary of the Dormaa branch of the Tailors and Dressmakers Association, Mr Charles Yeboah, gave the assurance that the beneficiaries would make good use of the items they had received and also provide training for others.
A beneficiary, Ms Anna Appiah on behalf of her colleagues, thanked REP and BAC for the offer and pledged they would make good use of the machines to improve on their poverty levels.
A total of 450 graduate apprentices have so far received such training in the area since the project started in September, 2003.
They learnt hairdressing, tailoring, dressmaking, auto mechanics, welding, bicycle repairs, blacksmithing, carpentry, masonry, leather works, shoemaking, electricals and electronics.
The Rural Enterprises Project (REP) of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), organised and financed the programme through the Business Advisory Centre (BAC) of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) and supported by the Dormaa Municipal Assembly.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony at Dormaa Ahenkro, the Head of the BAC in the area, Mr I.A. Antiri said the objective of the project was to reduce poverty and empower the rural unemployed youth, especially women, adding that the project was demand-driven.
He stated that as part of their training, the beneficiaries were also taken through records keeping, banking culture, group formation and credit management.
Mr Antiri gave the assurance that BAC was well positioned to provide technical and managerial advice on whatever business anyone thought of engaging in free-of-charge, adding that there were many advantages as far as the centre was concerned.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Dormaa, Mr Vincent Obeng Asamoah cautioned the beneficiaries not to sell the kits they had been given but use them for the purpose for which they were provided.
He said since the basic aim of the project was to reduce poverty, they should also offer similar training to other unemployed youth in the area so that they could also address their poverty challenges.
Mr Asamoah added it was the aim of the Government to assist the unemployed youth in the country.
The assembly member for Nkrankwanta Electoral Area, Mr Charles Adomah expressed his appreciation to the benefactors for the gesture, saying the items would go a long way to solve their poverty problem.
The Secretary of the Dormaa branch of the Tailors and Dressmakers Association, Mr Charles Yeboah, gave the assurance that the beneficiaries would make good use of the items they had received and also provide training for others.
A beneficiary, Ms Anna Appiah on behalf of her colleagues, thanked REP and BAC for the offer and pledged they would make good use of the machines to improve on their poverty levels.
PARAMOUNT CHIEFS FROM 3 REGIONS ATTEND WORKSHOP (PAGE 29, NOV 25
A NUMBER of paramount chiefs and their elders from 14 traditional councils in the Brong Ahafo Region and their counterparts from the Tepa Traditional Area in Ashanti as well as those from Sefwi Wiawso in the Western Region, have attended a workshop on Customary Boundary Demarcation (CBD) under the on-going Ghana Land Administration Project (LAP).
The CBD is to ensure that there was peaceful co-existence of traditional neighbours, ensure orderly development and to form the basis for efficient and effective land registration system in the country.
The demarcation process has become necessary because 80 per cent of land in Ghana is in the custody of chiefs who are in charge of stool/skin lands and that the lands of traditional authorities, such as the paramountcies, are large tracts from which other lesser lands or ownership derive.
Again, the CBD is necessary since the boundaries of most stools/skins have been found to be indeterminate.
In a presentation, Mr W.K. Opoku, an expert of CBD stated that the benefits to be derived from the exercise included security of tenure, minimisation of external land disputes, enhancement value of land, effective management of other natural resources for wealth creation, improvement of investment opportunities as well as efficient and effective land administration and management.
He said to derive those benefits, it required effective collaboration, co-operation and participation from the traditional councils, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, represented by officials of LAP while the district assemblies, Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs) and all stakeholders, lend their support.
“With this we expect to see the traditional councils derive maximum benefits from their stool lands," he said.
Giving an overview of the Ghana LAP, Mr Kofi Abaka Blankson of the Planning Unit stated that the long term objective of the project was to reduce poverty and enhance socio-economic growth, through improving security of tenure, simplifying the management practices, developing the land market and establishing an efficient and sustainable system of land administration, both state and customary.
He said the objective of the phase one of the project which started in 2003 and expected to end in 2010, was to undertake land policy and institutional reforms and key land administration pilots for laying the foundation for a sustainable decentralised land administration system that was fair, efficient, cost effective and ensured land tenure security.
Mr Blankson stated that CBD in the Ejisu area in the Ashanti Region had been completed while the draft final reports of the phase one of the CBD exercise in Wassa had been submitted for a review.
He added that sensitisation exercise for six additional areas were on-going while revaluation of properties in five district assemblies had also been completed.
According to him, the full co-operation and assistance of all stakeholders were required to make the exercise a success.
The CBD is to ensure that there was peaceful co-existence of traditional neighbours, ensure orderly development and to form the basis for efficient and effective land registration system in the country.
The demarcation process has become necessary because 80 per cent of land in Ghana is in the custody of chiefs who are in charge of stool/skin lands and that the lands of traditional authorities, such as the paramountcies, are large tracts from which other lesser lands or ownership derive.
Again, the CBD is necessary since the boundaries of most stools/skins have been found to be indeterminate.
In a presentation, Mr W.K. Opoku, an expert of CBD stated that the benefits to be derived from the exercise included security of tenure, minimisation of external land disputes, enhancement value of land, effective management of other natural resources for wealth creation, improvement of investment opportunities as well as efficient and effective land administration and management.
He said to derive those benefits, it required effective collaboration, co-operation and participation from the traditional councils, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, represented by officials of LAP while the district assemblies, Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs) and all stakeholders, lend their support.
“With this we expect to see the traditional councils derive maximum benefits from their stool lands," he said.
Giving an overview of the Ghana LAP, Mr Kofi Abaka Blankson of the Planning Unit stated that the long term objective of the project was to reduce poverty and enhance socio-economic growth, through improving security of tenure, simplifying the management practices, developing the land market and establishing an efficient and sustainable system of land administration, both state and customary.
He said the objective of the phase one of the project which started in 2003 and expected to end in 2010, was to undertake land policy and institutional reforms and key land administration pilots for laying the foundation for a sustainable decentralised land administration system that was fair, efficient, cost effective and ensured land tenure security.
Mr Blankson stated that CBD in the Ejisu area in the Ashanti Region had been completed while the draft final reports of the phase one of the CBD exercise in Wassa had been submitted for a review.
He added that sensitisation exercise for six additional areas were on-going while revaluation of properties in five district assemblies had also been completed.
According to him, the full co-operation and assistance of all stakeholders were required to make the exercise a success.
Monday, November 23, 2009
WANGARAS CELEBRATE ANNUAL KURUBI FESTIVAL (NSEMPA, NOV 23, PAGE 15)
By Akwasi Ampratwum Mensah & Samuel Duodu, Kintampo.
Wangaras from all parts of the country last Saturday converged at the Kintampo Presbyterian School Park for a grand durbar to climax the celebrations of their annual Kurubi festival.
As early as 6 a.m. last Saturday, Wangaras across the country began to arrive at Kintampo, which is the traditional authority of Wangaras and paid homage to their Paramount Chief, Nana Fanyinama III, who is also the President of the Council of Wangara Chiefs in Ghana at his palace in Kintampo.
The celebrants, who were in a joyous mood, sang to hail their King at the palace and later followed him in a procession from the palace amidst brass band music to the durbar ground. The Council of Wangara Chiefs under the leadership of Nana Fanyinama III, revived the celebration of the festival though very ancient, in 1999.
It was a celebration by the Wangaras in honour of their ancestors who were indigenes of Bambaras Madingo and Djula from the ancient kingdoms of Mali and Songhai. They migrated to Kintampo, which happened to be a slave market at that time. After the collapse of Samori’s network and the abolishing of slavery, the enslaved at the Kintampo market were adopted by the Wangaras and together, formed the ancestry nucleus of the present day Wangara communities.
Taking solace in the fertile land, trade route and the natural protective landscape, they became farmers and traders and formed the core of the Gold Coast regiment now Ghana Army in 1852.
In later years, as a result of economic adventures, the Wangaras migrated to many parts of the country to pursue wealth through trading and cash crop farming and also worked in Gold and Diamond Mining establishments, as well as the security services.
The Kurubi Festival begins on the 27th night of the month of Ramadan a period of fasting on the Islamic calendar. The night is regarded as a revelation night among Muslims and the Wangaras as a period when Allah sends blessing to his people.
The festival also portray the pride of female virgins before marriage who dance on a wooden platform, mounted at the durbar grounds to the admiration of the large crowd who had gathered at the park.
A representative of the YabonWura, King of Gonjaland and his elders who are the kinsmen of the Wangaras always grace the grand durbar of chiefs with a large entourage to signify the ties established between his ancestors and the Wangaras.
The National Association of Wangara Communities known as “Benkadi”, which literally means “togetherness brings happiness”, is responsible for the organisation of the annual Kurubi Festival in Kintampo, regarded as the spiritual home of the Wangaras under the leadership of Nana Fanyinama III, President of the Council of Wangara Chiefs who is also Know as the Wangara Wura.
The festival was single-handedly sponsored by Sidalco Limited, an Agro-chemical company and according to Mr David Lamptey, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Osu Klottey in the Greater Accra Region and his wife, Mrs Gifty Lamptey, congratulated the chiefs and people on the celebration and pledged their continuous support of the company to the annual festival.
The Vice-President, Mr John Mahama Dramani who was the guest of honour at the durbar gave the assurance that the Government had put in place many interventions aimed at creating jobs for the teeming unemployed youth in the country.
He, therefore, urged the youth to take advantage of the various interventions, especially the Youth in Agriculture Programme to improve their lot.
Mr Dramani also in a response to an appeal made by the Wangara Wura, Nana Fanyinama to construct the Kintampo town road said the Government would ask the contractor currently working on the Techiman-Kintampo-Tamale road to add their request to it.
Nana Fanyinama said the previous Government had tackled the principal streets in Kintampo and therefore, appealed to the current administration to tackle the road network with dispatch or else in the event of any torrential rains, disaster could strike, which would result in the use of huge government resources on the resettlement of the victims.
The Wangara Wura also appealed to intellectuals and enlightened Wangaras to reach out to their less privileged brothers and sisters through the Benkadi Association and share their thoughts and ideas that could totally transform “our communities to play important roles in nation building”.
Alhaji Collins Dauda, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, for his part urged the people to take part in the national identification exercise by registering when it got to their communities.
Wangaras from all parts of the country last Saturday converged at the Kintampo Presbyterian School Park for a grand durbar to climax the celebrations of their annual Kurubi festival.
As early as 6 a.m. last Saturday, Wangaras across the country began to arrive at Kintampo, which is the traditional authority of Wangaras and paid homage to their Paramount Chief, Nana Fanyinama III, who is also the President of the Council of Wangara Chiefs in Ghana at his palace in Kintampo.
The celebrants, who were in a joyous mood, sang to hail their King at the palace and later followed him in a procession from the palace amidst brass band music to the durbar ground. The Council of Wangara Chiefs under the leadership of Nana Fanyinama III, revived the celebration of the festival though very ancient, in 1999.
It was a celebration by the Wangaras in honour of their ancestors who were indigenes of Bambaras Madingo and Djula from the ancient kingdoms of Mali and Songhai. They migrated to Kintampo, which happened to be a slave market at that time. After the collapse of Samori’s network and the abolishing of slavery, the enslaved at the Kintampo market were adopted by the Wangaras and together, formed the ancestry nucleus of the present day Wangara communities.
Taking solace in the fertile land, trade route and the natural protective landscape, they became farmers and traders and formed the core of the Gold Coast regiment now Ghana Army in 1852.
In later years, as a result of economic adventures, the Wangaras migrated to many parts of the country to pursue wealth through trading and cash crop farming and also worked in Gold and Diamond Mining establishments, as well as the security services.
The Kurubi Festival begins on the 27th night of the month of Ramadan a period of fasting on the Islamic calendar. The night is regarded as a revelation night among Muslims and the Wangaras as a period when Allah sends blessing to his people.
The festival also portray the pride of female virgins before marriage who dance on a wooden platform, mounted at the durbar grounds to the admiration of the large crowd who had gathered at the park.
A representative of the YabonWura, King of Gonjaland and his elders who are the kinsmen of the Wangaras always grace the grand durbar of chiefs with a large entourage to signify the ties established between his ancestors and the Wangaras.
The National Association of Wangara Communities known as “Benkadi”, which literally means “togetherness brings happiness”, is responsible for the organisation of the annual Kurubi Festival in Kintampo, regarded as the spiritual home of the Wangaras under the leadership of Nana Fanyinama III, President of the Council of Wangara Chiefs who is also Know as the Wangara Wura.
The festival was single-handedly sponsored by Sidalco Limited, an Agro-chemical company and according to Mr David Lamptey, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Osu Klottey in the Greater Accra Region and his wife, Mrs Gifty Lamptey, congratulated the chiefs and people on the celebration and pledged their continuous support of the company to the annual festival.
The Vice-President, Mr John Mahama Dramani who was the guest of honour at the durbar gave the assurance that the Government had put in place many interventions aimed at creating jobs for the teeming unemployed youth in the country.
He, therefore, urged the youth to take advantage of the various interventions, especially the Youth in Agriculture Programme to improve their lot.
Mr Dramani also in a response to an appeal made by the Wangara Wura, Nana Fanyinama to construct the Kintampo town road said the Government would ask the contractor currently working on the Techiman-Kintampo-Tamale road to add their request to it.
Nana Fanyinama said the previous Government had tackled the principal streets in Kintampo and therefore, appealed to the current administration to tackle the road network with dispatch or else in the event of any torrential rains, disaster could strike, which would result in the use of huge government resources on the resettlement of the victims.
The Wangara Wura also appealed to intellectuals and enlightened Wangaras to reach out to their less privileged brothers and sisters through the Benkadi Association and share their thoughts and ideas that could totally transform “our communities to play important roles in nation building”.
Alhaji Collins Dauda, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, for his part urged the people to take part in the national identification exercise by registering when it got to their communities.
AGGREY POWERS ARSENAL TO VICTORY (BACK PAGE, NOV 23)
Good-old Francis Aggrey hit the back of the net twice in the second half, once through a spot kick, to secure a 2-1 victory for Berekum Arsenal over visiting Ashantigold in their Glo Premier League encounter at the Golden City Park in Kumasi yesterday.
Even with their numerical strength reduced to 10 men after Accra-based Class 1 referee, Sellas Okine, red-carded Ashantigold midfielder Alhaji Sanni for a second bookable offence, the Obuasi side shot into the lead in the 51st minute through Eugene Owusu Prempeh who headed home a beautiful cross by winger Addoquaye Addo.
Arsenal quickly reorganised themselves and cancelled the lead six minutes later through Aggrey whose header from a cross by half-back Salu Yakubu beat Ashantigold Fatau Dauda for a deserved equaliser.
Strongman Yakubu was the same architect of Arsenal’s match winner after he moved dangerously into the visitors’ penalty box but was brought down by an Ashantigold defender for which referee Okine awarded a penalty in the 81st minute. Aggrey expertly converted it to score a brace and earn his side victory.
Even with their numerical strength reduced to 10 men after Accra-based Class 1 referee, Sellas Okine, red-carded Ashantigold midfielder Alhaji Sanni for a second bookable offence, the Obuasi side shot into the lead in the 51st minute through Eugene Owusu Prempeh who headed home a beautiful cross by winger Addoquaye Addo.
Arsenal quickly reorganised themselves and cancelled the lead six minutes later through Aggrey whose header from a cross by half-back Salu Yakubu beat Ashantigold Fatau Dauda for a deserved equaliser.
Strongman Yakubu was the same architect of Arsenal’s match winner after he moved dangerously into the visitors’ penalty box but was brought down by an Ashantigold defender for which referee Okine awarded a penalty in the 81st minute. Aggrey expertly converted it to score a brace and earn his side victory.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
CHELSEA BEAT FAISAL (BACK PAGE, NOV 19)
Bechem Chelsea collected the maximum points at stake by beating King Faisal 1-0 in their mid-week Glo Premier League encounter at the Sunyani Coronation Park yesterday.
The match had travelled 58 minutes when the homesters’ midfielder, Owusu Obed, broke the deadlock as he finished off Danjuma Jafaru’s pass in the opponent’s box to beat goalkeeper Sam Okyere in the Faisal post.
Right from the blast of the whistle, Chelsea probed for the opener which never materialised until the second half. Faisal were undaunted as they lifted their game in search of the equaliser, but luck eluded them.
The match had travelled 58 minutes when the homesters’ midfielder, Owusu Obed, broke the deadlock as he finished off Danjuma Jafaru’s pass in the opponent’s box to beat goalkeeper Sam Okyere in the Faisal post.
Right from the blast of the whistle, Chelsea probed for the opener which never materialised until the second half. Faisal were undaunted as they lifted their game in search of the equaliser, but luck eluded them.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
FORDJOUR TO CONTEST NPP CHAIR IN BA (PAGE 17, NOV 17)
A former Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Kwadwo Yeboah Fordjour, has declared his intention once again to contest the highest executive position of the party in the region, with a vision to ensure that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) goes back into opposition after the 2012 general election.
He expressed optimism that with his nine years’ experience as a past regional chairman of the NPP, and having led the party to win the national elections in 2000 and 2004, he had what it took to spearhead the NPP to wrest power from the ruling NDC in the next elections.
He intimated that when he assumed the chairmanship position of the party, he worked tirelessly and the outcome was that the NPP won four of the 21 constituencies in the 1996 elections and again strategised to increase its seats to 14 in 2000 and maintained them in 2004.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Sunyani, Mr Fordjour explained that he and his campaign team at the time focused their attention on winning votes in the villages, since votes in the rural areas were significant for any party winning of a national election.
According to him, he later stepped aside to pave the way for Nana Obiri Boahen, who also stepped down in the course of time when he (Nana Boahen) intended to contest the Sunyani East parliamentary seat and relinquished the position to the current Regional Chairman of the party, Mr Adu Gyan.
The aspiring NPP regional chairman, who is a product of Dormaa Senior High School, recalled that the Gyan-led executive never organised a single rally in the big towns in the region, let alone campaigning in the villages, insisting that because he (Fordjour) had already laid the foundation in the villages, the NPP still won 51 per cent of the votes and that enabled Nana Akufo-Addo to beat Professor J. E. A. Mills in the first round of the 2008 elections but failed to obtain the overall 50+1 votes, hence the second round ballot, which the NDC won.
Mr Fordjour observed that the dismal performance of the NPP in the Brong Ahafo Region led to the flop of the party in the national elections, stressing that the region had so far proved to be the decider of elections in the country and that if the regional executive had worked harder, the NDC would not have obtained the 23,055 vote difference to win the last election.
“I have brooded over our unfortunate situation and decided that in the supreme interest of the NPP, I have to come back again to overturn the unfortunate situation and I am confident that whoever saw what I did in the past will vote for me to become the new regional chairman of our great party,” he added.
He named his would-be team as Mr Kwame Owusu, Regional Organiser; Mr Yaw Dabie, Treasurer; Mr Alfred Annyeh, Secretary; Madam Felicia Adomah, Women’s Organiser, and Mr Paa Clement, saying, “With this team, I am sure to overturn the tables.”
According to Mr Fordjour, he and his team would not run the business of the party from a hotel, explaining that he would ensure that the party’s office was filled with what he described as “responsible personalities and not ‘Lalasula’ elements”.
Asked about his thoughts on the selection of a future running mate for the presidential candidate, Mr Fordjour suggested that the party hierarchy should start thinking about choosing someone from the Brong Ahafo Region, since the region was a deciding factor in national elections.
He maintained that his suggestion was without prejudice to the regular practice of selecting running mates from the north.
He expressed optimism that with his nine years’ experience as a past regional chairman of the NPP, and having led the party to win the national elections in 2000 and 2004, he had what it took to spearhead the NPP to wrest power from the ruling NDC in the next elections.
He intimated that when he assumed the chairmanship position of the party, he worked tirelessly and the outcome was that the NPP won four of the 21 constituencies in the 1996 elections and again strategised to increase its seats to 14 in 2000 and maintained them in 2004.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Sunyani, Mr Fordjour explained that he and his campaign team at the time focused their attention on winning votes in the villages, since votes in the rural areas were significant for any party winning of a national election.
According to him, he later stepped aside to pave the way for Nana Obiri Boahen, who also stepped down in the course of time when he (Nana Boahen) intended to contest the Sunyani East parliamentary seat and relinquished the position to the current Regional Chairman of the party, Mr Adu Gyan.
The aspiring NPP regional chairman, who is a product of Dormaa Senior High School, recalled that the Gyan-led executive never organised a single rally in the big towns in the region, let alone campaigning in the villages, insisting that because he (Fordjour) had already laid the foundation in the villages, the NPP still won 51 per cent of the votes and that enabled Nana Akufo-Addo to beat Professor J. E. A. Mills in the first round of the 2008 elections but failed to obtain the overall 50+1 votes, hence the second round ballot, which the NDC won.
Mr Fordjour observed that the dismal performance of the NPP in the Brong Ahafo Region led to the flop of the party in the national elections, stressing that the region had so far proved to be the decider of elections in the country and that if the regional executive had worked harder, the NDC would not have obtained the 23,055 vote difference to win the last election.
“I have brooded over our unfortunate situation and decided that in the supreme interest of the NPP, I have to come back again to overturn the unfortunate situation and I am confident that whoever saw what I did in the past will vote for me to become the new regional chairman of our great party,” he added.
He named his would-be team as Mr Kwame Owusu, Regional Organiser; Mr Yaw Dabie, Treasurer; Mr Alfred Annyeh, Secretary; Madam Felicia Adomah, Women’s Organiser, and Mr Paa Clement, saying, “With this team, I am sure to overturn the tables.”
According to Mr Fordjour, he and his team would not run the business of the party from a hotel, explaining that he would ensure that the party’s office was filled with what he described as “responsible personalities and not ‘Lalasula’ elements”.
Asked about his thoughts on the selection of a future running mate for the presidential candidate, Mr Fordjour suggested that the party hierarchy should start thinking about choosing someone from the Brong Ahafo Region, since the region was a deciding factor in national elections.
He maintained that his suggestion was without prejudice to the regular practice of selecting running mates from the north.
ASSEMBLY MEMBERS MUST BE RESOURCED — MINISTER (PAGE 16, NOV 17)
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, has observed that not until assembly members are resourced and rewarded, the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies cannot play the role that will accelerate development in the country.
According to Mr Opoku, he found it difficult to understand why assembly members who represented the legislative arm of government in their respective areas, “have been asked to wait for the second coming of Jesus Christ before they were rewarded for their contributions to national development.
The Deputy Regional Minister made the observation when he addressed the Brong Ahafo Regional Consultative forum for the acceleration of decentralisation in Ghana, which was attended by stakeholders in local governance and rural development in Sunyani.
It was aimed at soliciting views and concerns for consolidation, acceleration and deepening of decentralisation in Ghana.
The participants included District Chief Executives (DCEs), District Co-ordinating Directors, heads of departments, representatives of political parties, heads of tertiary institutions, religious leaders, presiding members, nananom, representatives of women and youth groups as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).
Mr Opoku noted that the effective and impressive performance by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) was contingent upon the assembly members who provided the link between the people at the grassroot and the assembly.
He explained that at the local level, “All those who work for the executive arm of government are well resourced and catered for. Those in the judiciary are also given what should be given them and therefore, they are able to perform well”.
The Deputy Regional Minister pointed out that decentralisation policies aimed at enhancing local government administration in Ghana had been a central part of public policy-making.
However, he said, unlike past policies, the current district assemblies’ concept, which was established by PNDCL 207, expanded the frontiers through the creation of 110 district assemblies, and that further progress was made with the enactment of the Local Government Act of 1993, Act 462.
He said it was an undisputable fact that there had been seminars, workshops, retreats, focused group discussions, brainstorming, sensitisations, orientations, consultations, expert and technical advice on decentralisation policies in Ghana.
“This is a desired platform for views and concerns expressed, co-ordinated and compiled, to be factored into the policy review process,” he explained.
According to Mr Opoku, the inability of the present process to fully meet the expectation of most stakeholders had brought about the relevance of the regional fora to fill the inadequacies, and therefore, commended the MLGRD for undertaking the bold initiative to take a second look at the decentralisation process after it had been practised for the past 20 years.
The Deputy Regional Minister also observed that Ghana’s decentralisation policy had been hailed as one of the best initiatives to deepen grassroot participation in the decision-making process, adding that at the onset of the programme the basis for the policy was devolution of power to the door steps of the people.
He emphasised that the interest in the policy was more of economic emancipation for the districts to become self-reliant in determining their development agenda but noted that for some reasons, politics took the better side of the implementation of what had been described as “ one of the best political systems at the local level”.
Therefore, he said, the decision to review the programme after 20 years of implementation was laudable, saying however that, “Our worry is that, any time there is talk about the review of the decentralisation policy, what immediately comes to mind is the election of DCEs”.
Mr Opoku indicated that the core problems associated with the policy went far beyond the election of DCEs, and that the decentralisation process attempted to focus on the bottom-up approach rather than a top-down exercise to development.
The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Yieleh Chereh, said the review process was to ensure that resources were judiciously used.
He said decentralisation basically meant that the various communities had access to education, health, cleaner environment, potable water, sanitation, among other social amenities, adding that, those countries, such as Malawi and Uganda, which came down to study Ghana’s decentralisation policy had gone past the country.
He said, it was therefore, imperative that the government made a wider consultation with all stakeholders towards a review of the process, saying that political parties, the national house of chiefs, NGOs, CBOs and private individuals were all to be contacted to make their inputs.
According to Mr Opoku, he found it difficult to understand why assembly members who represented the legislative arm of government in their respective areas, “have been asked to wait for the second coming of Jesus Christ before they were rewarded for their contributions to national development.
The Deputy Regional Minister made the observation when he addressed the Brong Ahafo Regional Consultative forum for the acceleration of decentralisation in Ghana, which was attended by stakeholders in local governance and rural development in Sunyani.
It was aimed at soliciting views and concerns for consolidation, acceleration and deepening of decentralisation in Ghana.
The participants included District Chief Executives (DCEs), District Co-ordinating Directors, heads of departments, representatives of political parties, heads of tertiary institutions, religious leaders, presiding members, nananom, representatives of women and youth groups as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).
Mr Opoku noted that the effective and impressive performance by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) was contingent upon the assembly members who provided the link between the people at the grassroot and the assembly.
He explained that at the local level, “All those who work for the executive arm of government are well resourced and catered for. Those in the judiciary are also given what should be given them and therefore, they are able to perform well”.
The Deputy Regional Minister pointed out that decentralisation policies aimed at enhancing local government administration in Ghana had been a central part of public policy-making.
However, he said, unlike past policies, the current district assemblies’ concept, which was established by PNDCL 207, expanded the frontiers through the creation of 110 district assemblies, and that further progress was made with the enactment of the Local Government Act of 1993, Act 462.
He said it was an undisputable fact that there had been seminars, workshops, retreats, focused group discussions, brainstorming, sensitisations, orientations, consultations, expert and technical advice on decentralisation policies in Ghana.
“This is a desired platform for views and concerns expressed, co-ordinated and compiled, to be factored into the policy review process,” he explained.
According to Mr Opoku, the inability of the present process to fully meet the expectation of most stakeholders had brought about the relevance of the regional fora to fill the inadequacies, and therefore, commended the MLGRD for undertaking the bold initiative to take a second look at the decentralisation process after it had been practised for the past 20 years.
The Deputy Regional Minister also observed that Ghana’s decentralisation policy had been hailed as one of the best initiatives to deepen grassroot participation in the decision-making process, adding that at the onset of the programme the basis for the policy was devolution of power to the door steps of the people.
He emphasised that the interest in the policy was more of economic emancipation for the districts to become self-reliant in determining their development agenda but noted that for some reasons, politics took the better side of the implementation of what had been described as “ one of the best political systems at the local level”.
Therefore, he said, the decision to review the programme after 20 years of implementation was laudable, saying however that, “Our worry is that, any time there is talk about the review of the decentralisation policy, what immediately comes to mind is the election of DCEs”.
Mr Opoku indicated that the core problems associated with the policy went far beyond the election of DCEs, and that the decentralisation process attempted to focus on the bottom-up approach rather than a top-down exercise to development.
The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Yieleh Chereh, said the review process was to ensure that resources were judiciously used.
He said decentralisation basically meant that the various communities had access to education, health, cleaner environment, potable water, sanitation, among other social amenities, adding that, those countries, such as Malawi and Uganda, which came down to study Ghana’s decentralisation policy had gone past the country.
He said, it was therefore, imperative that the government made a wider consultation with all stakeholders towards a review of the process, saying that political parties, the national house of chiefs, NGOs, CBOs and private individuals were all to be contacted to make their inputs.
Monday, November 16, 2009
BLOODY WEEKEND...Boy, 6, beheaded at Abesim, Woman, 30, killed at Okorase, 4 Robbers gunned down in Ksi (LEAD STORY, NOV 16)
Story; Akwasi Ampratwum Mensah & Samuel Duodu at Abesim, Nana Konadu Agyeman at Okorase & Kwame Asare Boadu in Kumasi
THE grisly murder of a famous business woman, 30, near Koforidua, the gruesome beheading of a six-year-old boy near Sunyani and the gunning down of four armed robbers in Kumasi in a shootout with the police marked a weekend of blood and horror for some residents of those parts of the country.
At Abesim, near Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, hundreds of residents besieged the crime scene, eager to catch a glimpse of Ernest Kwame Awuah, alias President, who was on display with the mutilated body of his six-year-old nephew, Charles Sey.
Awuah allegedly pierced Charles’s right eye and ear and then slashed his throat.
The victim was the son of the suspect’s younger brother.
Briefing the Daily Graphic after the bizarre incident which happened about 11 a.m. on Saturday, the Sunyani Municipal Police Commander, Superintendent Charles Botwe, said following a report from a resident, he dispatched a team of policemen to the deceased’s grandmother’s house where the little boy lived and the team found the suspect carrying the body of the boy on his lap in a room where he had allegedly committed the crime.
Charles’s body has been deposited at the Regional Hospital in Sunyani for autopsy.
According to Mr Botwe, the police had found it difficult to take a statement from the suspect, since he was behaving abnormally, but noted that a caution statement had been taken from the suspect’s father, while the police were yet to take another one from Charles’s grandmother, after which Awuah would be put before court.
An uncle of the boy’s, Mr Kwasi Ollu, a farmer, told the Daily Graphic that Charles’s mother, who is staying in Techiman, was yet to be informed about her son’s death, saying that she separated with the boy’s father about five years ago when they were staying together at Tanoano, a farming community near Abesim.
At Okorase in the New Juaben municipality of the Eastern Region, news of the Sunday morning murder of Rita Baah, affectionately called Afia Atta, allegedly by a fetish priest, spread like bush fire throughout the town.
The deceased, a resident of Effiduase in Koforidua who operates a cosmetics shop and a boutique at the Daasebre Roundabout in Koforidua, was said to have been hit several times on the forehead with a hammer by the fetish priest at his shrine at Okorase about 12.30 a.m.
After the crime, Joseph Tetteh, the 35-year-old traditional priest, popularly known as Mallam, was reported to have tied the victim’s hands and legs, covered it with a cloth and placed it on his motorbike in an attempt to dump it at a spot far away from Okorase and create the impression that she had been knocked down by a vehicle.
However, luck eluded him when he was spotted by some passengers travelling along the Okorase-Mamfe road about 1.30 a.m. with the body of the deceased strewn across the motorbike.
He was reported to have swerved to the left of the road where he abandoned both the body and the motorbike and fled into a nearby bush at Tei Nkwanta near Okorase.
That was after the passengers in the vehicle travelling from Aburi to Koforidua attempted to question him over where he was taking the body to.
Briefing the Daily Graphic in Koforidua, the New Juaben Municipal Police Commander, Superintendent John A. Naami, said about 12.30 a.m. the police received a distress call from some travellers at Tei Nkwanta that they had spotted a man conveying a dead body on a motorbike.
He said the passengers told the police that the fetish priest had been seen driving from Okorase to dump the body by the roadside to create the impression that the deceased had been knocked and killed by a vehicle.
When the passengers attempted to question him as to where he was taking the body, the fetish priest was said to have fled into the bush.
Supt Naami said a team of police investigators was immediately dispatched to the scene where they found Rita’s tied body covered in a cloth and strewn across the motorbike, with registration number GN 8843 Z.
He said the police traced the motorbike to the fetish priest’s house but they never found him. However, some of the youth of Okorase and Tei Nkwanta, two neighbouring communities, mounted an intensive search and arrested Tetteh in a bush at Tei Nkwanta where he was hiding about 1 a.m. on Sunday.
The timely intervention of the police saved him from being lynched.
During interrogation, Tetteh was reported to have told the police that some unknown people had killed Rita but that he had only attempted taking it to dump it somewhere.
The New Juaben Municipal Police Commander, who indicated that the police were carrying out further investigation into the murder, commended the residents of Okorase and Tei Nkwanta for helping to arrest the fetish priest.
Meanwhile, when the Daily Graphic visited the New Juaben Central Police Station, a large gathering of residents, including the family of the business woman and her boyfriend, was seen in utter shock and tears over Rita’s death.
In the Ashanti Region, the regional Police Command took the fight against armed robbery to another level at the weekend when they shot dead four suspected armed robbers, all believed to be in their late 30s, during a gun battle at Konkromase, a suburb of Kumasi.
Friday night’s operation was the second biggest police offensive against armed robbery in Ashanti this year and the dead suspects brought to 26 the number of armed robbers killed by the police in the region this year.
One of the four robbers was identified as Abdul Razak Ibrahim, alias Fante-Fante.
Razak, described as a hardened criminal, had earlier been arrested in a robbery case but he was granted bail by a Kumasi High Court in November 2006 but had since failed to appear before court.
Two others were identified only as Fiifi and Rashid, both ex-convicts, with the fourth one yet to be identified.
They were among a group of seven armed robbers who had gone on a robbery spree on the rainy night. They were actually in the process of attacking their fourth victim when men from the Police Buffalo Unit encountered them.
According to the police, those who managed to escape bolted with cash of GH¢95,000 believed to have been taken from victims of the robbery operations.
A number of offensive weapons, including four pump action guns, three locally manufactured pistols, 21 live ammunition, eight spent cartridges, one heavy-duty cutter and two mobile phones, were retrieved by the police from the scene of the shooting.
A KIA taxi, which the robbers had snatched from its driver, and a Nissan Pathfinder, which they took from its female owner after shooting her in the right shoulder, were later found abandoned at various locations in the city.
The woman was treated and discharged at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
Briefing journalists, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Patrick Timbillah, said it all started about 6 p.m. when the robbers snatched the KIA taxi from its driver at gunpoint at Buokrom, a Kumasi suburb.
They then used the taxi in the second operation in which they attacked a woman about 7 p.m. at Atonsu, also in Kumasi, and snatched her Nissan Pathfinder from her.
DCOP Timbillah said the robbers shot the woman, who was returning from work, before taking her vehicle away.
They abandoned the taxi and used the Nissan Pathfinder to attack a man who had just arrived in Kumasi from Accra at Asokwa and took away his bag containing GH¢95,000.
DCOP Timbillah it was when the robbers went on the fourth operation at Konkromase that the police pounced on them. About 8.30 p.m., they attacked a house at Konkromase and when the police reached there, the robbers opened fire on them.
He said the police returned fire, killing the four, while the three others escaped.
The Nissan Pathfinder was later found abandoned at Buokrom, together with the bag which contained the GH¢95,000.
THE grisly murder of a famous business woman, 30, near Koforidua, the gruesome beheading of a six-year-old boy near Sunyani and the gunning down of four armed robbers in Kumasi in a shootout with the police marked a weekend of blood and horror for some residents of those parts of the country.
At Abesim, near Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, hundreds of residents besieged the crime scene, eager to catch a glimpse of Ernest Kwame Awuah, alias President, who was on display with the mutilated body of his six-year-old nephew, Charles Sey.
Awuah allegedly pierced Charles’s right eye and ear and then slashed his throat.
The victim was the son of the suspect’s younger brother.
Briefing the Daily Graphic after the bizarre incident which happened about 11 a.m. on Saturday, the Sunyani Municipal Police Commander, Superintendent Charles Botwe, said following a report from a resident, he dispatched a team of policemen to the deceased’s grandmother’s house where the little boy lived and the team found the suspect carrying the body of the boy on his lap in a room where he had allegedly committed the crime.
Charles’s body has been deposited at the Regional Hospital in Sunyani for autopsy.
According to Mr Botwe, the police had found it difficult to take a statement from the suspect, since he was behaving abnormally, but noted that a caution statement had been taken from the suspect’s father, while the police were yet to take another one from Charles’s grandmother, after which Awuah would be put before court.
An uncle of the boy’s, Mr Kwasi Ollu, a farmer, told the Daily Graphic that Charles’s mother, who is staying in Techiman, was yet to be informed about her son’s death, saying that she separated with the boy’s father about five years ago when they were staying together at Tanoano, a farming community near Abesim.
At Okorase in the New Juaben municipality of the Eastern Region, news of the Sunday morning murder of Rita Baah, affectionately called Afia Atta, allegedly by a fetish priest, spread like bush fire throughout the town.
The deceased, a resident of Effiduase in Koforidua who operates a cosmetics shop and a boutique at the Daasebre Roundabout in Koforidua, was said to have been hit several times on the forehead with a hammer by the fetish priest at his shrine at Okorase about 12.30 a.m.
After the crime, Joseph Tetteh, the 35-year-old traditional priest, popularly known as Mallam, was reported to have tied the victim’s hands and legs, covered it with a cloth and placed it on his motorbike in an attempt to dump it at a spot far away from Okorase and create the impression that she had been knocked down by a vehicle.
However, luck eluded him when he was spotted by some passengers travelling along the Okorase-Mamfe road about 1.30 a.m. with the body of the deceased strewn across the motorbike.
He was reported to have swerved to the left of the road where he abandoned both the body and the motorbike and fled into a nearby bush at Tei Nkwanta near Okorase.
That was after the passengers in the vehicle travelling from Aburi to Koforidua attempted to question him over where he was taking the body to.
Briefing the Daily Graphic in Koforidua, the New Juaben Municipal Police Commander, Superintendent John A. Naami, said about 12.30 a.m. the police received a distress call from some travellers at Tei Nkwanta that they had spotted a man conveying a dead body on a motorbike.
He said the passengers told the police that the fetish priest had been seen driving from Okorase to dump the body by the roadside to create the impression that the deceased had been knocked and killed by a vehicle.
When the passengers attempted to question him as to where he was taking the body, the fetish priest was said to have fled into the bush.
Supt Naami said a team of police investigators was immediately dispatched to the scene where they found Rita’s tied body covered in a cloth and strewn across the motorbike, with registration number GN 8843 Z.
He said the police traced the motorbike to the fetish priest’s house but they never found him. However, some of the youth of Okorase and Tei Nkwanta, two neighbouring communities, mounted an intensive search and arrested Tetteh in a bush at Tei Nkwanta where he was hiding about 1 a.m. on Sunday.
The timely intervention of the police saved him from being lynched.
During interrogation, Tetteh was reported to have told the police that some unknown people had killed Rita but that he had only attempted taking it to dump it somewhere.
The New Juaben Municipal Police Commander, who indicated that the police were carrying out further investigation into the murder, commended the residents of Okorase and Tei Nkwanta for helping to arrest the fetish priest.
Meanwhile, when the Daily Graphic visited the New Juaben Central Police Station, a large gathering of residents, including the family of the business woman and her boyfriend, was seen in utter shock and tears over Rita’s death.
In the Ashanti Region, the regional Police Command took the fight against armed robbery to another level at the weekend when they shot dead four suspected armed robbers, all believed to be in their late 30s, during a gun battle at Konkromase, a suburb of Kumasi.
Friday night’s operation was the second biggest police offensive against armed robbery in Ashanti this year and the dead suspects brought to 26 the number of armed robbers killed by the police in the region this year.
One of the four robbers was identified as Abdul Razak Ibrahim, alias Fante-Fante.
Razak, described as a hardened criminal, had earlier been arrested in a robbery case but he was granted bail by a Kumasi High Court in November 2006 but had since failed to appear before court.
Two others were identified only as Fiifi and Rashid, both ex-convicts, with the fourth one yet to be identified.
They were among a group of seven armed robbers who had gone on a robbery spree on the rainy night. They were actually in the process of attacking their fourth victim when men from the Police Buffalo Unit encountered them.
According to the police, those who managed to escape bolted with cash of GH¢95,000 believed to have been taken from victims of the robbery operations.
A number of offensive weapons, including four pump action guns, three locally manufactured pistols, 21 live ammunition, eight spent cartridges, one heavy-duty cutter and two mobile phones, were retrieved by the police from the scene of the shooting.
A KIA taxi, which the robbers had snatched from its driver, and a Nissan Pathfinder, which they took from its female owner after shooting her in the right shoulder, were later found abandoned at various locations in the city.
The woman was treated and discharged at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
Briefing journalists, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Patrick Timbillah, said it all started about 6 p.m. when the robbers snatched the KIA taxi from its driver at gunpoint at Buokrom, a Kumasi suburb.
They then used the taxi in the second operation in which they attacked a woman about 7 p.m. at Atonsu, also in Kumasi, and snatched her Nissan Pathfinder from her.
DCOP Timbillah said the robbers shot the woman, who was returning from work, before taking her vehicle away.
They abandoned the taxi and used the Nissan Pathfinder to attack a man who had just arrived in Kumasi from Accra at Asokwa and took away his bag containing GH¢95,000.
DCOP Timbillah it was when the robbers went on the fourth operation at Konkromase that the police pounced on them. About 8.30 p.m., they attacked a house at Konkromase and when the police reached there, the robbers opened fire on them.
He said the police returned fire, killing the four, while the three others escaped.
The Nissan Pathfinder was later found abandoned at Buokrom, together with the bag which contained the GH¢95,000.
Friday, November 13, 2009
WENCHI TOMATO FACTORY TO BE REACTIVATED (PAGE 20, NOV 13)
AN Agronomist from South Africa, Mr Heinz Swat, has been engagedon contract by the Management of the Wenchi Tomato Cannery (TOMACAN) in the Brong Ahafo Region to assist in revamping the company, with its new name Afrique Link.
Mr Swat assumed duty at the factory about three months ago on a three-year contract, and has given assurance that at the end of his contract, he would have changed the face of the company into a vibrant one.
"If I am not able to do so in three years, I will then have to stay on to see to it that all is well for everybody to see before I finally leave," he assured.
This came to light when the Parliamentary Select Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs paid a familiarisation visit to the factory as part of its one-day working visit to the Brong Ahafo Region.
The Wenchi tomato factory, which was under the defunct GIHOC, was divested in 1996 and started operation in 2003, but the place was shut down in 2007, due primarily to the inadequate supply of the raw materials by the farmers who had been provided with the necessary assistance to do so.
According to the South African agronomist, he was putting together a 10-year development plan that would ensure that the factory was actually transformed and operated without any hitches.
Mr Swat, who briefed the committee members, with Dr Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mion as its chairman, said as part of the programme, other experts would be brought in to develop high quality seedlings, which he said, had been the main driving challenge towards production of quality tomatoes to feed the factory.
According to the agronomist, he was currently concentrating on the nursing of tomato seeds, and that by the year 2011, the factory would be in full operation, expressing the hope that about 600 unemployed youth in the area would now be engaged.
He stated that there were quality machines lying idle at the factory, and that when it started full operations, about 100 metric tonnes of tomatoes would be needed daily to get the factory running, adding “what is needed most is to encourage the farmers to produce more for the factory to run effectively”.
Mr Swat said Ghana imported 180,000 metric tonnes of tomato from Burkina Faso last year, telling the committee members that, "We need to re-strategise and I can assure you that you will come back here again to see the place running".
The Regional Director of Food and Agriculture, Mr Emmanuel Krobea Asante, disclosed that the ministry and other development partners, including GTZ, assisted tomato farmers with inputs to increase their production, but said the farmers failed to deliver, hence the collapse of the factory in 2007.
The chairman of the Select Committee gave an assurance that members of his committee would do all they could to contribute meaningfully towards revamping the factory.
Earlier, the committee inspected the former Food District Facility at Wenchi which MoFA had now taken over for storage, drying and cleaning of maize.
Mr Osei Adade, the Wenchi Municipal Director of MoFA, told them that the modern warehouse could contain 30,000 mini bags of maize.
Mr Swat assumed duty at the factory about three months ago on a three-year contract, and has given assurance that at the end of his contract, he would have changed the face of the company into a vibrant one.
"If I am not able to do so in three years, I will then have to stay on to see to it that all is well for everybody to see before I finally leave," he assured.
This came to light when the Parliamentary Select Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs paid a familiarisation visit to the factory as part of its one-day working visit to the Brong Ahafo Region.
The Wenchi tomato factory, which was under the defunct GIHOC, was divested in 1996 and started operation in 2003, but the place was shut down in 2007, due primarily to the inadequate supply of the raw materials by the farmers who had been provided with the necessary assistance to do so.
According to the South African agronomist, he was putting together a 10-year development plan that would ensure that the factory was actually transformed and operated without any hitches.
Mr Swat, who briefed the committee members, with Dr Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mion as its chairman, said as part of the programme, other experts would be brought in to develop high quality seedlings, which he said, had been the main driving challenge towards production of quality tomatoes to feed the factory.
According to the agronomist, he was currently concentrating on the nursing of tomato seeds, and that by the year 2011, the factory would be in full operation, expressing the hope that about 600 unemployed youth in the area would now be engaged.
He stated that there were quality machines lying idle at the factory, and that when it started full operations, about 100 metric tonnes of tomatoes would be needed daily to get the factory running, adding “what is needed most is to encourage the farmers to produce more for the factory to run effectively”.
Mr Swat said Ghana imported 180,000 metric tonnes of tomato from Burkina Faso last year, telling the committee members that, "We need to re-strategise and I can assure you that you will come back here again to see the place running".
The Regional Director of Food and Agriculture, Mr Emmanuel Krobea Asante, disclosed that the ministry and other development partners, including GTZ, assisted tomato farmers with inputs to increase their production, but said the farmers failed to deliver, hence the collapse of the factory in 2007.
The chairman of the Select Committee gave an assurance that members of his committee would do all they could to contribute meaningfully towards revamping the factory.
Earlier, the committee inspected the former Food District Facility at Wenchi which MoFA had now taken over for storage, drying and cleaning of maize.
Mr Osei Adade, the Wenchi Municipal Director of MoFA, told them that the modern warehouse could contain 30,000 mini bags of maize.
PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE COMMENDS GNL (PAGE 17, NOV 13)
THE Parliamentary Select Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs has commended the management of Ghana Nuts Limited (GNL), a private agro-processing company based in Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region, for assisting farmers in the Brong Ahafo and Northern regions with farming inputs and providing ready market for their produce.
By this intervention, the committee was of the view that the company was putting money in the pockets of the poor farmers who had been cheated by other companies for far too long.
The Chairman of the Committee, Dr Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan, who made the commendation after a familiarisation visit to the company, also observed that apart from the GNL’s commitment to assist the farmers financially, the management was also concerned about the health and nutrition of the people by producing high quality edible "Akoma" cooking oil, which was fat-free.
The committee’s visit to the GNL, formed part of its one-day working visit to the Brong Ahafo Region.
Dr Alhassan, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mion, pointed out that by establishing the agro-processing plant in Techiman, the company was linking agriculture to industry, which he said, had been a big challenge in the country.
He, therefore, urged the management not to relent in their efforts at contributing towards the socio-economic development of the country, adding that, the management should endeavour to put behind them, whatever challenged they faced and move ahead.
According to Dr Alhassan, by the visit of the committee members, they were now in a better position to play their legislative function through a meaningful debate on the floor of the House, adding that, the members would ensure they got whatever support they needed from the Government.
The chairman urged the management to include research activities in their programme and also advised that, they did not renege on their social responsibilities to the community in which the company operates.
"We decided to get out of the Chamber of Parliament to see and feel and to inform ourselves of your strategic investment and we are indeed impressed about what we have seen here," Dr Alhassan stressed.
The Deputy Managing Director of GNL, Mr Prince Obeng Asante, who briefed the committee members about the operations of the company, said the company had embarked on an expansion programme and was in need of land to begin the commercial production of Soya bean.
From the GNL, the committee members also inspected the yet to be completed Tomato factory also at Techiman, where they were briefed by the Plant Manager, Mr Eric Asamanin who indicated that the factory need to be fenced to ward off animals.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Director of Food and Agriculture, Mr Emmanuel Krobea Asante also said about Gh¢200,000 was needed to complete the factory, pointing out however that, the ministry cannot own it.
The chairman of the committee gave the assurance that because of its strategic importance, members would ensure that the project was completed and to start operations.
By this intervention, the committee was of the view that the company was putting money in the pockets of the poor farmers who had been cheated by other companies for far too long.
The Chairman of the Committee, Dr Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan, who made the commendation after a familiarisation visit to the company, also observed that apart from the GNL’s commitment to assist the farmers financially, the management was also concerned about the health and nutrition of the people by producing high quality edible "Akoma" cooking oil, which was fat-free.
The committee’s visit to the GNL, formed part of its one-day working visit to the Brong Ahafo Region.
Dr Alhassan, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mion, pointed out that by establishing the agro-processing plant in Techiman, the company was linking agriculture to industry, which he said, had been a big challenge in the country.
He, therefore, urged the management not to relent in their efforts at contributing towards the socio-economic development of the country, adding that, the management should endeavour to put behind them, whatever challenged they faced and move ahead.
According to Dr Alhassan, by the visit of the committee members, they were now in a better position to play their legislative function through a meaningful debate on the floor of the House, adding that, the members would ensure they got whatever support they needed from the Government.
The chairman urged the management to include research activities in their programme and also advised that, they did not renege on their social responsibilities to the community in which the company operates.
"We decided to get out of the Chamber of Parliament to see and feel and to inform ourselves of your strategic investment and we are indeed impressed about what we have seen here," Dr Alhassan stressed.
The Deputy Managing Director of GNL, Mr Prince Obeng Asante, who briefed the committee members about the operations of the company, said the company had embarked on an expansion programme and was in need of land to begin the commercial production of Soya bean.
From the GNL, the committee members also inspected the yet to be completed Tomato factory also at Techiman, where they were briefed by the Plant Manager, Mr Eric Asamanin who indicated that the factory need to be fenced to ward off animals.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Director of Food and Agriculture, Mr Emmanuel Krobea Asante also said about Gh¢200,000 was needed to complete the factory, pointing out however that, the ministry cannot own it.
The chairman of the committee gave the assurance that because of its strategic importance, members would ensure that the project was completed and to start operations.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
BRONG AHAFO MARKS 50TH BIRTHDAY (SHOWBIZ, SPREAD, NOV 4)
By Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah & Samuel Duodu
Hundreds of resident and non-resident citizens as well as friends and well wishers of the Brong Ahafo region, last Saturday, converged at the Jubilee Park in Sunyani to participate in a grand durbar of chiefs that climaxed the activities marking the 50 years anniversary celebration of the creation of the region.
As early as 5am, the people had started making their way to the durbar grounds from their homes and it was a delight to watch the retinue of paramount chiefs dressed in their rich kente and other expensive clothes and riding in their palanquins.
It was a beautiful sight as chiefs and queenmothers with their large followers, danced to fontonfrom and kete music even as they sat gorgeously in their palanquins while riding at a snail pace to take their respective seats at the durbar grounds.
Apart from the accompanying kete and fontomfrom performers of the chiefs and queens, the Tanokrom Agromma at the Sunyani Centre for National Culture performed traditional dances while the All Saints Choir of the Catholic Church and the Abesim Brass Band, also provided music to the admiration of some of the people who could not contain their emotions and feelings to dance.
Food vendors of all kinds had also pitched their temporary tents to take advantage of the market provided by hungry revellers.
Among the large number of guests were Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Members of the Council of State, Municipal and District Chief Executives, Heads of Departments, Assembly members, and the Clergy.
The President and his entourage arrived at about 2:45p.m and in accordance with tradition, went round to exchange pleasantries with the chiefs, an item on the programme which lasted for almost one and a half hours.
In a short address, he announced that, the government would establish a University of Energy and Natural Resources in the Brong Ahafo Region, and that a committee had already been set up to work on the project, saying, “Very soon, you will see signs of that”.
Speaker after speaker called for unity among the people to ensure an effective development of the area.
The Brong Ahafo Region, which was formerly called Western Ashanti, was created by an Act of Parliament on April 4, 1959, as a result of a sustained agitation mounted by the Brong Kyempim Council.
The chiefs who fought for the creation of the region are Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Dr. Agyeman Badu of Dormaa, Nana Akumfi Ameyaw III of Techiman, Nana Kofi Bosea Gyinantwi II of Drobo, Nana Yaw Frimpong of Kukuom, Nana Fosu Gyeabour of Bechem, Nana Kwasi Apraku of Odumase No. 1 and Nana Kwame Agyeman II, Abeasehene. They are all deceased.
Hundreds of resident and non-resident citizens as well as friends and well wishers of the Brong Ahafo region, last Saturday, converged at the Jubilee Park in Sunyani to participate in a grand durbar of chiefs that climaxed the activities marking the 50 years anniversary celebration of the creation of the region.
As early as 5am, the people had started making their way to the durbar grounds from their homes and it was a delight to watch the retinue of paramount chiefs dressed in their rich kente and other expensive clothes and riding in their palanquins.
It was a beautiful sight as chiefs and queenmothers with their large followers, danced to fontonfrom and kete music even as they sat gorgeously in their palanquins while riding at a snail pace to take their respective seats at the durbar grounds.
Apart from the accompanying kete and fontomfrom performers of the chiefs and queens, the Tanokrom Agromma at the Sunyani Centre for National Culture performed traditional dances while the All Saints Choir of the Catholic Church and the Abesim Brass Band, also provided music to the admiration of some of the people who could not contain their emotions and feelings to dance.
Food vendors of all kinds had also pitched their temporary tents to take advantage of the market provided by hungry revellers.
Among the large number of guests were Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Members of the Council of State, Municipal and District Chief Executives, Heads of Departments, Assembly members, and the Clergy.
The President and his entourage arrived at about 2:45p.m and in accordance with tradition, went round to exchange pleasantries with the chiefs, an item on the programme which lasted for almost one and a half hours.
In a short address, he announced that, the government would establish a University of Energy and Natural Resources in the Brong Ahafo Region, and that a committee had already been set up to work on the project, saying, “Very soon, you will see signs of that”.
Speaker after speaker called for unity among the people to ensure an effective development of the area.
The Brong Ahafo Region, which was formerly called Western Ashanti, was created by an Act of Parliament on April 4, 1959, as a result of a sustained agitation mounted by the Brong Kyempim Council.
The chiefs who fought for the creation of the region are Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Dr. Agyeman Badu of Dormaa, Nana Akumfi Ameyaw III of Techiman, Nana Kofi Bosea Gyinantwi II of Drobo, Nana Yaw Frimpong of Kukuom, Nana Fosu Gyeabour of Bechem, Nana Kwasi Apraku of Odumase No. 1 and Nana Kwame Agyeman II, Abeasehene. They are all deceased.
Monday, November 9, 2009
NEW DIRECTIVE FOR REMOVAL OF BUSIA'S STATUE (NOV 9, PAGE 16)
The Brong Ahafo Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) has not given any directive to the effect that the statue of Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia, which is currently standing at the Jubilee Park in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, should be demolished.
The Regional House of Chiefs has also not instructed the BA@50 Planning Committee to remove the statue and neither has the committee itself taken any categorical decision to carry out such an action contrary to public speculation.
The Omanhene of Prang Traditional Area, Nana Kwadwo Nyarko III, who is also the Chairman of the BA@50 Planning Committee, dispelled the notion at a grand durbar of the chiefs and people of the Brong Ahafo Region to climax the year-long Golden Jubilee celebration of the creation of the region on Saturday.
He declared: "We, therefore, plead with all parties to exercise restraint on this matter since those propagating such unfounded allegations are only playing the devil’s advocate and are probably up to some mischief".
He said: "Let us rather concentrate on the things that bind us together as one people since in unity we find strength".
According to the chairman of the anniversary planning committee, the decision to celebrate the creation of the region, was a clear demonstration to the current generation that the region was worth dying for.
Secondly, he pointed out that, it was to rekindle the sense of unity and tenacity of purpose of the Brong Ahafo citizens, and that with togetherness, "we would be able to propel the socio-economic development of the region to greater heights to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of our people".
The theme for the celebration was: "Brong Ahafo @ 50: Achievements, Challenges and Prospects".
According to the chairman, among the benefits to be derived from the celebration of the Golden Jubilee are the planting of 30,000 tree seedlings, made up of cassia and teak species, in all the district capitals.
“It is our belief that we have supported the Government’s policy and drive towards making Ghana green".
He also said the organisation of various sporting activities was considered a catalyst to improve the physical health and fitness of the citizenry.
He said 600 schoolchildren, 20 of whom were drawn from each district, were offered the opportunity to have lunch and interact with accomplished personalities, role models and nananom in the region.
In addition, he noted that the trade and investment fair/exhibition, which was dubbed: "Dwa Kessie 2009", attracted both local and foreign participation, which not only showcased the region’s immense potential but also resulted in the marketing and sale of products.
Furthermore, Nana Nyarko pointed out that the Congress of Brong Ahafo Citizens served as a rallying point for regional consensus building, forged unity among citizens and also invigorated the people to revisit those laudable principles of the gallant chiefs, especially, those in leadership to serve the people better.
The chairman of the planning committee, however, admitted that the committee faced a lot of challenges in its work but nevertheless, with hard work, selfless commitment, tenacity of purpose and focus, its members were able to deliver their assigned tasks successfully.
The President of the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs, Osahene Kwaku Aterkyi II, and the Omanhene of the Kukuom Traditional Area, expressed his appreciation to the government for the unique contribution it made towards the overall development of the region, in respect of education, health, road network, electricity supply, telecommunications and the provision of other social services, including potable water supply.
He, however, said the region still faced several challenges in respect of the development of infrastructure generally, inadequate health facilities, water supply and education facilities.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, paid glowing tribute to all nananom of blessed memory and other distinguished personalities, who fought for the creation of the region as well as all previous governments for their contributions towards infrastructure development of the region.
He expressed his appreciation to the Government and the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETfund) for the construction of an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centre for chiefs and people of the region on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee celebration, which would go a long way to enhance the use of ICT among schoolchildren in the region.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, on behalf of the RCC and planning committee, thanked the President J.E.A. Mills and his Vice, Mr John Dramani Mahama, ministers and all other personalities who made the celebration a success.
The Regional House of Chiefs has also not instructed the BA@50 Planning Committee to remove the statue and neither has the committee itself taken any categorical decision to carry out such an action contrary to public speculation.
The Omanhene of Prang Traditional Area, Nana Kwadwo Nyarko III, who is also the Chairman of the BA@50 Planning Committee, dispelled the notion at a grand durbar of the chiefs and people of the Brong Ahafo Region to climax the year-long Golden Jubilee celebration of the creation of the region on Saturday.
He declared: "We, therefore, plead with all parties to exercise restraint on this matter since those propagating such unfounded allegations are only playing the devil’s advocate and are probably up to some mischief".
He said: "Let us rather concentrate on the things that bind us together as one people since in unity we find strength".
According to the chairman of the anniversary planning committee, the decision to celebrate the creation of the region, was a clear demonstration to the current generation that the region was worth dying for.
Secondly, he pointed out that, it was to rekindle the sense of unity and tenacity of purpose of the Brong Ahafo citizens, and that with togetherness, "we would be able to propel the socio-economic development of the region to greater heights to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of our people".
The theme for the celebration was: "Brong Ahafo @ 50: Achievements, Challenges and Prospects".
According to the chairman, among the benefits to be derived from the celebration of the Golden Jubilee are the planting of 30,000 tree seedlings, made up of cassia and teak species, in all the district capitals.
“It is our belief that we have supported the Government’s policy and drive towards making Ghana green".
He also said the organisation of various sporting activities was considered a catalyst to improve the physical health and fitness of the citizenry.
He said 600 schoolchildren, 20 of whom were drawn from each district, were offered the opportunity to have lunch and interact with accomplished personalities, role models and nananom in the region.
In addition, he noted that the trade and investment fair/exhibition, which was dubbed: "Dwa Kessie 2009", attracted both local and foreign participation, which not only showcased the region’s immense potential but also resulted in the marketing and sale of products.
Furthermore, Nana Nyarko pointed out that the Congress of Brong Ahafo Citizens served as a rallying point for regional consensus building, forged unity among citizens and also invigorated the people to revisit those laudable principles of the gallant chiefs, especially, those in leadership to serve the people better.
The chairman of the planning committee, however, admitted that the committee faced a lot of challenges in its work but nevertheless, with hard work, selfless commitment, tenacity of purpose and focus, its members were able to deliver their assigned tasks successfully.
The President of the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs, Osahene Kwaku Aterkyi II, and the Omanhene of the Kukuom Traditional Area, expressed his appreciation to the government for the unique contribution it made towards the overall development of the region, in respect of education, health, road network, electricity supply, telecommunications and the provision of other social services, including potable water supply.
He, however, said the region still faced several challenges in respect of the development of infrastructure generally, inadequate health facilities, water supply and education facilities.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, paid glowing tribute to all nananom of blessed memory and other distinguished personalities, who fought for the creation of the region as well as all previous governments for their contributions towards infrastructure development of the region.
He expressed his appreciation to the Government and the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETfund) for the construction of an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centre for chiefs and people of the region on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee celebration, which would go a long way to enhance the use of ICT among schoolchildren in the region.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, on behalf of the RCC and planning committee, thanked the President J.E.A. Mills and his Vice, Mr John Dramani Mahama, ministers and all other personalities who made the celebration a success.
VARSITY OF BA (1B, NOV 9)
PREPARATIONS are underway for the establishment of a public university in the Brong-Ahafo Region.
The President, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, who dropped the hint at a durbar in Sunyani to climax the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the region at the weekend, said the government had set up a committee to work out the technical details for the establishment of the university which would run major courses in Energy and Natural Resources.
President Mills also hinted that a number of chiefs had pledged to release plots of land to be used for the construction of facilities which would accommodate the staff and students of the university.
The durbar attracted chiefs of the various paramountcies in the region, as well as high-ranking government functionaries.
According to President Mills, the government considered education as the key to the nation's present and future development.
He said the well-being of the country would be dependent on the existence of a standing corps of skilled workers in various disciplines especially the sciences, who would be inventive and innovative.
President Mills said the government was aware that the higher challenges of tomorrow could be dealt with to a reasonable extent by well trained and educated workforce drawn from all parts of the country.
He said the world was undergoing rapid transformation in the fields of science and technology and the only way the country could catch up with the rest of the world was for the government to provide educational facilities for the benefit of the people, especially the youth.
President Mills implored the chiefs and people of the region to use the occasion to take stock of their achievements ,the tasks and challenges which still undermined its total development.
He said anniversaries were normally used by people to draw a balance sheet for their lives in order to ascertain whether their achievements were more than their shortcomings or vice-versa.
President Mills said the region had come a long way since its establishment by the first President of Ghana by way of producing some of the most finest and astounding personalities in the country.
For his part, the Bring Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo chronicled the feats that the region had chalked up in the various sectors since its creation.
He, however, conceded that there were still some formidable challenges to be overcome.
The regional minister said he was hopeful that the region, which boasted of several brilliant personalities who could be found in reputable institutions in the country and elsewhere in the world would be
mobilised to adequately address the challenges.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said the region was endowed with massive natural resources which would be harnessed to generate income to be channelled into other sectors as well as offer employment opportunities for the people, especially the youth.
Other speakers at the function were the President of the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs, Osahene Kwaku Aterkyi 11, Mrs Cecilia Johnson, a member of the Council and Nana Kwadwo Nyarko, chairman of the Anniversary Planning Committee.
The President, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, who dropped the hint at a durbar in Sunyani to climax the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the region at the weekend, said the government had set up a committee to work out the technical details for the establishment of the university which would run major courses in Energy and Natural Resources.
President Mills also hinted that a number of chiefs had pledged to release plots of land to be used for the construction of facilities which would accommodate the staff and students of the university.
The durbar attracted chiefs of the various paramountcies in the region, as well as high-ranking government functionaries.
According to President Mills, the government considered education as the key to the nation's present and future development.
He said the well-being of the country would be dependent on the existence of a standing corps of skilled workers in various disciplines especially the sciences, who would be inventive and innovative.
President Mills said the government was aware that the higher challenges of tomorrow could be dealt with to a reasonable extent by well trained and educated workforce drawn from all parts of the country.
He said the world was undergoing rapid transformation in the fields of science and technology and the only way the country could catch up with the rest of the world was for the government to provide educational facilities for the benefit of the people, especially the youth.
President Mills implored the chiefs and people of the region to use the occasion to take stock of their achievements ,the tasks and challenges which still undermined its total development.
He said anniversaries were normally used by people to draw a balance sheet for their lives in order to ascertain whether their achievements were more than their shortcomings or vice-versa.
President Mills said the region had come a long way since its establishment by the first President of Ghana by way of producing some of the most finest and astounding personalities in the country.
For his part, the Bring Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo chronicled the feats that the region had chalked up in the various sectors since its creation.
He, however, conceded that there were still some formidable challenges to be overcome.
The regional minister said he was hopeful that the region, which boasted of several brilliant personalities who could be found in reputable institutions in the country and elsewhere in the world would be
mobilised to adequately address the challenges.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said the region was endowed with massive natural resources which would be harnessed to generate income to be channelled into other sectors as well as offer employment opportunities for the people, especially the youth.
Other speakers at the function were the President of the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs, Osahene Kwaku Aterkyi 11, Mrs Cecilia Johnson, a member of the Council and Nana Kwadwo Nyarko, chairman of the Anniversary Planning Committee.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Students have individual responsibility for their actions (PAGE 11, NOV 6)
A MATRICULATION ceremony has been organised for 108 fresh students, including 16 females, to undertake undergraduate courses at the Faculty of Forest Resources Technology (FFRT) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), at the Sunyani Campus in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The Pro Vice Chancellor of KNUST, Professor William Otoo Ellis, who performed the function, stated that it was always a sad thing to dismiss a student and therefore, urged the freshmen and women to be of good behaviour, law abiding and serious with their studies.
“Never give us the opportunity to either rusticate or dismiss you. With this attitude, you will not have any problems with anybody. In all your endeavours, my dear students, be guided by the anxiom that, anything that is a breach of common sense, also constitutes a breach of university regulation for which you will face appropriate sanctions which could include dismissal from the university”, Prof. Ellis cautioned.
He said, there were many other important issues that they needed to know which had all been stipulated in the Student’s Guide and so, “Be familiar with those provisions and be guided by the tenets of the provisions”.
The Pro Vice Chancellor added, “Get to know the KNUST, its philosophy, ideology, vision, mission and be good ambassadors of the university every where you go from now on and remember that, you have come to the university and, therefore, use this opportunity to attain universal education. Make a conscious effort to get to know so many other things other than what you are supposed to study in your chosen programme or area of specialisation”.
Prof. Ellis reminded them of the fact that all of them had entered the university as individuals and, therefore, had the individual responsibility for any action or inaction on their part, stressing that, the university was governed by rules which served as margins of everybody’s freedom, and that, “Hiding under the umbrella of groups and misconducting yourself can cause your withdrawal, rustication or prosecution”.
He emphasised that, their admission to the university, was a rare privilege for them to add value to themselves in their attempt to become more useful citizens to Ghana in particular and Africa at large.
“I, therefore, congratulate you all for making one of the best and strategic decisions of your life. I am very hopeful that you will make maximum use of this opportunity offered you to attain tertiary education so that, following the completion of your programme, you will go and positively impact lives of ordinary citizens in Ghana and Africa, especially, in your chosen area of study which is Forest Resource Technology,” he added.
Prof. Ellis further cautioned, “You must remember that, henceforth, you are responsible for the planning or scheduling of your time and you must know that, the university is not like a high school, where you have the privilege of a senior housemaster to wake you up from your sleep, prompt you on your time for prep and so on”.
He said, everything was now up to them, and that their success or otherwise would depend on their ability to utilise that freedom to their advantage, saying, “Be cautiously adventurous and make sure you explore your talent to the full”.
The Pro Vice Chancellor of KNUST, Professor William Otoo Ellis, who performed the function, stated that it was always a sad thing to dismiss a student and therefore, urged the freshmen and women to be of good behaviour, law abiding and serious with their studies.
“Never give us the opportunity to either rusticate or dismiss you. With this attitude, you will not have any problems with anybody. In all your endeavours, my dear students, be guided by the anxiom that, anything that is a breach of common sense, also constitutes a breach of university regulation for which you will face appropriate sanctions which could include dismissal from the university”, Prof. Ellis cautioned.
He said, there were many other important issues that they needed to know which had all been stipulated in the Student’s Guide and so, “Be familiar with those provisions and be guided by the tenets of the provisions”.
The Pro Vice Chancellor added, “Get to know the KNUST, its philosophy, ideology, vision, mission and be good ambassadors of the university every where you go from now on and remember that, you have come to the university and, therefore, use this opportunity to attain universal education. Make a conscious effort to get to know so many other things other than what you are supposed to study in your chosen programme or area of specialisation”.
Prof. Ellis reminded them of the fact that all of them had entered the university as individuals and, therefore, had the individual responsibility for any action or inaction on their part, stressing that, the university was governed by rules which served as margins of everybody’s freedom, and that, “Hiding under the umbrella of groups and misconducting yourself can cause your withdrawal, rustication or prosecution”.
He emphasised that, their admission to the university, was a rare privilege for them to add value to themselves in their attempt to become more useful citizens to Ghana in particular and Africa at large.
“I, therefore, congratulate you all for making one of the best and strategic decisions of your life. I am very hopeful that you will make maximum use of this opportunity offered you to attain tertiary education so that, following the completion of your programme, you will go and positively impact lives of ordinary citizens in Ghana and Africa, especially, in your chosen area of study which is Forest Resource Technology,” he added.
Prof. Ellis further cautioned, “You must remember that, henceforth, you are responsible for the planning or scheduling of your time and you must know that, the university is not like a high school, where you have the privilege of a senior housemaster to wake you up from your sleep, prompt you on your time for prep and so on”.
He said, everything was now up to them, and that their success or otherwise would depend on their ability to utilise that freedom to their advantage, saying, “Be cautiously adventurous and make sure you explore your talent to the full”.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY COLLEGE ADMITS 839 STUDENTS (NOV 4, PAGE 11)
THE Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Catholic University College of Ghana (CUCG), Fiapre, near Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, has advised students, especially those at the CUCG, to be concerned about issues of social justice and be prepared to champion the cause of the downtrodden and oppressed in the society.
The education that you are receiving must make you work for integral human development. This means that you must be concerned about social, economic and political dimensions of human existence and speak out when necessary,” he stressed.
The Most Rev. Osei-Bonsu, who is also the Bishop of the Konongo-Mampong Diocese of the Catholic Church, gave the advice when he addressed the 9th matriculation of the CUCG, where 839 students were officially admitted to the university to pursue Religious Studies, Education, Economics and Business Administration, as well as Information, Communication and Science Technology (ICST) programmes.
From a total of 50 students in 2003, the total student population of the CUCG now stands at 2,200.
The Catholic Bishop pointed out that, from the beginning the Catholic Church saw its evangelising mission as having both spiritual and material dimensions, and that in line with promoting the material dimension of the evangelisation mission, the church had through all the ages put premium on education.
He explained that, from the earliest times, the church, at great cost and sacrifice, established schools which he noted had enriched humankind and responded to the needs of every time and place, adding, “The Church did all this in order to provide education to the people.”
Bishop Osei-Bonsu, therefore, advised that, as students in a Catholic institution, they must place God at the centre of their lives and realise that they cannot do without Christ and should also seek the understanding of their faith, whether it is Christian or non-Christian.
He said a major characteristic of Catholic academic institutions, was the premium that they placed on discipline and morality, and that, they attempt to inculcate a high standard of morality and discipline in students, and that was why many non-Catholics and even non-Christians send their children to Catholic schools.
Professor James Hawkins Ephraim, the Vice Chancellor of the CUCG, said, the university was marching the significant increases in the student numbers with commensurate academic staff increase and infrastructural development projects with the support of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, adding that the university was also grateful to the National Investment Bank (NIB) and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) for being trustworthy and dependable partners.
He pointed out that, having been chosen by the university among the lot, the CUCG had already placed value on the fresh men and women and so they were to be transformed into what he described as, “A royal priesthood, a people set apart to do greater things for God”.
Prof. Ephraim reminded the students that, they came to the university alone and at the end of their respective programmes they would leave alone but added that “If you behave yourselves properly, you may even find your life partner at the end of your programmes,” he stated.
The education that you are receiving must make you work for integral human development. This means that you must be concerned about social, economic and political dimensions of human existence and speak out when necessary,” he stressed.
The Most Rev. Osei-Bonsu, who is also the Bishop of the Konongo-Mampong Diocese of the Catholic Church, gave the advice when he addressed the 9th matriculation of the CUCG, where 839 students were officially admitted to the university to pursue Religious Studies, Education, Economics and Business Administration, as well as Information, Communication and Science Technology (ICST) programmes.
From a total of 50 students in 2003, the total student population of the CUCG now stands at 2,200.
The Catholic Bishop pointed out that, from the beginning the Catholic Church saw its evangelising mission as having both spiritual and material dimensions, and that in line with promoting the material dimension of the evangelisation mission, the church had through all the ages put premium on education.
He explained that, from the earliest times, the church, at great cost and sacrifice, established schools which he noted had enriched humankind and responded to the needs of every time and place, adding, “The Church did all this in order to provide education to the people.”
Bishop Osei-Bonsu, therefore, advised that, as students in a Catholic institution, they must place God at the centre of their lives and realise that they cannot do without Christ and should also seek the understanding of their faith, whether it is Christian or non-Christian.
He said a major characteristic of Catholic academic institutions, was the premium that they placed on discipline and morality, and that, they attempt to inculcate a high standard of morality and discipline in students, and that was why many non-Catholics and even non-Christians send their children to Catholic schools.
Professor James Hawkins Ephraim, the Vice Chancellor of the CUCG, said, the university was marching the significant increases in the student numbers with commensurate academic staff increase and infrastructural development projects with the support of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, adding that the university was also grateful to the National Investment Bank (NIB) and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) for being trustworthy and dependable partners.
He pointed out that, having been chosen by the university among the lot, the CUCG had already placed value on the fresh men and women and so they were to be transformed into what he described as, “A royal priesthood, a people set apart to do greater things for God”.
Prof. Ephraim reminded the students that, they came to the university alone and at the end of their respective programmes they would leave alone but added that “If you behave yourselves properly, you may even find your life partner at the end of your programmes,” he stated.
GOVT URGED TO EXPEDITE ACTION ON RIGHT TO INFORMATION BILL (PAGE 16, NOV 3)
The Brong Ahafo Network of non-governmental organisations (BANGO), has called on the Government to expedite action on the passage of the Right to Information (RTI) bill.
The coalition said passing the Right to Information Bill was a fundamental human right guaranteed by the 1992 Constitution and recognised as a right by the International Convention on human rights.
BANGO, which is also a member of the coalition on the RTI, argued that the bill, which was drafted in 2003 and reviewed in 2003 and 2005, had unnecessarily delayed and so it was high time the Government gave serious consideration to the passage of the bill into law.
The network of NGOs further pointed out that the passage of the RTI bill would establish a major legal instrument and political mechanism for the opening of the process of good governance, promotion of transparency, probity and accountability in public affairs as well as ensuring greater and popular participation in governance.
Addressing a press conference in Sunyani, the capital of the Brong Ahafo Region, the group reminded the current Government of its 2008 election manifesto which stated that “The new NDC Government shall enact into law, the freedom of information bill to facilitate access to official information, buttressing our commitment to disclosures”.
A member of the Steering Committee of the coalition on the RTI, Dr F.K. Biney, observed that in his maiden state of the nation address, the President urged the passage of the bill which in his view, deserved serious consideration by Parliament but nothing concrete had since been done.
“Our democracy shall undergo metamorphosis, if consistent best international practices are adopted, since they will certainly produce a radical qualitative advancement in the desire for freedom, justice and good governance,” Dr Biney noted.
He further declared that “we are entreating all stakeholders and well-meaning Ghanaians to generate abundant public interest and pressure for the bill to be placed before Parliament for its consideration into law to meet international standards”.
Dr Biney added that civil society and the coalition desired to ensure the implementation of the RTI legislation.
The Secretary to BANGO, Mr Joseph Kwaku Yeboah, who also addressed the conference, pointed out that the choice of democratic governance entailed the active participation of every one in the country, stressing that in participatory democracy the right to information was particularly relevant.
Mr Yeboah, who is also the Programme Officer of the Brong Ahafo Regional Office of the National Commission on Civil Education (NCCE), emphasised that it was essential to ensure good governance and that it was only when those who were to participate in the process were informed that they could contribute meaningfully to governance.
He pointed out that the importance of the RTI and the desire to ensure that there was transparency in governance, constituted the foundation of empowering the citizenry to contribute to good governance and rapid development of the country.
The Co-ordinator of the Brong Ahafo Chapter of the Coalition, Mr Peter Subaare, in his opening remarks, urged all other stakeholders to come on board and ensure the passage of the RTI bill into law because accessing information in Ghana was very difficult.
The coalition said passing the Right to Information Bill was a fundamental human right guaranteed by the 1992 Constitution and recognised as a right by the International Convention on human rights.
BANGO, which is also a member of the coalition on the RTI, argued that the bill, which was drafted in 2003 and reviewed in 2003 and 2005, had unnecessarily delayed and so it was high time the Government gave serious consideration to the passage of the bill into law.
The network of NGOs further pointed out that the passage of the RTI bill would establish a major legal instrument and political mechanism for the opening of the process of good governance, promotion of transparency, probity and accountability in public affairs as well as ensuring greater and popular participation in governance.
Addressing a press conference in Sunyani, the capital of the Brong Ahafo Region, the group reminded the current Government of its 2008 election manifesto which stated that “The new NDC Government shall enact into law, the freedom of information bill to facilitate access to official information, buttressing our commitment to disclosures”.
A member of the Steering Committee of the coalition on the RTI, Dr F.K. Biney, observed that in his maiden state of the nation address, the President urged the passage of the bill which in his view, deserved serious consideration by Parliament but nothing concrete had since been done.
“Our democracy shall undergo metamorphosis, if consistent best international practices are adopted, since they will certainly produce a radical qualitative advancement in the desire for freedom, justice and good governance,” Dr Biney noted.
He further declared that “we are entreating all stakeholders and well-meaning Ghanaians to generate abundant public interest and pressure for the bill to be placed before Parliament for its consideration into law to meet international standards”.
Dr Biney added that civil society and the coalition desired to ensure the implementation of the RTI legislation.
The Secretary to BANGO, Mr Joseph Kwaku Yeboah, who also addressed the conference, pointed out that the choice of democratic governance entailed the active participation of every one in the country, stressing that in participatory democracy the right to information was particularly relevant.
Mr Yeboah, who is also the Programme Officer of the Brong Ahafo Regional Office of the National Commission on Civil Education (NCCE), emphasised that it was essential to ensure good governance and that it was only when those who were to participate in the process were informed that they could contribute meaningfully to governance.
He pointed out that the importance of the RTI and the desire to ensure that there was transparency in governance, constituted the foundation of empowering the citizenry to contribute to good governance and rapid development of the country.
The Co-ordinator of the Brong Ahafo Chapter of the Coalition, Mr Peter Subaare, in his opening remarks, urged all other stakeholders to come on board and ensure the passage of the RTI bill into law because accessing information in Ghana was very difficult.
COCOA SMUGGLERS ARRESTED IN WR (BACK PAGE, NOV 3)
TWO persons who allegedly attempted to smuggle 44 bags of dried cocoa beans valued at GH¢5,520 to neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire have been arrested at the Osu Checkpoint in the Bia District of the Western Region.
It took the vigilance of an Assistant Collector of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Mr Edem P. Amega, assisted by Mr Francis Kotto, the Bia District Chief Executive (DCE), who emerged at the scene, to apprehend the suspects.
The suspects, Foster Karikari, 28, a purchasing clerk, and Awudu Abudu, alias Abu, 28, a driver, were handed over to the Debiso Police.
The suspects were put before the Debiso Magistrate’s Court on October 10, 2009 and they were remanded in prison custody. But when they re-appeared before the court, presided over by Mr Lawrence Buer, on October 28, 2009, they were granted bail in the sum of GH¢5,000 with one surety each to be justified.
They were charged on two counts of conspiracy to commit crime and attempting to smuggle cocoa without authority, contrary to Section 317 (1) of Act 29 of 1960, and are to appear before the court again on November 11, 2009.
By the order of the court, the cocoa beans are to be sold to any accredited licensed buying company and the proceeds given to the police for safe-keeping until the final determination of the case.
The court ordered that the vehicle which was used for the crime should be released to the owner, who should keep it within the vicinity so that it could be traced at any given time it was needed.
Police Chief Inspector Daniel Ahedemola Ogidigidi of the Debiso Station, who briefed newsmen on Saturday, said about 5 p.m. on October 10, 2009, the CEPS official sent the accused persons to the police station and reported that they were carrying cocoa in a Mercedes Benz truck with registration number WR 9256 C.
According to Chief Inspector Ogidigidi, the customs officer indicated that he was on duty at the Osu Checkpoint of CEPS when the vehicle emerged and, upon inspection, he detected that it was loaded with cocoa beans.
He said when Mr Amega demanded the waybill covering the luggage, the suspects could not produce any satisfactory one, adding that just as the customs officer was questioning the suspects, the DCE arrived on the scene and the suspects were arrested and handed over to the police.
In a related development, a team from National Security, led by Inspector James Tampuri, has arrested and handed over to the Debiso Police four persons who were allegedly smuggling 68 bags of dry cocoa beans to Cote d’Ivoire.
They are Seth Aidoo, a driver; David Asum, James Donkor and Kofi Doryor who were conveying the cocoa beans in a KIA truck, with registration number AS 858-09, on October 19, 2009.
Briefing newsmen, Chief Inspector Ogidigidi said the team, which was on a special exercise, intercepted the suspects but when they were asked to produce a waybill, they could not satisfy the group, who then arrested them.
It took the vigilance of an Assistant Collector of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Mr Edem P. Amega, assisted by Mr Francis Kotto, the Bia District Chief Executive (DCE), who emerged at the scene, to apprehend the suspects.
The suspects, Foster Karikari, 28, a purchasing clerk, and Awudu Abudu, alias Abu, 28, a driver, were handed over to the Debiso Police.
The suspects were put before the Debiso Magistrate’s Court on October 10, 2009 and they were remanded in prison custody. But when they re-appeared before the court, presided over by Mr Lawrence Buer, on October 28, 2009, they were granted bail in the sum of GH¢5,000 with one surety each to be justified.
They were charged on two counts of conspiracy to commit crime and attempting to smuggle cocoa without authority, contrary to Section 317 (1) of Act 29 of 1960, and are to appear before the court again on November 11, 2009.
By the order of the court, the cocoa beans are to be sold to any accredited licensed buying company and the proceeds given to the police for safe-keeping until the final determination of the case.
The court ordered that the vehicle which was used for the crime should be released to the owner, who should keep it within the vicinity so that it could be traced at any given time it was needed.
Police Chief Inspector Daniel Ahedemola Ogidigidi of the Debiso Station, who briefed newsmen on Saturday, said about 5 p.m. on October 10, 2009, the CEPS official sent the accused persons to the police station and reported that they were carrying cocoa in a Mercedes Benz truck with registration number WR 9256 C.
According to Chief Inspector Ogidigidi, the customs officer indicated that he was on duty at the Osu Checkpoint of CEPS when the vehicle emerged and, upon inspection, he detected that it was loaded with cocoa beans.
He said when Mr Amega demanded the waybill covering the luggage, the suspects could not produce any satisfactory one, adding that just as the customs officer was questioning the suspects, the DCE arrived on the scene and the suspects were arrested and handed over to the police.
In a related development, a team from National Security, led by Inspector James Tampuri, has arrested and handed over to the Debiso Police four persons who were allegedly smuggling 68 bags of dry cocoa beans to Cote d’Ivoire.
They are Seth Aidoo, a driver; David Asum, James Donkor and Kofi Doryor who were conveying the cocoa beans in a KIA truck, with registration number AS 858-09, on October 19, 2009.
Briefing newsmen, Chief Inspector Ogidigidi said the team, which was on a special exercise, intercepted the suspects but when they were asked to produce a waybill, they could not satisfy the group, who then arrested them.
POLICE TO PROBE ALLEGATION OF MILITARY BRUTALITY (BACK PAGE, NOV 3)
THE Brong Ahafo Regional Police are investigating a case in which five military men, led by one Major Mezu, allegedly subjected three civilians to severe beatings at the Sunyani Magazine.
The victims were said to be undertaking a building project contracted to them when the incident occurred.
The soldiers, whose names are yet to be ascertained, allegedly stormed the project site in a military vehicle, while the said Major Mezu went there with his own saloon car, with registration number GT 7213-09.
They were also alleged to have ordered the victims, Philip Ofosu, a mason; Kwaku Adjei, supervisor, and Benjamin Kusi, the contractor, to lie down on their backs and look at the sun at about 11 a.m. on Thursday, October 29, 2009, while the military men continually kicked them mercilessly, resulting in bleeding from parts of the bodies of the victims.
A source close to the police who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in Sunyani said the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Brong Ahafo Regional Police had officially written to the Commanding Officer of the 3rd Battalion of Infantry (3BN) to release the suspects for questioning.
According to the source, the military authorities had given the assurance that the suspects would be released today to assist in investigations.
The victims, who called at the Daily Graphic office in Sunyani to narrate their ordeal, indicated that they had been contracted to undertake a fence project around a building plot belonging to one Mr Charles Oduro about a month ago.
According to them, while they were at the site, one Mr Larweh, who was believed to be a relative of Major Mezu, approached them and ordered them to stop work immediately or he would call in the military to beat them up.
They alleged that when the said military officer and his men arrived, he also ordered them to stop work, but they refused and asked him to show a legal document backing his order.
The victims alleged that the soldiers then pounced on them and assaulted them mercilessly.
According to them, after they had satisfied themselves, the soldiers left in their vehicles, while they (the victims) called the land owner, who then reported the matter to the police.
The owner of the said plot told the Daily Graphic that the lease and other documents covering the acquisition of the plot were with him for the perusal of whoever wanted to do so.
Attempts to get the Commanding Officer at the Liberation Barracks, Lt Col Michael Amoah Ayisi, on his mobile phone proved futile.
The victims were said to be undertaking a building project contracted to them when the incident occurred.
The soldiers, whose names are yet to be ascertained, allegedly stormed the project site in a military vehicle, while the said Major Mezu went there with his own saloon car, with registration number GT 7213-09.
They were also alleged to have ordered the victims, Philip Ofosu, a mason; Kwaku Adjei, supervisor, and Benjamin Kusi, the contractor, to lie down on their backs and look at the sun at about 11 a.m. on Thursday, October 29, 2009, while the military men continually kicked them mercilessly, resulting in bleeding from parts of the bodies of the victims.
A source close to the police who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in Sunyani said the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Brong Ahafo Regional Police had officially written to the Commanding Officer of the 3rd Battalion of Infantry (3BN) to release the suspects for questioning.
According to the source, the military authorities had given the assurance that the suspects would be released today to assist in investigations.
The victims, who called at the Daily Graphic office in Sunyani to narrate their ordeal, indicated that they had been contracted to undertake a fence project around a building plot belonging to one Mr Charles Oduro about a month ago.
According to them, while they were at the site, one Mr Larweh, who was believed to be a relative of Major Mezu, approached them and ordered them to stop work immediately or he would call in the military to beat them up.
They alleged that when the said military officer and his men arrived, he also ordered them to stop work, but they refused and asked him to show a legal document backing his order.
The victims alleged that the soldiers then pounced on them and assaulted them mercilessly.
According to them, after they had satisfied themselves, the soldiers left in their vehicles, while they (the victims) called the land owner, who then reported the matter to the police.
The owner of the said plot told the Daily Graphic that the lease and other documents covering the acquisition of the plot were with him for the perusal of whoever wanted to do so.
Attempts to get the Commanding Officer at the Liberation Barracks, Lt Col Michael Amoah Ayisi, on his mobile phone proved futile.
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