Ampratwum Stories

PROMOTING TECHNICAL VOCATIONS AMONG GIRLS (JUNIOR GRAPHIC PAGE 6, JAN 26, 2011)

2011-01-25T07:59:00.000-08:00

Basic school girls in the Berekum Municipality in the Brong Ahafo Region have attended a workshop dubbed ‘‘Promoting Technical/Vocational Education for Girls.”
Ms Augustina Amo-Asare, the National Co-ordinator of Women in Technical Education (WITE) of the Ghana Education Service (GES), stressed that the days when parents made their girls to engage in trading in order to secure education for their brothers were over.
She, therefore, urged parents to enrol and retain their daughters in school while encouraging girls to take their technical and vocational courses seriously so that they would come out as professional craftswomen.
The WITE organises regular career counselling for basic school girls and encourages them to pursue non-traditional technical trades such as motor vehicle mechanics, welding, fabrication, plumbing, auto body repairs and spraying.
‘‘When we take a look around us now, we can see that everything was made by the technical man or woman, such as buildings, chairs, tables, microphones, roofing and others. In fact, all the development going on is done by the technical brains of both men and women,” Ms Amo-Asare emphasised.
Two role models, Ms Esther Niriwaah, a Mechanical Engineer of ABTS Company Limited, at Berekum and Mrs Antionnette Amoako, an Electrical Engineer of the Volta River Authority (VRA) office, in Sunyani, gave their respective testimonies about the study of science and encouraged the girls to pursue their chosen careers.

'EXPLAINS FEATS OF MILLS ADMINISTRATION (PAGE 12, JAN 25, 2011)

2011-01-25T07:39:00.000-08:00

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Mohammed Seidu, has impressed upon the youth of the party to continuously explain to the people what the government has been able to achieve so far and what it intends to do towards fulfilling the ‘‘Better Ghana’’ agenda.
He pointed out that agitation by a section of the youth calling for the removal of some ministers of state and metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) ought to be done in a prudent manner through the application of the structures of the party or any other legitimate means in the supreme interest of the party.
The NDC Regional Youth Organiser alleged that there were faceless people behind such agitation by a section of the youth, a situation he stressed did not augur well for the smooth running of the Professor Mills-led administration.
Mr Seidu, who was speaking with the Daily Graphic in Sunyani, commended Prof. Mills for the bold decision to reshuffle some of the executive in the government, including MMDCEs, saying that it was a step in the right direction.
According to him, such an initiative by the President showed that he was indeed on top of his job, and, therefore, it would be unwise for any group to embark or stage unnecessary agitation or put pressure on the President to effect changes.
Mr Seidu rather appealed to the youth and women’s wings of the NDC to rally solidly behind the President and his team, as well as the national executive of the party, towards achieving the set positive agenda of the government.
He said everyone had the right to criticise the policies and programmes of the government by using the right channels and in a constructive manner.
The regional organiser intimated that a recent outreach programme jointly carried out by the youth and women’s wings of the NDC in the region showed that the party had goodwill of the people at the grass roots, since they had come to appreciate the government’s effort to build a prosperous country.
He emphasised that the programme had revealed that there was hope for the NDC to maintain power by winning handsomely in the 2012 general election and appealed to supporters of the party to put all hands on deck.
He appealed to the National Executive of the party to provide resources towards the sustenance of the programme this year, saying that it was the surest way to test the strength of the party on the local front.

SCHOOL HEADS ATTEND CAPACITY-BUILDING WORKSHOP...In Asunafo-South Disrict (PAGE 11, JAN 21, 2011)

2011-01-21T03:45:00.001-08:00

EIGHTY-SEVEN headteachers and headmasters of basic and junior high schools in the Asunafo South District of the Brong Ahafo Region have attended a capacity-building workshop at Kukuom on legal and administrative issues of the Ghana Education Service (GES).
The two subject areas had created a lot of problems and difficulties for headteachers and headmasters as well as teachers and students which had adversely affected teaching and learning in the schools.
For instance, some of the heads arbitrarily dismiss their children without recourse to laid down procedures, while others administer corporal punishment on pupils and students and others are alleged to have sexually assaulted their female pupils or students.
Organised by the Asunafo District Directorate of the GES, the workshop sought to equip the participants with the requisite knowledge of the law and the implications of their actions and inaction, as administrators of their respective schools.
The workshop will also place the school heads in a position that will enable them to educate their teachers on rules and regulations of the GES in order that they do not fall foul of the law.
The Asunafo District Director of the GES, Mr Hayford Kwadwo Osei, who opened the workshop, observed that, the management of human resources was most difficult and complex, considering the dynamic nature of human beings.
To be able to effectively manage the affairs in the schools, he said the participants needed to know that their subordinates and the children alike had their rights which they would go all out to protect, hence the need for them to appreciate the legal framework within which they operated.
The district director pointed out that, some of the legal areas that could engender conflict in the school between the heads and their teachers were issues of leave, promotion, salary increases and upgrading, excursions, football matches, field trips, salary embargoes and deletion of salaries.
He disclosed that the district had taken delivery and distributed 3,000 school uniforms to pupils in deprived areas while over 100,000 exercise books had been distributed to pupils in the district, adding that, this year alone, the district had benefited from the construction of 12 classroom blocks, some of which were either completed or nearing completion.
The Legal Advisor of the GES, Mr Enoch Nurale Yirbeyogr, who facilitated the workshop, reminded the participants that, the time had come for every headteacher to be conscious of the legal regime within which he or she operated.
He said, ‘‘Ghanaians had promulgated a constitution for themselves and had resolved to pursue a democratic system of governance at all levels, be it at the national or at the school level, saying that, being conscious of the legal regime with which one works, entailed being familiar with laws one had to contend with in the daily discharge of one’s duties’’.

CHELSEA OVERPOWER KOTOKO (BACK PAGE, JAN 17, 2011)

2011-01-17T04:39:00.000-08:00

Berekum Chelsea continued their winning spree to remain on top when they recorded a 1-0 victory over an overhauled Asante Kotoko side in a Glo Premiership thriller at their favourite Golden City Park yesterday.
An 18th minute goal fetched by dependable striker, Emmanuel Clottey, as a result of a midfield blunder by Kotoko completed a back-to-back triumph of the Berekum Blues over the Porcupine Warriors.
An earlier knockdown of Kotoko’s livewire, Nathaniel Asamoah, and his continuous policing by the Chelsea defence largely contributed to the visitors’ defeat. Kotoko, however, had a chance to level up in the 33rd minute but a powerful left-footer by Michael Akuffo missed target.
Chelsea’s strong man, Bismark Idan, in the thick of affairs nearly doubled the lead for Chelsea but his 89th minute drive flew over the bar, while a freekick in added time by Daniel Nii Adjei found Asamoah whose shot was blocked by goalkeeper Ernest Sowah.

HEARTS SNATCH CRUCIAL AWAY WIN (BACK PAGE, JAN 13, 2011)

2011-01-13T04:17:00.000-08:00

Accra Hearts of Oak put behind them their technical problems to trek courageously to the Berekum Golden City Park to inflict a painful 1-0 defeat on Arsenal in their 17th week Glo Premier League clash yesterday.
By courtesy of a low cross from veteran Hearts winger, Douglas Nkrumah from the left, returnee striker Mahatma Otoo made no mistake to hit the back of the net for the Phobians on the 71st minute to the disbelief of the home fans.
Hearts never looked back after the goal, while Arsenal, who had the better part of the second half after a balanced first half, tried to contain the visitors’ onslaughts but fate befell midfielder Osei Bonsu as Ho-based class one referee, Solomon Modey, showed him the red card for a savage tackle on Mahatma Otoo.
The referee’s decision attracted vehement protests from Arsenal players who charged on him, but security men managed to restore sanity for play to continue.

52 DRIVERS FINED FOR TRAFFIC OFFENCES (MIRROR, DEC 31, 2010, PAGE 21)

2010-12-31T08:47:00.000-08:00

From Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah, Sunyani.

The Sunyani and Goaso Magistrate Courts in the Brong Ahafo Region have imposed a total fine of GH¢2,020.00 on a number of drivers who were arraigned before them separately for committing various motor and traffic offences.
The recalcitrant drivers were arrested during a special exercise conducted by the regional Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service on the Goaso-Kukuom road, Goaso-Kumasi road, and the Berekum- Dormaa Ahenkro road and at the Bechem Junction.
They were charged for driving without license, use of motor vehicles with worn-out tyres, failing to equip their vehicles with fire extinguishers and warning triangle, use of vehicles with crashed windscreens, among other traffic offences.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Paul Wesley Baah, the Regional MTTU Commander, told The Mirror in Sunyani that a total of 52 drivers were arrested during the first exercise on the Goaso-Kukuom and Goaso-Kumasi roads, out of which 39 were processed for the Goaso court, presided over by Mr Sydney Braimah.
ASP Baah indicated that the court then convicted 16 of the drivers who were found guilty to pay a total fine of GH¢1, 120.00 and issued a bench warrant for the arrest of 20 others who failed to appear before the court.
For the exercise carried out on the Berekum-Dormaa Ahenkro road and at the Bechem Junction, the MTTU Regional Commander explained that, in all, 38 drivers were arrested for indiscipline but 25 of them were sent to the Sunyani Magistrate Court ‘‘B’’, presided over by Mr J. Mensah.
He said the court then convicted nine of them to pay a total of GH¢900 and issued a bench warrant for the arrest of 16 while he directed the police to write warning letters to 13 others.
According to Mr Baah, his outfit would continue to instil discipline on the roads, especially with the approach of Christmas and even after the festivities.

KENYASE HEALTH CENTRE UPGRADED (PAGE 22, DEC 29, 2010)

2010-12-29T07:32:00.000-08:00

THE Kenyase Health Centre in the Asutifi District in the Brong Ahafo Region has been rehabilitated and upgraded at a cost of $85,000.
The project involved re-roofing of the building, extension of water to the centre from the main Small Town Water System at Kenyasi, the provision of water closet toilet facility as well as the construction of new male and female wards and two nurses quarters, among other expansion works.
Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL) operating the Ahafo Mine in the district financed the project after being given the green light by the District Assembly and the Ghana Health Service.
Speaking at a ceremony to hand over the new look facility at a ceremony at Kenyase, the External Affairs Manager of NGGL, Mr Kojo Bedu-Addo, said it was the aim of the company to ensure a sustainable development of communities within the operational area of the mine concession.
He stressed that the assistance to the health centre was a demonstration of the company’s commitment towards the promotion of quality healthcare delivery in its operational area.
Mr Bedu-Addo added: ‘‘We hope this contribution will go a long way to make health care more accessible to the community and at the same time, attract qualified health personnel to reside in the community.”
He said Newmont in partnership with the GHS and other stakeholders such as the International Finance Company had broadened the scope of education and prevention of malaria control, through its treated bed net distribution programme in local communities and workplaces.
Mr Bedu-Addo disclosed that the Global Business Coalition (GBC) on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria voted NGGL as a leading company in the fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria prevention this year.
He stated that the worldwide coalition of 200 corporate organisations, including the United Nations (UN) and its affiliates, such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) also voted the company’s work place HIV/AIDS and malaria programme as the best in the work place HIV/AIDS and malaria category.
The District Co-ordinating Director, Mr D. Aquaye, said health issues were paramount in the effective development of any nation hence the government’s intervention to provide the necessary infrastructure in the health sector.
He, however, said the central government could not shoulder the burden alone and, therefore, urged private individuals and groups to contribute their quota in the development of all facets of the economy.
Mr Aquaye commended the management of Newmont for the gesture and gave the assurance that the assembly would contribute towards the maintenance of the facility to prolong its lifespan.

KENYASE HEALTH CENTRE REHABILITATED (MIRROR, PAGE 35, DEC 24, 2010)

2010-12-23T04:35:00.000-08:00

From Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah, Kenyasi

Rehabilitation and upgrading works on the Kenyase Health Centre in the Asutifi District in the Brong Ahafo Region have been completed at a total cost of $85,000 and handed over to the district health administration.
The project included re-roofing the building, extending water to the centre from the main Small Town Water System at Kenyase, providing water closet toilet facility as well as constructing new female and male wards and two nurses quarters.
Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL), operators of the Ahafo Mine in the district, financed the project, in consultation with the District Assembly, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and other stakeholders in the district’s health delivery.
Speaking at a ceremony to officially hand over of the new facility at Kenyase, the External Affairs Manager of NGGL, Mr Kojo Bedu-Addo, said it was the aim of the company to ensure a healthy and sustainable development of communities within the area of the mine concession.
He said NGGL’s assistance to the health centre was a demonstration of its commitment towards the promotion of quality health care delivery in the its host communities, adding that “We hope this contribution will go a long way to make health care more accessible to the community and at the same time, attract qualified health personnel to reside in the community.”
The External Affairs Manager said Newmont, in partnership with the GHS and other stakeholders such as the International Finance Company, had broadened the scope of education and prevention of malaria control through its treated bed net distribution programme in local communities and the workplace, saying the programme had been acknowledged world-wide.
Mr Bedu-Addo disclosed that the Global Business Coalition (GBC) on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and malaria voted NGGL as a leading company in the fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria prevention this year.
He explained that the world-wide coalition of 200 corporate organisations, including the United Nations (UN) and its affiliates such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), also voted the company’s work place HIV/AIDS and malaria programme as the best in the work place HIV/AIDS and Malaria category.
The District Co-ordinating Director, Mr D. Acquaye, noted that health issues were paramount in the effective development of any nation, hence the government’s intervention to provide the necessary infrastructure in the health sector.
However, he said, the central government could not shoulder the burden alone and, therefore, urged private individuals and groups to contribute their quota in the development of all facets of the economy.
Mr Acquaye commended the management of Newmont for the gesture and gave the assurance that the Assembly would contribute towards the maintenance of the facility in order to prolong its life span.

1,979 CONTEST ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS IN BRONG AHAFO (PAGE 13, DEC 22, 2010)

2010-12-22T02:09:00.000-08:00

ONE thousand nine hundred and seventy-nine persons, made up of 1,830 males and 149 females have been duly nominated in the 766 electoral areas of the Brong Ahafo Region to contest the upcoming District Assembly elections.
Mr George Gyabaah, the Brong Ahafo Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC) who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in Sunyani indicated that one female contestant each was vying to be elected into the Kintampo South and Pru district assemblies.
Giving the breakdown of the contestants for the other districts, Mr Gyabaah said the Techiman Municipal assembly had the highest number of 131 candidates with nine women to stand the December 28, 2010 local poll, with Asutifi and Berekum having 124 contestants apiece including 13 and 10 females respectively.
The Tain and Kintampo North follow with 108 and 106 aspirants respectively, followed by Sene, 101 with six female contestants; Tano South, 100 with 14 women; Dormaa Municipal, 96 with 10 females; Jaman South, 95 also with 10 women contestants; Sunyani West, 93; Atebubu/Amantin, 91; Sunyani Municipal, 87 and Wenchi, 85.
According to the Regional EC Director, the Asunafo North and Nkoranza South follow with 78 each; Tano North, 72; Asunafo South, 66); Nkoranza North and Dormaa East, 64 and Jaman North, 63.
Mr Gyabaah said the regional office had taken delivery of notice of polls, which gave proof of all persons that had been duly nominated to contest the elections in the region, adding that the notice was meant to educate the electorate on how the ballot papers would look like and the position of the candidate, on the paper, their pictures, names, occupation and age.
He also indicated that his office had started mounting platforms for candidates in all the districts while training of Returning Officers and their deputies had been completed, who in turn were expected to go out to train Presiding Officers and Polling Assistants.
He, however, said that the office was yet to receive the ballot papers for the election but expressed the hope that they would be sent in from Accra by the close of the week.
At the time of the interview, district officers of the EC were taking away their respective materials for the polls, including notices of the poll, statement of poll, declaration of results forms, collation of results forms and guides to election officials.
Mr Gyabaah appealed to the electorate to participate fully in the elections by voting in their numbers in choosing those they found capable of leading them in their various communities and also be at the polling stations on time to avoid rush.
In a related development, 306 candidates are to contest the district assembly and unit committees' elections in the Sekyere Central District in the Ashanti Region.
Mr Raymond Nartey, the District Electoral Officer, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Nsuta that 84 of the candidates comprising 75 males and seven females would contest for the assembly poll in the 27 electoral areas.
He said 222 made up of 194 men and 28 women were contesting to join the unit committees.
Mr Nartey said three of the electoral areas, Hemame, Awanya and Nkwagri had no one contesting for the unit committee election.
He said campaign platform mounted by the Electoral Commission (EC) for the candidates in the district officially ended on Sunday December 19, 2010.
The candidates, however, have the right to do their own house-to-house campaign.

ASUTIFI HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME REGISTER MORE (PAGE 29, DEC 15, 2010)

2010-12-15T06:23:00.001-08:00

THE Asutifi District Health Insurance Scheme (DHIS) in the Brong Ahafo Region registered new members and renewed expired cards of existing ones, all totalling 4,203, during a special promotional programme organised recently by the public relations (PR) department of the scheme in the area.
The special exercise, which took place simultaneously at Nkaseim, Acherensua, Gambia and Kenyase on November 16 and 17, 2010, generated a total of GH¢6,124 premium paid for the new and old registrants.
At Nkaseim, 1,178 members were registered while Acherensua, Gambia and Kenyase registered 1,074, 977 and 974, respectively.
Before the commencement of the two-day special exercise, the PR section had mounted a two-week awareness creation on the local FM radio stations, visited churches, mosques and institutions in the district to educate the people on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in general and the uniqueness of the promotional exercise in particular.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the DHIS, Mr Owusu Berchie, disclosed this to the Daily Graphic at Hwediem.
He stated that his outfit decided to visit some of the communities at dawn in the sensitisation efforts through the use of public address systems which, he said, was a very good strategy to reach predominantly farming communities.
Touching on the renewals, Mr Berchie said all expired cards were replaced irrespective of the expiry date while in the case of the new ones, the registrants were given a one month waiting period instead of the previous three months to obtain their national identification (ID) cards.
According to the PRO, while waiting for their permanent cards, the newly roped in members were issued with temporary cards to enable them to attend health facilities whenever they fell sick.
He added: “With all these packages, the renewal and premium fees remained the same to enable people who wish to register to get on board the scheme.”
Mr Berchie said even though the scheme had field agents working in the various communities for the special programme, its officials were deployed to the communities to sensitise and carry out the registration alongside the renewals.
He emphasised that hitherto the people felt reluctant to join the scheme or renew their cards but this time round, the involvement of the scheme staff had whipped up their enthusiasm to get on board.
The PRO also disclosed that as of October, this year, a total of 97,592 people, made up of 42,391 males and 55,201 females out of the district’s population of approximately 120,000, had registered with the scheme.

CHIEFTAINCY DISPUTES IN BRONG AHAFO INCREASE (MIRROR, PAGE 35, DEC 11, 2010)

2010-12-10T05:33:00.001-08:00

From Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah, Sunyani

A TOTAL of 56 chieftaincy cases, made up of 46 petitions and 10 appeals, are currently pending before the Judicial Committee of the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs.
This was against 54 recorded cases which comprised of 43 petitions and 11 appeals that were brought before the Committee in December 2009.
At the beginning of this year, the number of chieftaincy disputes that came before the committee were 63, as a result of seven more petitions and two additional appeals.
However, the Committee was able to dispose of four of the petitions and three appeals, thereby, bringing the final number to 56, which the Committee is making frantic efforts to deal with.
Osahene Kwaku Aterkyi II , the President of the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs, who disclosed this when he addressed the end of year general meeting of the House in Sunyani, the regional capital, could however, not catalogue the pending cases but mentioned the disposed petitions and appeals.
The disposed petitions are the Bassa Paramount stool, Bouyem-Techiman, Toubodom-Techiman and Tanoso- Techiman, while the settled appeal cases were Nkoranza Gyase, Odomase-Adantia as well as Nkoranza-Krabonso.
Osahene Aterkyi expressed the hope that Nananom would take action on the remaining cases pending so that the number would be drastically reduced in a few months time, saying, ‘‘We have already taken steps to ensure expeditious reduction of pending cases to the barest minimum.”.
He said it was rather regrettable thatfull attendance on hearing days was still not encouraging, and therefore, appealed to the panel members to ensure speedy discharge of the outstanding cases, to save the House from possible embarrassment.
According to the President, the House attempted to settle some of the pending cases through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism but indicated that most of them failed to yield positive results, adding, ‘‘Nonetheless, we shall pursue this further in the coming year’’.
Osahene Aterkyi, who is also the Omanhene of the Kukuom Traditional Area, pointed out that in the coming year, the house would plan to move into mediation process to resolve serious rifts/misunderstandings, arising in conflict areas to prevent legal tussle between royal families and kingmakers.
He gave the assurance that, in the early part of 2011, he plans to take a tour of the entire region, starting from Amanten through Atebubu to Bassa, Wiase, Dwan to Kadjaji area, to help patch up cracks in royal families/kingmakers that may possibly crystallise into open conflict.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye Marfo, stressed that chieftaincy and land disputes did not augur well for the effective development of the country, pointing out that investors were scared of such conflicts and therefore, urged Nananom to ensure the speedy resolution of all pending cases.

FOUR REMANDED ON SUSPICION OF MURDER (BACK PAGE, DEC 9, 2010)

2010-12-10T04:43:00.000-08:00

THE Duayaw Nkwanta Magistrate’s Court, presided over by Mr. D. K. Ahiado, has remanded in prison custody four persons suspected to have murdered a 35-year-old mason at Yamfo in the Tano North District in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The suspects, Kofi Kabie, 22, a driver’s mate; Kudjo Eminilbon, 34, a tractor operator; Gyamfi Kyeremeh, 47, a drinking bar operator; and Evans Peprah Tabiri, a 58-year-old road contractor, are alleged to have conspired to murder Kwasi Yeboah, also known as Kwasi Dada.
The body of the deceased, which was found on the outskirts of the town on Thursday, November 12, 2010, had since been buried after autopsy.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Crime Officer, Superintendent of Police, Mr Eric Amoako, who made this known to the Daily Graphic in Sunyani, however, indicated that the police were yet to charge the suspects, who were picked on different occasions after the act.
The crime officer pointed out that Kabie and Eminilbon were the first to be arrested on November 13, 2010 and arraigned at the court on November 15, 2010, while Kyeremeh and Tabiri were picked on November 24 and November 27, 2010 respectively.
They are to reappear on December 21, 2010.
He explained that the police had started investigations into the case and appealed to the public, including the people of Yamfo, to volunteer any relevant information.
Mr Amoako gave the assurance that any such information would be treated with the confidentiality it deserved.

POLICE WILL HELP ERADICATE HUMAN TRAFFICKING (PAGE 43, DEC 6, 2010)

2010-12-06T03:27:00.000-08:00

THE Police Administration has given the assurance that the police will continue to collaborate with other security agencies to eliminate human trafficking in the country.
He, however, stated that it was the duty of society to rescue victims of human trafficking, and also eliminate the menace which is known to be modern-day slavery.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Seth Charles Oteng, gave the assurance when he inaugurated the regional anti-human trafficking unit of the Ghana Police Service in Sunyani.
The establishment of the unit throughout the country is a collaborative effort between the Police Administration and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
According to international labour estimates, about 2.4 million people were victims of human trafficking between 1995 and 2005 while the United States Department of State report also revealed that about one million children were exploited by the global commercial sex trade every year.
DCOP Oteng stated that human trafficking impacted negatively on the economy since it contributed to streetchildren, unskilled labour and commercial sex activities.
He said those who engaged in prostitution contracted all kinds of venereal diseases, including HIV and AIDS, which was a killer.
‘‘This is why the Police Administration in collaboration with the other security agencies, is determined to eliminate human trafficking in our society. We would not relent in our efforts until trafficking in human beings is no more practised in our society,’’ he stressed.
  The regional police commander emphasised that human trafficking was very exploitative as children were trafficked and forced into all kinds of forced hazardous labour, such as stone quarrying, fishing, salt mining and worse of all, young ladies were forced into prostitution.
  The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, said many years ago, there was the tendency of some women in parts of the country, who were enticed or induced to migrate to Abidjan, La Cote d’ Ivoire under the guise of finding gainful employment, only to be forced into prostitution by circumstances beyond their control.
He said some of them arrived to realise that they had been deceived because the promised jobs were non-existent and prostitution was the only avenue open to them to earn a living.
‘‘Occasionally, these Abidjan-based women visited home in fancy clothing which also enticed others to go along with them,’’ the Regional Minister stated.
   Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, however, stated that human trafficking had assumed a new dimension with the recruitment and transportation of young boys and girls who were sold into slavery, either within or across national borders by the use of force, abduction or deception.

CHELSEA BEAT LIBERTY 2-0 (BACK PAGE, DEC 6, 2010)

2010-12-06T03:23:00.000-08:00

Bechem Chelsea continued to enjoy their stay at the summit of the Glo Premier League when they beat visiting Liberty Professionals 2-0 at the Golden City Park in Berekum yesterday.
Chelsea got the opener on the 10th minute when they struck through skipper Abdul Basit Mohammed. From a carefully tendered cornerkick, Chelsea’s Bismark Idan struck at goal, but his left-footed shot was blocked, and the ball fell to Basit Mohammed to finish off with a shot from the rebound.
Chelsea kept dictating the pace of the game but could not add to their lead in the first half.
The restart saw Liberty lifting their game, but their attack found Chelsea’s defence unbeatable until the scales turned in favour of the homesters who secured a penalty for their efforts later on, and striker Emmanuel Clottey made no mistake to slot it home.

KINTAMPO HEALTH SCHOOL DEVELOPS 5-YEAR PLAN (PAGE 11, DEC 3, 2010)

2010-12-06T00:03:00.001-08:00

THE authorities at the Kintampo Rural Health Training School (KRHTS), in the Brong Ahafo Region have developed a five-year strategic plan for 2011 to 2016.
It has the objective of transforming the school into a world-class health university that will continue to respond to the health needs of communities.
The KRHTS aspires to become an international resource centre for training and operational research, by working towards developing and delivering Bachelor and Masters’ Degrees in appropriate subjects in affiliation with other institutions.
Furthermore, as the school, which was established about 41 years ago endeavours to achieve steady growth in student numbers, it is determined to develop partnerships with national health and research institutions, local and international universities and health authorities to encourage and support staff to gain higher qualifications up to the PhD level.
That would certainly enhance the quality of teaching and learning as well as service delivery and research, thereby attracting international students to participate in its training and other programmes.
Dr Emmanuel Teye Adjase, the Director of KRHTS disclosed this at the 2010 Matriculation of 672 freshers, made up of 411 males and 251 females.
He indicated that the first priority of the strategic plan was for the school to emerge as a full research degree awarding university, by working with other universities and the relevant ministries to fulfil the criteria for a University College status by 2011.
The students would pursue programmes in Medical Assistant Psychiatry, Post Basic Medical Assistant, Post Basic Community Oral Health Direct Medical Assistant, Field Technician, Disease Control, Human Information, Laboratory Technician, Registered Dental Surgery, Assistant Nutrition and Community Mental Health.
Again, the Director said, the authorities would work with other universities and the relevant ministries to fulfil the criteria for the full university status by 2016, developing a reputation for the training institution for excellence in learning, teaching and research.
Under the same first strategic priority, Dr Adjase pointed out that, the school would encourage the staff to develop the research environment of the training institution by hosting conferences, editing journals and publishing research findings.
The Director also mentioned the remaining five-year strategic priority areas as: Becoming an international resource centre for training and operational research, to become a well-resourced institution to contribute to the ever changing global health needs, increase the number and variety of students served and enhance their experience of higher education and finally, ensure an excellent human, financial, physical and intellectual infrastructure for the training institution.
Dr Adjase was joined by the Chairman of the Advisory Council of the KRHTS, Professor Tsiri Agbenyega, who is also the immediate past Dean of the School of Medical Sciences (SMS) at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), to launch the plan.
They also launched an Online Portal for the school, which was installed by Fleet Technologies Limited in Accra, Specialists in Online Services for educational institutions and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
Prof. Agbenyega commended the authorities of the school for turning out health professionals who were rendering dedicated services in all parts of the country, saying that, graduates from the school were the crop of health personnel who worked harder with the absence of medical officers who sought to seek greener pastures elsewhere after their training in Ghana.

FOOD PRODUCTION BOOMS IN ASUTIFI DISTRICT (MIRROR, NOV 27, 2010, PAGE 35)

2010-12-02T22:34:00.001-08:00

From Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah, Ntotroso

Food production, especially plantain, cassava, cocoyam and maize in the Asutifi District of the Brong Ahafo Region, witnessed a steady percentage increase over the past four years, mainly due to the adoption of good agricultural practices by farmers.
Additionally, increased extension services, farmer to farmer training by field officers as well as the supply of and use of high quality yielding inputs.
In 2009, a total of 301,438 metric tonnes (Mt) of plantain was produced as against 274,748Mt recorded the previous year while in 2007, the production level was 225,381Mt and a total of 216,713Mt in 2006.
For cassava, the district recorded 264,002Mt in 2009; 243,710Mt in 2008; 262,629Mt the previous year and 236, 178Mt in 2006, representing 10.54 per cent while in the case of cocoyam, the figures recorded were, 137,213Mt, in 2009; 118,427Mt in 2008; 104,137Mtin 2007 and 101,104Mt the previous year.
The consistent food productivity levels was as a result of the provision of a total of $10million by Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL) operating the Ahafo Mine in the district to about 5,000 farmers, who have been affected by the development of the mine to re-establish their livelihood, under a programme known as the Agricultural Improvement and Land Access Programme (AILAP).
The Asutifi District Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Mr Kodwo A. Intsuah, disclosed this at the 2010 Farmers Open Day organised by the company at Ntotroso in the district on Tuesday with the theme, “ Grow More Food: Food Security, our Priority”.
Giving the recorded statistics for maize during the period, Mr. Intsuah indicated that 13,983Mt was produced in 2009; 14,043Mt in 2008; 13,868 in 2007 and 12,165Mt produced in 2006, while yam had 2,014Mt in 2009; 1,919Mt the previous year, 1,647Mt in 2007 and 1,551 in 2006.
For rice, the district MoFA Director pointed out that a total of 388Mt was produced in 2009 while 312Mt was recorded in 2008; 291 in 2007 and 286 produced the previous year, adding that in view of the increase in productivity, there was always bumper harvests at the peak of the harvesting season.
He therefore called for proper marketing avenues and value chain additions.
The External Affairs Manager of NGGL, Mr Kojo Bedu-Addo, said there had been an increase in farm size for the production of maize from 5,840 hectares in 2004 to 6,102 hectares in 2009, adding that Newmont had a vested interest in the improvement of livelihoods and economic development of communities in the area.
He appealed to the farmers and other stakeholders in the community to focus on projects that would enhance the development of agriculture and agro-business in the district, since mining would not be a feature of the district forever.
“The mine will come to the end of its life in a couple of decades so we all need to begin to build legacies that can support and sustain the livelihood and development of the Asutifi District and its communities,” Mr Bedu-Addo explained.
The District Chief Executive for Asutifi, Mr Eric Addae, commended the management of the company for the assistance extended to the farmers who had been affected by the operation of the mine and expressed the hope that the farmers would continue to work harder to earn a decent living all the time.

FAISAL HOLD ARSENAL (BACK PAGE, NOV 29, 2010)

2010-12-02T07:49:00.000-08:00

Alhaji Karim Gruzah’s King Faisal trekked gallantly to the Berekum Golden City Park to hold homesters Arsenal to a pulsating 0-0 draw in their Glo Premier League match yesterday.
Faisal’s determination to run away with victory forced the defence of Arsenal to work extra hard, however, Arsenal’s central defender, Kofi Agyare, was red-carded by Tamale-based Class One referee, Awal Mohammed, on the 89th minute for a second cautionable offence.
The homesters, backed by their teeming supporters, probed for victory but they failed, even with the seven minutes additional time played.

ORGANISE YOURSELVES INTO STRONG ASSOCIATIONS (PAGE 22, NOV 27, 2010)

2010-12-02T06:51:00.002-08:00

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, has observed that for the private sector to be the engine of growth, intermediary organisations, such as trade and business association’s (TBSs), should act as the voice of the sector.
He stressed that private businesses must organise themselves into strong associations and through advocacy, use those associations as platforms to articulate their concerns for the attention of policy-makers at the national, regional and district levels.
“They can advise government on the adoption of prudent economic policies that will create the appropriate environment for private sector growth and development. The TBAs should strengthen the capacity of the private sector and determine policy as well as the allocation of resources,” Mr Nyamekye-Marfo suggested.
The Regional Minister made the observation in a speech read on his behalf at a workshop, in Sunyani, on promoting business associations in Ghana.
The workshop, which was organised by the Private Enterprises Foundation (PEF) and sponsored by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, was aimed at improving the members’ capacity on trade and business transactions.
According to Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, TBAs in Ghana were weak, poorly funded and lacked research and lobbying capacity.
He, however, expressed satisfaction that the workshop would strengthen the associations to enable them to have a strong and coherent voice to be able to effectively play their role in the development process and also contribute towards the achievement of the government’s “Better Ghana” agenda.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KAB Governance Consult, Mr Kwasi Afriyie Badu, who presented a paper on “The case for strengthening business associations,” said the policy environment remained relatively weak for the private sector in spite of the government’s declared commitment to private sector development.
He suggested that the leadership of business associations should strive for a strong voice in the determination of policy and the allocation of resources, adding that strengthening business associations was a shared responsibility.
According to Mr Badu, Ghanaian business associations had the potential to become a force to reckon with in the national arena, but said what was required was effective leadership and that the PEF needed to rise to the challenge and offer the required leadership.
The acting Brong Ahafo Regional Manager of the National Board for Small-Scale Industries (NBSSI), Mr Saeed Owusu-Brobbey, in a speech read on his behalf, said in the current competitive business world, it was almost impossible for any small-scale entrepreneur to survive as an individual.
He explained that the resources of an individual alone might not be adequate enough to enable him or her to compete effectively with the larger business concerns which made use of modern and complex scientific methods in production.

GOVT URGED TO ASSIST PRIVATE SCHOOLS (PAGE 22, NOV 27, 2010)

2010-12-02T06:51:00.001-08:00

IT is an undeniable fact that education, especially formal education, is the key to the effective development of every nation.
It is in recognition of this fact that governments, the world over, strive to put premium on the education of their citizenry.
In fact, the so-called developed countries attained their current status because they spent a lot of their resources on their respective education sectors which in the final analysis have tremendously transformed their economies.
Having realised this reason, developing countries, including our dear nation Ghana, have decided to concentrate on the education of their children by channelling a greater proportion of their annual budgets to the education sector.
Currently, the government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is painstakingly embarking on the infrastructural development of public schools at all levels, an aim the previous administration of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) sought to achieve. Indeed, it is the wish of every serious-minded government to place education high on its developmental agenda.
Governments are desirous to pay maximum attention to education and in fact, much more attention is placed on public educational institutions. However, the question arises as to what the government is doing to assist the private schools since there are a number of potential benefits to strengthen the private school sector. Admittedly, the private sector is the engine of growth and the education sector should not be an exception.
There is an observation that private schools of varying quality are mushrooming in the developing world. In the private education sector, some schools appear to deliver quality education to the poor than the public schools.
In Ghana, for instance, there is an overall perception among parents that private schools provide better education than the public schools, at the basic level a notion that is substantiated by the results of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), which is the only criterion considered for entry into the Senior High Schools (SHSs).
It is also estimated that nearly 75 per cent of all schools in the Greater Accra Region and the other cities in the country are private institutions and those schools mostly serve the poor. As stated earlier, there are a number of potential benefits to be derived if the private sector education is strengthened diversity.
In addition to reducing the burden of financing education from government expenditure, stronger private schools might increase the diversity and choice in educational provision and the access and quality in education as well as improve the efficiency, effectiveness and accountability of schools.
However, there are a number of factors that negatively affect the growth and quality of private schools. They include limited access to financial assistance, which appears to be the major one.
While some private schools are poorly managed financially, owners of those institutions often have few options to finance their business and are forced to rely on their savings and family loans to establish, grow, improve and sustain their schools.
Consequently, many credit institutions are reluctant to provide loans to private schools because they are perceived as risky investments. Many of those schools also lack credible accounting and financial management practices that can allow financial institutions to appropriately evaluate risks.
In the light of this phenomenon, a policy dialogue is needed among the Ghana Education Service (GES), the Ministry of Education, authorities of private schools, donor agencies, parents, among other stakeholders, focusing on how private schools might achieve greater recognition and credibility and determine how they might fit into the country’s education goals in consonance with the Millennium Development Goals.
Given the potential of private schools at both the primary and secondary levels to improve efficiency, access and quality, governments and donors ought to consider private schools as partners in achieving education for all and working with the private sector to achieve such goals.
This, however, requires a new type of programming. The means to achieving such goals requires mobilising and increasing the effective use of financial resources.
It is in response to this thought that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), working through The Michel Group Incorporated (TMG) in 2009, launched an Affordable Private Schools (APS) pilot project in Ghana.
The APS is aimed at gaining a better understanding of the needs of the private basic education sector and to gather best practices and lessons learnt specifically about how best to meet the financing and other needs of this sector.
In fact, TMG Incorporated is helping the private education sector in Ghana to improve the internal operations of private schools and enhance their ability to access affordable credit to expand infrastructure and improve the quality of education.
TMG Incorporated, under USAID-funded programme and in partnership with ASKY Services Limited, a private enterprise in Sunyani, is organising a series of training programmes for owners/managers and prospective owners/managers of private schools in internationally accepted best practices in Business and Financial Management four days workshop.
Recently, 20 proprietors and managers attended a four-day workshop in Sunyani. During an interaction with the Daily Graphic, Mr Baba D. Anaba, the Project Co-ordinator of the TMG Assistance to Basic Education in Ghana, stated that the APS pilot programme was geared towards developing a package of operational best practices and lessons learned in enabling quality private education, with focus on stimulating affordable private financing for private schools.
According to Mr Anaba, the focus was also to build the business, managerial and teaching capabilities of private schools, building banks’ capacity to develop appropriate credit products for the schools and developing mutually beneficial relationships between private schools and the Ministry of Education.
The Co-ordinator disclosed that the results from the programme to date included a total of $600,000 loan by partner bank to schools which had benefited from the training so far.
He added that 85 Ghanaian private sector schools had received loans with an average size of $7,680 and a range loan size of between $1,000 and $36,000.
Mr Anaba stated that over 100 schools had participated in the group short-term working capital loan programme.
He said training programmes were currently being conducted in three different regions while more than 230 private school owners who were also members of the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) from Ashanti, Central, Greater Accra, Brong Ahafo, Eastern, Volta and Upper East Regions, had attended the financial management workshops.
The workshops were aimed at empowering private school proprietors to manage their schools effectively’.
The proprietor of Kasipe Memorial International School at Sampa in the Jaman North District in the Brong Ahafo Region, Mr Siaka Stevens, who was a participant at the workshop, told this writer that the programme had been an eye opener and had strengthened him in particular.
‘‘I can now see far because I have learnt new ideas and methods of supervising and managing financial aspects of my school,’’ he stressed.
According to him, the government had never invited proprietors and managers of private schools to any of such workshops and so in the past, he did his own thing until USAID/TMG came in with the programme. Mr Siaka, therefore, commended the group for the support it had offered him so far.
The Headmistress of Hwediem OLA Preparatory/Junior High School in the Asutifi District also in the region, Sister Theresa Anima Kusi, shared a similar experience with this writer, stressing that she had learnt certain ideologies at the workshop, such as effective financial management and proper supervision of both members of staff and students, which hitherto she never knew.
‘‘I now know how to work with my accountant, going by the steps I have learnt here and it will be a reminder to me at all times in managing the school with my other sister colleagues. Henceforth, we shall be as flexible as possible to achieve the maximum results,’’ she stated.

INADEQUATE INFRASTRUCTURE AFFECTS LESS-ENDOWED SCHOOLS (PAGE 11, NOV 26, 2010)

2010-12-02T05:44:00.000-08:00

INADEQUATE and run-down infrastructure such as classrooms, teachers’ bungalows, dormitories or hostels have, over the years, made it difficult for less- endowed schools in the country to put up their best, the Dean of the Faculty of Art at the College of Arts and Social Sciences of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Professor Daniel A. Ohene Adu, has observed.
He said challenges of inadequate staff members, library facilities and poorly stocked libraries had contributed to the abysmal performance of the less-privileged schools in the country.
“The inability of students to pay their school fees as a result of poor income levels, lack of exposure, their relatively poor numeracy and language skills and inadequate textbooks in the less-privileged schools could not be downplayed in assessing the challenges of less-endowed schools in their attempt to educate the youth for national development,” Prof. Adu pointed out.
The Dean of the Faculty of Art made these observations when he addressed the first Speech and Prize-giving day of Berekum Presbyterian Senior High School (Berekum PRESEC) on the theme: “Educating the Youth for National Development: The Role and Challenges of Less-Endowed Schools.”
Prof. Adu said it was evident that problems of education related to funding, teacher quality and quantity, poor student academic performance, equal educational opportunity as well as curriculum, in relation to labour force needs and global competition.
He, therefore, called on all stakeholders, including the government, parents and guardians, old students or alumni, headmasters, teachers, staff and students, to play their individual and collective roles well, in order to provide sustainable solutions to the myriad of problems that confronted the less-endowed schools.
Prof. Adu, however, pointed out that the problems that plague the less-privileged schools and by a wider stretch the entire educational sector do not in any way preclude such schools from performing their roles in properly educating the country’s youth for national development.
He declared: “Less-endowed schools have on many occasions provided the sole opportunity for some youth to attain education. Such schools must, therefore, continue to provide the needed avenue for the training of the country’s youth for national development.”
The Dean of KNUST maintained that the quality of the human resource base of every country was, undoubtedly, one of the most valued and important resources through which that country could accelerate development and achieve competitive advantage in the global world, which was characterised by competition, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as well as a high level research, among others.
In his report, Mr Joseph Mensah-Diawuo, the Headmaster of Berekum Presec, indicated that the school which started with a student population of 40 in 1993 had increased steadily over the years to the current figure of 1,700, adding that enrolment could have been bigger but for the lack of classroom accommodation.
He announced that the school’s performance in the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) had been very impressive, as it had recorded 100 per cent pass over the years, adding: “Our school has put aside our numerous constraints to turn our less-endowed students into teachers, nurses, soldiers, policemen/women, teaching assistants in the universities and great international footballers, such as John Paintsil of the Ghana Black Star fame.”
Mr Mensah-Diawuo stated that the time had come for the government to direct its attention to the less-endowed schools, by providing them with the basic infrastructure needs to promote teaching and learning, stressing that in spite of its constraints, Berekum Presec was doing very well academically under strict Presbyterian discipline.
The school’s Senior Prefect, Master Seth Effah, said despite its impressive performance, the school lacked a number of facilities, including an assembly hall, science laboratory, dormitories, an administration block and classrooms, among other pressing needs.

78 RECKLESS DRIVERS DISCIPLINED (MIRROR, PAGE 39, NOV 20, 2010)

2010-11-25T05:04:00.000-08:00

A TOTAL of 78 drivers in the Sunyani Municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region have been arrested by personnel of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service for recklessness and indiscipline during a special pre-X’mas exercise to clamp down on drivers who contravened road traffic rules and regulations.
Out of the number, 63 were processed to appear before various courts in the municipality, 33 were fined between GH¢70 and GH¢300. Bench warrants were issued by the courts for the arrest of 19 of them and five were, however, cautioned and discharged.
The exercise, which the police said would continue, was aimed at ensuring that accidents which normally occurred during Christmas were drastically reduced to the barest minimum or prevented.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Wesley Baah, the Brong Ahafo Regional Commander of the MTTU, told The Mirror in an interview that, 15, of the drivers were also issued with warning letters and explained that some of the drivers were plying the roads without their driving licenses while others had not equipped their vehicles with fire extinguishers and advanced warning triangles.
Mr Baah also intimated that some of the drivers were using worn-out tyres, others had overloaded, some were driving without road worthiness certificates, speeding, driving without insurance or expired certificates and many other offences, which according to him, were the cause of many accidents on the roads.
The MTTU Commander disclosed that the checks were mounted on the Sunyani- Kumasi, Sunyani-Techiman and the Sunyani-Berekum highways as well as the Sunyani-Odumase road, in collaboration with officials of the National Road and Safety Commission (NRSC) and the Driver, Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).
He pointed out that as Christmas was fast approaching, the three institutions had decided to come out early to ensure that vehicles that plied the roads were of standard and conformed strictly with the road traffic and transport regulations so as to curb the carnage on the various road networks.
‘‘We want to make sure that every vehicle on the road is worthy, possessed valid license, insurance cover, advanced warning triangles, fire extinguishers and all the necessary documents and equipment before they embarked on their businesses,” Mr Baah stressed.
The MTTU Commander, however, cautioned that those drivers who would not obey the simple but important rules would be prosecuted at the law courts, adding that the exercise was going to be sustained to protect human lives and property.
According to the police officer, the checks were not limited to only commercial vehicles alone but covered all manner of transports, including motorbikes and, therefore, all drivers should co-operate with personnel of the service and their collaborators to make the exercise succeed in the interest of the wider population.
Mr Yaw Yeboah Asante, Assistant Planning Officer of the NRSC in Sunyani, said in another interaction that the exercise was intended to ensure safety on the roads and expressed optimism that at the end of the day, the drivers would do what was expected of them and not fall foul to the law.

SENSITIZATION SEMINAR FOR MDAS (PAGE 13, NOV 24, 2010)

2010-11-25T02:44:00.000-08:00

A sensitisation seminar on the Legislative Instrument (LI) 1961, with particular reference to the establishment of the new Department of Trade, Industry and Tourism and its linkage with the Business Advisory Centres (BACs) and Rural Technology Facilities (RTCs) within the District Assembly system, has been held in Sunyani, the capital of the Brong Ahafo Region.
The objective of the seminar was to help the stakeholders to identify practical ways of absorbing the BACs and the RTFs into the new department and ultimately mainstream them within the district assembly concept to ensure sustainability of the two structures.
It was organised by the Rural Enterprises Project (REP) in collaboration with its supervising Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Local Government Service.
The target groups were: District and Municipal Chief Executives, District Coordinating Directors, District Finance Officers, Planning Officers and other stakeholders from 66 participating districts of the REP in Ashanti, Brong Ahafo. Central, Western, Northern, Eastern, Upper East and Volta regions.
Mr Mahama Ayariga, the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, who addressed the function, stressed that the ministry was pursuing a policy for strengthening the informal private sector by initiating the establishment of a national institutional framework for the promotion of micro and small-scale enterprises at the district, metropolitan and regional levels.
He explained that the bulk of the micro and small-scale enterprises operated at the district level, however, most of them did not operate at sustainable levels due to a number of reasons, including the lack of relevant business development support services.
The deputy minister further indicated that the passing of the LI 1961, 2009, sought to operationalise the decentralised departments, which included trade, industry and tourism at the district level as the substantive departments of the district assemblies.
Mr Ayariga also pointed out that the function of the new department within the assembly system, which among others, shall facilitate the promotion and development of small-scale industries, the task of the new arrangement was consistent with the objective of the REP and the operations of the BACs and the RTFs.
The National Coodinator of the REP, Mr Kwasi Atta-Antwi, explained that the BACs and RTFs were institutional structures that had strengthened the capacity of the assemblies to promote micro and small- scale enterprises and facilitated local economic development.
However, he noted that the assemblies face the challenge of directly paying for the salaries of the staff appointed by the assemblies to the two structures, and that was mainly because technically, the staff were not part of the assembly system which resulted in their demotivation and high attrition in some districts.

BOATENG GYAN CHAIRS BOFOAKWA (PAGE 79, NOV 22, 2010)

2010-11-25T02:02:00.000-08:00

The Board of Directors of Sunyani-based Bofoakwa Tano Football Club, a division one side in the Brong-Ahafo Region, has appointed Mr Yaw Boateng Gyan of the office of the President, Castle, as the new chairman of the club with immediate effect.
A letter dated November 16, 2010 and copied to the Graphic Sports in Sunyani, said, ‘‘I have been directed by the Chief Patron of Bofoakwa Tano FC, Dr E.A. Saarah Akyereko, to inform you that you have officially been appointed as the new Board Chairman of the club. Your appointment takes immediate effect’’.
The letter, signed by the Secretary of the board, Mr Charles Osei Shiamang, also named Mr J.Y. Appiah, an Accra representative of the club, as the Vice Chairman, saying, “I am fully convinced that you would accept your new appointment in good faith. accept my congratulations’’.

KOTOKO END LOSING STREAK (BACK PAGE, NOV 22, 2010)

2010-11-25T02:00:00.000-08:00

Faded Kumasi Asante Kotoko continued their dismal display in the Glo Premier League as they failed to take advantage of their numerical strength to collect the three points at the expense of B.A. Stars at the Sunyani Coronation Park. The match ended goaless.
It was Kotoko’s first point in five games following a four-match losing streak that sent their otherwise brilliant start to the season tumbling into the reverse gear.
Tema-based FIFA referee Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo red-carded the hometers’ intelligent play-maker, Daniel Larbi Coomson, on the 50th minute for violent conduct.
B.A. Stars dominated play in all the departments of the game, but failed to utilise clear chances that they created to the amazement of their supporters and sympathisers.
In fact, the tutorials of Kotoko’s new coach, Bogdan Korak, are yet to yield dividends, and the doubts that have been cast over his capability of stemming the tide appears to have emanated from the floppy and unattractive nature of the current Kotoko side.

ROTORIANS SUPPORT SUNYANI MUNICIPAL SCHOOL (JUNIOR GRAPHIC PAGE 6, NOV 17, 2010)

2010-11-20T02:35:00.000-08:00

The Sunyani Central branch of the Rotary Club, in collaboration with Rotary International and other sister Rotary clubs in Canada, has provided teaching and health items for the Sunyani Municipal Basic School.
The items which included library books, computers, cupboards, television sets, mosquito nets, as well as health and sanitation equipment cost GH¢65,739.
In addition to these, the club has completed the construction of a fence wall to ward off thieves and other social miscreants who had hitherto used the open school compound for their criminal and other nefarious activities.
Mr Samuel A. Obour, President of the Sunyani Central Rotary Club, who disclosed this at a ceremony to officially inaugurate the security wall project, said the club had also decided to construct a 12-unit toilet facility for the school.
He said it was the intention of the club and Rotary International to improve the lives of deprived people in society and, therefore, appealed to all well-meaning residents of Sunyani to join the club in achieving its goals.
The Sunyani Municipal Director of Education, Rev Timothy Kankam Dwumfuor, commended the club for the decision to protect the vulnerable pupils and their teachers from criminals.
He used the occasion to advise the children to study hard in order to achieve their future goals, adding that it was the desire of the education directorate to ensure that results of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) were improved in the municipality.
Mr Kwasi Oppong Ababio, Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), who performed the ceremony, noted that the gesture by the club was in line with the government’s policy of public-private partnership for development.

NO CLASSROOMS @ BEREKUM PRESEC (JUNIOR GRAPHIC, NOV 17, 2010, PAGE 3)

2010-11-20T02:33:00.000-08:00

About 500 newly admitted Form One students of the Berekum Presbyterian Senior High School (Berekum Presec) have no classrooms for their lessons.
However, as an interim measure, the authorities have decided to convert the school’s library block and the science laboratory into classrooms for their use.
In addition, an uncompleted headmaster’s bungalow which started about 10 years ago is currently being used by the Form One students as a hostel, owing to the acute accommodation problem in the school.
Mr Joseph Mensah-Diawuo, the Headmaster, who disclosed this at the maiden Speech and Prize-giving Day of the school, indicated that the school needed classrooms, an assembly hall, computer and science laboratories, hostels for boys and girls, staff bungalows, a home science centre and a vehicle.
The theme for the celebration was: “Educating the Youth for National Development: The Role and Challenges of Less-Endowed Schools”.
He pointed out that the time had come for the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service to direct their attention at less-privileged schools in the country such as Berekum PRESEC by providing them with basic needs to promote teaching and learning.
The headmaster emphasised that in spite of the constraints, Berekum Presec was doing very well academically under strict Presbyterian discipline.
According to Mr Mensah-Diawuo, in 2005 the school won the first position in the National Science Fair competition, placed first and second in 2008, took the second and fourth positions in 2009 and came third this year.
In the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), he described the school’s performance as impressive and announced that from 2005 to 2009 it scored 100 per cent passes, explaining that out of the 298 students presented in 2009, 289 passed in six, seven or eight subjects.
The headmaster expressed his heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the teachers for their dedication and hard work and disclosed that in 2001 one of them, Ms Cecilia Yeboah, was the second runner-up in the National Best Teacher awards.
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, said the government had decided to construct a six-unit classroom block and a three-storey girls’ dormitory for the school.

WORKSHOP ON PROMOTING BUSINESS ASSOCIATION ENDS (PAGE 22, NOV 12, 2010)

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THE Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, has observed that for the private sector to be the engine of growth, intermediary organisations such as trade and business associations (TBS) should act as the voice of the sector.
   He stressed that private businesses have to organise themselves into strong associations and through advocacy, use them as platforms to articulate their concerns for the attention of policy-makers at the national, regional and district levels.
“They can advise government on the adoption of prudent economic policies that will create the appropriate environment for private sector growth and development. The TBAs should strengthen the capacity of the private sector and determine policy as well as the allocation of resources,’’ Mr Nyamekye-Marfo suggested.
The Regional Minister made the observation in a speech read on his behalf at a workshop in Sunyani on “Promoting Business Associations in Ghana”, which was organised by the Private Enterprises Foundation (PEF).
Sponsored by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the workshop was aimed at improving the membership and capacity of trade and business associations.
   The workshop explored the current status of trade and business, inhibition factors in attaining optimal membership of trade and business associations and the potential roles of leadership and membership of trade and business associations, the state and other civil society organisations, among other objectives.
  According to Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, TBAs in Ghana were weak, poorly funded and lacked research and lobbying capacity.
He, however, expressed satisfaction that the workshop would strengthen the associations to enable them to have a strong and coherent voice to effectively play their role in the development process and also contribute towards the achievement of the government’s ‘‘Better Ghana’’ agenda.
The Regional Minister stated that the government’s support for active trade associations was premised on the knowledge that TBAs the world over, had the potential to facilitate the development of a strong private sector by representing the interest of businesses and providing support for members.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KAB Governance Consult, Mr Kwasi Afriyie Badu, who presented a paper on ‘‘The case for strengthening business associations,’’ said the policy environment remained relatively weak for the private sector in spite of the government’s declared commitment to private sector development.
He suggested that the leadership of business associations should strive for a strong voice in the determination of policy and the allocation of resources, adding that strengthening business associations was a shared responsibility.
  According to Mr Badu, Ghanaian business associations had the potential to become a force to reckon with in the national arena but noted that what was required were effective leadership and the need for PEF to rise to the challenge and offer the required leadership.
The acting Brong Ahafo Regional Manager of the National Board for Small-Scale Industries (NBSSI), Mr Saeed Owusu-Brobbey, in a speech read on his behalf, said in the current competitive business world, it was almost impossible for any small scale entrepreneur to survive as an individual.
He said the resources of an individual alone might not be enough to enable him or her to compete effectively with the larger business concerns which made use of modern and complex scientific methods in production.

DCE WORRIED OVER COCOA SMUGGLING (PAGE 36, NOV 10, 2010)

2010-11-13T01:21:00.001-08:00

THE District Chief Executive (DCE) for Juabeso, Mr Solomon Fuachie, has expressed concern over the smuggling of cocoa by some unscrupulous people across the borders of Ghana.
He observed that the smuggling of tonnes of cocoa beans to neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire over the years had been a big loss to the national economy.
He, therefore, appealed to the economic saboteurs to think about their country first before their selfish and parochial interests.
Mr Fuachie expressed the concern in his opening remarks at a ceremony where OLAM Ghana Limited, a licensed buying company (LBC) in the country presented three motorbikes valued at GH¢20,000 to an anti-cocoa smuggling squad of the security agencies at Sefwi Essam, the capital of the Bia District in the Western Region.
He noted that cocoa had been the backbone of the Ghanaian economy from time immemorial but noted with regret that some people did not seem to appreciate that fact and had rather resorted to undermining what the resource could do to sustain the economy.
‘‘We should be proud of the commodity and respect the producer price being offered by the government,’’ he said.
Mr Fuachie emphasised that by law it was only the government, through the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), that had the sole responsibility to export cocoa beans for sale.
“We need to educate the people about the law and the consequences of smuggling. Let us condemn the act and the perpetrators in the strictest terms and in totality,” he emphasised.
He commended OLAM Ghana for the gesture.
Mr Fuachie appealed to the security agencies to work harder than before to stop the menace of cocoa smuggling in the area once and for all, stressing that the logistics they had received should be a morale booster for them to act swiftly on the smugglers in the district.
The Head of Business of OLAM Ghana Limited, Mr John Andre, disclosed that Ghana produced 650,000 metric tonnes of cocoa last year but lost about 100,000 tonnes of the commodity through smuggling, adding that the money that was lost could have been used to construct roads in the area.
According to him, his company had donated 100 hospital beds to the Dunkwa Health Assistants Training School and also presented a quantity of rice to its customers during the celebration of COPAL Day last year..
He added that the company had created many jobs and for the people to help improve their living conditions.
He said as the fourth largest LBC in the country, OLAM was operating in all the cocoa producing regions, except Volta.

ARMED ROBBERS STRIKE ON KINTAMPO-TAMALE ROAD (PAGE 19, NOV 9, 2010)

2010-11-13T00:28:00.000-08:00

TWO passenger vehicles, a Yutong bus and a Blue Bird, were attacked by armed robbers at a spot between Dawadawa No 1. and Atta Akuraa on the Kintampo-Tamale road in the Brong Ahafo Region on Saturday.
Numbering about seven, the armed robbers allegedly took away GH¢ 3,000.00 from a co-driver of the Yutong bus and an unspecified amount from the passengers as well as their mobile phones and other items.
They are also alleged to have collected GH¢800.00 and a mobile phone from Daniel Marfo, the driver of the Blue Bird vehicle and GH¢200.00 from a woman on the bus.
Confirming the incident to the Daily Graphic, the Kintampo Municipal Police Commander, Superintendent Desmond Owusu Boampong, said the robbers became furious when the Yutong bus driver attempted to bypass the Blue Bird vehicle which they had stopped so they shot at the vehicle, injuring one passenger who is now on admission at the Kintampo Government Hospital.
Superintendent Boampong said the police had begun investigations into the incident.

RURAL ENTERPRISES PROJECT UP-SCALED (PAGE 22, NOV 9, 2010)

2010-11-13T00:18:00.000-08:00

THE Ministry of Trade and Industry has decided to up-scale the Rural Enterprises Project (REP) to a National Rural Enterprises Programme (NREP) to cover all districts in the country and support job creation nationwide.
This is part of the government’s development effort to create wealth and reduce poverty in rural areas.
  The Ministry believes that the implementation of a National Rural Enterprises Programme will reinforce the wider national strategy of empowering the rural poor with skills and other productive assets to develop and grow their businesses and further strengthen the private sector.
The up-scaling of the project followed an interim independent evaluation, which was carried out in July, this year and whose findings were positive. Consequently, a preliminary design mission of the proposed programme was set up, which completed its assignment and submitted its initial report to the Ministry.
A Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mahama Ayariga, who announced this in Sunyani, said by January, 2012, the change of the project to a programme status would be officially launched.
    He was addressing the 2010 annual review workshop of the REP, which was attended by District Chief Executives, District Co-ordinating Directors, staff of the project and other stakeholders from the participating districts of the project.
    The REP was jointly financed by the government, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to provide a critical mass support for the micro enterprise sector in Ghana.
According to the Deputy Minister, the President of IFAD, Dr Kanayo Felix Nwanze, assured the ministry on his recent visit to the country that IFAD could contribute funding to up-scale the programme to cover all rural districts in Ghana, made up of 66 existing participating districts and 95 additional ones.
He stressed that the objective was to spread the benefits of skills development, technology promotion and transfer, rural financial services, job creation and poverty reduction to all districts in the country.
He said that would involve among others, the establishment of sustainable structures for business promotion, including Business Advisory Centres (BACs) and Rural Technology Facilities nation-wide.
Mr Ayariga stated that the expansion of the programme nationwide fitted into the wider national strategy of establishing an institutional framework for the promotion of micro and small scale enterprises.
   He said that had come about due to lack of co-ordination and effective linkages of various programmes on medium and small enterprises’ promotion at the district, regional and national level, adding that there was an avoidable gap that needed to be addressed for better synergy.
  It was the expectation of the Deputy Minister that the institutional structure of the NREP that would cover all rural districts in the country would put in place an appropriate institutional framework that would effectively involve and co-ordinate the activities of all stakeholders at the district, regional and national levels, to enable them to work in harmony with the sustained development and growth of micro and small scale enterprises in the long term.
The Project Co-ordinator, Mr Kwasi Atta-Antwi, disclosed that since its inception in 2003, the project had reached over 196,000 persons, including 110,000 women, who formed 56 per cent, with various project services.
    He said more than 89,000 persons out of the number were trained in various community-based skills trades, small business management, improved production processes, occupational safety and environmental management, banking culture and others.
     Mr Atta-Antwi said in the area of rural financial services, the participating banks had disbursed GHC 1.7 million credit funds to support over 4,350 micro and small enterprises of which 58 per cent were female managed enterprises.
He added that the implementation of the project was scheduled to end in June, 2011 in accordance with the project design.
   The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, stated that the REP was relevant since it had increased rural productivity, employment and income, thereby reducing poverty.
He said the project had the potential to contribute significantly towards the transformation of the rural economy of the country.

LIONS HOLD ARSENAL (BACK PAGE, NOV 8, 2010)

2010-11-12T23:36:00.001-08:00

Kpando Heart of Lions played their hearts out at the Berekum Golden City Part and succeeded in holding their hosts, Berekum Arsenal, to a goalless draw in their Glo Premier League match played yesterday.
Cheered on by their vociferous fans, Arsenal conjured all that they could at their backyard but hard luck, coupled with the resilience of the back-line of Lions, robbed them of victory.
Led in attack by strong man, Gilbert Fiamenyo, the visitors nearly ran away with the maximum points but luck eluded them.

CONSULTATIVE C'TTEE LAUNCHES FUND TO EMPOWER WOMEN (PAGE 11, NOV 4, 2010)

2010-11-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL), working in the Ahafo area of the Brong Ahafo Region has formed a Women Consultative Committee (WCC) to provide a forum for women, in the Newmont Ahafo concession to discuss and share ideas and issues of concern in the mining communities.
The 85-member committee, which was formed in line with NGGL Gender Plan, was chaired by Nana Ataa Adwoa Agyeiwaa II, Omanhemaa of the Hwediem Traditional Area. It is made up of queens and elected representatives of all community women groups or associations within the Newmont Ahafo concession.
Members of the committee, which was inaugurated in November 2007, meet quarterly and each member is charged to be well informed about the operations of the company to enhance the free flow of information between the women and the company.
In September 2008, the women set up a revolving fund, which is managed by a nine-member committee, with assistance from a consultant, WALTEX Company Limited, contracted by Newmont, to economically empower themselves.
The money was raised through contributions made during their quarterly meetings, fund-raising activities and appeals to institutions and other organisations for assistance and by February 2009, the WCC had been able to mobilise more than GH¢1,060.00 for the first disbursement to contributors to promote their businesses, mostly of the WCC.
To date, a total of GH¢ 15,190.00 has been disbursed to 47 beneficiaries, with 10 being third-time beneficiaries, 20 being second-time beneficiaries while 17 have accessed the fund for the first time to support or start their businesses.
Since it is a revolving fund, a contributor is eligible to access the facility as many times as possible, once she duly completes repayment of the previous credit line.
The minimum amount a member can access is GH¢ 100.00 while the highest amount given out so far was GH¢ 1,000.00. Currently, the repayment rate is about 99 per cent and this has been largely due to the peer monitoring role played by the contributors with the view to protecting their investment.
Just recently, the fund was officially launched at Kenyasi, where the management of NGGL contributed GH¢ 100,000.00, during which the General Manager of Environment and Social Responsibility (ESR) of the company, Mr Dan V.Michaelsen, presented a dummy cheque to the WCC.
He said the Gender Mainstreaming Plan of Newmont, was formulated to change the face of the mining industry in Ghana, hence the establishment of the WCC and the decision by the members themselves to set up the revolving fund to support their activities.
‘‘The businesses our women engage in should contribute to the expansion of the economy here in this area and thus, fall in line with Newmont’s long-term plan to leave a sustainable legacy of economic development. And it is impressive that an amount of GH¢ 15,000.00 has so far been disbursed to nearly 50 contributing members of the WCC,’’ Mr Michaelsen noted.
Madam Elizabeth Opoku-Darko, the Co-ordinator of the NGGL Gender Mainstreaming Programme, also pointed out that research had shown that the mining sector had been a highly gender-biased sector, with income accruing from royalties, compensation, employment and supply opportunities, largely extended to men.
She added that in Ahafo, women made up 51 per cent of the population, hence their needs and aspirations could not be overlooked.
Some of the WCC beneficiaries of the fund, who gave testimonies at the launch, indicated that their lives had been economically transformed after accessing the money to start or expand their businesses
The way forward is that the WCC membership will continue to encourage other WCC members to access the fund while educating other women in the Ahafo host communities on the fund to prepare them towards contributing and accessing credits to improve on their businesses.

CONTROVERSIAL YUTONG BUS IN ACCIDENT (1C, NOV 4, 2010)

2010-11-06T07:09:00.001-07:00

FIVE people were killed on the spot when the Yutong passenger bus which had been at the centre of a controversial robbery and rape story, collided head-on with an articulated Benz truck at the Kintampo Waterfalls Junction in the Brong Ahafo Region.
Many others were injured in the bloody accident which occurred on the Kintampo-Tamale trunk road at midnight on Wednesday.
The bodies, including that of the mate of the Yutong driver, have been deposited at the Kintampo Government Hospital morgue.
Those who sustained injuries in the crash include the driver of the articulated truck which had travelled from Burkina Faso.
The driver of the Yutong bus with 47 persons on board also received minor injuries and was treated at the Kintampo Government Hospital.
The Kintampo District Police Commander, Superintendent Desmond Owusu Boampong, explained that about three days earlier, a vehicle was involved in an accident at the same waterfalls junction but it could not be removed from the spot, thereby making it difficult for other vehicles to use the junction.
He said this left just a narrow way for passing vehicles to use.
Supt Boampong said the police suspected that the drivers of both vehicles were both in haste to use that ‘‘one way’’ and in the process crashed head-on as they were both speeding.
Mr Boampong said upon receiving a call from the Ashanti Regional Police Commander about the accident at about 11.57 p.m., he quickly made a call to three police patrol vehicles and the Kintampo Motor Traffic and Transport personnel, who reported quickly at the scene to assist in the rescue efforts.
In view of the bad nature of the Kintampo Hospital mortuary, he said, the police would explore the possibility of transporting the bodies to the Sunyani Regional Hospital.
Meanwhile the Brong Ahafo Regional Security Council led by its chairman, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye- Marfo, who is also the Regional Minister, visited the accident scene yesterday to assess the situation.
The delegation also visited some of the victims of the accident who were on admission at the Kintampo Government Hospital, reports Samuel Duodu.

NEW EXECUTIVE FOR HOTELIERS ASSOCIATION (SHOWBIZ, PAGE 23, OCT 28, 2010)

2010-10-28T11:31:00.000-07:00

By Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah

MR Herbert Acquaye has been elected as the new National President of the Ghana Hotels Association (GHA) to run the affairs of the association for the next four years. He was sworn in together with a 10-member executive during the association’s third National Executive Council meeting held at Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The other executive members are Mr Tom Kuenyefa, National Vice President; Mrs Juliet Taylor, National Secretary; Ms Ellen Gandaa, Assistant National Secretary; Nana Afoani Tenkorang National Treasurer; Mr P.K. Ntiamoah, National Financial Secretary; Mrs Francisca Addison, Mr Abraham Ahinful, Mr G.W. Otoo and Mrs Wilhelmina Aklaku, as National Trustees.
Nana Adjei Twene, the immediate past President of the association, who administered the oath of office, was confident the new executive would deal effectively with matters affecting the association. He added that the GHA was not a political entity but a professional body that was expected to contribute its quota to the development of the economy.
Nana Twene, who is the current President of the Ghana Tourists Federation (GHATOF), expressed the hope that the new executive members would work hand-in-hand with the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) to “champion a common course’’.
Mr Acquaye, in his address noted that, a few years ago only a handful of GHA members had insurance cover for their premises but was delighted the situation had changed at present, with most members acquiring insurance policies from a reputable insurance company.
According to GHA president, credit schemes had been arranged with some local manufacturers and importers to enable members to acquire such logistics as good quality electrical appliances, beddings and consumables required for their smooth operations.
The President noted that rising cost of hotel facilities, high energy and maintenance bills were some of the major challenges confronting operations in the industry and seriously affecting their profitability. ‘‘Our turnover seems to be on the decline as we rely on very few business visitors; the leisure traveller does not seem to fall within our market segment.’’
Mr Acquaye pointed out that proprietors and managers of hotels needed a better understanding of the industry through regular interaction, training and capacity building in order to meet contemporary challenges of the industry.
He also suggested the institution of an annual hotel awards ceremony in order to help create competition and raise standards, stating it was a perfect way to bring members together to select and reward peers who had excelled in various activities.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman of the association, Mr Philip Ntiamoah, in his welcoming address, observed that some hotels were yet to receive payment for credit facilities granted to governmental and other agencies but were still expected pay the Value Added Tax (VAT).
He also noted with concern the increasing number of hotels which had not registered with the association and were still operating without the required licenses, rendered poor services to customers and subsequently evaded taxes.

CHIEF OF NKRANKWANTA APPEALS TO PREZ (PAGE 13, OCT 27, 2010)

2010-10-27T07:57:00.000-07:00

THE Chief of Nkrankwanta, Nana Kwabena Asemia II, and some residents of the town, a predominantly cocoa and foodstuffs growing area in the Dormaa municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region, have passionately appealed to President J.E.A. Mills to, as a matter of urgency, fulfil his 2008 campaign promise to them.
According to them, during the 2008 campaign, President Mills gave the assurance that when he was voted into political office, he would ensure the immediate construction of the deteriorated road from Asikasu to Nkrankwanta and Nkrankwanta to Krakrom.
Nana Asemia, who is also the Dormaa Ankobea Dompimhene, noted that passenger vehicles of all types from Kumasi, Japekrom, Berekum, Drobo, Wamfie, Dormaa and other places, plied that western corridor to do business while heavy duty trucks came in to transport several tons of cocoa, logs of timber, food crops and crates of eggs to their various destinations.
He, however, pointed out that the people had become so disappointed and disillusioned that they would feel reluctant and apathetic to listen to politicians who might come to the area to solicit their votes, come the 2012 national elections.
‘‘This road is very important to us but looking at the extent of deterioration, it appears we are not part of Ghana but this area is known to produce the bulk of the nation’s cocoa and foodstuffs of all kinds to feed our people. If our road is not put in good shape, I do not think the politicians can come here to campaign during the 2012 general elections,” the chief declared.
The Dormaa Ankobea Dompimhene disclosed to journalists who had inspected the extent of the deplorable nature of the road that armed robbers had struck a number of times on the Ayum Forest Reserve section of the road, where the road is terribly bad and devoid of cell phone services, and, therefore, succeeded in making away with money and other valuable items from their victims during such attacks.
Mr Hayford Sakyi Bediako, the Nkrankwanta Cocoa District Manager of the Produce Buying Company (PBC), in another interview with newsmen, also expressed regrets that such a prolific cocoa growing area should suffer a deplorable road network while the people lived in fear and panic because of armed robbers and other social miscreants.
He disclosed that his station, together with other Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) of cocoa, purchased a total of 4,566.24tons of cocoa beans (73,060 bags) last year, adding, however, that the heavy duty vehicles which cart the cocoa unnecessarily break down or fall off due to the bad state of the road.
According to Mr Bediako, the Nkrankwanta Cocoa District was one of those areas that had the highest freight in the country and also transported the beans straight away to the Tema Port for export to Japan, which buys the beans from Ghana and so, ‘‘we are appealing to the government to immediately put the road in a best shape.”
Mr Noah Afari, popularly called Agya Noah and resident of Krakrom, expressed disagreement with the fact that the road from Krakrom and beyond was a feeder road and, therefore, pleaded that the stretch be tarred to encourage the people to continue to produce more cocoa and food crops to benefit the generality of Ghanaians.
He insisted that Krakrom was just a few kilometres from Nkrankwanta, and that the tarring of the Nkrankwanta township road should necessarily be extended to Krakrom to boost the morale of residents in their farming and other business enterprises.
The Assistant Manager of the Nkrankwanta Area Rural Bank, Mr Matthew Amankrah, for his part, pointed out that the security of customers of the bank, including the numerous farmers whose Akuafo cheques are honoured at the facility, was at risk, adding that some of its customers come from Accra to do business in the town and return, in the face of the deplorable nature of the road.
According to Mr Amankrah, barely one-and-a- half years after the bank started operations, a brand new Toyota van was suffering some defects, stressing that the bank was the only one that was serving the vast majority of the people in the area who are prone to attacks by thieves and armed robbers.
Mr Alex Ameyaw, the District Commander of Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), said he had been using the scanty imprest to assist in the patching of some dangerous portions of the road to make it possible for vehicles to come in for assessment, a decision that had yielded dividend.
He intimated that it was this initiative that had helped the station in meeting its targets since he assumed control of the area in 2008, adding that ‘‘we are on the road every other day to do some patches and fill manholes, and any time it threatens to rain no vehicle will move because it risks getting stuck or falling off.”
A trader at Nkrankwanta, Mr James Yeboah, said he had twice encountered armed robbers, together with other travellers on the forest section of the road and robbed of substantial amount of money and other items.

AGRIC SECTOR NEEDS INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS — PROF ELLIS (PAGE 11, OCT 27, 2010)

2010-10-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

THE Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Professor W.O. Ellis, has said that the agricultural sector in particular and the entire society are bedeviled with bottlenecks which needsustainable and innovative solutions.
He has, therefore, expressed the hope that, students of the Faculty of Forest Resources and Resources Technology (FFRT) of the Sunyani Campus of KNUST in the Brong Ahafo Region, will strive to acquire the needed skills, knowledge and attitudes to solve those myriad of problems confronting the agricultural sector.
‘‘You may be aware that, our entire society, especially, our agricultural sector is not without bottlenecks and those you experience in the course of your studies here on this campus are expected to introduce you to the broader problems that bedevil our society in general and the agricultural sector in particular that are yawning for sustainable and innovative solutions’’, he stressed.
Prof. Ellis made the observation when he addressed the 2010 matriculation ceremony of the FFRT at Fiapre, near Sunyani and said currently, the faculty was the only institution in the country that trained middle level manpower for the forestry sector.
In all, 97 fresh students, made up of 71 males and 26 females, representing 73 per cent and 27 per cent respectively, were admitted to the faculty this year, bringing the total student population to almost 400.
He said the Institute of Distance Learning admitted 150 students for the Sunyani Centre, who were also matriculated at the ceremony, which was attended by traditional authorities from Fiapre.
The Vice Chancellor reminded the students that, their first pre-occupation was to study to acquire degrees from the university and all other things ought to be considered secondary and said that statement did not mean they should not participate in co-curricular activities.
Giving the college by college rankings for the KNUST, Prof. Ellis revealed that, the College of Arts and Sciences admitted the highest number of students this year, accounting for 31 per cent of students, followed by the College of Engineering with 16 per cent of students while the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources admitted 13 per cent, Health Sciences 10 per cent and the College of Architecture and Planning, admitting eight per cent.
He noted that 475 students were studying for various degrees through the distance learning mode and expressed the hope to expand the frontiers of the Institute of Distance Learning and E-Learning Centre, which was inaugurated recently, to afford a lot more opportunities for science and technology.
According to him, the university authorities were fully aware of the number of problems confronting the Sunyani Campus, including academic facilities and transportation, adding that, the academic board was also giving serious consideration to the restructuring of the three-year diploma programme to entice more students.

B. A. STARS RESCIND PULL-OUT THREAT (PAGE 63, OCT 27, 2010)

2010-10-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

The Board of Directors of B.A Stars has rescinded the decision by the club to withdraw from participating in the remaining matches of the Glo Premier league competition following alleged attempts by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to frustrate the club’s exploits.
“We are continuing the premier league and no subtle or overt attempts from any quarters can deter us from participating in the competition, and come 2011 we shall still be in the premiership competition” the board declared.
Addressing a well-attended press conference at Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo region yesterday, the board gave the assurance that they would mobilise all resources to ensure that there was no turning back and was confident to play in the Top 4 competition and also win the F.A cup.
However, it gave the FA a one week ultimatum to show the video clips of three of their league pairings against New Edubiase FC, Accra Hearts of Oak game honoured at the Sunyani Coronation park about three weeks ago and Kessben FC at the Essipon stadium at Sekondi last Sunday.
That, the board explained would enable all football loving people and indeed Ghanaians at large to know and judge for themselves the unfair officiating by referees appointed to handle matches involving their club.
The spokesperson for the board, Mr Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, who is also a Sunyani-based legal practitioner, indicated further that the board was yet to meet to take decision on the resignation of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the club, Mr Takyi Arhin.
He said there was no truth in rumours that the coach of the club Karim Zito has resigned but rather explained that he had sought permission to visit his family and would soon return to his duty.
According to Mr Tuah-Yeboah, the earlier threat to pull out of the competition stemmed from the persistent and consistent attempt by referees to show open bias when handling matches involving B.A Stars and other opponents.
He dismissed claims that supporters of the club had been violent at the Sunyani Coronation park, saying there were other supporters and fans of their opponents who could misbehave at the park during matches.
According to Mr Tuah-Yeboah, the board always prevailed on supporters and fans of the club to behave well during matches but noted with concern and regret the bad officiating of some referees.
The board also noted that the decision of the referees were backed by some powers-that-be in the FA whose ultimate goal was to ensure that football clubs in the Brong Ahafo region were booted out of the premiership.
Mr Peter Nimoh, the chairman of the board of directors advised presenters of the various radio stations to report accurately about matches and the behaviour of referees for the listening public to know, saying that running of commentaries by some of the radio stations had not been the best.
He also blamed the public for masterminding the abrupt end of the match between B.A Stars and New Edubiase FC, adding that but for the police, the match officials would have continued the game to its final conclusion.
The General Manager of the club, Michael Agyeman, recounted the ordeal, frustration and intimidation that he want through at the Essipon stadium at the hands of a group of macho men who suspected him of being a jujuman.

TOURISM BRINGS IN U$1.6 BILLION (PAGE 15, OCT 23, 2010)

2010-10-25T04:31:00.000-07:00

A total of 802,779 tourists visited Ghana last year, generating revenue of U$1,615.2 billion for the country.
The tourism industry thus contributes significantly to the Ghanaian economy, through such means as corporate, income and value added taxes, as well as the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) licence fees and airport service charges.
This contribution by the tourism industry was because the accommodation (hotel) sector plays a very crucial role with respect to the tourism industry’s contribution to the economy.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Director of the GTB, Mr Charles Obeng, announced this at the opening of the third National Executive Council meeting of the Ghana Hotels Association (GHA) at Techiman.
He said the average tourist expenditure on accommodation had always been above 25 per cent since 1996.
That expenditure, according to Mr Obeng, was actually the highest compared to other expenditure items such as local transportation, shopping, food and beverage, entertainment, among others, and that the importance of the accommodation sector, therefore, could not be overemphasised.
The theme for the meeting, which was organised under the auspices of P.Z. Cussons Ghana Limited, was: ‘‘Establishing Professional Standards in the Hotel Industry’’.
He stressed the need for the hotels to strive to maintain highest standards to meet the demands of their clientele, as standards could be looked at in terms of quality, safety and authenticity.
Mr Obeng said even though there were specific standards covering beaches, tour guides, protected areas, many of the tourism standards focused on accommodation, and gave an assurance that the GTB would collaborate with the GHA executives to inspect facilities of members to ensure that standards were met, provide information for performance review, increase quality awareness, as well as improve customer satisfaction.
He stressed that most of the difficulties experienced in service delivery arose from the need for hotels to understand what the customer needed and when the service was needed and thereafter, to employ the necessary processes to convert those needs into the service.
To that end, the GTB regional director appealed to the national executive council to partner the board to organise periodic training programmes for their staff to bring about continued improvement in service delivery.
Mr Obeng said in recent times the regional office had been encouraging groups such as tourist clubs, students and church groups to visit tourist sites as a way of boosting domestic tourism.
He said to make that drive sustainable, hotels could give discounts and other packages, especially during off seasons, to those domestic tourists.
Those packages, he said, would make travels affordable to potential tourists leading to increased travels and thereby, increasing the market share of the hospitality industry.
He added that developing and even retaining one’s market share had become an increased priority on the agenda of most hotels.
The regional director said it was of utmost importance for hotels to develop consistent destination management approach with a clear tourism product definition oriented towards sustainability and new market trends.
Mr Herbert Acquaye, the newly elected National President of the GHA, noted that the cost of operating a hotel facility kept rising as a result of high energy and maintenance costs.
‘‘Our turnover seems to be on the decline, as we rely on very few business visitors,“ he said.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman of the association, Mr Philip Ntiamoah, in his welcoming address, called on metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives to take a critical look at some of the deplorable roads leading to the locations of hotels in their respective areas.
A 10-member national executive council was sworn into office to run affairs of the association for the next four years.

EPA, KATO COMMUNITY TO PROTECT FOREST RESERVE (BACK PAGE, OCT 16, 2010)

2010-10-17T07:49:00.000-07:00

THE Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in collaboration with the Kato community in the Berekum municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region, has embarked on a programme to save the Mfensi Forest Reserve from further encroachment and destruction.
Already, 5,100 different types of indigenous trees, including Framo, Wawa, Kyenkyen and Cidrella, have been planted in the encroached portions of the forest.
In addition to the planting of trees, the EPA officials are educating the people of Mfensi on the relevance of the reserve to the community and the country.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Director of the EPA, Mr Isaac Osei, and the Queen of Kato, Nana Afia Siraa Ababio II, led officials of the EPA, the people and students in the community to undertake a two-hour tree-planting exercise in some degraded portions of the about 40-hectare reserve.
For the past three years, the EPA, in association with the Kato traditional authorities, has been engaged in tree-planting activities to ensure that the hitherto rich biodiversity and national heritage was conserved for the present and future generations.
During an interaction with newsmen, Mr Osei expressed optimism that with the enthusiasm and zeal showed by the people, the area could become a miniature Kakum Park to attract tourists.
He observed that once the people themselves had come to realise and understand the significance of their own history, they ought not go about destroying their rich heritage but rather protect and preserve it at all times.
Nana Siraa disclosed that a 11-member committee, chaired by one Mr S.Y. Boakye, had been set up to oversee the effective protection of the groove, which she admitted was being encroached upon by certain unscrupulous persons in the area, saying, ‘‘We are educating them on the need to stop such encroachment.’’

GRAINS COUNCIL PROVIDES WAREHOUSE FOR FARMERS (BACK PAGE, OCT 15, 2010 )

2010-10-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

THE Ghana Grains Council (GGC), a private agricultural sector association in the country, has provided a warehouse to farmers to store their grains.
The certified warehouse pilot project at Nkoranza Breman in the Brong Ahafo Region will benefit more than 20,000 farmers from different farmer-based organisations in the country.
The United States of America (USA), through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), provided $543,655 as a grant to the GGC towards improving the performance of the country’s grain marketing.
The project will, particularly help smallholder farmers to avoid selling their grain at low prices, provide consumers with safer and more nutritious food and allow market actors to engage in transactions without the need to travel long distances to check on grain quality before buying it.
Mr Eric Opoku, the Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, who performed the inauguration of the facility at a ceremony at Breman near Nkoranza, said there were some major challenges facing agriculture in the country, including small farm sizes, averaging 1.5 acres per smallholder, and less than optimum yields estimated at one to two tons per hectare compared with about six to eight tons elsewhere.
He said the implementation of policies and programmes for a sustainable agricultural sector would, therefore, be the responsibility of the current generation and, especially, the government.
Mr Allen Flemming, the team leader of the Economic Growth Office, USAID, indicated that the US Government supported agribusiness and regional trade in agricultural commodities through Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (ADVANCE) projects under the USAID.
He said there was a great demand for uniform good quality maize in commercially viable quantities, both domestically for agro alimentary products and livestock feed and in West African sub-region.
He added that the current organisation of the maize storage and marketing did not permit the growing of the industry to meet those demands.

KOTOKO-ARSENAL CLASH CALLED OFF (BACK PAGE, OCT 7, 2010)

2010-10-08T04:43:00.001-07:00

The teeming supporters of Berekum Arsenal and Kumasi Asante Kotoko who thronged the Golden City Park to watch the Glo Premier League encounter between the two sides left for home disappointed following the decision by the match officials to call off the match as a result of a clash of jerseys.
Both Arsenal and Kotoko put on white and red dominated jerseys which, according to the match officials, made it impossible for them to be distinguished.
Having waited for about 40 minutes, Accra-based class one referee Silas Okine called the two captains, Salou Mohammed and Jordan Opoku of Arsenal and Kotoko respectively, to inform them of the decision to call off the match after which players and officials of the two teams retired to the dressing room to change over again.
Before then there was a heated verbal exchanges between Kotoko officials and the match officials as to whether the visiting team was to change their apparel in accordance with the rules.
However, Kotoko insisted that they presented their jersey at the pre-match conference which was agreed by all before the start of the match.
The officials explained that it was detected that Kotoko were putting on white shorts and white hose which was the same as those of Arsenal and so they were asked to put on red shorts and red hose which the visiting team obliged to avoid a possible clash.
However, when the two teams marched to the field for the commencement of the match, the officials realised that the jerseys of the two teams were quite similar, thus making it difficult to distinguish between the two sides.
The match commissioner, M. G. Togborco from Cape Coast, and Referee Silas Okine of Accra insisted that Kotoko had breached what went on at the technical meeting, but the Kotoko officials, led by Jarvis Peprah, maintained that the match commissioner and the other officials were not presenting the true picture of the meeting.
Mr Augustine Asante, the Brong Ahafo chairman of the referees association, told the Daily Graphic that they would present their report about the incident to the FA for the necessary action.
Mr Togborco also indicated that by the rules, since the match had delayed for well over 30 minutes, it had to be called off for the necessary steps to be taken later.

NEWMONT TO EMBARK ON UNDERGROUND MINING (PAGE 43, OCT 5, 2010)

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

NEWMONT Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL), operating the Ahafo Mine in the Brong Ahafo Region, is to embark on underground mining activity in one of its potential pits of the ore, called “Subika Pit” in its current concession at Ahafo.
The exploration activity followed the granting of 18-month permit by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Minerals Commission to NGGL to go ahead with its plan after the company had indicated to the two institutions of the registered potential of an underground ore deposits in the Subika Pit.
If the exploration activity turns out to be viable, then the NGGL would have to apply to the appropriate regulatory agencies for the acquisition of the final license to operate the underground mining programme.
Currently, the company is undertaking surface mining activities in four pits in the Ahafo South communities, namely, Ntotroso, Gyedu, Kenyase Number One and Kenyase Number Two since its operations started in the area about four years ago.
The Community Relations Manager of NGGL, Mr Emmanuel Ato Aubynn and Azumah Agbeko of the Public Relation Directorate of the company, announced the intention of the NGGL at a media encounter in Sunyani.
They explained that the exploration might not be positive at the end of the 18-month period set by the EPA and the Minerals Commission, but expressed the hope that the work would yield dividend for the underground activity to take off in due course.
The two officials further stated that a company called African Underground Mining Services was currently working on the exploration process, adding ‘‘We are at the moment not doing the underground mining but it is just an exploration activity.”
According to the NGGL officials, the law permitted that having registered the potential in the pit, the company ought to share that idea with the necessary stakeholders, including the media after which the EPA would organise a public forum in the operational area of the company for a wider deliberation on the activity.
‘‘For us in the company, it is critical that we meet the media who are our core collaborators in our work and we want to debunk the perception that the company was trying to dodge the payment of compensation to land acquired for surface mining,” they stated.
“It is also not true that Newmont has dug a tunnel to the northern part of the district to secretly mine the ore underground,” the two officials emphasised.
Messrs Aubynn and Agbeko explained further that the company had no intention to acquire new land area where people were resident but was still using the already zoned area of the company’s operations, where the need had arisen to go underneath for mining.
They stressed that the rocks in the Subika Pit were among those of the hardest in the world, and therefore, ruled out the possibility of caving in if the operations should start eventually after the exploration.

HEARTS SNATCH CRUCIAL AWAY WIN (BACK PAGE, OCT 4, 2010)

2010-10-04T07:47:00.000-07:00

Accra Hearts of Oak halted their recent poor run at the Sunyani Coronation Park yesterday when they triumphed 1-0 over B.A. Stars in their fifth week Glo Premier League encounter.
Hearts’ first away victory of the season, courtesy Uriah Asante’s 66th minute strike, was a big relief to Coach Paa Kwesi Fabin, who was under pressure to stem the tide.
Asante latched on to a loose ball punched into play by goalkeeper Mohammed Nurudeen from a Douglas Nkrumah free-kick.
Cheered on by their vociferous fans, the Phobians continued to probe for more goals but Nkrumah’s 73rd minute effort was saved by goalie Nurudeen.
There was a temporary hold-up after 88 minutes when Kumasi-based class one referee, Patrick Kojo Kyerematen, disallowed a Joseph Halm goal for B.A. Stars following an infringement on Hearts’ keeper Sammy Adjei who saved some sticky situations for the Phobians.

REFUND ILLEGAL LEVIES FRESH MEN AND WOEN..S-Poly Student leaders direct (PAGE 11, OCT 1, 2010)

2010-10-01T05:49:00.000-07:00

THE authorities at the Sunyani Polytechnic (S-Poly) in the Brong Ahafo Region, have directed leaders of all students associations who have levied freshmen and women for matriculation pictures and compulsory payment for ties and vests to refund such monies since the act was illegal.
The authorities, therefore, asked students who did not receive their monies from the associations to report to the Assistant Registrar (Academic) for redress’.
The concerns of the authorities were expressed by the Rector of S-Poly, Professor Kwasi Nsiah-Gyabaah, who was delivering a speech at the 14th matriculation ceremony and his last address as Rector of the polytechnic.
Prof. Nsiah-Gyabaah was concerned about the manner in which some unscrupulous student leaders of the institution had devised illegal means to extort monies from freshmen and fresh women and, therefore, directed that ‘‘all the associations that have collected monies from freshmen and women for items not listed by the polytechnic must refund them immediately”.
The outgoing rector also warned that ‘‘ponding’’of students was a major offence at the Polytechnic, saying that, ‘‘students who engaged in this act, will be dismissed from the Polytechnic. You are, therefore, warned to desist from such acts; for, “a word to the wise is enough’’.
Prof. Nsiah-Gyabaah disclosed that, since the establishment of the institution in 1997, the Polytechnic had grown from strength to strength and explained that, currently, its had three schools namely, School of Applied Sciences and Technology, School of Business and Management Studies as well as School of Engineering.
He said currently the Polytechnic ran 12 full-time tertiary programmes, including one Bachelor of Theology, seven Higher National Diploma (HND) and five Technicians Programme, adding that, the institution admitted students into eight professional programmes at the tertiary level and 26 Technicians and Craft courses.
The rector disclosed that, in line with its focus and mission, S-Poly is now running the Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech) in building, and that, the first and second batches of the B. Tech students, who were admitted in March and October, 2008, had completed their programmes with very impressive performances.
According to Prof. Nsiah-Gyabaah, accreditation had also been sought for additional B.Tech and HND programmes from the National Accreditation Board (NAB), saying that, in running those programmes, the Polytechnic would remain focused in providing hands-on, demand driven training for the industrial transformation of the country.
The rector said discipline was the bedrock of every developed nation and if Ghana could catch up with the developed world, then the people ought to show a high sense of discipline, pointing out that, S-Poly would, therefore, protect and support students who were humane, respectful and law-abiding.
‘‘I urge you all to avoid alcoholism, drug-abuse, absenteeism and sexual promiscuity. Be time conscious and concentrate on your studies, which are the core objectives of your admission into the polytechnic’’, Prof. Nsiah-Gyabaah advised.
Mr Samuel Ankamah Obour, the Registrar of the Polytechnic, administered the Matriculation Oath.

FORUM ON OIL REVENUE AT SUNYANI (GRAPHIC NSEMPA, PAGE 10, SEPT 27, 2010)

2010-09-27T07:18:00.002-07:00

By Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah, Sunyani

The joint Parliamentary Committee of Mines and Energy and Finance, superintended over a stakeholders’ forum, aimed at reaching out to the people to seek suggestions, contributions and their views on the Petroleum Revenue Management and the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bills, 2010 before they are passed into law.
The Consultative forum has become necessary because parliament is desirous of fashioning out a good law that would regulate the oil find in the country, in terms of exploration and production as well as the sale of the products.
Among the participants at the forum held at the Eusbett Hotel in Sunyani, the capital of the Brong Ahafo Region were Municipal/District Chief Executives, (MDCE’s) heads of decentralised departments, students, presiding members, representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGO,s) paramount chiefs and other identifiable groups, drawn from the Northern sector of the country.
Mr James Kluste Avedzi, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Mr Joseph Kofi Addah, the Ranking Member of the Committee on Mines and Energy, gave overviews on the two bills respectively, with both stressing the importance of the bills in respect of the oil find.
They again emphasised the need for all Ghanaians to depoliticise the oil find in the country and rather make meaningful suggestions regarding the prudent management of the oil revenue, pointing out that, the oil find was not for any one person or a group of individuals.
All the contributors at the forum, with one voice, called on the government and indeed all those who would be directly or indirectly responsible for the management of the natural resource to do so with a high sense of nationalism instead of being parochial.
They suggested that, part of the oil money should be used to strengthen the chieftaincy institution and also to solve the massive unemployment problem facing the country, while others also were of the opinion that, a special tribunal be set up to prosecute whoever attempted to ‘‘Squander’’ the oil money, adding that, those so convicted should not have any option of an appeal.
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr. Eric Opoku, in his welcoming address noted that, there had been several platforms for consultation and technical discussion on petroleum exploration, production and revenue management.
He however, pointed out that, the Sunyani forum was very important, in view of the influx of companies into the country for the exploration of more fields, and the fact that the country would soon start the production of the resource.
‘‘There is, therefore, the need for such a broad consultation and national consensus, especially before the finalisation of the 2011 national budget for all citizens to be clear in their minds that, revenue from oil, would be put to prudent and efficient use for the benefit of all Ghanaians’’.
The consultation, he said, should serve as the forum to collate all shades of opinions so that all Ghanaians would own the final legislations on the exploration, production and use of oil resources so that some of the negative experiences of some countries would be avoided.

2000 SETTLER FARMERS DISPLACED (GRAPHIC NSEMPA, PAGE 10, SEPT 27, 2010)

2010-09-27T07:18:00.001-07:00

By Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah, Kintampo.

About 2,000 settler farmers in seven communities in the Kintampo Municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region, have been displaced after their buildings and other properties were destroyed as a result of three days of persistent torrential rainfall, which occurred in those areas.
The communities are, Tahiru Akuraa, Bawa Akuraa, Mahama Akuraa, Jato Akuraa, Chiranda Dawadawa and Atta Akuraa.]
Currently, the municipal assembly is housing the displaced families, including women and children, at the Kintampo Senior High School.
According to the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the area, Mr Alhassan Seidu Harrison, as soon as he received reports about the incident, he mobilised a number of buses to convey the people to the school for their safety.
Mr Harrison and the Municipal Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Abudu Issahaku, conducted newsmen round to inspect the extent of the damage caused to the affected communities and where the people were putting up at the moment.
They indicated that, the assembly was feeding the people at a great cost, pointing out however that, reports had been sent to both the regional office and national headquarters of NADMO for immediate assistance, and expressed the hope that there would be a quick response to their distress call.
The Municipal NADMO Co-ordinator indicated that, the people were finding it difficult to cross a stream to their farms to access food, adding that, their stock of food had been swept away by the resultant floods.

FORUM ON PETROLEUM BILLS END (PAGE 12, SEPT 25, 2010)

2010-09-27T04:23:00.000-07:00

A CONSULTATIVE forum to solicit views on the Petroleum Revenue Management and Petroleum Exploration and Production Bills, 2010, has been held in Sunyani, the capital of the Brong Ahafo Region for stakeholders in the northern sector of the country.
The forum, which was under the auspices of the joint Parliamentary Committee of Mines and Energy and Finance, was attended by Paramount Chiefs, Municipal/District Chief Executives Presiding Members, Religious Leaders, Assembly Members, Representatives of Non-governmental organisations, Youth groups, Civil Society Organisations, Students, Heads of Decentralised Departments and Agencies as well as Development Partners.
With the support of the German Development Co-operation (GTZ), the forum was organised to tap ideas from the people to enable Parliament to fashion out a law that would ensure the judicious, prudent and efficient use and management of revenue that would accrue from the oil find in the country.
Mr James Avedzi, the Chairman of the Finance Committee, who gave an overview of the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill, pointed out that Ghana was blessed to learn lessons, both positive and negative ones, from countries which had also found oil.
That, he said, would provide the opportunity for the country to adopt sound, sustainable and efficient management of the oil revenue, saying that, the bill primarily seeks to distinguish between oil and traditional revenue sources of revenue.
According to Mr Avedzi, the bill also seeks to prohibit the petroleum account being used as collateral for the development of a particular region, adding that it was only Parliament that could determine the use of the petroleum account to support the budget for any particular year.
Under the bill, he indicated, two separate funds would be established, namely Stabilisation and Heritage Funds, which would respectively ensure that the economy was always stabilised and the future generation also taken care of.
The Ranking Member of the Committee on Mines and Energy, Mr Joseph Kofi Adda, called on all Ghanaians to come together as one people to find the best out of the exploration and production as well as the revenue that would accrue from the oil find, stressing that the oil belonged to the entire Ghanaian populace and not one single individual.
He declared: ‘‘This oil business cannot be handled by one agency. The oil does not belong to President Mills; neither does it belong to former President Kufuor or Kofi Adda; it is the property of all Ghanaians. The ownership matter is very important and so we should bear in mind.’’
Mr Adda, however, explained that even though the oil belonged to all Ghanaians, it was vested in the President of the country in trust and on behalf of the people.
During an open forum, the President of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs, Naa S. D. Gore II, suggested the setting up of a special court to deal with officials who might embezzle money from the oil find, adding that those found guilty should have no option of an appeal when convicted.
He also appealed that part of the money should be channelled to the chieftaincy institution since, according to him, the current money made available to the various Houses of Chiefs was woefully inadequate, adding, ‘‘Let part of the money come to us.’’
The Presiding Member of the Sunyani West District Assembly, Mr Kwame Agyenim Boateng, observed that there was a massive unemployment level in the country and therefore suggested that a portion of the oil money should be set aside to deal with the problem just as the various assemblies enjoyed the Common Fund.
In a welcoming address, the Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, underscored the importance of the forum, noting that there had been antecedents of oil producing countries, where oil revenue, instead of helping to accelerate their national development, had rather become a curse engendering civil and community strife that cost such countries a lot of resources.

NEW TECHNICAL INSTITUTE FOR NKORANZA (PAGE 42, SEPT 23, 2010)

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

THE government has decided to establish a new technical institute at Nkoranza in the Brong Ahafo Region to cater for technical education in the region in particular and the country as a whole.
Since the conversion of the then Sunyani Technical Institute into a polytechnic in the 1980s, the region has not benefited from a purely technical institute, and the new Nkoranza Technical Institute as it is to be called, is being carved out of the present Nkoranza Secondary/Technical School.
Currently, constructional work on the project is underway on a 12-unit storey classroom block and another separate six-unit classroom building on 107 acres released by the Nkoranza Traditional Council for the project.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo and Okatakyie Agyeman Kudom IV, the Omanhene of the Nkoranza Traditional Area, have jointly cut the sod to commence the construction of boys and girls dormitory blocks at the site.
Construction work is also to begin on a modern computer science laboratory block.
All the projects are to be financed by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).
Before breaking the ground, Okatakyie Kudom described the project as a long dream come true, adding that Nananom, in their wisdom, gave out the land for such a laudable educational project and promised that they would not hesitate to release more land for future educational purposes.
He expressed the hope that the project when successfully completed, would equip students who graduated with technical skills and jobs in advance.
Okatakyie commended the government for the bold initiative to establish the new technical institute in the region.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, who was in the area as part of his two-day working visit to the Nkoranza North District, underscored the importance of education and the government’s commitment to make education a priority on its agenda.
He expressed the hope that since the region had long existed without a technical institute, the people would lend their fullest support towards the successful completion of the project.
The regional minister, who was accompanied by the District Chief Executive (DCE )for the area, Mr Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum and the District Co-ordinating Director (DCD), Alhaji Haruna Abdul Salam, said the developed countries attained such status because they put premium on education in general, hence the need for Ghana and other African nations to follow suit.

YOUTH FOR LEADERSHIP TO PROJECT NDC LEGACIES (PAGE 12, SEPT 21, 2010)

2010-09-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

Story: Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah, Sunyani.

YOUTH for Leadership, a movement in the Brong Ahafo Region, that has the mission to uphold, project and perpetuate the legacies of former President J.J. Rawlings, has said the group has neither formed a new political party nor has the intention to join any other political grouping in the region or elsewhere in the country.
The movement stated clearly that, apart from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party, which the former President was still the father and founder, they had no intention to form or join any political party.
‘‘We still remain as Youth for Leadership in the region and still project the legacies of the Rawlingses. We are saying that, we have not formed any political party as we are projecting the legacies of the Rawlingses’’, the group stressed in a press statement signed by its Regional Secretary, Mr Chester Oppong.
According to them, they were upholding, projecting and perpetuating the enduring legacies of the former President of Ghana and founding father of the ruling NDC, by inculcating the spirit, ideals, values and principles of Flt Lt. Rawlings in children.
They declared: ‘‘May the nobility of the principles and values of our struggle always lead us through the right path to attain liberation and a high level of human life for our people,’’ adding, ‘‘Long live our noble principles and values! Long live our struggle and our historical project! Long live the fore bearer of our struggle, J.J.Rawlings and NDC.’’
The statement wished President J.E.A. Mills and the Better Ghana agenda well.

EC NOT AWARE OF FORMATION OF NEW PARTY — GYABAAH (PAGE 12, SEPT 18, 2010)

2010-09-20T04:38:00.000-07:00

The Brong Ahafo Regional Office of the Electoral Commission (EC) has said it is not aware of the formation of a new political party in the region, since no such party has registered with it in the region.
‘‘Legally, no new party has been formed in the region as of now and even if it is in the process, it has not been completed. We do not know anything about it and we have not as yet been informed about such a process from the EC Head Office in Accra”, the EC Regional Office has stated.
Mr George Gyabaah, the Brong Ahafo Regional Director of the EC who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic, said that the formation of a political party was a long process and so if any group of persons were contemplating forming a party, his office was not in the position to say so.
Mr Gyabaah explained that to register a political party, at least a list which has two-thirds of its founder members throughout the country must be sent to the EC Head Office in Accra for scrutiny.
The regional director indicated that after that, the head office would send copies of the list to its offices in the regions for verification and added that the founder members should be representatives from the various districts.
He further explained that after the verification, if the EC was satisfied with the list that the said members really existed then it would provide a provisional certificate to the founders of the new party to meet the other requirements.
According to Mr Gyabaah, one critical requirement was for the new party to ensure that it had offices in all the regions and at least two-thirds of such offices were also in the districts.
The EC Regional Director declared, ‘‘Indeed, it is a long process and so if this new party has begun, we do not know of it in the region officially and if they have done anything at the national level, we have not been notified of the formation of any party’’
‘‘As far as the commission is concerned we have not been informed and so we do not recognise any party and not until the time that Accra informs us, we are not aware. And we do not normally take what is on air as official position and when we hear, we do not comment’’, Mr Gyabaah emphasised.
The Daily Graphic reported in its Wednesday, September 15, 2010 edition that the new party had the camel as its symbol and its motto, ‘‘Together we build, together we enjoy’’.
According to the report, the RDPP colours were red, white, green, black and blue, which represented anger, happiness, freshness, frustration, love and believed in the ideologies and principles of former President Jerry John Rawlings. He added that one Mr Raphael Cubagee aka Shamo Quaye was the National Co-ordinator of the RDPP, and he announced the formation of the party at a press conference at Fiapre, near Sunyani, the Brong Ahafo Regional capital, which is also the headquarters of the new party.

NDC REACTS TO FORMATION OF NEW PARTY IN BA (PAGE 13, SEPT 17, 2010)

2010-09-17T05:46:00.000-07:00

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Secretariat of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has berated the founder of a new political party, Mr Raphael Cubagee, for capitalising on challenges facing the NDC to seek attention for his personal interest.
The Regional NDC Secretariat described the purported founding of the Real Democratic Patriot Party (RDPP) by Mr Cubagee as, ‘‘Simply a mischief’’.
The secretariat was reacting to the purported formation of the new political party, from the NDC in the region.
A press release signed by the Brong Ahafo Regional Secretary of the NDC, Mr Justice Samuel Adjei, recalled that the said Cubagee went on air about a month ago, announcing his resignation from the NDC.
The release explained that, ‘‘As we in the NDC did not take radio announcement as an official position, we invited him formally to present his problems to us for redress. It was followed up with a reminder but all these things were to no avail’’.
According to the Regional Secretary of the NDC, every political organisation, including the NDC, was there to solve problems, adding that, ‘‘The founders of our party foresaw this and created avenues from constituency level to the highest echelons of the party, to deal with problems as they emerge’’.
The release emphasised that, it would be ‘‘hypocritical and naïve’’ if the party pretended that there were no challenges in the NDC, but noted that, because of the respect for each member, ‘‘We use the structures as stipulated by the party constitution’’
It declared, ‘‘We wish to ask our party supporters that the structures are capable of meeting the challenges.
Mr Adjei further appealed to members of the NDC to be focussed, stressing, ‘‘We refuse to be distracted because we know the track record of Raphael Cubagee and soon we shall expose his plans in detail’’.
Already, the National Co-ordinator of the RDPP, Mr Cubagee, aka Shamo Quaye, had insisted that, the newly formed political movement would make an impact on the country’s political landscape.
He said plans were far advanced to get the party, whose founding members were people who believed in the ideologies of former President J.J. Rawlings, registered at the Electoral Commission.

CIVIL SERVANTS MUST NOT CAMPAIGN FOR POLITICAL PARTIES (PAGE 13, SEPT 16, 2010)

2010-09-16T04:55:00.000-07:00

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo has called on Civil and Public servants who are desirous to openly mount political platforms to stop the practice.
He declared, “I do not want any civil/public servant to stand on a platform and campaign for the National Democratic congress (NDC) party during elections”.
“That is not the rule of the game and so those who wish to do so should resign their positions and behave as politicians. My advice is that, you remain as neutral as possible in the performance of your duties as Civil/Public servants,” Mr. Nyamekye-Marfo stated.
The regional minister, who was interacting with heads of department and other staff of the Kintampo North Municipal and the Kintampo South District Assemblies at Kintampo and Jema respectively, further cautioned civil/public servants not to use state resources to engage in politics.
He maintained that, it was incumbent for them to continue to show their commitment and dedication to duty, no matter which government was in place, adding that, “Do not allow your personal interests to overshadow the generality of the people you serve”.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, who was on a two-day working visit to the two administrative areas, admonished the heads of department to set good examples for their subordinates to emulate, saying that, they should eschew lateness to work and ensure environmental cleanliness, and make sure that, furniture, curtains and other office appliances were decent.
He emphasised that, it was only when the heads were disciplined that they could compel their junior members of staff to live above reproach, pointing out that, their decent appearances ought to reflect what pertained in their respective offices.
Apart from the meeting with the heads of department, the regional minister, led by the respective Municipal and District Chief Executives for those areas, Messrs Alhassan Seidu Harrison and Kojo Nyamekye Datiakwa, inspected ongoing and completed development projects, including educational, health, water and sanitation structures and facilities, which were financed at huge costs.
The regional minister, also paid courtesy calls on a number of chiefs, including Nana Yusif Fanyinama III, President of the Council of Wangara Chiefs in Ghana at Kintampo, who in an address, appealed to Mr Nyamekye-Marfo to use his good office to ensure that, Kintampo township roads and drains were put in good shape.
Nana Fanyinama, again appealed to Ghanaians to exercise restraint and rally solidly behind President, J.E.A. Mills in his bid to share the national cake equitably, saying that, the assertion by a section of Ghanaians that President Mills was slow in his administration did not hold .
From the Palace of Nana Fanyinama, the regional minister also called on Nana Effa Guakuro, Nana Asare Baffoe, Nana Awiti Koffour and Nana Minka Banawa, all traditional authorities at Kintampo, who in their respective addresses, called on the government to improve conditions at Kintampo and its environs.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo gave the assurance that, the government would not renege on its promises to develop all sectors of the economy, saying that, the President recognised and appreciated the confidence the people reposed in him by voting the NDC to power.

H1N1 SCARE AT KINTAMPO SHS (JUNIOR GRAPHIC, PAGE 3, SEPT 15, 2010)

2010-09-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

Twelve out of 16 students of the Kintampo Senior High School (SHS), suspected to have contracted the H1N1 virus, have tested positive after undergoing screening at the Kintampo Municipal Health Directorate.
Blood samples of all the 16 students were taken to Accra for analysis, according to the Kintampo Municipal Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Abdu Issahaku.
Mr Issahaku, who disclosed this to Newsmen in Kintampo, however, gave the assurance that, there was no cause for alarm as the Municipal office of the Ministry of Health (MOH), had managed the situation.
The condition of the students were detected just before schools vacated.
He disclosed that, all the students were vaccinated before they left for holidays, adding that about 9,000 residents of Kintampo had also been vaccinated
According to the Municipal NADMO Co-ordinator, his outfit and the MOH were in close collaboration to educate the people on the local FM Radio Stations as well as the holding of public programmes on the symptoms of the disease.
In that connection, he advised residents to immediately report to the nearest health facility, whenever they felt any of the symptoms, for prompt medical attention.

KINTAMPO ASSEMBLY PAYS DAMAGES, COST (PAGE 13, SEPT 10, 2010)

2010-09-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

The Sunyani High Court in the Brong Ahafo Region has ordered the Kintampo Municipal Assembly to pay a total of GH¢121, 250.00 to Mr Agyapong Adu-Baah as damages and cost, in view of the assembly’s failure to compensate him in respect of his parcel of land which the assembly acquired to construct a market complex for the area.
Consequently, the assembly has made an initial payment of GH¢50,000.00 and is obliged to clear the balance in installments.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the area, Mr Alhassan Seidu Harrison, who disclosed this at the Third Ordinary Meeting of the Fourth Session of the assembly at Kintampo noted that, before the court’s judgment on May 27, 2010, the case had dragged on for 13 years.
He explained that at a meeting of the assembly in 2005, the members decided that GH¢20, 000.00 should be paid to Mr Adu-Baah as compensation, but said the decision did not go through.
The MCE said records available indicated that after the man sued the assembly, the court issued summons on many occasions to the assembly to appear before it but the assembly refused to honour those summons.
Mr Harrison indicated that the court, therefore, considered the action of the assembly not to appear before it as a contempt of the court, adding that on November 19, 2009, the court impounded a Farmtrac 70 tractor with registration number, G.E. 5231, belonging to the assembly at the Kintampo Municipal Magistrate court.
“Thereafter, the assembly continued to appear before the Sunyani High Court and vigorously pursued the case until May 27, 2010, when the Sunyani High Court passed a final judgment on the case in favour of Agyapong Adu-Baah and requested the assembly to pay the sum of GH121,250.00 to him”, the MCE told the meeting.
Mr Harrison announced that the assembly intended to establish a police barracks within the municipality but there were challenges in the acquisition of land, and therefore, appealed to the chiefs and landowners in the area to co-operate with the assembly towards its development agenda.
Again, he indicated that, in July this year, the Ghana Armed Forces called on the assembly to request for a piece of land for the purpose of establishing an Engineering Regiment for the Northern Belt, which includes, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and the three Northern regions.
He said the team visited some areas in the Kintampo Municipality and finally recommended a stretch of land near the final waste disposal site for the project.
On education, Alhaji Harrison disclosed that a six-unit classroom block with ancillary facilities to be funded by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), under the Schools Under Trees Programme, had been awarded to the Kunsu Methodist L/A Primary, Saeed Islamic Primary and Miawani L/A Primary Schools at Kunsu, Gulumpe and Miawani respectively.
The MCE also informed the house that a number of roads had been reshaped in the municipality, and the Kintampo lorry park has been regravelled, adding that the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Kintampo North Constituency, Mr Stephen Kunsu, had rehabilitated the Kintampo-Kunsu road which was hitherto immotorable.

TAFIANO RIVER NEEDS BRIDGE (GRAPHIC NSEMPA, PAGE 14, AUGUST 30, 2010)

2010-08-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

By Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah, Nkoranza

The Omanhene of the Nkoranza Traditional Area, Okatayie Agyeman Kudom IV, has appealed to the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo to use his good office to ensure that, the wooden bridge spanning River Tafiano in the Nkoranza South District is replaced with a Bailey bridge.
That, the Omanhene explained was urgent because the wooden bridge in its present state is a death trap to all manner of people who ply the road between Nkoranza and Kintampo.
Okatakyie Kudom made the call when the regional minister called on him at his palace as part of Mr Nyamekye-Marfo’s two-day working visit to the Nkoranza South and Nkoranza North Districts.
The visit of the regional minister, in the company of some officials of the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) and some executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) from the region, was to enable him see at first hand, ongoing and completed development projects in those areas.
Following the request by the Omanhene, the regional minister quickly moved in to inspect the bridge together with the District Chief Executives (DCEs) for the two areas, Messrs Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum and by Kwadwo Agyei-Dwomo, where he gave the assurance that, he would do everything to ensure that the bridge was repaired.
Okatakyei Kudom, who was flanked by his Divisional and Sub-Chiefs, also appealed to Mr. Nyamekye-Marfo to see to the repairs and reconstruction of a number of deplorable roads in the area, and that, in view of the bad nature of the roads, farmers found it difficult to transport their produce to the urban centres for marketing.
Again, the Omanhene urged the government to raise the Nkoranza South District to a Municipality, and that it was long overdue for the area to assume such a status, and that Nananom had already made such a request to the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development on his previous visit to Nkoranza.
Okatakyei Kudom, on behalf of the Chiefs, expressed his sincerest thanks and appreciation to the regional minister for his visit to Nananom and the decision to tour the two districts to acquaint himself with the level of development going on there.
Later, the regional minister and the Omanhene jointly cut the sod to signify commencement of works an entirely new Technical Institute at Nkoranza to boost technical education in the area
Currently, construction work is underway on a simple storey 12-unit classroom block and another separate six-unit classroom building on an 107 acre-land, released by the Nkoranza Traditional Council for the new project.
Again, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr. Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo and Okatakyie Agyeman Kudom IV, the Omanhene of the Nkoranza Traditional Area, have jointly cut the sod to commence the construction of Boys and Girls dormitory blocks at the site.
Before breaking the ground, Okatakyie Kudom, described the project as a dream come true, adding that, Nananom in their wisdom gave out the land for such a laudable education project and promised that, they would not hesitate to release more land for educational purposes.
He expressed the hope that, the project when successfully completed, would equip students who graduated with technical skills jobs in advance, and commended the government for the bold initiative to establish the new technical institute in the region.
The regional minister said, since the region had long existed without a technical institute, the people should lend their full support towards its successful completion, adding that, with the combination of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) as well as science and technical education, the region could develop faster.
The Principal of the Institute, Mr. Albert Adusei, said in an interaction with this reporter that, by the end of September this year, work on the initiated projects would have been completed for academic work to start in earnest.
He mentioned the subject areas to begin with as Carpentry, Block work, Auto Mechanics, Electricals, Mechanical Engineering/Craft production while Agriculture Mechanics and catering programmes would follow up later.
Among the areas the regional minister visited to inspect ongoing and completed school and other development projects were Nsugum, Amposakrom, Nkwabeng, Nyamebekyere and in the Nkoranza township itself.

INSULATE PUBLIC SERVANTS FROM POLITICAL ACTIVITIES (PAGE 13, AUGUST 26, 2010)

2010-08-26T05:34:00.001-07:00

THE District Co-ordinating Director (DCD) for Nkoranza South, Alhaji Haruna Abdul Salam, has appealed to political heads of the various Regional Co-ordinating Councils to insulate both public and civil servants from active partisan political activities.
He noted that, some political heads in the country, were trying hard to woo public/civil servants into their partisan programmes, saying, “It is happening elsewhere and we do not want that to happen here”.
Alhaji Salam made the appeal when he set the tone for a meeting of heads of Decentralised Departments and other quasi-sectors of the Nkoranza South District Assembly in the Brong Ahafo Region with the Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo.
He declared, “Leave us to assist you and give us the trust and we will deliver”.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo was in the district to familiarise himself with ongoing and completed development programmes in various parts of the district and to also interact with traditional authorities and other authorities of some institutions.
The DCD, however, cautioned the departmental heads to remain as neutral as possible in the discharge of their official duties, adding that, they were at post to help implement the programmes and projects of the government and to ensure that, those activities were satisfactorily achieved.
“We are ready to support the government and help to make its programmes and policies thrive, and that is exactly what we are supposed to do no matter which government is in power,” he told the meeting.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, who was accompanied by some officials of the RCC and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Regional and constituency executives, also advised that, public and civil servants ought not to show their political colours, saying, “You are only to assist the government to prosecute its agenda of a ‘Better Ghana’”.
He pointed out that, there was no doubt that, even the Electoral Commissioner, had his sympathies for a particular party and again had a vote during elections but noted with satisfaction that, the commissioner did not display his political affiliation when discharging his constitutional duties.
The regional minister alleged that, there were some of the Heads of Departments who openly make certain remarks and utterances which tended to suggest the political party he or she belonged to, stressing that, “Your only duty as Public/Civil servants, is to support the government to achieve its goals and so just act in that line and save yourselves”.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo observed that, inasmuch as bureaucracy was allowed in official duties, it could also stall the effective running of affairs in the office if it was rigidly applied and enforced, through the chain of command.
However, he advised that, as heads it was expected that they made sure that the right things were done at all times, adding further that, there was the need for them to establish cordial relations with their subordinates rather than to subject them to inhuman treatment, since they were also human being.
The regional minister emphasised that, whatever good works or otherwise they carried out in their respective offices, would be judged by the present and subsequent generations, stressing that, he had ever personally worked with a hard- handed and an inward-looking director of a district assembly.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo gave the assurance that, the government would not in any way renege on its responsibility and commitment to ensure that, public and civil servants were duly rewarded with improved and better conditions of services.
The DCE, Mr Agyekum, also entreated the departmental heads to discharge their duties as professionals but not to mingle politics with professionalism, saying, “No matter the party you belong , we shall accept you, once you do not show biases. We will, however, meet you boot for boot for any attempt to play to the gallery by way of thwarting the ‘Better Ghana’ agenda”.
Earlier, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo had paid a courtesy call on the Omanhene of the Nkoranza Traditional Area, Okatakyie Agyeman Kudom IV and his divisional and sub-chiefs at his palace, where Nananom expressed concern about the bridge on the Tanfiano River which had broken down, which Okatakyie Kudom stressed, had become a death trap to commuters between Nkoranza and Kintampo.
The Omanhene also appealed to the government to raise the Nkoranza South District to the status of a municipality, which was long overdue.

NAFANA SHS IN DIRE NEED (PAGE 3, AUGUST 25, 2010)

2010-08-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

The Nafana Presbyterian Senior High School (SHS) at Sampa, the capital of the Jaman North District of the Brong Ahafo Region, is in dire need of dining and assembly halls, as well as other infrastructural facilities.
Due to the lack of an assembly hall, all meetings at the school are held under the shade of trees on the school compound whenever the need arises.
The situation came to light when the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye –Marfo, visited the institution to interact with both students and the school authorities during his working visit to the district.
Mr Kofi Wiredu Sasah, the Headmaster of the school, said the situation had been so for a long time and that several appeals made to the appropriate educational authorities and other stakeholders had not yielded any fruitful results.
He indicated that one block at the school served as both a classroom and a dining hall and there were no dormitory blocks for both female and male students, no science laboratory and many other facilities to promote quality teaching and learning.
He, therefore, made a passionate appeal to the Regional Minister to ensure that the school was provided with the needed facilities.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo gave the assurance that he would ensure that the needs of the school, especially the construction of a classroom block for those caught up with the four-year SHS programme, were provided.
He emphasised that the government was committed to ensuring that, all schools in the country would be provided with the necessary facilities to boost education, a necessary tool for development.
The Regional Minister noted that the provision of logistics and other infrastructural facilities, as well as the provision of incentive to teachers, was the only way to enhance teaching and learning.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo appealed to the teachers to give off their best in spite of the challenges they faced, saying: “If you fail to deliver, the children will not succeed and that can spell their doom.”
He also advised the students to learn very hard instead of engaging in social vices such as sodomy, lesbianism, alcoholism and the use of hard drugs, adding: “Your parents are struggling to make you feel better in your future lives.”

COURT SENTENCES 10 TO DEATH (PAGE 3, AUGUST 26, 2010)

2010-08-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

TEN out of 11 persons accused of murdering Anthony Yeboah-Boateng, the former Administrator of the Goaso Government Hospital at Atronie, were yesterday sentenced to death by hanging.
The Sunyani High Court, presided over by Mr Justice Godwin Gabor, however, acquitted and discharged the fourth accused person, Kwaku Agyeman Badu, alias Wakuu, 54, who until the case was a driver of the Metro Mass Transit Limited.
In addition, the 10 convicts are to serve 20 years’ imprisonment each with hard labour, but the sentences are to run concurrently.
They are Douglas Afriyie, alias Dougie; Stephen Donkor, alias Kofi Ankama; Kwasi Nyantekyi, alias Nana Kusi; Adama Hamidu; James Dankwah; Kwame Yeboah Addae, alias Akolo; Kwadwo Awuah, alias Koo Wua or “I see”; Kwame Anokye; Emmanuel Kwaku Lartey, alias Adjetey, and Kwame Krah, alias Koo Kraa.
They were charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit murder, contrary to Section 23(1) and 46 of the Criminal Offence Act 1960 (Act 29), murder, contrary to Section 46 and causing unlawful damage, contrary to Section 172 (2).
The decision of the court, followed a unanimous verdict of guilt returned by a seven-member jury after about one hour deliberation.
Immediately after their conviction and sentence, Mr Justice Gabor said “the accused persons, having been convicted and sentenced, have one month to appeal. It is their right and it is also my duty to inform them as such”.
Before going to deliberate on the matter, the trial judge drew the attention of the jury to the evidence they had heard and the law involved and its application to the evidence, saying, “You are the judges of facts, so please consider yourselves free from the comments or observations made by me in the course of summing up of this case because you are not bound by them but I am within my right to make such observation.”
“Your verdict must be based on the evidence upon your own consideration and the evidence heard in this court and in the direction given on the law involved. You are therefore to disregard whatever you might have heard outside and your verdict must be unanimous, this matter being a murder trial,” he said.
Mr Justice Gabor said the general principle of the law in criminal trial was that the prosecution must prove its case beyond all reasonable doubt.
It is recalled that on April 8, 2007, Mr Yeboah-Boateng, who was also the former presiding member of the Asunafo North District Assembly, in the company of his wife and two other women, was travelling from Sunyani to Goaso after picking a corpse of a relative from the Regional Hospital, Sunyani to the Goaso Government Hospital mortuary.
When they got to Atronie with the corpse, the convicts, together with others, blocked the road with rocks and cement blocks, forcing Yeboah-Boateng to stop.
The convicts, together with the others, rushed on Yeboah-Boateng and accused him of being a ritual murderer because he was carrying a corpse in his car.
Before the deceased could offer any explanation, the convicts pulled him out of the vehicle, clubbed him to death and attempted to set his body and car ablaze.
They then vandalised his car and the corpse and bolted from the town.
Since May 2, 2008, the Sunyani High has been hearing the case of the 11 after the Attorney General’s (A-G’s) Department had recommended that they be tried for their alleged involvement in the criminal offence.

ACCOUNTANTS, AUDITORS OF MDAS ATTEND SEMINAR (PAGE 35, AUGUST 25, 2010)

2010-08-25T06:46:00.001-07:00

THE Brong Ahafo Regional office of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Service has organised a seminar for accountants, auditors and purchasing officers of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the region, with a call on them to always demand VAT/National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) invoices for goods and services they buy.
   The participants were also urged to purchase their goods and get their services from only VAT registered persons and businesses, since that was one of the best ways they could assist the VAT service in ensuring compliance with the VAT Act and to generate revenue for the country.
   The Regional Head of the VAT service, Mrs Joyce Evelyn Mensah-Boakye, who made the appeal, said, ‘‘We need the collaboration and support from the general public, particularly you the accountants, auditors and purchasing officers of your respective MDAs.”
   The seminar was organised in recognition of the important role the MDAs had played and continued to play in assisting the service to mobilise revenue for the development of the country.
  Mrs Mensah-Boakye said the participants had in their possession copies of both the Financial Administration Act 2003 (Act 654) and the VAT Act 1998 (Act 546) as amended, to guide them in the performance of their duties.
  Those laws, she said, enjoined them to use appropriate channels in procuring goods and services for use by their respective MDAs.
‘‘Being the driving force of government machinery, the service deems it fit to let you know how important you are to us in our revenue mobilisation efforts, hence this seminar,’’ Mrs Mensah-Boakye said.
She stated that the success of every government depended on the number of development programmes and projects that could be carried out for its people.
However, Mrs Mensah-Boakye observed that, “We are unable to generate enough revenue to fund these programmes and, therefore, largely depend on external support which has been dwindling over the years. This leaves us with no alternatives than to look internally generated funds’’.
  She said the VAT Service or the revenue agencies could not do that alone and therefore needed the collaboration and support from the general public, especially the professionals.
  The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, in a speech read for him, stated that developed countries had thrived on effective and efficient revenue and tax mobilisation for enhanced social and physical infrastructure needed to build sustainable societies for their citizens.
   He said Ghana as a country derived about 30 per cent of its annual budget from its development partners, which definitely was nothing to write home about, adding that over the years, the thresholds of the national budget continued to increase but that had not seen a corresponding rise in locally generated revenue.
   Mr Nyamekye-Marfo stated that in the attempt to solve that problem, strategies had been churned out to address the deficits of the annual budgets but that had not yielded the needed results and impact.

FIVE REMANDED OVER MURDER (PAGE 20, AUGUST 14, 2010)

2010-08-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

THE Wenchi District Magistrate Court in the Brong Ahafo Region has remanded five persons to prison custody for allegedly conspiring to murder Seta Issifu, a 49-year-old woman, at Abotareye, near Wenchi.
The five, who included three women, are Kojo Zirenye, 15; Kwasi Monane, 10; Ama Maabo, 35; Priscilla Luton, 15, and Yaa Dontonton, 25.
They are alleged to have conspired to murder the woman about 5:30 p.m. on August 3, 2010.
The court, presided over by Mr Essel Walker, remanded the accused persons to reappear on Friday, August 20, 2010.
According to the Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Police Crime Officer, Mr Saviour Ahiamadi, the deceased was attacked by the suspects while she was collecting firewood from a farm belonging to a friend.
He alleged that the suspects hit the woman with a piece of wood after pushing her onto a tree stump on the farm.
Mr Ahiamadi said while the victim was collecting firewood, Zirenye, who was also interested in the firewood, confronted Seta and she allegedly told him (Zirenye) that she had the expressed permission of the owner of the farm to collect the firewood.
According to the police, the explanation offered by her did not go down well with Zirenye, who then teamed up with the other accused persons to pick up a quarrel with Seta.
The police said in the process, the suspects allegedly pushed her down and hit her with firewood until she became unconscious and was rushed to the Wenchi Methodist Hospital.
However, she was pronounced dead on arrival and the body was deposited at the hospital mortuary for autopsy.

COMMUNICATIONS MINISTRY REVIEWING ICT (PAGE 42, AUGUST 12, 2010)

2010-08-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

THE Ministry of Communications is in the process of reviewing the national Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to include environmentally friendly (green) ICT, Geographical Information Systems and District Level ICT policies.
In this connection, stakeholders in the information society are expected to provide inputs whenever they are called upon.
The Sector Minister, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, announced this in a speech read for him in Sunyani.
He said as a matter of policy, the National Communications Authority (NCA) had been mandated to auction Broadband Wireless Access Licenses to facilitate the provision of last mile solutions by the private sector to address the policy objective of universal access.
That, Mr Haruna said, was expected to make government services accessible and available to the rural communities to manimise the digital divide and also create ICT jobs in the communities.
In his address to open the Commonwealth Africa Rural Connectivity Initiative In-Country Capacity Building Workshop, Mr Iddrisu stressed: “As a country, we need to find innovative and novel solutions to the problem of rural connectivity.”
According to him, the utilisation of rural connectivity allowed the sharing of scarce medical resources with rural areas, including instant access to expert diagnosis, and that, through rural connectivity, the educational system would also be enhanced with access to distance learning and education.
The workshop, organised by the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) in collaboration with the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisations (CTO), was based on the Commonwealth Africa Rural Connectivity Initiative (COMARCI) project, ahead of the fifth Annual Connecting Rural Communities Africa Forum, scheduled for August 17 to 19, 2010.
The participants included Members of Parliament (MPs), District Chief Executives (DCEs), traditional rulers, religious leaders, market women and representatives of the Trades Union Congress, as well as experts in the communications sector.
Mr Iddrisu stated that it was also the intention of the government to promote fresh investment initiatives and opportunities in the ICT sector for data services via WiMAX.
“I must admit that the provision of the main line (Fibre) connectivity solutions also required last mile solutions to individual households and communities,” he said.
Mr Iddrisu stressed that it was the government’s policy to promote electronic governance that facilitated the effective delivery of government services to citizens, businesses and others, and also to connect hospitals, schools, police stations, National Health Insurance Scheme, immigration, Agricultural Extension Services, Internal Revenue Service and the Value Added Tax offices in all towns that were within the network coverage areas.
The Chief Executive Officer of the CTO, Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, in a presentation, explained that the organisation and the digital divide provided for the international community, effective means to help bridge the digital divide and achieve social and economic development by delivering to developing countries, unique knowledge sharing programmes in the use of ICT in the specified areas of telecommunications, Information Technology (IT), broadcasting and the Internet.
The Administrator of GIFEC, Mr Kofi Attor, stated that GIFEC was set up in 2004 with a view to bridging the digital divide, adding that the earlier ICT was extended to the rural areas the better.
He disclosed that there were about 140 communication centres established across the country with 90 officially opened to be fixed with computers to enable the communities to have access to them for their studies, especially schoolchildren.
Mr Attor added that there were State of the Art ICT centres established in all the 38 Colleges of Education in the country which would enable the teacher trainees to come out and effectively handle children in ICT.
In a welcoming address, the Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, said undoubtedly, accessible and affordable use of ICT was critical not merely because it promoted social intercourse through electronic means, but it also improved governmental and business services to isolated communities.

5 MURDER SUSPECTS HELD (PAGE 3, AUGUST 11, 2010)

2010-08-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

Five suspects, including three females, have been arrested by the Wenchi Police in the Brong Ahafo Region for allegedly conspiring to murder a 49-year-old woman at Abotereye, near Wenchi.
The deceased, identified as Seta Issifu, was allegedly attacked by the suspects while she was collecting firewood from a farm belonging to a friend.
The suspects are Kojo Zirenye, 15; Kwasi Monane, 10; Ama Maabo, 35; Priscilla Luton, 15, and Yaa Dontonton, 25.
According to ASP Saviour Ahiamadi, the suspects allegedly hit the woman with a piece of wood after pushing her onto a tree stump on the farm.
He explained that while the deceased was collecting firewood, she was confronted by Zirenye because he was also interested in the firewood, but the deceased told him that she had the express permission of the owner of the farm to do so.
The explanation offered by the deceased did not go down well with Zirenye, who teamed up with the other suspects to quarrel with her.
According to the police, in the process, they allegedly pushed her down and hit her with firewood until she became unconscious.
She was pronounced dead when she was rushed to the Wenchi Hospital.
Meanwhile, the suspects are being processed for court on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and murder.

FATHER KILLS SON, COMMITS SUICIDE (BACK PAGE, AUGUST 6, 2010)

2010-08-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

Residents of Fianu, a farming community near Atebubu, had the shock of their lives when they woke up to hear that a 60-year-old man had committed suicide after he had allegedly shot his son to death.
According to the Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Crime Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Saviour Ahiamadi, the man, identified as Nantieb Larry Duut, believed to be mentally deranged, had told the son, Nantieb Benlade, 30, on July 30 that he was going to farm and would return on August 2, 2010.
The police officer said Duut was said to have requested his son to follow up to the farm on August 1, 2010.
ASP Ahiamadi said Benlade obliged and set out to meet his father on the appointed date, only for Duut to shoot Benlade before taking his own life.
According to ASP Ahiamadi, it was Duut’s wife, Ajara Seidu, 30, who had also followed up about 5:30 p.m. on August 1, who found the two men dead on the farm.
He said Ajara quickly informed one Kwasi Kumah about the incident and he in turn informed the police.
ASP Ahiamadi said during a visit to the crime scene, the police found the gun and an empty shell, adding that they did not suspect any foul play, since Duut was believed to be mentally deranged.
The two bodies have been deposited at the Atebubu Government Hospital pending autopsy and further investigations.

POLITICAL PLURALISM VITAL FOR DEV — NYAMEKYE-MARFO (PAGE 14 , AUGUST 3, 2010)

2010-08-03T02:55:00.000-07:00

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, has observed that political pluralism is the only sure way that can ensure the effective development of the country.
He noted that under such a system, people from the various political divide had the right to freely express their opinion on every subject matter that came up for discussion and make suggestions that were geared towards the progress of the country.
The Regional Minister, however, pointed out that some unscrupulous politicians had taken undue advantage of the current political dispensation where free speech was guaranteed to verbally attack their political opponents and malign them without any evidence.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, for instance, indicated that certain political activists, notably the up and coming young ones, who profess to be political analysts and social commentators, move from one radio station to the other to hurl insults at their opponents in the name of freedom of speech instead of contributing meaningfully to the actual topic under discussion.
The Regional Minister made the observation at Seketia in the Jaman South District when he addressed a meeting with the chief and people of the area.
He also addressed similar meetings with a number of traditional authorities he visited in the Tain, Jaman North and Jaman South Districts, as part of his working visit to the respective areas to acquaint himself with the development projects that were either completed or were ongoing in those districts.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, who was accompanied by officials of the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) and some regional executive members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party, said it was sad and pathetic to hear young people openly engaged in abusive language on some FM radio stations across the country and in the print media.
He indicated that what was more worrisome, in most of the cases, was the fact that the hosts of some of the programmes did not seem to care about the gross indiscipline exhibited by their insulting panellists and rather allowed them to do their own thing, adding that some other persons also exhibited the same character during phone-in segments of political discussions.
The Regional Minister emphasised that presenting constructive criticisms was the best and surest way to move the country forward rather than resorting to making libellous and scandalous statements about people, especially those in official positions and other political big wigs.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, therefore, appealed to the chiefs and other opinion leaders in the various communities to impress upon the youth to show a high sense of respect to the elderly, who had in diverse ways contributed their quota towards the level of the current development of the country.
He urged Ghanaians to exercise patience for the government to proceed with its ‘‘Better Ghana’’ agenda which the NDC had promised the people, admitting, however, that governance was not an easy enterprise and, more significantly, when the government had inherited a rather difficult economy.

DENTAL SURGEONS PLACEMENT POSE PROBLEM FOR GHS (PAGE 22, JULY 31, 2010)

2010-08-01T10:05:00.000-07:00

THE Ghana Dental Association (GDA) has observed that placement of dental surgeons after their graduation has always been a problem for both the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the association.
The problem is mainly due to inadequate number of accredited dental facilities to absorb new doctors.
The President of the GDA, Dr Josephine Sackeyfio made the appeal when she addressed the 19th annual conference of the association in Sunyani. It was on the theme: “Gerodontology, quality oral healthcare for the elderly”.
Dr Sackeyfio said the association had observed that currently, there were only six accredited dental centres available for placement of dental surgeons throughout the country, which made it impossible to absorb all the newly qualified locally trained DSs.
She said the result of that had been a feeling of frustration among those new and young professionals.
Dr Sackeyfio stated that the GDA had therefore, appealed to the government to provide more accredited health facilities that would ensure prompt placement of DSs to improve access to oral healthcare throughout the country.
The GDA president also noted that another problem of the association and the GHS was the refusal by some newly qualified DSs to accept posting to areas normally considered as deprived, and therefore, called for a review of policies by the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Dr Sackeyfio disclosed that a study conducted in 1997 by the United Nations (UN) Department of Public Information on ageing, revealed that the number of people aged between 60 and above would increase from 22.9 million to 101.9 million in Africa between 1980 and 2025.
She said that comparatively showed an increase by a factor of 4.4 to that of 2.1 for developed countries over the same period, adding that the number of those aged 75 and above in West Africa would also increase by over 500 per cent.
The Vice Chancellor of the Catholic University College of Ghana (CUCG) at Fiapre near Sunyani, Professor James H. Ephraim, said currently, the number of schools of dentistry in the country were only two and that, the number of dentists who graduated was definitely not enough to cater for the needs of the aged in the country as long as oral healthcare was concerned.
He said efforts therefore ought to be made by the government to support the establishment of two new Schools of Dentistry, one at the University for Development Studies and another at the University of Cape Coast.
Professor Ephraim added that scholarships/fellowships should be provided for individuals to undertake postgraduate studies in various aspects of dentistry, including gerodontology.
The Chief Dental Officer, Dr Constance Addo-Yobo in a presentation, noted that among the elderly, impaired mobility impeded access to oral healthcare, particularly for those who resided in rural areas with poor public transport.
She said another barrier to oral healthcare in Ghana was financial hardship after following retirements, the perceived high cost of dental treatment together with negative attitudes to oral health, which might deter them from visiting dentists.

FINES FROM BRONG AHAFO DRIVERS YIELD GH¢29,552 (MIRROR, PAGE 27, JULY 30, 2010)

2010-07-30T11:13:00.000-07:00

From Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah, Sunyani

DRIVERS in the Brong Ahafo Region who flouted various road traffic rules and regulations and committed other vehicular offences have been fined a total amount of GH¢29,552.00 by circuit and magistrate courts in the region within the second quarter of this year.
For the first quarter of the year, recalcitrant drivers in the region were sentenced to a total fine of GH¢ 2,150.00 by the same courts at Techiman, Tuobodom, Kintampo, Wamfie, Goaso, Bechem and Duayaw-Nkwanta.
The offences committed included speeding, driving vehicles with worn-out tyres, driving with expired licenses and without licenses, loading above approved height, failing to stop, failing to equip vehicles with fire extinguishers and warning triangles, driving without road insurance certificate, failing to pay vehicle income tax and failing to renew insurance and road worthiness certificates, among others.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mr Paul Wesley Baah, who disclosed this to The Mirror in an interview in Sunyani, pointed out that the police would not relent in its efforts to ensure sanity on the roads by prosecuting drivers who constantly break the vehicular rules and regulations.
Providing statistics on accidents in the region for the same periods, ASP Baah indicated that within the second quarter of the year, a total of 149 cases were reported as against 200 recorded between January and April, involving 201 and 279 vehicles, respectively.
He indicated that for the second quarter, 30 of the cases were fatal while 45 fatal cases were recorded between January and April, and that for the two occasions, 52 of the cases were serious while 67 and 103 were respectively recorded as minor.
ASP Baah disclosed that out of the total accident cases, 45 persons died in the second quarter while 48 perished in the January to April recorded cases, adding that 332 got injured within the second quarter, with 416 sustaining injuries between the January to April period.
Giving the statistics for the first quarter of 2009, the MTTU said 174 accident cases occurred, involving 207 vehicles; 82 died, 151 got injured, 98 of the cases were rated as minor, 33 as serious while 43 were fatal.
He could, however, not provide the statistics for the second quarter for 2009.
According to ASP Baah, speeding and driver fatigue had been identified as two major causes of road accidents in the region.
He, therefore, urged drivers to observe the speed limit regulation of 50 Km/h and also endeavour to rest for 30 minutes after driving for continuous four hours, as stipulated in the regulation, in order to save lives and property.

JOSCO HOLD SECOND GRADUATION (PAGE 22, JULY 30, 2010)

2010-07-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

THE acting Principal of the St Joseph College of Education (JOSCO) at Bechem in the Brong Ahafo Region, Mr Anthony Agyemang has called for a national debate on the code of conduct for teacher trainees in the country.
He stressed, ‘‘there is the urgent need for a code for teacher trainees that will ensure quality education at all levels. Yet, the accreditation of teacher training colleges has brought about calls for freedom without license. This is a great challenge’’.
Mr Agyemang made the call at the second graduation and awards ceremony of JOSCO at Bechem. The theme for the celebration was: ‘‘Infrastructural development: A prerequisite for quality tertiary education”.
The acting principal said, ‘‘We should focus on what students are being trained for instead of seeking freedom without responsibility; and if the teacher is going to expect pupils to request, ‘Please, teacher may I go out?’, then he or she needs to learn how to ask for permission while in college”.
Mr Agyemang stated that if the teacher was going to organise morning assembly in the basic school, then there was the need for him or her to attend morning assembly while in college.
He observed that if those who were admitted to the Military Academy and Training School, as well as students in the major seminary, some of whom were post-graduate students, were considered as tertiary students and as such had no freedom to themselves, how could the same not apply to students at the college of education?
Mr Agyemang noted with concern that the entry requirements of students admitted into the college had not been good enough over the years, citing for instance that, 26 out of the 276 students admitted last year had between aggregates 13 and 18, while the remaining 250 had between aggregates 19 and 24.
He said the institution which was established in 1948, currently had a student population of 805, comprising 605 males and 200 females, adding that the college could have admitted more students but the authorities were restricted by the quota system being enforced by the Ministry of Education.
He, therefore, appealed to the sector minister and other stakeholders to permit the college to increase its intake to be able to satisfy the many applicants.
He stated that the college had a list of 986 qualified applicants, but as many as 711 were unfortunate to be disappointed, adding “This has been the trend over the years”.
In a speech read on behalf of the Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, he commended the students of JOSCO for their decision to part with some of their monthly allowances to hire labourers to improve sanitation on campus.
He, however,said in the same spirit of sacrifice, the students should accept posting to the rural areas to offer dedicated services to their less unfortunate little brothers and sisters to enable them to enjoy the benefit of quality basic education.
The minister announced that time was due for JOSCO to benefit from basic infrastructure needed to fulfil its dream of becoming a university college through the provision of an Information and Communication Technology (ICT)/Library complex with Internet facilities, among other facilities.
A number of personalities received awards for their various contribution towards the growth of the college.
They included the Omanhene of the Bechem Traditional Area, Nana Fosu Gyeabuor Akoto II, the Catholic Bishop of the Goaso Diocese, His Lordship Peter Kwaku Atuahene and the Chaplain of the college, Monsignor Matthew Addai.

BA POLICE WORRIED ABOUT PROLIFERATION OF ARMS (PAGE 22, JULY 30, 2010)

2010-07-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

The BrongAhafo Regional Police Command has expressed concern about the consistent flouting of laws governing the importation, acquisition and use of arms and ammunition by certain unscrupulous individuals in the region.
The police stressed that the ease with which armed robbers and other criminals had access to arms and ammunition, put residents in Sunyani, the regional capital in particular and the entire region in a state of insecurity.
Consequently, the police authorities have warned all those operating outside the requirements of the law to cease forthwith before they were arrested and prosecuted accordingly.
A press release signed by the Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), Seth Charles Oteng and issued in Sunyani, reminded the people of the negative practice, which contravened the existing Arms and Ammunition Laws, especially the Arms and Ammunition Act 1972 (NRCD).
The release stated that no person was permitted to use any firearm, weapon or ammunition without authority and that, persons below the age of 18 years were also not permitted to own and use any firearm, weapon or ammunition.
The police warned that no person other than a person registered and permitted to operate as a dealer, should trade in or sell firearms, weapons or ammunition.
The release added that no persons, except those permitted by the Act or with the consent of the Inspector General of Police, should publicly display any arms or ammunition or discharge firearms or any other weapons in a public place.
The release further warned that ‘‘No registered dealer should sell any firearms, weapons or ammunition to any person other than a valid permit holder, which meant that no one could buy a firearm, weapon or ammunition on behalf of another.
‘‘The police would like to warn all those operating outside the requirement of the law to put an end to that act before a regional exercise to arrest and prosecute offenders begins shortly,” the release stressed.

'DEAL DIRECTLY WITH SIC' (PAAGE 46, JULY 29, 2010)

2010-07-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

Clients of the State Insurance Company (SIC) have been advised to deal directly with the company in respect of their insurance claims instead of hiring the services of lawyers who would in the end be paid a percentage of the amount the lawyer helps a client to claim.
The Area Manager in charge of the Brong Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions, Ms Lydia Bawah, who gave the advice in Sunyani, stressed that it was even easier to deal personally with the insurance company since it was the duty of the company officials to process the claims for the clients rather than resorting to the services of lawyers.
Ms Bawah, who was addressing a seminar for managers and directors of about 19 rural banks in the Brong Ahafo Region, explained that once the proper documentation had been completed by the client, with the assistance of the SIC officials, there was no way the company would renege on its obligation to pay whatever compensation was due a client.
She said many people wrongly perceived SIC officials as cheats as far as the payment of insurance claims was concerned, and added that the company had been advising its clients to deal with its officials directly.
The area manager emphasised that the company would not be in a position to process any claims for payment if the client had not done the necessary documentation.
She declared: ‘‘We are very sympathetic when dealing with individual clients because we want them to enjoy their claims in bulk. If you hire a lawyer he or she is entitled to a percentage of the insurance claims they pursue on behalf of a client’’.
Ms Bawah further urged clients not to pay any money to any insurance broker, since they were paid commission by the company for the duties they performed, adding that without lawyers one could still be paid his or her compensation.
She also insisted that clients should not give out insurance forms to the police to fill on their behalf in the case of motor accidents because they had nothing to do with those forms, and it was never their duty to fill those forms whatsoever.
She explained that the filling of such forms entailed the making of a sketch, which she said, was not beyond the scope of the client.
The participants who said they were overwhelmed by the education they went through, appealed to the organisers to regularly hold such meetings for other departments and agencies as well as those in the private sector in view of the benefits to be derived.

LACK OF ACCOUNTANTS HAMPERS AUDITING (PAGE 42, JULY 29, 2010)

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THE Brong Ahafo Regional Director of the Ghana Audit Service, Mr Daniel Kwadwo Marnu, has expressed concern about lack of qualified and competent accountants in some organisations in the region.
The situation, he said, was affecting the preparation of credible financial statements on transactions made to enable officers of the service to conduct their mandated periodic auditing.
According to him, due to the incompetent status of some people working as accountants in some state institutions and organisations, writing accounting records was difficult for them and even when they strive to prepare their financial statements for auditing, the records tended not to be up to date for auditing.
Mr Marnu expressed the concern when he spoke to the Daily Graphic in Sunyani after he had led about 100 members of staff of the service, drawn from the 11 districts in the region, to undertake a two-hour clean-up exercise at the Sunyani Municipal Hospital.
The voluntary work formed part of activities marking the regional celebration of 100 years of the establishment of the Audit Service in the country.
The theme for the celebration was: “A century of public sector auditing: Defining new frontiers.”
The volunteers cleared choked gutters, weeded bushy surroundings and trimmed grasses and shady trees.
Mr Marnu said some of the district assemblies and pre-tertiary educational institutions in the region refused to prepare their accounts on a timely basis, a situation which hampered the service’s statutory period to submit its report to Parliament.
He further alleged that in cases when his outfit planned and prepared scheduled dates for auditing the books of some of the institutions, officers from his outfit would arrive only to be told by the officers in-charge that they were not ready while others would indicate that they were engaged in some activities, such as workshops and seminars.
Mr Marnu also observed that some traditional councils had no registrars and accountants to prepare financial statements to be audited, emphasising that some of the accounts offices at some of the councils had even been shut down.
He appealed to accountants to be up and doing by preparing their financial statements on time and making them available for auditing at the appropriate time as the Audit Service had its statutory period to submit its report to Parliament for scrutiny and action.
The Chairman of the Regional Planning Committee for the celebration, Mr Justice Bevary, said the decision to organise the clean-up activities at the Municipal Hospital was to assist the facility’s management in its environmental cleanliness programme.
He observed that with a clean environment, the recovery rate of patients would be accelerated, adding that no matter the level of medication, if the environment was dirty, the recovery rate of the sick would delay.

NDC TO ESTABLISH FUND TO SUPPORT YOUTH (PAGE 13, JULY 14, 2010)

2010-07-14T07:33:00.000-07:00

Story: Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah & Samuel Duodu, Sunyani

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has decided to establish a fund that is geared towards supporting members of the youth wing of the party who are desirous to either go into farming or learn a trade of their choice in the various regions.
In the next couple of months, the fund would be officially launched in Sunyani, the capital of the Brong Ahafo Region, to kick-start the Youth-In-Agriculture and Skills Training Programme for the teeming youth of the NDC in the respective regions.
Mr Ludwig Hlodze, the National Youth Organiser of the NDC, who announced this at an NDC Brong Ahafo Regional Youth Forum at the Auditorium of the Sunyani Polytechnic at the weekend, further indicated that already an agricultural pilot project was underway in Ho, the Volta Regional capital, where maize had been cultivated on a large scale.
The forum was on the theme,”Unite! We Must!!, for a Better Ghana Agenda”
Under agriculture, Mr Hlodze explained that Agriculture Mechanisation Centres would be established in the various regions, where tractors would be purchased for the youth, who would be encouraged to go into block farming to produce food for the country .
For the skills training, Mr Hlodze said the party would pay for those who wanted to learn any trade or business enterprise of their choice, adding that the programme was designed to economically empower both the young male and female of the party in the regions.
“So I want the regional youth executives to identify those who want to go into farming or learn a trade and by that we would be able to plan ahead of time, since we cannot always depend on the central government for all our needs all the time”, Mr Hlodze advised.
He further advised them to take the programme very seriously so that there would be food security in the country as envisaged by the NDC thereby, contributing to the “Better Ghana” agenda of President John Evans Atta Mills’s administration.
According to the NDC National Youth Organiser, a recent fund-raising meeting organised by the youth wing of the party in the Ashanti Region yielded about Gh¢70,000 which he described as very encouraging and, therefore, gave the assurance that more of such meetings would be held in the other regions.
He said, gone are the days when the youth of the party relied on District Chief Executives (DCEs) for stipends, saying “How long can you depend on the DCEs for your survival. A time may come that a DCE’s secretary will tell you his boss is not in when you get there”.
Mr Hlodze stressed that under his leadership as the National Youth Organiser, such behaviours would not be encouraged as he promised at the time of his election but rather he would ensure that better programmes were undertaken for the economic empowerment of the youth.
However, he noted that all the laudable programmes and projects that would be embarked upon would not materialise if there was no unity among the youth, saying that by 2012 the young people of the party would have been economically strong and encouraged to show their loyalty for the NDC party.
Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe, the Central Regional Minister, who also addressed the gathering advised that those who would be roped into the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) should use whatever money they would receive to either continue their education or learn a trade.
The Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr Alex Segbefia, stressed the need for the youth to exercise patience and come along with the government to battle the challenges that it inherited from the previous administration, adding that one and a half years was too short a time for the government to satisfy everyone.
He said those who wanted to criticise the government ought to do so constructively and avoid resorting to the media on any trivial issue instead of settling matters amicably indoors.
Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Deputy Minister of Information, pointed out that without the youth the NDC could not survive and, therefore, called on the regional executive of the party to embark on projects and programmes that would benefit the party.
He gave the assurance that by the end of August those who had applied for loans under the MASLOC, especially the women, would receive them with one and a half per cent interest as against the previous three per cent interest on the facility.
According to Mr Ablakwa, there was no need for the regional executives to wait for Accra to come down to solve the problems at the grassroots, adding that, “everytime should be a time for party work but not only when elections were due”.
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, whose address drew applause from the youth disclosed that the current government inherited about ¢100 Trillion from the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP), and that the government was doing everything possible to put things in order and, therefore, urged the youth to exercise restraint.
Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, also appealed to the youth not to make statements that would destroy the party, saying, “Don’t let us destroy the party with our mouths because no matter the situation, we can find solutions.
He declared, “Do not let us joke with the power that we have struggled to grab from the NPP or else we will be doomed when they recapture the reigns of government”.
Present at the forum were the Brong Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, Alhaji Baba Gausu, the NDC Regional Organiser and Mr Mohammed Seidu, the NDC Regional Youth Organiser.

DACF DISBURSES OVER GH¢1 BILLION TO MMDAs (PAGE 13, JULY 13, 2010)

2010-07-13T07:55:00.000-07:00

THE government, through the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF), has disbursed a total of GH¢1,024,755,220.00 to the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) since the inception of decentralised policy in 1994.
Under Section 9 of the DACF Act (Act 455), the minister of Local Government and Rural Development, in consultation with the Minister of Finance, determines the categories of expenditure of the approved development budget of the district assemblies.
Using the DACF guidelines, the assemblies select projects from their approved budget to match the value of its share of the fund.
Mr Joshua M. Nicol, the Administrator of the DACF, who disclosed this at a local economic development workshop in Sunyani, the capital of the Brong Ahafo Region, indicated that in 1994 his office transferred a total of GH¢ 2,619,300.00 to the MMDAs while the following year they received GH¢ 5,407,700.00.
The workshop, which was organised by the National Association of Local Authorities (NALGO), was attended by metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives and their co-ordinating directors, planning officers, finance and budget officers, as well as presiding members and other stakeholders from Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West Zones.
He said while ¢7,803,600.00 was disbursed in 1996 the figure had risen to GH¢188,565,425 by 2009s.
In his presentation on ‘‘The Role of District Assemblies’ Common Fund in Promoting Local Economic Development’’ Mr Nicole explained that, the DACF was created to encourage local governance and deepen government’s commitment to decentralisation in general and fiscal decentralisation in particular and also promote sustainable self-help development.
He added that the transfer of resources such as finance had been identified as the means without which power and competence of the MMDAs would not be effective.
According to the DACF administrator, local economic development required the creation of an environment that enabled the stimulation of new opportunities in rural and urban areas where there might be limited existing opportunities for economic growth.
Mr Nicol emphasised that local economic development programmes in the MMDAs strengthened and reinforced good governance and identified sustainable income generating opportunities for the local community, particularly for the poor which the DACF had championed.
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku who opened the workshop, observed that local economic development had been accepted as a process in which partnerships between local government, community-based groups and the private sector were established to manage existing resources to create jobs and stimulate the economy of a well-defined territory.
Furthermore, he said, the concept emphasised local control, using the potential of the people, institutional and physical resources, mobilised actors, organisations and resources to develop new institutions and local systems through dialogue and strategic plans.
Indeed, Mr Opoku stressed that local economic development was seen as a pragmatic way of decreasing poverty while it was again primarily aimed at creating jobs and making the local economies grow.
Mr Kwame Agyenim-Boateng, the Brong Ahafo Regional Representative of NALAG, said the association was determined to ensure that its members created an environment that enabled the stimulation of new opportunities in the districts where there might be limited existing opportunities for economic growth.
He said, it was the believe of NALAG that if MMDA’s took local economic development issues seriously, it would help harness opportunities, employment and wealth creation, increased revenue and tax base, among other benefits.

SENIOR CITIZENS NOT HAPPY WITH ANONYMOUS LETTER (PAGE 14, JULY 12, 2010)

2010-07-12T06:31:00.002-07:00

Some senior citizens in the Brong Ahafo Region have condemned disgruntled persons who write anonymous letters about political office holders in the region.
They pointed out that such practices did not augur well for the development of the region and rather cast a slur on the integrity of citizens of the area.
They stressed that backbiting was becoming rampant in the region and the earlier those concerned put a stop to it, the better.
Making their optional speeches at a luncheon organised for them by the Brong Ahafo Regional Co-ordinating Council in Sunyani on Republic Day, the senior citizens also expressed concern about the youth’s flagrant disregard for the elderly whose toil and sweat had contributed immensely to the development of the country.
They observed that in recent times some of the young people, especially those who profess to be political activists and fanatics, make unsavoury remarks on the airwaves about their opponents to the extent that some of them had the guts to openly insult the presidency, the highest office of the country.
The senior citizens emphasised that the Brong Ahafo Region had been noted for its peaceful nature and serene atmosphere which must be preserved at all times to attract non citizens to assist in its development effort.
The senior citizens also expressed regret about , the rampant land disputes which were pending before the law courts and explained that, those cases had arisen because of double sale of plots for building projects by owners of the lands.
They also complained that the standard of education in the region had fallen and, therefore, called for concerted efforts by all stakeholders to remedy this, adding that parents ought to ensure that their children were disciplined, especially in their dressing.
Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, said 50 years after Ghana attained a republican status, it was befitting that the government recognised senior citizens by organising a buffet for them.
He appealed to the senior citizens to pass on the secret of their successes to the youth, and impress upon them to learn the same values to make them worthy future leaders of the country.
The regional minister also expressed concern about the gross insubordination the young people exhibited towards those in authority and pointed out that the Ghanaian culture abhorred the practice of the youth insulting adults on the airwaves and in the print media.

SENIOR CITIZENS NOT HAPPY WITH ANONYMOUS LETTER (PAGE 14, JULY 12, 2010)

2010-07-12T06:31:00.001-07:00

WENCHI ASSEMBLY RENOVATES MCE'S RESIDENCE (PAGE 14, JULY 12, 2010)

2010-07-12T06:29:00.000-07:00

THE Wenchi Municipal Assembly in the Brong Ahafo Region is renovating the residence of the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Yaw Osei Agyei, at a cost of GH¢45,000.
The decision by the assembly to undertake the project is due to the deplorable state of the bungalow.
Since the current MCE, Mr Yaw Osei Agyei, assumed office over a year ago, he has been residing in his father’s private apartment at Wenchi because it would have been very expensive if he had opted for a hotel accommodation for the assembly to bear the cost.
The renovation work on the five-bedroom block, which is being done in two phases, involves rewiring, replacing louvre blades, panelling, replacing doors, erecting an overhead water reservoir, as well as digging a manhole for toilets and water drains.
The other works are fixing air conditioners, water heaters, kitchen cabinet and laying floor and wall tiles in the various rooms.
Mr. Agyei, who conducted the Daily Graphic to inspect the project, vehemently denied a recent report by a local FM station that the assembly did not approve the amount for the renovation and explained that members of the assembly first approved GH¢22,000 and later gave the approval for the remaining ¢23,000.
“The whole place was in a deplorable condition and was not suitable for human habitation and it is also not true that the assembly did not approve of the money for the renovation,” the MCE explained.
According to the MCE, when he went through the accounting books of the assembly, he detected that there was a huge debt owed contractors in respect of various projects they had executed for the assembly.
Mr Agyei said he needed to find appropriate means to clear the accumulated indebtedness, among which was the plan to improve on the revenue generation of the assembly by blocking the leakage that was detected and checking corruption on the part of some revenue collectors.
He stressed that because of the precarious financial position of the assembly, he decided not to stay in a hotel but rather stay in his father’s house and explained that it would have been incumbent on the assembly to have borne the cost of lodging at the hotel.
The MCE further indicated that since the assembly was also not in a position to construct an entirely new residence, the only wise decision was to opt for the renovation of the dilapidated bungalow, which had not been occupied by his predecessor due to its state.
Mr. Agyei insisted that he had never taken a unilateral decision to engage a contractor to renovate the place but rather it was a collective arrangement, adding that as a citizen of the area, he was determined to develop the municipality.
He said the doors of his office were always opened for any member of the area to contact him on any matter he or she did not understand instead of going about spreading falsehood which would not help in the development of the area.

POLICE WARN PUBLIC AGAINST ILLEGAL FIREARM USE (PAGE 42, JULY 8, 2010)

2010-07-08T04:31:00.000-07:00

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Police Command has warned individuals in the Sunyani Municipality who use fireams, weapons and ammunition without the requisite permit to desist from the practice.
It added that it would embark on an exercise in the next few weeks to arrest and prosecute offenders.
A statement released in Sunyani and signed by the Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Seth Charles Oteng, noted with concern, the consistent disobedience and the flouting of the laws governing the importation, acquisition and the use of arms and ammunition by certain unscrupulous individuals in the region and reminded the residents that the practice contravened the existing Arms and Ammunition Laws, especially, Arms and Ammunition Act 1972 (NRCD).
It said the ease with which armed robbers and other criminals had access to arms and ammunition also raised serious security concerns for residents in Sunyani, the regional capital in particular, and the entire region.
The statement pointed out that no person was permitted to use a firearm, weapon or ammunition without authority and that, no one below the age of 18 years was entitled to own and use any firearm, weapon or ammunition.
“Again, no person other than a person registered and permitted to operate as a dealer, shall trade in or sell firearm, weapon or ammunition, and no person, except permitted by the Act or with consent by the Inspector General of Police, shall publicly display any arms or ammunition or discharge a firearm or any other weapon in a public place,” it added
It warned further that: ‘‘No registered dealer shall sell any firearm, weapon or ammunition to any person other than a valid permit holder’’,
It advised all persons operating outside the requirement of the law to put an end to that act, adding that an exercise to arrest and prosecute offenders would be conducted soon.

WORK ON ATEBUBU-KWAME DANSO ROAD TO BEGIN — NYAMEKYE-MARFO (PAGE 13, JUNE 30, 2010)

2010-06-30T02:44:00.000-07:00

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye –Marfo, has given the assurance that, work will soon begin on the Atebubu- Kwame Danso road and beyond, which has been in a deplorable state for a considerable number of years now.
According to Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, the contractor was currently having discussions with the consultants of the project on the cost component and when the deal was finally concluded, the construction company would quickly move in to commence work.
The assurance by the Regional Minister, followed agitations and concerns raised by some traditional authorities in the Atebubu/Amantin district, stating unequivocally that, even though the people in the area had constantly shown faith and commitment to the past and present National Democratic Congress (NDC) governments they had not been fairly treated, especially, regarding the deteriorated nature of their road network.
Nana Adu Atta Ababio, the Omanhene of Wiase Traditional Area, Nana Yaw Owusu, the acting President of the Dwan Traditional Council and Nana Osei Atuahene, the acting President of the Bassa Traditional Council, expressed their separate sentiments when the Regional Minister paid courtesy calls at their palaces as part of his three-day working visit to the area.
The Regional Minister was accompanied by Mr Felix B. Chaahaah, the Regional Co-ordinating Director and some members of the NDC.
Arguing out their case, the chiefs explained that, the district was endowed with a lot of resources, including food and other crops, fish and others but noted that, it was difficult to transport those items from the farms to the commercial centres for sale, a situation they said, had aggravated the poverty level of the people.
They said, owing to the bad nature of the road, there had been an increase in maternal deaths, since those who were normally referred, lost their lives midway to the bigger health facility they had been referred for further observation or treatment.
Besides, the chiefs noted that business people were scared to come to the area to do business while teachers and other government officials either felt reluctant to accept postings and transfers or blatantly refused to honour such movements at all.
It was in response to these sentiments that the Regional Minister gave the assurance that all was set for work to start on the road in earnest and that, the government was committed to ensuring that, the road was tarred to the admiration of the people.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo appealed to the chiefs to release land for the planting of trees as part of the government’s greening Ghana programme, adding that, those who parted with their parcels of land would benefit from a percentage share of the final product when it matured.
Earlier in the Atebubu/Amantin District, the District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Sanja Nanja, led the regional minister to inspect a number of ongoing and completed projects that had been undertaken by the assembly and also interacted with the staff of the Atebubu District health facility as well as the Atebubu traditional council members.

MEDIDCL ASSISTANTS END SEMINAR AT KINTAMPO (PAGE 54, JUNE 28, 2010)

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MORE than 200 practising medical assistants and students at the Kintampo Rural Health Training School (KRHTS) in the Brong Ahafo Region and their physician assistant counterparts from the University of Utah in the United States of America, have attended a seminar to update their knowledge on various health issues.
The participants treated topics, including Traumatology, Burn and Pain Management, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), Diabetes, Hypertension, Paediatric Dermatology, Urinary Tract Infection, Drug Development, Dermatology Emergency, Breast Cancer, Nutrition, Mental Health, Depression, Men’s Health Issues such as Prostrate Cancer and Impotence.
For about four years now, the KRHTS has been collaborating with the University of Utah to exchange ideas and build knowledge on varied health matters by organising seminars.
The theme for the seminar was, “Exchanging Ideas, Exploring Possibilities”.
Speaking at the end of the four-day seminar, the Director of KRHTS, Dr E.T. Adjase, advised the participants to go back to their various communities to share the knowledge they had acquired with those who did not benefit and also use the skills they had acquired professionally.
He urged them to use their values to transform the lives of the people in the communities and exhibit a high sense of professionalism humility but not pomposity.
He said the training school was established about 40 years ago to produce middle-level healthcare professionals to serve in the deprived communities, adding that medical assistants were found throughout the country providing invaluable healthcare delivery to the people.
Dr Adjase noted with regret that trauma cases were killing a lot of people in the country while most preventable accidents were also claiming innocent lives, adding that with the knowledge acquired from the trauma sessions, the medical assistants would be able to manage the situation in their respective areas.
Dr Adjase disclosed that in the quest to transform the KRHTS into a health college, the authorities had acquired about 3,000 acres of land to embark on expansion works, saying, “We all have a duty to protect our land from encroachment in the interest of posterity”.
The leader of the Utah team, Madam Nadia Miniclier, who is also the Director of Clinical Evaluation of the Physician Assistant Programme at the University of Utah, said clinical practice by medical assistants was a remarkable work and expressed the hope that the partnership between the two institutions would continue.
Dr Michael Magill, the Head of Family Health Division of the university, commended the participants for the enthusiasm they showed throughout the programme and called for the sustenance of the programme.

DESIST FROM DIVERTING AGRICULTURAL INPUTS (PAGE 43, JUNE 28, 2010)

2010-06-28T06:47:00.000-07:00

STOREKEEPERS of the Cocoa Inputs Company Limited (CICL) have been advised to desist from any attempt or inducement to sell fertilisers and other agricultural inputs meant for farmers to prospective smugglers.
They have also been urged to be more vigilant and expose those who are involved in the smuggling of dried cocoa beans to neighbouring Cote d’ Ivoire and across other borders.
The Managing Director of CICL, Mr Samuel Amuzu, who gave the advice in Sunyani, explained that the sale of inputs meant for the production of cocoa and the smuggling of the cocoa beans would negatively hamper the expected attainment of 1,000,000 tonnes of the commodity by 2012.
Addressing the fifth national awards ceremony organised by the company for 20 deserving hardworking and honest storekeepers, Mr Amuzu urged them to expose economic saboteurs and their collaborators to the appropriate quarters for them to be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the land’.
He pointed out that, in spite of the fact that some motivational package had been put in place to encourage staff to offer their best, some storekeepers kept on embezzling sales proceeds belonging to the company, adding that while some of those miscreants had been arrested, others had absconded.
‘‘I wish to make a passionate appeal to all to volunteer relevant information which will lead to the arrest of those on the run.It is an open secret that some of you know their hideouts,as well as what they have used the stolen money for,” he noted.
Mr Amuzu, however, disclosed that the company increased its turnover by 27.8 per cent over that of 2008 and also exceeded its budget by 18.8 per cent.
Mr Kwame Obeng Adjinah,the National Co-ordinator of the cocoa diseases and Pests Control Project of the COCOBOD appealed to the storekeepers to ensure that fertilisers which had been subsidised by the government by 57 percent even at the new price of GH¢25.00 per bag,are sold to only genuine farmers.

EFFICIENT CREDIT UNIONS CONTRIBUTE TO DEVELOPMENT (PAGE 43, JUNE 28, 2010)

2010-06-28T06:45:00.000-07:00

THE Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Wenchi in the Brong Ahafo Region, Mr Yaw Osei Agyei has stated that efficient credit unions and loans and savings schemes in the various parts of the country have transformed the lives of many people.
He also noted with satisfaction that some religious bodies had set up schools at all levels, which were massive contributions towards the growth of the economy and a relief to the government.
“‘In Ghana today, our churches have gone into education, trading, transport, medicine and all sorts of physical development issues, that make them assume total development of the human being,” he stated.
The MCE made the observation when he addressed the seventh Annual Synod of the Wenchi Diocese of the Methodist Church of Ghana, on the theme ‘‘Oneness in Diversity’’.
In the Wenchi town itself, Mr Agyei noted that the Methodist Church was rubbing shoulders with the Municipal Assembly and for that matter the government, saying, ‘‘We cannot talk about our health without the mention of the famous Wenchi Methodist Church”.
Mr Agyei explained that the church sought the spiritual uplift or welfare of the person, while the state concerned itself with the physical development of the people, adding however that recent developments had shifted those positions, with the church having taken upon itself some gigantic physical development of the person, while the state had embarked on programmes to dignify the individual.
He further pointed out that the state had crossed into the spiritual realm by ensuring that Ghanaians had the peace of mind to go about their normal duties without any fear whatsoever, adding that the government had provided a sound security for the people which he said had ensured healthy minds in healthy bodies.
The government, the MCE said, had ensured that democracy and the rule of law thrived in the country, stressing ‘‘Ghanaians are happier today and are living and walking about peacefully’’.
Mr Agyei said in spite of the numerous achievements of the church and state, there were still more to be done, since more people continued to engage in crimes and other immoral activities, and therefore, used the occasion to advise both Christians and Moslems not to relent in their efforts but to pray for God’s divine intervention.
The Rt Rev. Sampson Yamoah spoke against division in the church and implored the congregation to remain one in Christ, pointing out that, ‘‘Oneness in diversity underscores the acknowledgement and maintenance of individual uniqueness or difference”.

GNL CONTRIBUTES TO RURAL DEVELOPMEDNT (PAGE 43, JUNE 28, 2010)

2010-06-28T06:43:00.000-07:00

THE private sector has been constantly described as the engine of growth of the economy since the sector contributes significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. In fact,the private sector has provided and continues to offer employment to a reasonable percentage of the country’s young population.
But for this sector, a lot of young people would have led wayward lives by becoming criminals.
By getting involved in criminal activities, some of our young men and women would have either ended their lives prematurely, gone to jail, sustained some degrees of injury or contracted various diseases, a phenomenon which is not healthy for the country.
While admitting that the private sector plays its part to the growth of the Ghanaian economy, it is an undeniable fact that most of these business ventures are concentrated in the cities of Accra, Kumasi, Tema and Takoradi.
It is against this background that it is refreshing and commendable to see the establishment of a company known as Ghana Nuts Limited (GNL) at Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region, which operates as a commodity trader in Soya, Groundnuts, Cashew, Sheanuts and Sesame for local consumption and export.
The company was established in 2001 as an agro-processing centre of excellence within the West African Sub- Region, with emphasis on effective rural wealth creation, promote health and vitality, sustainable food security, human resource development and good corporate social responsibility.
GNL operates under the Ghana Free Zones Board (GFZB) and is a registered member of the Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC) and since 2003, the company has received awards of Gold and Platinum from the GEPC.
The company has a plant capacity of 75,000 tonnes for Soya beans, 31,000 tonnes for Shea Cake and 36,000 for the Oil Refinery, and during its peak season engages a total of 336 people made up of 238 men and 98 women as permanent workers, 433 casuals, comprising 194 men and 239 female.
For the company’s indirect workforce, a total of 7,603 constitute out-growers in Soya beans production in northern Ghana and the Brong Ahafo Region, while over 5,000 families are engaged through the procurement of Shea and Pea nuts, all of whom enjoy free transport service, meals, medicare and vitality services.
GNL recognises that it has a significant stake in the prosperity, health, vitality and quality of life of the society in which it operates and as a community stakeholder, the company views its support as both a sound investment and primary responsibility, which it has been doing through donations of various kinds.
As part of GNL’s corporate social responsibility portfolio, the company has adopted and renovated the Children’s Ward of the Techiman Holy Family Hospital, as well as the developed a modern laundry service at the same hospital.
In line with its vision of good health and vitality, the company has donated a fully automated and comprehensively insured ambulance to the Chiraa Health Centre in the Sunyani West District, with a professional driver contracted to ensure efficient operation.
Besides, the company has procured three combined harvesters for Soya bean farmers through its wealth creation programme to encourage the youth in agriculture, while it has also transformed the Fiaso Church of Pentecost in the Nkoranza North District.
The GNL has also assisted the Community Nurses Training School at Tanoso, near Sunyani, by donating 200 bags of cement worth GH¢3,000 to support development projects being embarked upon by the school authorities, including the fencing of the acquired land area to avoid encroachment.
Making the presentation, the Human Resource and Administrative Manager of GNL, Mr Evans Annor, expressed the hope that the donation would facilitate the projects that were under construction or was yet to start, saying his outfit would not renege on its social responsibility programmes which were geared towards the enhancement of the well-being of the people.
The District Director of Health Services for Tano North, Dr Yakubu Bayayinah, observed that the government alone could not handle the development needs of the country and it behoved on all well meaning individuals, organisations and institutions to assist in that direction.
Mrs Josephine Koranteng-Asare, the Principal of the school, who received the gift, indicated that, the one-storey building which was originally constructed to serve as a classroom block was now being used for other purposes, pointing out that there were a number of problems confronting the school which needed immediate attention.
Within a brief period of its existence, GNL has sought to, and succeeded in extending its influence to the length and breadth of the country and has remained focused on its core competencies with the installed state of the art processing machines to process what the company terms as, Refined, Bleached and Deodorised (RBD) Soya and Cotton seed cooking oil.
The company has become a household name in the vicinity of the Techiman Municipality as a world class producer of Soya bean oil and Soy bean meal, Cotton seed meal and Cotton seed oil, as well as Shea butter.

DEMOCRACY WILL BE UNDERMINED WITHOUT YOUTH...Argues Prof Sawyerr (PAGE 13, JUNE 25, 2010)

2010-06-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

A FORMER interim President of Liberia, Professor Amos C. Sawyer, has said the foundations of participatory democracy would be compromised if the voices of the youth, who institute the largest group of citizens of every African country are not taken into account in the councils of governance.
“We cannot pretend to be planning for the future if the interest, concerns and challenges of the youth are not central to the planning process. Moreover, if the youth are to be governors of the future, they must help shape that future,” he said.
Prof. Sawyer pointed out that the burden rested on the shoulders of both current leaders of Africa, as well as the youth leaders of Africa to develop the vision and the programme to claim the 21st century as the African Century.
The former President made the statement when he delivered the keynote address at the Strategic Future Leaders Conference 2010, organised by the Foundation for Future Leaders International (FFLI) in Sunyani, the capital of the Brong Ahafo Region, last Saturday.
About 2,000 members of the foundation, mainly from secondary and tertiary educational institutions, and non-members, from all over the country, attended the three-day conference which was on the theme: “The African Youth as Architects and Builders of the New Africa.”
Prof. Sawyer said he was happy at the fact that the youth in Africa were now gaining a place of prominence in the African governance and development agenda.
He recalled that in July 2006, the heads of states and government of the African Union endorsed the African Youth Charter with provisions meant to protect and promote four categories of rights of the African youth and spell out the duties African Youth had in Africa.
Among those rights, Prof. Sawyer said, were the right to participate in the institutions of governance in Africa, the right to education and skill development, sustainable livelihood and good and well-being, adding that, the participation of the youth in the institutions of political, social and economic governance was very important in every conceivable measure.
Thus he declared: “We have an obligation to fashion our parliaments, province and town councils, our executives and judicial institutions in ways that allow for the participation of the youth. We are here to fashion our policies such that the interest and challenges that confront the youth are placed at the centre stage.”
The Former Interim President of Liberia further said the youth should also be prepared to participate in the process of political, social and economic governance at local, regional, national and international levels in 21st century Africa.
Such preparation, Prof. Sawyer explained, ought to take into account the range of challenges that confronted Africa, saying: “We live in Africa which is connected to the global; we live in Africa in which many areas are emerging from conflict and yet others are still mired in conflict.”
Prof. Sawyer further advised: “You, the leaders of the 21st century Africa, must cultivate democratic values of tolerance and respect for others and must appreciate diversity. You must have personal values of honesty. You must develop skills for consensus building and skills for peace making and peace building, especially in conflict and post-conflict areas. You must be trans-national in outlook and transformational in vision.”
He said the youth were the true architects in the development of the country and without them, Ghana and Africa could not develop meaningfully, adding that the fundamental problem in Africa was leadership, hence the need to invest in the youth to take the leadership position.
The General Manager in charge of Newspapers at the Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Yaw Ayeboafo, who represented the Managing Director of the company, Mr Ibrahim Awal, as the Chairman for the occasion, advised the youth to prepare themselves sufficiently to take up leadership positions in the country.
He urged the participants to make good use of the opportunities that were available to them and take the right step at the right time, saying that: “You are the people we are going to depend on in future. Let us make Africa the shinning star of the world.”
Other speakers at the function were Mrs Victoria Opoku, a Director of Ghana Education Service in charge of Senior High Schools; Mr L. B Antwi, the Dean of the Faculty of Forest Resources Technology at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology-Sunyani Campus and Mr Samuel Gyimah, Deputy Director of the Brong Ahafo Regional Co-ordinating Council, who represented the Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo.

CIVIL SERVANTS MUST COMMIT TO GOVT'S POLICIES (PAGE 14, JUNE 23, 2010)

2010-06-23T05:56:00.000-07:00

The Brong Ahafo Regional Co-ordinating Director, Mr Felix B. Chaahaah, has called on the civil servant to dedicate themselves towards the effective implementation of the policies of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He said it was incumbent on all civil servants to diligently implement the policies and programmes of the government of the day.
He pointed out that, currently, it was the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party that was in government and so all officers of the Civil Service had to dedicate themselves towards meeting the goals of the NDC.
Mr Chaahaah made the statement when he addressed a meeting of heads of decentralised departments of the Pru District Assembly at Yeji.
The Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo was in the area as part of a three-day working visit to the district as well as the Atebubu/Amantin and Sene districts.
The Regional Co-ordinating Director explained that of all the manifestoes of the various political parties in the country, the people decided to choose that of the NDC and eventually voted the party into power and so whether they liked it or not, all civil servants had no option than to ensure that they committed themselves towards the successful implementation of the NDC policies.
‘‘Our vision and mission is to serve any government that the people decides to select and in this present situation, it is the NDC party that our people have chosen and so we must all strive to ensure that all that is stated in the NDC manifesto comes to fruition. We serve the government of the day and the NDC constitutes the government of the day,’’ Mr Chaahaah emphasised.
The regional minister for his part stressed the need for civil servants to be time conscious, disciplined and eschew laziness in order to impress upon their subordinates to maintain those values.
He pointed out that the Pru district was among the newly created ones and as such was confronted with a lot of challenges, including the lack of accommodation, health and educational facilities, water and sanitation problems, among others.
‘‘You have a herculean task to perform since you also have people with different backgrounds and diverse cultures and I think that, you need to be circumspect in dealing with them,’’ Mr Nyamekye–Marfo observed.
He noted with regret the inhuman treatment that some of the heads meted out to their subordinates and, therefore, urged them to establish a cordial relationship with those they were working with.
He appealed to the heads to assist the government to achieve its ‘‘Better Ghana’’ agenda, saying that, they should not allow their political coloration to show up in the discharge of their official duties as civil servants.
‘‘If you want to be a politician, then just drop your identity and go into full time politics. I want to urge you to promote the agenda of the government that aims at improving the lives of the people’’, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo advised.
The regional minister said discussions were ongoing towards the establishment of a military base at Yeji to deal with armed robbery and other criminal cases in the area, however, he urged the security personnel to continue with their night patrols so as to keep the peace in the district.
Mr Nyamekye- Marfo inspected a number of development projects being undertaken by the district assembly and paid courtesy calls on traditional authorities in the area, including the Omanhene of the Yeji Traditional Area, Pemampem Kabrose, who appealed to the regional minister to use his good office to see to the improvement of the road network in the district and the construction of a befitting district assembly offices and other infrastructural works.

BLACK STARS PARTICIPATION IN WORLD CUP: EXPECTATIONS FROM KUMASI, SUNYANI (GRAPHIC NSEMPA, BACK PAGE, JUNE 14, 2010)

2010-06-14T05:44:00.000-07:00

Interviews: David Owusu-Antwi, Kumasi and Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah Sunyani

Pictures; David Owusu-Antwi, Kumasi James K. Baah, Sunyani

The Black Stars are set to make history again at the FIFA World Cup which started in South Africa from June 11-July 11 and Coach Milo’s squad are expected to make Ghana proud at the event, which will keep the world excited for a whole month.
Grpahic Nsempa brings you the expectations on their participation from the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions. This was before the Ghana-Serbia match

I think the players in camp are good enough to carry the country very far in the competition but I have a little problem about our preparation. Our preparation for the World Cup was nothing compared to what we did for Germany 2006.
I however, have high expectations of the Black Stars ability to progress from our group, which also comprise Germany, Serbia, and Australia.
Going beyond the round of 16 is something I want to be very careful in making any predictions about. However, let me encourage our charges to work hard and stay united to be able to take out any opposition that we may meet.
Ghanaians must not see this World Cup as something for the players alone to execute but pray for the Lord’s favour and grace.May God be our helper.

The coach’s selection is okay because he has worked with them and knows those who will best execute his strategy to qualify the stars for the next stage of the competition.
We only have to pray to God to guide and guard the team and also direct the coach to do the proper thing.
The rest of us Ghanaians are laymen and so what we think is not what the coach as a professional thinks. The team has not really hit their peak but we are sure they will do their best during the tournament.

Let me tell you. Even though I don’t see anything wrong with the the playing body, my prediction is that the Black Stars would not cross the group stage encounters.
I have no hope in the team because most of the boys are not matured to face the highly fancied teams from across the world. The exclusion of Laryea and Eric Addo, was not the best decision taken by Coach Milo.
Laryea is a utility material, especially when it comes to effecting free kicks and so on and it is one of Milo’s serious mistakes. I wish for a miracle to happen.

The coach’s selection of the 23-man squad is perfect. He has the mandate to select the best team he believes will deliver the goods for him. After all, it’s his head that will roll if things (God forbid) did not go well for the team.
For me, I don’t see anything wrong with the 23 boys he selected since he knows the caliber of all the players who are with him. The squad is good but the only person who is not in South Africa which hurts, is Michael Essien and probably Agyeman Badu”.
Ghanaians should pray for the protection of the team. The Black Stars can be unpredictable and can perform better when the odds are against the team. Let’s pray for them.

I strongly believe that our team will reach the semi-finals of this World Cup. Our preparations for the competition has been a suspect and of course, we have missed some of our big stars but I still have a lot of hope in the team.
Have Ghanaians forgotten so soon of this same team’s exploits during the CAN 2010 in Angola and how they qualified for this World Cup, having two matches to spare?
The same God who did it for us in Africa, will lead us to victory in this World Cup.
Many people look at the Serbians, Germans and the Australians and think Ghana will be a no march for them but I believe that any team at the tournament can be beaten. That notwithstanding, I suggest our charges must be more serious and work extra hard if they are to make any meaningful impart in the competition.
I still cannot fathom why we are playing a tournament in Africa and yet Ghana opted to spend more money camping at areas where the weather conditions are not the same as what pertains in the venue of the competition.
All the same, I trust our players to bring glory to Ghana.

There’s nothing wrong with the selection, the individual players are hungry to chalk successes and would wish to achieve something for themselves and their relations.
The team spirit is very high and that is a panacea for reaping results. We will get there with the kind of confidence they show on the field of play
I urge the boys never to be complacent but to go all out to face any team. Ghana can spring a surprise in South Africa by the end of the tournament.

Ghana’s least level in the competition will be the semi-final. Young players such as Dede Ayew, Kwadwo Asamoah, Samuel Inkoom and latest inclusion, Kevin Prince Boateng have gained a lot of experience having played elite football in Europe and therefore, could march any opposition boot for boot in the competition.
Our friendly games did a lot of degeneration to the confidence of Ghanaians, especially when Holland walloped us 4-1 but Ghanaians must know that it was just a friendly game and the players needed to protect themselves against injuries.
Already, our solid midfielder, Michael Essien has been ruled out because of injury, Sulley Muntari’s form has taken a serious dip and Skipper Stephen Appiah cannot be said to be fully ready for this competition.
I think it was very wise that the other players decided to protect themselves and give off their best in the main event.

The Black Stars will bring the trophy home. The Satellites showed the way when they conquered the world last year and won the world youth championship in Egypt.
My only prayer is that the coach will make the right selection for the games so that the team will gel. God will surely be with us, Ghanaians should only pray and trust the Lord for His grace.

GHANA NUTS LIMITED CONTRIBUTES TO RURAL DEVELOPMENT (GRAPHIC NSEMPA, PAGE 14, JUNE 7, 2010)

2010-06-07T07:18:00.000-07:00

By Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah

The private sector has been constantly described as the engine of growth of the economy, since the sector contributes significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. In fact, the private sector has provided and continues to provide employment for a reasonable percentage of the young population in the country.
But for this sector, a lot more young people, would have led wayward lives by becoming criminals, and would have also engaged in other social vices, including drug addiction, alcoholism and homo sexualism, among other bad practices.
While admitting that, the private sector plays its part in the growth of the Ghanaian economy, it is an undeniable fact that, most business ventures are concentrated in the cities of the country, mainly Accra, Kumasi, Tema, Takoradi and the bigger towns in southern Ghana.
It is against this background that the establishment of a company known as Ghana Nuts Limited (GNL) at Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region, which operates as a commodity trader in soya, groundnuts, cashew, sheanuts and sesame for local consumption and export is commendable.
The company was established in 2001 as an agro-processing centre of excellence within the West African Sub-Region, with emphasis on effective rural wealth creation, health promotion and melting pot for the Ghanaian economy for sustainable food security, human resource development and good corporate social responsibility.
GNL operates under the Ghana Free Zones Board (GFZB) and is a registered member of the Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC) and since 2003, the company has received awards of Gold and Platinum from the GEPC.
The company has a plant capacity of taking, 75,000 Metric Tons (Mt) of soya beans; 31,000 Mt of Shea Cake; and refine, 36,000 Mt of oil. During the peak season, the company engages a total of 336 people made up of 238 men and 98 women as permanent workers with a total of 433 casuals, comprising 194 men and 239 females, making a grand total of 769. Its direct employees programme is made up of 337 women and 432 men.
For the company’s indirect workforce, a total of 7,603 constitute out-growers in soya beans production in Northern Ghana and the Brong Ahafo Region, while over 5,000 families are engaged through the procurement of sheanuts and peanuts, all of who enjoy free transport service, free meals, free medicare and vitality services.
As part of GNL’s corporate social responsibility portfolio, the company has adopted and renovated the Children’s Ward of the Techiman Holy Family Hospital as well as the development of a modern laundry service at the same hospital.
In line with its vision of good health and vitality, the company has donated a fully automated and comprehensively insured ambulance to the Chiraa Health Centre in the Sunyani West District, and employed a professional driver to ensure efficient operations.
The company has also procured three combined harvesters for soya bean farmers through its wealth creation programme to encourage the youth in agriculture.
The GNL has also recently given aid to the Community Nurses Training School at Tanoso, near Sunyani by donating 200 bags of cement worth GH¢3,000 to support development projects being embarked upon by the school authorities, including the fencing of the acquired total land area to avoid encroachment and invasion by social miscreants.
Making the presentation, the Human Resource and Administrative Manager of GNL, Mr Evans Annor, expressed the hope that the donation would facilitate whatever projects that were under construction or was yet to start, saying that his outfit would not renege on its social responsibility programmes, which were geared towards the enhancement of the well being of the people.
The District Director of Health Services for Tano North, Dr Yakubu Bayayinah, observed that, the government alone could not handle the development needs of the country and so it was important that all well meaning individuals, organisations and institutions assisted in government.
Mrs Josephine Koranteng-Asare, the Principal of the school, who received the gift, indicated that, one story building, which was originally constructed to serve as a classroom block was now being used for other purposes, pointing out that there were a number of problems confronting the school, which needed immediate attention.

METHODIST CHURCH HOLDS 7TH ANNUAL SYNOD AT WENCHI (GRAPHIC NSEMPA, PAGE 15, JUNE 7, 2010)

2010-06-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

By Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah, Wenchi

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Wenchi in the Brong Ahafo Region, Mr Yaw Osei Agyei has observed that, the establishment and operation of the most efficient credit unions as well as loans and savings schemes in various parts of the country have positively turned around, the lives of many of their members and non-members.
He also noted with satisfaction that, some of the religious bodies had set up schools at all levels, including Kindergarten, Primary, Junior and Senior High as well as Universities which according to him, were good contributions towards the growth of the economy and a relief to the government.
“In Ghana today, our churches have gone into education, trading, transportation, medicine and all sorts of businesses, that make them assume the total development of the human being. In the area of medicine, the least said about it, the better, as Mission hospitals are dotted all over the country, which has had a big impact on Ghanaians, since they are able to meet their health needs’’, Mr Agyei further noted.
The MCE made the observation when he addressed the 7th Annual Synod of the Wenchi Diocese of the Methodist Church of Ghana, which was on the theme ‘‘Oneness in Diversity’’.
In the Wenchi township itself, Mr Agyei admitted that, the Methodist Church was rubbing shoulders with the Municipal Assembly and for that matter, the government, saying, ‘‘We cannot talk about our health without mentioning the famous Wenchi Methodist Church and our secondary school. You have capped your efforts with a university’’.
Indeed, the MCE stressed that the church was a force to reckon with in the municipality, not only in its achievements but also in other areas that were numerous to mention, emphasising however that, the assembly on its part, had also constructed schools, clinics, provided water and markets among other initiatives, to ensure a decent living for the people,
Mr Agyei explained that, the church sought the spiritual uplift or welfare of the person, while the state concerned itself with the physical development of the people. He said, recent developments had however shifted those positions, with the church having taken upon itself some gigantic physical development of the person, while the state had embarked on programmes to dignify the individual.
He further pointed out that, the state had crossed into the spiritual realm by ensuring that Ghanaians had the peace of mind to go about their normal duties without any fear whatsoever, adding that, the government had provided sound security for the people which he said, had ensured healthy minds in healthy bodies.
The government, the MCE said, had again ensured that democracy and the rule of law thrived in the country, stressing that, ‘‘Ghanaians are happier today and are living and walking about peacefully’’.
Mr Agyei said, in spite of the numerous achievements of the church and the state, there were still more to be done, since more people continued to engage in crimes and other immoral activities, and therefore, used the occasion to advise both Christians and Moslems not to relent in their efforts but to pray for God’s divine intervention.
The Rt Rev. Sampson Yamoah in his sermon spoke against divisionism in the church and implored the congregation to remain as one people in Christ, pointing out that, ‘‘Oneness in diversity underscores the acknowledgement and maintenance of individual uniqueness or difference and still remaining in unity of purpose’’.

GOVT IS COMMITTE TO TRUE DEMOCRACY, GOOD GOVERNANCE (PAGE 13, JUNE 1, 2010)

2010-06-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

THE Constitution Review Commission (CRC) has organised community consultation fora at Wamfie and Dormaa Ahenkro in the Brong Ahafo Region to solicit inputs for the review of the 1992 Constitution.
The meetings, which were organised in collaboration with the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) were attended by representatives of the various political parties in the area, traditional authorities, heads of department, market women and other women groups, the security agencies, religious leaders, assembly members and other identifiable bodies.
Speaking at the function at Wamfie, the Dormaa East District Chief Executive, Mr I. K. Kyereme, said the review process was a laudable idea and that by taking such a step, the government had demonstrated its commitment to ensuring true democracy and good governance.
He, therefore, urged the participants to get involved in the process by making their individual or collective views available to the CRC to enable it make the appropriate recommendations, which would finally strengthen the constitution and make democracy vibrant in the country.
Mr Roland Atta-Kesson, Counsel and Lead Researcher for the commission, who spoke at the two functions, educated the participants on the various articles, sections and clauses in the constitution, after which group studies were organised.
The various groups then made their submissions which were meant to be factored into the amendment of the constitution.
Mr Atta-Kesson appealed to the general public to submit their views to either the district assembly or the office of the NCCE for onward submission to the CRC in Accra.
Mr Justice E.K. Twum, a retired Supervising High Court Judge, who chaired the function, also urged the government to adequately resource the NCCE to enable it carry out its constitutional mandate and added that without the NCCE, the quest for true democracy would be a mirage.
At Dormaa Ahenkro, the Municipal Chief Executive for Dormaa West, Mr Vincent Oppong, pointed out that society was dynamic and the decision by the government to effect changes in the Constitution was in the right direction.
‘‘The review of the constitution represents nothing more than good housekeeping for the nation and an attempt by the people of Ghana to fashion out solutions to our governance challenges’’, he observed.

MP HANDS OVER SCHOOLS AFTER RENOVATION (GRAPHIC NSEMPA, PAGE 15, MAY 31, 2010)

2010-05-31T13:35:00.000-07:00

By Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah and James K. Baah, Sunyani.

Renovation work has been completed on the 10-unit Penkwase Junior High and Urban Council Junior High Schools in the Sunyani Municipality in the Brong Ahafo Region at a total cost of GH¢ I5, 000.
The project, which was financed by Mr Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunyani East, from his share of the GETFund, involved work on the floor, changing of windows and doors, ceilings and roofing, as well as painting and was undertaken by Ofei Brothers Construction Works Limited based in Sunyani.
Speaking at the inauguration of the renovated structure at a brief ceremony, Mr Ameyaw-Cheremeh debunked the notion that attending public schools was a hindrance to students passing their end-of-year examinations, adding that, he had been able to rise to his present position even though he attended such a school in his youth.
“It is what you are but not where you are. Once you have will power and determination, you can beat all the odds to achieve your aim. Do not ever downplay what the products of public schools can do”, he advised.
The MP pointed out that, it was incumbent on him to contribute his quota to his alma mater, stressing that there were multi- stakeholders in the development of education in the country, and predicted that some of the current students in both schools could become lawyers, doctors, engineers or nurses.
Mr Ameyaw-Cheremeh observed that the best investment parents could make for their children was to ensure that they had the best education.
He also advised teachers to direct students on how to answer questions, since according to him, most of them failed their final examination because of the way they tackled questions.
The Sunyani Municipal Director of Education, Rev. Fr Timothy Kankam-Dwumfour, emphasised that if the rural child also got the opportunity to study under hygienic conditions and had good classrooms to use, then the country would be heading towards achieving the Millenium Development Goals.
He explained that, the introduction of the Capitation Grant, the School Feeding Programme, free exercise books and the supply of free uniforms were all social interventions aimed at making education more attractive. He added that, teachers need to complement the government’s efforts.

3 INJURED IN GAS EXPLOSION (1B, MAY 27, 2010)

2010-05-27T06:16:00.001-07:00

Story: Akwai Ampratwum-Mensah, Sunyani

AN explosion at the Louis Gas Filling Station, near the State Transport Company (STC) Yard on the Sunyani-Abesim road, on Tuesday caused injury to three persons and completely burnt two vehicles.
The explosion also affected parts of a guest house belonging to the Electoral Commission in Sunyani.
An attendant at the station, Abdul Baba, who suffered severe burns, has been referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, after initial treatment at the Regional Hospital in Sunyani.
Two others, identified as Prince Adams, a sub-officer of the Sunyani Fire Service station, and K.B. Ofei, an assistant station officer of the Berekum Station, were treated and discharged at the regional hospital.
The accident also caused extensive damage to other private property, including two vehicles, which were burnt beyond repairs, while the windscreen of a third got broken.
Ironically, the explosion occurred when there was a power outage in the vicinity. In spite of that, hundreds of sympathisers and onlookers were attracted to the place.
When this reporter arrived at the scene about 7:30 p.m., some of the onlookers were seen standing very close to the burning fire while firemen went about their work.
On another visit to the scene around 8 a.m. yesterday, this reporter saw scores of people gathered in groups and discussing the incident.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Fire Officer, Mr Paul Opoku, who spoke to the Daily Graphic, said his office received a report about 6:33 p.m. on Tuesday and immediately dispatched a fire engine to the scene.
He indicated that when the team arrived there, it was realised that the situation was critical and, therefore, it called for reinforcement from the Berekum Fire Station.
Mr Opoku condemned the attitude of the crowd in thronging the area, pointing out that it was dangerous for people to move to scenes of fire outbreaks because some of them could lose their lives in the process.
He alleged that some of those who rushed to the scene openly stole items from the stores and shops they managed to break into and commended personnel of the Ghana Police Service and the military who went in to assist in controlling the crowd.
Mr Opoku said his outfit was still investigating the cause of the fire, adding, however, that initial investigation had revealed that there was a leakage on the gas container which the owner was said to have rectified without any assistance from the Ghana National Fire Service.

NADMO HOLDS WORKSHOP IN SUNYANI (MIRROR, PAGE 25, MAY 22, 2010)

2010-05-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

From Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah, Sunyani

A Workshop for Municipal and District Co-ordinators of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) in the Brong Ahafo Region has been organised in Sunyani with the view to enhancing the capacity of the participants for preventive and effective response to emergencies.
The co-ordinators are expected to return to their various locations and sensitise other stakeholders who would then be able to contribute meaningfully towards the prevention of disasters.
The theme for the workshop was “Prevention Pays”.
Mr Eric Opoku, the Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, who opened the function, suggested that educational authorities should introduce a course on disaster management for schools.
He stressed that if education was meant to prepare people for life, then it ought to take into account issues such as natural and man-made hazards, adding that “every community is vulnerable to a greater extent or lesser extent to the threat of loss of life and property as a result of a disaster”.
“In our quest to contain and curb natural and man-made disasters in our communities and the nation at large, new ideas should be imbibed by the citizenry to give them a high sense of responsibility. Both young and old, should adhere to preventive measures when it comes to disaster issues,” Mr Opoku said.
Mr. J.B. Nyarko, Brong Ahafo Regional Co-ordinator of NADMO, said the staff strength of the organisation in the region stood at 225 but gave the assurance that his outfit had intensified public education at all levels to create more awareness of disaster-related issues.

QUEENS, KINGMAKAERS ATTEND CAPACITY WORKSHOP (PAGE 13, MAY 22, 2010)

2010-05-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

Queens and other kingmakers from the various paramountcies in the Brong Ahafo Region have attended a two-day capacity-building workshop on the prevention and management of succession-to-stool disputes in the region.
The conflict management workshop was organised by the Regional Peace Council to define chieftaincy succession disputes and understand the importance of utilising appropriate personnel management skills to deal with chieftaincy succession conflicts.
The workshop, sponsored by the UNDP, was also to let the participants become familiar with the Chieftaincy Act of 2008 (Act 759) and examine some necessary skills required in resolving those succession disputes.
Currently, there are about 56 chieftaincy disputes, some of them long-standing, being adjudicated at the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs and the High courts in the region.
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, who opened the workshop, pointed out that queens occupied a central position when it came to succession to stools in most traditional areas of the country.
He said their roles as managers of the procedure of nomination, acceptance and enstoolment of a candidate as chief could not be down-played and so it was incumbent on them to live up to the expectation of their people during the whole process by showing their neutrality towards all the contending parties.
The deputy regional minister observed that not all the people from the royal lineage were qualified to occupy a vacant stool and, therefore, kingmakers must look out for someone with unquestionable character when it came to choosing a chief.
He said it was an undeniable fact that queens produced royals and by the matrilineal inheritance in the Akan tradition, those royals were selected, nominated and enstooled when a stool became vacant, noting, however, that before anything was done, the queen had to be consulted.
Mr Opoku pointed out that there were instances when a sitting chief and the queen might not be on good terms, in which case, some people took undue advantage of the situation to foment trouble whenever a stool became vacant and there was the need for a successor.
He deplored the attitude of some chiefs who were noted for their ‘winner-takes-all’ attitude and who did not take proper care of the queen and other family members, stressing that those things never happened in the past.
He gave the assurance that the government would continue to uphold the integrity, sacredness and sanctity of the chieftaincy institution and would not, by any act of commission or omission, disturb the tried and tested institution, adding, “The government will not dabble in any disputes”.
Mr Opoku, however, said the government would not look on unconcerned when lives and property were being destroyed in chieftaincy conflicts, since it owed the people a duty to maintain a peaceful country where all would have the freedom to live and work.
The Peace Promotion Officer of the Peace Council, Nana Adjei Ababio, in his welcoming address, said members of the council had been collaborating with Nananom to find ways to stem the tide of increasing chieftaincy disputes in the region.
He noted that conflicts were a part of human nature but when they arose, there was the need to find amicable solutions to them, saying that the region was bedevilled with so many threats to peace and human security arising out of chieftaincy and land disputes, unemployment, disunity and other forms of social conflicts.
Nana Ababio noted that one of the relatively peaceful regions in the country was Brong Ahafo because it did not experience violent conflicts but said that was not to say that there were no threats to peace and human security in the region.

SUPPLY CONSTITUTIONS TO SHS STUDENTS (PAGE 13, MAY 21, 2010)

2010-05-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

Participants at a forum organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in the Sunyani West District of the Brong Ahafo Region have suggested that abridged copies of the 1992 Constitution be produced and supplied to senior high school students free of charge.
That, they said, would equip the students to grasp the provisions of the Constitution right from school.
They argued that knowing the Constitution, which is a vital national document, at an early stage in their lives would provide a lot of advantages for the students.
The participants also suggested that the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ministry of Education add the study of the Constitution to the curricula of schools.
The forum, which was organised as part of activities marking the Constitution Week, was attended by a large number of students, assembly members, teachers, traditional authorities and some heads of departments of the district assembly.
According to the participants, it would be very useful if officials of the NCCE were invited to the meetings of the various parent/teacher associations (PTAs) in the country to explain important national issues to students and teachers alike.
They maintained that the situation where only students who studied government as a subject came to know something about governance was not helpful to the teeming student population, who are considered the future leaders of the country.
The forum also agreed that the government should resource the NCCE very well to enable it to embark on its mandate to educate the public on government policies, programmes and all other governance-related issues across the length and breadth of the country.
It was the view of the participants that the situation where people lost their jobs whenever there was a change of government was a disincentive to prospective employees who would have been trained at a huge cost.
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Director of the NCCE, Mr Michael Amponsah, stressed the importance of the people to participate fully in all local level decision-making processes at all times and not wait until there were elections before they showed their enthusiasm and zeal, only to recoil after the exercise was over.

MIM MODEL SCHOOLS TOP THEM ALL (JUNIOR GRAPHIC, PAGE 6, MAY 19, 2010)

2010-05-19T10:16:00.000-07:00

The Mim Model Junior High School (JHS) and its primary division emerged champions at the grand finale of quiz and spelling bee competitions for JHSs and primary schools respectively in the Asunafo North Municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Mr Robert Sarfo-Mensah, sponsored the events to promote effective and good quality education in the constituency.
Mim Model JHS scored 63 points to beat Goaso Ahafoman JHS, which obtained 57 points to place second while Goaso Bright Star JHS and Goaso Methodist JHS, took the third and fourth positions with 33 and 27 points respectively.
For their prizes, Mim Model JHS was presented with a brand new computer and a multi-purpose printer, assorted textbooks, GH¢100.00 and a trophy while Ahafoman JHS received a computer and a printer, assorted textbooks and a cash of GH¢50.00.
Bright Star JHS had a 21-inch colour television (TV) set, GH¢30.00 and assorted textbooks while Goaso Methodist JHS also received a 21-inch colour TV set and GH¢ 20.00.
Two contestants each from the participating schools were also presented with assorted textbooks and cash prizes.
In the Spelling Bee contest Akrodie R. C. Primary School scored 79 marks to place second to Mim Model Primary which secured 83 points while Goaso Henry Hugen Preparatory School came third with 69 points followed by Mim Scanstyle Primary with 50 points.
The first school received a colour TV set, assorted textbooks, plastic chairs, GH¢ 100.00 and a trophy while the school which placed second was presented with a colour TV set, textbooks and GH¢50.00. The third and fourth schools got sets of football jerseys, textbooks and cash prizes.
The individual contestants were also presented with exercise books, textbooks and cash prizes.
Earlier, Mr Sarfo-Mensah advised parents to take keen interest in the education of their children since they were the future leaders of the country and also appealed to the teachers to observe subject areas their pupils and students fell short so as to be able to provide the necessary attention to remedy the situation.
The Omanhene of the Goaso Traditional Area, Nana Baffour Kwasi Bosomprah, who chaired the function, expressed concern about children spending more time watching television rather than reading their books.

UT FINANCIAL SERVICES GOES TO SUNYANI (PAGE 29, MAY 18, 2010)

2010-05-18T09:36:00.000-07:00

UT Financial Services has opened its seventh regional branch in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The Sunyani branch is located opposite the Sunyani Coronation Park.
The move is in line with the company’s objective of bringing its services to the doorstep of its customers as it resolves to cover the entire country.
The Sunyani Branch Manager of UT, Mr Daniel Sablah, told the Daily Graphic that since its arrival in the municipality, about 140 clients were so far doing business with the company and described it as encouraging.
‘‘I am happy to say that most of our clients have proven to be good business partners who also understand what we do and are ready to have a stake in our operations,” Mr Sablah said.
According to the branch manager, the decision to open branches throughout the country followed persistent requests by many of its business partners elsewhere in the country, and the realisation that Sunyani was a booming municipality with a conducive business climate.
He, therefore, appealed to individuals, organisations and the business community to join UT and enjoy the numerous products it provided.
‘‘We are at their service to help them with loans to boost their businesses,” he said.
Mr Sablah said apart from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions, the company was providing financial services in the seven regional capitals and some selected towns such as Tarkwa in the Western Region and Obuasi in the Ashanti Region
He gave an assurance that the company would soon reach out to the remaining three northern regions and all other towns across the country, where business was seen to thrive.

BA RECORDS 66.8 PER CENT NHIS REGISTRATION (BACK PAGE, MAY 18, 2010)

2010-05-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

THE Brong Ahafo Region has so far registered 1,479,370 subscribers under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The figure represents 66.8 per cent of the region’s population of 2,213,318.
Notwithstanding the achievement, the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) and the regional office of the NHIS are evolving strategies to educate more people to join onto the scheme.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Quad Nyamekye-Marfo, who made this known, indicated that between January and December 2009, the government paid GH¢27,623,193.05 as subsidies and re-insurance claims to all the 19 schemes in the region.
The amount, he said, was a significant improvement over the GH¢15,820,016.30 paid for the same period in 2008.
The regional minister, who was addressing the regional “Meet-the-Press” programme at the auditorium of the Sunyani Polytechnic, said it was even more gratifying to note that from January to May 2010, the government had paid GH¢22,049,989.10 to all the 19 schemes in the region.
According to him, Guinea worm infections reduced from 11 cases to two, representing a significant decrease of 78 per cent.
He expressed the hope that by the end of this year, the region would record no case of Guinea worm infection.
On maternal deaths, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said 94 cases were recorded in 2009, compared to 81 in the previous year, saying that the situation could be attributed largely to delays in sending expectant mothers to health facilities.
Making reference to the 2009 HIV Sentinel Survey Report, he said the region ranked seventh among the 10 regions in the country.
That, he explained, was an increase of 0.3 per cent over the 2008 rate and attributed the increase to complacency.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo pointed out that in fulfilment of the government’s promise to continue with high-level support for the HIV/AIDS initiative, the 22 municipal and district assemblies received funding of between GH¢2,500 and GH¢2,650 each, while the RCC sourced GH¢4,000 mainly for co-ordination and management, as well as monitoring and evaluation of decentralised responses in 2009.
Besides, he said, four civil society organisations (CSOs) received GH¢25,000 each for HIV/AIDS projects in the region, adding that the major challenges facing the health sector in the region included inadequate health personnel, especially doctors and nurses.
The regional minister said despite the human resource and logistic constraints, health workers in the region had delivered to the expectation of the citizenry and that the RCC appreciated the relentless efforts of the health workers.
On education, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo indicated that significant gains were made in respect of the enrolment of pupils and students between 2008 and 2009, adding that in 2008, 61 per cent of candidates in the region who sat for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) passed, with the percentage increasing to 64.7 per cent in 2009.
He said the proposal to establish a university of Energy and Natural Resources in the region was enshrined in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) “Better Ghana” manifesto, pointing out that a lot of effort had been made, both at the national and the regional levels, to ensure that the region was on track to achieving that dream.
The regional minister again said the region took delivery of and distributed 160,000 school uniforms to basic school pupils in deprived communities, in fulfilment of the NDC manifesto. The region also took delivery of the first tranche of 717,864 exercise books, comprising 669,203 Note 1 types and 48,661 graph books for distribution.
He further indicated that since January 2009, the GETFund and the Ministry of Education had provided funding to complete educational projects in some schools which were either abandoned or left uncompleted for several years.
On agriculture, he said generally, food crop production significantly increased during the year 2009, and that maize, for instance, recorded a 26.93 per cent increase yield while rice production increased by over 400 per cent. “Food crops generally recorded relatively stable prices throughout the year, “ he said.
The regional minister also spoke on gains made in the other sectors in the region, namely road, tourism/industry, energy, water and sanitation as well as security.

GETFUND TO SHIFT FOCUS ON BASIC EDUCATION (SPREAD, MAY 17, 2010)

2010-05-18T08:16:00.001-07:00

THE government has directed the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to change its focus on second-cycle and tertiary institutions towards the development of basic education.
The change in focus has become necessary because an evaluation of the disbursement of the fund by the government has shown that priority has been given to the development of second-cycle and tertiary institutions, to the neglect of basic education.
The Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, who made this known in Sunyani, referred to a recent meeting at Sogakope in the Volta Region which took stock of the application of the GETFund, among other issues.
Addressing the fifth annual national conference of the Islamic Education Unit Council at the Teachers Hall on Saturday, the Vice-President said the evaluation exercise revealed that the GETFund had focused more of its resources on the development of infrastructure in second-cycle and tertiary institutions.
The theme for the conference was: "Islam and Education in the Globalised World — Challenges and the Way Forward”.
Mr Mahama said from the evaluation, the government had decided that much attention should now be placed on deprived basic schools, including Islamic institutions.
He was of the view that with the provision of a solid basic education, the children could then qualify to second-cycle and tertiary institutions and help in the effective development of the country.
Underlying the fact that advanced countries have been able to make it to where they are now because they put premium on education at the basic level, he said placing premium on second-cycle and tertiary institutions was not the answer to achieving development goals by 2015 or 2020.
He observed that teaching and learning in Islamic schools could not be said to be satisfactory, as they had a negative impact on the quality of education for Muslim children, and asked proprietors of Islamic primary schools to be more proactive in the management of those schools.
“What we need in the Islamic Education Unit schools is the setting of performance targets or indicators, while paying attention to supervision and monitoring. It is only through these mechanisms that quality education is assured,” the Vice-President said.
“There must be a collaborated effort between the government and all stakeholders at providing quality basic education for Muslim children because only then will it provide a springboard for these children to acquire higher academic and professional qualifications,” Mr Mahama declared.
By so doing, he said, the children could achieve greater laurels in the pursuit of knowledge and ultimately minimise early girl-child marriage, reduce the school drop out rate and eventually decrease social vices in our communities.
In the past, he said, Muslims refused to send their children to school because they had the fear that the children would depart from the cause of Islam.
They, therefore, established Arabic schools, popularly referred to as Makaranta, in the private homes of learned Muslims called Mallams to educate their children.
The Vice-President gave the assurance that the government would provide support to enhance the quality of education in Islamic schools.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Manager of the Islamic Education Unit, Mr Mahama Imoru, said the unit started with less than 10 basic schools in the country but currently it could boast 1,160 units, with total enrolment of 268,200.
He said the number of pupils who had completed Islamic junior high schools since 1987 was quite great and that a good number of them were in higher institutions of learning, while many products were on the job market rendering invaluable services to the nation.
He said the biggest challenge was that 22 years since the establishment of the unit, Arabic Studies, which featured prominently in the curricular, was still not examinable at the Basic Education Certificate Examination level.
The Vice-President later in the day paid a courtesy call on the Omanhene of the Nkoranza Traditional Area, Okatakyie Agyeman Kudom IV, at his palace in Nkoranza and later joined the Queen of Anyima, Nana Saa Gyamfua II, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of her enstoolment.
He was accompanied by the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, and the Minister of Chieftaincy and Culture, Mr Alex Asuma Ahensah.

POLITICAL LEADERS URGED TO SUPPORT SAFETY CAMPAIGNS (PAGE 14, MAY 17, 2010)

2010-05-18T08:12:00.000-07:00

THE Executive Director of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), Mr Noble J. Appiah, has appealed to political leaders to support the commission in its nation-wide campaign.
He said the NRSC was determined to educate all road users, especially drivers and pedestrians, to strictly observe all road traffic rules and regulations to stem the tide of rampant road accidents that claimed several lives in the country.
He said it was doing its best in educating road users on the need to be extra careful while on the road but there was the urgent need for politicians to play their part in that all-important national exercise.
‘‘We need the commitment and passion of our political leaders to use their authority in their various jurisdictions to impress upon their people to avoid the use of mobile phones while driving, advise them on the benefits of wearing seat belts and crash helmets when driving their vehicles and riding on motorbikes for their own safety,” he appealed.
Mr Appiah, who made the appeal when he paid a courtesy call on the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye–Marfo, in his office in Sunyani, observed that about 42 per cent of pedestrians died in road accidents in the country.
He emphasised that his outfit had put in place several interventions to ensure that there was safety on the roads but pointed out that it was incumbent on everyone, especially officials of the Ghana Highway Authority, the Department of Urban Roads and all other concerned institutions and organisations, to come on board in the sensitisation drive by the commission to save the vulnerable from losing their precious lives through road accidents.
He disclosed that the government had given approval for the towing of any vehicle that broke down on the road if the owner failed to move his or her vehicle away within some hours of the breakdown, saying that the offending driver would be made to bear the cost of that service.
According to Mr Appiah, under the new arrangement, more private individuals were to be provided with licences to effect the towing of all break-down vehicles on the roads and expressed the hope that that drastic measure would bring sanity on the roads.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo noted that recklessness, unnecessary overtaking in sharp curves, speeding and parking of faulty vehicles right in the middle of the roads were the main causes of road accidents, adding that the strict application of the law would help prevent some of those accidents.
According to the regional minister, most of the drivers were unable to read, understand and observe road signs and, therefore, called for an intensification of education by the NRSC and all those concerned.
He also observed that the non-maintenance of vehicles accounted for many of the accidents and impressed upon the various transport unions to advise their members to regularly service their vehicles in their own interest, as well as in the interest of their passengers.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo urged the NRSC to include the media, especially,
the FM stations, in its sensitisation of the public, arguing that many people listened to programmes in the local languages and would, therefore, understand whatever message they hear on radio with regard to the prevention of road accidents.
He gave the assurance that the Brong Ahafo Regional Co-ordinating Council would provide the necessary support for whatever programmes were drawn by the Regional Road Safety Committee towards the prevention of road accidents in the region.

ADUANA CROWNED LEAGUE CHAMPS... Beat Arsenal 2-0 in coronation match (BACK PAGE, MAY 17, 2010)

2010-05-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

Aduana Stars were officially crowned 2009/10 League Champions yesterday at a colourful coronation ceremony at Dormaa Ahenkro where the new champions beat Arsenal 2-0 in a special match to climax the event.
Aduana made history last Wednesday when they became the first club in the 54-year-old competition to win the League in their first year of participation.
For their historic feat, Aduana took home a TATA Xenon 4x4 five-seater pick-up donated by TATA Africa Holding Ghana Limited in addition to a cheque for GH¢10,000 as the prize for winning the League.
The event was celebrated in style, with the distinguished presence of Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II the Omanhene of Dormaa and Life Patron of the club, as well as Nana Bosea Gyinantwi, Drobomanhene, and Osagyefo Ameyaw Akumfi, the Techimanhene.
Thousands of ecstatic Dormaa football fans who had virtually choked the venue erupted with joy after the skipper of Aduana, Samuel Asiedu, received the 2009 Glo League trophy from Mr Abra-Appiah, chairman of the Premier League Board, and the spillover celebrations stretched deep into the night.
It was a proud moment for Coach Herbert Addo, the man who masterminded the landmark achievement by a team that incidentally won the competition scoring the least number of goals, and also on record as the side that conceded the least number of goals too.
And when the referee’s final whistle went for the end of the match, his players, literally in a show of appreciation for his tactical output during the season, threw him into the air and gave him a kingly ride.
The newly-crowned league champions had earlier established their territorial superiority when they reduced visiting Arsenal to a pedestrian challenge, when just four minutes after kick-off Kwame Richard struck through a crowded goal mouth for the opener.
Arsenal, who remained on the defensive for the greater part of the game, were lucky to escape havoc as Kwame Richard and Richard Addae proved wasteful in front of goal. Indeed Frimpong from close range blasted off on the 16th minute.
Arsenal’s attempt to break the dominance of Aduana led to midfielder Emmanuel Allen becoming a victim of a crude challenge, forcing the Aduana bench to pull him out for George Ampofo to take his place.
But Aduana maintained their dominance in the second half, and barely a minute after recess striker Francis Larbi slotted the second goal with grace after threading a path in a cowded goal area.

ADUANA MAKE HISTORY...Win league in first season (BACK PAGE, MAY 13, 2010)

2010-05-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

The high hopes of Obuasi Ashgold of winning the Premier League after a 14-year lull was shattered following a 10-man Bechem Chelsea’s 90th minute lone goal against the Miners at the Berekum Golden City Park.
With the defeat, premiership debutants, Aduana, were crowned champions after beating fellow Brong Ahafo opponents, Arsenal, 1-0 at the Agyemang Badu Park at Dormaa Ahenkro in the final round of matches of this season’s Glo Premier League matches.
Aduana, who finished on the same 53 points with Ashgold, but with inferior goal difference, won the league on account of the head-to-head rule having beaten the Miners in their second meeting at Dormaa Ahenkro.
They thus make history as the first team to have come from Division One to win the premiership on their debut.
Aduana will be presented with a TATA Xenon 4x4 five-capacity pick-up donated by TATA Africa Holding Ghana Limited during a coronation match at Dormaa Ahenkro on Sunday between them and a yet-to-be-named team.
First runner-up, Ashgold, will be presented with a cheque for GH¢10,000 while Hearts will take GH¢8,000 for placing third.
Ashgold, who needed a draw to lift the trophy, were on the defensive much of time as Coach David Duncan’s defensive system failed to work. Chelsea capitalised on the Miners defensive play to inflict the painful loss on them to completely shatter their dream.
Chelsea’s lone-goal was scored by Eric Opoku from a corner kick effected by Eric Agyemang. Not even a 50th minute red card shown to Abdul-Basit Mohammed of Chelsea could stop them from carrying the day.
The entire Dormaa town was thrown into great joy while the teeming Ashgold fans became visibly shaken and could not believe their eyes.
The players were in tears and could hardly leave the pitch.

MIM SCHOOLS WIN QUIZ, SPELLING COMPETITIONS (PAGE 42, MAY 13, 2010)

2010-05-12T08:25:00.000-07:00

THE Mim Model Junior High School and its primary school emerged champions of a quiz and spelling competition organised for primary and junior high schools in the Asunafo North Municipality in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Mr Robert Sarfo-Mensah, sponsored the event as his contribution towards the promotion of quality education in the constituency.
Mim Model JHS scored 63 points to beat Goaso Ahafoman JHS, which obtained 57 points to place second, while Goaso Bright Star JHS and Goaso Methodist JHS took the third and fourth positions, with 33 and 27 points respectively.
For their prizes, Mim Model JHS was presented with a brand new computer and a multi-purpose printer, assorted textbooks, GH¢100 cash and a trophy, while Ahafoman JHS received a computer and a printer, assorted textbooks and cash of GH¢50.
Bright Star JHS had a 21-inch colour television set, GH¢30 cash and assorted textbooks, while Goaso Methodist JHS also received a 21-inch colour television set and GH¢20 cash.
Two contestants each from the participating schools were also presented with assorted textbooks and cash prizes.
At the Spelling contest, Akrodie Roman Catholic Primary School scored 79 points to place second to Mim Model which secured 83 points, while Goaso Henry Hugen Preparatory School came third with 69 points followed by Mim Scanstyle Primary school with 50 points.
The school which came first received a colour television set, assorted textbooks, plastic chairs, GH¢100 cash and a trophy, while the second-placed school was presented with a colour television set, textbooks and GH¢50 cash.
The third and fourth placed schools had sets of football jerseys, textbooks and a cash prize.
The individual contestants were also presented with exercise books, textbooks and cash prizes.
In an address, Mr Sarfo-Mensah advised parents to take a keen interest in the education of their children since they were the future leaders of the country.
He also appealed to the teachers to study the subject areas that their pupils fell short in and provide the necessary assistance.
The Omanhene of the Goaso Traditional Area, Nana Baffour Kwasi Bosomprah, who chaired the function, observed that children these days spent more time watching television programmes than studying their books.