MAN, 60, STABBED TO DEATH (PAGE 33)

A 60-year-old man, Samuel Bedzrah, met his death when he was stabbed after separating a fight between a brother and a sister at Balve, a surburb of Hohoe, last Friday.
Daniel Kumassah, 24, alias Daniel Ketorwu, who allegedly stabbed Bedzrah is in the grips of the Hohoe Police.
According to Superintendent Anthony Darkeh, Hohoe Divisional Crime Officer, at about 10 am on Friday July 25, 2008, there was a misunderstanding between Kumassah and his sister, Felicia.
Due to the misunderstanding his sister decided to leave the house, but Kumassah followed her with the intention to beat her up.
This attracted a lot of people to the scene and Bedzrah, who came to the scene was able to ease the anger of the suspect and took him to his house to cool down tempers.
Unknowingly to Bedzrah, Kumassah was still annoyed and on reaching the house, he (Kumassah) rushed to the room, brought out a double edged knife, kicked the old man down, stabbed him in the left rib with the knife and took to his heels.
Bedzrah was rushed to the Hohoe Municipal Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Kumassah was arrested at Gbi-Godenu and brought to the Hohoe Police Station for further investigations.

KPADJA CLAN GETS NEW CHIEF (PAGE 47)

A NEW chief for the Kpadja Clan of Akpafu-Odomi in the Hohoe District has been installed.
He is Nana Ntiamoah III and he succeeds Nana Ntiamoah II who died three years ago.
Nana Ntiamoah, known in private life as Mr Dorcet Kugblenu, a private businessman, swore the oath of allegiance to Nana Afrifa IV and Nana Attando II, the Paramount Chief and the Adontenhene, respectively, of the Akpafu Traditional Area.
Nana Ntiamoah called on the people to wage a serious war to improve the standard of education in the town.

31 TEACHERS, NON-TEACHING STAFF HONOURED AT NKWANTA (PAGE 21)

THIRTY-ONE teachers and non-teaching staff in the Nkwanta District of the Volta Region who excelled over the past three years have been honoured at a ceremony at Nkwanta.
They took home prizes such as television sets, refrigerators and gas burners with gas cylinders.
The best teacher in the primary division in 2005 was Ms Christine Darko of Nkwanta Local Authority Primary (L/A) ‘ A’ school while that of the junior high school (JHS) category went to Mr Anthony Yao Agbo of Ashiabre L/A JHS with the senior high school (SHS) award going to Mr Simon Rockefeller of Ntrubuman SHS.
In the 2006 awards, the best teachers were Ms Bridget Kafui Ayensu of Nkwanta Primary ‘A’ school, Mr Ben Hozi of Nkwanta L/A JHS and Ms Catherine Sogbe of Nkwanta SHS.
In 2007 awards, Ms Annie Checheku of Nkwanta E.P. Primary School emerged the best in the primary division, while Mr Daniel Akli of Nkwanta L/A JHS won that the JHS category. There was no entry for the SHS award.
For the non-teaching staff, Mr Afred Kutor Ofori took the first prize for 2005, while Ms Josephine Afordofe emerged victorious in 2006 while Mr Emmanuel Homenoo won the 2007 award.
In a speech, the Nkwanta South District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Joseph Denteh, commended the award winners for their hard work.
“If we should consider the man hours the teacher puts into his work, then what he takes home as his salary is a mockery of his output,” he observed.
Mr Denteh said the teachers should be consoled that the government, through the salary rationalisation policy, was working to bridge the salary gap of public sector workers.
He noted that even though the prizes they were taking home might not be commensurate with the enormous strain they went through, they should be happy that their efforts had been recognised.
The Volta Regional Director of Education, Reverend S.A. Amankwa, stated that teachers should receive their reward on earth but not in heaven.
He advised the teachers that as transformers of the souls and minds, they should be mindful of whatever they did because a mistake in the classroom could cause the entire nation.
In his welcoming address, the Nkwanta District Director of education, Rev Ernest Gaewu, noted that the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results in the district had gradually improved comparing the 2006 results with those of 2007.
He said in 2006, the district had 50 per cent passes and placed 77th on the national league table while in 2007, it obtained 52 per cent and placed 76th.
Rev Gaewu stated that the district chalked up successes during the 2005 National Basic School Festival held in Sekondi in the Western Region where Ashiabre L/A JHS won the second prize in dance and drama.
He said in the field of sports, the district won the ‘under 12’ boys soccer trophy during the 2007 regional basic schools’ sports festival where Kwame Liboja of Tinjase L/A Primary School was adjudged the best player.
He was grateful to the Ghana Education Project, DANIDA, Hunger and Poverty Reduction Foundation, UNICEF, World Vision International as well as the Members of Parliament for Nkwanta North and Nkwanta South, for using part of their share of the common fund for infrastructure development, purchase of furniture for schools and their contribution towards the success of the teachers’ awards programme.

BIG HUNT FOR SUSPECTED MURDERER (PAGE 34)

From Emmanuel Modey,
Hohoe

The Hohoe Police have mounted a search for one Godwin Atsu, 45, a farmer of Akpafu Adokor, in the Hohoe municipality on allegations of murder.
The suspect is being hunted for allegedly murdering his cousin, Michael Atsu, 49, also a farmer at Akpafu Todzi.
According to the police, Michael had a strong hatred for Godwin because he was the caretaker of farms of Godwin's brothers living at Tarkwa in the Western Region. And for a long time, the two of them had been at loggerheads.
On June 5, 2008, when the two of them met on a cocoa farm given to them by their head of family, Mr Seth Atsu, a quarrel broke out leading to a brutal fight.
The police said Michael first slashed the wrist of Godwin almost severing it, and he in retaliation slashed Michael on the head and additionally severed his wrist.
Godwin then rushed home and narrated what had transpired to his sister and when the deceased did not return home, a search party was mounted the following day leading to the discovery of his body in the bush.

POLICE INVESTIGATE STRANGE DEATH (PAGE 35)

From Emmanuel Modey, Hohoe

The Krachi Divisional Police are investigating a case of alleged murder of one Yussif Musah, a native of Navrongo, in the Upper East Region.
The deceased, Musah, was contracted by one Sunday Ayodeli, 42, a sub-contractor for KASAPA, a mobile service provider, to blast a rock with dynamite in one of the pits they were digging to erect the KASAPA mast.
After some time, the deceased could not be traced until news broke out that a corpse had been found lying in a path leading to Obikyere village near Kpassain in the Nkwanta District.
The Nkwanta police found the dead body in a state of partial decomposition and it was that of a male; it was lying naked, the stomach was burst open and the intestines had gushed out. His clothes were lying beside him.
Sunday, who had contracted the deceased, has been arrested by the Nkwanta Police and arraigned before the Krachi East Magistrates’ Court at Dambai. The court presided over by Mr C.K. Dorleku has granted the suspect, Sunday, bail to reappear on August 5, 2008. He pleaded not guilty to a charge of provisional murder.

PLAN GHANA DONATES TO 2 NGOs (page 39)

The Livelihood Advisor of Plan Ghana, Mr Kofi Adade Debrah (left), presenting the four motorbikes, two computers, printers and accessories to Mr George Gyapong (right), the Programmes Manager of Rural Action for the Poor (RAP), a Hohoe-based non-governmental organisation (NGO).
RAP and another NGO, Facts for the Youth in Southern Organisation, based at Sogakofe in the South Tongu District, was another beneficiary of the donation. Both NGOs are engaged in micro finance services in the Volta Region.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Debrah said Plan Ghana’s objective in the region was to ensure that by the year 2011, 20 per cent of families would see marked improvement in their incomes.
He said under the micro-finance project, Plan Ghana would establish 40 village savings and loans associations with 1,000 members from 20 communities in the Hohoe Municipality and South Tongu District within the first year.
The micro-finance project aims at assisting people who do not have access to institutional financial activities to mobilise savings to improve the micro-enterprise.
The project, which would be implemented in the area for three years, will spend an estimated sum of GH¢100,000 during the first year.

DFP WON'T USE LAW ON CAUSING FINANCIAL LOSS (PAGE 17)

THE Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) has said that since it is a freedom-loving party, it will not use the law on causing financial loss against anybody when it comes to power.
“Our aim is to teach peace and practise peace without retaliation,” Dr Obed Asamoah, the Founder of the party, said at a rally at the Hohoe E. P. School Park in the Volta Region.
He said the DFP was a party that signified peace, tolerance and unity which were needed to move the nation forward.
He lamented that the country’s farmers, who represented 60 per cent of the population, were still poor because they had not been properly treated by the NPP government.
“The way the poverty eradication programme is being treated is not the best. Unless you are a member of the ruling party, you do not benefit from any incentives,” he claimed.
He said the DFP would subsidise farm inputs such as fertilisers to enable farmers to produce cheaper foodstuffs and thereby reduce the over-dependence on foreign foods.
For his part, the flag bearer of the party, Mr Emmanuel Ansah-Antwi, said governments since independence had failed the nation by neglecting the agricultural sector.
He said since a greater number of the population were farmers, subsidising agricultural inputs would go a long way to reduce poverty.
He said the Volta Region lacked industries and a tertiary institution and said there was the need to establish an agricultural university in the region.
The flag bearer expressed the hope that when the DFP won power, it would widen the tax net and utilise national resources judiciously.
The party had early on held separate rallies at Kpassa and Nkwanta in the Nkwanta North and South constituencies, respectively, where it said it was going to introduce a green revolution to boost agriculture.
At Hohoe the party leadership paid a courtesy call on the chiefs of the Gbi Traditional Council, led by Togbega Gabusu VI.
Togbega Gabusu advised them to tolerate one another and be at peace with other parties.
The DFP’s MP aspirant for the Hohoe North Constituency, Mr Benedictus Mordzinu, a teacher, was introduced to the people.

HOHOE SOUTH NDC NOMINATES AMENORWODE (PAGE 15)

THE Hohoe South Constituency Branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has only one aspirant for the forth- coming parliamentary election in December.
He is the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Joseph Amenorwode.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic at Ve Golokuati in the Hohoe municipality, Mr Amenorwode said he was sure to win the seat to get back to Parliament.
He was optimistic that the NDC would win massively to form the next government to lead the nation out of its present predicament.
The MP stressed the need for his constituency to be elevated to a district status.
This, he said, was because it had 22 electoral areas, 11 paramountcies, six second-cycle institutions and markets at Ve Koloenu, Have and Logba.
The rest were tourists attractions, including the highest mountain, Afadjato, the highest waterfall, the Wli Waterfall, the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary and the Volta Lake scenery.

MARY THERESA HOSPITAL GETS GYNAECOLOGIST (PAGE 20)

THE Mary Theresa Catholic Hospital at Dodi-Papase in the Kadjebi District has now got a gynaecologist, the only one in the northern part of the Volta Region.
The hospital was able to get the specialist due to the commitment of the management and staff to ensure that the hospital becomes the best in terms of obstetrics and gynaecology in that part of the region.
At the first-ever Patron Saints Day at the hospital, the Hospital Administrator, Mr Stannard Issah Mahama, said to achieve its objective of excellent health care, the hospital has for the past five years sponsored a number of students in the various tertiary institutions and also provided infrastructural facilities.
He mentioned some of the facilities as the construction of four staff bungalows, and the renovation of the adult ward with funding from the government and the laboratory with financial assistance from the German Rotary Volunteer Doctors.
Mr Mahama said a mortuary project financed from the hospital’s internally generated funds (IGF) had reached the lintel level and was expected to be completed by December, this year.
He said the biggest challenges that were seriously affecting the hospital’s progress were transportation and telecommunication.
Mr Mahama said one of the facility’s problems was human resource as it had lost some of the best hands through deaths, resignation or transfers.
He was, however, happy to announce that through the IGF the hospital was training 18 student nurses at the various nurses training institutions in the country.
According to Mr Mahama, the hospital would be 50 years in five years’ time so the management was planning feverishly to launch it.
The Medical Officer in charge of the hospital, Dr Christina Tetteh, said between 2007 and the middle of 2008, 23,294 patients attended the hospital out of which 2,462 were admitted.
On HIV/AIDS, out of the 604 patients who were examined in 2007, 84 of them tested positive, adding that 15 TB cases were detected from 2007 to the middle of 2008, three of who died.
The Bishop of the Jasikan Catholic Diocese, Most Reverend Gabriel Akwasi Mantey, who dedicated the statue of Saint Mary Theresa, the Patron-Saint of the hospital, commended the 19 staff for their dedication, and presented various awards to them.
The bishop advised them to adopt a maintenance culture to ensure that facilities at the hospital did not break down frequently.

FREE MEDICAL SERVICE AT JASIKAN HOSPITAL (PAGE 36)

A free outreach medical programme to perform surgeries on various ailments has begun at the Jasikan District Hospital in the Volta Region.
Cases being treated include fibroid, hernia, urine retention, as well as general surgery.
It is being undertaken by the Christ Leads Medical Services, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), led by Dr Christian Amenuveve, a surgical specialist, and it is specifically being carried out for people who have registered under the National Health Insurance Scheme.
So far, 180 clients have benefitted from the programme.
Between July and December, 2007, 149 clients covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) were treated under the programme at a cost of GH¢36,400. This year, an estimated GH¢60,000 is expected to be spent on the programme.
Patronage at the surgical sessions continue to be high, since there are no surgical services in the deprived areas.
The Jasikan NHIS, which commenced in January 2006 and inaugurated in February, the same year with a membership of 7,000.
As of now, the scheme can boost 51,095 card-bearing members who receive medical facilities at four major hospitals in the district, namely Jasikan, Worawora, Kpando and Hohoe.
Total attendance this year is 10,816 and GH¢29,893.82 has so far been paid to service providers.
The biggest challenge facing the scheme is getting access to people living beyond the Volta Lake, which is inaccessible.
In an interview, the Jasikan District Director of Health Services, Dr Samuel Abudey, said since the Jasikan Hospital was elevated to a district hospital, it still operated with facilities used by health centres.
He said the hospital had only 48 beds at the male and female wards, two water closet systems for the patients, nine beds in the maternity ward and no means of transport.
According to him, electricity was their major challenge, compelling the authorities to instal a generator which functioned at a high cost.
Dr Abudey noted with regret that even though the Jasikan hospital was a district hospital, it had no mortuary and laundry and the road to the facility was very deplorable, adding, “There is only one medical director who also doubles as the District Director of Health Services.”

FRANCO TOPS THEM ALL (PAGE 39)

THE Saint Francis College of Education (FRANCO) at Hohoe has obtained the highest performance in the first Diploma in Basic Education course in the country.
The programme was introduced at the beginning of the 2004/05 academic year with the first batch of students completing their course in July, last year.
Out of a total of 8,132 trainees who completed the course in the 38 teacher training colleges nationwide, 235 of them passed out at FRANCO.
No candidate in the country obtained first class pass. Thirty-four students had second class upper division, four of whom came from FRANCO, while 69, out of the 805 candidates who obtained second class lower division were also from the college.
In the third class division, out of a total number of 3,690 candidates, FRANCO had 113 while 44 of the 3,192 students who had ordinary pass, came from the college.
The Principal of FRANCO, Mr Dennis Agbenuvor, revealed this to the Daily Graphic at Hohoe.
He said the college also took the third position in the maiden edition of spelling competition for training college students, taking home a 21-inch colour television set and a set of assorted dictionaries.
The principal commended the staff of the college for their serious attitude towards work.
He said an internet facility had been established in the college to enable students access the web.
Mr Agbenuvor mentioned some challenges hampering the smooth academic work at the institution, such as lack of a library, toilet facilities, and residential accommodation, stressing that only 13 out of the 42 members of staff had accommodation on the campus.
The principal appealed to stakeholders, old students and benevolent associations for assistance in order to produce highly trained teachers.

WORAWORA HOSPITAL IN DISTRESS (PAGE 40)

THE Worawora Hospital in the Jasikan District in the Volta Region is in distress.
The roofs of the various sections of the facility, especially the theatre, X-ray department, the pharmacy and the stores, are leaking.
Since the hospital was built more than 50 years ago to serve the rural communities, it has not seen any major renovation.
During a fact-finding tour, this writer realised to his dismay the deplorable nature of the facility, with the walkway having been completely ripped off.
The sole doctor in charge of the facility and the entire staff work under very trying conditions, such as inadequate delivery tools.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), about 53 per cent of Ghanaians take about 30 minutes or less to reach the nearest health facility.
However, rural communities are worse off in terms of access to health care. About only three per cent of rural households live in communities where there are doctors.
It is for this reason that the people of Worawora and its environs are appealing to the government to come to the aid of the hospital by taking over the payment of the salaries of some of the staff who are currently being paid from the internally generated fund (IGF) of the facility.
The sole doctor of the hospital, Dr Felix Doe, told the Daily Graphic that the facility, which is a major referral point in the northern part of the Volta Region, did not have any vehicle for emergencies.
He stated that repair work on the building was far beyond the capability of the IGF.
Dr Doe said the hospital had so far spent more than GH¢31,700 on the rehabilitation of the senior staff bungalows, the junior staff quarters, beautification programmes and refurbishing of the laundry department.
He said more than GH¢2,100 was spent each month to pay casual labourers, a situation that is a serious drain on the IGF.
According to the doctor, the hospital did not have an emergency block, so the management of the facility were trying to renovate a structure to serve that purpose but they were at their wits’ end since no help was coming from anywhere.
He said the worse of it all is the large number of accident victims brought to the hospital due to the regular motor accidents occurring on the Kpando-Dambai highway, which passes through the town.
Dr Doe, therefore, appealed to well-to-do individuals and benevolent organisations to come to the aid of the hospital by providing it with some its needs.

WLI-AFEGAME WOOS TOURISTS TO WLI WATERFALLS (PAGE 40)

THE people of Wli-Afegame in the Hohoe District of the Volta Region have now realised the need to woo tourists to the Wli Waterfalls, the highest in West Africa.
In this regard, they have reconstituted the Wli Tourist Management Committee (TMT) to run the affairs at the site.
After only two years of operation, the committee has acquired a 15-seater Nissan mini bus, valued at GH¢30,600, a sound system worth GH¢1,500 and cables worth GH¢1,700 for street lights.
In addition, GH¢4,500 has been spent on the construction of foot bridges over Agumatsa River, a tributary of the fall, as well as a television set and a DVD for people who cannot reach the fall to watch it on screen.
The site, which is fast attracting tourists, has, however, been neglected by the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) in terms of development.
A tour of the site recently showed a gloomy picture. Although the site is generating much resources for the government, it has seen very little development.
As of the end of March, this year, more than GH¢2,000 had been realised from tourists while more than GH¢58,700 revenue was realised in 2007.
During this year’s Easter festivities alone, which attracted more than 3,500 people, the site generated about GH¢3,000.
A typical example of the GTB’s neglect of the site is that a tourist village, started in 2003, has come to a standstill, while the road leading to the place is deplorable.
There is neither a decent lorry park at the site nor any public place of convenience to cater for the large number of people who visit the place. What a pity! Again, at this time when the whole world has become a global village, one cannot communicate to the rest of the country from Wli.
Work on the extension of telephone is, however, progressing steadily in four tourist sites including the Wli Waterfalls. The rest are Gbledi, where the Afadjato, the highest mountain in Ghana, is found, Liati-Wote where the Tagbo falls are sited, and Tafi Atome, which has the Monkey Sanctuary.
According to the Chairman of the TMT, Mr Nicholas Harry Agbelie, land had been acquired for telecommunication operators to invest in the area.
Last year, more than GH¢4,000 being part of the revenue from the operation of the Wli Waterfalls was disbursed to four communities in the Wli Traditional Area, namely, Afegame, Agoviefe, Todzi and Dzogbega, to supplement their development efforts.
The aim of the donation was to provide alternative livelihood for people whose lands were acquired for projects around the waterfalls.

PROGRAMME TO ENHANCE ROOTS TUBER PRODUCTION BEGINS (BACK PAGE)

AN 80-year Roots and Tuber Improvement and Marketing Programme (RTIMP), under which small-scale farmers will be assisted with credit package to enhance production in roots and tubers, has been launched at Nkwanta in the Volta Region.
This is a follow-up to the Root and Tuber Improvement Programme (RTIP), which ran from 1999 to 2005.
The programme, under the initiative of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and made possible through a bilateral agreement between the Government of Ghana and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), follows the success of RTIP.
In all, 60 districts throughout the country will benefit from the programme, with Nkwanta being the only one in the Volta Region.
Outlining the details of the programme, the agronomist in charge, Dr Stephen Asante, said the goal of the project was to enhance income and food security to improve the livelihoods of the rural poor and to build a market-based system to ensure profitability at all levels in the value chain.
He said the project had three components, namely support to increase commodity chain linkages; support to root and tuber production; the up-grading of small-scale root; and tubers processing, business and marketing skills.
“Farmers to benefit from the RTIMP should be in groups of 12 - 25, and all the extension agents who are attached to the project will be provided with the necessary logistics to enhance their duties,” he said.
He called on the groups to be ready to pay 10 per cent of the cost of equipment they wished to purchase for processing for the programme to add 30 per cent as a grant.
“The 60 per cent left would come as a loan from the North Volta Rural Bank, Nkwanta, and that is what they would have to pay with any interest and on whatever terms agreed between them and the bank,” Dr Asante said.
He expressed the hope that under the project, gari processing would improve, since first class gari was non-existent.
Launching the project, the Nkwanta South District Chief Executive, Mr Joseph Denteh, said the government was determined to put in place the necessary social amenities and infrastructure to raise the quality of lives of the people.
He further urged the people to make use of the numerous opportunities available at the assembly to reduce poverty, ignorance and disease in society.
Earlier in a welcoming address, the Nkwanta District Director of MoFA, Mr Apepe Amankwatta, urged the farmers to endeavour to work hard to justify the huge investment made for their benefit so as to be able to repay the loans on time for others to benefit.

CO-OPERATE FOR DEVELOPMENT ...Urges Togbega Gabusu VI (PAGE 17)

The Paramount Chief of Gbi Traditional Area, Togbega Gabusu VI, has appealed to landlords to co-operate with the Hohoe District Assembly and release parcels of land to it for development purposes.
He also advised the assembly not to think of siting their offices only in the Hohoe township.
He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the elevation of Hohoe District Assembly in the Volta Region to a municipality. This brings to two the number of municipalities in the region. The other one is the Ho Municipality.
The ceremony which also coincided with the first ordinary meeting of the assembly saw the assembly presenting motorbikes to all the assembly members to facilitate their work.
Togbega Gabusu VI asked the assembly to take a second look at their Town and Country Department.
According to him, the department was not living up to expectation, resulting in the haphazard developments, especially in the new settlements.
The Volta Regional Minister, Mr Kofi Dzamesi, congratulated the assembly on its elevation and said this required hard work to justify the confidence and trust the government had reposed in them.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr John Peter Amewu, expressed the hope that the motorbikes would help them to reach out to the remotest parts of their electoral areas.
That, he said, would help the assembly to increase its internally generated revenue to undertake more development programmes.
The Managing Director of Motor Kings Ltd. in Accra, Dr Nong Goa, had earlier presented the keys to the motor bikes to the MCE.
In all, 100 motorbikes were acquired for use by 72 assembly members and women groups in the municipality.
The MCE expressed regret that there was no land for development in the municipality, and that where the assembly found one and had attempted to undertake development projects, legal action had been taken against it.

COALITION OF MUSLIM YOUTH SUPPORTS BAWA (PAGE 15)

THE Coalition of Muslim Youth has reiterated its support for suggestions from various quarters to make the ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Alhaji Rashid Bawa, the running mate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in the December elections.
“ We the muslim youth have the strong conviction that Alhaji Rashid Bawa has up his sleeves the necessary qualities that will be required of a running mate”.
In a press release at a youth meeting at Hohoe, they said “Alhaji Bawa is an outgoing, proactive, down-to-earth and a hard- working gentleman, who displayed sterling qualities when he was Deputy Minister of Education, Youth and Sports”.
The release stated that Alhaji Bawa was a symbol of strength, determination and inspiration to the Muslim youth, whose love for the growth and development of Islam and the youth in the country was manifested in his selfless contribution to the Islamic University in Accra.
We the Muslim youth would like to place on record that the experience Ambassador Bawa has acquired over the four years he had been the nation’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, with accreditation to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Qatar, Syria, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen and Kuwait, has given him the necessary connections and capabilities to facilitate the socio-economic development in the three northern regions and in the Zongo communities in the country.

KEN ANKU ELECTED NPP ASPIRANT FOR NORTH DAYI (PAGE 17)

A Media Consultant to the Ministry of Transportation, Mr Ken Stephen Anku, 50, has been elected as the parliamentary candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to contest for the North Dayi seat.
At a well attended function on Sunday, he polled 84 votes, out of the total of 106 delegates.
He beat Akua Sena Apaw-Bri, who had 19 votes, whilst Dominic Peter Krampah was third with three votes.
Speaking at the function, the Minister of Transportation, Dr Richard Anane, urged Mr Anku to work harder to ensure that the party won the North Dayi seat.
The minister advised him to show humility and also share ideas with his colleagues.
On roads, he announced that 15 kilometres of roads would be tarred in every district annually to open up the rural areas to link up the urban areas.
He said since 2006, the government had started a pilot project to tar roads in cocoa growing areas to facilitate the transportation of cocoa to the urban areas.
Dr Anane asked the people to consider what the government had been able to achieve in the past seven years that they had been at the helm of affairs and vote them back to power.
On the Kpando-Worowora-Dambai road,he said the sod would be cut to begin the third phase of the project in July this year.
The minister gave the assurance that the contractors were already on site.
He also gave the assurance that the government would increase the production of cocoa and shea nut in the country to boost the standard of living of the people, adding that everything would be done to increase the fleet of metro-buses in the regions.
He expressed the hope that if retained in power, the NPP government would promote free education programme at the senior high school level to ensure that every child of schoolage attended school.
The chairman of the North Dayi Constituency branch of the NPP, Mr Andy Lartey, pledged their support for the winner to wrest the seat for the party.
Mr Ken Anku in his victory message thanked the delegates for the trust reposed in him and said he had the inspiration to enter politics from the Minister of Transportation, Dr Anane. All the losers pledged their support to the winner.
The election was supervised by Mr James Botchwey of the Kpando District Electoral Commission.

OLD STUDENTS ASSIST HOHOE EVANGELICAL SCHOOL (PAGE 26)

The North America branch of Hohoe Evangelical Presbyterian Secondary School Association (HEPSSOSA) has donated GH¢1,500 to the school.
This is to assist in the construction of a 15-shower bath house for the girls dormitory.
The amount was presented on their behalf by the President of the HEPSSOSA North America Inc, Mr Richard Akoto, who is currently in the country for a short holiday.
Another benefactor and an old student, Mr Ray Akoto, a businessman, also presented a set of 81 stockings to the school’s football team.
Receiving the items, the Headmaster of the school, Mr J.M.K. Osei-Nyansah, said the project started in March this year and so far GH¢3,000 had been spent on it.
He appealed to old students to go to the aid of the school and expressed worry at the deplorable nature of their link road to the town.
He said now that the rains had set in the school could be cut off if no help came immediately.

TOGBEGA GABUSU JOINS GBI STUDENTS IN CLEAN-UP (PAGE 26)

Togbega Gabusu VII, Paramount Chief of the Gbi Traditional Area, led the Gbi Senior High Sec/Tech School in a clean-up exercise at Hohoe over the weekend.
They cleared silt from gutters, cleared weedy areas and burnt piles of rubbish in a three-hour exercise.
Togbega Gabusu told the Daily Graphic during the exercise that it was his initiative to help inculcate in the people the need to keep the environment clean to keep out mosquitoes.
He said it was a worry to him that people should have malaria just because they did not keep their environment clean.
Togbega, who is the President of the Volta Region House of Chiefs, used the occasion to urge all to keep their environment clean if they wanted to remain healthy.
The Hohoe District Health Promotion and Education officer, Mr Kwami Doe, spoke to the students on malaria, how it was contracted and its effects on the citizenry.
He told them that only mosquito bite caused malaria so they should do everything to avoid it.
He said malaria could have a serious effect on academic work and asked the students to do everything to avoid the disease.
“Your parents too, when they have the disease, they will suffer, they cannot go to work, reducing earnings for the family but have to look for money to buy medications,” he noted
He dispelled some misconceptions about malaria, such as some people suffering from malaria because they worked too hard in the sun.

FARMERS TRAIN TO MAXIMISE PROFITS (PAGE 26)

A One-day district workshop aimed at sensitising farmers to maximising profits in poultry, fish and piggery production has ended at Hohoe in the Volta Region.
The programme, which attracted about 76 farmers, was organised by the Ghana Agro Food Company (GAFCO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA).
In a speech, the Hohoe District Livestock Extension Officer, Mr Besa Akpalu, said anyone going into farming hoped to create employment and regular income, hence they must treat it as a business entity.
“And you have to plan your farm to enable you to maximise profit,” he said.
Mr Akpalu said in animal production feeding played a significant role since it took about 60-80 per cent of the cost.
“If the animal is not given enough to maintain its physiological functions, it will not have enough for production,” he said.
He therefore advised farmers to plan well, apply good management practices and keep good accounts.
For his part, a nutritionist at GAFCO, Mr Kleko Dzesi, said feed should be prepared with the required ingredients.
He gave the assurance that if feed was properly prepared it would increase productivity, hence maximising profit and thereby reducing poverty.
“But what is seen now is that apart from poor housing, farmers feed their animals on pawpaw leaves and rice chaff,” he noted
He was happy that some farmers were adopting the modern techniques by using good feed and asked farmers to seek veterinary advice and assistance whenever possible.