THE Volta Chapter of “Unite for Sight”, a US-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), has organised a two-day eye screening exercise dubbed: “Catch Gbi za with Eye Screening” at Peki Avetile, in the South Dayi District of the Volta Region.
The ceremony formed part of this year’s annual Gbi Dukorza festival celebration.
A total of 484 patients were screened, and those found to have cataract and pterygium were referred to the Crystal Eye Clinic at Adenta in Accra, where they were operated upon free of charge by the leader of the team, Dr James Clark.
The Volta Regional Co-ordinator of the NGO, Rev. Benjamin Bankas, told the Daily Graphic that the medical team spent about two weeks at Jasikan and Peki in the Volta Region on a similar exercise.
He said at Peki, the team found out that 45 per cent of the people screened had cataract, while the percentage of those with refractive errors was 40, with reading difficulty cases making up the remaining 15 per cent.
According to Mr Bankas, Glaucoma was detected as the major problem in the northern sector of the Jasikan District, forming about 60 per cent of all cases screened, whilst cataract came second with 35 per cent with refractive error cases being five per cent.
Rev. Bankas appealed for assistance from well-to-do individuals and benevolent organisations to enable the NGO to reach out to the hinterlands, where its services were needed most.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
LEKLEBI, LAVIE RENEW TIES (PAGE 40)
THE chiefs and people of Leklebi Traditional Area in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region and those in Lavie in the Republic of Togo have sealed a common bond of brotherhood at Leklebi–Duga.
At a joint news conference at the weekend to launch the commemoration of the beginning of a biannual festival known as “Leklebi-Lavie Agbonuto Za” at Leklebi Duga, the Chairman of the Leklebi Lavie Agbonuto Za Secretariat, Mr Morris Alfred Fie, said the people of Leklebi and Lavie were one people.
The conference was to renew the affiliation between the people of Leklebi and Lavie who left Notsie during the exodus of Ewe groups in the 15th Century.
The festival, to be held on rotational basis, starts from Thursday, November 6, this year, with a grand durbar to climax the occasion on November 8 at Leklebi Duga, is purely a cultural and development-oriented affair. It marks the homecoming of the chiefs and people of Lavie to to their kinsmen at Leklebi.
Mr Fie said the people of Leklebi visited their kinsmen in 1979 with a delegation of 305 people and there had been contacts between the two peoples since 1980.
He said the people of Lavie, therefore, decided to reciprocate the visit of their kinsmen at Leklebi this year.
According to Mr Fie, both kinsmen migrated from Notsie through other places before settling at Lakledzi, a distance of about 28 kilometres from Leklebi, where the Lavie were resident at the moment.
“This identification was confirmed through various similarities in names such as Biaku, Vukey, Deh, Hehemeku, Atsutse and many others, which are found in both traditional areas,” he stated.
Mr Fie said in order to execute the programme successfully, all citizens of Leklebi, both at home and abroad, had been levied GH¢5 or more.
The money, he said, must be paid before the end of October, this year
At a joint news conference at the weekend to launch the commemoration of the beginning of a biannual festival known as “Leklebi-Lavie Agbonuto Za” at Leklebi Duga, the Chairman of the Leklebi Lavie Agbonuto Za Secretariat, Mr Morris Alfred Fie, said the people of Leklebi and Lavie were one people.
The conference was to renew the affiliation between the people of Leklebi and Lavie who left Notsie during the exodus of Ewe groups in the 15th Century.
The festival, to be held on rotational basis, starts from Thursday, November 6, this year, with a grand durbar to climax the occasion on November 8 at Leklebi Duga, is purely a cultural and development-oriented affair. It marks the homecoming of the chiefs and people of Lavie to to their kinsmen at Leklebi.
Mr Fie said the people of Leklebi visited their kinsmen in 1979 with a delegation of 305 people and there had been contacts between the two peoples since 1980.
He said the people of Lavie, therefore, decided to reciprocate the visit of their kinsmen at Leklebi this year.
According to Mr Fie, both kinsmen migrated from Notsie through other places before settling at Lakledzi, a distance of about 28 kilometres from Leklebi, where the Lavie were resident at the moment.
“This identification was confirmed through various similarities in names such as Biaku, Vukey, Deh, Hehemeku, Atsutse and many others, which are found in both traditional areas,” he stated.
Mr Fie said in order to execute the programme successfully, all citizens of Leklebi, both at home and abroad, had been levied GH¢5 or more.
The money, he said, must be paid before the end of October, this year
RETAIN NPP TO IMPROVE TOURIST INFRASTRUCTURE (PAGE 15)
THE Hohoe Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr John Peter Amewu, has called on the people of the region to retain the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in power to improve the infrastructure at tourist sites which abound in the district.
He said the NPP government was prepared to continue to support the inflow of tourists into the country.
At a political rally at Likpe Mate in the Hohoe municipality, Mr Amewu said as a result of the massive foreign exchange derived from that sector, it was important for it to be supported.
He said for the past seven years that the NPP had been in power, there had been many projects such as schools, roads and water in every part of the country.
He announced that the road linking Wli Todzi to Hohoe had been started but expressed regret at the fact that the contractor, Canary Construction Limited, had vacated the site.
At Wli Agorviefe, the MCE cut the sod for work to begin on a GH¢60,000 Information and Communications Technology (ICT) project which is being funded by the government. The project is expected to be completed by February next year.
Mr Amewu said it would further improve the tourism potential of the area which had the Wli Waterfall and other attractions such as the Afaja and the Agumatsa ranges.
He further announced that a school block, valued at GH¢340,000, was being constructed for the Roman Catholic Primary School at Wli Todzi.
He said the NPP government was prepared to continue to support the inflow of tourists into the country.
At a political rally at Likpe Mate in the Hohoe municipality, Mr Amewu said as a result of the massive foreign exchange derived from that sector, it was important for it to be supported.
He said for the past seven years that the NPP had been in power, there had been many projects such as schools, roads and water in every part of the country.
He announced that the road linking Wli Todzi to Hohoe had been started but expressed regret at the fact that the contractor, Canary Construction Limited, had vacated the site.
At Wli Agorviefe, the MCE cut the sod for work to begin on a GH¢60,000 Information and Communications Technology (ICT) project which is being funded by the government. The project is expected to be completed by February next year.
Mr Amewu said it would further improve the tourism potential of the area which had the Wli Waterfall and other attractions such as the Afaja and the Agumatsa ranges.
He further announced that a school block, valued at GH¢340,000, was being constructed for the Roman Catholic Primary School at Wli Todzi.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
FAREWELL SERVICE FOR REV BUAMAH (PAGE 35)
THE Hohoe Presbytery of the Global Evangelical Church in the Volta Region has organised a farewell service in honour of the Presbytery Chairman, Rev Moses E.K. Buamah at a ceremony in Hohoe.
Rev Buamah, 54, who served as the Chairman of the Hohoe Presbytery of the church, pioneered the opening of Global Evangelical Church in Hohoe. He has been transferred to the Republic of Togo to continue with his duties.
He has also been appointed the Presbytery chairman and the leader of the National Division of New Harvest Mission International in Lome.
Rev Buamah, who was elected the Vice Chairman of the Ghana Pentecostal Church (GPC) as a result of his hard work, opened a number of churches in the northern part of the region.
In appreciation of his diligent work and dedication to duty, the church posted him to Togo to continue with his ministerial work and to win more souls for Christ.
The Chairman of the GPC, Rev Mike Osborn, in a citation, described Rev Buamah as exceptionally devoted to the service of God, which is worthy of emulation.
Rev Buamah, 54, who served as the Chairman of the Hohoe Presbytery of the church, pioneered the opening of Global Evangelical Church in Hohoe. He has been transferred to the Republic of Togo to continue with his duties.
He has also been appointed the Presbytery chairman and the leader of the National Division of New Harvest Mission International in Lome.
Rev Buamah, who was elected the Vice Chairman of the Ghana Pentecostal Church (GPC) as a result of his hard work, opened a number of churches in the northern part of the region.
In appreciation of his diligent work and dedication to duty, the church posted him to Togo to continue with his ministerial work and to win more souls for Christ.
The Chairman of the GPC, Rev Mike Osborn, in a citation, described Rev Buamah as exceptionally devoted to the service of God, which is worthy of emulation.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
OCTOGENARIAN MURDERED (MIRROR, PAGE 30)
From Emmanuel Modey, Ve Koloenu
The murder of an 82-year-old man at Ve Koloenu in the Hohoe Municipality is causing a lot of panic and anxiety in the farming community.
According to the police at Hohoe, the deceased, Gilbert Nkansah, considered one of the eldest in the community, was found lying in a supine position with his head brutally crashed while his brains and other membranes had scattered at the road leading to the market on October 1, this year.
The body of the deceased has been deposited at the Hohoe Municipal Hospital Mortuary for autopsy.
The police source said the hospital authorities later detected that apart from the head that was badly damaged, the tongue, eyes, heart, membranes, and scalp were all missing.
The police source said a suspect, Paa Kwesi Gale, a 40-year-old man, had been arrested by the Hohoe Police and was assisting in investigation.
The murder of an 82-year-old man at Ve Koloenu in the Hohoe Municipality is causing a lot of panic and anxiety in the farming community.
According to the police at Hohoe, the deceased, Gilbert Nkansah, considered one of the eldest in the community, was found lying in a supine position with his head brutally crashed while his brains and other membranes had scattered at the road leading to the market on October 1, this year.
The body of the deceased has been deposited at the Hohoe Municipal Hospital Mortuary for autopsy.
The police source said the hospital authorities later detected that apart from the head that was badly damaged, the tongue, eyes, heart, membranes, and scalp were all missing.
The police source said a suspect, Paa Kwesi Gale, a 40-year-old man, had been arrested by the Hohoe Police and was assisting in investigation.
KUMA ATSEM ELECTED DFP ASPIRANT FOR CENTRAL TONGU (PAGE 13)
THE Central Tongu branch of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) has held its constituency conference at Juapong, during which Mr Emmanuel Kuma Atsem, 56, was elected as their parliamentary aspirant to contest the December election.
The 216 delegates, drawn from 96 branches of the Central Tongu Constituency, voted for him by acclamation.
The election was supervised by the officials of the North Tongu District Electoral Commission led by Mr Samuel Bansah.
Accepting the outcome, Mr Kuma-Atsem, who is a laboratory technician, gave the assurance that he would do everything to win the seat, using his rich experience in politics.
He said he would ensure that the DFP defeated the National Democratic Congress (NDC) during the elections.
Contributing, the Volta Regional Organiser of the DFP, Mr Michael Gamor, who is also a parliamentary aspirant for the Ho-East Constituency, reminded DFP members that politics was not like a science laboratory where experiments are made.
"If you vote the wrong candidate today, it will take you another four years to make an amendment."
The 216 delegates, drawn from 96 branches of the Central Tongu Constituency, voted for him by acclamation.
The election was supervised by the officials of the North Tongu District Electoral Commission led by Mr Samuel Bansah.
Accepting the outcome, Mr Kuma-Atsem, who is a laboratory technician, gave the assurance that he would do everything to win the seat, using his rich experience in politics.
He said he would ensure that the DFP defeated the National Democratic Congress (NDC) during the elections.
Contributing, the Volta Regional Organiser of the DFP, Mr Michael Gamor, who is also a parliamentary aspirant for the Ho-East Constituency, reminded DFP members that politics was not like a science laboratory where experiments are made.
"If you vote the wrong candidate today, it will take you another four years to make an amendment."
Friday, October 10, 2008
55 ACCIDENTS CLAIMED 17 LIVES IN 2007 (PAGE 35)
ROAD accidents are taking a toll on the human resources of the nation. Statistics available at the Hohoe branch of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service indicate that 55 road accidents involving 78 vehicles were recorded in the area in 2007, resulting in 17 deaths while 109 people sustained various degrees of injury.
In 2006, 83 accidents involving 88 vehicles were recorded out of which 11 people lost their lives while 123 others sustained injuries.
Only one driver was charged in connection with the accidents during the two-year period, but he was acquitted and discharged. The rest were either cautioned to be of good behaviour or are awaiting trial.
These facts came to light at a one-day workshop organised by drivers in Hohoe to determine the causes of accidents on the roads in the area.
Some of the commercial drivers, who spoke at the ceremony contended that they were poorly paid by their employers, adding that their social security contributions were also not paid as required by law.
That development, according to the drivers, put them under pressure in striving to make ends meet.
They were of the view that if the law that established the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contribution for workers (PNDC 247 of 1991) was not enforced to benefit drivers, accidents would continue to occur on the roads.
The Executive Director of the West Africa Rural Development Foundation, a Hohoe-based non-governmental organisation, Mr Francis Dimake, said after his interaction with drivers in the Hohoe Municipality, it came to light that drivers faced a lot of problems that were unknown to the general public for them to appreciate.
“I identified that drivers work under constant pressure from their vehicle owners. Drivers suffer a lot, especially when travelling in the night when all passengers sleep as soon as the vehicles take off, leaving their lives and valuables in the care of the motorists,” Mr Dimake said.
“However, when the passengers arrive safely, nobody comes to thank the driver but when a misfortune occurs, the driver is first to be accused. Drivers are, therefore, looking for a policy which will enforce PNDC Law 247 of 1991 in their favour,” he stated.
Mr Dimake, therefore, suggested that before the roadworthiness certificate of a commercial vehicle was renewed, the vehicle owner must show evidence of payment of social security contribution for the driver.
For his part, Togbega Gabusu, the Paramount Chief of the Gbi Traditional Area, did not mince words when he added his voice to the steps to minimise the carnage on the roads.
He noted that accidents were affecting the manpower resources of the nation and also creating too many orphans in society.
Togbega Gabusu wondered why drivers would not exercise a bit of patience while driving in order to reach their destinations safely.
He stated that recent reports of roads accidents had been so harrowing that one could not understand what was happening.
The paramount chief, therefore, advised motorists to heed road safety measures and protect the lives of people. Togbega Gabusu attributed the rampant accidents in the area to speeding, dangerous overtaking, tiredness on the part of drivers leading to sleeping behind the steering wheel and improper maintenance of vehicles.
In 2006, 83 accidents involving 88 vehicles were recorded out of which 11 people lost their lives while 123 others sustained injuries.
Only one driver was charged in connection with the accidents during the two-year period, but he was acquitted and discharged. The rest were either cautioned to be of good behaviour or are awaiting trial.
These facts came to light at a one-day workshop organised by drivers in Hohoe to determine the causes of accidents on the roads in the area.
Some of the commercial drivers, who spoke at the ceremony contended that they were poorly paid by their employers, adding that their social security contributions were also not paid as required by law.
That development, according to the drivers, put them under pressure in striving to make ends meet.
They were of the view that if the law that established the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contribution for workers (PNDC 247 of 1991) was not enforced to benefit drivers, accidents would continue to occur on the roads.
The Executive Director of the West Africa Rural Development Foundation, a Hohoe-based non-governmental organisation, Mr Francis Dimake, said after his interaction with drivers in the Hohoe Municipality, it came to light that drivers faced a lot of problems that were unknown to the general public for them to appreciate.
“I identified that drivers work under constant pressure from their vehicle owners. Drivers suffer a lot, especially when travelling in the night when all passengers sleep as soon as the vehicles take off, leaving their lives and valuables in the care of the motorists,” Mr Dimake said.
“However, when the passengers arrive safely, nobody comes to thank the driver but when a misfortune occurs, the driver is first to be accused. Drivers are, therefore, looking for a policy which will enforce PNDC Law 247 of 1991 in their favour,” he stated.
Mr Dimake, therefore, suggested that before the roadworthiness certificate of a commercial vehicle was renewed, the vehicle owner must show evidence of payment of social security contribution for the driver.
For his part, Togbega Gabusu, the Paramount Chief of the Gbi Traditional Area, did not mince words when he added his voice to the steps to minimise the carnage on the roads.
He noted that accidents were affecting the manpower resources of the nation and also creating too many orphans in society.
Togbega Gabusu wondered why drivers would not exercise a bit of patience while driving in order to reach their destinations safely.
He stated that recent reports of roads accidents had been so harrowing that one could not understand what was happening.
The paramount chief, therefore, advised motorists to heed road safety measures and protect the lives of people. Togbega Gabusu attributed the rampant accidents in the area to speeding, dangerous overtaking, tiredness on the part of drivers leading to sleeping behind the steering wheel and improper maintenance of vehicles.
Monday, October 6, 2008
MAN OFFERS DAUGHER, 8, FOR SALE (MIRROR, PAGE 27)
From Emmanuel Modey, Nkwanta
A father’s plan to purchase a vehicle by selling his eight-year-old daughter at the Nkwanta market in the Nkwanta South District of the Volta Region, backfired when he was arrested by the police.
According to ASP Douglas Kuma, the Nkwanta South District Police Commander, the father, Kegbameni Blesa, 28, a driver resident at Basare in the Republic of Togo, asked his daughter to accompany him to Koe in the Nkwanta North District to do some business with a friend.
The District Commander said on his arrival at Koe, the friend Badaheo Kejabie, 29, a farmer, during their conversation convinced Kegbameni to go and sell his daughter the next day, which was a market day at Nkwanta.
The following morning ASP Kuma said Badaheo and Kegbameni set off with the girl to the market but an informant who heard of their plan, ulterior motive, hinted the police and feigned interest to buy the child.
At the crucial moment when the child was being offered at GH¢48,000, the police led by ASP Douglas Kuma, emerged at the scene and effected their arrest.
The two suspects were arraigned before the Nkwanta Magistrate’s Court presided over by His Worship, Mr Stanislus Amanoipo, and charged. Their pleas were not taken and they were remanded in prison custody to reappear on a later date.
A father’s plan to purchase a vehicle by selling his eight-year-old daughter at the Nkwanta market in the Nkwanta South District of the Volta Region, backfired when he was arrested by the police.
According to ASP Douglas Kuma, the Nkwanta South District Police Commander, the father, Kegbameni Blesa, 28, a driver resident at Basare in the Republic of Togo, asked his daughter to accompany him to Koe in the Nkwanta North District to do some business with a friend.
The District Commander said on his arrival at Koe, the friend Badaheo Kejabie, 29, a farmer, during their conversation convinced Kegbameni to go and sell his daughter the next day, which was a market day at Nkwanta.
The following morning ASP Kuma said Badaheo and Kegbameni set off with the girl to the market but an informant who heard of their plan, ulterior motive, hinted the police and feigned interest to buy the child.
At the crucial moment when the child was being offered at GH¢48,000, the police led by ASP Douglas Kuma, emerged at the scene and effected their arrest.
The two suspects were arraigned before the Nkwanta Magistrate’s Court presided over by His Worship, Mr Stanislus Amanoipo, and charged. Their pleas were not taken and they were remanded in prison custody to reappear on a later date.
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