The National Co-ordinator of Zoomlion Ghana Limited in charge of Environment and Sanitation, Mrs Beatrice Amponsah, has handed over 160 bicycles and uniforms to the Ho Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Isaac Kodobisah, for onward distribution to sanitations guards and health workers in the municipality.
This was during a regional review meeting held at Ho in the Volta Region on the theme: “ Attitudinal Change for Sanitation Guards: Impact to be felt to help improve sanitation in Ghana”.
The review meeting was a follow-up to weeklong training workshop held for sanitation gurads in Accra in March, this year and sponsored by Zoomlion Ghana Ltd.
Addressing the meeting, Mrs Amponsah said sanitation guards were recruited and trained to support district environmental officers in the districts.
She said 20 sanitation guards had been posted to each municipality and 10 to each district to reach out to the various communities and asked them to eschew laziness and maintain discipline in the course of their duties.
She advised them not to rush to bring sanitation offenders to book but must make serious efforts to make them appreciate why it was not in their own interest to live in filth and squalor.
Mrs Amponsah advised them against extorting money from sanitation offenders.
“ Do not extort money or engage in activities which would drive people away from you, instead endear yourselves to them, listen to them listen to their concerns in order that you can cary a message to them.”
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
SECURITY AGENCIES FACE ACUTE ACCOMODATION PROBLEMS (PAGE 14, OCT 20)
security agencies in the Volta Region face acute office and residential accommodation problems.
This is because lands acquired for the provision of such facilities were either not properly acquired or they have been put to other uses.
In Kpando for instance, prisoners are cultivating a 50-acre plot of land acquired for the Ghana Prisons Service while prison officers face acute accommodation problems.
In Hohoe, individuals have seriously encroached on the land acquired for the Ghana Police Service and have developed them into residential apartments.
The heads of the various security agencies made this known when they took their turns to brief members of the Parliamentary Sub-committee on Defence, Security and Interior during the committee’s two-day working visit to the region.
The Volta Regional head of the Ghana National Fire Service, said there were only two fire engines in the region, located in Ho and Denu.
The members were also told that there were many chieftaincy disputes which were hindering development in the region.
The Kpando District Chief Executive, Mr Fancis Ganyaglo, said disputes in four out of the 12 traditional areas in the district were very serious.
He mentioned the traditional areas as Awate, Sovie, Kpando and Wusuta.
In Kpando and Awate, for example, the disputes are so serious that they have polarised the people and the district chief executive cannot visit any of the divisions without any disturbances.
The Chairman of the sub-committee, Captain George Nfojoh (retd) who is also the Member of Parliament for the Ho Central Constituency, commended the security agencies for their efforts to maintaining law and order at the region, in the face of the serious challenges.
He urged municipal and district assemblies in the region to educate landowners to exercise patience since the sub- committee would convey their concerns to the appropriate quarters for the right decisions.
Capt. Nfojoh advised chiefs in the region to live at peace with one another as conflicts hindered the development of their communities.
“ You will be left behind as far as development is concerned, and you and your people, will lose out when foreign investors are looking for areas to invest in.”
“We all know the region is well endowed with tourist attractions and without peace, nobody will feel safe to come and invest in trouble prone areas,” he said
This is because lands acquired for the provision of such facilities were either not properly acquired or they have been put to other uses.
In Kpando for instance, prisoners are cultivating a 50-acre plot of land acquired for the Ghana Prisons Service while prison officers face acute accommodation problems.
In Hohoe, individuals have seriously encroached on the land acquired for the Ghana Police Service and have developed them into residential apartments.
The heads of the various security agencies made this known when they took their turns to brief members of the Parliamentary Sub-committee on Defence, Security and Interior during the committee’s two-day working visit to the region.
The Volta Regional head of the Ghana National Fire Service, said there were only two fire engines in the region, located in Ho and Denu.
The members were also told that there were many chieftaincy disputes which were hindering development in the region.
The Kpando District Chief Executive, Mr Fancis Ganyaglo, said disputes in four out of the 12 traditional areas in the district were very serious.
He mentioned the traditional areas as Awate, Sovie, Kpando and Wusuta.
In Kpando and Awate, for example, the disputes are so serious that they have polarised the people and the district chief executive cannot visit any of the divisions without any disturbances.
The Chairman of the sub-committee, Captain George Nfojoh (retd) who is also the Member of Parliament for the Ho Central Constituency, commended the security agencies for their efforts to maintaining law and order at the region, in the face of the serious challenges.
He urged municipal and district assemblies in the region to educate landowners to exercise patience since the sub- committee would convey their concerns to the appropriate quarters for the right decisions.
Capt. Nfojoh advised chiefs in the region to live at peace with one another as conflicts hindered the development of their communities.
“ You will be left behind as far as development is concerned, and you and your people, will lose out when foreign investors are looking for areas to invest in.”
“We all know the region is well endowed with tourist attractions and without peace, nobody will feel safe to come and invest in trouble prone areas,” he said
Thursday, October 15, 2009
VOLTA REGION MARKS WORLD SIGHT DAY AT HOHOE (PAGE 14, OCT 15)
The Volta Regional World Sight Day has been observed at Hohoe, with a call on the government to include drugs for the treatment of eye ailments on the National Health Insurance Drug list to enhance health care in the country.
According to Mr Yaw Asamoah, an eye patient, although most of the drugs prescribed were expensive, they had not been listed on the drug list.
" Everybody is supposed to be given equal attention and care on sight conditions. Without good sight, it is difficult to carry out our day to day activities. There is the need to have eye screening and testing exercises and changing of spectacles periodically," he said.
The region has 10 eye centres but has no ophthalmologist. The centres are at Ho, Hohoe, Kpando, Jasikan, Worawora, Nkwanta , Sogakope, Aflao, Keta and Battor.
Delivering a keynote address, a Deputy Director of Nursing Services at Hohoe, Mrs Vera Gaitu, said two ophthalmologists could man the two modern eye centres at the regional and Hohoe Municipal eye centres.
The celebration was held on the theme: " Gender And Eye Health; Equal Access to Health Care".
Mrs Gaitu also appealed to the government to provide the eye treatment centres with the requisite equipment, vehicles and other logistics to facilitate healthcare.
"In Ghana, 200,000 people are blind with two-third of the number being women and children. Eighty per cent of the causes of blindness especially cataract and glaucoma are preventable," she said.
She gave the assurance that the staff at the eye treatment centres had been trained well and were qualified to render the requisite services to their clients.
For her part, the Head of the Eye Unit of the Hohoe Municipal Hospital, Ms Agnes Ahribi, said glaucoma was the most common problem confronting the people with sight problems.
She said though glaucoma was not curable, it could be managed if reported early.
According to Mr Yaw Asamoah, an eye patient, although most of the drugs prescribed were expensive, they had not been listed on the drug list.
" Everybody is supposed to be given equal attention and care on sight conditions. Without good sight, it is difficult to carry out our day to day activities. There is the need to have eye screening and testing exercises and changing of spectacles periodically," he said.
The region has 10 eye centres but has no ophthalmologist. The centres are at Ho, Hohoe, Kpando, Jasikan, Worawora, Nkwanta , Sogakope, Aflao, Keta and Battor.
Delivering a keynote address, a Deputy Director of Nursing Services at Hohoe, Mrs Vera Gaitu, said two ophthalmologists could man the two modern eye centres at the regional and Hohoe Municipal eye centres.
The celebration was held on the theme: " Gender And Eye Health; Equal Access to Health Care".
Mrs Gaitu also appealed to the government to provide the eye treatment centres with the requisite equipment, vehicles and other logistics to facilitate healthcare.
"In Ghana, 200,000 people are blind with two-third of the number being women and children. Eighty per cent of the causes of blindness especially cataract and glaucoma are preventable," she said.
She gave the assurance that the staff at the eye treatment centres had been trained well and were qualified to render the requisite services to their clients.
For her part, the Head of the Eye Unit of the Hohoe Municipal Hospital, Ms Agnes Ahribi, said glaucoma was the most common problem confronting the people with sight problems.
She said though glaucoma was not curable, it could be managed if reported early.
Monday, October 12, 2009
ILLEGAL OCCUPANTS OF LOW COST HOUSES GIVEN ULTIMATUM
The Volta Regional Co-ordinating Council (VRCC), has given a one-month ultimatum to tenants illegally occupying low cost houses and junior staff’s quarters in the Ho municipality, to quit or risk ejection.
The Volta Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Amenowode, who gave the ultimatum, said it was the policy of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, not to sell those houses outright to the tenants.
He cautioned all those illegally occupying the said houses, originally allocated to parents or relations who had retired, resigned or were dead, to quit or be forced out by the law.
Mr Amenowode gave the ultimatum at the inauguration of the reconstituted Volta Regional Co-ordinating Council in Ho on Wednesday.
The 41-member council, which is under the chairmanship of the Volta Regional Minister, was sworn in by Dr Bernard Kwasi Glover, a member of the Council of State.
Performing the inaugural ceremony, the Regional Minister said the council did not have its full complement, since district chief executives were yet to be appointed for the Ketu North and Biakoye districts.
He said efforts were being made to resolve the Biakoye issue as promptly as possible while the confirmation of the district chief executive for Ketu North had been slated for October 8, 2009.
He said while the central government was making efforts to construct houses to accommodate staff, municipal and district assemblies should consider putting up residential and office accommodation for their staff.
The minister reminded them that the VRCC was essentially an administrative and co-ordinating body designed to monitor, co-ordinate and evaluate the performance of the district assemblies in the region.
He said the council also had a responsibility for monitoring the use of all monies internally generated or allocated to the district assemblies by any such agencies of the central government.
He hinted of a planned monitoring exercise in the region and advised the municipal and district assemblies to put their houses in order for that important assignment.
Mr Amenowode urged the members to remember that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had a manifesto and the mandate for which it would be judged and as such M/DCEs should be advised to be tactful with issues that had political undertones.
The Volta Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Amenowode, who gave the ultimatum, said it was the policy of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, not to sell those houses outright to the tenants.
He cautioned all those illegally occupying the said houses, originally allocated to parents or relations who had retired, resigned or were dead, to quit or be forced out by the law.
Mr Amenowode gave the ultimatum at the inauguration of the reconstituted Volta Regional Co-ordinating Council in Ho on Wednesday.
The 41-member council, which is under the chairmanship of the Volta Regional Minister, was sworn in by Dr Bernard Kwasi Glover, a member of the Council of State.
Performing the inaugural ceremony, the Regional Minister said the council did not have its full complement, since district chief executives were yet to be appointed for the Ketu North and Biakoye districts.
He said efforts were being made to resolve the Biakoye issue as promptly as possible while the confirmation of the district chief executive for Ketu North had been slated for October 8, 2009.
He said while the central government was making efforts to construct houses to accommodate staff, municipal and district assemblies should consider putting up residential and office accommodation for their staff.
The minister reminded them that the VRCC was essentially an administrative and co-ordinating body designed to monitor, co-ordinate and evaluate the performance of the district assemblies in the region.
He said the council also had a responsibility for monitoring the use of all monies internally generated or allocated to the district assemblies by any such agencies of the central government.
He hinted of a planned monitoring exercise in the region and advised the municipal and district assemblies to put their houses in order for that important assignment.
Mr Amenowode urged the members to remember that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had a manifesto and the mandate for which it would be judged and as such M/DCEs should be advised to be tactful with issues that had political undertones.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
KADJEBI-ASAFO SCHOOL IS 50 YEARS (OCT 2, PAGE 17)
THE Kadjebi-Asato Senior High School (KASEC) in the Volta Region is 50 years old. The school’s motto is coined from Latin –Consilio Et Animis and this is translated into English to mean “Wisdom and Courage”,
KASEC boasts good academic laurels and sound discipline.
The academic performance of the school, since a humble and pioneering beginning of 64 per cent at the General Certificate Examinations ( GCE) Ordinary level in June 1964, has steadily improved to 100 per cent in the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) as the years went by.
This was mainly due to the high level of discipline injected into the school’s fabric by the school’s administration, with Mr A.D. Addo-Yobo as the pioneer headmaster to the present, headed by Mr Musah Yamba Issahaku who took over the reigns from 2003.
The school was one of those established under the Ghana Education Trust launched by the first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
It was started in 1959 with with an initial enrolment of 66 boys after the foundation stone had been laid by the first Volta Regional Commissioner, Mr F.D.K Goka.
Located on a vast expanse of land covering 659 acres between Kadjebi and Asato, it has grown to a present population of 1,147 comprising of 687 boys and 460 girls. Its teaching staff had grown fromfive to 54 and non-teaching staff of 45.
The school was selected as one of the first batch of model schools that were upgraded in 2003, nationwide. In the field of sports and games, the school has an enviable record, both at the regional and national levels.
The school can boast some athletes such as Cecilia Mensah, Juliana Mensah and Agnes Obour and presently, national champion, Miss Grace Ofori, who represented the country at the 2008 Beijin, Olympic Youth Camp.
On December 7, 1990, KASEC emerged the best school in Agriculture during the National Farmers Day at Wenchi
The headmaster, board of governors, staff and the school are announcing the silver jubilee celebration of the school at its state of the art compound on October 3rd, 2009.
His Excellency the President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills will be the guest of honour.
KASEC boasts good academic laurels and sound discipline.
The academic performance of the school, since a humble and pioneering beginning of 64 per cent at the General Certificate Examinations ( GCE) Ordinary level in June 1964, has steadily improved to 100 per cent in the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) as the years went by.
This was mainly due to the high level of discipline injected into the school’s fabric by the school’s administration, with Mr A.D. Addo-Yobo as the pioneer headmaster to the present, headed by Mr Musah Yamba Issahaku who took over the reigns from 2003.
The school was one of those established under the Ghana Education Trust launched by the first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
It was started in 1959 with with an initial enrolment of 66 boys after the foundation stone had been laid by the first Volta Regional Commissioner, Mr F.D.K Goka.
Located on a vast expanse of land covering 659 acres between Kadjebi and Asato, it has grown to a present population of 1,147 comprising of 687 boys and 460 girls. Its teaching staff had grown fromfive to 54 and non-teaching staff of 45.
The school was selected as one of the first batch of model schools that were upgraded in 2003, nationwide. In the field of sports and games, the school has an enviable record, both at the regional and national levels.
The school can boast some athletes such as Cecilia Mensah, Juliana Mensah and Agnes Obour and presently, national champion, Miss Grace Ofori, who represented the country at the 2008 Beijin, Olympic Youth Camp.
On December 7, 1990, KASEC emerged the best school in Agriculture during the National Farmers Day at Wenchi
The headmaster, board of governors, staff and the school are announcing the silver jubilee celebration of the school at its state of the art compound on October 3rd, 2009.
His Excellency the President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills will be the guest of honour.
SOCIETY URGED TO ACCEPT CURED LEPERS (SEPT 29, PAGE 20)
A CURED leper, Mr John Goh, who has been living at the Ho Leprosarium since he was cured 42 years ago, has pleaded with families of lepers to accept them into society after being cured.
He said they posed no danger when they were accepted into society .
Mr Goh made the passionate appeal when members of the End Time branch of the Assemblies of God Church in Ho in the Volta Region presented them with various items worth GH¢900 at a ceremony at the Ho Leprosarium.
He said he was diagnosed of the disease in 1952 at the age of 25 and after he was cured in 1957, he had continued to live in the Leprosarium since then.
“Apart from me, there are 136 other cured lepers with families who are currently residing at the Leprosarium,” Mr Goh said.
The disease was detected in the area in 1926, compelling the Leprosarium to be built in 1947 and since then, many people with leprosy have been treated at the leprosarium.
Presenting the items made up of eight bags of rice and two bales of second-hand clothing, Reverend Terry Adjah, the head pastor of the church, said the donation was in response to an appeal made by the inmates.
He urged them to have faith in the Lord and believe that with God all things are possible.
Receiving the items, Mr Anthony Adjavon, the Technical Officer in charge of the leprosarium, assured the public that leprosy was curable.
He, therefore, advised the people to report early to the nearest health facility upon seeing signs and symptoms of the illness.
Mr Adjavon promised the donors that the items would be put to good use, and appealed to benevolent organisations and individuals to emulate the gesture.
He said they posed no danger when they were accepted into society .
Mr Goh made the passionate appeal when members of the End Time branch of the Assemblies of God Church in Ho in the Volta Region presented them with various items worth GH¢900 at a ceremony at the Ho Leprosarium.
He said he was diagnosed of the disease in 1952 at the age of 25 and after he was cured in 1957, he had continued to live in the Leprosarium since then.
“Apart from me, there are 136 other cured lepers with families who are currently residing at the Leprosarium,” Mr Goh said.
The disease was detected in the area in 1926, compelling the Leprosarium to be built in 1947 and since then, many people with leprosy have been treated at the leprosarium.
Presenting the items made up of eight bags of rice and two bales of second-hand clothing, Reverend Terry Adjah, the head pastor of the church, said the donation was in response to an appeal made by the inmates.
He urged them to have faith in the Lord and believe that with God all things are possible.
Receiving the items, Mr Anthony Adjavon, the Technical Officer in charge of the leprosarium, assured the public that leprosy was curable.
He, therefore, advised the people to report early to the nearest health facility upon seeing signs and symptoms of the illness.
Mr Adjavon promised the donors that the items would be put to good use, and appealed to benevolent organisations and individuals to emulate the gesture.
Friday, October 9, 2009
SSNIT OPENS CONTACT OFFICE AT HOHOE (SEPT 28, PAGE 52)
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has opened the first contact office of the Informal Sector Fund in the Volta Region at Hohoe.
The fund, which was established in 2008, is to provide social protection for workers in the informal sector, which employs about 85 per cent of the working population of Ghana.
Inaugurating the fund on behalf of the Director General of SSNIT, Mr Kwasi Boatin, the General Manager in charge of Operations, Mrs Gifty Anterkyi, said since the trust was established 40 years ago efforts to incorporate the informal sector into the scheme had been unsuccessful.
He said, however, that after successful pilot projects the fund was established.
He said the fund had the potential to facilitate the development efforts of the Government, and urged the operators in the sector to patronise the fund in order to provide them with livelihood in their old age.
The Managing Director of the Informal Sector Fund, Dr Francis Sapara-Grant, said the fund at present was operating in 15 branches and contact offices in six regions of the country ,and that it was meant for self-employed workers like traders, drivers, hairdressers, seamstresses, farmers, among others.
He said the fund was flexible, voluntary, attractive, easy to withdraw, and could be used as collateral to secure credit from financial institutions.
He said the fund also provided such benefits as old age retirement pension, disability benefits and survivor’s benefits.
The Volta Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Amenowode, said the first contact office was established at Hohoe because of the various prospects it held for the informal sector.
“ The municipality has a large population of small-scale businesses that cut across various sectors of the national economy, namely agriculture, commerce, transport, mining, industry and services.
Furthermore the municipality is home to other formal sector institutions, including banks and insurance companies, which are necessary for facilitating business transactions, ” he added.
The Paramount Chief of the Gbi Traditional Area, Togbega Gabusu VI, welcomed the new scheme and gave a promise that Hohoe, the vibrant commercial centre in the region, would patronise it.
The fund, which was established in 2008, is to provide social protection for workers in the informal sector, which employs about 85 per cent of the working population of Ghana.
Inaugurating the fund on behalf of the Director General of SSNIT, Mr Kwasi Boatin, the General Manager in charge of Operations, Mrs Gifty Anterkyi, said since the trust was established 40 years ago efforts to incorporate the informal sector into the scheme had been unsuccessful.
He said, however, that after successful pilot projects the fund was established.
He said the fund had the potential to facilitate the development efforts of the Government, and urged the operators in the sector to patronise the fund in order to provide them with livelihood in their old age.
The Managing Director of the Informal Sector Fund, Dr Francis Sapara-Grant, said the fund at present was operating in 15 branches and contact offices in six regions of the country ,and that it was meant for self-employed workers like traders, drivers, hairdressers, seamstresses, farmers, among others.
He said the fund was flexible, voluntary, attractive, easy to withdraw, and could be used as collateral to secure credit from financial institutions.
He said the fund also provided such benefits as old age retirement pension, disability benefits and survivor’s benefits.
The Volta Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Amenowode, said the first contact office was established at Hohoe because of the various prospects it held for the informal sector.
“ The municipality has a large population of small-scale businesses that cut across various sectors of the national economy, namely agriculture, commerce, transport, mining, industry and services.
Furthermore the municipality is home to other formal sector institutions, including banks and insurance companies, which are necessary for facilitating business transactions, ” he added.
The Paramount Chief of the Gbi Traditional Area, Togbega Gabusu VI, welcomed the new scheme and gave a promise that Hohoe, the vibrant commercial centre in the region, would patronise it.
AWARDS CEREMONY FOR OLA SHS STAFF (PAGE 11, SEPT 28)
THE best teaching and non-teaching personnel awards ceremony for the Volta Region over the past three years was held at the OLA Senior High School at Ho at the weekend.
In all, 53 teachers, including 27 females selected from both first and second cycle institutions and seven non-teaching staff, were rewarded with prizes for their meritorious achievements from 2006 to 2008.
The first award winners in each of the five categories, comprising the primary, junior and senior high schools, colleges of education and vocational/technical institutes took home a refrigerator, whilst the second and third award winners received a television set and gas cooker each respectively.
The ceremony was part of a programme to present 30 laptops and their accessories to each of the three basic schools in the region.
The schools are the Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Primary School at Dambai in the Krachi East District, Hohoe Roman Catholic Basic Schools and Woe Local Authority Basic Schools in the Keta Municipality.
In a keynote address, the Volta Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Amenowode, underscored the importance of education in this competitive global world, and said it was only a nation of educated, skilled, well informed and morally sound people that could build a just and prosperous nation.
He said it was in view of this that the government was rolling out a number of teacher-support schemes and incentive packages, including the deprived area allowance, the provision and expansion of teaching and learning facilities, in-service training and skills upgrading programmes, among others, he stated.
He gave the assurance that the government would create the enabling environment for teachers to upgrade themselves through the acquisition of knowledge and skills required for their effective performance, adding that self development should be their priority.
“Such opportunities and facilities as study leave with pay in the tertiary institutions, distance education programmes as well as scholarships for overseas studies are therefore open to our teachers to take advantage of”, he said.
Mr Amenowode, however, expressed concern that in spite of heavy investment in training teachers , performance at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West Africa Senior Schools Certificate Examination (WASSCE) have not been encouraging.
The minister commended the award winners for their dedication and commitment and also for impacting positively the lives of many who had gone through their tutelage.
Earlier in a welcoming address, the Volta Regional Director of Education, Mr Gabriel Kploanyi, appealed to communities to show interest by contributing positively to issues affecting teaching and learning in their schools.
In all, 53 teachers, including 27 females selected from both first and second cycle institutions and seven non-teaching staff, were rewarded with prizes for their meritorious achievements from 2006 to 2008.
The first award winners in each of the five categories, comprising the primary, junior and senior high schools, colleges of education and vocational/technical institutes took home a refrigerator, whilst the second and third award winners received a television set and gas cooker each respectively.
The ceremony was part of a programme to present 30 laptops and their accessories to each of the three basic schools in the region.
The schools are the Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Primary School at Dambai in the Krachi East District, Hohoe Roman Catholic Basic Schools and Woe Local Authority Basic Schools in the Keta Municipality.
In a keynote address, the Volta Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Amenowode, underscored the importance of education in this competitive global world, and said it was only a nation of educated, skilled, well informed and morally sound people that could build a just and prosperous nation.
He said it was in view of this that the government was rolling out a number of teacher-support schemes and incentive packages, including the deprived area allowance, the provision and expansion of teaching and learning facilities, in-service training and skills upgrading programmes, among others, he stated.
He gave the assurance that the government would create the enabling environment for teachers to upgrade themselves through the acquisition of knowledge and skills required for their effective performance, adding that self development should be their priority.
“Such opportunities and facilities as study leave with pay in the tertiary institutions, distance education programmes as well as scholarships for overseas studies are therefore open to our teachers to take advantage of”, he said.
Mr Amenowode, however, expressed concern that in spite of heavy investment in training teachers , performance at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West Africa Senior Schools Certificate Examination (WASSCE) have not been encouraging.
The minister commended the award winners for their dedication and commitment and also for impacting positively the lives of many who had gone through their tutelage.
Earlier in a welcoming address, the Volta Regional Director of Education, Mr Gabriel Kploanyi, appealed to communities to show interest by contributing positively to issues affecting teaching and learning in their schools.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
HEALTH OFFICIALS DISCUSS CAUSES OF MATERNAL DEATHS (SEPT 19, PAGE 11)
Dr Eric Yao Amakpa of the Volta Regional Hospital in Ho has identified a number of problems hindering safe motherhood practices in the country.
He said apart from the deplorable conditions in some health institutions, accessibility to such facilities tended to compound the conditions of some expectant mothers, adding that some pregnant women also resort to attending prayer camps for ‘safe deliveries’ instead of visiting antenatal clinics.
Delivering a lecture on the topic, "Maternal Health Situation in the Volta Region" in Ho last Monday, Dr Amakpa said expectant women were ignorant of dangerous signs that required immediate medical attention and they tended to delay before visiting health facilities.
He said emergency services at some health facilities were also lacking, due to inadequate health personnel and equipment at the hospitals.
The one-week workshop, which attracted 20 participants including medical officers and midwives, was sponsored by the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV).
Dr Amakpa mentioned that in all parts of the country, severe bleeding, making up 25 per cent, had been identified as a major cause of maternal mortality, followed by infection (sepsis) 15 per cent, with unsafe abortions constituting 12 per cent.
The rest are, eclapsia, eight per cent; obstructed labour, eight per cen; and other causes accounting for 20 per cent.
He said in the Volta Region, eclapsia topped the list with others like sepsis, cardiac arrest and other unknown causes accounting for other cases of maternal mortality.
He said apart from the deplorable conditions in some health institutions, accessibility to such facilities tended to compound the conditions of some expectant mothers, adding that some pregnant women also resort to attending prayer camps for ‘safe deliveries’ instead of visiting antenatal clinics.
Delivering a lecture on the topic, "Maternal Health Situation in the Volta Region" in Ho last Monday, Dr Amakpa said expectant women were ignorant of dangerous signs that required immediate medical attention and they tended to delay before visiting health facilities.
He said emergency services at some health facilities were also lacking, due to inadequate health personnel and equipment at the hospitals.
The one-week workshop, which attracted 20 participants including medical officers and midwives, was sponsored by the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV).
Dr Amakpa mentioned that in all parts of the country, severe bleeding, making up 25 per cent, had been identified as a major cause of maternal mortality, followed by infection (sepsis) 15 per cent, with unsafe abortions constituting 12 per cent.
The rest are, eclapsia, eight per cent; obstructed labour, eight per cen; and other causes accounting for 20 per cent.
He said in the Volta Region, eclapsia topped the list with others like sepsis, cardiac arrest and other unknown causes accounting for other cases of maternal mortality.
BLACKSMITH ARRESTED FOR ILLEGALLY POSSESSING PISTOLS (SEPT 19, PAGE 23)
THE Ho police have arrested a 24-year-old blacksmith, Eric Adjei, for possessing four pistols and ammunition with which he was travelling to Accra.
When the vehicle stopped at the Have police barrier at about 11 a.m., the police personnel on duty who had had a tip-off about Adjei’s illegal business, searched him and found two Italian and two locally made pistols, as well as four rounds of ammunition in the smock and jeans he was wearing.
According to Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) David Nenyi Ampah Bennin, the Volta Regional Police Commander, Adjei claimed that he was sending the pistols to one Cosmos Owusu Mawuse, 37, a dealer in small arms at Adenta in Accra who gave the weapons to him for repairs.
He said Adjei, therefore, led the police to Adenta but Mawuse could not be seen.
ACP Ampah Bennin said when Adjei called Mawuse on his cellphone, he denied any knowledge of the weapons and ammunition.
He said when the police invited Mawuse to the Ho Police Station, he agreed to do so the following day.
ACP Ampah Bennin said when Mawuse was interrogated the next day, it came to light that he had a case to answer, since he was a dealer in arms at a shop known as “Cosmos Small Arms Repairs Shop”.
The two have been remanded in police custody pending further investigations into the matter.
The regional commander seized the opportunity to send a strong warning to the illegal arms dealers that the police would not sit aloof for the region to be used as a conduit for arms trafficking, especially to troubled spots.
He cautioned that anybody caught illegally possessing or manufacturing weapons would be dealt with according to the laws of the land.
When the vehicle stopped at the Have police barrier at about 11 a.m., the police personnel on duty who had had a tip-off about Adjei’s illegal business, searched him and found two Italian and two locally made pistols, as well as four rounds of ammunition in the smock and jeans he was wearing.
According to Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) David Nenyi Ampah Bennin, the Volta Regional Police Commander, Adjei claimed that he was sending the pistols to one Cosmos Owusu Mawuse, 37, a dealer in small arms at Adenta in Accra who gave the weapons to him for repairs.
He said Adjei, therefore, led the police to Adenta but Mawuse could not be seen.
ACP Ampah Bennin said when Adjei called Mawuse on his cellphone, he denied any knowledge of the weapons and ammunition.
He said when the police invited Mawuse to the Ho Police Station, he agreed to do so the following day.
ACP Ampah Bennin said when Mawuse was interrogated the next day, it came to light that he had a case to answer, since he was a dealer in arms at a shop known as “Cosmos Small Arms Repairs Shop”.
The two have been remanded in police custody pending further investigations into the matter.
The regional commander seized the opportunity to send a strong warning to the illegal arms dealers that the police would not sit aloof for the region to be used as a conduit for arms trafficking, especially to troubled spots.
He cautioned that anybody caught illegally possessing or manufacturing weapons would be dealt with according to the laws of the land.
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