Tuesday, August 25, 2009

CHANGE ATTITUDE TOWARDS NATION BUILDING — AMENU (PAGE 21)

THE Moderator of the Evangelical Presbyterian (EP) Church, Ghana, Right Reverend Francis Amenu, has challenged Ghanaians to change their attitudes as their contribution towards the transformation of the nation.
Addressing the first general assembly of the EP Church in Ho, Rt Revd Amenu said "this newness should be seen in the prompt discharge of our civic responsibilities in the expected payment of our taxes, utilities bills and in our human resource development”.
The four-day conference is on the theme: “Newness in Christ”.
Rt Revd Amenu stated that Ghana as a nation could not afford to continue to depend on the services of hired expatriates in the provision of infrastructure after 52 years of independence.
He, therefore, tasked stakeholders in the educational sector to develop human-centred programmes in the curricula of the various educational institutions to match the global trends.
Rt Revd Amenu called for the re-invigoration of defunct but viable business ventures to end the embarrassing trend of importing basic implements which could be manufactured locally.
He called on the traditional authorities to modernise such outmoded practices as callous widowhood rites, witches’ colonies, child marriages, trial by ordeal and female genital mutilation that negatively affected the human rights of the people.
The Volta Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Amenowode, called on the church to join forces with the state to solve the growing demands of the people.
He also, commended the church’s immense contributions towards nation building, especially in the areas of education, health, agriculture and human resource development.
The regional minister, however, called on the church to venture into other areas as teaching and reshaping the youth to refrain from negative social and economic vices such as prostitution, anal sex, teenage pregnancy, high school drop out, drug abuse, occultism, armed robbery and the get-rich quick attitude.
He reminded Ghanaians that the President’s promise of building a better Ghana implied that everybody would be empowered to make meaningful contributions towards the development of the country.

Friday, August 21, 2009

HOHOE GES TAKES STEPS TO IMPROVE TEACHING (PAGE 11)

THE Hohoe Municipal Directorate of the Ghana Education Service (GES) in the Volta Region is taking steps to improve on teaching and learning in its educational institutions.
The directorate has, accordingly, distributed 80 motorbikes to some of its teachers, including 15 circuit supervisors. One hundred more motorbikes are expected soon.
The motorbikes are expected to improve the work of the teachers and the supervisors in the circuits.
Ms Juliet Beauty Dede Kumah, the Hohoe Municipal Director of the GES, said this at the first ordinary sitting of the Hohoe Municipal Assembly at Hohoe.
The municipality placed 12th in the region in the Basic Education Examination Certificate (BECE) in 2004, but moved to the ninth position during the 2008 BECE.
Ms Kumah noted with gratification that almost all the schools in the municipality had achieved the one-to-one textbook ratio.
In sports, she said the municipality placed third at the 43rd edition of the Volta Regional Sports festival last year and in the regional cultural festival. The municipality placed first in choral music, sight reading and exhibition and fifth in poetry and drum language.
The municipal assembly has also suggested the establishment of an endowment fund to support the GES in addressing educational issues, while the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) voted GH¢882,010.00 for the construction of three education-based projects in the municipality.
These include a dormitory with a bungalow attached to the Mentally Challenged Home at Gbi Kledzo, a six-unit classroom block, office, store, staff common room and a six-seater water closet at Gbi Kpeme and a one-storey classroom block with auxiliary facilities at the Midwifery Training School in Hohoe.
Under the Community Based Rural Development Programme (CBRDP), the municipality has also benefited from a GH¢107,571.00 grant for a three-unit classroom block and a store at Fodome Amele and a six-unit classroom block with office, store and library at Nyagbo-Odumasi.

IMBALANCE IN GETFUND DISBURSEMENT...Chairman raises concern (PAGE 11)

THE Chairman of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), Dr Kwabena Adjei, has expressed concern over the imbalance in the disbursement of the fund since its inception.
He is also worried that most of these projects were executed by unqualified contractors.
Dr Adjei who disclosed this at the first congregation of the Jasikan College of Education in the Volta Region, held for the 2007/2008 graduates, who were awarded diplomas by the University of Cape Coast noted that certain regions benefited more than others.
He noted that 96 projects were allocated to the University of Ghana, Legon, alone and most of these projects were shoddily executed, forcing the fund to spend more money in rehabilitating them.
The college has petitioned the GETFund to provide it with an assembly hall; it has thus been given an assurance that the request and others will be provided when the GETFund is able to put things right.
He assured the students that the government would do everything in its power to enhance teaching and learning in the college,
Dr Adjei advised them to stay with their books, since any misconduct on their part would mean their investment had been in vain.
The Member of Parliament for the area, who is also the Deputy Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources, Mr Henry Ford Kamel, expressed satisfaction that the chairman of the GETFund was around to give first-hand knowledge of what happened there.

JASIKAN COLLEGE OF EDUCATION HOLDS FIRST CONGREGATION (PAGE 11)

THE Principal of the Jasikan College of Education in the Volta Region, Mr G. P. K. Wotordzor, has appealed to Parliament to speed up the legislative process for making the various colleges of education in the country tertiary institutions.
"We have done a lot on our own to push forward the dream of ‘tertiarisation’. We are, therefore, waiting for the legislature or Parliament to pass the bill that will make the colleges of education, tertiary institutions,” he said.
Mr Wotordzor made the appeal on behalf of the 38 training colleges, now colleges of education, at the first congregation of the Jasikan College of Education at Jasikan over the weekend.
In all, diplomas were awarded to 383 newly trained teachers by the University of Cape Coast, after completing their courses of study in 2007 and 2008. One person, Mr Nelson Kotoka, had Second Class Upper, while 33 had Second Class Lower, with 188 in the Third Class and 161 scoring Passes.
He said the passage of the bill would enhance effective teaching and learning in the colleges.
Mr Wotordzor appealed to the government to allow the colleges of education to admit more students to enable them to produce more teachers to fill the existing empty classrooms.
This is because there are currently a lot of schools across the country without qualified teachers, a situation which was hindering that the development of the human resource of the country.
"Therefore, I wish to appeal that the government considers a review of the quota of 900 for the colleges," he noted.
These, the principal noted, called for the expansion of facilities of the colleges to meet the present educational challenges facing the country.
The Deputy Minister of Education, Mrs Elizabeth Amoah Tetteh, said the government was equipping teacher-trainees with the knowledge to impart the necessary knowledge to their pupils in the basic schools.
This is to ensure that the pupils acquired the needed skills for the advancement of the country in this world of technology, stressing that this was in line with the objectives of the National Democratic Congress in taking the education of Information Communication Technology ( ICT) to the greatest heights.
She congratulated the graduates and told them that they were indispensable professionals in the development of the country.
"The country needs a new teacher who will be able to make use of appropriate technology in teaching,” she added.
The Volta Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Amenowode, stressed the need to clarify the tertiary status of colleges, and said all the seven colleges in the Volta Region had received their accreditation certificates for 2007, thus placing them on probation for three years.
He pledged the government‘s commitment towards ensuring that they received their tertiary status as soon as possible.
The Member of Parliament for Buem Constituency, Mr Henry Ford Kamel, who is also the Deputy Minister of Lands and Mineral Resources, donated two sets of jerseys and two footballs to the college.

SPECTATOR DRAWS DAGGER...In Division Two game at Hohoe (GRAPHIC SPORTS, PAGE 11)

The third week fixture of the Volta Regional Division Two football league between Hohoe Holy Stars F/C and Kadjebi Great Akans at Hohoe ended abruptly in the second half when one of the spectators rushed onto the field weilding a dagger.
He was, however immediately overpowered and this led to a free for all fight and the eventual end of the match. Holy Stars were then leading by two goals to nil. It was the second goal scored around the 70th minute by the Holy Stars which brought the problem.
According to an eye witness who spoke on conditions of anonymity, the man holding the knife was rushing towards supporters of Great Akans including the Member of Parliament (MP) for Akan Constituency, Mr Joseph Kwadjo Ofori, alias Wofa Paye, a patron of the club.
In fact, the match was played under protest by the Great Akans due to the host team’s inability to provide security and for changing the venue of the match.
According to the fixtures released by the Volta Regional Football Association (VRFA), the match was supposed to have been played on the St. Francis College of Education ground. This was however changed to the Evangelical Presbyterian Junior High School Park without the consent of the visiting team.
They, therefore, registered their protest in a letter to the Chairman of the VRFA in which they stated that apart from the 11th hour change of venue against FA regulations, the lack of security, and thenfact that the referee was from Hohoe.
Due to the afore-mentioned reasons, “we appeal to the FA to declare us winners in the said match and thereby award us the three points with three goals”.
They appealed to the FA to ensure that adequate security was provided them in the fourth week match against Volta Youth at Hohoe at the same venue, which is noted for rowdyism.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

FARMERS LAUD INITIATIVE TO SUBSIDISE FERTILISER (PAGE 23)

FARMERS in the Hohoe Municipality in the Volta Region have lauded government’s initiative of subsidising fertilisers.
That policy, they said, would boost food production in the country.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic at Hohoe when collecting fertilisers from the Green Shield Agro Chemical Company, the farmers led by Mr George Agbemavor of Gbi-Kpoeta, said government’s decision to absorb half of the cost was a big relief to them to increase their production this season.
Under the subsidy arrangement, the extension division of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) gives coupons to farmers in order to get access to fertilisers from selected input dealers at half the cost.
Mr Agbemavor said farmers who were engaged in rice and maize production, expressed the hope that their produce would be purchased by the Ghana School Feeding Programme to reduce the country’s over dependence on imported rice in order to conserve foreign exchange.
The Hohoe Municipal Director of MOFA, Mr Geoffrey Honu commended the Green Shield Agro Chemical Company for keeping faith with the farmers in the area through regular supply of fertilisers.
He said last year, 19,000 farmers benefited from the subsidy programme, adding that this year, 12,000 farmers had submitted their coupons for the inputs.
Mr Honu was optimistic that large-scale farmers would also be roped into the subsidy programme.
The Manager of the Green Shield Agro Chemical Company, Efo Kumah Ameyibor, said his outfit would always get the inputs ready at the right time to encourage farmers to maximise yield.

Friday, August 14, 2009

AKUAFO HALL ALUMNI MARK DAY (MIRROR, PAGE 34)

From Emmanuel Modey

The Akuafo Hall Alumni Association of the University of Ghana, Legon last Wednesday held a get-together in commemoration of the 2009 Republic Day Celebration.
Attendance at the get-together was remarkably better than the previous year.
Welcoming members, the Hall Master, Reverend Dr W.S.K. Gbewonyo, acknowledged their contributions to making the hall one of the greatest on campus.
He said positive response would be given to the association’s request for 50 more rooms as part of effort to further uplift the image of the hall.
The President of the association, Dr Frederick Acheampong, briefed members on efforts being made to upgrade the hall. Towards this end, he asked for the commitment of members towards the affairs of the association.
He announced the illness of Mr G. Owusu, the treasurer, and called for the appointment of a new one in his place. Mr George B. Kwapong was duly elected. Members contributed various amounts towards the medical bills of Mr Owusu.
In his annual report, Alhaji E.A. Mahama, the General Secretary, expressed worry at the poor attendance at meetings, as well as member’s lukewarm response to the payment of dues. These, he said, did not augur well for the improvement of the hall and the association.
He noted that the association, during the year, successfully hosted the Vice Chancellor-Friends Dinner to the tune of GH¢2,865.50 whilst members who attended the dinner pledged GH¢7,000.00
Monthly dues, he said, had been revised from GH¢2.00 to GH¢5.00 and this was to take immediate effect.
In an open forum, Dr Kofi Ahmed recommended that the association must have its own website for easy access by members.
An 81-year–old retired educationist, Mr Harry Kosi Owusu, called on members to show more interest in hall affairs by buying hall souvenirs, including clothing.
The Senior Hall Tutor, Mr George Akaling–Pare, expressed the desire of the Junior Common Room (JCR) Executive to have yearly interaction with the alumni, preferably in September of each year.

COURT RULES AGAINST OBJECTION (MIRROR, PAGE 40)

From Emmanuel Modey Ho

A Ho High Court, presided over by Justice Kofi Essel Mensah, has ruled against the preliminary objection in a case that seeks to challenge the parliamentary elections result at the Nkwanta-North Constituency in the Volta Region on December 7, 2008.
Counsel for the Electoral Commission (EC), Mr A. K. Dabi, is contending that the applicant, Dr Joseph Manboah Rockson, who was the parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), failed to comply with the mandatory provision of section18(1) of the PNDC Law 248.
The petition filed by Dr Rockson alleges corruption against the Member of Parliament for the area, Mr Joseph Nayan whom he alleged, gave money to voters in seven polling stations as inducement to vote for him in the December 2008 parliamentary election .
Mr Dabi contended that the petition was premature as it was against PNDC Law 248. According to him, the petition of Dr Rockson was filed on December 24, 2008 before the result of the parliamentary election was gazette on January 5, 2009.
He insisted that the court has no jurisdiction over the petition and so the case should be dismissed.
In his ruling, Justice Essel Mensah said that it was the result of the election in the Nkwanta North Constituency that was being challenged so the court has jurisdiction to hear it.
The judge said immediately after the result of the polling stations was released, the returning officer in the presence of the candidates and their representatives publicly declared Mr Nayan as the candidate who had won the election in compliance with the law. Therefore, the court has jurisdiction to hear it.
The MP was not in court so the court decided to serve a hearing notice to him and his counsel through the Clerk of Parliament. The case has been adjourned to September 14,2009.

Monday, August 10, 2009

FORMER ASSEMBLY MEMBER TO BE PROSECUTED (PAGE 17)

A FORMER government appointee of the Hohoe Municipal Assembly in the Volta Region, Mr Dennis Jordor, has been referred to the law enforcement agencies for investigation and possible prosecution for allegedly misappropriating monies due the assembly.
He was alleged to have collected various sums of money from members of the public under the pretext of allocating them store rooms at the assembly’s lorry park complex.
At its first ordinary meeting this year the municipal assembly took a serious view of the issue and directed that Mr Jordor should be made to refund every pesewa he collected from the victims before any other action is taken on the issue.
With funding from the European Union, the assembly has constructed a one-storey 40-room store complex to rent to the public as a means of generating revenue. The stores on the first floor, which are the subject of the alleged misappropriation, are to be re-allocated by the assembly.
The assembly is also taking steps to retrieve 28 motorbikes shared out to friends and foot soldiers of the former Municipal Chief Executive, Mr John Peter Amewu.
The motorbikes were among others bought with the assembly’s share of the District Assembly’s Common Fund for the assembly members and the core staff of the departments under the assembly for effective work.
To ensure continuity and avoidance of wastage of public funds, the assembly has agreed to service a debt of GH¢256,859.79 owed to contractors, suppliers, zonal council staff as well as counterpart funds.
According to the assembly, the measure was aimed at preventing court action to be taken against the contractors and suppliers by some of their debtors.
To ensure ready accommodation for workers posted to the municipality as a result of the decentralisation process, the assembly decided to provide funds to purchase low-cost houses on sale for their occupants, most of whom have retired from active service.
The assembly has also adopted imposition of rates for the current financial year.

Friday, August 7, 2009

TARRING OF VR ROADS TO BEGIN IN SEPTEMBER (PAGE 21)

CONSTRUCTION work on the Eastern corridor road which passes through Asikuma to Damanko in the Volta Region will begin in September, this year.
The project is in fulfilment of an election promise made by the National Democratic Congress government (NDC).
The Volta Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Amenowode said this when he addressed the first ordinary meeting of the Hohoe Municipal Assembly at Hohoe last Wednesday.
He gave the assurance that all pre-election promises the government made to the people in the region would be fulfilled.
Mr Amenowode mentioned some of the promises as the tarring of the Tafi Mador-Kpando Kudgra, Legba Atome-Vakpo Fu and Ve Deme-Leklebi Dafor roads, adding that the “Alavanyo-Nkonya road which is a unification road, would also be tarred”.
He gave the assurance that the Hohoe town roads including the one leading to the Hohoe Evangelical Presbyterian Senior High School as well as those going to the food growing areas, such as Ayoma, Baika and Likpe would all receive attention.
Mr Amenowode said the road projects were part of the vision of making the Volta Region the best place to visit since it was the only unique region that had all the ethnic groups as well as the forefront of the country's community-based eco-tourism destinations.
“People in authority should be highly accountable for every pesewa entrusted to them to facilitate the development process of the region,” he said.
The regional minister commended the Hohoe Municipal Assembly for being among the six districts out of the 18 in the region to reach the assessment criteria to assess the District Assemblies Development Fund.
"For this laudable achievements, you are to benefit from a grant of $400,000,” he said.
Mr Amenowode charged the people in the municipality to make education their priority, stressing that the authorities find ways of discouraging schoolchildren from patronising video shows during school hours.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

ACCOUNTANT DONATES TO ORPHANAGE (PAGE 20)

A Senior accountant of the Hohoe Municipal Hospital, Mr Valentine Fiah-Tse, has presented assorted items worth GH¢350 to the School of Hope Orphanage at Gbi Kledzo, near Hohoe in the Volta Region.
The items included two bags of rice, 10 bags of purified water, cooking oil, fruits, detergents and exercise books.
The donation is the third by Mr Fiah-Tse to assist the poor and needy in society.
Receiving the items, Madam Elizabeth Kusi Mensah, the school mother, commended Mr Fiah-Tse for also registering the children under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

2 SENTENCED TO DEATH (PAGE 3)

THE Ho High Court, presided over by Mr Justice Kofi Essel Mensah, has sentenced two persons to death by hanging in two separate trials.
The convicts, Klu Amewuga, alias Alometal, 32, a farmer, and Ofoi Soti, alias Abednego, 42, were both charged with murder, to which they pleaded not guilty.
But a seven-member jury overturned their pleas and returned a unanimous verdict of guilty for their heinous crimes.
In the first trial, Amewuga was said to have stabbed to death one George Duida at Live, near Akatsi in the Volta Region, on January 22, 2005 and disappeared.
According to the facts, Amewuga broke into a poultry farm and stole 10 fowls around 8.30 a.m. on the said date but luck eluded him when the owner spotted him.
The owner shouted for help and a group of people who were around gave Amewuga a hot chase.
Amewuga, who was being chased by Duida, turned and stabbed Duida three times in the chest with a knife.
The pursuers got scared and dispersed after Amewuga had dared them to come forward.
Duida was carried to the St Paul Clinic at Akatsi for treatment, where he died the following day.
On March 10, 2005, Amewuga was spotted by an eyewitness of the stabbing incident in an Aflao-bound vehicle .
When Amewuga realised that he had been identified, he made frantic efforts to escape again but this time he was overpowered, arrested and handed over to the police at Aflao.
In the second trial, Soti was charged with murdering one Thomas Yao Adamu at Kpando Torgome about 7.30 p.m. on December 26, 2005.
According to the prosecution, Soti and his wife of 14 years, Madam Julie Amagbley, had a misunderstanding, which compelled the wife to leave the house at Kpando.
She was alleged to have entered into an amorous relationship with Adamu at Torgome.
Soti, who could not bear the behaviour of the wife, began monitoring her movement.
He traced them to the house of a friend of the deceased’s, one Yao Kudedze, where a scuffle ensued.
During the fight, Soti stabbed Adamu to death and handed himself over to the police later.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

WELDER TO DIE FOR MURDER (PAGE 38)

Kumah Nudzifor, a 41-year-old welder based in Ho in the Volta Region, has been sentenced to death by hanging . He was found guilty of murder by a seven–member jury at the Ho High Court presided over by Justice Kofi Essel Mensah.
He committed the crime on May 16, 2002. The convict who pleaded not guilty was alleged to have stabbed his brother, Samuel Dorgbefu, 23, with a knife to death on the spot at their residence at Dome, a suburb of Ho.
According to the facts of the case, both Nudzifor and Dorgbefu were siblings of the same father living in their respective houses on the same plot of land owned by their late father, Senyo Dorgbefu at Ho- Dome, which was entrusted in the care of Nudzifor’s mother.
The two, who had been staying on the land since 2001, were always quarrelling over the ownership of the plot of land leading to the point where Nudzifor charged Dorgbefu on May 15, 2002 of planting juju on the land.
Nudzifor then went and brought in a fetish priest the following day to dig out the juju. When Dorgbefu was hinted, he did not take kindly to this so he went to demand their exit from the house.
When they refused, Dorgbefu overturned the table on which the items for the rituals were placed. This infuriated Nudzifor, who picked the knife being used for the rituals and stabbed Dorgbefu in the chest and he fell dead on the spot.