Tuesday, April 27, 2010

ASUBONTEN RURAL BANK MAKES MORE PROFIT (PAGE 19, APRIL 27, 2010)

The Asubonten Rural Bank Limited at Worawora in the Jasikan District of the Volta Region has been commended for the massive profit it made last year.
The bank’s profit after tax rose to GH¢107,576.00 from GH¢98,572.00 in 2008. Its total assets also increased from GH¢1,631,625.00 in 2008 to GH¢2,070,213.00 in 2009.
The Managing Director of ARB Apex Bank Ltd, Mr Eric Osei-Bonsu, gave the commendation at the bank’s ninth annual general meeting held at Worawora over the weekend.
Mr Osei-Bonsu said the overall performance of the Asubonten Rural Bank was fantastic despite the economic challenges the country faced and the difficulties which confronted the bank especially in loan recovery.
“Despite the challenging economic circumstances of our country and the difficulties which confront you especially in loan recovery, your general performance calls for celebration. The overall performance of Asubonten in the year 2009 was fantastic,” he said.
He also lauded the bank’s initiative in increasing its shareholder funds as a remarkable feat. The bank’s shareholder funds rose from GH¢246,867.00 to GH¢284,240.00 in 2009.
Mr Osei-Bonsu commended the board, management and staff of the bank for a job well done.
The Managing Director expressed satisfaction that the bank had continued to live up to its classification as the best rural bank in the country since 2008.
Mr Osei-Bonsu suggested ways rural banks in the country could surmount their capital constraints and urged them to consider mergers with sister banks.
He said some development partners had come to their aid to provide funds for such mergers and as of now, two applications for mergers had been received from the Western and Central regions.
On electronic banking, Mr Osei-Bonsu said significant support had been accessed through the Millennium Development Account (MCA) towards the computerisation and networking of the entire rural banking system into a uni-system to enhance customer satisfaction.
The Chairman of the Asubonten Rural Bank’s board, Abusuapanin Wilson Seth Antwi, announced that due to the bank’s stated profit after tax, a dividend of GH¢0.13 per share would be paid to shareholders. This calculated to GH¢50,000.00, representing 46 per cent of the bank’s profit for 2009.
He said due to the high loan defaulter rate, the bank reduced its advances by four per cent, that is from GH¢578,368.00 in 2008 to GH¢533,744.00 in 2009.
He said only 10 out of 618 benefited from loans for agricultural purposes.
Mr Joshua Odoom, the Supervising Manager of Asubonten Rural Bank, appealed to those who benefited from loans to pay back promptly to enable others to also benefit. He called on the general public to purchase the bank’s shares to increase its shareholding especially at a time when the bank had started paying dividends to its shareholders.

Monday, April 26, 2010

ADUANA HOLD LIONS (BACK PAGE, APRIL 26, 2010)

Class One Referee Patrick Agego-Azizah of Tema marred the beauty of the titanic clash between Kpando Heart of Lions and Aduana Stars with some doubtful decisions in the 1-1 draw game at the Kpando Stadium yesterday.
Referee Agedo-Azizah’s below-par performance incensed many irate home fans, who besieged the referees’ dressing room seeking their pound of flesh for perceived injustice against Lions. With claims that the referee conspired to deny the home team victory, the fans held the match officials hostage for several minutes after the game amidst heavy security.
Right from kick-off, referee Agego-Aziza took some dubious decisions ,which further heightened the alleged conspiracy and raised tension among fans.
Aduana shot into the lead on the eighth minute through Francis Aduhene from a close range header in the fast-paced game. He jumped above his markers to meet a swinging cross from Francis Larbi at the far right and headed home past Lions goalkeeper Stephen Ahorlu.
Lions equalised just a minute into the second half when Mohammed Tanko connected home with a low drive after latching on to a free kick taken by John Kuffour just outside the penalty box.
Lions looked revived by the equaliser but bizarre refereeing thwarted their efforts and further incensed the home supporters who directed their anger against the match officials. However, the intervention of 32 policemen and some officials of Lions provided protection for the match officials as they made their way from the field into the dressing room after the match.

Friday, April 23, 2010

KPANDO FACELIFT PROGRESSES (PAGE 19, APRIL 23, 2010)

The Kpando District Assembly is undertaking a number of projects to give the district capital a facelift.
The projects, which are estimated at GH¢600,000, are progressing steadily.
They include the rehabilitation of the central lorry park, taxi rank, abattoir and meat shop, as well as the construction of market sheds at the Torkor market.
According to the Kpando District Chief Executive, Mr Francis Ganyaglo, a Kpando-based contractor, Blessing Construction Company Limited, is rehabilitating the lorry park. Work on the project, which started in January this year, is expected to be completed by the end of May.
Mr Theodore Damanka, the Managing Director of Blessing Construction, said about 80 per cent of the job had been completed.
He suggested that a culvert should be constructed round the park to drain off water in order to prolong the lifespan of the park.
Mr Damanka said the ban on heavy vehicles across the Adomi Bridge was adding additional cost to the project, since vehicles carrying pavement blocks from Accra to Kpando had to go all the way through Sogakofe.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

FARMER JAILED 10 YRS FOR MANSLAUGTHER (PAGE 3, APRIL 20, 2010)

THE Ho High Court, presided over by Mr Justice Kofi Essel Mensah, has sentenced a 43-year-old farmer to 10 years’ imprisonment with hard labour for manslaughter.
The convict, Foster Awume Nudziekpor, who has been on remand since 2003, pleaded guilty to the charge and was convicted on his own plea.
Two others, Richard Nudziekpor, 35, and Emmanuel Midawo Gagadosu, 46, both farmers, pleaded not guilty to the charge of manslaughter and have been granted bail in the sum of GH¢10,000 each with one surety to reappear on May 10, 2010.
According to the prosecution, Andrews Yegbe, now deceased, and the three accused persons were relatives resident at Akatsi Anyiheme in the Akatsi District.
There developed a land dispute among them, during which the accused persons and the convict suspected that the deceased had sold their family land without their consent.
On September 7, 2003, Yegbe erected some concrete pillars on the site and left for a funeral at a nearby town, Fatsagbleve.
On his return about 7 p.m., he heard that the three relatives had gone to the site to remove the pillars.
He confronted them at the site and a quarrel ensued, during which the deceased was alleged to have pulled out a locally manufactured pistol and shot Richard in the stomach.
Richard was rushed to the Volta Regional Hospital in Ho for treatment.
According to the prosecution, Yegbe was overpowered and his throat slashed in the process with a knife.
Awume admitted slashing Yegbe’s throat in self-defence, while the two others ran away during the scuffle, paving the way for his charge to be changed from murder to manslaughter.
The sentence is to take retrospective effect from 2003 when Awume was placed in custody.

WORK STARTS ON FOUR FEEDER ROADS (BACK PAGE, APRIL 20, 2010)

THE sod has been cut for the commencement of work on four feeder roads in the Kpando District and the Hohoe municipality under the transportation project of the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA).
The projects are aimed at facilitating access to markets for agricultural produce to enhance the growth of agriculture in the two areas.
They are also expected to bring improvement in the living conditions of a good number of people engaged in farming.
The kilometres of roads to be constructed is 25.64 and the roads include the Kpandu-Kudzra, Kudzra-Aveti, Tafi Mador-Jordanu and Leklebi-Ve Agorme-Ve Deme. They are expected to be completed in 20 months.
In an address read on his behalf, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Joe Gidisu, observed that poor road infrastructure inhibited the expansion of agricultural opportunities by limiting linkages to major domestic and international markets.
“That is why the emphasis on the MCA’s funding under the agricultural project is to undertake improvement in feeder roads in the intervention zones,” he explained.
Mr Gidisu appealed to those who would be affected by the project to co-operate with the consultants in charge of resettlement and the contractors who would be working on the roads, adding that appropriate traffic management plans would be put in place to mitigate the effects of any inconvenience motorists and pedestrians might endure because of the construction activities.
He also gave the assurance that the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) would appropriately compensate all project-affected persons and expressed the hope that the contractors on the project, Justmoh Construction Limited, would build them to the agreed specifications.
The Chief Executive Officer of MiDA, Mr Martin Esson-Benjamin, said the goal of the MCA Ghana Project was to support economic activities in rural farming communities and reduce the incidence of poverty in some 30 districts across the three intervention zones.
The programme, he said, put together various sectors of the economy which were directly related to agriculture to allow for a fuller exploitation of the agricultural potential of the zones.
That, he noted, would help transform agricultural practices, attract capital investments, increase household incomes and improve standards of living.
The Volta Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Amenowode, in an address read on his behalf, said the projects were a demonstration of the government’s commitment to embark on a comprehensive programme to ensure that roads in the country were made motorable all-year round to allow for easy access.

Friday, April 16, 2010

FARMER DEFILES GIRL, 7 (MIRROR, PAGE 19, APRIL 17, 2010)

From Emmanuel Modey, Hohoe
A Ho Circuit Court presided over by Mr Ernest Y. Obimpe, has sentenced a 25-year-old farmer at Butume Junction near Kpetoe to 20 years imprisonment with hard labour for defiling a seven-year-old class one pupil.
Wonder Ayivi pleaded guilty to the charge of defilement and was sentenced accordingly.
He was alleged to have forcefully slept with the victim in her mother’s room during her mother’s absence from the town.
On the mother’s return the following day, the girl complained to her and Ayivi was arrested.
According to the prosecutor, ASP A. K. Danso of the Ho Police, Ayivi, who lived with the victim in the same vicinity, asked the girl to come for some money but she refused but determined to carry out his nefarious plan, Ayivi gripped her, pushed her into her mother’s room and slept with her.
ASP Danso said the medical report on the girl confirmed the crime.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

MTN INTRACTS WITH GJA MEMBERS IN VR (PAGE 40, APRIL 15, 2010)

MTN, the leading telecommunication network service provider in the country, and journalists in the Volta Region have interacted at Ho.
The main thrust of the interaction was to launch the MTN’s newsletter dubbed: “Y’ellow! Ghana” at the regional level after its national launch in Accra.
The company was also to solicit the assistance of the journalists to enhance its activities.
The programme attracted about 30 journalists, from both the print and electronic media, operating in the region during which they discussed issues and shared ideas on how to make MTN market leaders in the telecommunication industry in the country.
Addressing the participants, Ms Georgina Asare Fiagbenu, the Senior Manager, Corporate Communications, commended the media for the support they have been giving the company.
She said over the years the media have, through various aspects of their news, informed MTN’s subscribers and the general public on the company’s affairs.
Ms Fiagbenu said the newsletter, which comes with a government regulatory relations news bulletin, would also assist in enhancing the knowledge about the company and the importance of ICT to the nation’s development.
She urged the journalists to take an interest in the publications and offer the necessary feedback to the company.
Ms Fiagbenu announced that MTN would continue to be the leading provider, controlling 55 per cent of the market, which translated to eight million subscribers at the end of last year, in spite of fierce competition.
On the company’s contribution towards the development and growth of the country, she stated that through the MTN Foundation, established two years ago, it had spent over GH¢2 million in transforming the lives of many people in the country.
Ms Fiagbenu assured football lovers that, as the official sponsors of South Africa FIFA 2010 World Cup, the company would do everything possible to ensure that Ghanaians cheered their Black Stars to victory during the fiesta.
She later donated a package to the Volta Regional branch of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) with the promise of offering further assistance to the association.
The gift was received by Mr Victor Kwawukume, the Volta Regional Chairman of the GJA on behalf of the association.
Mr Kwawukume thanked the donors and promised the support of the members to promote MTN’s activities in the region.

MASON JAILED 3 YEARS FOR THEFT (PAGE 40, APRIL 15, 2010)

THE Hohoe Circuit Court has sentenced Wisdom Klukpui, alias Cash-credit, a mason, to three years imprisonment with hard labour for stealing various items worth GH¢3,340 belonging to Rev. Ernest Adulai, the Head Pastor of the Assemblies of God Church at Hohoe.
The convict pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing and was convicted on his own plea.
Two of Klukpui’s accomplices, Evans Wemega, alias Foreigner, an auto mechanic and Nii Adjei Sowah, a liner, who pleaded not guilty to the charge, have been remanded in prison custody at Kpando.
They will reappear before the court presided over by Mr E.K. Bosompem–Apenkwa on March 23, 2010.
Another suspect, Richard Boakye, a bus conductor of the Metro Bus Service at Ho, who was charged with dishonestly receiving, has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢3,000.
Yao Tsigbe, alias Ogboo Nana, a labourer, another suspect who was charged of being in possession of implements intended for unlawful entry, died in the course of investigations.
Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Samuel Gbedemah said at midnight on December 31, 2009, while Rev. Adulai and his family were worshipping at the church at Hohoe to usher in the New Year, Tsigbe had also hosted Klukpui, Wemega and Adjei Sowah for an ‘operation’ during which the gang broke into the pastor’s residence at Torkoni, a suburb of Hohoe and stole items worth GH¢ 3,340.
The prosecutor said the items included one laptop, jewellery, a digital wrist watch, satellite decoder with DSTV card, Kasapa mobile phone, a towel, sound system, a set of home theatre and cash of GH¢200.
According to Chief Inspector Gbedemah, on January 19, 2010, the police upon a tip-off arrested Tsigbe in whose room some of the stolen items were found.Also found were an axe, pliers, two screw drivers and a chisel concealed in a black bag.
He said eight days later, the police moved to Ho, having heard that some of the stolen items were been sold there.
Chief Inspector Gbedemah said the police arrested Wemega who had been remanded into the Ho Prisons for a similar theft case.
He said Wemega was brought to Hohoe to assist in their investigations after his room had been searched and the satellite DSTV decoder belonging to Rev. Adulai was found.
Chief Inspector Gbedemah said during interrogation, Wemega mentioned Adjei Sowah as an accomplice, only for the police to realise that he had also been arrested by the Ho Police in another theft case and was in prison custody.
The prosecutor added that further police investigations led to the arrest of Boakye, who was in possession of some of the stolen items.
He said during interrogation, Boakye mentioned Klukpui and Wemega as the persons who brought the sound systems to him.
After investigations,the suspects were charged with the offences and put before court.