Wednesday, July 30, 2008

ZOOMLION TAKES ON ADDITIONAL TASKS IN TWIN-CITY (PAGE 29)

ZOOMLION Ghana Ltd, a sanitation management company, is not a household name only in the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis, but also a renowned name all over the country.
The company is in charge of the daily cleaning and beautification of major roads in the metropolis.
It is involved in the grassing and planting of ornamental trees and shrubs along the roads and major roundabouts in Sekondi and Takoradi.
The major roads and roundabouts are the Sekondi road through the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly to the Western Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC), the Kwame Nkrumah and Paa Grant Roundabouts in Takoradi and the RCC Roundabout in Sekondi.
The Western Regional Operations Supervisor of Zoomlion, Mr Felix Boankrah, told the Daily Graphic that the company had been given an additional responsibility for ensuring cleaning of the entire Sekondi Stadium.
Also, he said some private companies had sought its services for the cleaning of their offices.
Mr Boankrah said the company had set up a Pest Control Unit to fumigate refuse dumps, refuse container sites, stagnant waters and drains in the metropolis.
It was in recognition of the excellent work the company was doing that the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and President’s Special Initiative (PSI), in collaboration with the management of Zoomlion, has initiated support for some selected markets and local industries in the metropolis.
Under the package, the company will ensure total cleanliness of the areas.
These areas are the Sekondi Market, garages as well as the Takoradi Central Market and garages.
As part of the support, Zoomlion would set up sanitation corps to ensure that the selected places, including the markets, garages and light industrial areas were always clean.
The sanitation corps would also organise programmes to educate the public on the need to keep the environment clean and tidy.
Speaking at the launch of the support for local industries and markets in Takoradi, the Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and President’s Special Initiative (PSI), Papa Owusu Ankomah, said most of the ministry’s activities were geared towards international trade, while very little was heard about domestic trade.
He said the first phase of the project, which would end in 2009, would help the selected areas to be very neat.
The Project Co-ordinator of Zoomlion, Ms Freda Prempeh, said the company would collaborate effectively with the ministry towards the successful implementation of the project.
She stressed that the company had a proven record in sanitation management, since it had the requisite financial and human resource capacity and the equipment to work.
The Western Regional Chairman of the Council of Indigenous Business Association (CIBA), Mr Kwesi Ahoboh, appealed to the ministry to establish a fund to sponsor the master craftsmen to train the youth, especially those in the rural communities and also offer them loans to expand and improve their services.

2 MORE ROADS TO LINK MAMPONG (PAGE 21)

TWO roads in the Sekyere West and the newly created Sekyere Central Districts in the Ashanti Region are being constructed to serve as alternative routes to the main Kumasi–Asante Mampong road should there be any failure on some part of the highway, especially the stretch of the road passing through the Mampong scarp.
A stretch of the 50 kilometre Kumasi-Asante Mampong road passing through the Mampong scarp collapsed last year, creating a huge problem for motorists as well as people using and staying along the road.
The two roads are the 17-kilometre Nsuta- Oyoko road in the Sekyere Central District and the 13-kilometre Mampong-Boanim-Jamasi road in the Sekyere West District.
The roads, which are now under the supervision of the Ghana Highways Authority (GHA) are now in the formative stage, and would not be tarred immediately.
The main contractors undertaking the projects are Messrs Concourse (GH) Limited for the Nsuta–Oyoko road, and Joshob Construction Company Limited for the Mampong-Boanim-Jamasi road. They have 18 months to complete the projects.
During a visit to the project site, the Daily Graphic met the Road Area Manager of the GHA for Mampong, Mr Joseph Nkrumah and the Assistant Chief Government Surveyor of the GHA, Nana Nanabanyin Queesy Ninsin-Imbeah II, inspecting and directing work on the blasting of a rocky stretch of the Nsuta-Oyoko road at Asuafu, near Nsuta.
Mr Nkrumah explained that the two roads were being built to the formation stage where they would not put on bitumen, saying “this means we are not going to tar it immediately, tarring will follow later.”
He mentioned some other roads in the area currently under construction as the 8.3 kilometre Mampong-Nsuta road, including the Nsuta town roads, the 10-kilometre Kumawu-Kwamang road, the 13-kilometre Mampong-Kofiase road and the Mampong town roads.
Mr Nkrumah said about 80 per cent of work on the Mampong-Nsuta road was complete, while two kilometres of the road had been tarred from Kwamang to Kumawu.
He commended the various contractors working on the roads for their performance, especially Joshob Construction Company Limited.
He explained that Joshob Construction Company had never abandoned work as others had been doing.
The site foreman of Concourse (GH) Limited, Mr Kofi Owusu, explained that since the Nsuta-Oyoko road was narrow, the company had to do cutting and widening of the road which was delaying the work.
He said blasting of the rocky stretch of the road was almost complete.

Friday, July 11, 2008

MORE COMPANIES EXPLORE OIL IN GHANA (BACK PAGE)

ELEVEN oil companies which have petroleum agreements with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and the Ghana Government are now operating off-shore the coastline from Keta, Tano and Saltpond basins to explore oil and gas.
The companies include Kosmos Energy, Tullow, Hess, Vanco, Vitol, Gasop, Oranto, Afren and Anadako.
There are also 40 other oil companies which have expressed interest in oil and gas exploration in the country.
The Lead Geophysicist of the GNPC, Mr Richard Addo Darko, announced this when Kosmos Energy presented a cheque for GH¢20,000 to the Western Region Education Trust Fund in Sekondi.
Mr Darko said the GNPC was having discussions with the 40 companies which had expressed interest in the off-shore basins, especially the Voltaian and Tano basins.
He said some companies had also expressed interest in on-shore activities where there would be direct contact with the people.
Mr Darko pointed out that the oil find had triggered off a lot of interest that was why many oil companies were coming in and, therefore, called for co-operation between the traditional authorities and the oil companies.
The Country Manager of Kosmos Energy Ghana, Mr George Owusu, urged the people to think about the benefits they were going to derive from the oil find.
He said the oil companies which were going to be established would generate more employment for the people in the Western Region, adding, “We have to train ourselves to retain the work in the region.”
“Now is the time to educate our children especially in the polytechnics to enable them to benefit from the oil find,” he stressed.
The Western Regional Minister, Mr A. E. Amoah, was happy that the donation was going to support the funding of students in the region.
He noted that if the Regional Education Trust Fund were to be made an umbrella fund it would complement other educational trust funds instituted by the various traditional authorities in the region.
The Deputy Western Regional Minister, Mr Kwasi Blay, expressed his appreciation to Kosmos Energy for the kind gesture and paid glowing tribute to the former Western Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, during whose period the fund was established.
He said without that, the region would not achieve the purpose of developing its human resource base.
He appealed to other corporate entities to contribute generously to the fund.
The Paramount Chief of the Western Nzema Traditional Area, Awulae Annor Adjaye, said the traditional authorities were happy about the donation.
He, however, expressed regret that organisations, institutions and individuals who made pledges to the Kwame Nkrumah Educational Fund that was established in the Nzema area had not fulfilled their various pledges

Thursday, July 10, 2008

PILOT LAP PROJECT BEGINS IN WASSA AMENFI (PAGE 39)

A Pilot project for the customary boundary demarcation and survey of the stool lands of the Wassa Amenfi Traditional Area in the Western Region under the Land Administration Project (LAP) has begun.
The project is to ensure orderly and peaceful co-existence of neighbours.
Four survey consultants have been selected for the first phase of the project, which will take 90 days to complete.
The consulting firms, which comprise surveyors, lawyers, communication and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) specialists, are CTK Aviation Network Limited, Properties and Valuation Consult, Jeo-Tech Systems Limited and Losamills-Land for Life Consulting Firm.
A total amount of about US$80,000 will be spent on the first phase of the Wassa Amenfi Customary Boundary Demarcation Pilot Project.
Beside the four survey consultants, LAP also has its own consultants, GFA/GCI Consultants, which will monitor and supervise the project.
To ensure the success of the demarcation project, a day’s forum has been held for more than 229 traditional authorities from all the traditional areas in the Western Region and their neighbours from Twifo and Denkyira in the Central Region to exchange ideas and also express their concerns on the project.
At the opening session of the forum, the Director of LAP, Dr W. Odame Larbi, said the demarcation was being implemented in partnership with the government and the Survey Department.
He said if the ADR specialists were not able to resolve the misunderstanding and the two disputing parties resorted to the courts, the area under dispute would be left out of the project.
Responding to a question to the effect that the data, which would be collated would be put on the Internet to facilitate the sale of the lands to foreigners, Dr Larbi emphasised that the government had no ulterior motive on the project.
He stressed that all the data that would be collated would go to the Customary Land Secretariat, adding, “It is data we are generating for the traditional areas”.
The Planning Officer of LAP, Mr Kofi Abakah Blankson, said there were about 160 laws governing land administration in the country, most of which were not accessible.
He said approval had been given for the institutional reform and that a new Lands Commission Bill was before Cabinet for consideration.
The Principal Staff Surveyor of the Survey Department, Mr Kwasi Opoku, noted that most disputes, involving land were caused by indeterminate boundaries, while determined boundaries ensured peaceful co-existence of neighbours.
He said determined boundaries also ensured orderly development and were the basis for efficient and effective land registration system.
Mr Opoku mentioned some of the benefits which would be derived from the project as security of tenure, minimal external land disputes and enhanced value of land.
The Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Philip Kwesi Nkrumah, noted that disputes emanating from land demarcation were endangering development activities in many communities.
He, therefore, urged the traditional authorities to ensure the success of the customary boundary demarcation pilot project to warrant its replication in other traditional areas to help institute a unique and sound land administration in the region and the country as a whole.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

WESTERN NZEMA CUSTOMARY LAND SECRETARIAT INAUGURATED (PAGE 20)

THE Deputy Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, Mr Andrew Adjei-Yeboah, has stated that the discovery of oil in some districts in the Western Region has added a new dimension to the challenges in land administration at the local level.
He said already there was a growing demand for land in those areas following the oil find.
Mr Adjei-Yeboah said this at the inauguration of the Western Nzema Customary Land Secretariat (CLS) at Beyin in the Jomoro District in the Western Region.
He said the number of such land secretariats that had been established throughout the country since the beginning of the Land Administration Project (LAP) five years ago was 17, adding that the number was expected to rise to 30 by the end of August, this year.
“Your ability to maximise socio-economic benefits from this growing demand and protect the rights and interests of the subjects of the traditional area would largely depend on the successful operation of this CLS,” he emphasised.
Mr Adjei-Yeboah said the principle underlying the establishment of the Customary Land Secretariat was to facilitate proper documentation of land rights and transactions, as well as the maintenance of up-to-date and accurate records, which could be accessed by all interested persons at the local level.
He explained that the establishment and strengthening of Customary Land Secretariats formed part of the bigger LAP, which aimed at re-engineering land administration to create a fair, efficient and transparent system in the country.
He said the selection of pilot areas had been done very carefully to reflect the different customary practices in the management of land in the country.
“As the second CLS in the Western Region and the first in the Nzema area, you are expected to set the standard for other areas in this part of the country to replicate,” he stated.
The deputy minister said it was the expectation that the creation of the secretariat would ensure that land allocation procedures would become very simple and clear, land ownership rights for citizens, as well as other users, would be clarified and recorded while records would be kept of land transactions at the local level.
He said conflict resolution mechanism would be established to ensure a quick resolution of disputes on land between divisions, families, individuals and tenants without resorting to the courts.
Mr Adjei-Yeboah stated that boundaries between different divisions of the traditional area would be clearly demarcated and recorded.
He said it was envisaged that the achievement of those expectations would ensure peaceful environment for social and economic development, as well as progress of the Western Region and the country as a whole.
The deputy minister told the people that the intervention was not aimed at changing the customary practices or their land ownership rights.
“What we are trying to do is to strengthen your capacity to manage your own lands and improve record keeping as a way of acknowledging the very positive principles of our customs and norms, which exist but have not been formally recorded,” he added.
The Deputy Western Regional Minister, Mr Kwasi Blay, said land administration in the past was fraught with several problems, which included poor record keeping, indeterminate boundaries, multiple sale of land, protracted land litigation, and armed conflicts that often resulted in loss of lives and property.
Those problems, he said, diverted enormous resources away from development projects and slowed down national development.
Mr Blay said the government was taking pragmatic steps to put the country on track for accelerated development and that the land sector had been identified as one of the key areas for attention hence the introduction of the LAP.
“As Nananom control and administer a greater proportion of lands in the country, it is expected that they and other landowners would partner the government in our efforts to promote efficient land administration which guarantees security of tenure and easy access to land,” he said.
The Paramount Chief of the Western Nzema Traditional Area, Awulae Annor Adjaye III, said all land disputes in the area would be resolved through the alternative dispute resolution mechanism and not through the courts.

HUNI VALLEY SHS NEEDS ASSISTANCE (PAGE 20)

Come down to Macedonia and help us, “ says the Holy Bible.
This simple Bible quotation perfectly reflects the humble cry of the Huni Valley Senior High School (SHS) in the newly created Prestea-Huni Valley District in the Western Region as the school is in an environment of daunting challenges.
The school, a purely community co-educational institution founded about 33 years ago with 25 students, has grown over the years and now has a student population of 898, made up of 401 boys and 497 girls. There are 476 boarders and 422 day students.
As a community school, it serves many towns and villages in its catchment area, such as Subri, Damang, Nsu, Amuanda, Bompieso, Abosso and Kuremfi.
The existing infrastructural facilities in the institution are not able to accommodate the rapid growth of the school due to the many rural communities it serves. It lacks enough accommodation for both the teaching staff and students, means of transport, access roads and a good source of water supply.
The school has not been provided with a boys’ dormitory since its establishment in 1975. As a result, many students have to commute daily between the school and their homes in far away places like Tarkwa, Tamso, Appeasuman, Subri, and Aboso.
The situation adversely affects the academic performance of students because they get tired by commuting. In an attempt to partially mitigate the problem, the school management has converted six classrooms into sleeping places for a few of the male students. As a result of the accommodation problem, many students do not accept admission to the school.
Besides, the school has only a block of eight flats providing accommodation for teachers, which is grossly inadequate.
The block, originally meant to accommodate eight teachers, is currently accommodating 20 teachers and is in a bad state, especially its electrical wiring system.
The only means of transport is an 18-year-old 23-seater Mercedes Benz mini-bus donated by the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA).
This sad state of the Huni Valley SHS came to light when the Western Regional Minister, Mr A.E. Amoah, paid a working visit to the school at the weekend to inspect its facilities.
The headmaster of the school, Mr Thomas Kodjoe Tandoh, who conducted the regional minister round the school, said the capacity of the mini-bus was inadequate for a student population of 898, stressing that its maintenance was a big drain on the coffers of the school.
He, therefore, appealed to the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) Secretariat to provide the school with a bigger bus.
Mr Tandoh said about two years ago, the teachers flats nearly caught fire as a result of the old wiring system, but all efforts to have it rehabilitated had not yielded any positive result.
He stressed that with the coming into effect of the 2007 educational reforms, which has increased the duration of SHS from three to four years, no student would pass out of the school during the 2010/2011 academic year.
That, he explained, meant that there would be no classrooms for the fresh students who would be admitted that year.
“To avert this situation, we are appealing to stakeholders, especially the mining companies, the GETFund Secretariat, the District Assembly and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, to provide us with a 12-unit classroom block. Without this, we will not be in a position to admit fresh students during the 2010/2011 academic year,” he pointed out.
According to Mr Tandoh, since its establishment, the school had had no properly constructed access road.
“The present access road gets flooded even when it rains a little,” he said, adding, “It is a normal sight for visitors seeing the headmaster, the teachers and students holding their footwear and wading through flood waters in order to get to the school compound to carry on with their normal daily activities”.
The headmaster said Goldfields Ghana Limited (Damang Mine) had given part of the road to a contractor for rehabilitation.
He, therefore, appealed to the contractor to expedite work on the road, adding that stakeholders must also assist with the rehabilitation of the rest of road.
Mr Tandoh said there were only three functional stand pipes and a borehole serving the student, more than 30 teachers and their families.
He said water to the school is supplied by the Huni Valley Community Water Board, but it is unreliable and so appealed for assistance in that direction.
In spite of the myriad of problems, Mr Tandoh said the school was doing well academically as it scored 100 per cent passes in the 2006 West African Senior School Certificate Examination and recorded 97 per cent passes last year.
He paid glowing tribute to the PTA and Goldfields Ghana (Damang Mine) for helping to improve conditions in the school.
According to the headmaster, the PTA had donated a modern photocopier to the school, while it was currently putting up a teacher’s bungalow.
Goldfields Ghana (Damang Mine), he said, had also donated nine new computers to augment those in the school’s computer laboratory, adding that the mining company was currently putting up a modern place of convenience for the female students.
Mr Amoah said SHS education had been one of the important pillars of the government.
He said Sefwi Wiawso, Shama, Baidoe Bonso and Wassa Amenfi SHS had been provided with new infrastructural facilities under the government’s model education system.
According to the regional minister, most schools in the region were either being rehabilitated or being provided with new buildings.
Mr Amoah called on the old students of the Huni Valley SHS to assist in the provision of some of the needed facilities.
He urged the students to stand up to the many challenges by studying hard, since the only way they could pass their examination was through learning, saying, “If you waste your time, you are not going to pass your examination”.
The regional minister also urged them to look at their moral life very well, stressing, “lf you want to become people of substance, then you must be very careful”.

6 COMMUNITIES TO ENJOY ELECTRICITY (PAGE 20)

SIX rural communities in the Mpohor Wassa East District in the Western Region are to be connected to the national grid by the end of this month under the fourth phase of the Self Help Electrification Project (SHEP 4).
The communities are Akyempim, Ateiku, Kubekro, New Subri, Old Subri and Nsadweso.
The government has provided electricity cables, transformers and other accessories for the project, while Golden Star (Wassa Mine) Limited, has also spent about US$200,000 to provide the communities with low and high tension poles.
Wiring of the communities has been completed, while meters are being installed in the houses of people who have paid for them to enable electricity to be extended to the various homes.
The Western Regional Minister, Mr A.E. Amoah, who inspected the project to acquaint himself with the progress of work, said the project would be completed and inaugurated by the end of July, this year.
He said the completion of the project would improve the living conditions of the people in the beneficiary communities and also facilitate the establishment of local industries to generate more income.
Mr Amoah regretted that out of the 228 rural communities in the region only about 12 of them had been hooked to the national grid, adding that by the end of this year, the number would be increased to about 22.
He explained that the Akyempim, Kubekro and Nsadweso communities were not under the project but since the mining company had assisted them to erect poles, the Regional Co-ordinating Council had to appeal to the government to put them under the project.
He said steps were being taken to add Atobiase, Dwenease and Akutuase to the project.
The Chief of Kubekro, Nana Kwabena Atobrah, said everybody in the community was happy about the completion of the project and commended the government for the extension of electricity to the area.
He said 65 people in the town had paid GH¢5 each for the installation of meters in their houses.
The Administration and Human Resource Manager of Golden Star (Wassa Mine), Mr Paul Essah, advised the house owners to ensure that their houses were wired by certified electricians to avoid any fire outbreak.
The Chief of Old Subri, Nana Kojo Kru, said about 100 meters had been fixed in the various houses.
He said the people needed the electricity for the establishment of local industries to create employment for the local people towards poverty alleviation in the area.
The Assembly Member for Ateiku, Mr Stephen Mensah Kwofie, said 400 people had paid for the installation of meters in their houses.
He appealed to the regional minister to provide the town with 15 electric poles for the extension of power to the local clinic.