Thursday, October 29, 2009

WORK ON SELECTED STORM DRAINS ONGOING (PAGE 30, OCT 29)

CONSTRUCTION work on selected storm drains in the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis are on course.
About 56 per cent of work on the project is completed, as against the projected 62 per cent, as a result of the rains during construction.
The project was awarded in February 20, last year, and it is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
With a contract sum of GH¢3,188,476.00, it forms part of the Urban Environmental Sanitation Project (UESP) being funded by the International Development Association.
It involves the improvement of 1.8 kilometers of the Kokompe -Adakope drain, improvement of 1,120 meters of the Ashanti Road-Kokompe drain and the construction of reinforcement rain concrete of 600 meters of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL)-Maersk drain.
The rest are the construction of reinforcement concrete lining of 550 meters of the West Tanokrom main stream drain, the construction of two culverts on the Effia Nkwanta Hospital branch drain and the construction of 500 meters reinforcement concrete lining of the Kansaworodo-Effia-Number Nine drain.
The Project Co-ordinator of the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, Mr Simon Labi Addo, who briefed the Daily Graphic on the progress of work, said the construction of the two culverts on the Effia Nkwanta Hospital branch drain would be completed by the end of this month.
He said work on the Kansaworodo-Effia-Number Nine drain was 95 per cent complete, while work on the West Tanokrom main stream drain was 40 per cent complete.
“The projects are supposed to be completed by the end of this year. If the rains do not interrupt work, the project should be completed as scheduled”, he stated.
Mr Addo, however, expressed concern about the swampy nature of some of the areas, which, he added was creating a difficulty in the operation of machinery. .
The Sekondi/Takoradi Storm Drain Project is being executed by Messrs China Zhong Hao (Ghana) Limited, with Municipal Development Collaborative Limited (MDC) as consultants.

PHILANTHROPIST SUPPORTS MERCY FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL (PAGE 30, OCT 29)

A TAKORADI-based businessman, Mr Africanus Mensah, has donated GH¢ 1,000 to Mercy Foundation International (MFI), a non-governmental organisation in Takoradi, to take care of the needs of street and abused children in the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis.
The primary objective of the foundation is to assist the unfortunate needy child to acquire basic education, proper healthcare and be integrated into the society, with assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service.
Mrs Janet Mensah, mother of Mr Mensah who made the donation on his behalf, said her son would make more of such donations to needy children as his contribution towards the survival and development of children.
The Director of Mercy Foundation International, Pastor Oliver Osei-Gerning who received the donation, said currently, the foundation was running a shelter for victims of domestic violence, particularly for women and children in the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis.
In pursuance of its noble objectives, he said, the foundation sheltered 58 trafficked children from April to December 2008, and that, through counselling, care and love to these children and help from the Department of Social Welfare and DOVVSU, the children had now overcome the mental trauma they experienced.
Pastor Osei-Gerning said the foundation had assisted 10 needy brilliant Junior High School pupils by offering them free computer training every three months.
“It must also be put on record that, MFI established four well endowed pre-schools to train illiterate street children with a duration of two years, after which they are integrated into the mainstream formal education sector”, he said.
He said the foundation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Employment, organised special training for 25 hard-core street children from different parts of the country, who had come to settle in the metropolis.
Pastor Osei-Gerning said the children were trained in various agricultural skills, including piggery, grasscutter rearing, snail farming, rabbitry and vegetable cultivation.

OIC APPEALS FOR GOVERNMENT SUPPORT (OCT 29, 2009, PAGE 30)

MANAGEMENT of the Sekondi/Takoradi branch of the Opportunities Industrialisation Centre (OIC) has made a passionate appeal to the government to assist the centre to get support from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to expand its teaching and learning facilities.
Management has therefore called on the Western Regional Coordinating Council to intervene on behalf of the centre to get assistance from the fund.
It has also appealed to all public spirited organisations and institutions as well as individuals to assist the centre to improve on its activities.
The centre is in need of funds to run its administration and also expand its infrastructural facilities, especially classrooms to ensure smooth teaching and learning at the centre.
The expansion of the centre’s classroom facilities would also enable it to increase admissions at the centre.
Currently, the government funding is basically for personnel emoluments while other activities of the centre are heavily funded by local and international donor agencies, companies, institutions, families and individuals.
The centre also operates a small scale production unit which engages in furniture and coffins production, metal works, building construction and repair works, block moulding, batik tie-dye production, canteen services and general secretarial services.
Proceeds from such economic ventures are used to complement government and community effort to sustain the programme.
To minimise the level of financial dependence on donor agencies, the OIC- Sekondi/Takoradi seeks to establish an Opportunity Investment Fund within a period of three years to serve as the main source of funding for the centre.
Besides funding, the centre also faces other challenges, including lack of adequate classrooms and modern workshop equipment.
The Programme Manager of the centre, Mr Moses Amoamah Antwi, explained to the Daily Graphic that the capacity for each existing classroom was supposed to be 25 trainees.
However, he said the same classroom was now being occupied by 75 trainees, about three times its capacity.
“This has brought pressure on the entire facility. The centre has outgrown its capacity and this calls for immediate attention”, he pointed out.
Mr Antwi therefore appealed to the Western Regional Minister, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, to intervene by helping the centre to get support from the Ghana Education Trust Fund to expand the centre’s facilities.
He said the centre had enough land to embark on such expansion programme.
He said the centre needed modern workshop equipment that would enhance the quality of skills training and also meet the current manpower needs of industries, institutions and vocations.
“We will, therefore call on the individual, corporate institutions, churches, the traditional authorities and the government to consider equipping the centre with modern equipment to enhance its operations”, he appealed.
Another enormous challenge facing the centre is the perennial flooding of the entire centre every year as a result of the very poor drainage system of the area.
“The entire centre is surrounded by a very poor drainage system which is a threat to our very existence in the metropolis”, Mr Antwi said, adding “And even as the rains set in we are not sure what would be our fate, we therefore call on the metropolitan assembly, corporate institutions and individuals to come to our aid to reconstruct the drainage system”.
Mr Antwi pointed out that the centre needed either a face-lift or relocation, since it was training a lot of people, most of whom had completed their Basic Education Certificate Examination.
The Opportunities Industrialisation Centre (OIC) Sekondi/Takoradi is a government subvented educational institution, under the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare, contributing to the human development agenda of the ministry.
The centre was established in 1977 with four skill areas, namely office management and secretarial skills, carpentry, masonry and auto body repairs.
Currently, the centre provides two-year training in office management and secretarial skill up to the stenography level, computer skills, carpentry and joinery, masonry (construction), building draughtsmanship and welding and fabrication.
It also provides training in textile decoration, batik tie-dye and soap making, dress making, hair dressing, integrated English and mathematics and counselling services.
Since its establishment the centre has turned out about 5,000 skilled professionals in the various courses.
From 1977 to 1985 OIC Sekondi/Takoraddi was funded by the government, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), international donor agencies and the local community.
After 1985, funding came primarily from the government of Ghana, and since then the structural adjustment programme, arising out of the Economic Recovery Programme in the country in the mid eighties has drastically altered the level of funding OIC Sekondi/Takoradi receives from the government.

Friday, October 23, 2009

LONG LIFE CARAVAN EDUCATES PEOPLE IN HIV]AIDS (PAGE 20, OCT 23)

THE fourth edition of the Love Life Caravan on the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor arrived in the country last week through the Elubo Border Post in the Jomoro District in the Western Region to sensitise the people along the corridor to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
The caravan, which set off in Abidjan on September 28, this year, is on the theme: “Universal access for an HIV/AIDS-free corridor; time to make a difference”.
It is being organised by the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organisation (ALCO) and funded by the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
The caravan would travel a distance of 1,022 kilometres through Cote d’lvoire, Ghana , Togo , Benin and Nigeria to reach a targeted transit population of 50,000,000 people.
The target population includes truck drivers, commercial sex workers, security personnel, people living with HIV, young boys and girls, women traders and people at the borders.
The caravan would parade the major towns and cities and hot spots along the corridor, organise voluntary HIV testing for the people, especially pregnant women, treat sexually transmitted infections and distribute condoms.
A total of 42 voluntary counselling and testing centres have been set up in the cities and towns in the five countries for HIV/AIDS testing.
There will also be projection of films, sketches and plays, games and competitions on sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, with lots of prizes to be won.
At the handover ceremony, the Communication Specialist for the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organisation, Mr Harvey De Hardt-Kaffils, said the people would be sensitised to the disease and advised to undergo voluntary testing to know their status to enable them to plan for a better life.
He said the people had now accepted the message.

GREL PROVIDES KINDERGARTEN BLOCK FOR DUAHORODO (OCT 23, PAGE 20)

THE Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL) has constructed a two-classroom kindergarten block for the people of Duahorodo, a farming community in the Ahanta West District in the Western Region, at a cost of GH¢ 40,000.
The new classroom block will save the young children from trekking long distances to attend school at Chavene, Eluazo and Akwadaa, at the mercy of the weather.
The company has already provided seven school blocks for Nsuaem, Subri, Anibil-Barmiankor, Nsein-Onzeanye, Kedadwen, Apimanim Number One and Chavene since 2006.
It is currently constructing a three-classroom block for the Avrebo Junior High School, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
At the handingover ceremony at Duahorodo, the Human Resource and Administrative Manager of GREL, Mr J.C. Garbrah, said since the 2005/2006 academic year, the company had provided 49 scholarships for students within its operational area to pursue education in senior high schools and universities.
He said the company had been organising vacation classes during long vacations for schoolchildren in the catchment areas since 2006, adding that this year more than 3,000 pupils participated in the classes.
Mr Garbrah said GREL provided top-ups for teachers in its three schools at Nsuaem, Tsibu and Chavene, adding that the GREL basic school at Tsibu had been topping in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the Ahanta West District for the past four years.
The Chairman of the Association of Chiefs on whose lands GREL Operates, Awulae Agyefi Kwame II, noted with regret that the chiefs and people in the traditional areas who provided lands for the development of the rubber plantations in 1959/1960 did not benefit from the companies which started the plantations.
However, he said, in 2005 when GREL started providing people in the area with development projects, there had been gradual improvement in the living conditions of the people.
Awulae Agyefi said there were 84 communities in the eight traditional areas where GREL was operating and that the communities which were yet to benefit from the development projects should exercise patience since the projects would be distributed equally throughout all the traditional areas.
The Ahanta West District Director of Education, Mr George Jerry Hansen, expressed appreciation to GREL for its contribution towards education development in the district. He said the company was interested not only in the rubber plantations, but also in the mental development of children in its catchment area.
The Chief of Duahorodo, Nana Kwame Akro IX, said education was the light and wheels around which development revolved.
He, therefore, appealed to the parents in the community to reciprocate the good intentions of GREL by enrolling all their children of kindergarten age in the school and to ensure that they attended school regularly.
Nana Akro further urged the parents to pay particular attention to the needs of the pupils to encourage them to attend school to help lay good educational foundation for themselves.

ASSEMBLY ASSURES PHYSICALLY-CHALLENGED PEOPLE OF ASSISTANCE (PAGE 20, OCT 23)

THE Jomoro District branch of the Physically Challenged Association has been inaugurated with the assurance that the Jomoro District Assembly would help them in their activities any time they need genuine assistance.
The District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Victor Nyianyi Kablan, gave the assurance during the inauguration of the association at Half Assini.
He, however, informed members of the association of the existence of the Business Advisory Centre of the Rural Enterprise Project, and urged those who wanted to learn a trade to contact the centre for assistance.
He advised them not to be discouraged in life, because “we are all equal before God and that disability does not mean inability”.
Mr Kablan urged them also to strive hard to make good use of their given talents, adding that the district assembly would assist them to make life bearable.
The Jomoro District Officer of the Department of Social Welfare, Mr Samuel Nyanzu, enjoined the general public to assist the physically challenged, since some of them were in such condition through accidents and medical injections, apart from those who were born with the condition.
He briefed them on the special training institutions in the country for the deaf and dumb, the blind and the crippled, and advised parents to send their children with such disabilities there to be trained to become useful citizens.
Mr Nyanzu appealed to those who had not registered with the association to do so in their own interest.
The Presiding Member of the Jomoro District Assembly, Mr Francis Ehwie Armah, who chaired the function, urged the public not to look down on the physically challenged, but rather help them to survive.
He also advised parents not to abandon or neglect their children with disabilities.
Mr Armah implored the physically challenged people who sat by the roadside begging for alms to stop as the government was totally against such practice.
He suggested to the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare to support district social welfare officers to enable them to perform efficiently and creditably.

AIDOO WORRIED SBOUT SALE OF LANDS IN OIL FIND AREA (PAGE 20, OCT 23)

THE Western Regional Minister, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, has expressed concern about the unprecedented sale of lands by chiefs around the catchment of the oil find without recourse to the interest of future generations.
Those lands, he said, were acquired without any proper plans for development projects in those areas to improve the quality of life of the people.
According to him, it was within the government’s development plan to compulsorily acquire lands near the oil fields, adding that when that became feasible, all chiefs who had made unapproved sales of lands in their areas might be compelled to refund the money.
Mr Aidoo was addressing a general meeting of the Western Regional House of Chiefs in Sekondi.
He said forestry and wildlife were important sectors of the economy, accounting for about 15 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 25 per cent of the nation’s revenue.
Mr Aidoo noted with regret that most forest reserves in the region were under serious siege from chainsaw operators, illegal gold miners, as well as farmers who were plundering the region’s forest resources with impunity.
“In the Afoa Hills, Tano Suraw and Anhwiaso South Forest Reserves in the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai District, farming activities are being carried out in those reserves with impunity,” he said.
Mr Aidoo said it was the same story in the Tano Anwia, Suhuma, Sui River and KRHI Forest Reserves.
“In the Bia, Dissue River, Muro River, Tano Suhien, Subri River and Bonsa River Forest Reserves, illegal chainsaw operations and felling of trees are also being carried out there in addition to illegal mining in the River Bonsa,” he added.
The regional minister said most chiefs were guilty of complicity in those unacceptable situations because as it was generally known, the illegal farmers in the forest reserves were mostly settler farmers from other parts of the country who got access to the reserves through the chiefs after paying drinks and other rents.
Mr Aidoo reminded the chiefs that for sometime now, there had been a joint military and police timber task force operation in the region’s reserves, which had brought about some transformation.
“It is important to note that but for these interventions, a good number of our forest reserves would have been devastated,” he said, adding, “Let us, therefore, come together and ensure the protection of the region’s forest resources in order to leave posterity a better, richer and more valuable endowment than what we inherited”.
The regional minister advised the chiefs to desist from renting lands in the region’s forest reserves to any person or group of persons to undertake economic ventures without entering into an agreement with the appropriate ministry.
The President of the Western Regional House of Chiefs, Awulae Attibrukusu, said that Judicial Committees of the House of Chiefs were very important, and praised the House’s Judicial Committee for good work done.

ABOADZE THERMAL PLANT UNDERGOES MAINTENANCE (PAGE 20, OCT 23)

THE Takoradi Thermal Power Plant at Aboadze in the Shama District in the Western Region is currently undergoing its first major maintenance works after nine years of its operation.
The maintenance works, estimated at $12 million, are intended to maintain a high level performance, improve reliability, efficiency, as well as mitigate the environmental impact of the plant’s operation.
The works include the removal, testing, refurbishing, calibration and installation of heavy equipment such as compressor rotor, turbine rotor and generator rotor.
Repair works involving modifications, fabrication, painting and rehabilitation of the exhaust silencers and balance of plant equipment are to be carried out.
The filters in the inlet filter house, inlet silencers and combustion cans are also scheduled to be replaced during the major maintenance.
There will be relocation of electrical circuits as part of the modification works, to ultimately improve upon efficiency of the combustion turbine.
Planning for the current major maintenance started over a year ago due to the volume and complexity of works involved and it is scheduled to be completed in 27 days using the two-shift system for 12 hours per shift.
Plans are also underway to have the plant converted into a more efficient combined cycle power operation with the addition of 110MW steam turbine generator, with associated heat recovery steam generators.
When the expansion is completed, it would not only add significantly to the national generation capacity, but would also increase the plant’s efficiency from about 33 to 55 per cent, reducing cost of generation, improving the environment, as well as generating significant employment and technological transfer opportunities for the people in the Western Region and the country as a whole.
The 220MW single-cycle Takoradi Thermal Power Plant is a joint venture between TAQA Energy Company of Abu Dhabi and the Volta River Authority (VRA).
The plant is being operated by TAQA Generation International Operating Company (TGIOC), a subsidiary of TAQA, which owns 90 per cent of TICo and the VRA, which owns 10 per cent.
Briefing journalists after inspecting the progress of the on-going maintenance works at Aboadze, the General Manager of the Takoradi International Company (TICo) and Managing Director of TAQA West Africa, Mr Osafo Adjei, said per world benchmarks, a typical major maintenance of GE gas turbine should be completed in 42 days.
He explained that the special arrangement and efforts to complete all the works under world benchmarks were geared towards cutting down time and more importantly continuing to provide the quality supply of reliable power to the good people of Ghana.
Mr Adjei said TGIOC had performed several scheduled outages such as combustion inspection and hot gas path inspection in partnership with General Electric (GE), which has been contracted by TICo on a long term service agreement.
“In all the scheduled outages, TGIOC has optimized the outage schedule in order to maximize availability,” he said, adding, “The cumulative availability of T2 Plant is 94 per cent, which is higher than the industrial benchmark for single cycle base operation”.
The general manager further explained that the longest and most technical of scheduled inspection on gas turbines was the major inspection which was on-going.
Mr Adjei called on all stakeholders to support the national efforts to expand the thermal power plant.
He said the employees had worked for 2,600 days without any lost time accident, and promised to keep the track record untainted, even during the period of the major maintenance works.
That, he explained, was because both management and employees continued to own the safety programme in place and adhered strictly to it, saying “Safety is everyone’s business here”.
The Plant Manager-T2, Mr George Niako, who led media practitioners to inspect the maintenance works, explained that about 90 per cent of the filters were rusted as a result of marine effect.
He said the equipment also was undergoing the major maintenance to reduce emission from the plant so that the environment was not polluted.
Mr Niako further explained that the silencers were being replaced with new ones to reduce the noise level to about 65 decibel.

Monday, October 19, 2009

GOVT PRIORITISES FUNDING OF EDUCATION (PAGE 11, OCT 19)

PRESIDENT John Evans Atta Mills has said the Government is managing the funding of education with utmost commitment and priority since it regards education as a vital investment by the whole community.
The President has, therefore, urged graduates of polytechnics to be partners in development and accept postings to the rural areas because that was how they would help build the nation, a job that no one can do for us.
He said this in an address read on his behalf by the Western Regional Minister, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, at the 8th congregation of the Takoradi Polytechnic over the weekend, where graduates were awarded Bachelor of Technology and Higher National Diploma.
The congregation presented graduates for the 2006/07 and 2007/08 academic years. Out of the 3,000 students who have completed various programmes in the two academic years 1,500 of them were presented and received their certificates.
“You must never forget that, by your graduation, you are joining the working class who must contribute towards the promotion of sound economic growth and status of the country”, he stated.
He announced that this year, the Government has through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) released GH¢ 1.7 million for the construction of the four-storey building complex for the School of Applied Arts, the Rector’s residence and internal road network of the polytechnic.
Additionally, he said the Government had given out GH¢ 13,500 for research and staff development.
He explained that the mandate of polytechnics in the country was teaching and research, and that the polytechnic was to provide carrier focused and practical oriented training to equip students to make them functional in specific sectors of the economy.
“The research agenda of the polytechnic should be geared towards the conduct of research which will yield results of practical use to the needs of industry,” he stressed.
President Mills, therefore, urged the polytechnic to devote resources to the discharge of these responsibilities, which were teaching and research.
He noted that the nation’s limited resources for research, were worthy of encouraging more client-driven research, which would serve the dual purpose of immediately aiding the client, generating income for the polytechnic and improving the competence of lecturers and students.
“The time for the polytechnics to act is now. They must not only liaise with the Government and ministries, but also sponsor media programmes and open day celebrations at the various departments for the private sector and the general public”, the President said.
“This will expose the public and industry to applied research works which could be taken up by industries”, he explained.
The Chairman of the Takoradi Polytechnic Governing Council, Dr George K.T. Oduro, announced that plans were far advanced to launch a Takoradi Polytechnic Endowment Fund to support research, teaching and learning, and also provide support for brilliant needy students of the polytechnic.
He, therefore, appealed to the alumni of the polytechnic and organisations which utilised the services of products of the polytechnic to contribute generously to the fund when it was established.
Dr Oduro said student enrolment in the polytechnic continued to expand in all programmes, and was convinced that many Ghanaians were increasingly seeing the economic benefits of investing in polytechnic education.
Yet, he said inadequate resources in the polytechnic tended to limit its capacity to provide opportunities for many applicants to receive polytechnic education.
He said as he spoke, the polytechnic’s lecture halls were seriously congested, halls of residence terribly overcrowded, and laboratories underequipped and noted that there were still a number of uncompleted projects in the polytechnic.
He appealed to the Ministry of Education and the Western Regional Co-ordinating Council to come to the aid of the polytechnic in terms of completing, especially the administrative block, which had been neglected for some time now and the construction of additional large lecture theatres for the polytechnic.
The outgoing Rector of the Polytechnic, Dr Samuel Obeng Apori, said in the area of research findings, the polytechnic channelled a lot of resources in this direction and that had led to the publication of articles in many international and national journals as well as conference proceedings.
For example, he said the polytechnic, in collaboration with industrial set-ups had developed different particle chip boards using materials hitherto considered as waste such as palm fruit fibre, sugar cane bagasse, corn stalk and pennisetum purpereum.
Dr Apori said the quality of the particle chip board had been confirmed and that management was in the process of discussing the way forward for mass production.
Additionally, he said the companies which manufactured particle chip boards which had been suffering from lack of raw materials could now bounce back into full operation and employ more hands, since the palm fruit fibre, sugar cane bagasse, corn stalk and pennisetum purpereum were easily available.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

DISSOLVE WISE BOARD, MANAGEMENT — SUPPORTERS (PAGE 63)

AGGRIEVED supporters of Sekondi Eleven Wise Football Club, have passed a resolution calling for the dissolution of the board of directors. as well as management of the club for mismanagement and breach of agreement.
The supporters suggested that both the board of directors and the management should be replaced with an interim management committee for the club.
According to them, the issue of breach of agreement must be taken seriously, and addressed accordingly to avoid legal action against signatories of the agreement.
They explained that in the year 2006, the club signed an agreement with Global Avanti Sports Alliance (GASA), part of which states that “GASA” may not assign or otherwise transfer his rights or delegate its obligations, including the disposal of the share acquisition, without first presenting the first option of purchase to the membership of Sekondi Eleven Wise congress”.
This was contained in a statement issued to the press in Takoradi and signed by the secretary of the supporters union, Mr David Quainoo.
“It has come to our notice that GASA has transferred its rights and powers to Global Media Alliance (GMA) which has nothing to do with Sekondi Eleven Wise Football Club”, the statement said.
It added that a preliminary search conducted at the Registrar General’s Department in Accra, had indicated that Global Avanti Sports Alliance was no more in existence.
“The Global Media Alliance which is now managing the club, has no legal rights, and has no power to do so”, it stressed adding, “Sekondi Eleven Wise has no agreement with them but rather with Global Avanti Sports Alliance”.
According to the statement, the Chief Executive Officer of the club, Mr Jamil Maraby had failed the club and that he was not a team player and therefore, cannot lead the club to achieve its ultimate aim and achieve successes.
“We suggest that he must be directed to hand over the club to the traditional rulers who represent the club”, it said.
The statement explained that the club

is Sekondi-based but is now Accra-based since both the offices of the chief executive officer and the administrative manager were in Accra, with the latter being an Accra man who was in charge of a relegated club, Sporting Miren.
It said the establishment of the offices in Accra did not augur well for the club, and was in contravention of the business plan of the club.
It continued that management failed to purchase a club house and a bus for the club as agreed and that they were aware that the club house being occupied by the players now was rented, while the ownership of the bus was unclear.
“The recent transfer of some 11 players of the club has created uneasy calm in the support base. We are reliably informed that the board of directors is not aware of that decision taken by the technical handler. In our opinion some of the players need not be transferred”, it said.
                                                       

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

AGONA JUNCTION-ELUBO ROAD TO BE RECONSTRUCTED (PAGE 14)

THE 110-kilometre Agona Junction-Elubo road which forms part of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor, an international road which cuts across Cote d’lvoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria, is to be reconstructed.
The project, which is to begin in June next year is part of the Aflao-Accra-Cape Coast-Takoradi-Elubo road.
The road has been designed to meet high international standards.
A public forum was held at Esiama in the Ellembelle District last Tuesday where engineering designs of the road were exhibited to solicit stakeholders’ contributions, suggestions, comments, concerns and complaints towards the final design of the project for approval by the World Bank.
In his presentation on the engineering designs and provisions for traffic safety to the public at Esiama, a principal engineer of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) headquarters in Accra, Mr Joseph Atsu Amedzake, said rumble strips would be installed at community entrances and junction approaches to calm traffic.
He said guard rails would be fixed at sections which would have side activities to prevent random crossing of pedestrians that could lead to accidents, while service lanes and lay-bys would be provided.
He said the major junctions to be improved include the Esiama Junction, Alabokazo Junction, Ayisakro Junction and Apimanim Junction.
The principal engineer said one axle load station would be constructed to check excessive loading of vehicles.
This, he said, was to ensure that the investment made on the project was protected.
The Principal Valuer of the Ghana Highway Authority, Mr Kofi Archer-Kwajan, said so far, the project had identified 2,094 properties, including 744 houses and 1,350 farms to be affected.
He said the houses had been inspected and measured, while the farms and crops had been enumerated for the payment of compensation.
The Western Regional Minister, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, said the chiefs and people should attend such fora to express their views and make suggestions on the designs and not to wait for the project to begin before they write protest letters against the contractor.
A Senior Social Development Specialist of the World Bank, Dr Antoine Lema, said the policy of the bank was that the people must be involved in whatever project the bank was funding, and that it should be beneficial to the people.
The Director of Planning of the Ghana Highway Authority, Mr Peter Asumadu, said the project was not intended to leave anybody poorer than he/she was after its implementation.
He said all gravel pits where gravels would be taken for the project would be reclaimed for the landowners to continue their farming activities.
Mr Asumadu explained that engineering, environment, driver behaviour, the condition of the vehicle; downpour and fog were contributory factors to the numerous road accidents in the country.
He said all the stakeholders in the road sector were working towards the reduction of road accidents in the country.

Monday, October 12, 2009

RETURN NKRUMAH'S FAMILY HOUSES — ADZOBEA KPENYILE (PAGE 20, OCT 6)

THE family members of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, have called for the de-confiscation of the family houses seized after the 1966 coup.
They expressed the hope that as part of the centenary celebration of Nkrumah’s birthday, his home town, Nkroful, would be given the needed attention by providing it with many social amenities in memory of the late President.
 The family head, Mr Adzobea Kpenyile, who made the appeal through the Daily Graphic at Nkroful, said the family houses at Nsuayem and Nkroful had not as yet been released to them and the situation was creating a problem for the family.
He said personnel of the Ghana Police Service were currently occupying one of the buildings at Nsuayem, while the one at Nkroful was being used as a museum.
Mr Kpenyile said at the moment the family members were many and so they needed more residential facilities, hence the appeal.
He stressed the need for the government to rehabilitate the buildings before returning them to the family.
Mr Kpenyile commended the government for its recognition of Dr Nkrumah through the celebration of his centenary.

11 COMMUNITIES DEVELOP PLANS TO IMPROVE THEIR LOT (PAGE 20 , OCT 6)

ELEVEN cocoa farming communities in the Wassa Amenfi West District in the Western Region have drawn up community action plans depicting their various needs to facilitate the social, economic and environmental transformation of their respective communities.
They are also meant to develop the capacities of the farming communities.
The communities are Juantokrom, Akokofe, Jaman, Essakrom, Nkwantanum, Nsabrekwa, Nyame Nnae, Takyikrom, Wiredukrom, Sewayor and Bokakore.
The action plans were drawn up after dialogue and sensitisation meetings conducted by Codesult Network, a local non-governmental organisation and community engagement partners for Mars Partnership for African Cocoa Communities of Tomorrow (iMPACT) project.
The iMPACT project’s technical partners include the German Development Co-operation (GTZ), Africare, the International Foundation for Education and Self-help (IFFES), Sustainable Tree Crops Programme (STCP), the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) and the Rainforest Alliance (RA).
Each of the technical partners has a specific role to play for the effective execution of the community action plans.
An exhibition has been organised at Asankragwa to showcase the developmental change that has come about as a result of a strategic partnership initiated through a participatory process starting with the dialogue and sensitisation.
The iMPACT project engaged Codesult Network to dialogue with and sensitise the selected project communities to their development needs to come up with an action plan based on a vision which will in turn be addressed by the various technical partners and the district assembly, with the communities taking the leading role.
Speaking at the exhibition, the Executive Director of Codesult Network, Mr Robert Obiri-Yeboah, said 11 hand-dug wells had been constructed for the communities.
He said community health volunteers had been trained to identify basic illnesses in the communities and support the various community health nurses.
Mr Obiri-Yeboah added that 24,000 tree seedlings of different species had been supplied to cocoa farmers, while 35,000 cocoa seedlings had also been supplied to them.
He said the cocoa farmers had been trained in integrated crop and pest management.
According to him, the project had changed the development face of the 11 communities. 

WORKERS URGED TO OFFER DEDICATED SERVICES (PAGE 20, OCT 6)

THE District Chief Executive (DCE) for Jomoro in the Western Region, Mr Victor Nyianyi Kablan, has urged civil/public servants and security personnel in the district to be committed, dedicated, resourceful, innovative and exhibit a high sense of discipline in the performance of their duties.
He also urged them to work hard to make the district a better place to live in.
Mr Kablan made the call when addressing staff of the various decentralised departments and agencies in the district during a tour to identify their problems and help find solutions to them.
The DCE visited the District Health Directorate, the Half Assini Government Hospital, the Ghana Fire Service, the Ghana Police Service, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, the Environmental Health Unit, the National Commission for Civic Education and the Community Water and Sanitation Agency.
 He also visited the Elubo Border Post, where he addressed officers of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), the Ghana Immigration Service and the Ghana Police Service.
He told the workers that they had been employed to serve the people of the district and the nation at large.
The DCE stressed the need for them to avoid negative tendencies likely to divert their attention from the mission of achieving maximum political, social and economic development and the ultimate goal of improving the quality of life of the people.
He promised that the assembly would try to solve some of the problems facing the departments and advised the workers to take good care of the few facilities that they had at their disposal.
Mr Kablan commended the security officers in the district for striving to protect lives and property in the area.
He, however, advised them not to be partisan in carrying out their official duties.
The Chief Collector of CEPS at the Elubo Border Post, Mr Nathan Quayson, said the service alone contributed about 65 per cent to the government’s total annual revenue.
He appealed to the assembly to help CEPS to acquire a speed boat or an outboard motor to enable the personnel to chase and arrest smugglers who crossed the border in canoes.
The Jomoro District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Tanko Issifu, requested for more policemen at Elubo to ensure maximum security in the town.
According to him, the discovery of oil in the district would attract many people to the area and that was likely to increase the crime rate there.

WESTERN REGION TAKES MEASURES TO RAISE EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS (PAGE 20, OCT 6)

INDEGENES of the Western Region, especially traditional rulers, opinion leaders and assembly members, have complained bitterly for being sidelined as far as employment by the oil companies working on the Jubilee Oil Field offshore West Cape Three Points is concerned.
They argue that people in the region, particularly those who live near the country’s exclusive economic zone where the oil field is located, should benefit from the activities of the oil companies with regard to employment.
They are unhappy that people from other regions and even those from outside the country have been offered employment on the oil rigs while contracts for the supply of equipment, food and other supplies have been given to outsiders.
This development initially dampened the spirit of the people, fearing that they would not derive maximum benefit from the oil find.
However, through regular interaction and public education by the oil companies to educate the people of the region on the activities of the companies, particularly on employment, it seems the people have realised that the oil and gas industry needs a highly skilled workforce, especially work on the oil rigs.
This means that people, including those from the Western Region, who aspire to work on the rigs or to be employed in the oil and gas industry should take education seriously, since expertise and special knowledge is a vital requirement to qualify one to become a core staff of the industry.
The chiefs and people of the region have now realised the need to increase the enrolment of children in schools if they want to derive maximum benefits from the oil industry.
Against this backdrop, it is important to analyse some statistics on education in the Western Region.
According to the 2000 Population and Housing Census, the region’s population is 1,924,577, out of which 42.4 per cent are under 15. The population growth rate is 3.2 per cent.
The projected population for 2009 is 2,566,919, while the projection for 2020 is four million.
Available statistics for the 2007/2008 academic year indicate that there are 1,759 kindergartens in the region, with total enrolment of 164,502. This comprises 1,332 public schools and 427 private ones.
There are 1,826 primary schools in the region, with total enrolment of 390,641 pupils. The schools comprise 1,405 public and 421 private ones.
The region has 1,065 junior high schools (JHS), comprising 806 public and 259 private, with total enrolment of 128,942 pupils.
In all, the region has 4,650 basic schools, with total enrolment of 684,085 pupils. These comprise 3,543 public schools and 1,107 private ones.
It has 41 senior high schools (SHS), out of which 13 are running technical programmes. In addition, there are three colleges of education, three nurses training colleges, a university and a polytechnic.
School enrolment analysis indicates that in the basic schools total enrolment levels increased by 8.4 per cent in the 2007/2008 academic year, while the SHS and tertiary institutions recorded about 41.4 per cent increase.
According to the statistics for the 2007/2008 academic year, there are 16,543 teachers in the basic schools in the region, out of which 7,545, representing 51 per cent, are trained, with 8,107 or 49 per cent untrained.
The region also has 1,542 teachers in the SHS, out of which 1,167 are trained, with 375 untrained ones.
From the above statistics, the indication is that school enrolment in the Western Region leaves much to be desired.
There are many factors preventing parents from taking their children to school or furthering their education, of which poverty is very cardinal.
Inadequate educational infrastructure in some of the rural communities and the pupils walking long distances to attend schools are also a disincentive.
Other challenges facing education in the region are the lack of qualified teachers and basic science laboratories and equipment, as well as dilapidated school buildings.
The metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies, realising the problem, have allocated a greater part of their common fund to provide educational infrastructure in the rural areas. They have also instituted scholarship schemes to assist brilliant, needy students.
Besides, the assemblies have intensified their campaigns to educate parents on the need to enrol their children, especially the girls, in schools.
The traditional rulers are also playing positive roles in this direction by establishing scholarship schemes to assist brilliant, needy pupils and students in their communities. 

Thursday, October 8, 2009

MINING COMPANY ORGANISES COURSE FOR SAFETY OFFICERS (SEPT 28, PAGE 51)

GOLD FIELDS Ghana (Tarkwa Mines) limited has organised a two-week safety management training course for its 26 safety officers towards the attainment of acceptable safety standards as well as the development of effective safety system for the company.
The participants were taken through topics such as unsafe acts and conditions, hazard identification and risk assessment, incident investigations, documentation, environmental management, technical safety, occupational health and hygiene and management systems.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, the Operations Manager of Gold Fields Ghana Limited, Mr Gary Chapman, explained that the training programme was to ensure effective maintenance and management of the company’s safety system.
He said the programme was also to enable the company to concentrate and have focus on getting everybody to an equal safety standard.
A participant, Mr Francis Hooper Fynn, on behalf of his colleagues commended the management of Gold Fields for organising the course to upgrade their knowledge and skills in safety.
He promised that they would deliver as safety officers to the expectation of management.

JOMORO ASSEMBLY COLLECTS GH¢72,093.95 REVENUE (SEPT 24, PAGE 31)

THE Jomoro District Assembly in the Western Region has collected GH¢72,093.95 as its internally generated fund (IGF) in the first quarter of this year.
The assembly has also received GH¢165,193.12 as the first quarter allocation of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund, out of the total allocation of GH¢363,636.93.
The Jomoro District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Victor Nyianyi Kablan, announced this at the first ordinary meeting of the third session of the assembly at Half Assini.
He said the assembly had the potential for generating more revenue if the members accepted the challenge of educating the people on the importance of paying taxes for the development of their communities.
Mr Kablan, therefore, urged members of the assembly to educate people in their respective communities to honour their tax obligations.
Touching on education, he said the assembly was currently providing financial support for the district and regional science, technical and mathematics education programme at the cost of GH¢2,700.
The DCE stated that the assembly was sponsoring a number of teacher trainees to encourage them to return to the district to teach after completing their courses.
Mr Kablan said construction of an additional side ward for the Half Assini Government Hospital, which was abandoned, had been repackaged and awarded to another contractor.
The assembly, he said, was also committed to assisting students in health training institutions, that were prepared to work in the district after their training.
Concerning the mutual health insurance scheme, Mr Kablan said a total of 54,234 people, representing about 51 per cent, had so far registered with the scheme.
Mr Kablan was unhappy that in spite of the marginal increase, a large proportion of the population in the district was yet to register with the scheme.
He, therefore, enjoined members of the assembly to educate the people on the need to register with the scheme to enable them enjoy better health services.
Touching on water and environmental sanitation, Mr Kablan announced that about 70 per cent of the population in the district was enjoying potable water through the support of the district’s development partners.
“Apart from Tullow Oil Company, the European Union (EU) and the International Development Association have helped in this direction,” he said.
He said Nuba, Beyin, Bonyere and Ezinlibo communities were in the process of getting potable water through the efforts of the EU, the International Development Association and Tullow Oil Company.
He urged the beneficiary communities to keep the water systems working after their completion to pave the way for other communities to benefit from the facility.
Mr Kablan said the assembly had spent colossal sums of money to reshape portions of the feeder roads in the districts that were badly affected by the recent downpour to facilitate economic activities in the various communities.
He added that the surfacing of the Half Assini and Elubo town roads would continue.

TB IS PREVALENT IN MPOHOR WASSA EAST (PAGE 31, SEPT 25)

TUBERCULOSIS (TB) is prevalent in the Mpohor Wassa East District of the Western Region as a result of poor housing and nutrition, as well as the lifestyle of the people.
A total of 138 cases of the disease were detected in the district between 2007 and June, this year.
The District Disease Control Officer, Mr Joseph Kwabena Arthur, revealed this to the Daily Graphic after the celebration of the district’s TB Day at Sekyere Krobo.
He attributed some of the causes of the disease in the district to poor diet, adding that many people were living in small, poorly ventilated rooms.
According to Mr Arthur, excessive intake of alcohol and smoking also accounted for the high prevalence rate of the disease.
He said even though the prevalence of the disease was high, the detection rate was rather low; around 38 per cent.
Mr Arthur said the District Health Administration had adopted strategies to detect people affected by the disease.
He said community health volunteers had been formed to mount intensive public education on the disease to help reduce its occurrence.
Mr Arthur said traditional rulers, opinion leaders and the communities would be encouraged to assist in the detection of the disease in the district.
He stated that treatment supporters such as family members, health workers or assembly members in the communities would be identified to ensure that those suffering from the disease took their medication regularly and also completed the medication for the six-month period.
He explained that the treatment supporters would also report all problems that would emanate from the treatment to the clinics, health centres or hospitals that were treating affected persons.
According to Mr Arthur, the district had been divided into sub-districts for the detection and compilation of TB cases.
The District Director of Health Services, Ms Priscilla Amoah, urged the people to discard the notion that TB infection was spiritual.
She also allayed the fears of the people that the disease was not curable, adding that there were enough drugs for the effective cure of TB.
Ms Amoah stressed that all drugs for the treatment of the disease were given for free.
She stated that the low detection rate of people suffering from the disease was due to the stigma attached to it.
Ms Amoah advised them to report to the nearest clinic, health centre or hospital for the necessary test to be done if they had been coughing for a long time, to prevent the spread of the disease in the district and beyond.
The Deputy District Co-ordinating Director, Mr Mahama M. Sensau, who represented the District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Anthony Bassaw, called on the people to assist the health professionals to reduce the prevalence rate of the disease.
Mr Sensau said the district assembly would assist the Ghana Health Service to eradicate the disease from the district.
He lamented the re-emergence of TB in the society and stressed the need to mount an intensive public education on the situation.

WESTERN REGION, INDUSTRIAL HUB OF GHANA (SEPT 24, PAGE 31)

NOTWITHSTANDING the fact that the Western Region leads in the production of some cash crops, minerals and farm produce in the country, there are numerous investment potentials in the region which are yet to be harnessed.
The region could be described as the region that holds the key to Ghana’s development, in view of its substantial natural endowment.
The recent oil find has in no small way accentuated this assertion.
The region can also boast of being endowed with minerals such as gold, manganese, bauxite, in addition to a variety of timber species, forest reserves, rivers and an extensive coastline.
Some of these potentials are being harnessed for the socio-economic development of the region while other numerous investment potentials exist but have not been harnessed.
The region tops in the production of cocoa, rubber and coconut and has areas that are suitable for oil palm production. It actually ranks second in oil palm production in the country.
The region’s rich minerals, notably gold, diamond, manganese and bauxite are being harnessed but not fully, to provide the needed job opportunities for the people.
Its unharnessed potential investment areas include clay and limestone deposits at Nawuli, near Half Assini in the Jomoro District, with proven reserves at 21 million tonnes.
The region also has salt in commercial quantities along the coast, especially at Adjoa, Apowa, Amanfu-Kumah and Funko, all in the Ahanta West District.
Kaolin, bauxite, diamond and gold exist in commercial quantities in the Wassa Amenfi East District while Princess Town in the Ahanta West District has industrial granites that have not been exploited.
There are large gold deposits at Akoti, Akontombra and Sefwi Wiawso and also along the banks of the Tano River.
The Western Region has silica, kaolin, gold, sand and stone deposits in commercial quantities in the Nzema East District.
The iron deposit at Oppong-Manso/Valley in the Wassa Amenfi East District covers a distance of about 24 square miles, and that is yet to be exploited, while alluvial gold deposits are in the Tano River.
There are untapped mineral deposits such as gold and bauxite at Breman and Sayerano in the Juaboso District, while inland oil exists in commercial quantities at Sayerano, Krokosue and Karmas in the Juaboso District as well as in Alluwule in the Jomoro District.
In a presentation made on his behalf at an oil seminar in Takoradi, the Western Regional Minister, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, said royalties from the oil find must be judiciously invested in transport and other sectors to provide jobs and ensure the necessary development in the region.
Speaking on the topic: “The Western Region: An overview”, Mr Aidoo mentioned vibrant sources of hydro energy potentials in the region as the rivers Pra, Tano, Ankobra and Bia.
He said feasibility studies had been carried out on the rivers to ascertain their viability.
Mr Aidoo said the Aboso Glass, Factory could be developed to produce various products from glass while the Bonsa Tyre Factory, which is being divested, could be resuscitated to enable it re-tread used tyres and provide jobs.
“It is my belief that the substantial harnessing of the above potentials will propel Western Region to advance to the level of development, which could make it the industrial hub of the country”, he stressed.

ZOOMLION LAUNCHES PROJECT TO CLEAN BEACHES (SEPT 23, PAGE 21)

ZOIL Services Limited, a subsidiary of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a waste management company, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, has launched an Eco Brigade Project for the daily cleaning of the beaches as well as planting of coconut trees and mangroves along the country’s four coastal regions.
The coastal regions are the Central, Western, Greater Accra and Volta.
The project is to ensure sustainability of maintenance of sanitation and restoration of the biodiversity in the coastal communities.
The project aims at recruiting 10,000 people from the coastal communities who will also be trained in emergency oil spillage containment on our seas and along the shore-line.
Speaking at the launch of the project at Esiama in the Ellembelle District in the Western Region, the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ms Sherry Ayitey, stated that issues on environment had attracted a lot of concerns from several quarters in recent times.
The situation, she said, had been occasioned by the fact that the environment contained the various elements from which human survival is derived.
Ms Ayitey, however, added that the pressure of increased human population and its attendant activities brought that sort of life and the question of how long the environment would be able to support human lives.
“Globally, we talk of the grave consequences of climate change affecting rainfall patterns in both its intensity and distribution, rising sea levels and its effects on fishing communities, coastal erosion and the negative consequences on coastal communities,” she said.
She assured Ghanaians that the Government was up to the task and would surely skip the dirty part of development through well-designed programmes, such as the Eco Brigade Project.
Ms Ayitey said employees of the project would not only be engaged in the cleaning and monitoring of the beach fronts, but would also ensure that the beaches were clean for both local and foreign tourists.
That, she said, would obviously impact positively on the health of the citizenry along the coast and tourists as well.
She emphasised that such environmentally related employment opportunities would not be restricted only to the coast, adding that the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology was also actively developing an underwater timber harvesting, processing and marketing in the Volta River Lake.
Ms Ayitey said her ministry and Ministries of Education and Energy would plan to ensure that the universities and polytechnics produced people with the technical skills needed to push the oil industry.
The Minister of Health, Dr George Sipa-Adjah Yankey, said the launch of the Eco Brigade Project was part of the country’s preparation towards the oil production.
He explained that while the country would benefit from the oil find, it was also anticipated that there would be some difficulties.
Dr Yankey said the blessing these people would derive from the oil industry should not turn into a curse, and that there was a need to ensure that the marine products were safe and good for human consumption.
The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Mr Kwabena Osei Acheampong, urged metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives to ensure that sand winning activities at the beaches were ceased.
He stated that sand winning activities had reduced some of the beaches to rocky areas.
The Minister of Energy, Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei, said clean environment was the greatest legacy the people could bequeath to the future generation .
In an address read on his behalf, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Rashid Pelpuo, reiterated that the ministry would not dispose of employees of the National Youth and Employment Programme, and that about 41,000 people would be employed in the programme by the end of the year.

USE STOOL LANDS REVENUE TO PROVIDE COMMUNITY PROJECTS (SEPT 22, PAGE 20)

THE Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Lands and Forestry, Mr Gershon K.B. Gbediame, has called on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to use stool lands revenue disbursed to the assemblies to provide development projects that will benefit the communities, particularly those whose lands are affected.
He stressed that it was not for nothing that 55 per cent of the stool lands revenue was disbursed to the assemblies.
Mr Gbediame made the call when members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Lands and Forestry met officials of the Mpohor Wassa East District Assembly at Daboase in the Western Region to discuss the use of the stool lands revenue disbursed to the assembly in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
He said the communities whose lands had been affected were losing their lands for life, and therefore, urged the assemblies to be innovative in their activities.
Mr Gbediame stated that the stool lands revenue was disbursed to the assemblies without any guidelines and that was the reason why the assemblies used the money for other purposes.
“We will recommend to the appropriate authorities so that there should be guidelines for the use of the stool lands revenue”, he added.
Mr Gbediame also realised that the assemblies did not know how much they should collect as stool lands revenue for a year, and that they collected whatever was given them as revenue from the stool lands.
The Mpohor Wassa East District Finance Officer, Mr K.P. Ampiah, said the assembly collected GH¢42,410.20, GH¢96,987.97 and GH¢63,188 in 2004, 2005 and 2006, respectively as stool lands revenue.
He said part of the money was used for the maintenance of the assembly’s tipper truck, paying sitting allowances, salaries and wages, for poverty mapping, reshaping of some roads and the construction of school blocks and public places of convenience.

ADAMUS SUPPORTS NKRUMAH'S CENTENARY (SEPT 22, PAGE 30)

ADAMUS Resources Limited, a gold mining company at Nkroful in the Ellembelle District in the Western Region has presented a cheque for GH¢10,000 to the Ellembelle District Assembly towards the centenary celebration of the birth of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana.
At a ceremony to present the cheque, the Finance and Business Director of Adamus Resources Limited, Mr Mark Addo, said the company was proud to be part of the celebration and that the donation was to help build the assembly’s capacity to provide social amenities for the people of the district.
He explained that Adamus Resources was an emerging gold mining company developing the Nzema Gold Operations.
He said the company had plans to become a gold producer within the next 12 to 18 months with the production of 100,000 ounces of gold per year for the next 10 years.
As part of its social responsibility, he said, Adamus Resources in the past years had developed several projects in the communities within its catchment area.
Mr Addo said the company’s main priority in community relations and development had been targeted at youth education, capacity building and infrastructural support to improve the quality of lives of people in the area.
He said the company had spent US$200,000 on projects, including the provision of mechanised borehole to the Nkroful Agricultural Senior High School and the training of 91 youth from the communities to acquire technical skills in welding, plumbing, electrical works, carpentry and catering.
Mr Addo said the company had also built 10 classroom blocks for various communities in its area of operation.
The Ellembelle District Chief Executive, Mr Daniel Kemambeku Eshun, promised that the donation would be put to good use.

'T' POLY ADMITS 2,741 STUDENTS (SEPT 21, PAGE 17)

THE Takoradi Polytechnic offered admission to a total of 2,741 students for the 2009/2010 academic year.
The matriculants comprised 1,820 males and 921 females. The freshers have already gone through an intensive orientation programme to expose them to the various structures, rules and regulations of the institution.
Speaking at the 18th matriculation ceremony in Takoradi, the Rector of the Takoradi Polytechnic, Dr Samuel Obeng Apori advised the students to comply with all the school’s statutes, code of ethics and students’ handbook.
He explained that those were the instruments which would be used to regulate their stay and activities on campus.
“I will further encourage you to give your studies all attention. Management has put in place a full complement of lecturers and supporting staff as well as the requisite teaching and learning materials and equipment to equip you with skills, knowledge and attitudes to make you function in your chosen fields of endeavour”, he said.
Dr Apori reminded the students that the society was more diversified than ever and that Takoradi Polytechnic was not an exception.
He added that they would have to interact with their peers who might have perception which were different from theirs.
He, therefore, advised them to learn to live peacefully with all persons and learn to appreciate their differences instead of using that as basis for discrimination and confusion.
Dr Apori further advised the students to learn to use persuasion to help others to understand their view point and not violent, and also co-operate with authorities in helping to sustain a civil environment for effective teaching and learning.
In an address read on his behalf, the Western Regional Minister, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, said the various programmes of study they had been admitted to pursue, required high professional standards and code of ethics.
Therefore, he said as students, they should be seen as role models to set good examples for the people who would be looking up to them.
“Since some of you live in town, you are going to interact more with the community and your actions are bound to be under scrutiny.
“You therefore have to demonstrate a high sense of disciplinary behaviour and live above reproach,” he further advised them.
Mr Aidoo urged the students to avoid excessive drinking, drugs and other vices, and also avoid unbridled sexual behaviour and at all times try to uphold the code of ethics and serve as role models to uplift the image of the Polytechnic.

Veep eulogises Kwame Nkrumah and says..GHANA WORTH DYING FOR (LEAD STORY, SEPT 21)

STORY: Kwame Asiedu Marfo & Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Nkroful

Vice-President John Dramani Mahama has stated that the government’s decision to celebrate the life of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, is a demonstration to the current generation that the country is worth dying for.
He noted that Dr Nkrumah might not have been alone in the struggle to attain independence for Ghana, “but in every struggle it is the ideals of an individual that bring the strands of the struggle to the intended climax”.
He said such was the case of Dr Nkrumah when he brought the dreams and aspirations of the nation to the expected end.
Speaking to the chiefs and people of Nkroful in the Ellembelle District as part of the centenary celebration of Dr Nkrumah’s birthday, Vice-President Mahama said it was within this context that the debate over whether it was prudent to celebrate Nkrumah alone ought to be conducted.
He said gone were the days when the possession of anything that had to do with Nkrumah was a crime, adding that Nkrumah’s place in history had been affirmed by his being voted the man of the century and being acclaimed worldwide.
The Vice-President said it was not in doubt that Kwame Nkrumah was at the forefront of the nationalist struggle for the country’s independence and self-determination for Africa’s liberation struggle.
“He laid a solid foundation by providing our nation with infrastructural facilities and social amenities which are still visible today and attest to the vision he had for Ghana,” he said.
“As we speak, a product of his vision, the Akosombo Dam, is still the contributor of the chunk of the country’s energy needs, and that is the man we are talking about and celebrating today,” he said.
The Vice-President said Nkrumah was not just an individual but an institution in Africa and to Africans in the Diaspora, saying “his contribution to African political thought and the dignity of Africans will remain lasting memories and legacies for generations yet unborn”.
“The schools, roads, ports, health facilities, the Akosombo hydro project and his vigorous industrialisation and agricultural programmes continue to form the foundation upon which successive governments have depended.”
He said it was against this backdrop that the ideals of Nkrumah should be immortalised.
A representative of the planning committee, Prof. Agyeman Badu Akosa, thanked the chiefs and people of Nzema for giving Ghana, Africa and the world such a great son.