Monday, April 26, 2010

MINING COMPANY TRAINS 50 YOUTH (PAGE 43, APRIL 26, 2010)

FIFTY people selected from communities within the catchment area of Adamus Resources Limited, a mining company undertaking the Nzema Gold Operations at Nkroful in the Western Region, are undergoing a capacity-building training programme at the Kikam Technical Institute.
The training programme, jointly funded by the Australian government and Adamus Resources Limited, is aimed at improving the beneficiaries’ employment opportunities through the acquisition of vocational skills.
Since 2007, the company has trained 91 youth under the first and second phases of the programme in plumbing, carpentry, masonry, electrical installation, mechanics and welding.
The Australian government has contributed GH¢28,830 towards the training programme, which is part of a Direct Aid Programme, a small grants programme that the Australian High Commission administers.
The Third Secretary of the Australian High Commission, Mr Ian Gould, launched the third phase of the programme on behalf of the High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr Billy Williams, at Kikam.
He said Australia was pleased to support programme in partnership with Adamus Resources Limited and the Kikam Technical Institute.
Mr Williams said Australia was committed to broadening and deepening engagement with Africa across a full spectrum of issues, including enhanced trade and commercial investments.
He said Australia had increased its development assistance to Africa by over 40 per cent to AUD$163.9 million in 2009 and 2010.
“Other areas of assistance which Australia will be extending to Africa are helping to build Africa’s human resource capacity through an expanded scholarships programme in areas of Australian expertise, such as agriculture, natural resource management, water and health, trade policy and economic governance”, he said.
Mr Williams urged the trainees to make maximum use of the opportunity given them to acquire skills to make them employable.
The General Manager of Adamus Resources Limited, Mr David McNee, said the company was committed to the training programme for the youth to advance themselves to assist their respective families and communities.
He said the mining company was working closely with the communities to ensure development in their communities.
The Ellembelle District Chief Executive, Mr Daniel Kermanbetu Eshun, stated that the training programme was the first of its kind that a company was organising for the youth in its catchment area in the district.
He urged the company to employ the trainees after the training to avoid the situation where they would become idle.
The Paramount Chief of the Nsein Traditional Area, Awulae Agyefi Kwame, said the training programme initiative was an indication that the chiefs and people within the catchment area of the company would benefit immensely from its operations.
The Principal of the Kikam Technical Institute, Mr John Appiah, said the school was happy to host the training programme.
He, however, appealed to the company to help the institute to solve its accommodation problem.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

FISHERMEN THREATEN VITAL INSTALLATION (BACK PAGE, APRIL 22, 2010)

THE Single Point Mooring (SPM) facility, a vital installation of the Volta River Authority (VRA) used in pumping light crude oil from tankers at sea to the Takoradi Thermal Plant, is being threatened by the activities of fishermen.
The SPM, which is located 4.5 kilometres offshore Aboadze, is highly inflammable because it contains light crude oil used to fire turbine generators of the plant.
Reports and observations made by the VRA indicate that some fishermen get on board the facility and cook during fishing expeditions at night while others get their nets into its security zone.
This came to light at a consultative meeting in Takoradi to educate fishermen and stakeholders on the dangers of fishing around the SPM and the effect of other human activities on the operations of the thermal plant.
Sand winning activities along the seashore, which are coming close to the electricity pylons that carry power generated at the station to the VRA Takoradi sub-station, are also likely to affect the operations at the power station.
Some of the local fishermen cast and set their fishing nets in the 500-metre SPM security zone.
These activities are seen as a great threat to the SPM facility and the entire thermal plant, since any fire outbreak on the facility would extend to the power station through the marine pipelines, which are likely to cause extensive damage to the facility, the station and the nearby communities.
Each of the oil storage tanks at the power station has a capacity of 150,000 barrels of light crude oil, while the cargo vessels could carry over 450,000 barrels of light crude.
There have been situations where fishing nets cast around the SPM have entangled the propellers of cargo vessels which deliver light crude at the SPM, as well as divers who go under the sea for routine checks on the marine pipelines.
Making a presentation at the meeting, the Senior Information/Publicity Assistant of the VRA/TTPS, Mr John Chobbah, said the VRA was firmly committed to a policy of maximum safety in all its operations and demanded compliance within the terminal limits.
He said the authority strictly observed fire preventive measures and pollution controls.
Mr Chobbah said the VRA, with the help of the Ghana Navy, was trying to bring the situation under control, adding that “there is also an ongoing educational interaction with the surrounding fishing communities on the need to stay clear of the SPM”.
The SPM Co-ordinator, Mr Seth Akweitey, explained that when the Ghana Maritime Authority Services Amendment Bill, which was before Parliament, was passed, all offshore installations, including the SPM, oil rigs and the West African Pipeline Project, would be covered by the law and that no fishing and other activities would be allowed near those installations.
He explained that anybody caught near the installations after the passage of the law would be prosecuted.
The acting Operations Manager of the Takoradi Thermal Power Station, Mr Jacob Brown Yawson, said since the construction of the thermal plant over 10 years ago the VRA and the people in the nearby fishing communities had peacefully co-existed.
The Chief of Aboadze, Nana Kofi Attom, said it was not only fishermen from Aboadze, Shama and Abuesi who came to do fishing around the SPM, but also those from Komenda and Cape Coast.
He advised the fishermen not to go near the SPM to avoid any disaster.

NSUTA CONSTRUCTS MODERN COMMUNITY CENTRE (PAGE 42, APRIL 22, 2010)

THE people of Nsuta in the Sekyere Central District in the Ashanti Region are constructing a multi-purpose community centre estimated at GH¢500,000.
Already, GH¢140,000 has been spent on the 1,200-seat capacity project being sited on a 10-acre piece of land.
The community has moulded 12,000 blocks for the project. The project is at the casting stage.
An Easter fund-raising rally for the five-year project started in 2007 yielded GH¢201,000.
Briefing the people of Nsuta at the Easter fund-raising rally, the secretary to a 12-member Nsutaman Building Committee Mr Kwabena Owusu, said the foundation of the building had been constructed and filled.
He said the committee had also bought one tonne of iron rods.
Mr Owusu, who is the Assembly member for the Palace Electoral Area at Nsuta, appealed to the people to contribute generously to ensure the early completion of the project.
The paramount chief of the Nsuta Traditional Area, Nana Adu Agyei Bonsafo, said the large gathering of the people at the function was an indication of the peace and unity prevailing in the area.
He stated that successive governments had set agriculture as the priority sector and called on the people, particularly the youth, to go into that venture.
Nana Bonsafo also urged parents to enrol their children in school to ensure their orderly development.
The Sekyere Central District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Ebenezer Akuoko Frimpong, said unity and peace were vital in every development process.
He was happy that the people in the area were not waiting for the government to provide them with their social amenities but had initiated such development projects on their own.
Mr Frimpong said the government would not disappoint the people, stressing that it would continue to ensure the social transformation of the rural areas.
He said the Sekyere Central District Assembly would construct its permanent administration block, a bungalow for the DCE and other officials and also complete the Nsuta market.
Mr Frimpong advised the people to register with the National Identification Authority for their national identity cards.
The Member of Parliament for Nsuta-Kwamang-Beposo, Mr Kwame Osei-Prempeh, said it was the people’s civic responsibility to help develop their respective areas.
He stated that the construction of the community centre was a big project which would help raise the image of the town.
He implored the people to provide communal labour to reduce the cost of the project, adding that it was a civic responsibility for all Ghanaians to take part in communal labour.
The MP said he would use part of his share of the Common Fund to rehabilitate the Nsuta court building and provide a laboratory for the Nsutaman Polyclinic.
He said between now and 2012, he would ensure the improvement of academic performance of schools in the constituency.

Friday, April 16, 2010

TAKORADI PORT TO BE TRANSFORMED (BACK PAGE, APRIL 16, 2010)

THE Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has designed a master plan for the redevelopment and expansion of the Takoradi Port to transform it into a modern and vibrant one to meet the challenges of the emerging oil and gas industry.
The Board of Directors and management of the GPHA has already discussed and approved the plan, which would be implemented in three phases.
The first phase, involving a detailed engineering design, is estimated to cost US$150 million, while the second phase will consist of marine works, with the third phase covering both marine and civil works.
The weakness of the Takoradi Port, which was constructed in 1928, include shallow berths, low operational productivity, land space limitation and imbalance of cargo.
A stakeholders’ forum on the proposed expansion of the port has been held in Takoradi. A presentation on the development proposals for the port was made for the public to make comments and ask questions on the project.
At the forum, the Minister of Transport, Mr Mike Hammah, said the ministry had a significant role to play in the successful exploitation of the oil and gas industry.
He explained that it was for that reason that the ministry and other stakeholders held a major transport sector conference in Accra in July, last year, for all the agencies under the ministry to understand fully their respective roles in the oil and gas exploration to prepare them for the challenges ahead.
Mr Hammah said the Ministry of Transport was aware of the maritime demands of the oil exploration and production, including the gas by-product, and was determined to meet those demands.
He said the situation now, where services needed by oil companies were being provided by existing oil service facilities in Abidjan, could not be allowed to persist forever.
The minister said the master plan for the expansion of the two main ports of Tema and Takoradi had been developed since 2001 and was expected to be implemented in phases but the current situation underscored the need for the ports, particularly that of Takoradi, to respond quickly to emerging demands.
The Director-General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Mr N.P. Galley, said the Takoradi Harbour had seen only one major expansion in the 1950s since it was built in 1928.
The Deputy Western Regional Minister, Ms Betty Busumtwi-Sam, said the expansion of the Takoradi Port was long overdue.
She said it was important to expand the port because of its strategic location as far as the oil production was concerned.

Friday, April 9, 2010

AVREBO JHS GETS NEW CLASSROOM BLOCK (PAG 21, APRIL 9, 2010)

THE Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL) has constructed a GH¢65,268.04 three-classroom block for the Avrebo Junior High School (JHS) in the Nzema East Municipality in the Western Region, furnished it and provided it with toilet facilities.
The new building replaces the old bamboo structure, which compelled some children of the village to walk a long distance to Dadwen, to attend school.
The project is the ninth school block that has been built and donated to communities in the company’s operational area since 2007.
Other beneficiary communities are Nsuaem, New Subri, Anibil, Onzeanye, Apemenim Number One, Duarohoro, Kedadwen and Chavene.
GREL’s decision to build the school block for the Avrebo community was driven by the company’s commitment to improve education in the communities in its operational area.
The Managing Director of the Ghana Rubber Estates Limited, Mr Marc Genot, who inaugurated the project, stated that education is the key to development.
Education, he said, eradicates ignorance and poverty and fosters knowledge and socio-economic well-being, adding that education was also the only way that a nation could renew its manpower needs for the future.
“For the children of Avrebo, this school must be a lasting treasure. They will no more attend classes in the old bamboo structure or walk to Dadwen to attend school”, he said.
Mr Genot expressed the hope that the classroom block would be well maintained so that 50 years from now, the structure would still stand.
He said since 2005, the company had offered scholarships to 49 brilliant, needy children in its operational area to pursue further education in second-cycle institutions.
Mr Genot said the company had been organising long vacation classes for more than 3,000 pupils in 22 communities in its operational area since 2006.
He added that the full cost of the vacation classes, covering learning materials, weekly snacks and payment for teachers, was borne entirely by the company.
The aims of the vacation school programme, he explained, were to assist the children to improve upon their academic performance and discourage them from roaming during the holidays.
The managing director assured the chiefs and people that GREL would continue promoting education to assist in the development of their manpower needs.
The Nzema East Municipal Director of Education, Mrs Marian Quansah, mentioned dilapidated school buildings, teachers refusing posting to the rural communities and poor road network as some of the challenges facing the directorate.
She, therefore, urged GREL to sustain the programme and extend it to other rural communities in the municipality.
The Tufuhene of Avrebo, Nana Andoh, commended the company for allowing the people to cut down some rubber trees to pave way for the extension of electricity to the town and also providing the town with 20 street bulbs.