Omanhene calls for support for development
Govt to extend relief programme to farmers, fishermen
Omanhene calls for support for development
Drobo (Brong Ahafo) 03 December 2001- The chiefs and people of Drobo Traditional Area have celebrated their annual Munufie Kese festival and marked the 20th anniversary of the enstoolment of Drobomanhene, Beyeeman Dosea Gyinantwi IV.
Speaking at a thanksgiving service to round off the festivities, Beyeeman Gynantwi urged the people to patronise the educational endowment fund and health insurance scheme launched by the people recently.
He expressed regret that there were many brilliant children, especially girls, who were not able to continue their education because their parents could not afford and said the education endowment fund was the surest way to empower the people and promote development.
He said a committee that had been set up under the chairmanship of Professor Kwame Tuah, former Acting Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi would not discriminate in the disbursement of the fund and urged all to contribute generously to it.
Beyeeman Gyinantwi and Yaa Ansuaa, Queenmother of the traditional area, donated 10 million cedis to the fund while the chiefs and elders contributed 40 million cedis to the fund.
The Omanhene appealed to the people to patronise the Jaman South Health Insurance Scheme, which he said, was the surest bet to meet their health needs.
The Reverend Dr Kwame Amoah-Kumah, Brong Ahafo Presbytery Chairman of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, in his sermon, expressed dismay at the poor education standards in the Jaman district.
"It is unfortunate to note that education is not very much embraced in the area. Results of even BECE (Basic Education Certificate Examination) is not the best, and may I call on all to set all eyes on educating the young ones, who are the future builders of your state."
Rev Amoah-Kuma, therefore, called on the chiefs and people of the area to come together and explore the possibility of offering their children the opportunity to raise their horizon and explore opportunities in life.
"True and effective socio-economic development begins with harnessing the potentials of the people to create awareness for meaningful development."
He stressed the importance of unity and the need to avoid backbiting, squabbles and gossiping and to concentrate rather on supporting policies and programmes that would help empower the youth, poor, oppressed and marginalised in society to achieve progress and sustainable socio-economic development.
"Come let us build together, aware of how some people live it calls to reason that we shall all unite to help people repair their broken lives, broken homes, broken marriages and broken walls of life.
"Let us leave all the negative tendencies of our lives and forge ahead to achieve positive and pragmatic ways of developing our state," he said.
Mr Johnson E. Amankona, the first Agricultural Extension Officer to be posted to the Jaman District, called on parents to ensure the proper upbringing of their children to enable them to contribute more effectively to the development of society.
He also advised the chiefs and people to spend less on funerals and other functions, saying they should devote the greater part of their resources to the education of their children.
An appeal for funds in aid of the Educational Endowment Fund yielded 55.6 million cedis.
GRi…/
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Govt to extend relief programme to farmers,
fishermen
Akim Oda (Eastern Region) 03 December 2001- The government is to extend its programme on micro credit support to farmers, fishermen and small and medium scale entrepreneurs in the Eastern Region under the Emergency Social Relief Programme (ESRP).
The Birim South District Chief Executive, Mr Yaw Amprofi announced this at Akim Oda on Friday at a one-day workshop organised by the Adventist Development and 2Relief Agency (ADRA) to brief its collaborating institutions on the agency's new programme for the next five years.
About 100 Stakeholders from Birim South, Kwaebibirim, Suhum/Kraboa Coaltar and West Akim Districts attended the workshop.
Mr Amprofi said that the success of the credit programme would depend on the repayment of the loans, which would serve as a revolving fund to enable others also to benefit.
He appealed to ADRA for assistance in the provision of portable water, increased access to sanitation facilities and relief assistance in the form of building materials to disaster victims in the rural communities.
Giving an overview of ADRA's activities, Mr Paul Osono, a Planning Officer said, in the past five years, ADRA supported 2,000 farmers in 10 communities within the 10 districts in the Eastern Region to cultivate over 2,000 hectares of citrus.
In addition to the agro-forestry programmes, ADRA also conducted nutrition and sanitation programmes, focusing on issues relating to personal hygiene, environmental sanitation and sanitary food preparation.
A Senior Field Project Officer, Mr Simon S. Saka said, under its credit programme, ADRA would support project farmers with improved seed maize, plantain suckers and citrus seedlings.
He said all credit to farmers would be disbursed using group methodology of the village bank concept, in which farmers would be organised into groups of between 20 to 25.
The Eastern Regional Co-ordinator of ADRA In-charge of Food and Nutrition, Mrs Miriam Tetteh-Atta announced that the agency in partnership with the Agricultural Research Station of the University of Ghana at Kade would produce various citrus seedlings and planting suckers for farmers.
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