Area Council members advised to respect chiefs
Gender disparity breeds poverty among women
Intensify outreach education programme-NCCE
urged
Zebilla
Secondary/Technical holds first speech day
Area Council members advised to respect
chiefs
Abura Asebu (Central Region) 8 July 2003 - Members of Area Councils have no power to de-stool chiefs, Andrew K. Mensah, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese has said. He said Council members should not dabble in chieftaincy issues and must respect chiefs in order to win their support for the maintenance of peace and harmony.
Mensah was inaugurating a 10-member Area Council for Asebu in the Central Region. He reminded members that the
work of the Council was sacrificial and that they should work hard to ensure
development in the area.
Mensah advised members to take active interest in the activities
of the assembly to enable the citizens to appreciate the efforts of the
assembly to develop the area.
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Bekwai (Ashanti Region) 8 July 2003 - An audit inquiry into the Asante Bekwai paramount stool account
has uncovered an alleged embezzlement of ¢20.2m and other acts of financial
malfeasance by Nana Asiedu Okofo
II, Krontihene of Bekwai.
An audit report by the Ashanti Regional office of the Audit
Service covered 1992-1999 at the request of the Bekwai
Traditional Council. The 25-page report indicated that Nana Okofo
allegedly embezzled the mineral and forestry royalties paid by the
Administrator of Stool Lands to the Bekwai stool
between November 1996 and May 1999 when he held himself as the Omanhene.
It, therefore, recommended that the chief be made to refund
the amount. The report noted that advances of ¢8m granted by the office of the
Stool Lands Commission to the Bekwai Traditional
Council between 1997 and 1999 could not be properly accounted for.
The report said another ¢12m meant for the construction of
a palace for the Queenmother could not be accounted
for. The report queried the propriety of the withdrawal of ¢65.9m from the Bekwai Stool Account Number Three and its subsequent use on
recurrent expenditure.
According to the report the certificate of holding of 106
shares of the Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC) valued at ¢2m said to have been
purchased by the Council on
Meanwhile, the traditional council at its meeting held at Bekwai at the weekend, unanimously agreed to refer the
audit report to the police for the necessary action.
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Obo-Kwahu (Eastern Region)
He appealed to parents, school authorities and other
stakeholders to change immoral behaviour of students. Dr Osafo-Mensah who was speaking at the 32nd Speech and
Prize-Giving Day at the Kwahu Ridge Secondary
Technical School (KRISTECH) at Obo-Kwahu on Saturday,
said the government believed that the transition from the present state of
development to a state of prosperity must commence with the inculcation of
positive work ethics.
He said the European Union (EU) was assisting the School to
build a ¢60m library and computer laboratory and appealed to the citizens of
Obo and other surrounding communities to offer communal labour for the project
to be completed on schedule.
The Headmaster of the school, George Agyarey,
said 28 out of the 70 candidates presented for last years' Senior Secondary
School (SSS) Certificate examination qualified for tertiary institutions.
He commended the School's Old Students Association (OSA)
and the Parents Teacher Association (PTA) for their contributions to the
school's development by providing 120 mono-desks, 11 dinning hall tables,
refurbishment of buildings and a donation of ¢10m cash towards the school's
library.
Agyarey appealed to the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education
Service (GES), the District Assembly and other NGOs to assist the school to
re-roof the girls' dormitory, science block and a classroom block.
He said lack of teachers' accommodation was affecting the
retention of academic personnel and enforcement of discipline among boarding
students. The Headmaster appealed for a bigger bus for the school to transport
the students to its Twenedurase campus, one-and-half
kilometres away to enhance academic performance.
The PTA later presented a number of items including a
double-decker refrigerator, a ghetto blaster, a four-burner stove and a
cylinder to the school.
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Captain (Rtd) Nkrabea
Effah-Dartey, a Deputy Minister for Local Government
and Rural Development, said most countries' development was measured by the
standard of living of their womenfolk.
The award scheme being instituted by the National
Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) is aimed at recognizing and
improving the livelihood of women in their places of work as well as reward
assemblies whose activities impact positively on the efforts at gender mainstreaming.
It would also encourage assemblies to adopt gender
responsive policies at the local level as well as make issues of gender a
priority of the district assemblies.
Capt. Effah-Dartey said:
"Women act as the barometer or the focal point for marking the standard of
living or development of any nation, and the Ghanaian woman is no exception. "There is, therefore, the need for more education for
our women to improve our living standards."
Capt. Effah-Dartey said women
were as good as the male counterparts in all fields of life once they were
educated and were able to overcome their marginalisation. He, therefore, called
on women to lead the campaign in the emancipation of women and the eradication
of some obnoxious cultural practices such as 'trokosi'
and female genital mutilation (FGM).
Kwesi Ameyaw Cheremeh,
president of NALAG, said
NALAG, he said, was therefore encouraging all district
assemblies to participate in the award scheme and to develop, promote and
enhance gender participation and equity in all activities of the districts.
Mrs Gloria Ofori Boadu, immediate past Executive Director of FIDA who
represented the Chairman of the NALAG Technical Committee, said the evaluation
for the awards would be from 1998 to 2002 to ensure that it covered activities
of the governments of both the New Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New
Patriotic Party (NPP).
"This cross-cutting period is to ensure fairness and
impartiality," she said. Kofi Asante, a former Member of Parliament (MP) who chaired the
function, urged women to be involved in all stages of budget planning in order
to capture their needs from the beginning to implementation stage.
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Dakar (Senegal) 8 July 2003 - President John Kufuor, on Monday arrived in Dakar Senegal to participate in a day's meeting between US President George W. Bush and eight West African heads of state.
President Kufuor, who was met on arrival by the Senegalese President Abdul Wade, inspected a guard of honour mounted by the Senegalese army. Joseph Henry Mensah, Senior Minister, Papa Owusu Ankoma, Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Lieutenant General Seth Obeng, Chief of Staff accompanied the President.
Other West African leaders, who had arrived at the meeting, scheduled for tomorrow, were President Ahmed Tigan Kabbar of Seria Leone, President Matheiw Kereku of Benin, President Yaya Jammeh of Gambia, President Amadu Toumani Toure of Mali, President Mammadou Tanja of Niger and the President of Cape Verde.
The trip by President Bush, the first to Africa since he assumed the Presidency in 2001, would take him to other four countries: Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana and Uganda. The trip was designed to improve US global image and help to establish peace and security and across the continent to make the advantages of health and literacy widely available and also help African nations to develop vibrant free economy through aid and trade.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 8 July 2003 - Nana Akomea, Minister of Information, has said in London that the Government was committed to the entrenchment of democratic culture in Ghana underpinned by freedom of the individual and expression, the rule of law and respect for property.
A statement issued by the Ghana High Commission in London said he was speaking at a dinner in honour of Okyenhen, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin I, who is currently on a 15-day working visit to London. Nana Akomea noted that without democracy the voice of the people on issues of national importance would never be brought into limelight.
He said: "The days when democratic culture became a rule of one man, and a few friends are over." The Minister urged Ghanaians never "to allow democracy to be stolen from them". Nana Akomea described Okyenhene as "a representation of a new kind of King" who had brought dynamism into the institution of chieftaincy.
He praised Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin for providing the leadership for the growth and development of Okyeman traditional area and commended him for his track record in the campaign for forest conservation, education and eco-tourism.
Nana Akomea said the World Bank's recent grant of half a million dollars to the Okyeman Traditional Council was testimony to the all embracing efforts being made under the leadership of Osagyefuo to bring comfort and relief to the people of the area.
The Minister congratulated Ghanaians in the Diaspora for their hard work and urged them to continue to keep the flag of the nation aloft. Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin said nation building was a difficult process and called on Ghanaians to rally round the Government in its efforts to build a prosperous society for the future generation.
He expressed optimism that Ghanaians would heed the clarion call, rise to the expectation and continue to think about what contributions they could make towards the country's development.
He called on citizens of Okyeman area to consider sponsoring the education of the less privileged children to enable them to develop their inherent talents in today's global world. He declared: "Every child is significant and has the potential and must find knowledge to enrich his mind to the good of the society."
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Tamale (Northern Region) 8 July 2003 – The Deputy Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs, Andrews Awuni has announced that Regional Ministers would henceforth hold press conference in their respective regions to account for their stewardship to the people instead of holding such forums in Accra.
He said this new development was to enable the people to ask the ministers questions pertaining to the development of their regions and also bring them to book when found wanting.
Awuni was talking on "Diamond FM", a local radio station in Tamale on Monday, as part of his familiarization tour of media houses in the region. He said: "For this time round, the media will be taken round to inspect development projects being executed in the regions before the press conferences are conducted to give the journalists the correct picture of what is happening on the ground"
"We want the media to see the projects physically and expose them to the public for them to see what the government is doing because majority of the people are not aware of the numerous development projects taking place in their communities".
On Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, Awuni said there were no special conditionalities attached to it adding, "it is similar to the Structural Adjustment Programme".
He said it was unfortunate that people had subjected the HIPC initiative to different interpretations. "It is neither our resting place nor a panacea for our economic problems", he said, adding, "conditions that are inimical to our economic growth can be reviewed to meet our specific needs"
On indiscipline, the Deputy Minister said religious bodies and NGOs had contributed immensely to instil discipline in the society and urged the Police, Municipal and District Assemblies to enforce the existing laws to stem indiscipline.
He announced that very soon the Vice-President, who has initiated the campaign against indiscipline, would bring pressure to bear on the police and other relevant agencies to enforce the laws, especially traffic regulations.
Awuni said he had no knowledge about the proposed 40 per cent cut in intake of students at the University of Ghana, Legon but expressed regret that inadequate infrastructure was a problem at the university. He said, "what I saw in Legon during a recent visit was a pity, describing the crowding of students at lecture halls as a "bee hive".
"Some of the students stood on the verandah to take down notes on the backs of their colleagues, while their lecturers had no public address systems to communicate to the students".
Awuni said the government was therefore encouraging private participation in the establishment of universities to absorb the backlog of students who did not have access to the public universities. He called on estate developers to provide hostel facilities at the universities for students to complement government's efforts at providing residential accommodation in the universities.
Reacting to allegations that the President was going to drop Alhaji Aliu Mahama as his running mate in the 2004 elections, Awuni said it was premature to comment since that was the prerogative of the President to choose his running mate. He however, described the existing relationship between the President and the Vice-President as "one between twin brothers".
Awuni announced that the Information Services Department would be provided with modern cinema vans and motorcycles to embark on a comprehensive campaign on HIV/AIDS in the rural communities.
The Department would also be tasked to educate the people on government policies and programmes to enable them to contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic development of the country.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 8 July 2003 - The Movement For Democracy In Liberia (MODEL) one of the rebel groups resisting the rule of President Charles Taylor through the force of arms on Monday expressed satisfaction with the decision of the embattled President to step down and go into exile in Nigeria.
Gen Boi Bleaju Boi, Military Spokesperson for MODEL, said in an interview with Journalists at the M-Plaza Hotel in Accra that President Taylor was inconsistent with his pronouncements and could, therefore, not be taken seriously until he delivered on his word.
"Taylor is somebody who says something and changes his
mind. He is a liar, who has committed a lot of atrocities against
Liberians." Gen Boi, who is in
The Peace Talks had dragged on for one month due to major differences between the Liberian Administration and the two armed groups- Liberians United for Reconciliation and Development (LURD) and MODEL over the legitimacy of the Presidency of Taylor since the Sierra Leone based UN War Crimes Tribunal indicted him.
The warring parties violated the fragile ceasefire they
signed in
President Taylor, on the other hand wants the indictment dropped as a pre-condition for stepping down. President George Bush, who is expected to unveil a plan for a possible US led Multi-National Interventionist Force In Liberia before embarking on his scheduled African tour, had repeatedly called on President Taylor to step down.
The Nigerian Leader President Olusengun Obasanjo clinched a deal with President Taylor at the weekend when he offered to host him should he decide to step aside.
General Boi said MODEL had presented a proposed peace plan to, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, the Chief Mediator of the Peace Talks, and expressed optimism that it would boost the search for a comprehensive peace plan that would among other things carve an interim government for Liberia.
He disassociated MODEL from public pronouncements made by Former Rebel Leader, Roosevelt Johnson claiming to be a member of the Movement.
Johnson Leader of the defunct ULIMO-J of Liberia, now living in exile in Nigeria was reported to have associated himself with MODEL in an interview with the BBC. Tiah Slanger, Chairman of MODEL, debunked the notion that the Movement had waged the war on President Taylor because of its ambition to govern the West African country that had been engaged in a bloody conflict for over 12 years, leading to major humanitarian crisis.
The conflict has generated more than 500,000 refugees in the West Africa Sub-Region alone with many more of the internally displaced lacking potable water, food, medication and shelter.
Slanger said: "We have not thought of forming a political party. We can join any of the political parties in Liberia." MODEL has, however, expressed interest to be part of the interim administration for Liberia, which is now on the drawing board.
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Wa (Upper Region) 8 July 2003 - Former President Jerry John Rawlings on Sunday criticised the performance of the economy, blaming the situation on corruption and inefficient management by the government.
This, he said, is evidenced by the massive debt the government had built up within its two-and-a-half-year in office. He said while the former NDC government left office after eight years in power, with a debt of ¢41trillion, the ruling NPP government has so far contracted ¢23trillion debt and warned that if care is not taken it could hit the ¢100trillion mark.
Flt-Lt Rawlings was addressing a rally organised by the NDC at the Wa Wanwang Park at which the party's new membership card was launched.
He called on Ghanaians to, at least put in their very minimum to prevent the economy from total collapse so that when the NDC is back to power in the 2004 general elections its task of salvaging the economy would not be impossibility.
Flt-Lt Rawlings likened the present situation of the economy to a ship that is drifting in the seas without a map to direct it as to where it should go.
Earlier, launching the new membership cards, Dr Josiah Aryeh, General Secretary of the party, urged supporters of the NDC to make sure that they acquire their cards as that as that was the only way the strength and membership of the party could be ascertained.
Other speakers included Alhaji Iddrisu Mahama, a former Minister of Defence, Mr Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader in Parliament and Dr Ben Kumbuor, MP for Lawra/Nandom.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 8 July 2003 - The Concerned Citizens Association of Ghana on Monday appealed to the government to institute investigations into the activities of companies that were degrading the forest reserves in the name of reforestation projects.
A release signed by Joseph Yaw Aidoo, President of the Association, said some organisations and companies were felling trees in some forest reserves after they had received permits from the Forestry Commission to undertake reforestation programmes.
"The companies under the pretext of preparing the land were instead felling the remaining trees without preparing seedlings for replanting of the degraded forest," he said.
Some of the affected areas Mr Aidoo said, included, the Mirasa Hill Forest Reserve in the Asante Akim South District, Dome River and the Opro Forest Reserves in the Ofinso District all the Ashanti Region; Paamu Forest Reserve and Berekum Forest Reserve in Brong Ahafo Region.
The Association urged the government to institute an independent body to investigate the activities of the companies and those found guilty should be made to face the full rigours of the laws.
The Association commended the Forestry Division for re-planting over 18,000 hectares of degraded forest reserves throughout the country. It also commended the President for his special initiative in the forestry sector, saying it would go a long way to arrest the on-going degradation of the forest in the country.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 8 July 2003 - The Food and Drugs Board (FDB) on Monday destroyed 400 carcasses of unwholesome local poultry products worth ¢15m out of the 550, which were contaminated with Diazinom, a chemical used in controlling pesticides.
The unwholesome products were confiscated by FDB in conjunction with the public health institutions and the Police at Eric Farms at Awutu Beraku in the Central Region after the owner, Eric Sarfo was advised by the Veterinary Officer in the area to bring samples to FDB for advice.
Dr Mohammed Alfa, Regulatory Officer of FDB, briefing the press at Oblogo Refuse Dump Site, where the products were destroyed, said the poultry farmer, after spraying the chemical on the 550 birds, which died within hours decided to dress them for sale without consulting the veterinary services.
He said the dressed birds were then distributed to some locations in Awutu Beraku and Accra for sale. "It is very unfortunate that only 400 carcasses were retrieved from people's fridges, it means that the remaining 150 have found themselves on the dining tables in some people's homes."
Dr Alfa said there was the need to pay critical attention to local products just as was done for those imported. He said: "Many local poultry producers operate illegally, therefore, no supervision is conducted to check how these birds are killed and processed. It is also illegal because the locally produced poultry products have no manufacturing and expiring dates to guide consumers", he added.
He urged consumers to be mindful of what they bought and to always check the labels on products. Dr Francis Kunadu-Ampratwum, Principal Veterinary Officer of the Veterinary Services Unit of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, said the chemical used by the farmer could cause coma, nausea, dizziness and diarrhoea in humans.
Roderick Daddey-Adjei, Acting Head Food Post Market Surveillance Department of FDB, urged consumers to always insist on their consumer rights by knowing the labelling of every product they bought.
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Gender disparity breeds poverty among women
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 8 July 2003 - Yaw Adjei-Duffour, Brong Ahafo Deputy Regional Minister on Monday said gender disparities in economic power-sharing was a contributory factor to the poverty of women in the country.
Many women in the rural areas lack skills as many of them are pulled out of school at an early stage for marriage, he noted at the opening of a two-day workshop for 50 participants, mostly micro business traders in Sunyani District.
The workshop, organized by Women's World Banking Ghana (WWBG) in collaboration with the United Nations System for Promoting Equality in Ghana was under the theme, "Economic Empowerment of Women in the Micro Enterprise".
Adjei-Duffour said women's poverty "is directly related to the absence of economic opportunities, lack of access to education, support services and their minimal participation in the decision-making process in their communities".
These causal factors can sometimes force women into sexual exploitation and we are all aware of the devastating effects of sexually transmitted diseases, especially HIV/AIDS on the population, he said.
The Deputy Regional Minister added that migration and consequent changes in family structures had also placed additional burden on women, especially those who provide for several dependants.
Adjei-Duffour announced that the Government was working tirelessly to reduce poverty, especially among women, under the Emergency Social Relief Fund and commended the organizers of the workshop for complementing government efforts.
He said Ghanaian women needed to be empowered in every way including skill training, to be able to face the numerous challenges that come their way and urged the participants to cultivate the habit of saving and to learn petty accounting system to be able to successfully control their businesses.
Robert Quaye, General Manager of WWBG, said the workshop was aimed at training women to save with banks to effectively contribute to the development of their families. It is also aimed at equipping women to manage their micro enterprises effectively and to improve their assets to secure their livelihood, he added.
The General Manager said the workshop was part of a national exercise by the organization and the Brong-Ahafo programme, which had targeted 150 women participants, would also cover Techiman and Bechem districts.
After Brong-Ahafo, the organisation will move to organize similar workshops in some parts of the Volta Region and we have earmarked 300 participants in the two regions, Quaye added.
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 8 July 2003 - The leader of the People's National Convention (PNC), Dr Edward Nasigrie Mahama, has said there would not be any cost sharing in education should the party be given the mandate to rule in the 2004 elections.
Dr Mahama said the PNC sees education as an investment to be made by the state in developing its human resource base. ''Hence if voted into power in the Presidential and Parliamentary elections come 2004, we will not put any impediment in the way of students.''
The PNC leader said this when addressing the Northern Students Union (NSU) of the Sunyani Polytechnic at the celebration of the branch's Northern Students Day at Sunyani.
The theme for the celebration was, "The role of the Northern Students in conflict prevention and development in the North." Dr Mahama promised that if PNC were to be given the chance to rule "we will upgrade the Polytechnic Institution since the area is the fastest way to create the needed manpower base for rapid Industrial advancement of the country."
"The fees the NPP Government is contemplating for you students to pay will be out of reach of most of you. The figures bundle around are as high as 20 million cedis for the sciences.''
"If you crop of students do not oppose these exorbitant fees, your own education will be meaningless", he said. Dr Mahama described the NPP's zero tolerance for corruption as a sham and explained that the Government used such nice phrases to hoodwink the Ghanaian voters.
He also criticized President Kufuor government's HIPC initiative and said it was imposed on Ghanaians. "It has made the Ghanaian's economic situation worse than when they took over."
Touching on the theme of the celebration, Dr Mahama said the root causes of conflicts are poverty and ignorance. "If the NPP is allowed to continue with its policies more and more of our citizens will not be able to afford education and therefore, ignorance will increase."
Dr Mahama said illiteracy levels in the three northern regions are over 60 percent and that "there are some villages in the north where there is not a single person who can read a letter. They usually will have to take the letter to the next village or nearest town".
Dr Mahama said for 20 years of the PNDC/NDC rule it failed to build kindergartens, primary and secondary schools as well as universities and the "NPP is doing worse because they are following the exact footsteps of the NDC by commercialising the few public institutions and industries." /
Francis Tapena the Brong-Ahafo Regional Manager of Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) called on the people in the three northern regions to fight the hunger, illiteracy, disease and poverty that continued to bedevil the area.
Timothy Ayimboora, President of the Branch Union, said S-POLY branch of the union had decided to liaise with the national executives to undertake educational campaign to prevent conflict and its consequences.
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President, who left on the Senegalese Presidential flight,
would first fly to
Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, Minister of NEPAD and Regional Integration, Mr Kwabena Agyepong, Presidential Press Secretary, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, Minister of Justice and Attorney General and Mr Joseph Henry Mensah, Senior Minister accompanied him.
In a pre-departure interview, Mr Agyepong
said the agenda of the Africa Union meeting included the election of a
substantive chairman for the
He said they would also discuss conflict situations on the
continent, notably
Agyepong said the summit would
also discuss the implementation of NEPAD as a vital tool for the development of
Already in
In
The meeting with President Bush would also focus on how
Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, the Inspector
General of Police and some Ministers were at the
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Takoradi (Western Region)
This follows a memorandum of understanding signed by Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Education, Youth and Sports (MOEYS), Ms Lydia Osei, Deputy Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and Dan Ayim-Antwi, General Secretary of TEWU on 4 July.
Briefing the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Takoradi on Monday, Ms Johanna Hammond, the Western Regional President of the Women's Wing of TEWU said the strike has been temporarily suspended to allow the three stakeholders to come out with a consensus to resolve the impasse once and for all.
She said the Joint Standing Negotiating Committee would meet on 18 July, and it is expected the MOEYS, GES, and Ministry of Finance would resolve the matter. Ms Hammond called on all stakeholders to expedite action and ensure lasting peace and avoid acts that may jeopardise the ongoing "temporary" peace process.
It would be recalled that members of TEWU last Wednesday embarked on an indefinite strike to back their demand for improved conditions of service, non-implementation of Collective Bargaining Agreement and the non-promotion of administrative personnel among others.
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Intensify outreach education programme-NCCE
urged
Damongo (Northern Region)
Bawa Doshie said the country's democratic experiment could succeed only when the people were so well informed as to be able to discern their civic rights and responsibilities.
The Yagbonwura was contributing to
a discussion forum on: "The role of traditional leaders in promoting
democracy in
Bawa Doshie said traditional rulers in the past combined the roles of the army, the police and the courts such as protecting their territorial boundaries against external aggression, maintaining peace and order, as well as settlement of disputes among their subjects.
He noted, however, that the emergence of the supremacy of the state and the complex nature of society as at now, had modified the roles of the traditional authorities to the maintenance of peace, settlement of chieftaincy disputes and the administration of justice in minor civil offences.
Superintendent Peter Kobina, the District Police Commander in his contribution, said the role of the police was encompassing, including the enforcement of laws of the country. He said: "For this role, we are erroneously seen as enemies in the society, whereas in the absence of the police, there would be anarchy and a chaotic society".
Superintendent Kobina advised chiefs and other traditional authorities to refer criminal cases that come to their courts to the police for proper jurisdiction in the law courts. Sam Bakari, a Field Officer of the NCCE, called for collaboration between chiefs and the police in the maintenance of peace and order in the society.
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Zebilla
Secondary/Technical holds first speech day
Zebilla (Upper East)
"With hardwork, discipline and determination you can climb to the highest heights no matter which school you attend, he said.
Wiredu was delivering the keynote address at the first speech and prize giving day of the Zebilla Secondary/Technical School in the Bawku West district of the Upper East Region.
Established in 1982 with 35 students, the school's student population now stands at 340, out of whom 105 are girls. Quoting the old adage, "brighten the corner where your are", Wiredu, who was guest of honour for the occasion, pointed out that if the same school at Zebilla could produce prominent scholars and politicians including the present Regional Minister, Mahami Salifu and Cletus Avoka, Member of Parliament for the area, then any of the students could also attain prominence if they approached their studies with seriousness.
He commended students for the fact that theirs' was the only school in the region that had never embarked on any demonstration or suffered a closure because of riots, and urged them to keep up the record.
The Minister observed that since every school embarks on a general cleaning-up and renovation of its infrastructure prior to a speech day event, it would do schools in the country a lot of good if such occasions were observed every year.
He further stated that inter-schools sports competitions would also become an annual affair instead of being held bi-annually, to enable his ministry to unearth more young talents in the regions. Wiredu assured staff and students of the school that their requests for means of transport and laboratory equipment, among others, would be addressed within the shortest possible time.
He later commissioned a girls' hostel in the school, put up by the district Assembly at a cost of ¢263m. In a speech, the Regional Minister, Mahami Salifu, indicated that although it was the government's policy to provide quality education for the country's youth, government alone could not possibly bear the cost involved.
He therefore, urged Parent/Teacher Associations, Old Students Associations, religious bodies and non-governmental organizations to continue to play an active role in the effort to make education accessible to all children in he country.
Salifu also urged the students to study hard so as to derive the maximum benefit from the educational facilities put at their disposal. Earlier in a report, the headmaster of the school, Paul Apanga, said the school's science laboratory constructed by the district Assembly in 1998, was still without equipment. Science students and tutors therefore have to travel to the Science Resource Centre at Bawku once every week, a distance of 29 kilometres, to do practical lessons.
Apanga mentioned the lack of means of transport and a library as other pressing constraints facing the school. He appealed to the Education Ministry to change the school's status from day to that of a boarding institution, saying that the move would increase student enrolment and retention considerably.
Kenneth Dabuo, Regional Director of Education, chaired the occasion. Other dignitaries present at the function included, Joseph Akudbilla, Deputy Minister of Defence and Member of Parliament (MP) for Garu/Tempane constituency, Cletus Avoka, MP for Zebilla, the Bawku Naba, Asigri Abugrago Azoka II. Moses Abare Appiah, Bawku West District Chief Executive, the Reverend Jacob Ayeebo, Chairman of the Schools' Board of Directors, and Assembly members.
An appeal for funds for the fencing of the girl's hostel yielded ¢29.7m. The Regional Minister, who is an old student, donated ¢3m, 740 exercise books and five footballs to the school while Avoka, MP for the area pledged ¢4m from his share of the MP's common fund for the extension of electricity to the Kusanaba Senior Secondary School also in the Bawku West District.
Prizes including books and students mattresses were presented to deserving students.
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