Kotokrom To Protest Against Government

Some Inhabitants of Kotokrom in the Sunyani West District of the Brong Ahafo are calling on the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister to come to their aid and clear the refuse dump that is causing havoc in their area or else they will hit the streets to protest against the suffering they are going through.

According to the people they have appealed several times to the Sunyani West Municipal Chief Executive for the past one year but he hasn’t done anything about it.

They said the refuse was pushed close to their house when the MCE came to commission a close by public toilet started by the erstwhile NPP government.

According to Adjei Darkwah, the rubbish was pushed close to their house because the MCE didn’t want the rubbish to block the way to the public toilet.

He noted that, the MCE promised to take the refuse off the area since it in the middle of people’s houses but he has refused to take it off and people still throw rubbish there.

Mr. Darkwah said right now that the rains has set in it will drain the dirt’s into their homes and also they will find it difficult staying in their rooms because of the stench that comes out from the rubbish when it rains.

When our reporter visited the site, a preparatory school was spotted close by the refuse dump with several houses surrounding the refuse dump.

The Director of the Heavenly Royals Preparatory Daycare School, Kwasi Nkrumah said the closeness of the school to the refuse has caused parent to take their children from the school for fear of contracting airborne diseases.

 He expressed his fear that the school might collapse because of the refuse dump.

He noted that they have appealed to the Assembly woman and all those that they can help them in taking off the rubbish but nobody is ready to help them in taking it off.

According to him, when it rains the stench becomes so great that they always close the school when they see the signs of rains.

 From Vivianna Mensah, Kotokrom

llegal Mining Decline Quality of Water In BA

Source of water for people of Abronye curveso

Information gathered by the Daily Guide indicates that there has been a decline in quality and quantity of water resources in the Brong Ahafo due to illegal mining, discharge of untreated industrial effluent, bad farming practices among others.

To access the quality of these water resources, water quality campaign was carried out from January, 2011 to December 2012 on some selected water resources in the region.

After the assessment and comparing the results with Water Resources Commission criteria for raw water, it was revealed that almost all the ground water sources were slightly acidic and may have the potential to cause health problems to the users.

This was made known by Jackson Adiyiah Nyantakyi, a programme officer at the Environmental Protection Agency at a dissemination of environmental results in Sunyani.

He disclosed that the research took place in Rivers Tain, Subin, Pru, Goa, Tano, Akokora as well as the Kintampo and the Fula waterfalls including some boreholes at places like Drobo, Jinijini, Atebubu and Kwame Danso Senior High schools and an Artesian well at Bonsu near Nkoranza.

He has therefore called on NGOs and CWSA to first investigate into the geology of places before drilling boreholes for communities. “Chambers containing lime may be constructed and connected to the boreholes to increase the pH before consumption”, he advised.

A senior programme officer at EPA, Anthony Duah, has also called on District, Municipal and Metropolitan Assemblies to purchase noise detector metres to measure noise pollution to be able to prosecute those who offend the law.

He further gave ways to help clamp down on noise pollution as planting of trees in and around sound generating areas. He also advised that churches are given a plan where temples will be designed in search a way that suitable noise absorbing materials for the walls, windows and ceilings can be used.

According to him, regulations should be imposed to restrict the usage of playing loudspeakers in crowded and public places.

“Social awareness programmes should be taken up to educate the public about the causes and effects of noise pollution”, he added.

The Principal Programme Officer of EPA, Samuel Oteng, who spoke on behalf of the Brong Ahafo Regional Director of  the EPA, Philomena Boakye Appiah, stated that the effective approach to handling environmental problems required a multi-sectoral approach.

According to him, EPA Act, 1994(Act 940) mandates the Agency to prescribe standard and guidelines relating to the population of air, water, land and noise.

He mentioned that section 10(3)(e) of the Local Government Act, 1993 (Act462) empowers the MMDAs to be responsible for the development, improvement and management of human settlements and the environment in the districts.

Mr. Oteng stated that to know the implications of one’s activities and make informed decisions, the relevant information should be put out appropriately and the media has the advantage of reaching the public, since the media provides the largest platform for the dissemination of information and creation of awareness.

“We as humans beings are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature, and this can be achieved only when we make individual as well as collective effort to operationalize the concept of sustainable development”, he added.

 

From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

Student Burnt With Hot Water

17 year old student of Barahamia Islamic school at Penkwase in the Sunyani municipality is currently undergoing treatment at the Sunyani Municipal Hospital after her next door neighbor allegedly poured hot water on her.

The suspect whose name was only given as Rita is said to have picked up a fight with the victim, Abiba Awudu at their house in Sunyani Zongo.

The girl who looked traumatized told journalists that her neighbour picked a fight with her when an old lady in the house nearly fell because of a curtains pole she left in the middle of the house.

She said the old lady asked who placed the curtains pole in the house and the suspects instead of saying the victim did rather started insulting her parents.

“Her insults on my parent got me angry so we fought and she bite my left hand and the neighbours separated us because my parents were not at home”, the victim said.

According to her after the neighbours separated them she went to change her clothes to go and bath. She said, immediately she stepped out of her room to go and bath the suspects threw hot water on her.

When Daily Guide spoke to the victim’s mother, Muniratu Seidu she said they reported the matter to the police and the suspects was arrested but has been granted bail to appear before court on Thursday 22^nd August 2013.

When Daily Guide visited the Sunyani Municipal Police Station, the crime Officer was not on his seat to answer whether the case has come to his unit. 

 From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

Let Tackle Unsafe Abortion

The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Director in-charge of Public Health, Dr. Emmanuel Tinkorang, has stated that for Ghana to achieve MDG five by reducing maternal mortality by 75% by 2015 there is the need to accelerate maternal mortality reduction effort by tackling unsafe abortion and teenage pregnancy in the country.

 

He explained that, Statistics available indicates that unsafe abortion was the second leading cause of maternal mortality in Ghana, accounting for 15% of maternal deaths, and also accounted for 25 to 30% of maternal deaths leading in teaching hospitals in the country.

 

This, he said  impede the country’s efforts at achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 which primarily aimed at reducing maternal mortality by 75% by year 2015.

 

Dr. Tinkorang made this known at the Inception Meeting organized by the Brong Ahafo Regional Chapter of the Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health to officially launch the MDGs Accelerated Framework (MAF) Accountability Project in the region.

 

The Coalition with support from STAR Ghana, a multi-donor agency funded by USAID, European Union, DANIDA and UKaid is implementing MAF Accountability Project in 30 Districts across the country to monitor the implementation of MAF National, Regional and Districts Plans.

 

In the Brong Ahafo, three organizations are responsible for monitoring the project in three districts namely Sunyani Municipal, Tano South and Jaman North Districts in the region.

 

Dr. Tinkorang also identified high unsafe abortion rate, high teenage pregnancy and low family planning acceptor rate as some of the major challenges facing reproductive health in the region.

 

He mentioned inadequate partners to support reproductive health services and inadequate access to adolescent health services in the region as further challenges facing reproductive health.

 

The Deputy Regional Director therefore extended hands of partnership to organizations and institutions especially CSO’s to partner the health directorate to seriously tackle reproductive health in the region.

 

The Brong-Ahafo Co-ordinator of the Ghana Coalition of NGO’s in Health, Kobina Afena-Sam, said the main objective of the MAF Accountability Project is to ensure that resources allocated by Development Partners and Ghana Government are judiciously used.

 

He appealed to the District Health Directors to open-up and be ready to provide information needed to ensure effective monitoring of the project.

 

 From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

Youth Unemployment Is A Serious Problem

The CEO of Global Media Foundation (GLOMEF), Raphael Godlove Ahenu, has noted that youth unemployment is a serious problem that needs radical government intervention as well as intervention by other stakeholders such as cooperating partners, NGO’s and business entities.

 

He therefore stressed the need for Metropolitan, Municipal District Assemblies to collaborate with Civil Societies to put in place down-to-earth interventions to help equip the teaming unemployed youth with vocational skills and resources to enable them establish their businesses.

 

This, according to him, will help drastically reduce the unemployment situation in the country as well as reduce reliance on government for employment opportunities.

 

The CEO of GLOMEF was speaking at the inauguration of the Kwatire-Adantia Youth in Action (KAYIA), a youth group at Kwatire in the Sunyani West District of the Brong Ahafo.  

 

The main aim of the Association is to equip and upgrade the skills of the youth and women in the area with vocational skills such as hairdressing, tailoring, fashion design and ICT, among others.

 

Mr. Ahenu noted that youth unemployment is a major challenge facing youth in Ghana in particular and the world as whole.

 

The CEO therefore challenged world leaders especially those in Africa to come out with measures that will create more avenues for the youth to develop their potentials.

 

The President of the Kwatire-Adantia Youth Association, Bernard Oduro Takyi, said a survey conducted by the leadership of KAYIA on youth unemployment in the two communities revealed that about 70% to 80% of the youth and women in the area are unemployed.

 

According to him, sustainable means of livelihood for women and youth is the surest way in eradicating extreme poverty.

 

He noted that in order to sustain and create the need market base for the association, his outfit is pursuing sustainable partnership with LESDEP, MASLOC, Ministry of Youth and Sports as well as District, Municipal and Metropolitan Assemblies and other likeminded NGO’s.

 

Mr. Oduro Takyi mentioned fashion design, gari and food processing, grass cutter rearing, mushroom farming, poultry and fish farming as some of the projects the Association will tackle.

 

The DCE for Sunyani West, Agnes Kusi, in a speech said Youth unemployment in Ghana now is a veritable social time bomb waiting to detonate.  

 

According to her, there are certain sectors which can create vast business opportunities and vistas for the youth.

She mentioned agro-based industries, the transportation sector, tourism and the hospitality industry, personal services such as tailoring, beauty care and hairdressing, among others.

 

The DCE assured KAYIA that the Assembly will support them to ensure that the vision of the association is well executed.

 

Ten Years For Smoking India Hemp

Thirty-five-year old Collins Kumi from Dormaa Akwamu in the Dormaa East District of the Brong Ahafo Region, has been sentenced to ten years imprisonment by the Dormaa Circuit Court presided over by His Lordship Justice Alexander Osei-Tutu for possessing narcotic drugs.

 

Collins Kumi popularly known as ‘Rasta’ pleaded guilty to the offence and was convicted on his own plea.

 

Presenting the facts of the case, the Dormaa Municipal Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mahamud Yussif, said Kumi was arrested at a public cemetery at Dormaa Akwamu for possessing some quantity of wrappers suspected to be Indian hemp.

 

 DSP Yussif noted that Kumi was among others at the cemetery who took to their heels on seeing the police. He said the gang of Indian hemp smokers were chased but Kumi was the only one arrested. The rest of the gang, he said, were still at large.

 

 He disclosed that after he was arrested, a test was conducted on the herbs wrapped in a paper and it was found out to be Indian hemp.
He was subsequently charged and arranged before court where he pleaded guilty and was convicted by his own plea.

From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

 

Court Summons Creates Tension

The Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwaku Asomah- Cheremeh, has pleaded with the nine Supreme Court judges sitting on the 2012 election petition who have summoned the General Secretary of the NPP, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie and the NPP Communication team member, Hopeson Adorye for alleged unguarded remarks, to hold on to the contempt case until the main case is over.

According to him, the court summons has created tension among a section of Ghanaians which is not good for the peace the country is looking forward to as they awaits the Supreme Court verdicts.

“Many groups are calling for peace so we need to do everything to make the peace works”, he added.

The NPP Chairman, who was speaking on Ark FM, a local radio station in Sunyani, said many of the youth in the NPP are worried and have threatened demonstration because they believe many people have also erred.

Mr. Asomah-Cheremeh therefore pleaded with the nine judges to listen to the plea of the people calling for peace and hold on to the summons of the two NPP members until the final verdict is announced.

He called on well meaning Ghanaians and NPP party faithful to pray for the NPP general secretary and communication member as they face the Supreme Court.

The chairman said some NPP members in the Brong Ahafo region have been sent to Accra to join other party members to pray for the two members.

 

From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

“Health Minister’s Always Dodge Us”

The National President of Society of Private Medical and Dental Practitioners, Ghana (SPMDP) Dr. Kwasi Odoi-Agyarko, has expressed worry over the absence of the Health Minister, Sherry Ayittey at their 35^th Annual General Congress.

According to him, the absence of the Minister is not the first time Health Ministers have boycotted their meetings and said it a great worry to the society.

Dr. Odo-Agyarko was speaking at the 35^th Annual General Congress of the society in Sunyani under the theme: “Healthy Ageing”. He emphasized that, the CIA fact book on Ghana (February 2013) and the recently published 2010 Ghana Housing Population census, 6.7% of the country’s population are aged 60years and above and Ghana will have to broach its future needs for the aging population by the well traveled approach of the developed countries with the necessary modifications.

He mentioned that the United Nations has classified societies broadly into ‘young’ (4% or less of those aged 60+), matured (4-7%) and “ageing” (7% and above).
“According to this definition Ghana is presently falling under the category of ‘matured’ society which will soon reach the status of “ageing” society by 2020AD”, he added.

The President of SPMDP said the private sector is poised and ready to take challenge, however they must engage in a stakeholder consultative meeting to address the challenges in macroeconomics and health system of Ghana.
He added that the Health Minister’s name will be in a prominent place in the annals of Ghana’s Health Sector if she is able to help solve the many challenges in the sector.

Speaking on behalf of the Health Minister, the Director of Ghana Health Service, Dr. Appiah Danchira, said looking at the SPMDP one can say they are a microcosm of what the nation stands to be as the country pursue the policies targeted at increasing longevity.

The minister said the theme for the congress was interesting and challenging especially for the nation as it moves conscientiously into middle-income status and the government continues to pursue the better Ghana Agenda which will ultimately translate to better living conditions and prolong longevity and therefore affect positively the national average life expectancy.
She said available statistics in Ghana shows that life expectancy now stands at 64.22years.

She said the interest and the challenge in the positive attribute of an increased life expectancy is that it calls for serious policy decisions affecting the aged.

The Minister said it was her wish that the society deliberate well on their chosen theme, got the findings and recommendations so that after the congress it will inform the Ministry’s policy directions.

From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

 

 

Taxi Drivers On Strike

Some taxi drivers in the Sunyani Municipality have hit the streets of Sunyani to express their displeasure over the frequent increases in fuel prices and the attempt by their leaders to stop them from increasing fares.

According to the drivers, fuel prices have been increased three times but their leaders have warned them not to increase their fares. They said income tax has been increased from GHC6 to GHC12 coupled with the increases in tyres and other spare parts.

The taxi drivers who were furious about the conduct of their leaders said they are on strike and won’t work until the fares are increased.

They explained that after putting their operational costs together they run at a loss and therefore a new fare should be pegged.

The angry drivers sworn to deal with the regional GPRTU secretary for going on air to say they don’t have any right to increase the fares.

They also revealed that they won’t allow the Yutong buses which will be leaving for Accra in the evening to move thereby blocking the main entrance.

The drivers parked their vehicles at the main taxi rank at the Central Business District in the evening leaving passengers, especially workers stranded during the protest.

From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

Youth Want MCE Fired

Information reaching Daily Guide indicates that some group of persons in the Sunyani East Constituency of the Brong Ahafo are making plans to stage a demonstration against the re-nomination of the Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive, Kwasi Oppong Ababio.

According to Daily Guide source, the group has had information that the President will re-nominate Mr Ababio for the MCE post come Tuesday, 6^th August 2013.

The group, believed to members of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) party in Sunyani East who are not happy about the MCE’s performance for the past for years, have vowed not to allow him retain his position.

Residents of Sunyani wake up on Wednseday morning to see posters in some parts of the municipality with inscription “Fired! Fired! Fired!!! SUNYANI EAST MCE, Hon. Kwasi Oppong Ababio By: YOUTH”.

Some residents who saw the posters said they later saw some police personnel from the regional police command removing the posters.

Meanwhile, a communication member of the NPP in Brong Ahafo, Apraku Tuffour, has alleged that the police officers claimed they were sent by the police commander to remove the posters from the town for security reasons.

 From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

BA Road Safety Launch Be Alert

The Brong Ahafo Regional Manager of the National Road Safety Commission, Abrampah Mensah Agyabeng, has stated that the rate at which accidents are increasing in the region is worrisome.

According to him, the region may record the highest accidents if stakeholders do not come together to help check the causes of many of these accidents killing people in the region.

The Manager was speaking at the Brong Ahafo Regional launching of “Be Alert! Look Out for other road users” campaign in Sunyani, where the leaders of drivers unions and the acting Brong Ahafo Regional Commander of MTTU were present.

He said the purpose of the “Be alert" campaign is to sensitize drivers to the fact that pedestrians are legitimate road users and should always expect them on or near the roadway.
“We will also educate pedestrians about minimizing risks to their safety by establishing eye contact with other road users and improving their visibility,” he added.

Mr. Agyabeng called on the media to collaborate with road safety commission to educate people to reduce accidents and crushes in the region.
He said for the first and second quarter of 2013, the region recorded 322 road accidents; killing 143 out of this there were 68 knockdowns injuring 477 others. The accidents involved 456 vehicles.

He expressed concern about unnecessary overtaking and speeding by motor riders who sometimes ignored traffic signals because they have no knowledge about traffic indicators.

The Road safety manager disclosed that nationally about 90% of accidents on the road are due to human error.
He said they will have a media outreach programme on radio, a walk, visitation to mosques, churches, film show on some horror accidents and bus terminals to educate them on road safety.

Making contributions at the launch, some media personnel called on the MTTU to enforce the laws governing the roads so us to instill discipline on the roads.
They also urged the riders, pedestrians and drivers to be discipline and observe the road regulations to avoid many deaths on the road.

The Acting MTTU Commander, ASP David Nyuah disclosed that after his one week stay in the region, he has observed that many people who are known in society are fast to come to the aid of offenders.
“That behavior is very worrying in the region, but I won’t allow that to disturb my job. Anybody who will be arrested for road offence will be processed for court”, he added.

 He however called on those people to stay away from his office because he won’t allow people coming to his office to plead on behalf of people who have committed road offence.
He called on drivers to be discipline and make sure everything is right with their cars and bikes before they take off from their house.

 From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

'We Are Peaceful People'

Some residents in Sunyani have expressed worry over the influx of police personnel in the streets of the Brong Ahafo regional capital.

The residents who believed the police are in the streets to see to it that there will be peace after the rulings of the election petition said they have lived in peace and will never fight because of elections.

According to the residents, they will live in peace to serve as an example to other regional capitals in the country. “Sunyani is calm and it will remain calm after everything”, one resident assured.

Speaking to Daily Guide a resident who gave his name as Richard Kusi said he has lived in Sunyani for the past fifty-five years and has witnessed several elections in the country but has not seen any one fighting with his or her neighbour because of elections.
He believed that after the Supreme Court ruling on the election petition there will be peace in the town and the country as a whole.

Mr. Kusi called on the police to use the information service van to move to the places believe to be volatile and educate people on the need to maintain peace rather than parading the police in the streets of the regional capital.

“There are many districts in the region that are known for election violence, so they should go there and educate them rather than staying in the regional capital which has always been peaceful”, he advised.

 He however mentioned that there is sanity in the regional capital because taxi drivers are not parking anyhow, but the police are still creating inconvenience for some people because of their presence and the amour cars that goes round the city.

 From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

PEN Club In B/A SHS

PEN International, a non-governmental organization (NGO) has inaugurated Pen Youth Club (PYC) in six Senior High Schools (SHSs) in, the capital of the Brong Ahafo Region at a ceremony at the Notre Dame SHS, with the objective to improve the horizon and proficiency of members in both written and spoken English

The organization, which  has over 145 centers in almost 105 countries, with membership opened to all published writers, aims at finding ways of getting the youth involved in writing.

It also aims at promoting intellectual cooperation and understanding among writers regardless of their political and different views.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Executive Director of PEN International, Frank Mackay Anim-Appiah, explained that, the organization is composed of prolific writers worldwide, bringing together poets, editors, novelists, essayists, critics, historians, translators, journalists and screen writers.

He indicated that, the organization acts as a powerful voice in opposing political censorship and speaking for writers and journalists who are harassed, imprisoned and sometimes murdered just for expressing their views.

Mr. Anim-Appiah diclosed that, PEN Ghana was the first writing center to be formed in 1998 which has been an example emulated by many centers in Africa, Europe and South America, adding that, in Ghana, the first three youth clubs were established at the WA SHS,  Navrongo SHS, and Zuarungu SHS.

He expressed the hope that, by the end of the current academic year, the population of PYC countrywide would be over 50 while by 2016 the set target of the NGO, is to open as many as 100 clubs out of the over 486 SHSs in the country.

Dr. Frankie Asare-Donkoh, President of PEN International added that, no country develops with illiteracy and stressed the need for Ghana to give serious consideration to eradicate illiteracy in order to pave the way for effective development.

He appealed to government to ensure a sustainable system for the SHS instead of the try and error approaches to the duration of the SHS.

Dr.Asare-Donkoh emphasizes that, the organization is to help nurture the youth and encourage them to muster the English language in view of the wide range of its benefits in any profession they would find themselves in the future.

He also advised the youth to get access to the internet to improve their academic studies so that they can become good future leaders to the benefit of society.

 Nana Prempeh Agyemang, the District Director of Education for Sunyani West, who chaired the function, said the club will help enlighten the level of spoken English of the students.

 

        

From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani                          

USA Pastor Preach Peace In Ghana

Pastor Denis Lopez, the Head Pastor of Everyday Ministries in Torsa-USA has called on Ghanaians to leave in peace as it is the only way to freedom. According to her, nobody can bring peace to the people except Jesus so Ghanaians should put their trust in him to give them the peace the country needs.

Pastor Lopez was speaking at the presentation of a borehole, drugs and slippers for the people of Abronye-Curveso in the Sunyani West District of the Brong Ahafo. The borehole was provided by the Maranatha Power Ministry International in collaboration with Everyday Ministries from Torsa-USA to help the community get access to portable water.

She stressed that, when their partners in Ghana told them about the lack of water for the people of Abronye curveso they were touched to help them that why they came to help Maranatha Power Ministry Int. to construct the borehole for the people.

Pastor Lopez preached to the people through her translator and called on them to take Jesus as their Lord and personal savior. “We are in Ghana not only to provide water for the people but also to preach to the people to take Christ because he gives peace to his people”, she added.

The Head Pastor of Maranatha Power Ministry, Bishop Francis Afotey-Odei in an interview with the Daily Guide after handing over the borehole to the community said his Ministry is not an NGO but a church which goes out to provide water, schools and other things for communities who are in need of such facilities.

According to him, the past and present governments have done well but the villages are still suffering so his ministry has taken it up to help the villages with the few they can.

Bishop Afotey-Odei emphasized that he knows the provision of the borehole will go a long way to help the community who were previously drinking from a stream. He disclosed that since last year his Ministry has provided six boreholes for the Sunyani East and West Districts.

Representative of the Sunyani West District Chief Executive, Owusu Mintah who received the borehole on behalf of the community thanked the church for the provision of the borehole. He also advised the committee members who will be managing the borehole to adopt maintenance culture so that they will repair it when the borehole develops a fault.

Mr. Mintah said the provision of water will save the people from walking far from their village to get water. He said the Sunyani West District has 54% access to portable water and the Assembly is still expanding it
 From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

Minister Worried Over Absence of MMDCE’s

President John Dramani Mahama after seven months of being sworn in as President is yet to name majority of MMDCE’s in the country. The few ones who have been nominated have been rejected by the people making it difficult for some Assemblies to move on with their developmental projects.

Speaking on Ark FM in Sunyani the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Paul Evans Aidoo has expressed worry over the absence of some MMDCE’s in the region and said it was seriously affecting his work.

According to him, he has taken over in acting capacity as DCE for such districts thereby increasing his workload. He therefore called on the President to hasten the process of the appointment of MMDCE’s in the various districts to release him off the workload.

Meanwhile the former Minister in the erstwhile Kuffour government, Kwadwo Adjei Darko has wondered why the President has taken long in naming his MMDCE’s because according to him nomination of MMDCE’s is not difficult.

He also called on the party executives and some chiefs in the various Districts lobbying for their favourite to be nominated to allow the President do his nomination. He added that, it will be the interests of the people to allow the president choose rather than forcing people on him.

 

From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

 

 

Sunyani Mourns Mills

Some residents in Sunyani on Wednesday shared their memories of the late President Mills with Daily Guide on the eve of his one year Anniversary.

According to some resident who spoke to Daily Guide, they thought if the late former President was given enough time to seek full medical care he would have been alive or stayed a little longer.

“Ghanaians played with his health for too long, he also did not do us good by accepting that he was sick, I think we killed him with our utterances”, one resident cried.

One resident who gave his name as Kwasi Kyeremeh described the late President as a peaceful man and called on other politicians both in the NDC and the other political parties to try and learn something from the past present death.

Mr. Kyeremeh called on Ghanaians to use the death of the late president to unite and focus on building the country rather than dividing it because of power.

He advised President Mahama and Nana Akuffo Addo the 2012 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to start preaching peace to their followers as they wait for the Supreme Court to bring out their verdict on the election petition.

Yaa Akyaa a yam seller at the Nana Bosoma market who was clad in black explained to the paper how the news of the demise of the president hit her even though she never met the late president in person.

“I don’t belong to Late President Mills party but I thought he was peaceful and had the nation at heart”, she added.

The Nana Bosoma Market on Wednesday been the market day was busy with people going about selling and buying. The Sunyani town was visibly quiet with few people clad in black.

Meanwhile at exactly 2:15pm all the radio stations in Sunyani the Brong Ahafo Regional went off air for some minutes and started playing dirges when they came back on air in memory of the late president.

 From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

A-G Trains Staff In BA

Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) has organized a two- day sensitization workshop for staff of  department in Municipal and District Assembly’s in the Brong Ahafo region on the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS); a public financial management catalyst.

The workshop is in line with efforts of the country’s purse managers to improve public financial management (PFM) specifically on budgeting, resource management, fiscal planning, internal controls, accounting and reporting, audit and monitoring and external accountability, thus the introduction of GIFMIS.

GIFMIS, launched in 2009 is a component of the Public Financial Management Reform Programme (PUFMAP) which is intended at improving macro-economic stability fiscal discipline in the country.

GIFMIS  is expected to serve as government’s official system to be used in budgeting, accounting, financial reporting and auditing of public funds when fully implemented at all levels of governance.  

It takes into cognizance all aspects of financial management including revenue management (Ghana Revenue Authority Act 2009), Integrated Personnel and Payroll Database, Audit Reforms (internal audit agency Act 2003), Aid and Debt Management (ADM) and Procurement Reforms.

In a speech read on her behalf, the Acting Controller and Accountant General, Mrs. Grace Adzore, underscored the importance for personnel of the Department to acquaint themselves with the nature, operations and capabilities of the systems in order to derive associate benefits such as accuracy, timely and reliability.

Mrs. Adzore noted that GIFMIS marks another significant milestone in government’s PFM reforms. Adding that, Government embarked on several PFM reforms in the past to address challenges emanating from public funds management but could not yield much result because they were implemented in an uncoordinated and piece meal manner.

“This time round, GIFMIS which is an ICT-based PRM Information System is going to be the working tool for the Department through MDAs/MMDAs at central, regional and district levels,” she disclosed.

The Scheme according to her provides for the establishment of a hierarchical staffing structure for all the staff. It also spells out the various qualifications, experience and mode of entry to each grade as well as mode of promotion or progression from one grade to the other.

 

From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

 

Ghana Is Holding Its Breath…..Cath. Bishop

The Bishop of the Sunyani Catholic Diocese, Rt. Rev. Mathew Kwasi Gyamfi, has noted that Ghana is holding its breath awaiting the ruling of the Supreme Court on the 2012 election petition.

“After watching the adversarial system of resolving the political problem many of us  wish there is an alternative method of handling the misunderstanding to make both parties winners instead of one being declared looser”, he explained.

He observed that many Ghanaians are afraid of the outcome of the election petition and that was why some personalities and agencies have resulted to other methods more in line with the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and Mediation to prepare the minds of the populace and the party followers to accept the Supreme Court verdict.

The Catholic Bishop was speaking at the opening ceremony of the third edition of an arbitration training programme on Alternative Dispute Mechanism (ADR) and Mediation underway at the Catholic University College of Ghana (CUCG), in Fiapre near Sunyani.

 The five day programme is being organized by the Giving Ghana Foundation, in collaboration with Fordham law school in the United States of America, Sunyani Catholic Diocese and CUCG.

Rt. Rev. Gyamfi stressed that “because one party is going to lose everything and there is suffering associated with losing, the whole nation is griped with fear”.

The Catholic Bishop appreciated the content of the five day program saying it would empower the participants in handling the outcome of the election petition and pass the knowledge on to others to sustain national peace.

Justice Beresford Acquah, a Sunyani High Court Judge who represented the Chief Justice Her Ladyship Theodora Georgina Wood expressed excitement over the opening of Marian Conflict Resolution Centre at the CUCG training experts in the use of ADR.

He said “it a divine thing that the centre has been established in Sunyani to promote ADR as a veritable means of dispute/conflict resolution”.

Present at the program were Prof. John D. Frederick-Fordham Law School, Prof. Dennis Lynch of the Giving foundation and the facilitators from USA and Australia, Justice Ato Assan of the Sunyani High Court, Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Samuel Justice Agyei, Vice Chancellor of CUCG, Prof. Ephraim Hawkins, Prof. John Frederick.

From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

Pass Knowledge To Prison Inmates

The Administrator and Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC), Kofi Attor, has advised prison officers benefiting from its ICT training programme to pass the knowledge on to inmates at the various prisons to help them acquire skills in ICT.

 

He stressed that with basic knowledge in ICT, prison inmates could do something better for a living, after serving their sentences.

 

Mr. Attor who is a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Ho Central, made the call when he closed a one-week ICT training programme GIFEC organized for officers of the Ghana Prison Service (GPS) in Sunyani.

 

The one-week training was attended by 33 officers drawn from all the various Ghana Prison stations in the country. Mr. Attor explained that GIFEC had focused much attention to train prison officers because, that was the only way in which inmates could also acquire skills in ICT.

 

The former MP further mentioned that prisons should not be a place to punish convict but instead an area to re-correct and reform inmates so that they would be well reintegrated and become useful in society.

 

He noted that though the GPS had created opportunities for inmates to be trained in tailoring carpentry, masonry and dressmaking such opportunity was not making any meaningful impact in the reformation of inmates.

 

Mr. Attor noted that, ICT is an area many of the youth were interested and advised prisons officers to ensure that inmates benefited from the training offered them.

 

He emphasized that there is always a new development in ICT, and asked the officers to take advantage of the training to upgrade their ICT skills.

 

Director of Prisons (DOP) Anthony Yeboah, Director in-charge of Human Resource and Operations of the GPS applauded GIFEC for its numerous supports in enhancing the work of the service.

 

He disclosed that GIFEC had established 16 ICT centers, furnished with 185 modern computers at the various stations adding aside that it had also provided the service with logistics and equipments.

 

 DOP Yeboah was optimistic that relationship between the service and the GIFEC, established in 2010, would be strengthened in coming years.

 

 He pointed out that the government and its partners was poised to providing the needed logistics and equipments to enhance the work of the service and advised officers to be more professional in the discharge of their duties.

 

DOP Yeboah stated that the reformation of prison inmates was a shared and collective responsibility and also used the opportunity to condemn stigmatization of inmates.