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