Apam (C/R), July 11, GNA - The four schools in Gomoa West District managed by the Transition And Persistence (TAP) Project being implemented jointly by USAID and Plan Ghana were presented with awards at a ceremony at Apam. The TAP Project aims at increasing Junior High School (JHS) enrollment and to bridge the gap between Primary and JHS completion rates. The Project is being implemented in 156 JHS across 13 districts in four regions, namely Central, Eastern, Brong Ahafo and Greater Accra. The four schools which are benefiting from the Project in Gomoa West are Nkoransa D/A JHS, Brofo D/A JHS, Mankoadze Methodist JHS and Wassa/Nkran Methodist JHS. The Project, which is being funded jointly by USAID and Plan Ghana, has three-year duration. Miss Janet Barnes, a teacher of Nkoransa JHS, was adjudged the best female teacher in the four schools and was presented with a lap top computer whilst Mr Emmanuel Amoah of Mankoadze Methodist JHS also received a lap top for being the best male teacher. Both were also presented with certificates. Wassa/Nkran Methodist JHS was adjudged the best school and will be provided with an ICT Centre and Library, whilst Nkoransa D/A JHS and Mankoadze Methodist JHS, the first and second runners-up, were presented with certificates. Mrs Grace Adzo Obodai, Acting Gomoa West District Director of Education, commended the two NGOs, USAD and Plan Ghana for putting in many interventions to ensure pupil retention and completion of schools. She appealed to the District Assemblies and other NGOs to emulate the examples of the two organisations to ensure that school-dropout rate was minimised. Miss Obodai expressed concern about how the Project would be sustained after the exit of the two organisations and urged the District Assemblies to take up the challenge. Miss Edith Lotsu, Construction Engineer, USAID Education Project, said since the inception of the project in July 2010, they had trained 156 teachers in Mathematics and English respectively, 156 teachers in ICT and the capacity of School Management Committees in 156 schools strengthened to support School Improvement Performances. She said 1,246 girls were sponsored to attend vacation camps, 65 Rights of the Child clubs formed with two patrons trained and major repairs were carried on 19 schools and seven JHS replaced. Miss Lotsu said they also provided scholarship to needy students and also sponsored teachers for distance learning courses. She expressed the hope that the support being given would enable pupils enjoy school, stay in school to complete with good grades. “We want our students to take charge of the future development agenda of our dear nation,” she said. Mr Anthony Eyiah-Quansah, Presiding Member of Gomoa West Assembly, said education is the key to human development and urged parents to invest in their children’s education. The Very Reverend Ebo Walters, Superintendent Minister of the Apam Circuit of the Methodist Church, said lack of supervision in schools was the bane of the falling standard of education. He expressed concern about the “girl-child” mantra and said if the boys were left out the nation would produce a lot of armed robbers. GNA...
Kumasi, July 11, GNA – A 22-year-old mechanic who allegedly posed as a soldier and fleeced six people of a total of GH¢ 9,450.00 under the pretext of getting them enlisted into the Ghana Police Service has been remanded into prison custody. Ebenezer Baffour Asamoah pleaded not guilty to charges of impersonation and fraud. He would re-appear on Wednesday, July 18. His accomplice, Michael Oppong alias “Osofo” is on the run and the police have mounted a search for him. Police Chief Inspector James Amekah told the court presided over by Justice D.W.P Amedior that the victims, Frank Akwasi Aning, Kwaku Baffour, Solomon Mensah, Regina Foriwaah, Portia Acheampong and Dorcas Mensah, live in different parts of the Ashanti Region. The accused has been holding himself as a soldier with the Fourth Infantry Battalion (4BN) in Kumasi. About a year ago, Foriwaah and Portia were introduced to Asamoah by a pastor of their church as a military officer, who could aid them to join the police service. The accused promised to get them enlisted and succeeded in swindling the two together with the four others of their monies, which ranged between GH¢1,200.00 and GH¢2,500.00. The prosecution said Asamoah went into hiding after collecting the money. He ran out of luck on July 5, when one of the victims spotted him at Bohyen in Kumasi and caused his arrest. The others also made formal report to the police. The accused admitted the offence in his caution statement. GNA...
Kumasi, July 11, GNA – A Kumasi Circuit Court has remanded two people into prison custody for allegedly stealing three laptop computers valued at GH¢2,700.00. Kwabena Owusu, an electrician, and Akwasi Baah, trader, are facing charges of conspiracy and stealing. They both pleaded innocent and were ordered to re-appear on Tuesday, July 17. Police Chief Inspector Archibald Kwesi Fandoh told the court, presided over by Justice Emmanuel Amo-Yartey that, the accused persons, on July 4, baited the complainant, Eunice Korda, with what they claimed was a gift of gold dust to bring the computers out of her office. Under the pretext of performing some esoteric rituals on the gold, they fled with the computers. The prosecution said two days after the crime, Owusu was spotted at Adum by the complainant and she caused his arrest. At the police station, he mentioned Baah as his accomplice. They confessed to the crime in their caution statements. GNA...
Kumasi, July 11, GNA - The Sofoline Interchange being built as part of the GH¢ 99.6 million reconstruction of the 11.3-kilometre Kejetia-Abuakwa stretch of the Kumasi-Sunyani road is set to be opened to traffic in October. Mr Kwaku Boampong, the Resident Engineer, said it is now about 80 per cent complete. The contractors had finished with all the concrete works as well as the underground pedestrian walkways and drainage. What is left is the asphalt concrete surfacing. The Sofoline interchange is one of the five underpasses that would be provided on the six-lane carriageway. The road project was started in August 2007, with the initial contract sum of GH¢73 million. It is being funded by the government. Mr Boampong estimated the total job done by the contractors, China Geo Engineering Corporation, on the entire stretch at 64 per cent. He said the delay in the payment of compensation to affected property owners was not helping the smooth implementation of the road project. He, however, expressed optimism that the July next year deadline would not be missed although the contractors are three months behind schedule. The Resident Engineer dismissed speculation that the original design of the road had been changed due to the difficulty with funding. The design makes provision for the construction of another interchange at KATH and five underpasses. GNA...
Klikor (V/R), July 11, GNA – Vice President John Dramani Mahama has said it was time Ghanaians overcome the erroneous mindset about vocational and technical training. “As a country it is time we depart from the erroneous mindset about vocational and technical training”, he said. The Vice President made the call in an address at the first speech day of Dr. Adlise Ivey Porter AME Zion Vocational Institute (AMEZVOC) at Klikor, in the Ketu South District. It was on the theme “equipping the youth for wealth creation through vocational training”. Vice-President Mahama said Government holds a contrary view, in conformity with 2004 UNESCO declaration, that identifies vocational and technical training as the master key to the socio-economic development of every nation. He said government has therefore earmarked a 35 million US dollar budgetary allocation this year to retool the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) for an expanded apprenticeship and vocational training. He said in addition, a Social Development Fund (SDF) has been set up under the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) for skills training for the youth and urged them to take advantage of all the various interventions by government. The Vice President commended the founders of the school for their vision of equipping the youth of the area with vocational skills and further asked students and tutors of the school to maintain the discipline and hard work in furtherance of the focus of the founders of the Institute. Reverend Samuel Setor, Headmaster of the school, appealed to government to consider absorbing the school into the public sector to help upgrade its infrastructure and recruit more teachers to improve on enrollment. He said the school, which was established in 1997 with six students, currently has just 112 students and therefore demanded a vigorous expansion. GNA...
Kasoa, July 11, GNA - Mrs Mavies Hawah Koomson, National Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate for the Senya Awutu Constituency, has noted that Ghanaians wants to see an NPP government in power. She said this is because they want to see a continuation of its programmes aimed at alleviating poverty, and urged members of the party to intensify their campaigns. Mrs Koomson said this during the inauguration of the Kpormeitey Rent Control branch of the party, on Tuesday, at Kpmeitey, a suburb of Kasoa. “The party can only win the election if members are able to organize and campaign at homes, work places and markets, also the floating voters.” Mrs Koomson urged supporters of the NPP to educate the electorate about the good works of the party, when it was in power, and what the party would for them when voted into power. “The 2012 electioneering campaign is a herculean task since the party is going to compete with other political parties and that demands hard work and selfless devotion to duty”, Mrs Koomson added. She said the youth, under NPP government, would be trained to acquire skills, which would enable them to establish their own businesses so that they do not become liabilities. The Kpormeitey branch of the party also used the occasion to swear in new Executives, with Mr Albert Kwesi Abasah as Chairman, Mr Samuel Amanortey, Vice Chairman, Mr John Erick Atta Mends, Secretary, Mr Joe Teteh Ofoe, Treasurer, Miss Vivian Donkor, Assistant Treasurer, and Madam Comfort Asanttewa, Organizer, Mr Boniface Kwarteng, Chairman of the Patrons of the Senya Awutu Constituency, urged members to launch a membership drive and register new supporters of the party towards the forthcoming parliamentary and Presidential elections. GNA...
Wa, July 11, GNA – Mr James Sohimwinye, the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) Parliamentary candidate for Wa Central Constituency, on Wednesday said he was determined to unseat the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), Alhaji Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo in the forthcoming December polls. The 39-year-old Bank Manager said this, in his maiden interaction with the media in Wa. He said the pragmatic development ideas being trumpeted by the flag-bearer of his party Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom would help him “do the trick.” He also believed his hard work at the bank had endeared him to the hearts of the constituents, who according to him were very much ready to reward him with their thumbs. Mr Sohimwinye said even with his current position, he had been able to create some number of jobs for the teeming youth in the constituency and helped some business men and women to grow their businesses. He said the Wa Central Constituency was a business community and needed a business minded person to lead and direct them to these business opportunities. He said the PPP’s flag-bearer, Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom and all his Parliamentary candidates were business minded people, capable of managing the country’s economy to achieve the needed growth and development. Mr Sohimwinye said the people of Wa Central Constituency were therefore waiting patiently to go for the PPP, as their only alternative, come December 2012. Mr Sohimwinye said the PPP’s campaign would be based on ideas and not on personalities as had often being the case with the two leading political parties; the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP). He advised all politicians to be tolerant and civil in their pronouncements in order to make this year’s election more peaceful than the previous ones. Mr. Sohimwinye, until his defection to the PPP was the Upper West Regional representative in the National Executive Committee of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and also the Regional Campaign Coordinator for Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, who was then the CPP Presidential candidate for the 2008 elections. He is currently the Assembly Member for the Zingu Electoral Area in the Wa Municipality and also the PPP Regional Chairman. GNA...
Sunyani (B/A) July 11, GNA - Mr James Bukari Basintale, General Manager of the Mobile Telecommunication Network (MTN) Northern Ghana, on Tuesday said the company is committed to strengthening and improving the services of its networks while seeking the welfare of the numerous retailers. He explained that lots of programmes had been outlined for this month, some of which had been tailored to bring some benefits to retailers, wholesalers and dealers to recognize their contribution and dedicated services to the company. Mr. Basintale was speaking at a forum, as part of activities lined-up for the Sun City Fest Programme in Sunyani. He said the company would continue to invest in its network to ensure that it maintained the position as the number one telecommunication industry in Ghana. The General Manager was not only looking at how best they could promote the socio–economic lives of the current generation, but was also mindful of how the future generation would fare and thus was compelling the company to initiate a number of development project. Some of these projects included the construction and inauguration of the 10 ICT centres in each of the regions, with the one Brong-Ahafo located at Techimantia in the Tano South District. Mr. Basintale said other projects include the constructions of schools, boreholes and the male and female wards of the Kintampo and Kwame Danso Hospitals. Mr. Samuel Gyimah, Regional Manager of MTN, said the Sun City fest is to create opportunities for people to check their blood pressure levels and their weight, as well as educate their retailers to enlighten customers of the networks services. Mr. Julius Kwayie–Mensah, an official of Zenith Bank in Sunyani, advised the general public to cultivate the habit of saving, which he said, was needful for sound financial management. GNA...
Agona Swedru, July 11, GNA-The Agona Swedru Circuit Court has sentenced a 25- year-old barber to 18 years imprisonment in hard labour for defiling a10-year-old school girl at Gomoa Aboso, near Agona Swedru. Isaac Prah from Gomoa Aboso was convicted on his own plea of guilty. Prosecuting, Police Inspector Alfred Boatey, told the Court Presided over by Mrs Ever Williams Bannerman that the Prah stayed with the victim in the same vicinity at Gomoa Aboso. He said on June 17 parents of the victim traveled and Prah took advantage of their absence and sent the little girl to buy him sachet water. When the victim returned with the water the convict asked her to send the water into his room. Prah locked the door, gagged her, defiled her and warned her not to tell anybody else she would die. Inspector Boatey said the girl’s sibling later discovered that blood was oozing from her private part and reported the matter to Agona Swedru Divisional Command of Domestic Violence Victim and Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Police who arrested Prah. GNA...
Winneba, July 11, GNA - Residents of Low Cost in Winneba have commended the Minister of Health, Mr Alban Bagbin, for his prompt response to their call for help to solve flooding in the area. The Assemblywoman for the Area, Madam Elizabeth Senah, told the GNA that following the construction of a big drainage system at the new trauma hospital on the orders of Minister after his inspection tour sometime last year, flooding at the the Low Cost flooded during this rainy season. The Assemblywoman said the flooding problem rather shifted to the Ntakorfa and Saint Paul’s JSS areas and appealed to the Minister to continue the drainage to the Muni Lagoonl. The Assemblywoman appealed to the Minister of Roads and Highways to install a traffic light at the junction of the new hospital. GNA...
Abesim (B/A), July 11, GNA – Dr Mrs. Paulina Appiah, Sunyani Municipal Director of Health Services at the weekend disclosed that 46 cases of Tuberculosis (TB) were detected in the Municipality in 2011. She made this known at the launching of the Municipal celebration of the World TB Day at Abesim, near Sunyani. The theme for this year’s TB Day is “Call for a World Free of TB” with the slogan “Stop TB in my Lifetime”. Dr. Appiah explained that the commemoration of the TB day held in March 24 every year was to create awareness on the prevention, detection and curability of the disease”. She was not happy about the few cases detected during the year under review, saying the National TB Control Programme expected the Municipality to detect 152 cases. Dr. Appiah expressed worry about the municipality’s TB treatment success rate of 82 percent last year, as compared to the national target of 85 percent and the death rate of eight percent, as against the national target of five percent. She noted that the TB related death rate in the municipality “is unacceptable because TB is curable”. The Municipal Health Director stated that Ghana recorded 15,842 TB cases, representing 4.6 percent last year, stressing that, women accounted for 5,778 of notified TB as against 64 percent of their male counterparts of 10,064 Dr. Appiah said treatment success in the country was 85.3 percent while patients defaulting from treatment were three percent with death rate at 7.6 percent. “We have not fared well this year either, after having gone half year we have detected only 15 new cases, with two deaths” she said adding that, five new cases had been detected at Abesim. She emphasized the importance to intensify education on the causes and symptoms of the disease saying “TB is curable and the full cost of the treatment is free” Mr Kwasi Oppong Ababio, Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive advised the youth to shun unhealthy practices and channel their exuberance into productive ventures. He said smoking of cigarette and excessive intake of alcohol were major causes of TB and entreated the general public to help in earlier detection as TB was an airborne disease. Earlier some selected school children held placards with the inscriptions “get a free TB test service at your nearest Government hospital”, “Fight TB”, “Talk TB”, “TB is curable”, and “Let us get rid of the stigma” and paraded through the main street of the town, to create public awareness about the disease. Nana Kumi Acheaw, chief of Abesim, who presided, expressed concern about moral decadence among the youth in the area. GNA...
Tinkaya (N/R), July 11, GNA - Tinkaya, a predominantly farming community in the West Mamprusi District, has no social amenities and its only borehole is 50 years old. The borehole has never been maintained and serves neighbouring communities including Dimia, Diyani, Tinguri, Gbeduri and Yawoku communities. The water from the 50 year- old borehole is not good enough even though it is their only source of water. There is no basic school in the community and children have to walk long distances to attend school in Diyani about 10 kilometres away. Mr Jonathan Yahaya, a sub chief of Tinkaya, told the GNA in an interview that the community is putting up a two-classroom block and appealed to the Ghana Education Service to help them complete the school, provide furniture, reading and writing materials, as well as trained teachers to help check the falling standards of education in that area. Mr Yahaya said past governments had made several promises of providing them with basic social amenities like clinics, quality drinking water and school amongst others but have failed them. The Chief therefore called on government to come to their aid. GNA...
Nakpanduri (NR), July 11, GNA- The Paramount Chief of the Bimoba Traditional area, Alhaji Abuba Nasimong and the Chiefs of Nakpanduri and Bimbagu, have debunked allegations of a planned attack on security agencies in Nakpanduri by the youth of the community “We do not have any intent or the capacity to attack the security forces.” This was contained in a statement read by Mr Konlan James, Chairman of the Nakpanduri Development Association (NADA) at a press conference, at the Bunkpurugu Chief’s palace to react to the allegations leveled against the Youth of Nakpanduri. This follows a statement purported to have emanated from the Nakpanduri District Police Commander and the BNI official there during a District Security Committee (DISEC) meeting asserting that some of the youth from Nakpanduri were planning to attack security officials in the area. The chiefs expressed regret at the claims made by the security agencies, adding that, there was no reason to attack the very institution that had been established to protect their lives at a time they needed them most. “It is against this backdrop that we find the statement made by the BNI and the police commander, which was subsequently reported on 6th July 2012 by an Accra based radio station, to be most unfortunate”. Mr Konlan further stated that Security personnel in 2000, during a conflict in Bimbagu, brutalized the people of Nakpanduri and remanded them in police custody, albeit their extrication with the incidence. Similarly, he said a police swoop in Nakpanduri in search for Johnson Kombian, led to assault on several people, burning of houses, looting of stores amongst others. “Realizing the monumental injustices meted out to the people, government through the former Attorney General apologized and relief items subsequently sent as a way of placating the people”. The people of Nakpanduri, he said in all these circumstances never resisted the unlawful conduct of the security forces even in the mist of extreme provocation. “The people did not resist even when they suffered severe inhuman treatment and indignities from the security forces” he stressed. He however stated that the people of Nakpanduri and Bimobas are peace loving people and would continue to abide by the laws of the land. He said in their desire to find lasting peace to the problems that have bedeviled them, the security agents should desist from such statements that have the tendency to worsen the otherwise volatile situation. Alhaji Abuba Nasimong, who expressed worry about the claims, said whereas attempts were being made in finding lasting solution to the insecurity in the area, some people have been trying to derail the peace in the area. According to him, there has not been any attack on anyone by a Bimoba since 1985, adding that, without the security details in the area, there obviously would be no peace. “When conflicts arise, it is the police and the military that salvage the situation; there was therefore no such intention whatsoever to attack any security official”. He called on government to intervene and effectively investigate the issue to curtail any future problems. He said plans were far advanced to lead a delegation of eminent chiefs to have talks with the Kokombas to find a lasting solution to their problems and live peacefully together. It would be recalled that there was a communal clash between the Bimobas on one hand and the Kokombas on the other, at Kpemale, a farming community in Nakpanduri in the BunKprugu-Yunyo District over land, demarcation of boundaries and encroachment of lands allotted for the development of a school. The community has since been calm and the people are going about their normal economic and farming activities in a serene atmosphere with the presence of security personnel. GNA...
Fiapre (B/A), July 11, GNA – The Catholic University College of Ghana branch of the Student In Free Enterprise (Sife) on Tuesday presented its national SIFE championship trophy to the university’s Vice chancellor, Professor James Ephraim Hawkins at a short ceremony at Fiapre, near Sunyani. The team also received other awards namely, the SIFE Spirit award, the best Faculty Advisor award, an amount of GH¢ 500.00, as well as the best Ecobank fellow award. Presenting the trophy, Mrs. Vida Korang, Faculty Advisor for SIFE attributed the enterprise success to commitment, team work, determination and dedication, which had seen the university win its prestigious award for the first time. She said the SIFE programme was meant to prepare students for the real world by challenging them to address real problems confronting society today by developing community outreach projects and participating in a series of competitive events, which builds them up to develop team work, leadership and communication skills to set them apart from the average university student. She enumerated the benefits likely to accrue to the university following the winning of the award as, recognition in the international media, opportunity to interact with administrators of universities from other 39 countries across the world, opportunity to network and sell CUCG to business, charity organisation and donors, opportunity to develop exchange programmes, scholarships and business partnership for students and lecturers to the Sife world cup. Nana Ofori Akoto, President Sife CUCG, said Sife is an international non-profit organisation that brings together diverse network of tertiary education students, academic professionals and industry leaders around the world to share the mission of creating a better, more sustainable world through the positive power of business. He said participating students formed teams on their campuses and apply business concepts to develop outreach projects that improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need, while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders. “An annual series of regional and national competitions provide a forum for teams to present the results of their projects and the winner advances to the prestigious SIFE World Cup”, he stated. He said the team presented three projects for this year’s competition namely; Beyond deliverance, See Fiapre and Bread for Better Life and managed to beat 15 other tertiary institutions participating in the competition. Receiving the trophy, Prof. James Ephraim Hawkins, Vice – Chancellor of the University, on behalf of the bishops, students, staff and governing council of the university congratulated the team for raising high the image of the university. The Vice - Chancellor pledged the unflinching support in material and financial terms towards the team’s activities, adding that, “their effort is an attestation that something good is happening at the private universities.” The Sife team, by emerging as the national champions, would represent the country in Washington for the World Cup, at the Sife world Cup competition slated for September this year. GNA...
Kenyasi (B/A), July 11, GNA – The mining industry paid GH¢ 645 million in corporate tax to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and this represents 36.26% of the total company tax collected in 2011. As the number one tax payer and the highest contributor to the GRA in the country, the sector again contributed about GH¢ 1 billion to the GRA representing 27.61% of the total GRA collections in the same year. Dr. Tony Aubyn, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, said this in a speech read on his behalf at the apprenticeship graduation, promotion and matriculation ceremony of Newmont’s apprenticeship programme at the company’s plant site at Kenyasi in the Asutifi District. Forty-six new apprentices selected from the 10 mine-take communities were enrolled to pursue the four-year apprenticeship progrmme in mechanical engineering and 26 trainees graduated. The mine-take communities are Kenyasi Number One, Kenyasi Number Two, Ntotroso, Gyedu, Wamahinso in Asutifi and Adrobaa, Techire, Afrisipakrom, Yamfo and Susuanso in the Tano North districts. Dr. Aubyn said between 2003 and 2011 there had been a sharp increase in royalties mining companies had been paying to the government and that royalties had jumped from GH¢ 19, 054,625 to GH¢ 218, 922,903 during the period. Notwithstanding these contributions to the sector, he said, the increasing activities of illegal mining operators continued to be a threat to the good image of the industry. “Due to this menace, member companies continue to spend huge sums of money yearly to protect their concessions which have often been the targets of these illegal miners”, he said. Dr. Aubyn gave the assurance that the chamber would persist in its advocacy to promote legal small scale mining and also engage policy makers and other stakeholders on the negative repercussions of this menace. Mr. Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, the Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, appealed to the continuing trainees and the in-coming ones to remain focused and make the best use of the opportunity. He appealed to management of Newmont and the employees to always resort to social engagement through dialogue for resolving grievances to promote a peaceful working environment to achieve increased productivity. Mr. Nyamekye-Marfo also appealed to the traditional rulers and the communities in the operational area to cooperate with Newmont for peaceful co-existence. The External Relations Manager on the mine, Mr. Kojo Bedu-Addo, said the apprenticeship programme was established during the construction phase of the mine in 2005. He said 25,000 dollars was spent on each of the apprentices during the four-year training period. GNA...
Sunyani, July 11, GNA – The Customs Division of the Brong-Ahafo Regional Command of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) last Friday seized uncustomed eight bails of imitated wax prints valued at GH¢ 4, 632.00. The items were being moved from the Northern Region to the Ashanti Region by two women traders only known as Mariama and Janet. Customs duty on the 600 yards factory packed cut pieces of the wax print concealed under maize, beans and rice in a KIA truck with registration number AS 9319P is GH¢ 2, 559.38. The Command has imposed a GH¢ 10, 000 penalty on the items. The amount also covers carrier penalty. Briefing newsmen in Sunyani on Tuesday Mr. Isaac Desmond Abbey, the Sector Commander, said the Division received a tip-off and impounded the vehicle in Techiman and brought it to the regional headquarters in Sunyani. Mr. Abbey said when the traders were interrogated they admitted that they bought the items from the Techiman central market. He said the Division had given the traders some time to pay the penalty and in default the items and the vehicle would be auctioned to defray the penalty. Mr. Abbey commended the public for their support in fighting smuggling in the region and appealed to residents of border towns in the region to support the Division. GNA...
Accra, June 11, GNA – Rabito Clinic has organised a free medical screening exercise on skin diseases and general medical care to commemorate Professor Edmund Nminyem Delle’s 40th anniversary of his induction as a Specialist Dermatology. The exercise was organized by staff of Clinic to honor Prof Delle of the good work and service and achievement in his practice as a dermatologist in 40 years of his career. Professor Delle said Rabito Clinic, which he established, was name after Prof Cologero Rabito who was a lecturer at the University of Padua, Italy, where he obtained his Doctorate in Medicine and Surgery in 1970. He said his desire to provide quality and affordable health service for Ghanaians compelled him to form a Health and Human Rights non-governmental organization called “African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters”. Prof Delle said, “As President of the organization, I have been providing medical and humanitarian services to people since its formation and periodically leads a team of medical experts to some prisons in the country to offer free medical and humanitarian services to the prison inmates.” He said students from Italy, the Netherlands and Germany come to Ghana to attend clinical practical at Rabito Clinic, a place referred to as centre of excellence in the practice of dermatology. Prof Delle said his contribution to health service in general and specialist care in skin and venereal disease had been recognized both nationally and internationally and the American Academy of Dermatology recently express its appreciation to him for his 25 years of continues membership and support. “Since my return to Ghana in 1974, I have been able to train some young doctors in dermatology, some of them later specialists in Britain, Italy and Germany and through my assistance and support, some Ghanaian doctors had had the opportunity to receive training on care of torture victims in Copenhagen, Denmark, from International rehabilitation Centre for torture victims, where I also had some training.” Profile Prof Edmund Nminyem Delle was born the 18th of November 1943 at Nandom in the Upper West Region (UWR). He started his formal education at Nandom Primary School in 1949 to 1954 and move to the middle school at Lawra also in the UWR in1995. He joined the Government Secondary School in Tamale from 1957 to 1962 for his General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (O Level) and Advanced level (A Level). Prof Delle in 1964 was sponsored by His Eminence Cardinal Peter Poreku Derry to Italy at the University of Padua where he obtained doctorate in Medicine and surgery in 1970 and was awarded a scholarship from Medicus Mundi, an International Organization to study at the Institute of Tropical Medicine at Antwerp, Belgium, where obtained a diploma in tropical medicine in 1971 and was the first Ghanaian doctor to study in the institute. Prof Delle was appointed a Resident Medical Officer and Lecturer in skin disease at the Padua University in 1972 to 1974, he then return back to Ghana in 1974 to establish the Rabito Clinic which currently have 24 branches dotted throughout the country with over 300 staff. He is founding member and a National Secretary of the Ghana Society of Dermatologist and Foundation fellow of Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeon in 2005 and was appointed member of the Legal and Ethics Committee of the Ghana AIDS Commission. Prof Delle spearheaded the formation of African Association of Dermatologist and become the Vice-President, later, he become the Secretary General form 1991 to 1997. He is a member of the British Association of Dermatologist, which had elected him as honorary foreign member, Fellow American Academy 1986 and a commissioner for International Commission for Health Professional in 1989 and voted man of the year in 2000 by the American Biographical Center and awarded him a Prestigious Marie Award in 2006. Prof Delle was a founding member and first National Secretary of the Ghana Society of Dermatologist and has served as Chairman of Board of Directors of the Standard Magazine and Newspapers Limited from 1976 to 1999. He has also served as Secretary of Catholic Doctors Guilds of Ghana since 1984 and was able to organize the first Pan-African Congress of Catholic Doctors in Ghana 1984. Prof Delle won a landslide victory to become the Chairman of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) in 2003 and has, with the support of the Ministry of Health started a programme for the “One Day Stop Cervical Cancer Project and currently an adjunct Professor of Dermatology at the University for Development Studies (UDS). He is the Board Chairman of Catholic Center for Hope for the aged, the sick and the needy in society. He Speaks French, English, Italian and a Hausa and has served on numerous Boards in the country, and married with five children. He enjoys reading and gardening. GNA...
Accra, July 10, GNA - The British Government in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will on Wednesday July 11th hold a major international conference in London on contraception to refocus attention on the issue. The Gates Foundation and the British Government whilst pressing the issue, are expected to pledge about 4 billion dollars to provide family planning services to 120 million women from the world’s poorest countries over the next eight years. A new study conducted by researchers at John Hopkins University shows that fulfilling unmet contraception demand by women in developing countries could reduce global maternal mortality by nearly a third, a potentially great improvement for one of the world’s most vulnerable populations. The study, published on Tuesday in The Lancet, a British science journal, prior to the major family planning conference in London, is an attempt to refocus attention on the issue. The study indicated that the proportion of international population assistance funds that went to family planning fell to just six percent in 2008, down from 55 percent in 1995, while spending on H.I.V and AIDS represented 74 percent of the total in 2008, up from just 9 percent in 1995. The Lancet study, which the Gates Foundation financed, draws on maternal mortality and survey data from the United Nations and World Health Organization to estimate the annual number of maternal deaths in 172 countries and the share that could be preventable by the use of contraception. Birth control reduces health risks, the researchers said, by delaying first pregnancies, which carry higher risks in very young women; cutting down on unsafe abortions, which account for 13 percent of all maternal deaths in developing countries; and controlling dangers associated with pregnancies that are too closely spaced. The authors of the Lancet study, researchers at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins, found that the number of maternal deaths in those countries in 2008 would have nearly doubled without contraception. They acknowledged that maternal mortality record-keeping was weak in developing countries, a limitation of the study. They also found that an additional 29 percent of the deaths could have been prevented if women who wanted birth control would have received it, a concept called unmet need that is estimated using surveys of mothers in developing countries. Population experts warn that developing countries, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa, where fertility continues to be high and shortages of food and water are worsening, will face deteriorating conditions if family sizes do not shrink”. The issue of family planning is burdened in the United States, where government assistance often gets caught up in political battles. Contraception has again become controversial this political season, though the United States remains a major donor. According to Gary Darmstadt, Director of Family Health at the Gates Foundation, “We hear time and again from women out in the field that they want the ability to plan their families. We felt we needed to shine a light back onto the importance of this issue and get the conversation going.” Maternal deaths have declined dramatically since 1990, down by a third, according to the World Health Organization. But about 16 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where fertility is still more than four children per woman. The lack of birth control in poor countries has become an important issue for Melinda Gates, who argued in highly personal remarks in April that birth control should not be controversial, because it improves women’s lives. GNA ...
Accra, July 10, GNA - This year’s seminar series of the Food and Agricultural Show (FAGRO) is aimed to advocate measures to address weaknesses in Ghana’s agricultural value chain process. The fourth edition of Ghana’s only Agric Expo, dubbed: "FAGRO 2012", is an international exhibition and conference designed specifically for agricultural stakeholders, entrepreneurs, students, market women, NGOs, and various agric trade associations. This year's event, which is on the theme: “Linking farmers to the appropriate market: a value chain process”, is scheduled for August 25 to 27, 2012 at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park in Accra. Mr. Sulley Adam, Chairman of FAGRO, said the event would help to establish and maintain a value chain process that has the farmer at heart. He said it would also provide alternative measures in ensuring that all actors in the agric sector fully benefit from their hard work with a clear cut plan on how they could practicalize the knowledge they acquire and work with it effectively. He added that this year’s free seminar series along with the main exhibition had been crafted with the needs of the smallholder farmer in mind, adding that issues of women participation in agric, farmers’ access to funds, fertilizer accessibility and efficient use, the role of farming organizations in linking Farmers’ to markets would be thoroughly debated by Farmer Based Groups, policy makers and NGOs. “A 3-day seminar linked to the theme will run free of charge by experts drawn from various agric professions. The idea is to empower participants with requisite information and skills to improve the performance of their business from financing to marketing,” he emphasized. Also given lots of attention at this year’s event is the utilization of Information Communication Technology in agri-business. Mr Adam defined value chain system simply as the stages of agricultural production, which includes the acquisition of land, preparing and cultivation of crops, harvesting, storage, processing and marketing and warned that no policy on agriculture in the country would be successful if it failed to address all the aforementioned stages efficiently. FAGRO for the next five (5) years will focus on the value chain process; by linking farmers to the appropriate markets, with the hope of creating a commercial platform, where growers come into direct contact with the other actors in the value chain process. At the end of the day, they get to know who to contact, where to purchase or acquire the “appropriate machinery” and when to engage an “expert” service provider to help improve their farming operations. FAGRO, an initiative of Infocus PR, has over the years created opportunities for local and international actors in agriculture to find a common platform to form strategic partnerships that have helped them in expanding their businesses. It has also opened up Ghana’s agricultural potentials to investors who wish to better understand the dynamics and resource potentials of the country and how best to take advantage of them. In addition, FAGRO has provided the platform for participating companies and institutions to receive valuable feedback from their potential and existing clients so as to help them re-strategize for the future. GNA...
Accra, July 10, GNA – Sumsung Electronics Company Limited, a global leader in digital media and convergence technologies, has opened "Mobile Flagship Store" to bring the products closer to customers in Accra. The flagship store is an ultra-modern phone store where you can experience and buy authentic Samsung Mobile devices and tablets. The store, which is located at Osu, is one of the only three Samsung flagship stores in Africa, which Nigeria and Kenya are the only countries in Africa to have this kind of store. In an interview with Mr Michael Bosompem, Head of Retail West Africa, said the store was unique from other Samsung stores due to its unique design to serve as a home of only Samsung tablets as well as some few featured phones. He said the store had a Wi-fi connection where customers can connect their phones with all share features to a smart TV to have view on a large screen. He said the store would also present Sumsung customers with all kinds of Sumsung accessories at anytime, adding that the store had trained promoters and product specialists to repair any of the devices. He explained that Ghana is chosen as the third country to have such an ultra-modern shop due to the acceptance of Sumsung products in the country, saying ‘Samsung has sold over 5,000 of its Galaxy S III in Ghana since its launch last month’. Mr Bosompem projected that about 16,000 to 20,000 Galaxy S III mobile phones would be purchased by Ghanaians by the end of the third quarter of 2012. As part of the opening of the Store, Sumsung Mobile is offering all its customers an instant five percent discount and free gifts on every device purchased from the outlet from now till the end July. GNA...
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