Accra, Nov. 16, GNA - The La-Nkwantanang/Madina MP's Best Teachers' Award for 2011/2012 Ceremony was has been organized at the Madina Local Government Institute.   The recognised teachers took home various gifts including a Sanyo refrigerator and two sets of Desktop computers.   The Member of Parliament for the La-Nkwantanang/Madina, Alhaji Amadu Bukari  Sorogoh, said there was no need to politicize education but rather the teacher’s effort in the classroom should be recognized and motivated so that they can maximize their output.   He congratulated the recipients for their sacrifice in the classroom and urged the pupils to take their studies seriously.   Alhaji Sorogoh reminded his constituents to vote peacefully, avoid violence and return home to monitor the outcome of the votes.   The La-Nkwantanang/Madina Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Franklyn Anku expressed his gratitude to Alhaji Amadu Sorogoh, the initiator of the Best Teachers Award program and for having sustained it for the past three years.      The Ga-East Municipal Director of Education, Madam Florence Esi Damali, reminded teachers on the need to watch their utterances in the public and asked them to maintain their high standard.   The Director of the Local Government Institute, Dr Esther Offei Aboagye, who chaired the function, also expressed her gratitude for introducing an award for the best journalist who would contribute stories on teachers within the area.   The recipients of the awards were categorised into three categories with the first awards being given to Head-teachers and the recipients were Madam Veronica Baimbil Johnson of Saint Andrews Primary at PRESEC Madina and Mr Alexander Sowah Duah of the Oyarifa Presbyterian Primary.   The Second category for the Best Primary School Teachers Prize went to Mr Nurudeen Mohammed from the Madina Estates Primary School and Madam Victoria Mansah Nortey from Madina Emmanuel Presbyterian Primary School.   The Third category was the Junior High School Best Teachers award went to Mr Wolase Adama of the REDCO M/A Junior High School in Madina and Madam Sophia Oppong from the Queen of Peace Catholic Junior High School in Madina   Aside the awards, over 500 school pupils who attended the Best Teachers Award at the Madina Local Government Institute also received some gifts in boxes containing pencils, pens, toffees, books and hand-bags.   GNA...

Winneba (C/R), Nov. 16, GNA – Parliamentary candidates for Effutu Constituency have pledged to abide by the rules and regulations to ensure a free, fair, transparent and peaceful election in December 7.   The candidates were Mr Mike Allan Hammah, National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Alex Afenyo Markin, New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Nana Ofori Owusu, Progressive Peoples Party (PPP).   They made the declaration in their peace words at a prayer session organised by the Local Council of Churches – Winneba for God to intervene in the forthcoming general election and make it a peaceful exercise.   The candidates also pledged to accept the outcome of the election in good faith in the interest of the development of the area.   Rev Francis Odoom, the Local Council of Churches – Winneba branch President, pleaded to supporters of various political parties in the Constituency to avoid indulging in any acts that could bring conflict saying peace is the number one tool in the life of every human being and that we should give peace a chance.   Venerable Rev Father Samuel Arhin of Saint John the Divine Anglican Church urged the electorate to seek peace for without it the nation cannot move forward as expected.   He said God has already elected the President and his parliamentarians, but it is for us the electorate to go to the polls and cast our vote for people who have the qualities to lead the country to the highest level.   Venerable Arhin said provocative songs, character assassination, personal attacks, insults do not cast vote and there was the need to put a stop to such practices adding that “let us as a people do everything we can to prevent conflict and chaos in the interest of the future of the country.”   He appealed to both candidates and their supporters to tolerate each other’s views to be able to continue to live as one people with a common destiny.   GNA...

Old Tafo (Ash), Nov. 16, GNA – The Kumasi Wesley Girls High School (K-Wey Gey Hey), a second-cycle institution has held it’s first-ever matriculation ceremony in Kumasi.   In all, a total of 700 students were admitted to read various programmes like science, business, general arts and vocational studies in the school.   Addressing the gathering, Mrs Esi Oduro-Asante, Headmistress of K-Wey Gey Hey, commended the fresh students for their sterling performance in the Basic Education Certificate Examination which enabled them to gain admission into the school.   Mrs Oduro-Asante said after taking the matriculation oath all first year students shall be deemed to have satisfied all the conditions attached to the school and thus be considered as full members of the institution.   She said the school, as a Methodist mission school, existed to fulfill some functions including serving the needs of the community, church and state.   Mrs Oduro-Asante said it also seeks to promote intellectual development for academic excellence as well as offer the needed education that would churn out physically sound individuals.   She, therefore, expressed the hope that the historic occasion would inspire and motivate the girls to study hard to go beyond the secondary level of education.   In a brief exhortation, Very Rev Okontomene Mensah Bonsu, the Ashanti Regional Manager of the Methodist Education Unit, admonished the fresh students to count themselves highly blessed to gain admission into the great school.   Very Rev Mensah Bonsu told the students that it was important to allow what is in the school to pass through them, rather than they merely passing through the school adding that “respect the rules and regulations of the school and let discipline be your watchword, so that you will leave the school with flying colours”.   The Regional Manager also urged the school authorities and parents to do all in their power, to ensure that the students had a fruitful stay in the school.   Also present at the brief but impressive ceremony were Mr Anthony Dumfeh, Mrs Faustina Sekyere, Assistant Heads of Academic and Administration respectively, Rev Mrs Paulina Pieterson, the School’s Chaplain, heads of other institutions, parents, past students and members of the general public.   GNA...

Kumasi, Nov 16, GNA - Agro-based research institutions have been urged to do more to support farmers with appropriate agro-processing technologies to maximize their incomes and improve their livelihood.   Mr. Hayford Baah-Adade, a Board Member of the Export Development and Agriculture Investment Fund (EDAIF), said the reliance on outmoded and traditional practices, leading to low crop yield, needed to end.   He said it was disturbing to see huge tons of farm produce perished annually on farmlands, particularly during bumper harvest, because farmers lacked the technology to add value or process their produce.   Mr. Baah-Adade was briefing the media in Kumasi on the EDAIF’s agriculture and agro-processing development and credit account introduced to assist farmers in agri-business trade-oriented activities.   Activities financed under this include product development and promotion, capacity-building and best industry practices, as well as development of initiatives and other innovations to modernize the agro-processing sector.   Mr. Baah-Adade said applications from farmer associations or cooperatives for support must be endorsed either by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) or Ministry of Trade and Industry before one could access the fund.   He said they would do everything to make sure that there was due diligence in it disbursement.   He reaffirmed their resolve to conduct the necessary appraisals and studies needed to determine areas that required to be helped.   GNA...

Kumasi, Nov 16, GNA – Efforts at tackling head-on the incidence of land tenure insecurity in the country has received a big boost with the development of some innovative tools to secure and protect land rights.   It is part of the “Innovative tools to secure land rights in West Africa-Ghana Project”, funded by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).   At a stakeholder meeting to help people to have better understanding of the project had been held at the Royal Lamerta Hotel in Kumasi.   Mr Mark Kakraba-Ampeh, Director of the Land Resource Management Centre (LRMC), an NGO, which spearheads the implementation, said it seeks to improve the security of land access for more vulnerable groups like peasant farmers, women and pastoralists, based on innovative, locally-developed and adapted tools.   This was a response to land tenure insecurity due to the absence of proper boundary demarcation and documentation supported by site plans.   The lack of documentation of tenancies, he said, had resulted in frequent contestation of agreements among land owners, share croppers and caretakers.   The project for now is being piloted in 10 selected communities across the nation.   Mr. Kakraba-Ampeh said the LRMC had come out with some new approaches to resolve local level disputes by dispute resolution committees and land agreement templates.   The refreshing aspect of this, he said was the use of a committee whose members are selected by the community instead of traditional authorities to mediate disputes.   He said he was confident that the project would eventually lead to the documentation and sharing of lessons on tools for securing land rights.    It would also ensure the documentation of agreements between land owners, share croppers and caretakers through community-based land administration.   He said there was the added advantage of improving participation in tenancy markets through awareness creation and local dialogue between willing tenants and landowners.   GNA...

Accra, Nov. 16, GNA – Twenty-nine (29) people have been confirmed dead in the Tamale-Bolgatanga road accident, which occurred this Friday night a couple of hours ago.   Dr Ibrahim Abubakar, an orthopaedic consultant of the Tamale Teaching Hospital confirmed the dead to the Ghana News Agency.   He said the dead comprised 13 females including a seven year old girl and 15 males. They have all been deposited at the Hospital mortuary. Over 30 people are also reported injured.    The accident occurred at Kogni in the Temale Metropolis when a Metro Mass bus and a Benz bus with registration numbers AW 238Z and WR 2712C respectively, travelling on opposite directions, had a head-on collision.   An eyewitness told the GNA that the Benz Bus was overtaking a motor rider when the collision occurred.   GNA...

Tamale, Nov 16, GNA – Mathematics remains a major headache to school pupils as more than half of the candidates, who sat Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) in the Northern Region this year, failed in the subject.   Out of a total of 22,979 candidates, who sat Mathematics during the 2012 BECE, representing the record of 17 districts of the region, only 9,505 passed, leaving the rest (over 12,000) not to be placed in Senior High Schools (SHS).   In other core subjects such as Integrated Science, and English Language written by the same number (22,979) of candidates, 9,696, and 10,262 candidates respectively passed in both subjects with over 12,000 again failing and without being placed in SHS.   Mr Amoafo Acheampong, Northern Regional Statistics and Examinations Officer of the Ghana Education Service (GES) announced this when he made a presentation on the performance of pupils in the BECE in the region at a Regional Advocacy/Review Forum on Education in Tamale on Thursday.   The forum was organized by CARE International, through a project dubbed: “Partnership for Accountable Governance in Education (PAGE)” in conjunction with the GES.   It brought together stakeholders from PAGE project districts to deliberate on key challenges and identify existing opportunities that could be harnessed to improve quality education delivery at the basic level in the region.   The PAGE project seeks to improve pupils’ achievement at the basic level through strengthened education governance and supervision and it is being implemented in nine districts in the region including Central Gonja, Nanumba North, Saboba, Chereponi and Bunkpurugu-Yunyo.   Mr Acheampong said the situation with the elective subjects was also not encouraging, adding the average performance of the region for 2011 stood at 41.6 per cent while that of 2012 was 41.1 per cent.   He, however, indicated that some districts had recorded improvement over their previous performances whilst others declined.   For instance, Nanumba North recorded 80 per cent in 2012 as against 38 per cent in 2011, whiles Zabzugu/Tatale dropped from 90 per cent in 2011 to 58 per cent in 2012.   He attributed the low performance to inadequate and ineffective supervision, non participation of community members in school management, teacher absenteeism, loss of contact hours, classroom management, and teacher deployment.   He said given the strategies and interventions adopted by government and other stakeholders, there was the need for a concerted effort by all to achieve the desired quality education.   Mr Paul Apanga, Acting Northern Regional Director of GES called on all stakeholders to be actively involved in the management of schools to achieve quality.   Mr Alex Agbleada, Programme Officer of CARE International elaborated on the PAGE project, saying it offered training as well as provided resources to circuit supervisors and head-teachers to enhance supervision and monitoring of schools.   GNA...

Accra, Nov. 15, GNA - Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC) on Thursday explained that journalists throughout the country would not take part in Election 2012 Special Voting.   He announced this in Accra on Thursday to media men during a media dialogue organised by the Editors’ Forum of Ghana (EFG) and sponsored by the EC on the topic: “On Election 2012: the EC’s preparations and related matters”.    The Electoral Commissioner emphatically stated that as the law stands now, it is only security men and EC officials who will be going out of their constituencies to supervise the elections that are permitted to partake in the early voting.   He explained that the biometric system posed a challenge since each journalist had registered at a different polling centre and this means creating a new polling centre for them.   He, however, urged all journalists, both local and international who wished to monitor this year’s elections to apply to the EC for accreditation through the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA).   He advised media houses to forward their lists of journalists to the GJA to avoid any unforeseen circumstances.   Dr Afari-Gyan said the EC was still discussing whether to give media men a special voting right on Election Day.   The EC Chair went through the elections processes and said in the case of the parliamentary election, EC District Officer was the Returning Officer whose declaration on the results was final.   He noted that in the case of the Presidential Election, the EC Chairman is the Returning Officer, “mandated by law to certify all results for authentication”.   Dr Afari-Gyan cautioned the media to be very circumspect in their reportage to ensure smooth elections.   GNA...

Dzodze (V/R), Nov. 16, GNA - Vice President Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur has urged supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to work hard and avoid complacency for a resounding first round victory at Ghana’s next general elections.   He was of the conviction that the NDC would chalk a resounding victory at the first round, but warned supporters not to relax else victory would be elusive.   The Ghanaian electorate, he said, would have to wait for another four years before they could correct that mistake.   Vice President Amissah-Arthur, the running mate of President John Dramani Mahama, flagbearer of the NDC, made the appeal when he addressed party fans, chiefs and people of Dzodze as part of his tour of the Volta Region.   He urged the electorate to vote massively for the NDC, explaining that every single vote counts to bring the victory to the party.   “One touch does not mean you should relax; you should make sure you vote, so that John Mahama will have 100 per cent victory,“ Vice President said.   Vice President Amissah-Arthur, praised the people of Ketu North and South districts for their unflinching confident in the party and urged them to repeat their massive vote for the party in the next election.   Mr Edawrd Doe Adjaho, First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, said it was prudent that the NDC was retained so that it could continue the projects that government had started.   At Avedakpa, Togbe Nymekpr Glapke V, the Fiaga and President of the Ave Council of Chiefs, appealed to government to provide the newly created Akatsi North District Assemble with a vehicle for revenue moblisation; residential accommodation for staff posted to the district and to alleviate the Ave Senior High School to a model school as well as construct an additional SHS for the people.   The Vice President assured the people that the NDC would deliver on its promise.   He introduced Mr James Avedzi, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on finance as the NDC Parliamentary Candidate for the Ketu North and Mr Kwesi Norpsu-Kotoe for Akatsi North.   At Adaklu Waya, Vice President said the government would continue and complete all development projects starting under the term of the late President Atta Mills, explaining that, that could only take place, if they give the NDC a nod for the second term.   He said the NDC stood for development and it would continue to use national resource to help everybody, adding that it was important that Ghanaian children were given the opportunity for quality education.    According to the Vice President, 35 per cent of Ghanaian children now could not complete basic education.   He said it was necessary to provide enough classroom blocks at the basic level and improve teaching and learning environment before gradually moving into the SHS and tertiary level education.   He introduced, Mr Kwame Agbodza, as the NDC Parliamentary Candidate for the newly created Adaklu constituency.   Togbe Lablulu Chief of Adaklu, appealed to the government to provide a bus for the Adaklu SHS, improve the road network and build a police station   Mr Daniel Abodakpi, a top member of the NDC, and Ghana’s High Commissioner to Kuala-Lumpar, urged the electorate to regard the free SHS promise by the New Patriotic Party as an empty promise.   GNA...

Gbefi-Hoeme, Nov 16, GNA - Ms Akua Sena Dansua, Minister of Tourism has said free education at the Senior High School (SHS) level was only possible when development in other sectors were kept at bay.   She said education was the hallmark for accelerated growth and therefore could not be reduced to partisan politics in a bid to sway votes.   Ms Dansua also the Member of Parliament for North Dayi, made the remark at the commissioning of a GH¢150,000 six-unit classroom with ancillary components for the Gbefi Anobi Junior High School, financed from the Ghana Education Trust Fund.   She said the government of the National Democratic Congress was embarking on a progressive and sustained journey of improving school infrastructure, quality and access to perk up the human resource base, which was an appropriate measure of addressing issues in the sector than the choice of free SHS.   Ms Dansua said many more development projects were in the next “Better Ghana Agenda 2” and urged the people to vote massively to retain the NDC.   Mr Francis K. Ganyaglo, Kpando Municipal Chief Executive, said 25 schools under trees, which constituted half of the number in the Municipality, have been eliminated.   He enumerated some achievements in the education sector as increased Capitation, distribution of 4,278 and 217,656 free school uniforms and exercise books to basic schools respectively, supply of 1,600 mono desks, 650 Kindergarten desks, 25 schools on feeding programme, and allocation of motor-bikes to circuit supervisors.   Mr Ganyaglo observed that government needed collaborative support from the community and other stakeholders to co-finance education and appealed to the traditional authorities to institute an education endowment fund to cushion the education of brilliant but-needy members of the community.   He warned that the Assembly would not take kindly to the commercialization of the facility, saying appropriate sanctions would be imposed on culprits.   Mr Paul Afodofe, representative of the Kpando Municipal Directorate of Education said government was leaving no stone unturned in its quest to provide quality education.   He urged the school’s authorities to be vigilant and prevent students from defacing the building to expand its longevity.    Togbe Danku Yao V, Chief of Gbefi-Hoeme indicated the imposing edifice should motivate teachers and students to reverse the zero percentage score rates to 100 per cent as there was no excuse resulting from dilapidated structures.   He appealed to the authorities to increase the capitation grant as deductions have rendered the facility inadequate and almost irrelevant.   A 30,000 palm-oil extraction complex for the Gbefi-Hueme community was inaugurated as part of the event.   GNA...

Accra, Nov. 15, GNA - Youth unemployment research has revealed that Ghana has no comprehensive national strategy that focuses primarily on employment.   According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), employment elasticity of output dropped from an average of 0.64 in 1992-2000 to 0.52 and 0.4 in 2001-2004 and 2005-2008.   Average annual employment growth also stood at 3.94 per cent in 1992-99 and 2.69 per cent 1999-06 as against real GDP growth of over 5 per cent.   Dr William Baah-Boateng of the Department of Economics of the University of Ghana said these at a day’s workshop to share the results of a research with relevant researchers and other government authorities to solicit their views and comments in Accra on Thursday.   The research, conducted by the University in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), was part of an initial scoping study for four countries selected in the Sub-Saharan African. The countries were Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa.   Ghana’s scoping study team of four was led by the Vice Chancellor Professor Ernest Aryeetey.      Dr Baah-Boateng noted that the unemployment situation posed a threat to national security and source of social tension at the same time.   The youth currently being unemployed ranged from 15 years to 35 years old who had finished tertiary education.   This group, he said, would serve as a potential resource group of the population for growth and development if they were gainfully and productively engaged.   “They could also be a source of civil conflict and social tension if this untapped resource is poorly managed or left to waste”, he added.   He said high degree of informality and discouraged worker effect suggested that using unemployment to measure labour market challenges might be misleading.   He called for the design of vocational and technical skill training in line with demands of the economy and a promotion of entrepreneurship in line with broader national strategic framework to address the current unemployment rate in the country.   For the short-term, Dr Baah-Boateng said it would require the adoption of labour intensive initiatives through public works programmes, whilst the medium to long term should look at the public investment to boost the growth of agriculture and manufacturing.   “Investment in infrastructure, effective agricultural marketing strategy, affordable credit support and deepening of sectoral linkages, addressing skill mismatch by making education and training more relevant to the needs of the economy and the involvement of industry in curricula design should be looked at” he added.   Professor Aryeetey called for a national industry strategic plan that would involve and link the private sector to solve the unemployment situation facing the country.   GNA...

Kumasi, Nov 16, GNA – The Electoral Commission (EC) is to turn to the court to determine the line of action it could take against minors who have found their names in the biometric electoral roll.   Dr Kwadwo Afari-Djan, Chairman of the Commission, said they intended to go to the court to seek a way out of the disturbing development.   Evaluation of the biometric voter register had uncovered high registration of under-age voters, across the nation.   He was interacting with parliamentary candidates in the December 7 polls in the Ashanti Region at the Miklin Hotel in Kumasi on Friday.   It provided the platform to discuss ways to enhance credibility of the elections and in-built integrity of the electoral process.   Dr Afari-Djan said the EC had a track record for conducting free, fair and transparent elections and gave the assurance that this would be maintained.   The Commission, he said would work around the clock to ensure that all logistics, equipment and relevant materials were delivered to the polling centres on schedule.   He encouraged the political parties to engage in clean and healthy electioneering campaign devoid of insults and rancor.   Mr. Muhammed Addoquaye, Director, Human Resources and General Services of the EC, said they had begun series of refresher courses to update the skills and expertise of presiding and returning officers.   Mr. Augustine Collins Ntim, Member of Parliament for Offinso-North, said the programme was most appropriate and that it had helped to remove doubts and suspicion.   GNA...

Accra, Nov. 15, GNA - Media practitioners have been advised to be responsible in their reportage in order to promote peace, before, during and after the December general elections.   Dr Frank Mackay Anim-Appiah, Executive Director of the Ghana Centre of Pen International said at the 31st celebration of PEN International Day of the Imprisoned Writer in Accra on Thursday.   He noted that some journalists and writers have woefully performed irresponsibly by allowing disparaging and provocative remarks to fly about freely, while aggressive words were also used in writing.   “Some media practitioners and writers have become increasingly intolerant, bitter…creative flame once kindled the profession is languishing fast because of monetary inducement”, he said.   He said media practitioners should bear in mind that insults, falsehood, unfairness and untruths were all insidious forms of violence which must be avoided in order to ensure peace before and after the December general elections.   PEN International Day of the Imprisoned Writer has been set aside to commemorate writers and journalists, who have been attacked, arrested, detained, tortured or even killed or died in prison just for practice of their profession.   Established in 1960, PEN’s Writers in Prison Committee monitors human right abuses committed against writers and journalists worldwide and campaigns on their behalf.   Dr Frank Mackay revealed that, many media practitioners and writers across the world had been sent to prison while others had been killed for expressing their opinions and the Africa continent is no exception.     He said, media practitioners in Somalia had suffered most and in 2012 alone, as many as 18 writers and journalists had been killed.   “Despite the breakthrough by a number of African countries in restoring civil rule, the constitutions of these new democracies can only be said to be seeing some light of the day if core institutions such as free and impartial judiciary, adherence to the rule of law, due process in the courts and a free and unfettered press, are overhauled”, he advised.   In his keynotes address, Professor Atukwei Okai, the General Secretary of the Pan African Writers Association said freedom of expression was a basic human right which every individual should not be denied off.   He said thinking and speaking moved together as one could not speak without thinking, saying people must therefore be allowed to think freely and express their views on matters that were of interest to them without any hindrance.   He also urged the youth to empower themselves through reading in order to aspire higher in society, adding that they should cultivate the habit of questioning whatever they did not understand their environment without having the feeling of inferiority complex.   The President of the Ghana Centre for PEN International, Alhaji Haruna Attah said, with the repeal of the Newspaper Licensing Law and abrogation of the Criminal Libel section of the criminal code of Ghana, freedoms of the media and expression have been fully respected with no writers in prison.   GNA...

Accra, Nov. 16, GNA - Journalists have been urged to exhibit high level of commitment in bringing out issues relating to child labour to help save innocent children.   “Though Ghana had been commended as being among the nations leading the way in the elimination of child labour in the world, our efforts are still not enough to enable us attain the global target of total elimination of the worst forms of child labour by 2016,” Mr Bright Blewu General-Secretary of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) made the call at a day’s consultative meeting on child labour in Accra.   The meeting was organized by the GJA in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to enhance the capacity of the media, in child labour advocacy.   Mr Blewu noted that children were being exposed to all forms of hazardous work and there was the need for the media to perform their watchdog role to end the worst forms of child labor across in the country, “so our younger ones can develop and realize their full potential in society”.   He called on other stakeholders to intensify the crusade against child labour by offering better protection for the rights of children.             Mrs Elizabeth Akanbombire, Head of Child Labour Unit of ILO, Ghana, who took journalists through the concepts, incidence and child labour interventions in Ghana, said the children were in the labour work due to economic, socio-cultural, inadequacies in education system and weak institutional capacities.   “We still have children in the fishing, mining and cocoa growing communities involved in the practice and the nation’s efforts in this regard had been hampered by lack of coordination among key stakeholders.   “Even though a solid legal framework is in place and a National Plan of Action (NPA), have been adopted to deal with the worst forms of child labour”, she added.   Mr Francis Kokutse Consultant for the project said the meeting was to ensure improvement in the quality and frequency of public sensitization and awareness on child labour issues and how the media could help in its eradication of it in Ghana.         He called for the implementation of social intervention programmes such as the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) to be speeded up in all areas where poverty is endemic to alleviate the plight of households that are unable to offer full protection to their children.   Panelists Mawusi Afele, Acting General Manager of the Ghana News Agency, James Azamesu and Miss Efam Awo Dovi all media experts took journalists through how to get credible information, effective writing for print and radio and how to increase public interest in child labour issues.   GNA...

Accra, Nov. 15, GNA – The Accra Brewery limited (ABL) has introduced a new look to one of brands, the Stone Strong Lager beer in a ceremony in Accra on Thursday.   Apart from the new label that gives the brand a fresh and novel appearance, the occasion was also used to re-launch the mini size of the global award-winning beer in a 375ml bottle.   A statement issued in Accra and copied to the Ghana News Agency said both initiatives were inspired by company’s commitment to be constantly innovative and the need to satisfy the evolving expectations of Stone its consumers.   The product Brewed using the finest variety of spring barley, malt and high quality hops, Stone Strong Lager was specially made for urban males celebrating their achievements and inner strength.   “Offering consumers more taste and satisfaction, it remains a refreshing beer with a rich golden colour,” it noted.   The statement said the brand has established itself as a global award winner in recognition of its consistency in taste and superior quality.   It said the product had a Monde Gold award for quality for two consecutive years, 2011 and 2012, thereby making the brand the only Ghanaian beer to have ever won that award.   Mr Gregory Metcalf, the Managing Director of ABL, said “The new label bears a bold metallic gold look to portray the sterling quality of the brand with the iconic ‘S’ representing the seal of quality.”   He described the product as having the nod to the international Monde selection Gold Medal, which has been won by the product and the medal was represented at the bottom of the front label.   He added that, “the label maintains its unique red rays which blend well with the rest of the visuals to give it a bold new look.”   Mr Michael Olsen, the Marketing Director of ABL, said the company would continue to respond to the demands of the market through their exceptional creativity and innovativeness.   ABL first introduced Stone Strong Lager to the Ghanaian market in 2006 in both the big bottle (625 ml) and mini bottle (375 ml).   GNA...

Pokukrom (Ash), Nov 16, GNA - Two children, aged four and two years, were burnt to ashes when fire engulfed the room in which they were sleeping at Apatrapa, a suburb of Kumasi.   The mother of the deceased kids is a trader, and usually returns to the house late.   The routine has been for the father to lock up Yaa Dufie and her younger brother Osei Kwadwo in their room anytime he was going outside.   He had put them in a candle-lit room and left to see a friend when this time round, things went tragic.   The room caught fire from the burning candle and spread quickly to swallow up the entire building.   Police Detective Chief Inspector Ekow Gaise of the Abuakwa District Command confirmed the incident to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) and said firefighters called in could not salvage anything.   GNA...

Accra, Nov. 15, GNA - Customers can pay with cheques and have it cleared and the accounts credited on the same day under the Express Clearing Session (ECS) and Direct Credit.   It was also possible for interbank transfers to go through on the same day under the Direct Credit system.   The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), which was set up to improve the country’s payment system, has made this possible, following its early promise to enable cheques to clear within a day.   Mrs Akosua Blay, Head of the Clearing Unit at GhIPSS told the GNA, that under the Express Clearing Session, cheques presented at the bank before midday could clear by 1400 hours and the amount credited to the account of the recipient.   She said the interbank transfers made before midday under Direct Credit could also be cleared by the same time and the accounts duly credited.   She explained that the Express Clearing of Cheques would however be available at a fee since it was a premium service.   Mrs Blay noted that the use of cheques became very unpopular in the past, because of the length of time it took to clear them.   “However with the introduction of the electronic clearing of cheques by GhIPSS, the clearing cycle reduced significantly to two days and a couple of hours in the case of the newly introduced Express Sessions,” she added.   She said the move to introduce the Express Service was to enable people who urgently needed money to still be able to accept cheque as a form of payment.   The system would also boost customers’ confidence in the cheque system.   Mrs Blay, however, explained that though the service was available, the individual banks would have to get their systems ready in order to offer the service to their customers.   She said some banks were ready to provide the service in order to meet the needs of their customers.   With the introduction of the Express Sessions for cheques and Direct Credit, it was anticipated that banks which are ready to provide the service would draw customers away from banks, which may be tardy in providing the service.   GNA...

Accra, Nov 15, GNA - Former militants from the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, numbering 198, on Thursday graduated from the Second Amnesty Training Program in Accra.   The program, a collaboration between the governments of Ghana and Nigeria, the National Vocational Training Institute of Ghana and Learning Resources Nigeria Ltd, as well as Amnesty Nigeria, forms part of efforts by the Nigerian government, to re-integrate former militants in the Niger-Delta Region of Nigeria into the society.   Mr. Kingsly Kuku, Special Advisor to the Nigerian President on the Niger Delta Affairs, who attended the ceremony in Accra, said one of the biggest problems in Nigeria now, was the effective re-integration of Niger-Delta youth, who were once combatants.   "We are dealing with over 26,000 youths who were once combatants, and it is the duty of the Nigerian government to ensure that they are well catered for," he said.   He expressed appreciation to the Government of Ghana for assisting with the re-integration programme, adding that it was a reflection of the mutually rewarding as well as cordial relations between the two countries.   Mr. Kuku told the graduates that whilst the Nigerian government would assist them to take off with their newly learnt trades, they should make it a point to be industrious and create opportunities on their own.   "We would assist you set up, register your businesses and be of assistance to you in every way possible. This is what we owe you and we are going to do this for you as your government."   Mr. William .K. Aboa, Minister of the Interior said in a statement read for him Mr. Samuel Amankah that it was refreshing the militants had eventually laid down their arms and learnt some trade.   "Whilst Ghana is happy to be part of this process of helping to reintegrate the combatants back into the society, we have learnt that nothing can replace peace and tranquility in human existence."   He said that was the essence of the democratic path being chartered by "our countries".   Mr. Aboa said having chosen the path of peace, "it means you have decided to partner your government to develop your country Nigeria, for your generation and subsequent ones".   He continued, "The path is not all that rosy, but it is the best option available which ensures, that everyone has some space to be part of the process of nation building".   Mr. Steven Amponsah, Executive Director of the National Vocational Training institute (NVTI), said challenges posed by government policies as well as global economic conditions, called for the youth to look beyond academic qualifications for financial empowerment.   He said in our sub-region, graduates were annually pushed into the "already saturated labour market, thus leaving thousands roaming the streets, looking for non-existent white collar jobs, while others indulge in crime".   Mr. Amponsah said vocational training could alleviate poverty, reduce unemployment and enhance wealth creation.   "The NVTI commends the Nigerian government on the path it has taken, and is very proud to be associated with it," he said.   Kidnappings, killings and attacks on oil fields and workers, have characterized acts of militants within the oil-rich Niger Delta Region of Nigeria.   The graduates learnt vocations in welding and fabrication, auto mechanics, general electrical and pipe-fitting.   The chief claim of the militants is that they are fighting for equal rights in the proceeds from the oil fields within the region.   In the words of Mr. Kuku, Niger Delta agitation in 2007, led to a reduction in oil production within the region, which fell from 2000,000 barrels a day to 700,000 barrels a day.   GNA...

Ve-Kolenu, Nov 15, GNA - The Volta Regional Directorate of the Local Enterprises and Skills Development Programme (LESDEP), has begun a series of youth targeted-interactions to get young people out of their fixation for formal sector jobs.   At its normally animated talk sessions, LESDEP team went with an entrepreneur, who recounted the journey from idea conception through implementation to the present status.   Mrs Selasi Dzikunu, LESDEP Deputy Volta Regional Coordinator speaking at an encounter with students of the Ve-Senior High School (SHS) at Ve-Kolenu in the newly created Afadjato District on Thursday said the programme was aimed at providing the youth with skills of entrepreneurship.   The Ve-SHS programme was a LESDEP and Youth Enhancement International collaboration to mark Global Entrepreneurship Week 2012.   Mrs Dzikunu said it was important that young people learnt not to “despise little beginnings” and that it was ideas, seeking good counselling, good planning and passion for the chosen field, rather than “big money” that created businesses.   Mr Wisdom Kudzo Deku, Managing Director of Sanja Ghana Limited based in Ho told the students; he dropped out of school at Junior High School (JHS) Form 2, roamed Accra for jobs, never passed any job interview and failed to get help from supplications through pastors.   Mr Deku said, however, hard thinking got him into a specialized distribution business, which had sustained him to the admiration of relatives who gave up on him.   He said integrity was important in all business transactions and that while an entrepreneur must be smart “he must not outsmart his clients”.   Mr Deku said pricing was another important thing in business, “just the right price for the right market no over pricing”.   Mr James Dzisi, LESDEP, Volta Regional Coordinator, said the organization was available for starters wanting to revive and boost their businesses.   Mr Alhassan Osman, Headmaster of Ve-SHS, said the 500-student school owned a 15-acre oil-palm plantation, which made it a business-conscious corporate body.   GNA...

Wa, Nov. 15, GNA – Mr. Fritz Baffuor, the Minister of Information said the Ministry is looking forward to recruit 557 new staff as a measure to address the problem of inadequate personnel facing the Ministry.   Mr. Baffuor, who was interaction with workers of the Information Services Department (ISD) in Wa on Monday as part of his two-day official tour of the region, said a proposal to that effect had already been approved by the Government.   He stated, however, that he would not embark on the recruitment until government properly resourced the Ministry and also made available funds for the payment of the new personnel that would be recruited.   The Minister said he was in the region to inspect facilities of the Information Services Department (ISD) and also interact with the staff to find out their challenges to enable him make a case to the government to resource the Ministry.   Mr. Baffuor stated that the core function of the Ministry was to disseminate government information to the public, but noted that this could not be done effectively without appropriate tools and equipment.   He said information was essential to the development of every nation, adding that as a media person himself, he was going to ensure that government paid the necessary attention to the needs of the Ministry through proper budgetary allocation and provision of vehicles and other equipment.   Mr. Baffuor described the ISD Regional Office in Wa as an old museum used in keeping abandoned equipment.   According to him, the place was certainly not a conducive working environment for the staff and something must be done about it immediately the Ministry gets the right funding from government.   The Information Minister also reminded the staff that they were public servants and must eschew partisanship and rather be as objective as possible.   “Information staff is public servants, your job is about objectivity, you have to say the truth, you should not skew information because of partisanship; the moment you become partisan, you have failed and that should not be the case”, he stated.   Mr. Baffuor said he would ensure that there was a Cabinet directive to all district assemblies for them to make it a point to support District Information Officers.   Mr. Issifu Benin, the Regional Information Officer, thanked the Minister for the visit even at this crucial moment where all politicians were busy campaigning in their constituencies.   He said the dwindling warrant allocation and warrant releases coupled with deplorable offices and inadequate equipment were their major challenges in the region.   He also appealed to the Minister to do something about the promotion of staff to motivate them to give off their best.   GNA...