“YOU will be taken back to the prison where you were brought from to be hanged until you are dead, after which the Head of State will decide where your body will be buried. May your soul rest in peace.”
These were the final words of the Koforidua High Court judge, Mr Justice G. S. Suurbaareh, when he sentenced a 60-year-old farmer, Malaho Agbavitor, who had been found guilty by a seven-member jury for murdering his landlord, Abubakari Sadick, at Anyinam in the Eastern Region.
Agbavitor was whisked away in handcuffs to the prison, where he had already spent the past three years on remand.
The sentence came after a State Attorney, Ms Akpene Motey, who was prosecuting, had told the court that the convict “intentionally killed the landlord and ran to his village, Ave Dakpa, near Akatsi in the Volta Region, until he was arrested on July 7, 2007”.
According to the facts of the case, the convict, a Togolese national, in September 2006 hired a parcel of land belonging to the deceased for GHҐ80 to cultivate maize.
However, in January 2007 when the maize matured and was ready for harvesting, the deceased landlord approached the convict to have the farm produce shared between the two but the convict disagreed, resulting in a misunderstanding between them.
Later on that fateful day, the landlord went to the convict’s farm but never returned home until he was found dead, with machete wounds at the back of his neck, the following day.
Ms Motey said on the same day, the convict fled to his home town, Ave Dakpa, where he spent six months until he was arrested on July 7, 2007.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
FARMER TO DIE...For butchering landlord (MIRROR PAGE 3, JUNE 26, 2010)
From Nana Konadu Agyeman,
Koforidua.
A 60-year-old farmer, Malaho Agbavitor, who butchered his landlord to death for stealing his farm produce, has been sentenced to death by hanging by a High Court in Koforidua.
The convict, a Togolese national, was unanimously found guilty by a seven-member jury for murdering his landlord, Abubakari Sadick on his farm at Anyinam in the Eastern Region on January 31, 2007. Agbavitor was charged with murder.
A State Attorney, Ms Akpene Motey, who was prosecuting, told the court, presided by Mr Justice G. S. Suurbaareh that the convict “intentionally killed the landlord and run to his village, Ave Dakpa near Akatsi in the Volta Region, until he was arrested on July 7, 2007”.
According to her, the convict on September 2006, hired a parcel of land belonging to the deceased landlord for GH¢80 to cultivate maize.
However, on January, 2007 when the maize matured and was ready for harvesting, the deceased landlord approached the convict to have the farm produce shared between the two but the convict disagreed, resulting in a misunderstanding between them.
The State Attorney said on that fateful day, the landlord went to the farm of the convict but never returned home. He was found dead the following day with machete wounds at the back of his neck.
Ms Motey said the same day,the convict fled to his home town, Ave Dakpa, where he spent six months until he was arrested on January 7, 2007.
According to her, in his caution statement after his arrest, the convict told the police that because he killed his landlord, Sadick, alias Kwasi Taylor, he feared for his life and therefore, decided to flee to his hometown.
That was after he had revealed that somebody had been stealing heaps of maize he had harvested and kept on his farm and therefore, decided to lay ambush on his farm in a bid to find out who had been stealing the maize.
The prosecutor said the convict laid ambush on his farm for three days, before he saw the deceased on his farm filling a sack with maize.
Ms Motey said the convict confronted his landlord and ordered him to carry the bag of maize to the police station but the landlord told “him to get away with his nonsense and made an attempt to move away”.
However, the convict rushed on the deceased with a machete and slashed the back of his neck, after which he fled to his hometown, the prosecution added.
The counsel of the convict prayed the jury to consider the circumstances preceding the killing of the landlord, adding “if after careful assessment you find what he told the court to be true, you should acquit him, but if you consider his evidence to be a concoction, you should convict him of murder, which is the position of the law”.
However,after a recess, the seven-member jury unanimously came up with a guilty verdict after which the court sentenced the convict to death by hanging.
Koforidua.
A 60-year-old farmer, Malaho Agbavitor, who butchered his landlord to death for stealing his farm produce, has been sentenced to death by hanging by a High Court in Koforidua.
The convict, a Togolese national, was unanimously found guilty by a seven-member jury for murdering his landlord, Abubakari Sadick on his farm at Anyinam in the Eastern Region on January 31, 2007. Agbavitor was charged with murder.
A State Attorney, Ms Akpene Motey, who was prosecuting, told the court, presided by Mr Justice G. S. Suurbaareh that the convict “intentionally killed the landlord and run to his village, Ave Dakpa near Akatsi in the Volta Region, until he was arrested on July 7, 2007”.
According to her, the convict on September 2006, hired a parcel of land belonging to the deceased landlord for GH¢80 to cultivate maize.
However, on January, 2007 when the maize matured and was ready for harvesting, the deceased landlord approached the convict to have the farm produce shared between the two but the convict disagreed, resulting in a misunderstanding between them.
The State Attorney said on that fateful day, the landlord went to the farm of the convict but never returned home. He was found dead the following day with machete wounds at the back of his neck.
Ms Motey said the same day,the convict fled to his home town, Ave Dakpa, where he spent six months until he was arrested on January 7, 2007.
According to her, in his caution statement after his arrest, the convict told the police that because he killed his landlord, Sadick, alias Kwasi Taylor, he feared for his life and therefore, decided to flee to his hometown.
That was after he had revealed that somebody had been stealing heaps of maize he had harvested and kept on his farm and therefore, decided to lay ambush on his farm in a bid to find out who had been stealing the maize.
The prosecutor said the convict laid ambush on his farm for three days, before he saw the deceased on his farm filling a sack with maize.
Ms Motey said the convict confronted his landlord and ordered him to carry the bag of maize to the police station but the landlord told “him to get away with his nonsense and made an attempt to move away”.
However, the convict rushed on the deceased with a machete and slashed the back of his neck, after which he fled to his hometown, the prosecution added.
The counsel of the convict prayed the jury to consider the circumstances preceding the killing of the landlord, adding “if after careful assessment you find what he told the court to be true, you should acquit him, but if you consider his evidence to be a concoction, you should convict him of murder, which is the position of the law”.
However,after a recess, the seven-member jury unanimously came up with a guilty verdict after which the court sentenced the convict to death by hanging.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
BIRIM RIVER BLEEDS FROM POISONOUS CHEMICALS (PAGE 35, JUNE 24, 2010)
THE Birim River, rich with abundant minerals such as gold and diamond as well as a green vegetation along its banks surrounded by thick forests, has for many years remained the pride and identity of people of Okyeman.
However, today the river is not only bleeding from heavy toxic chemicals such as cyanide and mercury, but is also on the brink of being pushed rapidly to extinction.
A visit to Apapam, Adadaetam, Hawinase through Kyebi, Pando, Asikam, Adukrom, Asiakwa, Bunso, Osino, Abompe, Ankaase, Akyem Mampong, Anyinam, Morso, Akrofufu, Akwaboaso, Asunafo to Akyem Oda will reveal clearly the extent to which the quality of water sourced from the Birim River and treated by the Ghana Water Company (GWC) has been seriously polluted, making the river to always appear brownish red and distasteful for human consumption.
Taking its source from the Atiwa Forest Range, the Birim River is gradually drying up due to the activities of illegal miners, who are mostly armed with sophisticated fire arms.
Without any fear, these illegal miners either mine close to the banks or right in the Birim River or sometimes divert its course to enable them to extract minerals from the basin of the river.
Once a good source of drinking water for the people, today the Birim River has become a source of various water-borne diseases for the people living along its banks, especially pregnant women and children who on a daily basis drink from it, since they can never afford a sachet or bottle of water.
Like many other important rivers that once served various communities across the country but are no more in existence, the persistent shrinking of the Birim River is projected to pose an acute water shortage to inhabitants in communities along its banks in the future.
The impunity with which the galamsey operators mine close to the river and sometimes mount canoe-like structures to mine right in the middle of the river, degrading and depleting forest covers and large tracts of farmland close to the banks of the river, has incessantly exposed this source of drinking water to heavy toxic materials such as cyanide and mercury which the illegal miners use to extract gold and diamond from the river and its environs.
Environmental risk
This endless siege from the devastating activities of illegal miners, who are believed to have migrated from Akwatia where similar land degradation and minerals were plundered, is posing serious environmental and health risks to the communities that live along its banks and use the river as their main source of water.
Contrary to the saying that healthy rivers are very important part of every community’s heritage and identity as they serve as good drinking water for the people in the communities, the important role played in the past by the Birim River for the people has now been destroyed.
Notwithstanding the heavy pollution and the destruction, the Birim River is presently the raw water source for four different treatment plants of the Ghana Water Company (GWC) at Kyebi, Osino, Anyinam and Bunso, and millions of gallons of water is pumped to the people in the Akyem area daily.
The GWC finds it extremely expensive treating water sourced from the river for human consumption. Besides, the activities of illegal miners close to the banks of the river and sometimes right in the river has also on several occasion compelled the GWC to shut down its water treatment plants at Kyebi and Bunso.
It has been reported that on many occasions the company was compelled to treat the water in its polluted state, it was often forced to pump the treated water to waste, since the treated water never conformed to drinking water standards of the World Health Organization (WHO), thus incurring liabilities in the waste of energy, manpower and chemical.
During a REGSEC meeting with chiefs from the Akyem area at Koforidua on March 20, this year, the Regional Director of the Quality Assurance of the GWC, Mr Moses Painstil, disclosed that due to the extent of pollution of the Birim River, the cost of treating water was three times more than it used to be in the past when the river used to be clean.
He indicated that the galamsey operators mined deep and wide pits, from which the liquid waste often seeped to the intake points where dams had been constructed for abstraction and subsequent treatment. This situation has left the GWC helpless in the face of the boldness, lawlessness and violence on the part of the galamsey operators who seem unstoppable by the security forces or the Akyem Abuakwa Mining Monitoring Team, which has been formed to check mining operations in the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area.
The question therefore is for how long will the activities of illegal miners continue to threaten the survival of the Birim River and the long-term interest of the people in Okyeman, all in the name of job creation for the unemployed youth?
Agreeable, the advent of the galamsey operation, as it is reported, has created about 500, 000 jobs to the jobless youth, but it seems the short-term gain of galamsey for a few greedy, lawless and violent individuals, including some chiefs, has taken precedence over the long-term impact of numerous benefits of the Birim River and other natural resources on the people’s living standard.
Good drinking water denied
Hundreds of thousands of people in the Akyem area, for a very long time and through no fault of theirs, have been denied access to good drinking water and are currently paying a heavy price for the activities of illegal miners, who according to reports, were sometimes backed by some of “unscrupulous chiefs in the Akyem areas”.
These chiefs, in a bid to enrich their individual pockets, are said to often accept money from the galamsey operators and release land to them to carry out their nefarious operations, overlooking the immense dangers illegal mining could pose to forest cover, water bodies, the environment and the people, today and posterity.
It is against this background that the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, called for the arrest and prosecution of any chief who will be found guilty of promoting illegal mining in their respective areas to face the full rigours of the law to serve as a deterrent to others.
According to him, any traditional leader who would be found to have collected money and given out land to the illegal miners to operate in the area should be made to face the law without any fear or favour.
I recall him saying that “If you, as chiefs, allow poverty to compel you to give out land to selfish individuals to destroy our forest reserves, water bodies and the ecology, at the expense of the people and posterity, then you must be made to be accountable for your selfish actions by facing the laws of the land.”
According to the Okyenhene, if the environmental laws and regulations in the country were to be respected and promoted, then those found guilty of flouting them, including himself, his children, sub-chiefs and members of royal families, should not be spared but be made to face the law.
For this call from the Okyenhene to be practical and purposeful, the readiness and commitment of the government to accord a high priority to environmental crime in the country could significantly curb the reckless depletion and plundering of natural resources as well as the pollution of the Birim River and other water bodies in the country.
The arrest and prosecution of those who flout environmental laws and regulations, without any fear or favour, indeed must be seen and felt in all the mining communities to drive home the determination of state institutions to stamp out activities that pose a threat to the environment.
Police/military swoop
It would be recalled that a joint military/police swoop on Kyebi and Asikam to stop illegal mining in the areas late in 2009, led to the arrest of over 90 illegal miners and the confiscation of their machines including excavators and pumps.
These illegal miners and their machines were taken to the Eastern Regional Police Headquarter only to be released a few days later, a situation that could partly be blamed for the impunity and violent behaviour of illegal miners in their operations.
Moreover, the inability of the various environmental agencies such as the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Forestry Commission and the Minerals Commission to educate the communities on the dangers of illegal mining as well as monitor the activities of galamsey operators to ensure that environmental laws and regulations are not flouted has also partly contributed to the impunity with which galamsey operators carry out their activities.
To reverse the trend, the time has come for the government to adequately resource all the environmental enforcement agencies to enable them to effectively tackle the incessant growing threats to the Birim River and other natural resources in the region and the country as a whole.
In the opinion of Okyenhene, the allocation of the needed funds to these environmental agencies will boost their capacity to curb the activities of illegal chainsaw and galamsey operators bent on depleting forests and polluting water bodies.
However, today the river is not only bleeding from heavy toxic chemicals such as cyanide and mercury, but is also on the brink of being pushed rapidly to extinction.
A visit to Apapam, Adadaetam, Hawinase through Kyebi, Pando, Asikam, Adukrom, Asiakwa, Bunso, Osino, Abompe, Ankaase, Akyem Mampong, Anyinam, Morso, Akrofufu, Akwaboaso, Asunafo to Akyem Oda will reveal clearly the extent to which the quality of water sourced from the Birim River and treated by the Ghana Water Company (GWC) has been seriously polluted, making the river to always appear brownish red and distasteful for human consumption.
Taking its source from the Atiwa Forest Range, the Birim River is gradually drying up due to the activities of illegal miners, who are mostly armed with sophisticated fire arms.
Without any fear, these illegal miners either mine close to the banks or right in the Birim River or sometimes divert its course to enable them to extract minerals from the basin of the river.
Once a good source of drinking water for the people, today the Birim River has become a source of various water-borne diseases for the people living along its banks, especially pregnant women and children who on a daily basis drink from it, since they can never afford a sachet or bottle of water.
Like many other important rivers that once served various communities across the country but are no more in existence, the persistent shrinking of the Birim River is projected to pose an acute water shortage to inhabitants in communities along its banks in the future.
The impunity with which the galamsey operators mine close to the river and sometimes mount canoe-like structures to mine right in the middle of the river, degrading and depleting forest covers and large tracts of farmland close to the banks of the river, has incessantly exposed this source of drinking water to heavy toxic materials such as cyanide and mercury which the illegal miners use to extract gold and diamond from the river and its environs.
Environmental risk
This endless siege from the devastating activities of illegal miners, who are believed to have migrated from Akwatia where similar land degradation and minerals were plundered, is posing serious environmental and health risks to the communities that live along its banks and use the river as their main source of water.
Contrary to the saying that healthy rivers are very important part of every community’s heritage and identity as they serve as good drinking water for the people in the communities, the important role played in the past by the Birim River for the people has now been destroyed.
Notwithstanding the heavy pollution and the destruction, the Birim River is presently the raw water source for four different treatment plants of the Ghana Water Company (GWC) at Kyebi, Osino, Anyinam and Bunso, and millions of gallons of water is pumped to the people in the Akyem area daily.
The GWC finds it extremely expensive treating water sourced from the river for human consumption. Besides, the activities of illegal miners close to the banks of the river and sometimes right in the river has also on several occasion compelled the GWC to shut down its water treatment plants at Kyebi and Bunso.
It has been reported that on many occasions the company was compelled to treat the water in its polluted state, it was often forced to pump the treated water to waste, since the treated water never conformed to drinking water standards of the World Health Organization (WHO), thus incurring liabilities in the waste of energy, manpower and chemical.
During a REGSEC meeting with chiefs from the Akyem area at Koforidua on March 20, this year, the Regional Director of the Quality Assurance of the GWC, Mr Moses Painstil, disclosed that due to the extent of pollution of the Birim River, the cost of treating water was three times more than it used to be in the past when the river used to be clean.
He indicated that the galamsey operators mined deep and wide pits, from which the liquid waste often seeped to the intake points where dams had been constructed for abstraction and subsequent treatment. This situation has left the GWC helpless in the face of the boldness, lawlessness and violence on the part of the galamsey operators who seem unstoppable by the security forces or the Akyem Abuakwa Mining Monitoring Team, which has been formed to check mining operations in the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area.
The question therefore is for how long will the activities of illegal miners continue to threaten the survival of the Birim River and the long-term interest of the people in Okyeman, all in the name of job creation for the unemployed youth?
Agreeable, the advent of the galamsey operation, as it is reported, has created about 500, 000 jobs to the jobless youth, but it seems the short-term gain of galamsey for a few greedy, lawless and violent individuals, including some chiefs, has taken precedence over the long-term impact of numerous benefits of the Birim River and other natural resources on the people’s living standard.
Good drinking water denied
Hundreds of thousands of people in the Akyem area, for a very long time and through no fault of theirs, have been denied access to good drinking water and are currently paying a heavy price for the activities of illegal miners, who according to reports, were sometimes backed by some of “unscrupulous chiefs in the Akyem areas”.
These chiefs, in a bid to enrich their individual pockets, are said to often accept money from the galamsey operators and release land to them to carry out their nefarious operations, overlooking the immense dangers illegal mining could pose to forest cover, water bodies, the environment and the people, today and posterity.
It is against this background that the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, called for the arrest and prosecution of any chief who will be found guilty of promoting illegal mining in their respective areas to face the full rigours of the law to serve as a deterrent to others.
According to him, any traditional leader who would be found to have collected money and given out land to the illegal miners to operate in the area should be made to face the law without any fear or favour.
I recall him saying that “If you, as chiefs, allow poverty to compel you to give out land to selfish individuals to destroy our forest reserves, water bodies and the ecology, at the expense of the people and posterity, then you must be made to be accountable for your selfish actions by facing the laws of the land.”
According to the Okyenhene, if the environmental laws and regulations in the country were to be respected and promoted, then those found guilty of flouting them, including himself, his children, sub-chiefs and members of royal families, should not be spared but be made to face the law.
For this call from the Okyenhene to be practical and purposeful, the readiness and commitment of the government to accord a high priority to environmental crime in the country could significantly curb the reckless depletion and plundering of natural resources as well as the pollution of the Birim River and other water bodies in the country.
The arrest and prosecution of those who flout environmental laws and regulations, without any fear or favour, indeed must be seen and felt in all the mining communities to drive home the determination of state institutions to stamp out activities that pose a threat to the environment.
Police/military swoop
It would be recalled that a joint military/police swoop on Kyebi and Asikam to stop illegal mining in the areas late in 2009, led to the arrest of over 90 illegal miners and the confiscation of their machines including excavators and pumps.
These illegal miners and their machines were taken to the Eastern Regional Police Headquarter only to be released a few days later, a situation that could partly be blamed for the impunity and violent behaviour of illegal miners in their operations.
Moreover, the inability of the various environmental agencies such as the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Forestry Commission and the Minerals Commission to educate the communities on the dangers of illegal mining as well as monitor the activities of galamsey operators to ensure that environmental laws and regulations are not flouted has also partly contributed to the impunity with which galamsey operators carry out their activities.
To reverse the trend, the time has come for the government to adequately resource all the environmental enforcement agencies to enable them to effectively tackle the incessant growing threats to the Birim River and other natural resources in the region and the country as a whole.
In the opinion of Okyenhene, the allocation of the needed funds to these environmental agencies will boost their capacity to curb the activities of illegal chainsaw and galamsey operators bent on depleting forests and polluting water bodies.
Monday, June 21, 2010
WORKSHOP HELD TO HARMONISE CERTIFICATES (PAGE 61, JUNE 21, 2010)
Story: Nana Konadu Agyeman, Koforidua.
A two-day workshop aimed at mapping out strategies to harmonise the fragmentation in certificates being issued by the various technical and vocational training institutes in the country has been held in Koforidua.
The workshop created a platform for stakeholders in the country’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training system (TVET) to find a common curriculum and training for all the technical and vocational institutes.
This is to ensure that certificates being issued by the technical and vocational institutes to their products would conform to the standard qualifications set by the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) for such certificates to be recognised.
The workshop was attended by representatives of the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Institute of Engineers, Ministry of Trade and Industry, as well as the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA).
Others included experts from the Ghana Employers Association, polytechnics, technical schools, the National Business and Technical Education Board (NABTECS).
Currently, due to the different curricula and training offered by the various technical and vocational institutes in the country, some of the certificates being offered by the technical and vocational training schools are recognised while others are not.
The strategic outcome of the workshop will be incorporated in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Support Project (TVETS) being implemented by the COTVET on a pilot basis in three technical institutes in a bid to deliver the new technical and vocational education and training system.
The competency-based training initiative, which is expected to run for a four-year period from April 2007 to March 2011, is currently being implemented at the Accra Polytechnic, the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) and the Accra Technical Training Centre.
Based on the successful outcome of the project, stakeholders will then decide whether to implement the competency-based training in all technical and vocational training schools in the country or not.
The initiative is jointly being financed by the government and the Japanese Government which has provided a $3.4 million grant through the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), which would provide technical support in the implementation of the project.
In an address at the opening ceremony, the Executive Director of COTVET, Mr Daniel B. Awuah, said to ensure harmonisation and recognition of the certificates being issued by TVETs, COTVET would monitor training offered by all technical institutions to “put sanity in technical training in the country”.
He said technical training institutes that flouted the regulations and standard of training set by the COTVET “will be sanctioned or sued in the law court to serve as a deterrent to others”.
On the new competency-based training (CBT), he said a lot of premium had been placed on certificates, allowing those with such certificates from technical institutes to gain more advantage on the job market at the expense of those “though do not have certificates have the skills and are competent technically due to years of working experience”.
He indicated that 60 per cent of students who had graduated from the junior high school (JHS) could not make it to the senior high schools (SHSs) “not because they are academically weak but there are not many senior high and technical schools to absorb them”.
To this end, he hinted that the government had approved GH¢3 million through the GETFund towards the training of about 5,000 JHS graduates and other people with technical skills to equip them with employable skills and support them to establish themselves after training.
The Director of Statistics, Research and Information Management of the Ministry of Education, Dr Dominic Pealore, expressed the commitment of the ministry to collaborate with stakeholders to champion technical and vocational education in the country.
“The success of this TVETS project will also depend largely on the various Standing Committees formed and the COTVET,” he stated.
He thanked the country’s development partners for their commitment and support to technical and vocation education in the country over the years and expressed the hope that they would continue such good works.
A two-day workshop aimed at mapping out strategies to harmonise the fragmentation in certificates being issued by the various technical and vocational training institutes in the country has been held in Koforidua.
The workshop created a platform for stakeholders in the country’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training system (TVET) to find a common curriculum and training for all the technical and vocational institutes.
This is to ensure that certificates being issued by the technical and vocational institutes to their products would conform to the standard qualifications set by the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) for such certificates to be recognised.
The workshop was attended by representatives of the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Institute of Engineers, Ministry of Trade and Industry, as well as the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA).
Others included experts from the Ghana Employers Association, polytechnics, technical schools, the National Business and Technical Education Board (NABTECS).
Currently, due to the different curricula and training offered by the various technical and vocational institutes in the country, some of the certificates being offered by the technical and vocational training schools are recognised while others are not.
The strategic outcome of the workshop will be incorporated in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Support Project (TVETS) being implemented by the COTVET on a pilot basis in three technical institutes in a bid to deliver the new technical and vocational education and training system.
The competency-based training initiative, which is expected to run for a four-year period from April 2007 to March 2011, is currently being implemented at the Accra Polytechnic, the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) and the Accra Technical Training Centre.
Based on the successful outcome of the project, stakeholders will then decide whether to implement the competency-based training in all technical and vocational training schools in the country or not.
The initiative is jointly being financed by the government and the Japanese Government which has provided a $3.4 million grant through the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), which would provide technical support in the implementation of the project.
In an address at the opening ceremony, the Executive Director of COTVET, Mr Daniel B. Awuah, said to ensure harmonisation and recognition of the certificates being issued by TVETs, COTVET would monitor training offered by all technical institutions to “put sanity in technical training in the country”.
He said technical training institutes that flouted the regulations and standard of training set by the COTVET “will be sanctioned or sued in the law court to serve as a deterrent to others”.
On the new competency-based training (CBT), he said a lot of premium had been placed on certificates, allowing those with such certificates from technical institutes to gain more advantage on the job market at the expense of those “though do not have certificates have the skills and are competent technically due to years of working experience”.
He indicated that 60 per cent of students who had graduated from the junior high school (JHS) could not make it to the senior high schools (SHSs) “not because they are academically weak but there are not many senior high and technical schools to absorb them”.
To this end, he hinted that the government had approved GH¢3 million through the GETFund towards the training of about 5,000 JHS graduates and other people with technical skills to equip them with employable skills and support them to establish themselves after training.
The Director of Statistics, Research and Information Management of the Ministry of Education, Dr Dominic Pealore, expressed the commitment of the ministry to collaborate with stakeholders to champion technical and vocational education in the country.
“The success of this TVETS project will also depend largely on the various Standing Committees formed and the COTVET,” he stated.
He thanked the country’s development partners for their commitment and support to technical and vocation education in the country over the years and expressed the hope that they would continue such good works.
POTAG KICKS AGAINST SINGLE SPINE PAY POLICY (JUNE 9, 2010)
Story: Nana Konadu Agyeman, Koforidua.
THE Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) has kicked against attempts to shift the payment of salaries of its members to the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department pay system.
It said it would not be in the interest of its members if their salaries were offloaded unto the pay system of the CACD, which it said was “already engulfed with several problems and inconsistencies that it is unable to solve”.
In a press statement at Koforidua yesterday (7/06), the National President of POTAG, Mr G. K. Abledu, however stated that “POTAG, having a representation on the Public Service Joint Negotiating Committee, does not in any way oppose government’s efforts to adopt and equal work equal pay salary structure through the implementation of the single spine pay policy”.
The National President of POTAG said even before the start of implementation of the Integrated Personal Payroll Database 2 (I.P.P.D. 2)”, polytechnics had been beset with difficulties in the payment of staff salaries.
According to him, simple documents submitted by the polytechnics to the CAGD had often been obliterated “as we have not been properly linked to the I.P.P.D 2”.
“Documents have to be prepared manually by the polytechnics before they are processed at the CAGD and already there are signs of inaccuracy and ineptitude”, he emphasized.
Buttressing the position of POTAG, he said Wa Polytechnic, for example, presented both a hard and soft copy of their staff list for processing to the CAGD but a number of staff had their names deleted while unknown names were rather included.
“The situation was not different at Tamale Polytechnic, where the Accountant himself who prepared the staff list and submitted it to the CAGD had his name off the list published for verification, while staff had their salaries slashed by half or more”, Mr Abledu stated, adding that “the payroll problems encountered by bodies on the IPPD as far back as 2004 had remained unresolved”.
Citing the saga surrounding the ex-gratia of Members of Parliament, which was released by the Office of the President but was in excess and therefore MPs were asked to refund the money, he said “these are some of the problems POTAG envisages that the polytechnics could be confronted with, which must not be allowed to start in the first place”.
In his view, since staff at the Polytechnics had to go in for bank and credit union loans as well as mutual and provident funds to supplement their meager salaries, the slightest delay in paying such loans at agreed period attracted an imposition of a penal interest.
“We cannot guarantee the regular payment of such deduction of our salaries to the various banks as the CAGD will not be able to make prompt payments of our salaries to the various bodies and this could lead to avoidable legal suits against individuals and the polytechnics”, Mr Abledu explained.
He added: “In the end, it is the staff who will suffer as they will be denied access to loans and other forms of credits and this will also not allow others to enjoy these facilities through no fault of theirs”.
The president also expressed worry over the government’s inability to renew the conditions of service for both POTAG and Teachers and Education Workers Union (TEWU), which expired in 2008.
According to him, efforts to get POTAG Standing Joint Negotiating Committee (SJNC) to reconvene to negotiate the conditions of service with the government had proved futile, adding that the “government always gives untenable excuses as to why negotiations cannot be held”.
“It must be reiterated that the patience of unionized bodies in the polytechnics has been overstretched and so we demand that the SJNC should be reconvened soonest to include conditions of service for both POTAG and TEWU, while effort made to get one for PAAG”, Mr Abledu stated.
THE Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) has kicked against attempts to shift the payment of salaries of its members to the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department pay system.
It said it would not be in the interest of its members if their salaries were offloaded unto the pay system of the CACD, which it said was “already engulfed with several problems and inconsistencies that it is unable to solve”.
In a press statement at Koforidua yesterday (7/06), the National President of POTAG, Mr G. K. Abledu, however stated that “POTAG, having a representation on the Public Service Joint Negotiating Committee, does not in any way oppose government’s efforts to adopt and equal work equal pay salary structure through the implementation of the single spine pay policy”.
The National President of POTAG said even before the start of implementation of the Integrated Personal Payroll Database 2 (I.P.P.D. 2)”, polytechnics had been beset with difficulties in the payment of staff salaries.
According to him, simple documents submitted by the polytechnics to the CAGD had often been obliterated “as we have not been properly linked to the I.P.P.D 2”.
“Documents have to be prepared manually by the polytechnics before they are processed at the CAGD and already there are signs of inaccuracy and ineptitude”, he emphasized.
Buttressing the position of POTAG, he said Wa Polytechnic, for example, presented both a hard and soft copy of their staff list for processing to the CAGD but a number of staff had their names deleted while unknown names were rather included.
“The situation was not different at Tamale Polytechnic, where the Accountant himself who prepared the staff list and submitted it to the CAGD had his name off the list published for verification, while staff had their salaries slashed by half or more”, Mr Abledu stated, adding that “the payroll problems encountered by bodies on the IPPD as far back as 2004 had remained unresolved”.
Citing the saga surrounding the ex-gratia of Members of Parliament, which was released by the Office of the President but was in excess and therefore MPs were asked to refund the money, he said “these are some of the problems POTAG envisages that the polytechnics could be confronted with, which must not be allowed to start in the first place”.
In his view, since staff at the Polytechnics had to go in for bank and credit union loans as well as mutual and provident funds to supplement their meager salaries, the slightest delay in paying such loans at agreed period attracted an imposition of a penal interest.
“We cannot guarantee the regular payment of such deduction of our salaries to the various banks as the CAGD will not be able to make prompt payments of our salaries to the various bodies and this could lead to avoidable legal suits against individuals and the polytechnics”, Mr Abledu explained.
He added: “In the end, it is the staff who will suffer as they will be denied access to loans and other forms of credits and this will also not allow others to enjoy these facilities through no fault of theirs”.
The president also expressed worry over the government’s inability to renew the conditions of service for both POTAG and Teachers and Education Workers Union (TEWU), which expired in 2008.
According to him, efforts to get POTAG Standing Joint Negotiating Committee (SJNC) to reconvene to negotiate the conditions of service with the government had proved futile, adding that the “government always gives untenable excuses as to why negotiations cannot be held”.
“It must be reiterated that the patience of unionized bodies in the polytechnics has been overstretched and so we demand that the SJNC should be reconvened soonest to include conditions of service for both POTAG and TEWU, while effort made to get one for PAAG”, Mr Abledu stated.
USE POSTINGS TO GIVE BACK TO SOCIETY (JUNE 7, 2010, PAGE 11)
Story: Nana Konadu Agyeman, Aburi.
THE Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Pre-tertiary, Mrs Elizabeth Amoah-Tetteh, has appealed to newly trained teachers to use their postings as an opportunity to give back to society the huge investment the nation has made in their training.
She reminded the teachers that since all the skills needed to groom pupils and students were acquired first at the training institutions, they should help uplift the standard of education in the country.
“Remember that it is teachers who have made you what you are today, so as you go into the field you must also help to bring up the young ones you will be teaching to your current status or even better”, she stated.
Speaking at the 3rd ceremony of the Aburi Presbyterian Women’s College of Education at Aburi on Saturday, Mrs Amoah-Tetteh reminded the teachers that “as you walk out of walls of your college, remember that you can contribute to reducing the number of street children or dropout rate in the country”.
The event saw the graduation of 201 students who were admitted to pursue their training at the college in October 2006.
According to Mrs Amoah-Tetteh, the training of teachers was key to the continuous production of the requisite human resources needed for the country’s growth and development.
“That is why the government keeps investing in improving all types of facilities in the 38 training colleges of education and has even upgraded them to a tertiary status as a diploma-awarding institutions”, she stated.
The deputy minister said the government was fully aware that assuming a new status, the Colleges of Education required adequate infrastructures such as lecture halls, halls of residence, well-stocked modern libraries as well as well trained and qualified teachers.
“It is for these reasons that the government has already started improving infrastructures in the colleges, including six-unit classroom blocks and modern libraries built in each of the 38 colleges, in addition to well-equipped science laboratory in each of the 15 science colleges”, she added.
She advised teachers to desire to upgrade themselves to enable them to excel in their profession, adding that “you must take advantage of the various offers by the GES, GNAT and our development partners to upgrade yourselves periodically through study leave, distance learning, in-service training opportunities, sandwich courses and scholarships”.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Municipal Chief Executive for Akuapem South, Dr Godfried O. Bonsu-Twum, the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo appealed to the gruaduands to shun vices such as drug abuse and alcoholism, which he said could undermine their teaching ability and career.
In his welcoming address, the acting Principal of the college, Mrs Grace Manubea Ansah, said the security in the college was at stake due to lack of fence wall, thus allowing intruders especially males to harass the female students.
According to her, with the help of the Akuapem Presbytery and small contributions of the college, a part of the wall had been raised to partly address invasion of the college’s campus by male adults.
“Taking into consideration the importance of a serene environment for teaching and learning, I will want to appeal the rest of the college wall be raised to have complete security. This is estimated to cost GH1, 500”.
The acting Principal also appealed for a well-stocked library complex, access road to the college and the replacement of the college plant, which broke down due to frequent power fluctuation.
THE Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Pre-tertiary, Mrs Elizabeth Amoah-Tetteh, has appealed to newly trained teachers to use their postings as an opportunity to give back to society the huge investment the nation has made in their training.
She reminded the teachers that since all the skills needed to groom pupils and students were acquired first at the training institutions, they should help uplift the standard of education in the country.
“Remember that it is teachers who have made you what you are today, so as you go into the field you must also help to bring up the young ones you will be teaching to your current status or even better”, she stated.
Speaking at the 3rd ceremony of the Aburi Presbyterian Women’s College of Education at Aburi on Saturday, Mrs Amoah-Tetteh reminded the teachers that “as you walk out of walls of your college, remember that you can contribute to reducing the number of street children or dropout rate in the country”.
The event saw the graduation of 201 students who were admitted to pursue their training at the college in October 2006.
According to Mrs Amoah-Tetteh, the training of teachers was key to the continuous production of the requisite human resources needed for the country’s growth and development.
“That is why the government keeps investing in improving all types of facilities in the 38 training colleges of education and has even upgraded them to a tertiary status as a diploma-awarding institutions”, she stated.
The deputy minister said the government was fully aware that assuming a new status, the Colleges of Education required adequate infrastructures such as lecture halls, halls of residence, well-stocked modern libraries as well as well trained and qualified teachers.
“It is for these reasons that the government has already started improving infrastructures in the colleges, including six-unit classroom blocks and modern libraries built in each of the 38 colleges, in addition to well-equipped science laboratory in each of the 15 science colleges”, she added.
She advised teachers to desire to upgrade themselves to enable them to excel in their profession, adding that “you must take advantage of the various offers by the GES, GNAT and our development partners to upgrade yourselves periodically through study leave, distance learning, in-service training opportunities, sandwich courses and scholarships”.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Municipal Chief Executive for Akuapem South, Dr Godfried O. Bonsu-Twum, the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo appealed to the gruaduands to shun vices such as drug abuse and alcoholism, which he said could undermine their teaching ability and career.
In his welcoming address, the acting Principal of the college, Mrs Grace Manubea Ansah, said the security in the college was at stake due to lack of fence wall, thus allowing intruders especially males to harass the female students.
According to her, with the help of the Akuapem Presbytery and small contributions of the college, a part of the wall had been raised to partly address invasion of the college’s campus by male adults.
“Taking into consideration the importance of a serene environment for teaching and learning, I will want to appeal the rest of the college wall be raised to have complete security. This is estimated to cost GH1, 500”.
The acting Principal also appealed for a well-stocked library complex, access road to the college and the replacement of the college plant, which broke down due to frequent power fluctuation.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
WORKSHOP HELD TO HARMONISE CERTIFICATES (PAGE 61, JUNE 21, 2010)
A two-day workshop aimed at mapping out strategies to harmonise the fragmentation in certificates being issued by the various technical and vocational training institutes in the country has been held in Koforidua.
The workshop created a platform for stakeholders in the country’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training system (TVET) to find a common curriculum and training for all the technical and vocational institutes.
This is to ensure that certificates being issued by the technical and vocational institutes to their products will conform to the standard qualifications set by the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) for such certificates to be recognised.
The workshop was attended by representatives of the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Institute of Engineers, Ministry of Trade and Industry, as well as the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA).
Others included experts from the Ghana Employers Association, polytechnics, technical schools, the National Business and Technical Education Board (NABTECS).
Currently, due to the different curricula and training offered by the various technical and vocational institutes in the country, some of the certificates being offered by the technical and vocational training schools are recognised while others are not.
The strategic outcome of the workshop will be incorporated in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Support Project (TVETS) being implemented by the COTVET on a pilot basis in three technical institutes in a bid to deliver the new technical and vocational education and training system.
The competency-based training initiative, which is expected to run for a four-year period from April 2007 to March 2011, is currently being implemented at the Accra Polytechnic, the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) and the Accra Technical Training Centre.
Based on the successful outcome of the project, stakeholders will then decide whether to implement the competency-based training in all technical and vocational training schools in the country or not.
The initiative is jointly being financed by the government and the Japanese Government which has provided a $3.4 million grant through the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), which will provide technical support in the implementation of the project.
In an address at the opening ceremony, the Executive Director of COTVET, Mr Daniel B. Awuah, said to ensure harmonisation and recognition of the certificates being issued by TVETs, COTVET would monitor training offered by all technical institutions to “put sanity in technical training in the country”.
He said technical training institutes that flouted the regulations and standard of training set by the COTVET “will be sanctioned or sued in the law court to serve as a deterrent to others”.
On the new competency-based training (CBT), he said a lot of premium had been placed on certificates, allowing those with such certificates from technical institutes to gain more advantage on the job market at the expense of those “though do not have certificates have the skills and are competent technically due to years of working experience”.
He indicated that 60 per cent of students who had graduated from the junior high school (JHS) could not make it to the senior high schools (SHSs) “not because they are academically weak but there are not many senior high and technical schools to absorb them”.
To this end, he hinted that the government had approved GH¢3 million through the GETFund towards the training of about 5,000 JHS graduates and other people with technical skills to equip them with employable skills and support them to establish themselves after training.
The Director of Statistics, Research and Information Management of the Ministry of Education, Dr Dominic Pealore, expressed the commitment of the ministry to collaborate with stakeholders to champion technical and vocational education in the country.
“The success of this TVETS project will also depend largely on the various Standing Committees formed and the COTVET,” he stated.
He thanked the country’s development partners for their commitment and support to technical and vocation education in the country over the years and expressed the hope that they would continue such good works.
The workshop created a platform for stakeholders in the country’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training system (TVET) to find a common curriculum and training for all the technical and vocational institutes.
This is to ensure that certificates being issued by the technical and vocational institutes to their products will conform to the standard qualifications set by the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) for such certificates to be recognised.
The workshop was attended by representatives of the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Institute of Engineers, Ministry of Trade and Industry, as well as the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA).
Others included experts from the Ghana Employers Association, polytechnics, technical schools, the National Business and Technical Education Board (NABTECS).
Currently, due to the different curricula and training offered by the various technical and vocational institutes in the country, some of the certificates being offered by the technical and vocational training schools are recognised while others are not.
The strategic outcome of the workshop will be incorporated in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Support Project (TVETS) being implemented by the COTVET on a pilot basis in three technical institutes in a bid to deliver the new technical and vocational education and training system.
The competency-based training initiative, which is expected to run for a four-year period from April 2007 to March 2011, is currently being implemented at the Accra Polytechnic, the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) and the Accra Technical Training Centre.
Based on the successful outcome of the project, stakeholders will then decide whether to implement the competency-based training in all technical and vocational training schools in the country or not.
The initiative is jointly being financed by the government and the Japanese Government which has provided a $3.4 million grant through the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), which will provide technical support in the implementation of the project.
In an address at the opening ceremony, the Executive Director of COTVET, Mr Daniel B. Awuah, said to ensure harmonisation and recognition of the certificates being issued by TVETs, COTVET would monitor training offered by all technical institutions to “put sanity in technical training in the country”.
He said technical training institutes that flouted the regulations and standard of training set by the COTVET “will be sanctioned or sued in the law court to serve as a deterrent to others”.
On the new competency-based training (CBT), he said a lot of premium had been placed on certificates, allowing those with such certificates from technical institutes to gain more advantage on the job market at the expense of those “though do not have certificates have the skills and are competent technically due to years of working experience”.
He indicated that 60 per cent of students who had graduated from the junior high school (JHS) could not make it to the senior high schools (SHSs) “not because they are academically weak but there are not many senior high and technical schools to absorb them”.
To this end, he hinted that the government had approved GH¢3 million through the GETFund towards the training of about 5,000 JHS graduates and other people with technical skills to equip them with employable skills and support them to establish themselves after training.
The Director of Statistics, Research and Information Management of the Ministry of Education, Dr Dominic Pealore, expressed the commitment of the ministry to collaborate with stakeholders to champion technical and vocational education in the country.
“The success of this TVETS project will also depend largely on the various Standing Committees formed and the COTVET,” he stated.
He thanked the country’s development partners for their commitment and support to technical and vocation education in the country over the years and expressed the hope that they would continue such good works.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
COLLEGES OF EDUCATION TO GET 20 COMPUTERS (PAGE 11, JUNE 16, 2010)
THE government is to provide each of the 38 Colleges of Education across the country with 20 sets of flat screen computers and air conditioners for their information and communications technology (ICT) centres.
The facilities are to enhance teaching and learning of ICT and boost the capacity of the colleges to provide quality training to the students.
The Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, who disclosed this, also said “as part of the government’s policy to complete all ongoing projects in all the Colleges of Education, the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) had allocated large sums of money to all the institutions”.
He was speaking at the second congregation ceremony of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) College of Education at Effiduase, Koforidua during which 294 students, who completed in 2008, graduated.
“The government is committed to producing qualified teachers to ensure quality education at the basic level of the country’s educational structure to enable the nation to have a solid foundation on which higher levels of education can be built”, Mr Tettey-Enyo stated
The Education Minister said since the nation’s most important resource was its people and not its gold, cocoa nor its oil, the government would continue to provide the Colleges of Education with the needed logistics to enable them to render quality training to teacher trainees.
“Since it is the people who build the nation and are capable of making it strong and great, we have to concentrate on eradicating illiteracy and provide opportunities for all our people to be educated”.
To achieve this literacy rate among the population, Mr Tettey-Enyo emphasised the important role teachers played in the human resource development of the country, adding that “the government’s attention is focused on the training, deployment and motivation of teachers”
On the elevation of Colleges of Education to tertiary status, he said in consonance with the National Accreditation Board (NAB) regulations, all the 38 institutions which were given three years of institutional accreditation to run the Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) programme would undergo a re-accreditation exercise this year.
“Since education is the foundation for the growth of the society which also develops on knowledge and skills acquired through teaching and learning, the elevation of colleges to tertiary status will enable the nation to move away from the old ways of doing things to accelerate human development of Ghana”, he stated.
For his part, the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, lamented the increasing level of indiscipline among the youth in the country and, therefore, advised the newly trained teachers to help reverse the trend in the communities they would be posted to.
“As young teachers who are coming out, you must see yourselves as generational thinkers and be agents of change in society so that together we can do away with the upsurge of indiscipline to make Ghana a better dwelling place for all,” he stated.
In his welcome address, the Principal of the college, Mr A. Akumfi-Ameyaw, mentioned the lack of fence and accommodation for staff of the colleges as some of the challenges undermining effective teaching and learning.
He, therefore, appealed to the government to help address the problems “to protect us from armed robbers and other intruders as well as enhance teaching and learning”.
The facilities are to enhance teaching and learning of ICT and boost the capacity of the colleges to provide quality training to the students.
The Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, who disclosed this, also said “as part of the government’s policy to complete all ongoing projects in all the Colleges of Education, the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) had allocated large sums of money to all the institutions”.
He was speaking at the second congregation ceremony of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) College of Education at Effiduase, Koforidua during which 294 students, who completed in 2008, graduated.
“The government is committed to producing qualified teachers to ensure quality education at the basic level of the country’s educational structure to enable the nation to have a solid foundation on which higher levels of education can be built”, Mr Tettey-Enyo stated
The Education Minister said since the nation’s most important resource was its people and not its gold, cocoa nor its oil, the government would continue to provide the Colleges of Education with the needed logistics to enable them to render quality training to teacher trainees.
“Since it is the people who build the nation and are capable of making it strong and great, we have to concentrate on eradicating illiteracy and provide opportunities for all our people to be educated”.
To achieve this literacy rate among the population, Mr Tettey-Enyo emphasised the important role teachers played in the human resource development of the country, adding that “the government’s attention is focused on the training, deployment and motivation of teachers”
On the elevation of Colleges of Education to tertiary status, he said in consonance with the National Accreditation Board (NAB) regulations, all the 38 institutions which were given three years of institutional accreditation to run the Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) programme would undergo a re-accreditation exercise this year.
“Since education is the foundation for the growth of the society which also develops on knowledge and skills acquired through teaching and learning, the elevation of colleges to tertiary status will enable the nation to move away from the old ways of doing things to accelerate human development of Ghana”, he stated.
For his part, the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, lamented the increasing level of indiscipline among the youth in the country and, therefore, advised the newly trained teachers to help reverse the trend in the communities they would be posted to.
“As young teachers who are coming out, you must see yourselves as generational thinkers and be agents of change in society so that together we can do away with the upsurge of indiscipline to make Ghana a better dwelling place for all,” he stated.
In his welcome address, the Principal of the college, Mr A. Akumfi-Ameyaw, mentioned the lack of fence and accommodation for staff of the colleges as some of the challenges undermining effective teaching and learning.
He, therefore, appealed to the government to help address the problems “to protect us from armed robbers and other intruders as well as enhance teaching and learning”.
COLLEGES OF EDUCATION TO GET 20 COMPUTERS (PAGE 11, JUNE 16, 2010)
THE government is to provide each of the 38 Colleges of Education across the country with 20 sets of flat screen computers and air conditioners for their information and communications technology (ICT) centres.
The facilities are to enhance teaching and learning of ICT and boost the capacity of the colleges to provide quality training to the students.
The Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, who disclosed this, also said “as part of the government’s policy to complete all ongoing projects in all the Colleges of Education, the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) had allocated large sums of money to all the institutions”.
He was speaking at the second congregation ceremony of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) College of Education at Effiduase, Koforidua during which 294 students, who completed in 2008, graduated.
“The government is committed to producing qualified teachers to ensure quality education at the basic level of the country’s educational structure to enable the nation to have a solid foundation on which higher levels of education can be built”, Mr Tettey-Enyo stated
The Education Minister said since the nation’s most important resource was its people and not its gold, cocoa nor its oil, the government would continue to provide the Colleges of Education with the needed logistics to enable them to render quality training to teacher trainees.
“Since it is the people who build the nation and are capable of making it strong and great, we have to concentrate on eradicating illiteracy and provide opportunities for all our people to be educated”.
To achieve this literacy rate among the population, Mr Tettey-Enyo emphasised the important role teachers played in the human resource development of the country, adding that “the government’s attention is focused on the training, deployment and motivation of teachers”
On the elevation of Colleges of Education to tertiary status, he said in consonance with the National Accreditation Board (NAB) regulations, all the 38 institutions which were given three years of institutional accreditation to run the Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) programme would undergo a re-accreditation exercise this year.
“Since education is the foundation for the growth of the society which also develops on knowledge and skills acquired through teaching and learning, the elevation of colleges to tertiary status will enable the nation to move away from the old ways of doing things to accelerate human development of Ghana”, he stated.
For his part, the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, lamented the increasing level of indiscipline among the youth in the country and, therefore, advised the newly trained teachers to help reverse the trend in the communities they would be posted to.
“As young teachers who are coming out, you must see yourselves as generational thinkers and be agents of change in society so that together we can do away with the upsurge of indiscipline to make Ghana a better dwelling place for all,” he stated.
In his welcome address, the Principal of the college, Mr A. Akumfi-Ameyaw, mentioned the lack of fence and accommodation for staff of the colleges as some of the challenges undermining effective teaching and learning.
He, therefore, appealed to the government to help address the problems “to protect us from armed robbers and other intruders as well as enhance teaching and learning”.
The facilities are to enhance teaching and learning of ICT and boost the capacity of the colleges to provide quality training to the students.
The Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, who disclosed this, also said “as part of the government’s policy to complete all ongoing projects in all the Colleges of Education, the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) had allocated large sums of money to all the institutions”.
He was speaking at the second congregation ceremony of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) College of Education at Effiduase, Koforidua during which 294 students, who completed in 2008, graduated.
“The government is committed to producing qualified teachers to ensure quality education at the basic level of the country’s educational structure to enable the nation to have a solid foundation on which higher levels of education can be built”, Mr Tettey-Enyo stated
The Education Minister said since the nation’s most important resource was its people and not its gold, cocoa nor its oil, the government would continue to provide the Colleges of Education with the needed logistics to enable them to render quality training to teacher trainees.
“Since it is the people who build the nation and are capable of making it strong and great, we have to concentrate on eradicating illiteracy and provide opportunities for all our people to be educated”.
To achieve this literacy rate among the population, Mr Tettey-Enyo emphasised the important role teachers played in the human resource development of the country, adding that “the government’s attention is focused on the training, deployment and motivation of teachers”
On the elevation of Colleges of Education to tertiary status, he said in consonance with the National Accreditation Board (NAB) regulations, all the 38 institutions which were given three years of institutional accreditation to run the Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) programme would undergo a re-accreditation exercise this year.
“Since education is the foundation for the growth of the society which also develops on knowledge and skills acquired through teaching and learning, the elevation of colleges to tertiary status will enable the nation to move away from the old ways of doing things to accelerate human development of Ghana”, he stated.
For his part, the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, lamented the increasing level of indiscipline among the youth in the country and, therefore, advised the newly trained teachers to help reverse the trend in the communities they would be posted to.
“As young teachers who are coming out, you must see yourselves as generational thinkers and be agents of change in society so that together we can do away with the upsurge of indiscipline to make Ghana a better dwelling place for all,” he stated.
In his welcome address, the Principal of the college, Mr A. Akumfi-Ameyaw, mentioned the lack of fence and accommodation for staff of the colleges as some of the challenges undermining effective teaching and learning.
He, therefore, appealed to the government to help address the problems “to protect us from armed robbers and other intruders as well as enhance teaching and learning”.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
6 KILLED IN ACCIDENT (PAGE 3, JUNE 15, 2010)
SIX persons perished in an accident when a Ford bus collided head-on with a Benz truck at Obretema, near Suhum, last Saturday.
Four persons, including the driver of the Ford bus, whose identities were yet to be known, and a civilian employee of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), identified as Edmund Lomotey, died on the spot.
Two out of the three persons, including the driver of the Benz bus, who were rushed to the Suhum Government Hospital in coma died on Sunday.
Eight people who sustained various degrees of injury were taken to the Suhum Government Hospital and are said to be responding to treatment, while the bodies of the dead have been deposited at the morgue of the same hospital.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Eastern Regional Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent James Peprah, said the accident occurred at 4 p.m. on Saturday when the Ford bus, in the process of overtaking another vehicle, collided head-on with the Benz truck.
He said the bus, with registration number AW 3393 Z, was travelling from Kumasi towards Accra, while the truck, with registration number GT 6100 B, was travelling from the opposite direction.
Meanwhile, a 54-year-old man, identified as Kwadwo Adekplovi, also died when he was knocked down by a vehicle at Amanase, near Suhum, on Saturday .
Four persons, including the driver of the Ford bus, whose identities were yet to be known, and a civilian employee of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), identified as Edmund Lomotey, died on the spot.
Two out of the three persons, including the driver of the Benz bus, who were rushed to the Suhum Government Hospital in coma died on Sunday.
Eight people who sustained various degrees of injury were taken to the Suhum Government Hospital and are said to be responding to treatment, while the bodies of the dead have been deposited at the morgue of the same hospital.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Eastern Regional Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent James Peprah, said the accident occurred at 4 p.m. on Saturday when the Ford bus, in the process of overtaking another vehicle, collided head-on with the Benz truck.
He said the bus, with registration number AW 3393 Z, was travelling from Kumasi towards Accra, while the truck, with registration number GT 6100 B, was travelling from the opposite direction.
Meanwhile, a 54-year-old man, identified as Kwadwo Adekplovi, also died when he was knocked down by a vehicle at Amanase, near Suhum, on Saturday .
Monday, June 14, 2010
ENFORCE LAWS ON ENVIRONMENT (PAGE 3, JUNE 14, 2010)
THE Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, has called on the government and other stakeholders to strictly enforce environmental laws and regulations in order to preserve and protect the country’s fast-dwindling natural resources and water bodies from further destruction and pollution.
According to him, until such laws and regulations were respected, promoted and defended, greedy individuals, including chainsaw and galamsey operators, would continue to exploit “our resources at the expense of the masses today and posterity”.
He said if such illegal chainsaw operators, miners and chiefs were found promoting those activities and arrested and prosecuted without any fear or favour, it would deter others from flouting environmental laws and regulations in the country.
“How long can we, as a nation, continue to fold our arms and look on helplessly while chainsaw operators and illegal miners deplete and destroy our forests, rivers, lakes and farmlands with impunity?” the Okyenhene asked.
Speaking at the national launch of the World Environment Day at Osino in the Eastern Region on Saturday, the Okyenhene said “almost every water body in the nook and cranny of Ghana, including the Korle Lagoon, the Pra, Birim, Densu, Oti and Afram rivers, as well as forests, which are national assets, is being polluted and destroyed because we have failed miserably to enforce laws that are to protect and preserve them”.
The event, which was on the theme: “Many Species, One Ghana, One Future”, was used to plant several species of plants at Osino and its environs in the Fanteakwa District.
The Okyenhene stated that God, in His wisdom, had blessed the country with abundant natural resources such as forests, water bodies and rich farmlands that should enhance the living standards of the people and also make the country self-sufficient.
“However, the very natural resources that are to enable us to improve every area of our existence, from health, agriculture, water and medicinal needs, are now turning out to be a source of diseases for our innocent children, pregnant women and the general masses,” he stated.
Osagyefuo Ofori Panin blamed this unfortunate state of affairs on negligence on the part of the government, the security forces, the EPA and the Minerals Commission to strictly enforce the various laws and regulations that were to preserve and protect the country’s natural resources from incessant exploitation.
“When the gifts of nature are destroyed, the meaningful prolonged existence of mankind on earth is also cut short,” he added.
In his view, if the government and other stakeholders continued to pay no urgent attention to putting a stop to the activities of illegal miners and chainsaw operators, “I dare say that the consequences of abusing the laws of nature will see us pushing all our natural resources, plant and animal species to extinction”.
He indicated that in the wake of the massive destruction of the forests, farmlands and water bodies, it had always been “chiefs who are blamed for promoting the activities of illegal miners and chainsaw operators in their communities and not the government”.
“Unfortunately, the days when our chiefs were described as illiterates and did not have degrees in environmental science, Master of Science and PhDs but understood the importance of preservation to human survival and, therefore, controlled the activities of their people towards the environment have been taken away,” he said.
He used the occasion to challenge Ghanaians to change their attitudes towards their environment, adding that “together we can help preserve our water bodies and environment for our own meaningful existence on earth”.
For her part, the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ms Sherry Ayitey, identified threats to biodiversity in the country to include rapidly increasing trade in bush meat, agriculture, commercial logging, illegal activities by chainsaw operators and mining.
To confront those challenges, she said, the government, in partnership with non-governmental organisations and development agencies, had launched the Green Ghana project and re-launched the arbour day to instil in Ghanaians the habit of planting and nursing trees for both economic and aesthetic purposes to mitigate the effects of climate change and global warming.
For his part, the Deputy Country Director of the UNDP, Mr Shigeki, called on the government and other stakeholders to help preserve biodiversity in the country in order not to precipitate the extinction of various species of animals and plants.
According to him, until such laws and regulations were respected, promoted and defended, greedy individuals, including chainsaw and galamsey operators, would continue to exploit “our resources at the expense of the masses today and posterity”.
He said if such illegal chainsaw operators, miners and chiefs were found promoting those activities and arrested and prosecuted without any fear or favour, it would deter others from flouting environmental laws and regulations in the country.
“How long can we, as a nation, continue to fold our arms and look on helplessly while chainsaw operators and illegal miners deplete and destroy our forests, rivers, lakes and farmlands with impunity?” the Okyenhene asked.
Speaking at the national launch of the World Environment Day at Osino in the Eastern Region on Saturday, the Okyenhene said “almost every water body in the nook and cranny of Ghana, including the Korle Lagoon, the Pra, Birim, Densu, Oti and Afram rivers, as well as forests, which are national assets, is being polluted and destroyed because we have failed miserably to enforce laws that are to protect and preserve them”.
The event, which was on the theme: “Many Species, One Ghana, One Future”, was used to plant several species of plants at Osino and its environs in the Fanteakwa District.
The Okyenhene stated that God, in His wisdom, had blessed the country with abundant natural resources such as forests, water bodies and rich farmlands that should enhance the living standards of the people and also make the country self-sufficient.
“However, the very natural resources that are to enable us to improve every area of our existence, from health, agriculture, water and medicinal needs, are now turning out to be a source of diseases for our innocent children, pregnant women and the general masses,” he stated.
Osagyefuo Ofori Panin blamed this unfortunate state of affairs on negligence on the part of the government, the security forces, the EPA and the Minerals Commission to strictly enforce the various laws and regulations that were to preserve and protect the country’s natural resources from incessant exploitation.
“When the gifts of nature are destroyed, the meaningful prolonged existence of mankind on earth is also cut short,” he added.
In his view, if the government and other stakeholders continued to pay no urgent attention to putting a stop to the activities of illegal miners and chainsaw operators, “I dare say that the consequences of abusing the laws of nature will see us pushing all our natural resources, plant and animal species to extinction”.
He indicated that in the wake of the massive destruction of the forests, farmlands and water bodies, it had always been “chiefs who are blamed for promoting the activities of illegal miners and chainsaw operators in their communities and not the government”.
“Unfortunately, the days when our chiefs were described as illiterates and did not have degrees in environmental science, Master of Science and PhDs but understood the importance of preservation to human survival and, therefore, controlled the activities of their people towards the environment have been taken away,” he said.
He used the occasion to challenge Ghanaians to change their attitudes towards their environment, adding that “together we can help preserve our water bodies and environment for our own meaningful existence on earth”.
For her part, the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ms Sherry Ayitey, identified threats to biodiversity in the country to include rapidly increasing trade in bush meat, agriculture, commercial logging, illegal activities by chainsaw operators and mining.
To confront those challenges, she said, the government, in partnership with non-governmental organisations and development agencies, had launched the Green Ghana project and re-launched the arbour day to instil in Ghanaians the habit of planting and nursing trees for both economic and aesthetic purposes to mitigate the effects of climate change and global warming.
For his part, the Deputy Country Director of the UNDP, Mr Shigeki, called on the government and other stakeholders to help preserve biodiversity in the country in order not to precipitate the extinction of various species of animals and plants.
Friday, June 11, 2010
TEACHERS TRAINING MUST BE PROFESSIONALISED (PAGE 11, JUNE 11, 2010)
THE Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, has stressed the need for the training of young teachers at the 38 colleges of education to be geared towards making them true professionals.
He said this could eventually lead to the licensing of teachers on a renewable basis every four years, to help instill a sense of pride, dignity, discipline and quality.
“The good part of merit licensing of teachers is that it will ensure discipline and quality output on the part of teachers”, Mr Ofosu Ampofo stated.
In an address at the 2nd graduation ceremony of the Kyebi Presbyterian College of Education, Mr Ofosu Ampofo said achieving this concept would depend on the efficiency and effectiveness of the colleges of education.
One hundred and four-five students graduated at the ceremony which was on the theme “Transition to Tertiary Status: Prospects and Challenges”.
The regional minister said with the elevation of teacher training colleges to tertiary status , the lecturers were required to pursue higher education to enable them to attain higher qualifications that would enhance their output.
“To be a successful tertiary institution demands that the lecturers should be of high academic standing, hence the need for those who have not yet attained the requisite academic qualifications and research skills to upgrade themselves”, he stated.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to facilitate efforts aimed at supporting the numerous unqualified teachers who were already in the classrooms to the level of diploma holders since that would virtually be the minimum qualification demanded of all professional teachers.
“The solution for this challenge will entail either organising vacation or sandwich classes for this category of teachers at all the colleges of education, or the GES should provide adequate motivation to them and encourage them to take advantage of the distance learning scheme,” he stated.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo further called for the creation of other non-academic administrative and support service departments such as security, transport, estates, parks and gardens, which would manage and co-ordinate the operations of colleges of education.
He, therefore, called on the current management and all prospective managers to seek further studies on management of higher educational institutions, which he described as a challenging area.
“Failure of practitioners to pursue higher education will lead to people with the requisite qualifications coming from outside their mainstream to take up leadership positions from them,” he stated.
On resourcing of colleges of education, Mr Ofosu Ampofo said since the education enterprise was quite expensive, the government would ensure that the necessary funds would be released to support all the 38 colleges of education to enable them offer quality training.
For his part, the principal of the college, Rev. E. Y. Omenako, advised the graduate teachers to work hard to reflect the quality training they received at the institute.
He said this could eventually lead to the licensing of teachers on a renewable basis every four years, to help instill a sense of pride, dignity, discipline and quality.
“The good part of merit licensing of teachers is that it will ensure discipline and quality output on the part of teachers”, Mr Ofosu Ampofo stated.
In an address at the 2nd graduation ceremony of the Kyebi Presbyterian College of Education, Mr Ofosu Ampofo said achieving this concept would depend on the efficiency and effectiveness of the colleges of education.
One hundred and four-five students graduated at the ceremony which was on the theme “Transition to Tertiary Status: Prospects and Challenges”.
The regional minister said with the elevation of teacher training colleges to tertiary status , the lecturers were required to pursue higher education to enable them to attain higher qualifications that would enhance their output.
“To be a successful tertiary institution demands that the lecturers should be of high academic standing, hence the need for those who have not yet attained the requisite academic qualifications and research skills to upgrade themselves”, he stated.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to facilitate efforts aimed at supporting the numerous unqualified teachers who were already in the classrooms to the level of diploma holders since that would virtually be the minimum qualification demanded of all professional teachers.
“The solution for this challenge will entail either organising vacation or sandwich classes for this category of teachers at all the colleges of education, or the GES should provide adequate motivation to them and encourage them to take advantage of the distance learning scheme,” he stated.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo further called for the creation of other non-academic administrative and support service departments such as security, transport, estates, parks and gardens, which would manage and co-ordinate the operations of colleges of education.
He, therefore, called on the current management and all prospective managers to seek further studies on management of higher educational institutions, which he described as a challenging area.
“Failure of practitioners to pursue higher education will lead to people with the requisite qualifications coming from outside their mainstream to take up leadership positions from them,” he stated.
On resourcing of colleges of education, Mr Ofosu Ampofo said since the education enterprise was quite expensive, the government would ensure that the necessary funds would be released to support all the 38 colleges of education to enable them offer quality training.
For his part, the principal of the college, Rev. E. Y. Omenako, advised the graduate teachers to work hard to reflect the quality training they received at the institute.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
PAY UNANNOUNCED VISISTS TO SCHOOLS (PAGE 35, JUNE 9, 2010)
THE Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu, has tasked 21 municipal and district chief executives (M/DCEs) in the region to pay regular, unannounced visits to the basic schools benefiting from the School Feeding Programme.
He said such visits would make the caterers to observe strict health and safety rules in the preparation of food for the schoolchildren.
Besides, he said, they would help them assess at first-hand the quality and quantity of food being served to the pupils and also put a stop to the use of unwholesome ingredients by some “unscrupulous caterers”.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo said “it is time we collectively stopped and exposed bad practices and the desire of greedy individuals bent on making undue profit at the expense of our future leaders”.
The regional minister was addressing the M/DCEs and their co-ordinating directors, officials of the Ghana Education Service and other stakeholders at the regional inauguration of the district School Feeding Programme implementation committees in Koforidua on Tuesday.
The committees are to see to the successful implementation of the programme and ensure that it operates within acceptable standards at the municipal and district levels.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo said the introduction of the School Feeding Programme by the government had become one of the important social interventions that had increased access to education and learning, as well as improved children’s health and nutrition, especially for pupils from the deprived communities.
He was, however, unhappy about the several reported cases of pupils being fed on unwholesome food items by the very individuals whose services had been engaged to prepare food for them.
The regional minister, therefore, urged the M/DCEs and the committees in the region to be proactive in ensuring effective monitoring of the programme in their respective areas.
“Since schoolchildren of today are the embodiment of the nation’s future leaders, the burden of ensuring their educational development should be the duty of every Ghanaian,” he stressed.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo appealed to the chief executives to give priority to the extension of the programme to poor communities that deserved it.
He urged them to ensure that locally produced food items were used in the preparation of meals for the pupils, adding that “using locally sourced food will not only inculcate the consumption of local food in the children, but also provide reliable income for local farmers”.
He said such visits would make the caterers to observe strict health and safety rules in the preparation of food for the schoolchildren.
Besides, he said, they would help them assess at first-hand the quality and quantity of food being served to the pupils and also put a stop to the use of unwholesome ingredients by some “unscrupulous caterers”.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo said “it is time we collectively stopped and exposed bad practices and the desire of greedy individuals bent on making undue profit at the expense of our future leaders”.
The regional minister was addressing the M/DCEs and their co-ordinating directors, officials of the Ghana Education Service and other stakeholders at the regional inauguration of the district School Feeding Programme implementation committees in Koforidua on Tuesday.
The committees are to see to the successful implementation of the programme and ensure that it operates within acceptable standards at the municipal and district levels.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo said the introduction of the School Feeding Programme by the government had become one of the important social interventions that had increased access to education and learning, as well as improved children’s health and nutrition, especially for pupils from the deprived communities.
He was, however, unhappy about the several reported cases of pupils being fed on unwholesome food items by the very individuals whose services had been engaged to prepare food for them.
The regional minister, therefore, urged the M/DCEs and the committees in the region to be proactive in ensuring effective monitoring of the programme in their respective areas.
“Since schoolchildren of today are the embodiment of the nation’s future leaders, the burden of ensuring their educational development should be the duty of every Ghanaian,” he stressed.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo appealed to the chief executives to give priority to the extension of the programme to poor communities that deserved it.
He urged them to ensure that locally produced food items were used in the preparation of meals for the pupils, adding that “using locally sourced food will not only inculcate the consumption of local food in the children, but also provide reliable income for local farmers”.
GH¢850,000 BUILDING COMPLEX FOR ABURI CRAFT VILLAGE (PAGE 35, JUNE 9, 2010)
THE Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF) has approved a total of GH¢850,000 towards the construction of a modern building complex for the Aburi Craft Village this year.
The project, which is aimed at promoting the tourism potential in the area and enhancing the work of wood carvers, would be constructed on an 8.5-acre piece of land at the Aburi Y Junction.
The project, to be implemented in two phases, would involve the construction of stalls, showrooms, a forex bureau, an Internet cafe’, a canteen and a guest house, among others.
On completion, the project would provide opportunity for small-scale craft makers to market their products and give the youth requisite training and skills to earn a decent living.
Currently, wood carvers only sell their wares in small and inappropriate stalls by the roadsides, a situation that poses danger to them and their clients.
The Aburihene, Otoobuor Djan Kwesi II, who made this known in an interview with the Daily Graphic at Aburi, said the complex would significantly enhance the work of the carvers and enable them to apply their entrepreneurship skills in a competitive market to earn better incomes.
According to him, since the country earns adequate foreign exchange from the export of handicrafts and its increased patronage by tourists, the completion of the modern complex will afford the carvers ready market for their produce locally and at the international level.
Otoobuor Djan expressed appreciation to the Ministry of Trade and Industry for its commitment over the years to fulfil its promise of promoting the work of wood carvers in the area.
Speaking on the Aburi Botanical Gardens, Otoobuor Djan appealed to the government to help market the garden to potential investors who would develop it because it was gradually losing its natural endowment and tourism potential.
The project, which is aimed at promoting the tourism potential in the area and enhancing the work of wood carvers, would be constructed on an 8.5-acre piece of land at the Aburi Y Junction.
The project, to be implemented in two phases, would involve the construction of stalls, showrooms, a forex bureau, an Internet cafe’, a canteen and a guest house, among others.
On completion, the project would provide opportunity for small-scale craft makers to market their products and give the youth requisite training and skills to earn a decent living.
Currently, wood carvers only sell their wares in small and inappropriate stalls by the roadsides, a situation that poses danger to them and their clients.
The Aburihene, Otoobuor Djan Kwesi II, who made this known in an interview with the Daily Graphic at Aburi, said the complex would significantly enhance the work of the carvers and enable them to apply their entrepreneurship skills in a competitive market to earn better incomes.
According to him, since the country earns adequate foreign exchange from the export of handicrafts and its increased patronage by tourists, the completion of the modern complex will afford the carvers ready market for their produce locally and at the international level.
Otoobuor Djan expressed appreciation to the Ministry of Trade and Industry for its commitment over the years to fulfil its promise of promoting the work of wood carvers in the area.
Speaking on the Aburi Botanical Gardens, Otoobuor Djan appealed to the government to help market the garden to potential investors who would develop it because it was gradually losing its natural endowment and tourism potential.
WOMEN ATTEND WORKSHOP ON ROAD SAFETY (PAGE 35, JUNE 9, 2010)
A ROAD safety awareness workshop aimed at sensitising women to the dangers and effects of road traffic crashes on the country’s human resource development, has ended in Koforidua.
The event was to help women appreciate the magnitude of road traffic crashes in the country and the urgent need for them to get actively involved in the reduction and prevention of fatalities on the roads.
After the training, the women were expected to become advocates of road safety by supporting rigorous road safety campaigns in their respective homes, communities, churches and mosques, schools, markets and workplaces.
Organised by the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), the workshop brought together women from the various ministries, departments and agencies, as well as representatives from the various trade groups and associations in the New Juaben Municipality.
In an address, the Executive Director of the NRSC, Mr Noble J. Appiah, said 70 per cent of road traffic deaths in the country involved men, a situation that had placed a heavy responsibility of family upbringing on women in society.
“In event of the death of more men in road crashes, most homes are left without breadwinners; this has serious socio-economic implications for women and their families, the community and the country,” he stated.
Mr Appiah, therefore, urged women to take the leading role by championing and being advocates in road safety wherever they found themselves, adding that “we should demand road safety as pedestrians and passengers all the time”.
He reminded the participants that road safety was not about accidents and the loss of human lives, but the “pain and suffering as well as the socio-economic impact on our women.”
Mr Appiah expressed worry over some Ghanaians’ careless attitudes towards accidents, stressing, “It is time we disabused our minds that every road crash that claims lives is the will of God.”
“As passengers when a driver misbehaves, we must check him in order to curb rampant road crashes, failure of which we will find ourselves killed through a drivers’ recklessness,” he reminded the women.
Giving an overview of the current road safety records in the country, the Director of Planning and Programmes of the NRSC, Mrs May Obiri-Yeboah, said the Eastern, Greater Accra, Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions accounted for 70 per cent of road traffic crashes since 1998.
According to her, 42 per cent of persons killed annually were pedestrians, made of 23 per cent children below the age of 16 while 70 per cent of persons killed annually were in the active group age between 16 and 55.
The event was to help women appreciate the magnitude of road traffic crashes in the country and the urgent need for them to get actively involved in the reduction and prevention of fatalities on the roads.
After the training, the women were expected to become advocates of road safety by supporting rigorous road safety campaigns in their respective homes, communities, churches and mosques, schools, markets and workplaces.
Organised by the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), the workshop brought together women from the various ministries, departments and agencies, as well as representatives from the various trade groups and associations in the New Juaben Municipality.
In an address, the Executive Director of the NRSC, Mr Noble J. Appiah, said 70 per cent of road traffic deaths in the country involved men, a situation that had placed a heavy responsibility of family upbringing on women in society.
“In event of the death of more men in road crashes, most homes are left without breadwinners; this has serious socio-economic implications for women and their families, the community and the country,” he stated.
Mr Appiah, therefore, urged women to take the leading role by championing and being advocates in road safety wherever they found themselves, adding that “we should demand road safety as pedestrians and passengers all the time”.
He reminded the participants that road safety was not about accidents and the loss of human lives, but the “pain and suffering as well as the socio-economic impact on our women.”
Mr Appiah expressed worry over some Ghanaians’ careless attitudes towards accidents, stressing, “It is time we disabused our minds that every road crash that claims lives is the will of God.”
“As passengers when a driver misbehaves, we must check him in order to curb rampant road crashes, failure of which we will find ourselves killed through a drivers’ recklessness,” he reminded the women.
Giving an overview of the current road safety records in the country, the Director of Planning and Programmes of the NRSC, Mrs May Obiri-Yeboah, said the Eastern, Greater Accra, Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions accounted for 70 per cent of road traffic crashes since 1998.
According to her, 42 per cent of persons killed annually were pedestrians, made of 23 per cent children below the age of 16 while 70 per cent of persons killed annually were in the active group age between 16 and 55.
STEEL BRIDGES TO LINK COMMUNITIES IN 10 MUNICIPALITIES (PAGE 35, JUNE 9, 2010)
A NUMBER of rural communities in 10 municipalities and districts in the Eastern Region which are either surrounded or divided by rivers are to be linked with 18 steel bridges.
The provision of the bridges is to facilitate the movement of the people and haulage of agricultural produce.
The bridges, which will be between 20 and 35 metres across rivers, will be financed by the government with support from the governments of The Netherlands, the United States of America and Spain.
The Spanish government will provide five bridges, estimated at GH¢3,017,227, in farming communities in the East Akyem Municipality, Birim South and the Upper Manya districts.
The American government will construct the bridges in farming and fishing communities in the Atiwa, Yilo Krobo, Fanteakwa and the Asuogyaman districts at a total cost of GH¢2,991,955.
Even though work on the Spanish and the American-financed bridges are yet to be awarded on contract, the projects are expected to be completed in 2012.
However, work on the Dutch-financed bridges, estimated at GH¢3,114,721, is ongoing in the East Akyem and West Akyem municipalities and Kwahu South, Kwahu West, Yilo Krobo and the Upper Manya Krobo districts.
The Eastern Regional Manager of the Department of Feeder Roads, Mr David Brobbey, made this known to the Daily Graphic at Effiduase, near Koforidua.
He made these statements when he took the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, round to inspect the delivery of various steel components of the bridges on the premises of the Department of Feeder Roads in Koforidua.
That was after Mr Ofosu Ampofo had paid a working visit to interact with the management and workers of the Ghana Highway Authority, the Department of Feeder Roads and the Urban Roads Department in Koforidua to acquaint himself with the challenges facing the three institutions and their workers.
He said when completed, the bridges were expected to provide easy access to remote farming and fishing communities where the people currently used canoes to ferry women in labour and the sick across rivers before boarding vehicles to nearby hospitals.
Besides, Mr Brobbey said, the bridges would also bring a lot of relief to the people, especially schoolchildren who travelled by canoes daily to attend school in the other communities.
“Upon completion, people in communities close to rivers and other water bodies will no longer have to use canoes to cross bridges, sometimes getting drowned in the process,” Mr Brobbey stated.
According to him, currently the most convenient means of transport for the people living in the farming and fishing communities surrounded and divided by rivers was the use of canoes to reach other communities.
“There are times when many of these communities are cut off completely from other communities, especially during heavy rainy seasons when the level of the rivers rise, making it impossible for them to either cross or cart their farm produce to marketing centres,” he stated.
He added: “When this happens, schoolchildren cannot go to school and those who dare sometimes get drowned in the process.”
Mr Ofosu Ampofo said about 30 per cent of foodstuffs produced in the country were lost through post-harvest loses caused by lack of access roads in most of the rural communities.
He, therefore, expressed optimism that the construction of the bridges would ease the burden poor farmers went through to cart their farm produce to the market centres on time to enable them to earn decent incomes.
The regional minister tasked the management of the Department of Feeder Roads to put in place measures to ensure effective supervision of the projects and their early completion.
The provision of the bridges is to facilitate the movement of the people and haulage of agricultural produce.
The bridges, which will be between 20 and 35 metres across rivers, will be financed by the government with support from the governments of The Netherlands, the United States of America and Spain.
The Spanish government will provide five bridges, estimated at GH¢3,017,227, in farming communities in the East Akyem Municipality, Birim South and the Upper Manya districts.
The American government will construct the bridges in farming and fishing communities in the Atiwa, Yilo Krobo, Fanteakwa and the Asuogyaman districts at a total cost of GH¢2,991,955.
Even though work on the Spanish and the American-financed bridges are yet to be awarded on contract, the projects are expected to be completed in 2012.
However, work on the Dutch-financed bridges, estimated at GH¢3,114,721, is ongoing in the East Akyem and West Akyem municipalities and Kwahu South, Kwahu West, Yilo Krobo and the Upper Manya Krobo districts.
The Eastern Regional Manager of the Department of Feeder Roads, Mr David Brobbey, made this known to the Daily Graphic at Effiduase, near Koforidua.
He made these statements when he took the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, round to inspect the delivery of various steel components of the bridges on the premises of the Department of Feeder Roads in Koforidua.
That was after Mr Ofosu Ampofo had paid a working visit to interact with the management and workers of the Ghana Highway Authority, the Department of Feeder Roads and the Urban Roads Department in Koforidua to acquaint himself with the challenges facing the three institutions and their workers.
He said when completed, the bridges were expected to provide easy access to remote farming and fishing communities where the people currently used canoes to ferry women in labour and the sick across rivers before boarding vehicles to nearby hospitals.
Besides, Mr Brobbey said, the bridges would also bring a lot of relief to the people, especially schoolchildren who travelled by canoes daily to attend school in the other communities.
“Upon completion, people in communities close to rivers and other water bodies will no longer have to use canoes to cross bridges, sometimes getting drowned in the process,” Mr Brobbey stated.
According to him, currently the most convenient means of transport for the people living in the farming and fishing communities surrounded and divided by rivers was the use of canoes to reach other communities.
“There are times when many of these communities are cut off completely from other communities, especially during heavy rainy seasons when the level of the rivers rise, making it impossible for them to either cross or cart their farm produce to marketing centres,” he stated.
He added: “When this happens, schoolchildren cannot go to school and those who dare sometimes get drowned in the process.”
Mr Ofosu Ampofo said about 30 per cent of foodstuffs produced in the country were lost through post-harvest loses caused by lack of access roads in most of the rural communities.
He, therefore, expressed optimism that the construction of the bridges would ease the burden poor farmers went through to cart their farm produce to the market centres on time to enable them to earn decent incomes.
The regional minister tasked the management of the Department of Feeder Roads to put in place measures to ensure effective supervision of the projects and their early completion.
Friday, June 4, 2010
NKUSUOHEMAA PROMOTES INTELECTUAL EXCELLENCE ...At Obosomase-Akuapem (PAGE 11, JUNE 4, 2010)
A SCHOOL designed to ignite enthusiasm for learning in the Akuapem area has begun at Obosomase. It is currently admitting children from kindergarten to junior high school (JHS).
The objective of the new school, Aloma International Academy is to provide instruction covering early childhood education through high school and college.
The school, will also provide training in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The academy is also a training facility for Early Childhood educators.
Though the institution is geared primarily to provide instruction, it will go further in the delivery of a high standard of quality childcare.
Its daily operations starts from 7:00 am. to 7:00pm. The time period will enable parents to drop their children at school before going to work and pick their wards after work.
The facility is equipped to provide three meals per day for students. Also scheduled for provision, are malaria tablets and vitamins, once weekly. In that context, a wellness programme has been designed.
“We intend to improve the condition of the whole child,” said Nana Akua Adobea, Nkosuohemaa of the Kronti Division of Aburi the school’s proprietress, adding that “our holistic approach speaks to making quality education available.”
Nana Akua Adobea who hails from Jamaica and is privately known as Ms Aloma Ingram was enstoolled at the Kronti Palace of Aburi four years ago.
“I am looking for parents who are serious about educating their children. Our Ghanaian children deserve the best,” Nana Akua Adobea said.
“At present, the institution is offering a free tuition scholarship to each student, for the first term, which has started. Of course, there is a cost for uniforms, food, other materials and services, at a reasonable cost”, she said.
Dr Osei Bonsu Twum, the District Municipal Chief Executive for Akuapem South, who visited the project, was so impressed and said, “Nana, I am being touched by Angel. You are an Angel.”
Nana Akua Adobea explained to the Daily Graphic that the initial phase of the project, consisting of the first floor of a six-unit two storey classroom block, has been completed.
She said the project was furnished with a computer laboratory with Internet facility, a library and child-friendly learning tools aimed at stimulating the learning abilities of the children.
However, the lack of funds is currently posing serious constraints to the early completion of the second floor of the project and another six-unit classroom block, which is currently at the foundation level.
Upon completion, the Aloma International Academy will also comprise facilities for adult learning centre, family planning and nutrition programmes for women in the area.
The project forms part of Nana Akua Adobea’s contribution to making learning under a conducive environment by school children more accessible and the uplift of the standard of education at Obosomase and other communities on the Akuapem Ridge.
According to the Nkosuohemea since education was one of the major tools that could promote the development of a child’s intellectual, mental formation as well as behavioural patterns, she decided to provide the Obosomase community with a school to make education more accessible to schoolchildren from the area and its environs.
“Although every child has the right to education, it is not only the responsibility of the government; It is a shared responsibility among the state, traditional authorities, individuals, parents as well as teachers,", the Nkosuohemaa of Aburi stated
“Since I am passionate about education in Ghana, access to quality education by poor and underprivileged children has always been my keen interest for many years as an educationist”, Nana Adobea stated.
She pledged her commitment to use the Aloma International School as a resource centre for other schools as well as “train other educationists and Academy that will need help in uplifting the standard of education on the Akuapem Ridge”.
The objective of the new school, Aloma International Academy is to provide instruction covering early childhood education through high school and college.
The school, will also provide training in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The academy is also a training facility for Early Childhood educators.
Though the institution is geared primarily to provide instruction, it will go further in the delivery of a high standard of quality childcare.
Its daily operations starts from 7:00 am. to 7:00pm. The time period will enable parents to drop their children at school before going to work and pick their wards after work.
The facility is equipped to provide three meals per day for students. Also scheduled for provision, are malaria tablets and vitamins, once weekly. In that context, a wellness programme has been designed.
“We intend to improve the condition of the whole child,” said Nana Akua Adobea, Nkosuohemaa of the Kronti Division of Aburi the school’s proprietress, adding that “our holistic approach speaks to making quality education available.”
Nana Akua Adobea who hails from Jamaica and is privately known as Ms Aloma Ingram was enstoolled at the Kronti Palace of Aburi four years ago.
“I am looking for parents who are serious about educating their children. Our Ghanaian children deserve the best,” Nana Akua Adobea said.
“At present, the institution is offering a free tuition scholarship to each student, for the first term, which has started. Of course, there is a cost for uniforms, food, other materials and services, at a reasonable cost”, she said.
Dr Osei Bonsu Twum, the District Municipal Chief Executive for Akuapem South, who visited the project, was so impressed and said, “Nana, I am being touched by Angel. You are an Angel.”
Nana Akua Adobea explained to the Daily Graphic that the initial phase of the project, consisting of the first floor of a six-unit two storey classroom block, has been completed.
She said the project was furnished with a computer laboratory with Internet facility, a library and child-friendly learning tools aimed at stimulating the learning abilities of the children.
However, the lack of funds is currently posing serious constraints to the early completion of the second floor of the project and another six-unit classroom block, which is currently at the foundation level.
Upon completion, the Aloma International Academy will also comprise facilities for adult learning centre, family planning and nutrition programmes for women in the area.
The project forms part of Nana Akua Adobea’s contribution to making learning under a conducive environment by school children more accessible and the uplift of the standard of education at Obosomase and other communities on the Akuapem Ridge.
According to the Nkosuohemea since education was one of the major tools that could promote the development of a child’s intellectual, mental formation as well as behavioural patterns, she decided to provide the Obosomase community with a school to make education more accessible to schoolchildren from the area and its environs.
“Although every child has the right to education, it is not only the responsibility of the government; It is a shared responsibility among the state, traditional authorities, individuals, parents as well as teachers,", the Nkosuohemaa of Aburi stated
“Since I am passionate about education in Ghana, access to quality education by poor and underprivileged children has always been my keen interest for many years as an educationist”, Nana Adobea stated.
She pledged her commitment to use the Aloma International School as a resource centre for other schools as well as “train other educationists and Academy that will need help in uplifting the standard of education on the Akuapem Ridge”.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
ABURI GIRLS CHALKS UP ACADEMIC SUCCESS (SPREAD, JUNE 3, 2010)
THE Aburi Girls’ Senior High School chalked up 100 per cent in the 2009 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), making this record the best academic performance in more than 10 years.
Out of the 460 candidates who passed in all the eight subjects, one student obtained Grade A in all the eight subjects while seven got Grade As in seven subjects.
With such an improved academic record, the school has now become the best SHS “that feeds the universities in the country with qualified students”.
The Headmistress of the school, Mrs Silvia Asempa, made this known at the school’s 64th anniversary speech and prize-giving at Aburi.
She stated that “among the 20 top SHSs who fed the universities five years ago, we have improved to the top 10 two years ago and the top five last year and today we are the number one SHS”.
The event, marked on the theme: “Be That Light On The Hill”, was used to honour students who had distinguished themselves in various subjects and co-curricula activities, as well as hardworking teaching and non-teaching staff.
Ms Ernestina Okoe-Martey, who obtained eight Grade As in the 2009 WASSCE, was honoured for being the overall best student. For her prize, she received a laptop and assorted sets of books.
The class of 1985 students, who organised the anniversary, also honoured the Headmistress of the school, Mrs Asempa, and her deputy, Mrs Sefa Twerefour, and her predecessor, Dr Joyce Lucy Asibey, for their distinguished services to the development and academic successes of the school over the years.
The headmistress attributed the successful academic achievement in the 2009 WASSCE to innovative policies, strict supervision, improved infrastructure, congenial atmosphere, teamwork, commitment and dedication of the management, parent-teacher association (PTA), board members, Old Girls Association and the students.
“We promise not to dilute our academic momentum to be at the top always,” Mrs Asempa said, seizing the opportunity to express her profound gratitude to the teaching and non-teaching staff, students and other stakeholders.
On discipline, Mrs Asempa said discipline had remained one of the guiding principles that had significantly made a difference in the character of the students and their academic performance.
“However unpalatable our discipline methods seem, we make our girls understand and appreciate the fact that discipline has a direct relationship with academic performance and the bedrock of every successful endeavour,” she stated.
She gave an assurance that “since discipline is a holistic system that ensures total development of our girls to enable them to reap its full effect of hard work, self-respect, self-dignity and confidence, we will never be complacent in our discipline approach”.
Recounting other successes achieved by the school under her nine-year administration, Mrs Asempa mentioned the PTA-funded GH¢52,000 sachet water plant, the first of its kind in any SHS in the country, a GH¢32,000 refurbished chemistry lab funded by the 1985 class, a GH¢20,000 bedroom flat, a three-unit classroom block which had enabled the school to admit 120 more girls, and a two-bedroom flat, among others.
On challenges facing the school, the headmistress identified the lack of a modern art studio for the art department as the only challenge facing the art students, adding that “it is the only department that has not received any appreciable attention”.
On infrastructure, she said with the support of the school’s PTA, Old Girls Association and other stakeholders, “we are on our own putting measures in place to supplement the government’s infrastructural development to accommodate the 2010/2011 new entrants in September this year”.
Delivering her keynote address, a Circuit Court judge, Mrs Doris Bempong, an old student, advised the students to strive for excellence and integrity to enable them to make a difference in their life and that of others.
“To fulfil your dreams, sacrifice yourself by devoting your time, talents and resources to your studies and seek out and love everyone regardless of their situation and circumstances, as well as inspire by teaching others through your example,” she stated.
A special guest of honour, Mrs Oboshie Sai-Kofie, an old student and former Minister of Information and National Orientation, encouraged the students to avail themselves of the opportunities to be groomed and prepared for excellence for responsible leadership in future.
Out of the 460 candidates who passed in all the eight subjects, one student obtained Grade A in all the eight subjects while seven got Grade As in seven subjects.
With such an improved academic record, the school has now become the best SHS “that feeds the universities in the country with qualified students”.
The Headmistress of the school, Mrs Silvia Asempa, made this known at the school’s 64th anniversary speech and prize-giving at Aburi.
She stated that “among the 20 top SHSs who fed the universities five years ago, we have improved to the top 10 two years ago and the top five last year and today we are the number one SHS”.
The event, marked on the theme: “Be That Light On The Hill”, was used to honour students who had distinguished themselves in various subjects and co-curricula activities, as well as hardworking teaching and non-teaching staff.
Ms Ernestina Okoe-Martey, who obtained eight Grade As in the 2009 WASSCE, was honoured for being the overall best student. For her prize, she received a laptop and assorted sets of books.
The class of 1985 students, who organised the anniversary, also honoured the Headmistress of the school, Mrs Asempa, and her deputy, Mrs Sefa Twerefour, and her predecessor, Dr Joyce Lucy Asibey, for their distinguished services to the development and academic successes of the school over the years.
The headmistress attributed the successful academic achievement in the 2009 WASSCE to innovative policies, strict supervision, improved infrastructure, congenial atmosphere, teamwork, commitment and dedication of the management, parent-teacher association (PTA), board members, Old Girls Association and the students.
“We promise not to dilute our academic momentum to be at the top always,” Mrs Asempa said, seizing the opportunity to express her profound gratitude to the teaching and non-teaching staff, students and other stakeholders.
On discipline, Mrs Asempa said discipline had remained one of the guiding principles that had significantly made a difference in the character of the students and their academic performance.
“However unpalatable our discipline methods seem, we make our girls understand and appreciate the fact that discipline has a direct relationship with academic performance and the bedrock of every successful endeavour,” she stated.
She gave an assurance that “since discipline is a holistic system that ensures total development of our girls to enable them to reap its full effect of hard work, self-respect, self-dignity and confidence, we will never be complacent in our discipline approach”.
Recounting other successes achieved by the school under her nine-year administration, Mrs Asempa mentioned the PTA-funded GH¢52,000 sachet water plant, the first of its kind in any SHS in the country, a GH¢32,000 refurbished chemistry lab funded by the 1985 class, a GH¢20,000 bedroom flat, a three-unit classroom block which had enabled the school to admit 120 more girls, and a two-bedroom flat, among others.
On challenges facing the school, the headmistress identified the lack of a modern art studio for the art department as the only challenge facing the art students, adding that “it is the only department that has not received any appreciable attention”.
On infrastructure, she said with the support of the school’s PTA, Old Girls Association and other stakeholders, “we are on our own putting measures in place to supplement the government’s infrastructural development to accommodate the 2010/2011 new entrants in September this year”.
Delivering her keynote address, a Circuit Court judge, Mrs Doris Bempong, an old student, advised the students to strive for excellence and integrity to enable them to make a difference in their life and that of others.
“To fulfil your dreams, sacrifice yourself by devoting your time, talents and resources to your studies and seek out and love everyone regardless of their situation and circumstances, as well as inspire by teaching others through your example,” she stated.
A special guest of honour, Mrs Oboshie Sai-Kofie, an old student and former Minister of Information and National Orientation, encouraged the students to avail themselves of the opportunities to be groomed and prepared for excellence for responsible leadership in future.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
ZOOMLION PRESENTED WITH SANITARY EQUIPMENT (PAGE 35, JUNE 2, 2010)
THE Eastern Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) in collaboration with the New Juaben Municipal Assembly has presented a number of sanitary items to Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a waste management company.
The items included 40 pairs of wellington boots, 10 shovels and six wheelbarrows.
They are to support staff of the company, most of whom clean choked gutters and refuse dumps wearing inappropriate footwear such as bathroom slippers, shoes, among others, in the municipality.
Presenting the items, the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, said the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) and the municipal assembly decided to present the equipment to motivate the workers of Zoomlion to discharge their duties more effectively and efficiently.
"Since environmental cleanliness is a shared responsibility, it is our hope that these items will encourage workers of Zoomlion to clear choked gutters, refuse dumps and ensure general cleanliness in the New Juaben Municipality," he stated.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo said he would pay regular inspection to the area to ensure that the items were used for the intended purpose.
Receiving the items, the Regional Operations Supervisor of Zoomlion, Mr Ernest Kusi, thanked the RCC and the New Juaben Municipal Assembly for their support.
He pledged to ensure that the equipment would be utilised to ensure cleanliness in the area.
The items included 40 pairs of wellington boots, 10 shovels and six wheelbarrows.
They are to support staff of the company, most of whom clean choked gutters and refuse dumps wearing inappropriate footwear such as bathroom slippers, shoes, among others, in the municipality.
Presenting the items, the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, said the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) and the municipal assembly decided to present the equipment to motivate the workers of Zoomlion to discharge their duties more effectively and efficiently.
"Since environmental cleanliness is a shared responsibility, it is our hope that these items will encourage workers of Zoomlion to clear choked gutters, refuse dumps and ensure general cleanliness in the New Juaben Municipality," he stated.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo said he would pay regular inspection to the area to ensure that the items were used for the intended purpose.
Receiving the items, the Regional Operations Supervisor of Zoomlion, Mr Ernest Kusi, thanked the RCC and the New Juaben Municipal Assembly for their support.
He pledged to ensure that the equipment would be utilised to ensure cleanliness in the area.
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