Tuesday, April 13, 2010

28 PERISH IN 2 ACCIDENTS (1B, APRIL 12, 2010)

Story: A. Ampratwum-Mensah, Sunyani & Nana Konadu Agyeman, Asenema

TWENTY-EIGHT people died in two separate accidents at Attakrom, near Kintampo in the Brong Ahafo Region, and Asenema, near Adukrom in the Eastern Region, last Saturday.
At Attakrom, a village between Babatokuma and Dawadawa, 16 people, including a child under one year, died on the spot and seven others later at the Kintampo Government Hospital.
The accident occurred when two 207 Benz buses on which they were travelling from opposite directions collided on the main Kintampo-Tamale trunk road.
The bodies of the 16 were deposited at the Sunyani Regional Hospital mortuary for autopsy, while the remaining five were kept at the Kintampo Hospital mortuary.
Those who sustained various degrees of injury are on admission at the same hospital.
The Kintampo District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Desmond Owusu-Boampong, who briefed the Daily Graphic yesterday, indicated that while the bus with registration number AW 2370 Q was moving from Tamale to Techiman, the other, with number AS 472 V, was on its way from Techiman to Tamale.
According to him, the accident occurred about 7.30 p.m. on Saturday when the Techiman-bound vehicle was overtaking a tractor, in the process of which it collided with the other vehicle.
He explained that the decision to transport the 16 bodies to the Sunyani Hospital was due to the bad state of the Kintampo Hospital mortuary, adding that the five bodies being kept there were to be embalmed immediately.
When the Daily Graphic visited the Sunyani Hospital mortuary, this reporter counted about nine bodies out of the 16, including a female, lying on the floor, while the mortuary attendants were in the process of preparing them for autopsy.
Scores of people believed to be relatives of the deceased were identifying the bodies of their relations, while some sympathisers had grouped in front of the hospital gate.
A young lady this reporter met wailing uncontrollably claimed that her mother had been involved in the accident.
A medical officer who declined to mention his name indicated that the bodies had been brought in at dawn yesterday.
In the second accident, five people were killed in a grisly accident when a Daewoo bus belonging to the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCO) ran into a Nissan Urvan bus at Asenema, near Adukrom in the Akuapem North District on Saturday.
Two persons died on the spot, while three others later passed away at the Eastern Regional Hospital in Koforidua.
Ten out of the 38 injured people on board both buses who were rushed to the hospital were admitted and are responding to treatment, while the others were treated and discharged.
The 10 on admission, including a 16-year-old mother, Flora Nyarko, and her 13-month-old baby, were among the 12 passengers on board the Nissan mini bus, with registration number ER 435 S, travelling from Koforidua to Adukrom.
Those whose bodies have so far been identified at the morgue of the Eastern Regional Hospital include Kingsley Annor, the driver of the Nissan mini bus, Yaw Kono and Dorinda Kono.
The accident occurred about 3.30 p.m. on Saturday when the GRIDCO bus, which was travelling from Larteh to Prestea in the Western Region with about 25 mourners, veered into the lane of the oncoming Nissan mini bus.
The driver of the GRIDCO bus, who was allegedly said to be descending the curvy and hilly road in a high gear, veered into the lane of the mini bus in a bid to avoid running into a trench along the road but ended up running into the oncoming vehicle.
The GRIDCO bus, with registration number GW 5613 T, pushed the mini bus about 10 metres into a trench in the curve, mangling the Nissan bus in the process.
The passengers on board the GRIDCO bus, comprising workers of the company and some Jehovah’s Witnesses of Prestea, had attended the funeral of the late father of a staff member at Larteh and were returning to Prestea when the accident occurred.
Briefing the press on the accident, the Eastern Regional Director of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), Mr Stephen Anokye, said preliminary investigations into the cause of the accident revealed that the driver of the GRIDCO bus had been descending the steep road in a high gear.
"In his bid to avoid running off the road, the driver of the GRIDCO bus possibly lost control of the bus and, therefore, went into the lane of the oncoming Nissan bus, resulting in a head-on collision," he stated.
"This tragic accident could have been avoided if the driver of the GRIDCO bus had exercised extreme caution and observed the road signs while descending the hill," he added.
Mr Anokye advised motorists who used the mountainous Koforidua-Adukrom road not to ignore the various road signs erected along the road, saying that "strictly abiding by these signs can help reduce accidents on the road".
For his part, the Akuapem North District Chief Executive, Mr George Opare-Addo, who visited the scene of the accident, appealed to motorists to avoid speeding and drink driving in order to save lives on the road.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

SHARE WEALTH WIH UNDERPRIVILEGED (PAGE 23, APRIL 10, 2010)

THE Koforidua Area Head of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Samuel Ofosu, has called on Christians to learn in sharing their wealth with the underprivileged in society.
He said apart from being a practical demonstration of their commitment to improving the lot of the underprivileged, the practice would also help to win more souls for Christ.
"We can only call ourselves true Christians when we learn to share our wealth, material gains and other blessings with those who are unfortunate in society. This is the surest way to draw more souls to Christ," he stated.
Preaching a sermon to climax the Easter convention of the church at Koforidua, Apostle Ofosu said, "as a demonstration of our appreciation for the death and resurrection of Christ, Christians should also learn how to share the gospel and their material wealth with the needy."
The four-day event on the theme: "Being transformed into the image of Christ," brought together four assemblies of the church in the Ogua Zone of the New Juaben Municipality.
Apostle Ofosu appealed to the people, especially Christians, to be practical doers of teachings of the Bible, saying "the death of Christ was a practical demonstration of God's love and forgiveness for mankind".
"Before we can be transformed into true and practical Christians, we must know and appreciate Christ, His sufferings and death, and practise the same love and forgiveness towards others," he emphasised.
Apostle Ofosu added that "this is what we can also do for God and not what we will get from Him".
He also appealed to the political leadership of the country to demonstrate honesty and transparency in the pursuit of their political careers.
The Apostle said the commitment of politicians to focus on the supreme interest of the people they served would motivate the masses to look up to them as role models in society, instead of being associated with corruption.
"The desire of our politicians to go into politics to serve and seek the supreme interest of the people requires them to honestly apply every fund meant for development and the benefited of the people without any diversion of such funds," Apostle Ofosu stated.
According to him, most developed countries had attained an enviable socio-economic status by virtue of the commitment of the leadership of such countries, which focused on the welfare and interest of the masses.
"This can never be said of most developing countries that are currently experiencing under-development since the commitment of their leadership is always questionable as they only go into politics to seek their parochial interests at the expense of the masses whom they profess to serve," he stated.

Friday, April 9, 2010

DWENASE TO ENJOY PIPE-BORNE WATER (PAGE 1, APRIL 9, 2010)

A SOD-CUTTING ceremony has been held for work to commence on a GH¢789,176 water project at Akyem Dwenase in the Kwaebibirem District in the Eastern Region.
The Small Town water project will include the construction of a treatment plant, mechanised boreholes, stand pipes and an overhead reservoir.
On completion, the project would supply about 180,000 litres of water a day for the people of Dwenase and Apinamang, two neighbouring farming communities where the inhabitants’ source of water is the Birim River which is polluted with the mercury and cyanide used by illegal miners.
The project, which is expected to be completed in November, 2010, is being funded by the Danish Government through the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA).
Cutting the sod at Dwenase for work on the project to begin, the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, said the project was part of the government’s commitment to provide the two communities with potable water.
That, he said, would improve the health of the inhabitants and curtail the various water-borne diseases affecting them.
Mr Afriyie-Ankrah appealed to the beneficiary communities to co-operate with the board that would be instituted to manage the project.
The District Chief Executive for Kwaebibirem, Mr George Agyemang-Duah, appealed to the contractor working on the project to work speedily to ease the people's dependence on the Birim River.
The chief of Dwenase, Nana Amoah Kuko Ntiamoah, expressed appreciation to the government for its commitment to the welfare of the people.
He, however, appealed to the government to provide the area with a senior high school and also improve the access road to the area.

FOUR IN COURT FOR MURDER OF CHIEF'S WIFE (PAGE 31, APRIL 9, 2010)

FOUR persons have been remanded in prison custody by the Koforidua Circuit Court in connection with the murder of Madam Rose Asantewaa, 54, the wife of the chief of Dede-Sawirako.
The four are Christopher Narh, the Assembly Member for Dedeso and elder of the Church of Pentecost; Mantey Teye and his father, Joseph Teye, and Isaac Teye, who allegedly killed Madam Asantewaa.
Joseph Teye, who had gone to the court to show solidarity with his son, Mantey, who was alleged to have given the machete to Isaac to commit the crime, was arrested when Osabarima Bosompem Ayiripe, the Chief of Dede-Sawirako, identified him on the premises of the court as one of the suspects linked to the death of his wife.
The pleas of the four, who were charged with murder and abetment of crime, were not taken and they were remanded in prison custody to appear again on April 22, this year.
Presenting the facts of the case to the court, presided over by Mrs Barbara Tetteh Charwey, Inspector Eric Twum Frimpong said some months ago, Osabarima Ayiripe sold a piece of land located near his palace and the Church of Pentecost to a cattle owner.
He said Narh, who was against the sale of the land, protested to the chief on the grounds that since he (Narh) was a member of the church, the land should rather have been sold to him.
Two weeks later, the purchaser dug a foundation in an attempt to develop the piece of land but Narh, joined by other members of the church, went to the project site and covered the foundation.
Not satisfied with his action, the prosecutor said, Narh allegedly proceeded to Osabarima Ayiripe’s house to warn him that since he (the chief) had sold the land to another person, he (Narh) would kill him.
According to Inspector Frimpong, the chief reported the threat on his life to the police.
About 6 a.m. on Saturday, April 3, 2010 Isaac went to the chief’s house wielding a machete, and inflicted deep matchete wounds on his wife.
Opare, a 17-year-old son of the butchered woman, who reportedly saw the assailant in the act, took a stick and attempted to hit Isaac with it but Isaac turned around and made an attempt to kill the boy too.
While running away, Opare was said to have shouted for help but the assailant took to his heels to inform Narh about the act he had committed.
However, Isaac was arrested by some youth in the village and handed over to the police.
The chief’s wife, who was said to be bleeding profusely, was rushed to the Begoro District Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

MOTORBIKES FOR ASSEMBLIES IN ER (BACK PAGE, APRIL 6, 2010)

THE Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development last Thursday presented 52 motorbikes to all the 21 municipal and district assemblies in the Eastern Region.
The items were meant to enhance the mobility of project inspectors to effectively monitor and evaluate the various development projects being implemented in the districts.
Presenting the motorbikes in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, urged the assemblies to ensure that the items were effectively used to monitor projects such as the National Youth Employment Programme, the School Feeding Programme and the yet-to-be-implemented afforesta-tion initiative by the government.
Receiving the items on behalf of his counterparts, the District Chief Executive for Kwahu North, Mr Charles Evans Apraku, thanked the government for the items, which he promised would be used to achieve the aim for which they were provided.

Monday, April 5, 2010

PUT CENSUS RESOURCES TO JUDICIOUS USE — OFOSU AMPOFO (PAGE 14, APRIL 5, 2010)

THE Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, has urged regional and district census implementation committees to ensure that resources that would be allocated to them for the programme would be put to judicious use.
He said the effective management of such resources would ensure the successful execution of the programme, funded by both the government and its development partners.
"For us to continue to enjoy the support of stakeholders, including our development partners, the committee should ensure accountability and judicious use of resources that we will receive," Mr Ampofo stated.
The regional minister made the call when he joined the Government Statistician, Dr Grace Bediako, to inaugurate 13-member census regional and district implementation committees in the region in Koforidua last Thursday.
The committee, comprising directors of relevant institutions, is being chaired by the Eastern Regional Co-ordinating Director, Mr Samuel Bawah.
The establishment of the committees, which formed part of efforts to decentralise the management of this year's census to ensure the best outcomes, will among other things, facilitate the programme to ensure its success in all the 21 municipalities and districts in the region.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo said the population census was one of the most important and expensive data collection exercises any country could undertake.
Nonetheless, he said the government had decided, and was determined to have the fifth post-independence population census, which would be conducted at the latter part of the year.
"The upcoming census will provide the country with the opportunity of updating data on demographic and socio-economic characteristics at the national, regional, district, constituency and locality levels, the result of which will be critical to ensure equity in the distribution of the nation's resources, services and representation at all levels," Mr Ofosu Ampofo said.
He added that the census would ensure the availability of essential data for the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of the country's population and socio-economic development programmes, especially the Ghana Poverty Strategies and the Millennium Development Goals," he stated.
To ensure the success of the programme, he called for the active participation of the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies in the census to enhance its implementation, adding "the role played by the MMDAs enabled the country to achieve successes in the previous census."
"I therefore hope the district assemblies will continue to support the Ghana Statistical Service to ensure effective implementation of this year's programme," he appealed to the MMDAs.
For her part, Dr Bediako said the 2010 population and housing census would require the mobilisation of substantial resources, both human and financial, to successfully execute it at every part of the country.
She said in all, about 45,000 field workers would be recruited and trained between four and five weeks, adding "as we draw close to the exercise, there is the need to broaden the support base and tap the wide range of skills from all segments of society to constitute a pool of expertise needed to undertake the exercise."
Dr Bediako urged stakeholders, including the media, communities, institutions, individuals and groups as well as development partners to join hands in order to make the exercise a success.
On behalf of his colleagues, Mr Bawah gave the assurance that the committees would work hard to make the programme's implementation a success.

LINDA DOR HOSTS EASTER JAM (PAGE 31, APRIL 1, 2010)

LINDA Dor Restaurant and Rest Stop, a popular restaurant on the Accra-Kumasi Highway, will today host one of the Easter street jams — the Adom FM Kwahu Akwaaba and Easter Party.
The event, which will mark the 10th anniversary of the Tema-based radio station, will showcase the station's presenters, who will interact with the numerous travellers and revellers who will stop by at the restaurant.
Dubbed, "Ofie Akwaaba", the event will be used to transmit live programmes, especially Ofie Kwanso, from 10 a.m., to be followed by a bash which will feature some favourite local artistes such as Sarkodie, Nana Borrow, Danso Appiah and others.
Expected to thrill the numerous travellers and revellers who will be on their way to Kwahu to celebrate the Easter festivities, the Ofie Akwaaba party will also provide the people with a serene atmosphere to enjoy their favourite music, eat, drink, relax, as well as partake in the various entertainment programmes that day.
The Programmes Director of Adom FM, Daddy Bosco, told the Daily Graphic that the event would begin with a live broadcast from the restaurant, after which there would be a bash that would feature some popular artistes.
According to him, his outfit chose the Linda Dor Restaurant and Rest Stop because of the unique atmosphere it provided the numerous travellers who, over the years, had made the place their favourite place to eat, drink, relax, pray and attend to the call of nature.
The Managing Director of Linda Dor Restaurants, Mrs Linda Doris Akorful, assured travellers that her outfit would provide them the usual unique atmosphere to eat, drink, relax and engage in other social activities which had, over time, become a trade mark of the restaurant.
"With our specialised different restaurants, including the full restaurant, the buffet restaurant and the local kitchen, we are more than poised to serve our customers and travellers alike with assorted sumptuous local, European and Chinese dishes, all of which have become the hallmark of our business in the minds of customers over the years,” she added.