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Gov't Owes Sekondi Takoradi Schools Cedi Billions


Information reaching The Chronicle indicates that government has failed to pay the GH¢3 per pupil capitation grant, to most of the public schools in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis.

The Metropolitan Directorate of Education has a total of 118 public schools, with a total student population of 24,041.

This reporter gathered, from sources at the offices of the Metro Directorate of Education, that the government owed schools in the metropolis, a whooping GH¢60,000 for the 2006/7 academic year alone.

For the 2007/8 academic year, government has settled only GH¢1.00, instead of GH¢3.00 per student. This means that government has GH¢2.00 arrears to settle for each student.
The Chronicle learnt that due to the huge backlog of the grants, the Directorate could not organize recreational activities, such athletics among the schools.
The schools could also not organize end of year exams, since there was no money available for the printing of examination papers. Schools, which managed to conduct the examinations, did so on blackboards.

The Metro Director of Education, Mr. M. Ayew-Morgan, would not comment on the issue, when this reporter contacted him on phone.
But sources at offices of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), however confirmed that government was indeed indebted to the schools, which is affecting their academic work.

Source:
Ghanaian Chronicle

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Two-year-old girl found dead in a plastic container


Nyinahin, (Ash), June 12, GNA- A two-year-old girl, Mary Nyamekye, was found dead in a plastic water container on Tuesday at Nyinahin in the Atwima-Mponua District.

Briefing the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday at Nyinahin, Lance Corporal James Kalami said on June 10, this year, at about 1200 hours, the deceased was left alone by her mother, Madam Alice Owusu, 30, to wash her clothing nearby.

The Police Officer said the mother left behind a plastic container filled with water in the house and the child, who was feeling thirsty, decided to fetch some water and accidentally fell into the container. Lance Corporal Kalami said when the mother returned she saw her baby dead in the container and reported the case to the police. Meanwhile, the body of the deceased baby girl has been deposited at the Bibiani Government Hospital Mortuary for autopsy.

Source:
GNA

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Vets: Rabies cases on the rise


Accra, June 12, GNA - Veterinary doctors are warning of serious rabies problems as the Accra Veterinary Laboratory alone diagnoses on average six to eight positive cases every month.

The veterinary experts say the current statistics for Greater Accra, coupled with figures recorded in the recent past, pose great concern that need urgent attention by government against the background that rabies can easily be prevented. Speaking at a news conference on Thursday in Accra, Dr. Kwasi Bowi Darkwa, President, Ghana Veterinary Medical Association (GVMA), emphasized that rabies had no cure and the only way to control it was to embark on mass vaccination of pets, especially dogs and cats. He explained that the government could make a lot of savings by committing funds for annual rabies vaccinations and break the dog-to-human rabies cycle rather than using foreign currency to import the human anti-rabies vaccines for the hospitals.

Dr. Darkwa said statistics indicated that, in 2002, two cases of human rabies were reported in the Greater Accra Region and they both died, while in 2003, 10 cases were reported out of which, three died. Between January and December 2005, 38 rabies positive cases were reported.

The veterinary association therefore called on the government to reinstate the annual rabies vaccination campaign that was stopped 10 years ago.

Referring to a story that claimed that, a "vet officer" was being held for a boy's death, Dr Darkwa said no one from his outfit had been placed in custody for such an offence.

He said the suspect, Nathan Boryor, was "neither a vet officer nor a vet technician. Neither was he a staff of the Veterinary Services Department nor had he received any training at all in Veterinary Science." "He is therefore an impostor, or a quack doctor engaged in illegal activities in that area and must therefore be dealt with according to the law," Dr Darkwa added.

Source:
GNA

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• 11.06.2008

Armed robber burnt to death


Banda Nkwanta (N/R), June11, GNA - An unidentified armed robber, who robbed passengers on a bus with registration number GR 4273 D of several millions of cedis, was later burnt to death by the victims near Banda Nkwanta, in the Bole District.

According to Detective Chief Inspector John Owusu of the Police Service, the bus was travelling from Kumasi to Wa in the Upper West Region, when the robber struck after mounting a roadblock near Banda Nkwanta.

Narrating the incident to the press in Bole, the driver of the passenger bus, Salaam Azziz, said he managed to escape when he realised that the robber was looking for him to kill, after looting the passengers of their moneys and mobile phones, at about 05.00 hours yesterday.

He said he returned after one hour, and alerted another Benz Bus heading the same direction where the robber had mounted the road block. Azziz said after alerting the Benz driver he walked towards his vehicle, having in mind that the robbery might have been over and the robber gone.

On his way, Azziz met a man partly dressed in military uniform with a bag coming from the robbery scene. The man asked him whether he was not the driver of the vehicle that was robbed.

Azziz said he immediately recognised the voice to be that of the armed robber and raised the alarm, He said the robber threw the bag he was holding away and took to his heels, but was later apprehended and tied up by the angry people in the area and was put in a bus.

They drove to the scene of the robbery only to realise that his vehicle was not there, but he later got to know that one of the passengers had driven it to the nearest police station in Bole to report the incident.

He said the bus on which they travelling on later got to a spot where they saw that the looted Bus had involved in an accident miles from the robbery site with several of the passengers sustaining serious injuries.

On seeing the armed robber tied up, the angry passengers pounced on him and burnt him to death. The Police, who arrived later, sent the remains to Bole and later to Wa for autopsy, meanwhile most of the injured persons are on admission at the Bole Hospital.

Source:
GNA

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Veep's son busted again

“Do you know who I am? I am the son of the Vice President, even if you arrest me, I will be out within one Hour".

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Five policemen interdicted for extortion

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• 10.06.2008

Voters' register not bloated - EC



Accra, June 10, GNA - The Electoral Commission (EC) on Tuesday denied allegations by the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the Voters' Register was bloated in 13 constituencies in the Ashanti Region.

However, the Commission admitted that there were operational errors in the generation of the Voters' statistics supplied to the NDC that made them to declare that the Register was bloated.

"The figures which formed the basis of the allegation of a bloated Register, do not exist either on the Commission's own compact version of the Voters' Register or on the CD-ROMs given to the NDC," the EC said.

"Rather, they exist on the hard copies of the Voters' statistics that the NDC received, and are traceable to an operational error in the generation of the statistics," Electoral Commissioner Kwadwo Afari-Gyan said at a press conference in Accra.

The NDC last year applied to the EC at separate times for a copy of the Voters' Register. The EC in one instance supplied the NDC with the Register in the form of hard copies of the Voters' statistics and at another time, the compact version of the Voters' Register without pictures on a CD-ROM.

The NDC later alleged that the number of registered voters in 13 constituencies in the Ashanti Region had increased tremendously between 2004 and 2006, prompting the EC to set up a Committee to investigate the discrepancies between the figures of the NDC and that of the EC.

But Dr Afari-Gyan insisted that the discrepancy in the figures was as a result of operational error during the printing process, and that "the huge numbers the NDC complains about do not exist in our database". "What this means is that the EC's voter registration database, from which we produce the register for elections, is intact and does not contain strange figures.

"The issue is that of human error, but what is important is that such errors do not exist in our database and I assure you there would be no errors on the Register on the day of voting," he told the media. Dr Afari-Gyan expressed regrets on comments made by politicians and the media on the issue, describing them as "hurried, uninformed and premature statements and judgments".

"All we ask for is that such matters be brought to our attention in good faith, with a view to preserving the integrity of the Register. The Register belongs to the people of Ghana, and all of us share a collective responsibility to ensure that the Register is in good shape.

"We assure all Ghanaians that as a Commission, we will do our work in a transparent and fair manner, without favour to any party or candidate. In return, we hope that all political parties and candidates, their activists and supporters, the media, commentators and the people at large will behave responsibly so that we have credible general election on 7th December 2008," he said.

Source:
GNA

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  Ghana to start pumping 120,000 barrels of oil in first quarter of 2010

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Four die in a fatal road accident at Adansi


Adansi (Ash), June 10, GNA - Four people died and three sustained various degrees of injury on Monday in a fatal accident involving three vehicles at Adansi near Asankare in the Asante Akyem South District. The dead and the injured persons, who are yet to be identified, have been sent to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi. It took a combined team of the fire service personnel from Nkawkaw and Konogo over an hour to cut-open the wreckage before removing the bodies of the deceased.

The accident, which occurred at 2300 hours, resulted in a heavy traffic jam for several hours.

According to an eye witness account, a cargo truck with a registration number AS 5767 C was parked by the road side for the past four days with part of its body occupying the main road.

During that time, a DAF cargo truck with a registration number GR 1558 K loaded with tiles heading towards Kumasi, on reaching the spot veered into the opposite lane to avoid running into the parked truck. In the process, it collided with a KIA truck with a registration number AS 50372 Z loaded with charcoal, killing four persons instantly, two on board each vehicle.

Superintendent Francis Oppong, District Police Commander, when contacted confirmed the accident, adding that the police had mounted a search for the driver of the parked truck who fled the scene after the accident.

Source:
GNA

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Obuasi Mine has additional 25 years lifespan - MD


Obuasi, June 10, GNA - The Obuasi Mine may have additional 25 years life span, should AngloGold Ashanti (Obuasi) overcome its present challenges, Mr. John Miller, the Managing Director, has said.

Some of the challenges include the return of the mine to profitability, addressing the legacy of social and environmental problems and overcoming threats to operations, including illegal mining (galamsey).

Mr. Miller, who was giving a presentation on the mine during the visit to the Mine by the members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy, said improving community engagement and participation also formed part of the challenges that needed to be addressed.

"Obuasi can have a great future when the challenges are addressed", he said, adding; "we have to work for it". The Managing Director also said an Obuasi Turnaround Plan had been adopted to prepare the mine for the future operations and that the Plan would require additional investment of 44 million dollars this year and 135 million dollars over three years.

Mr. Miller stated that, in addition to capital, the process would also require additional human resources and training, adding that communication programme had already started and was progressively expanded from the core areas to other parties. The Parliamentary Select Committee led by the chairman, Mrs Gifty Kusi, was particularly concerned about the stability agreement and demanded the commitment of the company on it so far. The MPs, as part of their visit, toured the company's acquaculture project at Homase.

Source:
GNA

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NDC: We'll take Ghana to new heights

Accra, June 10, GNA - The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Tuesday marked its 16th anniversary with a pledge that the Party would take Ghana to new heights.

"As the December 2008 elections approach, the NDC, under Professor John Evans Atta Mills, is preparing to resume the reins of government and to take Ghana to new heights," the Party said in a statement signed by Dr Hanna S. Tetteh, NDC Director of Communications.

It said the NDC was ready to solve decisively the energy crisis and to ensure that the benefits that Ghana could obtain from the blessing of having significant production of oil and gas in the future would be fairly distributed and not coveted by a few.

"The NDC is determined to bring to an end the shame of massive cocaine trafficking, which has destroyed the image of the country internationally and threatens the future of many of our youth and even some older people."

The statement said the NDC would be investing in people, jobs and the economy.

"There is work to be done for our country and the NDC, under Professor Mills, is ready for the task ahead. We take the opportunity of this celebration to extend our best wishes to the good people of Ghana and to assure them that, 'a better Ghana' is in sight".

The NDC said in this election year it was firmly committed to ensuring that it played its part in safeguarding the democratic process, and would use all legal and legitimate means at its disposal to make sure that the electoral process was credible, free, fair and transparent and that the will of the Ghanaian people would prevail.

The statement said it was worth recalling that the NDC brought together people from different traditions in Ghana's political history - the Nkrumaist tradition, people from the Danquah-Busia tradition, people from the United National Convention (UNC), and independents.

All these were committed to ensuring that the political and economic recovery that Ghana had achieved under the Government of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) was sustained under the new democratic Constitution that the PNDC bequeathed to the country.

"From the onset, the NDC was a social democratic party with a focus on the welfare of Ghanaians as a whole and not on the wealthy and privileged few.

"The NDC ensured the deepening of the democratic process in Ghana. The Party, when in Government, was responsible for establishing key institutions that were essential under the new Constitution for the development of our democracy, including the District Assemblies, the National Commission for Civic Education, the Electoral Commission, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice."

Following the December 2000 elections, President Jerry John Rawlings peacefully handed over to President Kufuor and an orderly transition process to the new government took place.

"This was the legacy of a Party that is: 'Always for People, Always for Development.'"

The statement said the NDC had continued to act as a responsible opposition to ensure probity and accountability as was amply demonstrated in the recent sittings of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.

"As a result of the vigilance of the NDC, the country was saved from such disasters as the "IFC" loan, the "CNTCI" loan etc," it said. "We wish to thank the people of Ghana for their support of the National Democratic Congress through the years, and assure them that we will work with them to create a better Ghana that will cater for the well-being of all its citizens, not only today but for generations to come."

Source:
GNA

93 Municipal and District directors receive vehicles


Sunyani (B/A), June 10, GNA - Ninety-Three Municipal and District Directors of Education on Tuesday received 4X4 Scorpio pick-up vehicles valued at 2,519,580 US dollars from Government. Government provided the vehicles with funds from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to assist them to intensify their supervisory roles in deprived communities to raise the fallen standard of education.

Making the presentation at a short ceremony in Sunyani, Ms Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of State at the Ministry, expressed concern about the lack of supervision and monitoring in the public education system. She said 53 of the vehicles were provided to deprived districts to help directors to work harder to promote the growth and development of education.

Ms Ohene charged the District Directors to create a better image for public schools and admonished them to use the vehicles to manage schools properly to enhance the academic performance of students. Mr. Samuel Bannerman-Mensah, Director General of the Ghana Education Service, said the government was determined to promote the growth of education through the provision of adequate teaching and learning materials as well as infrastructure.

He urged teachers to redouble their efforts and work hard to complement the government's efforts in raising the fallen standard of education in public schools. Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, noted that ensuring good and effective supervision of schools was a shared responsibility that required all stakeholders to collaborate effectively from the household, through the community and Assembly levels. He reminded the beneficiaries to take good care of the vehicles and use them for the intended purposes. He urged the Municipal and District Assemblies to put in place effective collaborative mechanisms with the education directorates to ensure that the vehicles were well maintained at all times.

Source:
GNA

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• 09.06.2008

  Nayiri Appeals for Peace in Bawku

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Two killed in accident at Akwatia


Akwatia, June 09, GNA- Two persons died and one seriously injured when a mini-bus on which they were travelling ran into a tree at the weekend at Akwatia.

The dead have been identified as Isaac Aikins, who died shortly on admission at the Saint Joseph Hospital in Koforidua and Kwadwo Ahenfo. The bodies have been deposited at the hospital morgue while a middle aged woman is in critical condition at the same hospital. Also injured were Kwasi Boateng 28, from Accra, Charles Acheampong 30 and Mary Ahenfo 32 and two children ages 8 and 10 were receiving treatment at the hospital.

According to the Police, the bus with registration number GW5281Z with occupants arrived at Boadua for a funeral on Friday night. It was seen speeding all over Boadua Township on Friday with most of the occupants going on drinking spree from spot to spot ignoring advice to limit their speed in town. Then on Saturday morning, they continued their drinking spree and reckless driving at Boadua and Akwatia and nearly run into a group buying and selling diamonds at the open market called Belgium. Police said while speeding back to Boadua the driver lost control of the vehicle when negotiating a curve and ran into the tree. Seth Acheampng who was said to be the driver has since been detained by the police to help in the investigation.

Source:
GNA

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Ghana Police cry for facilities


The Ghana Police Training School is in dire need of modern training facilities to train policemen and women with the necessary skills to fight modern day crime, the Commanding Officer of the school, Mr J.A. Abass-Abaah, has said.

He told the Daily Graphic that the school lacked basic structures such as classrooms with audio and video equipment, sleeping places for recruits and a gymnasium to physically condition recruits for the task ahead.

He said most of the buildings were put up in the 1940s when the school trained less than a 100 people every year, and also saw an insignificant expansion in facilities in the early 1970s. After that no major expansion had been done.

“Today we train about 2,000 people a year and we use those same structures. This is unacceptable,” he added.

Mr Abass-Abaah said it was a policy of the Ghana Police Service to train personnel to disarm suspects and actual criminals to prevent them (police) from resorting to arms in every situation but due to the lack of a gymnasium, training in that endeavour had become difficult.

He added that there was also an official plan to equip all trainees with driving skills "so that every policeman will know how to drive" but the absence of a driving school had made it impossible.

"We do not even have vehicles to teach driving," he said.

Mr Abass-Abaah said, the Police Administration had realised that it needed to ensure that weapon training was not done in the full glare of members of the public because criminals would become aware of the kinds of skills the police possessed.

"We have realised that we need to take weapon training away from the full glare of the public and not do it at the Teshie Shooting Range where passers-by will see what we do. We need indoor facilities for this but they are unavailable," he said.

"So when the criminals pass by the shooting range, they are able to observe and determine the accuracy or inaccuracy of the police in shooting," he added.

He said with the level of sophistication of crime in this modern day, the police needed to acquire skills that put them ahead of criminals.

Mr Abass-Abaah said the school had approached many companies in the country to donate a few thousands of cedis towards the procurement of equipment and the establishment of basic training facilities but they had refused.

"We have solicited to donate funds from many of the big and huge profit-making organisations in the country but they have declined to come to our aid yet they have money to sponsor numerous reality shows and other entertainment programmes in the country,” he said.

“They have failed to realize that there is need for peace and security to prevail to enable them make their billions. They do not know that it is the personnel of a well-trained and capable Police Service that can provide them the security to carry out their activities in peace,” he added.

Meanwhile, interference in the selection and training of recruits at the police training schools by senior police officers has been identified as a major cause of indiscipline in the Ghana Police Service.

Sources within the Service told the Daily Graphic that senior police officers manoeuvred to get their relatives and wards of friends and associates admitted to the training schools.

Those relatives or wards, the sources said, were not fit to be admitted to the school and, therefore, not eligible for the Service.

They said because of their re1ationship with the senior officers, some of the trainees refused to take orders, or did so reluctantly and showed disrespect to their superiors.

Some of the trainees also complained about the treatment they received from the senior officers, who then interfered with operations.

"Some of the officers even go to the extent of calling the trainees to find out which particular officer is disturbing them. This is unacceptable," one of the sources said.

They said because of the situation, some of the instructors were unwilling to order trainees to work or to reproach them for any wrongdoing.

They said due to the situation, in the past few years and presently, personnel who passed through the schools did not acquire the necessary training.

The sources said senior police officers needed to stop the interference if they desired well-trained, disciplined and dedicated service personnel.

They said if all the indiscipline currently being witnessed in the Service were to stop, only people who were qualified and had actually "received the calling" and were prepared to learn and carry out instructions should be recruited.

Other sources said what happened in the Service with regard to interference happened in other organisations in Ghana and that the Police Service needed not be singled out.

"I am sure this happens in even your own organisation. We all seek to help the people we know. This happens everywhere," the sources said.

In a reaction, the Commanding Officer of the National Police Training School, Mr. Abass-Abaah, said instructors at the school had been given a free hand to train recruits and added that no such complaints had come to his notice.

He said if there was any interference, it would “hit" him first as commanding officer of the school before it got to the instructors.

He said it was surprising that the sources of the Daily Graphic had not brought the problem, if it actually existed, to his notice and rather decided to talk to the media.

Mr Abass-Abaah said he made it a policy not to identify the recruits by their names because he did not want to know who they were related to.

With regard to the issue of people not being fit to enter the schools, he said the system had a way of identifying such people at a later date, if not on the day of admission. He said the school admitted Senior High School products but also accepted tradesmen with lower qualifications when there was the need.

The acting Public Affairs Director of the Ghana Police Service, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Akwasi Ofori, when contacted, said instructors at the police training schools needed to know better and not allow themselves to be influenced by any senior police offi¬cer.

He declined further comment.

Source:
Daily Graphic

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Four robbery suspects remanded


Sekondi, June 9, GNA- A Sekondi high court has remanded four suspected armed robbers into prison custody for robbery. They pleaded not guilty to all counts of attempted robbery, robbery, assault and use of offensive weapons.

They are Issakah Bandey, 19, a Fulani herdsman, Mohammed Issa, 29, a trader, Abdulai Karim, 24 and Gariba Amadu, 38 both herdsmen. Prosecuting, Madam Patience Klinogo, Principal State Attorney, told the court presided over by Justice Robin Batu, that on July 19, 2007, at about 2030 hours, the accused persons armed with short guns and locally manufactured pistols mounted a road-block, using firewood and logs at a spot near the Sahoma hills along the Bibiani-Abrofem road.

She said the accused attacked motorists and pedestrians on various vehicles including a 207 bus with registration number AS 7277 Y, a KIA with number WR 1178 N and an Opel saloon car with number GW 3833 W and took away several items, including mobile phones, cash both local and foreign and wrist watches.

Three of the victims sustained gun shot wounds and were rushed to the Bibiani government hospital, where they were admitted for treatment. Madam Klinogo said one of he victims however died a few weeks after the incident.

She said security personnel of the Central African Gold Mines in Bibiani were deployed to the scene but the gang disappeared before they got there.

The prosecutor said at about 01.00 hours the following day, Issakah and Gariba were arrested in the Bibiani township, and when they were searched, five mobile phones, a wrist watch and cash of GH¢ 4,225 million and 9,000 CFA francs were found on them.

They were later identified by some of the victims. Madam Klinogo said five days after their arrest; Gariba and Issaca led the Police to a hideout in Kumasi, where they pointed out Mohammed and Addulai as their accomplices.

Source:
GNA

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